Mercury flows in large-scale gold production and implications for Hg pollution control

Large-scale gold production(LSGP) is one of the five convention-related atmospheric mercury(Hg) emission sources in the Minamata Convention on Mercury. However, field experiments on Hg flows of the whole process of LSGP are limited. To identify the atmospheric Hg emission points and understand Hg emission characteristics of LSGP, Hg flows in two gold smelters were studied. Overall atmospheric Hg emissions accounted for 10%–17% of total Hg outputs and the Hg emission factors for all processes were 7.6–9.6 kg/ton. There were three dominant atmospheric Hg emission points in the studied gold smelters, including the exhaust gas of the roasting process, exhaust gas from the environmental fog collection stack and exhaust gas from the converter of the refining process. Atmospheric Hg emissions from the roasting process only accounted for 16%–29% of total emissions and the rest were emitted from the refining process. The overall Hg speciation profile(gaseous elemental Hg/gaseous oxidized Hg/particulate-bound Hg) for LSGP was 34.1/57.1/8.8. The dominant Hg output byproducts included waste acid, sulfuric acid and cyanide leaching residue. Total Hg outputs from these three byproducts were 80% in smelter A and 84% in smelter B. Our study indicated that previous atmospheric Hg emissions from large-scale gold production might have been overestimated.Hg emission control in LSGP is not especially urgent in China compared to other significant emission sources(e.g., cement plants). Instead, LSGP is a potential Hg release source due to the high Hg output proportions to acid and sludge.     

锑胁迫下丛枝菌根真菌对玉米生长与锑吸收及抗氧化酶的影响

为了探讨AM(arbuscular mycorrhizal,丛枝菌根)真菌在Sb(锑)胁迫下对农作物生长及吸收Sb的影响,采用盆栽试验研究了在不同Sb添加量[即w(Sb)分别为0、500、1 000 mg/kg]下,接种AM真菌对玉米植株生物量以及N、P和Sb的吸收、膜脂过氧化[MDA(丙二醛)]和抗氧化酶活性的影响.结果表明:随着土壤中Sb添加量的增加,玉米植株的生物量、w(TN)和w(TP)均呈显著下降趋势,植株体内的w(Sb)和Sb积累量、MDA含量、CAT(过氧化氢酶)以及POD(过氧化酶)活性均显著上升.与未接种组相比,接种AM真菌显著促进了玉米植株的生长,提高了玉米植株地上部分的w(TN)和w(TP).在3个Sb添加量处理下,接种显著增加了玉米植株地下部分的w(Sb)、地上和地下部分的Sb积累量以及地上部分的CAT活性,增幅分别为8.90%~23.30%、18.87%~28.37%、27.68%~78.95%及14.92%~88.52%;同时,接种降低了玉米植株中Sb的转运率、玉米植株地上部分的w(Sb)和MDA含量,在1000 mg/kg Sb添加量下差异达显著水平,三者分别降低了36.35%、22.81%和24.29%.研究显示,在Sb污染环境下,接种AM真菌能够减轻玉米植株膜脂过氧化程度,在提高玉米植株地下部分w(Sb)的同时,也会降低Sb向地上部分的转运,减轻Sb对玉米的毒害作用.      

Iron improving bio-char derived from microalgae on removal of tetracycline from aqueous system

Novel magnetic carbonaceous bio-char was hydrothermal prepared from microalgae under different loadings of iron and its structures and surface chemistry were characterized with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm (BET). The morphology of bio-char changed from sheet to particle as iron loading increased and its surface area also increased. When 3.0 g of dried microalgae and 6.0 mmol iron salt ((NH₄)₂SO₄·FeSO₄·6H₂O) were mixed and treated, the obtained bio-char possessing the highest amount of oxygen-containing functional groups resulted in the best adsorption performance on tetracycline (TC). This adsorption process was fitted to Langmuir adsorption isotherm and the maximum adsorption capacity was 95.86 mg/g, which is higher than other bio-char reported. The iron loading contributed to the higher adsorption capacity of bio-char, which may be due to three factors, the high surface area, more hydrogen bonding, and bridging effects of the structural Fe for TC. Our data suggest that bio-char may have more important role in stabilization of pollutants in the environment.     

煅烧的水滑石同时去除水体中砷和氟

为探讨水滑石类材料对水体中氟、砷离子的同时去除效果,采用共沉淀法合成(Mg∶Al=2∶1)纳米类水滑石(LDHs),用傅立叶转换红外光谱、电子扫描透射电镜、X射线晶体衍射等手段对合成的材料进行了表征,并研究纳米材料在不同初始浓度、pH、吸附时间、阴离子干扰条件下其同时除砷氟性能。结果表明,煅烧后的水滑石(LDOs)对砷最大吸附量为51.02 mg/g,对氟最大吸附量为36.63 mg/g。吸附动力学实验表明,煅烧水滑石对砷的吸附在前6 h内基本完成,对氟的吸附在前10 h内基本完成。砷氟共存溶液保持pH=4~10及pH=6~8时,水滑石分别对砷、氟保持良好的吸附效率。对比不同阴离子对水滑石共除砷氟效率的影响,水滑石除砷速率受到阴离子影响力大小为:HPO2-4CO2-3NO-3Cl-SO2-4;水滑石除氟速率受到阴离子影响力大小为:CO2-3HPO2-4SO2-4Cl-NO-3。材料再生循环利用4次后,对砷和氟的吸附效率均能达到90%以上。实验结果表明,所合成的水滑石是一种优秀的能共除砷氟的吸附剂。     

Effects of Acid Rain on Competitive Releases of Cd, Cu, and Zn from Two Natural Soils and Two Contaminated Soils in Hunan, China

Leaching experiments of rebuilt soil columns with two simulated acid rain solutions (pH 4.6–3.8) were conducted for two natural soils and two artificial contaminated soils from Hunan, south-central China, to study effects of acid rain on competitive releases of soil Cd, Cu, and Zn. Distilled water was used in comparison. The results showed that the total releases were Zn>Cu>Cd for the natural soils and Cd>Zn≫Cu for the contaminated soils, which reflected sensitivity of these metals to acid rain. Leached with different acid rain, about 26–76% of external Cd and 11–68% external Zn were released, but more than 99% of external Cu was adsorbed by the soils, and therefore Cu had a different sorption and desorption pattern from Cd and Zn. Metal releases were obviously correlated with releases of TOC in the leachates, which could be described as an exponential equation. Compared with the natural soils, acid rain not only led to changes in total metal contents, but also in metal fraction distributions in the contaminated soils. More acidified soils had a lower sorption capacity to metals, mostly related to soil properties such as pH, organic matter, soil particles, adsorbed SO₄ ²⁻, exchangeable Al³⁺ and H⁺, and contents of Fe₂O₃ and Al₂O₃.     

Molecular diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi at a large-scale antimony mining area in southern China

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have great potential for assisting heavy metal hyperaccumulators in the remediation of contaminated soils. However, little information is available about the community composition of AMF under natural conditions in soils contaminated by antimony (Sb). The objective of this study was to investigate the characteristics of AMF molecular diversity, and to explore the effects of Sb content and soil properties on the AMF community structure in an Sb mining area. Four Sb mine spoils and one adjacent reference area were selected from around the Xikuangshan mine in southern China. The association of AMF molecular diversity and community composition with the rhizosphere soils of the dominant plant species was studied by Polymerase Chain Reaction-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE). Results from all five studied sites showed that the diversity of AMF decreased with increasing Sb concentration. Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that the AMF community structure was markedly different among these groups. Further redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that Sb contaminationwas the dominating factor influencing the AMF community structure in the Sb mine area. However, the multivariate analysis showed that, apart from the soil Sb content, extractable nitrogen content and organic matter content also attributed to AMF sequence distribution type. Some AMF sequences were only found in the highly contaminated area and these might be ideal candidates for improving phytoremediation efficiency in Sb mining regions. Gene sequencing analysis revealed that most species were affiliated with Glomus, suggesting that Glomus was the dominant AMF genus in the studied Sb mining area.     

Ammonia volatilization and availability of Cu, Zn induced by applications of urea with and without coating in soils

Ammonia volatilization and the distribution of Cu and Zn were investigated in two types of soil treated with coated and uncoated urea. The rate of ammonia volatilization in two weeks after fertilizing with coated urea was 8% in soil 1 (soil derived from river alluvial deposits in Dongting Lake Plain) and 5.15% in soil 2 (red soil derived from quaternary red clay), about half the rates observed when fertilizing with common urea, implying that the hydrolysis speed of the coated urea was lower than for common urea, and that the coated urea can increase nitrogen use efficacy. As for the availability of Cu and Zn, their concentrations decreased in the first week after fertilization, and then increased, which was contrary to the effect of treatment on soil pH. For example, when the pH was 7.99, there was 0.79 mg/kg exchangeable Cu and 0.85 mg/kg exchangeable Zn in the soil derived from river alluvial deposits in Dongting Lake Plain. However, the concentrations of exchangeable Cu and Zn were generally lower for the common urea treatments than those with the coated urea because the peak pH for the common urea treatment was greater. The concentrations of these elements correlated well with pH in the range 4-8 in second order polynomial fits.     

不同来源重金属在土壤中的形态分布差异

试验表明：不同来源的Ｐｂ、Ｚｎ和Ｃｄ复合污染物在土壤中的形态分布有明显的差异，在废矿水和尾矿砂污染的土壤中，Ｐｂ、Ｚｎ和Ｃｄ主要以残渣态存在，而添加土壤中的Ｐｂ主要以弱专性吸附态和有机结合态存在，Ｚｎ和Ｃｄ主要以交换态存在，大豆苗对添加土壤中Ｐｂ、Ｚｎ和Ｃｄ的富集能力较强，而对废矿水污染和尾矿砂污染土壤中Ｐｂ、Ｚｎ和Ｃｄ的富集能力相对较弱。     

亚硝化/电化学生物反硝化全自养脱氮工艺细菌形态及多样性研究

采用电镜观察和分子生物学手段16S rDNA克隆文库方法对亚硝化/电化学生物反硝化全自养脱氮工艺中的细菌进行了形态和多样性研究,从16S rDNA克隆文库中随机挑选60(61)个克隆子进行序列测定(约500bp),对测序结果进行BLAST比对和系统发育分析.结果表明,亚硝化段内的细菌主要为球状和椭球状的氨氧化细菌,以亚硝酸氮作为进水基质时,电化学反硝化生物段内细菌主要为短杆状和椭球状的脱氮菌.亚硝化/电化学生物反硝化脱氮系统中蕴藏着特有的微生物新资源.亚硝化段细菌类群的优势顺序为β-Proteobacteria类群(60.00%)、Bacteroidetes类群(28.33%)和Chloroflexi类群(11.67%).当电化学生物反硝化段进水氮基质为亚硝氮(429～543mg.L-1)和氨氮(412～525mg.L-1)时,细菌优势类群顺序为β-Proteobacteria(78.33%)类群和ε-Proteobacteria类群(21.67%);当电化学生物反硝化段进水氮基质为亚硝氮(519～578mg.L-1)时,细菌优势类群顺序为β-Proteobacteria类群(81.97%)、ε-Proteobacteria(16.39%)类群和γ-Proteobacteria类群(1.64%);优势类群变化不大,但每种类群中细菌的种类和数量变化较大,这主要是由进水基质变化导致.     

Nature of property rights and motivation for blue growth: An empirical evidence from the fisheries industry

If unauthorized resource use is prevented, managing marine resources by allocating property rights may match economic and environmental conservation incentives. However, because of the developing exploitation of marine resources and accompanying pollution, species' living conditions in Europe's waters are changing more quickly than before. By considering the roles of fisheries productivity, intellectual property rights, intellectual capital rights, market size, governance, and economic growth from 1990 to 2022, this paper aims to investigate the dynamic effect of property rights factors on the sustainability of the fisheries industry in 27 European countries. At higher quantiles, the findings showed a significant positive association between governance and fisheries sustainability adopting a new method, the MMQR with fixed effects, the Method of Moments Quantile Regression. In addition, in EU27 nations, the impact of intellectual property rights was favorable and statistically significant from the first to ninth quantiles. The findings show that the EU14 developed nations have more excellent governance and intellectual capital rights than the EU13 developing countries, significantly benefiting fisheries sustainability. In the same way that market size and economic growth condense fisheries sustainability in EU14 developed and EU13 developing countries, it has been discovered that intellectual property rights do the same across all quantiles, supporting the growth hypothesis for fisheries-producing countries. The findings specifically show that the beneficial solid impact of intellectual property rights, market size, and economic development on the sustainability of fisheries is more significant in EU13 developing nations than in EU14 developed countries. These results provide policymakers with helpful information for promoting property rights aspects in EU14 and EU13 nations via effective green technologies in the fisheries sector to meet sustainable development objectives.