Phosphorus speciation,transformation and benthic processes with implications for environmental impacts in the aquaculture area of Rushan Bay

Phosphorus(P)is an essential nutrient for many organisms in the ocean,which plays a central role in the stability of ecosystems and the evolution of the environment.The distribution,occurrence and source-sink process of P in offshore waters are highly influenced by mariculture activities.P transformation in water-sediment system is the key process in P cycling,however,the mechanism is poorly documented in the coastal sea which is influenced by human activities.Based on the comprehensive surveys in the adjacent waters outside Rushan Bay in May,July and August 2014 and February 2015,the form and transformation of P in the suspended particulate matter(SPM)and surface sediment were analyzed.The results showed that contents of total P,authigenic P and organic P of SPM increased with the increase in distance from the shoreline off Rushan Bay,and the detrital-P decreased.The partition coefficient of P between water and SPM was related to the chemical activity of different forms of P,and a higher reactivity of inorganic P associated with SPM was observed.Hypoxia induced by mariculture changes the distribution and morphological composition of P in SPM and sediment in this typical aquaculture area,which can result in a conversion of sink to source of P in the sediment,thereby having a significant impact on the regional nutrient budget and associated with eutrophication.

Excessive greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater treatment plants by using the chemical oxygen demand standard

Chemical oxygen demand(COD)is widely used as an organic pollution indicator in wastewater treatment plants.Large amounts of organic matter are removed during treatment processes to meet environmental standards,and consequently,substantial greenhouse gases(GHGs)such as methane(CH_(4))are released.However,the COD indicator covers a great amount of refractory organic matter that is not a pollutant and could be a potential carbon sink.Here,we collected and analysed COD data from 86 worldwide municipal wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs)and applied a model published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to estimate the emission of CH_(4) due to recalcitrant organic compound processing in China’s municipal wastewater treatment systems.Our results showed that the average contribution of refractory COD to total COD removal was55%in 86 WWTPs.The amount of CH_(4) released from the treatment of recalcitrant organic matter in 2018 could have been as high as 38.22 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent,which amounts to the annual carbon sequestered by China’s wetlands.This suggests that the use of COD as an indicator for organic pollution is undue and needs to be revised to reduce the emission of GHG.In fact,leaving nontoxic recalcitrant organic matter in the wastewater may create a significant carbon sink and will save energy during the treatment process,aiming at carbon neutrality in the wastewater treatment industry.