Multiple isotopes reveal the driving mechanism of high NO_(3)^(-) level and key processes of nitrogen cycling in the lower reaches of Yellow River

The continuous increase of nitrate(NO_(3)^(-))level in rivers is a hot issue in the world.However,the driving mechanism of high NO_(3)^(-)level in large rivers is still lacking,which has limited the use of river water and increased the cost of water treatment.In this study,multiple isotopes and source resolution models are applied to identify the driving mechanism of high NO_(3)^(-)level and key processes of nitrogen cycling in the lower reaches of the Yellow River(LRYR).The major sources of NO_(3)^(-)were sewage and manure(SAM)in the low-flow season and soil nitrogen(SN)and chemical fertilizer(CF)in the high-flow season.Nitrification was the most key process of nitrogen cycling in the LRYR.However,in the biological removal processes,denitrification may not occur significantly.The temporal variation of contributions of NO_(3)^(-)sources were estimated by a source resolution model in the LRYR.The proportional contributions of SAM and CF to NO_(3)^(-)in the low-flow and high-flow season were 32.5%-52.3%,44.2%-46.2%and 36.0%-40.8%,54.9%-56.9%,respectively.The driving mechanisms of high NO_(3)^(-)level were unreasonable sewage discharge,intensity rainfall runoff,nitrification and lack of nitrate removal capacity.To control the NO_(3)^(-)concentration,targeted measures should be implemented to improve the capacity of sewage and wastewater treatment,increase the utilization efficiency of nitrogen fertilizer and construct ecological engineering.This study deepens the understanding of the driving mechanism of high nitrate level and provides a vital reference for nitrogen pollution control in rivers to other area of the world.

Assessment of sources and transformation of nitrate in the alluvial-pluvial fan region of north China using a multi-isotope approach

A multi-isotope approach and mixing model were combined to identify spatial and seasonal variations of sources,and their proportional contribution to nitrate in the Hutuo River alluvial-pluvial fan region.The results showed that the NO3- concentration was significantly higher in the Hutuo River valley plain(178.7 mg/L) region than that in the upper and central pluvial fans of the Hutuo River(82.1 mg/L and 71.0 mg/L,respectively)and in the river(17.0 mg/L).Different land use types had no significant effect on the groundwater nitrate concentration.Based on a multi-isotope approach,we confirmed that the main sources of groundwater nitrate in different land use areas were domestic sewage and manure,followed by soil nitrogen,ammonia fertilizer,nitrate fertilizer and rainwater,and there were no significant spatial or seasonal variations.Combining δ^15N-NO3,δ^18O-NO3- and δ^37Cl results can increase the accuracy of traceability.Nitrification could be the most important nitrogen migration and transformation process,and denitrification did not significantly affected the isotopic composition of the nitrate.The SIAR model outputs revealed that the main nitrate pollution sources in groundwater and river water were domestic sewage and manure,accounting for 55.9%-61.0% and 22.6%(dry season),50.3%-60.4% and 34.1%(transition season),42.7%-47.6% and 35.6%(wet season 2016) and 45.9%-46.7% and 38.4%(wet season 2017),respectively.This work suggests that the random discharge and disposal of domestic sewage and manure should be the first target for control in order to prevent further nitrate contamination of the water environment.

Fenton Pre-Oxidation Followed by Microbial Degradation for Removing Crude Oil from Contaminated Soil

Through the Fenton pre-oxidation followed by microbial degradation,this study gave full play to its advantages while avoiding its shortcomings for the remediation of crude oil contaminated soil.The Fenton reagent coupled with different volumes of H2O2 was applied to the oil contaminated soil and then the microbial agents were introduced to biodegrade the residual oil for 15 days.The correlation between the characteristics of residual oil in soil,the changes in soil physical-chemical property after the Fenton pre-oxidation,and the biodegradation were analyzed in this paper.The results show that the above factors are strongly correlated with the subsequent biodegradation rate,and the order of correlation is as follows:the ratio of TOC to NH4+-N(R^2=0.9513)>the ratio of light oil components to the heavy oil components(R^2=0.9095)>the proportion of hydrocarbons with carbon chain number of less than C23(R^2=0.8259)>the crude oil content(R^2=0.7603)>the soil pH(R^2=0.7492)>the number of microorganisms(R^2=0.6506).During the biodegradation and pre-oxidation reactions of heavy oil components,an appropriate C:N ratio turns out to be the most critical factor in this study.