Influence of start-up on PCDD/F emission of incinerators

This study aims to evaluate the influence of start-up on polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) concentration in the stack flue gas of incinerators and its contributing PCDD/F emission. The PCDD/F emission of the first sample among three consecutive stack flue gas samples of five intermittent incinerators, which sampled at a stable combustion condition after start-up, is 2-3 times higher than the mean of the others. For verifying the PCDD/F characteristics of incinerators during start-up, one continuous MSWI was investigated for two years. The elevated PCDD/F emissions of the MSWI during start-up could reach 96.9 ng I-TEQN m(-3) and still maintained a high PCDD/F emission (40 times higher than the Taiwan emission limit) even 18 h after the injection of activated carbon, indicating the memory effect. Taking the MSWI for example, which consists of four incinerators, the estimated annual PCDD/F emission from normal operational conditions was 0.112 g I-TEQ. However, one start-up procedure can generate approximately 60% of the PCDD/F emissions for one whole year of normal operations. And the PCDD/F emission, which is the result of the start-ups of four incinerators, was at least two times larger than that of a whole year's normal operations, without consideration for the PCDD/F emission contributed by the long lasting memory effect.     

Percentile estimation using variable censored data

Much progress has been made in recent years to address the estimation of summary statistics, using data that are subject to censoring of results that fall below the limit of detection (LOD) for the measuring instrument. Truncated data methods (e.g., Tobit regression) and multiple-imputation are two approaches for analyzing data results that are below the LOD. To apply these methods requires an assumption about the underlying distribution of the data. Because the log-normal distribution has been shown to fit many data sets obtained from environmental measurements, the common practice is to assume that measurements of environmental factors can be described by log-normal distributions. This article describes methods for obtaining estimates of percentiles and their associated confidence intervals when the results are log-normal and a fraction of the results are below the LOD. We present limited simulations to demonstrate the bias of the proposed estimates and the coverage probability of their associated confidence intervals. Estimation methods are used to generate summary statistics for 2,3,7,8-tetrachloro dibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD) using data from a 2001 background exposure study in which PCDDs/PCDFs/cPCBs in human blood serum were measured in a Louisiana population. Because the congener measurements used in this study were subject to variable LODs, we also present simulation results to demonstrate the effect of variable LODs on the multiple-imputation process.     

Partitioning of hydrogen peroxide between the gas and liquid phases in the presence of surfactant

Gas-liquid phase partitioning is a key physical property that can predict the environmental fate of a compound between two phases. Several environmental factors have been known to affect the gas-liquid phase partitioning. We investigated the influence of surfactant on the gas-liquid phase partitioning of hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)). The surfactant used was ammonium perfluorooctanoate (APFO). H(2)O(2) solution containing the surfactant was equilibrated in a closed system and gas phase H(2)O(2) concentration was measured by the peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence (PO-CL) method. Gas phase H(2)O(2) concentrations remained constant below the critical micelle concentration (CMC) and increased linearly with surfactant concentration above the CMC, which indicated that surfactant micelles influenced the gas-liquid phase partitioning of H(2)O(2). This result showed that H(2)O(2)-micelle interactions are less favorable than H(2)O(2)-H(2)O interactions. Surfactant monomers did not affect the gas-liquid phase partitioning of H(2)O(2) due to the absence of micelles. Solvent (methanol) effect was also investigated and showed that gas phase H(2)O(2) concentrations increased with the addition of solvent. This indicated the unfavorable interaction of H(2)O(2) with hydrophobic medium compared to hydrophilic one. It is consistent with the result that H(2)O(2)-micelles has a weaker interaction than H(2)O(2)-water because surfactant micelles are hydrocarbon-like organic phase rather than aqueous phase.     

PCDD/DF concentrations at the inlets and outlets of wet scrubbers in Korean waste incinerators

To further understand the effects of wet scrubbers on PCDD/DF levels, it was measured the concentrations of PCDD/DF, dust, and other gaseous pollutants at both the inlets and the outlets of seven wet scrubbers. As a result, the concentrations of PCDD/DF at the inlets and outlets of the wet scrubbers ranged from 0.2 to 37.4, and 0.8 to 6.0 ng TEQ N m-3, respectively. With the exceptions of wet scrubbers F and G, the PCDD/DF levels decreased by and large in most wet scrubbers. It was thought that their relatively high removal efficiencies were more increased with heavier loads of dust and particle-bound PCDD/DF. On the other hand, it was also surveyed the increase of gaseous PCDD/DF in wet scrubber, where the total level of PCDD/DF was decreased. However, it was not sure whether it had been resulted from the thermal adsorption/desorption phenomenon between packing materials and emission gases or not. At the very least, however, although there still remains an unexplained aspect for the increase of gaseous PCDD/DF, it is clear that wet scrubbers can be sufficiently applied to remove PCDD/DF to a certain extent, if only removal efficiencies for the particle loads are high, and if a significant part of the PCDD/DF at the inlets is particle associated.     

Composition and distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the surface sediments from the Susquehanna River

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations in 34 surface sediments along the Susquehanna River were investigated in 2000. The total concentrations of PAHs in the surface sediments of Lake Clarke, Lake Aldred, the upper Conowingo Reservoir, and the lower Conowingo Reservoir were 3.3+/-1.5 microg g-1 (n=9), 1.6+/-1.3 microg g-1 (n=4), 9.8+/-5.5 microg g-1 (n=7), and 4.0+/-1.2 microg g-1 (n=14), respectively. These represent the first comprehensive measurement of PAHs in Susquehanna River surface sediments. Overall, total PAH concentrations were relatively lower in Lake Aldred, which is more shallow and sloped, and significantly higher in the upper Conowingo Reservoir. The sediment PAH levels were related to river flow rates, which are indirectly correlated with the particle size of the surface sediments. Total PAH levels in all the studied sites were below the effects range median (ERM) of 44.8 microg g-1 with 38% (13 of the 34 sampling sites) exceeding the effects range low (ERL) of 4.02 microg g-1. Principal component analysis indicated that variations in the PAH compound patterns of each reservoir decreased from upstream to downstream, indicating that the surface sediments were mixed along the Susquehanna River. The PAH patterns in the lower Conowingo Reservoir sediments were a combination of those upstream sources. Source analysis using isomer ratios as indicators suggested that PAHs in the Susquehanna River surface sediment are derived from the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal and gasoline with coal as the major source of contaminants.     

Formation of leadhillite and calcium lead silicate hydrate (C-Pb-S-H) in the solidification/stabilization of lead contaminants

In this study, we have investigated the structure of Pb-doped solidified waste forms (SWF) for assessment of lead fixation. A large quantity of lead precipitates produced during the S/S, based upon the results of cement-water solution analysis, X-ray diffraction and electron probe microanalysis/electron dispersive spectroscopy investigations, have been shown to be principally leadhillite (lead carbonate sulfate hydroxide, Pb(4)SO(4)(CO(3))(2)(OH)(2)), lead carbonate hydroxide hydrate (3PbCO(3).2Pb(OH)(2).H(2)O) and two other unidentified lead salts. In the long curing, the lead species dissolved from the lead precipitates are fixed into the cement matrix, forming a gelling calcium lead silicate hydrate during cement-based solidification. On leaching the lead precipitates such as leadhillite were markedly dissolved/released and some dissolved lead species were adsorbed to silicate-rich surface of leached SWF with the subsequent formation of mainly amorphous gel of calcium lead silicate hydrate.     

Characterization and optimization of long-term controlled release system for groundwater remediation: a generalized modeling approach

A well-based reactive barrier system using controlled-release KMnO4 has been recently developed as a long-term in situ treatment option for plumes of dense and non-aqueous phase liquids in groundwater. In order to take advantage of the merits of controlled release systems (CRS) in environmental remediation, the release behavior needs to be optimized for the hydrologic and environmental conditions of target treatment zone. Where release systems are expected to be operated over long times, like for the reactive barriers, it may only be practical to describe the long-term behavior numerically. We developed a numerical model capable of describing release characteristics associated with variable forms and structures of long-term CRS. Sensitivity analyses and illustrative simulations showed that the release kinetics and durations would be constrained by changes in agent solubility, bulk diffusion coefficients, or structures of the release devices. The generality of the numerical model was demonstrated through simulations for CRS with monolithic and double-layered matrices. The generalized model was then used for actual design and analyses of an encapsulated-matrix CRS, which can yield constant release kinetics for several years. A well-based reactive barrier system (4.05 x 10(3)m3) using the encapsulated-matrix CRS can release approximately 1.65 kg of active agent (here MnO4(-)) daily over the next 6.6 yr, creating prolonged reaction zone in the subsurface. The generalized model-based, target-specific approach using the long-term CRS could provide practical tool for improving the efficacy of advanced in situ remediation schemes such as in situ chemical oxidation, bioremediation, or in situ redox manipulation. Development of techniques for adjusting the bulk diffusion coefficients of the release matrices and facilitating the lateral spreading of the released agent is warranted.     

Polychlorinated biphenyl contamination trends in Lake Hartwell, South Carolina (USA): sediment recovery profiles spanning two decades

To assess the ca. 20-year polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination trends in Lake Hartwell, SC, sediment cores from the Twelve Mile Creek arm were collected in July 2004 at two sites (G30 and G33) first sampled in the mid-1980s. Congener-specific PCB data as a function of depth from the sediment-water interface for the 2004 sediment samples were compared to data obtained from 1987 and 1998 samples taken from the same locations. Despite modest decreases in total PCB levels near the G30 sediment-water interface, historical increases in average degrees of chlorination may elevate the overall toxic risk at this site. Unlike G30, the more rapid recovery in the near-surface sediment of G33 suggests that the effectiveness of the U.S. EPA natural attenuation record of decision is site-specific and is unlikely to result in uniform surface sediment recovery throughout the most contaminated regions of Lake Hartwell.     

Phosphorus supply influences heathland responses to atmospheric nitrogen deposition

On an upland moor dominated by pioneer Calluna vulgaris and with an understorey of mosses and lichens, experimental plots were treated with factorial combinations of nitrogen (N) at +0 and +20kg Nha(-1)yr(-1), and phosphorus (P) at +0 and +5kg Pha(-1)yr(-1). Over the 4-year duration of the experiment, the cover of the Calluna canopy increased in density over time as part of normal phenological development. Moss cover increased initially in response to N addition but then remained static; increases in cover in response to P addition became stronger over time, eventually causing reductions in the cover of the dominant Calluna canopy. Lichen cover virtually disappeared within 4 years in plots receiving +20kg Nha(-1)yr(-1) and also in separate plots receiving +10kg Nha(-1)yr(-1), but this effect was reversed by the addition of P.     

Source apportionment of fine particulate matter in the southeastern United States

Particulate matter (PM) less than 2.5 microm in size (PM2.5) source apportionment by chemical mass balance receptor modeling was performed to enhance regional characterization of source impacts in the southeastern United States. Secondary particles, such as NH4HSO4, (NH4)2SO4, NH4NO3, and secondary organic carbon (OC) (SOC), formed by atmospheric photochemical reactions, contribute the majority (>50%) of ambient PM2.5 with strong seasonality. Source apportionment results indicate that motor vehicle and biomass burning are the two main primary sources in the southeast, showing relatively more motor vehicle source impacts rather than biomass burning source impacts in populated urban areas and vice versa in less urbanized areas. Spatial distributions of primary source impacts show that each primary source has distinctively different spatial source impacts. Results also find impacts from shipping activities along the coast. Spatiotemporal correlations indicate that secondary particles are more regionally distributed, as are biomass burning and dust, whereas impacts of other primary sources are more local.