Classification and comparison of municipal solid waste based on thermochemical characteristics

Municipal solid waste (MSW) has been normally sorted into six categories, namely, food residue, wood waste, paper, textiles, plastics, and rubber. In each category, materials could be classified further into subgroups. Based on proximate and ultimate analysis and heating value, statistical methods such as analysis of variance (ANOVA) and cluster analysis were applied to analyze the characteristics of MSW in every subgroup and to try to distinguish their relative properties. The chemical characteristics analysis of MSW showed that polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS) had the highest volatile matter content, with almost no ash and fixed carbon, while polyethylene terephthalate (PET) had high carbon content but low hydrogen content. Bones and vegetables had the highest ash content, while nutshells and rubber had the highest fixed carbon content. Paper and starch food had the highest oxygen content, and wool and bones had the highest nitrogen and sulfur content. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) had the highest chlorine content at about 55%. PE, PP, and PS had the highest heating value, followed by chemical products such as rubber and chemical fiber. Conversely, paper, vegetables and bones had the lowest heating value. The results of cluster analysis of MSW components showed that fruit peel, weeds, wood, bamboo, leaves and nutshells could be classified as the lignocellulose category; starch food, cotton, toilet paper, printing paper and cardboard could be classified as the glucose monomer category; wood and chemical fiber could be classified as the high nitrogen and sulfur category; and PE, PP, and PS could be cluster as the polyolefin category.

Implications: The yield of municipal solid waste (MSW) is constantly increasing and waste to energy (WTE) has been used extensively all over the world. During the processes of incineration, pyrolysis, or gasification, the impact of physical and chemical properties of MSW is of great significance. However, the traditional classification of MSW is too general to provide more detailed information in many investigations. It is necessary to perform the investigation of characteristics of combustible MSW to distinguish different categories of MSW and find out their subclassification.     

钛基金属氧化物电极的制备及性能

采用聚合物前驱体法制备了Ti/SnO₂-Sb₂O₃电极,再通过恒电流电沉积法制备了 Ti/SnO₂-Sb₂O₃/PbO₂和Ti/SnO₂-Sb₂O₃/MnO₂电极。采用SEM技术对3种金属氧化物电极表面的形貌进行了表征,并分别以3种电极为阳极进行了苯酚的电催化氧化实验。实验结果表明：电解时间为2.5 h时,Ti/SnO₂-Sb₂O₃电极、Ti/SnO₂-Sb₂O₃/PbO₂电极和Ti/SnO₂-Sb₂O₃/MnO₂电极对苯酚的降解率分别为85.9%,83.2%,44.6%;苯酚在3种电极上的电催化氧化反应均遵循一级反应动力学方程;苯酚在Ti/SnO₂-Sb₂O₃ 电极和Ti/SnO₂-Sb₂O₃/PbO₂电极上的反应速率较快,并具有较高的析氧电位;Ti/SnO₂-Sb₂O₃/PbO₂电极具有更好的耐腐蚀性和更长的使用寿命。     

石化行业的VOCs排放控制管理

概述了我国挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）的排放情况。介绍了国内外VOCs的管理现状。分析了国内石化行业VOCs排放控制管理中存在的主要问题以及污染物排放过程的类别。提出了明确定义、制定相关标准、完善分类管理体系、研究最佳的可行性控制技术等加强VOCs排放控制管理的对策和建议。     

Comparison of lignin peroxidase and horseradish peroxidase for catalyzing the removal of nonylphenol from water

Concentrations of aqueous-phase nonylphenol (NP), a well-known endocrine-disrupting chemical, are shown to be reduced effectively via reaction with lignin peroxidase (LiP) or horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and hydrogen peroxide. We systematically assessed their reaction efficiencies at varying conditions, and the results have confirmed that the catalytic performance of LiP toward NP was more efficient than that of HRP under experimental conditions. Mass spectrum analysis demonstrated that polymerization through radical–radical coupling mechanism was the pathway leading to NP transformation. Our molecular modeling with the assistance of ab initio suggested the coupling of NP likely proceeded via covalent bonding between two NP radicals at their unsubstituted carbons in phenolic rings. Data from acute immobilization tests with Daphnia confirm that NP toxicity is effectively eliminated by LiP/HRP-catalyzed NP removal. The findings in this study provide useful information for understanding LiP/HRP-mediated NP reactions, and comparison of enzymatic performance can present their advantages for up-scale applications in water/wastewater treatment.     

微波再生载苯酚活性炭过程中再生产物分析

研究了载氮气和无载气2种条件下,微波再生载苯酚活性炭过程中再生产物的成分和苯酚随再生过程的去向分布。结果表明,无载气时,微波功率越高,再生反应器内温度越高,吸附质的高温裂解反应越彻底,再生产物以挥发性气体为主,有机质种类很少;而当微波功率较低或载氮气再生时,反应器内温度相对较低,苯酚难以被彻底分解,再生产物中含多种复杂的链状或环状有机物。此外,载氮气时,经气提、挥发而去除的苯酚量约占总吸附量的一半,再生炭上无苯酚残留,活性炭吸附性能可完全恢复乃至优化;无载气时,经挥发而去除的苯酚量只有19.9%,其余大量苯酚则在微波作用下裂解或缩合为其他物质随尾气而去除,且再生炭上仍有少量苯酚未被解吸出来。因此,前者活性炭再生的效果优于后者。     

The Optimal Depletion of Exhaustible Resource under Different Commitment

There are few papers in the literature focusing on the issue of the optimal depletion of exhaustible resources in the framework of variable time preference. This paper attempts to analyze the pure consumption of exhaustible resource under hyperbolic time preference, and to discuss the optimal depletion rate and the effect of the protection of the exhaustible resource under different commitment abilities. The results of model show that the case of the hyperbolic discount with the full commitment of the government is equivalent to the case of constant discount of the social planner problem. In that case, the optimal depletion rate and the initial consumption of exhaustible resource are the slowest. On the contrary, they are the highest and the myopic behaviors lead to excessive consumption of exhaustible resources inevitably without commitment. Otherwise, in the case of partial commitment, the results are between the cases of full commitment and of no commitment. Therefore, with the hyperbolic time preference, the optimal depletion rate of resource depends on the commitment ability. Higher commitment ability leads to lower effective rate of time preference, and consequently, lower depletion rate and lower initial depletion value. The improvement of commitment ability can decrease the impatience and myopia behaviors, and contribute to the protection of the exhaustible resources.     

自然灾害社会脆弱性评估研究——以上海市为例

基于投影寻踪聚类模型(PPC),结合基于实数编码的加速遗传算法(RAGA),对上海市进行了自然灾害社会脆弱性评估的尝试。结果表明:①灾害社会脆弱性最高的为崇明县,其次为宝山区和金山区;②灾害社会脆弱性最低的是黄埔区,其次是徐汇区和静安区;③总体而言,灾害脆弱性较低的地区集中于上海城市中心区,而城市边缘区的社会脆弱性一般较高。     

Estimating Maximum Concentrations for Open Path Monitoring Along a Fixed Beam Path

ABSTRACT

Researchers have applied open path optical sensing techniques to a variety of workplace and environmental monitoring problems. Usually these data are reported in terms of a path-average (or path-integrated) concentration. When assessing potential human exposures along a beam path, this path-average value is not always informative, since concentrations along the path can vary substantially from the beam average. The focus of this research is to arrive at a method for estimating the upper-bound in contaminant concentrations over a fixed open beam path. The approach taken here uses a statistical model to estimate an upper-bound concentration based on a combination of the path-average and a measure of the spatial variability computed from point samples along the beam path. Results of computer simulations and experimental testing in a controlled ventilation chamber indicate that the model produced conservative estimates for the maximum concentration along the beam path. This approach may have many applications for open path monitoring in workplaces or wherever maximum concentrations are a concern.     

Toxicity of zinc oxide nanoparticles in the earthworm, Eisenia fetida and subcellular fractionation of Zn

The extensive use of nanoparticles (NPs) in a variety of applications has raised great concerns about their environmental fate and biological effects. This study examined the impact of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and salts on ZnO NP dispersion/solubility and toxicity to the earthworm Eisenia fetida. To be able to better evaluate the toxicity of NPs, exposure in agar and on filter paper was proposed for enabling a comparison of the importance of different uptake routes. A dose-related increase in mortality was observed in earthworms exposed in agar with almost 100% mortality after 96 h exposure to the highest concentration (1000 mg ZnO/kg agar). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the addition of salts enhanced the aggregation of ZnO NPs in agar and consequently affected the dissolution behavior and biological availability of the particles. On filter paper, mortality was the highest at the lowest exposure concentration (50 mg ZnO/L) and seemed to decrease with increasing exposure levels. TEM images of ZnO showed that the solubility and morphology of NPs were changed dramatically upon the addition of humic acids (HA). The subcellular distribution pattern of Zn in earthworms after 96 h exposure in agar and on filter paper showed that the Zn taken up via dietary ZnO particles (from agar) was mainly found in organelles and the cytosol while the Zn accumulated as soluble Zn from filter paper was mainly distributed in cell membranes and tissues. Antioxidant enzymatic activities (SOD, CAT, and GSH-px) were investigated in the worms surviving the toxicity tests. A slight increase of SOD activities was observed at the lowest exposure dose of ZnO (50mg/kg), followed by a decrease at 100mg/kg in the agar cubes. Activities of both CAT and GSH-Px enzymes were not significantly influenced in the worms exposed to agar, although a slight decrease at 500 and 1000 mg ZnO/kg agar was observed. A similar change trend of SOD activities was observed for the earthworms on filter paper, but a significant decrease began at a higher ZnO NP concentration of 500 mg ZnO/L. The use of soil extracts instead of deionized water (DW) to simulate a realistic exposure system significantly reduced the toxicity of the ZnO NPs on filter paper, which increases the predictive power of filter paper toxicity tests for the environmental risk assessment of NPs.