Characterizations of biochar from hydrothermal carbonization of exhausted coffee residue

The aim of this study was to produce renewable energy from exhausted coffee residue, which is a form of biomass. As coffee preference continues to increase, the importation of coffee beans has been increasing sharply. However, the amount of coffee that is actually consumed is only about 0.2% of coffee beans, while the spent coffee beans are discarded in the form of exhausted coffee residue. Hydrothermal carbonization is a method of producing an improved fuel from renewable energy sources by changing the physical and chemical properties of biochars. Biochars were obtained from a variety of reaction temperatures during hydrothermal carbonization and analyzed using elemental analysis, ultimate analysis, and calorific value measurement. The atomic C/O and C/H ratios of all obtained biochars decreased and were found to be similar to those of lignite and sub-bituminous coal. The highest energy recovery efficiency of biochar indicates that the optimum reaction temperature for hydrothermal carbonization was between 210 and 240 °C, which produced biochars with calorific value of approximately 26–27 MJ/kg. The spectra of biochars obtained from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) showed fewer C–O and aliphatic C–H functional groups, but more carbonyl C=O functional groups and aliphatic CH _x groups. The results of this study indicate that hydrothermal carbonization can be used as an effective means to generate highly energy-efficient renewable fuel resources from coffee residue. The thermogravimetric analysis provided the changing combustion characteristics due to increased fixed carbon content.     

Release of arsenic (As) and lead (Pb) from quicklime-sulfate stabilized/solidified soils under diffusion-controlled conditions

A quicklime-sulfate-based stabilization/ solidification (S/S) process for arsenic (As) and lead (Pb) immobilization was evaluated under “semi-dynamic” leaching conditions. In order to simulate aggressive leaching conditions the semi-dynamic leaching tests was modified by using 0.014 N of acetic solution instead of distilled water. Kaolinite-sand and montmorillonite-sand soil samples were artificially contaminated with As and Pb, compacted and cured for 28 days. The semi-dynamic leaching tests were then conducted for 90 days. The effectiveness of the S/S treatment was evaluated by assessing the cumulative release of As and Pb as well as by determining the diffusion coefficients (D _eff) and leachability indices (LX). The release of As and Pb was greatly reduced by quicklime-sulfate treatment as compared to untreated samples. Moreover, the quicklime-sulfate treatment was more effective than the quicklime-only treatment in reducing both As and Pb release. The controlling leaching mechanisms were determined using a diffusion theory model. Upon S/S treatment, As and Pb release was diffusion controlled. The LX of all the treated samples were greater than nine, suggesting that S/S treated samples were suitable for “controlled utilization”.     

Distribution and structure of heterotrophic protist communities in the northeast equatorial Pacific Ocean

The distribution and structure of heterotrophic protist communities and size-fractionated chlorophyll a were studied during the Korea Deep Ocean Study 98 (KODOS 98) research expedition (July 1998) in the northeast equatorial Pacific Ocean (5–11°N). Areas of convergence and divergence formed at the boundaries of the South Equatorial Current (SEC), North Equatorial Current (NEC), and North Equatorial Counter Current (NECC) during the expedition. Water column physicochemical characteristics significantly influenced the size structure of heterotrophic protist communities. Intense vertical mixing and high nutrient and chlorophyll a concentrations characterized SEC and NECC areas, which were affected by converging and diverging water masses, respectively. Nanophytoplankton dominated in SEC and NECC areas; both areas also had relatively high heterotrophic protist biomasses (average 743 µg C m^–2). NEC areas were characterized by a stratified vertical structure, low nutrient and chlorophyll a concentrations, and picophytoplankton dominance. The heterotrophic protist biomass in NEC areas averaged 414 µg C m^–2; nanoprotists (<20 µm) dominated the community. The nanoprotist biomass comprised 49–54% of the total heterotrophic protist biomass in SEC/NECC areas and 67–72% in NEC areas. The biomass of heterotrophic protists was higher in SEC/NECC areas than in NEC areas, but the relative importance of nanoprotists was greater in NEC areas than in SEC/NECC areas. Heterotrophic dinoflagellates were dominant components of the <20 µm and >20 µm size classes in both water columns. The biomass of heterotrophic protists significantly correlated with the net-, nano-, and picophytoplankton biomass in SEC/NECC areas and with the nano- and picophytoplankton biomass in NEC areas. Heterotrophic protists and phytoplankton also showed strong positive correlation in the study area. The size structure of the phytoplankton biomass coincided with that of heterotrophic protists; the heterotrophic protist biomass positively correlated with the protists prey source. These relationships suggest that the community structure of heterotrophic protists and the microbial food web depended on size classes within the phytoplankton biomass. Microzooplankton grazing and phytoplankton growth rates were higher in SEC/NECC areas than in NEC areas. In contrast, the potential primary production grazed by microzooplankton was relatively high in NEC areas (127.3%) compared with SEC/NECC areas (94.6%). Our results indicate that the relative importance and size structure of heterotrophic protists might vary according to two distinct water column structures.Communicated by T. Ikeda, Hakodate     

Highly siliceous MCM-48 from rice husk ash for CO2 adsorption

Mesoporous MCM-48 silica was synthesized using a cationic-neutral surfactant mixture as the structure-directing template and rice husk ash (RHA) as the silica source. The MCM-48 samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), N₂ physisorption and SEM. X-ray diffraction pattern of the resulting MCM-48 revealed typical pattern of cubic Ia3d mesophase. BET results showed the MCM-48 to have a surface area of 1024 m²/g and FT-IR revealed a silanol functional group at about 3460 cm⁻¹. Breakthrough experiments in the presence of MCM-48 were also carried out to test the material's CO₂ adsorption capacity. The breakthrough time for CO₂ was found to decrease as the temperature increased from 298 K to 348 K. The steep slopes observed shows the CO₂ adsorption occurred very quickly, with only a minimal mass transfer effect and very fast kinetics. In addition, amine grafted MCM-48, APTS-MCM-48 (RHA), was prepared with the 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTS) to investigate the effect of amine functional group in CO₂ separation. An order of magnitude higher CO₂ adsorption capacity was obtained in the presence of APTS-MCM-48 (RHA) compared to that with MCM-48 (RHA). These results suggest that MCM-48 synthesized from rice husk ash could be usefully applied for CO₂ removal.     

Analysis of Long-Term Settlement of Municipal Solid Waste Landfills as Determined by Various Settlement Estimation Methods

Abstract

In this study, several existing municipal solid waste (MSW) settlement estimation methods are reviewed and applied to analyze the settlement data of nine MSW land-fills. Because a biodegradation-related settlement contributes differently to a long-term total settlement depending on the age of landfills, the actual MSW landfill sites are classified into three groups to specifically address the validity of each method in its prediction of a long-term settlement for each age category. Results demonstrate that there are considerable decreases in predicted settlement potentials as fill age increases. Comparisons indicate that the individual estimation methods display a considerable variation in predicting settlements in the fresh MSW landfills. On the other hand, for the old refuse landfills, all of the estimation methods, except the extended soil model, predict low settlement potentials.     

Cloning of a river pufferfish (Takifugu obscurus) metallothionein cDNA and study of its induction profile in cadmium-exposed fish

We report here the full-length cDNA sequence of metallothionein (MT) gene from an anadromous river pufferfish, Takifugu obscurus (order: Tetradotiformes; family: Tetradontidae). Phylogenetic relationship analysis revealed that the identified MT has high sequence similarity with many Perciformes fish species. The tissue distribution and concentration- and time-dependent expression of MT mRNA were studied in fish exposed to cadmium. Liver showed the highest level of MT gene expression followed by other tissues (brain, gill and kidney) in response to cadmium exposure. Muscle showed a weak expression response of MT gene. Time-course study revealed highest early phase (at 6h) expression in the brain and late persistence of induction in the intestine. MT mRNA expression showed a concentration-dependent expression in all the tissues. However, induction in brain and liver occurred at much lower concentrations as compared to other tissues. Our results demonstrate that MT in T. obscurus is induced by cadmium exposure which indicates that it plays a functionally conserved function of metal detoxification.     

Comparison of the removal efficiency of endocrine disrupting compounds in pilot scale sewage treatment processes

The removal efficiency of endocrine disrupting compounds from effluents using pilot scale sewage treatment processes, including various treatment technologies, such as membrane bioreactors (MBR), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) for the purpose of water reuse, were estimated and compared. The calculated estrogenic activity, expressed in ng-EEQ/l, based on the concentration detected by GC/MS, and relative potencies for each target compound were compared to those measured using the E-screen assay. The removal efficiencies for nonylphenol, was within the range of 55-83% in effluents. High removal efficiencies of approximately >70% based on the detection limits were obtained for bisphenol A, E1, EE2 and genistein with each treatment processes, with the exception of E1 ( approximately 64%) using the MBR process. The measured EEQ values for the effluents from the MBR, NF and RO processes also indicated low estrogenic activities of 0.65, 0.23 and 0.05 ng-EEQ/l, respectively. These were markedly reduced values compared with the value of 1.2 ng-EEQ/l in influent. Consequently, the removals of EDCs in terms of the EEQ value from the biological and chemical determinations were sufficiently achieved by the treatment process applied in this study, especially in the cases of the NF and RO treatments.     

Soil attenuation of As(III,V) and Se(IV,VI) seepage potential at ash disposal facilities

Leachate from ash landfills is frequently enriched with As and Se but their off-site movement is not well understood. The attenuation potential of As and Se by soils surrounding selected landfills during leachate seepage was investigated in laboratory column studies using simulated ash leachate. As(III, V) and Se(IV, VI) concentrations as well as pH, flow rate, and a tracer were monitored in influent and effluent for up to 800 pore volumes followed by sequential desorption, extraction, and digestion of column segments. Column breakthrough curves (BTCs) were compared to predictions based on previously measured sorption isotherms. Early As(V) breakthrough and retarded As(III) breakthrough relative to predicted BTCs are indicative of oxidative transformation during seepage. For Se(VI), which exhibits linear sorption and the lowest sorption propensity, measured BTCs were predicted fairly well by equilibrium sorption isotherms, except for the early arrival of Se(IV) in one site soil, which in part, may be due to higher column pH values compared to batch isotherms. Most of the As and Se retained by soils during leaching was found to be strongly sorbed (60–90%) or irreversibly bound (10–40%) with <5% readily desorbable. Redox potential favoring transformation to the more sorptive valence states of As(V) and Se(IV) will invoke additional attenuation beyond equilibrium sorption-based predictions. With the exception of Se(IV) on one site soil, results indicate that attenuation by down-gradient soils of As and Se in ash landfill seepage will often be no less than what is predicted by equilibrium sorption capacity with further attenuation expected due to favorable redox transformation processes, thus mitigating contaminant plumes and associated risks.     

Hydrochemical Monitoring and Heavy Metal Contaminations at the Narim Mine Creek in the Sulcheon District, Republic of Korea

The Narim gold mine is located approximately 200km southeast of Seoul within the Sulcheon mineralised district in the Yeongnam massif, Korea. In this study, environmental geochemical analyses were undertaken for soil, sediment and water samples collected in April, September and November in 1998 from the Narim mine creek. The mine area consists mainly of granitic gneiss; however, mineral constituents of soil and sediment near the mine were mainly composed of quartz, feldspar, mica, amphibole, some pyrite and clay minerals. Also were found some pyrite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, malachite, goethite, various hydroxide and unidentified secondary minerals. Generally, high concentrations of heavy metals in the soil and sediment are correlated with a high proportion of secondary minerals. Hydrochemical compositions of water samples are characterised by relative significant enrichment of Na⁺+K⁺ and alkali metals in the ground water, whereas the surface and mine waters are relatively enriched in Ca²⁺+Mg²⁺ and heavy metals. Anion contents of the ground waters are typically enriched in HCO₃ ^–, NO₃ ^– and Cl^–, whereas the surface and mine waters are highly enriched in HCO₃ ^– and SO₄ ^2–. The pH and EC values of the surface water from the non-mine creek are relatively lower compared with those of the surface water around the mine and waste dump. The range of D and ¹⁸O values (d parameters) of the water samples are shown in distinct two groups for the April waters of 10.1–13.1, and for the November waters of 5.8–7.9, respectively. This range variation indicates that two group water were composed of distinct waters because of seasonal difference. Geochemical modelling showed that mostly heavy toxic metals may exist largely in the form of free metal (M²⁺) and metal-sulphate (MSO₄ ^2–), and SO₄ ^2– concentration influenced the speciation of heavy metals in the mine water. These metals in the ground water could be formed of CO₃ ^– and OH^– complex ions. Using a computer program, saturation indices of albite, calcite, dolomite in mostly surface water show undersaturated and progressively evolved toward the saturation state, however, ground and mine waters are nearly saturated. The gibbsite, kaolinite and smectite are supersaturated in the surface and ground water, respectively. Calculated water-mineral reaction and stabilities suggest that the weathering of silicate minerals may be stable kaolinite. The clay minerals of K-illite and Na-smectite will be transformed to more stable kaolinite owing to the continuous reaction.