Assessing water quality of drinking water distribution system in the South Taiwan

This investigation conducted a full-scale survey the drinking water distribution system in Kaohsiung city, Taiwan. The aim was to investigate whether the distribution system was capable of maintaining high water quality from the water treatment facilities through to the end user. The results showed that the distribution system can maintain high water quality, except for suitable chlorine residuals. The authors plotted chlorine residual contour maps to identify areas with low chlorine residuals, helping them prioritize sections that must be flushed or renewal. The contour maps also provide sufficient and clear information for locating booster chlorination stations. Contour maps enable water facilities to identify how water quality decays in the distribution systems and the locations of such decay. Water quality decay can be caused by properties of pipeline materials, hydraulic conditions, and/or biofilm thickness. However, understanding the exact reasons is unnecessary because the contour maps provide sufficient information for trouble-shooting the distribution systems.     

Natural bitumens versus oil pollution in the Vlasina lake peat

Free and associated bitumens were isolated by sequential extraction from Vlasina lake peat (SE Serbia) and were investigated in order to differentiate between oil pollution and natural bitumens. Four peat samples were collected at different depths, on a peat island. Gas chromatographic (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis revealed the presence of three markedly different bitumen fractions. Here we show that the free bitumens are representing the native peat bitumens. The two associated bitumens are mainly the products of bacterial rework of organic substance, which were then trapped by two differing mechanisms. The bitumens characteristics and association features exclude a contribution of oil pollution.Selected article from the Regional Symposium on Chemistry and Environment Krusevac, Serbia, June 2003, organised by Dr. Branimir Jovancicevic.     

广东山地土壤粘粒矿物

本文研究了广东山地土壤的粘粒矿物组成、粘粒阳离子交换量和游离氧化铁等化学性质。结果表明,随着海拔的逐渐升高,高岭石含量渐减,2:1型矿物渐增;而三水铝石和1.4nm矿物含量以山体中部为最高。粘粒阳离子交换量的高低与2:1型粘土矿物含量的多少相吻合。粘粒的游离氧化铁含量,每个山体均是山地黄壤高于山地红壤和山地赤红壤。     

低浓度氨氮硝化过程中影响因素的研究

一般来说硝化细菌对环境条件的变化比较敏感,而在低浓度氨氮系统中,硝化细菌对环境条件变化的敏感度比高浓度系统更大,而且其影响规律也有所不同.用富集培养的硝化细菌就温度、pH和碱度对高、低浓度氨氮硝化的影响做了研究.结果表明,低浓度氨氮硝化的温度系数(θ＝1.105)大于高浓度(θ＝1.099),温度对低浓度氨氮硝化的影响较高浓度大;偏碱性的环境更有利于低浓度氨氮硝化的进行,因此低浓度氨氮硝化的最优pH和Alk/N值都较高浓度高.和温度相比,pH和碱度是影响低浓度氨氮硝化过程的主要因素.     

Degradation of sulfonamides and formation of trihalomethanes by chlorination after pre-oxidation with Fe(VI)

Sulfonamides are used in human therapy, animal husbandry and agriculture but are not easily biodegradable, and are often detected in surface water. Sulfamethazine (SMZ) and sulfadiazine (SDZ) are two widely used sulfonamide antibiotics that are used heavily in agriculture. In this study, they were degraded in an aqueous system by chlorination after pre-oxidation with ferrate(VI) (Fe^VIO₄^2 ?, Fe(VI)), an environmentally friendly oxidation technique that has been shown to be effective in degrading various organics. The kinetics of the degradation were determined as a function of Fe(VI) (0–1.5 mg/L), free chlorine (0–1.8 mg/L) and temperature (15–35°C). According to the experimental results, SMZ chlorination followed second-order kinetics with increasing Fe(VI) dosage, and the effect of the initial free chlorine concentration on the reaction kinetics with pre-oxidation by Fe(VI) fitted a pseudo-first order model. The rate constants of SDZ and SMZ chlorination at different temperatures were related to the Arrhenius equation. Fe(VI) could reduce the levels of THMs formed and the toxicity of the sulfonamide degradation systems with Fe(VI) doses of 0.5–1.5 mg/L, which provides a reference for ensuring water quality in drinking water systems.     

Prooxidant Actions of Isoproterenol and Dobutamine

Despite beneficial effect of isoproterenol and doputamine, synthetic catecholamines rutinely used in intensive care patients, their high doses may contribute to cardiotoxicity. This study was conducted to examine whether these drugs can influence on Co, Cu - catalyzed generation deleterious reactive oxygen species (ROS) from H 2 O 2 using chemiluminescent, spectrophotometric and ESR spin trapping techniques. The enhanced production of ROS from the Co(II)+H 2 O 2 and Cu(II)+H 2 O 2 systems in the presence of isoproterenol and dobutamine was observed. The ROS generation was inhibited by scavengers of superoxide anion radical $ {\rm (O}_{\rm 2}^{{ \bar\bullet }} {\rm )} $ , hydroxyl radical $ ({\rm HO}^ \bullet ) $ scavengers and singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) quenchers.     

The free energy and information embodied in the amino acid chains of organisms

It is generally accepted as a useful and workable hypothesis that when an ecosystem receives an inflow of exergy (energy that can do work) it will utilize this flow of exergy to move as far away from thermodynamic equilibrium as possible after the exergy (energy) for maintenance has been covered. If more combinations of system components including organisms are offered, the combination of components and processes that will bring the system most away from thermodynamic equilibrium will win.The amino acid sequences of the proteins e.g. enzymes determine and control the life processes of the organisms and may be viewed as information sensu lato. The free energy of oxidation of the amino acids and the peptide bonds of the cell enzymes expresses therefore the exergy content, eco-exergy or work capacity that the information contributes to “moving further away from thermodynamic equilibrium”. In this paper eco-exergy is calculated and plotted versus the β-values (a measure of the information contained in the genome) for different organisms. The eco-exergy density was previously (see [J?rgensen et al., 1995] and [J?rgensen et al., 2005]) proposed to be calculated as the summation of the product of the β-values representing the information of the genome multiplied by the concentrations of the respective ecosystem components. This analysis shows a strong correlation between the β-values and free energy released when oxidizing the enzymes. The β-values can therefore be assumed to represent the free energy that the organisms have invested in genetic information.     

Achieving nitritation at low temperatures using free ammonia inhibition on Nitrobacter and real-time control in an SBR treating landfill leachate

Free ammonia(FA) inhibition on nitrite-oxidized bacteria(NOB) and real-time control are used to achieve nitrogen removal from landfill leachate via nitrite pathway at low temperatures in sequencing batch reactor. The inhibition of FA on NOB activity during the aerobic period was prolonged using real-time control. The degree of nitrite accumulation was monitored along with variations of the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and NOB population using fluorescence in situ hybridization techniques. It is demonstrated that the end-point of ammonia oxidization is detected from the on-line measured dissolved oxygen,oxidization–reduction potential, and p H signals, which could avoid the loss the FA inhibition on NOB caused by excess aeration. At low temperature(13.0–17.6°C), the level of nitrite pathway rapidly increased from 19.8% to 90%, suggesting that nitritation was successfully started up at low temperature by applying syntrophic association of the FA inhibition and real-time control, and then this high level of nitrite pathway was stably maintained for as long as 233 days. Mechanism analysis shows that the establishment of nitritation was primarily the result of predominant ammonia-oxidizing bacteria developed in the nitrifying bacteria population compared to NOB. This was mainly due to a gradual reduction of nitrite amount that is available to provide energy for the growth of NOB,eventually leading to the elimination of NOB from the bacterial clusters in sequencing batch reactor sludge system.     

Effect of plant harvest on methane emission from two constructed wetlands designed for the treatment of wastewater

The emission of methane from two constructed wetlands [a free water surface flow system (FWS) and a subsurface flow system (SF)], constructed for the treatment of waste water, was evaluated at different sites inhabited by reeds (Phragmites communis), to test the effects of plant harvest. High methane emission was recorded immediately after harvesting in both wetlands. Several days after harvesting, the emission decreased in the FWS but remained high in the SF. The variation was significantly influenced by temperature, with lower emission and higher dissolved CH(4) in water occurring at lower temperatures. Both the emission and concentration of dissolved CH(4) were also influenced significantly by water quality, wetland design, level of stalk butt left above the water level, etc. The methane flux was explained on the basis of rizhospheric methanogenic and methanotrophic microbial populations. FISH analysis indicated the presence of Type A and Type B methanotrophs in both wetlands, and the methane flux was directly influenced by the quantitative variation in methanogenic and methanotrophic bacteria in both wetlands.     

淹没旋转射流的理论分析及力学模型

综述了淹没条件下旋转射流的基本特点、有关理论以及根据边界层流动的力学分析方法得出的淹没自由旋转射流和井筒空间的旋转射流的力学近似分析模型及其解析解,从而为全面深入地研究旋转射流的流动机理,指导该机理在石油工程中的应用,提供了理论基础。