Search results for "Environment"
showing 10 items of 28487 documents
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.
Use of metallurgical dust for removal chromium ions from aqueous solutions
2018
The aim of the study was to determine the potential for the application of dust from steel plant as an effective sorbent for removing Cr(III) and Cr(VI) in the form of simple and complex ions – Acid Blue 193 dye from aqueous solutions. Three isotherms models were used to interpret the experimental results namely: Langmuir, Freundlich, and Dubinin–Radushkevich. Estimated equations parameters allowed to determine the binding mechanism. Based on laboratory studies it was found that the dust was characterized by high sorption capacities for Cr ions and dye from the aqueous solution. The sorption capacity of the dust for Cr(III) and Cr(VI) ions depended on the degree of oxidation, pH of solution…
Effects of hydrogen-charging on the properties of S235JR steel
2017
The paper presents the test results of the S235JR steel susceptibility to damage under the influence of hydrogen. The test of mechanical properties was performed on the basis of a static stretch test of non-hydrogenated samples and after cathodic polarization. Electrochemical measurements for the assessment of corrosion resistance of non-hydrogenated and hydrogenated steels were carried out using open circuit potential measurement and registering of potentiodynamic polarization curves in a three-electrode measuring system. Hydrogenation was carried out for between 3 and 24 hours in a solution of 0.1 N sulfuric acid (VI) with the addition of 2 mg/dm 3 of arsenic oxide (III) at an electric cu…
Suction controlled drying and wetting cycle effects on the volumetric behaviour of a lime-treated high plasticity clay
2016
The paper presents some experimental results collected on samples recovered from an experimental embankment obtained by compacting a lime-treated clay. Samples were collected soon after the in situ compaction and they were cured in controlled environmental conditions for at least 18 months. Mercury intrusion porosimetry tests (MIP) were carried out on freeze-dried specimens to characterize the microstructure of the material. In order to assess the durability of the improved material, laboratory tests focused on the effects of cyclic variations of the degree of saturation on the water retention properties and the volumetric behaviour of the stabilized clay. Collected results show that the li…
Sensitivity of a mesoscale model to different convective parameterization schemes in a heavy rain event
2011
Abstract. The Valencia region, on the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula, is propitious to heavy precipitation, especially the area encompassing the South of Valencia province and the North of the Alicante province. In October 2007 a torrential rain affected the aforementioned area, producing accumulated rainfall values greater than 400 mm in less than 24 h and flash-floods that caused extensive economic losses and human casualties. This rain event has been studied in numerical experiments using the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System. The present paper deals with the effect of using the different convective parameterizations (CP) currently implemented in the Regional Atmospheric…
Numerical study of the October 2007 flash flood in the Valencia region (Eastern Spain): the role of orography
2010
Abstract. A torrential rain event took place in the Valencia region in October 2007, mainly affecting coastal areas and nearby mountains in the center-south of the region, in northern Alicante province. More than 400 mm in 24 h were recorded at some stations in these areas, with lower accumulations in the rest of the region where rainfall was less intense. In the first part of this work a description of the meteorological situation is given. The synoptic frame of the event is characterised by an advection of easterly maritime winds across the Western Mediterranean, lasting for at least 48 h, driving moist air towards the Iberian Peninsula eastern coast and the presence of an upper level iso…
Parametric uncertainty or hydrological changes?
2014
Abstract. The model calibration is the way of hydrologists for searching also a physical interpretation of complex interactions acting within a basin. Actually, it can be frequently noticed how model calibration performed on a given time-window may converge to a point in the parameter space that could be distant from another obtainable calibration of the model in the same basin but considering a different time window. Is that again parametric uncertainty or does the trajectory in the parametric space relate about to a slow hydrological basin change? This paper depicts a possible path for detecting changes' signatures in a streamflow time series. In particular, the paper seeks to draw a way …
Predicting storm-triggered debris flow events: application to the 2009 Ionian Peloritan disaster (Sicily, Italy)
2015
Abstract. The main assumption on which landslide susceptibility assessment by means of stochastic modelling lies is that the past is the key to the future. As a consequence, a stochastic model able to classify past known landslide events should be able to predict a future unknown scenario as well. However, storm-triggered multiple debris flow events in the Mediterranean region could pose some limits on the operative validity of such an expectation, as they are typically resultant of a randomness in time recurrence and magnitude and a great spatial variability, even at the scale of small catchments. This is the case for the 2007 and 2009 storm events, which recently hit north-eastern Sicily …
Discharge estimation combining flow routing and occasional measurements of velocity
2011
A new procedure is proposed for estimating river discharge hydrographs during flood events, using only water level data at a single gauged site, as well as 1-D shallow water modelling and occasional maximum surface flow velocity measurements. One-dimensional diffusive hydraulic model is used for routing the recorded stage hydrograph in the channel reach considering zero-diffusion downstream boundary condition. Based on synthetic tests concerning a broad prismatic channel, the “suitable” reach length is chosen in order to minimize the effect of the approximated downstream boundary condition on the estimation of the upstream discharge hydrograph. The Manning’s roughness coefficient is calibra…
Analysis of the energy balance closure over a FLUXNET boreal forest in Finland
2010
Abstract. The imbalance in the surface energy budget, when using eddy-covariance techniques to measure turbulent fluxes, is still an unresolved problem. Important progresses have been reported in recent years identifying potential reasons for this lack of energy balance closure. In this paper we focus on the data collected in a FLUXNET boreal forest site in Sodankylä, Finland. Using one month half-hourly data, an average Energy Balance Ratio (EBR) of 0.72 is obtained. The inclusion of the heat storage terms in the energy budget yields an improvement of about 6% in the total closure. The sensitivity of the energy balance closure to the turbulence intensity is analysed in terms of the frictio…