Removal of phosphate from water by a highly selective La(III)-chelex resin

A new polymer ligand exchanger (PLE) has been developed for the removal of phosphate in wastewater. This PLE, consisting of lanthanum(III) bound to chelex-100 resin, was prepared by passing LaCl3 solution through a column of chelex-100. Uptake of phosphate from water by this La-chelex resin was investigated in the column mode. The La-chelex resin was able to remove phosphate efficiently from water, and the uptake of phosphate was not affected by the presence of large amounts of anions (0.1M) such as chloride and sulfate. The La-chelex resin was also able to efficiently remove phosphate from seawater to <0.1mg-Pl(-1), and regenerated for reuse by removing the sorbed phosphate by eluting with 6M HCl.     

Stressor identification and health assessment of fish exposed to wastewater effluents in Miho Stream, South Korea

This study evaluated the effects of an industrial wastewater treatment plant (IWTP) and a municipal wastewater treatment plant (MWTP) effluents on a variety of bioindicators ranging from biochemical, organism, and population-level responses in pale chub (Zacco platypus) and fish community structure. The Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) indicated that the site upstream of these wastewater treatment plant discharges is in fair–good condition and downstream of the plant is in poor condition. The EROD (ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase) activity, condition factor, and liver somatic index were significantly increased at the downstream site compared to those of the upstream site. The most significant change observed in pale chub population in the downstream site of the Miho Stream, relative to the upstream population, was the total absence of an younger age group. Stressors impacting the downstream site were identified as mostly organic or nutrient enrichment and habitat degradation associated with wastewater treatment plants. The results of causal analysis suggest that the primary causes affecting fish population in the downstream site are through both size-selective mortality caused by ammonia toxicity and recruitment failure caused by habitat degradation and reproduction problem due to an IWTP and MWTP effluents.     

Excess copper induced physiological and proteomic changes in germinating rice seeds

Copper is an essential micronutrient for plants. Present at a high concentration in soil, copper is also regarded as a major toxicant to plant cells due to its potential inhibitory effects against many physiological and biochemical processes. The interference of germination-related proteins by heavy metals has not been well documented at the proteomic level. In the current study, physiological, biochemical and proteomic changes of germinating rice seeds were investigated under copper stress. Germination rate, shoot elongation, plant biomass, and water content were decreased, whereas accumulation of copper and TBARS content in seeds were increased significantly with increasing copper concentrations from 0.2mM to 1.5mM followed by germination. The SDS-PAGE showed the preliminary changes in the polypeptides patterns under copper stress. Protein profiles analyzed by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) revealed that 25 protein spots were differentially expressed in copper-treated samples. Among them, 18 protein spots were up-regulated and 7 protein spots were down-regulated. These differentially displayed proteins were identified by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The up-regulation of some antioxidant and stress-related proteins such as glyoxalase I, peroxiredoxin, aldose reductase, and some regulatory proteins such as DnaK-type molecular chaperone, UlpI protease, and receptor-like kinase clearly indicated that excess copper generates oxidative stress that might be disruptive to other important metabolic processes. Moreover, down-regulation of key metabolic enzymes like alpha-amylase or enolase revealed that the inhibition of seed germinations after exposure to excess copper not only affects starvation in water uptake by seeds but also results in failure in the reserve mobilization processes. These results indicate a good correlation between the physiological and biochemical changes in germinating rice seeds exposed to excess copper.     

Determination of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes in water at sub-ng l-1 levels by solid-phase microextraction coupled to cryo-trap gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A trace analytical method of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) in water has been developed by using headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled to cryo-trap gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The chromatographic peak shape for BTEX was improved by using cryo-trap equipment. The HS-SPME experimental procedures to extract BTEX from water were optimized with a 75 microm carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (CAR/PDMS)-coated fiber at a sodium chloride concentration of 267 g l(-1), extraction for 15 min at 25 degrees C and desorption at 290 degrees C for 2 min. Good linearity was verified in a range of 0.0001-50 microg l(-1) for each analyte (r(2)=0.996-0.999). The limits of detection (LODs) of BTEX in water reached at sub-ng l(-1) levels. LODs of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m/p-xylene and o-xylene were 0.04, 0.02, 0.05, 0.01 and 0.02 ng l(-1), respectively. The proposed analytical method was successfully used for the quantification of trace BTEX in ground water. The results indicate that HS-SPME coupled to cryo-trap GC-MS is an effective tool for analysis of BTEX in water samples at the sub-ng l(-1) level.     

Removal of Prussian blue from contaminated soil in the rhizosphere of cyanogenic plants

The fate of radiolabeled cyanide in soil was investigated during exposure to cyanogenic plant species, sorghum (Sorghum bicolor var. P721) and flax (Linum usitassimum var. Omega-Gold), in fully-contained growth chambers. Labeled cyanide was subject to microbial transformation, assimilation by plant roots, incorporation and biodegradation in plant tissue. For this study, (14)C-labeled cyanide was added to soil, and distribution of (14)C activity was assessed before plant establishment and after harvest. After 3 months of plant growth, 7% of the (14)C-labeled cyanide was converted to (14)CO(2) with sorghum and 6% with flax, compared with only 2% conversion in unplanted soil. A small amount of unaltered cyanide was shown to be accumulated by the plants (approximately 140 mg cyanide/kg plant or <0.1% of the total). Results from this experiment demonstrate the potential of cyanogenic plants for use in phytoremediation of cyanide-contaminated soil.     

Atmospheric peroxides over the North Pacific during IOC 2002 shipboard experiment

Atmospheric hydrogen peroxide and methyl hydroperoxide were determined onboard the Melville over the North Pacific from Osaka to Honolulu during May-June 2002. The concentrations of H(2)O(2) and CH(3)OOH increased from 0.64+/-0.57 ppbv and 0.27+/-0.59 ppbv in subpolar region (30-50 degrees N) to 1.96+/-0.95 ppbv and 1.56+/-1.3 ppbv in subtropical region (24-30 degrees N). The increase in concentrations towards the Equator was more pronounced for CH(3)OOH than H(2)O(2). In contrast, the levels of O(3) and CO were decreased at lower latitudes as air mass was more aged, denoted by the ratios of C(2)H(2)/CO and C(3)H(8)/C(2)H(6). CH(3)OOH concentrations showed a clear diurnal variation with a maximum around noon and minimum before sunrise. Frequently, the concentrations of peroxides remained over 1 ppbv in the dark and even gradually increased after sunset. In addition, the ratios of C(2)H(4)/C(2)H(6) and C(3)H(6)/C(3)H(8) were increased in aged subtropical air, which implies that these alkenes were emitted from the ocean surface. As a result, the reaction of these biogenic alkenes with O(3) was suggested to be a potential source for peroxides in aged marine air at lower latitudes.     

Characteristics of indoor aerosols in residential homes in urban locations: a case study in Singapore

As part of a major study to investigate the indoor air quality in residential houses in Singapore, intensive aerosol measurements were made in an apartment in a multistory building for several consecutive days in 2004. The purpose of this work was to identify the major indoor sources of fine airborne particles and to assess their impact on indoor air quality for a typical residential home in an urban area in a densely populated country. Particle number and mass concentrations were measured in three rooms of the home using a real-time particle counter and a low-volume particulate sampler, respectively. Particle number concentrations were found to be elevated on several occasions during the measurements. All of the events of elevated particle concentrations were linked to indoor activities based on house occupant log entries. This enabled identification of the indoor sources that contributed to indoor particle concentrations. Activities such as cooking elevated particle number concentrations < or =2.05 x 10(5) particles/cm3. The fine particles collected on Teflon filter substrates were analyzed for selected ions, trace elements, and metals, as well as elemental and organic carbon (OC) contents. To compare the quality of air between the indoors of the home and the outdoors, measurements were also made outside the home to obtain outdoor samples. The chemical composition of both outdoor and indoor particles was determined. Indoor/outdoor (I/O) ratios suggest that certain chemical constituents of indoor particles, such as chloride, sodium, aluminum, cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, titanium, vanadium, zinc, and elemental carbon, were derived through migration of outdoor particles (I/O <1 or - 1), whereas the levels of others, such as nitrite, nitrate, sulfate, ammonium, cadmium, chromium, nickel, lead, and OC, were largely influenced by the presence of indoor sources (I/O >1).     

Analysis of long-term settlement of municipal solid waste landfills as determined by various settlement estimation methods

In this study, several existing municipal solid waste (MSW) settlement estimation methods are reviewed and applied to analyze the settlement data of nine MSW landfills. Because a biodegradation-related settlement contributes differently to a long-term total settlement depending on the age of landfills, the actual MSW landfill sites are classified into three groups to specifically address the validity of each method in its prediction of a long-term settlement for each age category. Results demonstrate that there are considerable decreases in predicted settlement potentials as fill age increases. Comparisons indicate that the individual estimation methods display a considerable variation in predicting settlements in the fresh MSW landfills. On the other hand, for the old refuse landfills, all of the estimation methods, except the extended soil model, predict low settlement potentials.     

Atmosphic pollutants study of particles ionic species during high wind speed (>7 m s-1) near Taiwan strait in central Taiwan from 2004 to 2005

This study monitored atmospheric pollutants during high wind speed (> 7 m s⁻¹) at two sampling sites: Taichung Harbor (TH) and Wuci traffic (WT) during March 2004 to January 2005 in central Taiwan. The correlation coefficient (R ²) between TSP, PM_2.5, PM_2.5−10 particle concentration vs. wind speed at the TH and WT sampling site during high wind speed (< 7 m s⁻¹) were also displayed in this study. In addition, the correlation coefficients between TSP, PM_2.5 and PM_2.5−10 of ionic species vs. high wind speed were also observed. The results indicated that the correlation coefficient order was TSP > PM_2.5−10 > PM_2.5 for particle at both sampling sites near Taiwan strait. In addition, the concentration of Cl⁻, NO₃ ⁻, SO₄ ²⁻, NH₄ ⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺ and Na⁺ were also analyzed in this study.