How do long-term development and periodical changes of river-floodplain systems affect the fate of contaminants? Results from European rivers

In many densely populated areas, riverine floodplains have been strongly impacted and degraded by river channelization and flood protection dikes. Floodplains act as buffers for flood water and as filters for nutrients and pollutants carried with river water and sediment from upstream source areas. Based on results of the EU-funded “AquaTerra” project (2004-2009), we analyze changes in the dynamics of European river-floodplain systems over different temporal scales and assess their effects on contaminant behaviour and ecosystem functioning. We find that human-induced changes in the hydrologic regime of rivers have direct and severe consequences on nutrient cycling and contaminant retention in adjacent floodplains. We point out the complex interactions of contaminants with nutrient availability and other physico-chemical characteristics (pH, organic matter) in determining ecotoxicity and habitat quality, and draw conclusions for improved floodplain management.     

Dissipation of oxytetracycline in soils under different redox conditions

This study investigated the dissipation kinetics of oxytetracycline in soils under aerobic and anoxic conditions. Laboratory experiments showed that the dissipation of oxytetracycline in soil followed first-order reaction kinetics and its dissipation rates decreased with increasing concentration. Oxytetracycline dissipated faster in soil under aerobic conditions than under anoxic conditions. The half-lives for oxytetracycline in soil under aerobic conditions ranged between 29 and 56 days for non-sterile treatments and 99-120 days for sterile treatments, while under anoxic conditions the half-lives of oxytetracycline ranged between 43 and 62 days in the non-sterile soil and between 69 and 104 days in the sterile soil. This suggests microbes can degrade oxytetracycline in agricultural soil. Abiotic factors such as strong sorption onto soil components also played a role in the dissipation of oxytetracycline in soil.     

三峡小江回水区氮素赋存形态与季节变化特点

氮素是浮游植物生长的关键生源要素之一,本研究对2007年3月～2008年3月三峡小江回水区水中氮素的跟踪观测结果进行总结,分析不同形态氮素季节变化过程与相对组成特点.研究期间,回水区TN的平均浓度为(1?553±43) μg·L^-1,季节差异显著但总体呈上升趋势.DIN平均浓度为(1?031±32) μg·L^-1,占TN平均浓度的66.38%,是该水域氮素的主要赋存形态,其中NO^-₃-N含量较高说明小江回水区总体上处于较强氧化环境且自净能力较强.DON、PON平均浓度分别为(273±23) μg·L^-1、(249±23) μg·L^-1,占TN的26.48%和24.15%;DON/PON比值为3.63±0.93,说明该水域氮素代谢强度与周转速率较高.小江回水区DIN在TN中所占比重从2007年3月约占TN的80%逐渐下降到2008年春季约占TN的60%,而TON在TN中的比重则相应上升,说明氮素赋存形态向有机态转变的趋势明显;而对DIN-TN和TON-TN的log-log线性模型斜率比较发现TON对TN的贡献将随TN浓度的升高而增大,表明该水域营养水平有升高的趋势.NH⁺₄-N/NO^-₃-N同TON/TN存在显著正相关关系,说明TON相对丰度的增加有可能使水体向还原性环境转变.同时NH⁺₄-N相对丰度的变化同水中DON含量及其在TN中所占比重关系密切,但该水域DON氨化降解成NH⁺₄-N并再次被利用的内循环过程是否存在或会否成为调控氮素循环的关键过程有待更深入的研究.     

怀柔山地油松林氮、磷、硫生物--地球化学循环的研究

海河流域怀柔山地油松林生态系统N,P,S元素生物地球化学循环研究结果表明,生态系统氮素输入输出基本平衡。氮素、磷素在未来一段时间内将在植物凋落层中累积,硫则在凋落物层、土壤中累积。这种情况形成了城市郊区森林生态系统元素循环的独特特性。     

某城市湖泊中磷的循环特征及富营养化发生潜势

通过对浙江省临海市东湖水体磷元素的输入与输出途径与通量、磷元素在湖泊环境中的循环特征以及磷循环对水温上升的响应分析,并基于对该水体从2000年开始隔年进行各参数的观测,表明2000年以来磷输入年平均增量为0.007～0.009mg/L,水中叶绿素a平均年增0.14～0.56μg/L,透明度年平均下降0.38～0.49m,溶解氧年平均下降0.21～0.71mg/L.并依此建立了反映湖泊富营养化发生潜势的这些主要代表性参数与湖水中总磷含量之间的相关关系,揭示了可以通过从磷物质单因子的变化预测所引起的其它因子变化之间的关系来综合判断湖泊的营养状态,从而为减少湖泊富营养化的发生、提高湖泊水质提供科学依据.     

Denitrification and the controlling factors in Yunnan Plateau Lakes (China): Exploring the role of enhanced internal nitrogen cycling by algal blooms

Denitrification plays an important role in nitrogen(N) removal in freshwater ecosystems.This internal process regulates the fluctuations of N concentration, especially for lakes with high nutrients concentrations and long residence time. Lakes in Yunnan plateau(southwestern China) provide typical cases, while studies in this region have been rare.Therefore, we studied denitrification of two lakes(Lake Dianchi in hypereutrophic state and Lake Erhai in mesotrophic) in this region. We used acetylene inhibition technique to quantify potential denitrification rate(PDR) of these lakes in April and August, 2015 and 2016. PDR of the sediments ranged 0–1.21 μmol/(N·m~2·hr), and that of overlying water ranged 0–0.24 μmol/(N·L·hr). Then, we used Least Angle Regression to determine the controlling factors for denitrification. Nutrients controlled PDR from two aspects: providing essential nitrogen sources; and affecting the richness and metabolism of denitrifying bacteria. In April, both aspects limited PDR; while only nitrogen sources limited PDR in August, due to depleted nitrate and enhanced denitrifying bacteria activity. Ammonia was most significant to denitrification, indicating that nitrate from nitrification transported to the bottom of wellmixed lake provide major N source by denitrification. The high PDR and low nitrate concentrate in August were evidence of an enhanced internal N cycling by algal blooms.     

伊乐藻和氮循环菌技术对太湖氮素吸收和反硝化的影响

从太湖梅梁湾采集无扰动泥芯样,分别添加固定化氮循环细菌、水生植物伊乐藻建立室内微宇宙,模拟生态修复,探讨不同修复处理下,硝氮的去除机制.采用15N标记结合同位素配对技术测定了各生态模拟柱中的反硝化速率和植物吸收速率.结果表明,不同处理的实验柱反硝化速率差异明显,同时添加了水生植物和固定化氮循环细菌的实验柱反硝化速率最高,为99.35μmol·(m2·h)-1,植物氮吸收速率为36.55μg·(m2·h)-1.沉水植物伊乐藻在自身吸收氮素的同时也提高了耦合硝化反硝化的作用.与植物吸收相比,反硝化过程是主要的氮去除途径.沉水植物与固定化氮循环菌组合生态修复技术促进了湖泊水体氮素的脱除,起到了净化作用.     

渗滤液污染地下氧化还原环境与污染物衰减研究

通过土柱实验研究垃圾渗滤液污染地下氧化还原环境的分带现象与污染物的衰减规律.实验结果表明:垃圾渗滤液污染晕中出现了3个顺序氧化还原带,依次为铁还原带、硝酸盐还原带和氧还原带,各带标志性物质Fe3 、NO-2和O2的最高质量浓度分别为14.81、1.41、5.8 mg/L;COD与NH 4-N在监测区间内呈现出相似的衰减规律,随距离的增加浓度降低,随时间的推移浓度升高,COD初期最高去除率达76.8%,后期降到50.0%;NH 4-N初期最高去除率达98.1%,后期降到90.2%.     

中国滨海湿地土壤汞空间分布及影响因素

通过对7个典型滨海湿地土壤（0～20cm）中总汞含量及土壤理化性质、气候以及社会经济因素的测定收集,研究了滨海湿地土壤中汞的空间分布规律和影响因子之间的关系,并对不同介质环境内汞含量进行分析.结果表明:我国滨海湿地土壤总汞的含量范围是1.26～169.94ng/g,平均值为（33.82±3.09） ng/g;滨海湿地土壤汞含量差异是由土壤理化性质、社会经济以及气候因素共同影响的结果,其中土壤理化性质中pH值、有机质、总铁、总氮为关键影响因素;在汞的输入途径中,河流输送对中国滨海湿地土壤总汞含量的影响要高于大气输送.     

Emerging electrochemical processes for materials recovery from wastewater: Mechanisms and prospects

• Mechanisms for selective recovery of materials in electrochemical processes are discussed. • Wastewaters that contain recoverable materials are reviewed. • Application prospects are discussed from both technical and non-technical aspects. Recovering valuable materials from waste streams is critical to the transition to a circular economy with reduced environmental damages caused by resource extraction activities. Municipal and industrial wastewaters contain a variety of materials, such as nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), lithium, and rare earth elements, which can be recovered as value-added products. Owing to their modularity, convenient operation and control, and the non-requirement of chemical dosage, electrochemical technologies offer a great promise for resource recovery in small-scale, decentralized systems. Here, we review three emerging electrochemical technologies for materials recovery applications: electrosorption based on carbonaceous and intercalation electrodes, electrochemical redox processes, and electrochemically induced precipitation. We highlight the mechanisms for achieving selective materials recovery in these processes. We also present an overview of the advantages and limitations of these technologies, as well as the key challenges that need to be overcome for their deployment in real-world systems to achieve cost-effective and sustainable materials recovery.