Concentrations of PCDD/PCDF in soil close to a secondary aluminum smelter

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDDs/Fs) were analyzed in samples of the emissions from a secondary aluminum smelter (ALS) and soil samples around the plant. The purpose was to estimate the impact of the emissions on the surrounding environment.PCDD/F soil concentrations were higher in the proximity of the plant, exceeding the limit adopted in Italy in soils for green areas and residential uses and the upper limit of several reference concentrations. The most contaminated sites were less than 500 m from the plant and the dioxin concentration with the distance from the ALS.Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that emissions from the ALS were the source of PCDD/F contamination in the soils closest to the plant. Multivariate data analyses such as PCA are therefore useful to identify sources of emission causing contamination.     

Use of recycled fine aggregate in concretes with durable requirements

The use of construction waste materials as aggregates for concrete production is highly attractive compared to the use of non-renewable natural resources, promoting environmental protection and allowing the development of a new raw material. Several countries have recommendations for the use of recycled coarse aggregate in structural concrete, whereas the use of the fine fraction is limited because it may produce significant changes in some properties of concrete. However, during the last decade the use of recycled fine aggregates (RFA) has achieved a great international interest, mainly because of economic implications related to the shortage of natural sands suitable for the production of concrete, besides to allow an integral use of this type of waste. In this study, the durable behaviour of structural concretes made with different percentage of RFA (0%, 20%, and 30%) is evaluated. Different properties related to the durability of concretes such as absorption, sorptivity, water penetration under pressure, and carbonation are determined. In addition, the results of compressive strength, static modulus of elasticity and drying shrinkage are presented. The obtained results indicate that the recycled concretes have a suitable resistant and durable behaviour, according to the limits indicated by different international codes for structural concrete.     

A techno-economic comparison of fluidized bed gasification of two mixed plastic wastes

A comparison between the most promising design configurations for the industrial application of gasification based, plastics-to-energy cogenerators in the 2-6 MWe range is presented. A pilot scale bubbling fluidized bed air gasifier, having a feeding capacity of 100 kg/h, provided experimental data: the syngas complete composition, the characterization of the bed material, the entrained fines collected at the cyclone and the purge material from the scrubber. Mass and energy balances and material and substance flow analyses have been therefore drawn to assess and compare design solutions utilizing two mixed plastic wastes (MPW) obtained from separate collection of plastic packaging, after different levels of pre-treatments. The related techno-economic performances have been finally estimated on the basis of the manufacturer’s specifications. The study concludes that the MPW obtained after a very simple pre-treatment and fed to a gasifier coupled with a steam turbine is the solution that currently offers the higher reliability and provides the higher internal rate of return for the investigated range of electrical energy production.     

Municipal solid waste source-separated collection in China: A comparative analysis

A pilot program focusing on municipal solid waste (MSW) source-separated collection was launched in eight major cities throughout China in 2000. Detailed investigations were carried out and a comprehensive system was constructed to evaluate the effects of the eight-year implementation in those cities. This paper provides an overview of different methods of collection, transportation, and treatment of MSW in the eight cities; as well as making a comparative analysis of MSW source-separated collection in China. Information about the quantity and composition of MSW shows that the characteristics of MSW are similar, which are low calorific value, high moisture content and high proportion of organisms. Differences which exist among the eight cities in municipal solid waste management (MSWM) are presented in this paper. Only Beijing and Shanghai demonstrated a relatively effective result in the implementation of MSW source-separated collection. While the six remaining cities result in poor performance. Considering the current status of MSWM, source-separated collection should be a key priority. Thus, a wider range of cities should participate in this program instead of merely the eight pilot cities. It is evident that an integrated MSWM system is urgently needed. Kitchen waste and recyclables are encouraged to be separated at the source. Stakeholders involved play an important role in MSWM, thus their responsibilities should be clearly identified. Improvement in legislation, coordination mechanisms and public education are problematic issues that need to be addressed.     

三元复合驱采出水中悬浮固体的控制方法

采用向三元复合驱采出水中加入水质稳定剂的方法有效降低采出水中悬浮固体的质量浓度。实验结果表明,将100 g采出水依次经滤纸和孔径为0.45μm的醋酸纤维素膜过滤后,加入1.0 g WSBL-3型水质稳定剂,混合均匀后置于80℃的水浴中静置4 h,取出后再置于40℃的水浴中静置5 min,由此可将采出水中的悬浮固体质量浓度由107 mg/L降至2 mg/L。     

磁性生物炭负载Mg-Fe水滑石的制备及其吸附水中Cd（Ⅱ）和Ni（Ⅱ）的性能

合成了一种高吸附容量的磁性生物炭负载Mg-Fe水滑石复合材料（L-BC）,并用于去除水中的Cd²⁺和Ni²⁺。表征结果表明,采用浸渍联合热解法成功制备了磁性生物炭（M-BC）,水热合成法成功地将Mg-Fe水滑石负载在M-BC上。动力学研究结果表明,Cd²⁺和Ni²⁺吸附符合伪二级动力学模型,化学吸附为速率控制步骤。等温吸附研究结果表明,L-BC对Cd²⁺和Ni²⁺的吸附符合Langmuir模型,为单分子层化学吸附,最大吸附量分别为263.156 mg/g和43.291 mg/g。吸附机理主要为Mg-Fe水滑石层间CO₃^2-和表面羟基与Cd²⁺和Ni²⁺产生表面共沉淀。L-BC具有良好的吸附和重复利用性能,是一种很有前景的去除Cd²⁺和Ni²⁺的吸附材料。     

武安市土地利用结构信息熵时空变化分析

分析土地利用结构时空变化是研究区域土地利用优化配置的重要途径之一.基于信息熵理论,以河北省武安市为例,对1996-2006年的土地利用结构信息熵变化以及2006年各乡(镇)信息熵差异进行研究,同时运用主成分分析法对信息熵变化的驱动力进行分析.结果表明,武安市土地利用结构信息熵持续增长,土地利用结构均衡度较高;2006年各乡镇信息熵差异较大,可划分成3种类型区;经济因素和人口流动因素是信息熵变化主要驱动力.     

Lactational exposure to phthalates in Southern Italy

BackgroundPhthalates, reproductive toxicants in animals, are synthetic chemicals with ubiquitous human exposures because of their extensive use, with potential detrimental health effects. Infants are considered to represent a population at increased risk, as they are exposed early in life to several different sources of exposure to phthalates.Objectives and methodsLittle information exists on phthalate exposure through breast milk from different geographic areas. By means of a LC/LC–MS/MS method we tested the presence of several different phthalate metabolites in breast milk from 62 healthy mothers living in Southern Italy.ResultsThe simple monoesters mono-isobutyl phthalate (MiBP) (median 18.8 μg/l) and mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP) (median 8.4 μg/l) were present in all milk samples, whereas mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP) (median 1.5 μg/l) and mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP) (median < 0.3 μg/l) were found in 64.5% and 43.5% of the samples, respectively. Among the oxidative metabolites of DEHP and DiNP only mono(2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate (5cx-MEPP) and monoisononyl phthalate with one hydroxyl group (OH-MiNP) were detectable in one and 13 samples (21%), respectively.ConclusionsThese findings indicate that exposure to phthalates through breast milk in Southern Italian infants is comparable to that of other countries, thus confirming that human milk may represent an additional potential source of phthalate exposure in a population at increased risk. However, different milk concentrations of MiBP may suggest a different pattern of usage of di-iso-butyl phthalate in Europe, as compared to USA, whereas for the first time, we detected an oxidative DiNP metabolite, whose significance remains unclear.     

Short-term seasonal variability in Be wet deposition in a semiarid ecosystem of central Argentina

The ⁷Be wet deposition has been intensively investigated in a semiarid region at San Luis Province, Argentina. From November 2006 to May 2008, the ⁷Be content in rainwater was determined in 58 individual rain events, randomly comprising more than 50% of all individual precipitations at the sampling period. ⁷Be activity concentration in rainwater ranged from 0.7 ± 0.3 Bq l⁻¹ to 3.2 ± 0.7 Bq l⁻¹, with a mean value of 1.7 Bq l⁻¹ (sd = 0.53 Bq l⁻¹). No relationship was found between ⁷Be content in rainwater and (a) rainfall amount, (b) precipitation intensity and (c) elapsed time between events. ⁷Be ground deposition was found to be well correlated with rainfall amount (R = 0.92). For the precipitation events considered, the ⁷Be depositional fluxes ranged from 1.1 to 120 Bq m⁻², with a mean value of 32.7 Bq m⁻² (sd = 29.9 Bq m⁻²). The annual depositional flux was estimated at 1140 ± 120 Bq m⁻² y⁻¹. Assuming the same monthly deposition pattern and that the ⁷Be content in soil decreases only through radioactive decay, the seasonal variation of ⁷Be areal activity density in soil was estimated. Results of this investigation may contribute to a valuable characterization of ⁷Be input in the explored semiarid ecosystem and its potential use as tracer of environmental processes.     

微波无极紫外光催化-内电解协同降解活性艳红X-3B

采用微波无极紫外光源,以活性炭作为光催化剂TiO2的载体,与外加铁屑构成内电解反应,处理活性艳红X-3B模拟废水.实验结果表明,微波无极紫外光催化-内电解法对活性艳红X-3B的降解速率是微波无极紫外光催化和微波-内电解法单独作用时降解速率之和的2倍.在活性艳红X-3B模拟废水初始pH为7、空气曝气量为0.50 L/min、铁屑加入量为5 g/L、反应温度为40～45℃的最佳条件下,微波无极紫外光催化-内电解法的活性艳红X-3B模拟废水色度去除率达100%,TOC和可吸附有机卤化物的去除率分别为69.5%和81.8%.