Denitrification potential enhancement by addition of external carbon sources in a pre-denitrification process

The aim of this study is to investigate the denitrification potential enhancement by addition of external carbon sources and to estimate the denitrification potential for the predenitrification system using nitrate utilization rate （NUR） batch tests. It is shown that the denitrification potential can be substantially increased with the addition of three external carbon sources, i.e. methanol, ethanol, and acetate, and the denitrification rates of ethanol, acetate, and methanol reached up to 9.6, 12, and 3.2 mgN/（g VSS.h）, respectively, while that of starch wastewater was only 0.74 mgN/（g VSS,h）. By comparison, ethanol was found to be the best external carbon source. NUR batch tests with starch wastewater and waste ethanol were carried out. The denitfification potential increased from 5.6 to 16.5 mg NO3-N/L owing to waste ethanol addition. By means of NUR tests, the wastewater characteristics and kinetic parameters can be estimated, which are used to determine the denitrification potential of wastewater, to calculate the denitrification potential of the plant and to predict the nitrate effluent quality, as well as provide information for developing carbon dosage control strategy.     

Water quality characteristics along the course of the Huangpu River （China）

Huangpu River is about 114.5 km from upriver Dianfeng to downriver Wusong,near the estuary of the Yangtze River.It plays a key role in supplying water for production,life,shipment and irrigation.With the industrial development,the pollution of the Huangpu River has become serious recently.The biological oxygen demand (BOD),total nitrogen (TN),total phosphorus (TP),oil,phenol and suspended solids (SS) were lower in the upstream sites than in the downstream sites,indicating pollutants being input along its course. Water quality was the worst in the Yangpu site,near the center of Shanghai City.Dissolved oxygen (DO) content was less than 2 mg/L in the site of Yangpu in July.Among relations between thirteen characteristics,relations between BOD,DO,TN,TP,NH_4~ -N, NO_3~--N and the count of total bacteria or Escherichia coli were significant and interdependent.Inner relationships between these main characteristics in the Huangpu River were studied.High nutrient concentration led to growth of microorganisms,including E.coli. Degradation of organic matters and respiration of bacteria made oxygen concentration decreased in the water body,and DO was a key factor for nitrification-denitrification process of nitrogen.In the Yangpu site,DO was decreased to less than 3.0 mg/L with BOD higher than 7.5 mg/L in May and July.Low DO concentration will decrease nitrification rate.Nitrification need at higher DO value than other organic substrate oxidation.Consequently,river water contains low NO_3~--N values with high amounts of TN and NH_4~ -N there.This will block the self-purification of surface water,by decreasing the rate of nitrification-denitrification transformation process in the water body.     

Adsorption thermodynamics and kinetic investigation of aromatic amphoteric compounds onto different polymeric adsorbents

The adsorption behavior of p-aminobenzoic acid and o-aminobenzoic acid onto the different polymeric adsorbents was systematically investigated as a function of the solution concentration and temperature.Experimental results indicated that the equilibrium adsorption data of the four polymeric adsorbents fitted well in the Freundlich isotherm.The adsorption capacity of multi-functional polymeric adsorbent NJ-99 was the highest,which might be attributed to the strong hydrogen-bonding interaction between the amino groups on the resin and the carboxyl group of aminobenzoic acid.The adsorption capacity of o-aminobenzoic acid onto any adsorbent was higher than p-aminobenzoic acid.Thermodynamic studies suggested the exothermic,spontaneous physical adsorption process.Adsorption kinetics results showed that the adsorption followed the pseudo-second-order kinetics model and the intraparticle mass transfer process was the rate-controlling step.     

Thermodynamics and kinetics of cadmium adsorption onto oxidized granular activated carbon

Cadmium sorption behavior of granular activated carbon oxidized with nitric acid was systematically studied by sets of the equilibrium and time-based experiments under various conditions.The cadmium adsorption capacity of oxidized granular activated carbon enlarged with an increase in pH,and reduced with an increase in ionic strength.Experimental data were evaluated to find out kinetic characteristics.Adsorption processes were found to follow pseudo-second order rate equation.Adsorption isotherms correlate well with the Langmuir isotherm model and the maximum sorption capacity of cadmium evaluated is 51.02μmol/g.Thermodynamic parameters were calculated based on Van't Hoff equation.Equilibrium constant Kd was evaluated from Freundlich isotherm model constants,Langmnir isotherm model constants,and isotherms,respectively.The average change of standard adsorption heatΔH~0 was -25.29 kJ/mol.NegativeΔH~0 andΔG~0 values indicate the adsorption process for cadmium onto the studied activated carbon is exothermic and spontaneous.The standard entropyΔS~0 was also negative,which suggests a decrease in the freedom of the system.     

上海隧桥工程海域生态系统健康的初步评价

随着上海经济的快速发展,一些大型海洋工程在上海海域纷纷兴建,造成了生境破碎化、生物多样性的破坏等一系列的生态损害。在分析海洋工程可能造成生态损害的同时,以上海长江口隧桥工程为例,选择2007年春季和秋季的2次生态调查数据进行研究。架桥阶段结束后,综合分析了春季与秋季的调查数据,发现各项指标均有偏向于不利的趋势。基于结构功能指标体系评价法,并利用层次分析法研究后得出上海长江口隧桥工程附近海域的综合健康指数分别为2043和2166。根据CHI≤3的情况下判断,该海域的生态健康状况属于不健康接近亚健康状态,表明河口生态系统自然属性发生明显改变,生物多样性及生态系统结构发生了一定程度的变化,主要生态服务功能出现退化或丧失。针对遭遇海洋工程破坏的生境,需要进行更多、更长时间的人工干预,并提出有效的生态保护和修复对策。     

河流综合水质评价方法比较研究

为探讨综合水质评价结论的科学合理性,对典型的7种河流综合水质评价方法,包括单因子评价法、污染指数法、模糊评价法、灰色系统评价法、层次分析法、人工神经网络法、水质标识指数法,在归类分析其特性的基础上,针对代表性的评价样本,进行了综合水质评价比较研究。主要结论为：①单因子评价法以最差水质指标所属类别作为综合水质类别,评价结论表现为过保护;②污染指数法能够直观判断综合水质是否达到功能区目标,但是不能判断综合水质类别;③对模糊数学法、灰色系统评价法、层次分析法、BP人工神经网络法和水质标识指数法等5种典型评价方法,当综合水质为Ⅰ~Ⅴ类水情形时,这几种方法评价结论基本一致,证明这5种典型评价方法对Ⅰ~Ⅴ类水的评价结论具有科学合理性;④当综合水质为劣Ⅴ类水时,模糊数学法、灰色系统评价法、层次分析法、BP人工神经网络法的评价结论偏保守,而水质标识指数法解决了劣Ⅴ类水质的连续性描述问题,能够对劣Ⅴ类水进行科学合理评价,并对Ⅰ~Ⅴ类水、劣Ⅴ类水不黑臭、劣Ⅴ类水黑臭进行全面、科学合理的定性与定量评价.     

基于AHP和DEA模型的农业生态效率评价——以无锡市为例

农业面源污染已成为我国重要环境污染源之一,但由于农业面源污染具有分散、面广、周期长、随机性等特点,在评价上存在较大难度。根据生态效率理论,结合农业生产的特点,建立了综合考虑经济效益和环境影响的农业生态效率评价指标体系,并以江苏省无锡市为例,选取该市1998~2008年农业生产和面源污染相关数据,运用偏好锥的数据包络分析模型（DEA）对其农业生态效率进行了评价分析。结果显示：1998~2008年,无锡市农业生态效率呈现先下降后上升的趋势,近三年累计上升幅度达22%。表明近年来无锡市农业面源污染治理成效显著,农业可持续发展水平显著提高。提出的农业生态效率评价体系和方法为进一步推进农业面源污染治理工作提供了依据     

Infrastructure development through PPPs in India: criteria for sustainability assessment

Public private partnerships (PPPs) allow the Indian Government to leverage private capital for meeting the widening demand-supply gap in the provision of infrastructure services. The private sector, however, prefers to limit the participation to financially attractive projects only, thereby resulting in patterns of infrastructure creation impeding the progress towards sustainable development. In order to promote sustainable development, the PPP procurement process should focus on incentivising the private sector for sustainable infrastructure development rather than concentrating on ensuring financial sustainability only. This paper discusses the principles-based PPP-specific framework that has been developed to facilitate assessment of PPP projects' progress towards sustainable development. The framework development was based on a holistic approach to sustainability assessment and subsequently validated through questionnaire survey with key stakeholders in the Indian PPP programme. This framework will provide the decision makers with appropriate decision aid for integration of sustainable development principles in the PPP procurement process.     

Application of environmental risk assessment for strategic decision-making in coastal areas: case studies in China

Environmental risk assessment (ERA) is a powerful technical tool for analyzing potential and extreme adverse environmental impacts, and has found wide application in supporting decision-making processes over the last two decades. However, to date there has been no interrelated application of ERA to support the processes of strategic decision-making (SDM), especially in coastal areas.

In this paper, we attempt to verify the feasibility of the proposed integrated ERA–SDM approach and its methodology by applying it to two case studies (in Xiamen Bay and Luoyuan Bay) of the principal coastal functional zoning (PCFZ, a kind of SDM and similar to the coastal and marine spatial planning in western). The results show that the integrated ERA–SDM approach could integrate ERA into the entire SDM process, directly support the PCFZ, and avoid or mitigate dire environmental risk that can be introduced by SDM processes.     

Clam shell catalyst for continuous production of biodiesel

Continuous flow transesterification of waste frying oil (WFO) with methanol for the biodiesel production was tested in a laboratory scale jacketed reactive distillation (RD) unit packed with clam shell based CaO as solid catalyst. The physiochemical properties of the clam shell catalysts were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Energy Dispersive Atomic X-ray Spectrometry (EDAX). The effects of the reactant flow rate, methanol-to-oil ratio, and catalyst bed height were studied to obtain the maximum methyl ester conversion. Reboiler temperature of 65°C was maintained throughout the process for product purification and the system reached the steady state at 7 hr. The experimental results revealed that the jacketed RD system packed with clam shell based CaO showed high catalytic activity for continuous production of biodiesel and a maximum methyl ester conversion of 94.41% was obtained at a reactant flow rate of 0.2 mL/min, methanol/oil ratio of 6:1, and catalyst bed height of 180 mm.