The real effect of legal institutions: Environmental courts and firm environmental protection expenditure

This paper evaluates the real effects of environmental justice reform on environmental governance at the firm level. Using the establishment of environmental courts in China as a quasi-natural experiment, our difference-in-differences estimation shows that: (1) environmental courts significantly enhance environmental investment by firms, and this relationship is robust to different specifications and alternative measures; (2) three possible channels are the improved levels of justice and enforcement of environmental protection, and the mitigation of local government intervention; (3) our findings are particularly pronounced in subsamples with severe local protectionism, state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and non-SOEs with political connections; (4) at the city-level, environmental courts significantly increase air quality and promote cities to cross the inflection point of the environmental Kuznets curve earlier. Overall, this paper reveals the micro-mechanisms behind the real effects of environmental justice on firm environmental investment, thus providing timely implications for regulators concerned with environmental protection.     

Predicting preference for familiar,everyday objects: An experimental confrontation between two theories of aesthetic behaviour

The work reported compared the predictive ability of two theories of aesthetic behaviour, using normal, everyday objects. This involved utilizing simulated items of furniture in three experiments in which predictions deduced from the ‘collative-motivation’ model and what has been termed a ‘preference-for-prototypes’ model were made to compete empirically. For each of the five pairs of discrepant expectations formulated in the three experiments the outcomes were inconsistent with Berlyne's model, while supporting the prototypicality model. A number of theoretical implications are drawn from these findings.     

高浓度六价铬的两种测定方法比较

比较分析了饮用水及污水中高浓度六价铬的两种测定方法.实验结果表明,硫酸亚铁铵滴定法适合于高浓度六价铬废水中总铬的测定,重铬酸钾法适合于直接测定高浓度六价铬含量.     

QUAL2K模型的生化需氧量指标研究

QUAL2K模型是由美国环境保护署研制开发的一维河流水质模型,被广泛应用于北美、欧洲、亚洲等地的流域污染物总量控制和水质管理。由于国内与美国的水质评价指标不同,导致该模型在国内无法直接进行水质模拟与评价,如美国采用的生化水质指标是CBODu、CBODs和CBODf,而国内采用的是BOD5、CODCr和CODMn。为了促进该模型在国内的推广及应用,从有机物的生物氧化过程、生化需氧量的定义及其检测方法出发,对BOD5与CBODu两者之间的关系进行研究,推导出BOD5与CBODu的转换公式。     

长江河口九段沙中沙互花米草湿地植物-土壤间营养元素含量灰色关联分析

于2005年5—12月,采用GPS定位,逐月对长江河口九段沙中沙的互花米草(Spartina alterniflora)湿地植物样品与土壤样品进行采集,分析植物与土壤中的w(N),w(P)和w(K)并研究其动态变化.利用灰色关联分析方法,对湿地植物与土壤中w(N),w(P)和w(K)的时空分布进行了研究,旨在探明互花米草生长过程中对不同深度土壤营养元素与不同种类营养元素的吸收程度.结果表明,灰色关联分析是湿地生态系统植物与土壤营养元素动态关系研究的行之有效的方法.互花米草的生长与上层土壤(0～≤15 cm)中的w(N)、中层土壤(15～≤40 cm)中的w(K)和下层土壤(40～60 cm)中的w(P)关联密切.互花米草与上层、中层和下层土壤中营养元素的关联序分别为N>P>K,N>K>P和P>N>K.在互花米草整个生长过程中,初期植物-土壤间营养元素的关联较小;旺盛生长期,植物-土壤间N和P元素的关联度大,K元素的关联度小;生长末期,植物-土壤间K元素关联度增强.     

Effects of different sludge disintegration methods on sludge moisture distribution and dewatering performance

A key step in sludge treatment is sludge dewatering. However, activated sludge is generally very difficult to be dewatered. Sludge dewatering performance is largely affected by the sludge moisture distribution. Sludge disintegration can destroy the sludge structure and cell wall, so as change the sludge floc structure and moisture distribution, thus affecting the dewatering performance of sludge. In this article, the disintegration methods were ultrasound treatment, K2 Fe O4oxidation and KMn O4 oxidation. The degree of disintegration(DDCOD), sludge moisture distribution and the final water content of sludge cake after centrifuging were measured. Results showed that three disintegration methods were all effective, and K2 Fe O4oxidation was more efficient than KMn O4 oxidation. The content of free water increased obviously with K2 Fe O4and KMn O4 oxidations, while it decreased with ultrasound treatment. The changes of free water and interstitial water were in the opposite trend. The content of bounding water decreased with K2 Fe O4oxidation, and increased slightly with KMn O4 oxidation, while it increased obviously with ultrasound treatment. The water content of sludge cake after centrifuging decreased with K2 Fe O4oxidation, and did not changed with KMn O4 oxidation, but increased obviously with ultrasound treatment. In summary, ultrasound treatment deteriorated the sludge dewaterability, while K2 Fe O4and KMn O4 oxidation improved the sludge dewaterability.     

水稻籽粒镉积累模型

通过文献调研与分析,建立了水稻籽粒镉含量(CdR,mg/kg)与土壤全镉含量(CdT,mg/kg)、pH值及有机质含量(SOM,g/kg)关系的统计模型:CdR=0.560 exp[0.995 log(CdT)-0.173 pH 0.018 SOM](决定系数R2=0.62,P＜0.001,n=156).相关分析和残差分析结果表明,该模型具有较好的解释性,可用于水稻籽粒镉含量的估算.     

Pollution profiles and physicochemical parameters in old uncontrolled landfills

The long-term effectiveness of the geological barrier beneath municipal-waste landfills is a critical issue for soil and groundwater protection. This study examines natural clayey soils directly in contact with the waste deposited in three landfills over 12 years old in Spain. Several physicochemical and geological parameters were measured as a function of depth. Electrical conductivity (EC), water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), Cl⁻, NH₄⁺, Na⁺ and exchangeable NH₄⁺ and Na⁺ were used as parameters to measure the penetration of landfill leachate pollution. Mineralogy, specific surface area and cationic-exchange capacities were analyzed to characterize the materials under the landfills. A principal component analysis, combined with a Varimax rotation, was applied to the data to determine patterns of association between samples and variables not evident upon initial inspection. The main factors explaining the variation in the data are related to waste composition and local geology. Although leachates have been in contact with clays for long time periods (13-24 years), WSOC and EC fronts are attenuated at depths of 0.2-1.5 m within the clay layer. Taking into account this depth of the clayey materials, these natural substrata (>45% illite-smectite-type sheet silicates) are suitable for confining leachate pollution and for complying with European legislation. This paper outlines the relevant differences in the clayey materials of the three landfills in which a diffusive flux attenuation capacity (A_c) is defined as a function (1) of the rate of decrease of the parameters per meter of material, (2) of the age and area of the landfill and (3) of the quantity and quality of the wastes.     

三甲基氯化锡对斑马鱼(Danio rerio)生理生化特性的影响

为初步探讨三甲基氯化锡(trimethyltin chloride,TMT)对鱼类的毒性效应以及评价环境中TMT的安全性,采用静态鱼类急性毒性试验法测定了TMT对斑马鱼(Danio rerio)生理生化指标的影响;参考TMT的96 h-LC50值,设定3个浓度(0.39、0.78和1.17 mg·L-1)处理斑马鱼,测...     

Selective removal of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) from aqueous solution by triolein-embedded composite adsorbent

A novel composite adsorbent (CA-T) was used for the selective removal of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) from aqueous solution. The adsorbent was composed of the supporting activated carbon and the surrounding triolein-embedded cellulose acetate membrane. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), N₂ adsorption isotherms and fluorescence methods were used to characterize the physicochemical properties of CA-T. Triolein was perfectly embedded in the cellulose acetate membrane and deposited on the surface of activated carbon. The adsorbent was stable in water and no triolein leakage was detected during the test periods. Some organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), such as dieldrin, endrin, aldrin, and heptachlor epoxide, were used as model contaminants and removed by CA-T in laboratory batch experiments. The adsorption isotherm followed the Freundlich equation and the kinetic data fitted well to the pseudo-second-order reaction model. Results also indicated that CA-T appeared to be a promising adsorbent with good selectivity and satisfactory removal rate for lipophilic OCPs from aqueous solutions when present in trace amounts. The adsorption rate and removal efficiency for lipophilic OCPs were positively related to their octanol-water partition coefficients (log K _ow). Lower residual concentrations of OCPs were achieved when compared to granular activated carbon (GAC).