Influence of aeration rate and biodegradability fractionation on composting kinetics

The influences of aeration rate and biodegradability fractionation on biodegradation kinetics during composting were studied. The first step was the design of a suitable lab-reactor that enabled the simulation of composting. The second step comprised of composting trials of six blends of sludge (originating from a food processing effluent) with wood chips using aeration rates of 1.69, 3.62, 3.25, 8.48, 11.98 and 16.63 L/h/kg DM of mixture. Biodegradation was evaluated by respiration measurements and from the analysis of the substrate (dry matter, organic matter, total carbon and chemical oxygen demand removal). Continuous measurement of oxygen consumption was coupled with the analysis of initial substrate and composted product for chemical oxygen demand (in the soluble and non-soluble fractions), which enabled an evaluation of the organic matter biodegradability. Oxygen requirements to remove both the easily and slowly biodegradable fractions were determined. Dividing the substrate into different parts according to biodegradability allowed explanation of the influence of aeration rate on stabilization kinetics. Considering that the biodegradation kinetics were of the first-order, the kinetic constants of the easily and slowly biodegradable fractions were calculated as a function of temperature. The methodology presented here allows the comparison of organic wastes in terms of their content of easily and slowly biodegradable fractions and the respective biodegradation kinetics.     

Effect of Sugar Palm Fiber (SPF) to the Structural and Optical Properties of Bioplastics (SPF/Starch/Chitosan/Polypropylene) in supporting Mechanical Properties and Degradation Performance

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Recycling plastic waste by mix with natural polymers for bio-plastic packaging produces plastics with high mechanical properties and easily degradable. In...     

Elution control of radioactive cesium in MSWI fly ash using water repellent treatment

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Radioactive cesium found in municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash can be easily eluted through contact with environmentally sourced...     

Treatment of waste water from refuse incineration plants

The waste-water purification systems used at the Bamberg waste incinerator are described as an example of how easily such critical waste water can be treated. Water from flue gas scrubbers and ash washing which contains mercury, heavy metals and salts is precipitated with lime and trimercaptotriazine (TMT15) in two stages to produce an effluent that meets the strong discharge standards of the F.R.G.     

凹凸棒土吸附剂的制备和脱色性能研究

用以凹凸棒土为主料，配以其呛助剂所制备的凹凸棒土吸附剂，对癸二酸单钠盐 进行了吸附脱色和再生性能的试验，结果表明：该吸附剂具有明显的吸附脱色效果，且其制原料价廉易得，制备工艺简单，成本低，再生容易，是一种较好的脱色吸附型净化剂。     

超临界二氧化碳在环境保护中的应用

超临界CO2具有气体的低粘度、高扩散系数和液体的高密度特性，且具有化学惰性，无毒、无腐蚀性，临界状态容易实现，是一种性能优良的环境友好溶剂。文章概述了超临界CO2在去除环境污染物、取代传统工艺助剂或溶剂以减少有机物和废水排放以及分析测试等方面的应用。     

Pulverization of waste printed circuit boards

A new pulverization method to reduce the volume of waste printed circuit boards is reported. About 50% of printed circuit boards with integrate circuits (ICs) could be pulverized by our method in one 20-min batch, but boards without ICs could not be pulverized. By repeating the process three times, about 95% of printed circuit boards with ICs could be made into a fine powder with particles less than 106µm. A weight-drop test was also performed to examine the strength of the printed circuit boards and clarify the mechanism of pulverization. When a weight was dropped on the solder-welding side of the board ruptures occurred more easily than when the weight was dropped on the IC-mounted side. With a heavy weight, the IC was fractured more easily when the potential energy was low. Where the stress was concentrated, two types of rupture location were found on printed circuit boards with ICs. One was where the IC was connected to the printed circuit board. The other was where the surface had undulations. It also became clear that the fracture of printed circuit boards depends on the impacting weight rather than on the potential energy.     

Photosensitized Oxidation of Cyanide in Aqueous Solutions of Photoactive Modified Hydroxyethylcellulose

Novel water-soluble polymeric photosensitizers based on a natural polymer, naphthalene-modified hydroxyethylcellulose (HENC), were obtained and used for the photooxidation of cyanide. The reaction leads to the formation of cyanate. The process occurs via photoinduced electron transfer from CN⁻ to the naphthalene or naphthoquinone polymeric chromophores. The kinetics of the reaction depend on the degree of substitution of HENC, its concentration, and pH of the solution. The polymers can be easily removed after reaction as prolonged irradiation leads to their photodegradation.     

Development of composite materials by mechanochemical treatment of post-consumer plastic waste

Improvement of mechanical properties of recycled mixed plastic waste is one of the fundamental goals in any recycling process. However, polymer immiscibility makes the development of any effective reprocessing method difficult. In this work, a polymer milling process with liquid CO2 was applied to polymeric mixed waste, obtaining a powder material which was successfully utilized as a matrix for a new composite material. Developed materials have interesting mechanical properties and material performance can easily be improved. Investigations on selected mixtures of PP and PE clearly showed evidence of chemical compatibilization.     

An Improved Technique for Determining Abundance of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Degrading Microbial Populations

The current study describes an improved method for estimating the abundance of polycyclic aramatic hydrocarbon (PAH) degraders in contaminated soil and groundwater. Since the method is a simple incremental improvement to a commonly used approach, it can be easily introduced into the remediation practitioner's testing protocols by simply changing growth indicator dyes. The procedure described is relatively easy to conduct and provides an important addition to laboratories that are using conventional, nonmolecular techniques for microbial enumeration in their bioremediation programs. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

锅炉大修后酸洗中的几个关键问题

电站锅炉的酸洗可以有效地清除管道内的氧化物、污垢、焊渣等,提高水汽品质和机组运行的安全性能。针对锅炉材料及酸洗中易出现的问题,提出了酸洗工作应注意清洗液选配、酸洗管路设计、酸洗关键参数控制、酸洗后废液处理及酸洗中安全事项等关键技术,可为锅炉酸洗提供技术指导,保证酸洗工作的有效性和安全性。     

多金属氧酸盐非均相光催化降解处理有机废水的研究进展

非均相光催化氧化是一种催化剂易于回收利用且研究广泛的高级氧化技术。本文综述了多金属氧酸盐(POMs)非均相光催化降解废水中有机污染物的研究现状。该类非均相光催化剂主要包括负载型POMs(载体主要有半导体氧化物、离子交换树脂和分子筛)、POMs复合膜材料、不溶性盐和多元复合物。讨论了其制备方法、降解效果、反应机理和重复使用性。最后,指出了该领域未来可能的研究方向,为该领域的进一步研究提供参考。     

Agrochemical characterisation of the solid by-products and residues from the winery and distillery industry

The winery and distillery industry produces a great quantity of residues, whose management and disposal are environmental problems due to their seasonal character and some polluting characteristics. The main solid by-products and residues generated are grape stalk, grape pomace or marc, wine lee, exhausted grape marc and winery sludge. In this study, 87 samples of winery and distillery residues were collected from different Spanish wineries and distilleries. Electrical conductivity, pH, total organic matter, organic carbon, polyphenols and contents of plant nutrients and heavy metals were determined. The purpose of this research was to study the composition of these wastes and to find relationships in order to use easily analysable parameters to estimate their composition. In general, the winery and distillery residues showed low pH (mean values ranged from 3.8 to 6.8) and electrical conductivity values (1.62-6.15 dS m(-1)) and high organic matter (669-920 g kg(-1)) and macronutrient contents, especially in K (11.9-72.8 g kg(-1)). However, a notable polyphenol concentration (1.2-19.0 g kg(-1)) and low micronutrient and heavy metal contents were also observed, some of these properties being incompatible with agricultural requirements. Therefore, conditioning treatments are necessary prior to possible use of these wastes. In all wastes, significant correlations were found between easily determined parameters, such as pH, electrical conductivity and total organic matter, and most of the parameters studied. The regression models obtained are also discussed.     

Concentrations of heavy metals in fly ash from a coal-fired power plant with respect to the new Finnish limit values

In Finland, the new limit values for heavy metals in fertilizers used in agriculture and in forestry came into force in March 2007, and for materials used as earth construction agents, in June 2006. From the utilization point of view, it was notable that the total heavy metal concentrations (Cd, Cu, Pb, Cr, Mo, Zn, As, Ni, Ba, and Hg) in fly ash from a coal-fired power plant were lower than those limit values. The concentrations of the easily soluble elements Ca, Mg, Na, P, and Zn in the fly ash were between 3.5 and 35 times higher than those found in the coarse mineral soils of Finland. Fly ash is a potential agent for soil remediation and for improving soil fertility. If inorganic materials and by-products are utilized in earthworks, the content of harmful compounds must be low and the harmful components must be tightly bound to the matrix. Therefore, a five-stage sequential extraction procedure was used to evaluate the extractability of different elements in fly ash into the following fractions: (1) the water-soluble fraction, (2) the exchangeable fraction (CH₃COOH), (3) the easily reduced fraction (NH₂OH-HCl), (4) the oxidizable fraction (H₂O₂ + CH₃COONH₄), and (5) the residual fraction (HF + HNO₃ + HCl).     

废旧商品回收体系建设要略初探

国务院总理温家宝召开国务院常务会议,部署建立完整的先进的废旧商品回收体系,指出,中国废旧商品回收体系很不完善,不仅影响废物利用,而且极易造成环境污染,建立完整、先进的回收、运输、处理、利用废旧商品回收体系已刻不容缓。作为再生资源回收行业的主力军,供销社在废旧商品回收体系建设中如何应对并开展工作,对此进行了全面的探讨。     

Toxicity screening of biodegradable polymers. I. Selection and evaluation of cell culture test methods

A screening test method for potential toxicity of biodegradable plastics on humans and the environment was selected and evaluated with samples of cellulose acetate, Bionolle, polyhydroxybutyrate-co-valerate (Biopol), and polycaprolactone (Tone polymer). Among the standardin vitro tests using animal cell cultures for the evaluation of biomedical materials, the test by direct contact and the test with extract were examined. Qualitative and quantitative determinations of the cell viability and morphology indicate that the test with extracts can be easily performed, providing reproducible and comparable results for all materials. Using the cell culture test with the extract of sterile samples, an estimation of the toxicity of a new polymeric material can be obtained within a few weeks.     

磁载光催化剂ZnO/SiO_2-Fe_3O_4的光催化活性

采用液相沉积法制备出了纳米SiO_2-Fe_3O_4复合粒子,并在其表面负载ZnO,得到了易于磁性固液分离的磁载光催化剂ZnO/SiO_2-Fe_3O_4,并通过傅立叶红外光谱仪、X射线衍射仪和透射电子显微镜等对光催化剂进行了表征.以亚甲基蓝为目标降解物,研究了光催化剂在紫外光下的光催化活性.实验结果表明,在Fe_3O_4和ZnO之间包覆一层无定形SiO_2可使亚甲基蓝降解率由20.34%提高到94.52%,所制备的ZnO/SiO_2-Fe_3O_4在3次重复使用后仍能保持较好的光催化性能.     

Assessing the true cost of landfills

The most common means for disposing of municipal solid waste is burial in a sanitary landfill. However, many landfill owners significantly underestimate the total cost of landfill disposal by considering only land and operating costs, ignoring external physical and social costs associated with landfills. This paper proposes an approach to estimating (in monetary terms) the external costs arising from the development and operation of a landfill. All cost information is based on typical U.S. landfill cost structures. The approach is illustrated by applying it to a case study of a proposed landfill in Durham, North Carolina (U.S.A.). This case study demonstrates that the method can be applied easily and yields reasonable results.     

Spectral Characterization of Four Kinds of Biodegradable Plastics: Poly (Lactic Acid), Poly (Butylenes Adipate-Co-Terephthalate), Poly (Hydroxybutyrate-Co-Hydroxyvalerate) and Poly (Butylenes Succinate) with FTIR and Raman Spectroscopy

Fourier transform infrared microscope and confocal Raman spectroscope were employed in this study to investigate four kinds of biodegradable plastics: poly(lactic acid),poly(butylenes adipate-co-terephthalate), poly(butylenes succinate) and poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate), which are used more and more popularly in everyday life but can not be identified easily with other instruments. Infrared and Raman spectra of the plastics were tentatively interpreted. The indicative peaks to characterize the four polymers were also summarized. The result in this study can help the forensic scientists discriminate the plastics accurately when they occurred as trace evidences in cases, it also offers the producer and environment scientists an effective, non-invasive and fast method to characterize and identify these four polymers.     

Seasonal effects on anaerobic digestion of the source sorted organic fraction of municipal solid waste

The effects of seasonal temperature change on the quality of easily degradable organic matter in municipal solid waste was monitored and the related influence on the anaerobic digester performance examined. It was verified that increased external temperature caused the transformation of the ethanol contained in the source—sorted organic fraction of municipal solid waste fed to the digester, into acetate. This transformation has been associated with a remarkable effect on the process kinetics of substrate utilization. Thus, the kinetic constant for the first order substrate utilization model in the summer (external temperature greater than 18–20 °C) doubled with respect to the winter, although the digester was held at 35 ± 2 °C throughout.