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Abstract The best available technology (BAT) for waste plastics relies on their components and the right technology employed, while the quality of waste plastics depends on the original plastics and the source separation processes simultaneously. In this study, the quality of waste plastics and the potential recycling processes, including recycling granulation, pyrolysis to oil, Green-RDF and incineration technology, were co-related from the economic and technical perspective. A database was established for waste plastic components, considering factors such as plastic fraction, waste composition, moisture content, and impurity rate. The corresponding environmental impacts for the typical resource processes were assessed by life cycle analysis (LCA) and cost–benefit analysis combined. It was found that around 23% ± 1% of waste plastics in residual waste had the resource potential if the stricter classification criteria of plastic wastes were adopted, such as the components, moisture content less than 5% or 8% and impurity rate less than 8%. Pyrolysis to oil had the best environmental benefits in GWP100, reaching -1,683.51 kg CO2 equivalent (CO2-eq), determined as the best method for high-value plastics, and incineration depicted poor environmental benefits for low-value plastics. The net income of recycling granulation for middle-value waste plastics would achieve 1383 ± 35 yuan/ton through cost–benefit analysis, which represented the optimal economic benefits. CO2 emissions for waste plastics could be mitigated around 29.74% by matching BATs compared to the current management system, which would provide policymakers with proper recommendations in terms of the adaptability of waste plastic sources and technologies.

This study examined the potential health risks posed by the operation of 96 waste-to-energy (WtE) plants in 30 cities in the Bohai Rim of China. Utilizing a sophisticated simulation approach, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled with the California Puff (CALPUFF) model, we obtained the spatial distribution of pollutants emitted by WtE plants in the atmosphere. Hazard indices (HI) and cancer risks (CR) were calculated for each plant using the United States Environmental Protection Agency's recommended methodologies. The results indicated that both HIs and CRs were generally low, with values below the accepted threshold of 1.0 and 1.0 × 10−6, respectively. Specifically, the average HI and CR values for the entire study area were 2.95 × 10−3 and 3.43 × 10−7, respectively. However, some variability in these values was observed depending on the location and type of WtE plant. A thorough analysis of various parameters, such as waste composition, moisture content, and operating conditions, was conducted to identify the factors that influence the health risks associated with incineration. The findings suggest that proper waste sorting and categorization, increased cost of construction, and elevated height of chimneys are effective strategies for reducing the health risks associated with incineration. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the potential health risks associated with WtE plants in the Bohai Rim region of China. The findings can serve as useful guidelines for law enforcement wings and industry professionals seeking to minimize the risks associated with municipal solid waste (MSW) management and promote sustainable development.

As the dominant waste disposal process, incineration is regarded as the main incentive for the “not-in-my-backyard” syndrome, and faces an inescapable pressures of ultra-low emissions (ULE). Establishing precise response relationships between emission factors (EFs) and full-process influencing factors can provide guidance for the synergistic mitigation of flue gas pollutants (FGPs). In this work, the multi-dimensional EFs of FGPs were identified by initially integrating FGPs concentration monitoring data of existing 1,226 processing lines in China, technologies applied and operational experience (OE), local economic and political characteristics. Significant regional imbalance performance was observed, which EFs in the coastal regions were 3.55–92.39 % lower than those of the inland areas. NOx, SO2, HCl were identified as critical components requiring further reduction under the ULE standards, with exceedance rates recorded at 73.07 %, 38.90 %, and 56.69 %, respectively. An indicative value of 20 mg/m3 for PM is recommended for the control of heavy metals of Cd + Tl and Sb + As + Pb + Cr + Co + Cu + Mn + Ni based on the correlation coefficients of r = 0.28 (p

The significance of water resources cannot be overstated, as they are vital for human survival and the economic and social development of societies [...]

Highlights ● The boundary of PGHG emissions developed from resource obtaining to waste disposal. ● Shanghainese PGHG emissions varied from 3004.64 to 3796.05 kgCO2 in 2010-2020. ● Around 405.86 kg CO2 decreased with the reduced consumption by COVID-19 lockdown. ● Energy consumption was the main contributor to DPGHG emissions (296.4%) increase. ● The GHG intensity was the main contributor to IPGHG emissions reduction (− 188.1%).

Microplastics are generated from plastic waste in landfills due to physical, chemical, and biological effects, and eventually enter into the leachate. Leachate is a potential source of environmental microplastics which has not been emphasized. Here, we summarized the investigation of microplastics in leachate in 9 countries from 28 papers, provided a comprehensive review of the sampling, detection, and separation of microplastics in leachate, and elaborated on the quality control in each process. There are more than forty types of microplastics in leachate, with diverse shapes, wide size distribution, and concentrations of 0–25 items/L. Commonly used techniques are FTIR, Raman, SEM, and py-GC–MS for characterizing microplastics, while standardization of micro- or nanoplastics for leachate with a complex composition should be further studied. We also discussed in depth the degradation mechanism of microplastics in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). Microplastics can be decomposed into small molecules such as aldehydes and ketones, and some can even eventually be degraded into CO2 and H2O in AOPs, which may be further implemented in leachate treatment plants. This review provides the scientific fundamentals for understanding the microplastics in landfill leachate and proposes removal strategies for future research.

Using microalgae to remove pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) micropollutants (MPs) have attracted considerable interest. However, high concentrations of persistent PPCPs can reduce the performance of microalgae in remediating PPCPs. Three persistent PPCPs, namely, carbamazepine (CBZ), sulfamethazine (SMT) and tramadol (TRA), were treated with a combination of Chaetoceros muelleri and biochar in a photobioreactor during this study. Two reactors were run. The first reactor comprised Chaetoceros muelleri, as the control, and the second reactor comprised Chaetoceros muelleri and biochar. The second reactor showed a better performance in removing PPCPs. Through the response surface methodology, 68.9% (0.330 mg L−1) of CBZ, 64.8% (0.311 mg L−1) of SMT and 69.3% (0.332 mg L−1) of TRA were removed at the initial concentrations of MPs (0.48 mg L−1) and contact time of 8.1 days. An artificial neural network was used in optimising elimination efficiency for each MP. The rational mean squared errors and high R2 values showed that the removal of PPCPs was optimised. Moreover, the effects of PPCPs concentration (0–100 mg L−1) on Chaetoceros muelleri were studied. Low PPCP concentrations (−1) increased the amounts of chlorophyll and proteins in the microalgae. However, cell viability, chlorophyll and protein contents dramatically decreased with increasing PPCPs concentrations (>40 mg L−1).

BACKGROUND: Hypothyroidism is a chronic condition of endocrine disorder and its precise molecular mechanism remains obscure. In spite of certain efficacy of thyroid hormone replacement therapy in treating hypothyroidism, it often results in other side effects because of its over-replacement, so it is still urgent to discover new modes of treatment for hypothyroidism. Sini decoction (SND) is a well-known formula of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and is considered as efficient agents against hypothyroidism. However, its holistic effect assessment and mechanistic understanding are still lacking due to its complex components. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A urinary metabonomic method based on ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry was employed to explore global metabolic characters of hypothyroidism. Three typical hypothyroidism models (methimazole-, propylthiouracil- and thyroidectomy-induced hypothyroidism) were applied to elucidate the molecular mechanism of hypothyroidism. 17, 21, 19 potential biomarkers were identified with these three hypothyroidism models respectively, primarily involved in energy metabolism, amino acid metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism and purine metabolism. In order to avert the interference of drug interaction between the antithyroid drugs and SND, the thyroidectomy-induced hypothyroidism model was further used to systematically assess the therapeutic efficacy of SND on hypothyroidism. A time-dependent recovery tendency was observed in SND-treated group from the beginning of model to the end of treatment, suggesting that SND exerted a recovery effect on hypothyroidism in a time-dependent manner through partially regulating the perturbed metabolic pathways. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results showed that the metabonomic approach is instrumental to understand the pathophysiology of hypothyroidism and offers a valuable tool for systematically studying the therapeutic effects of SND on hypothyroidism.

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C17H24N2O, contains three independent molecules. In the crystal, molecules are linked by weak N—H...O hydrogen bonds into chains parallel to the c axis.

BACKGROUND: In spite of great advances in target-oriented Western medicine for treating myocardial infarction (MI), it is still a leading cause of death in a worldwide epidemic. In contrast to Western medicine, Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) uses a holistic and synergistic approach to restore the balance of Yin-Yang of body energy so the body's normal function can be restored. Sini decoction (SND) is a well-known formula of TCM which has been used to treat MI for many years. However, its holistic activity evaluation and mechanistic understanding are still lacking due to its complex components. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A urinary metabonomic method based on nuclear magnetic resonance and ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry was developed to characterize MI-related metabolic profiles and delineate the effect of SND on MI. With Elastic Net for classification and selection of biomarkers, nineteen potential biomarkers in rat urine were screened out, primarily related to myocardial energy metabolism, including the glycolysis, citrate cycle, amino acid metabolism, purine metabolism and pyrimidine metabolism. With the altered metabolism pathways as possible drug targets, we systematically analyze the therapeutic effect of SND, which demonstrated that SND administration could provide satisfactory effect on MI through partially regulating the perturbed myocardial energy metabolism. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results showed that metabonomic approach offers a useful tool to identify MI-related biomarkers and provides a new methodological cue for systematically dissecting the underlying efficacies and mechanisms of TCM in treating MI.

BACKGROUND: Doxorubicin (DOX) is one of the most potent antitumor agents available; however, its clinical use is limited because of the risk of severe cardiotoxicity. Though numerous studies have ascribed DOX cardiomyopathy to specific cellular pathways, the precise mechanism remains obscure. Sini decoction (SND) is a well-known formula of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and is considered as efficient agents against DOX-induced cardiomyopathy. However, its action mechanisms are not well known due to its complex components. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A tissue-targeted metabonomic method using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was developed to characterize the metabolic profile of DOX-induced cardiomyopathy in mice. With Elastic Net for classification and selection of biomarkers, twenty-four metabolites corresponding to DOX-induced cardiomyopathy were screened out, primarily involving glycolysis, lipid metabolism, citrate cycle, and some amino acids metabolism. With these altered metabolic pathways as possible drug targets, we systematically analyzed the protective effect of TCM SND, which showed that SND administration could provide satisfactory effect on DOX-induced cardiomyopathy through partially regulating the perturbed metabolic pathways. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The results of the present study not only gave rise to a systematic view of the development of DOX-induced cardiomyopathy but also provided the theoretical basis to prevent or modify expected damage.

The effects of conditioning in situ bioaugmentation with S0/Fe2+ on sludge dewaterability as well as its mechanism were investigated in this study. The capillary suction time (CST), solid content (SC) of the dewatered sludge cake were applied to evaluate the dewatering performance of sludge. The results revealed that biological conditioning with S0/Fe2+ effectively improved sludge dewatera- bility due to the decrease of pH. High CST reduction (50.9%) and SC increase (62.4%) were obtained at the optimal ratio of S0/Fe2+ 3: 7 resulted in the reduction of pH (to 2.74) after 6 days' treatment. High throughput sequencing indicated that Aci- docella, Nitrospira, Alicyclobacillus, and Rhodanobacter are the predominant bacteria genera in the treatment groups which played a critical part in the biological conditioning process. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes was used to predict the metabolic pathways for 16S rRNA marker gene sequences, and carbohydrate, amino acid and energy metabolism were important in the biological conditioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on a study regarding methane (CH4) mitigation potentials from China landfills and related environmental co-benefits. It mentions information on estimations made by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, regarding landfills. It states that human health and quality-of-life co-benefits are evaluated by computing malodorous emissions reductions.

Landfill is the dominant disposal choice for the non-classified waste, which results in the stockpile of materials after a long term stabilization process. A novel landfill, namely renewable landfill (RL), is developed and applied as a strategy to recycle the residual materials and reuse the land occupation, aim to reduce the inherent problems of large land occupied, materials wasted and long-term pollutants released in the conventional landfill. The principle means of RL is to accelerate the waste biodegradation process in the initial period, recover the various material resources disposal and extend the landfill volume for waste re-landfilling after waste stabilized. The residual material available and risk assessment, the methodology of landfill excavation, the potential utilization routes for different materials, and the reclamation options for the unsanitary landfill are proposed, and the integrated beneficial impacts are identified finally from the economic, social and environmental perspectives. RL could be draw as the future reservoirs for resource extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the largest human activities, World Expo is an important source of anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas emission (GHG), and the GHG emission and other environmental impacts of the Expo Shanghai 2010, where around 59,397 tons of waste was generated during 184 Expo running days, were assessed by life cycle assessment (LCA). Two scenarios, i.e., the actual and expected figures of the waste sector, were assessed and compared, and 124.01 kg CO2-equivalent (CO2-eq.), 4.43 kg SO2-eq., 4.88 kg NO3−-eq., and 3509 m³ water per ton tourist waste were found to be released in terms of global warming (GW), acidification (AC), nutrient enrichment (NE) and spoiled groundwater resources (SGWR), respectively. The total GHG emission was around 3499 ton CO2-eq. from the waste sector in Expo Park, among which 86.47% was generated during the waste landfilling at the rate of 107.24 kg CO2-eq., and CH4, CO and other hydrocarbons (HC) were the main contributors. If the waste sorting process had been implemented according to the plan scenario, around 497 ton CO2-eq. savings could have been attained. Unlike municipal solid waste, with more organic matter content, an incineration plant is more suitable for tourist waste disposal due to its high heating value, from the GHG reduction perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-scale incinerators are applied widely as a result of the heavy burden of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated, while strong opposition is arising from the public living nearby. A large-scale working incineration plant of 1500 ton/day was chosen for evaluation using life cycle assessment. It was found that the corresponding human toxicity impacts via soil (HTs), human toxicity impacts via water (HTw) and human toxicity impacts via air (HTa) categories are 0.213, 2.171, and 0.012 personal equivalents (PE), and global warming (GW100) and nutrient enrichment (NE) impacts are 0.002 and 0.001 PE per ton of waste burned for this plant. Heavy metals in flue gas, such as Hg and Pb, are the two dominant contributors to the toxicity impact categories, and energy recovery could reduce the GW100 and NE greatly. The corresponding HTs, HTw and HTa decrease to 0.087, 0.911 and 0.008 PE, and GW100 turns into savings of − 0.007 PE due to the increase of the heating value from 3935 to 5811 kJ/kg, if a trommel screener of 40 mm mesh size is used to pre-separate MSW. MSW sorting and the reduction of water content by physical pressure might be two promising pre-treatment methods to improve the combustion performance, and the application of stricter standards for leachate discharge and the flue gas purification process are two critical factors for improvement of the environmental profile identified in this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the desulfurization efficiency, an ionic liquid (IL) was used as the solvent for the desulfurization of diesel fuel with nickel boride. The nickel boride prepared in IL-H2O showed high specific surface area. The desulfurization efficiency of model organosulfur compounds in this work was higher than that in the previous studies. The desulfurization reactivity of model organosulfur compounds followed the order of BT (DBT) > 3-MBT > 4,6-DMDBT. Furthermore, the products of model organosulfur compounds after desulfurization were analyzed by GC/MS and their corresponding reaction routes were proposed. The effectiveness of nickel salts followed the order of NiCl2 (Ni(OAc)2) > NiSO4 > Ni(NO3)2. The desulfurization efficiency of model diesel fuels reached 90.6% under the conditions of B/S molar ratio = 9, Ni(OAc)2/S molar ratio = 3, oil/IL volume ratio = 3, water content in IL = 5%, and reaction time = 50 min. ILs maintained their original structures after regeneration. Finally, the desulfurization of real diesel fuel was carried out and a desulfurization efficiency of 88.6% was obtained in 50 min. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metal recovery is a promising way to reduce the pollution from electroplating wastewater (EPW), and magnetite photocatalysts of mixed-ferrite (M-Fe3O4)@SiO2/metal oxides have been prepared to reuse heavy metals from simulated-EPW (S-EPW) and real-EPW (R-EPW). In this work, four pure magnetite photocatalysts M-Fe3O4)@SiO2/ZnO, M-Fe3O4)@SiO2/CuO, M-Fe3O4)@SiO2/Fe2O3, and M-Fe3O4)@SiO2/NiO were synthesized via a simple precipitation reaction, where the M-Fe3O4)@SiO2 core- shell nanoparticles served as the magnetic cores and supports for the metal oxides. The structures, morphologies, and magnetic properties of these magnetite photocatalysts were characterized, and then the photocatalytic performances of the pure and complex magnetite photocatalysts (M-Fe3O4)@SiO2 supported single and mixed-metal oxides) were tested and compared using methyl orange (MO) degradation experiments. It was found that M-Fe3O4)@SiO2/ZnO had the best photocatalytic performance of the pure magnetite photocatalysts, with a MO removal rate of 91.5%, followed by 37.4% for M-Fe3O4)@SiO2/NiO, 19.0% for M-Fe3O4)@SiO2/Fe2O3, and 17.6% for M-Fe3O4)@SiO2/CuO. The removal rates were 17.4% and 13.2% for the complex magnetite photocatalysts prepared from S-EPW and R-EPW, respectively. More than 98% of the heavy metals can be recovered from EPW through the simultaneous synthesis of the magnetite photocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In order to reduce the leachate strength from landfill at source, a novel landfill, functional layer embedded landfill, was developed through the introduction of the functional layers, and a comparative study was conducted between the functional layer embedded landfill (FLEL, R1) and the conventional landfill (CL, R2). It was found that the pollutant in leachate effluent from R1 was 20–50%, 14–43% and 33–75% of that from R2, in terms of COD, TN and NH3-N. The cumulative movement of waste settlement was about 16.4 and 13.1cm in R1 and R2 under the test period of 1years, resulting in 13.7% and 10.9% of the original landfill height. Therefore, FLEL could save the land area and the cost of the leachate treatment process due to the reduction of leachate strength, and more waste could be disposed in landfill through the acceleration of the MSW degradation process, comparing to the CL. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: To elucidate the influence of landfill gas (LFG) emission on environmental factors, an ecological investigation that was primarily concerned with the characteristics of vegetation, cover soil, and solid waste in the landfill was carried out. Temporal and spatial variations in vegetation diversity and coverage and their effects on reducing the emission of methane in the landfill were investigated. The results showed that both vegetation coverage and diversity increased with elapsed landfill closure time. The transition trend of the vegetation species was from perennial plant (Phragmites australis) to annual plants. Perennial vegetation was the dominant type of vegetation during the early closure period, and annual vegetation coverage increased with closure time. Vegetation preferentially appeared in areas of comparatively high depth of cover soil, which was characterized by high moisture retentiveness that enabled vegetation growth. The concentrations of methane and carbon dioxide in the cover soil significantly decreased with increasing closure time. The concentrations of methane and carbon dioxide from bare cover soil were higher than those from vegetated cover soil whereas the CO2 flux of bare cover soil was less than that of vegetated cover soil. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Landfill stabilization was investigated with nutrient change in aged refuse excavated from 3- to 15-year-old capped cell compartments at Shanghai Laogang Refuse Landfill, China. Field samples were characterized by total nitrogen (TN), available nitrogen (AN), total phosphate (TP), available phosphate (AP), total potassium (TK), available potassium (AK), total organic matter (TOC), and heavy metals (HM). Concentrations of TN, TP, TK, and organic matter contents in aged refuse ranged between 2.30 and 5.50, 2.13 and 7.43, 23.07 and 38.75 mg·g−1, and 6.32 and 11.57%, respectively, and these values apparently declined with disposal time. Physical properties of the composition in aged refuse indicated that the percentage of larger fractions, that is, stone/tile, fiber/fabric/paper, and wood/bamboo/bone, decreased slightly over time, whereas the proportions of finer fractions ( Y) (≤40 mm) increased as refuse age increased, following a logarithmic equation: Y = 33.345*Ln ( t, years) − 20.406 ( R2 = 0.9738). It was predicted that aged refuse in landfill would be stabilized after 8–10 years in the humid and warm southern areas of China, and it would be useful for the landfill operators to assess the safety of landfills and landfill reclamation plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) composition in landfill leachate would vary as the disposal time extended. Leachates with different ages were collected from Laogang Refuse Landfill of Shanghai, the largest landfill in China with a placement scale of 7600 t refuse per day. To characterize COD composition in leachate, samples were size-fractioned into suspended fractions (>0.45 μm), colloid fraction (0.45 μm

Fresh leachate and effluents samples were collected from the holding tank, anaerobic, anoxic, and aerobic lagoons at Shanghai Laogang Refuse Landfill, the largest landfill in China with a placement scale of 9000t refuse per day. To characterize the difference in leachate along the treatment processes, especially the information about size distribution of colloids in those leachate, the organic matters were size-fractioned into suspended particles (SP, >1.2μm), coarse colloids (CC, 1.2–0.45μm), fine colloids (FC, 0.45μm to 1kDa MW, 1Da=1/16 O atomic mass unit), and dissolved organic matters (DM, <1kDa MW) using micro-filtration and ultra-filtration membranes in order. The parameters, such as COD (chemical oxygen demand), TOC (total organic carbon), TS (total solid), pH, TP (total phosphate), TN (total nitrogen), FS (fixed solid), NH4 +, IC (inorganic carbon), TC (total carbon), color, turbidity and conductivity in the filtrates resulting from sequential filtration of leachate, were then determined, and quantitative relationships between these parameters and the membrane molecular sizes used were established. Typically, the total removal of COD, NH4 +, conductivity and P were found to be 75%, 75%, 42% and 85%, respectively, after the biological treatment processes used at Laogang Refuse Landfill. Dissolved fractions were predominant in fresh leachate and in effluents from treatment processes in terms of TOC with a content of over 47%. The molecular weight (MW) percentage distribution in leachate varied as the leachate was treated in the biological treatment stages. The percentages of TOC of fine colloid fractions increased from 6% to 38% while those of dissolved fractions decreased from 78% to 47%. TN in leachate also predominated in the dissolved fraction, occupying over 58%, while those TP in leachate were combined with the SS and CC fractions. The ratios of ortho-phosphate/TP and NH4 +/TN in leachate and effluents were over 50% and 80%, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

An inhalation health risks assessment of 96 waste to energy (WtE) plants and 178 landfills in the Bohai Rim, located in northeast China, has been conducted. Based on the latest emission inventories in 2020, WRF/CALPUFF was used to simulate the diffusion of pollutants. Population-weighted hazard index (HI) and carcinogenic risk (CR) of incineration and landfill for each pollutant and each target organ impacted were calculated. The health risks of incineration and landfill were correlated with per capita municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal quantity, emission factors, pollutant toxic effects and local migration and diffusion conditions. The HI of incineration and landfill in the Bohai Rim were 4.07 × 10−3 and 4.79 × 10−3, respectively, which was lower than the acceptable level (HI < 1), while the CR of incineration and landfill were 4.72 × 10−7 and 2.58 × 10−7, respectively, which was also lower than the acceptable level (CR < 1 × 10−6). The non-carcinogenic risks of incineration mainly targeted respiratory system and development system, while the non-carcinogenic risks of landfill mainly targeted nervous system and respiratory system. The carcinogenic risks of incineration mainly targeted respiratory system and digestive system, while the carcinogenic risks of landfill mainly targeted hepatic system and respiratory system. With the trend that incineration phase in, while landfill phase out, the number of patients for 15 target organ diseases caused by the disposal of unit mass MSW would decrease in the Bohai Rim, ranging from 1.8 × 10−8 – 1.8 × 10−2 (pop/t)，especially in developed provinces, such as Beijing and Tianjin. However, the number of patients for 4 target organ diseases caused by the disposal of unit mass MSW would increase, ranging from 1.18 × 10−6 - 5.28 × 10−3 (pop/t). Based on pollutants' pathogenic mechanisms, this study innovatively accessed and compared incineration and landfill's health risks of target organs, and provide technical and policy suggestions based on the changing trend of MSW disposal methods in the future. [Display omitted] • Inhalation health risk assessment of WtE plants and landfills in the Bohai Rim. • Quantification of risks from WtE plants and landfills, on impacted target organs. • HI of incineration and landfill were 4.07 × 10−3 and 4.79 × 10−3 in the Bohai Rim. • CR of incineration and landfill were 4.72 × 10−7 and 2.58 × 10−7 in the Bohai Rim. • Landfill phase-out will reduce 15 organ diseases caused by unit mass MSW's disposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel double-tube dielectric barrier discharge (DDBD) reactor was established by us to degrade styrene. The DDBD reactor contains two discharge zones with one power supply, the outer tube zone with low discharge energy and the inner tube zone with high discharge energy. The gas first flows into the outer tube zone and then flows into the inner tube zone, at last flows out from the inner tube zone. Compared with traditional single-tube dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) reactor, the DDBD reactor shows the following advantages: (a) the energy utilization efficiency can be improved because the low bond energy groups in styrene can be destroyed first in outer discharge zone by weak discharge energy and the high bond energy groups such as aromatic rings can then be concentrated destroyed in inner discharge zone by high discharge energy; (b) the high mineralization efficiency results in no oil-like byproducts aggregated on the surface of reactor surface; (c) the double dielectric layers are protected from penetration. The diameters of outer and inner tubes were optimized and the DDBD reactor with 25 mm outer tube and 6 mm inner tube exhibited the best styrene mineralization efficiency. Compared with SDBD reactor with the same outer tube diameter, the selectivities of CO and CO2 were improved by 40% with the styrene concentration of 2000 mg m-3 at the applied voltage of 11 kV. Meanwhile there was no any oil-like byproducts observed aggregated on outer tube wall, inner tube outlet and the electrode after 6 h treatment. The applied voltage, oxygen content, discharge length and relative humidity were optimized in this research and the byproducts of O3 and NOx were also detected and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological pretreatment efficiently remove organic matter from landfill leachate, but further removal of refractory hydrophobic organic chemicals (HOCs) is hard even with advanced treatment. In this work, three-stage-aged refuse bioreactor (ARB) efficiently removed chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of fresh leachate produced in Shanghai laogang landfill, from 8603 to 451mgL−1 and 1368 to 30mgL−1, respectively. In downstream treatment, 3gL−1 powder-activated carbon (PAC), granular-activated carbon (GAC) and biomimetic fat cell (BFC) removed 89.2, 73.4 and 81.1% HOCs, but only 24.6, 19.1 and 8.9% COD, respectively. Through the specific HOCs accumulation characteristics of BFC, about 11.2% HOCs with low molecular weight (<1000Da) in the biologically treated leachate were concluded. Since HOCs are competitively trapped by dissolved organic matters (DOM), the ultimate removal of HOCs from leachate is unreachable by activated carbon or BFC. It was also found that the biologically treated leachate effluent exhibited a wide molecular weight distribution (34–514,646Da). These constitutes are derived from both autochthonous and allochthonous matters as well as biological activities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]