Scenario-based assessment and multi-objective optimization of urban development plan with carrying capacity of water system

• Impact of urban development on water system is assessed with carrying capacity. • Impacts on both water resource quantity and environmental quality are involved. • Multi-objective optimization revealing system trade-off facilitate the regulation. • Efficiency, scale and structure of urban development are regulated in two stages. • A roadmap approaching more sustainable development is provided for the case city. Environmental impact assessments and subsequent regulation measures of urban development plans are critical to human progress toward sustainability, since these plans set the scale and structure targets of future socioeconomic development. A three-step methodology for assessing and optimizing an urban development plan focusing on its impacts on the water system was developed. The methodology first predicted the pressure on the water system caused by implementation of the plan under distinct scenarios, then compared the pressure with the carrying capacity threshold to verify the system status; finally, a multi-objective optimization method was used to propose regulation solutions. The methodology enabled evaluation of the water system carrying state, taking socioeconomic development uncertainties into account, and multiple sets of improvement measures under different decisionmaker preferences were generated. The methodology was applied in the case of Zhoushan city in South-east China. The assessment results showed that overloading problems occurred in 11 out of the 13 zones in Zhoushan, with the potential pressure varying from 1.1 to 18.3 times the carrying capacity. As a basic regulation measure, an environmental efficiency upgrade could relieve the overloading in 4 zones and reduce 9%‒63% of the pressure. The optimization of industrial development showed that the pressure could be controlled under the carrying capacity threshold if the planned scale was reduced by 24% and the industrial structure was transformed. Various regulation schemes including a more suitable scale and structure with necessary efficiency standards are provided for decisionmakers that can help the case city approach a more sustainable development pattern.     

Biological conversion pathways of sulfate reduction ammonium oxidation in anammox consortia

• The SRAO phenomena tended to occur only under certain conditions. • High amount of biomass and non-anaerobic condition is requirement for SRAO. • Anammox bacteria cannot oxidize ammonium with sulfate as electron acceptor. • AOB and AnAOB are mainly responsible for ammonium conversion. • Heterotrophic sulfate reduction mainly contributed to sulfate conversion. For over two decades, sulfate reduction with ammonium oxidation (SRAO) had been reported from laboratory experiments. SRAO was considered an autotrophic process mediated by anammox bacteria, in which ammonium as electron donor was oxidized by the electron acceptor sulfate. This process had been attributed to observed transformations of nitrogenous and sulfurous compounds in natural environments. Results obtained differed largely for the conversion mole ratios (ammonium/sulfate), and even the intermediate and final products of sulfate reduction. Thus, the hypothesis of biological conversion pathways of ammonium and sulfate in anammox consortia is implausible. In this study, continuous reactor experiments (with working volume of 3.8L) and batch tests were conducted under normal anaerobic (0.2≤DO<0.5 mg/L) / strict anaerobic (DO<0.2 mg/L) conditions with different biomass proportions to verify the SRAO phenomena and identify possible pathways behind substrate conversion. Key findings were that SRAO occurred only in cases of high amounts of inoculant biomass under normal anaerobic condition, while absent under strict anaerobic conditions for same anammox consortia. Mass balance and stoichiometry were checked based on experimental results and the thermodynamics proposed by previous studies were critically discussed. Thus anammox bacteria do not possess the ability to oxidize ammonium with sulfate as electron acceptor and the assumed SRAO could, in fact, be a combination of aerobic ammonium oxidation, anammox and heterotrophic sulfate reduction processes.     

A comparative study of vocational education and occupational safety and health training in China and the UK

In order to enhance Chinese workers’ occupational safety awareness, it is essential to learn from developed countries’ experiences. This article investigates thoroughly occupational safety and health (OSH) in China and the UK; moreover, the article performs a comparison of Chinese and British OSH training-related laws, regulations and education system. The following conclusions are drawn: China’s work safety continues to improve, but there is still a large gap compared with the UK. In China a relatively complete vocational education and training (VET) system has been established. However, there exist some defects in OSH. In the UK, the employer will not only pay attention to employees’ physiological health, but also to their mental health. The UK’s VET is characterized by classification and grading management, which helps integrate OSH into the whole education system. China can learn from the UK in the development of policies, VET and OSH training.     

Larval and Juvenile Fish Assemblage Structure of Inshore Habitats in the Middle Reaches of Li River,China: Spatial and Temporal Patterns in Relation to Abiotic Factors

To evaluate the effect of abiotic factors on larval and juvenile fish assemblage in shallow waters of middle reaches of Li River, Guilin, China. Samplings were taken monthly at 7 stations in the mainstream and 2 stations in 3 tributaries from May 2014 to April 2015. Synchronously, temperature, pH, turbidity, conductivity, dissolved oxygen rainfall and discharge were obtained. In all, 11.886 larval and juvenile fish from 18 species belonging to 8 families, 16 genera was captured. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed obvious significant difference between the environmental variables across sampling areas and months. The results of Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) indicated that water temperature, turbidity, discharge and rainfall were dominant factors on larval and juvenile fish assemblage.     

Nutrients Availability Shapes Fungal Community Composition and Diversity in the Rare Earth Mine Tailings of Southern Jiangxi,China

Russian Journal of Ecology - The present study characterized the nutrients availability of three rare earth tailings deserted in different time stages in Southern Jiangxi of China, and revealed the...     

Disinfection and removal of human pathogenic bacteria in arctic waste stabilization ponds

Wastewater stabilization ponds (WSPs) are commonly used to treat municipal wastewater in Arctic Canada. The biological treatment in the WSPs is strongly influenced by climatic conditions. Currently, there is limited information about the removal of fecal and pathogenic bacteria during the short cool summer treatment season. With relevance to public health, the objectives of this paper were to determine if treatment in arctic WSPs resulted in the disinfection (i.e., removal of fecal indicator bacteria, Escherichia coli) and removal of selected human bacterial pathogens from the treated effluent. The treatment performance, with focus on microbial removal, was assessed for the one-cell WSP in Pond Inlet (Nunavut [NU]) and two-cell WSP in Clyde River (NU) over three consecutive (2012–2014) summer treatment seasons (late June-early September). The WSPs provided a primary disinfection treatment of the wastewater with a 2–3 Log removal of generic indicator E. coli. The bacterial pathogens Salmonella spp., pathogenic E. coli, and Listeria monocytogenes, but not Campylobacter spp. and Helicobacter pylori, were detected in the untreated and treated wastewater, indicating that human pathogens were not reliably removed. Seasonal and annual variations in temperature significantly (p < 0.05) affected the disinfection efficiency. Improved disinfection and pathogen removal was observed for the two-cell system in Clyde River as compared to the one-cell system in Pond Inlet. A quantitative microbial risk assessment should be performed to determine if the release of low levels of human pathogens into the arctic environment poses a human health risk.     

Comparisons of three plant species in accumulating polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from the atmosphere: a review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Plant leaves play a key role in the accumulation of PAHs, as they are able to capture PAHs from the air. In this paper, the mechanism, including...     

铁炭复配修复地下水中NO_3~--N的条件研究

采用了铁炭复配修复地下水中NO3--N,探讨了实验条件对修复效果的影响。结果表明,在pH值近中性条件(初始pH 6.42)下,反应时间为1 h时NO3--N修复率达到60.85%;Fe/C=1∶1时介质最佳用量分别为4~5 g;Fe/C=1/1.5时修复率为72.80%;反应速率在高振荡强度下大于低振荡强度;氧化铜的催化效果最好,可使修复率提高7.5个百分点。铁炭复配介质修复地下水中NO3--N是有效可行的,修复率随反应时间的增加而提高,在Fe/C=1∶1时修复率与介质用量呈正相关,无限减小Fe/C比并不能无限提高修复率,振荡强度对修复具有显著影响,低振荡强度下的修复过程较高强度存在滞后现象,并非所有金属氧化物催化剂对铁炭修复NO3--N均有促进作用。     

厌氧氨氧化ASBR中亚硝氮和氨氮降解规律研究

采用生物膜ASBR反应器,研究了厌氧氨氧化反应过程中亚硝氮与氨氮降解速度的变化规律。结果表明,降解过程主要分为2个阶段:速度上升期(0~30 min)和速度下降期(30~150 min)。一阶指数衰减模型的模拟结果表明,20 min以后亚硝氮、氨氮降解速度逐渐减少,亚硝氮降解速度始终高于氨氮降解速度,但是两者差值随时间逐渐减少。     

介质阻挡放电联合催化臭氧化降解甲苯

采用介质阻挡放电区后结合MnOx/Al2O3/发泡镍去除甲苯,考察甲苯进气方式、臭氧产生方法及湿度对甲苯与O3同时去除的影响。结果表明,O3是等离子体区后催化降解甲苯的主要物种,介质阻挡放电联合催化臭氧化可实现甲苯及O3的同时高效去除。输入电压为9.0 kV时,甲苯的去除效率达92.8%,在80 min内O3的去除效率维持在99%以上。水蒸气对催化剂催化分解臭氧的活性没有直接的影响,O3浓度较高时湿度对甲苯降解效率的影响很小。GC-MS分析结果表明,甲苯降解的主要气相副产物有烷烃、酸、酮和含苯环有机物,提出了甲苯的降解途径。