Can we enhance amphibians’ habitat restoration in the post-mining areas?

The study was aimed to evaluate the selected improvements of nature restoration in a depleted gravel pit. The study site consisted of four water reservoirs of different shapes and sizes, flooded after the gravel extraction ended. Ecological succession monitoring, conducted by the Warsaw University of Life Sciences students associated in the Student Scientific Association of Animal Sciences Faculty since the completion of mining, have focused on amphibians. A twofold approach upheld amphibian species population dynamics, as well as selected habitat elements. The restoration practices dedicated to habitat conditions enhancing have been proved to be definitely effective and useful for similar sites.     

The Cost of Stack Gas Cleaning in New York State

A cost estimating methodology has been applied to an emission point inventory to estimate the capital and operating costs of stack gas cleaning in the manufacturing sector of New York State. The study represents the first major attempt to estimate control costs on a source by source basis for a large region. The various control cost components are presented for each of the twenty manufacturing industry groups and the usefulness of the estimates for an abatement planning model is outlined.

In recent years a number of heroic efforts have been made to estimate the cost of air pollution abatement on a national or regional basis. Unfortunately, these studies have relied almost entirely upon emission factors, cost engineering functions, pilot plant operations, and average or ideal firms, because of the paucity of primary data.^1-6

In the estimates of capital and operating costs presented below, an attempt has been made to improve on previous research by making extensive use of primary data. The data were taken from an emission inventory of over 20,000 sources of air contamination in New York State. A cost estimating methodology was applied to engineering parameters of existing control operations on a source by source basis. The results have been aggregated to the two-digit SIC level.     

Compositions and greenhouse gas emission factors of flared and vented gas in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin

A significant obstacle in evaluating mitigation strategies for flaring and venting in the upstream oil and gas industry is the lack of publicly available data on the chemical composition of the gas. This information is required to determine the economic value of the gas, infrastructure and processing requirements, and potential emissions or emissions credits, all of which have significant impact on the economics of such strategies. This paper describes a method for estimating the composition of solution gas being flared and vented at individual facilities, and presents results derived for Alberta, Canada, which sits at the heart of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. Using large amounts of raw data obtained through the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board, a relational database was created and specialized queries were developed to link production stream data, raw gas samples, and geography to create production-linked gas composition profiles for approximately half of the currently active facilities. These were used to create composition maps for the entire region, to which the remaining facilities with unknown compositions were geographically linked. The derived data were used to compute a range of solution gas composition profiles and greenhouse gas emission factors, providing new insight into flaring and venting in the region and enabling informed analysis of future management and mitigation strategies.

Implications: Accurate and transparent determination of environmental impacts of flaring and venting of gas associated with oil production, and potential benefits of mitigation, is severely hampered by the lack of publicly available gas composition data. In jurisdictions within the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, frameworks exist for regulating and trading carbon offset credits but current potential for mitigation is limited by a lack of standardized methods for calculating CO₂ equivalent emissions. The composition and emission factor data derived in this paper will be useful to industry, regulators, policy researchers, and entrepreneurs seeking statistically significant and openly available data necessary to manage and mitigate upstream flaring and venting activity and estimate greenhouse gas impacts.     

Seasonal performance of an outdoor constructed wetland for graywater treatment in a temperate climate

The seasonal treatment efficiency of a pilot-scale constructed wetland system located outdoors in a semi-arid, temperate climate was evaluated for graywater in a comprehensive, 1-year study. The system consisted of two wetland beds in series--a free water surface bed followed by a subsurface flow bed. Water quality monitoring evaluated organics, solids, nutrients, microbials, and surfactants. The results showed that the wetland substantially reduced graywater constituents during fall, spring, and summer, including biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) (92%), total nitrogen (85%), total phosphorus (78%), total suspended solids (TSS) (73%), linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) surfactants (94%), and E. coli (1.7 orders of magnitude). Except for TSS, lower removals of graywater constituents were noted in winter--BOD (78%), total nitrogen (64%), total phosphorus (65%), LAS (87%), and E. coli (1.0 order), indicating that, although wetland treatment slowed during the winter, the system remained active, even when the average water temperature was 5.2 +/- 4.5 degrees C.     

An analysis of flaring and venting activity in the Alberta upstream oil and gas industry

Alberta, Canada, is an important global producer of petroleum resources. In association with this production, large amounts of gas (1.14 billion m3 in 2008) are flared or vented. Although the amount of flaring and venting has been measurably reduced since 2002, data from 2005 reveal sharp increases in venting, which have important implications in terms of resource conservation and greenhouse gas emissions (which exceeded 8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2008). With use of extensive monthly production data for 18,203 active batteries spanning the years 2002-2008 obtained in close cooperation with the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board, a detailed analysis has been completed to examine activity patterns of flaring and venting and reasons behind these trends in the Alberta upstream oil and gas industry. In any given year, approximately 6000 batteries reported flaring and/or venting, but the distribution of volumes flared and vented at individual sites was highly skewed, such that small numbers of sites handled large fractions of the total gas flaring and venting in the Province. Examination of month-to-month volume variability at individual sites, cast in terms of a nominal turndown ratio that would be required for a compressor to capture that gas and direct it into a pipeline, further revealed that volumes at a majority of sites were reasonably stable and there was no evidence that larger or more stable sites had been preferentially reduced, leaving potential barriers to future mitigation. Through linking of geospatial data with production data coupled with additional statistical analysis, the 31.2% increase in venting volumes since 2005 was revealed to be predominantly associated with increased production of heavier oils and bitumen in the Lloydminster region of the Province. Overall, the data suggest that quite significant reductions in flaring and venting could be realized by seeking mitigation solutions for only the largest batteries in the Province.     

Study on the determination of PCDDs/Fs and HCB in exhaust gas

The subject of this study was to develop a method of simultaneous determination of PCDDs/PCDFs and HCB in exhaust gases from industrial installations. Sampling to determine PCDDs/PCDFs was conducted using the method described in PN-EN 1948-1: 2006, where the sorption material is polyurethane foam (PUF). In order to simultaneously collect PCDDs/PCDFs and HCB and to avoid sorbent bed breakthrough, it was necessary to apply an additional polyurethane sorption layer. Twenty-seven samples of exhaust gases from various cement plants and 40 samples of exhaust gases from hospital and industrial waste incineration plants collected in 2009/2010 in the entire territory of Poland were examined. The average content of PCDDs/Fs in samples from cement plants amounted to 0.076 ng I-TEQ N m(-3) (range of 0.002-0.62 ng I-TEQ N m(-3)), while the average content of HCB amounted to 10 ng N m(-3) (range of 0.98-60.5 ng N m(-3)). In the case of samples collected from waste incineration plants, the average concentration of PCDDs/Fs was 0.39 ng I-TEQN m(-3) (range of 0.002-5.68 ng I-TEQ N m(-3)). In the case of HCB, the average concentration was 238 ng N m(-3) (range of 3.21-2500 ng N m(-3)). Also, the interdependence of the concentration of PCDDs/PCDFs and HCB was determined in the analysed samples, with the ranges of low and high content of PCDDs/PCDFs being examined separately. In all cases, the determined values of the r correlation coefficient were within the range of 0.7-1.0, which indicates a good correlation between the concentrations of PCDDs/PCDFs and HCB.     

Evaluating carbon emissions of China’s waste management strategies for building refurbishment projects: contributing to a circular economy

This study evaluates carbon emissions of construction and demolition (C&D) waste generated by building refurbishment, using a life cycle assessment approach through a case study project in China. Three waste management scenarios were developed for a building refurbishment project in the city of Suzhou. Scenario 1 is under the business-as-usual C&D waste management practice in China; scenario 2 is based on the open-ended 3R strategy, which focuses on the downstream impact of waste; and scenario 3 considers both the upstream and downstream impact of waste. The results reveal that the composition of the waste generated from building refurbishment projects is different from construction and demolition projects. In the life cycle of C&D waste management of building refurbishment projects, the refurbishment material stage generates the highest carbon emissions compared to the dismantlement, refurbishment construction, and refurbishment material end of life stages. Scenario 1 produces higher carbon emissions than scenario 2, but the difference is not significant in the whole life cycle of the building refurbishment project, whereas carbon emissions for scenario 3 are significantly less than both scenario 1 and scenario 2. The study finds the reason for this difference is that scenario 1 and scenario 2 are based on a linear economy that relies on unsustainable demand for raw materials, whereas scenario 3 is based on a circular economy that uses upcycled materials to substitute for raw materials and considers waste management from a cradle to cradle perspective. This study fills a research gap by evaluating carbon emissions of different waste management strategies for building refurbishment projects, which are expected to be an increasing portion of overall construction activity in China for the foreseeable future.

     

Synthesis,characterization, and application of 2D/2D TiO2-GO-ZnFe2O4 obtained by the fluorine-free lyophilization method for solar light-driven photocatalytic degradation of ibuprofen

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this study, we report the potential of 2D/2D TiO2-GO-ZnFe2O4 photocatalyst obtained using the fluorine-free lyophilization technique for the...     

Performance of secondary P-fertilizers in pot experiments analyzed by phosphorus X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy

A pot experiment was carried out with maize to determine the phosphorus (P) plant-availability of different secondary P-fertilizers derived from wastewater. We analyzed the respective soils by P K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy to determine the P chemical forms that were present and determine the transformation processes. Macro- and micro-XANES spectroscopy were used to determine the chemical state of the overall soil P and identify P compounds in P-rich spots. Mainly organic P and/or P adsorbed on organic matter or other substrates were detected in unfertilized and fertilized soils. In addition, there were indications for the formation of ammonium phosphates in some fertilized soils. However, this effect was not seen in the maize yield of all P-fertilizers. The observed reactions between phosphate from secondary P-fertilizers and co-fertilized nitrogen compounds should be further investigated. Formation of highly plant-available compounds such as ammonium phosphates could make secondary P-fertilizers more competitive to commercial phosphate rock-based fertilizers with positive effects on resources conservation.     

Exploring corruption in fisheries

This paper explores corruption in global fisheries. While reducing corruption is critical for the effective management of the fisheries sector and the fulfilment of the UN's sustainable development goals (SDGs, and SDGs14 and 16 in particular), to do so, it is necessary to first have a systematic and comprehensive understanding of what corruption is and how it is manifested in the sector. There is literature on illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing, but not much on corruption. The paper proposes an analytical framework and applies it with six revelatory cases to improve the conceptual clarity of corruption in fisheries. Specific corruption problems found in licensing, negotiating access agreements, lax enforcement, extortion, political corruption, money laundering and tax manipulation, human trafficking, etc. can therefore be better identified through this analysis, which lays a base for systematic responses to tackling corruption in fisheries and accordingly furthering the sustainable development of the sector.