A sensitive and robust method for the determination of alkylphenol polyethoxylates and their carboxylic acids and their transformation in a trickling filter wastewater treatment plant

This paper presents a method for the determination of alkylphenols, alkylphenol polyethoxylates (APEO) and alkylphenol ethoxycarboxylates (APEC) in the aqueous and particulate phase of wastewater samples. Quantification was achieved by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The sensitivity of the method is demonstrated by low detection limits, in the dissolved phase 1.2-9.6ngl(-1) for alkylphenol, AP(1-3)EO and APEC and 0.1-4.1ngl(-1) for longer chain alkylphenol polyethoxylates. The method detection limit for particulate phase samples ranged from 6 to 60ngg(-1) for AP, AP(1-3)EO and APEC; with the longer chain APEO being from 0.5 to 20ngg(-1). Matrix effects were noted in complex matrix rich samples. There was a distinct change in the distribution of alkylphenol ethoxylates during biological treatment of the wastewater, with the major biotransformation products observed being carboxylated derivatives at concentrations of up to 1768ngl(-1). Shorter chain APEO were present in higher proportions in the suspended solids, due to their higher affinity to particulate matter compared to the long-chain oligomers.     

The contents and forms of solid-phase species of radioactive strontium and cesium in Taiwan soils

This study was to investigate the activities and contents of ¹³⁷Cs in the profiles of selected arable and forest soils in Taiwan and various solid-phase species of ⁸⁵Sr and ¹³⁷Cs in selected arable soils in Taiwan. The gamma (γ) ray spectra of the collected soil samples and some of the soils amended with ⁸⁵Sr and ¹³⁷Cs were measured. The data indicate that the arable soils from Sanhsing series, Sanhsing Township and Chuangwei series, Chuangwei Township, Ilan County, and from Tunglochuan series, Pinglin Township, Taipei County shows significantly higher radioactivity of ¹³⁷Cs (ND − 11.0 ± 0.2 Bq kg⁻¹). Furthermore, the radioactivity of ¹³⁷Cs in the mountain soils (1.24 ± 0.07 − 42 ± 1 Bq kg⁻¹) from Yuanyang Lake Nature Preserve among Ilan, Taoyuan, and Hsinchu Counties is the highest among the investigated mountain forest soils. This may be mainly attributed to the fact that Ilan County is located in the northeastern part of Taiwan and faces the northeastern and northern seasonal winds with lots of precipitation annually from mid-autumn through mid-spring next year and is receiving greater amount of fallouts yearly. Due to longer reaction period (≥3 y) of ¹³⁷Cs with soil components, ¹³⁷Cs was mainly in the forms bound to oxides and to organic matter in the soil amended with ¹³⁷Cs and in the soil contaminated with ¹³⁷Cs. On the contrary, due to shorter reaction period (<60 d) of ⁸⁵Sr with soil components, ⁸⁵Sr was mainly in exchangeable form and partially in the forms bound to carbonates and oxides in the soils amended with ⁸⁵Sr.     

Alterations of biochemical parameters in malformed Indian rice frogs, Rana limnocharis from Southern Taiwan

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that cause malformed frogs in upstream Kaoping river (KP site) and Tungkang river (T site) of Southern Taiwan. In this experiment, the activities of monooxygenase (MO), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), acetylcholinesterase (AchE) as well as the concentration of vitellogenin (Vg) in the liver were measured. Results show that activities of MO, GST and AchE, and Vg levels in normal frogs (male/female) were 0.09 +/- 0.02/0.09+/-0.01 deltaA min(-1) mg(-1) protein, 0.12 +/- 0.04/0.13 +/- 0.04 deltaA min(-1) mg(-1) protein, 6.13 +/- 2.69/6.01 +/- 2.09 U mg(-1) protein and 0.87 +/- 0.42/2.18 +/- 0.50 microg mg(-1) protein, respectively. Activities of MO, GST and AchE, and Vg levels in malformed frogs (male/female) were 0.15 +/- 0.04/0.21 +/- 0.07 deltaA min(-1) mg(-1) protein, 0.27 +/- 0.08/0.30 +/- 0.12 deltaA min(-1) mg(-1) protein, 4.59 +/- 2.71/5.19 +/- 3.74 U mg(-1) protein and 1.46 +/- 0.61/3.15 +/- 0.88 microg mg(-1) protein, respectively in KP site, and were 0.16 +/- 0.69/0.1 +/- 80.07 deltaA min(-1) mg(-1) protein, 0.21 +/- 0.07/0.24 +/- 0.08 deltaA min(-1) mg(-1) protein, 5.13 +/- 4.58/3.94 +/- 1.33 U mg(-1) protein and 2.23 +/- 1.47/4.11 +/- 1.63 microg mg(-1) protein, respectively in T site. These results indicate that male and female malformed frogs in both rivers upstream are found with higher activities. No significant difference in AchE activity was found between normal and malformed frogs in this investigation. It is therefore reasonable to speculate that the organic chemicals released from agricultural activities are presumable the main factors that lead to the malformation of frogs.     

The role of black carbon as a catalyst for environmental redox transformation

Black carbon (BC) is an important class of geosorbents that control the fate and transport of organic pollutants in soil and sediment. We previously demonstrated a new role of BC as an electron transfer mediator in the abiotic reduction of nitroaromatic and nitramine compounds by Oh and Chiu (Environ Sci Technol 43:6983–6988, 2009). We proposed that BC can catalyze the reduction of nitro compounds because it contains microscopic graphitic (graphene) domains, which facilitate both sorption and electron transfer. In this study, we assessed the ability of different types of BC—graphite, activated carbon, and diesel soot—to mediate the reduction of 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) and 2,4-dibromophenol (DBP) by H₂S. All three types of BC enhanced DNT and DBP reduction. H₂S supported BC-mediated reduction, as was observed previously with a thiol reductant. The results suggest that BC may influence the fate of organic pollutants in reducing subsurface environments through redox transformation in addition to sorption.

     

Dechlorination of polychlorinated biphenyl congeners by anaerobic microorganisms from river sediment.

The microbial dechlorination of seven kinds of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) by anaerobic microorganisms from river sediment was investigated. Dechlorination rates were found to be affected by the chlorine level of PCB congeners; dechlorination rates decreased as chlorine levels increased. Dechlorination rates were fastest under methanogenic conditions and slowest under nitrate-reducing conditions. The addition of individual electron donors (acetate, pyruvate, and lactate) enhanced the dechlorination of PCB congeners under methanogenic and sulfate-reducing conditions but delayed the dechlorination of PCB congeners under nitrate-reducing conditions. PCB congener dechlorination also was delayed by the addition of various polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) under three reducing conditions and by surfactants, such as brij30, triton SN70, and triton N101. The results suggest that methanogen, sulfate-reducing bacteria, and nitrate-reducing bacteria all are involved in the dechlorination of PCB congeners.     

Photoacoustic infrared spectroscopy for conducting gas tracer tests and measuring water saturations in landfills

Gas tracer tests can be used to determine gas flow patterns within landfills, quantify volatile contaminant residence time, and measure water within refuse. While gas chromatography (GC) has been traditionally used to analyze gas tracers in refuse, photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) might allow real-time measurements with reduced personnel costs and greater mobility and ease of use. Laboratory and field experiments were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of PAS for conducting gas tracer tests in landfills. Two tracer gases, difluoromethane (DFM) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆), were measured with a commercial PAS instrument. Relative measurement errors were invariant with tracer concentration but influenced by background gas: errors were 1-3% in landfill gas but 4-5% in air. Two partitioning gas tracer tests were conducted in an aerobic landfill, and limits of detection (LODs) were 3-4 times larger for DFM with PAS versus GC due to temporal changes in background signals. While higher LODs can be compensated by injecting larger tracer mass, changes in background signals increased the uncertainty in measured water saturations by up to 25% over comparable GC methods. PAS has distinct advantages over GC with respect to personnel costs and ease of use, although for field applications GC analyses of select samples are recommended to quantify instrument interferences.     

On the use of a freeze-dried versus an air-dried soil humic acid as a surrogate of soil organic matter for contaminant sorption

The sorption of phenanthrene (PHN) to relatively pure soil humic acids (HAs) was investigated to assess the suitability of the soil HA as a surrogate sorbent for the soil organic matter (SOM). The HAs were prepared in both freeze-dried and air-dried forms. The two forms of HAs from the same source are similar in composition but the freeze-dried HAs exhibit a significantly higher initial surface area (SA) (3.86-4.59 m(2)/g); the SAs of air-dried HAs are below 0.1 m(2)/g. However, the SAs of freeze-dried HAs are not stable upon contact with water; the samples lose practically all the SA after 4 days of immersion in water. The PHN sorption to both forms of HAs is practically linear, whether a co-solute is present or not. The sorption linearity observed with the present freeze-dried HAs is in sharp contrast with the allegedly nonlinear PHN sorption on similar freeze-dried HAs as presented by others.     

An Extended Self-Organizing Map Network for Modeling and Control of Pulse Jet Fabric Filters

ABSTRACT

Pulse jet fabric filters (PJFFs) have become an attractive option of particulate collection utilities, because they can meet stringent particulate emission limits regardless of variation in operating conditions. Despite their wide applications, the present control algorithm for PJFFs can best be described as rudimentary. In this paper, a modeling and control strategy based on the local model network (LMN) is proposed. An extended self-organizing map (ESOM) network is developed to construct the LMN model of the filtration process using the filter's input-output data. Subsequently, these ESOM local models are incorporated into the design of local generalized predictive controllers (GPC), and the proposed controller design is obtained as the weighted sum of these local controllers. Simulation results show that the proposed controller design yields a better performance than both conventional GPC and proportional plus integral (PI) controllers yield.