Acid soluble bio-organic substances isolated from urban bio-waste. Chemical composition and properties of products

As previous work proposed commercial expectations for soluble bio-organic substances (SBO) isolated from compost of urban food, gardening and park trimming residues as chemical auxiliaries, nine urban bio-wastes (BW) treated by aerobic and anaerobic digestion for 0-360 days were used to extract SBO and investigate source variability effects on product chemical composition and properties. The bio-wastes were collected over a 13732 km² area populated by 2.9 millions from 565 municipalities. The SBO were characterized by their content of different C types and functional groups and by their distribution coefficient (K_PEGW) between polyethylene glycol and water. A significant linear correlation was found between K_PEGW and the lipophilic/hydrophilic C ratio. The investigated SBO exhibited up to sixfold change of K_PEGW demonstrating that BW available from densely populated urban areas are an interesting exploitable source of a wide variety of potential products for the chemical market.     

Refuse derived soluble bio-organics enhancing tomato plant growth and productivity

Municipal bio-refuse (CVD), containing kitchen wastes, home gardening residues and public park trimmings, was treated with alkali to yield a soluble bio-organic fraction (SBO) and an insoluble residue. These materials were characterized using elemental analysis, potentiometric titration, and 13C NMR spectroscopy, and then applied as organic fertilizers to soil for tomato greenhouse cultivation. Their performance was compared with a commercial product obtained from animal residues. Plant growth, fruit yield and quality, and soil and leaf chemical composition were the selected performance indicators. The SBO exhibited the best performance by enhancing leaf chlorophyll content, improving plant growth and fruit ripening rate and yield. No product performance-chemical composition relationship could be assessed. Solubility could be one reason for the superior performance of SBO as a tomato growth promoter. The enhancement of leaf chlorophyll content is discussed to identify a possible link with the SBO photosensitizing properties that have been demonstrated in other work, and thus with photosynthetic performance.     

Sowing simulation tests of a pneumatic drill equipped with systems aimed at reducing the emission of abrasion dust from maize dressed seed

The utilization of dressed seed for spring sowing is a widespread practice to control some pests with reduced doses of chemical products. However some insecticides employed in maize seed dressing, namely belonging to the neonicotinoid family and fipronil, have been claimed to play a role in the decline of honeybees (Apis mellifera L.). Pneumatic drills used in maize sowing are charged with contributing to the dispersion of the abrasion dust produced by dressed seeds, favoring the contamination of the honeybee habitat. Different devices similar to air deflectors have been introduced on pneumatic drills in order to reduce dust drift. During previous field tests carried out by the authors during recent years reduction of dust concentration both in the air and at soil surface has been shown as a consequence of their application. As field tests are affected by the variability of environmental parameters (namely wind speed and direction) the results are not always reliable, comparable and of a general validity. This paper refers to a sowing simulation test system in which pneumatic drills can be tested at a fixed point under controlled conditions of the main environmental parameters. In the test area, protected by external influences, artificial wind conditions are created by means of a fan. The drill, suitably placed in the test area, operates the seed distribution "sur place" by means of an electric engine connected to the drill's driving wheel. A 22.5 m long sampling area, leeward with respect to the drill position, has been identified. Along the sampling area a series of Petri dishes has been placed, with the aim of capturing the depositing dust and providing the concentration of the active ingredients (a.i.) at ground level. At the same time, three air samplers with PTFE diskette filters have been used for the detection of the a.i. The test system has been used for the test of a pneumatic drill, equipped with and without air deflectors, using maize seed dressed with four a. i. (imidacloprid, clothianidin, thiametoxam, fipronil). The results showed regularly decreasing of the concentrations as distance increased, both in the air and at ground level. Moreover, the difference determined by the adoption of the drift reducing device (air deflectors) resulted clear and it can be quantified at around 50 % of the a.i. amounts observed without deflectors. Finally, the paper proposes a data processing method that, from the values observed at fixed point, provides the theoretical a.i. concentration behavior that would occur in field, under the same conditions of wind speed and direction and working speed. The obtained results are coherent with previous field test.     

Alkylphenols in adipose tissues of Italian population

Alkylphenols (APs) and AP ethoxylated compounds (APEs) were screened in human subcutaneous adipose tissue samples from Italy. The samples were collected during bariatric surgery from 16 subjects (three men and 13 women) and a total of seven alkylphenol compounds (APs) was detected. Nonylphenol (NP) was the compound found at the highest level (mean 122 ng g⁻¹ fresh weight; range 10-266 ng g⁻¹ fw). Several nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEOs) were found in all the sample analysed though the frequency of detection decreased with the increasing number of ethoxylic groups. NP4EO was found only in four patients ranging from trace amounts to 41.3 ng g⁻¹ fw. Total nonylphenols (NPEs) ranged between 45 and 1131 ng g⁻¹ fw, whereas the concentration of total octylphenols (OPEs) was at least 10 times lower (range 6-80 ng g⁻¹ fw). Our findings show that the average concentration of NP is about two times higher than that found in women from Southern Spain and up to three times that of people from Switzerland. Similarly, OP mean level is two times that reported in Finland and Spain populations. This is the first study that reports the presence of alkylphenols in the Italian population adipose tissue and it draws a baseline for further researches in order to depict a trend in human exposure to these compounds and to investigate possible consequences for human health.     

Raw sugarcane bagasse as carbon source for xylanase production by Paenibacillus species: a potential degrader of agricultural wastes

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Paenibacillus species isolated from a variety of natural sources have shown to be important glycoside hydrolases producers. These enzymes play a key...     

Determination of cyclic volatile methylsiloxanes in water,sediment, soil,biota, and biosolid using large-volume injection–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

Several methods were developed to detect the cyclic volatile methylsiloxanes (cVMSs) including octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4), decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5), and dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane (D6) in water, sediment, soil, biota, and biosolid samples. Analytical techniques employed to optimize measurement of this compound class in various matrices included membrane-assisted solvent extraction in water, liquid–solid extraction for sediment, soil, biota, and biosolid samples. A subsequent analysis of the extract was conducted by large-volume injection–gas chromatography−mass spectrometry (LVI−GC−MS). These methods employed no evaporative techniques to avoid potential losses and contamination of the volatile siloxanes. To compensate for the inability to improve detection limits by concentrating final sample extract volumes we used a LVI–GC–MS. Contamination during analysis was minimized by using a septumless GC configuration to avoid cVMS’s associated with septum bleed. These methods performed well achieving good linearity, low limits of detection, good precision, recovery, and a wide dynamic range. In addition, stability of cVMS in water and sediment was assessed under various storage conditions. D4 and D5 in Type-I (Milli-Q) water stored at 4 °C were stable within 29 d; however, significant depletion of D6 (60–70%) occurred only after 3 d. Whereas cVMS in sewage influent and effluent were stable at 4 °C within 21 d. cVMS in sediment sealed in amber glass jars at −20 °C and in pentane extracts in vials at −15 °C were stable during 1 month under both storage conditions.     

Exergy and extended exergy accounting of very large complex systems with an application to the province of Siena, Italy

This paper describes the application of exergy and extended exergy analyses to large complex systems. The system to be analysed is assumed to be at steady state, and the input and output fluxes of matter and energy are expressed in units of exergy. Human societies of any reasonable extent are indeed Very Large Complex Systems and can be represented as interconnected networks of N elementary "components", their Subsystems; the detail of the disaggregation depends on the type and quality of the available data. The structural connectivity of the "model" of the System must correctly describe the interactions of each mass or energy flow with each sector of the society: since it is seldom the case that all of these fluxes are available in detail, some preliminary mass- and energy balances must be completed and constitute in fact a part of the initial assumptions. Exergy accounting converts the total amount of resources inflow into their equivalent exergetic form with the help of a table of "raw exergy data" available in the literature. The quantification of each flow on a homogeneous exergetic basis paves the way to the evaluation of the efficiency of each energy and mass transfer between the N sectors and makes it possible to quantify the irreversible losses and identify their sources. The advantage of the EEA, compared to a classical exergy accounting, is the inclusion in the system balance of the exergetic equivalents of three additional "Production Factors": human Labour, Capital and Environmental Remediation costs. EEA has an additional advantage: it allows for the calculation of the efficiency of the domestic sector (impossible to evaluate with any other energy- or exergy-based method) by considering the working hours as its product. As implied in the title, an application of the method was made to a model of the province of Siena (on a year 2000 database): the results show that the sectors of this Province have values of efficiency close to the Italian average, with the exception of the commercial and energy conversion sectors that are more efficient, in agreement with the rather peculiar socio-economic situation of the Province. The largest inefficiency is found to be in the transportation sector, which has an efficiency lower then 30% in EEA and lower than 10% in classical exergy accounting.     

Isomeric analysis of BTEXs in the atmosphere using beta-cyclodextrin capillary chromatography coupled with thermal desorption and mass spectrometry

An analytical method capable of determining trace levels of BTEX-aromatics (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m-, p- and o-xylenes) in the atmosphere with as high resolution as possible has been developed. The method is based on the preconcentration of air samples using a multibed tube (Carbopack C, Carbograph 1) at ambient temperature, followed by thermal desorption, and analysis of aromatic species by a beta-cyclodextrin capillary chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The resolution achieved was sufficient for individual separation of BTEXs as well as m- and p-xylenes. The BTEX-ratios have been determined in an air tunnel and in on-road, suburban and rural forest atmosphere. The ethylbenzene/m-xylene ratios could provide a deep insight into anthropogenic related NMHC patterns at different locations and under different meteorological conditions and may reflect photochemical processes in the best way.