1,720,959 research outputs found
Selection and characterization of indigenous hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria from tourist ports in the Mediterranean Sea Basin
Full text linkApplication of anammox within an integrated approach to sustainable food waste management and valorization
Full text linkIn this study, the anammox process was applied for the first time to the treatment of ammonium-rich liquid residues produced by the two-stage anaerobic digestion of food waste (2sAD-FW); such residues may represent a significant environmental issue if not properly managed. A granular anammox reactor was fed with a progressively increasing share of partially nitritated 2sAD-FW wastewater. An alternative operating strategy based on partial by-pass of the partial nitritation unit was tested, in order to regulate the influent NO2/NH4 molar ratio without chemical addition. High nitrogen removal efficiency (89 ± 1%) and negligible nitrite discharge rates were achieved, together with high nitrogen removal rate / nitrogen loading rate (NRR/NLR, 97 ± 1%) and stable specific anammox activity (0.42 ± 0.03 gN2-N/gVSS·d). The observed NH4-removed/NO2-removed/NO3-produced molar ratio was in agreement with anammox stoichiometry, as confirmed by the low contribution (< 5%) of denitrification to nitrogen removal. Moreover, the possibility of using digital color characterization of granular biomass as a novel, simple tool for the monitoring of anammox biomass enrichment and process performance was investigated under dynamic conditions, using real wastewater: changes in granule color correlated well with the increasing share of 2sAD-FW wastewater in the influent (R2 = 83%), as well as with the decrease of anammox biomass abundance in the reactor (R2 = 68%). The results suggest that anammox may be successfully integrated into a 2sAD-FW system, thus enhancing its environmental sustainability
Bioremediation and monitoring of seawater for the sustainable management of hydrocarbon pollution in a Tunisian Mediterranean tourist port
No full textComparison of diesel degradation by native bacteria from different Mediterranean tourist ports
No full textPreliminary evaluation of Sharon-Anammox process feasibility to treat Ammonium-rich effluents produced by double-stage anaerobic digestion of food waste
No full textIn this study, a Sharon-Anammox system was started up and fed with an ammonium-rich (1,500 mgNH4-N L−1) synthetic medium simulating the effluent produced by double-stage anaerobic digestion of food waste (AD-FW).
The effects of different process parameters (e.g., hydraulic retention time, nitrogen loading rate, etc.) and influent characteristics (e.g., influent alkalinity) on reactors performance were thoroughly evaluated. As to the Sharon reactor, reducing the hydraulic retention time did not cause any detrimental effect on overall process performance (the observed NH4-N removal efficiency and effluent NO2-N/NH4-N molar ratio were 60.8 ± 4.5% and 1.58 ± 0.27, respectively), although a slightly longer time was required to achieve process stability. The Anammox reactor was able to withstand the same nitrogen loading rates applied to the Sharon unit, and the observed nitrogen removal rate was high (89.9 ± 0.5%), indicating good process performance. The information gathered in this preliminary study will be useful for the treatment of real AD-FW wastewater
Batch tests for the optimization of PAH bioremediation in Mediterranean tourist port sediments
No full textPort sediments are frequently contaminated by organic or inorganic pollutants, among which polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) represents a serious hazard for humans and ecosystems involving the need to treat them before disposal. In the framework of the ENPI MAPMED project (Management of port areas in the Mediterranean Sea basin), the present work aims to evaluate the best conditions of PAHs bioremediation by comparing in slurry aerobic batch tests: bioaugmentation, nutrients and different surfactants addition (saponins, Tween 80). Sediments were collected from the ports of El Kantaoui (Tunisia) and Cagliari (Italy). Fluorene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene and benzo(a)pyrene were added at the concentration of 40mg/kgss. Parallel abiotic tests were performed. The experiments conducted without amendments showed in both sediments, after 5 days, complete fluorene and phenanthrene degradation, while pyrene and fluoranthene degradation was slower and showed a 3-day lag phase. Moreover, fluoranthene was not completely removed after 10d. Benzo(a)pyrene was only removed of about 20% in El Kantaoui sediments. Regarding the amendments, the best results were obtained with nutrient regulation (C:N:P ratio 100:10:1) and bioaugmentation, which increased removal rates and reduced the lag phase for fluoranthene and pyrene, in both sediments. Benzo(a)pyrene removal was only slightly increased in Cagliari sediments. The effect of the two surfactants differed: phytogenic saponins affected positively PAHs removal while synthetic Tween80 gave only a slight improvement in El Kantaoui sediments; for Cagliari sediments the effect of both surfactants was negative. These results are in line with previous observations suggesting a strong dependence on the specific sediments properties
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
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
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