Isolation, identification and characterization of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens BZ-6, a bacterial isolate for enhancing oil recovery from oily sludge

Over 100 biosurfactant-producing microorganisms were isolated from oily sludge and petroleum-contaminated soil from Shengli oil field in north China. Sixteen of the bacterial isolates produced biosurfactants and reduced the surface tension of the growth medium from 71 to <30 mN m⁻¹ after 72 h of growth. These bacteria were used to treat oily sludge and the recovery efficiencies of oil from oily sludge were determined. The oil recovery efficiencies of different isolates ranged from 39% to 88%. Bacterial isolate BZ-6 was found to be the most efficient strain and the three phases (oil, water and sediment) were separated automatically after the sludge was treated with the culture medium of BZ-6. Based on morphological, physiological characteristics and molecular identification, isolate BZ-6 was identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. The biosurfactant produced by isolate BZ-6 was purified and analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. There were four ion peaks representing four different fengycin A homologues.     

Influence of amendments on soil arsenic fractionation and phytoavailability by Pteris vittata L

Increasing availability of soil arsenic is of significance for accelerating phytoremediation efficiency of As-polluted sites. The effects of seven amendments, i.e., citrate, oxalate, EDTA, sodium polyacrylate (SPA), phosphate rock (PR), single superphosphate (SSP), and compost on fractionation and phytoavailability of soil As were investigated in lab culture experiment. The results showed that the addition of PR, SPA, EDTA or compost to soils significantly increased the concentration of NaHCO₃-extractable As over a 120 d incubation period compared with the control (amendment-free) soil. Then, the four amendments were selected to add to As-contaminated soil growing Pteris vittata. It was concluded that As accumulation by the fern increased significantly under the treatments of PR and SPA by 25% and 31%, respectively. For As fractionation in soil, SPA increased Fe-As significantly by 51% and PR increased Ca-As significantly by 18%, while both the two amendments reduced occluded-As by 16% and 19%, respectively. Adding PR and SPA in soil increased the activities of urease and neutral phosphatase resulting from the improvement the fertility and physical structure of the soil, which benefits plant growth and As absorption of P. vittata. The results of the research revealed that both PR and SPA were effective amendments for improving phytoremediation of As-contaminated sites by P. vittata.     

Mercury capture into biogenic amorphous selenium nanospheres produced by mercury resistant Shewanella putrefaciens 200

Shewanella putrefaciens 200, resistant to high concentration of Hg(II), was selected for co-removal of mercury and selenium from aqueous medium. Biogenic Hg(0) reduced from Hg(II) by S. putrefaciens 200 was captured into extracellular amorphous selenium nanospheres, resulting in the formation of stable HgSe nanoparticles. This bacterial reduction could be a new strategy for mercury removal from aquatic environments without secondary pollution of mercury methylation or Hg(0) volatilization.     

Photocatalytic degradation of gaseous toluene by using immobilized titania/silica on aluminum sheets

Purpose

The aim of this study was to prepare a highly active immobilized titania/silica photocatalyst and to test its performance in situ toward degradation of toluene as one of the major toxic indoor contaminants.

Methods

In this work, two different titania layers immobilized on Al sheets were synthesized via low temperature sol?Cgel method employing presynthesized highly active titania powders (Degussa P25 and Millennium PC500, mass ratio 1:1): (a) with a silica/titania binder and a protective layer and (b) without the binder. The photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen sorption measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared spectroscopy, and UV?Cvis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). The in situ photocatalytic degradation of gaseous toluene was selected as a probe reaction to test photocatalytic activity and to verify the potential application of these materials for air remediation.

Results

Results show that nontransparent highly photocatalytically active coatings based on the silica/titania binder and homogeneously dispersed TiO₂ powders were obtained on the Al sheets. The crystalline structure of titania was not altered upon addition of the binder, which also prevented inhomogeneous agglomeration of particles on the photocatalyst surface. The photoactivity results indicate that the adsorption properties and photocatalytic activity of immobilized photocatalysts with the silica/titania binder and an underlying protective layer were very effective and additionally, they exhibited considerably improved adhesion and uniformity.

Conclusion

We present a new highly photocatalytically active immobilized catalyst on a convenient metallic support, which has a potential application in an air cleaning device.     

甘南黄河水源补给区生态补偿农户参与意愿分析

生态补偿是非常有效的解决世界生态问题的政策工具集,农户作为生态补偿项目的实施主体,其参与意愿直接影响生态补偿项目的实施绩效和可持续性。甘南黄河水源补给区承担重要的生态服务功能,属国家级限制开发区,自2003年开始,实施退牧还草等生态工程。在此背景下,通过实地调研,运用二项Logistic模型进行分析,得出以下结论:①甘南黄河水源补给区农牧民对生态补偿项目的认知水平很低,主要是客观条件限制和政府宣传力度不足所致;②受生产方式的影响,甘南黄河水源补给区内,农区农户的生态补偿参与意愿强于半农半牧区、纯牧区;③对甘南黄河水源补给区农户生态补偿参与意愿影响最显著因素是农户对现行退牧还草政策的满意度,其次为农户家庭年收入、牲畜存栏数、退牧还草政策实施后的收入变化及其对生态补偿项目的支持度,再次为农牧民对生态补偿的了解度及其环境意识。基于此,提出了进一步完善生态补偿政策、提高农户参与意愿的措施,为进一步完善生态补偿机制提供借鉴。     

生态补偿研究中的几个关键问题

生态补偿作为一种处理环境问题的政策工具集,已引起社会各界的广泛关注。但目前主流的生态补偿科斯框架理论性太强,实践者往往无法模仿其构建的假定运行条件,在实践中面临着诸多挑战,使其难以推广与实施。为了促进生态补偿从理论走向实践,本文立足于国际生态补偿理论研究与实践经验,深入分析了生态补偿科斯概念的理论基础以及积极激励与条件性两个核心标准,系统总结了生态补偿科斯概念在实践中面临的自愿性难以完全满足、条件性难以完全遵守、生态系统服务难以完全界定、效率和公平分离等挑战,提出在实践中应考虑生态补偿执行的复杂性与约束性,研究中应关注生态服务的形成与供给机制、生态补偿融资机制与支付机制、补偿对象空间定位、激励方式选择、效率与公平的权衡、泄露、额外性与不正当激励以及中介机构的影响力等关键问题,应力争将生态补偿理论与实践观点一致起来,在理论研究者与实践者之间建立更包容的对话机制。     

Post-treatment of bio-treated acrylonitrile wastewater using UV/Fenton process: degradation kinetics of target compounds

In this study, post-treatment of bio-treated acrylonitrile wastewater was performed using the UV/Fenton process. Five target compounds (furmaronitrile, 3-pyridinecarbonitrile, 1,3-dicyanobenzene, 5-methyl-1H-benzotriazole, and 7-azaindole) were selected as target compounds and their degradation kinetics were examined. Under optimal reaction conditions (H₂O₂ dosage 3.0 mM, Fe²⁺ dosage 0.3 mM, and initial pH 3.0), more than 85% of total organic carbon (TOC) was eliminated in 30 min when a 10-W UV lamp was employed, and the electrical energy per order of magnitude for TOC removal was as low as 2.96 kWh m^?3. Furthermore, the target compounds and the toxicity were largely removed from the bio-treated effluent. Size exclusion chromatography with organic carbon detector analysis revealed that organic components with a wide range of molecular weights were greatly reduced after the UV/Fenton process. A simplified pseudo steady-state (SPSS) model was applied to predict the degradation of target compounds during the UV/Fenton process. The concentrations of generated hydroxyl radicals were estimated to be 3.06 × 10^?12 M, 6.37 × 10^?12 M, and 10.9 × 10^?12 M under 5-, 10-, and 15-W UV lamps, respectively. These results demonstrate that the proposed SPSS model fitted well with experimental data on the post-treatment of real wastewater, and consequently indicate that this model can be a useful tool in the prediction of degradation of target compounds during the UV/Fenton process.

     

The effect of experience on choosing where to go: an application to a choice experiment on forest recreation

The main objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of experience on the choice of visits to forests in a stated discrete choice experiment. Recent literature has indicated that experiences with the environmental services valuated may increase the respondents' certainty in their choice of hypothetical alternatives. We apply two indicators of experiences: the number of visits and the number of different forests visited during the last year. Applying the generalized multinomial logit model, we find that an increase in the number of visits to forests makes respondents' choices more predictable. However, the number of different forests visited reduces the predictability of choices. Furthermore, we investigate the relationship between respondents' experience of forest recreation and the self-reported choice certainty, controlling for respondents' social-demographics and other design characteristics. Finally, we show that self-reported choice certainty is positive correlated with the scale factor, as expected.     

花生壳活性炭对水溶液中Cr(Ⅵ)的吸附性能

为提高花生壳对Cr(Ⅵ)的吸附性能,采用ZnCl2对花生壳进行改性,制得花生壳活性炭。通过批次吸附实验,考察了花生壳活性炭投加量、pH值、吸附时间等因素对Cr(Ⅵ)的吸附性能影响,同时,对吸附动力学、等温吸附特征和热力学进行了系统研究。结果表明,当吸附剂投加量为0.2 g时,在Cr(VI)初始浓度为20 mg/L、pH值为2.0条件下,吸附反应180 min后,花生壳活性炭对Cr(Ⅵ)的吸附率可维持在94.13%以上。吸附过程符合准二级动力学方程和Langmuir等温吸附模型;由吸附热力学方程计算得到吸附焓变(ΔH)>0,吸附自由能变(ΔG)<0,吸附熵变(ΔS)>0,表明花生壳活性炭对Cr(Ⅵ)的吸附过程是吸热和自发的。     

三维荧光区域积分评估城市污水中溶解性有机物去除

以三维荧光技术为手段,结合荧光区域积分和聚类分析,考察某城市污水厂污水处理过程中溶解性有机物的去除状况。研究结果表明,采用三维荧光区域积分可以表征城市污水中易降解、可降解和难降解有机物相对含量的变化趋势,能够有效识别污水中溶解性有机物的指纹特征。城市污水中类蛋白等易降解物质含量约占总荧光物质的50%,在污水厂曝气池缺氧段,易降解基质被大量去除。曝气池顺水流方向约225 m处,溶解性有机物的去除已基本完成。三维荧光光谱中区域II和III的积分标准体积与TOC的皮尔森相关指数分别为0.964和0.970。和其他荧光指数相比,这2个区域的积分标准体积与TOC的相关度更高。