Bioremediation of Chlorobenzene-Contaminated Groundwater on Granular Activated Carbon Barriers

During the past decade, various promising technologies have been developed for the decontamination of groundwater insitu which do not require long-term pumping or high energy consumption. One approach is to use funnel and gate technology. In the case described here, the combination of adsorption of contaminants on granular activated carbon (GAC) and its biodegradation is applied to considerably extend the operating time of the filling material in the barrier system. Monochlorobenzene (MCB), a recalcitrant groundwater contaminant under anaerobic conditions, undergoes high-capacity adsorption on GAC up to about 450 mg per gram. Aerobic enrichment cultures, obtained from a contaminated aquifer, were able to mineralize initially adsorbed MCB. In respirometer experiments the rate of carbon dioxide formation was dependent on the equilibrium concentration of MCB. The oxygen consumption of activated carbon by means of autoxidative reactions may delay aerobic biodegradation in GAC filters. The oxygen uptake of pristine activated carbon amounted to 5.6 mg per gram GAC in laboratory column experiments. When GAC was pre-loaded with MCB, autoxidation rates were considerably reduced. Hence, it is advisable not to stimulate the biodegradation of MCB by oxygen supply in GAC biobarriers until after an initial period of solely sorptive MCB removal from the groundwater flow.     

The dilemma of the mining royalty: contractual or realty interest

At common law, the legal nature of a mining royalty between private parties will decide the respective rights of payor and recipient. In some circumstances, it will also determine whether the interest of the recipient will prevail or may be lost and ignored. Industry practices, even those of long standing, that are contrary to the law will not change the law or its effect to meet such concerns. This paper looks at the development of the mining royalty between private parties in Canada and the effect of the realization by recipients that contractual royalties, as opposed to royalties that are interests in the lands or product to which they relate, can be lost in certain circumstances. Suggestions are made for some features that may assist in transforming an otherwise contractual royalty into a real property interest. Some of the concerns for both payor and recipient with respect to the implementation of such suggestions are also discussed.
The article has two appendices attached. Appendix A is an extract from an article by the author discussing the concept of payment of a royalty in kind which is relevant to such suggestions. Appendix B contains some of the more lengthy explanatory notes referred to in the text of the article.     

The phylogeny of archaebacteria,including novel anaerobic thermoacidophiles in the light of RNA polymerase structure

DNA-dependent RNA polymerases of archaebacteria are distinct from those of eubacteria both in structure and in function. They show similarities to those of the eukaryotic cytoplasm. Extremely thermophilic anaerobic sulfur-respiring archaebacteria isolated from solfataric waters represent four different families, the Thermoproteaceae, the “stiff filaments”, the Desulfurococcaceae and the Thermococcaceae, of a novel order, Thermoproteales. Together with the Sulfolobales, they form the second branch of the urkingdom of the archaebacteria besides that of the methanogens and extreme halophiles. Thermoplasma appears isolated.