Mitigating Impact of Devils Lake Flooding on the Sheyenne River Sulfate Concentration

Devils Lake is a terminal lake located in northeast North Dakota. Because of its glacial origin and accumulated salts from evaporation, the lake has a high concentration of sulfate compared to the surrounding water bodies. From 1993 to 2011, Devils Lake water levels rose by ~10 m, which flooded surrounding communities and increased the chance of an overspill to the Sheyenne River. To control the flooding, the State of North Dakota constructed two outlets to pump the lake water to the river. However, the pumped water has raised concerns about of water quality degradation and potential flooding risk of the Sheyenne River. To investigate these perceived impacts, a Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was developed for the Sheyenne River and it was linked to a coupled SWAT and CE‐QUAL‐W2 model that was developed for Devils Lake in a previous study. While the current outlet schedule has attempted to maintain the total river discharge within the confines of a two‐year flood (36 m³/s), our simulation from 2012 to 2018 revealed that the diversion increased the Sheyenne River sulfate concentration from an average of 125 to >750 mg/L. Furthermore, a conceptual optimization model was developed with a goal of better preserving the water quality of the Sheyenne River while effectively mitigating the flooding of Devils Lake. The optimal solution provides a “win–win” outlet management that maintains the efficiency of the outlets while reducing the Sheyenne River sulfate concentration to ≤600 mg/L.     

Thermal decomposition mechanism of 65% lysine sulfate powder and its thermal stability based on thermal analysis

Lysine is widely used in the fields of food, medicine and feed, which generally appears in the form of lysine sulfate or lysine hydrochloride dust because of the high instability of the free L-lysine. The L-lysine Sulfate is in high risk of decomposition, spontaneous ignition and even the dust explosion, because the control temperature in its production process is high up to 90 °C. Thus, the thermal behaviors and its thermal stability of 65% lysine sulfate are experimentally explored in Air and Nitrogen using the simultaneous TG-DSC measurements. Results show: (1) the decomposition of 65% lysine sulfate can be divided into three stages both in the atmospheres of air and nitrogen, and most of the weight loss occurred in the first two stages, which are related with the decarboxylation and deamination process. (2) The effects of atmosphere on the decomposition of 65% lysine sulfate mainly occur at the third stage. In this stage, the weight loss in nitrogen is only 14.2%, which is much lower than that in air (34.3%), which is related to the oxidative degradation at high temperature. Besides, the active energy is slightly increased in nitrogen compared to that in air. (3) The initial temperatures of the decomposition of the 65% lysine sulfate are 145 °C and 155 °C, for the air and nitrogen atmosphere, respectively, which are much lower than that (260 °C) of the pure lysine.     

Fe(Ⅱ)/K2S2O8对水体中As(Ⅲ)的氧化研究

研究了Fe(Ⅱ)/K2S2O8对水体中As(Ⅲ)的氧化作用,以及pH值、Fe(Ⅱ)初始浓度等因素对氧化As(Ⅲ)的影响,并且采用分子探针法的竞争性实验鉴定了体系中产生的活性中间体,探讨了K2S2O8在Fe(Ⅱ)存在的条件下对As(Ⅲ)的氧化机理。     

Effects of seed aerosols on the growth of secondary organic aerosols from the photooxidation of toluene

Hydroxyl radical （.OH）-initiated photooxidation reaction of toluene was carried out in a self-made smog chamber. Four individual seed aerosols such as ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, sodium silicate and calcium chloride, were introduced into the chamber to assess their influence on the growth of secondary organic aerosols （SOA）. It was found that the low concentration of seed aerosols might lead to high concentration of SOA particles. Seed aerosols would promote rates of SOA formation at the start of the reaction and inhibit its formation rate with prolonging the reaction time. In the case of ca. 9000 pt/cm^3 seed aerosol load, the addition of sodium silicate induced a same effect on the SOA formation as ammonium nitrate. The influence of the four individual seed aerosols on the generation of SOA decreased in the order of calcium chloride〉sodium silicate and ammonium nitrate〉ammonium sulfate.     

Effect of sulfate on the methanogenic activity of a bacterial culture from a brewery wastewater during glucose degradation

The maximum specific methanogenic activity （SMA） of a sludge originating from a brewery wastewater treatment plant on the degradation of glucose was investigated at various levels of sulfate on a specific loading basis. Batch experiments were conducted in serum bottles at pH 7 and 35℃. A comparison of the values indicates that the SMA of this mixed culture was increased and reached its highest level of 0.128 g CH4 gas COD/（g VSS.d） when biomass was in contact with sulfate at a ratio of 1：0.114 by weight.     

Removal of arsenic from wastewater using iron compound: Comparing two different types of adsorbents in the context of LCA

A study was carried out in order to compare the environmental performance of two different types of adsorbents in removing arsenic (As) from wastewater. A FeCl₃-based adsorbent and a poly-Fe-based adsorbent were first synthesized and their abilities in adsorbing As from wastewater were investigated in terms of the adsorption density and the rate of adsorption. Here, it should be noted that the main material being used in the synthesis of the poly-Fe-based adsorbent was a waste product, known as polyferric sulfate or poly-Fe in short, which exits the manufacturing process of titanium dioxide.Both adsorbents were then compared in the context of life-cycle assessment (LCA). In other words, the experimental results (i.e. the value of the adsorption density and the rate of adsorption) were input into the LCA model in order to assess the environmental performance of each adsorbent in removing arsenic. An estimate for the environmental burden of each option was finally calculated as the sum of the depletion of abiotic resources (ADP), the global warming potential (GWP), the acidification potential (AP), the photo-oxidant formation potential (POCP), the eutrophication potential (EP), and the human toxicity potential (HTP). The main finding of this study was that the adsorption of arsenic by using the poly-Fe-based adsorbent is more attractive treatment option in the environmental protection point of view than the adsorption by using the FeCl₃-based adsorbent, which generates a relatively larger environmental burden.     

壳聚糖衍生物-镁盐复配去除中性兰模拟废水色度的研究

研究了有机高分子絮凝剂NCTS-M对中性兰染料的絮凝性能。通过测量絮体的Zeta电位以及对絮体进行彩色电视显微扫描初步探讨了该絮凝过程的絮凝机理。结果表明,当投加量为30 mg/L,pH=6时,絮凝效果最明显,脱色率可达93.1%。其絮凝机理主要是压缩双电层以及高分子吸附架桥作用,以压缩双电层为基础。絮凝剂中镁离子在中性条件下对絮凝过程也起到了较强的助凝作用。     

聚硅酸锌铝的制备及其性能研究

以硅酸钠、硫酸锌、硫酸铝为原料,通过共聚法制备了无机高分子絮凝剂聚硅酸锌铝（PSZAS）,研究了Na₂SiO₃的摩尔浓度、活化时间、Al/Si、Zn/Si 配比及絮凝剂的投加量对絮凝效果的影响,用X-射线衍射（XRD）和电子扫描电镜（SEM）对该絮凝剂的结构及形貌进行了表征。结果表明：当硅酸钠的浓度为0.4 mol/L,硅酸活化时间为2 h,Si∶Al∶Zn=1∶1∶1.5,絮凝剂投加量为20 mL/L废水时,絮凝剂的电中和能力和吸附架桥能力最强,絮凝剂对含H-酸染料模拟废水的絮凝效果最好。     

用电解锰阳极泥和含SO_2工业尾气制备硫酸锰

以电解锰阳极泥与电解锌生产中产生的含SO_2尾气为原料,经过反应、浸出、浸出液两次净化和浓缩结晶制备硫酸锰,考察了反应时间、含SO_2尾气的流量及反应温度对Mn~(4+)转化率的影响.实验结果表明:在反应时间45 min、反应温度20～30 ℃、含SO_2尾气流量16 L/min的条件下,Mn~(4+)转化率达90%以上;尾气中SO_2利用率随尾气流量增加而降低;所得MnSO_4·H_2O产品质量达到GB1622-86<工业级硫酸锰标准>.     

Matrix based fertilizers reduce nitrogen and phosphorus leaching in three soils

We compared the efficacy of matrix based fertilizers (MBFs) formulated to reduce NO3-, NH4+, and total phosphorus (TP) leaching, with Osmocoate 14-14-14, a conventional commercial slow release fertilizer (SRF) and an unamended control in three different soil textures in a greenhouse column study. The MBFs covered a range of inorganic N and P in compounds that are relatively loosely bound (MBF 1) to more moderately bound (MBF 2) and more tightly bound compounds (MBF 3) mixed with Al(SO4)3H2O and/or Fe2(SO4)3 and with high ionic exchange compounds starch, chitosan and lignin. When N and P are released, the chemicals containing these nutrients in the MBF bind N and P to a Al(SO4)3H2O and/or Fe2(SO4)3 starch-chitosan-lignin matrix. One milligram (8000 spores) of Glomus intradices was added to all formulations to enhance nutrient uptake. In all three soil textures the SRF leachate contained a higher amount of NH4+, NO3- and TP than leachate from all other fertilizers. In all three soils there were no consistent differences in the amount of NH4+, NO3- and TP in the MBF leachates compared to the control leachate. Plants growing in soils receiving SRF had greater shoot, root and total biomass than all MBFs regardless of Al(SO4)3H2O or Fe2(SO4)3 additions. Arbuscular mycorrhizal infection in plant roots did not consistently differ among plants growing in soil receiving SRF, MBFs and control treatments. Although the MBFs resulted in less plant growth in this experiment they may be applied to soils growing plants in areas that are at high risk for nutrient leaching to surface waters.