Search results for " waste"
showing 10 items of 809 documents
Examining the critical factors that influence the success of construction and demolition waste reverse logistics operations
2022
The reverse logistics (RL) performance of construction and demolition waste (C&DW) differs significantly between countries. Although some countries are successfully circular, other countries are still far behind; with C&DW being largely directed to landfills or being illegally dumped. There is a lack of guidelines on the requirements for transitioning countries towards C&DW diversion, and little attention has been given to the factors that influence the success of C&DW RL and increased circularity. This study aims to develop a framework that helps in structuring and assessing the success of C&DW RL on a regional level and serves as a guide for transitioning developing co…
Environmental context determines pollution impacts on ecosystem functioning
2023
Global change assessments have typically ignored synthetic chemical pollution, despite the rapid increase of pharmaceuticals, pesticides and industrial chemicals in the environment. Part of the problem reflects the multifarious origins of these micropollutants, which can derive from urban and agricultural sources. Understanding how micropollutants harm ecosystems is a major scientific challenge due to asymmetries of stress across trophic levels and ecological surprises generated by multiple drivers interacting in human-impacted landscapes. We used field assays above and below municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in 60 sampling locations across 20 Swiss streams to test how micropoll…
Occurrence of pharmaceuticals in municipal wastewater treatment plants and receiving surface waters in Central and Southern Finland
2016
The presence of five selected pharmaceuticals, four anti-inflammatory drugs, diclofenac, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, naproxen, and an antiepileptic drug carbamazepine, was determined at four municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and in the receiving waterway near the city of Jyväskylä, in central Finland and also in the River Vantaa. First, an analytical method was developed including a pretreatment and purification followed by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in the multiple reaction monitoring mode. The studied pharmaceuticals were detected from influents and effluents of four municipal WWTPs and from surface water of eight locations along the water …
A technological approach towards integrated solid waste management in developing countries
2017
This research is grounded in the planning concept of Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM). ISWM was developed to promote sustainability in the waste management for developing countries. Waste managers and policy makers in developing countries have been adopting the principles of ISWM into their waste strategies for several decades. But despite their many efforts, still important problems remain, as is the case of low collection coverage, lack of proper treatment of the different waste types, high dependency on final disposal sites and even in some cities uncontrolled dumping is still accepted as the only way to handle the waste. For that reason, waste management in developing countries …
Analysis of Biomass Characteristics in MBR and MB-MBR Systems Fed with Synthetic Wastewater: Influence of a Gradual Salinity Increase
2014
The paper presents the results of a field gathering campaign carried out on two different pilot scale membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems, treating synthetic wastewater subject to a gradual increase of salinity. One was a conventional MBR system, while the other was a moving bed biofilm membrane bioreactor (MB-MBR), which combines suspended biomass and biofilm. Indeed, the presence of suspended carriers inside the bioreactor seems to give benefits due to the collisions between the circulating media and the membrane. The aim of the study was the comparison of two configurations in terms of biomass activity characterization and performance (pollutants removal and hydraulic behaviour). The resul…
Production of a a-L-Rhamnosidase from Aspergillus Terreus Using Citrus Solid Waste as Inducer for Application in Juice Industry
2012
Naringinase is an enzyme complex consisting of a a-L-rhamnopyranosidase (Rha, EC. 3.2.1.40) and ß-D-glucopyranosidase (ßG, EC. 3.2.1.21). a-L-rhamnopyranosidase is an enzyme of considerable importance in food technology for increasing the aroma of fruit juices and alcoholic beverages. It is particularly used for debittering of citrus-juice by the hydrolysis of naringin and hesperidin, however this activity is low in commercial enzyme preparations. The aim of this work is the production of Rha from Aspergillus terreus fermentation using citrus solid waste (CSW), called “pastazzo”, as specific inducer. CSW is rich in fermentable materials such as sugars, in particular rhamnose, in pectins, an…
Screening of halogenated aromatic compounds in some raw material lots for an aluminium recycling plant
2004
Four samples of scrap raw materials for an aluminium recycling plant were screened for the occurrence of persistent halogenated aromatic compounds. The samples contained waste from handling of electric and electronic plastics, filter dust from electronic crusher, cyclone dust from electronic crusher and light fluff from car shredder. In our screening analyses, brominated flame retardants were observed in all samples. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) were identified in all samples in amounts of 245–67450 ng/g. The major PBDE congeners found were decabromo- and pentabromodiphenyl ethers. 1,1-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane, hexabromobenzene, ethyl-pentabromobenzene, tetrabromobisphenol-…
Preliminary assessment of the possibility of supporting the decomposition of biodegradable packaging
2017
This article presents a preliminary evaluation of the possibility of using grass biomass from a sports field as a compost ingredient which positively affects the degree of decomposition of the biodegradable wrappings. For 5 months the biodegradable bags were stored, both empty and filled with organic waste in the heap of grass clippings. After that period, fragments of the bags were observed under the microscope and then assessed the state of their decomposition. The results indicate that the biomass used favourably affected the process of bag degradation, however the speed of decomposition of the empty bags was quicker than the bags filled with the organic waste.
Numerical investigation on water exchange of shale samples
2020
Interest in the hydraulic and mechanical characterization of shales has grown in recent years, because of their application in the context of energy geotechnics. In the frame of nuclear waste disposal shales are considered as host formations for the placements of nuclear waste at high depths. In the frame of hydrocarbon production they are considered as unconventional reservoirs, from which extracting natural gas. Understanding how fluids flow through shales is then a key aspect for both fields of application. This paper focuses on the analysis of the transport of water vapour through laboratory samples. After reviewing the balance and flow laws that govern the transport of fluid in unsatur…
Long-term abundance dynamics of coastal zooplankton in the Gulf of Riga
1998
The dynamics of three most abundant mesozooplankton species in the coastal zone of the Gulf of Riga — Bosmina longispina, Synchaeta baltica, Keratella quadrata — is analyzed to detect the regulating environmental factors. The only significant downward trend of species abundance was found for S. baltica in autumn. Statistically significant correlation was estimated only between the summer salinity and the abundance of B. longispina. K. quadrata though showed a negative correlation with summer salinity. The abundance of S. baltica had only nonsignificant correlations with the environmental factors. The abundance of coastal mesozooplankton species is determined by the combination of hydrologic…