Atmospheric Levels of Nitrogen Oxides at a Greek Oil Refinery Compared with the Urban Measurements in Athens

Oil refining is among the industrial activities that emit considerable amounts of air pollutants into the atmosphere. Nitrogen oxides are important air pollutants that are emitted by oil refineries as products of combustion processes. The ambient air concentrations of nitrogen oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) were monitored continuously at a site close to an oil refinery, near the city of Corinth in Greece, during autumn 1997 together with the main meteorological parameters. The contribution of the oil refinery to the measured atmospheric levels of nitrogen oxides was estimated. The ambient air concentration of nitrogen oxides in the area surrounding the oil refinery were generally lower than the ambient air concentrations in the urban area of Athens in Greece, and the NO₂ levels were always below the existing air quality standards. The influence of the refinery emitted NO_x in the photochemical production of ozone seems to be more important in terms of human and vegetation exposure given the high ozone backgrounds measured in the area.     

THE IMPACT OF URBANIZATION ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF HEAVY METALS IN BOTTOM SEDIMENTS OF THE SADDLE RIVER1

ABSTRACT: A three-year study has been conducted on a 4.6 mile stretch of the Saddle River near Lodi, New Jersey. The primary objectives of this investigation were (1) to provide baseline information on the concentration and distribution of heavy metals in bottom sediments of the Saddle River; (2) to qualitatively evaluate which parameters affect this distribution; and (3) to determine the effect of urbanization on the concentration and distribution of these materials. Significant enrichments of several heavy metals were observed in bottom sediments of the lower Saddle River near Lodi, New Jersey, as compared to the upper Saddle River. Attempts to correlate metal concentrations in bottom sediments with chemical-oxygen demand were not successful in demonstrating a relationship between these two factors. Metal concentrations were found to be strongly dependent upon particle size. In general, metal concentrations in bottom sediments increased with decreasing partical diameter. However, metals enrichment was observed to be considerably greater in the larger sediment fractions studied (>420μ) than the smaller sediment fractions as one proceeded downstream through the urban area. Since the larger sediment fractions are least effected by scour and transport they may best reflect the effect of urbanization on the distribution of heavy metals over an extended period of time at a given location.     

Air quality assessment along Dhanbad - Jharia road

Road ambient air pollution status along Dhanbad – Jharia road isstudied and presented in this article. The selection of this areais made considering the importance of the road in Dhanbad district and the nature of activities taking place along the road, which reflect that the portion of road upto Dhansar can be considered as having commercial areas on both sides and that from Dhansar to Jharia as having industrial areas on both sides.For the assessment of the ambient air quality along the road monitoring is done at the following five locations: Indian Schoolof Mines (ISM), main gate; Bankmore; Dhansar police check post; Dhansar opencast project agent office and a residential house beside the Rajapur opencast project. The location of ISM, maingate is specially chosen as this represents a commercial shoppingcomplexes and the situation can be compared with that at Bankmore. Monitoring of ambient air quality is done following thestandard procedure prescribed in IS: 5182. In addition the concentration of lead, zinc, copper, iron, manganese, cadmium metals in SPM is also monitored. The ambient air quality is monitored in the months of September and November 1999, respectively, to represent monsoon and winter seasons. The SPM concentration observed at all the five locations in the winterseason is more than the permissible limits for commercial andindustrial areas. However, in the monsoon season, the SPM concentration is higher than the permissible limit at the twocommercial locations, i.e., ISM gate and Bankmore, while it isless than the prescribed limit for industrial areas at the remaining three locations. At the ISM gate and Bankmore the SPM generation is mainly by vehicular traffic while at other three locations it was in addition due to mining and other activities.     

A MANGANESE OXIDATION MODEL FOR RIVERS1

ABSTRACT: The presence of manganese in natural waters (>0.05 mg/L) degrades water-supply quality. A model was devised to predict the variation of manganese concentrations in river water released from an impoundment with the distance downstream. The model is one-dimensional and was calibrated using dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, pH, manganese, and hydraulic data collected in the Duck River, Tennessee. The results indicated that the model can predict manganese levels under various conditions. The model was then applied to the Chattahoochee River, Georgia. Discrepancies between observed and predicted may be due to inadequate pH data, precipitation of sediment particles, unsteady flow conditions in the Chattahoochee River, inaccurate rate expressions for the low pH conditions, or their combinations.     

Toluene decomposition performance and NOx by-product formation during a DBD-catalyst process

Characteristics of toluene decomposition and formation of nitrogen oxide (NOx) by-products were investigated in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor with/without catalyst at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Four kinds of metal oxides, i.e., manganese oxide (MnOx), iron oxide (FeOx), cobalt oxide (CoOx) and copper oxide (CuO), supported on Al₂O₃/nickel foam, were used as catalysts. It was found that introducing catalysts could improve toluene removal efficiency, promote decomposition of by-product ozone and enhance CO₂ selectivity. In addition, NOx was suppressed with the decrease of specific energy density (SED) and the increase of humidity, gas flow rate and toluene concentration, or catalyst introduction. Among the four kinds of catalysts, the CuO catalyst showed the best performance in NOx suppression. The MnOx catalyst exhibited the lowest concentration of O₃ and highest CO₂ selectivity but the highest concentration of NOx. A possible pathway for NOx production in DBD was discussed. The contributions of oxygen active species and hydroxyl radicals are dominant in NOx suppression.     

土壤及铁锰结核中锰氧化菌的氧化特性分析

利用从土壤铁锰结核及其附近土壤中分离筛选得到的4株锰氧化菌,研究了不同pH、Mn(Ⅱ)初始浓度下菌株的锰氧化效率及生长情况,并用SEM-EDS及TEM对菌株WHS26、GY16形成的生物氧化锰及水羟锰矿进行了表征.结果表明,pH及Mn(Ⅱ)初始浓度对菌株的锰氧化效率均有影响,4株菌在pH 7~8、Mn(Ⅱ)初始浓度为10~20 mmol·L-1时,锰氧化效率最高;GY16、WHS26形成的生物氧化锰的形貌与化学合成的水羟锰矿存在明显差异,前者呈胶膜状附着在菌株表面,后者呈结晶态.该结果可为生物氧化锰应用于重金属污染修复提供技术支撑.     

Enhanced catalytic complete oxidation of 1,2-dichloroethane over mesoporous transition metal-doped γ-Al2O3

High-surface-area mesoprous powders of γ-Al₂O₃ doped with Cu^2 +, Cr^3 +, and V^3 + ions were prepared via a modified sol–gel method and were investigated as catalysts for the oxidation of chlorinated organic compounds. The composites retained high surface areas and pore volumes comparable with those of undoped γ-Al₂O₃ and the presence of the transition metal ions enhanced their surface acidic properties. The catalytic activity of the prepared catalysts in the oxidation of 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) was studied in the temperature range of 250–400°C. The catalytic activity and product selectivity were strongly dependent on the presence and the type of dopant ion. While Cu^2 +- and Cr^3 +-containing catalysts showed 100% conversion at 300°C and 350°C, V^3 +-containing catalyst showed considerably lower conversion. Furthermore, while the major products of the reactions over γ-alumina were vinyl chloride (C₂H₃Cl) and hydrogen chloride (HCl) at all temperatures, Cu- and Cr-doped catalysts showed significantly stronger capability for deep oxidation to CO₂.     

Diurnal and spatial variations of soil NOx fluxes in the northern steppe of China

NO_x emissions from biogenic sources in soils play a significant role in the gaseous loss of soil nitrogen and consequent changes in tropospheric chemistry. In order to investigate the characteristics of NO_x fluxes and factors influencing these fluxes in degraded sandy grasslands in northern China, diurnal and spatial variations of NO_x fluxes were measured in situ. A dynamic flux chamber method was used at eight sites with various vegetation coverages and soil types in the northern steppe of China in the summer season of 2010. Fluxes of NO_x from soils with plant covers were generally higher than those in the corresponding bare vegetation-free soils, indicating that the canopy plays an important role in the exchange of NO_x between soil and air. The fluxes of NO_x increased in the daytime, and decreased during the nighttime, with peak emissions occurring between 12:00 and 14:00. The results of multiple linear regression analysis indicated that the diurnal variation of NO_x fluxes was positively correlated with soil temperature (P < 0.05) and negatively with soil moisture content (P < 0.05). Based on measurement over a season, the overall variation in NO_x flux was lower than that of soil nitrogen contents, suggesting that the gaseous loss of N fromthe grasslands of northern China was not a significant contributor to the high C/N in the northern steppe of China. The concentration of NO_x emitted from soils in the region did not exceed the 1-hr National Ambient Air Quality Standard (0.25 mg/m³).     

钢铁工业氮氧化物污染防治途径研究

针对钢铁工业氮氧化物减排的紧迫形势,首先介绍了钢铁工业氮氧化物主要排放源,提出了烧结工序和自备电厂是氮氧化物排放的主要污染源,其烟气中氮氧化物控制是钢铁企业氮氧化物减排的重点;其次对钢铁工业氮氧化物生成机理,热力型、燃料型、快速型进行了分析;在此基础上,总结了钢铁工业烧结、自备电厂、焦化、炼铁、轧钢工序氮氧化物污染防治技术途径,为钢铁工业进一步开展氮氧化物减排工作提供了技术支撑.     

锰渣填埋场渗滤液及周边水体的水化学特征和质量评价

本文在分析锰渣填埋场区渗滤液及周边水体水化学组成的基础上,运用改进的水质量指数(WQI)进行了水质评价,阐述了填埋场渗滤液对下游水体的影响过程。结果表明,研究区渗滤液pH呈中性偏酸性,EC在1 780~44 500μS/cm之间,渗滤液中NH4-N、Mn2+、Mg2+、SO2-4、NO-3的浓度较高,并呈现SO2-4Mn2+Mg2+NH+4-N的特征,并且浓度与堆存时间呈负相关性。填埋场下游水体的重金属浓度微量,但NH4-N和Mn2+浓度较高,均超过GB 3838—2002和GB/T 14848—93规定的限值,其中2014年5月份某地下水的这两个参数分别超标243倍和488倍。改进的WQI指数评价结果显示,地表水的渗滤液水污染指数(LWPI)值在2.89~7.83之间,受影响的地下水为172,说明渗滤液已对锰渣填埋场下游水体造成严重影响。