Ex Situ Stabilization/Solidification Approaches of Marine Sediments Using Green Cement Admixtures.

The routine dredging of waterways produces huge volumes of sediments. Handling contaminated dredged sediments poses significant and diverse challenges around the world. In recent years, novel and sustainable ex situ remediation technologies for contaminated sediments have been developed and applied.

Strategies to enhance the circularity of non-bottle PET packaging waste based on a detailed material characterisation.

The compositions of Dutch lightweight packaging waste (LWP) and sorted products named "PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) trays" have been determined on object level. Additionally, the PET trays from both waste types were sorted in 16 categories representing their packaging use and material build-up. The material composition of at least 10 representative trays from each category was determined with chemical and thermal analysis, based on which the average material composition per category was established.

Recent developments and prospects of sustainable remediation treatments for major contaminants in soil: A review.

Rapid industrialisation and urbanisation are contributing to the entry of emerging contaminants into the environment, posing a significant threat to soil health and quality. Therefore, several remediation technologies have been investigated and tested at a field scale to address the issue. However, these remediation technologies face challenges related to cost-effectiveness, environmental concerns, secondary pollution due to the generation of by-products, long-term pollution leaching risks, and social acceptance.

Effect of Cellulose-Based Bioplastics on Current LDPE Recycling.

The increased use of bioplastics in the market has led to their presence in municipal solid waste streams alongside traditional fossil-based polymers, particularly low-density polyethylene (LDPE), which bioplastics often end up mixed with. This study aimed to assess the impact of cellulose acetate plasticized with triacetin (CAT) on the mechanical recycling of LDPE. LDPE-CAT blends with varying CAT content (0%, 1%, 5%, 7.

Recycling of Contaminated Marine Sediment and Industrial By-Products through Combined Stabilization/Solidification and Granulation Treatment.

Stabilization/solidification (S/S) is becoming increasingly important, as it allows the remediation of contaminated sediments and their recovery into materials for civil engineering. This research proposes a cement-free cold granulation process for manufactured low-cost aggregates from marine sediments contaminated with organic compounds and metals. After the chemo-physical characterization of the study materials, two mix designs were prepared in a rotary plate granulator by adding two industrial by-products as geopolymer precursors, coal fly ash (CFA) and Blast Furnace Slag (BFS), but also alkaline activation solutions, water, and a fluidizer.

Environmental Sustainable Cement Mortars Based on Polyethylene Terephthalate from Recycling Operations.

The building and construction industry is a key sector behind the ecological transition in that it is one of the main responsible factors in the consumption of natural resources. Thus, in line with circular economy, the use of waste aggregates in mortars is a possible solution to increase the sustainability of cement materials. In the present paper, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from bottle scraps (without chemical pretreatment) was used as aggregate in cement mortars to replace conventional sand aggregate (20%, 50% and 80% by weight).

Life cycle assessment of end-of-life options for cellulose-based bioplastics when introduced into a municipal solid waste management system.

The partial degradation of cellulose-based bioplastics in industrial treatment of organic fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) opened to the investigation of further disposal routes for bioplastics in the waste management system. For this purpose, the environmental footprint of three MSW management scenarios differing only for the bioplastics final destination (organic, plastic or mixed waste streams) was assessed through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. Results revealed how the treatment of bioplastics with organic waste achieved the worst environmental performance (5.

Co-digestion of food waste and cellulose-based bioplastic: From batch to semi-continuous scale investigation.

Only few studies on the behaviour of bioplastics in anaerobic co-digestion could be found in literature and most of them are conducted in batch mode. Despite the fact that continuous experiments confirm or add new insight to the findings acquired from batch ones, there is still lack of such studies. This work aims to cover this gap, carrying out a semi-continuous anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and cellulose acetate (which its behaviour under anaerobic environment is also quite unexplored).

Erratum: Evaluation of Suspected COVID-19 Patients in a Pediatric Emergency Department.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1735493.].

Effects of cellulose-based bio-plastics on the aerobic biological stabilization treatment of mixed municipal solid waste: A lab-scale assessment.

The aim of this work is to assess how the presence of cellulose-based bio-plastics influence the biological stabilization of mixed Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). For the scope, two cellulose acetate bio-plastics have been mixed with a synthetic mixed waste to create samples with and without bio-plastics. A self-induced biostabilization has been carried out for 7 and 14 days where temperature and off-gas have been monitored continuously.

The Improvement of Durability of Reinforced Concretes for Sustainable Structures: A Review on Different Approaches.

The topic of sustainability of reinforced concrete structures is strictly related with their durability in aggressive environments. In particular, at equal environmental impact, the higher the durability of construction materials, the higher the sustainability. The present review deals with the possible strategies aimed at producing sustainable and durable reinforced concrete structures in different environments.

The influence of bio-plastics for food packaging on combined anaerobic digestion and composting treatment of organic municipal waste.

The use of bio-plastic-based packaging as an alternative to conventional plastic packaging is increasing. Among the plethora of different bio-based plastics, the most relevant ones are those that, at the end of their life, can be treated with the organic fraction of municipal solid waste. Even in these cases, their impact on the waste processing and recycling is not always positive.

The role of (bio)degradability on the management of petrochemical and bio-based plastic waste.

In order to mitigate the social and ecological impacts of post-consumer plastic made of conventional petrochemical polymers, the market of (bio)degradable plastics have recently become more widespread. Although (bio)degradable plastics could be an environmentally friendly substitute of petrochemical ones, the consequences of their presence in the waste management system and in the environment (if not correctly disposed) are not always positive and plastic pollution is not automatically solved. Consequently, this work aims to review how plastic (bio)degradability affects the municipal solid waste management cycle.

Evaluation of Suspected COVID-19 Patients in a Pediatric Emergency Department.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is now a global pandemic. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of COVID-19 in pediatric patients and to compare the characteristics of positive and negative patients. This study conducted from March to May 2020 in a tertiary children's hospital.

Experimental Investigation on Environmentally Sustainable Cement Composites Based on Wheat Straw and Perlite.

Environmentally sustainable cement mortars containing wheat straw (Southern Italy, Apulia region) of different length and dosage and perlite beads as aggregates were prepared and characterised by rheological, thermal, acoustic, mechanical, optical and microstructural tests. A complete replacement of the conventional sand was carried out. Composites with bare straw (S), perlite (P), and with a mixture of inorganic and organic aggregates (P/S), were characterised and compared with the properties of conventional sand mortar.

A review of the in-situ capping amendments and modeling approaches for the remediation of contaminated marine sediments.

Contaminated sediments can pose long-term risks to human beings and ecosystems as they accumulate inorganic and organic contaminants becoming a sink and source of pollution. Compared to ex-situ technologies (i.e.

Sustainable ex-situ remediation of contaminated sediment: A review.

Routine waterway dredging activities generate huge volumes of dredged sediment. The remediation of dredged contaminated sediment is a worldwide challenge. Novel and sustainable ex-situ remediation technologies for contaminated sediment have been developed and adopted in recent years.

A holistic DPSIR-based approach to the remediation of heavily contaminated coastal areas.

This paper proposes a holistic approach to connect anthropogenic impacts to environmental remediation solutions. The eDPSIR (engineered-Drivers-Pressures-States-Impacts-Responses) framework aims at supporting the decision-maker in designing technological solutions for a contaminated coastal area, where the natural matrices need to be cleaned up. The eDPSIR is characterized by cause-effect relationships that are operationally implemented through three multidisciplinary toolboxes: (i) Toolbox 1, to connect driving forces with pressures, classifying the state of the system and allowing the identification of target contaminants and the extent of contamination; (ii) Toolbox 2, to quantify bioaccumulation also by identifying corresponding areas; (iii) Toolbox 3, to identify the most suitable remediation solutions for previously identified contaminated areas, named contamination scenarios.

Feasibility Analysis on the Adoption of Decentralized Anaerobic Co-Digestion for the Treatment of Municipal Organic Waste with Energy Recovery in Urban Districts of Metropolitan Areas.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) of organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) is considered an excellent solution for both waste management and energy generation, although the impacts of waste collection and transportation on the whole management system are not negligible. AD is often regarded as a centralized solution for an entire community, although recently, there has been some debate on the adoption of decentralized, smaller facilities. This study aims to evaluate the techno-economic feasibility of an AD plant at the local scale for the treatment of organic waste generated from urban districts.

Contaminated marine sediment stabilization/solidification treatment with cement/lime: leaching behaviour investigation.

Among ex situ remediation technologies, stabilization/solidification (S/S) provides for the addition of a binder to dredged materials in order to chemically immobilise the contaminants and improve mechanical behaviour of sediments. The simplest form of treatment is obtained by the addition of Portland cement or lime (calcium oxide), although other additives such as adsorbents may be added. Nevertheless, the success of the S/S treatment may be affected by the contaminants present or by the salt content in the water.

Sustainable design of large wastewater treatment plants considering multi-criteria decision analysis and stakeholders' involvement.

The typical treatment scheme of a large municipal wastewater treatment plant (LWWTP) is almost always the result of design based on technical and economic criteria. Once a threshold in terms of population equivalent (PE) is reached, it is possible that additional sludge thermal treatment might be required. Aspects such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and land use for the construction of the WWTP or the service landfill are considered marginal in current design practice; in a world that requires increasingly attention to the environment, these criteria cannot be ignored when defining the treatment scheme of a LWWTP.

Experimental investigations and numerical modelling of in-situ reactive caps for PAH contaminated marine sediments.

The present study compared numerical modelling and experimental investigations to evaluate the effectiveness of in-situ reactive capping for marine sediments contaminated by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). As a case study, sediment samples from Mar Piccolo (Italy) were analyzed and experiments were undertaken using batch columns. Two types of capping amendments were tested: AquaGate® + 5 % of powdered activated carbon (AG PAC) and Organoclay Reactive Core Mat (OC RCM).

Environmentally Sustainable Cement Composites Based on End-of-Life Tyre Rubber and Recycled Waste Porous Glass.

In this paper, environmentally sustainable cement mortars were prepared with end-of-life tyre rubber (TR) and recycled waste porous glass (PG) as aggregates in order to obtain lightweight products characterized by renewable and not-pretreated materials specifically for indoor applications. The secondary raw materials were added as partial and/or total replacement of the conventional sand aggregate. The resulting lightweight specimens were characterized by rheological, mechanical, thermal, microstructural and wettability tests.

Alternating pure oxygen and air cycles for the biostabilization of unsorted fraction of municipal solid waste.

Biostabilisation is a process of treating the unsorted fraction of municipal solid waste (UFMSW) mechanically pre-treated. Although concepts such as circular economy would seem to limit biostabilization, several authors have recently described the advantages of biostabilization in regions where recycling systems are inadequate. In this perspective, the development of new MBT technologies is of considerable importance.