Tourism: economic development without increasing CO2 emissions in Pakistan

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Globally, the national and cultural resources of a country are major sources of attraction for tourism. Pakistan is gifted with abundant natural and...     

Aerosol optical properties under different pollution levels in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region of China

To clarify the aerosol hygroscopic growth and optical properties of the Pearl River Delta(PRD)region,integrated observations were conducted in Heshan City of Guangdong Province from October 19 to November 17,2014.The concentrations and chemical compositions of PM_(2.5),aerosol optical properties and meteorological parameters were measured.The mean value of PM_(2.5) increased from less than 35(excellent) to 35-75 μg/m~3(good) and then to greater than 75 μg/m~3(pollution),corresponding to mean PM_(2.5) values of 24.9,51.2,and 93.3 μg/m~3,respectively.The aerosol scattering hygroscopic growth factor(f(RH = 80%)) values were 2.0,2.12,and 2.18 for the excellent,good,and pollution levels,respectively.The atmospheric extinction coefficient(σext)and the absorption coefficient of aerosols(σ_(ap)) increased,and the single scattering albedo(SSA)decreased from the excellent to the pollution levels.For different air mass sources,under excellent and good levels,the land air mass from northern Heshan had lower f(RH) and σ_(sp) values.In addition,the mixed aerosol from the sea and coastal cities had lower f(RH) and showed that the local sources of coastal cities have higher scattering characteristics in pollution periods.     

Influence of floc dynamic protection layer on alleviating ultrafiltration membrane fouling induced by humic substances

Cake layer formation is inevitable over time for ultrafiltration (UF) membrane-based drinking water treatment. Although the cake layer is always considered to cause membrane fouling, it can also act as a “dynamic protection layer”, as it further adsorbs pollutants and dramatically reduces their chance of getting to the membrane surface. Here, the UF membrane fouling performance was investigated with pre-deposited loose flocs in the presence of humic acid (HA). The results showed that the floc dynamic protection layer played an important role in removing HA. The higher the solution pH, the more negative the floc charge, resulting in lower HA removal efficiency due to the electrostatic repulsion and large pore size of the floc layer. With decreasing solution pH, a positively charged floc dynamic protection layer was formed, and more HA molecules were adsorbed. The potential reasons were ascribed to the smaller floc size, greater positive charge, and higher roughness of the floc layer. However, similar membrane fouling performance was also observed for the negative and positive floc dynamic protection layers due to their strong looseness characteristics. In addition, the molecular weight (MW) distribution of HA also played an important role in UF membrane fouling behavior. For the small MW HA molecules, the chance of forming a loose cake layer was high with a negatively charged floc dynamic protection layer, while for the large MW HA molecules it was high with a positively charged floc dynamic protection layer. As a result, slight UF membrane fouling was induced.     

Metabolomic modulations in a freshwater microbial community exposed to the fungicide azoxystrobin

An effective broad-spectrum fungicide, azoxystrobin (AZ), has been widely detected in aquatic ecosystems, potentially affecting the growth of aquatic microorganisms. In the present study, the eukaryotic alga Monoraphidium sp. and the cyanobacterium Pseudanabaena sp. were exposed to AZ for 7 days. Our results showed that 0.2–0.5 mg/L concentrations of AZ slightly inhibited the growth of Monoraphidium sp. but stimulated Pseudanabaena sp. growth. Meanwhile, AZ treatment effectively increased the secretion of total organic carbon (TOC) in the culture media of the two species, and this phenomenon was also found in a freshwater microcosm experiment (containing the natural microbial community). We attempted to assess the effect of AZ on the function of aquatic microbial communities through metabolomic analysis and further explore the potential risks of this compound. The metabonomic profiles of the microcosm indicated that the most varied metabolites after AZ treatment were related to the citrate cycle (TCA), fatty acid biosynthesis and purine metabolism. We thereby inferred that the microbial community increased extracellular secretions by adjusting metabolic pathways, which might be a stress response to reduce AZ toxicity. Our results provide an important theoretical basis for further study of fungicide stress responses in aquatic microcosm microbial communities, as well as a good start for further explorations of AZ detoxification mechanisms, which will be valuable for the evaluation of AZ environmental risk.     

SI-traceable certification of Cu, Cr, Cd and Pb in sediment and fly ash candidate reference materials

Many fields in environmental analytical chemistry deal with very low limits and thresholds as set by governmental legislations or transnational regulations. The need for the accuracy, comparability and traceability of analytical measurements in environmental analytical chemistry has significantly increased and total uncertainties are even asked for by accreditation bodies of environmental laboratories. This paper addresses achieving these goals to guarantee accuracy, quality control, quality assurance or validation of a method by means of certified reference materials. The assessment of analytical results in certified reference materials must be as accurate as possible and every single step has to be fully evaluated. This paper presents the SI-traceable certification of Cu, Cr, Cd and Pb contents in geological and environmentally relevant matrices (three sediments and one fly ash sample). Certification was achieved using isotope dilution (ID) ICPMS as a primary method of measurement. In order to reduce significantly the number of analytical steps and intermediate samples a multiple spiking approach was developed. The full methodology is documented and total uncertainty budgets are calculated for all certified values. A non-element specific sample digestion process was optimised. All wet chemical digestion methods examined resulted in a more or less pronounced amount of precipitate. It is demonstrated that these precipitates originate mainly from secondary formation of fluorides (essentially CaF2) and that their formation takes place after isotopic equilibration. The contribution to the total uncertainty of the final values resulting from the formation of such precipitates was in general < 0.1% for all investigated elements. Other sources of uncertainty scrutinised included the moisture content determination, procedural blank determination, cross-contamination from the different spike materials, correction for spectral interferences, instrumental background and deadtime effects, as well as the use of either certified values or IUPAC data in the IDMS equation. The average elemental content in the sediment samples was 30-130 micrograms g-1 for Pb, 0.5-3 micrograms g-1 for Cd and 50-70 micrograms g-1 for Cu. Cr was measured in one sample and was about 60 micrograms g-1. The concentrations in the fly ash sample were up to 2 orders of magnitude higher. Expanded uncertainty for the investigated elements was about 3% (coverae factor k = 2) except for Cr, (measured by high resolution ICPMS), for which the expanded uncertainty was about 7% (k = 2).     

污泥综合处理技术系统的可行性分析

通过对污泥处理技术现状与污泥组成的分析，认为降低污泥的含水率是改善污泥可处理性的关键。以机械脱水加工热干燥过程可达到充分降低污泥含水率的目的。以此为主干所形成的污泥综合处理系统经能量与经济平衡分析，发现其能量输出大于输入，经济成本合理，有一定的技术经济可行性。     

环境物质拟除虫菊酯毒理学研究进展

拟除虫菊酯作为一种重要的合成杀虫剂,在人们的生产生活中有着广泛的应用,但同时其毒理学问题也越来越引起人们的注意,许多学者对此进行了深入的研究,在此研究基础上,从对动物的神经毒性、生殖毒性和生理生化毒性三个方面,对拟除虫菊酯的毒理学研究进展作一综述.     

STC脉冲喷吹袋式除尘器在机立窑烟气除尘脱硫中的应用

介绍了STC脉冲喷吹袋式除尘器的自动控温、外滤除尘、自控离线脉冲喷吹清灰的工作原理和特点 ,监测数据说明该除尘器成功解决了机立窑消烟、除尘和脱硫问题     

城市污水厂污泥热干燥处理技术及其应用分析

提出采用热干燥处理技术进一步降低脱水泥饼的含水率，介绍了现行的污泥热干燥处理技术，并就该技术在污泥处理中的应用尤其是在焚烧预处理中的应用进行了分析。     

铅对几种农作物的影响及迁移积累规律初探

四种作物的盆栽模拟实验表明:铅对作物的影响,主要表现为植株矮化、生物量下降.作物受铅危害,主要在种子萌发期和苗期.进入植物体的铅,主要沉积于导管壁及木质部细胞壁中.作物各部位吸铅的能力不同;作物吸铅量与土壤含铅量呈正相关;各器官含铅量依水分和养料的运输方向互成正相关性,并依此方向减少;作物吸收的铅不仅可以从下至上转移,也可以从上至下转移,但后者较困难.