Total Organic Carbon,an Important Tool in an Holistic Approach to Hydrocarbon Source Fingerprinting

The identification and allocation of multiple hydrocarbon sources in marine sediments is best achieved using an holistic approach. Total organic carbon (TOC) is one important tool that can constrain the contributions of specific sources and rule out incorrect source allocations in cases where inputs are dominated by fossil organic carbon. In a study of the benthic sediments from Prince William Sound (PWS) and the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), we find excellent agreement between measured TOC and TOC calculated from hydrocarbon fingerprint matches of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and chemical biomarkers. Confirmation by two such independent source indicators (TOC and fingerprint matches) provides evidence that source allocations determined by the fingerprint matches are robust and that the major TOC sources have been correctly identified. Fingerprint matches quantify the hydrocarbon contributions of various sources to the benthic sediments and the degree of hydrocarbon winnowing by waves and currents. TOC contents are then calculated using source allocation results from fingerprint matches and the TOCs of contributing sources. Comparisons of the actual sediment TOC values and those calculated from source allocation support our earlier published findings (Boehm et al ., 2001) that the natural petrogenic hydrocarbon background in sediments in this area comes from eroding Tertiary shales and associated oil seeps along the northern GOA coast and exclude thermally mature area coals from being important contributors to the PWS background due to their high TOC content.     

施用畜禽粪便堆肥品的蔬菜地CH4、N2O和NH3排放特征

农田是重要的温室气体排放来源之一,其中蔬菜地的温室气体排放日益受到人们关注.以北京市郊某温室种植的油麦菜地为研究对象,通过大棚试验,考察和比较了油麦菜地施用不同类型畜禽粪便堆肥产品的CH4、N2O和NH3排放特征及其影响因素.结果表明,油麦菜地NRM、RM、CF处理的CH4排放系数分别为0.2%、0.027%、0.004%;N2O排放系数分别为0.18%、0.63%、0.74%;NH3排放系数分别为2.00%、3.98%、2.53%.CH4排放通量与土壤温度和地表湿度相关,N2O排放通量与土壤温度、地表温度和湿度相关,CH4、N2O和NH3排放通量均受土壤含水率影响,而温室中的气温不是影响CH4、N2O和NH3排放的主要因素.     

畜禽养殖污染物资源化利用技术及模式研究

中国畜禽养殖业污染十分严重。结合中国传统农业"万物并育"思想,论述了畜禽养殖污染物的资源化利用技术及模式,主要有肥料化(牧-肥-草模式、农业废弃物-畜禽粪便堆肥模式、发酵床模式)、能源化(以沼气为核心的利用模式、畜禽粪便-农业废弃物联合发酵制氢模式)、基料化(农林副产物-食用菌模式、以食用菌为中心的循环经济模式、针叶树类木屑-发酵床养猪-食用菌利用模式)、饲料化四种方式。这些利用方式为防治畜禽养殖业污染发挥着重要作用。     

Investigation of physico-chemical properties and microbial community during poultry manure cocomposting process

Co-composting of poultry manure and rubber wood sawdust was performed with the ratio of 2:1 (V/V) for a period of 60 days. An investigation was carried out to study the extracellular enzymatic activities and structural degradation utilizing Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The microbial succession was also determined by using denaturing gel gradient electrophoresis (DGGE). The compost was able to reach its highest temperature of 71 ℃ at day 3 and stabilized between 30 and 40 ℃ for 8 weeks. CMCase, FPase and β-glucosidase acted synergistically in order to degrade the cellulosic substrate. The xylanase activities increased gradually during the composting and reached the peak value of 11.637 U/g on day 35, followed by a sharp decline. Both LiP and MnP activities reached their peak values on day 35 with 0.431 and 0.132 U/g respectively. The FT-IR spectra revealed an increase in aromaticity and a decrease in aliphatic compounds such as carbohydrates as decomposition proceeded. TGA/DTG data exhibited significant changes in weight loss in compost samples, indicating degradation of organic matter. SEM micrographs showed higher amounts of parenchyma exposed on the surface of rubber wood sawdust at day 60, showing significant degradation. DGGE and 16S rDNA analyses showed that Burkholderia sp., Pandoraea sp., and Pseudomonas sp. were present throughout the composting process. Ornithinibacillus sp. and Castellaniella ginsengisoli were only found in the initial stage of the composting, while different strains of Burkholderia sp. also occurred in the later stage of composting.     

Characterizations of organic compounds in diesel exhaust particulates

To characterize how the speed and load of a medium-duty diesel engine affected the organic compounds in diesel particle matter (PM) below 1 μm, four driving conditions were examined. At all four driving conditions, concentration of identifiable organic compounds in PM ultrafine (34–94 nm) and accumulation (94–1000 nm) modes ranged from 2.9 to 5.7 μg/m³ and 9.5 to 16.4 μg/m³, respectively. As a function of driving conditions, the non-oxygen-containing organics exhibited a reversed concentration trend to the oxygen-containing organics. The identified organic compounds were classified into eleven classes: alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, aromatic hydrocarbons, carboxylic acids, esters, ketones, alcohols, ethers, nitrogen-containing compounds, and sulfur-containing compounds. At all driving conditions, alkane class consistently showed the highest concentration (8.3 to 18.0 μg/m³) followed by carboxylic acid, esters, ketones and alcohols. Twelve polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were identified with a total concentration ranging from 37.9 to 174.8 ng/m³. In addition, nine nitrogen-containing polycyclic aromatic compounds (NPACs) were identified with a total concentration ranging from 7.0 to 10.3 ng/m³. The most abundant PAH (phenanthrene) and NPACs (7,8-benzoquinoline and 3-nitrophenanthrene) comprise a similar molecular (3 aromatic-ring) structure under the highest engine speed and engine load.     

Zebrafish as a possible bioindicator of organic pollutants with effects on reproduction in drinking waters

Organic contaminants can be detected at low concentrations in drinking water, raising concerns for human health, particularly in reproduction. In this respect, we attempted to use the zebrafish as a bioindicator to detect the possible presence of these substances in drinking water, aiming to define the most relevant parameters to detect these substances, which particularly affect the development and reproduction of zebrafish. To this end, batches of 30 embryos with the chorion intact were cultured in drinking waters from different sources, throughout their full life-cycle up to 5 months, in 20 L tanks. Six replicates were performed in all water groups, with a total of 24 aquariums. Two generations (F0 and F1) were studied and the following parameters were tested: in the F0 generation, survival and abnormality rates evaluated at 5 dpf (days post-fertilization) and at 5 mpf (months post-fertilization), the onset of spawning and the fertility rate from 3 mpf to 5 mpf, and the sex ratio and underdeveloped specimens at 5 mpf. Furthermore, in the F0 offspring (F1), survival and abnormality rates were evaluated at 5 dpf and the hatching rate at 72 hpf. These results revealed that the hatching rate is the most sensitive parameter to distinguish different levels of effects between waters during the early life stages, whereas the rate of underdeveloped specimens is more suitable at later life stages. Regarding adult reproduction, fertility rate was the most sensitive parameter. The possible reversibility or accumulative nature of such effects will be studied in future work.     

Distributed generation by energy from waste technology: A life cycle perspective

Municipal Solid Waste in general and its organic fraction in particular is a potential renewable and non-seasonal resource. In this work, a life cycle assessment has been performed to evaluate the environmental impacts of two future scenarios using biogas produced from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) to supply energy to a group of dwellings, respectively comprising distributed generation using solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) micro-CHP systems and condensing boilers. The London Borough of Greenwich is taken as the reference case study. The system is designed to assess how much energy demand can be met and what is the best way to use the digestible waste for distributed energy purposes.The system is compared with two alternative scenarios fuelled by natural gas: a reference scenario, where the electricity is supplied by the grid and the heat is supplied from condensing boilers, and a fuel cell micro-CHP system. The results show that, although OFMSW alone can only supply between 1% and 4% of the total energy demand of the Borough, a saving of ∼130 tonnes of CO₂ eq per year per dwelling equipped with micro-CHP is still achievable compared with the reference scenario. This is primarily due to the surplus electricity produced by the fuel cell when the micro-CHP unit is operated to meet the heat demand. Use of biogas to produce heat only is therefore a less desirable option compared with combined heat and power production. Further investigation is required to identify locally available feedstock other than OFMSW in order to increase the proportion of energy demand that can be met in this way.     

Effects of observability and complexity on farmers’ adoption of environmental practices

The ability of both regulators and farmers themselves to monitor the impact of environmental practices may be an issue with nonpoint source pollution. Effects that can be perceived via direct sensory evidence provide information at low cost. Results from a survey of livestock farmers suggest that a practice that has more obvious effects on water quality, manure application setbacks, is more likely to be adopted than a more complicated one with less visible effects, manure testing. Farmers’ perceptions of the profitability of the two practices were similar. The importance of observability and complexity has implications for educational programs.     

畜禽粪便有机肥中重金属在土壤剖面中积累迁移特征及生物有效性差异

通过田间小区试验,定量化研究连续4 a施用不同量猪粪、鸡粪有机肥后不同重金属在土壤剖面中迁移积累特征及生物有效性差异,为科学确定农田土壤重金属的环境容量提供依据.结果表明,连续4 a施用猪粪显著增加了耕层土壤中Cu、Cd的含量,与对照比增幅分别是43.8%~118.6%和28.2%~44.9%.施用鸡粪显著增加耕层土壤Cu、Zn、Cd、Cr、As、Pb含量,增幅分别为29.7%~48.5%,239%~456%,19.9%~80.8%,40.4%~163%,11.8%~22.0%和80.3%~95.0%.猪粪带入的Cu、Zn在耕层土壤中的积累率分别为76.4%~119%和14.2%~20.4%,鸡粪带入Cu、Zn在耕层土壤中的积累率分别为72.1%~88.7%和63.9%~78.9%.施用高量的猪粪、鸡粪Cu、Zn存在明显向土壤深层迁移现象,连续4 a施用60 t·hm^-2的猪粪,Cu迁移到了15~30 cm土层.连续4 a施用60 t·hm^-2鸡粪,Zn迁移到了30~60 cm土层.但连续4 a施用不同量猪粪和鸡粪,土壤剖面中耕层以下土层中Cd、Cr、As、Pb含量均没有显著增加.连续4 a施用鸡粪显著降低小麦籽粒中Cu、Cd含量,显著增加了小麦籽粒中Zn、Cr含量和小麦秸秆中Zn含量,连续4 a施用猪粪显著降低了小麦籽粒中Zn含量,60 t·hm^-2猪粪显著增加了小麦子粒中As含量,猪粪处理还显著增加了秸秆中Cu、As含量.4 a小麦收获累计对有机肥带入重金属的携出率小于6%.小麦籽粒对Cu、Zn的累计携出量高于秸秆,对Cd、Cr、As、Pb携出量低于秸秆,有机肥用量越高,小麦收获对有机肥带入重金属的携出率越低.确定农田土壤重金属环境容量时应考虑不同有机肥中重金属在土壤剖面中积累特征和向下迁移量.