Effect of trace metals on halophilic and mixed cultures in anaerobic treatment

Trace metals are known to stimulate the activity of anaerobic methanogenic bacteria involved in the degradation of organic matter. The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of three trace metals, iron, nickel and cobalt on the activity of halophilic methanogens, digester sludge and a mixed culture of halophilic bacteria and digester sludge, at various salt concentrations. Iron slightly stimulated both initial and maximum specific methanogenic activity (SMA) of halophilic methanogens at all salt concentrations. Iron addition was also able to increase both initial and maximum SMA of the mixed culture. Iron could not stimulate either initial or maximum SMA of digester sludge at salt concentrations of more than 10 g/L. Adding cobalt showed no benefit on the initial and maximum SMA of halophilic methanogens. A slight increase in the initial SMA was observed in mixed culture when cobalt was injected to the system containing sodium concentrations of 10–30 g/L. At salt concentrations above 40 g/L, cobalt could stimulate the maximum SMA of mixed culture. No benefits were found when cobalt was added to the digester sludge at sodium concentrations higher than 20 g/L. Nickel was observed to increase the initial SMA of digester sludge at all salt concentrations, and the maximum SMA of mixed culture at salt concentrations of 30–50 g/L.     

Specific methanogenic activity of halophilic and mixed cultures in saline wastewater

Wastewater containing high concentrations of salt, are difficult to treat using biological treatment processes, especially anaerobic processes. Limited information is available on methanogenic activity in saline environments. The objective of this research was to investigate the activity of halophilic methanogens, digester sludge and a mixed culture of halophilic and methanogenic bacteria, at various levels of salinity, in terms of lag period and specific methanogenic activity (SMA) at two temperatures. For the halophilic bacteria at 35 °C, the initial SMA ranged from 0.46 to 0.90 g acetate/g VSSd, but decreased at higher salt concentrations. The maximum SMA varied from 1.2 to 2.08 g acetate/g VSSd. High sodium chloride concentrations had a significant adverse effect on digester sludge. At 25 °C, at salt concentrations of 30 g/l and above, the digester sludge could not acclimate even in 50 days. Little difference was observed in the maximum SMA of mixed culture and halophilic bacteria at high salt concentrations of40–50 g/l.     

氯盐对水泥固化土应力应变特性影响分析

以人工制备的方法配制了不同氯盐含量的土样,并掺入不同含量的普通硅酸盐水泥对其进行固化处理。采用无侧限抗压强度试验对氯盐含量对水泥固化土的应力应变特征影响规律进行分析。试验结果表明:随着氯盐含量的增加,水泥固化土的无侧限抗压强度和变形模量降低,破坏应变随之增大,应力-应变关系曲线由脆性破坏向塑性破坏转化; 增加水泥用量可以减缓氯盐对水泥固化土的不良影响; 但水泥固化土变形模量与无侧限抗压强度的比值与氯盐含盐量大小无明显关系。     

Amorphous silica solubilities—II. Effect of aqueous salt solutions at 25°C

The solubility of amorphous silica was measured at 25°C in ten separate sets of aqueous salt solutions—potassium chloride, potassium nitrate, sodium chloride, lithium chloride, lithium nitrate, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, magnesium sulfate, sodium bicarbonate and sodium sulfate. The concentrations of the salts were varied from zero to saturation with both salt and amorphous silica. With increasing concentration of salt, the solubility of amorphous silica always decreased as expected from an average value of 0.00218 m in water. Nevertheless, the extent of decrease differed greatly from a 6% decrease in a solution saturated with NaHCO₃ to a 95.7% decrease in a solution saturated with CaCl₂. A striking correlation was observed: In the 1-1 and 2-1 electrolyte salt solutions at a given molality the effect on the solubility of silica depended upon the cation in the order Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺ > Li⁺ > Na⁺ > K ⁺.     

氯盐和冻融耦合下水泥土的强度和破坏特征

为了研究氯盐侵蚀和冻融循环耦合下水泥土无侧限抗压强度和破坏特征, 进行了不同浓度氯化钠溶液下的水泥土冻融循环试验, 得到了冻融前后的冻融腐蚀因子、 体积变化率和变形模量, 分析了微观结构特征。结果表明： 在氯盐侵蚀和冻融循环耦合下, 水泥土的无侧限抗压强度、 冻融腐蚀因子均随着冻融循环次数的增加而呈现下降趋势; 氯盐浓度越高, 水泥土的无侧限抗压强度、 冻融腐蚀因子下降的幅度越大。随着冻融循环次数的增加, 在同种浓度溶液中, 水泥土的体积变化率增大, 变形模量减小; 氯盐浓度增大, 水泥土体积膨胀变大, 内部结构松散, 抵抗变形的能力减弱。相同冻融循环次数下, 氯盐溶液产生的损伤要大于清水中的损伤, 随着氯盐溶液浓度的增加, 水泥土内部微观结构损伤越严重。     

Amorphous silica solubilities IV. Behavior in pure water and aqueous sodium chloride,sodium sulfate,magnesium chloride,and magnesium sulfate solutions up to 350°C

Solubilities of amorphous silica were determined in separate aqueous solutions of sodium chloride, sodium sulfate, magnesium chloride, and magnesium sulfate at temperatures up to 350°C. These salts, of strong interest in hydrothermal oceanography and geothermal energy, generally ranged in concentration from zero to saturation. Solubilities in the sodium chloride solutions followed closely earlier observed decreases in sodium nitrate solutions at high temperatures.Amorphous silica solubilities were depressed most by magnesium chloride, followed by magnesium sulfate, and less by sodium chloride. As the temperature rose the relative decrease in solubility caused by added salt became smaller. Surprisingly, sodium sulfate solutions, showing little effect at 25°C, sharply raised the solubility as the temperature increased to 350°C. Plots of the logarithms of derived activity coefficients against molalities of added salt gave approximately straight lines. These plots allow simple predictions of amorphous silica solubility in single salt solutions.     

Effect of salt of various concentrations on liquid limit,and hydraulic conductivity of different soil-bentonite mixtures

Effect of the various concentrations of NaCl and CaCl₂ on the four different soil-bentonite mixtures has been evaluated. The results show that the liquid limit of the mixtures decreases with an increase in the salt concentration. Liquid limit decreased significantly with an increase in CaCl₂ concentration from 0 to 0.1 N. However, a further increase in the concentration did not produce any significant decrease in liquid limit. A quite opposite trend was observed for the NaCl solution. An increase in NaCl concentration from 0 to 0.1 N did not produce any major decrease in the liquid limit, but a further increase in concentration from 0.1 to 1 N decreased the liquid limit significantly. Consolidation tests were carried out on the mixtures to evaluate the effect of mineralogical composition of the bentonite on the hydraulic conductivity (k) of the mixture in the presence of various salts concentrations. The k for any mixtures was found to be decreasing with decrease in the salt concentration. At relatively low concentration, Ca²⁺ had more effect on the k in comparison to the same concentration of Na⁺. However, at 1 N of NaCl and CaCl₂ almost an equal value of k was observed. A comparison of the performance of four bentonites showed that the mixture with bentonite having highest exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) exhibited the lowest k when permeated with de-ionized (DI) water, however, k increased with an increase in the salt concentration. Similarly, mixture with a bentonite of lower ESP exhibited a higher k with DI water but with the increase in the salt concentration alteration in the k, compared to all other mixtures, was relatively less.     

含NaCl和Na2SO4双组分盐渍土的水盐相变温度研究

盐渍土相变温度是判断土体中水分冻结与融化、盐分结晶与溶解的重要参数。不同盐分含量相变温度的差异,给盐渍土在降温过程中的水盐迁移过程及变形规律的模拟带来极大的不确定性。通过降温试验,研究了降温过程中氯盐和硫酸盐综合作用盐渍土中水盐相变温度的变化情况。结果表明：全盐量相同时,盐结晶温度随NaCl和Na₂SO₄比例的不同而不同。随NaCl的加入,在Na⁺同离子效应的影响下,Na₂SO₄更容易结晶,但土体的冰和芒硝共晶点温度下降,使得冰含量显著减少,从而降低了孔隙溶液中固相的产生比例,起到抑制Na₂SO₄盐渍土盐冻胀变形的作用。当土中只含Na₂SO₄盐时,随Na₂SO₄浓度的增加,冰和芒硝共晶点的温度先上升而后缓慢下降,二次相变前冰盐的累积量是导致冰和芒硝共晶点产生这种变化的主要原因。盐渍土三相共晶点温度随NaCl含量的增加呈现上升趋势,这是因为随着NaCl的加入,在发生三相共晶前,孔隙溶液发生相变的固相含量减少,从而使孔隙结构对三相共晶点的影响减小。此外,含有NaCl与Na₂SO₄双组分的盐渍土,水分和盐分可能以单固相、双固相以及三固相状态析出。研究结果可为深入认识盐渍土的相变规律及物理性质提供理论支撑。     

含水量对冻结含盐粉土单轴抗压强度影响的试验研究

采用取自甘肃省白银市平川区黄河岸边的天然盐渍土,用蒸馏水洗去土中的盐分,配制成NaCl/Na2SO4含量为1.5%,含水量不同的试样,研究了冻结条件下含水量对冻结含盐粉土单轴抗压强度、破坏应变的影响.结果表明:当含水量较小时,随着含水量的增加,冰的胶结作用增强,并与土颗粒、盐晶体一起承受荷载,冻结含盐土的单轴抗压强度不断增大;当含水量超过某一值时,试样更多地呈现出冰的性质,而冰的强度远远小于矿物颗粒的强度,单轴抗压强度随含水量的增加而减小.随着含水量的变化,含盐土的破坏应变与单轴抗压强度有相似的变化规律.     

Transport and fate of chloride from road salt within a mixed urban and agricultural watershed in Illinois (USA): assessing the influence of chloride application rates

In a typical winter season, approximately 471,000 tons of road salt are deposited along roadways in Illinois, USA. An estimated 45% of the deposited road salt will infiltrate through the soils and into shallow aquifers. Transported through shallow aquifers, chloride associated with the road salts has the potential to reside within groundwater for years based on the pathway, the geologic material, and the recharge rate of the aquifer system. Utilizing MODFLOW and MT3D, simulations employing various road-salt application rates were conducted to assess the net accumulation of chloride and the residence times of chloride in an agriculture-dominated watershed that originates in an urban area. A positive-linear relationship was observed between the application rate of chloride and both the maximum chloride concentration and total mass accumulated within the watershed. Simulated annual recharge rates along impacted surfaces ranged from 1,000 to 10,000 mg/L. After 60 years of application, simulated chloride concentrations in groundwater ranged from 197 to 1,900 mg/L. For all application rates, chloride concentrations within the groundwater rose at an annual rate of >3 mg/L. While concentrations increase throughout the system, the majority of chloride accumulation occurs near the roads and the urban areas. Model simulations reveal a positive relationship between application rate and residence time of chloride (1,123–1,288 days based on application rate). The models indicate that continued accumulation of chloride in shallow aquifers can be expected, and methods that apply less chloride effectively need to be examined.

     

Rise and fall of road salt contamination of water-supply springs

A storage pile of de-icing agent consisting principally of sodium chloride was placed in the recharge area of two springs, and remained there for 2 years. Water flow is through fractures in rocks with low matrix permeability, along a hydraulic gradient developed along fracture zones. Salt contamination in the springs was noticed about 1 year after the salt was placed. When the salt was removed 1 year later, chloride concentrations in the springs exceeded 500 mg/L. Monitoring for the following 5 years showed salt contamination rising for the first year, but receding to normal background after 5 years. Chloride to sodium ratios of the spring waters indicated that some sodium was initially sequestered, probably by ion exchange on clay minerals, in the early part of the monitoring period, and released during the latter part; thereby extending the period of contamination.Richard S. diPretoro: deceased     

De-oiled neem cake as potential bio-additive for low-salt raw skin preservation: a process for salinity reduction in tanneries

Animal skin, a proteinaceous material containing about 60–65 % moisture, is an ideal substrate for the growth of microorganisms, if not preserved properly. Conventionally, large quantities of sodium chloride are used for skin preservation. De-salting and soaking carried out during processing of the skin generates serious environmental constraints. In view of this, low-salt skin preservation with de-oiled neem cake is attempted. To ensure the antimicrobial properties of de-oiled neem cake, aqueous and solvent extracts of the cake were studied against bacteria and fungi which were isolated from raw skin. The antimicrobial assay was performed using the well diffusion method for aqueous, methanol and hexane extract of de-oiled neem cake, which showed maximum zone of clearance for aqueous and methanolic extract against the isolated bacteria and fungi, respectively, present in raw skin. The percentage of inhibition study reveals that the methanolic extract showed 100 % inhibition against many organisms and the water extract against some organisms. The raw skin was cured using de-oiled neem cake with reduced amount of salt and left for a period of 21 days. The skins were checked periodically for microbial growth as per the conventional methods. Finally, the low-salt preserved skins were processed into chrome-tanned leathers and their strength properties were compared with leathers which were preserved by the conventional method. The results suggest that de-oiled neem cake along with minimal salt has adequate curing efficiency on raw skin and if this system is implemented, pollution caused due to sodium chloride would be significantly minimized.     

细粒硫酸钠盐渍土盐冻胀特性试验研究

为探究温度与硫酸钠含量对细粒硫酸钠盐渍土盐冻胀率及盐胀占比的影响,取兰州黄土作为素土人工配盐,用平衡公式进行理论推导,并设计了室内试验对其进行验证。结果表明：当压实度为92%、含水率为最优含水率16.8%时,随着含盐量的升高,细粒硫酸钠盐渍土的冻结温度随硫酸钠含量的增大而降低,且随着温度的降低,盐胀率的变化趋势与盐冻胀率基本一致。在冻结温度以下至-5 ℃盐胀发展速度最快,在-5 ℃以下盐胀率增长很小;在压实度为92%、含水率为最优含水率16.8%条件下,在硫酸钠含量不变时,温度越低,盐胀占比越大;温度不变时,硫酸钠含量越高,盐胀占比越大,在冻结温度以上盐胀占比为100%,但当温度降至-3~-4 ℃时盐胀占比降到50%,在-10 ℃以下盐胀占比基本保持不变。     

Interactions Between Soils and Laboratory Simulated Electrolyte Solution

To study the impact of salt water intrusion on two types of soils from west coast region of India were investigated in the laboratory. The key characteristics evaluated included Atterberg limits, compaction characteristics, hydraulic conductivity and chemical characteristics of selected soils. The sea at this coast receives effluent from different points and hence the characteristics change with time and locality. Therefore, to maintain uniform composition, 0.5 N sodium chloride solution (NaCl) was prepared in the laboratory and batch tests were used to determine the immediate effect on soils. Soil specimens were prepared by mixing the soils with 0.5 N NaCl in the increments of 0, 5, 10 and 20% by weight to vary the degree of contamination. Experimental results of soils mixed with 0.5 N NaCl showed that the maximum dry density increases and the optimum moisture content (OMC) decreases with increasing sodium chloride concentration. The study also revealed that the hydraulic conductivity of the soils tested increases with increase in sodium chloride concentration. The Atterberg limits of contaminated specimens show a remarkable change when compared with uncontaminated specimens.     

含盐土渗透系数变化特征的试验研究

对含盐土的渗透系数进行了室内试验研究.结果表明:在干容重相同的情况下,渗透系数随着含盐量的增加而减小;对同一类型土,随着含盐量的增加,硫酸盐土的渗透系数要比氯盐土渗透系数减小显著;在干容重和盐类相同的情况下,细颗粒含盐土的渗透系数要比粗颗粒含盐土的渗透系数减小显著.在含盐量相同的情况下,同一种土的渗透系数随着干容重的增大而减小.当干容重在一定的范围内时,渗透系数与干容重呈线性关系,但当干容重超过该范围时,渗透系数与干容重呈幂函数关系.     

Major ions in typical subterranean rivers and their anthropogenic impacts in southwest karst areas,China

Subterranean rivers contain much of the groundwater in karst and supply many local people in southwest China. The quality of groundwater in subterranean rivers is of concern because of its sensitivity to anthropogenic activity. Groundwater samples in a rural catchment were collected at the discharge point, and the concentrations of major ions including potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, sulfate, nitrate and bicarbonate were analyzed in this study. Rainfall and discharge were also observed at the same time. It could be concluded from the data that the concentrations of sulfate and nitrate had a peak in the rainy season when the concentrations of sodium, calcium, magnesium and bicarbonate were low. The concentrations of potassium and chloride changed randomly throughout the year. The concentration of major ions in flood process was not completely controlled by discharge. Only the concentrations of nitrate and sulfate had obviously increased during the past two decades. It was believed that dilution, eluviation, karst erosion and anthropogenic activity can explain the ion variations and hence this study helps to understand environmental problem in karst.     

Study on the freezing temperature of saline soil

Freezing temperature is an important parameter in studying the freezing mechanism of saline soil. An equation for calculating the freezing temperature is proposed based on the phase transition theory in porous medium, including two main influencing factors, the water activity and pore size. In this equation, the effect of the water activity on the freezing temperature of soil is calculated by Pitzer model, while the impact of pore size is replaced by water content. Through comparing the calculated results with the published experimental data, the equation is proved to be competent in predicting the freezing temperature for the saline soil with sodium chloride or calcium chloride. For the saline soil with sodium carbonate, the effect of salt hydrate crystallization should be taken into consideration. With respect to the saline soil with sodium sulfate, it is difficult to determine the freezing temperature, since there is uncertainty of the resultant when freezing (that is, heptahydrate or decahydrate). In addition, the effects of pore size and multi-component solutes on freezing temperature are also discussed. The study would be helpful for revealing the freezing mechanism and also providing a useful theoretical method for engineering design of saline soil in cold regions.     

Dissimilatory sulfate reduction in hypersaline coastal pans: Activity across a salinity gradient

The impact of salinity on the metabolic activity of sulfate-reducing bacteria in five highly saline to hypersaline coastal pans was studied using a radioactive tracer technique. We recorded sulfate reduction at in situ porewater salinities of up to 422. Furthermore, enumeration of sulfate reduction rates in whole core incubations conducted under in situ conditions suggested a high variability in the activity of sulfate-reducers. Average reduction rates (27-3685 nmol cm⁻³ d⁻¹) varied according to depth, season and site sampled. The highest reduction rates measured in the hypersaline pan were comparable to the highest reported rates from highly productive salt marsh and microbial mat ecosystems. Correspondingly, the depth-integrated rates (integrated to 12 cm) varied from 6 to 241 mmol m⁻² d⁻¹ and were also among the highest ever reported rates. The reduction rates decreased down-core and, surprisingly, were highest in the winter season when the lowest sediment temperatures were encountered.High salt concentrations did not inhibit sulfate reduction rates. Rather, higher rates were measured at pans with higher in situ salinities. In laboratory slurry incubation experiments, sediments from the saltpans were treated with increasing salt concentrations. Regression analysis suggested that the short term response of microbial consortia to up-shock was an increase in sulfate reduction activity up to salinities of 272-311 and 134-244, in hypersaline and highly saline pans, respectively. Beyond these salinities, the cells showed evidence of reduced activities.     

Mineralogical and anthropogenic controls of stream water chemistry in salted watersheds

The relatively stable concentrations of calcium (42.2–122.3 mg/l) and magnesium (48.9–88.1 mg/l) between 2012 and 2013 and their possible weathering paths identified by mass balance models for both soil solutions and stream water from a small salted (regular applications of winter road deicing salt) watershed in New Jersey, USA indicate that the weathering of feldspars and dissolution of carbonates are the primary sources for these cations. However, the relatively stable and lower concentrations of sodium and chloride in soil solutions (19.6–46.1 mg/l for Na and 12.7–88.3 mg/l for Cl) and their fluctuating and higher concentrations in stream water (14.6–103.1 mg/l for Na and 15.2–260.4 mg/l)) from the same watershed during the same period also indicate that road deicing salt is the primary source for sodium and chloride in stream water. Furthermore, positive correlations between calcium and sulfur concentrations (correlation coefficient r = 0.77) and magnesium and sulfur concentrations (r = 0.73) in stream water between 2009 and 2013, as well as positive correlations between sulfur and iron concentrations in soil compositions (r = 0.27), indicate that both the dissolution of gypsum and the oxidation of pyrite into hematite might be the primary sources of sulfate in the watershed. Analyses of water chemistry from the related and much larger Delaware River Watershed (DRW) show that sodium and chloride concentrations have increased steadily (2.7 times for Na and 4.56 times for Cl for 10-year average) due to the regular application of winter deicing salt from 1944 to 2011 for which data are available. The greater increase of stream water chloride concentrations compared with sodium concentrations also results in the steady decline of Na⁺/Cl⁻ molar ratios from 1.51 to 0.92 for the 10-year average during that time in the DRW and approximately 78% of the chloride in the DRW now being anthropogenic. In addition, the decline of sulfate concentration from 22.08 to 14.59 mg/l (∼34%) for the 10-year average from 1980 to 2011 in the DRW stream water may be attributed to the decline of sulfate levels in atmospheric deposition resulting from enhanced national and state environmental regulations and a shift in local economic activities. There also are more periods of low silica stream water concentrations in the DRW than in the past, perhaps as a result of recent increases in summer stream temperatures combined with an increase of impervious surface area in the region. Warmer stream water might cause the temporary bloom of biota requiring silica, particularly plankton, increasing its uptake from stream water, while an expanded impervious surface area increases the contribution of low-silica runoff water to total stream discharge, thereby lowering the silica concentration in stream water. The combined results of this study illustrate the possible changing anthropogenic factors that can control stream water chemistry in salted watersheds and that these factors need to be taken into account when future water quality regulations and policy are considered.     

盐度对多孔介质中DNAPL运移和分布的影响

选用四氯乙烯（PCE）作为典型DNAPL污染物,以NaCl作为地下水中溶解盐代表,研究盐度对DNAPL在饱和多孔介质中运移和分布的影响。通过批次实验测定NaCl水溶液/石英砂/PCE三相体系下的接触角和界面张力,结果表明,PCE在石英砂表面的接触角随着水中NaCl浓度的增大而减小,而PCE和NaCl水溶液的界面张力随着NaCl浓度的增大而增大,尤其当氯化钠浓度较高时（>0.1 mol/L）,影响程度更为显著。在此基础上,采用透射光法监测不同介质情景下DNAPL在二维砂箱中的运移和分布,定量测定DNAPL在介质中的饱和度。实验结果表明,地下水盐度的增加将促进DNAPL的垂向入渗,减少被截留在运移路径上的DNAPL量,使得DNAPL运移路径及累积形成的池状DNAPL（pool）向水流方向偏移。在均质多孔介质和含有透镜体的非均质多孔介质中,随着盐度的增加,DNAPL在横向和垂向上的展布均呈现出增加趋势,导致污染源区变大,且介质中以离散状存在的DNAPL量明显增加。