Photocatalytic oxidation of monuron in the suspension of WO3 under the irradiation of UV-visible light

A comprehensive study of the degradation of monuron, one of the phenylurea herbicides, was conducted by UV-Vis/WO₃ process. It was found that hydroxyl radicals played a major role in the decay of monuron while other radicals (e.g. superoxide) and hole might also contribute to the decomposition of monuron. The oxidation path likely plays a major role in the generation of hydroxyl radicals. The effects of initial pH level, initial concentration of monuron, and inorganic oxidants on the performance of UV-Vis/WO₃ process were also investigated and optimized. Comparison between monuron decay pathways by UV-Vis/WO₃ and UV/TiO₂ was conducted. The decay mechanisms, including N-terminus demethylation, dechlorination and direct hydroxylation on benzene ring, were observed to be involved in the oxidation of monuron in these two processes. Sixteen intermediates were identified during the photodegradation of monuron and degradation pathways were proposed accordingly.     

Formation of PCDD/Fs from oxidation of 2-monochlorophenol over an Fe2O3/silica surface

The role of iron in surface-mediated formation of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) from 2-chlorophenol (2-MCP) was investigated over the temperature range of 200-550 °C under oxidative conditions. In order to compare and contrast with previous work on copper and ferric oxide-mediated pyrolysis of 2-MCP, identical reaction conditions were maintained (50 ppm 2-MCP, model fly-ash particles containing 5% Fe₂O₃ on silica). Observed products included dibenzo-p-dioxin (DD), 1-monochlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (1-MCDD), dibenzofuran (DF), 4,6-dichlorodibenzofuran (4,6-DCDF), 2,4- and 2,6-dichlorophenol, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, quinone, catechol, chloro-o-quinone, chlorocatechol and polychlorinated benzenes. Yields of DD and 1-MCDD were 2 and 5 times higher than under pyolysis conditions, respectively. Although 4,6-DCDF was the major PCDD/F product formed with a yield that was 2.5× greater than under pyrolysis, the yield of non-chlorinated DF, which was the dominant PCDD/F product under pyrolysis, decreased by a factor of 3. Furthermore, the ∼2× higher yield of PCDDs under oxidative conditions resulted in a PCDD to PCDF ratio of 0.75 compared to a relatively low ratio of 0.39 previously observed under pyrolytic conditions.     

Use of recycled fine aggregate in concretes with durable requirements

The use of construction waste materials as aggregates for concrete production is highly attractive compared to the use of non-renewable natural resources, promoting environmental protection and allowing the development of a new raw material. Several countries have recommendations for the use of recycled coarse aggregate in structural concrete, whereas the use of the fine fraction is limited because it may produce significant changes in some properties of concrete. However, during the last decade the use of recycled fine aggregates (RFA) has achieved a great international interest, mainly because of economic implications related to the shortage of natural sands suitable for the production of concrete, besides to allow an integral use of this type of waste. In this study, the durable behaviour of structural concretes made with different percentage of RFA (0%, 20%, and 30%) is evaluated. Different properties related to the durability of concretes such as absorption, sorptivity, water penetration under pressure, and carbonation are determined. In addition, the results of compressive strength, static modulus of elasticity and drying shrinkage are presented. The obtained results indicate that the recycled concretes have a suitable resistant and durable behaviour, according to the limits indicated by different international codes for structural concrete.     

Analysis of the recycling system for aluminum cans,focusing on collection,transportation, and the intermediate processing methods

In this article, the systems for the collection and intermediate processing of used beverage cans (UBCs) are compared and analyzed, focusing on the time taken and the cost of processing, the energy consumption, and the emissions of CO₂, SO _x , and NO _x , during the process. We found that cases where the UBCs were crushed in the discharging process gave better results, and how the UBCs were collected was the most important factor. It was more desirable to treat UBCs in one place than in two places. When the transportation distance was longer, the pressed form of UBCs was more convenient. When the transportation distance was short, the original form, the crushed form, and the shredded form of UBCs were all suitable. That is, the contribution of the transportation process to the evaluation was large when the transport distance was long, and the contribution of the treatment process was large when the transport distance was short.     

Exploration of the metabolic flexibility of glycogen accumulating organisms through metatranscriptome analysis and metabolic characterization

Glycogen accumulating organisms (GAOs) are closely related to the deterioration of enhanced biological phosphorus removal systems. However, the metabolic mechanisms that drive GAOs remain unclear. Here, the two-thirds supernatant of a reactor were decanted following the anaerobic period to enrich GAOs. Long-term monitoring demonstrated that the system was stable and exhibited typical characteristics of GAOs metabolism. Acetate was completely consumed after 60 min of the anaerobic phase. The level of glycogen decreased from 0.20 to 0.14 g/gSS during the anaerobic phase, whereas the level of glycogen significantly increased to 0.21g/gSS at the end of the aerobic period. Moreover, there was almost no phosphate release and absorption in the complete periods, thus confirming the successful construction of a GAOs enrichment system. Microbial community analysis demonstrated that Ca. Contendobacter was among the core functional genera and showed the highest activity among all of the communities. Furthermore, our study is the first to identify the involvement of the ethyl-malonyl-CoA pathway in the synthesis of polyhydroxyvalerate via croR, ccr, ecm, mcd, mch and mcl genes. The Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas (EMP) pathway was preferentially used via glgP. Furthermore, the glyoxylate cycle was the main source of ATP under anaerobic conditions, whereas the tricarboxylic acid cycle provided ATP under aerobic conditions. aceA and mdh appeared to be major modulators of the glyoxylate pathway for controlling energy flow. Collectively, our findings not only revealed the crucial metabolic mechanisms in a GAOs enrichment system but also provided insights into the potential application of Ca. Contendobacter for wastewater treatment.     

Synthesis, crystal structure, photodegradation kinetics and photocatalytic activity of novel photocatalyst ZnBiYO4

ZnBiYO₄ was synthesized by a solid-state reaction method for the first time. The structural and photocatalytic properties of ZnBiYO₄ were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance. ZnBiYO₄ crystallized with a tetragonal spinel structure with space group I41/A. The lattice parameters for ZnBiYO₄ were a = b = 11.176479 Å and c= 10.014323 Å. The band gap of ZnBiYO₄ was estimated to be 1.58 eV. The photocatalytic activity of ZnBiYO₄ was assessed by photodegradation of methyl orange under visible light irradiation. The results showed that ZnBiYO₄ had higher catalytic activity compared with N-doped TiO₂ under the same experimental conditions using visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange with ZnBiYO₄ or N-doped TiO₂ as catalyst followed first-order reaction kinetics, and the first-order rate constant was 0.01575 and 0.00416 min^-1 for ZnBiYO₄ and N-doped TiO₂, respectively. After visible light irradiation for 220 min with ZnBiYO₄ as catalyst, complete removal and mineralization of methyl orange were observed. The reduction of total organic carbon, formation of inorganic products, SO₄^2- and NO₃^-, and evolution of CO₂ revealed the continuous mineralization of methyl orange during the photocatalytic process. The intermediate products were identified using liquid chromatography- mass spectrometry. The ZnBiYO₄/(visible light) photocatalysis system was found to be suitable for textile industry wastewater treatment and could be used to solve other environmental chemical pollution problems.     

低NOx环境异戊二烯促进甲苯生成甲基丁烯二醛的模拟实验

在低NO_x浓度条件下开展甲苯和异戊二烯复合体系的烟雾箱模拟实验,使用高时间分辨率的在线质子转移反应飞行时间质谱(PTR-TOF-MS)实时监测混合体系中反应物与产物的浓度变化情况,探究人为源与天然源交汇过程中, 自然源挥发性有机物 (BVOCs)对人为挥发性有机物(AVOCs)化学降解的影响.结果表明,异戊二烯与甲苯竞争OH自由基,从而抑制了甲苯的化学降解,该竞争反应开始得越早,抑制效果越显著.研究还发现异戊二烯会增强甲苯RO₂降解途径产物的产量,生成更多1,4不饱和-二羰基化合物(如丁烯二醛和甲基丁烯二醛)与二羰基化合物(如乙二醛和甲基乙二醛),其中甲基丁烯二醛增量最高可达38.6%.此外,异戊二烯快速氧化生成的RO₂自由基碳数更少,可能与甲苯氧化生成的RO₂自由基发生了快速的交叉反应,有利于甲苯RO自由基的生成及裂解,最终导致甲苯RO₂途径裂解产物的增加.     

Phenol degradation in waters with high iodide level by layered double hydroxide-peroxodisulfate: Pathways and products

Recently, layered double hydroxide-peroxodisulfate (LDH-PDS) as an advanced oxidation system can effectively remove organics by the pathway of free radical. However, little has been known if there is a potential risk regarding the formation of high toxic iodine byproducts through another pathway when LDH-PDS is used in high iodide waters at coastal areas. Therefore, this study investigated phenol degradation pathways and transformation products to evaluate both removal mechanism and potential risk by LDH-PDS in high iodide waters. The results showed that in LDH-PDS system, with the degradation of PDS, phenol degraded till below detection limit in 1 hr in the presence of iodide, while PDS and phenol were hardly degraded in the absence of iodide, indicating iodide accelerated the transformation of PDS and the degradation of phenol. What is more, it reached the highest phenol removal efficiency under the condition of 100 mg/L LDH, 0.1 mmol/L PDS and 1.0 mmol/L iodide. In LDH-PDS system, iodide was rapidly oxidized by the highly active interlayer PDS, resulting in the formation of reactive iodine including hypoiodic acid, iodine and triiodide instead of free radicals, which contributed rapid degradation of phenol. However, unfortunately toxic iodophenols were detected. Specifically, 2-iodophenol and 4-iodophenol were formed firstly, afterwards 2,4-diiodophenol and 2,6-diiodophenol were produced, and finally iodophenols and diiodophenols gradually decreased and 2,4,6-Triiodophenol were produced. These results indicated that LDH-PDS should avoid to use in high iodide waters to prevent toxic iodine byproduct formation although iodide can accelerate phenol degradation.