Assessment on the effectiveness of environmental regulation in China—evidence from a panel data analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In the context of global warming and environmental deterioration, the environment impact assessment is a crucial institutional guaranty to assure less...     

The relationship between lead and cadmium levels and functional dependence among elderly participants

The adverse impacts of lead and cadmium exposure on health outcomes have been reported in the past. Few studies have been conducted on the relationship between lead and cadmium exposures and disability. We evaluated whether lead and cadmium exposures were associated with functional dependence including the total number of disabilities, activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), leisure and social activities (LSA), lower extremity mobility (LEM), and general physical activities (GPA) in an elderly population. A total of 5513 eligible subjects were enrolled in the study from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001–2006. Serum lead and cadmium exposure assessments were performed using atomic absorption spectrometry. Functional dependence was assessed by 19 structured questions. The relationships between lead and cadmium exposures and functional dependence were investigated using by multivariable linear regression models. Q2, Q3, and Q4 of lead exposure were significantly associated with the total number of disabilities, with β coefficients of ??0.62 (95% CI ??0.99, ??0.24), ??0.64 (95% CI ??1.02, ??0.26), and ??0.81 (95% CI ??1.19, ??0.42), respectively. This relationship remained significant in males. Furthermore, we analyzed the relationships between lead and cadmium exposure quartiles and various functional dependence metrics, and we determined that lead content was significantly associated with decreased ADL, LEM, and GPA (p?<?0.05) and cadmium content was inversely associated with ADL (p?<?0.05). Our study demonstrated a strong relationship between exposure to lead and cadmium and functional dependence in an elderly population.

     

Adsorption characteristics of benzene on biosolid adsorbent and commercial activated carbons

This study selected biosolids from a petrochemical waste-water treatment plant as the raw material. The sludge was immersed in 0.5-5 M of zinc chloride (ZnCl2) solutions and pyrolyzed at different temperatures and times. Results indicated that the 1-M ZnCl2-immersed biosolids pyrolyzed at 500 degrees C for 30 min could be reused and were optimal biosolid adsorbents for benzene adsorption. Pore volume distribution analysis indicated that the mesopore contributed more than the macropore and micropore in the biosolid adsorbent. The benzene adsorption capacity of the biosolid adsorbent was 65 and 55% of the G206 (granular-activated carbon) and BPL (coal-based activated carbon; Calgon, Carbon Corp.) activated carbons, respectively. Data from the adsorption and desorption cycles indicated that the benzene adsorption capacity of the biosolid adsorbent was insignificantly reduced compared with the first-run capacity of the adsorbent; therefore, the biosolid adsorbent could be reused as a commercial adsorbent, although its production cost is high.     

Sorption of radiolabelled glyphosate on biochar aged in contrasting soils

Glyphosate mobility from terrestrial to aquatic environments has raised concerns about it. Utilizing soil’s inherent properties along with sorption properties of aged biochar, we hypothesized that selective application of biochar would be more effective in economic terms for glyphosate sorption on contrasting soils. To test this hypothesis, batch experiments and liquid scintillation counting for ¹⁴ Okada, E.; Costa, J. L.; Bedmar, F. Adsorption and mobility of glyphosate in different soils under no-till and conventional tillage. Geoderma 2016, 263, 78–85.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]C labeled glyphosate were used. The sorption behavior of glyphosate was examined in four contrasting Australian soil types (Oxisol, Vertisol, Entisol, and Inceptisol) amended with aged biochar to determine glyphosate concentrations by measuring ¹⁴ Okada, E.; Costa, J. L.; Bedmar, F. Adsorption and mobility of glyphosate in different soils under no-till and conventional tillage. Geoderma 2016, 263, 78–85.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]C activity using liquid scintillation counting. Freundlich parameters were calculated for soil-soil/biochar combinations. The pattern of glyphosate sorption was Oxisol?>?Vertisol?>?Entisol?>?Inceptisol. Oxisol adsorbed approximately five times more glyphosate compared with Inceptisol. Oxisol soil system adsorbed maximum amount of glyphosate principally due to the presence of iron-aluminum oxides exhibiting variable charges which got increased due to the presence of aged biochar. Considering all the soil/soil-biochar systems, Inceptisol soil system showed the least adsorption of glyphosate. A significant contribution of char was observed only in the Entisol soil system and the finding is valuable as char can be applied in Entisol soil systems to control glyphosate mobility.     

The effects and the toxicity increases caused by bicarbonate,chloride, and other water components during the UV/TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> degradation of oxazaphosphorine drugs

The influences of HCO₃ ^?, Cl^?, and other components on the UV/TiO₂ degradation of the antineoplastic agents ifosfamide (IFO) and cyclophosphamide (CP) were studied in this work. The results indicated that the presence of HCO₃ ^?, Cl^?, NO₃ ^?, and SO₄ ^2? in water bodies resulted in lower degradation efficiencies. The half-lives of IFO and CP were 1.2 and 1.1 min and increased 2.3–7.3 and 3.2–6.3 times, respectively, in the presence of the four anions (initial compound concentration = 100 μg/L, TiO₂ loading =100 mg/L, anion concentration = 1000 mg/L, and pH = 8). Although the presence of HCO₃ ^? in the UV/TiO₂/HCO₃ ^? system resulted in a lower degradation rate and less byproduct formation for IFO and CP, two newly identified byproducts, P11 (M.W. = 197) and P12 (M.W. = 101), were formed and detected, suggesting that additional pathways occurred during the reaction of ?CO₃ ^? in the system. The results also showed that ?CO₃ ^? likely induces a preferred ketonization pathway. Besides the inorganic anions HCO₃ ^?, Cl^?, NO₃ ^?, and SO₄ ^2?, the existence of dissolved organic matter in the water has a significant effect and inhibits CP degradation. Toxicity tests showed that higher toxicity occurred in the presence of HCO₃ ^? or Cl^? during UV/TiO₂ treatment and within 6 h of reaction time, implying that the effects of these two anions should not be ignored when photocatalytic treatment is applied to treat real wastewater.     

Knowledge spillovers and subsequent innovation in green energy: the role of public R&D

Environmental Science and Pollution Research -     

Simultaneous removal of nitrogen oxide/nitrogen dioxide/sulfur dioxide from gas streams by combined plasma scrubbing technology

Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) [nitrogen oxide (NO) + nitrogen dioxide (NO2)] and sulfur dioxide (SO2) are removed individually in traditional air pollution control technologies. This study proposes a combined plasma scrubbing (CPS) system for simultaneous removal of SO2 and NOx. CPS consists of a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) and wet scrubbing in series. DBD is used to generate nonthermal plasmas for converting NO to NO2. The water-soluble NO2 then can be removed by wet scrubbing accompanied with SO2 removal. In this work, CPS was tested with simulated exhausts in the laboratory and with diesel-generator exhausts in the field. Experimental results indicate that DBD is very efficient in converting NO to NO2. More than 90% removal of NO, NOx, and SO2 can be simultaneously achieved with CPS. Both sodium sulfide (Na2S) and sodium sulfite (Na2SO3) scrubbing solutions are good for NO2 and SO2 absorption. Energy efficiencies for NOx and SO2 removal are 17 and 18 g/kWh, respectively. The technical feasibility of CPS for simultaneous removal of NO, NO2, and SO2 from gas streams is successfully demonstrated in this study. However, production of carbon monoxide as a side-product (approximately 100 ppm) is found and should be considered.     

废旧印刷电路板差速破碎分析

为了解决废旧印刷电路板资源化过程中的粗碎问题,提出差速破碎方法;根据差速机理分析,利用自主研制双齿辊粗碎机对废旧印刷电路板基板进行差速破碎实验;最后利用Ansys APDL模块对粗碎机辊齿进行校核模拟。实验结果证明,利用差速破碎可以充分利用材料的抗拉、抗剪强度小于抗压强度的特性,能够取得良好的破碎效果,差速破碎结果呈拱形分布形式;模拟结果证明,在差速破碎过程中设备能够保持良好工作状态,可以交换2个齿辊的运转速度减小疲劳破坏。差速破碎为废旧印刷电路板资源化过程中的破碎理论提供支持,并且为废旧印刷电路板粗碎的设备选择提供参考。     

Effects of EDTA on solubility of cadmium, zinc, and lead and their uptake by rainbow pink and vetiver grass

Rainbow pink (Dianthus chinensis), a potential phytoextraction plant, can accumulate high concentrations of Cd from contaminated soils. Vetiver grass (Vetiver zizanioides) has strong and long root tissues and is a potential phytostabilization plant since it can tolerate and grow well in soils contaminated with multiple heavy metals. Soil was moderately artificially contaminated by cadmium (20 mg/kg), zinc (500 mg/kg), and lead (1000 mg/kg) in pot experiments. Three concentrations of Na2-EDTA solution (0, 5, and 10 mmol/kg soil) were added to the contaminated soils to study the influence of EDTA solution on phytoextraction by rainbow pink or phytostabilization by vetiver grass. The results showed that the concentrations of Cd, Zn, and Pb in a soil solution of rainbow pink significantly increased following the addition of EDTA (p < 0.05). The concentrations of Cd and Pb in the shoots of rainbow pink also significantly increased after EDTA solution was applied (p < 0.05), but the increase for Zn was insignificant. EDTA treatment significantly increased the total uptake of Pb in the shoot, over that obtained with the control treatment (p < 0.001), but it did not significantly increase the total uptake of Cd and Zn. The concentrations of Zn and Pb in the shoots of rainbow pink are significantly correlated with those in the soil solution, but no relationship exists with concentrations in vetiver grass. The toxicity of highly contaminating metals did not affect the growth of vetiver grass, which was found to grow very well in this study. Results of this study indicate that rainbow pink can be considered to be a potential phytoextraction plant for removing Cd or Zn from metal-contaminated soils, and that vetiver grass can be regarded as a potential phytostabilization plant that can be grown in a site contaminated with multiple heavy metals.     

Effect of straw retention on carbon footprint under different cropping sequences in Northeast China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Inappropriate farm management practices can lead to increased agricultural inputs and changes in atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, impacting...