Characterization of oily sludge from a wastewater treatment plant flocculation-flotation unit in a petroleum refinery and its treatment implications

Partly due to the complex and variable composition of oily sludge generated by the petroleum industry, cost-effective treatment and proper disposal pose considerable challenges worldwide. In this study, an extended component-based analysis of the oily sludge from a flocculation-flotation unit of a wastewater treatment system in a refinery in Sweden was carried out over 1 year. The heterogeneity of the oily sludge is illustrated by the wide ranges of concentrations found for different chemical components, particularly metals. Among the petroleum hydrocarbons, the most abundant compounds were nonpolar aliphatic hydrocarbons (63.7 ± 16.7 g kg⁻¹); from the benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene group, xylenes (91–240 mg kg⁻¹) were most abundant; and among polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, naphthalene (25.7 ± 21.4), fluorene (27.25 ± 10.0), and phenanthrene (43.8 ± 18.4 mg kg⁻¹) were most abundant (all results in terms of dry matter). Based on the EU guidelines and the mean concentration values for metals found in the oily sludge, e.g., Pb (135.4 ± 125.8), Cu (105.2 ± 79.1), Hg (42.8 ± 31.3), Ni (320 ± 267.4), and Zn (1321.7 ± 529.9 mg kg⁻¹), disposal of oily sludge even in landfills for hazardous waste is not allowed. The organic content of the sludge can be reduced through biotreatment, but not the metal content. A multistep component-based treatment scheme is therefore needed.     

Petroleum hydrocarbons and limiting nutrients in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Macura reptantia</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Procambarus clarkii</Emphasis> and benthic sediment from Qua Iboe Estuary,Nigeria

The levels of total petroleum hydrocarbons in two commonly consumed benthopelagic shellfishes, Macura reptantia and Procambarus clarkii, harvested from benthic sediment of Qua Iboe Estuary were determined using a gas chromatography with flame-ionization detector. Seventy-two (72) samples each of benthic sediment and the shellfishes were collected monthly between June 2003 and February 2004 covering the peak periods of the wet and dry seasons. Concentrations of hydrocarbons were highly variable and ranged between 5.00 and 232.00 μg/g dry weight of benthic sediment, 3.05 and 11.30 μg/g dry weight of M. reptantia, 1.62 and 9.00 μg/g dry weight of P. clarkii. Pearson’s correlation analysis of total hydrocarbon concentrations in subtidal sediments with levels in the fauna species yielded positive significant (P < 0.05) correlations in M. reptantia (r = 0.737) and P. clarkii (r = 0.924). This is indicative of a long term and chronic accumulation of hydrocarbons in the estuarine ecosystem, reflecting the potential for exposure of the resident biota and the risk to human health.     

Constructed wetlands treating highway runoff in the central Mediterranean region

Two free water surface (FWS) and two subsurface flow (SSF) pilot-size constructed wetlands treating highway runoff (HRO) were monitored over a period of two years (September 2005-August 2007). One FWS and one SSF were designed with a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 12h, named FWS12 and SSF12, respectively, with each one capable of treating a maximum HRO of 12.6 m(3) d(-1). The other couple, named FWS24 and SSF24, respectively, was designed with an HRT of 24h, with each receiving a maximum HRO of 6.3 m(3) d(-1). The influent flowed from a highway section with a total surface 2752 m(2) on the island of Crete, Greece, in the heart of the South-Central Mediterranean region. Influent and effluent were monitored for COD, TSS, total N (TN), NO(3)(-) and total P (TP) concentrations. Furthermore, removal efficiencies were examined for heavy metals (Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn) for both years, while polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAHs) were examined for the period between September 2006 and August 2007. The influent had a two-year average COD value of 101 mg l(-1), whereas the mean values for TSS, TN, N-NO(3)(-) and TP were 203, 4.30, 1.25 and 4.17 mg l(-1), respectively. For Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn the respective two-year mean influent concentrations were 56, 114, 49 and 250 microg l(-1). Mean concentration of total PAHs in runoff (summation operator PAHs, 16 compounds) were 12.01 microg l(-1). The performance among the four beds was not significantly different according to ANOVA analysis followed by Tukey test (at p<0.05) for almost all the above physicochemical parameters, suggesting that all systems performed in a similar way. All studied systems, achieved a mean of two-year removal efficiencies of 47% for COD, 89% for TSS, 49% for TN, 58% for N-NO(3)(-), 60% for TP, 47% for Cu, 23% for Ni, 33% for Pb, 61% for Zn and 59% for summation operator PAHs (16 compounds).     

Simultaneous biodegradation of nitrogen-containing aromatic compounds in a sequencing batch bioreactor

Many nitrogen-containing aromatic compounds (NACs), such as nitrobenzene (NB), 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), aniline (AN), and 2,4-dinitrophenol (2,4-DNP), are environmentally hazardous, and their removal from contaminated water is one of the main challenges facing wastewater treatment plants. In this study, synthetic wastewater containing NB, 4-NP, 2,4-DNP, and AN at concentrations ranging from 50 to 180 mg/L was fed into a sequencing batch reactor (SBR). Analyses of the SBR system indicated that it simultaneously removed more than 99% of the NACs at loading rates of 0.36 kg NB/(m3·d), 0.3 kg 4-NP/(m3·d), 0.25 kg AN/(m3·d), and 0.1 kg 2,4-DNP/(m3·d). Bacterial groups of Bacteriodetes, Candidate division TM7, α-Proteobacteria, and β-Proteobacteria were dominant in the clone libraries of 16S rRNA genes retrieved from the microbial communities in the SBR system. "Cycle tests" designed to alter feeding and aeration parameters of the SBR system demonstrated that the resident microbial biome of the SBR system responded rapidly to changing conditions. Consumption of O2 was concomitant with the apparent mineralization of NACs. Aromatic ring-cleaving dioxygenase activities suggested that (1) AN and NB were degraded via catechol 2,3-dioxygenase; (2) 4-NP was degraded via 1,2,4-benzentriol 1,2-dioxygenase; and (3) 2,4-DNP was degraded via an unresolved pathway.     

长沙大气中VOCs研究

应用大气采样罐采样技术和色谱-质谱联用（GC-MS）技术,对2008年长沙市大气中76种挥发性有机物（VOCs）的组分及其质量浓度水平进行测试,比较了各组分对臭氧产生的影响潜势,同时对其主要来源进行简单分析.结果表明,长沙大气总VOCs在上午和下午的浓度分别是38.4×10-9（体积分数）和22.7×10-9（体积分数）,下午大气中VOCs浓度显著低于上午;季节变化呈现VOCs冬季浓度远高于夏季VOCs浓度,组分中以卤代烃最高,烷烃、芳烃次之,烯烃最低,OH消耗速率最高的物质是间、对二甲苯（10.71×10-9 C,碳单位体积比,下同）;其次为1,2,4-三甲苯（6.04×10-9 C）和1,3,5-三甲苯（2.23×10-9 C）.芳烃对大气O3生成贡献最大（66%）,其次是烯烃（26%）,烷烃最低（8%）.高浓度的异戊烷和丙烷说明了机动车排放和液化石油气是VOCs来源之一,苯/甲苯的特征比值接近0.8,远高于机动车尾气排放特征比值0.5;说明溶剂和涂料挥发是其主要来源之一.     

大气颗粒物中多环芳烃污染特征及防治对策

介绍了大港油田大气颗粒物和多环芳烃的污染现状,并对大港油田地区大气特征构成及大气颗粒物中多环芳烃的污染特征作了初步分析,得出大港油田地区大气颗粒物中多环芳烃污染类型为燃油型,并据此提出了防治多环芳烃污染的相应对策。     

天津地区主要河流沉积物中多环芳烃化合物的组成与分布特征

对天津地区海河、北运河、潮白新河、北京排污河、永定新河、蓟运河、北塘排污河（北排污河）、大沽排污河（南排污河）和南运河等9条具代表性河流的沉积物样品进行了分析检测．结果表明，不同河流沉积物样品中均分布有多种类型的烃类污染物，已经检测到的多环芳烃化合物主要包括萘、苊、苊烯、联苯、菲、惹烯、芴、二苯并呋喃（氧芴）、二苯并噻吩（硫芴）、荧蒽、芘、菌、苯并芴、苯并蒽、苯并荧蒽、苯并芘、苝、二苯并[a，h]蒽、茚并[1，2，3-cd]芘、苯并[g，h，i]苝等系列多种单体化合物，相对含量较高的主要有菲、甲基菲、荧蒽、芘、菌等；不同河流或同一河流不同河段沉积物中有机物和烃类污染物含量及组成均存在较大差别，其中北塘排污河、大沽排污河和南运河有机物和烃类污染物含量较高，海河及津北地区的潮白新河、蓟运河、北京排污河、永定新河有机物和烃类含量较低；津北地区河流沉积物中烷基取代物与多环芳烃母体化合物的相对比值较低，且从上游到下游有增大的趋势，海河、南北排污河、南运河沉积物中该比值相对较高，且从城区河段到下游有降低的趋势；不同河流沉积物中四环芳烃相对含量变化不明显，但四环以上芳烃化合物变化比较明显，其中海河、南北排污河及南运河沉积物中四环以上芳烃化合物的相对含量较低，津北地区北运河、潮白新河、北京排污河、永定新河的相对含量较高．由此推测，城区及津南地区的南北排污河、南运河多环芳烃中石油烃贡献相对较大，津北地区北京排污河、潮白新河、蓟运河和永定新河沉积物中石油烃污染源贡献相对较小，大气沉降物的贡献相对较大．     

多环芳烃在不同灌区土壤剖面的分布特征研究

文章在不同类型灌溉用水的三个典型灌区进行土壤精细剖面钻探采样分析,研究16种优控多环芳烃在土壤剖面的分布特征和不同灌溉条件对土壤质量的影响。结果表明:表土是多环芳烃的主要累积层位,污灌区、再生水灌区、清灌区表土的多环芳烃总量分别为726、200、34μg/kg,说明长期进行污水和再生水灌溉均会造成不同程度的土壤污染;受多环芳烃自身理化性质的影响,低环的多环芳烃容易向土壤剖面的深部迁移,在表土以下的层位占绝对优势分布,高环的多环芳烃迁移性很弱,基本只在表层有检出;通过对各灌区剖面的典型多环芳烃含量和土壤理化指标进行相关分析和回归分析,得出TOC是多环芳烃在土壤剖面垂向迁移的主要影响因素。     

Exposure measurement, risk assessment and source identification for exposure of traffic assistants to particle-bound PAHs in Tianjin, China

To investigate the levels of exposure to particulate-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon(PAH) and to estimate the risk these levels pose to traffic assistants(TAs) in Tianjin(a megacity in North China), a measurement campaign(33 all-day exposure samples, 25 occupational-exposure samples and 10 indoor samples) was conducted to characterize the TAs' exposure to PAHs, assess the cancer risk and identify the potential sources of exposure. The average total exposure concentration of 14 PAHs was approximately 2871 ± 928 ng/m3(on-duty), and 1622 ± 457 ng/m3(all-day). The indoor PAHs level was 1257 ± 107 ng/m3. After 8000 Monte Carlo simulations, the cancer risk resulting from exposure to PAHs was found to be approximately 1.05 × 10-4. A multivariate analysis was applied to identify the potential sources, and the results showed that, in addition to vehicle exhaust, coal combustion and cooking fumes were also another two important contributors to personal PAH exposure. The diagnostic ratios of PAH compounds agree with the source apportionment results derived from principal component analysis.     

柴油轿车颗粒多环芳烃的排放特性

以一辆柴油轿车为研究样车,分别使用纯柴油、生物柴油掺混比例为10%的B10燃油,进行了NEDC整车循环工况试验,测取了该车HC、CO、NOx、颗粒等法规限制的排放,利用气相色谱-质谱法对采集的排气颗粒样品进行了分析,重点研究了颗粒中多环芳烃的排放特性.结果表明,与柴油相比,燃用B10燃油的HC、CO、NOx和颗粒等常规排放均有所降低;两种燃料产生的颗粒多环芳烃排放中均以荧蒽和芘最多,与纯柴油相比,燃用B10燃油产生的低环数PAHs排放略有增加,中高环数的PAHs排放降幅明显.苯并[a]芘等效毒性分析结果显示燃用B10燃油的BEQs值比纯柴油降低了21.6%,表明柴油轿车燃用生物柴油后,排气颗粒的多环芳烃毒性有所下降.