The key elements analysis of Guangdong & Shenzhen ETS & tips for China national ETS construction

The only joint effort area of provincial and municipal governments resides in Guangdong Province and Shenzhen City in China’s carbon emission trading system (ETS) pilots, which characterize the national carbon ETS plots. The present study on the operating experience from this area has important reference value for the national carbon ETS. Analysis and comparison of the key elements show many differences in coverage, total allowance, allowance allocation, and MRV mechanism between Guangdong and Shenzhen carbon ETS. The present study provides the following explanation: (1) the design characteristics of carbon ETS (e.g. coverage, total quotas, the allocation, and MRV mechanism) depend on the local geographical conditions and policy goals. The differences of economic structure in Guangdong Province and Shenzhen City result in different coverage, which then result in differences in other management elements. (2) The operating state of the carbon market is affected by overall design of carbon ETS: in the case of tighter total allowance, lower proportion of China Certified Emission Reductions, and harsher punishment, the carbon market is relatively active, which intends to produce carbon financial market. Based on deep analysis of operation characteristics of carbon ETS in Guangdong and Shenzhen, the present study suggests that (1) the allowance should be allocated freely at the beginning stage and then gradually transited to the voluntary paid auction; (2) the allowances assigned to companies shall be linked up with their energy-saving objectives; (3) the output fluctuations and economic influence on the allowance allocation should be properly handled to maintain the fairness and consistence of allowance allocation standards; (4) stable public expectation is one of the key elements to maintain the regular operation of carbon ETS; (5) constrained carbon emission behavior outside ETS can contribute to social justice; and (6) the improvement of professional skills of relevant personnel in the enterprise and independent third party can enhance carbon emissions data reliability.     

Detection of DDT and its metabolites in two estuaries of South China using a SPME-based device: First report of p,p′-DDMU in water column

A solid-phase microextration-based sampling method was employed to determine the concentrations of 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT) and its metabolites, 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDD), 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethene (DDE) and 1-chloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethene (DDMU), in two estuarine bays, Daya Bay and Hailing Bay, of South China. Six DDT components including p,p′-DDT, o,p′-DDD, p,p′-DDD, o,p′-DDE, p,p′-DDE, and p,p′-DDMU were detected in Hailing Bay, while only p,p′-DDD was found in Daya Bay. p,p′-DDD was the most abundant DDT component in both bays, sharply different from the previous finding in the water column of the Palos Verdes Shelf, California, USA that p,p′-DDE was prevalent. In addition, the occurrence of p,p′-DDMU (with a range of 0.047-0.21 ng/L in Hailing Bay) has not been reported around the globe, and its presence in our study region appeared to stem from dehydrochlorination of p,p′-DDD, favored under aerobic conditions, but further investigations are clearly needed to confirm the mechanism for generation of DDMU in estuarine environments.     

An observational study of the HONO–NO2 coupling at an urban site in Guangzhou City,South China

The temporal behavior of HONO and NO₂ was investigated at an urban site in Guangzhou city, China, by means of a DOAS system during the Pearl River Delta 2006 intensive campaign from 10 to 24 July 2006. Within the whole measurement period, unexpected high HONO mixing ratios up to 2 ppb were observed even during the day. A nocturnal maximum concentration of about 8.43 ± 0.4 ppb was detected on the night of 24 July 2006. Combining the data simultaneously observed by different instruments, the coupling of HONO–NO₂ and the possible formation sources of HONO are discussed. During the measurement period, concentration ratios of HONO to NO₂ ranged from (0.03 ± 0.1) to (0.37 ± 0.09), which is significantly higher than previously reported values (0.01–0.1). Surprisingly, in most cases a strong daytime correlation between HONO and NO₂ was found, contrary to previous observations in China. Aerosol was found to have a minor impact on HONO formation during the whole measurement period. Using a pseudo steady state approach for interpreting the nocturnal conversion of NO₂ to HONO suggests a non-negligible role of the relative humidity for the heterogeneous HONO formation from NO₂.     

Improvement of the activity of anaerobic sludge by low-intensity ultrasound

This paper aims to study the enhancement effect of low-intensity ultrasound on anaerobic sludge activity and the efficiency of anaerobic wastewater treatment. Dehydrogenate activity (DHA) and the content of coenzyme F(420) were detected to indicate the change of activity of anaerobic sludge induced by ultrasound at 35 kHz. Single-factor and multiple-factor optimization experiments showed that the optimal ultrasonic intensity and irradiation period were 0.2 W/cm(2) and 10 min, respectively, and the biological activity was enhanced dramatically under the optimal condition. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency was increased by ultrasonic treatment and the COD in the effluent was 30% lower than that of the control (without exposure). The hypothetical mechanism of biological activity enhancement by ultrasound was also discussed according to the results.     

Octanol–air partition coefficients of polybrominated biphenyls

The octanol–air partition coefficients (K_OA) for PBB15, PBB26, PBB31, PBB49, PBB103 and PBB153 were determined as a function of temperature using a gas chromatographic retention time technique with 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis (4-chlorophenyl) ethane (p,p′-DDT) as a reference substance. The internal energies of phase change from octanol to air (Δ_OAU) were calculated for the six compounds and were in the range from 74 to 116 kJ mol⁻¹. Simple regression equations of log K_OA versus relative retention times (RRTs) on gas chromatography (GC), and log K_OA versus molecular connectivity indexes (MCI) were obtained, for which the correlation coefficients (r²) were greater than 0.985 at 283.15 K and 298.15 K. Thus the K_OA values of the remaining PBBs can be predicted by using their RRTs and MCI according to these relationships.     

Important role of reaction field in photodegradation of deca-bromodiphenyl ether: Theoretical and experimental investigations of solvent effects

Photolysis of deca-bromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) was investigated in tetrahydrofuran, dichloromethane, isopropanol, acetone, ethanol, methanol, acetonitrile and dimethylsulfoxide. Noticeable differences of the photolytic rates and quantum yields were found in the diverse solvents. Different to the previous deductions, hydrogen donating efficiency and electron donating efficiency of solvents were not the decisive factors for the photolytic rate in this study, which was proved by the fast photolysis of BDE-209 in CCl₄, a solvent without hydrogen and difficult to donate electrons. Besides hydrogen addition process, intermolecular polymerization might occur during the photolysis. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation was performed to understand the molecular properties of BDE-209 in different solvents. The lowest singlet vertical excitation energy (E_ex) and the average formal charge on Br () of BDE-209, reflecting the difficulty for the excitation of BDE-209 and for the departing of Br atom, respectively, were changed by the reaction fields formed by the different solvents. E_ex and linearly correlated with the photolytic activity (log k). This study is helpful to better understand the photolytic behavior of BDE-209 in different media.     

Perfluorosulfonates and perfluorocarboxylates in snow and rain in Dalian,China

Samples of precipitation events (snow and rain) in Dalian, a typical coastal town in China, were analyzed for perfluorosulfonates (PFSAs) and perfluorocarboxylates (PFCAs) to investigate atmospheric contamination by these compounds. In the snow event on December 16, 2006, samples were collected from 21 different sites and in another 6 precipitation events, samples were collected from a single location. Four PFSAs (C4, C6, C8, C10) and seven PFCAs (C6–12) were analyzed. Among the homologues, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) concentrations were the highest with a geometric mean (GM) of 145 ng/L (n = 21) during the snow event on December 16, 2006, followed by perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) with a GM of 24.7 ng/L (n = 21). Concentrations of perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS) and perfluoroheptanoate (PFHpA) were more than two orders of magnitude lower than that of PFOS. Other PFSAs and PFCAs were found to be below the limit of detection in all the samples. In other 6 precipitation events, PFSAs and PFCAs were detected approximately in the same order of magnitude in both snow and rain. The results indicate that wet deposition may be a potential transport mechanism of perfluorinated chemicals in the environment.     

Profile of Methane Concentrations in Soil and Atmosphere in Alpine Steppe Ecosystem on Tibetan Plateau

The methane concentration profile from -1.5m depth in soil to 32m height in air was measured in alpine steppe located in the permafrost area. Methane concentrations showed widely variations both in air and in soil during the study period. The mean concentrations in atmosphere were all higher than those in soil, and the highest methane concentration was found in air at the height of 16m with the lowest concentration occurring at the depth of 1.5m in soil. The variations of atmospheric methane concentrations did not show any clear pattern both temporally and spatially, although they exhibited a more steadystable state than those in soil. During the seasonal variations, the methane concentrations at different depths in soil were significantly correlated （R^2〉0.6） with each other comparing to the weak correlations （R^2〈0.2） between the atmospheric concentra- tions at different heights. Mean methane concentrations in soil significantly decreased with depth. This was the compositive influence of the decreasing production rates and the increasing methane oxidation rates, which was caused by the descent soil moisture with depth. Although the methane concentrations at all depths varied widely during the growing season, they showed very distinct temporal variations in the non-growing season. It was indicated from the literatures that methane oxidation rates were positively correlated with soil temperature. The higher methane concentrations in soil during the winter were determined by the lower methane oxidation rates with decreasing soil temperatures, whereas methane production rates had no reaction to the lower temperature. Relations between methane contribution and other environmental factors were not discussed in this paper for lacking of data, which impulse us to carry out further and more detailed studies in this unique area.     

北京市春季大气颗粒物污染特性研究

为研究北京市春季大气颗粒物污染特性,2008年3月至2008年5月,对北京市西三环大气颗粒物进行采样分析.测定了总悬浮颗粒物(TSP)与可吸入颗粒物(PM10)的日平均质量浓度,使用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)观察大气颗粒物的微观形貌,并通过X射线能谱仪(EDX)对样品中的元素组成进行分析.结果表明,TSP和PM10日平均质量浓度以初春最高,春天次之,春夏交际最低;PM10/TSP以春夏交际最高,初春次之,春天最低;大气颗粒物形态有规则和不规则2类,以不规则形态居多,同时发现花粉颗粒存在.EDX分析表明,大气颗粒物所附着的重金属中Pb所占的质量分散最高,并且集中吸附在细粒子颗粒物上.     

复合沸石滤床修复北方景观水体的实验研究

以天然矿物质沸石、细砂及煤渣取代传统滤料构建复合基质生态床,表面种植景观植物,采用下向流-上向流运行方式修复北方景观水体。分别进行静态实验及不同循环速率下的动态实验,考察对水体污染物去除过程。结果表明,2种运行方式下对水体NH⁺₄-N去除率都在85%以上,其中以1 h为循环周期的运行方式去除率达97%,较静态提高12.8%;TN去除率最高为84%;TP去除不稳定,过程缓慢。煤渣层对NH⁺₄-N的去除效果差,硝化作用不彻底与反硝化作用的加强使下层出水NH⁺₄-N 、NO^-₂-N及NO^-₃-N浓度均高于上层。提高循环速率有利于对氮的去除。