Effect of sulfur source on photocatalytic degradation performance of CdS/MoS2 prepared with one-step hydrothermal synthesis

Cd S/Mo S_2,an extremely efficient photocatalyst,has been extensively used in hydrogen photoproduction and pollutant degradation.Cd S/Mo S_2can be synthesized by a facile one-step hydrothermal process.However,the effect of the sulfur source on the synthesis of Cd S/Mo S_2via one-step hydrothermal methods has seldom been investigated.We report herein a series of one-step hydrothermal preparations of Cd S/Mo S_2using three different sulfur sources:thioacetamide,L-cysteine,and thiourea.The results revealed that the sulfur source strongly affected the crystallization,morphology,elemental composition and ultraviolet(UV)–visible-light-absorption ability of the Cd S/Mo S_2.Among the investigated sulfur sources,thioacetamide provided the highest visible-light absorption ability for Cd S/Mo S_2,with the smallest average particle size and largest surface area,resulting in the highest efficiency in Methylene Blue(MB)degradation.The photocatalytic activity of Cd S/Mo S_2synthesized from the three sulfur sources can be arranged in the following order:thioacetamideL-cysteinethiourea.The reaction rate constants(k)for thioacetamide,L-cysteine,and thiourea were estimated to be 0.0197,0.0140,and 0.0084 min~(-1),respectively.However,thioacetamide may be limited in practical application in terms of its price and toxicity,while L-cysteine is relatively economical,less toxic and exhibited good photocatalytic degradation performance toward MB.     

Comparative study of carbonic anhydrase activity in waters among different geological eco-environments of Yangtze River basin and its ecological significance

This study provides the presence of carbonic anhydrase(CA) activity in waters of the Yangtze River basin, China, as well as the correlation of CA activity with HCO-3 concentration and CO_2 sink flux. Different degrees of CA activity could be detected in almost all of the water samples from different geological eco-environments in all four seasons. The CA activity of water samples from karst areas was significantly higher than from non-karst areas(PP3-concentration(r = 0.672, P2 sink flux(r = 0.602, P = 0.076) in karst areas. This suggests that CA in waters might have a promoting effect on carbon sinks for atmospheric CO_2 in karst river basins. In conditions of similar geological type, higher CA activity was generally detected in water samples taken from areas that exhibited better eco-environments, implying that the CA activity index of waters could be used as an indicator for monitoring ecological environments and protection of river basins. These findings suggest that the role of CA in waters in the karst carbon sink potential of river basins is worthy of further in-depth studies.     

Occupational exposure assessment of phthalate esters in indoor and outdoor microenvironments

Phthalate esters(PAEs) are widely used as plasticizers in consumer products. PAEs are a group of environmental hormone which disrupts human and animals' endocrine systems. Different occupational groups are exposed to various levels of PAEs. In the present study, four typical occupational groups were chosen, including doctors, college teachers, college students, and drivers who worked in public traffic system. In order to understand the exposure levels to PAEs via inhalation, air samples were collected from multiple microenvironments including indoor and outdoor in Hangzhou to measure the gas and particle concentrations of six PAEs, together with time spent in different microenvironments of these four groups. A comprehensive PAEs exposure model was built to estimate the daily PAEs exposure through inhalation, oral and dermal pathways. The Monte Carlo simulation results show that doctors were exposed to the highest level of PAEs, and consequently had the highest health risk among these four occupational groups. In contrast, college students had the lowest health risk. By setting the exposure level of staying in residences as the baseline, doctors and drivers were two occupations exposed to high PAEs health risk. Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate(DEHP) was the largest contributor among the six phthalates, posing moderate health risk(10-5–10-6) to every occupation. For traffic microenvironments alone, the total exposure levels for different transportation modes were in the descending order of busses, cars, cabs, tubes, motor bikes, and walking.     

Spatial and temporal variation of haze in China from 1961 to 2012

The purpose of this study is to analyze the climatic characteristics and long-term spatial and temporal variations of haze occurrence in China. The impact factors of haze trends are also discussed. Meteorological data from 1961 to 2012 and daily PM₁₀ concentrations from 2003 to 2012 were employed in this study. The results indicate that the annual-average hazy days at all stations have been increasing rapidly from 4 days in 1961 to 18 days in 2012. The maximum number of haze days occur in winter (41.1%) while the minimum occur in summer (10.4%). During 1961-2012, the high occurrence areas of haze shifted from central to south and east regions of China. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (Jing-Jin-Ji) region, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan Province are the high occurrence areas for haze, while the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and the Pearl River Delta (PRD) have become regions with high haze occurrences in the last 25 years. Temperature and pressure are positively correlated with the number of haze days. However, wind, relative humidity, precipitation, and sunshine duration are negatively correlated with the number of haze days. The key meteorological factors affecting the formation and dissipation of haze vary for high and low altitudes, and are closely related to anthropogenic activities. In recent years, anthropogenic activities have played a more important role in haze occurrences compared with meteorological factors.     

Assessment of Potential Capability of Water Bamboo Leaves on the Adsorption Removal Efficiency of Cationic Dye from Aqueous Solutions

Removal of toxic pollutants from water and wastewater is becoming an important process with the increase of industrial activities. The present study focused on assessing the suitability and efficiency of water bamboo leaves (WBL) for the removal of cationic dye from aqueous solutions. The effect of different variables in the batch method including solution pH (2–12), initial dye concentration (50–250 mg L^?1), adsorbent dose (0.05–0.30 g), contact time (5–180 min) and temperature (283–333 K) on the dye removal was investigated. The adsorption kinetics was discussed in view of four kinetics models. The results showed that the pseudo-second-order kinetics model described dye adsorption on WBL very well. The experimental equilibrium data were also tested by four isotherm models. It was found that adsorption of dye on WBL fitted well with the Langmuir isotherm model, implying the binding energy on the whole surface of the adsorbent was uniform and the dye molecules onto the surface of the adsorbent were monolayer coverage. Calculation of various thermodynamic parameters of the adsorption process indicated feasibility and exothermic nature of dye adsorption.     

规模化畜禽养殖业零排放模式探究

针对中国畜禽养殖业污染日益严重的现状,在分析现阶段中国规模化畜禽养殖业污染治理现状的基础上,提出运用循环经济的理论,因地制宜的采取污染物减排措施.分别从废水、粪便资源化利用以及病死猪的无害化处理三个角度分析了规模化畜禽养殖业的零排放模式,加快推进了生态环境治理体系和治理能力的现代化,从而实现资源整合,提高畜禽养殖废弃物处理设备的利用效率,将污染物变成可再生的资源,为规模化畜禽养殖业污染物处理实现零排放及循环利用提供参考.     

关于绿色建筑体系与低碳经济的探讨

针对绿色建筑体系与低碳经济的探讨问题,介绍了什么是绿色建筑,提出了绿色建筑是中国低碳经济建设的必然要求,探讨了绿色建筑的发展,主要包括:国外某些国家绿色建筑的发展和中国绿色建筑的发展,提出了绿色建筑的认识误区,主要包括绿色并不等于高价格和高成本、绿色建筑不仅局限于新建建筑和建筑节能不只是政府的职责,总结出中国绿色建筑的推广与运用,主要是研究和推广符合中国国情的绿色建筑、大力推广“绿色建筑”的标识和中国绿色建筑推广的实例.     

Accelerated photo-transformation of 2,2′,4,4′,5,5′-hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB 153) in water by dissolved organic matter

The ubiquitous dissolved organic matter (DOM) has an important influence on transformation of organic contaminants through the production of reactive substances, such as ^?OH, ¹O₂, and ³DOM*. The photolysis of a higher chlorinated polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congener (2,2′,4,4′,5,5′-hexachlorobiphenyl, PCB 153) under simulated sunlight in presence of humic acid (HA) was investigated. Degradation of PCB 153 was accelerated significantly by the addition of HA, with a rate constant of 0.0214, 0.0413, and 0.0358 h^?1 in the initial 18 h of irradiation in presence of 1, 5, and 20 mg/L HA, respectively. The main photodegradation products analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry were 4-hydroxy-2,2′,4′,5,5′-pentaCB and 2,4,5-trichlorobenzoic acid. Main reactive species involved were determined by the electron spin-resonance spectroscopy, including ¹O₂ and ^?OH. Special scavengers were added to elucidate the photolysis mechanisms. By using the specific scavengers, it turned out that ^?OH accounted for 29.3 % of the degradation, and the intra-DOM reactive species (¹O₂, ^?OH, and ³DOM*) accounted for 59.6 % of the degradation. Photo-transformation sensitized by DOM, which involves both aqueous and intra-DOM reactions of PCBs with reactive species, may be one of the most important mechanisms for natural attenuation of PCBs.     

Determination of S02 Emission from Oil Combustion Sources by Fuel Analyses and S02/C02 Relations

The current S0₂ emission test methods, based on wet chemistry, are time consuming and costly. Final results depend on at least 10 separate measurements of quantities which may introduce significant errors due to human factors especially under unfavorable field environment. Performance evaluation of several promising S0₂ instrumental methods indicated that results were reliable and reproducible, but instrumental problems still exist. The problems were found to be calibration, mechanical and electronic components, and sample conditioning system. An alternative method proposed requires only two separate analyses: ultimate fuel analysis and stack gas analysis for C0₂. This method can be further simplified with reasonable accuracy by a single measurement of sulfur in the fuel if results are corrected to 12% C0₂. The method can be a useful addition to the current methods, especially if cost and manpower preclude actual stack tests. A test program was conducted at four industrial and utility power plants. Results are presented with discussion to show the application and validity of the simplified method.     

Evaluating growth of larval walleye pollock, Theragra chalcogramma, using cell cycle analysis

Cell cycle analysis of muscle cell division rates offers a new and efficient technique to analyze growth of larval fish. Using this approach, growth of larval walleye pollock was estimated by determining cell proliferation rates, reasoning that growth during early life stages is probably attributed to increases in cell number rather than to increases in cell size. Characteristic patterns of brain and muscle cell division rates were produced in larval walleye pollock by manipulating their diet in the laboratory. The fraction of dividing muscle cells and, to a lesser extent, the fraction of dividing brain cells were direct indicators of fast and slow growth. A model was produced to estimate average growth rate from the fraction of dividing muscle cells. We developed a simple method for preparing and storing the muscle tissue that ensures nucleic acid stability for subsequent analyses and permits sampling in the field. We envision that the cell cycle methodology will have on-site applications, presenting an opportunity to attain real-time estimates of larval fish growth at sea. Determining the proportion of first-feeding larvae with a high fraction of dividing muscle cells may yield a means for predicting the proportion of fast-growing fish, i.e., the potential survivors.