Characterization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in fog-rain events

Atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) mainly originate from incomplete combustion or pyrolysis of materials containing carbon and hydrogen. They exist in gas and particle phases, as well as dissolved or suspended in precipitation (fog or rain). Current studies in atmospheric PAHs are predominantly focused on fog and rainwater samples. Some sampling difficulties are associated with fog samples. This study presented the first observation of the characteristics of PAHs in fog samples using a solid phase microextraction (SPME) technique. Eighteen fog samples were collected during ten fog events from March to December 2009 in the Shanghai area. PAHs were extracted by SPME and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). As the compounds were partially soluble in water, with solubility decreasing with increasing molecular weight, low molecular weight (LMW) PAH compounds were universally found in the fog water samples. Naphthalene (NaP), phenanthrene (Phe), anthracene (Ant) and fluoranthene (Flo) were dominant compounds in fog water. The total PAH concentration in fog water ranged from 0.03 to 6.67 μg L(-1) (mean of 1.06 μg L(-1)), and was much higher in winter than in summer. The concentration of PAHs in fog or rain water decreased after undergoing a pre-rain or pre-fog wash. The average concentration of PAHs was higher in fog than in rain. Diagnostic ratio analysis suggested that petroleum and combustion were the dominant contributors to PAHs in urban Shanghai. Backward trajectories were calculated to determine the origin of the air masses, showing that air masses were mostly from the northeast territory.     

Enhanced dewatering characteristics of waste activated sludge with Fenton pretreatment: effectiveness and statistical optimization

In this work, the enhanced dewaterabing characteristics of waste activated sludge using Fenton pretreatment was investigated in terms of effectiveness and statistical optimization. Response surface method （RSM） and central composite design （CCD） were applied to evaluate and optimize the effectiveness of important operational parameters, i.e., H202 concentrations, Fe2＋ concentrations and initial pH values. A significant quadratic polynomial model was obtained （R2= 0.9189） with capillary suction time （CST） reduction efficiency as the response. Numerical optimization based on desirability function was carried out. The optimum values for H202, Fe2, and initial pH were found to be 178 mg-g-1 VSS （volatile suspended solids）, 211mg.gI VSS and 3.8, respectively, at which CST reduction efficiency of 98.25% could be achieved. This complied well with those predicted by the established polynomial model. The results indicate that Fenton pretreatment is an effective technique for advanced waste activated sludge dewatering. The enhancement of sludge dewaterability by Fenton＇s reagent lies in the migration of sludge bound water due to the disintegration of sludge flocs and microbial cells lysis.