Heterojunctioned CuO/Cu2O catalyst for highly efficient ozone removal

In recent years, near surface ozone pollution, has attracted more and more attention, which necessitates the development of high efficient and low cost catalysts. In this work, CuO/Cu₂O heterojunctioned catalyst is fabricated by heating Cu₂O at high temperature, and is adopted as ozone decomposition catalyst. The results show that after Cu₂O is heated at 180°C conversion of ozone increases from 75.2% to 89.3% at mass space velocity 1,920,000 cm³/(g·hr) in dry air with 1000 ppmV ozone, which indicates that this heterojunction catalyst is one of the most efficient catalysts reported at present. Catalysts are characterized by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, which confirmed that the heterojunction promotes the electron transfer in the catalytic process and creates more defects and oxygen vacancies in the CuO/Cu₂O interfaces. This procedure of manufacturing heterostructures would also be applicable to other metal oxide catalysts, and it is expected to be more widely applied to the synthesis of high-efficiency heterostructured catalysts in the future.     

ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITING: An Approach for Characterizing Tropospheric Ozone Risk to Forests

/ The risk tropospheric ozone poses to forests in the United States is dependent on the variation in ozone exposure across the distribution of the forests in question and the various environmental and climate factors predominant in the region. All these factors have a spatial nature, and consequently an approach to characterization of ozone risk is presented that places ozone exposure-response functions for species as seedlings and model-simulated tree and stand responses in a spatial context using a geographical information systems (GIS). The GIS is used to aggregate factors considered important in a risk characterization, including: (1) estimated ozone exposures over forested regions, (2) measures of ozone effects on species' and stand growth, and (3) spatially distributed environmental, genetic, and exposure influences on species' response to ozone. The GIS-based risk characterization provides an estimation of the extent and magnitude of the potential ozone impact on forests. A preliminary risk characterization demonstrating this approach considered only the eastern United States and only the limited empirical data quantifying the effect of ozone exposures on forest tree species as seedlings. The area-weighted response of the annual seedling biomass loss formed the basis for a sensitivity ranking: sensitive-aspen and black cherry (14%-33% biomass loss over 50% of their distribution); moderately sensitive-tulip popular, loblolly pine, eastern white pine, and sugar maple (5%-13% biomass loss); insensitive-Virginia pine and red maple (0%-1% loss). In the future, the GIS-based risk characterization will include process-based model simulations of the three- to 5-year growth response of individual species as large trees with relevant environmental interactions and model simulated response of mixed stands. The interactive nature of GIS provides a tool to explore consequences of the range of climate conditions across a species' distribution, forest management practices, changing ozone precursors, regulatory control strategies, and other factors influencing the spatial distribution of ozone over time as more information becomes available.KEY WORDS: Ecological risk assessment; GIS; Ozone; Risk characterization; Forests; Trees     

Prediction of future disposal of end-of-life refrigerators containing CFC-11

The objective of this study was to predict the number of refrigerators containing CFC-11 blown isolation foam and the amount of CFC-11 banked in these refrigerators. By using a Weibull-based survival function, the number of CFC-11 containing and still-functioning refrigerators was estimated to be approximately 1.6 million in 2013 in Turkey. In order to determine the amount of CFC-11 in the isolation foam of these refrigerators, polyurethane (PU) foam samples were taken from a refrigerator manufactured in 1993 and the quantity of CFC-11 was analyzed by a GC-MS. It was determined that 113–195 mg CFC-11/g PU remains in the PU foam depending on the location such as door, sides, top and bottom. Knowing that a mid-sized refrigerator contains 4 kg PU on average, the total amount of PU foam to be disposed of is 6344 tons when the CFC-11 containing refrigerators in Turkey become obsolete in the near future. Furthermore, 717–1237 tons of CFC-11 are expected to be banked in the PU foam of these refrigerators which will exert an equivalent amount of ozone depleting potential (ODP). In addition, the global warming potential will vary between 3.4 and 5.9 million tons of CO₂.     

Precursors and potential sources of ground-level ozone in suburban Shanghai

• Air masses from Zhejiang Province is the major source of O₃ in suburban Shanghai. • O₃ formation was in VOC-sensitive regime in rural Shanghai. • O₃ formation was most sensitive to propylene in rural Shanghai. A high level of ozone (O₃) is frequently observed in the suburbs of Shanghai, the reason for this high level remains unclear. To obtain a detailed insight on the high level of O₃ during summer in Shanghai, O₃ and its precursors were measured at a suburban site in Shanghai from July 1, 2016 to July 31, 2016. Using the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model and concentration weighted trajectories (CWT), we found that Zhejiang province was the main potential source of O₃ in suburban Shanghai. When the sampling site was controlled by south-western winds exceeding 2 m/s, the O₃-rich air masses from upwind regions (such as Zhejiang province) could be transported to the suburban Shanghai. The propylene-equivalent concentration (PEC) and ozone formation potential (OFP) were further calculated for each VOC species, and the results suggested that propylene, (m+p)-xylene, and toluene played dominant roles in O₃ formation. The Ozone Isopleth Plotting Research (OZIPR) model was used to reveal the impact of O₃ precursors on O₃ formation, and 4 base-cases were selected to adjust the model simulation. An average disparity of 18.20% was achieved between the simulated and observed O₃ concentrations. The O₃ isopleth diagram illustrated that O₃ formation in July 2016 was in VOC-sensitive regime, although the VOC/NO_x ratio was greater than 20. By introducing sensitivity (S), a sensitivity analysis was performed for O₃ formation. We found that O₃ formation was sensitive to propylene, (m+p)-xylene, o-xylene and toluene. The results provide theoretical support for O₃ pollution treatment in Shanghai.     

东北地区臭氧预氧化对常规净水工艺效果分析

为检验臭氧预氧化在北方地区的效果,结合东北地区某微污染水源做出了分析和探索,发现臭氧氧化对净水处理效果良好。并全面阐述了微污染水源采用臭氧预氧化技术后带来的效果,可用于脱色除臭、控制氯化消毒副产物、去除藻类和藻毒素、助凝和助滤、初步去除或转化污染物,为相关的工程设计奠定了基础。     

The continuing conundrum of the LEA proteins

Research into late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins has been ongoing for more than 20 years but, although there is a strong association of LEA proteins with abiotic stress tolerance particularly dehydration and cold stress, for most of that time, their function has been entirely obscure. After their initial discovery in plant seeds, three major groups (numbered 1, 2 and 3) of LEA proteins have been described in a range of different plants and plant tissues. Homologues of groups 1 and 3 proteins have also been found in bacteria and in certain invertebrates. In this review, we present some new data, survey the biochemistry, biophysics and bioinformatics of the LEA proteins and highlight several possible functions. These include roles as antioxidants and as membrane and protein stabilisers during water stress, either by direct interaction or by acting as molecular shields. Along with other hydrophilic proteins and compatible solutes, LEA proteins might also serve as “space fillers” to prevent cellular collapse at low water activities. This multifunctional capacity of the LEA proteins is probably attributable in part to their structural plasticity, as they are largely lacking in secondary structure in the fully hydrated state, but can become more folded during water stress and/or through association with membrane surfaces. The challenge now facing researchers investigating these enigmatic proteins is to make sense of the various in vitro defined functions in the living cell: Are the LEA proteins truly multi-talented, or are they still just misunderstood?     

大连星海地区环境空气中挥发性有机物的臭氧生成潜势研究

以该实验的观测资料为基础,通过数据分析表明,对大连星海地区OH自由基消耗的主要环境VOCs组分是烯烃类物质,对O3生成潜势贡献最高的环境VOCs组分是芳香烃类物质;综合LiOH及OFP值评价,识别影响大连星海地区O3生成的关键环境VOCs反应活性物种为丙烯、甲苯、间对二甲苯等物质。     

面向区域二次污染风险控制的臭氧及其前体物卫星遥感监测

日益突出的臭氧(O_3)污染已成为继PM2. 5之后我国大气污染防治的又一艰巨任务。由于氮氧化物(NO_x)、挥发性有机物(VOCs)这2种前体物的减排难度较大,且与O_3浓度存在复杂的非线性关系,准确获取O_3及NO_x、VOCs的时空分布对制定有效的防控措施至关重要。基于卫星遥感可定量反演O_3及2种前体物的代表性物种——二氧化氮(NO_2)、甲醛(HCHO)及乙二醛(C_2H_2O_2)的时空分布信息。面向区域O_3污染分析和防控应用,综述了卫星遥感对O_3及NO_2、HCHO、C_2H_2O_2的探测能力,以及利用遥感手段分析区域O_3及其前体物的传输。进而从O_3与NO_x、VOCs关系的角度,分析了利用卫星反演的前体物表征O_3生成风险的可行性。最后对卫星在区域O_3及其前体物监测方面的前景趋势提出了思考。     

Dry and heat stress affects H2S production of Salmonella on selective plating media

The pH of Salmonella pre-enrichment media can become acidic (pH 4.0–5.0) when feeds/ingredients are incubated for 24?h. Salmonella in feed that have been stressed by heat and desiccation exhibit different pH tolerances than non-stressed cultures. Acidic conditions can result in cell injury/death and affect biochemical pathways. In this study, eight serotypes of Salmonella were grown in sterile meat and bone meal that was subjected to desiccation and heat stress. Cultures of non-stressed and stressed isolates were subsequently exposed to acidic pH from 4.0 to 7.0 in 0.5?pH increments (3 replicates/pH increment) in citrate buffer. At 6 and 24?h, serial dilutions were plated in duplicate on XLT-4 (xylose lysine tergitol-4) agar. Four serotypes showed an impaired ability to decarboxylate lysine on XLT-4. This inability to decarboxylate lysine was dependent on isolate, stress status, and incubation time. When the isolates’ ability to decarboxylate lysine was examined using biochemical tests, cultures were found to be able to decarboxylate lysine with the exception of S. Infantis. This suggests that XLT-4 contains a biochemical stressor(s) which affects the rate of decarboxylation by these Salmonella. These results suggest that acidic conditions may influence the detection and confirmation of Salmonella in feed.     

A new approach to quantify the degradation kinetics of linuron with UV, ozonation and UV/O3 processes

The degradation of linuron, one of phenylurea herbicides, was investigated for its reaction kinetics by different treatment processes including ultraviolet irradiation (UV), ozonation (O₃), and UV/O₃. The decay rate of linuron by UV/O₃ process was found to be around 3.5 times and 2.5 times faster than sole-UV and ozone-alone, respectively. Experimental results also indicate overall rate constants increased exponentially with pH above 9.0 while the increase of rate constants with pH below 9 is insignificant in O₃ system. All dominant parameters involved in the three processes were determined in the assistant of proposed linear models in this study. The approach was found useful in predicting the process performances through the quantification of quantum yield (rate constant for the formation of free radical HOO⁻ from ozone decomposition at high pH), rate constant of linuron with ozone (k_O3,LNR), rate constant of linuron with hydroxyl radical (k_OH,LNR), and α (the ratio of the production rate of OH and the decay rate of ozone in UV/O₃ system).