Analysis and prediction of $$\mathrm{PM}_{10}$$ concentration levels in Tunisia using statistical learning approaches

Over the past years, the health impact of airborne particulate matter \(\mathrm{PM}_{10}\) has become a very topical subject. Thereby, a lot of research effort in the environmental sciences goes towards the modeling and the prediction of ambient \(\mathrm{PM}_{10}\) concentrations. In this paper, we are interested in the statistical classification of the daily mean \(\mathrm{PM}_{10}\) concentration in Tunisia according to the authority regulation. We consider two monitoring stations: a big industrial station and a traffic station. The main goal of this work is to determine the pertinent predictors of \(\mathrm{PM}_{10}\) concentration within a nonlinear multiclass framework. To do this, we used two popular statistical learning methods; the support vector machines (SVM) and the random forests (RF). The statistical results obtained on the real datasets, show that RF outperform SVM for the purpose of variable selection even with a reduced number of observations compared to the number of explicative variables. It was also demonstrated that the \(\mathrm{PM}_{10}\) concentration measured yesterday is the most relevant predictor of its present-day value. Moreover, we found that the more delayed values of \(\mathrm{PM}_{10}\) concentration may be crucial to get an accurate prediction.     

Vertical oil dispersion profile under non-breaking regular waves

An experimental program was conducted to investigate vertical oil dispersion of surface oil spills under non-breaking regular waves. The variation in oil concentration caused by oil dispersion in a water column was studied to determine the vertical oil dispersion profile. The experiments were performed using different waves characteristics for different volumes of oil spill to evaluate the variation in oil concentration at three depths at two sampling stations. The correlations between oil concentration and the main parameters of wave characteristics, oil spill volume, sampling depth, and distance of sampling stations to spill location were assessed. The results revealed that the trend of variation in oil concentration versus wave steepness is linear. The results obtained from experimental measurements indicated that the oil concentrations at mid-depth were 44–77 % and the concentrations near the flume bed were 12–33 % of the concentration near the water surface.     

Simulations of the flow in the Mahakam river–lake–delta system,Indonesia

Large rivers often present a river–lake–delta system, with a wide range of temporal and spatial scales of the flow due to the combined effects of human activities and various natural factors, e.g., river discharge, tides, climatic variability, droughts, floods. Numerical models that allow for simulating the flow in these river–lake–delta systems are essential to study them and predict their evolution under the impact of various forcings. This is because they provide information that cannot be easily measured with sufficient temporal and spatial detail. In this study, we combine one-dimensional sectional-averaged (1D) and two-dimensional depth-averaged (2D) models, in the framework of the finite element model SLIM, to simulate the flow in the Mahakam river–lake–delta system (Indonesia). The 1D model representing the Mahakam River and four tributaries is coupled to the 2D unstructured mesh model implemented on the Mahakam Delta, the adjacent Makassar Strait, and three lakes in the central part of the river catchment. Using observations of water elevation at five stations, the bottom friction for river and tributaries, lakes, delta, and adjacent coastal zone is calibrated. Next, the model is validated using another period of observations of water elevation, flow velocity, and water discharge at various stations. Several criteria are implemented to assess the quality of the simulations, and a good agreement between simulations and observations is achieved in both calibration and validation stages. Different aspects of the flow, i.e., the division of water at two bifurcations in the delta, the effects of the lakes on the flow in the lower part of the system, the area of tidal propagation, are also quantified and discussed.     

Photochemical indicators of ozone sensitivity: application in the Pearl River Delta,China

Surface O₃ production has a highly nonlinear relationship with its precursors. The spatial and temporal heterogeneity of O₃-NO _x -VOC-sensitivity regimes complicates the control-decision making. In this paper, the indicator method was used to establish the relationship between O₃ sensitivity and assessment indicators. Six popular ratios indicating ozone-precursor sensitivity, HCHO/NO _y , H₂O₂/ HNO₃, O₃/NO _y , O₃/NO _z , O₃/HNO₃, and H₂O₂/NO _z , were evaluated based on the distribution of NO_x- and VOC-sensitive regimes. WRF-Chem was used to study a serious ozone episode in fall over the Pearl River Delta (PRD). It was found that the south-west of the PRD is characterized by a VOCsensitive regime, while its north-east is NO _x -sensitive, with a sharp transition area between the two regimes. All indicators produced good representations of the elevated ozone hours in the episode on 6 November 2009, with H₂O₂/HNO₃ being the best indicator. The threshold sensitivity levels for HCHO/NO_y, H₂O₂/HNO₃, O₃/NO _y , O₃/NO _z , O₃/HNO₃, and H₂O₂/NO _z were estimated to be 0.41, 0.55, 10.2, 14.0, 19.1, and 0.38, respectively. Threshold intervals for the indicators H₂O₂/HNO₃, O₃/NO _y , O₃/NO _z , O₃/HNO₃, and H₂O₂/NO _z were able to identify more than 95% of VOC- and NO _x -sensitive grids. The ozone episode on 16 November 16 2008 was used to independently verify the results, and it was found that only H₂O₂/HNO₃ and H₂O₂/NO _z were able to differentiate the ozone sensitivity regime well. Hence, these two ratios are suggested as the most appropriate indicators for identifying fall ozone sensitivity in the PRD. Since the species used for indicators have seasonal variation, the utility of those indicators for other seasons should be investigated in the future work.

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Improving simulations of sulfate aerosols during winter haze over Northern China: the impacts of heterogeneous oxidation by NO<Subscript>2</Subscript>

We implemented the online coupled WRF-Chem model to reproduce the 2013 January haze event in North China, and evaluated simulated meteorological and chemical fields using multiple observations. The comparisons suggest that temperature and relative humidity (RH) were simulated well (mean biases are–0.2K and 2.7%, respectively), but wind speeds were overestimated (mean bias is 0.5 m?s^–1). At the Beijing station, sulfur dioxide (SO₂) concentrations were overpredicted and sulfate concentrations were largely underpredicted, which may result from uncertainties in SO₂ emissions and missing heterogeneous oxidation in current model. We conducted three parallel experiments to examine the impacts of doubling SO₂ emissions and incorporating heterogeneous oxidation of dissolved SO₂ by nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) on sulfate formation during winter haze. The results suggest that doubling SO₂ emissions do not significantly affect sulfate concentrations, but adding heterogeneous oxidation of dissolved SO₂ by NO₂ substantially improve simulations of sulfate and other inorganic aerosols. Although the enhanced SO₂ to sulfate conversion in the HetS (heterogeneous oxidation by NO₂) case reduces SO₂ concentrations, it is still largely overestimated by the model, indicating the overestimations of SO₂ concentrations in the North China Plain (NCP) are mostly due to errors in SO₂ emission inventory.

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Approaching the binding between Cu(II) and aerobic granules by a modified titration and µ-XRF

Interactions between metals and activated sludge can substantially affect the fate and transport of heavy metals in wastewater treatment plants. Therefore, it is important to develop a simple, fast and efficient method to elucidate the interaction. In this study, a modified titration method with a dynamic mode was developed to investigate the binding of Cu(II), a typical heavy metal, onto aerobic granules. The titration results indicated that pH and ionic strength both had a positive effect on the biosorption capacity of the granular sludge. The µ-XRF results demonstrated that the distribution of metals on the granular surface was heterogeneous, and Cu showed strong correlations and had the same “hot spots” positions with other metal ions (e.g., Ca, Mg, Fe etc.). Ion exchange and complexing were the main mechanisms for the biosorption of Cu(II) by aerobic granules. These results would be beneficial for better understanding of Cu(II) migration and its fate in wastewater treatment plants.     

四海龙湾表层沉积物中有机质的组成特征及其源解析

为研究玛珥湖四海龙湾表层沉积物中有机质的组成特征及来源,采集四海龙湾表层沉积物样品,并对其中的有机质进行了分析. 结果表明,四海龙湾表层沉积物中w(TOC)(TOC为总有机碳)为6.7%、w(TN)为0.6%、δ13C_org(TOC同位素丰度)为-28.0‰、δ15N_total(TN同位素丰度)为2.2‰. 可溶性有机质主要包括脂肪烃、脂肪醇、脂肪酸和GDGTs(甘油二烷基甘油四醚脂)等,其中脂肪酸是可溶性有机质的主要组分,约占可溶性有机质总量的68.8%,主要来源于内源性的藻类和厌氧菌; 脂肪烃主要来源于陆源的C3木本植物;结合态脂肪醇具有明显的内源来源特征,而游离态脂肪醇却呈现陆源来源特征. 四海龙湾沉积物中含有丰富的GDGTs,主要来源于陆源土壤,包括支链类GDGTs和类异戊二烯类GDGTs,其中类异戊二烯类GDGTs以GDGTⅣ和GDGTⅤ为主,但其在四海龙湾沉积物中的含量相对较小. 研究显示,四海龙湾流域陆源是沉积物中可溶性有机质的主要来源,陆源有机质的大量流入改变了四海龙湾的营养水平;不同种类可溶性有机质表现出不同的来源特征,这主要是由于微生物对不同种类有机质降解速率的不同所致,并且导致降解所产生的二次有机质数量也不同.      

地铁内部环境控制与系统安全的基本分析

1引言 城市人口的迅速增长以及出行车辆和出行人数的急剧增长,给城市带来了交通拥挤、环境污染、能源危机和公共安全等问题,同时也使得城市面临环境容量控制和人员应急疏散的问题.因此发展城市公共交通、缓和车辆拥挤的问题越来越引起世界各国的高度重视.由于地铁具有高速、安全、准时、载客量大、不受外部气候条件限制,同时又具有能降低地面噪音、减少城市污染的特点,所以,地铁成为当今解决城市交通拥挤最有效的手段.然而地铁系统结构复杂、投资巨大、运行成本非常高,因此必须在地铁系统的设计筹措阶段就要考虑全面,并对各个环节提出合理的设计方案.例如:地铁安全设计规划、地铁环境控制方案等等.地铁环境控制系统和系统安全是地铁系统中的一个重要组成部分,二者有机结合是地铁大安全的要求.     

非均相催化湿式氧化法再生活性炭实验

使用自制的CuO-Al₂O₃催化剂对苯酚饱和活性炭进行非均相催化湿式氧化再生研究,系统观察了反应条件对非均相催化湿式氧化再生活性炭的影响.实验中得到非均相CuO-Al₂O₃催化湿式氧化再生活性炭的最佳条件为:反应温度210℃,反应时间60min,催化剂投加量25mg(以铜离子计),反应氧分压0.6MPa(25℃),投炭量15g(干炭量),加水量300mL.通过对催化剂进行X衍射分析,并对催化剂的稳定性进行实验,可以得出该催化剂在催化湿式氧化再生活性炭的过程中具有较好的稳定性.     

Characterization and Release Kinetics of Allylthiosufinate and its Transforments from Poly(d,l-Lactide) Microspheres

In this work was described poly(d,l-lactide) microwave synthesis using tin(II) 2-ethylhexanoate initiated ring-opening polymerization. Polymerization was performed at 100 °C with monomer to initiator molar ratio ([M]/[I]) of 5,000 in 30 min. The achieved number average molar mass of obtained polymers (determined by gel permeation chromatography) was 102,320 g/mol, with the polydispersion index, Q, 2.80. Structural characterization was performed by FT-IR spectroscopy followed characteristic bands. For applicative purposes the obtained polymer was purified during the procedure of microsphere preparation. Biodegradable microspheres prepared from poly(d,l-lactide) have been widely studied in recent years and have become well established controlled drug delivery systems. In this work microspheres were loaded with allyl thiosulfinate (allicin) and its transforments products (ajoene and vinyldithiine), as pharmacological active substances. The morphology of the microspheres was analyzed using a scanning electron microscope. Allicin was synthesized by acid oxidation of allyl disufide and purification of obtained products by liquid–liquid extraction with diethyl ether. Obtained allicin, purity 73%, was transformed using microwave in acetone solution, at solvent boiling temperature, for 5 min. For the quality and quantity analysis of allicin and its transformation process was used LC/MS chromatography. (E)- and (Z)-ajoene were detected at retention time 3.1 and 3.3 min, respectively, whence 3-vynil-4H-1,2-dithiine and 2-vynil-4H-1,3-dithiine were detected at 4.3 and 4.8 min, respectively. Retention time of allicin was 2.93 min, according to liquid chromatography results. HPLC method was used for assessment of pharmaceutical substances (alicine and alicine transforments) releasing from microspheres at room temperature in solutions with different pH (pH = 3 and pH = 8) for 24 h.