UV Spectroscopic Monitoring of Vaporized Monoaromatic Hydrocarbons from Petroleum-Contaminated Soils

Fast and simple systems using ultraviolet (UV) absorbance were examined for on-line monitoring of monoaromatic hydrocarbons from petroleum-contaminated soils in this research. Since soil particles hinder the UV light transmittance, the absorbance measurement of vaporized monoaromatic hydrocarbons in soil gas extracted from petroleum-contaminated soils was proposed. In the fixed system that exhibited higher sensitivity than the portable one, the absorbance intensity of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene increased in proportion to the concentration of the contaminants. The portable system, however, was suitable for screening purpose, while it exhibited faster response. There was no interference from water, which helps the applicability of the proposed systems to the actual fields.     

Determination of Steroid Estrogens in Wastewater Treatment Plant of A Controceptives Producing Factory

Steroid estrogens such as estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), and 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) have been suspected to be the main contaminants, which can affect the endocrine system of animals. Many authors have investigated these chemicals in the domestic wastewater treatment plants (WTP). However, wastewater from industries producing steroid contraceptives has not got ample attention. From the environmental point of view, the four steroids are very significant because even very low concentrations (ng/L) can cause reproductive disturbances in human, livestock and wildlife. The main purpose of the present investigation was to develop an analytical method for the determination of the four steroid estrogens present in WTP of a pharmacy factory, mainly producing contraceptive medicine in Beijing, China. Analysis was performed by solid-phase extraction (SPE) system and liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). The average recoveries from effluent samples ranged from 88% to 103% and the precision of the method ranged from 9% to 4%. Based on 0.5-L wastewater samples, the limit of quantification (LOQ) was determined at 0.7 ng/L for E1, 0.8 for E2, 0.9 ng/L for E3, and 0.5 ng/L for EE2 in influent, and 1.0 ng/L for E2 and EE2, and 2.0 ng/L for E1 and E3 in effluent. In the influent samples, average concentrations of 80, 85, 73 and 155 ng/L were determined for E1, E2, E3 and EE2, respectively, showing that they were removed in this WTP to the extent of 79, 73, 85 and 67%, respectively.     

加速溶剂萃取-固相萃取/超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法测定沉积物中5种微囊藻毒素

建立了加速溶剂萃取-固相萃取/超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法同时测定沉积物中5种微囊藻毒素(MC-LR、MC-RR、MC-LW、MC-LF、MC-YR)的方法。选择甲醇-水(1∶4,V/V)为ASE萃取溶剂,萃取温度和萃取压力分别为80℃和13.1 MPa,固相萃取过程以HLB小柱为萃取柱,采用液相色谱-串联质谱分析。方法在5种微囊藻毒素质量浓度5~100μg/L内线性良好(r0.995),回收率为76.0%~118%,相对标准偏差为1.9%~12.0%,检出限为2~3μg/kg,定量下限为8~12μg/kg。该方法已用于西太湖沉积物的检测,具有较好的方法适用性。     

不同碳源和泥龄对反硝化聚磷的影响

在4个SBR装置(1#~4#)中,对4种不同比例的丙酸/乙酸合成废水采用厌氧/缺氧方式驯化富集反硝化聚磷菌(DPB),研究了碳源浓度和污泥龄对除磷的影响。实验结果表明:(1)厌氧段碳源COD浓度越高,释磷越充分,溶解性正磷酸盐(SOP)去除率越高;但当碳源COD浓度超过某个浓度值时,未反应完全的有机物残留于后续缺氧段对缺氧吸磷产生抑制作用。(2)污泥龄SRT=15 d时,活性污泥的性能较好,达到了较好的除磷效果。(3)在相同碳源浓度和相同的污泥龄下,随着丙酸/乙酸比例的提高,SOP的去除率逐渐的降低。说明在厌氧/缺氧环境下,碳源中丙酸比例的提高不利于系统中磷的去除。高乙酸含量的碳源更适合反硝化除磷系统。     

铁炭复配修复地下水中NO_3~--N的条件研究

采用了铁炭复配修复地下水中NO3--N,探讨了实验条件对修复效果的影响。结果表明,在pH值近中性条件(初始pH 6.42)下,反应时间为1 h时NO3--N修复率达到60.85%;Fe/C=1∶1时介质最佳用量分别为4~5 g;Fe/C=1/1.5时修复率为72.80%;反应速率在高振荡强度下大于低振荡强度;氧化铜的催化效果最好,可使修复率提高7.5个百分点。铁炭复配介质修复地下水中NO3--N是有效可行的,修复率随反应时间的增加而提高,在Fe/C=1∶1时修复率与介质用量呈正相关,无限减小Fe/C比并不能无限提高修复率,振荡强度对修复具有显著影响,低振荡强度下的修复过程较高强度存在滞后现象,并非所有金属氧化物催化剂对铁炭修复NO3--N均有促进作用。     

Concentration and characterization of plutonium in soils of Hubei in central China

To study the Pu concentration and isotope ratio distributions present in China, the ^239+240Pu total activities and ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu atom ratios in core soil samples from Hubei Province in central China were investigated using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS). The activities ranged from 0.019 to 0.502 mBq g⁻¹ and the ^239+240Pu inventories of 45 and ∼55 Bq m⁻² agree well with that expected from global fallout. The ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu atom ratios in the soil ranged from 0.172 to 0.220. The ratios are similar to typical global fallout values. Hence, any close-in fallout contribution from the Chinese nuclear weapons tests, mainly conducted in the 1970s, must have either been negligible or had a similar ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu ratio to that of global fallout. The top 10 cm layer of the soil contributes ∼90% of the total inventory and the maximum concentrations appeared in the 2-4 cm or 4-6 cm layers. It is suggested that climatic conditions and organic content are the two main factors that affect the vertical migration of plutonium in soil.     

Effects of temperature and fertilization on total vs. active bacterial communities exposed to crude and diesel oil pollution in NW Mediterranean Sea

The dynamics of total and active microbial communities were studied in seawater microcosms amended with crude or diesel oil at different temperatures (25, 10 and 4 °C) in the presence/absence of organic fertilization (Inipol EAP 22). Total and hydrocarbon-degrading microbes were enumerated by fluorescence microscopy and Most Probable Number (MPN) method, respectively. Total (16S rDNA-based) vs. active (16S rRNA) bacterial community structure was monitored by Capillary-Electrophoresis Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism (CE-SSCP) fingerprinting. Hydrocarbons were analyzed after 12 weeks of incubation by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Total and hydrocarbon-degrading microbial counts were highly influenced by fertilization while no important differences were observed between temperatures. Higher biodegradation levels were observed in fertilized microcosms. Temperature and fertilization induced changes in structure of total bacterial communities. However, fertilization showed a more important effect on active bacterial structure. The calculation of Simpson's diversity index showed similar trends among temperatures whereas fertilization reduced diversity index of both total and active bacterial communities.     

Determination of antibiotics in sewage from hospitals, nursery and slaughter house, wastewater treatment plant and source water in Chongqing region of Three Gorge Reservoir in China

Sewage samples from 4 hospitals, 1 nursery, 1 slaughter house, 1 wastewater treatment plant and 5 source water samples of Chongqing region of Three Gorge Reservoir were analyzed for macrolide, lincosamide, trimethoprim, fluorouinolone, sulfonamide and tetracycline antibiotics by online solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Results showed that the concentration of ofloxacin (OFX) in hospital was the highest among all water environments ranged from 1.660 μg/L to 4.240 μg/L and norfloxacin (NOR, 0.136-1.620 μg/L), ciproflaxacin (CIP, ranged from 0.011 μg/L to 0.136 μg/L), trimethoprim (TMP, 0.061-0.174 μg/L) were commonly detected. Removal range of antibiotics in the wastewater treatment plant was 18-100% and the removal ratio of tylosin, oxytetracycline and tetracycline were 100%. Relatively higher removal efficiencies were observed for tylosin (TYL), oxytetracycline (OXY) and tetracycline (TET)(100%), while lower removal efficiencies were observed for Trimethoprim (TMP, 1%), Epi-iso-chlorotetracycline (EICIC, 18%) and Erythromycin-H₂O (ERY-H₂O, 24%). Antibiotics were removed more efficiently in primary treatment compared with those in secondary treatment.     

Perfluorochemicals in wastewater treatment plants and sediments in Hong Kong

The study reported in this paper examined the concentrations of nineteen perfluorochemicals (PFCs), including perfluoroalkyl sulfonates, carboxylates, and sulfonamides in samples collected from Hong Kong wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and sediments. The study was the first to use an external isolator column to assist in the quantification of PFCs in environmental samples without having to make internal modifications to a liquid chromatography system. Perfluorooctanesulfonate was found to be the dominant PFC pollutant in Hong Kong, and the WWTP sludge was the major sink of PFCs discharged from the urban areas. Compared to discharge influenced by industrial activities, much less perfluorooctanoate was found in waste streams. The significantly lower level of perfluorodecanesulfonate in WWTP sludge reflects the important influence of consumer products on PFC distribution. The dominance of even-chain length perfluoroalkyl carboxylates in all of the WWTP sludge samples investigated further suggests the strong aerobic degradation of fluorotelomer alcohols in WWTPs.     

Dioxins, PCBs, and HCB in soil and peat profiles from a pristine boreal catchment

The aim of this study was to explore how atmospherically derived soil pollution is affected by environmental processes at two typical boreal catchment landscape type settings: wetlands and forested areas. Measurements of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) in forest soil and peat from an oligotrophic mire at various depths were performed at a remote boreal catchment in northern Sweden. HOCs in peat were evenly distributed throughout the body of the mire while levels of HOCs in the forest soil increased with increased amount of organic matter. Evaluation of HOC composition by principal component analysis (PCA) showed distinct differences between surface soils and deeper soil and peat samples. This was attributed to vertical transport, degradation and/or shifting sources over time. The calculated net vertical transport differed between surface layers (0.3%) and deeper soils (8.0%), suggesting that vertical transport conditions and processes differ in the deeper layers compared to the surface layers.