Processos geoquímics en abocadors d'escombraries

In a densily populated industrialized country, waste disposal must be compatible with the requirements of the environment. This is one of the indispensable requirements to guarantee an effective protection of the environment. While in the past, waste disposal performance was more or less evaluated in terms of short-term costs, there is at present a reorientation in the direction of a science-based waste disposal industry. These new tendencies are taking into account ecological factors as well as the long-term consequences of waste disposal methods. This field confronts science with an urgent challenge and calls for close collaboration between many different specialized disciplines. In this light, an overview of the geochemical processes taking place in landfills is presented in this paper

Desenvolupament d'un sistema expert per a l'estudi de l'especiació química

És generalment acceptat que 1'especiació química consisteix en la determinació de les diferents formes físico-químiques d'un element, el conjunt de les quals ens dóna la concentració total d'aquest en un sistema particular. L'especiació química pot ésser estudiada mitjançant càlculs basats en els equilibris existents en el sistema. Han estat elaborats molts programes, amb llurs pròpies bases de dades, capaços de dur a terme aquests càlculs, encara que, en general, són d'aplicació més aviat restringida. La finalitat del present projecte es la de desenvolupar un sistema expert per a 1'estudi de 1'especiació química (Joint Expert Speciation System, JESS), és a dir, un conjunt de programes de càlcul que inclourà una base de dades i un ajut «expert» que ha de guiar sempre l'usuari.Speciation is now accepted as meaning the different physico-chemical forms of an element that make up its total concentration in a particular environment. One way of determining speciation is to perform equilibrium calculations. Many programs exist that do such calculations, each with their own databases and most with rather restricted applications. The aim of the project is to develop a joint Expert Speciation System (JESS), a general equilibrium calculation and database package that will include an «expert» facility which will guide the user at all times