Biodegradation of Polycaprolactone Powders Proposed as Reference Test Materials for International Standard of Biodegradation Evaluation Method

Polycaprolactone (PCL) powders were prepared from PCL pellets using a rotation mechanical mixer. PCL powders were separated by sieves with 60 and 120 meshes into four classes; 0–125 μm, 125–250 μm, 0–250 μm and 250–500 μm. Biodegradation tests of PCL powders and cellulose powders in an aqueous solution at 25°C were performed using the coulometer according to ISO 14851. Biodegradation tests of PCL powders and cellulose powders in controlled compost at 58°C were performed by the Mitsui Chemical Analysis and Consulting Service, Inc. according to ISO 14855-1 and by using the Microbial Oxidative Degradation Analyzer (MODA) instrument according to ISO/DIS 14855-2. PCL powders were faster biodegraded than cellulose powders. The reproducibility of biodegradation of PCL powders is excellent. Differences in the biodegradation of PCL powders with different class were not observed by the ISO 14851 and ISO/DIS 14855-2. An enzymatic degradation test of PCL powders with different class was studied using an enzyme of Amano Lipase PS. PCL with smaller particle size was faster degraded by the enzyme. PCL powders with regulated sizes from 125 μm to 250 μm are proposed as a reference material for the biodegradation test.     

THE FATE OF NITRATE IN LAKE SEDIMENT COLUMNS1

ABSTRACT: To investigate the magnitude of denitrification and assimilatory nitrate reduction as these reactions relate to the fate of nitrate reaching sediments via groundwater seepage, undisturbed core samples of sediments (40 cm length) from two lakes (Mendota and Tomahawk) were leached from the bottom (at 1.4 cm/day) with a solution of ¹⁵N-nitrate (10 mg N/liter). The sediment columns were fitted with Pt electrodes to measure the oxidation-reduction (Eh) potential. While leaching removed considerable ammonium-N and soluble organic N, essentially no ¹⁵N had passed through the columns by 50 days. The Eh readings indicated that denitrification was occurring in the lower portions of the columns. The ¹⁵N distribution of the sediment N after 50 days showed that about 15 to 26% of the added nitrate-N was converted to organic N and ammonium-N. The data show that denitrification can be a significant N sink in seepage lakes.     

Fate of Mutagenicity Produced During Anaerobic Biodegradation of the Herbicide Chlornitrofen (CNP)

The mutagenicity of chlornitrofen (CNP)-containing solutions has been reported to increase during anaerobic biodegradation. In the present study, the fate of this increased mutagenicity under subsequent aerobic and anaerobic incubation conditions was investigated using two Salmonella tester strains, YG1024 (a frameshift-detecting strain) and YG1029 (a base-pair-substitution-detecting strain). Mutagenicity for both YG1024 and YG1029 strains increased during nine-day anaerobic biodegradation. During subsequent anaerobic incubation, the increased mutagenicity decreased gradually for YG1029 but did not change significantly for YG1024. By contrast, the increased mutagenicity decreased rapidly after the conversion to aerobic incubation for both YG1024 and YG1029 strains. The rapid decrease in mutagenicity during aerobic incubation was due to decreases, not only in an identified mutagenic metabolite (CNP-amino) but also in unidentified mutagenic metabolites.     

Biodegradability of Quaternized, Crosslinked Sugarcane Bagasse

Quaternized, crosslinked sugarcane bagasse can adsorb anionic dyes from textile wastewater. Disposal of dye-saturated adsorbent by composting or land application would require that modifications made to the bagasse do not interfere with its decomposition. The impact of quaternization and crosslinking on bagasse biodegradability was examined. Bagasse in varying states of modification was mixed with soil and monitored for carbon dioxide evolution for four weeks at 27°C. After subtracting the amount of carbon evolved from control soil samples, the net carbon evolved from the bagasse samples was determined and used as a measure of their extent of biodegradation. Biodegradability decreased in the order: bagasse (approx. 60% degraded after four weeks) > quaternized bagasse > quaternized, epichlorohydrin-crosslinked bagasse > quaternized, methylene-bis-acrylamide-crosslinked bagasse > epichlorohydrin-crosslinked bagasse (less than 5% degraded). Crosslinking severely impacted biodegration, probably by preventing the penetration of (hemi)cellulytic and lignolytic enzymes into the interior of the modified bagasse particles. It is concluded that the biodegradability of quaternized, crosslinked bagasse is too low for composting or land application.     

基于LCA的北京市公交车节能及温室气体减排潜力分析

新能源公交车是未来城市公交行业节能及温室气体减排的重点发展方向.新能源公交车在行驶阶段具有良好的节能及温室气体减排效果,而汽车制造、能源生产等相关生命周期阶段的能耗及温室气体排放常被忽视,且目前新能源公交车的乘客运载功能相对较弱,可能对节能及温室气体减排的潜力造成较为显著的影响.因此,本文基于北京市公交车的运营特征,采用生命周期评价(LCA)方法,选择客运周转量作为功能单位,核算了天然气公交车、混合动力公交车和纯电动公交车等新能源公交车相对于柴油公交车的节能及温室气体减排效益.结果表明:发展新能源公交车对促进北京市公交行业及城市节能低碳发展具有积极的作用,但相对于基于运营里程的核算结果,本研究新能源公交车节能及温室气体减排潜力均较低,主要原因是新能源公交车的实际载客量相对较低;混合动力公交车和纯电动公交车在空调开启时的节能潜力与温室气体减排潜力均远低于天然气公交车;通过发展情景分析,建议北京市现阶段应优先发展天然气公交车,适当发展纯电动公交车和混合动力公交车,以减少北京市公交车的总体能耗,同时降低温室气体排放强度.     

1957—2012年中国参考作物蒸散量时空变化及其影响因子分析

根据1957—2012年全国608个气象站的逐日气象资料,利用Penman-Monteith公式计算作物潜在蒸散量,对全国及水资源一级分区潜在蒸散量时空分布特征、变化趋势进行分析;基于Arc GIS及SPSS软件,采用主成分分析方法,对潜在作物蒸散量的影响因子及其分布特征进行探讨。结果表明:近56 a来,全国年潜在蒸散量在616~2 128 mm之间,河西走廊、南部岭南地区、海南岛以及华南沿海作物潜在蒸散量较大,而在黑龙江一带、四川盆地及西南地区东部,潜在蒸发量较小。各分区年均潜在蒸发量均呈现减少趋势,西北诸河区倾向率最大,为-12.22 mm/10 a;影响潜在蒸散量的因子中,第1主成分为热力学因子,第2主成分为水分因子和辐射因子,第3主成分为地理因子和空气动力学因子,第4主成分为高程因子。     

Adsorption and biodegradation of three selected endocrine disrupting chemicals in river-based artificial groundwater recharge with reclaimed municipal wastewater

Endocrine disrupting chemical(EDC) pollution in river-based artificial groundwater recharge using reclaimed municipal wastewater poses a potential threat to groundwater-based drinking water supplies in Beijing, China. Lab-scale leaching column experiments simulating recharge were conducted to study the adsorption, biodegradation, and transport characteristics of three selected EDCs: 17β-estradiol(E2), 17α-ethinylestradiol(EE2) and bisphenol A(BPA). The three recharge columns were operated under the conditions of continual sterilization recharge(CSR), continual recharge(CR), and wetting and drying alternative recharge(WDAR). The results showed that the attenuation effect of the EDCs was in the order of WDAR CR CSR system and E2 EE2 BPA, which followed first-order kinetics. The EDC attenuation rate constants were 0.0783, 0.0505, and 0.0479 m-1 for E2, EE2 and BPA in the CR system, respectively. The removal rates of E2, EE2, and BPA in the CR system were 98%, 96% and 92%, which mainly depended on biodegradation and were affected by water temperature.In the CR system, the concentrations of BPA, EE2, and E2 in soil were 4, 6 and 10 times higher than in the WDAR system, respectively. According to the DGGE fingerprints, the bacterial community in the bottom layer was more diverse than in the upper layer, which was related to the EDC concentrations in the water-soil system. The dominant group was found to be proteobacteria, including Betaproteobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria, suggesting that these microbes might play an important role in EDC degradation.     

Heterogeneous oxidation of SO2 by O3-aged black carbon and its dithiothreitol oxidative potential

Ozone (O₃) is an important atmospheric oxidant. Black carbon (BC) particles released into the atmosphere undergo an aging process via O₃ oxidation. O₃-aged BC particles may change their uptake ability toward trace reducing gases such as SO₂ in the atmosphere, leading to different environmental and health effects. In this paper, the heterogeneous reaction process between O₃-aged BC and SO₂ was explored via in-situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS). Combined with ion chromatography (IC), DRIFTS was used to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the sulfate product. The results showed that O₃-aged BC had stronger SO₂ oxidation ability than fresh BC, and the reactive species/sites generated on the surface had an important role in the oxidation of SO₂. Relative humidity or 254 nm UV (ultraviolet) light illumination enhanced the oxidation uptake of SO₂ on O₃-aged BC. The oxidation potentials of the BC particles were detected via dithiothreitol (DTT) assay. The DTT activity over BC was decreased in the process of SO₂ reduction, with the consumption of oxidative active sites.     

皖南地区铜陵市大气颗粒物污染特征及潜在源研究

利用2018年3月—2021年2月环境和气象数据对皖南地区铜陵市大气颗粒物的污染特征和潜在贡献源进行了系统性研究.铜陵市大气颗粒物污染具有明显的季节变化特征,冬季污染物浓度最高,PM_2.5和PM₁₀平均为（60.3±31.0）μg·m^-3和（89.2±42.2）μg·m^-3.计算发现PM_2.5/PM₁₀超过0.5,铜陵市的大气颗粒物污染问题与细颗粒物关系密切.后向轨迹聚类分析表明铜陵市大气颗粒物的输送路径具有季节性差异.春季以西北、东北和西南方向气流为主,占比83.73%;夏季以东南和南部方向气流为主,占比82.90%;秋季以东北气流为主,占比51.00%;冬季则是以北方和西北气流为主,占比69.81%.其中,冬季气流轨迹所对应的PM_2.5和PM₁₀的浓度最高,平均为59.7和92.0μg·m^-3;夏季最低,平均为23.8和43.8μg·m^-3.潜在源贡献因子（WPSC...     

深圳市工业区VOCs污染特征与臭氧生成敏感性

于2020年9~10月在深圳北部典型工业区开展在线观测以分析该地VOCs污染状况,并使用基于观测的模型(OBM)研究臭氧生成敏感性.观测期间VOCs的总浓度为48.5×10^-9,浓度水平上烷烃>含氧有机物(OVOCs)>卤代烃>芳香烃>烯烃>乙炔>乙腈.臭氧生成潜势(OFP)为320μg/m³,其中芳香烃、OVOCs以及烷烃贡献最大,这3类物种OFP贡献总和超过90%.乙烯与苯呈现“两峰一谷”的日变化特征,主要受到机动车排放的贡献.相对增量反应性(RIR)分析表明,削减人为源VOCs对控制当地臭氧生成最为有效,当中又应优先控制芳香烃;经典动力学曲线(EKMA)分析表明该片区臭氧生成处于过渡区,在开展VOCs区域联防联控的同时,需要在当地进行有力的NOx控制以强化该地区臭氧污染长期管控.