Immersion frying for the thermal drying of sewage sludge: an economic assessment

This paper presents an economic study of a novel thermal fry-drying technology which transforms sewage sludge and recycled cooking oil (RCO) into a solid fuel. The process is shown to have significant potential advantage in terms of capital costs (by factors of several times) and comparable operating costs. Three potential variants of the process have been simulated and costed in terms of both capital and operating requirements for a commercial scale of operation. The differences are in the energy recovery systems, which include a simple condensation of the evaporated water and two different heat pump configurations. Simple condensation provides the simplest process, but the energy efficiency gain of an open heat pump offset this, making it economically somewhat more attractive. In terms of operating costs, current sludge dryers are dominated by maintenance and energy requirements, while for fry-drying these are comparatively small. Fry-drying running costs are dominated by provision of makeup waste oil. Cost reduction could focus on cheaper waste oil, e.g. from grease trap waste.     

Sub-soil contamination due to oil spills in zones surrounding oil pipeline-pump stations and oil pipeline right-of-ways in Southwest-Mexico

Oil spills due to oil pipelines is a very frequent problem in Mexico. Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), very concerned with the environmental agenda, has been developing inspection and correction plans for zones around oil pipelines pumping stations and pipeline right-of-way. These stations are located at regular intervals of kilometres along the pipelines. In this study, two sections of an oil pipeline and two pipeline pumping stations zones are characterized in terms of the presence of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPHs) and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). The study comprehends sampling of the areas, delimitation of contamination in the vertical and horizontal extension, analysis of the sampled soils regarding TPHs content and, in some cases, the 16 PAHs considered as priority by USEPA, calculation of areas and volumes contaminated (according to Mexican legislation, specifically NOM-EM-138-ECOL-2002) and, finally, a proposal for the best remediation techniques suitable for the contamination levels and the localization of contaminants.     

Effects of Subsistence Hunting on Vertebrate Community Structure in Amazonian Forests

Abstract: Subsistence hunting affects vast tracts of tropical wilderness that otherwise remain structurally unaltered, yet distinguishing hunted from nonhunted tropical forests presents a difficult problem because this diffuse form of resource extraction leaves few visible signs of its occurrence. I used a standardized series of line-transect censuses conducted over a 10-year period to examine the effects of subsistence game harvest on the structure of vertebrate communities in 25 Amazonian forest sites subjected to varying levels of hunting pressure. Crude vertebrate biomass, which was highly correlated with hunting pressure, gradually declined from nearly 1200 kg km⁻² at nonhunted sites to less than 200 kg km⁻² at heavily hunted sites. Hunting had a negative effect on the total biomass and relative abundance of vertebrate species in different size classes at these forest sites, but it did not affect their overall density. In particular, persistent hunting markedly reduced the density of large-bodied game species (>5 kg), which contributed a large proportion of the overall community biomass at nonhunted sites (65–78%) and lightly hunted sites (55–71%). Nutrient-rich floodplain forests contained a consistently greater game biomass than nutrient-poor unflooded forests, once I controlled for the effects of hunting pressure. Conservative estimates of game yields indicate that as many as 23.5 million game vertebrates, equivalent to 89,224 tons of bushmeat with a market value of US$190.7 million, are consumed each year by the rural population of Brazilian Amazonia, which illustrates the enormous socioeconomic value of game resources in the region. My cross-site comparison documents the staggering effect of subsistence hunters on tropical forest vertebrate communities and highlights the importance of considering forest types and forest productivity in game management programs.     

Bushmeat Markets on Bioko Island as a Measure of Hunting Pressure

Abstract: Counts of the number of animal carcasses arriving at Malabo market, Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea, were made during two, 8-month study periods in 1991 and 1996. Comparisons of the availability and abundance of individual species between years showed that more species and more carcasses appeared in 1996 than in 1991. In biomass terms, the increase was significantly less, only 12.5%, when compared with almost 60% more carcasses entering the market in 1996. A larger number of carcasses of the smaller-bodied species (i.e., rodents and the blue duiker [ Cephalophus monticola ] ) were recorded in 1996 than in 1991. Although an additional four species of birds and one squirrel were recorded in 1996, these were less important in terms of their contribution to biomass or carcass numbers. Concurrently, there was a dramatic reduction in the larger-bodied species, Ogilby's duiker ( C. ogilbyi ) and seven diurnal primates. We examined these changes, especially the drop in the number of larger animals. We considered the possible following explanations: (1) the number of hunters dropped either because of enforced legislation or scarcity of larger prey; (2) a shift in the use of hunting techniques occurred (   from shotguns to snares); or (3) consumer demand for primate and duiker meat dropped, which increased demand for smaller game. Our results suggest that the situation in Bioko may be alarmingly close to a catastrophe in which primate populations of international conservation significance are being hunted to dangerously low numbers. Although there is still a need for surveys of actual densities of prey populations throughout the island, working with the human population on Bioko to find alternatives to bushmeat is an urgent priority.     

生物滤池对气相与液相中污染物质的净化

通过实验室研究探讨了生物滤池同时处理废水和废气的可行性。试验结果表明：在２５℃－３７℃条件下,甲苯废气的流量为９０Ｌ／ｈ,甲苯浓度为５００ｍｇ／ｍ＾３;废水的流量为０．４Ｌ／ｈ,ＣＯＤｃｒ浓度为４００－７５０ｍｇ／Ｌ,甲苯与ＣＯＤｃｒ的去除率分别是７０％－７２％和８６％－８９％。     

New metallothionein assay in Scrobicularia plana: heating effect and correlation with other biomarkers

Metallothionein (MT) and other biomarker levels were measured in Scrobicularia plana clams to assess pollution of the Guadalquivir Estuary possibly affected by metals released from Aznalcóllar pyrite mine in 1998. After optimizing reagent concentrations for monobromobimane derivatization, MT levels were quantified by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to fluorescence detection (RP-HPLC-FD) in heated or unheated digestive gland extracts and compared to those obtained by differential pulse polarography (DPP). MT content assayed by RP-HPLC-FD in unheated samples was higher than that obtained by DPP and correlated better with metals and anti-oxidant activities. MT assay by RP-HPLC-FD in unheated extracts would be preferable for assessing metal pollution, due to its greater sensitivity and specificity. In addition to MT induction, glyoxalase II inhibition was well correlated with metal contents. Our results suggest that metals at the estuary do not originate from Aznalcóllar spill, but from those carried along by the river and deposited at its concave bank.     

黄铁矿焙烧过程中铊析出影响因素及其烧渣中重金属的相态分布研究

通过模拟硫酸厂的沸腾焙烧炉,考察了黄铁矿焙烧过程中铊(T1)析出的影响因素.并通过分级提取法考察了黄铁矿烧渣中重金属的相态分布.结果表明,T1释放率随焙烧温度的升高而增加,随停留时间的增长而增加;当O2流量在20～300 mL/mi.范围变化时,T1释放率先增后减.环境中备受关注的重金属(如Pb、Cd、Cr等)在黄铁矿烧渣中以Pb为主,各相态Pb的总量达到1 429.20 μg/g,且黄铁矿烧渣中的重金属(除Cu和Sr外)主要是以分布于硅酸盐矿物相中的残余态形式存在,因此在环境中不易迁移释放.尽管黄铁矿烧渣中的重金属(除Cu和Sr外)不是以非残余态分布为主,但非残余态重金属的总量也不少,因此黄铁矿烧渣在环境中的潜在污染风险应当引起重视.     

恶臭源厂界空气中恶臭物质监测技术要点及结果分析探讨——以西安市某大型垃圾填埋场为例

建立了水杨酸-次氯酸钠法分析氨的标准曲线,通过对西安市某垃圾填埋场的实地监测,探索了恶臭气体中氨气的分析方法。分析了臭气、氨气、硫化氢之间的浓度相关性,利用本次监测数据,找出了针对该垃圾处理场的高浓度氨气样品初步分析方案。恶臭产生的主要点位为垃圾场渗滤液污水处理站及下游区域,垃圾场臭气呈现出由点源污染(作业面)到面源污染扩散的态势。     

焦作市中马村矿土壤重金属污染调查评价

对焦作市中马村矿矸石山周围土壤中5种重金属(Cu、Cr、Pb、Zn、Mn)的含量、分布特征及其污染状况进行了调查与评价。结果表明,矿区土壤不同程度地受到5种重金属的污染,依次为Zn>Pb>Cu>Cr>Mn;土壤综合污染指数为1. 74,属轻污染; 5种重金属元素中Zn、Pb相关性显著,其余均为低度相关。