Air quality assessment by tree bark biomonitoring in urban, industrial and rural environments of the Rhine Valley: PCDD/Fs, PCBs and trace metal evidence

Tree barks were used as biomonitors to evaluate past atmospheric pollution within and around the industrial zones of Strasbourg (France) and Kehl (Germany) in the Rhine Valley. The here estimated residence time for trace metals, PCBs and PCDD/Fs in tree bark is >10 years. Thus, all pollution observed by tree bark biomonitoring can be older than 10 years. The PCB baseline concentration (sum of seven PCB indicators (Σ₇PCB_ind)) determined on tree barks from a remote area in the Vosges mountains is 4 ng g⁻¹ and corresponds to 0.36 × 10⁻³ ng toxic equivalent (TEQ) g⁻¹ for the dioxin-like PCBs (DL-PCBs). The northern Rhine harbor suffered especially from steel plant, waste incinerator and thermal power plant emissions. The polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin and dibenzofuran (PCDD/Fs) concentrations analyzed in tree barks from this industrial area range between 392 and 1420 ng kg⁻¹ dry-weight (dw) corresponding to 3.9 ng TEQ_PCDD/Fs kg⁻¹ to 17.8 ng TEQ_PCDD/Fs kg⁻¹, respectively. Highest PCDD/F values of 7.2 ng TEQ kg⁻¹ to 17.8 ng TEQ kg⁻¹ have been observed close to and at a distance of <2 km southwest of the chemical waste incinerator. However, very close to this incinerator lowest TEQ dioxin-like PCB (TEQ_DL-PCB) values of 0.006 ng TEQ g⁻¹ have been found. On the other hand close to and southwest and northeast of the steel plant the values are comparatively higher and range between 0.011 ng TEQ g⁻¹ and 0.026 ng TEQ g⁻¹. However, even stronger Σ₇PCB_ind enrichments have been observed at a few places in the city center of Kehl, where ΣDL-PCB values of up to 0.11 ng TEQ g⁻¹ have been detected. These enrichments, however, are the result of ancient pollutions since recent long-term measurements at the same sites indicate that the atmospheric PCB concentrations are close to baseline. Emissions from an old landfill of waste and/or great fires might have been the reasons of these PCB enrichments. Other urban environments of the cities of Kehl and Strasbourg show significantly lower Σ₇PCB_ind concentrations. They suffer especially from road and river traffic and have typically Σ₇PCB_ind concentrations ranging from 11 ng g⁻¹ to 29 ng g⁻¹. The PCB concentration of 29 ng g⁻¹ has been found in tree bark close to the railway station of Strasbourg. Nevertheless, the corresponding TEQ_DL-PCB are low and range between 0.2 × 10⁻³ ng TEQ g⁻¹ and 7 × 10⁻³ ng TEQ g⁻¹. Samples collected near road traffic are enriched in Fe, Sb, Sn and Pb. Cd enrichments were found close to almost all types of industries. Rural environments not far from industrial sites suffered from organic and inorganic pollution. In this case, TEQ_DL-PCB values may reach up to 58 × 10⁻³ ng TEQ g⁻¹ and the corresponding V, Cr, Co, Ni, and Cd concentrations are comparatively high.     

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin and dibenzofuran in urban air of an Andean city

Particle-bound polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) in ambient air were monitored together with particulate matter less than 10 μm (PM₁₀) at three sampling sites of the Andean city of Manizales, Colombia; during September 2009 and July 2010. PCDD/Fs ambient air emissions ranged from 1 fg WHO-TEQ m⁻³ to 52 fg WHO-TEQ m⁻³ in particulate fraction. The PM₁₀ concentrations ranged from 23 μg m⁻³ to 54 μg m⁻³. Concentrations of PM₁₀ and PCDD/Fs in ambient air observed for Manizales - a medium sized city with a population of 380 000 - were comparable to concentrations in larger cities. The highest concentrations of PCDD/Fs and PM₁₀ found in this study were determined at the central zone of the city, characterized by public transportation density, where diesel as principal fuel is used. In addition, hypothetical gas fractions of PCDD/Fs were calculated from theoretical K_p data. Congener profiles of PCDD/Fs exhibited ratios associated with different combustion sources at the different sampling locations, ranging from steel recycling to gasoline and diesel engines. Taking into account particle and gas hypothetical fraction of PCDD/Fs, Manizales exhibited values of PCDD/Fs equivalent to rural and urban-industrial sites in the southeast and center of the city respectively. Poor correlation of PCDDs with PM₁₀ (r = −0.55 and r = 0.52) suggests ambient air PCDDs were derived from various combustion sources. Stronger correlation was observed of PCDFs with PM₁₀. Poor correlation between precipitation and reduced PM₁₀ concentration in ambient air (r = −0.45) suggested low PM₁₀ removal by rainfall.     

Tracing the sources of refractory dissolved organic matter in a large artificial lake using multiple analytical tools

Structural and chemical characteristics of refractory dissolved organic matter (RDOM) from seven different sources (algae, leaf litter, reed, compost, field soil, paddy water, treated sewage) were examined using multiple analytical tools, and they were compared with those of RDOM in a large artificial lake (Lake Paldang, Korea). Treated sewage, paddy water, and field soil were distinguished from the other sources investigated by their relatively low specific UV absorbance (SUVA) values and more pronounced fulvic-like versus humic-like fluorescence of the RDOM samples. Microbial derived RDOM from algae and treated sewage showed relatively low apparent molecular weight and a higher fraction of hydrophilic bases relative to the total hydrophilic fraction. For the biopolymer types, the presence of polyhydroxy aromatics with the high abundance of proteins was observed only for vascular plant-based RDOM (i.e., leaf litter and reed). Molecular weight values exhibited positive correlations with the SUVA and the hydrophobic content among the different RDOM, suggesting that hydrophobic and condensed aromatic structures may be the main components of high molecular weight RDOM. Principal component analysis revealed that approximately 77% of the variance in the RDOM characteristics might be explained by the source difference (i.e., terrestrial and microbial derived) and a tendency of further microbial transformation. Combined results demonstrated that the properties of the lake RDOM were largely affected by the upstream sources of field soil, paddy water, and treated sewage, which are characterized by low molecular weight UV-absorbing and non-aromatic structures with relatively high resistance to further degradation.     

A national inventory to estimate release of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in Portugal

Taking into account current environmental concerns, the main objective of this work focused a national inventory aiming to estimate the amount of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDF) released in Portugal in 2006. The methodology used was based on the Standardized Toolkit for Identification and Quantification of Dioxins and Furan Releases, developed by UNEP Chemicals, in 2005. The method allows the assessment of the amount of PCDD/PCDF released into the environment along five vectors involving air, water, land, products and residues. Facing some difficulties mainly regarding to the availability of data for some activities known to produce PCDD/PCDF, three scenarios (Sc1 to Sc3) corresponding to lower, central and upper estimates were established. The Sc1 scenario (lower estimate) includes the situations where in case of doubt or scarce information, reduced or none emission values were assumed, Sc2 refers to a central estimate, which is believed to be the most realistic for the Portuguese situation, while Sc3 corresponds to the worst case (upper estimate). The results obtained pointed out that the total amount of PCDD/PCDF emitted in Portugal during the period under analysis was in the range of 51.2-217.9 g TEQ year⁻¹, with the most likely value of 95.2 g TEQ year⁻¹ achieved under the Sc2 scenario. This study also showed that the methodology developed by UNEP Chemicals is a very simple one, and the main difficulty is the availability of data. The main indicators calculated in this study were 8.98 μg TEQ/(year person) by taking into account the total amount of PCDD/PCDF released, and 3.63 μg TEQ/(year person) when only air emissions were considered.     

煤气废水中有机化合物的生物去除特征

好氧/缺氧/好氧生物处理系统是一种新型煤气废水二级处理工艺,该工艺通过改变微生物的生化环境,充分发挥各单元对有机化合物的降解功能,强化了有机化合物总体去除效果.主要采用气相色谱/质谱联用(GC/MS)测试方法,分析对比煤气废水进水及其系统各单元出水中有机化合物的成分,结合生物降解的特点,评价各单元对有机化合物的去除效果...     

淀粉-g-丙烯酸/凹凸棒土复合物制备及其吸附废水中NH_4~＋-N性能

采用反相乳液聚合法以凹凸棒土为原料,合成了新型NH4＋-N吸附剂淀粉-g-丙烯酸/凹凸棒土,并进行了氨氮吸附对比实验。结果表明：凹凸棒土氨氮单位吸附量为4.243 mg/g;淀粉-g-丙烯酸/凹凸棒土氨氮单位吸附量为5.301 mg/g,吸附能力比未改性的凹凸棒土提高了25%。淀粉-g-丙烯酸/凹凸棒土的氨氮吸附过程比凹凸棒土更符合Freundlich等温吸附模型。随着pH、温度的升高,凹凸棒土和淀粉-g-丙烯酸/凹凸棒土对NH4＋-N吸附量逐渐增大。     

壳聚糖的物理/化学改性及其对含酚废水的处理

将壳聚糖物理改性为球形颗粒,然后在微波辐射下,球形壳聚糖与柠檬醛接枝反应,再与NaBH4还原反应,制备一种新型环保材料--物化改性壳聚糖.采用红外光谱仪(IR)、X衍射仪(XRD)、电子显微镜(SEM)和比表面测定及孔径分析仪(BET)结构表征改性壳聚糖.通过含酚制药废水的动态小柱吸附实验,研究了时间、柱高和出水流速等...     

V/Ce共掺杂TiO2光催化降解甲醛的实验研究

采用溶胶凝胶法制备了不掺杂、V 掺杂、Ce掺杂、V/Ce共掺杂纳米TiO₂光催化剂,并将其分别负载于瓷砖上,利用X射线衍射分析（XRD）和扫描电镜分析（SEM）技术对薄膜样品的结构和形貌进行了表征。通过对甲醛的降解实验评价光催化剂的光催化活性。实验结果表明,光催化剂的负载量、共掺杂离子的掺杂量、掺杂配比、煅烧温度影响纳米TiO₂的光催化活性。V/Ce共掺杂TiO₂光催化剂产生了协同效应,其光催化活性优于纯TiO₂和单掺杂TiO₂样品。     

三相电力有源滤波器（APF）控制策略的研究

介绍了有源电力滤波器控制策略,提出了PWM控制技术在电网电压畸变情况下对电网中滤波电流进行连续动态补偿。建立了PWM控制的逆变系统模型并进行仿真研究,结果验证了该控制策略能有效补偿谐波电流。     

Ozone facilitated degradation of caffeine using Ce-TiO2 catalyst

The ozone initiated oxidation of 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine (caffeine), commonly found in wastewaters as model compound is reported using cerium (Ce)/titanium dioxide (TiO₂) as catalyst. The effect of pH and loading of ceria on titania were investigated. Effect of reaction conditions on degradation of caffeine based on their pseudo first-order rate constants were compared. The combination of catalyst Ce-TiO₂ and ozone aeration significantly enhanced the degradation of caffeine compared to uncatalysed ozonation. The oxidation of caffeine ensued via the free radical mechanism, through enhanced ozone decomposition into OH radicals. Ce/TiO₂(0.5?wt%) showed good activity in degradation of caffeine at pH 6, in both natural stream and river water samples showing about 60% total organic carbon removal in 2?h ozonation period. Using liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy, degradation products were analysed. A reaction intermediate and one final product were positively identified. Nano-catalysts with different loadings of Ce on TiO₂ synthesized by sol-gel route were characterized by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy, BET and powder X-ray diffraction spectrum techniques. The results showed that the material retained a highly ordered mesoporous structure and possessed large surface area.