Monitoring of environmental exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: a review

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a large group of organic compounds with two or more fused aromatic rings. They have a relatively low solubility in water, but are highly lipophilic. Most of the PAHs with low vapour pressure in the air are adsorbed on particles. When dissolved in water or adsorbed on particulate matter, PAHs can undergo photodecomposition when exposed to ultraviolet light from solar radiation. In the atmosphere, PAHs can react with pollutants such as ozone, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide, yielding diones, nitro- and dinitro-PAHs, and sulfonic acids, respectively. PAHs may also be degraded by some microorganisms in the soil. PAHs are widespread environmental contaminants resulting from incomplete combustion of organic materials. The occurrence is largely a result of anthropogenic emissions such as fossil fuel-burning, motor vehicle, waste incinerator, oil refining, coke and asphalt production, and aluminum production, etc. PAHs have received increased attention in recent years in air pollution studies because some of these compounds are highly carcinogenic or mutagenic. Eight PAHs (Car-PAHs) typically considered as possible carcinogens are: benzo(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P), dibenzo(a,h)anthracene, indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene and benzo(g,h,i)perylene. In particular, benzo(a)pyrene has been identified as being highly carcinogenic. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has promulgated 16 unsubstituted PAHs (EPA-PAH) as priority pollutants. Thus, exposure assessments of PAHs in the developing world are important. The scope of this review will be to give an overview of PAH concentrations in various environmental samples and to discuss the advantages and limitations of applying these parameters in the assessment of environmental risks in ecosystems and human health. As it well known, there is an increasing trend to use the behavior of pollutants (i.e. bioaccumulation) as well as pollution-induced biological and biochemical effects on human organisms to evaluate or predict the impact of chemicals on ecosystems. Emphasis in this review will, therefore, be placed on the use of bioaccumulation and biomarker responses in air, soil, water and food, as monitoring tools for the assessment of the risks and hazards of PAH concentrations for the ecosystem, as well as on its limitations.     

Abating whey organic load through ethanol and lactic acid production by kefir

Abstract

The extent to which selected ethanol and lactic acid production bioprocesses contribute to whey waste abatement was examined. Alcoholic fermentation of whey was carried out by kefir cells immobilized on grape stalks, delignified cellulosic materials, or brewer's spent grains. Lactic acid fermentation was also performed by free kefir cells with or without addition of brewer's spent grains as promoting material. Since whey fermentation rate is affected by the lactose uptake rate, ¹⁴C-labeled lactose was used to study the fermentation ability of kefir. The highest reductions in biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand of whey, about 68% and 52%, respectively, were achieved by lactic acid fermentation in 6 h at 37 °C and pH 5.5, in the presence of 120 g brewer's spent grains. Additionally, at the same conditions, the highest ¹⁴C-labeled lactose uptake rate by kefir and consequently the highest alcoholic fermentation rate were also recorded. However, greater reductions in biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand of whey are required prior to final disposal.     

水蚯蚓对硝化细菌活性影响的试验研究

采用SBR反应器富集培养富含硝化细菌的活性污泥,利用填料挂载的方法向SBR反应器投加水蚯蚓,考察了水蚯蚓对SBR反应器硝化效率及硝化细菌活性的影响.结果表明,SBR反应器挂载水蚯蚓后,SBR系统的硝化速率降低了16.65%,NO2--N氧化率减少量约为24%.通过对SBR系统单一周期各形态氮素浓度变化规律进行考察,发现...     

焦化废水中有机污染物的特性及处理工艺方法的研究

研究了焦化废水中有机物的特性及有机污染物处理技术的发展动态和新方法。研究表明 ,生物法和物化新方法的联合工艺是处理焦化废水有机污染物的有效方法     

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can decrease the uptake of uranium by subterranean clover grown at high levels of uranium in soil

Subterranean clover inoculated or not with the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus Glomus intraradices was grown on soil containing six levels of 238U in the range 0-87 mg kg(-1). Increasing U concentration in soil enhanced the U concentration in roots and shoots of both mycorrhizal and nonmycorrhizal plants but had no significant effects on plant dry matter production or root AM colonization. Mycorrhizas increased the shoot dry matter and P concentration in roots and shoots, while in most cases, it decreased the Ca, Mg and K concentrations in plants. The AM fungus influenced U concentration in plants only in the treatment receiving 87 mg U kg(-1) soil. In this case, U concentration in shoots of nonmycorrhizal plants was 1.7 times that of shoots of mycorrhizal plants. These results suggested that mycorrhizal fungi can limit U accumulation by plants exposed to high levels of U in soil.     

The Influence of Mycorrhiza on Uranium and Phosphorus Uptake by Barley Plants from a Field-contaminated Soil (7 pp)

Background Recent studies indicated that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play important roles in plant accumulation of uranium (U) from contaminated environments, but the impacts of fertilization practices on functioning of the symbiotic associations, which are crucial factors influencing plant nutrition and growth responses to mycorrhiza, have rarely been considered. Materials and Methods In a greenhouse experiment, a bald root barley mutant (brb) together with the wild type (wt) were used to test the role of root hairs and AMF in uranium (U) uptake by host plants from a U contaminated soil. Nil, 20 and 60 mg KH2PO4-P kg–1 soil were included to investigate the influences of phosphorus (P) fertilization on plant growth and accumulation of U. Results Dry matter yield of barley plants increased with increasing P additions and wt produced significantly higher dry weight than brb. Mycorrhiza markedly improved dry matter yield of both genotypes grown at nil P, whereas only brb responded positively to mycorrhiza at 20 mg P kg-1. At the highest P level, mycorrhiza resulted in growth depressions in both genotypes, except for the roots of wt. In general, plant P concentrations increased markedly with increasing P additions and in response to mycorrhiza. Mycorrhiza and P additions had no significant effects on shoot U concentrations. However, root U concentrations in both genotypes were significantly increased by mycorrhiza. On the other hand, shoot U contents increased with increasing P levels, while 20 mg P kg-1 stimulated, but 60 mg P kg-1 marginally affected the U accumulation in roots. Root length specific U uptake was moderately enhanced both by root hairs and strongly enhanced by mycorrhiza. Moreover, non-inoculated plants generally had higher shoot-root ratios of U content than the corresponding inoculated controls. Conclusion Our study shows that AMF and root hairs improves not only P acquisition but also the root uptake of U, and mycorrhiza generally decreases U translocation from plant root to shoot. Hence, mycorrhiza is of potential use in the phytostabilization of U contaminated environments. Perspectives The complex impacts of P on U accumulation by barley plants suggested that U behavior in mycorrhizosphere and translocation along the soil-fungi-plant continuum as affected by fertilization practices deserve extensive studies for optimizing the function of mycorrhizal associations for phytoremediation purposes.     

Nitrogen cycling of atmosphere-plant-soil system in the typical Calamagrostis angustifolia wetland in the Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China

The nitrogen (N) distribution and cycling of atmosphere-plant-soil system in the typical meadow Calamagrostis angustifolia wetland (TMCW) and marsh meadow Calamagrostis angustifolia wetland (MMCW) in the Sanjiang plain were studied by a compartment model. The results showed that the N wet deposition amount was 0.757 gN/(m2·a), and total inorganic N (TIN) was the main body (0.640 gN/(m2·a)). The ammonia volatilization amounts of TMCW and MMCW soils in growing season were 0.635 and 0.687 gN/m2, and the denitrification gaseous lost amounts were 0.617 and 0.405 gN/m2, respectively. In plant subsystem, the N was mainly stored in root and litter. Soil organic N was the main N storage of the two plant-soil systems and the proportions of it were 93.98% and 92.16%, respectively. The calculation results of N turnovers among compartments of TMCW and MMCW showed that the uptake amounts of root were 23.02 and 28.18 gN/(m2·a) and the values of aboveground were 11.31 and 6.08 gN/(m2·a), the re-translocation amounts from aboveground to root were 5.96 and 2.70 gN/(m2·a), the translocation amounts from aboveground living body to litter were 5.35 and 3.38 gN/(m2·a), the translocation amounts from litter to soil were larger than 1.55 and 3.01 gN/(m2·a), the translocation amounts from root to soil were 14.90 and 13.17 gN/(m2·a), and the soil (0-15cm) N net mineralization amounts were 1.94 and 0.55 gN/(m2·a), respectively. The study of N balance indicated that the two plant-soil systems might be situated in the status of lacking N, and the status might induce the degradation of C. angustifolia wetland.     

Effects of several amendments on rice growth and uptake of copper and cadmium from a contaminated soil

Heavy metals in variable charge soil are highly bioavailable and easy to transfer into plants. Since it is impossible to completely eliminate rice planting on contaminated soils, some remediation and mitigation techniques are necessary to reduce metal bioavailability and uptake by rice. This pot experiment investigated the e ects of seven amendments on the growth of rice and uptake of heavy metals from a paddy soil that was contaminated by copper and cadmium. The best results were from the application of limestone that increased grain yield by 12.5–16.5 fold, and decreased Cu and Cd concentrations in grain by 23.0%–50.4%. Application of calcium magnesium phosphate, calcium silicate, pig manure, and peat also increased the grain yield by 0.3–15.3 fold, and e ectively decreased the Cu and Cd concentrations in grain. Cd concentration in grain was slightly reduced in the treatments of Chinese milk vetch and zinc sulfate. Concentrations of Cu and Cd in grain and straw were dependent on the available Cu and Cd in the soils, and soil available Cu and Cd were significantly a ected by the soil pH.     

鲤鱼对硝基苯的生物积累、消除与代谢研究

应用流动式摄取及释放装置，对鲤鱼进行了硝基苯的生物积累，代谢研究，结果表明，鲤鱼对硝基苯浓缩很快，全鱼，肌肉，其它组织中的生物积累曲线地均呈现快速增长至峰，后又快速下降至低浓度水平稳态的峰形曲线，释放呈双曲线形，对数作图可得到两条不同斜度的直线。     

论城市污水处理厂的建设与管理

论述了建设城市污水处理厂的必要性、污水处理厂的设计标准与边界条件．从各个不同的方面讨论了污水处理厂的环境影响和防治对策、环境经济效益和管理问题．