Aerosol phase reactions play a very important role on secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation, and metal-containing aerosols are important components in the atmosphere. In this study, we tested the effects of two transition metal sulfate salts, manganese sulfate (MnSO4) and zinc sulfate (ZnSO4), on the photochemical reactions of a toluene/NO
The objective of this experiment was to study the effects of malic, tartaric, oxalic, and citric acid on the adsorption and desorption characteristics of Cd by two typical anthropic soils (lou soil and irrigation-silted soil) in North-west China. Cadmium adsorption and desorption were studied under a range of temperatures (25°C, 30°C, 35°C, 40°C), organic acid concentrations (0.5–5.0 mmol·L-1), and pH values (2–8). The results showed that the Cd adsorption capacity of the lou soil was significantly greater than that of the irrigation-silted soil. Generally, Cd adsorption increased as the temperature increased. In the presence of NaNO3, the adsorption of Cd was endothermic with Δ
An optimized procedure based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) combined with accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) is developed for the analysis of six phthalic acid esters (PAEs), which are priority soil pollutants nominated by United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Quantification of PAEs in soil employs ultrasonic extraction (UE) (USEPA 3550) and ASE (USEPA 3545), followed by clean up procedures involving three different chromatography columns and two combined elution methods. GC-MS conditions under selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode are described and quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) criteria with high accuracy and sensitivity for target analytes were achieved. Method reliability is assured with the use of an isotopically labeled PAE, di-
The effects of hydraulic retention time (HRT) on the nitrification activities and population dynamics of a conventional activated sludge system fed with synthetic inorganic wastewater were investigated over a period of 260 days. When the HRT was gradually decreased from 30 to 5 h, the specific ammonium-oxidizing rates (SAOR) varied between 0.32 and 0.45 kg
Rapid and sensitive pathogen detection methods are essential for the effective functioning of the water treatment industry, yet for many pathogens, effective detection and removal methods are still lacking.
In this study, we collected particles with aerodynamic diameter≤2.5 μm (PM2.5) from three different public indoor places (a supermarket, a commercial office, and a university dining hall) in Jinan, a medium-sized city located in northern China. Water-soluble inorganic ions of PM2.5 and particle size distributions were also measured. Both indoor and outdoor PM2.5 levels (102.3–143.8 μg·m-3 and 160.2–301.3 μg·m-3, respectively) were substantially higher than the value recommended by the World Health Organization (25 μg·m-3), and outdoor sources were found to be the major contributors to indoor pollutants. Diurnal particle number size distributions were different, while the maximum volume concentrations all appeared to be approximately 300 nm in the three indoor locations. Concentrations of indoor and outdoor PM2.5 were shown to exhibit the same variation trends for the supermarket and dining hall. For the office, PM2.5 concentrations during nighttime were observed to decrease sharply. Among others,
Experiments were performed to measure the emission factors (
To help reduce risks of heavy metal pollution, two pot experiments were conducted to investigate the variations, transfer potential, and stability of Cadmium (Cd) and Lead (Pb) accumulations in celery (
To improve material efficiency, industrial structure optimization becomes a focal point in Chinese industrial and environmental policies. It is crucial to cluster economic sectors and determine their priority for industrial and environmental policy implementation. Integrating a set of criteria, a hybrid input-output model and the hierarchical cluster analysis, this study clusters China’s economic sectors and determines their priority on a life cycle basis. China’s economic sectors are clustered into three clusters. Industrial structure changes (industrial policy) should encourage the development of sectors in cluster 1 and limit the development of sectors in cluster 2. Technology development and materials recycling (two environmental policies) should mainly focus on sectors in clusters 1 and 2. Future industrial policies in China should limit the development of two sectors named
A study was undertaken for the prediction of runoff flow from 0.8 ha field-sized agricultural watershed in South Korea using Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) sub-daily. The SWAT model with sub-daily configuration predicted flow from the watershed within the range of acceptable accuracy. The SWAT sub-daily simulations were carried out for a total of 18 rainfall events, 9 each for calibration and validation. Overall trend and extent of matching simulated flow for the rainfall events in 2007-2008 with measured data during the calibration process were coefficient of determination (
With the random movement of silica gel beads in a conical fluidized bed, micro-vortices resulting from the fluidization promoted the collision and aggregation of suspended fine kaolin powders. The abatement efficiencies of the suspended fine solids under several hydrodynamic conditions were studied, and a suitable control strategy for operating the conical fluidized bed flocculators was identified. The suspended solids abatement efficiency was found to increase with increasing Camp Number and flocculation time (
Based on the anoxic/oxic (A/O) step feed process, a modified University of Cape Town (UCT) step feed process was developed by adding an anaerobic zone and adjusting sludge return pipeline. Performance evaluation of these two types of processes was investigated by optimizing operational parameters, such as the anaerobic/anoxic/oxic volumes, internal recycle ratios, and sludge retention times, for removal of chemical oxygen demanding (COD), nitrogen, and phosphorus. Results showed high removal efficiencies of COD of (85.0±1.7)%, ammonium of (99.7±0.2)%, total nitrogen (TN) of (85.5±1.7)%, phosphorus of (95.1±3.3)%, as well as excellent sludge settleability with average sludge volume index of (83.7±9.5) L·mg-1 in the modified UCT process. Moreover, (61.5±6.0)% of influent COD was efficiently involved in denitrification or phosphorus release process. As much as 35.3% of TN was eliminated through simultaneous nitrification and denitrification process in aerobic zones. In addition, the presence of denitrifying phosphorus accumulating organisms (DNPAOs), accounting for approximately 39.2% of PAOs, was also greatly beneficial to the nitrogen and phosphorus removal. Consequently, the modified UCT step feed process was more attractive for the wastewater treatment plant, because it had extremely competitive advantages such as higher nutrient removal efficiencies, lower energy and dosages consumption, excellent settling sludge and operational assurance.
A low pH, ethanol-type fermentation process was evaluated for wastewater treatment and bio-hydrogen production from acidic beet sugar factory wastewater in a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) with an effective volume of 9.6 L by anaerobic mixed cultures in this present study. After inoculating with aerobic activated sludge and operating at organic loading rate (OLR) of 12 kgCOD?m-3·d-1, HRT of 8h, and temperature of 35°C for 28 days, the CSTR achieved stable ethanol-type fermentation. When OLR was further increased to 18 kgCOD?m-3·d-1 on the 53rd day, ethanol-type fermentation dominant microflora was enhanced. The liquid fermentation products, including volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and ethanol, stabilized at 1493 mg·L-1 in the bioreactor. Effluent pH, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), and alkalinity ranged at 4.1–4.5, -250–(-290) mV, and 230–260 mgCaCO3?L-1. The specific hydrogen production rate of anaerobic activated sludge was 0.1 L?gMLVSS-1·d-1 and the COD removal efficiency was 45%. The experimental results showed that the CSTR system had good operation stability and microbial activity, which led to high substrate conversion rate and hydrogen production ability.