The use of ion exchange membranes for isotope analyses on soil water sulfate: laboratory experiments

To investigate the potential use of anion exchange membranes (plant root simulator [PRS] probes) for isotope investigations of the soil sulfur cycle, laboratory experiments were performed to examine the sulfate exchange characteristics and to determine the extent of sulfur and oxygen isotope fractionation during sulfate sorption and desorption on the probes in aqueous solutions and simulated soil solutions. The sulfate-exchange tests in aqueous solutions under varying experimental conditions indicated that the amount of sulfate exchanged onto PRS probes increased with increasing reaction time, initial sulfate concentration, and the number of probes used (= surface area), whereas the percentage of removal of available sulfate was constant irrespective of the initial sulfate concentration. The competition of nitrate and chloride in the solution lowered the amount of exchanged sulfate. The exchange experiments in a simulated soil under water-saturated and water-unsaturated conditions showed that a considerable proportion of the soil sulfate was exchanged by the PRS probes after about 10 d. There was no evidence for significant sulfur and oxygen isotope fractionation between soil sulfate and sulfate recovered from the PRS probes. Therefore, we recommend the use of PRS probes as an efficient and easy way to collect soil water sulfate for determination of its isotope composition.     

Evaluation of PCDD/Fs characterization in animal feed and feed additives

Safety control of feed and feed additives is necessary to have safe food of animal origin. Based on media reports, nine incidents regarding dioxins and/or PCBs contaminations occurred worldwide during the last decade. Korea is a country which imports feed and feed additives. In this study, various kinds of feed and feed additives were analyzed to monitor the contamination level of dioxins. The level of PCDD/Fs in fish oil was the highest with a concentration of 23.33ngkg(-1), which is equivalent to a toxicological concentration of 4.68ngWHO-TEQ/kg. Feed from animals origin such as chicken meal, animal fat, fish meal, fish oil, and shell powder showed relatively higher concentrations of PCDD/Fs. Feed from plants origin, minerals, and additives ranged from non-detects for bit pulp and ethoxyquin to 8.28ngkg(-1) for dl-methionine. From a toxicological point of view, the highest concentration in vitamins was 0.08ngWHO-TEQ/kg among the feed additives. 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF was the dominant congener in samples of fish oil, fish meal, and shell powder. Animal fat showed that the pattern of PCDD/Fs depends on the sources of contamination. A sample of animal fat showed 1,2,3,4,7,8-HxCDF and the other sample showed 1,2,3,4,7,8-HxCDD as a primary congener. Generally, low levels of PCDDs were detected in feed additives. Patterns of PCDD/Fs in choline chloride were different with that in choline chloride from an incident in Europe in 2000.     

Interpreting complex geochemistry of groundwater in a coastal paddy field near a mine using isotopic signatures of sulfate and water

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - In the area around the abandoned Seoseong mine, South Korea, coastal paddy fields undergo seawater intrusion and possible sulfate reduction. Here, channel...     

Urban energy mining from sewage sludge

This work showed that sewage sludge could be a strong candidate for biodiesel production. High lipid content (18–20%) with C_16?18-carbon range was experimentally identified and measured. These lipids from sewage sludge were converted into biodiesel via the transesterification reaction with MgO–CaO/Al₂O₃ derived from magnesium slag, and biodiesel conversion was ～98%. The experimental work enabled explaining that temperature is the main driving force for the transesterification reaction, which can be enhanced in the presence of CO₂. This also enables combination of esterification of free fatty acids and transesterification of triglycerides into a single process within 1 min in the temperature range of 350–500 °C. Sewage sludge residue after extracting lipids was also a good feedstock for recovering energy via thermo-chemical processes. The impact of CO₂ co-feed on the pyrolysis/gasification process of SS residue was also investigated in this work. The CO₂ injected into the thermo-chemical process remarkably increased the generation of CO by a factor of 2. Moreover, the introduction of CO₂ into the pyrolysis/gasification process enabled reducing condensable hydrocarbons (tar) by expediting cracking; thus, utilizing CO₂ as chemical feedstock for the gasification process not only leads to higher thermal efficiency but also has environmental benefits.     

Optimum Design for Emergency Stop Button on Robot Teach Pendants

This study deals with designing robot teach pendants for industrial robots. The emergency stop button on robot teach pendants is the primary safety device for industrial robots. Recommendations for the design of the emergency stop button were proposed based on experimental evaluations. Human performance was measured by the reaction time necessary to press the button on a pendant. The variation factors were randomly combined by seven button locations and three different button sizes. The results indicated that the shortest reaction time was obtained for the 38-mm button located on the left and left-down of the seven button positions on the pendant.     

Seasonal flux of nonylphenol in Han River, Korea

In order to understand the behavior of nonylphenol (NP) in Han River, water, suspended particle and sediment samples were analyzed during summer, autumn and winter. Concentrations of nonylphenol in water ranged from 23.2 to 187.6 ng/l, in suspended particle from 6.8 to 190.8 ng/l and in sediment from 25.4 to 932.0 ng/gdrywt. An increasing trend in the concentration is noticed in all matrices along down the river. In case of water and suspended particle, concentrations were higher in warmer season than in colder season. Percentage of nonylphenol in the suspended particle phase decreased from 67% to 28% with decreasing temperature in water. A reasonable correlation (R2 = 0.63) was obtained for water and suspended particle. The partition coefficient Log Kp is 4.8. No seasonal variation of the concentration in sediment is noticed in this study.     

Nontarget screening using passive air and water sampling with a level Ⅱ fugacity model to identify unregulated environmental contaminants

It is thought that there are many unregulated anthropogenic chemicals in the environment.For risk assessment of chemicals, it is essential to estimate the predicted environmental concentrations. As an effort of identifying residual organic contaminants in air and water in Korea, nontarget screening using two-dimensional gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry(GC × GC-TOFMS) was conducted at 10 sites using polyurethane foam passive air sampler and at 6 sites using polydimethyl siloxane(PDMS) passive water sampler in three different seasons in 2014. More than 600 chemical peaks were identified satisfying the identification criteria in air and water samples, respectively, providing a list for further investigation. Chemical substances with reported national emission rates in2014(n = 149) were also screened for potential existence in the environment using a level Ⅱ fugacity model. Most of chemical substances classified as not detectable were not identified with detection frequency greater than 20% by nontarget screening, indicating that a simple equilibrium model has a strong potential to be used to exclude chemicals that are not likely to remain in the environment after emissions from targeted monitoring.     

Correction to: Trace elements in surface sediments of the Hooghly (Ganges) estuary: distribution and contamination risk assessment

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - Unfortunately, in the original publication of the article, Prof. Yong Sik Ok’s affiliation was incorrectly published. The author’s affiliation is...     

Effects of a dynamic membrane formed with polyethylene glycol on the ultrafiltration of natural organic matter

The formation of a dynamic membrane (DM) was investigated using polyethylene glycol (PEG) (molecular weight of 35000 g/mol, concentration of 1 g/L). Two natural organic matters (NOM), Dongbok Lake NOM (DLNOM) and Suwannee River NOM (SRNOM) were used in the ultrafiltration experiments along with PEG. To evaluate the effects of the DM with PEG on ultrafiltration, various transport experiments were conducted, and the analyses of the NOM in the membrane feed and permeate were performed using high performance size exclusion chromatography, and the effective pore size distribution (effective PSD) and effective molecular weight cut off (effective MWCO) were determined. The advantages of DM formed with PEG can be summarized as follows: (1) PEG interferes with NOM transmission through the ultrafiltration membrane pores by increasing the retention coefficient of NOM in UF membranes, and (2) low removal of NOM by the DM is affected by external factors, such as pressure increases during UF membrane filtration, which decreases the effective PSD and effective MWCO of UF membranes. However, a disadvantage of the DM with PEG was severe flux decline; thus, one must be mindful of both the positive and negative influences of the DM when optimizing the UF performance of the membrane.     

Long-term assessment of the environmental fate of heavy metals in agricultural soil after cessation of organic waste treatments

The current study examined the anthropogenic accumulation and natural decrease in metal concentrations in agricultural soils following organic waste application. Three common organic wastes, including municipal sewage sludge, alcohol fermentation processing sludge, and pig manure compost (PMC), were applied annually to an agricultural soil under field conditions over 7 years (1994–2000) at a rate of 12.5, 25, and 50 ton ha^?1 year^?1 and the soil accumulation of three metals of concern (Cu, Pb, and Zn) was monitored. Subsequently, organic waste amendments ceased and the experimental plots were managed using conventional fertilization for another 10 years (2001–2010) and the natural decrease in metal concentrations monitored. Although Cu and Zn concentrations in all experimental plots did not exceed the relevant guideline values (150 mg kg^?1 for Cu and 300 mg kg^?1 for Zn), significant increases in metal concentrations were observed from cumulative application of organic wastes over 7 years. For instance, PMC treatment resulted in an increase in Cu and Zn from 9.8 and 72 mg kg^?1 to 108.2 and 214.3 mg kg^?1, respectively. In addition, the natural decrease in Cu and Zn was not significant as soils amended with PMC showed only a 16 and 19 % decline in Cu and Zn concentrations, respectively, even 10 years after amendment ceased. This research suggested that more attention must be paid during production of organic waste-based amendments and at the application stage.