Wet oxidation of debarking water: changes in lignin content and biodegradability

The purpose of the research was to estimate optimal conditions for wet oxidation (WO) of debarking water from the paper industry. The WO experiments were performed at various temperatures, partial oxygen pressures and pHs. The experiments showed that lignin degradation and organics removal are affected remarkably by temperature and pH. At different WO conditions (pH 12, T 130–200°C), 78–97% of lignin reduction was detected. pH value of 12 caused faster removal of tannins/lignin content; pH value of five was more effective for removal of total organics, represented by chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon. The highest biodegradability [biological oxygen demand (BOD)/COD] of 0.72 was obtained at a pH of ten and temperature of 200°C.     

An assessment of the causes and consequences of agricultural land abandonment in Europe

ABSTRACT

The agriculture sector is the principal source of income for around 20% of the EU-26 population, which live in predominantly rural regions that would be devastated without its contribution. Moreover, the combined agricultural and food sector forms an important part of the EU economy, accounting for 15 million jobs (8.3% of total employment) and 4.4% of GDP. The 12 million active farmers across Europe today, have an average farm size of about 15 ha, and are expected to meet the needs of 500 million Europeans. In addition, they are also expected to promote a sustainable and balanced development of their land, also in areas where production conditions are difficult. Yet, despite the relevance of the sector, the use of land for agriculture purposes is not very sustainable. Among other issues, there is a serious problem in respect of the abandonment of agricultural land. Based on the perceived need for research on this topic, the aim of this paper is to examine the causes and consequences of agricultural land abandonment, outlining its social, economic and environmental impacts, as well as the implications for territorial integration.     

Wet oxidation of recalcitrant lignin water solutions: experimental and reaction kinetics

The purpose of the research was to study the behavior of lignin degradation under different conditions (T 110–190°C, pO₂ 0.5–1.5 MPa, pH 5, 9 and 12) and to develop a predictive model. Temperature increase improved lignin removal from 75% at 110°C to 100% at 190°C (experimental). Increasing the pH enhanced the lignin removal efficiency from 30 to 97% (experimental). The developed model predicted the lignin degradation and changes in COD, BOD and TOC. The model agreed well with the experimental data (R ² = 0.93 at pH 5 and 12).