热解吸对土壤中POPs农药的去除及土壤理化性质的影响

为探索土壤热解吸修复技术对POPs污染土壤的修复效果及修复后土壤可耕作性,选择北京某农药厂旧址的POPs农药污染土壤,研究了不同温度下热解吸处理后土壤中滴滴涕(DDTs)和六六六(HCHs)各组分的去除率以及土壤理化性质的变化。结果表明,热解吸修复技术可有效去除土壤中POPs农药,其中,p,p’-DDE与α-HCH组分去除率受热解吸温度的影响比其他组分更为明显。∑HCH与∑DDT在310℃、340℃时分别达到97%、99%的去除率,且此时土壤中的污染物含量低于我国《展览会用地土壤环境质量评价标准》,此后去除率受温度的影响不明显。热解吸温度对修复后土壤的理化性质有一定的影响,不同温度影响的程度各不相同,其中,有机质含量与全氮含量分别由0.78%、0.0352%降至0.14%、0.0107%;pH波动幅度较小,由7.80变至8.25;阳离子交换量变化存在波动,但呈整体下降趋势,由7.87 mg/kg降至5.00mg/kg;土壤中速效磷显著增加,由7.59 mg/kg升至21.8 mg/kg。而在最优温度条件下,土壤理化性质受热解吸温度的影响较小。由此可以说明,热解吸技术可以用于POPs污染土壤的修复,选择适当的热解吸温度对土壤的可耕作性影响有限,因而是一种潜在的绿色修复技术。     

Spatial character of polychlorinated biphenyls from soil and respirable particulate matter in Taiyuan, China

As one of China’s great metropolises, Taiyuan is affected by heavy chemical industry and manufacture of chemical products, and faces pollution from polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the PCB concentrations in various environmental media in Taiyuan. We collected 15 soil samples, 34 respirable particulate matter (PM) samples (17 of PM_2.5 and 17 of PM₁₀) from urban areas of Taiyuan, and measured a total of 144 PCB congeners (including some coeluting PCB congeners). The total PCB concentrations were 51–4.7 × 10³ pg g⁻¹ in soil, 27–1.4 × 10² pg m⁻³ in PM_2.5 and 16–1.9 × 10² pg m⁻³ in PM₁₀. Of the PCB homologues, the dominant PCBs detected in the various media were all tri-CBs. Soil was relatively the most polluted media. Furthermore, principal-component analysis revealed that the major PCB source in Taiyuan may be associated with the main commercial PCB through long-range transmission. Toxic equivalency (TEQ) concentrations (based on ten dioxin-like PCBs) ranged from N.D. to 5.9 × 10⁻³ pg-WHO TEQ g⁻¹ in soil, 2.0 × 10⁻⁴–3.4 × 10⁻³ pg-WHO TEQ m⁻³ and 1.0 × 10⁻⁴–1.2 × 10⁻³ pg-WHO TEQ m⁻³ in PM_2.5 and PM₁₀, respectively. In previous studies, PCBs were not a severe component of contaminant in Taiyuan; however, this study suggested there is a potential threat of human exposure to PCBs for residents of Taiyuan.     

Monte Carlo analysis of field water flow comparing uni- and bimodal effective hydraulic parameters for structured soil

Soil structure critically affects the hydrological behaviour of soils. In this paper, we examined the impact of areal heterogeneity of hydraulic properties of a structured soil on soil ensemble behaviour for various soil water flow processes with different top boundary conditions (redistribution and drainage plus evaporation and infiltration). Using a numerical solution of the Richards' equation in a stochastic framework, the ensemble characteristics and flow dynamics were studied for drying and wetting processes observed during a time interval of ten days when a series of relatively intense rainfall events occurred. The effects of using unimodal and bimodal interpretative models of hydraulic properties on the ensemble hydrological behaviour of the soil were illustrated by comparing predictions to mean water contents measured over time in several sites at field scale. Although the differences between unimodal and bimodal fitting are not significant in terms of goodness of fit, the differences in process predictions are considerable with the bimodal soil simulating water content measurements much better than unimodal soil. We also investigated the relative contribution of the soil variability of each parameter on the variance of the water contents obtained as the main output of the stochastic simulations. The variability of the structural parameter, weighting the two pore space fractions in the bimodal interpretative model, has the largest contribution to water content variance. The contribution of each parameter depends only partly on the coefficient of variation, much more on the sensitivity of the model to the parameters and on the flow process being observed. We observed that the contribution of the retention parameters to uncertainty increases during drainage processes; the opposite occurs with the hydraulic conductivity parameters.     

Arsenic concentration in porewater of an alkaline coal ash disposal site: Roles of siderite precipitation/dissolution and soil cover

The geochemical behavior of As in porewaters of an alkaline coal ash disposal site was investigated using multilevel samplers. The disposal site was in operation from 1983 until 1994 and was covered with 0.3–0.5 m thick soils in 2001 when this study was initiated. Sequential extraction analyses and batch leaching experiments were also performed using the coal ash samples collected from the disposal site. The results suggest the important roles of siderite (FeCO₃) precipitation/dissolution and soil cover, which have been ignored previously. Arsenic levels in the porewater were very low (average of 10 μg L⁻¹) when the site was covered with soil due to coprecipitation with siderite. The soil cover enabled the creation of anoxic conditions, which raised the Fe concentration by the reductive dissolution of Fe-(hydr)oxides. Because of the high alkalinity generated from the alkaline coal ash, even a small increase in the Fe concentration (0.66 mg L⁻¹ on average) could cause siderite precipitation. When the soil cover was removed, however, an oxidizing condition was created and triggered the precipitation of dissolved Fe as (hydr)oxides. As a result, the dissolution of previously precipitated As-rich siderite caused higher As concentration in the porewater (average of 345 μg L⁻¹).     

Comparison of manufactured and black carbon nanoparticle concentrations in aquatic sediments

In this paper, we show that concentrations of manufactured carbon-based nanoparticles (MCNPs) in aquatic sediments will be negligible compared to levels of black carbon nanoparticles (BCNPs). This is concluded from model calculations accounting for MCNP sedimentation fluxes, removal rates due to aggregation or degradation, and MCNP burial in deeper sediment layers. The resultant steady state MCNP levels are compared with BCNP levels calculated from soot levels in sediments and weight fractions of nanosized fractions of these soot particles. MCNP/BCNP ratios range from 10⁻⁷ to 10⁻⁴ (w:w). This suggests that the often acclaimed effect of MCNPs on organic pollutant binding and bioavailability will likely be below the level of detection if natural BCNPs are present, even if binding to MCNP is one to two orders of magnitude stronger than to BCNPs. Furthermore, exposure and toxic effects of MCNPs in sediments and soils will be negligible compared to that of BCNPs.     

进水水质成分改变引发的污泥粘性膨胀及控制

在研究强化SBR工艺除污性能时,由于可溶性淀粉投加导致进水水质成分发生改变,污泥沉降性能在短时间内迅速恶化,污泥出现大量的粘液。镜检发现,大量指状菌胶团异常增殖且丝状菌的数量也逐渐减少。实验结果表明,系统膨胀属于污泥粘性膨胀。停止可溶性淀粉和提高主反应池的DO浓度,污泥粘性膨胀并未得到恢复,但污泥粘液逐渐消失。粘液消失后,通过模拟前期进水水质成分和缩短泥龄,污泥粘性膨胀得以控制,污泥沉降性能在短时间内恢复。实验还研究了污泥粘性膨胀对污染物去除性能的影响。     

The importance of ammonium mobility in nitrogen-impacted unfertilized grasslands: A critical reassessment

The physico-chemical absorption characteristics of ammonium-N for 10 soils from 5 profiles in York, UK, show its high potential mobility in N deposition-impacted, unfertilized, permanent grassland soils. Substantial proportions of ammonium-N inputs were retained in the solution phase, indicating that ammonium translocation plays an important role in the N cycling in, and losses from, such soils. This conclusion was further supported by measuring the ammonium-N leaching from intact plant/soil microcosms. The ammonium-N absorption characteristics apparently varied with soil pH, depth and soil texture. It was concluded for the most acid soils especially that ammonium-N leached from litter horizons could be seriously limiting the capacity of underlying soils to retain ammonium. Contrary to common opinion, more attention therefore needs to be paid to ammonium leaching and its potential role in biogeochemical N cycling in semi-natural soil systems subject to atmospheric pollution.     

Long-term pollution by chlordecone of tropical volcanic soils in the French West Indies: A simple leaching model accounts for current residue

Chlordecone was applied between 1972 and 1993 in banana fields of the French West Indies. This resulted in long-term pollution of soils and contamination of waters, aquatic biota, and crops. To assess pollution level and duration according to soil type, WISORCH, a leaching model based on first-order desorption kinetics, was developed and run. Its input parameters are soil organic carbon content (SOC) and SOC/water partitioning coefficient (K_oc). It accounts for current chlordecone soil contents and drainage water concentrations. The model was valid for andosol, which indicates that neither physico-chemical nor microbial degradation occurred. Dilution by previous deep tillages makes soil scrapping unrealistic. Lixiviation appeared the main way to reduce pollution. Besides the SOC and rainfall increases, K_oc increased from nitisol to ferralsol and then andosol while lixiviation efficiency decreased. Consequently, pollution is bound to last for several decades for nitisol, centuries for ferralsol, and half a millennium for andosol.     

Reducing plant uptake of PAHs by cationic surfactant-enhanced soil retention

Reducing the transfer of contaminants from soils to plants is a promising approach to produce safe agricultural products grown on contaminated soils. In this study, 0-400 mg/kg cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTMAB) and dodecylpyridinium bromide (DDPB) were separately utilized to enhance the sorption of PAHs onto soils, thereby reducing the transfer of PAHs from soil to soil solution and subsequently to plants. Concentrations of phenanthrene and pyrene in vegetables grown in contaminated soils treated with the cationic surfactants were lower than those grown in the surfactant-free control. The maximum reductions of phenanthrene and pyrene were 66% and 51% for chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum coronarium L.), 62% and 71% for cabbage (Brassica campestris L.), and 34% and 53% for lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), respectively. Considering the impacts of cationic surfactants on plant growth and soil microbial activity, CTMAB was more appropriate to employ, and the most effective dose was 100-200 mg/kg.