Sorption and desorption kinetics of diuron,fluometuron, prometryn and pyrithiobac sodium in soils

Abstract

The sorption and desorption characteristics of four herbicides (diuron, fluometuron, prometryn and pyrithiobac‐sodium) in three different cotton growing soils of Australia was investigated. Kinetics and equilibrium sorption and desorption isotherms were determined using the batch equilibrium technique. Sorption was rapid (> 80% in 2 h) and sorption equilibrium was achieved within a short period of time (ca 4 h) for all herbicides. Sorption isotherms of the four herbicides were described by Freundlich equation with an r² value > 0.98. The herbicide sorption as measured by the distribution coefficient (K_d) values ranged from 3.24 to 5.71 L/kg for diuron, 0.44 to 1.13 L/kg for fluometuron, 1.78 to 6.04 L/kg for prometryn and 0.22 to 0.59 L/kg for pyrithiobac‐sodium. Sorption of herbicides was higher in the Moree soil than in Narrabri and Wee Waa soils. When the K_d values were normalised to organic carbon content of the soils (K_oC), it suggested that the affinity of the herbicides to the organic carbon increased in the order: pyrithiobac‐sodium < fluometuron < prometryn < diuron. The desorption isotherms were also adequately described by the Freundlich equation. For desorption, all herbicides exhibited hysteresis and the hysteresis was stronger for highly sorbed herbicides (diuron and prometryn) than the weakly sorbed herbicides (fluometuron and pyrithiobac‐sodium). Hysteresis was also quantified as the percentage of sorbed herbicides which is not released during the desorption step ω = [n_ad / n_de ‐1] x 100). Soil type and initial concentration had significant effect on ω. The effect of sorption and desorption properties of these four herbicides on the off‐site transport to contaminate surface and groundwater are also discussed in this paper.     

Lignin and polylactic acid for the production of bioplastics and valuable chemicals

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Global warming and plastic pollution result from the massive use of fossil fuels, calling for the development of&nbsp;sustainable&nbsp;bioplastics derived...     

A study of Malaiyur village ecosystem of Madurai district, Tamil Nadu (India)

The interaction between man and environment in Malaiyur, a hilly village of Madurai District (Tamil Nadu) was studied during the year 1998. The village is sustained on agriculture labour and hence occupies the lowest hierarchy with traditional occupation and the people may be categorised as 'ecosystem people'. The study suggests that the people has to be changed as 'Biosphere people' to protect the environmental degradation due to human activities.     

Maternal platelet size as a marker for fetal trisomies 18 and 13

Maternal and fetal platelet size and glycoprotein expression were measured in 14 pregnancies complicated by fetal aneuploidy between 20 and 24 weeks' gestation. Flow cytometry was used to determine platelet size and surface glycoprotein Ib (GPIb) and GPIIIa expression both before and after stimulation with adenosine diphosphate (ADP). The data were compared with results obtained from 35 normal paired maternal and fetal controls. In fetuses affected with trisomies 18 and 13, but not trisomy 21, the maternal and fetal platelet sizes were significantly higher than those of the normal controls. Furthermore, the increase in fetal platelet size was significantly associated with the increase in maternal platelet size. Increase in maternal platelet size may be of potential value as a marker for fetal trisomies 18 and 13.     

Po-210 and Pb-210 as atmospheric tracers and global atmospheric Pb-210 fallout: a review

Over the past ∼5 decades, the distribution of ²²²Rn and its progenies (mainly ²¹⁰Pb, ²¹⁰Bi and ²¹⁰Po) have provided a wealth of information as tracers to quantify several atmospheric processes that include: i) source tracking and transport time scales of air masses; ii) the stability and vertical movement of air masses iii) removal rate constants and residence times of aerosols; iv) chemical behavior of analog species; and v) washout ratios and deposition velocities of aerosols. Most of these applications require that the sources and sink terms of these nuclides are well characterized.Utility of ²¹⁰Pb, ²¹⁰Bi and ²¹⁰Po as atmospheric tracers requires that data on the ²²²Rn emanation rates is well documented. Due to low concentrations of ²²⁶Ra in surface waters, the ²²²Rn emanation rates from the continent is about two orders of magnitude higher than that of the ocean. This has led to distinctly higher ²¹⁰Pb concentrations in continental air masses compared to oceanic air masses. The highly varying concentrations of ²¹⁰Pb in air as well the depositional fluxes have yielded insight on the sources and transit times of aerosols. In an ideal enclosed air mass (closed system with respect to these nuclides), the residence times of aerosols obtained from the activity ratios of ²¹⁰Pb/²²²Rn, ²¹⁰Bi/²¹⁰Pb, and ²¹⁰Po/²¹⁰Pb are expected to agree with each other, but a large number of studies have indicated discordance between the residence times obtained from these three pairs. Recent results from the distribution of these nuclides in size-fractionated aerosols appear to yield consistent residence time in smaller-size aerosols, possibly suggesting that larger size aerosols are derived from resuspended dust. The residence times calculated from the ²¹⁰Pb/²²²Rn, ²¹⁰Bi/²¹⁰Pb, and ²¹⁰Po/²¹⁰Pb activity ratios published from 1970’s are compared to those data obtained in size-fractionated aerosols in this decade and possible reasons for the discordance is discussed with some key recommendations for future studies.The existing global atmospheric inventory data of ²¹⁰Pb is re-evaluated and a ‘global curve’ for the depositional fluxes of ²¹⁰Pb is established. A current global budget for atmospheric ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb is also established. The relative importance of dry fallout of ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb at different latitudes is evaluated. The global values for the deposition velocities of aerosols using ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb are synthesized.     

Biotechnology to convert carbon dioxide into biogas,bioethanol, bioplastic and succinic acid using algae,bacteria and yeast: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Global warming is partly due to excessive carbon dioxide emissions, calling for methods to capture carbon dioxide for conversion into value-added...     

Sorption and desorption kinetics of diuron, fluometuron, prometryn and pyrithiobac sodium in soils

The sorption and desorption characteristics of four herbicides (diuron, fluometuron, prometryn and pyrithiobac-sodium) in three different cotton growing soils of Australia was investigated. Kinetics and equilibrium sorption and desorption isotherms were determined using the batch equilibrium technique. Sorption was rapid (> 80% in 2 h) and sorption equilibrium was achieved within a short period of time (ca 4 h) for all herbicides. Sorption isotherms of the four herbicides were described by Freundlich equation with an r2 value > 0.98. The herbicide sorption as measured by the distribution coefficient (Kd) values ranged from 3.24 to 5.71 L/kg for diuron, 0.44 to 1.13 L/kg for fluometuron, 1.78 to 6.04 L/kg for prometryn and 0.22 to 0.59 L/kg for pyrithiobac-sodium. Sorption of herbicides was higher in the Moree soil than in Narrabri and Wee Waa soils. When the Kd values were normalised to organic carbon content of the soils (Koc), it suggested that the affinity of the herbicides to the organic carbon increased in the order: pyrithiobac-sodium < fluometuron < prometryn < or = diuron. The desorption isotherms were also adequately described by the Freundlich equation. For desorption, all herbicides exhibited hysteresis and the hysteresis was stronger for highly sorbed herbicides (diuron and prometryn) than the weakly sorbed herbicides (fluometuron and pyrithiobac-sodium). Hysteresis was also quantified as the percentage of sorbed herbicides which is not released during the desorption step (omega = [nad/nde - 1] x 100). Soil type and initial concentration had significant effect on omega. The effect of sorption and desorption properties of these four herbicides on the off-site transport to contaminate surface and groundwater are also discussed in this paper.     

Community‐based water supplies in Cikarang,Indonesia: are they sustainable?

Community‐based water supply (CBWS) is an example of how a community manages common pool resources (CPR). This results in an alternative approach to solve water supply problems in developing countries by enhancing community participation in managing water supply. This research evaluates the sustainability of five CBWS projects in Cikarang, Indonesia by using Ostrom's design principles, with additional sustainability factors found in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on drinking water and groundwater sustainability. Quinn et al. (2007) criteria were used in the analysis, and the results show that the management of four CBWS institutions were absent and one CBWS institution was weak. With regards to the SDG's drinking water target, the CBWS institutions were unable to comply with safe water standards, and in terms of groundwater sustainability, efforts to monitor and sustain groundwater tables were absent. Results from this research suggest that more focus must be placed on water quality and groundwater sustainability for CBWS projects.     

Temporal variations of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides in sea otter skull tissue in the North Pacific Ocean

Marine mammals being among the top predators in the food web tend to accumulate organic and inorganic contaminants from the environment. The body burden of contaminants in these species could reflect their foods and thus contaminant levels could serve as proxies on the changes of ecosystem. A pilot study was carried out to investigate the possibility of radionuclide leakage at Amchitka using a suite of sea otter (Enhydra lutris) skulls collected near Amchitka nuclear test-sites before (1950s) and after the testing (1990s), and at Adak, another Aleutian Island, about 300 km from Amchitka, where the potential impact of radionuclide leakage from Amchitka is expected to be negligible. In addition, the naturally occurring and anthropogenic radionuclide content on the sea otter skull was also utilized to investigate if there was any significant ecosystem changes in the environment. Concentration of 210Pb in sea otter bones collected during the 1950s was significantly higher than those collected in the 1990s. We propose that among the various factors that could cause this higher enrichment in 210Pb, changes in the sea otter prey is the most likely one. Comparison of the 137Cs, 90Sr, 239,240Pu concentrations appear not to be significantly higher in sea otter skulls collected in 1990s from Amchitka where the underground tests in 1965-71 than those from Adak, although significant differences were detected among different groups collected at various times.     

Thermochemical conversion of municipal solid waste into energy and hydrogen: a review

The rising global population is inducing a fast increase in the amount of municipal waste and, in turn, issues of rising cost and environmental pollution. Therefore, alternative treatments such as waste-to-energy should be developed in the context of the circular economy. Here, we review the conversion of municipal solid waste into energy using thermochemical methods such as gasification, combustion, pyrolysis and torrefaction. Energy yield depends on operating conditions and feedstock composition. For instance, torrefaction of municipal waste at 200 °C generates a heating value of 33.01 MJ/kg, while the co-pyrolysis of cereals and peanut waste yields a heating value of 31.44 MJ/kg at 540 °C. Gasification at 800 °C shows higher carbon conversion for plastics, of 94.48%, than for waste wood and grass pellets, of 70–75%. Integrating two or more thermochemical treatments is actually gaining high momentum due to higher energy yield. We also review reforming catalysts to enhance dihydrogen production, such as nickel on support materials such as CaTiO₃, SrTiO₃, BaTiO₃, Al₂O₃, TiO₃, MgO, ZrO₂. Techno-economic analysis, sensitivity analysis and life cycle assessment are discussed.