Agnieszka Ociepa-Kubicka

Assessment of the availability of heavy metals to plants based on the translocation index and the bioaccumulation factor

AbstractThe bioconcentration factors and the translocation index have been determined for the assessment of the level of phytoextraction in plants. The bioaccumulation factor, determined as the quotient of the content of a given metal of the plant to its content of soil, defines the ability of the plant to accumulate heavy metals. The translocation index, Ti, is a measure of the phytoextraction capacity of plants. This index provides a useful means of the quantitative description of relative differences in the biological availability of metals to plants. This paper presents the results of studies on the effect of fertilizing soil on the ability to translocate cadmium, zinc, lead, and nickel from the soil to the roots, and then to the above-ground parts of Virginia fanpetals. The source of the results was a pot experiment conducted under semi-natural conditions from April 2007 to November 2011. The studies described in this paper concern the last year of the experiment (the plant crop in November 2011). Si...

The influence of modification of activated carbon on adsorption of Ni(II) and Cd(II)

AbstractAdsorption of Cd(II) and Ni(II) ions on the modified activated carbon (WG-12) was measured. Two methods of activated carbon modification, i.e. a traditional method in a rotary furnace and a method developed by the author in a reactor that uses Joule’s heat, were analysed. The effects of performed modification were evaluated based on the surface area, water vapour adsorption, volume of micro-, meso- and macropores, and a number of oxygen groupings measured with the Boehm method. The application of these two methods resulted in the increase in adsorption of Ni2+ and Cd2+. The most favourable results for adsorption of both Ni2+ and Cd2+ were obtained for activated carbons modified in a rotary furnace at 800°C and with atmospheric oxygen at 400°C. Adsorption of Ni2+ and Cd2+ on activated carbons modified with Joule’s heat was slightly higher than in the case of activated carbons modified in a rotary furnace with carbon dioxide and water vapour at the same temperature (400°C). The presented method deve...

Effect of unconventional fertilization on heavy metal content in the biomass of giant miscanthus

AbstractThe article presents the results of the studies on the effects of fertilization with (1) sewage sludge, (2) compost produced from the mixture of sewage sludge and forestry waste and (3) compost from green waste produced with Dano technology on bioaccumulation of heavy metals in Miscanthus giganteus biomass. The results were obtained from the pot experiment in semi-natural conditions during the period of April 2007 to November 2010. The testing presents the studies concerning the third year of the experiment (the plant crop of November 2010). The soil used for cultivation of M. giganteus was sampled from the area in close vicinity to the steel works. The effects of sewage sludge, compost and mineral fertilizers on the concentration of Cd, Zn, Pb and Ni were compared in the above-ground parts and roots of M. giganteus. These treatments resulted in an increase in the concentration of zinc, cadmium, lead and nickel in the soil in comparison to the control. The highest increase in the concentration of ...

Eco-Investments - Life Cycle Assessment of Different Scenarios of Biomass Combustion

Abstract The article presents the results of life cycle assessment of different scenarios of biomass use to produce energy in a selected company. The study is made on the case of Lesaffre Polska S.A. and its facility in Wolczyn which is one of the most modern biomass plants in Central Europe. The company is one of the leaders of using the environmental criteria in its strategic decision-making. Its goal is to avoid any waste and to form its own circular business system. One of its recent investments is a biomass fired steam boiler that uses agricultural and woody biomass to produce energy. Previously, biomass was sold to power plant and co-fired with coal. The scope of the paper is to assess the actual change in the environmental impact of biomass use in the Wolczyn facility. For that purpose, the life cycle assessment is used with the ReCiPe endpoint indicator. The assessment is based on the comparison of two scenarios: one assuming the biomass combustion in a new boiler, and the second one, assuming co-firing biomass with coal. The results of the study show that the investment is making a significant difference as far as the overall environmental impact is. Through avoiding the co-firing related emissions the company makes a big step ahead towards the decrease of their environmental impacts. The analysis shows that the significant impact in the co-firing scenario is posed in such categories as fossil depletion, climate change with impacts on human health and on ecosystems, particulate matter formation and agricultural land occupation. In the biomass combustion scenario, the above categories are complemented with metal depletion, natural land transformation, urban land occupation and human toxicity categories but with 4 times decrease of the overall impact. The study also shows that the change of the combustion system makes the most significant difference, while all the other factors, like biomass cultivation and processing, biomass transport have much lesser impact.