In recent years, liquid biofuels for transport have benefited from significant political support due to their potential role in curbing climate change and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. They may also participate to rural development by providing new markets for agricultural production. However, the growth of energy crops has raised concerns due to their high consumption of conventional fuels, fertilizers and pesticides, their impacts on ecosystems and their competition for arable land with food crops. Lowinput species such as Jatropha curcas, a perennial, inedible crop well adapted to semiarid regions, has received much interest as a new alternative for biofuel production, minimizing adverse effects on the environment and food supply. Here, we used life-cycle assessment to quantify the benefits of J. curcas biofuel production in West Africa in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and fossil energy use, compared with fossil diesel fuel and other biofuels. Biodiesel from J. curcas has a much higher performance than current biofuels, relative to oil-derived diesel fuels. Under West Africa conditions, J. curcas biodiesel allows a 72% saving in greenhouse gas emissions compared with conventional diesel fuel, and its energy yield (the ratio of biodiesel energy output to fossil energy input) is 4.7. J. curcas production studied is eco-compatible for the impacts under consideration and fits into the context of sustainable development.

The quality of harvested rainwater used for toilet flushing in a private house in the south-west of France was assessed over a one-year period. Temperature, pH, conductivity, colour, turbidity, anions, cations, alkalinity, total hardness and total organic carbon were screened using standard analytical techniques. Total flora at 22 °C and 36 °C, total coliforms, Escherichia coli and enterococci were analysed. Overall, the collected rainwater had good physicochemical quality but did not meet the requirements for drinking water. The stored rainwater is characterised by low conductivity, hardness and alkalinity compared to mains water. Three widely used bacterial indicators - total coliforms, E. coli and enterococci - were detected in the majority of samples, indicating microbiological contamination of the water. To elucidate factors affecting the rainwater composition, principal component analysis and cluster analysis were applied to the complete data set of 50 observations. Chemical and microbiological parameters fluctuated during the course of the study, with the highest levels of microbiological contamination observed in roof runoffs collected during the summer. E. coli and enterococci occurred simultaneously, and their presence was linked to precipitation. Runoff quality is also unpredictable because it is sensitive to the weather. Cluster analysis differentiated three clusters: ionic composition, parameters linked with the microbiological load and indicators of faecal contamination. In future surveys, parameters from these three groups will be simultaneously monitored to more accurately characterise roof-collected rainwater.

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This paper studies solid matter from a section of the A9 motorway, Kerault Region, France, used in a study of the effects of pollution. This study analyzed both settled sediments from collecting basin and characteristics of sediments in the water column during and after eight storm events between October 12, 1993, and February 6, 1994. Settled sediments were used to measure particle sizes, mineral content, and related characteristics, whereas water samples were used to document total suspended solids, mineral content, and heavy metals. Solid particles larger than 100 IJ-m in diameter are easily separated by simple settling, unlike particles smaller than 100 IJ-m in diameter, which remain in suspension in nmoff. To treat runoff, particles smaller than 50 IJ-m in diameter, which represent approximately three-quarters of the weight of the solids, must be studied. On average, 50% v/v of particles have a diameter less than 15.2 IJ-m, whereas the geometric mean is 12.6 IJ-m. Regarding sedimentation speed, from the eight rainfalls studied, 50% w/w of particles smaller than 50 IJ-m in diameter fall at a speed less than 2.98 m/h on average (results for the eight rainfalls vary from 2.5 to 3.3 m/h), and 50% of particles between 50 and 100 IJ-m in diameter fall at a speed less than 9.8 m!h on average (results of the eight rainfalls vary from 5.7 to 13.1 mIh). Thus, treatment of runoff entails separating or eliminating solid waste. Furthermore, measuring sedimentation speed of particles with diameters smaller than 100 IJ-m seems to be an essential stage in the design of treatment plants (Vignoles, 1991). Water Environ. Res .. 71, 398 (1999).

A routine method which is simple, quick and precise has been set up and validated for phthalate analysis in environmental samples (tomato plants and sewage sludges). Six phthalates have been studied simultaneously: dimethylphthalate, diethylphthalate, di-n-butylphthalate, n-butylbenzylphthalate, di-2-ethyl-hexyl phthalate (DEHP) and di-n-octylphthalate. Optimization of sample, solvent extraction uses a Soxtec apparatus and extract purification with an a solid-phase extraction cartridge allows between 90 and 110% recovery of phthalates. Precise, sensitive and selective identification and quantifying of analytes is by GC-MS in the single ion monitoring mode. This protocol allows analytes with concentrations as low as 10 microg/kg dry matter (DM) to be determined from small (1-2 g DM) samples. This analytical method has been applied to the phthalate transfer study for agricultural recycling of sludges, where phthalate bioavailability has been studied in aquiculture using two types of experiments. Tomatoes have been grown in containers where the trace organics have been directly introduced as pure substances, and in a second experiment under the same growth conditions, sewage sludge has replaced the pure substances. Transfer of these trace organics has been followed into the various parts of the tomato plant and in general only the DEHP is worthy of note although its percentage transfer remains very low even in an experiment designed to maximize this.

Due to increasing environmental concerns in the wastewater treatment sector, the environmental impacts of organic waste disposal procedures require careful evaluation. However, the impacts related to the return of organic matter to agricultural soils are difficult to assess. The goals of this study are to assess the environmental impacts of land application of two types of biosolids (dried and composted, respectively) from the same wastewater treatment plant in France, and to improve the quantification of human toxicity.A life cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out on a case study based on validated data from an actual wastewater treatment plant. Numerous impacts were included in this analysis, but a particular emphasis was laid on human toxicity via plant ingestion. For six out of the eight impact categories included in the analysis, the dried biosolids system was more harmful to the environment than the composting route, especially regarding the consumption of primary energy. Only human toxicity via water, soil, and air compartments and ozone depletion impacts were higher with the composted biosolids.

This is an author's version published in: http://oatao.univ-toulouse.fr/23721 ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords:Rainwater hatvesting Environmental impacts Life cycle assessment Water footprintLife cycle assessment methodology along with water footprint analysis was used to assess the envi ronmental impacts of a domestic rainwater harvesting system (RWH) in France. Firstly, the relevance of substituting drinking water(DW) with rainwater in a private individual household was studied. Secondly, the effect of several parameters namely construction of infrastructures, building scale and disinfection were evaluated. The quantification of environmental impacts was performed using Ecoinvent inventory data and Impact 2002+ evaluation method. The water footprint was assessed through the water stress indicator (WS(}. From an environmental standpoint, the RWH system has only slightly higher impact than the DW system. The consumption of electricity for pumping generates the strongest impact. The analysis of the WSI showed that the RWH system can relieve a stress on water resources where it exists. Consideration of infrastructures and disinfection turns environmental impacts significantly higher in ail impact categories. Setting up the RWH system at bigger scale, i.e., building scale, is a bit Jess favoured than the RWH system at household se.ale. This study aims at pointing out areas of improvement which need to be further studied to make RWH systems more sustainable.

OATAO is an open access repository that collects the work of Toulouse researchers and makes it freely available over the web where possible. This is an author-deposited version published in : http://oatao.univ-toulouse.fr/ Eprints ID : 9850To link to this article :