Heterogeneous UV/Fenton degradation of bisphenol A catalyzed by synergistic effects of FeCo2O4/TiO2/GO

A new method for bisphenol A (BPA) degradation in aqueous solution was developed. The characteristics of BPA degradation in a heterogeneous ultraviolet (UV)/Fenton reaction catalyzed by FeCo₂O₄/TiO₂/graphite oxide (GO) were studied. The properties of the synthesized catalysts were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and vibrating sample magnetometry. FeCo₂O₄ and TiO₂ were grown as spherical shape, rough surface, and relatively uniform on the surface of GO (FeCo₂O₄/TiO₂/GO). Batch tests were conducted to evaluate the effects of the initial pH, FeCo₂O₄/TiO₂/GO dosage, and H₂O₂ concentration on BPA degradation. In a system with 0.5 g L⁻¹ of FeCo₂O₄/TiO₂/GO and 10 mmol L⁻¹ of H₂O₂, approximately 90 % of BPA (20 mg L⁻¹) was degraded within 240 min of UV irradiation at pH 6.0. The reused FeCo₂O₄/TiO₂/GO catalyst retained its activity after three cycles, which indicates that it is stable and reusable. The heterogeneous UV/Fenton reaction catalyzed by FeCo₂O₄/TiO₂/GO is a promising advanced oxidation technology for treating wastewater that contains BPA.

     

Immobilization of fungal laccase onto a nonionic surfactant-modified clay material: application to PAH degradation

Nonionic surfactant-modified clay is a useful absorbent material that effectively removes hydrophobic organic compounds from soil/groundwater. We developed a novel material by applying an immobilized fungal laccase onto nonionic surfactant-modified clay. Low-water-solubility polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (naphthalene/phenanthrene) were degraded in the presence of this bioactive material. PAH degradation by free laccase was higher than degradation by immobilized laccase when the surfactant concentration was allowed to form micelles. PAH degradation by immobilized laccase on TX-100-modified clay was higher than on Brij35-modified clay. Strong laccase degradation of PAH can be maintained by adding surfactant monomers or micelles. The physical adsorption of nonionic surfactants onto clay plays an important role in PAH degradation by laccase, which can be explained by the structure and molecular interactions of the surfactant with the clay and enzyme. A system where laccase is immobilized onto TX-100-monomer-modified clay is a good candidate bioactive material for in situ PAHs bioremediation.     

Disinfection by-product formation and mutagenic assay caused by preozonation of groundwater containing bromide

Brominated organic and inorganic by-products are generated during ozonation of groundwater containing high bromide concentrations. This study measured concentrations of bromate, bromoform, bromoacetic acids, bromoacetonitriles, bromoacetone, 2,4-dibromophenol and aldehyde generated by ozonation. The potential mutagenicity of ozonated waters was assessed using the Ames and Microtox tests. Test results for the 18 ozonated groundwater samples demonstrate that bromate formation is associated with high pH, bromide and alkalinity content, low levels of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and ammonia, and low alkalinity. Brominated organic by-products were correlated with high bromide ion and natural organic matter content, and low ammonia concentrations. The Ames test results demonstrate that all extracts from ozonated water have mutagenic activity; however, the 18 raw groundwater samples had no mutagenicity. The Microtox test results also show that the ozonated water samples were highly toxic. Generally, both bromide and DOC content promoted the formation of ozonation by-products and mutagenicity. Controlling of bromide and DOC concentrations is an effective method of reducing potential by-product formation and eliminating mutagenicity problems associated with groundwater ozonation.     

Heavy metal contamination in a vulnerable mangrove swamp in South China

Concentrations of six heavy metals (Cu, Ni, Zn, Cd, Cr, and Pb) in sediments and fine roots, thick roots, branches, and leaves of six mangrove plant species collected from the Futian mangrove forest, South China were measured. The results show that both the sediments and plants in Futian mangrove ecosystem are moderately contaminated by heavy metals, with the main contaminants being Zn and Cu. All investigated metals showed very similar distribution patterns in the sediments, implying that they had the same anthropogenic source(s). High accumulations of the heavy metals were observed in the root tissues, especially the fine roots, and much lower concentrations in the other organs. This indicates that the roots strongly immobilize the heavy metals and (hence) that mangrove plants possess mechanisms that limit the upward transport of heavy metals and exclude them from sensitive tissues. The growth performance of propagules and 6-month-old seedlings of Bruguiera gymnorhiza in the presence of contaminating Cu and Cd was also examined. The results show that this plant is not sufficiently sensitive to heavy metals after its propagule stage for its regeneration and growth to be significantly affected by heavy metal contamination in the Futian mangrove ecosystem. However, older mangrove seedlings appeared to be more metal-tolerant than the younger seedlings due to their more efficient exclusion mechanism. Thus, the effects of metal contamination on young seedlings should be assessed when evaluating the risks posed by heavy metals in an ecosystem.     

Blooms of the dinoflagellate Gyrodinium aureolum in a Long Island estuary:

A dense dinoflagellate bloom of Gyrodinium aureolum Hulburt in a shallow temperate zone estuary was monitored during the summers of 1982 and 1983. The bloom was typically extremely localized, its densest part exceeding 1000g chlorophyll a liter^-1 (2x10⁴ cells ml^-1). The bloom began at temperatures between 24.5° and 27°C, existed at as high as 30°C and terminated when water temperature dropped to between 19° and 22°C. The highest specific growth rate measured was 0.90d^-1 (1.3 divisions d^-1) and near the termination of the bloom decreased to 0.28d^-1 (0.4 divisions d^-1). A diel vertical migration of the bloom was observed. A box model analysis, based on division rates, vertical migration and water circulation patterns, indicated that the bloom must move downward at the estuary mouth to maintain itself in the estuary, either by means of a convergence system or by downward swimming. High growth rate, low grazing pressure, and a stratified water column are proposed to stimulate bloom formation. Decreasing growth rate appeared to reduce the intensity of the bloom and finally allowed its disappearance by estuarine flushing and mixing.Communicated by J. M. Shick, Orono     

Effect of the ecological water conveyance project on environment in the Lower Tarim River, Xinjiang, China

The dynamic response of groundwater level is examined in traverse and lengthways directions. Take the Yinsu section for an example, we have simulated groundwater levels before and after water-conveyance every time and calculated the incidence of groundwater on the both sides of the river. It is noted that the effect keeps growing with the water-delivery times increasing, from 570 m after the first times to 3,334 m after the eighth times. In addition, this paper involves the temporal response of the natural vegetation to water conveyance, vegetation coverage, planted-species number, dominant position and species diversity from 2002 to 2006. The findings indicate that the positive influence of ecological water conveyance project (EWCP) on the ecosystem in the Lower Tarim River is a long-term process. In this paper, we try to calculate water required for recovery of damaged ecosystem by using data available. This project is likely the base of research on water demand and the reference of measures for research on ecological water conveyance effect.     

Diversity of crude oil-degrading bacteria and alkane hydroxylase (<Emphasis Type="Italic">alkB</Emphasis>) genes from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The aim of this study was to survey the response of the microbial community to crude oil and the diversity of alkane hydroxylase (alkB) genes in soil samples from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). The enrichment cultures and clone libraries were used. Finally, 53 isolates and 94 alkB sequences were obtained from 10 pristine soil samples after enrichment at 10 °C with crude oil as sole carbon source. The isolates fell into the phyla Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes, with the dominance of Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter. The composition of degraders was different from polar habitats where Acinetobacter sp. is not a predominant responder of alkane degradative microbial communities. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the alkB genes from isolates and enrichment communities formed eight clusters and mainly related with alkB genes of Pseudomonas, Rhodococcus, and Acinetobacter. The alkB gene diversity in the QTP was lower than marine environments and polar soil samples. In particular, a total of 10 isolates exhibiting vigorous growth with crude oil could detect no crude oil degradation-related gene sequences, such as alkB, P450, almA, ndoB, and xylE genes. The Shannon-Wiener index of the alkB clone libraries from the QTP ranged from 1.00 to 2.24 which is similar with polar pristine soil samples but lower than that of contaminated soils. These results indicated that the Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, and Rhodococcus genera are the candidate for in situ bioremediation, and the environment of QTP may be still relatively uncontaminated by crude oil.     

Structural and technological determinants of carbon intensity reduction of China’s electricity generation

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Electricity generation is the largest sector with decarbonization potential for China and the world. Based on the new emission factors, this paper...     

The organic precursors affecting the formation of disinfection by-products with chlorine dioxide

The object of this research was to study the formation of disinfection by-products by using chlorine dioxide (ClO2) as a disinfectant reacting with different properties of organic substance in natural aquatic environment. The adsorbent resin (XAD-4, XAD-7) was used to divide the organic matters in raw water into three groups. The influence of the function groups on structure, reaction tendency, and formation of disinfection by-products generated by the reaction of these organic substances with chlorine dioxide was explored. The experimental results show that the three different organic groups formed using adsorbent resin were hydrophobic substance, hydrophilic acid, and non-acid hydrophilics in proportions of 43%, 41%, and 16%, respectively. Within the raw water in our study, the hydrophilic substance had a higher distribution proportion than that described in general articles and journals, which indicates that this water was contaminated with pollution from human beings. The exploration of the reactivity of the three different organic substances with chlorine dioxide shows that the unit consumption of disinfection agent per unit organic matters (represented by ClO2/DOC) is in the following sequence hydrophobic substance > hydrophilic substance > non-acid hydrophilics. It indicated that larger molecular organic precursors had larger consumption of disinfectant. We also discovered that after the reaction of the three different organic substances with chlorine dioxide, the largest amount of disinfection by-products were generated by the non-acid hydrophilics.     

Characteristics of organic precursors and their relationship with disinfection by-products

The molecular weight distribution and chemical composition of precursors and their relationship with disinfection by-products (DBPs) were investigated. Most of the organic matter responsible for the major DBP precursors in the Pan-Hsin water are small compounds with a molecular weight less than 1 kDa. The hydrophobic acids display the greatest ability to produce DBP. Therefore, effective removal of small molecules or hydrophobic acidic organics prior to disinfection process will significantly reduce the DBP concentration in the finished water. Although the coagulation process is effective in removing large organic precursors and the removal efficiencies of CHCl3 formation potential and organic carbon increase proportionally to the molecular weight of the precursors, the conventional treatment methods have limited efficiency in eliminating small precursors, which have high DBP formation potential.