ZnCl_2溶液对褐煤半焦表面性质及其中高温脱汞性能的影响

利用ZnCl_2溶液对褐煤进行浸渍后在700℃条件下热解制备改性半焦,采用N2吸附/脱附、傅里叶变换红外光谱、X射线光电子能谱等手段对ZnCl_2处理前后两种半焦表面物化性质进行了表征,在小型固定床反应器上研究了ZnCl_2溶液浸渍处理前后褐煤半焦对气态单质汞(Hg~0)的脱除性能.结果表明,经过ZnCl_2处理得到的半焦(ZSC)具有发达的孔隙结构,其表面含氧官能团含量和数量有所提高,并出现了新的C-Cl基团;在100~360℃温度范围内,制备的改性半焦ZSC的脱汞效率随温度升高而降低,但在中高温条件下仍表现出良好的脱汞性能;在化学吸附过程中,气态Hg0被C-Cl基团氧化为HgCl或HgCl_2,同时Hg~0与半焦表面含氧官能团结合生成HgO,Hg~0最终以HgCl_2或HgO的形式附着在半焦表面.     

铁屑—粉煤灰与Fe~0—粉煤灰处理地下水中Cr(Ⅵ)的对比试验研究

为有效地去除地下水中低浓度的Cr(Ⅵ),以铁屑-粉煤灰为供试介质,通过最小二分法在不改变原水状态下进行了室内分析化验,并以Fe0-粉煤灰为对比,结果表明这两种介质对含Cr(Ⅵ)地下水均有较好的处理效果,处理后水中Cr(Ⅵ)可达到地下水质量三级标准,且实验结果重现性良好.通过对比发现在相同条件下铁屑一粉煤灰优于Fe0-粉煤灰,其原因主要是二者成分的差别.分析讨论其去除机理主要是原电池作用、氧化还原及共沉淀作用.     

Fe^0钝化膜的生物还原及其脱氮除磷

微生物的异化Fe（Ⅲ）还原是一种能够利用Fe（III）作为末端电子受体在无氧条件下氧化有机物的产能过程。结合这一特性,考察了在兼性厌氧／严格厌氧条件下Fe^0钝化膜作为Fe（111）源时的生物还原能力以及对N、P等营养元素的去除效果。结果表明,严格厌氧条件下微生物异化Fe（Ⅲ）还原能力较好,富集培养至7d,累计Fe（II）浓度达到最大,最大产生速率为98．69mg／（L·d）,同时TP去除率高达97．1％以上。而体系对NH4-N、TN的去除相对滞后,培养至13d,去除率开始增大,最终分别达到86．6％和76．1％。这为装填有海绵铁＋聚氨酯泡沫载体的SBBR中填料的原位再生问题提供了解决思路。     

燃煤烟气中气态Hg0污染物吸附剂的研究进展

对目前燃煤烟气中气态Hg0污染物吸附剂进行了分类研究,重点总结了碳基吸附剂、层状矿物类吸附剂、磁性吸附剂等3类吸附剂的特点,对气态Hg0的吸附效果及吸附机理进行了深入探讨.通过分析比较,提出了研制高效吸附剂的主要途径,并展望了气态Hg0吸附剂的发展趋势.     

印染回用水总铁测定影响因素与改进方法的研究

根据印染工艺对水质中铁含量的特殊监测要求,文章在实际操作的基础上,对GB二氮杂菲分光光度法测定水中铁的方法进行了改进,对测定铁的影响因素pH值,器皿的洗涤方式,盐酸羟胺的加入顺序等进行了分析;为提高测试的准确性,对加热方式、缓冲溶液进行了改进。实验证明,pH值应控制在3.0～5.0之间,器皿在使用前应用1︰1的盐酸浸泡,煮沸前加盐酸羟胺能提高测试结果的准确性。     

Estimating the extinction date of the thylacine with mixed certainty data

The thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus), one of Australia's most characteristic megafauna, was the largest marsupial carnivore until hunting, and potentially disease, drove it to extinction in 1936. Although thylacines were restricted to Tasmania for 2 millennia prior to their extinction, recent so‐called plausible sightings on the Cape York Peninsula in northern Queensland have emerged, leading some to speculate the species may have persisted undetected. We compiled a data set that included physical evidence, expert‐validated sightings, and unconfirmed sightings up to the present day and implemented a range of extinction models (focusing on a Bayesian approach that incorporates all 3 types of data by modeling valid and invalid sightings as independent processes) to evaluate the likelihood of the thylacine's persistence. Although the last captive individual died in September 1936, our results suggested that the most likely extinction date would be 1940. Our other extinction models estimated the thylacine's extinction date between 1936 and 1943, and the most optimistic scenario indicated that the species did not persist beyond 1956. The search for the thylacine, much like similar efforts to rediscover other recently extinct charismatic taxa, is likely to be fruitless, especially given that persistence on Tasmania would have been no guarantee the species could reappear in regions that had been unoccupied for millennia. The search for the thylacine may become a rallying point for conservation and wildlife biology and could indirectly help fund and support critical research in understudied areas such as Cape York. However, our results suggest that attempts to rediscover the thylacine will be unsuccessful and that the continued survival of the thylacine is entirely implausible based on most current mathematical theories of extinction.     

A role for selective contraception of individuals in conservation

Contraception has an established role in managing overabundant populations and preventing undesirable breeding in zoos. We propose that it can also be used strategically and selectively in conservation to increase the genetic and behavioral quality of the animals. In captive breeding programs, it is becoming increasingly important to maximize the retention of genetic diversity by managing the reproductive contribution of each individual and preventing genetically suboptimal breeding through the use of selective contraception. Reproductive suppression of selected individuals in conservation programs has further benefits of allowing animals to be housed as a group in extensive enclosures without interfering with breeding recommendations, which reduces adaptation to captivity and facilitates the expression of wild behaviors and social structures. Before selective contraception can be incorporated into a breeding program, the most suitable method of fertility control must be selected, and this can be influenced by factors such as species life history, age, ease of treatment, potential for reversibility, and desired management outcome for the individual or population. Contraception should then be implemented in the population following a step‐by‐step process. In this way, it can provide crucial, flexible control over breeding to promote the physical and genetic health and sustainability of a conservation dependent species held in captivity. For Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii), black‐flanked rock wallabies (Petrogale lateralis), and burrowing bettongs (Bettongia lesueur), contraception can benefit their conservation by maximizing genetic diversity and behavioral integrity in the captive breeding program, or, in the case of the wallabies and bettongs, by reducing populations to a sustainable size when they become locally overabundant. In these examples, contraceptive duration relative to reproductive life, reversibility, and predictability of the contraceptive agent being used are important to ensure the potential for individuals to reproduce following cessation of contraception, as exemplified by the wallabies when their population crashed and needed females to resume breeding.     

Identifying conservation priorities for threatened Eastern Himalayan mammals

To augment mammal conservation in the Eastern Himalayan region, we assessed the resident 255 terrestrial mammal species and identified the 50 most threatened species based on conservation status, endemism, range size, and evolutionary distinctiveness. By using the spatial analysis package letsR and the complementarity core‐area method in the conservation planning software Zonation, we assessed the current efficacy of their protection and identified priority conservation areas by comparing protected areas (PAs), land cover, and global ecoregion 2017 maps at a 100 × 100 m spatial scale. The 50 species that were most threatened, geographically restricted, and evolutionarily distinct faced a greater extinction risk than globally nonthreatened and wide‐ranging species and species with several close relatives. Small, medium‐sized, and data‐deficient species faced extinction from inadequate protection in PAs relative to wide‐ranging charismatic species. There was a mismatch between current PA distribution and priority areas for conservation of the 50 most endangered species. To protect these species, the skewed regional PA distribution would require expansion. Where possible, new PAs and transboundary reserves in the 35 priority areas we identified should be established. There are adequate remaining natural areas in which to expand current Eastern Himalayan PAs. Consolidation and expansion of PAs in the EH requires strengthening national and regional transboundary collaboration, formulating comprehensive regional land‐use plans, diversifying conservation funding, and enhancing information sharing through a consolidated regional database.     

Threats to biodiversity from cumulative human impacts in one of North America's last wildlife frontiers

Land‐use change is the largest proximate threat to biodiversity yet remains one of the most complex to manage. In British Columbia (BC), where large mammals roam extensive tracts of intact habitat, continued land‐use development is of global concern. Extant mammal diversity in BC is unrivalled in North America owing, in part, to its unique position at the intersection of alpine, boreal, and temperate biomes. Despite high conservation values, understanding of cumulative ecological impacts from human development is limited. Using cumulative‐effects‐assessment (CEA) methods, we assessed the current human footprint over 16 regional ecosystems and 7 large mammal species. Using historical and current range estimates of the mammals, we investigated impacts of human land use on species’ persistence. For ecosystems, we found that bunchgrass, coastal Douglas fir, and ponderosa pine have been subjected to over 50% land‐use conversion, and over 85% of their spatial extent has undergone either direct or estimated indirect impacts. Of the mammals we considered, wolves were the least affected by land conversion, yet all species had reduced ranges compared with historical estimates. We found evidence of a hard trade‐off between development and conservation, most clearly for mammals with large distributions and ecosystems with high levels of conversion. Rather than serve as a platform to monitor species decline, we strongly advocate these data be used to inform land‐use planning and to assess current conservation efforts. More generally, CEAs offer a robust tool to inform wildlife and habitat conservation at scale.     

Quantifying current and potential contributions of Australian indigenous peoples to threatened species management

Formal engagement of indigenous peoples in conservation is increasing globally and leads to multiple benefits to communities while contributing to national and international biodiversity goals and obligations. This and ongoing declines in biodiversity have led to calls to increase opportunities for indigenous people to engage in managing their estates. However, there is no overarching understanding of indigenous peoples’ involvement in conservation, which limits the identification of new opportunities. We amalgamated information across governments and large nongovernmental organizations in the megadiverse country of Australia to quantify the involvement of indigenous people in management of threatened species. We identified 153 Australian‐based projects undertaken by different indigenous groups around the nation in 2015 and 2016 that included explicit funds for management of threatened species or threatened ecosystems. Most were in remote parts of western and northern Australia. Almost one‐quarter of all threatened animals and 2% of threatened plants were the subject of some formal conservation action by indigenous people. Occurrence records for 1574 threatened species showed that 823 (89.2%) of 923 species recorded on indigenous peoples’ lands were not listed in management projects. This gap may represent new opportunities for conservation initiatives. Because at least 59.5% of Australia's threatened species occur on indigenous peoples’ lands, efforts to build appropriate and effective indigenous conservation alliances are vital. However, it is also important to recognize that threatened species are part of complex social, ecological, economic and cultural systems, and to achieve successful outcomes requires consideration of indigenous peoples’ priorities, rights, and obligations and relationships with their traditionally owned land and sea.