Safe storage of selected fuels with regard to their tendency to spontaneous combustion

European standard EN 15188 is dedicated to the assessment of the tendency of solid flammable substances to spontaneous combustion. Fossil fuels and biofuels that substitute them are a frequent reason of fires caused by spontaneous combustion. Even though having different properties, both types of fuels can be assessed according to this standard by the method of the determination of the dependency of self-ignition temperature against the ratio of volume to surface area of geometrically exactly defined solid body, or based on the theory of thermal explosion according to Frank-Kamenetskii. The comparison of calculated values confirmed the agreement of both methods results, and the tendency of fuels to spontaneous combustion can be assessed by them.     

Confined vapor explosion in Kaohsiung City – A detailed analysis of the tragedy in the harbor city

On the midnight of July 31st, 2014, a catastrophic vapor explosion occurred in the downtown of Kaohsiung city. The incident was initiated from a leak of an underground pipeline transporting pressurized propylene liquid. Analysis of pipeline operation logs and pipeline break release modeling suggested that at least 90,000 kg of propylene leaked, entered the underground trench and spread into the trench 4.5 km in distance before meeting an ignition source some three hours later after the leak. The ignition caused a significant confined vapor explosion which blew out the road above the underground trench, damaged more than one hundred vehicles on the road with thirty two fatalities and more than three hundred injuries. This article will first describe the background of the pipeline installation follows by an in-depth look at the explosion incident covering the events leading to the explosion, explosion damage, cause of the leak, spread of the leak, identification of a probable ignition source, and root causes in safety culture. Finally, lessons learnt and recommendations are given to prevent and mitigate the occurrence of similar incidents.     

Basic properties of sintering dust from iron and steel plant and potassium recovery

With the production of crude steel, China produces several million tons of sintering dusts which contain a great deal of valuable metals such as, K, Na, Zn, Pb. If discharged directly without adequate treatment, these elements can lead to adverse effects on the environment. Therefore, it is very necessary to determine how to separate these elements from the dust before discharge. Several physical and chemical detection methods were used to study the basic properties of sintering dust. At the same time, preliminary experiments on the recovery of the potassium resources from the sintering dust were carried out. The mean particle size of the electrostatic precipitator (ESP) dust determined by a laser granulometer was 41.468 μm. Multi-point BET and single-point BET analysis showed that the surface area of the ESP dust was 2.697 m²/g. XRD measurements detected the following phases in the ESP dust: Fe₂O₃, Fe₃O₄, KCl and NaCl, and Fe₂O₃, Fe₃O₄ and SiO₂ in the water-washed dust. SEM-EDS results proved that in the ESP dust, K mostly existed in the form of KCl particles without being coated. Leaching experiments showed that the KCl in the ESP dust could be separated and recovered by water leaching and fractional crystallization. Through the recovery experiments, the yield of K-Na vaporized crystalline salt was 18.56%, in which the mass fractions of KCl, NaCl, CaSO₄ and K₂SO₄ were about 61.03%, 13.58%, 14.03% and 9.97%, respectively. This process is technically viable and considerable in economic benefit. There was almost no secondary pollution produced in the whole recovery process.     

江苏省徐州市区街道灰尘重金属污染分析与评价

对江苏省徐州市区街道灰尘中Pb,Cd,Cu,Zn的含量水平进行了研究.结果表明,市区街道灰尘中Pb,Cd,Cu,Zn的平均含量分别为440.8,2.48,76.2,382.2 mg/kg,是徐州市土壤背景值的27.0,8.6,6.0,4.2倍;与国内其他城市街道灰尘重金属平均含量相比,上述重金属元素平均含量处于中等—偏高水平.采用地积累指数法和潜在生态危害指数法进行评价,结果表明,Pb处于重污染水平,Cd和Cu处于中度污染水平,Zn处于偏中度污染水平;市区街道灰尘重金属的潜在生态危害达到了强生态危害水平,在4种重金属中,Pb和Cd对街道灰尘的潜在生态危害贡献较大.通过研究以期为徐州市的城市环境污染防治和城市规划提供重要的科学依据.     

混酸消解玻璃纤维滤筒滤膜法测定大气颗粒物中的铅

用高氯酸、硝酸和氢氟酸组成的混酸在加热的条件下消解玻璃纤维滤筒滤膜采集的铅尘样品,可基本除去滤膜中的硅。大部分除去滤筒中的硅,残留的硅酸对铅的溶出和准确测定不干扰。因此是取代索氏提取法和酸煮法的理想方法。     

Review of the influencing factors of secondary organic aerosol formation and aging mechanism based on photochemical smog chamber simulation methods

The formation and aging mechanism of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) and its influencing factors have attracted increasing attention in recent years because of their effects on climate change, atmospheric quality and human health. However, there are still large errors between air quality model simulation results and field observations. The currently undetected components during the formation and aging of SOA due to the limitation of current monitoring techniques and the interactions among multiple SOA formation influencing factors might be the main reasons for the differences. In this paper, we present a detailed review of the complex dynamic physical and chemical processes and the corresponding influencing factors involved in SOA formation and aging. And all these results were mainly based the studies of photochemical smog chamber simulation. Although the properties of precursor volatile organic compounds (VOCs), oxidants (such as OH radicals), and atmospheric environmental factors (such as NO_x, SO₂, NH₃, light intensity, temperature, humidity and seed aerosols) jointly influence the products and yield of SOA, the nucleation and vapor pressure of these products were found to be the most fundamental aspects when interpreting the dynamics of the SOA formation and aging process. The development of techniques for measuring intermediate species in SOA generation processes and the study of SOA generation and aging mechanism in complex systems should be important topics of future SOA research.     

沙尘和灰霾期间中国近海大气氮沉降通量估算

利用WRF-CMAQ模型估算了2011年4月26日~5月3日沙尘事件和2016年1月1日~7日灰霾事件在中国近海引起的总无机氮（TIN）沉降通量,分析了两类事件对中国近海海洋初级生产力的贡献,探究了灰霾事件时中国近海无机氮沉降的可能来源.结果表明：典型沙尘和灰霾过程中,中国近海TIN干沉降通量均值分别为6.77,3.01mg N/（m²·d）,是晴朗天的6.84,3.04倍,可提供38.5,17.1mg C/（m²·d）的海洋初级生产力;沙尘期间无机氮沉降以还原态氮（NH₃和铵态氮,占TIN的62.2%）为主,灰霾期间则以氧化态氮（HNO₃和硝态氮,占TIN的84.3%）为主.典型沙尘事件TIN沉降对黄海影响最大,对渤海影响最小;典型灰霾事件对黄海和东海TIN沉降影响相当,高于对渤海的贡献.典型灰霾期间,京津冀和山东西北部（区域一）对渤、黄、东海TIN干沉降的贡献均大于长江三角洲及周边地区（区域二）,区域一对3个海域TIN干沉降的贡献约为38.7%~74.6%,区域二的贡献约为1.14%~12.1%.     

北京市建筑施工扬尘排放特征

颗粒物是北京市首要空气污染物,其排放控制是大气污染防治的重要内容,施工扬尘是北京市大气颗粒物的重要来源.由于人口增长及经济的发展,住宅及办公场地的需求不断增加,使得北京市房屋建筑施工面积居高不下,建筑施工扬尘污染受到越来越多的关注,但有关量化施工扬尘排放量及其对北京市空气污染贡献的研究相对较少.本文建立一套建筑施工扬尘排放量的估算方法,采用本地化排放因子估算了北京市2000~2015年建筑施工扬尘排放量,识别施工扬尘的排放特征和规律,并定量了排放量的不确定性范围.采用WRF/CMAQ模式系统模拟量化建筑施工扬尘对空气质量的影响,提出施工扬尘污染控制对策和建议,为环境决策提供参考.结果表明,多年来北京市建筑施工扬尘排放量呈波浪式上升,近年来施工面积有所回落,但仍处于高位,颗粒物排放量仍然较大,需要引起足够的重视;在时间分布上,夏季和秋季的施工扬尘排放量较大,在空间分布上,施工扬尘主要集中在城市功能拓展区和近郊区,与人类活动的外延和城镇化的逐步向外发展有关.建筑施工扬尘对全市环境空气中PM_(10)和PM2.5浓度贡献可达31.3μg·m~(-3)和9.6μg·m~(-3).通过污染控制情景设置和分析,本研究认为要使2030年施工扬尘排放得到较好地削减,应执行更加严格的绿色施工管理规程和加强施工环境监管.     

下垫面高度梯度对城市灰尘分布特性及其重金属污染的影响

下垫面高度梯度对城市颗粒污染物的地球化学循环有重要的影响,不同高度下垫面上累积的灰尘可能对城市地表径流与大气颗粒物污染有重要指示作用.本文以不同高度梯度的下垫面,如路面(0 m)、公交站台(3 m)、天桥(5 m)、楼顶(20 m)上的灰尘为研究对象,揭示高度梯度对灰尘颗粒物单位面积质量、粒径组成、重金属含量和粒径污染负荷比的影响.结果表明,随着高度梯度变化,不同下垫面上灰尘颗粒物的单位面积质量之间存在显著差异(p0.05):路面((33.0±27.1)g·m~(-2))楼顶((20.6±11.7)g·m~(-2))天桥((4.4±4.0)g·m~(-2))公交站台((2.3±1.4)g·m~(-2));高度梯度对细灰尘(粒径105μm)的质量比的影响为:公交站台(49.5%)楼顶(40.8%)路面(38.6%)天桥(37.6%);6种重金属在不同高度下垫面的含量不同,其中,Cr、Cu和Ni在公交站台含量最高,Cd和Pb在楼顶含量最高,6种金属(除Cu外)均在路面含量最低.细灰尘(105μm)所占颗粒物污染负荷比为:公交站台(67.4%)楼顶(49.6%)天桥(49.2%)路面(48.1%).临时性管控措施(限行、限产等)和常规性清扫(人工清扫和机械清扫)均能减少灰尘质量,使细灰尘质量比增加,重金属污染负荷有明显削减,但对城市管理来说,后者更经济实用.     

Online single particle measurement of fireworks pollution during Chinese New Year in Nanning

Time-resolved single-particle measurements were conducted during Chinese New Year in Nanning, China. Firework displays resulted in a burst of SO_2, coarse mode, and accumulation mode(100–500 nm) particles. Through single particle mass spectrometry analysis, five different types of particles(fireworks-metal, ash, dust, organic carbon-sulfate(OC-sulfate), biomass burning) with different size distributions were identified as primary emissions from firework displays. The fireworks-related particles accounted for more than70% of the total analyzed particles during severe firework detonations. The formation of secondary particulate sulfate and nitrate during firework events was investigated on single particle level. An increase of sulfite peak(80SO_3~-) followed by an increase of sulfate peaks(97HSO_4~-+ 96SO_4~-) in the mass spectra during firework displays indicated the aqueous uptake and oxidation of SO_2 on particles. High concentration of gaseous SO_2, high relative humidity and high particle loading likely promoted SO_2 oxidation. Secondary nitrate formed through gas-phase oxidation of NO_2 to nitric acid, followed by the condensation into particles as ammonium nitrate. This study shows that under worm, humid conditions, both primary and secondary aerosols contribute to the particulate air pollution during firework displays.