Search results for "Environmental engineering"
showing 10 items of 2674 documents
Emission standards versus immission standards for assessing the impact of urban drainage on ephemeral receiving water bodies
2010
In the past, emission standard indicators have been adopted by environmental regulation authorities in order to preserve the quality of a receiving water body. Such indicators are based on the frequency or magnitude of a polluted discharge that may be continuous or intermittent. In order to properly maintain the quality of receiving waters, the Water Framework Directive, following the basic ideas of British Urban Pollution Manual, has been established. The Directive has overtaken the emission-standard concept, substituting it with the stream-standard concept that fixes discharge limits for each polluting substance depending on the self-depurative characteristics of receiving waters. Stream-…
Assessing drugs of abuse distribution in Turia River based on geographic information system and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry
2017
Drugs of abuse are continuously discharged into wastewaters as part of their elimination process. Pollution at very low concentrations appears to be broad in environmental compartments near populated areas. A total of 42 drugs of abuse and metabolites were analysed in surface water samples collected in 2012 and 2013 by solid phase extraction and liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Analytical results of target compounds were georeferenced and integrated into a geographical information systems (GIS). Ecotoxicological risk of drugs of abuse detected in the Turia River was evaluated in this study by calculating risk quotient (RQ). In 2012, 6 compounds were detected in a total of…
CO<inf>2</inf> reduction exploiting RES for EV charging
2016
The world is facing an urgent need to reduce emissions, limiting pollution for a better quality of life. This objective has to be reached by all cities and governments worldwide. This paper focuses on the field of transportation, which is greatly responsible for air pollution, mainly in cities and urban areas such as towns, airports and seaports. The diffusion of electric vehicles (EVs) enables a significant reduction of air pollutants emitted by combustion engines; however, their recharge can affect the total pollution by their increasing energy demand. A solution is the use of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) to charge EVs. This paper analyzes the feasibility of integrating EVs and RES, foc…
The environmental impact of air pollution on the built heritage of historic Cairo (Egypt)
2020
In the last decades, many researchers investigated the relation between environmental pollution and the degradation phenomena on the built heritage, because of their rapid increase and growing harmfulness. Consequently, the identification of the main pollution sources has become essential to define mitigation actions against degradation and alteration phenomena of the stone materials. In this way, the present paper is focused on the study of the effect of air pollution on archaeological buildings in Historic Cairo. A multi-methodological approach was used to obtain information about the chemical composition of examined black crusts and to clarify their correlation with the air pollution, sp…
Changes in air pollution during COVID-19 lockdown in Spain: a multi-city study
2021
Highlights • Variations in air quality in terms of CO, SO2, PM10, O3 and NO2 levels were studied • The lockdown of Spain was not able to reduce severe air pollution in all its forms • Significant reductions of NO2 levels were achieved in most cities • Increases of O3 pollution levels were found in several cities
Application of algae in active biomonitoring of the selected holding reservoirs in swietokrzyskie province
2016
Abstract During the years 2014-2015, biomonitoring studies were carried out at three holding reservoirs located in Swietokrzyskie Province (central Poland): Kielce artificial lake, Chancza reservoir and Sielpia reservoir. In sea water algae Palmaria palmata (Linnaeus) Weber & Mohr, exposed in the analysed waters, the increases of concentrations were determined by the atomic absorption spectrometry method (AAS), of the following: Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb. Conductivity and pH were also determined in the reservoirs waters. The differences between the increases of heavy metal concentrations in the samples of algae found along the coastline were indicated; they result from different distanc…
One-year characterization of organic aerosol markers in urban Beijing: Seasonal variation and spatiotemporal comparison
2020
Abstract Organic aerosol (OA) is a major component of fine particulate matter (PM); however, only 10%–30% of OA have been identified as individual compounds, and some are used as markers to trace the sources and formation mechanisms of OA. The temporal and spatial coverage of these OA markers nonetheless remain inadequately characterized. This study presents a year-long measurement of 92 organic markers in PM2.5 samples collected at an urban site in Beijing from 2014 to 2015. Saccharides were the most abundant (340.1 ng m−3) species detected, followed by phthalic acids (283.4 ng m−3). In summer, high proportions (8%–24%) of phthalic acids, n-alkanes, fatty acids, and n-alcohols indicate dom…
Geochemical characterization and health risk assessment in two diversified environmental settings (Southern Italy).
2021
An integrated approach using chemical and microbial indicators has been tested in two different sites of the Campania Plain (Southern Italy) with different land use covering and different hydrogeological features in order: (1) to define the water-rock interaction processes, (2) to differentiate sources of pollution in a detailed way (3) to evaluate the degree of water quality in the studied alluvial aquifer and (4) to identify the most worrying elements for human's health. Groundwater have showed a HCO3-Ca signature for both investigated sites, and a progressive enrichment in alkali ions has been highlighted moving from the boundary of the plain toward the coastal areas, due to groundwater …
Salt accumulation and effects within foliage of Tilia × vulgaris trees from the street greenery of Riga, Latvia
2020
International audience; Green infrastructures within sprawling cities provide essential ecosystem services, increasingly undermined by environmental stress. The main objective in this study was to relate the allocation patterns of NaCl contaminants to injury within foliage of lime trees mechanistically and distinguish between the effects of salt and other environmental stressors. Using field material representative of salt contamination levels in the street greenery of Riga, Latvia, the contribution of salt contaminants to structural and ultrastructural injury was analyzed, combining different microscopy techniques. On severely salt-polluted and dystrophic soils, the foliage of street lime …
Occurrence, distribution and behavior of emerging persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in a Mediterranean wetland protected area.
2018
The analysis of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and organophosphate flame retardants (PFRs) in the different environmental compartments of a characteristic coastal wetland, the Albufera Natural Park (Valencia, Spain), is required for understanding the transport, accumulation and fate of these pollutants in an area under high anthropogenic pressure. Samples included 13 wastewater treatment plant influents, 13 effluents, 12 surface water, 19 sediment samples and 10 fish individuals from the Albufera Natural Park and the surrounding area. Tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCIPP) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) were at the highest concentrations in water, 330.2 ng L−1 and 47.8 ng L−1, r…