In 2002, the Biscuit Wildfire burned a portion of the previously established, replicated conifer unthinned and thinned experimental units of the Siskiyou Long-Term Ecosystem Productivity (LTEP) experiment, southwest Oregon. Charcoal C in pre and post-fire O horizon and mineral soil was quantified by physical separation and a peroxide-acid digestion method. The abrupt, short-term fire event caus...

Today, bottled and tap drinking water mainly originates from underground waters which might contain considerable amounts of naturally occurring radionuclides. One of the most toxic radionuclide in drinking water is 226Ra. Following the metabolism of calcium, it could be deposited into the bone where, in sufficient amount, it could cause bone sarcoma. Although current drinking water preparation ...

The aim of the study is to improve removal of trace organic contaminants dissolved in activated sludge by the process of filtration with membrane bioreactor combined with modified activated carbon, for a maximum removal of organic compounds characterized by low molecular weight. Special treatment was conducted in laboratory on activated carbon. Tow reaction parameters: the pH of aqueous middle ...

Membrane clogging is a major obstacle to the successful operation of the membrane separation process. A submerged hollow fibre membrane with powdered activated carbon (PAC) adsorption (adsorption-membrane hybrid system) was used for the removal of organics from a synthetic wastewater representative of biologically treated sewage e.fJluent. PAC usage successfully adsorbs the majority of the orga...

The discovery that natural and synthetic chemicals, in the form of excreted hormones and pharmaceuticals, as well as a vast array of compounds with domestic and industrial applications, can enter the environment via wastewater treatment plants and cause a wide variety of environmental and health problems even at very low concentrations, suggests the need for improvement of water recycling. Thre...

This review concentrates on the effect of activated carbon (AC) addition to membrane bioreactors (MBRs) treating wastewaters. Use of AC-assisted MBRs combines adsorption, biodegradation and membrane filtration. This can lead to advanced removal of recalcitrant pollutants and mitigation of membrane fouling. The relative contribution of adsorption and biodegradation to overall removal achieved by...

OBJECTIVES Sugarcane cultivation is associated with catchment-wide impacts related to application of vinasse, a nutrient-dense effluent with high eutrophication potential. We evaluated the potential for biochar (charcoal produced from pyrolyzed filtercake) to mitigate carbon and nutrient leaching in a cultivated Brazilian Ferralsol after vinasse application. METHODS Twelve soil columns (soil ...

Water treatment plants faced with toxic cyanobacteria have to be able to remove cyanotoxins from raw water. In this study we investigated the efficacy of ozonation coupled with various filtration steps under different cyanobacterial bloom conditions. Cyanobacteria were ozonated in a laboratory-scale batch reactor modeled on a system used by a modern waterworks, with subsequent activated carbon ...

AIMS To investigate the optimal method for the detection of campylobacters from stool samples by comparing selective culture with membrane filtration and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). METHODS Three hundred and forty three stool samples were investigated by each of the three methods mentioned above. Selective culture was performed with charcoal cefoperazone desoxycholate agar plates. Me...

This method depends upon the use of formalindenatured gelatin with finely powdered charcoal incorporated as an indicator of liquefaction. The gelatin charcoal is used only as a substrate for testing the gelatinase activity and not as a nutrient medium. This substrate contains a large number of minute particles of charcoal with a comparatively small amount of gelatin as binding substance. Conseq...