The occurrence and spatial distribution of phthalate esters (PAEs) in the Lanzhou section of the Yellow River.

The occurrence and spatial distribution of 22 congener phthalate esters (PAEs) in the Lanzhou section of the Yellow River were investigated using water and sediment samples collected from 12 stations along the river in August 2016 to March 2017. PAEs were determined by liquid-liquid extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The average concentrations of PAE in the water samples during the dry and wet periods were 3236.0 ng/L and 2300.0 ng/L, and the average dry and wet periods of the PAEs in the sediments were 4238.9 ng/g and 3959.9 ng/g, respectively. PAEs were detected in all sampling sites. The six PAEs controlled by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), namely dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP), and butyl benzyl phthalate(BBP), were detected. DMP, DEP, DBP, and DEHP accounted for more than 70% of all PAEs. In view of time distribution, PAEs concentration in the water samples of the dry season were greater than those of the wet season, but the sediments did not differ remarkably across the different periods. As for spatial distribution, the PAEs initially exhibited low concentrations in the upper reaches, high concentrations in the middle part, and low concentrations in the downstream; a health risk assessment of the six PAEs controlled by the U.S. EPA was carried out according to priority. Results showed that the carcinogenic risk value was less than 10-6, and the values of the non-carcinogenic compound risk index were less than 1, indicating the absence of carcinogenic damage to organisms or humans.

Overexpression of long noncoding RNA LINC01419 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and its relation to the sensitivity to 5-fluorouracil by mediating GSTP1 methylation.

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide sequencing investigations have identified numerous long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) among mammals, many of which exhibit aberrant expression in cancers, including esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Herein, this study elucidates the role and mechanism by which LINC01419 regulates the DNA methylation of glutathione S-transferase pi 1 (GSTP1) in relation to ESCC progression and the sensitivity of ESCC cells to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). METHODS: LINC01419 and GSTP1 levels were quantified among 38 paired ESCC and adjacent tissue samples collected from patients with ESCC. To ascertain the contributory role of LINC01419 in the progression of ESCC and identify the interaction between LINC01419 and GSTP1 promoter methylation, LINC01419 was overexpressed or silenced, and the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-Aza-CdR was treated. RESULTS: Data from the GEO database (GSE21362) and the Cancer Genome Atlas displayed elevated levels of LINC01419 and downregulated levels of GSTP1 in the ESCC tissues and cells. The silencing of LINC01419 led to decreased proliferation, increased apoptosis, and enhanced sensitivity to 5-FU in ESCC cells. Notably, LINC01419 could bind to the promoter region of the GSTP1 gene, resulting in elevated GSTP1 methylation and reduced GSTP1 levels via the recruitment of DNA methyltransferase among ESCC cells, whereby ESCC progression was stimulated accompanied by reduced ESCC cell sensitivity to 5-FU. GSTP1 demethylation by 5-Aza-CdR was observed to reverse the effects of LINC01419 overexpression in ESCC cells and the response to 5-FU. CONCLUSION: Highly expressed LINC01419 in ESCC promotes GSTP1 methylation, which ultimately acts to promote the event of ESCC and diminish the sensitivity of ESCC cells to 5-FU, highlighting a novel potential strategy to improve 5-FU-based chemotherapy in ESCC.

The key role of inoculated sludge in fast start-up of sequencing batch reactor for the domestication of aerobic granular sludge.

Two types of inoculated sludges, granular sludge that had been stored at -20°C and activated sludge, were investigated for the domestication of aerobic granular sludges (AGSs) in sequencing batch reactors (SBRs). The results showed that using the stored granular sludge as inoculation sludge could effectively shorten the domestication time of AGS and yielded mature granular sludge after 22 days of operation. The AGS domesticated by stored granular sludge had better biomass and sedimentation properties; its MLSS and SVI reached 8.55 g/L and 35.27 mL/g, respectively. The removal efficiencies for chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) and total phosphorus (TP) reached 90.76%, 97.39% and 96.40%, respectively. By contrast, 54 days were needed to obtain mature granules using activated sludge. The microbial community structure was probed by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high-throughput sequencing. The results showed that the diversity of the microbial community in mature granules was reduced when stored granular sludge rather than activated sludge was employed as inoculation sludge, and the dominant microbes were changed. The dominant species in mature granules domesticated using stored granular sludge were Zoogloea, Acidovorax and Tolumonas at the genus classification level, while the dominant species were Zoogloea and TM7-genera in granules developed from activated sludge.

[Physiological integration of growth, carbohydrates, and soluble protein of Zoysia japonica clonal ramets under nutrient heterogeneity]. / å »åˆ†å¼‚è´¨æ¡ä»¶ä¸‹ç»“ç¼•è‰å ‹éš†åˆ†æ ªç”Ÿé•¿ã€ç¢³æ°´åŒ–åˆç‰©åŠå¯æº¶æ€§è›‹ç™½çš„ç”Ÿç†æ•´åˆ.

This study was carried out to analyze the changes of growth, the contents of carbohydrates and soluble protein of Zoysia japonica clonal ramets under nutrient heterogeneity, where the connected and disconnected ramets were treated with different nutrient levels. The results indicated that under the nutrient heterogeneity the parent ramets in middle or high nutrient levels improved the aboveground biomass, belowground biomass, and total biomass, with the enhancement of 32.5%, 22.1% and 24.8% at high nutrient level, respectively, reduced the root/shoot ratio, the contents of soluble sugar and non-structural carbohydrates (NSC), with the reduction of 7.7%, 15.2% and 13.1% in high nutrient level, respectively, but had no significant impacts on the contents of starch, cellulous, and soluble protein of the connected daughter ramets. The daughter ramets in middle and high nutrient levels had no significant impacts on the growth and the contents of carbohydrates and soluble protein of the connected parent ramets. There was a significant physiological integration effects from parent to the daughter ramets on the biomass, root/shoot, the contents of soluble sugar and NSC. The intensity of physiological integration was proportional to the nutrient gradient of ramets, but had no significant physiological integration effects on the contents of starch, cellulous and soluble protein. The daughter ramets had no physiological integration for any indicator of the parent ramets. There was a unidirectional physiological integration between parent and daughter ramets of Z. japonica.

[Physiological integration of growth and photosynthesis of Zoysia japonica clonal ramets under nutrient heterogeneity]. / å »åˆ†å¼‚è´¨æ¡ä»¶ä¸‹ç»“ç¼•è‰å ‹éš†åˆ†æ ªç”Ÿé•¿åŠå ‰åˆä½œç”¨çš„ç”Ÿç†æ•´åˆ.

This study was carried out to analyze the changes of growth and photosynthesis of clonal ramets under nutrient heterogeneity, where the connected and disconnected ramets were treated with different nutrient levels. The results showed that under the nutrient heterogeneity the parent ramets in middle or high nutrient levels improved leaf length, leaf width, root mass, leaf mass, net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate and water use efficiency of the connected daughter ramets, with an increase of 16.0%, 8.3%, 24.4%, 58.1%, 30.3%, 54.0%, 9.2% and 21.9% in high nutrient level, respectively, but reduced the root/shoot and intercellular CO2 concentration of the connected daughter ramets, with a decreases of 21.6% and 31.5% in high nutrient level, respectively. In contrast, the daughter ramets in the middle or high nutrient level had no significant impacts on the growth and photosynthesis of the connected parent ramets. There was a physiological integration from the parent ramets to the daughter ramets. The larger the nutrient differences of ramets was, the stronger the intensity of physiological integration was. The daughter ramets were the unidirectional beneficiary from the physiological integration, as the daughter ramets benefited from the parent ramets but had no positive effects on the daughter ramets.

The role of Cu(II) in the reduction of N-nitrosodimethylamine with iron and zinc.

The role of Cu(II) in the reduction of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) with zero-valent metals was investigated by determining the effects of Cu(II) on the removal, kinetics, products, and mechanism. NDMA removal was enhanced, and all reactions followed a pseudo-first-order kinetic model except for the Fe and Fe/0.1 mM Cu(II) systems. The iron mass-normalized pseudo-first-order rate constants (kMFe) increased with the Cu(II) concentration. The zinc mass-normalized pseudo-first-order rate constants (kMZn) were identical to those with the Cu(II) concentrations from 0.1 mM to 1.0 mM and were higher with 2.0 mM Cu(II). The types of products detected were unchanged. Some unknown products were also found. NDMA was reduced to 1,1-dimethylhydrazine (unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine, UDMH). Then, UDMH was reduced into dimethylamine (DMA) by the Fe/Cu(II) and Zn/Cu(II) systems. Catalytic hydrogenation was proposed as the reduction mechanism. Several copper species, such as Cu(OH)2 in the Fe/Cu(II) system and Cu2O and Cu(OH)2 in the Zn/Cu(II) system enhanced NDMA reduction. Differences between the Fe/Cu(II) and Zn/Cu(II) systems were caused by the reduction potentials and surface conditions of the different metals and the copper species in the various systems.

Removal of pharmaceuticals from synthetic wastewater in an aerobic granular sludge membrane bioreactor and determination of the bioreactor microbial diversity.

Five types of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) substances were selected as pollutants in this study. The effects of the removal of these pollutants and the microbial succession process in a granular sludge membrane bioreactor (GMBR) were investigated. Results showed that wastewater containing PPCPs influenced the performance of granular sludge. The removal of the five PPCPs from the GMBR had different effects. The removal rates of prednisolone, norfloxacin and naproxen reached 98.5, 87.8 and 84 %, respectively. The degradation effect in the GMBR system was relatively lower for sulphamethoxazole and ibuprofen, with removal efficiency rates of 79.8 and 63.3 %, respectively. Furthermore, the microbial community structure and diversity variation of the GMBR were analysed via high-throughput sequencing technology. The results indicated the structural and functional succession of the microbial community based on the GMBR process. The results indicate the key features of bacteria with an important role in drug degradation.

[Solidification/Stabilization of Chromite Ore Processing Residue (COPR) Using Zero-Valent Iron and Lime-Activated Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag].

The solidification/stabilization (S/S) of chromite ore processing residue (COPR) was performed using zero-valent iron (ZVI) and lime-activated ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS). The degree of Cr immobilization was evaluated using the leaching procedure, mineral composition analysis and morphology analysis. Semi-dynamic leaching tests were implemented to investigate the potential for reusing the final treatment product as a readily available construction material. The results showed that after reduction, all of the S/S treated COPR samples met the pollution control limit of bricks and building block products (Chinese standard HJ/T 301-2007) produced with COPR for total Cr (0.3 mg x L(-1)), the compressive strength of all the S/S samples could meet the compressive strength standard (15 MPa) for producing clay bricks, and Cr existed as the specie that bound to Fe/Mn oxides in the S/S samples. At the same time, all of the S/S treated specimens tested were suitable for utilization at certain levels.

PPCPs removal by aerobic granular sludge membrane bioreactor.

An aerobic granular sludge membrane bioreactor (GMBR) was applied to the treatment of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) wastewater. The influence of granular sludge on five antibiotic and antiphlogistic PPCPs wastewater and the removal effect of methyl alcohol and conventional organic matter were investigated while constantly reducing the density of inflow organic matter. The results showed that the sludge granulation process in the system was rapid but unstable, and that the system exhibits a dissolution-reunion dynamic equilibrium. The reactor demonstrated varying removal effects of PPCPs on different objects. The use of a GMBR was more effective for the removal of prednisolone, naproxen, and ibuprofen; the first two drugs were lower the average removal rate of which reached 98.46 and 84.02 %, respectively; whereas the average removal rate of ibuprofen was 63.32 %. By contrast, the GMBR has an insignificant degradation effect on antibiotics such as amoxicillin, indicating that such antibiotic medicine is not easily degraded by microorganisms, which plays different roles in system operation. Because of the different chemical structures and characteristics of drugs that result in various degradation behavior. During the GMBR granulation process, the value of mixed liquor volatility suspended solids (MLVSS) gradually increases from 1.5 to 4.1 g/L during the GMBR granulation process, and the removal rate of CODCr reaches up to 87.98 %. After reducing the density of organic matter is reduced, the removal rates of NH3-N and TP both reach more than 90 %, respectively. Moreover, the proposed technique is considerably effective in the removal of methanol.

Ozonation degradation of microcystin-LR in aqueous solution: intermediates, byproducts and pathways.

The intermediates and byproducts formed during the ozonation of microcystin-LR (MC-LR, m/z = 995.5) and the probable degradation pathway were investigated at different initial molar ratios of ozone to MC-LR ([O3]0/[MC-LR]0). Seven reaction intermediates with m/z ≥ 795.4 were observed by LC/MS, and four of them (m/z = 815.4, 827.3, 853.3 and 855.3) have not been previously reported. Meanwhile, six aldehyde-based byproducts with molecular weights of 30-160 were detected for the first time. Intermediates structures demonstrated that ozone reacted with two sites of MC-LR: the diene bonds in the Adda side chain and the Mdha amino acid in the cyclic structure. The fragment from the Adda side chain oxidative cleavage could be further oxidized to an aldehyde with a molecular weight of 160 at low [O3]0/[MC-LR]0. Meanwhile, the polypeptide structure of MC-LR was difficult to be further oxidized, unless [O3]0/[MC-LR]0 > 10. After further oxidation of the intermediates, five other aldehyde-based byproducts were detected by GC/MS: formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, isovaleraldehyde, glyoxal and methylglyoxal. Formaldehyde, isovaleraldehyde and methylglyoxal were the dominant species. The yields of the aldehydes varied greatly, depending on the value of [O3]0/[MC-LR]0.

Safety of polyethylene glycol recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in treating non-small cell lung cancer patients at I b stage.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate resistance and safety of HHPG-19K in treating non-small cell lung cancer patients. METHODS: A total of 30 cases were selected and randomly divided into 5 groups: three HHPG-19K groups of different dosage (60 µg/kg/day, 100 µg/kg/day, 200 µg/kg/day), positive control group (Filgrastim, namely G-CSF5 µg/kg/day) and negative control group. Safety indexes of 5 groups were observed and compared. RESULTS: All patients had adverse event (100%) in three HHPG-19K groups, and increased ALP, ALT and AST were main events. The degree was mild to moderate. There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse event between dosage groups and positive control group no difference. But the incidence of negative control group was 13%, which was significantly lower than dosage groups and positive control group. CONCLUSIONS: non-small cell lung cancer patients have satisfactory tolerance to HHPG-19K, and have no resistance. Besides, dosage at 100 µ g/kg is the most safe.

Pilot-scale fluoride-containing wastewater treatment by the ballasted flocculation process.

A pilot-scale ballasted flocculation system was used to remove fluoride from one type of industrial wastewater. The system included the formation of calcium fluoride (CaF2) using calcium hydroxide followed by coagulation sedimentation. Calcium fluoride was recycled as nuclei for enhancing CaF2 precipitation and as a ballasting agent for improving fluoride removal and flocculation efficiency. Factors affecting fluoride and turbidity removal efficiencies, including pH in the CaF2-reacting tank and coagulation-mixing tank, sludge recycling ratio, and dosages of FeCl3 and polyacrylamide (PAM), were investigated in the pilot-scale system. The recycled CaF2 precipitates improved CaF2 formation kinetics, enhanced fluoride removal and flocculation performance. Under the optimized condition, the ballast flocculation process reduced fluoride concentration from 288.9 to 10.67 mg/L and the turbidity from 129.6 NTU to below 2.5 NTU.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water, sediment and soil of the Songhua River Basin, China.

The Songhua River is the third largest river in China and the primary source of drinking and irrigation water for northeastern China. The distribution of 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water [dissolved water (DW) and suspended particulate matter (SPM)], sediment, and soil in the river basin was investigated, and the associated risk of cancer from these PAHs was also assessed. The total concentration of PAHs ranged from 13.9 to 161 ng L(-1) in DW, 9.21 to 83.1 ng L(-1) in SPM, 20.5 to 632 ng g(-1) dw (dry weight) in sediment, and from 30.1 to 870 ng g(-1) dw in soil. The compositional pattern of PAHs indicated that three-ring PAHs were predominant in DW and SPM samples, while four-ring PAHs dominated in sediment and soil samples. The spatial distribution of PAHs revealed some site-specific sources along the river, with principal component analysis indicating that these were from pyrogenic sources (such as coal and biomass combustion, and vehicle emissions) and coke oven emission distinguished as the main source of PAHs in the Songhua River Basin. Based on the ingestion of PAH-contaminated drinking water from the Songhua River, cancer risk was quantitatively estimated by combining the Incremental Lifetime Cancer Risk assessment model and BaP-equivalent concentration for five age groups of people (adults, teenagers, children, toddlers, and infants). Overall, the results suggest that the estimated integrated lifetime cancer risk for all groups was in acceptable levels. This study is the first attempt to provide information on the cancer risk of PAHs in drinking water from the Songhua River.

Reduction of N-nitrosodimethylamine with zero-valent zinc.

N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) is known as the disinfection by-product and the pollutant in the source water. Reduction with zero-valent zinc (Zn(0)) was investigated as a potential technology to treat NDMA. The results showed that Zn(0) was effective for NDMA reduction at initial pH 7.0. There were lag period and rapid period during the process, the corresponding zero-order rate constant (k(zero)) was 2.968 ± 0.245 µg L(-1) h(-1) ([Zn(0)](0) = 10g L(-1)),the mass normalized pseudo-first-order rate (k(M)) was 0.1215 ± 0.0171 L g(-1) h(-1). The reactivity of zinc on NDMA removal was consistent with the zinc corrosion rate. NDMA had little effect on the corrosion of zinc. Lower solution pH benefited the reduction of NDMA with Zn(0). The consumption of the oxygen and the localized acidification should be the cause of the shift from lag to rapid reaction period in the aerobic experiments. 1,1-dimethylhydrazine (unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine, UDMH), dimethylamine (DMA) were detected as the products of NDMA degradation. The nitrogen mass balance at 24 h was 56%, the loss can be due to the formation of ammonium, the degradation of UDMH and other unmeasured products. DMA formed during the degradation of UDMH with Zn(0), the nitrogen loss could be caused by the formation of unmeasured products. Catalytic hydrogenation is proposed to be the mechanism based on the results and the redox properties of zinc and NDMA. One reduction process is: the active hydrogen atoms initially cleave and reduce the N=O bond in NDMA, generating UDMH. Then the N-N bond in UDMH is cleaved to form DMA and ammonium.

[Pollution characteristics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water of Songhua River basin during the icebound season].

The pollution characteristics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in surface water samples of the three major sections of the Songhua River Basin (the Nenjiang River, the Second Songhua River and the mainstream of the Songhua River) were studied. A total of 21 surface water samples were collected in icebound season in 2010 along the bank. The total concentrations of 15 species of PAHs ranged from 23.4 ng x L(-1) to 85.1 ng x L(-1), with an average concentration at (50.3 +/- 17) ng x L(-1), which was comparable with those of other rivers in China. PAHs had higher concentration in lower reaches of the river around neighboring cities, which maybe caused by municipal/industrial effluents of the cities along the bank. The sources of PAHs were further identified by principal component analysis (PCA), which indicated that the main source of PAHs was fossil fuel related combustion in Songhua River. The potential ecosystem risk assessment of individual PAHs was characterized by risk quotient (RQ). The results indicated that the ecological risk of high molecular weight PAHs was negligible and low molecular weight PAHs possessed greater ecological risk.

[Effects of applying sewage sludge on chemical form distribution and bioavailability of heavy metals in soil].

A pot experiment was conducted to study the effects of applying sewage sludge on the chemical form distribution of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn) in soil and the transfer and accumulation of the heavy metals in soil-plant (ryegrass) system. With the application of sewage sludge, the contents of bioavailable Cd and Zn in soil increased significantly but that of bioavailable Pb in soil had a significant decrease, and the content of residual form Pb in soil increased by 33.3% -74.5%, compared with CK. When the application rate of sewage sludge was 50% (M/M) of soil, the contents of exchangeable and reducible Cu in soil only occupied 0.7% and 0.2% of the total Cu respectively. The application of sewage sludge promoted the Cd, Cu and Zn absorption while inhibited the Pb absorption by ryegrass. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the Cd, Zn and Cu contents in ryegrass were positively correlated with the reducible Cd and Zn and oxidizable Cu contents in soil, respectively, and Pb content in ryegrass was highly correlated with the soil exchangeable and oxidizable Pb contents. After planting ryegrass, the oxidizable Cd and Cu in rhizosphere soil were transformed into exchangeable Cd and residual form Cu, respectively, the exchangeable and reducible Zn transformed into oxidizable Zn, whereas the bioavailability of Pb was less affected.

Effect of two-stage coagulant addition on coagulation-ultrafiltration process for treatment of humic-rich water.

A novel two-stage coagulant addition strategy applied in a coagulation-ultrafiltration (UF) process for treatment of humic-rich water at neutral pH was investigated in this study. When aluminum sulfate (alum) doses were set at a ratio of 3:1 added during rapid mix stage and half way through flocculation stage, the integrated process of two-stage alum addition achieved almost the same organic matter removal as that of conventional one-stage alum addition at the same overall dose. Whereas membrane fouling could be effectively mitigated by the two-stage addition exhibited by trans-membrane pressure (TMP) developments. The TMP developments were found to be primarily attributed to external fouling on membrane surface, which was closely associated with floc characteristics. The results of jar tests indicated that the average size of flocs formed in two-stage addition mode roughly reached one half larger than that in one-stage addition mode, which implied a beneficial effect on membrane fouling reduction. Moreover, the flocs with more irregular structure and lower effective density resulted from the two-stage alum addition, which caused higher porosity of cake layer formed by such flocs on membrane surface. Microscopic observations of membrane surface demonstrated that internal fouling in membrane pores could be also remarkably limited by two-stage alum addition. It is likely that the freshly formed hydroxide precipitates were distinct in surface characteristics from the aged precipitates due to formation of more active groups or adsorption of more labile aluminum species. Consequently, the flocs could further connect and aggregate to contribute to preferable properties for filtration performance of the coagulation-UF process. As a simple and efficient approach, two-stage coagulant addition strategy could have great practical significance in coagulation-membrane processes.

Characterization of organic membrane foulants in a submerged membrane bioreactor with pre-ozonation using three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy.

This study focuses on organic membrane foulants in a submerged membrane bioreactor (MBR) process with pre-ozonation compared to an individual MBR using three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy. While the influent was continuously ozonated at a normal dosage, preferable organic matter removal was achieved in subsequent MBR, and trans-membrane pressure increased at a much lower rate than that of the individual MBR. EEM fluorescence spectroscopy was employed to characterize the dissolved organic matter (DOM) samples, extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) samples and membrane foulants. Four main peaks could be identified from the EEM fluorescence spectra of the DOM samples in both MBRs. Two peaks were associated with the protein-like fluorophores, and the other ones were related to the humic-like fluorophores. The results indicated that pre-ozonation decreased fluorescence intensities of all peaks in the EEM spectra of influent DOM especially for protein-like substances and caused red shifts of all fluorescence peaks to different extents. The peak intensities of the protein-like substances represented by Peak T(1) and T(2) in EPS spectra were obviously decreased as a result of pre-ozonation. Both external and internal fouling could be effectively mitigated by the pre-ozonation. The most primary component of external foulants was humic acid-like substance (Peak C) in the MBR with pre-ozonation and protein-like substance (Peak T(1)) in the individual MBR, respectively. The content decrease of protein-like substances and structural change of humic-like substances were observed in external foulants from EEM fluorescence spectra due to pre-ozonation. However, it could be seen that ozonation resulted in significant reduction of intensities but little location shift of all peaks in EEM fluorescence spectra of internal foulants.

Consecutive chemical cleaning of fouled PVC membrane using NaOH and ethanol during ultrafiltration of river water.

Chemical cleaning of fouled hollow-fiber polyvinyl chloride (PVC) membrane with the consecutive use of NaOH and ethanol during ultrafiltration of river water was investigated in the study. Results showed that through the chemical cleaning with 1% NaOH for 30min, a negative cleaning efficiency of -14.6% was observed for the PVC membrane. This might be due to the increase of membrane hydrophobicity, which was reflected by the increase of contact angle from 69.7 degrees to 87.6 degrees . On the other hand, the cleaning efficiency of 85.1% was obtained by the consecutive cleaning with 30min of 1% NaOH and 30min of ethanol. Individual ethanol cleaning could remove 48.5% of the irreversible resistance, indicating that NaOH cleaning also made its contribution (36.6%) to the removal of membrane foulants. Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analyses demonstrated that both NaOH and ethanol were not only able to eliminate the foulants on membrane surface, but also able to remove the in-pore fouling of the PVC membrane. The synergetic effects for removing membrane foulants were observed between the NaOH and ethanol. Furthermore, ethanol could also restore the hydrophilicity of the membrane by decreasing the contact angle from 87.6 degrees to 71.4 degrees . Considering that ethanol is easy to be used and reclaimed, the consecutive chemical cleaning by alkali and ethanol is recommended for PVC membrane in filtration of surface water.

Hybrid process of BAC and sMBR for treating polluted raw water.

The hybrid process of biological activated carbon (BAC) and submerged membrane bioreactor (sMBR) was evaluated for the drinking water treatment from polluted raw water, with the respective hydraulic retention time of 0.5 h. The results confirmed the synergetic effects between the BAC and the subsequent sMBR. A moderate amount of ammonium (54.5%) was decreased in the BAC; while the total removal efficiency was increased to 89.8% after the further treatment by the sMBR. In the hybrid process, adsorption of granular activated carbon (in BAC), two stages of biodegradation (in BAC and sMBR), and separation by the membrane (in sMBR) jointly contributed to the removal of organic matter. As a result, the hybrid process managed to eliminate influent DOC, UV(254), COD(Mn), TOC, BDOC and AOC by 26.3%, 29.9%, 22.8%, 27.8%, 57.2% and 49.3%, respectively. Due to the pre-treatment effect of BAC, the membrane fouling in the downstream sMBR was substantially mitigated.