Investigating the spatial-temporal variation of nitrogen cycling in an urban river in the North China Plain.

Urban rivers are essential in retaining nutrients, but little is known about nitrogen cycling in these rivers in semiarid areas. We measured chemical and isotopic compositions of ammonium (NH4(+)-N) and nitrate (NO3(-)-N) to investigate spatial-temporal variation of nitrogen cycling in the Fuhe River in the North China Plain. Nitrogen pollution in the river was mainly induced by extra NH4(+)-N inputs which come from the discharges of urban sewage and effluents of wastewater treatment plants in upstream. NH4(+)-N obtained from decomposing organic matter of sediments can diffuse into the overlying water. Intense nitrification then occurs at the terrestrial-aquatic interface. Due to less vegetation in spring and autumn, loss of NH4(+)-N is mainly caused by nitrification. In contrast, significant NH4(+)-N is absorbed by plants in summer. NO3(-)-N generated from nitrification can be denitrified during the study period. The highest NO3(-)-N loss (about 86.3%) was observed in summer. The contribution of NO3(-)-N loss due to denitrification is 44.6%. The remaining 55.4% is due to plant uptake. The results suggested that nitrogen cycling in the river is related to temperature and dry-wet cycles. And vegetation restoration along the river could benefit the incremental improvements to the aquatic ecosystem.

Integrated process control for recirculating cooling water treatment in the coal chemical industry.

This work focused on the integrated process of the recirculating cooling water (RCW) treatment to achieve approximate zero emission in the coal chemical industry. The benefits of fractional and comprehensive RCW treatment were quantified and qualified by using a water and mass balance approach. Limits of cycle of concentrations and some encountered bottlenecks were used to ascertain set target limits for different water sources. Makeup water was mixed with water produced from reverse osmosis (RO) in the proportion of 6:4, which notably reduced salts discharge. Side infiltration, which settled down suspended solids, can reduce energy consumption by over 40%. An automated on-line monitoring organic phosphorus inhibitor feed maintains the RCW system stability in comparison to the manual feed. Two-step electrosorb technology (EST) instead of an acid feed can lead cycle of concentration of water to reach 7.0. The wastewater from RO, EST and filter was transferred into a concentration treatment system where metallic ions were adsorbed by permanent magnetic materials. Separation of water and salts was completed by using a magnetic disc separator. Applying the integrated process in a coal chemical industry, a benefit of 1.60 million Yuan annually in 2 years was gained and approximate zero emission was achieved. Moreover, both technical and economic feasibility were demonstrated in detail.