Comparative Study of Two Bioassays for Applications in Influent Wastewater Toxicity Monitoring

Bioluminescent bacteria-based assays can be used for influent wastewater toxicity monitoring for biological wastewater treatment systems. The most thoroughly studied bioluminescent bacteria-based test is the Microtox? assay. However, the response to toxicants of Photobacterium phosphoreum, the marine bacterial strain used in this assay, is different from that of the activated sludge microorganisms. We developed a continuous influent wastewater monitoring system based on the bioluminescent bacterium Shk1, a genetically modified Pseudomonad isolated from the activated sludge in an industrial wastewater treatment plant. The Shk1 toxicity data were correlated with the Microtox? toxicity data for 79 organic compounds and the two toxicity assays were compared. The Shk1 assay is less sensitive than the Microtox? assay and could therefore be more suitable for influent wastewater toxicity monitoring.     

Comparison of Three Bacterial Toxicity Assays for Imidazolium-Derived Ionic Liquids

Ionic liquids have become leading candidates for replacing many common organic solvents used in the chemical process industry. There is, however, a general lack of toxicology data relevant to wastewater treatment facility microbes for these compounds. In this study, we performed three bacterial-based toxicity assays on several imidazolium-derived compounds as well as the precursor compound 1-methylimidazole. Two of the assays, the Shk1 and Microtox assays, are used as surrogate assays for toxicity to bacterial respiration in activated sludge wastewater treatment plants. The third assay was a direct measure of the effect of toxicity on mixed bacterial culture respiration, using a commercially available consortium of naturally occurring bacteria to obtain IC50 values for direct comparison to the EC50 values from the surrogate assays. The Shk1 assay is based on a genetically engineered bioluminescent Pseudomonas bacterium and is more highly correlated with the respiration inhibition than the Microtox assay. The Shk1 assay gave EC50 values more similar to IC50 values from the bacterial respiration inhibition assay for the compounds tested in this work. The Shk1 EC50 values were similar to that of 1-butanol, an alcohol with an alkyl chain length similar to that of the cation of the tested compounds, which were 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([bmim][Br]), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF6]), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, ([bmim][Tf2N]), and the precursor compound 1-methylimidazole, and were generally smaller than those typical of aromatic organic solvents.     

Neural plasticity, neuropeptides and anxiety in animals--implications for understanding and treating affective disorder following traumatic stress in humans

Phenolic composition, toxicity and biodegradability of three different phenolic leachates/samples was studied. Samples A and C were the leachates from the oil-shale industry spent shale dumps at Kohtla-J?rve, Estonia. Sample B was a laboratory-prepared synthetic mixture of 7 phenolic compounds mimmicking the phenolic composition of the leachate A. Toxicity of these 3 samples was analyzed using two photobacterial test (BioTox and Microtox), Daphnia test (DAPHTOXKIT F pulex) and rotifiers' test (ROTOXKIT F). All the LC50 values were in the range of 1-10%, leachate A being the most toxic. The growth and detoxifying potential (toxicity of the growth medium was measured using photobacterial tests) of 3 different phenol-utilizing bacteria and acclimated activated sludges was studied in shake-flask cultures. 30% leachate A (altogether 0.6 mM total phenolic compounds) was too toxic to rhodococci and they did not grow. Cell number of Kurthia sp. and Pseudomonas sp. in 30% leachate A increased by 2 orders of magnitude but despite of the growth of bacteria the toxicity of the leachate did not decrease even by 7 weeks of cultivation. However, if the activated sludge was used instead of pure bacterial cultures the toxicity of the 30% leachate A was eliminated already after 3 days of incubation. 30% samples B and C were detoxified by activated sludge even more rapidly, within 2 days. As the biodegradable part of samples A and B should be identical, the detoxification of leachate A compared to that of sample B was most probably inhibited by inorganic (e.g. sulphuric) compounds present in the leachate A. Also, the presence of toxic recalcitrant organic compounds in the leachate A (missed by chemical analysis) that were not readily biodegradable even by activated sludge consortium should not be excluded.     

Comparison of Bacterial Bioluminescence with Activated Sludge Oxygen Uptake Rates during Zinc Toxic Shock Loads in a Wastewater Treatment System

The use of a bioengineered bioluminescent bacterium (Shk1) for monitoring zinc toxicity was evaluated with samples from a municipal activated sludge wastewater treatment plant and in a bench-scale activated sludge system. Bioluminescent measurements were compared with oxygen uptake rates of activated sludge samples. In batch experiments with activated sludge, the Zn EC50 for Shk1 bioluminescence was 16 mg/L, while the Zn EC50 for activated sludge OURs was approximately 58 mg/L. In the bench-scale system, the influent Zn concentrations tested were 50 and 200 mg/L in toxic shock loads of about 4 h duration. Soluble Zn transport through the influent, aeration basin, and clarifier was able to be monitored by the decrease in Shk1 bioluminescence. However, bioluminescence in samples from the aeration basin decreased faster than activated sludge specific oxygen uptake rates. Differences in responses of Shk1 and the activated sludge community may be due to differences in the assay conditions, the growth forms, physiology of the organisms, or previous cultivation conditions.     

Impact of Traffic Load Cycles on Urban Battery Litter

Recent studies have demonstrated that the annual rates of consumer battery litter on urban pavements can be as high as 215 batteries per hectare of pavement and 0.4 batteries per meter of curb. As littered batteries deteriorate, they release components of potential environmental significance (Ag, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Li, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Ti, Zn) and add to urban storm water contamination. However, consumer batteries come in many sizes, brands, and power chemistries, all of which may deteriorate at different rates in response to hostile physical and chemical conditions. The work presented here examines the impact of tire load cycles on battery litter. Tests were conducted on 735 individual cells representing 42 brands of AAA, AA, C, and D cell batteries. Results indicate that there are significant differences in the deterioration properties of battery brands and power chemistry types. Alkaline batteries are most resistant to deformation under tire loading. Nearly 50% survive their first tire load and about 30% survive 100 tire load cycles without rupturing. Zinc chloride/zinc carbon (ZnCl/ZnC) batteries are less resistant to deformation. Only approximately 10% survive their first load cycle unruptured. Cell size appears to have little influence on traffic-induced rupture. Based on general battery litter profiles, mass loading calculations for moderate traffic areas should assume that 70% of littered cells have experienced rupture release. This estimate should be increased to 85% for heavy traffic areas. These estimates may be refined if more detail is available on the brand and type distribution of site battery litter.     

稀土矿区低碳氨氮废水短程硝化SBR过程研究

采用SBR工艺处理稀土矿区低碳氨氮废水, 对活性污泥进行驯化培养并考察了曝气量、曝气时间及碳氮比对短程硝化系统的影响。试验结果表明:温度为(28±1) ℃、曝气量为65 L/h, pH值为8的条件下, 经过69 d的驯化培养后, 系统对氨氮的去除率达92%, 亚硝态氮积累率稳定在90%以上, 对短程硝化过程启动前后样品进行高通量测序, 结果表明:污泥中微生物种类减少, 多样性降低, 亚硝化单胞菌属成为优势种群, 占比达11.5%。提高曝气量至120 L/h并在此条件下运行7 d后, 亚硝态氮积累率下降至82%;维持C/N在3.5~7.6之间, 系统中NH₄+-N的去除率均能稳定在95%左右, NO₂--N积累率也均可达93%以上;过度曝气会破坏短程硝化系统, 过度曝气至第8天, 亚硝态氮的积累率降至48.89%。      

Screening batteries for the adult and children's versions of the Luria Nebraska Neuropsychological Batteries.

Conducted a study to develop screening batteries, which would usefully predict whether the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery (LNNB) or the children's battery (LNNB—C) would show abnormalities in a given patient. Using a criterion of overall test raw score, 15 items were selected from each battery in a sample of 526 patients (aged 12–75 yrs) for the adult battery and 360 patients (aged 8–22 yrs) for the child battery. These screening batteries were shown to be highly accurate in predicting the total raw scores and the number of scales above critical levels in both the original and cross validation populations. It is emphasized that the new screening tests do not predict whether a patient is "organic" but whether the LNNB or LNNB—C would be likely to show signs of possible brain dysfunction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A multidisciplinary approach to toxicological screening: IV. Comparison of results

Toxicity data collected under standardized test conditions may be of the utmost importance in health risk assessment, in which human exposure limits are often derived from laboratory experiments. A standardized approach to data collection is also important for evaluating the sensitivity and specificity of test methods used to determine toxic potential. Several experiments were undertaken to determine the effects of chemical exposures using a multidisciplinary screening battery, which included tests for systemic, neurological and developmental toxicity. The effects of 1- and 14-d exposures to 10 chemicals on systemic and neurological indices of toxicity were determined in female F344 rats using standardized test batteries. Parallel experiments determined chemical effects on prenatal and postnatal development following exposure of the dams for 14 d. The chemicals included four pesticides (carbaryl, triadimefon, chlordane, and heptachlor), four solvents (trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, carbon tetrachloride, and dichloromethane), and two industrial compounds (phenol and diethylhexyl phthalate). The results showed that the chemicals produced markedly different qualitative patterns of effect on systemic, neurological, and developmental indices of toxicity. Differences in the pattern of systemic and neurological effects were also obtained that depended on dosing duration. Quantitative analyses indicated that the highest ineffective dose as well as the lowest effective dose could vary by as much as two orders of magnitude across the different indices of toxicity. These results clearly show that a test battery focused on a single endpoint of toxicity cannot be used to accurately predict either qualitatively or quantitatively a chemical's systemic, neurological, and developmental toxicity profile.     

Flotation as a remediation technique for heavily polluted dredged material. 1. A feasibility study

Wastewater sludges were analysed in the Allium cepa genotoxicity test. They were sampled during three winter periods from three Danish municipal wastewater treatment plants differing in size and industrial load. The toxicity of the sludge was tested in the Allium root inhibition assay, and the results expressed as EC30 and EC50 values showed that the toxicity could be positive correlated to the industrial load. However, when genotoxicity was tested at concentrations corresponding to the EC30 and EC50 values in the A. cepa anaphase-telophase assay, only two sludge samples from the smallest plant with the lowest industrial load induced significant chromosome aberrations. Concentrations of the heavy metal's Pb, Ni, Cr, Zn, Cu, and Cd were also determined and could partly be correlated with the toxicity of the sludge and the industrial load of the treatment plants.     

Using the Kinetics of Biological Flocculation and the Limiting Flux Theory for the Preliminary Design of Activated Sludge Systems. I: Model Development

Current activated sludge models consider that the removal of biodegradable organics by suspended growth includes rapid enmeshment of the organic particles in the microbial floc, hydrolysis of the complex organic molecules into readily biodegradable organic substances, and oxidation of dissolved organic substances. All of the models assume hydrolysis is the rate-limiting step, but none consider the role that the kinetics of biological flocculation and the sludge settling characteristics may play in defining the activated sludge operating parameters. Several researchers have studied the kinetic of biological flocculation, and have analyzed its role on the removal of particulate COD in suspended growth reactors. It has been demonstrated that a large proportion of the organic matter present in sewage can be removed by biological flocculation using short hydraulic retention times and subsequent settling. This paper demonstrates that the one-dimensional limiting flux theory may be useful for coupling the sludge settling properties with the aeration tank behavior, and is a reasonable first approximation that can be used for activated sludge system design and operation.     

Using the Kinetics of Biological Flocculation and the Limiting Flux Theory for the Preliminary Design of Activated Sludge Systems. II: Experimental Verification

Current activated sludge models consider that the removal of biodegradable organics by suspended growth includes: rapid enmeshment of the organic particles in the microbial floc, hydrolysis of the complex organic molecules into readily biodegradable organic substances, and oxidation of dissolved organic substances. All of the models assume that hydrolysis is the rate-limiting step, but none considers the role that the kinetics of biological flocculation and the sludge-settling characteristics may play in defining the activated sludge operating parameters. Several researchers have studied the kinetics of biological flocculation, and have analyzed its role on the removal of particulate chemical oxygen demand in suspended growth reactors. It has been demonstrated that a large proportion of the organic matter present in sewage can be removed by biological flocculation using short hydraulic retention times and subsequent settling. The first paper demonstrates that the one-dimensional limiting flux theory may be useful for coupling the sludge-settling properties with the aeration tank behavior, and the second paper presents experimental evidence that the proposed model is a reasonable first approximation that can be used for activated sludge system design and operation.     

锂电池极片轧制技术研究进展

动力锂离子电池作为新能源汽车的"心脏",其核心部件——正负极片的轧制厚度一致性、压实密度及剥离强度等指标直接决定着锂电池关键性能及安全性.针对锂电池极片轧制工艺技术及装备,介绍了近年来国内外学者在极片新型轧制工艺、轧制后极片微结构及性能、轧制过程工艺模型及极片轧制设备等方面的研究现状及研究成果,并结合未来锂电池行业需求...     

高功率锂离子电池研究进展

高功率快放型锂离子电池是目前锂离子电池领域研究的重点方向之一。为了获得具有高功率密度的锂离子电池,正极材料须具有较高的电压和较高的电子与离子导电率,正极材料主要包括高电压钴酸锂、镍锰酸锂和高电压三元材料,负极材料包括碳系材料、钛基材料和金属氧化物材料,以及为提高首效和降低负极电位而采用的预嵌锂方法,并对锂离子电池电解液用锂盐、溶剂和添加剂进行了综述。最终总结了功率密度测试方法,并对高功率锂离子电池的研究进行展望。      

Modeling VOC Emissions in the High-Purity Oxygen Activated Sludge Process

Mass balances for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were added to a structured mathematical model of the high-purity oxygen activated sludge (HPO-AS) process. The model was sized to correspond to two large existing HPO-AS treatment plants. The stripping of ten different VOCs was modeled and compared to stripping from conventional air activated sludge process. The results show that the covered aeration tanks can reduce stripping by more than 90%, depending on the specific VOC. If biodegradation is considered, the HPO-AS process degrades more than the conventional process due to the higher liquid-phase concentrations that result because of reduced stripping. The increase in biodegradation depends on the VOCs degradability but should increase to nearly 100% for highly volatile but biodegradable VOCs.     

Application of NMR spectroscopy in biochemical studies of tumor cells sensitive and resistant to anticancer drugs

The anticoagulant activities of human urinary soluble thrombomodulin (UTM) in blood taken from various species using several anticoagulant assay systems were compared; it was examined which coagulant assay system is appropriate for evaluation of the antithrombotic effects of UTM and how the species specificity of UTM is involved in the mechanisms of action of UTM. When anticoagulant activities were compared using activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thromboelastography (TEG), and thrombin generation test (TGT), the effect of UTM was found to be the strongest in humans among various species tested. Among the anticoagulant assays tested, TGT reflecting protein C (PC) activation by UTM, appeared to be more sensitive than APTT and TEG in detection of thrombomodulin activity. In the study of the mechanisms of action of UTM, UTM exhibited nearly the same antithrombin activity against human and rat thrombin; the rate of activation of human PC by thrombin/UTM complex was much higher than that of rat PC. Therefore, the species specificity of the anticoagulant activity of UTM may be attributable to thrombin/UTM-PC interaction, but not to UTM-thrombin interaction. From these results, we concluded that TGT reflecting PC activation by UTM will be a more useful assay than APTT and TEG for estimating the antithrombotic effects of UTM in humans. Furthermore, our findings suggest that UTM will exhibit more potent antithrombotic effects in humans than those in rats by strongly enhancing thrombin-catalyzed PC activation.     

Corrosion Deterioration in Consumer Battery Litter

Recent studies have shown that the annual rates of consumer battery litter on urban pavements can be as high as 215 batteries per hectare of pavement and 0.4 batteries per meter of curb. As littered batteries deteriorate, they release components (Ag, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Li, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Ti, and Zn) that can be significant sources of storm-water contamination. Results of ambient environmental and laboratory-accelerated corrosion studies are presented to quantify the mechanisms that yield chemical deterioration of littered batteries. The analysis concentrates on AA size alkaline and zinc chloride/zinc carbon (ZnCl/ZnC) cells since these are the most commonly littered batteries. Results indicate that littered batteries exposed to ambient well-drained environmental conditions for more than two months will develop surface corrosion over most of their surface but fewer than 10% will be ruptured by corrosion within the first 6 months. This agrees well with field observations. Exposure under poorly drained conditions yields more rapid deterioration but it requires exposure to more aggressive conditions such as those produced by road salts to reproduce the high degree of deterioration observed in some battery litter.     

等效循环电池组剩余使用寿命预测

电动汽车以零污染、零排放等优点成为新能源汽车中最具有发展潜力的对象，锂离子电池作为其动力来源，科学准确地预测其剩余使用寿命是决定电动汽车性能的重要因素。本文研究等效循环电池组在等效循环工况、不同循环次数时，锂离子电池电压随着放电时间的变化曲线。通过分析不同循环次数下导函数在等效特征点处的斜率变化规律，建立锂离子电池等效循环工况下的寿命退化曲线。选取NASA等效循环电池组和自测JZ等效循环电池组，将放电初期和放电后期曲线与特定斜率直线交点作为等效循环寿命预测的等效特征点，根据这两组特征点分别建立退化模型Mini和Mlat。最后选取等效循环电池组内的其他电池进行锂离子电池等效循环寿命预测的验证。通过锂离子电池测试数据集验证其预测精度较高，稳定性较好，具有较强的应用价值。      

碱性锌锰电池无汞化的发展

碱性锌锰电池由于汞的剧毒性而危害环境,因此提出了电池无汞化,首先分析了国内发展状况及国内电池存在的缺点,及其汞在电池中的作用。论述了实现无汞化的解决途径：开发无汞合金锌粉,选择代汞缓蚀剂,提高原材料纯度,选择优质原材料,加强工艺控制。     

Pathogenic micro-organisms in slaughterhouse sludge--a survey

During slaughtering of animals and subsequent meat processing the process water used becomes polluted with organic matter of animal origin (i.e. protein and fat). This organic sludge is, in principle, a product suitable for animal feeding. To investigate the microbiological contamination level of sludge, raw sludge was collected at pig (n = 8) and poultry (n = 5) slaughterhouses. Both flocculated and aerobically activated sludge was monitored. Slaughterhouse sludge was heavily contaminated with Enterobacteriaceae (6.3-10.0 in log10 N/gram dry matter) and enterococci (4.6-7.9). Clostridia were present in sludge at a level of 3.1-5.8 (in log10 N/g DM). Salmonella was present in the sludge from all slaughterhouses examined. Yersinia enterocolitica serotypes O:3 and O:9 were found in sludge from seven out of thirteen slaughterhouses. The prevalence of Campylobacter jejuni/coli was higher in flocculated poultry sludge than in both flocculated pig sludge and aerobically activated pig sludge. Obviously, decontamination of the sludge is mandatory when it is to be applied as a feed constituent, to prevent bacterial cycles from occurring in livestock, as well as the spread of human pathogenic zoonoses like campylobacter, salmonella and yersinia, to minimize loss of protein quality by the microbial breakdown of amino acids and the formation of possible toxic metabolites in sludge during storage.     

Zinc Pollution Potential of Consumer Battery Litter

Consumer batteries in urban litter can be significant sources of storm-water pollution. Recent studies have reported annual urban battery litter rates as high as 215 batteries per hectare of pavement and 0.4 batteries per meter of street curb. On average, 75% of these batteries are leaking or have already discharged their internal reactants. However, many battery sizes, brands, and power chemistries are littered and this diversity makes it difficult to quantify their cumulative pollution potential. The amount of zinc released from AA size alkaline and zinc chloride/zinc carbon (ZnCl/ZnC) batteries which account for approximately 90% of urban battery litter is examined. Results are presented for batch rupture release extractions of 52 alkaline battery products yielding zinc releases of 20–40 mg/L and 57 ZnCl/ZnC products yielding zinc releases of 400–1,400 mg/L. Results of continuous flow column extractions are also presented to gauge releases following initial battery rupture. Disassembly analyses are used to bound the total zinc release potential of common battery products. Results indicate that ZnCl/ZnC batteries release more zinc when they are first ruptured, but if deterioration is complete, alkaline batteries can release approximately 25% more zinc. Therefore, the relative importance of these two classes of batteries depends on site-specific factors such as the proportion of each in litter, battery deterioration rates, and the length of time that battery litter remains unremediated by maintenance.