Phosphorus availability changes chromium toxicity in the freshwater alga Chlorella vulgaris

Chromium (Cr) is one of the most serious pollutants in aquatic systems. This study examined the relationship between the toxic effects of Cr on the freshwater alga Chlorella vulgaris and phosphorus (P) availability on the algal physiology and ultrastructure. Cr inhibited C. vulgaris growth in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, and its inhibitory effect was related to the P concentration. In a low-P medium, Cr showed approximately 2.2–3.7-fold stronger toxicity than in a high-P medium. Cr was absorbed into the algal body where it disrupted the chloroplast structure and decreased the chlorophyll content. However, Cr had a weaker chlorophyll inhibitory ability and destructive power against the chloroplasts in the high-P medium than in the low-P medium due to the partial blockage of Cr absorption in high P-medium. Cr exposure also changed the metal ion and anion absorption profiles, which was also closely related to the concentration of P. Cr treatment increased the volume of the vacuole, and the larger vacuole reduced the space available for chloroplasts, as based on optical and electron microscopy results, but a higher P availability could alleviate this damage. These results suggest that high P alleviated the toxicity of Cr by decreasing Cr absorption and increasing the absorption of beneficial ions. It is, therefore, necessary to consider the phosphorus availability when the toxicity of metal compounds is evaluated.     

药渣残留泰乐菌素的酶促降解特性

发酵法生产泰乐菌素过程中产生的药渣,因残留泰乐菌素的存在,会对环境造成不利影响。采用富集驯化方法,从堆放泰乐菌素药渣附近土壤中筛选到1株高效降解泰乐菌素的菌株,经16S rDNA鉴定为无丙二酸柠檬酸杆菌（Citrobacter amalonaticus）。该菌产生的降解泰乐菌素的主要酶是胞内组成酶。单因素实验结果显示,该酶降解泰乐菌素适宜的条件为温度35℃、pH 5.5、加酶量12%和初始底物浓度低于20 mg/L。多因素正交实验结果显示,温度对泰乐菌素的降解率影响较大。     

Supercritical water oxidation of tannery sludge: Stabilization of chromium and destruction of organics

The supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) of industrial tannery sludge was investigated to understand the simultaneous destruction of organic pollutants and recovery of high content chromium. Experiments were performed in a batch reactor at temperatures of 350–500 °C, reaction time of 150–300 s and different oxygen ratios, to exhibit the effect of operation conditions. Results showed that removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand (COD) increased with higher temperature, larger oxidant amount and reaction time; a maximum value of 96% was obtained. Meanwhile, destruction yield was much higher under supercritical conditions than that in subcritical water. In addition, removal efficiency of Cr from sludge reached more than 98% under all conditions; higher temperature played a positive role. Further, leaching toxicity tests of heavy metals in solid products were conducted based on toxicity characteristic leaching procedure. All heavy metals except nickel showed a greatly reduced leaching toxicity through their stabilization. The chromium oxide recovered in ash was amorphous below 550 °C, so that the structure of Cr could not be identified by X-ray diffraction pattern. Special attention should be paid on nickel as its leaching toxicity increased due to the corrosion of reactor surface under severe reaction conditions.     

Scaling up a treatment to simultaneously remove persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals from contaminated soils

Soil washing is a treatment process that can be used to remediate both organic and inorganic pollutants from contaminated soils, sludges, and sediments. A soil washing procedure was evaluated utilizing about 100 g samples of soil that had been field-contaminated with arsenic, chromium, copper, pentachlorophenol (PCP), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs). The highest level of mobilization/detoxification was achieved in three soil washes with a mixture of 0.1M [S,S]-ethyelnediaminedisuccinate ([S,S]-EDDS) and 2% Brij 98 at pH 9 with 20 min of ultrasonication treatment at room temperature. This combination mobilized 70% of arsenic, 75% of chromium, 80% of copper, 90% of PCP, and 79% of PCDDs and PCDFs, so that the decontaminated soil met the maximum acceptable concentrations of the generic C-level criteria regulated by the Ministère du Développement Durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs for the Province of Québec, Canada.The organic pollutants were back-extracted from the aqueous suspension with hexane. Heavy metals were virtually completely precipitated from the aqueous washing suspension with Mg⁰ particles at room temperature. The PCP was detoxified by catalytic hydrodechlorination with a stream of 5% (v/v) H₂-supercritical CO₂ that transported the organosoluble fraction through a reaction chamber containing 2% Pd/γ-Al₂O₃.In toto, this soil washing procedure demonstrates that persistent organic pollutants and selected heavy metals can be co-extracted efficiently from a field-contaminated soil with three successive washes with the same soil washing solution containing [S,S]-EDDS and a non-ionic surfactant (Brij 98) in admixture. An industrial-scale ex situ soil washing procedure with a combination of a non-ionic surfactant and a complexing reagent seems to be a plausible remediation technique for this former wooden utility pole storage facility.     

用鼓风炉渣消除铬渣毒性的研究

针对含铬废渣对环境污染大及治理难的特点,提出了以废渣治理废渣的技术,利用鼓风炉渣的还原性以及刚排出时的高温,将铬渣按一定比例与之混合,进行铬渣的解毒处理,并对铬渣的解毒机理进行了理论分析。从实验结果可以看出,当铬渣加入量低于10%时,该技术能够较彻底的将铬渣中的Cr6+进行解毒。     

白土渣中润滑油回收技术的研究

研究开发了一种回收白土渣中润滑油的新技术--溶剂抽提技术.通过对润滑油回收量的综合比较,确立了实验所用的抽提溶剂及处理工艺的操作条件.结果表明:用石脑油馏分(60～90℃)抽提溶剂,最佳溶剂与白土渣投量比为1:1,抽提次数为2,温度为室温,搅拌时间为15min且回流液质量百分比为5%情况下,润滑油回收率为92%左右,并且可形成稳定的循环操作模式,为溶剂抽提法回收白土渣中润滑油的工业化应用提供了科学依据.     

Chromium binding by calf thymus nuclei and effects on chromatin

1. No binding of chromium was detected after incubation of calf thymus nuclei with hexavalent chromium up to 0.5 mM.

2. Chromium was readily taken up and tightly bound after incubation with trivalent chromium.

3. In a DNA‐filter binding assay, increasing amounts of chromium and DNA were bound with increasing chromium trichloride concentrations incubated with the nuclei.

4. Treatment with proteinase K abolished the increase in DNA retention induced by trivalent chromium.

5. It is concluded that trivalent chromium is the ultimate genetoxic agent after chromate uptake by living cells.

     

Chromium accumulation,transport and toxicity in plants∗

The predominant pathway for human exposure to chromium in non‐occupationally exposed individuals is via food with a daily intake of around 30–100 μgd^–1, with vegetables providing a major contribution. Unlike reports of chromium essentiality to man and animals, plants appear not to require chromium in spite of some early reports of a stimulatory growth effect.

Most reports on chromium in plants have been concerned with their growth on soils amended with sewage sludge, pF‐ash, tannery waste, or on ultra basic soils, which contain extreme concentrations of the element. Experimental studies with plants grown in hydroponic solution have often been undertaken at unrealistically high concentrations to examine the uptake of chromium in various forms, either as CrIII or CrVI at different pHs. In most cases, reports on chromium in plants deal with element concentrations and plant/soil relationships rather than detailed biochemical and physiological processes.

In general, chromium is largely retained in the roots of plants, although the oxidation state of chromium, pH, presence of humates and fulvates and plant species, affect plant uptake and transport. Leaves usually contain higher concentrations than grains. The uptake of CrIII is largely a passive process, whereas CrVI uptake is a metabolically mediated process via the sulphate pathway and is thus readily transported around the plant. The presence of a compound similar to trioxalate CrIII has been recorded while little chromium has been reported to be associated with cell organelles or soluble proteins.     

微波消解-石墨炉原子吸收分光光度法测定海洋沉积物中镉和铬

以硝酸作为消解液,采用微波消解仪对海洋沉积物进行消解,用石墨炉原子吸收分光光度法测定消解液中的Cd和Cr。该方法在0μg/L~10.0μg/L范围内线性良好,Cd和Cr的方法检出限分别为0.04 mg/kg和2.0 mg/kg,实际样品的加标回收率在96.0%~100%之间,RSD为0.3%~5.2%。用该方法与国标法同时测定北部湾海域海洋沉积物实际样品,结果无明显差异,而该方法处理样品更为省时省力。     

土壤和底泥中砷、铬、锰测定的前处理技术

试验了土壤和底泥中砷的前处理技术,其目的是能对土壤、底泥中砷、铬、锰在一次前处理中制备成试液,比色法分析。试验表明,用Ｈ２ＳＯ４－Ｈ３ＰＯ４－Ｈ２Ｏ２进行前处理是可行的。方法简单、挥发酸雾少,用标准参考物质检验证明,分解完全,数据准确,有粒较好一致性。