Modelling of organic matter dynamics during the composting process

Composting urban organic wastes enables the recycling of their organic fraction in agriculture. The objective of this new composting model was to gain a clearer understanding of the dynamics of organic fractions during composting and to predict the final quality of composts. Organic matter was split into different compartments according to its degradability. The nature and size of these compartments were studied using a biochemical fractionation method. The evolution of each compartment and the microbial biomass were simulated, as was the total organic carbon loss corresponding to organic carbon mineralisation into CO₂. Twelve composting experiments from different feedstocks were used to calibrate and validate our model. We obtained a unique set of estimated parameters. Good agreement was achieved between the simulated and experimental results that described the evolution of different organic fractions, with the exception of some compost because of a poor simulation of the cellulosic and soluble pools. The degradation rate of the cellulosic fraction appeared to be highly variable and dependent on the origin of the feedstocks. The initial soluble fraction could contain some degradable and recalcitrant elements that are not easily accessible experimentally.     

Carbonization of johkasou sludge using batch-type equipment

The carbonization of dehydrated johkasou sludge was examined using batch-type equipment. Based on the temperature changes in the carbonization room and the gas combustion room, the carbonization process was divided into three phases: phase I, drying the sludge; phase II, thermal decomposition of the dried sludge; phase III, after phase II. The times required for phases I and II were strongly correlated with the amounts of water and solid matter, respectively, in dehydrated sludge. The reduction rate of the sludge on completion of phase I was about 90% on average, and the decomposition rate of solid matter increased with time during phase II or phase II plus phase III until it reached about 50%. TOC concentration of the eluate from the carbonized sludge was used as an index to evaluate the progress of the carbonization process, and the highest temperature in the carbonization room was recognized as an important operational factor. The specific surface area and pore volume of carbonized sludge were smaller than those of charcoals and activated carbons by 1–3 orders of magnitude and 1–2 orders of magnitude, respectively. No elution of heavy metals was observed from any of the carbonized sludges examined. The reduced amount of carbon in dehydrated johkasou sludge was estimated to be about 25% of the decomposed organic matter.     

Influence of H<Subscript>2</Subscript> on the decomposition of halides by nonthermal plasma incorporated with in situ alkaline absorption

To control the emission of halides into the environment, an experiment on the nonthermal plasma decomposition of the halides CF₄, CHF₃, C₂HCl₃, and CHClF₂ was conducted in a wire-in-tube corona reactor. It was found that the decomposition of C₂HCl₃ and CHClF₂ was easy compared with the decomposition of CF₄ and CHF₃. With the addition of H₂ in N₂ gas, the decomposition ratio of CF₄, C₂HCl₃, and CHClF₂ increased. In contrast, the decomposition ratio of CHF₃ in a hydrogen-rich atmosphere was lower than that in an N₂ atmosphere. It was demonstrated that the yields of HF and/or HCl formed during halide decomposition clearly increased in the presence of H₂ in N₂ gas. Furthermore, in order to prevent the production of unwanted products from halide decomposition, a combination of plasma decomposition and in situ alkaline absorption was devised by coating a layer of Ca(OH)₂ onto the surface of the grounding electrode. It was demonstrated that the Ca(OH)₂ sorbent played an effective role as a scavenger, participating in halide decomposition by capturing reaction products such as HCl and HF, therefore resulting in increased halide decomposition.     

Recent trends in the decomposition of chlorinated aromatic hydrocarbons by ultrasound irradiation and Fenton's reagent

Over the past few years, a large number of studies have been conducted on the use of ultrasound for decomposition of harmful organic pollutants, particularly chlorinated aromatic hydrocarbons (CAH) in wastewater. The published reports cover a variety of applications, including both ultrasonic treatment alone and in combination with other methods, e.g., advanced chemical oxidation processes. This article presents a review of recent work on ultrasonic-based methods of CAH decomposition, with emphasis on the applications of ultrasound alone and in combination with Fenton's reagent, as attractive advanced oxidation systems. In the first part of this review, the basic principles of sonochemical treatment are presented, followed by a review of the applications of ultrasound alone for CAH degradation. In the second part, the mechanisms of CAH degradation with Fenton's reagent and its application for CAH degradation are summarized. In the final part, studies on the applications of ultrasound together with Fenton's reagent are reviewed. The reported results suggest that a combination of ultrasound and Fenton's reagent is more attractive for practical application than the use of either method separately. Further studies, however, are required in this area because the reaction mechanism and the relationship between the reaction rates and process parameters for such a combined process are not yet well established.     

Changes in nutrient content and stable isotope ratios of C and N during decomposition of seagrasses and mangrove leaves along a nutrient availability gradient in Florida Bay, USA

The decomposition of the mangrove Rhizophora mangle and the seagrass Thalassia testudinum was examined using litterbags along a natural gradient in nutrient availability. Seagrass leaves had a higher fraction of their biomass in the labile pool (57%), compared to mangrove leaves (36%) and seagrass rhizomes (29%); the overall decomposition rates of the starting material reflected the fractionation into labile and refractory components. There was no relationship between the N or P content of the starting material and the decomposition rate.

Nutrient availability had no influence on decomposition rate, and mass was lost at the same rate from litterbags that were buried in the sediment and litterbags that were left on the sediment surface. The dynamics of N and P content during decomposition varied as a function of starting material and burial state. N content of decomposing mangrove leaves increased, but seagrass rhizomes decreased in N content during decomposition while there was no change in seagrass leaf N content. These same general patterns held for P content, but buried seagrass leaves increased in P content while surficial leaves decreased. δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N changed by as much as 2‰ during decomposition.     

非平衡放电等离子体治理有害气体

重点分析了常温常压下非平衡放电等离子体产生的条件及其物理和化学性能，综合评述了放电技术的理烟气中有害气体ＳＯ２，ＮＯｘ，ＣＯ２的机理和研究现状。     

脲硫酸分解磷矿过程氟逸出规律的研究

对脲硫酸分解磷矿过程中酸解剂配比(即尿素加入量)、反应温度、磷矿粉细度、搅拌强度等对磷矿转化率和气相氟逸出率的影响进行了．探讨。实验结果表明．酸解剂配比是影响氟逸出率的最主要因素，由于尿素的加入．可使氟逸出率降低75％以上。     

湿法脱硫除尘产物中CaSO3分解的研究

实际测量表明,由于烟气脱硫除尘一体化技术中缺少氧化设备,其产物中含有大量易分解的CaSO3.CaSO3分解逸出的SO2会对环境产生不利影响,而影响CaSO3分解释放出SO2的因素有很多.对脱硫灰渣所处环境体系的pH、含氧浓度、脱硫灰渣自身的CaSO3含量和温度4个方面进行了研究.结果表明,灰渣体系的pH、灰渣自身的性质是影响灰渣SO2逸出的主要因素;反应气氛和温度也在不同程度上影响灰渣CaSO3分解,但较前两个因素的影响要逊色许多.     

氢氟烃HFC－134a的分解实验研究

该研究进行了氢氟烃ＨＦＣ－１３４ａ的催化分解和化学分解实验。实验结果表明无催化剂时ＨＦＣ－１３４ａ很稳定，即使升温至５００℃时也下会分解：在空气和水蒸汽存在下ＨＦＣ－１３４ａ催化分解成ＣＯ和ＣＯ＿２。ＣＦＣ－１２比ＨＦＣ－１３４ａ易分解，反应产物只有ＣＯ＿２。分解产物ＨＦ对催化剂有强烈的失活作用；超氧离子（Ｏ＿２￣－）对液相中的ＨＦＣ－１３４ａ具有很强的氧化分解能力。在常温下几乎可完全分解高浓度的ＨＦＣ－１３４ａ。     

脉冲活化一次全部治理CO_2、SO_2NO_x和烟尘研究（Ⅰ）─—分解SO_2

超高压脉冲活化一次全部分解ＣＯ＿２、ＳＯ＿２、ＮＯ＿ｘ及同时除掉烟尘技术。应用超高压窄脉冲使反应器内有害气体全部成为活化分子，在定向作用下分解成无害单一原子的气体分子Ｎ＿２、Ｏ＿２，单质微粒Ｃ、Ｓ；粉尘充分荷电，在超强电场作用下除掉粉尘，它成为Ｃ、Ｓ的载体。在１８０℃常压条件时，在以Ｎｉ为母体Ｂ种催化剂作用下，活化能大幅度降低，分解率为７５％～９０％。