Impact evaluation on groundwater of the infiltration of an urban wastewater geopurification system placed over a detrital aquifer in a semiarid region (Spain)

Over a period of 4 years and 4 months, the geopurification installations at Dehesas de Guadix (Granada, Spain) were monitored to determine the impact on soil and groundwater of the controlled discharge of urban wastewater, and also to identify the best indicators of the entry of the recharged water into the aquifer. The installations are located in an area where the climate is Mediterranean sub-arid, with an average precipitation of less than 287 mm/year, and a rate of evapotranspiration that is almost three times greater. The system was controlled by determining the balance of majority nutrients and boron in the soil and in the groundwater, both at the points affected directly by the wastewater discharge and at others. The quantity of mass discharged was relatively large (COD 14,656 g/m², NO₃ 85 g/m², NO₂ 4 g/m², NH₄ 2,425 g/m², PO₄ 1,143 g/m², K 1,531 g/m², B 63 g/m²). It was observed that the elimination of nutrients within the soil (COD 97.5%, PO₄ 94.4%, K 59.17%, N _total 18.8%, B 12.69%) was very efficient except for the nitrogen, which nevertheless did not reach the groundwater, as it was eliminated at deep levels of the unsaturated zone. Only 12.69% of the boron was removed, and appreciable, increasing amounts of this element did reach the groundwater. Unexpectedly, none of the majority nutrients behaved as a reliable indicator of the impact on groundwater; despite this, the boron and the bicarbonate did clearly reflect the arrival of the recharged water, and are proposed as the best indicators.     

Experimental investigation on thermochemical sulfate reduction by H2S initiation

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is known to catalyze thermochemical sulfate reduction (TSR) by hydrocarbons (HC), but the reaction mechanism remains unclear. To understand the mechanism of this catalytic reaction, a series of isothermal gold-tube hydrous pyrolysis experiments were conducted at 330 °C for 24 h under a constant confining pressure of 24.1 MPa. The reactants used were saturated HC (sulfur-free) and CaSO₄ in the presence of variable H₂S partial pressures at three different pH conditions. The experimental results showed that the in-situ pH of the aqueous solution (herein, in-situ pH refers to the calculated pH of aqueous solution under the experimental conditions) can significantly affect the rate of the TSR reaction. A substantial increase in the TSR reaction rate was recorded with a decrease in the in-situ pH value of the aqueous solution involved. A positive correlation between the rate of TSR and the initial partial pressure of H₂S occurred under acidic conditions (at pH ∼3-3.5). However, sulfate reduction at pH ∼5.0 was undetectable even at high initial H₂S concentrations. To investigate whether the reaction of H₂S_(aq) and occurs at pH ∼3, an additional series of isothermal hydrous pyrolysis experiments was conducted with CaSO₄ and variable H₂S partial pressures in the absence of HC at the same experimental temperature and pressure conditions. CaSO₄ reduction was not measurable in the absence of paraffin even with high H₂S pressure and acidic conditions. These experimental observations indicate that the formation of organosulfur intermediates from H₂S reacting with hydrocarbons may play a significant role in sulfate reduction under our experimental conditions rather than the formation of elemental sulfur from H₂S reacting with sulfate as has been suggested previously (Toland W. G. (1960) Oxidation of organic compounds with aqueous sulphate. J. Am. Chem. Soc.82, 1911-1916).Quantification of labile organosulfur compounds (LSC), such as thiols and sulfides, was performed on the products of the reaction of H₂S and HC from a series of gold-tube non-isothermal hydrous pyrolysis experiments conducted at about pH 3 from 300 to 370 °C and a 0.1-°C/h heating rate. Incorporation of sulfur into HC resulted in an appreciable amount of thiol and sulfide formation. The rate of LSC formation positively correlated with the initial H₂S pressure. Thus, we propose that the LSC produced from H₂S reaction with HC are most likely the reactive intermediates for H₂S initiation of sulfate reduction. We further propose a three-step reaction scheme of sulfate reduction by HC under reservoir conditions, and discuss the geological implications of our experimental findings with regard to the effect of formation water and oil chemistry, in particular LSC content.     

Formation and abundance of doubly-substituted methane isotopologues (CH3D) in natural gas systems

Formation of the Carbon-13 (¹³C) and deuterium (D) doubly-substituted methane isotopologues (¹³CH₃D) in natural gases is studied utilizing both first-principle quantum mechanism molecular calculation and direct FTIR laboratorial measurements of specifically synthesized high isotope concentration methane gas. For ¹³CH₃D, the symmetrically breathing mode A₀ emerges as IR-detectable attributed to the molecular symmetry lowering to C_3v from T_d of the non-isotopic methane (CH₄), along with a large vibrational frequency shift from ∼3000 to ∼2250 cm⁻¹. Our studies also indicate that the concentration of ¹³CH₃D is dependent on the environmental temperature through isotope exchanges among methane isotopologues; and the Gibbs’ Free Energy difference due to Quantum Mechanics Zero-Point vibrational motions has the major contribution to this temperature dependency. Potential geologic applications of the ¹³CH₃D measurement to natural gas exploration and assessments are also discussed. In order to detect the ¹³CH₃D concentration change of each 50 °C in the natural gas system, a 10⁻⁹ resolution is desirable. Such a measurement could provide important add-on information to distinguish natural gas origin and distribution.     

Comparison of arsenic concentrations in simultaneously-collected groundwater and aquifer particles from Bangladesh,India, Vietnam,and Nepal

One of the reasons the processes resulting in As release to groundwater in southern Asia remain poorly understood is the high degree of spatial variability of physical and chemical properties in shallow aquifers. In an attempt to overcome this difficulty, a simple device that collects groundwater and sediment as a slurry from precisely the same interval was developed in Bangladesh. Recently published results from Bangladesh and India relying on the needle-sampler are augmented here with new data from 37 intervals of grey aquifer material of likely Holocene age in Vietnam and Nepal. A total of 145 samples of filtered groundwater ranging in depth from 3 to 36 m that were analyzed for As (1–1000 μg/L), Fe (0.01–40 mg/L), Mn (0.2–4 mg/L) and S (0.04–14 mg/L) are compared. The P-extractable (0.01–36 mg/kg) and HCl-extractable As (0.04–36 mg/kg) content of the particulate phase was determined in the same suite of samples, in addition to Fe(II)/Fe ratios (0.2–1.0) in the acid-leachable fraction of the particulate phase. Needle-sampler data from Bangladesh indicated a relationship between dissolved As in groundwater and P-extractable As in the particulate phase that was interpreted as an indication of adsorptive equilibrium, under sufficiently reducing conditions, across 3 orders of magnitude in concentrations according to a distribution coefficient of 4 mL/g. The more recent observations from India, Vietnam and Nepal show groundwater As concentrations that are often an order of magnitude lower at a given level of P-extractable As compared to Bangladesh, even if only the subset of particularly reducing intervals characterized by leachable Fe(II)/Fe >0.5 and dissolved Fe >0.2 mg/L are considered. Without attempting to explain why As appears to be particularly mobile in reducing aquifers of Bangladesh compared to the other regions, the consequences of increasing the distribution coefficient for As between the particulate and dissolved phase to 40 mL/g for the flushing of shallow aquifers of their initial As content are explored.     

Identifying China’s leading world city: a network approach

This paper reports our research on China’s world cities. Formal network analysis of air passenger linkages for recent years among China’s most populous cities and among many of the world’s largest cities allows us to identify the country’s leading world city from among the leading Mainland candidates, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. We theorize our findings about China’s world cities in relation to both global forces (and China’s increasing entanglement with them) and the policies and actions of the national state. We examine the national and global urban network through a longitudinal, two-level analysis of airline passenger travel for four time points between about 1990 and 2005. We show that Beijing was China’s leading world city at the beginning of the time period, a status it lost nationally in as early as 1995, and then globally 10 years later. On the other hand Shanghai became China’s leading world city, and it acquired this status first nationally in 2000, and then globally in 2005. The changing status of the Chinese capital corresponds to the country’s increasing involvement with the capitalist world economy. Shanghai’s ascendance as the leading world city in China may indicate that global forces have come to play an increasingly important role relative to that of the developmental state.

Biogeochemical characteristics of the Hetai goldfield, Guangdong Province, China

In the Hetai goldfield, Guangdong Province, China, samples including rocks, soils and leaves of four plants (Pinus massoniana, Rhodomyrms tomenlosa, D. linearis var. dichotoma and Embelia laeta) collected from the gold mineralization zone and the background area were analyzed for Au, Ag, Cu, Pb, Zn, Hg, As and physiological parameters. The objective of this investigation is to study the geochemical and biogeochemical characteristics of studied plants, aiming at biogeochemical methods in Au exploration. The goldfield region shows geochemical and biogeochemical anomalies. Abundances of Au in rocks, soils, plants and the leaf pigments in the mineralized area are much higher than those in the surrounding region. The plants display unhealthy physiological and ecological characteristics in the Hetai goldfield area. The cell structures of the goldfield plants were anomalous and aberrant, and there were many nano-metal particles diffused in mitochondria and chloroplasts. Macro- and microscopic evidences of the vegetation in the goldfield areas are distinctly different from the background regions. The strongly anomalies in responses to Au are profound in further geochemical and botanic exploration studies.     

渤海湾盆地新生界生油岩系底界面温度分布

依据渤海湾盆地2000余口测温井的地温梯度数据、地层岩性描述、分层数据以及钻井资料,计算了该盆地各生油岩系底界面的温度。统计结果表明:渤海湾盆地沙河街组大部分凹陷区地层底界面温度介于90℃至150℃,目前仍具有大量生油的温度条件,而在隆起或一些凸起地区,该地层组段温度普遍小于90℃,未能达到生油的温度指标。东营组和孔店组地层也仍具有一定的生油温度条件。研究还表明:地层温度与地层界面埋深密切相关,温度随界面埋深的增大而升高,沉积厚度大的凹陷区地层界面温度大于沉积厚度小的凸起区或斜坡地带,说明地层界面埋深是决定地温高低的主要控制因素,而地温梯度对地层界面温度的影响相对较小。     

松辽盆地三肇凹陷葡萄花油层成藏模式初探

运用源控含油气系统理论与综合分析技术,按成藏“层次分析”方法,通过对生、储、盖、圈(闭)静态要素及其内生、排、运、聚、散(失)动态过程的综合研究,对松辽盆地中央坳陷的三肇凹陷葡萄花油层成藏条件进行探讨,提出了以次级凹陷为中心、不同类型的油气聚集带紧邻并围绕次级凹陷最低部位呈环带状分布的大型凹陷内成藏模式,并进一步提出永乐次级凹陷中心及其三级聚油环带及徐家围子次级凹陷以西为"网式"运聚特征;在凹陷级成藏模式的指导下,通过对大面积密井网开发区综合解剖,提出三级构造带中单个的局部构造圈闭(群)、单个的(局部构造——)岩性圈闭(群)控油和成藏规律,为认识本区基本控油单元、油水分布规律、油气勘探及扩大新探区提供重要的理论依据。     

基于裂隙量测法的新立矿区工程岩体渗透性分析

新立矿区主要可采矿体分布于海底岩体中,查明矿区工程岩体的渗透特征对保障海底采矿安全具有十分重要的意义。在综合分析新立矿区水文地质工程地质特征的基础上,以现场调查的岩体结构面几何数据为基础,开发了渗透系数张量计算程序,计算了岩体综合渗透系数,根据前期的压水试验结果修正了计算结果,修正后的结果表明矿区-105,-135水平工程岩体整体上呈弱透水性,局部呈微透水性,-165水平岩体整体上呈微-弱透水性;岩体渗透性随深度的增加而降低。