Characterization of the interactions between tetracycline antibiotics and microbial extracellular polymeric substances with spectroscopic approaches

The antibiotics have attracted global attentions for their impact on aquatic ecosystem. The knowledge about the fate of antibiotics encountering extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) is, however, limited. In this study, we investigated the interacting mechanisms of tetracycline (TC) to EPS extracted from aerobic activated sludge. The contributions of the main components of EPS, extracellular proteins, and polysaccharides were evaluated using bovine serum albumin and alginate sodium, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance indicated that hydroxyl, carboxyl, and amino groups were the domain chemical groups involved in the interaction between TC and EPS, and the binding of TC onto EPS changed the structure of these chemical groups, thus causing shifts in their UV–visible absorption spectra. In addition, we found that extracellular proteins, rather than polysaccharides, were the major active contents involved in the interaction. Three-dimensional excitation–emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy showed that the fluorophores in EPS were clearly quenched by TC and the static quenching process was observed, implying the complex formation of TC and EPS. Furthermore, thermodynamic analysis indicated that the binding of TC with EPS is spontaneous and dominated by electrostatic forces.     

Synthesis of magnetic CoFe2O4/ordered mesoporous carbon nanocomposites and application in Fenton-like oxidation of rhodamine B

CoFe₂O₄/ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) nanocomposites were synthesized and tested as heterogeneous peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activator for the removal of rhodamine B. Characterization confirmed that CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles were tightly bonded to OMC, and the hybrid catalyst possessed high surface area, pore volume, and superparamagnetism. Oxidation experiments demonstrated that CoFe₂O₄/OMC nanocomposites displayed favorable catalytic activity in PMS solution and rhodamine B degradation could be well described by pseudo-first-order kinetic model. Sulfate radicals (SO₄ ⁻·) were verified as the primary reactive species which was responsible for the decomposition of rhodamine B. The optimum loading ratio of CoFe₂O₄ and OMC was determined to be 5:1. Under optimum operational condition (catalyst dosage 0.05 g/L, PMS concentration 1.5 mM, pH 7.0, and 25 °C), CoFe₂O₄/OMC-activated peroxymonosulfate system could achieve almost complete decolorization of 100 mg/L rhodamine B within 60 min. The enhanced catalytic activity of CoFe₂O₄/OMC nanocomposites compared to that of CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles could be attributable to the increased adsorption capacity and accelerated redox cycles between Co(III)/Co(II) and Fe(III)/Fe(II).

     

1995~2015年中国风蚀扬尘TSP、PM10和PM2.5排放清单及未来趋势预测

通过收集1995~2015年中国大陆31个省级行政区风速、降水量和气温地面站数据，结合各省、市自治区的土地利用分布及每种土地利用类型对应的土质类型，基于环保部推荐的起尘模型建立了1995~2015年中国风蚀扬尘颗粒物（TSP、PM₁₀和PM_2.5）排放清单.研究表明，在本研究的时间序列中，中国土壤风蚀扬尘颗粒物排放量呈现波动的趋势，2015年全国风蚀扬尘颗粒物TSP、PM₁₀和PM_2.5的年排放量分别约为2.27×10⁷、6.77×10⁶和1.17×10⁶t.排放量的空间分布总体上呈现"北强南弱"，并且以"黑河-腾冲"一线为界呈现"西强东弱"的排放格局，排放强度最大的地区出现在内蒙古西部和新疆大部.基于IPCC对于未来气候变化的预测情景，估计了未来风蚀扬尘颗粒物的排放变化趋势，在降水和气温共同作用下，不考虑风速变化，2100年的排放量相对2005年的变化幅度在-8.5%~7.7%之间，降水量增多会抑制风蚀扬尘颗粒物排放，温度升高则会使得地表更容易产生风蚀扬尘颗粒物.