Synthesis of branched allylic sulfones by regioselective boron-catalysed hydrosulfonylation

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Branched allylic sulfones are scaffolds widely distributed in bioactive molecules and organic functional materials. The synthesis of allylic sulfones has been...     

Effects of exogenous acylated homoserine lactones on biofilms in biofilters for gaseous toluene treatment

● Biofilm formation was enhanced by exogenous AHLs. ● EPS production and microbial adhesive strength of biofilm were promoted. ● Exogenous AHLs improved the performance of biofilters treating toluene. Biofilters are typical biofilm reactors, and they usually have poor biofilm formation resulting in limited reactor performance. Exogenous acylated homoserine lactones (AHLs) can enhance biofilm formation in many bioreactors based on quorum sensing regulation. However, their effect on biofilm in biofilters utilized for volatile organic compound (VOC) removal is unknown and needs to be investigated. In this study, the effects of the exogenous AHLs on biofilters for gaseous toluene removal were investigated. Analysis of biofilms in biofilters showed that the addition of exogenous AHLs considerably enhanced biofilm growth; the average biofilm concentration increased by 18%. Furthermore, the average biofilm coverage proportions in biofilters with and without exogenous AHLs were 17 % and 13 %, respectively, demonstrating the positive effect of exogenous AHLs on biofilm coverage. In particular, exogenous AHLs promoted the production of extracellular polymeric substances and the microbial adhesive strength of the biofilm. In addition, the exogenous AHLs showed no significant effect on the gaseous toluene removal efficiency of the biofilter. These results show that exogenous AHLs can enhance biofilm formation and can guide the application of exogenous AHLs in VOC biofilters.     

Low-temperature caproate production,microbial diversity,and metabolic pathway in xylose anaerobic fermentation

● Converting xylose to caproate under a low temperature of 20 °C by MCF was verified. ● Final concentration of caproate from xylose in a batch reactor reached 1.6 g/L. ● Changing the substrate to ethanol did not notably increase the caproate production. ● Four genera, including Bifidobacterium , were revealed as caproate producers. ● The FAB pathway and incomplete RBO pathway were revealed via metagenomic analysis. Mixed culture fermentation (MCF) is challenged by the unqualified activity of enriched bacteria and unwanted methane dissolution under low temperatures. In this work, caproate production from xylose was investigated by MCF at a low temperature (20 °C). The results showed that a 9 d long hydraulic retention time (HRT) in a continuously stirred tank reactor was necessary for caproate production (~0.3 g/L, equal to 0.6 g COD/L) from xylose (10 g/L). The caproate concentration in the batch mode was further increased to 1.6 g/L. However, changing the substrate to ethanol did not promote caproate production, resulting in ~1.0 g/L after 45 d of operation. Four genera, Bifidobacterium, Caproiciproducens, Actinomyces, and Clostridium_sensu_stricto_12, were identified as the enriched caproate-producing bacteria. The enzymes in the fatty acid biosynthesis (FAB) pathway for caproate production were identified via metagenomic analysis. The enzymes for the conversion of (C_n+2)-2,3-Dehydroxyacyl-CoA to (C_n+2)-Acyl-CoA (i.e., EC 1.3.1.8 and EC 1.3.1.38) in the reverse β-oxidation (RBO) pathway were not identified. These results could extend the understanding of low-temperature caproate production.     

Screening of indicator pharmaceuticals and personal care products in landfill leachates: a case study in Shanghai,China

● A systematic framework was developed to identify i-PPCPs for landfill leachate. ● The wide-scope target analysis offered a basis for comprehensive i-PPCP screening. ● Source-specificity and representativeness analysis helped to refine i-PPCPs. ● Erythromycin, gemfibrozil and albendazole were identified as i-PPCPs for leachate. Identifying potential sources of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the environment is critical for the effective control of PPCP contamination. Landfill leachate is an important source of PPCPs in water; however, it has barely been involved in source apportionment due to the lack of indicator-PPCPs (i-PPCPs) in landfill leachates. This study provides the first systematic framework for identifying i-PPCPs for landfill leachates based on the wide-scope target monitoring of PPCPs. The number of target PPCPs increased from < 20 in previous studies to 68 in the present study. Fifty-nine PPCPs were detected, with median concentrations in leachate samples ranging from below the method quantification limit (MQL) to 41 μg/L, and 19 of them were rarely reported previously. A total of 29 target compounds were determined to be PPCPs of high concern by principal component analysis according to multiple criteria, including occurrence, exposure potential, and ecological effect. Coupled with source-specificity and representativeness analysis, erythromycin, gemfibrozil, and albendazole showed a significant difference in their occurrence in leachate compared to other potential sources (untreated and treated municipal wastewater and livestock wastewater) and correlated with total PPCP concentrations; these were recommended as i-PPCPs for leachates. Indicator screening procedure can be used to develop a sophisticated source apportionment method to identify sources of PPCPs from adjacent landfills.     

International experience of green development in Western China: an overall review of policy and practice

Green development emphasizes co-development between economic and environmental dimensions, and is a people-centered sustainable development approach. Western China demands green development, and international experience could provide necessary, unique and important help and support for Western China to achieve its green development goals. This paper has made a comprehensive overall review and analysis of international experience in green development policy and its implementation, in particular, OECD countries’ (mostly Australia and Canada) experience have been analyzed following the major policy foci defined by the Task Force on Strategy and Policies on Environment and Development in Western China initiated by China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED). Data and information were gathered from the field surveys and investigations, expert meetings, as well as literature review. The main sessions include policy framework and road map establishment, implementation and performance assessment, co-development between economic development and environmental protection, as well as green employment and poverty alleviation. The paper has addressed five policy considerations for the future promotion of green development in Western China.     

Volatilization of heavy metals during incineration of municipal solid wastes

Incineration experiments with MSW, which had been impregnated with heavy metals, were presented to obtain information on the volatilization behavior of the elements cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) under different conditions. Experiments were carried out in a bubbling fluid bed system connected to a customized inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy(ICP-OES) for analyzing metals in the flue gas. The results indicated that the combustion temperature, the gas atmosphere, and the chlorine content in the flue gas could affect the volatilization behavior of heavy metals. In the fluidized bed combustion, a large surface area was provided by the bed sand particles, and they may act as absorbents for the gaseous ash-forming compound. Comparer with the metals Cd and Pb, the vaporization of Zn was low. The formation of stable compounds such as ZnO.Al2O3 could greatly decrease the metals volatilization. The presence of chlorine would enhance the volatilization of heavy metals by increasing the formation of metal chlorides. However, when the oxygen content was high, the chlorinating reaction was kinetically hindered, which heavy metals release would be delayed.     

Bioavailability of bound residue derived from 14C-labeled chlorsulfuron in soil and its mechanism of phytotoxicity

The bioavailability of bound residue(BR) derived from ^14C-labeled chlorsulfuron in soil and effect of the main components of the BR on growth of rape( brassica napus) and rice( Oryza sativa L. ) were investigated. The results showed that the BR with the concentration of 0.28 and 0.56 nmol/g air-dried soil, which was calculated by special radioactivity of ^14C-labeled chlorsulfuron parent compound, resulted in significant depression effect on growth of rape seedling. It was assured that the main components(2-amino-4-methoxyl-6-methyl-1,3,5-triazine, 2-amino-4-hydroxyl-6-methyl-1,3,5-triazine, and 2-chloro-benzenesul-fonamide) of the BR did not inhibit the growth of rape and rice. LC-MS analysis demonstrated that the parent compound previously bound to the soil matrix could be again released and transformed into methanol-extractable residue during the course of rape growth. It was concluded that the molecular leading to the phytotoxicity to rape and rice in the BR is still the parent compound.     

UV-catalytic treatment of spent caustic from ethene plant with hydrogen peroxide and ozone oxidation

The performance of UV/H2O2, UV/O3 and UV/H2O2/O3 oxidation systems for treating spent caustic from an ethylene plant was investigated, in UV/H2O2 system, with the increase of H202 dosage, removal efficiencies of COD and the ratio of biochemical oxygen demand(BOD) to chemical oxygen demand(COD) of the effluent were increased and a better performance was obtained than the H2O2 system alone. In UV/H2O2 system, removal efficiency of COD reach 68% under the optimum condition, and BOD/COD ratio was significantly increased from 0.22 to 0.52. In UV/O3 system, with the increase of O3 dosage, removal efficiency of COD and BOD/COD ratio were increased, and a better performance was obtained than the O3 system alone. Under the optimum condition, removal efficiency of COD was 54%, and BOD/COD ratio was significantly increased from 0.22 to 0.48. In UV/H2O2/O3 system, COD removal efficiency was found to be 22.0% higher than UV/O3 system.     

Nature of property rights and motivation for blue growth: An empirical evidence from the fisheries industry

If unauthorized resource use is prevented, managing marine resources by allocating property rights may match economic and environmental conservation incentives. However, because of the developing exploitation of marine resources and accompanying pollution, species' living conditions in Europe's waters are changing more quickly than before. By considering the roles of fisheries productivity, intellectual property rights, intellectual capital rights, market size, governance, and economic growth from 1990 to 2022, this paper aims to investigate the dynamic effect of property rights factors on the sustainability of the fisheries industry in 27 European countries. At higher quantiles, the findings showed a significant positive association between governance and fisheries sustainability adopting a new method, the MMQR with fixed effects, the Method of Moments Quantile Regression. In addition, in EU27 nations, the impact of intellectual property rights was favorable and statistically significant from the first to ninth quantiles. The findings show that the EU14 developed nations have more excellent governance and intellectual capital rights than the EU13 developing countries, significantly benefiting fisheries sustainability. In the same way that market size and economic growth condense fisheries sustainability in EU14 developed and EU13 developing countries, it has been discovered that intellectual property rights do the same across all quantiles, supporting the growth hypothesis for fisheries-producing countries. The findings specifically show that the beneficial solid impact of intellectual property rights, market size, and economic development on the sustainability of fisheries is more significant in EU13 developing nations than in EU14 developed countries. These results provide policymakers with helpful information for promoting property rights aspects in EU14 and EU13 nations via effective green technologies in the fisheries sector to meet sustainable development objectives.     

联保互保制度在班组安全管理工作中的应用

联保互保制度主要应用于城市生活小区消防、防盗等工作,住户与住户之间签订消防、防盗等工作联保互保协议,互相提醒、监督。若某住户失火事故,不仅失火的住户要受处罚,签订联保互保协议的住户同样受到相应处罚（只是责任相对比较轻）,形成相互监督制约、相互提醒的有效机制。这种制度的推广应用已取得了良好的社会效益。