Biodegradation of triclosan and triclocarban in sewage sludge during composting under three ventilation strategies

TCS and TCC can be biodegraded during sewage sludge composting. Ventilation significantly accelerated the biodegradation of TCS and TCC in sludge. Composting can reduce the environmental risk of TCS and TCC in sewage sludge. Triclosan (TCS) and triclocarban (TCC) are widely used in home and personal care products as antimicrobial agents. After these products are used, TCS and TCC enter the terrestrial environment and pose a great risk to humans and animals. In this research, the biodegradation of TCS and TCC was investigated during sewage sludge composting with ventilation rates of 108, 92, and 79 m³/min. TCS and TCC were mainly biodegraded in the mesophilic and thermophilic phases, and the biodegradation rates improved with an increase in ventilation. After sewage sludge was composted for 16 days with forced ventilation (108 m³/min), the concentration of TCS decreased from 497.4 to 214.5 μg/kg, and the concentration of TCC decreased from 823.2 to 172.7 μg/kg. The biodegradation rates of TCS and TCC were 65.2% and 83.1%, respectively. However, after the sewage sludge was stacked for 16 days, the biodegradation rates of TCS and TCC were only 17.0% and 18.2%, respectively. The environmental risks of TCS and TCC in the sewage sludge piles significantly decreased after composting. In the sludge pile with a ventilation rate of 108 m³/min, the RQ values of TCS and TCC decreased from 8.29 and 20.58 to 3.58 and 4.32 after composting for 16 days, respectively. There is still a high risk if the sludge compost is directly used as a culture substrate. Nevertheless, the environmental risk could be decreased distinctly if a reasonable quantity of sludge compost is applied to land to ensure an RQ of<1 for TCS and TCC.     

Application of sewage sludge and intermittent aeration strategy to the bioremediation of DDT-and HCH-contaminated soil

Adding organic amendments to stimulate the biodegradation of pesticides is a subject of ongoing interest. The effect of sewage sludge on the bioremediation of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane（DDT） and hexachlorocyclohexane（HCH） contaminated soil was investigated in bench scale experiments,and intermittent aeration strategy was also used in this study to form an anaerobic–aerobic cycle. Bioremediation of DDT and HCH was enhanced with the addition of sewage sludge and the intermittent aeration. The removal rates of HCH and DDT were raised by 16.8%–80.8% in 10 days. Sewage sludge increased the organic carbon content from 6.2 to218 g/kg,and it could also introduce efficient degradation microbes to soil,including Pseudomonas sp.,Bacillus sp. and Sphingomonas sp. The unaerated phase enhanced the anaerobic dechlorination of DDT and HCH,and anaerobic removal rates of β-HCH,o,p′-DDT and p,p′-DDT accounted for more than 50% of the total removal rates,but the content of α-HCH declined more in the aerobic phase.     

Assessing the health risk of heavy metals in vegetables to the general population in Beijing, China

A systematic survey of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn concentrations in vegetables from 416 samples (involving 100 varieties) in Beijing was carried out for assessing the potential health risk to local inhabitants. The results indicated that the metal concentrations in vegetables ranged from < 0.001 to 0.479 g/g fresh weight (fw) (As), < 0.001 to 0.101 g/g fw (Cd), < 0.001 to 1.04 g/g fw (Cr), 0.024 to 8.25 g/g fw (Cu), 0.001 to 1.689 g/g fw (Ni), < 0.001 to 0.655 g/g fw (Pb) and 0.01 to 25.6 g/g fw (Zn), with average concentrations of 0.013, 0.010, 0.023, 0.51, 0.053, 0.046 and 2.55 g/g fw, respectively. The results showed that the concentrations of As, Cr, Cu, Cd, Pb and Ni in vegetables from open-fields were all significantly higher than those grown in greenhouses. In addition, in local-produced vegetables, all HMs except Zn were significantly higher than those in provincial vegetables. The estimated daily intake (EDI) of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn from vegetables was 0.080, 0.062, 0.142, 3.14, 0.327, 0.283 and 15.7 g/(kg body weight (bw) d) for adults, respectively. Arsenic was the major risk contributor for inhabitants since the target hazard quotient based on the weighted average concentration (THQw) of arsenic amounted to 44.3% of the total THQ (TTHQ) value according to average vegetable consumption. The TTHQ was lower than 1 for all age groups, indicating that it was still safe for the general population of Beijing to consume vegetables.     

污泥堆肥处理过程中氧气消耗的动态变化与分布特征

对城市污水污泥、粪渣污泥和造纸污泥进行好氧堆肥试验,以研究不同物料堆肥过程中氧气消耗的动态变化、分布特征及其差异.结果表明.不同污泥堆肥时,耗氧速率和温度具有相似的动态变化阶段.在堆体刚进入高温阶段时,耗氧速率不断升高并达到峰值,之后则逐渐减小并趋于稳定,堆肥结束时的耗氧速率只相当于最大值的1/3～1/15.物料组成影响升温速率,耗氧速率的最大值及达到最大值的时间.有机物含量高时,堆体温度上升快、维持持续高温的时间长.堆体各部位耗氧速率存在差异;中间部位的耗氧速率始终较高,在升温期,上层的耗氧速率略高于下层,此后下层的耗氧速率高于上层.堆体上层和下层的氧气含量在堆肥过程中波动较小(>18%),而中间部位的氧气含量波动较大,在高温阶段其含量较低(约12%).使用无机调理剂(CTB调理剂)时,耗氧速率明显小于使用有机调理剂的处理,供氧所需的通风量减少35.9%;堆体升温较慢,温度变化较平缓.根据研究结果提出了优化通风控制的建议.     

Effect of liming on sulfate transformation and sulfur gas emissions in degraded vegetable soil treated by reductive soil disinfestation

Reductive soil disinfestation (RSD), namely amending organic materials and mulching or flooding to create strong reductive status, has been widely applied to improve degraded soils. However, there is little information available about sulfate (SO₄^2 −) transformation and sulfur (S) gas emissions during RSD treatment to degraded vegetable soils, in which S is generally accumulated. To investigate the effects of liming on SO₄^2 − transformation and S gas emissions, two SO₄^2 −-accumulated vegetable soils (denoted as S1 and S2) were treated by RSD, and RSD plus lime, denoted as RSD₀ and RSD₁, respectively. The results showed that RSD₀ treatment reduced soil SO₄^2 − by 51% and 61% in S1 and S2, respectively. The disappeared SO₄^2 − was mainly transformed into the undissolved form. During RSD treatment, hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), carbonyl sulfide (COS), and dimethyl sulfide (DMS) were detected, but the total S gas emission accounted for < 0.006% of total S in both soils. Compared to RSD₀, lime addition stimulated the conversion of SO₄^2 − into undissolved form, reduced soil SO₄^2 − by 81% in S1 and 84% in S2 and reduced total S gas emissions by 32% in S1 and 57% in S2, respectively. In addition to H₂S, COS and DMS, the emissions of carbon disulfide, methyl mercaptan, and dimethyl disulfide were also detected in RSD₁ treatment. The results indicated that RSD was an effective method to remove SO₄^2 −, liming stimulates the conversion of dissolved SO₄^2 − into undissolved form, probably due to the precipitation with calcium.     

矿业污染土壤中还原态硫的测定方法探讨

铬粉还原法(SCr)常用于酸性硫酸盐土和河流底泥中还原态硫的测定,其能否应用于矿业污染土壤中还原态硫的测定还有待检验.选取矿渣污染土壤和未污染土壤,添加不同浓度的黄铁矿培养15 d后采用SCr法测定其消化时间和土壤预处理方法的回收率.研究表明:SCr法可应用于矿业酸化土壤中还原态硫的测定,消化时间达到20 min时,不同含硫浓度的处理中还原态硫回收率在95%-105%之间.说明消化20 min即可满足SCr法测定还原态硫的要求.不同预处理方法的比较表明:采用80℃快速风干处理和真空冷冻干燥处理,土壤样品的还原态硫回收率均能达到满意的要求,而采用传统的自然风干处理会使土壤还原态硫的测定结果偏低.因此,测定矿山污染土壤的还原态硫时,可以采用真空冷冻干燥处理或80℃快速风干处理.消化时间为20 min即可.     

石灰性土壤中砷形态分级方法的比较及其最佳方案

通过对修改自Chang和Jackson及Manful的5种SEPs方法进行对比研究,确定适合于石灰性土壤砷分级的SEPs方法,即:1 mol·L-1 NH4Cl、0.5 mol·L-1 NH4F、0.1 mol·L-1 NaOH、0.5 mol·L-1 H2SO4分别提取松散结合态、Al-结合态、Fe-结合态和Ca-结合态的As,以HNO3-H2O2消煮法测定残渣态As含量.同时发现,前人常采用的"可还原态"提取步骤不适合用于石灰性土壤的砷分级.该分级方法的确立对于石灰性土壤砷污染的风险评价具有一定科学意义和实用价值.     

新型调理剂CTB-2污泥堆肥的氧气时空变化特征研究

采用新型CTB-2调理剂与城市污泥进行堆肥,研究了堆肥过程中氧气、温度的时空变化特征。结果表明,m（CTB-2调理剂）：m（污泥）=1：2能够有效降低污泥容重,改善堆体结构;堆体能够快速升温至高温期并持续7d以上,最终完成无害化;采用该比例的调理剂能够保证堆体的通风供氧,使堆体各层通风后的氧气体积分数都恢复至19％以上,最低氧气体积分数维持在数17％以上;堆肥过程中堆体的氧气体积分数、耗氧速率和温度都具有明显的层次效应,堆体耗氧速率呈先升高后降低的趋势,堆体通风后的氧气和最低氧气体积分数均随着堆肥的进行而增加。     

Regional assessment of cadmium pollution in agricultural lands and the potential health risk related to intensive mining activities： A case study in Chenzhou City, China

The purpose of this study was to assess the extent of cadmium （Cd） contamination in agricultural soil and its potential risk for people. Soils, rice, and vegetables from Chenzhou City, Southern China were sampled and analyzed. In the surface soils, the 95% confidence interval for the mean concentration of Cd varied between 2.72 and 4.83 mg/kg （P 〈 0.05） in the survey, with a geometric mean concentration of 1.45 mg/kg. Based on the GIS map, two hot spot areas of Cd in agricultural soils with high Cd concentrations were identified to be located around the Shizhuyuan, Jinshiling, and Yaogangxian mines, and the Baoshan and Huangshaping mines, in the center of the city. About 60% of the total investigated area, where the agricultural soil Cd concentration is above 1 mg/kg, is distributed in a central belt across the region. The critical distances, at which the soil Cd concentration were increased by the mining activities, from the mines of the soils were 23 km for the Baoshan mine, 46 km for the Huangshaping mine, and 63 km for the Shizhuyuan mine, respectively. These are distances calculated from models. The Cd concentrations in rice samples ranged from 0.01 to 4.43 mg/kg and the mean dietary Cd intake from rice for an adult was 191 μg/d. Results of risk indexes showed that soil Cd concentrations possessed risks to local residents whose intake of Cd from rice and vegetables grown in soils in the vicinity of the mine was 596 μg/d.