Mechanistic aspects of the thermal formation of halogenated organic compounds including polychlorinated dibenzo‐p‐dioxins part III†: Thermodegradation of organometallics and polymers

Thermodegradation of organometallics viz. RMX (where M = Mg, Ti, Pd, Sn, Si, Al; and X =halogen atom) provides corresponding haloorganics i.e. RX. 1,2‐Shifts of H and Cl on the carbene species like CH₂F. CF and CFCL₂, CF produced from R. CF. Si F₃ (R = CH₂F, CFCl₂) are preferred to that of fluorine. The thermolysis of R.CF₂. Si Cl₃ (R = CH₂F) produces chloroolefins via halogen exchange. Major products of thermal degradation of poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC) are HCl and benzene but the mechanism of PVC thermodegradation is still a matter of dispute. The thermal cracking of lignins yields substituted phenols.     

Fine Particle (PM25) Measurement Methodology,Quality Assurance Procedures,and Pilot Results of the EXPOLIS Study

ABSTRACT

EXPOLIS is a European multicenter (Athens, Basel, Grenoble, Helsinki, Milan, and Prague) air pollution exposure study. It is the first international, population-based, large-scale study, where personal exposures to PM_{2 5} aerosol particles (together with volatile organic compounds and carbon monoxide) are being monitored. EXPOLIS is performed in six different centers across Europe, the sampled aerosol concentrations vary greatly, and the mi-croenvironmental samples are not collected with the same equipment as the personal samples. Therefore careful equipment selection, methods development and testing, and thorough quality assurance and quality control (QA & QC) procedures are essential for producing reliable and comparable PM_2.5 data. This paper introduces the equipment, the laboratory test results, the pilot results, the standard operating procedures, and the QA & QC procedures of EXPOLIS. Test results show good comparability and repeatability between personal and microenvironmen-tal monitors for PM2.5 at different concentration levels measured across Europe in EXPOLIS centers.     

Pollution in coastal fog at Alto Patache,Northern Chile

Background  

The Atacama Desert in Northern Chile is one of the most arid places on earth. However, fog occurs regularly at the coastal mountain range and can be collected at different sites in Chile to supply settlements at the coast with freshwater. This is also planned in the fog oasis Alto Patache (20°49′S, 70°09′W). For this pilot study, we collected fog water samples in July and August 2008 for chemical analysis to find indications for its suitability for domestic use.     

Die Fungizide Hexachlorbenzol und Pentachlornitrobenzol und ihre Stoffwechselwege

Die Kenntnis biochemischer Veränderungen von lipophilen körperfremden Stoffen ist hinsichtlich deren Elimination aus dem Organismus, sowie bei Überlegungen zur Voraussage toxischer, insbesondere carcinogener Wirkungen von vorrangiger Bedeutung     

Mechanistic aspects of the thermal formation of halogenated organic compounds including polychlorinated dibenzo‐p‐dioxins. Part V†: Hypotheses and summary

The hypotheses on the de novo syntheses of polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and polychlorinated dibenzo‐p‐dioxins (PCDDs), based on known literature, are presented. Polychlorinated benzenes and polychlorinated phenols are probably key intermediates.

In the present article, hypotheses that may account for the presence of polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and dibenzo‐p‐dioxins (PCDDs) in the effluents from municipal and industrial incinerators are put forward. These hypotheses are based on the previously surveyed literature (Ref. 203–206) and experimental results on laboratory scale and thermodynamic calculations are considered. The interconnections of various reaction steps are speculative and no technological information was added to account for conditions in real incinerators. Conclusion of the discussions on the related subject matter, presented in the Parts I‐IV (Ref. 203–206), are also described in this paper.     

Regionalisation and sustainability in the field of industrial production

SUMMARY

Regional business concepts are said to have huge potential to support sustainable development in industrialised countries (e.g. Stransfeld, 1999). However, whereas efforts have been made to implement regional concepts within agriculture and forestry, empirical findings show that regional concepts are only of minor importance to managers within industrial production (Rentz et al., 2000). Considering this situation, the aim of the present article is to explain why regional business concepts have rarely been implemented in the field of industrial production. Therefore, in the course of the present article, a raster for the identification of relevant barriers on a personal, enterprise, inter-firm and macroeconomic level will be developed and applied. Subsequently, suggestions for a set of measures to overcome these barriers to regionalisation will be given. The results have been identified in the framework of a questionnaire to about 30 decision makers of industrial companies within research, a project promoted by the German Ministry of Education and Research.     

Ecological state equation

The direct equivalence between ecology and thermodynamics has not been attained despite accepted thermodynamic features of the ecosystem. This article explores the homeomorphism between ecology and statistical mechanics by analysis of ruderal vegetation. In conventional thermostatistical algorithm, the pro-kinetic effect of temperature on molecules was replaced by the anti-kinetic effect of species diversity on biological individuals. The existence of an ecological equivalent of the thermodynamic Boltzmann constant was empirically verified. From the relationship of this constant with biocenological variables, we derived a probable ecological equation of state under stationary and quasi-stationary conditions. This equation of state is homeomorphic with regard to the ideal gas state equation, and it is useful to infer the value of some biocenological parameters whose direct measurement is difficult, as biomass, energy and dispersal. According to these results, ecosystem assessment from conventional thermostatistics is plausible and empirically verifiable. This approach offers useful analytical tools for the conservation and restoration of ecosystems.