New Release Aquatic Chemistry: Interfacial and Interspecies Processes Surface chemistry, soil chemistry, geochemistry, limnology, oceanography, and engineering are all represented in this comprehensive approach to aquatic chemistry. Current research reported in this important new volume includes interdisciplinary study in the fields of the transformation and transportation of chemicals in aquatic systems; efficient, safe, and ecologically sound waste processing; and environmental management. The emphasis on multiphase and multicomponent environmental systems lends itself easily to vital applications such as the design of air, soil, water, and wastewater treatment systems. Includes chapters by Werner Stumm, the founder of aquatic chemistry. Chin Pao Huang, University of Delaware, Editor Charles R. O'Melia, the Johns Hopkins University, Editor James J. Morgan, California Institute of Technology, Editor Advances in Chemistry Series 244 432 pages (1994) Ciothbound 1SBN0-8412-2921-X $124.95 ORDER F R O M American Chemical Society Distribution Office Dept. 74 1155 Sixteenth Street, N W Washington, DC 2 0 0 3 6 Or CALL TOLL FREE 1 -800-227-5558 (in Washington, DC 872-4363) and use your credit card! FAX: 202-872-6067. ACS Publications Catalog n o w available on internet: gopher acsinfo.acs.org
ACS EssentialPUBLICATIONS Resources for the Chemical Sciences
TCE desorption rates in soil The efficiency of remediation techniques designed to clean chlorinated solvents decreases as a function of time, with the rate-limiting step believed to be organic compounds desorbed from the soil. A. Fares et al. evaluated the desorption kinetics of trichloroethylene (TCE) from limestone, flint clay, glass sand, plastic clay, and soda feldspar, using infrared absorption techniques. Results indicated that Langmuir kinetics adequately described the TCE concentrations in the vapor phase as a function of time. Steady-state equilibrium values were achieved in the vapor phase within the first few hours. Desorption controlled shortterm kinetics from surface sites, which be came saturated with TCE in 19 h. Desorption rates were independent of TCE residence times in the soil. However, desorption is strongly dependent on soil properties such as particle size. {Environ. Sci. Technol,, this issue, 1564)
organic chemicals. More than 50% of the radioactivity was incorporated into the compost in nonextractable fractions, whereas the remainder was extractable with organic solvents. (Chemosphere 1995, 30(3), 429-38)
SOILS Sludge stabilization effects The N-Viro process for alkaline stabilization of dewatered sewage sludge destroys pathogens by combining high pH, heat, and desiccation to create a product called N-Viro soil. T. J. Logan and B. J. Harrison conducted a comprehensive study of the properties of 28 N-Viro soils derived from a wide range of sludge types. The physical properties of the soils were similar. The soils have the chemical characteristics of a high organic matter, saline, calcareous soil. Adding N-Viro soil at a rate of 500 mg/ha to a physically degraded mineral soil significantly improved soil physical properties. However, the authors caution that substituting N-Viro soils will be limited by initial high pH values, acid neutralizing capacity, and high soluble salt contents. (J. Environ. Qual. 1995, 24, 153-64)
2 4 2 A • VOL. 29, NO. 6, 1995 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
TOXICOLOGY Pulp mill effluent toxicity Concerns about chlorinated organics in bleached pulp mill effluent led to replacing elemental chlorine with chlorine dioxide. R. K. Haley, T. ]. Hall, and T. M. Bousquet describe mesocosm studies that compare rainbow trout food webs exposed to treated effluent before and after conversion to chlorine dioxide bleaching. Whereas chemical and physical water quality parameters, including chlorinated organics, improved after conversion, there were no large-scale changes in biological indicators. Results indicate that changes in the mesocosms caused by effluent were not associated with chlorinated organics. (Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 1995,14(2), 287-98)
WASTEWATER
Absorbent plastic biofilters Problems may occur with wastewater treated by anaerobic digestion in a septic tank and discharged to tile beds or sand filters because the soil is the sole treatment medium. Rapid flow conditions and a high water table promote incomplete degradation and possible pathogenic viral or bacterial surface breakouts. E. C. lowett and M. L. McMaster developed a single-pass plastic biofilter alternative to the tile bed. It operates independently of conditions and has a low maintenance requirement. Made of plastic foam with a large, porous surface area, it enhances biodegradation through simultaneous flow of liquid and air. The authors conclude that the biofilter media can renovate polluted water loading rates of 50 to 80 cm per day and can tolerate intermittent cycles of loading with little effect on performance. {]. Environ. Qual. 1995, 24, 86-95)
Contributors to Research Watch are Brian Eitzer, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT; Stephen Geiger, Remediation Technologies, Inc., King of Prussia, PA; Vincent Hand, Miami University, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Oxford, OH; Richard Hurst, CHEMPET Research Corp., Moorpark, CA; Louis Kovach, Ecolife Associates, Wilmington, DE; and Margaret Whittaker, NSF International, Ann Arbor, MI.
