Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon occurrence in forest soils in response to fires: a summary across sites.

Forest fires are important sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soils. However, factors controlling PAH production in soils subjected to fires in different sites are poorly understood. Here, we analyzed 143 sets of previously published data to evaluate the concentrations and composition profiles of PAHs in ash and soils associated with forest fires and to assess the impacts of soil depth, fire intensity, post-fire duration, and vegetation type on their occurrence.

Contribution of mulch film to microplastics in agricultural soil and surface water in China.

Agricultural mulch film (AMF) is deemed an important source of microplastics (MPs) in agricultural soil (AS). However, quantitating the contribution of AMFs to MPs in farmland soil and surface water remains a considerable challenge to date. In the present study, a basic framework was developed to address these concerns.

Urinary triclosan in south China adults and implications for human exposure.

Triclosan (TCS) is widely applied in personal care products (PCPs) as an antimicrobial preservative. Due to its toxicity and potential risk to human health, TCS has attracted mounting concerns in recent years. However, biomonitoring of TCS in large human populations remains limited in China.

Cu/N doped lignin for highly selective efficient removal of As(v) from polluted water.

Lignin is a widely used adsorbent for removing heavy metal ions from water. Lignin can be extracted from black liquor and its inert surface properties limit its adsorption performance. In this paper, a new type of modified lignin adsorbent doped with Cu/N was prepared by the reaction of lignin with triethylenetetramine (TETA) and CuCl.

Controllable antibacterial and bacterially anti-adhesive surface fabricated by a bio-inspired beetle-like macromolecule.

Drug resistance to bacteria becomes an emerging intractable problem, therefore, developing novel antibacterial agents has become urgently needed. Herein, a bio-inspired design strategy was adopted to synthesize a series of beetle-like macromolecule of multiple quaternary ammonium salts (QASs), which was designed with different cationic charge densities and numbers of hexadecane chains by adjusting their different quaternization degree (QD). It was found that the fabricated fabric surface with them exhibited controllable and outstanding antibacterial and bacterially anti-adhesive properties.

Syngas production by two-stage method of biomass catalytic pyrolysis and gasification.

A two-stage technology integrated with biomass catalytic pyrolysis and gasification processes was utilized to produce syngas (H(2)+CO). In the presence of different nickel based catalysts, effects of pyrolysis temperature and gasification temperature on gas production were investigated. Experimental results showed that more syngas and char of high quality could be obtained at a temperature of 750°C in the stage of pyrolysis, and in the stage of gasification, pyrolysis char (produced at 750°C) reacted with steam and the maximum yield of syngas was obtained at 850°C.

Production of lightweight ceramisite from iron ore tailings and its performance investigation in a biological aerated filter (BAF) reactor.

The few reuse and large stockpile of iron ore tailings (IOT) led to a series of social and environmental problems. This study investigated the possibility of using the IOT as one of starting materials to prepare lightweight ceramisite (LWC) by a high temperature sintering process. Coal fly ash (CFA) and municipal sewage sludge (SS) were introduced as additives.

Novel technology for sewage sludge utilization: preparation of amino acids chelated trace elements (AACTE) fertilizer.

This study developed a novel technology for sewage sludge utilization. The bacteria proteins in the sewage sludge were extracted to produce the amino acid chelated trace elements (AACTE) fertilizer by virtue of several chemical processes. Firstly, the sewage sludge was hydrolyzed under hot hydrochloric acid solution to obtain protein solution.

Indoor air concentrations of mercury species in incineration plants for municipal solid waste (MSW) and hospital waste (HW).

Until now, there is limited information about mercury exposures inside solid waste incineration plants although incineration has been considered as one of major solid waste treatments. This study investigated indoor air concentrations of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), reactive gaseous mercury (RGM) and particulate mercury (Hgp) and indoor dust mercury concentrations in a municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) plant and a hospital waste incineration (HWI) plant during December 2003 and July 2004. The final results showed that the employees in incineration plants are not only exposed to GEM, but also to RGM and Hgp.