Feasibility assessment of electrocoagulation towards a new sustainable wastewater treatment

BACKGROUND, AIM AND SCOPE: Electrocoagulation (EC) may be a potential answer to environmental problems dealing with water reuse and rational waste management. The aim of this research was to assess the feasibility of EC-process for industrial contaminated effluents from copper production, taking into consideration technical and economical factors. EC-technology claims to offer efficient removal rates for most types of wastewater impurities at low power consumption and without adding any precipitating agents. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Real wastewater from Saraka stream with high concentrations of heavy metals was provided by RTB-BOR, a Serbian copper mining and smelting complex. Runs were performed on a 10 l EC-reactor using aluminum plates as sacrificial electrodes and powered by a 40 A supply unit. Results concerning key factors like pH, conductivity and power consumption were measured in real time. Analysis of dissolved metal concentrations before and after treatment were carried out via ICP-OES and confirmed by an independent test via AAS. RESULTS: Several aspects were taken into account, including current density, conductivity, interfacial resistivity and reactor settings throughout the runs, in order to analyze all possible factors playing a role in neutralization and metal removal in real industrial wastewater. DISCUSSION: Electrode configurations and their effects on energy demand were discussed and exemplified based on fundamentals of colloidal and physical chemistry. CONCLUSIONS: Based on experimental data and since no precipitating agents were applied, the EC-process proved to be not only feasible and environmentally-friendly, but also a cost-effective technology RECOMMENDATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES: The EC-technology provides strategic guidelines for further research and development of sustainable water management processes. However, additional test series concerning continuous operation must be still performed in order to get this concept ready for future large-scale applications.     

Comparative toxicity of imidacloprid, of its commercial liquid formulation and of diazinon to a non-target arthropod, the microcrustacean Daphnia magna

Imidacloprid (IMI) is at the moment the insecticide with the world's fastest growing sales and is considered possible replacement for the widely used organophosphorus pesticide, diazinon, which is subject to phased revocation in many countries. In this study, biochemical, reproductive and survival parameters of the water flea (Daphnia magna) after chronic exposure to IMI, its commercial liquid formulation Confidor SL 200 and diazinon are presented and compared. According to the lowest observed effect concentrations, diazinon is more toxic to the reproduction of D. magna than IMI and Confidor SL 200, which exert similar toxicity. The same was observed for the survival, except that Confidor SL 200 is more toxic than IMI. In polluted aquatic environments, the actual levels of diazinon are potentially chronically hazardous to the reproduction of D. magna (risk quotient >1). According to very few measured environmental levels of IMI, the latter is not expected to be chronically hazardous, unless it is accidentally spilled in a small pond. In such case, the predicted concentrations of IMI would present a potential chronic risk to D. magna, and a potential acute risk to other aquatic invertebrates. In the future, higher environmental levels of IMI are expected due to its increasing use and physico-chemical properties. The literature survey summarized in this work suggests that further ecotoxicological studies with a broader spectrum of aquatic organisms are needed before IMI is classified as safer than currently applied pesticides.     

Radiocaesium activity concentrations in potatoes in Croatia after the Chernobyl accident and dose assessment

Systematic investigations of (137)Cs and (134)Cs activity concentrations in potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) for the post-Chernobyl period (1986-2005) in the Republic of Croatia are summarized. The correlation between (137)Cs activity concentrations in fallout and potatoes, has been found to be very good, the correlation coefficient being r = 0.88 with P(t) < 0.001 for 18 degrees of freedom. As the radiocaesium levels in potatoes decreased exponentially, the mean residence time of (137)Cs in potatoes was estimated by fitting the measured activity concentrations to the exponential curve. The mean residence time was found to be 6.8 +/- 1.1 years, the standard deviation being estimated by the Monte Carlo simulations. The initial observed (134)Cs:(137)Cs activity ratio in potatoes has been found to be quite variable, but slightly lesser than the theoretically predicted value of 0.5, calculated by applying the known inventory of these radionuclides in the Chernobyl reactor to the equation for the differential radioactive decay. This can be explained by presence of the pre-Chernobyl (137)Cs in soil that originated from nuclear fallout. The annual effective doses received by (134)Cs and (137)Cs intake due to consumption of potatoes estimated for an adult member of the Croatian population were found to be very small, as the per caput Dose for the entire 1986-2005 period was calculated to be about 2.9 microSv, (134)Cs accounting approximately for 1/3 of the entire dose. Therefore, after the Chernobyl accident consumption of potatoes was not the critical pathway for human intake of radiocaesium from the environment in Croatia.     

The regulation of a spatially heterogeneous externality: Tradable groundwater permits to protect streams

Groundwater pumping can reduce the flow of surface water in nearby streams. In the United States, recent awareness of this externality has led to intra- and inter-state conflict and rapidly-changing water management policies and institutions. Although the marginal damage of groundwater use on stream flows depends crucially on the location of pumping relative to streams, current regulations are generally uniform over space. We use a population data set of irrigation wells in the Nebraska portion of the Republican River Basin to analyze whether adopting spatially differentiated groundwater pumping regulations leads to significant reductions in farmer abatement costs and costs from damage to streams. We find that regulators can generate most of the potential savings in total social costs without accounting for spatial heterogeneity. However, if regulators need to increase the protection of streams significantly from current levels, spatially differentiated policies will yield sizable cost savings.     

Integral approach to industrial effluent quality control in favour of preventing the Rijeka bay pollution

Abstract

INA‐Petrochemical Industry Omi?alj, Yugoslavia is currently producing low density polyethylene, vinyl chloride monomer and ethylene dichloride.

Because of a potentially great hazard for environmental pollution, particularly by low molecular weight chlorinated hydrocarbons, the company has been putting significant effort into its anti‐pollution programme.

Modern technology, polyfunctional organization and proper control of all waste materials has enabled, thus far, no evident or noticable impact on the environment.

Wastewater treatment from the source to final discharged effluent and environmental control results are described.     

Natural attenuation of petroleum hydrocarbons—a study of biodegradation effects in groundwater (Vitanovac,Serbia)

The role of natural attenuation processes in groundwater contamination by petroleum hydrocarbons is of intense scientific and practical interest. This study provides insight into the biodegradation effects in groundwater at a site contaminated by kerosene (jet fuel) in 1993 (Vitanovac, Serbia). Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), hydrochemical indicators (O₂, NO₃^?, Mn, Fe, SO₄^2?, HCO₃^?), δ¹³C of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and other parameters were measured to demonstrate biodegradation effects in groundwater at the contaminated site. Due to different biodegradation mechanisms, the zone of the lowest concentrations of electron acceptors and the zone of the highest concentrations of metabolic products of biodegradation overlap. Based on the analysis of redox-sensitive compounds in groundwater samples, redox processes ranged from strictly anoxic (methanogenesis) to oxic (oxygen reduction) within a short distance. The dependence of groundwater redox conditions on the distance from the source of contamination was observed. δ¹³C values of DIC ranged from ??15.83 to ??2.75‰, and the most positive values correspond to the zone under anaerobic and methanogenic conditions. Overall, results obtained provide clear evidence on the effects of natural attenuation processes—the activity of biodegradation mechanisms in field conditions.     

Conventional, microwave, and ultrasound sequential extractions for the fractionation of metals in sediments within the Petrochemical Industry, Serbia

In this paper, the main objective was fractionation of Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, Ca, Fe, and K in certificate material and sediment samples gathered from and around the Petrochemical Industry using the conventional, microwave and ultrasonic sequential extraction. Microwave oven and ultrasound bath were used as an energy source for achieving faster extraction. Additional heating and boiling of samples were avoided by using lower power and shorter time for microwave and ultrasound extraction. Precision and accuracy of procedure were evaluated by using certificate material (BCR701). Acceptable accuracy of metals (87.0–111.3 %) was achieved for all three-step sequential of conventional extraction protocol. An accuracy of the fourth step has been verified with two certificate materials: BCR143R and 146R. The range of total extracted metal concentrations from sediments was similar for all three extraction techniques. A significant high percentage of Cd, Cu, and Zn were obtained after extraction of the exchangeable and acid soluble sediment fraction. Principal component analysis of values obtained after determination of risk assessment code using conventional and ultrasound sequential extraction show similarity of these values. Accuracy, recovery, and risk assessment code values imply that ultrasound sequential extraction is a more suitable, accelerated sequential extraction procedure (30 min per extraction step) than microwave extraction in applied conditions.     

Metal concentrations in the soils and native plants surrounding the old flotation tailings pond of the copper mining and smelting complex Bor (Serbia)

In this study concentrations of metals in the native plants and soils surrounding the old flotation tailings pond of the copper mine were determined. It has been established that the soil is heavily contaminated with copper, iron and arsenic, the mean concentrations being 1585.6, 29,462.5 and 171.7 mg kg(-1) respectively. All the plants, except manganese, accumulated metallic elements in concentrations which were either in the range of critical and phytotoxic values (Pb and As) or higher (Zn), and even much higher (Cu and Fe) than these values. Otherwise, the accumulation of Mn, Pb and As was considerably lower than that of Cu, Fe and Zn. In most plants the accumulation of target metals was highest in the root. Several plant species showed high bioaccumulation and translocation factor values, which classify them into species for potential use in phytoextraction. The BCF and TF values determined in Prunus persica were 1.20 and 3.95 for Cu, 1.5 and 6.0 for Zn and 1.96 and 5.44 for Pb. In Saponaria officinalis these values were 2.53 and 1.27 for Zn, and in Juglans regia L. they were 8.76 and 17.75 for Zn. The translocation factor in most plants, for most metals, was higher than one, whereas the highest value was determined in Populus nigra for Zn, amounting to 17.8. Among several tolerant species, the most suitable ones for phytostabilization proved to be Robinia pseudoacacia L. for Zn and Verbascum phlomoides L., Saponaria officinalis and Centaurea jacea L. for Mn, Pb and As.