Bio-drying and size sorting of municipal solid waste with high water content for improving energy recovery

Bio-drying can enhance the sortability and heating value of municipal solid waste (MSW), consequently improving energy recovery. Bio-drying followed by size sorting was adopted for MSW with high water content to improve its combustibility and reduce potential environmental pollution during the follow-up incineration. The effects of bio-drying and waste particle size on heating values, acid gas and heavy metal emission potential were investigated. The results show that, the water content of MSW decreased from 73.0% to 48.3% after bio-drying, whereas its lower heating value (LHV) increased by 157%. The heavy metal concentrations increased by around 60% due to the loss of dry materials mainly resulting from biodegradation of food residues. The bio-dried waste fractions with particle size higher than 45 mm were mainly composed of plastics and papers, and were preferable for the production of refuse derived fuel (RDF) in view of higher LHV as well as lower heavy metal concentration and emission. However, due to the higher chlorine content and HCl emission potential, attention should be paid to acid gas and dioxin pollution control. Although LHVs of the waste fractions with size <45 mm increased by around 2× after bio-drying, they were still below the quality standards for RDF and much higher heavy metal pollution potential was observed. Different incineration strategies could be adopted for different particle size fractions of MSW, regarding to their combustibility and pollution property.     

A comparison of antibiotics,antibiotic resistance genes,and bacterial community in broiler and layer manure following composting

Animal manure is an important source of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment. However, the difference of antibiotic residues and ARG profiles in layer and broiler manure as well as their compost remains unexplored. In this study, we investigated the profiles of twelve antibiotics, seventeen ARGs, and class 1 integrase gene (intI1) in layer and broiler manure, and the corresponding compost at large-scale. Compared with layer manure, broiler manure exhibited approximately six times more residual tetracyclines, especially chlortetracycline. The relative abundances of qnrS and ermA genes in broiler manure were significantly higher than those in layer manure. The concentration of tetracyclines not only had a significantly positive correlation with tetracycline resistance genes (tetA and tetC) but was also positively correlated with quinolone resistance (qepA, qnrB, and qnrS) and macrolide resistance (ermA and ermT). Most ARGs in manure were reduced after composting. However, the relative abundance of sulfonamide resistance gene sul1 increased up to 2.41% after composting, which was significantly higher than that of broiler (0.41%) and layer (0.62%) manure. The associated bacterial community was characterized by high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The relative abundances of thermophilic bacteria had significant positive correlations with the abundance of sul1 in compost. The composting has a significant impact on the ARG-associated gut microbes in poultry manure. Variation partitioning analysis indicated that the change of bacterial community compositions and antibiotics contributed partially to the shift in ARG profiles. The results indicate that at industry-scale production broiler manure had more antibiotics and ARGs than layer manure did, and composting decreased most ARG abundances in poultry manure except for sulfonamide resistance genes.

     

Biodegradable microplastics (BMPs): a new cause for concern?

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - With the increasingly serious pollution of plastics, biodegradable plastics (BDPs) have attracted attention as a new material that can replace...     

Sugarcane monoculture drives microbial community composition,activity and abundance of agricultural-related microorganisms

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Sugarcane monoculture (SM) often leads to soil problems, like soil acidification, degradation, and soil-borne diseases, which ultimately pose a...     

Metal distribution characteristic of MSWI bottom ash in view of metal recovery

Bottom ash is the major by-product of municipal solid waste incineration(MSWI), and is often reused as an engineering material, such as road-base aggregate. However, some metals(especially aluminum) in bottom ash can react with water and generate gas that could cause expansion and failure of products containing the ash; these metals must be removed before the ash is utilized. The size distribution and the chemical speciation of metals in the bottom ash from two Chinese MSWI plants were examined in this study, and the recovery potential of metals from the ash was evaluated. The metal concentrations in these bottom ashes were lower than that generated in other developed countries. Specifically, the contents of Al,Fe, Cu and Zn were 18.9–29.2, 25.5–32.3, 0.7–1.0 and 1.6–2.5 g/kg, respectively. Moreover,44.9–57.0 wt.% of Al and 55.6–75.4 wt.% of Fe were distributed in bottom ash particles smaller than 5 mm. Similarly, 46.6–79.7 wt.% of Cu and 42.9–74.2 wt.% of Zn were concentrated in particles smaller than 3 mm. The Fe in the bottom ash mainly existed as hematite, and its chemical speciation was considered to limit the recovery efficiency of magnetic separation.     

京津冀区域燃煤发电行业大气污染物排放时空变化特征研究

为了科学评估京津冀区域燃煤发电行业特别排放限值和超低排放相关要求实施后的大气污染物减排效果,以行业调查数据为基础,建立了2013年和2015年京津冀区域燃煤发电行业大气污染物排放清单,分析了装机容量与SO_2、NO_x和烟尘排放量的时空耦合关系,讨论了国家相关政策和标准的实施效果。结果显示:区域内2015年燃煤机组装机容量与2013年相比略有下降,SO_2、NO_x和烟尘排放量分别下降75.95%、83.09%和71.20%,减排效果明显。2015年100 MW以下等级机组3种污染物排放总量位居各机组首位,建议通过多种合理方式压减小型燃煤发电机组数量和排放浓度。     

β射线法与重量法监测环境空气PM_(2.5)的应用比较

重量法是测量PM_(2.5)的传统手工经典方法,而β射线法加动态加热系统联用光散射法作为自动在线监测技术的常用方法被广泛使用。将5030-SHARP型β射线法加动态加热系统联用光散射法PM_(2.5)自动监测设备监测结果与手工法测量结果进行比对、分析,结果表明:β射线法与重量法监测结果具有一致性,测量结果不存在显著性差异;β射线法与重量法相对偏差值与温度、相对湿度、风速等气象因子的相关性不明显;β射线法与重量法监测结果的差异性与PM_(2.5)质量浓度、季节等条件有关;随着PM_(2.5)质量浓度逐渐升高,β射线法与重量法相对偏差的绝对值|RD|也随之增大,不同季节的|RD|平均值差异较大,春季、冬季的|RD|平均值大于夏季、秋季。     

外浮顶原油储罐VOCs排放核算参数对排放量的影响研究

依据美国环保署颁布的储罐VOCs排放量核算公式,从环境参数、原油参数和储罐结构参数3个方面对外浮顶储罐VOCs排放的影响进行了研究,其中包括了边缘密封排放挂壁排放、浮盘附件排放和浮盘着陆期间排放等几个相关排放核算数学公式。结果表明:环境风速增大,环境温度升高或太阳辐射强度提高均导致排放量增大;原油温度升高或原油周转量增加也导致排放量增加;储罐直径增加,罐漆颜色浅,或者罐壁锈蚀情况好会降低VOCs排放量。     

城市饮用水源地生态系统健康评价与保护对策研究

开展城市饮用水源地生态系统健康状况评价,为建立流域尺度的长效保护机制提供依据.以郑州尖岗水库为研究对象,构建水域生境结构、水生生物、陆域生态格局和生态功能等共6类16项评价指标,采用综合指数法开展评估.尖岗水库水域、陆域和流域综合生态健康标准化评估值分别为54.17、59.21和57.19,评价等级均为"一般",河道连通性、森林覆盖率是流域生态健康的主要限制因子.人类活动对尖岗水库生态系统健康状况产生了强烈影响,生态环境正处于负向演替和生态退化阶段.