Search results for " disposal"
showing 10 items of 1293 documents
Detailed internal characterisation of two Finnish landfills by waste sampling
2006
The aim of this study was to characterise the internal structure and composition of landfilled waste at two Finnish landfills to provide information for active and post-landfill operations. The two sites, Ammässuo and Kujala, have been in operation for 17 and 48 years, respectively. Waste was sampled (total 68 samples) and analysed for total solids (TS), volatile solids (VS), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), biological methane potential (BMP) and leaching of organic material (determined as chemical oxygen demand, COD) and ammonium nitrogen (NH(4)-N). The results showed high vertical and horizontal variability, which indicated that both the waste composition and state of degradation varied gre…
Plastic or not plastic? That’s the problem: analysing the Italian students purchasing behavior of mineral water bottles made with eco-friendly packag…
2022
Abstract European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy draws new shapes of economy in order to protect the environment and reduce marine pollution, GHGs and countries’ dependence on imported fossil fuels. The core of EU Strategy is also to try to transform the way plastic products are designed, produced, used and recycled in the EU. Italy is the first country in Europe and the second in the world for consumption of bottled water, with remarkable environmental impacts, from production to distribution. Starting from social science theory, this work aims to investigate consumers' behavior and the related factors that influence their behavior pertaining to the purchase of. mineral water …
Modelling the energy costs of the wastewater treatment process: The influence of the aging factor.
2017
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are aging and its effects on the process are more evident as time goes by. Due to the deterioration of the facilities, the efficiency of the treatment process decreases gradually. Within this framework, this paper proves the increase in the energy consumption of the WWTPs with time, and finds differences among facilities size. Accordingly, the paper aims to develop a dynamic energy cost function capable of predicting the energy cost of the process in the future. The time variable is used to introduce the aging effects on the energy cost estimation in order to increase the accuracy of the estimation. For this purpose, the evolution of energy costs will be …
The social benefits of restoring water quality in the context of the Water Framework Directive: A comparison of willingness to pay and willingness to…
2009
The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is by far the most important piece of water legislation in Europe for the coming decades. Its main aim is to achieve "good ecological status" for all water resources by 2015. The economic valuation of the non-market benefits derived from improving water quality is an important input in assisting the design and implementation of efficient and effective water management policies. In this study, the contingent valuation method has been applied with a double purpose. On the one hand, we have estimated the value of a hypothetical improvement in water quality of a river asking individuals about their willingness to pay, and on the other hand, the issue of exemp…
Coping with uncertainty in the assessment of atmospheric pollution with lichen transplants
2019
In the assessment of atmospheric deposition using lichen transplants, coping with uncertainty is mandatory in cases of environmental forensics, when understanding whether an area is polluted or not, or tracing a given pollution source is of paramount importance. In this article, we have suggested a method based on the calculation of exposed-to-control ratios of element concentrations and on the quantification of the overall uncertainty associated with such calculation, which proved to be very robust and can be applied in most cases using a minimum of three replicates. The method allowed the selection of significantly accumulated elements i.e. those polluting the site under study, as well as…
Mining minerals and critical raw materials from bittern: Understanding metal ions fate in saltwork ponds
2022
Seawater represents a potential resource for raw materials extraction. Although NaCl is the most representative mineral extracted other valuable compounds such as Mg, Li, Sr, Rb and B and elements at trace level (Cs, Co, In, Sc, Ga and Ge) are also contained in this “liquid mine”. Most of them are considered as Critical Raw Materials by the European Union. Solar saltworks, providing concentration factors of up-to 20 to 40, offer a perfect platform for the development of minerals and metal recovery schemes taking benefit of the concentration and purification achieved along the evaporation saltwork ponds. However, the geochemistry of these elements in this environment has not been yet thoroug…
Removal of Escherichia coli from Saturated Sand Columns Supplemented with Hydrochar Produced from Maize
2014
Despite numerous studies on hydrochar use, its application in water treatment for pathogen removal remains unexplored. In this study, we evaluated the efficiency of hydrochar produced from crop residue of maize for water treatment by determining Escherchia coli breakthrough from sand columns supplemented with hydrochar. To enhance the adsorptive capacity, raw hydrochar was activated by 1 mol L⁻¹ KOH at room temperature. The experiments conducted in a 10-cm sand bed with 1.5% (w/w) activated and raw hydrochar supplements, not activated by KOH, showed 93 and 72% of E. coli removal efficiencies, respectively. Activation of KOH not only enhanced the E. coli removal but also increased the streng…
Screening boreal energy crops and crop residues for methane biofuel production
2008
Abstract The purpose of the study was to screen potential boreal energy crops and crop residues for their suitability in methane production and to investigate the effect of harvest time on the methane production potential of different crops. The specific methane yields of crops, determined in 100–200 d methane potential assays, varied from 0.17 to 0.49 m 3 CH 4 kg −1 VS added (volatile solids added) and from 25 to 260 m 3 CH 4 t ww −1 (tonnes of wet weight). Jerusalem artichoke, timothy-clover grass and reed canary grass gave the highest potential methane yields of 2900–5400 m 3 CH 4 ha −1 , corresponding to a gross energy yield of 28–53 MWh ha −1 and ca. 40,000–60,000 km ha −1 in pas…
From the LCA of food products to the environmental assessment of protected crops districts: A case-study in the south of Italy
2010
In the present study, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was applied to evaluate the energy consumption and environmental burdens associated with the production of protected crops in an agricultural district in the Mediterranean region. In this study, LCA was used as a ‘support tool’, to address local policies for sustainable production and consumption patterns, and to create a ‘knowledge base’ for environmental assessment of an extended agricultural production area. The proposed approach combines organisation-specific tools, such as Environmental Management Systems and Environmental Product Declarations, with the environmental management of the district. Questionnaires were distribute…
Assessment of the ecotoxicity of phytotreatment substrate soil as landfill cover material for in-situ leachate management
2019
Phytotreatment capping in closed landfills is a promising, cost-effective, in situ option for sustainable leachate treatment and might be synergistically coupled with energy crops to produce renewable energy (e.g.: biodiesel or bioethanol). This study proposes to use 0.30 m of soil as growing substrate for plants cultivated on the temporary cover of closed landfills. Once the leachate phytotreatment process is no longer required, 0.70 m of the same soil would be added to attain the final top cover configuration. This solution would entail saving the costs of excavation and backfilling. However, worsening of the initial soil quality due to potential contaminant transfer from the liquid to th…