Novel synthesis blends between bacterial polyesters and acrylic rubber: A study on enzymatic biodegradation

The biodegradability of a multicomponent system based on biotechnological occurring polyester (poly(-hydroxybutyrate-co--hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV)) with inclusion of acrylate elastomer (polybutylacrylate) (PBA) was investigated. A bacterium which produced extracellular enzymes that degrades PHBV even when blended with PBA was isolated and tentatively designated asAureobacterium saperdae. It was observed, by morphological investigation, that, while the bacterial degradation was permitted for PBA content of 20% by weight, it was inhibited for PBA content of 30%, owing to the occurrence of a rubbery layer that prevents to the bacteria an easy accessibility in the PHBV-rich regions. In fact, owing the bacterial growth, only PHBV was metabolized, whereas no degradation of PBA was detected for blend samples. It was confirmed that the degradation proceeded via surface erosion of PHBV also in the blends. Finally, mechanical tests on PHBV/PBA specimens as a function of degradation extent have shown different behavior of the blends at different the PBA content. Thermal analysis of blends and PHBV has been reported, too     

Modelling vegetation greenness responses to climate variability in a Mediterranean terrestrial ecosystem

Accurate knowledge of the quality and environmental impact of the highway runoff in Pear River Delta, South China is required to assess this important non-point pollution source. This paper presents the quality characterization and environmental impact assessment of rainfall runoff from highways in urban and rural area of Guangzhou, the largest city of Pear River Delta over 1 year’s investigation. Multiple regression and Pearson correlation analysis were used to determine influence of the rainfall characteristics on water quality and correlations among the constituents in highway runoff. The results and analysis indicates that the runoff water is nearly neutral with low biodegradability. Oil and grease (O&G), suspended solids (SS) and heavy metals are the dominant pollutants in contrast to the low level of nutrient constituents in runoff. Quality of highway runoff at rural site is better than that of at urban site for most constituents. Depth and antecedent dry period are the main rainfall factors influencing quality of highway runoff. The correlation patterns among constituents in highway runoff at urban site are consistent with their dominant phases in water. Strong correlations (r ≥ 0.80) are found among chemical oxygen demand (COD), total phosphorus, Cu and Zn as well as conductivity, nitrate nitrogen and total nitrogen. O&G, COD, SS and Pb in highway runoff at urban site substantially exceed their concentrations in receiving water of Pear River. The soil directly discharged by highway runoff at rural site has contaminated seriously by heavy metals in surface layer accompanying with pH conversion from original acidic to alkaline at present.     

Wildfire seasonality and land use: when do wildfires prefer to burn?

Because of the increasing anthropogenic fire activity, understanding the role of land-use in shaping wildfire regimes has become a major concern. In the last decade, an increasing number of studies have been carried out on the relationship between land-use and wildfire patterns, in order to identify land-use types where fire behaves selectively, showing a marked preference (or avoidance) in terms of fire incidence. By contrast, the temporal aspects of the relationship between landuse types and wildfire occurrence have received far less attention. The aim of this paper is, thus, to analyze the temporal patterns of fire occurrence in Sardinia (Italy) during the period 2000–2006 to identify land-use types where wildfires occur earlier or later than expected from a random null model. The study highlighted a close relationship between the timing of fire occurrence and land-cover that is primarily governed by two complementary processes: climatic factors that act indirectly on the timing of wildfires determining the spatial distribution of land-use types, and human population and human pressure that directly influence fire ignition. From a practical viewpoint, understanding the temporal trends of wildfires within the different land-use classes can be an effective decision-support tool for fire agencies in managing fire risk and for producing provisional models of fire behavior under changing climatic scenarios and evolving landscapes.     

A general methodology for structuring models to predict the long-term migration of radionuclides from catchments

In the present paper a generic model for predicting the long-term migration of radionuclides and heavy metals from catchments is described. The model subdivides the catchment into a number of homogeneous, infinitesimal sub-catchments and integrates the radionuclide contributions from such sub-catchments to calculate the total flux of contaminant. It relates the radionuclide behaviour to the statistical distribution of the pollutant partition coefficient on the "ensemble" of sub-catchments. The methodology was validated for 90Sr and 137Cs by using data for water contamination in some European rivers. Values of migration parameters for Pu, Tc, I and Cd isotopes were obtained.     

Thermally enhanced approaches for bioremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated soils

Successful remediation of contaminated soils is often limited by the low bioavailability of hydrophobic pollutants, which may slow the process significantly. In this study we investigated the benefits of high temperature in enhancing hydrocarbon degradation rates and evaluated the effect of different biostimulants. Hexadecane polluted soil microcosms with various amendments were incubated both at 60 degrees C and room temperature (18 degrees C) and analyzed periodically up to 40d for the degradation of hydrocarbon and the response of the microbial population. Natural attenuation showed a satisfactory intrinsic degradative capability at 60 degrees C and the addition of inorganic N, P and K increased the degradation rates by 10%. The addition of rhamnolipid biosurfactant further enhanced the bioavailability of alkane to microbial degradation resulting in up to 71% removal at 60 degrees C and 42% at 18 degrees C. Significant input to hexadecane degradation occurred at 60 degrees C (70%) as a result of the bioaugmentation with thermophilic Geobacillus thermoleovorans T80, which did not take place at 18 degrees C. Coupling high temperature to all amendments resulted in 90% removal of the hexadecane from soil after 40d which was also accompanied with an increase in bacterial numbers. The results suggest that thermally enhanced bioremediation may be an efficient technology for the treatment of hydrocarbon-contaminated soils.     

Androgenic and antiandrogenic activities in water and sediment samples from the river Lambro, Italy, detected by yeast androgen screen and chemical analyses

The river Lambro is the most polluted tributary of the river Po in North Italy and was chosen as a representative water course discharging industrialized areas. Water and sediment samples of the river Lambro were investigated regarding the presence of endocrine disrupting compounds. A combined procedure was used consisting of solid-phase extraction and HPLC based fractionation of samples, of screening for (anti)androgenic activity using the yeast androgen screen (YAS) and of chemical analysis using HPLC-MS/MS and GC-MS. Androgenic and antiandrogenic activities were found in specific fractions of the water and sediment while the total extracts showed antiandrogenic activity only. The chemical analysis of the fractions and total extracts with antiandrogenic activities revealed the presence of compounds with suspected antiandrogenic potency such as bisphenol A, iprodione, nonylphenol, p,p'-DDE and tert-octylphenol but other unknown compounds contributed mainly to the observed antiandrogenic activities. The antiandrogenic load of the river Lambro ranged between 1.34 and 17.1 microM flutamide-equivalents and may pose a risk to aquatic environments. Future screenings for EDC in the environment that have the potential to interfere with reproduction of aquatic organisms should be extended to different modes of actions including (anti)androgenic ones.     

Using non-equilibrium biosorption column modelling for improved process efficiency

An unsteady-state biosorption column model in one space variable is considered in this paper. The theoretical study is motivated by the need for predicting the dependent variables of biosorption columns for removal of heavy metals from wastewater, which is potentially an important technology in cleaner production. Pollutant concentrations in the bulk phase, in the liquid filling the pores and in the solid biomass along the axial coordinate of the column were evaluated for a wide range of physical and chemical parameters of the global process. In particular, the assumption of instantaneous chemical reactions is replaced by a more realistic expression taking into account chemical kinetics and fluid advection time scales separately. The resulting system of partial differential equations was solved by means of a reliable numerical algorithm based on the method of lines. The data obtained using the model described in this paper are compared with published experimental data and an estimation of the increased efficiency is made.     

Influence of large-spectrum environmental contamination on the micro-meiobenthic assemblages in harbour sediments of the ligurian sea (W Mediterranean)

The concentration of a large spectrum of environmental contaminants (PCBs, PAHs, pesticides and metals) was assessed in surface sediments of two Ligurian harbours (Sanremo and Alassio, NW Mediterranean Sea, Italy) and their relative impact on micro-meiobenthic assemblages was analysed. Concentration, distribution and relative importance of the different contaminants varied considerably between harbours in relation to the different anthropic activities and contamination sources. Results from Principal Component Analysis indicated that high levels of contaminants were typically correlated with low micro-meiobenthic abundance in the sediment. Heavy metals and the organic enrichment were the main factors affecting the distribution and abundance of the bacterial and meiofaunal assemblages in Alassio harbour, whereas hydrocarbons and pesticides played a major role in Sanremo sediments. Neither the bacteria density nor the meiofauna abundance were dependent on sediment grain size, suggesting that micro-meiobenthic parameters may be under the influence of other variables. Our results suggest that high concentrations of contaminants independently from their source or typology are responsible for the impact observed on micro-meiobenthic assemblages in these harbours.