Dibutyl phthalate adsorption characteristics using three common substrates in aqueous solutions

• DBP adsorption was tested using three kinds of substrates in constructed wetlands. • The DBP adsorption capacity followed the order: steel slag>gravel>shell sand. • High temperatures increased the DBP adsorption capacity in the substrates. • DOM consistently inhibited the DBP adsorption onto steel slag and gravel. In recent years, the presence and adverse impacts of phthalic acid esters in aquatic environments have gained increasing attention. This work investigated the adsorption behavior of a typical phthalic acid ester, dibutyl phthalate (DBP), onto steel slag, gravel, and shell sand (substrates commonly used in constructed wetlands). The influence of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on DBP adsorption was investigated using humic acid as a proxy for DOM. The results demonstrated that the adsorption of DBP to three substrates reached equilibrium within 96 h, and the adsorption kinetics were well fitted by a pseudo-second-order model. The DBP adsorption isotherms were best fitted by the Langmuir adsorption model. The DBP adsorption capacity decreased in the order of steel slag>gravel>shell sand, with values of 656 mg/kg, 598 mg/kg, and 6.62 mg/kg at 25°C, respectively. DBP adsorbed to the surface of all substrates in a monolayer via an endothermic process. The DBP adsorption capacities of steel slag and gravel decreased as the DOM content increased. The DBP adsorption mechanisms to steel slag and gravel mainly involved the surface coordination of DBP with –OH or –COOH groups and electrostatic interactions. The results of this work suggest that steel slag and gravel may be ideal substrates for use in constructed wetlands to treat wastewater polluted with DBP.     

城市湖泊富营养化对水生植物叶片C、N、P化学计量特征的影响

为研究城市湖泊富营养化对水生植物叶片元素组成的影响,在植物生长季,对南京3个湖泊的6种常见水生植物进行碳(C)、氮(N)、磷(P)生态化学计量学研究,并分析驱动水生植物叶片元素变化的关键环境因子。结果表明:(1)水生植物叶片C、N、P含量变化范围分别为397.03～672.70、10.63～39.16及1.15～13.30 mg/g,叶片C/N、C/P及N/P变化范围分别为13.15～50.36、31.39～458.60及1.88～19.06,其中叶片P含量变异最大,叶片C含量变异最小;(2) Spearman相关性分析表明,芦苇(Phragmites australis)、睡莲(Nymphaea tetragona)和金鱼藻(Ceratophyllum demersum)叶片元素组成与湖泊富营养化综合指数具有显著相关性,叶片P含量随湖泊富营养指数升高而增加,叶片C/P及N/P随之减小;(3) RDA分析表明,春季水生植物叶片C、N、P含量及C/N/P变化主要受水体高锰酸盐指数(COD_(Mn))和底泥总有机碳(SOC)含量的共同影响,夏季主要受水体总磷(TP_W)浓度的影响,秋季主要受底泥总磷(TP_S)含量的影响。     

填埋场不同深度垃圾土反复直剪实验研究

根据垃圾土颗粒大、纤维质多等性质,自行研发了适合垃圾土的反复直剪仪,进行了垃圾土的反复剪切实验。通过对比3组不同深度垃圾土样的反复剪切实验数据,总结出垃圾土的反复剪切性质,得出反复剪切的破环强度、峰值强度和残余强度,并根据破环强度值得出垃圾土的c、φ参数。对比国外填埋场失稳反演得出的垃圾土强度,得出以剪切应变ε=10%作为垃圾土强度的取值。     

印染废水处理工艺改造及其效益分析

通过实验数据分析,对本源微生物菌剂处理印染废水的有效性进行了检验。在此基础上,确定了先生物处理后絮凝的处理方式。进而分析了印染废水原处理工艺中存在的问题,并对其进行了改造,即:以本源微生物菌剂为母菌接种于印染废水中,并结合生物铁填料对其进行处理。工艺改造成功启动后,稳定运行结果显示:复合生化池和接触氧化池的处理工艺对色度和COD的平均去除率分别为:55.69%、55.63%和78.53%、78.21%;出水pH、色度和COD的平均值分别为6.6、13倍和93 mg/L,全部满足标准要求。该工艺大大减少了污泥量,且降低了处理费用。     

Impact of Cloud on Net Ecosystem CO2 Exchange of Alpine Meadow in Tibetan Plateau

Meteorological elements and CO2 fluxes over alpine meadow ecosystem were observed continuously from 2004 to 2005in Damxung Alpine Meadow Flux Station,China Flux Network.Based on the eddy covariance CO2 fluxes and meteorological data obtained,the relationships among the CO2 fluxes,the cloud amount,and the meteorological factors in alpine meadow ecosystem were explored and analyzed.Some conclusions can be drawn from the discussion with previous researches as following:(1)the cloud amount can affect the net ecosystem CO2 exchange(NEE)of alpine meadow on Tibetan Plateau;(2)the soil temperature sensitive to the cloud amount,is a major environmental controlling factor for NEE,and closely relates to the maximum of NEE.In the morning period with large cloud amount,the NEE reaches its maximum when the clearness index ranges from 0.5 to 0.7; yet in the afternoon it comes to the maximum with the index from 0.2 to 0.35.The span of soil temperature covers from 12 to 15℃ as the NEE at its highest;(3)the scatterplots between NEE and photosynthetic available radiation(PAR)was a significant inverse triangle in the clear day,two different kinds of concave curves in the cloudy day,and strongly convergent rectangular hyperbola in the overcast day.These differences were controlled by the changes of light radiation and soil temperature.     

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.     

棘孢曲霉（Aspergillus aculeatus）对Pb^2＋和Cd^2＋的吸附特征

为了研究棘孢曲霉（Aspergillus aculeatus）对溶液中Pb^2＋和Cd^2＋吸附过程的特征,分别从动力学、热力学和吸附等温线三方面进行了实验,同时还研究了pH、温度、时间、重金属离子起始浓度和吸附剂用量对吸附过程的影响。等温吸附过程可以用Langmuir方程来描述。在实验设定条件下,棘孢曲霉对Pb^2＋和Cd^2＋最大吸附量分别为71．2mg／g和59．8mg／g;动力学实验数据很好的符合二级动力学方程,吸附达到平衡的时间为3h;热力学实验数据显示该吸附过程为自发的、吸热的过程。     

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.