Formation pathways of polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in sediments contaminated with PCBs during the thermal desorption process

Thermal desorption has attracted considerable interest as a remediation technology for the removal of dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from contaminated soils and sediments. Although several research groups have confirmed that polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) are formed from PCBs during the thermal desorption of sediments contaminated with PCB, the formation pathways remain poorly understood. Herein, thermal desorption has been used to develop a greater understanding of the formation pathways of PCDFs from sediments contaminated with PCBs. PCB decomposition experiments of sediments contaminated with PCBs were performed over 5 min at 450 °C with a gas composition of 10% O(2)/90% N(2), either in the absence (Run 1) or presence (Run 2-4) of one of three different (13)C(12)-labeled PCB individual standards. The results of Run 1 showed that 99.96% of PCBs and 98.40% of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) in the treated sediments had decomposed, whereas the concentration levels of PCDFs had increased by a factor of 31. The addition of different (13)C(12)-labeled PCBs to the sediment sample yielded different (13)C(12)-PCDFs isomer patterns, with formation pathways including loss of ortho-Cl(2), loss of HCl involving a 2,3-chlorine shift, loss of ortho-H(2) and dechlorination.     

Environmental and socioeconomic assessment of impacts by mining activities—a case study in the Certej River catchment,Western Carpathians,Romania

Background, aim and scope

In the region of the Apuseni Mountains, part of the Western Carpathians in Romania, metal mining activities have a long-standing tradition. These mining industries created a clearly beneficial economic development in the region. But their activities also caused impairments to the environment, such as acid mine drainage (AMD) resulting in long-lasting heavy metal pollution of waters and sediments. The study, established in the context of the ESTROM programme, investigated the impact of metal mining activities both from environmental and socioeconomic perspectives and tried to incorporate the results of the two approaches into an integrated proposition for mitigation of mining-related issues.

Study site

The small Certej catchment, situated in the Southern Apuseni Mountains, covers an area of 78 km². About 4,500 inhabitants are living in the basin, in which metal mining was the main economic sector. An open pit and several abandoned underground mines are producing heavy metal-loaded acidic water that is discharged untreated into the main river. The solid wastes of mineral processing plants were deposited in several dumps and tailings impoundment embodying the acidic water-producing mineral pyrite.

Methods

The natural science team collected samples from surface waters, drinking water from dug wells and from groundwater. Filtered and total heavy metals, both after enrichment, and major cations were analysed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Major anions in waters, measured by ion chromatography, alkalinity and acidity were determined by titration. Solid samples were taken from river sediments and from the largest tailings dam. The latter were characterised by X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffraction. Heavy metals in sediments were analysed after digestion. Simultaneously, the socioeconomic team performed a household survey to evaluate the perception of people related to the river and drinking water pollution by way of a logistic regression analysis.

Results and discussion

The inputs of acid mine waters drastically increased filtered heavy metal concentrations in the Certej River, e.g. Zn up to 130 mg L⁻¹, Fe 100 mg L⁻¹, Cu 2.9 mg L⁻¹, Cd 1.4 mgL⁻¹ as well as those of SO₄ up to 2.2 g L⁻¹. In addition, river water became acidic with pH values of pH 3. Concentrations of pollutant decreased slightly downstream due to dilution by waters from tributaries. Metal concentrations measured at headwater stations reflect background values. They fell in the range of the environmental quality standards proposed in the EU Water Framework Directive for dissolved heavy metals. The outflow of the large tailing impoundment and the groundwater downstream from two tailings dams exhibited the first sign of AMD, but they still had alkalinity.

Most dug wells analysed delivered a drinking water that exhibited no sign of AMD pollution, although these wells were a distance of 7 to 25 m from the contaminated river. It seems that the Certej River does not infiltrate significantly into the groundwater.

Pyrite was identified as the main sulphide mineral in the tailings dam that produces acidity and with calcite representing the AMD-neutralising mineral. The acid–base accounting proved that the potential acid-neutralising capacity in the solid phases would not be sufficient to prevent the production of acidic water in the future. Therefore, the open pits and mine waste deposits have to be seen as the sources for AMD at the present time, with a high long-term potential to produce even more AMD in the future.

The socioeconomic study showed that mining provided the major source of income. Over 45% of the households were partly or completely reliant on financial compensations as a result of mine closure. Unemployment was considered by the majority of the interviewed persons as the main cause of social problems in the area. The estimation of the explanatory factors by the logistic regression analysis revealed that education, household income, pollution conditions during the last years and familiarity with environmental problems were the main predictors influencing peoples’ opinion concerning whether the main river is strongly polluted. This model enabled one to predict correctly 77% of the observations reported. For the drinking water quality model, three predictors were relevant and they explained 66% of the observations.

Conclusions

Coupling the findings from the natural science and socioeconomic approaches, we may conclude that the impact of mining on the Certej River water is high, while drinking water in wells is not significantly affected. The perceptions of the respondents to pollution were to a large extent consistent with the measured results.

Recommendations and perspectives

The results of the study can be used by various stakeholders, mainly the mining company and local municipalities, in order to integrate them in their post-mining measures, thereby making them aware of the potential long-term impact of mining on the environment and on human health as well as on the local economy.

     

Numerical simulation of an array of fences in Saemangeum reclaimed land

This paper discusses about the quantitative effect of windbreak fences on wind velocity in the reclaimed land at Saemangeum in South Korea. Windbreak fences were constructed in the reclaimed land to reduce the wind velocity to prevent the generation and diffusion of dust. However, up to this time, no in-depth studies were conducted to quantitatively measure the effect of the windbreak fences on wind velocity thus an optimum windbreak structure is not yet determined. Using CFD simulations, the effects of fence porosity, fence height, and the distance between the adjacent fences were investigated. A wind tunnel experiment was initially conducted and data gathered were used to develop the CFD models. From the experiments and CFD simulations, the overall percentage difference of the measured velocities was 7.20% which is generally acceptable to establishing the reliability of the CFD models. The reduction effect on wind velocity was measured in between the adjacent fences up to a height of 0.6 m from the ground surface. In terms of porosity ( = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6), 0.2 was found to be the optimum value. Conversely, the effect of fence height (0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 m) showed no significant difference; therefore, 0.6 m height is recommended. In addition, the reduction effect of distance between the adjacent fences (2, 4 and 6 m) on wind velocity having a 0.2 porosity has decreased to about 75% regardless of the distance. In the case of the reclaimed land in Saemangeum, a decrease of 75% can prevent the generation and diffusion of dusts. However, the source of dusts is very large. Therefore, constructing an array of windbreak with 6 m distance between them is deemed necessary.     

Comparison of vehicle activity and emission inventory between Beijing and Shanghai

Vehicle emission inventory is a critical element for air quality study. This study created systemic methods to establish a vehicle emission inventory in Chinese cities. The methods were used to obtain credible results of vehicle activity in Beijing and Shanghai. On the basis of the vehicle activity data, the International Vehicle Emission model is used to establish vehicle emission inventories. The emissions analysis indicates that 3 t of particulate matter (PM), 199 t of nitrogen oxides (NO(x)), 192 t of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and 2403 t of carbon monoxide (CO) are emitted from on-road vehicles each day in Beijing, whereas 4 t of PM, 189 t of NO(x), 113 t of VOCs, and 1009 t of CO are emitted in Shanghai. Although common features were found in these two cities (many new passenger cars and a high taxi proportion in the fleet), the emission results are dissimilar because of the different local policy regarding vehicles. The method to quantify vehicle emission on an urban scale can be applied to other Chinese cities. Also, knowing how different policies can lead to diverse emissions is beneficial knowledge for other city governments.     

Characteristics of real-world vehicular emissions in Chinese cities

On-board emission measurements were performed on 49 light-duty gasoline vehicles in seven cities of China. Vehicle-specific power mode distribution and emission characteristics were analyzed based on the data collected. The results of our study show that there were significant differences in different types of roads. The emission factors and fuel consumption rates on arterial roads and residential roads were approximately 1.4-2 times those on freeways. The carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, and nitrogen oxides emission factors of Euro II vehicles were on average 86.2, 88.2, and 64.5% lower than those of carburetor vehicles, respectively. The new vehicle emission standards implemented in China had played an important role in reducing individual vehicle emissions. More comprehensive measures need to be considered to reduce the total amount of emissions from vehicles.     

利用剩余活性污泥生产一次性可降解材料

为了缓解污水处理厂日益严重的污泥处置难题,实现剩余活性污泥的无害化、减量化、稳定化、资源化利用。采用SBR系统对剩余活性污泥进行10 d的驯化,加入4.0 g/L的乙酸钠作为发酵培养基碳源和前体物质,累积聚羟基烷酸酯(polyhydroxyalkanoates,PHA)。30℃好氧发酵10 h后,PHA积累达1 125 mg/L,占污泥浓度(MLSS)的质量分数为35.7%。然后经过离心、烘干、粉碎后模压成型加工成一次性使用的可生物降解材料。使用正交实验进行优化,结果表明:其最佳的物料配比和模压条件为:干污泥57%;稻草纤维20%;聚乙烯醇(PVA)19%;硬脂酸钡2%;氧化钙2%;最佳工艺条件为100℃,加热1.5 h,此时加工出来的产品具有最优的抗压强度和拉伸强度。以本方法制成的可生物降解花盆其所含细菌总数、粪大肠菌群、蛔虫卵死亡率均达到国标所规定的污泥农用生物安全要求;另外,试样中未检出病毒;其重金属含量也达到国标所规定的污泥农用标准;其可生物降解性能达到了可降解材料的要求。因而本研究制备的一次性使用可降解花盆具有较好的开发和应用价值。     

射流曝气周期活性污泥法脱氮除磷研究

针对零星居民点的污水处理,开发了射流曝气周期活性污泥法工艺.它是一种连续进水、周期性间歇曝气的改良型SBR工艺,也是一种时间程序和空间程序相结合的污水处理工艺,具有良好的脱氮除磷效果.试验表明,在水力负荷4 m3/d,曝气周期为每2 h曝气15 min、静置105 min的条件下,出水COD为48.8～53.5 mg/L,去除率达79.4%～80.5%;出水TN为2.81～3.98 mg/L,去除率达82.4%～89.4%;出水NH3-N为0.36～0.78 mg/L,去除率高达96.4%～98.4%;出水TP为0.63～1.18 mg/L,去除率为67.2%～78.9%,均可达到《城镇污水处理厂污染物排放标准》(GB 18918-2002)中的一级B排放标准.     

低强度超声波强化剩余活性污泥好氧消化的研究

污泥是城市污水处理厂的副产物,若处理不当,将会带来一系列严重的环境问题.实验采用低强度超声波对剩余活性污泥(WAS)的好氧消化过程进行强化,选取超声强度、超声时间、超声间隔3个因素设计正交实验.结果表明,经超声辐照的WAS,其好氧消化时间最短仅约为13 d,比未经超声辐照的缩短了18.00 d.对实验结果的极差分析和方差分析表明,低强度超声波强化WAS好氧消化的最佳参数为:超声强度1.0 W/cm2、超声时间10 min、超声间隔8 h.实验还研究了WAS达标前后溶解性化学需氧量(SCOD)和总化学需氧量(TCOD)的变化情况,发现在相对较短的处理时间内,经低强度超声波强化处理的WAS的TCOD降解率仍然能与对照相近甚至高于对照,主要原因是低强度超声波强化了微生物的新陈代谢,促进了其对有机物的吸收分解.     

Historical change of mercury pollution in remote Yongle archipelago, South China Sea

We collected three ornithogenic coral sand sedimentary profiles from Jinyin Island, Jinqing Island and Guangjin Island of Yongle archipelago, South China Sea and reconstructed the deposition flux of anthropogenic Hg over the past 700 years in the study area. On the whole, the anthropogenic Hg flux is relatively low; it remained at a low level before the Industrial Revolution with a small peak at about 1450-1550 AD, which may record the enhanced metallurgy activity in Ming Dynasty of China. During the 20th century, the deposition flux of anthropogenic Hg increased rapidly, but two troughs occurred during the periods around 1940s and 1970s, corresponding to the economic depression caused by World War II, Civil War in China (1945-1949), and the Culture Revolution (1966-1976) in China. Since the 1970s the deposition flux of anthropogenic Hg has been persistently increasing, apparently the result of fast economic development in East and Southeast Asia countries around South China Sea.