Carbon dynamics of paper,engineered wood products and bamboo in landfills: evidence from reactor studies

Background

There has been growing interest in the development of waste-specific decay factors for estimation of greenhouse gas emissions from landfills in national greenhouse gas inventories. Although engineered wood products (EWPs) and paper represent a substantial component of the solid waste stream, there is limited information available on their carbon dynamics in landfills. The objective of this study was to determine the extent of carbon loss for EWPs and paper products commonly used in Australia. Experiments were conducted under laboratory conditions designed to simulate optimal anaerobic biodegradation in a landfill.

Results

Methane generation rates over incubations of 307–677 days ranged from zero for medium-density fibreboard (MDF) to 326 mL CH₄ g^?1 for copy paper. Carbon losses for particleboard and MDF ranged from 0.7 to 1.6%, consistent with previous estimates. Carbon loss for the exterior wall panel product (2.8%) was consistent with the expected value for blackbutt, the main wood type used in its manufacture. Carbon loss for bamboo (11.4%) was significantly higher than for EWPs. Carbon losses for the three types of copy paper tested ranged from 72.4 to 82.5%, and were significantly higher than for cardboard (27.3–43.8%). Cardboard that had been buried in landfill for 20 years had a carbon loss of 27.3%—indicating that environmental conditions in the landfill did not support complete decomposition of the available carbon. Thus carbon losses for paper products as measured in bioreactors clearly overestimate those in actual landfills. Carbon losses, as estimated by gas generation, were on average lower than those derived by mass balance. The low carbon loss for particleboard and MDF is consistent with carbon loss for Australian wood types described in previous studies. A factor for carbon loss for combined EWPs and wood in landfills in Australia of 1.3% and for paper of 48% is proposed.

Conclusions

The new suggested combined decay factor for wood and EWPs represents a significant reduction from the current factor used in the Australian greenhouse gas inventory; whereas the suggested decay factor for paper is similar to the current decay factor. Our results improve current understanding of the carbon dynamics of harvested wood products, and allow more refined estimates of methane emissions from landfills.

     

Geochemistry and Cr stable isotopes of Cr-contaminated groundwater in León valley,Guanajuato, México

León valley, located in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, has a long history (35+ a) of Cr contamination of groundwater and surface water. Here data are presented for Cr, major ion and trace element concentrations and Cr stable isotope measurements of groundwater in a heavily contaminated aquifer in Buenavista, where Cr ore processing residue piles (COPRPs) located in a chromate production factory are the main source of Cr. The aquifer directly beneath the factory still retains very high Cr(VI) concentrations (∼121 mg/L). Ongoing pump and treat remediation is keeping the high concentration plume confined to the factory area and immediate vicinity, though Cr is also detected at some distance away. Chromium isotope data of the aquifer directly under the factory show only a small increase in δ⁵³Cr (+0.33‰ to +0.81‰) and indicates minimal reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III). Very high Cr(VI) concentrations have possibly overwhelmed natural reductants and furthermore fresh Cr(VI) was being leached into the groundwater from the COPRP. From just one year of Cr isotope data it is clear that more aggressive remediation techniques will be necessary to reduce or eliminate the contamination. The fringes of the Cr plume have substantially lower concentrations and can be partially explained by transport of the main plume or mixing between waters from the nearby landfill and highly contaminated waters from QC. While the source of Cr at the fringes of the plume could be attributed to a source from the nearby landfill instead of the main plume from the factory, the Cr stable isotope data show enrichment in the heavier isotopes and point to varying amounts of reduction. Isotopic enrichment seen between 2007 and 2008 along the fringe may indicate either reduction or less unreacted Cr(VI) is being transported to the fringes. In either case some potential for natural attenuation of Cr(VI) exists at the western margin of the plume with the landfill playing a role.     

Distribution and enrichment of trace metals and arsenic at the upper layer of sediments from Lerma River in La Piedad,Mexico: case history

Lerma River is one of the largest rivers in Mexico. Over the past 20 years, unplanned population growth occurred along its course and the river has been used as the only outlet for industrial and domestic wastewater disposal. The aim of the present study was to determine trace metals such as Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Fe, Pb, and arsenic concentrations at the upper layer of sediments of the Lerma River meander in La Piedad, Michoacan, Mexico. Sediment samples were collected from eight different sites during the rainy and dry seasons. All samples were physically characterized, and concentration values of trace metals and As were determined. On the basis of protection criteria for freshwater sediments, concentrations of Fe, Zn, Cu, Ni, and Pb were found to exceed the lowest effect level; moreover, the concentrations were found to exceed the severe effect level at some sites, particularly for Cu. Statistical analyses showed significant differences between sampling seasons for Fe and As, and among sites for Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb. In addition, the enrichment factor indicates the following order Zn > Cr > Cu > Ni > Pb > As, and the geoaccumulation index (I _geo) indicates contamination in the following order Zn > Cr > Cu > Ni > As > Pb. The Lerma River meander in La Piedad shows a reduction in pollution by trace metals and arsenic near the drain area and downstream of the meander. However, there are significantly higher concentrations of these elements in sediments of sites located in the middle part of the city.     

Metal accumulation by plant species growing on a mine contaminated site in Mexico

The present work aims to assess the efficiency of heavy metal accumulation of native species growing in contaminated soils in the mining district of Taxco, Mexico. Soil and tailing sampling was conducted in three study sites: La Concha, El Fraile, and a control site. The study localities present diverse metal concentrations with significant differences in their proportion in the geochemical fractions. Results show that species Cupressus lindleyi and Juniperus deppeana accumulate Zn and Mn in anomalous concentrations at La Concha, where Zn is present in soluble fractions. Manganese, despite not being present mostly in the soluble fraction in soils and tailings, seems to have been increased in the soluble fraction after the plant growth. In contrast, samples of the same species taken at El Fraile and in the control site, where Zn and Mn are mainly contained in the residual fraction, do not show an anomalous enrichment. Other analyzed species growing under the same contamination conditions in La Concha (Jacaranda mimosifolia and Psidium guajava) do not show anomalous concentrations. These facts confirm the Zn and Mn accumulation capacity of C. lindleyi and Ju. deppeana, which depends on their accumulation ability and on the concentration of these elements in the soluble fraction.     

Performance evaluation of MSK and OFDM modulations for future GNSS signals

The objective of this work is to investigate the performances of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) and minimum frequency shift keying (MSK) modulations as potential future global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) signal modulation schemes. MSK is used in global system for mobile communications because of its spectral efficiency, while OFDM is used in WLAN and digital video broadcast-terrestrial because of its multipath mitigation capability. These advantages of MSK and OFDM modulations render them as promising modulation candidates for future GNSS signals to offer enhanced performances in challenging environments. Gabor bandwidth and multipath error envelopes of these two modulations were computed and compared with those of the current global positioning system (GPS), Galileo, and Beidou signal modulations. The results show that OFDM modulation demonstrated promises as a viable future GNSS modulation, especially for signals that require pre-filtering bandwidths larger than 2 MHz, while MSK modulation is more desirable for pre-filtering bandwidth below 2 MHz where it exhibits the largest Gabor bandwidth.     

Sequence Stratigraphy and Composition of Late Quaternary Shelf-Margin Deltas,Northern Gulf of Mexico

High-resolution seismic profiles and foundation borings from the northwestern Gulf of Mexico record the physical attributes and depositional histories of several late Quaternary sequences that were deposited by wave-modified, river-dominated shelf margin deltas during successive periods of lowered sea level. Each progressively younger deltaic sequence is thinner and exhibits a systematic decrease in the abundance and concentration of sand, which is attributed to a shift in the axis of trunk streams and greater structural influence through time. Our study shows that (1) contemporaneous structural deformation controlled the thickness of each sequence, the oblique directions of delta progradation, the axes of major fluvial channels, and the geometries of delta lobes at the shelf margin, (2) sedimentation was rapid in response to rapid eustatic fluctuations and structural influence, (3) boundaries of these high-frequency sequences are the correlative conformities of updip fluvial incision, and coincide with downlap surfaces at the shelf margin, (4) the downlap surfaces are not true surfaces, but zones of parallel reflections that become progressively higher and younger in the direction of progradation, (5) the downlap zones are composed of marine muds that do not contain high concentrations of shell debris that would be expected in condensed sections, (6) possible paleosols capping the two oldest sequences are regressive surfaces of subaerial exposure that were preserved during transgressions, and (7) no incised valleys or submarine canyons breach the paleoshelf margin, even though incised drainages were present updip and sea-level curves indicate several periods of rapid fall. (Published in American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin 80: 505 530.) R. A. Morton and J. R. Suter AAPG Bulletin, Vol. 80, No. 4, AAPG 1996, reprinted by permission of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists whose permission is required for future use.     

Characterisation of the recreational fishery for southern rock lobster,Jasus edwardsii,in Tasmania,Australia: Implications for management

Southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) support significant commercial and recreational fisheries in Tasmania, Australia. Since the mid 1990s the number of persons holding recreational lobster licences increased by over 80%, with c. 15 500 persons licensed in 2002/03. Assessment of the recreational fishery has been undertaken periodically since 1996 using a telephone‐diary survey method. The fishery was concentrated off the south‐east and east coasts of Tasmania and characterised by strong seasonality in catch and effort, which peaked markedly early in the fishing year (November‐January). Although pots were the most popular fishing method, daily catch rates by divers were more than double those for pots. Divers selectively harvested larger lobsters than those taken by pots and more frequently attained the daily bag limit of 5 lobsters. The estimated recreational harvest increased significantly since 1996/97 and in 2002/03 effectively reached a management trigger level of 10% of the total allowable commercial catch, flagging a review of recreational management arrangements.     

Damping of Longitudinal Magneto–Acoustic Oscillations in Slowly Varying Coronal Plasma

We investigate the propagation of MHD waves in a magnetised plasma in a weakly stratified atmosphere, representative of hot coronal loops. In most earlier studies, a time-independent equilibrium was considered. Here we abandon this restriction and allow the equilibrium to develop as a function of time. In particular, the background plasma is assumed to be cooling due to thermal conduction. The cooling is assumed to occur on a time scale greater than the characteristic travel times of the perturbations. We investigate the influence of cooling of the background plasma on the properties of magneto–acoustic waves. The MHD equations are reduced to a 1D system modelling magneto–acoustic modes propagating along a dynamically cooling coronal loop. A time-dependent dispersion relation that describes the propagation of the magneto–acoustic waves is derived using the WKB theory. An analytic solution for the time-dependent amplitude of waves is obtained, and the method of characteristics is used to find an approximate analytical solution. Numerical calculations of the analytically derived solutions are obtained to give further insight into the behaviour of the MHD waves in a system with a variable, time-dependent background. The results show that there is a strong damping of MHD waves and the damping also appears to be independent of the position along the loop. Studies of MHD wave behaviour in a time-dependent backgrounds seem to be a fundamental and very important next step in the development of MHD wave theory that is applicable to a wide range of situations in solar physics.