Expanding the valorization of waste mushroom substrates in agricultural production: progress and challenges

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Waste mushroom substrate (WMS) generated in large quantities from mushroom production process has caused severe environmental pollution. As a...     

Compatibility analysis of material and energy recovery in a regional solid waste management system

The rising prices of raw materials and concerns about energy conservation have resulted in an increasing interest in the simultaneous recovery of materials and energy from waste streams. Compatibility exists for several economic, environmental, and managerial reasons. Installing an on-site or off-site presorting facility before an incinerator could be a feasible alternative to achieve both goals if household recycling programs cannot succeed in local communities. However, the regional impacts of presorting solid waste on a waste-to-energy facility remain unclear because of the inherent complexity of solid waste compositions and properties over different areas. This paper applies a system-based approach to assess the impact of installing a refuse-derived fuel (RDF) process before an incinerator. Such an RDF process, consisting of standard unit operations of shredding, magnetic separation, trommel screening, and air classification, might be useful for integrating the recycling and presorting efforts for a large-scale municipal incinerator from a regional sense. An optimization modeling analysis is performed to characterize such integration potential so that the optimal size of the RDF process and associated shipping patterns for flow control can be foreseen. It aims at exploring how the waste inflows with different rates of generation, physical and chemical compositions, and heating values collected from differing administrative districts can be processed by either a centralized presorting facility or an incinerator to meet both the energy recovery and throughput requirements. A case study conducted in Taipei County, which is one of the most densely populated metropolitan areas in Taiwan, further confirms the application potential of such a cost-benefit analysis.     

Assessment of the detection abilities of monitoring networks for passive tracers at local and regional scales

We propose a method to evaluate the detection abilities of networks used for protection purposes. Such networks are designed for the detection of nuclear, biological or gaseous emissions, without constraint on the source location. Their assigned goal is to have the best chance to detect a threatening emission located anywhere in the vicinity of a domain to protect. Two sensors siting applications are addressed: sensors placed in the surroundings of a facility to protect, or sensors carried by people scattered within a small area. A network protection ability is related both to its detection scope, and to its response time. To assess the performance of such networks, two statistical indicators are therefore designed: the detection probability, computed on a large number of possible source locations, and the saturation time, which is the time when the maximum detection probability has been reached.Simulations are then carried out with the Polyphemus air quality modeling system for many emission scenarios, including 961 possible source locations, various emitted species, and a few representative meteorological situations. This allows to assess the performance of single sensors as well as full networks, and their sensitivity to parameters like meteorological conditions and source characteristics. The emitted quantity and meteorological dispersion are found to be important parameters, whereas the species type does not significantly influence the results. Two network design methods are considered: (1) networks composed of a given number of the “best” sensors according to an indicator, and (2) sensors placed in circles around the protected domain. The networks built with respect to the detection probability show good results with a limited number of sensors, while the saturation time is not reliable enough to build networks. The networks based on circles also show a good performance in the studied cases, provided there is a sufficient number of sensors.     

Effect of industrial waste products on phosphorus mobilisation and biomass production in abattoir wastewater irrigated soil

This study evaluated the effect of alkaline industrial by-products such as flyash (FA) and redmud (RM) on phosphorus (P) mobilisation in abattoir wastewater irrigated soils, using incubation, leaching and plant growth (Napier grass [Pennisetum purpureum]) experiments. The soil outside the wastewater irrigated area was also collected and treated with inorganic (KH₂PO₄ [PP]) and organic (poultry manure [PM]) P treatments, to study the effect of FA and RM on P mobilisation using plant growth experiment. Among the amendments, FA showed the highest increase in Olsen P, oxalic acid content and phosphatase activity. The highest increase in Olsen P for PM treated non-irrigated soils showed the ability of FA and RM in mobilising organic P better than inorganic P (PP). There was over 85 % increase in oxalic acid content in the plant growth soils compared to the incubated soil, showing the effect of Napier grass in the exudation of oxalic acid. Both amendments (FA and RM) showed an increase in phosphatase activity at over 90 % at the end of the 5-week incubation period. The leaching experiment indicated a decrease in water soluble P thereby ensuring the role of FA and RM in minimising P loss to water bodies. FA and RM showed an increase in plant biomass for all treatments, where FA amended soil showed the highest increase as evident from FA’s effect on Olsen P. Therefore, the use of FA and RM mobilised P in abattoir wastewater irrigated soils and increased biomass production of Napier grass plants through root exudation of oxalic acid.     

温度和初始pH对农业固体废物暗发酵产氢的影响

以猪粪、鸡粪、玉米秸秆、餐厨垃圾和厨余垃圾等5种农业固体废物为底物,采用修正的Gompertz模型,研究了典型农业固体废物暗发酵产氢动力学和代谢产物变化规律,探讨了不同温度和初始pH条件下的主要产氢代谢途径。结果表明：温度和初始pH对农业固体废物暗发酵产氢具有显著影响;高温组累积产气量和氢气百分含量显著高于中温组。在55 ℃高温且pH为6.0的条件下,餐厨垃圾暗发酵产氢效果最佳,累积产气量和氢气百分含量最大,为1 100 mL和73.58%,最大产氢速率和产氢潜力分别为37.11 mL·h⁻¹和660.30 mL;厨余垃圾暗发酵产氢效果次之,鸡粪产氢潜力最差。在暗发酵产氢末期,以鸡粪为底物的代谢产物的氨氮浓度最高,过高的氨氮浓度可能抑制了产氢过程。VFA分析表明：不同底物和条件下丁酸浓度均最高,且含有少量乙醇、乙酸、丙酸等;暗发酵产氢代谢途径是以丁酸型发酵为主的混合型发酵。通过温度、初始pH等非生物性控制因素的优化调控,显著提高了农业固体废物暗发酵产氢潜力和底物利用效率,为生物制氢的技术研发与工程应用提供参考。     

A facilitating framework for a developing country to adopt smart waste management in the context of circular economy

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - To achieve higher standards of sustainability, the waste management sector now requires the incorporation of circular economy (CE) principles....     

Modeling and spatially distributing forest net primary production at the regional scale

Forest, agricultural, rangeland, wetland, and urban landscapes have different rates of carbon sequestration and total carbon sequestration potential under alternative management options. Changes in the proportion and spatial distribution of land use could enhance or degrade that area's ability to sequester carbon in terrestrial ecosystems. As the ecosystems within a landscape change due to natural or anthropogenic processes, they may go from being a carbon sink to a carbon source or vice versa. Satellite image analysis has been tested for timely and accurate measurement of spatially explicit land use change and is well suited for use in inventory and monitoring of terrestrial carbon. The coupling of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data with a physiologically based forest productivity model (PnET-II) and historic climatic data provides an opportunity to enhance field plot-based forest inventory and monitoring methodologies. We use periodic forest inventory data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program to obtain estimates of forest area and type and to generate estimates of carbon storage for evergreen, deciduous, and mixed-forest classes. The area information is used in an accuracy assessment of remotely sensed forest cover at the regional scale. The map display of modeled net primary production (NPP) shows a range of forest carbon storage potentials and their spatial relationship to other landscape features across the southern United States. This methodology addresses the potential for measuring and projecting forest carbon sequestration in the terrestrial biosphere of the southern United States.     

An optimal model and its application for the management of municipal solid waste from regional small cities in China

Based on the basic characteristics of municipal solid waste (MSW) from regional small cities in China, some optimal management principles have been put forward: regional optimization, long-term optimization, and integrated treatment/disposal optimization. According to these principles, an optimal MSW management model for regional small cities is developed and provides a useful method to manage MSW from regional small cities. A case study application of the optimal model is described and shows that the optimal management scenarios in the controlling region can be gained, adequately validating and accounting for the advantages of the optimal model.     

The use of mosses and pine needles to detect persistent organic pollutants at local and regional scales

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analysed in mosses (Hypnum cupressiforme) and pine needles (Pinus sylvestris) collected in the Czech Republic between 1988-94 at a regional background site in Kosetice, south Bohemia (1988-94) and two industrial sources. One industrial site (sampled 1989-91) in middle Moravia, was near a factory producing PAHs, carbon black and phthalates, the other (sampled 1991-93) near a coal and gas fuel production plant in western Bohemia. Selected chlorinated pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyl congeners were also analysed in samples at the regional background site. This study clearly shows that vegetation sampling can be used to show spatial differences in the atmospheric burden of a range of persistent organic pollutants with differences in the mixtures of compounds reflecting differences in their regional or local use/atmospheric emission.     

Changes in soil quality and below-ground carbon storage with conversion of traditional agricultural crop lands to bioenergy crop production

Berm-isolated (0.5 ha) plots have been used since 1995 to quantify changes in soil and water quality with conversion from agricultural to bioenergy crops. Soil quality improvements, including increases in soil carbon storage, have occurred on sites planted to woody or herbaceous species, and no-till corn compared with tilled corn or cotton. Initial increases in soil carbon occurred within the upper 10 cm of the soil profile. Soil carbon on plantings of switchgrass, no-till corn, and sweetgum with a cover crop between the rows increased over the first 3 years. Soil carbon decreased by 6% on the sweetgum plantings without a cover crop and remained lower through the fifth growing season. Overall, the greatest increases in below ground carbon storage have occurred primarily within the upper 40 cm. Former land use, growth characteristics, management practices, and soil characteristics appear to be the primary factors determining the timing, depth. and extent of changes in soil carbon storage for bioenergy and no-till crops.     

Geographic variations in anthropogenic drivers that influence the vulnerability and resilience of social-ecological systems

Across the circumpolar North large disparities in the distribution of renewable and nonrenewable resources, human population density, capital investments, and basic residential and transportation infrastructure combine to create recognizable hotspots of recent and foreseeable change. Northern Fennoscandia exemplifies a relatively benign situation due to its current economic and political stability. Northern Russia is experiencing rapid, mostly negative changes reflecting the general state of crisis since the collapse of the Soviet Union. North America enjoys a relatively stable regulatory structure to mitigate environmental degradation associated with industry, but is on the verge of approving massive new development schemes that would significantly expand the spatial extent of potentially affected social-ecological systems. Institutional or regulatory context influences the extent to which ecosystem services are buffered against environmental change. With or without a warming climate, certain geographic areas appear especially vulnerable to damages that may threaten their ability to supply goods and services in the near future. Climate change may exacerbate this situation in some places but may offer opportunities to enhance resilience in the long term.     

Integrated analysis of the effects of agricultural management on nitrogen fluxes at landscape scale

The integrated modelling system INITIATOR was applied to a landscape in the northern part of the Netherlands to assess current nitrogen fluxes to air and water and the impact of various agricultural measures on these fluxes, using spatially explicit input data on animal numbers, land use, agricultural management, meteorology and soil. Average model results on NH₃ deposition and N concentrations in surface water appear to be comparable to observations, but the deviation can be large at local scale, despite the use of high resolution data. Evaluated measures include: air scrubbers reducing NH₃ emissions from poultry and pig housing systems, low protein feeding, reduced fertilizer amounts and low-emission stables for cattle. Low protein feeding and restrictive fertilizer application had the largest effect on both N inputs and N losses, resulting in N deposition reductions on Natura 2000 sites of 10% and 12%, respectively.     

Impact of anthropogenic emissions and open biomass burning on regional carbonaceous aerosols in South China

Carbonaceous aerosols were studied at three background sites in south and southwest China. Hok Tsui in Hong Kong had the highest concentrations of carbonaceous aerosols (OC = 8.7 ± 4.5 μg/m³, EC = 2.5 ± 1.9 μg/m³) among the three sites, and Jianfeng Mountains in Hainan Island (OC = 5.8 ± 2.6 μg/m³, EC = 0.8 ± 0.4 μg/m³) and Tengchong mountain over the east edge of the Tibetan Plateau (OC = 4.8 ± 4.0 μg/m³, EC = 0.5 ± 0.4 μg/m³) showed similar concentration levels. Distinct seasonal patterns with higher concentrations during the winter, and lower concentrations during the summertime were observed, which may be caused by the changes of the regional emissions, and monsoon effects. The industrial and vehicular emissions in East, Southeast and South China, and the regional open biomass burning in the Indo-Myanmar region of Asia were probably the two major potential sources for carbonaceous matters in this region.     

An urban emissions inventory for South America and its application in numerical modeling of atmospheric chemical composition at local and regional scales

This work describes the development of an urban vehicle emissions inventory for South America, based on the analysis and aggregation of available inventories for major cities, with emphasis on its application in regional atmospheric chemistry modeling. Due to the limited number of available local inventories, urban emissions were extrapolated based on the correlation between city vehicle density and mobile source emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Emissions were geographically distributed using a methodology that delimits urban areas using high spatial resolution remote sensing products. This numerical algorithm enabled a more precise representation of urban centers. The derived regional inventory was evaluated by analyzing the performance of a chemical weather forecast model in relation to observations of CO, NOx and O₃ in two different urban areas, São Paulo and Belo Horizonte. The gas mixing ratios simulated using the proposed regional inventory show good agreement with observations, consistently representing their hourly and daily variability. These results show that the integration of municipal inventories in a regional emissions map and their precise distribution in fine scale resolutions are important tools in regional atmospheric chemistry modeling.     

Utilization of Arachis hypogaea hull,an agricultural waste for the production of activated carbons to remove phenol from aqueous solutions

Arachis hypogaea hulls, an agricultural waste, were used to prepare activated carbon by chemical activation with zinc chloride under four different activation atmospheres. The most important parameter in chemical activation was found to be the chemical ratio (activating agent/precursor). Carbonization temperature and time are the other two important variables, which had significant effect on the pore structure of carbon. The maximum Brunquer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area and micropore volume of the activated carbon was found to be 418 m²/g and 0.28 cm³/g, respectively. The activated carbon developed shows substantial capability to adsorb phenol from aqueous solutions. The kinetic data were fitted to the models of intraparticle diffusion, pseudo-second-order, and Lagergren, and followed more closely the pseudo-second-order chemisorption model. The isotherm equilibrium data were well fitted by the Langmuir and Freundlich models. Solution pH has significant effect on adsorption and the maximum uptake of phenol was reported at pH 3.5.     

Utilization of Arachis hypogaea hull, an agricultural waste for the production of activated carbons to remove phenol from aqueous solutions

Arachis hypogaea hulls, an agricultural waste, were used to prepare activated carbon by chemical activation with zinc chloride under four different activation atmospheres. The most important parameter in chemical activation was found to be the chemical ratio (activating agent/precursor). Carbonization temperature and time are the other two important variables, which had significant effect on the pore structure of carbon. The maximum Brunquer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area and micropore volume of the activated carbon was found to be 418 m(2)/g and 0.28 cm(3)/g, respectively. The activated carbon developed shows substantial capability to adsorb phenol from aqueous solutions. The kinetic data were fitted to the models of intraparticle diffusion, pseudo-second-order, and Lagergren, and followed more closely the pseudo-second-order chemisorption model. The isotherm equilibrium data were well fitted by the Langmuir and Freundlich models. Solution pH has significant effect on adsorption and the maximum uptake of phenol was reported at pH 3.5.     

The concept of circular economy strategy in food waste management for the optimization of energy production through anaerobic digestion

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Food waste management (FWM) is considered to be an extremely important social issue besides an environmental one. Worldwide, it is estimated that 1.3...     

植物滞留系统中磷污染物的迁移转化

植物滞留系统作为一种低影响开发 (LID) 雨水管理措施,能有效去除雨水径流中的各种污染物。为探究磷污染物在介质中的运移机理尤其是介质中磷形态的运移,通过对填料层土壤介质施加不同添加剂对磷的去除效果,以及介质中各形态磷转化机理进行研究。结果表明：土壤介质添加剂为葡萄糖、淀粉时,加入淀粉的混合介质对磷的去除率比土壤介质高,对介质中稳定有机磷及中等稳定有机磷含量变化情况没有明显影响,但介质中铁磷有一定增加。与土壤介质相比,土壤与粉煤灰混合介质对磷的去除率明显提高,且混合介质中的水溶性磷、钙磷、铝磷增加量明显增大。改变人工模拟雨水pH的实验结果显示,在含氧量高的土壤介质表层,当模拟雨水pH为7~12,介质中的无机磷中水溶性磷的增加量明显;然而,当pH小于7时,介质中的无机磷中水溶性磷 (Ads-P) 的增加量微弱。柱实验表明,在植物滞留系统深度为40 cm处开始,随着深度的增加,雨水径流的出水中各类磷的质量分数降低趋势变得缓慢。其中,每组实验柱对磷去除率的平均值由大到小的顺序为：粉煤 灰+砂土>砂土>淀粉+砂土。随着深度的增加,这3组实验柱介质中的铝磷和中等活性有机磷均减少。该研究成果可为植物滞留系统磷污染物的迁移转化提供参考。     

Expatiating the impact of anthropogenic aspects and climatic factors on long-term soil monitoring and management

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This article is an extensive collection of scientific literature related to the impact of fertilizers on soil microbial and enzymatic activity. Due to...     

温度及时间对污泥和餐厨垃圾保存特性的影响

为确定污泥和餐厨垃圾在不同条件下的保存期限,以夏、冬季取样的污泥和餐厨垃圾为研究对象,考察了其在4、20、和35 ℃条件下自身理化性质随保存时间的变化情况。通过总糖、总蛋白质、NH₃-N、pH和总挥发性脂肪酸(TVFA)等理化指标和乳酸、乙酸等有机酸的变化规律确定其最佳保存期限。结果表明,在污泥保存过程中,总糖、总蛋白质表现为下降趋势,NH₃-N和pH则持续上升,整体表现为随着保存温度的升高,总糖、总蛋白质、NH₃-N和pH的上升和下降趋势更加明显;餐厨垃圾在各保存条件下均出现明显的变质酸化现象,其中,乳酸为最主要有机酸。冬季和夏季取样污泥在4 ℃环境中分别可以保存30 d和15 d;对于餐厨垃圾,冬季取样时可在4 ℃环境中保存1 d,而在其他情况下均达不到理想的保存效果。