The behaviour of ashes and heavy metals during the co-combustion of sewage sludges in a fluidised bed

Co-combustion tests of dry sewage sludges with coal were performed in a pilot bubbling FBC aiming at the characterization of ashes and determining the behaviour of heavy metals in the process. The tests showed compliance with the regulatory levels as far as heavy metal emissions were concerned. The bottom ashes, which accounted for about 70% of the total ash production, were obtained in a granular form, with diameters ranging from 0.5 to 4 mm. The heavy metals were distributed in ashes obtained from different locations of the installation and their concentrations were found to vary depending on the location of capture. The increase in heavy metals content in bottom ashes was not found to lead to higher leachability and ecotoxicity compared to sewage sludges, suggesting that there could be opportunities for their further use. Mercury suffered vaporisation inside the reactor, thus leaving bottom ashes free of contamination by it. However, there was observed a strong retention of mercury in cyclone ashes due to the presence of unburned carbon which probably acted as an adsorbent. The effluent mercury was also found to be mostly associated with the particulate fraction, being less than 20% emitted in gaseous forms. The results suggested that the combustion of the sewage sludge could successfully be carried out and the amount of unburned carbon leaving the combustor but captured in cyclone was large enough to ensure substantial retention of mercury at low temperatures, hence could contribute to an improvement of the mercury release which still remains an issue of great concern to resolve during combustion of waste materials.     

Concentration and chemical speciation for the determination of Cu,Zn, Ni,Pb and Cd from refuse dump soils using the optimized BCR sequential extraction procedure

The optimized BCR sequential extraction procedure (proposed by the Standards, Measurements and Testing Programme (SM&T) of the European Union) was applied to seven topsoil samples from refuse dump sites for the determination of Cu, Zn, Ni, Pb and Cd. The metals were partitioned into four operationally defined chemical fractions: acid extractable, reducible, oxidizable and residual, and analysed using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry, FAAS. The results were compared with total metal concentrations obtained using HNO₃, HClO₄ and HF digestion procedures. Results for total metal analysis ranged from - 15.55 to 43.45 for Cu, 37.15 to 222.35 for Zn, 5.15 to 12.10 for Ni, 10.30 to 93.05 for Pb and 0.35 to 3.75 for Cd in μgg⁻¹ dry weight. The results of the partitioning study showed that zinc prevailed in the more soluble fractions and was distributed between the acid-extractable (32.4%) and the reducible (40.3%) fractions, whereas Pb was distributed mainly in the reducible fraction. Copper and nickel were predominantly associated with the reducible and residual fractions - 53.4, 33.3 and 51.1, 24.1% respectively. The ranking of the four fractions for the partitioning of cadmium was: reducible > residual > oxidizable > acid extractable. The percentage recovery for all metals when comparing total metal concentration with the fractional sum of the optimized BCR procedure, were of the order: Zn(93%) > Pb(83%) > Cu(78) > Cd > (68%) > Ni(63%).     

Types of narrow-skulled vole (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lasiopodomys gregalis</Emphasis>) colonies in Northern Kulunda and seasonal dynamics of their demographic composition

Demographic structure and its seasonal dynamics have been studied in colonies of narrow-skulled voles (Lasiopodomys gregalis Pall.) in Northern Kulunda. Three types of colonies have been distinguished: (I) true colonies (large, complex families), (II) simple families (nuclear or incomplete), and (III) all-male colonies. Changes in their sex, age, and functional composition (based on animal migration activity) during the breeding season have been analyzed.     

Singular Spectrum Analysis of Hydroecological Parameter Dynamics of Lake Naroch’ in the Years 1978–2015

Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA) has been used to decompose continuous series of data on certain characteristics of Lake Naroch’ ecosystem during the vegetative seasons of years 1978–2015 into a long-time trend, a periodic component, and a residue not amenable to decomposition. The contribution of each component to changes in this variable has been assessed. The trends accounted for 78–97% of parameter variability, and the periodic components accounted for 2.5–15%. The fluctuations of phytoplankton and zooplankton biomass dynamics were the most diverse, and the contribution of these components was the greatest (15 and 8%, respectively). The periodic components in the changes of all parameters could be divided into four groups according to period duration (17–22, 7–15, 4–7, and less than 4 years). Multidimensional factor analysis of seven biotic parameters was performed in order to identify fluctuations in the ecosystem. Five major factors accounting for 93.6% of ecosystem changes together were identified, and each factor variable was subjected to SSA analysis. The period durations were similar for the oscillatory components identified. The first factor was interpreted as a trophic status of the water body, the second was taken to be the geographical location that defines the amount of solar radiation energy available, the third was taken to be the availability of biogenic elements (phosphorus in particular), and the fourth was interpreted as specific developmental cycles of live components of the ecosystem.     

Mangrove Mapping Using Landsat Imagery and Aerial Photographs: Kemaman District, Terengganu, Malaysia

Classification and distribution of mangrove vegetation are vital information for the proper development of a mangrove management plan. In this study, classification for the mangroves of the district of Kemaman were done using both 1 : 5000 aerial photographs and Landsat TM imageries. The coverage by aerial photographs is limited to the coastal and estuarine areas only. Thus, for areas further upstream of the aerial photo coverage, Landsat TM imageries were used. Analysis of aerial photographs and remote sensing images revealed that the mangroves of Kemaman could be classified into 14 different classes of vegetation. All the 14 classes were identified from areas covered by the aerial photographs. For areas covered by the Landsat images only 7 classes of vegetation were identified. The accuracy for aerial photograph and Landsat images are 91.2% and 87.8%, respectively. It can be concluded that although both techniques are useful in determining the mangrove vegetation classes, the large 1 : 5000 aerial photographs are more accurate and provided more detailed information comparatively.     

Dynamics of Tree and Shrub Vegetation in the Eastern Sayan Mountain Tundra

Russian Journal of Ecology - Climate change entails shifts in the ranges of woody plants along both latitudinal and altitudinal gradients in the boreal forest biome. In this study,...     

A basidiomycete isolated from the skeleton of<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Pocillopora damicornis</Emphasis> (Scleractinia) selectively stimulates short-term survival of coral skeletogenic cells

Endolithic fungi bore through the extracellular calcium carbonate skeleton of reef-building scleractinian corals, both healthy and dead, and effect net erosion of coral reefs. Potential fungal interactions with coral tissue were investigated using an in vitro approach suggested by earlier observations of skeletal repair cones at the site of fungal perforation in Porites sp. A fungal strain was isolated from the skeleton of a long-term culture of healthy, tissue-covered, Pocillopora damicornis Linnaeus colonies maintained in a recirculating system in Monaco. As coral soft tissue spontaneously dissociated in vitro, the skeleton became exposed and hyaline hyphae emerged radially from 15% of the total clipped branches. In this study, which was performed between January 2001 and March 2003, 35 skeleton–hypha explants were embedded in agar-based solid medium, yielding 60% hyphal growth. A fungal strain (F19-3-1) of the dominant (80%) morphology was isolated and propagated in agar-based solid medium. The strain was identified by 18S and 26S rDNA gene sequence analysis as a basidiomycete in the genus Cryptococcus. Co-cultures were used to provide experimental exposure of coral soft tissue to the fungus. The fungus extended the survival of coral cells by 2 days, selectively maintaining skeletogenic cell types. This effect may be interpreted as stimulation by the fungus of a short-term coral defense response.Communicated by J.P. Grassle, New Brunswick     

Lack of population subdivision among the minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) from Icelandic and Norwegian waters based on mitochondrial DNA sequences

The minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) is subject to commercial whaling, but stock identification and assessment are still uncertain. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences were determined to examine the population structure of minke whales from the central and northeastern parts of the North Atlantic, as well as the Antarctic regions IV and V. The analyses include 345 nucleotide positions of the control region of 110 individuals, and 250 nucleotide positions of the NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 gene for a representative selection of North Atlantic minke whales. Maximum parsimony analyses and sequence divergence calculations did not reveal any genetic differentiation between individuals from the central and northeastern parts of the North Atlantic. These results do not support the International Whaling Commission's separation of minke whales in this area into different management units, and they are in conflict with previously reported results from allozyme analyses. Comparison of minke whale control region sequences showed that the sequence diversity of North Atlantic minke whales is substantially lower (0.0065) than that of Antarctic minke whales (0.0166), and clearly demonstrated that individuals from these two areas represent genetically distinct populations.