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The recently adopted Ariel ESA mission will measure the atmospheric composition of a large number of exoplanets. This information will then be used to better constrain planetary bulk compositions. While the connection between the composition of a planetary atmosphere and the bulk interior is still being investigated, the combination of the atmospheric composition with the measured mass and radius of exoplanets will push the field of exoplanet characterisation to the next level, and provide new insights of the nature of planets in our galaxy. In this white paper, we outline the ongoing activities of the interior working group of the Ariel mission, and list the desirable theoretical developments as well as the challenges in linking planetary atmospheres, bulk composition and interior structure., Experimental Astronomy, 53, ISSN:0922-6435, ISSN:1572-9508

This study presents 5-hydroxymethylfurfural removal from waste hand paper hydrolysate using activated carbon adsorption. In this context, the effects of adsorbent dosage, initial 5-hydroxymethylfurfural concentration, temperature, and agitation speed on 5-hydroxymethylfurfural adsorption were investigated. Moreover, isotherm and kinetic evaluations were performed using Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin models. The experimental data were correlated with zero, first, pseudo-first, and Weber–Morris intraparticle diffusion models. The toxicity of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural was determined using the resazurin reduction assay, and the EC50 of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in the hydrolysate was found as 192 mg/L. Most convenient 5-hydroxymethylfurfural adsorption was obtained at 5 g/L AC dosage, 40 °C and 150 rpm agitation speed. The highest 5-hydroxymethylfurfural removal efficiency was 92% at 7 g/L AC dosage. The adsorption data fitted best with the Langmuir isotherm model with a maximum uptake capacity of 70.92 mg/g (R2: 0.96). The zero-order reaction kinetic model was the most suitable one among the others inspected. It was determined that intraparticle diffusion was not the rate-limiting step. This study showed that waste hand paper hydrolysate can effectively be detoxified by activated carbon adsorption. © 2019, Islamic Azad University (IAU).

A waste-based alternative activated carbon (AAC) was produced from paper mill sludge under optimized conditions. Aiming its application in tertiary wastewater treatment, AAC was used for the removal of carbamazepine, sulfamethoxazole, and paroxetine from biologically treated municipal wastewater. Kinetic and equilibrium adsorption experiments were run under batch operation conditions. For comparison purposes, they were also performed in ultrapure water and using a high-performance commercial AC (CAC). Adsorption kinetics was fast for the three pharmaceuticals and similar onto AAC and CAC in either wastewater or ultrapure water. However, matrix effects were observed in the equilibrium results, being more remarkable for AAC. These effects were evidenced by Langmuir maximum adsorption capacities (qm, mg g-1): for AAC, the lowest and highest qm were 194 ± 10 (SMX) and 287 ± 9 (PAR), in ultrapure water, and 47 ± 1 (SMX) and 407 ± 14 (PAR), in wastewater, while for CAC, the lowest and highest qm were 118 ± 7 (SMX) and 190 ± 16 (PAR) in ultrapure water and 123 ± 5 (SMX) and 160 ± 7 (CBZ) in wastewater. It was found that the matrix pH played a key role in these differences by controlling the surface electrostatic interactions between pharmaceutical and AC. Overall, it was evidenced the need of adsorption results in real matrices and demonstrated that AAC is a promising option to be implemented in tertiary wastewater treatments for pharmaceuticals' removal. Graphical abstract Production of an alternative activated carbon (AC) comparing favourably with a commercial AC in the removal of neutral and positive pharmaceuticals from wastewater. published

Full list of authors: Gurvits, Leonid I.; Paragi, Zsolt ; Casasola, Viviana; Conway, John; Davelaar, Jordy; Falcke, Heino; Fender, Rob; Frey, Sándor; Fromm, Christian M.; Miró, Cristina García; Garrett, Michael A.; Giroletti, Marcello; Goddi, Ciriaco; Gómez, José-Luis; van der Gucht, Jeffrey; Guirado, José Carlos; Haiman, Zoltán; Helmich, Frank; Humphreys, Elizabeth; Impellizzeri, Violette; Kramer, Michael; Lindqvist, Michael; Linz, Hendrik; Liuzzo, Elisabetta; Lobanov, Andrei P.; Mizuno, Yosuke; Rezzolla, Luciano; Roelofs, Freek; Ros, Eduardo; Rygl, Kazi L. J.; Savolainen, Tuomas; Schuster, Karl; Venturi, Tiziana; Wiedner, Martina C.; Zensus, J. Anton.-- This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/., This paper presents the ESA Voyage 2050 White Paper for a concept of TeraHertz Exploration and Zooming-in for Astrophysics (THEZA). It addresses the science case and some implementation issues of a space-borne radio interferometric system for ultra-sharp imaging of celestial radio sources at the level of angular resolution down to (sub-) microarcseconds. THEZA focuses at millimetre and sub-millimetre wavelengths (frequencies above ∼ 300 GHz), but allows for science operations at longer wavelengths too. The THEZA concept science rationale is focused on the physics of spacetime in the vicinity of supermassive black holes as the leading science driver. The main aim of the concept is to facilitate a major leap by providing researchers with orders of magnitude improvements in the resolution and dynamic range in direct imaging studies of the most exotic objects in the Universe, black holes. The concept will open up a sizeable range of hitherto unreachable parameters of observational astrophysics. It unifies two major lines of development of space-borne radio astronomy of the past decades: Space VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry) and mm- and sub-mm astrophysical studies with “single dish” instruments. It also builds upon the recent success of the Earth-based Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) – the first-ever direct image of a shadow of the super-massive black hole in the centre of the galaxy M87. As an amalgam of these three major areas of modern observational astrophysics, THEZA aims at facilitating a breakthrough in high-resolution high image quality studies in the millimetre and sub-millimetre domain of the electromagnetic spectrum. © 2021, The Author(s)., With funding from the Spanish government through the Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence accreditation SEV-2017-0709.

The efficiency of hot water extraction (HWE) is dependent on the size of treated wood. While previous research regarding this size-effect has focused on HWE treating sawdust and wood chips, this study investigated its effect on wood blocks with precise dimensions and a broad range of treatment conditions. Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) sapwood samples with dimensions of 10 × 10 × 20 mm3 and 25 × 25 × 50 mm3 (R × T × L) were HWE treated at 130–170 °C for 40–200 min using liquid-to-solid ratios of 4–20. Our results showed that wood mass loss, which was primarily caused by the decomposition of hemicelluloses, was larger when using small samples. This was mainly assigned to a higher quantity of acetone-soluble decomposition products that remained within the large samples, due to longer distances for diffusion and mass transfer from the wood blocks to the extraction liquid. In line with wood mass loss differences, the amount of dissolved compounds (i.e., carbohydrates) in the extraction liquid at different treatment severities was dependent on the wood size, while the liquid-to-solid ratio had only modest effects. However, composition changes of the extraction liquid, in particular changes in the proportion of poly- and monocarbohydrates with increasing treatment severity, were similar for both sample sizes.

Current plans within the European Space Agency (ESA) for the future investigation of Mars (after the ExoMars programme) are centred around participation in the Mars Sample Return (MSR) programme led by NASA. This programme is housed within the Human and Robotic Exploration (HRE) Directorate of ESA. This White Paper, in response to the Voyage 2050 call, focuses on the important scientific objectives for the investigation of Mars outside the present HRE planning. The achievement of these objectives by Science Directorate missions is entirely consistent with ESA’s Science Programme. We illustrate this with a theme centred around the study of the Martian polar caps and the investigation of recent (Amazonian) climate change produced by known oscillations in Mars’ orbital parameters. Deciphering the record of climate contained within the polar caps would allow us to learn about the climatic evolution of another planet over the past few to hundreds of millions of years, and also addresses the more general goal of investigating volatile-related dynamic processes in the Solar System.

N-containing heterocycles (NCHs) are largely used as precursors for pharmaceuticals and can enter the environment. Some NCHs have been shown to be toxic, persistent, and very mobile in the environment. Thus, they have received increasing attention in the past years. However, the analysis of these polar compounds in environmental samples is still a challenge for liquid chromatography. This paper investigates the use of mixed-mode liquid chromatography (MMLC), which has reversed-phase and ion exchange characteristics for measurements of NCHs in water. NCHs with low pKa (i.e., Ka (i.e., > 5) interact by a mixture of reversed-phase/ion exchange/HILIC mechanism. It was also shown that the presented method performs well in the quantification of the majority of the selected NCHs in surface water with MDLs between 3 and 6 μg/L, a low matrix effect and recoveries in the range of 77–96% except for pyridazine exhibiting 32% were achieved. The method was successfully employed to follow the degradation of NCHs in ozonation.

In a university library, activities typical of librarians, such as unpacking boxes, removing books from the shelves, dusting, packing boxes, cataloguing, conservation and repair, photocopying, setting materials for class, and walking in a main hallway, were found to reduce indoor air quality through the production of airborne mold spores, metal dusts, and particulate matter of different size bins. Analyzing three libraries, the activity of conservation generated 9000 spores/m3 of mold spores, nearing the exposure limit of 104 spores/m3 reported for Penicillium sp., and silver nanoparticles of about 15 µg/m3, that over 8 h would exceed the occupational exposure limit of 0.19 µg/m3. For none of the activities, the levels of particulate matter with a diameter lower than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) and 10 µm (PM10) did not exceed the 8-h time weight average limits of exposure. However, by analyzing the 5th percentile of the real-time PM10 data, values of about 1.5 mg/m3, which is concerning for occupational exposure. Measuring real-time exposures of PM could generate an estimation of levels of mold spores and metal dusts in libraries. We demonstrate a high Spearman’s rank correlation (0.70) between the 5th percentile of PM with a diameter lower than 1 µm and different metals. A high linearity (R2 = 0.85) is obtained between the total average of PM with a diameter lower than 10 µm and mold spores/m3.

Bio-drying MBT is a type of mechanical biological treatment (MBT) system, whereby the aerobic biological process is first used to remove moisture, which is followed by the mechanical separation to recover material and energy as a solid recovered fuel (SRF). Among various parameters of this process, the simultaneous effects of airflow rate and organic contents were examined in this study. A 25 L acrylic column reactor was filled with simulated waste. Temperature and humidity of the air inlet and outlet were continuously monitored, and CO2 concentrations in outlet air were periodically analyzed to observe aerobic biodegradation as well as metabolic water generation. Based on the data, the different water removal contributions by airflow and biodegradation were compared, and finally, evaluation of the inter-dependence of parameters and feedback effect in the bio-drying process was carried out. While the biodegradation of organics induced a significant amount of water removal due to increased temperature, high organic content has a negative effect on water removal by generating metabolic water. Water removal by air replacement is greater than that associated with temperature increases caused by biodegradation. However, excessive airflow rate can terminate biodegradation by drastically lowered moisture content, even though organics remained.

The general decrease in fertility rates and the increase in longevity allow the incessant aging of the world population. Furthermore, senior citizens are becoming better consumers of tourism products, leading to the need to meet their context, demands, and preferences while avoiding overtourism. Although a boom is observed in this field, there is a lack of information and products that address cyclotourism, senior tourism and its impact on citizens’ well-being and formation of communities. Community-based tourism, alongside media convergence culture, relies on the use of information and communication tools to inform purchase decisions and reinforce the connections among people relative to both place-making and place-visiting. The purpose of this position paper is to discuss the potential of transmedia to foster participatory strategies in cyclotourism to encourage active aging. In specific, it proposes the delivery of an integrated cyclotourism experience targeted to senior citizens that result from the convergence of community-based, induced, and transmedia tourism. The study reported in this publication was supported by FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) nr. 2020.04815.BD and the project SEDUCE 2.0 - Use of Communication and Information in the miOne online community by senior citizens, funded by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., COMPETE 2020, Portugal 2020 and European Union, under the European Regional Development Fund, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031696 SEDUCE 2.0. published

Climate modelling plays a crucial role for understanding and addressing the climate challenge, in terms of both mitigation and adaptation. It is therefore of central importance to understand to what extent climate models are adequate for relevant purposes, such as providing certain kinds of climate change projections in view of decision-making. In this perspective, the issue of the stability of climate models under small relevant perturbations in their structure (or small relevant ‘structural model errors’ with respect to the target system) seems particularly important. Within this framework, a debate has emerged in the philosophy of science literature about the relevance for climate modelling of the mathematical notion of structural stability. This paper adresses several important foundational and epistemological questions that arise in this context, in particular about the the role of abstract mathematical considerations of a qualitative nature (in some precise, topological sense) for concrete modelling projects with mainly quantitative purposes.

Selenium (Se) biofortification of staple cereal crops can improve the Se nutritional status of populations. A field trial employing an enriched stable isotope of Se (77Se) was undertaken over three consecutive cropping seasons in a coarse-textured, calcareous soil in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. The objectives were to (1) assess the feasibility and efficiency of Se biofortification, (2) determine the fate of residual Se, and (3) assess the consequences for dietary Se intake. Isotopically enriched 77Se (77SeFert) was applied, either as selenate or as selenite, at three levels (0, 10, and 20 g ha−1) to a wheat crop. Residual 77SeFert availability was assessed in subsequent crops of maize and wheat without further 77SeFert addition. Loss of 77SeFert was c.35% by the first (wheat) harvest, for both selenium species, attributable to the practice of flood irrigation and low adsorption capacity of the soil. No 77SeFert was detectable in subsequent maize or wheat crops. The remaining 77SeFert in soil was almost entirely organically bound and diminished with time following a reversible (pseudo-)first-order trend. Thus, repeat applications of Se would be required to adequately biofortify grain each year. In contrast to native soil Se, there was no transfer of 77SeFert to a recalcitrant form. Grain from control plots would provide only 0.5 µg person−1 day−1 of Se. By contrast, a single application of 20 g ha−1 SeVI could provide c. 47 µg person−1 day−1 Se in wheat, sufficient to avoid deficiency when combined with dietary Se intake from other sources (c. 25 µg day−1).

The impact of inoculum to substrate ratio (I:S) and the addition of water and percolate on stopping inhibition in dry batch anaerobic digestion of organic fraction municipal solid waste (OFMSW) was investigated. In particular, ratios of I:S from 1:2 to 1:16 and total solid contents from 40 to 25% with water and percolate addition were analysed. Tested I:S did not avoid acidification of the anaerobic digesters (ADs), and the highest biogas and methane production (16.2 and 1.7 L/kg VSadded, respectively) was achieved with the 1:4 ratio. Water addition was also insufficient to avoid acidification, and while biogas increased as TS decreased, 40.9 L/kg VSadded for 25% TS, methane yield remained low at 1.2 L/kg VSadded due to the inhibition of methanogenic archaea. Percolate addition proved a suitable strategy to increase pH buffering, with an increased methane production of 199.4 L/kg VSadded at similar TS ranges (27%). Impact on kinetics of methane formation was assessed by kinetic modelling with logistic model identified as the better fit for most of the ADs. Shorter lag phases were observed as TS were reduced, regardless of the acidification, as mass transfer limitations were reduced at the beginning of the batch, but an increase was observed when percolate was used instead of water. Increases of the maximum methane rate (Rmax) was also achieved with TS reduction, but only when acidification was avoided. This study has highlighted the need to profile percolate composition during batch digestion in order to balance recirculation of nutrients, microbial communities and toxic compounds. Graphic Abstract

The avalanche of environmental challenges, from local to global and back, has prompted responses at all levels from personal to inter-governmental. The results of these responses have fallen in the range between useful and counterproductive, with many examples on each side, but the scale of the overall challenge continues to escalate. Moving towards a zero-carbon global economy through absolute reductions in fossil fuel usage is a sure way of mitigating climate change, and a range of environmental, social and economic benefits would follow. The case for a Circular Economy (CE), however, is less clear. Whilst some CE initiatives may lead to the decoupling of economic growth from resource extraction, this does not necessarily equate to reducing the rate of extraction. Thus, the contribution of CE to the achievement of environmental objectives globally cannot be taken for granted. In terms of social impact, the best that can be said is that CE might be neutral. Technologies that promote the ‘sharing economy’ for instance, often suggested as a crucial CE strategy, create opportunities for individual wealth accumulation, but are also a route to the gig economy and the casualisation of labour. CE is arguably a business imperative, but definitive evidence to support the idea of a circular economy that meets social and environmental goals needs development.

Purpose of Review Untreated wastewater discharge can significantly and negatively impact the state of the environment. Rapid industrialization and economic development have directly contributed to land and water pollution resulting from the application of many chemicals such as organic dyes, pharmaceuticals, and industrial reagents. The removal of these chemicals before effluent discharge is crucial for environmental protection. This review aims to explore the importance of functionalized materials in the preparation of biocatalytic systems and consider their application in eliminating water pollutants. Recent Findings Wastewater treatment methods can be classified into three groups: (i) chemical (e.g., chemical oxidation and ozonation), (ii) physical (e.g., membrane separation and ion exchange), and (iii) biological processes. Biological treatment is the most widely used method due to its cost-effectiveness and eco-friendliness. In particular, the use of immobilized enzymes has recently become more attractive as a result of scientific progress in advanced material synthesis. The selection of an appropriate support plays an important role in the preparation of such biologically active systems. Recent studies have demonstrated the use of various materials for enzyme immobilization in the purification of water. Summary This review identifies and discusses different biocatalytic systems used in the enzymatic degradation of various water pollutants. Materials functionalized by specific groups can serve as good support matrices for enzyme immobilization, providing chemical and thermal stability to support catalytic reactions. Enzymatic biocatalysis converts the pollutants into simpler products, which are usually less toxic than their parents. Due to immobilization, the enzyme can be used over multiple cycles to reduce the cost of wastewater treatment. Future studies in this field should focus on developing new platforms for enzyme immobilization in order to improve degradation efficiency.

Increasing demand for methanol production and global competition for the use of natural resources are key issues in finding new and environmentally routes for methanol production. In this work, life cycle assessment was performed using the software SimaPro v9 to analyze the environmental impact of methanol production process from olive pomace and compare with natural gas route. The main stages considered in the methanol production from olive pomace were olive production, olive oil extraction, and methanol production. In addition, the methanol production in turn can be divided in three main processes: olive pomace gasification, syngas purification, and methanol production which were also evaluated individually. Finally, the global environmental impacts associated with the methanol production from olive pomace were compared with a conventional methanol production from natural gas. This assessment determined that the production of methanol from the olive pomace had a greater environmental impact for all the categories studied except the one related to the shortage of fossil fuels. These results were directly related to the technical performance of the processes., La creciente demanda de producción de metanol y la competencia mundial por el uso de los recursos naturales son cuestiones clave para encontrar rutas nuevas y ecológicas para la producción de metanol. En este trabajo, se realizó una evaluación del ciclo de vida utilizando el software SimaPro v9 para analizar el impacto ambiental del proceso de producción de metanol a partir de orujo de oliva y compararlo con la ruta del gas natural. Las principales etapas consideradas en la producción de metanol a partir del orujo de oliva fueron la producción de aceituna, la extracción de aceite de oliva y la producción de metanol. Además, la producción de metanol a su vez se puede dividir en tres procesos principales: gasificación de orujo de oliva, purificación de gas de síntesis y producción de metanol, que también se evaluaron individualmente. Por fin, Se compararon los impactos ambientales globales asociados con la producción de metanol a partir de orujo de oliva con una producción convencional de metanol a partir de gas natural. Esta evaluación determinó que la producción de metanol a partir del orujo de aceituna tenía un mayor impacto ambiental para todas las categorías estudiadas excepto la relacionada con la escasez de combustibles fósiles. Estos resultados estuvieron directamente relacionados con el desempeño técnico de los procesos.

Appropriate sanitation is crucial to alleviate pressures on environmental and human health hazards. Conventional (sewered) sanitation systems are often not viable in rapidly developing urban areas, where over 70% of the world population is expected to live in 2050. Freshwater is polluted and valuable resources such as nutrients and organics are lost. At present, many alternative sanitation technologies and systems are being developed with the aim to alleviate these pressures through (1) independency from sewers, water, and energy, therefore better adapted to the needs of fast and uncontrolled developing urban areas; and (2) contribute to a circular economy through the recovery of nutrients, energy, and water for reuse. Unfortunately, these innovations hardly find their way into practice because there exists a lack of data and knowledge to systematically consider them in strategic planning processes. To this end, we have developed SANitaTIon system Alternative GeneratOr (SANTIAGO)—a software that provides a comprehensive list of potential technologies and system configurations and quantifies their local appropriateness as well as their resource recovery and loss potentials. The aim is to provide a manageable but diverse set of decision options together with information needed to rank the alternatives and to select the preferred one in a structured decision making process. To make this software useful for practice, an easily accessible interactive user interface is required that (1) facilitates data collection and input; and (2) the exploration and presentation of results. As a first step in creating this user interface, we develop a framework that summarizes (1) the requirements that arise from practical applications of SANTIAGO, and (2) a comprehensive user understanding on the basis of 21 interviews with international practitioners caught in five personas: capacity developers, engineering experts, planners, researchers, teachers and trainers. This framework aids the development of any academic software into a tool useful for practice and policy makers. Here specifically, it enables contribution to sustainable development goals 6 (clean water and sanitation), and 11 (sustainable cities and communities)., Circular Economy and Sustainability, 1 (3), ISSN:2730-5988, ISSN:2730-597X

This study stems from the project “Saharan dust events and impacts on health in Portugal and Morocco (GEOSAHARA)”, Programme for Cooperation in Science between Portugal and Morocco (2019/2020). The research was also funded by ZEPHYRUS/CEG/IGOT—Universidade de Lisboa (UIDB/00295/2020 and UIDP/00295/2020). The study of dust intrusions in Portugal is still a subject on which little investigation has been made, especially in terms of their effects. Thus, this work aims to achieve two goals: firstly, to characterize the dust intrusions in the study area; and secondly, to evaluate the possible statistical association between the dust intrusion days and hospital admissions due to respiratory diseases. Dust intrusions in Portugal are prevalent during the summer season. During this season, the dust plumes tend to cover broader areas than in the other seasons and they have origin in the North African countries. In the study area for the period between 2005 and 2015, the relative risk of urgent hospitalizations due to respiratory diseases was 12.6% higher during dust intrusion days. In order to obtain this statistical association, a Distributed Lag Nonlinear Model was developed. With this work, we expect to help the development of further studies regarding North African dust intrusions in Portugal, more precisely their effects on human health. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The use of lignocellulosic biomass to produce commercial high-value products has taken force in recent years. Aromatic plants are key raw materials to obtain bioactive compounds with high added value, such as phenolic compounds, but its extraction produces a high amount of wastes. In this sense, the present work aimed to evaluate experimentally the extraction of phenolic compounds from thyme and subsequently, the production of biogas from the remaining of the extraction. To evaluate the prefeasibility of the processes, the simulations of the stand-alone (conventional extraction), as well as the biorefinery (phenolic compounds extraction, biogas production, and a cogeneration system), were carried out and evaluated according to technical, economic, and environmental approaches. The bioactive compound extraction yield was 11.95\\% (w/w) and the methane yield was 114 ml/g volatile solids. In the present work, it was suggested that the stand-alone process becomes to be profitable from a small scale (23 T/day) in comparison with the biorefinery approach, which needs to be worked on a major scale (61 T/day) to be economically feasible. The comparison of the environmental impact generated by each scheme shows the major impact for the biorefinery case., The authors thank “Fondo de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación del Sistema General de Regalías, Fondo Nacional de Financiamiento para la Ciencia, la Tecnología y la Innovación Francisco José de Caldas, Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación-MINCIENCIAS, Programa Colombia BIO, Gobernación de Boyacá”, through FP44842-298-2018 contract, Office of the Vice President for Research, Science and Technology-University of Boyacá for the financial support., info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The management of municipal solid waste is a major logistic and environmental problem worldwide. Nonetheless, the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) is a valuable source of nutrients which can be used for a variety of purposes, according to the Circular Economy paradigm. Among the possible applications, the bioproduction of a biodegradable polyester, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)], using OFMSW as carbon platform is a promising strategy. Here, an economic and environmental assessment of bacterial P(3HB) production from OFMSW is presented based on previously published results. The SuperPro Designer (R) software was used to simulate P(3HB) production under our experimental parameters. Two scenarios were proposed depending on the fermentation medium: (1) enzymatic hydrolysate of OFMSW supplemented with glucose and plum waste juice; and (2) basal medium supplemented with glucose and plum waste juice. According to our results, both scenarios are not economically feasible under our experimental parameters. In Scenario 1, the low fermentation yield, the cost of the enzymes, the labour cost and the energy consumption are the factors that most contribute to that result. In Scenario 2, the cost of the extraction solvent and the low fermentation yield are the most limiting factors. The possibility of using process waste as raw material for the generation of other products must be investigated to enhance economic feasibility. From an environmental viewpoint, the photochemical oxidation potential (derived from the use of anisole as extraction solvent) and the generation of acid rain and global warming effect (caused by the burning of fuels for power generation) are the most relevant impacts associated to P(3HB) production under our experimental parameters. Jon Kepa Izaguirre was the recipient of a predoctoral fellowship from the Basque Government

This study presents an optimized leaching and electrowinning process for the recovery of copper from waste printed circuit boards including studies of chemical consumption and recirculation of leachate. Optimization of leaching was performed using response surface methodology in diluted sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide media. Optimum leaching conditions for copper were found by using 3.6 mol L−1 sulfuric acid, 6 vol.% hydrogen peroxide, pulp density of 75 g L−1 with 186 min leaching time at 20°C resulting in complete leaching of copper followed by over 92% recovery and purity of 99.9% in the electrowinning. Study of chemical consumption showed total decomposition of hydrogen peroxide during leaching, while changes in sulfuric acid concentration were minor. During recirculation of the leachate with up to 5 cycles, copper recovery and product purity remained at high levels while acid consumption was reduced by 60%.

Macauba is a tropical palm native in South and Central America, and its fruits present a high-quality oil for biodiesel production. Notwithstanding, macauba’s wastes and by-products are not usually repurposed as energy sources. This study shows a bibliometric analysis to assess macauba’s current applications and to investigate other energy recovery routes for its by-products. All the investigations focused on information about the main research fields related to macauba. The study showed that only 397 articles and reviews were published from 1900 until 2021 and Brazil has the largest number of publications. Although oleic and protein macauba’s by-products are applied as animal feed, some conversion routes related to the lignocellulosic contents, present in non-edible parts, were identified thermal conversion, combustion, gasification, pyrolysis, biochemical conversion, fermentation, esterification, and anaerobic digestion. From the agricultural perspective, plant characterization, germination, embryogenesis, and seed development were also found. From the bibliometric study, the different potential applications of macauba for energy, pharmaceutical, and food purposes were listed to support the identification of a knowledge gap on its by-product revaluation.

Microplastic fibres released in synthetic cloth washing have been shown to be a source of microplastics into the environment. The annual emission of polyester fibres from household washing machines has earlier been estimated to be 150,000 kg in a country with a population of 5.5 × 106 (Finland). The objectives of this study were (1) to quantify the emissions of synthetic textile fibres discharged from five sequential machine washes (fibre number and length) and tumble dryings (fibre mass) and (2) to determine the collection efficiency of two commercial fibre traps. The synthetic fabrics were five types of polyester textiles, one polyamide and one polyacryl. The number of fibres released from the test fabrics in the first wash varied in the range from 1.0 × 105 to 6.3 × 106 kg−1. The fibre lengths showed that the fleece fabrics released, on average, longer fibres than the technical sports t-shirts. The mass of fibres ranged from 10 to 1700 mg/kg w/w in the first drying. Fibre emissions showed a decreasing trend both in sequential washes and dryings. The ratio of the fibre emissions in machine wash to tumble drying varied between the fabrics: the ratio was larger than one to polyester and polyamide technical t-shirts whereas it was much lower to the other tested textiles. GuppyFriend washing bag and Cora Ball trapped 39% and 10% of the polyester fibres discharged in washings, respectively.

The current COVID-19 pandemic is a major challenge for many religious denominations. The Roman Catholic Church strongly depends on physical communal worship and sacraments. Disagreements grow concerning the best balance between safety and piety. To address this issue, I review the major transmission risks for the SARS-CoV-2 virus and list certain measures to enhance the safety of the Roman Catholic Liturgy without compromising its intrinsic beauty and reverent spiritual attitude. This can be achieved through assimilation of several traditional elements into the modern liturgy. I emphasize that religious leadership and decision-making should be transparent and based on inclusiveness, pluralism, best scientific evidence and voluntary cooperation.

European Union has set a 70 % recycling goal for construction and demolition waste by 2020. In Finland, for example, 40 % of this waste is wood. The purpose of this study was to test the technical feasibility of pulping contaminated wood waste from the construction industry and using such pulps for fibre-based products outside of the conventional paper industry. It was found out that both chemical and thermo-mechanical pulping, and mechanical milling can be used for pulping contaminated wood waste chips received from construction waste treatment plant. The resulting pulps were then utilized successfully to prepare product demonstrations (wood fibre filaments and thick foam formed panel structures). There are no technical restraints for pulping contaminated construction wood waste, and the resulting pulp quality depends on the shape and size of the woodchips, dry content, wood species and type of contaminants. Although wood treated with copper preservatives can set special safety and process requirements, it does not necessarily impair the key properties of the final product.

Any type of biomass can be used as substrate for biogas production, but the performance of the biodigestion depends on the composition of the feed, and no direct extrapolation of the yield of the process from one substrate to another can be made. In this work, the performance of a bench-scale anaerobic biodigester of 93 L installed at ambient conditions is studied. The biodigester was set up in a region where temperature varies significantly during the year, and was operated under semi-batch conditions with non-thermal control for 16 months with a feed of rabbit manure and ground sorghum grains. To our knowledge, this is the first time the co-digestion of rabbit manure with sorghum grains is considered. To evaluate the biodigestion performance, critical operational variables (pH, temperature, biogas flowrate) were monitored, and composition of substrate, digestate and produced biogas was determined. Moreover, the following variables were quantified: (a) the theoretical methane potential, (b) the specific methane yield and (c) the degree of degradation of the substrate. A 1-D non-stationary model was formulated and validated with experimental data in order to analyze, in a theoretical form, the impact of incorporating thermal insulation to the unit. The results show that is it possible to produce biogas in a bench-scale biodigester, with a novel feed of rabbit manure and ground sorghum grains, in a region with significant temperature changes along the year. Moreover, it is shown that the 1-D model constitutes a useful tool for the design or improvement of biodigesters regarding the insulation system and the warming policies. Fil: Adrover, María Esperanza. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Ingeniería Química; Argentina Fil: Cotabarren, Ivana María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Ingeniería Química; Argentina Fil: Madies, Ezequiel. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Ingeniería Química; Argentina Fil: Rayes, Manuel. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Ingeniería Química; Argentina Fil: Rodriguez Reartes, Sabrina Belen. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Ingeniería Química; Argentina Fil: Pedernera, Marisa Noemi. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Ingeniería Química; Argentina

Throughout the Western provinces of the Roman Empire, greater economic and political connectivity had a major impact on agricultural production, which grew in scale and specialisation after integration with the Roman state. However, uniquely in Western Europe, farming strategies in Italy began to evolve centuries before the Roman conquest, and many ‘Roman’ patterns associated with livestock size and the relative proportions of different taxa first emerged during the early and middle centuries of the first millennium BC. These changes imply a significant reorganisation of production strategies well before Roman hegemony, even in relatively marginal areas of Italy. Zooarchaeological studies have documented further significant changes to livestock production in Roman times, but the relationship between these developments and earlier trends remains unclear. Through analysis of zooarchaeological data for species representation and livestock biometry from lowland northern Italy (Po–Friulian Plain), this study investigates animal exploitation between the Bronze Age and Late Antiquity in order to characterise the influence of Roman political and economic organisation on animal husbandry. Results demonstrated subregional variation in species representation, and different trajectories in the biometric evolution of cattle, sheep and goats, compared to pigs. Initial steps established in the Iron Age towards a more complex and dynamic livestock economy were accelerated and further reconfigured in Roman times, facilitated by Roman economic organisation and the specialised and large-scale production systems within it. Zooarchaeological trends continued to progress over the Roman period, until further changes at the very end of the chronology considered here -around the sixth century AD- suggest another wave of change., This work was financially supported by the ERC-Starting Grant ZooMWest – Zooarchaeology and Mobility in the Western Mediterranean: Hudry production from the Late Bronze Age to the Late Antiquity (award number 716298), funded by the European Research Council Agency (ERCEA) under the direction of SVL.

Various studies have established that feedstock choice, pyrolysis temperature, and pyrolysis type influence final biochar physicochemical characteristics. However, overarching analyses of pre-biochar creation choices and correlations to biochar characteristics are severely lacking. Thus, the objective of this work was to help researchers, biochar-stakeholders, and practitioners make more well-informed choices in terms of how these three major parameters influence the final biochar product. Utilizing approximately 5400 peer-reviewed journal articles and over 50,800 individual data points, herein we elucidate the selections that influence final biochar physical and chemical properties, total nutrient content, and perhaps more importantly tools one can use to predict biochar's nutrient availability. Based on the large dataset collected, it appears that pyrolysis type (fast or slow) plays a minor role in biochar physico- (inorganic) chemical characteristics; few differences were evident between production styles. Pyrolysis temperature, however, affects biochar's longevity, with pyrolysis temperatures>500 degrees C generally leading to longer-term (i.e.,>1000 years) half-lives. Greater pyrolysis temperatures also led to biochars containing greater overall C and specific surface area (SSA), which could promote soil physico-chemical improvements. However, based on the collected data, it appears that feedstock selection has the largest influence on biochar properties. Specific surface area is greatest in wood-based biochars, which in combination with pyrolysis temperature could likely promote greater changes in soil physical characteristics over other feedstock-based biochars. Crop- and other grass-based biochars appear to have cation exchange capacities greater than other biochars, which in combination with pyrolysis temperature could potentially lead to longer-term changes in soil nutrient retention. The collected data also suggest that one can reasonably predict the availability of various biochar nutrients (e.g., N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, and Cu) based on feedstock choice and total nutrient content. Results can be used to create designer biochars to help solve environmental issues and supply a variety of plant-available nutrients for crop growth. This work was partially supported by the USDA/NIFA Interagency Climate Change Grant Proposal number 2014-02114 [Project number 6657-12130-002-08I, Accession number 1003011] under the Multi-Partner Call on Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research of the FACCE-Joint Program Initiative. The German BLE and FACCE-JPI funded the German participants of the "DesignerChar4Food" (D4F) project (CK: Project No. 2814ERA01A; NW-M: Project No. 2814ERA02A), the Spanish colleagues (JME and TFM) were funded by FACCE-CSA no 276610/MIT04-DESIGN-UPVASC and IT-932-16, MLC thanks the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, project #RTI2018-099417-B-I00, cofinanced with EU FEDER funds and US colleagues (JN, JI and KS) were funded by The USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture (Project # 2014-35615-21971), USDA-ARS CHARnet and GRACENet programs - D4F greatly stimulated discussions. This work was also partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under a Grant number of 41501339, 21677119, 21277115, 41301551, 21407123, Jiangsu Province Science Foundation for Youths under a grant number of BK20140468, sponsored by Qing Lan Project

The Ossa-Morena Zone (OMZ) has a complex geological history including both Cadomian and Variscan orogenic events. Therefore, the OMZ plays an important role in understanding the geodynamic evolution of Iberia. However, the P–T–t evolution of the OMZ is poorly documented. Here, we combine structural and metamorphic analyses with new geochronological data and geochemical analyses of mafic bodies in Ediacaran metasediments (in Iberia known as Série Negra) to constrain the geodynamic evolution of the OMZ. In the studied mafic rocks, two metamorphic stages were obtained by phase equilibria modelling: (1) a high-pressure/low-temperature event of 1.0 ± 0.1 GPa and 470–510 °C, and (2) a medium-pressure/higher-temperature event of 0.6 ± 0.2 GPa and 550–600 °C. The increase in metamorphic temperature is attributed to the intrusion of the Beja Igneous Complex (around 350 Ma) and/or the Évora Massif (around 318 Ma). New U–Pb dating on zircons from the mafic rocks with tholeiitic affinity yields an age between 815 and 790 Ma. If the zircons crystallised from the tholeiitic magma, their age would set a minimum age for the pre-Cadomian basement. The ca. 800 Ma protolith age of HP-LT tholeiitic dykes with a different metamorphic history than the host Série Negra lead us to conclude that: (1) the HP-LT mafic rocks and HP-LT marbles with dykes were included in the Ediacaran metasediments as olistoliths; (2) the blueschist metamorphism is older than 550 Ma (between ca. 790 Ma and ca. 550 Ma, e.g., Cadomian)., European Research Council http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000781, Ruprecht-Karls-Universit├ñt Heidelberg (1026)

The disclosed study undertook a ‘human centred-approach’ that ascertained and categorised environmental human thermophysiological risk factors by relating them to the human biometeorological system through the use of three widely utilised energy balance model (EBM) indices, the physiologically equivalent temperature (PET), the modified PET, and the universal thermal climate index (UTCI). The disclosed assessment was carried out over the past decade (i.e., 2010–2019) with a 3-h temporal resolution for the case of Ankara through two WMO meteorological stations to compare both local urban and peri-urban environmental conditions. The study recognised extreme annual variability of human physiological stress (PS) during the different seasons as a result of the biometeorological processing of the singular variables, which in the case of average PET for both stations, varied by up to 75 °C between the winter and summer for the same annual dataset (2012). In addition, all EBMs indicated higher heat stress within the city centre that were conducive of both urban extreme heatwaves and very hot days during the summer months, with extreme heat stress levels lasting for longer than a week with PET values reaching a maximum of 48 °C. Similar cold extremes were found for the winter months, with PET values reaching − 30 °C, and average PS levels varying lower in the case of the peri-urban station.Graphical abstract

Zinc (Zn) is an essential micronutrient, and Zn deficiency remains a major global public health challenge. Recognised biomarkers of population Zn status include blood plasma or serum Zn concentration and proxy data such as dietary Zn intake and prevalence of stunting. Urine Zn concentration is rarely used to assess population Zn status. This study assessed the value of urine Zn concentration as a biomarker of population Zn status using a nationally representative sample of non-pregnant women of reproductive age (WRA) and school-aged children (SAC) in Malawi. Spot (casual) urine samples were collected from 741 WRA and 665 SAC. Urine Zn concentration was measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with specific gravity adjustment for hydration status. Data were analysed using a linear mixed model with a spatially correlated random effect for between-cluster variation. The effect of time of sample collection (morning or afternoon), and gender (for SAC), on urine Zn concentration were examined. There was spatial dependence in urine Zn concentration between clusters among SAC but not WRA, which indicates that food system or environmental factors can influence urine Zn concentration. Mapping urine Zn concentration could potentially identify areas where the prevalence of Zn deficiency is greater and thus where further sampling or interventions might be targeted. There was no evidence for differences in urine Zn concentration between gender (P = 0.69) or time of sample collection (P = 0.85) in SAC. Urine Zn concentration was greater in afternoon samples for WRA (P = 0.003). Relationships between urine Zn concentration, serum Zn concentration, dietary Zn intake, and potential food systems covariates warrant further study. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s10653-020-00700-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Storage of greywater is controversial for environmental and health reasons. Artificial greywater was assessed after 2 and 7 days of storage time. Two different greywater pollutant strengths were statistically compared at each storage time. A negative significant (p

Numerous studies in epidemiology, meteorology, and climate change research have demonstrated a significant association between abnormal ambient temperature and mortality. However, there is a shortage of research attention to a systematic assessment of potential mitigation measures which could effectively reduce the heat-related morbidity and mortality risks. This study first illustrates a conceptualization of a systems analysis version of urban framework for climate service (UFCS). It then constructs a system dynamics (SD) model for the UFCS and employs this model to quantify the impacts of heat waves on public health system in Shanghai and to evaluate the performances of two mitigation measures in the context of a real heat wave event in July 2013 in the city. Simulation results show that in comparison with the baseline without mitigation measures, if the hospital system could prepare 20% of beds available for emergency response to heat waves once receiving the warning in advance, the number of daily deaths could be reduced by 40–60 (15.8–19.5%) on the 2 days of day 7 and day 8; if increasing the minimum living allowance of 790 RMB/month in 2013 by 20%, the number of daily deaths could be reduced by 50–70 (17.7–21.9%) on the 2 days of day 8 and day 12. This tool can help policy makers systematically evaluate adaptation and mitigation options based on performance assessment, thus strengthening urban resilience to changing climate.

Purpose Waste management is one of the significant challenges facing Nigeria’s agricultural sector. To manage this problem, the conversion of agricultural wastes to biochar is a practical solution. Methods In this work, the chemical composition of biochar from rice husk and sugarcane bagasse, two predominant agricultural wastes, commonly generated in Nigeria was studied. These wastes were pyrolyzed at 300–700 and 350–700 °C for rice husk biochar (RHB) and sugarcane bagasse biochar (SBB), respectively. Results It was found that biochar yield and total nitrogen decreased with increasing pyrolysis temperature while ash content, pH, EC, total carbon, extractable Ca, Mg, Na, available phosphorus and silica were increased. In RHB, extractable K increased with increasing pyrolysis temperature, while in SBB it decreased with its maximum observed in RHB. Conclusions Rice husk pyrolyzed at high temperature may produce nutrient-rich biochar with high nutrient contents and these could ameliorate acidic soils. Finally, SBB could give high available silicon with acid pre-treatment.

The coupling of biological and thermal technologies allows for the complete conversion of wastes into energy and biochar eliminating the problem of sludge disposal. The valorisation of fatty residues as co-substrate in a mesophilic digester of a wastewater treatment plant was studied considering an integrated approach of co-digestion and pyrolysis. Four digested samples obtained from co-digestion of sewage sludge and butcher’s fat waste were studied by thermogravimetric analysis. The activation energy corresponding to the sludge pyrolysis was calculated by a non-isothermal kinetic. Arrhenius activation energy was lower for the pyrolysis of a digested grease sample (92 kJ mol obtained by OFW and 86 kJ mol obtained by Vyazovkin) than for the pyrolysis of sewage sludge and its blends (164–190 kJ mol obtained by OFW and 162–190 kJ mol obtained by Vyazovkin). The analysis of the integrated approach of anaerobic co-digestion and pyrolysis of digestates demonstrated that the addition of 3% (w/v) of fat to the feeding sludge results in a 25% increase in the electricity obtained from biogas (if a combined heat and power unit is considered for biogas valorisation) and increasing the fat content to 15% allows for covering all thermal needs for drying of digestate and more than doubles (2.4 times) the electricity production when the scenario of digestion and pyrolysis is contemplated., This study was funded by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad - FEDER (UNLE15-EE-3070).

Llimos, J., Martinez-Avila, O., Marti, E., Corchado-Lopo, C., Llenas, L., Gea, T., Ponsa S. (2020). Brewer's spent grain biotransformation to produce lignocellulolytic enzymes and polyhydroxyalkanoates in a two-stage valorization scheme . Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery , ( ), 0-0. doi: 10.1007/s13399-020-00918-4. Lignocellulolytic enzymes from low-cost sources are gaining attention as a tool to reduce production costs. Such enzymes can be obtained sustainably by diverse fungal strains via solid-state fermentation (SSF) of lignocellulosic-derived residues as substrates. Besides, these enzymes allow hydrolyzing the same residue, releasing fermentable sugars that can be transformed into value-added products. This study shows a two-stage valorization approach for the lignocellulosic leftover brewer’s spent grain (BSG): first, by producing lignocellulolytic enzymes through the SSF of BSG using three fungal strains and, second, by using the self-produced enzymes to hydrolyze the same BSG and obtaining sugar-rich hydrolysates that serve as an alternative carbon source for polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) production. From the evaluated set, Aspergillus niger and Thermoascus aurantiacus produced the highest xylanase activities compared with Trichoderma reesei (268 ± 24, 241 ± 10, and 150 ± 24 U per gram of dry BSG, respectively). Also, A. niger extracts resulted in the most effective for releasing sugars from BSG, obtaining up to 0.56 g per gram of dry BSG after 24 h without any pretreatment needed. Thus, the sugar-rich hydrolysate obtained with A. niger was used as a source for producing PHA by using two bacterial strains, namely, Burkholderia cepacia and Cupriavidus necator. Maximum PHA yield was achieved by using C. necator after 48 h with 9.0 ± 0.44 mg PHA·g−1 dry BSG. These results show the significant potential of BSG as raw material for obtaining value-added bioproducts and the importance of multiple valorization schemes to improve the feasibility of similar residue-based systems.

The scale-up feasibility of oily sludge (OS) biodegradation from a culture-based medium to a new two-stage composting process bioaugmentated with an indigenous isolated strain was surveyed. First, the bacterial strain (Enterobacter hormaechei strain KA6) was isolated from OS, and then its ability in biomass production and oil degradation in culture-based medium was evaluated. Finally, the strain was used for bioaugmentation in composting reactors which included four in-vessel experiments with the initial total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPHs) concentrations between 10 and 30 g kg-1. The strain was added twice to the composting reactors which lasted 16 weeks including the primary composting stage (PCS) (first inoculation) and the secondary composting stage (SCS) (second inoculation). It was observed that the strain degraded 58.67, 74.79, 45.33, 10.66, and 5.92% of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5% oil concentrations, respectively, in culture-based medium during 7 days. Regarding OS bioremediation in the composting experiments, a total TPH removal rate of 65.83–81.50% was also reached after the two-stage duration of 16 weeks. Due to the second bioaugmentation stage, the SCS showed higher TPH removal efficiency than the PCS. The study confirmed the effectiveness of the scaling-up of a culture-based medium to a composting process for treating OS.

This study aimed to optimize a method to identify human enteric viruses in sewage and stool samples using random primed next-generation sequencing. We tested three methods, two employed virus enrichment based on the binding properties of the viral capsid using pig-mucin capture or by selecting viral RNA prior to library preparation through a capture using the SureSelect target enrichment. The third method was based on a non-specific biophysical precipitation with polyethylene glycol. Full genomes of a number of common human enteric viruses including norovirus, rotavirus, husavirus, enterovirus and astrovirus were obtained. In stool samples full norovirus genome were detected as well as partial enterovirus genome. A variety of norovirus sequences was detected in sewage samples, with genogroup II being more prevalent. Interestingly, the pig-mucin capture enhanced not only the recovery of norovirus and rotavirus but also recovery of astrovirus, sapovirus and husavirus. Documenting sewage virome using these methods provides information for molecular epidemiology and may be useful in developing strategies to prevent further spread of viruses.

Industrial by-products and wastes from Portugal and Spain were tested for the first time as carbon sources/electron donors for sulphate-reducing bacteria. Cultures in mineral medium supplemented with the tested substrates were monitored, and sulphate reduction efficiency is discussed in light of substrates compositions, dosages and corresponding chemical oxygen demand/[SO42-] ratios. The results reveal the ability of those substrates to feed SRB and confirm that testing doses targeting ratios of 1.5 and values close to this was a good strategy to optimize sulphate reduction activity. As expected, this activity was faster for substrates that have in their composition simple compounds (such as low-chain alcohols and organic acids) and/or compounds that can be rapidly degraded (such as sugars), though it also occurred in a longer-term perspective with substrates composed mainly of slowly degradable compounds (such as cellulose and lignin). Thus, this work demonstrates the potential of new substrates and respective required doses to feed SRB bioreactors in long-term passive bioremediation processes or faster more active processes. That is, it opens the way for the use of such substrates in the treatment of sulphate-rich waters, as the acid mine drainage generated in some mines on the Iberian Pyrite Belt region, and it encourages further experiments to evaluate the use of SRB-based processes to treat the industrial wastewaters successfully tested in this work themselves, specially the olive mill wastewater which is still a problem for many small olive oil producers. European UnionEuropean Union (EU) [619101] Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [UID/Multi/04326/2019] info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The use of bioscrubber is attracting increasing attention for exhaust gas treatment in intensive pig farming. However, the challenge is to improve the methane (CH4) removal efficiency as well as the possibility of pig house wastewater treatment. Three laboratory-scale bioscrubbers, each equipped with different recirculation water types, livestock wastewater (10-times-diluted pig house wastewater supernatant), a methanotroph growth medium (10-times-diluted), and tap water, were established to evaluate the performance of CH4 removal and wastewater treatment. The results showed that enhanced CH4 removal efficiency (25%) can be rapidly achieved with improved methanotrophic activity due to extra nutrient support from the wastewater. The majority of the CH4 was removed in the middle to end part of the bioscrubbers, which indicated that CH4 removal could be potentially optimised by extending the length of the reactor. Moreover, 52–86% of the ammonium (NH4+-N), total organic carbon (TOC), and phosphate (PO43−-P) removal were simultaneously achieved with CH4 removal in the present study. Based on these results, this study introduces a low-cost and simple-to-operate method to improve CH4 removal and simultaneously treat pig farm wastewater in bioscrubbers.

The policies of the European Union concerning the development of biofuels can be termed a lock-in. Biofuels were initially hailed as a green, sustainability technology. However evidence to the contrary quickly emerged. The European Commission proposed to alter its policies to accommodate for these effects but met with fierce resistance from a considerable number of member states who have an economic interest in these first generation biofuels. In this paper I argue that such a lock-in might have been avoided if an experimental approach to governance had been adopted. Existing approaches such as anticipation and niche management either do not reduce uncertainty sufficiently or fail to explicitly address conflicts between values motivating political and economic support for new technologies. In this paper, I suggest to apply an experimental framework to the development of sustainable biobased technologies. Such an approach builds on insights from adaptive management and transition management in that it has the stimulation of learning effects at its core. I argue that these learning effects should occur on the actual impacts of new technologies, on the institutionalisation of new technologies and most specifically on the norms and values that underly policies supporting new technologies. This approach can be relevant for other emerging technologies.

The composting of sewage sludge is constrained by structural insufficiencies such as high water retention, reduced free air space and limited compaction. To overcome these hindrances, this study investigates application of bioconversion method to compost sewage sludge. The bioconversion method uses insect mole cricket that provides benefits such as improved aeration by 32%, enhanced organic matter transformation, stability and maturity of the end product. Bioconversion method was compared with vermicomposting and conventional aerated composting methods. Comparison of the results among the three methods showed that the end product was mature with germination index (GI) > 80%, humification index (E4/E6) < 8, dissolved organic carbon < 10 mg kg(-1) and C/N < 15. However, the end product of the bioconversion method had the highest GI of 140, cation exchange capacity of 91.7 and the lowest C/N ratio of 14 indicating that this compost was relatively more stable than the composts produced by the other two methods. The number of faecal coliforms in mature compost samples was 210, 230 and 750 CFU g(-1) for the bioconversion, vermicomposting and conventional composting methods, respectively. The results highlight that bioconversion method produces a non-phytotoxic and microbiologically safe compost that can be considered as a reliable alternative for composting of sewage sludge. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-018-02192-4

This work studies the in situ electrobioremediation of an oxyfluorfen-polluted clay soil in a two-stage method. First, a fixed-bed biofilm reactor for oxyfluorfen biodegradation in wastewater was developed; it treated wastewater with 200 mg L−1 of oxyfluorfen and reached 100% of oxyfluorfen degradation in 30 h. Second, a portion of the biofilm-covered bed was included into the polluted soil and it was used as a biological permeable reactive barrier (BioPRB), whereas electrokinetics was applied to promote the contact between the pollutant and microorganisms into the soil. The electrobioremediation study was performed in a bench scale setup under 1.0 V cm−1 at room temperature and under periodic polarity reversal (2 day−1) in a 2-week batch experiment. Two reference tests were done: (i) a conventional in situ biological test without electrokinetics and (ii) a conventional in situ electrokinetic test without using microorganisms. The experimental conditions (temperature, pH, moisture) were correctly controlled in the soil and enabled the microbial activity during the process. A low oxyfluorfen removal efficiency was obtained after 2 weeks (11%) because of the low electrokinetic mobility of such non-polar pollutant into the soil. Despite this low efficiency value, it was considered that the combined biological-electrokinetic technology could be used as a bioaugmentation procedure to perform electrobioremediation processes because the results of both reference tests showed negligible removal efficiencies when using only biological or only electrochemical methods. According to these results, electrobioremediation could be considered a feasible technology although more retention time would be required to achieve successful remediation results.

The likely use of continuous cultures of Chlorella vulgaris for flue gas abatement was studied. Firstly, no pH-controlled photo-bioreactors were operated in order to understand the tolerance of this microalgae to high CO2 concentrations in the airstream. Thus, the effect in biomass productivity, CO2 fixation and biochemical composition of different percentage of pure CO2 (ranging 1–12%) in the air supply was investigated. When the inlet CO2 concentration varied from 1 to 10%, no statistical differences were found (ANOVA, p, This work was financially supported by SOST-CO2 CENIT-project in collaboration with Inabensa S.A.

In this work, the potential of the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) as a heat-related health risk indicator in Europe is demonstrated. The UTCI is a bioclimate index that uses a multi-node human heat balance model to represent the heat stress induced by meteorological conditions to the human body. Using 38 years of meteorological reanalysis data, UTCI maps were computed to assess the thermal bioclimate of Europe for the summer season. Patterns of heat stress conditions and non-thermal stress regions are identified across Europe. An increase in heat stress up to 1 A degrees C is observed during recent decades. Correlation with mortality data from 17 European countries revealed that the relationship between the UTCI and death counts depends on the bioclimate of the country, and death counts increase in conditions of moderate and strong stress, i.e., when UTCI is above 26 and 32 A degrees C. The UTCI's ability to represent mortality patterns is demonstrated for the 2003 European heatwave. These findings confirm the importance of UTCI as a bioclimatic index that is able to both capture the thermal bioclimatic variability of Europe, and relate such variability with the effects it has on human health.

Pulp and paper mills generate a plethora of pollutants depending upon the type of pulping process. Efforts to mitigate the environmental impact of such effluents have been made by developing more effective biological treatment systems in terms of biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, colour and lignin content. This study is the first that reports an evaluation of the effects of a tertiary treatment by fungi (Pleurotus sajor caju, Trametes versicolor and Phanerochaete chrysosporium and Rhizopus oryzae) on individual organic compounds of a Eucalyptus globulus bleached kraft pulp and paper mill final effluent after secondary treatment (final effluent). The tertiary treatment with P. sajor caju, T. versicolor and P. chrysosporium and R. oryzae was performed in batch reactors, which were inoculated with separate fungi species and monitored throughout the incubation period. Samples from effluent after secondary and after tertiary treatment with fungi were analysed for both absorbance and organic compounds. The samples were extracted for organic compounds using solid-phase extraction (SPE) and analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The efficiencies of the SPE procedure was evaluated by recovery tests. A total of 38 compounds (carboxylic acids, fatty alcohols, phenolic compounds and sterols) were identified and quantified in the E. globulus bleached kraft pulp mill final effluent after secondary treatment. Recoveries from the extraction procedure were between 98.2% and 99.9%. The four fungi species showed an adequate capacity to remove organic compounds and colour. Tertiary treatment with R. oryzae was able to remove 99% of organic compounds and to reduce absorbance on 47% (270 nm) and 74% (465 nm). P. sajor caju, T. versicolor and P. chrysosporium were able to remove 97%, 92% and 99% of organic compounds, respectively, and reduce 18% (270 nm) to 77% (465 nm), 39% (270 nm) to 58% (465 nm) and 31% (270 nm) to 10% (465 nm) of absorbance, respectively. The wide variety of organic compounds found in the final effluent must be due to the degradation of E. globulus wood in pulp and paper mill. The concentrations of organic compounds in the final effluent of E. globulus bleached kraft pulp mill were in residual levels maybe due to the secondary treatment. The recovery tests showed the effectiveness of the extraction procedure, and no losses of analyte were suspected in the analytical determinations. Lignin derivatives such as vanilic acid, syringic acid, guaiacol, syringol and phloroglucinol were totally removed by R. oryzae, but the 47% absorbance reduction obtained at 270 nm suggests that these species were not able to complete degradation of lignin macromolecular compounds. The organic compounds (carboxylic acids, fatty alcohols, phenolic compounds and sterols) were removed more efficiently by tertiary treatment with R. oryzae or P. chrysosporium, followed by P. sajor caju and T. versicolor. Regarding the removal of both colour and organic compounds, the tertiary treatment with R. oryzae was the most efficient. In order to reduce the deleterious impacts of paper mill effluents, efforts have been made to develop more effective advanced tertiary treatments. This study may serve as a basis of characterisation, in terms of organic compounds of E. globulus bleached kraft pulp mill final effluent after secondary treatment and as an effort to understand the effects of tertiary treatments with fungi on low concentrations of organic compounds from biological secondary treatment. published

The presence of toxic metals in soil per se, and in soil impacted by mining, industry, agriculture and urbanisation in particular, is a major concern for both human health and ecotoxicology. The dual aim of this study was: to ascertain whether topsoil composition could influence the spatial distribution of mortality due to different types of cancer and to identify possible errors committed by epidemiological studies which analyse soil composition data as a closed number system. We conducted an ecological cancer mortality study, covering 861,440 cancer deaths (27 cancer sites) in 7917 Spanish mainland towns, from 1999 to 2008. Topsoil levels of Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn were determined by ICP-MS at 13,317 sampling points. We transformed the topsoil data in two ways, i.e. log transformation and centred logratio transformation. Principal factor analysis was performed to obtain independent latent factors for the transformed variables. To estimate the effect on mortality of topsoil factor loadings, we fitted Besag, York and Mollié models embedded in geostatistical-spatial models. This model included soil sample locations and town centroids (non-aligned data), fitted using the integrated nested Laplace approximation (INLA) as a tool for Bayesian inference and stochastic partial differential equations (SPDE). All results were adjusted for socio-demographic variables. The results indicated that soil composition could have an influence on the spatial distribution and mortality patterns of cancer. The analysis adjusted for socio-demographic variables showed excess male mortality due to digestive system tumours in areas with soils containing higher Cd, Pb, Zn, Mn and Cu concentrations, bladder cancer in areas with soils containing higher Cd concentrations, and brain cancer in areas with soils containing As. In both sexes, cancer of oesophagus was associated with soils containing a higher lead content, while lung cancer was associated with soils containing a higher copper content. Stress should be laid on the importance of taking into account the compositional nature of the data in this type of analysis., Unidad de Epidemiología Ambiental y Cáncer, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, España, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, España, Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, España

Early life stages of marine calcifiers are particularly vulnerable to climate change. In the Southern Ocean aragonite undersaturation events and areas of rapid warming already occur and are predicted to increase in extent. Here, we present the first study to successfully hatch the polar pteropod Limacina helicina antarctica and observe the potential impact of exposure to increased temperature and aragonite undersaturation resulting from ocean acidification (OA) on the early life stage survival and shell morphology. High larval mortality (up to 39%) was observed in individuals exposed to perturbed conditions. Warming and OA induced extensive shell malformation and dissolution, respectively, increasing shell fragility. Furthermore, shell growth decreased, with variation between treatments and exposure time. Our results demonstrate that short-term exposure through passing through hotspots of OA and warming poses a serious threat to pteropod recruitment and long-term population viability. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00227-017-3261-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Detergents are one of the major environmental pollutants whose consumption will increase by increasing the level of health of countries, which can cause many problems if they are not unfiltered and exposed to the environment. After soap, linear benzene sulfonate is the most common household detergent and it is used in more than 100 countries around the world as a raw material for the production of surfactants such as washing powders, dishwashing liquids and other detergents. Among the various methods of treatment, biological processes are the most promising ones. The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of a moving bed sequencing continuous-inflow reactor (MSCR) for linear alkyl benzene sulfonate (LAS) removal from municipal wastewater at different operating conditions. In this research study, a Plexiglass pilot with dimensions of 54 × 25 × 25 cm, and total volume of about 35 L and used volume of 30 L was used. The reactor contained 70% of K3 (Kaldnes) media, and the remaining 30% was considered as the functional volume. Results showed that the MSCR has a high capability in the treatment of municipal wastewater polluted by LAS and a good flexibility to input variation of both LAS and organic load. The maximum removal efficiency obtained at hydraulic retention time of 2.5 h, with input organic load of 300 mg/L and input LAS of 15 mg/L, was 96.4%. The maximum efficiencies obtained at hydraulic retention time of 2.5 h, with input organic load of 500 mg/L and input LAS of 15 mg/L and 25 mg/L, were 88.7%, and 92.2%, respectively.

Soil organic matter (SOM) content is a key indicator of riparian soil functioning and in the provision of ecosystem services such as water retention, flood alleviation, pollutant attenuation and carbon (C) sequestration for climate change mitigation. Here, we studied the importance of microbial biomass and nutrient availability in regulating SOM turnover rates. C stabilisation in soil is expected to vary both vertically, down the soil profile and laterally across the riparian zone. In this study, we evaluated the influence of five factors on C mineralisation (Cmin): (i) substrate quantity, (ii) substrate quality, (iii) nutrient (C, N and P) stoichiometry, (iv) soil microbial activity with proximity to the river (2 to 75 m) and (v) as a function of soil depth (0–3 m). Substrate quality, quantity and nutrient stoichiometry were evaluated using high and low molecular weight 14C-labelled dissolved organic (DOC) along with different nutrient additions. Differences in soil microbial activity with proximity to the river and soil depth were assessed by comparing initial (immediate) Cmin rates and cumulative C mineralised at the end of the incubation period. Overall, microbial biomass C (MBC), organic matter (OM) and soil moisture content (MC) proved to be the major factors controlling rates of Cmin at depth. Differences in the immediate and medium-term response (42 days) of Cmin suggested that microbial growth increased and carbon use efficiency (CUE) decreased down the soil profile. Inorganic N and/or P availability had little or no effect on Cmin suggesting that microbial community growth and activity is predominantly C limited. Similarly, proximity to the watercourse also had relatively little effect on Cmin. This work challenges current theories suggesting that areas adjacent to watercourse process C differently from upslope areas. In contrast, our results suggest that substrate quality and microbial biomass are more important in regulating C processing rates rather than proximity to a river. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00374-018-1317-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.