纳米材料在污染水体和土壤修复中的应用

纳米材料由于其特有的理化性质,如强的吸附性能、高的催化效率,不仅克服了传统污染水体和污染土壤修复技术的不足,而且表现出更高的修复效率。因此,利用纳米材料对污染环境进行修复已成为当今环境领域的研究热点。本文对纳米Fe0、表面修饰的纳米材料、纳米螯合剂等纳米材料近几年在污染水体和污染土壤修复中的进展进行了归纳和总结,并且对其在环境科学与工程领域应用的研究重点进行了展望。     

赤泥在重金属污染治理中的应用研究进展

尽管赤泥在重金属污染环境修复研究中的应用越来越受到重视,但赤泥给污染环境修复带来突破的同时也给环境带来风险.目前,在赤泥的重金属环境修复研究中,针对赤泥的修复效果和修复过程研究较多,而对赤泥的钝化机理研究不够深入,赤泥修复的环境安全风险评价才刚起步.本文对近年来国内外关于赤泥修复重金属污染的研究进行综述,并指出了赤泥在今后的重金属污染治理中应加强的方向:一是深入赤泥对重金属钝化机制的研究;二是探索有效的赤泥安全评价方法;三是联合赤泥修复和生物修复技术(植物和微生物)对重金属和有机物复合污染进行修复.     

土壤中多环芳烃污染对植物生理生态的影响

多环芳烃(PAHs)是一类广泛存在于天然环境中的持久性有机污染物,对土壤的污染尤为突出,给生态环境、植物和人类健康造成严重的潜在威胁.当前,修复受PAHs污染的土壤是国际土壤和环境领域研究的热点,而植物修复是最具潜力的环境修复技术之一.本文对近年来土壤PAHs及其与其他污染物复合胁迫对植物生长及其形态结构、光合作用和抗氧化系统等影响研究的最新进展进行综述,并对今后的重要领域和研究热点进行了展望.     

汞污染土壤植物修复中转基因技术的应用

汞是一种全球性污染物.随着工业的发展、汞矿开采的加速,土壤汞污染日益严峻,给生态环境和人类生活带来了严重的威胁.因此,汞污染土壤的修复问题受到了广大学者的关注.针对受污染的土壤修复问题,植物修复技术具有成本低和不会给环境带来新的危害等特点.本文对目前国内外汞污染土壤修复植物修复技术的研究进行了综述,介绍了转基因技术在汞污染土壤中的应用,探讨了转基因技术在环境治理和环境修复中潜在的应用价值.     

石墨烯的环境行为及其对环境中污染物迁移归趋的影响

石墨烯是当前研究最热的碳纳米材料,具有独特的理化特性,在各领域具有广阔的应用前景.随着其生产和使用量的不断增大,石墨烯不可避免地会进入到环境中,从而给生态环境和人类健康带来风险.深入理解石墨烯在环境中的行为和归趋,探讨石墨烯对污染物环境行为的影响,对于科学客观评价石墨烯的环境风险具有十分重要的意义.本文对石墨烯的环境行为及其对污染物迁移归趋的影响进行了综述,主要介绍了石墨烯在水环境中的胶体特性和稳定性,以及在多孔介质中的迁移,重点探讨了石墨烯与重金属和有机物之间的相互作用,并从吸附机理、石墨烯与土壤组分之间的相互作用、石墨烯对污染物在环境中迁移及生物有效性的影响、石墨烯的定量方法等方面对该研究领域的前景和重点进行了展望,以期为该领域的深入研究提供借鉴并拓展新的思路.     

持久性有机污染土壤的植物修复及其机理研究进展

随着人类对化学品的依赖程度越来越高,环境的有机污染状况也越来越严重.有机污染土壤的植物修复是指利用植物在生长过程中,吸收、降解、钝化有机污染物的一种原位处理污染土壤的方法,具有应用成本低、生态风险小、对环境副作用小等特点.本文综述了近年来国内外有机污染土壤的植物修复研究进展情况,重点介绍了多氯联苯、多环芳烃、农药和硝基芳香化合物等持久性有机污染物的植物修复,阐述了有机污染土壤植物修复的关键机制,并分析了该技术在实际工程应用中的局限性及应考虑的因素.最后,指出了今后该领域的重点研究方向.     

BTEX污染环境的修复机理与技术研究进展

BTEX(苯系物)广泛存在于地表水、土壤和沉积物、地下水以及大气等环境介质中,并对相应的生态系统和人体健康产生日益严重的危害,修复被BTEX污染的环境势在必行.本文从地表水、土壤和沉积物、地下水和大气等方面,阐述了近年来国内外BTEX污染环境的修复进展情况,概述了所采用的各种修复技术,探讨了今后BTEX污染环境修复的研究重点.     

酞酸酯污染农田土壤生物修复研究进展

酞酸酯是目前世界上产量最大、应用面积最广的人工合成有机物,作为塑化剂被广泛应用于塑料制品中。近年来发现酞酸酯是一类典型的环境内分泌干扰物。随着生活中塑料制品日益增多,尤其是农用薄膜和有机肥的大量使用,农田土壤中酞酸酯污染日益加剧,酞酸酯污染土壤的修复逐渐引起国内外学者的广泛关注。生物修复具有价格低廉、效果良好和环境友好等特点,尤其适合于大面积污染农田土壤修复。从植物修复、微生物修复、植物微生物联合修复和动物修复等方面综述了国内外酞酸酯污染土壤生物修复的研究现状,并从高效修复植物筛选及机理探讨、实际污染土壤的降解菌修复研究、高效降解菌群的构建和作用机制等方面对该领域的研究进行了展望,以期为酞酸酯污染土壤的修复研究提供借鉴并拓展新的思路。     

土壤环境多氯二苯并二噁英/呋喃(PCDD/Fs)污染及其修复研究进展

多氯二苯并二噁英/呋喃(PCDD/Fs)是持久性有毒有机污染物,易沉积在土壤环境中,通过生物放大和生物富集最终输入到人和动物体内,对生态系统和人体健康有极大的威胁.本文在对PCDD/Fs环境行为与污染来源进行阐述的基础上,概述了PCDD/Fs污染的地域性特点以及土壤中PCDD/Fs的背景值和污染控制参考值;分析了我国土壤PC-DD/Fs污染状况和潜在污染源,江西、广州贵屿、长江三角洲、台湾南部、浙江台州、天津某化工厂等6个区域污染较严重,主要污染源有含氯化学品的生产与使用,垃圾焚烧和纸浆生产.最后,介绍了PCDD/Fs污染土壤的处置方法与修复技术,主要有物理化学处置方法、微生物修复方法、植物修复方法、植物-微生物联合修复方法,并对今后该研究方向进行了展望.     

肠道修复：一种利用益生菌减少重金属积累的新思路

近年来受到重金属工业废水的排放及人类日常活动的影响,我国大面积土壤中重金属含量急剧增高。不同重金属可能通过食物链进入人体,给人类健康带来隐患。因此,减少重金属在动物体肠道中的积累是降低重金属危害的一个重要课题。研究显示,一些益生菌能够在体内外环境中有效地结合重金属,但人们对益生菌结合重金属的能力,及其对重金属的肠道修复机理了解较少。本文针对目前镉、铅、铬等重金属对环境与动物体健康造成严重危害的现状,分析了各类重金属的污染来源,概括了益生菌在环境与动物体肠道中对各种重金属的修复情况及作用机理,重点考察了益生菌在动物体肠道环境中与重金属相互作用的机理研究,同时对未来利用益生菌制剂直接减少人体肠道内重金属积累进行了展望。     

Assessment of the potential suitability of selected commercially available enzymes for cleaning-in-place (CIP) in the dairy industry

The potential suitability of 10 commercial protease and lipase products for cleaning-in-place (CIP) application in the dairy industry was investigated on a laboratory scale. Assessment was based primarily on the ability of the enzymes to remove an experimentally generated milk fouling deposit from stainless steel (SS) panels. Three protease products were identified as being most suitable for this application on the basis of their cleaning performance at 40 °C, which was comparable to that of the commonly used cleaning agent, 1% NaOH at 60 °C. This was judged by quantification of residual organic matter and protein on the SS surface after cleaning and analysis by laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM). Enzyme activity was removed/inactivated under conditions simulating those normally undertaken after cleaning (rinsing with water, acid circulation, sanitation). Preliminary process-scale studies strongly suggest that enzyme-based CIP achieves satisfactory cleaning at an industrial scale. Cost analysis indicates that replacing caustic-based cleaning procedures with biodegradable enzymes operating at lower temperatures would be economically viable. Additional potential benefits include decreased energy and water consumption, improved safety, reduced waste generation, greater compatibility with wastewater treatment processes and a reduction in the environmental impact of the cleaning process.     

Assessment of the potential suitability of selected commercially available enzymes for cleaning-in-place (CIP) in the dairy industry

The potential suitability of 10 commercial protease and lipase products for cleaning-in-place (CIP) application in the dairy industry was investigated on a laboratory scale. Assessment was based primarily on the ability of the enzymes to remove an experimentally generated milk fouling deposit from stainless steel (SS) panels. Three protease products were identified as being most suitable for this application on the basis of their cleaning performance at 40°C, which was comparable to that of the commonly used cleaning agent, 1% NaOH at 60°C. This was judged by quantification of residual organic matter and protein on the SS surface after cleaning and analysis by laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM). Enzyme activity was removed/inactivated under conditions simulating those normally undertaken after cleaning (rinsing with water, acid circulation, sanitation). Preliminary process-scale studies strongly suggest that enzyme-based CIP achieves satisfactory cleaning at an industrial scale. Cost analysis indicates that replacing caustic-based cleaning procedures with biodegradable enzymes operating at lower temperatures would be economically viable. Additional potential benefits include decreased energy and water consumption, improved safety, reduced waste generation, greater compatibility with wastewater treatment processes and a reduction in the environmental impact of the cleaning process.     

Are white-rot fungi a real biotechnological option for the improvement of environmental health?

The use of white-rot fungi as a biotechnological tool for cleaning the environment of recalcitrant pollutants has been under evaluation for several years. However, it is still not possible to find sufficiently detailed investigations of this subject to conclude that these fungi can decontaminate the environment. In the present review, we have summarized and discussed evidence about the potential of white-rot fungi to degrade such pollutants as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dyes or antibiotics as an example of the complex structures that these microorganisms can attack. This review also discusses field experiment results and limitations of white-rot fungi trials from contaminated sites. Moreover, the use of catabolic potential of white-rot fungi in biopurification systems (biobeds) is also discussed. The current status and future perspectives of white-rot fungi, as a viable biotechnological alternative for improvement of environmental health are noted.     

Cleaning Products,Environmental Awareness and Risk Perception in Mérida,Mexico

Cleaning products are associated with many health and environmental problems. Contamination of water resources by cleaning products is more likely to occur with septic tanks as sewage treatment systems especially in karstic terrains. We explored women’s ideas about water sources and the risk cleaning products pose to health and sewage in Mérida, a city in the Yucatán peninsula of Mexico. Women were unaware of the city’s water management system. We found a positive and statistically significant association between risk perception and environmental awareness, education level and employment status. We suggest developing education and risk communication strategies to inform residents about the hydro-geological features in the Yucatán, the vulnerability of its karstic aquifer and the health and environmental risks associated with cleaning agents.     

Potential of plant proteins for medical applications

Various natural and synthetic polymers are being explored to develop biomaterials for tissue engineering and drug delivery. Although proteins are preferable over carbohydrates and synthetic polymers, biomaterials developed from proteins lack the mechanical properties and/or biocompatibilities required for medical applications. Plant proteins are widely available, have low potential to be immunogenic and can be made into fibers, films, hydrogels and micro- and nano-particles for medical applications. Studies, mostly with zein, have demonstrated the potential of using plant proteins for tissue engineering and drug delivery. Although other plant proteins such as wheat gluten and soyproteins have also shown biocompatibility using in vitro studies, fabricating biomaterials such as nano-fibers and nano-particles from soy and wheat proteins offers considerable challenges.     

The behavioural ecology of marine cleaning mutualisms

Cleaning interactions, in which a small ‘cleaner’ organism removes and often consumes material from a larger ‘client’, are some of the most enigmatic and intriguing of interspecies interactions. Early research on cleaning interactions canonized the view that they are mutualistic, with clients benefiting from parasite removal and cleaners benefiting from a meal, but subsequent decades of research have revealed that the dynamics of these interactions can be highly complex. Despite decades of research on marine cleaning interactions (the best studied cleaning systems), key questions remain, including how the outcome of an individual cleaning interaction depends on ecological, behavioural, and social context, how such interactions arise, and how they remain stable over time. Recently, studies of marine parasites, long-term data from coral reef communities with and without cleaners, increased behavioural observations recorded using remote video, and a focus on a larger numbers of cleaning species have helped bring about key conceptual advances in our understanding of cleaning interactions. In particular, evidence now suggests that the ecological, behavioural, and social contexts of a given cleaning interaction can result in the outcome ranging from mutualistic to parasitic, and that cleaning interactions are mediated by signals that can also vary with context. Signals are an important means by which animals extract information about one another, and thus represent a mechanism by which interspecific partners can determine when, how, and with whom to interact. Here, I review our understanding of the behavioural ecology of marine cleaning interactions. In particular, I argue that signals provide a useful framework for advancing our understanding of several important outstanding questions. I discuss the costs and benefits of cleaning interactions, review how cleaners and clients recognize and assess one another using signals, and discuss how signal reliability, or ‘honesty’, may be maintained in cleaning systems. Lastly, I discuss the sensory ecology of both cleaners and clients to highlight what marine cleaning systems can tell us about signalling behaviour, signal form, and signal evolution in a system where signals are aimed at multiple receiver species. Overall, I argue that future research on cleaning interactions has much to gain by continuing to shift the research focus toward examining the variable outcomes of cleaning interactions in relation to the broader behavioural, social, and ecological contexts.     

Cleaning and disinfection programmes in food establishments: a literature review on verification procedures

In food establishments, cleaning and disinfection programmes contribute to provide the environmental conditions that are necessary for the production of safe and healthy food. Compliance with validated programmes is evaluated through verification activities, in order to establish, through objective evidence, if they are implemented as they were written and if they are effective, achieving continuous improvement of the sanitation programmes. In accordance with the specific guidelines of each country, food companies set up their technical specifications and develop their own cleaning and disinfection programmes. Depending on the analytical method used, one of the main challenges was to establish a reasonable limit of acceptability according to the impact that each surface has on the safety and hygiene of the food that is prepared. This review was focused on the procedures implemented to verify the cleaning and disinfection programmes in food establishments. In particular, this study examines the methodologies used (audits and analytical methods), sites for the collection of samples, acceptance criteria and main findings. The results of the analysed studies constitute a scientific basis for designing or improving sanitation procedures and their verification in food companies, and also provide relevant information for food safety authorities.     

Toward the Ecological Footprint of the use and maintenance phase of buildings: Utility consumption and cleaning tasks

Due to poor design of buildings in terms of maintenance, there are a number of buildings today that remain extremely expensive to maintain, both economically and environmentally. In order to mitigate these overheads, the development of a cost database is needed with which the resources required to clean and maintain buildings can be estimated. This paper presents a methodology to estimate these costs and the environmental impact, in terms of Ecological Footprint (EF), associated to the utility consumption and to the cleaning tasks necessary during the service life of buildings. Given the numerous peculiarities identified for this type of activity compared to the construction of buildings, it is necessary to define a new methodology of calculation, with its own assumptions and formulae. This methodology is then applied to the case of a college hall of residence that houses up to 139 residents. The results show that the annual EF of cleaning tasks accounts for 11.42% of the EF of utility consumption. Together they total 67.334 global hectares per year (gha/yr), 88% of which corresponds to the carbon footprint. Within the EF of cleaning, about 71% is due to food consumed by labor, while 26% is due to the manufacture of cleaning products and tools, which are equally divided among the six categories of productive land. The development of this methodology is essential for the detailed quantification of the environmental impact of utility consumption and cleaning tasks that occur during the service life of buildings. The use of discount rates on results is included in terms of the EF of a baseline year, as an equivalent to the discount rate in economic terms.     

Corrosion protection of reusable surgical instruments

To understand the corrosion properties of surgical scissors, 416 stainless steel disks and custom electrodes were used as simulated surfaces under various conditions. These simulated surfaces were exposed to tap water and 400-ppm synthetic hard water as Ca2CO3 under different conditions. The samples were evaluated by various techniques for corrosion potential and the impact of environmental conditions on the integrity of the passive film. The electrodes were used to monitor the corrosion behavior by potentiodynamic polarization technique in water both in the presence and absence of a cleaning product. The surface topography of the 416 stainless steel disks was characterized by visual observations and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the surface chemistry of the passive film on the surface of the scissors was characterized by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results suggest that surgical instruments made from 416 stainless steel are not susceptible to uniform corrosion; however, they do undergo localized corrosion. The use of suitable cleaning products can offer protection against localized corrosion during the cleaning step. More importantly, the use of potentiodynamic polarization techniques allowed for a quick and convenient approach to evaluate the corrosion properties of surgical instruments under a variety of simulated-use environmental conditions.