Reaction mechanism of arsenic capture by a calcium-based sorbent during the combustion of arsenic-contaminated biomass: A pilot-scale experience

Pilot-scale combustion is required to treat arsenic-enriched biomass in China. CaO addition to arsenic-enriched biomass reduces arsenic emission. CaO captures arsenic via chemical adsorption to form Ca₃(AsO₄)₂. Large quantities of contaminated biomass due to phytoremediation were disposed through combustion in low-income rural regions of China. This process provided a solution to reduce waste volume and disposal cost. Pilot-scale combustion trials were conducted for in site disposal at phytoremediation sites. The reaction mechanism of arsenic capture during pilot-scale combustion should be determined to control the arsenic emission in flue gas. This study investigated three Pteris vittata L. biomass with a disposal capacity of 600 kg/d and different arsenic concentrations from three sites in China. The arsenic concentration in flue gas was greater than that of the national standard in the trial with no emission control, and the arsenic concentration in biomass was 486 mg/kg. CaO addition notably reduced arsenic emission in flue gas, and absorption was efficient when CaO was mixed with biomass at 10% of the total weight. For the trial with 10% CaO addition, arsenic recovery from ash reached 76%, which is an ~8-fold increase compared with the control. Synchrotron radiation analysis confirmed that calcium arsenate is the dominant reaction product.     

Boosting freshwater fish conservation with high-resolution distribution mapping across a large territory

The lack of high-resolution distribution maps for freshwater species across large extents fundamentally challenges biodiversity conservation worldwide. We devised a simple framework to delineate the distributions of freshwater fishes in a high-resolution drainage map based on stacked species distribution models and expert information. We applied this framework to the entire Chinese freshwater fish fauna (>1600 species) to examine high-resolution biodiversity patterns and reveal potential conflicts between freshwater biodiversity and anthropogenic disturbances. The correlations between spatial patterns of biodiversity facets (species richness, endemicity, and phylogenetic diversity) were all significant (r = 0.43–0.98, p < 0.001). Areas with high values of different biodiversity facets overlapped with anthropogenic disturbances. Existing protected areas (PAs), covering 22% of China's territory, protected 25–29% of fish habitats, 16–23% of species, and 30–31% of priority conservation areas. Moreover, 6–21% of the species were completely unprotected. These results suggest the need for extending the network of PAs to ensure the conservation of China's freshwater fishes and the goods and services they provide. Specifically, middle to low reaches of large rivers and their associated lakes from northeast to southwest China hosted the most diverse species assemblages and thus should be the target of future expansions of the network of PAs. More generally, our framework, which can be used to draw high-resolution freshwater biodiversity maps combining species occurrence data and expert knowledge on species distribution, provides an efficient way to design PAs regardless of the ecosystem, taxonomic group, or region considered.     

Research status and future challenge for CO2 sequestration by mineral carbonation strategy using iron and steel slag

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Mineral carbonation can simultaneously realize the effective treatment of CO2 and iron and steel slag; thus, it is of great significance for the low...     

Personal exposure to PM2.5-bound heavy metals associated with cardiopulmonary function in general population

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - To better understand the cardiopulmonary alterations associated with personal exposed PM2.5-bound heavy meals, we conducted a cross-sectional study in...     

Impact of human activities on coastal groundwater pollution in the Yang-Dai River plain,northern China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Overexploitation of groundwater has resulted in seawater intrusion in many semiarid and arid coastal areas. This study illustrates the origin of...     

基于改进TOPSIS的受灾点需求紧迫性分级研究

地震发生初期,各受灾点对物资需求的紧迫性存在差异。在应急资源有限的情况下,为提高救援效率,应急资源需要按照受灾点需求紧迫性优先级进行分配和调度。首先,构建了受灾点需求紧迫性评价指标体系,并采用博弈论方法将熵权法和层次分析法相结合,确定权重组合系数及各评价指标综合权重。其次,利用马氏距离和灰色关联分析改进TOPSIS方法,建立了受灾点应急物资需求紧迫性分级模型。最后,将模型应用于受灾点应急物资需求紧迫性分级研究,并将该评价结果与传统TOPSIS法的评价结果进行比较,结果表明,该评价方法可以科学、客观地确定权重组合系数,消除指标间相关性,使评价结果符合实际情况,表明该评价方法科学、可行、有效,能为应急救援物资配送提供有效支持和决策。     

2018年11-12月国内环境事件

LI Sheng-cai;AN Ying(State Key Laboratory of Explosion Science and Technology,Beijing Institute of Technology,Beijing 100081,China)     

催化荧光法测定痕量亚硝酸根

本文研究了在稀磷酸介质中，亚硝酸根对溴酸钾氧化中笥红的反应，建立了催化荧光法测定痕量亚硝酸根的方法，实验表明，亚硝酸根在０．０５－０．４０μｇ．２５ｍｌ＾－１范围内与ΔＦ成线性关系，大多数常见的共存离子不影响其测定。本法用于水样中亚硝酸根的测定，结果比较满意。