Elemental and isotopic determination of lead (Pb) in particulate matter in the Brazilian city of Goiânia (GO) using ICP-MS technique

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The toxic metal lead (Pb) can be harmful to human health in various manners, but is also considered as a distinguished tracer of environmental...     

Emission factors from different burning stages of agriculture wastes in Mexico

Open-air burning of agricultural wastes from crops like corn, rice, sorghum, sugar cane, and wheat is common practice in Mexico, which in spite limiting regulations, is the method to eliminate such wastes, to clear the land for further harvesting, to control grasses, weeds, insects, and pests, and to facilitate nutrient absorption. However, this practice generates air pollution and contributes to the greenhouse effect. Burning of straws derived from the said crops was emulated in a controlled combustion chamber, hence determining emission factors for particles, black carbon, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and nitric oxide throughout the process, which comprised three apparent stages: pre-ignition, flaming, and smoldering. In all cases, maximum particle concentrations were observed during the flaming stage, although the maximum final contributions to the particle emission factors corresponded to the smoldering stage. The comparison between particle size distributions (from laser spectrometer) and black carbon (from an aethalometer) confirmed that finest particles were emitted mainly during the flaming stage. Carbon dioxide emissions were also highest during the flaming stage whereas those of carbon monoxide were highest during the smoldering stage. Comparing the emission factors for each straw type with their chemical analyses (elemental, proximate, and biochemical), some correlations were found between lignin content and particle emissions and either particle emissions or duration of the pre-ignition stage. High ash or lignin containing-straw slowed down the pre-ignition and flaming stages, thus favoring CO oxidation to CO₂.

     

Effect of ferrate on green algae removal

Green algae Cladophora aegagropila, present in cooling water of thermal power plants, causes many problems and complications, especially during summer. However, algae and its metabolites are rarely eliminated by common removal methods. In this work, the elimination efficiency of electrochemically prepared potassium ferrate(VI) on algae from cooling water was investigated. The influence of experimental parameters, such as Fe(VI) dosage, application time, pH of the system, temperature and hydrodynamics of the solution on removal efficiency, was optimized. This study demonstrates that algae C. aegagropila can be effectively removed from cooling water by ferrate. Application of ferrate(VI) at the optimized dosage and under the suitable conditions (temperature, pH) leads to 100% removal of green algae Cladophora from the system. Environmentally friendly reduction products (Fe(III)) and coagulation properties favour the application of ferrate for the treatment of water contaminated with studied microorganisms compared to other methods such as chlorination and use of permanganate, where harmful products are produced.

     

Local air pollution and global climate change taxes: a distributional analysis for the case of Spain

Global climate change measures are difficult to implement. In this context, local air pollution measures may play an important role in the political agenda since their effects are felt more immediately by citizens. Distributional implications are one of the main barriers for implementing environmental policies. This paper explores the distributional implications of air pollution taxes and compares them to climate change taxes. For the comparison, both tax schemes were set to yield the same revenue. Methodologically, the study uses a top–down approach linking a macro model to a micro model. We find that taxes on local air pollutants are more regressive than those levied on CO₂. This is because the goods implicitly taxed have a greater weight in the consumer basket of low-income groups, even if the tax revenues are recycled. Furthermore, the revenue-neutral recycle scheme increases both taxes efficiency, but, at the same time, can increase regressivity.     

Evaluating soundscape intentions in landscape architecture: a study of competition entries for a new cemetery in Järva,Stockholm

While soundscape is increasingly acknowledged within landscape planning and design discourse, there is little research that clarifies how soundscapes are actually dealt with in landscape architecture practice – partly owing to methodological insufficiencies. This paper, therefore, describes a model for evaluating soundscape treatment in landscape design proposals, focusing on three key aspects. With the dual aim of testing the model, and learning more about how soundscape is approached in practice, the paper spotlights a major design competition for a new cemetery in Sweden. The model proved fruitful and easy to apply. It showed that only limited attention was paid to soundscape in the competition as a whole, and was a useful means of pinpointing proposals where soundscape was fully considered as a design feature; one competition entry that did so is described in the paper. Discussions cover design practice, trends in the competition and model application.     

Solubilities of selected organic electronic materials in pressurized hot water and estimations of aqueous solubilities at 298.15 K

Increasing production and disposal of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays for smartphones and tablets may have impact on the environment depending on the aqueous solubility of the pertinent chemicals. Here, aqueous solubilities are presented for several compounds, mostly aromatic amines, used as hole transport materials in the OLED displays. Solute selection includes 1,4-bis(diphenylamino)benzene, tetra-N-phenylbenzidine, 4,4′-bis(N-carbazolyl)-1,1′-biphenyl, 1,3,5-tris(diphenylamino)benzene, and 9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene. The solubilities are those in pressurized hot water (PHW), i.e., measured at elevated temperature (up to 260 °C) and pressure. The semi-quantitative estimates of room-temperature solubilities of the solutes have been obtained from extrapolations of the solubilities in PHW. For the compounds studied, the estimated aqueous solubilities at room temperature do not exceed 2 × 10^?11 g of the solute per 1 kg of water. Aqueous solubilities of triphenylamine have also been measured and used to upgrade a recent group-contribution model of aqueous solubilities of organic nonelectrolytes with the parameters for the nitrogen atom in aromatic amines.     

Phytoavailability and extractability of potassium,magnesium and manganese in calcareous soil amended with olive oil wastewater

Abstract

Land disposal of olive oil wastewater using it as a soil amendment requires a knowledge of the effects that its application may produce on the status of the mineral nutrients in the plant‐soil system. A pot experiment using calcareous soil was performed in a growth chamber to examine the effects of olive oil wastewater on the availability and postharvest soil extractability of K, Mg and Mn. The experiment included 6 treatments: two rates of olive oil wastewater, two mineral fertilizer treatments containing K (which supplied K in amounts equivalent to the K supplied by the olive oil wastewater treatments), a K‐free mineral fertilizer treatment, and a control. The pots were sown with ryegrass as the test plant, harvesting 3 times at intervals of one month. Olive oil wastewater has demonstrated a considerable capacity for supplying K that can be assimilated by the plant, tending in fact to surpass the mineral potassium fertilizer tested. The application of olive oil wastewater tends to reduce the concentration of Mg in the plant, similarly to the effect of adding mineral potassium fertilizer. An enhancement of Mn availability takes place in the soil amended with olive oil wastewater, which on occasion has produced Mn concentrations in plant that could be considered phytotoxic or at least excessive. After harvesting, we observed an increase in the amount of exchangeable K in soil with added industrial wastewater. However, these increases are lower than those in soil treated with mineral potassium fertilizer. The levels of exchangeable, carbonate‐bound, organic‐bound and residual Mg in soil were higher in treatments incorporating olive oil wastewater than in those with added mineral K, with the opposite tendency occurring in the amount of Fe‐Mn oxides‐bound Mg in soil. Treatments based on olive oil wastewater, especially in high doses, increased the amount of exchangeable and carbonate‐bound Mn in soil, in comparison with treatments adding mineral fertilizers with or without K. In contrast, the addition of industrial wastewater caused a drop in the amount of Fe‐Mn oxides‐bound and organic‐bound Mn in soil.     

Use of cholinesterase activity in monitoring chlorpyrifos exposure of steer cattle after topical administration

The aim of this work was to study the pharmacokinetic behavior and the inhibitory effect of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activities of chlorpyrifos (CPF) in steer cattle after pour-on administration. Determination of cholinesterase activity in plasma and erythrocyte was carried out according to Ellman kinetic method. CPF was analyzed by gas chromatography. AChE was the predominant form of cholinesterase analyzed, with low levels of BChE in plasma. Following the treatment with CPF, the maximum inhibitory effect on AChE or BChE were 50.88 ± 11.57 and 42.66 ± 12.01%, respectively. The chlorpyrifos plasma concentrations observed were low and they presented a high variability. Chlorpyrifos peak plasma concentration (10.42 ± 4.76 μ g/L) was reached at 8.42 ± 13.97 h. The pesticide was not detected in plasma after 48 h post treatment. The values of area under the curve (AUC) were 118.48 ± 87.46 μ g· h/L and mean resistance time (MRT) were 13.38 ± 10.41 h. The pour-on exposure to the organophosphate chlorpyrifos significantly reduced AChE and BChE activity in steer cattle and the recovery was not reached on 50 days post-treatment.     

Treatment of wastewater from red and tropical fruit wine production by zeolite anaerobic fluidized bed reactor

A study of the anaerobic treatment of wastewaters derived from red (RWWW) and tropical fruit wine (TFWWW) production was carried out in four laboratory-scale fluidized bed reactors with natural zeolite as bacterial support. These reactors operated at mesophilic temperature (35°C). Reactors R1 and R2 contained Chilean natural zeolite, while reactors R3 and R4 used Cuban natural zeolite as microorganism support. In addition, reactors R1 and R3 processed RWWW, while reactors R2 and R4 used TFWWW as substrate. The biomass concentration attached to zeolites in the four reactors studied was found to be in the range of 44–46 g volatile solids (VS)/L after 90 days of operation time. Both types of zeolites can be used indistinctly in the fluidized bed reactors achieving more than 80%–86% chemical oxygen demand (COD) removals for organic loading rates (OLR) of up to at least 20 g COD/L d. pH values remained within the optimal range for anaerobic microorganisms for OLR values of up to 20 and 22 g COD/L d for RWWW and TFWWW, respectively. Toxicity and inhibition levels were observed at an OLR of 20 g COD/L d in reactors R1 and R3 while processing RWWW, whereas the aforementioned inhibitory phenomena were not observed at an OLR of 24 g COD/L d in R2 and R4, treating TFWWW as a consequence of the lower phenolic compound content present in this substrate. The volatile fatty acid (VFA) levels were always lower in reactors processing TFWWW (R2 and R4) and these values (< 400 mg/L, as acetic acid) were lower than the suggested limits for digester failure. The specific methanogenic activity (SMA) was twice as high in reactors R2 and R4 than in R1 and R3 after 120 days of operation when all reactors operated at an OLR of 20 g COD/L d.     

Estimation of sampling uncertainty for determination of pesticide residues in plant commodities

In order to provide residue data for refining the estimated sampling uncertainty, a coordinated research program was initiated for performing field studies on residues in individual items of leafy vegetables, small and large crops. The trials were carried out in 13 countries with 3 small fruits, 5 large crops, 2 medium/large crops and 3 leafy vegetables. The 25 pesticide active ingredients applied represented the dicarboximide (3), organophosphorus (8), synthetic pyrethroids (5), phthalimides (2), organochlorine (1) and other types of pesticides (6). In addition, 11 supervised field trials were performed in grapes and lettuce by the pesticide manufacturers, and their results were provided for evaluation. The studies represented actual agriculture practice around the world, and provide reliable data for estimation of sampling uncertainty. Based on the 12346 residue data, the best estimate for the relative sampling uncertainty for composite samples, assuming sample size of 10 for small crops and leafy vegetables and 5 for large crops, with 95% confidence limits in brackets are: small commodities: 0.25 (0.20–0.29); Brassica leafy vegetables: 0.20 (0.16–0.24); large commodities: 0.33 (0.29–0.38).