Ocean University of China

About: Ocean University of China is a education organization based out in Qingdao, China. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Sea surface temperature. The organization has 27604 authors who have published 27886 publications receiving 440181 citations. The organization is also known as: Zhōngguó Hǎiyáng Dàxué & OUC.

A novel advanced oxidation process to degrade organic pollutants in wastewater: microwave-activated persulfate oxidation.

Abstract: This article, for the first time, provides a novel advanced oxidation process based on sulfate radical (SO 4 •− ) to degrade organic pollutants in wastewater: microwave (MW)-activated persulfate oxidation (APO) with or without active carbon (AC). Azo dye acid Orange 7 (AO7) is used as a model compound to investigate the high reactivity of MW-APO. It is found that AO7 (up to 1000 mg/L) is completely decolorized within 5–7 min under an 800 W MW furnace assisted-APO. In the presence of chloride ion (up to 0.50 mol/L), the decolorization is still 100% completed, though delayed for about 1–2 min. Experiments are made to examine the enhancement by AC. It is exciting to find that the 100% decolorization of AO7 (500 mg/L) is achieved within 3 min by MW-APO using 1.0 g/LACas catalyst, while the degradation efficiency maintains at 50% by MW energy without persulfate after about 5 min. Besides the destruction of visible light chromophore band of AO7 (484 nm), during MW-APO, two bands in the ultraviolet region (228 nm and 310 nm) are rapidly broken down. The removal of COD is about 83%–95% for 500 mg/L AO7. SO 4 •− is identified with quenching studies using specific alcohols. Both SO 4 •− and ·OH could degrade AO7, but SO 4 •− plays the dominant role. In a word, MW-APO AC is a new catalytic combustion technology for destruction of organic contamination even for high concentration.

Projected response of the Indian Ocean Dipole to greenhouse warming

Abstract: The Indian Ocean Dipole is a key mode of interannual climate variability influencing much of Asia and Australia. A Review suggests that in response to greenhouse warming, mean conditions of the Indian Ocean will shift toward a positive dipole state, but with no overall shift in the frequency of positive and negative events as defined relative to the mean climate state.

Use of biochar-compost to improve properties and productivity of the degraded coastal soil in the Yellow River Delta, China

Abstract: Nutrient deficiency and salt stress (sodium, Na+) strongly limited the productivity of the degraded coastal soils in the Yellow River Delta. Biochar-based functional materials have been considered as a promising amendment to solving the problem of global soil security (e.g., erosion, fertility loss, acidification, and salinization). Therefore, this study aimed to explore the potential of using a biochar-compost amendment (BCA) to improve the coastal soil properties and productivity. The BCA was produced from composting of biochar and additives including seafood shell powder, peanut shell, commercial humate, and inorganic nutrients. Two halophytes, sesbania (Sesbania canabina (Retz.) Pers) and seashore mallow (Kosteletzkya virginica), were chosen as the tested plants in a 52-day pot experiment. BCA was added as the rates of 0, 1.5, 5, and 10 % (w/w). At the end of the incubation, the shoot height, biomass, and root morphological parameters including length, tips, and surface area were measured, as well as the properties (e.g., soil organic matter (SOM) content and cation exchange capacity (CEC)) of the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils. The BCA application at 1.5 % enhanced the growth of sesbania and seashore mallow and increased their total biomass by 309 and 70.8 %, respectively, while significantly inhibited both the halophyte growths at 10 %. Similarly, both the halophyte root morphologies (e.g., length and tips) significantly increased by BCA addition at 1.5 %. The promoting growth of the both halophytes could be resulted from the improvement of soil properties such as the increased SOM and CEC, the decreased amount of the exchangeable sodium (Ex-Na) and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), and the rhizosphere effect (e.g., decreased soil pH). The higher rate of BCA addition (e.g., 10 %) sharply increased soil salinity, responsible for the inhibition of both the halophyte growths. Although BCA addition may directly supply much nitrogen (N) for the soils, N bioavailability for both halophytes was not largely improved. The short-term laboratory pot experiments revealed that producing the biochar-compost with desired properties (e.g., BCA) could be a feasible alternative to remediate the degraded coastal soil in the Yellow River Delta. Moreover, the addition of BCA should be kept at an optimal level, which may produce expected positive results. Our results will be helpful for supporting the strategy of designing right biochar-compost for the right soil.