Trihalomethane formation potential of filter isolates of electrolyte-extractable soil organic carbon

Certain organic C moieties of soil origin in drinking source waters of Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) can react with chlorine to form trihalomethanes (THMs) during the disinfection process. Isolation and characterization of them and quantitation of their THM formation potential (THMFP) is necessary for developing effective strategies to reduce their influxes in Delta waters and for removing them during drinking water treatment. In this study, organic C from two Delta soils was extracted using deionized H(2)O and four Na- or Ca-based electrolytes of varying electrical conductivity values. Extracts were filtered into particulate, colloidal, fine colloidal, and soluble organic C for quantitation and THMFP determination. Results suggested that <1.5% of soil organic C was electrolyte-extractable. The soluble organic C fraction from both soils dominated in quantity and THMFP. Electrolyte effects were cation dependent. Sodium-based electrolytes at either conductivity level did not significantly decrease extractable organic C (EOC) or THMFP compared with deionized H(2)O. In contrast, Ca-based electrolytes reduced EOC and THMFP by >50% even at 1 dS m(-1). Further increase in Ca concentration did not significantly decrease EOC or THMFP. Most reduction in EOC and THMFP by Ca-based electrolytes occurred with the fractions other than the soluble organic C. Results suggested that under natural soil leaching and runoff conditions, the majority of THMFP is associated with organic C of <0.025 mum in diameter. Further molecular characterization of the fractions with high THMFP may help understand the nature of chlorine-reactive organic C from Delta soils.     

夹层电缆引发火灾的实验研究

模拟现代建筑夹层中贮藏大量未加金属导管防护的电线电缆所引发的火灾效应.在一个全尺寸燃烧套房模型中进行了起火室和顶棚夹层空间电缆火灾的实验研究,并采用大涡模拟的方法对实验中烟气速度场进行了数值模拟.结果表明,加明火源可以加强电缆的火灾功率;通风状况对夹层电缆火灾的温度场、烟气遮光度和火灾功率有明显影响.电缆燃烧产物中主要毒性气体为CO.电缆在夹层燃烧时,CO和CO2浓度均高于目标室和起火室中的浓度.而夹层毒气最为集中,其CO浓度远远超出OSHA和IDLH标准.电缆在夹层燃烧时发生火灾的危险性较大.     

Trihalomethane reactivity of water- and sodium hydroxide-extractable organic carbon fractions from peat soils

Certain organic carbon moieties in drinking source waters of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta can react with chlorine during disinfection to form potentially carcinogenic and mutagenic trihalomethanes. The properties of reactive organic carbon in Delta waters, particularly those of soil origin, have been poorly understood. This study attempts to characterize trihalomethane reactivity of soil organic carbon from three representative Delta peat soils. Soil organic carbon was extracted from all three soils with either deionized H2O or 0.1 M NaOH and sequentially separated into humic acids, fulvic acids, and nonhumic substances for quantitation of trihalomethane formation potential. Water-extractable organic carbon represented only 0.4 to 0.7% of total soil organic carbon, whereas NaOH extracted 38 to 51% of total soil organic carbon. The sizes and specific trihalomethane formation potential (STHMFP) of individual organic carbon fractions differed with extractants. Fulvic acids were the largest fraction in H2O-extractable organic carbon, whereas humic acids were the largest fraction in NaOH-extractable organic carbon. Among the fractions derived from H2O-extractable carbon, fulvic acids had the greatest specific ultraviolet absorbance and STHMFP and had the majority of reactive organic carbon. Among the fractions from NaOH-extractable organic carbon, humic acids and fulvic acids had similar STHMFP and, thus, were equally reactive. Humic acids were associated with the majority of trihalomethane reactivity of NaOH-extractable organic carbon. The nonhumic substances were less reactive than either humic acids or fulvic acids regardless of extractants. Specific ultraviolet absorbance was not a good predictor of trihalomethane reactivity of organic carbon fractions separated from the soils.     

Evaluation of the Biodegradability of Polyvinyl Alcohol/Starch Blends: A Methodological Comparison of Environmentally Friendly Materials

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and starch are both biodegradable polymers. These two polymers can be prepared as biodegradable plastics that are emerging as one of the environmental friendly materials available now. In this study, after reacting with sodium trimetaphosphate (STMP), modified corn starch was blended with PVA in different ratios by a barbender. Test samples were prepared for mechanical and thermal properties measurements. The surface roughness and morphology of fractured surface of the samples were observed by an atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) measurements. Aqueous degradation by enzyme, water absorption and biodegradability behavior were evaluated for the degradability. The biodegradability of these materials was followed by bio-reactivity kinetics models. Results showed that the addition of modified starch could enhance its water uptake. With an addition of 20 wt% of modified starch, the blend had a maximum weight loss during enzymatic degradation. It was found that the degradability was enhanced with the addition of the starch. Analyzing the results of the biodegradability based on the kinetic models, the growth rate of the microorganism was found to be increasing with the increase of the content of starch in the PVA/starch blends in the first order reaction fashion. In our biodegradability analysis, i.e., based on the China national standards (CNS) 14432 regulations, we estimated the decomposition behavior based on the mentioned first order reaction. We found that the PVA/starch blends would take 32.47, 16.20 and 12.47 years to degrade by 70% as their starch content 0, 20 and 40 wt%, respectively.     

Variations in speciated emissions from spark-ignition and compression-ignition motor vehicles in California's south coast air basin

The U.S. Department of Energy Gasoline/Diesel PM Split Study examined the sources of uncertainties in using an organic compound-based chemical mass balance receptor model to quantify the contributions of spark-ignition (SI) and compression-ignition (CI) engine exhaust to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5). This paper presents the chemical composition profiles of SI and CI engine exhaust from the vehicle-testing portion of the study. Chemical analysis of source samples consisted of gravimetric mass, elements, ions, organic carbon (OC), and elemental carbon (EC) by the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) and Speciation Trends Network (STN) thermal/optical methods, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), hopanes, steranes, alkanes, and polar organic compounds. More than half of the mass of carbonaceous particles emitted by heavy-duty diesel trucks was EC (IMPROVE) and emissions from SI vehicles contained predominantly OC. Although total carbon (TC) by the IMPROVE and STN protocols agreed well for all of the samples, the STN/IMPROVE ratios for EC from SI exhaust decreased with decreasing sample loading. SI vehicles, whether low or high emitters, emitted greater amounts of high-molecular-weight particulate PAHs (benzo[ghi]perylene, indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene, and coronene) than did CI vehicles. Diesel emissions contained higher abundances of two- to four-ring semivolatile PAHs. Diacids were emitted by CI vehicles but are also prevalent in secondary organic aerosols, so they cannot be considered unique tracers. Hopanes and steranes were present in lubricating oil with similar composition for both gasoline and diesel vehicles and were negligible in gasoline or diesel fuels. CI vehicles emitted greater total amounts of hopanes and steranes on a mass per mile basis, but abundances were comparable to SI exhaust normalized to TC emissions within measurement uncertainty. The combustion-produced high-molecular-weight PAHs were found in used gasoline motor oil but not in fresh oil and are negligible in used diesel engine oil. The contributions of lubrication oils to abundances of these PAHs in the exhaust were large in some cases and were variable with the age and consumption rate of the oil. These factors contributed to the observed variations in their abundances to total carbon or PM2.5 among the SI composition profiles.     

Continuous and filter-based measurements of PM2.5 nitrate and sulfate at the Fresno Supersite

PM(2.5) nitrate [Formula: see text] and sulfate ([Formula: see text]) were measured continuously with R&P8400N and R&P8400S instruments, respectively, and compared with filter-based measurements at the Fresno Supersite from October, 2000 through December, 2005. [Formula: see text] concentrations were higher in winter than summer with a long-term decreasing trend. Correlations between 24-h average continuous and filter-based [Formula: see text] were greater than 0.96 in 4 out of 5 years. Continuous [Formula: see text] was generally lower than filter-based [Formula: see text] although the difference decreased over time, from -52% in 2001 to +13% in 2005. These differences were similar in winter (-23%) and summer (-19%) while the corresponding differences between ambient and instrument temperature were -12 and 0.7 degrees C, respectively. Neither seasonal nor long-term trends in [Formula: see text] can be explained by variations in ambient temperature, the difference between ambient and instrument temperature, or changes in aerosol chemical composition. There were no seasonal or long-term trends in [Formula: see text] concentrations, partially due to low concentrations observed in Fresno. Long-term variability in the performance of R&P8400 [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] instruments suggest that collocation with filter measurements is needed for long-term measurements.     

Air Quality Measurements from the Fresno Supersite

ABSTRACT

The Fresno Supersite intends to 1) evaluate non-routine monitoring methods, establishing their comparability with existing methods and their applicability to air quality planning, exposure assessment, and health effects studies; 2) provide a better understanding of aerosol characteristics, behavior, and sources to assist regulatory agencies in developing standards and strategies that protect public health; and 3) support studies that evaluate relationships between aerosol properties, co-factors, and observed health end-points. Supersite observables include in-situ, continuous, short-duration measurements of 1) PM_2.5, PM₁₀, and coarse (PM₁₀ minus PM_2.5) mass; 2) PM_2.5 SO₄ ^-2, NO₃ ^-, carbon, light absorption, and light extinction; 3) numbers of particles in discrete size bins ranging from 0.01 to ~10μm; 4) criteria pollutant gases (O₃, CO, NO_x); 5) reactive gases (NO₂, NO_y, HNO₃, peroxyacetyl nitrate [PAN], NH₃); and 6) single particle characterization by time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Field sampling and laboratory analysis are applied for gaseous and particulate organic compounds (light hydrocarbons, heavy hydrocarbons, carbonyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [PAH], and other semi-volatiles), and PM_2.5 mass, elements, ions, and carbon. Observables common to other Supersites are 1) daily PM_2.5 24-hr average mass with Federal Reference Method (FRM) samplers; 2) continuous hourly and 5-min average PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ mass with beta attenuation monitors (BAM) and tapered element oscillating microbalances (TEOM); 3) PM_2.5 chemical specia-tion with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) speciation monitor and protocol; 4) coarse particle mass by dichotomous sampler and difference between PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 BAM and TEOM measurements; 5) coarse particle chemical composition; and 6) high sensitivity and time resolution scalar and vector wind speed, wind direction, temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, and solar radiation. The Fresno Supersite is coordinated with health and toxicological studies that will use these data in establishing relationships with asthma, other respiratory disease, and cardiovascular changes in human and animal subjects.     

A Special Issue from the NARSTO Symposium on Tropospheric Aerosols

This dedicated issue of the Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association contains nine peer-reviewed scientific papers that were presented at the NARSTO Symposium on Tropospheric Aerosols: Science and Decisions in an International Community, held October 24-26, 2000, in Querétaro, Mexico.¹ Other peer-reviewed papers^2-9 appear in a companion issue of Science of the Total Environment to be published in February 2002. More than 130 papers were presented in platform and poster sessions at the meeting. Approximately 28% of the technical presentations dealt with topics from Mexico, and 15% related to Canada, with the remainder discussing U.S. and global topics.