Maßnahmen zur Dioxinminderung an Müllverbrennungsanlagen

The 17th BlmSchV fixed the emission limit of 0.1 ng TE/m_n ³ for PCDD/F’s produced as a result of waste- and special waste incinerators. This article introduces the different measures implemented to uphold this limit, and discusses their advantages and disadvantages. Methods of optimising the incineration conditions are among the primary measures. Different geometry’s for conventional oven incineration rooms were discussed, and an effective modernisation method was introduced (Temelli nozzles). The chemical and technical basis of an often discussed gasification method, as well as the characteristics of three specialised techniques (Coke Burn technique, Thermo-Select technique and Noell-DBI technique) are explained in this article. Alongside the secondary measures of hot-dust filtration and inhibition being added to the washers in an attempt to achieve PCDD/F adsorption. The most important tertiary measures, namely the SCR technique, along with a variety of coke adsorption techniques are introduced, with their advantages and disadvantages. New techniques such as DeDioxin and Medisorbon are also addressed.     

The Role of Organic Matter in Natural Aquatic Systems: Analytical Constraints

The dissolved organic matter in aquatic systems consists of a heterogeneous mixture of compounds with wide ranging chemical properties and diverse origins. the presence of organic matter (OM) in surface and ground waters has important implications with regard to the mobility and therefore fate of many potential organic and inorganic pollutants. the majority of the analytical approaches in current use require exhaustive pre-treatment steps which may lead to the formation of artefacts within the sample. an analytical technique based upon gel permeation chromatography is proposed as a more reliable procedure for the characterisation of naturally occurring dissolved organic matter.     

Nachhaltige Entwicklung von Managementstrategien: Multikriterielle Bewertungs- und Entscheidungshilfe-Instrumente im Umweltbereich

Zur Unterstützung von Bewertungs- und Entscheidungsprozessen über die Nachhaltigkeit von Managementstrategien, deren Auswirkungen durch unterschiedlich dimensionierte Indikatoren gemessen werden, gibt es verschiedene mathematische Methoden. In diesem Beitrag werden die Prinzipien dieser sog. multikriteriellen Bewertungs- und Entscheidungshilfeinstrumente beispielhaft anhand einer Auswahl von Strategien für ein Nachhaltiges Wassermanagement vorgestellt, sowie Vor- und Nachteile herausgearbeitet. Es wird gezeigt, dass sich die Verfahren insbesondere in Transparenz, Objektivit?t und durch den Grad an Partizipation durch Akteure z.T. erheblich unterscheiden. W?hrend die Hassediagrammtechnik sich an den naturwissenschaftlich begründbaren Datenmatrix orientiert und somit eine objektive und transparente Bewertung und Datenanalyse liefert, haben Konkordanzanalyse, Nutzwertanalyse, PROMETHEE und AHP ihre St?rken in der M?glichkeit, Akteure bzw. Stakeholder am Entscheidungsprozess partizipieren zu lassen. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** A00OI029 00003     

Optimality of parental investment: The influence of nursing on reproductive success of mother and female young house mice

Summary The amount of parental milk investment determines not only the number of young the parent can produce, but also affects the offspring's fitness. The antagonism between quantity and quality of offspring was investigated in laboratory mice.In nursing first litters containing 2,4, ..., 14 pups, mothers invested increasing amounts of milk. This mainly extended the intervals between their first and second litters and slightly increased the size of their second litters, whilst third litters were not affected. In the female young, the decreasing amount each individual received as a result of increasing litter size led to delayed birth and reduced the size of their first litters. The intervals between their first and second litters and the size of the second litters were also affected, although to a lesser extent.Taking these results into consideration on a standard lifetime pattern of reproduction, the effects were calculated on net reproductive rates as an expression of fitness. Death rates were assumed that referred to population equilibrium or population growth. In both situations, the fitness curves of mothers and young showed that the actual level of milk investment and the level yielding optimal reproduction were in agreement. There was no significant deviation towards increased investment, as might result from parent-offspring conflict.     

Chemical and biological characterization of non-extractable sulfonamide residues in soil

For sulfonamides, the formation of non-extractable residues has been identified by laboratory testing as the most relevant concentration determining process in manured soil. Therefore, the present study has been focused on the chemical and biological characterization of non-extractable residues of ¹⁴C-labeled sulfadiazine or sulfamethoxazole. In laboratory batch experiments, the test substances were spiked via standard solution or test slurry to microbially active soil samples. After incubation periods of up to 102 d, a sequential extraction technique was applied. Despite the exhaustive extraction procedure, sulfadiazine residues mainly remained non-extractable, indicating the high affinity to the soil matrix. The remobilization of non-extractable ¹⁴C-sulfadiazine residues was monitored in the activated sludge test and the Brassica rapa test. Only small amounts (<3%) were transferred into the extractable fractions and 0.1% was taken up by the plants. In the Lumbricus terrestris test A, the release of non-extractable ¹⁴C-sulfamethoxazole residues by the burrowing activity of the earthworms was investigated. The residues mainly remained non-extractable (96%). The L. terrestris test B was designed to study the immobilization of ¹⁴C-sulfamethoxazole in soil directly after the test slurry application. The mean uptake by earthworms was 1%. Extractable and non-extractable residues amounted to 5% and 93%, respectively. Consequently, the results of all tests confirmed the high affinity of the non-extractable sulfonamide residues to the soil matrix.     

A framework for allocating conservation resources among multiple threats and actions

Land managers decide how to allocate resources among multiple threats that can be addressed through multiple possible actions. Additionally, these actions vary in feasibility, effectiveness, and cost. We sought to provide a way to optimize resource allocation to address multiple threats when multiple management options are available, including mutually exclusive options. Formulating the decision as a combinatorial optimization problem, our framework takes as inputs the expected impact and cost of each threat for each action (including do nothing) and for each overall budget identifies the optimal action to take for each threat. We compared the optimal solution to an easy to calculate greedy algorithm approximation and a variety of plausible ranking schemes. We applied the framework to management of multiple introduced plant species in Australian alpine areas. We developed a model of invasion to predict the expected impact in 50 years for each species-action combination that accounted for each species’ current invasion state (absent, localized, widespread); arrival probability; spread rate; impact, if present, of each species; and management effectiveness of each species-action combination. We found that the recommended action for a threat changed with budget; there was no single optimal management action for each species; and considering more than one candidate action can substantially increase the management plan's overall efficiency. The approximate solution (solution ranked by marginal cost-effectiveness) performed well when the budget matched the cost of the prioritized actions, indicating that this approach would be effective if the budget was set as part of the prioritization process. The ranking schemes varied in performance, and achieving a close to optimal solution was not guaranteed. Global sensitivity analysis revealed a threat's expected impact and, to a lesser extent, management effectiveness were the most influential parameters, emphasizing the need to focus research and monitoring efforts on their quantification.     

Correction to: Evaluating recycling fertilizers for tomato cultivation in hydroponics,and their impact on greenhouse gas emissions

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The average nutrient concentrations values presented in Table 1 on page 4 in the publication have the unit mg L?1 for the mineral nutrients Fe,...     

Analysis of recycling structures for e-waste in Vietnam

E-waste management in Vietnam poses real challenges such as the lack of specific e-waste legislation, the strong involvement of “craft villages” and the missing of monitoring data. Many issues (e.g., pollution level, generated waste, health of workers and resident living at recycling sites) lead to the limited access to these craft villages. Thus, there is no comprehensive picture on e-waste management in Vietnam available today. This research focuses on the current situation of e-waste management. Sources of e-waste, collection and treatment in Vietnam are investigated by utilizing most available sources of information (published journals, unpublished works from projects and reports from institutes, ministry) together with the interviewed data from experts, collectors, workers and especially, biggest traders in the field. Based on this information, the processes applied in Vietnam, both in the formal and informal sector, have been analyzed systematically in terms of inputs, outputs, potential emissions and related risks for workers. From these aspects, a comparison in terms of legal frameworks, collection and treatment at both formal and informal sector between Vietnam and other countries in Asian region was undertaken. Thus, major challenges of e-waste management and relatively comprehensive image of e-waste management and treatment in Vietnam have been identified.