Methodology for quantification of waste generated in Spanish railway construction works

In the last years, the European Union (EU) has been focused on the reduction of construction and demolition (C&D) waste. Specifically, in 2006, Spain generated roughly 47million tons of C&D waste, of which only 13.6% was recycled. This situation has lead to the drawing up of many regulations on C&D waste during the past years forcing EU countries to include new measures for waste prevention and recycling. Among these measures, the mandatory obligation to quantify the C&D waste expected to be originated during a construction project is mandated. However, limited data is available on civil engineering projects. Therefore, the aim of this research study is to improve C&D waste management in railway projects, by developing a model for C&D waste quantification. For this purpose, we develop two equations which estimate in advance the amount, both in weight and volume, of the C&D waste likely to be generated in railway construction projects, including the category of C&D waste generated for the entire project.     

Heavy Metals in Epiphytic Mosses: An Experience in Florence

The epiphytic moss Hypnum cupressiforme has been used for passive monitoring of airborne heavy metals pollution by vehicular traffic in the urban area of Florence. Lead, cadmium, zinc and copper were determined by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV). in the summer of 1993 about 30 samples were collected from the trunks of holm oak at the same height (1 metre) from the soil. Lead contents fall within the range of 0.02-1.08 μ moles g^-1 (dry weight) and for this metal, the emission source may be attributed mainly to vehicular traffic in poorly industrialized urban areas. Some evaluations have been carried out about the employment of Zn/Pb molar ratio for characterizing airborne pollution in urban areas.     

Fluid bed gasification – Plasma converter process generating energy from solid waste: Experimental assessment of sulphur species

Often perceived as a Cinderella material, there is growing appreciation for solid waste as a renewable content thermal process feed. Nonetheless, research on solid waste gasification and sulphur mechanisms in particular is lacking. This paper presents results from two related experiments on a novel two stage gasification process, at demonstration scale, using a sulphur-enriched wood pellet feed.Notable SO₂ and relatively low COS levels (before gas cleaning) were interesting features of the trials, and not normally expected under reducing gasification conditions. Analysis suggests that localised oxygen rich regions within the fluid bed played a role in SO₂’s generation. The response of COS to sulphur in the feed was quite prompt, whereas SO₂ was more delayed. It is proposed that the bed material sequestered sulphur from the feed, later aiding SO₂ generation. The more reducing gas phase regions above the bed would have facilitated COS – hence its faster response. These results provide a useful insight, with further analysis on a suite of performed experiments underway, along with thermodynamic modelling.     

Benthic invertebrates structure in wetlands of a tributary of the middle Parana River (Argentina) affected by hydrologic and anthropogenic disturbances

The present study was aimed at analyzing chromium concentrations in water column and bottom sediments in the main channel of Northern Salado River (tributary of Middle Parana River) and its floodplain. The main changes caused by human activities and hydrological disturbances on benthic invertebrate structure were also analyzed. Sediment concentrations of the reference area varied between 44.2 and 97.1 microg Crg(-1) (dw), and in the impacted zone, between 85.5 and 209 microg Cr g(-1) (dw) reaching the highest values in the wetland floodplain. Alfa, beta and gamma diversities in the reference section have been 33, 9 and 66 species, and in the disturbed section, they have been 37, 8.33 and 74 species, respectively The species dominant in the disturbed habitats were characterized by a small body size and short life cycles, as the species of olig chaetes Naidinae. The extreme flooding produced a rejuvenation of the area with the consequent physical re-structuration produced by flooding, showing: a marked decrease in chromium levels in sediments and in organic matter content, which allowed the colonization of insects (Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera).     

Fungitoxicity of lyophilized and spray-dried garlic extracts

Among the compounds discussed for anti-microbial and anti-fungal use allicin (allylthiosulfinate, diallyl disulfide-S-monoxide), an active ingredient of garlic, has attracted considerable attention. The objective of this study is to determine the antifungal activity of a local garlic ecotype (Voghiera) extracts against different pathogens. Primary screening was carried out by the agar plates technique using ethanol garlic extract at four final concentrations against the following organisms: Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus spp., Colletotrichum acutatum, Didymella bryoniae, Fusarium culmorum, Fusarium avenaceum, Fusarium gramineareum, Gliocladium roseum 47, Pythium splendens, Rhizoctonia solani, Sclerotium rolfsii, Stemphylium vesicarium, Trichoderma longibranchiatum, and Botrytis cinerea. Secondary screening was carried out using a lyophilized and a spray-dried preparation at different concentrations against the organisms selected for the high inhibition garlic effect in the primary screening and compared with the commercial fungicides mancozeb and iprodione. The best results were observed for the spray-dried garlic compound that showed a good fungicidal activity at the concentration of 1.5 g/10 mL while lyophilized garlic at the same concentration exhibithed less inhibition activity against the four fungi analyzed in the second screening.     

The effect of insecticides on the non-target predatory mite Kampimodromus aberrans: Laboratory studies

The side-effects of pesticides on predatory mites have been investigated at various levels and international teams (e.g., the IOBC/wprs Working Group “Pesticides and beneficial organisms”) have selected a few species of predatory mites occurring in Central and Northern Europe as representative for such studies. Key biocontrol species occurring in Southern Europe have received much less attention. Kampimodromus aberrans is the most important predator of herbivorous mites in South-European vineyards treated with selective pesticides. The impact of pesticides on K. aberrans populations has been studied in field conditions whereas few toxicological tests have been conducted in the laboratory because of difficulties in rearing this species. A method for rearing K. aberrans in the laboratory has recently been set up allowing toxicological studies to be conducted. In this paper, a toxicological method to assess the effects of pesticides on K. aberrans is described and the effects of insecticides frequently used in European vineyards on two K. aberrans strains are reported. These strains were collected from vineyards treated with organophosphates. Insecticides characterized by different modes of action were selected for trials. Among these, etofenprox and spinosad were classified as harmful to predatory mites. Chlorpyrifos reduced predatory mite fecundity, and was classified as moderately harmful for both strains. The toxicity of thiamethoxam and flufenoxuron varied with the strain (low to moderate). Indoxacarb and methoxyfenozide appeared to be harmless or slightly harmful. Implications of this study for adopting IPM tactics with a reduced risk for K. aberrans are discussed.