Search results for "Waste management"
showing 10 items of 1526 documents
Chemometric Study on Alkaline Pre-treatments of Wood Chips Prior to Pulping
2016
Alkaline pre-treatments were performed for the production of organics-containing effluents from silver/white birch (Betula pendula/pubescens) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) chips prior to chemical pulping. Pre-treatment conditions were varied with respect to time (from 30 min to 120 min), temperature (130 °C and 150 °C), and alkali charge (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8% of NaOH on oven-dried wood). The analytical data (total content, weight average molar mass, and molar mass distribution) on dissolved lignin were subjected to principal component analysis to examine the relationship between molar mass and molar mass distributions in lignin removed from different wood species under varying alkaline…
Predictors of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Titers two decades after vaccination in a cohort of students and post-graduates of the Medical School at th…
2017
Introduction and objective. The introduction of a vaccine against hepatitis B virus (HBV) for newborn babies in Italy in 1991, extended to 12-year-old children for the first 12 years of application, has been a major achievement in terms of the prevention of HBV infection. The objective of this study was to analyse the long-term immunogenicity and effectiveness of HBV vaccination among healthcare students with different working seniorities. Materials and method. A cross-sectional observational study of undergraduate and postgraduate students attending the Medical School of the University of Palermo was conducted from January 2014 – July 2016. HBV serum markers were performed with commercial …
Investigating the emerging role of comparative proteomics in the search for new biomarkers of metal contamination under varying abiotic conditions
2016
13 pages; International audience; This study aims at investigating the potential use of comparative proteomics as a multi-marker approach of metal contamination, taking into account the potential confounding effect of water temperature. The major objective was to identify combinations of proteins specifically responding to a given metal, even if included in a metal mixture. The diagnostic approach was performed via the comparative analysis of protein expression on spot mapping provided by adult males of Gammarus pulex (Amphipoda, Crustacea) respectively exposed to arsenate (As), cadmium (Cd) or a binary mixture of these metals (AsCd) at three realistic temperatures (5, 10 and 15 °C). Proteo…
Electrooxidation of coconut oil in alkaline electrolyte
2017
Providing more and more energy is an essential task of the today’s energetic industry. In the last few years, in addition to the traditional methods of energy production, alternative energy sources have been developing fast. One of the devices that can make use of these sources is a fuel cell. The fuel cells can be a power source of future mainly due to their high efficiency, low influence on environment and the possibility of powering with different fuels. Most often, fuel cells are powered by hydrogen. However, the problems with its cheap production and storage are the reason for the search for alternative fuels for fuel cells. It is important that the new fuel will be characterized by ze…
Seasonal and spatial dynamics of enteric viruses in wastewater and in riverine and estuarine receiving waters
2018
International audience; Enteric viruses represent a global public health threat and are implicated in numerous foodborne andwaterborne disease outbreaks. Nonetheless, relatively little is known of their fate and stability in the environment. In this studywe used carefully validatedmethods tomonitor enteric viruses, namely adenovirus (AdV), JC polyomavirus (JCV), noroviruses (NoVs), sapovirus (SaV) and hepatitis A and E viruses (HAV and HEV) fromwastewater source to beaches and shellfish beds. Wastewater influent and effluent, surface water, sediment and shellfish samples were collected in the Conwy catchment (North Wales, UK) once a month for one year. High concentrations of AdV and JCV wer…
Bacterial community structure along the subtidal sandy sediment belt of a high Arctic fjord (Kongsfjorden, Svalbard Islands)
2018
Open fjords are subject to contrasting environmental conditions, owing to meltwater glacial inputs, terrestrial runoff, and marine water mass exchanges, which are exacerbated by anthropogenic and climate perturbations. Following a slope-dependent water circulation, the subtidal sandy sediment belt regulates the convergent transport of nutrients downward the fjord depths, and the effective entrapment of suspended particles and microorganisms. In this study, we aimed at testing how glacial and seawater inputs may influence the bacterial community structure of subtidal sand deposits in the Kongsfjorden. Through total and viable cell counting and an amplicon sequencing approach, we found releva…
Effect of substrate composition on the stability and microbial community of an anaerobic expanded granular sludge bed reactor treating printing solve…
2019
Abstract The performance and microbial community analysis of an expanded granular sludge bed reactor (EGSB) treating wastewater polluted with mixtures of ethanol and glycol ethers –such as 1-ethoxy-2-propanol (E2P) and 1-methoxy-2-propanol (M2P)– were evaluated. The results showed good EGSB performance during start-up (100% of ethanol) in terms of global removal efficiency (RE > 95%). When glycol ethers were added, an initial adaptation period was observed of ~20 days. While the RE of M2P became complete, the RE of E2P reached only 65%. The proportion of glycol ethers was gradually increased and at the end of this study only a binary mixture of E2P and M2P was fed. In the last stage, the gl…
Addressing ecological effects of radiation on populations and ecosystems to improve protection of the environment against radiation: Agreed statement…
2016
AbstractThis paper reports the output of a consensus symposium organized by the International Union of Radioecology in November 2015. The symposium gathered an academically diverse group of 30 scientists to consider the still debated ecological impact of radiation on populations and ecosystems. Stimulated by the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters' accidental contamination of the environment, there is increasing interest in developing environmental radiation protection frameworks. Scientific research conducted in a variety of laboratory and field settings has improved our knowledge of the effects of ionizing radiation on the environment. However, the results from such studies sometimes appear…
Performance of a sustainable asphalt mix incorporating high RAP content and novel bio-derived binder
2019
The recent drive to find ways to increase sustainability and decrease costs in asphalt paving has led researchers to find innovative ways to incorporate more recycled materials and bio-derived binders into mixes with varying success. A new novel bio-derived binder made from refined pine chemistry stabilised with a polymer can increase the sustainability of asphalt mixes while maintaining pavement performance. Laboratory performance testing was conducted on asphalt mixes containing 50% Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) by mix weight and the novel bio-derived binder. Results show that the bio-derived binder outperforms the conventional 50/70 pen grade binder mixes with respect to resistance to…
Intrinsic adhesive and cohesive assessment of the moisture sensitivity of bio-rejuvenated recycled asphalt binders
2019
Alternative binders not derived from fossil fuels, known as biobinders, are opening new paths for multiple applications in road infrastructure. Biobinders, usually produced from bio-oils obtained from the processing of biomass and industry by-products, are tuneable materials whose properties can be adjusted to meet specific targets. For this reason, an interesting approach is to couple biobinders with Reclaimed Asphalt (RA) by taking advantage of their rejuvenating properties to design bio-asphalt mixtures with high-content RA and no additional virgin bitumen. Recent research has proven the feasibility of this approach through validation at full-scale (BioRePavation project). However certai…