Journal of Environmental Sciences-china最新文献

Numerous studies documented the occurrence of organophosphate tri-esters (tri-OPEs) and di-esters (di-OPEs) in the environment. Little information is available on their occurrence in waste consumer products, reservoirs and sources of these chemicals. This study collected and analyzed 92 waste consumer products manufactured from diverse polymers, including polyurethane foam (PUF), polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene (PE) to obtain information on the occurrence and profiles of 16 tri-OPEs and 10 di-OPEs. Total concentrations of di-OPEs (18−370,000 ng/ g, median 1,700 ng/g) were one order of magnitude lower than those of tri-OPEs (94−4,500,000 ng/g, median 5,400 ng/g). The concentrations of both tri- and di-OPEs in products made of PUF, PS, and ABS were orders of magnitude higher than those made of PP and PE. The compositional patterns of OPEs varied among different polymer types but were generally dominated by bisphenol A bis(diphenyl phosphate), triphenyl phosphate, tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate, di-phenyl phosphate (DPHP), and bis (2-ethylhexyl) phosphate. Two industrially applied di-OPEs (di-n-butyl phosphate and DPHP) exhibited higher levels than their respective tri-OPEs, contrary to their production volumes. Some non-industrially applied chlorinated di-OPEs were also detected, with concentrations up to 97,000 ng/g. These findings suggest that degradation of tri-OPEs during the manufacturing and use of products is an important source of di-OPEs. The mass inventories of tri-OPEs and di-OPEs in consumer products were estimated at 3,100 and 750 tons/year, respectively. This study highlights the importance of consumer products as emission sources of a broad suite of OPEs.

Micro(nano)plastics, as an emerging environmental pollutant, are gradually discovered in hyporheic zones and groundwater worldwide. Recent studies have focused on the origin and spatial/temporal distribution of micro(nano)plastics in regional groundwater, together with the influence of their properties and effects of environmental factors on their transport. However, the transport of micro(nano)plastics in the whole hyporheic zone-groundwater system and the behavior of co-existing substances still lack a complete theoretical interpretation. To provide systematic theoretical support for that, this review summarizes the current pollution status of micro(nano)plastics in the hyporheic zone-groundwater system, provides a comprehensive introduction of their sources and fate, and classifies the transport mechanisms into mechanical transport, physicochemical transport and biological processes assisted transport from the perspectives of mechanical stress, physicochemical reactions, and bioturbation, respectively. Ultimately, this review proposes to advance the understanding of the multi-dimensional hydrosphere transport of micro(nano)plastics centered on groundwater, the microorganisms-mediated synergistic transformation and co-transport involving the intertidal circulation. Overall, this review systematically dissects the presence and transport cycles of micro(nano)plastics within the hyporheic zone-groundwater system and proposes prospects for future studies based on the limitations of current studies.

Various technologies and projects have been explored and developed for the synergetic control of environmental pollution and carbon emissions in aquatic ecosystems. Planting submerged vegetation in shallow waters was also expected to achieve this purpose. However, the magnitude and mechanism of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission affected by submerged vegetation is not clear enough in complex aquatic ecosystems. This study investigated the influences of submerged plants on CO₂ emission, ecosystem metabolism features, and microbial community traits based on observations in river networks on the Changjiang River Delta. The results showed that CO₂ emission from planted waters accounted for 73% of unplanted waters. Meanwhile, planted waters had higher dissolved organic carbon removal capacity in overlying water and higher potential of carbon sequestration in sediment at the same time. These distinctions between the two habitats were attributed to (1) improved CO₂ and bicarbonate consumption in water columns via enhancing photosynthesis and (2) inhibited CO₂ production by reconstructing the benthic microbial community. Additional eco-advantages were found in planted sediments, such as a high potential of methane oxidation and xenobiotics biodegradation and a low risk of becoming black and odorous. In brief, submerged vegetation is beneficial in promoting pollution removal and carbon retention synchronously. This study advances our understanding of the feedback between aquatic metabolism and CO₂ emission.

Brown carbon (BrC) has attracted widespread attention because of its strong absorption of solar radiation in the ultraviolet-visible wavelength range, which causes adverse impacts on human health. Originally, BrC was a physically defined class of substances. However, current research has gradually shifted towards the identification of its chemical groups, because its light-absorbing capability, chemical properties and health effects mainly depend on the chemical composition of its chromophores. Therefore, this review mainly focuses on the chemical understanding of BrC based on chromophores, and the secondary formation mechanism of chromophores, photosensitized reactions, and human health effects of BrC were detailly summarized. Firstly, BrC chromophores are divided into five categories: nitrogen-heterocycles, nitrogen-chain, aromatic species, oligomers and sulfur-containing organic compounds. Different chromophore precursor species exhibit variations, and their formation mechanisms are also distinct. Secondly, BrC can trigger the production of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) precursors or cause SOA growth because BrC is an important component of light-absorbing particles formed during incomplete combustion of biomass and fossil fuels, potentially exerting adverse effects on human health. Finally, developing sufficiently separated methods for BrC and refining algorithms and machine learning can lead to a more effective understanding of the chemical composition of chromophores, thus enabling better evaluation of the atmospheric effects and health impacts of BrC. In all, this review provides new insights into the categories of BrC chromophores and new advance in secondary formation mechanisms, photosensitized reactions, and human health effects on the basis of chemical structures.

An efficient catalytic system was developed to remove various organic pollutants by simultaneously using low-level cobalt ions, calcium carbonate micro-particles and peroxymonosulfate (PMS). A simple base-induced precipitation was used to successfully loaded Co-centered reactive sites onto the surface of CaCO₃ microparticles. Under optimal conditions at 25 °C, 10 mg/L methylene blue (MB) could be completely degraded within 10 min with 480 µg/L Co²⁺, 0.4 g/L CaCO₃ microparticles (or 0.4 g/L Co@CaCO₃) and 0.1 g/L PMS. The MB degradation followed the pseudo first order kinetics with a rate constant of 0.583 min⁻¹, being 8.3, 11.5 and 53.0 times that by using Co-OH (0.07 min⁻¹), Co²⁺ (0.044 min⁻¹) and CaCO₃ (0.011 min⁻¹) as the catalyst, respectively. It was confirmed that there was a synergistic effect in the catalytic activity between Co species and the CaCO₃ particles but the major contributor was the highly dispersed Co species. When Co²⁺-containing simulated electroplating wastewater was used as the Co²⁺ source, not only the added MB was also completely degraded within 5 min in this catalytic system, but also the coexisting heavy metal ions were substantially removed. The presently developed method was applied to simultaneously treat organic wastewater and heavy metals wastewater. The present method was also successfully used to efficiently degrade other organic pollutants including bisphenol A, sulfamethoxazole, rhodamine B, tetrabromobisphenol A, ofloxacin and benzoic acid. A catalytic mechanism was proposed for the PMS activation by Co@CaCO₃. The surface of CaCO₃ particles favors the adsorption of Co²⁺. More importantly, the surface of CaCO₃ particles provides plentiful surface -OH and -CO₃²⁺, and these surface groups complex with Co²⁺ to produce more catalytically active species such as surface [CoOH]⁻, resulting in rapid Co²⁺/Co³⁺ cycling and electron transfer. These interactions cause the observed synergistic effect between Co species and CaCO₃ particles in PMS activation. Due to good cycle stability, strong anti-interference ability and wide universality, the new method will have broad application prospects.

Volatile organic chemicals (VOC) have been identified as hazardous pollutants impairing human health. While whether the VOC exposure was associated with hyperuricemia is yet clarified. All the data was acquired from 6 survey cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) program (2005–2006, 2011–2012, 2013–2014, 2015–2016, 2017–2018, 2017–2020). Hyperuricemia was defined as a serum uric acid (SUA) concentration exceeding 7 mg/mL in men or 6 mg/mL in women. Three quantile logistic regression models with varied covariates were developed to analyze the correlation between hyperuricemia and volatile organic chemical metabolites (VOCs) in urine, and three quantile linear regression models were used for examining the correlation between VOCs and SUA. N-acetyl-S-(2-carboxyethyl)-l-cysteine (CEMA), N-acetyl-S-(3,4-dihydroxybutyl)-l-cysteine (DHBM), and phenylglyoxylic acid (PHGA) were identified to associated positively with increased hyperuricemia risk and uric acid level. Meanwhile, the weighted quantile sum (WQS) model suggested a positive association between VOCs exposure and hyperuricemia. These data indicate that VOC exposure potentially increases hyperuricemia risk, necessitating policies to mitigate VOC exposure.

Obtaining the sulfonamides (SAs) concentrations in the water body and sediment bulk was a prerequisite to reveal their transport and partitioning behavior in sediment-water environments and accurately assess their ecological risk. In the present study, the influences of multifactor interactions on the performance of o-DGTs with XAD-18 binding gels were analyzed by central combination experiments and response surfaces analysis, in which the target compounds were 9 SAs. The results indicated that dissolved organic matter (DOM), pH, and suspended particulate matter (SS) had significant effects on the o-DGT sampling, whereas this o-DGT was independent of the ionic strength (IS). Concentning the composite influence of the four factors, the interaction between DOM and SS posed the most significant effect on all 9 SAs compounds. Subsequently, an o-DGT and DIFS model was applied to explore the SAs migration between the water-sediments interface. The difference between desorption rate (k_b) and adsorption rates (k_f) values suggested that the kinetics of SAs was dominated by adsorption. Moreover, the short-term sediment-water partitioning of SAs was clarified on the basis of distribution coefficient (K_dl) for the labile SAs, among which the sulfadiazine (SDZ) had the largest labile pool. The ability of sediments to release SAs to the liquid phase as a sink was determined by response time (T_c). Among the 9 SAs, the long-term release of soseulfamethoxypyridazine (SMP) from the solid phase of sediments would have a potential risk to the aquatic environment, to which more attention should be paid in the future.

Eutrophication is a significant challenge for surface water, with sediment phosphorus (P) release being a key contributor. Although biological aluminum-based P-inactivation agent (BA-PIA) has shown effectiveness in controlling P release from sediment, the efficiency and mechanism by BA-PIA capping is still not fully understood. This study explored the efficiency and mechanism of using BA-PIA capping controlling P release from sediment. The main mechanisms controlling P release from sediment via BA-PIA capping involved transforming mobile and less stable fractions into stable ones, passivating DGT-labile P and establishing a 13 mm 'P static layer' within the sediment. Additionally, BA-PIA's impact on Fe redox processes significantly influenced P release from the sediment. After BA-PIA capping, notable reductions were observed in total P, soluble reactive P (SRP), and diffusive gradient in thin-films (DGT)-measured labile P (DGT-labile P) concentration in the overlying water, with reduction rates of 95.6%, 92.7%, and 96.5%, respectively. After BA-PIA capping, the diffusion flux of SRP across the sediment-water interface and the apparent P diffusion flux decreased by 91.3% and 97.8%, respectively. Additionally, BA-PIA capping led to reduced concentrations of SRP, DGT-labile P, and DGT-measured labile Fe(II) in the sediment interstitial water. Notably, BA-PIA capping significantly reduced P content and facilitated transformation in the 0∼30 mm sediment layers but not in the 30∼45 mm and 45∼60 mm sediment layers for NaOH-extractable inorganic P and HCl-extracted P. These findings offer a theoretical basis and technical support for the practical application of BA-PIA capping to control P release from sediment.

Unsaturated alcohols are a class of Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) emitted in large quantities by plants when damaged or under adverse environmental conditions, and studies on their atmospheric degradation at night are still lacking. We used chamber experiments to study the gas-phase reactions of three unsaturated alcohols, E-2-penten-1-ol, Z-2-hexen-1-ol and Z-3-hepten-1-ol, with NO₃ radicals (NO₃•) during the night. The rate constants of these reactions were (11.7 ± 1.76) × 10⁻¹³, (8.55 ± 1.33) × 10⁻¹³ and (6.08 ± 0.47) × 10⁻¹³ cm³/(molecule·s) at 298K and 760 Torr, respectively. In contrast, the reaction rate of similar substances with ozone was about 10⁻¹⁸ cm³/(molecule·s), which indicates that the reaction with NO₃• is the main oxidation pathway for unsaturated alcohols at night. Small molecule aldehydes and ketones were the main gas-phase organic products of the reaction of three aldehydes and ketones with NO₃•, and the total small molecule aldehydes and ketones yields can reach between 45%-60%. They mainly originate from the breakage of alkoxy radicals, and different breakage sites determine different product distributions. In addition, the SOA yields of the three unsaturated alcohols with NO₃• were 7.1% ± 1.0%, 12.5% ± 1.9% and 30.0% ± 4.5%, respectively, which were much higher than those of similarly structured substances with O₃ or OH radicals (•OH). The results of high-resolution mass spectrometry shows that the main components of Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) of the three unsaturated alcohols are dimeric compounds containing several nitrate groups, which are formed through the polymerization of oxyalkyl radicals.

China's lakes are plagued by cadmium (Cd) pollution. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) significantly regulates Cd(II) transport properties at the sediment-water interface. Understanding the effects of different DOM components on the transportation properties of Cd(II) at the sediment-water interface is essential. In this study, typical DOM from different sources was selected to study Cd(II) mobility at the sediment-water interface. Results showed that terrestrial-derived DOM (fulvic acids, FA) and autochthonous-derived DOM (α-amylase, B1) inhibit Cd(II) sequestration by sediments (42.5% and 5.8%, respectively), while anthropogenic-derived DOM (sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate, SDBS) increased the Cd(II) adsorption capacity by sediments by 2.8%. Fluorescence quenching coupling with parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC) was used to characterize different DOM components. The results showed that FA contains three kinds of components (C1, C3: protein-like components, C2: humic-like components); SDBS contains two kinds of components (C1, C2: protein-like components); B1 contains three kinds of components (C1, C2: protein-like components, C3: humic-like components).Three complex reaction models were used to characterize the ability of Cd(II) complex with DOM, and it was found that the humic-like component could hardly be complex with Cd(II). Accordingly, humic-like components compete for Cd(II) adsorption sites on the sediment surface and inhibit Cd(II) adsorption from sediments. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of the sediment surface before and after Cd(II) addition was analyzed and proved the competitive adsorption theory. This study provides a better understanding of the Cd(II) mobilization behavior at the sediment-water interface and indicates that the input of humic-like DOM will increase the bioavailability of Cd.