Mn-Co-Ce/biochar based particles electrodes for removal of COD from coking wastewater by 3D/HEFL system: Characteristics, optimization, and mechanism.

In this work, the Mn, Co, Ce co-doped corn cob biochar (MCCBC) as catalytic particle electrodes in a three-dimensional heterogeneous electro-Fenton-like (3D-HEFL) system for the efficient degradation of coking wastewater was investigated. Various characterization methods such as SEM, EDS, XRD, XPS and electrochemical analysis were employed for the prepared materials. The results showed that the MCCBC particle electrodes had excellent electrochemical degradation performances of COD in coking wastewater, and the COD removal and degradation rates of the 3D/HEFL system were 85.35% and 0.0563 min-1 respectively. RSM optimized conditions revealed higher COD removal rate at 89.23% after 31.6 min of electrolysis. The efficient degradability and wide adaptability of the 3D/HEFL system were due to its beneficial coupling mechanism, including the synergistic effect between the system factors (3D and HEFL) as well as the synergistic interactions between the ROS (dominated by •OH and supplemented by O2•-) in the system. Moreover, the COD removal rate of MCCBC could still remain at 81.41% after 5 cycles with a lower ion leaching and a specific energy consumption of 11.28 kWh kg-1 COD. The superior performance of MCCBC, as catalytic particle electrodes showed a great potential for engineering applications for the advanced treatment of coking wastewater.

Nontarget Screening of Novel Urinary Biomarkers for Occupational Exposure to Toxic Chemicals from Coking Industry Using HPLC-QTOF-MS.

High-resolution mass spectrometry is an advanced technique for comprehensive screening of toxic chemicals. In this study, urine samples were collected from both an occupationally exposed population at a coking site and normal inhabitants to identify novel urinary biomarkers for occupational exposure to coking contaminants. A coking-site-appropriate analytical method was developed for unknown chemical screening. Through nontarget screening, 515 differential features were identified, and finally, 32 differential compounds were confirmed as candidates for the current study, including 13 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) metabolites. Besides monohydroxy-PAHs (such as 1-&2-naphthol, 2-&9-hydroxyfluorene, 2-&4-phenanthrol, and 1-&2-hydroxypyrene), many other PAH metabolites including dihydroxy metabolites, PAH oxide, and sulfate conjugate were detected, suggesting that the quantification based solely on monohydroxy-PAHs significantly underestimated the human exposure to PAHs. Furthermore, several novel compounds were recognized that could be considered as biomarkers for the exposure to coking contaminants, including quinolin-2-ol (1.10 ± 0.44 ng/mL), naphthylmethanols (11.4 ± 5.47 ng/mL), N-hydroxy-1-aminonaphthalene (0.78 ± 0.43 ng/mL), hydroxydibenzofurans (17.4 ± 7.85 ng/mL), hydroxyanthraquinone (0.13 ± 0.053 ng/mL), and hydroxybiphenyl (2.70 ± 1.03 ng/mL). Despite their lower levels compared with hydroxy-PAHs (95.1 ± 30.8 ng/mL), their severe toxicities should not be overlooked. The study provides a nontarget screening approach to identify chemicals in human urine, which is crucial for accurately assessing the health risks of toxic chemicals in the coking industry.

The effect of high polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure on biological aging indicators.

BACKGROUND: Aging represents a serious health and socioeconomic concern for our society. However, not all people age in the same way and air pollution has been shown to largely impact this process. We explored whether polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), excellent fossil and wood burning tracers, accelerate biological aging detected by lymphocytes DNA methylation age (DNAmAge) and telomere length (TL), early nuclear DNA (nDNA) hallmarks of non-mitotic and mitotic cellular aging, and mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn). METHODS: The study population consisted of 49 male noncurrent-smoking coke-oven workers and 44 matched controls. Occupational and environmental sources of PAH exposures were evaluated by structured questionnaire and internal dose (urinary 1-pyrenol). We estimated Occup_PAHs, the product of 1-pyrenol and years of employment as coke-oven workers, and Environ_PAHs, from multiple items (diet, indoor and outdoor). Biological aging was determined by DNAmAge, via pyrosequencing, and by TL and mtDNAcn, via quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Genomic instability markers in lymphocytes as target dose [anti-benzo[a]pyrene diolepoxide (anti-BPDE)-DNA adduct], genetic instability (micronuclei), gene-specific (p53, IL6 and HIC1) and global (Alu and LINE-1 repeats) DNA methylation, and genetic polymorphisms (GSTM1) were also evaluated in the latent variable nDNA_changes. Structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis evaluated these multifaceted relationships. RESULTS: In univariate analysis, biological aging was higher in coke-oven workers than controls as detected by higher percentage of subjects with biological age older than chronological age (AgeAcc ≥ 0, p = 0.007) and TL (p = 0.038), mtDNAcn was instead similar. Genomic instability, i.e., genotoxic and epigenetic alterations (LINE-1, p53 and Alu) and latent variable nDNA_changes were higher in workers (p < 0.001). In SEM analysis, DNAmAge and TL were positively correlated with Occup_PAHs (p < 0.0001). Instead, mtDNAcn is positively correlated with the latent variable nDNA_changes (p < 0.0001) which is in turn triggered by Occup_PAHs and Environ_PAHs. CONCLUSIONS: Occupational PAHs exposure influences DNAmAge and TL, suggesting that PAHs target both non-mitotic and mitotic mechanisms and made coke-oven workers biologically older. Also, differences in mtDNAcn, which is modified through nDNA alterations, triggered by environmental and occupational PAH exposure, suggested a nuclear-mitochondrial core-axis of aging. By decreasing this risky gerontogenic exposure, biological aging and the consequent age-related diseases could be prevented.

Tertiary treatment of coke-oven wastewater using suspended and immobilized whole live cells of constructed bacterial-microalgal consortium: modeling and optimization using ANN-GA hybrid methodology.

Coke-oven wastewater (CW), containing an array of toxic pollutants above permissible limits even after conventional primary and secondary treatment, needs a tertiary (polishing) step to meet the statutory limit. In the present study, a suitable bacterial-microalgal consortium (Culture C) was constructed using bacterial (Culture B: Bacillus sp. NITD 19) and microalgal (Culture A: a consortium of Chlorella sp. and Synechococcus sp.) cultures at different ratios (v/v) and the potential of these cultures for tertiary treatment of CW was assessed. Culture C4 (Culture B:Culture A = 1:4) with inoculum size: 10% (v/v) was selected for the treatment of wastewater since the maximum growth (3.08 ± 0.57 g/L) and maximum chlorophyll content (4.05 ± 0.66 mg/L) were achieved for such culture in PLE-enriched BG-11 medium. During treatment of real secondary treated coke-oven effluent using Culture C4 in a closed photobioreactor, the removal of phenol (80.32 ± 2.76%), ammonium ions (47.85 ± 1.83%), fluoride (65.0 ± 4.12%), and nitrate (39.45 ± 3.42%) was observed after 24 h. In a packed bed bioreactor containing immobilized C4 culture, the maximum removal was obtained at the lowest flow rate (20 mL/h) and highest column bed height (20 cm). Artificial intelligence-based techniques were used for modeling and optimization of the process.

Treatment of coking wastewater using a needle coke electro-Fenton cathode: optimizing of COD, NH4+-N, and TOC removal and characterization of pollutants.

Coking wastewater is a typical organic refractory wastewater characterized by high chemical oxygen demand (COD), NH4+-N, and total organic carbon (TOC). Herein, coking wastewater was treated using a heterogeneous electro-Fenton (EF) system comprising a novel iron-loaded needle coke composite cathode (Fe-NCCC) and a dimensionally stable anode. The response surface methodology was used to optimize the reaction conditions. The predicted and actual COD removal rates were 92.13 and 89.96% under optimum conditions of an applied voltage of 4.92 V, an electrode spacing of 2.29 cm, and an initial pH of 3.01. The optimized removal rate of NH4+-N and TOC was 84.12 and 73.44%, respectively. The color of coking wastewater decreased from 250-fold to colorless, and the BOD5/COD increased from 0.126 to 0.34. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy show that macromolecular heterocyclic organic compounds decomposed into straight-chain small molecules and even completely mineralized. The energy consumption of the EF process was 23.5 RMB Yuan per cubic meter of coking wastewater. The EF system comprising the Fe-NCCC can effectively remove pollutants from coking wastewater, has low electricity consumption, and can simultaneously reduce various pollution indicators with potential applications in the treatment of high-concentration and difficult-to-degrade organic wastewater.

Cytogenetic analysis of coke oven workers in Eastern Slovakia.

OBJECTIVE: Our study aimed to evaluate the extent of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure in coke oven workers from Eastern Slovakia by cytogenetic analysis of human peripheral lymphocytes. METHODS: A total of 81 peripheral blood samples were collected from PAH-exposed workers (mean age 45.84 ± 9.73 years) and 30 samples constituted the control group (41.93 ± 15.39 years). The samples were processed using routine cytological analysis. Conventional cytogenetic analysis of human peripheral lymphocytes has been used to evaluate the effects of PAHs. RESULTS: Comparison of the aberrant cells in the total exposed with the controls showed a significant difference (p < 0.05). A high level of significance (p < 0.001) was observed when comparing the gaps between the exposed group and the control group. There was a significant difference (p < 0.01) in aberrant cells and chromatid breaks (p < 0.05) in the GR1 working subgroup compared with the control group. The results of the correlation analysis did not show a significant relationship between the length of occupational exposure and the frequency of aberrant cells (r = 0.071, p = 0.529). Similarly, no association was observed between smoking among coke plant workers and the frequency of aberrant cells (r = 0.117, p = 0.538). CONCLUSION: Cytogenetic analysis showed an increased frequency of chromosomal aberrations in coke oven workers in Eastern Slovakia.

Fe3O4-CuO@Lignite activated coke activated persulfate advanced treatment of phenolic wastewater from coal chemical industry.

In this study, lignite activated coke (LAC) was used as the carrier for the first time, Fe3O4-CuO composite metal oxide was used as the main active material, and the nano-scale magnetic supported composite metal oxide Fe3O4-CuO@LAC catalyst was synthesized for the first time, which can effectively activate the active oxygen in peroxodisulfate (PS). XRD, FTIR, BET, SEM, XPS and other analysis results showed that there was particulate matter with spherical structure on the surface of the active coke, and its diffraction peaks matched well with the characteristic peaks of Fe3O4 and CuO, and it was a mesoporous structure with a specific surface area of 619.090 m2 g-1. By optimizing the experimental conditions, the results showed that more than 92% of hydroquinone can be removed under the conditions of hydroquinone concentration of 50 mg/L, pH = 5, adding 0.1 g/L catalyst and 3 mmol/L PS. EPR and quenching experiments proved that there were four reactive oxygen species in the reaction system ·OH, SO4-·, O2-· and 1O2. According to the degradation products of hydroquinone detected by LC-MS, the possible degradation path was deduced which laid a foundation for solving the problem of difficult treatment of phenol-containing wastewater in coal chemical industry.

Insight into the effects of biological treatment on the binding properties of copper onto dissolved organic matter derived from coking wastewater.

Biological treatment can remove more than 89.8% of total organic carbon (TOC) and 94.4% of fluorescent dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the coking wastewater, thereby affecting the migration, transformation and bioavailability and binding characteristics of heavy metals (HMs). The results of parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) show that protein-like materials accounted for 97.53% in the coking wastewater DOM, a large number of humic-like substances are produced and accounted for more than 55.40% after biological treatment. A new spectral data processing method, the 1/n-th power transformation after two-dimensional correlated spectroscopy (2D-COS) in combination with synchronous fluorescence spectra (SFS), can identify small features obscured by strong peaks, and reveal more binding sites as well as preserve the sequential order information. The result indicates that the preferential bonding of Cu(II) is at 306 nm (protein-like) for coking wastewater DOM, and at 514 nm (humic-like) for effluent DOM. The C-O group of esters and alcohols can preferentially complexate with Cu(II) in the coking wastewater and effluent DOM. The log KM values of PARAFAC components with Cu(II) are in the range of 3.59-5.06 for coking wastewater DOM, and in the range of 4.80-5.64 for the effluent DOM. Log KM values for protein-like materials with Cu(II) are higher than these for fulvic- and humic-like substances. Humic-like substances can form more stable complexes with Cu(II) in the effluent DOM. Biological treatment increases the chemical stability of DOM-Cu(II) complexes, thereby further reducing the environmental risk of Cu(II).

Application of coke breeze for removal of colour from coke plant wastewater.

Treatment of coking waste water has always been a challenge because of its complex and toxic nature. Numbers of technologies like biological treatment, advanced oxidation processes, activated carbon treatment etc. are available for removal of color and organic contaminants from wastewater. However, challenges and problems associated with application of biological, advanced oxidation methods for removal of color, chemical oxygen demand (COD), cyanides led to thrust for the development of new promising technologies. In this study, the application of coke breeze for the treatment of wastewater through adsorption has been demonstrated. A pseudo second order reaction kinetics has been observed through batch process adsorption study. Furthermore, adsorption data has found to be best fitted with the Freundlich adsorption isotherm model. Color removal efficiency of 80-90% along with COD removal efficiency of 40-50% was observed within 30 min by 120 g/L dosage of the adsorbent. The removal of phenolic and other organic compounds from coking wastewater has been measured through UV-Vis spectroscopy. The morphological changes of the adsorbent coke breeze have been captured through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. However, because of the significant abundance in the steel plant, cost effectiveness and applicability of the post-treated coke breeze in sintered plant as fuel, turn it into a suitable adsorbent despite of having much lower specific surface area compared to commercial activated carbon (AC). Therefore, application of the coke breeze turns it into a very promising material and the technique is sustainable towards the coke quenching effluent treatment.

Advanced aromatic organic compounds removal from refractory coking wastewater in a step-feed three-stage integrated A/O bio-filter: Spectrum characterization and biodegradation mechanism.

Extensive presence of aromatic organic compounds (AOCs) is a major course for the non-biodegradability of coking wastewater (COW). In-depth understanding of bio-degradation of AOCs is crucial for optimizing the design and operation of COW biological treatment systems in practical applications. Herein, the behavior and fate of AOCs were explored in a lab-scale step-feed three-stage integrated A/O biofilter (SFTIAOB) treating synthetic COW. Long-term operation demonstrated that COD, phenol, indole, quinoline and pyridine could be simultaneously removed. Phenol and indole were chiefly removed by anoxic zones, while quinoline and pyridine removal occurred in both anoxic and aerobic zones. Ultraviolet-visible spectrum observed that initial carboxylation and subsequent ring cracking and mineralization. Infrared spectroscopy also confirmed that key functional groups were cracked and produced during AOCs bio-degradation. Three-dimensional fluorescence spectrum indicated that significant transformation and elimination of tryptophan and humic acid with high molecular weight. Ring cleavage, distinct degradation and even complete mineralization of complex AOCs were further verified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Moreover, functional degrading bacteria and aromatic ring-cleavage enzymes was successfully identified. Finally, AOCs biodegradation mechanisms by alternating anoxic and aerobic treatment was unraveled. This research provides thorough insights on AOCs biodegradation using a step-feed multi-stage alternating anoxic/oxic COW treatment process.

Treatment on thiodicarb in pesticide wastewater with walnut shells-derived carbon and its improved modification: adsorption behavior.

The health problems caused by water pollution cannot be ignored, and the contribution of pesticides to water pollution has also become increasingly unignorable. The modified semi-coke as an adsorbent for reducing pesticide pollution to water was obtained from activated semi-coke which was modified by nitric acid (HNO3). The semi-coke was obtained by carbonization using 60 mesh walnut shell powder. After acid-base deashing, the semi-coke is dipped into zinc chloride (ZnCl2) solution to obtain activated semi-coke. Through BET analysis, the specific surface areas of semi-coke, activated semi-coke and modified semi-coke were 26.8 m2/g, 243.9 m2/g, and 339.6 m2/g respectively. An extremely high adsorption capacity of the adsorbents which is used to treat wastewater was achieved. The optimum adsorption conditions for modified semi-coke on thiodicarb solution were 30 mg/L of thiodicarb solution, adsorbent dosage of 0.01 g, adsorption temperature of 25 °C and adsorption time of 90 min. The optimum adsorption amount of 29.54 mg/gsor was achieved (sor is the abbreviation for sorbent). Moreover, through kinetics study, the result manifests that the modified semi-coke adsorption process is more fitted to the second-order kinetic model. This study provided a research implication theoretically for the treatment of pesticides in water.

Advances in treatment of coking wastewater - a state of art review.

Coking wastewater poses a serious threat to the environment due to the presence of a wide spectrum of refractory substances such as phenolic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic nitrogenous compounds. These toxic substances are difficult to treat using conventional treatment methods alone. In recent years much attention has been given to the effective treatment of coking wastewater. Thus, this review seeks to provide a brief overview of recent developments that have taken place in the treatment of coking wastewater. In addition, this article addresses the complexity and the problems associated with treatment followed by a discussion on biological methods with special focus on bioaugmentation. As coking wastewater is refractory in nature, some of the studies have been related to improving the biodegradability of wastewater. The final section focuses on the integrated treatment methods that have emerged as the best solution for tackling the highly unmanageable coking wastewater. Attention has also been given to emerging microwave technology which has tremendous potential for treatment of coking wastewater.

Treatment of organic pollutants in coke plant wastewater by micro-nanometer catalytic ozonation, A/A/O and reverse osmosis membrane.

Coking wastewater has a complex and highly concentrated chemical composition which is toxic and does not biodegrade easily. Treating the organic pollutants in this wastewater is very challenging. The toxic substances in this wastewater make traditional biotechnological treatments inefficient. Current wastewater treatment studies are based on unit processes, and no full process studies could be found. This study used the micro-nanometer catalytic ozonation process as a pretreatment unit, and reverse osmosis membrane treatment as a depth processing unit to improve the effect of the coking wastewater degradation. The micro-nanometer catalytic ozonation pretreatment greatly improves the biodegradability of the coking wastewater and promotes the coking wastewater degradation in the anoxia/anaerobic/oxic (A/A/O) system. The integrated coagulation air flotation-micro-nanometer catalytic ozonation-A/A/O-reverse osmosis membrane system can remove 98% of the chemical oxygen demand, which meets the direct emission standard of the new national standard (China). The dominant genera in the A/A/O biochemical reactor were Thioalkalimicrobium, Proteiniphilum, Azoarcu, Bacillus, Fontibacter, and Taibaiella. This work provides a novel approach for the degradation of high-concentration organic wastewater and lays a solid foundation for the restoration of environmental water bodies.

Degradation performance of high-concentration coking wastewater by manganese oxide ore acidic oxidation.

The degradation of coking wastewater using a manganese oxide ore acidic oxidation was investigated. This work was performed in three stages. Firstly, the advantageous degradation conditions were measured by the degradation tests, and under the optimal conditions percentage degradation was obtained of 91.6% chemical oxygen demand measured by potassium dichromate oxidation (CODcr), 94.7% total nitrogen (TN), 98.3% phenols, 98.2% fatty acid, 89.5% tar, and 98.9% sulphide for the oxidized effluent, simultaneously cogenerating a Mn2+concentration of 46.2 g/L for Mn-electrolytic stock solution. Secondly, the transformation analysis of the special chemical group of coking wastewater contaminants illustrated that the employment of manganese oxide ore generated the degradation of low and high molecular weight organics, especially causing polymers to break down into oligomers. Thirdly, the electrochemical characteristics of the interface between wastewater and ore revealed that the contaminant degradation of coking wastewater greatly depended on the oxidation capacity of the surface oxide species, involving a simple answer to the MnO2 oxidation for small-molecule organic materials and a strengthening response to the MnO·OH oxidation for high-weight molecule organic substances. The treatment of coking wastewater using the Mn-oxide ore acidic oxidation process is an effective and value-added method, which is particularly applicable to high-concentration coking wastewater.

[Association of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons exposure with sleep quality among coking plant workers].

Objective: To explore the relationship between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposure and sleep quality in workers from a coking plant. Methods: From April to June 2019. Selected 632 employed workers in the coking plant of a large state-owned enterprise in Shanxi Province as the exposed group, and 477 employed workers in the water-pump plant belonged to the same enterprise as the control group. We used self-designed questionnaires to collect the basic information of subjects. We measured the concentrations of 12 PAHs in the peripheral blood of workers using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) ; Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to evaluate the sleep quality of workers; The relationship between plasma PAHs concentration and sleep quality was analyzed using multiple linear regression model, restricted cubic spline (RCS) regression and logistic regression. Results: The concentration of 12 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the peripheral blood of the exposure group was (2.36±1.46) ng/ml, which was significantly higher than that of the control group (2.19±1.21) ng/ml. The detection rate of sleep disorder in the exposure group (18.0%) was higher than that in the control group (16.8%) , which was manifested by the significantly increased scores in subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep disorders, daytime dysfunction, and PSQI. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the PSQI score of workers in the high exposure group decreased by 0.80 (95% CI: -1.40~-0.19) points compared with the low exposure group, with a statistically significant difference (P<0.05) . RCS analysis showed a non-linear dose-response relationship of PSQI score with PAHs cumulative exposure (plasma PAHs concentration multiplied by length of service) . The results of logistic regression showed that compared with the low level group, the risk of somnipathy in the middle level group of PAHs cumulative exposure decreased by 44%, among which the risk of sleep disorder in the drinkers decreased by 40%, while the risk of somnipathy in the high level group increased by 96% compared with the low level group. Stratified analysis of alcohol drinking habit showed non-significant difference in PSQI score with low, medium, and high levels of PAHs cumulative exposure in non-drinkers (P>0.05) , and that the PSQI score was significantly increased in alcohol drinkers with high level of PAHs cumulative exposure compared to those with low and medium levels of PAHs cumulative exposure. Conclusion: The workers in the coking plant had high levels of PAHs in plasma and poor sleep quality, Higher level of PAHs cumulative exposure (>1396.56ng/ml) is a risk factor of poor sleep quality.

[Association among urinary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons metabolites, SAHH activity and H19 expression in coke oven workers].

Objective: To investigate the relationship of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposure, S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase (SAHH) activity and long noncoding RNA H19 gene expression in the urine of coke oven workers. Methods: In September 2019, in a coking plant in Taiyuan City, 146 male workers who had worked in coke oven operations for one year were selected through a completely random sampling method, and their basic personal information was collected by questionnaire survey, and blood and urine samples were collected. The levels of 4 PAHs metabolites 2-hydroxfluorene (2-FLU), 2- hydroxynaphthalene (2-NAP), 9-hydroxyphenanthren (9-PHE), and 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) in urine were detected by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) -fluorescence detection method. HPLC-UV detection method was used to detect the content of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) and S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) in plasma, and the SAHH activity value was obtained by calculating the ratio. Reverse transcription PCR method was used to determine the H19 gene expression level. Urine levels of 2-FLU, 2-NAP, 9-PHE, and 1-OHP were divided into Q(1), Q(2), Q(3), and Q(4) groups according to quartiles (P(25), P(50), P(75)). Regression, trend test and restricted cubic splines were used to analyze the relationship among PAHs metabolites, SAHH activity, H19 gene expression and their dose-response. Results: The median age of coke oven workers was 39.60 years old, the median length of service was 20.38 years, and the urinary levels of 2-FLU, 2-NAP, 9- PHE, and 1-OHP were 0.29, 0.74, 0.09, and 0.06 µg/mmol Cr, respectively. The levels of 2-FLU, 2-NAP and 9-PHE in the urine of workers were significantly different between groups with different 1-OHP levels (P<0.05). After adjusting for age, length of service, smoking, drinking, and levels of 2-FLU, 2-NAP and 9-PHE, SAHH activity decreased with the increase of urinary 1-OHP level (OR=0.63, 95%CI: 0.41-0.98, P=0.038), showing a nonlinear relationship (P(nonlinear)= 0.030). H19 gene expression increased with the increase of urinary 1- OHP level (OR=1.51, 95%CI: 1.03-2.19, P=0.033), there was a linear relationship (P(trend)= 0.058). The relationship between the other three metabolites in urine and SAHH activity and H19 gene expression was not statistically significant (P>0.05) . Conclusion: Urinary 1-OHP level may be a risk factor for decreased SAHH activity and increased H19 gene expression in coke oven workers.

[Study on the relationship between the pathological type of lung cancer caused by coke oven discharge and the contact type and exposure time].

Objective: To study the pathological types of lung cancer caused by coke oven emissions and analyze the correlation between different exposure levels. Methods: In October 2020, the relevant data of 86 confirmed cases of lung cancer caused by coke oven emissions (including basic information of patients, relevant occupational exposure and clinical data) were collected, The workers were grouped according to the different COEs concentrations in their posts: workers in auxiliary posts were taken as the low exposure group (11 persons) , The workers at coke side and furnace bottom are the medium exposure group (14 persons) , and the workers at furnace top are the high exposure group (61 persons) , and the correlation between pathological types of lung cancer and different exposure levels was analyzed. Results: There was no significant difference in age and length of service among the groups (P>0.05) ; The number of lung cancer cases and pathological types among workers in each group were statistically significant (P=0.044) . After adjusting for interference factors, the number of undifferentiated cancers (mainly small cell lung cancer) increased with the increase of exposure level, with a statistically significant difference (P=0.001) . The incidence of lung cancer increased gradually with the length of service, and the incidence rate of lung cancer among workers of different working ages was statistically significant (P<0.05) . Conclusion: Undifferentiated small cell carcinoma is the most common pathological type of lung cancer caused by coke oven emissions, and the incidence of lung cancer tends to increase with the length of service.

Health effects of banning beehive coke ovens and implementation of the ban in China.

Environmental legislation and proper implementation are critical in environmental protection. In the past, beehive coke ovens (BCOs) were popular in China, resulting in enormous emissions of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), a common indicator of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. BCOs were banned by the Coal Law in 1996. Although BCO numbers have declined since the ban, they were not eliminated until 2011 due to poor implementation. Here, we present the results of a quantitative evaluation of the health effects of historical BCO operation, the health benefits of the ban, and the adverse impacts of the poor implementation of the ban. With only limited official statistics available, historical and geospatial data about BCOs were reconstructed based on satellite images. Emission inventories of BaP from BCOs were compiled and used to model atmospheric transport, nonoccupational population exposure, and induced lung cancer risk. We demonstrated that more than 20% of the BaP in ambient air was from BCOs in the peak year. The cumulative nonoccupational excess lung cancer cases associated with BaP from BCOs was 3,500 (±1,500) from 1982 to 2015. If there was no ban, the cases would be as high as 9,290 (±4,300), indicating the significant health benefits of the Coal Law. On the other hand, if the ban had been fully implemented immediately after the law was enforced in 1996, the cumulative cases would be 1,500 (±620), showing the importance of implementing the law.

Evaluation of chemical stabilisation methods of coal-petcoke fly ash to reduce the mobility of Mo and Ni against environmental concerns.

Reducing the potential leaching of Mo and Ni from the fly ash (FA) of petroleum coke is an increasingly important issue as Asia and Europe's demand is expected to drastically intensify as continuing urbanisation and technological innovation demands ever more electricity. In the present study, we investigated coal combustion products (CCP) from a large coal-fired power station fed with a 56:44 coal/petroleum coke blend. Results revealed that leachable concentrations of Mo and Ni from FA were in the upper non-hazardous limit and in the inert limit, respectively (2003/33/EC). Whilst common prevention measures for Mo and Ni based on the adsorption capacity of boiler slag (BS), a mixture of BS: goethite, and jarosite, were considered insufficient to reduce the potential leaching of Mo into FA leachates, a novel chemical stabilisation method based on an aggregate product of portlandite and FA immobilised both Mo and Ni such that the resulting concentrations were below the limits established in the abovementioned 2003 EC Decision. Precipitation may be responsible for the fixation of Mo and Ni in the FA: portlandite aggregates as Ca(MoO4) and NiMoO4, respectively. The findings of this novel study support the use of this aggregate to reduce FA pollutants, which will be of particular interest to nations that remain largely coal/petroleum coke-dependant.

Source apportionment and risk assessment for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soils at a typical coking plant.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widely present in the environment. The coking industry is an important industrial source of PAHs. Coke production in China accounts for 67.44% of total global coke production. Tangshan, a coastal city on the Bohai Rim, contains the largest cluster of coking plants in China. Extremely high PAH emissions in Tangshan may cause long-distance cross-border pollution problems. In this study, the concentrations and sources of 16 priority PAHs in soil at a coking plant in Tangshan were determined and the risks posed by the PAHs were assessed. The PAH concentrations were generally higher in surface soil than subsurface soil, particularly near the coke oven, crude benzol, and coal blending areas. The dibenz[a,h]anthracene (DBA) concentrations were higher than the risk screening value (1500 ngg-1) but lower than the control value (15,000 ngg-1) for type II land defined in Chinese standard (GB36600-2018). The main sources of PAHs were coal combustion, the coke oven, and traffic. The PAH concentrations were higher in the ammonium sulfate, boiler room, coal blending, and coke oven areas than in the other areas. Toxic equivalent concentrations were calculated to assess the toxic and carcinogenic risks posed by PAHs. The toxic equivalent concentrations were relatively high in the boiler, crude benzol, and coal blending areas, where the toxic equivalent concentrations for the sums of seven highly carcinogenic PAHs contributed 95% of the toxic equivalent concentrations for the sums of the 16 PAHs that were analyzed. The carcinogenic risks posed to humans were therefore assessed using the concentrations of the seven highly carcinogenic PAHs. Dermal contact was found to be an important exposure pathway leading to carcinogenic risks. The carcinogenic risk posed by DBA was > 1 × 10-6 but < 5 × 10-6, indicating that DBA concentrations at the study site monitored closely.