<p>The aim of our research was to investigate if oat is capable of extracting cadmium to such extent that it is usable in decontaminating polluted soils. We grew oat in a hydroponic culture during 28 days in a controlled environment and a total of 30 plants were used. The nutrient solutions were contaminated with cadmium of ten different concentrations after seven days. After harvesting the plants, the roots were separated from the shoots, placed in separate containers and then turned to ashes. The cadmium content was measured three times per sample in an atomic absorption spectrometer.</p><p>Our results indicate that the ability of oat to extract cadmium from a solution is linearly dependent of the cadmium concentration of the solution. We also noted that the resistivity to cadmium of oat is limited. When the concentration of accessible cadmium ions exceeded 0,06mM, a significant difference of the shoot growth appeared. The results we obtained from shoots and roots show cadmium amounts much higher in the roots than the shoots. Despite this difference there were sufficient amounts of cadmium in the shoots to call oat a hyper accumulator. This means that oat fulfills one of the criteria of a phytoextractor.</p>

Hemp is a versatile plant with many uses that has been around for thousands of years. The plant is highly adaptable andwill cultivate in almost any soil. It has excellent remediation properties and has shown to be relatively consistent when itcomes to crop yields. The aim of this literature survey is to examine how hemp can be used to be considered asustainable energy crop in Sweden through database searches and interviews. Hemps characteristics as an energy cropand its remediation properties is evaluated and compared with other plants that are used in Sweden. The result showsthat hemp is a competitive crop when used for solid fuel and that a closed-loop solution is achievable. Further studiesare needed for a closed-loop solution to be possible when using hemp as a biogas crop, mainly for establishing asustainable waste treatment.

Title: Photoluminescence of CdTe crystals Author: Jan Procházka Department: Institute of Physics of Charles University in Prague Supervisor: Doc. RNDr. Pavel Hlídek, CSc. Abstract: Energy levels connected with defects in nominally undoped crystals CdTe, indium- doped crystals and chlorine-doped crystals were studied using low-temperature photoluminescence. The crystals are intended for X- and gamma- ray detectors operated at room temperature. An effect of annealing in cadmium or tellurium vapor on luminescence spectra was investigated. Some changes were interpreted by filling of vacancies not only by atoms coming from gaseous phase but also by impurities from defects like interstitials, precipitates, inclusions, grain boundaries etc. The luminescence bands assigned to defects important for compensation mechanism were examined, namely A-centers (complexes of vacancy in cadmium sublattice and impurity shallow donor) and complexes of two donors bound to a vacancy. It was shown, that temperature dependence of the luminescence bands results from more complicated processes than a simple thermal escape of bound excitons or thermal excitation of electrons (holes) from defects to bands. We observed expressive "selective pair luminescence" bands (SPL) on partially compensated In-doped samples during sub-gap...

This diploma thesis is focused on determination of bioavailable cadmium in natural waters. Thesis is devided to two parts-laboratory study in model solution and experiments in real surface water system. During the laboratory experiments the accumulation and release constants of cadmium by aquatic moss Fontinalis antipyretica were determined. In Morava river experiment this aquatic moss was used to determine bioavailable fraction of cadmium and the moss bag technique were compared with another methods for phytotoxic metals determination.

Cadmium is heavy metal toxic for plants and animals and environmental contaminant which must be removed from natural environment. In recent years a new method phytoremediation is getting more attention. This method uses plants called hyperaccumulators for extraction of heavy metals from soils. Hyperaccumulators have, however, after accumulation of heavy metals no other use. Therefore new possibilities are discussed in last few years. Energy plants, in this thesis sorghum and malva, could be used for accumulation of heavy metals from soils and after that these plants could be used as energy source. This thesis wants to find out if sorgum and malva are able to grow in cadmium contaminated environment and if these plants will accumulate cadmium. It also compares different cultivars of sorghum in toxicity tests and compares ability of these cultivars to grow in cadmium contaminated environment and to accumulate this heavy metal. Further it focuses on affection of uptake of kadmium ions by sorhum in presence of glutathione or ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid.

Tungmetaller i naturen är ett stort problem att handskas med. Vid vattenrening i vattenreningsverken bildas slam som har stora användningsområden inom exempelvis jordbruket på grund av sitt höga fosforinnehåll som är en viktig resurs för att plantor och grödor ska kunna växa. Att erhålla ett bra och fungerande kretslopp av fosforn är därför väldigt viktigt, då det är en ändlig resurs som kommer att ta slut om inte recirkulation till kretsloppet utförs. Problemet med att använda fosforrikt slam är att det kan innehålla olika miljögifter, däribland nickel och kadmium, som anrikas i jorden och kan tas upp av grödorna på åkrarna. Detta medför att människor får i sig dessa gifter via maten. Revaq är ett certifieringssystem som är till för att certifiera det erhållna slammet för att visa att det är av god kvalité med avseende på renhet från olika gifter. Himmerfjärdsverket, som ägs av SYVAB där ägandeskapet består av flera kommuner, har idag Revaq-certifierat slam som är mycket bra att använda till spridning på åkermark. Södertälje är en av kommunerna som äger Himmerfjärdsverket, där Telge Nät är ansvariga för det vatten som skickas till vattenreningsverket. 2014 utförde Josefin Flodgren (Flodgren, 2015a) en provtagning av vattnet vid flera olika punkter uppströms Himmerfjärdsverket och jämförde resultaten med föregående mätningar som utförts 2010. Det framkom att provpunkt Bergvik i Södertälje hade förhöjda halter av kadmium i vattnet. Bergvik hamnade då på Telge Näts handlingsplan för 2015 att utföra uppströmsarbete för att kartlägga potentiella källor för utsläppen av nickel och kadmium inom området. Under detta arbete kartlades de verksamheter som var kopplade till området Bergvik. Undersökningen innefattade verksamheter med olika graderingar: A (ska ha mark och- miljödomstolens tillstånd att bedriva verksamhet) (Södertälje kommun, 2015), B (behöver tillstånd från länsstyrelsen) (Södertälje kommun, 2015), C (endast anmälningspliktiga till tillsynsmyndigheten) (Södertälje kommun, 2015) och U (tillför en egenkontroll) (Ockelbo kommun, 2015). Ovidkommande vatten, även kallat dagvatten, kartlades även det. Området delades in i 16 zoner för att kunna utföra bedömningar om vilka områden i Bergvik som hade störst potential att bidra med nickel och kadmium till avloppsvattnet. Resultaten från kartläggningen visade att inga A eller B verksamheter fanns inom området. Fyra U verksamheter kunde spåras i området, en båtklubb, ett metall och- smidesföretag, en bläst och- målerifirma samt en verksamhet som tillhandahöll och sålde maskiner avsedda för gasrening. Från kartläggningen av det ovidkommande vattnet framkom det att 41 bostäder hade dagvattenledningar kopplade till spillvattennätet. Tre dagvattenbrunnar lokaliserades, vilka var kopplade till avloppsledningarna. Litteraturstudier visade att de största utsläppsriskerna av nickel och kadmium kommer från hushållen. Därför ansågs det viktigt att även fokusera på detta för att komma till bukt med problemet av de förhöjda halterna av kadmium. Resultatet blev att tre av de sexton zonerna fick hög prioritet att utföra noggrannare undersökning för att kontrollera om de kunde bidra med utsläpp av nickel och/eller kadmium. En åtgärdsplan togs fram för respektive utsläppstyp, från verksamheter, ovidkommande vatten samt för hushåll. Från båtklubben kan utsläppen av kadmium komma från målning med bottenfärger, därför rekommenderades att andra mer miljövänliga färger skulle kunna användas istället. Från bläst och-måleriföretaget kan nickel och kadmium komma till avloppet om gammal färg eller metallytor blästras, som sedan spolas bort. Förslag att ta hand om avfallet på plats rekommenderades. Dagvattenbrunnarna som var kopplade till avloppsnätet rekommenderades att istället kopplas till dagvattennätet istället. Mer noggrannare undersökningar med mätningar på varje berörd plats behöver utföras för att verifiera vart utsläppen kommer ifrån. Förslag för fortsatt arbete för Telge Nättogs fram där förslaget var att utföra kontroller genom mätningar med exempelvis mätinstrumentet Ecoscope för att kunna detektera utsläppen av nickel och kadmium. Mätningar bör utföras vid de rekommenderade zonerna eller vid de kartlagda verksamheterna samt vid dagvattenbrunnarna. / Heavy metals in nature is a major problem to deal with. Sludge is produced at the waste water treatment plants which has major applications in areas such as agriculture due to its high phosphorus content. Phosphorus is an essential resource for plants and crops to grow. To obtain a good and effective recycling of phosphorus is therefore very important, since it is a finite resource that will run out. The problem with using phosphorous-rich sludge is that it can contain various pollutants, including nickel and cadmium, which accumulates in soil and can be used up by the crops in the fields. This means that people ingest these toxins through the food. Revaq is a certification system that is designed to certify the resulting sludge to show that it is of good quality in terms of purity from various toxins. Himmerfjärdsverket, owned by SYVAB where ownership is composed of several municipalities, has Revaq certified sludge which is very good to spread on farmland. Södertälje is one of the municipalities that own Himmerfjärdsverket where Telge Nät is responsible for the water sent to the waste water plant. In 2014 a sampling of the water at various points upstream Himmerfjärdsverket was done by Josefin Flodgren (Flodgren, 2015a), and the result was compared with previous measurements performed in 2010. It was revealed that Bergvik in Södertälje had elevated levels of cadmium in the water. Because of this Bergvik ended up on the Telge Nät action plan for 2015 to carry out upstream work to identify potential sources of emissions of nickel and cadmium in the area. During this work the activities connected to Bergvik was mapped. The mapping involved activities with different grading’s: A (should have the land and- environmental courts approval to practice its activity) (Södertälje kommun, 2015), B (needs approval from the county administrative board) (Södertälje kommun, 2015), C (only notifiable to the regulatory agency) (Södertälje kommun, 2015) and U (self-monitoring) (Ockelbo kommun, 2015). Extraneous water, also called surface water, was also surveyed. Bergvik was divided into 16 zones to carry out assessments of the areas in which had the greatest potential to contribute with nickel and cadmium to wastewater. The results of the survey showed that no A or B activities were located in the area. Four U activities could be traced in the area, a boat club, a metal and- forging company, a blast and- painting company and a business that provided and sold machines for gas cleaning. The mapping of the extraneous water revealed that 41 homes had extraneous water connected to the wastewater network. Three gullies were located that were connected to the wastewater network. Literature studies showed that the greatest risk of pollution comes from households. Therefore, it was considered important to focus on this to come to grips with the problem of the elevated levels of cadmium. The result showed that three of the sixteen zones were given high priority to perform more thorough examination to check if they could contribute with the release of nickel and/or cadmium. An action plan was developed for each type of emission source from operations, extraneous water as well as for households. From the boat club, emissions of cadmium could come from painting with antifouling, therefore, it is recommended to use more environmentally friendly types of boat paints. From the blast and-painting company nickel and cadmium can come to the drain from old paint ormetal surfaces when blasted, which are then flushed away. Proposals to dispose of the waste on site was recommended. The stormwater drains that were connected to the sewerage network were instead advised to be connected to the storm water network instead. More detailed studies with measurements on each affected area needs to be performed to verify where the emissions are coming from. Further work for Telge Nät were developed where the proposal was to carry out the measurements, for example with the measuring instrument Ecoscope, to detect the emission of nickel and cadmium. Measurements should be performed at the recommended zones or at the identified activities as well as the drains.

Kring Sveriges kuster hamnar tång och sjögräs (även kallad släke) som ruttnar, sprider dålig lukt och som läcker närsalter tillbaka till havet vilket kan bidra till en ökad lokal övergödning. Ett område som är särskilt drabbat av stora mängder släke är sydöstra Sverige inklusive landskapen Skåne, Blekinge, Öland och Gotland. Släke har tidigare använts inom jordbruket som gödningsmedel på grund av dess näringsrika innehåll men med införandet av konstgödslet har användningen av släke minskat. Denna studie sammanställer data från rapporter kring Sveriges sydöstra kust för att kartlägga hur kadmiumhalterna kan variera beroende på plats och tid. Dessutom utförs beräkningar för att bedöma om släke eventuellt skulle kunna integreras i dagens jordbruk. Resultaten visade att 22 av 104 insamlade värden av kadmiumhalter överstiger gränsen för biogödsel och avlopsslam på 2 mg Cd /Kg TS samt att det finns lokala skillnader angående kadmiumhalter. Beräkningarna visade att släke kan troligen ersätta fastgödslet som används idag på grund av liknande näringsinnehåll. Tillgången till släke begränsar däremot hur väl släke kan ersätta mineralgödslet och fastgödslen. Dessutom överstiger kadmiumtillförseln till åkrarna den tillåtna gränsen på 0,75 g/ha. Slutsatsen blir därmed att släke inte bör användas ensamt för att bidra med näring till matgrödor på grund av dess höga kadmiuminnehåll. Istället kan det användas till icke matgrödor eller möjligtvis kombinera mineralgödsel med släke för att hålla kadmiumhalterna i styr, samtidigt som eutrofieringen i Östersjön förmildras. / Around the coasts of Sweden there is a distribution of macroalgae that rots which causes it to smell bad and it also leaks nutrition back to the ocean which causes a growth in local eutrophication. Especially the southern eastern part of Sweden is affected by this, including the landscapes Skåne, Blekinge, Öland and Gotland. These macroalgaes have previously been used within agriculture as fertilizer because of its high nutritional content but the introduction of inorganic fertilizers has decreased the use of macroalgaes. This study compiles the data from reports gathered on the southeastern coasts of Sweden to map out how the concentrations of cadmium can vary depending on position and time. Furthermore, calculations were made regarding the potential replacement of macroalgae with different types of manure by comparing the amount of nutrients that each fertilizer contains. The results showed that 22 of 104 collected values of cadmium concentrations exceeded the limit of 2 mg Cd/Kg TS and that there are local variations when it comes to cadmium content in macroalgaes. Calculations showed that the macroalgae can probably replace the manure from cow and pig, mainly because of its similarities in nutrient contents. The limiting factor to how well the inorganic fertilizer can be replaced is the amount of macro algae on the coasts - there are small amounts. The infusion of cadmium however is too large and exceeds the limit of 0,75 grams per acre. The conclusion is therefore that macroalgae should not be used alone for food crops as the cadmium levels are too high. It can instead be used for non-food crops or combine the macroalgae with inorganic fertilizers to keep the cadmium levels low while also mitigating the eutrophication of the Baltic sea.

The nutrition bound in macroalgae, also known as seaweed, contains high amounts of all the nutrients, micronutrients, vitamins and plant hormones, necessary for plants, animals and humans. Totally for free it is floating in the oceans around the world and has been harvested and used by people for thousands of years. A problem that has arisen in the wake of Industrialism during the past 200 years is that human beings spread non-desirable substancesto air, water and soil, for example heavy metals. Macroalgae accumulate the heavy metals, which may become a problem if we want to eat seaweed or use it to grow plants in.  In a growth trial using macroalgal compost made from Fucus radicans collected from the Baltic Sea, the uptake heavy metals in the edible tubers of potatoes of the cultivar ‘Cherie’ was investigated. The following heavy metals were analyzed: lead(Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), arsenic (As) and copper (Cu). There were no differences in the uptake of heavy metal between potatoes grown in macroalgal compost and soil, but the potato tubers from both cultivations contained concentrations of Cd and As higher than those normally found in Swedish potatoes. The concentrations are, however, much lower than the limits set by EFSA. The macroalgal compost and the soil used in the experiment were also analyzed for heavy metal content. The Cd concentration in the compost exceeded the limit for Swedish compost. However, the high levels of Cd in the compost were not reflected in the Cd content of the potato tubers. Soil conductivity and pH values were also investigated. The high conductivityof the macroalgal compost was probably due to insufficient rinsing of the macroalgae, and thus it was not ideal for use in crop cultivation. In spite of this, the crop yield was good. In conclusion, macroalgal compost can be recommended as a cultivation substrate for potatoes. / Den näring som finns bunden i makroalger, även kallad tång, innehåller rikliga mängder av alla näringsämnen, spårämnen, vitaminer och växthormoner som växter, djur och människor behöver. Alldeles gratis flyter den omkring i världshaven och har skördats och använts av människan under tusentals år. Problemet som uppstått i industrialismens spår de senaste 200 åren är att människan sprider icke önskvärda ämnen till luft, vatten och jord, t.ex. tungmetaller. Makroalger ackumulerar dessa, vilket kan bli ett problem om vi vill äta eller odla i tång.  Vid ett odlingsförsök med potatis i tångkompost av Fucus radicans från Östersjön undersöktes metallupptaget i de ätbara knölarna i potatis av sorten ’Cherie’. De tungmetaller som analyserades var bly (Pb), kadmium (Cd), kvicksilver (Hg), arsenik (As) och koppar (Cu). Analysrapporten visade ingen skillnad i upptag av tungmetaller mellan potatis som odlats i tångkompost eller i jord; däremot innehöll knölarna från båda odlingarna högre halter av kadmium och arsenik än normalvärdena i svensk potatis. Halterna är dock långt under EFSA:s gränsvärden. Även odlingssubstraten, dvs. tångkomposten och jorden undersöktes för tungmetallförekomst. Kadmiumhalterna i tångkomposten översteg gränsvärdet för svenska kompostjordar, men de höga kadmiumhalterna reflekterades inte i potatisknölarnas kadmiuminnehåll. Odlingssubstratens ledningstal och pH-värden undersöktes också. Tångkompostens höga ledningstal (10,8 mS/cm) berodde antagligen på otillräcklig sköljning och gjorde den inte idealisk för odling. Trots detta blev skördeutfallet gott. Således kan tångkompost rekommenderas som odlingssubstrat för potatis.

The aim of this master's thesis has been to develop and optimize the method of UV- photochemical vapor generation of cadmium volatile compounds for atomic fluorescence spectrometry. Two configurations with different materials wrapped around the low-pressure mercury vapor lamp were tested. I experimentally determined optimal conditions for both systems; the optimalized parametres included selection of photochemical reagent and its concentration, flow rate of liquids and gases, and the lenghth of the reaction coil. After finding the optimal parametres I determined the figures of merit of the method. I found from the measured data that UV-photoreactor with the quartz capillary provided lower limits of detection and thus was more suitable for generation of cadmium volatile compounds. With this arrangement and using the ferrous sulphate heptahydrate as the chemical modifier I obtained limit of detection 2,0 µg·l-1 , limit of determination 7,0 µg·l-1 , linear dynamic rate LOD-50 µg·l-1 and repeatibility 0,35 %. I also carried out the interference study in my thesis and determined the generation effeciency of cadmium volatile compounds. The interference study shows the influence of mineral acids (HCl, H2SO4, HNO3), their salts (NaNO2, NaNO3) and transition metals (Co, Ni, Cu). Based on literature review I also...

Sorption of quaternary metal ions (Pb2+, Cu2+, Cd2+ and Zn2+) was carried out on lignite from the South Moravia. Following experiments were tested: kinetic sorption, dependence of sorption on pH, initial concentration, temperature, effect of electrolytes (KNO3 and NaCl) and desorption in deionized water. Sorption studies was carried out in quaternary mixtures and in the case of inicial concentration effect additional in a single-component solution. The batch sorption experiments was used. Sorption time was 24 hour, although concentration of ions was a near equilibrium after two hour. As the optimal pH was determined pH 5. The order of affinity by lignite was obtained Pb >> Cd > Zn > Cu for the sorption of metals in the single-component solution and the order was Pb > Cu > Zn > Cd for the sorption of mixture of metals. The maximum adsorptium capacities from single solutions were for Pb 97,82 mg/g, Cd 60,34 mg/g, Zn 49,88 mg/g and Cu 30,28 mg/g and in the case of ones from mixture solutions were for Pb 39,03 mg/g, Cu 25,94 mg/g, Zn 15,21 mg/g and Cd 5,18 mg/g. Experimental data have been analysed using Langmuir and Freundlich model. Thermodynamic values H°, S° and G° were calculated. Desorption test showed that desorption efficiency is 0–3 %. NaCl had the greatest influence on sorption from electrolytes. On the basis obtained results we can say that metals are binding to lignite in particular due to chemical interactions. Lignite is s suitable as a sorption material for metal ions especially in the field of low concentrations.