Emission Control in Coking Operations By Use of Stage Charging

At the Clairton Coke Works of the United States Steel Corporation (the world’s largest coke plant), with coal charges of about 30,000 net tons per day, a system designated as “stage charging” has been developed for charging coal into the coke oven chamber without emissions to the atmosphere. The principles of the system are based on controlled sequential flow of the coal from the charging hoppers, during which the oven chamber is maintained under a very slight negative pressure condition by use of steam aspiration in the offtakes for on-the-main charging. The techniques are basic but require knowledge of the coal characteristics, adequate and properly maintained aspirating systems, including clean offtake piping, control of coal volume in the individual hoppers, and last, and probably most important, adherence by the operating crew to specific charging and leveling practices.     

Estimate of Contribution of Jet Aircraft Operations To Trace Element Concentration at or near Airports

Samples of ASTM type A jet fuel were analyzed for trace element content by instrumental neutron activation techniques. Forty-nine elements were sought. Only ten, aluminum, gold, indium, lanthanum, titanium, vanadium, barium, dysprosium, tellurium, and uranium, were observed at levels above the detection limits encountered; of these only aluminum, titanium, and barium were present at concentrations greater than 0.1 ppm. Estimates of exhaust gas. concentrations are made, and the ambient contribution at or near airports is calculated by using the Los Angeles International Airport dispersion model. It is shown that the ambient contribution is about an order of magnitude below typical urban levels for virtually all elements sought.     

The Change of Concentration Standard Deviations with Distance

Calculations of pollutant concentrations at various downwind and crosswind distances from an elevated point source are frequently based on diffusion models and parameter values contained in Turner’s Workbook of Atmospheric Dispersion Estimates.1 These calculations can be made much more speedily on a computer or on a currentgeneration, programmable desk calculator, if the values of the horizontal and vertical standard deviations of plume concentrations distributions are stated explicitly as a mathematical function of downwind distance. The alternative is to read the values from Turner’s Figures 3-2 and 3-3 and input them into the calculation for each individual value of downwind distance.     

A Microprocessor-Based Air Quality Monitoring System

Portable air quality monitoring systems may be required to supplement fixed installations or to provide for quick response to a transient situation, possibly at a remote location. A microprocessor-based monitoring unit has been developed for use with existing sensors. The unit is portable and its operational sequence can be programmed to adapt it to any unique requirements existing at the deployment site. Selectable on-site calculations are performed on raw data, and a hard copy or tape record of results can be produced.     

The Air Pollution Carrying Capacities of Selected Colorado Mountain Valley Ski Communities

Of all the recreational activities in Colorado, skiing most greatly creates population densities such as to cause noticeable basinwide air pollution. Skiing is big business in this State as skiers spend over $127 million/year at ski resorts. Skiing provides pleasure to thousands of people. Many realize the importance of clear and clean air to the continuing happiness of skiers and to the success of recreational communities.     

Mathematical models for accurate prediction of atmospheric visibility with particular reference to the seasonal and environmental patterns in Hong Kong

Atmospheric visibility impairment has gained increasing concern as it is associated with the existence of a number of aerosols as well as common air pollutants and produces unfavorable conditions for observation, dispersion, and transportation. This study analyzed the atmospheric visibility data measured in urban and suburban Hong Kong (two selected stations) with respect to time-matched mass concentrations of common air pollutants including nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)), nitrogen monoxide (NO), respirable suspended particulates (PM(10)), sulfur dioxide (SO(2)), carbon monoxide (CO), and meteorological parameters including air temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed. No significant difference in atmospheric visibility was reported between the two measurement locations (p > or = 0.6, t test); and good atmospheric visibility was observed more frequently in summer and autumn than in winter and spring (p < 0.01, t test). It was also found that atmospheric visibility increased with temperature but decreased with the concentrations of SO(2), CO, PM(10), NO, and NO(2). The results showed that atmospheric visibility was season dependent and would have significant correlations with temperature, the mass concentrations of PM(10) and NO(2), and the air pollution index API (correlation coefficients mid R: R mid R: > or = 0.7, p < or = 0.0001, t test). Mathematical expressions catering to the seasonal variations of atmospheric visibility were thus proposed. By comparison, the proposed visibility prediction models were more accurate than some existing regional models. In addition to improving visibility prediction accuracy, this study would be useful for understanding the context of low atmospheric visibility, exploring possible remedial measures, and evaluating the impact of air pollution and atmospheric visibility impairment in this region.     

Online detection of waterborne bioavailable copper by valve daily rhythms in freshwater clam Corbicula fluminea

Freshwater clam Corbicula fluminea, a surrogate species in metal toxicity testing, is a promising bioindicator of impairment in aquatic ecosystems. Little is known, however, about the relationship between clam valve daily rhythmic response and metal bioavailability related to a metal biological early warning system (BEWS) design. The purpose of this study was to link biotic ligand model (BLM)-based bioavailability and valve daily rhythm in C. fluminea to design a biomonitoring system for online in situ detection of waterborne copper (Cu). We integrated the Hill-based dose-time-response function and the fitted daily rhythm function of valve closure into a constructed programmatic mechanism. The functional presentation of the present dynamic system was completely demonstrated by employing a LabVIEW graphic control program in a personal computer. We used site-specific effect concentration causing 10% of total valve closure response (EC10) as the detection threshold to implement the proposed C. fluminea-based Cu BEWS. Here our results show that the proposed C. fluminea-based BEWS could be deliberately synthesized to online in situ transmit rapidly the information on waterborne bioavailable Cu levels under various aquatic environmental conditions through monitoring the valve daily rhythmic changes. We suggested that the developed C. fluminea-based dynamic biomonitoring system could assist in developing technically defensible site-specific water quality criteria to promote more efficient uses in water resources for protection of species health in aquatic environments.     

Phosphate adsorption characteristics at the sediment–water interface and phosphorus fractions in Nansi Lake, China, and its main inflow rivers

Phosphorus fractions and phosphate adsorption characteristics of 16 sediments from a shallow freshwater lake (Nansi Lake, China) and its inflow estuaries were investigated. In the present study, the sediment phosphorus is fractionated into exchangeable P (exch-P), Al-P, Fe-P, Ca-P, organic P (OP), inorganic P (IP) and total P (TP). The results show that the total phosphorus (TP) content in the sediments ranges from 571.67 to 1,113.55 mg kg(-1), and calcium bound phosphorus (Ca-P) is the main fraction of IP. The biologically available phosphorus (BAP) ranges from 32.02 to 229.67 mg kg(-1) in the Nansi Lake sediments. Phosphate adsorption on the sediments mainly occurs within 10 h and is completed within 48 h. The content of native adsorbed phosphorus (omega(NAP)) varies greatly from 6.05 to 194.37 mg kg(-1), showing a significant correlation with the total maximal amount of phosphorus adsorbed (TQ(max)). Adsorption efficiency (m) ranges from 574.79 to 3,220.68 l kg(-1) and zero equilibrium phosphorus concentration (C(EPC)) ranges from 0.010 to 0.157 mg l(-1). After the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, the inherent phosphorus present in sediments will be a major threat to the diverted water quality and be a predominant factor determining the trophic status of the lake even if the external load is reduced.     

Non-intrusive characterization methods for wastewater-affected groundwater plumes discharging to an alpine lake

Streams and lakes in rocky environments are especially susceptible to nutrient loading from wastewater-affected groundwater plumes. However, the use of invasive techniques such as drilling wells, installing piezometers or seepage meters, to detect and characterize these plumes can be prohibitive. In this work, we report on the use of four non-intrusive methods for this purpose at a site in the Rocky Mountains. The methods included non-invasive geophysical surveys of subsurface electrical conductivity (EC), in-situ EC measurement of discharging groundwater at the lake-sediment interface, shoreline water sampling and nutrient analysis, and shoreline periphyton sampling and analysis of biomass and taxa relative abundance. The geophysical surveys were able to detect and delineate two high-EC plumes, with capacitively coupled ERI (OhmMapper) providing detailed two-dimensional images. In situ measurements at the suspected discharge locations confirmed the presence of high-EC water in the two plumes and corroborated their spatial extent. The nutrient and periphyton results showed that only one of the two high-EC plumes posed a current eutrophication threat, with elevated nitrogen and phosphorus levels, high localized periphyton biomass and major shifts in taxonomic composition to taxa that are commonly associated with anthropogenic nutrient loading. This study highlights the need to use non-intrusive methods in combination, with geophysical and water EC-based methods used for initial detection of wastewater-affected groundwater plumes, and nutrient or periphyton sampling used to characterize their ecological effects.     

Characterization of Benthic Communities and Physical Habitat in the Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Merced Rivers, California

The primary goal of this study was to characterize physical habitat and benthic communities (macroinvertebrates) in the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced Rivers in California’s San Joaquin Valley in 2003. These rivers have been listed as impaired water bodies (303 (d) list) by the State of California due to the presence of organophosphate (OP) insecticides chlorpyrifos and diazinon, Group A pesticides (i.e., organochlorine pesticides), mercury, or unknown toxicity. Based on 10 instream and riparian physical habitat metrics, total physical habitat scores in the Stanislaus River ranged from 124 to 188 (maximum possible total score is 200). The highest total habitat score was reported at the upstream site. Tuolumne River physical habitat scores ranged from 86 to 167. Various Tuolumne River physical habitat metrics, including total habitat score, increased from downstream to upstream in this river. Merced River physical habitat scores ranged from 121 to 170 with a significant increase in various physical habitat metrics, including total habitat score, reported from downstream to upstream. Channel flow (an instream metric) and bank stability (a riparian metric) were the most important physical habitat metrics influencing the various benthic metrics for all three rivers. Abundance measures of benthic macroinvertebrates (5,100 to 5,400 individuals) were similar among the three rivers in the San Joaquin watershed. Benthic communities in all three rivers were generally dominated by: (1) Baetidae species (mayflies) which are a component of EPT taxa generally considered sensitive to environmental degradation; (2) Chironomidae (midges) which can be either tolerant or sensitive to environmental stressors depending on the species; (3) Ephemerellidae (mayflies) which are considered sensitive to pollution stress; and (4) Naididae (aquatic worms) which are generally considered tolerant to environmental stressors. The presence of 117 taxa in the Stanislaus River, 114 taxa in the Tuolumne River and 96 taxa in the Merced River implies that the benthic communities in these streams are fairly diverse but without a clear definition of benthic community expectations it is unknown if these water bodies are actually impaired.