Multi-criteria evaluation technique for SFI site identification of NORMS and oil industry waste disposal – Possibilities in Kuwait

Waste generation and accumulating quantities of oil field waste are a matter of environmental concern. This study proposes the Slurry Fracture Injection (SFI) technique as an alternative waste disposal method. The slurried solids injection waste disposal method is environmentally secure and permanent, leaving no future liabilities that must be risk-evaluated or priced. An entire waste stream comprising ground solids and waste water can be injected into deep and hydraulically secure target strata with no contamination of potable water-bearing formations or formations outside the target zone that may contain resources (gas and oil). The slurry injection method can be used to clean and reclaim landfills, oil pits and granular waste dumps. This article proposes a two-tier screening method for evaluating the feasibility of this technique and the identification of suitable target zones. A stringent environmental and process control monitoring program should complement the planning and operational period to ensure environmental protection, waste containment, and regulatory HSE compliance.     

Black carbon aerosols in urban air in South Asia

We report data from a yearlong (2006–2007) study of black carbon concentrations ([BC]) measured at 5-min intervals with an Aethalometer in Karachi, Pakistan. Daily mean [BC] varied from about 1 to 15 μg m^?3. However, short-term spikes exceeding 40 μg m^?3 were common, occurring primarily during the morning and evening rush-hour periods. The [BC] values were highest during November through February, ～10 μg m^?3, and lowest during June through September, ～2 μg m^?3. Diurnal, seasonal, and day-of-the-week trends are discussed. It is demonstrated that these trends are strongly affected by meteorological patterns. A simple expression is applied to the concentration profiles to separate the effects of meteorological conditions and elucidate the underlying emissions patterns. Daily emissions varied from 14,000 to 22,000 kg of BC per day. When integrated over the year emissions for Karachi Proper were estimated at 6.7 kilometric tons per year and emissions for greater Karachi were 17.5 kilometric tons per year. Folding in the populations of each area yields BC emissions of 0.74 and 1.1 kg per person per year, respectively. Applying the model to previously collected data at Lahore, Pakistan yields emissions during November–January that are around a factor of two higher than those in Karachi, but because the BC measurements in Lahore covered only three months, no estimates of annual emissions were attempted. Given the large populations of these cities the local health impact from PM alone is expected to be severe but because of the high [BC] emissions the impact on the global climate may be equally significant.     

Investigating biodiversity trajectories using scenarios – Lessons from two contrasting agricultural landscapes

Agriculture is the major land use at a global scale. In addition to food production, multifunctionality of landscapes, including values and ecosystem services like biodiversity, recreation and culture, is now focus for management. This study explores how a scenario approach, involving different stakeholders, may help to improve landscape management for biodiversity conservation. Local farmers and executives at the County Administrative Board were invited to discuss rural development and conditions for farmland biodiversity in two Swedish landscapes. The potential biodiversity for three future land use scenarios for the two landscapes was discussed: nature conservation, outdoor recreation and energy production, and compared with current and historical landscapes in each region.Analyses of habitat areas, connectedness and landscape diversity suggested that the energy and recreation scenarios had a negative impact on farmland biodiversity, whereas the nature conservation scenario, the current and historically reconstructed landscapes had a higher potential for biodiversity. The farmers appreciated the nature conservation scenario, but also the energy production scenario and they highlighted the need of increased subsidies for management of biodiversity. The farmers in the high production area were less interested in nature quality per se. The executives had similar opinions as the farmers, but disagreed on the advantages with energy production, as this would be in conflict with the high biodiversity and recreational values. The local physical and socio-economical conditions differ between landscapes and potentially shaped the stakeholders emotional attachment to the local environment, their opinions and decisions on how to manage the land. We stress the importance of incorporating local knowledge, visions and regional prerequisites for different land uses in conservation, since site and landscape specific planning for biodiversity together with a flexible subsidy system are necessary to reach the conservation goals within EU.     

Kinetic,equilibrium and thermodynamic studies for the sorption of metribuzin from aqueous solution using banana peels,an agro-based biomass

Banana peels were employed for the removal of metribuzin from aqueous solution. Sorption in the batch mode was optimized regarding pH, contact time, sorbent dose, initial pesticide concentrations, and temperature. The sorption data were fitted to pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, intraparticle diffusion, Elovich, and liquid film diffusion model, the pseudo-second-order exhibiting best fit (R² = 0.9803). Of the four most common sorption isotherm models (Langmuir, Freundlich, Tempkin, and Dubinin–Radushkevich), the data followed the Langmuir isotherm with highest correlation. The maximum adsorption capacity was found to be 167 mg g^?1. Gibbs free energy, enthalpy, and entropy showed that the sorption was exothermic and spontaneous.     

Characterization of PM2.5-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Atlanta—Seasonal variations at urban,suburban, and rural ambient air monitoring sites

Twenty-eight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and methylated PAHs (Me-PAH) were measured in daily PM_2.5 samples collected at an urban site, a suburban site, and a rural site in and near Atlanta during 2004 (5 samples/month/site). The suburban site, located near a major highway, had higher PM_2.5-bound PAH concentrations than did the urban site, and the rural site had the lowest PAH levels. Monthly variations are described for concentrations of total PAHs (∑PAHs) and individual PAHs. PAH concentrations were much higher in cold months than in warm months, with average monthly ∑PAH concentrations at the urban and suburban-highway monitoring sites ranging from 2.12 to 6.85 ng m^?3 during January–February and November–December 2004, compared to 0.38–0.98 ng m^?3 during May–September 2004. ∑PAH concentrations were found to be well correlated with PM_2.5 and organic carbon (OC) within seasons, and the fractions of PAHs in PM_2.5 and OC were higher in winter than in summer. Methyl phenanthrenes were present at higher levels than their un-substituted homologue (phenanthrene), suggesting a petrogenic (unburned petroleum products) input. Retene, a proposed tracer for biomass burning, peaked in March, the month with the highest acreage and frequency of prescribed burning and unplanned fires, and in December, during the high residential wood-burning season, indicating that retene might be a good marker for burning of all biomass materials. In contrast, potassium peaked only in December, indicating that it might be a more specific tracer for wood-burning.     

Development of a accelerated solvent extraction and gel permeation chromatography analytical method for measuring persistent organohalogen compounds in adipose and organ tissue analysis

A new analytical method has been developed for the quantification of 59 different persistent organohalogen compounds, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), PCB metabolites, organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in biological organ tissues. The optimum extraction and cleanup procedures were examined using accelerated solvent extraction (ASE), automated gel permeation chromatography (GPC) on Biobeads S-X3 and automated solid phase extraction (SPE) on silica-gel. The target compounds were divided into two fractions, non-polar compounds and more polar compounds, which in the latter fraction was subsequently methylated using diazomethane. Detection can be achieved by GC/MS in negative chemical ionization (NCI) mode. The average recoveries of the compounds spiked in swine liver, heart, kidney, and cattle adipose tissues were considered satisfactory, and it was confirmed that the method could be used in routine analysis.     

Estimations of real-world N2O emissions from road vehicles by means of measurements in a traffic tunnel

Ambient air measurements of N2O, NOx, CO, and HC based on grab sampling were conducted in a major traffic tunnel in Sweden, that carries up to 4,000 vehicles per hour, in order to estimate real-world emissions of N2O for road traffic. Two different methods--relative and mass balance-were used to calculate a N2O emission factor for the mixed vehicle fleet, which gave an average emission factor, at average speeds of 30-70 km/h, of approximately 25 mg N2O/ km, with a range of 7-56 mg/km.     

Enhanced biological nutrient removal by the alliance of a heterotrophic nitrifying strain with a nitrogen removing ecosystem

Nitrogen removal from synthetic wastewater was investigated in an airlift bioreactor （ALB）, augmented with a novel heterotrophic nitrifier Pseudonocardia ammonioxydans H9^T under organic carbon to nitrogen ratios （Corg/N） ranging from 0 to 12. Effect of the inoculated strain was also determined on the settling properties and the removal of chemical oxygen demand （COD）. Two laboratory scale reactors were set up to achieve a stable nitrifying state under the same physicochemical conditions of hydraulic retention time （HRT）, temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen （DO）, and operated under the sequencing batch mode. The level of DO was kept at 0.5- 1.5 mg/L by periodic stirring and aeration. Each specific Corg/N ratio was continued for duration of 3 weeks. One of the reactors （BR2） was inoculated with P ammonioxydans H9^T periodically at the start of each Corg/N ratio. Sludge volumetric index （SVI） improved with the increasing Corg/N ratio, but no significant difference was detected between the two reactors. BR2 showed higher levels of nitrogen removal with the increasing heterotrophic conditions, and the ammonia removal reached to the level of 82%-88%, up to10% higher than that in the control reactor （BR1） at Corg/N ratios higher than 6; however, the ammonia removal level in experimental reactor was up to 8% lower than that in control reactor at Corg/N ratios lower than 2. The COD removal efficiency progressively increased with the increasing Corg/N ratios in both of the reactors. The COD removal percentage up to peak values of 88%-94% in BR2, up to 11% higher than that in BR1 at Corg/N ratio higher than 4. The peak values of ammonia and COD removal almost coincided with the highest number （18%-27% to total bacterial number） of the exogenous bacterium in the BR2, detected as colony forming units （CFU）. Furthermore, the removal of ammonia and COD in BR2 was closely related to the number of the inoculated strain with a coefficient index （R2） up to 0.82 and 0.85 for ammonia and     

气提式三重循环生物膜反应器处理制药废水中的甾体雌激素

为验证气提式三重循环生物膜反应器处理甾体雌激素的效能,建立了一套SPE/HPLC/MS/MS分析方法,对反应器进、出水中的甾体雌激素--甾酮(E1),17β-雌二醇(E2),雌三醇(E3)以及17α-乙炔基雌二醇(EE2)进行检测.该方法的加标回收率为88%～103%,精密度为4%～9%.该方法对E1,E2,E3和EE2的进水定量限(LOQ)分别为0.7,0.8,0.9和0.5 ng/L;对出水的定量限分别为2.0,1.0,2.0和 1.0 ng/L.CODCr和氨氮容积负荷最高为7.5和1.6 kg/(m3·d),出水依然能够保持稳定.进水pH稳定在9.0～10.5,而反应器的pH一直稳定在9.0以下,体系对pH变化造成的冲击比较适应.同时,反应器内形成了稳定的NO2--N积累,CODCr和氨氮的去除率分别达到了70%和73%.