Base-cation deposition in Europe—part II. Acid neutralization capacity and contribution to forest nutrition

An assessment was made of the capacity of base cations to neutralize acid deposition and of the contribution of base cation deposition to forest nutrition in Europe. In large parts of southern Europe more than 50% of the potential acid deposition was found counteracted by deposition of non-sea salt Mg²⁺ + Ca²⁺ + K⁺. In central and northwestern Europe, base cation deposition usually amounted to less than 25% of the acid input. Smallest base cation deposition relative to potential acid deposition was found in southern Scandinavia, Denmark, northern Germany and The Netherlands. A similar spatial pattern was found for the neutralization of acid anions in precipitation. Whereas in Scandinavia weathering is the dominant supplier of base cation to forest soils, in eastern and southern Europe, forests mainly rely on atmospheric deposition for the supply of base cations. Using error propagation, the random and systematic error in acid neutralization capacity for an average grid cell of 10 × 20 km was estimated to equal 45–55% and 50–55%, respectively.     

Kinetics of reductive denitrification by nanoscale zero-valent iron

Zero-valent iron powder (Fe0) has been determined to be potentially useful for the removal of nitrate in the water environment. This research is aimed at subjecting the kinetics of denitrification by nanoscale Fe0 to an analysis of factors affecting the chemical denitrification of nitrate. Nanoscale iron particles with a diameter in the range of 1-100 nm, which are characterized by the large BET specific surface area to mass ratio (31.4 m2/g), removed mostly 50, 100, 200, and 400 mg/l of nitrate within a period of 30 min with little intermediates. Compared with microscale (75-150 microm) Fe0, end product is not ammonia but N2 gas. Kinetics analysis from batch studies revealed that the denitrification reaction with nanoscale Fe0 appeared to be a pseudo first-order with respect to substrate and the observed reaction rate constant (k(obs)) varied with iron content at a relatively low degree of application. The effects of mixing intensity (rpm) on the denitrification rate suggest that the denitrification appears to be coupled with oxidative dissolution of iron through a largely mass transport-limited surface reaction (<40 rpm).     

Ozone disintegration of excess biomass and application to nitrogen removal.

A pilot-scale facility integrated with an ozonation unit was built to investigate the feasibility of using ozone-disintegration byproducts of wasted biomass as a carbon source for denitrification. Ozonation of biomass resulted in mass reduction by mineralization as well as by ozone-disintegrated biosolids recycling. Approximately 50% of wasted solids were recovered as available organic matter (ozonolysate), which included nonsettleable microparticles and soluble fractions. Microparticles were observed in abundance at relatively low levels of ozone doses, while soluble fractions became dominant at higher levels of ozone doses in ozone-disintegrated organics. Batch denitrification experiments showed that the ozonolysate could be used as a carbon source with a maximum denitrification rate of 3.66 mg nitrogen (N)/g volatile suspended solids (VSS) x h. Ozonolysate was also proven to enhance total nitrogen removal efficiency in the pilot-scale treatment facility. An optimal chemical oxygen demand (COD)-to-nitrogen ratio for complete denitrification was estimated as 5.13 g COD/g N. The nitrogen-removal performance of the modified intermittently decanted extended aeration process dependent on an external carbon supply could be described as a function of solids retention time.     

Effect of cold-temperature shock on nitrification.

Nitrification is known as the most temperature-sensitive step among the biological processes in wastewater treatment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of temperature on nitrification, in the case of a sharp decrease of temperature, and to compare this effect with that of a gradual temperature decrease. It was found that a sudden temperature decrease affected nitrification much more than predicted. The immediate decrease of temperature by 10 degrees C led to a 20% larger decrease of specific nitrification rate than predicted by the temperature correction factor of 1.072. The change of nitrification rate resulting from a gradual temperature decrease was modeled correctly with the current default temperature correction factor of 1.072. It was concluded that the correction factor actually can be applied to a gradual temperature-change situation; however, in the case of a sudden temperature decrease, measures need to be taken to avoid nitrifier washout.     

Long-term operation of a biofilter for simultaneous removal of H2S and NH3

Simultaneous removal of NH3 and H2S was investigated using two types of biofilters--one packed with wood chips and the other with granular activated carbon (GAC). Experimental tests and measurements included analyses of removal efficiency (RE), metabolic products, and results of long-term operation (around 240 days). The REs for NH3 and H2S were 92 and 99.9%, respectively, before deactivation. After deactivation, the RE for NH3 and H2S were decreased to 30-50% and 75%, respectively. The activity of nitrifying bacteria was inhibited by high concentrations of H2S (over 200 ppm) but recovered gradually after H2S addition was ceased. However, the Thiobacillus thioparus as sulfur oxidizing bacteria did not show inhibition at the NH3 concentration under 150-ppm conditions. The deactivation of the biofilter was caused by metabolic products [elemental sulfur and (NH4)2SO4] accumulating on the packing materials during the extended operation. The removal capacities for NH3 and H2S were 6.0-8.0 and 45-75 mg N, S/L/hr, respectively.     

Hydrodehalogenation of chlorobenzene on activated carbon and activated carbon supported catalysts

Chlorinated aromatic compounds in (waste) gases can be removed and/or dehalogenated by passing over a bed of activated carbon (AC) in a hydrogen containing atmosphere. Dehalogenation of the model compound chlorobenzene (PhCl) to HCl is complete at 490 degrees C--rather than the approximately 900 degrees C needed for the mere gas-phase reaction--but part of the benzene moieties is retained on the AC, resulting in its rather rapid deactivation, apparently due to a large decrease in surface area. Therefore, <1 mmol PhCl per gram of 'catalyst' could be processed. At 600 degrees C chlorobenzene yields 100% of both HCl and benzene, but still the AC lost most of its activity in time. Performances are compared of three different commercial ACs. As a HCl-washed AC is just as active, metals are not involved. This acid-washed AC was used as a support for 10 wt% Ni or Fe catalysts. While Fe did not show appreciable activity, results with Ni are promising. The yields of HCl and benzene from PhCl are approximately 100% already at T<400 degrees C, and T(50%) congruent with 260 degrees C, over 200 degrees C lower than with AC alone. There is no appreciable decrease of activity after having injected >20 mmol PhCl per gram of catalyst at partial conversion.     

Advanced treatment of oil recovery wastewater from polymer flooding by UV/H2O2/O3 and fine filtration

In order to purify oil recovery wastewater from polymer flooding （ORWPF） in tertiary oil recovery in oil fields, advanced treatment of UV/H2O2/O3 and fine filtration were investigated. The experimental results showed that polyacrylamide and oil remaining in ORWPF after the conventional treatment process could be effectively removed by UV/H2O2/O3 process. Fine filtration gave a high performance in eliminating suspended solids. The treated ORWPF can meet the quality requirement of the wastewater-bearing polymer injection in oilfield and be safely re-injected into oil reservoirs for oil recovery.     

Synthesis of copolyesters containing poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(ε-caprolactone) units and their susceptibility toPseudomonas sp. lipase

Copolyesters containing poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and poly(-caprolactone) (PCL) were synthesized from PET and PCL homopolymers by transesterification reaction at 270°C in the presence of catalyst. The copolyesters were characterized by¹³C-NMR and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The degradation behavior of PCL byPseudomonas sp. lipase in buffer solution (pH 7) and tetrahydrofuran (THF) was investigated by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and¹H-NMR. From these experiments, it was found thatPseudomonas sp. lipase acted endoenzymatically on PCL. Using this lipase, degradation tests for PET/PCL copolyesters whose PCL content was below 50% by weight were also performed in buffer solution (pH 7). However, evenPseudomonas sp. lipase with high degradation activity on PCL did not easily degrade the PCL unit in PET/PCL copolyesters.     

Predicting the impacts of climate change on nonpoint source pollutant loads from agricultural small watershed using artificial neural network

This study described the development and validation of an artificial neural network (ANN) for the purpose of analyzing the e ects of climate change on nonpoint source (NPS) pollutant loads from agricultural small watershed. The runo discharge was estimated using ANN algorithm. The performance of ANN model was examined using observed data from study watershed. The simulation results agreed well with observed values during calibration and validation periods. NPS pollutant loads were calculated from load-discharge relationship driven by long-term monitoring data. LARS-WG (Long Ashton Research Station-Weather Generator) model was used to generate rainfall data. The calibrated ANN model and load-discharge relationship with the generated data from LARS-WG were applied to analyze the e ects of climate change on NPS pollutant loads from the agricultural small watershed. The results showed that the ANN model provided valuable approach in estimating future runo discharge, and the NPS pollutant loads.     

不同植物人工湿地净化效果及基质微生物状况差异分析

为研究不同植物对人工湿地污染物净化效果和基质微生物状况的影响,采用序批式运行的沙培模拟人工湿地,探讨了菖蒲、香蒲、千屈菜、芦苇和白鹤芋5种湿地植物在不同HRT(水力停留时间,分别为1,3和5 d)下对模拟废水中TP,NH₄+-N和COD_Cr去除效果的影响,比较了不同植物类型模拟人工湿地中基质微生物的数量差异. 结果表明,不同植物系统对污染物的去除随HRT延长逐渐提高,HRT为5 d时各植物系统对污染物的去除效果最佳.TP,NH₄+-N和COD_Cr的最高去除率分别达90.4%,61.7%和96.4%.相对于其他试验系统,菖蒲系统对各污染指标均具有最优的去除效果. 植物种类对基质微生物数量的影响无显著差异.研究还发现,各系统中亚硝酸细菌数量与NH₄+-N去除率之间呈显著相关.