Distinctive differences in the granulation of saline and non-saline enriched anaerobic ammonia oxidizing (AMX) bacteria

The growing interest in the anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (AMX) process in treating high nitrogen containing wastewaters and a comprehensive study into the granulation mechanism of these bacteria under diverse environmental conditions over the years have been unequal. To this effect, the distinctive differences in saline adapted AMX (S_AMX) and non-saline adapted AMX (NS_AMX) granules are presented in this study. It was observed that substrate utilisation profiles, granule formation mechanism, and pace towards granulation differed marginally for the two adaptation conditions. The different microbial dominant aggregation types aided in splitting the 471 days operated lab-scale SBRs into three distinct phases. In both reactors, phase III (granules dominant phase) showed the highest average nitrogen removal efficiency of 87.9% ± 4.8% and 85.6% ± 3.6% for the S_AMX and NS_AMX processes, respectively. The extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) quantity and major composition determined its role either as a binding agent in granulation or a survival mechanism in saline adaptation. It was also observed that granules of the S_AMX reactor were mostly loosely and less condensed aggregates of smaller sub-units and flocs while those of the NS_AMX reactor were compact agglomerates. The ionic gradient in saline enrichment led to an increased activity of the Na⁺/K⁺ – ATPase, hence enriched granules produced higher cellular adenosine triphosphate molecules which finally improved the granules active biomass ratio by 32.96%. Microbial community showed that about three to four major known AMX species made up the granules consortia in both reactors. Proteins and expression of functional genes differed for these different species.     

Enrichment and transfer of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) through dust aerosol generation from soil to the air

● Compositional patterns of PAHs in dust aerosol vary from soil during dust generation. ● The EF of PAH in dust aerosol is affected by soil texture and soil PAH concentration. ● The sizes of dust aerosol play an important role in the enrichment of HMW-PAHs. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are major organic pollutants in soil. It is known that they are released to the atmosphere by wind via dust aerosol generation. However, it remains unclear how these pollutants are transferred through the air/soil interface. In this study, dust aerosols were generated in the laboratory using soils (sandy loam and loam) with various physicochemical properties. The PAH concentrations of these soils and their generated dust aerosol were measured, showing that the enrichment factors (EFs) of PAHs were affected by soil texture, PAH contamination level, molecular weight of PAH species and aerosol sizes. The PAHs with higher EFs (6.24–123.35 in dust PM_2.5; 7.02–47.65 in dust PM₁₀) usually had high molecular weights with more than four aromatic rings. In addition, the positive correlation between EFs of PAHs and the total OC_aerosol content of dust aerosol in different particle sizes was also statistically significant (r = 0.440, P < 0.05). This work provides insights into the relationship between atmospheric PAHs and the contaminated soils and the transfer process of PAHs through the soil-air interface.     

Methane generation from corncobs treated with xylanolytic consortia

Consortia were developed for the treatment of corncobs for use as a feedstock in a biogas fermentor. The treatment of corncobs with xylanolytic consortia enhanced the production of methane and biogas. All five consortia developed produced the maximum biogas and methane at a 6% loading rate and 20 days hydraulic retention time (HRT). The maximum biogas yield of 0.59m³/kg volatile solids (VS) with a methane content of 62% was produced with the KK-10 consortium. This was apparently due to a maximum hemicellulose degradation of 88%.     

康滇地轴东缘典型铅锌矿床伴生分散元素镉锗镓赋存状态与富集规律研究

分散元素在自然界含量很低,以分散状态存在,很少形成独立矿物和独立矿床,因此对矿床中伴生分散元素研究有重要的理论和现实意义。本次工作通过解剖康滇地轴东缘典型铅锌矿床——四川天宝山、四川大梁子和云南会泽,利用常规显微镜观察、电子探针分析和等离子质谱分析手段,分析研究了矿床中矿物和矿石中的分散元素镉锗镓赋存状态和富集规律,总结了分散元素镉锗镓的空间分布规律:由西向东,即自天宝山到大梁子到会泽,分散元素镉锗镓的含量有富镉-富镉镓-富锗的变化规律。     

东北某市严重雾霾期PM_(2.5)、PM_(10)中元素特征和富集因子分析

为了掌握雾霾期大气PM 2.5和PM 10中无机元素污染特征,于2013年10月20~31日期间采集了东北某市发生严重雾霾时大气PM 2.5和PM 10样品,分析了颗粒物样品中21种无机元素(K、Ca、Na、Mg、Mn、Pb、Cd等)的浓度。结果表明:大气PM 2.5和PM 10浓度普遍超标,超标率分别达88.89%、66.67%;大气PM 2.5和PM 10中元素质量浓度主要是由Na、S、Ca、K、Fe、Al、Si、As、Mg 9种元素贡献;元素的富集状况分析表明,Na、Zn、Ca、Cr、Ni、Cu、Mn、Cd、Pb和As在非雾霾期和雾霾期期富集程度较高,污染较严重,受人为污染源影响较大;以不同元素做参比,所得各元素富集系数不同。     

运城市区秋冬季大气PM2.5中重金属污染特征及健康风险评估

为了解山西省运城市大气细颗粒物（PM_2.5）中重金属的污染特征和来源及其健康风险,于2020年10月15日—2021年2月14日对运城市大气PM_2.5样品进行连续采集,使用微波消解-电感耦合等离子质谱法（ICP-MS）分析了样品中的铬（Cr）、锰（Mn）、镍（Ni）、铜（Cu）、锌（Zn）、砷（As）、镉（Cd）和铅（Pb）等8种重金属元素的质量浓度。结果表明,采样期间,ρ（PM_2.5）平均值为78.96μg/m³,采暖季ρ（PM_2.5）为（79.84±43.79）μg/m³,高于非采暖季（76.54±23.97）μg/m³,采暖季和非采暖季ρ（PM_2.5）均值均超过《环境空气质量标准》（GB 3095—2012）中的二级标准。富集因子法分析表明,Ni、Cu、Zn、As、Cd和Pb的富集因子均高于10,其中Cd元素的富集因子平均值达到1.089,表明受人为污染影响严重。主成分分析结果表明,运城市区秋冬季大气中重金属主要有3个来源,分别为混合燃烧源、机动车尾气源、工业排放源。健康风险评价结果显示,经手口摄入暴露强度最大,呼吸吸入暴露强度最小,皮肤接触暴露强度居中;儿童在3种暴露途径的总暴露剂量高于成人,儿童重金属暴露风险高于成人。各途径的非致癌风险强度叠加值＜1,表明非致癌风险较小;但As、Pb的非致癌风险相对较高。4种重金属的呼吸吸入途径致癌风险程度排序为：As＞Cr＞Cd＞Ni,单种重金属的致癌风险（TR）值以及重金属的总致癌风险（R）值均＜10^-6,表明本研究中重金属不具有致癌风险。     

抚顺市PM10中元素分布特征及来源分析

为了确定抚顺市PM10中元素的浓度特征及其来源,于2006—2007年的采暖季、风沙季和非采暖季在抚顺市的6个采样点采集PM10样品,并用等离子体原子发射光谱法(ICP-AES)测定样品中Ti、Al、Mn、Mg、Ca、Na、K、Cu、Zn、As、Pb、Cr、Ni、Co、Cd、Fe、V等17种元素的含量。结果表明,Al、Mg、Ca、Na、K、Mn、Fe等地壳元素在17种元素中占有较大比重,全年平均达到97.0%。富集因子分析结果表明,Cu、Zn、Pb、Cr、Co、Cd等元素在各季和各采样点明显受到人为活动影响,是典型的污染元素。主因子分析结果显示,土壤风沙尘、建筑尘、燃煤尘、道路扬尘、机动车尾气排放、金属冶炼、锰、铜、钛工业源是抚顺市PM10中元素的主要来源。     

长江南京段近岸沉积物和土壤中重金属分布特征分析

通过测定沉积物和土壤中Cd、Pb、Cr、Zn、Cu、Ni 6种重金属元素的平均含量,计算其富集因子,分析长江南京段近岸沉积物和土壤中重金属的空间分布特征,结果表明,几种重金属在沉积物中的富集次序为:CdPbCr1NiCuZn,在土壤中为:CdZnCu1CrPbNi,除Zn和Cu外,其他几种金属在沉积物中的富集程度高于土壤,同时Cd的含量超过土壤环境质量三级标准。以Cd和Pb为例分析了重金属含量与沉积物粒级之间的关系,回归分析显示,Cd、Pb的含量与颗粒物的粒级呈显著的相关性,与细颗粒物的含量有密切关系,细颗粒携带的重金属,在长江水力分选作用下到达下游,成为沉积物中重金属的主要来源。     

硝化细菌富集培养及处理富营养化水体应用研究

通过对沈阳市北部污水处理厂曝气池的活性污泥进行培养,使污泥中异养细菌数量减少,硝化细菌数量增加,成为优势菌,并用此污泥处理富营养化水体,结果氨氮大幅度降低。