Protective effects of thymoquinone against acrylamide-induced liver,kidney and brain oxidative damage in rats

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Acrylamide (AA), an industrial monomer, may cause multi-organ toxicity through induction of oxidative stress and inflammation. The antioxidant...     

Biogeochemical consequences of a changing Arctic shelf seafloor ecosystem

Unprecedented and dramatic transformations are occurring in the Arctic in response to climate change, but academic, public, and political discourse has disproportionately focussed on the most visible and direct aspects of change, including sea ice melt, permafrost thaw, the fate of charismatic megafauna, and the expansion of fisheries. Such narratives disregard the importance of less visible and indirect processes and, in particular, miss the substantive contribution of the shelf seafloor in regulating nutrients and sequestering carbon. Here, we summarise the biogeochemical functioning of the Arctic shelf seafloor before considering how climate change and regional adjustments to human activities may alter its biogeochemical and ecological dynamics, including ecosystem function, carbon burial, or nutrient recycling. We highlight the importance of the Arctic benthic system in mitigating climatic and anthropogenic change and, with a focus on the Barents Sea, offer some observations and our perspectives on future management and policy.     

Pilot project of mechanical-biological treatment of waste in Brazil

By mechanical-biological treatment (MBT) of residual municipal solid waste the behaviour of landfills can be significantly improved. After MBT the organic content (COD and BOD5), total organic carbon, and total nitrogen in the leachate, as well as the gas production rate, are reduced to values lower than 90% of the fresh untreated waste. The volume of the stabilized material to be disposed on landfills decreases enormously, by up to 70%. The monitoring effort for a landfill constructed under these conditions is reduced to a minimum and the stabilized material can be used in other ways, as material for reforestation, for cover material or for thermal utilization to produce energy. Environmental conditions are important in MBT, as well as waste characteristics. This paper describes the results of a pilot project of MBT performed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The results have shown that this technology can be used successfully in developing countries, with economy for the society and important results for the environment.     

Carbonization of waste PVC to develop porous carbon material without further activation

Efficient removal of chlorine from PVC achieved by two-stage heat-treatment (280 and 410 degrees C) provided chlorine-free isotropic pitch containing additive. The pitch was stabilized and carbonized into porous carbons with surface areas of approximately 300 m2/g. Resultant porous carbons showed three pore structures of supermicropore, micropore and mesopore. The generation of CO2 from the decomposition of the CaCO3 additive in waste PVC is responsible for the development of porous structures. The surface area of the carbonized product increased after the removal of CaO.     

Classification of in-flight catering wastes in Egypt air flights and its potential as energy source (chemical approach)

Waste to energy conversion is based on the classification of waste. In-flight catering wastes resulting from Egypt Airlines economy class passengers were classified. The solid waste stream generated contains plastic, paper, left-over waste food and aluminum. The type of meal served varies according to the period of flight and so the quantity and content of the waste stream. It was found that the waste generation rate varied from 61.3 to 265 g according to the meal type. Breakfast snack meal generates the highest weight of waste which recorded an average of 265 g. Plastic waste generated varied from 39.6% to 64.6% by weight for the various types of meals served. A total amount of 725 tons were generated annually from organic waste (paper, plastic and food waste) among which a non combustible 39.4 tons of aluminum. The calorific value for each generated item is calculated and the total energy potential reached up to 14.3 TJ annually.     

A GIS based transportation model for solid waste disposal--a case study on Asansol municipality

Uncontrolled growth of the urban population in developing countries in recent years has made solid waste management an important issue. Very often, a substantial amount of total expenditures is spent on the collection of solid waste by city authorities. Optimization of the routing system for collection and transport of solid waste thus constitutes an important component of an effective solid waste management system. This paper describes an attempt to design and develop an appropriate storage, collection and disposal plan for the Asansol Municipality Corporation (AMC) of West Bengal State (India). A GIS optimal routing model is proposed to determine the minimum cost/distance efficient collection paths for transporting the solid wastes to the landfill. The model uses information on population density, waste generation capacity, road network and the types of road, storage bins and collection vehicles, etc. The proposed model can be used as a decision support tool by municipal authorities for efficient management of the daily operations for transporting solid wastes, load balancing within vehicles, managing fuel consumption and generating work schedules for the workers and vehicles. The total cost of the proposed collection systems is estimated to be around 80 million rupees for the fixed cost of storage bins, collection vehicles and a sanitary landfill and around 8.4 million rupees for the annual operating cost of crews, vehicles and landfill maintenance. A substantial amount (25 million rupees/yr) is currently being spent by AMC on waste collection alone without any proper storage/collection system and sanitary landfill. Over a projected period of 15 yr, the overall savings is thus very significant.     

The effect of sodium chloride on the dissolution of calcium silicate hydrate gels

The use of cement based materials will be widespread in the long-term management of radioactive materials in the United Kingdom. One of the applications could be the Nirex reference vault backfill (NRVB) as an engineered barrier within a deep geological repository. NRVB confers alkaline conditions, which would provide a robust chemical barrier through the control of the solubility of some key radionuclides, enhanced sorption and minimised corrosion of steel containers. An understanding of the dissolution of C-S-H gels in cement under the appropriate conditions (e.g., saline groundwaters) is necessary to demonstrate the expected evolution of the chemistry over time and to provide sufficient cement to buffer the porewater conditions for the required time. A programme of experimental work has been undertaken to investigate C-S-H gel dissolution behaviour in sodium chloride solutions and the effect of calcium/silicon ratio (C/S), temperature and cation type on this behaviour. Reductions in calcium concentration and pH values were observed with samples equilibrated at 45 degrees C compared to those prepared at 25 degrees C. The effect of salt cation type on salt-concentration dependence of the dissolution of C-S-H gels was investigated by the addition of lithium or potassium chloride in place of sodium chloride for gels with a C/S of 1.0 and 1.8. With a C/S of 1.0, similar increases in dissolved calcium concentration with increasing ionic strength were recorded for the different salts. However, at a C/S of 1.8, anomalously high calcium concentrations were observed in the presence of lithium.     

Dams in the Amazon: Belo Monte and Brazil’s Hydroelectric Development of the Xingu River Basin

Hydroelectric dams represent major investments and major sources of environmental and social impacts. Powerful forces surround the decision-making process on public investments in the various options for the generation and conservation of electricity. Brazil’s proposed Belo Monte Dam (formerly Kararaô) and its upstream counterpart, the Altamira Dam (better known by its former name of Babaquara) are at the center of controversies on the decision-making process for major infrastructure projects in Amazonia. The Belo Monte Dam by itself would have a small reservoir area (440 km²) and large installed capacity (11, 181.3 MW), but the Altamira/Babaquara Dam that would regulate the flow of the Xingu River (thereby increasing power generation at Belo Monte) would flood a vast area (6140 km²). The great impact of dams provides a powerful reason for Brazil to reassess its current policies that allocate large amounts of energy in the country’s national grid to subsidized aluminum smelting for export. The case of Belo Monte and the five additional dams planned upstream (including the Altamira/Babaquara Dam) indicate the need for Brazil to reform its environmental assessment and licensing system to include the impacts of multiple interdependent projects.     

Changes in soil characteristics and plant species composition along a moisture gradient in a Mediterranean pasture

Soil physicochemical characteristics, total aboveground biomass, number of species and relative abundance of groups and individual species were measured along a moisture gradient in a pasture, flooded in part during winter through early summer, adjacent to Pamvotis lake in Ioannina, Greece. Soil and vegetation measurements were conducted in 39 quadrats arranged in four zones perpendicular to the moisture gradient. The zone closest to the lake, recently separated from the lake, became part of the pasture and its soil texture was quite different from that of the other zones with a substrate containing 91% sand. Except for pH, this zone had the lowest values in the other five soil physicochemical characteristics measured (organic matter, total and extracted inorganic nitrogen, Olsen extracted phosphorus and extractable potassium); in the other zones organic matter, total nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium tended to increase from the driest to the wettest zone. Total aboveground biomass, ranging from 280 to 840 gm-2, is high for herbaceous pastures in the conditions of Mediterranean climate and it was not related to distance from the lake's shoreline, although the highest values were measured at intermediate distances, or to any of the various soil characteristics measured. Also, the number of species/0.25 m2 was not related to any of the various soil characteristics, but it was highest at the intermediate distances from the lake's shoreline. Species composition varied along the moisture gradient. Forbs as well as annual grasses and legumes declined in abundance from the driest to the wettest places; the reverse was the case for sedges and perennial grasses and legumes. These results indicate that the soil moisture gradient was the principal factor affecting soil characteristics and plant species composition. Since most species were recorded in all the four zones of the pasture, indicating that these can tolerate all variations in abiotic conditions of pasture, the vegetation zonation seems to be influenced by competition. Each functional group of species tends to dominate in a particular range of the soil moisture gradient where it is better suited and tends to exclude competitively other species. Management practices (mowing and grazing) affect the kinds of processes which maintain the observed community structure either by preventing the establishment of later successional species, like reeds and woody species, or by moderating the shoot competition, especially in the wetter zones, and thus permitting the creeping species to grow successfully.