Effect of F,Cl, Br and I substitution on the BphB enzyme for the degradation of halogenated biphenyls,revealed by quantum and molecular mechanics

Halogenated biphenyls are worldwide persistent pollutants of great environmental concern. In particular, polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated biphenyls have been globally used for industrial purposes until they were found highly toxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic to humans. Therefore, ecological strategies to remove halogenated biphenyls, such as enzyme-catalyzed degradation, are needed. Here, we studied the effect of substitution of F, Cl, Br or I at the 4,4′-positions of 2,3-dihydro-2,3-dihydroxybiphenyl-2,3-dehydrogenase (BphB) on the degradation of halogenated biphenyls by quantum and molecular mechanics. Results show that Boltzmann-weighted average degradation barriers of substituted BphB are all lower than the unsubstituted biphenyl, except for chlorinated biphenyl. The roles of residues nearby the active site, e.g., isoleucine89, asparagine115, serine142, asparagine143, proline184, methionine187 and threonine189, were also investigated.

     

Nanocarrier-mediated co-delivery systems for lung cancer therapy: recent developments and prospects

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Research has recently focused on combinational therapy using nanocarriers to overcome the obstacles associated with conventional therapy of lung cancer. The...     

Source attribution for mercury deposition with an updated atmospheric mercury emission inventory in the Pearl River Delta Region,China

Estimated anthropogenic Hg emission was 11.9 tons in Pearl River Delta for 2014. Quantifying contributions of emission sources helps to provide control strategies. More attentions should be paid to Hg deposition around the large point sources. Power plant, industrial source and waste incinerator were priorities for control. A coordinated regional Hg emission control was important for controlling pollution. We used CMAQ-Hg to simulate mercury pollution and identify main sources in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) with updated local emission inventory and latest regional and global emissions. The total anthropogenic mercury emissions in the PRD for 2014 were 11,939.6 kg. Power plants and industrial boilers were dominant sectors, responsible for 29.4 and 22.7%. We first compared model predictions and observations and the results showed a good performance. Then five scenarios with power plants (PP), municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI), industrial point sources (IP), natural sources (NAT), and boundary conditions (BCs) zeroed out separately were simulated and compared with the base case. BCs was responsible for over 30% of annual average mercury concentration and total deposition while NAT contributed around 15%. Among the anthropogenic sources, IP (22.9%) was dominant with a contribution over 20.0% and PP (18.9%) and MSWI (11.2%) ranked second and third. Results also showed that power plants were the most important emission sources in the central PRD, where the ultra-low emission for thermal power units need to be strengthened. In the northern and western PRD, cement and metal productions were priorities for mercury control. The fast growth of municipal solid waste incineration were also a key factor in the core areas. In addition, a coordinated regional mercury emission control was important for effectively controlling pollution. In the future, mercury emissions will decrease as control measures are strengthened, more attention should be paid to mercury deposition around the large point sources as high levels of pollution are observed.     

Impacts of emissions and meteorological changes on China’s ozone pollution in the warm seasons of 2013 and 2017

O₃ increment is mainly caused by changes in meteorology rather than emissions. Emission reduction is effective to reduce O₃ nationwide, especially in summer. Strengthened NO_x controls are necessary to meet the ambient O₃ standard. We have quantified the impacts of anthropogenic emissions reductions caused by the Air Pollution Control Action Plan and changes in meteorological fields between 2013 and 2017 on the warm-season O₃ concentration in China using a regional 3D chemical transport model. We found that the impact on daily maximum eight-hour (MDA8) O₃ concentration by the meteorological variation that mostly increased O₃ was greater than that from emission reduction, which decreased O₃. Specifically, the control measures implemented since 2013 in China have reduced SO₂, NO_x, PM_2.5, and VOC emissions by 33%, 25%, 30%, and 4% in 2017, while NH₃ emissions have increased by 7%. The changes in anthropogenic emissions lowered MDA8 O₃ by 0.4–3.7 ppb (0.8%–7.6%, varying by region and month), although MDA8 O₃ was increased slightly in some urban areas (i.e. North China) at the beginning/end of warm seasons. Relative to 2013, the average 2 m temperature in 2017 shows increments in North, North-east, East, and South China (0.34℃–0.83℃) and decreases in Central China (0.24℃). The average solar radiation shows increments in North, North-east, and South China (7.0–9.7 w/m²) and decreases in Central, South-west, and North-west China (4.7–10.3 w/m²). The meteorological differences significantly change MDA8 O₃ by -3.5–8.5 ppb (-8.2%–18.8%) with large temporal variations. The average MDA8 O₃ was slightly increased in North, North-east, East, and South China. The response surface model suggests that the O₃ formation regime transfers from NO_x-saturated in April to NO_x-limited in July on average in China.     

Enhanced activation of peroxymonosulfate by CNT-TiO2 under UV-light assistance for efficient degradation of organic pollutants

CNT-TiO₂ composite is used to activate PMS under UV-light assistance. Superior performance is due to the enhanced electron-transfer ability of CNT. SO₄•⁻, •OH and ¹O₂ play key roles in the degradation of organic pollutants. In this work, a UV-light assisted peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation system was constructed with the composite catalyst of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT) - titanium dioxide (TiO₂). Under the UV light irradiation, the photoinduced electrons generated from TiO₂ could be continuously transferred to CNT for the activation of PMS to improve the catalytic performance of organic pollutant degradation. Meanwhile, the separation of photoinduced electron-hole pairs could enhance the photocatalysis efficiency. The electron spin resonance spectroscopy (EPR) and quenching experiments confirmed the generation of sulfate radical (SO₄•⁻), hydroxyl radical (•OH) and singlet oxygen (¹O₂) in the UV/PMS/20%CNT-TiO₂ system. Almost 100% phenol degradation was observed within 20 min UV-light irradiation. The kinetic reaction rate constant of the UV/PMS/20%CNT-TiO₂ system (0.18 min⁻¹) was 23.7 times higher than that of the PMS/Co₃O₄ system (0.0076 min⁻¹). This higher catalytic performance was ascribed to the introduction of photoinduced electrons, which could enhance the activation of PMS by the transfer of electrons in the UV/PMS/CNT-TiO₂ system.     

乙草胺对蛋白核小球藻的毒性效应研究

乙草胺是我国使用量最大的除草剂之一,在水体中广泛存在。已有研究证明,乙草胺对人类、老鼠和鱼类具有毒害效应,而关于其对浮游植物影响的研究较少。以蛋白核小球藻(Chlorella pyrenoidosa)为模型,使用1～10 000μg·L~(-1)的乙草胺对其进行7 d的暴露实验,考察小球藻生长性能、叶绿素含量、光合作用产氧量以及光合作用相关基因(pbsA、rbcL和rbcS)表达的变化。结果表明,较低浓度的乙草胺可刺激蛋白核小球藻生长,而较高浓度乙草胺则会抑制其生长;并且乙草胺会通过影响小球藻叶绿素的含量而影响光合作用产氧量;小球藻光合作用相关基因pbsA、rbcL和rbcS表达大多显著上升,这可能是对乙草胺胁迫响应的反馈调节。研究表明,乙草胺会对蛋白核小球藻的生长及光合作用产生影响。     

Integrated assessment of urban environment in China

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散堆填料对海水脱硫吸收系统性能影响的实验研究

在海水烟气脱硫中试实验台上进行了填料形式、填料高度变化对脱硫效率和系统压降影响规律的实验研究;研究中将喷淋空塔和分别填装A型、B型、C型3种填料的吸收塔进行了综合性能对比,并进行了填料高度分别为0.6、1.2和1.8 m的对比实验。结果表明,填料塔的脱硫效率高于喷淋空塔;当空塔气速为3 m/s时,填装C型填料的吸收塔的综合性能最优;当空塔气速小于2.5 m/s时,填装A型填料的吸收塔的综合性能最优;在满足相同脱硫效率的指标下,虽然增加填料高度降低了海水喷淋量,并且系统压降出现一定比例下降,但是在工程设计中必须综合考虑塔高、填料支架载荷等因素选择合适的填料堆积高度。     

Characterization of submicron particles during autumn in Beijing, China

In this study, we performed a highly time-resolved chemical characterization of nonrefractory submicron particles(NR-PM_1) in Beijing by using an Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer(HR-ToF-AMS). The results showed the average NR-PM_1 mass concentration to be 56.4 ± 58.0 μg/m~3, with a peak at 307.4 μg/m~3. Due to the high frequency of biomass burning in autumn, submicron particles significantly increased in organic content, which accounted for 51% of NR-PM_1 on average. Secondary inorganic aerosols(sulfate + nitrate + ammonium) accounted for 46% of NR-PM_1, of which sulfate,nitrate, and ammonium contributed 15%, 20%, and 11%, respectively. To determine the intrinsic relationships between the organic and inorganic species, we used the positive matrix factorization(PMF) model to merge the high-resolution mass spectra of the organic species and NO+and NO_2~+ions. The PMF analysis separated the mixed organic and nitrate(NO+and NO_2~+) spectra into four organic factors, including hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol(HOA), oxygenated organic aerosol(OOA), cooking organic aerosol(COA), and biomass burning organic aerosol(BBOA), as well as one nitrate inorganic aerosol(NIA) factor. COA(33%) and OOA(30%) contributed the most to the total organic aerosol(OA) mass, followed by BBOA(20%) and HOA(17%). We successfully quantified the mass concentrations of the organic and inorganic nitrates by the NO+and NO2+ions signal in the organic and NIA factors. The organic nitrate mass varied from 0.01-6.8 μg/m~3, with an average of 1.0 ±1.1 μg/m~3, and organic nitrate components accounted for 10% of the total nitrate mass in this observation.     

催化氧化技术治理苯化工装置和罐区含氮挥发性有机物废气

采用催化氧化技术对某石化企业苯胺、硝基苯等生产装置和罐区的含氮挥发性有机物(NVOCs)废气进行集中处理,建成了一套20 000 Nm~3/h规模的安全高效处理装置。采用自主研发的WSH-2N型蜂窝状Pt-Pd-Ce催化剂,在高效氧化有机物的同时,高选择性地将有机氮转化为N_2。运行结果表明,净化气非甲烷总烃质量浓度低于15 mg/m~3,非甲烷总烃去除率大于99%,NO_x质量浓度低于10 mg/m~3,苯、苯胺、硝基苯、环己烷等特征有机污染物浓度均低于检出限,各项指标优于国内外现有技术。