Bioassay: A useful tool for evaluating reclaimed water safety

Wastewater reclamation and reuse has been proved to be an effective way to relieve the fresh water crisis. However, toxic contaminants remaining in reclaimed water could lead to potential risk for reuse, and the conventional water quality standards have difficulty guaranteeing the safety of reclaimed water. Bioassays can vividly reflect the integrated biological effects of multiple toxic substances in water as a whole, and could be a powerful tool for evaluating the safety of reclaimed water. Therefore, in this study, the advantages and disadvantages of using bioassays for evaluating the safety of reclaimed water were compared with those of conventional water quality standards. Although bioassays have been widely used to describe the toxic effects of reclaimed water and treatment efficiency of reclamation techniques, a single bioassay cannot reflect the complex toxicity of reclaimed water, and a battery of bioassays involving multiple biological effects or in vitro tests with specific toxicity mechanisms would be recommended. Furthermore, in order to evaluate the safety of reclaimed water based on bioassay results, various methods including potential toxicology, the toxicity unit classification system, and a potential eco-toxic effects probe are summarized as well. Especially, some integrated ranking methods based on a bioassay battery involving multiple toxicity effects are recommended as useful tools for evaluating the safety of reclaimed water, which will benefit the promotion and guarantee the rapid development of the reclamation and reuse of wastewater.     

Density functional theory (DFT) studies of vanadium-titanium based selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalysts

Based on density functional theory (DFT) and basic structure models, the chemical reactions on the surface of vanadium-titanium based selective catalytic reduction (SCR) denitrification catalysts were summarized. Reasonable structural models (non-periodic and periodic structural models) are the basis of density functional calculations. A periodic structure model was more appropriate to represent the catalyst surface, and its theoretical calculation results were more comparable with the experimental results than a non-periodic model. It is generally believed that the SCR mechanism where NH₃ and NO react to produce N₂ and H₂O follows an Eley-Rideal type mechanism. NH₂NO was found to be an important intermediate in the SCR reaction, with multiple production routes. Simultaneously, the effects of H₂O, SO₂ and metal on SCR catalysts were also summarized.     

Recent advances in catalytic decomposition of ozone

Ozone (O₃), as a harmful air pollutant, has been of wide concern. Safe, efficient, and economical O₃ removal methods urgently need to be developed. Catalytic decomposition is the most promising method for O₃ removal, especially at room temperature or even subzero temperatures. Great efforts have been made to develop high-efficiency catalysts for O₃ decomposition that can operate at low temperatures, high space velocity and high humidity. First, this review describes the general reaction mechanism of O₃ decomposition on noble metal and transition metal oxide catalysts. Then, progress on the O₃ decomposition performance of various catalysts in the past 30 years is summarized in detail. The main focus is the O₃ decomposition performance of manganese oxides, which are divided into supported manganese oxides and non-supported manganese oxides. Methods to improve the activity, stability, and humidity resistance of manganese oxide catalysts for O₃ decomposition are also summarized. The deactivation mechanisms of manganese oxides under dry and humid conditions are discussed. The O₃ decomposition performance of monolithic catalysts is also summarized from the perspective of industrial applications. Finally, the future development directions and prospects of O₃ catalytic decomposition technology are put forward.     

杭州湾北岸36种挥发性有机物污染特征及来源解析

为研究杭州湾北岸VOCs（挥发性有机物）的浓度水平、组成特征、反应活性和潜在来源,采用GC-FID在线监测系统对杭州湾北岸环境大气中的36种VOCs开展了为期1 a（2017年12月-2018年11月）的连续观测,采用LOH（VOCs的·OH消耗速率）和OFP（O₃生成潜势）2种方法估算了大气VOCs的反应活性,并利用PMF（正定矩阵因子分解）和CPF（条件概率函数）模型分析其来源.结果表明:①φ（VOCs）小时平均值在冬季（26.47×10-9）最高,夏季（9.76×10-9）最低;全年φ（VOCs）小时平均值为21.24×10-9,其中烷烃、烯烃+炔烃、芳香烃、卤代烃的贡献率分别为33.24%、34.13%、15.63%、17.00%;φ（烷烃）、φ（芳香烃）和φ（卤代烃）呈较明显的昼夜变化特征,φ（烯烃）和φ（炔烃）无明显昼夜变化趋势.②大气VOCs的总LOH和OFP分别为9.39 s-1和220.57 μg/m3,KOH（·OH反应速率常数）和MIR（最大增量反应活性）系数的平均值分别为17.34×10-12 cm3/（molecule·s）和3.31;KOH和MIR系数的平均值分别与间/对-二甲苯的KOH和乙苯的MIR系数接近,表明大气VOCs的化学反应活性较强;VOCs关键活性物种为异戊二烯、乙烯、丙烯、甲苯、二甲苯和顺-2-丁烯.③特征物种相关性分析表明,杭州湾北岸大气存在老化现象,异戊烷和正戊烷受煤燃烧源影响较大,二甲苯和乙苯受溶剂排放源影响较大,甲苯和苯除受机动车尾气影响外,还受其他排放源影响.④PMF和CPF模型来源分析表明,大气VOCs主要来自石化工业源、燃料挥发源、生物质燃烧和煤燃烧源、机动车排放源和溶剂使用源,其中,机动车排放源主要来自西北方向,其他源主要来自西北、西和西南方向.研究显示,杭州湾北岸大气VOCs来源复杂,受周边工业区的影响较大.      

基于边介数的省域生态廊道构建方法优化

我国城市建设和生态保护工作均对土地资源有大量需求,二者之间的矛盾在经济优先发展区表现尤为明显.为了有效地改善生态环境,管控土地利用并引导其变化发展,需要建设具备不可替代特征的省域生态廊道.最小累积阻力模型（minimum cumulative resistance,MCR）是识别生态廊道最常用、有效的模型,但在应用于省域尺度时,MCR模型识别的潜在廊道路由存在冗余的问题.因此,通过引入网络科学中的边介数指数（edge-betweenness）对MCR模型进行优化,计算潜在廊道路由的边介数指数值,选取出其中最为重要和简明的结构来连通生态源地,即提取潜在路由中的骨干路由（backbone route）和关键战略点（key strategic point）作为不可替代的结构来指导省域生态廊道建设.将优化后的MCR模型应用于广东省,构建了全长5 493 km的省域生态廊道,其中包含生态源地20处,关键战略点11个,骨干生态廊道29条.骨干路由与关键战略点构成的不可替代省域生态廊道（irreplaceable provincial corridor）能够实现"廊道数量和占地面积最少、连通性基本不变"的目标.研究显示,边介数能够对潜在路由进行优化筛选,识别出维护省域生态安全的关键结构;不可替代生态廊道能够指导省域生态规划和土地空间的发展利用,并为更高水平的生态安全环境提供了演进的基础;同时也为土地资源紧张的地区提供了建设生态廊道的参考与依据.      

On-going nitrification in chloraminated drinking water distribution system (DWDS) is conditioned by hydraulics and disinfection strategies

Within the drinking water distribution system (DWDS) using chloramine as disinfectant, nitrification caused by nitrifying bacteria is increasingly becoming a concern as it poses a great challenge for maintaining water quality. To investigate efficient control strategies, operational conditions including hydraulic regimes and disinfectant scenarios were controlled within a flow cell experimental facility. Two test phases were conducted to investigate the effects on the extent of nitrification of three flow rates (Q = 2, 6, and 10 L/min) and four disinfection scenarios (total Cl₂=1 mg/L, Cl₂/NH₃-N=3:1; total Cl₂=1 mg/L, Cl₂/NH₃-N=5:1; total Cl₂=5 mg/L, Cl₂/NH₃-N=3:1; and total Cl₂=5 mg/L, Cl₂/NH₃-N=5:1). Physico-chemical parameters and nitrification indicators were monitored during the tests. The characteristics of biofilm extracellular polymetric substance (EPS) were evaluated after the experiment. The main results from the study indicate that nitrification is affected by hydraulic conditions and the process tends to be severe when the fluid flow transforms from laminar to turbulent (2300<Re<4000). Increasing disinfectant concentration and optimizing Cl₂/NH₃-N mass ratio were found to inhibit nitrification to some extend when the system was running at turbulent condition (Q = 10 L/min, Re = 5535). EPS extracted from biofilm that was established at the flow rate of 6 L/min had greater carbohydrate/protein ratio. Furthermore, several nitrification indicators were evaluated for their prediction efficiency and the results suggest that the change of nitrite, together with total organic carbon (TOC) and turbidity can indicate nitrification potential efficiently.     

Chemical characteristics of road dust PM2.5 fraction in oasis cities at the margin of Tarim Basin

In order to understand the compositions characteristics of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 μm (PM_2.5) fraction in road dust (RD_2.5) of oasis cities on the edge of Tarim Basin, 30 road dust (RD) samples were collected in Kashi, Cele, and Yutian in the spring, 2018, and RD_2.5 was collected using the resuspension approach. Eight water-soluble ions, 39 trace elements and 8 fractions of carbon-containing species in PM_2.5 were analyzed. Ca²⁺ and Ca were the most abundant ions and elements in RD_2.5 (7.1% and 9.5%). Cl^- in RD_2.5 was affected not only by attributed to saline-alkali soils in oasis cities of the Tarim Basin and dust from Taklimakan Desert but also by human activities. Moreover, the organic carbon/elemental carbon (OC/EC) ratio indicated that carbon components in RD_2.5 in Cele town mainly come from fossil fuel combustion, while those in Yutian and Kashi mainly come from biomass combustion. It is noteworthy that high Ca in RD_2.5 was seriously affected by anthropogenic emissions, and high Na and K contents in RD_2.5 could be derived from soil and desert dust. It was estimated that Cd, Tl, Sn and Cr were emitted from anthropogenic emissions using the enrichment factor. The coefficients of divergence (COD) result indicated that the influence of local emission on road dust emission is greater than that of long-distance transmission. This study is the first time to comprehensively analyze the chemical characteristics of road dust in oasis cities, and the results provides the sources of road dust at the margin of Tarim Basin.     

Investigation of chlorinated phenols sorption mechanisms on different layers of the Danube alluvial sediment

The characteristics of the Danube river alluvial sediment are of great importance in assessing the risk for transport of pollutants to drinking water sources. Characterization of the sediment column layers has shown that the alluvial sediment, sampled near the city of Novi Sad, is a mesoporous sandy material with certain differences in the properties of individual layers. In order to investigate the sorption mechanisms of four chlorinated phenols (CPs) on the alluvial deposit, static sorption experiments were performed at pH 4, 7 and 10. The results of sorption experiments, confirmed by principal components analysis sugest different mechanisms govern the sorption process at different pH conditions. This can be attributed to the molecular characteristics of CPs, geosorbent properties and to variations in the surface charge of the sorbent at different pH conditions.     

保定市大气污染特征和潜在输送源分析

保定市是京津冀地区重要城市之一.为了解保定市大气污染物质量浓度特征和潜在输送源,对保定市国控点2017年1月1日-12月31日PM₁₀、PM_2.5、SO₂、NO₂、O₃、CO等常规大气污染物数据进行分析,并利用TrajStat后向轨迹模型进行区域传输研究.结果表明:①ρ（PM₁₀）、ρ（PM_2.5）、ρ（SO₂）、ρ（NO₂）分别为（138±96）（84±66）（29±23）和（50±24）μg/m3,与2016年相比分别下降5.9%、9.1%、25.5%和13.1%;ρ（CO）较2016年下降了14.0%;ρ（O₃）较2016年增长了25.2%.ρ（PM₁₀）、ρ（PM_2.5）、ρ（NO₂）和ρ（O₃）分别超过GB 3095-2012《环境空气质量标准》二级标准限值的0.97、1.40、0.25和0.34倍,ρ（SO₂）和ρ（CO）未超标.②除ρ（O₃）外,其他污染物质量浓度均呈冬季最高、夏季最低的季节性特征,其中,冬季PM_2.5污染最为严重,春季PM_2.5~10（粗颗粒物）污染严重.③空气质量模型源解析结果显示,保定市ρ（PM_2.5）约60.0%~70.0%来自本地污染源排放.后向轨迹结果表明,在外来区域传输影响中,保定市主要受到西北方向气团（占比为21.7%~60.0%）远距离传输和正南方向气团（占比为34.8%~50.5%）近距离传输的影响.④PSCF（潜在源贡献因子分析法）和CWT（浓度权重轨迹分析法）分析表明,除保定市及周边区县本地污染贡献外,位于太行山东麓沿线西南传输通道的邯郸市、邢台市、石家庄市是影响保定市PM_2.5的主要潜在源区.研究显示,PM_2.5为保定市大气中的主要污染物,并呈冬季高、夏季低的变化特征,其主要来自西北远距离输送和南部近距离传输.