Reuse of wood ash from biomass combustion in non-structural concrete: mechanical properties,durability, and eco-efficiency

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Wood biomass fly ash can contribute to a more sustainable urban infrastructure, but requires efficient recycling strategies. This paper...     

Brazilian banana,guava, and orange fruit and waste production as a potential biorefinery feedstock

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Fruit production worldwide is over 675 million tons per year. Brazil is responsible for the production of 43.6 million tons of fruits per year,...     

Natural concentrations and reference values for trace elements in soils of a tropical volcanic archipelago

Fernando de Noronha is a small volcanic archipelago in the Southern Atlantic, some 350 km NE of the city of Natal in NE Brazil. These remote volcanic islands represent a largely pristine environment, distant from sources of anthropogenic contamination. This study was carried out to determine the natural concentrations of Ag, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, V and Zn in the A and B horizons of soils of Fernando de Noronha. The aims of the study were twofold: determine whether there is a relationship between the bedrock geology and soils and to establish quality reference values for soils from Fernando de Noronha. Soil samples were subjected to acid digestion by the USEPA method 3051A, and metals were determined by inductively coupled plasma emission spectrophotometry. The results showed that the trace element distribution largely reflects the geochemistry of the underlying volcanic rocks of the Remedios and Quixaba Formations. The results demonstrate that the concentrations of Ba, Cr, Zn, Ni and Cu from the soils of the volcanic Fernando de Noronha archipelago are higher than those found in soils from continental Brazil. However, concentrations of Ni, Cu and Co are lower in soils of the archipelago as compared to other volcanic islands throughout the world. The elevated trace element concentrations of the volcanic parent material of Fernando de Noronha soils seem to be the main factor governing the relatively high natural concentrations of trace elements.     

Bioremediation of shrimp biofloc wastewater using clam,seaweed and fish

The aim of this study was to evaluate the bioremediation of effluents in the biofloc culture of shrimp juveniles using clams, seaweed and fish. Four treatments were considered: CLT – without bioremediating organisms; AB – using Anomalocardia brasiliana; GB – using Gracilaria birdiae and ON – using Oreochomis niloticus with 2.5?kg wet weight per m³ of shrimp effluent. In the AB treatment, significant differences were observed in the effluent at the end of the experiment (96?h) for values of nitrite-nitrogen, nitrate, alkalinity, TSS and orthophosphate. The ISS and VSS levels recorded for the AB treatment varied respectively from 336 to 127?mg?L^?1, and from 505 to 130?mg?L^?1, with a corresponding gradual reduction of approximately 62% and 74% at the end of the experiment. The use of a clam species to treat effluents in a biofloc system with salinity near 25?g?L^?1 reduced waste solids and increased the nitrification process from 72 to 96?h, indicating that this clam can be used as a bioremediator and contributes to effluent treatment in shrimp.     

Vulnerability associated with “symptoms similar to those of mercury poisoning” in communities from Xingu River,Amazon basin

The Brazilian Amazon is known to be a region with high levels of mercury (Hg) in the environment and studies point to an association between high levels of natural mercury in the mother rock and the vast number of clandestine gold mines. Other studies already report the contamination of fish in this region, as well as high levels of Hg in biological material from environmentally exposed populations. On the other hand, this is one of the least developed regions of the planet and it is necessary to understand the vulnerability factors in these populations that may be intoxicated by this element. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the vulnerability factors in communities from Xingu River—Amazon basin probably exposed to Hg. A cross-selection study in two cities localized in Xingu River was conducted, and the sample contained was 268 individuals. sociodemographic questions, lifestyle, diet habits and health conditions were collated. The majority of the sample was female, between 30 and 59 years old, had less than 3 years of educational level and lived in the local of study more than 240 months. There was regular fish consumption (95.9%), principally carnivorous species (80.5%). The visual problem has a highest prevalence (43.3%) between the health problems and about the symptoms of Hg intoxication, memory loss (42.9%), weakness (35.1%), fatigue (34.3%), mood changes (28.7%) and difficulties in concentration (27.2%) was most reported. The female sex, age over 60, educational level below 3 years of study, did not had flush toilet, smoke and least one chronic non-communicable disease represent higher probability to had symptoms of Hg intoxication. Lack of access to health services, low education level and income evidence the susceptibility of this community to diseases and injuries. The vulnerable groups identified in this study should be a priority in public health and environmental health policies.     

Retrospective assessment of a managed coastal realignment and lagoon restoration measure: the Geltinger Birk,Germany

We document and analyse the implementation process of a large combined coastal protection realignment and nature protection rewetting scheme, covering about 1000 ha at the German Baltic coast. The assessment reviews local planning documents, includes a media analysis, a tourist survey, stakeholder interviews and we provide criteria for measuring success, derived from the Systems Approach Framework (SAF) concept. The full process in the Geltinger Birk took over 25 years and was finished in 2013. The early years were characterised by strong local opposition, a polarization of the local society, misinformation and negative media coverage. Land purchase, the establishment of a local information centre with an environmental manager, improved public participation, a more pro-active media strategy and the readiness to accept compromises finally enabled a successful implementation. Today, a comprehensive tourism information and guidance system exists and the area became a popular tourist place. 80% of all visitors point out the outstanding nature experience and 87% are positive about the combined coastal protection and restoration measure. Parallel, major stakeholders changed their attitude and today are positive about the situation. However, the long timespan between initiation of the process and implementation of the measure, calls for a systematic, guided management approach, like the SAF. Especially, because climate change, sea level rise and increasing pressures on the coasts require a much faster implementation of adaptation measures in future.     

Atrazine toxicity to Handroanthus heptaphyllus,a nontarget species from a Brazilian biome threatened by agriculture

The economic basis of the Brazilian midwest is agriculture, concentrating most of the grain production in the country. With the purpose of increasing yield, farmers have intensified land use and the use of atrazine among other pesticides, which can supposedly compromise human health and photosynthetic metabolism of plant species from Cerrado, such as Handroanthus heptaphyllus. The aim of this study was to determine experimentally the sensitivity level of H. heptaphyllus to atrazine, by measuring gas exchange, chlorophyll a fluorescence, chloroplastidic pigments, and membrane permeability. The experiment was conducted in a factorial scheme. Nine‐month‐old H. heptaphyllus plants were treated with six realistic doses of atrazine: 0, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 400 g a.i. ha^–1 (corresponding to 10, 20, 40, 80, and 100% of the commercial dose recommended for corn crops, respectively), with five replications. Evaluations were performed at 12, 36, 84, 180, and 276 h after treatment application. Photosynthesis, the effective quantum yield of photosystem II, and electron transport rate were gradually reduced by the action of atrazine. On the other hand, the nonphotochemical quenching increased gradually, which indicates that this mechanism was not sufficient to avoid oxidative stress and cellular damage in H. heptaphyllus treated plants. Based on these results, we concluded that the action of the herbicide in the photosynthetic reduction occurs by the electron transport rate limitation. Therefore, H. heptaphyllus trees are at risk in Cerrado areas next to agricultural lands.     

An integrative negotiation model to deal with conflicts toward water resources management: a case study in Brazil

Environment, Development and Sustainability - An integrative negotiation model is proposed so that watershed committees (WSC) can deal better with conflicts over alternatives for protecting water...     

Polishing of painting process effluents through adsorption with biochar from winemaking residues

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A real industrial effluent from the pre-treatment and painting processes was polished through adsorption using alternative biochar derived from grape...     

Towards a green industry through cleaner production development

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The growth in global production and consumption rates has resulted in increased pollution generation by industrial companies. To this end, cleaner...