Vacuum pyrolysis process for remediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated soils

A vacuum pyrolysis process was used for the remediation of hydrocarbon–contaminated soils from “Les Vidangeurs de Montréal” site in Mascouche in the province of Québec, near Montréal. Ten samples were tested on a laboratory scale batch reactor, and one sample was tested on a prototype process development unit. The process is simple, efficient, reliable, and economically competitive with other existing technologies. The vacuum pyrolysis process efficiently treated soils contaminated with a variety of pollution levels and types, irrespective of the soil matrix, providing treated soils meeting the A criterion (noncontaminated, residential level) of the Ministry of Environment Québec (MENVIQ). The pyrolytic oil and the noncondensable pyrolytic gases can be used as makeup fuel in the process, because they have a high calorific value and their combustion should not pose any emission problems. The waterphase effluent must be treated before discharge.     

Dynamics of Bacterial Abundance,Biomass, Activity,and Community Composition in the Oligotrophic Traunsee and the Traun River (Austria)

The holomictic Traunsee is the deepest and second largest lakein Austria. The special characteristic of this ecosystem isthe fact that local salt and soda industries presumably alterthe lake by the discharge of waste materials. Since thebeginning of the 20th century salt and soda works areannually releasing up to 50,000 tons of solid wastes and up to150,000 tons of chloride into Traunsee. To assess potentialeffects of these anthropogenic impacts on the bacterioplanktonthree sampling sites, influenced as well as not influenced bythe industrial discharge, were chosen for comparison andsampled monthly from November 1997 to October 1998. Bacterialabundance ranged between 0.4 to 3.0 × 10⁶ cells ml^-1 with decreasing numbers along the depth profile. Theproportion of actively respiring bacteria, i.e. INT [2-(4-iodophenyl)-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-5-phenyltetrazolium chloride]reducing cells, never exceeded 10% of DAPI (4',6'-diamidino-2-phenylindole) stained cells. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was used to examine the seasonal and spatial distribution of dominant phylogenetic groups of thebacterioplankton. Up to 84% of bacteria detected with DAPIcould be detected via FISH applying the universal bacterialprobe EUB338. Percentages of alpha- and beta-Proteobacteriaand members of the Cytophaga-Flavobacterium cluster did notexceed 60% of DAPI-stained cells.Beta-Proteobacteriaappeared to be the most abundant group, not only in Traunsee butalso in two reference lakes, Attersee and Hallstättersee. No significant differences in any of the bacterial parameters couldbe detected between the three sampling sites and all measurementswere found in the range reported for oligotrophic lakes. The highdischarge of the Traun River, resulting in a lake water renewaltime of only one year, may diminish possible effects of industrial waste discharge in the pelagic zone.     

Protozooplankton in the Deep Oligotrophic Traunsee (Austria) Influenced by Discharges of Soda and Salt Industries

Traunsee is a deep oligotrophic lake in Austria characterised by an artificial enrichment of chloride in the hypolimnion (up to 170 mg L^-1) caused by waste disposal of soda and salt industries. Protists were collected monthly over one year, observed alive and after Quantitative Protargol Staining (ciliates) or via epifluorescence microscopy (heterotrophic flagellates). Three sites within the lake (0–40 m depths) were compared to deeper water layers from 60–160 m depths where chloride concentrations and conductivity were increased. In addition, we observed the protozooplankton of two neighbouring lakes, i.e. reference systems, during one sampling occasion. In Traunsee the abundance of ciliates was low (200–36 600 cells L^-1) in contrast to high species diversity (at least 60 different species; H_S = 2.6) throughout the year. The main pelagic species in terms of abundance were small oligotrichs and prostomatids like Rimostrombidium brachykinetum/hyalinum, Balanion planctonicum and Urotricha spp. throughout the investigation period. Among free-living heterotrophic flagellates, which occurred at densities of 40–2800 cells mL^-1, small morphotypes dominated in the pelagial. No differences at the community level between the three lakes could be observed and pelagic ciliates and flagellates seemed not to be affected by increased chloride concentrations or by enhanced conductivity.     

Glocalization of COVID-19 responses and management of the pandemic in Africa

ABSTRACT

The study explores how glocalization of COVID-19 responses affects the management of the pandemic in Africa. Using data from 20 selected African countries, the study found that the reliance on local medicines alongside other salient global initiatives for containment of COVID-19 is effective in managing the pandemic in Africa. It concluded that despite the high vulnerabilities of African countries to COVID-19, the glocal approach has yielded positive outcomes by increasing the number of patients that recover from COVID-19 and scaling down the fatalities compared with the other regions.     

Analysis of the recycling system for aluminum cans,focusing on collection,transportation, and the intermediate processing methods

In this article, the systems for the collection and intermediate processing of used beverage cans (UBCs) are compared and analyzed, focusing on the time taken and the cost of processing, the energy consumption, and the emissions of CO₂, SO _x , and NO _x , during the process. We found that cases where the UBCs were crushed in the discharging process gave better results, and how the UBCs were collected was the most important factor. It was more desirable to treat UBCs in one place than in two places. When the transportation distance was longer, the pressed form of UBCs was more convenient. When the transportation distance was short, the original form, the crushed form, and the shredded form of UBCs were all suitable. That is, the contribution of the transportation process to the evaluation was large when the transport distance was long, and the contribution of the treatment process was large when the transport distance was short.     

Material cycles in Asia: especially the recycling loop between Japan and China

In this article, we clarify the current status of Japanese exports and Chinese imports of secondary resources. A total of around 10 million metric tons (t) of secondary resources are exported annually from Japan to China, Hong Kong, and Korea. Hong Kong plays the role of a transshipment point, especially regarding the trade in plastic waste, and China imports much from the USA and Japan, often through Hong Kong. The secondary resources exported from Japan include both byproducts from manufacturing processes and end-of-life products or materials. The great demand in China, and the difference in prices between countries, drive this transboundary shipment, although Japan has enacted various recycling laws that were implicitly intended to promote domestic recycling. In China, the imported secondary resources are recycled, usually by means of primitive and low-cost hand labor. The greatest concern is whether there are still improper (illegal or polluting) recycling activities in China. International material cycles should prevent environmental pollution and ensure efficient resource utilization. To that end, the following measures are needed: cooperative control of the trade of secondary resources between countries, the alignment of domestic laws with the regulations in other countries based on the actual trade activities, and the realization of sound practices for global resources management.     

Development of a database of landfills and dump sites in Asian countries

This article briefly summarizes the limited landfill/dump information available for developing Asian countries, and introduces a database that aims to close the information gap through collecting and sharing data. Developing nations usually try to adapt the systems and technologies of developed countries. However, this approach may not be appropriate because of differences in socioeconomic, cultural, and political backgrounds. Many waste management projects fail after operations are transferred to local authorities owing to a lack of funds to cover the high operational expenses. Some successful projects have been adapted to local conditions, although the information on these successes is not often available for others. Nevertheless, only a few developing countries even have a national inventory of their dumps/landfills, and decision-makers have little awareness of the dumps and their impacts. The database introduced here will gather landfill/dump information from each country and organize it in a comparable format, and it will then be published on the Internet.     

Utilization of red mud as catalyst in conversion of waste oil and waste plastics to fuel

The aim of this study was to investigate the possibilities of using a by-product (red mud) from alumina production as a catalyst for recovery of waste. The conversion of waste mineral oil (WMO) and waste mineral oil/municipal waste plastic (WMO/MWP) blends over red mud (RM), a commercial hydrocracking catalyst (silica–alumina), and a commercial hydrotreating catalyst (Ni–Mo/alumina) to fuel has been studied. The effect of the catalyst and the temperature on the product distribution (gas, liquid, and wax) and the properties of liquid products were investigated. In the case of hydrotreatment of WMO, the liquids obtained over RM at both 400° and 425°C had larger amounts of low-boiling hydrocarbons than that of thermal or catalytic treatment with hydrotreating catalyst. Gas chromatography and nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of the liquid products showed that RM had hydrogenation and cracking activity in hydrotreatment of WMO. In coprocessing of WMO with municipal waste plastics, temperature had an important effect as well as the amount of MWP in the blend and the catalyst type. The hydrocracking at 400°C produced no liquid product. In hydrocracking at 425°C, the product distribution varied with catalyst type and MWP amount. The commercial hydrocracking catalyst had more cracking ability in the conversion of WMO/MWP to liquid and gas fuel than RM. In the case of hydrocracking over RM, the largest amount of liquid having satisfactory quality was obtained only from the blend containing 20% MWP.     

Ring-Opening Polymerization of Cyclic Esters onto Liquefied Biomass

Ring-opening polymerization of cyclic esters (-caprolactone, -valerolactone, and l-lactide) onto liquefied biomass (LB) was conducted to obtain the polyester-type polyol and to regulate the characteristics of LB. IR and ¹H-NMR spectra of the obtained polyol showed that the polymerization was successfully conducted in the presence of acid catalyst, which is used in liquefaction. The molecular weight (M_w), hydroxyl value, and viscosity were controllable by changing the reaction conditions. Polyester-type polyurethane foams with a wide range of properties were prepared from the obtained polyol with the appropriate combinations of foaming agents.