Atmospheric BTX and polyaromatic hydrocarbons in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Polycyclic aromatic and monoaromatic (benzene, toluene and xylene, or BTX) hydrocarbons were monitored in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during the summer of 1998/1999. The levels of these aromatic chemicals decreased with distance from main roads, indicating mobile sources are the main pollutant emitters in this Latin American city. Benzo[ghi]perylene/indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene and benzene/toluene ratios corroborate this idea. However, higher benzene/toluene ratios at one of the major access routes into the city suggest pollutant inputs from a nearby refinery. Literature data were reviewed in order to outline differences and similarities among sources and levels of aromatic pollutants in large urban agglomerations worldwide. Concentrations of benzo[a]pyrene and benzene, which are well-known carcinogenic chemicals, were relatively low in Rio de Janeiro. This fact was attributed to specific atmospheric conditions during the tropical summer and differences in vehicle fuel composition.     

A new model for the CBL growth based on the turbulent kinetic energy equation

Starting from the evolution equation for the turbulent energy density spectrum (EDS), we develop a new model for the growth of the Convective boundary layer (CBL). We apply dimensional analysis to parameterize the unknown inertial transport and convective source term in the dynamic equation for the three-dimensional (3-D) spectrum and solve the 3-D EDS equation. The one-dimensional vertical spectrum is derived from the 3-D spectrum, employing a weight function. This allows us to select the magnitude of the vertical spectral component for the construction of the growing 3-D EDS. Furthermore, we employ the vertical component of the energy spectrum to calculate the eddy diffusivity (required in dispersion models). Currently there are no available experimental data to directly verify our EDS model.     

Nitrous oxide nitrification and denitrification 15N enrichment factors from Amazon forest soils.

The isotopic signatures of 15N and 18O in N2O emitted from tropical soils vary both spatially and temporally, leading to large uncertainty in the overall tropical source signature and thereby limiting the utility of isotopes in constraining the global N2O budget. Determining the reasons for spatial and temporal variations in isotope signatures requires that we know the isotope enrichment factors for nitrification and denitrification, the two processes that produce N2O in soils. We have devised a method for measuring these enrichment factors using soil incubation experiments and report results from this method for three rain forest soils collected in the Brazilian Amazon: soil with differing sand and clay content from the Tapajos National Forest (TNF) near Santarém, Pará, and Nova Vida Farm, Rond?nia. The 15N enrichment factors for nitrification and denitrification differ with soil texture and site: -111 per thousand +/- 12 per thousand and -31 per thousand +/- 11 per thousand for a clay-rich Oxisol (TNF), -102 per thousand +/- 5 per thousand and -45 per thousand +/- 5 per thousand for a sandier Ultisol (TNF), and -10.4 per thousand +/- 3.5 per thousand (enrichment factor for denitrification) for another Ultisol (Nova Vida) soil, respectively. We also show that the isotopomer site preference (delta15Nalpha - delta15Nbeta, where alpha indicates the central nitrogen atom and beta the terminal nitrogen atom in N2O) may allow differentiation between processes of production and consumption of N2O and can potentially be used to determine the contributions of nitrification and denitrification. The site preferences for nitrification and denitrification from the TNF-Ultisol incubated soils are: 4.2 per thousand +/- 8.4 per thousand and 31.6 per thousand +/- 8.1 per thousand, respectively. Thus, nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria populations under the conditions of our study exhibit significantly different 15N site preference fingerprints. Our data set strongly suggests that N2O isotopomers can be used in concert with traditional N2O stable isotope measurements as constraints to differentiate microbial N2O processes in soil and will contribute to interpretations of the isotopic site preference N2O values found in the free troposphere.     

Evaluation of Viral Recovery Methodologies from Solid Waste Landfill Leachate

Food and Environmental Virology - Leachate from solid waste landfill is a dark liquid of variable composition and possible source of contamination of groundwater and surface waters. This study aims...     

A multi-layer model for pollutant dispersion with dry deposition to the ground

This paper presents a semi-analytical solution for the steady advection–diffusion equation that allows simulating the vertical turbulent dispersion of air pollution with deposition to the ground. The performances of the solution, with a proper parameterization of the vertical profiles of wind and eddy diffusivity, were evaluated against Hanford diffusion experiment dataset using two tracers (Doran and Horst, 1985): a non-depositing gas (SF₆) and depositing particles (ZnS). Results show that the dispersion model with the K-parameterization included produces a good fitting of the measured ground-level concentration data and there are no big differences between the parameterizations taken from literature. A comparison with other models was shown and discussed.     

Solanum nigrum L. weed plants as a remediation tool for metalaxyl-polluted effluents and soils

In this work, the phytoremediation potential of metalaxyl, a commonly used persistent, mobile and leachy fungicide, by Solanum nigrum L. plants was studied. The study revealed that this plant species can be used as an excellent metalaxyl phytoremediation tool, thus providing a cost effective and environmentally friendly clean technology for the decontamination of sites and effluents. As it can be sowed directly in the remediation site, is able to complete its life cycle without suffering major stress. Because it accumulates high amounts of the fungicide in the aboveground tissues, enables its concentration and proper disposal by cutting off the corresponding plant part. The study also suggests that the tolerance to metalaxyl is due to a suitable antioxidant response comprising proline accumulation and guaiacol peroxidase and glutathione-S-transferase enhanced activities, that reduce oxidative damage to the plant organs.     

A standardized method for assessment of oxidative transformations of brominated phenols in water

The term persistence has been used to confusion since it is used as a conceptual parameter without a uniform definition. Work is therefore being done in order to unite ideas and describe persistence based on the chemical reactivity and chemico-physical properties of compounds via investigation of the main degradation pathways in the environment; photolysis, hydrolysis-substitution-elimination (hse), oxidation, reduction and radical reactions. The present work is focused on developing a method to determine oxidative degradation rates of chemicals and thereby measurement of their susceptibility to undergo oxidation reactions. The method based on potassium permanganate works well for water soluble compounds and is easy, robust, inexpensive and reproducible. By using the method and varying the analysed substances, the degradation rates for brominated phenols, two chlorinated phenols and high volume production compounds such as tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), tetrachlorobisphenol A (TCBPA) and bisphenol A (BPA) have been determined at pH 7.6+/-0.2. The reaction rates of the two halogenated BPA's are particularly fast, giving half-lives in seconds. The other test compounds have slower reaction rates but easily measured under the reaction conditions applied. The reactions are temperature dependent. There is evidence that pK(a) and the substitution pattern of the halogens affects the rate of the reactions. The method is robust and applicable for reaction rate constant measurements of present and potential future environmental contaminants.     

Operation of a two-phase partitioning bioreactor for the oxidation of anthracene by the enzyme manganese peroxidase

A study was conducted to determine the potential of a two-phase partitioning bioreactor (TPPB) for the treatment of a poorly soluble compound, anthracene, by the enzyme manganese peroxidase (MnP) from the fungus Bjerkandera sp. BOS55. Silicone oil was used as the immiscible solvent, which contained anthracene at high concentrations. The optimization of the oxidation process was conducted taking into account the factors which may directly affect the MnP catalytic cycle (the concentration of H(2)O(2) and malonic acid) and those that affect the mass transfer of anthracene between the organic and the aqueous phase (solvent and agitation speed). The main objective was carried out in terms of improved efficiency, i.e., maximizing the anthracene oxidized per unit of enzyme used. The TPPB reached nearly complete oxidation of anthracene at a conversion rate of 1.8mgl(-1)h(-1) in 56h, which suggests the application of enzymatic TPPBs for the removal of poorly soluble compounds.     

Phytomanagement of Cd-contaminated soils using maize (Zea mays L.) assisted by plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria

Zea mays (L.) is a crop widely cultivated throughout the world and can be considered suitable for phytomanagement due to its metal resistance and energetic value. In this study, the effect of two plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, Ralstonia eutropha and Chryseobacterium humi, on growth and metal uptake of Z. mays plants in soils contaminated with up to 30 mg Cd kg^?1 was evaluated. Bacterial inoculation increased plant biomass up to 63 % and led to a decrease of up to 81 % in Cd shoot levels (4–88 mg Cd kg^?1) and to an increase of up to 186 % in accumulation in the roots (52–134 mg Cd kg^?1). The rhizosphere community structure changed throughout the experiment and varied with different levels of Cd soil contamination, as revealed by molecular biology techniques. Z. mays plants inoculated with either of the tested strains may have potential application in a strategy of soil remediation, in particular short-term phytostabilization, coupled with biomass production for energy purposes.