Historical trends of PCBs and PBDEs as reconstructed in a lake sediment from southern Tibetan Plateau

High-altitude lake sediment can be used as a natural archive to reconstruct the history of pollutants. In this work, the temporal distribution of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were determined using a high-resolution gas chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometer (HRGC/HRMS) in an alpine lake sediment core collected from the southern Tibetan Plateau (TP) to examine whether the expected decreasing trends due to the implementation of the international Conventions could be observed. The concentrations of PCBs and PBDEs in the sediment core were in the range of 11.8–142 pg/g dw and ND-457 pg/g dw, and their fluxes were in the range of 2.51–31.7 ng/(m²·yr) and ND-43.2 ng/(m²·yr), respectively. The prevalence of low-chlorinated (tri-CB) PCBs and low-brominated (tri- to tetra-) PBDEs in most sections of the sediment profiles was observed, suggesting that the light molecular weight PCBs and PBDEs have most likely reached lake sediments by long-range atmospheric transport from distant sources. Despite the restrictions on their applications, the sediment records for the concentrations and fluxes showed no corresponding decreasing trend with restrictions for PCBs, which suggested that these POPs (e.g., PCBs) were still emitted to the environment owing to the influence of primary or secondary emissions. To our knowledge, this is the first report on input history of atmospheric PCBs and PBDEs recorded in TP Lake sediment.     

Role of hydrogen bond capacity of solvents in reactions of amines with CO2: A computational study

Various computational methods were employed to investigate the zwitterion formation,a critical step for the reaction of monoethanolamine with CO_2,in five solvents(water,monoethanolamine,propylamine,methanol and chloroform) to probe the effect of hydrogen bond capacity of solvents on the reaction of amine with CO_2 occurring in the amine-based CO_2 capture process.The results indicate that the zwitterion can be formed in all considered solvents except chloroform.For two pairs of solvents(methanol and monoethanolamine,propylamine and chloroform) with similar dielectric constant but different hydrogen bond capacity,the solvents with higher hydrogen bond capacity(monoethanolamine and propylamine) facilitate the zwitterion formation.More importantly,kinetics parameters such as activation free energy for the zwitterion formation are more relevant to the hydrogen bond capacity than to dielectric constant of the considered solvents,clarifying the hydrogen bond capacity could be more important than dielectric constant in determining the kinetics of monoethanolamine with CO_2.     

Observations of N2O5 and NO3 at a suburban environment in Yangtze river delta in China: Estimating heterogeneous N2O5 uptake coefficients

The nitrate radical (NO₃) and dinitrogen pentoxide (N₂O₅) play an important role in the nocturnal atmosphere chemistry. Observations of NO₃ radicals and N₂O₅ were performed in a semirural ground site at Tai'Zhou in polluted southern China using cavity ring down spectroscopy (CRDS) from 23 May to 15 June 2018. The observed NO₃ and N₂O₅ concentrations were relatively low, with 1 min average value of 4.4 ± 2.2 and 26.0 ± 35.7 pptV, respectively. The N₂O₅ uptake coefficient was determined to be from 0.027 to 0.107 based on steady state lifetime method. Fast N₂O₅ hydrolysis was the largest contributor to the loss of NO₃ and contributed to substantial nitrate formation, with an average value of 14.83 ± 6.01 µg/m³. Further analysis shows that the N₂O₅ heterogeneous reactions dominated the nocturnal NO_x loss and the nocturnal NO_x loss rate is 0.14 ± 0.02 over this region.     

Effective adsorption of sulfamethoxazole, bisphenol A and methyl orange on nanoporous carbon derived from metal-organic frameworks

Nanoporous carbons(NPCs) derived from metal–organic frameworks(MOFs) are attracting increasing attention in many areas by virtue of their high specific surface area, large pore volume and unique porosity. The present work reports the preparation of an NPC with high surface area(1731 m~2/g) and pore volume(1.68 cm~3/g) by direct carbonization of MOF-5. We examined the adsorption of three typical contaminants from aqueous solutions, i.e., sulfamethoxazole(SMX),bisphenol A(BPA) and methyl orange(MO), by using the as-prepared NPC. The results demonstrated that NPC could adsorb the contaminants effectively, with adsorption capacity(qm) of 625 mg/g(SMX), 757 mg/g(BPA) and 872 mg/g(MO), respectively. These values were approximately 1.0-3.2 times higher than those obtained for single-walled carbon nanotubes(SWCNTs) and commercial powder active carbon(PAC) under the same conditions. With its high surface area and unique meso/macropore structure, the enhanced adsorption of NPC most likely originates from the cooperative interaction of a pore-filling mechanism, electrostatic interaction,and hydrogen bonding. In particular, the p H value has a crucial impact on adsorption, suggesting the significant contribution of electrostatic interaction between NPC and the contaminants. This study provides a proof-of-concept demonstration of MOF-derived nanoporous carbons as effective adsorbents of contaminants for water treatment.     

Combined zero valent iron and hydrogen peroxide conditioning significantly enhances the dewaterability of anaerobic digestate

The importance of enhancing sludge dewaterability is increasing due to the considerable impact of excess sludge volume on disposal costs and on overall sludge management. This study presents an innovative approach to enhance dewaterability of anaerobic digestate(AD) harvested from a wastewater treatment plant. The combination of zero valent iron(ZVI, 0–4.0 g/g total solids(TS)) and hydrogen peroxide(HP, 0–90 mg/g TS) under pH 3.0 significantly enhanced the AD dewaterability. The largest enhancement of AD dewaterability was achieved at 18 mg HP/g TS and 2.0 g ZVI/g TS, with the capillary suction time reduced by up to 90%. Economic analysis suggested that the proposed HP and ZVI treatment has more economic benefits in comparison with the classical Fenton reaction process. The destruction of extracellular polymeric substances and cells as well as the decrease of particle size were supposed to contribute to the enhanced AD dewaterability by HP + ZVI conditioning.     

污水处理厂水处理主体构筑物改造研究

随着中国国民经济的不断发展和城乡一体化建设的发展,市政工程设施建设获得了空前发展。随着国民环保意识的增强,国家对城市污水治理及排放标准提高,政府提倡节能减排。因此,国内现有众多的污水处理厂需进行大量的提标改造,为了更好的利用原有的水处理构筑物,减少浪费,根据近些年的水处理构筑物改造与加固设计工程实践,对污水处理厂水处理构筑物的改造与加固技术进行了探索与总结,供类似的工程设计参考借鉴。     

长江中下游 南黄海地震带地震活动趋势分析

对长江中下游 南黄海地震带地震活跃期、幕划分及其发展趋势进行了研究,对江苏及其邻区今后几年的地震大形势及重点危险区进行了判定。分析认为,长南带从１９７１年以来进入第二活跃期的第３幕,该幕地震活动将持续到２０１０年前后,最高活动水平为６．５级左右。今后几年江苏东部至南黄海海域发生５～６级或６级以上地震的可能性较大。     

GIS在震后应急反应中的应用

震后应急反应是减轻震害的关键措施之一。震后应急的基础在于信息的收集和处理。ＧＩＳ（地理信息系统）具有很强的信息管理能力和空间数据处理、分析能力。借助于这个系统,可以解决以往应急反应中存在的资料分散、资料更新慢、管理费用大以及大量信息难以提取、查询和使用等问题。ＧＩＳ与震后应急反应的结合可以大大提高应急反应的速度和准确性。     

Enhancement of dissolved phosphorus release from sediment to lake water by Microcystis blooms--an enclosure experiment in a hyper-eutrophic,subtropical Chinese lake

To clarify the possible influence of Microcystis blooms on the exchange of phosphorus (P) between sediment and lake water, an enclosure experiment was conducted in the hypereutrophic subtropical Lake Donghu during July-September 2000. Eight enclosures were used: six received sediment while two were sediment-free. In mid-August, Microcystis blooms developed in all the enclosures. There was a persistent coincidence between the occurrence of Microcystis blooms and the increase of both total P (TP) and soluble reactive P (SRP) concentrations in the water of the enclosures with sediments. In sediment-free enclosures, TP and SRP concentrations remained rather stable throughout the experiment, in spite of the appearance of Microcystis blooms. The results indicate that Microcystis blooms induced massive release of P from the sediment, perhaps mediated by high pH caused by intense algal photosynthesis, and/or depressed concentrations of nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N).