Aerobic treatment of palm oil mill effluent

In this study treatment of palm oil mill effluent (POME) was investigated using aerobic oxidation based on an activated sludge process. The effects of sludge volume index, scum index and mixed liquor suspended solids during the acclimatizing phase and biomass build-up phase were investigated in order to ascertain the reactor stability. The efficiency of the activated sludge process was evaluated by treating anaerobically digested and diluted raw POME obtained from Golden Hope Plantations, Malaysia. The treatment of POME was carried out at a fixed biomass concentration of 3900+/-200mg/L, whereas the corresponding sludge volume index was found to be around 105+/-5mL/g. The initial studies on the efficiency of the activated sludge reactor were carried out using diluted raw POME for varying the hydraulic retention time, viz: 18, 24, 30 and 36h and influent COD concentration, viz: 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 and 5000mg/L, respectively. The results showed that at the end of 36h of hydraulic retention time for the above said influent COD, the COD removal efficiencies were found to be 83%, 72%, 64%, 54% and 42% whereas at 24h hydraulic retention time they were 57%, 45%, 38%, 30% and 27%, respectively. The effectiveness of aerobic oxidation was also compared between anaerobically digested and diluted raw POME having corresponding CODs of 3908 and 3925mg/L, for varying hydraulic retention time, viz: 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54 and 60h. The dissolved oxygen concentration and pH in the activated sludge reactor were found to be 1.8-2.2mg/L and 7-8.5, respectively. The scum index was found to rise from 0.5% to 1.9% during the acclimatizing phase and biomass build-up phase.     

Response to environmental flows in the lower Tarim River, Xinjiang, China: ground water

In China's west since the 1950s large-scale ecosystem degeneration has occurred through water diversions for agricultural purposes. Since 2000, 1038 x 10(6) m(3) of water have been released into the Tarim River with the result that water reached the terminal Taitema Lake for the first time in 30 years. This environmental flow raised water-table levels along 350 km of the river. To assess the response of the water-table, a comparison "pristine" site is compared with downstream monitored sites. The results show huge changes in water-table levels. The study verifies that the water-table is extremely responsive to environmental flows, that strong internal similarities exist along the length of the river, and that the effect on the water-table and hence likely riparian vegetation recovery can be tentatively predicted. The actual impacts of the restoration strategy are less than those originally expected politically, socially and within the scientific community. We make recommendations on more effective release strategies.     

藻-菌颗粒污泥中微生物胞外多糖特性研究

藻-菌颗粒污泥（Microalgal-bacterial granular sludge,MBGS）工艺在城市污水生物处理领域引起了越来越多的研究兴趣.胞外多糖（Polysaccharides,PS）是胞外聚合物（Extracellular polymeric substances,EPS）的重要组分,是维持颗粒稳定性的关键物质之一.研究了MBGS中PS的凝胶性能,以及松散结合的胞外聚合物（Loosely bound EPS,LB-EPS）和紧密结合的胞外聚合物（Tightly bound EPS,TB-EPS）中PS的含量、分布及单糖组成,并探究了MBGS的EPS中PS可能的微生物来源.结果表明,MBGS的PS具有凝胶性,主要分布在TB-EPS中,含量为 （40.06±2.30） mg·g^-1,其中半乳糖、葡萄糖和鼠李糖为主要单糖组分,而果糖和古罗糖醛酸未被检出.Thauera、Hydrogenophaga、Azoarcus和Acutodesmus是PS的主要微生物潜在来源.本文研究结果阐释了MBGS PS的基本特性,为MBGS工艺的稳定运行提供了理论基础.     

不同磁黄铁矿自养反硝化脱氮除磷作用

氮磷排放标准日趋严格,开发高效廉价脱氮除磷材料已成为研究热点.采用黄铁矿与赤铁矿在管式炉中氮气气氛下600 ℃煅烧,得到硫化赤铁矿形成的磁黄铁矿、黄铁矿热分解形成的磁黄铁矿,构建磁黄铁矿-方解石体系处理含氮磷模拟废水,对比不同方式制备的磁黄铁矿、天然磁黄铁矿、黄铁矿、硫磺脱氮除磷性能,考察不同磁黄铁矿晶体结构和结晶度差异及其对脱氮除磷影响,探究不同体系中矿物结构和微生物群落变化.结果表明：黄铁矿热分解产物以六方磁黄铁矿为主;硫化赤铁矿产物以低结晶度的单斜磁黄铁矿为主,因而表现出优异的脱氮除磷活性,氮磷去除率分别为99.8%和96.8%.铁硫化物与微生物反应产物的XRD、SEM和FE-TEM分析结果表明,微生物能有效利用磁黄铁矿进行脱氮,磷酸盐主要以FePO₄形式被去除.群落分析结果表明铁硫化物脱氮除磷体系中的主要功能菌属为Thiobacillus和 Sulfurimonas,结晶度低的单斜磁黄铁矿更有利于Thiobacillus定向富集.     

基于RuO2-IrO2/Ti和Fe0电极的电氧化-电絮凝处理含Tl废水

基于RuO₂-IrO₂/Ti形稳电极和Fe⁰牺牲电极实现电氧化-电絮凝(EO-EC)一体化处理含Tl (I)废水,并与单一的电絮凝(EC)进行比较,探讨了EO-EC处理含Tl废水的机理.结果表明,相较于单一EC,EO-EC (1:1)组合技术适应于宽pH (4-10)以及电流密度范围(5-20mA/cm²)下含Tl废水高效处理,且不易发生钝化;活性氯以及氧化还原电位在Tl (I)间接氧化Tl (III)过程中扮演重要角色,沉淀分析表明生成的Tl (OH)_3(s)与絮体Fe (OH)_3(am)共沉淀,纤铁矿位点可吸附残留Tl (I).EO-EC一体化技术可满足实际含Tl废水达标处理(<2µg/L)且具有经济可行性.     

燃料特性对铁矿石烧结及烟气排放的影响

采用烧结杯试验,从固体燃烧角度出发,探究燃料结构和粒度对燃烧前锋温度及烧结气氛变化的影响。结果表明:随着燃料中煤粉比例逐渐提高(0~100%),烧结速度提高至4.32 mm/min,利用系数提高至0.13 t/(m2·h);转鼓强度先上升后下降,当煤粉比例为25%时,转鼓指数达到最高(58.4%);烟气中NO_x浓度与CO成分分别提高28.34 mg/m3和0.72%,CO能促进NO的还原反应,抑制NO_x生成。全煤条件下,随着煤粉粒径<1 mm的质量分数由50%降低到10%,烟气中NO_x降低了51.33 mg/m3,提高燃料粒度可降低烟气NO_x排放浓度;而延长烧结时间,NO_x总排放量上升。研究结果可为烧结燃料选择及烟气减排提供参考。     

Grazing greatly reduces the temporal stability of soil cellulolytic fungal community in a steppe on the Tibetan Plateau

Excessive livestock grazing degrades grasslands ecosystem stability and sustainability by reducing soil organic matter and plant productivity. However, the effects of grazing on soil cellulolytic fungi, an important indicator of the degradation process for soil organic matter, remain less well understood. Using T-RFLP and sequencing methods, we investigated the effects of grazing on the temporal changes of cellulolytic fungal abundance and community structure in dry steppe soils during the growing months from May to September, on the Tibetan Plateau using T-RFLP and sequencing methods. The results demonstrated that the abundance of soil cellulolytic fungi under grazing treatment changed significantly from month to month, and was positively correlated with dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and soil temperature, but negatively correlated with soil pH. Contrastingly, cellulolytic fungal abundance did not change within the fencing treatment (ungrazed conditions). Cellulolytic fungal community structure changed significantly in the growing months in grazed soils, but did not change in fenced soils. Grazing played a key role in determining the community structure of soil cellulolytic fungi by explaining 8.1% of the variation, while pH and DOC explained 4.1% and 4.0%, respectively. Phylogenetically, the cellulolytic fungi were primarily affiliated with Ascomycota (69.65% in relative abundance) and Basidiomycota (30.35%). Therefore, grazing substantially reduced the stability of soil cellulolytic fungal abundance and community structure, as compared with the fencing treatment. Our finding provides a new insight into the responses of organic matter-decomposing microbes for grassland managements.     

Highly efficient P uptake by Fe3O4 loaded amorphous Zr-La (carbonate) oxides: Electrostatic attraction, inner-sphere complexation and oxygen vacancies acceleration effect

Bimetallic oxides composites have received an increasing attention as promising adsorbents for aqueous phosphate (P) removal in recent years. In this study, a novel magnetic composite MZLCO was prepared by hybridizing amorphous Zr-La (carbonate) oxides (ZLCO) with nano-Fe₃O₄ through a one-pot solvothermal method for efficient phosphate adsorption. Our optimum sample of MZLCO-45 exhibited a high Langmuir maximum adsorption capacity of 96.16 mg P/g and performed well even at low phosphate concentration. The phosphate adsorption kinetics by MZLCO-45 fitted well with the pseudo-second-order model, and the adsorption capacity could reach 79% of the ultimate value within the first 60 min. The phosphate adsorption process was highly pH-dependent, and MZLCO-45 performed well over a wide pH range of 2.0-8.0. Moreover, MZLCO-45 showed a strong selectivity to phosphate in the presence of competing ions (Cl⁻, NO₃⁻, SO₄²⁻, HCO₃⁻, Ca²⁺, and Mg²⁺) and a good reusability using the eluent of NaOH/NaCl mixture, then 64% adsorption capacity remained after ten recycles. The initial 2.0 mg P/L in municipal wastewater and surface water could be efficiently reduced to below 0.1mg P/L by 0.07 g/L MZLCO-45, and the phosphate removal efficiencies were 95.7% and 96.21%, respectively. Phosphate adsorption mechanisms by MZLCO-45 could be attributed to electrostatic attraction and the inner-sphere complexation via ligand exchange forming Zr/La-O-P, -OH and CO₃²⁻ groups on MZLCO-45 surface played important roles in the ligand exchange process. The existence of oxygen vacancies could accelerate the phosphate absorption rate of the MZLCO-45 composites.     

An integrative analysis of miRNA and mRNA expression in the brains of Alzheimer's disease transgenic mice after real-world PM2.5 exposure

Fine particulatematter (PM2.5) is associated with increased risks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD),yet the toxicologicalmechanisms of PM2.5 promoting AD remain unclear. In this study,wildtype and APP/PS1 transgenic mice (AD mice) were exposed to either filtered air (FA) or PM2.5 for eight weeks with a real-world exposure system in Taiyuan, China (mean PM2.5 concentration in the cage was 61 μg/m3). We found that PM2.5 exposure could remarkably aggravate AD mice’s ethological and brain ultrastructural damage, along with the elevation of the pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α), Aβ-42 and AChE levels and the decline of ChAT levels in the brains. Based on high-throughput sequencing results, some differentially expressed (DE) mRNAs and DE miRNAs in the brains of AD mice after PM2.5 exposure were screened.Using RT-qPCR, seven DEmiRNAs (mmu-miR-193b-5p, 122b-5p, 466h-3p, 10b-5p, 1895, 384–5p, and 6412) and six genes (Pcdhgb8, Unc13b, Robo3, Prph, Pter, and Tbata) were evidenced the and verified. Two miRNA-target gene pairs (miR-125b-Pcdhgb8 pair and miR-466h-3p-IL-17Rα/TGF-βR2/Aβ-42/AChE pairs) were demonstrated that they were more related to PM2.5-induced brain injury. Results of Gene Ontology (GO) pathways and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways predicted that synaptic and postsynaptic regulation, axon guidance, Wnt, MAPK, and mTOR pathways might be the possible regulatory mechanisms associated with pathological response. These revealed that PM2.5- elevated pro-inflammatory cytokine levels and PM2.5-altered neurotransmitter levels in AD mice could be the important causes of brain damage and proposed the promising miRNA andmRNA biomarkers and potentialmiRNA-mRNA interaction networks of PM2.5-promoted AD.