Search results for "Air Pollutants"
showing 10 items of 207 documents
Air pollution perception in ten countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021
As largely documented in the literature, the stark restrictions enforced worldwide in 2020 to curb the COVID-19 pandemic also curtailed the production of air pollutants to some extent. This study investigates the perception of the air pollution as assessed by individuals located in ten countries: Australia, Brazil, China, Ghana, India, Iran, Italy, Norway, South Africa and the USA. The perceptions towards air quality were evaluated by employing an online survey administered in May 2020. Participants (N = 9394) in the ten countries expressed their opinions according to a Likert-scale response. A reduction in pollutant concentration was clearly perceived, albeit to a different extent, by all …
Landfill gas upgrading with countercurrent water wash.
2006
A pilot-scale countercurrent absorption process for upgrading landfill gas to produce vehicle fuel was studied using absorption and desorption units and water as absorbent. The height-to-diameter ratio of the absorption column used was 3:1 instead of the more conventionally used 20:1 ratio, and a higher pressure was used along with a lower water flow rate. The effects of pressure (10-30 bar) and water and gas flow-ratios on the upgrading process were studied. Methane content in the product gas increased to near or above 90% with both gas flows (50 and 100 l/min) used at over 20 bar pressure with 10 l/min water flow and at 30 bar pressure with 5l/min water flow. Carbon dioxide content with t…
Quantifying the contribution of nitrification and denitrification to the nitrous oxide flux using 15N tracers.
2006
8 pages; International audience; Microbial transformations of nitrification and denitrification are the main sources of nitrous oxide (N2O) from soils. Relative contributions of both processes to N2O emissions were estimated on an agricultural soil using 15N isotope tracers (15NH4+ or 15NO3-), for a 10-day batch experiment. Under unsaturated and saturated conditions, both processes were significantly involved in N2O production. Under unsaturated conditions, 60% of N-N2O came from nitrification, while denitrification contributed around 85-90% under saturated conditions. Estimated nitrification rates were not significantly different whatever the soil moisture content, whereas the proportion o…
Greenhouse gases from wastewater treatment — A review of modelling tools
2016
Nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and methane are greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted from wastewater treatment that contribute to its carbon footprint. As a result of the increasing awareness of GHG emissions from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), new modelling, design, and operational tools have been developed to address and reduce GHG emissions at the plant-wide scale and beyond. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art and the recently developed tools used to understand and manage GHG emissions from WWTPs, and discusses open problems and research gaps. The literature review reveals that knowledge on the processes related to N2O formation, especially due to autotrophic biomass, is still incompl…
Estimation of biogas produced by the landfill of Palermo, applying a Gaussian model
2008
Abstract In this work, a procedure is suggested to assess the rate of biogas emitted by the Bellolampo landfill (Palermo, Italy), starting from the data acquired by two of the stations for monitoring meteorological parameters and polluting gases. The data used refer to the period November 2005–July 2006. The methane concentration, measured in the CEP suburb of Palermo, has been analysed together with the meteorological data collected by the station situated inside the landfill area. In the present study, the methane has been chosen as a tracer of the atmospheric pollutants produced by the dump. The data used for assessing the biogas emission refer to night time periods characterized by weak…
The effects of anthropogenic particulate emissions on roadway dust and Nerium oleander leaves in Messina (Sicily, Italy)
2003
Complementary studies on the inorganic chemical composition of Nerium oleander leaves collected in the town of Messina (Sicily, Italy) and seven grain-size fractions of local roadway dust have been carried out. Data and maps are presented to show that the particulate matter present in the air of Messina contains trace elements significantly in excess with respect to the average continental earth crust. The anomalies follow the outline of the urban area, the highest concentrations of trace elements being observed where traffic density is highest. Chemical and isotopic analyses of both road dust and Nerium oleander leaves indicate that Pb contamination still characterizes roads with heavy tra…
Country-specific correlations across Europe between modelled atmospheric cadmium and lead deposition and concentrations in mosses
2012
Previous analyses at the European scale have shown that cadmium and lead concentrations in mosses are primarily determined by the total deposition of these metals. Further analyses in the current study show that Spearman rank correlations between the concentration in mosses and the deposition modelled by the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) are country and metal-specific. Significant positive correlations were found for about two thirds or more of the participating countries in 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2005 (except for Cd in 1990). Correlations were often not significant and sometimes negative in countries where mosses were only sampled in a relatively small number of EMEP gr…
Effects of ozone on the foliar histology of the mastic plant (Pistacia lentiscus L.)
2004
[EN] An open-top chamber study was conducted to investigate the tissue and cellular-level foliar effects of ozone (O-3) on a Mediterranean evergreen species, the mastic plant (Pistacia lentiscus L.). Plants were exposed at three different O-3 levels, and leaf samples were collected periodically from the beginning of the exposure. Although no visible foliar injury was evident, alterations of the plastids and vacuoles in the mesophyll were observed. Senescence processes were accelerated with an anomalous stacking of tannin vacuoles, and a reduction in the size and number of the chloroplasts. Overall, most of the modifications induced by O-3 were consistent with previously reported observation…
The use of tree-rings and foliage as an archive of volcanogenic cation deposition.
2007
Tree cores (Pinus nigra ssp. laricio) and leaves (Castanea sativa) from the flanks of Mount Etna, Sicily were analysed by ICP-MS to investigate whether volcanogenic cations within plant material provide an archive of a volcano's temporal and spatial depositional influence. There is significant compositional variability both within and between trees, but no systematic dendrochemical correlation with periods of effusive, explosive or increased degassing activity. Dendrochemistry does not provide a record of persistent but fluctuating volcanic activity. Foliar levels of bioaccumulated cations correspond to modelled plume transport patterns, and map short-term volcanic fumigation. Around the fl…
Assessment of quality of air in Palermo by chemical (ICP-OES) and cytological analyses on leaves of Eucalyptus camaldulensis
2013
In this work, we studied the influence of air pollution on the morpho-structural, biochemical and chemical composition of Eucalyptus camaldulensis leaves. Analyses were carried out on 22 samples collected in Palermo (Italy) area. Considering the mean concentrations (in unwashed leaves) of investigated metals, nutrient elements as Fe (214 mg kg(-1) dry weight (d.w.)), Mn (160 mg kg(-1) d.w.) and Zn (39 mg kg(-1) d.w.) were the most abundant, whereas Pb (5.6 mg kg(-1) d.w.) and Cd (0.072 mg kg(-1) d.w.) showed the lowest concentrations. The values of metal pollution index (MPI) ranged from 6.0 (station no. 15) to 25 (station no. 8) and from 4.0 (station no. 16) to 17 (stations no. 7 and no. 1…