Adsorption, separation and recovery properties of blocky zeolite-biochar composites for remediation of cadmium contaminated soil

Cadmium(Cd) contamination in soils is a global ecological threat. Conventional powdered biochar added to soil can temporarily immobilize Cd but is difficult to separate from soil, leading to secondary release of Cd and posing potential ecological and human health risks. The blocky biochar is also difficult to separate from the soil due to its fragile nature. One of the keys to overcome the difficulties in separating biochar from soil is to improve its mechanical strength. Blocky zeolite-biochar composites(ZBC) that have good mechanical strength were obtained after pyrolyzing the mixture of 50% feedstock and 50% zeolite powder at 400 ℃. ZBC and NaOH-activated ZBC(ZBC_a) were applied to remove Cd from soil. After sieving Cd-loaded ZBC and ZBC_a from soil, the bioavailable Cd content in the soil decreased by 59.70% and 68.54%,respectively. Zeolite contributed to improving both adsorption performance and mechanical properties of the composites. After repeating the process of “remediation-sieving-desorption-regeneration” three times, the recoveries of ZBC and ZBC_a were above 97.00%, and regeneration rates were 48.70-83.26%,respectively. Under simulated mechanical sieving conditions, ZBC and ZBC_a lost only 4.06% and 5.40%of their mass and retained their integrity. Remediation of Cd-contaminated soil with blocky zeolitebiochar composite is sustainable and safe because the removal of bioavailable Cd from soil is permanent rather than a temporary decrease of bioavailability. This study provides a reference for the preparation of separable and recyclable adsorbents for the removal of contaminants from soil.

System Dynamics Approach to Urban Water Demand Forecasting—A Case Study of Tianjin

A system dynamics approach to urban water demand forecasting was developed based on the analysis of urban water resources system, which was characterized by multi-feedback and nonlinear interactions among sys-tem elements. As an example, Tianjin water resources system dynamic model was set up to forecast water resources demand of the planning years. The practical verification showed that the relative error was lower than 10%. Fur-thermore, through the comparison and analysis of the simulation results under different development modes pre-sented in this paper, the forecasting results of the water resources demand of Tianjin was achieved based on sustain-able utilization strategy of water resources.

Energy-saving potential analysis for teaching building with intermittent heating system in university of Tianjin

An energy consumption analysis based on the heating characteristic of a building with central heat exchanger in a university of Tianjin was done,and the feasibility of intermittent heating with variable speed pumps was discussed. By comparing various methods of energy consumption analysis,a modified Bin method based on the weather data in Tianjin was adopted. The heat consumption of the buildings under intermittent heating mode was calculated and compared with continuous heating mode,the result shows that intermittent heating can reduce energy consumption for 1 941 759 kW·h,save standard coal for 341 t,and reduce pump power consumption for 72 679 kW·h annually. Intermittent operation by means of varying the pump frequency not only leads to savings in fuel consumption and reduction in pollutant emissions,but also reduces operating costs significantly and it is an ideal energy-saving method. By analyzing the results,the recommendations of heating operation regulation and the transformation of pipe network were proposed separately to different kinds of buildings in colleges,such as laboratory building,teaching building.

Pretreatment of Raw Biochar and Phosphate Removal Performance of Modified Granular Iron/Biochar

Biochar is a potential carrier for nutrients due to its porous nature and abundant functional groups. However, raw biochar has a limited or even negative capacity to adsorb phosphate. To enhance phosphate removal and reduce phosphate releases, acidic, alkaline, and surfactant pretreatments,followed by granulation and ferric oxide loading, were applied to raw biochar powder(B_p). The alkaline pretreatment proved to be the most effective method and exhibited significant pore expansion and surface oxidation. B_g-OH-FO showed the highest phosphate removal efficiency at 99.2%(initial phosphate concentration of 20 mg/L) after granulation and ferric oxide loading. Static adsorption results indicated that a p H value of 4 was the most suitable for phosphate adsorption because of the surface properties of B_g-OH-FO and the distribution of P(V) in water. Higher temperatures and a larger initial phosphate concentration led to better adsorption; the adsorption capacity of B_g-OH-FO was 1.91 mg/g at 313 K with an initial phosphate concentration of 50 mg/L. The B_gOH-FO adsorption process was endothermic in nature. The Freundlich model seemed to be the optimum isotherm model for B_g-OH-FO. Under continuous adsorption, the flow rate and bed depth were changed to optimize the operation conditions. The results indicate that a slow flow rate and high bed depth helped increase the removal efficiency(g) of the fixed bed. The breakthrough curves fitted well with the Yoon–Nelson model.

Optimal air-supply mode of hybrid system with radiant cooling and dedicated outdoor air

The hybrid system with radiant cooling and dedicated outdoor air not only possesses high energy efficiency, but also creates a healthy and comfortable indoor environment. Indoor air quality will be improved by the dedicated outdoor air system(DOAS) and indoor thermal comfort can be enhanced by the radiant cooling system(RCS). The optimal air-supply mode of the hybrid system and the corresponding design approach were investigated. A full-scale experimental chamber with various air outlets and the ceiling radiant cooling panels(CRCP) was designed and established. The performances of different air-supply modes along with CRCPs were analyzed by multi-index evaluations. Preliminary investigations were also conducted on the humidity stratification and the control effect of different airflow modes to prevent condensation on CRCP. The overhead supply air is recommended as the best combination mode for the hybrid system after comprehensive comparison of the experiment results. The optimal proportion of CRCP accounting for the total cooling capacities in accord with specific cooling loads is found, which may provide valuable reference for the design and operation of the hybrid system.

Zeolite P synthesis based on fly ash and its removal of Cu(Ⅱ) and Ni(Ⅱ) ions

Zeolite P was synthesized through hydrothermal method based on a kind of Class C fly ash(FA). X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller(BET) were used to analyze and characterize the synthetic sample. The kinetics and thermodynamics of copper and nickel ions removed by the zeolite samples were experimentally explored in detail. The results of kinetic treatment showed the second-order exchange second-order saturation model(SESSM) can well describe the removal process of copper ions, while the first-order empirical kinetic model(FEKM) is the best kinetic model for nickel ions. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were used to fit the equilibrium concentration of Cu(Ⅱ) or Ni(Ⅱ) under certain conditions. Whether for copper or nickel ion, the Langmuir model is in good agreement with the experimental equilibrium concentration.The apparent theoretical removal capacities for Cu(Ⅱ) and Ni(Ⅱ) can reach to 138.1 mg·g^(-1) and 77.0 mg·g^(-1),respectively.

Evaluation and optimization of secondary water supply system renovation

Due to pollution in second water supply system (SWSS),nine renovation alternative plans were proposed and com-prehensive evaluations of different plan based on Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) were presented in this paper. Comparisons of advantages and disadvantages among the plans of SWSS renovations provided solid foundation for selecting the most appro-priate plan for engineering projects. In addition,a mathematical model of the optimal combination of renovation plans has been set up and software Lingo was used to solve the model. As a case study,the paper analyzed 15 buildings in Tianjin City. After simulation of the SWSS renovation system,an optimal scheme was obtained,the result of which indicates that 10 out of those 15 buildings need be renovated in priority. The renovation plans selected for each building are the ones ranked higher in the com-prehensive analysis. The analysis revealed that the optimal scheme,compared with two other randomly calculated ones,increased the percentage of service population by 19.6% and 13.6% respectively,which significantly improved social and economical benefits.

Preparation and Photocatalytic Activity of BiOBr/TiO_2 Heterojunction Nanocomposites

An efficient visible-light-responsive BiOBr/TiO_2 heterojunction nanocomposite was fabricated successfully using in-situ depositing technique at room temperature by introducing Bi OBr onto the surface of TiO_2 nanobelts pre-prepared by hydrothermal reaction and etched with H_2SO_4. The obtained particles were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, UV-Vis DRS and PL techniques. BiOBr/TiO_2 heterojunction nanocomposites with different mass ratios of m(Bi OBr)/m(TiO_2) were discussed in order to get the best photocatalytic activity, and BiOBr/TiO_2-1.0 was proved to be the optimal mass ratio. BiOBr/TiO_2-1.0 exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity in the degradation of Rh B compared with TiO_2 nanobelts, pure Bi OBr and the mechanical mixture of TiO_2 nanobelts and Bi OBr. At last, a possible mechanism of photocatalytic enhancement was proposed.

Synthesis and Characterization of Co-Doped Brookite Titania Photocatalysts with High Photocatalytic Activity

Transition metal-doping could effectively extend the light response range of TiO _2 photocatalysts from the ultraviolet(UV)to the visible region.Co-doped brookite titanium dioxide(Co–TiO_2)photocatalysts were synthesized via the hydrothermal method with titanium tetrachloride as the raw material and cobalt chloride hexahydrate as the dopant.The prepared Co–TiO_2 photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),Raman spectroscopy,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS)and UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy(UV–Vis DRS).The photocatalytic activities of Co–TiO _2 photocatalysts were evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of isopropanol alcohol(IPA),a typical volatile organic compound(VOC),under visible light.The influences ofdifferent Co doping rates,initial concentrations of IPA gas and the amounts of photocatalyst addition were also studied.At the same time,the enhancement mechanism ofcobalt ions as a trap for photogenerated holes was discussed.Thus,we found the optimum doping rate,initial concentration of IPA gas and amount of photocatalyst to add.The results show that the mesoporous Co–TiO _2 photocatalysts possess smaller size particles,larger specific surface area,lower forbidden bandgap energy(Eg)and better photocatalytic activity than pure brookite TiO _2.When the doping of Co was 7% by mass,the initial concentration ofIPA gas was 1.0×10^(-6 )mol/L and the addition of Co–TiO_2 photocatalysts was 50 mg,the best photocatalytic activity was achieved.Furthermore,the degradation rate ofIPA was up to 91%,which shows great potential for waste water treatment.

Cloning and Functional Characterisation of Carotenoid Cleavage Dioxygenase 4 from Wolfberry

Carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases(CCDs) are a class of enzymes in plants involved in the biosynthesis of apocarotenoids,such as phytohormones,flavour compounds,and other compounds with yet unknown functions.To date,several CCDs have been functionally characterised in plants,but little is known about the CCD4 members.A carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase 4 gene(LcCCD4) was isolated from the leaves of wolfberry(Lycium chinense) to gain insight into its biological function.Multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analyses showed that the deduced amino acid sequence of LcCCD4 shares high homology with that of CCD4 proteins from other plants.Expression analysis using semi-quantitative polymerase chain reaction revealed that LcCCD4 was strongly expressed in leaves and flowers and that the expression level was in accordance with β-carotene concentration.LcCCD4 transcripts in fruits tended to decrease as carotenoids accumulated.Recombinant expression of LcCCD4 cleaved β-carotene to produce P-ionone in in vivo assays.These results show that LcCCD4 is a CCD gene that may be involved in producing aromatic apocarotenoids in leaves and flowers,whereas it may be involved in controlling carotenoid accumulation in fruits.

Energy efficiency performance of multi-energy district heating and hot water supply system

A district heating and hot water supply system is presented which synthetically utilizes geothermal energy,solar thermal energy and natural gas thermal energy.The multi-energy utilization system has been set at the new campus of Tianjin Polytechnic University(TPU),A couple of deep geothermal wells which are 2 300 m in depth were dug,Deep geothermal energy cascade utilization is achieved by two stages of plate heat exchangers(PHE) and two stages of water source heat pumps(WSHP).Shallow geothermal energy is used in assistant heating by two ground coupled heat pumps(GCHPs) with 580 vertical ground wells which are 120 m in depth.Solar thermal energy collected by vacuum tube arrays(VTAs) and geothermal energy are complementarily utilized to make domestic hot water.Superfluous solar energy can be stored in shallow soil for the GCHP utilization.The system can use fossil fuel thermal energy by two natural gas boilers(NGB) to assist in heating and making hot water.The heating energy efficiency was measured in the winter of 2010-2011.The coefficients of performance(COP) under different heating conditions are discussed.The performance of hot water production is tested in a local typical winter day and the solar thermal energy utilization factor is presented.The rusults show that the average system COP is 5.75 or 4.96 under different working conditions,and the typical solar energy utilization factor is 0.324.

Experimental Performance of Moderate and High Temperature Heat Pump Charged with Refrigerant Mixture BY-3

Theoretical and experimental analysis of a new refrigerant mixture BY-3 was conducted based on a single-stage vapor compression refrigeration system. The water-water heat pump system used BY-3 to produce hot water when the low temperature was 20 ℃. The following results were obtained: the highest temperature at the condenser outlet reached about 85 ℃; when the difference between the water temperatures at the condenser outlet and the evaporator inlet was less than 40 ℃, the coefficient of performance (COP) was larger than 4; when the difference reached 55 ℃, the COP still kept 3; the discharge temperature of BY-3 was lower than 100 ℃, and the refrigerant vapor pressure kept lower than 1.8 MPa. When the water temperature at the condenser outlet reached over 85 ℃, nearly a 5 ℃ superheating temperature was maintained.

Technological Parameters for Preparation and Granulation of Ammonium Ion-Exchange Material

As a raw material,kaolin was modified to prepare a high-performance ammonium ion-exchange material.According to cation-exchange capacity (CEC) measurement,the prepared ammonium ion-exchange material has an ammonium ion-exchange capacity greater than 75mg/g and can be used to remove ammonia nitrogen in water treatment.A pharmaceutical extruder-rounder was used to study the effects of granulation process.Polyethylene glycol6000 (PEG-6000) was used as the pore-forming agent and calcining temperature of 650℃ was used as the optimal condition.NMR data indicate that 27 Al is mainly converted from hexa-coordinated Al to tetra-coordinated Al during the modification.Compared with 29 Si in the original kaolin,29 Si in the modified kaolin does not have an obvious change.A comparison of the data with Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models shows a good correlation.The Freundlich model describes the process more accurately,and the adsorption process of ammonia nitrogen in water with the ammonium ion-exchange material closely matches the pseudo-second-order reaction.

Impacts of Park Landscape Structure on Thermal Environment Using QuickBird and Landsat Images

Urban parks composed mostly of vegetation and water bodies can effectively mitigate the urban heat island effect. Many studies have investigated the cooling effects of urban parks; however, little attention has been given to park landscape structure. Based on landscape metrics, this study has explored the influences of the park landscape structure on its inner thermal environment, taking heavily urbanized Beijing Municipality in China as the study area. Three indices, including the percentage of landscape(PLAND), landscape shape index(LSI) and aggregation index(AI), were used to measure the composition and configuration characteristics of the landscape components inside the parks. The indices were calculated for five landscape types being interpreted from Quickbird images. Urban thermal conditions were measured using the land surface temperature(LST) derived from Landsat TM images. The results showed that the park LST had a negative relationship with the park size, but no significant relationship was found with park shape. For the park's interior landscape, however, the configuration and composition characteristics of the landscape components inside the park explained 70% of the park LST variance. The area percentage of water bodies and the aggregation index of woodland were identified as the key influencing characteristics. In addition, when the composition and configuration characteristics of the park landscape components were separately considered, the configuration characteristics(LSI and AI) explained approximately 54% of the variance in park LST, which was comparable with that explained by the composition characteristics(PLAND). Thus, this study suggested that an effective and practical way for urban cooling park design is the optimization of spatial configuration of landscape components inside the park.

Numerical Modeling of the Performance of R22 and R290 in Adiabatic Capillary Tubes Considering Metastable Two-Phase Region——Flow Characteristics and Parametric Analysis of R22 and R290

Characteristics of R22 and its new alternative refrigerant R290 flowing through adiabatic capillary tubes are investigated based on the homogeneous model.Extensive flow variables along tube length such as pressure, temperature, viscosity, velocity, Reynolds number, friction factor and vapor quality etc are compared between the two fluids under the same operating condition. Two cases are considered, namely, either the same tube length or the same mass flow rate as inlet condition. The results show that the mass flow rate in the capillary tube of R290 is 4000 lower than that of R22 due to the differences of physical properties between the two fluids. Further, a parametric analysis is performed and it appears that effects of geometric and thermodynamic parameters on mass flow rate of R290 are weaker than that of R22. When the condensing temperature is increased from 40 ℃ to 50 ℃, the mass flow rate for R22 is increased by 1600, while the increasing rate for R290 is 1300.

Effects of Concentration and Freeze-Thaw on the First Hydration Shell Structure of Zn^(2+) Ions

To investigate the effects of salt concentration and freeze-thaw (FT) on the first hydration shell of Zn2+ ions in Zn(NO_3)_2 aqueous solutions, extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy was used to examine Zn K-edge EXAFS spectra of Zn(NO_3)_2 aqueous solutions with various concentrations before and after FT treatment. The influences of salt concentration and freeze-thaw on the structural parameters of the first hydration shell of Zn2+ ions, including hydration number, Zn-O distance and thermal disorder, were analyzed. The results show that Zn2+ ions have 3.2―6.8 nearest oxygen neighbors with the Zn-O distance being 0.202―0.207 nm. In highly concen-trated solutions, Zn2+ ions are hydrated with four water molecules in a tetrahedral form. The dilution of Zn(NO_3)_2 aqueous solutions increases the number of water molecules in the first hydration shell of Zn2+ ions to six with their octahedral arrangement. Both the hydration number in the first hydration shell of Zn2+ ions and the degree of thermal disorder increase when the FT treatment is operated in Zn(NO_3)_2 aqueous solutions.

Comprehensive Investigation and Assessment of Nutrient and Heavy Metal Contamination in the Surface Water of Coastal Bohai Sea in China

With the rapid development of industrialization and urbanization of coastal regions,eutrophication and metal pollution have caused serious environmental problems in China.To better understand the potential environmental risks associated with nutrients and heavy metals,the surface water was comprehensively investigated in the coastal Bohai Sea.A total of 150 sites were sampled from seven coastal regions,and the concentrations of nutrients(DIN and DIP)and metals(Cd,Pb,Zn,Cu,Cr,As and Hg)in the surface seawater were measured.The results showed that the DIN concentration of about 50%sites exceeded the Grade-I of Seawater Quality Standard of China.Due to high concentrations of DIN,the status of eutrophication was serious in the Bohai Bay and Shuangtaizi Estuary.According to Seawater Quality Standard of China,Pb,Zn,Hg and Cu were the main metal pollutants in the coastal Bohai Sea.There was generally low ecological risk caused by heavy metals,but certain hotspots existed near Shuangtaizi Estuary and Changxingdao Island.

Synthesis and Optimization of TiO_2/Graphene with Exposed {001} Facets Based on Response Surface Methodology and Evaluation of Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

Response surface methodology(RSM) was employed to optimize the control parameters of TiO_2/graphene with exposed {001} facets during synthesis, and its enhanced photocatalytic activities were evaluated in the photodegradation of toluene. Experimental results were in good agreement with the predicted results obtained using RSM with a correlation coefficient(R^2) of 0.9345. When 22.06 mg of graphite oxide(GO) and 2.09 mL of hydrofluoric acid(HF) were added and a hydrothermal time of 28 h was used, a maximum efficiency in the degradation of toluene was achieved. X-ray diffraction(XRD), transmission electron microscopy(TEM), and scanning electron microscopy(SEM) were employed to characterize the obtained hybrid photocatalyst. The electron transferred between Ti and C retarded the combination of electron–hole pairs and hastened the transferring of electrons, which enhanced the photocatalytic activity.

Isolation and preliminary characterization of a 3-chlorobenzoate degrading bacteria

研究被进行在二太古的土壤比较2-,3-，和 4-chlorobenzoatedegraders 的差异，一污染污水 sludge.These 取样 mono-chlorobenzoate degraders.Although 的 containedstrikingly 不同的人口在没有被污染的土壤的更少文化 wereisolated 比污染的，微生物引起的人口 tomineralize chlorobenzoate 的能力是 widespread.The 3-chlorobenzoate ， 4-chlorobenzoate degraders 是紧张的 2-chlorobenzoate degraders.One 是的更多的

Optimal scenario balance of reduction in costs and greenhouse gas emissions for municipal solid waste management

To reduce carbon intensity, an improved management method balancing the reduction in costs and greenhouse gas(GHG)emissions is required for Tianjin's waste management system. Firstly, six objective functions, namely, cost minimization, GHG minimization, eco-efficiency minimization, cost maximization, GHG maximization and eco-efficiency maximization, are built and subjected to the same constraints with each objective function corresponding to one scenario. Secondly, GHG emissions and costs are derived from the waste flow of each scenario. Thirdly, the range of GHG emissions and costs of other potential scenarios are obtained and plotted through adjusting waste flow with infinitely possible step sizes according to the correlation among the above six scenarios. And the optimal scenario is determined based on this range. The results suggest the following conclusions. 1) The scenarios located on the border between scenario cost minimization and GHG minimization create an optimum curve, and scenario GHG minimization has the smallest eco-efficiency on the curve; 2) Simple pursuit of eco-efficiency minimization using fractional programming may be unreasonable; 3) Balancing GHG emissions from incineration and landfills benefits Tianjin's waste management system as it reduces GHG emissions and costs.