A method for ranking components importance in presence of epistemic uncertainties

Importance Measures (IMs) are used to rank the contributions of components or basic events to the system performance, e.g. its reliability or risk. Most times, IMs are calculated without due account of the uncertainties in the model of the behavior of the system. The objective of this work is to investigate how uncertainties can influence IMs and to develop a method for giving them due account in the corresponding ranking of the components or basic events. The uncertainties considered in this work affect the model parameters values and are assumed to be described by probability density functions. The method for ranking the contributors to the system performance measure is applied to the auxiliary feedwater system of a nuclear pressurized water reactor.     

Chemical-mineralogical characterisation of coarse recycled concrete aggregate

The construction industry is now putting greater emphasis than ever before on increasing recycling and promoting more sustainable waste management practices. In keeping with this approach, many sectors of the industry have actively sought to encourage the use of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) as an alternative to primary aggregates in concrete production. The results of a laboratory experimental programme aimed at establishing chemical and mineralogical characteristics of coarse RCA and its likely influence on concrete performance are reported in this paper. Commercially produced coarse RCA and natural aggregates (16-4 mm size fraction) were tested. Results of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses showed that original source of RCA had a negligible effect on the major elements and a comparable chemical composition between recycled and natural aggregates. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses results indicated the presence of calcite, portlandite and minor peaks of muscovite/illite in recycled aggregates, although they were directly proportioned to their original composition. The influence of 30%, 50%, and 100% coarse RCA on the chemical composition of equal design strength concrete has been established, and its suitability for use in a concrete application has been assessed. In this work, coarse RCA was used as a direct replacement for natural gravel in concrete production. Test results indicated that up to 30% coarse RCA had no effect on the main three oxides (SiO2, Al2O3 and CaO) of concrete, but thereafter there was a marginal decrease in SiO2 and increase in Al2O3 and CaO contents with increase in RCA content in the mix, reflecting the original constituent's composition.     

Vanadium recovery from oil fly ash by leaching, precipitation and solvent extraction processes

In order to reduce the environmental impact due to land disposal of oil fly ash from power plants and to valorize this waste material, the removal of vanadium was investigated using leaching processes (acidic and alkaline treatments), followed by a second step of metal recovery from leachates involving either solvent extraction or selective precipitation. Despite a lower leaching efficiency (compared to sulfuric acid), sodium hydroxide was selected for vanadium leaching since it is more selective for vanadium (versus other transition metals). Precipitation was preferred to solvent extraction for the second step in the treatment since: (a) it is more selective; enabling complete recovery of vanadate from the leachate in the form of pure ammonium vanadate; and (b) stripping of the loaded organic phase (in the solvent extraction process) was not efficient. Precipitation was performed in a two-step procedure: (a) aluminum was first precipitated at pH 8; (b) then ammonium chloride was added at pH 5 to bring about vanadium precipitation.     

Investigations on mechanical biological treatment of waste in South America: towards more sustainable MSW management strategies

This work presents an analysis on the suitability of mechanical biological treatment of municipal solid waste in South America, based on two previous experimental investigations carried out in two different countries. The first experiment was performed for determining the mass and volume reduction of MSW in the province of Concepción (Chile). The implemented bench-scale process consisted of a manual classification and separation stage, followed by an in-vessel biological degradation process. The second experiment consisted of a full-scale experiment performed in the city of Estrela (Brazil), where the existing municipal waste management facility was adapted to enhance the materials sorting and separation. Expressed in wet weight composition, 85.5% of the material input in the first experiment was separated for biological degradation. After 27 days of processing, 60% of the initial mass was reduced through degradation and water evaporation. The final fraction destined for landfilling equals 59% of the total input mass, corresponding to about 50% of the initial volume. In the second experiment, the fraction destined to landfill reaches 46.6% of the total input waste mass, whilst also significantly reducing the total volume to be disposed. These results, and the possible recovery of material streams suitable for recycling or for preparing solid recovered fuels, are the main advantages of the studied process.     

Hospital waste management and toxicity evaluation: a case study

Hospital waste management is an imperative environmental and public safety issue, due to the waste's infectious and hazardous character. This paper examines the existing waste strategy of a typical hospital in Greece with a bed capacity of 400-600. The segregation, collection, packaging, storage, transportation and disposal of waste were monitored and the observed problematic areas documented. The concentrations of BOD, COD and heavy metals were measured in the wastewater the hospital generated. The wastewater's toxicity was also investigated. During the study, omissions and negligence were observed at every stage of the waste management system, particularly with regard to the treatment of infectious waste. Inappropriate collection and transportation procedures for infectious waste, which jeopardized the safety of staff and patients, were recorded. However, inappropriate segregation practices were the dominant problem, which led to increased quantities of generated infectious waste and hence higher costs for their disposal. Infectious waste production was estimated using two different methods: one by weighing the incinerated waste (880 kg day(-1)) and the other by estimating the number of waste bags produced each day (650 kg day(-1)). Furthermore, measurements of the EC(50) parameter in wastewater samples revealed an increased toxicity in all samples. In addition, hazardous organic compounds were detected in wastewater samples using a gas chromatograph/mass spectrograph. Proposals recommending the application of a comprehensive hospital waste management system are presented that will ensure that any potential risks hospital wastes pose to public health and to the environment are minimized.     

Landfill leachate treatment using a rotating biological contactor and an upward-flow anaerobic sludge bed reactor

This paper describes the feasibility of an aerobic system (rotating biological contactor, RBC) and a biological anaerobic system (upward-flow anaerobic sludge bed reactor) at small scale for the treatment of a landfill leachate. In the first phase of the aerobic system study, a cyclic-batch RBC system was used to select perforated acetate discs among three different acetate disc configurations. These discs were chosen on the basis of high COD removal (65%) and biological stability. In the second phase, the RBC system (using four stages) was operated continuously at different hydraulic retention times (HRT), at different rotational speeds, and with varying organic concentrations of the influent leachate (2500-9000mgL(-1)). Forty percent of the total surface area of each perforated disc was submerged in the leachate. A COD removal of about 52% was obtained at an HRT of 24h and a rotational speed of 6rpm. For the anaerobic system, the reactor was evaluated with a volumetric organic load of 3273g-COD m(-3) day(-1) at an HRT of 54, 44, 39, 24 and 17h. At these conditions, the system reached COD removal efficiencies of 62%, 61%, 59%, 44% and 24%, respectively.     

Reusing fly ash in glass fibre reinforced cement: a new generation of high-quality GRC composites

New composite materials based on an alkali-resistant glass-fibre reinforced cement (AR-GRC) system are being developed by using fly ash (FA) produced at coal thermoelectric power plants, and fluid catalytic cracking catalyst residue (FC3R) from the petrol industry as cement replacement materials. These wastes are reactive from the pozzolanic viewpoint, and modify the nature and the microstructure of the cement matrix when a part of the Portland cement is replaced in the formulation of GRC. Several microstructural and mechanical aspects are being studied for AR-GRC systems. The behaviour of composites exposed to ageing shows that the pozzolanic activity of the ground FA added in high amounts and its mixture with the FC3R increase the flexural strength and no evidences of strength decay are observed. Additionally, the fibres due to the high alkalinity of the cementing matrix can be deteriorated. Fibres in the control (only Portland cement) and FC3R containing composites were attacked, whereas composites with FA and their mixture with FC3R show that the fibres have not been attacked, due to the pozzolanic activity of replacing materials that reduce the calcium hydroxide content in the cementing matrix.     

The impact of the 2004 tsunami on coastal Thai communities: assessing adaptive capacity

The suddenness and scale of the 26 December 2004 tsunami and the challenges posed to affected communities highlighted the benefits of their members having a capacity to confront and adapt to the consequences of such a disaster. Research into adaptive capacity or resilience has been conducted almost exclusively with Western populations. This paper describes an exploratory study of the potential of a measure of collective efficacy developed for Western populations to predict the capacity of members of a collective society, Thai citizens affected by the 2004 tsunami, to confront effectively the recovery demands associated with this disaster. Following a demonstration that this measure could predict adaptive capacity, the role of religious affiliation, ethnicity and place of residence in sustaining collective efficacy is discussed. The implications of the findings for future research on, and intervention to develop, adaptive capacity among Thai citizens in particular and collectivist societies in general are discussed.     

Unprecedented bleaching-induced mortality in Porites spp. at Rangiroa Atoll, French Polynesia

In April-May 1998, mass coral bleaching was observed in the lagoon of Rangiroa Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia. Six months later, the extent of bleaching-induced coral mortality was assessed at three sites. Corals in the fast-growing genus Pocillopora had experienced >99% mortality. Many large colonies of the slow-growing genus Porites (mean horizontal cross-sectional area 5.8 m²) had also died - a phenomenon not previously observed in French Polynesia and virtually unprecedented world-wide. At one site, 25% of colonies, or 44% of the pre-bleaching cover of living Porites, experienced whole-colony mortality. At the two other sites, recently dead Porites accounted for 41% and 82% of the pre-bleaching live cover. Mortality in Porites was negatively correlated with depth between 1.5 and 5 m. Using a 50-year dataset of mean monthly sea surface temperature (SST), derived from ship- and satellite-borne instruments, we show that bleaching occurred during a period of exceptionally high summer SST. 1998 was the first year in which mean monthly SSTs exceeded the 1961-1990 upper 95% confidence limit (29.4°C) for a period of three consecutive months. We suggest that the sustained 3-month anomaly in local summer SST was a major cause of coral mortality, but do not discount the synergistic effect of solar radiation. Recovery of the size-frequency distribution of Porites colonies to pre-bleaching levels may take at least 100 years.