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

Related posts:

1. Rumination: Flowback Water From Hydraulic Fracturing of Marcellus Shale
2. Microorganisms That Convert Hydrocarbons To Natural Gas Isolated

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

No related posts.

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

Related posts:

1. PA, NY, NJ, DE and NY City Sign Multi-State Water Management Agreement
2. EPA’s stormwater program needs a significant overhaul

Greenhouse and field experiments were conducted to evaluate the response of okra to different levels of human urine (0, 10,000, 15,000 and 20,000 L/ha) and 400 kg/ha NPK 15:15:15 inorganic fertilizer in five riverine communities of Cross River State, Nigeria. The soils of the communities are generally acid with low organic matter, total nitrogen, exchangeable cations, but were rated medium in available P. The pH of the urine was alkaline with moderate amount of nutrients. There was a significant (P < 0.05) increase in nutrient uptake with application of either urine or inorganic fertilizer compared with the control. Application level of 20,000 L urine/ha significantly increased the growth and yield attributes of okra plants relative to NPK fertilizer, while 15,000 L urine/ha had a similar effect on okra plant as the inorganic fertilizer. The inert potentials of human urine as a good source of organic fertilizer are discussed.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2012.02.003

Related posts:

1. Stored Human Urine Supplemented with Wood Ash as Fertilizer in Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) Cultivation and Its Impacts on Fruit Yield and Quality
2. Comprehensive quality assessment of municipal organic waste composts produced by different preparation methods

The mobility and bioavailability of cadmium, copper, lead and zinc were evaluated in three soils amended with different organic materials for two moisture regimes. Agricultural and reclamation activities impose fresh inputs of organic matter on soil while intensive irrigation and rainstorm increase soil waterlogging incidence. Moreover, scarcity of irrigation water has prompted the use of greywater, which contain variable concentrations of organic compounds such as anionic surfactants.

Soils added with hay, maize straw or peat at 1% w/w were irrigated, at field capacity (FC) or saturated (S), with an aqueous solution of the anionic surfactant Aerosol 22 (A22), corresponding to an addition of 200 mg C/kg soil/day. Soil solution was extracted after one month and analysed for total soluble metals, dissolved soil organic matter and UV absorbance at 254 nm. Speciation analyses were performed with WHAM VI for Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn. For selected scenarios, metal uptake by barley was determined.

Metal mobility increased for all treatments and soils (Pb > Cu > Cd ≥ Zn) compared to control assays. The increase was significantly correlated (p < 0.05) with soil organic matter solubilisation for Cd (R = 0.68), Cu (R = 0.73) and Zn (R = 0.86). Otherwise, Pb release was related to aluminium solubilisation (R = 0.75), which suggests that Pb was originally co-precipitated with Al–DOC complexes in the solid phase. The effect of A22 in metal bioavailability, determined as free ion activities (FIA), was mainly controlled by soil moisture regime. For soil 3, metal bioavailability was up to 20 times lower for soil amended with hay, peat or maize compared to soil treated only with A22. When soil was treated with A22 at FC barley yield significantly decreased (p < 0.05) for the increase of Pb (R = 0.71) and Zn (R = 0.79) concentrations in shoot, while for saturated conditions such uptake was up to 3 times lower.Overall, metal bioavailability was controlled by solubilisation of soil organic matter and formation of metal-organo complexes.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.02.033

Related posts:

1. Heavy metals in 3300-year-old agricultural soils used to assess present soil contamination
2. Elevated CO2 Levels Affects the Concentrations of Copper and Cadmium in Crops Grown in Soil Contaminated with Heavy Metals under Fully Open-Air Field Conditions

Approaches are needed to better predict spatial variation in riverine Hg concentrations across heterogeneous landscapes that include mountains, wetlands, and open waters. We applied multivariate linear regression to determine the landscape factors and chemical variables that best account for the spatial variation of total Hg (THg) and methyl Hg (MeHg) concentrations in 27 sub-basins across the 493 km2 upper Hudson River basin in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. THg concentrations varied by sixfold, and those of MeHg by 40-fold in synoptic samples collected at low-to-moderate flow, during spring and summer of 2006 and 2008. Bivariate linear regression relations of THg and MeHg concentrations with either percent wetland area or DOC concentrations were significant but could account for only about 1/3 of the variation in these Hg forms in summer. In contrast, multivariate linear regression relations that included metrics of (1) hydrogeomorphology, (2) riparian/wetland area, and (3) open water, explained about 66% to >90% of spatial variation in each Hg form in spring and summer samples. These metrics reflect the influence of basin morphometry and riparian soils on Hg source and transport, and the role of open water as a Hg sink. Multivariate models based solely on these landscape metrics generally accounted for as much or more of the variation in Hg concentrations than models based on chemical and physical metrics, and show great promise for identifying waters with expected high Hg concentrations in the Adirondack region and similar glaciated riverine ecosystems.

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2011JG001812

Related posts:

1. Methylmercury in Marine Ecosystems—From Sources to Seafood Consumers
2. In Inland China, Rice, Rather than Fish, Is the Major Pathway for Methylmercury Exposure