A feasibility study of thermal hydrolysis by-products as barrier layer materials in the final cover system for a landfill

Most sludge has historically been disposed of in landfills and by ocean dumping but, because of its heavy metal content, this will be totally banned in Korea starting in 2012, based on the London Dumping Convention. Therefore, treatment and disposal methods that are environmentally friendlily are urgently required. The recycling of sewage sludge is a good treatment method for solving sludge problems in an environmentally friendly way. In this study, physical and environmental tests were conducted to evaluate the feasibility of using the by-products of thermal hydrolysis of sewage sludge as barrier layer materials in the final cover systems for landfills. In addition, testing methods for freezing-thawing (KS F 2332) and wetting-drying (KS F 2330) cycles were conducted to assess the effects of cold and hot soil climates starting from pavement. These tests yielded positive results for alternative materials for the barrier layer in a final cover system for a landfill.     

Sustainable Water Resources Management in a Conflict Resolution Framework1

Abstract: A decision support system for sustainable water resources management in a water conflict resolution framework is developed to identify and evaluate a range of acceptable alternatives for the Geum River Basin in Korea and to facilitate strategies that will result in sustainable water resource management. Working with stakeholders in a “shared vision modeling” framework, sustainable management strategies are created to illustrate system tradeoffs as well as long‐term system planning. A multi‐criterion decision‐making (MCDM) approach using subjective scales is utilized to evaluate the complex water resource allocation and management tradeoffs between stakeholders and system objectives. The procedures used in this study include the development of a “shared vision model,” a simulated decision‐making support system (as a tool for sustainable water management strategies associated with water conflicts, management options, and planning criteria), and the application of MCDM techniques for evaluating alternatives provided by the model. The research results demonstrate the utility of the sustainable water resource management model in aid of MCDM techniques in facilitating flexibility during initial stages of alternative identification and evaluation in a basin suffering from severe water conflicts.     

The status of flood wastes treatment and future tasks in South Korea

Natural disasters such as typhoon, flood, and heavy rainfall cause damage in South Korea every year during the summer season. After each rainy season, South Korea suffers not only from flood wastes but also from debris that pile up at dams and stagnate at the estuary of the river. Thus, it is very important to handle these types of wastes as quickly as possible to recover from flood damages and to prevent environmental contamination such as offensive odor and water contamination by the leachate from flood wastes. Other countries such as Japan or USA have established and implemented regulations and guidelines for flood waste. Note, however, that South Korea did not establish practical guidelines; hence, the urgency of establishing practical measures for flood waste. In this study, we suggested various ways of making environmentally sound guidelines including the method of reducing the amount of flood waste by environmentally sound treatment process for flood waste, and the method of setting up and operating the temporary storage site for purposes of efficient separation and treatment of flood waste.     

International comparative study of 3R and waste management policy developments

Reduce, reuse, and recycle (3R) policies form the basis of waste management and global warming countermeasures globally, so we conducted a comparative study of 3R and waste management policies in the European Union (EU), USA, Korea, Japan, China, and Vietnam. An international workshop for 3R and waste management policymakers was held in Kyoto, Japan, and a bibliographic survey was also conducted to collect data. 3R policies are clearly given priority in the hierarchy of waste management in every country studied. Thermal recovery, which includes power generation from waste heat and methane gas collected from organic waste, is also a priority; this is consistent with the increased use of countermeasures to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In the EU, waste management is characterized by practical and effective 3R policies through the development of realistic regulations and by the policymakers??desire to simplify management systems. The policy ideal in China, however, is the development of a circular economy that targets reductions in the amount and hazardousness of waste. Limits on the number of final disposal sites, strategies for procuring resources, and GHG emission countermeasures are closely linked with 3R policies, and further development of 3R policies in parallel with such issues is expected.     

Determination of soil contamination sources in mining area using Zn/Cd ratios with mobile Cd

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - Paddy fields near metalliferous mining area are sometimes contaminated by tailings or mine water. In the contaminated paddy fields around the abandoned...     

Optimal conditions for three brood chronic toxicity test method using a freshwater macroinvertebrate <Emphasis Type="Italic">Moina macrocopa</Emphasis>

Freshwater cladocera such as Daphnia magna and Ceriodaphnia dubia have been used extensively for freshwater toxicity test worldwide. However, these species may not be indigenous in certain geographical regions, which restrict the utility of these organisms as test species. In the present study, we investigated optimal culture and test conditions for an indigenous freshwater macroinvertebrate of Korea, Moina macrocopa. The culture conditions that were evaluated included water temperature (20°C and 25°C), rearing media (moderately hard water or MHW, with or without selenium supplementation, or Elendt M4), and food density (2.5 × 10⁷ and 5 × 10⁷ cells/mL of Selenastrum capricornutum), and their effects on the life history characteristics of M. macrocopa were determined. Population growth rate of M. macrocopa was maximized at 25°C with 5 × 10⁷ cells/mL of algal food density in MHW. A series of chronic three brood reference toxicant tests were conducted under the ideal culture conditions that were identified here, and the results of the tests indicated reliable reproducibility of the test protocol. Optimal culture and test conditions that were identified for M. macrocopa in the present study are suggested for evaluation of chronic toxicity of chemicals and industrial or municipal discharge.     

Monitoring of heavy metal contaminants using feathers of shorebirds, Korea

This study presents concentrations of iron, zinc, copper, lead and cadmium in the feathers of 3 shorebird species (n = 29) from Okgu Mudflat, Korea in the East Asian-Australian Migration Flyways. Lead concentrations (ANOVA, p < 0.001) in Red-necked Stints (geomean = 9.61 μg g(-1) dry weight) were higher than in Terek Sandpipers (geomean = 5.56 μg g(-1) dry weight) which in turn were higher than in Great Knots (geomean = 2.78 μg g(-1) wet weight). Cadmium concentrations (ANOVA, p < 0.001) were higher in Great Knots (geomean = 2.97 μg g(-1) wet weight) and in Red-necked Stints (geomean = 2.70 μg g(-1) dry weight) than in Terek Sandpipers (geomean = 0.33 μg g(-1) dry weight). Lead (r = 0.574, p < 0.01) and cadmium (r = 0.380, p < 0.05) concentrations between feathers and livers of shorebirds were significantly correlated. Lead concentrations in 65.5% (19 individuals) of shorebirds exceeded a toxicity threshold for feathers (4 μg g(-1) dry weight). Iron, zinc, copper, lead and cadmium concentrations in feathers were within the range of earlier studies for wild birds, but lead concentrations in Red-necked Stints were higher than those reported in other studies. Because lead concentrations in feathers and livers of Red-necked Stints were markedly higher than in other shorebirds, we suggest that Red-necked Stints were exposed to higher lead concentrations than the other shorebirds on their breeding or wintering grounds.     

The role of black carbon as a catalyst for environmental redox transformation

Black carbon (BC) is an important class of geosorbents that control the fate and transport of organic pollutants in soil and sediment. We previously demonstrated a new role of BC as an electron transfer mediator in the abiotic reduction of nitroaromatic and nitramine compounds by Oh and Chiu (Environ Sci Technol 43:6983–6988, 2009). We proposed that BC can catalyze the reduction of nitro compounds because it contains microscopic graphitic (graphene) domains, which facilitate both sorption and electron transfer. In this study, we assessed the ability of different types of BC—graphite, activated carbon, and diesel soot—to mediate the reduction of 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) and 2,4-dibromophenol (DBP) by H₂S. All three types of BC enhanced DNT and DBP reduction. H₂S supported BC-mediated reduction, as was observed previously with a thiol reductant. The results suggest that BC may influence the fate of organic pollutants in reducing subsurface environments through redox transformation in addition to sorption.

     

Comparison of different disinfection processes in the effective removal of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes

This study compared three different disinfection processes(chlorination, E-beam, and ozone) and the efficacy of three oxidants(H2O2, S2O-8, and peroxymonosulfate(MPS)) in removing antibiotic resistant bacteria(ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes(ARGs) in a synthetic wastewater. More than30 mg/L of chlorine was needed to remove over 90% of ARB and ARG. For the E-beam method, only1 dose(kGy) was needed to remove ARB and ARG, and ozone could reduce ARB and ARG by more than 90% even at 3 mg/L ozone concentration. In the ozone process, CT values(concentration × time)were compared for ozone alone and combined with different catalysts based on the 2-log removal of ARB and ARG. Ozone treatment yielded a value of 31 and 33(mg·min)/L for ARB and ARGs respectively. On the other hand, ozone with persulfate yielded 15.9 and 18.5(mg·min)/L while ozone with monopersulfate yielded a value of 12 and 14.5(mg·min)/L. This implies that the addition of these catalysts significantly reduces the contact time to achieve a 2-log removal, thus enhancing the process in terms of its kinetics.     

Feasibility of phosphate fertilizer to immobilize cadmium in a field

To reduce effectively cadmium (Cd) phytoextractability by phosphate fertilizer in Cd contaminated soil, fused and superphosphate (FSP) was applied at the rate of 0, 33.5 (recommendation level), 167.5, and 335 kg P ha⁻¹ for radish (Raphanus sativa L.). Unlike from what we expected, soil Cd extractability and Cd concentration in radish increased with increasing FSP application in the field. To determine the effect of FSP on Cd immobilization, FSP was mixed with the selected soil at the rate of 0, 200, 400, 800, and 1600 mg P kg⁻¹ and then incubated for 8 weeks. As observed in the field study, NH₄OAc extractable Cd concentration increased slightly with FSP addition up to 400 mg P kg⁻¹ and thereafter dramatically decreased upon increasing its application rate. Soil pH and negative charge were decreased at low level of FSP application up to 400 mg P kg⁻¹, but thereafter continually increased with increasing application level. This could be indirect evidence that net soil negative charge was increased by the specific adsorption of phosphate at the high rate of FSP application over 400 mg P kg⁻¹. The labile Cd fraction (water soluble and exchangeable + acidic fraction) increased with increasing FSP application by 400 mg P kg⁻¹ and thereafter gradually decreased with corresponding increase in unlabile fraction (oxidizable and residual fraction). Based on these results, FSP might be applied with a very high rate over 800 mg P kg⁻¹ to decrease Cd extractability in the selected field. However, this level is equivalent to 1440 kg P ha⁻¹, which is about 43 times higher than the recommendation levels for radish production and resulted in a significant increase in water soluble P concentration creating a new environmental problem. Therefore, the feasibility of FSP to reduce Cd extractability in the field is very low.