Arrested municipal solid waste incinerator fly ash as a source of heavy metals to the UK environment

Arrested fly ash samples from most currently operating municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerators in the UK have been analysed for a range of elements. Some of the more important heavy metals ranged in concentration as follows: Cd, 21-4646 (median = 271) mg kg(-1); Cu, 296-1307 (642) mg kg(-1); Cr, 44-1328 (574) mg kg(-1); Ni, 45-2204 (74) mg kg(-1); Pb, 447-9704 (4337) mg kg(-1); and Zn, 2285-13,500 (9232) mg kg(-1). These concentrations represent considerable enrichments relative to median UK soil concentrations. Enrichment ratios (defined as median fly ash: median UK soil) were as follows: Mn 1.6; Co 2.6; Ni 3.3; Ba 11; Sr 11; Cr 15; Cu 35; Pb 108; Zn 113; Cd 387. It is estimated that MSW incinerator ash contributes c. 15 t Cd and 241 t Pb to UK landfill sites per annum. These figures compare with previous studies by Hutton & Symon (Hutton, M. & Symon, C. (1986). The quantities of cadmium, lead, mercury and arsenic entering the UK environment from human activities. Sci. Total Environ., 57, 129-50.) which estimated that annual inputs to UK landfills from coal fly ash are c. 60 t Cd and 1270 t Pb. However, it is argued that metals associated with MSW ashes are potentially of greater environmental significance than in coal ashes, because they are much more available and present at much higher concentrations.     

活性炭柱中砂垫层在微污染水源水处理工艺中的应用

以嘉兴市某水厂沉后水为进水进行实验,研究炭砂滤池对污染物的去除性能,以及炭砂滤池取代活性炭＋砂滤池的可能性,探讨了短流程工艺的适用性。结果表明,炭砂滤池能有效去除水中的浊度、氨氮、CODMn和铁、锰等污染物,与活性炭柱相比,炭砂滤池在降低出水浊度和水中颗粒数方面具有一定优势,即砂垫层对控制出水浊度和保障微生物安全能够起到积极作用。在实验条件下,增加活性炭层厚度或者降低滤速,在一定程度上有利于提高对CODMn的去除率。在设计滤速为9～10 m/h,CODMn〈4.5 mg/L时,可直接以炭砂滤池取代活性炭池＋砂滤池,仍然能保证出水CODMn〈3 mg/L。     

硝态氮为惟一氮源时异养微生物增长特性

采用SBR研究了缺氧条件下硝态氮为惟一氮源时异养微生物的增长特性。结果表明,异养微生物能利用硝态氮作为氮源进行增殖。当进水COD浓度为1 400 mg/L,硝态氮浓度为280 mg/L时,COD和硝态氮的去除率分别达到97%和99%;污泥中微生物的含氮量为8.8%,低于常规利用氨氮作为氮源的微生物;在实验条件下活性污泥的产率系数为0.30 g VSS/g COD。反硝化菌可利用硝态氮作为氮源进行细胞合成对含硝氮的废水处理具有重要意义。一方面由于无需投加氨氮降低了废水处理成本,另一方面由于污泥产率低,降低了污泥处理成本。     

Tannery waste as a renewable source of nitrogen for production of multicomponent fertilizers with biostimulating properties

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The studies presented in this work show that solid tannery waste-like shavings can be used as high-protein materials for fertilizer production...     

Cemetery waste as a substream of municipal waste: research and structure of the selective waste collection in Poland

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Cemetery waste (CW) constitutes one of the streams of municipal waste (MW). Based on the available data, it can be said that it accounts for about 1%...     

The way forward to sustain environmental quality through sustainable sand mining and the use of manufactured sand as an alternative to natural sand

Environmental Science and Pollution Research -     

以废弃磷石膏为原料水热合成碳酸钙晶须的研究

以废弃磷石膏为钙源水热合成碳酸钙晶须,研究了不同反应前驱物和添加剂对碳酸钙样品晶形的影响,利用奥林巴斯显微镜和扫描电镜(SEM)观察晶体形貌,并用X衍射(XRD)和红外光谱(FTIR)对样品进行了表征。实验结果表明,采用柠檬酸钠为添加剂,在反应时间12 h,反应温度120℃,柠檬酸钠浓度2％的工艺条件下,可制得晶须长度约为50～120 μm、长径比为40～100∶1、大小相对均匀的文石型碳酸钙晶须。同时,实验还制得了形貌独特的稻草捆状和竹叶状碳酸钙晶体。     

Utilization of waste bittern from saltern as a source for magnesium and an absorbent for carbon dioxide capture

During solar salt production, large quantities of bittern, a liquid by-product containing high inorganic substance concentrations, are produced. The purpose of this research was to examine the utilization of waste bittern generated from salterns as a source for Mg production and as an absorbent for carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture. The study was conducted in a sequential two-step process. At NaOH/Mg molar ratios of 2.70–2.75 and pH 9.5–10.0, > 99% Mg precipitation from the bittern was achieved. After washing with water, 100–120 g/L of precipitate containing 94% Mg(OH)₂ was recovered from the bittern. At the optimum NH₄OH concentration of 5%, 120 g of sodium bicarbonate precipitate per liter of bittern were recovered, which was equivalent to 63 g CO₂ captured per liter of bittern. These results can be used to support the use of bittern as a resource and reduce economic losses during solar salt production.     

Use of waste recycling coal bottom ash and sugarcane bagasse ash as cement and sand replacement material to produce sustainable concrete

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Concrete is widely used as a building material all over the world, and its use is increasing the demand of cement and sand in the construction...     

Recycling phosphorus and calcium from aquaculture waste as a precursor for hydroxyapatite (HAp) production: a review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Water contaminated with phosphorus needs to be managed efficiently to ensure that clean water sources will be preserved. Aquaculture plays an...     

Residential runoff as a source of pyrethroid pesticides to urban creeks

Pyrethroid pesticides occur in urban creek sediments at concentrations acutely toxic to sensitive aquatic life. To better understand the source of these residues, runoff from residential neighborhoods around Sacramento, California was monitored over the course of a year. Pyrethroids were present in every sample. Bifenthrin, found at up to 73 ng/L in the water and 1211 ng/g on suspended sediment, was the pyrethroid of greatest toxicological concern, with cypermethrin and cyfluthrin of secondary concern. The bifenthrin could have originated either from use by consumers or professional pest controllers, though the seasonal pattern of discharge from the drain was more consistent with professional use as the dominant source. Stormwater runoff was more important than dry season irrigation runoff in transporting pyrethroids to urban creeks. A single intense storm was capable of discharging as much bifenthrin to an urban creek in 3 h as that discharged over 6 months of irrigation runoff.     

Perfluorooctane surfactants in waste waters, the major source of river pollution

Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) are persistent and widely distributed in the environment. Recently, the discharge of municipal waste water has been shown to be an important route of such perfluoroalkyl surfactants into the aquatic environment. The aim of this study was to assess the mass flow of PFOA and PFOS from typical waste water treatment plants (WWTPs) into surface waters. Samples were collected at different stages of treatment of four WWTPs in Northern Bavaria, Germany, and from the rivers receiving the treated waste waters (WW). The outflow of PFOA from the WWTPs to the rivers was 20-fold higher than the inflow to the plants; about a tenth was removed with the sludge. For PFOS, the increase from inlet to outlet was about 3-fold; almost half of it was retained in the sludge. Both surfactants were released into river water from the WWTP of a medium-sized city with domestic, industrial and commercial waste waters; in domestic waste waters the surfactants were found at much lower levels.     

Peat soils as a source of lead contamination to upland fluvial systems

Upland peat soils are generally regarded as effective sinks of atmospherically deposited lead. However, the physical process of erosion has the potential to transform peat soils from sinks to sources of lead contamination. Lead input and fluvial lead outputs (dissolved+particulate) were estimated for a contaminated and severely eroding peatland catchment in the southern Pennines, UK. Lead input to the catchment is 30.0+/-6.0gha(-1)a(-1) and the output from the catchment is 317+/-22.4gha(-1)a(-1). Suspended particulate matter accounts for 85% of lead export. Contaminated peat soils of the catchment are a significant source of lead to the fluvial system. This study has demonstrated strong coupling between the physical process of erosion and the mobilization of lead into the fluvial system. The process of peat erosion should therefore be considered when estimating lead outputs from peatland catchments, especially in the context of climate change.     

House dust as a source of human exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers in Kuwait

This study reports concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in dust samples collected from 17 homes in Kuwait. PBDEs were measured in all homes investigated with mean summation operatorPBDEs concentration ranging from 1 to 393 ng g(-1), with a geometric mean of 76 ng g(-1). The dominant congener in all samples was BDE 209 constituting ca. 85% of the summationPBDEs followed by BDE 99 (5%), BDE 47 (4.5%), and BDE 183 (2%). The congener mixture in dust is dominated by those in deca and penta formulations. Using the measured concentrations and estimates of dust ingestion rates for children and adults, estimated human non-dietary exposure based on mean PBDE levels were 14.8 and 1.5 ng day(-1) for children and adults, respectively. The 10-fold difference in exposure estimates between children and adults in this study supports previous reports that children are at greater risk from pollutants that accumulate indoors. The ubiquitous distribution of these chemicals as noted in this study highlights the fact that we are continuously exposed to low doses of chemicals in the indoor environment.     

Assessing the alteration of physicochemical characteristics in composted organic waste in a prototype decentralized composting facility

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This article presents the pilot experience of an integrated biowaste management system developed in Tinos island, Greece, which promoted source...     

Global trends and status in waste foundry sand management research during the years 1971-2020: a systematic analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Waste foundry sand (WFS) is the by-product of the foundry industry, which is produced about 0.6 tons per 1 ton of foundry industry production. While...     

Quantification and analysis of airborne bacterial characteristics in a nursing care institution

Indoor air quality has become a critical issue because people spend most of their time in the indoor environment. The factors that influence indoor air quality are very important to environmental sanitation and air quality improvement. This study focuses on monitoring air quality, colony counts, and bacteria species of the indoor air of a nursing care institution. The regular colony counts in two different wards range from 55 to 600 cfu m(-3) Regression analysis results indicate that the bacterial colony counts have close correlation with relative humidity or carbon dioxide (CO2) but not with carbon monoxide (CO) or ozone (O3). Real-time PCR was used to quantify the bacterial pathogens of nosocomial infection, including Acinetobacter baumannii, Citrobacter freundii, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus. The most abundant bacteria species in the air of the nursing care institution is E. coli.     

广东某大型城市生活垃圾焚烧厂9种重金属的迁移特征

采集广东某大型城市生活垃圾焚烧厂一期(WI-A)和二期(WI-B)的进厂垃圾、渗滤液、飞灰、底渣和烟气样品,分析了各样品中砷、镉、钴、铬、铜、汞、镍、铅、锌共9种重金属含量,研究重金属的迁移特征。结果显示,9种重金属呈现4类不同的迁移特征,钴、铜、镍、铬主要迁移至底渣中,锌、砷、铅主要迁移至底渣和飞灰中,镉主要迁移至飞灰中,汞主要迁移至飞灰和烟气中。活性炭吸附和布袋除尘器的组合对除汞以外的重金属治理效果明显。WI-A和WI-B垃圾中的汞分别约有28%、37%随烟气排到环境中。