New consideration for Biodiesel laboratory scale production using modeling and simulation techniques

Biodiesel is a material serving as a promising energy alternative to cover the demand of clean sustainable energy sources. Conventional biodiesel production is done by transesterification method using stirred tank reactor and homogeneous base or acid catalyst then followed by purification process. However, there are some disavantages related with this method. They include soap formation, sensitivity to free fatty acid (FFA) content and purification difficulties.Transesterification process depends upon a number of process parameters which are required to be optimized in order to maximize the biodiesel yield. In this paper we have worked for flow sheet constructions of Biodiesel small plant using computer simulating software. All the conclusion results will be shown in simulation part of paper. The core objective of this paper would to design and develop a profitable biodiesel production plantby examining all models

Further records of Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun, 1896) in central part of Adriatic coast in Albania

The distribution of the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus is reported from marine, transitional and freshwater environments along the coasts of Adriatic Sea (Albania, Eastern Mediterranean Sea). Numerous specimens of the invasive blue crab were caught in the period from 2011 to 2019 in the area of Karavasta Lagoon. Our study was curried out during the September 2019. In addition to the morphometric parameters, some physic-chemical parameters were measured as well. These note documents further records of the species in one of the most important site for biodiversity in Mediterranean Sea that is currently seriously threaten by the presence of invasive alien species

Environmental and livelihood impacts of dams: a case study

Albanian hydrographical territory is 57% (more than 152 rivers) larger than its geographical territory. Although with small flows, their considerable cascade makes these rivers substantially important for the hydropower potential offered to the country. Traditionally, Albania electricity is based on hydropower which stays precisely 99.8%. The rise of electricity from hydropower production has been the only solution and therefore, the electricity security strategy is based on the increased generation capacities. This paper aims to present the environmental and socioeconomic impact of Fierza hydro power plant, Koman hydro power plant and Vau i Dejës hydro power plant. Therefore, the main problems and challenges of the municipalities where the hydropower plants are located are identified. In all three hydropower plants, the main environmental problems are solid waste pollution, pollution from the discharge of urban wastewater from dwellings, commercial and industrial entities without prior treatment, sediment accumulation, deforestation, erosion and floods. The economy is not very developed. It is mainly based on the rural economy. Investment absence, mainly in road infrastructure has affected the underdevelopment of agriculture and tourism. Financial problems have affected demographic movements towards large cities. This has affected the closure of schools. These are areas with very good climate and geographical position, which need investment to recover

Heavy metals concentration of dumping site soils and their accumulation in Alyssum Murale growing in selected dumping sites in Albania

ItSono più di 26 anni che alcune parti dell'industria pesante in Albania, come la industria mineraria e quella metallurgica, sono chiuse e sono abbandonate. Le zone del cumulo rifiuti nel complesso metallurgico in Elbasan e nella miniera di Prrenjas, che occupano grandi superfici, fanno parte della vecchina industria pesante. Come conseguenza, l'inquinamento del suolo in queste zone constituisce una questione importante nei giorni d'oggi. La bonifica del suolo è un metodo per purificare e rivitalizzare il suolo usando piante iperacumulatori. Questo è il processo di rimozione dei contaminanti per proteggere sia la salute della popolazione che dell'ambiente. Lo scopo del nostro studio è di studiare il potenziale di Alyssum murale per estrarre metalli dai rifiuti di scarico. Due esperimenti sono stati condotti con lo stesso tratamento. Per ciascuna zona di cumulo rifiuti, quella di Prrenjas e quella dell complesso metallurgico di Elbasan, (i) i campioni di terreno sono trattati con terreno vegetale di Prrenjas e terreno di Elbasan, e (ii) con il letame, in percentuali diferenti. Per stabilire l'effetto del terreno naturale e del letame sul processo di assorbimento di Ni, la produzione di biomassa e il nichel disponibile, A. murale è stato coltivato su questi campioni di rifiuti. Anche il trifoglio rosso (Trifolium repens), una pinta non-acumulatore, è stato testato in questo esperimento per la ri-vegetazione delle zone di cumulo rifiuti industriali. La fitoestrazione del Ni ed il fattore acumulativo è stato determinate per tutte e due le specie vegetali. Entrambe le zone di cumulo rifiuti sono inquinate con metalli pesanti. La concentrazione di Ni (6859 mg kg-1), Fe (36715 mg kg-1), Cd (22.3 mg kg-1) e Co (286 mg kg-1) era piu elevato nella miniera di Prrenjas, mentre la concentrazione di Cr (7185 mg kg-1), Pb (42.2 mg kg-1) e Zn (135 mg kg-1) era piu elevato nel cumulo rifiuti metallugici di Elbasan. A. murale e T. repens hanno presentato una maggiore toleranza verso Ni. Nell esperimento in vasi, per il T. repens il 1-7% di Ni viene rimosso dal terreno moderatamente contaminato della discarica di Prrenjas ed l' 8.7-29% di Ni dalla zona industriale di Elbasan. For A. murale, il 17-32% di Ni viene rimosso dal terreno di Prrenjas ed il 62% di Ni dalla zona di cumulo rifiuti di Elbasan. Considerando i sopradetti risultati, si puo concludere che A. murale potrebbe essere un utile candidato per le tecnologie di fitoestrazione ex situ in terreni contaminati. Inoltre, entrambe le piante, A. Murale e T. repens, possono essere utilizzate per la rivegetazione delle zone di cumulo rifiuti. L'uso del terreno vegetale è più efficace per migliorare le proprietà dei terreni nelle zone di cumulo rifiuti.EnIt is more than 26 years that some parts of the heavy industry in Albania, such as mining and metallurgy, are closed and fell into disuse. The dumpsites of the metallurgical complex in Elbasan and the Dumpsite of the mine in Prrenjas, which occupy large areas, are part of the old heavy industry. As a consequence, soil pollution in these areas is an important issue nowadays. Soil remediation is a method of purifying and revitalizing the soil by using hyper-accumulator plants. This is the process of removing contaminants in order to protect both the health of the population and the environment. The aim of our study is to investigate the potential of Alyssum murale to extract metals from the dumpsite waste. Two experiments were carried out with the same treatment. For each dumpsite, Prrenjas mine dumpsite and Elbasan metallurgical dumpsite, (i) the soil samples were treated with Prrenjas vegetation soil and Elbasan vegetation soil and (ii) with manure, in different percentages. In order to establish the effect of natural soil and manure on Ni uptake, biomass production and the available nickel, A. murale was grown on this waste samples. The red clover (Trifolium repens) a non-accumulator plant was also tested in this experiment for dumpsite re-vegetation. The nickel phytoextraction and the accumulation factor were determined for both species. Both dumpsites are polluted with heavy metal. The concentration of Ni (6859 mg kg-1), Fe (36715 mg kg-1), Cd (22.3 mg kg-1) and Co (286 mg kg-1) was higher in Prrenjas mine dumpsite, while the concentration of Cr (7185 mg kg-1), Pb (42.2 mg kg-1) and Zn (135 mg kg-1) was higher in Elbasan metallurgal dumpsite. A. murale and T. repens showed a higher tolerance to Ni. In pot experiment, for T. repens 1-7% of DTPA Ni is removed from the contaminated soil of Prrenjas dumpsite and 0.8-2.1% of DTPA Ni from Elbasan industrial dumpsite. For A. murale, 17-32% of DTPA Ni is removed from Prrenjas dumpsite and 8.7-29% of Ni from Elbasan industrial dumpsite. Considering the above results, it can be concluded that A. murale could be a useful candidate for ex - situ phytoextraction technologies in contaminated soils. Moreover, both plants, A. murale and T. repens, could be used for dumping site re-vegetation. The usage of vegetative soil is more effective for improving the properties of dumpsite soils

An Alternative Way to Manage Waste Cooking Oils for Biodiesel Production

Biodiesel is a promising alternative energy solution to meet the need for sustainable sources of clean energy. Biodiesel has proven to be the best substitute for fossil oil due to its unique properties such as: low toxicity, no sulfur emissions, no particulate pollution, significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and biodegradability. Biodiesel production can be the solution to the problem of how to deal with waste cooking oils (WCO) and the associated problem of environmental contamination. Every year, tones of WCO are poured into toilets and drains, contaminating water supplies and creating serious problems in waste water treatment plants. WCO is a waste material that can be used to produce biodiesel. The main aim of this study is to determine how the type of WCO (and how much it has been used) affect the quality of the biodiesel obtained. Several processes for the production of biodiesel have been developed, among which transesterification using alkaline catalysis gives high levels of conversion of triglycerides to their corresponding methyl esters in short reaction times. Used cooking oils are used as raw materials, adaptation of continuous transesterification process and recovery of high-quality glycerol from biodiesel by-products (glycerin) are the main options to be considered to reduce the cost of biodiesel. There are four main ways to make biodiesel, direct use and blending, micro emulsions, thermal cracking (pyrolysis) and transesterification. The most common method is transesterification of vegetable oils and animal fats. The transesterification reaction is affected by the molar ratio of glycerides to alcohol, catalysts, reaction temperature, reaction time, and the free fatty acids and water content of the oils or fats. The mechanism and kinetics of transesterification show how the reaction occurs and progresses

Impacts of climate change in the meteorological conditions during the period 2022 in Albania

The impacts of climate change on the meteorological conditions in our country, analysing the main climate indicators (temperatures, rainfall for the last year) will be addressed in this paper. In the last years, in our country, rising temperatures and seasonal rainfall anomalies were the two most encountered phenomena. The assessment of the meteorological conditions of each month during the last year and the comparison with the norm has enabled some conclusions to be drawn regarding different indicators of climate and its changes. Some of the results show an increase in the average annual air temperature by about +2.0°C, where in particular the summer season differ by +3.4°C, while precipitation marks a decrease around -13.1%, which is most pronounced in the season of winter by -30.4%. According to data analyses, the number of rainy days decreased by 18.8%. In recent years, due to the reduction in the number of rainy days and a lower cloud, there has been an increase of sunshine by about +5% in the area of Albania. The impact of these climate change indicators has had positive and negative impacts on various branches of the economy, such as energy, agriculture, transport, etc., but the most negative effects of the decrease of the precipitation and the increase of temperatures is related to droughts

Toxicity tests using living organisms

Toxic chemicals pose a serious and continuous risk for specific parts of the food chain, leading to the extinction of different communities. The effects of toxins might be direct or indirect. The sub lethal effects lead to the change of the behavior of an organism. The acute or chronic tests might be performed for water or terrestrial organisms, according to the OECD standards, in different levels of the food chain and thus it is possible to predict the pollution effect in the ecosystem. This study has taken in consideration the acute and chronic tests using Daphnia sp. The goal of the research is the behavior evaluation of these organisms, common inhabitants of water systems, towards the change of the concentration of different chemicals. These organisms are taken from their natural habitat and then raised in laboratory conditions, in accordance with their natural habitat needs. Acute tests are performed using different concentrations of specific chemicals. Physical-chemical parameters of their natural water habitat are taken in consideration as well. The experimental laboratory data are then elaborated in order to determine the highest concentration of the tested chemical that shows adverse effects on Daphnia population, as well as the lowest concentration with no effect. The laboratory results are evaluated and compared with other similar studies

Drinking water quality determination through the water pollution indicators, Elbasan district

Today's drinking water supply in the Elbasan district continues to be an issue of concern. The population growth nowadays is accompanied by the increase of request for water use. To complete their needs, people have chosen to use groundwater by opening wells. Having their personal well does not guarantee water safety. The aim of this paper is to determine the quality of drinking water through coliform bacteria indicators, in Elbasan district. There are three groups of coliform bacteria, total coliform, intestinal enterococci and Escherichia coli. Each of these is an indicator of drinking water quality and each has a different level of risk. In this study are analyzed many water samples taken from villages Labinot fushë, Gjergjan, Papër, Shushicë, and Bradashesh. In some of these villages, the water samples are taken from wells and pipes. The total coliform, E. coli, and intestinal enterococci in drinking water of these villages are reflected in this study. The data recorded shows which of the analyzed water sources are within the international standards to be used as drinking water. The coliform pollution levels are higher in the wells water than in the pipes one. The distant areas from the city of Elbasan are more polluted than those nearby

Impact of human activity on the water quality of lake Mullinjëza, Belsh, Albania

Anthropogenic activities heavily influence lake ecosystems. This is due to population growth and the development of the industry and agriculture sectors. These activities include the intensified use of fishery resources, sewage discharge, polluting materials & substances, etc. The main aim of this study is to present an overview of the human impact on the pollution of the waters of Lake Mullinjëz. The many historical, cultural, ethnographic, architectural, and natural values that this city inherited from the past constitute a considerable potential for tourism. The objectives were to assess the lake water’s quality and propose measures for minimization and mitigation of impacts on the environment and the development of tourism in Belsh. Another important influential factor is the urban waste management near the lake which was through away along the shore of this lake. Sampling sites were selected to measure the impacts of potential sources of pollution, such as sewage discharge and urban waste. The results show that the quality of the water lake is very polluted. The most critical parameters of the water quality of Lake Mullinjëza are SS, PO43-, NO2-, NO3-, and NH4+. The most pronounced increase is observed in nitrites, nitrates, ammonium, TSS, TDS, and phosphates

The natural plant colonization of ultramafic post-mining area of Përrenjas, Albania

A post Ferro-nickel mining land management needs to recognize the physical, chemical characteristics of soil and plants that grow naturally by tolerating the levels of heavy metals. The objective of this study were to: i) investigate and evaluate the natural process of plant colonization on abandoned ferro-nickel mining sites located on ultramafic substrate; to ii) understand the relationship between soil properties and species distribution and to iii) assess the potential of hyperaccumulator plants for the soil phytoremediation. This area was divided into five 100 m(2) plots that were representatives of the variability of the site, based on localization, land use and total vegetative cover. For each plot, the physicochemical characteristics of the soils, the inventory of plant species and the accumulation of Ni by all plant taxa were determined. The soils in the ex-mining area of Perrenjas appeared highly polluted by Ni, Co and Cr compared to the natural levels of the surrounding ultramafic soils. The toxic levels of trace metals and the deficiency of organic matter appeared as major constraints for plant colonization. In total, 96 plant species belonging to 26 families in the studied mining sites of Perrenjas were recorded. Several plants show the ability to tolerate and accumulate metals and may be useful for phyto-stabilization. Alyssum murale was the best candidate for Ni phyto-extraction technologies, with concentrations above 1000 mg/kg Ni in plant tissues