A comparative assessment of waste incinerators in the UK

The uptake in Europe of Energy from Waste (EfW) incinerator plants has increased rapidly in recent years. In the UK, 25 municipal waste incinerators with energy recovery are now in operation; however, their waste supply chains and business practices vary significantly. With over a hundred more plant developments being considered it is important to establish best business practices for ensuring efficient environmental and operational performance. By reviewing the 25 plants we identify four suitable case study plants to compare technologies (moving grate, fluidised bed and rotary kiln), plant economics and operations. Using data collected from annual reports and through interviews and site visits we provide recommendations for improving the supply chain for waste incinerators and highlight the current issues and challenges faced by the industry. We find that plants using moving grate have a high availability of 87–92%. However, compared to the fluidised bed and rotary kiln, quantities of bottom ash and emissions of hydrogen chloride and carbon monoxide are high. The uptake of integrated recycling practices, combined heat and power, and post incineration non-ferrous metal collections needs to be increased among EfW incinerators in the UK. We conclude that one of the major difficulties encountered by waste facilities is the appropriate selection of technology, capacity, site, waste suppliers and heat consumers. This study will be of particular value to EfW plant developers, government authorities and researchers working within the sector of waste management.     

Improved performance of a biomaterial-based cation exchanger for the adsorption of uranium(VI) from water and nuclear industry wastewater

The amine-modified polyhydroxyethylmethacrylate (poly(HEMA))-grafted biomaterial (tamarind fruit shell, TFS) carrying carboxyl functional groups at the chain end (PGTFS-COOH) was prepared and used as an adsorbent for the removal of uranium(VI) from water and nuclear industry wastewater. FTIR spectral analysis revealed that U(VI) ions and PGTFS-COOH formed a chelate complex. The adsorption process was relatively fast, requiring only 120 min to attain equilibrium. The adsorption kinetic data were best described by the pseudo-second-order equation. The equilibrium adsorption data were correlated with the Sips isotherm model. The maximum U(VI) ions uptake with PGTFS-COOH was estimated to be 100.79 mg/g. The complete removal of 10 mg/L U(VI) from simulated nuclear industry wastewater was achieved by 3.5 g/L PGTFS-COOH. The reusability of the adsorbent was demonstrated over 4 cycles using NaCl (1.0 M) + HCl (0.5 M) solution mixture to de-extract the U(VI). The results show that the PGTFS-COOH tested is very promising for the recovery of U(VI) from water and wastewater.     

An overview of the latest development of microencapsulation for agricultural products

Abstract

For the production of controlled‐release agricultural formulations microencapsulation technologies are now the most used. Over the past two decades enormous progress has been made in order to develop the technologies which allow us to produce formulations tailor made to reach the target and fitting our toxicological requirements. This lecture is devoted to the definition of the criteria for selection of an active ingredient for microencapsulation and to a detailed review of the various techniques used today in commerçai microencapsulated formulations.

Resources are increasingly allocated into microencapsulation research & development by many agrochemical companies. Therefore the next 20 years should continue to yield innovative ideas including significant improvement of the physico‐chemical and toxicological properties of the actual formulations on the market. Some of this new ideas are applied by our company in order to modify or improve those properties playing the key role in the intent for targeted activity:

√ Recombination during production or upon storage.

New protective colloides

Dermal toxicity (LD 50) ‐ secondary protective colloides.

√ Release rate parameters.

Modification by the change of mobility of the active ingredient from the core (solvent or fluid type) affecting transit time and therefore LD 50 values.

√ Oral toxicity (LD 50).

Graft copolymers irreversibly adsorbed to the capsule surface.     

Pentachlorotoluene and pentabromotoluene: Results of a subacute and a subchronic toxicity study in the rat

Abstract

Pentachlorotoluene (PCT) and pentabromotoiuene (PBT) are environmental contaminants detected in the Great Lakes ecosystem. In view of the paucity of toxicity data and the potential for human exposure, a subacute (28 day) and a subchronic (91 day) study were conducted in the rat. In the subacute study, groups of 10 male and 10 female rats were fed the diet containing PCT or PBT at 0, 0.5, 5.0, 50 or 500 ppm for 28‐days. In the subchronic study, the group size was increased to 15, the dose levels were 0, 0.05, 0.5, 5.0, 50 and 500 ppm in the diet and the exposure period was 91 days. Growth rate and food consumption were not affected by exposure to either chemical in the subacute and subchronic study. Clinical observations revealed no abnormalities. Decreased hemoglobin was observed in female rats fed 5.0 ppm PCT and higher levels in the subacute (28 day) study. In the same study the hematocrit value and erythrocyte numbers of females fed 5.0 or 500 ppm PCT diets were significantly lower than the control. In both subacute and subchronic studies mild dose‐dependent histopathological changes were observed in the thyroid, liver and kidney of rats fed PCT and PBT diets. In general male rats were more susceptible than females to the treatment of PCT and PBT. Based on these data, it was concluded that the no observable adverse effect level for PCT was 50 ppm in the diet (3.5 mg/kg b.w./day) and that of PBT was 5.0 ppm (0.35 mg/kg b.w./day).     

Quantitative Assessment of a Tanzanian Integrated Conservation and Development Project Involving Butterfly Farming

Abstract: Scientific understanding of the role of development in conservation has been hindered by the quality of evaluations of integrated conservation and development projects. We used a quasi‐experimental design to quantitatively assess a conservation and development project involving commercial butterfly farming in the East Usambara Mountains of Tanzania. Using a survey of conservation attitudes, beliefs, knowledge, and behavior, we compared 150 butterfly farmers with a control group of 170 fellow community members. Due to the nonrandom assignment of individuals to the two groups, we used propensity‐score matching and weighting in our analyses to control for observed bias. Eighty percent of the farmers believed butterfly farming would be impossible if local forests were cleared, and butterfly farmers reported significantly more participation in forest conservation behaviors and were more likely to believe that conservation behaviors were effective. The two groups did not differ in terms of their general conservation attitudes, attitudes toward conservation officials, or knowledge of conservation‐friendly building techniques. The relationship between butterfly farming and conservation behavior was mediated by dependency on butterfly farming income. Assuming unobserved bias played a limited role, our findings suggest that participation in butterfly farming increased participation in conservation behaviors among project participants because farmers perceive a link between earnings from butterfly farming and forest conservation.     

Large-scale risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in shoreline sediments from Saudi Arabia: Environmental legacy after twelve years of the Gulf war oil spill

A large-scale assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from the 1991 Gulf War oil spill was performed for 2002-2003 sediment samples (n = 1679) collected from habitats along the shoreline of Saudi Arabia. Benthic sediment toxicity was characterized using the Equilibrium Partitioning Sediment Benchmark Toxic Unit approach for 43 PAHs (ESBTU_FCV,43). Samples were assigned to risk categories according to ESBTU_FCV,43 values: no-risk (≤1), low (>1-≤2), low-medium (>2-≤3), medium (>3-≤5) and high-risk (>5). Sixty seven percent of samples had ESBTU_FCV,43 > 1 indicating potential adverse ecological effects. Sediments from the 0-30 cm layer from tidal flats, and the >30-<60 cm layer from heavily oiled halophytes and mangroves had high frequency of high-risk samples. No-risk samples were characterized by chrysene enrichment and depletion of lighter molecular weight PAHs, while high-risk samples showed little oil weathering and PAH patterns similar to 1993 samples. North of Safaniya sediments were not likely to pose adverse ecological effects contrary to sediments south of Tanaqib. Landscape and geomorphology has played a role on the distribution and persistence in sediments of oil from the Gulf War.     

Rain‐washing of foliar deposits of Dimilin®WP‐25 formulated in four different carrier liquids

Abstract

Dimilin^® WP‐25, a wettable powder formulation of diflubenzuron (DFB) [1‐(4‐chlorophenyl)‐3‐(2,6‐difluorobenzoyl) urea], was formulated in four different carrier liquids, viz., water; a light petroleum paraffinic oil, ID 585; a heavy paraffinic oil, Sunspray^® 7N; and a 1:2 mixture of a light petroleum aromatic solvent (Cyclosol^® 63) and canola oil; to provide four end‐use mixtures, Dim‐W, Dim‐585, Dim‐7N and Dim‐Cy‐C respectively, each containing 28 g of DFB per litre. Balsam fir branch tips clipped from greenhouse‐grown seedlings, and sugar maple branch tips clipped from field‐grown young trees, were exposed to uniform‐sized droplets (ranging in diameters from 135 to 190 μm) of the four end‐use mixtures which were atomized using a monodispersed droplet generator. Droplets were collected on the fir and maple branch tips and the initial residue per g fresh weight of foliage was determined by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The branch tips were exposed to cumulative rainfall of 3, 6 and 10 mm at an intensity of 5 mm/h and at time intervals of 1, 12, 36 and 72 h after DFB treatment, to test the influence of ‘ageing’ of foliar residues on rainfastness. Foliar samples were collected for residue determination just before the onset of rainfall, and at 0.5 h post‐rain. DFB was quantified by the HPLC method. In the case of fir foliage, the Dim‐W formulation was the most susceptible to rain‐washing and the rainfastness did not increase with the ageing period of foliar deposits. In contrast, the three oil‐based mixtures showed greater rainfastness depending upon the carrier liquid and the ageing period. Rainfastness decreased in the order of Dim‐Cy‐C > Dim‐7N > Dim‐585 > Dim‐W. In contrast, the data on maple foliage indicated that the ageing of deposits increased the rainfastness of all the 4 end‐use mixtures. Dim‐585 was the most susceptible to rain washing, and rainfastness decreased in the order of Dim‐W > Dim‐Cy‐C > Dim‐7N > Dim‐585.     

祁连山北坡自然恢复杨桦林地植物功能型组成及其影响因素

依据生活型(乔木、藤本、灌木、半灌木、多年生禾草、多年生杂类草和一二年生草本)和水分生态型(旱生、旱中生、中生和湿生)将祁连山北坡次生杨桦林28个调查样地中的81个物种划分为18种植物功能型(Plant functiontypes,PFTs),并通过典范对应分析(CCA)方法研究植物功能型与环境因子间的关系.结果表明:自然恢复杨桦林地植物功能型主要集中在中生多年生杂类草(PFTs16)、湿生多年生杂类草(PFTs23)、旱中生多年生杂类草(PFTs9)和中生灌木(PFTs18)4个植物功能型上;乔、灌、草三层冠层特征和中生植物的大量出现,反映了群落植物生活型趋于复杂化和结构化,生态型逐渐向中生化方向演替的特点;土壤容重、有机碳和全氮含量主要影响植物的生活型分异特征,土壤含水量和林冠郁闭度是植物的水分生态型分异的主要环境因子,而坡位、坡度控制着群落植物总体分布格局的形成.图1表3参31     

Municipal solid waste management: Identification and analysis of engineering indexes representing demand and costs generated in virtuous Italian communities

The definition and utilisation of engineering indexes in the field of Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) is an issue of interest for technicians and scientists, which is widely discussed in literature. Specifically, the availability of consolidated engineering indexes is useful when new waste collection services are designed, along with when their performance is evaluated after a warm-up period. However, most published works in the field of MSWM complete their study with an analysis of isolated case studies. Conversely, decision makers require tools for information collection and exchange in order to trace the trends of these engineering indexes in large experiments. In this paper, common engineering indexes are presented and their values analysed in virtuous Italian communities, with the aim of contributing to the creation of a useful database whose data could be used during experiments, by indicating examples of MSWM demand profiles and the costs required to manage them.