Antimicrobial activity of thin metallic silver flakes, waste products of a manufacturing process

The aim of the research was to develop new products and processes from a manufacturing waste from an Italian metallurgic company. The company produced thin silver metallic films and the production scraps were silver flakes. The possibility to use the silver flakes in water disinfection processes was studied. The antimicrobial activity of the flakes was investigated in batch using Escherichia coli as Gram-negative microorganism model. The flakes did not show any antimicrobial activity, so they were activated with two different processes: thermal activation in reducing atmosphere and chemical activation, obtaining, respectively, reduced flakes (RF) and chemical flakes (CF). The flakes, activated with either treatment, showed antimicrobial activity against E. coli. The kill rate was dependent on the type of activated flakes. The chemical flakes were more efficient than reduced flakes. The kill rate determined for 1 g of CF, 1.0 ± 0.2 min⁻¹, was greater than the kill rate determined for 1 g of RF, 0.069 ± 0.004 min⁻¹. This was confirmed also by the minimum inhibitory concentration values. It was demonstrated that the antimicrobial capability was dependent on flakes amount and on the type of aqueous medium. Furthermore, the flakes maintained their properties also when used a second time. Finally, the antimicrobial activities of flakes were tested in an effluent of a wastewater treatment plant where a variety of heterotrophic bacteria were present.     

建筑能耗与碳排放的系统计量

与建筑相关的能源消耗和温室气体排放在总能源消耗和人为温室气体排放中占有很高的比例。IPCC(政府间气候变化专门委员会)报告指出,建筑部门在2004年造成了全球近30%的二氧化碳排放。美国能源信息署(EIA)则认为,2007年全球能源消耗中约有29%与建筑相关。对中国而言,与建筑相关的能源消耗约占全国商品     

用TRIZ解决水循环冷却系统管路爆裂

工业生产过程中,由于工件热处理后,为改变其性能或提高效率,需要对热处理后的工件进行冷却。冷却方式常采用自然风冷、油浸冷却和水循环冷却。冷却系统在生产过程中,常因各车间液体循环系统压力不均衡,引起爆管现象,影响正常生产。     

Reduction and characterization of bioaerosols in a wastewater treatment station via ventilation

Bioaerosols from wastewater treatment processes are a significant subgroup of atmospheric aerosols. In the present study,airborne microorganisms generated from a wastewater treatment station(WWTS) that uses an oxidation ditch process were diminished by ventilation.Conventional sampling and detection methods combined with cloning/sequencing techniques were applied to determine the groups,concentrations,size distributions,and species diversity of airborne microorganisms before and after ventilation. There were 3021 ± 537 CFU/m3 of airborne bacteria and 926 ± 132 CFU/m3 of airborne fungi present in the WWTS bioaerosol.Results showed that the ventilation reduced airborne microorganisms significantly compared to the air in the WWTS. Over 60% of airborne bacteria and airborne fungi could be reduced after4 hr of air exchange. The highest removal(92.1% for airborne bacteria and 89.1% for fungi) was achieved for 0.65–1.1 μm sized particles. The bioaerosol particles over 4.7 μm were also reduced effectively. Large particles tended to be lost by gravitational settling and small particles were generally carried away,which led to the relatively easy reduction of bioaerosol particles0.65–1.1 μm and over 4.7 μm in size. An obvious variation occurred in the structure of the bacterial communities when ventilation was applied to control the airborne microorganisms in enclosed spaces.     

Genotoxicity removal of reclaimed water during ozonation

Genotoxicity in wastewater and reclaimed water now is gaining increased attention because of genotoxins' potential damage to the ecosystem and human health. The effect of ozonation on genotoxicity in reclaimed water was investigated. It was found that ozonation decreased the genotoxicy dramatically in three tertiary treatment plants. In the further batch ozonation experiment in laboratory,secondary effluent sample used exhibited the genotoxicity of(41.1 ± 4.1) μg 4NQO/L. Ozonation with a dose of 10 mg O3/L completely removed the genotoxicity in secondary effluent. However,after ozonation, the dissolved organic carbonvalue of the sample didn't change much but the specific ultraviolet absorbance(SUVA) value dropped sharply. With the help of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ozonation was found to change chemical aliphatic carbon and C–O of the dissolved arganic matter, which might be the reason of the significant decreases of SUVA and genotoxicity.     

Antimony smelting process generating solid wastes and dust：Characterization and leaching behaviors

A large amount of solid waste has been produced by the antimony smelting process in the＂World Capital of Antimony＂, Xikuangshan area in China. This study comprehensively investigated the physical and chemical characteristics of the various solid wastes, as well as the leaching behavior of the solid wastes, which included water-quenched slag,arsenic-alkali residue, desulfurized slag and blast furnace dust. These four types of waste were enriched in a variety of heavy metals and metalloids and more specifically with As and Sb levels up to 8.6 × 104 and 3.16 × 105mg/kg, respectively, in arsenic-alkali residue. For desulfurized slag and water-quenched slag, the leaching concentration of Sb significantly exceeded the acceptable limits during the leaching tests using the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure and the synthetic precipitation leaching procedure. In addition, As leaching in arsenic-alkali residue was extraordinarily hazardous, being three orders of magnitude higher than the regulatory level of As. According to the results of the extraction tests, all the tested wastes were classified as hazardous waste.     

Fouling distribution in forward osmosis membrane process

Fouling behavior along the length of membrane module was systematically investigated by performing simple modeling and lab-scale experiments of forward osmosis （FO） membrane process. The flux distribution model developed in this study showed a good agreement with experimental results, validating the robustness of the model. This model demonstrated, as expected, that the permeate flux decreased along the membrane channel due to decreasing osmotic pressure differential across the FO membrane. A series of fouling experiments were conducted under the draw and feed solutions at various recoveries simulated by the model. The simulated fouling experiments revealed that higher organic （alginate） fouling and thus more flux decline were observed at the last section of a membrane channel, as foulants in feed solution became more concentrated. Furthermore, the water flux in FO process declined more severely as the recovery increased due to more foulants transported to membrane surface with elevated solute concentrations at higher recovery, which created favorable solution environments for organic adsorption. The fouling reversibility also decreased at the last section of the membrane channel, suggesting that fouling distribution on FO membrane along the module should be carefully examined to improve overall cleaning efficiency. Lastly, it was found that such fouling distribution observed with co-current flow operation became less pronounced in counter- current flow operation of FO membrane process.     

Arsenic removal from groundwater by acclimated sludge under autohydrogenotrophic conditions

Arsenic in the environment is attracting increasing attention due to its chronic health effects. Although arsenite(As(III)) is generally more mobile and more toxic than arsenate(As(V)), reducing As(V) to As(III) may still be a means for decontamination, because As(III) can be removed from solution by precipitation with sulfide or by adsorption or complexation with other metal sulfides. The performance of As(V) bio-reduction under autohydrogenotrophic conditions was investigated with batch experiments. The results showed that As(V) reduction was a biochemical process while both acclimated sludge and hydrogen were essential. Most of the reduced arsenic remained in a soluble form, although 20% was removed with no addition of sulfate, while 82% was removed when sulfate was reduced to sulfide. The results demonstrated that the reduced arsenic was re-sequestered in the precipitates, probably as arsenic sulfides. Kinetic analysis showed that pseudo first-order kinetics described the bio-reduction process better than pseudo second-order. In particular, the influences of pH and temperature on As(V) reduction by acclimated sludge under autohydrogenotrophic conditions and total soluble As removal were examined. The reduction process was highly sensitive to both pH and temperature, with the optimum ranges of pH 6.5–7.0 and 30–40°C respectively. Furthermore, Arrhenius modeling results for the temperature effect indicated that the As(V) reduction trend was systematic. Total soluble As removal was consistent with the trend of As(V) reduction.     

缙云山3种典型森林降雨过程及其氮素输入

选取重庆缙云山的常绿阔叶林、毛竹林和针阔混交林为研究对象,于2012年5~10月对大气降水、穿透雨和树干径流等降水过程及其氮素输入进行研究.结果表明:①研究期间总降雨量564.88 mm,常绿阔叶林、毛竹林和针阔混交林的穿透雨量占总降雨量的比例分别为74.0%、85.0%和71.6%,且树干径流量所占比例分别为1.9%、10.3%和1.6%;3种林分的穿透雨量、树干径流量与林外降雨量之间均呈显著的线性关系(P<0.05),且穿透雨率、树干径流率与林外降雨量之间都呈对数关系(P<0.05).②与大气降水相比,穿透雨和树干径流的NO-3和NH+4浓度要高,且3种林分的大小关系为针阔混交林>常绿阔叶林>毛竹林;穿透雨和树干径流的总无机氮输入量(以N计)分别为针阔混交林(18.93 kg·hm-2)、常绿阔叶林(14.93 kg·hm-2)和毛竹林(15.31 kg·hm-2).③3种林分的无机氮输入量与穿透雨量、树干径流量之间均呈显著的线性关系(P<0.05).     

2011年10月珠江三角洲一次区域性空气污染过程特征分析

2011年10月18—25日珠江三角洲地区出现了一次区域性空气污染过程,重污染区域集中在西部,后期向中部转移,PM₁₀为首要污染物.针对本次空气污染过程的研究发现,此次珠江三角洲地区空气污染过程主要受大尺度冷高压活动的影响,一直为下沉气流所控制,500 m以下近地层风速很小,边界层高度较低,存在贴地逆温层,非常不利于污染物的输送和扩散.PM₁₀浓度与风速、能见度呈显著的负相关关系,与温度相关性不显著;且与风速和温度的相关性存在滞后性.稳定天气形势、大范围下沉气流、近地层静小风和贴地逆温是导致这次区域性空气污染过程的气象原因,PM₁₀浓度增加导致珠江三角洲能见度下降.