Influence of the composition of the initial mixtures on the chemical composition,physicochemical properties and humic-like substances content of composts

The influence of the proportion of C- and N-rich raw materials (initial C/N ratio) and bulking agent on the chemical functional groups composition, humic-like substances (HS-like) content and physicochemical properties of composts was assessed. To achieve these goals, seven initial mixtures (BA1–6 and C1) of dog food (N-rich raw material) were composted with wheat flour (C-rich raw material). Composts were analyzed in terms of chemical functional groups, physicochemical, maturity and stability parameters.The C-rich raw material favored the formation of oxidized organic matter (OM) during the composting process, as suggested by the variation of the ratios of the peaks intensity of FT-IR spectra, corresponding to a decrease of the polysaccharides and an increase of aromatic and carboxyl-containing compounds. However, although with high proportion of C-rich raw material, mixtures with low initial C/N seems to have favored the accumulation of partially oxidized OM, which may have contributed to high electrical conductivity values in the final composts. Therefore, although favoring the partial transformation of OM into stabilized HS-like, initial mixtures with high proportion of C-rich raw material but with low initial C/N led to unstable composts.On the other hand, as long as a high percentage of bulking agent was used to promote the structure of biomass and consequently improve of the aeration conditions, low initial C/N was not a limiting factor of OM oxidation into extractable stabilized humic-like acids.     

Optimisation of chemical purification conditions for direct application of solid metal salt coagulants: Treatment of peatland-derived diffuse runoff

The drainage of peatland areas for peat extraction,agriculture or bioenergy requires affordable,simple and reliable treatment methods that can purify waters rich in particulates and dissolved organic carbon.This work focused on the optimisation of chemical purification process for the direct dosage of solid metal salt coagulants.It investigated process requirements of solid coagulants and the influence of water quality,temperature and process parameters on their performance.This is the first attempt to provide information on specific process requirements of solid coagulants.Three solid inorganic coagulants were evaluated:aluminium sulphate,ferric sulphate and ferric aluminium sulphate.Pre-dissolved aluminium and ferric sulphate were also tested with the objective of identifying the effects of in-line coagulant dissolution on purification performance.It was determined that the pre-dissolution of the coagulants had a significant effect on coagulant performance and process requirements.Highest purification levels achieved by solid coagulants,even at 30% higher dosages,were generally lower(5%-30%) than those achieved by pre-dissolved coagulants.Furthermore,the mixing requirements of coagulants pre-dissolved prior to addition differed substantially from those of solid coagulants.The pH of the water samples being purified had a major influence on coagulant dosage and purification efficiency.Ferric sulphate(70 mg/L) was found to be the best performing solid coagulant achieving the following load removals:suspended solids(59%-88%),total organic carbon(56%-62%),total phosphorus(87%-90%),phosphate phosphorus(85%-92%) and total nitrogen(33%-44%).The results show that the use of solid coagulants is a viable option for the treatment of peatland-derived runoff water if solid coagulant-specific process requirements,such as mixing and settling time,are considered.     

活性污泥处理偶氮染料废水过程中胞外聚合物特性研究

采用序批式反应器(SBR)考察了偶氮染料浓度对活性污泥的污染物去除性能及胞外聚合物(Extracellular polymeric substances,EPS)的影响.结果表明,COD、染料及营养物的去除率均随着进水染料浓度的增加而下降,但进水染料浓度对EPS的影响却呈现不同的趋势.当进水染料浓度为5 ～40 mg·L-1时,EPS含量随着染料浓度的增加而增加;当进水染料浓度超过40 mg·L-1时,EPS含量却随着染料浓度的增加而减少.染料的加入导致活性污泥EPS中蛋白质的含量增加,且其变化趋势与EPS变化一致;EPS中腐殖酸的浓度低于蛋白质浓度;而EPS中多糖的浓度最低,为8 mg·g-1.三维荧光光谱结果显示,不同染料浓度下EPS荧光吸收峰数量及位置相同,分别为类蛋白峰(λEx/λEm=240 nm/375 ～394 nm)和类富里酸类峰(λEx/λEm =270 nm/410～416 nm),但两个吸收峰的荧光强度不同.     

Flocculating characteristic of activated sludge flocs: Interaction between Al3+ and extracellular polymeric substances

Aluminum flocculant can enhance the flocculating performance of activated sludge.However,the binding mechanism of aluminum ion(Al 3+) and extracellular polymeric substances(EPS) in activated sludge is unclear due to the complexity of EPS.In this work,threedimensional excitation emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy(3DEEM),fluorescence quenching titration and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR) were used to explore the binding behavior and mechanism between Al 3+ and EPS.The results showed that two fluorescence peaks of tyrosineand tryptophan-like substances were identified in the loosely bound-extracellular polymeric substances(LB-EPS),and three peaks of tyrosine-,tryptophanand humic-like substances were identified in the tightly boundextracellular polymeric substances(TB-EPS).It was found that these fluorescence peaks could be quenched with Al 3+ at the dosage of 3.0 mg/L,which demonstrated that strong interactions took place between the EPS and Al 3+.The conditional stability constants for Al 3+ and EPS were determined by the Stern-Volmer equation.As to the binding mechanism,the-OH,N-H,C=O,C-N groups and the sulfurand phosphorus-containing groups showed complexation action,although the groups in the LB-EPS and TB-EPS showed different behavior.The TB-EPS have stronger binding ability to Al 3+ than the LB-EPS,and TB-EPS play an important role in the interaction with Al 3+.     

Occurrence, profiles, and ecotoxicity of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances and their alternatives in global apex predators: A critical review

Certain poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) exhibit significant bioaccumulation/biomagnification behaviors in ecosystems. PFASs, such as perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) and related precursors, have elicited attention from both public and national regulatory agencies, which has resulted in worldwide restrictions on their production and use. Apex predators occupy the top trophic positions in ecosystems and are most affected by the biomagnification behavior of PFASs. Meanwhile, the long lifespans of apex predators also lead to the high body burden of PFASs. The high body burden of PFASs might be linked to adverse health effects and even pose a potential threat to their reproduction. As seen in previous reviews of PFASs, knowledge is lacking between the current stage of the PFAS body burden and related effects in apex predators. This review summarized PFAS occurrence in global apex predators, including information on the geographic distribution, levels, profiles, and tissue distribution, and discussed the trophic transfer and ecotoxicity of PFASs. In the case where legacy PFASs were restricted under international convention, the occurrence of novel PFASs, such as 6:2 chlorinated polyfluorinated ether sulfonate (6:2 Cl-PFESA) and perfluoroethylcyclohexane sulfonate (PFECHS), in apex predators arose as an emerging issue. Future studies should develop an effective analytical method and focus on the toxicity and trophic transfer behavior of novel PFASs.     

Diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) probe for effectively sampling of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in waters and sediments

The passive sampling technique, diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) has attracted increasing interests as an in-situ sampler for organic contaminants including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). However, its effectiveness has been questioned because of the small effective sampling area (3.1 cm²). In this study, we developed a DGT probe for rapid sampling of eight PFAS in waters and applied it to a water-sediment system. It has a much larger sampling area (27 cm²) and as a result lower method quantification limits (0.15 – 0.21 ng/L for one-day deployment and 0.02 – 0.03 ng/L for one-week deployment) and much higher (by > 10 factors) sampling rate (100 mL/day) compared to the standard DGT (piston configuration). The sampler could linearly accumulate PFAS from wastewater, was sensitive enough even for a 24 hr deployment with performance comparable to grab sampling (500 mL). The DGT probe provided homogeneous sampling performance along the large exposure area. The use of the probe to investigate distributions of dissolved PFAS around the sediment-water interface was demonstrated. This work, for the first time, demonstrated that the DGT probe is a promising monitoring tool for trace levels of PFAS and a research tool for studying their distribution, migration, and fate in aquatic environments including the sediment-water interface.     

哈尔滨市大气细颗粒物污染特征及其毒性效应

为研究哈尔滨市大气细颗粒物的污染特征及其毒效应,分别采集PM_2.5、PM_1.0样品,分析其质量浓度、数浓度的变化分布特征以及对小鼠肺损伤的影响.结果表明：2017年全年PM_2.5、PM_1.0的质量浓度均呈冬高夏低趋势;PM_1.0质量浓度占PM_2.5总质量浓度的62%~85%,PM_1.0数浓度变化趋势为两边高中间低,且其大小与温度呈负相关,与相对湿度无显著相关性;研究大气颗粒物对小鼠肺损伤影响时发现,染毒组小鼠肺组织细胞中LDH、ACP、AKP、ALB增高,说明大气颗粒物PM_2.5和PM_1.0对小鼠肺组织细胞具有毒效应;肺灌洗液中MDA、NO、NOS水平升高,SOD活性下降,说明PM_2.5和PM_1.0都使机体发生氧化损伤,且PM_2.5和PM_1.0质量浓度增加,会使小鼠肺组织细胞毒效应增强,由此引发的机体氧化损伤程度增大.     

Insight into the distribution of metallic elements in membrane bioreactor: Influence of operational temperature and role of extracellular polymeric substances

The distribution of metallic elements in a submerged membrane bioreactor(MBR) was revealed at different temperatures using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry(ICP-OES), and the role of extracellular polymeric substances(EPS) was probed by integrating scanning electron microscopy(SEM) with confocal laser scanning microscopy(CLSM) over long-term operation. More metallic elements in the influent were captured by suspended sludge and built up in the fouling layer at lower temperature. The concentration of metallic elements in the effluent was 5.60 mg/L at 10°C operational temperature, far lower than that in the influent(51.35 mg/L). The total contents of metallic elements in suspended sludge and the membrane fouling layer increased to 40.20 and 52.19 mg/g at 10°C compared to 35.14 and 32.45 mg/g at 30°C, and were dominated by the organically bound fraction. The EPS contents in suspended sludge and membrane fouling layer sharply increased to 37.88 and 101.51 mg/g at 10°C, compared to 16.87 and 30.03 mg/g at 30°C. The increase in EPS content at lower temperature was responsible for the deposition of more metallic ions. The strong bridging between EPS and metallic elements at lower temperature enhanced the compactness of the fouling layer and further decreased membrane flux. This was helpful for understanding the mechanism of membrane fouling at different operational temperatures and the role of EPS, and also of significance for the design of cleaning strategies for fouled membranes after long-term operation.     

家电产品有毒有害性分析方法研究

采用回收设计方法进行家电产品设计,可在一定程度上缓解能源、资源紧张问题。将产品的有毒有害性含量作为回收设计环节中的评价指标,可在设计环节快速反映产品的环境影响。针对国内MSDS数据库信息不完备的问题,采用熵权层次分析法进行信息处理,计算产品有毒有害性;结合产品回收方法和产品标识度对产品回收性能进行综合评价;最后以空调室内机蒸发器为实例进行了验证和分析。     

含磷物质与活性炭复配稳定土壤重金属研究

利用含磷物质、活性炭及两者复配组合对污染土壤中的重金属进行稳定化处理,根据稳定效率对稳定剂进行筛选,并分析稳定前后土壤重金属的生物有效性、赋存形态变化。结果表明:经磷矿粉+5%煤基活性炭稳定7 d后,土壤中Pb、Zn、Cu、Cd稳定效率分别达75.85%、61.03%、52.80%、49.92%,土壤重金属的DTPA和PBET生物有效态均降低。BCR形态分级实验表明:该复合稳定剂对土壤重金属的稳定化效应较好,重金属的酸可提取态均有所减少,转化为其他难以分解转移的形态。结果表明,磷矿粉和煤基活性炭可作为资源回收利用,应用于土壤重金属污染修复。