Mapping cumulative impacts of mining on sediment retention ecosystem service in an Australian mining region

Mining development can potentially lead to cumulative impacts on ecosystems and their services across a range of scales. Site-specific environmental impact assessments are commonly assessed for mining projects; however, large-scale cumulative impacts of multiple mines that aggregate and interact in resources regions have had little attention in the literature and there are few examples where regional-scale mining impacts have been assessed on ecosystem services. The objective of this study is to quantify regional-scale cumulative impacts of mining on sediment retention ecosystem services. We apply the sediment delivery ratio model of Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs to calculate and map the sediment retention and export using a synthetic catchment model and a real case study under different mining scenarios in an Australian mining region. Two impact indices were created to quantify the cumulative impacts associated with a single mine and the interactions between multiple mines. The indices clarified the magnitude of impacts and the positive/negative impacts associated with regional-scale sediment retention and export. We found cumulative impacts associated with multiple mines’ interaction occurred but the influence of these interactions was relatively weak. This research demonstrated the potential for utilising ecosystem services modelling for the quantitative assessment of the cumulative impacts. Such research provide decision-makers and planners with a tool for sustainable regional and landscape planning that balances the needs of mining and the provision of ecosystem services.     

Can floor-area-ratio incentive promote low impact development in a highly urbanized area?—A case study in Changzhou City,China

As an environmental friendly measure for surface runoff reduction, low impact development (LID) has been applied successfully in urban areas. However, due to high price of land and additional expense for LID construction in highly urbanized areas, the developers of real estate would not like to proceed LID exploitation. Floor area ratio (FAR) refers to “the ratio of a building’s total floor area to the size of the piece of land upon which it is built.” Increasing FAR indicates that the developers can construct higher buildings and earn more money. By means of awarding FAR, the developers may be willing to practice LID construction. In this study, a new residential district is selected as a case study to analyze the tradeoff between the runoff reduction goal achieving by LID practices and the incentive of awarding FAR to promote LID construction. The System for Urban Stormwater Treatment and Analysis IntegratioN (SUSTAIN) model is applied to simulate the runoff reduction under various LID designs and then derive the Pareto-optimal solutions to achieve urban runoff reduction goals based on cost efficiency. The results indicates that the maximum surface runoff reduction is 20.5%. Under the extremity scenarios, the government has options to award FAR of 0.028, 0.038 and 0.047 and the net benefits developers gain are 0 CNY, one million CNYand two million CNY, respectively. The results provide a LID construction guideline related to awarding FAR, which supports incentive policy making for promoting LID practices in the highly urbanized areas.

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Optimization of phosphorus removal in uniFed SBR system for domestic wastewater treatment

The characteristic of phosphorus removal and appropriate change of the traditional operation modes were investigated in UniFed sequencing batch reactor (SBR) laboratory-scale apparatus (40 L), treating actual domestic wastewater with low ratios of C/N (2.57) and C/P (30.18), providing theoretical basis for actual application of wastewater treatment plant. UniFed SBR system with its unique operation mode had the distinct superiority of phosphorus removal. On this occasion, the effect of volumetric exchange ratio (VER) and the method of influent introduction for phosphorus removal were studied. When the carbon source became the limiting factor to phosphorus release, the higher the VER, the lower the phosphorus concentration in the effluent. Three different influent patterns, including one-time filling, four-time filling, and continuous filling with the same quantity of wastewater could increase the release rate of anaerobic phosphorus from 0.082 to 0.143 mg·P·(L·min)^-1. Appropriate change of the traditional operation modes could optimize the efficiency of phosphorus removal. When the feed/ decant time was extended from 2 h to 4 h, the phosphorous removal efficiency increased from 59.93% to 88.45% without any external carbon source. In the mode of alternation of anoxic-aerobic (A/O) condition, phosphorous removal efficiency increased from 55.07% to 72.27% clearly. The carbon source in the influent can be used adequately, and denitrifying phosphorus removal was carried out in anoxic stage 2 (A2). This mode was optimal for the treatment of actual domestic wastewater with low C/N and C/P ratios.     

Effect of the addition of organic carbon sources on nitrous oxide emission in anaerobic-aerobic (low dissolved oxygen) sequencing batch reactors

The effect of additional organic carbon sources on the production of nitrous oxide (N₂O) in anaerobic-aerobic (low dissolved oxygen) real wastewater treatment system was investigated. In this paper, three laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) (SBR-1, SBR-2 and SBR-3) were operating under an anaerobic-aerobic (low dissolved oxygen, 0.15–0.45 mg·L^-1) configuration. The SBRs were ‘long-term cultured’ respectively with a single municipal wastewater sample, sodium acetate, and a waste-activated sludge alkaline fermentation liquid as the additional carbon sources of real wastewater. Off-gas analysis showed that N₂O was emitted into the atmosphere during the aerobic (low dissolved oxygen) period in the three SBRs, and the order of N₂O emission rate was SBR-2>SBR-1>SBR-3. It was observed that the higher poly-β-hydroxyvalerate fraction of polyhydroxyalkanoates, the lower glycogen transformation and less nitrite accumulation was in SBR-3, while the opposite behavior was observed in SBR-2. Further research indicated that the interaction of the factors above potentially affected the N₂O emission in the anaerobic-aerobic (low dissolved oxygen) system.     

互花米草对苏北滨海湿地表土有机碳更新的影响

自互花米草引入苏北滨海湿地后,逐渐替代本土植物盐蒿并形成单一植被的互花米草湿地.选择苏北地区盐蒿湿地及不同生长年限的互花米草湿地,采集其表层土壤样品,分别测定全土和分离的土壤粒径组分中总有机碳及δ13C值,分析湿地土壤有机碳浓度及其同位素组成的变化.结果表明,互花米草引入盐蒿湿地后,表层土壤有机碳浓度显著增加(增量达70%),且随着互花米草生长时间延长而明显增加.与盐蒿湿地相比,互花米草湿地土壤中大团聚体(>250mm)和微团聚体组分(53~250mm)有机碳浓度均显著增加,而粉粒组分(2~53mm)则无明显变化.互花米草湿地土壤原状土及各粒径组分的δ13C值均明显高于盐蒿土壤,源于互花米草的新碳在各粒径组分中均有分布,但主要富集在大团聚体组分中,占该组分总碳的31%~43%,说明互花米草生长对土壤有机碳浓度增加主要反映在粗粒径组分中,而对粉、黏粒组分则影响较小.     

考虑脆性损伤和渗流的圆形水工隧洞稳定性分析

为获得更准确的隧洞围岩塑性范围和力学特征,基于非线性脆性损伤和统一强度理论,考虑渗流场和中间主应力系数,推导出隧洞围岩弹塑性应力和塑性范围表达式。通过算例分析,得出渗透比（围岩与衬砌渗透系数之比）等相关参数对隧洞塑性范围和应力的影响规律。研究结果表明:隧洞切向应力具有不连续性,在衬砌、塑性区交界处及弹塑性交界处均发生突变;随渗透比和围岩脆性程度的增大,围岩塑性半径逐渐增大,塑性区切向应力逐渐减小;中间主应力系数越大,围岩塑性半径越小,塑性区切向应力越大。采用注浆加固圈进行支护,可有效地降低围岩渗透性,减小塑性范围。研究成果可为水工隧洞支护设计和稳定性分析提供一定的理论指导。     

室内外PM10中多环芳烃相关关系及来源分析

为研究室内外PM10中多环芳烃相关性和来源特征,于2009年非采暖季、采暖季在天津市某小区36位住户室内和室外进行PM10膜采样,并分析其中12种PAHs浓度.结果表明,非采暖季较采暖季更为良好的室内外通风性,导致非采暖季室内外PM10中PAHs浓度没有显著差异(P>0.05),而采暖季室内PM10中PAHs浓度显著小于室外浓度;非采暖季室内外PM10中各PAHs占总PAHs的质量百分比基本一致,而采暖季其室内外质量百分比有明显不同;采暖季和非采暖季室内外PM10中PAHs的I/O平均值均低于1,但采暖季I/O值小于非采暖季. 对参与者的时间活动模式分析表明,在采暖季和非采暖季,室内吸烟、清洁活动以及烹饪对室内PM10中PAHs浓度变化均没有显著影响(P>0.05). 室内外PAHs浓度线性回归分析表明,室内PM10中5~7环PAHs主要受到室外源的影响,2~4环PAHs主要受到室内源的影响,非采暖季和采暖季室内外PM10中总PAHs的有效穿透因子分别为0.73和0.51. 通过特征比值法对PM10中PAHs来源进行解析得出,燃煤源、柴油机动车是其主要来源.     

太湖典型湖区沉积物外源有机质贡献率研究

采用稳定同位素示踪法,分析了太湖竺山湾和南部湖区苕溪港区域表层沉积物碳和氮同位素分布特征,并利用“端元混合法”计算确定了陆源输入对湖泊沉积物有机质的贡献. 结果表明:① δ13C值在南部湖区要高于竺山湾,竺山湾表现为从河道(-27.72‰)到湾内(-23.00‰)逐渐增大的趋势,南部研究区域也表现出同样的趋势,说明外源有机质的贡献不断减少;② δ15N值在陆源有机质中较低,而在内源有机质中较高,没有明显的梯度变化规律;③ C/N比表现为从外源到内源不断减小的趋势;④ 利用“端元混合法”计算外源有机质贡献率发现,δ13C和C/N比的结果较为相似:竺山湾入湖口的外源有机质贡献率为46.51%～52.51%,竺山湾外源有机质贡献率为27.61%～30.85%;而δ15N计算得到的外源有机质贡献率差异较大,竺山湾入湖口处为56.91%～97.47%,竺山湾为74.83%. 讨论认为含氮物质的多来源特征及N同位素分馏作用的复杂性都增加了有机质源解析的不确定性.      

不同SBR系统N2O排放及微生物群落比较

为了解污水脱氮中微生物群落对N₂O排放的影响,在相同的工艺条件下,研究了制药厂(A)和啤酒厂(B)2种不同来源污泥在SBR系统中的N₂O排放特性.结果发现:①A和B 2个系统总氮去除率在97.5%和98.6%的情况下,脱氮中N₂O态氮所占比例分别为6.35%和2.84%,相差2倍以上.②A系统的N₂O排放时期主要集中在好氧硝化段,而B系统则主要集中在缺氧反硝化段.③在1个脱氮周期内,A系统只有1个N₂O排放高峰,出现在好氧硝化段(第3小时);而B系统有2个N₂O排放高峰,分别出现在好氧硝化段(第3小时)和缺氧反硝化段(第6小时).采用PCR-DGGE技术分析微生物群落特征发现,A系统和B系统的微生物群落有明显差异,表明污水脱氮中微生物群落是影响N₂O排放的重要因素.通过优化微生物群落结构,可有效控制污水脱氮中N₂O排放.      

Benefits of supplementing an industrial waste anaerobic digester with energy crops for increased biogas production

Currently, there is increasing competition for waste as feedstock for the growing number of biogas plants. This has led to fluctuation in feedstock supply and biogas plants being operated below maximum capacity. The feasibility of supplementing a protein/lipid-rich industrial waste (pig manure, slaughterhouse waste, food processing and poultry waste) mesophilic anaerobic digester with carbohydrate-rich energy crops (hemp, maize and triticale) was therefore studied in laboratory scale batch and continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTR) with a view to scale-up to a commercial biogas process. Co-digesting industrial waste and crops led to significant improvement in methane yield per ton of feedstock and carbon-to-nitrogen ratio as compared to digestion of the industrial waste alone. Biogas production from crops in combination with industrial waste also avoids the need for micronutrients normally required in crop digestion. The batch co-digestion methane yields were used to predict co-digestion methane yield in full scale operation. This was done based on the ratio of methane yields observed for laboratory batch and CSTR experiments compared to full scale CSTR digestion of industrial waste. The economy of crop-based biogas production is limited under Swedish conditions; therefore, adding crops to existing industrial waste digestion could be a viable alternative to ensure a constant/reliable supply of feedstock to the anaerobic digester.