Design of a novel non-equilibrium plasma-based water treatment reactor

A novel non-equilibrium plasma-based water treatment reactor consisting of high voltage multi-needle electrode submerged in aqueous phase and reticulated ground electrode suspended in gas phase above water was developed and applied to treat low concentrations of methyl orange (MO). The electrode configuration was optimized. Higher number and more uniform distribution of streamers were produced in gas phase when parallel five-needle configuration with needle spacing of 10mm for high voltage electrode, macroporous ground electrode with mesh size of 0.42mm, and electrode gap of 17mm were adopted. This case corresponds to the largest amount of hydrogen peroxide and ozone produced in aqueous phase and gas phase, respectively, and air flow rate presents an economical value. The injection of wastewater above ground electrode for pretreatment and the design of fixed mesh barriers further increase the amount of ozone dissolved in aqueous solution. The conversion of MO presents a positive correlation with input voltage and the increase of pulse repetition rate is conducive for the conversion. In addition, the effect of initial solution concentration and treating volume on the conversion, energy yield and COD removal was evaluated.     

Effect of manganese ion on the mineralization of 2,4-dichlorophenol by ozone

Mineralization of 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP) was studied by ozone with Mn(2+) as an ozonation catalyst. Laboratory scale semi-batch ozonation experiments were conducted at room temperature. The results showed that trace amount of Mn(2+) accelerated the mineralization of DCP. Total organic carbon removal rate was independent on Mn(2+) dosage at its range of 0.1-0.5 mgL(-1). Dissolved ozone concentration in the solution remained low level in the catalytic ozonation process, which indicated that Mn(2+) catalyzed decomposition of ozone. DCP mineralization was inhibited in catalytic ozonation by the addition of carbonate. Electron spin resonance/spin-trapping technique was used to determine hydroxyl radicals, and the results showed that larger amounts of hydroxyl radicals were produced in catalytic ozonation system than those of single ozonation. Intermediates mainly including aliphatic carboxylic acids were determined qualitatively and semi-quantitatively by GC-MS. And, a general pathway for mineralization of DCP was proposed.     

Seasonal effect on N2O formation in nitrification in constructed wetlands

Constructed wetlands are considered to be important sources of nitrous oxide (N(2)O). In order to investigate the contribution of nitrification in N(2)O formation, some environmental factors, plant species and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in active layers have been compared. Vegetation cells indicated remarkable effect of seasons and different plant species on N(2)O emission and AOB amount. Nitrous oxide data showed large temporal and spatial fluctuations ranging 0-52.8 mg N(2)O m(-2)d(-1). Higher AOB amount and N(2)O flux rate were observed in the Zizania latifolia cell, reflecting high potential of global warming. Roles of plants as ecosystem engineers are summarized with rhizosphere oxygen release and organic matter transportation to affect nitrogen transformation. The Phragmites australis cell contributed to keeping high T-N removal performance and lower N(2)O emission. The distribution of AOB also supported this result. Statistical analysis showed several environmental parameters affecting the strength of observed greenhouse gases emission, such as water temperature, water level, TOC, plant species and plant cover.     

Degradation rates of CFC-11, CFC-12 and CFC-113 in anoxic shallow aquifers of Araihazar, Bangladesh

Chlorofluorocarbons CFC-11 (CCl(3)F), CFC-12 (CCl(2)F(2)), and CFC-113 (CCl(2)F-CClF(2)) are used in hydrology as transient tracers under the assumption of conservative behavior in the unsaturated and saturated soil zones. However, laboratory and field studies have shown that these compounds are not stable under anaerobic conditions. To determine the degradation rates of CFCs in a tropical environment, atmospheric air, unsaturated zone soil gas, and anoxic groundwater samples were collected in Araihazar upazila, Bangladesh. Observed CFC concentrations in both soil gas and groundwater were significantly below those expected from atmospheric levels. The CFC deficits in the unsaturated zone can be explained by gas exchange with groundwater undersaturated in CFCs. The CFC deficits observed in (3)H/(3)He dated groundwater were used to estimate degradation rates in the saturated zone. The results show that CFCs are degraded to the point where practically no (<5%) CFC-11, CFC-12, or CFC-113 remains in groundwater with (3)H/(3)He ages above 10 yr. In groundwater sampled at our site CFC-11 and CFC-12 appear to degrade at similar rates with estimated degradation rates ranging from approximately 0.25 yr(-1) to approximately 6 yr(-1). Degradation rates increased as a function of reducing conditions. This indicates that CFC dating of groundwater in regions of humid tropical climate has to be carried out with great caution.     

Inverse modeling of multicomponent reactive transport through single and dual porosity media

Compacted bentonite is foreseen as buffer material for high-level radioactive waste in deep geological repositories because it provides hydraulic isolation, chemical stability, and radionuclide sorption. A wide range of laboratory tests were performed within the framework of FEBEX (Full-scale Engineered Barrier EXperiment) project to characterize buffer properties and develop numerical models for FEBEX bentonite. Here we present inverse single and dual-continuum multicomponent reactive transport models of a long-term permeation test performed on a 2.5 cm long sample of FEBEX bentonite. Initial saline bentonite porewater was flushed with 5.5 pore volumes of fresh granitic water. Water flux and chemical composition of effluent waters were monitored during almost 4 years. The model accounts for solute advection and diffusion and geochemical reactions such as aqueous complexation, acid-base, cation exchange, protonation/deprotonation by surface complexation and dissolution/precipitation of calcite, chalcedony and gypsum. All of these processes are assumed at local equilibrium. Similar to previous studies of bentonite porewater chemistry on batch systems which attest the relevance of protonation/deprotonation on buffering pH, our results confirm that protonation/deprotonation is a key process in maintaining a stable pH under dynamic transport conditions. Breakthrough curves of reactive species are more sensitive to initial porewater concentration than to effective diffusion coefficient. Optimum estimates of initial porewater chemistry of saturated compacted FEBEX bentonite are obtained by solving the inverse problem of multicomponent reactive transport. While the single-continuum model reproduces the trends of measured data for most chemical species, it fails to match properly the long tails of most breakthrough curves. Such limitation is overcome by resorting to a dual-continuum reactive transport model.     

Global fallout Pu recorded in lacustrine sediments in Lake Hongfeng, SW China

Studies on the distribution and isotope compositions of fallout Pu are important for source characterization of possible future non-fallout Pu contamination in aquatic environments, and useful for dating of recent sediments to understand the pollution history of environmental contaminants. We present the historical record of atmospheric Pu fallout reconstructed from a sediment core from Lake Hongfeng, China. The Pu activity profile was in agreement with the 137Cs profile. Inventories were 50.7 Bq m(-2) for 239+240Pu and 1586 Bq m(-2) for 137Cs. The average 240Pu/239Pu atom ratio was 0.185+/-0.009, indicating that Pu originated from global stratospheric fallout rather than from direct tropospheric or close-in fallout from the Chinese nuclear testing conducted in the 1970s. Our data suggested that Lake Hongfeng would be an ideal setting for monitoring atmospheric fallout and environmental changes in this region.     

城市公用管道安装监检中安全性的探讨

本文通过对城市公用管道工程的施工质量进行安装监检,结合发现的问题,指出了高压管道应重视材料验收和焊接施工组织;中压管道应防止对接焊缝微小缺陷的漏检;可采用先进仪器加强防腐质量检测的监检,督促安装单位在安装过程中做好防腐工作;钢套钢热水网直埋管道的安装监检应针对施工的特点来开展。从安全性和实用性的角度提出了有针对性的具体措施,具有可操作性。     

城市生态安全多层次灰色综合评价

从城市生态安全的基本内涵出发,根据压力(pressure)-状态(state)-响应(response)模型,从生态系统压力、生态系统状况、生态系统响应3方面构建一个4层次的城市生态安全评价指标体系,运用灰色系统理论,构建了城市生态安全多层次灰色综合评价模型,并结合实例进行计算。评价结果与实际情况基本相符,表明该模型能有效地利用评价指标的信息,所给出的综合评价值既能用于描述所评价城市的生态安全状况,亦可对不同城市的生态安全状况进行比较,对更加科学合理地评价城市生态安全状况具有参考价值。     

劳动防护服号型设置的研究

本文对劳动防护服的号型设置进行了分析与研究。《劳动防护服号型》是各类劳动防护服制作中广泛使用的基础性国家标准,依据当前劳动者人体尺寸的统计分析和企业劳动防护服生产供应实际情况,科学合理设置服装号型,以符合国家标准的科学性、实用性以及增强劳动防护服的舒适性功能。     

Filterability of oil sands tailings

In Canadian oil sands mining operations, bitumen is extracted from oil sands using the hot water extraction process, which produces tremendous amounts of tailings. Currently, these tailings are disposed of in large ponds, in which coarse particles settle out relatively quickly and fine particles remain suspended in water and settle very slowly. After years of settling, the fine particles form a stable suspension in water known as mature fine tailings (MFTs). Long-term storage of the MFT is costly and poses a major environmental liability.Oil sands companies are now actively investigating different approaches to replace or reduce the use of oil sands tailings ponds. Filtration of the tailings to produce “dry tailings” for stacking is now being investigated as an alternative by a number of companies. Fast water drainage is a critical step for the filtration process. In this paper, we use simple laboratory-scale filtration tests to evaluate the filterability of the oil sands tailings and to generate a parameter that can be used in filtration scale-up. It was found that the filterability of the original coarse oil sands tailings was relatively low. However, after the fines are flocculated with the coarse particles to form uniform flocs the filterability was improved by several orders of magnitude. The results demonstrate that filtration of the flocculated coarse tailings to produce the “dry” stackable tailings may be viable.