A study of carbon dioxide sequestration has been performed in aqueous electric arc furnace (EAF) and ladle furnace (LF) slag suspensions, in leached hydrated-matrixes, and in leachates to estimate their intrinsic sequestration potential at ambient conditions (temperature of 20 ( 1°C and atmospheric pressure). The CO 2 sequestration was tested in aqueous suspensions of steel slags at a liquid-to-solid ratio of 10 kg/kg as well as in leached hydrated-matrixes and leachates isolated from these fresh slag suspensions after three consecutive leachings. The sequestration assays were performed at 20°C with a flow rate of 5 mL/min of a CO 2 concentration of 15.00 vol %. The results have revealed that the CO 2 sequestration capacity of the LF slag suspension (24.7 g of CO 2 /100 g of slag) is 14 times superior to that of the EAF slag suspension. This greater CO 2 sequestration capacity of the LF slag suspension may be associated in large part to its higher content of portlandite, which reacts with CO 2 relative to the EAF slag suspension. Moreover, the separation of hydratedmatrixes and leachates significantly enhanced the CO 2 sequestration capacity of EAF slag while a slight decrease was observed for the LF slags. This may be due to an obstruction of the CO 2 binding sites of LF slag hydrated-matrixes following the accumulation of calcium carbonate. Taken together, these results suggest that EAF and LF slags could be used for the CO 2 sequestration and given a good yield as well in aqueous suspension as in separated matrixes and leachates.

An analysis of carbonation was carried out with the aqueous fresh red mud suspension at a liquid-to-solid ratio of 10 kg/kg, as well as in the leached-hydrated matrixes and leachates isolated from this red mud suspension after three successive leachings, to evaluate their intrinsic carbonation potential at ambient conditions (temperature of 20 ± 1 °C and atmospheric pressure). The carbonation assays were performed at 20 °C using a CO2 concentration of 15.00 vol% at a flow rate of 5 mL/min. The red mud matrix has a great leaching capacity of Na−(hydr)oxide, which is the principal hydroxide that seems to be implicated in the carbonation of leachates that have half-carbonation capacity of red mud. Moreover, the carbonation of the red mud suspension also involves a portlandite-containing matrix. The carbonation of the red mud suspension and leachates implicates a complete neutralization of their content in Ca− and Na−(hydr)oxides. Although the leached hydrated-matrixes seem to be partially carbonated, it preserves a carbonation capacity near to that of leachate after three successive leachings. Moreover, three leached hydrated-matrixes and leachates have a carbonation capacity (7.09 g of CO2/100 g of red mud) higher than the carbonation capacity obtained for the red mud suspension, which is evaluated to 4.15 g of CO2/100 g of red mud. Taken together, these results suggest that the carbonation of the red mud may be enhanced by the use of leached hydrated-matrixes and leachates obtained from multiple leaching.

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Two bacterial strains, E1 and E2, isolated from gasoline-polluted soil completely degraded ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE), as the sole source of carbon and energy, at specific rates of about 80 mg g(-1) and 58 mg g(-1) of cell protein day(-1), respectively. On the basis of morphological and phenotypic characteristics, strain E1 was tentatively identified as Comamonas testosteroni and strain E2 as belonging to Centre for Disease Control group A-5. The inhibitory effect of metyrapone on the degradative ability of both strains was the first evidence indicating the involvement of a soluble cytochrome P-450 in the cleavage of the ETBE ether bond. This observation was confirmed by spectrophotometric analysis of reduced cell extracts that gave, in the presence of carbon monoxide, a major absorbance peak at about 450 nm. Both strains were also able to degrade, as the sole source of carbon and energy, ETBE's major metabolic intermediates (tert-butyl alcohol and tert-butyl formate) and other gasoline oxygenates (methyl tert-butyl ether and tert-amyl methyl ether). The degradation rates varied considerably, with both strains exhibiting a preferential activity for ETBE's metabolic intermediates.

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A microbial consortium that efficiently degrades 2,4,6-TCP (2,4,6-trichlorophenol), as the sole source of carbon and energy under aerobic conditions was selected from municipal activated sludge. Six bacterial strains, designated S(1), S(2), S(3), S(4), S(5) and S(6), were isolated from the selected consortium and five were identified as Sphingomonas paucimobilis (S(2), S(3)), Burkholderia cepacia(S(4)), Chryseomonas luteola (S(5)) and Vibrio metschnikovii (S(6)). After prolonged cultivation followed by successive transfers, the consortium's degradation ability was improved and reached a specific degradation rate of 34 mg 2,4,6-TCP g(-1) dry weight h(-1) (about 51 mg 2,4,6-TCP g(-1) cell protein h(-1)). The soluble chemical oxygen demand, chloride and oxygen uptake balance data clearly indicate the complete dechlorination and mineralization of 2,4,6-TCP. The consortium's activity was not inhibited by 2,4,6-TCP concentrations

A microbial consortium that degrades ethyl-tert-butyl ether (ETBE) as the sole source of carbon and energy under aerobic conditions was selected from a gasoline-polluted soil. This consortium consists of a variety of microorganisms with a predominance of filamentous morphology. Degradation of ETBE was found to be solely related to bacterial activity. After prolonged cultivation followed by successive transfers, the consortium's degradation ability was improved and reached a specific degradation rate of 95 mg/g(protein)/h (about 146 mg/g(dry wt)/h). This exceeds the previously reported rates in the literature for ETBE-degrading microorganisms as pure or mixed cultures. Furthermore, a stoichiometric balance of chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal and oxygen uptake with ETBE removal provides indirect evidence of complete degradation. The consortium's activity was not inhibited by high ETBE concentrations (< or = 1,600 mg/L), and large inoculum sizes (> or = 120 mg(protein)/L) were desirable for a faster and complete degradation of ETBE. The enriched consortium was also able to completely degrade methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE), tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME), and tert-butyl alcohol (TBA). both alone and in mixture with ETBE, without any measurable release of major degradation intermediates. In each case, MTBE and TAME exhibited the most significant resistance to degradation while TBA was rapidly degraded.

A mechanistic model has been developed to model ammonia removal in aerated facultative lagoons. Flow is modeled through the water column by a continuously stirred tank reactor and exchanges between the sludge layer and the water column are simulated by a solids separator. The biological model is based on an activated sludge model with reactions added for anaerobic bacterial growth and degradation of inert organic material. Results show that the model is able to predict seasonal variation in ammonia removal as well as sludge accumulation in the lagoons.