胞外聚合物对水中Cd(Ⅱ)的吸附性能研究

以Pseudomonas fluorescens C-2产生的胞外聚合物PF-2作为新型生物吸附剂,以傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)对其进行表征。系统地研究了胞外聚合物PF-2对水中Cd(II)的吸附行为。结果表明,在pH值为6.0,该吸附剂对水中的Cd(II)具有很强的吸附能力。聚合物PF-2对Cd(Ⅱ)的吸附较易进行,吸附等温线能较好地用Langmuir模型来描述,最大单分子层吸附量为33.50 mg/g,吸附动力学很好地符合准二级动力学模型。胞外聚合物PF-2含有的主要官能团为羧基、羟基和氨基等,其中羧基、羟基参与了Cd(Ⅱ)的吸附。结果表明利用胞外聚合物PF-2去除环境水样中的Cd(Ⅱ)是可行的。     

磺胺和四环素类抗生素对活性污泥性能的影响

废水处理工艺中抗生素类污染物的存在可能会对生物处理过程产生长期而深远的影响,为探明此类污染物对废水生物处理主体活性污泥性能等方面的影响,采用间歇培养法研究了活性污泥法处理污水时,抗生素类污染物的存在对活性污泥性能如胞外聚合物（EPS）、污染物处理能力、脱氢酶活性和群落结构的影响。结果表明,抗生素的存在会导致活性污泥的胞外聚合物总量及其主要组分蛋白质和多糖增加,以产生保护屏障;且由于污泥絮体解体,细胞破裂导致EPS中DNA和色氨酸含量增加。同时,由于蛋白质大量增加引起的表面负电荷的增加,使污泥疏水性增强,絮凝性能恶化;污泥絮体解体导致污泥颗粒变小,SVI也随之下降;在活性污泥脱氢酶活性急剧下降的同时,出水TOC迅速升高。此外,抗生素类污染物在抑制活性污泥中大部分细菌的同时,对部分菌群也有刺激生长作用,最终导致活性污泥生物群落结构的改变。四环素类抗生素对活性污泥的EPS和絮凝沉降性能的影响大于磺胺类,而对污水处理能力和群落结构的影响则不如磺胺类。抗生素类污染物的长期存在会对活性污泥沉降性能、絮凝性能、脱氢酶活性以及活性污泥群落结构等产生一系列负面影响,进而影响污染物去除效果,导致出水水质恶化。     

钙离子对短期膜污染的影响

以处理生活污水的平板膜-生物反应器为依托,通过将进水调配成30、200和500 mg/L 3种不同的钙离子浓度,考察钙离子对短期膜污染的影响。结果表明,随着钙离子浓度的增加,TMP增长趋势变小,膜污染得到缓解;钙离子浓度为200 mg/L时,膜的渗透性最好,而过高的钙离子浓度并不利于降低膜污染。钙离子的投加强化了生物絮凝作用,可以降低SMP和LB-EPS的含量,主要通过降低外部阻力减缓膜污染;投加钙离子也可以增加絮体的大小,较大的絮体形成的泥饼有更好的过滤性,然而过高的钙离子浓度会使无机颗粒的量增加,造成平均粒径下降,将会加重内部污染,进而加剧膜污染。     

Roles of ATP-dependent N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs) and extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) in aerobic granulation

Aerobic granules which form through a cell-to-cell self-immobilization process have been intensively studied and developed for wastewater biotreatment. However, the microbiological origin of this phenomenon is still largely unknown. This study investigated the possible role of metabolic energy in the development of aerobic granules. Results showed that aerobic granulation was positively related to ATP-dependent N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs) and extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) production. Inhibited ATP synthesis by a chemical uncoupler, 3,3′,4′,5-tetrachlorosalicylanilide, led to significant reduction of AHLs and EPSs production, which in turn prevented aerobic granulation. This study for the first time demonstrated the involvement of ATP-dependent AHLs in aerobic granulation.     

Interference by the activated sludge matrix on the analysis of soluble microbial products in wastewater

The objective of this study was to demonstrate the effects of complex matrix effects caused by chemical materials on the analysis of key soluble microbial products (SMP) including proteins, humics, carbohydrates, and polysaccharides in activated sludge samples. Emphasis was placed on comparison of the commonly used standard curve technique with standard addition (SA), a technique that differs in that the analytical responses are measured for sample solutions spiked with known quantities of analytes. The results showed that using SA provided a great improvement in compensating for SMP recovery and thus improving measurement accuracy by correcting for matrix effects. Analyte recovery was found to be highly dependent on sample dilution, and changed due to extraction techniques, storage conditions and sample composition. Storage of sample extracts by freezing changed SMP concentrations dramatically, as did storage at 4 °C for as little as 1 d.     

The Costs of Meeting the Environmental Objectives for the Baltic Sea: A Review of the Literature

The environmental targets of the recently agreed Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) targets are likely associated with a considerable cost, which motivates a search for low-cost policies. The following review shows there is a substantial literature on cost-efficient nutrient reduction strategies, including suggestions regarding low-cost abatement, but actual policies at international and national scale tend to be considerably more expensive due to lack of instruments that ensure a cost-efficient allocation of abatement across countries and sectors. Economic research on the costs of reducing hazardous substances and oil spill damages in the Baltic Sea is not available, but lessons from the international literature suggest that resources could be used more efficiently if appropriate analysis is undertaken. Common to these pollution problems is the need to ensure that all countries in the region are provided with positive incentives to implement international agreements.     

Integral assessment of estrogenic potentials of sediment-associated samples

GOAL, SCOPE AND BACKGROUND: Exogenic endocrine-active substances are also called 'Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals' (EDC). They imitate or hinder the function of natural endogenic hormones or disturb the synthesis or the metabolism of hormones or of hormone receptors. The Enzyme-Linked Receptor Assay (ELRA) can detect estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects at the level of receptor binding and is a useful tool for the integrative detection of contaminant effects. Although the test system has been used repeatedly in sediment assessments, the questions have remained concerning how it responds to variations in the physico-chemical matrix. For some bioassays, the salinity of the sample is a critical factor. This is especially relevant when testing wastewater samples or when sediment-associated samples in the tidal reaches of rivers are tested. Sediments in the tidal reaches of rivers change their salinity several times a day. Against this background, it would be beneficial to have a test procedure of known salinity tolerance. On account of this, the salinity tolerance of the ELRA was tested, assessed with reference substances at several salinity levels, and compared with the E-Screen method and a Yeast Estrogen Screen (YES), which are also frequently applied in environmental testing. The aim of this paper was to explore when the salinity limits within these test procedures are applicable. The trials should reveal the working range to be expected, characterize the salinity-dependent variations in sensitivity of the test, and provide options for methodological adjustments to improve the stability against increased salinity. METHODS: The ELRA was carried out with the human Estrogen Receptor alpha. (ER) using the same principle like a competitive immunoassay based on ligand-protein interaction. However, an essential difference is the use of a physiologically relevant receptor instead of an antibody as a linking protein. The ELRA measures the competition of sample estrogens and anti-estrogens against estradiol supplied as a BSA-coating conjugate for the binding site of dissolved ER. Estradiol or xeno-estrogen binding is quantified by a biotynilated anti-ER antibody and the subsequent measurement of peroxidase activity by a streptavidin-POD-biotin complex. The E-Screen was performed with the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7, which expresses the estrogen receptor constitutively. Cell proliferation depends on binding of estrogens or xeno-estrogens with the receptor. After incubation, estrogen-dependent cell growth was measured by sulforhodamin B staining. The YES was performed with a recombinant yeast strain, transfected with a receptor and a reporter plasmid bearing the estrogen receptor and a vitellogenin gene fused with the reporter gene lacZ. Estrogen or xeno-estrogen-dependent gene induction was measured indirectly by LacZ activity. The salinity levels were simulated in varying concentrations with NaCl from 0 to 40 per thousand or Artificial Sea Water (ASW) from 0 to 32 per thousand. RESULTS: The study characterized the factor 'salinity' for the prospective application fields of the ELRA. With reference substances such as 17-beta-estradiol, the ELRA showed classical sigmoidal concentration-effect relations in a range from 0.05 to 100 microg/l under physiological conditions. After a methodological adjustment to compensate decreasing receptor-binding affinity of estrogens and xeno-estrogens at higher salinity levels, the ELRA became applicable under salinity conditions up to concentrations of 20.5 per thousand. In tests, the ELRA reached under the influence of salinity a mean limit of detection of 0.062 microg/l 17-beta-estradiol. The mean relative inter-test error was around 11%. Above concentrations of 20.5 per thousand there is a risk of false negative assessment. Compared with the E-Screen method using the MCF7 cell line and the yeast estrogen test system (YES), the ELRA shows a lower sensitivity to 17-beta-estradiol. In the E-Screen, the cell proliferation was strongly reduced by sodium chloride induced cytotoxicity. In comparison with the E-Screen, the salinity tolerance of the YES and YAS methods is significantly higher. DISCUSSION: Despite adaption, total salinity tolerance could not be achieved with the ELRA. Freshwater samples were generally appraisable. Higher salinity levels above 20.5 per thousand would tend towards false negative results. The low inter-test error of 11% makes the ELRA suitable for the detection of estrogenic and anti-estrogenic potentials of single substances, substance mixtures, and of environmental samples. CONCLUSIONS: The ELRA is very fast and reproducible, it can be used for high-throughput screening in a microplate format at low cost, it is robust to microbial contamination, and is less susceptible to cytotoxic interferences than cell culture methods. RECOMMENDATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES: In their established form, the YES and the E-Screen methods are not applicable for liquid phase testing at higher salinity conditions. The salinity-adapted test version of the ELRA described here shows a broader working range for samples. Native water samples of more or less brackish origin or high-salinity effluent samples are testable. Results of tests with sediment associated samples of different salinity will be subject of a forthcoming publication.     

Relationship between chromium(VI) resistance and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) concentration by some cyanobacterial isolates

BACKGROUND, AIM, AND SCOPE: Chromium(VI) resistance and its association with extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) concentration in cyanobacteria was investigated. Increased EPS concentration was associated with Cr(VI) resistance. The most resistant isolate, Chroococcus sp. H(4), secreted the most EPS (427 mg/L). MATERIALS AND METHODS: EPS concentration of the two most resistant isolates (Chroococcus sp. H(4) and Synechocystis sp. S(63)) was investigated following exposure to 15 and 35 ppm Cr(VI). The composition of EPS produced by Chroococcus sp. H(4) following exposure to 10 ppm Cr(VI) was analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography. Control EPS was composed of glucose (99%) and galactronic acid (1%); in the presence of 10 ppm Cr(VI), EPS composition changed to glucose (9%), xylose (75%), rhamnose (14%), and galacturonic acid (2%). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Results indicated that (1) exposure to elevated concentrations of Cr(VI) affected the composition of EPS produced by Chroococcus sp. H(4), and (2) there was a correlation between Cr(VI) resistance and EPS concentration in some cyanobacteria.     

城市水环境PFAAs前驱体污染特征及健康风险

为揭示城市水环境中前驱体对全氟烷基酸（PFAAs）输入特征、分布格局及健康风险的影响,对南京城市污水处理厂出水、河流、湖泊、长江饮用水源地等水体进行了考察.利用HPLC-MS/MS及总可氧化前驱体法（TOP Assay）分析了17种PFAAs与其总可氧化前驱体的污染特征,并通过推演耐受剂量评估了饮水途径的健康风险商（HQ）.结果表明,污水处理厂出水中PFAAs浓度90.6～278ng/L,主要单体PFBS、PFHxA、PFOA占总浓度的63%;总可氧化前驱体浓度239～839pmol/L,PFBA前驱体含量最高.城市地表水中PFAAs浓度61.8～157ng/L,总可氧化前驱体浓度195～572pmol/L,PFBA、PFPe A、PFHxA3种全氟羧酸的前驱体含量最高,城市河流流经人口密集区后,PFAAs赋存浓度有所上升,但总可氧化前驱体浓度下降.饮用水源地中PFAAs浓度50.9～54.6ng/L,总可氧化前驱体浓度273～372pmol/L,以PFBA、PFPe A和PFHx A3种全氟羧酸的前驱体为主.相对高风险来源于PFOS的免疫毒性（HQ=0.024）以及PFOA的发育毒性...