Activated carbon produced from waste coffee grounds for an effective removal of bisphenol-A in aqueous medium

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Bisphenol-A is widely used chemical in industry and unfortunately often detected in natural waters. Considered as an emerging pollutant, bisphenol-A...     

Effects of soil moisture depletion on vegetable crop uptake of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs)

Agricultural crops have a long history of being irrigated with recycled wastewater (RW). However, its use on vegetable crops has been of concern due to the potential prevalence of microcontaminants, such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the latter, which represents a possible health hazard to consumers. We investigated the uptake of three PPCPs (atenolol, diclofenac, and ofloxacin), at three different concentrations in irrigation water (0.5, 5, and 25 μg L^?1) in relation to three varying volumetric soil moisture depletion levels of 14 % (?4.26 kPa), 10 % (?8.66 kPa), and 7 % (?18.37 kPa) by various vegetable crop species. Experiments were conducted in a split-split block completely randomized design. PPCPs were extracted using a developed method of accelerated solvent extraction and solid phase extraction and analyzed via liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LCMS). Results indicate that all treated crops were capable of PPCP uptake at nanogram per gram concentrations independent of the applied soil moisture depletion levels and PPCP concentrations. Ofloxacin was the chemical with the highest uptake amounts, followed by atenolol and then diclofenac. Although the results were not statistically significant, higher concentrations of PPCPs were detected in plants maintained under higher soil moisture levels of 14 % (?4.26 kPa).     

Characterization of EVA/PLA Blends When Exposed to Different Environments

EVA/PLA blends compatibilized with EVA-g-PLA grafted copolymers synthesized by reactive extrusion, through transesterification reaction between ethylene-vinyl-acetate (EVA) and polylactide (PLA) using titanium propoxide (Ti(OPr)₄) as catalyst, were characterized when exposed to different environments. Stability to UV radiation was assessed exposing the samples to a Xenon lamp, which simulates the sun UV spectrum and the biodegradability was evaluated by biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in a closed respirometer. Exposed samples were removed periodically and analyzed by several analytical techniques, such as, FTIR, DSC, rheology and tensile tests. The results obtained evidenced that UV radiation induces structural modifications, which affect substantially rheological and mechanical properties. Moreover, the blend with higher amount of copolymer exhibits lower photo durability and greater biodegradability. From the environmental point of view, these new materials are very promising for application with short lifetime, like packaging.     

Critical review of the building downwash algorithms in AERMOD

The only documentation on the building downwash algorithm in AERMOD (American Meteorological Society/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regulatory Model), referred to as PRIME (Plume Rise Model Enhancements), is found in the 2000 A&WMA journal article by Schulman, Strimaitis and Scire. Recent field and wind tunnel studies have shown that AERMOD can overpredict concentrations by factors of 2 to 8 for certain building configurations. While a wind tunnel equivalent building dimension study (EBD) can be conducted to approximately correct the overprediction bias, past field and wind tunnel studies indicate that there are notable flaws in the PRIME building downwash theory. A detailed review of the theory supported by CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) and wind tunnel simulations of flow over simple rectangular buildings revealed the following serious theoretical flaws: enhanced turbulence in the building wake starting at the wrong longitudinal location; constant enhanced turbulence extending up to the wake height; constant initial enhanced turbulence in the building wake (does not vary with roughness or stability); discontinuities in the streamline calculations; and no method to account for streamlined or porous structures.

Implications: This paper documents theoretical and other problems in PRIME along with CFD simulations and wind tunnel observations that support these findings. Although AERMOD/PRIME may provide accurate and unbiased estimates (within a factor of 2) for some building configurations, a major review and update is needed so that accurate estimates can be obtained for other building configurations where significant overpredictions or underpredictions are common due to downwash effects. This will ensure that regulatory evaluations subject to dispersion modeling requirements can be based on an accurate model. Thus, it is imperative that the downwash theory in PRIME is corrected to improve model performance and ensure that the model better represents reality.     

Salinity variations in the water resources fed by the Etnean volcanic aquifers (Sicily, Italy): natural vs. anthropogenic causes

In this paper, in an attempt to reveal possible changes connected to natural or anthropogenic causes, the main results of hydrogeochemical monitoring carried out at Mount Etna are evaluated. We report on the salinity contents of the groundwaters that flow in fractured volcanics, which make up the flanks of the volcano. These waters, analyzed for major ion chemistry, were sampled regularly from 1994 to 2004. Basing on nonparametric Sen??s slope estimator, time series of groundwater composition reveal that the salinity of most of the Etnean aquifers increased by 0.5% to 3.5% each year during this period. This change in the water chemistry is clearly referable to the overexploitation of the aquifers. This increasing trend needs to be inverted urgently; otherwise, it will cause a shortage of water in the near future, because the maximum admissible concentration of salinity for drinking water will be exceeded.     

Size and spatial structure in deep versus shallow populations of the Mediterranean gorgonian <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eunicella singularis</Emphasis> (Cap de Creus,northwestern Mediterranean Sea)

In the Western Mediterranean Sea, the gorgonian Eunicella singularis (Esper, 1794) is found at high densities on sublittoral bottoms at depths from 10 to 70 m. Shallow colonies have symbiotic zooxanthellae that deeper colonies lack. While knowledge of the ecology of the shallow populations has increased during the last decades, there is almost no information on the ecology of the deep sublittoral populations. In October and November 2004 at Cap de Creus (42°19′12″ N; 03°19′34″ E), an analysis of video transects made by a remotely operated vehicle showed that shallow populations (10–25 m depth) were dominated by small, non-reproductive colonies, while deep sublittoral populations (50–67 m depth) were dominated by medium-sized colonies. Average and maximum colony heights were greater in the deeper populations, with these deeper populations also forming larger patch sizes and more extensive regions of continuous substrate coverage. These results suggest that shallow habitats are suitable for E. singularis, as shown by the high recruitment rate, but perturbations may limit or delay the development of these populations into a mature stage. This contrasts with the deep sublittoral habitats where higher environmental stability may allow the development of mature populations dominated by larger, sexually mature colonies.     

Capacity of biochar application to maintain energy crop productivity: soil chemistry, sorghum growth, and runoff water quality effects

Pyrolysis of crop biomass generates a by-product, biochar, which can be recycled to sustain nutrient and organic C concentrations in biomass production fields. We evaluated effects of biochar rate and application method on soil properties, nutrient balance, biomass production, and water quality. Three replications of eight sorghum [ (L.) Moench] treatments were installed in box lysimeters under greenhouse conditions. Treatments comprised increasing rates (0, 1.5, and 3.0 Mg ha) of topdressed or incorporated biochar supplemented with N fertilizer or N, P, and K fertilizer. Simulated rain was applied at 21 and 34 d after planting, and mass runoff loss of N, P, and K was measured. A mass balance of total N, P, and K was performed after 45 d. Returning 3.0 Mg ha of biochar did not affect sorghum biomass, soil total, or Mehlich-3-extractable nutrients compared to control soil. Yet, biochar contributed to increased concentration of dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) and mass loss of total phosphorus (TP) in simulated runoff, especially if topdressed. It was estimated that up to 20% of TP in topdressed biochar was lost in surface runoff after two rain events. Poor recovery of nutrients during pyrolysis and excessive runoff loss of nutrients for topdressed biochar, especially K, resulted in negative nutrient balances. Efforts to conserve nutrients during pyrolysis and incorporation of biochar at rates derived from annual biomass yields will be necessary for biochar use in sustainable energy crop production.     

Scale-up of electrochemical oxidation system for treatment of produced water generated by Brazilian petrochemical industry

Scale-up of anodic oxidation system is critical to the practical application of electrochemical treatment in bio-refractory organic wastewater treatment. In this study, the scale-up of electrochemical flow system was investigated by treating petrochemical wastewater using platinized titanium (Ti/Pt) and boron-doped diamond (BDD) anodes. It was demonstrated that flow cell was successfully scaled-up because when it was compared with batch mode (Rocha et al. 2012b), higher performances on organic matter removal were achieved. Under the suitable operating conditions and better anode material, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of petrochemical wastewater was reduced from 2,746 to 200 mg L^?1 within 5 h with an energy consumption of only 56.2 kWh m^?3 in the scaled-up BDD anode system. These results demonstrate that anode flow system is very promising in practical bio-refractory organic wastewater treatment.