Search results for "POLLUTION"

Voltammetric Analysis of Platinum in Environmental Matrices

2014

This article will summarize measurement data for Pt in different environmental samples obtained by the authors using a recently developed approach by voltammetric analysis. A fast accumulation of platinum and rhodium in the environmental and biological matrices has been observed in the last few years and concern has arisen about potential environmental and health risks. Voltammetry was used for the determination of Pt and Rh in airborne particulate collected in Palermo, Italy. Possible interferences by other environmental metals have also been evaluated. All samples show concentrations of Pt and Rh above average upper crust values. The Pt and Rh concentrations in particulate samples collect…

Analysis of the traffic management policy measures adopted in the central business district of Palermo

2005

his research analyses the effects on air quality produced by the traffic management measures adopted in the Central Business District of Palermo (i.e. park price, the closure to traffic of Maqueda Road, etc.). Weather data series, pollutant concentrations data series (1997-2003) and the traffic data collected in 2003 were analysed by using different regression statistical models, to appraise the effectiveness of the traffic management policies adopted by City Council, understanding also the cause/effect relationships among the pollutant concentrations (CO, NO2, O3, C6H6 and PM10) and the traffic flows variations over time

Aggregate air pollution indices: a new proposal

2009

A new aggregate Air Quality Index (I2) to represent the global air pollution situation for a given city/region is proposed. Accounting for simultaneous exposure to common pollutants and their effects on human health, this index overcomes existing AQIs. Its goodness and utility is shown by a simulation plan and by an application to a real dataset on main pollutants.

Tuning The Selectivity To Aldehyde Via Ph Regulation In The Photocatalytic Oxidation Of 4-Methoxybenzyl Alcohol And Vanillyl Alcohol By Tio2 Catalysts

2021

Abstract The influence of pH on the photocatalytic partial oxidation of 4-methoxybenzyl alcohol (MBA) and vanillyl alcohol (VA) to their corresponding aldehydes in aqueous suspension under UVA irradiation was investigated by using poorly crystalline home-prepared and crystalline commercial TiO2 (BDH, Merck and Degussa P25) photocatalysts. The results clearly show as tuning pH can strongly impart selectivity and activity to photocatalytic processes which are often quite unselective in aqueous suspensions. It was found that pH effect on reaction rate and product selectivity strongly depended on TiO2 crystallinity and substrate type. In the case of MBA oxidation, photoreactivity and selectivit…

Chlorinated hydrocarbons and mercury in aquatic vascular plants of lake Päijänne, Finland

1978

Collating evidence on the restoration efforts of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica: current knowledge and gaps

2022

Seagrass meadows are important shallow coastal ecosystems due to their contribution to enhancing biodiversity, nu-trient cycling, carbon burial, and sediment stabilisation, but the maintenance of their integrity has been threatened by several anthropogenic disturbances. Active restoration is considered a reliable strategy to enhance recovery of seagrass ecosystems, and decision making for correct seagrass restoration management requires relying on valuable informa-tion regarding the effectiveness of past restoration actions and experimental efforts.Previous experimental efforts and human-mediated active restoration actions of the slow growing seagrass Posidonia oceanica have been collated h…

Aqueous solubility diagrams for cementitious waste stabilization systems. 3. Mechanism of zinc immobilizaton by calcium silicate hydrate.

2002

Zinc oxide was added during hydration of alite (C3S) as an analogue for solidification/stabilization by cement of metal-bearing hazardous waste. Curing of samples was stopped at various intervals between 8 h and 100 d, and the reaction products were analyzed by both X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (EXAFS at Zn, Ca, and Si K-edges). Calcium zincate hydrate (CaZn2(OH)6 x 2H2O) initially formed together with calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) vanishes from X-ray diffractograms after 14 d, and no other crystalline Zn-bearing phase could be detected thereafter. EXAFS Zn K-edge data analysis reveals that Zn(O,OH)4 tetrahedra continue to determine the first shell coordination…

A Green Look at the Aldol Reaction

2005

Aldol reactions have been and are widely applied for the preparation of β-hydroxy aldehydes, β-hydroxy ketones or α,β-unsaturated aldehydes or ketones through addition or addition-elimination reactions of aldehydes and ketones. The study of the aldol reaction from the point of view of its greenness must have in mind first of all that a general synthetic method must be based on complete and efficient conversions of well defined selectivity and that greenness is more a term for comparison than an absolute kind of qualification. This comparison, when referred to the aldol reaction, applies here to the diverse modifications of the reaction. Thus, the original poorly selective, but highly atom e…

Geochemical processes assessed by Rare Earth Elements fractionation at "Laguna Verde" acidic-sulphate crater lake (Azufral volcano, Colombia)

2017

Abstract The geochemical behaviour of major elements, Fe, Al, Mn, and Rare Earth Elements (REE) was investigated in the “Laguna Verde” acidic crater lake of Azufral volcano (Colombia). The cold lake water (T close to 10 °C) is sulphate-dominated, due to absorption and oxidation of H2S (pH 2.1–2.7, Eh 196–260 mV), and Na-enriched (Total Dissolved Solids 0.79 g L−1). The total amount of REE dissolved in the lake ranges from 3.3 to 9.1 ppb. The REE patterns normalized to the local rocks show a Light Rare Earth Elements (LREE) depletion quite constant in the 15 samples. Similar patterns were already found in the acidic sulphate springs of Nevado del Ruiz volcano-hydrothermal system, caused by t…

Start-up and Operation of Laboratory-Scale Thermophilic Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactors Treating Vegetable Processing Wastewaters

1997

Thermophilic anaerobic treatment of hot vegetable processing wastewaters was studied in laboratory-scale UASB reactors at 55°C. The high-strength wastewater streams, deriving from steam peeling and blanching of carrot, potato and swede were used. The reactors were inoculated with mesophilic granular sludge. Stable thermophilic methanogenesis with about 60% COD removal was reached within 28 days. During the 134 day study period the loading rate was increased up to 24 kg COD m−3 day−1. High treatment efficiency of more than 90% COD removal and concomitant methane production of 7·3 m3 CH4 m−3 day−1 were achieved. The anaerobic process performance was not affected by the changes in the wastewat…