Effects of compositional heterogeneity and nanoporosity of raw and treated biomass-generated soot on adsorption and absorption of organic contaminants

A biomass-generated soot was sequentially treated by HCl-HF solution, organic solvent, and oxidative acid to remove ash, extractable native organic matter (EOM), and amorphous carbon. The compositional heterogeneity and nano-structure of the untreated and treated soot samples were characterized by elemental analysis, thermal gravimetric analysis, BET-N₂ surface area, and electron microscopic analysis. Sorption properties of polar and nonpolar organic pollutants onto the soot samples were compared, and individual contributions of adsorption and absorption were quantified. The sorption isotherms for raw sample were practically linear, while were nonlinear for the pretreated-soot. The removal of EOM enhanced adsorption and reduced absorption, indicating that EOM served as a partitioning phase and simultaneously masked the adsorptive sites. By drastic-oxidation, the outer amorphous carbon and the inner disordered core of the soot particles were completely removed, and a fullerene-like nanoporous structure (aromatic shell) was created, which promoted additional π-π interaction between phenanthrene and the soot.     

Recycling of municipal solid waste incinerator fly ash by using hydrocyclone separation

The municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs) in Taiwan generate about 300,000 tons of fly ash annually, which is mainly composed of calcium and silicon compounds, and has the potential for recycling. However, some heavy metals are present in the MSWI fly ash, and before recycling, they need to be removed or reduced to make the fly ash non-hazardous. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to use a hydrocyclone for the separation of the components of the MSWI fly ash in order to obtain the recyclable portion. The results show that chloride salts can be removed from the fly ash during the hydrocyclone separation process. The presence of a dense medium (quartz sand in this study) is not only helpful for the removal of the salts, but also for the separation of the fly ash particles. After the dense-medium hydrocyclone separation process, heavy metals including Pb and Zn were concentrated in the fine particles so that the rest of the fly ash contained less heavy metal and became both non-hazardous and recyclable.     

Seasonal temperatures have more influence than nitrogen fertilizer rates on cucumber yield and nitrogen uptake in a double cropping system

Two-year greenhouse cucumber experiments were conducted to investigate seasonal effects on fruit yield, dry matter allocation, and N uptake in a double-cropping system with different fertilizer management. Seasonal effects were much greater than fertilizer effects, and winter-spring (WS) cucumber attained higher fruit yields and N uptake than autumn-winter (AW) cucumber due to lower cumulative air temperatures during fruit maturation in the AW season. Fertilizer N application and apparent N loss under recommended N management (Nmr) decreased by 40-78% and 33-48% without yield loss compared to conventional N management (Nmt) over four growing seasons. However, there were no seasonal differences in N recommendations, taking into consideration seasonal differences in crop N demand, critical nutrient supply in the root zone and N mineralization rate.     

Photoelectrocatalytic degradation of pentachlorophenol in aqueous solution using a TiO2 nanotube film electrode

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotube film electrodes are fabricated by the anodic oxidation method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that these tubes were well aligned and organized into high-density uniform arrays. XRD analysis showed the TiO2 nanotubes to be in the anatase crystal form. The TiO2 nanotube film electrode exhibited increased photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) capability compared to a traditional TiO2 film electrode fabricated using the anodizing method for pentachlorophenol (PCP) degradation in aqueous solution. The bias potential, pH value, and electrolyte concentration were shown to be important factors influencing the degradation of PCP by the PEC method using the TiO2 nanotube film electrode as the working electrode.     

红萍净化水产养殖水体的研究

利用红萍(Azolla)对富营养化水产养殖水体进行净化研究。结果表明,红萍能显著增加水体中的DO,增氧幅度随流量在16.88%～70.46%之间变化,随着养殖水体流经的层数增多或者处理的时间延长,红萍对水体的增氧量加大,水中DO最终趋向一个常数值K;同时,红萍对水体中的NH₃-N和TP都有明显的去除效果,NH₃-N去除率随流量在9.86%～38.90%间波动,TP的去除率则随流量的变化在5.80%～38.43%之间波动。可见,红萍是净化水质的良好材料,能有效改善水产养殖水环境。利用红萍净化水体将为解决高密度集约化水产养殖的瓶颈提供新途径,实现水产养殖用水的封闭循环利用。     

二氧化锰基纳米材料对重金属离子的去除及机理研究进展

重金属离子对人类健康和环境安全产生了严重威胁,因此重金属废水高效处理成为了环境领域最具挑战性的热点问题之一.二氧化锰（MnO₂）是一种环境友好型金属氧化物,具有来源广泛、成本低廉、形貌多样、晶型丰富、结构稳定、粒径可控等优异的性质,在重金属离子的去除应用上展现出巨大的潜力.近年来,人们利用MnO₂基纳米材料在重金属离子的有效治理方面开展了大量的研究.本文综述了MnO₂基纳米材料在重金属离子环境修复方面取得的研究进展,包括MnO₂的制备和改性方法,MnO₂基纳米材料在水溶液重金属离子去除中的应用及吸附作用机制,并对研究方向进行了总结和展望,旨在为进一步设计合成对重金属离子的吸附去除具有实际应用价值的MnO₂基纳米材料提供参考.     

Characterization of metal adsorption kinetic properties in batch and fixed-bed reactors

Copper adsorption kinetic properties in batch and fixed-bed reactors were studied in this paper. The isothermal adsorption experiments showed that the copper adsorption capacity of a granular activated carbon (Filtrasorb 200) increased when ionic strength was higher. The presence of EDTA diminished the adsorption. An intraparticle diffusion model and a fixed-bed model were successfully used to describe the batch kinetic and fixed-bed operation behaviors. The kinetics became faster when the solution pH was not controlled, implying that the surface precipitation caused some metal uptake. The external mass transfer coefficient, the diffusivity and the dispersion coefficient were obtained from the modeling. It was found that both external mass transfer and dispersion coefficients increased when the flow rate was higher. Finally effects of kinetic parameters on simulation of fixed-bed operation were conducted.     

Oxidation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by horseradish peroxidase in water containing an organic cosolvent

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are environmental contaminants that are toxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic. We investigated the horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-catalyzed oxidation of PAHs in water containing N,N-dimethylformamide. Four PAHs (anthracene, phenanthrene, pyrene, and fluoranthene) were investigated using single-PAH and mixed-PAH systems. The results provide useful information regarding the preferential oxidation of anthracene over other PAHs regardless of the reaction time, enzyme dosage, and hydrogen peroxide concentration. The removal of PAHs was found to be very strongly correlated with the ionization potential (IP), and much greater PAH oxidation was observed at a lower IP. The oxidation of anthracene was specifically pH- and temperature-dependent, with the optimal pH and temperature being 8.0 and 40 °C, respectively. The redox mediators 1-hydroxybenzotriazole and veratryl alcohol promoted the transformation of anthracene by HRP; 9,10-anthraquinone was the main product detected from the anthracene oxidation system. The results of this study not only provide a better understanding of the oxidation of PAHs by utilizing a plant biocatalyst, but also provide a theoretical basis for establishing the HRP-catalyzed treatment of PAH-contaminated wastewater.     

过硫酸钾-偶氮复合引发体系合成杂化高分子絮凝剂PACS-PAM及其表征

采用过硫酸钾(K2S2O8)-偶氮二异丁咪唑啉盐酸盐(VA-044引发剂)复合引发体系合成了聚硫氯化铝-聚丙烯酰胺(PACS-PAM)杂化高分子絮凝剂。以特性黏度为指标,考察了引发剂配比、引发剂总用量、单体质量浓度、总铝浓度(AlT)、反应温度和反应时间等因素对杂化絮凝剂PASC-PAM的合成影响,结果表明,杂化絮凝剂PACS-PAM的最佳合成条件为引发剂K2S2O8与偶氮VA-044质量比为3:1、引发剂总用量为单体总质量的0.2%、单体质量浓度为0.21 g/mL、总铝浓度(AlT)为0.15 mol/L、反应温度为50 ℃、反应时间为3 h,在最佳条件下合成的杂化高分子的特性黏度为14.70 dL/g。电导率分析、红外光谱(FTIR)分析和热重-差热(DTA-TGA)分析表明,杂化絮凝剂中有机组分同无机组分是通过PAM分子链端的硫酸根离子(—SO42-)的桥连作用以离子键形式连接的。对黄泥悬浊液的絮凝效果研究表明,杂化絮凝剂PASC-PAM的絮凝效果优于复配絮凝剂PASC-PAM。