Search results for "Environmental engineering"
showing 10 items of 2674 documents
Using Macroelement Content to Characterize Surficial Water Quality of Artificial Reservoirs
2021
Abstract The quality of surface waters in the territory of Poland, despite the implemented remedial measures, is mostly classified as bad. This article presents the results of research on the composition of water macroelements in 24 artificial reservoirs located in Opole province (southern Poland), searching for the reasons behind their pollution. Concentrations of the anions F−, Cl−, Br−, NO2−, NO3−, PO43− and SO42− and cations Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ were taken into account. An analysis of seasonal changes was carried out and, on the example of a dam reservoir (Turawa Big Reservoir), a multi-point analysis of the distribution of ion concentrations in water at the reservoir surface w…
Case Studies of Macro-and Microplastics Pollution in Coastal Waters and Rivers: Is There a Solution With New Removal Technologies and Policy Actions?.
2020
This opinion paper on microplastics pollution has selected different aspects and case studies of micro and macro-plastic litter pollution in coastal waters, and rivers. We point out a discussion on this topic and ask ourselves if there is a solution to the global problem by developing new microplastics removal technologies as well as policy actions. The first two case studies are related with macroplastics marine litter in beaches, a third report describes a new simple sampling device for microplastics in coastal and nearshore areas, five case study assess microplastics pollution in worldwide coastal environments, sediments and catchments (India, Mexico, Australia, Europe and the Nordic Sea…
Analysis of microplastics and nanoplastics: How green are the methodologies used?
2021
Microplastic (MP) and nanoplastic (NP) pollution is among the global environmental concerns of the 21st century owing to its transboundary distribution and persistence. The number of studies focused on the determination of MPs in air, water, sediment, soil, and biota of an important number of ecosystems has increased exponentially. However, the impact that the methodologies used to isolate and determine MPs and NPs have on the environment owing to the consumption of reagents and energy and the generation of waste is not yet studied. This review presents a critical overview of the analytical methodologies applied to determination of MPs and NPs assessing their greenness using the National En…
Studies concerning the decontamination of hydrocarbons- polluted soil areas using bioremediation techniques
2016
The accidental or historic contamination of soils with hydrocarbons, in areas crossed by oil pipelines or where oil- or gas-extraction installations are located, is a major concern and has significant financial and ecological consequences, both for the owners of those areas and for the oil transportation or exploitation companies. Therefore it is very important to find the optimal method for removing the pollution. The current paper presents measures, mainly involving bioremediation, recommended and applied for the depollution of a contaminated area in Romania. While the topic of dealing with polluted soils is well-established in the Romanian speciality literature, bioremediation is a relat…
Three Hours Ahead Prevision of SO2 Pollutant Concentration Using an Elman Neural based Forecaster
2008
Abstract Indoor air quality near the industrial site is tightly joined to pollutant concentration level, since outdoor pollution heavily influences air quality and, consequently, inhabitants health. A pollution management system is essential for health protection. Automatic air quality management systems have became an important research issue with strong implications for inhabitants’ health. In this paper an automatic forecaster based on neural networks for SO 2 concentration prevision is proposed. The analyzed area covers different small towns near the industrial site of Priolo, in the south of the world. Among these towns, Melilli was the first town in Italy that was evacuated for high l…
Air quality indices: a review
2010
National directives on air quality oblige nations to monitor and report on their air quality, allowing the public to be informed on the ambient pollution levels. The last is the reason for the always increasing interest, demonstrated by the number of publications on this topic in recent years, in air quality/pollution indices: since the concentration of individual pollutants can be confusing, concentration measurements are conveniently transformed in terms of an air quality index. In this way, complex situations are summarized in a single figure, letting comparisons in time and space be possible. In this paper we will give an overview about the Air Quality/Pollution Indices proposed in lite…
PCDTs in the environment
1997
Abstract Polychlorinated dibenzothiophenes (PCDTs) are sulfur analogues of polychlorinated dibenzofurans. Recently, PCDTs have been found in stack gas and fly ash samples, pulp mill effluents, sediments and in some aquatic organisms. PCDTs have been analyzed by high resolution GC/MS and by other GC-MS techniques. Combustion is until now the major known source of PCDTs in the environment. Tri-, tetra- and pentaCDTs in concentrations approaching those of PCDTs have been analyzed in some samples from waste incineration and metal reclamation. Concentrations of PCDTs in pulp mill effluents have been found to be quite low. 2378-TeCDT was found to be the major TeCDT isomer in some pulp mill efflue…
Chlorocymenes, cymenenes and other chlorohydrocarbons in pulp mill effluents, sludges and exposed biota
1992
Abstract Polychlorinated cymenes (PCYMS) and cymenenes (PCYMD) were analyzed by GC/LRMS/SIM in effluents and sludges of three different pulp mills and in fish and mussels exposed to pulp mill effluents. The levels of PCYMS+PCYMD were 0.3–4.8 μg/l in total effluents,
Comparison between two MBR pilot plants treating synthetic shipboard slops: effect of salinity increase on biological performance, biomass activity a…
2017
The paper reports the main results of an experimental campaign carried out on two bench scale pilot plants for the treatment of synthetic shipboard slops. In particular, two membrane bioreactors (MBRs) with submerged configuration were analyzed. One MBR pilot plant (namely, Line A) was fed with synthetic shipboard slop and was subjected to a gradual increase of salinity. Conversely, the second MBR pilot plant (namely, Line B) was fed with the same synthetic shipboard slop but without salt addition, therefore operating as a âcontrolâ unit. Organic carbon, hydrocarbons and ammonium removal, kinetic constants, extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) production and membranes fouling rates…
Performance of membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems for the treatment of shipboard slops: Assessment of hydrocarbon biodegradation and biomass activity …
2015
In order to prevent hydrocarbon discharge at sea from ships, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) enacted the MARPOL 73/78 convention in which any oil and oil residue discharged in wastewater streams must contain less than 5. ppm hydrocarbons. Effective treatment of this petroleum-contaminated water is essential prior to its release into the environment, in order to prevent pollution problem for marine ecosystems as well as for human health. Therefore, two bench scale membrane bioreactors (MBRs) were investigated for hydrocarbon biodegradation. The two plants were initially fed with synthetic wastewater characterised by an increasing salinity, in order to enhance biomass acclimatio…