High temperature co-treatment of bottom ash and stabilized fly ashes from waste incineration

Bottom ashes from two Danish municipal solid waste incineration plants were heated at 900 degrees C with iron oxide stabilized air pollution control residues at actual mass flow ratios (9:1), simulating a treating method for the residues. The two residues were co-treated, producing one combined stream that may be utilized as a secondary road construction material. Scanning electron microscope analysis and grain size distribution analysis indicated that sintering of the particles did not occur. Batch leaching tests at liquid/solid 10 l/kg at a range of pH-values (6-10) quantified with respect to Cd, Cr and Pb revealed significant positive effects of co-heating the ashes, although Pb showed slightly increased leaching. At a liquid/solid ratio of 10 l/kg the leachate concentrations were still low at pH 7-10 and the release of Pb was, thus, not expected to limit the utilization of the mixed ashes. The process, thus, fixates the metals in the solid residues without altering the leaching properties of the bottom ash too significantly.     

Modeling changes in the coastal ecosystem of the Pearl River Estuary from 1981 to 1998

The coastal ecosystem of the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) has been overfished and received a high level of combined pollution since the 1980s. Ecopath with Ecosim was used to construct two ecosystem models (for 1981 and 1998) to characterize the food web structure and functioning of the ecosystem. Pedigree work and simple sensitivity analysis were carried out to evaluate the quality of data and the uncertainty of the models. The two models seem reliable with regards to input data of good quality. Comparing the variations of outputs of these two models aimed to facilitate assessment of changes of the ecosystem during the past two decades.The trophic structure of the ecosystem has changed with an increase in the biomass proportion of lower trophic level (TL) organisms and a decrease in top predator biomass proportion. All the indices of ecosystem maturity examined show that the system was in a more mature condition in 1981 than in 1998, although the system has been in a condition of stress due to anthropogenic disturbances, such as environmental pollution and habitat destruction since 1981. The ecosystem was aggregated into six and seven integral TLs in 1981 and 1998, respectively, using the trophic aggregation routine of Ecopath. Most of the total system biomass and catch took place at TL II and III in both years. But the distribution of the total system biomass and catch at different TLs changed with decreasing proportions in higher TLs in 1998. The mean transfer efficiency was 9.1% and 10.2% in 1981 and 1998, respectively.Comparative network analysis allowed quantification of the importance of direct and indirect trophic interactions among functional groups. Moreover, a method derived from the mixed trophic impact (MTI) analysis allowed estimating importance of groups in terms of “keystoneness” and identifying the keystone species in the two models over the past two decades. The results indicate that there were no clear keystone species in 1998 but two keystone species at medium trophic levels were identified in 1981. Moreover, organisms located at low trophic levels such as phytoplankton, zooplankton and benthic invertebrates were identified to have relatively high keystoneness in the ecosystem.     

Home composting as an alternative treatment option for organic household waste in Denmark: An environmental assessment using life cycle assessment-modelling

An environmental assessment of the management of organic household waste (OHW) was performed from a life cycle perspective by means of the waste-life cycle assessment (LCA) model EASEWASTE. The focus was on home composting of OHW in Denmark and six different home composting units (with different input and different mixing frequencies) were modelled. In addition, incineration and landfilling was modelled as alternatives to home composting. The most important processes contributing to the environmental impact of home composting were identified as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (load) and the avoided emissions in relation to the substitution of fertiliser and peat when compost was used in hobby gardening (saving). The replacement of fertiliser and peat was also identified as one of the most sensible parameters, which could potentially have a significant environmental benefit. Many of the impact categories (especially human toxicity via water (HTw) and soil (HTs)) were affected by the heavy metal contents of the incoming OHW. The concentrations of heavy metals in the compost were below the threshold values for compost used on land and were thus not considered to constitute a problem. The GHG emissions were, on the other hand, dependent on the management of the composting units. The frequently mixed composting units had the highest GHG emissions. The environmental profiles of the home composting scenarios were in the order of −2 to 16 milli person equivalents (mPE) Mg⁻¹ wet waste (ww) for the non-toxic categories and −0.9 to 28 mPE Mg⁻¹ ww for the toxic categories. Home composting performed better than or as good as incineration and landfilling in several of the potential impact categories. One exception was the global warming (GW) category, in which incineration performed better due to the substitution of heat and electricity based on fossil fuels.     

From Global to Local: Providing Actionable Flood Forecast Information in a Cloud‐Based Computing Environment

Global and continental scale flood forecast provide coarse resolution flood forecast, but from the perspective of emergency management, flood warnings should be detailed and specific to local conditions. The desired refinement can be provided by the use of downscaling global scale models and through the use of distributed hydrologic models to produce a high‐resolution flood forecast. Three major challenges associated with transforming global flood forecasting to a local scale are addressed in this work. The first is using open‐source software tools to provide access to multiple data sources and lowering the barriers for users in management agencies at local level. This can be done through the Tethys Platform that enables web water resources modeling applications. The second is finding a practical solution for the computational requirements associated with running complex models and performing multiple simulations. This is done using Tethys Cluster that manages distributed and cloud computing resources as a companion to the Tethys Platform for web app development. The third challenge is discovering ways to downscale the forecasts from the global extent to the local context. Three modeling strategies have been tested to address this, including downscaling of coarse resolution global runoff models to high‐resolution stream networks and routing with Routing Application for Parallel computatIon of Discharge (RAPID), the use of hierarchical Gridded Surface and Subsurface Hydrologic Analysis (GSSHA) distributed models, and pre‐computed distributed GSSHA models.     

Leaching from MSWI bottom ash: evaluation of non-equilibrium in column percolation experiments

Impacts of non-equilibrium on results of percolation experiments on municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom ash were investigated. Three parallel column experiments were performed: two columns with undisturbed percolation and one column with two sets of 1-month-long flow interruptions applied at liquid-to-solid (L/S) ratios of L/S 2L/kg and 12L/kg, respectively. Concentrations of Na, K, Cl(-), Ca, Si, SO(4)(2-), Al, Cu, Ni, Mo, Ba, Pb, Zn, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were monitored throughout the entire leaching period; geochemical modeling was used to identify non-equilibrium-induced changes in the solubility control. Despite both physical and chemical non-equilibrium, the columns were found to provide adequate information for readily soluble compounds (i.e., Na, Cl(-), and K) and solubility-controlled elements (i.e., Ca, SO(4)(2-), Ba, Si, Al, Zn, and Pb). The leaching of Cu and Ni was shown to depend strongly on DOC leaching, which was likely affected by physical non-equilibrium during flow interruptions. Consequently, the leaching of Cu and Ni in the undisturbed columns was shown to be by about one order of magnitude lower compared with the interrupted column. The results indicate that the leaching of DOC-related metals in laboratory column experiments may be considerably underestimated compared with full-scale scenarios in which the impacts from non-equilibrium may be significantly lower. The leaching of Mo (or MoO(4)(2-)) may be controlled solely by its availability in the mobile zone, which in turn appeared to be controlled by diffusion from the stagnant zone; no Mo controlling minerals were predicted by the geochemical modeling.     

Using statistical power analysis as a tool when designing a monitoring program: experience from a large-scale Swedish landscape monitoring program

The National Inventory of Landscapes in Sweden (NILS) is a large-scale, sample-based monitoring program that combines aerial photointerpretation with field inventory to follow landscape-scale biophysical conditions and changes. A statistical power analysis was conducted before the NILS program began in 2003 with the aim to determine an appropriate sampling effort and compare some design alternatives. The chosen sampling effort was then evaluated in a second power analysis conducted just before the first 5-year re-inventory rotation started. The latter power analysis revealed which magnitude of actual change might be detected within the future for different central monitoring variables. This article reports results from these power analyses and discusses our experiences in using power analysis as a tool for designing large-scale monitoring programs. The results showed that even quite small changes in the more common variables, such as land cover types and more common plant species, can be detected on the national scale. However, on the regional scale, or for less common variables, changes will be more difficult to detect. The power analyses have revealed the size level of changes that will be possible to detect. The results have also generated incentives for further improvements of NILS, e.g., input to the modification and revision of the variable content, flow and hierarchy, and incentives for launching other complementary monitoring programs connected to NILS. They have also created a basis for a better and more user-oriented communication of results from NILS to different stakeholders.     

Occurrence and sorption properties of arsenicals in marine sediments

The content of total arsenic, the inorganic forms: arsenite (As(III)) and arsenate (As(V)), the methylated forms: monomethylarsonic acid and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), trimethylarsenic oxide, tetramethylarsenonium ion and arsenobetaine was measured in 95 sediment samples and 11 pore water samples from the Baltic Sea near the island of Bornholm at depths of up to 100 m. As(III+V) and DMA were detected in the sediment and As(III+V) was detected in the sediment pore water. Average total As concentration of 10.6?±?7.4 mg/kg dry matter (DM) in the sediment corresponds to previously reported values in the Baltic Sea and other parts of the world. Existing data for on-site measurements of sorption coefficients (Kd) of arsenicals in marine and freshwater sediments show large variability from <1 to >1,000 L/kg. In this work, calculated sorption coefficients (Kd and Koc) for As(III+V) showed significant correlation with depth, dissolved oxygen (DO), salinity and sediment classification; for depths <70 m, salinity <11 %, DO >9 mg/L and sand/silt/clay sediments the Kd was 118?±?76 L/kg DM and for depths >70 m, salinity >11 %, DO?<?9 mg/L and muddy sediments the Kd was 513?±?233 L/kg DM. The authors recommend using the found Kd value for arsenic in marine sediments when conditions are similar to the Baltic Sea. At locations with significant anthropogenic point sources or where the local geology contains volcanic rock and sulphide mineral deposits, there may be significantly elevated arsenic concentrations, and it is recommended to determine on-site Kd values.     

Quantification and source identification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediment, soil, and water spinach from Hanoi, Vietnam

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were quantified in sediment, soil, and plant material from Hanoi, Vietnam, and an aquatic production system in peri-urban Hanoi. The sum of the concentration of 16 US-EPA priority PAHs ( summation PAH16) ranged between 0.44 and 6.21 mg kg(-1) dw in sediment and between 0.26 and 1.35 mg kg(-1) dw in soil, with decreasing concentrations from the urban area to the peri-urban area, indicating contributions from urban and industrial sources. Double plots of diagnostic source ratios indicate that PAHs originate from mixed petrogenic and pyrogenic sources, the latter being predominant. The predominance of low molecular weight (LMW) PAHs in the sediment samples suggests that petrogenic sources are more prevalent in the water environment than in the soil. In contrast, high molecular weight (HMW) PAHs dominated in water spinach which probably reflects the plant's uptake of particle-bound PAHs that originate from pyrogenic sources.