Efficient water disinfection with ball milled Mg-biochar: The key role of trace Cu

In this study, magnesium and coconut shell carbon (CSC) were prepared by a ball milled process and used for water disinfection with adsorbing tiny amounts of copper(II). Dissolved oxygen (DO) was reduced to hydrogen peroxide (H_(2)O_(2)) via a two-electron pathway by Mg corrosion. Cu(II) in the wastewater will be enriched on the CSC surface and efficiently catalyzes H2O2 for inactivating E. coli. The results show that E. coli with an initial concentration of approximately 106 CFU/mL was under the detection limit (<4 CFU/mL) within 15 min. All of the Cu(II) could be adsorbed by the composite and catalyzed H2O2 to different active species. The quenching experiments, electron spin resonance (ESR) capture measurements and the UV-vis spectroscopy detection confirmed the present of the hydroxyl radicals (·OH), superoxide radicals (·O_(2)^(-)) and Cu(III). Different with tradition Fenton like process, Cu(III), rather than radicals, played the major role during the Mg-CSC/Cu(II) process. In addition to the cellular membrane damage, most of the bacterial genomic DNA was also be degraded and the bacterial reactivation was avoided. The Mg-CSC/Cu(II) process also showed a satisfied disinfection performance in real wastewater treatment. Overall, this study provides a new strategy for water disinfection.

Seasonal compensation implied no weakening of the land carbon sink in the Northern Hemisphere under the 2015/2016 El Niño

The recurrent extreme El Niño events are commonly linked to reduced vegetation growth and the land carbon sink over many but discrete regions of the Northern Hemisphere(NH).However,we reported here a pervasive and continuous vegetation greening and no weakened land carbon sink in the maturation phase of the 2015/2016 El Niño event over the NH(mainly in the extra-tropics),based on multiple evidences from remote sensing observations,global ecosystem model simulations and atmospheric CO_(2)inversions.We discovered a significant compensation effect of the enhanced vegetation growth in spring on subsequent summer/autumn vegetation growth that sustained vegetation greening and led to a slight increase in the land carbon sink over the spring and summer of 2015(average increases of 23.34%and 0.63%in net ecosystem exchange from two independent datasets relative to a 5-years average before the El Niño event,respectively)and spring of 2016(6.82%),especially in the extra-tropics of the NH,where the water supply during the pre-growing-season(November of the previous year to March of the current year)had a positive anomaly.This seasonal compensation effect was much stronger than that in 1997 and 1998 and significantly alleviated the adverse impacts of the 2015/2016 El Niño event on vegetation growth during its maturation phase.The legacy effect of water supply during the pre-growing-season on subsequent vegetation growth lasted up to approximately six months.Our findings highlight the role of seasonal compensation effects on mediating the land carbon sink in response to episodic extreme El Niño events.

Enhanced catalytic oxidation of dichloromethane by a surfactant-modified CeO_(2)@TiO_(2) core-shell nanostructured catalyst

Surfactant-modified CeO_(2)@TiO_(2) core-shell nanostructure catalysts were prepared by coprecipitation with the addition of sodium dodecyl sulfonate(SDS),and their catalytic oxidation of dichloromethane(DCM) was studied.A 90% DCM conversion efficiency is obtained at 300℃ with the CeO_(2)@TiO_(2)SDS catalyst,and its catalytic stability in the 55 h test period is better than that of Ce/TiO_(2) and CeO_(2)@TiO_(2).Based on the characterization of CeO_(2)@TiO_(2)SDS,the dispersion of active components is promoted due to the inhibition of crystal growth with the introduction of SDS.The improvement of surface acidity and redox capacity is beneficial to the enhancement of catalytic activity.The higher adsorbed oxygen content on the surface of the CeO_(2)@TiO_(2)SDS catalyst is responsible for the better catalytic stability.Generally,a novel method was developed to design catalytic oxidation catalysts for the treatment of chlorinated volatile organic compounds in future applications.

Nanofiltration for drinking water treatment: a review

In recent decades,nanofiltration(NF)is considered as a promising separation technique to produce drinking water from different types of water source.In this paper,we comprehensively reviewed the progress of NFbased drinking water treatment,through summarizing the development of materials/fabrication and applications of NF membranes in various scenarios including surface water treatment,groundwater treatment,water reuse,brackish water treatment,and point of use applications.We not only summarized the removal of target major pollutants(e.g.,hardness,pathogen,and natural organic matter),but also paid attention to the removal of micropollutants of major concern(e.g.,disinfection byproducts,per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances,and arsenic).We highlighted that,for different applications,fit-for-purpose design is needed to improve the separation capability for target compounds of NF membranes in addition to their removal of salts.Outlook and perspectives on membrane fouling control,chlorine resistance,integrity,and selectivity are also discussed to provide potential insights for future development of high-efficiency NF membranes for stable and reliable drinking water treatment.

A novel herbivorous wood-borer insect outbreak triggers die-offs of a foundation plant species in coastal ecosystems

Introduction:Understanding the trophic interactions between plants and herbivorous insects is essential for managing the ecosystem health and sustainability in the context of climate change and anthropogenic disturbance.The Tamarix chinensis is a foundation plant species of salt marshes in northern China,which provides a variety of ecological functions and services in coastal ecosystems such as withstanding storm tide,conserving biodiversity,and preventing shoreline erosion.Outcomes:However,through long-term field observations,for the first time,we found that the health of this population has been suffering from the potential outbreak of a novel wood-borer insect(Zeuzera leuconotum Butler)under multiple stresses,contributing substantially to the degradation of the coastal salt marshes.Discussion and Conclusion:Therefore,there is urgent need and great significance to investigate the potential impact of this herbivorous wood-borer insects on health and sustainability of plant community in coastal ecosystems for in-depth understanding its degradation mechanisms.

Agronomic effectiveness of recovered phosphate fertilizer produced from incinerated sewage sludge ash

Phosphorus(P)recovery from incinerated sewage sludge ash(ISSA)has been extensively investigated,but insufficient research has been conducted to evaluate the effect of different kinds of recovered phosphate fertilizers(RPFs)on plant growth with respect to the P and heavy metal contents of RPFs.In this study,three kinds of RPFs,precipitated calcium phosphate fertilizer(CaP),struvite phosphate fertilizer(SP),and P-loaded biochar(BP),produced from ISSA were characterized,and their agronomic effectiveness was verified by hydroponic and soil cultivation.In addition to the three kinds of RPFs,a control group(mono-phosphate fertilizer in hydroponic group/compound fertilizer in soil cultivation group)and a blank control group(BC,with zero P)were tested on choy sum and ryegrass at the same time.SP has the highest P purity(76.0%of struvite)while the BP has the most complex P species(P was co-exist with Fe,Al,and Mg).Plant growth results showed that the RPFs greatly facilitated plant growth and demonstrated superior/comparable effects to those of control group.In hydroponics testing,SP showed the best effect(shoot length of 17.0 cm,chlorophyll content of 2.05 mg/g)due to the Mg involved and the high P purity of SP,while BP performed the best(shoot length of 13.7 cm,chlorophyll content of 2.42 mg/g)in the soil testing system among all of the groups because of the additional nutritional elements and the high P availability of BP.Additionally,the accumulation of heavy metals in the plants under all conditions did not exceed the limits stipulated in the regulations.These results indicate that recovering P from ISSA is an attractive technology to produce P fertilizers,which can alleviate both the scarcity of phosphate resources and the burden of ISSA management.

Correction to:Agronomic effectiveness of recovered phosphate fertilizer produced from incinerated sewage sludge ash

In this article,the affiliation details for Author Chi Sun Poon were incorrectly given as'State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation,School of Environment,Beijing Normal University,Beijing 100875,China'and'State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering,Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Wuhan 430071,China'but should have been'Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,The Hong Kong Polytechnic University,Kowloon,Hong Kong,China'and'IRSM-CAS/HK PolyU Joint Laboratory on Solid Waste Science,Kowloon,Hong Kong,China'.The original article has been corrected.