Thioarsenate formation upon dissolution of orpiment and arsenopyrite

Thioarsenates were previously determined as dominant species in geothermal and mineral waters with excess sulfide. Here, we used batch leaching experiments to determine their formation upon weathering or industrial leaching of the arsenic-sulfide minerals orpiment (As₂S₃) and arsenopyrite (FeAsS) under different pH and oxygen conditions. Under acidic conditions, as expected based on their known kinetic instability at low pH, no thioarsenates formed in either of the two mineral systems. Under neutral to alkaline conditions, orpiment dissolution yielded mono-, di- and trithioarsenate which accounted for up to 43-55% of total arsenic. Thioarsenate formation upon arsenopyrite dissolution was low at neutral (4%) but significant at alkaline pH, especially under suboxic to sulfidic conditions (20-43%, mainly as monothioarsenate). In contrast to orpiment, we postulate that recombination of arsenite and sulfide in solution is of minor importance for monothioarsenate formation during alkaline arsenopyrite dissolution. We propose instead that hydroxyl physisorption lead to formation of As-OH-S surface complexes by transposition of hydroxyl anions to arsenic or iron sites. Concurrently formed ironhydroxides could provide re-sorption sites for the freshly released monothioarsenate. However, sorption experiments with goethite showed slower sorption kinetics of monothioarsenate compared to arsenite, but comparable with arsenate. The discovery that thioarsenates are released by natural weathering and industrial leaching processes and that, once they are released, have a higher mobility than the commonly-investigated species arsenite and arsenate requires future studies to consider them when assessing arsenic release in sulfidic natural or mining-impacted environments.     

某生活垃圾卫生填埋场渗滤液的梯度分离与表征

目前,渗滤液中污染物的粒度分布及其在渗滤液污染控制中的作用日益受到关注。通过系列微滤膜(1.2μm及0.45μm)对某生活垃圾卫生填埋场渗滤液各处理单元的渗滤液进行梯度分离,发现悬浮物对COD、浊度的影响较大;COD主要在胶体态和可溶解态间分配,不同渗滤液中的分配情况不同;磷主要与胶体、悬浮物以各种形式结合而存在;细胶粒和溶解态等小分子对TN的贡献大;不同粒度物质对pH的影响不明显;总残渣在可溶态组分中所占比例较大。膜微滤处理渗滤液可以有效的去除一部分物质,使COD、TP、TN、浊度、电导率都有不同程度的降低,pH逐渐升高,但对总N、残渣的去除效果不好。     

碳源类型及进水量分配对CMICAO工艺脱氮除磷的影响

研究了分别以葡萄糖和乙酸钠为碳源时多点交替进水阶式A2/O(CMICAO)工艺氮磷的去除效果,以及在不同进水C/N比时各进水量分配对脱氮除磷效果的影响.结果表明,在相同的进水COD浓度下,乙酸钠比葡萄糖更适合作为碳源,更能提高脱氮除磷效率.以葡萄糖为碳源时,COD为200 mg/L、C/N比为5、缺氧池与厌氧池进水配比为1∶2时,出水COD、TN、氨氮和TP浓度分别为28.5、10.8、2.1和0.5 mg/L,均达到国家一级A排放标准.若采用葡萄糖作为碳源,投加量以使进水C/N比为5～7.5为宜,外加碳源时缺氧池与厌氧池进水分配比可统一采用1∶1.     

土壤镉处理对棉花镉吸收及分布规律的影响

用CdCl2将盆栽土壤Cd浓度处理为1mg／kg、5mg／kg、10mg／kg、20mg,／kg、30mg／kg种植棉花,研究棉花对镉的吸收及镉在棉花体内的分布规律。结果表明,当土壤镉浓度小于30mg／kg时,镉在棉花体内的分布呈现不同的规律。当土壤镉浓度小于5mg／kg时,镉主要分布在棉花的地上部;当土壤镉浓度大于20mg／kg时,镉主要分布在棉花的叶片、根、茎中,其中叶片的镉含量最高,棉絮镉含量最低。不同镉污染水平下,棉花的镉富集系数均小于1。当土壤镉污染浓度为5mg／kg时,棉花叶片的镉富集系数为0．76。在同一镉污染水平下,棉花叶片的镉转运系数最高。当土壤镉含量小于20mg／kg时,棉花茎、叶、棉絮的转运系数平均为4．63。     

Novel Organisms: Comparing Invasive Species, GMOs, and Emerging Pathogens

Invasive species, range-expanding species, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), synthetic organisms, and emerging pathogens increasingly affect the human environment. We propose a framework that allows comparison of consecutive stages that such novel organisms go through. The framework provides a common terminology for novel organisms, facilitating knowledge exchange among researchers, managers, and policy makers that work on, or have to make effective decisions about, novel organisms. The framework also indicates that knowledge about the causes and consequences of stage transitions for the better studied novel organisms, such as invasive species, can be transferred to more poorly studied ones, such as GMOs and emerging pathogens. Finally, the framework advances understanding of how climate change can affect the establishment, spread, and impacts of novel organisms, and how biodiversity affects, and is affected by, novel organisms.     

Selection and Implementation of a Flagship Fleet in a Locally Undervalued Region of High Endemicity

Flagships are one conservation education tool. We present a proposed flagship species fleet for environmental education in central Chile. Our methods followed recent flagship guidelines. We present our selection process and a detailed justification for the fleet of flagship species that we selected. Our results are a list of eight flagship species forming a flagship fleet, including two small- and medium-sized mammals, the degu (Octodon degus) and the culpeo fox (Lycalopex culpeaus), two birds, the turca (Pteroptochos megapoidius) and the burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia), the Chilean iguana (Calopistes palluma), the tarantula (Grammostola mollicoma), and two trees, the litre (Lithrea caustica) and the espino (Acacia caven). We then describe how these flagships can be deployed most effectively, describing their audience, effective narrative frames, and modes of presentation. We conclude that general selection rules paired with social science background data allow for an efficient selection process.     

Toxicological characterization of the landfill leachate prior/after chemical and electrochemical treatment: A study on human and plant cells

In this research, toxicological safety of two newly developed methods for the treatment of landfill leachate from the Piškornica (Croatia) sanitary landfill was investigated. Chemical treatment procedure combined chemical precipitation with CaO followed by coagulation with ferric chloride and final adsorption by clinoptilolite. Electrochemical treatment approach included pretreatment with ozone followed by electrooxidation/electrocoagulation and final polishing by microwave irradiation. Cell viability of untreated/treated landfill leachate was examined using fluorescence microscopy. Cytotoxic effect of the original leachate was obtained for both exposure periods (4 and 24 h) while treated samples showed no cytotoxic effect even after prolonged exposure time. The potential DNA damage of the untreated/treated landfill leachate was evaluated by the comet assay and cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) assay using either human or plant cells. The original leachate exhibited significantly higher comet assay parameters compared to negative control after 24 h exposure. On the contrary, there was no significant difference between negative control and chemically/electrochemically treated leachate for any of the parameters tested. There was also no significant increase in either CBMN assay parameter compared to the negative control following the exposure of the lymphocytes to the chemically or electrochemically treated landfill leachate for both exposure periods while the original sample showed significantly higher number of micronuclei, nucleoplasmic bridges and nuclear buds for both exposure times. Results suggest that both methods are suitable for the treatment of such complex waste effluent due to high removal efficiency of all measured parameters and toxicological safety of the treated effluent.     

Impact of nano-CuO stress on rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings

Indiscriminate release of metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) into the environment due to anthropogenic activities has become a serious threat to the ecological system including plants. The present study assesses the toxicity of nano-CuO on rice (Oryza sativa cv. Swarna) seedlings. Three different levels of stress (0.5 mM, 1.0 mM and 1.5 mM suspensions of copper II oxide, <50 nm particle size) were imposed and seedling growth performance was studied along control at 7 and 14 d of experiment. Modulation of ascorbate–glutathione cycle, membrane damage, in vivo ROS detection, foliar H₂O₂ and proline accumulation under nano-CuO stress were investigated in detail to get an overview of nano-stress response of rice. Seed germination percentage was significantly reduced under stress. Higher uptake of Evans blue by nano-CuO stressed roots over control indicates loss of root cells viability. Presence of dark blue and deep brown spots on leaves evident after histochemical staining with NBT and DAB respectively indicate severe oxidative burst under nano-copper stress. APX activity was found to be significantly increased in 1.0 and 1.5 mM CuO treatments. Nevertheless, elevated APX activity might be insufficient to scavenge all H₂O₂ produced in excess under nano-CuO stress. That may be the reason why stressed leaves accumulated significantly higher H₂O₂ instead of having enhanced APX activity. In addition, increased GR activity coupled with isolated increase in GSH/GSSG ratio does not seem to prevent cells from oxidative damages, as evident from higher MDA level in leaves of nano-CuO stressed seedlings over control. Enhanced proline accumulation also does not give much protection against nano-CuO stress. Decline in carotenoids level might be another determining factor of meager performance of rice seedlings in combating nano-CuO stress induced oxidative damages.