Quantification of the inhibitory effect of methyl fluoride on methanogenesis in mesophilic anaerobic granular systems

The inhibitory effect of CH₃F on methanogenesis in mesophilic anaerobic granules was tested at different concentrations (0-10% v/v, in the gas phase) and verified by the stable carbon isotopic signatures of CH₄ and CO₂. The results showed that the inhibitory effect increased with the initial CH₃F concentration up to 5%. The CH₃F concentration causing 50% metabolic inhibition was 0.32%. Complete inhibition of acetoclastic methanogenesis with a 91% reduction in total methanogenic activity was achieved when 5% CH₃F was initially added to the headspace, which resulted in 870 μM dissolved CH₃F in the liquid. It was much higher than that applied in other natural anoxic non-granular systems, indicating that the layered granular structure influenced the inhibitory effect. The obvious increase in hydrogen content indicated that high concentrations of CH₃F (?5%) suppressed hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis as well. The stable inhibition lasted for at least 6 d as the CH₃F concentration decreased slowly with incubation time. These results suggested that CH₃F could be used for investigating methanogenic processes in anaerobic granular systems after the CH₃F concentration and incubation time for specific inhibition of acetoclastic methanogenesis were carefully determined. In the present system, CH₃F concentration of 5% was suggested to be optimal.     

Caution needed in pretreatment of sediments for refining phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance analysis: results from a comprehensive assessment of pretreatment with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid

Pretreatment with chemicals such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) is often used to improve the analysis of sediment P with solution P-31 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (35P-NMR), but there is a lack of a comprehensive assessment of the methodology. In this study, the effects of EDTA pretreatment on sediment P extracted using a mixture of 0.25 mol L(-1) NaOH and 50 mmol L(-1) EDTA (NaOH-EDTA) were examined with 45 different sediments. The results showed that EDTA pre-extraction decreased the amount of P extracted by NaOH-EDTA when the concentration ratio of sediment Ca to the sum of sediment Fe and Al [Ca/(Fe+Al), on a wt/vol basis] was lower than 0.4. An increase in total extracted P, coupled with substantial increases in total extracted paramagnetic ions such as Fe and Mn, was observed for another group of sediments with Ca/(Fe+Al) > 0.5, possibly due to the matrix effect. Analysis of 16 representative sediments with 31P-NMR showed that orthophosphate diesters were substantially removed by EDTA pre-extraction for sediments with Ca/ (Fe+Al) between 0.4 and 0.7, reflecting a high risk posed by this pretreatment. Phosphorus diversity and concentration of individual P compounds were markedly improved for sediments with Ca/(Fe+Al) > 0.7, suggesting that EDTA pretreatment was particularly useful for 31P-NMR analysis of calcareous sediments. The present study showed that sediment properties played an important role in determining pretreatment effects. Caution is advised when applying pretreatment methods to different sediments.     

Water quality trends at inflows to Everglades National Park, 1977-2005

Restoration of the Florida Everglades is important for the health of the natural system, including both the "River of Grass" and its downstream estuaries. Water quality improvement is one indicator of successful restoration in this complex ecosystem. Using the period of record of 1977 through 2005, we evaluated data from seven inflow sites to the Everglades National Park (ENP) for temporal trends of various forms of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) and analyzed them using principal component analysis and factor analysis without flow adjustments. Locally estimated scatter plot smoothing (LOESS) trend lines identified two inflection points (three time periods) of changing trend in total P (TP) concentration at the seven sites. Results indicated that overall water quality in ENP inflow improved from 1977 to 2005, with significant downward trends in TP concentration. The overall trend ofTP is probably mediated by hydrology, which is evident by a negative relationship between flow and annual average TP concentration at the majority of stations within the available data, although additional changes in vegetation due to hydroperiod may have some effects. Total N (TN), total Kjeldahl N, and total organic N concentrations also generally decreased at inflow sites. Water quality standards for TP, TN, and NH4+ -N were exceeded at selected sites during the study period. Principle component analysis and factor analysis detected a grouping of sampling sites related to the water delivery system that could be used as indicators to better manage monitoring resources. Study results suggest that water quality data analyses could provide additional insight into the success of a restoration management plan and on how monitoring may be modified for more efficient use ofresources.     

Short-term field observations of nitrous oxide saturations in Lake Taihu, China: the need for high temporal resolution studies

The incomplete understanding of the processes which control aquatic nitrous oxide (N2O) production is partially due to a lack of onsite data with which to describe the temporal resolution of N2O production. To help resolve this, we directly measured the N2O saturation (relative to atmospheric partial pressure) on an hourly basis over two survey periods (July and September 2003) in Lake Taihu, a large eutrophic lake in eastern China. July N2O saturations displayed a distinct diurnal pattern, opposite to those observed by others in subtropical streams, but similar to N2O emissions observed from incubated estuarine sediments. Correlative analyses indicate that biogeochemical processes operate as important controls on N2O production over very short time scales. Nitrous oxide production processes are not only regulated by O2 dynamics related to microalgal photosynthesis, but also closely related to organic matter decay at the sediment-water interface. While large-scale changes (approximately 25-fold) in N2O fluxes in Lake Taihu are a function of variable N loading, biogeochemical processes concerning O2 and N transformation at the sediment-water interface have significant (-twofold) impacts on the regulation of N2O production over very short time scales. Further, high temporal resolution research focused on developing a comprehensive understanding of lacustrine N2O production, including natural and anthropogenic loading and biogeochemical transformation processes, is clearly needed.     

三维与二维电解工艺处理丙烯腈废水的效果比较

采用三维电解工艺和二维电解工艺处理高浓度丙烯腈废水。实验结果表明:三维电解工艺对COD、TOC、TN和总凯氏氮(TKN)的去除率分别为45.32%、59.55%、61.42%和59.24%,二维电解工艺对COD、TOC、TN和TKN的去除率分别为32.65%、43.53%、46.04%和46.08%;三维电解工艺去除单位COD的能耗为2.72 kW·h/kg,二维电解工艺为1.52 kW·h/kg;三维电解工艺和二维电解工艺的出水BOD_5/COD分别由原水的0.14提高至0.38和0.29。三维电解工艺具有较高的去除率,但能耗也较高。在实际应用中可根据具体情况选择所采用的工艺。     

燃煤工业锅炉减排NO_x研究分析

通过对我国燃煤工业锅炉NOx排放、污染现状和国内外控制技术进行分析,提出燃煤工业锅炉NOx控制对策和措施,并提出低氮燃烧是降低NOx排放的最经济技术。     

油田含油污水高级氧化技术研究

以气浮—过滤预处理后的污水为处理对象,通过臭氧氧化与Fenton氧化两种方法处理油田含油污水。经实验验证:Fenton在pH为4,H2O2初始浓度为0.08mol/L,Fe2+与H2O2的摩尔比为1:10,H2O2与CODCr的质量比为1:1,反应时间为60min的条件下,去除率达54.3%(CODCr100mg/L),可达到GB8978-1996《污水综合排放标准》二级标准。     

石油炼化企业烟气脱硫技术研究进展

石油炼化企业由于烟气特点、排放特征和减排设施的差别,导致了各炼化企业所采用的烟气脱硫技术的差别较大,尚无成熟、有效、经济的烟气脱硫技术,各炼化企业需要采用的二氧化硫减排技术差别也较大,选用适合炼化企业烟气脱硫的可行工艺技术具有重要现实意义。综合分析了目前国内外已工业化应用的主要烟气脱硫工艺、原理、技术的优缺点以及石油炼化企业烟气脱硫技术的发展趋势,为石油炼化企业烟气脱硫技术研究提供了借鉴和参考依据,并对石油炼化企业未来烟气脱硫技术的研究和选用提出了建议。     

Excessive sulfur supply reduces cadmium accumulation in brown rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Human activities have resulted in cadmium (Cd) and sulfur (S) accumulation in paddy soils in parts of southern China. A combined soil-sand pot experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of excessive S supply on iron plaque formation and Cd accumulation in rice plants, using two Cd levels (0, 1.5 mg kg⁻¹) combined with three S concentrations (0, 60, 120 mg kg⁻¹). The results showed that excessive S supply significantly decreased Cd accumulation in brown rice due to the decrease of Cd availability and the increase of glutathione in rice leaves. But excessive S supply obviously increased Cd accumulation in roots due to the decrease of iron plaque formation on the root surface of rice. Therefore, excessive S supply may result in loss of rice yield, but it could effectively reduce Cd accumulation in brown rice exposed to Cd contaminated soils.     

Biohydrogen production from dairy manures with acidification pretreatment by anaerobic fermentation

Background, aim, and scope  

Hydrogen is a clean and efficient energy source and has been deemed as one of the most promising carriers of new energy for the future. From an engineering point of view, producing hydrogen by mixed cultures is generally preferred because of lower cost, ease of control, and the possible use of organic waste as feedstock. The biological hydrogen production has been intensively studied in recent decades. So far, most investigates of biohydrogen production are still confined to using pure carbohydrates and carbohydrate-rich wastewater. Nowadays, the large amounts of livestock manure, which come from cattle feedlots, poultry, and swine buildings, are causing a major environmental issue because it has become a primary source of odors, gases, dust, and groundwater contamination. The increasingly stringent requirements for pollution control on livestock manures are challenging the scientific community to develop new waste treatment strategies. Thus, there is a pressing need to develop nonpolluting and renewable energy source utilizing the organic waste (e.g., livestock manure). It is well known that anaerobic digestion had successfully been used for the disposal of manures to produce methane in the last two decades. Recently, an alternative strategy has been developed to convert livestock manures (e.g., dairy manures) to biohydrogen as a high value-added clean energy source instead of methane. However, little information is available on hydrogen production from dairy manure via the mixed anaerobic microbe. As far as we know, the hydrogen production is habitually accompanied with production of volatile fatty acids (VFAs), such as acetate, butyrate, and propionate, which are also an optimal feedstock for production of methane by anaerobic digestion. Provided that the biohydrogen production from dairy manure is further combined with the anaerobic digestion of the effluent from the producing hydrogen reactor that would be a one-stone two-bird paradigm, it not only produces a clean and readily usable biologic energy but also cleans up simultaneously the environment in a sustainable fashion.