Search

A novel and environmentally friendly magnetic iron zeolite (MIZ) core–shell were successfully fabricated using municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash-derived zeolite (MWZ) coated with Fe3O4 and innovatively investigated as a heterogeneous persulfate (PS) catalyst. The morphology and structure composition of as-prepared catalysts were characterised, and it was proved that the core–shell structure of MIZ was successfully synthesised by coating Fe3O4 uniformly on the MWZ surface. The tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) degradation experiment indicate that the optimum equimolar amount of iron precursors was 3 mmol (MIZ-3). Compared with other systems, MIZ-3 possessed a superior catalytic performance, and the degradation efficiency of TCH (50 mg·L−1) in the MIZ-3/PS system reached 87.3%. The effects of reaction parameters on the catalytic activity of MIZ-3, including pH, initial concentration of TCH, temperature, the dosage of catalyst, and Na2S2O8, were assessed. The catalyst had high stability according to three recycling experiments and the leaching test of iron ions. Furthermore, the working mechanism of the MIZ-3/PS system to TCH was discussed. The electron spin resonance (ESR) results demonstrated that the reactive radicals generated in the MIZ-3/PS system were sulphate radical (${\rm S}{\rm O}_4^- \bullet$ S O 4 − ∙) and hydroxyl radical (•OH). This work provided a novel strategy for TCH degradation under PS with a broad perspective on the fabrication of non-toxic and low-cost catalysts in practical wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) based on ozone are gaining continuously growing popularity in wastewater treatment. This study explored the treatment of coking wastewater using a combination of ozonation (O3), ultraviolet (UV), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) process expressed by % chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal, % total organic carbon (TOC), % UV254, % fluorescence intensity removal and its electrical energy consumption. The obtained results demonstrated that, the combination of O3, UV, and H2O2 which is denoted by O3/UV/H2O2 in this study achieved great success in COD removal (92.08%), TOC removal (78.25%), and reduction of fluorescence intensity (99.82%). Compared with the O3 and O3/UV processes, O3/UV/H2O2 improved the COD removal by approximately 54–69% and 38–51%, respectively. In addition, the energy consumption was reduced by 53–67%. The TOC removal rate in the effluent ranged 71% and 83%, while the UV254 removal rate was up to 90%. The fluorescence spectroscopy showed that the O3/UV/H2O2 combination process reduced the fluorescence intensity by almost 97% within 10 min. Furthermore, the total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) concentration in the effluent was less than 10μg/L (removal efficiency > 80%) and the most toxic benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) was less than 0.03 μg/L (0.018μg/L). In addition, the energy consumption of the O3/UV/H2O2 process was 53–67% lower than those of O3 and O3/UV processes. Furthermore, the energy consumption was 80.26 kWh m−3 after 60 min of reaction time when the COD (69.3 mg/L) met the standard discharge. Finally, the O3/UV/H2O2 process could be an effective method for improving the mineralisation of refractory organic matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite extensive studies on the interaction between dark septate endophytes (DSE) and host plants, little is known about the effects of mixed inoculation of DSE and ericoid mycorrhizal fungi (ERMF) on plants. We assessed the effects of mixed inoculation of five species of ERMF and five species of DSE on soil factors and growth and physiological functions of blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L. 'O'Neal') seedlings. The strains were isolated from blueberries in several regions of Guizhou Province. The fungi suspension root irrigation method was used to inoculate the seedlings. Six inoculation treatments, i.e. D (Cladosporium cladosporioides), N (Oidiodendron citrinum), D1N1 (D : N, 1:1), D1N2 (D : N, 1:2), D2N1 (D : N, 2:1) and CK (not inoculated) were conducted. Samples were collected two months after inoculation. The mixed inoculation of DSE and ERMF significantly promoted the height, stem diameter, shoot dry weight, total biomass, root activity and total chlorophyll content of the blueberry seedlings and enhanced their absorption capacity to mineral nutrients. The mixed inoculation also improved the activities of soil enzymes such as urease and acid phosphatase. The effect of mixed inoculation was better than that of single inoculation or CK. Combining the analysis results of the membership function, we concluded that D1N2 and D2N1 most significantly promoted the growth of blueberry seedlings. These data provide a basis for the potential application of DSE and ERMF mixed inoculation for promoting the growth of seedlings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employing ultraviolet light to enhance the removal of As(V) by sulfide (S(-II)) from strongly acidic wastewater is a potential method. However, we found the arsenic trisulfide (As2S3) and elemental sulfur (S8) particles formed in this method not only vastly hinder light transmission in the wastewater but also undergo light-induced redissolution, leading to a decrease in removal rate and efficiency of As(V). Herein, As(V) removal by sulfide from strongly acidic wastewater was performed in a modified photochemical reactor to weaken the effect of the formed particles on As(V) removal. It was found that in this study, the formed particles could be efficiently removed from the photoreactor by three operations, i.e. circulation-filtration, septum setting, and lamp sleeve cleaning. The removal of As(V) was approximately 11-fold faster than that without three operations, saving 90.9% of the reaction time and 89.4% of energy consumption. The removal efficiency of As(V) also increased through weakening the light-induced redissolution of the formed particles. This study facilitates the practical application of the UV light promoted As(V) removal technology and also provides a new method to lessen the light-blocking effect in the particle-forming photochemical reaction systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, air pollution has attracted a substantial amount of attention in China, which can be influenced by a variety of factors, but the association between air pollution and human activity is not quite clear. Based on real-time online data (January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2014) of air pollution and meteorology reported by official sites, and demographic, economic, and environmental reform data in a statistical yearbook, the influences of meteorological factors (temperature, relative humidity, precipitation intensity, and wind force) and human activities on PM2.5pollution were explored. After correlation analysis, logistic regression analysis, and a nonparametric test, weak negative correlations between temperature and PM2.5pollution were found. In most cases, festival and morning peak hours were protection and risk factors of PM2.5pollution, respectively. In addition, government actions, such as an afforestation project and increasing financial expenditure for energy saving and environmental protection, could greatly contribute to alleviating pollution of PM2.5. The findings could help officials formulate effective laws and regulations, and then PM2.5pollution related to the pattern of human activity would be ameliorated. Implications: Most of the time, festival and morning peak hours are protection and risk factors for PM2.5pollution, respectively. Increasing the percentage of afforestation area and financial expenditure for energy saving and environmental protection could significantly reduce PM2.5pollution. The findings can help officials formulate effective laws and regulations, and then PM2.5pollution related to the pattern of human activity, especially government action, will be ameliorated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A liquid fermentation process to bioconvert shrimp by-products was developed with two species of fungi,Boletus edulisandSuillus bovinus. Angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory, antioxidant activities of bioconverted products and the deodorization effect of fungal bioconversion were determined. Two species of fungi could grow quickly in shrimp by-products medium and deodorize shrimp by-products. Bioconverted products had higher ACE inhibitory and antioxidant activities than control medium. Water extracts without crude polysaccharides from mycelia ofB. edulishad the highest ACE inhibitory activity (IC50= 0.084 ± 0.011 mg/mL). Crude exopolysaccharides ofB. edulishad higher antioxidant activity. Bioconversion with the fungus was proven to be a novel, practicable way to recycle shrimp by-products. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In a seawater environment, the particle size of sediment and salinity play an important role in the adsorption behaviors of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on sediment. In this study, batch adsorption experiments were carried out with the sediments from the Yellow River Delta (YRD) to explore the effect of particle size and salinity on the adsorption behaviors of phenanthrene (Phe), fluoranthene (Fla), and pyrene (Pyr). Adsorption isotherms of PAHs on different-sized sediments can be described by a Freundlich model with the correlation coefficients ranging from 0.96 to 0.99. The adsorption capacity of PAHs was in reverse proportion to the particle size of the sediments and in direct proportion to salinity. The sediments with smaller particle size possessed higher content of aromatic and fat components, which had strong adsorption capacity toward PAHs. Salinity influenced the adsorption behaviors of PAHs by changing the solubility of PAHs and the physicochemical properties of the sediments. The salting-out constants of Phe, Fla, and Pyr were in the range of 0.292 to 0.296, 0.230 to 0.289, and 0.293 to 0.307 l/mol, respectively. These research findings are of importance to an assessment of the fate and transport of PAHs in seawater-sediment systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies on temperature and infectious diseases primarily focused on individual disease types, yielding inconsistent conclusions. This study collected monthly data on notifiable infectious disease cases and meteorological variables across 7 provinces in China from 2011 to 2019. A distributed lag nonlinear model was used to evaluate the association between ambient temperature and infectious diseases within each province, and random meta-analysis was applied to evaluate the pooled effect. Extreme hot temperature (the 97.5th percentile) was positively associated with the risk of respiratory infectious diseases with the relative risk (RR) of 1.45 (95%CI: 1.01–2.08). Conversely, extreme cold temperature (the 2.5th percentile) was negatively associated with intestinal infectious diseases and zoonotic diseases and vector-borne diseases, reporting RRs of 0.43 (95%CI: 0.30–0.60) and 0.46 (95%CI: 0.38–0.57), respectively. This study described the nonlinear association between ambient temperature and infectious diseases with different transmission routes, informing comprehensive prevention and control strategies for temperature-related infectious diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]