Sewage sludge is the product from wastewater treatment that mostly is considered as a waste material. However, it contains several nutrients, especially phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen which are excellent fertilizers. The downside is the harmful content it also carries with pathogens, heavy metals and a variety of organic pollutants that in many cases have unknown effects on the ecosystem. A possible solution to this problem could be to pyrolyse the sewage sludge and by that decrease the levels of heavy metals and also render both pathogens and organic pollutants harmless. In this thesis project pyrolysis of dried sewage sludge has been evaluated at temperatures 650 750, 850 and 950 °C with addition of chlorine in the form of PVC and straw. An energy balance for pyrolysis and drying of dewatered sewage sludge has also been suggested. The results of the pyrolysis evaluation indicate that cadmium concentration can be reduced significantly with increasing temperature in the product char. But also other heavy metals like lead and zinc are affected at the higher temperatures evaluated. Mercury is completely removed from the char residue. The more latent volatile metals copper, chromium and nickel cannot be reduced to lower concentrations at these temperatures. They are instead enriched under these conditions. Chlorine addition to the sludge enhances the evaporation of all heavy metals but copper, nickel and chromium. The energy balance over the system indicates that the drying process requires more energy than is released from the sludge into the pyrolysis gases. The energy carried by the pyrolysis gases is however larger than what is required to drive the pyrolysis process.

published_or_final_version / Geography / Master / Master of Philosophy

<p>Storm water is defined as runoff from precipitation such as rain or snow. It is collected in sewage disposal systems and since it mainly originates from urban areas it can contain high levels of heavy metals, nutrients and oil etc. Polluted storm water is currently treated by different methods such as wet ponds, constructed wetlands and filter strips. This study investigates these methods, which in earlier studies have shown to give varying results regarding their treatment efficiency.</p><p>This thesis has been written on commission of SWECO VIAK and was aimed at studying those parameters that may affect the treatment efficiency of nutrients and heavy metals in storm water treatment facilities (STF:s). Through literature studies the dominating treatment processes in ponds and wetlands were examined. The flow pattern was then simulated in four different storm water ponds, of varying shape and size, by using a physically based computer model. The residence time distribution for each pond could then be calculated as well as the hydraulic efficiency, which is a measure on how well the inflowing water is spread throughout a pond. Finally a multiple regression analysis was performed. This analysis examined how the reduction of lead, copper, zinc and cadmium depends on the following factors: the specific pond area, the variance of the residence time distribution, the hydraulic efficiency and the concentration of incoming metals and suspended solids. The specific pond area is a factor which is defined as the pond area divided by the reduced run off area.</p><p>The results from the multiple regression analysis indicate that an increasing content of inflowing suspended solids leads to a better treatment efficiency regarding lead and copper. The specific area showed to have some effect on the treatment efficiency, but this effect was less than that of the content of inflowing suspended solids. The reduction of cadmium depended mainly on the specific area and the incoming concentration of cadmium. An increasing reduction of zinc could to some extent be explained by an increasing specific area.</p><p>The results from this analysis and earlier studies are emphasizing the fact that adsorption to particles and sediment is one of the main processes for a good separation of heavy metals from storm water. Longer measurements series from additional treatment facilities are needed to build a statistical model which, in the future, can be used to predict the treatment efficiency of storm water ponds.</p> / <p>Dagvatten är regn- och smältvatten som samlas upp i avloppssystem. Då detta vatten huvudsakligen härstammar från urban bebyggelse så kan det innehålla höga halter tungmetaller, närsalter och olja med mera. Idag behandlas förorenat dagvatten bland annat genom nyttjande av dammar, våtmarker och översilningsytor. Dessa behandlingsalternativ har dock visat sig ge varierande resultat med avseende på dess reningseffektivitet.</p><p>Detta arbete har utförts på uppdrag av konsultföretaget SWECO VIAK och syftade till att studera vilka parametrar som påverkar reningseffekten av närsalter och tungmetaller i dagvattendammar. Genom litteraturstudier undersöktes de dominerande reningsprocesserna i dammar och våtmarker. Därefter modellerades strömningen i 4 dammar med varierande form och storlek. Vid detta arbete erhölls en fördelning av uppehållstiden hos vattnet för respektive damm samt ett värde på den hydrauliska effektiviteten, vilken är ett mått på hur väl det inströmmande vattnet sprids ut i dammen. Slutligen utfördes en multipel regressionsanalys.</p><p>Vid denna analys undersöktes hur reningen av bly, koppar, zink och kadmium beror av den specifika dammarean, variansen hos vattnets uppehållstidsfördelning, den hydrauliska effektiviteten samt inkommande metall- och TSS-koncentration (suspenderat material). Den specifika dammarean är en faktor vilken defineras som kvoten mellan dammens area och dess reducerade avrinningsområde.</p><p>Resultaten från den multipla regressionen tyder på att en ökad inkommande halt av suspenderat material till dammen har störst betydelse för en förbättrad avskiljning av bly och koppar. Även den specifika arean och metallkoncentrationen i inflödet visade sig ha en viss, men något mindre, betydelse. Reduktionen av kadmium berodde däremot till störst del av den specifika arean och inkommande kadmiumkoncentration. En ökad reduktion av zink förklarades till viss del av en ökad specifik area. Resultatet att halten av suspenderat material i hög grad avgör reningen samt tidigare studier understryker det faktum att adsorption till partiklar och sediment verkar vara en av de viktigaste processerna för en god avskiljning av tungmetaller. Längre mätserier från fler dagvattendammar krävs dock för att i framtiden ta fram en statistisk modell vilken skulle kunna användas till att prediktera reningseffekten.</p>

This master thesis was performed in order to investigate arsenic stabilization in step-wise amended soil. Object of the work - soil which taken from the former wood impregnation industrial site in Forsmo, Sweden. It is contaminated with chromate-zinc-arsenate (CZA). Method of the work - three different amendments were used: zerovalent iron (Fe), fly-ash (FA) and peat (P). The test was performed in three weeks. During the first week, four mixtures (with each single additive and with all together) and blank soil was observed. During the second and third weeks test was performed step-wise adding amendments to soil+Fe mixture. Moisture was kept constant all the time. After each week extractions were made and later investigated by doing electrical conductivity, redox potential and pH tests. For elemental composition ICP-OES analysis was performed. The results of the work - the best result to stabilize arsenic were achieved by adding single iron. Stabilisation using iron, fly-ashes and peat elevated As leaching compared to non-amended soil. Step-wise amendment did not have a significant difference from single amelioration neither to arsenic, nor to other heavy metals investigated. / Darbo tikslas - įvertinti pakopinės stabilizacijos poveikį arseno bei kitų sunkiųjų metalų (SM) judrumui užterštame dirvožemyje. Darbo objektas - chromuotu cinko arsenatu užterštas dirvožemis, paimtas iš buvusios medienos apdirbimo aikštelės Forsmo vietovėje, Švedijoje. Darbo metodika - tyrimui buvo naudoti trejopi priedai: geležis (0), lakieji pelenai ir durpės. Tyrimas atliktas per tris savaites. Pirmosios savaitės metu buvo stebimi keturi dirvožemio ir jo priedų mišiniai bei kontrolinis dirvožemio mėginys. Vėliau dirvožemio ir geležies mišinys buvo pakopiniu būdu papildomas lakiaisiais pelenaisi ir durpėmis. Iš visų mišinių padarytos ištraukos ir jose matuojamas elektrinis laidumas, oksidacijos-redukcijos potencialas, pH; atlikta elementinė analizė. Darbo rezultatai - efektyviausiai arseną stabilizuoja geležis. Stabilizacija, naudojant lakiuosius pelenus ir durpes, padidino arseno išsiplovimą iš dirvožemio, lyginant su kontroliniu dirvožemio mėginiu. Pakopinė stabilizacija nebuvo efektyvesnė už vienkartinę stabilizaciją nei arseno, nei kitų tirtų sunkiųjų metalų atžvilgiu.

Magistrantūros studijų baigiamajame darbe pateikiami aliejinių moliūgų sausųjų medžiagų, sunkiųjų metalų: kadmio, švino, chromo, vario, cinko ir nikelio duomenys, gauti juos auginant augalinių ir komunalinių atliekų kompostuose. Darbo objektas – aliejiniai moliūgai (Cucurbita pepo L. var. Styriaca) ‘Olivia’, auginti augalinių ir komunalinių atliekų kompostuose. Darbo metodai. Standartiniais metodais tirta sausųjų medžiagų kiekis aliejinio moliūgo minkštime, žievėje ir sėklose. Sunkiųjų metalų kiekis nustatytas induktyvinės plazmos masės spektrometrijos metodu (LST EN 15621:2012). Analizės atliktos LAMMC Agrocheminių tyrimų laboratorijoje. Darbo rezultatai. Naudoti kompostai, turėjo įtakos sunkiųjų metalų kaupimuisi skirtingose aliejinių moliūgų dalyse. Žievėje ir minkštime daugiausia sausųjų medžiagų sukaupė moliūgai, auginti kontroliniame variante, o sėklose – augalinių ir komunalinių atliekų kompostuose. Švino ir kadmio kiekis ES rekomenduojamos DLK daržovėse neviršijo. Kitų sunkiųjų metalų (Cu, Cr, Ni ir Zn) koncentracijos daržovėse nėra reglamentuotos. Gauti rezultatai parodė, kad jų kiekis, skirtingose moliūgų vaisių dalyse, buvo panašūs. / The master work presents the results of oil pumpkin fruit dry matter, heavu metals: cadmium, lead, chromium, copper, zinc and nickel data derived from the cultivation of plant and municipal waste compost. Object of the work: the oil pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L. var. Styriaca) cultivar 'Olivia'. Method of the work ̶ standard methods were applied to investigate the dry matter content in the flesh, peel and seeds of oil pumpkin. The amount of heavy metals was determined by using inductive plasma mass spectrometry (BS EN 15621:2012). The analyses were carried out in the Agrochemical Laboratory of the Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry. The results of work. The usage of compost in different parts of oil pumpkin had impact on the heavy metal accumulation. The pumpkins of the control variant accumulated the highest amount of peel and flesh solids whereas the pumpkins grown in the municipal waste compost seeds contained the highest amount of seed solids. Lead and cadmium in the EU did not exceed the recommended maximum allowable concentration for vegetable. The concentration of other heavy metals (Cu, Cr, Ni and Zn) in vegetables is not regulated. The results showed that the quantity in different parts of the pumpkin fruit was similar.

Following the decline of the UK metal mining industry by the 1920s, over 3,000 abandoned metal mines exist in England and Wales. Contaminated drainage from this historical industry causes approximately 20% of all water quality failures in England and Wales. In this thesis, a holistic geographical approach, incorporating aspects of hydrology, hydrogeochemistry and freshwater ecology, is employed to investigate the hydrological, sedimentological and ecological impacts of the abandoned Dylife lead/zinc mine on the Afon Twymyn (central Wales). Examination of river sediment quality highlights the need for measurements of the quality of this component of the river ecosystem and, in particular, measurement of bioavailable as opposed to total metals. The majority of heavy metals in bed sediments of the Afon Twymyn exist in highly mobile geochemical phases, potentially posing serious threats to ecological integrity. Significant metal flushing occurred during flood events at Dylife mine and a distinct seasonal pattern was observed with greater levels of flushing occurring during flood events in the summer months. It is suggested that investigations of contaminant/ecosystem relations and potential remediation strategies should include high-resolution temporal sampling of river water chemistry under conditions of flood flow. Paradoxically, a range of biological indices failed to identify significant negative impacts of metal mine contaminants on macroinvertebrate communities, suggesting there is little contamination of the river ecosystem. However, Canonical Correspondence Analysis did identify significant differences in community structure between polluted and unpolluted river stretches, suggesting that standard unimetric biological indices might only be successful in identifying impacts at the most severely polluted mine sites. It is suggested that the ecological approach of the European Union Water Framework Directive to the assessment of river ecosystem status may not yield an accurate representation of contamination in rivers such as the Afon Twymyn where contamination by mining is moderate, circum-neutral and the mining operation is long abandoned.

Ascaris suum were exposed to a number of stressors, including heavy metals and both high (40°C) and low (18°C) temperatures. The 70kD and 90kD heat shock proteins (HSPs) in the different A. suum tissues were analyzed by Western blot and quantitated by Macintosh Image Program.

La croissance des plantes est limitée par la toxicité métallique. Des études suggèrent que le stress métallique peut être limité par l'absorption de silicium (Si). Cependant la phytodisponibilité du silicium n'a pas encore été clairement évaluée. Ainsi dans un premier temps cette étude a pour objectifs d'évaluer la disponibilité de Si issu de différents minéraux du sol et la signification des différents extractants utilisés pour l'extraction de Si du sol en terme de disponibilité lors d'une culture en continu de blé dur. Pour ce faire, des extractants acides et alcalins ont été comparés sur une série de sols non contaminés de nature différente, puis la validité de Na2CO3 pour l'estimation de la fraction disponible de Si pour une culture continue de blé dur (Triticum turgidum L.) a été testée sur une série de sols contrastés. Ensuite on a tenté de déterminer le rôle spécifique de Si dans la croissance de plantules de blé dur et la suppression des stress associés à la présence de Cd et Cu dans le milieu de croissance, à la fois en conditions hydroponiques et sur support solide simplifié en comparant un alumino-silicate et une diatomite. Finalement, l'apport de silicium amorphe (ASi) (et disponible) a été testé en pot sur les plantes de blé ayant poussé sur des sols multi-contaminés ou contaminés en Cd. ASi extrait par Na2CO3 (ASiNa) est apparu bien corrélé aux concentrations dans les parties aériennes du blé dur ayant poussé en pot sur différents sols non contaminés et, pour cette raison, pourrait être utilisé pour l'évaluation de la fraction phytodisponible. / Plant growth is seriously limited by heavy metal toxicity. Studies suggest that silicon (Si) can alleviate the metal stress in plants but its bioavailability in soil is not well defined. This study aims at assessing the bioavailability of Si from different soil minerals, the meaning of various extractants in terms of availability in relation with continuous plant uptake, and the specific role of Si on the plant growth and alleviation of cadmium (Cd) and copper (Cu) toxicity in durum wheat. For this purpose a series of experiments were performed both in soil and hydroponic conditions. Firstly, the significance of acid and alkaline methods was assessed in order to determine the bioavailable Si in soil and the applicability of the Na2CO3 extraction method was determined by repeated croppings of durum wheat on a variety of soils. Secondly, two hydroponic experiments were carried out to study the physiological response of wheat under Cd and Cu stress treated or not with Si. Thirdly, efficiency of different minerals to release bioavailable silica and its effect on reducing Cd and Cu toxicity was assessed. Finally, the effects of amorphous silica (ASi) application were investigated on metal stressed wheat plant grown in uncontaminated and contaminated soils. ASi extracted with Na2CO3 (ASiNa) was well correlated with the Si in plants shoots in our pot experiment with different soils. We showed that ASiNa can also be used for a good proxy of Si bioavailable to plants. Si present as amorphous Si (diatomite) added to the soil is available for plant uptake. However, in soils with large clay content, clay may be a significant source of Si for plants.

Le développement industriel et urbain accroit la pollution des eaux au Cameroun. Il faut donc rechercher des méthodes de dépollution peu onéreuses et de mise en oeuvre facile. L'objectif de ce travail était d'éliminer les métaux lourds (Cu2+, Pb2+, Hg2+, Cr3+) des eaux usées, par adsorption sur de l'argile brute ou traité thermiquement. L'argile alluviale prélevée dans la région de l'Extrême Nord du Cameroun est essentiellement composée de smectite (46%), kaolinite (38%), interstratifiés (10%) et quartz (5%). Les formules structurales sont (Si3,42Al0,58)(Al0,87Fe0,96Mg0,17)O10(OH)2(C+)0,75 , pour la smectite et Si2Al1,95Fe0,05O5(OH)4. pour la kaolinite. Les cations de métaux lourds s'adsorbent très rapidement sur l'argile brute ; la température et le pH de la solution influencent peu leur adsorption. L'affinité de l'argile pour Cu2+, et Pb2+ est très forte mais faible pour Hg2+ et Cr3+. Le mécanisme proposé est l'échange cationique et la complexation de surface pour l'adsorption de Cu2+, Pb2+ et Cr3+ et un mécanisme de spéciation pour l'adsorption de Hg2+. Les boulettes obtenues par traitement thermique de l'argile au dessus de 500°C sont stables en solution et montrent une bonne capacité d'adsorption des métaux lourds. Les boulettes sont moins efficaces que l'argile brute, mais leur utilisation, évitant la séparation solide-liquide, après adsorption est plus facile / The industrial and urban development increases the water pollution in Cameroon. It becomes imperative to develop inexpensive and easy to manage remediation methods. This work aimed at eliminating heavy metals (Cu2+, Pb2+, Hg2+, Cr3+) from water by adsorption on raw or heat treated clay. The alluvial clay sampled in the far North of Cameroon mainly contains smectite (46%), kaolinite (38%), interlayers (10%) and quartz (5%). The structural formulas are : (Si3,42Al0,58)(Al0,87Fe0,96Mg0,17)O10(OH)2(C+)0,75 for the smectite and Si2Al1,95Fe0,05O5(OH)4 for the kaolinite. The heavy metals cations fastly adsorb on raw clay, the temperature and the pH have not much influence on their adsorption. The clay affinity in relation to Cu2+, and Pb2+ is very strong whereas it is low for Hg2+, Cr3+. For the adsorption of Cu2+, Pb2+ and Cr3+ the proposed mechanisms are the cation exchange and the complexation while for the Hg2+, a mechanism of speciation is involved. The pellets obtained by thremic treatment of the clay above 500°C are stable in solution and they have a good capacity for heavy metals adsorption. Performances of the pellets are lower than those of raw clay, however, their use is easier since they do not need solid-liquid separation after adsorption

Poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) is a biopolymer made up of repeating units of L-glutamic acid, D-glutamic acid or both. γ-PGA is water soluble, non-toxic and biodegradable, and can be used safely in a variety of applications that are increasing rapidly. This study investigated the production of HMW γ-PGA by five Bacillus species (B. licheniformis 1525, B. licheniformis NCTC 6816, B. licheniformis ATCC 9945a, B. licheniformis ATCC 9945a and B. subtilis (natto) ATCC 15245) in GS, C and E media for the removal of heavy metals in wastewaters. The highest γ-PGA yields of 11.69 g/l and 11.59 g/l were produced by Bacillus subtilis (natto) ATCC 15245 in GS medium and medium C respectively. Upon characterization, γ- PGAs with different properties (crystallinity, acid/salt form and molecular weights ranging from 2.56 × 105 Da to 1.65 × 106 Da) were produced. The water soluble, non-toxic, HMW (Mw 1.65 × 106 Da) γ-PGA produced by B. subtilis (natto) ATCC 15245 in medium C was investigated as a sorbent for the removal of heavy metal ions including Cu2+, Zn2+, Ni2+, Cd2+ and Ag+. The results showed that the removal of metals by γ-PGA was more dependent on the concentration of γ-PGA than the solution pH. The highest metal ions removal of 93.50%, 88.13%, 90.21%, 90.56% and 86.34% by HMW γ-PGA were obtained for Cu2+, Zn2+, Ni2+, Cd2+ and Ag+ respectively. The presence of interfering metal ions could hinder the adsorption of individual metal ions by γ-PGA. The affinities of heavy metal ions for γ-PGA followed the order: Cu2+ > Zn2+ > Ni2+ > Cd2+. The effect of molecular weight of γ-PGA on metal removal was also investigated, and it was found that metal ion adsorption capacity of γ-PGA strongly depended on its molecular weight. The maximum amount (93.50%) of Cu2+ sorbed by HMW γ-PGA was higher compared to that (59.48%) sorbed by LMW γ-PGA. Isotherm models showed that the Redlich-Peterson best described the metal adsorption capacity of γ-PGA. It was also found that a multisite adsorption mechanism occurred via the complexation of metal ions with the free α-carboxyl and possibly the amide functional groups in γ-PGA.