Iron and lead ion adsorption by microbial flocculants in synthetic wastewater and their related carbonate formation

Although microbial treatments of heavy metal ions in wastewater have been studied, the removal of these metals through incorporation into carbonate minerals has rarely been reported. To investigate the removal of Fe^3＋ and Pb^2＋, two representative metals in wastewater, through the precipitation of carbonate minerals by a microbial flocculant （MBF） produced by Bacillus mucilaginosus. MBF was added to synthetic wastewater containing different Fe^3＋ and Pb^2＋ concentrations, and the extent of flocculation was analyzed. CO2 was bubbled into the mixture of MBF and Fe^3＋/Pb^2＋ to initiate the reaction. The solid substrates were analyzed via X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The results showed that the removal efficiency decreased and the MBF adsorption capacity for metals increased with increasing heavy metal concentration. In the system containing MBF, metals （Fe^3＋ and Pb^2＋）, and CO2, the concentrated metals adsorbed onto the MBF combined with the dissolved CO2, resulting in oversaturation of metal carbonate minerals to form iron carbonate and lead carbonates. These results may be used in designing a method in which microbes can be utilized to combine CO2 with wastewater heavy metals to form carbonates, with the aim of mitigating environmental problems.     

Enhanced photocatalytic activity of quantum-dot-sensitized one-dimensionally-ordered ZnO nanorod photocatalyst

An efficient photocatalyst was fabricated by assembling quantum dots （QDs） onto one-dimensionally-ordered ZnO nanorods, and the photocatalytic properties for Methyl Orange degradation were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis-NIR absorption spectroscopy and photoluminescence. The results indicate that the catalyst with assembled QDs is more favorable for the degradation than the pristine ZnO nanorods. The QDs with core-shell structure lower the photocatalytic ability due to the higher carder transport barrier of the ZnS shell layer. Besides its degradation efficiency, the photocatalyst has several advantages given that the one-dimensionally-ordered ZnO nanorods have been grown directly on indium tin oxide substrates. The article provides a new method to design an effective and easily recyclable photocatalyst.     

Research on the evolvement of morphology of coking coal during the coking process

The evolvement of morphology and structure of the coal with different metamorphic degrees during coking process in the vertical furnace was investigated by infrared Image detector. Moreover, the temperature distribution in the radial direction and the crack formation were also studied in heating process. The results show that the amount of crack and the shrinkage level of char decrease with the coal rank rising. In addition, the initial temperature of crack formation for char increases with the coal rank rising.     

Photocatalytic degradation of carbofuran in TiO2 aqueous solution：Kinetics using design of experiments and mechanism by HPLC/MS/MS

The photocatalytic degradation kinetics of carbofuran was optimized by central composite design based on response surface methodology for the first time. Three variables, TiO2 concentration, initial pH value and the concentration of carbofuran, were selected to determine the dependence of degradation efficiencies on independent variables. Response surface methodology modeling results indicated that the degradation efficiency of carbofuran was highly affected by the initial pH value and the concentration of carbofuran. Then nine degradation intermediates were detected by HPLC/MS/MS. The Frontier Electron Densities of carbofuran were calculated to predict the active sites on carbofuran attacked by hydroxyl radicals and photoholes. Point charges were used to elucidate the chemisorption pattern on TiO2 catalysts during the photocatalytic process. By combining the experimental results and calculation data, the photocatalytic degradation pathways of carbofuran were proposed, including the addition of hydroxyl radicals and the cleavage of the carbamate side chain.     

Waste oyster shell as a kind of active filler to treat the combined wastewater at an estuary

Estuaries have been described as one of the most difficult environments on Earth. It is difficult to know how to treat the combined wastewater in tidal rivers at the estuary, where the situation is very different from ordinary fresh water rivers. Waste oyster shell was used as the active filler in this study in a bio-contact oxidation tank to treat the combined wastewater at the Fengtang Tidal River. With a middle-experimental scale of 360 ma/day, the average removal efficiency of COD, BOD, NH3-N, TP and TSS was 80.05%, 85.02%, 86.59%, 50.58% and 85.32%, respectively, in this bio-contact oxidation process. The living microbes in the biofilms on the waste oyster shell in this bio-contact oxidation tank, which were mainly composed of zoogloea, protozoa and micro-metazoa species, revealed that waste oyster shell as the filler was suitable material for combined wastewater degradation. This treatment method using waste oyster shell as active filler was then applied in a mangrove demonstration area for water quality improvement near the experiment area, with a treatment volume of 5 × 10^3 m^3/day. Another project was also successfully applied in a constructed wetland, with a wastewater treatment volume of 1 ×10^3 m^3/day. This technology is therefore feasible and can easily be applied on a larger scale,     

Eutrophication development and its key regulating factors in a water-supply reservoir in North China

Yanghe Reservoir is an important source of drinking water for Qinhuangdao City,North China;however,in recent decades this water source has been eutrophic with recurrent summer cyanobacterial blooms.The trophic grade of the system in summer was mesotrophiceutrophic in 1990 and became hypertrophic in 2011.The nutrient availability is extremely high during the entire year,and the water temperature should be the primary driver of the summer blooms.In May-October of 2010 and 2011,abrupt variations were observed in the Secchi depth(SD) and chlorophyll a(Chl-a),and both the correlated analysis of Chl-a-SD and trophic status indices(TSI) deviation(TSI Chl-a-TSI SD) showed that algal cell density dominated light attenuation.During the algal bloom outbreak,the microcystin concentration was found to vary between 0.35-2.12 μg/L in 2010 and 0.11-1.86 μg/L in 2011.The maximum microcystin content was more than two times the safety limit required for drinking water.Inflow discharges were most concentrated in the summer,with periods of lower residence time and the largest water level fluctuation over the entire year.When a high availability of nutrients promoted a high Chl-a concentration in the whole system,it appeared that the instability caused by the decrease in residence time could not produce effective changes in the cyanobacterial abundance.The results indicated that nutrient enrichment in the aquatic systems of Yanghe Reservoir is the most serious problem and that the status would not been modified effectively by increasing hydrological fluctuations(e.g.,decreasing the residence time).Therefore,decreasing the nutrient concentrations is the only route to improve the water quality of this reservoir.     

半干法烟气脱硫灰改性及应用

文章主要对半干法脱硫灰中亚硫酸钙的氧化转化进行研究。半干法脱硫灰中亚硫酸钙对建材质量具有一定影响,通过筛选合适的催化-氧化剂体系对其进行了氧化改性。试验得到了一种复合催化剂,成功用于半干法脱硫灰改性。结合蒸压砖的生产工艺,使亚硫酸钙在生产过程中实现了部分转化,生产的蒸压砖能达到JC239-2001《粉煤灰砖》MU10强度等级。     

溶解氧变化对底泥酶活性及微生物多样性的影响

采用室内静态实验考察了溶解氧变化对底泥酶活性影响,同时采用BIOLOG ECO微平板构造了不同溶解氧水平下底泥微生物多样性指数。结果表明:高溶解氧条件下,底泥多酚氧化酶及过氧化物酶活性显著高于缺氧条件及厌氧条件(P<0.01),脱氢酶活性高于背景值;厌氧条件下脱氢酶、脲酶及碱性磷酸酶活性显著高于高溶解氧组、缺氧组及背景值(P<0.05);缺氧条件下硝酸盐还原酶活性显著高于高溶解氧组及厌氧组(P<0.05);蛋白酶活性受溶解氧水平变化的影响较小。BIOLOG ECO微平板法分析表明,溶解氧变化对底泥微生物多样性有不同程度的负面影响,微生物多样性的降低程度从大到小依次为高溶解氧组>厌氧组>缺氧组。主成分分析结果表明:缺氧条件及厌氧条件下,底泥微生物对大分子有机物的利用出现不同程度的降低,相对地,高溶解氧条件下微生物对大分子有机物的利用程度呈现先下降后上升的趋势;高溶解氧组及缺氧组底泥微生物对碳水化合物利用程度升高,厌氧组对碳水化合物利用程度降低。总之,高溶解氧条件更有利于形成底泥有机物完整的代谢循环,提高大分子有机物的利用程度。     

不同类型湖泊沉积物中氮释放规律研究

通过对武汉市东湖子湖郭郑湖、庙湖以及南湖这3个不同类型的湖泊进行释氮模拟实验,结果表明:(1)在厌氧条件下,不同污染程度的湖泊中沉积物释氮作用均比较明显。为了抑制沉积物向上覆水释氮,控制湖泊富营养化,保持湖泊较高的溶解氧水平是必要的。(2)在厌氧条件下,高温对不同类型湖泊总氮和氨氮的释放均能起到促进作用。(3)沉积物与上覆水间污染物的浓度梯度越大,总氮和氨氮的释放速率与释氮量也越大,此时温度的影响不明显。(4)通过比较3类湖泊沉积物上覆水中总氮和氨氮两者的释放浓度可知,氨氮的释放贡献十分显著,因此控制氨氮的释放量对于控制湖泊氮释放量具有显著效果。     

铬(Ⅵ)土著还原菌筛选及初步鉴定实验研究

以重铬酸钾为供试物,用固体平板法和还原实验对铬(Ⅵ)土著还原菌进行筛选,用载片培养法、革兰氏染色法、鞭毛染色法、芽孢染色法对还原菌做初步的鉴定,共筛选出16株铬(Ⅵ)土著还原菌,并挑选出还原率相对较高的Z2(35.2%)、Z3(45.2%)、Z4(38.6%)、X8(30.4%)、X10(29.4%)作为铬(Ⅵ)的优势还原菌株。经初步鉴定,土著真菌Z2为黑曲霉(Aspergillusniger),Z3、Z4为镰刀菌属(Fusariumsp.),土著细菌X8、X10为芽孢杆菌(Bacillussp.)。实验的方法和成果将为铬(Ⅵ)污染土壤微生物治理技术的推广应用提供技术支持。