Marzena Smol

Environmentally friendly pathways for the evaluation of investment projects using life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost analysis (LCCA)

Issues related to improvement in the quality of products and to environmental protection in the economic policy of many countries and in the strategies of institutions and international organisations (e.g. European Union) have increased in importance in recent years as a consequence of the increase in environmental awareness of consumers. All these institutions currently recommend a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of planned projects during the decision-making process taking into account both economic and environmental factors. It is, therefore, important to develop methods and tools to assess environmental performance as a support to a proper choice of investment activities. The aim of this paper is to develop algorithms to link the life cycle assessment (LCA) model associated with environmental issues and the life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) model associated with economic factors to permit an integrated assessment of investment projects. The combination of LCA and LCCA results enables the assessment of ongoing or planned investments and should be used as a priority in making strategic decisions. In this paper, three environmentally friendly pathways (algorithms) using LCA–LCCA indicators as a support for decision-making processes were proposed: the first for implementing any environmental investments, the second for modernisation and innovation investments, and the third for new investments.

Fertilisers production from ashes after sewage sludge combustion – A strategy towards sustainable development

&NA; Sustainable development and circular economy rules force the global fertilizer industry to develop new phosphorous recovery methods from alternative sources. In this paper a phosphorus recovery technology from Polish industrial Sewage Sludge Ashes was investigated (PolFerAsh – Polish Fertilizers form Ash). A wet method with the use of mineral acid and neutralization was proposed. Detailed characteristic of SSA from largest mono‐combustion plans were given and compared to raw materials used on the market. The technological factors associated with such materials were discussed. The composition of the extracts was compared to typical industrial phosphoric acid and standard values characterizing suspension fertilizers. The most favorable conditions for selective precipitation of phosphorus compounds were revealed. The fertilizers obtained also meet EU regulations in the case of the newly discussed Cd content. The process was scaled up and a flow mass diagram was defined. HighlightsComparison of Polish SSA to phosphate raw materials (MER, I&A).Non‐waste technology of SSA utilization according to circular economy.Obtained fertilisers fulfil requirements for all standardized metals.Technology tested in a semi‐technical scale.Sankey diagram of the P flow in the PolFerAsh recovery process.

The evaluation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) biodegradation kinetics in soil amended with organic fertilizers and bulking agents

The aim of this study was to investigate the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) biodegradation kinetics in soils fertilized with organic amendments (sewage sludge, compost), bulking agents (mineral sorbent, silicon dioxide in form of nano powder), and novel compositions of those materials. The scope of conducted works includes a cyclic CO2 production measurements and the determinations of PAHs content in soil samples, before and after 3-months of incubation. Obtained results show that the use of both type of organic fertilizers have a positive effect on the PAHs removal from soil. However, the CO2 emission remains higher only in the first stage of the process. The best acquired means in terms of PAHs removal as well as most sustained CO2 production were noted in samples treated with the mixtures of organic fertilizers and bulking agents. In conclusion the addition of structural forming materials to the organic fertilizers was critical for the soil bioremediation efficiency. Therefore, the practical implementation of collected data could find a wide range of applications during the design of new, more effective solutions for the soil bioremediation purposes.

Circular economy indicators in relation to eco-innovation in European regions

The concept of a circular economy (CE) has become popular and important issue in environmental management in recent years; however, there are not particular indicators dedicated to it in regional policy. CE approach is an industrial system that is restorative by design, and it emphasises that it is important that, rather than extracting natural resources, the materials that have already been taken can and should be recovered and reused in different ways, thereby securing natural resources from over-exploitation. In order to meet CE assumptions, modern and innovative technologies that allow for the recovery of valuable materials should be developed. This also applies to eco-innovation that connects technology development with environmental aspects. It is therefore obvious that issues of CE and eco-innovation are linked, and a uniform methodology aimed at compare the levels of moving to CE including eco-innovation solutions should be established. Because the focus in European Union (EU) has been paid on regions, measuring of CE–eco-innovations levels is especially important at the regional level. In this paper, the proposals of CE indicators, based on eco-innovation factors, which can be possible to create based on existing data set (Eurostat, Cohesion policy) are presented. It is recommend to use of five group indicators for measuring regional CE–eco-innovation. Based on Eco-Innovation Scoreboard which describes innovation measurement, three of proposed indicator groups are associated directly with innovations, taking into account the principles of CE: CE–eco-innovation inputs, CE–eco-innovation activities and CE–eco-innovation outputs, and other two groups of indicators are effects of the CE–eco-innovation introduction: resource efficiency outcomes and socio-economic outcomes. This way of measuring CE–eco-innovation allows for create holistic, systematic and integrated approach for the CE concept at the regional level. Proposed indicators can be used in current transition stage for assessment of implementation regional policy and as a base for creation final CE indicators.

Influence of Integrated Membrane Treatment on the Phytotoxicity of Wastewater from the Coke Industry

In this paper, coke wastewater that had passed through biological and integrated membrane processes (filtration on sand bed—reverse osmosis) was chosen to assess the phytotoxicity of selected industrial wastewater with regard to the test plant—Vicia faba. An innovative research technique in vitro test was conducted in a large scale phytothrone chamber on two matrices: cotton and Murashige and Skoog Basal Medium (MSBM). The toxicity of wastewater was evaluated for samples: (1) treated in the treatment plant by biological processes, (2) filtrated through a sand bed and filtrated (3) reverse osmosis (RO) membrane. The results showed that there is a noticeable correlation between increasing concentrations of wastewater and seed germination of the test plant. Although the wastewater collected from the coke plant was treated biologically, it showed very high levels of germination inhibition (90–98% for cotton matrix and 92–100% for MSBM matrix) and strong toxic effects. The wastewater collected from the coke plant showed a significantly greater phytotoxic effect compared with those obtained from the effluent treated on a sand bed and in RO. However, wastewater, even after treatment on a sand bed (reduction of COD—39%, TN—46%, TOC—42%, TC—47%, SS—50%, 16PAHs—53%), was still toxic and germination inhibition was in the range of 24–48% for the cotton matrix and 14–54% for the MSBM matrix. The toxicity of wastewater treated in the membrane process was the lowest (reduction of COD—85%, TN—95%, TOC—85%, TC—86%, SS—98%, 16PAHs—67%). The germination inhibition was in the range of 4–10% for the cotton matrix and 2–12% for the MSBM matrix. These samples are classified as non-toxic or slightly toxic to the model plant. The present study highlights the necessity of monitoring not only the basic physical and chemical indicators (including the level of toxic substances as PAHs), but also their effect on the test organisms in wastewater samples.

Effectiveness in the Removal of Organic Compounds from Municipal Landfill Leachate in Integrated Membrane Systems: Coagulation – NF/RO

ABSTRACT The article presents the results of studies concerning the hydraulic permeability of integrated membrane systems during the treatment of municipal landfill leachate. The laboratory-scale experiments were conducted to determine the effectiveness of coagulation as a pretreatment option for treating stabilized landfill leachate and effectiveness of nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) processes. The municipal landfill leachates were analyzed for the concentration of the following: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), nitrate nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC), total carbon (TC), suspended soils (SS), turbidity, pH. The commercially available coagulant – aluminum sulfate Al2(SO4)3·18H2O (alum) was used as a coagulant. The NF process was carried out at the transmembrane pressure of 1.5 MPa. The membrane separation process was based on a thin film membrane (DK). The transmembrane pressure of the RO stood at 2 MPa and for this process one polyamide membrane (AG) was used. The level of leachate treatment was defined for raw and cleaned wastewater indicators. Both NF and RO membranes allowed obtaining the high level of pollutants removal. In the coagulation–NF system, the removal efficiency was equal to 77% for PAHs, 88% for COD, 72% for ammonium nitrogen, 80% for nitrate nitrogen, 67% for TOC, 80% for TC, 96% for SS and during the RO – 86% for PAHs, 98% for COD, 93% for ammonium nitrogen, 87% for nitrate nitrogen, 89% for TOC, 100% for TC, 98% for SS. The calculations based on the assumptions of the mathematical filtration model (relaxation) made it possible to predict the efficiency of commercial filtration membranes used for leachate treatment.

The Effectiveness in the Removal of PAHs from Aqueous Solutions in Physical and Chemical Processes: A Review

ABSTRACT Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are relatively well-known organic pollutants and due to their carcinogenic and mutagenic properties, their presence in the aqueous environment still attracts a lot of attention. This article presents a critical review of the literature on the application of physical and chemical processes for removal of PAHs from aqueous solution, including water and wastewater. The effectiveness of coagulation, chemical oxidation, photodegradation, sorption, and membrane processes in the degradation or removal of these micropollutants is described. The PAHs removal efficiency (coagulation ∼ 99%, chemical oxidation ∼ 87%, photodegradation ∼ 93%, sorption ∼ 100%, and membrane ∼ 100%) during the above processes is difficult to compare due to the works conducted under different conditions and using various mediums, e.g., water, wastewater, PAHs model aqueous solutions.