Synthesis, crystal structure, photodegradation kinetics and photocatalytic activity of novel photocatalyst ZnBiYO4

ZnBiYO₄ was synthesized by a solid-state reaction method for the first time. The structural and photocatalytic properties of ZnBiYO₄ were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance. ZnBiYO₄ crystallized with a tetragonal spinel structure with space group I41/A. The lattice parameters for ZnBiYO₄ were a = b = 11.176479 Å and c= 10.014323 Å. The band gap of ZnBiYO₄ was estimated to be 1.58 eV. The photocatalytic activity of ZnBiYO₄ was assessed by photodegradation of methyl orange under visible light irradiation. The results showed that ZnBiYO₄ had higher catalytic activity compared with N-doped TiO₂ under the same experimental conditions using visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange with ZnBiYO₄ or N-doped TiO₂ as catalyst followed first-order reaction kinetics, and the first-order rate constant was 0.01575 and 0.00416 min^-1 for ZnBiYO₄ and N-doped TiO₂, respectively. After visible light irradiation for 220 min with ZnBiYO₄ as catalyst, complete removal and mineralization of methyl orange were observed. The reduction of total organic carbon, formation of inorganic products, SO₄^2- and NO₃^-, and evolution of CO₂ revealed the continuous mineralization of methyl orange during the photocatalytic process. The intermediate products were identified using liquid chromatography- mass spectrometry. The ZnBiYO₄/(visible light) photocatalysis system was found to be suitable for textile industry wastewater treatment and could be used to solve other environmental chemical pollution problems.     

Low-carbon transition of iron and steel industry in China: Carbon intensity, economic growth and policy intervention

As the biggest iron and steel producer in the world and one of the highest CO₂ emission sectors, China's iron and steel industry is undergoing a low-carbon transition accompanied by remarkable technological progress and investment adjustment, in response to the macroeconomic climate and policy intervention. Many drivers of the CO₂ emissions of the iron and steel industry have been explored, but the relationships between CO₂ abatement, investment and technological expenditure, and their connections with the economic growth and governmental policies in China, have not been conjointly and empirically examined. We proposed a concise conceptual model and an econometric model to investigate this crucial question. The results of regression, Granger causality test and impulse response analysis indicated that technological expenditure can significantly reduce CO₂ emissions, and that investment expansion showed a negative impact on CO₂ emission reduction. It was also argued with empirical evidence that a good economic situation favored CO₂ abatement in China's iron and steel industry, while achieving CO₂ emission reduction in this industrial sector did not necessarily threaten economic growth. This shed light on the dispute over balancing emission cutting and economic growth. Regarding the policy aspects, the year 2000 was found to be an important turning point for policy evolution and the development of the iron and steel industry in China. The subsequent command and control policies had a significant, positive effect on CO₂ abatement.     

Visible-light-driven photocatalytic inactivation of bacteriophage f2 by Cu-TiO2 nanofibers in the presence of humic acid

Pathogenic viruses in drinking water are great threats to public health. Visible-light-driven photocatalysis is a promising technology for virus inactivation. However, the existing photocatalytic antiviral research studies have mostly been carried out in single-component systems, neglecting the effect of natural organic matter, which exists widely in actual water bodies. In this paper, electrospun Cu-TiO₂ nanofibers were prepared as photocatalysts, and their photocatalytic antiviral performance in the presence of humic acid (HA) was comprehensively studied for the first time. The properties of the reaction mixture were measured during the reaction. In addition, the safety, reliability and stability of photocatalytic disinfection in the mixed system were evaluated. The results showed that the virus removal efficiency decreased with the increase of the HA concentration. The type of reaction solution, such as PBS buffer solution or water, did not affect the removal efficiency noticeably. Under acidic conditions, the electrostatic forces between photocatalysts and viruses were strengthened, leading to higher virus removal efficiency. As the reaction time went on, the pH value in the solution increased first and then tended to be stable, the conductivity remained stable, and the dissolved oxygen increased first and then decreased. The safety test showed that the concentration of Cu ions released into the solution was lower than specified by the international standards. No photoreactivation was observed, and the addition of HA significantly reduced the reutilization efficiency of the photocatalysts.     

电化学还原-氧化工艺降解4-氯酚的毒性研究

采用紫外光还原法制备了Pd-Fe/石墨烯催化阴极,并以Ti/IrO_2/RuO_2为阳极,构成三电极体系(双阴极)和两电极体系(单阴极)的电化学还原-氧化降解工艺,分别对4-氯酚进行降解.采用离子色谱、高效液相色谱、TOC仪对4-氯酚降解过程中中间产物及其浓度进行测定.根据公式计算降解过程中理论计算毒性值,应用发光细菌法测定降解过程中的实际毒性值,对理论计算毒性值与实际毒性值进行比较,分析不同体系下降解过程中毒性的变化规律.结果表明,两种工艺体系在最佳降解条件下,阴极室毒性均呈下降的趋势,由于降解过程中在阳极室生成高毒性的苯醌,阳极室毒性均先升高后降低.通过相关性分析得到,两种体系理论计算毒性与实际毒性在P=0.01水平下,相关性系数均为1,显著相关,表明降解过程中实际毒性的测定结果真实可靠.降解至120 min时,三电极体系毒性小于两电极体系,表明三电极体系优于两电极体系.据此提出实际毒性测定方法在电化学还原-氧化工艺降解氯酚类有机废水毒性测试的工业应用中有着广泛的前景.     

Experimental and theoretical research on the inhibition performance of ethanol gasoline/air explosion by C6F12O

The safety issue of ethanol gasoline and the methods to control or weaken its explosion have attracted attention. To clarify the effect of C₆F₁₂O (perfluoro(2-methyl-3-pentanone)) on the explosion of ethanol gasoline-air mixtures and intrinsic mechanism, the explosion overpressure and flame propagation behavior under different equivalence ratios (φ = 0.6–0.8) and C₆F₁₂O concentrations (χ_inh = 0–4.0%) were experimentally obtained. The detailed inhibitor reaction process was also obtained by CHEMKIN based on a new assembly kinetic mechanism. The results show that the effects of C₆F₁₂O on the explosion characteristics of ethanol gasoline varied with χ_inh and φ. For rich flames, C₆F₁₂O is more effective than and heptafluoropropane (C₃HF₇) and nitrogen (N₂) in suppressing explosions; for lean and equivalence ratio flames, the addition of C₆F₁₂O may result in more severe explosions. The decrease in chemical reactivity is mainly because the mole fractions of OH and H radicals and the proportion of paths H radicals involved decrease after adding C₆F₁₂O, and R1500: CF₃COF + H = CF₃CO + HF, R965: CF₂:O + H = CF:O + HF, R863: CF₃ + H = CF₂ + HF are main suppressing reactions.     

水生生物对三唑磷的物种敏感度分布研究

针对水环境中日益严重的有机磷农药污染问题,选择广泛使用的三唑磷作为研究对象,利用其对水生生态系统中不同营养层次生物物种的半数效应浓度(median effective concentration, EC₅₀),建立了基于对数-逻辑斯蒂分布的水生生物物种敏感度分布(species sensitivity distribution, SSD)模型,并采用概率图和吻合度检验方法对该模型进行了检验和评价.结果表明,水生生物对三唑磷的 SSD 服从对数-逻辑斯蒂分布,其参数为 α=-0.4788±0.2381,β=0.7546±0.1078.基于该 SSD 模型,获得三唑磷的 5% 危害浓度(hazardous concentration for 5% of the species, HC₅)值为 1.992×10^-3 mg/L,并推导出三唑磷的最大浓度基准值(criteria maximum concentration, CMC)值为 9.96×10^-4 mg/L.对 HC₅、CMC 与单一物种的安全浓度的比较研究指出,基于 SSD 方法制定环境质量标准更为严格,也更接近于真实的生态环境.另外,根据渤海莱州湾海域中三唑磷的监测数据,预测了其对物种的潜在影响比例(potentially affected fraction, PAF)为 0.36%,对该水域生态环境的影响处于较低风险水平.     

苏北潮滩温室气体排放的时空变化及影响因素

滨海湿地温室气体CO_2、CH_4和N_2O的排放在全球碳氮循环中发挥着重要的作用,进一步影响着全球气候变化.为研究滨海湿地CO_2、CH_4和N_2O排放的时空变化及影响因素,以苏北潮滩为例,采用静态暗箱-气相色谱法,于2013年4月至2014年3月,测定了不同时空尺度下CO_2、CH_4和N_2O通量的变化规律,并分析了影响温室气体通量变化的环境因素.结果表明,CO_2、CH_4和N_2O通量的季节变化的最大值出现在夏季,CO_2和N_2O通量的最小值出现在冬季,而CH_4在春季表现为弱吸收;互花米草滩年均排放CO_2量最大,为(766.3±496.9)mg·(m2·h)~(-1),芦苇滩年均排放CH_4和N_2O最大,分别是(0.420±0.900)mg·(m2·h)~(-1)和(17.4±5.0)μg·(m2·h)~(-1).光滩表现为对CH_4的吸收,为(-0.004±0.032)mg·(m2·h)~(-1),对CO_2和N_2O的排放,且排放通量最小,分别是(57.1±16.2)mg·(m2·h)~(-1)和(6.1±2.1)μg·(m2·h)~(-1).全球变暖潜能的最大值出现在互花米草滩,为68 841.280 kg·(hm2·a)~(-1),分别是芦苇滩和碱蓬滩的1.41倍和3.02倍,光滩的GWP最小,为5 002.100 kg·(hm2·a)~(-1).通过Pearson相关分析发现,除光滩外,CO_2通量与气温、土温呈显著的相关性(P0.05),而CH_4和N_2O通量与温度则不存在显著的相关性.尽管如此,CO_2、CH_4和N_2O通量的时间变化更多地是受温度以及植被生长状况的影响,而空间变化则主要由植被的状况所决定;外来种互花米草主要是通过增加CO_2排放来影响滨海湿地的全球变暖潜能.     

Microbial reduction of uranium (VI) by Bacillus sp. dwc-2: A macroscopic and spectroscopic study

The microbial reduction of U(VI) by Bacillus sp. dwc-2, isolated from soil in Southwest China, was explored using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES). Our studies indicated that approximately 16.0% of U(VI) at an initial concentration of 100 mg/L uranium nitrate could be reduced by Bacillus sp. dwc-2 at pH 8.2 under anaerobic conditions at room temperature. Additionally, natural organic matter (NOM) played an important role in enhancing the bioreduction of U(VI) by Bacillus sp. dwc-2. XPS results demonstrated that the uranium presented mixed valence states (U(VI) and U(IV)) after bioreduction, which was subsequently confirmed by XANES. Furthermore, the TEM and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) analysis suggested that the reduced uranium was bioaccumulated mainly within the cell and as a crystalline structure on the cell wall. These observations implied that the reduction of uranium may have a significant effect on its fate in the soil environment in which these bacterial strains occur.     

京津冀地区主要排放源减排对PM2.5污染改善贡献评估

研究选取2012年1月和7月作为冬夏两季代表时段,利用CMAQ/2D-VBS模型分析了冬夏两季京津冀地区主要排放源减排30%对改善区域PM_(2.5)污染的效果.结果表明,工业源对PM_(2.5)污染的贡献最大,其次是民用源,但工业源单位减排量贡献低于民用源,交通源和电厂源的整体贡献和单位减排量贡献均较小.工业部门内贡献最大的为钢铁冶金行业,其次是水泥、工业锅炉、炼焦、石灰砖瓦和化工行业.与各部门各物种排放量的比较反映出各排放源贡献大小与其一次PM_(2.5)排放水平高度相关.因京津冀地区冬季NO_x减排对PM_(2.5)形成的促进作用,以及冬季较弱的大气垂直扩散作用,各排放源夏季减排比冬季普遍更有效,交通源、电厂源以及工业源中的水泥、工业锅炉和石灰砖瓦行业夏季减排效果相比冬季优势明显.民用源由于采暖季排放较高而冬季贡献更明显,农业源因秸秆开放燃烧量大,冬季单位减排量贡献十分显著.从同等幅度减排考虑,应将工业源作为控制重点,优先控制其一次PM_(2.5)排放,在部门内进一步重点控制钢铁冶金行业的NO_x和SO_2排放、水泥行业的夏季NO_x排放以及炼焦行业的SO_2和NMVOC排放.民用源排放应着重在冬季采暖期控制.     

基于唐南渗析原理阳离子交换膜对Cu~(2+)、Mn~(2+)、Zn~(2+)去除能力的研究

基于唐南渗析原理,采用阳离子交换膜去除原水中Cu2+、Mn2+、Zn2+等重金属离子,研究影响阳离子交换膜去除各重金属离子能力大小的机制以及2种重金属离子共存时互相干扰的机制.结果表明,阳离子交换膜可有效去除原水中Cu2+、Mn2+、Zn2+等重金属离子,去除率为75%～85%;在浓度相同下且重金属离子带相同电荷数时,其水化离子半径越小,离子扩散速度就越快,阳离子交换膜对其去除能力就越强;当重金属水化离子半径基本相同时,膜对原子序数小的重金属离子的去除能力更强;相同浓度且相同电荷数的重金属离子共存时,各离子同步被去除,但各离子之间存在干扰,越易于被离子交换的离子与其它离子共存时,其竞争能力越强,使其他离子的去除率降低越多;当待去除离子的总浓度远低于膜的交换容量时,离子共存时各离子的去除率相比离子单独存在时各离子的去除率下降幅度不大.