Environmental and Economic Comparison of Waste Solvent Treatment Options

The sustainable development and consumption need more efficient use of natural resources. As a consequence, the use of industrial solvents demands their recovery instead of end-of-pipe treatment. It is not always clear, however, which treatment alternative should be applied. Based on an industrial case study, the environmental and economic evaluation and comparison of the treatment alternatives of a non-ideal solvent mixture containing azeotropes is investigated for determining the preferable option. For the recovery of the industrial solvent mixture, two different separation alternatives are evaluated: a less effective alternative and a novel design based on hybrid separation tools. An end-of-pipe treatment alternative, incineration, is also considered and the split of the solvent mixtures between recovery and incineration is investigated. The environmental evaluation of the alternatives is carried out using Eco-indicator 99 life-cycle impact assessment methodology’. Economic investigation is also accomplished. The economic features clearly favour the total recovery, however, the environmental evaluation detects that if a recovery process of low efficiency is applied, its environmental burden can be similar or even higher than that of the incineration. This motivates engineers to design more effective recovery processes and reconsider the evaluation of process alternatives at environmental decision making.JRC.J.2-Competitiveness and Sustainabilit

Evidence for exhumation of a granite intrusion in a regional extensional stress regime based on coupled microstructural and fluid inclusion plane studies - An example from the Velence Mts., Hungary

International audienceA new approach, the fluid inclusion plane technique coupled with fluid inclusion microthermometry and field measurements have been applied to demonstrate the exhumation and relative vertical displacements of an allochthonous, Permian granite intrusion (Velence Mts.) which was situated in the Middle Triassic at the western end of the Neotethys rift system. The pressure and the temperature conditions during the Permian fluid flow (>350 degrees C and similar to 2 kbar) in the granite were considerably higher than during the Triassic fluid flow (<250 degrees C and similar to 0.5 kbar), which indicates the exhumation of the granite intrusion in a primarily extensional tectonic stress regime. The fluid inclusion planes with NE-SW and NW-SE strike prove stress field permutation that can be explained by the exhumation of the host granite during the Middle Triassic fluid flow. It is suggested that the exhumation of the Velence Mts. along with the regional fluid flow can be connected to the passive pre-rift phase of the northern Adriatic Block, during the Middle-Late Triassic. The variations in homogenization temperatures of Triassic regional fluid inclusion assemblages between the blocks of the granite, as well as variations in the fluid inclusion plane orientations, suggest a post-Triassic vertical segmentation and relative block rotation of the granite

Triassic fluid mobilization and epigenetic lead-zinc sulphide mineralization in the Transdanubian Shear Zone (Pannonian Basin, Hungary)

International audienceA combined fluid inclusion, fluid inclusion plane, lead isotope and K/Ar radiometric age dating work has been carried out on two lead-zinc mineralizations situated along the Periadriatic-Balaton Lineament in the central part of the Pannonian Basin, in order to reveal their age and genetics as well as temporal-spatial relationships to other lead-zinc-fluorite mineralization in the Alp-Carpathian region. According to fluid inclusion studies, the formation of the quartz-fluorite-galena-sphalerite veins in the Velence Mts is the result of mixing of low (0-12 NaCl equiv. wt. %) and high salinity (10-26 CaCl2 equiv. wt. %) brines. Well-crystallized (R3-type) illite associated with the mineralized hydrothermal veins indicates that the maximum temperature of the hydrothermal fluids could have been around 250 degrees C. K/Ar radiometric ages of illite, separated from the hydrothermal veins provided ages of 209-232 Ma, supporting the Mid- to Late-Triassic age of the hydrothermal fluid flow. Fluid inclusion plane studies have revealed that hydrothermal circulation was regional in the granite, but more intensive around the mineralized zones. Lead isotope signatures of hydrothermal veins in the Velence Mts (Pb-206/Pb-204 = 18.278-18.363, Pb-207/Pb-204 = 15.622-15.690 and Pb-208/Pb-204 = 38.439-38.587) and in Szabadbattyan (Pb-206/Pb-204 = 18.286-18.348, Pb-207/Pb-204 = 15.667-15.736 and Pb-208/Pb-204 = 38.552-38.781) form a tight cluster indicating similar, upper crustal source of the lead in the two mineralizations. The nature of mineralizing fluids, age of the fluid flow, as well as lead isotopic signatures of ore minerals point towards a genetic link between epigenetic carbonate-hosted stratiform-stratabound Alpine-type lead-zinc-fluorite deposits in the Southern and Eastern Alps and the studied deposits in the Velence Mts and at Szabadbatty n. In spite of the differences in host rocks and the depth of the ore precipitation, it is suggested that the studied deposits along the Periadriatic-Balaton Lineament in the Pannonian Basin and in the Alps belong to the same regional scale fluid flow system, which developed during the advanced stage of the opening of the Neo-Tethys Ocean. The common origin and ore formation process is more evident considering results of large-scale palinspastic reconstructions. These suggest, that the studied deposits in the central part of the Pannonian Basin were located in a zone between the Eastern and Southern Alps until the Early Paleogene and were emplaced to their current location due to northeastward escape of large crustal blocks from the Alpine collision zone

Human fetuin/α2HS-glycoprotein level as a novel indicator of liver cell function and short-term mortality in patients with liver cirrhosis and liver cancer

Objective: Human fetuin/?2HS-glycoprotein (AHSG) is synthesized by hepatocytes. We intended to determine whether liver dysfunction or acute phase reaction is dominant in the regulation of its serum concentrations and to see if decreased AHGS levels are associated with short-term mortality. Design: We determined the serum AHSG levels in patients with acute alcoholic, acute A, B, and Epstein-Barr virus hepatitis, alcoholic cirrhosis, and hepatocellular cancer and correlated them to conventional laboratory parameters of inflammation and liver function. Patients were followed for 1 month. Methods: Serum AHSG was determined by radial immunodiffusion. Results: Compared to controls, significantly lower AHSG levels were found in patients with liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular cancer but not the acute viral hepatitides. Strong positive correlation with serum transferrin, albumin and prothrombin was found. Febrile episodes were not associated with significantly decreased AHSG levels. Concentrations below 300 ?g/ml were associated with high mortality rate (52.00%; relative risk, 5.497; 95% confidence interval, 2.472-12.23; P < 0.0001). Of all laboratory parameters studied serum AHSG levels showed the greatest difference between deceased and survived patients with cirrhosis and cancer. Moreover, other acute phase reactants did not differ significantly. The multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that the decrease of serum AHSG is independent of all other variables that were found decreased in deceased patients. Conclusions: Decreased serum AHSG concentration is due rather to hepatocellular dysfunction than the acute phase reaction and is an outstanding predictor of short-term mortality in patients with liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. ? 2002 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

The transcription factor STAT6 mediates direct repression of inflammatory enhancers and limits activation of alternatively polarized macrophages

International audienceThe molecular basis of signal-dependent transcriptional activation has been extensively studied in macrophage polarization, but our understanding remains limited regarding the molecular determinants of repression. Here we show that IL-4-activated STAT6 transcription factor is required for the direct transcriptional repression of a large number of genes during in vitro and in vivo alternative macrophage polarization. Repression results in decreased lineage-determining transcription factor, p300, and RNA polymerase II binding followed by reduced enhancer RNA expression, H3K27 acetylation, and chromatin accessibility. The repressor function of STAT6 is HDAC3 dependent on a subset of IL-4-repressed genes. In addition, STAT6-repressed enhancers show extensive overlap with the NF-κB p65 cistrome and exhibit decreased responsiveness to lipopolysaccharide after IL-4 stimulus on a subset of genes. As a consequence, macrophages exhibit diminished inflammasome activation, decreased IL-1β production, and pyroptosis. Thus, the IL-4-STAT6 signaling pathway establishes an alternative polarization-specific epigenenomic signature resulting in dampened macrophage responsiveness to inflammatory stimuli

Shed lighT in the darRk lienageES of the fungal tree of Life \u2013 STRES

ThepolyphyleticgroupofblackfungiwithintheAscomycota (Arthoniomycetes,Dothideomycetes, and Eurotiomycetes) is ubiquitous in natural and anthropogenic habitats. Partly because of their dark, melanin-based pigmentation, black fungi are resistant to stresses including UV- and ionizing-radiation, heat and desiccation, toxic metals, and organic pollutants. Consequently, they are amongst the most stunning extremophiles and poly-extreme-tolerant organisms on Earth. Even though ca. 60 black fungal genomes have been sequenced to date, [mostly in the family Herpotrichiellaceae (Eurotiomycetes)], the class Dothideomycetes that hosts the largest majority of extremophiles has only been sparsely sampled. By sequencing up to 92 species that will become reference genomes, the \u201cShed light in The daRk lineagES of the fungal tree of life\u201d (STRES) project will cover a broad collection of black fungal diversity spread throughout the Fungal Tree of Life. Interestingly, the STRES project will focus on mostly unsampled genera that display dierent ecologies and life-styles (e.g., ant- and lichen-associated fungi, rock-inhabiting fungi, etc.). With a resequencing strategy of 10- to 15-fold depth coverage of up to ~550 strains, numerous new reference genomes will be established. To identify metabolites and functional processes, these new genomic resources will be enriched with metabolomics analyses coupled with transcriptomics experiments on selected species under various stress conditions (salinity, dryness, UV radiation, oligotrophy). The data acquired will serve as a reference and foundation for establishing an encyclopedic database for fungal metagenomics as well as the biology, evolution, and ecology of the fungi in extreme environments