Chromium (VI) biosorption properties of multiple resistant bacteria isolated from industrial sewerage

Chromium (VI) [Cr (VI)] biosorption by four resistant autochthonous bacterial strains was investigated to determine their potential for use in sustainable marine water-pollution control. Maximum exchange between Cr (VI) ions and protons on the cells surfaces were at 30–35 °C, pH?2.0 and 350–450 mg/L. The bacterial strains effectively removed 79.0–90.5 % Cr (VI) ions from solution. Furthermore, 85.3–93.0 % of Cr (VI) ions were regenerated from the biomasses, and 83.4–91.7 % of the metal was adsorbed when the biomasses was reused. Langmuir isotherm performed better than Freundlich isotherm, depicting that Cr (VI) affinity was in the sequence Rhodococcus sp. AL03Ni?>?Burkholderia cepacia AL96Co?>?Corynebacterium kutscheri FL108Hg?>?Pseudomonas aeruginosa CA207Ni. Biosorption isotherms confirmed that Rhodococcus sp. AL03Ni was a better biosorbent with a maximum uptake of 107.46 mg of Cr (VI) per g (dry weight) of biomass. The results highlight the high potential of the organisms for bacteria-based detoxification of Cr (VI) via biosorption.     

Application of thresholds of potential concern and limits of acceptable change in the condition assessment of a significant wetland

We propose a framework in which thresholds of potential concern (TPCs) and limits of acceptable change (LACs) are used in concert in the assessment of wetland condition and vulnerability and apply the framework in a case study. The lower Murrumbidgee River floodplain (the ‘Lowbidgee’) is one of the most ecologically important wetlands in Australia and the focus of intense management intervention by State and Federal government agencies. We used a targeted management stakeholder workshop to identify key values that contribute to the ecological significance of the Lowbidgee floodplain, and identified LACs that, if crossed, would signify the loss of significance. We then used conceptual models linking the condition of these values (wetland vegetation communities, waterbirds, fish species and the endangered southern bell frog) to measurable threat indicators, for which we defined a management goal and a TPC. We applied this framework to data collected across 70 wetland storages’, or eco-hydrological units, at the peak of a prolonged drought (2008) and following extensive re-flooding (2010). At the suggestion of water and wetland mangers, we neither aggregated nor integrated indices but reported separately in a series of chloropleth maps. The resulting assessment clearly identified the effect of rewetting in restoring indicators within TPC in most cases, for most storages. The scale of assessment was useful in informing the targeted and timely management intervention and provided a context for retaining and utilising monitoring information in an adaptive management context.     

Atmospheric Volatile Organic Compound Monitoring. Ozone Induced Artefact Formation

Assessment of population exposure to VOC in ambient atmospheres is receiving heightened interest as the adverse health effects of chronic exposure to certain of these compounds are identified. Active (pumped) and passive samplers are the most commonly used devices for this type of monitoring. It has been shown, however, that these devices, along with all other preconcentration techniques, are susceptible to ozone interference. It is demonstrated that this interference occurs even at low ozone concentrations and that it may result in the under-estimation of population exposure. A convenient and effective ozone scrubbing method is identified and successfully applied and validated for both active and passive samplers for a range of VOC.     

Conductivity as a tracer of agricultural and urban runoff to delineate water quality impacts in the northern Everglades

Agricultural and urban runoff pumped into the perimeter canals of the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge), a 58,320-ha soft-water wetland, has elevated nutrients which impact the Refuge interior marsh. To best manage the Refuge, linkages between inflows to the perimeter canals and environmental conditions within the marsh need to be understood. Conductivity, which typically is high in the canals and lowest at the most interior sites, was used as a surrogate tracer to characterize patterns of constituent transport. The Refuge was initially classified into four zones based upon patterns and variability in conductivity data: Canal Zone; Perimeter Zone (canal to 2.5 km into the interior); Transition Zone (2.5 to 4.5 km from the canal); Interior Zone (>4.5 km from the canal). Conductivity variability declined from the Perimeter to the Interior Zone, with the highest variability in the marsh observed in the Perimeter Zone and the lowest variability observed in the Interior Zone. Analysis of other water quality parameters indicated that conditions in the Perimeter and Transition Zones were different, and more impacted, than in the Interior Zone. In general, there was a positive relationship between structure inflows and canal phosphorus concentrations, including discharges from treatment wetlands and bypasses of untreated water. This classification approach is applicable for stratified sampling designs, resolving spatial bias in water quality models, and in aiding in management decisions about resource allocation.     

Large scale remote sensing for environmental monitoring of infrastructure

Recent developments in wireless sensor technology afford the opportunity to rapidly and easily deploy large-scale, low-cost, and low-power sensor networks across relatively sizeable environmental regions. Furthermore, the advancement of increasingly smaller and less expensive wireless hardware is further complemented by the rapid development of open-source software components. These software protocols allow for interfacing with the hardware to program and configure the onboard processing and communication settings. In general, a wireless sensor network topology consists of an array of microprocessor boards, referred to as motes, which can engage in two-way communication among each other as well as with a base station that relays the mote data to a host computer. The information can then be either logged and displayed on the local host or directed to an http server for network monitoring remote from the site. A number of wireless sensor products are available that offer off-the-shelf network hardware as well as sensor solutions for environmental monitoring that are compatible with the TinyOS open-source software platform. This paper presents an introduction to wireless sensing and to the use of external antennas for increasing the antenna radiation intensity and shaping signal directivity for monitoring applications requiring larger mote-to-mote communication distances.     

Black carbon particulate matter emission factors for buoyancy-driven associated gas flares

Flaring is a technique used extensively in the oil and gas industry to burn unwanted flammable gases. Oxidation of the gas can preclude emissions of methane (a potent greenhouse gas); however, flaring creates other pollutant emissions such as particulate matter (PM) in the form of soot or black carbon (BC). Currently available PM emissionfactors for flares were reviewed and found to be questionably accurate, or based on measurements not directly relevant to open-atmosphere flares. In addition, most previous studies of soot emissions from turbulent diffusion flames considered alkene or alkyne based gaseous fuels, and few considered mixed fuels in detail and/or lower sooting propensity fuels such as methane, which is the predominant constituent of gas flared in the upstream oil and gas industry. Quantitative emission measurements were performed on laboratory-scale flares for a range of burner diameters, exit velocities, and fuel compositions. Drawing from established standards, a sampling protocol was developed that employed both gravimetric analysis of filter samples and real-time measurements of soot volume fraction using a laser-induced incandescence (LII) system. For the full range of conditions tested (burner inner diameter [ID] of 12.7-76.2 mm, exit velocity 0.1-2.2 m/sec, 4- and 6-component methane-based fuel mixtures representative of associated gas in the upstream oil industry), measured soot emission factors were less than 0.84 kg soot/10(3) m3 fuel. A simple empirical relationship is presented to estimate the PM emission factor as a function of the fuel heating value for a range of conditions, which, although still limited, is an improvement over currently available emission factors.     

Infrared Measurement of Fluorocarbons,Carbon Tetrachloride,Carbonyl Sulfide,And Other Atmospheric Trace Gases

A cryogenic procedure for concentrating trace gases in the atmosphere has been developed and applied to the ambient air at Research Triangle Park, NC, Atlantic Beach, NC, and New York City. The concentrated gases have been analyzed by long path infrared absorption spectroscopy, with a detectability down to partial pressures of 10^?11 atmospheres. Carbonyl sulfide has been detected at partial pressures in the range 1 × 10^?10 atm. to 3 × 10^?10 atm. Carbon tetrachloride was always detected with a rather narrow partial pressure range of 0.7 × 10^?10 atm. to 1.1 × 10^?10 atm. Fluorocarbon-11 values ranged from about 1.3 × 10^?10 atm. at Research Triangle Park to 8 × 10^?10 atm. at New York City. Fluo-rocarbon-12 covered the range 1.8 × 10^?10 atm. to 1.0 × 10^?9 atm. Hydrocarbon pollutants varied widely in concentration, but were always detected, even in the clean rural air.     

Uncertainty requirements of the European Union’s Industrial Emissions Directive for monitoring sulfur dioxide emissions: Implications from a blind comparison of sulfate measurements by accredited laboratories

When annual average PM_2.5 (fine particulate matter sized 2.5 microns and less) data for 2005 became available in April 2006 and the 3-yr average PM_2.5 concentration in an area just north of the Houston Ship Channel reached 15.0 µg/m³, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) initiated daily collection of quartz fiber as well as Teflon PM_2.5 filter samples for chemical speciation analysis. The purpose of the chemical speciation analysis was to use the speciation data, together with meteorological data and hourly TEOM (tapered element oscillating microbalance) PM_2.5 mass data, to identify the causes of the high PM_2.5 concentrations affecting the monitoring site and the neighborhood. The ultimate purpose was to target emission reduction efforts to sources contributing to the high measured PM_2.5 concentrations. After a year of data collection, it was recognized that a specific source, unpaved driveways and loading areas along the Ship Channel and dirt tracked onto Clinton Drive, the main artery running east-west north of the Ship Channel, were the primary cause for the Clinton Drive site's measuring PM_2.5 concentrations significantly higher than other sites in Houston. The source characterization and remediation steps that have led to sustained reduced concentrations are described in this paper.

Implications: With PM_2.5 exceedances it can be essential to have or develop chemical speciation data as part of the process of identifying the source types causing exceedances of an annual standard. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis proved to be a powerful tool that identified the two locally emitted species contributing to exceedances, which did not occur at other sites in the region. They were calcium sulfate (gypsum), an industrial by-product, and soil minerals. Other data analysis approaches were necessary to distinguish North African dust events, which PMF failed to identify.