MgO/KHPO and Curing Moisture Content in MKPC Matrices to Optimize the Immobilization of Pure Al and Al-Mg Alloys.

Magnesium Potassium Phosphate Cements (MKPCs) are considered a good alternative for the immobilization of aluminium radioactive waste. MKPC composition and moisture curing conditions are relevant issues to be evaluated. The corrosion of pure aluminium (A1050) and AlMg alloys (AA5754) with 3.

Face Mask Wastes as Cementitious Materials: A Possible Solution to a Big Concern.

After more than two years wearing surgical masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, used masks have become a significant risk for ecosystems, as they are producing wastes in huge amounts. They are a potential source of disturbance by themselves and as microplastic contamination in the water system. As 5500 tons of face masks are estimated to be used each year, there is an urgent need to manage them according to the circular economy principles and avoid their inadequate disposal.

Challenges in quantification of photocatalytic NO abatement effectiveness under real world exposure conditions illustrated by a case study.

Health risks due to NO exposure commonly exceed acceptable levels in modern societies. Among the measures to reduce such risks, photocatalytic materials present a promising technology. However, while the pollutant remediation of such materials has been extensively validated in laboratory studies, the performance under real world environmental exposure conditions is still subject to controversy.

NO removal efficiency of urban photocatalytic pavements at pilot scale.

Photocatalytic technology implemented in construction materials is a promising solution to contribute to alleviate air quality issues found in big cities. Photocatalysis has been proved able to mineralise most harmful contaminants. However, important problems associated with monitoring the efficiency of these solutions under real conditions still remain, including the lack of affordable analytical tools to measure NO concentrations with enough accuracy.

Selecting enhancing solutions for electrokinetic remediation of dredged sediments polluted with fuel.

In this paper a procedure for selecting the enhancing solutions in electrokinetic remediation experiments is proposed. For this purpose, dredged marine sediment was contaminated with fuel, and a total of 22 different experimental conditions were tested, analysing the influence of different enhancing solutions by using three commercial non-ionic surfactants, one bio-surfactant, one chelating agent, and one weak acid. Characterisation, microelectrophoretic and electrokinetic remediation trials were carried out.

Turning waste into valuable resource: potential of electric arc furnace dust as photocatalytic material.

This paper explores the potential of a hazardous waste of difficult management, electric arc furnace dust (EAFD), as photocatalytic material. Starting from a real waste coming from a Spanish steel factory, chemical, mineralogical, and optical characterizations have been carried out. Direct trials on EAFD and mortar containing this waste have been performed to evaluate its potential as photocatalyst itself and within a cementitious material.

Controlling the levels of airborne pollen: can heterogeneous photocatalysis help?

Airborne pollen is a worldwide problem because is a very important allergenic agent; it can be altered only by certain microorganisms and by some oxidizers, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS). On the other hand, heterogeneous photocatalysis (HPC) arose as a promising technology for reducing the level of contaminants in the air, based on their degradation by the production of ROS. In this paper, study of the feasibility of HPC to diminish the counts of pollen is undertaken.

Radioactively contaminated electric arc furnace dust as an addition to the immobilization mortar in low- and medium-activity repositories.

Electric arc furnace dust (EAFD), generated by the steel-making industry, is in itself an intrinsic hazardous waste; however, the case may also be that scrap used in the process is accidentally contaminated by radioactive elements such as cesium. In this case the resulting EAFD is to be handled as radioactive waste, being duly confined in low- and medium-activity repositories (LMAR). What this paper studies is the reliability of using this radioactive EAFD as an addition in the immobilization mortar of the containers of the LMAR, that is, from the point of view of the durability.

Nondestructive decontamination of mortar and concrete by electro-kinetic methods: application to the extraction of radioactive heavy metals.

Because the service lives of nuclear power plants are limited to a certain number of years, the need for the management of quite a large volume of radioactive contaminated concrete arises, which, in most cases, was not taken into account when the capacities of the low and medium activity repositories were designed. Therefore, the decontamination of these structures would be of great interest in order to declassify the wastes as radioactive and manage them as conventional ones. This research studies the reliability of the application of electrical fields to decontaminate radioactive contaminated concrete.