Search results for "WASTE"
showing 10 items of 2580 documents
End-of-life and waste management of disposable beverage cups.
2021
Different human activities have caused and currently cause catastrophic environmental phenomena, and unfortunately, a significant negative contribution to these catastrophic phenomena can be attributed to uncontrolled plastic production, use and release everywhere. On the other hand, the plastics offer numerous comforts and advantages, and for this reason, the modern life is unthinkable without plastic. Currently, numerous scientific papers and large audience advertisings, related to the production and use of polymers made by natural sources, i.e. bio-based polymers, as a valid alternative to the petroleum-based counterparts, have been published. Therefore, for production of daily disposabl…
Plankton participation in the performance of three constructed wetlands within a Mediterranean natural park.
2019
Abstract The contribution of plankton in the performance of three constructed wetlands (CWs) within the Albufera de Valencia Natural Park has been analyzed, taxonomic group by group, over a two-year operation period in the different sectors of each CW: horizontal subsurface-flow –A–, free-water surface flow –B– and lagoons –C–. Tancat de la Pipa CW (TPCW) only contains B–C sectors, while the others have all three types. Treatment efficiency of each sector type on the taxonomic groups was evaluated by calculating frequency of phytoplankton reduction (or zooplankton production), mass removal (or production) efficiencies and rates, and accumulated removed phytoplankton mass (or produced zoopla…
Shadow prices of emerging pollutants in wastewater treatment plants: Quantification of environmental externalities.
2017
Conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are designed to remove mainly the organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus compounds and suspended solids from wastewater but are not capable of removing chemicals of human origin, such as pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs). The presence of PPCPs in wastewater has environmental effects on the water bodies receiving the WWTP effluents and renders the effluent as unsuitable as a nonconventional water source. Considering PPCPs as non-desirable outputs, the shadow prices methodology has been implemented using the output distance function to measure the environmental benefits of removing five PPCPs (acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen…
Comparing soil inventory with modelling: Carbon balance in central European forest soils varies among forest types
2018
Abstract Forest soils represent a large carbon pool and already small changes in this pool may have an important effect on the global carbon cycle. To predict the future development of the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool, well-validated models are needed. We applied the litter and soil carbon model Yasso15 to 1838 plots of the German national forest soil inventory (NFSI) for the period between 1985 and 2014 to enables a direct comparison to the NFSI measurements. In addition, to provide data for the German Greenhouse Gas Inventory, we simulated the development of SOC with Yasso15 applying a climate projection based on the RCP8.5 scenario. The initial model-calculated SOC stocks were adjusted…
Geodiversity and geoheritage: Detecting scientific and geographic biases and gaps through a bibliometric study
2019
Abstract Many scientists have recognized that there is diversity in nature, including biodiversity, geodiversity, and pedodiversity. Studies in biodiversity date back as far as the 1700s, but geodiversity and pedodiversity studies are much more recent, dating to the late 1970s to early 1980s. Given that we are now approaching 40 years of geodiversity and geoheritage work, this study was undertaken to determine areas that have been well addressed and where current gaps are. This was accomplished by reviewing the publications in the journal “Geoheritage”, the Scopus and Google Scholar databases, and established geoparks according to UNESCO records. It was found that geodiversity studies typic…
Evaluation of the effects of titanium dioxide and aluminum oxide nanoparticles through tarsal contact exposure in the model insect Oncopeltus fasciat…
2019
Abstract Despite the increasing presence of metal nanoparticles in the biosphere as a consequence of their widespread use, knowledge about the impact of these nanoparticles on fauna, ecosystems and human health is far from completion. This is especially true for terrestrial invertebrates. Insects are environmentally exposed to nanoparticles by several ways, the ectopic contact being one of the most probable. The model insect Oncopeltus fasciatus, has been used in the present work for testing toxicity of nanoparticles present in a surface. Adverse effects of TiO2 nanoparticles and Al2O3 in nanoparticulated or bulk form on mortality, reproductive and embryonic developmental parameters have be…
Multi O- and S-isotopes as tracers of black crusts formation under volcanic and non-volcanic atmospheric conditions in Sicily (Italy)
2020
International audience; The deterioration of monument or building stone materials is mostly due to the growth of black crusts that cause blackening and disaggregation of the exposed surface. This study reports on new oxygen (δ17O, δ18O and Δ17O) and sulphur (δ33S, δ34S, δ36S, Δ33S and Δ36S) isotopic analyses of black crust sulphates formed on building stones in Sicily (Southern Italy). The measurements are used to identify the possible influence of volcanic emissions on black crust formation. Black crusts were mostly sampled on carbonate stone substrate in different locations subject to various sulphur emission sources (marine, anthropogenic and volcanic). Unlike atmospheric sulphate aeroso…
Reverse electrodialysis performed at pilot plant scale: Evaluation of redox processes and simultaneous generation of electric energy and treatment of…
2017
Abstract This paper describes the experimental campaign carried out with a reverse electrodialysis (RED) demonstration plant (Marsala, Italy) with the main aims of: (i) evaluating the effect of various operating parameters, including the redox processes, on the system performances; (ii) using the plant for the simultaneous generation of electric energy and treatment of wastewater. The prototype (44 × 44 cm2, 500 cell pairs) was tested using both real (brackish water and brine) and artificial solutions. Tests with two different electrode rinse solutions (with or without iron redox couples) were performed. In agreement with the data obtained in the laboratory, the presence of iron ions contri…
Solid acid-catalyzed depolymerization of barley straw driven by ball milling
2015
This study describes a time and energy saving, solvent-free procedure for the conversion of lignocellulosic barley straw into reducing sugars by mechanocatalytical pretreatment. The catalytic conversion efficiency of several solid acids was tested which revealed oxalic acid dihydrate as a potential catalyst with high conversion rate. Samples were mechanically treated by ball milling and subsequently hydrolyzed at different temperatures. The parameters of the mechanical treatment were optimized in order to obtain sufficient amount of total reducing sugar (TRS) which was determined following the DNS assay. Additionally, capillary electrophoresis (CE) and Fourier transform infrared spectrometr…
Unveiling the distinctive role of titanium dioxide nanoparticles in aerobic sludge digestion.
2022
Abstract Aerobic digestion is considered to be a common process for the stabilization of waste activated sludge (WAS) in the small-sized wastewater treatment systems, while the broad application of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) results in their unavoidable existence in WAS aerobic digestion, with its role in aerobic sludge digestion being never documented. This study set up a series of aerobic sludge digesters to evaluate the previously unknown role of TiO2 NPs on the performance of the digesters. The volatile solids (VS) degradation percentage increased from 21.9 ± 0.6% to 26.9 ± 0.1% − 30.0 ± 0.3% with the different contents of TiO2 NPs (0, 1, 20 and 50 mg/L). Similarly, the t…