Effect of temperature and particle size on the thermal desorption of PCBs from contaminated soil

Thermal desorption is widely used for remediation of soil contaminated with volatiles, such as solvents and distillates. In this study, a soil contaminated with semivolatile polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was sampled at an interim storage point for waste PCB transformers and heated to temperatures from 300 to 600 °C in a flow of nitrogen to investigate the effect of temperature and particle size on thermal desorption. Two size fractions were tested: coarse soil of 420–841 μm and fine soil with particles <250 μm. A PCB removal efficiency of 98.0 % was attained after 1 h of thermal treatment at 600 °C. The residual amount of PCBs in this soil decreased with rising thermal treatment temperature while the amount transferred to the gas phase increased up to 550 °C; at 600 °C, destruction of PCBs became more obvious. At low temperature, the thermally treated soil still had a similar PCB homologue distribution as raw soil, indicating thermal desorption as a main mechanism in removal. Dechlorination and decomposition increasingly occurred at high temperature, since shifts in average chlorination level were observed, from 3.34 in the raw soil to 2.75 in soil treated at 600 °C. Fine soil particles showed higher removal efficiency and destruction efficiency than coarse particles, suggesting that desorption from coarse particles is influenced by mass transfer.     

Environmental monitoring of alcohol sulfates and alcohol ethoxysulfates in marine sediments

The study describes the environmental monitoring of anionic surfactants―alcohol sulfates (AS) and alcohol ethoxysulfates (AES)—in marine sediments. Concentration values were obtained after pressurised liquid extraction (PLE) and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry analysis (LC–MS/MS). Samples were collected from a range of wastewater discharge points along the coast of the provinces of Huelva, Málaga, Granada and Almería. Urban, agricultural and industrial wastewaters are discharged at the selected 38 sampling sites. Principal component analysis was carried out in order to evaluate the distribution and behaviour of these compounds in these coastal environments. Evaluation of the data revealed that the behaviour and sources of AS and AES in marine sediments are different, and that the distribution of AES depends on the length of the alkyl chain, while the number of ethoxylated units is not relevant. Additionally, the 38 sampling sites can be grouped into only two types of outfalls according to their AS distribution. The concentration of compounds in sediment samples ranged from 7.52 to 13.50 mg kg^?1 for AS, from 3.04 to 10.68 mg kg^?1 for AES–C₁₂E_x and from 3.83 to 11.56 mg kg^?1 for AES–C₁₄E_x.     

Some technical issues in managing PCBs

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were important industrial chemicals featuring high thermal and chemical stability and low flammability. They were widely used as dielectric and thermal fluid in closed electro-technical applications (transformers, capacitors…) and also in numerous dispersive uses, ranking from auto-copying paper to sealant or coatings. During the 1960s, severe environmental consequences started becoming apparent. The stability of PCBs contributed to their persistence in the environment, their lipophilic character to bio-magnification. Fish-eating species seemed threatened in their existence. In Japan and in Taiwan, thousands of people consumed PCB-contaminated oil. The production of PCBs stopped completely during the 1980s. Usage could continue in closed applications only. In this paper, particular attention is given to two issues: the cleaning of PCB electric transformers and the potential impact of PCB-containing building materials. Other contributions will cover the management and treatment of PCB-contaminated soil, sludge or fly ash. The complete survey is being prepared by request of the Knowledge Center for Engineers and Professionals.     

Degree of phosphorus saturation of an Oxisol amended with biosolids in a long-term field experiment

When applied to agricultural soils, phosphate fertilizers and the mineral or organic compounds present in solid and/or liquid waste may raise phosphorus (P) content and increase soil P saturation. The degree of phosphorus saturation (DPS) is a good indicator of potential P loss from agricultural soils. The purpose of this study was to calculate the DPS of samples from an Oxisol amended for 5 years with biosolids and mineral fertilizer. DPS was calculated based on P, iron, and aluminum extracted by ammonium oxalate and oxalic acid (DPS_ox) or by Mehlich-1 solution (DPS_M1). Treatments included NPK mineral fertilization (175 kg ha^?1 of P), B1?=?19.02 t ha^?1 of biosolids (350 kg ha^?1 of P), B2?=?38.17 t ha^?1 of biosolids (703 kg ha^?1 of P), B3?=?76.26 t ha^–1 of biosolids (1,405 kg ha^?1 of P), and a control (no P added). Water-extractable P (WEP) was also measured. Critical levels of DPS_ox and DPS_M1 (21 and 24 %, respectively) were only achieved in the topsoil (0–0.1 m) at the highest biosolid dose. Concentration of WEP was positively correlated to DPS_ox and DPS_M1. The DPS_M1 method may be an alternative to DPS_ox for assessing the environmental risk of P loss from soil into surface runoff.     

The adsorption process during inorganic phosphorus removal by cultured periphyton

To explain the detailed process involved in phosphorus removal by periphyton, the periphyton dominated by photoautotrophic microorganisms was employed in this study to remove inorganic phosphorus (P _i ) from wastewater, and the removal kinetics and isotherms were then evaluated for the P _i removal process. Results showed that the periphyton was capable of effectively removing P _i that could completely remove the P _i in 24 h at an initial P _i concentration of 13 mg P L^?1. Furthermore, the P _i removal process by the periphyton was dominated by adsorption at initial stage (~24 h), which involved physical mechanistic process. However, this P _i adsorption process was significantly influenced by environmental conditions. This work provides an insight into the understanding of phosphorus adsorption by periphyton or similar microbial aggregates.

活性炭纤维负载TiO2催化剂的制备及其电催化性能

采用溶胶-凝胶法制备了活性炭纤维负载TiO₂催化剂（TiO₂/ACF）,并通过SEM和XRD等手段对TiO₂/ACF进行了表征。以邻苯二甲酸二甲酯（DMP）为目标降解物,考察了催化材料的电催化活性。实验结果表明：在反应温度为25 ℃、初始DMP质量浓度为100.0 mg/L、电解质Na₂SO₄质量浓度为100 mg/L、电流密度为62.5 mA/cm²、电极板间距为4 cm的条件下,经过40 min的降解,DMP质量浓度为1.8 mg/L,DMP去除率为98.2%;TiO₂/ACF在反应过程中可以原位再生,经6次重复使用后仍保持很高的催化活性,对DMP的去除率仍达90%以上。     

炼油废水污泥脱水工艺条件的优化

采用化学除油降黏—污泥调理—离心脱水工艺处理某炼油厂废水处理系统的混合污泥,并对工艺条件进行优化。实验结果表明,最佳的工艺条件为：化学除油降黏阶段处理体系的pH=4,反应温度35 ℃,H₂O₂加入量 2 g/L,m（H₂O₂）∶ m（Fe²⁺）=4,反应时间 60 min;污泥调理反应阶段的CaO加入量7.0 g/L;离心脱水阶段在分离因数为1 558时脱水5 min。在此条件下,得到的泥饼的含水率为70.0%~75.0%（w）,含油率小于2%（w）,污泥比阻约为3.0×10⁷ s²/g。     

盐酸脱附Pb(Ⅱ)负载氨基膦酸树脂的基本性能

氨基膦酸树脂是一种常用的广谱性重金属螯合树脂,对水中的Pb(Ⅱ)具有很好的选择性分离去除能力,但吸附Pb(Ⅱ)后的树脂再生较为困难。系统研究了盐酸脱附Pb(Ⅱ)-负载氨基膦酸树脂D860的基本性能,优化了基本脱附参数。实验表明,采用盐酸作为脱附剂具有较为良好的脱附效果,10%吸附量树脂脱附反应平衡较快仅需10 min,脱附本身受Pb(Ⅱ)在盐酸溶液中的溶解度影响显著。脱附流速从1 BV/h升高到5 BV/h,脱附效果受到的影响很小。升高温度可以提高PbCl2溶解度,进而提高脱附效率。固定床脱附采用1.0 mol/L盐酸,在1 BV/h和303 K条件下,仅需7 BV脱附剂即可实现较高的脱附效率。     

不同运行模式对同步脱氮除磷CAST工艺快速启动及其稳定维持的影响

以实际生活污水为处理对象,考察了传统进水/曝气和改良型分段进水的交替缺氧-好氧(A/O)2种运行模式对CAST工艺的快速启动及脱氮除磷性能稳定维持的影响。结果表明,传统进水/曝气运行模式下,系统达到最佳营养物去除性能所需启动时间30 d,稳定运行阶段TN平均去除80.66%,磷的去除率维持在66.30%左右;采用改良型交替运行模式,反应器达到稳定运行状态仅需18 d,系统稳定运行时TN平均去除81.36%,磷去除率稳定维持在90%以上,出水磷浓度在0.3 mg/L以下,出水水质达到国家污水综合排放标准一级A(GB8978-2002)。研究还发现,传统运行模式下,由低温引起的污泥沉降性能变差导致系统污泥严重流失,反应器几乎丧失污染物去除性能;而低温对交替运行模式下的反应器除磷性能几乎没有影响,总氮去除则因氨氮不完全硝化而大大降低。     

电镀污泥的热处理特性以及对金属回收的影响

焙烧-酸浸法可有效回收电镀污泥中的有价金属,而污泥的热处理特性是决定能否采用焙烧预处理的重要因素。研究了氧化焙烧和还原焙烧对污泥成分和金属浸出性的影响,并对焙烧前后的污泥进行了金属形态分析和X射线衍射(XRD)分析。结果表明,焙烧预处理实现了污泥减量和金属富集;ES1经氧化焙烧后金属浸出率接近原泥,Cu的浸出率达99%;ES2的还原焙烧效果优于氧化焙烧,特别是Cu的浸出率超过97%,XRD分析发现,还原焙烧过程中金属Cu被还原为铁铜合金;2种焙烧均造成了ES3中目标金属Ni的浸出率的降低;金属浸出性的下降与残渣态的形成有关。