Heavy metals fraction and ecological risk evaluation in municipal solid waste gasification slag non-burnt bricks

The heavy metals in non-burnt bricks made from municipal solid waste (MSW) gasification slags with a modified European Bureau Community of Reference procedure were studied. Heavy metals were present in the form of oxidizable and residual fractions, which were stable and not easy to dissolve. The preparation process of non-burnt bricks displayed prominent solidification effect for some heavy metals in the gasification slag. The solidified rate for metals, such as As, Cd, Cr, Ni, and Zn reached 89.82%, 79.57%, 73.64%, 66.73%, and 88.05%, respectively. Moreover, the leaching concentrations of eight heavy metals were all below 8 mg/kg. On the basis of these observations, the risk of exposure to heavy metals in non-burnt bricks was evaluated using the solidification formula and the leaching concentration of heavy metals combined with the assessments of the Hakanson potential ecological risk and pollution ratio of secondary phase and primary phase. Results showed that the preparation of MSW gasification slag non-burnt bricks was not harmful to the environment, but attention is warranted for possible migration of heavy metal cadmium (Cd) in the long term, which may result in an impact on the ecological environment.     

No.0柴油水溶组分海洋浮游植物生态效应研究

应用现场和实验室培养方法,研究了No.0柴油水溶组分海洋浮游植物生态效应.提出了摄食条件下的海洋浮游植物生长模型和不同浓度No.0柴油水溶组分下浮游植物生长效应模型,分析了不同浓度No.0柴油水溶组分下浮游植物生长效应.结果表明,摄食条件下的海洋浮游植物生长模型较传统Logistic模型能更好地反映海洋生态系统,同时应用非线性拟合技术得到了不同浓度No.0柴油水溶组分下海洋浮游植物终止生物量（B_f）.根据海洋浮游植物生长效应模型进一步分析表明,在现场和实验室条件下,低浓度No.0柴油水溶组分对浮游植物生长有明显促进作用,生长促进率最大分别约为180%和120%,然而,在高浓度No.0柴油水溶组分条件下,石油烃对浮游植物生长效应不甚显著,甚至有明显抑制作用.     

Steam Reforming of Bio-Oil Aqueous Fractions for Syngas Production and Energy

Abstract The biorefinery concept has been proposed as a route map to convert biomass into fuels and chemicals, maximizing economic and environmental benefits while minimizing pollution. A biorefinery strategy based on fast pyrolysis is proposed following a two-stage process, where biomass is first subjected to fast pyrolysis, optimized to collect up to 75% (per unit weight of biomass) of a liquid fraction called bio-oil. This bio-oil or its fractions can be upgraded in a second step to different chemicals, to a syngas and/or to energy. In particular, the catalytic steam reforming of the aqueous fraction of bio-oil obtained by fractionation with water is one of the most attractive possibilities for bio-oil upgrading, yielding a H2-rich syngas with low CO content. From the results obtained, it can be concluded that the best alternative for the catalytic steam reforming process is hydrogen production through further purification of the gas obtained.     

Urban Mining: Quality and quantity of recyclable and recoverable material mechanically and physically extractable from residual waste

The mechanically sorted dry fraction (MSDF) and Fines (<20 mm) arising from the mechanical biological treatment of residual municipal solid waste (RMSW) contains respectively about 11% w/w each of recyclable and recoverable materials. Processing a large sample of MSDF in an existing full-scale mechanical sorting facility equipped with near infrared and 2-3 dimensional selectors led to the extraction of about 6% w/w of recyclables with respect to the RMSW weight. Maximum selection efficiency was achieved for metals, about 98% w/w, whereas it was lower for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), about 2% w/w. After a simulated lab scale soil washing treatment it was possible to extract about 2% w/w of inert exploitable substances recoverable as construction materials, with respect to the amount of RMSW. The passing curve showed that inert materials were mainly sand with a particle size ranging from 0.063 to 2 mm. Leaching tests showed quite low heavy metal concentrations with the exception of the particles retained by the 0.5 mm sieve. A minimum pollutant concentration was in the leachate from the 10 and 20 mm particle size fractions.     

Life cycle toxicity assessment of pesticides used in integrated and organic production of oranges in the Comunidad Valenciana, Spain

The relative impacts of 25 pesticides including acaricides, fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and post-harvest fungicides, used in the production of oranges in Spain were assessed with current life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) tools. Chemical specific concentrations were combined with pesticide emission data and information on chemical toxicity to assess human toxicity and freshwater ecotoxicity impacts. As a case study, the relative impacts of two orange production systems in the region of Valencia, integrated pest management (IP) and organic production (OP), were assessed. The evaluation of active ingredients showed that on average acaricides have the highest human toxicity impact scores, while for freshwater ecotoxicity insecticides show the highest impact. In both impact categories the lowest impact scores were calculated for herbicides. In the production of 1 kg of orange fruits, where several kinds of pesticides are combined, results show that post-harvest fungicides can contribute more than 95% to the aggregate human toxicity impacts. More than 85% of aquatic ecotoxicity is generated by fungicides applied before harvest. The potential to reduce impacts on freshwater ecosystems is seven orders of magnitude, while impacts on human health can be reduced by two orders of magnitude. Hence, this stresses the importance of a careful pre-selection of active ingredients. In both impact categories, organic production represents the least toxic pest-control method.     

Diffusive gradient in thin FILMS (DGT) compared with soil solution and labile uranium fraction for predicting uranium bioavailability to ryegrass

The usefulness of uranium concentration in soil solution or recovered by selective extraction as unequivocal bioavailability indices for uranium uptake by plants is still unclear. The aim of the present study was to test if the uranium concentration measured by the diffusive gradient in thin films (DGT) technique is a relevant substitute for plant uranium availability in comparison to uranium concentration in the soil solution or uranium recovered by ammonium acetate. Ryegrass (Lolium perenne L. var. Melvina) is grown in greenhouse on a range of uranium spiked soils. The DGT-recovered uranium concentration (C_DGT) was correlated with uranium concentration in the soil solution or with uranium recovered by ammonium acetate extraction. Plant uptake was better predicted by the summed soil solution concentrations of UO₂²⁺, uranyl carbonate complexes and UO₂PO₄⁻. The DGT technique did not provide significant advantages over conventional methods to predict uranium uptake by plants.     

碱性矿化水灌溉的淋洗分数

耐盐碱试验表明,在生育期内,小麦耐盐能力强于玉米,而耐碱能力弱于玉米.利用0.5-3.5 g/L的碱性矿化水灌溉时,淋洗分数约为4.4%～7.5%.相应地,需要增加的补水量小麦地为3181～     

Long-term thermophilic mono-digestion of rendering wastes and co-digestion with potato pulp

In this study, mono-digestion of rendering wastes and co-digestion of rendering wastes with potato pulp were studied for the first time in continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) experiments at 55 °C. Rendering wastes have high protein and lipid contents and are considered good substrates for methane production. However, accumulation of digestion intermediate products viz., volatile fatty acids (VFAs), long chain fatty acids (LCFAs) and ammonia nitrogen (NH₄-N and/or free NH₃) can cause process imbalance during the digestion. Mono-digestion of rendering wastes at an organic loading rate (OLR) of 1.5 kg volatile solids (VS)/m³ d and hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 50 d was unstable and resulted in methane yields of 450 dm³/kg VS_fed. On the other hand, co-digestion of rendering wastes with potato pulp (60% wet weight, WW) at the same OLR and HRT improved the process stability and increased methane yields (500–680 dm³/kg VS_fed). Thus, it can be concluded that co-digestion of rendering wastes with potato pulp could improve the process stability and methane yields from these difficult to treat industrial waste materials.     

Changes in arsenic fractionation, bioaccessibility and speciation in organo-arsenical pesticide amended soils as a function of soil aging

Although organoarsenical pesticides are being phased out, sites with high concentrations of organic arsenical residues still exist due to the long-term application of these pesticides. The biotic and abiotic speciation of dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) can result in the formation of inorganic arsenic (As) species. Oxidation state, retention, and thereby persistence, varies according to temporal changes, influencing the availability and toxicity of contaminants. The current greenhouse study aimed at evaluating temporal changes in the oxidation state of As, geochemical partitioning, and bioaccessibility. Four soils with varying physiochemical properties were contaminated with DMA at two concentrations (675 and 1500 mg kg⁻¹ of As). Rice plants were grown for a 6 months period, following which, the soils were allowed to age. The operationally defined forms of As and its bioaccessibility was analyzed at 0, 6 months, 1 year, and 3 years. Changes in oxidation state of As were evaluated immediately after spiking and after 3 years of soil-pesticide equilibration. Results show that geochemical partitioning of As was affected significantly (P < 0.05) by soil type, loading rates, and equilibration time. Arsenic was bound mainly to the poorly-crystalline Fe/Al-oxyhydroxides in the soil. However, these interactions did not affect As bioaccessibility, presumably due to the dissolution of the bound fractions of As in the acidic stomach. While 74-94% of the total bioaccessible As was transformed to As(V), 4-19% was transformed to the more toxic As(III). This study indicates that although aging affected the geochemical partitioning of As in the soil, bioaccesibility was controlled by the gastric pH.