The economics of tire remanufacturing

The world market for tires is described to identify the current material flow from raw materials to tires and the used tire disposal problem. Then, I describe the value-adding operations in the tire production process and in the tire retreading process. Once retreading is identified as the only recovery alternative that maximizes tire utilization, I explain why heat generation is the only recovery alternative, when retreading is not technically feasible. The economic values of heat generation in electric plants and in cement kilns are discussed. The paper culminates with the case of retreading, the tire remanufacturing process and the recommendation of a simple decision rule for selecting the number of times a tire should be retreaded to maximize its utilization.     

Mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic biodegradability of water hyacinth pre-treated at 80 °C

Water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) is a fast growing aquatic plant which causes environmental problems in continental water bodies. Harvesting and handling this plant becomes an issue, and focus has been put on the research of treatment alternatives. Amongst others, energy production through biomethanation has been proposed. The aim of this study was to assess the anaerobic biodegradability of water hyacinth under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions. The effect of a thermal sludge pre-treatment at 80 °C was also evaluated. To this end, anaerobic biodegradability tests were carried out at 35 °C and 55 °C, with raw and pre-treated water hyacinth. According to the results, the thermal pre-treatment enhanced the solubilisation of water hyacinth (i.e. increase in the soluble to total chemical oxygen demand (COD)) from 4% to 12% after 30 min. However, no significant effect was observed on the methane yields (150–190 L CH₄/kg volatile solids). Initial methane production rates for thermophilic treatments were two fold those of mesophilic ones (6–6.5 L vs. 3–3.5 L CH₄/kg COD·day). Thus, higher methane production rates might be expected from thermophilic reactors working at short retention times. The study of longer low temperature pre-treatments or pre-treatments at elevated temperatures coupled to thermophilic reactors should be considered in the future.     

Composting olive mill pomace and other residues from rural southeastern Spain

The costly disposal of the semisolid residual pomace generated in the two phase extraction used in modern olive mills is causing serious problems to the small oil producers of rural southeastern Spain. Composting may be a viable alternative since complementary residues are usually available in these areas to prepare an adequate starting mixture. In this work, four different combinations of residues (pomace+rabbit manure, pomace+sheep manure, pomace+rabbit manure+rice straw, pomace+rabbit manure+almond shells) were composted in 3 ton piles aerated by turnings, using technology available to any small community of oil producers. During the four long processes (9-10 months), a steady decrease of organic matter and increases in the concentrations of nutrient and humic substances were observed, together with large increases in pH and salinity which may reduce the agronomic value of the final products.     

Three Different Topics for Bioremediation Application on Soils and Waters Contaminated with Aromatic Compounds, by Using Immobilized Bacteria

Molecular techniques and modelling are presented as powerful tools required in the performance of efficient soil and water bioremediation systems. An Escherichia coli CC118-D strain was constructed by inserting the Klebsiella pneumoniae hpa B gene, coding for the unstable 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetate 2,3-dioxygenase, into its chromosome. When the constructed strain was immobilized, both enzyme stability and viability increased along the studied period, in absence of antibiotic. We proposed this strategy as an approach to overcoming plasmid instability and to enhance enzyme activity and stability, avoiding antibiotic utilization. A model was developed to understand and predict the behaviour of bacteria and pollutants in a bioreactor system, considering: fluid dynamics, molecular/cellular scale processes and biofilm formation.     

液相色谱/离子阱质谱和飞行时间质谱分析橄榄油中的特丁津除草剂

本文摘要介绍了液相色谱／离子阱质谱和液相／飞行时间质谱对橄榄油中特丁津的定性定量分析．详细介绍了样品处理,包括液-液萃取和以氨基硅胶为基质分散的固相萃取法．样品的净化采用Florisil硅土小柱,用乙腈洗脱溶质．液相色谱／离子阱质谱的MS／MS模式采集特征离子m／z174．而利用液相／飞行时间质谱进行精确质量数分析（[M＋H]^＋,m／z230）,同时得到碎片的精确质量数和特征同位素分布．对于飞行时间质谱测得的质量精度小于ppm．此方法具有高灵敏度、线性好及精度高的优点．液相／离子阱质谱和飞行时间质谱可以作为橄榄油中特丁津的常规方法．[编者按]     

A comprehensive evaluation of two sample treatment procedures for the determination of emerging and historical halogenated flame retardants in biota

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Two different sample preparation protocols for the determination of 37 emerging and historical halogenated flame retardants (HFRs) in marine tissues...     

European Atlantic: the hottest oil spill hotspot worldwide

Oil spills caused by maritime transport of petroleum products are still an important source of ocean pollution, especially in main production areas and along major transport routes. We here provide a historical and geographic analysis of the major oil spills (>700 t) since 1960. Spills were recorded from several key marine ecosystems and marine biodiversity hotspots. The past four decades have been characterized by an overall decrease in the number of accidents and tonnes of oil spilled in the sea, but this trend was less distinct in the European Atlantic area. Recent black tides from the Erika and Prestige vessels provided new evidence for the high risk of accidents with serious ecological impact in this area, which according to our analysis is historically the most important oil spill hotspot worldwide. The English Channel and waters around Galicia in Spain were the areas with most accidents. Maritime transport in European Atlantic waters has been predicted to continue increasing. Together with our own results this suggests that, in addition to measures for increased traffic safety, deployment of emergency capacities in the spill hotspot areas may be crucial for a sustainable conservation of sea resources and ecosystems.Electronic Supplementary Material  Supplementary material is available for this article if you access the article at . A link in the frame on the left on that page takes you directly to the supplementary material.     

Precipitation assessment in wastewater treatment plants operated for biological nutrient removal: a case study in Murcia, Spain

The Murcia Este Wastewater Treatment Plant is the largest wastewater treatment plant in Murcia (Spain). The plant operators have continuously found pipe blockage and accumulation of solids on equipment surfaces during the anaerobic digestion and post-digestion processes. This work studies the precipitation problems in the Murcia Este Wastewater Treatment Plant in order to locate the sources of precipitation and its causes from an exhaustive mass balance analysis. The DAF thickener and anaerobic digester mass balances suggest that most of the polyphosphate is released during excess sludge thickening. Despite the high concentrations achieved in the thickened sludge, precipitation does not occur at this point due to the low pH. The increases in ammonium and pH during anaerobic digestion cause precipitation to take place mainly inside the digesters and in downstream processes. This study shows that 50.7% of the available phosphate is fixed in the digester of which 52.0% precipitates as ammonium struvite, 39.2% precipitates as hydroxyapatite and the remaining 8.8% is adsorbed on the surface of the solids. Thermodynamic calculations confirm the precipitation of struvite and hydroxyapatite and also confirm that potassium struvite does not precipitate in the anaerobic digesters.     

Recovery of different waste vegetable oils for biodiesel production: A pilot experience in Bahia State,Brazil

In Brazil, and mainly in the State of Bahia, crude vegetable oils are widely used in the preparation of food. Street stalls, restaurants and canteens make a great use of palm oil and soybean oil. There is also some use of castor oil, which is widely cultivated in the Sertão Region (within the State of Bahia), and widely applied in industry. This massive use in food preparation leads to a huge amount of waste oil of different types, which needs either to be properly disposed of, or recovered. At the Laboratorio Energia e Gas-LEN (Energy & Gas lab.) of the Universidade Federal da Bahia, a cycle of experiments were carried out to evaluate the recovery of waste oils for biodiesel production. The experiences were carried out on a laboratory scale and, in a semi-industrial pilot plant using waste oils of different qualities. In the transesterification process, applied waste vegetable oils were reacted with methanol with the support of a basic catalyst, such as NaOH or KOH. The conversion rate settled at between 81% and 85% (in weight). The most suitable molar ratio of waste oils to alcohol was 1:6, and the amount of catalyst required was 0.5% (of the weight of the incoming oil), in the case of NaOH, and 1%, in case of KOH.The quality of the biodiesel produced was tested to determine the final product quality. The parameters analyzed were the acid value, kinematic viscosity, monoglycerides, diglycerides, triglycerides, free glycerine, total glycerine, clearness; the conversion yield of the process was also evaluated.     

Agricultural reuse of the digestate from low-cost tubular digesters in rural Andean communities

This research aimed at assessing the properties of guinea pig manure digestate from low-cost tubular digesters for crops fertilization in rural Andean communities. To this end, field trials were carried out to evaluate the effect of the digestate on two common Andean crops: potato (Solanum tuberosum) and forage (Lolium multiflorum and Trifolium pratense L.). The potato yield (20-25 tha(-1)) increased by 27.5% with digestate, by 15.1% with pre-compost and by 10.3% with the mixture, compared to the control. The forage yield (20-21 tha(-1)) increased by 1.4% with digestate - 50% dose, and by 8.8% with digestate - 100% dose and digestate - 150% dose, compared to the control. The results suggest that the digestate is an appropriate substitute of manure pre-compost for potato fertilization. The results with forage indicate that it can be applied in a range of doses, according to the amount produced by the digester. Currently, manure is either used for cooking or as fertilizer. With low-cost tubular digesters implementation, it could be used to feed the digester, using the digestate for crops fertilization and biogas for cooking; improving household living conditions and protecting the environment. Since soil properties in rural Andean communities differ from experimental layouts, the effect of fertilizers should be re-evaluated in-situ in future research studies.