Distribution and source of microplastics in China's second largest reservoir - Danjiangkou Reservoir

Fresh water microplastic pollution is of pressing concern globally, but its distribution and sources in reservoirs are poorly documented. Danjiangkou Reservoir is the second largest reservoir in China and is divided into the Han Reservoir and Dan Reservoir. In this work, microplastic abundances and morphological characteristics of the reservoir were investigated. The microplastic abundance of 15 main tributaries of the reservoir was also measured. The vertical distribution (in water column and sediment), horizontal distribution (in Han Reservoir and Dan Reservoir) and source of microplastics were analyzed. Microplastics accumulated in the middle layer of the reservoir, and the size and color of the microplastic particles changed from the surface to the bottom, which implies that surveys of surface water are not enough to determine the microplastic contamination for deep water reservoirs. In the surface water, the microplastic abundance in the Han Reservoir was lower than that in the Dan Reservoir (p < 0.05), but microplastic abundance did not differ significantly in the intermediate and bottom water. Tributaries were one of the main sources of microplastics for Han Reservoir but not for Dan Reservoir. Agricultural cultivation in the hydro-fluctuation belt might be an important source of microplastics in the Dan Reservoir, which should be given additional attention. The results of this study can provide valuable information for developing microplastic sampling strategies in deep water reservoirs. Further studies are recommended to investigate the process through which microplastics in the hydro-fluctuation belt enter the reservoir and the sinking behavior of microplastics in the reservoir.     

A large-scale outdoor atmospheric simulation smog chamber for studying atmospheric photochemical processes: Characterization and preliminary application

Understanding the formation mechanisms of secondary air pollution is very important for the formulation of air pollution control countermeasures in China. Thus, a large-scale outdoor atmospheric simulation smog chamber was constructed at Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (the CRAES Chamber), which was designed for simulating the atmospheric photochemical processes under the conditions close to the real atmospheric environment. The chamber consisted of a 56-m³ fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) Teflon film reactor, an electrically-driven stainless steel alloy shield, an auxiliary system, and multiple detection instrumentations. By performing a series of characterization experiments, we obtained basic parameters of the CRAES chamber, such as the mixing ability, the background reactivity, and the wall loss rates of gaseous compounds (propene, NO, NO₂, ozone) and aerosols (ammonium sulfate). Oxidation experiments were also performed to study the formation of ozone and secondary organic aerosol (SOA), including α-pinene ozonolysis, propene and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene photooxidation. Temperature and seed effects on the vapor wall loss and SOA yields were obtained in this work: higher temperature and the presence of seed could reduce the vapor wall loss; SOA yield was found to depend inversely on temperature, and the presence of seed could increase SOA yield. The seed was suggested to be used in the chamber to reduce the interaction between the gas phase and chamber walls. The results above showed that the CRAES chamber was reliable and could meet the demands for investigating tropospheric chemistry.     

Identification of close relationship between atmospheric oxidation and ozone formation regimes in a photochemically active region

Understanding ozone (O₃) formation regime is a prerequisite in formulating an effective O₃ pollution control strategy. Photochemical indicator is a simple and direct method in identifying O₃ formation regimes. Most used indicators are derived from observations, whereas the role of atmospheric oxidation is not in consideration, which is the core driver of O₃ formation. Thus, it may impact accuracy in signaling O₃ formation regimes. In this study, an advanced three-dimensional numerical modeling system was used to investigate the relationship between atmospheric oxidation and O₃ formation regimes during a long-lasting O₃ exceedance event in September 2017 over the Pearl River Delta (PRD) of China. We discovered a clear relationship between atmospheric oxidative capacity and O₃ formation regime. Over eastern PRD, O₃ formation was mainly in a NO_x-limited regime when HO₂/OH ratio was higher than 11, while in a VOC-limited regime when the ratio was lower than 9.5. Over central and western PRD, an HO₂/OH ratio higher than 5 and lower than 2 was indicative of NO_x-limited and VOC-limited regime, respectively. Physical contribution, including horizontal transport and vertical transport, may pose uncertainties on the indication of O₃ formation regime by HO₂/OH ratio. In comparison with other commonly used photochemical indicators, HO₂/OH ratio had the best performance in differentiating O₃ formation regimes. This study highlighted the necessities in using an atmospheric oxidative capacity-based indicator to infer O₃ formation regime, and underscored the importance of characterizing behaviors of radicals to gain insight in atmospheric processes leading to O₃ pollution over a photochemically active region.     

Application of FeIII-TAML/H2O2 system for treatment of fluoroquinolone antibiotics

Over the recent past, fluoroquinolone antibiotics (FQs) have raised extensive attention due to their potential to induce the formation of resistance genes and “superbugs”, thus various advanced oxidation techniques have been developed to eliminate their release into the environment. In the present study, the prototype tetraamido macrocyclic ligand (Fe^III-TAML)/hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) system is employed to degrade FQs (i.e., norfloxacin and ciprofloxacin) over a wide pH range (i.e., pH 6-10), and the reaction rate increases with the increase in pH level. The effect of dosage of Fe^III-TAML and H₂O₂ on the degradation of FQs is evaluated, and the reaction rate is linearly correlated with the added amount of chemicals. Moreover, the impact of natural organic matters (NOM) on the removal of FQs is investigated, and the degradation kinetics show that both NOM type and experimental concentration exhibit negligible influence on the oxidative degradation of selected antibiotics. Based on the results of liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry and theoretical calculations, the reaction sites and pathways of FQs by Fe^III-TAML/H₂O₂ system are further predicted and elucidated.     

Chemical characteristics, oxidative potential, and sources of PM2.5 in wintertime in Lahore and Peshawar, Pakistan

The chemical characteristics, oxidative potential, and sources of PM_2.5 were analyzed at the urban sites of Lahore and Peshawar, Pakistan in February 2019. Carbonaceous species, water soluble ions, and metal elements were measured to investigate the chemical composition and sources of PM_2.5. The dithiothreitol (DTT) consumption rate was measured to evaluate the oxidative potential of PM_2.5. Both cities showed a high exposure risk of PM_2.5 regarding its oxidative potential (DTT_v). Carbonaceous and some of the elemental species of PM_2.5 correlated well with DTT_v in both Lahore and Peshawar. Besides, the DTT_v of PM_2.5 in Lahore showed significant positive correlation with most of the measured water soluble ions, however, ions were DTT-inactive in Peshawar. Due to the higher proportions of carbonaceous species and metal elements, Peshawar showed higher mass-normalized DTT activity of PM_2.5 compared to Lahore although the average PM_2.5 concentration in Peshawar was lower. The high concentrations of toxic metals also posed serious non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks to the residents of both cities. Principle component analysis coupled with multiple linear regression was applied to investigate different source contributions to PM_2.5 and its oxidative potential. Mixed sources of traffic and road dust resuspension and coal combustion, direct vehicle emission, and biomass burning and formation of secondary aerosol were identified as the major sources of PM_2.5 in both cities. The findings of this study provide important data for evaluation of the potential health risks of PM_2.5 and for formulation of efficient control strategies in major cities of Pakistan.     

Flow analysis of major and trace elements in residues from large-scale sewage sludge incineration

Increase of sewage sludge (SS) has led to the construction of more incineration plants, exacerbating to the production of SS incineration residues. However, few studies have considered the mass balance of elements in large-scale SS incineration plants, affecting the residues treatment and utilization. In this study, flow analysis was conducted for major and trace elements in the SS, the fly ash (sewage sludge ash, SSA) and bottom ash from two large-scale SS incineration plants. The elemental characteristics were compared with those of coal fly ash (CFA), and air pollution control residues from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWIA), as well as related criteria. The results showed that the most abundant major element in SSA was Si, ranging from 120 to 240 g/kg, followed by Al (76–348 g/kg), Ca (26–113 g/kg), Fe (35–80 g/kg), and P (26–104 g/kg), and the trace elements were mainly Zn, Ba, Cu, and Mn. Not all the major elements were derived from SS. Most trace elements in the SS incineration residues accounted for 82.4%–127% of those from SS, indicating that SS was the main source of trace elements. The partitioning of heavy metals in the SS incineration residues showed that electrostatic precipitator ash or cyclone ash with high production rates were the major pollutant sinks. The differences in some major and trace elements could be indicators to differentiate SSA from CFA and MSWIA. Compared with related land criteria, the pollutants in SSA should not be ignored during disposal and utilization.     

Mercury emissions and partitioning from Indian coal-fired power plants

In India coal combustion is the single largest source of emission of mercury which is a wide-spread persistent global toxicant, travelling across international borders through air and water. As a party to the Minamata convention, India aims to monitor and reduce Hg emissions and stricter norms are introduced for mercury emissions from power plants (30 μg/Nm³for flue gas in stack).This paper presents the results obtained during the experimental studies performed on mercury emissions at four coal-fired and one lignite-fired power plants in India. The mercury concentration in the feed coal varied between 0.12–0.27 mg/Kg. In the mercury mass balance, significant proportion of feed coal mercury has been found to be associated with fly ash, whereas bottom ash contained very low mercury. 80%–90% of mercury was released to air through stack gas. However, for circulating fluidised bed boiler burning lignite, about 64.8% of feed mercury was found to get captured in the fly ash and only 32.4% was released to air. The mercury emission factor was found to lie in the range of 4.7–15.7 mg/GJ.     

Influence of urban morphological parameters on the distribution and diffusion of air pollutants: A case study in China

Air pollution has a serious fallout on human health, and the influences of the different urban morphological characteristics on air pollutants cannot be ignored. In this study, the relationship between urban morphology and air quality (wind speed, CO, and PM_2.5) in residential neighborhoods at the meso-microscale was investigated. The changes in the microclimate and pollutant diffusion distribution in the neighborhood under diverse weather conditions were simulated by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). This study identified five key urban morphological parameters (Building Density, Average Building Height, Standard Deviation of Building Height, Mean Building Volume, and Degree of Enclosure) which significantly impacted the diffusion and distribution of pollutants in the neighborhood. The findings of this study suggested that three specific strategies (e.g. volume of a single building should be reduced, DE should be increased) and one comprehensive strategy (the width and height of the single building should be reduced while the number of single buildings should be increased) could be illustrated as an optimized approach of urban planning to relief the air pollution. The result of the combined effects could provide a reference for mitigating air pollution in sustainable urban environments.