Aleksandra Anić Vučinić

Recycling of Waste Toner in the Republic of Croatia – an Environmentally Friendly Approach

Please cite this article as: Anic Vucinic A., Vujevic D., Mujkic K., Novak M., 2013, Recycling of waste toner in the Republic of Croatia – An environmentally friendly approach, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 34, 121-126 DOI:10.3303/CET1334021 121 Recycling of Waste Toner in the Republic of Croatia – An Environmentally Friendly Approach Aleksandra Anic Vucinic*, Dinko Vujevic, Kerim Mujkic, Mateja Novak University of Zagreb, Faculty of Geotechnical Engineering, Department of Environmental Engineering, Hallerova aleja 7, HR-42000 Varaždin, Croatia Spectra-Media Ltd., Gradiscanska 20, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia Bitum d.o.o., Slavonska avenija 19, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia aav@gfv.hr

Efficiency of subsurface flow constructed wetland with trickling filter

Effective wastewater purification in subsurface flow constructed wetlands must include adequate pretreatment and ensure a sufficient amount of dissolved oxygen. In a pilot-scale operation, a subsurface flow constructed wetland (CW) consisted of a primary settlement tank, a trickling filter for pretreatment and two serially assembled basins. The trickling filter was added to ensure sufficient aeration, increase purification of the wastewater and shorten the wastewater purification time. The estimated nominal flow was 0.7 m3/d. The experiments were conducted using the wastewater from the municipal sewage canal of the city of Zagreb, with utilization of three different flows: 0.72 (A), 1.44 (B) and 2.88 (C) m3/d. The efficiency of the purification process was monitored over a period of three years (TSS, BOD5, COD, NH4-N, NO2-N, PO4-P, dissolved oxygen, temperature and pH). The experimental results showed an increase in the removal efficiency with a doubling of the nominal flow from 0.7 to 1.44 m3/d, which could be related to the implementation of the trickling filter where high removal rates were achieved.

The assessment of air emissions increase due to the collection of municipal solid waste with old collection vehicles: A case study of Ludbreg (Croatia)

The usage of old equipment (over 10-year-old diesel-fuelled waste collection vehicles, WCVs) for municipal solid waste (MSW) collection in Ludbreg for longer than a decade has had a negative environmental impact, which has been reduced by replacing an old diesel WCV with a new diesel WCV. This study aims to assess the share of air emissions of two old WCVs (FAP 1990 and MAN 2003) and one new (MAN 2015), expressed in CO2 emissions. In addition, these vehicles have been found easily to reach the limit of 100 dB, which can cause hearing damage in their surroundings. Furthermore, their average fuel consumption is more than 80 l per 100 km, which makes them ineffective in terms of fuel consumption. Generally, higher fuel consumption results in more emissions and for a more eco-friendly operation, the MAN 2003 from Ludbreg WCV fleet should be technically amended and adjusted, and the FAP 1990 should be retired. Although the MAN 2015 is diesel fuelled, the best solution for replacement, according to Maimoun et al. (Waste Management 33: 1079–1089, 2016), would be the use of hydraulic-hybrid vehicles, which provide the best environmental benefits over other alternatives. According to Maimoun et al., hybrid is better environmentally, diesel is the best environmental–economical option and landfill gas-sourced natural gas is the best alternative when accessible because it significantly (up to 80%) reduces emissions of hazardous gases as well as noise levels (50–98%).