Persistence of MS-2 Bacteriophage Within Eastern Oysters

Male-specific bacteriophages have been proposed as human enteric virus indicators for shellfish. In this study, Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) were individually exposed to 5.6 × 10¹⁰ PFU of MS-2 for 48 h at 15 °C followed by collective maintenance in continuously UV-sterilized seawater for 0–6 weeks at either 7, 15, or 24 °C. Initial contamination levels of MS-2 were >6 log PFU. Assessment of weekly declines of viable MS-2 indicated that cooler temperatures dramatically enhanced the persistence of MS-2 within oyster tissues. At 3 weeks, the average log PFU reductions for MS-2 within oysters were 2.28, 2.90, and 4.57 for oysters held at 7, 15, and 24 °C, respectively. Fitting temporal survival data with linear and nonlinear Weibull models indicated that the Weibull model best fit the observed reductions. In total, these data can serve as a guideline for regulatory agencies regarding the influence of water temperature on indicator phage after episodic sewage exposure.     

Adsorption and mechanistic study of the invasive plant-derived biochar functionalized with CaAl-LDH for Eu(III) in water

Herein, we developed the invasive plant-derived biochar (IPB) functionalized with CaAl-LDH at five mass ratios using a physical mixture method, assessed their adsorption perform for Eu(III), and explored the relative mechanisms. Results show that the IPB successfully loaded CaAl-LDH in five composites and their Eu(III) sorption affinities were strongly affected by solution pH, contact time, temperature, and the mass ratio of LDH and IPB. All the sorpiton process for Eu(III) occurred on the heterogeneous surface of five composites and the boundary layer diffusion limited the chemical sorption rate. Interestingly, the CaAl-LDH/IPB composite with high ratio of IPB had higher sorption capacity than the one with high ratio of LDH due to larger porosity of the former. Three mechanisms containing ion exchange between Al and Eu ions, surface complexation with carboxyl- and oxygen-containing functional groups, and precipitation were involved in the Eu(III) sorption, but the dominant sorption mechanism for each CaAl-LDH/IPB composite differed with different mass ratio of CaAl-LDH and IPB. In composite with more IPB (e.g., CaAl-LDH/IPB-13), both ion exchange and surface complexes dominated the sorption process and the intensity of Eu³⁺ was identified with the one of Eu₂O_3. Whereas in composites with high LDH, ion exchange dominated the sorption and the intensity of Eu³⁺ was obviously higher than the one of Eu₂O₃. This research will provide a new perspective for the application of the LDH/biochar materials.     

Phosphine production in anaerobic wastewater treatment under tetracycline antibiotic pressure

The influence of tetracycline(TC) antibiotics on phosphine(PH_3) production in the anaerobic wastewater treatment was studied. A lab-scale anaerobic baffled reactor with three compartments was employed to simulate this process. The reactor was operated in a TC-absence wastewater and 250 μg/L TC-presence wastewater for three months after a start-up period,respectively. The responses of p H, oxidation–reduction potential(ORP), chemical oxygen demand(COD), total phosphorus(TP), enzymes activity(dehydrogenase and acid phosphatase),and microbial community were investigated to reveal the effect of TC on PH_3 production.Results suggested that the dehydrogenase(DH) activity, acid phosphatase(ACP) activity and COD have positive relationship with PH_3 production, while p H, ORP level and the TP in liquid phase have negative relationship with PH_3 production. With prolonged TC exposure, decrease in p H and increase in DH activity are beneficial to PH_3 production, while decrease in COD and ACP activity are not the limiting factors for PH_3 production.     

Fast screening compositions of PM2.5 by ATR-FTIR: Comparison with results from IC andOC/EC analyzers

Chemical speciation of fine particles or PM_(2.5) collected on filters is still a costly and timeconsuming task. In this study, filter-based PM_(2.5) samples were collected during November–December 2013 at four sites in Guangzhou, and the major components were fast screened(~7 min per filter sample) by Attenuated Total Reflectance(ATR)-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopic(FTIR) in comparison with that measured by Organic carbon/Element carbon(OC/EC) analyzer and Ion Chromatography(IC). The concentrations of nitrate, ammonium, sulfate,primary organic carbon(POC) and secondary organic carbon(SOC) measured by OC/EC and IC analyzers were better correlated with their infrared absorption peak heights at 1320 cm~(-1) for nitrate, 1435, 3045 and 3215 cm~(-1) for ammonium, 615 cm~(-1) for sulfate, 690, 760 and 890 cm~(-1) for POC and 1640 and 1660 cm~(-1) for SOC respectively, during polluted days(PM_(2.5) 75 μg/m~3) than during clean days(PM_(2.5)≤ 75 μg/m~3). With the evolution of a haze episode during our field campaign, the concentrations of the major PM_(2.5) components displayed consistent variations with their infrared absorption peak heights, suggesting ATR-FTIR could be a fast and useful technique to characterize filter-based PM_(2.5) compositions particularly during pollution events although cautions should be taken when PM_(2.5) levels are low. Notably, elevated PM_(2.5) mass concentrations occurred with enhanced ratios of [NO_(-3)]/[SO_4~(2-)] and [NH~(+4)]/[SO_4~(2-)], implying that nitrogenous components play vital roles in the PM_(2.5) pollution events in the study region.     

Influences of accumulated mileage and technological changes on emissions of regulated pollutants from gasoline passenger vehicles

In this study, the influences of accumulated mileage(deterioration) and technological changes(emission standards) on emission factors(EFs) of regulated pollutants(CO, HC, and NO_x) from gasoline passenger vehicles were investigated based on Inspection and Maintenance(I/M) data using the chassis dynamometer method. The accumulated mileage of passenger vehicles was significantly linearly correlated with vehicle age. For most cases,the average EFs of CO, HC and NO_x were significantly linearly correlated with accumulated mileage, indicating that emission deterioration had a significant impact on pollutant EFs.Implemented emission standards markedly influenced the EFs of regulated pollutants, and EFs markedly decreased with progressing emission standards. The present study also compared EFs of regulated pollutants between this study and the International vehicle emission(IVE) model, and marked differences in EFs were seen with variations in emission standards, vehicle types and accumulated mileage; NO_x EFs in this study were higher than in the IVE model. The results provide new insight into estimating regulated pollutant emissions using the IVE model.     

苎麻麻骨水溶物的溶出影响因素及其组成

为探讨生物质材料吸附重金属过程中溶出物的溶出规律及成分,以苎麻麻骨为材料,在实验室模拟其吸附Cd2+废水条件下,考察溶出时间、温度、pH、苎麻麻骨粒径及ρ(Cd2+)对苎麻麻骨水溶物DOC溶出量的影响,通过气相色谱-质谱法对溶出物成分进行鉴定,并利用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、红外光谱(FTIR)、热重分析(TGA)等技术对溶出物溶出前后苎麻麻骨表面物化性质进行了表征. 结果表明:在弱酸性(pH为5)条件下,苎麻麻骨DOC溶出量高于65.90 mg/L. 各因素对DOC溶出量的影响程度不同,以粒径及温度的影响最大,随着粒径由1 mm增至20 mm,DOC溶出量由78.37 mg/L迅速降至60.14 mg/L,降低了18.23 mg/L;升温可促进苎麻麻骨DOC溶出量的增加,随着温度由5 ℃升至55 ℃,DOC溶出量增加了13.63 mg/L. 提取液pH、溶出时间、ρ(Cd2+)对DOC溶出量的增加量分别为5.08、4.60、3.11 mg/L. 溶出物溶出前后苎麻麻骨表面无显著变化,但溶出后的苎麻麻骨表面易溶于水的官能团数量显著减少. 溶出物中鉴定出9类物质(共19种化合物),以酮类和酯类居多,表明苎麻麻骨表面不带电.      

Experimental investigation of ash deposits on convection heating surfaces of a circulating fluidized bed municipal solid waste incinerator

Incineration of municipal solid waste(MSW) is a waste treatment method which can be sustainable in terms of waste volume reduction, as well as a source of renewable energy.During MSW combustion, increased formation of deposits on convection heating exchanger surfaces can pose severe operational problems, such as fouling, slagging and corrosion.These problems can cause lower heat transfer efficiency from the hot flue gas to the working fluid inside the tubes. A study was performed where experiments were carried out to examine the ash deposition characteristics in a full-scale MSW circulating fluidized bed(CFB) incinerator, using a newly designed deposit probe that was fitted with six thermocouples and four removable half rings. The influence of probe exposure time and probe surface temperature(500, 560, and 700℃) on ash deposit formation rate was investigated. The results indicate that the deposition mass and collection efficiency achieve a minimum at the probe surface temperature of 560℃. Ash particles are deposited on both the windward and leeward sides of the probe by impacting and thermophoretic/condensation behavior. The major inorganic elements present in the ash deposits are Ca,Al and Si. Compared to ash deposits formed on the leeward side of the probe,windward-side ash deposits contain relatively higher Ca and S concentrations, but lower levels of Al and Si. Among all cases at different surface temperatures, the differences in elemental composition of the ash deposits from the leeward side are insignificant.However, as the surface temperature increases, the concentrations of Al, Si, K and Na in the windward-side ash deposits increase, but the Ca concentration is reduced. Finally,governing mechanisms are proposed on the basis of the experimental data, such as deposit morphology, elemental composition and thermodynamic calculations.     

储油罐火灾爆炸故障树分析

通过故障树分析,对引发储油罐火灾爆炸事故的基本原因进行了定量分析,算出基本事件的结构重要度系数并排序,提出了对策措施。