Rickard Olsson

Adsorption, desorption, and surface-promoted hydrolysis of glucose-1-phosphate in aqueous goethite (α-FeOOH) suspensions.

Adsorption, desorption, and precipitation reactions at environmental interfaces govern the fate of phosphorus in terrestrial and aquatic environments. Typically, a substantial part of the total pool of phosphorus consists of organophosphate, and in this study we have focused on the interactions between glucose-1-phosphate (G1P) and goethite (α-FeOOH) particles. The adsorption and surface-promoted hydrolysis reactions have been studied at room temperature as a function of pH, time, and total concentration of G1P by means of quantitative batch experiments in combination with infrared spectroscopy. A novel simultaneous infrared and potentiometric titration (SIPT) technique has also been used to study the rates and mechanisms of desorption of the surface complexes. The results have shown that G1P adsorption occurs over a wide pH interval and at pH values above the isoelectric point of goethite (IEP(goethite) = 9.4), indicating a comparatively strong interaction with the particle surfaces. As evidenced by IR spectroscopy, G1P formed pH-dependent surface complexes on goethite, and investigations of both adsorption and desorption processes were consistent with a model including three types of surface complexes. These complexes interact monodentately with surface Fe but differ in hydrogen bonding interactions via the auxiliary oxygens of the phosphate group. The apparent desorption rates were shown to be influenced by reaction pathways that include interconversion of surface species, which highlights the difficulty in determining the intrinsic desorption rates of individual surface complexes. Desorption results have also indicated that the molecular structures of surface complexes and the surface charge are two important determinants of G1P desorption rates. Finally, this study has shown that surface-promoted hydrolysis of G1P by goethite is base-catalyzed but that the extent of hydrolysis was small.

Microbial responses to P addition in six South African forest soils.

Forests growing on highly weathered soils are often phosphorus (P) limited and competition between geochemical and biological sinks affects their soil P dynamics. In an attempt to elucidate the factors controlling the relative importance of these two sinks, we investigated the relationship of between soil microbial growth kinetics and soil chemical properties following amendments with C, N and P in six South African forest soils. Microbial growth kinetics were determined from respiration curves derived from measurements of CO2 effluxes from soil samples in laboratory incubations. We found that microbial growth rates after C + N additions were positively related to NaOH-extractable P and decreased with soil depth, whereas the lag time (the time between substrate addition and exponential growth) was negatively related to extractable P. However, the growth rate and lag time were unrelated to the soil’s sorption properties or Al and Fe contents. Our results indicate that at least some of the NaOH-extractable inorganic P may be biologically available within a relatively short time (days to weeks) and might be more labile than previously thought. Our results also show that microbial utilization of C + N only seemed to be constrained by P in the deeper part of the soil profiles.

Environmental incidents and firm value–international evidence using a multi-factor event study framework

Event study methodology is used to analyse whether bad news in the form of Environmental (EV) incidents affect firm value negatively. An international sample of firms with EV incidents is studied. It is found that EV incidents are generally associated with the loss of value. For European firms, the loss is statistically significant and the magnitude of the abnormal returns should be of economic significance to corporations and investors. The results are not sensitive to multiple variations in methodology, including the use of international versions of the market model as well as of multi-factor models of the Fama–French type. Results are also robust to different parametric and nonparametric test statistics.

Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Organic Phosphates Adsorbed on Mineral Surfaces

Esters of phosphoric acid constitute a sizable fraction of the total phosphorus supply in the environment and thus play an important role in the global phosphorus cycle. Enzymatic hydrolysis of these esters to produce orthophosphate is often a required reaction preceding phosphorus uptake by plants and microorganisms. Generally, adsorption to environmental particles is assumed to limit this process. Here we show, however, that the rate of enzymatic hydrolysis of glucose-1-phosphate (G1P) adsorbed on goethite by acid phosphatase (AcPase) can be of the same order of magnitude as in aqueous solution. The surface process releases carbon to the solution whereas orthophosphate remains adsorbed on goethite. This hydrolysis reaction is strictly an interfacial process governed by the properties of the interface. A high surface concentration of substrate mediates the formation of a catalytically active layer of AcPase, and although adsorption likely reduces the catalytic efficiency of the enzyme, this reduction is almost balanced by the fact that enzyme and substrate are concentrated at the mineral surfaces. Our results suggest that mineral surfaces with appropriate surface properties can be very effective in concentrating substrates and enzymes thereby creating microchemical environments of high enzymatic activity. Hence, also strongly adsorbed molecules in soils and aquatic environments may be subjected to biodegradation by extracellular enzymes.

Adsorption mechanisms of glucose in aqueous goethite suspensions.

The adsorption of glucose and polysaccharides onto solid surfaces is important in several areas of science and engineering including soil chemistry and mineral processing. In this work we have studied the adsorption of D-glucose at the water-goethite (α-FeOOH) interface as a function of pH using batch adsorption measurements and a simultaneous infrared and potentiometric technique. Molecular orbital calculations were also performed in order to support interpretations of the infrared spectroscopic data. Infrared spectroscopy has shown that glucose adsorbs at the water-goethite interface with an intact ring structure and that the β-form is favored relative to the α isomer. The collective spectroscopic and macroscopic results were fully consistent with an adsorption mechanism where glucose interacts with goethite surface sites via hydrogen bonding interactions. Specific infrared peak shifts indicated that glucose primarily acts as a hydrogen bond donor and that it interacts with acceptor sites that become increasingly more prevalent as the surface is deprotonated. These results are in general agreement with the acid/base model for mono- and polysaccharide interactions at metal oxide surfaces, but contradict the inner sphere hypothesis that was proposed based on ex situ spectroscopic measurements.

How Bad is Bad News? Assessing the Effects of Environmental Incidents on Firm Value

Based on a formal model of how investments in corporate social responsibility act upon firm value through goodwill, we derive the hypothesis that under uncertainty bad news are detrimental to goodwill, and subsequently have a negative impact on value. We examine by event study methodology whether bad news in the form of environmental (EV) incidents affect firm value negatively as measured by abnormal returns using a global data set. An EV incident is a company incident allegedly in violation of international norms on environmental issues. We analyse 142 EV incidents 2003-2006. The EV incidents are generally associated with loss of value, but which are not statistically significant, except for incidents for firms in Europe. Furthermore, results indicate that firms with low goodwill capital (high EV risk rating) are associated with relatively larger negative abnormal returns in case of an EV incident.

Evaluating measures of individual investors’ expectations of risk and return

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to measure individual investors’ expectations of risk and return and to evaluate different expectation measures.Design/methodology/approach – We measure indiv ...