Top-runner incentive scheme in China: a theoretical and empirical study for industrial pollution control

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Pollution control policies have achieved remarkable results in China. However, industrial firms still lack enthusiasm for technological innovation to...     

Sensorized waste collection container for content estimation and collection optimization

The concurrent effects of a fast national growth rate, of a large and dense residential area and a pressing demand for urban environmental protection create a challenging framework for waste management in Pudong New Area, Shanghai. The complexity of context and procedures is indeed a primary concern of local municipal authorities due to problems related to the collection, transportation and processing of residential solid waste. In order to design and implement a suitable urban solid waste system, the first task is to forecast the quantity and variance of solid waste as it relates to residential population, consumer index, season, etc. The system here discussed addresses exactly these issues, by means of an intelligent, sensorized container. The container has been prepared and tested in the Pudong New Area, Shanghai.     

Materials selection for a dry atmospheric mercury deposits sampler.

In order to develop a sampler for measuring dry deposition rates for atmospheric mercury, suitable materials are needed that neither adsorb nor release mercury. In this paper, four materials (polyvinyl chloride (PVC), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), Teflon and glass) were tested. Each of the materials was placed in a beaker containing mercuric solution under varied conditions for pH, preservative concentration, initial mercuric concentration, temperature, acid type and contact time of the material. The concentrations of the mercuric solutions were determined using the cold-vapor atomic absorption (CVAA) technique. The experimental results show that glass has the lowest absolute net adsorption rates (NARs) of 0.026-1.13 pg/m2 among the materials tested. Teflon, PVC and ABS have NARs ranging from 0.54 to 10.4 microg/M2 over an adsorption duration of one or two weeks. ABS has significantly higher adsorption rates for mercury than PVC and Teflon, indicating its inappropriateness as the material for building the sampler. Teflon and PVC will be the materials of choice for the sampler. The experimental results can also be used in establishing appropriate sampling conditions in the field.     

Editorial: Effects of metal contamination on ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms in a freshwater reservoir

<正>Ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms, including ammoniaoxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA), are important to the global nitrogen cycle. These microbes catalyze the oxidization of ammonia (NH_3) to nitrite (NO_2~-), the ratelimiting step in the biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen (Stahl and de la Torre, 2012). Effects on the activity of the ammoniaoxidizing microbes could ultimately influence the global     

Effect of several organic acids on phosphate adsorption by variable charge soils of central China

The effect of several organic acids on phosphate adsorption by acidic soils in subtropical zone of central China was studied. Results showed: (1) citrate and oxalate remarkably reduced the amount of phosphate adsorption, but tartrate, benzoate and acetate had only a very slight influence on phosphate adsorption; (2) the ability of citrate in reducing phosphate adsorption was greater than that of oxalate, moreover, the reduction percentage was dependent on the concentration of organic ligands in the solution; (3) the effect of organic acids on phosphate adsorption was related to the pH value of organic acid solution. The minimum reduction in adsorption of phosphate was present at a specific pH value of organic acid solution which ranged from 2 to 10; (4) a minimum reduction of phosphate adsorption occurred when phosphate was added to the soils before organic acid, whereas a maximum occurred when organic acid was introduced before the addition of phosphate. Meanwhile, the treatment for the mixture of two organic acids resulted in more reduction in phosphate adsorption than each of the organic acids and less than the total of them. Based on these observations, we suggested that the competition between phosphate and organic acids relied on their relatively affinity to soil mineral surface at different conditions.     

红土镍矿基材料吸附及有氧降解水体污染物

以红土镍矿为研究对象,考察了原矿（HT）及改性矿（HT-FeNi）去除水体中罗丹明B （RhB）的效果.借助XRD、BET、IR等表征手段,结合吸附动力学和等温吸附模拟研究了HT吸附RhB的过程及机制.结果表明：HT的孔隙结构较为丰富,有良好的RhB吸附性能.当HT添加量为0.2g/L时,RhB去除率为39.03%,吸附量达到93.80mg/g.HT添加量增加,RhB去除效果增强,平衡吸附量减小.HT吸附RhB的过程更符合准二级动力学,包含表面扩散及颗粒内扩散两个步骤.等温吸附模型拟合发现Freundlich能够准确描述HT吸附RhB的过程.1/n<0.5,表明吸附过程较易进行.HT经5次循环实验后,吸附量仍能达到39.67mg/g,表明HT有较好的循环使用性能.HT吸附RhB主要归因于Si-O吸附位点.通过气基还原制备得到改性矿（HT-FeNi）.采用SEM、XRD、BET、XPS等手段对HT-FeNi进行表征分析,并考察了HT-FeNi降解RhB的效果.结果表明：HT-FeNi比表面积小（14.374m²/g）,主要成分为铁镍双金属.HT-FeNi不能通过吸附作用去除RhB,而HT-FeNi/Air/pH=3体系在40min内RhB降解效率为94%.捕获活性氧物种的实验证明,HT-FeNi/Air/pH=3体系去除RhB过程中起主要作用的活性氧物种是羟基自由基（·OH）.在酸性条件下,HT-FeNi通过活化O₂生成·OH,Ni⁰诱导的Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺循环促使HT-FeNi/Air/pH=3体系生成更多的·OH.将HT-FeNi/Air/pH=3体系应用于去除水体中甲基橙（MO）和二硝基氯苯（DNCB）,去除效率分别为47%、78%.     

The Relationships among Topographically-driven Habitats,Dominant Species and Vertical Layers in Temperate Forest in China

Russian Journal of Ecology - The relationships among topography, topographically-driven habitats, dominant species and vertical layers in forest ecosystem are often complicate. In this study, based...     

Rainfall-human-spatial interactions in a salinity-prone agricultural region of the Western Australian wheat-belt

To explore the complexity of temporal and spatial dynamics of an agricultural landscape under various external and internal driven scenarios, SimKat, an agent-based model, has been developed with the simulation computer program CORMAS. This model combines simplified bio-physical processes of land cover, regional dry-land salinity changes, rainfall impact on productivity, farm profitability and the complexity of land-use decisions of individual farmers in a dry-land agricultural catchment (no irrigation). In this model, simulated farmers formulate individual decisions dealing with land-use changes based on the combined performance of their past land cover productivity and market returns. The willingness to adapt to market drivers and the ability to maximize returns vary between farmers. In addition, farmers in the model can demonstrate various attitudes towards dry-land salinity mitigation as a consequence of experiencing and perceiving salinity on their farm, in the neighborhood or across the entire region. Consequently, farmers can adopt land cover strategies aimed at reducing dry-land salinity. Aggregating the simulated individual behavior of farmers combined with historical rainfall and market price records, reproduced similar aggregated trends of land-cover changes, regional salinity change and farm number decline as observed in the last 20 years in the subject region (Katanning, Western Australia). Using the model in an initial exploratory study on the impact of rainfall variability and change highlighted the importance of average rainfall decline and the widespread willingness of farmers to adapt perennial vegetation in their farming systems to combat regional dry-land salinity. Rainfall decline, as one of the observed consequences of climate change in this region, can also lead to prolonged sequences of dry seasons in the future. Adaptation by farmers to sequences of dry and wet seasons, rather than an average trend in rainfall, seems to be critical for farm survival in this region. Intensifying cropping during wet seasons to maximize farm returns can increase vulnerability in subsequent periods of dry seasons, in particular where alternative income from pasture and sheep production has been lost in the adaptation process.