Resource recovery and remediation of highly alkaline residues : a political-industrial ecology approach to building a circular economy

Highly alkaline industrial residues (e.g., steel slag, bauxite processing residue (red mud) and ash from coal combustion) have been identified as stocks of potentially valuable metals. Technological change has created demand for metals, such as vanadium and certain rare earth elements, in electronics associated with renewable energy generation and storage. Current raw material and circular economy policy initiatives in the EU and industrial ecology research all promote resource recovery from residues, with research so far primarily from an environmental science perspective. This paper begins to address the deficit of research into the governance of resource recovery from a novel situation where re-use involves extraction of a component from a bulk residue that itself represents a risk to the environment. Taking a political industrial ecology approach, we briefly present emerging techniques for recovery and consider their regulatory implications in the light of potential environmental impacts. The paper draws on EU and UK regulatory framework for these residues along with semi-structured interviews with industry and regulatory bodies. A complex picture emerges of entwined ownerships and responsibilities for residues, with past practice and policy having a lasting impact on current possibilities for resource recovery

Current flux imaging of a micromagnetic electrofoil

Like air flowing over a wing, optimizing the flow of electronic charge is essential to the operation of nanoscale devices. Unfortunately, the delicate interplay of charge, spin, and heat in complex devices has precluded detailed imaging of charge flow. Here, we report on the visualization of intrinsic charge current streamlines through yttrium iron garnet micromagnetic heterostructures. Scanning photovoltage microscopy of precisely designed devices leads to striking spatial patterns, with prominent photovoltage features emerging in corners and narrow constrictions. These patterns, which evolve continuously with rotation of an external magnetic field, enable rich spatial mapping of fluid-like flow. Taking inspiration from aerodynamic Clark Y airfoils, we engineer micromagnetic wing shaped devices, called electrofoils, which allow us to precisely contort, compress and decompress flowlines of electronic charge.Comment: 7 Pages, 4 figures, supplemental materials attached after reference

Mobilisation of arsenic from bauxite residue (red mud) affected soils: effect of pH and redox conditions

The tailings dam breach at the Ajka alumina plant, western Hungary in 2010 introduced ~1 million m3 of red mud suspension into the surrounding area. Red mud (fine fraction bauxite residue) has a characteristically alkaline pH and contains several potentially toxic elements, including arsenic. Aerobic and anaerobic batch experiments were prepared using soils from near Ajka in order to investigate the effects of red mud addition on soil biogeochemistry and arsenic mobility in soil–water experiments representative of land affected by the red mud spill. XAS analysis showed that As was present in the red mud as As(V) in the form of arsenate. The remobilisation of red mud associated arsenate was highly pH dependent and the addition of phosphate to red mud suspensions greatly enhanced As release to solution. In aerobic batch experiments, where red mud was mixed with soils, As release to solution was highly dependent on pH. Carbonation of these alkaline solutions by dissolution of atmospheric CO2 reduced pH, which resulted in a decrease of aqueous As concentrations over time. However, this did not result in complete removal of aqueous As in any of the experiments. Carbonation did not occur in anaerobic experiments and pH remained high. Aqueous As concentrations initially increased in all the anaerobic red mud amended experiments, and then remained relatively constant as the systems became more reducing, both XANES and HPLC–ICP-MS showed that no As reduction processes occurred and that only As(V) species were present. These experiments show that there is the potential for increased As mobility in soil–water systems affected by red mud addition under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions

Applying Innovative Technologies and Practices in the Rapid Shift to Remote Learning

Shifting to remote learning during times of a crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, is very different from well-planned online learning. This paper highlights the experience of shifting to remote learning and outlines lessons learned from the experience. The COVID-19 pandemic brought a wholly new educational context, which uncovered problems such as; course delivery & assessment; communication & misinformation; and technology limitations. This highlights a gap in research on rapid mid-term shift to remote learning in times of a crisis. There are plenty of resources for Information Systems education to draw lessons for effective online learning practices. However, there is limited research on remote learning in response to a crisis, such as COVID-19. This paper presents a case study at Bournemouth University, in which a Business Systems Analysis and Design (BSAD) course was moved to remote learning during COVID-19. The results reflect on the importance of learning focus, students focus, and learning resource focus for remote learning. This includes activities to promote effective communication and information resources, student engagement and support, and remote course delivery and assessment. All these activities are essential elements in a rapid shift from blended learning to remote learning during a crisis, such as COVID-19

Microplastic ingestion ubiquitous in marine turtles

Despite concerns regarding the environmental impacts of microplastics, knowledge of the incidence and levels of synthetic particles in large marine vertebrates is lacking. Here, we utilize an optimized enzymatic digestion methodology, previously developed for zooplankton, to explore whether synthetic particles could be isolated from marine turtle ingesta. We report the presence of synthetic particles in every turtle subjected to investigation (n = 102) which included individuals from all seven species of marine turtle, sampled from three ocean basins (Atlantic [ATL]: n = 30, four species; Mediterranean (MED): n = 56, two species; Pacific (PAC): n = 16, five species). Most particles (n = 811) were fibres (ATL: 77.1% MED: 85.3% PAC: 64.8%) with blue and black being the dominant colours. In lesser quantities were fragments (ATL: 22.9%: MED: 14.7% PAC: 20.2%) and microbeads (4.8%; PAC only; to our knowledge the first isolation of microbeads from marine megavertebrates). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR) of a subsample of particles (n = 169) showed a range of synthetic materials such as elastomers (MED: 61.2%; PAC: 3.4%), thermoplastics (ATL: 36.8%: MED: 20.7% PAC: 27.7%) and synthetic regenerated cellulosic fibres (SRCF; ATL: 63.2%: MED: 5.8% PAC: 68.9%). Synthetic particles being isolated from species occupying different trophic levels suggest the possibility of multiple ingestion pathways. These include exposure from polluted seawater and sediments and/or additional trophic transfer from contaminated prey/forage items. We assess the likelihood that microplastic ingestion presents a significant conservation problem at current levels compared to other anthropogenic threats

Immunochip analysis identifies multiple susceptibility loci for systemic sclerosis

In this study, 1,833 systemic sclerosis (SSc) cases and 3,466 controls were genotyped with the Immunochip array. Classical alleles, amino acid residues, and SNPs across the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region were imputed and tested. These analyses resulted in a model composed of six polymorphic amino acid positions and seven SNPs that explained the observed significant associations in the region. In addition, a replication step comprising 4,017 SSc cases and 5,935 controls was carried out for several selected non-HLA variants, reaching a total of 5,850 cases and 9,401 controls of European ancestry. Following this strategy, we identified and validated three SSc risk loci, including DNASE1L3 at 3p14, the SCHIP1-IL12A locus at 3q25, and ATG5 at 6q21, as well as a suggested association of the TREH-DDX6 locus at 11q23. The associations of several previously reported SSc risk loci were validated and further refined, and the observed peak of association in PXK was related to DNASE1L3. Our study has increased the number of known genetic associations with SSc, provided further insight into the pleiotropic effects of shared autoimmune risk factors, and highlighted the power of dense mapping for detecting previously overlooked susceptibility loci