Mobility and sulfidization of heavy metals in sediments of a shallow eutrophic lake,Lake Taihu,China

The technique of DGT (diffusive gradients in thin films) using three diffusive gel thicknesses was applied to estimate the mobility and bioavailability of heavy metals in sediments and porewater of Lake Taihu, China. The DGT results showed significantly positive correlations between Co, Pb, Cd and Mn, and Ni and Fe concentrations in porewater. Cu and Zn showed a significantly negative correlation with Mn, due to Cu combination with carbonates and Zn derived from agricultural pollution, respectively. The rank order of average concentrations of Co, Ni and Cd at each station was DGT_1.92 > DGT_0.78 > DGT_0.39, suggesting stronger resupply from sediments to porewater when using thicker diffusive gels. Comparing centrifugation and DGT measurements, Co, Ni and Cd are highly labile; Mn and Fe are moderately labile; and Cu, Zn and Pb are slightly labile. The variations of AVS concentrations in sediment cores indicate that metal sulfides in deeper layers are easily diffused into surface sediments.     

Changes in nitrogen budget and potential risk to the environment over 20 years (1990–2010) in the agroecosystems of the Haihe Basin,China

The nitrogen balance can serve as an indicator of the risk to the environment of nitrogen loss from agricultural land. To investigate the temporal and spatial changes in agricultural nitrogen application and its potential threat to the environment of the Haihe Basin in China, we used a database of county-level agricultural statistics to calculate agricultural nitrogen input, output, surplus intensity, and use efficiency. Chemical fertilizer nitrogen input increased by 51.7% from 1990 to 2000 and by 37.2% from 2000 to 2010, concomitant with increasing crop yields. Simultaneously, the nitrogen surplus intensity increased by 53.5% from 1990 to 2000 and by 16.5% from 2000 to 2010, presenting a continuously increased environmental risk. Nitrogen use efficiency decreased from 0.46 in 1990 to 0.42 in 2000 and remained constant at 0.42 in 2010, partly due to fertilizer composition and type improvement. This level indicates that more than half of nitrogen inputs are lost in agroecosystems. Our results suggest that although the improvement in fertilizer composition and types has partially offset the decrease in nitrogen use efficiency, the environmental risk has still increased gradually over the past 20 years, along with the increase in crop yields and nitrogen application. It is important to achieve a better nitrogen balance through more effective management to significantly reduce the environmental risk, decrease nitrogen surplus intensity, and increase nitrogen use efficiency without sacrificing crop yields.     

Activated carbon coated palygorskite as adsorbent by activation and its adsorption for methylene blue

An activation process for developing the surface and porous structure of palygorskite/carbon(PG/C) nanocomposite using ZnC l2 as activating agent was investigated. The obtained activated PG/C was characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR), field-emission scanning electron microscopy(SEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis(BET) techniques. The effects of activation conditions were examined,including activation temperature and impregnation ratio. With increased temperature and impregnation ratio, the collapse of the palygorskite crystal structure was found to accelerate and the carbon coated on the surface underwent further carbonization. XRD and SEM data confirmed that the palygorskite structure was destroyed and the carbon structure was developed during activation. The presence of the characteristic absorption peaks of C_C and C–H vibrations in the FTIR spectra suggested the occurrence of aromatization. The BET surface area improved by more than 11-fold(1201 m2/g for activated PG/C vs. 106 m2/g for PG/C) after activation, and the material appeared to be mainly microporous. The maximum adsorption capacity of methylene blue onto the activated PG/C reached 351 mg/g. The activated PG/C demonstrated better compressive strength than activated carbon without palygorskite clay.     

Enhanced CO2 adsorptive performance of PEI/SBA-15 adsorbent using phosphate ester based surfactants as additives

In this study,a series of polyetherimide/SBA-15: 2-D hexagonal P6 mm,Santa Barbara USA(PEI/SBA-15) adsorbents modified by phosphoric ester based surfactants(including tri(2-ethylhexyl)phosphate(TEP),bis(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate(BEP) and trimethyl phosphonoacetate(TMPA))were prepared for CO_2 adsorption.Experimental results indicated that the addition of TEP and BEP had positive effects on CO_2 adsorption capacity over PEI/SBA-15.In particular,the CO_2 adsorption amount could be improved by around 20% for 45PEI–5TEP/SBA-15 compared to the additive-free adsorbent.This could be attributed to the decrease of CO_2 diffusion resistance in the PEI bulk network due to the interactions between TEP and loaded PEI molecules,which was further confirmed by adsorption kinetics results.In addition,it was also found that the cyclic performance of the TEP-modified adsorbent was better than the surfactant-free one.This could be due to two main reasons,based on the results of in situ DRIFT and TG-DSC tests.First and more importantly,adsorbed CO_2 species could be desorbed more rapidly over TEP-modified adsorbent during the thermal desorption process.Furthermore,the enhanced thermal stability after TEP addition ensured lower degradation of amine groups during adsorption/desorption cycles.     

Sulfide elimination by intermittent nitrate dosing in sewer sediments

The formation of hydrogen sulfide in biofilms and sediments in sewer systems can cause severe pipe corrosions and health hazards, and requires expensive programs for its prevention. The aim of this study is to propose a new control strategy and the optimal condition for sulfide elimination by intermittent nitrate dosing in sewer sediments. The study was carried out based on lab-scale experiments and batch tests using real sewer sediments. The intermittent nitrate dosing mode and the optimal control condition were investigated. The results indicated that the sulfide-intermittent-elimination strategy by nitrate dosing is advantageous for controlling sulfide accumulation in sewer sediment. The oxidation–reduction potential is a sensitive indicator parameter that can reflect the control effect and the minimum N/S(nitrate/sulfide)ratio with slight excess nitrate is necessary for optimal conditions of efficient sulfide control with lower carbon source loss. The optimal control condition is feasible for the sulfide elimination in sewer systems.     

再生水消毒副产物去除技术研究进展

三卤甲烷、卤乙酸、卤乙腈、三氯硝基甲烷以及N-亚硝基二甲胺是再生水氯/氯胺消毒中主要的消毒副产物,具有较强的毒性和致癌性,严重威胁生态安全及人体健康。目前难以通过改变消毒条件来减少其生成量,而去除其前驱物可有效降低消毒副产物的生成。文章介绍了氧化法、混凝沉淀法、离子交换法以及膜过滤等方法去除消毒副产物前驱物的研究,重点分析了臭氧氧化法去除消毒副产物前驱物的影响因素,对已生成的消毒副产物的去除也进行了简述。     

贵阳市土壤地球化学背景与生态环境分析

通过1∶250 000多目标区域地球化学调查,获得了贵阳市及邻区表、深层土壤中54项化学指标的地球化学背景值、基准值等参数。研究区总体土壤环境呈中偏酸性,对生态环境影响较大。土壤化学物质组成丰富,地球化学背景分布不均匀。除活动性强的化学组分对成土母质有分异外,多数化学组分对成土母质继承性显著。表层土壤有机碳、全碳、硫、氮、硒、氟和汞、镉、砷等的地球化学背景值显著高于深层土壤和我国其它城市地球化学基准值。前者适宜发展生态富硒特色农业,后者表明土壤环境安全形势严峻。土壤地球化学背景为生态环境评价和其它相关学科研究提供了科学基础,由此提出生态环境保护和利用建议。     

浙江省排污权有偿使用价格的实例研究

以浙江省各地市排污权有偿使用价格为基础进行研究,介绍了浙江省排污权初始价格计算方法和浙江省各试点地区相关情况,进行了影响排污权有偿使用价格的相关性分析,提出影响排污权有偿使用价格的回归分析,文中运用实证分析,就排污权有偿使用价格与影响其价格的各个因子分别进行了单因素的相关性分析和多因素的线性回归分析,得出回归模型,认为污染治理成本大小对价格有着显著的影响,污染治理法是现阶段理想的初始排污权定价方法.     

基于CI指数的祁东县干旱特征分析

利用衡阳市祁东县气象站1960~2013年逐日平均气温、降水观测数据,计算综合气象干旱指数。以国家标准《气象干旱等级GB/T20481~2006》为依据划分不同干旱等级、计算干旱日数、干旱强度等,在此基础上统计干旱日的年、年代际统计并作了线性分析,并为应对干旱提出了自己的建议:祁东县干旱日每年均有出现,但不同强度干旱日发生频率不同,在全球变暖大背景下,干旱日等级越高,其增幅愈明显;祁东县的平均干旱过程数为2.5次/a,一年出现2次干旱过程几率最大,无旱过程的几率为9.3%;在统计年干旱强度时,选用持续时间最长的一次有较好代表性。近54a来,干旱强度年变化可分为三高两低,目前处于干旱强度较高期;祁东县大部分年份有季节性干旱,单季旱以秋旱为主,在双季干旱中,夏秋连旱居多,历史上夏秋冬连旱出现了三次;为了应对日趋严重的干旱,需增强人们的防旱抗灾意识、加大水利设置投入、推广节水农业和提高干旱监测预警能力。     

Identification and characterization of Fe3O4/peroxodisulfate advanced oxidation products from sulfameter

Sulfonamides (SAs) are one of the most widely used antibiotics and their residuals in the environment could cause some negative environmental issues. Advanced oxidation such as Fenton-like reaction has been widely applied in the treatment of SAs polluted water. Degradation rates of 95%-99.7% were achieved in this work for the tested 8 SAs, including sulfisomidine, sulfameter (SME), phthalylsulfathiazole, sulfamethoxypyridazine, sulfamonomethoxine, sulfisoxazole, sulfachloropyridazine, and sulfadimethoxine, in the Fe₃O₄/peroxodisulfate (PDS) oxidation system after the optimization of PDS concentration and pH. Meanwhile, it was found that a lot of unknown oxidation products were formed, which brought up the uncertainty of health risks to the environment, and the identification of these unknown products was critical. Therefore, SME was selected as the model compound, from which the oxidation products were never elucidated, to identify these intermediates/products. With liquid chromatography-high resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS/MS), 10 new products were identified, in which 2-amino-5-methoxypyrimidine (AMP) was confirmed by its standard. The investigation of the oxidation process of SME indicated that most of the products were not stable and the degradation pathways were very complicated as multiple reactions, such as oxidation of the amino group, SO₂ extrusion, and potential cross-reaction occurred simultaneously. Though most of the products were not verified due to the lack of standards, our results could be helpful in the evaluation of the treatment performance of SAs containing wastewater.