Combustion-derived substances in deep basins of Puget Sound: historical inputs from fossil fuel and biomass combustion

Reconstructions of 250 years historical inputs of two distinct types of black carbon (soot/graphitic black carbon (GBC) and char-BC) were conducted on sediment cores from two basins of the Puget Sound, WA. Signatures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were also used to support the historical reconstructions of BC to this system. Down-core maxima in GBC and combustion-derived PAHs occurred in the 1940s in the cores from the Puget Sound Main Basin, whereas in Hood Canal such peak was observed in the 1970s, showing basin-specific differences in inputs of combustion byproducts. This system showed relatively higher inputs from softwood combustion than the northeastern U.S. The historical variations in char-BC concentrations were consistent with shifts in climate indices, suggesting an influence of climate oscillations on wildfire events. Environmental loading of combustion byproducts thus appears as a complex function of urbanization, fuel usage, combustion technology, environmental policies, and climate conditions.     

Modifications of black carbons and their influence on pyrene sorption

Sorption of pyrene on black carbons (BCs) obtained by heating sawdust at two temperatures (400 and 700 °C, denoted as 400BC and 700BC, respectively), as well as on modified BCs (via oxidation, oximation, and hydrolysis) was studied to investigate the role of BC structural characteristics in sorption of hydrophobic organic compounds. Pyrene was bound strongly by 700BC and 400BC, with organic carbon normalized distribution coefficients (K_oc) of 10^5.04-10^5.86 and 10^4.65-10^5.16, respectively, at equilibrium pyrene concentrations of 10-100 μg L⁻¹. Both chemical composition and pore distribution of the two BCs changed after modifications, which led to changes in their sorption characteristics for pyrene. After modifications, the linearity of pyrene sorption isotherm increased for 700BC but decreased for 400BC. For 700BC, both oxidation and oximation reduced pyrene sorption, with K_oc decreasing by 69.1-73.7% and 18.7-33.9%, respectively, whereas hydrolysis did not exert a significant influence. For 400BC, oxidation and hydrolysis reduced K_oc by 2.28-25.9% and 29.2-33.9%, respectively, while oximation increased K_oc. In most cases, the change in sorption capacity could be explained by the changes in C content and type, polarity, surface area, and micropore volume of the BCs; however, the role of conformation (the accessibility to sorption sites) could not be ignored.     

给水曝气生物滤池内置粉末活性炭复合净水效果的研究

在给水曝气生物滤池内置粉末活性炭,对比分析其对各工艺单元水质净化效果的影响,确定给水曝气生物滤池内置粉末活性炭的作用与最佳投加量,研究表明,给水曝气生物滤池将活性炭截留在滤池内,大幅度提高了粉末活性炭利用率,部分未饱和粉末活性炭通过反冲洗排入后续常规处理系统,作为生物载体仍能够进一步发挥生物强化作用。当粉末活性炭的投加量为8 mg/L时,砂滤出水氨氮、CODMn、浊度和色度均值分别为：0.02 mg/L,1.82 mg/L0,.46 NTU和6度,去除率分别达到99.6%、71.2%、99.1%和80.6%,出水指标达到《生活饮用水卫生标准（》GB5749-2006）和《饮用净水水质标准（》CJ94-2005）规定的标准。与常规工艺相比,投加量降低了20%～60%。     

PVA降解混合菌系生长和产酶的营养条件分析

研究碳源、氮源以及不同金属离子对PVA降解混合菌系生长和产酶的影响。结果表明,混合菌系生长过程中无机氮源优于有机氮源;补充碳源可促进混合菌系的生长,但酶活比不添加时稍有降低。金属离子对酶活影响的正交实验表明Mg2＋浓度影响最大,其次是Fe2＋和K＋浓度,Ca2＋、Mn2＋、Zn2＋和Cu2＋浓度影响较小;最佳浓度分别为Mg2＋0.05 g/L、Fe2＋0.04 g/L、K＋2 g/L和Ca2＋0.05 g/L。     

活性炭纤维(ACF)应用于有机废气回收和净化的进展

活性炭纤维(ACF)有比普通活性炭吸附量大、吸附和脱附速度快等优点,因此应用于有机废气的回收和净化,具有良好的经济、环境和社会效益。文中介绍了ACF的微观结构、表面化学以及吸附性能,并综述了近年来ACF在有机废气回收和治理方面的国内概况。     

光催化还原CO2的研究进展

介绍了多种将CO2转化为化工产品的光催化还原体系,包括TiO2体系、金属修饰的TiO2体系、有机光敏化剂修饰的TiO2体系和其他光敏半导体材料体系.评述了不同光催化体系的特点及其催化性能.讨论了光源波长、反应温度、CO2压力和浓度、H2O和CO2摩尔比等实验条件对反应产物种类及其产量的影响,指出催化剂的活性、光源波长和...     

我国林业碳汇市场供需研究——以广东长隆碳汇造林项目为例

广东长隆碳汇造林项目作为我国首个获得国家发展和改革委员会签发的林业温室气体自愿减排(CCER)项目,对于我国林业碳汇参与应对气候变化具有重要的示范意义。本文对广东长隆碳汇造林项目进行了成本收益分析,发现林业碳汇交易价格被远远低估,从而使该项目不具备经济上的可复制性。为探究交易价格被低估的原因,本文考察了林业碳汇市场的供需关系,发现目前碳交易市场对林业碳汇CCER需求不足仅是表象,供需错配才是实质。首先,从需求侧来看,广东省碳排放配额设置过于宽松,缺乏林业碳汇CCER的接纳能力;其次,就供给侧而言,CCER的交易成本很高,且项目申报要求业主为企业法人,这严重限制了林业碳汇CCER的有效供给。鉴于以上问题,本文提出应同时从林业碳汇CCER的需求侧和供给侧着手改革。就需求侧而言,收紧广东省碳排放配额总量,并将林业碳汇CCER交易由补充机制改为配额管理。就供给侧而言,可以结合广东省推进林业碳普惠制度,将项目申报主体和交易主体放宽到独立法人和个人,广泛吸收民间资本、培育大型林业企业开展碳汇造林项目;降低碳汇项目进入门槛,根据省情制定方法学,简化签批手续。     

Quantifying the environmental impact of ecovillages and co-housing communities: a systematic literature review

Many intentional communities worldwide, such as ecovillages and co-housing communities, have explicit goals of living in an environmentally sustainable manner, and are taking conscious steps towards these goals in response to the widely discussed unsustainability of the global sociotechnical system. There are numerous claims from researchers and community members, in the academic and grey literature, that intentional communities are making significant improvements towards sustainability goals, particularly in terms of environmental impact. However, actual measures of progress, with evidence supporting these claims, are relatively scarce. This paper presents the findings of a systematic review of quantitative studies of the environmental impact of intentional communities, including comparisons with relevant “mainstream” communities. The review focused on the two indicators that are most commonly reported in studies of the impact of intentional communities – the ecological footprint and the carbon footprint. This review was undertaken as there is a lack of literature reviews that comprehensively compile existing quantitative studies about intentional communities. In total, the review identified 16 separate studies covering 23 communities and 30 footprint measurements, with publication dates ranging from 2000 to 2014. This is a greater number of studies than in any other literature review of this topic. Taken as a whole, these compiled studies provide strong support for claims of greater environmental sustainability within these communities, and reinforce the need for greater research and exploration of the role sustainability-oriented intentional communities can play in the transition to more sustainable sociotechnical systems.     

DOC removal paradigms in highly humic aquatic ecosystems

Background, aim, and scope  Dissolved humic substances (HS) usually comprise 50–80% of the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in aquatic ecosystems. From a trophic and biogeochemical perspective, HS has been considered to be highly refractory and is supposed to accumulate in the water. The upsurge of the microbial loop paradigm and the studies on HS photo-degradation into labile DOC gave rise to the belief that microbial processing of DOC should sustain aquatic food webs in humic waters. However, this has not been extensively supported by the literature, since most HS and their photo-products are often oxidized by microbes through respiration in most nutrient-poor humic waters. Here, we review basic concepts, classical studies, and recent data on bacterial and photo-degradation of DOC, comparing the rates of these processes in highly humic ecosystems and other aquatic ecosystems. Materials and methods  We based our review on classical and recent findings from the fields of biogeochemistry and microbial ecology, highlighting some odd results from highly humic Brazilian tropical lagoons, which can reach up to 160 mg C L⁻¹. Results and discussion  Highly humic tropical lagoons showed proportionally lower bacterial production rates and higher bacterial respiration rates (i.e., lower bacterial growth efficiency) than other lakes. Zooplankton showed similar δ¹³C to microalgae but not to humic DOC in these highly humic lagoons. Thus, the data reviewed here do not support the microbial loop as an efficient matter transfer pathway in highly humic ecosystems, where it is supposed to play its major role. In addition, we found that some tropical humic ecosystems presented the highest potential DOC photo-chemical mineralization (PM) rates reported in the literature, exceeding up to threefold the rates reported for temperate humic ecosystems. We propose that these atypically high PM rates are the result of a joint effect of the seasonal dynamics of allochthonous humic DOC input to these ecosystems and the high sunlight incidence throughout the year. The sunlight action on DOC is positive to microbial consumption in these highly humic lagoons, but little support is given to the enhancement of bacterial growth efficiency, since the labile photo-chemical products are mostly respired by microbes in the nutrient-poor humic waters. Conclusions  HS may be an important source of energy for aquatic bacteria in humic waters, but it is probably not as important as a substrate to bacterial growth and to aquatic food webs, since HS consumption is mostly channeled through microbial respiration. This especially seems to be the case of humic-rich, nutrient-poor ecosystems, where the microbial loop was supposed to play its major role. Highly humic ecosystems also present the highest PM rates reported in the literature. Finally, light and bacteria can cooperate in order to enhance total carbon degradation in highly humic aquatic ecosystems but with limited effects on aquatic food webs. Recommendations and perspectives  More detailed studies using C- and N-stable isotope techniques and modeling approaches are needed to better understand the actual importance of HS to carbon cycling in highly humic waters.