The O₂-enriched air gasification of coal, plastics and wood in a fluidized bed reactor

The effect of oxygen-enriched air during fluidized bed co-gasification of a mixture of coal, plastics and wood has been investigated. The main components of the obtained syngas were measured by means of on-line analyzers and a gas chromatograph while those of the condensate phase were off-line analysed by means of a gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). The characterization of condensate phase as well as that of the water used as scrubbing medium completed the performed diagnostics. The experimental results were further elaborated in order to provide material and substances flow analyses inside the plant boundaries. These analyses allowed to obtain the main substance distribution between solid, gaseous and condensate phases and to estimate the conversion efficiency of carbon and hydrogen but also to easily visualise the waste streams produced by the process. The process performance was then evaluated on the basis of parameters related to the conversion efficiency of fuels into valuable products (i.e. by considering tar and particulate as process losses) as well as those related to the energy recovery.     

Do national levels of individualism and internal locus of control relate to well‐being: an ecological level international study

Data were collected from managers in 24 nations/territories on work locus of control (LOC), individualism–collectivism (I–C), and well‐being (job satisfaction, absence of psychological strain, and absence of physical strain). There were significant mean differences across samples on all five of these measures, and consistent with our hypothesis, at the ecological or sample mean level well‐being was associated with an internal locus of control. However, contrary to our hypothesis, well‐being was not associated with I–C, despite a strong correlation between I–C and LOC. Findings at the ecological level were consistent with the literature concerning the salutary effects of control on well‐being. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Unusual products of the aqueous chlorination of atenolol

The reaction of the drug atenolol with hypochlorite under conditions that simulate wastewater disinfection was investigated. The pharmaceutical reacted in 1h yielding three products that were separated by chromatographic techniques and characterized by spectroscopic features. Two unusual products 2-(4-(3-(chloro(2-chloropropan-2-yl)amino)-2-hydroxypropoxy)phenyl) acetamide and 2-(4-(3-formamido-2-hydroxypropoxy)phenyl) acetamide were obtained along with 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl) acetamide. When the reaction was stopped at shorter times only 2-(4-(3-amino-2-hydroxypropoxy)phenyl) acetamide and the dichlorinated product were detected. Tests performed on the seeds of Lactuca sativa show that chlorinated products have phytotoxic activity.     

Assessment of atmospheric pollution in the vicinity of a tin and lead industry using lichen species Canoparmelia texana

This paper examines the viability of using Canoparmelia texana lichen species as a bioindicator of air pollution by radionuclides and rare earth elements (REEs) in the vicinity of a tin and lead industry. The lichen and soil samples were analyzed for uranium, thorium and REEs by instrumental neutron activation analysis. The radionuclides ²²⁶Ra, ²²⁸Ra and ²¹⁰Pb were determined either by Gamma-ray spectrometry (GRS) (soils) or by radiochemical separation followed by gross alpha and beta counting using a gas flow proportional counter (lichens). The lichens samples concentrate radionuclides (on the average 25-fold higher than the background for this species) and REEs (on the average 10-fold higher), therefore they can be used as a fingerprint of contamination by the operation of the tin industry.     

Effect of positional isomerism on the abiotic degradation of pesticides: Case of m- and p-imazamethabenz-methyl

The effect of positional isomerism on chemical and photochemical degradations of the Imazamethabenz-methyl (IMBM), a pesticide of the imidazolinone family, has been studied. IMBM is proposed in the form of a mixture of the two positional isomers: meta and para. The development of an effective HPLC method (resolution factor R=1.3) allows us to follow either the abiotic disappearance of the meta and para IMBM and the formation of their breakdown products. The abiotic degradation studies include the chemical hydrolysis, as well as the direct and the indirect photodecomposition. We used TiO(2), a well-known initiator of hydroxyl radicals, to highlight the role of *OH in the indirect photodegradation. This work confirms the different behaviours of positional isomers in the environment. Indeed the chemical or direct photochemical degradation is faster for the meta isomer than for the para. Whereas, concerning IMBM, there is not any prevalent influence of this type of isomerism on the indirect photochemical degradation. The degradation products were tentatively identified by LC-MS, NMR and IR and a degradation pathway was proposed.     

Environmental attitude shifts as revealed by landscape tastes and activity preferences

Summary The environmental preferences of 11 to 14 year old children were studied by employing a collection of photograph pairs related to two themes, environmental activities of children and landscapes. The photographs were taken randomly from a general stock of slides and were then chosen by an automatic process of recurrent test cycles and the systematic selection of those pairs most contributing to the detection of variation trends within the population.Child environmental attitudes changed noticeably in at least five different aspects after attending a fifteen day nature camp. No noticeable shift in preferences was found in a similar camp held, however, in a different area with a different team of educators. The most important dimensions of environmental preferences were strongly related to the environmental knowledge of each child and the improvement of such knowledge during the camp.The three authors are on the staff of the Department of Ecology at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, where Professor Fernando G. Bernáldez is the Department head.     

A Framework for Designing Ecological Monitoring Programs for Protected Areas: A Case Study of the Galachos del Ebro Nature Reserve (Spain)

The assessment of management effectiveness in protected areas, i.e., the evaluation of whether management strategies are actually helping to achieve stated goals, is becoming a priority. In any such evaluation, accurate information concerning the dynamics of the managed system is required—information that is gathered through monitoring. Few protected areas, however, have well-developed monitoring plans, and reserve managers are faced with a shortage of protocols for their design. This paper proposes a methodology, applicable to a wide range of situations, for designing such plans. The process begins with the precise definition of the aims of the monitoring plan, followed by the identification of key ecological processes and management objectives for the area, and finally the selection of a reduced set of indicators. These indicators are represented at three levels of growing complexity, allowing the plan to be followed in a modular fashion and in agreement with available resources.     

Improved strategies for coverage estimation by using replicated line-intercept sampling

Coverage, i.e., the area covered by the target attribute in the study region, is a key parameter in many surveys. Coverage estimation is usually performed by adopting a replicated protocol based on line-intercept sampling coupled with a suitable linear homogeneous estimator. Since coverage is a parameter which may be interestingly represented as the integral of a suitable function, improved Monte Carlo strategies for implementing the replicated protocol are introduced in order to achieve estimators with small variance rates. In addition, new specific theoretical results on Monte Carlo integration methods are given to deal with the integrand functions arising in the special coverage estimation setting.