Comparison of Pb and Cd adsorption to the surface coatings and surficial sediments collected in Xianghai Wetland

Surface coatings and surficial sediments were obtained in four natural waters in Xianghai Wetland in China to study the role of surface coatings and surficial sediments in controlling the transporting and cycling of heavy metals in aquatic environments. Pb and Cd adsorption to the surface coatings and surficial sediments were measured under controlled laboratory conditions(mineral salts solution with defined speciation, ionic strength 0 05 mol/L, 25℃ and pH 6 0 for surface coatings; and 0 005 mol/L CaCl 2 solution, 25℃ and pH 6 0 for surficial sediments). The Langmuir adsorption isotherm was applied to estimate equilibrium coefficients of Pb and Cd adsorption to the surface coatings and surficial sediments, and the component analyses of surface coatings and surficial sediments were also carried out. Correlation analyses between the maximum adsorption of Pb and Cd(Г max ) and the components in the surface coatings and surficial sediments suggested that there was a statistically significant trend for Pb and Cd adsorption(Г max ) to the surface coatings to increase with increasing in contents of Fe and Mn oxides in the surface coatings and surficial sediments. And the metal adsorption abilities of surface coatings were much stronger than those of surficial sediments, highlighting that in the same water, i.e. at the same pH and initial metal concentrations, the metals(such as lead and cadmium) in supernatant were feasible to be adsorbed by surface coatings than surficial sediments. The more importance of surface coatings than surficial sediments for adsorbing and cycling of heavy metals in aquatic environments was evidenced.

Application of Catalytic Wet Air Oxidation to Treatment of Landfill Leachate on Co/Bi Catalyst

Catalytic wet air oxidation(CWAO) was employed to reduce the organic compounds in landfill leachate and the effects of temperature, oxygen pressure, catalyst dosage, and concentration of the organic compounds on the TOC and COD Cr removal rates were studied. The degradation kinetics of landfill leachate was also investigated and an exponential experiential model consisting of four influential factors was established to describe the reduction of the organic compounds in the landfill leachate. Meanwhile, the GC-MS technique was used to detect the components of the organic intermediates for the inference of the decomposition mechanisms of the organic compounds in landfill leachate. The results reveal that the reaction temperature and the catalyst dosage are the most important factors affecting the degradation reaction of the organic compounds and that the principal intermediates confirmed by GC-MS are organic acids at a percentage of more than 88% with no aldehydes or alcohols detected. The decomposition mechanisms of the organic compounds in landfill leachate were inferred based on the GC-MS information as follows: the activated gas phase O 2 captured the hydrogen of the organic pollutants to produce free radicals, which then initiated the catalytic reaction. So most of the organic compounds were oxidized into CO 2 and H 2O ultimately. In general, catalytic wet air oxidation over catalyst Co 3O 4/Bi 2O 3 was a very promising technique for the treatment of landfill leachate.