Aerosol species concentrations and source apportionment of ammonia at Rocky Mountain National Park

Changes in ecosystem function at Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) are occurring because of emissions of nitrogen and sulfate species along the Front Range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, as well as sources farther east and west. The nitrogen compounds include both oxidized and reduced nitrogen. A year-long monitoring program of various oxidized and reduced nitrogen species was initiated to better understand their origins as well as the complex chemistry occurring during transport from source to receptor. Specifically, the goals of the study were to characterize the atmospheric concentrations of nitrogen species in gaseous, particulate, and aqueous phases (precipitation and clouds) along the east and west sides of the Continental Divide; identify the relative contributions to atmospheric nitrogen species in RMNP from within and outside of the state of Colorado; identify the relative contributions to atmospheric nitrogen species in RMNP from emission sources along the Colorado Front Range versus other areas within Colorado; and identify the relative contributions to atmospheric nitrogen species from mobile sources, agricultural activities, and large and small point sources within the state of Colorado. Measured ammonia concentrations are combined with modeled releases of conservative tracers from ammonia source regions around the United States to apportion ammonia to its respective sources, using receptor modeling tools.

Implications: Increased deposition of nitrogen in RMNP has been demonstrated to contribute to a number of important ecosystem changes. The rate of deposition of nitrogen compounds in RMNP has crossed a crucial threshold called the “critical load.” This means that changes are occurring to park ecosystems and that these changes may soon reach a point where they are difficult or impossible to reverse. Several key issues need attention to develop an effective strategy for protecting park resources from adverse impacts of elevated nitrogen deposition. These include determining the importance of previously unquantified nitrogen inputs within the park and identification of important nitrogen sources and transport pathways.     

The exposition of a calcareous Mediterranean soil to toxic concentrations of Cr, Cd and Pb produces changes in the microbiota mainly related to differential metal bioavailability

The involvement of the bacterial community of an agricultural Mediterranean calcareous soil in relation to several heavy metals has been studied in microcosms under controlled laboratory conditions. Soil samples were artificially polluted with Cr(VI), Cd(II) and Pb(II) at concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 5000 mg kg⁻¹ and incubated along 28 d. The lowest concentrations with significant effects in soil respirometry were 10 mg kg⁻¹ Cr and 1000 mg kg⁻¹ Cd and Pb. However, only treatments showing more than 40% inhibition of respirometric activity led to significant changes in bacterial composition, as indicated by PCR-DGGE analyses. Presumable Cr- and Cd-resistant bacteria were detected in polluted microcosms, but development of the microbiota was severely impaired at the highest amendments of both metals. Results also showed that bioavailability is an important factor determining the impact of the heavy metals assayed, and even an inverted potential toxicity ranking could be achieved if their soluble fraction is considered instead of the total concentration. Moreover, multiresistant bacteria were isolated from Cr-polluted soil microcosms, some of them showing the capacity to reduce Cr(VI) concentrations between 26% and 84% of the initial value. Potentially useful strains for bioremediation were related to Arthrobacter crystallopoietes, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and several species of Bacillus.     

Pesticide removal from waste spray-tank water by organoclay adsorption after field application: an approach for a formulation of cyprodinil containing antifoaming/defoaming agents

Purpose  

Many reports on purification of water containing pesticides are based on studies using unformulated active ingredients. However, most commercial formulations contain additives/adjuvants or are manufactured using microencapsulation which may influence the purification process. Therefore, the main objective of this work was to develop and test a pilot scheme for decontaminating water containing pesticides formulated with antifoaming/defoaming agents.     

Kinetic behavior of anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen in aqueous medium during its degradation by electrochemical advanced oxidation

The electrochemical abatement of the drug ibuprofen (2-(4-isobutylphenyl)propionic acid) from aqueous solution has been carried out by anodic oxidation. The electrolyses have been performed at constant current using a small, undivided cell equipped with a Pt or thin-film boron-doped diamond (BDD) anode and a carbon-felt cathode. The results have shown that ibuprofen has been destroyed under all the conditions tested, following pseudo-first-order kinetics; however, BDD enables higher removal rates than Pt, because the former produces greater quantity of ^?OH. Using BDD anode, the pseudo-first-order rate constant increased with applied current and when NaCl replaced Na₂SO₄ as supporting electrolyte, while it is almost unaffected by ibuprofen concentration. Mineralization of ibuprofen aqueous solutions was followed by total organic carbon (TOC) measurements. After 8 h of electrolysis, TOC removal varied from 91 % to 96 % applying a current in the range of 50–500 mA. The reaction by-products were quantified by chromatographic techniques, and in particular, aliphatic acids (oxalic, glyoxylic, formic, acetic, and pyruvic) have been the main intermediates formed during the electrolyses. The absolute rate constant for the oxidative degradation of ibuprofen have also been determined, by competition kinetic method, as 6.41?×?10⁹ M^?1?s^?1.     

Nutrient leaching in a Colombian savanna Oxisol amended with biochar

Nutrient leaching in highly weathered tropical soils often poses a challenge for crop production. We investigated the effects of applying 20 t ha biochar (BC) to a Colombian savanna Oxisol on soil hydrology and nutrient leaching in field experiments. Measurements were made over the third and fourth years after a single BC application. Nutrient contents in the soil solution were measured under one maize and one soybean crop each year that were routinely fertilized with mineral fertilizers. Leaching by unsaturated water flux was calculated using soil solution sampled with suction cup lysimeters and water flux estimates generated by the model HYDRUS 1-D. No significant difference ( > 0.05) was observed in surface-saturated hydraulic conductivity or soil water retention curves, resulting in no relevant changes in water percolation after BC additions in the studied soils. However, due to differences in soil solution concentrations, leaching of inorganic N, Ca, Mg, and K measured up to a depth of 0.6 m increased ( < 0.05), whereas P leaching decreased, and leaching of all nutrients (except P) at a depth of 1.2 m was significantly reduced with BC application. Changes in leaching at 2.0 m depth with BC additions were about one order of magnitude lower than at other depths, except for P. Biochar applications increased soil solution concentrations and downward movement of nutrients in the root zone and decreased leaching of Ca, Mg, and Sr at 1.2 m, possibly by a combination of retention and crop nutrient uptake.     

High chrome exhaustion in a non-float tanning process using a sulphonic aromatic acid

Tanning processes performed in drums consume large amounts of water and chemicals, most of which end up in the wastewater. This study explores an alternative approach at an industrial scale to the traditional pickle-chrome tanning method. The new method replaces formic and sulphuric acids with sulphonic aromatic acid. Because it is done without float, there is a sizeable reduction in the amount of added salt and chrome salt as well as an increase in temperatures at the end of the tanning process. From an environmental perspective, the new method offers important advantages. For instance, there is no float addition in the tannage. Also, there are reductions of 94% and 99%, respectively, in the discharge of chlorides and chrome, as well as a 75% reduction in the residual float. Our financial assessment demonstrated that the new method is 42% cheaper than a traditional approach.     

Minimization of the environmental impact in the unhairing of bovine hides

This study tests an alternative method to the traditional unhairing method used during the process of tanning the hides. The new method is based on the substitution of sodium sulfide by hydrogen peroxide as an unhairing agent in both hair recovery and recirculation of the floats employed in the process. The properties of the hides obtained using the two methods have been compared and the results indicate that those hides have similar physical, chemical, and organoleptic properties. However, the differences existing from an environmental point of view are significant. These include reductions of water consumption (approx 70%), chemical oxygen demand (approx 35%), toxicity (98%) and total kjendhal nitrogen (50%). Also, the risk associated with the production of hydrogen sulfide is eliminated, which implies a great improvement in terms of safety for the workers. Given the large amounts of water and chemical pollution discharged in the process, the reductions in absolute values represent a significant improvement. A financial assessment was carried out to demonstrate that the proposed new system is 16% more economic than the traditional one.     

Carbon deposition in soil rhizosphere following amendments with compost and its soluble fractions, as evaluated by combined soil-plant rhizobox and reporter gene systems

We determined the organic carbon released by roots of maize plants (Zea mays L.) when grown in soils amended with compost and its soluble fractions. In rhizobox systems, soil and roots are separated from the soil of a lower compartment by a nylon membrane. Treatments are applied to the upper compartment, while in the lower compartment luminescent biosensors measure the bioavailable organic carbon released by roots (rhizodeposition). The rhizobox-plants systems were amended with a compost (COM), its water extract (TEA), the hydrophobic (HoDOM) and hydrophilic (HiDOM) fractions of the dissolved organic matter (DOM) extracted from the compost. After root development, the lower untreated compartments were sampled and sliced into thin layers. The bioavailable organic carbon in each layer was assessed with the lux-marked biosensor Pseudomonas fluorescens 10586 pUCD607, and compared with total organic carbon (TOC) analyses. The TOC values ranged between 8.4 and 9.6 g kg(-1) and did not show any significant differences between bulk and rhizosphere soil samples in any treatment. Conversely, the biosensor detected significant differences in available C compounds for rhizosphere soils amended with various organic materials. Concentrations of available organic compounds in the first 2 mm of soil rhizosphere were 1.69 (control), 1.09 (COM), 2.87 (HiDOM), 4.73 (HoDOM) and 2.14 (TEA)micromol Cg(-1) soil g(-1) roots. The applied rhizobox-biosensor integrated method was successful in detecting and quantifying effects of organic amendments on organic carbon released by maize plant roots. This approach may become important in assessing the carbon cycle in agricultural soils and soil-atmosphere compartments.     

A comparison of sediment quality guidelines for toxicity assessment in the Sunderban wetlands (Bay of Bengal, India)

The aim of this paper was to obtain the first screening ecotoxicological risk evaluation in the Sunderban wetlands, the largest prograding delta in the estuarine phase of the River Ganges. The characterization of exposure was conducted by means of an extensive survey of several persistent organic pollutants (PAHs, PCBs, DDTs, PBDEs, HCHs, HCB) measured in seven core sediments from the Sunderban wetlands, obtaining a dataset with more than 2200 analyses. The pollutant effects were assessed by the use of three different sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) previously developed in the literature to evaluate toxicity induced in sediment-dwelling organisms. The three different approaches chosen for risk assessment of the Sunderban were the consensus SQGs obtained by TEC (threshold effect concentration), PEC (probable effect concentration) and EEC (extreme effect concentration), the threshold/probable effect level (TEL/PEL) approach and, finally, the ERL-ERM guidelines, including the m-ERM-Q (mean ERM quotient). The evaluation of the toxicity induced by a mixture of the target pollutants indicated the importance of gamma-HCH contamination in the Sunderban sediments despite the very low concentrations measured in core sediments. A different sensitivity for toxicity assessment due to quality guidelines was obtained, as the consensus SQGs based on TEC were less conservative and protective than the TEL and ERL approaches, while the use of m-ERM-Q seems to be the most powerful tool to predict the toxicity related to a contaminant mixture.