Photoactive titanium dioxide nanoparticles modify heterotrophic microbial functioning

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Nanoparticulate titanium dioxide (nTiO2) is frequently applied, raising concerns about potential side effects on the environment. While various...     

Recovery of high purity zinc from filter ash produced during the thermal treatment of waste and inerting of residual materials.

The method described below recovers zinc, a valuable metal that is present in high concentrations in filter ash from the thermal treatment of waste, and returns the filter ash stripped of heavy metals to the combustion process in order to destroy organic substances. On an industrial scale, the heavy metals in the filter ash were mobilized by means of hydrochloric acid in the acidic fluids produced in the flue-gas scrubbing process without the addition of further chemicals. A pilot plant for implementing the selective reactive extraction (SRE) method on the ash extracts, using a highly selective complexant, was operated over a period of several months in order to obtain a concentrated, high-purity zinc salt solution (mono metal solution). A zinc depletion rate of 99.8% in the aqueous extract was achieved using mixer-settler units. The residual zinc concentration in the waste water was then < 2 mg L(-1). By stripping the loaded organic phase, a concentrated, high-purity mono metal solution with 190 g L(-1) zinc was obtained. Zinc metal with a purity > 99.99% is then separated by means of electrolysis. To destroy organic substances present in the filter ash, particularly dioxins and furans, the extracted filter ash cake was returned to the combustion process together with household waste. Plant operation, raw and pure gas parameters, and quality of the bottom ash produced were not impacted by such recirculation. The profitability of the overall process is attributable both to the recovery of valuable zinc metal and to the cost savings made in waste water treatment and in the disposal of the waste combustion residues because the remaining mixture of filter ash and bottom ash can be reused in a combined form. This method therefore supports the sustainable and economically viable reuse of filter ash.     

Opportunity cost based analysis of corporate eco-efficiency: A methodology and its application to the CO2-efficiency of German companies

In this paper, we propose the return-to-cost-ratio (RCR) as an alternative approach to the analysis of operational eco-efficiency of companies based on the notion of opportunity costs. RCR helps to overcome two fundamental deficits of existing approaches to eco-efficiency. (1) It translates eco-efficiency into managerial terms by applying the well-established notion of opportunity costs to eco-efficiency analysis. (2) RCR allows to identify and quantify the drivers behind changes in corporate eco-efficiency. RCR is applied to the analysis of the CO₂-efficiency of German companies in order to illustrate its usefulness for a detailed analysis of changes in corporate eco-efficiency as well as for the development of effective environmental strategies.