Estimation of the nutrient inputs into river systems – experiences from German rivers

The nutrient discharges from point and diffuse sources in more than 200 German river basins were estimated for the periods 1983–1987 and 1993–1997 employing the MONERIS model. This model distinguishes between six diffuse pathways and point source emissions from waste water treatment plants and direct industrial discharges. It was estimated that the total nitrogen input into the German river systems amounts to about 819,000 t N year^–1 in the period 1993 to 1997. These emissions have decreased since the mid-eighties by about 266,000 t N year^–1, mainly caused by the reduction of point discharges. For phosphorus the emissions have been reduced by 56,290 t P year^–1 and amount to 37,250 t P year^–1 in the period 1993–1997. Based on emission data a retention module estimates riverine nutrient loads. The comparison of the model output with the observed loads shows a deviation as low as 30% and 50% for nitrogen and phosphorus, respectively. The regional resolution of the model indicates the relative importance of different pathways for phosphorus and nitrogen input into river systems. Electronic Publication     

一体式SNAD废水处理系统的启动和稳定运行控制研究

通过小试实验考察了同步半硝化-厌氧氨氧化-反硝化(SNAD)系统启动和稳定化运行的条件。结果显示,通过控制温度、pH、DO、曝气方式以及碱度与进水氨氮的比值,采用人工富集厌氧氨氧化细菌的方法,成功启动了SNAD系统,并且实现了稳定化运行。氨氮和总氮的去除率均可达到90%以上,平均出水硝酸盐和进水总氮的比例可控制在11%以内。另外,在启动过程中还发现,菌体自溶贡献了大部分化学耗氧量(COD),但随着系统的稳定,菌体自溶现象趋于减小。     

日光型厌氧好氧一体化技术处理滨海农村污水

对日光型厌氧好氧一体化技术处理农村生活污水的效能进行了应用研究。系统的处理量为89t/d,HRT为1.8 d,水解酸化段水力负荷为0.78 m3/(m3·d),接触氧化段水力负荷4.24 m3/(m3·d),稳定运行6个月结果表明:该工艺对CODcr、NH3-N 、TP和SS的去除率分别为73.2%、49.5%、56.1%和79.3%,出水 CODcr、NH3-N、TP、SS的平均浓度分别在60.3 mg/L、20.4 mg/L、2.7 mg/L、26.7 mg/L以下出水水质达到GB18918-2002要求。     

Recovery of ammonia from poultry litter using flat gas permeable membranes

The use of flat gas-permeable membranes was investigated as components of a new process to capture and recover ammonia (NH₃) in poultry houses. This process includes the passage of gaseous NH₃ through a microporous hydrophobic membrane, capture with a circulating dilute acid on the other side of the membrane, and production of a concentrated ammonium (NH₄) salt. Bench- and pilot-scale prototype systems using flat expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) membranes and a sulfuric acid solution consistently reduced headspace NH₃ concentrations from 70% to 97% and recovered 88% to 100% of the NH₃ volatilized from poultry litter. The potential benefits of this technology include cleaner air inside poultry houses, reduced ventilation costs, and a concentrated liquid ammonium salt that can be used as a plant nutrient solution.     

Removal of organic pollutants and nutrients from olive mill wastewater by a sand filter

The aim of this work was to examine the performance of a sand filter in treating modern olive mill (OMW) effluents after dilution with domestic wastewater on a one-to-one basis. The experimental pilot consisted of a column of opaque PVC, and the sand filter was filled with 50 cm of sand and 10 cm of gravel in the top and the bottom of the filter. The alimentation (4 cm/day) was done sequentially following a 1 day wet/3 days dry cycle. The OMW effluent was very acidic with a pH of 4.12, and had high concentrations of phenolic compounds (7.2 g/L) and total chemical oxygen demand (65 g/L). The percolation of the diluted OMW through the sand filters caused an increase in pH from 4.84 to 8.25 and a 90% removal of total suspended solids. The sand filter treatment also led to important reductions in organic matter (90% of total COD, 83% of dissolved COD and 92% of phenolic compounds) and nutrients (91% of Kjeldahl-nitrogen, 97% of ammonia-nitrogen, 99% of nitrate-nitrogen and 99% of phosphates). The flow rate became very low indicating clogging of the sand pores after 10 weeks. HPLC analysis of the diluted OMW before and after passage through the sand filter showed an important reduction in the toxic monomeric compounds after the treatment.     

Identifying Biotic Integrity and Water Chemistry Relations in Nonwadeable Rivers of Wisconsin: Toward the Development of Nutrient Criteria

We sampled 41 sites on 34 nonwadeable rivers that represent the types of rivers in Wisconsin, and the kinds and intensities of nutrient and other anthropogenic stressors upon each river type. Sites covered much of United States Environmental Protection Agency national nutrient ecoregions VII—Mostly Glaciated Dairy Region, and VIII—Nutrient Poor, Largely Glaciated upper Midwest. Fish, macroinvertebrates, and three categories of environmental variables including nutrients, other water chemistry, and watershed features were collected using standard protocols. We summarized fish assemblages by index of biotic integrity (IBI) and its 10 component measures, and macroinvertebrates by 2 organic pollution tolerance and 12 proportional richness measures. All biotic and environmental variables represented a wide range of conditions, with biotic measures ranging from poor to excellent status, despite nutrient concentrations being consistently higher than reference concentrations reported for the regions. Regression tree analyses of nutrients on a suite of biotic measures identified breakpoints in total phosphorus (~0.06 mg/l) and total nitrogen (~0.64 mg/l) concentrations at which biotic assemblages were consistently impaired. Redundancy analyses (RDA) were used to identify the most important variables within each of the three environmental variable categories, which were then used to determine the relative influence of each variable category on the biota. Nutrient measures, suspended chlorophyll a, water clarity, and watershed land cover type (forest or row-crop agriculture) were the most important variables and they explained significant amounts of variation within the macroinvertebrate (R ² = 60.6%) and fish (R ² = 43.6%) assemblages. The environmental variables selected in the macroinvertebrate model were correlated to such an extent that partial RDA analyses could not attribute variation explained to individual environmental categories, assigning 89% of the explained variation to interactions among the categories. In contrast, partial RDA attributed much of the explained variation to the nutrient (25%) and other water chemistry (38%) categories for the fish model. Our analyses suggest that it would be beneficial to develop criteria based upon a suite of biotic and nutrient variables simultaneously to deem waters as not meeting their designated uses.     

ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITING: Exceedance of Critical Loads for Lakes in Finland,Norway, and Sweden: Reduction Requirements for Acidifying Nitrogen and Sulfur Deposition

/ The main objectives of this study were to identify the regions inFennoscandia where the critical loads of sulfur (S) and acidifying nitrogen(N) for lakes are exceeded and to investigate the consequences for depositionreductions, with special emphasis on the possible trade-offs between S and Ndeposition in order to achieve nonexceedance. In the steady-state model forcalculating critical loads and their exceedances, all relevant processesacting assinks for N and S are considered. The critical loads of N and S areinterrelated (defining the so-called critical load function), and therefore asingle critical load for one pollutant cannot be defined without makingassumptions about the other. Comparing the present N and S deposition withthe critical load function for each lake allows determination of thepercentage of lakes in the different regions of Fennoscandia where: (1) Sreductions alone can achieve nonexceedance, (2) N reductions alone aresufficient, and (3) both N and S reductions are required but to a certaindegree interchangeable. Secondly, deposition reduction requirements wereassessed by fixing the N deposition to the present level, in this wayanalyzing the reductions required for S, and by computing the percentage oflakes exceeded in Finland, Norway and Sweden for every possible percentdeposition reduction in S and N, in this way showing the (relative)effectiveness of reducing S and/or N deposition. The results showed clearregional patterns in the S and N reduction requirements. In practically thewhole of Finland and the northern parts of Scandinavia man-made acidificationof surface waters could be avoided by reducing S deposition alone. In thesouthern parts of Sweden some reductions in N deposition are clearly neededin addition to those for S. In southern Norway strong reductions are requiredfor both N and S deposition.KEY WORDS: Acidification; Critical load; Exceedance; Sulfur; Nitrogen;Deposition; Lake     

Water Quality Functions of Riparian Forest Buffers in Chesapeake Bay Watersheds

/ Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, USA, have agreed to reduce nutrient loadings to Chesapeake Bay by 40% by the year 2000. This requires control of nonpoint sources of nutrients, much of which comes from agriculture. Riparian forest buffer systems (RFBS) provide effective control of nonpoint source (NPS) pollution in some types of agricultural watersheds. Control of NPS pollution is dependent on the type of pollutant and the hydrologic connection between pollution sources, the RFBS, and the stream. Water quality improvements are most likely in areas of where most of the excess precipitation moves across, in, or near the root zone of the RFBS. In areas such as the Inner Coastal Plain and Piedmont watersheds with thin soils, RFBS should retain 50%-90% of the total loading of nitrate in shallow groundwater, sediment in surface runoff, and total N in both surface runoff and groundwater. Retention of phosphorus is generally much less. In regions with deeper soils and/or greater regional groundwater recharge (such as parts of the Piedmont and the Valley and Ridge), RFBS water quality improvements are probably much less. The expected levels of pollutant control by RFBS are identified for each of nine physiographic provinces of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Issues related to of establishment, sustainability, and management are also discussed.KEY WORDS: Riparian forest buffers; Chesapeake Bay; Nonpoint source pollution; Nitrogen; Phosphorus; Sediment     

Fate of nitrogen during composting of chicken litter

Chicken litter (a mixture of chicken manure, wood shavings, waste feed, and feathers) was composted in forced-aeration piles to understand the changes and losses of nitrogen (N) during composting. During the composting process, the chemical [different N fractions, organic matter (OM), organic carbon (C), and C:N ratio], physical, and microbial properties of the chicken litter were examined. Cumulative losses and mass balances of N and organic matter were also quantified to determine actual losses during composting. The changes in total N concentration of the chicken litter piles were essentially equal to those of the organic N. The inorganic N concentrations were low, and that organic N was the major nitrogenous constituent. The ammonium (NH(4)(+))-N concentration decreased dramatically during first 35 days of composting. However, the rapid decrease in NH(4)(+)-N during composting did not coincide with a rapid increase in (NO(3)(-)+NO(2)(-))-N concentration. The concentration of (NO(3)(-)+NO(2)(-))-N was very low (<0.5 g kg(-1)) at day 0, and this level remained unchanged during the first 35 days of composting suggesting that N was lost during composting. Losses of N in this composting process were governed mainly by volatilization of ammonia (NH(3)) as the pile temperatures were high and the pH values were above 7. The narrow C:N ratio (<20:1) have also contributed to losses of N in the chicken litter. The OM and total organic C mass decreased with composting time. About 42 kg of the organic C was converted to CO(2). On the other hand, 18 kg was lost during composting. This loss was more than half (59%) of the initial N mass of the piles. Such a finding demonstrates that composting reduced the value of the chicken litter as N fertilizer. However, the composted chicken contained a more humified (stabilized) OM compared with the uncomposted chicken litter, which would enhance its value as a soil conditioner.     

Density functional and experimental study of NO/O2 on zigzag char

In this paper, quantum chemistry computation (density functional theory) of multi-air-staged combustion was investigated in combination with experiment. It was found that the presence of oxygen in the combustion environment has a great influence on the surface chemistry of coal char. In the reaction pathway, the ring-opening reaction happens first, and is followed by NO adsorption. Afterwards, the ring-closure reaction takes place, leaving the nitrogen atom trapped in the inner char molecule. This reaction route effectively inhibits NO formation and achieves the aim of controlling NO emissions. In the staged combustion experiments, the consumption of O₂/NO was accompanied by an increase in the CO₂ concentration. The quantum chemistry computation successfully interprets the recent experimental trends displayed in multi-air-staged combustion.