Heavy metal removal from industrial effluents by sorption on cross-linked starch: chemical study and impact on water toxicity

Batch sorption experiments using a starch-based sorbent were carried out for the removal of heavy metals present in industrial water discharges. The influence of contact time, mass of sorbent and pollutant load was investigated. Pollutant removal was dependent on the mass of sorbent and contact time, but independent of the contaminant load. The process was uniform, rapid and efficient. Sorption reached equilibrium in 60 min irrespective of the metal considered (e.g. Zn, Pb, Cu, Ni, Fe and Cd), reducing concentrations below those permitted by law. The material also removed residual turbidity and led to a significant decrease in the residual chemical oxygen demand (COD) present in the industrial water discharge. The germination success of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) was used as a laboratory indicator of phytotoxicity. The results show that the sorption using a starch-based sorbent as non-conventional material, is a viable alternative for treating industrial wastewaters.     

北京和东京城市道路积尘磁性颗粒物中金属元素的污染特征和健康风险

于2019年8月对中国北京和日本东京城市道路积尘进行了调查。采用磁性分离和电感耦合等离子质谱法对2个城市道路积尘磁性颗粒物中28种金属元素的含量进行了分析,并比较了污染特征和健康风险。结果表明,东京和北京道路积尘中铁（Fe）元素平均含量分别为25.3和21.2 mg/g,磁性颗粒物占积尘比例分别为22.4%和13.0%。东京道路积尘磁性颗粒物受人类活动排放影响较北京显著,其中锌（Zn）和银（Ag）元素含量是北京的7.2和5.6倍。北京道路积尘磁性颗粒物中元素富集率远高于东京,以铬（Cr）、镍（Ni）等金属元素最为明显。东京和北京道路积尘磁性颗粒物的非致癌风险和致癌风险均低于安全阈值,但致癌风险分别达到6.9×10^-7和6.3×10^-7,接近10^-6的可接受水平,应引起相关部门的关注。手口摄入是非致癌金属元素日平均暴露的首要途径,皮肤接触途径的非致癌物健康风险最高,Cr是导致道路积尘磁性颗粒物健康风险的首要元素。     

“生物有效性测量”与“全沉积物毒性识别评估(TIE)”联用有效识别出沉积物中主要致毒污染物

沉积物中污染物种类繁多,准确判断其中产生生物毒性的主要来源是个难点,本文作者先采用TIE法初步判断出主要致毒污染物为有机物和重金属(毒性描述阶段(相I)),传统的毒性单位分析结果显示Cr、Cu、Ni、Pb和Zn主要致毒重金属,而为氯氰菊酯、氯氟氰菊酯、溴氰菊酯和氟虫腈为主要致毒有机物中(毒性鉴定阶段(相II))。采用4步分级提取法和Tenax提取法分析了重金属和有机物的生物有效性。生物有效性毒性单位分析更加准确地锁定了毒性主要贡献重金属为Zn、Ni和Pb,毒性主要贡献有机物为氯氰菊酯、氯氟氰菊酯和氟虫腈。沉积物的稀释降低了重金属的毒性并使其毒性贡献鉴定变得复杂,生物有效性测量可以有效地提高TIE结果的准确性。
精选自Xiaoyi Yi, Huizhen Li, Ping Ma and Jing You. Identifying the causes of sediment-associated toxicity in urban waterways in South China: Incorporating bioavailabillity-based measurements into whole-sediment toxicity identification evaluation. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry: Volume 34, Issue 8, pages 1744–1750, August 2015. DOI: 10.1002/etc.2970
详情请见http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/etc.2970/full     

Effects of metal ions on the catalytic degradation of dicofol by cellulase

A new technique whereby cellulase immobilized on aminated silica was applied to catalyze the degradation of dicofol, an organochlorine pesticide. In order to evaluate the performance of free and immobilized cellulase, experiments were carried out to measure the degradation efficiency. The Michaelis constant, K_m, of the reaction catalyzed by immobilized cellulase was 9.16 mg/L, and the maximum reaction rate, V_max, was 0.40 mg/L/min, while that of free cellulase was K_m = 8.18 mg/L, and V_max = 0.79 mg/L/min, respectively. The kinetic constants of catalytic degradation were calculated to estimate substrate affinity. Considering that metal ions may affect enzyme activity, the effects of different metal ions on the catalytic degradation efficiency were explored. The results showed that the substrate affinity decreased after immobilization. Monovalent metal ions had no effect on the reaction, while divalent metal ions had either positive or inhibitory effects, including activation by Mn^2 +, reversible competition with Cd^2 +, and irreversible inhibition by Pb^2 +. Ca^2 + promoted the catalytic degradation of dicofol at low concentrations, but inhibited it at high concentrations. Compared with free cellulase, immobilized cellulase was affected less by metal ions. This work provided a basis for further studies on the co-occurrence of endocrine-disrupting chemicals and heavy metal ions in the environment.     

新型高分子絮凝剂对水中有机配位汞的捕集性能

将二硫代羧基引入到聚乙烯亚胺中,制备出一种新型高分子絮凝剂聚乙烯亚胺基黄原酸钠(PEX).以含汞水样为处理对象,考察了水样pH值对PEX去除Hg2+效果的影响,并研究了水样中存在有机配位剂EDTA、柠檬酸铵以及氨基乙酸等时,PEX捕集Hg2+的性能.实验结果表明,在不同pH值下,该絮凝剂对Hg2+均具有很好的捕集效果,Hg2+的最高去除率均可达到100%.pH值对PEX投加量有一定的影响,同样去除率下, pH值较低时,PEX投加量相对较多.水样中EDTA的存在,在一定程度上会抑制Hg2+的去除,但增加PEX投加量会减弱或消除此影响.柠檬酸铵的存在会促进Hg2+的去除;而氨基乙酸的存在,在较低pH值下会促进Hg2+的去除,pH值升高时其对Hg2+的去除表现为抑制作用.絮体浸出实验表明汞的浸出率较低,PEX—Hg絮体具有很好的稳定性,不易引起二次污染.     

Social-environmental certification: Sustainable development and competitiveness in the mineral industry of the Brazilian Amazon

This article examines the relationship between increased metal mining and sustainable development in the eastern section of the Amazonian state of Pará in Brazil. Since the early 1980s, mining has grown rapidly in Pará and local mining operations have become global leaders in the production of iron, manganese, bauxite, aluminum, gold, copper and — in the near future — nickel. To stay in tune with global standards, these companies have committed themselves to the principles of sustainability and have obtained certification for both social and environmental aspects of their activities. The article looks into whether such certification is linked to sustainable development of the relatively poor regions where these companies operate. The main findings are that: (1) there is a visible association between certification and improved performance by the companies, but not with the development of nearby areas; and (2) social‐environmental certification processes place more emphasis on ecological variables than on social ones.     

Characteristics of organic acid profiles in 16 species of wild growing edible mushrooms

The aim of study was to determine 9 organic acids in nine aboveground and seven wood-growing wild edible mushroom species originated from an area under the direct influence of a busy trunk road in Poland. The organic acids in the extracts of samples were identified by reversed-phase column liquid chromatography (RPLC). The presented results show that all the mushroom species were characterized by high variation in the profile and content of the analyzed acids. Each of mushroom species contained oxalic acid, the profiles of the other acids strictly depended on mushroom species. Among aboveground species, the highest total content of organic acids was found in Lepista gilva (267.5 ± 26.6 mg g^?1 dry weight (DW)), while Laccaria amethystina was characterized by the lowest content (37.7 ± 6.5 mg g^?1 DW). Within wood-growing species, the highest content of organic acids was determined in Flammulina velutipes (171.9 ± 26.7 mg g^?1 DW), whereas the lowest content (34.2 ± 2.9 mg g^?1 DW) of the studied acids was observed in Grifola frondosa.     

Environmental risk assessment of metals: tools for incorporating bioavailability

In this paper, some of the main processes and parameters which affect metal bioavailability and toxicity in the aquatic environment and its implications for metal risk assessment procedures will be discussed. It has become clear that, besides chemical processes (speciation, complexation), attention should also be given to physiological aspects for predicting metal toxicity. The development of biotic ligand models (BLMs), which combine speciation models with more biologically oriented models (e.g. GSIM), has offered an answer to this need. The various BLMs which have been developed and/or refined for a number of metals (e.g. Cu, Ag, Zn) and species (algae, crustaceans, fish) are discussed here. Finally, the potential of the BLM approach is illustrated through a theoretical exercise in which chronic zinc toxicity to Daphnia magna is predicted in three regions, taking the physico-chemical characteristics of these areas into account.     

Compartmentation of metals in foliage of Populus tremula grown on soils with mixed contamination. I. From the tree crown to leaf cell level

In order to achieve efficient phytoextraction of heavy metals using trees, the metal allocation to aboveground tissues needs to be characterised. In his study, the distribution of heavy metals, macro- and micronutrients and the metal micro-localisation as a function of the leaf position and heavy metal treatment were analysed in poplars grown on soil with mixed metal contamination. Zinc was the most abundant contaminant in both soil and foliage and, together with cadmium, was preferentially accumulated in older foliage whereas excess copper and lead were not translocated. Changes in other element concentrations indicated an acceleration in aging as a consequence of the metal treatment. Excess zinc was irregularly accumulated inside leaf tissues, tended to saturate the veins and was more frequently stored in cell symplast than apoplast. Storage compartments including metabolically safe and sensitive subcellular sites resulted in sizable metal accumulation as well as stress reactions.     

二甲基二硫代氨基甲酸钠处理锌冶炼含镉废水

以二甲基二硫代氨基甲酸钠(福美钠)作为脱镉螯合剂,以聚合氯化铝作为絮凝剂,脱除含镉废水中的Cd2+。在考察福美钠加入量、搅拌时间、聚合氯化铝加入量、沉淀时间等工艺条件对Cd2+脱除效果影响的单因素实验的基础上,采用正交实验对工艺参数进行进一步优化。实验结果表明:在福美钠加入量为1.0 g/L、搅拌时间为20 min、聚合氯化铝加入量为0.2 g/L、沉淀时间为5 h的最佳工艺条件下,采用福美钠处理初始Cd2+质量浓度为100 mg/L的锌冶炼含镉废水,剩余Cd2+质量浓度降至0.008 mg/L,Cd2+去除率为99.99%,处理后的废水达到GB8978—1996《污水综合排放标准》。