Natural attenuation characteristics and comprehensive toxicity changes of C9 aromatics under simulated marine conditions

Microcosmic experiments were performed under a simulated marine environment to investigate the natural attenuation of C9 aromatics using nine components (propylbenzene, isopropylbenzene, 2-ethyltoluene, 3-ethyltoluene, 4-ethyltoluene, 1,2,3-trimethylbenzene, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene, and indene). This research aims to assess the contribution of biodegradation and abiotic activity to total attenuation of C9 aromatics and ascertain the changes in the comprehensive toxicity of seawater in the natural environment. The process of natural attenuation indicates the agreement with pseudo-first-order kinetics for all nine components in microcosmic experiments. The half-lives of the nine main compounds in C9 aromatics ranged between 0.34 day and 0.44 day under optimal conditions. The experiments showed that the natural attenuation of nine aromatic hydrocarbons mainly occurred via abiotic processes. Seawater samples significantly inhibited the luminescence of P. phosphoreum (the luminescence inhibition ratio reached 100%) at the beginning of the experiment. In addition, the toxicity declined slowly and continued for 25 days. The attenuation kinetics and changes in toxicity could be applied to explore the natural attenuation of C9 aromatics in the marine environment.     

A large-scale outdoor atmospheric simulation smog chamber for studying atmospheric photochemical processes: Characterization and preliminary application

Understanding the formation mechanisms of secondary air pollution is very important for the formulation of air pollution control countermeasures in China. Thus, a large-scale outdoor atmospheric simulation smog chamber was constructed at Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (the CRAES Chamber), which was designed for simulating the atmospheric photochemical processes under the conditions close to the real atmospheric environment. The chamber consisted of a 56-m³ fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) Teflon film reactor, an electrically-driven stainless steel alloy shield, an auxiliary system, and multiple detection instrumentations. By performing a series of characterization experiments, we obtained basic parameters of the CRAES chamber, such as the mixing ability, the background reactivity, and the wall loss rates of gaseous compounds (propene, NO, NO₂, ozone) and aerosols (ammonium sulfate). Oxidation experiments were also performed to study the formation of ozone and secondary organic aerosol (SOA), including α-pinene ozonolysis, propene and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene photooxidation. Temperature and seed effects on the vapor wall loss and SOA yields were obtained in this work: higher temperature and the presence of seed could reduce the vapor wall loss; SOA yield was found to depend inversely on temperature, and the presence of seed could increase SOA yield. The seed was suggested to be used in the chamber to reduce the interaction between the gas phase and chamber walls. The results above showed that the CRAES chamber was reliable and could meet the demands for investigating tropospheric chemistry.     

Isolation and characterization of a strain with high microbial attachment in aerobic granular sludge

Aerobic granule is a special microbial aggregate associated with biofilm structure. The formation of aerobic granular sludge is primarily depending on its bacterial community and relevant microbiological properties. In this experiment, a strain with high microbial attachment was isolated from aerobic granular sludge, and the detailed characteristics were examined. Its high attachment ability could reach 2.34 (OD_600nm), while other low attachment values were only around 0.06-0.32, which indicated a big variation among the different bacteria. The strain exhibited a very special morphology with many fibric fingers under SEM observation. A distinctive behaviour was to form a spherical particle by themselves, which would be very beneficial for the formation and development of granular sludge. The EPS measurement showed that its PN content was higher than low attachment bacteria, and 3D-EEM confirmed that there were some different components. Based on the 16S rRNA analysis, it was identified to mostly belong to Stenotrophomonas. Its augmentation to particle sludge cultivation demonstrated that the strain could significantly promote the formation of aerobic granule. Conclusively, it was strongly suggested that it might be used as a good and potential model strain or chassis organism for the aerobic granular sludge formation and development.     

Nonisothermal pyrolysis kinetics of waste printed circuit boards and product characterization using TG–MS

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - With characteristics of high resources, complex composition, and high toxicity, the treatment and disposal of waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs)...     

Spatiotemporal variations of dissolved organic matter in a typical multi-source watershed in northern China: a fluorescent evidence

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The amount of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in a multi-source watershed is important for complete management and assessing the river basin’s...     

Economic growth,technology, and CO2 emissions in BRICS: Investigating the non-linear impacts of economic complexity

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Upgrading economic structures and producing less pollution-intensive goods are indispensable for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in...     

Human health risk assessment of heavy metals from PM2.5 in China’s 29 provincial capital cities

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - After years of governance, China’s PM2.5 pollution has improved significantly, but some problems remain. PM2.5 is the carrier of many heavy...     

How does turions production of Potamogeton crispus L. respond to parental population biomass and living environment

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Turions production is the dominant means of propagation in Potamogeton crispus L. To understand how parental population and their living environmental...     

50年来上海市台风灾害分析及预评估

依据1949~2005年中国气象局上海台风研究所的实测数据和前人的研究成果,筛选出对上海地区造成严重影响的84个台风,对这84个成灾台风的最大风速、过程雨量以及吴淞口、黄埔公园潮位站数据分析,结合收集到的其中57个台风的完整灾情数据计算灾情指数。综合研究得出:近50年来,成灾台风生成频数的年际变化比较明显;台风造成的人员伤亡、农田受淹面积和房屋倒损3个灾情参数在这50年里有一定的起伏变化,但综合灾情指数变化的幅度不大,从1980年代开始灾情指数有上升趋势。成灾台风灾情指数与上海市郊吕泗站最大风速和过程雨量成正相关。吴淞口、黄埔公园的潮位站数据与成灾台风直接经济损失对应性较好。     

深圳市SO2污染来源及其特征分析

以珠江三角洲地区2004年SO₂源排放清单、国家级气象站及深圳市气象站气象资料和空气质量监测数据为基础, 采用基于扩散模式的污染源解析技术对深圳市SO₂污染来源进行研究. 利用非稳态气象和空气质量(CALPUFF)模拟系统,模拟外来污染源及深圳市局地污染源排放扩散行为,定量计算2类污染源对深圳市SO₂浓度的贡献率,并分析其时空变化特征. 结果表明:珠江三角洲地区2004年SO₂排放总量为72.9×104 t, 深圳市局地排放量约4.65×104 t;深圳市SO₂污染是由局地污染源和外来污染源排放共同作用的结果, 对SO₂的贡献率分别约为75%和25%, 表明局地污染源排放是深圳市SO₂污染的最主要来源.