Evaluation of boron isotopes in halite as an indicator of the salinity of Qarhan paleolake water in the eastern Qaidam Basin, western China

In this study, nineteen brine samples from the Qarhan Salt Lake(QSL) in western China were collected and analyzed for boron(B) and chlorine(Cl) concentrations, total dissolved solids(TDS), pH values and stable B isotopic compositions. The B concentrations and δ^(11) B values of brines in the QSL range from 51.6 mg/L to138.4 mg/L, and from +9.32& to +13.08&, respectively. By comparison of B concentrations and TDS of brines in QSL with evaporation paths of brackish water, we found that B enrichment of brines primarily results from strong evaporation and concentration of Qarhan lake water. Combining with comparisons of B concentrations, TDS, p H values and δ^(11) B values of brines, previously elemental ratios(K/Cl, Mg/Cl, Ca/Cl, B/Cl) and δ^(11) B values of halite from a sediment core(ISL1 A), we observe good correlations between B concentrations and TDS, TDS and pH values, pH and δ^(11) B values of brines, which demonstrate that higher B concentrations and more positive δ^(11) B values of halite indicate higher salinity of the Qarhan paleolake water as well as drier paleoclimatic conditions. Based on this interpretation of the δ^(11) B values of halite in core ISL1 A, higher salinity of the Qarhan paleolake occurred during two intervals, around 46-34 ka and26-9 ka, which are almost coincident with the upper and lower halite-dominated salt layers in core ISL1 A,drier climate phases documented from the δ^(18) O record of carbonate in core ISL1 A and the paleomoisture record in monsoonal central Asia, and a higher solar insolation at 30°N. These results demonstrate that the δ^(11) B values of halite in the arid Qaidam Basin could be regarded as a new proxy for reconstructing the salinity record of paleolake water as well as paleoclimate conditions.

Joint Pilot Design and Beamforming Optimization in Massive MIMO Surveillance Systems

This paper proposes a novel joint channel estimation and beamforming scheme for the massive multiple-input-multiple-output(MIMO)frequency-division duplexing(FDD) wireless legitimate surveillance system. With the proposed scheme,the monitor with the full duplex capability realizes the proactive eavesdropping of the suspicious link by leveraging the pilot attack approach. Specifically, exploiting the effective eavesdropping rate and the mean square error as performance metrics and setting a total power budget at the training and transmission phases,while guaranteeing the information from suspicious source can be successfully decode, joint pilot design,power allocation and beamforming strategy are formulated as optimization problems for the two objective functions: MSE and effective eavesdropping rate. A closed-form expression of the optimal pilot with the limited length can be obtained via the channel correlation. The optimal power problem at the training phase can be solved by a simple bisection method. Then,based on the obtained imperfect estimated channel,the jamming beamforming at monitor optimization algorithm is proposed by utilizing the convex Semidefinite Programming approach to maximize the effective eavesdropping rate. Numerical results show that the proposed joint pilot design, power allocation and beamforming optimization scheme can improve the surveillance performance of the legitimate monitor as compared to the existing passive eavesdropping and jamming-assisted eavesdropping.

UV-Based Advanced Oxidation Processes for Antibiotic Resistance Control: Efficiency, Influencing Factors, and Energy Consumption

Antibiotic resistant bacteria(ARB)with antibiotic resistance genes(ARGs)can reduce or eliminate the effectiveness of antibiotics and thus threaten human health.The United Nations Environment Programme considers antibiotic resistance the first of six emerging issues of concern.Advanced oxidation processes(AOPs)that combine ultraviolet(UV)irradiation and chemical oxidation(primarily chlorine,hydrogen peroxide,and persulfate)have attracted increasing interest as advanced water and wastewater treatment technologies.These integrated technologies have been reported to significantly elevate the efficiencies of ARB inactivation and ARG degradation compared with direct UV irradiation or chemical oxidation alone due to the generation of multiple reactive species.In this study,the performance and underlying mechanisms of UV/chlorine,UV/hydrogen peroxide,and UV/persulfate processes for controlling ARB and ARGs were reviewed based on recent studies.Factors affecting the process-specific efficiency in controlling ARB and ARGs were discussed,including biotic factors,oxidant dose,UV fluence,pH,and water matrix properties.In addition,the cost-effectiveness of the UV-based AOPs was evaluated using the concept of electrical energy per order.The UV/chlorine process exhibited a higher efficiency with lower energy consumption than other UV-based AOPs in the wastewater matrix,indicating its potential for ARB inactivation and ARG degradation in wastewater treatment.Further studies are required to address the trade-off between toxic byproduct formation and the energy efficiency of the UV/chlorine process in real wastewater to facilitate its optimization and application in the control of ARB and ARGs.

A smart strategy for controlling disinfection byproducts by reversing the sequence of activated carbon adsorption and chlorine disinfection

Chlorine disinfection is a vital treatment process to inactivate pathogens, but it also generates numerous halogenated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) via reactions with halides and natural organic matter (NOM)[1]. Epidemiological studies have shown that consumption of chlorinated drinking water with halogenated DBPs is related to increased spontaneous abortions, stillbirth,

Whole pictures of halogenated disinfection byproducts in tap water from China＇s cities

When bromide/iodide is present in source water, hypobromous acid/hypoiodous acid will be formed with addition of chlorine, chloramine, or other disinfectants. Hypobromous acid/hypoiodous acid undergoes reactions with natural organic matter in source water to form numerous brominated/iodinated disinfection byproducts （DBPs）. In this study, tap water samples were collected from eight cities in China. With the aid of electrospray ionization-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry by setting precursor ion scans of m/z 35, m/z 81, and m/z 126.9, whole pictures of polar chlorinated, brominated, and iodinated DBPs in the tap water samples were revealed for the first time. Numerous polar halogenated DBPs were detected, including haloacetic acids, newly identified halogenated phenols, and many new/unknown halogenated compounds. Total organic chlorine, total organic bromine, and total organic iodine were also measured to indicate the total levels of all chlorinated, brominated, and iodinated DBPs in the tap water samples. The total organic chlorine concentrations ranged from 26.8 to 194.0 μg· L 1 as Cl, with an average of 109.2 μg·L-1 as Cl; the total organic bromine concentrations ranged from below detection limit to 113.3 μg·L-1 as Br, with an average of 34.7 μg·L-1 as Br; the total organic iodine concentrations ranged from below detection limit to 16.4 μg· L-1 as I, with an average of 9.1 μg· L-1 as I; the total organic halogen concentrations ranged from 31.3 to 220.4 μg·L-1 as Cl, with an average of 127.2 μg· L- 1 as Cl.

Effects of ultrasonication on the DBP formation and toxicity during chlorination of saline wastewater effluents

Chlorine disinfection of saline wastewater effluents rich in bromide and iodide forms relatively toxic brominated and iodinated disinfection byproducts(DBPs). Ultrasonication is a relatively new water treatment technology, and it is less sensitive to suspended solids in wastewaters. In this study, we examined the effects of ultrasonication(in terms of reactor type and combination mode with chlorination) on the DBP formation and toxicity in chlorinated primary and secondary saline wastewater effluents. Compared with the chlorinated wastewater effluent samples without ultrasonication, ultrasonic horn pretreatment of the wastewater effluent samples reduced the total organic halogen(TOX) levels in chlorination by ~30%, but ultrasonic bath pretreatment of the wastewater samples did not significantly change the TOX levels in chlorination, which might be attributed to the higher energy utilization and decomposition extent of organic DBP precursors in the ultrasonic horn reactor. Moreover, the TOX levels in the chlorinated samples with ultrasonic horn pretreatment(USH–chlorination), simultaneous treatment(chlorination + USH) and subsequent treatment(chlorination–USH) were also significantly reduced, with the maximum TOX reductions occurring in the samples with ultrasonic horn pretreatment. A toxicity index was calculated by weighting and summing the levels of total organic chlorine, total organic bromine and total organic iodine in each treated sample. The calculated toxicity index values of the chlorinated wastewater effluent samples followed a descending rank order of “chlorination” > “chlorination + USH” > “chlorination–USH” > “USH–chlorination”, with the lowest toxicity occurring in the samples with ultrasonic horn pretreatment. Then, a developmental toxicity bioassay was conducted for each treated sample. The measured toxicity index values of the chlorinated wastewater samples followed the same descending rank order.