锰矿区土-水界面污染流中重金属来源分析

基于对湘潭锰矿红旗矿区土-水界面重金属污染流的采样分析,通过相关性和主成分分析法,研究了锰矿区土-水界面重金属污染流中的锰、镍、铜、锌、镉、铅重金属的来源以及同源性。结果表明:6种重金属的差异性、离散程度、变异性较大;锰—镍、锰—锌、锰—镉、锰—铅、镍—锌、铜—锌、铜—铅、锌—镉、锌—铅、铅—镉呈极显著正相关,镍与锰以外的其他重金属相关性都较低;3个主成分的贡献率分别为58.300%、16.628%、11.115%,累积贡献率达到了81.543%,并且6种重金属在主成分1的载荷非常高。结合矿区的周边环境和自身特点,表明6种重金属的主要共同来源为矿区内的矿业活动,并且工业活动、交通运输、农业活动等也对矿区造成了一定程度的重金属污染。     

倾角和循环流量对平板型光催化反应器性能的影响

考察了平板倾角和循环流量对平板反应器流动特性和性能的影响 ,并讨论了以太阳光为辐射光源时平板型反应器的最佳倾角问题 .研究表明 ,平板上液体体积 (V)和水膜厚度 (b)与倾角 (β)、循环流量 (Q)分别存在定量关系 .入射辐射条件相同时 ,在悬浮催化剂体系中 ,平板倾角越小 ,循环流量越大 ,反应器性能越高 ;在固定催化剂体系中 ,平板反应器 (长 1m,宽 0.48m)的性能最佳时的循环流量为 500L/h、倾角为 10°,相应雷诺数为 286.无论在悬浮催化剂还是固定催化剂体系中 ,周期性地辐射能提高反应速率 .     

Two decades,three WEEE systems: How far did EPR evolve in Korea's resource circulation policy?

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) has become a dominant policy paradigm for the management of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in the last two decades. In South Korea the principle has guided the evolution of the resource circulation policy even before its official introduction through a revision of the recycling law in 2002. Elements of producer responsibilities could be found in the producer-based deposit refund system (DRS) a decade earlier and they were strengthened through the enactment of a new resource circulation law in 2008. This article reviews the policy changes in South Korea for the management of WEEE during the past 20 years. The focus of the analysis is on the impacts of EPR and the producers’ responses that were expressed through the quantity and the quality of material flows in the society. The findings are discussed in light of international experiences in order to outline measures to improve the effectiveness of the EPR-based resource circulation policy that could have broader implications beyond the case study.     

Life-cycle phosphorus use efficiency of the farming system in Anhui Province,Central China

The rapid increase of phosphorus (P) use in farming has raised concerns regarding its conservation and environmental impact. Increasing the P use efficiency (PUE) is an approach to mitigating these adverse impacts. In this study, we applied substance flow analysis (SFA) to establish a life-cycle P use efficiency model to determine the life-cycle PUE of the farming system used in Anhui Province in 2011, which is typical of the agriculture practiced in central China. Based on this model, the P flows and PUEs of five subsystems were identified and quantified: crop farming, crop processing, livestock breeding, rural living, and urban living. The three largest P flows were found in the crop farming and livestock breeding subsystems; it can therefore be concluded that these subsystems have substantial impacts on the entire farming system. In contrast, the PUEs of crop farming, rural consumption, and livestock breeding subsystems presented the three lowest PUEs (58.79%, 71.75%, and 76.65%, respectively). These results were also consistent with the finding that the greatest P losses occurred in crop farming and livestock breeding. Consequently, the study proposes that great potential exists for increasing PUEs in the farming system of Anhui, and several of the most promising measures could be combined for improving PUEs. Finally, the study assesses data quality and presents a sensitivity analysis for use in interpreting the results. The study also shows that improving PUE and decreasing P losses in farming systems through improved nutrient management must be considered an important issue, and this study represents valuable experience in resource conservation and agricultural development in China.     

Material flow analysis of lubricating oil use in California

Petroleum lubricating oils, used throughout the economy, are distinct among petroleum products in their capacity to be recovered and recycled at the end of their useful life. Used lubricating oil is regulated at the state and federal level because of concerns about environmental impacts arising from improper disposal, although rates of recovery are not known. We present a material flow analysis of lubricants through California's economy in the years 2007–2012. We introduce a novel technique for computing aggregate waste generation from a collection of hazardous waste manifest records, and apply it in order to determine a recovery rate for used oil and to estimate the quantity of oil managed informally in the state. The records also offer a detailed view of the fate of used oils after they are recovered. We find that around 62% of lubricants are recoverable at end of life, of which 70–80% is being recovered. This rate shows a slight downward trend. If the trend is accurate, measures should be taken to improve the performance of the used oil management system. Policy opportunities exist to reduce the quantity of oil managed informally through improving access to responsible used oil management methods. These include increasing the collection of used oil from industrial sources as well as “do it yourself” oil changes, expanding in-state reprocessing capacity, and promoting increased out-of-state reprocessing of used oil. Our methods introduce new possibilities to make use of direct observation in material flow analysis, potentially improving data availability and quality and increasing the relevance of material flow methods in policy applications.     

Dairy washwater treatment using a horizontal flow biofilm system

In Ireland, dairy farmyard washwater commonly comprises farmyard run-off and dairy parlour washings. Land-spreading is the most widely used method for treating this wastewater. However, this method can be labour intensive and can cause, in some cases, the degradation of surface and ground waters, mainly due to nitrogen contamination. In this study, a horizontal flow biofilm reactor (HFBR) with step-feed was constructed and tested in the laboratory, to remove organic carbon and nitrogen from a agricultural strength synthetic washwater (SWW). The HFBR had an average top plan surface area (TPSA) of 0.1002 m(2) and consisted of a stack of 45 polystyrene horizontal sheets--15 sheets embedded with 25 mm deep frustums above 30 sheets with 10 mm deep frustums. The frustums acted as miniature reservoirs. The sheets were alternately offset to allow the wastewater to flow horizontally along each sheet and vertically from sheet to sheet down through the reactor. Biofilms developed on the sheets and treated the wastewater. During the 212-d study, the total hydraulic loading rate based on the TPSA of the sheets was 35 l m(-2) d(-1). SWW was pumped for 10 min each hour, in a step feed arrangement at a rate of 23.33 l m(-2) d(-1) on to the top sheet during Phases 1 and 2, and 11.67 l m(-2) d(-1) onto Sheet 16 during Phase 1 (days 1-92) and onto Sheet 30 during Phase 2 (days 93-212). The substrate loading rate during Phases 1 and 2 was 94.8 g total chemical oxygen demand (COD) m(-2) d(-1) and 10.5 g total nitrogen (TN) m(-2) d(-1), based on the TPSA. At steady state in Phase 2, the unit achieved excellent carbon removal of 99.7% 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD(5)) and 96.7% total COD, equivalent to TPSA removal rates of 67.5 g BOD(5)m(-2)d(-1) and 91.7 g COD m(-2) d(-1). The nitrogen removal percentages were 98.3% total ammonium-nitrogen (NH(4)-N(t)) and 72.8% TN, which equated to TPSA removal rates of 4.8 g NH(4)-N(t) m(-2) d(-1) and 7.6g TN m(-2) d(-1). No sloughing of solids or clogging of media occurred during the study. The unit was simple to construct and operate, with little maintenance.     

Measuring bed shear stress along vegetated river beds using FST-hemispheres

The measurement of the bed shear stress along vegetated river beds is essential for accurately predicting the water level, velocity and solute and sediment transport fluxes in computational hydroenvironmental models. Details are given herein of an experimental and theoretical study to determine the bed boundary shear stress along vegetated river beds introducing a novel field measuring method, namely the FliessWasserStammtisch (FST)-hemispheres. Although investigations have been conducted previously for sedimentary channels using the FST-hemispheres, this preliminary study is thought to be the first time that such hemispheres have been used to investigate the bed shear stresses in vegetated channels. FST-hemispheres were first developed by Statzner and Müller [1989. Standard hemispheres as indicators of flow characteristics in lotic benthos research. Freshwater Biology 21, 445-459] to act as an integrated indicator of the gross hydrodynamic stresses present near the bed. Test and validation data were found to be at least of the same order of magnitude for the stresses predicted from literature for sedimentary channels, with this study establishing the commencement of a database of calibrated FST-hemisphere laboratory data for vegetated channel beds. In a series of experiments, depths ranging from 0.1 to 0.28m were considered, equating directly to comparable conditions in small rivers or streams. The results of this study provide a basis for enabling the FST-hemispheres to be used to evaluate the boundary shear stress for a wider range of applications in the future, including vegetated river beds.     

An approach to optimise nutrient management in environmental sanitation systems despite limited data

The material flow analysis method can be used to assess the impact of environmental sanitation systems on resource consumption and environmental pollution. However, given the limited access to reliable data, application of this data-intensive method in developing countries may be difficult. This paper presents an approach allowing to develop material flow models despite limited data availability. Application of an iterative procedure is of key importance: model parameter values should first be assessed on the basis of a literature review and by eliciting expert judgement. If model outputs are not plausible, sensitive input parameters should be reassessed more accurately. Moreover, model parameters can be expressed as probability distributions and variable uncertainty estimated by using Monte Carlo simulation. The impact of environmental sanitation systems on the phosphorus load discharged into surface water in Hanoi, Vietnam, is simulated by applying the proposed approach.     

Sustainability, substance flow management and time. Part I Temporal analysis of substance flows

Flows of chemical substances need to be managed in a sustainable way. Sustainable development as a whole and the sustainable management of substance flows in particular are both time issues. These include the importance of the dynamics of substance flows and the way these interconnect with the use of resources, the avoidance of environmental pollution, and their effects on health and food production. Another prerequisite for the proper management of substance flows is justice within and between generations. This requires a systematic approach and a systematic analysis of the issues as well as of the actions to be taken. One tool for such a systematic approach is temporal analysis. It brings the temporal aspects of the substances themselves and of their intended use, as well as factors affecting the stakeholders, such as decision makers, producers and consumers, into focus. In the past, timing factors were rarely taken into account. Knowledge of the temporal dynamics of substance flows and their resultant outcomes, as well as of their interaction with ecological, economic and social systems, is a basic requirement for successful substance flow management. The need to include temporal aspects into substance flow management and how to do so is outlined here. Included are not only politicians but also practitioners and scientists who must explicitly take into account adequate time scales, points in time, breaks and other forms of time in planning and acting.     

Effects of Flow Augmentations in the Snake River Basin on Farms Profitability1

Abstract: For over 10 years, several species of salmon have been identified as either threatened or endangered in the Snake River Basin of Idaho. The United States Bureau of Reclamation, in cooperation with the National Marine Fisheries Service, has proposed a variety of plans to increase stream flows in the Snake River Basin to facilitate movement by juvenile salmon smolts to the ocean. This research examines two of the flow augmentation plans proposed by the Bureau of Reclamation as well as two alternative plans, one founded purely on existing priority‐based water rights and another geared toward minimizing the effects of flow augmentations on farms profitability. Results from a basin‐wide model of agricultural production in the Snake River Basin, the Snake River Agricultural Model, present evidence that (1) older water rights are used towards production of less valuable crops, (2) flow augmentation scenarios have unequal effects on farms profitability across agricultural regions within the basin, and (3) irrigation water is valued from US$4 to US$59 an acre‐foot.