Accumulation of selected metals and concentration of macroelements in liver and kidney tissues of sympatric golden jackal (Canis aureus) and red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in Somogy County,Hungary

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study examined the concentrations of Al, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the liver and kidney samples of golden jackals (n =...     

Landfill leachate biological treatment: perspective for the aerobic granular sludge technology

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Landfill leachates are high-strength complex mixtures containing dissolved organic matter, ammonia, heavy metals, and sulfur species, among others....     

Mechanisms contributing to the thermal analysis of waste incineration bottom ash and quantification of different carbon species

The focus of this study was to identify the main compounds affecting the weight changes of bottom ash (BA) in conventional loss on ignition (LOI) tests and to obtain a better understanding of the individual processes in heterogeneous (waste) materials such as BA. Evaluations were performed on BA samples from a refuse derived fuel incineration (RDF-I) plant and a hospital waste incineration (HW-I) plant using thermogravimetric analysis and subsequent mass spectrometry (TG–MS) analysis of the gaseous thermal decomposition products. Results of TG–MS analysis on RDF-I BA indicated that the LOI measured at 550 °C was due to moisture evaporation and dehydration of Ca(OH)₂ and hydrocalumite. Results for the HW-I BA showed that LOI at 550 °C was predominantly related to the elemental carbon (EC) content of the sample. Decomposition of CaCO₃ around 700 °C was identified in both materials. In addition, we have identified reaction mechanisms that underestimate the EC and overestimate the CaCO₃ contents of the HW-I BA during TG–MS analyses. These types of artefacts are expected to occur also when conventional LOI methods are adopted, in particular for materials that contain CaO/Ca(OH)₂ in combination with EC and/or organic carbon, such as e.g. municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom and fly ashes. We suggest that the same mechanisms that we have found (i.e. in situ carbonation) can also occur during combustion of the waste in the incinerator (between 450 and 650 °C) demonstrating that the presence of carbonate in bottom ash is not necessarily indicative for weathering. These results may also give direction to further optimization of waste incineration technologies with regard to stimulating in situ carbonation during incineration and subsequent potential improvement of the leaching behavior of bottom ash.     

Electrostatic painting residues as an alternative raw material for red clay industry.

In this study, the viability of using electrostatic painting residues--paint sludge--as a raw material to the red clay industry was investigated. Red clay-based ceramic masses containing electrostatic paint residues were formulated during the study. The clays were obtained from the Rio do Rastro deposit, in Gravataí, and were of the standard formulation used in industry. Different ceramic mass formulations with additions of 0.5, 1.0, 2.5 and 5.0 wt.% electrostatic painting residue in addition to a formulation with no residue addition (standard formulation), were evaluated. The samples were uniaxially pressed in a double-effect press and were fired in an electric oven at 900, 950 and 1000 degrees C. The firing at constant temperature lasted 8 h, and heating rate was 150 K h(-1). After processing the samples were characterized in terms of their physical and mechanical properties. Environmental compatibility was also considered by the evaluation of gaseous emissions and leaching and solubilization tests according to the Brazilian standards NBR 10.005 and NBR 10.006, respectively. The results showed that it was possible to produce ceramic materials containing electrostatic painting residues within their formulations.     

Social preferences towards ecosystem services provided by cloud forests in the neotropics: implications for conservation strategies

Despite the importance of neotropical cloud forests as providers of ecosystem services to society, they are one of the most threatened ecosystems in the world. We analysed the importance of three cloud forest reserves in central Colombia as providers of ecosystem services, as well as the social support to conservation actions in these ecosystems through willingness to pay (WTP) and willingness to give up time (WTT) estimates. Our results highlight the high commitment of all users of the cloud forest areas towards the conservation of the ecosystem services provided by these strategic ecosystems. We found that the most important perceived ecosystem services were water supply and habitat maintenance for species. Our findings also suggest that the respondents’ ecological knowledge (measured as the awareness of the ecosystem services supplied by cloud forests) was an important factor in determining both WTP and WTT for conserving cloud forests. Moreover, our results indicate that WTT should be a viable technique to explore individual preferences of different stakeholders towards conservation activities in cloud forests. Based on our results, we propose a conservation strategy of cloud forests that considers different users’ socio-economic and environmental characteristics, in which both experimental and experiential knowledge should be incorporated in order to promote collective action.     

Feasibility of storing CO2 in the Utsira formation as part of a long term Dutch CCS strategy: An evaluation based on a GIS/MARKAL toolbox

This study provides insight into the feasibility of a CO₂ trunkline from the Netherlands to the Utsira formation in the Norwegian part of the North Sea, which is a large geological storage reservoir for CO₂. The feasibility is investigated in competition with CO₂ storage in onshore and near-offshore sinks in the Netherlands. Least-cost modelling with a MARKAL model in combination with ArcGIS was used to assess the cost-effectiveness of the trunkline as part of a Dutch greenhouse gas emission reduction strategy for the Dutch electricity sector and CO₂ intensive industry. The results show that under the condition that a CO₂ permit price increases from €25 per tCO₂ in 2010 to €60 per tCO₂ in 2030, and remains at this level up to 2050, CO₂ emissions in the Netherlands could reduce with 67% in 2050 compared to 1990, and investment in the Utsira trunkline may be cost-effective from 2020–2030 provided that Belgian and German CO₂ is transported and stored via the Netherlands as well. In this case, by 2050 more than 2.1 GtCO₂ would have been transported from the Netherlands to the Utsira formation. However, if the Utsira trunkline is not used for transportation of CO₂ from Belgium and Germany, it may become cost-effective 10 years later, and less than 1.3 GtCO₂ from the Netherlands would have been stored in the Utsira formation by 2050. On the short term, CO₂ storage in Dutch fields appears more cost-effective than in the Utsira formation, but as yet there are major uncertainties related to the timing and effective exploitation of the Dutch offshore storage opportunities.