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We had previously developed an improved Ames module to directly determine the mutagenicity of gaseous formaldehyde (HCHO) and toluene without liquid extraction. This study further evaluated the suitability and sensitivity of this module on whole and real polluted air samples. For this, two common brands of stick incense (A and B) and cigarettes (A and B) were harvested, and various types of incense smoke (IS) and sidestream cigarette smoke (SCS) samples were generated by lighting 3, 6, 12, 24, 30, or 36 incense sticks, and by lighting 1, 2, or 3 cigarettes, respectively, in an acrylic box. CO

Lactoferrin (LF) is secreted by mammals and displays extensive biological effects. We previously reported that bovine LF (BLF) can boost the cold tolerance of a well-applied probiotic strain, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG), to grow robustly under a cold environment, but the molecular mechanism is not clear. Here, RNA-seq analysis was conducted to ascertain molecular pathways underlying cold tolerance exerted by BLF. LGG was cultured in a cold environment (22 °C) in the presence or absence of BLF. Transcriptome analysis indicated that BLF significantly elicited 1.2-3.2 fold (log2 Fold change) higher expression levels of genes related to stress, defense, cell division, and transporter in LGG, including the genes CspA, LytR, XRE, MerR, and GpsB. The KEGG pathway and GO analyses confirmed that BLF can modulate a few central pathways to boost the growth of LGG. BLF also reduced metabolic pathways involved in purine, amino acid, pyrimidine, one-carbon metabolism, and secondary metabolites in LGG. We speculate that the reduction of the above pathways may play key roles to reduce energy requirement and maintain carbon metabolism balance in LGG for surviving and growing in a cold state, and BLF can be an excellent prebiotic to LGG cultured in this cold condition (22 °C). Overall, this study uncovers the molecular effects of BLF on LGG.

Traditionally, direct-reading instruments have been used to directly determine the concentrations of indoor air pollutants that may exceed the regulation limits. However, these instruments cannot directly assess the potential health hazards of these pollutants to humans. In this study, we developed and improved a bacterial reverse mutation assay (Ames test) by using a direct gas exposure module to directly determine the mutagenicity of indoor air quality using five tester bacterial strains (TA98, TA100, TA102, TA1535, and TA1537). Thereafter, the module was used to evaluate the effects of exposure time, different concentrations of HCHO or toluene, and mutagenic activities. We found that TA100 was the most sensitive strain and was reverted by relatively lower concentrations of 0.035 ppm HCHO. Furthermore, 50 ppm of toluene exposures caused a significant increase in the number of revertant colonies of TA100 without S9 activation at the 1.5-8-h exposure time intervals. Our findings provide new evidence that gaseous HCHO exposure could display weak but direct, time-dependent, and dose-dependent mutagenic activities. The weak, direct-acting, indirect-acting, and time-dependent mutagen of 50 ppm toluene was also confirmed. Moreover, our improved Ames module and the exposure conditions provided in this study can be further applied to evaluate the mutagenicity of indoor air quality.

Lactoferrin (LF) is a multifunctional protein found in mammals, and it shows broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. To improve the functional properties of specific probiotics in order to provide both the beneficial characteristics of lactic acid bacteria and the biological activity of LF, cDNAs of bovine LF (BLF), human LF (HLF), or porcine LF (PLF) were cloned into a nisin-inducible plasmid. These were then transformed into the selected eight probiotics, which are LF-resistant hosts. Expression of recombinant LFs (rLFs) was analyzed via SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis. Although the selected host strains may not contain the nisRK genes (NisK, the sensor kinase, NisR, the regulator protein), the components of autoregulation, a low level of LFs expression can be successfully induced by using nisin within bacterial cells in a time-dependent manner in three engineered clones, including Lactobacillus delbrueckii/HLF, L. delbrueckii/BLF, and L. gasseri/BLF. Lactobacillus delbrueckii and Lactobacillus gasseri originate from yogurt and human milk, respectively, and both strains are functional probiotic strains. Therefore, we further compared the antibacterial activities of disrupted recombinant probiotic clones, conventional strains (host control), and vector control ones by using agar diffusion and broth inhibition analysis, and the expression of rLFs in the above three clones considerately improved their antibacterial efficacies against four important food-borne pathogens, namely, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, and Salmonellaenterica. In conclusion, this study provides a simple strategy for the production of functional LFs (BLF and HLF) in both functional and LF-resistant hosts for applications in the field.

Sampling and analysis of filterable particulate matter (FPM), FPM2.5, condensable particulate matter (CPM), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), sulfur oxides (SOx), and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emitted from a coal-fired boiler equipped with selective catalytic reduction (SCR)+ electrostatic precipitator (ESP) + wet flue gas desulfurization (WFGD) + wet electrostatic precipitator (WESP) as air pollution control devices (APCDs) are conducted. The results show that NOx concentration emitted from the coal-fired boiler is 56 �� 2.17 ppm (with the NOx removal efficiency of 47.2%), which does not meet the best available control technology (BACT) emission standard (��� 30 ppm). On the other hand, the WFGD adopted has a good removal efficiency for SOx and HCl. Both SOx and HCl emission concentrations are 99%. The FPM and FPM2.5 emitted from the coal-fired boiler are 0.9 �� 0.06 mg/Nm3 and 3, respectively. The overall removal efficiency of FPM achieved with ESP+WFGD+WESP+MGGH is 99.98%. However, high concentration of CPM (37.4 �� 6.3 mg/Nm3) is measured, which is significantly higher than FPM and FPM2.5. The concentrations of 27 PAHs at the WESP inlet and stack are measured as 667 ng/Nm3 and 547 ng/Nm3, respectively while the removal efficiencies of gas- and solid-phase PAHs are 9% and 58%, respectively. The results show that APCDs adopted are not effective in removing PAHs (only 18%), and gas-phase PAHs contribute the most in the total PAH emission. In addition, the benzo(a)pyrene equivalent (BaPeq) concentration emitted from the stack is 28.8 ng-BaPeq/Nm3, and most of it is contributed by 4���6 ring PAHs with high toxic equivalent factors (TEFs). Furthermore, the emission factors of air pollutant emitted from coal-fired boilers equipped with different combinations of APCDs are compiled and compared. The results show that except for CPM and NOx, the emission factors of air pollutant calculated for this coal-fired boiler are lower if compared with other studies. Implications: Primary particles discharged from coal-fired processes include filterable particulate matter (FPM) and condensable particulate matter (CPM). PM2.5 emissions would be greatly underestimated if CPM is ignored. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) formed by two or more fused benzene rings. PAHs have attracted much public attention because of toxicity and carcinogenicity. This study selects one coal-fired boiler with the best available control technology (BACT) to simultaneously measure the concentrations of PM, PAHs, and gaseous pollutants at the inlet and outlet of air pollution control devices (APCDs) to understand the efficacy of APCDs adopted and pollutant emission intensity.

Biomass burning episodes are critical particulate matter (PM) issues in Taiwan. The occurrence patterns of biomass burning events through long-term PM monitoring are worth further exploration. This study monitored PM10, PM2.5, and black carbon (BC) over one year in central Taiwan. The source apportionment of BC was examined using light absorption techniques and divided into fossil fuel combustion (BCf) and biomass burning (BCb). The monitoring results showed that the annual average PM10, PM2.5, and BC mass concentrations were 45.4 μg/m3, 19.8 μg/m3, and 0.79 μg/m3, respectively, while the annual average ratio of BC/PM2.5 was 0.044. Furthermore, BCf was remarkably higher than BCb, accounting for 89% of the total BC mass. However, it was noticed that biomass burning smoke impacted the air quality by enhancing PM10, PM2.5, and BCb over monitoring location. There were 14.4% of hourly PM10 events (≥125 μg/m3) and 10.0% of hourly PM2.5 events (≥35 μg/m3) resulting from biomass burning episodes at this monitoring site in one-year observation. The hourly average PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations during these biomass burning episodes were 2.1 and 2.3 times higher than the annual average PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations. During severe biomass burning episodes, high levels of human carcinogens, such as 1, 3-butadiene, benzene, and isoprene were also observed. The results demonstrate that air quality is severely degraded during biomass burning episodes. Therefore, further research is required to understand the effects of biomass burning events on the residents' acute and chronic health conditions.

Coffee is a popular beverage worldwide, but coffee beans can be contaminated with carcinogens. The Ames Salmonella mutagenicity test is often used for analysis of carcinogens for mutagenicity. However, previous studies have provided controversial data about the direct mutagenicity of coffee beans based on Ames test results. This study was conducted to determine the mutagenicity of popular Americano coffee based on results from the Ames test. Coffee samples without additives that were served by five international coffee chain restaurants were subjected to the analysis using Salmonella Typhimurium tester strains TA98, TA100, and TA1535. The levels of bacterial revertants in samples from coffee chains were lower than the twofold criterion of the control sets, and no significant dose-response effect was observed with or without rat liver enzyme activation. These data indicate that Americano coffees from the selected coffee chains possessed no direct mutagenic activity with or without enzyme activation. These findings suggest a low mutagenic risk from Americano coffees served by the selected coffee chains and support the use of other methods to confirm the nonmutagenicity of coffee products. These results are consistent with most recent epidemiological reports.

Agglomeration that occurs during municipal sewage sludge (MSS) fluidized bed co-combustion might affect heavy metal distribution and the transformation of bottom ash. A study on the mobility and speciation of heavy metals that accompanies agglomeration behavior and phosphorus addition should be examined during MSS co-combustion. Meanwhile, the aim of this study was to evaluate the total content and speciation of heavy metals during the MSS fluidized bed co-combustion by the chemical sequential extraction procedure (SEP). The risk assessment code (RAC) and individual contamination factor (ICF) are calculated to evaluate the mobility of heavy metals and their environmental risks in agglomerates. Moreover, identification of agglomerates is established by both characterization (scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and thermodynamic simulation (HSC chemistry software). The experimental results indicated that P and Na would form the lower melting-point compounds such as NaPO3 and Na2O in the bottom ash, which promoted agglomeration during MSS fluidized bed co-combustion. According to the simulation, Na and P have a stronger affinity than Si and Cr, and this reaction is not only influenced by particle agglomeration, but also by heavy metal distribution during modified MSS co-combustion. Nevertheless, the results of ICFs and RACs obtained from the SEP indicated that for heavy metals trapped in agglomerates, a weaker binding such as physical covering by eutectics might be considered as the dominant reaction compared with chemical binding to form a metal complex.

Organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) play important roles in various atmospheric processes and health effects. Predicting carbonaceous aerosols and identifying source contributions are important steps for further epidemiological study and formulating effective emission control policies. However, we are not aware of any study that examined predictions of OC and EC, and this work is also the first study that attempted to use machine learning and hyperparameter optimization method to predict concentrations of specific aerosol contaminants. This paper describes an investigation of the characteristics and sources of OC and EC in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from 2005 to 2010 in the City of Taipei. Respective hourly average concentrations of OC and EC were 5.2 μg/m3 and 1.6 μg/m3. We observed obvious seasonal variation in OC but not in EC. Hourly and daily OC and EC concentrations were predicted using generalized additive model and grey wolf optimized multilayer perceptron model, which could explain up to about 80% of the total variation. Subsequent clustering suggests that traffic emission was the major contribution to OC, accounting for about 80% in the spring, 65% in the summer, and 90% in the fall and winter. In the Taipei area, local emissions were the dominant sources of OC and EC in all seasons, and long-range transport had a significant contribution to OC and in PM2.5 in spring.

Iron and steel industry is crucial for economic development. However, large exhaust volume and complex feeding of the steel-making process results in enormous emissions of air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM), sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) and carbon monoxide (CO). This study sampled and analyzed the concentrations of PM, PAHs, SOx, NOx and CO at the inlet and outlet of the air pollution control devices (APCDs) adopted in sintering process (SP) and electric arc furnaces (EAF), respectively, to evaluate the performance of APCDs and emission characteristics of these air pollutants. The results show that filterable PM (FPM) concentrations measured at stacks of SP and EAF are 8.2 ± 1.3 and 13.6 ± 2.2 mg Nm–3, respectively. The FPM2.5 concentrations emitted from SP and EAF are 1.8 ± 0.5 and 3.2 ± 1.1 mg Nm–3, respectively, while the condensable PM (CPM) concentrations emitted from SP and EAF are measured as 37.7 ± 1.3 and 3.4 ± 0.8 mg Nm–3, respectively. Moreover, the flue gas desulfurization (FGD) and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) equipped in SP removed 82% and 58% of SOx and NOx, respectively, whereas SOx and NOx emitted from EAF are relatively low (< 1 ppm). The overall PAH removal efficiencies achieved with the APCDs adopted by SP and EAF are 72% and 26%, respectively. For total toxicity equivalency quantity (TEQ) PAH concentrations, similar results for SP (5.45 µg-BaPeq Nm–3) and EAF (4.74 µg-BaPeq Nm–3) are obtained. Moreover, the diagnosis ratios of FL/CHR, FL/(BaA + CHR), Pyr/5-MC and Pyr/(BaA + CHR) are suggested as the indicators for EAF. The emission factors calculated indicate that operating conditions of the APCDs in the SP investigated are well controlled. The concentrations of air pollutants emitted from SP investigated are lower than other studies. On the other hand, the concentrations of FPM and PM2.5 emitted from EAF are higher than other studies. However, NOx, SOx and PAHs are well controlled. Moreover, the CO emission factors calculated from these two steel-making processes are higher than most reports. Overall, the operation of APCDs should be improved to reduce air pollutants emitted from these two steel-making processes.

Commercial adsorbents – zeolite, granular activated carbon (GAC), and activated carbon fiber (ACF) – were modified with various alkaline agents – NaOH, K 2 CO 3 , diethanolamine (DEA), 2-amino-2methyl-1-propanol (AMP), and monoethanolamine + AMP (MEA + AMP) – to improve CO 2 adsorption. The CO 2 adsorption capacities and heat of adsorption of various adsorbents were studied using thermogravimetry/differential scanning calorimetry (TG/DSC). The CO 2 adsorption capacity of the original adsorbents was in the order zeolite > ACF > AC. The CO 2 adsorption capacities of AC, ACF, and zeolite modified with NaOH and K 2 CO 3 were higher than capacities of those modified with the other compounds. The CO 2 adsorption capacity of zeolite–K 2 CO 3 was the highest. Zeolite modified with alkaline agents provided weak adsorption sites for CO 2 because of the decrease in the adsorption heat. Therefore, zeolite has a suitable pore volume and mesoporous structure for use as a support for loading inorganic alkaline agents for CO 2 capture.

With the acceleration of the process of economic globalization, cultural exchanges all over the world are becoming more and more frequent. English, as the universal language in the world, is an important medium for people to convey the information, communicate and share. English teaching has always been the focus of teaching work in higher vocational colleges, which has great significance in promoting the improvement of students’ English proficiency and realizing the comprehensive development of self comprehensive ability. In the twenty-first Century, English teaching was characterized by openness, inclusiveness and flexibility, in order to better adapt to the high level of English teaching in higher vocational colleges, which requires English teaching staff to improve and innovate their teaching models according to their own teaching practice. From the perspective of current situation of English teaching in Higher Vocational Colleges, this paper probes into the teaching model of English quality education in Higher Vocational colleges.

Incineration flue gas contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). The effects of SO2 concentration (0, 350, 750, and 1000 ppm), reaction temperature (160, 200, and 280 degrees C), and the type of activated carbon fibers (ACFs) on the removal of SO2 and PAHs by ACFs were examined in this study. A fluidized bed incinerator was used to simulate practical incineration flue gas. It was found that the presence of SO2 in the incineration flue gas could drastically decrease removal of PAHs because of competitive adsorption. The effect of rise in the reaction temperature from 160 to 280 degrees C on removal of PAHs was greater than that on SO2 removal at an SO2 concentration of 750 ppm. Among the three ACFs studied, ACF-B, with the highest microporous volume, highest O content, and the tightest structure, was the best adsorbent for removing SO2 and PAHs when these gases coexisted in the incineration flue gas. Implications: Simultaneous adsorption of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) emitted from incineration flue gas onto activated carbon fibers (ACFs) meant to devise a new technique showed that the presence of SO2 in the incineration flue gas leads to a drastic decrease in removal of PAHs because of competitive adsorption. Reaction temperature had a greater influence on PAHs removal than on SO2 removal. ACF-B, with the highest microporous volume, highest O content, and tightest structure among the three studied ACFs, was found to be the best adsorbent for removing SO2 and PAHs.

Understanding the characteristics of the size distribution of ambient black carbon (BC) in distinct environments is critical because the influence of BC aerosols on climate, visibility, and human health depends strongly on the distribution of BC aerosols over the particle size spectrum. In this study, a novel method for determining the mass size distribution of BC in atmospheric aerosols was developed. This size-segregation method relies on measuring BC in parallel using two aethalometers, one of which is used to measure the total BC (BCT) mass concentration as a reference level and the other is used to measure the BC (BCi) mass concentration for BC sizes below specific particle sizes that are selected using a size cut-off inlet. In this study, this method was applied to measure BC in atmospheric samples at an urban traffic site. The aethalometers were operated continually from December 15, 2012 to January 31, 2013, and from February 15, 2013 to March 31, 2013. The measurement results presented in this paper are for the diurnal variation patterns, average concentrations, mass fractions, and size distributions of BC aerosols. The results indicate that BCT mass concentration is approximately 2.8 m gm � 3 in the Taipei urban area. The levels of BC at this sampling site were affected markedly by traffic emission levels and local wind speed. At the sampling site, the average BC2.5/BCT ,B C1.0/BCT ,B C0.5/BCT ,B C0.25/BCT, and BC0.1/BCT were 0.96 � 0.04, 0.92 � 0.07, 0.89 � 0.04, 0.73 � 0.10, and 0.18 � 0.08, respectively. The results indicate that approximately 90% of the BC aerosols were smaller than 0.5 mm, that most of the BC aerosols (55%) were in the size range of 0.1e0.25 mm, and that approximately 18% of the BC aerosols were ultrafine. Moreover, the daily average mass size distribution of BC exhibited a single accumulation mode at 0.16 mm at this sampling site. The mode of the BC mass size distribution at rush hour (9 AM) was only 0.14 mm, which is smaller than the daily average. Moreover, the mode of the BC mass size distribution at an early morning hour (3 AM) was 0.18 mm, and a minor coarse mode was also observed during this period. The results further revealed that the geometric diameter (Dpg) of the BC aerosols varied between 0.14 and 0.22 mm and the geometric standard deviation (sg) of these BC aerosols ranged between 1.4 and 2.3 during the sampling period. Because BC exhibits extremely low chemical reactivity; the size distribution of BC in the atmosphere does not change substantially except through coagulation.

Incinerator bottom ash contains a large amount of silica and can hence be used as a silica source for the synthesis of mesoporous silica materials. In this study, the conditions for alkaline fusion to extract silica from incinerator bottom ash were investigated, and the resulting supernatant solution was used as the silica source for synthesizing mesoporous silica materials. The physical and chemical characteristics of the mesoporous silica materials were analyzed using BET, XRD, FTIR, SEM, and solid-state NMR. The results indicated that the BET surface area and pore size distribution of the synthesized silica materials were 992 m2/g and 2-3.8 nm, respectively. The XRD patterns showed that the synthesized materials exhibited a hexagonal pore structure with a smaller order. The NMR spectra of the synthesized materials exhibited three peaks, corresponding to Q(2) [Si(OSi)2(OH)2], Q(3) [Si(OSi)3(OH)], and Q(4) [Si(OSi)4]. The FTIR spectra confirmed the existence of a surface hydroxyl group and the occurrence of symmetric Si-O stretching. Thus, mesoporous silica was successfully synthesized from incinerator bottom ash. Finally, the effectiveness of the synthesized silica in removing heavy metals (Pb2+, Cu2+, Cd2+, and Cr2+) from aqueous solutions was also determined. The results showed that the silica materials synthesized from incinerator bottom ash have potential for use as an adsorbent for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions.

In this study, CaO and CaCO 3 were used as additives to investigate the inhibition of agglomeration/defluidization and adsorption of Pb and Cd. The results showed that defluidization time may be prolonged when CaO or CaCO 3 is added to the artificial waste. Before defluidization, Pb and Cd emissions were not intensified significantly in the existence of Na; however, after defluidization, the emission of Pb and Cd increased significantly. The heavy metal emission concentration was lower when CaO or CaCO 3 was added to the artificial waste than when only Na was added. CaCO 3 showed a stronger defluidization inhibition effect because of the longer defluidization time. For different parameters, the heavy metal emission concentration appeared to decrease with an increase in the operating temperature; however a change in the gas velocity did not affect the heavy metal emission. In addition, an increase in the bed material size considerably reduces the defluidization time. A small bed material size is more favored as the large specific surface area in this case allows for the adsorption of a greater amount of heavy metal and more efficient mixing with waste.

Few studies have investigated the use of activated carbon fibers (ACFs) impregnated with noble metals for the catalytic oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This study determined the removal efficiency of toluene as a function of time over ACF-supported metal catalysts. Two catalysts (Pt and Pd), five reaction temperatures (120, 150, 200, 250, and 300°C), and three oxygen contents (6%, 10%, and 21%) were investigated to determine the removal of toluene. To study the effects of the characteristics of the catalysts on toluene removal, the composition and morphology of the ACFs were analyzed using the BET, XPS, ICP, and FE-SEM. The results showed that the 0.42%Pd/ACFs showed greater activity for toluene removal than did 2.68%Pt/ACFs at a reaction temperature of 200°C and an oxygen content of 10%. The main removal mechanism of toluene over the 2.68%Pt/ACFs at reaction temperatures less than 200°C was adsorption. The long-term catalytic activity of the 2.68%Pt/ACFs for toluene removal at a reaction temperature of 250°C and an oxygen content of 10% could be obtained. Furthermore, toluene removal over the 2.68%Pt/ACFs at 200°C could be enhanced with increasing oxygen content.

Two incinerators in Taiwan have recently attempted to reuse the fly and bottom ash that they produce, but the mutagenicity of these types of ash has not yet been assessed. Therefore, we evaluated the mutagenicity of the ash with the Ames mutagenicity assay using the TA98, TA100, and TA1535 bacterial strains. We obtained three leachates from three leachants of varying pH values using the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure test recommended by the Taiwan Environmental Protection Agency (Taiwan EPA). We then performed the Ames assay on the harvested leachates. To evaluate the possible relationship between the presence of heavy metals and mutagenicity, the concentrations of five heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn) in the leachates were also determined. The concentrations of Cd and Cr in the most acidic leachate from the precipitator fly ash and the Cd concentration in the most acidic leachate from the boiler fly ash exceeded the recommended limits. Notably, none of the nine leachates extracted from the boiler, precipitator, or bottom ashes displayed mutagenic activity. This data partially affirms the safety of the fly and bottom ash produced by certain incinerators. Therefore, the biotoxicity of leachates from recycled ash should be routinely monitored before reusing the ash.

Bovine lactoferrin (bLf) is a natural iron-binding protein and it has been suggested to be a prebiotic agent, but this finding remains inconclusive. This study explores the prebiotic potential of bLf in 14 probiotics. Initially, bLf (1-32 mg/mL) treatment showed occasional and slight prebiotic activity in several probiotics only during the late experimental period (48, 78 h) at 37 °C. We subsequently supposed that bLf exerts stronger prebiotic effects when probiotic growth has been temperately retarded. Therefore, we incubated the probiotics at different temperatures, namely 37 °C, 28 °C, room temperature (approximately 22-24 °C), and 22 °C, to retard or inhibit their growth. As expected, bLf showed more favorable prebiotic activity in several probiotics when their growth was partially retarded at room temperature. Furthermore, at 22 °C, the growth of Bifidobacterium breve, Lactobacillus coryniformis, L. delbrueckii, L. acidophilus, B. angulatum, B. catenulatum, and L. paraplantarum were completely blocked. Notably, these probiotics started regrowing in the presence of bLf (1-32 mg/mL) in a significant and dose-dependent manner. Accordingly, bLf significantly increased the growth of Pediococcus pentosaceus, L. rhamnosus, and L. paracasei (BCRC 17483; a locally isolated strain) when their growth was retarded by incubation at 22 °C. In conclusion, bLf showed inconsistent prebiotic activity in the 14 probiotics at 37 °C, but revealed strong prebiotic activity in 10 probiotic strains at 22 °C. Therefore, this study enables determining additional roles of Lf in probiotic strains, which can facilitate developing novel combinational approaches by simultaneously using Lf and specific probiotics.

Many of the factors influencing the adsorption of volatile organic compounds by activated carbon fibers (ACFs) have been widely studied. However, most of them were investigated at low concentrations (500 ppm or less) and at low adsorption temperatures (lower than 100 °C). This study was to determine simultaneously the oxidation and adsorption of toluene onto activated carbon fibers (ACFs) at high concentration and high adsorption temperatures. We tested three ACFs, four inlet concentrations of toluene (700, 1,200, 1,600, and 2,000 ppm), and four adsorption temperatures (25, 50, 75, and 200 °C). The composition and morphology of the ACFs were also analyzed using BET, FTIR, EA, and FESEM. The results indicated that the best toluene adsorption capacity was for 569 mg/g ACFs at a toluene concentration of 1,200 ppm and at 25 °C. A combination of low O content and high mesopore volume was desirable for ACFs with a high toluene adsorption capacity at high toluene concentrations. Moreover, the breakthrough time decreased with increasing toluene concentration, and the adsorption capacity of toluene increased significantly when the inlet concentration of toluene increased to 1,200 ppm. The data also indicated that the breakthrough time and the adsorption capacity of toluene decreased with increasing adsorption temperature. The outlet concentration of toluene did not reach 1,200 ppm when adsorption was saturated at 200 °C, as the oxygen functional groups on the ACF surface had reacted with toluene to form other compounds.

Commuters spend considerable time, in some cases up to 1-2 h a day, traveling in metro trains. However, few studies have compared air quality between trains traveling above-ground and underground. This study measures the PM(subscript 10), PM(subscript 2.5), particle number (PN) and CO2 levels inside metro trains traveling in underground tunnels and on elevated tracks on a metro line in the Taipei metro system. The results demonstrated that PM(subscript 10), PM(subscript 2.5 ) and CO2 levels inside metro trains traveling in underground environments are approximately 20-50% higher than those in above-ground environments. However, PN levels inside metro trains traveling in underground environments are approximately 20% lower than those in above-ground ones. These measurement results reveal that levels of pollutant species inside the metro trains are significantly affected by traveling environmental conditions - in underground tunnels or on elevated tracks. Moreover, the levels of pollutant species inside the metro trains traveling on the same route are also different in different traveling directions. Fine PM inside the metro trains is transferred from the outside and significantly influenced by the surrounding conditions of the trains. Additionally, a high fraction of large coarse PM (＞ 10 μm) is observed inside the metro trains, possibly due to re-suspension by the movement of commuters. The measurement results show that, unlike PM, which is transferred from outside environments, CO2 inside metro trains is elevated internally by exhalation from commuters. Clearly, CO2 exhaled by commuters could accumulate inside metro trains and, compared to PM, is not as easily removed by the ventilation system when air circulation does not provide enough fresh air in the metro trains, particularly in trains traveling in underground environments.

The aim of this research was to use metal catalysts supported on activated carbon fibers (ACFs) to remove 16 species of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from incineration flue gas. We tested three different metal loadings (0.11 wt%, 0.29 wt%, and 0.34 wt%) and metals (Pt, Pd, and Cu), and two different pretreatment solutions (HNO3 and NaOH). The results demonstrated that the ACF-supported metal catalysts removed the PAHs through adsorption and catalysis. Among the three metals, Pt was most easily adsorbed on the ACFs and was the most active in oxidation of PAHs. The mesopore volumes and density of new functional groups increased significantly after the ACFs were pretreated with either solutions, and this increased the measured metal loading in HNO3–0.48% Pd/ACFs and NaOH–0.52% Pd/ACFs. These data confirm that improved PAH removal can be achieved with HNO3–0.48% Pd/ACFs and NaOH–0.52% Pd/ACFs.

The effects of different calcination temperatures (300, 400 and 500 °C) and copper loading (1, 3 and 5 wt.%) on the properties of the copper supported on activated carbon (AC) were investigated along with the catalytic activity of NO reduction. The results showed that the properties and copper species of Cu/AC catalysts were significantly affected by calcination temperature and copper loading. The NO reduction of the Cu/AC-300 catalysts with different copper loading follows the order 5Cu/AC-300 > 3Cu/AC-300 > 1Cu/AC-300. However, the NO reduction increased insignificantly when the loading of copper exceeds 3 wt.%. Choosing 3Cu/AC-300 as a catalyst in NO reduction is more economical than other catalysts. Moreover, the catalyst calcined at 300 °C showed the highest activity with 52.9% NO reduction in 6% O2 at 275 °C. The good dispersion of the copper particles and the species of CuO and Cu2O that existed in 3Cu/AC-300 catalysts were the determinant parameters for NO reduction. The optimum reaction conditions for NO reduction were identified as 6% O2 at 275 °C with 0.2 g of catalyst.

This study focused on the effects of agglomeration/defluidization on the Cd, Pb and Cr distribution in bottom ash particles of different sizes. In this study we have incinerated artificial waste, which was a mixture of sawdust, polypropylene, selected metal solutions, and polyethylene. The experimental parameters included Na concentration, addition of Ca and Mg and operating temperature. The results indicated that particle size decreased by attrition and thermal impact in the absence of added Na. When Na was added to the system, this metal reacted with silica sand to form eutectics, which increased particle size. Further addition of Ca and Mg was found to prolong the operating time, with greater amounts of liquid eutectic accumulating, leading to increase particle size. The heavy metal concentrations in coarse and fine particles were greater than those present in particles of intermediate sizes over a range of experimental conditions. As the particle size decreased below 0.59 mm or increased above 0.84 mm, the heavy metal concentrations increased. As Ca and Mg were added, the heavy metal concentrations in particles of all sizes increased relative to those present in identical particles when no metals or only Na were added. Additionally, the ratio of Cd sorption to silica sand decreased with increasing Na concentration, but Cr sorption had the opposite tendency. Therefore, while the addition of Na tended to increase agglomeration, it also increased the tendency for heavy metals to remain in the sand bed of fluidized bed incinerators. Addition of Ca and Mg not only inhibited the agglomeration/defluidization process, resulting in increased operating time, but also enhanced the removal of heavy metals by silica sand, decreasing the concentration of heavy metals in reactor exhaust.

This study measured ultrafine particle (UFP) levels and their size distributions in the Hsuehshan tunnel from August 12 to 19, 2009, using a Fast Mobility Particle Sizer. Measurement results demonstrate that traffic volume, the slope of the tunnel (downhill or uphill) and the ventilation system affected UFP levels inside the tunnel. Average UFP levels were about 1.0 × 10 5 –3.0 × 10 5 particles cm −3 at normal traffic volume. A traffic jam in the tunnel could raise UFP levels to over 1.0 × 10 6 particles cm −3 . UFP levels at the uphill bore were significantly higher than those at the downhill bore due to high UFP levels exhausted from vehicles going uphill at high engine load conditions. UFP levels eventually diluted 10–50% with fresh air from tunnel air shafts. Gas-to-particle condensation conversion markedly produced nucleation mode particles at the tunnel entrance section. Observations also showed Aitken mode particles markedly formed by coagulation growth of nucleation mode particles in the tunnel middle section and exit section. That is, the particle size distributions changed significantly inside the tunnel. Measurement results suggest that particles in the Aitken mode in the long tunnel governed UFP levels.

This study investigates the emission characteristics of CO(2), SO(2) and NOx in the flue gas of coal combustion by varying the compositions and concentrations of feed gas (O(2)/CO(2)/N(2)) and the ratios of recycled flue gas. The differences between O(2)/recycled flue gas (O(2)/RFG) combustion and general air combustion are also discussed. Experimental results indicate that the maximum concentration of CO(2) in O(2)/CO(2) combustion system is 95% as the feed gas is 30% O(2)/70% CO(2). The average concentration of CO(2) in the flue gas of O(2)/CO(2) coal combustion system is higher than 90% and much higher than that of O(2)/N(2) coal combustion system. This high concentration of CO(2) is beneficial for the separation of CO(2) from the flue gas by adsorption or absorption technologies. The maximum concentration of CO(2) in O(2)/N(2) combustion system is only 34% at the feed gas 50% O(2)/50% N(2), the concentration of CO(2) is increased with the concentration of O(2) in feed gas. By O(2)/CO(2) combustion technology, higher concentration of SO(2) is produced as the feed gas is 30% O(2)/70% CO(2) or 40% O(2)/60% CO(2), while higher concentration of NOx is produced as the feed gas is 20% O(2)/80% CO(2) or 50% O(2)/50% CO(2). The mass flow rates of CO(2), SO(2) and NOx in the flue gas are all increased with the ratio of recycled flue gas except for the feed gas 20% O(2)/80% CO(2). The enhanced mass flow rates of air pollutants in such O(2)/RFG combustion system are also beneficial for improving the control efficiencies of air pollution control devices. By O(2)/N(2) combustion technology, higher concentrations of SO(2) and NOx are produced as the feed gas is 21% O(2)/79% N(2). The results also indicate that the formation of NOx in general air combustion system is higher than that in O(2)/RFG or O(2)/CO(2) combustion system.

This study employed a two-stage fluidized-bed gasifier as a gasification reactor and two additives (CaO and activated carbon) as the Stage-II bed material to investigate the effects of the operating temperature (700 °C, 800 °C, and 900 °C) on the syngas composition, total gas yield, and gas-heating value during simulated waste gasification. The results showed that when the operating temperature increased from 700 to 900 °C, the molar percentage of H 2 in the syngas produced by the two-stage gasification process increased from 19.4 to 29.7 mol% and that the total gas yield and gas-heating value also increased. When CaO was used as the additive, the molar percentage of CO 2 in the syngas decreased, and the molar percentage of H 2 increased. When activated carbon was used, the molar percentage of CH 4 in the syngas increased, and the total gas yield and gas-heating value increased. Overall, CaO had better effects on the production of H 2 , whereas activated carbon clearly enhanced the total gas yield and gas-heating value.

The aim of this research was to use activated carbon fibers (ACFs) to adsorb 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) species from flue gas emissions during incineration. The operation conditions included the presence of three activated carbon fibers, the adsorption temperature (200, 300, and 340°C), and the weight of the ACFs. The removal efficiencies of the gaseous and solid-state PAHs were evaluated respectively. It was found that the BET surface area did not affect PAH removal when the BET surface area was enough for PAH removal and micropore volume was the determinant parameter for PAHs removal. The best adsorption temperature in this study was 300°C. The removal efficiency of PAHs was proportional to the weight of ACFs.

This work evaluates both the removal efficiencies of HCl and SO2 at different points in a spray dryer using Ca(OH)2 as the absorbent. The operating conditions were specified in terms of the temperature of the flue gas (200–300 °C), the HCl concentration (120–1000 ppm), the SO2 concentration (150–500 ppm) and the amount of CaCl2 added (10–30 wt.%). The experimental results showed that the SO2 removal efficiencies were higher in the presence of HCl (120–500 ppm) than in the absence of HCl at 250 °C and 20% relative humidity (RH). However, the removal efficiency of SO2 decreased as the HCl concentration increased. The removal efficiency of SO2 also increased with the amount of CaCl2 in the spray dryer.

The disposal of different residues containing high concentrations of heavy metals causes environmental problems. To under- stand the effects of various properties of the residues on the evaporation and leaching rates of heavy metals ~Cd, Pb, Zn, Cr, and Cu! by thermal treatment, three types of residues ~including bottom ash, spray dryer ash, and baghouse ash! generated from various incineration conditions including spray dryer additives (SiO2 , CaCl2 , and NaHCO3), and feedstock additives @polyvinyl chloride ~PVC!, and NaCl# were investigated in the present study. The results indicated that the evaporation rate of Cd and Pb in the spray dryer ash and in the baghouse ash was higher than that in the bottom ash. The leaching rate of heavy metals in the spray dryer ash was less than 20% before the thermal treatment when Ca~OH)2 was used in the spray dryer. The addition of PVC could increase the evaporation rate of Zn in the spray dryer ash, whereas the addition of NaCl could decrease the leaching rate of Zn and Cu in the baghouse ash after the thermal treatment.

The purpose of this research was to simultaneously evaluate the removal efficiency of acid gases and PAHs from the flue gas emitted by a laboratory incinerator. This flue gas contained dust, acid gases, organics and heavy metals. A spray dryer combined with a fabric filter was used as the air pollution control device (APCD) in this study. The operating conditions investigated included different feedstock additives (polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and NaCl) and spray dryer additives (SiO2, CaCl2 and NaHCO3). The removal efficiency for SO2 could be enhanced by adding inorganic additives, such as SiO2, CaCl2 and NaHCO3. The presence of PVC in the incinerator feedstock also increased the removal efficiency of SO2in the spray dryer. The improved removal of PAHs could be attributed to the addition of feedstock additives (PVC and NaCl) and spray dryer additives (SiO2, CaCl2 and NaHCO3).

The mutagenic potential of leachates derived from the bottom ash of a municipal solid waste incinerator in Taiwan were evaluated using an Ames Salmonella mutagenicity assay with three standard tester strains, TA98, TA100, and TA1535. Three types of leachants, leachant A (pH 4.93), leachant B (pH 2.88), and leachant C (deionized water, pH 6.0), were carried out according to toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP). Moreover, two types of bottom ash, nonsieved and sieved bottom ash (particle size

Few studies have investigated the use of activated carbon fibres (ACFs) impregnated with metal oxides for the catalytic oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Thus, the effects of the ACF-supported metal oxides on toluene removal are determined in this study. Three catalysts, namely, Ce, Mn, and Cu, two pretreatment solutions NaOH and H2O2, and three reaction temperatures of 250°C, 300°C, and 350°C, were employed to determine toluene removal. The composition and morphology of the catalysts were analysed using Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), transmission electron microscope (TEM), inductively coupled plasma (ICP), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), and thermo-gravimetric analyser (TGA) to study the effects of the catalyst's characteristics on toluene removal. The results demonstrated that the metal catalysts supported on the ACFs could significantly increase toluene removal. The Mn/ACFs and Cu/ACFs were observed to be most active in toluene removal at a reaction temperature of 250°C with 10% oxygen content. Moreover, the data also indicated that toluene removal was slightly improved after pretreating the ACFs with NaOH and H2O2. The results suggested that surface-metal loading and the surface characteristics of the ACFs were the determinant parameters for toluene removal. Furthermore, the removal of toluene over Mn/ACFs-H2O2 decreased when the reaction temperature considered was>300°C.

Previous studies have shown that pollutants from incineration include heavy metals, organic compounds, particulate and acid gas. However, most studies on a single pollutant, it is rare for a study to concentrate on all possible pollutants and the relations between these pollutants under various incineration conditions. The objective of this work was to experimentally study the effect of different operating conditions on the pollutants emitted during incineration and the relations between these pollutants. The operating conditions of the experiments included the temperature of the combustion chamber and the species of organics. The findings indicated that the concentration of hydrogen chloride (HCl) in the presence of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was higher than that of sodium chloride (NaCl). Regardless of what Cl-containing feedstock was added, the concentration of chromium (Cr) was constant. When organic chloride was added, Cr was the main metallic element which influenced the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). On the other hand, when inorganic chloride (NaCl) was added, lead (Pb) was the major element.

This study investigated the adsorption mechanism of heavy metals Cr, Cu, Pb, and Cd on the sorbent during incineration by the following technologies: (1) thermal desorption of heavy metals from the sorbent; (2) identification of heavy metal species in the adsorbed sorbent by x-ray diffraction technique; (3) thermodynamic equilibrium simulation of heavy metals and sorbent; and (4) micrography of the sorbent by scanning electron microscopy. Experimental results indicated that adsorption mechanism of heavy metals on sorbent is related to the volatility of heavy metal species formed at high temperatures and the chemical reactivity with the sorbent. For less volatile heavy metals Cr and Cu, chemical reaction is the major adsorption mechanism, and particle growth due to condensation, coagulation, and sedimentation will become important as the reacting time is increased. For highly volatile metal Cd and most metal chlorides, physical molecular adsorption and particle growth processes are the major mechanisms. Most volatile metal species are adsorbed/distributed on the surface of the sorbent. For Pb (which has been classified as medium to high volatility), chemical and physical adsorption mechanisms are all-important depending on the reacting environment.

The presence of heavy metals (Cr, Cd, Pb and Zn) in feedstock increases the partitioning of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the solid as well as in the gaseous phases, which has been reported in our previous study. However, the partitioning of PAHs in air-pollution control equipment (APCE) has not been investigated thus far. Hence, the present work was conducted to study the partitioning of PAHs in APCE and the effect of heavy metals on PAHs formation by varying the target heavy metals in the feedstock. A fluidized bed incineration system which includes a primary combustion chamber (sand bed), a secondary combustion chamber (freeboard), and an APCE (cyclone and scrubber) was utilized in this study. The feedstock that contained various heavy metals was fed into the incinerator, and then the PAHs in the cyclone and scrubber were analyzed to determine the effect of heavy metals on PAHs partitioning. The results indicate that the presence of Pb and Zn in feedstock facilitates the formation of PAHs.

This study investigates the effects of the bed material size distribution, the operating conditions and the agglomeration/defluidization phenomenon on the heavy metal pollutant emissions in the combustion process. After defluidization, the emission concentration of heavy metals increased, because Na may form a low melting eutectic material that enhances bed material adherence. The emission of Cd increased when the feed simulated urban residues contained sodium; however, the presence of Na had no significant effect on the emission of Cr. Furthermore, the Cd emission concentration was low when the material had a Gaussian distribution; however, the decreases in the Cd emission when the bed material had narrow, binary or flat distributions were not significant. The heavy metal Cr showed the same trend. In addition to the operating parameters, the bed material size distribution may influence the heavy metal emissions during combustion processes.

In this study, the catalytic activities of Raw CNTs and Co/CNTs for CO removal were determined between 100 and 300°C. To confirm the characterization of Raw CNTs and Co/CNTs, the composition and morphology of two catalysts were analyzed by using XRD, SEM, TEM and Raman spectra. The results showed that the CO conversion was 98% by using Raw CNTs at 250°C and this conversion was similar to that of using Co/CNTs. Since no purification and no re-immersion steps are needed for the preparation of Raw CNTs, this application can save the preparation procedures and reduce the waste yields and costs.

SBA-15 materials were synthesized through the hydrothermal method. The SBA-15 prepared at the hydrothermal time of 24 h possessed a higher surface area and a good hexagonal structure, so it was used as the catalytic support in this experiment. The base metals (Cu, Co, Ni) coated on SBA-15 were prepared for toluene removal. The results revealed that the catalytic activity of Cu/SBA-15 for toluene removal was about 70% at 250 °C, which was the best among the three catalysts. The modification of Cu/SBA-15 by adding different transition metals (Ce, Co, Ni, Mn) to improve the removal efficiency of toluene and NO was also investigated in this study. The results indicate that the catalytic activity of Mn–Cu/SBA-15 for toluene removal was about 100% at 250 °C. The toluene as a reductant on the removal of NO was also determined. Furthermore, the catalytic activity of Mn–Cu/SBA-15 for NO removal can reach about 70% at 300 °C when toluene is used as reductant.

Activated carbon fibers (ACFs) were applied to control heavy metals in incineration flue gas. Three heavy metal species (Cr, Cd and Pb), three ACFs, various adsorption temperatures (150, 250 and 300 °C) and weights of ACFs were experimentally determined. The results indicated that the effects of the type of ACF and the weight of the ACFs on the solid-state Cr removal were insignificant. The extent of solid-state Cd and Pb removal was related to the knitting structure of ACFs and the physical characteristic of the metals. The removal efficiencies of the solid-state and gaseous metals at various reaction temperature followed the order 250 > 150 > 300 °C and 300 > 250 > 150 °C, respectively.

The objective of this research was to evaluate the reaction characteristics of Ca(OH) 2 , HCl and SO 2 in the flue gas emitted by a laboratory incinerator. The amount of sulfur retained in the residues (including the spray dryer ash and baghouse ash) was also evaluated in this study. The experimental parameters included HCl concentration (500–2000 ppm), SO 2 concentration (500–2000 ppm), relative humidity (40–80% RH), and the addition of CaCl 2 (30 wt.%). The results indicated that an HCl concentration of 500–2000 ppm did not affect HCl removal efficiency in the spray dryer at 150 °C and 45±5% RH. On the other hand, increase in SO 2 concentration from 500 to 2000 ppm enhanced SO 2 removal at 150 °C and 75±5% RH. Moreover, increase in removal efficiency of SO 2 was more obvious when the relative humidity was greater than 80%. When the flue gas contained both HCl and SO 2 simultaneously, the removal efficiency of SO 2 could increase from 56.7 to 90.33% at HCl concentration of 236 ppm. However, when the concentration of HCl exceeded 535 ppm, the removal efficiency of SO 2 decreased with increasing concentration of HCl. The removal efficiency of SO 2 could be increase to 97.7% with the addition of CaCl 2 .