Behavior and mechanism of arsenate adsorption on activated natural siderite: evidences from FTIR and XANES analysis

Activated natural siderite (ANS) was used to investigate its characteristics and mechanisms of As(V) adsorption from aqueous solution. Batch tests were carried out to determine effects of contact time, initial As(V) concentration, temperature, pH, background electrolyte, and coexisting anions on As(V) adsorption. Arsenic(V) adsorption on ANS well-fitted pseudo-second-order kinetics. ANS showed a high-adsorption capacity of 2.19 mg/g estimated from Langmuir isotherm at 25 °C. Thermodynamic studies indicated that As(V) adsorption on ANS was spontaneous, favorable, and endothermic. ANS adsorbed As(V) efficiently in a relatively wide pH range between 2.0 and 10.0, although the removal efficiency was slightly higher in acidic conditions than that in basic conditions. Effects of background electrolyte and coexisting anions were not significant within the concentration ranges observed in high As groundwater. Results of XRD and Fe K-edge XANES analysis suggested ANS acted as an Fe(II)/(III) hybrid system, which was quite effective in adsorbing As from aqueous solution. There was no As redox transformation during adsorption, although Fe(II) oxidation occurred in the system. Two infrared bands at 787 and 872 cm^?1 after As(V) adsorption suggested that As(V) should be predominantly adsorbed on ANS via inner-sphere bidendate binuclear surface complexes.     

人工湿地基质对NH4＋-N吸附性能

为研究建筑废物红砖和工业废物煤渣用作人工湿地脱氮基质的可行性,分别通过静态吸附实验和动态NHf—N去除效果实验进行考察。结果表明,红砖和煤渣对NH4＋-N最大静态吸附量分别为0．2533mg／g和0．0533mg／g,其吸附等温曲线均符合Freundlich型吸附方程,吸附常数分别为0．0419和0．0091;红砖煤渣组合对污水中NH4＋-N平均动态脱除率达到41．18％,高于红砖的37．63％和煤渣的30．92％。     

膜吸收法净化低浓度甲醛和氨气简

基于膜吸收技术自制双层平板式膜吸收器,搭建净化低浓度甲醛和氨气污染模拟系统,考察不同膜结构参数、进气流量、吸收剂流量等因素对其净化效果的影响。结果表明,聚偏氟乙烯PVDF对低浓度甲醛和氨气的净化效率高于聚四氟乙烯PTFE。对同一材质膜,随着膜孔隙率的增大,甲醛和氨气的净化率呈上升趋势。随着进气流量的增加,甲醛和氨气的净化效率降低;而吸收剂流量对其净化效率影响不大。对于所有实验条件,平均膜孔径为0.22 μm的PVDF 4^#在进气流量u_g=120 L/h时,甲醛和氨气的净化效率最高,分别达94.7%和96.3%。     

以聚己内酯作为生物反硝化固体碳源的研究

为解决水体因低碳氮比而导致脱氮效率差的问题,将颗粒聚己内酯(PCL)重新塑形为阶梯环状,研究其作为反硝化过程的生物膜载体与固相碳源的反硝化性能。结果表明,在静态实验中,平均反硝化速率为8.57 mg NO3-N/(L·h);反硝化过程为零级反应。连续填充床实验中,超过90%的硝酸盐可被去除,出水NO2-N质量浓度低于0.20 mg/L;出水NH3-N质量浓度略有上升;出水溶解性有机碳(DOC)先上升后降低至1 mg/L左右。电子扫描显微镜扫描显示,PCL阶梯环反应表面空隙率较高,表面生物膜以杆菌为主,反应后被明显腐蚀;液相色谱检测显示PCL阶梯环分子量反应前后略有下降,其结构未受到破坏;表明该材料适合作为反硝化反应的碳源的同时,又可以作为载体供微生物附着生长。     

Degradation of the potential rodent contraceptive quinestrol and elimination of its estrogenic activity in soil and water

Quinestrol has shown potential for use in the fertility control of the plateau pika population of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. However, the environmental safety and fate of this compound are still obscure. Our study investigated degradation of quinestrol in a local soil and aquatic system for the first time. The results indicate that the degradation of quinestrol follows first-order kinetics in both soil and water, with a dissipation half-life of approximately 16.0 days in local soil. Microbial activity heavily influenced the degradation of quinestrol, with 41.2 % removal in non-sterile soil comparing to 4.8 % removal in sterile soil after incubation of 10 days. The half-lives in neutral water (pH 7.4) were 0.75 h when exposed to UV light (λ?=?365 nm) whereas they became 2.63 h when exposed to visible light (λ?>?400 nm). Acidic conditions facilitated quinestrol degradation in water with shorter half-lives of 1.04 and 1.47 h in pH 4.0 and pH 5.0 solutions, respectively. Moreover, both the soil and water treatment systems efficiently eliminated the estrogenic activity of quinestrol. Results presented herein clarify the complete degradation of quinestrol in a relatively short time. The ecological and environmental safety of this compound needs further investigation.     

Effects of cadmium on the photosynthetic activity in mature and young leaves of soybean plants

Cadmium (Cd) is a widely spread pollutant and can be easily taken up by crop from soil, resulting in a serious health issue for humans. The objective of this study was to comparatively investigate the photosynthetic activity, chlorophyll a fluorescence, chlorophyll contents, and spectral reflectance in mature and young leaves of soybean plants after being treated with different concentrations of Cd for 10 days. The photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll contents, actual photochemical efficiency of PSII, and photochemical quenching in the young leaves decreased more significantly with increasing concentrations of Cd in the nutrient solution, compared with those in the mature leaves, though the young leaves had less Cd concentrations. Thus, there was more excessive excited energy produced in the young leaves than that in the mature leaves. In the young leaves, due to more excessive excited energy, more reactive oxygen species may be generated, which further damaged the photosynthetic apparatus. It was supported by the fact that the decrease of reflectance in near-infrared wavelengths of the young leaves was more noticeable than that of the mature leaves. In addition, the chlorophyll a fluorescence transients of the young leaves was significantly different from that in the mature leaves, indicating that the electron transport of young leaves were inhibited much more severely than that of the mature leaves. These observations imply that the responses of photosynthetic activity of soybean leaves to Cd stress depend on their growth stage, and the Cd-induced inhibition of photosynthetic activity might be attributed to the decrease in chlorophyll contents and the decrease in mesophyll CO₂ assimilation ability cause by the Cd, which further decreased the consumption of ATP and NADPH, leading to accumulation of NADPH on the acceptor sides of the PSI, and then feedback inhibited electron transport in chloroplasts.     

Enhanced degradation of ortho-nitrochlorobenzene by the combined system of zero-valent iron reduction and persulfate oxidation in soils

ortho-Nitrochlorobenzene (o-NCB) in soil poses significant health risks to human because of its persistence and high toxicity. The removal of o-NCB by both zero-valent iron (ZVI) and chemical oxidation (persulfate) was investigated by batch experiments. The o-NCB removal rate increases significantly from 15.1 to 97.3 % with an increase of iron dosage from 0.1 to 1.0 mmol g^?1. The o-NCB removal rate increases with the decrease of the initial solution pH, and a removal efficiency of 90.3 % is obtained at an initial pH value of 6.8 in this combined system. It is found that temperature and soil moisture could also increase the o-NCB removal rate. The o-NCB degradation rate increases from 83.9 to 96.2 % and from 41.5 to 82.4 % with an increase of temperature (15 to 35 °C) and soil moisture (0.25 to 1.50 mL g^?1), respectively. Compared to the persulfate oxidation system and ZVI system, the persulfate–iron system shows high o-NCB removal capacity. o-NCB removal rates of 41.5 and 62.4 % are obtained in both the persulfate oxidation system and the ZVI system, while the removal rate of o-NCB is 90.3 % in the persulfate–iron system.     

Simazine biodegradation and community structures of ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms in bioaugmented soil: impact of ammonia and nitrate nitrogen sources

The objective of the present study was to investigate the impact of ammonia and nitrate nitrogen sources on simazine biodegradation by Arthrobacter sp. strain SD1 and the community structures of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) in non-agricultural soil. Soil microcosms with different treatments were constructed for herbicide biodegradation test. The relative abundance of the strain SD1 and the structures of AOA and AOB communities were assessed using quantitative PCR (q-PCR) and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP), respectively. The co-existence of two inorganic nitrogen sources (ammonia and nitrate) had certain impact on simazine dissipation by the strain SD1. Bioaugmentation could induce a shift in the community structures of both AOA and AOB, but AOA were more responsive. Nitrogen application had significant impacts on AOA and AOB communities in bioaugmented soils. Moreover, in non-bioaugmented soil, the community structure of AOA, instead of AOB, could be quickly recovered after herbicide application. This study could add some new insights towards the impacts of nitrogen sources on s-triazine bioremediation and ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms in soil ecosystem.