Zhiquan Yang

The biological treatment of landfill leachate using a simultaneous aerobic and anaerobic (SAA) bio-reactor system.

A set of simultaneous aerobic and anaerobic (SAA) bio-reactor system was used for the removal of organic pollutants and ammonia in the landfill leachate generated from Datian Shan Landfill in Guangzhou, China. The influent concentrations of COD and NH(4)(+)-N were 1000-3300 and 80-230 mg L(-1), respectively. The average effluent concentrations of COD and NH(4)(+)-N were 131 and 7 mg L(-1), respectively. The concentrations of COD and NH(4)(+)-N had reached the Chinese second grade effluent standard (COD<300 mg L(-1), NH(4)(+)-N<25 mg L(-1)) for this kind of wastewater. Gas chromatogram-mass spectrum (GC/MS) analysis was used to measure the organic pollutants in the landfill leachate. About 87 organics were detected in this landfill leachate, and 16 of them belong to the list of environmental priority pollutants established by the US Environmental Protection Agency. About 31 of the 87 organic pollutants were completely removed by the SAA bio-reactor, the concentrations of further 14 organic pollutants were reduced by more than 80%, and the removal efficiencies of the other 25 organic pollutants were over 50%.

Physiological and biochemical responses of rice seeds to phosphine exposure during germination

Rice seeds (Tianyou, 3618) were used to examine the physiological and biochemical responses to phosphine exposure during germination. A control (0 mg m(-3)) and four concentrations of phosphine (1.4 mg m(-3), 4.2 mg m(-3), 7.0 mg m(-3) and 13.9 mg m(-3)) were used to treat the rice seeds. Each treatment was applied for 90 min once per day for five days. The germination rate (GR); germination potential (GP); germination index (GI); antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT); and lipid peroxidation measured through via malondialdehyde (MDA) were determined as indicators of the physiological and biochemical responses of the rice seeds to phosphine exposure. These indicators were determined once per day for five days. The results indicated that the GR, GP and GI of the rice seeds markedly decreased after phosphine exposure. The changes in the activities of the antioxidant enzymes due to the phosphine exposure were also significant. The exposure lowered the CAT and SOD activities and increased POD activity in the treated rice seeds compared with controls. The MDA content exhibited a slow increase trend with the increase of phosphine concentration. These results suggest that phosphine has inhibitory effects on seed germination. In addition, phosphine exposure caused oxidative stress in the seeds. The antioxidant enzymes could play a pivotal role against oxidative injury. Overall, the effect of phosphine on rice seeds is different from what has been reported previously for insects and mammals.

Phosphine in paddy fields and the effects of environmental factors

Ambient levels of phosphine (PH3) in the air, phosphine emission fluxes from paddy fields and rice plants, and the distribution of matrix-bound phosphine (MBP) in paddy soils were investigated throughout the growing stages of rice. The relationships between MBP and environmental factors were analyzed to identify the principal factors determining the distribution of MBP. The phosphine ambient levels ranged from 2.368±0.6060 ng m(-3) to 24.83±6.529 ng m(-3) and averaged 14.25±4.547 ng m(-3). The highest phosphine emission flux was 22.54±3.897 ng (m(2)h)(-1), the lowest flux was 7.64±4.83 ng (m(2)h)(-1), and the average flux was 14.17±4.977 ng (m(2)h)(-1). Rice plants transport a significant portion of the phosphine emitted from the paddy fields. The highest contribution rate of rice plants to the phosphine emission fluxes reached 73.73% and the average contribution was 43.00%. The average MBP content of 111.6 ng kg(-1)fluctuated significantly in different stages of rice growth and initially increased then decreased with increasing depth. The peak MBP content in each growth stage occurred approximately 10 cm under the surface of paddy soils. Pearson correlation analyses and stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that soil temperature (Ts), acid phosphatase (ACP) and total phosphorus (TP) were the principal environmental factors, with correlative rankings of Ts>ACP>TP.

The adsorption of nitrate from aqueous solution onto calcined Mg/Fe hydrotalcite

AbstractA laboratory study was conducted to investigate the use of Mg/Fe hydrotalcite-like compounds for the removal of nitrate from synthetic solution. A series of calcined hydrotalcites (CHTlcs) with different chemical composition were investigated to remove nitrate. The highest nitrate percentage of adsorption (about 95%) and adsorption capacity (about 70 mg/g) were obtained by using the CHTlcs with Mg/Fe molar ratio of 3. The adsorption experiments were carried out under various equilibration conditions, such as adsorbent dose, pH, temperature, and competitive ions. It was found that 1.5 g/L Mg/Fe CHTlcs could achieve ideal adsorption efficiencies of nitrate during the nitrate adsorption process with an initial nitrate concentration of 100 mg/L at pH 8 and at temperature 30°C. Various co-existing anions interfered in the adsorption of nitrate. The inhibitory effect was in the order of phosphate > sulfate > chloride. Adsorption isotherms showed that the experimental equilibrium data was fitted better b...

Nitrate adsorption from aqueous solutions by calcined ternary Mg-Al-Fe hydrotalcite

Calcined ternary hydrotalcite like compounds had been synthesized by co-precipitation and calcined at 450 °C for 6 h. It had been applied into the nitrate removal from aqueous solutions. Various factors during adsorption process, such as chemical composition of adsorbents, adsorbent dosage, initial concentration of nitrate, initial pH and co-existing anions on nitrate adsorption had been investigated. It was found that 1.5 g/L CHTlcs (Mg/Al/Fe molar ratio = 3:0.1:0.9) could achieve ideal adsorption efficiency at an initial nitrate concentration of 100 mg/L. The value of pH had little effect on nitrate adsorption. The co-existing anions had the inhibitory effect on nitrate adsorption, which was in the order of PO43- > SO42- > Cl- > ClO4-. The batch adsorption studies showed that experimental data were well described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model, and the maximum isotherm adsorption capacity was 123.305 mg/g. The adsorption of nitrate was a spontaneous exothermic process with the reduction of entropy. The proposed adsorption mechanism obtained from characterization was that CHTlcs uptake nitrate through reconstruction effect and adsorption on external surface.

Perchlorate adsorption onto orange peel modified by cross-linking amine groups from aqueous solutions

Orange peel was made into a highly efficient bio-sorbent by modification with cross-linking amine groups for perchlorate removal. Bench-scale experiments were performed to explore the factors affecting the perchlorate adsorption onto the modified orange peel (MOP). Perchlorate could be removed effectively at a wide range of pH (from 1.5 to 11). The maximum adsorption capacity of MOP for perchlorate was calculated as 154.1 mg/g within 15 min. The Redlich-Peterson model was fitted to the adsorption isotherm very well (R2>0.99). The adsorption process was spontaneous and exothermic, which was proved by thermodynamic parameters (Gibbs energy and enthalpy). The pseudo-second-order kinetic model could provide satisfactory fitting of the experimental data (R2>0.99). The scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis indicated that the surface of MOP became smooth and the contents of N and Cl in MOP were increased during the modification process. Elemental analysis results showed that the nitrogen content in MOP was increased to 5.5%, while it was 1.06% in orange peel. The adsorption mechanism was also explored using zeta potential and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis. Ion exchange was the primary mechanism responsible for uptake of perchlorate onto MOP.

Mechanism of matrix-bound phosphine production in response to atmospheric elevated CO2 in paddy soils

To explore the effect of elevated CO2 concentrations ([CO2]) on phosphine formation in paddy fields, the matrix-bound phosphine (MBP) content, different phosphorus fractions and various carbon forms in soil samples from rice cultivation under varying CO2 concentrations of 400 ppm, 550 ppm and 700 ppm by indoor simulation experiment were determined. This study showed that MBP concentration did not increase significantly with elevated [CO2] over four-week cultivation periods of rice seedlings, regardless of soil layers. MBP had a significant positive correlation with total phosphorus (TP) and inorganic phosphorus (IP), and multiple stepwise linear regression analysis further indicated that MBP preservation in neutral paddy soils with depths of 0-20 cm may have been due to conversion from FeP and CaP. Based on redundancy analysis and forward selection analysis, speculated that the formation of MBP in the neutral paddy soils as the response to atmospheric elevated [CO2] was due to two processes: (i) FeP transformation affected by the changes of soil respiration (SCO2) and TOC was the main precursor for the production of MBP; and (ii) CaP transformation resulting from variation in HCO3- was the secondary MBP source. The complex combination of these two processes is simultaneously controlled by SCO2. In a word, the soil environment in the condition of elevated [CO2] was in favor of MBP storage in neutral paddy soils. The results of our study imply that atmospheric CO2 participates in and has a certain impact on the global biogeochemical cycle of phosphorus.