Engineered nanomaterials in rivers--exposure scenarios for Switzerland at high spatial and temporal resolution

Probabilistic material flow analysis and graph theory were combined to calculate predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in Swiss rivers: 543 river sections were used to assess the geographical variability of nano-TiO₂, nano-ZnO and nano-Ag, and flow measurements over a 20-year period at 21 locations served to evaluate temporal variation. A conservative scenario assuming no ENM removal and an optimistic scenario covering complete ENM transformation/deposition were considered. ENM concentrations varied by a factor 5 due to uncertain ENM emissions (15%-85% quantiles of ENM emissions) and up to a factor of 10 due to temporal river flow variations (15%-85% quantiles of flow). The results indicate highly variable local PECs and a location- and time-dependent risk evaluation. Nano-TiO₂ median PECs ranged from 11 to 1′623 ng L⁻¹ (conservative scenario) and from 2 to 1′618 ng L⁻¹ (optimistic scenario). The equivalent values for nano-ZnO and nano-Ag were by factors of 14 and 240 smaller.     

Mass flows of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in central wastewater treatment plants of industrial zones in Thailand

Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are fully fluorinated organic compounds, which have been used in many industrial processes and have been detected in wastewater and sludge from municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) around the world. This study focused on the occurrences of PFCs and PFCs mass flows in the industrial wastewater treatment plants, which reported to be the important sources of PFCs. Surveys were conducted in central wastewater treatment plant in two industrial zones in Thailand. Samples were collected from influent, aeration tank, secondary clarifier effluent, effluent and sludge. The major purpose of this field study was to identify PFCs occurrences and mass flow during industrial WWTP. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) coupled with HPLC-ESI-MS/MS were used for the analysis. Total 10 PFCs including perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluoropropanoic acid (PFPA), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), perfluoronanoic acid (PFNA), perfluordecanoic acid (PFDA), perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA), and perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA) were measured to identify their occurrences. PFCs were detected in both liquid and solid phase in most samples. The exceptionally high level of PFCs was detected in the treatment plant of IZ1 and IZ2 ranging between 662-847 ng L⁻¹ and 674-1383 ng L⁻¹, respectively, which greater than PFCs found in most domestic wastewater. Due to PFCs non-biodegradable property, both WWTPs were found ineffective in removing PFCs using activated sludge processes. Bio-accumulation in sludge could be the major removal mechanism of PFCs in the process. The increasing amount of PFCs after activated sludge processes were identified which could be due to the degradation of PFCs precursors. PFCs concentration found in the effluent were very high comparing to those in river water of the area. Industrial activity could be the one of major sources of PFCs contamination in the water environment.     

Virtual phosphorus ore requirement of Japanese economy

Phosphorus is indispensable for agricultural production. Hence, the consumption of imported food indirectly implies the import of phosphorus resources. The global consumption of agricultural products depends on a small number of ore-producing countries. For sustainable management of phosphorus resources, the global supply and demand network should be clarified. In this study, we propose the virtual phosphorus ore requirement as a new indicator of the direct and indirect phosphorus requirements for our society. The virtual phosphorus ore requirement indicates the direct and indirect demands for phosphorus ore transformed into agricultural products and fertilizer. In this study, the virtual phosphorus ore requirement was evaluated for the Japanese economy in 2005. Importantly, the results show that our society requires twice as much phosphorus ore as the domestic demand for fertilizer production. The phosphorus contained in “eaten” agricultural products was only 12% of virtual phosphorus ore requirement.     

壁面粗糙度对旋风分离器内流场影响的数值模拟

利用计算流体动力学软件FLUENT6.2.16对壁面粗糙度不同的旋风分离器内流场进行了数值模拟,得到了切向速度、轴向速度、径向速度和静压力分布规律。旋风分离器内的切向速度随着壁面粗糙度的增大而明显减小;轴向速度没有明显的规律性变化,只在上部筒体涡核区轴向速度增加,削弱了涡核区滞留现象;在流场大部分区域径向速度随粗糙度的...     

垂直流人工湿地水力学特性研究

通过示踪剂实验从停留时间分布（RTD）曲线及其统计特征值等方面对垂直流人工湿地的水力学特性进行了定性和定量的分析。研究表明水流在垂直流人工湿地中的流动是一种非理想的不均匀流动,存在一定的死区和水流的扩散;垂直流人工湿地较大的死区率与其表面布水的不均匀性有关,这也可能是其死区率大于表流人工湿地的最主要的原因。实验还表明,进水流量对垂直流人工湿地停留时间分布影响较大,随着进水流量的增加,平均停留时间减小,但标准平均停留时间增大,死区率减小;当进水流量为15L／h（水力负荷为620mm／d）时,水流在湿地中的散度最大,水流更接近全混流,不利于污染物的降解。     

AA3流动注射仪快速测定地表水中的总氰化物

在反复实验的基础上建立了运用Bran+Luebbe AutoAnalyzer 3流动注射分析仪快速测定地表水中总氰化物的分析方法。结果表明,该方法与传统的分光光度法相比,具有自动进样、分析速度快、测定成本低等优点。与经典的分析方法相对照,结果无显著性差异,能够满足大批量地表水监测的要求。在测试系统中引入了恒温槽,进一步提高了测试的精密度和准确度。     

脱硝催化剂孔结构及其脱硝特性的研究

选择性催化还原脱硝技术(SCR)所采用的催化剂多数为多孔介质,其内部孔隙有助于提高催化剂的反应活性。文中采用浸渍负载法,通过改变制备温度制备出不同孔结构的催化剂样品,采用N2吸附法对其孔结构进行测定和分析,并对不同孔结构的催化剂样品进行了脱硝实验。研究表明:煅烧及干燥温度对催化剂孔结构有很大的影响,比表面积越大,其催化剂内的孔分布宽度越窄,平均孔径越小;在活性温度范围(360～390℃)内,脱硝过程中主要是属于化学反应过程控制,脱硝效果随着比表面积的增大而增强;在非活性温度范围内,脱硝过程同时受到气体扩散过程及化学反应过程控制。     

Indirect measurements of field-scale hydraulic conductivity of waste from two landfill sites

Management and prediction of the movement and distribution of fluids in large landfills is important for various reasons. Bioreactor landfill technology shows promise, but in arid or semi-arid regions, the natural content of landfilled waste may be low, thus requiring addition of significant volumes of water. In more humid locations, landfills can become saturated, flooding gas collection systems and causing sideslope leachate seeps or other undesirable occurrences. This paper compares results from two different approaches to monitoring water in waste. At the Brock West Landfill in eastern Canada, positive pore pressures were measured at various depths in saturated waste. The downward seepage flux through the waste is known, thus the vertical saturated hydraulic conductivity of the waste at this landfill was determined to be 3 × 10(-7)cm/s. By comparison, the Spadina Landfill in western Canada is predominantly unsaturated. The infiltration of moisture into the waste was measured using moisture sensors installed in boreholes which determined arrival time for moisture fronts resulting from major precipitation events as well as longer-term change in moisture content resulting from unsaturated drainage during winter when frozen ground prevented infiltration. The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity calculated from these data ranged from approximately 10(-6)cm/s for the slow winter drainage in the absence of significant recharge to 10(-2)cm/s or higher for shallow waste subject to high infiltration through apparent preferential pathways. These two very different approaches to field-scale measurements of vertical hydraulic conductivity provide insight into the nature of fluid movement in saturated and unsaturated waste masses. It is suggested that the principles of unsaturated seepage apply reasonably well for landfilled waste and that the hydraulic behavior of waste is profoundly influenced by the nature and size of voids and by the degree of saturation prevailing in the landfill.     

Environmental assessment of garden waste management in the Municipality of Aarhus, Denmark

An environmental assessment of six scenarios for handling of garden waste in the Municipality of Aarhus (Denmark) was performed from a life cycle perspective by means of the LCA-model EASEWASTE. In the first (baseline) scenario, the current garden waste management system based on windrow composting was assessed, while in the other five scenarios alternative solutions including incineration and home composting of fractions of the garden waste were evaluated. The environmental profile (normalised to Person Equivalent, PE) of the current garden waste management in Aarhus is in the order of −6 to 8 mPE Mg⁻¹ ww for the non-toxic categories and up to 100 mPE Mg⁻¹ ww for the toxic categories. The potential impacts on non-toxic categories are much smaller than what is found for other fractions of municipal solid waste. Incineration (up to 35% of the garden waste) and home composting (up to 18% of the garden waste) seem from an environmental point of view suitable for diverting waste away from the composting facility in order to increase its capacity. In particular the incineration of woody parts of the garden waste improved the environmental profile of the garden waste management significantly.     

Minimizing disruptions caused by damming and ensuring the health of downstream ecosystems

In view of the Brazilian Ten‐Year Energy Expansion Plan 2021, this article presents a discussion on environmental flow (e‐flow). The authors analyze the literature to show the evolution of publications concerning e‐flow releases from the perspective of ecosystems services preservation considering results from different case studies from throughout the world. Finally, two main recommendations are drawn regarding e‐flow are: (1) performing a holistic approach to e‐flow planning, including hydrological, hydraulic, water quality, habitat, and riparian zone considerations; and (2) installing in new structures adequate bottom outlets to allow a range of adjustable e‐flow from reservoir dams to reproduce natural flow variations.