Adsorbent materials from paper industry waste materials and their use in Cu(II) removal from water.

This paper deals with the removal of Cu2+ from water using adsorbent materials prepared from paper industry waste materials (one de-inking paper sludge and other sludge from virgin pulp mill). Experimental results showed that de-inking paper sludge leads to mesoporous materials (Vmic/VT = 0.13 and 0.14), whereas the sludge from virgin pulp mill produces high microporous adsorbents (Vmic/VT = 0.39 and 0.41). Adsorbent materials were then used for Cu2+ removal from water at acid pH. During water treatment, heavy metals lixiviation from adsorbent materials was not produced. However, important Ca and Mg leaching was observed. Final pH significantly increases after treatment of water with adsorbent materials probably due to their elevated CaCO3 content. In general, highest Cu2+ removal was obtained using adsorbent materials from de-inking paper sludge. This result could be due to their higher content in oxygenated surface groups, high average pore diameter, elevated superficial charge density, high CaCO3 amount and high Ca and Mg exchange conten

Plant development effects of biochars from different raw materials

Biochar can provide multiple benefits in the ecosystem. However, the presence of phytotoxic compounds in some biochars is an important concern that needs to be addressed and that depends on the raw material and the pyrolysis conditions used in biochar production. For example, sewage sludge biochars can have elevated heavy metal con- tents as they were present in the feedstock and were enriched during pyrolysis. Also during carbonization, some phytotoxic compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polyphenols or volatile organic com- pounds (VOCs) could be formed representing a risk of contamination to soils and crops. In this work we report the results from seed germination and plant development for three biochars prepared from wood, paper sludge plus wheat husks and sewage sludge. Five higher plant species (cress, lentils, cucumber, tomato and lettuce) were studied. Biochar from wood shows seed inhibition in several species and the paper sludge biochar on lettuce. For the rest, the effect on seed germination was positive. No inhibition of root growth was detected, but in some cases leaves and stems growth were inhibited. Our results are significant in terms of advancing or current understanding on the impacts of biochar on vegetative growth and linking those effects to biochar properties

Efecto de la adición de restos de poda y biochar en las propiedades de una turba parda como sustrato de cultivo

Las turberas realizan la función de sumidero de carbono en los ecosistemas terrestres pero debido a su excesivo uso como combustible o como medio de cultivo se está produciendo la sobreexplotación de este recurso no renovable. En los últimos años se han llevado a cabo diversas investigaciones con el objetivo de encontrar sustratos procedentes de diferentes residuos orgánicos que sean de alta calidad y bajo coste con el fin de disminuir el consumo de turba

Viability of the biochar production from different manure wastes in the Amblés Valley (Ávila, Spain)

In the last years, intensive animal husbandry production has led to a large concentration of animals in small areas. This has resulted in the production of excessive amounts of manures with insufficient nearby land for application. One of this areas is the Amblés Valley located in the centre of Spain, near to Ávila city, with an extension of 167472 ha of which 88.9% is agricultural land. This valley has an important livestock focused on pig, cattle, chicken production which is associated with the generation of more than 200,000 t/year of manure. There are a number of environmental problems associated with these intensive agricultural systems, including N and P pollution of water bodies, methane emissions and odour pollution. These serious environmental threats are called for innovative environmental management approaches. A feasible technology for the management of manures, offering a potential to valorise these wastes, is pyrolysis, which results in the production of biochar. The objective of this work is evaluated the technical and economic feasibility of the production of biochar in Amblés Valley (Spain)

Monthly hail time series analysis related to agricultural insurance

Hail is one of the mos important crop insurance in Spain being more than the 50% of the total insurance in cereal crops. The purpose of the present study is to carry out a study about the hail in cereals. Four provinces have been chosen, those with the values of production are higher: Burgos and Zaragoza for the wheat and Cuenca and Valladolid for the barley. The data that we had available for the study of the evolution and intensity of the damages for hail includes an analysis of the correlation between the ratios of agricultural insurances provided by ENESA and the number of days of annual hail (from 1981 to 2007). At the same time, several weather station per province were selected by the longest more complete data recorded (from 1963 to 2007) to perform an analysis of monthly time series of the number of hail days (HD). The results of the study show us that relation between the ratio of the agricultural insurances and the number of hail days is not clear. Several observations are discussed to explain these results as well as if it is possible to determinte a change in tendency in the HD time serie

Mathematical modeling in soil science

Teaching in context can be defined as teaching a mathematical idea or process by using a problem, situation, or data to enhance the teaching and learning process. The same problem or situation may be used many times, at different mathematical levels to teach different objectives

Effects of biochar prepared from organic waste on soil properties

Biochar is a carbon-rich solid obtained by the thermal decomposition of organic matter under a limited supply of oxygen and at relatively low temperatures. Biochar can be prepared from the pyrolysis of different organic feed- stocks, such as wood and biomass crops, agricultural by-products, different types of waste or paper industry waste materials . The pyrolysis procedure of waste, i.e. sewage sludge, has mainly two advantages, firstly, it removes pathogens from waste and, secondly, biochar can reduce the leaching of heavy metals present in raw sewage sludge. This trend of the use of waste material as feedstocks to the preparation of biochar is increasing in the last years due to industrial development and economic growth imply an increase in waste generation. The application of biochar may have positive effects on soil physical properties as water holding capacity and structure or on soil biological activity and soil quality. Also, biochar can be used to remove water pollutants and can be used in multiple ways in soil remediation due to its adsorption of pesticides or metals. Also, biochar contribute to carbon sequestration due to carbon stability of biochar materials. The objective of this presentation is to review the positive effects of the biochar prepared from organic waste on soil properties

Combining phytoextraction by Brassica napus and biochar amendment for the remediation of a mining soil in Riotinto (Spain)

Soil contamination in mining areas is an important environmental concern. In these areas, phytoremediation is often impeded because of the low fertility and pH. Assisted phytoremediation is increasingly being used in polluted areas. Biochar could assist plant growth via enhanced soil fertility. An experiment was performed in a mining soil (RIII) from the mining area of Riotinto (Spain) contaminated with Cu, Pb, Zn and As in order to study: (i) The effects of biochar on soil fertility; (ii) Biochar temperature of preparation effect and (iii) Effect of biochar on phytoremediation potential. A mesocosm experiment was designed using Brassica napus as test specie. Soil (RIII) was treated with rabbit manure biochars prepared at 450 °C (BM450) and 600 °C (BM600) at a rate of 10% in mass and incubated for 60 days with or without Brassica napus. Results showed that the combination of BM450 or BM600 with Brassica napus growth decreased the amount of As, Cu, Co, Cr, Se and Pb in the soil. Values of bioaccumulation factor (BAF) for Cd were particularly elevated (>10) in the unamended soil and reached values higher than 1 for other elements, indicating the potential of Brassica napus to accumulate several heavy metals. Translocation Factor (TF) was reduced for Co, Cr, Cd, Cu, Ni, Zn, Pb and As after biochar addition indicating root accumulation of these metals. In all cases, biochar addition increased biomass production. Finally, the addition of BM450 increased GMea index indicating also an improvement on soil quality

The effect of sewage sludge biochar on peat-based growing media

Peat is the main component of growing media in horticulture. Increasing demand, environmental concerns and rising costs for peat make the search for alternative materials imperative. Much research has been performed aiming to find high quality and low cost substrates from different organic wastes such as compost and thus decrease peat consumption. Biochar is a carbon-rich material that has attracted important research as a soil amendment. However, its potential utilization as a peat substitute for growing media formulation remains less well explored. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of sewage sludge and sewage sludge biochar on peat properties as growing media and on lettuce (Lactuca sativa) growth. Sewage sludge transformation into biochar proved to be a sustainable waste management approach in order to promote their future use as growing media components. Addition of biochar from sewage sludge increased the N, P and K content of growing media. The biochar addition to peat at a 10%vol rate increased lettuce biomass production by 184–270% and the shoot length by 137–147% despite hydrophysical properties not being improved. Also, biochar addition had a positive effect on growing media microbial biomass which increased more than 966%. In spite of the higher metal concentration in biochar than in sewage sludge, their transfer to plants seems to be reduced when compared with direct sewage sludge use

Individual's problem solving: adaptation vs. innovation. An study in UPM

Mauelshagen et al. reveal that the intellectual capital required for effective environmental policy making is particular diverse and encourage the development of models than can understand the profile of individuals and teams when dealing with collaboration, knowledge transfer and innovation. Furthermore, stakeholders frequently kill novel ideas when those ideas do not fit with the organization?s identity, i.e. organizational actors' enduring sense of who the organization is and what it stands for. The challenges of radical innovation requires architectures that embrace and augment, "hot" cognitive processes and the underlying mechanisms of interactions and innovation is still limited. The objective of our work is to understand the cognitive style of our students when finding solutions as agents of changes, as could be climate change following Kirton Adaptation-Innovation Theory (KAI)