Impact of varying soil structure on transport processes in different diagnostic horizons of three soil types

When soil structure varies in different soil types and the horizons of these soil types, it has a significant impact on water flow and contaminant transport in soils. This paper focuses on the effect of soil structure variations on the transport of pesticides in the soil above the water table. Transport of a pesticide (chlorotoluron) initially applied on soil columns taken from various horizons of three different soil types (Haplic Luvisol, Greyic Phaeozem and Haplic Cambisol) was studied using two scenarios of ponding infiltration. The highest infiltration rate and pesticide mobility were observed for the Bt₁ horizon of Haplic Luvisol that exhibited a well-developed prismatic structure. The lowest infiltration rate was measured for the Bw horizon of Haplic Cambisol, which had a poorly developed soil structure and a low fraction of large capillary pores and gravitational pores. Water infiltration rates were reduced during the experiments by a soil structure breakdown, swelling of clay and/or air entrapped in soil samples. The largest soil structure breakdown and infiltration decrease was observed for the Ap horizon of Haplic Luvisol due to the low aggregate stability of the initially well-aggregated soil. Single-porosity and dual-permeability (with matrix and macropore domains) flow models in HYDRUS-1D were used to estimate soil hydraulic parameters via numerical inversion using data from the first infiltration experiment. A fraction of the macropore domain in the dual-permeability model was estimated using the micro-morphological images. Final soil hydraulic parameters determined using the single-porosity and dual-permeability models were subsequently used to optimize solute transport parameters. To improve numerical inversion results, the two-site sorption model was also applied. Although structural changes observed during the experiment affected water flow and solute transport, the dual-permeability model together with the two-site sorption model proved to be able to approximate experimental data.     

Sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on glass surfaces

Sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to glass commonly used in laboratories was studied. Sorption coefficients (K_d) of five selected PAHs to borosilicate glass surfaces were measured using column chromatography. A linear relationship between log K_d and the corresponding water solubility of the subcooled liquid (log S_w) of the investigated PAHs was observed. Based on the determined sorption coefficients our data revealed that mass loss caused by sorption on glass walls strongly depends on the ratio of solution volume to contacted surface area (V/S). The influence of solution chemistry such as ionic strength, solution pH, presence of cosolvent, and the influence of temperature on the sorption process were investigated. In the presence of ionic strength, sorption coefficients concurrently increased but less than a factor of 2 up to 0.005 M calcium chloride concentration. However, further increasing ionic strength had no influence on K_d. The cosolvent reduced sorption at a concentration of methanol in water above 0.5% (v/v); however, for benzo[a]pyrene even with 10% (v/v) methanol the mass loss would be still higher than 10% (with a V/S ratio less than 0.25). Significant effects of the solution pH and temperature were not observed. These results suggest that van der Waal’s forces dominate the sorption process. In the analysis of highly hydrophobic PAHs in aqueous samples, mass loss due to sorption on glass walls should be accounted for in the final result if untreated glass is used. The presented relationship between log K_d and log S_w may help to decide if such a correction is necessary. Furthermore, the frequently used silanization of glass surfaces may not be sufficient to suppress sorption for large PAHs.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ash: determination of total and leachable concentrations

Before wood ash can be used as a soil fertilizer, concentrations of environmentally hazardous compounds must be investigated. In this study, total and leachable concentrations of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in four ash samples and one green liquor sludge. The ash sample with the highest carbon content also contained high levels of PAHs; three of the ash samples had total concentrations exceeding the limit permitted by the Swedish Forest Agency for recycling to forest soils. The leachable concentrations were higher for the non-stabilized samples; this was probably due to colloid-facilitated transport of the contaminants in these samples. However, the leachable concentrations were overall relatively low in all the samples studied. The amounts of PAHs introduced to forest soils by additions of stabilized, recyclable ash products will be determined primarily by the rate of weathering of the ash particles and the total concentration of contaminants.     

Performance Evaluation of Waste Activated Carbon on Atrazine Removal from Contaminated Water

Abstract

In this study, the potential of spent activated carbon from water purifier (Aqua Guard, India) for the removal of atrazine (2 chloro-4 ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-1, 3, 5 triazine) from wastewaters was evaluated. Different grades of spent activated carbon were prepared by various pretreatments. Based on kinetic and equilibrium study results, spent activated carbon with a grain size of 0.3–0.5 mm and washed with distilled water (designated as WAC) was selected for fixed column studies. Batch adsorption equilibrium data followed both Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm. Fixed bed adsorption column with spent activated carbon as adsorbent was used as a polishing unit for the removal of atrazine from the effluent of an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor treating atrazine bearing domestic wastewater. Growth of bacteria on the surface of WAC was observed during column study and bacterial activity enhanced the effectiveness of adsorbent on atrazine removal from wastewater.     

The transport and retention of CQDs-doped TiO2 in packed columns and 3D printed micromodels

CQDs-doped TiO₂（C-TiO₂） has drawn increased attention in recent because of its excellent catalytic performance.Understanding the transport of C-TiO₂ in porous media is necessary for evaluating the environmental process of this new nanomaterial.Column experiments were used in this study to investigate ionic strength（IS）,dissolved organic matter（DOM）and sand grain size on the transport of C-TiO₂.The mobility of C-TiO₂ was inhibited by the incr...     

Optimization of the continuous biosorption of copper with sugar-beet pectin gels

Sugar-beet pectin xerogels obtained from residues of the sugar industry are an adequate material for metal recovery from effluents in continuous systems. The xerogels were used as a biosorbent for copper removal in a fixed-bed column. The performance of the system was evaluated in different experimental conditions: flow rate, bed height, inlet metal concentration and feeding system (drop and reverse). The effect on the biosorption parameters (saturation time, amount of adsorbed and treated metal, column performance and metal uptake) and the shape of the breakthrough curves was determined. The saturation time increased with increasing bed height but decreased with increasing feed flow rate and inlet metal concentration. Preferential flow channels greatly influenced the metal uptake and column performance. Copper was completely desorbed with 0.1 M HNO₃. Additionally, the column data fitted both the linear and nonlinear expressions of the Thomas model.     

Release characteristics and control of nitrogen,phosphate, organic matter from spent mushroom compost amended soil in a column experiment

Spent mushroom compost (SMC) is a co-product of edible mushroom which contains abundant nutrients including organics, nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P). This study is related to the release potential of nitrogen, phosphate and organic matter from SMC amended soil in column-based experiments. Results showed that due to SMC application, NH₄⁺–N and NO₃⁻–N concentrations in leachate decreased by 92.5% and 76.3%, respectively, while EC and COD_Cr concentrations increased by 84.2% and 481.9%, respectively, as compared to chemical fertilizers. Moreover, a minor loss of TN_cum (65%) and TP_cum (almost equal value) exhibited good nutrient retention capacity. Leaching test results demonstrated that the mixed application of SMC and chemical fertilizers could alleviate excessive COD_Cr level in SMC leachate. The release process of nutrients in SMC amended soil could be described by first/first order mixed model, indicating that nutrients leached from SMC follow a two-stage pattern.     

水中矿物油和动植物油测定方法探讨

准确测定水中矿物油和动植物油含量对环境分析工作具有重要意义。通过实验证明 ,内径 17mm ,干法装柱的玻璃层析柱 ,具有节约洗脱剂、省时、回收率高的特点     

东阳市电镀总厂废水处理工艺简介

本文主要描述ＥＥＯＯ电镀废水处理技术的工艺过程及主要反应原理，它包括两个柱：１催化氧化柱、２内电解柱     

杀虫剂三唑磷在室内淡水微宇宙中的生态效应

作为一种中等毒性的有机磷杀虫剂,三唑磷在稻区的使用十分普遍。为弄清其对淡水生态系统的影响,选择5组浓度(0、0.35、1.75、17.5、52.5μg·L~(-1)),在以藻类作为营养源的室内微宇宙系统内进行研究,采用多变量分析软件CANOCO 5对数据进行分析。非限制性排序和多重比较的结果表明,给药后0~6 d,三唑磷对于浮游动物群落的最高无作用浓度(NOEC_(community))和最低有效浓度(LOEC_(community))分别为17.5μg·L~(-1)和52.5μg·L~(-1)。给药后第9天,最高浓度组(52.5μg·L~(-1))的群落结构开始恢复,此刻三唑磷在水中的实测浓度平均值为4.35μg·L~(-1)。对于单个物种种群密度做差异显著性分析和多重比较,结果显示浮游动物当中受影响最大的是绿色湖湾介Strandesia viridis。给药30 d后,该物种在52.5μg·L~(-1)处理组的种群密度明显下降,历时57 d的试验结束时,种群密度仍未恢复到对照水平。对于藻类,非限制性排序和多重比较的结果显示三唑磷在群落层次的影响未达到能够明显区分NOEC_(community)和LOEC_(community)的程度。在单物种层面,在给药后9~12 d,三唑磷对单细胞的羊角月牙藻Selenastrum capricornutum种群有刺激作用。其NOECspecies和LOECspecies分别为1.75μg·L~(-1)和17.5μg·L~(-1)。没有迹象表明三唑磷的引入能够明显改变水体pH、电导、浊度和水体C循环状况。结合暴露评估软件GNEEC(Version 2.0)输出的环境浓度(峰值为2.44μg·L~(-1)),本研究结果显示三唑磷在正常使用剂量下有可能对稻田周边浮游动物群落的内部结构造成扰动,但是它不会对整个系统造成不可恢复的影响。