Water science and engineering最新文献

Treating waste with a waste material using freely available solar energy is the most effective way towards sustainable future. In this study, a novel photocatalyst, partly derived from waste material from the coal industry, was developed. Fly ash hybridized with ZnO (FA–Zn) was synthesized as a potential photocatalyst for dye discoloration. The synthesized photocatalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and ultraviolet–visible/near infra-red spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity was examined with the discoloration of methylene blue used as synthetic dye wastewater. All the experiments were performed in direct sunlight. The photocatalytic performance of FA–Zn was found to be better than that of ZnO and the conventionally popular TiO₂. The Langmuir–Hinshelwood model rate constant values of ZnO, TiO₂, and FA–Zn were found to be 0.016 min⁻¹, 0.017 min⁻¹, and 0.020 min⁻¹, respectively. There were two reasons for this: (1) FA–Zn was able to utilize both ultraviolet and visible parts of the solar spectrum, and (2) its Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area and porosity were significantly enhanced. This led to increased photon absorption and dye adsorption, thus exhibiting an energy-efficient performance. Therefore, FA–Zn, partly derived from waste, can serve as a suitable material for environmental remediation and practical solar energy applications.

Due to the difference in density between the discharge effluent and coastal water, partially treated wastewater is often discharged into the marine environment as a buoyant jet via submarine outfalls with multiport diffusers. The dilution characteristics of effluent discharge (dual buoyant jets) in a wavy cross-flow environment were studied in a laboratory. The planar laser-induced fluorescence technique was used to obtain the concentration data of the jets. The effects of different environmental variables on the diffusion and dilution characteristics of the jets were examined through physical experiments, dimensional analysis, and empirical formulations. It was found that the dilution process of the dual jets could be divided into two components: the original jet component and the effluent cloud component. The jet-to-current velocity ratio was the main parameter affecting the concentration levels of the effluent cloud. The merging of the two jets increased the jet concentration in the flow field. When the jets traveled further downstream, the axial dilution increased gradually and then increased significantly along the axis. Under the effects of strong waves, the concentration contours branched into two peaks, and the mean dilution became more significant than under the effects of weak waves. Therefore, the dilution of the effluent discharge was expected to be significant under strong wave effects because the hydrodynamic force increased. A dilution equation was derived to improve our understanding of the dilution process of buoyant jets in a wavy cross-flow environment. This equation was used to determine the influences of the jet-to-current velocity ratio, wave-to-current velocity ratio, and Strouhal number on the minimum jet dilution. It revealed that the wave and buoyancy effects in effluent discharges were significant.

Understanding the sensitivity of tidal flats to environmental changes is challenging. Currently, most studies rely on process-based models to systematically explain the morphodynamic evolution of tidal flats. In this study, we proposed an alternative empirical approach to explore tidal flat dynamics using statistical indices based on long-term time series of daily surface elevation development. Surface elevation dynamic (SED) indices focus on the magnitude and period of surface elevation changes, while morphodynamic signature (MDS) indices relate sediment dynamics to environmental drivers. The statistical analyses were applied to an intervention site in the Netherlands to determine the effect of recently constructed groynes on the tidal flat. Using these analyses, we were able to (1) detect a reduction in the daily SED and (2) determine that the changes in the daily SED were predominantly caused by the reduction in wave impact between the groynes rather than the reduction in tidal currents. Overall, the presented results showed that the combination of novel statistical indices provides new insights into the trajectories of tidal flats, ecosystem functioning, and sensitivity to physical drivers (wind and tides). Finally, we suggested how the SED and MDS indices may help to explore the future trajectories and climate resilience of intertidal habitats.

A comprehensive assessment of representative satellite-retrieved (Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (IMERG) and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA)), reanalysis-based (fifth generation of atmospheric reanalysis by the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ERA5)), and gauge-estimated (Climate Prediction Center (CPC)) precipitation products was conducted using the data from 807 meteorological stations across mainland China from 2001 to 2017. Error statistical metrics, precipitation distribution functions, and extreme precipitation indices were used to evaluate the quality of the four precipitation products in terms of multi-timescale accuracy and extreme precipitation estimation. When the timescale increased from daily to seasonal scales, the accuracy of the four precipitation products first increased and then decreased, and all products performed best on the monthly timescale. Their accuracy ranking in descending order was CPC, IMERG, TMPA, and ERA5 on the daily timescale and IMERG, CPC, TMPA, and ERA5 on the monthly and seasonal timescales. IMERG was generally superior to its predecessor TMPA on the three timescales. ERA5 exhibited large statistical errors. CPC provided stable estimated values. For extreme precipitation estimation, the quality of IMERG was relatively consistent with that of TMPA in terms of precipitation distribution and extreme metrics, and IMERG exhibited a significant advantage in estimating moderate and heavy precipitation. In contrast, ERA5 and CPC exhibited poor performance with large systematic underestimation biases. The findings of this study provide insight into the performance of the latest IMERG product compared with the widely used TMPA, ERA5, and CPC datasets, and points to possible directions for improvement of multi-source precipitation data fusion algorithms in order to better serve hydrological applications.

Nature-based coastal protection is increasingly recognised as a potentially sustainable and cost-effective solution to reduce coastal flood risk. It uses coastal ecosystems such as mangrove forests to create resilient designs for coastal flood protection. However, to use mangroves effectively as a nature-based measure for flood risk reduction, we must understand the biophysical processes that govern risk reduction capacity through mangrove ecosystem size and structure. In this perspective, we evaluate the current state of knowledge on local physical drivers and ecological processes that determine mangrove functioning as part of a nature-based flood defence. We show that the forest properties that comprise coastal flood protection are well-known, but models cannot yet pinpoint how spatial heterogeneity of the forest structure affects the capacity for wave or surge attenuation. Overall, there is relatively good understanding of the ecological processes that drive forest structure and size, but there is a lack of knowledge on how daily bed-level dynamics link to long-term biogeomorphic forest dynamics, and on the role of combined stressors influencing forest retreat. Integrating simulation models of forest structure under changing physical (e.g. due to sea-level change) and ecological drivers with hydrodynamic attenuation models will allow for better projections of long-term natural coastal protection.

Sediment deposition problems have attracted the interest of engineers and researchers. Several experimental studies have been conducted on scour depth using turbulent jets. However, field observation and monitoring have rarely been reported. This study aimed to eliminate sediments on a tidal riverbed using a prototype device, which consisted of a set of submerged vertical water nozzles and submerged horizontal air nozzles. The effectiveness of the water jet in sediment removal during spring and neap tides was evaluated. The quantitative relationships of dimensionless parameters, such as (1) the relative sediment scour volume versus the number of flows from the jet exit, (2) the relative sediment scour volume versus the relative scour depth, and (3) the relative scour size versus the relative jet intensity, were analyzed. The results showed that the freshwater flowing to the sea affected the sediment scour volume during the falling cycle of spring tides. In contrast, the rising cycle of spring tides retarded the freshwater flow, resulting in a decrease in the sediment scour volume. A steep water surface slope accelerated the river flow and further influenced the cross-flow current around the study area. As a result, a highly diffusive turbulent flow was produced, causing suspended sediments to be rapidly removed from the scour hole center. An increase in the number of flows from the jets led to intensified diffusion of turbulent energy into the flow. The rapidly varying water depth caused jet energy to be dissipated before approaching the riverbed, and it significantly affected the scour process during the spring-tide period. The proposed equations can be used to estimate the scour volume, scour size, and re-suspended sediments in tidal rivers within defined ranges of parameters.

Mining activities interfere with the natural groundwater chemical environment, which may lead to hydrogeochemical changes of aquifers and mine water inrush disasters. This study analyzed the hydrochemical compositions of 80 water samples in three aquifers and developed a water source identification model to explore the control factors and potential hydraulic connection of groundwater chemistry in a coal mine. The results showed that the hydrochemical types of the three aquifers were different. The main hydrochemical compositions of the loose-layer, coal-bearing, and limestone aquifers were HCO₃·Cl–Na, SO₄·HCO₃–Na, and SO₄–Na·Ca, respectively. The correlation, Unmix, and factor analyses showed that the hydrochemical composition of groundwater was controlled by the dissolution of soluble minerals (such as calcite, dolomite, gypsum, and halite) and the weathering of silicate minerals. The factor score plot combined with Q-mode cluster analysis demonstrated no remarkable hydraulic connection among the three aquifers in the study area. The water source identification model effectively identified the source of inrush water. Moreover, the mixing ratio model rationally quantified the contributions of the three aquifers to inrush water.

Large coarse aggregates used in fully-graded hydraulic concrete necessitate large specimens for numerical modeling. This leads to a high computational cost for mesoscale modeling and thus slows the development of multiscale modeling of hydraulic mass concrete structures. To overcome this obstacle, an efficient approach for mesoscale fracture modeling of fully-graded hydraulic concrete was developed based on the concept of the governing mesostructure. The mesostructure was characterized by a critical aggregate size. Coarse aggregates smaller than the critical size were homogenized into mortar matrices. Key issues in mesostructure generation of fully-graded hydraulic concrete are discussed, as is the development of mesoscale finite element modeling methodology. The basic concept and implementation procedures of the proposed approach are also described in detail. The numerical results indicated that the proposed approach not only significantly improves the computational efficiency of mesoscale modeling but also captures the dominant fracturing mechanism at the mesoscale and reproduces reasonable fracture properties at the macroscale. Therefore, the proposed approach can serve as a basis for multiscale fracture modeling of hydraulic mass concrete structures.

Antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) pose health risks in aquatic environments because of their persistence and mobility. River networks can provide a perfect opportunity for exploring the occurrence and enrichment of ARGs and antibiotics in freshwater environments. On this basis, the abundances of four types of antibiotics (sulfonamides, quinolones, tetracyclines, and macrolides) and 13 ARGs (sulІ, sulІІ, tetA, tetB, tetO, tetW, qnrA, qnrS, qnrD, ermB, ermF, ermC, and ereA) were measured in the river networks of the west bank of the Wangyu River in China. The spatial distribution and temporal variation of these antibiotics and ARGs were characterized, and their controlling factors were analyzed. All four types of antibiotics were detected with high frequencies between 41% and 100%. Quinolone antibiotics exhibited the highest average concentration (286.53 ng/L). The concentrations of quinolones, tetracyclines, and macrolides were significantly higher in the winter than in the summer, whereas the concentration of sulfonamides was higher in wet periods than in dry periods. Of the 13 ARGs, sulI was the most abundant (1.28 × 10⁵ copies per milliliter), followed by sulII and tetO (5.41 × 10⁴ and 4.45 × 10⁴ copies per milliliter, respectively). The canonical correspondence analysis showed that environmental factors, including dissolved oxygen, water temperature, total nitrogen, pH, and total phosphorus, had significant effects on the abundance of ARGs. sulІ, sulІІ, tetA, and tetB were significantly correlated with 16S ribosomal RNA sequences, indicating that the bacterioplankton community might affect the distribution of ARGs. The correlation heat map analysis showed that the spread of ARGs was influenced by specific bacterial groups, such as Acidobacteria and Cyanobacteria, indicating that these bacterioplankton may be the hosts of environmental ARGs.

In a beamhouse, liming plays a key role in the removal of hair/wool and epidermis, but problems are created when waste liming sludge is discharged to the environment. The treatment of tannery wastewater is another major challenge to the industry. In this study, thermally-activated biochars derived from liming sludge were studied for their effective adsorption of chromium (Cr) from the tannery wastewater. The thermally activated biochars (B500, B550, B600, and B650) were prepared at different temperatures from the liming sludge. Their characteristics before and after the treatment were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, and scanning electron microscopy analyses. The related functional groups (C–H, O–H, C–N, and =C–O) and chromium adsorption capacity were determined according to the surface morphology, element contents (C, O, Ca, Na, Al, Mg, and Si), surface area (5.8–9.2 m²/g), pore size (5.22–5.53 nm), and particle size (652–1 034 nm) of the experimental biochars. The biochar originated at 600°C from the tannery liming sludge (B600) had a greater surface area with a chromium adsorption capacity of 99.8% in comparison to B500, B550, and B650 biochars. This study developed an innovative way of utilizing liming sludge waste to minimize the pollution load and wastewater treatment cost in the tannery industry.