Diverse transformations of sulfur in seabird-affected sediments revealed by microbial and stable isotope analyses

Microbial communities,sulfur isotope of sulfides(δ^(34)S_(AVS)and δ^(34)S_(CRS)),and sulfur and oxygen isotopes of sulfate(δ^(34)S_(SO_(4))and δ^(18)O_(SO_(4)))in sediments were analyzed to reveal the biogeochemical transformations of sulfur in a seabird-affected lake Y2 and a se abird-free YO from Fildes Peninsula,Antarctic Peninsula.The microbial communities in Y2 were mainly associated with penguin activities,while those in YO were limited by nutrients.The much enriched δ^(34)S_(SO_(4))recorded at depth of 30,41,and 52 cm in Y2indicates very strong sulfate reduction therein.The sulfur-degrading bacteria Pseudomonas in 0-23 cm of Y2 was 3.5 time s as abundant as that of sulfur oxidizing bacteria(SOB),indicating remarkable remineralization of organic sulfur.The abundant SOB and ^(34)S-depleted sulfate indicate considerable sulfur oxidation in 34-56-cm layer in Y2.In YO sediments,the highest abundance of Desulfotalea and the most enriched δ^(34)S_(SO_(4))(35.2‰)and δ^(34)S_(CRS)(2.5‰)indicate the strongest sulfate reduction in 28-cm layer.High abundance of Pseudomonas indicates active remineralization of organic sulfur in 3-5-cm layer in YO.The medium δ^(34)S_(SO_(4))and considerable abundance of SOB and sulfate-reducing bacteria(SRB)indicate concurrence of sulfur oxidation and sulfate reduction in other layers in YO.Therefore,a high level of organic matter input from penguin populations supported the diverse microbial community and transformations of sulfur in aquatic ecosystems in Antarctica.

Isolation and characterization of ferrous-and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria from Tengchong solfataric region,China

Microbial oxidation and reduction of iron and sulfur are important parts of biogeochemical cycles in acidic environments such as geothermal solfataric regions. Species of Acidithiobacillus and Leptospirillum are the common ferrous-iron and sulfur oxidizers from such environments. This study focused on the Tengchong sofataric region, located in Yunnan Province, Southwest China. Based on cultivation, 9 strains that grow on ferrous-iron and sulfuric compounds were obtained. Analysis of 16S rRNA genes of the 9 strains indicated that they were affiliated to AcidithiobaciUus, Alicyclobacillus, Sulfobacillus, Leptospirillum and Acidiphilium. Physiological and phylogenetic studies indicated that two strains （TC-34 and TC-71） might represent two novel members of Alicyclobacillus. Strain TC-34 and TC-71 showed 94.8%-97.1% 16S rRNA gene identities to other species of Alicyclobacillus. Different from the previously described Alicyclobacillus species, strains TC-34 and TC-71 were mesophilic and their cellular fatty acids do not contain w-cyclic fatty acids. Strain TC-71 was obligately dependent on ferrous-iron for growth. It was concluded that the ferrous-iron oxidizers were diversified and Alicyclobacillus species were proposed to take part in biochemical geocycling of iron in the Tengchong solfataric region.

Effects of selenium and sulfur on antioxidants and physiological parameters of garlic plants during senescence

A hydroponic study was conducted to determine the effects of selenium（Se： 0, 3, 6 μmol L^-1） on senescence-related oxidative stress in garlic plants grown under two sulfur（S） levels. We evaluated the yields of plants harvested at 160 and 200 days after sowing. Plants grown under a low Se dose（0.3 μmol L^-1） at low S level showed higher yields（12.0% increase in fresh weight yield, 13.7% increase in dry weight yield） than the controls, despite a decrease in chlorophyll concentration. Compared with control plants, the Se-treated plants showed lower levels of lipid peroxidation. The Se-treated plants also showed higher activities of glut athione peroxidase and catalase, but lower superoxide dismutase activities. Changes in Fv/Fm values and proline contents were affected more strongly by S than by Se. On the basis of our results, we can conclude that Se plays a key role in the antioxidant systems in garlic seedlings. It delays senescence by alleviating the peroxide stress, but it can be toxic at high levels. A high S level may increase tolerance to high Se concentrations through reducing Se accumulation in plants.

Embedding partial sulfurization of iron-cobalt oxide nanoparticles into carbon nanofibers as an efficient electrode for the advanced asymmetric supercapacitor

In this paper,a series of partially sulfurized iron-cobalt oxide(FCOS) nanoparticles were embedded in carbon nanofibers(FCOS@CNF) via a simple electrospinning method and followed by a hydrothermal sulfurization process.The sulfurization degree of iron-cobalt oxide nanoparticles can be further controlled by tuning the hydrothermal reaction time.The self-supported FCOS@CNF samples with hierarchical nanostructure can not only effectively prevent the detaching of the FCOS nanoparticles but also provide abundant electrochemical active sites.When used as a supercapacitor electrode,the FCOS@CNF^(-1)0 electrode presents a high specific capacitance(1039 F·g^(-1)at 1 A·g^(-1)),a good rate performance(over 69.4%of capacitance retention from 1 to 15 A·g^(-1)),and a long cycle lifespan(88.3% of capacitance retention after 4000 cycles at10 A·g^(-1)).A unique(FCOS@CNF^(-1)0//F-RGO) asymmetric supercapacitor device was assembled using the FCOS@CNF^(-1)0 sample as the positive electrode and the freeze-dried reductive graphene oxide(F-RGO) as the negative electrode.The hybrid device exhibits excellent electrochemical properties,including a high specific capacity,a long cycle life(86% after5000 cycles at 10 A·g^(-1)),and a maximum energy density of 24.2 Wh·kg^(-1)@725.4 W·kg^(-1).

Field Studies on the Removal Characteristics of Particulate Matter and SO_(x) in Ultra-Low Emission Coal-Fired Power Plant

In order to reduce the environmental smog caused by coal combustion,air pollution control devices have been widely used in coal-fired power plants,especially of wet flue gas desulfurization(WFGD)and wet electrostatic precipitator(WESP).In this work,particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 10μm(PM_(10))and sulfur oxides(SO_(x))have been studied in a coal-fired power plant.The plant is equipped with selective catalytic reduction,electrostatic precipitator,WFGD,WESP.The results show that the PM_(10)removal efficiencies in WFGD and WESP are 54.34%and 50.39%,respectively,and the overall removal efficiency is 77.35%.WFGD and WESP have effects on the particle size distribution.After WFGD,the peak of particles shifts from 1.62 to 0.95μm,and the mass concentration of fine particles with aerodynamic diameter less than 0.61μm increases.After WESP,the peak of particle size shifts from 0.95 to 1.61μm.The differences are due to the agglomeration and growth of small particles.The SO_(3)mass concentration increases after SCR,but WFGD has a great influence on SO_(x)with the efficiency of 96.56%.WESP can remove SO_(x),but the efficiency is 20.91%.The final emission factors of SO_(2),SO_(3),PM_(1),PM_(2.5)and PM_(10)are 0.1597,0.0450,0.0154,0.0267 and 0.0215(kg·t^(−1)),respectively.Compared with the research results without ultra-low emission retrofit,the emission factors are reduced by 1~2 orders of magnitude,and the emission control level of air pollutants is greatly improved.

Pyrolyzed bacterial cellulose/graphene oxide sandwich interlayer for lithium–sulfur batteries

Herein, a facile strategy for the synthesis of sandwich pyrolyzed bacterial cellulose（PBC）/graphene oxide（GO） composite was reported simply by utilizing the large-scale regenerated biomass bacterial cellulose as precursor. The unique and delicate structure where three-dimensional interconnected bacterial cellulose（BC） network embedded in two-dimensional GO skeleton could not only work as an effective barrier to retard polysulfide diffusion during the charge/discharge process to enhance the cyclic stability of the Li–S battery, but also offer a continuous electron transport pathway for the improved rate capability.As a result, by utilizing pure sulfur as cathodes, the Li–S batteries assembled with PBC/GO interlayer can still exhibit a capacity of nearly 600 mAh·g^-1 at 3C and only 0.055% capacity decay per cycle can be observed over 200 cycles. Additionally, the cost-efficient and environmentfriendly raw materials may enable the PBC/GO sandwich interlayer to be an advanced configuration for Li–S batteries.

New microbial electrosynthesis system for methane production from carbon dioxide coupled with oxidation of sulfide to sulfate

Microbial electrosynthesis system (MES) is a promising method that can use carbon dioxide,which is a greenhouse gas,to produce methane which acts as an energy source,without using organic substances.However,this bioelectrical reduction reaction can proceed at a certain high applied voltage when coupled with water oxidation in the anode coated with metallic catalyst.When coupled with the oxidation of HS–to SO_(4)^(2-),methane production is thermodynamically more feasible,thus implying its production at a considerably lower applied voltage.In this study,we demonstrated the possibility of electrotrophic methane production coupled with HS–oxidation in a cost-effective bioanode chamber in the MES without organic substrates at a low applied voltage of 0.2 V.In addition,microbial community analyses of biomass enriched in the bioanode and biocathode were used to reveal the most probable pathway for methane production from HS–oxidation.In the bioanode,electroautotrophic SO_(4)^(2-)production accompanied with electron donation to the electrode is performed mainly by the following two steps:first,incomplete sulfide oxidation to sulfur cycle intermediates (SCI) is performed;then the produced SCI are disproportionated to HS^(–)and SO_(4)^(2-).In the biocathode,methane is produced mainly via H_(2)and acetate by electronaccepting syntrophic bacteria,homoacetogens,and acetoclastic archaea.Here,a new ecofriendly MES with biological H_(2)S removal is established.

Hybrid zeolite-based ion-exchange and sulfur oxidizing denitrification for advanced slaughterhouse wastewater treatment

The discharge of slaughterhouse wastewater(SWW)is increasing and its wastewater has to be treated thoroughly to avoid the eutrophication.The hybrid zeolite-based ion-exchange and sulfur autotrophic denitrification(IX-AD)process was developed to advanced treat SWW after traditional secondary biological process.Compared with traditional sulfur oxidizing denitrification(SOD),this study found that IX-AD column showed:(1)stronger ability to resist NO_(3)^(-) pollution load,(2)lower SO_(4)^(2-) productivity,and(3)higher microbial diversity and richness.Liaoning zeolites addition guaranteed not only the standard discharge of NH_(4)^(+)-N,but also the denitrification performance and effluent TN.Especially,when the ahead secondary biological treatment process run at the ultra-high load,NO_(3)-N removal efficiency for IX-AD column was still~100%,whereas only 64.2%for control SOD column.The corresponding average effluent TN concentrations for IX-AD and SOD columns were 5.89 and 65.55 mg/L,respectively.Therefore,IX-AD is a promising technology for advanced SWW treatment and should be widely researched and popularized.

Biological methane production coupled with sulfur oxidation in a microbial electrosynthesis system without organic substrates

Methane is produced in a microbial electrosynthesis system(MES) without organic substrates. However, a relatively high applied voltage is required for the bioelectrical reactions.In this study, we demonstrated that electrotrophic methane production at the biocathode was achieved even at a very low voltage of 0.1 V in an MES, in which abiotic HS-oxidized to SO_(4)^(2-) at the anodic carbon-cloth surface coated with platinum powder. In addition, microbial community analysis revealed the most probable pathway for methane production from electrons. First, electrotrophic H_(2) was produced by syntrophic bacteria, such as Syntrophorhabdus, Syntrophobacter, Syntrophus, Leptolinea, and Aminicenantales, with the direct acceptance of electrons at the biocathode. Subsequently, most of the produced H_(2) was converted to acetate by homoacetogens, such as Clostridium and Spirochaeta 2. In conclusion,the majority of the methane was indirectly produced by a large population of acetoclastic methanogens, namely Methanosaeta, via acetate. Further, hydrogenotrophic methanogens,including Methanobacterium and Methanolinea, produced methane via H_(2).

Role of secondary aerosols in haze formation in summer in the Megacity Beijing

A field experiment from 18 August to 8 September 2006 in Beijing, China, was carried out. A hazy day was defined as visibility 〈 10 km and RH（relative humidity） 〈 90%. Four haze episodes, which accounted for ～ 60% of the time during the whole campaign, were characterized by increases of SNA（sulfate, nitrate, and ammonium） and SOA（secondary organic aerosol） concentrations. The average values with standard deviation of SO2-＋4, NO-3, NH4 and SOA were 49.8（± 31.6）, 31.4（±22.3）, 25.8（±16.6） and 8.9（±4.1） μg/m3, respectively, during the haze episodes, which were 4.3, 3.4, 4.1, and 1.7 times those in the non-haze days. The SO2-4,NO-3, NH＋4, and SOA accounted for 15.8%, 8.8%, 7.3%, and 6.0% of the total mass concentration of PM10 during the non-haze days. The respective contributions of SNA species to PM10 rose to about27.2%, 15.9%, and 13.9% during the haze days, while the contributions of SOA maintained the same level with a slight decrease to about 4.9%. The observed mass concentrations of SNA and SOA increased with the increase of PM10 mass concentration, however, the rate of increase of SNA was much faster than that of the SOA. The SOR（sulfur oxidation ratio） and NOR（nitrogen oxidation ratio） increased from non-haze days to hazy days, and increased with the increase of RH. High concentrations of aerosols and water vapor favored the conversion of SO2 to SO2-4and NO2 to NO-3, which accelerated the accumulation of the aerosols and resulted in the formation of haze in Beijing.

Efectiveness of national air pollution control policies on the air quality in metropolitan areas of China

Understanding the effectiveness of national air pollution controls is important for control policy design to improve the future air quality in China. This study evaluated the effectiveness of major national control policies implemented recently in China through a modeling analysis. The sulfur dioxide （SO2） control policy during the llth Five Year Plan period （2006-2010） had succeeded in reducing the national SO2 emission in 2010 by 14% from its 2005 level, which correspondingly reduced ambient SO2 and sulfate （SO42-） concentrations by 13%-15% and 8%-10% respectively over east China. The nitrogen oxides （NOx） control policy during the 12th Five Year Plan period （2011-2015） targets the reduction of the national NOx emission in 2015 by 10% on the basis of 2010. The simulation results suggest that such a reduction in NOx emission will reduce the ambient nitrogen dioxide （NO2）, nitrate （NO3-）, 1-hr maxima ozone （03） concentrations and total nitrogen deposition by 8%, 3%-14%, 2% and 2%--4%, respectively over east China. The application of new emission standards for power plants will further reduce the NO2, NO3-, 1-hr maxima 03 concentrations and total nitrogen deposition by 2%-4%, 1%-%, 0-2% and 1%-2%, respectively. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to evaluate the inter-provincial impacts of emission reduction in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and the Yangtze River Delta, which indicated the need to implement joint regional air pollution control.

Roles of SO_2 oxidation in new particle formation events

The oxidation of SO2 is commonly regarded as a major driver for new particle formation（NPF） in the atmosphere. In this study, we explored the connection between measured mixing ratio of SO2 and observed long-term（duration 〉 3 hr） and short-term（duration〈 1.5 hr） NPF events at a semi-urban site in Toronto. Apparent NPF rates（J30） showed a moderate correlation with the concentration of sulfuric acid（[H2SO4]） calculated from the measured mixing ratio of SO2 in long-term NPF events and some short-term NPF events（Category I）（R^2= 0.66）. The exponent in the fitting line of J30~ [H2SO4]nin these events was1.6. It was also found that SO2 mixing ratios varied a lot during long-term NPF events,leading to a significant variation of new particle counts. In the SO2-unexplained short-term NPF events（Category II）, analysis showed that new particles were formed aloft and then mixed down to the ground level. Further calculation results showed that sulfuric acid oxidized from SO2 probably made a negligible contribution to the growth of 〉 10 nm new particles.