Fly ash from municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWI) is classified as hazardous in the European Waste Catalogue. Proper stabilization processes should be required before any management option is put into practice. Due to the inorganic nature of MSWI fly ash, cementitious stabilization processes are worthy of consideration. However, the effectiveness of such processes can be severely compromised by the high content of soluble chlorides and sulphates. In this paper, a preliminary washing treatment has been optimized to remove as much as possible soluble salts by employing as little as possible water. Two different operating conditions (single-step and two-step) have been developed to this scope. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that stabilized systems containing 20% of binder are suitable for safer disposal as well as for material recovery in the field of road basement (cement bound granular material layer). Three commercially available cements (pozzolanic, limestone and slag) have been employed as binders.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2011.12.013

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In California, OriginOil reports that, in recent independent third-party testing, the company’s algae harvesting process was able to remove 98% of hydrocarbons from a sample of West Texas oil well ‘frac flowback’ water in the first stage alone. Frac flowback describes water used in a drilling process called ‘hydraulic fracturing’, or ‘fracking’.This test sample was taken from an oil well from which 200,000 gallons of oil-rich water flowed back over a period of two weeks. The water resources firm PACE Engineering supplied the sample and analyzed the resultsAccording to OriginOil, Greentech Media states that energy companies pay between $3 – $12 to dispose of each barrel of produced water.

OriginOil’s algae harvest technology removes 98% of hydrocarbons from frac flowback : Biofuels Digest

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If drivers switch from gasoline to biofuels, will it lessen the air pollution that shrouds cities around the world? Studies of auto emissions have indicated it might. But the first citywide air quality study of its kind, reported at the meeting, suggests that unless more than 26% of cars make the switch, it will have negligible effect.

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.336.6079.292-c

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In the present investigation, the most commonly used pharmaceutical drug Ibuprofen (IB) was exposed to an Indian major carp Cirrhinus mrigala under static bioassay method to estimate its toxicological effects for a period of 35 days. The median lethal concentration (LC 50) of IB to the fish C. mrigala for 24 h was found to be 142 ppm. In sublethal treatment (1/10th of LC 50 24 h value, 14.2 ppm), a significant decrease in erythrocyte (RBC), mean cellular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) and plasma protein levels were observed throughout the study period when compare to that of their respective controls. In contrast, haemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Hct), mean cellular volume (MCV), mean cellular hemoglobin (MCH), leucocyte (WBC), plasma glucose and alanine transaminase (ALT) levels were increased in this study period. On the other hand, a mixed trend was noticed in aspartate aminotransaminase (AST) enzyme activity. Alterations of these parameters can be effectively used as potential biomarkers in monitoring of IB toxicity in the aquatic organisms.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.etap.2012.02.005

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Africa is not alone in its growth in domestic electronics users. Research in China and Peru has documented similar trends, with a burgeoning class of people who can afford to buy new and secondhand devices. By sometime between 2016 and 2018, domestic generation of e-waste in developing countries will outstrip generation in developed countries, says Williams.5 In the case of Peru, however, at least one company has profited by buying discarded electronics, often originating from the United States and elsewhere, and selling them to Aurubis,6 a state-of-the-art facility in Germany that is one of only five in the world equipped to properly process the hazardous components of circuit boards.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.120-a148

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Groundbreaking Agreement Will Use Green Infrastructure to Improve Water Quality in New York Harbor – NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation

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