Characterization and pyrolysis of Chlorella vulgaris and Arthrospira platensis: potential of bio-oil and chemical production by Py-GC/MS analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Biofuels have been seen as potential sources to meet future energy demand as a renewable and sustainable energy source. Despite the fact that the...     

Treatment of a clinical analysis laboratory wastewater from a hospital by photo-Fenton process at four radiation settings and toxicity response

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The photo-Fenton process was performed with four radiation settings to treat clinical analysis laboratory wastewater (CALWW) from a hospital, with the...     

CHO cell cytotoxicity and genotoxicity analyses of disinfection by-products: An updated review

The disinfection of drinking water is an important public health service that generates high quality, safe and palatable tap water. The disinfection of drinking water to reduce waterborne disease was an outstanding public health achievement of the 20th century. An unintended consequence is the reaction of disinfectants with natural organic matter, anthropogenic contaminants and bromide/iodide to form disinfection by-products (DBPs). A large number of DBPs are cytotoxic, neurotoxic, mutagenic, genotoxic, carcinogenic and teratogenic. Epidemiological studies demonstrated low but significant associations between disinfected drinking water and adverse health effects. The distribution of DBPs in disinfected waters has been well defined by advances in high precision analytical chemistry. Progress in the analytical biology and toxicology of DBPs has been forthcoming. The objective of this review was to provide a detailed presentation of the methodology for the quantitative, comparative analyses on the induction of cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of 103 DBPs using an identical analytical biological platform and endpoints. A single Chinese hamster ovary cell line was employed in the assays. The data presented are derived from papers published in the literature as well as additional new data and represent the largest direct quantitative comparison on the toxic potency of both regulated and emerging DBPs. These data may form the foundation of novel research to define the major forcing agents of DBP-mediated toxicity in disinfected water and may play an important role in achieving the goal of making safe drinking water better.     

Application of ICP-QMS for the determination of plutonium in environmental samples for safeguards purposes

Aiming to determine the plutonium amount as well as its isotopic composition, in particular, in swipe samples for safeguards purposes, an analytical method was developed with a plutonium separation step based on extraction chromatography using 2 cm TEVA columns and detection with quadrupole ICP-MS applying an ultra-sonic nebulizer coupled with membrane desolvation system. The method was successfully applied to New Brunswick plutonium certified reference materials as well as to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory round robin samples, based on the round robin samples provided by the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (Belgium), as part of the Regular European Interlaboratory Measurement Evaluation Programme (REIMEP), campaign 16 (isotopic abundances of plutonium in plutonium nitrate samples), with a total plutonium amount between 1 and 0.25 ng per sample. After the introduction of an additional separation step, it was also possible to carry out precise and accurate total plutonium, (240)Pu/(239)Pu, (241)Pu/(239)Pu and (242)Pu/(239)Pu atom ratios determination in sediment sample showing its applicability to environmental samples in general, reaching a detection limit equivalent to 5 mBq(239)Pu kg(-1).     

Complex and nonlinear climate-driven changes in freshwater insect communities over 42 years

The ongoing biodiversity crisis becomes evident in the widely observed decline in abundance and diversity of species, profound changes in community structure, and shifts in species’ phenology. Insects are among the most affected groups, with documented decreases in abundance up to 76% in the last 25–30 years in some terrestrial ecosystems. Identifying the underlying drivers is a major obstacle as most ecosystems are affected by multiple stressors simultaneously and in situ measurements of environmental variables are often missing. In our study, we investigated a headwater stream belonging to the most common stream type in Germany located in a nature reserve with no major anthropogenic impacts except climate change. We used the most comprehensive quantitative long-term data set on aquatic insects available, which includes weekly measurements of species-level insect abundance, daily water temperature and stream discharge as well as measurements of additional physicochemical variables for a 42-year period (1969–2010). Overall, water temperature increased by 1.88 °C and discharge patterns changed significantly. These changes were accompanied by an 81.6% decline in insect abundance, but an increase in richness (+8.5%), Shannon diversity (+22.7%), evenness (+22.4%), and interannual turnover (+34%). Moreover, the community's trophic structure and phenology changed: the duration of emergence increased by 15.2 days, whereas the peak of emergence moved 13.4 days earlier. Additionally, we observed short-term fluctuations (<5 years) in almost all metrics as well as complex and nonlinear responses of the community toward climate change that would have been missed by simply using snapshot data or shorter time series. Our results indicate that climate change has already altered biotic communities severely even in protected areas, where no other interacting stressors (pollution, habitat fragmentation, etc.) are present. This is a striking example of the scientific value of comprehensive long-term data in capturing the complex responses of communities toward climate change.     

Fast,cheap, and imperfect? US public opinion about solar geoengineering

ABSTRACT

Solar geoengineering, which seeks to cool the planet by reflecting a small fraction of sunlight back into space, has drawn the attention of scientists and policymakers as climate change remains unabated. Unlike mitigation, solar geoengineering could quickly and cheaply lower global temperatures. It is also imperfect. Its environmental impacts remain unpredictable, and its low cost and immediate effects may result in ‘moral hazard,’ potentially crowding out costly mitigation efforts. There is little understanding about how the public will respond to such tradeoffs. To address this, a 1000-subject nationally representative poll focused on solar geoengineering was conducted as part of the Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES) of the US electorate in October–November 2016. The importance that individuals place on solar geoengineering’s speed and cost predicts their support for it, but there is little to no relationship between their concerns about its shortcomings and support for its research and use. Acquiescence bias appears to be an important factor for attitudes around solar geoengineering and moral hazard.     

Assessing the long-term supply risks for mineral raw materials—a combined evaluation of past and future trends

This paper develops a method for identifying and assessing long-term supply risks for mineral raw materials. The method is based on a combined evaluation of past and future supply and demand trends. By analysing raw material boom and bust cycles over the past 50 years, we have quantified indicators and defined benchmarks for identifying critical market situations. By applying the method, risks for supply shortage may be identified at an early stage. In addition, a numerical evaluation model has been developed for better comparison between various mineral raw materials. Compared to other assessment methods this method uses specific benchmarks for each raw material to better assess supply risks. The method is embedded within a systematic and comprehensive analytical approach.     

Flexible and robust strategies for waste management in Sweden

Treatment of solid waste continues to be on the political agenda. Waste disposal issues are often viewed from an environmental perspective, but economic and social aspects also need to be considered when deciding on waste strategies and policy instruments. The aim of this paper is to suggest flexible and robust strategies for waste management in Sweden, and to discuss different policy instruments. Emphasis is on environmental aspects, but social and economic aspects are also considered. The results show that most waste treatment methods have a role to play in a robust and flexible integrated waste management system, and that the waste hierarchy is valid as a rule of thumb from an environmental perspective. A review of social aspects shows that there is a general willingness among people to source separate wastes. A package of policy instruments can include landfill tax, an incineration tax which is differentiated with respect to the content of fossil fuels and a weight based incineration tax, as well as support to the use of biogas and recycled materials.     

Aboveground biomass and carbon stock are related with soil humidity in a mangrove at the Piraquê-Açu River,Southeastern Brazil

In Brazil, few studies have been conducted about the assimilation of carbon and biomass accumulation in mangroves despite its great role as a carbon sink. In this sense, this study aimed to estimate the aboveground biomass (AGB) and carbon stocked by mangrove species in a stretch along the Piraquê-Açu River in southeastern Brazil, and to verify their relation with some soil parameters. For such, the height and diameter of all trees inside six plots of 100 m² were measured and used to quantify AGB through an allometric equation, and soil samples were collected to calculate granulometry, humidity, time of infiltration and permeability. Multiple regressions were used to identify relations between AGB and soil parameters. A total of 296 trees were found in the area and the AGB and carbon assimilated were 2.92 t ha^?1 and 1.46 t ha^?1, respectively. Laguncularia racemosa was the most abundant species and contributed with 61% of these values. Only a positive relation between AGB/carbon of L. racemosa and soil humidity was found, probably due to the substrate characteristics which contain a large concentration of silt/clay, and may store more water and do not yet provide firmness to the roots. By comparison, this mangrove had a low amount of AGB and carbon stocked and has yet to develop structurally. Along with other ecological functions and its associated ecosystem services such as supplying food for the local community, these features highlight the importance to conserve the studied mangrove and the interlinked coastal ecosystems.