Sorption kinetic characteristics of polybrominated diphenyl ethers on natural soils

Sorption kinetic characteristics of BDE-28 and BDE-47 on five natural soils with different organic carbon fractions were investigated, and could be satisfactorily described by a two (fast and slow)-compartment first-order model with the ratio of rate constants ranged from 9 to 94 times. The fast compartment made a dominant contribution (71% ∼ 94%) to the total sorption amount in the whole process, and accounted for over 90% of the increase in the total sorption amount at initial 5 h. The influence of the slow compartment on the increase in the total sorption amount became principal (above 90%) in the subsequent stage approximately from 9 h or 25 h to the apparent equilibrium at 265 h. The results proposed the different sorption behaviors of the mathematically classified compartments for BDE-28 and BDE-47, which may correspond to the different soil components, such as soil organic fractions with amorphous and condensed structures, respectively.     

Tissue S/N ratios and stable isotopes (δS and δN) of epilithic mosses (Haplocladium microphyllum) for showing air pollution in urban cities in Southern China

In urban cities in Southern China, the tissue S/N ratios of epilithic mosses (Haplocladium microphyllum), varied widely from 0.11 to 0.19, are strongly related to some atmospheric chemical parameters (e.g. rainwater SO₄²⁻/NH₄⁺ ratios, each people SO₂ emission). If tissue S/N ratios in the healthy moss species tend to maintain a constant ratio of 0.15 in unpolluted area, our study cities can be divided into two classes: class I (S/N > 0.15, S excess) and class II (S/N < 0.15, N excess), possibly indicative of stronger industrial activity and higher density of population, respectively. Mosses in all these cities obtained S and N from rainwater at a similar ratio. Sulphur and N isotope ratios in mosses are found significantly linearly correlated with local coal δ³⁴S and NH₄⁺-N wet deposition, respectively, indicating that local coal and animal NH₃ are the major atmospheric S and N sources.     

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers and their methoxylated metabolites in anchovy (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Coilia</Emphasis> sp.) from the Yangtze River Delta,China

Background, aim, and scope  

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and their metabolites are toxic to animals, and concentrations of the PBDEs metabolites can exceed those of the parent materials. But no information was available on concentrations of PBDEs metabolites in the lower Yangtze River in the region around Jiangsu Province of China, which is heavily urbanized and industrialized area. The aims of this study were to determine whether PBDEs and their methoxylated PBDEs (MeO-PBDEs) were accumulated in Coilia sp. in this area and to investigate the potential sources for these two kinds of brominated organic pollutants.     

Interaction of nano-TiO2 with lysozyme: insights into the enzyme toxicity of nanosized particles

Background, aim, and scope  

Nanomaterials have been used increasingly in industrial production and daily life, but their human exposure may cause health risks. The interactions of nanomaterial with functional biomolecules are often applied as a precondition for its cytotoxicity and organ toxicity where various proteins have been investigated in the past years. In the present study, nano-TiO₂ was selected as the representative of nanomaterials and lysozyme as a representative for enzymes. By investigating their interaction by various instrumentations, the objective is to identify the action sites and types, estimate the effect on the enzyme structure and activity, and reveal the toxicity mechanism of nanomaterial.     

Ag~+改性复合钛铌酸钾盐对二甲基硫醚和乙硫醇吸附与光催化氧化研究

采用高温固相法合成具有不同Nb/Ti摩尔比的复合钛铌酸钾盐,通过Ag+离子交换对其进行改性。在静态下评价了Ag+改性复合钛铌酸钾盐对二甲基硫醚(DMS)和乙硫醇(EM)的吸附与紫外光催化氧化作用,使用红外光谱技术对催化剂表面滞留物种进行表征。结果表明,Ag+改性复合钛铌酸钾盐对DMS的吸附作用力比EM弱。随着Nb/Ti摩尔比增加,Ag+改性复合钛铌酸钾盐对EM的吸附作用力增强。在紫外光辐射下,Ag+改性的复合钛铌酸钾盐将DMS氧化为亚砜、砜和硫酸盐,而EM则被氧化为磺酸和单齿硫酸盐。     

摇动床生物膜反应器和活性污泥法组合技术处理高浓度有机废水的研究

利用摇动床生物膜反应器(简称摇动床)技术具有的容积负荷高与污泥产量低的优点,在普通活性污泥池的前部填充高性能丙烯酸树脂纤维(Biofringe)填料,研究了摇动床和活性污泥法组合技术处理高浓度有机废水的有效性。结果表明,该组合技术具有很强的有机物去除能力,当进水COD平均质量浓度由1500mg/L上升到2514mg/L时,出水COD的平均去除率基本保持在96%以上;整个运行阶段的出水COD浓度均满足《污水综合排放标准》(GB8978—1996)的二级标准;当进水NH4+-N浓度增加时,NH4+-N的去除率由99.7%降低到76.5%,但是在试验运行的整个阶段,摇动床和活性污泥法组合技术系统都表现出较强的硝化能力;活性污泥池中最高的混合液悬浮固体(MLSS)质量浓度为10625mg/L,最高MLSS约为普通活性污泥法的4倍;运行结束后的污泥产率为0.186,污泥产率仅为普通活性污泥法的50%左右。     

维生素和酮苷生产废水中难降解污染物的溯源研究

研究了维生素和酮苷生产过程中各生产工段排水的生物降解特性,评价了各生产工段对生产废水中难降解有机物的贡献率,追溯了可能的难降解特征污染物。结果表明,维生素生产废水中的难降解物质主要来自W1-1、W1-3、W1-5和W1-6生产工段,甲醛、丁烯酮、醛酮聚合物和吡啶可能是导致生产废水难降解的重要原因;酮苷生产废水中的难降解物质主要来自W2-1、W2-3和W2-7生产工段,氯代有机溶剂和苯环类物质可能是导致生产废水难降解的重要原因。建议根据具体生产工段排水的水质特征,有针对性地进行物化处理,提高废水可生化性。     

有机物料对废碱锰电池的溶解作用研究

采用润湿好气-腐解培养法,研究有机物料对废碱锰电池的溶解作用,分析了培养时间对pH值,N,K,Zn和Mn溶出的影响。结果表明,稻草、鸡粪和鸽子粪处理培养过程中产生腐殖酸对废电池干粉均有溶解作用,其pH值明显降低;所有处理TN,Zn,Mn都呈现先增加后减小的趋势,15 d时溶量最大,以鸽子粪处理溶出较多;TK的溶出较慢,培养到10 d后才有溶出,均呈现逐渐增大的趋势;而TP溶出则规律性不强。     

An Estimation of the Effects of China’s Priority Forestry Programs on Farmers’ Income

In the late 1990s, the Chinese government initiated some new programs and consolidated other existing ones of ecological restoration and resource development in its forest sector, and renamed them as “Priority Forestry Programs,” or PFPs. They include the Natural Forest Protection Program (NFPP), the Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP), the Desertification Combating Program around Beijing and Tianjin (DCBT), the Shelterbelt Development Program (SBDP), and the Wildlife Conservation and Nature Reserve Development Program (WCNR). In addition to improving the environmental and resource conditions, a frequently reiterated goal of these PFPs is to increase rural households’ income, therefore discussing why looking at rural household income impacts might be an important part of forest program evaluation. Thus, an interesting and important question is: How has implementing the PFPs affected the farmers’ income and poverty status? This article addresses this question using a fixed-effects model and a panel dataset that covers 1968 households in four provinces for ten consecutive years (1995–2004). The empirical evidence indicates that their effects are mixed. The SLCP, the SBDP, and the NFPP have made positive impact and, by far, the SLCP has the largest effect. But the WCNR and the DCBT still have not had a pronounced overall effect due to their short time span of execution, even though they may have exerted certain influence at the margin. Notably, the impact of the WCNR, if any, is negative.     

Analysis of arable land loss and its impact on rural sustainability in Southern Jiangsu Province of China

Rapid urbanization and industrialization in southern Jiangsu Province have consumed a huge amount of arable land. Through comparative analysis of land cover maps derived from TM images in 1990, 2000 and 2006, we identified the trend of arable land loss. It is found that most arable land is lost to urbanization and rural settlements development. Urban settlements, rural settlements, and industrial park-mine-transport land increased, respectively, by 87 997 ha (174.65%), 81 041 ha (104.52%), and 12 692 ha (397.99%) from 1990 to 2006. Most of the source (e.g., change from) land covers are rice paddy fields and dryland. These two covers contributed to newly urbanized areas by 37.12% and 73.52% during 1990–2000, and 46.39% and 38.86% during 2000–2006. However, the loss of arable land is weakly correlated with ecological service value, per capita net income of farmers, but positively with grain yield for some counties. Most areas in the study site have a low arable land depletion rate and a high potential for sustainable development. More attention should be directed at those counties that have a high depletion rate but a low potential for sustainable development. Rural settlements should be controlled and rationalized through legislative measures to achieve harmonious development between urban and rural areas, and sustainable development for rural areas with a minimal impact on the ecoenvironment.