Ionic composition of submicron particles (PM1.0) during the long-lasting haze period in January 2013 in Wuhan, central China

In January 2013, a long-lasting severe haze episode occurred in Northern and Central China; at its maximum, it covered a land area of approximately 1.4 million km². In Wuhan, the largest city in Central China, this event was the most severe haze episode in the 21st century. Aerosol samples of submicron particles (PM_1.0) were collected during the long-lasting haze episode at an urban site and a suburban site in Wuhan to investigate the ion characteristics of PM_1.0 in this area. The mass concentrations of PM_1.0 and its water-soluble inorganic ions (WSIIs) were almost at the same levels at two sites, which indicates that PM_1.0 pollution occurs on a regional scale in Wuhan. WSIIs (Na⁺, NH₄⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Cl^-, NO₃^- and SO₄^2-) were the dominant chemical species and constituted up to 48.4% and 47.4% of PM_1.0 at WD and TH, respectively. The concentrations of PM_1.0 and WSIIs on haze days were approximately two times higher than on normal days. The ion balance calculations indicate that the particles were more acidic on haze days than on normal days. The results of the back trajectory analysis imply that the high concentrations of PM_1.0 and its water-soluble inorganic ions may be caused by stagnant weather conditions in Wuhan.     

Two-step accelerated mineral carbonation and decomposition analysis for the reduction of CO2 emission in the eco-industrial parks

Carbon dioxide（CO2） emissions are a leading contributor to the negative effects of global warming. Globally, research has focused on effective means of reducing and mitigating CO2 emissions. In this study, we examined the efficacy of eco-industrial parks（EIPs） and accelerated mineral carbonation techniques in reducing CO2 emissions in South Korea.First, we used Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index（LMDI） analysis to determine the trends in carbon production and mitigation at the existing EIPs. We found that, although CO2 was generated as byproducts and wastes of production at these EIPs, improved energy intensity effects occurred at all EIPs, and we strongly believe that EIPs are a strong alternative to traditional industrial complexes for reducing net carbon emissions. We also examined the optimal conditions for using accelerated mineral carbonation to dispose of hazardous fly ash produced through the incineration of municipal solid wastes at these EIPs. We determined that this technique most efficiently sequestered CO2 when micro-bubbling, low flow rate inlet gas, and ammonia additives were employed.     

Pd/activated carbon sorbents for mid-temperature capture of mercury from coal-derived fuel gas

Higher concentrations of Hg can be emitted from coal pyrolysis or gasification than from coal combustion, especially elemental Hg. Highly efficient Hg removal technology from coal-derived fuel gas is thus of great importance. Based on the very excellent Hg removal ability of Pd and the high adsorption abilities of activated carbon（AC） for H2 S and Hg, a series of Pd/AC sorbents was prepared by using pore volume impregnation, and their performance in capturing Hg and H2 S from coal-derived fuel gas was investigated using a laboratory-scale fixed-bed reactor. The effects of loading amount, reaction temperature and reaction atmosphere on Hg removal from coal-derived fuel gas were studied. The sorbents were characterized by N2 adsorption, X-ray diffraction（XRD） and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS）. The results indicated that the efficiency of Hg removal increased with the increasing of Pd loading amount, but the effective utilization rate of the active component Pd decreased significantly at the same time. High temperature had a negative influence on the Hg removal. The efficiency of Hg removal in the N2-H2S-H2-CO-Hg atmosphere（simulated coal gas） was higher than that in N2-H2S-Hg and N2-Hg atmospheres, which showed that H2 and CO, with their reducing capacity, could benefit promote the removal of Hg. The XPS results suggested that there were two different ways of capturing Hg over sorbents in N2-H2S-Hg and N2-Hg atmospheres.     

Effect of a high strength chemical industry wastewater on microbial community dynamics and mesophilic methane generation

A high strength chemical industry wastewater was assessed for its impact on anaerobic microbial com- munity dynamics and consequently mesophilic methane generation. Cumulative methane production was 251 mL/g total chemical oxygen demand removed at standard temperature and pressure at the end of 30 days experimental period with a highest recorded methane percentage of 80.6% of total biogas volume. Volatile fatty acids （VFAs） analysis revealed that acetic acid was the major intermediate VFAs produced with propionic acid accumulating over the experimental period. Quantitative analysis of microbial communities in the test and control groups with quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction highlighted that in the test group, Eubacteria （96.3%） was dominant in comparison with methanogens （3.7%）. The latter were dominated by Methanomicrobiales and Methanobacteriales while in test groups increased over the experimental period, reaching a maximum on day 30. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profile was performed, targeting the 16S rRNA gene of Eubacteria and Archaea, with the DNA samples extracted at 3 different time points from the test groups. A phylogenetic tree was constructed for the sequences using the neighborhood joining method. The analysis revealed that the presence of organisms resembling Syntrophomonadaceae could have contributed to increased production of acetic and propionic acid intermediates while decrease of organisms resembling Pelotomaculum sp. could have most likely contributed to accumulation of propionic acid. This study suggested that the degradation of organic components within the high strength industrial wastewater is closely linked with the activity of certain niche microbial communities within eubacteria and methanogens.     

Characteristics of atmospheric particles and heavy metals in winter in Chang-Zhu-Tan city clusters, China

To understand the pollution characteristics of atmospheric particles and heavy metals in winter in Chang-Zhu-Tan city clusters, China, total suspended particulate(TSP) and PM10samples were collected in cities of Changsha, Zhuzhou and Xiangtan from December 2011 to January 2012, and heavy metals of Cd, Pb, Cr, and As were analyzed. It shows that the average TSP concentration in Changsha, Zhuzhou and Xiangtan were(183 ± 73),(201 ± 84) and(190 ± 66) μg/m3respectively, and the average PM10 were(171 ± 82),(178 ± 65) and(179 ± 55) μg/m3respectively. The lowest TSP and PM10concentrations occurred at the background Shaping site of Changsha. The average ratio of ρ(PM10)/ρ(TSP) was 91.9%, ranging from 81.3% to 98.9%. Concerning heavy metals, in TSP samples, the concentration of Cr, As, Cd and Pb were 28.8–56.5, 18.1–76.3, 3.9–26.1 and 148.0–460.9 ng/m3, respectively, while in PM10samples, were 16.4–42.1, 15.5–67.9, 3.3–22.2 and 127.9–389.3 ng/m3, respectively. The enrichment factor of Cd was the highest, followed by Pb and As, while that of Cr was the lowest.     

Acute and chronic toxic effects of Pb2+ on polychaete Perinereis aibuhitensis：Morphological changes and responses of the antioxidant system

Perinereis aibuhitensis was used to assess adverse biological effects caused by acute and chronic Pb2＋exposure in artificial seawater under controlled laboratory conditions. In 96-hr acute toxicity experiments,the morphological changes showed a positive time/dose-dependent tendency,and the 96-hr LC50 value of Pb2＋was 686.41 mg/L. The responses of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants in tissues including catalase（CAT）,peroxidase（POD）,superoxide dismutase（SOD）,glutathione peroxidase（GSH-PX）,malondialdehyde（MDA） and the content of total soluble protein（TSP）,were investigated on days 1,4,7 and 10 after Pb2＋exposure under chronic toxicity testing. Results showed that the activation of the antioxidant system in P. aibuhitensis depended on the Pb2＋concentration and the duration of exposure time.Specifically,POD and SOD activities were induced on the first day of the exposure and decreased to the control level on day 10 after exposure. Therefore,these two indexes could be used to indicate oxidative stress associated with P. aibuhitensis exposure to Pb2＋.     

Review of the progress in preparing nano Ti02： An important environmental engineering material

TiO2 nanomaterial is promising with its high potential and outstanding performance in photocatalytic environmental applications, such as CO2 conversion, water treatment, and air quality control. For many of these applications, the particle size, crystal structure and phase, porosity, and surface area influence the activity of TiO2 dramatically. TiO2 nanomaterials with special structures and morphologies, such as nanospheres, nanowires, nanotubes, nanorods, and nanoflowers are thus synthesized due to their desired characteristics. With an emphasis on the different morphologies of TiO2 and the influence factors in the synthesis, this review summarizes fourteen TiO2 preparation methods, such as the sol-gel method, solvothermal method, and reverse micelle method. The TiO2 formation mechanisms, the advantages and disadvantages of the preparation methods, and the photocatalytic environmental application examples are proposed as well.     

壳聚糖絮凝微藻的研究进展及展望

微藻作为一种卓越的生物资源已经受到全世界的关注。从藻液中采收微藻一直是个瓶颈。壳聚糖是目前被普遍认可的安全有效的微藻絮凝剂,通过对其进行适当的改性,可以更好地提高絮凝效率。文章综述了壳聚糖以及改性壳聚糖絮凝剂的絮凝机理和性能,并对壳聚糖絮凝微藻研究的发展趋势进行了展望。     

低碳高氮污水处理应用技术研究

针对碳氮比小于7的污水,其碳源不能满足硝化与反硝化的要求这一问题,通过改变SBR工艺的运行方式、调解工艺参数等技术手段,使其能够达标处理此类工业废水,并通过某淀粉厂的工程实例进行了验证:采用改良的SBR工艺可以对低碳高氮污水进行有效的处理。     

上海某饮用水源地不同形态氮的时空分布研究

在2010~2012年进行的上海某水源地水质监测资料的基础上,应用纳氏试剂分光光度法等分析方法研究该水源地2011年1~10月总氮、氨氮、硝酸盐氮、亚硝酸盐氮等不同形态的氮素在水体中的空间分布规律及时间变化规律。并就其氮的来源、迁移转化机理和对氮的迁移转化有较大影响的因素进行研究和分析,得出该水库水体中各种形态氮以硝酸盐氮为主,平均占总氮的71.6%,氨氮及亚硝酸盐氮各占总氮的4.39%及0.95%;水体中的温度、光照条件、溶解氧、点位位置分布、水深等是影响各氮形态含量与分布的重要环境因子。