Mineral constituents in common chanterelles and soils collected from a high mountain and lowland sites in Poland

This paper reported the results of the determination of Ag, Al, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Rb, Sr and Zn in Common Chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarius) Fr. and surface soil layer (0-10 cm) underneath the fruiting bodies. Mushrooms and soils were collected from a lowland site in the Hel Peninsula (Baltic Sea coast) and a high mountain site in the Tatra Mountains. The trace elements were determined using validated method and inductively coupled plasma - atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). Common Chanterelles that emerged at sites poor in mineral nutrients podzols of the Hel Peninsula forests efficiently bioconcentrated several essential trace elements (K, P, Co, Cu, Mn, Na, Zn), while the abundance of those elements in carpophores was around half less compared to specimens from Zakopane region and which emerged in soils much richer in minerals. Common Chanterelles collected at two spatially distant background areas in Poland were only weakly contaminated with metals such as Ag, Cd, Hg and Pb. The maximum tolerable Cd and Pb contents of certain cultivated mushrooms are regulated in the European Union by law and these hazardous metals in C. cibarius were far below tolerance limits set.     

茂名油页岩沉积有机质特征及古气候意义

基于海洋沉积确定的始新世晚期至渐新世早期(约33.5 Ma)的气候过渡期是新生代全球性气候事件,但长期以来相关的陆相沉积记录研究则比较缺乏。本文对形成于始新世晚期至渐新世早期的茂名油柑窝组油页岩样品进行了有机质丰度、烃类组成、单体烃碳同位素组成等分析,以期研究低纬度陆相沉积有机质对古近纪始新世-渐新世气候过渡期(EOT)的响应。研究结果显示,埋藏较浅的上部层位样品正构烷烃碳同位素组成显著正偏,为-19.1‰~-25.9‰,平均值为-22.2‰;而下部层位样品正构烷烃碳同位素组成在-23.7‰~-30.2‰,平均值为-26.3‰。两个样品正构烷烃碳同位素组成之差在1.5‰~8.1‰,平均值之差为4.6‰。正构烷烃碳同位素组成的显著差异指示了EOT低纬度陆相古气候变化引起的陆相有机质响应,而这种响应与当时大气CO2浓度和海洋温度降低导致的气候和植物群落变化密切相关,即可能存在着C3植物向C4植物的转化、C4植物的迅速增加并最终导致沉积有机质碳同位素组成的变化;也可能是由于大气CO2浓度降低导致的大气CO2碳同位素组成整体正偏的结果。很显然,进一步详细的连续剖面分析将对研究古近纪EOT低纬度陆相古气候变化提供重要科学依据。     

Chlorinated compounds and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) collected from Apulia Region coasts

This project was carried out to assess the levels and spatial distribution of organochlorine compounds in the coastal marine environment, using mussels as bioindicators to evaluate the coastal water quality. Levels of polychlorobiphenils (PCB), chlorinated pesticides (DDT isomers, HCH isomers, Aldrin, Dieldrin, alfa-Endosulfan, Hexachlorobenzene, Pentachlorobenzene) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were determined in tissues from mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) collected along the Apulia Region coasts (Mediterranean Sea). Results indicate that contamination by organochlorine compounds is higher in mussels sampled in the Ionian Sea than in those from the Adriatic Sea, with PCB levels up to seven times higher in mussels from Ionian than from the Adriatic Sea. Although PCB levels were above the maximum values indicated by both European Community (EC) and National regulation in several sample sites, the PCB concentrations were particularly high in some stations, suggesting that these locations require a much specific attention. Conversely, results on the mussel contamination by PBDEs highlight their ubiquitous environmental distribution, and underline the need to establish the maximum level for these compounds in foodstuff, according to European Regulations.     

A Novel Concept for the Removal of Solvent Vapors from Exhaust Air

The emission of large amounts of solvent vapors with exhaust air from industrial production into the environment is a serious problem. In Germany, industry‐sector‐specific threshold values are applied and technical measures for pollution reduction are required. Different techniques for exhaust air cleaning are in use but still posing problems concerning costs and reliability. For these reasons, the development of processes for exhaust air treatment is the subject of the current research. A new concept for exhaust air cleaning is introduced that combines absorption of a solvent vapor by an organic fluid and a subsequent adsorption by a molecular sieve placed in the absorber. It was managed to close the loops of solvent recovery and sorbents regeneration. In laboratory‐scale experiments it was possible to reduce an initial ethylacetate pollution of 800 mg/m³ or 349 mg C/m³ below the limit value of 75 mg C/m³ over 60 h duration. Thermogravimetric measurements assisted to define optimum conditions for solvent recovery at 180°C from the molecular sieve. One unexpected positive finding was the considerable increase in the solvent release in the presence of the absorption fluid while adsorption isotherms revealed first insight into this process.