Indoor air particles in research vessel from Shanghai to Antarctic: Characteristics, influencing factors, and potential controlling pathway

Despite millions of seafarers and passengers staying on ships each year, few studies have been conducted on the indoor air quality inside ship hulls. In this study, we investigated the levels and size distribution of indoor particulate matter during two cruises of the research vessel “Xuelong” from Shanghai to Antarctica. The results showed that the particle size less than 2.5 µm (PM_2.5), and particle size less than 10 µm (PM₁₀) concentrations in different rooms of the ship widely varied. We observed high particulate matter (PM) levels in some of the rooms. The mass concentration distribution was dominated by 1–4 µm particles, which may have been caused by the hygroscopic growth of fine particles. The dominant factors influencing PM concentrations were indoor temperature, relative humidity, and human activity. We quantified contributions of these factors to the levels of indoor particles using a generalized additive model. In clean rooms, the levels of indoor particles were controlled by temperature and relative humidity, whereas in polluted rooms, the levels of indoor particles were mainly influenced by temperature and human activity, which implied that controlling temperature and human activity would efficiently reduce the levels of indoor particles.     

Comparison between inhibitor and uncoupler for minimizing excess sludge production of an activated sludge process

In order to study the minimization of excess sludge production, the reduction in the excess sludge production in the presence of an inhibitor and uncoupler was studied in this work. The experimental results show that such an addition could effectively reduce the production of excess sludge. With the energy uncoupling model established in this work, energy uncoupling coefficient (E _u) was used to evaluate the reduction in excess sludge production. The energy uncoupling coefficients in the presence of dinitrophenol (dNP), Zn²⁺, and Cu²⁺ was 0.75, 0.46, and 0.18, respectively. The analysis demonstrated that energy spilling occurred in the presence of dNP, and that dNP was an effective uncoupler for reducing the production of excess activated sludge without affecting the microbial respiration activity.     

Preliminary studies on methane flux from the ornithogenic soils on Xi-Sha atoll, South China Sea

IntroductionMethane ( CH4) is a radiatively active trace gas ,contributing approximately 20 % to global warming(Bouwman, 1990) . An increasing concentration in theatmosphere, and ill-defined sink and source strengths haveled to a proliferation of the stud…     

A 50-year record of dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethanes and hexachloro-cyclohexanes in lake sediments and penguin droppings on King George Island, Maritime Antarctic

Since the ban on the use of organochlorine pesticides （OCPs） such as dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane （DDT） and hexachlorocyclohexane（HCH） in agriculture, their levels have generally dropped. In a number of cases, however, the levels of these OCPs were found to be unchanging or even increasing after the ban. With the aim to unveil the possible causes of these exceptions, we collected two lake cores from King George Island, West Antarctica, and determined their accumulation flux profiles and temporal trends of these OCPs. In the lake core sediments with glacier meltwater input, the accumulation flux of DDT shows an abnormal peak around 1980s in addition to the expected one in 1960s. In the lake core sediments without glacier meltwater input, the accumulation flux of DDT shows a gradual decline trend after the peak in 1960s. This striking difference in the DDT flux profiles between the two lake cores is most likely caused by the regional climate warming and the resulted discharge of the DDT stored in the Antarctic ice cap into the lakes in the Antarctic glacier frontier. Furthermore, to investigate the change of OCPs loadings in the Antarctic coastal ecosystem, we reconstructed the HCH and DDT concentration profiles in penguin droppings and observed a gradual increase for the former and a continuous decrease for the latter during the past 50 years. The increase of HCH seems to be due to the regional warming from the early 1970s and the resulted HCH discharge to the coastal ecosystem by glaciers＇ meltwater and the illegal use of HCH in the Southern Hemisphere in the recent decade. The different temporal trends of HCH and DDT accumulation rate in the lake core with glacier meltwater input and the aged penguin droppings can be explained by their different water-soluble property.     

Composition analysis of colored dissolved organic matter in Taihu Lake based on three dimension excitation-emission fuorescence matrix and PARAFAC model, and the potential application in water quality monitoring

Taihu Lake is one of the five biggest lakes in China. Surface water samples from 26 sampling sites of Taihu Lake were collected. Furthermore wet chemical analysis (CODCr and BOD5) and measurement of three dimensional excitation-emission matrix (3DEEM) spectra in the laboratory have been conducted. Using parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) model, three components of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) have been identified successfully, based on the analysis of 3DEEM data. The characteristics of the three components also have been described by comparing them to some components of CDOM, identified in earlier researches. Meanwhile, spatial variations of concentration for the three components in Taihu Lake have been analyzed, and the result indicates that the concentration of component 1 depends more on the situation of wastewater pollution and can be used as the indicator of wastewater pollution. The relationship between the concentrations of the three components and results of the wet chemical analysis show that none of the three components can be used as indicators of gross organic matter in water. However, the concentrations of all the three components have obvious linear relationships with the BOD5 value, especially for component 1 (r=0.72878). Finally, the potential applications of the composition analysis based on 3DEEM and PARAFAC model in water quality monitoring have been illuminated.     

Fluoride Content in Bones of Adelie Penguins and Environmental Media in Antarctica

Fluoride (F) distribution and its effects (fluorosis) were investigated in Antarctica. Droppings (L) excreta selected of aquatic birds, lake water, soil and moss (Polytrichum alpinum) showed a high F concentration. Although bones of Adelie penguin (Pygiscelis adeliae) and skua (Catharacta maccormicki) showed exceptionally very high F concentration in the range of 832 to 7187 mg kg(-1), their radiographs did not show any evidence of skeletal fluorosis. The possible reason and geochemical aspects of F in Antarctica region are discussed.     

Kinetics and mechanisms of radiation-induced degradation of acetochlor

The radiation-induced degradation of acetochlor was investigated in this work. In a mixed solvent composed of acetonitrile and water at a ratio of 20/80 in volume, the acetochlor degradation rate was proportional to the radiation dose rate and acetochlor concentration. The acetochlor degradation efficiency was higher under alkali conditions and lower under acidic conditions. The contribution to the acetochlor degradation by the radicals was in the order of: e(aq)->.OH>H.. The quantum efficiency ratios of .OH, e(aq)- and H. for the degradation of acetochlor were calculated as 1:3:1.     

车辆阻塞效应下隧道火灾烟气温度及烟气逆流长度变化规律研究

通过数值模拟方法对车辆阻塞效应下的隧道火灾烟气温度及烟气逆流长度的变化规律进行了研究。主要分两种车辆阻塞效应讨论:1辆设定大小车辆障碍物阻塞;2辆设定大小车辆障碍物阻塞,且在同一车道。通过改变火源高度、纵向通风速度探究了车辆阻塞效应下隧道火灾烟气温度及烟气逆流长度的变化规律。结果表明:两种车辆阻塞效应下,随着火源高度的升高,隧道内顶棚烟气温度的变化规律相同:随火源高度的升高而增大。2辆车辆阻塞下的隧道顶棚烟气温度略低;两种车辆阻塞效应下,随着火源高度的升高,隧道内烟气逆流长度的变化规律不同。1辆车辆阻塞下烟气逆流长度随火源高度的升高而增大,而2辆车辆阻塞效应下烟气逆流长度随火源高度的升高而减小。     

基于桶式环形加热的阻燃电缆细观竖直燃烧特性研究实验平台的设计

针对阻燃电缆等难燃材料,为研究其在外界热源条件下的火灾性能与蔓延燃烧特性,研制了基于环形加热的阻燃电缆细观燃烧特性诊断实验平台。该平台主要包括三个部分,即:半封闭环形桶式加热与燃烧腔室、样品竖直固定模块和数据采集系统。实验参数的标定及典型阻燃电缆受热与燃烧实验结果表明,常规条件下无法点燃的阻燃电缆,当置于实验平台的加热炉内被加热一段时间后,底部小火源可将其点燃并呈现猛烈的燃烧与蔓延过程。该加热模块能够详细、准确地研究各种阻燃电缆在环形加热条件下的膨胀、引燃及蔓延燃烧的细观特性,而不同的加热模式有助于深入研究阻燃材料在各种热环境下的火灾特性,为阻燃材料的引燃机理及火蔓延模型研究提供了必要的研究平台。     

火焰撞击受限顶棚条件下顶棚最高温度数值模拟研究

顶棚下方最高温度是隧道火灾发展蔓延时的重要参数。针对火焰撞击顶棚并受到顶棚侧墙限制的强羽流驱动的顶棚射流,利用FDS模拟了18种缩尺寸隧道火灾工况,研究了顶棚下方最高温度随着火源功率、火源与顶棚距离的变化规律。结果表明:火焰撞击区域附近顶棚下方温度随着火源功率的增大而降低,随火源与顶棚距离的增大而升高;相反,在远离火源区域顶棚下方的温度随火源功率增大而升高,随火源与顶棚距离增大而降低;同时,通过分析隧道中心面上顶棚下方温度分布规律,提出了火焰撞击受限顶棚时顶棚下方最高温升的预测模型,研究结果能为实际的隧道消防提供一些参考。