Biochar (BC) and activated carbon (AC) were both produced from corn straw. Biochar-supported zerovalent iron (BC-ZVI) and activated carbon-supported zerovalent iron (AC-ZVI) were synthesized and applied for Se(IV)/Se(VI) removal. The sorption capacity of BC-ZVI for Se(IV) and Se(VI) was reported at 62.52 and 35.39 mg g?1, higher than that of AC-ZVI (56.02 and 33.24 mg g?1), respectively, due to its higher iron content and more positive charges. The spectroscopic analyses showed that Se(IV)/Se(VI) were reduced to Se(0)/Se(-II) of less toxicity and solubility. The effects of various factors such as pH, ionic strength, co-existing cations and anions, and natural organic matter (NOM) were also investigated. Ionic strength showed no significant effect on Se(IV)/Se(VI) removal, but pH was critical. The presence of NO3? and SO42? did not cause obvious inhibition to the removal, while PO43? inhibited the sorption capacity of BC-ZVI and AC-ZVI for Se(IV)/Se(VI) significantly. Common cations (K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+) were found to slightly enhance the removal, while NOM significantly decreased the sorption capacity of BC-ZVI and AC-ZVI for Se(IV)/Se(VI). Besides, NOM showed stronger inhibition effect on AC-ZVI than that on BC-ZVI. These results indicated that BC-ZVI, compared with AC-ZVI, could be a promising sorbent to remove Se(IV)/Se(VI) due to its low cost and high efficiency.
Old-age pension, a fundamental part of the Chinese social security system, is perceived by the Chinese government as the last support for rural-to-urban migrant workers upon retreating from the labor market. Using survey data collected by the authors, this paper examines a host of factors which influence migrant workers’ participation in the old-age scheme. The result shows that individual characteristics, employment status, attitudes toward old-age support and perception of the old-age pension system significantly differentiate two groups of migrant workers between those that have participated in and their counterparts who have not participated in the old-age pension schemes. Among a number of factors, age, educational attainment, holding labor contract, etc. are found to be significant factors influencing migrants’ behavior participating (or not participating) the available age-pension schemes. Policy implications for how to improve the rate of participation in existing old-age pension schemes among migrant workers are drawn from the findings. 相似文献
The bioaccumulation and bioavailability of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were characterized in sediment and Paphia undulata (short-neck clam) from six mudflat areas in the west coasts of Peninsular Malaysia. The concentrations of total PAHs varied from 357.1 to 6257.1 and 179.9 ± 7.6 to 1657.5 ± 53.9 ng g ?1 dry weight in sediment and short-neck clam samples, respectively. PAHs can be classified as moderate to very high level of pollution in sediments and moderate to high level of pollution in short-neck clams. The diagnostic ratios of individual PAHs and principal component analysis indicate both petrogenic and pyrogenic sources with significant dominance of pyrogenic source. The first PAHs biota-sediment accumulation factors and relative biota-sediment accumulation factors data for short-neck clam were obtained in this study, indicating a preferential accumulation of lower molecular weight PAHs. Evaluation of PAH levels in sediments and short-neck clams indicates that short-neck clam could be introduced as a good biomonitor in mudflats. The results also demonstrated that under environmental conditions, the sedimentary load of hydrocarbons appears to be one of the factors controlling their bioavailability to biota. 相似文献
Chelant-enhanced phytoextraction method has been put forward as an effective soil remediation method, whereas the heavy metal leaching could not be ignored. In this study, a cropping-leaching experiment, using soil columns, was applied to study the metal leaching variations during assisted phytoextraction of Cd- and Pb-polluted soils, using seedlings of Zea mays, applying three different chelators (EDTA, EDDS, and rhamnolipid), and artificial rainfall (acid rainfall or normal rainfall). It showed that artificial rainfall, especially artificial acid rain, after chelator application led to the increase of heavy metals in the leaching solution. EDTA increased both Cd and Pb concentrations in the leaching solution, obviously, whereas EDDS and rhamnolipid increased Cd concentration but not Pb. The amount of Cd and Pb decreased as the leaching solution increased, the patterns as well matched LRMs (linear regression models), with R-square (R2) higher than 90 and 82% for Cd and Pb, respectively. The maximum cumulative Cd and Pb in the leaching solutions were 18.44 and 16.68%, respectively, which was amended by EDTA and acid rainwater (pH 4.5), and followed by EDDS (pH 4.5), EDDS (pH 6.5), rhamnolipid (0.5 g kg−1 soil, pH 4.5), and rhamnolipid (pH 6.5).