Levels of Trace Elements and Rare Earth Elements in Honey From Jordan

Honey is a common sweetener in the Jordanian diet with annual consumption of about one thousand tons, two-third of them are imported. It is believed that the elemental profile of honey is an indicator of safety and origin. In the literature, there is a lack of studies concerning levels of trace elements in honey in Jordan. A total 49 elements including 18 rare earth elements (REEs) were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in mono-floral, and multi-floral imported honey samples, and multi-floral local samples. Regarding mono-floral samples, Black forest samples has the highest total metal content, while Acasia has the lowest total metal content. Local multi-floral honey has the largest Sr, and total REEs levels, while it has the lowest Mn levels. Very low levels of toxic elements were found in all samples, indicating the safety of honey in Jordan for human consumption. Results of this study showed that advanced statistical models are required to discriminate between multi-floral imported and local honey.

ANALYSIS OF THE MOBILITY OF HEAVY METALS IN SLUDGE FOR THE SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT IN DALESZYCE

Sewage sludge is a by-product of wastewater treatment processes. However, it has high fertilising and soil-forming properties, but it cannot always be used for this purpose. The two main criteria limiting their natural use are heavy metals and parasite eggs. Sewage sludge taken from the Daleszyce wastewater treatment plant has been analysed for heavy metals. For this purpose a space analysis was performed to divide the total metal content into four mobility fractions. The mobility issue determines the ability of an element, or one of its forms, to move in the environment. The studies were performed using a four-stage BCR procedure. The results were analyzed and compared to the limits applicable in Poland for sewage sludge intended for environmental use.

Projektstudie: Vergleich von Aufschlussverfahren für die Bestimmung des Gesamtmetallgehaltes in Staubproben – Teil 3: Statistische Bewertung der durchgeführten Ringversuche/Project study: Comparison of digestion methods for determination of the total metal content in dust samples – Part 3: Statistical evaluation of the proficiency tests

Anfang der 1990er-Jahre wurde die Bestimmung des Gesamtmetallgehaltes in der Luft am Arbeitsplatz in Deutschland durch die Einführung einer Aufschlusskonvention mittels offenem Aufschluss in einer Salpetersäure/Salzsäure-Mischung harmonisiert. Inzwischen haben sich Mikrowellen-Druckaufschlussverfahren aufgrund ihrer zahlreichen Vorteile in vielen Bereichen der Spuren- und Ultraspurenanalytik von Metallen als Stand der Technik durchgesetzt. Insbesondere im Hinblick auf stetig steigende Anforderungen an Bestimmungsgrenzen, Probendurchsatz und Arbeitssicherheit empfiehlt es sich, diese Technik als Alternative zum bestehenden Konventionsaufschluss im Arbeitsschutz zu etablieren. Zur Verifizierung eines im IFA entwickelten mikrowellenunterstützten Druckaufschlussverfahrens wurde sowohl ein nationaler Ringversuch mit Mitgliedern der DFG-Arbeitsgruppe „Luftanalysen” (BAuA, IGF, BGN, ALL und VW AG) als auch ein weiterer Ringversuch mit internationalen Arbeitsschutzinstituten (NIOSH, IRSST, ÖSBS, Suva, HSL, WOHL, INRS und STAMI) initiiert. Die statistische Bewertung der zusammengeführten Ergebnisse aus beiden Ringversuchen bestätigt eine gute Vergleichbarkeit zwischen dem Konventionsaufschluss und dem vorgeschlagenen Mikrowellen-Druckaufschlussverfahren.

Study on Wet Treatment Process of Waste Printed Circuit Boards

The dry crushing of wasted printed circuit boards (PCBs) can make secondary contamination. In this paper, a wet comminution process is put forward to solve the difficulties. For the comminution product, the distributions of particle size, liberation degree and metal grade are analyzed, and for the product below 1mm, a wet metal beneficiation process combined with shaking table and flotation is employed. The results show that the Whole PCBs could be comminuted by the MX wet impact crusher, and the cumulative yield, liberation degree, total metal content and its copper grade of the product below 1mm is 83.49%, 97%, 83.46% and 20.50%respectively, and that metal concentrates could be beneficiated by XZY wet shaking table, and the yield, total metal weight, copper grade of the metal concentrate, the recovery of total metal and copper is 34.87%, 88.99%, 50.73%,79.90% and 78.07% respectively keeping the feeding concentration at 20% and water consumption in 1100L/h. For these metals included by shaking-table middling, the separation of both flotation and shaking table is carried out, and the total metal content and its copper grade, recovery in metal concentrate 2′ is 72.07% , 31.59% and62.04% respectively, meanwhile the copper grade of tailings in flotation and shaking table are decreased to 1.26% and 2.94%. The wet treatment process can effectively concentrate these valuable metals from waste PCBs.

Biogeochemistry of sediments from restricted exchange environments of Kandalaksha Bay, White Sea, Russian Arctic

The White Sea of Russian Arctic is characterized by extreme diversity of enclosed estuarine systems that are often sites of unique biota. The present study focuses on surface sediments from representative restricted exchange environments of the inner part of Kandalaksha Bay, adjacent to the Karelian shore of the White Sea. The TOC and n-alkanes distribution study revealed the major input of terrestrial organic matter into the sediments from higher plants and minor presence of autochthonous microbial sources. Metal (Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Cr and Pb) forms study showed that metals in sediments occur mainly in a biogeochemically stable mineral-incorporated form, which comprises up to 98% of total metal content, while labile (acid soluble) and organically bound (alkali soluble) forms make up to 3–11% and 2–12% of total metal content, respectively. Presumably, the major part of both acid soluble and alkali soluble forms is comprised of metals associated with easily soluble amorphous Fe-oxides and bound to sediment organic matter. According to sediment quality guidelines, all trace-metal contents were below the threshold levels. Among sites studied, the heightened contents of bioavailable metal forms are related to sediments enriched in organic matter and/or located within the sea-fresh water barrier zones. The elements studied may be arranged in the following decreasing sequence according to their potential bioavailability: Cu > Zn > Mn > Fe > Cr > Pb. The present study can serve as a basis for comprehensive environmental assessment of the region and objective anoxia prognosis in Arctic ecosystems, while the role of microbial community in element speciation in sediments needs special attention.