Surface modification of polypropylene non-woven fibers with TiO2 nanoparticles via layer-by-layer self assembly method: Preparation and photocatalytic activity

Polypropylene (PP) meltblown fibers were coated with titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles using layer-by-layer (LbL) deposition technique. The fibers were first modified with 3 layers of poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid) (PSS) and poly(diallyl-dimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC) to improve the anchoring of the TiO₂ nanoparticle clusters. PDADMAC, which is positively charged, was then used as counter polyelectrolyte in tandem with anionic TiO₂ nanoparticles to construct TiO₂/PDADMAC bilayer in the LbL fashion. The number of deposited TiO₂/PDADMAC layers was varied from 1 to 7 bilayer, and could be used to adjust TiO₂ loading. The LbL technique showed higher TiO₂ loading efficiency than the impregnation approach. The modified fibers were tested for their photocatalytic activity against a model dye, Methylene Blue (MB). Results showed that the TiO₂ modified fibers exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity efficiency similar to that of TiO₂ powder dispersed in solution. The deposition of TiO₂ 3 bilayer on the PP substrate was sufficient to produce nanocomposite fibers that could bleach the MB solution in less than 4 hr. TiO₂-LbL constructions also preserved TiO₂ adhesion on substrate surface after 1 cycle of photocatalytic test. Successive photocatalytic test showed decline in MB reduction rate with loss of TiO₂ particles from the substrate outer surface. However, even in the third cycle, the TiO₂ modified fibers are still moderately effective as it could remove more than 95% of MB after 8 hr of treatment.     

钛负载纳米Pd粒子电极的电化学催化性能研究

采用电化学沉积法将纳米钯粒子负载在钛板上,制备钛负载纳米钯粒子的NanoPd/Ti电极.利用循环伏安法和线性扫描伏安法对比研究NanoPd/Ti电极与Ti电极的电化学性能,以及分别对氯苯和硝基苯模拟废水电化学催化性能,表明NanoPd/Ti电极循环伏安过程出现新的氧化峰和还原峰,反应电位明显正移,反应过程峰电流也明显增大.通过降解实验,NanoPd/Ti电极可以在更低电压,更短时间内达到更好CODcr去除效果.     

Effects of gas flow rate, inlet concentration and temperature on the biofiltration of toluene vapors

In this work the variation in the elimination capacity of a biofilter as a function of the gas flow and toluene concentration was studied. A bioreactor 0.75 m high x 14.5 cm diameter was used, divided into three equal stages, using compost to support the microorganisms, and sea shells to control the pH. The biofiltration of toluene was evaluated for flows between 0.12 and 0.73 m(3)h(-1) in a concentration range of 1-3.2 gm(-3). It was observed that on increasing the toluene inlet load by 90% (from 37 to 70 gm(3)h(-1)), the conversion by the biofilter varied by only 5% (from 98% to 93%). The biofiltration system used achieved elimination capacities of up to 82 gm(-3)h(-1) for a toluene load of 100 gm(-3)h(-1).     

Alien plant invasions--incorporating emerging invaders in regional prioritization: a pragmatic approach for Southern Africa

Plant invasions are a serious threat to natural and semi-natural ecosystems worldwide. Most management-orientated research on invasions focuses on invaders that are already widespread and often have major impacts. This paper deals with "emerging" invaders-those alien species with the potential to become important problems without timely intervention. A climate matching procedure was developed to define areas of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland that could be invaded by 28 plant species that had previously been classified as emerging invaders. Information on the location of populations of these species in the study area was combined with information on their distributions (as native or alien) in parts of Australia and the United States of America. These two countries had the best available distribution data for this study. They also share many invasive alien plant species with South Africa. Climatic data obtained for weather stations near points of known occurrence in these countries were used to define the climatically suitable areas for each species in the study area. Almost 80% of the remaining natural environment in southern Africa was found to be vulnerable to invasion by at least one of these species, 50% by six or more and 24% by 16 or more species. The most vulnerable areas are the highveld grasslands and the eastern escarpment. The emerging invaders with the greatest potential range included Acacia podalyriifolia and Cortaderia selloana. The globally important invaders Ulex europaeus and Lythrum salicaria had a more limited invasion potential but could still become major invaders. There was no relationship between the extent of the climatically suitable areas for the different species and an expert ranking of their invasion potential, emphasising the uncertainties inherent in making expert assessments based on very little information. The methods used in this analysis establish a protocol for future modelling exercises to assess the invasion potential of other emerging invaders.     

Water Hyacinth in China: A Sustainability Science-Based Management Framework

The invasion of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) has resulted in enormous ecological and economic consequences worldwide. Although the spread of this weed in Africa, Australia, and North America has been well documented, its invasion in China is yet to be fully documented. Here we report that since its introduction about seven decades ago, water hyacinth has infested many water bodies across almost half of China’s territory, causing a decline of native biodiversity, alteration of ecosystem services, deterioration of aquatic environments, and spread of diseases affecting human health. Water hyacinth infestations have also led to enormous economic losses in China by impeding water flows, paralyzing navigation, and damaging irrigation and hydroelectricity facilities. To effectively control the rampage of water hyacinth in China, we propose a sustainability science-based management framework that explicitly incorporates principles from landscape ecology and Integrated Pest Management. This framework emphasizes multiple-scale long-term monitoring and research, integration among different control techniques, combination of control with utilization, and landscape-level adaptive management. Sustainability science represents a new, transdisciplinary paradigm that integrates scientific research, technological innovation, and socioeconomic development of particular regions. Our proposed management framework is aimed to broaden the currently dominant biological control-centered view in China and to illustrate how sustainability science can be used to guide the research and management of water hyacinth.     

A novel approach to estimate and control denitrification performance in activated sludge systems with respirogram technology

Respirogram technology has been widely applied for aerobic process, however, the response of respirogram to anoxic denitrification is still unclear. To reveal such response may help to design a new method for the evaluation of the performance of denitrification. The size distribution of flocs measured at different denitrification moments demonstrated a clear expansion of flocs triggered by denitrification, during which higher specific endogenous and quasi-endogenous respiration rates (SOUR_e and SOUR_q) were also observed. Furthermore, SOUR_q increases exponentially with the specific denitrification rate (SDNR), suggesting that there should be a maximum SDNR in conventional activated sludge systems. Based on these findings, an index R_q/t, defined as the ratio of quasi-endogenous (OUR_q) to maximum respiration rate (OUR_t), is proposed to estimate the denitrification capacity that higher R_q/t indicates higher denitrification potential, which can be readily obtained without complex measurement or analysis, and it offers a novel and promising respirogram-based approach for denitrification estimation and control by taking measures to extend anoxic time to maintain its value at a high level within a certain range.     

三峡库区消落带落羽杉人工林土壤细菌群落结构多样性及动态变化

消落带是连接陆地与水域的交错地带,具有重要的生态功能,其适生木本植物的种植对消落带土壤的生物地球化学循环起着重要的作用.为探究适生植物对三峡库区消落带环境的适应机制,采用高通量测序技术对消落带退水后适生植物落羽杉(Taxodium distichum)不同生长时期(T1:5月、 T2:7月和T3:9月)的土壤细菌群落组成及多样性进行研究,同时采用PICRUSt2对细菌功能进行预测.结果表明,土壤pH值、硝态氮、铵态氮、土壤蔗糖酶、磷酸酶和脲酶等理化指标随时间变化显著(P<0.05);土壤细菌多样性、丰富度和结构也随时间变化而变化,除Chao1以外,根际土壤细菌的α多样性均表现为：T1>T2>T3,非根际土壤细菌α多样性则表现为：T3>T1>T2. RDA分析表明,影响细菌群落的理化指标主要有土壤pH值、脲酶、铵态氮和硝态氮.所有土壤样本中共检测到细菌60门,其中以变形菌门和酸杆菌门为优势细菌门.根据PICRUSt2预测,代谢是落羽杉土壤细菌群落中普遍存在的基本功能,与C、 N和P有关的各代谢途径存在一定的时间差异.以上研究结果有助于加深对三峡消落带植被修复...     

牡蛎壳粉和石灰改良酸性水稻土对磷有效性、形态和酶活性的影响

我国南方粮食主产区土壤酸化治理是提升耕地地力促进粮食增产的重要内容,目的是探究酸化土壤改良剂牡蛎壳粉和石灰对水稻土酸度、磷有效性和形态以及酶活性和相关功能基因的影响.盆栽试验设计2种改良剂的3个施用量（0.05%、0.10%和0.15%）,以水稻为试验作物.结果表明：①牡蛎壳粉和石灰均显著提高土壤pH,降低土壤交换性酸,且改良效果随着改良剂用量增加而提高,相同用量下石灰对土壤酸性的改良效果高于牡蛎壳粉;② 4种有效磷提取剂提取的土壤有效磷测定结果表明,牡蛎壳粉和石灰显著提高H₂SO₄-P、Bray-1 P和Olsen-P含量,其中Olsen-P含量随改良剂用量的增加而提高.③土壤中不同形态无机磷含量表现为：Fe-P>Al-P>Ca-P,石灰和牡蛎壳粉显著提高Al-P和Fe-P含量,分别提高26.3%~37.4%和7.9%~23.7%;0.15%改良剂显著增加Ca-P含量;④石灰和牡蛎壳粉对土壤DHA、ALP、IPP活性和phoD基因拷贝数具有提高作用,而对土壤ACP活性、phoC和pqqC拷贝数表现为降低;⑤改良剂（0.10%和0.15%）显著提高水稻产量,0.15%用量的石灰和牡蛎壳粉分别提高水稻产量34.2%和46.8%,但对秸秆生物量无显著影响.相关分析表明,土壤无机磷和有效磷含量与pH和ALP活性呈显著正相关,改良剂通过消除土壤酸化和提高土壤磷酸酶活性来改善土壤磷营养状况,这对促进作物产量具有积极作用.     

生物炭施用对黄壤土壤养分及酶活性的影响

生物炭因其具有特殊的理化性质,作为土壤改良剂或调理剂被广泛应用于改善土壤质量;土壤养分与土壤酶活性是表征土壤质量化学性质和生物学性质的重要指标.采用大田试验,研究生物炭不同施用水平：0（CK）、5（B5）、10（B10）、20（B20）和50（B50） t·hm^-2对黄壤养分和土壤酶活性的影响,运用结构方程模型（SEM）定量分析生物炭处理对土壤养分和酶活性的直接或间接影响及其作用大小.结果表明,生物炭显著增加土壤pH值、电导率、有机碳、碱解氮、有效磷和速效钾（P<0.05）;随生物炭施用量的增加,土壤过氧化氢酶和脲酶活性先增加后降低,磷酸酶和蔗糖酶活性增加（P<0.05）;B10处理下,土壤过氧化氢酶、脲酶和磷酸酶的活性均达到最大值,蔗糖酶活性也相对较高.随生物炭作用时间增加,土壤pH值、碱解氮、有效磷和速效钾含量均增加,而电导率和有机碳与之相反;过氧化氢酶活性降低,脲酶和磷酸酶活性升高,蔗糖酶活性无明显变化规律.SEM结果显示,生物炭施用对过氧化氢酶具有直接的负效应;通过提升pH、电导率、有机碳和碱解氮含量间接影响过氧化氢酶活性,通过提升pH和电导率间接促进蔗糖酶活性,通过提高电导率以及碱解氮和有效磷含量间接增加磷酸酶活性.综上,生物炭施用量及作用时间显著影响土壤养分含量,进而间接作用于土壤酶活性;酸性黄壤施用10 t·hm^-2的生物炭较为适宜.     

纳米零价铁在应用中存在的问题及提高反应活性的方法

纳米零价铁对多种污染物质均有较好的去除效果,在污染的水体、土壤及底泥中被广泛研究与应用。前人对纳米零价铁的制备、在污染治理各方面的应用、作用的机理等方面进行了较为详细的总结,针对纳米零价铁在应用中存在的问题虽有提及,但少有人集中进行整理。本文主要针对纳米零价铁在环境治理方面存在的问题进行论述并对提高其反应活性的常用方法进行了总结,以期为纳米零价铁实际应用领域的深入研究提供借鉴并拓展新的思路。