Chemical characterization of fine particles from on-road vehicles in the Wutong tunnel in Shenzhen, China

Vehicle populations in China have been increasing sharply since 1990s. Vehicle emissions including various gaseous pollutants and particulate matter cause deterioration of air quality. However, measurements of particulate mater from on-road vehicles in China are scarcely reported, and thus the chemical compositions of particles emitted from vehicles in China are unknown. In this research, tunnel experiments were performed to measure PM2.5 in the Wutong tunnel, Shenzhen, China. Detailed PM2.5 chemical compositions, with organic compounds determined by GC/MS, in the tunnel were presented. Elemental carbon and organic matter composed 63% and 34% of the total PM2.5 mass in the Wutong tunnel, respectively. Alkanes, PAHs, hopanes, fatty acids, and dicarboxylic acids were the major identified organic compounds, and their source profiles in the PM2.5 in the Wutong tunnel were characterized. The comparisons of our measurements with those in the literature were also made to demonstrate the characteristics of the vehicle source profiles in the Wutong tunnel. The experimental results in this paper can improve understanding of particulate matter emitted from vehicles in China.     

Formation and instability of aerobic granules under high organic loading conditions

The cultivation and instability of aerobic granular sludge in a sequencing batch reactor under high loading conditions were investigated. Compact bacteria-dominated aerobic granules with a mean diameter of 1 mm were formed at a chemical oxygen demand (COD) loading rate of 6.0 kg m(-3) d(-1) within 30 d. However, the compact bacteria-dominated aerobic granules were not stable and transited to large-sized filamentous ones gradually. With the formation of bacteria-dominated granules, the hydrophobicity and specific gravity of the sludge increased. When the granules were transited to filamentous ones, the hydrophobicity and specific gravity decreased. Both granules had a high COD removal efficiency, excellent settling ability and showed a clear, regular round-shaped outline. After the filamentous granules reached a diameter of 16 mm, due to the mass transfer limitation and the possible presence of anaerobes in the inner part of the granules, they began to disintegrate and be washed out of the reactor, follow by failure of the reactor.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the aerosol in Beijing, China, measured by aminopropylsilane chemically-bonded stationary-phase column chromatography and HPLC/fluorescence detection

We developed a useful analytical method for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) concentrations in the aerosol of China. We used an accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) method for the extraction of PAHs from the aerosol samples, in order to reduce the extraction time and the solvent volume used. The optimum purification method was developed, with aminopropylsilane chemically-bonded stationary-phase column chromatography, in order to remove many co-extractives which cannot be removed by conventional purification methods using silica-gel column chromatography. HPLC/fluorescence detection (FLD) was adopted as the analytical method, because it has very high sensitivity to PAH and it is easy to install, operate, and maintain as compared with GC/MS. With the analytical method developed in this study, the recovery and precision (RSD) for most of the PAHs ranged from 75% to 129% and from 2.8% to 22.7%, respectively. The concentrations of PAHs in the aerosol samples collected from October 2003 to April 2005 in Beijing, China were determined using the newly developed method. SigmaPAHs, which is the sum of the concentrations of all detected PAHs, was 177.8 +/- 239.9 ng m(-3) (n = 64). The SigmaPAHs concentration in the heating season (305.1 +/- 279.0 ng m(-3), n = 33) was 7.2 times higher than that in the non-heating season (42.3 +/- 32.0 ng m(-3), n = 31). These strong seasonal variations in atmospheric PAH concentration are possibly due to coal combustion for residential heating in winter.     

Photocatalytic oxidation of triclosan

In the spring of 2003, there was an outbreak of the severe respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Hong Kong. Health concerns have thus triggered an increased and predominant use of various types of household cleansing agents such as triclosan (5-chloro-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)phenol). However, it has been reported recently that triclosan could be photochemically converted to toxic 2,8-dichlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,8-Cl(2)DD) in the environment. It is therefore necessary to develop environmentally friendly methods for the treatment of triclosan. To this end, photocatalytic degradation of triclosan in aqueous solution was conducted using TiO(2) (Degussa P25) under irradiation of UV light (lambda < 365 nm). It was found that triclosan could be degraded by this approach. Hydrogen peroxide was added to enhance the degradation process, and the optimal initial hydrogen peroxide concentration for triclosan degradation was 0.005% (w/v). Product identification indicated that triclosan oxidation occurred at its phenol moiety and yielded quinone and hydroquinone intermediates. The formation of a dichlorophenol intermediate in triclosan degradation suggested bond-breaking of the ether linkage occurred during the process. Moreover, no chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin congener was detected. These findings confirm that the photocatalytic degradation of triclosan is an environmentally friendly process.     

改性麦草秸秆对水中磷酸根吸附效果的研究

为实现农作物秸秆资源化,解决水体富营养化问题,将麦草秸秆化学改性成一种可以有效吸附水体中磷酸根的阳离子型吸附剂.考察了吸附剂投加量、磷酸根溶液初始pH、温度等因素对吸附效果的影响,分析了改性麦草秸秆对磷酸根的吸附动力学过程和吸附机理.结果表明,在吸附剂投加量为4 g·L-1和磷酸根溶液初始pH为4.0～7.5条件下,改性麦草秸秆对磷酸根的吸附效果最好,去除率均高于90%;改性麦草秸秆对磷酸根的吸附符合Freundlich等温模式,饱和吸附容量为2.38 mmol·g-1;吸附过程符合一级反应动力学方程,为快速反应过程;反应活化能为12.6 kJ·mol-1,反应速率对温度的变化不敏感.     

Radiobiological monitoring of striped field mouse populations in the Moscow recreation forest "Kuzminki"

The results of radiometric and haematological studies of striped field mice (Apodemus agrarius) sampled over the years 1995-2003 from the territory of the preserved radioactive waste burial (RWB), which is located in the Moscow recreation forest "Kuzminki", are presented and discussed in the paper. It was shown that the level of 90Sr-90Y content in mice sampled from the RWB area varies within the range of 0-1200 Bq/kg with an average of 98.7+/-21.5 Bq/kg. The content of 90Sr-90Y in the body of 80% of the mice sampled from the RWB area was below 100 Bq/kg. Only in 4% of the sampled mice, the 90Sr-90Y specific radioactivity was above 300 Bq/kg. Haematological indications of the animals sampled from the RWB area were within the range of normal physiological fluctuations. Nevertheless, a slight but statistically significant increase in the average amount of erythrocytes and the average percentage of banded neutrophils was registered in peripheral blood of the mice.     

综合管廊燃气舱结构形式对燃气爆炸超压的影响*

为研究地下综合管廊燃气舱结构形式对燃气爆炸超压的影响,采用数值模拟的方法,改变燃气舱高度,通风分区长度和局部开口大小,分析不同情况下的燃气爆炸超压变化规律。结果表明:冲击波传播速度随燃气舱高度的增加而减小,随着高度的增加,超压峰值曲线由“驼峰状”逐渐变为两端高中间低的“盆形”,爆炸过程产生的最大超压与高度成反比关系。超压峰值在340 m处接近0 kPa,延长通风分区并不会增加超压峰值,可以在考虑防火的要求下根据实际情况适当延长通风分区的长度。局部开口的存在使得爆炸气流能够自由泄压,超压峰值与开口的大小成反比关系。     

全新世青藏高原东部西南季风的演变

本研究报道一组新的西南季风代用指标,即泥炭中单一种属植物———木里苔草残体纤维素和泥炭混合植物残体纤维素的δ13C时间序列,所记录的青藏高原东部全新世气候变化。两记录表明,该区全新世的下限年龄约11200aBP(14C年龄约9900aBP);从约11200aBP起该区迅速进入湿暖的全新世阶段,季风活动迅速增强;在约10800～5500aBP期间,季风总体保持在强盛状态,但其间有4次突然减弱,气候变干冷;约从5500aBP起季风活动在波动中逐渐减弱,其中有4次减弱最明显。所有这8次气候的突然变化都与北大西洋浮冰事件一一对应。这种密切的相关关系表明,西南季风强度的波动可能是对全球变化,特别是对海洋热盐环流引起的地球南北方气候波动的所谓"跷跷板效应"的响应。     

太空也需环保

人类为生存,努力征服地球,同时,也在征服其它星球。各类人造卫星不断地被发射到地球周围的太空中,而且在今后约20年里数量要增加2倍,也还会送更多的人进入太空。就在人类不断取得一个又一个的胜利时,地球周围的太空也有了“垃圾”。