An overview of the methods used in the characterisation of natural organic matter (NOM) in relation to drinking water treatment

Natural organic matter (NOM) is found in all surface, ground and soil waters. During recent decades, reports worldwide show a continuing increase in the color and NOM of the surface water, which has an adverse affect on drinking water purification. For several practical and hygienic reasons, the presence of NOM is undesirable in drinking water. Various technologies have been proposed for NOM removal with varying degrees of success. The properties and amount of NOM, however, can significantly affect the process efficiency. In order to improve and optimise these processes, the characterisation and quantification of NOM at different purification and treatment processes stages is important. It is also important to be able to understand and predict the reactivity of NOM or its fractions in different steps of the treatment. Methods used in the characterisation of NOM include resin adsorption, size exclusion chromatography (SEC), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. The amount of NOM in water has been predicted with parameters including UV-Vis, total organic carbon (TOC), and specific UV-absorbance (SUVA). Recently, methods by which NOM structures can be more precisely determined have been developed; pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS), multidimensional NMR techniques, and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS). The present review focuses on the methods used for characterisation and quantification of NOM in relation to drinking water treatment.     

The Influence of Mycorrhiza on Uranium and Phosphorus Uptake by Barley Plants from a Field-contaminated Soil (7 pp)

Background Recent studies indicated that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play important roles in plant accumulation of uranium (U) from contaminated environments, but the impacts of fertilization practices on functioning of the symbiotic associations, which are crucial factors influencing plant nutrition and growth responses to mycorrhiza, have rarely been considered. Materials and Methods In a greenhouse experiment, a bald root barley mutant (brb) together with the wild type (wt) were used to test the role of root hairs and AMF in uranium (U) uptake by host plants from a U contaminated soil. Nil, 20 and 60 mg KH2PO4-P kg–1 soil were included to investigate the influences of phosphorus (P) fertilization on plant growth and accumulation of U. Results Dry matter yield of barley plants increased with increasing P additions and wt produced significantly higher dry weight than brb. Mycorrhiza markedly improved dry matter yield of both genotypes grown at nil P, whereas only brb responded positively to mycorrhiza at 20 mg P kg-1. At the highest P level, mycorrhiza resulted in growth depressions in both genotypes, except for the roots of wt. In general, plant P concentrations increased markedly with increasing P additions and in response to mycorrhiza. Mycorrhiza and P additions had no significant effects on shoot U concentrations. However, root U concentrations in both genotypes were significantly increased by mycorrhiza. On the other hand, shoot U contents increased with increasing P levels, while 20 mg P kg-1 stimulated, but 60 mg P kg-1 marginally affected the U accumulation in roots. Root length specific U uptake was moderately enhanced both by root hairs and strongly enhanced by mycorrhiza. Moreover, non-inoculated plants generally had higher shoot-root ratios of U content than the corresponding inoculated controls. Conclusion Our study shows that AMF and root hairs improves not only P acquisition but also the root uptake of U, and mycorrhiza generally decreases U translocation from plant root to shoot. Hence, mycorrhiza is of potential use in the phytostabilization of U contaminated environments. Perspectives The complex impacts of P on U accumulation by barley plants suggested that U behavior in mycorrhizosphere and translocation along the soil-fungi-plant continuum as affected by fertilization practices deserve extensive studies for optimizing the function of mycorrhizal associations for phytoremediation purposes.     

Removal of Alachlor from Water by Catalyzed Ozonation in the Presence of Fe2+, Mn2+, and Humic Substances

Abstract

The effects of Fe(II), Mn(II) and humic substances on the catalyzed ozonation of alachlor, an endocrine disruptor were investigated. Results revealed that small amounts of Fe(II), Mn(II), and humic substances could enhance the ozonation of alachlor, but larger amounts of them would retard the oxidation. These results were successfully identified by an electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy/spin-trapping method that could quantify hydroxyl radicals. The production of hydroxyl radicals was obviously increased with the increasing of Fe(II) concentration, which contributed to enhance ozonation at low concentrations. But the excess Fe(II) consumed some of the radicals when it was added at a higher concentration (1.5 mg/L). However, no obvious radicals were observed when a different amount of Mn(II) was used, and the catalytic ozonation of alachlor by Mn(II) mainly followed the mechanism of “active sites created on the surface of MnO₂.” The radical pathway was followed when alachlor was ozonated with different concentrations of humic substances because of its radical initiating, promoting, and inhibiting effects.     

四平市二龙湖底泥磷释放研究

采用室内实验模拟法对四平市二龙湖富营养化限制因子磷的底泥释放速率及释放量进行了研究,并研究在种环境因子(温度、pH、DO和扰动因素)影响下底泥磷的释放规律。结果表明,(1)二龙湖年平均底泥释磷量为208·78g,最大释磷率为0·889μg/g(T=20℃,pH=8,DO为4·68mg/L);(2)自然和人为的扰动因素会促进底泥的磷释放;(3)H在弱酸至中性范围内底泥释磷量最小,酸性和碱性条件都有利于磷的释放;(4)随着温度的升高底泥释磷量增大;(5)厌条件比好氧条件更有利于磷的释放。     

模拟煤灰渣垂直潜流人工湿地的除磷性能分析

为确定煤灰渣作为垂直潜流人工湿地基质的可行性,通过静态吸附实验和煤灰渣去除生活污水中的磷素实验,表明煤灰渣对污水中磷素的吸附平衡时间较短,吸附速率较快.当温度降低时,煤灰渣的磷素吸附容量对吸附平衡浓度依赖性和吸附强度随之降低,最大理论吸附容量亦降低 83.10% .在处理0.5 m 3 /(m2·d)的生活污水中,煤灰渣对TP的平均去除率达86.03%,吸附方式包括物理吸附和化学吸附,同时得出煤灰渣最大磷素解析量占最大理论吸附容量的0.73%,在实际人工湿地应用中应注意磷素解析而形成的二次污染.     

MBR工艺中溶解性有机物的分子量和EEM解析

采用凝胶过滤色谱(GFC)分子量测定技术和三维荧光(EEM)光谱技术,对平板膜-生物反应器工艺应用于餐饮废水和粪便污水处理的工程实例进行研究,对比分析2套工艺中的调节池水和出水的溶解性有机物(DOM)及污泥胞外聚合物(EPS)的性质变化.研究表明,餐饮废水处理过程的调节池水DOM中大分子(＞100 kDa)物质比例为6...     

MBR在橡胶废水处理中的应用

橡胶废水具有含盐量高、色度高、有机污染成分含量高且难于生化降解等特点。膜生物反应器(MBR)技术的核心是生化处理加微滤膜过滤,通过将MBR技术应用于橡胶废水处理的实践表明,该技术对COD、氨氮、磷酸盐的平均去除率都达到了85%以上,再辅之以药剂处理后,降低了色度和难降解有机物含量,出水水质完全符合排放标准的要求,是一种解决橡胶污水处理难题的有效途径。     

Pollution characteristics of 23 veterinary antibiotics in livestock manure and manure-amended soils in Jiangsu province,China

The aim of this study was to investigate the pollution characteristics of typical veterinary antibiotics in manure and soil of livestock farms in Jiangsu province. This investigation employed solid-phase extraction (SPE) coupled with ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). A total of 53 manure and 50 amended soil samples from 16 livestock farms in Jiangsu province were collected for analysis. In the manure samples, the highest detected frequencies and concentrations were those of tetracyclines (TCs, 54.1 ± 5775.6 μgkg^?1), followed by fluoroquinolones (FQs, 8.4 ± 435.6 μgkg^?1), sulphonamides (SAs, 3.2 ± 5.2 μgkg^?1) and macrolides (MACs, 0.4 ± 110.5 μgkg^?1). Statistical analysis was used to illuminate the pollution characteristics of 23 veterinary antibiotics for various animal types and different regions in Jiangsu province. The results showed that the pollution level in cow manure was relatively lower compared with pig and chicken manure due to the relative restriction of medication. Furthermore, contamination was serious in amended soil from chicken farms. The pollution level in manure among different regions was higher to the south and north compared with the centre of the region. The same outcome was found for soil. Antibiotic residues in organic fertilizer were also investigated in this study. We found that although the detected concentration was lower in organic fertilizer than in fresh manure, detection frequencies (10–90%) were high, especially for roxithromycin (90%) in MACs (30–90%). This finding suggests attention should be paid to the pollution levels in organic fertilizer. This study is the first extensive investigation of the occurrence and distribution of many kinds of typical veterinary antibiotics in manure and soil from livestock farms of Jiangsu province. This investigation systematically assesses veterinary antibiotics usage and related emissions in southeast China.     

道路交通中苯并(a)芘的高效液相色谱快速测定

用超细玻璃纤维滤膜采集杭州市某道路上机动车排放的苯并（ａ）芘,经超声萃取,高速离心后直接进ＨＰＬＣ分析。在选定的色谱条件下,苯并（ａ）芘与其他多环芳烃完全分离,绝对进样量在０．８～０．０２ ｎｇ时线性良好,相关系数为０．９９９７９,最小检出量０．８ ｐｇ,加标回收率８７．５％～９３．８％。     

Adsorption of Pb(II) on variable charge soils amended with rice-straw derived biochar

Two Ultisols and one Oxisol from tropical regions of southern China were incubated with rice straw biochar to investigate the effect of biochar on their surface charge and Pb(II) adsorption using batch methods. The incorporation of biochar induced a remarkable increase in soil cation exchange capacity after 30 d of incubation. The incorporation of biochar significantly increased the adsorption of Pb(II) by these variable charge soils; the enhancement of adsorption of Pb(II) by these soils increased with the addition level of biochar. Adsorption of Pb(II) involved both electrostatic and non-electrostatic mechanisms; however, biochar mainly increased Pb(II) adsorption through the non-electrostatic mechanism via the formation of surface complexes between Pb²⁺ and functional groups on biochar. There was greater enhancement of biochar on the non-electrostatic adsorption of Pb(II) by the variable charge soils at relatively low pH. Therefore, the incorporation of biochar decreased the activity and availability of Pb(II) to plants through increased non-electrostatic adsorption of Pb(II) by acidic variable charge soils.