Uptake and distributions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in cultivated plants around an E-waste disposal site in Southern China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in air, soil, and cultivated plants at e-waste disposal sites in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, were determined...     

Analysis of China’s carbon emission driving factors based on the perspective of eight major economic regions

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Low-carbon transition has gradually become the focus of research on environmental issues. This paper takes China’s eight major economic regions...     

Light absorption enhancement of particulate matters and their source apportionment over the Asian continental outflow site and South Yellow Sea

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Light absorption enhancement of black carbon due to the aerosol mixing states is an important parameterization for climate modeling, while emission...     

Performance and microbial community of a membrane bioreactor system——Treating wastewater from ethanol fermentation of food waste

In this study, a lab-scale biological anaerobic/anaerobic/anoxic/membrane bioreactor(A_-~3MBR) was designed to treat wastewater from the ethanol fermentation of food waste,a promising way for the disposal of food waste and reclamation of resources. The 454 pyrosequencing technique was used to investigate the composition of the microbial community in the treatment system. The system yielded a stable effluent concentration of chemical oxygen demand(202 ± 23 mg/L), total nitrogen(62.1 ± 7.1 mg/L), ammonia(0.3 ±0.13 mg/L) and total phosphorus(8.3 ± 0.9 mg/L), and the reactors played different roles in specific pollutant removal. The exploration of the microbial community in the system revealed that:(1) the microbial diversity of anaerobic reactors A_1 and A_2, in which organic pollutants were massively degraded, was much higher than that in anoxic A_3 and aerobic MBR;(2) although the community composition in each reactor was quite different, bacteria assigned to the classes Clostridia, Bacteroidia, and Synergistia were important and common microorganisms for organic pollutant degradation in the anaerobic units, and bacteria from Alphaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria were the dominant microbial population in A_3 and MBR;(3) the taxon identification indicated that Arcobacter in the anaerobic reactors and Thauera in the anoxic reactor were two representative genera in the biological process. Our results proved that the biological A_-~3MBR process is an alternative technique for treating wastewater from food waste.     

Simultaneous removal of Cu(II) and Cr(VI) by Mg–Al–Cl layered double hydroxide and mechanism insight

Mg–Al–Cl layered double hydroxide (Cl-LDH) was prepared to simultaneously remove Cu(II) and Cr(VI) from aqueous solution. The coexisting Cu(II) (20 mg/L) and Cr(VI) (40 mg/L) were completely removed within 30 min by Cl-LDH in a dosage of 2.0 g/L; the removal rate of Cu(II) was accelerated in the presence of Cr(VI). Moreover, compared with the adsorption of single Cu(II) or Cr(VI), the adsorption capacities of Cl-LDH for Cu(II) and Cr(VI) can be improved by 81.05% and 49.56%, respectively, in the case of coexisting Cu(II) (200 mg/L) and Cr(VI) (400 mg/L). The affecting factors (such as solution initial pH, adsorbent dosage, and contact time) have been systematically investigated. Besides, the changes of pH values and the concentrations of Mg²⁺ and Al³⁺ in relevant solutions were monitored. To get the underlying mechanism, the Cl-LDH samples before and after adsorption were thoroughly characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. On the basis of these analyses, a possible mechanism was proposed. The coadsorption process involves anion exchange of Cr(VI) with Cl⁻ in Cl-LDH interlayer, isomorphic substitution of Mg²⁺ with Cu²⁺, formation of Cu₂Cl(OH)₃ precipitation, and the adsorption of Cr(VI) by Cu₂Cl(OH)₃. This work provides a new insight into simultaneous removal of heavy metal cations and anions from wastewater by Cl-LDH.     

Simulated reaction of formaldehyde and ambient atmospheric particulate matter using a chamber

The reaction of HCHO with Beijing winter's real ambient particulate matter(PM) inside a 3.3 m~3 Teflon Chamber was conducted in this study. NO_2, O_3 and H_2O gases were removed from the ambient aerosol before entering into the chamber. The decays of HCHO were monitored(acetylacetone spectrophotometry method) during the reactions at different PM number concentrations(N_a) and relative humidities(RHs), and the formed particulate formate was detected by IC and XPS techniques. The results showed that when RH was10%–15%, the decay rate of HCHO in the chamber was higher with the existence of PM from relatively clean days(with number concentration(N_a) 200,000 particle/L, 0.35–22.5 μm)compared to dirty days(N_a 200,000 particle/L, 0.35–22.5 μm). When RH increased to 30%–45%, PM can hardly have significant influences on the decay of HCHO. The formations of formate on the reacted PM were consistent with the HCHO decay rates at different ambient PM N_aand RH conditions. This is a first study related to the "real" ambient PM reacted with HCHO and suggested that in the clean and low RH days, PM could be an effective medium for the conversion of HCHO to formate.     

Capability of cation exchange technology to remove proven N-nitrosodimethylamine precursors

N-nitrosodimethylamine(NDMA) precursors consist of a positively charged dimethylamine group and a non-polar moiety, which inspired us to develop a targeted cation exchange technology to remove NDMA precursors. In this study, we tested the removal of two representative NDMA precursors, dimethylamine(DMA) and ranitidine(RNTD), by strong acidic cation exchange resin. The results showed that pH greatly affected the exchange efficiency, with high removal(DMA 78% and RNTD 94%) observed at pH pk_a-1 when the molar ratio of exchange capacity to precursor was 4. The exchange order was obtained as follows: Ca~(2+) Mg~(2+) RNTD~+ K~+ DMA~+ NH_4~+ Na~+. The partition coefficient of DMA~+to Na~+was 1.41 ± 0.26, while that of RNTD~+to Na~+was 12.1 ± 1.9. The pseudo second-order equation fitted the cation exchange kinetics well. Bivalent inorganic cations such as Ca~(2+)were found to have a notable effect on NA precursor removal in softening column test. Besides DMA and RNTD, cation exchange process also worked well for removing other 7 model NDMA precursors. Overall, NDMA precursor removal can be an added benefit of making use of cation exchange water softening processes.     

美国市政污水处理排放标准制定对中国的启示

在概述美国市政污水处理排放标准制度体系的基础上,介绍了其制定基于技术的排放限值和基于水质的排放限值的方法,阐述了其制定的科学性,并指出了中国市政污水处理排放标准中存在的相应问题。最后,根据美国制定排放标准限值的经验,对我国污水处理排放标准进行了思考,并提出了科学制定排放标准的方法和建议。     

AOX contamination status and genotoxicity of AOX-bearing pharmaceutical wastewater

Adsorbable organic halogens(AOX) are a general indicator for the total amount of compounds containing organically bonded halogens. AOX concentrations and components were investigated along the wastewater treatment process in four large-scale pharmaceutical factories of China, and genotoxicity based on the SOS/umu test was also evaluated. The results showed that AOX concentrations in wastewater of four factories ranged from 4.6 to 619.4 mg/L, which were high but greatly different owing to differences in the raw materials and products. The wastewater treatment process removed 50.0%–89.9% of AOX, leaving 1.3–302.5 mg/L AOX in the effluents. Genotoxicity levels ranged between 2.1 and 68.0 μg 4-NQO/L in the raw wastewater and decreased to 1.2–41.2 μg 4-NQO/L in the effluents of the wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs). One of the main products of factory I, ciprofloxacin, was identified as the predominant contributor to its genotoxicity. However, for the other three factories, no significant relationship was observed between genotoxicity and detected AOX compounds.     

On the effect of Fe(III) on proliferation of Microcystis aeruginosa at high nitrate and low chlorophyll condition

The impact of Fe concentrations on the growth of Microcystisaeruginosa in aquatic systems under high nitrate and low chlorophyll conditions was studied. The responses of cell density, total and cell chlorophyll-a intracellular Fe content and organic elemental composition of M. aeruginosa to different concentration gradients of Fe(III) in the solutions were analysed. The results showed that the proliferation speeds of M. aeruginosa were: (1) decelerated when the Fe(III) concentration was lower than 50 μg/L in the solutions, (2) promoted and positively related to the increase of Fe(III) concentration from 100 to 500 μg/L in the solutions over the experimental period, and (3) promoted in the early stage but decelerated in later stages by excess adsorption of Fe by cells when the Fe(III) concentration was higher than 500 μg/L in the solutions. The maximum cell density, total and cell chlorophyll-a were all observed at 500 μg Fe(III)/L concentration. The organic elemental composition of M. aeruginosa was also affected by the concentration of Fe(III) in the solutions, and the molecular formula of M. aeruginosa should be expressed as C_7–7.5H₁₄O_0.8–1.3N_3.5–5 according to the functions for different Fe(III) concentrations. Cell carbon and oxygen content appeared to increase slightly, while cell nitrogen content appeared to decrease as Fe(III) concentrations increased from 100 to 500 μg/L in the solutions. This was attributed to the competition of photosynthesis and nitrogen adsorption under varying cell Fe content.