Analysis of the Trend and Seasonal Cycle of Carbon Monoxide Concentrations in an Urban Area (4 pp)

Background, Aim and Scope Air quality is an field of major concern in large cities. This problem has led administrations to introduce plans and regulations to reduce pollutant emissions. The analysis of variations in the concentration of pollutants is useful when evaluating the effectiveness of these plans. However, such an analysis cannot be undertaken using standard statistical techniques, due to the fact that concentrations of atmospheric pollutants often exhibit a lack of normality and are autocorrelated. On the other hand, if long-term trends of any pollutant’s emissions are to be detected, meteorological effects must be removed from the time series analysed, due to their strong masking effects. Materials and Methods The application of statistical methods to analyse temporal variations is illustrated using monthly carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations observed at an urban site. The sampling site is located at a street intersection in central Valencia (Spain) with a high traffic density. Valencia is the third largest city in Spain. It is a typical Mediterranean city in terms of its urban structure and climatology. The sampling site started operation in January 1994 and monitored CO ground level concentrations until February 2002. Its geographic coordinates are W0°22′52″ N39°28′05″ and its altitude is 11 m. Two nonparametric trend tests are applied. One of these is robust against serial correlation with regards to the false rejection rate, when observations have a strong persistence or when the sample size per month is small. A nonparametric analysis of the homogeneity of trends between seasons is also discussed. A multiple linear regression model is used with the transformed data, including the effect of meteorological variables. The method of generalized least squares is applied to estimate the model parameters to take into account the serial dependence of the residuals of this model. This study also assesses temporal changes using the Kolmogorov-Zurbenko (KZ) filter. The KZ filter has been shown to be an effective way to remove the influence of meteorological conditions on O₃ and PM to examine underlying trends. Results The nonparametric tests indicate a decreasing, significant trend in the sampled site. The application of the linear model yields a significant decrease every twelve months of 15.8% for the average monthly CO concentration. The 95% confidence interval for the trend ranges from 13.9% to 17.7%. The seasonal cycle also provides significant results. There are no differences in trends throughout the months. The percentage of CO variance explained by the linear model is 90.3%. The KZ filter separates out long, short-term and seasonal variations in the CO series. The estimated, significant, long-term trend every year results in 10.3% with this method. The 95% confidence interval ranges from 8.8% to 11.9%. This approach explains 89.9% of the CO temporal variations. Discussion The differences between the linear model and KZ filter trend estimations are due to the fact that the KZ filter performs the analysis on the smoothed data rather than the original data. In the KZ filter trend estimation, the effect of meteorological conditions has been removed. The CO short-term componentis attributable to weather and short-term fluctuations in emissions. There is a significant seasonal cycle. This component is a result of changes in the traffic, the yearly meteorological cycle and the interactions between these two factors. There are peaks during the autumn and winter months, which have more traffic density in the sampled site. There is a minimum during the month of August, reflecting the very low level of vehicle emissions which is a direct consequence of the holiday period. Conclusions The significant, decreasing trend implies to a certain extent that the urban environment in the area is improving. This trend results from changes in overall emissions, pollutant transport, climate, policy and economics. It is also due to the effect of introducing reformulated gasoline. The additives enable vehicles to burn fuel with a higher air/fuel ratio, thereby lowering the emission of CO. The KZ filter has been the most effective method to separate the CO series components and to obtain an estimate of the long-term trend due to changes in emissions, removing the effect of meteorological conditions. Recommendations and Perspectives Air quality managers and policy-makers must understand the link between climate and pollutants to select optimal pollutant reduction strategies and avoid exceeding emission directives. This paper analyses eight years of ambient CO data at a site with a high traffic density, and provides results that are useful for decision-making. The assessment of long-term changes in air pollutants to evaluate reduction strategies has to be done while taking into account meteorological variability     

The influence of sewage sludge properties on sludge-borne metal availability

With the advent of more stringent controls on wastewater treatment, sewage sludge production in Europe and many parts of the world is increasing. With this increase comes the problem of sludge disposal, and recycling to land arguably offers an economically and environmentally sustainable option. However, a major limitation of sewage sludge reuse is the potential release of heavy metals from the sludge and heavy metal accumulation to toxic levels in topsoils. The properties of the sludge play a crucial role in determining the initial release and subsequent availability of heavy metals in amended soils. Bioavailable forms of heavy metals in recently amended soils are most likely to be those that are bioavailable in the sewage sludge. In this paper, published research on the importance of sewage sludge characteristics on metal release and bioavailability will be reviewed and contrasted with original research. A selection of sludges from around Australia has been collected for this purpose. Through the use of incubation studies, isotope dilution techniques, ion-selective electrode measurements and ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy, the importance of a range of sludge properties on heavy metal behaviour in sludges and sludge-amended soils is addressed.     

厌氧升流式污泥层反应器内污泥颗粒化对固液分离效果的影响

厌氧升流式污泥层反应器在较高的COD容积负荷和水力负荷下稳定运行的关键是要有良好的固液分离,而固液分离的必要条件是污泥的沉降速度大于混合液在三相分离器的沉降区的最小断面上的向上流速。通过小型装置的试验表明,污泥的沉降速度与污泥的性状和浓度有关,使反应器内的污泥颗粒化能改善污泥沉降性、提高固液分离效果,使反应器能在相当高的COD容积负荷(20—30kgCOD/m~3·d)和水力负荷(0.8m~3/m~2·h)下稳定运行。本文叙述了厌氧升流式污泥层反应器内的污泥颗粒化过程,并简要地讨论了培养颗粒污泥的基本条件。     

活性污泥生长的控制

在污水处理过程中，针对不同的运行环境，我们选择适当的运行工艺和参数。通过控制菌胶团细菌和丝状菌平衡生长，或者是使固着型原生动物占优势，来获得良好的活性污泥，保证出水达标排放。     

转炉污泥干法脱硫新技术应用

采用转炉污泥取代铸铁屑配制焦炉煤气脱硫剂,转炉污泥与稻壳体积配比为1∶2,水分30%～40%,pH值8～10。经过生产实践证明,脱硫效率达到996%～998%。既降低了煤气生产成本,减轻工人劳动强度,又提高了民用煤气质量,具有可观的环境效益与经济效益。     

二沉池漂泥原因及控制措施

二级污水处理厂二沉池漂泥有反硝化漂泥、活性污泥老化漂泥、生物泡沫导致的漂泥。最终的解决办法是：分析漂泥原因、对症下药、改善工艺运行状况、采取有效的控制措施.     

加压活性炭生物膜法处理DSD有机废水

采用加压活性炭生物膜法处理以对硝基甲苯磺酸盐为主的难降解的有机废水的研究,是在活性炭生物膜法处理有机废水基础上发展起来的新技术。本实验结果表明,在加压9.8×10~4Pa(1kgt/cm~2)的条件下,COD_(Cr)去除率为62％～70％,比常压活性炭生物膜法高20％～25％;其容积负荷Nv=1.7～2.9kgCOD/m~3·d,比一般活性污泥法高3～6倍。     

Long-term nitrogen and phosphorus removal,shifts of functional bacteria and fate of resistance genes in bioretention systems under sulfamethoxazole stress

To understand the long-term performance of bioretention systems under sulfamethoxazole (SMX) stress, an unplanted bioretention system (BRS) and two modified BRSs with coconut-shell activated carbon (CAC) and CAC/zero-valent-iron (Fe0) granules (CAC-BRS and Fe/CAC-BRS) were established. Both CAC-BRS and Fe/CAC-BRS significantly outperformed BRS in removing total nitrogen (TN)(CAC-BRS:82.48%; Fe/CAC-BRS:78.08%; BRS:47.51%), total phosphorous (TP)(CAC-BRS:79.36%; Fe/CAC-BRS:98.26%; BRS:41.99%),and...     

Possible Utilization of Silica Gel Sludge for the Removal of Phenol from Aqueous Solutions: Laboratory Studies

This paper discusses the adsorption capacity of silica gel sludge for phenol removal from aqueous solution. Kinetic experiments showed that phenol adsorption was completed after 2 h. Adsorption isotherms were measured for phenol from aqueous solution onto silica gel sludge under various pHs and temperatures. Results showed that the adsorption capacities for phenol was increased as pH decreased from 6.5 to 2. Temperature also was found to affect the adsorption isotherm. As temperature increases from 30 to 50°C, the adsorption capacity increases. The adsorption equilibrium of phenol on silica gel sludge was described by the linear Freundlich and Langmuir models. Furthermore, results showed that the isotherm parameters fit both linearized Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms. The Freundlich and Langmuir parameters at optimum pH was found as K _f=2.89, 1/n=0.23 and K _d=22.0, q _m=7.98, respectively. Whereas, for those at optimum temperature it was observed as K _f=2.87, 1/n=0.16 and K _d=20.93, q _m=7.91, respectively.     

炼油厂"三泥"离心脱水处理研究

通过对目前炼油厂“三泥”性状的调查，利用已有污泥处理设施进行了炼油厂“三泥”离心分离的现场试验，并分析了影响“三泥”离心分离处理工艺的主要因素，发现了离心机转速和絮凝剂投加量对“三泥”离心分离的有关规律和最佳操作条件，在此基础上，提出了适合炼油厂“三泥”处理系统的优化方案。