INVERSE SOLUTION OF HYDRAULIC DIFFUSIVITY DETERMINED BY WATER LEVEL FLUCTUATION1

ABSTRACT: This study uses the spectral analysis to inversely solve for hydraulic diffusivity of a one-dimensional aquifer with boundaries subject to non-steady state water level fluctuation. Given water level spectra obtained from observation wells and tidal gauge stations, hydraulic diffusivity of a confined aquifer in a Quaternary alluvial plain is found to be about 1.8×10⁶m^2/hr which is one order of magnitude higher than the value obtained from a local pump test performed in the same area.     

Nickel ferrite nanoenabled graphene oxide (NiFe2O4@GO) as photoactive nanocomposites for water treatment

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Nanocomposite materials can enhance the capabilities of water treatment processes such as photocatalysis. In this work, novel light-driven...     

Copper stabilization in beneficial use of waterworks sludge and copper-laden electroplating sludge for ceramic materials

A promising strategy for effectively incorporating metal-containing waste materials into a variety of ceramic products was devised in this study. Elemental analysis confirmed that copper was the predominant metal component in the collected electroplating sludge, and aluminum was the predominant constituent of waterworks sludge collected in Hong Kong. The use of waterworks sludge as an aluminum-rich precursor material to facilitate copper stabilization under thermal conditions provides a promising waste-to-resource strategy. When sintering the mixture of copper sludge and the 900 °C calcined waterworks sludge, the CuAl₂O₄ spinel phase was first detected at 650 °C and became the predominant product phase at temperatures higher than 850 °C. Quantification of the XRD pattern using the Rietveld refinement method revealed that the weight of the CuAl₂O₄ spinel phase reached over 50% at 850 °C. The strong signals of the CuAl₂O₄ phase continued until the temperature reached 1150 °C, and further sintering initiated the generation of the other copper-hosting phases (CuAlO₂, Cu₂O, and CuO). The copper stabilization effect was evaluated by the copper leachability of the CuAl₂O₄ and CuO via the prolonged leaching experiments at a pH value of 4.9. The leaching results showed that the CuAl₂O₄ phase was superior to the CuAlO₂ and CuO phases for immobilizing hazardous copper over longer leaching periods. The findings clearly indicate that spinel formation is the most crucial metal stabilization mechanism when sintering multiphase copper sludge with aluminum-rich waterworks sludge, and suggest a promising and reliable technique for reusing both types of sludge waste for ceramic materials.     

Prolonged toxicity characteristic leaching procedure for nickel and copper aluminates

The toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) is a regulatory testing method widely employed to evaluate the environmental friendliness of waste materials. TCLP analysis provides a fast, easy and economical way to determine the mobility of waste pollutants under simulated landfill conditions. Recent studies on metal stabilization have reported the potential for nickel and copper aluminates to form in thermal treatment conditions, and suggested a more reliable method of stabilizing hazardous metals, particularly when products are to be reused. There is thus an urgent need for a convenient and effective method of quantifying metal leachability and identifying the metal leaching behavior of sparingly soluble materials. In this study, standard TCLP analysis was modified into a prolonged leaching experiment to investigate the leaching behavior of nickel and copper oxides (NiO and CuO) and their aluminates (NiAl(2)O(4), CuAl(2)O(4) and CuAlO(2)). The results demonstrate the difficulty of differentiating the leachability of highly insoluble phases, such as NiO and NiAl(2)O(4), using the standard TCLP. The prolonged TCLP method, however, confirmed NiAl(2)O(4) to have a lower degree of intrinsic leachability than NiO and that it could be expected to undergo congruent dissolution under landfill conditions. For the more soluble copper system, the aluminates were still found to possess a much lower degree of leachability, and their leaching behavior to follow an incongruent dissolution pattern. The results of this study prove prolonged TCLP analysis to be a convenient and effective way to evaluate the environmental friendliness of metal waste and to identify the leaching behavior of waste materials.     

Trisomy 13 mosaicism: study of serial cytogenetic changes in a case from early pregnancy to infancy

We report a patient whose chorionic villus sampling showed a nonmosaic trisomy 13 [46,XX,der(13;13)(q10;q10)]. Subsequent amniocentesis and cordocentesis showed varying percentages of abnormal cells (77 and 78% in two amniocentesis; 14% in cordocentesis) and mosaic trisomy 13 was impressed. Prenatal fetal ultrasound scanning revealed only mild structural abnormalities (echogenic cardiac foci, transient lemon head, transient skin oedema). The mother chose to continue the pregnancy. Karyotyping of the cord blood, peripheral blood, umbilical cord, urine, and chorion were performed postpartum. The process of correction appeared to exist in the placenta (indirect evidence from coexistence of trisomy 13 [46,XX,der(13;13)(q10,q10)], euploidy [46,XX], aneuploidy [46,XX,–13, +mar], and monosomy 13 [45,XX,–13] in the chorion at birth). The baby had survived beyond eight months of age at the time of submission. Few structural abnormalities except low-set ears, absence of the 12th rib, and cardiomegaly with ventricular septal defect, were noted postnatally. The growth reached 95th percentile at the age of one month. Development milestones were not delayed at serial evaluations. Her ventricular septal defect was corrected surgically at the age of six months. Karyotypes of her skin fibroblasts, blood lymphocytes, and cardiac tissue were all normal [46,XX] at the time of surgery. Difficulties of the genetic counseling are also discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Photoelectro-Fenton mineralization of phenol through optimization of ferrous regeneration

The degradation of phenol in acidic solution at pH 3 has been investigated under various photo- and electrochemical conditions. A laboratory-scale reactor on which were mounted net electrodes (RuO₂/IrO₂-coated Ti anodes (DSA) and stainless steel cathodes) and 254 nm UV lamps was established to effectively reduce ferric reagents. The experimental results of the photoelectron-chemical reaction suggested that the current efficiency of reducing ferric ion was improved by increasing the number of electrodes used, and the UV lamps were important to inducing the reduction of ferric carboxylates, which were the major intermediates that were formed upon a particular degree of phenol oxidation. Accordingly, the addition of an initial concentration of 400 ppm ferrous salt and 10,200 ppm hydrogen peroxide (in a continuous mode) resulted in the removal of over 92 % of TOC (initial phenol?=?2,000 ppm, TOC?=?1,532 ppm) by 4 h of the photoelectro-Fenton and the sequential 2 h of the photo-Fenton processes. HPLC was utilized to monitor the formation of aromatic and carboxylate byproducts, and revealed that the aid of photo irradiation eliminated most of the oxalate residue from the final solution, which would have contributed to the 25 % of the TOC that was inactive in the electrolytic system.     

Exposure assessment of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) in temporary municipal-waste-incinerator maintenance workers before and after annual maintenance

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) have been found in ambient air around municipal waste incinerators (MWIs), and elevated serum levels in incinerator workers have also been observed in some studies. However, few studies have focused on temporary employees who work intermittently through the annual maintenance and clean-up around different incinerators. The present study aimed to assess the change in serum PCDD/F levels of temporary employees between the beginning of periodic incinerator maintenance and one month the work was completed. Thirty-five volunteer workers, most of them transient and temporary maintenance staff, were recruited from a contractor that provided annual maintenance for four incinerators in this study. Information about each participant was obtained by questionnaire at the beginning of annual maintenance. The questionnaire asked for work history, health status, and diet information. As measured by the PCDD/F levels in blood, a significant increase was observed in workers after a month of maintenance work. The increase was greater in workers who had never done this type of maintenance than in those with previous experience, especially for 2,3,4,6,7,8-HxCDF levels. The data also showed that the laborers and employers need to pay more attention to occupational health issues even for short-term incinerator maintenance workers.     

Biodegradable nanocomposites based on poly(butylene succinate)/organoclay

In this work, we try to incorporate the inorganic system into the biodegradable polymers to compose an organic/inorganic polymer hybrid. Various nanocomposites of poly(butylene succinates) (PBS) with different ratios of organically modified layered silicates (OMLS) prepared by solution blending were investigated. The OMLS used for the preparation of nanocomposites were functionalized ammonium salts modified montmorillonite. The effects of OMLS on the nanocomposites were investigated by XRD, TEM, DMA and TGA in the aspect of the d-spacing of clay, mechanical and thermal properties. Interestingly, all these nanocomposites exhibited improved properties when compared with the pristine PBS sample. XRD indicates that the layers of clay were intercalated by the modifiers, and the interlayer distance of organoclay in the nanocomposites could be extended to about 29.4 Å. Moreover, the thermal stability of the nanocomposites was enhanced by the addition of organoclay via TGA study, closely related to the organoclay content in the PBS matrix. DMA data shows that the storage and loss moduli were concurrently enhanced by the addition of organoclay as compared to the pristine PBS sample. Moreover, the glass transition temperatures also increased about 5 to 20 °C (from DMA, peak of tanδ) for the various organoclay-containing samples. The enhanced mechanical and thermal properties can be achieved from these organoclay modified-nanocomposites.