Catalytic NO(chi) reduction with simultaneous dioxin and furan oxidation

The engineering, construction, performance and running costs of a catalytic flue gas cleaning component in the low dust area of a municipal waste incinerator is discussed. For this purpose, the case study of a Flemish incineration plant is presented, covering the history, the design procedure of the catalyst, relevant process data and the financial aspects. A reliable PCDD/F-destruction by means of oxidation by the catalyst to typical values of 0.001 ng TEQ/Nm3 has been demonstrated. At the same time, NO(chi)- and CO-emissions are reduced by 90% and 20% to about 50 mg/N m3 andbelow 10 mg/N m3, respectively.     

Efficient water treatment achieved in recirculating aquaculture system using woodchip denitrification and slow sand filtration

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - For a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS), a passive water treatment system was designed for efficient discharge nutrient removal and water reuse...     

Understanding behaviour to inform water supply management in developed nations – A review of literature, conceptual model and research agenda

Water is a scarce resource in many parts of the developed world. Two solutions are possible to address water scarcity: conservation of existing resources, or the further production of water from new sources e.g. through recycling of wastewater or desalination of seawater. However, the main hurdle to implementation of many of these solutions is often viewed as a lack of public willingness to adopt these alternative water behaviours. Research in this area is therefore crucial. Yet, and possibly due to the interdisciplinary nature of such research, there is currently no comprehensive overview of what has been done before. This study fills this gap by (1) choosing a general consumer behaviour perspective as a starting point, (2) developing a conceptual model of research required in the area of water-related public acceptance studies, (3) identifying eight key water-related behaviours which require future research attention, and (4) reviewing which areas of the conceptual model have been investigated in the past by conducting an extensive literature review of water-related social science research.The review established that the majority of work which has been conducted is located at the cross-roads of personal characteristics and behavioural intentions. Significant gaps exist in relation to researching the adoption of a wide range of demand-side water behaviours. This indicates a dominance of supply-side solutions in social-research exploration. The review identifies a number of research needs including: the exploration of actual adoption of water-related behaviours (rather than behavioural intentions); and to widen the scope of water behaviour enquiry to include more demand-side solutions. Given the increasing scarcity of water in many areas of the world, addressing these identified gaps will be of significant importance. Thus our model informs the social-research agenda for water policy.     

Determination of sorption coefficients of pharmaceutically active substances carbamazepine, diclofenac, and ibuprofen, in sandy sediments

Laboratory batch studies were conducted to characterize the sorption behavior of three pharmaceutically active substances (carbamazepine, diclofenac, and ibuprofen) in different sediment types. The sediments were natural sandy sediments from the water saturated zone and the unsaturated zone in the Berlin (Germany) area. They are characterized as medium and fine-grained sands, both with low organic carbon content. The results of the experiments show that sorption coefficients were generally quite low. Distribution coefficients (K(d) values) determined by the batch experiments varied from 0.21 to 5.32 for carbamazepine, 0.55 to 4.66 for diclofenac, and 0.18 to 1.69 for ibuprofen. Comparison of the organic carbon normalized sorption coefficient K(OC) values based on correlation equations with actual experimental data revealed that the calculated data for carbamazepine is of the same order as the experimental data. For diclofenac and ibuprofen the calculated values are much higher than the experimental data, showing a much higher mobility of diclofenac and ibuprofen in natural aquifer sediments than indicated by correlation equations based on octanol water distribution coefficients.     

Teil 3: PCDD/F im Blutfett ausgewählter Personen

This study was designed to assess the degree of exposure to PCDD/F in 56 selected persons living in the vicinity of a former copper smelter located in Marsberg, Germany. The copper smelter was in operation until 1945. In 1991, high levels of PCDD/F were found particularly in materials from the slag dumps (10 000 – 100 000 ng TE/kg). The levels of PCDD/F in blood fat were used as parameters for individual PCDD/F exposure. Since only limited reference data for PCDD/F in human blood were available, blood samples of a reference group were analyzed in the same way. The criteria were collected from a group matched for sex, age (±3 years) and body mass. The median NATO/CCMS-Toxicity equivalency values (NATO/CCMS-TE-values) of the Marsberg group (43,2 pg NATO/CCMS-TE/g blood fat) and the reference group (43,0 pg NATO/CCMS-TE/g blood fat) were similar, whereas the arithmetic mean of the Marsberg group (52,7 pg NATO/CCMS-TE/g blood fat) was higher than that of the reference group (44,4 pg NATO/CCMS-TE/g blood fat). The frequency distribution of the individual TE-values of the Marsberg group was slightly shifted toward higher values. The individuals of the Marsberg group had significantly higher levels of PentaCDF, HexaCDF and HeptaCDF on average than the individuals of the reference group. On the basis of TE-values, the majority of the individuals from Marsberg did not have an increased body burden of PCDD/F. However, some individuals could be identified with TE-values exceeding background levels ranging up to 231 pg NATO/CCMS-TE/g blood fat. Although it must be assumed that the unusual congener pattern found in many of the test subjects is a result of ingestion of contaminated slag material or soil, the findings of this study could not verify this fact.     

Estrogenic and dioxin-like compounds in sediment from Zierikzee harbour identified with CALUX assay-directed fractionation combined with one and two dimensional gas chromatography analyses

The identity of compounds responsible for estrogenic and dioxin-like activities in sediment from the harbour of the small town Zierikzee in Zeeland, The Netherlands, was investigated using a bioassay directed fractionation approach with the in vitro estrogen and dioxin responsive reporter gene assays ER- and DR-CALUX. For identification of compounds exhibiting activity in the bioassays, either one or two-dimensional GC in combination with quadrupole (MSD), ion trap (ITD) or time-of-flight mass spectrometric detection (ToF-MS) was used, depending on the biological and chemical characteristics and the complexity of the fractions. The natural estrogenic hormone 17-β-estradiol and its metabolite estrone were identified with GC–ITD as the main contributors to the estrogenic activity. After successive rounds of fractionation, the dioxin-like activity could be explained by the presence of various polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons identified with GC–MSD and two-dimensional comprehensive GC × GC–ToF-MS. Some estrogenic activity of a relatively non-polar nature remained unidentified.     

Transdisciplinary research in support of land and water management in China and Southeast Asia: evaluation of four research projects

Transdisciplinary research (TDR) aims at identifying implementable solutions to difficult sustainability problems and at fostering social learning. It requires a well-managed collaboration among multidisciplinary scientists and multisectoral stakeholders. Performing TDR is challenging, particularly for foreign researchers working in countries with different institutional and socio-cultural conditions. There is a need to synthesize and share experience among researchers as well as practitioners regarding how TDR can be conducted under specific contexts. In this paper, we aim to evaluate and synthesize our unique experience in conducting TDR projects in Asia. We applied guiding principles of TDR to conduct a formative evaluation of four consortium projects on sustainable land and water management in China, the Philippines, and Vietnam. In all projects, local political conditions restricted the set of stakeholders that could be involved in the research processes. The set of involved stakeholders was also affected by the fact that stakeholders in most cases only participate if they belong to the personal network of the project leaders. Language barriers hampered effective communication between foreign researchers and stakeholders in all projects and thus knowledge integration. The TDR approach and its specific methods were adapted to respond to the specific cultural, social, and political conditions in the research areas, also with the aim to promote trust and interest of the stakeholders throughout the project. Additionally, various measures were implemented to promote collaboration among disciplinary scientists. Based on lessons learned, we provide specific recommendations for the design and implementation of TDR projects in particular in Asia.