Investigating measurements of fine particle (PM2.5) emissions from the cooking of meals and mitigating exposure using a cooker hood

There is growing awareness that indoor exposure to particulate matter with diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM_2.5) is associated with an increased risk of adverse health effects. Cooking is a key indoor source of PM_2.5 and an activity conducted daily in most homes. Population scale models can predict occupant exposures to PM_2.5, but these predictions are sensitive to the emission rates used. Reported emission rates are highly variable and are typically for the cooking of single ingredients and not full meals. Accordingly, there is a need to assess PM_2.5 emissions from the cooking of complete meals. Mean PM_2.5 emission rates and source strengths were measured for four complete meals. Temporal PM_2.5 concentrations and particle size distributions were recorded using an optical particle counter (OPC), and gravimetric sampling was used to determine calibration factors. Mean emission rates and source strengths varied between 0.54—3.7 mg/min and 15—68 mg, respectively, with 95% confidence. Using a cooker hood (apparent capture efficiency > 90%) and frying in non‐stick pans were found to significantly reduce emissions. OPC calibration factors varied between 1.5 and 5.0 showing that a single value cannot be used for all meals and that gravimetric sampling is necessary when measuring PM_2.5 concentrations in kitchens.     

Selenate removal in methanogenic and sulfate-reducing upflow anaerobic sludge bed reactors

This paper evaluates the use of upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) bioreactors (30 degrees C, pH=7.0) to remove selenium oxyanions from contaminated waters (790 microg Se L(-1)) under methanogenic and sulfate-reducing conditions using lactate as electron donor. One UASB reactor received sulfate at different sulfate to selenate ratios, while another UASB was operated under methanogenic conditions for 132 days without sulfate in the influent. The selenate effluent concentrations in the sulfate-reducing and methanogenic reactor were 24 and 8 microg Se L(-1), corresponding to removal efficiencies of 97% and 99%, respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and sequential extractions showed that selenium was mainly retained as elemental selenium in the biomass. However, the total dissolved selenium effluent concentrations amounted to 73 and 80 microg Se L(-1), respectively, suggesting that selenate was partly converted to another selenium compound, most likely colloidally dispersed Se(0) nanoparticles. Possible intermediates of selenium reduction (selenite, dimethylselenide, dimethyldiselenide, H(2)Se) could not be detected. Sulfate reducers removed selenate at molar excess of sulfate to selenate (up to a factor of 2600) and elevated dissolved sulfide concentrations (up to 168 mg L(-1)), but selenium removal efficiencies were limited by the applied sulfate-loading rate. In the methanogenic bioreactor, selenate and dissolved selenium removal were independent of the sulfate load, but inhibited by sulfide (101 mg L(-1)). The selenium removal efficiency of the methanogenic UASB abruptly improved after 58 days of operation, suggesting that a specialized selenium-converting population developed in the reactor. This paper demonstrates that both sulfate-reducing and methanogenic UASB reactors can be applied to remove selenate from contaminated natural waters and anthropogenic waste streams, e.g. agricultural drainage waters, acid mine drainage and flue gas desulfurization bleeds.     

Application of bacteria involved in the biological sulfur cycle for paper mill effluent purification

In anaerobic wastewater treatment, the occurrence of biological sulfate reduction results in the formation of unwanted hydrogen sulfide, which is odorous, corrosive and toxic. In this paper, the role and application of bacteria in anaerobic and aerobic sulfur transformations are described and exemplified for the treatment of a paper mill wastewater. The sulfate containing wastewater first passes an anaerobic UASB reactor for bulk COD removal which is accompanied by the formation of biogas and hydrogen sulfide. In an aeration pond, the residual COD_organic and the formed dissolved hydrogen sulfide are removed. The biogas, consisting of CH₄ (80-90 vol.%), CO₂ (10-20 vol.%) and H₂S (0.8-1.2 vol.%), is desulfurised prior to its combustion in a power generator thereby using a new biological process for H₂S removal. This process will be described in more detail in this paper. Biomass from the anaerobic bioreactor has a compact granular structure and contains a diverse microbial community. Therefore, other anaerobic bioreactors throughout the world are inoculated with biomass from this UASB reactor. The sludge was also successfully used in investigation on sulfate reduction with carbon monoxide as the electron donor and the conversion of methanethiol. This shows the biotechnological potential of this complex reactor biomass.     

Barriers in spatial interactions and communications

Barriers are defined as discontinuities in the broadly defined marginal costs of communication, usually leading to a discontinuity in interaction. This paper addresses conceptual issues about barriers to communication. Several typologies of barriers are given. For example, according to the degree of permeability, barriers may discourage interaction, or may even be entirely impermeable, but examples may also be given of barriers which stimulate communication in one or both directions. Another typology of barriers addresses reasons of existence, including natural barriers, barriers created for protection purposes, barriers created for reasons of convenience, etc. The paper concludes with a number of suggestions for further research on communication barriers.     

Sulfide-iron interactions in domestic wastewater from a gravity sewer

Interactions between iron and sulfide in domestic wastewater from a gravity sewer were investigated with particular emphasis on redox cycling of iron and iron sulfide formation. The concentration ranges of iron and total sulfide in the experiments were 0.4-5.4mgFeL(-1) and 0-5.1mgSL(-1), respectively. During anaerobic conditions, iron reduction kinetics were investigated and reduction rates amounted on average to 1.32mgFeL(-1)d(-1). Despite the very low solubility of iron sulfide, the reduced iron reacted only partly with sulfide to produce iron sulfide, even when dissolved sulfide was in excess. When a ferric chloride solution was added to sulfide containing anaerobic wastewater, the ferric iron was quickly reduced to ferrous forms by oxidation of dissolved sulfide and the ferrous iron precipitated almost completely as iron sulfide. During aerobic conditions, iron sulfide was oxidized with a half-life period of 11.7h. The oxidation rate of iron sulfide was significantly lower than that reported for the oxidation of dissolved sulfide.     

Estimation of off-track visits in a nature reserve: a case study in central Belgium

Equilibrium has to be found between maximizing social profit and minimizing ecological disturbance in open (accessible) nature reserves. Because the probability of disturbance grows with increasing visit density and frequency, some nature reserves tend to lose their specific quality. The aim of this study, concentrated on the ‘Demerbroeken’, 45 km east of Brussels in central Belgium, is to estimate the probability of off-track visits in any location of the nature reserve at specific times and terrain conditions, by means of a GIS-based friction model. Research was based on a detailed land survey, interviews with visitors, performance of walking experiments and determination of friction values of specific terrain units. Data from interviews and walking experiments were collected to validate the model. The output from this study is of potential help to design an impact assessment and management tool.     

Temperature-induced impacts on groundwater quality and arsenic mobility in anoxic aquifer sediments used for both drinking water and shallow geothermal energy production

Aquifers used for the production of drinking water are increasingly being used for the generation of shallow geothermal energy. This causes temperature perturbations far beyond the natural variations in aquifers and the effects of these temperature variations on groundwater quality, in particular trace elements, have not been investigated. Here, we report the results of column experiments to assess the impacts of temperature variations (5°C, 11°C, 25°C and 60°C) on groundwater quality in anoxic reactive unconsolidated sandy sediments derived from an aquifer system widely used for drinking water production in the Netherlands. Our results showed that at 5 °C no effects on water quality were observed compared to the reference of 11°C (in situ temperature). At 25°C, As concentrations were significantly increased and at 60 °C, significant increases were observed pH and DOC, P, K, Si, As, Mo, V, B, and F concentrations. These elements should therefore be considered for water quality monitoring programs of shallow geothermal energy projects. No consistent temperature effects were observed on Na, Ca, Mg, Sr, Fe, Mn, Al, Ba, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, Eu, Ho, Sb, Sc, Yb, Ga, La, and Th concentrations, all of which were present in the sediment. The temperature-induced chemical effects were probably caused by (incongruent) dissolution of silicate minerals (K and Si), desorption from, and potentially reductive dissolution of, iron oxides (As, B, Mo, V, and possibly P and DOC), and mineralisation of sedimentary organic matter (DOC and P).     

Film Thickness of Mechanically Worked Lubricating Grease at Very Low Speeds

Several different types of commercially available greases, aged in a roll stability tester, have been tested in a ball-on-disc machine where the film thickness was measured using the interferometry method. The grease film thickness at very low speed is thicker than the base oil film thickness due to the contribution of the thickener in this regime, which practically vanishes at higher speeds. The (mechanical) aging process reduces the thickener material, decreasing the grease film thickness at very low speeds (entrainment speed less than 0.01 m/s) with aging time, whereas no significant difference was found at higher speeds where the grease film thickness still approached the calculated base oil film thickness.     

Countercurrent plug flow mass exchange with internal particle diffusion

The model for countercurrent steady state mass transfer between uniform dispersed phase particles and a continuous phase, both assumed to move in plug flow, with diffusion resistance inside the particles, and film resistance around the particles, is solved analytically for three particle geometries: infinite plates, infinite cylinders and spheres. In the solution, the direct relation between the local continuous phase concentration, and the average dispersed phase concentration is accounted for in the boundary condition. Concentration profiles in the mass exchanger are derived from the analytical solution, as well as asymptotic Sherwood numbers. The analytical solution requires the determination of roots of the characteristic equations, which is cumbersome for spherical particles. Correlations are provided for the asymptotic Sherwood numbers for easy computation. The model can easily be used for the analogous direct heat exchange problem.     

聚乙烯与聚丙烯单组分复合材料研究进展

综述了聚乙烯、聚丙烯单组分复合材料的发展概况及最新研究动态。介绍了熔融膜压法、粉末浸渍法、溶液浸渍法三类制备聚乙烯单组分复合材料的传统方法。重点介绍了热压法、共挤出热压法两类制备单组分复合材料的创新方法。分析了各制备方法的优缺点:熔融法、粉末法与溶液法效率均较低且复合材料中纤维含量较少,力学性能不佳;热压法由于初始材料为100％纤维,从而综合效率较高,力学性能良好,缺点为加工温度过于苛刻;共挤出热压法效率较高,在具有高的增强相含量的同时拥有较宽的加工温度范围,缺点为增强相强度需进一步提高。最后介绍了单组分复合材料的应用并对其研究与应用前景作了展望。