The chemistry associated with the disinfection of aquarium seawater is more complicated than that of freshwater, therefore limited information is available on the formation and speciation of disinfection byproducts（DBPs） in marine aquaria. In this study, the effects of organic precursors, bromide（Br-） and pre-ozonation on the formation and speciation of several typical classes of DBPs, including trihalomethanes（THM4）, haloacetic acids（HAAs）,iodinated trihalomethanes（I-THMs）, and haloacetamides（HAc Ams）, were investigated during the chlorination/chloramination of aquarium seawater. Results indicate that with an increase in dissolved organic carbon concentration from 4.5 to 9.4 mg/L, the concentrations of THM4 and HAAs increased by 3.2-7.8 times under chlorination and by 1.1-2.3 times under chloramination. An increase in Br-concentration from 3 to 68 mg/L generally enhanced the formation of THM4, I-THMs and HAc Ams and increased the bromine substitution factors of all studied DBPs as well, whereas it impacted insignificantly on the yield of HAAs. Pre-ozonation with 1 mg/L O3 dose substantially reduced the formation of all studied DBPs in the subsequent chlorination and I-THMs in the subsequent chloramination. Because chloramination produces much lower amounts of DBPs than chlorination, it tends to be more suitable for disinfection of aquarium seawater.
Haiting ZhangHuiyu DongCraig AdamsZhimin QiangGang LuanLei Wang
Bioaerosols from wastewater treatment processes are a significant subgroup of atmospheric aerosols. In the present study,airborne microorganisms generated from a wastewater treatment station（WWTS） that uses an oxidation ditch process were diminished by ventilation.Conventional sampling and detection methods combined with cloning/sequencing techniques were applied to determine the groups,concentrations,size distributions,and species diversity of airborne microorganisms before and after ventilation. There were 3021 ± 537 CFU/m3 of airborne bacteria and 926 ± 132 CFU/m3 of airborne fungi present in the WWTS bioaerosol.Results showed that the ventilation reduced airborne microorganisms significantly compared to the air in the WWTS. Over 60% of airborne bacteria and airborne fungi could be reduced after4 hr of air exchange. The highest removal（92.1% for airborne bacteria and 89.1% for fungi） was achieved for 0.65–1.1 μm sized particles. The bioaerosol particles over 4.7 μm were also reduced effectively. Large particles tended to be lost by gravitational settling and small particles were generally carried away,which led to the relatively easy reduction of bioaerosol particles0.65–1.1 μm and over 4.7 μm in size. An obvious variation occurred in the structure of the bacterial communities when ventilation was applied to control the airborne microorganisms in enclosed spaces.
Xuesong GuoPianpian WuWenjie DingWeiyi ZhangLin Li
Swine wastewater is an important pollution source of antibiotics entering the aquatic environment. In this work,the adsorption behavior of sulfamethazine（SMN）,a commonlyused sulfonamide antibiotic,on activated sludge from a sequencing batch reactor treating swine wastewater was investigated. The results show that the adsorption of SMN on activated sludge was an initially rapid process and reached equilibrium after 6 hr. The removal efficiency of SMN from the water phase increased with an increasing concentration of mixed liquor suspended solids,while the adsorbed concentration of SMN decreased. Solution pH influenced both the speciation of SMN and the surface properties of activated sludge,thus significantly impacting the adsorption process. A linear partition model could give a good fit for the equilibrium concentrations of SMN at the test temperatures（i.e.,10,20 and 30°C）. The partition coefficient（Kd） was determined to be 100.5 L/kg at 20°C,indicating a quite high adsorption capacity for SMN. Thermodynamic analysis revealed that SMN adsorption on activated sludge was an exothermic process. This study could help to clarify the fate and behavior of sulfonamide antibiotics in the activated sludge process and assess consequent environmental risks arising from sludge disposal as well.
Sulfide dioxide（SO2） is often released during the combustion processes of fossil fuels. An integrated bioreactor with two sections, namely, a suspended zone（SZ） and immobilized zone（IZ）, was applied to treat SO2 for 6 months. Sampling ports were set in both sections to investigate the performance and microbial characteristics of the integrated bioreactor. SO2 was effectively removed by the synergistic effect of the SZ and IZ, and more than 85%removal efficiency was achieved at steady state. The average elimination capacity of SO2 in the bioreactor was 2.80 g/（m3·hr） for the SZ and 1.50 g/（m3· hr） for the IZ. Most SO2 was eliminated in the SZ. The liquid level of the SZ and the water content ratio of the packing material in the IZ affected SO2 removal efficiency. The SZ served a key function not only in SO2 elimination, but also in moisture maintenance for the IZ. The desired water content in IZ could be feasibly maintained without any additional pre-humidification facilities. Clone libraries of 16 S r DNA directly amplified from the DNA of each sample were constructed and sequenced to analyze the community composition and diversity in the individual zones.The desulfurization bacteria dominated both zones. Paenibacillus sp. was present in both zones, whereas Ralstonia sp. existed only in the SZ. The transfer of SO2 to the SZ involved dissolution in the nutrient solution and biodegradation by the sulfur-oxidizing bacteria.This work presents a potential biological treatment method for waste gases containing hydrophilic compounds.
A Zr-β-FeOOH adsorbent for both As（Ⅴ） and As（Ⅲ） removal was prepared by a chemical co-precipitation method. Compared with β-FeOOH, the addition of Zr enhanced the adsorption capacities for As（Ⅴ） and As（Ⅲ）, especially As（Ⅲ）. The maximum adsorption capacities for As（Ⅲ） and As（Ⅴ） were 120 and 60 mg/g respectively at pH 7.0, much higher than for many reported adsorbents. The adsorption data accorded with Freundlich isotherms. At neutral pH, for As（Ⅴ）, adsorption equilibrium was approached after 3 hr, while for As（Ⅲ）, adsorption equilibrium was approached after 5 hr. Kinetic data fitted well to the pseudo second-order reaction model. As（Ⅴ） elimination was favored at acidic pH, whereas the adsorption of As（Ⅲ） by Zr-β-FeOOH was found to be effective over a wide pH range of 4-10. Competitive anions hindered the adsorption according to the sequence： phosphate 〉 silicate 〉 bicarbonate 〉 sulfate 〉 nitrate, while Ca2＋ and Mg2＋ increased the removal of As（Ⅲ） and As（Ⅴ） slightly. The high adsorption capability and good performance in other aspects make Zr-β-FeOOH a potentially attractive adsorbent for the removal of both As（Ⅲ） and As（Ⅴ） from water.
The performance of a biofilter for off-gas treatment relies on the activity of microorganisms and adequate O_2 and H_2O. In present study, a microelectrode was applied to analyze O_2 in polyurethane foam cubes（PUFCs） packed in a biofilter for SO_2 removal. The O_2 distribution varied with the density and water-containing rate（WCR） of PUFCs. The O_2 concentration dropped sharply from 10.2 to 0.8 mg/L from the surface to the center of a PUFC with 97.20%of WCR. The PUFCs with high WCR presented aerobic–anoxic–aerobic areas.Three-dimensional simulated images demonstrated that the structure of PUFCs with high WCR consisted of an aerobic ＂shell＂ and an anoxic ＂core＂, with high-density PUFCs featuring a larger anoxic area than low-density PUFCs. Moreover, the H_2O distribution in the PUFC was uneven and affected the O_2 concentration. Whereas aerobic bacteria were observed in the PUFC surface, facultative anaerobic microorganisms were found at the PUFC core, where the O_2 concentration was relatively low. O_2 and H_2O distributions differed in the PUFCs, and the distribution of microorganisms varied accordingly.
