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Preparation and sorption properties of porous materials from refuse paper and plastic fuel (RPF).

Porous materials consisting of activated carbon and amorphous CaO-Al(2)O(3)-SiO(2) (CAS) compound were prepared from refuse paper and plastic fuel (RPF), (a mixture of old paper and plastic) by carbonizing and/or activating treatments. Samples formed by chemical activation using K(2)CO(3) showed a high specific surface area (S(BET)) of 1330 m(2)/g but a lower ash content due to being washed after activation. By contrast, samples prepared by physical activation using steam showed rather lower S(BET) (510 m(2)/g) due to higher ash contents. The physically activated samples showed much higher uptake properties for Ni(2+) (a representative heavy metal) and phosphate ions (a representative of a harmful oxyanion) than the chemically activated samples because of the higher content of amorphous CAS in the former samples. By contrast, the chemically activated samples showed higher uptake for methylene blue (MB, a representative organic material) than the physically activated samples because of the higher activated carbon content of higher surface area. Although differences in the sorption properties for Ni(2+), phosphate ion and MB were found between the physically and chemically activated samples, both samples show excellent multiple sorption properties for cation-anion combinations and inorganic-organic sorbents.

Adhesives↗

Process development for the removal and recovery of hazardous dye erythrosine from wastewater by waste materials-Bottom Ash and De-Oiled Soya as adsorbents.

Erythrosine is a water-soluble xanthene class of dye. It is widely used as colorant in foods, textiles, drugs and cosmetics. It is highly toxic, causes various types of allergies, thyroid activities, carcinogenicity, DNA damage behaviour, neurotoxicity and xenoestrogen nature in the humans and animals. The photochemical and biochemical degradation of the erythrosine is not recommended due to formation of toxic by-products. The present paper is an attempt to remove erythrosine from wastewater using adsorption over Bottom Ash-a power plant waste and De-Oiled Soya-an agricultural waste. Under the batch studies, effect of concentration of dye, temperature, pH of the solution, dosage of adsorbents, sieve size of adsorbents, etc., have been studied for the uptake of the dye over both adsorbents. The adsorption process verifies Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms in both the cases and based on the data different thermodynamic parameters have been evaluated. Batch studies also include kinetic measurements, rate constant study, mass transfer behaviour and establishment of mechanistic pathway for both the cases. For the bulk removal of the dye column operations have been carried out and breakthrough capacities of the Bottom Ash and De-Oiled Soya columns have been calculated. Attempts have also been made for the recovery of the adsorbed dye from exhausted columns by eluting dilute NaOH and more than 90% of the dye was recovered.

Adsorption↗

Waste loading in shrimp and fish processing effluents: potential source of hazards to the coastal and nearshore environments.

On average, only 30-40% of the global fishery production is consumed fresh and the rest 60-70% is processed for human consumption and other purposes. Although the proportion of the total fishery production that are processed remained relatively stable over the last decade, the total bulk of processed fishery commodity increased due to the steady increase in the total fishery production. Processing of large bulk of fish, shrimp and other aquatic organisms produces a corresponding large bulk of by-products and wastes. Although recent trend shows that much of these wastes are made into various value added products, considerable quantities are discharged as the processing effluents with large volume of waters used in processing. Reports suggest that fish and shrimp processing effluents are very high in biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), fat-oil-grease (FOG), pathogenic and other microflora, organic matters and nutrients, etc. Fish and shrimp processing effluents are, therefore, highly likely to produce adverse effects on the receiving coastal and marine environments. Although substantial reduction of the waste loads is possible by applying available simple techniques, this is not in practice in most part of the world due to lack of proper managerial and regulatory approach. The present paper reviews the characteristics of fish and shrimp processing effluents as a potential source of coastal and marine pollution and, using the existing data, analyzes the global production and discharge of waste loads from the processing plants and discusses available options for waste treatment and management.

Fisheries↗

The EU Directive on port reception facilities for ship-generated waste and cargo residues: the results of a second survey on the provision and uptake of facilities in North Sea ports.

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the results of a survey of the availability and uptake of port reception facilities within the North Sea area. The evaluation is based primarily on original survey data from the autumn of 2002 which followed on from a similar survey conducted in the summer of 2000. The EU Directive on port reception facilities for ship-generated waste etc. (Directive 2000/59/EC) was due to enter into force in December 2002, and required all EU ports to provide reception facilities to meet the needs of the vessels normally calling in at them. This paper examines the readiness of North Sea ports to meet that requirement and also considers the actual uptake levels of facilities, where ports were able to provide such information.

Commerce↗

Genotoxic activity of nitroarene-contaminated industrial sludge following large-scale treatment in aerated and non-aerated sacs.

An industrial sludge containing a complex mixture of nitroaromatic compounds was treated in industrial large-scale aerobic and anaerobic biodegradation processes, performed in compost sacs. The goal was to study changes in genotoxicity during the two different oxygen regimes using the umuC genotoxicity assay. The composting sac was actively aerated during 3 months and allowed to mature for another 3 months. The anaerobic sac was not aerated for 5 months and aerated during the last month in order to enhance degradation of remaining organic carbon. The sludge was obtained from the wastewater treatment plant at an industrial area in Karlskoga, Sweden. The biodegradation study was performed at a commercial waste treatment plant in Stockholm, according to the company routine procedure when treating household waste in sealed sacs. The material from the non-aerated system showed increased genotoxicity in the acetone-soluble fraction after treatment, as did the water-soluble fraction. The subsequent aeration period did not decrease the toxicity below the genotoxicity limit. The increase in the water-soluble genotoxic compounds may pose an environmental problem during secondary storage or use of sludge treated this way, since leakage of water-dissolved genotoxic compounds may occur. The composting process also generated genotoxicity, but this was restricted to acetone-soluble compounds, while the water-soluble compounds remained low in genotoxicity. The aerated process therefore seems more favorable in term of risk reduction of this industrial sludge, although it is necessary to optimize the aerated process in order to achieve non-toxic levels of potential genotoxic compounds extractable by organic solvents.

Bacteria↗

The storage of sewage sludge: influence of liming on the evolution of copper chemical fractions.

Sewage sludge re-used in agriculture has to be stabilized and is often stored for several months before land spreading. Stabilization treatment may affect the behaviour of heavy metals such as Cu, which is an element potentially toxic to the environment. In the present study, the chemical forms of copper have been investigated in heaps of limed and unlimed sludge coming from the wastewater treatment plant of Roselies (Belgium). These limed and unlimed aerobically digested sludges were stored during 4 mo in controlled conditions close to field ones. The sequential extraction procedure developed by Tessier was used to determine the copper chemical forms of representative samples taken in the outer shell and in the depth of the heaps. The physico-chemical properties (pH, organic matter, dry matter and temperature) of these samples were also monitored. This study shows that liming transforms part of organically-bound copper into both exchangeable and residual copper. These changes mainly occur during the first 2 wk of storage. After several months of storage, copper passes from the residual fraction to the exchangeable and oxide fractions. During the whole experiment, changes occur faster in the outer shell than in the depth of the heaps. Thus, we demonstrate that the distribution of the copper forms depends on the storage time and it is different in the outer shell from that in the depth of the heaps.

Calcium Compounds↗

Adsorption of malachite green on groundnut shell waste based powdered activated carbon.

In the present technologically fast changing situation related to waste management practices, it is desirable that disposal of plant waste should be done in a scientific manner by keeping in view economic and pollution considerations. This is only possible when the plant waste has the potential to be used as raw material for some useful product. In the present study, groundnut shell, an agricultural waste, was used for the preparation of an adsorbent by chemical activation using ZnCl2 under optimized conditions and its comparative characterisation was conducted with commercially available powdered activated carbon (CPAC) for its physical, chemical and adsorption properties. The groundnut shell based powdered activated carbon (GSPAC) has a higher surface area, iodine and methylene blue number compared to CPAC. Both of the carbons were used for the removal of malachite green dye from aqueous solution and the effect of various operating variables, viz. adsorbent dose (0.1-1 g l(-1)), contact time (5-120 min) and adsorbate concentrations (100-200 mg l(-1)) on the removal of dye, has been studied. The experimental results indicate that at a dose of 0.5 g l(-1) and initial concentration of 100 mg l(-1), GSPAC showed 94.5% removal of the dye in 30 min equilibrium time, while CPAC removed 96% of the dye in 15 min. The experimental isotherm data were analyzed using the linearized forms of Freundlich, Langmuir and BET equations to determine maximum adsorptive capacities. The equilibrium data fit well to the Freundlich isotherm, although the BET isotherm also showed higher correlation for both of the carbons. The results of comparative adsorption capacity of both carbons indicate that groundnut shell can be used as a low-cost alternative to commercial powdered activated carbon in aqueous solution for dye removal.

Adsorption↗

In situ determination of solidosity profiles during activated sludge electrodewatering.

Two non-invasive techniques were evaluated for the on-line measurement of sludge solidosity profiles during both pressure and electrodewatering operations. In a first approach, a radioactive tracer adsorbed onto the sludge solids was monitored by a gamma camera. Although this technique appeared very flexible in use, the lack of resolution highly limited its usefulness for (electro)dewatering experiments. Improvement in gamma camera resolution by the development of new detectors might, however, increase the future applicability of this technique. In a second technique, nuclear magnetic resonance measurements on a specially designed electrodewatering unit were made. Hereby, reliable on-line measurements of the solidosity profiles of activated sludge during electrodewatering could be made, with a resolution of less than 1mm. Thus, the mechanisms of electroosmotic- and pressure-driven cake dewatering could be illustrated. Given the measurement time required for measuring one sludge profile, both techniques appeared mainly suited for slowly varying processes, such as activated sludge expression, and not for fast changing processes, such as the initial phases of sludge filtration.

Electrochemistry↗

Effect of solids retention time on structure and characteristics of sludge flocs in sequencing batch reactors.

The effect of solids retention time (SRT) (4-20 d) on sludge floc structure, size distribution and morphology in laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactors receiving a glucose-based synthetic wastewater was studied using image analysis in a long-term experiment over one year. Floc size distribution (>10 microm) could be characterized by a log-normal model for no bulking situations, but a bi-modal distribution of floc size was observed for modest bulking situations. In each operating cycle of the SBRs, the variation in food /microorganisms ratio (0.03-1.0) had no significant influence on floc size distribution and morphology. The results from a long-term study over one year showed that no clear relationship existed between SRT and median floc size based on frequency. However, sludge flocs at the lower SRTs (4-9 d) were much more irregular and more variable in size with time than those at higher SRTs (16 and 20 d). The level of effluent-suspended solids at lower SRTs was higher than that at higher SRTs.

Bioreactors↗

Concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans from chemical manufacturers and waste disposal facilities.

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs) were measured in various source and environmental samples obtained from eight chemical manufacturers producing agricultural chemicals, synthetic dye, or resin and eight chemical waste disposal facilities. The concentrations of PCDDs and PCDFs ranged from 3.0 to 3504 ng/g for PCDDs and from 1.2 to 1668 ng/g for PCDFs in fly ash. Their concentrations in emission were in the ranges of 21.8 to 3205 ng/m3 for PCDDs and not detected to 4344 ng/m3 for PCDFs. PCDD and PCDF concentrations were higher in fly and bottom ashes and in emissions from two manufacturers that incinerate waste plastics than in those from other manufacturers. For emission and liquid samples from the manufacturers. For emission and liquid samples from the manufacturers of agricultural chemicals, significantly high concentrations of tetra-CDDs were detected. Furthermore, the high concentrations of PCDFs, especially hepta- and octa-CDF congeners, existed in emissions from waste incinerators that manufacture rubber. Among manufacturers and disposal facilities, the total emission equivalent (2.94 ng/m3) of PCDDs and PCDFs was highest for a certain manufacturer of agricultural chemicals, showing that more 2,3,7,8-chlorine-substituted PCDDs and PCDFs were present in their emissions.

Benzofurans↗

Trace perchlorates in a radiological liquid-waste treatment facility.

Waste management programs at the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility (RLWTF) at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) are concerned with the levels of perchlorates due to the effects it can have on the environment and resultant regulations. The RLWTF treats industrial and radioactive wastes generated at multiple research and production facilities across the LANL. Perchloric acid is the major source of the perchlorate ion in the RLWTF used in the analytical chemistry laboratories and for metal dissolution. Perchlorate is present in the influent to the RLWTF at concentrations up to several thousands microg/l level. Ion chromatography is the method of choice to analyze the concentrations of perchlorate in the wastewater generated at the RLWTF. Perchlorate was separated by elution through a CS16/CG16 with an EG40 eluent generator. To minimize background conductivity and enhance analyte conductance, an anion self-regenerating suppressor was used. The method achieved a perchlorate method detection limit of 1 microg/l. The method is successfully being used to monitor the perchlorate levels at the RLWTF and provide data for the pilot tests to remove perchlorate from the RLWTF effluent.

Chromatography, Ion Exchange↗

Acetate removal in sewer biofilms under aerobic conditions.

Removal of acetate has been investigated in sewer biofilms by continuous-flow biofilm reactor studies simulating the conditions in a gravity sewer. Non-steady-state conditions are prevailing in sewers, due to periodic variations in substrate concentrations. In order to simulate two extreme situations in a gravity sewer, biofilms defined as high-loaded and low-loaded, respectively, were grown by continuously feeding wastewater to the reactors with and without supplementary addition of acetate. During short-term experiments with high acetate concentrations (1-2 h), surface removal rates of acetate and dissolved oxygen (DO) and observed yield coefficients were determined, as well as the influence of DO concentration on acetate removal rates. The low-loaded biofilms showed very high acetate removal rates in short-term experiments at high acetate concentrations. The DO uptake rates were low, resulting in an average observed yield coefficient of 0.79 g biomass produced per gram acetate (as chemical oxygen demand, COD) consumed. This indicated a luxury uptake by the cells probably for storage inside the cells or for production of extracellular polymeric substances. The high-loaded biofilms showed lower acetate removal rates during the short-term experiments, with an average yield coefficient of 0.49 g biomass produced per gram acetate (as COD) consumed. The level of the acetate removal rates seemed to be related to the structure of the biofilm. The highest acetate removal rates were found for the low-loaded biofilm, where the biofilm was very hairy with 'streamers" with a length of 8-9 mm. At low acetate removal rates (high-loaded biofilm), the "streamer" lengths were only 3-5 mm. The surface removal rates for acetate and DO seemed to follow 1/2 order approximations to biofilm kinetics. For a DO of 0.8 and 6.0 g/m3, the limiting acetate concentrations were about 34 and 20 g-COD/m3, respectively. Under real gravity sewer conditions, the typical concentration ranges for acetate and DO are at levels where any of them may be rate-limiting for microbial acetate removal.

Acetates↗

A toxicity reduction evaluation for an oily waste treatment plant exhibiting episodic effluent toxicity.

A Toxicity Reduction Evaluation (TRE) was conducted on the oily wastewater treatment plant (Plant) at a Naval Fuel Depot. The Plant treats ship and ballast wastes, berm water from fuel storage areas and wastes generated in the fuel reclamation plant utilizing physical/chemical treatment processes. In the first period of the project (Period I), the TRE included chemical characterization of the plant wastewaters, monitoring the final effluent for acute toxicity and a thorough evaluation of each treatment process and Plant operating procedures. Toxicity Identification Evaluation (TIE) procedures were performed as part of the overall TRE to characterize and identify possible sources of toxicity. Several difficulties were encountered because the effluent was saline, test organisms were marine species and toxicity was sporadic and unpredictable. The treatability approach utilizing enhancements, improved housekeeping, and operational changes produced substantial reductions in the acute toxicity of the final effluent. In the second period (Period II), additional acute toxicity testing and chemical characterization were performed through the Plant to assess the long-term effects of major unit process improvements for the removal of toxicity. The TIE procedures were also modified for saline wastewaters to focus on suspected class of toxicants such as surfactants. The TRE was successful in reducing acute toxicity of the final effluent through process improvements and operational modifications. The results indicated that the cause of toxicity was most likely due to combination of pollutants (matrix effect) rather than a single pollutant.

Animals↗

Adsorption processes in spacecraft environmental control and life support systems.

The environmental control and life support system on a spacecraft maintains a safe and comfortable environment in which the crew can live and work by supplying oxygen and water and by removing carbon dioxide, water vapor, and trace contaminants from cabin air. Although open-loop systems have been used successfully in the past for short-duration missions, the economics of current and future long-duration missions in space will make nearly complete recycling of air and water imperative. A variety of operations will be necessary to achieve the goal of nearly complete recycling. These include separation and reduction of carbon dioxide, removal of trace gas-phase contaminants, recovery and purification of humidity condensate, purification and polishing of wastewater streams, and others. Several of these can be performed totally or in part by adsorption processes. These processes are good candidates to perform separations and purifications in space due to their gravity independence, high reliability, relative high energy efficiency, design flexibility, technological maturity, and regenerative nature. For these reasons, adsorption has historically played a key role in life support on U.S. and Russian piloted spacecraft. Among the life support applications that can be achieved through use of adsorption technology are removal of trace contaminants and carbon dioxide from cabin air and recovery of potable water from waste streams. In each of these cases adsorption technology has been selected for use onboard the International Space Station. The requirements, science, and hardware for these applications are discussed. Human space exploration may eventually lead to construction of planetary habitats. These habitats may provide additional opportunities for use of adsorption processes, such as control of greenhouse gas composition, and may have different resources available to them, such as gases present in the planetary atmosphere. Separation and purification processes based on adsorption can be expected to continue to fulfill environmental control and life support needs on future missions.

Adsorption↗

An aerobic fixed-phase biofilm reactor system for the degradation of the low-molecular weight aromatic compounds occurring in the effluents of anaerobic digestors treating olive mill wastewaters.

An aerobic co-culture, prepared by combining Ralstonia sp. LD35 and Pseudomonas putida DSM1868, was recently found to be capable of extensively degrading many of the hydroxylated and/or methoxylated benzoic, phenylacetic and 3-phenyl-2-propenoic acids occurring in the olive mill wastewaters (OMWs). In the perspective of developing a biotechnological process for the degradation of low-molecular weight (MW) aromatic compounds occurring in the effluents of anaerobic digestors treating OMWs, the capability of this bacterial co-culture of biodegrading a synthetic mix of the above mentioned compounds and the aromatic compounds of an anaerobic OMW-treatment plant effluent in the physiological state of immobilised cells was investigated. Two aerobic fixed-bed biofilm reactors were developed by immobilising the co-culture cells on Manville silica beads and on polyurethane foam cubes. Both supports were found to give rise to a microbiologically stable and biologically active biofilm. The two biofilm reactors were found to be similarly capable of rapidly and completely biodegrading the components of a synthetic mix of nine monocyclic aromatic acids typically present in OMWs and the low-MW aromatic compounds occurring in the anaerobic effluent in batch conditions. However, in the same conditions, the silica bead-packed reactor was found to be more effective in the removal of high-MW phenolic compounds from the anaerobic effluent with respect to the polyurethane cube-packed reactor. These results are encouraging in the perspective of using the co-culture as immobilized cells for developing a continuous biotechnological process for the post-treatment of effluents with low-MW aromatic compounds produced by anaerobic digestors treating OMWs.

Aerobiosis↗

Environmental biotechnology: the ongoing quest.

Environmental biotechnology, until now, has primarily focused on the development of technologies to treat aqueous, solid and gaseous wastes. At present, the basic knowledge on how biotechnology can handle these wastes has been acquired and the focus is now on the implementation of these processes as 'best available technology not entailing excessive costs' (BATNEEC) in the framework of strict and transparent environmental legislation. New environmental challenges continue to evolve, as it becomes clear that waste streams should be tackled in an overall holistic way. New technologies to reach this goal are currently under development. Novel aspects with respect to the domain of water treatment are, for example, the biomembrane reactor technology and the newly discovered processes to remove nitrogen by means of anaerobic ammonium oxidation. Also, most challenging is the continuing strive for re-use of treated wastewater. Indeed, water shortage is emerging in an increasing number of countries all over the world and necessitates the short cycling of water. Finally, biotechnology has a key role to play in the novel approaches to design wastewater treatment based on decentralised sanitation and reuse (DESAR). Solid waste is a major challenge worldwide. The implementation of anaerobic digestion to treat biowastes has become a grown-up technology. New approaches in which biotechnological processes are linked to physical processes, such as plasma technology, certainly deserve special attention for the coming decades. Soil and sediment clean up by means of biostimulation/remediation/augmentation is now well established. Certainly, a number of prospects need to be further explored, such as the use of special energy sources to stimulate in situ the microbial community and the seeding of knowledge to the in situ community by means of horizontal gene transfer mechanisms. A number of waste gases can be handled by biofilter systems. Biological treatment of wastegases is also evolving, inasmuch as that besides conventional chemical pollutants, now also highly problematic chemicals (even dioxins) can be dealt with through proper biotechnological approaches. A remarkable new potential is the use of well designed probiotics to upgrade aquaculture and together with conventional biological water treatment processes, to guarantee the overall water quality of this domain of food production.

Air Pollution↗

Biodegradation pathway of an anionic surfactant (Igepon TC-42) during recycling waste water through plant hydroponics for advanced life support during long-duration space missions.

The degradation of an anionic surfactant (Igepon TC-42) was investigated as part of an integrated study of direct recycling of human hygiene water through hydroponic plant growth systems. Several chemical approaches were developed to characterize the degradation of Igepon and to measure the accumulation of intermediates such as fatty acids and methyl taurine. Igepon was rapidly degraded as indicated by the reduction of methylene blue active substances (MBAS) and component fatty acids. The Igepon degradation rate continued to increase over a period of several weeks following repeated daily exposure to 18 micrograms/l Igepon. The accumulation of free fatty acids and methyl taurine was also observed during decomposition of Igepon. The concentration of methyl taurine was below detection limit (0.2 nmol/ml) during the slow phase of Igepon degradation, and increased to 1-2 nmol/ml during the phase of rapid degradation. These findings support a degradation pathway involving initial hydrolysis of amide to release fatty acids and methyl taurine, and subsequent degradation of these intermediates.

Biodegradation, Environmental↗

Integration of waste processing and biomass production systems as part of the KSC Breadboard project.

After initial emphasis on large-scale baseline crop tests, the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Breadboard project has begun to evaluate long-term operation of the biomass production system with increasing material closure. Our goal is to define the minimum biological processing necessary to make waste streams compatible with plant growth in hydroponic systems, thereby recycling nutrients into plant biomass and recovering water via atmospheric condensate. Initial small and intermediate-scale studies focused on the recycling of nutrients contained in inedible plant biomass. Studies conducted between 1989-1992 indicated that the majority of nutrients could be rapidly solubilized in water, but the direct use of this crop "leachate" was deleterious to plant growth due to the presence of soluble organic compounds. Subsequent studies at both the intermediate scale and in the large-scale Biomass Production Chamber (BPC) have indicated that aerobic microbiological processing of crop residue prior to incorporation into recirculating hydroponic solutions eliminated any phytotoxic effect, even when the majority of the plant nutrient demand was provided from recycled biomass during long term studies (i.e. up to 418 days). Current and future studies are focused on optimizing biological processing of both plant and human waste streams.

Biomass↗