Metal binding capacity of soft acid,organic‐rich waters

Organic carbon from one stream and two ponds in South Carolina was fractionated into five nominal molecular diameter fractions by ultrafiltration. The concentrations associated with and binding capacity for Ca, Cd, Cu and Pb were determined for each fraction. The distribution of organic carbon among ultrafilter fractions varied from water to water, with the largest percentage occurring in the smaller fractions. Calcium was associated with each of the fractions isolated from each of the three waters, indicating Ca is bound to organics in all fractions, however, more than 99% of the Ca which passed the smallest ultrafilter was removed by cationic exchange resin. Each fraction bound more Ca than Cd, Cu or Pb except in a few cases where Pb binding was greater. All of the organic fractions had their Ca++ binding sites saturated. Calcium was not an effective competitive ion against Cd, Cu or Pb for organic binding sites. The total Cu binding capacity was less than that of Ca or Pb but similar to that of Cd. Naturally occurring organics bound more Pb than Cd or Cu but less than Ca. Saturation of Cu binding sites was less than 20% in most ultrafilter fractions except that with a nominal molecular weight of between 10,000 and 300,000 where the percent of saturation was as much as 60%. Approximately 50% of the Cu was removed onto anionic exchange resin in two waters while more than 90% was removed from water with a high organic content. Percent saturation of Cd and Pb binding sites ranged from 0.091% to 5.4% and 0.059% to 1.5%, respectively. All ions tested effectively competed with Cd, Cu or Pb for some but not all binding sites, indicating that organic binding sites were heterogeneous. A generalized order of metal‐organic stabilities based on competition for binding sites is Al>Cd>Pb>Cu>Ni = Mg=Zn = Mn>Ca. Both Cd+2 and Al+3 effectively out competed Pb++ and Cd and Pb out competed Cu for most organic binding sites.     

Overview of Radioactive Waste Disposal at Sea

For hundreds of years, the seas have been used as a place to dispose of wastes from human activities. Although no high level radioactive waste has been disposed of into the sea, variable amounts of packaged low level radioactive wastes have been dumped at 47 sites in the northern part of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. in 1946 the first sea dumping operation took place at a site in the North-East Pacific Ocean. the last dumping operation was in 1982, at a site off the European continental shelf in the Atlantic Ocean. Between these two dates, an estimated 46 PBq (1.24 MCi) of radioactive waste coming from research, medical, military and industrial activities have been disposed of at sea. the present trend, through the Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and other Matter and other Regional Conventions, points towards the prohibition of the dumping of any radioactive waste into the marine environment.     

Fabrication,characterization and evaluation of mesoporous activated carbons from agricultural waste: Jerusalem artichoke stalk as an example

This work explores the feasibility of Jerusalem artichoke stem (JAS), an agricultural waste, as an alternative precursor for fabrication of mesoporous activated carbon (MAC) via conventional ZnCl₂ activation. The as-prepared JAS-MACs were characterized by thermogravimetric, nitrogen gas adsorption isotherm and high resolution scanning electron microscopy analysis. The interacting effects of chemical dosage, activation temperature and time on the mesoporosity, mesopore volume and carbon yield were investigated, and further optimized by response surface methodology (RSM). The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area, mesoporosity and mesopore volume of the JAS-MAC prepared under optimum condition were identified to be 1631 m²·g^-1, 90.16% and 1.11 cm³·g^-1, respectively. Compared with commercial activated carbons, this carbon exhibited a comparable monolayer adsorption capacity of 374.5 mg·g^-1 for Methylene Blue dye. The findings suggest that RSM could be an effective approach for optimizing the pore structure of fabricated activated carbons.     

Hydrothermal treatment of MSWI fly ash for simultaneous dioxins decomposition and heavy metal stabilization

Researches on the hydrothermal treatment of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash were conducted to eliminate dioxins and stabilize heavy metals. In order to enhance decomposing polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzo-furans (PCDFs) during hydrothermal process, a strong reductant carbohydrazide (CHZ) is introduced. A hydrothermal reactor was set up by mixing raw MSWI fly ash or the pre-treated fly ash with water and then heated to a pre-set temperature; CHZ was spiked into solution according to specially defined dosage. Experimental results showed that under the temperatures of 518 K and 533 K, the decomposition rates of PCDDs/PCDFs were over 80% and 90%, respectively, by total concentration. However, their toxic equivalent (TEQ) decreased only slightly or even increased due to the rising in concentration of congeners 2, 3, 7, 8-TCDD/TCDF, which might be resulted from the highly chlorinated congeners losing their chlorine atoms and being degraded during the hydrothermal process. Better results of TEQ reduction were also obtained under the higher tested temperature of 533 K and reactor with addition of 0.1%wt CHZ was corresponded to the best results. Good stabilization of heavy metals was also obtained in the same hydrothermal process especially when ferrous sulphate was added as auxiliary agent.     

Avian Mortality at Oil Pits in the United States: A Review of the Problem and Efforts for Its Solution

Oil production operations produce waste fluids that may be stored in pits, open tanks, and other sites accessible to wildlife. Birds visit these fluid-filled pits and tanks (“oil pits”), which often resemble water sources, and may become trapped and die. The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has a program to reduce these impacts by locating problem pits, documenting mortality of protected wildlife species, and seeking cleanup or corrective action at problem pits with the help of state and federal agencies regulating the oil industry. Species identification and verification of protected status for birds recovered from oil pits are performed at the USFWS National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory. From 1992 to 2005, a minimum of 2060 individual birds were identified from remains recovered from oil pits, representing 172 species from 44 families. The taxonomic and ecological diversity of these birds indicates that oil pits pose a threat to virtually all species of birds that encounter them. Ninety-two percent of identified bird remains belonged to protected species. Most remains identified at the Forensics Laboratory were from passerines, particularly ground-foraging species. Based on Forensics Laboratory and USFWS field data, oil pits currently cause the deaths of 500,000–1 million birds per year. Although law enforcement and industry efforts have produced genuine progress on this issue, oil pits remain a significant source of mortality for birds in the United States.     

猪场废弃物强制通风静态仓堆肥系统的试验研究

通过组织5个猪场废弃物堆肥试验,度量温度、表观性状、体积、重量损失、全氮、全磷、大肠杆菌值、蛔虫卵杀灭率和发芽指数等指标,检验了开发的强制通风静态仓堆肥系统的性能.结果表明,除起始含水率为80%试验堆体因起始含水率过高导致发生厌氧反应外,其余4个堆体均实现堆肥无害化、减量化、稳定化和资源化的处理目标;堆肥温度维持50℃以上5～7 d,或55℃以上3 d是大肠杆菌值达到国家粪便无害化卫生标准的必要条件;堆肥过程能有效脱除堆料的生物毒性,后腐熟阶段是必需阶段;氮、磷、钾等主要营养元素在堆肥前后呈现"浓缩效应".因此,堆肥化能提高猪场废弃物肥效和利用价值.     

生活垃圾固结技术及其安全性研究

针对生活垃圾产生量逐年增多的趋势,采用新型固化技术对陈腐生活垃圾进行固结,并对其固结效果和安全性进行研究.研究结果表明:本固结技术可使生活垃圾固结体28 d强度达38 MPa以上,其耐久性能诸如抗冻性能、耐水性能、抗干湿循环能力和抗硫酸盐侵蚀性能较为优越.并且其固结体重金属溶出量亦满足国家标准,即生活垃圾中的重金属离子得到有效的束缚和稳定固化.     

酸性蚀刻废液处理的试验研究

通过室内试验,比较置换、中和-置换及化学沉淀-电絮凝处理方法对废蚀刻液的处理效果.结果表明,化学沉淀-电絮凝工艺的处理效果最好,其适宜工艺条件为废蚀刻液pH=6 0～7 5、电絮凝电流密度50 mA/cm2和电絮凝作用15 min,此时COD和Cu2+的去除率分别达98 7%和99 98%.研究表明,经过化学沉淀-电絮凝工艺处理的酸性蚀刻废液可达到排放标准,同时化学沉淀过程中产生的沉淀物经处理后可得到硫酸铜产品.     

Degradation of greenhouse twines derived from natural fibers and biodegradable polymer during composting

Commercial composting operations generally do not accept organic wastes with plastic twines from the greenhouse vegetable industry and the bulk of the waste materials ends up in landfills. The objectives of this paper are to identify environmentally compatible substitutes that could replace the current use of petrochemically derived plastic twines in greenhouse vegetable production, thus diverting them from landfills, and to assess the extent of their degradation via composting. Physical properties of the twines, including linear density, percent weight loss and tensile strength were monitored for the biodegradation tests. A pilot-scale composting trial was conducted in an in-vessel composting system. Results showed that the three biodegradable twine materials (cotton, jute and EcoPLA) could degrade readily in a composting environment within a reasonable time frame. Specifically, at the end of 105 days of composting, 85.3%, 84.8% and 81.1% of weight loss was observed for cotton, jute and EcoPLA, respectively. Furthermore, EcoPLA exhibited a slower decline in tensile strength with time, when compared to jute and cotton.     

城市生活垃圾典型组分的热解动力学分析

利用热分析仪对城市生活垃圾中典型组分的热解过程进行了热重分析实验,采用不同形式的反应机理函数对实验结果进行了线性拟合计算,得到了针对不同组分的最合理的反应机理函数形式,并求出了相应的反应活化能E及频率因子A,由此构建了能更准确地反映垃圾各组分的热解反应过程的动力学模型。计算结果表明,垃圾中多数组分的热解过程用扩散模型来表示最为合理。