Sonocatalytic degradation of butylparaben in aqueous phase over Pd/C nanoparticles

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In the present work, the sonocatalytic degradation of butylparaben was investigated using Pd immobilized on carbon black as the sonocatalyst. The...     

Modeling of non-point source pollution in a Mediterranean drainage basin

SWAT ver. 2000 was used to predict hydrographs, and sediment, nitrate and total phosphorus loadings from a 1349 km² mountainous/agricultural watershed in Northern Greece. The model was calibrated and verified using continuous meteorological data from eight stations within the drainage area, and runoff, sediment and nutrient concentrations measured at nine stations located within the main tributaries of the watershed, for the time period from May 1st, 1998 to January 31st, 2000. Model validation methodology and resulting input parameters appropriate for Mediterranean drainage basins are presented. Predicted by the model hydrographs, sedimentographs and pollutographs are plotted against observed values and show good agreement. Model performance is evaluated using the root mean square error computation and scattergrams of predicted versus observed data. The validated model is also used to test the effectiveness of three alternative cropping scenarios in reducing nutrient loadings from the agricultural part of the watershed. The study showed that this model, if properly validated, can be used effectively in testing management scenarios in Mediterranean drainage basins.     

INTEGRATING HUMANS IN ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT USING MULTI‐CRITERIA DECISION MAKING1

ABSTRACT: The Ecosystem Management (EM) process belongs to the category of Multi‐Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) problems. It requires appropriate decision support systems (DSS) where “all interested people” would be involved in the decision making process. Environmental values critical to EM, such as the biological diversity, health, productivity and sustainability, have to be studied, and play an important role in modeling the ecosystem functions; human values and preferences also influence decision making. Public participation in decision and policy making is one of the elements that differentiate EM from the traditional methods of management. Here, a methodology is presented on how to quantify human preferences in EM decision making. The case study of the National Park of River Nestos Delta and Lakes Vistonida and Ismarida in Greece, presented as an application of this methodology, shows that the direct involvement of the public, the quantification of its preferences and the decision maker's attitude provide a strong tool to the EM decision making process. Public preferences have been given certain weights and three MCDM methods, namely, the Expected Utility Method, Compromise Programming and the Analytic Hierarchy Process, have been used to select alternative management solutions that lead to the best configuration of the ecosystem and are also socially acceptable.     

Effects of low concentration biodiesel blend application on modern passenger cars. Part 1: Feedstock impact on regulated pollutants, fuel consumption and particle emissions

Five biodiesels from different feedstocks (rapeseed, soy, sunflower, palm, and used fried oils) blended with diesel at 10% vol. ratio (B10), were tested on a Euro 3 common-rail passenger car. Limited effects (−2% to +4%) were observed on CO₂ emissions. CO and HC emissions increased between 10% and 25% on average, except at high speed - high power where emissions were too low to draw conclusions. NOx emissions increased by up to 20% for two out of the five blends, decreased by up to 15% for two other blends, and remained unchanged for one blend. Particulate matter (PM) was reduced for all blends by up to 25% and the reductions were positively correlated with the extent of biodiesel saturation. PM reductions are associated with consistent reductions in non-volatile particle number. A variable behaviour in particle number is observed when volatile particles are also accounted.     

Ecoregions in the Southern Balkans: Should Their Boundaries Be Revised?

Ecoregion delineations have gained increased attention in Europe, especially following the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD), which provides the European Union’s first policy-relevant ecoregion map. However, the WFD’s ecoregions were created through a minor adaptation of Illies’ (Limnofauna Europaea. Gustav Fisher Verlag, Stuttgart, 1967/1978) freshwater zoogeographic regions, and the map’s specific boundaries have not been widely evaluated with respect to the WFD’s uses or their biogeographic accuracy. We examined the WFD ecoregion boundaries in Greece and its neighboring Balkan states by comparing them with the most prominent freshwater biogeographic boundaries as shown by riverine freshwater fish assemblages. Classification and ordination analyses of 23 river basin fish assemblages helped delineate natural faunal break boundaries in freshwater species assemblage distributions depicting major biogeographic barriers to aquatic biota dispersal. However, these biogeographic boundaries differ from those delineated in the WFD map, suggesting boundary errors and inconsistencies in the delineation method of the WFD ecoregions. We reviewed specific boundary disagreements and produced a map showing the region’s most prominent freshwater biogeographic boundaries by charting them on watershed borders among the four biotically dissimilar river basin groups in the southern Balkans. This regional evaluation reveals both a need to reconcile disparate approaches to ecoregion mapping and to promote the development of a new policy-relevant inland waters ecoregion framework that would support broad-scale water management and aquatic conservation.     

Effect of first-flush device,roofing material,and antecedent dry days on water quality of harvested rainwater

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Two rainwater harvesting systems, which included first-flush diversion devices, connected to the roofs of two adjacent buildings, were monitored for...     

Short-term exposure of the European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax to copper-based antifouling treated nets: Copper bioavailability and biomarkers responses

We studied if the levels of copper released from antifouling treated nets used in finfish mariculture could affect the immune defense mechanism and/or induce oxidative stress in Dicentrarchus labrax, after short term exposure in laboratory experiments. Dissolved copper concentration released from the treated nets, copper bioavailability and a set of biomarkers responses were measured. Biomarkers included hemoglobin concentration, activities of lysozyme, total complement, respiratory burst, glutathione S-transferase and acetycholinesterase and concentration of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances. Results indicated elevated copper concentration in seawater (184 μg L⁻¹) but low concentration in muscle (1.5 μg g⁻¹) and liver (117 μg g⁻¹). Copper bioavailability was independent of copper complexes with dissolved organic carbon. However, formation of copper complexes with other matrices could neither be excluded nor justified. The released copper from the treated nets did not induce oxidative stress but affected the immediate immune defense mechanism of the exposed fish making them more easily vulnerable to diseases. Consequently, copper-based antifouling treated nets could be a risk factor for D. labrax health.     

Bioenergy to save the world

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Following to the 2006 climate summit, the European Union formally set the goal of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius. But even today, climate change is already affecting people and ecosystems. Examples are melting glaciers and polar ice, reports about thawing permafrost areas, dying coral reefs, rising sea levels, changing ecosystems and fatal heat periods. Within the last 150 years, CO2 levels rose from 280 ppm to currently over 400 ppm. If we continue on our present course, CO2 equivalent levels could approach 600 ppm by 2035. However, if CO2 levels are not stabilized at the 450-550 ppm level, the consequences could be quite severe. Hence, if we do not act now, the opportunity to stabilise at even 550 ppm is likely to slip away. Long-term stabilisation will require that CO2 emissions ultimately be reduced to more than 80% below current levels. This will require major changes in how we operate. RESULTS: Reducing greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels seems to be the most promising approach to counterbalance the dramatic climate changes we would face in the near future. It is clear since the Kyoto protocol that the availability of fossil carbon resources will not match our future requirements. Furthermore, the distribution of fossil carbon sources around the globe makes them an even less reliable source in the future. We propose to screen crop and non-crop species for high biomass production and good survival on marginal soils as well as to produce mutants from the same species by chemical mutagenesis or related methods. These plants, when grown in adequate crop rotation, will provide local farming communities with biomass for the fermentation in decentralized biogas reactors, and the resulting nitrogen rich manure can be distributed on the fields to improve the soil. DISCUSSION: Such an approach will open new economic perspectives to small farmers, and provide a clever way to self sufficient and sustainable rural development. Together with the present economic reality, where energy and raw material prices have drastically increased over the last decade, they necessitate the development and the establishment of alternative concepts. CONCLUSIONS: Biotechnology is available to apply fast breeding to promising energy plant species. It is important that our valuable arable land is preserved for agriculture. The opportunity to switch from low-income agriculture to biogas production may convince small farmers to adhere to their business and by that preserve the identity of rural communities. PERSPECTIVES: Overall, biogas is a promising alternative for the future, because its resource base is widely available, and single farms or small local cooperatives might start biogas plant operation.