Application of Automobile Used Engine Oils and Silica Fume to Improve Concrete Properties for Eco-Friendly Construction

Proper disposal of industrial waste can be very burdensome and expensive. On the other hand, improper disposal leads to environmental denigration. A brilliant, safe and cheap means of industrial waste disposal is its addition to concrete. These wastes are added to concrete to modify or improve the properties of the concrete in its fresh and/or hardened state. Used engine oil (UEO) and Silica fume (SF) are industrial wastes that can cause serious environmental pollution. A gallon of UEO is sufficient to pollute a million gallons of water. In this study, two types of UEOs (petrol and diesel engines) and SF are incorporated into concrete to improve the latter’s properties. The two UEOs are applied since they differ in chemical composition and undergo different operations. This study involves obtaining the optimum amounts of UEOs by considering workability and 28-day compressive strengths. Thereafter, SF of 10 % and 15 % replacement of cement was added to concrete with optimum UEOs and the properties were evaluated. The results showed that the UEOs and SF can be disposed of by adding to concrete to modify or improve properties. The results showed that the optimum DUEO and PUEO are 0.8 % and 0.6 % with 32 N/mm2 and 31 N/mm2 compressive strengths. The addition of the SF decreased workability by as much as 17.6 %, while having no significant influence on the compacting factor. In addition, the 10 % and 15 % of SF showed increase in the compressive strength of concrete with optimum UEOs by as much as 37 %

Lessons From the Western Atlantic Lionfish Invasion to Inform Management in the Mediterranean

Major invasions of Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitansandP. miles) areunderway in the Western Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. While the establishment of lionfish in the Western Atlantic is perhaps the most well-studied marine fish invasion to date, the rapidly expanding invasion in the Mediterranean is more recent and has received less attention. Here we review and synthesize successes and failures from two decades of lionfish management in the Western Atlantic to give policy recommendations for their management in the Mediterranean. Two failed approaches that were attempted multiple times in the Western Atlantic and that we advise against are (1) feeding lionfish to native fish to promote predation and (2) implementing bounty programs to incentivize lionfish harvest. Broadly, the most important management lessons that we recommend include (1) conducting routine removals by spearfishing with scuba, which can effectively suppress local abundances of lionfish; (2) encouraging the development of recreational and commercial lionfish fisheries, which can promote long-term, sustainable lionfish population control; and, (3) engaging local communities and resource users (e.g., with lionfish removal tournaments), whichcan concurrently achieve multiple objectives of promoting lionfish removals, market-development, research, and public education. Managers in the Western Atlantic often needed to adapt current conservation policies to enable lionfish removals in areas where spearfishing with scuba was otherwise prohibited for conservation purposes. The risk of abusing these policies was mitigated through the use of gear restrictions, diver trainings, and through participatory approaches that integrated scuba divers and stakeholder organizations in lionfish research and management. Our review of policies and practices in the Mediterranean Sea found that many of our recommended lionfish management approaches are not being done and indicate potential opportunities to implement these. We expect and fully recommend that work continues towards multinational cooperation to facilitate regional coordination of research, control, and management efforts with respect to the Mediterranean lionfish invasion. As with other major biological invasions, lionfish are unconstrained by political borders and their control will require rapid and strategic management approaches with broad cooperation among and between governments and stakeholders