Monitoring of heavy metals, EOX and LAS in sewage sludge for agriculturale use: A case study

Subsequent to the increasing diffusion of wastewater treatment, particularly in high- and middle-income countries, the sewage sludge generated should be treated and valorised in an ecological and economic way, thus contributing to the circular economy. In this study, the monitoring of Heavy Metals (HM), Extractable Organic Halogens (EOX) and Linear Alkylbenzene Sulphonate (LAS) in sewage sludge from 10 different wastewater treatment plants located in Friuli Venezia Giulia (Italy) was reported, and their macronutrient content provided. The obtained results showed, for all tested samples, that HM content in sewage sludge was below the maximum permitted limits provided for by Italian and European regulations for agricultural reuse. Comparison with a similar monitoring campaign carried out in 2006 revealed how, while wastewater treatment plants efficiently resolved water pollution, they accumulated heavy metals and other persistent toxic compounds in sludge, thus restricting their potential reuse. Consequently, consistent and regular sludge monitoring should be undertaken to prevent soil and groundwater contamination. These outcomes could be of particular relevance for the future perspective of agricultural reuse of sewage sludge in waste management practices

A decision support system for sustainable energy supply combining multi-objective and multi-attribute analysis: An Australian case study

A framework for an energy supply decision support system (DSS) for sustainable plant design and production ispresented in this paper, utilising an innovative use of multi-objective and multi-attribute decision-making(MODM, MADM) modelling together with impact assessment (IA) of the emission outputs. The mathematicalmodel has been appliedwithin an eco-industrial park (EIP) setting and includes three steps. First, an assessmentof the total EIP emissions' inventory and impacts is conducted; the second step, focusing on the sustainabilitybenefits of combined heating and power (CHP) plants and photovoltaic technologies, developed a multiobjectivemathematical model including both economic and environmental objectives in a Pareto-frontieroptimisation analysis. Four different scenarios involving combinations of CHP plants (internal combustion engine,gas turbine, micro-turbines and fuel cells) and two types of PV plant (monocrystalline and polycrystalline)were evaluated. The third step utilises a MADM methodology – the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) – forselecting the best alternative among the Pareto-frontier efficient solutions. This model has been applied to acase study of an EIP located in Perth (Kwinana Industrial Area—KIA),Western Australia

Acute Achilles Paratendinopathy following Major Injury of the Crural Fascia in a Professional Soccer Player: A Possible Correlation?

Background. The anatomy and mechanical properties of the Crural Fascia (CF), the ubiquitous connective tissue of the posterior region of the leg, have recently been investigated. The most important findings are that (i) the CF may suffer structural damage from indirect trauma, (ii) structural changes of the CF may affect the biomechanics of tissues connected to it, causing myofascial pain syndromes, and (iii) the CF is in anatomical continuity with the Achilles paratenon. Consistent with these points, the authors hypothesize that the onset of acute Achilles paratendinopathy may be related to histological and biomechanical changes of the CF. Case Presentation. A professional male football player suffered an isolated injury of the CF, interposed between the soleus and medial gastrocnemius (an atypical site of injury) with structural connective integrity of the muscles. After participating in the first official match, two and a half months after the trauma, he has unexpectedly demonstrated the clinical picture of acute Achilles paratendinopathy in the previously injured limb. Conclusions. Analysis of this case suggests that the acute Achilles paratendinopathy may be a muscle injury complication from indirect trauma of the calf muscle, if a frank and extensive involvement of the CF were to be ascertained

Waste heat to power by means of a thermomagnetic colloidal energy harvester

Energy utilization, sustainability and care for the environment are now under the spotlight; dealing with energy must take into account the non-unitary efficiency of any thermodynamic process and the consequent production of waste heat, playing a crucial role in global warming. A valuable approach to tackle this problem is to capture and reuse the waste heat, providing an attractive opportunity for an emission-free and cost-effective energy resource. Waste heat to power is the process of converting the heat discarded in electricity, via thermodynamic cycles, thermoelectric materials, pyroelectric materials. Here, a new ThermOmagnetic hydRODYNAmic energy harvester (TORODYNA) exploiting a commercial ferrofluid, is presented. The lab-scale prototype has a toroidal geometry adopted from the well-known tokamak reactor. Peltier modules are used to generate the thermal gradient between the two sides of the reactor, that combined with the effect of permanent magnets trigger the advection. To extract and ensure the output electrical energy, the structure is wrapped-up with coils and connected to an impedance and pico-amperometer. Two coil configurations (purely poloidal and mixed poloidal/toroidal windings) are tested, in a heterogeneous water-ferrofluid two-phase flow, reaching a maximum extracted electrical power of 10.4 μW/K from a thermal gradient of 10 K, which is approximately 20% of the ideal Carnot efficiency of a thermal machine working in the same temperature drop. Furthermore, numerical analysis of the system has been performed developing a Fortran™ code in an Eulerian framework, using Galerkin approximation and harmonic functions

Self-Organizing Maps: An AI Tool for Identifying Unexpected Source Signatures in Non-Target Screening Analysis of Urban Wastewater by HPLC-HRMS

(1) Background: Monitoring effluent in water treatment plants has a key role in identifying potential pollutants that might be released into the environment. A non-target analysis approach can be used for identifying unknown substances and source-specific multipollutant signatures. (2) Methods: Urban and industrial wastewater effluent were analyzed by HPLC-HRMS for non-target analysis. The anomalous infiltration of industrial wastewater into urban wastewater was investigated by analyzing the mass spectra data of “unknown common” compounds using principal component analysis (PCA) and the Self-Organizing Map (SOM) AI tool. The outcomes of the models were compared. (3) Results: The outlier detection was more straightforward in the SOM model than in the PCA one. The differences among the samples could not be completely perceived in the PCA model. Moreover, since PCA involves the calculation of new variables based on the original experimental ones, it is not possible to reconstruct a chromatogram that displays the recurring patterns in the urban WTP samples. This can be achieved using the SOM outcomes. (4) Conclusions: When comparing a large number of samples, the SOM AI tool is highly efficient in terms of calculation, visualization, and identifying outliers. Interpreting PCA visualization and outlier detection becomes challenging when dealing with a large sample size