The influence of heating on the carbon isotope composition, organic geochemistry and petrology of coal from the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (Poland) : an experimental and field study

The impact of natural intra-deposit heating on the δ13C signature, organic geochemistry, and petrology of coal and coal-bearing rocks characterised by various degrees of coalification and palaeoenvironments in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin, Poland, is elaborated. Reconstruction of palaeofire performed by heating experiments up to 400 ◦C in open and semi-closed systems with different heating regimes confirms the crucial significance of temperature and oxygen access. In open-system heating, released 13C-depleted gases enrich residue coke in 13C compared to raw coal. Petrological examinations did not show the impact of palaeofires on the maceral prop-erties of coal. However, the carried-out experiment caused the formation of devolatilisation pores, rounded edges, cracks, pale rims, as well as higher reflectance and paler colour that was what was expected. Extractable compounds become highly depleted, and low-weight organic compounds nearly absent. Relatively high contents of combustion-formed PAHs are an indicator of open-system heating. In semi-closed systems, the final total isotopic composition was almost unchanged as no components are carried away though changes in petrography and geochemistry occur. Increased extract yields reflect the release of bitumen from closed pores and partial pyrolysis of organic matter. Depletion of lighter n-alkane compounds, total carbon TC and volatiles decrease, and variable values of various alkyl aromatic hydrocarbon ratios are also indicative of semi-closed heating. Coal seams suspected of intra-deposit heating show geochemical and isotopic features similar to semi-closed- rather than open-system heating, and their δ13C signatures and organic geochemistry did not respond strongly during laboratory re-heating

Silver is not equal to silver : synthesis and evaluation of silver nanoparticles with low biological activity, and their incorporation into C12C_{12}alanine-based hydrogel

A new type of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was prepared and comprehensively studied. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) analyses indicated that 24 nm AgNPs with narrow size distribution were obtained while Z-potential confirms their good stability. The composites of the obtained AgNPs with nontoxic-nature-inspired hydrogel were formed upon cooling of the aqueous solution AgNPs and C12Ala. The thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) do not show significant shifts in the characteristic temperature peaks for pure and silver-enriched gels, which indicates that AgNPs do not strongly interact with C12Ala fibers, which was also confirmed by SEM. Both AgNPs alone and in the assembly with the gelator C12Ala were almost biologically passive against bacteria, fungus, cancer, and nontumor human cells, as well as zebra-fish embryos. These studies proved that the new inactive AgNPs-doped hydrogels have potential for the application in therapy as drug delivery media

Assessment of GHG Interactions in the Vicinity of the Municipal Waste Landfill Site—Case Study

Landfills have been identified as one of the major sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and as a contributor to climate change. Landfill facilities exhibit considerable spatial and temporal variability of both methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) rates. The present work aimed to evaluate the spatial distribution of CH4 and CO2 and their δ13C isotopic composition originating from a municipal landfill site, to identify its contribution to the local GHG budget and the potential impact on the air quality of the immediate surroundings in a short-term response to environmental conditions. The objective was met by performing direct measurements of atmospheric CO2 and CH4 at the selected monitoring points on the surface and applying a binary mixing model for the determination of carbon isotopic ratios in the vicinity of the municipal waste landfill site. Air samples were collected and analysed for isotopic composition using flask sampling with a Picarro G2201-I Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CRDS) technique. Kriging and Inverse distance weighting (IDW) methods were used to evaluate the values at unsampled locations and to map the excess of GHGs emitted from the landfill surface. The large off-site dispersion of methane from the landfill site at a 500 m distance was identified during field measurements using isotopic data. The mean δ13C of the landfill biogas emitted to the surrounded atmosphere was −53.9 ± 2.2‰, which corresponded well to the microbial degradation processes during acetate fermentation in the waste deposits. The calculated isotopic compositions of CO2 (δ13C = −18.64 ± 1.75‰) indicate the domination of biogenic carbon reduction by vegetation surrounding the landfill. Finally, amounts of methane escaping into the air can be limited by the appropriate landfill management practices (faster covers active quarter through separation layer), and CH4 reduction can be achieved by sealing the cover on the leachate tank

Assessment of GHG Interactions in the Vicinity of the Municipal Waste Landfill Site—Case Study

Landfills have been identified as one of the major sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and as a contributor to climate change. Landfill facilities exhibit considerable spatial and temporal variability of both methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) rates. The present work aimed to evaluate the spatial distribution of CH4 and CO2 and their δ13C isotopic composition originating from a municipal landfill site, to identify its contribution to the local GHG budget and the potential impact on the air quality of the immediate surroundings in a short-term response to environmental conditions. The objective was met by performing direct measurements of atmospheric CO2 and CH4 at the selected monitoring points on the surface and applying a binary mixing model for the determination of carbon isotopic ratios in the vicinity of the municipal waste landfill site. Air samples were collected and analysed for isotopic composition using flask sampling with a Picarro G2201-I Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CRDS) technique. Kriging and Inverse distance weighting (IDW) methods were used to evaluate the values at unsampled locations and to map the excess of GHGs emitted from the landfill surface. The large off-site dispersion of methane from the landfill site at a 500 m distance was identified during field measurements using isotopic data. The mean δ13C of the landfill biogas emitted to the surrounded atmosphere was −53.9 ± 2.2‰, which corresponded well to the microbial degradation processes during acetate fermentation in the waste deposits. The calculated isotopic compositions of CO2 (δ13C = −18.64 ± 1.75‰) indicate the domination of biogenic carbon reduction by vegetation surrounding the landfill. Finally, amounts of methane escaping into the air can be limited by the appropriate landfill management practices (faster covers active quarter through separation layer), and CH4 reduction can be achieved by sealing the cover on the leachate tank

Populus nigra Italica Leaves as a Valuable Tool for Mineralogical and Geochemical Interpretation of Inorganic Atmospheric Aerosols’ Genesis

The Olmaliq industrial area in Uzbekistan is believed to represent a risk to the environment and to human health due to the dispersal of contaminants into the air and soil. This study was undertaken to delineate the track of airborne contaminants’ migration and to assess the distribution of such particles deposited on Populus nigra L. cv Italica leaves and soils. Particles were identified using scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), while bulk soil composition was quantified by applying inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The results of this study confirmed the research hypothesis, indicating the industrial center as a source of pollution and human exposure to metallic contaminants. The Olmaliq area in particular is strongly influenced by atmospheric pollutants from local industries. The spread of ultra-fine particles is mainly governed by the industrial output and the direction of prevailing winds

Health risk assessment in the vicinity of a copper smelter: particulate matter collected on a spider web

We used spider webs as a particulate matter (PM) sampler to assess the possible health risk to the inhabitants of Legnica city (Poland). We aimed to find out if it is a useful material and could provide reliable information. We selected two spider families (Agelenidae and Linyphiidae) whose webs structure enhances the PM accumulation. The collected particles were analysed using a Scanning Electron Microscope equipped with Energy Dispersive X-Ray (SEM-EDX) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) which provided morphological and chemical information and allowed to indicate possible sources of pollution. The results showed that PM10, the fraction of particles smaller than 10 µm, was dominated by the particles of natural origin, while fine fractions were composed of diverse anthropogenic particles, whose origin can be connected with the activity of the copper smelter and in smaller quantity with the road traffic. The carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risk was assessed for these pathways: inhalation, ingestion, and dermal, for children and adults. The non-carcinogenic risk was very high (Hazard Index: HI > 1) both for children (Cu, Ni, Pb, Cd) and adults (Cu, As, Pb, Cd). Moreover, high carcinogenic risk (>10-4) was found in most of the sampling points. The study shows that spider webs are useful in biomonitoring of PM and can also be used for health risk assessment. In the studied region, it was found that the possible negative impact of air pollution on human health exists

GIS-Based Approach to Spatio-Temporal Interpolation of Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations in Limited Monitoring Dataset

Understanding the magnitude and distribution of the mixes of the near-ground carbon dioxide (CO2) components spatially (related to the surface characteristics) and temporally (over seasonal timescales) is critical to evaluating present and future climate impacts. Thus, the application of in situ measurement approaches, combined with the spatial interpolation methods, will help to explore variations in source contribution to the total CO2 mixing ratios in the urban atmosphere. This study presents the spatial characteristic and temporal trend of atmospheric CO2 levels observed within the city of Wroclaw, Poland for the July 2017–August 2018 period. The seasonal variability of atmospheric CO2 around the city was directly measured at the selected sites using flask sampling with a Picarro G2201-I Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CRDS) technique. The current work aimed at determining the accuracy of the interpolation techniques and adjusting the interpolation parameters for estimating the magnitude of CO2 time series/seasonal variability in terms of limited observations during the vegetation and non-vegetation periods. The objective was to evaluate how different interpolation methods will affect the assessment of air pollutant levels in the urban environment and identify the optimal sampling strategy. The study discusses the schemes for optimization of the interpolation results that may be adopted in areas where no observations are available, which is based on the kriging error predictions for an appropriate spatial density of measurement locations. Finally, the interpolation results were extended regarding the average prediction bias by exploring additional experimental configurations and introducing the limitation of the future sampling strategy on the seasonal representation of the CO2 levels in the urban area

The Use of E-Peroxone to Neutralize Wastewater from Medical Facilities at a Laboratory Scale

The treatment of medical wastewater by the peroxone (AOP) and electro-peroxone (E-peroxone) processes was analyzed. The E-peroxone process is based on the production of hydrogen peroxide electrochemically from an O2 and O3 gas mixture produced in sparged ozone generator effluent using graphite-polytetrafluorethylene cathodes. The electrogenerated H2O2 reacts with sparged ozone to produce hydroxyl radicals. All advanced oxidation processes presented in this study effectively removed chemical oxygen demand (COD) by up to 87%. The use of E-peroxone showed 15% better results in COD reduction than conventional peroxone. The research suggests that E-peroxone is more sufficient at removing pollutants in wastewater than peroxone. Hence, E-peroxone was found to be more cost-effective than AOP in this case