Author Archive

Environmental Monitoring in the Energy Sector: Exploring parallels between shale gas and nuclear

The Royal Society of Chemistry is holding a free half-day event which will consider the current and future role of chemistry in environmental monitoring in the energy sector.  The event will centre on a comparison between shale gas, an emerging technique in the UK and the established nuclear sector. The event is likely to be of interest to people working on environmental monitoring in the energy sector as well as individuals with wider interests in environmental monitoring techniques including geoscientists, chemists and toxicologists. 

The event will begin with a brief overview of the current energy landscape and the respective roles and prospects for established and emerging energy technologies. This will be followed by an introduction on the extraction of shale gas by ‘fracking’ and its emerging profile in the energy sector. The speakers will then give perspectives on challenges in monitoring for the shale gas industry comparing with approaches in the nuclear industry.  The talks will include strategies and techniques developed to ensure accurate and effective monitoring of both land and water.  Following each presentation there will be a brief Question & Answer session. 

The presentations will be followed by a panel discussion looking at commonalities and differences between the sectors, areas for collaboration and knowledge-exchange, the role for chemistry in developing and adapting methods for environmental monitoring in the UK’s evolving energy landscape and whether the extraction of shale gas presents a specific set of new challenges for research.

There will also be opportunities for informal networking between delegates.

This invitation-only event will take place at the Chemistry Centre in Burlington House, London, from 13:30 – 18:00 on Thursday 26 September. There is no registration fee but registration is required prior to the event. 

If you are interested in attending the event, please visit the website to register your interest in attending.

 

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Free to access HOT articles!

These articles are HOT as recommended by the referees. And we’ve made them free to access for 4 weeks*

Chrysotile asbestos in serpentinite quarries: a case study in Valmalenco, Central Alps, Northern Italy
Alessandro Cavallo and Bianca Rimoldi
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00193H


Mineralogical comparisons of experimental results investigating the biological impacts on rock transport processes
Doris Wagner, Antoni E. Milodowski, Julia M. West, Joanna Wragg and Hideki Yoshikawa
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00188A


Arrays of microelectrodes: technologies for environmental investigations
Frank Davis and Séamus P. J. Higson
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00234A


Biovolatilisation: a poorly studied pathway of the arsenic biogeochemical cycle
Adrien Mestrot, Britta Planer-Friedrich and Jörg Feldmann
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00105A


Is meconium useful to predict fetal exposure to organochlorines and hydroxylated PCBs?
Anna Sofía Veyhe, Therese Haugdahl Nøst, Torkjel M. Sandanger, Solrunn Hansen, Jon Øyvind Odland and Evert Nieboer
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00132F


Using quantitative structural property relationships, chemical fate models, and the chemical partitioning space to investigate the potential for long range transport and bioaccumulation of complex halogenated chemical mixtures
Anya Gawor and Frank Wania
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00098B


Continuous, short-interval redox data loggers: verification and setup considerations
C. Shoemaker, R. Kröger, B. Reese and S. C. Pierce
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00036B

*Free access to individuals is provided through an RSC Publishing personal account. Registration is quick, free and simple

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Free to access HOT articles!

 
These articles are HOT as recommended by the referees. And we’ve made them free to access for 4 weeks*

 

Bacterial community of iron tubercles from a drinking water distribution system and its occurrence in stagnant tap water
Lu Chen, Rui-Bao Jia and Li Li  
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00171G


DGT measurement in low flow conditions: diffusive boundary layer and lability considerations
Emmanuelle Uher, Marie-Hélène Tusseau-Vuillemin and Catherine Gourlay-France
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00151B


 

Quantitative and qualitative sensing techniques for biogenic volatile organic compounds and their oxidation products
Saewung Kim, Alex Guenther and Eric Apel  
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00040K


A new immunoassay to quantify fungal antigens from the indoor mould Aspergillus versicolor
Eva Zahradnik, Sabine Kespohl, Ingrid Sander, Ursula Schies, Janett Khosravie-Hohn, Wolfgang Lorenz, Steffen Engelhart, Annette Kolk, Gerd Schneider, Thomas Brüning and Monika Raulf-Heimsoth
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM30870G

*Free access to individuals is provided through an RSC Publishing personal account. Registration is quick, free and simple

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Take 1.. minute for chemistry in health

Do you know how chemical scientists can tackle global challenges in Human Health? If so, the RSC is running a one minute video competition this summer for young researchers such as PhD and Post-doc students; get involved and innovate the way scientists share their research. Your video should communicate your own personal research or an area of research that interests you, highlighting its significance and impact to Human Health.

Five videos will be shortlisted by our judging panel and the winner will be selected during the ‘How does chemistry keep us healthy?’ themed National Chemistry Week taking place 16-23 November.

A £500 prize and a fantastic opportunity to shadow the award winning video Journalist, Brady Harran, is up for grabs for the winner.

The judging panel will include the makers of The Periodic Tale of Videos, Martyn Poliakoff and Brady Harran, and RSC Division representatives.

Check out our webpage for further details of the competition and an example video.

The competition will open 02 April 2013 and the closing date for entries is 01 July 2013. Please submit your entries to rsc.li/take-1-video-competition.

Any questions please contact science@rsc.org.

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How can you assess the impact of multiple methane sources to the environment?

In this HOT article, collaborators in Australia and California devise methods of assessing contributions of landfill and natural gas methane to mixtures in soil gas and groundwater. They use half-lives and concentration ratios to evaluate the age of release.

The group at URS Australia Pty Ltd, Geosyntec Consultants and Redwood Waste Management California, focus on the problem of methane from landfill gas migrating away underneath the surface of landfill sites. It is a particular problem due to methane’s flammable nature. Landfill gas is not the only source of migrating methane. Sources include natural organic matter decomposition, natural gas in supply lines, degradation of petroleum products and underground reservoirs of natural gas. There are many indicators used to determine the source of natural gas, such as the presence of CO2 being a marker for biodegradation. Carbon and hydrogen isotope composition is also used.

These researchers argue that using multiples of these indicators is the most reliable way to understand sources and migration pathways. This paper introduces a methodology to assess all of these different indicators at a complex site with multiple methane sources. Knowing the age of landfill gas using VOCs concentrations is a helpful parameter when assessing migration distance and time. This methodology using methane radioisotope data can distinguish on-going release from an inactive source and determine relative contributions of landfill gas and thermogenic methane to the environment. The theoretical basis for estimating landfill gas age is described in detail and applied to a case study at a municipal solid waste disposal facility in California.

As always, we’ve made this fascinating HOT research free to access for 4 weeks*!

Evaluation of the age of landfill gas methane in landfill gas–natural gas mixtures using co-occurring constituents
Henry B. Kerfoot, Benjamin Hagedorn and Mark Verwiel 
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM30971A

*Free access to individuals is provided through an RSC Publishing personal account. Registration is quick, free and simple

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HOT article! Hydrological and landscape factors affecting nutrient flux

J. Abell and colleagues at the University of Waikato and National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, New Zealand, have quantified nutrient and sediment inputs to a large eutrophic lake. They draw conclusions on how hydrological and landscape factors interact to produce pollutant flux.

Pollutant concentrations after a rain event such as a storm vary greatly and therefore high-frequency sampling is needed.  The amount of pollutant must be measured as a function of the stream discharge. The relationship between the two parameters can provide insights into sources and transport mechanisms in a catchment area. A catchment area can act as a filter, regulating downstream transport.  Therefore changes over time that occur after a rain event give insights into upstream hydrological and landscape factors.

The team looked at two streams flowing into a large eutrophic lake, focusing on levels of suspended sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus over a range of discharge values. One stream flowed through a mainly forested area, the other through pasture land. They conducted high frequency sampling over two years for both streams, taking over 900 samples. Comparison of two streams allowed spatial conclusions to be drawn.

This article includes an in-depth discussion of the factors related to suspended sediment and nutrient levels of the two streams, and how all of these factors contribute to the eutrophic nature of the lake. The researchers examine how these results could to lead to improved management of lake water quality.

Free to access for 4 weeks*, read the detailed discussion here:

Quantifying temporal and spatial variations in sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus transport in stream inflows to a large eutrophic lake
J. M. Abell, D. P. Hamilton and J. C. Rutherford
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00083D

*Free access to individuals is provided through an RSC Publishing personal account. Registration is quick, free and simple

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Issue 5 online! Bridging data gaps and sampling particulates, E-waste and radiocarbon analysis

A HOT article from a team at the US Naval Research Laboratory is featured on this month’s eye-catching outside front cover, which was recently featured on the Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts blog. In this work, CO2 radiocarbon analysis is demonstrated as a tool to review remediation efficiency by differentiating between CO2 produced by degrading fuel contaminant and that produced naturally by organic matter. Free to access for 6 weeks*!

Radiocarbon-depleted CO2 evidence for fuel biodegradation at the Naval Air Station North Island (USA) fuel farm site
Thomas J. Boyd, Michael J. Pound, Daniel Lohr and Richard B. Coffin
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00008G


Issue 5 contains two Perspective articles. The first written by Darrah Sleeth at University of Utah, USA, assesses the current air sampling techniques available for sampling beryllium particulates and outlines the components of the ideal aerosol sampler.

The impact of particle size selective sampling methods on occupational assessment of airborne beryllium particulates
Darrah K. Sleeth
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM30877D


The second Perspective from Richard Brown et al. at the National Physical Laboratory, UK, follows on from their excellent HOT article featured on the front cover of Issue 3 in February. This Perspective article discusses the consequences of incomplete data coverage and evaluates strategies for making up for such data loss. The authors’ aim is to provoke debate about the best ways to address this problem, so have a read and let us know what you think by commenting below.

Improved strategies for calculating annual averages of ambient air pollutants in cases of incomplete data coverage
Richard J. C. Brown, Peter M. Harris and Maurice G. Cox
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00039G


Issue 5 contains more HOT research, such as this article on E-waste which was highlighted on the blog last week:

Heavy metals and organic compounds contamination in soil from an e-waste region in South China
Ming Liu, Bo Huang, Xinhui Bi, Zhaofang Ren, Guoying Sheng and Jiamo Fu
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00043E

Discover the full contents of Issue 5 here!

Follow Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts on Twitter!

*Free access to individuals is provided through an RSC Publishing personal account. Registration is quick, free and simple

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HOT article: The impact of e-waste recycling in China

The dumping of e-waste is an ever-increasing environmental problem. Individuals and organisations are changing their mobile phones and computers at faster and faster rates to keep up to date with the latest technological innovations. 80% of the world’s e-waste is exported to Asia, with the vast majority ending up in China where the environmental regulations are softer and the cost of labour is lower.

The recycling of e-waste in China often involves environmentally unfriendly processes. Now mostly banned from use, PCBs are still prevalent in the majority of older electronic equipment, which is now e-waste. PBDEs are also used as flame retardants in electronics. These chemicals and heavy metals are released into the environment during e-waste recycling

Researchers at the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, describe an extensive study into the soil contamination levels in an e-waste region of Southern China. They identify which recycling activities emit which pollutants and look at the links between contamination levels in recycling sites and in local agricultural soils.

They find that local paddy and vegetable field soils are contaminated with the same heavy metals found at the recycling sites and this contamination may have been distributed via ponds and streams. This work will inform the reform of e-waste recycling policies and the team plan to investigate the mobility and toxicity of the contaminants in detail.

This HOT article on the processes of an important modern environmental issue is now free to access for the next 4 weeks*!

Heavy metals and organic compounds contamination in soil from an e-waste region in South China
Ming Liu, Bo Huang, Xinhui Bi, Zhaofang Ren, Guoying Sheng and Jiamo Fu  
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00043E

 *Free access to individuals is provided through an RSC Publishing personal account. Registration is quick, free and simple

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Introducing Editorial Board member David Cwiertny

The third of our Introducing series of blog posts features Editorial Board member David Cwiertny – we’re very pleased to welcome him to the board and post his profile and research vision:

David Cwiertny holds a BS in Environmental Engineering Science with a minor in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley awarded in 2000. He then received his PhD in Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Maryland, USA) in 2005. After completing his doctoral work, he served as a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Iowa in joint appointment between the Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Chemistry. In the Fall of 2011, he returned to the University of Iowa as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering after serving four years in the same capacity at the University of California, Riverside. His research program broadly focuses on pollutant fate in natural and engineered systems, with a particular emphasis on the development of materials-based treatment technologies that promote water sustainability. This includes projects on the transformation of emerging contaminant classes (e.g., synthetic hormones and pharmaceuticals) in natural aquatic systems, and the development of nanomaterial-enabled technologies for advanced chemical treatment of water and wastewater. At the University of Iowa, he is a core faculty member in the campus-wide Water Sustainability Initiative, developing interdisciplinary research, outreach and education programs intended to increase water awareness at the University and across the state of Iowa.

Here David presents his research vision. Click “Read more” below to find out more!

RESEARCH VISION: A motivating theme for research in the Cwiertny lab is the belief that the unique reactivity displayed by materials within the nanodomain can be exploited to overcome challenges that have long stymied water quality engineers.  Indeed, we believe that engineered nanomaterials hold great promise, and are perhaps ideally suited, for moving society toward more sustainable water supplies.  Engineered nanomaterials are versatile at a range of scales, and are likely to be particularly relevant in decentralized or point-of-use treatment systems. Inherently, such applications require smaller, more efficient technologies.  Building blocks for multi-functional, hybrid technologies can potentially decrease the size of treatment.  In addition to being relevant in rural areas and in smaller communities that can often struggle to maintain compliance with existing and future regulations, they also may help to revolutionize water treatment in the developing world.  Of course, there remain challenges to the widespread acceptance of nanomaterials in treatment, including finding responsible platforms in application given concerns over their inadvertent release into the environment.  However, we believe the future of research in environmental nanotechnology will bridge the fundamental and the practical, allowing nanomaterials to fulfill their promise in the realm of water treatment.

(more…)

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HOT article: Radiocarbon for remediation analysis

In remediation of hydrocarbon contamination, it is vital to be able to monitor the levels of the desired relatively harmless end-product CO2. There are a large number of different ways to check hydrocarbon degradation varying in cost and complexity.

Differentiating naturally derived CO2 from contaminant-derived CO2 for accurate measurements is often a problem. Carbon isotope ratios of the contaminant versus the product environment can be used. Radiocarbon analysis can monitor CO2 very effectively as fossil fuel sources are radiocarbon-free and can be compared against carbon from plants and soil from photosynthesis. Enhanced radiocarbon-depleted CO2 relative to a background measurement indicates fossil fuel degradation.

In this HOT article, soil gas and groundwater CO2 radiocarbon analysis is used to assess whether fuel hydrocarbons at a US Navy facility are being removed naturally. Using a two end-member isotopic mixing model the researchers determine how much of the CO2 comes from fossil fuel. The model includes two components are the fossil fuel-derived and the natural organic matter-derived CO2 analysed using the one tracer, radiocarbon. The fraction of CO2 from fossil fuel was 93% at the fuel contaminated site.

This is further demonstrating of radiocarbon as an on-site tool for initial or ongoing analysis to assess remediation method efficiency. This HOT article as chosen by the referees is free to access for the next 4 weeks*:

Radiocarbon-depleted CO2 evidence for fuel biodegradation at the Naval Air Station North Island (USA) fuel farm site
Thomas J. Boyd, Michael J. Pound, Daniel Lohr and Richard B. Coffin   
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00008G

*Free access to individuals is provided through an RSC Publishing personal account. Registration is quick, free and simple

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