Synthesis of polyhydroxyalkanoates in municipal wastewater treatment.

Biologically derived polyesters known as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) represent a potentially "sustainable" replacement to fossil-fuel-based thermoplastics. However, current commercial practices that produce PHA with pure microbial cultures grown on renewable, but refined, feedstocks (i.e., glucose) under sterile conditions do not represent a sustainable commodity. Here, we report on PHA production with a mixed microbial consortium indigenous to an activated sludge process on carbon present in municipal wastewaters. Reactors operated under anaerobic/aerobic and aerobic-only mode and fed primary solids fermenter liquor maintained a mixed microbial consortium capable of synthesizing PHA at 10 to 25% (w/w), while reducing soluble COD by approximately 62 to 71%. More critically, an aerobic batch reactor seeded from the anaerobic/aerobic reactor and fed fermenter liquor achieved approximately 53% PHA (w/w). Results presented suggest that environmentally benign production of biodegradable polymers is feasible. We further used PHA-rich biomass to produce a natural fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite that can be used to offset advanced wastewater treatment costs.     

PCDD/Fs, dioxin-like PCBs and marker PCBs in eggs of peregrine falcons from Germany

Thirty one egg samples of peregrine falcons were collected in different regions of Germany (South-West, North and East) and analysed for PCDD/Fs, PCBs and marker PCBs. Altogether, 37 PCB congeners were determined, allowing a more detailed discussion of different aspects of the relative importance of these individual congeners. For comparison with dioxin data from other studies, differences between toxic equivalency factors (TEF) have to be taken into consideration. The results of this study are discussed on the basis of WHO-TEFs for birds published in 1998. All samples showed high levels of PCDD/Fs (median of all samples: 368 pg WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ/g fat; range 137-1453) and even higher levels of PCBs (median 967 pg WHO-PCB-TEQ/g fat; range 243-7482). The upper range of these levels reach concentrations found at the beginning of the Belgian dioxin crisis when a significant reduction in hens' egg hatchability was observed. The relative contribution of PCBs to the total TEQ is on average 71% (range 55-92%) with a tendency to higher values in South-West Germany compared to different sites in East Germany or one site in northern Germany. Within a region, a wide range of contamination can be found. Even in the same cities (Stuttgart and Ludwigshafen), results derived from eggs collected in the same year (2003) varied by factors 5-10. These findings show the high degree of variation occurring even within the same kind of biological matrix. Therefore, to allow for comparison of regions or time trends, a considerable number of samples has to be analysed.     

Age and seasonal variability of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in free-ranging East Greenland polar bears (Ursus maritimus)

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were analysed in adipose tissue from 92 East Greenland polar bears (Ursus maritimus) sampled during 1999-2001. Mean SigmaPBDE concentrations were 70 ng/g lipid weight (lw) (range: 22-192 ng/g lw) and showed no relationship with age or sex. Of the 32 analysed PBDE congeners; BDE47, BDE153, BDE99 and BDE100 dominated, and comprised 99.6% of the SigmaPBDE concentration. The SigmaPBDE concentration had a highly significant correlation with SigmaPCB, SigmaCHL, dieldrin, HCB and SigmaHCH concentrations. We found a seasonal pattern of median SigmaPBDE concentration with 1.2 to 1.8 times higher concentrations in March to July than the rest of the year. The seasonal variation also provides a clue to the seasonal exposure, bio-availability, toxic exposure and degradation. We suggest that future geographical PBDE data comparisons may not need corrections for sex or age, but such data sets should be corrected for seasonal variability, using the presented correctional trigonometric regression.     

Integrated catalytic wet air oxidation and aerobic biological treatment in a municipal WWTP of a high-strength o-cresol wastewater

This study examines the feasibility of coupling a Catalytic Wet Air Oxidation (CWAO), with activated carbon (AC) as catalyst, and an aerobic biological treatment to treat a high-strength o-cresol wastewater. Two goals are pursued: (a) To determine the effect of the main AC/CWAO intermediates on the activated sludge of a municipal WasteWater Treatment Plant (WWTP) and (b) To demonstrate the feasibility of coupling the AC/CWAO effluent as a part of the influent of a municipal WWTP. In a previous study, a high-strength o-cresol wastewater was treated by AC/CWAO aiming to establish the distribution of intermediates and the biodegradability enhancement. In this work, the biodegradability, toxicity and inhibition of the most relevant intermediates detected in the AC/CWAO effluent were determined by respirometry. Also, the results of a pilot scale municipal WWTP study for an integrated AC/CWAO-aerobic biological treatment of this effluent are presented. The biodegradation parameters (i.e. maximum oxygen uptake rate and oxygen consumption) of main AC/CWAO intermediates allowed the classification of the intermediates into readily biodegradable, inert or toxic/inhibitory compounds. This detailed study, allowed to understand the biodegradability enhancement exhibited by an AC/CWAO effluent and to achieve a successful strategy for coupling the AC/CWAO step with an aerobic biological treatment for a high-strength o-cresol wastewater. Using 30%, as COD, of AC/CWAO effluent in the inlet to the pilot scale WWTP, the integrated AC/CWAO-biological treatment achieved a 98% of total COD removal and, particularly, a 91% of AC/CWAO effluent COD removal without any undesirable effect on the biomass.     

A comparison of two techniques for studying sediment desorption kinetics of hydrophobic pollutants

A comparison of two techniques (gaseous purge and vial desorption) for studying the kinetics of desorption of hydrophobic pollutants from natural sediments was conducted using identical, pre-equilibrated pollutant-sediment suspensions. Desorption profiles for the two techniques [for Lindane, Aldrin, 2,2'-dichlorobiphenyl (2,2'-DCB), 4,4'-dichlorobiphenyl (4,4'-DCB), and 2,2',6,6'-tetrachlorobiphenyl (TCB)] were then compared, based on the distribution of pollutant mass between the labile (fast) and non-labile (slow) desorption phases and the release rate constants for each phase of release. The vial desorption technique shows many practical advantages over the gaseous purge technique, including its more realistic mixing conditions, the use of an independent sample for each data point (as opposed to a calculation of a cumulative mass purged at each time point), the fact that the vials constitute a closed system and are therefore less subject to ambient contamination, and the relatively low demands of time and money for the vial technique. No consistent trends in labile rate constants or in pollutant distribution between the labile and non-labile phase were observed between the two techniques. A comparison of kinetic parameters shows much faster non-labile rate constants for the gaseous purge technique, attributed to the violent, continuous agitation employed, which likely disrupted sediment aggregates and oxidized the natural organic matter associated with the sediment. Non-labile rate constants have implications for the long-term fate of compounds adsorbed to repetitively disturbed sediments. This study suggests that the traditionally less popular vial desorption technique may yield more realistic non-labile desorption rate constants.     

‘A powerful alternative to Williams’ test with application to toxicological dose-response relationships of normally distributed data

The comparison of increasing doses of a treatment to a negative control is frequently part of toxicological studies. For normally distributed data Williams (1971, 1972) introduced a maximum likelihood test under total order restriction. But until now there seems to have been no solution for the arbitrary unbalanced case. According to the idea proposed by Robertson et al. (1988) we will apply in this article the basic concept of Williams on the class of multiple contrast tests for the general unbalanced parametric set-up. Simulation results for size and power and two examples for estimating the minimal toxic dose (MTD) are given.     

Ökotoxikologische und humantoxikologische Risikobewertung PAK-belasteter Böden vor und nach biologischer Behandlung

The goal of the present work is to assess the adverse effects of soil bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) which remain in soils after biological remediation. We focus on risk assessment for mammalian species with respect to the oral uptake of contaminated soil particles and compare the results of a biomarker test with those of an ecotoxicological assay, the bioluminescence inhibition test withVibrio fischeri. As a biomarker effect in mammals, we determined the liver microsomal cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP1A1 which is induced by PAH in exposed rats. After biological soil treatment, different amounts of PAH remain in the soil depending on the soil properties and initial pollutant composition. Particularly, higher condensated PAH resists biological treatment due to its hydrophobicity. In addition, high amounts of organic carbon in the soils affect remediation efficiency. In the bioluminescence inhibition test, eluates of all biologically treated soils studied do not reveal any or only low inhibitory effects. In contrast, the oral uptake of biologically treated contaminated soils leads to induction levels for CYP1A1 similar to those in the untreated samples. A good correlation is obtained between CYP1A1 levels and the amount of 5 and 6-ring PAH in the soil samples. The main result is that the remediation efficiency determined by the luminescence test is not reflected by the biomarker test, a finding which indicates the high bioavailability of residual PAH in soils. Consequently, new criteria for human risk assessment can be delineated.     

The rationales behind the unit-segment theory and its analysis methodology for modeling vehicular movement networks

The theory of space accessibility analysis, space syntax, has been considered for capturing trip-makers’ route-choice decisions with an understanding that, while selecting routes, trip-makers tend to follow forward-facing fields traditionally represented by axial lines. But the idea of treating axial lines as a set of roadway segments representing an urban texture has remained under scrutiny when distinct procedures have been tested without much success. Nor has the axial-line theory seemed to gain much popularity within the orthodox transportation planning community. Studies show that a long axial line is found gaining configurational centrality, in general, for being well connected to its incident lines. Fragmenting a long axial line results in weakening it (in centrality terms), but also in generating a locally oriented model. Recent investigations, dealing with this problem, have resulted in the emergence of the unit-segment theory, which has turned out to be more sensitive to the local structures located within a large urban texture than the axial counterpart for the purpose of modeling vehicular movement networks without using origin–destination trip-counts. Essentially, the question now is: Is the unit-segment analysis also capable of generating syntax configurations that are equally sensitive to large and complex urban textures? What should be the methodology of such an analysis? This paper throws deeper insights into these questions by producing theoretical and empirical research findings and seeks to develop a common ground for both transportation planning and space syntax communities to work together for gaining a better understanding of how urban configurations relate to urban vehicular movement networks.