Search results for "117"
showing 10 items of 539 documents
Toxicity of waste gasification bottom ash leachate
2011
Abstract Toxicity of waste gasification bottom ash leachate from landfill lysimeters (112 m3) was studied over three years. The leachate of grate incineration bottom ash from a parallel setup was used as reference material. Three aquatic organisms (bioluminescent bacteria, green algae and water flea) were used to study acute toxicity. In addition, an ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) assay was performed with mouse hepatoma cells to indicate the presence of organic contaminants. Concentrations of 14 elements and 15 PAH compounds were determined to characterise leachate. Gasification ash leachate had a high pH (9.2–12.4) and assays with and without pH adjustment to neutral were used. Gasifi…
Toxicity of fullerene (C60) to sediment-dwelling invertebrate Chironomus riparius larvae
2011
An environmentally realistic method to test fullerene (C(60) ) toxicity to the benthic organism Chironomus riparius was created by allowing suspended fullerenes to settle down, making a layer on top of the sediment. To test the hypothesis that higher food concentrations will reduce toxic responses, two food concentrations were tested (0.5 and 0.8% Urtica sp.) in sediment containing fullerene masses of 0.36 to 0.55 mg/cm(2) using a 10-d chronic test. In the 0.5% food level treatments, there were significant differences in all growth-related endpoints compared with controls. Fewer effects were observed for the higher food treatment. Fullerene agglomerates were observed by electron microscopy …
Iron as a source of color in river waters.
2015
Organic chromophores of total organic carbon (TOC) and those of iron (Fe) contribute to the color of water, but the relative contributions of colored organic carbon (COC%) and Fe (Fe%) are poorly known. In this study, we unraveled Fe% and COC% in 6128 unfiltered water samples collected from 94 Finnish river sites of contrasting catchment properties. According to regression analysis focusing on TOC alone, on average 84% of the mean TOC consisted of COC, while 16% was non-colored or below the color-detection limit. COC and Fe were much more important sources of color than phytoplankton (chlorophyll a as a proxy) or non-algal particles (suspended solids as a proxy). When COC and Fe were consid…
Effects of elevated production of autochthonous dissolved organic matter on the freely dissolved concentration of cadmium
2018
Eutrophication enhances the production of autochthonous dissolved organic matter (DOM), which is a major driving factor behind the impairment of many aquatic ecosystems. In a mesocosm study, we investigated the effects of the abundance and composition of DOM on the potential bioavailability of cadmium (Cd) caused by eutrophication, using three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy integrated with tangential flow ultrafiltration technology. The complexing capacity of DOM-Cd and the sorption distribution coefficient between DOM and the bulk solution was calculated based on a 1 : 1 complexation model. The fluorescent DOM was decomposed into three components (one prot…
Toxicity of binary mixtures of Cu, Cr and As to the earthworm Eisenia andrei
2020
AbstractChromated copper arsenate (CCA) mixtures were used in the past for wood preservation, leading to large scale soil contamination. This study aimed at contributing to the risk assessment of CCA-contaminated soils by assessing the toxicity of binary mixtures of copper, chromium and arsenic to the earthworm Eisenia andrei in OECD artificial soil. Mixture effects were related to reference models of Concentration Addition (CA) and Independent Action (IA) using the MIXTOX model, with effects being related to total and available (H2O and 0.01 M CaCl2 extractable) concentrations in the soil. Since only in mixtures with arsenic dose-related mortality occurred (LC50 92.5 mg/kg dry soil), it wa…
An uptake and elimination kinetics approach to assess the bioavailability of chromium, copper, and arsenic to earthworms (Eisenia andrei) in contamin…
2019
The aim of this study was to determine the bioavailability of metals in field soils contaminated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) mixtures. The uptake and elimination kinetics of chromium, copper, and arsenic were assessed in the earthworm Eisenia andrei exposed to soils from a gradient of CCA wood preservative contamination near Hartola, Finland. In soils contaminated with 1480–1590 mg Cr/kg dry soil, 642–791 mg Cu/kg dry soil, and 850–2810 mg Ag/kg dry soil, uptake and elimination kinetics patterns were similar for Cr and Cu. Both metals were rapidly taken up and rapidly excreted by Eisenia andrei with equilibrium reached within 1 day. The metalloid As, however, showed very slow uptak…
Climate change reshuffles northern species within their niches
2022
Climate change is a pervasive threat to biodiversity. While range shifts are a known consequence of climate warming contributing to regional community change, less is known about how species' positions shift within their climatic niches. Furthermore, whether the relative importance of different climatic variables prompting such shifts varies with changing climate remains unclear. Here we analysed four decades of data for 1,478 species of birds, mammals, butterflies, moths, plants and phytoplankton along a 1,200 km high latitudinal gradient. The relative importance of climatic drivers varied non-uniformly with progressing climate change. While species turnover among decades was limited, the …
Generation of heat and power from biogas for stationary applications: boilers, gas engines and turbines, combined heat and power (CHP) plants and fue…
2013
Biogas is produced during the anaerobic degradation of organic material. The produced biogas can be used for heat, electricity or cogeneration of heat and electricity in a combined heat and power plant (CHP). This chapter first discusses the key issues related to combustion of biogas/biomethane in different stationary equipments. It then describes the utilisation of biogas for the generation of electric power and heat in different stationary applications such as boilers, gas engines (CHP), micro turbines and fuel cells.
Primary Student-Teachers' Conceptual Understanding of the Greenhouse Effect: A Mixed Method Study
2011
International audience; The greenhouse effect is a reasonably complex scientific phenomenon which can be used as a model to examine students' conceptual understanding in science. Primary student-teachers' understanding of global environmental problems, such as climate change and ozone depletion, indicates that they have many misconceptions. The present mixed methods study examines Finnish primary student-teachers' understanding of the greenhouse effect based on the results obtained via open-ended and closed-form questionnaires. The open-ended questionnaire considers primary student-teachers' spontaneous ideas about the greenhouse effect depicted by concept maps. The present study also uses …
The rheology of three-phase suspensions at low bubble capillary number
2015
We develop a model for the rheology of a three-phase suspension of bubbles and particles in a Newtonian liquid undergoing steady flow. We adopt an 'effective-medium' approach in which the bubbly liquid is treated as a continuous medium which suspends the particles. The resulting three-phase model combines separate two-phase models for bubble suspension rheology and particle suspension rheology, which are taken from the literature. The model is validated against new experimental data for three-phase suspensions of bubbles and spherical particles, collected in the low bubble capillary number regime. Good agreement is found across the experimental range of particle volume fraction ([Formula: s…