Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) production from anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge (WAS) is often limited by the slow hydrolysis and/or poor substrate availability. Increased attention has been given to enhance the hydrolysis and acidification of WAS recently. This study presented an efficient and green strategy based on the combined use of nitrite pretreatment and alkaline pH to stimulate hydrolysis and VFA accumulation from WAS. Results showed that both proteins and polysaccharides increased in the presence of nitrite, indicating the enhancement of sludge solubilization and hydrolysis processes. Mechanism investigations showed that nitrite pretreatment could disintegrate the sludge particle and disperse extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Then, anaerobic digestion tests demonstrated VFA production increased with nitrite treatment. The maximal VFA accumulation was achieved with 0.1 g N/L nitrite dosage and pH 10.0 at a sludge retention time (SRT) of 7 days, which was much higher VFA production in comparison with the blank, sole nitrite pretreatment, or sole pH 10. The potential analysis suggested that the combined nitrite pretreatment and alkaline pH is capable of enhancing WAS digestion with a great benefit for biological nutrient removal (BNR).

The aim of this study was to evaluate the stabilization/solidification (S/S) of trace element-contaminated soil using air pollution control residues (APCRs) prior to disposal in landfill sites. Two soil samples (with low and moderate concentrations of organic matter) were stabilized using three APCRs that originated from the incineration of municipal solid waste, bio-fuels and a mixture of coal and crushed olive kernels. Two APCR/soil mixtures were tested: 30 % APCR/70 % soil and 50 % APCR/50 % soil. A batch leaching test was used to study immobilization of As and co-occurring metals Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn. Solidification was evaluated by measuring the unconfined compression strength (UCS). Leaching of As was reduced by 39–93 % in APCR/soil mixtures and decreased with increased amounts of added APCR. Immobilization of As positively correlated with the amount of Ca in the APCR and negatively with the amount of soil organic matter. According to geochemical modelling, the precipitation of calcium arsenate (Ca₃(AsO₄)₂/4H₂O) and incorporation of As in ettringite (Ca₆Al₂(SO₄)₃(OH)₁₂ · 26H₂O) in soil/APCR mixtures might explain the reduced leaching of As. A negative effect of the treatment was an increased leaching of Cu, Cr and dissolved organic carbon. Solidification of APCR/soil was considerably weakened by soil organic matter.

There are only a limited number of studies that have developed appropriate models which incorporate bioavailability to estimate mixture toxicity. Here, we explored the applicability of the extended biotic ligand model (BLM) and the WHAM-F ₜₒₓ approach for predicting and interpreting mixture toxicity, with the assumption that interactions between metal ions obey the BLM theory. Seedlings of lettuce Lactuca sativa were exposed to metal mixtures (Cu-Ni, Cu-Cd, and Ni-Cd) contained in hydroponic solutions for 4 days. Inhibition to root elongation was the endpoint used to quantify the toxic response. Assuming that metal ions compete with each other for binding at a single biotic ligand, the extended BLM succeeded in predicting toxicity of three mixtures to lettuce, with more than 82 % of toxicity variation explained. There were no significant differences in the values of f ₘᵢₓ₅₀ (i.e., the overall amounts of metal ions bound to the biotic ligand inducing 50 % effect) for the three mixture combinations, showing the possibility of extrapolating these values to other binary metal combinations. The WHAM-F ₜₒₓ approach showed a similar level of precision in estimating mixture toxicity while requiring fewer parameters than the BLM-f ₘᵢₓ model. External validation of the WHAM-F ₜₒₓ approach using literature data showed its applicability for other species and other mixtures. The WHAM-F ₜₒₓ model is suitable for delineating mixture effects where the extended BLM also applies. Therefore, in case of lower data availability, we recommend the lower parameterized WHAM-F ₜₒₓ as an effective approach to incorporate bioavailability in quantifying mixture toxicity.

In this study, the improvement scenarios for water quality in Mogan Lake were investigated using the AQUATOX Model. The ecosystem model AQUATOX simulates conventional pollutants, such as nutrients and sediments, and considers several trophic levels, including attached and planktonic algae, submerged aquatic vegetation, several types of invertebrates, and several types of fish. In this study, all data measured at both lakes and creeks was loaded into the AQUATOX Model including both initial concentration and dynamic loading for the year 2002. Then, the AQUATOX Model was calibrated and verified for the years 2004 and 2005. Accordingly, the Aquatox Model was utilized for the analysis of future scenarios as to improve water quality in terms of conventional parameters such as dissolved oxygen, temperature, total suspended solids, pH, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and labile and refractory organic matters in water colon and sediment. During the development of future scenarios, some plans regarding measures were taken into account the modeling periods. In one of the scenarios, constructed wetlands located in big creeks’ mouths were used for improving the water quality in Mogan Lake. The results indicated that Mogan Lake would improve its hypertrophic situation towards eutrophic situation. It would be anticipated that if the situation goes on like this, Mogan Lake would improve eutrophic situation towards mezotrophic situation.

The purpose of the present study was to assess the hazard potentials of contaminated suspended particulate matter (SPM) sampled during a flood event for floodplain soils using in vitro bioassays and chemical analysis. Sediment-contact tests were performed to evaluate the direct exposure of organisms to native soils and SPM at two different trophic levels. For comparison, acetonic extracts were tested using both contact tests and additionally two cell-based biotests for cytotoxicity and Ah receptor-mediated activity (EROD-Assay). The sediment-contact tests were carried out with the dehydrogenase assay with Arthrobacter globiformis and the fish embryo assay with Danio rerio. The results of this study clearly document that native samples may well be significantly more effective than corresponding extracts in the bacteria contact assay or the fish embryo test. These results question the commonly accepted concept that acetonic extracts are likely to overestimate the toxicity of soil and SPM samples. Likewise, the priority organic compounds analyzed failed to fully explain the toxic potential of the samples. The outcomes of this study revealed the insufficient knowledge regarding the relationship between the different exposure pathways. Finally, there is concern about adverse effects by settling suspended particulate matter and remobilized sediments in frequently inundated floodplain soils due to an increase of the hazard potential, if compared with infrequently inundated floodplain soils. We showed that the settling of SPM and sediments revealed a significant impact on the dioxin-like potencies of riparian soils.

In this study, an amphoteric grafting chitosan-based flocculant (carboxymethyl chitosan-graft-poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl) trimethyl ammonium chloride, denoted as CMC-g-PDMC) was applied to removal of the anionic and cationic dyes, acid Green 25 (AG25) and Basic Bright Yellow (7GL), from water. Flocculation conditions have been optimized by response surface methodology (RSM) on the basis of central composite design (CCD) using flocculant dosage, initial solution pH and temperature as input variables. The second-order and cubic regression models, which have been both tested by the analysis of variance (ANOVA), were constructed to link the output response (the dye removal factor) with the aforementioned input variables, respectively. The second-order regression model well described the process of AG25 removal, whereas the cubic one is more suitable for that of 7GL. The effects of those variables on the flocculation performance of CMC-g-PDMC for removal of the two dyes containing opposite charges from aqueous solutions have been studied, and the flocculation mechanisms including the interactive effects between various influencing factors have been discussed in detail also.

We analyzed fluctuation in Beijing’s air quality over 328 days, based on air quality grades and air quality data from 35 atmospheric monitoring stations. Our results show the air over Beijing is subject to pollution 152 days of the year, or 46.34 %. Among all pollutants, fine particulates, solid or liquid, 2.5 μm or less in size (PM₂.₅), appeared most frequently as the primary pollutant: 249 days, or 76 % of the sample year (328 days). Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and coarse particulates (PM₁₀) cause the least pollution, appearing only 7 and 3 days, or 2 and 1 % of the sample year, respectively. In Beijing, fine particulates like PM₂.₅vary seasonally: 154.54 ± 18.60 in winter > 145.22 ± 18.61 in spring > 140.16 ± 20.76 in autumn > 122.37 ± 13.42 in summer. Air quality is best in August and worst in December, while various districts in Beijing experience different air quality. To be specific, from south to north and from west to east, air quality tends to improve. Meteorological elements have a constraining effect on air pollutants, which means there is a linear correlation between the air quality index and humidity, rainfall, wind speed, and temperature. Under a typical pollution scenario, the higher the air quality index (AQI) value, the lower the wind speed and the greater the relative humidity; the lower the AQI value, the higher the wind speed and lower the relative humidity. Analysis of influencing factors reveals that the air pollution is mainly particulate matter produced by burning coal, vehicle emissions, volatile oils and gas, fast development of food services, emissions from the surrounding region, and natural dust clouds formed in arid areas to the northwest. Topography affects the distribution of meteorological conditions, in turn varying air quality over the region from one location to another. Human activities also exercise impact on urban air quality with dual functions.

CF₃CH=CH₂(hydrofluoroolefin, HFO-1243zf) is a potential replacement of high global-warming potential (GWP) hydrofluorocarbon (HFC-134a, CF₃CFH₂). Both the atmospheric lifetime and the radiative efficiency of HFO-1243zf are parameters needed for estimating the GWP of this species. Therefore, the aim of this work is (i) to estimate the atmospheric lifetime of HFO-1243zf from the reported OH rate coefficients, kOH, determined under tropospheric conditions and (ii) to calculate its radiative efficiency from the reported IR absorption cross sections. The OH rate coefficient at 298 K also allows the estimation of the photochemical ozone creation potential (εᴾᴼCᴾ). The pulsed laser photolysis coupled to a laser-induced fluorescence technique was used to determine kOHfor the reaction of OH radicals with HFO-1243zf as a function of pressure (50–650 Torr of He) and temperature (263–358 K). Gas-phase IR spectra of HFO-1243zf were recorded at room temperature using a Fourier transform IR spectrometer between 500 and 4,000 cm⁻¹. At all temperatures, kOHdid not depend on bath gas concentration (i.e., on the total pressure between 50 and 650 Torr of He). A slight but noticeable T dependence of kOHwas observed in the temperature range investigated. The observed behavior is well described by the following Arrhenius expression: kOH(T) = (7.65 ± 0.26) × 10⁻¹³exp [(165 ± 10) / T] cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹. Negligible IR absorption of HFO-1243zf was observed at wavenumbers greater than 1,700 cm(-1). Therefore, IR absorption cross sections, [Formula: see text], were determined in the 500-1,700 cm(-1) range. Integrated [Formula: see text] were determined between 650 and 1,800 cm(-1) for comparison purposes. The main diurnal removal pathway for HFO-1243zf is the reaction with OH radicals, which accounts for 64% of the overall loss by homogeneous reactions at 298 K. Globally, the lifetime due to OH reaction (τ OH) was estimated to be 8.7 days under the assumption of a well-mixed atmosphere. Assuming other removal pathways, the atmospheric lifetime (τ) was estimated to be ∼6 days. Considering the estimated τ OH and the measured IR absorption cross sections of HFO-1243zf in the atmospheric window (720-1,250 cm(-1)), its lifetime corrected radiative efficiency was calculated to be 0.019 W m(-2) ppbv(-1). GWP100 years for the HFO investigated, 0.29, is negligible compared to that of HFC-134a, the HFC to be potentially replaced (GWP100 years = 1,300, Hodnebrog et al. (Rev Geophys 51:300-378, 2013)). ε POCP for HFO-1243zf was estimated to be around 1 order of magnitude lower than that for ethylene. In conclusion, HFO-1243zf is fast degraded in the atmosphere, and it does not appreciably contribute to global warming and local/regional air pollution. Therefore, HFO-1243zf can be a suitable replacement for HFC-134a in air conditioning units.

The experimental investigation of chloride ion oxidation under the action of ozone and ultraviolet radiation with wavelength 254 nm in the bulk of acid aqueous solution at pH 0–2 has been performed. Processes of chloride oxidation in these conditions are the same as the chemical reactions in the system O₃ – OH – Cl⁻(aq). Despite its importance in the environment and for ozone-based water treatment, this reaction system has not been previously investigated in the bulk solution. The end products are chlorate ion ClO₃ ⁻ and molecular chlorine Cl₂. The ions of trivalent iron have been shown to be catalysts of Cl⁻ oxidation. The dependencies of the products formation rates on the concentrations of O₃ and H⁺ have been studied. The chemical mechanism of Cl⁻ oxidation and Cl₂ emission and ClO₃ ⁻ formation has been proposed. According to the mechanism, the dominant primary process of chloride oxidation represents the complex interaction with hydroxyl radical OH with the formation of Cl₂ ⁻ anion-radical intermediate. OH radical is generated on ozone photolysis in aqueous solution. The key subsequent processes are the reactions Cl₂ ⁻ + O₃ → ClO + O₂ + Cl⁻ and ClO + H₂O₂ → HOCl + HO₂. Until the present time, they have not been taken into consideration on mechanistic description and modelling of Cl⁻ oxidation. The final products are formed via the reactions 2ClO → Cl₂O₂, Cl₂O₂ + H₂O → 2H⁺ + Cl⁻ + ClO₃ ⁻ and HOCl + H⁺ + Cl⁻ ⇄ H₂O + Cl₂. Some portion of chloride is oxidized directly by O₃ molecule with the formation of molecular chlorine in the end.

Hydrochars produced from different feedstocks (sawdust, wheat straw, and corn stalk) via hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) and KOH modification were used as alternative adsorbents for aqueous heavy metals remediation. The chemical and physical properties of the hydrochars and KOH-treated hydrochars were characterized, and the ability of hydrochars for removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions as a function of reaction time, pH, and initial contaminant concentration was tested. The results showed that KOH modification of hydrochars might have increased the aromatic and oxygen-containing functional groups, such as carboxyl groups, resulting in about 2–3 times increase of cadmium sorption capacity (30.40–40.78 mg/g) compared to that of unmodified hydrochars (13.92–14.52 mg/g). The sorption ability among different feedstocks after modification was as the following: sawdust > wheat straw > corn stack. Cadmium sorption kinetics on modified hydrochars could be interpreted with a pseudo-second order, and sorption isotherm was simulated with Langmuir adsorption model. High cadmium uptake on modified hydrochars was observed over the pH range of 4.0–8.0, while for other heavy metals (Pb²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Zn²⁺) the range was 4.0–6.0. In a multi-metal system, the sorption capacity of heavy metals by modified hydrochars was also higher than that by unmodified ones and followed the order of Pb(II) > Cu(II) > Cd(II) > Zn(II). The results suggest that KOH-modified hydrochars can be used as a low cost, environmental-friendly, and effective adsorbent for heavy metal removal from aqueous solutions.