Treatment of particle/gas partitioning using level III fugacity models in a six-compartment system.

In this paper, two level III fugacity models are developed and applied using an environmental system containing six compartments, including air, aerosols, soil, water, suspended particulate matters (SPMs), and sediments, as a "unit world". The first model, assumes equilibrium between air and aerosols and between water and SPMs. These assumptions lead to a four-fugacity model. The second model removes these two assumptions leading to a six-fugacity model. The two models, compared using four PBDE congeners, BDE-28, -99, -153, and -209, with a steady flux of gaseous congeners entering the air, lead to the following conclusions. 1. When the octanol-air partition coefficient (KOA) is less than 1011.4, the two models produce similar results; when KOA > 1011.4, and especially when KOA > 1012.5, the model results diverge significantly. 2. Chemicals are in an imposed equilibrium in the four-fugacity model, but in a steady state and not necessary an equilibrium in the six-fugacity model, between air and aerosols. 3. The results from the six-fugacity model indicate an internally consistent system with chemicals in steady state in all six compartments, whereas the four-fugacity model presents an internally inconsistent system where chemicals are in equilibrium but not a steady state between air and aerosols. 4. Chemicals are mass balanced in air and aerosols predicted by the six-fugacity model but not by the four-fugacity model. If the mass balance in air and aerosols is achieved in the four-fugacity model, the condition of equilibrium between air and aerosols will be no longer valid.

Integrated fate assessment of aromatic amines in aerobic sewage treatment plants.

The fate and exposure of chemicals in sewage treatment plants (STPs) are major considerations in risk assessment and environmental regulation. The biodegradability and removal of seven aromatic amines were systematically evaluated using a three-tiered integrated method: a standard ready biodegradability test, an aerobic sewage treatment simulation method, and model prediction. In tier 1, the seven aromatic amines were not readily biodegraded after 28 days. In adapted aerobic active sludge, 4-isopropyl aniline, 2,4-diaminotoluene, and 4-nitroaniline among them exhibited the degradation half-life time less than 20 h, the other four aromatic amines exhibited persistent with degradation half-life of > 60 h. In tier 2 of the aerobic sewage treatment simulation testing, 2,4-diaminotoluene, 4-nitroaniline, and 4-isopropylaniline demonstrated moderately to high overall removal. Hydraulic retention time (HRT) affects the removal with the optimum HRT was determined to be 12 h to 24. 2,6-Dimethyl aniline, 2-chloro-4-nitroaniline, 2,6-diethylaniline, and 3,4-dichloroaniline were not removed during the test, indicting these four aromatic amines will enter surface water and hence pose a potential risk to aquatic ecology. Considering the lack of an STP model in China for regulation purposes, in tier 3, we developed a Chinese STP (aerobic) (abbreviated as C-STP(O)) model that reflects a universal scenario for China to predict the fate. The predicted degradation, volatilization, and absorption showed a close relationship to the physicochemical properties of the chemicals, and had same tendency with tier 2 simulation test. The prediction showed that biodegradation rather than absorption or volatilization was the main removal process of aromatic amines in aerobic STP. With the combination of modified kinetics test with C-STP (O) model, the chemical fate can be more accurately predicted than using only the readily biodegradation result.

Personality differentially affects individual mate choice decisions in female and male Western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis).

Consistent individual differences in behavioral tendencies (animal personality) can affect individual mate choice decisions. We asked whether personality traits affect male and female mate choice decisions similarly and whether potential personality effects are consistent across different mate choice situations. Using western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) as our study organism, we characterized focal individuals (males and females) twice for boldness, activity, and sociability/shoaling and found high and significant behavioral repeatability. Additionally, each focal individual was tested in two different dichotomous mate choice tests in which it could choose between computer-animated stimulus fish of the opposite sex that differed in body size and activity levels, respectively. Personality had different effects on female and male mate choice: females that were larger than average showed stronger preferences for large-bodied males with increasing levels of boldness/activity (i.e., towards more proactive personality types). Males that were larger than average and had higher shoaling tendencies showed stronger preferences for actively swimming females. Size-dependent effects of personality on the strength of preferences for distinct phenotypes of potential mating partners may reflect effects of age/experience (especially in females) and social dominance (especially in males). Previous studies found evidence for assortative mate choice based on personality types or hypothesized the existence of behavioral syndromes of individuals' choosiness across mate choice criteria, possibly including other personality traits. Our present study exemplifies that far more complex patterns of personality-dependent mate choice can emerge in natural systems.

[Fate of Eleven Phthalic Acid Esters in Aerobic Sewage Treatment System].

Phthalic acid esters have potential environmental risk due to their endocrine disrupting effect. The biodegradable and removal characteristics of 11 phthalicacidesters were studied. The results showed that dimethyl phthalate(DMP), dimethoxyethyl phthalate (BMEP), diethyl phthalate(DEP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), diisobutyl phthalate(DIBP), dinamyl phthalate (DNPP), di-n-hexyl phthalate(DNHP)and bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) had ready biodegradability, dinonyl phthalate (DNP)and dicyclohexyl phthalate (DHP)could be biodegraded but did not pass the 10 d window-period, and only 43.5% of diphenyl phthalate (DPP) was biodegraded on 28d. The degradation curves of 11 PAEs all obeyed typical first-order kinetics in aerobic sludge kinetics test, with the correlation coefficient r2>0.96, the degradation rate constant was between 0.021-1.11 h-1, and the degradation half-life was between 0.625-32.7 h. In aerobic sludge simulation test, the removal rates of 10 PAEs were>80% at hydraulic detention time of 12h, except that DNPP was only 55%-70%. The removal rates of all PAEs reached 90% at hydraulic detention time of 24h. The relative high exposure in effluent for DMP, DEP, DIBP, DBP and DEHP was found by using GC/MS, with the residue concentrations of ND-44.0, ND-12.0, 60.4-594, 88.0-823 and 130-728 ng·L-1, respectively. The results from STP model prediction showed that the removal in STP was mainly contributed by biodegradation, but for DPP, DNP and DEHP, the absorption removal was also an important removal way.

[Development of Chemical Exposure Prediction Model for Aerobic Sewage Treatment Plant for Biochemical Wastewaters].

Sewage treatment plant (STP) is a key transfer station for chemicals distributed into different environment compartment, and hence models of exposure prediction play a crucial role in the environmental risk assessment and pollution prevention of chemicals. A mass balance model namely Chinese Sewage treatment plant (C-STP(O)) was developed to predict the fate and exposure of chemicals in a conventional sewage treatment plant. The model was expressed as 9 mixed boxes by compartment of air, water, suspended solids, and settled solids. It was based on the minimum input data required on the notification in new chemicals, such as molecular weight, absorption coefficient, vapor pressure, water solubility, ready or inherent biodegradability. The environment conditions ( Temperature = 283 K, wind speed = 2 m x s(-1)) and the classic STP scenario parameters of China, especially the scenario parameters of water quality and sludge properties were adopted in C-STP( 0) model to reflect Chinese characteristics, these parameters were sewage flow of 35 000 m3 x d(-1), influent BOD5 of 0.15 g x L(-1), influent SS of 0.2 kg x m(-3), effluent SS of 0.02 kg x m(-3), BOD5 removal in aerator of 90% sludge density of 1.6 kg x L(3) and organic carbon content of 0.18-0.19. It adopted the fugacity express for mechanism of linear absorption, first-order degradation, Whitman two resistances. An overall interphase transfer constant which was the sum of surface volatilization and stripping was used to assess the volatilization in aerator. The most important and uncertain input value was the biodegradation rate constant, and determination of which required a tier test strategy from ready or inherent biodegradability data to simulate test in STP. An extrapolated criterion of US EPA to derive biodegradation rate constant using the results of ready and inherent biodegradability was compared with that of EU and was recommended. C-STP ( 0 ) was valid to predict the relative emission of volatilization, absorption, degradation and effluent, on ground of both successful simulation of the removal of 26 chemicals from references with an accuracy rate of 81% and consistency of prediction and test with absolute difference of 2.5%-6.3% for 5 phenols. In cases of prediction of three chemicals with different properties, 1,1, 2-trichloroethane, Naphthalene and DEHP, the predicted fate well satisfied the monitor data. The model is therefore believed to be a simple, robust and useful tool in fate study and exposure assessment of chemicals.

[Degradation Characteristics of Three Aniline Compounds in Simulated Aerobic Sewage Treat System].

The removal rates of 4-nitroaniline, 4-isopropyl aniline and 2-chloro-4-nitroaniline under different hydraulic retention time (HRT) were tested by employing a simulation method of aerobic biochemical sewage treatment technology in this study. The results showed that when HRT was 6 h, 12 h, and 24 h, the removal rates of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were 70.2%, 80.3% and 88.3%, the removal rates of 4-nitroaniline were 48%, 64.7% and 75%; and the removal rates of 4-isopropyl aniline were 66%, 76% and 91%, respectively. It was concluded that increasing HRT could promote the removal rates of DOC and aniline chemicals. In contrast, 2-chloro-4-nitroaniline was difficult to be removed. The removal rates were less than 20% under all tested conditions. The kinetics analysis showed that the biodegradation of 4-nitroaniline, 4-isopropyl aniline and 2-chloro-4-nitroaniline in aerobic activated sewage (3 g x L(-1)) accorded with the first order kinetics and the regression coefficients were > 0.95. The half-life time of biodegradation was 6.01 h, 16.16 h, 123.75 h, respectively. In general, functional groups such as isopropyl had a positive effect on the biodegradation of aniline chemicals, whereas substituents such as nitro group and chlorine atom had an inhibitory effect.