羟基乙叉二膦酸镀铜废液的处理及Cu~(2+)的高附加值资源化回收

采用Na BH4还原法将羟基乙叉二膦酸(HEDP)镀铜废液中的Cu~(2+)制备成纳米铜粉,并采用聚丙烯酰胺(PAM)对还原反应后的废液进行絮凝处理。研究了n(Cu~(2+))∶n(Na BH4)、还原反应温度、还原反应时间及PAM添加量对废液中剩余Cu~(2+)质量浓度的影响,并对回收的纳米铜粉进行了XRD和TEM表征。实验结果表明:当n(Cu~(2+))∶n(Na BH4)=4∶6、还原反应温度为50℃、还原反应时间为2 h时,废液中剩余Cu~(2+)质量浓度降低至1.1 mg/L,Cu~(2+)还原率达99.99%;可获得粒径为20~45 nm的近球型、高纯度、由多晶组成的纳米铜粉;当PAM添加量为10 mg/L时,废液中剩余Cu~(2+)质量浓度降至0.35 mg/L以下,达到GB 21900—2008《电镀污染物排放标准》(小于0.5 mg/L)的要求。     

赤霉酸暴露对SD大鼠青春期发育的影响

赤霉酸是目前国内外使用极其广泛的一种植物生长调节剂,但是针对其发育毒性的数据依然较少。本文探讨了赤霉酸暴露对SD大鼠青春期发育的影响。参考国内外环境内分泌干扰物危害的评价方法,将144只初断乳SD大鼠按体重随机分为4组,分别为对照组和1、10、100 mg·kg-1bw剂量组,采用经口灌胃方式对雄鼠连续染毒28 d,雌鼠连续染毒21 d。暴露结束后检测大鼠的体重、食物利用率、雄鼠包皮分离时间/雌鼠阴道开口时间、血清生化指标、脏器系数及组织病理学的变化。研究结果表明,与对照组相比,仅10和100 mg·kg-1bw剂量组雄鼠的肌酐水平显著升高(P<0.01),100 mg·kg-1bw剂量组雌鼠谷丙转氨酶水平有显著升高(P<0.01)。而与对照组相比,所有剂量组均未观察到大鼠的体重、食物利用率、雄鼠包皮分离时间/雌鼠阴道开口时间、脏器系数等指标有显著性差异的改变(P>0.05),组织病理学结果亦显示大鼠重要器官无损害性改变。因此,在本试验给予的剂量范围内赤霉酸染毒不会对SD大鼠青春期发育产生显著影响。     

中国典型河湖水体铅的水生生物安全基准与生态风险评价

采用物种敏感度排序法(SSR)对我国铅的淡水水生生物安全基准进行推导,并以太湖为例进行了流域水生生物安全基准推导。对于难以获得的本土生物毒性数据,开展了相应的毒性试验。获得了我国国家与太湖流域铅的水生生物安全基准值,基准最大浓度(CMC)分别为63.92、104.26μg·L-1,基准连续浓度(CCC)分别为1.21、4.06μg·L-1。同时,对我国主要河流以及太湖流域进行了铅的生态风险评价,联合概率曲线法显示影响5%水生生物种类的概率分别为66.22%和43.19%,熵值法则显示中国主要河流存在较大的铅暴露风险,因此,我国铅的潜在生态风险较大,主要河流与太湖流域存在铅污染问题。     

基于统计方法的辽东湾沉积物中多环芳烃来源特征分析

为研究辽东湾表层沉积物中多环芳烃(PAHs)的来源特征,2014年5月采集了20个辽东湾海域表层沉积物样品,并利用气相色谱质谱联用仪对优先控制的16种PAHs进行测定,采用聚类分析、主成分分析-多元线性回归分析、异构体比值3种统计方法对辽东湾表层沉积物中PAHs来源特征进行了研究。结果表明,辽东湾表层沉积物中PAHs含量范围88.5~199.3 ng·g-1,平均值为(126.3±35.3)ng·g-1,其中,萘、菲和荧蒽是PAHs优势组分。通过统计分析结果表明,辽东湾北部表层沉积物中PAHs含量低于西南部,沉积物中PAHs的来源包括石油燃烧来源、煤炭、木材等生物质燃烧来源和石油来源,其中燃烧来源是主要来源,煤炭、木材等生物质燃烧来源占49.9%,石油燃烧来源和石油来源占50.1%。     

Future implications of urban intensification on residential water demand

Over recent decades Auckland, New Zealand, metropolitan area has vastly expanded as a result of rapid population growth and low-density housing developments. In order to manage the uncontrolled low-density urban sprawl, Auckland Council proposed a compact city model through promoting higher density housing developments. In order to understand the implications of this transition on future residential water demand, this study first evaluated water consumption in three major housing types in Auckland including single houses, low-rise and high-rise apartments. Using the geographic information system, the water consumption information, estimated from a large sample of 60,000 dwellings across Auckland, was subsequently integrated with the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan outlining the future housing composition over different areas in Auckland. Through developing different growth scenarios, the study showed that the housing transition from single houses to more intensified multi-unit houses cannot considerably affect the average per capita water consumption in Auckland.     

Detection of Class I and II integrons for the assessment of antibiotic and multidrug resistance among Escherichia coli isolates from agricultural irrigation waters in Bulacan,Philippines

Contaminated irrigation water may greatly affect not only the quality of produce but also the people exposed to it. In this study, agricultural irrigation waters in Bulacan, Philippines were assessed and found to be contaminated with Escherichia coli (E. coli) ranging from 0.58 to 4.51 log₁₀ CFU/mL. A total of 79 isolates of E. coli were confirmed through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplifying the uidA gene and were tested for phenotypic resistance using 10 antimicrobials through the Kirby–Bauer disc diffusion method. Forty-six isolates (58.22%) were noted to be multidrug resistant (MDR) with high resistance rate to cephalothin, tetracycline, streptomycin, ampicillin, trimethoprim, nalidixic acid, and chloramphenicol. Moreover, this study also examined the prevalence of Class I and II integrons accounting to 67.39% and 17.39%, respectively, of the MDR E. coli strains using multiplex PCR. The results imply that the agricultural water used in Bulacan is contaminated with the fecal material of man or other animals present in the area, and the presence of MDR bacteria, which pose a potential threat to individuals in these areas, is alarming. In addition, detection of integrons could be a good marker for the identification of MDR isolates. Lastly, this study could develop strategies for the proper management of farming sites leading to the detection of food-borne pathogens and prevention of infectious diseases.     

Advantages and risks of using steel slag in preparing composts from raw organic waste

It had been reported that iron and manganese oxides in steel slag enhanced the production of humic acid (HA) from low-molecular-weight compounds, such as phenolic acids, amino acids, and saccharides. In the present study, this function of steel slag was applied to the composting of raw organic wastes (ROWs). The degree of humification of HAs is an important factor in evaluating compost quality. Thus, HAs were extracted from the prepared composts and the humification parameters were determined, in terms of elemental compositions, acidic functional group contents, molecular weights, spectroscopic parameters from UV–vis absorption and ¹³C NMR spectra. The timing for adding steel slag affected the degree of humification of HAs in the composts. The weight average molecular weight of a HA when slag was added initially (29 kDa) was significantly higher than when slag was added after elevating the temperature of the compost pile (17–18 kDa). These results show that ROWs are decomposed to low-molecular-weight compounds after the pile temperature is elevated and the presence of slag enhances the polycondensation of these compounds to produce HAs with a higher degree of humification. Because the slag used in the present study contained several-tens ng g^?1 to several μg g^?1 of toxic elements (B, Cu, Cr, and Zn), leaching tests for these elements from the prepared composts were carried out. Levels for leaching boron from composts prepared by adding slag (0.2–0.4 mg L^?1) were obviously higher than the corresponding levels without slag (0.05 mg L^?1).     

Bioreduction of hexavalent chromium by Exiguobacterium indicum strain MW1 isolated from marine water of Paradip Port,Odisha, India

Hexavalent chromium-tolerant (1500?mg/L) bacterium MW1 was isolated from harbour water of Paradip Port and evaluated for Cr(VI) reduction potential. The isolate was identified as Exiguobacterium indicum by biochemical and 16S rRNA gene sequence methods. Salt tolerance of the bacterium was evaluated in a wide range of NaCl concentrations (0.5–13%, w/v). The Cr(VI) reduction of the strain was evaluated and optimised with varied Cr(VI) concentrations (100–1000?mg/L), pH (5.0–9.0), temperature (30–40°C) and shaking velocity (100–150?rpm) in two different minimal media (M9 and Acetate). Under optimised conditions, after 192?h of incubation nearly 92%, 50% and 46% reduction in the M9 minimal medium and 91%, 47% and 40% reduction in the acetate minimal medium were observed for 100, 500 and 1000?mg/L of Cr(VI), respectively. The exponential rate equation for Cr(VI) reduction yielded higher rate constant value, that is, 1.27?×?10^?2?h^?1 (M9) and 1.17?×?10^?2?h^?1 (Acetate) in case of 100?mg/L and became lower for 500 and 1000?mg/L Cr(VI) concentrations. Further, the association of bacterial cells with reduced product was ascertained by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, UV–Vis–DRS and field-emission scanning electron microscope–energy-dispersive X-ray analyses. The above study suggests that the higher reducing ability of the marine bacterium E. indicum MW1 will be suitable for Cr(VI) reduction from saline effluents.     

Carbon dioxide emissions from cities in China based on high resolution emission gridded data

Based on the China high resolution emission gridded data (1 km spatial resolution), this article is aimed to create a Chinese city carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission data set using consolidated data sources as well as normalized and standardized data processing methods. Standard methods were used to calculate city CO₂ emissions, including scope 1 and scope 2. Cities with higher CO₂ emissions are mostly in north, northeast, and eastern coastal areas. Cities with lower CO₂ emissions are in the western region. Cites with higher CO₂ emissions are clustered in the Jing-Jin-Ji Region (such as Beijing, Tianjin, and Tangshan), and the Yangtze River Delta region (such as Shanghai and Suzhou). The city per capita CO₂ emission is larger in the north than the south. There are obvious aggregations of cities with high per capita CO₂ emission in the north. Four cities among the top 10 per capita emissions (Erdos, Wuhai, Shizuishan, and Yinchuan) cluster in the main coal production areas of northern China. This indicates the significant impact of coal resources endowment on city industry and CO₂ emissions. The majority (77%) of cities have annual CO₂ emissions below 50 million tons. The mean annual emission, among all cities, is 37 million tons. Emissions from service-based cities, which include the smallest number of cities, are the highest. Industrial cities are the largest category and the emission distribution from these cities is close to the normal distribution. Emissions and degree of dispersion, in the other cities (excluding industrial cities and service-based cities), are in the lowest level. Per capita CO₂ emissions in these cities are generally below 20 t/person (89%) with a mean value of 11 t/person. The distribution interval of per capita CO₂ emission within industrial cities is the largest among the three city categories. This indicates greater differences among per capita CO₂ emissions of industrial cities. The distribution interval of per capita CO₂ emission of other cities is the lowest, indicating smaller differences of per capita CO₂ emissions among this city category. Three policy suggestions are proposed: first, city CO₂ emission inventory data in China should be increased, especially for prefecture level cities. Second, city responsibility for emission reduction, and partitioning the national goal should be established, using a bottom-up approach based on specific CO₂ emission levels and potential for emission reductions in each city. Third, comparative and benchmarking research on city CO₂ emissions should be conducted, and a Top Runner system of city CO₂ emission reduction should be established.