Stratigraphy of Wood-derived Sterols in Sediments Historically Contaminatedby Pulp and Paper Mill Effluents

Sterols and their metabolites are recognized as hormonally active compounds in many earlier studies. Therefore, identification and quantification of selected phytosterols related to developments in pulping and wastewater treatment of pulp and paper industry were studied from sediment cores of two Finnish lakes. Indicating the period of maximal emissions, the highest total concentration of sterols, 1970 μg/g dry weight, was detected in the stratified sediment of central Lake Päijänne, dated to the mid-1970s (depth 12–15 cm). After notable changes in processes and effluent treatment, the amounts of sterols in effluents must have diminished, as shown by the sterol content in the sediment downstream from the mills. Therefore, the concentrations were about 10% of the historical maximum in the surface sediment (depth 0–3 cm) in both downstream sites investigated at Lake Päijänne. However, these concentrations were clearly over the natural background (10–50 μg/g) occurring in the subsamples of the pre-industrial phase (depth 36–44 cm) as well as in the reference site of southern Lake Saimaa, the second investigated lake. At a nearby site of a pulp and paper mill in southern Lake Saimaa, sterols were most abundant (1760 μg/g dry weight) in the sediment layer 0–5 cm despite the improved process control during last few decades. This study showed the abundance of ecotoxicologically harmful compounds in downstream sediment sites of pulp and paper industry.     

Seasonal variation of particulate organic compounds in atmospheric PM10 in the biggest municipal waste landfill of Algeria

The average composition and seasonal variations of atmospheric organic particulates with respect to n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acid, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs), and nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (N-PAHs) were determined at the biggest municipal waste landfill in Algeria located in Oued Smar, 13 km east of downtown Algiers. Samplings were carried out from August 2002 to February 2003, and organic compounds adsorbed in air particles having an aerodynamic diameter lower than 10 μm (PM₁₀) were characterized using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometric detection (GC/MSD). Total concentrations ranged from 828 to 11,068 ng per cubic meter of air for n-alkanes, from 1714 to 21,710 ng per cubic meter of air for n-alkanoic acids, from 13 to 212 ng per cubic meter of air for PAHs and from 93 to 205 pg per cubic meter of air for N-PAHs. n-Alkanoic acids accounted for 85 and 56% of the total organic composition of the aerosol measured in summer and winter, respectively, were the biggest fraction. The distribution profiles and the diagnostic ratios of some marker compounds allowed to identify the combustion and microbial activity as the major sources of particulate organic pollutants associated with direct emission. The year-time dependence of organic fraction content of aerosol in Oued Smar appeared to be related to average meteorological conditions as well as variability of rate and nature of materials wasted into the landfill.     

Fate of Lignin in the Process of Aerobic Biological Treatment of Paper Mill Wastewater

Although lignin is known to be not readily biodegradable the concentration of dissolved lignin decreased during aerobic biological treatment of paper mill wastewater performed in sequencing batch reactors (SBR). Systematic lab scale batch tests were conducted to clarify whether the observed removal of lignin was the result of biodegradation or adsorption onto the activated sludge. For the batch tests, sludge samples were taken from sequencing batch reactors operated at solid retention times (SRT) of 10, 15, 20, 30, and 40 days, respectively. The amount of lignin present in the bulk liquid and in the sludge samples was quantified by an analytical procedure comprising pyrolysis, gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (py‐GC/MS analysis). It was found that lignin adsorbs onto the activated sludge by up to 30%[TH]w/w. This demonstrates the sludge excellent adsorption properties. The ultimate removal of lignin is achieved by sludge wasting. The highest overall removal rate was found when sludge was used from the SBR run at SRT of 20 days.     

正构烷烃气相色谱指纹法鉴别海面溢油源一事例研究

通过对厦门海域一个具体海面溢油事例的研究，探讨了鉴别海面溢油源的正构烷烃气相色谱指纹法及其可行性和有效性，结果令人满意。该方法包括样品的前处理、GC测定和数据分析。其整个操作流程短，且较简便易行，尤其是选择正十七烷（n－C17）、正十八烷（n－C18）、姥鲛烷（pri）、植烷（phy）和正二十烷（n-C20）等特征烷烃作为判据，可信度大，对于经历一定风化作用的海面溢油仍可进行有效的鉴别。     

松节油加氢热解产物中单萜烷类化合物的初步研究

用雷尼镍为催化剂对松节油进行了加氢实验,获得顺蒎烷、反蒎烷、莰烷、异莰烷等单萜烷类化合物,采用气相色谱"反吹、微流控"技术的色谱-质谱分析方法,测得了它们的保留时间和质谱图,为进一步研究原油或抽提物轻馏分中单萜烷类化合物的地球化学意义提供了一些基础性数据.     

Low dimensional chaos in the AT and GC skew profiles of DNA sequences

This paper investigates the existence of low-dimensional deterministic chaos in the AT and GC skew profiles of DNA sequences. It has taken DNA sequences from eight organisms as samples. The skew profiles are analysed using continuous wavelet transform and then nonlinear time series methods. The invariant measures of correlation dimension and the largest Lyapunov exponent are calculated. It is demonstrated that the AT and GC skew profiles of these DNA sequences all exhibit low dimensional chaotic behaviour. It suggests that chaotic properties may be ubiquitous in the DNA sequences of all organisms.     

广州市海珠区地表水中致嗅物质及毒性分析

为研究广州市海珠区地表水中的致嗅物质及其毒性,在海珠区珠江前后航道与湖泊池塘采集了21个水样,采用液液萃取气质联用法对其中的土臭素、二甲基异茨醇等5种致嗅物质进行含量检测,并根据水样相关富营养化指标,探究这些致嗅物质的分布和来源.研究结果表明:海珠区地表水中含量最高的两种致嗅物质依次是土臭素(4.0~69.0 ng/L)和二甲基异茨醇(4.1~24.9 ng/L);异臭味问题最严重的地表水体是珠江水,其次为湖泊池塘,水厂取水口的异臭味问题不明显;珠江前航道中致嗅物质的含量高于后航道,其中含量最高的河段为鳌洲码头段至广州大桥段,含量高达40.2~69.0 ng/L;致嗅物质的含量和分布与水体的污染和富营养化程度密切相关,广州市海珠区地表水的净化和治理形势严峻.另外,在可检出的浓度范围内,土臭素和二甲基异茨醇对发光细菌抑制率较高.     

GC profiles of oils reflect organic maturity rather than depositional environment of parent source rock: examples from Central Australia

Abstract

Review and analysis of 1332 gas chromatography (GC) n-alkane traces of oils from the Cooper and Eromanga basins indicate the shape of any GC trace profile is primarily controlled by the degree of organic maturity (early, peak or late) at which the oils were expelled from the parent source rock, rather than indicating the depositional environment, and hence organic composition, of that source rock. The depositional environment of a source rock may still be inferred, however, from the position of the n-alkane maximum on the GC traces of early expulsion oils in association with the pour point of the oil. Departures of GC trace profiles from the standard early, peak or late expulsion profiles can indicate mixing of oils of different maturities, while variations in the GC trace profiles of oils within adjacent reservoir units may indicate phase separation of the parent liquid, or possible seal breach by an accumulation that exceeds the capacity of its overlying seal.

1. KEY POINTS

2. GC trace profiles of 1332 oils from across the Cooper and Eromanga basins of central Australia have been reviewed.

3. Organic maturity, rather than organic composition, of the parent source rock controls the shape of any GC trace profile.

4. All early maturity oils display a consistent GC trace profile shape that is different from all peak maturity oils and different again from all late maturity oils.

5. Depositional environment of the source rocks within a basin can be inferred from the relative pour points of the resultant oils.

     

Removal of Natural Free Estrogens and their Conjugates in a Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant

Removal of natural free estrogens and estrogen conjugates in a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) was investigated and analyzed by GC‐MS, in which estrogen conjugates were first transformed to their corresponding free estrogens with an acid solvolysis procedure before their analysis. Natural free estrogens, E1‐3‐sulfate (E1‐3S), and E3‐3‐sulfate (E3‐3S) were detected with high concentrations in both the influent and effluent of the primary settling tank (PS), while no estrogen glucuronides were detected in any of the monitored wastewater samples. Regarding their removal efficiencies, all were almost completely removed, except for E1 with only a minor decrease. The estrogenic/androgenic removal of the same WWTP was also evaluated with estrogen receptor (androgen receptor) (ER (AR))‐binding assays, in which the removal efficiencies for E2 equivalents (EEQ) or testosterone equivalents (TEQ) were 68.5 and 72.2%. In addition, the chemically calculated EEQ from natural estrogens were about 20.6–39.3% that of the ER‐binding assay, in which E3 contributed the biggest proportion in both the influent and PS, while the calculated value of E1 increased from only 6.7% in the influent to as high as 20.6% in the effluent.     

皱纹盘鲍脂肪酸及脂肪醛二甲基缩醛的气相色谱/质谱分析

研究了用气相色谱/质谱法测定皱纹盘鲍中脂肪酸及脂肪醛二甲基缩醛的方法。皱纹盘鲍经Folch法提取总脂,用10%硫酸-甲醇溶液进行反应,通过气相色谱/质谱法对其脂肪酸及脂肪醛二甲基缩醛的组成进行分析。实验结果表明:10%硫酸-甲醇溶液能有效地对脂肪酸进行甲酯化衍生;同时促使烯醚键断裂,并与甲醇发生缩醛反应生成脂肪醛二甲基缩醛。通过气相色谱/质谱分析,从皱纹盘鲍中共鉴定出32个化合物,包括26种脂肪酸和6种脂肪醛二甲基缩醛;脂肪酸以C16:0、C20:4(n-6)、C20:5(n-3)、C18:1(n-7)和C22:5(n-3)为主;脂肪醛二甲基缩醛以C18:0DMA和C20:1DMA为主。皱纹盘鲍肌肉和内脏中的脂肪酸及脂肪醛二甲基缩醛的组成基本一致,但内脏中的4,8,12-三甲基十三烷酸含量远高于肌肉,具有极显著差异(P<0.01)。