Evaluation of the biomethane potential of solid fish waste

Manufacturing processes in fish canning industries generate a considerable amount of solid waste that can be digested anaerobically. The aim of this research was to study the biochemical methane potential of different solid fish waste. For tuna, sardine and needle fish waste, around 0.47g COD-CH(4)/g COD(added) was obtained in batch experiments with 1%TS; whereas for mackerel waste, the methane production attained 0.59g COD-CH(4)/g COD(added). The increase in the waste/inoculum ratio, from 1.1-1.3 to 2.8-3.3g VS(waste)/g VS(inoculum), led to overload due to VFA and LCFA accumulation. Afterward, co-digestion assays of fish waste with gorse were undertaken but the biochemical methane potential did not improve.     

Aerosols concentration in the Candiota area applying different gravimetric methods of sampling and numeric modelling

The main purpose of the present work is to study the concentration of atmospheric particles in the Candiota region, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, where the Presidente Médici coal power plant is located. Aerosol samples were collected at the studied locations between December 2000 and December 2001 during 24 h periods at 15 day intervals using HV PM10 and dichotomous samplers. Then, the values obtained with the ISCST (Industrial Source Complex Term) model, with the HV PM10 sampler at all studied stations, and with the dichotomous sampler at the 8 de Agosto station were compared with each other. The results show that the values for the model had been underestimated in relation to the HV PM10 data for the studied stations, but agreed with the values obtained with the dichotomous sampler.     

The influence of urbanization on natural radiation levels in anomalous areas

This paper verifies the effects of urbanization on the original levels of environmental gamma radiation in an anomalous area. The fieldwork was done in the city of Guarapari, on the seacoast of the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. This place was chosen because the whole region is naturally rich in monazite sand, which contains thorium and uranium. A similar study was also carried out in the 1960s. The measurements were done using an inorganic NaI scintillometer detector with Cu+Pb filters coupled to a scaler. The methodology of measurements used was similar to the one applied in the fieldwork carried out in the 1960s. In addition, a simulation was performed in the laboratory, to determine the attenuation of the materials used in the urbanization of the region. The results of this work clearly show that there was a reduction in the levels of external radiation in the streets and squares of Guarapari. It was concluded that the reduction was due to attenuation by the materials used in the urbanization.     

Cancer and occupational exposure to pesticides: a bibliometric study of the past 10 years

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Occupational exposure to pesticides has been identified as a major trigger of the development of cancer. Pesticides can cause intoxication in the...     

Chemical,Morphological, Thermal and Technological Properties of Acetylated White Inhambu Starch

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Starch is the main predominant food reserve in plants. Its characteristics stand out from other carbohydrates providing it with several industrial...     

Reinvigorating the sustainable development research agenda: the role of the sustainable development goals (SDG)

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) contain a set of 17 measures to foster sustainable development across many areas. It offers a good opportunity to reinvigorate sustainable development research for two main reasons. First, it comprises many areas of SD research, which have become mainstream thanks to the UN SDGs. Second, the fact that the UN and its member countries have committed to attaining SDGs by 2030 has added a sense of urgency to the need to perform quality research on SD on the one hand, and reiterates the need to use the results of this research on the other. Even though the basic concept of sustainability goes back many centuries, it has only recently appeared on the international political agenda. This is partly due to an awakening of the fact that the human ecological pressure on the planet is still much larger than what nature can renew or compensate for. Based on this state of affairs, this paper presents an outline of the process leading to the agreement on the UN SDGs, and looks at some of the ecological aspects as a result of continued pressure of human activities on natural resources. Furthermore, a set of research needs is proposed – also based holistically on updated research trends – discussing the degree of urgency of some measures and explaining why the UN SDGs need to be accorded greater priority in international sustainable development research efforts.     

Dynamics of the head of gravity currents

The present work experimentally investigates the dynamics of unsteady gravity currents produced by lock-release of a saline mixture into a fresh water tank. Seven different experimental runs were performed by varying the density of the saline mixture in the lock and the bed roughness. Experiments were conducted in a Perspex flume, of horizontal bed and rectangular cross section, and recorded with a CCD camera. An image analysis technique was applied to visualize and characterize the current allowing thus the understanding of its general dynamics and, more specifically, of the current head dynamics. The temporal evolution of both head length and mass shows repeated stretching and breaking cycles: during the stretching phase, the head length and mass grow until reaching a limit, then the head becomes unstable and breaks. In the instants of break, the head aspect ratio shows a limit of 0.2 and the mass of the head is of the order of the initial mass in the lock. The average period of the herein called breaking events is seen to increase with bed roughness and the spatial periodicity of these events is seen to be approximately constant between runs. The rate of growth of the mass at the head is taken as a measure to assess entrainment and it is observed to occur at all stages of the current development. Entrainment rate at the head decreases in time suggesting this as a phenomenon ruled by local buoyancy and the similarity between runs shows independence from the initial reduced gravity and bed roughness.     

Substitution of urea–formaldehyde by renewable phenolic compound for environmentally appropriate production of particleboards

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In recent years, research has been conducted in search of alternative adhesives that are less harmful to human health and the environment. Cardanol...