Selecting 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) as the target pollutant and TiHAP as the catalyst, comparative studies of the photocatalytic degradation of TiHAP and TiO₂ were conducted, and the influencing factors and intermediate products were also investigated. The results show that the EE2 degradation rate by TiHAP film was faster than that by TiO₂ film. The EE2 degradation rate of TiHAP remained the same with the increase of Fe³⁺ concentration, but decreased with the increase of FA concentration. For TiO₂, the EE2 degradation rate initially increased and then decreased with increasing Fe³⁺ concentration, and increased with increasing FA concentration. The photocatalitic degradation intermediates of EE2 by TiHAP were identified by LC-MSⁿ. The results show that nine kinds of intermediates were identified. Compared with TiO₂, more kinds of intermediates were identified for EE2 photocatalytic degradation by TiHAP. Transformation of the phenolic moiety, hydroxylation, ring opening and carboxylation, and carboxylation were the primary reaction pathways.

As a kind of new biosorbent, aerobic granular sludge which has the advantages of strong adsorption capacity and easily-desorbing property, was paid great attention in the area of heavy metal waste water treatment. In this research, the adsorption behaviors of Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺ by extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) which extracted from aerobic granular sludge using improved centrifugation methods were studied. The results showed that the adsorption capacity of Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺ on EPS was considerably large. The experimental results were fit well with the Langmuir iostherms model. The maximum adsorption capacity for Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺ by EPS was up to 534.76 mg/g and 478.47 mg/g, respectively. Furthermore, the competitive adsorption experiments presented that EPS exhibited a selective adsorption for Pb²⁺. Specially, there was a minor inhibition for Pb²⁺ adsorption in presences of Cd²⁺, while the adsorption capacity of Cd²⁺ was greatly decreased when Pb²⁺ co-existed in solutions. FT-IR and EEM analysis revealed that EPS was rich in hydrophilic groups and hydrophobic groups, which was benefit to combine heavy metals by complexation, ions exchange and chelation. The adsorption of Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺ by EPS was mainly attributed to the ?COOH, ?NH2, ?CH, ?OH and ?C=O groups from protein fractions of them. The main adsorption mechanism of Pb²⁺ by EPS was ion exchange and complexation, while for Cd²⁺ was mainly took effect by complexation.

The heavy metal (Pb, Zn, Cr, Cu, Cd, and Hg) concentrations in paddy soils, collected from the Pb-Zn mining and smelting area of Shuikoushan in Hunan, China, were investigated. Enrichment factor and potential ecological risk index were used to evaluate the pollution level and ecological risk of heavy metals in soil. Compared with the soils in surrounding area, the soils in central area (the mining and smelting area) exhibited elevated heavy metal concentrations. The maximum heavy metal contents of Pb, Zn, Cr, Cu, Cd, and Hg in paddy soils were up to 4330.63, 4451.25, 153.75, 315.69, 34.94, and 2.379 mg/kg, respectively. The contamination degree for different heavy metals were in the order of Cd > Pb > Zn> Cu > Cr = Hg, while the monomial potential ecological risk factor for different heavy metals followed the order of Cd > Hg > Pb > Cu > Zn > Cr. The potential ecological risk index demonstrated that about 50%, 22%, 17%, and 11% of the total sampling sites in the central area were low risk, moderate risk, considerable risk, and very high risk, while the corresponding percentages were 75%, 18%, 5%, and 2% in the surrounding area, respectively. The heavy metal contamination inhibited the dehydrogenase activity significantly, and the soil pH was relatively lower for soil samples with higher metal concentrations.

To disclose the mechanism of N-removal in a full-scale landfill leachate treatment system (Shenzhen), community structure of total bacteria and nitrifier in this system were explored by PCR-DGGE and real-time PCR. The influence of environmental factors on microbial community structure was analyzed. The results show that 91. 4% of TOC and 99. 9% of NH⁺_4-N were removed during the whole process. The quantitative assay show that the numbers of total bacteria,AOB, and NOB had no significant relationship with the concentrations of TOC and ammonia (p > 0. 05). Dissolved oxygen (DO) had no effect on the number of AOB, but had great influence on the number of NOB. Microbial community structure and DMS analysis show that the DO concentration affected the community structure of total bacteria and NOB, while ammonia concentration determined the community structure of AOB.

The effects of copper on microbial degradation of three common endocrine disruptors (EDs) (bisphenol A, BPA, 17 beta-estradiol, E2, and 17 alpha-ethynylestradiol, EE2) were investigated. Results show that the presence of copper appeared to be considerably inhibitory to the biodegradation of EDs in the order of E2 > BPA > EE2, and the effects increased with the rising copper concentration. This result from the biomass reduction and the changes of microbial community structure due to the addition of copper. Difference of microorganisms in the absence and presence of copper was characterized by transmission electron microscope. This study may provide important insights into the potential mechanisms of heavy metal influencing the biodegradation of organic matters in co-contaminated system.