Optimal Design of a Multi-Pollutant Air Quality Monitoring Network in a Metropolitan Region Using Kaohsiung, Taiwan as an Example

An air quality monitoring network (AQMN) usually performs the basic function of assessment of regional air quality and demonstration of compliance with ambient air quality standards in an urban area. Different pollutants, however, may present different characteristic variabilities due to their specific emission patterns, rates of diffusion, and transport and transformation behaviors. But the costs of siting in a pollutant-specific monitoring network would be higher than that for a common network with respect to several pollutants monitored simultaneously. This paper presents a survey of multi-pollutant design principles and optimal searches for siting patterns of an AQMN using both simulation and optimization models as a combined tool. While conservative, quasi-stable, and reactive pollutants are considered in the design principles, cost, coverage effectiveness, and spatial correlation characteristics are included in the multi-criteria decision making process. For illustrative purpose, a series of technical settings and two types of objectives were examined in the case study for the city of Kaohsiung in Taiwan.     

Joint Impact of Scaling and Hysteresis on NAPL Flow Simulation

The hysteresis of capillary pressure versus saturation (P–S) relation is an important constitutive relation in multiphase flow, since the P–S relation is widely used to predict P–S relations in the simulation of the non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs). This work examined the performance of the scaling rule on predicting the P–S relationship and then studied the joint impact of the scaling and hysteresis on the multiphase NAPL flow simulation. Various experimental P–S values of distinct fluid pairs were compared with the scaled P–S curves using the scaling rule. The comparison indicated that the prediction of P–S is more accurate when the water–air P–S curve is used to scale other P–S curves. The joint impact of the scaling and hysteresis on the NAPLs flow simulation was then investigated by numerical simulation studies. The NAPL simulator was used to simulate the outcome of several scenarios based on a system with water–NAPL–air in a hypothetical sand tank. For both gasoline and trichloroethylene, the difference of the injected NAPL volume between no hysteretic and hysteretic simulations over a given time period was the smallest when the water–air P–S curve was used to scale other P–S curves. Simulation results of this study are valuable references for predicting the distribution of NAPLs.     

Removal of organic toxic chemicals using the spent mushroom compost of Ganoderma lucidum

The removal of the organic toxic chemicals di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), di-2-ethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP), nonylphenol (NP), and bisphenol-A (BPA) by laccase obtained from the spent mushroom compost (SMC) of the white rot fungi, Ganoderma lucidum, was investigated. The optimal conditions for the extraction of laccase from SMC required using sodium acetate buffer (pH 5.0, solid : solution ratio 1 : 5), and extraction over 3 h at 4 °C. The removal of NP was enhanced by adding CuSO(4) (1 mM), MnSO(4) (0.5 mM), tartaric acid (20 mM), 2,2'-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS; 1 mM), and 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HBT; 20 mg L(-1)), with ABTS yielding a higher NP removal efficiency than the other additives. At a concentration of 2 mg L(-1), DBP, DEHP, NP, and BPA were almost entirely removed by laccase after incubation for 1 day. The removal efficiencies, in descending order of magnitude, were DBP > BPA > NP > DEHP. We believe that these findings could provide useful information for improving the efficiency of the removal of organic toxic chemicals in the environment.     

A vulnerability analysis in the Fei-tsui reservoir watershed in Taiwan

The vulnerability analysis method has been widely used in many environmental fields. In recent years, the tool has succeeded in comprehensive assessment of environmental problems. This study applied the vulnerability and resilience analysis method on watershed conservation and grasped the environmental change capacity that watershed could bear. The Fei-tsui reservoir watershed in Northern Taiwan provided the setting for the case study reported herein. This study considered both internal and external effect factors, including watershed vulnerability, rainfall energy and the distances between the outlet and subbasins, and developed a new index, WP, for the priority restraints strategies on the land-use activities. The land-use restraint index can be a significant criterion for watershed protection and management strategies.     

Status and habitat preferences for endemic inhabitants of fiddler crab Uca formosensis in Hsiang-Shan wetland, Taiwan

This article reports on soil samples collected from Hsiang-Shan wetland, Taiwan. Canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) was applied to identify an existing habitat type's scheme by identifying the physico-chemical properties of sediment in Hsiang-Shan wetland. The three constructed discriminant functions (CDFs) showed a marked contribution by most of the discriminant variables, and the recognition capacities in these three CDFs were 49.5, 32.8 and 17.7%. Our study revealed that the most important latent factors in Hsiang-Shan wetland are soil texture-caused factor, ocean current-caused factor, nutrient-caused factor, and the redox reaction-caused factor. And the most sensitivity parameters in this habitat followed the descending order: OBD, EC, Eh, sand, TN, porosity, STP, silt, VCP and pH. And the inhabited sediment properties for U. formosensis in terms of soil texture are sand, silt, and clay (34.05, 29.72, and 32.35%, respectively): that is clay loam soil. We also found that U. formosensis preferred to inhabit the upper intertidal zone, spending 8.41% of the time submerged. Vegetation coverage on the ground was less than 2.20%, showing that it preferred to live in a bare intertidal habitat. Concerning nest choosing, excavating burrows is more difficult when a high soil penetration force is required, and in this study the soil penetration force for 20 cm was found to be is 45.98 N/cm(2). The results will be helpful in developing a methodology for use by the government in refining its management programs.     

抑制型电导-离子色谱法测定水中无机阴离子

采用抑制型电导-离子色谱法测定生活饮用水、污水和地表水中F-、Cl-、NO2-、Br-、NO3-、PO43-、SO42-等7种无机阴离子,对清洁水样过滤后直接测定,浑浊样品离心后取上清液过滤测定。F-在0.100 mg/L~1.20 mg/L范围内、其余6种阴离子在1.00 mg/L~12.0 mg/L范围内线性良好,方法检出限为0.031 mg/L~0.47 mg/L,水样平行测定的RSD为0.9%~1.8%,加标回收率为82.6%~110%。     

Assessing the risk posed by high-turbidity water to water supplies

The objective of this study is to assess the risk of insufficient water supply posed by high-turbidity water. Several phenomena can pose risks to the sufficiency of a water supply; this study concerns risks to water treatment plants from particular properties of rainfall and raw water turbidity. High-turbidity water can impede water treatment plant operations; rainfall properties can influence the degree of soil erosion. Thus, water turbidity relates to rainfall characteristics. Exceedance probabilities are presented for different rainfall intensities and turbidities of water. When the turbidity of raw water is higher than 5,000 NTU, it can cause operational problems for a water treatment plant. Calculations show that the turbidity of raw water at the Ban-Sin water treatment plant will be higher than 5,000 NTU if the rainfall intensity is larger than 165 mm/day. The exceedance probability of high turbidity (turbidity >5,000 NTU) in the Ban-Sin water treatment plant is larger than 10%. When any water treatment plant cannot work regularly, its ability to supply water to its customers is at risk.     

大气固定污染源低浓度颗粒物采样及分析技术研究进展

简述了我国现阶段大气固定污染源颗粒物监测中遇到的问题及低浓度颗粒物采样与分析技术研究的必要性,归纳了国外低浓度颗粒物采样分析技术要点,包括大体积采样、滤筒上游采样设备堆积颗粒物的回收、有效称重步骤的确立等,并对我国开展低浓度颗粒物采样及分析技术研究提出了相关建议.