FIA-coupled spectrophotometric method for determination of Cr (VI) traces in natural waters: application of in-line dissolution of 1,5-diphenylcarbazide after heat treatment and activated alumina as adsorbent for preconcentration

This work proposes the quantification of Cr (VI) ions in natural waters in trace level, using activated alumina (Al₂O₃) as preconcentration support, controlled in-line dissolution of the solidified chromophore diphenylcarbazide after heat treatment and spectrophotometric detection. The manifold ensures high sensitivity of analytical response, good repeatability, and stability. In this work, optimization of experimental conditions of a flow injection system was chosen as the parameters for greater sensitivity and better selectivity. The selected optimized conditions were 0.30 mol L^?1 for H₂SO₄ concentration, system flow rate as 0.40 mL min^?1, sample injection volume of 192.50 μL, 2 min for preconcentration time, and 0.10 mol L^?1 for eluent concentration. The analytical curves obtained for real sample analysis show linear range from 0.192 to 0.961 μM, linear correlation coefficient R?=?0.9997 and LOD?=?0.024 μM. The preconcentration factor of about four times was obtained through the passage of 800 μL of a standard solution containing 0.961 μM of Cr (VI) through mini-column of preconcentration followed by elution at 192.5 μL of NH₄OH 0.1 mol L^?1 solution. The solid chromogenic reagent presented high durability (weeks in daily use with mass of 0.0993 g) and good reproducibility in analytical signal. The reactivation of the mini-column of alumina should be executed after ten injections of eluent, using 800 μL of HCl 0.02 mol L^?1 solution in flow through the same. Each cycle of injection and elution of the sample takes about 5 min on the proposed terms. Despite the length of each cycle still be high, low concentrations can be detected using a technique of relatively low cost. This is due in part, the association dissolution of the chromogenic reagent directly in the line and the preconcentration step. Another important factor is the economy of reagent chromogenic, low generation of reject contributing to better quality of the environment, and the high potential for applications to work in field.     

Assessment using CFD of the wind direction on the air discharges caused by natural ventilation of a poultry house

Air inside poultry houses must be removed on a regular basis to prevent excess of heat, particles and noxious gases that can imperil animals. To cope with this issue, natural ventilation could be an effective method when assisted by accurate predictions. This study investigates air discharges caused by natural ventilation of a poultry house by means of a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. It solves the governing equations of momentum, heat and mass transport, radiative transfers and animal-generated heat. Wind directions of 0°, 36° and 56° (0° corresponds to a wind blowing perpendicular to the ridgeline) were investigated; the CFD model predictions achieved a RMSE of 1.2 °C and 0.6 g[H₂O] kg^?1 [dry air] for internal temperature and absolute humidity, respectively, when air blew with an angle of 36°. Air renewal rates (ARR) were 39.5 (±?1.9), 34.9 (±?2.2) and 33.6 (±?1.7) volumes of the building per hour, when air blew at 0°, 36° and 56°, respectively. Such ARR predictions served to know how the gases contained in air would likely spread downstream from the building in order to define regions of potentially high gas concentration that could endanger neighbouring habitable facilities.     

Water quality index for agricultural systems in Northwest Uruguay

Agricultural systems have experienced rapid expansion and intensification in the last several decades. In Uruguay, since the beginning of 2000, the most common cropping systems have included soybeans. Currently, this crop is expanding towards lowlands traditionally occupied by rice in rotation with pastures. However, the environmental effects of agricultural intensification and diversification are not well known. Thus, some indices have been proposed to quantify the changes in agricultural production systems and assess water quality. The main goal of this study was to develop a water quality index (WQI) to assess the impacts of the diversification of rice production systems in northwest Uruguay. The study was carried out in an agricultural basin where other summer crops have been incorporated in the rice-pasture sequence. Agriculture intensification and crop diversification indices were calculated using information provided by farmers. Water samples were collected downstream of the production area before crop sowing and after crop harvest (2008–2009 to 2010–2011 and 2016–2017 to 2017–2018). Biochemical oxygen demand, nitrates, total phosphorus, fecal coliforms, and total suspended solids were the variables that mainly explained the effects of the agricultural activities on water quality. The proposed water quality index included these unweighted variables, which allowed for the pre-sowing and post-harvest to be differentiated, as well as the degree of diversification. Therefore, the proposed WQI constitutes a tool that can be used to evaluate the water quality in an agricultural basin. Likewise, it can be used to select agricultural sequences that generate the least possible impacts on the associated water resources.     

Bioremediation of tannery effluent by Cr- and salt-tolerant bacterial strains

Microorganisms have great potential to control environmental pollution, particularly industrial sources of water pollution. Currently, leather industry is regarded as the most polluting and suffering from negative impacts due to the pollution it adds to the environment. Chromium, one of the hazardous pollutants discharged from tanneries, is highly toxic and carcinogenic in nature. Effective treatment of tannery effluent is a dire need of the era as a part of environmental management. Among all the wastewater treatment technologies, bioremediation is the most effective and environment-friendly tool to manage the water pollution. The present study evaluated the potential of 11 previously isolated bacterial strains, tolerant to high concentrations of salts and Cr for the bioremediation of tannery effluent. Among all the tested strains, Enterobacter sp. HU38, Microbacterium arborescens HU33, and Pantoea stewartii ASI11 were found most effective in reducing biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), and chromium (Cr) 70, 63, 57, 87, and 54%, respectively, of tannery effluent and proliferated well under highly toxic conditions, at 9 days of incubation. The pollutant removal efficacy of these bacterial strains can be improved by extending the incubation period or by increasing the amount of inoculum.     

Use of water quality index and multivariate statistical techniques for the assessment of spatial variations in water quality of a small river

Rapid urban development has led to a critical negative impact on water bodies flowing in and around urban areas. In the present study, 25 physiochemical and biological parameters have been studied on water samples collected from the entire section of a small river originating and ending within an urban area. This study envisaged to assess the water quality status of river body and explore probable sources of pollution in the river. Weighted arithmetic water quality index (WQI) was employed to evaluate the water quality status of the river. Multivariate statistical techniques namely cluster analysis (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were applied to differentiate the sources of variation in water quality and to determine the cause of pollution in the river. WQI values indicated high pollution levels in the studied water body, rendering it unsuitable for any practical purpose. Cluster analysis results showed that the river samples can be divided into four groups. Use of PCA identified four important factors describing the types of pollution in the river, namely (1) mineral and nutrient pollution, (2) heavy metal pollution, (3) organic pollution, and (4) fecal contamination. The deteriorating water quality of the river was demonstrated to originate from wide sources of anthropogenic activities, especially municipal sewage discharge from unplanned housing areas, wastewater discharge from small industrial units, livestock activities, and indiscriminate dumping of solid wastes in the river. Thus, the present study effectively demonstrates the use of WQI and multivariate statistical techniques for gaining simpler and meaningful information about the water quality of a lotic water body as well as to identify of the pollution sources.     

HRT对固定床厌氧反应器运行效果的影响

为了考察水力停留时间(HRT)对炭纤维载体固定床厌氧反应器运行效果的影响,在进水COD分别为20 000~25 000 mg/L和40 000~45 000 mg/L2个浓度范围下,研究了不同HRT对反应器运行效果的影响。结果表明,通过HRT的调整,在达到相同有机负荷(OLR)下,进水COD为20 000~25 000 mg/L的COD去除率和产气量,明显比进水COD为40 000~45 000 mg/L的运行效果好;进水COD为20 000~25 000 mg/L,HRT为14 h,相应的OLR为41.09 kgCOD/(m3.d)时,COD去除率仍然维持在68%以上,沼气容积产气率达到14.55 m3/(m3.d)。炭纤维载体固定床厌氧反应器具有较高的COD去除率、产气效率以及抵抗低pH、高负荷冲击的能力,运行过程中没有发生反应器堵塞的现象。     

介质阻挡放电联合催化臭氧化降解甲苯

采用介质阻挡放电区后结合MnOx/Al2O3/发泡镍去除甲苯,考察甲苯进气方式、臭氧产生方法及湿度对甲苯与O3同时去除的影响。结果表明,O3是等离子体区后催化降解甲苯的主要物种,介质阻挡放电联合催化臭氧化可实现甲苯及O3的同时高效去除。输入电压为9.0 kV时,甲苯的去除效率达92.8%,在80 min内O3的去除效率维持在99%以上。水蒸气对催化剂催化分解臭氧的活性没有直接的影响,O3浓度较高时湿度对甲苯降解效率的影响很小。GC-MS分析结果表明,甲苯降解的主要气相副产物有烷烃、酸、酮和含苯环有机物,提出了甲苯的降解途径。     

以红薯浸泡液为碳源的生物反硝化

为选择低碳氮比污水生物脱氮中合适的碳源,以搅拌罐浸泡淀粉类物质释放碳源,在确定利用红薯浸泡液为碳源后,以浸没式生物滤池为反应器进行生物反硝化实验。实验结果表明:20 g红薯置于2 L自来水中,采用250 r/m in的搅拌速度,搅拌频率为每搅拌3 h停1 h,2 d后得到的浸泡液COD浓度平均为5 921 mg/L,最高可超过7 000 mg/L;将此红薯浸泡液和污水以1∶50的流量比例,采用分别投加的方式进入反应器,污水中总氮、硝酸盐氮、亚硝酸盐氮及氨氮的平均去除率分别为88.6%、91.6%、88.2%和54.8%,出水COD平均在30 mg/L以下;在红薯浸泡液COD浓度为5 700 mg/L左右时,进水中亚硝酸盐氮浓度与硝酸盐氮浓度比为3∶2时总氮去除率为95.3%,当该比例为2∶3时总氮去除率为88.2%。研究表明,红薯浸泡液是一种经济合适的碳源,采用红薯浸泡液作为低碳氮比污水生物处理中反硝化的碳源是可行的。     

厌氧-好氧接触氧化处理汽车脱脂废水研究

采用厌氧UASB-好氧接触氧化工艺对汽车脱脂废水进行连续处理实验研究。结果表明,在脱脂废水进水COD浓度为6 000 mg/L,厌氧水力停留时间为3.4 d,好氧水力停留时间为2.5 d条件下,COD总去除率平均为93%,厌氧段平均值为38%。厌氧段可以提高出水的可生化性,厌氧-好氧接触氧化工艺效果要明显优于好氧工艺。     

树脂固载纳米铁对偶氮染料直接湖蓝5B的脱色性能研究

以FeSO4和NaBH4水溶液为前驱溶剂,以聚苯乙烯型阳离子交换树脂为载体,制备了树脂固载的纳米铁,室温下用于对偶氮染料直接湖蓝5B水溶液进行脱色研究。研究结果发现,脱色反应遵循准一级反应动力学,在初始pH为3~10的范围内,反应进行14 m in时,50 mg/L的染料溶液脱色率均能达到83%以上。固载的纳米铁材料可多次重复利用,溶液中释放的铁离子浓度不超过0.1 mg/L。