Environmental assessment of supercritical water oxidation of sewage sludge

Environmental aspects of using supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) to treat sewage sludge were studied using a life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The system studied is the first commercial scale SCWO plant for sewage sludge in the world, treating sludge from the municipal wastewater treatment facility in Harlingen, TX, USA. The environmental impacts were evaluated using three specific environmental attributes: global warming potential (GWP), photo-oxidant creation potential (POCP) and resource depletion; as well as two single point indicators: EPS2000 and EcoIndicator99. The LCA results show that for the described process, gas-fired preheating of the sludge is the major contributor to environmental impacts, and emissions from generating electricity for pumping and for oxygen production are also important. Overall, SCWO processing of undigested sewage sludge is an environmentally attractive technology, particularly when heat is recovered from the process. Energy-conserving measures and recovery of excess oxygen from the SCWO process should be considered for improving the sustainability potential.     

THE INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE VARIATION ON THE ESTIMATION OF LOW FLOWS USED TO PROTECT WATER QUALITY: A NATIONWIDE ASSESSMENT1

ABSTRACT: Historical flow records are used to estimate the regulatory low flows that serve a key function in setting discharge permit limits through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, which provides a nationwide mechanism for protecting water quality. Use of historical records creates an implicit connection between water quality protection and climate variability. The longer the record, the more likely the low flow estimate will be based on a broad set of climate conditions, and thus provides adequate water quality protection in the future. Unfortunately, a long record often is not available at a specific location. This analysis examines the connection between climate variability and the variability of biologically based and hydrologically based low flow estimates at 176 sites from the Hydro‐Climatic Data Network, a collection of stream gages identified by the USGS as relatively free of anthropogenic influences. Results show that a record of 10 to 20 years is necessary for satisfactory estimates of regulatory low flows. Although it is possible to estimate a biologically based low flow from a record of less than 10 years, these estimates are highly uncertain and incorporate a bias that undermines water quality protection.     

The effects of parental altruism on the governance of family‐managed firms

We draw on the economic, corporate governance, and family business literatures to explain why the effects of family on family firms makes this governance form theoretically distinct from those of public and private non‐family firms. Our thesis is that parental altruism, when combined with private ownership and owner‐management, influences the ability of the firm's owner‐manager to exercise self‐control, which, in turn, can expose some family firms to conflicts rooted in the agency threats of moral hazard, hold‐up, and adverse selection. We then discuss why some other family firms are able to minimize these dark side threats and thereby attain altruism's brighter side. Finally, we discuss how altruism's influence changes over time as ownership becomes dispersed among family members and across generations. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quantifying and Evaluating Ecosystem Health: A Case Study from Moreton Bay, Australia

As part of the program monitoring the ecosystem health of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia, we developed a means for assessing ecosystem health that allows quantitative evaluation and spatial representations of the assessments. The management objectives for achieving ecosystem health were grouped into ecosystem objectives, water quality objectives, and human health objectives. For the first two groups, aspects of the ecosystem (e.g., trophic status) were identified, and an indicator was chosen for each aspect. Reference values for each indicator were derived from management objectives and compared with the mapped survey values. Subregions for which the indicator statistic was equal to or better than the assigned reference value are referred to as “compliant zones.” High-resolution surface maps were created from spatial predictions on a fine hexagonal grid for each of the indicators. Eight reporting subregions were established based on the depth and predicted residence times of the water. Within each reporting subregion, the proportion that was compliant was calculated. These results then were averaged to create an integrated ecosystem health index. The ratings by a team of ecosystem experts and the calculated ecosystem health indices had good correspondence, providing assurance that the approach was internally consistent, and that the management objectives covered the relevant biologic issues for the region. This method of calculating and mapping ecosystem health, relating it directly to management objectives, may have widespread applicability for ecosystem assessment.     

Removal of selenate from water by zerovalent iron

Zerovalent iron (ZVI) has been widely used in the removal of environmental contaminants from water. In this study, ZVI was used to remove selenate [Se(VI)] at a level of 1000 microg L(-1) in the presence of varying concentrations of Cl-, SO(2-)4, NO(-)3, HCO(-)3, and PO(3-)4. Results showed that Se(VI) was rapidly removed during the corrosion of ZVI to iron oxyhydroxides (Fe(OH)). During the 16 h of the experiments, 100 and 56% of the added Se(VI) was removed in 10 mM Cl- and SO(2-)4 solutions under a closed contained system, respectively. Under an open condition, 100 and 93% of the added Se(VI) were removed in the Cl- and SO(2-)4 solutions, respectively. Analysis of Se species in ZVI-Fe(OH) revealed that selenite [Se(IV)] and nonextractable Se increased during the first 2 to 4 h of reaction, with a decrease of Se(VI) in the Cl- experiment and no detection of Se(VI) in the SO(2-)4 experiment. Two mechanisms can be attributed to the rapid removal of Se(VI) from the solutions. One is the reduction of Se(VI) to Se(IV), followed by rapid adsorption of Se(IV) to Fe(OH). The other is the adsorption of Se(VI) directly to Fe(OH), followed by its reduction to Se(IV). The results also show that there was little effect on Se(VI) removal in the presence of Cl- (5, 50, and 100 mM), NO(-)3 (1, 5, and 10 mM), SO(2-)4 (5 mM), HCO(-)3 (1 and 5 mM), or PO(3-)4 (1 mM) and only a slight effect in the presence of SO(2-)4 (50 and 100 mM), HCO(-)3 (10 mM), and PO(3-)4 (5 mM) during a 2-d experiment, whereas 10 mM PO(3-)4 significantly inhibited Se(VI) removal. This work suggests that ZVI may be an effective agent to remove Se from Se-contaminated agricultural drainage water.     

Perceptions of river managers of institutional constraints on floodplain restoration in the UK

The restoration of river environments has been of growing importance to river management and planning in the UK. The extension of ecological restoration to floodplains as well as river channels is more complex, partly because of the range of stakeholders and the diversity of relevant management institutions. This paper draws on a qualitative survey of river managers in the UK to identify institutional factors relevant to the success or failure of floodplain restoration projects.     

Simple models for phosphorus loss from manure during rainfall

Mechanistic, predictive equations for phosphorus (P) transport in runoff from manure-applied fields constitute a critical knowledge gap for developing nonpoint-source pollution models. We derived two simple equations to describe the P release from animal manure during a rainfall event-one based on first-order P desorption kinetics and one based on second-order kinetics. The manure characteristics needed in the two kinetic equations are the maximum amount of water-extractable phosphorus (WEP) and a characteristic desorption time. Water-extractable P can be measured directly but currently the characteristic time can only be obtained by fitting experimental data. In addition, we evaluated two models usually used to estimate P loss from soil, the Elovitch equation and power function, both of which relate P loss to time. The models were tested against previously published data of P release from different manures under laboratory conditions. All equations fit the data well. Of the two kinetic equations, the second-order model showed better agreement with the data than the first-order model; for example, maximum relative differences between the model results and measured data were 2.6 and 4.7%, respectively. The characteristic times varied between 20 min for dairy manure and almost 100 min for poultry manure. The characteristic time did not appear to change with flow rate but decreased with smaller manure aggregates. The parameters for power-function relationships could not be related to measured manure characteristics. These results provide the first step to process-based approximations for predicting P release from manure with time during rainfall shortly after land application, when P losses are the greatest.     

ARE RURAL RESIDENTS WILLING TO PAY ENOUGH TO IMPROVE DRINKING WATER QUALITY?1

ABSTRACT: The concentrations of iron and sulfate in community water supplies are a concern for a number of areas in southwestern Minnesota. This study used the contingent valuation method to determine how much consumers would be willing to pay to improve their drinking water quality. On average, individuals were willing to pay US$5.25 per month (in 1995 U.S. dollars) to reduce the level of iron and US$4.33 per month to reduce the level of sulfate in their water to the USEPA's secondary standards for drinking water quality. Respondents with negative perceptions of their drinking water quality were willing to pay more to improve water quality. The aggregate annual willingness to pay (WTP) for all consumers in community water systems in southwestern Minnesota that were out of compliance with water quality standards were estimated to be US$2.4 million and US$2.0 million (in 1995 dollars) for reducing the levels of iron and sulfate, respectively. Yet the total WTP of consumers who use small community water systems may not be enough to pay the full cost of providing improved water in those systems. Economies of scale in water treatment and difficulties in financing improvements mean that technical innovation, government assistance, or institutional changes may be needed to improve water quality in these areas.     

Simulation of vegetation dynamics and management strategies on south Texas, semi-arid rangeland

In this paper, we describe a model designed to simulate seasonal dynamics of warm and cool season grasses and forbs, as well as the dynamics of woody plant succession through five seral stages, in each of nine different plant communities on the Rob and Bessie Welder Wildlife Refuge. The Welder Wildlife Refuge (WWR) is located in the Gulf Coastal Prairies and Marshes ecoregion of Texas. The model utilizes and integrates data from a wide array of research projects that have occurred in south Texas and WWR. It is designed to investigate the effects of alternative livestock grazing programs and brush control practices, with particular emphasis on prescribed burning, the preferred treatment for brush on the WWR. We evaluated the model by simulating changes in the plant communities under historical (1974-2000) temperature, rainfall, livestock grazing rotation, and brush control regimes, and comparing simulation results to field data on herbaceous biomass and brush canopy cover collected on the WWR over the same period. We then used the model to simulate the effects of 13 alternative management schemes, under each of four weather regimes, over the next 25 years. We found that over the simulation period, years 1974-2000, the model does well in simulating the magnitude and seasonality of herbaceous biomass production and changes in percent brush canopy cover on the WWR. It also does well in simulating the effects of variations in cattle stocking rates, grazing rotation programs, and brush control regimes on plant communities, thus providing insight into the combined effects of temperature, precipitation, cattle stocking rates, grazing rotation programs, and brush control on the overall productivity and state of woody plant succession on the WWR. Simulation of alternative management schemes suggests that brush canopy removal differs little between summer and winter prescribed burn treatments when precipitation remains near the long-term average, but during periods of low precipitation canopy removal is greater under winter prescribed burning. The model provides a useful tool to assist refuge personnel with developing long-term brush management and livestock grazing strategies.