Tracing the behaviour of hexachlorobenzene in a paddy soil-rice system over a growth season

Hexachlorobenzene （HCB）, a persistent organic pollutant （POP）, has been found in paddy soils. To improve the understanding of HCB contamination in paddy soils, a laboratory simulative study was carried out to investigate the behavior of HCB in a paddy soil and rice plants. This study was divided into three experiments. First, an experiment aimed to examine the evaporation of HCB in paddy soil. In the second experiment, rice was planted in 10 mg/kg HCB contaminated soil and after pot culture at 3, 6, 9, and 27 weeks （at maturity）, both soil and plant samplings were scheduled to be sampled. The soil samples comprised rhizosphere soil, nortrhizosphere soil, and unplanted contaminated soil, whereas plant samples included shoots, roots, and rice grains （dehusked）. Lastly, in this part, HCB in xylem saps was designed to be examined. The results showed that （1） the HCB translocation from paddy soil to rice by vaporization; （2） the HCB concentration in rice grains was surprisingly high; （3） the observed HCB decrease in rice rhizosphere offers a potential means for in situ HCB degradation; （4） HCB might not be transported along transpiration in rice.

Investigation of the hydrodynamic behavior of diatom aggregates using particle image velocimetry

The hydrodynamic behavior of diatom aggregates has a significant influence on the interactions and flocculation kinetics of algae. However, characterization of the hydrodynamics of diatoms and diatom aggregates in water is rather difficult. In this laboratory study, an advanced visualization technique in particle image velocimetry （PIV） was employed to investigate the hydrodynamic properties of settling diatom aggregates. The experiments were conducted in a settling column filled with a suspension of fluorescent polymeric beads as seed tracers. A laser light sheet was generated by the PIV setup to illuminate a thin vertical planar region in the settling column, while the motions of particles were recorded by a high speed charge-coupled device （CCD） camera. This technique was able to capture the trajectories of the tracers when a diatom aggregate settled through the tracer suspension. The PIV results indicated directly the curvilinear feature of the streamlines around diatom aggregates. The rectilinear collision model largely overestimated the collision areas of the settling particles. Algae aggregates appeared to be highly porous and fractal, which allowed streamlines to penetrate into the aggregate interior. The diatom aggregates have a fluid collection efficiency of 10%-40%. The permeable feature of aggregates can significantly enhance the collisions and flocculation between the aggregates and other small particles including algal cells in water.