Environmental impact of sunscreen nanomaterials: ecotoxicity and genotoxicity of altered TiO2 nanocomposites on Vicia faba

Mineral sunscreen nanocomposites, based on a nano-TiO₂ core, coated with aluminium hydroxide and dimethicone films, were submitted to an artificial ageing process. The resulting Altered TiO₂ Nanocomposites (ATN) were then tested in the liquid phase on the plant model Vicia faba, which was exposed 48 h to three nominal concentrations: 5, 25 and 50 mg ATN/L. Plant growth, photosystem II maximum quantum yield, genotoxicity (micronucleus test) and phytochelatins levels showed no change compared to controls. Oxidative stress biomarkers remained unchanged in shoots while in roots, glutathione reductase activity decreased at 50 mg ATN/L and ascorbate peroxidase activity decreased for 5 and 25 mg ATN/L. Nevertheless, despite the weak response of biological endpoints, ICP-MS measurements revealed high Ti and Al concentrations in roots, and X-ray fluorescence micro-spectroscopy revealed titanium internalization in superficial root tissues. Eventual long-term effects on plants may occur.     

以清洁生产理念促进我国钛白粉产业的发展

介绍了我国钛白粉产业的现状,阐述了钛白粉产业清洁生产的重要性,分析了影响我国钛白粉产业可持续发展的问题及原因.指出施行清洁生产对钛白粉产业加快技术进步、调整产业结构、促进产业升级具有重要意义.     

可见光活性纳米TiO2光催化涂料的抗菌性能研究

基于过渡金属离子掺杂技术,制备了在室内光辐照条件下具有良好光催化抗菌性能的可见光响应型铁掺杂TiO2光催化涂料.研究结果表明,在可见光活性光催化涂料中添加1%的纳米TiO2时,抗菌效果最好,光照24 h后对大肠杆菌、白色念珠球菌、黑曲霉的杀菌率分别达到99.9%、97.2%、82%.采用致孔剂聚乙二醇6 000对光催化...     

炼化企业SO2减排潜力分析

介绍了炼化企业的SO2排放源,建立了自备电厂SO2减排量数学模型,研究了SO2减排量对各影响因素的敏感度,分析了炼化企业SO2减排潜力.自备电厂燃煤锅炉SO2减排措施包括:增设脱硫设施,改进现有脱硫工艺,提高脱硫效率;关停小机组;降低燃料中硫含量.生产过程中催化裂化催化剂再生烟气的脱硫减排措施包括:降低原料硫含量;使用...     

Soil gas (²²²Rn, CO₂, ⁴He) behaviour over a natural CO₂ accumulation, Montmiral area (Drôme, France): geographical, geological and temporal relationships

The south east basin of France shelters deep CO₂ reservoirs often studied with the aim of better constraining geological CO₂ storage operations. Here we present new soil gas data, completing an existing dataset (CO₂, ²²²Rn, ⁴He), together with mineralogical and physical characterisations of soil columns, in an attempt to better understand the spatial distribution of gas concentrations in the soils and to rule on the sealed character of the CO₂ reservoir at present time.Anomalous gas concentrations were found but did not appear to be clearly related to geological structures that may drain deep gases up to the surface, implying a dominant influence of near surface processes as indicated by carbon isotope ratios. Coarse grained, quartz-rich soils favoured the existence of high CO₂ concentrations. Fine grained clayey soils preferentially favoured the existence of ²²²Rn but not CO₂. Soil formations did not act as barriers preventing gas migrations in soils, either due to water content or due to mineralogical composition. No abundant leakage from the Montmiral reservoir can be highlighted by the measurements, even near the exploitation well. As good correlation between CO₂ and ²²²Rn concentrations still exist, it is suggested that ²²²Rn migration is also CO₂ dependent in non-leaking areas - diffusion dominated systems.     

Combined effects of titanium dioxide and humic acid on the bioaccumulation of cadmium in Zebrafish

The combined effects of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles and humic acid (HA) on the bioaccumulation of cadmium (Cd) in Zebrafish were investigated. Experimental data on the equilibrium Cd bioaccumulation suggest that only the dissolved Cd effectively contributed to Cd bioaccumulation in HA solutions whereas both the dissolved and TiO₂ associated Cd were accumulated in TiO₂ or the mixture of HA and TiO₂ solutions, due likely to the additional intestine uptake of the TiO₂-bound Cd. The equilibrium Cd bioaccumulation in the mixed system was comparable to that in the corresponding HA solutions, and significantly lower than that in the corresponding TiO₂ solutions (n = 3, p < 0.05). The presence of either HA or TiO₂ (5-20 mg L⁻¹) in water slightly increased the uptake rate constants of Cd bioaccumulation whereas combining HA and TiO₂ reduced the uptake rate constants.     

Reduced ozone by air filtration consistently improved grain yield in wheat

This study considered effects of reduced [O₃] on wheat yield. Open-top chamber charcoal filtered air treatments were compared with non-filtered treatments for field-grown wheat. 30 experiments meeting requirements were found, representing nine countries in North America, Europe and Asia. 26 experiments reported improved yield and 4 experiments reduced yield by filtration, a significant positive effect. Average yield improvement was 9%. Average daytime [O₃] was reduced by filtration from 35 to 13 nmol mol⁻¹. Filtration efficiency was 63% for O₃ and 56% for SO₂. For NO_x it was observed that NO₂ was reduced and NO increased by filtration. Thus, filters convert NO₂ to NO. Most experiments reported low or very low [SO₂] and [NO_x]. Thus, O₃ can be concluded to be the main phytotoxic component in the experiments. Elevated [NO₂] was observed in one experiment. The conclusion is that current [O₃] over large parts of the world adversely affect wheat yield.     

Analysis of Long-term Measurements of Airborne Concentrations of Sulphur Dioxide and SO42- in the Rural United Kingdom

During the last two decades, the importance of sulphur dioxide as a pollutant has moved away from its association with suspended particulate matter, to it being a precursor of SO ₄ ^2- aerosol (acidic e.g. sulphuric acid, or neutralised e.g. ammonium sulphate). Co-located concentration data of sulphur dioxide and SO ₄ ^2- , at nine monitoring sites situated in predominantly rural areas in the United Kingdom, collected over the time period 1979–1995, have been analysed. The time series for both species are discussed for the sites. Further analysis has shown that there is a degree of correlation between sulphur dioxide and SO ₄ ^2- for most of the sites considered. This correlation is of approximately the same level for most of the sites taken independently and together, and in most cases the slopes and intercepts associated with the simple empirical model equations arising from the correlation analysis, are of the same order of magnitude. The implementation of these site-dependent model equations within dispersion models for the prediction of the concentration of airborne sulphate aerosol from knowledge of sulphur dioxide concentration is discussed. Furthermore, the correlation analysis revealed the influence of transported sulphate aerosol on the local concentration, especially during high concentration episodes.     

Historical Analysis of SO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Pollution Control Policies in China

Coal is not only an important energy source in China but also a major source of air pollution. Because of this, China’s national sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions have been the highest in the world for many years, and since the 1990s, the territory of China’s south and southwest has become the third largest acid-rain-prone region in the world. In order to control SO₂ emissions, the Chinese government has formulated and promulgated a series of policies and regulations, but it faces great difficulties in putting them into practice. In this retrospective look at the history of SO₂ control in China, we found that Chinese SO₂ control policies have become increasingly strict and rigid. We also found that the environmental policies and regulations are more effective when central officials consistently give environmental protection top priority. Achieving China’s environmental goals, however, has been made difficult by China’s economic growth. Part of this is due to the practice of environmental protection appearing in the form of an ideological “campaign” or “storm” that lacks effective economic measures. More recently, better enforcement of environmental laws and regulations has been achieved by adding environmental quality to the performance assessment metrics for leaders at all levels. To continue making advances, China needs to reinforce the economic and environmental assessments for pollution control projects and work harder to integrate economic measures into environmental protection. Nonetheless, China has a long way to go before economic growth and environmental protection are balanced.     

Stability of titania nanoparticles in soil suspensions and transport in saturated homogeneous soil columns

The stability of TiO₂ nanoparticles in soil suspensions and their transport behavior through saturated homogeneous soil columns were studied. The results showed that TiO₂ could remain suspended in soil suspensions even after settling for 10 days. The suspended TiO₂ contents in soil suspensions after 24 h were positively correlated with the dissolved organic carbon and clay content of the soils, but were negatively correlated with ionic strength, pH and zeta potential. In soils containing soil particles of relatively large diameters and lower solution ionic strengths, a significant portion of the TiO₂ (18.8-83.0%) readily passed through the soils columns, while TiO₂ was significantly retained by soils with higher clay contents and salinity. TiO₂ aggregate sizes in the column outflow significantly increased after passing through the soil columns. The estimated transport distances of TiO₂ in some soils ranged from 41.3 to 370 cm, indicating potential environmental risk of TiO₂ nanoparticles to deep soil layers.