Revealing the characteristics of dissolved organic matter in urban runoff at three typical regions via optical indices and molecular composition

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays a major role in ecological systems and influences the fate and transportation of many pollutants. Despite the significance of DOM, understanding of how environmental and anthropogenic factors influence its composition and characteristics is limited, especially in urban stormwater runoff. In this article, the chemical properties (pollutant loads, molecular weight, aromaticity, sources, and molecular composition) of DOM in stormwater extracted from three typical end-members (traffic, residential, and campus regions) were characterized by UV–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy, excitation-emission matrix spectroscopy combined with parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC), and ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS). There are three findings: (1) The basic properties of DOM in stormwater runoff varied obviously from three urban fields, and the effect of initial flush was also apparent. (2) The DOM in residential areas mainly came from autochthonous sources, while allochthonous sources primarily contributed to the DOM in traffic and campus areas. However, it was mainly composed of terrestrial humic-like components with CHO and CHON element composition and HULO and aliphatic formulas. (3) The parameters characterizing DOM were primarily related to terrestrial source and aromaticity, but their correlations varied. Through the combination of optical methods and UPLC-Q-TOF spectrometry, the optical and molecular characteristics of rainwater are effectively revealed, which may provide a solid foundation for the classification management of stormwater runoff in different urban regions.     

Long-term efficiency and stability of wetlands for treating wastewater of a lead/zinc mine and the concurrent ecosystem development

A constructed wetland system in Guangdong Province, South of China has been used for treating Pb/Zn mine discharge since 1985. The performance in the purification of the mine discharge and the concurrent ecosystem development within the system during the period of 1985-2000 has been studied. The untreated wastewater contained rather high concentrations of cadmium (Cd) (0.05 mg L(-1)), lead (Pb) (11.5 mg L(-1)), and zinc (Zn) (14.5 mg L(-1)), which greatly exceed the upper limits for industrial wastewater discharge in China. The constructed wetland system effectively removed Cd by 94.00%, Pb by 99.04%, Zn by 97.30%, and total suspended solids (TSS) by 98.95% from the mine discharge over a long period (over 16 years) leading to significant improvement in water quality; it was also found that there were no significantly annual or monthly variations in pH values, As, Cd, Hg, Pb, and Zn concentrations in water collected from the outlet of the wetland. Moreover, diversity and abundance of living organisms, including protozoan, higher plants, terrestrial animals, and birds, increased gradually. The 16-year monitoring results showed a reciprocal relationship, at a certain extent, between restoration of the wetland ecosystem, in other words, the maturity of the wetland, and the long-term efficiency and stability on purifying heavy metal-contaminated wastewater.     

Body burden of dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls in pregnant women residing in a contaminated area

A large pentachlorophenol (PCP)-manufacturing plant located in southwestern Taiwan operated between 1965 and 1982. The present study was conducted to ascertain whether an increased body burden of dioxins existed in pregnant women living in an area of Tainan city contaminated by chemicals from this plant. Twenty-eight pregnant subjects, 21-39 years of age and residing in the study area between March and December of 2004 with a mean dwelling time of 6.07+/-6.11 years, were recruited. Concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in serum of recruited residents were determined. Pregnant women residing in the study area >3 years had significantly higher PCDD (7.48 versus 5.13 pg-toxic equivalents [TEQ]/g-lipid) and dioxin-like PCB (6.70 versus 3.74 pg-TEQ/g-lipid) values as compared to those residing < or = 3 years. Furthermore, dioxin concentrations increased with increasing dwelling time. Statistical analyses performed according to demographic characteristics and socioeconomic and dietary habits revealed that total TEQ values were significantly associated with fish consumption and smoking status. Dioxin congeners with greater degrees of chlorine substitution (e.g., HpCDD/F and OCDD/F) partitioned to greater degrees in the subjects of this study as compared to subjects in the general Taiwanese population. The findings of this study strongly implicate the activity of the PCP manufacturing plant in the observed increase in dioxin body burden. Investigation of the health consequences of this increased body burden is recommended.     

机械制造厂综合废水处理工艺

提出了机械制造综合废水污染处理方案。为了减少投资,减少总占地面积和降低运行成本,将涂装废水、机加工切削废液、饭堂的生活污水等混合起来进行集中综合处理。为了确定最佳的处理方案,进行了预处理工艺试验,取得了一系列的试验数据,并将这些结果和生化处理经验,应用于机械制造厂的废水处理,取得良好效果。     

仿生生物载体改善农村微污染饮用水源

简要分析了近几年新兴的仿生生物载体技术,该技术以培养发展本土微生物为核心,通过促进水体生态系统的发展,达到良好的生物净化的目标,并着重介绍了仿生生物载体技术治理的贵州大方县一个农村饮用水源的应用状况,实践表明：仿生生物载体技术在微污染水治理方面具有投资运行费用少,技术管理要求低等特点,对欠发达的城镇、农村具有良好的推广价值。     

CuO/zeolite catalyzed oxidation of gaseous toluene under microwave heating

The development of a combined process of catalytic oxidation and microwave heating for treatment of toluene waste gas was described in this work. Toluene, a typical toxic volatile organic compound, was oxidized through a fixed bed reaction chamber containing zeolite-supported copper oxide (CuO/zeolite) catalyst mixed with silicon carbide (SiC), an excellent microwave-absorbing material. The target compound was efficiently degraded on the surface of the catalyst at high reaction temperature achieved by microwave-heated SiC. A set of experimental parameters, such as microwave power, air flow and the loading size of CuO etc., were investigated, respectively. The study demonstrated these parameters had critical impact on toluene degradation. Under optimal condition, 92% toluene was removed by this combined process, corresponding to an 80%–90% TOC removal rate. Furthermore, the catalyst was highly stable even after eight consecutive 6-h runs. At last, a hypothetical degradation pathway of toluene was proposed based on the experimental data obtained from gas chromatography-mass spectrum and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses.     

非规范生活垃圾填埋场填埋气横向迁移规律及控制

我国城市中尚有大量非规范生活垃圾填埋场存在,对其进行污染整治消除填埋气导致的环境安全隐患刻不容缓.以重庆某垃圾填埋场为例,研究重庆市主城区的非规范生活垃圾填埋场填埋气的横向迁移问题,在垃圾场周边区域布设36个监测井,对监测井中的填埋气进行分析监测,以填埋气特征组分CH4气体的体积浓度变化研究填埋气的横向迁移规律.结果表明,监测井到填埋场边界的距离为监测井中CH4气体浓度的主要影响因素;垃圾场周边距离填埋场场界50 m以外的区域,填埋气的横向迁移已经相当微弱;但是距离填埋场边界50 m以内区域的填埋气的横向迁移明显,需要在距离填埋场边界50 m范围内采取措施与场内填埋气的导排措施配合,进行填埋气的污染控制.     

Assessment of heavy metal bioavailability in contaminated sediments and soils using green fluorescent protein-based bacterial biosensors

A green fluorescent protein (GFP)-based bacterial biosensor Escherichia coli DH5alpha (pVLCD1) was developed based on the expression of gfp under the control of the cad promoter and the cadC gene of Staphylococcus aureus plasmid pI258. DH5alpha (pVLCD1) mainly responded to Cd(II), Pb(II), and Sb(III), the lowest detectable concentrations being 0.1 nmol L(-1), 10 nmol L(-1), and 0.1 nmol L(-1), respectively, with 2h exposure. The biosensor was field-tested to measure the relative bioavailability of the heavy metals in contaminated sediments and soil samples. The results showed that the majority of heavy metals remained adsorbed to soil particles: Cd(II)/Pb(II) was only partially available to the biosensor in soil-water extracts. Our results demonstrate that the GFP-based bacterial biosensor is useful and applicable in determining the bioavailability of heavy metals with high sensitivity in contaminated sediment and soil samples and suggests a potential for its inexpensive application in environmentally relevant sample tests.