Search results for "mixture"
showing 10 items of 1178 documents
Environmental Quality and Entrepreneurial Activity in Rural Tourism in Italy
2012
We estimate the relation between environmental quality and services in rural tourism in Italy. We use the average number of firms per region in 2003-07 to indicate entrepreneurial activity. We suggest that heterogeneity among administrative regions can be tied to environmental quality. Incorporated farms in rural tourism are relatively more common in regions with better environmental quality, and command higher average price from better quality in hospitality. Only 7% of entrepreneurial activity can be attributable to environmental quality. We conclude that rural tourism activity in Italy is not genuinely tied to environmental quality.
Short-term changes in infiltration between straw mulched and non-mulched soils after wildfire in Mediterranean forest ecosystems
2018
Abstract Water infiltration is a basic parameter to understand the hydrological response of semi-arid or arid soils – where runoff generation is dominated by infiltration-excess – subjected to wildfire. To evaluate the hydrological effects of straw application on a sandy loam soil after wildfire, the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, water content and temperature of mulched and nonmulched (considered as control) soils were monitored throughout eight months. Compared to untreated soils, straw maintained higher temperatures and water contents in mulched plots, but reduced their unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, particularly in the drier season. These results suggest that straw release may…
A preliminary study on the ecotoxic potency of wastewater treatment plant sludge combining passive sampling and bioassays.
2021
Highlights • The passive samplers collected bioavail able and bioaccessible chemicals from the WWTP sludge samples. • The sampler extracts were acutely and chronically toxic to water flea. • The sampler extracts were cytotoxic and genotoxic. • The sludge treatment such as composting and digesting diminished the toxicity. • Effect-based methods should be part of the risk assessment of sludge recycling. Sewage sludge is an inevitable byproduct produced in wastewater treatment. Reusing nutrient-rich sludge will diminish the amount of waste ending in soil dumping areas and will promote circular economy. However, during sewage treatment process, several potentially harmful organic chemicals are …
Stabilisation of MSWI bottom ash with sulphide-rich anaerobic effluent.
2007
Effluent of an anaerobic sulphate-reducing wastewater treatment process was used to stabilise bottom ash. The effect of stabilisation on the concentration and binding of Ca, P, S, Cu, Pb, Zn, As, Cr, and Mo were studied by comparing results of sequential extraction from fresh and stabilised bottom ash. The stabilisation treatment improved the retention of Ca, Cu, Pb, S, and Zn in bottom ash compared to a treatment with ion-exchanged water. In addition to retention, Cu, S, and Zn were accumulated from the anaerobic effluent in the bottom ash. Concentrations of As, Cr, and Mo remained on the same level, whereas leaching of P increased compared to control treatment with ion-exchanged water. Im…
A method for measuring low-weight carboxylic acids from biosolid compost
2006
Concentration of low-weight carboxylic acids (LWCA) is one of the important parameters that should be taken into consideration when compost is applied as soil improver for plant cultivation, because high amounts of LWCA can be toxic to plants. The present work describes a method for analysis of LWCA in compost as a useful tool for monitoring compost quality and safety. The method was tested on compost samples of two different ages: 3 (immature) and 6 (mature) months old. Acids from compost samples were extracted at high pH, filtered, and freeze-dried. The dried sodium salts were derivatized with a sulfuric acid–methanol mixture and concentrations of 11 low-weight fatty acids (C1–C10) were a…
High-Performance Liquid Chromatographic Study on Oxidation Products of Lignin and Humic Substances
1991
We describe a convenient method of preparing samples and characterizing the mixture of degradation products obtained from alkaline cupric oxide oxidation of water samples containing lignin and humic substances. The method was applied to one unpolluted humic water sample and a total mill effluent of a kraft pulp mill. The fractions (Mr > 1000) obtained by ultrafi1tration were oxidized and the products (mixtures of degradation products) were analyzed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (Spherisorb 5 ODS column). Acetonitrile-0.01 M phosphate buffer (pH 2) was used as the eluent in a gradient system and UV (set at 280 nm) as the detection system. Differences in the …
Sorption of humic substances on aquifer material at artificial recharge of groundwater
2003
Experiments in batch equilibrium system were carried out to evaluate the importance of physical and chemical factors determining the sorption efficiency of humic substances (HS) on aquifer material, which has been used for artificial recharge of groundwater (ARG) in drinking water production. Results showed that an increase of the amount of clay in the aquifer material and a decrease of pH in water increased the sorption efficiency. The sorption of higher molecular weight, more hydrophobic and aromatic HS (Aldrich and forest soil humic acids) were greater than the sorption of acidic HS (river fulvic acids), either on the aquifer material or to its representative sorbing phases, clay and org…
Polar organic marker compounds in PM2.5 aerosol from a mixed forest site in western Germany
2008
The molecular composition of PM2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter2.5 microm) aerosol samples collected during a very warm and dry 2003 summer period at a mixed forest site in Jülich, Germany, was determined by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry in an effort to evaluate photooxidation products of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) and other markers for aerosol source characterization. Six major classes of compounds represented by twenty-four individual organic species were identified and measured, comprising tracers for biomass combustion, short-chain acids, fatty acids, sugars/sugar alcohols, and tracers for the photooxidation of isoprene and alpha-/beta-pinene.…
Immobilized humic substances as sorbents
2005
A new method was developed for the immobilization of humic substances. Humic acids (HA) immobilized onto different carriers were studied as sorbents for organic and inorganic substances. The sorption isotherms of 4-aminoazobenzene, Crystal Violet, Methylene Green, and flavine mononucleotide on immobilized HA show that pH and salt concentration have a significant effect on the sorption process, largely depending on the properties of polymeric matrix. Humic acids from different sources showed differing sorption capacity for the studied groups of substances.
The use of fish bile metabolite analyses as exposure biomarkers to pulp and paper mill effluents
1998
The exposure of caged one-year-old whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) to wood extractives and chlorophenolics from pulp and paper mill effluents in Lake Saimaa (SE Finland) was investigated. Whitefish were exposed at 17 locations affected by effluents from pulp and paper mills and at 5 reference areas. Resin and fatty acids and chlorophenolics in bile were analysed by GC and GC-MS. Cholesterol concentration in bile was also measured. Results show that despite of process changes to ECF and waste water treatment improvements employed by the pulp and paper industry in the study area, it is still possible to detect elevated concentrations of these substances in the bile of fish exposed in the vici…