1,720,960 research outputs found
E-waste recycling and public exposure to organic compounds in developing countries: a review of recycling practices and toxicity levels in Ghana
No full textThis paper reviews e-waste practices and aggregates the toxicity levels of organic compounds in different environmental media and human body fluids resulting from e-waste recycling activities in Ghana. Literature was searched from three academic databases (Science Direct, SpringerLink and PUBMED). Research articles published in English from 2010 to 2018 were selected in addition to reports of country studies. In all, 13 documents passed the inclusion criteria. E-waste recycling practices in Ghana were found to be mainly rudimentary. The major organic contaminants found in soils, air, sediments, food and body fluids of people exposed to e-waste recycling activities are PAHs, PCBs, Dioxin-like PCBs, PCDD/Fs, PBDD/Fs and PBDEs. The concentration of PCBs in the blood of e-waste workers and breast milk of nursing mothers at the recycling areas were respectively 0.082 μg/g (blood) and 3.64 ng/g lipid wt (breast milk). PAH was 3.94 μg/g creatinine in the urine of e-waste workers and 4,822 ng/g (median) in the soils at open burning areas. PCDD/F was 12.1 pg/g lipid base WHO2005-TEQ per year in the blood of e-waste workers and 988 pg TEQ/g in sediments of a shallow lagoon near the largest e-waste recycling site. Further studies are required to establish the levels of organic contaminants in air, water and foodstuffs at e-waste recycling sites and body burdens of children living or illegally working at e-waste recycling sites
Organic waste composting and sustainability in low-income communities in Palestine: lessons from a pilot project in the village of Al Jalameh, Jenin
Full text linkPurpose: A pilot composting project was initiated as part of a 200 tons/day solid waste recycling plant with active involvement of several local stakeholders. The project aimed at introducing compost production and use in the village of Al Jalameh, Palestine. This paper describes the successes and lessons from the pilot project. Methods: Based on the data collected on the population, waste production and economic activities, the best production methodology and composting units were designed and piloted. The compost was produced from animal manure, farm waste and organic fraction of domestic solid waste. Approaches to increase profit and sustain the initiative was implemented. Results: The facility managed by Al Jalameh Agricultural Cooperative Society, recycles 60% organic fraction of domestic waste reducing the quantity of waste to the landfill. An estimated 1425 m3/year of compost are required for local agriculture while 800 tons/year is produced. With most of their compost coming from Israeli sources, the composting facility is at a competitive advantage. To increase the profit, around 28,125 kg of waste plastic sheets from greenhouses are collected for recycling each year generating a stable income of 5625.00 JOD/year. Conclusions: The compost produced in the village is purchased by the local farmers increasing access to compost at competitive price. Farmers are economically encouraged by compost production that could solve the organic waste management issue and at the same time guarantee a sort of “self-production” of fertiliser useful for local agriculture. This initiative could be extended to other villages in Jenin and other developing countries where agriculture is their major occupation
Water consumption and wastewater generation from small-scale crude palm oil extraction in Ghana
Full text linkCrude palm oil extraction is one of the sources of livelihood in Ghana’s Central Region. However, the water use and wastewater generation associated with the industry have not been given adequate attention. This study assessed the water consumption and wastewater generation by small-scale crude palm oil extraction mills in the region. Twenty-five (25) mills were selected from four palm oil-processing local government areas in the region. An interview guide was used to obtain information about the operations of the mills and corroborated through structured observations. Water consumption and wastewater generation were measured using a graduated plastic bucket. Water for processing was found to be sourced from hand-dug wells (56%), treated piped water (20%), boreholes with handpumps (16%) and rivers (8%). Water was bought at US2.89 (piped water) per cubic metre. The recurrent cost of water was the same as that paid for domestic use. For a litre of palm oil produced, 0.760-2.391 litres of water were consumed and 68-82% returned as wastewater. Sixty-eight percent of the water was used for boiling. The distance to water source influenced the consumption, with higher water consumption recorded for mills with on-plot water sources. Higher recurrent costs of water did not necessarily lead to lower water consumption. There was no significant difference in the water consumption and wastewater production between the wet and dry processing methods. The small-scale palm oil processing industry requires attention to manage a potential competition between commer-cial and domestic water use in rural and small towns
Application of Palm Kernel Shell Granular Filter Medium for Decolourisation and COD Removal from Clarified Palm Oil Mill Effluent
Full text linkPalm oil mill effluent (POME) is characterised by high colour, COD and solids. Extraction and drying of the suspended solids for reuse as solid fuel shows great promise. However, the clarified wastewater may require further treatment to meet discharge limits. This study was aimed at evaluating the efficiency and kinetics of COD and colour removal from clarified POME using palm kernel shell (PKS) granular filter media and a sand filter as reference. The wastewater was collected from a small-scale palm oil processing mill in the Abura Aseibu Kwamankese District of Ghana and clarified using a solid-liquid separation system. The filter media of particle size 1.18mm was packed into acrylic cylinders (6cm dia.) to a height of 35.4 cm. The characteristics of influent wastewater and filter media were determined prior to the experiment following standard methods. Each filter was run as a batch system under anaerobic conditions by maintaining a minimum supernatant height of 10cm. Effluents were drawn from the bottom of each filter after 0, 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 h for analysis using standard analytical methods. The removal efficiencies for the PKS and sand filters were, respectively, 77% and 79% for COD and 69% and 62% for colour. The COD removal was consistent with first-order kinetics for both PKS and sand filters. However, colour removal in PKS and sand filters followed second- and zero-order kinetics respectively. The correlation coefficients of the selected kinetic models show a strong correlation between the experimental and predicted results. Further research is required to establish the retention time required to bring the pollutant levels below the allowable limits for discharge into the environment
Transforming the e-waste Management Sector in Ghana: Progress on Regulatory and Institutional Strengthening
No full textInformal recycling of e-waste in Ghana particularly at Agbogbloshie has attracted global attention. The environmental and health impacts of open burning of e-waste have been well researched. To avert the unsound management practices, Ghana has received extensive support from NGOs, development partners and research Institutions. This paper discusses Ghana’s progress in transforming the e-waste management sector with particular emphasis on policy, regulatory and institutional strengthening. Data was collected through the review of scientific literature, local media and NGO reports. In addition, informal discussions were held with some informal e-waste recyclers at the Agbogbloshie e-waste site. E-waste specific policy/regulatory frameworks are the Hazardous and Electronic Waste Control and Management Act, 2016 (Act 917), Hazardous, Electronic and other Wastes Control and Management Regulations, 2016 (LI 2250) and Technical Guidelines on Environmentally Sound E-waste Management in Ghana. One of the greatest achievements in terms of institutional strengthening is the selection of Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) for the collection of advance eco levy pursuant to Sect. 21 of Act 917. Amid these achievements, the following gaps require immediate attention: formalizing the e-waste sector, enforcing e-waste regulations and guidelines, intensifying public education and promoting public private partnership
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Qualitative Assessment of Palm Oil Mill Wastewater from Small-Scale Processing Mills in Ghana
No full textPalm oil production in Ghana is dominated by informal small-scale mills that produces about 80% of the national production. These mills have been noted for violating environmental regulations. This research was aimed at characterizing palm oil mill wastewater produced by small-scale mills in Ghana to better understand the extent of environmental damage. Four processing mills were selected from Abura Aseibu Kwamankese District of Ghana. Wastewater samples were collected from each of the four processing mills in March 2020 (peak production season). Samples were collected in opaque plastic containers and stored under 4 °C. Parameters measured were pH, total solids, TSS, TDS, BOD5, COD, total nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and oil and grease using standard analytical methods. The mean characteristics of the wastewater were pH (4.5 ± 0.05), total solids (3,976 ± 1,397 mg/l), TSS (3,976 ± 1,397 mg/l), TDS (358 ± 158 mg/l), BOD5 (21,877 ± 4,728 mg/l), COD (56,357 ± 3,441 mg/l), COD:BOD5 (2.6), total nitrogen (246 ± 86 mg/l), phosphorus (60 ± 16 mg/l), potassium (156 ± 24 mg/l), and oil & grease (527 ± 198 mg/l). The mean concentrations of 6 out of the 7 parameters were over 2-orders of magnitude higher than the Ghana effluent discharge standard. The pH, TDS, BOD5 and COD of the wastewater from boiling were higher than for clarification. The current practice of disposing raw wastewater into the natural environment by the small-scale processing mills is negatively affecting the environment
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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