Removal of nitrogen from wastewaters by anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) using granules in upflow reactors

Nitrogen pollution of waters has sometimes caused severe eutrophication, leading to the death of fishes and most aquatic life. There is therefore a need for efficient and cost-effective methods to remove nitrogen from ammonium-rich wastewaters. Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) is a promising process to remove nitrogen because this process directly oxidizes ammonium (NH₄ ⁺) to dinitrogen gas (N₂) under anoxic condition. Nonetheless, a challenge of this process is that chemolithoautotrophic Anammox bacteria grow slowly at the beginning, thus resulting in low Anammox biomass and instability of reactors. Such issues can be overcome by granulation of the Anammox sludge. Here, we review the characteristics of the Anammox bacteria, and the formation, structure and flotation of Anammox granules under high hydraulic loadings. We also evaluate the performances of full-scale granular Anammox processes. The major points are: 1) Anammox bacteria secrete a large amount of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), up to 415 mg g^?1 of volatile suspended solids (VSS), containing many hydrophobic functional groups that facilitate biomass granulation. 2) Granulation enhances the sludge settling property and retention time, which contributes to the extremely high nitrogen removal rate of 77 kg m^?3 d^?1 of Anammox upflow reactors. 3) Flotation of Anammox granules frequently occurs under nitrogen removal rate higher than 10 kg m^?3 d^?1, which is mainly due to the overproduction of EPS under high hydraulic conditions.     

Effect of solution pH on aging dynamics and surface structural evolution of mZVI particles: H<Subscript>2</Subscript> production and spectroscopic/microscopic evidence

A microscale zero-valent iron (mZVI)-based in situ reactive zone is a promising technology for contaminated groundwater remediation. Estimation of mZVI aging behavior after its injection into the subsurface is essential for efficiency and longevity assessments. In this study, batch tests were conducted to investigate the effect of initial pH on mZVI aging dynamics, as well as the formation and evolution of aging products over 112 days. Results indicated that mZVI aging accelerated with decreasing initial pH. Corrosion rates of mZVI particles under pH 6.0 and 7.5 were approximately two orders of magnitude higher than those observed at pH 9.0. The morphological, structural, and compositional evolution of mZVI particles in three systems (pH = 6.0, 7.5, and 9.0) were investigated using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In acidic and neutral solutions, a thick passivation layer with loosely and unevenly distributed aging precipitates was observed, and Fe₃O₄ was the final aging precipitate. Nevertheless, in alkaline solutions, minute aging precipitates were detected on the mZVI surface at 112 day. Characterization results suggested that mZVI was oxidized via the Fe⁰–Fe(OH)₂–Fe₃O₄ route. These findings shed new light on mZVI aging mechanisms, particularly its physicochemical characteristics and the structural evolution of mZVI in field-scale groundwater remediation applications.     

Spatial scale and seasonal dependence of land use impacts on riverine water quality in the Huai River basin,China

Land use pattern is an effective reflection of anthropic activities, which are primarily responsible for water quality deterioration. A detailed understanding of relationship between water quality and land use is critical for effective land use management to improve water quality. Linear mixed effects and multiple regression models were applied to water quality data collected from 2003 to 2010 from 36 stations in the Huai River basin together with topography and climate data, to characterize the land use impacts on water quality and their spatial scale and seasonal dependence. The results indicated that the influence of land use categories on specific water quality parameter was multiple and varied with spatial scales and seasons. Land use exhibited strongest association with dissolved oxygen (DO) and ammonia nitrogen (NH₃-N) concentrations at entire watershed scale and with total phosphorus (TP) and fluoride concentrations at finer scales. However, the spatial scale, at which land use exerted strongest influence on instream chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) levels, varied with seasons. In addition, land use composition was responsible for the seasonal pattern observed in contaminant concentrations. COD, NH₃-N, and fluoride generally peaked during dry seasons in highly urbanized regions and during rainy seasons in less urbanized regions. High proportion of agricultural and rural areas was associated with high nutrient contamination risk during spring. The results highlight the spatial scale and seasonal dependence of land use impacts on water quality and can provide scientific basis for scale-specific land management and seasonal contamination control.     

两株氢噬胞菌的萘降解特性分析

对两株分离自内蒙古乌梁素海的氢噬胞菌X32和X12的培养条件和萘降解特性进行研究。实验结果表明:菌株X32和X12的最适生长pH为7.0,最适生长温度为30~35℃,最适盐度w(NaCl)为1%;当初始萘质量浓度为3 500 mg/L时,对数生长期的菌株X32对萘的降解活性可达53.9 nmol/(mg·min),而菌株X12可达34.8 nmol/(mg·min);菌株X32在培养48 h后进入稳定期,60 h时萘降解率达91.43%;菌株X12在培养60 h后进入稳定期,90 h时萘降解率达93.93%。氢噬胞菌X32和X12是两株具有较高应用价值的多环芳烃降解细菌。     

脱硫石膏综合利用的现状与展望

介绍了国内外脱硫石膏在农业、水泥行业、建材行业和其他方面的综合利用情况,以及脱硫石膏分解技术的研究现状,探讨了分解温度、反应气氛和催化成分等因素对脱硫石膏分解效果的影响,展望了脱硫石膏的应用前景。指出:寻找脱硫石膏综合利用的新途径、找出适合脱硫石膏还原分解的气氛及其分解规律、探索有利于脱硫石膏还原分解的条件,是我国脱硫石膏实现循环利用的必经之路。     

Response of herbivorous geese to wintering habitat changes: conservation insights from long-term population monitoring in the East Dongting Lake,China

Regional Environmental Change - The majority of Eastern China’s herbivorous geese overwinter in the East Dongting Lake, China, and there is growing concern about how changes in their habitats...     

Air pollution and hospital visits for acute upper and lower respiratory infections among children in Ningbo,China: A time-series analysis

Acute upper and lower respiratory infections are main causes of mortality and morbidity in children. Air pollution has been recognized as an important contributor to development and exacerbation of respiratory infections. However, few studies are available in China. In this study, we investigated the short-term effect of air pollution on hospital visits for acute upper and lower respiratory infections among children under 15 years in Ningbo, China. Poisson generalized models were used to estimate the associations between air pollution and hospital visits for acute upper and lower respiratory infections adjusted for temporal, seasonal, and meteorological effects. We found that four pollutants (PM_2.5, PM₁₀, NO₂, and SO₂) were significantly associated with hospital visits for acute upper and lower respiratory infections. The effect estimates for acute upper respiratory infections tended to be higher (PM_2.5 ER = 3.46, 95% CI 2.18, 4.76; PM₁₀ ER = 2.81, 95% CI 1.93, 3.69; NO₂ ER = 11.27, 95% CI 8.70, 13.89; SO₂ ER = 15.17, 95% CI 11.29, 19.19). Significant associations for gaseous pollutants (NO₂ and SO₂) were observed after adjustment for particular matter. Stronger associations were observed among older children and in the cold period. Our study suggested that short-term exposure to outdoor air pollution was associated with hospital visits for acute upper and lower respiratory infections in Ningbo.     

Diffusion of municipal wastewater treatment technologies in China: a collaboration network perspective

The diffusion of municipal wastewater treatment technology is vital for urban environment in developing countries. China has built more than 3000 municipal wastewater treatment plants in the past three decades, which is a good chance to understand how technologies diffused in reality.We used a data-driven approach to explore the relationship between the diffusion of wastewater treatment technologies and collaborations between organizations. A database of 3136 municipal wastewater treatment plants and 4634 collaborating organizations was built and transformed into networks for analysis. We have found that: 1) the diffusion networks are assortative, and the patterns of diffusion vary across technologies; while the collaboration networks are fragmented, and have an assortativity around zero since the 2000s. 2) Important projects in technology diffusion usually involve central organizations in collaboration networks, but organizations become more central in collaboration by doing circumstantial projects in diffusion. 3) The importance of projects in diffusion can be predicted with a Random Forest model at a good accuracy and precision level. Our findings provide a quantitative understanding of the technology diffusion processes, which could be used for waterrelevant policy-making and business decisions.

Open image in new window

     

Triple-objective optimal sizing based on dynamic strategy for an islanded hybrid energy microgrid

A triple-objective optimal sizing method based on a dynamic strategy is presented for an islanded hybrid energy microgrid, consisting of wind turbine, solar photovoltaic, battery energy storage system and diesel generator. The dynamic strategy is given based on a dynamic complementary coordination between two different master-slave control modes for maximum renewable energy utilization. Combined with the proposed strategy, NSGA-II-based optimization program is applied to the sizing optimization problem with triple different objectives including the minimization of annualized system cost, the minimization of loss of power supply probability and the maximization of utilization ratio of renewable energy generation. The sizing results and the proposed strategy are both compared and analyzed to validate the proposed method in a real case of an islanded hybrid energy microgrid on Dong’ao Island, China.     

双酚AF暴露降低斑马鱼学习记忆能力并影响神经系统相关基因表达

双酚AF(4,4'-六氟-2-二酚,BPAF)应用渐为广泛,对生态环境具有潜在威胁。为探究BPAF对水生生物的神经毒性,选择斑马鱼作为实验对象,利用T型迷宫和实时定量PCR的研究方法,考察0、0.005、0.05和0.5 mg·L~(-1)3种不同浓度BPAF暴露下,成年斑马鱼的学习记忆能力,并检测鱼脑中胶质纤维酸性蛋白基因(glial fibrillary acidic protein,gfap)、音猬基因(sonic hedgehog,shha)和突触蛋白基因(synapsinⅡa,syn2a)表达量变化。结果表明:在T迷宫行为学检测中,0.5 mg·L~(-1)BPAF暴露浓度下,斑马鱼在第1天进入T型迷宫规定臂的潜伏时间与对照组相比显著增加(P0.01),随着暴露浓度和染毒时间的增加,潜伏时间显著延长,具有明显的剂效和时效关系。暴露6 d后,BPAF各暴露浓度组中雌鱼脑部gfap基因显著上调,雄鱼脑中gfap基因在高浓度暴露组(0.5 mg·L~(-1))下表达量下调,而在0.005 mg·L~(-1)BPAF暴露组差异不明显。BPAF暴露可导致雌鱼脑部shha基因下调,使雄鱼脑中shha基因表达量随暴露浓度增大呈先上升后下降的趋势。BPAF各暴露浓度组中雌鱼和雄鱼脑部syn2a基因下调,呈现出随暴露浓度增大而下降的趋势。综上,初步认为BPAF对斑马鱼具有潜在的神经认知干扰效应。