Surplus Disposal Research Articles

Experience of using the Aptian-Albian-Cenomanian hydrogeological complex in the disposal of produced water from the Kamennoye subsoil area

The objective of the presented study is to assess the efficacy of the Aptian-Albian-Cenomanian hydrogeological complex in the disposal of surplus associated water generated in large quantities during oil production within the Kamennoye subsoil area.The necessity for utilising produced water within the Kamennoye subsoil area is justified by the accumulated volume of water currently exceeding 10 000 thousand m3. The water content in wells' production at the Kamennoye subsoil area is 52-55 %. Furthermore, further extraction will result in an increase in the water cut. One of the key challenges facing subsoil users is to minimise the negative impact of water disposal into the absorbing horizon.In the course of the study, the following tasks were solved: assessment of the natural geological and hydrogeological conditions of the Aptian-Albian-Cenomanian hydrogeological complex, analysis of the stability of the hydrogeochemical indicators of the groundwater in the complex based on the results of monitoring studies (since the 1960s), assessment of the compatibility of the produced water and the formation water by calculating the carbonate equilibrium of the system. The obtained solution of each of the above tasks indicates the rationality of using the Aptian-Albian-Cenomanian hydrogeological complex for the disposal of produced water. The article also emphasises the necessity of continuous improvement of the system for monitoring the condition of the absorbing horizon, as well as careful observance of all environmental protection measures, which is a prerequisite for preserving the natural balance of the subsoil of the West Siberian oil and gas basin.

Software Development of an Integrated Water Management Optimisation Model: the Roy Hill Mine Case Study Application

AbstractThis case study utilizes data from the Roy Hill iron ore mine, which has a daily water balance of abstraction, use, and surplus disposal, to address the problem of water management prediction at a global level by analysing the results of each modelling task and evaluating the presence of potential critical scenarios with an automated, mathematically rigorous tool. This paper describes the development of a software application that aggregates the results of the various water management models built for each task and provides the optimal utilisation of water to minimise water disposal and thereby maximise water usage. The business benefits of this work include the ability to calculate the net present cost (NPC) for new water infrastructure configurations in an integrated way. Investing in capital projects for water management and evaluating various scenarios helps determine the optimal water infrastructure configuration, minimizing operational impact. Traditionally, water has not been viewed as a significant cost; however, the cost of water infrastructure is now one of the highest business investments in the mining industry of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Introducing the concept of NPC for water in the mining industry is a novel approach to making informed decisions on water expenses and investments. The key to success lies in using automated modelling to achieve the most efficient environmental and operational balance. This approach reduces individual decision-making and leads to a more cost-effective and beneficial production outcome.

Enhanced disintegration mechanism of surplus activated sludge to improve dewatering by thermally activated persulfate oxidation under mild temperature.

The dewatering treatment is an essential process for the treatment and disposal of surplus activated sludge (SAS), and improving sludge dewatering performance is still a challenge and has become a research hotspot in recent years. The oxidation and disintegration of bacterial cells and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) by active radicals produced by advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) were extremely promising to achieve deep sludge dewatering. This paper systematically studied the efficiency and mechanism of thermally activated persulfate (TAP) oxidation technology to the improvement of SAS dewatering performance. The results showed that the relative filterability (CST0/CST) was increased 2.52 times with 2.0 mmol/g VSS potassium peroxydisulfate (PDS) at 80 °C in 90 min. Under this condition, the Zeta potential of SAS significantly decreased from - 14.8 to - 1.44 mV, while the average particle size (dp50) decreased from 52.981 to 48.259 μm. Thermal treatment disrupted the sludge structure to release large amounts of EPS including polysaccharides and protein. Meanwhile, the results of three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix (3D-EEM) fluorescence spectra showed that the TAP treatment could expedite the disintegration of sludge, facilitating the decrease of total EPS content and conversion of tightly bound EPS (TB-EPS) to loosely bound EPS (LB-EPS) and soluble EPS (S-EPS). The mechanism of TAP process to improve SAS dewatering performance was revealed, which could contribute to breaking the bottleneck of sludge depth dewatering and provide a theoretical and technical basis for its practical application.

Review: On an Empty Stomach: Two Hundred Years of Hunger Relief, by Tom Scott-Smith

Review: <i>On an Empty Stomach: Two Hundred Years of Hunger Relief</i>, by Tom Scott-Smith

Privatizing Canadian government land and real estate: Railroads, reconciliation, and rip-offs

This paper explores three questions on public land and real estate privatization in Canada: which state institutions are involved, what logics guide these privatizations, and what are the implications of how privatization manifests? Answers are interwoven through three sections. The first section summarizes the historical context and institutional reconfiguration of public land and real estate management systems in capitalist-colonial Canada, examining the public sector institutions and ideas involved: the logics and procedures of surplus disposal (Canada Lands) and sale and leaseback (Public Works). The second section explores the implications of surplus land sales through snapshots highlighting some of its consequences: urban development in Toronto through the privatization of once-public railway land, and what the privatization of military land means for Indigenous reconciliation (and capitalist commercialization) in Vancouver. The third section delves deeper into how privatization manifests by exposing several scandals in the sale and leaseback of government buildings managed by Public Works, with implications revealed through the activities of its central private sector agent, the shadowy family-run private trust Larco Investments Ltd.

Treatment and Disposal Technology of Surplus Sludge in Urban and Town Sewage Treatment Plant

with the continuous acceleration of urban and town construction, the output of urban and town sewage is also increasing. To a great extent, this promotes the technological development and capacity expansion of urban and town sewage treatment plants. In the process of sewage treatment, a lot of sludge is inevitable. However, many urban and town sewage treatment plants pay more attention to the treatment of sewage and ignore the treatment of sludge. In this way, the sludge without proper treatment can be disposed at will. In the long run, this will not only affect the surrounding environment, but also hinder the development of social economy. Therefore, the urban and town sewage treatment plant should pay enough attention to the application of surplus sludge treatment and disposal technology. In this paper, the main problems existing in the treatment and disposal technology of surplus sludge in urban and town sewage treatment plants, and the treatment and disposal technology of surplus sludge in urban and town sewage treatment plants are both explored and analyzed, hoping to contribute to the long-term development of urban and town sewage treatment plants.

Azolla pinnata, Aspergillus terreus, and Eisenia fetida for fasterrecycling of nutrients from wheat straw.

A vast amount of surplus wheat straw/stubble (a carbon-rich bioresource) is wasted every year by burning. Harmful gases and residue matter released due to burning cause harmful effects on the environment and human health. Therefore, there is a strong need to recycle this bioresource in a sustainable manner. In the present study, wheat straw (W) was spiked with cattle dung (C), Azolla pinnata (A), and Aspergillus terreus (F) to make eight different treatments (1 kg each), viz. W (1 kg), WC (666 g + 334 g), WA (980 g + 20 g), WF (980 g + 20 ml), WCF (666 g + 314 g + 20 ml), WCA (666 g + 314 g + 20 g), WFA (960 g+ 20 ml + 20 g), and WCFA(666 g + 294 g + 20 ml + 20 g), and subjected to vermicomposting (Vcom) and aerobic composting (Acom). A comparison was made for the time required for degradation and nutrient profile of the products. The fastest recycling of wheat straw/stubble (120 days) was observed in WCA and WCFA, but the nutrient quality of WCA was better (N 18.67, P 3.88, K 38.84 g/kg). In the Acom group, longer time was required for degradation of various mixtures, but in this group also, WCA was degraded first of all (138 days) and yielded a product with the best nutrient quality (N 14.77, P 2.56, K 28.80 g/kg). Maximum growth of E. fetida and maximum number of hatchlings were observed in WCA while the highest cocoon production was observed in WCFA. It was observed that azolla enhanced conversion of wheat straw into a nutrient-rich product for agronomic use. Thus its use will reduce the amount of cattle dung in the mixture and the bulk to be handled by the farmers for ecosafe disposal of surplus straw/stubble. Therefore, this technology can be adopted as an alternative to burning.

U.S. Farm Policy as Fraught Populism: Tracing the Scalar Tensions of Nationalist Agricultural Governance

The scalar tensions of nationalism manifest acutely in agriculture—particularly in the contemporary United States. This is paradoxical because farm policy calls for and enacts nativist governance that undermines the conditions of farming: from labor to water, topsoil, and pollinators, to export markets. At the heart of these scalar contradictions is the fraught, shifting terrain of agrarian populism. The intertwined origin of the U.S. Farm Bill, the American Farm Bureau Federation, and Cooperative Agricultural Extension shows how early twentieth-century fraught agrarian populism drove farm policy but how it also carried a pivotal consensus of recognition about the ecological and economic dangers of overproduction. Drawing on archival research at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Agricultural Library Special Collections, discourse and policy analysis of U.S. Farm Bills, and qualitative research with farmer organizations, this article traces how racialized xenophobia accentuates the hypocrisy of U.S. agriculture’s extreme dependency on migrant labor, as heightened borders also reveal their ecological farce in the face of intrinsically transnational climate change, soil erosion, and water constraints. The America First trade agenda decries imports while sidelining the crisis of commodity crop glut and the spatial fix of subsidizing exports as surplus disposal. Yet, even amidst the scalar contradictions of nativist agricultural governance and the fraught farm populism driving it, there existed a kernel of agrarian populism grounded in a collective honest recognition of the ecological, economic, rural, and social crises of overproduction—and that organized against it. This kernel catalyzed the origin of both the Farm Bill and the Farm Bureau but has been subsumed in and through both since.

Developing an RFID-based tracking system to improve the control of construction surplus soil disposal in Taiwan

ABSTRACTThe current tracking system for construction surplus disposal soil report system (CSRS) in Taiwan is labor-intensive and prone to human error, with its accuracy and effectiveness often questioned. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is a wireless sensing technology that uses radio waves and signals to wirelessly transmit, retrieve, and store data to identify the status of objects and contents. It can be read at long ranges and be operated in extreme environments. This paper has improved the existing construction surplus soil tracking system by developing an integrated RFID-based tracking system (RFID-CSRS). To accommodate the characteristics of the domain problems, RFID-CSRS integrates RFID technology with Internet infrastructure, cameras, and signal controlling units. The proposed system reduces human errors, such as incorrect manual recording and identification, inaccurate monthly reports and audits, and improper picture-taking of trucks. RFID-CSRS was also assembled and tested in two surplus soil disposal cases in Taiwan. The results demonstrated the soundness of the system and its capability to improve the effectiveness of the current system in tracking the disposal of construction surplus soil.

Jeeps, Communists, and Quonset Huts: World War II Surplus Disposal in the Territory of Hawai‘i

Jeeps, Communists, and Quonset Huts: World War II Surplus Disposal in the Territory of Hawai‘i

Feasibility study of a soil-based rubberized CLSM

The development of beneficial uses of recycled scrap tires is always in great demand around the world. The disposal of on-site surplus excavated soil and the production of standard engineering aggregates have also been facing increasing environmental and ecological challenges in congested islands, such as Taiwan. This paper presents an experimental study using recycled crumb rubber and native silty sand to produce a lightweight, soil-based, rubberized controlled low strength material (CLSM) for a bridge approach repair. To assess the technical feasibility of this material, the effects of weight ratios of cement-to-water (C/W) and water-to-solid (W/S), and of rubber content on the engineering properties for different mixtures were investigated. The presented test results include flowability, unit weight, strength, settlement potential, and bearing capacity. Based on the findings, we conclude that a soil-based rubberized CLSM with 40% sand by weight and an optimal design ratio of 0.7 for C/W and 0.35 for W/S can be used for the proposed bridge approach repair. Such a mixture has demonstrated acceptable flowability, strength, and bearing capacity. Its lower unit weight, negligible compressibility, and hydrocollapse potential also help ensure that detrimental settlement is unlikely to occur. The results illustrate a novel scheme of CLSM production, and suggest a beneficial alternative for the reduction of scrap tires as well as conservation of resources and environment.

Agriculture et politiques agricoles aux États-Unis

The new Farm Bill has just been voted, after difficult negotiations between the White House and Congress. Since the beginning of the commodity-based programs in the 1930s, the agricultural policies in United States were aimed at supporting farm commodity markets and stabilizing farmers incomes. These commodity support policies have been an important contributor to the growth of agricultural productivity and commodity surplus. In the 1950s it became apparent that export demand was capable of creating farm prosperity and became important for the surplus disposal. The US agricultural policies aimed at expanding agricultural exports, and became more offensive as the export competition grew keener. For the first time in 1996, as the market estimates were optimistic, the Fair Act raised the possibility of an end to price support activities as a mean of farm income support. But in 1998 and 1999 weakened export demand led to marked reductions in the prices of the main crops. The 2002 Farm Bill restored the safety net for the farm income. Despite high prices and expansion of demand, and in contradiction with US commitments at the WTO, the new Farm Bill keep on aiming at providing a strong safety net for farm income, which allows the growth of agricultural productivity and the increase in US agriculture competitiveness, and at expanding trade.

Hunger and Containment: How India Became “Important” in US Cold War Strategy

Hunger and Containment: How India Became “Important” in US Cold War Strategy

Reengineering helps improve materials procurement in Indian oil refinery

The materials management function is always a major concern to the management of any organisation as high inventory and inefficient procurement processes have a significant effect on profitability. The problems multiply in the face of a very dynamic business environment, as is the present case in India. Hence, the existing system of materials planning, procurement processes and inventory management require reviewing with respect to the changed business environment. This study shows a radical improvement in materials procurement function of an Indian petroleum refinery through Business Process Reengineering (BPR) by analysing current process, identifying key issues, deriving paradigm shifts and developing reengineered processes through customer value analysis. BPR has been carried out on existing processes of 'material planning and procurement' and 'warehousing and surplus disposal'. The reengineered processes for the materials management function triggered several improvement projects that were identified by the group of executives who took part in the reengineering exercise. Those projects were implemented in an integrated framework, with the application of state of the art information technology tools and building partnership alliance among all stakeholders. Considerable improvements in overall functions of the organisation are observed, along with financial benefits. Copyright © 2006 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

The use of linear programming to investigate the impact of changes in feed price and milk value on gross margin of Taiwanese dairy farms

The Taiwanese government assists their dairy industry by supporting domestic prices through a combination of import restrictions, price support, government purchasing and subsidised disposal of surpluses. As a result, dairy production in Taiwan is insulated from international price trends. However, these dairy assistance policies can not protect the domestic price after Taiwan joins the World Trade Organisation (WTO) at the end of 2001. To access the impact of an open market, linear programming (LP) is applied to model the influence of changing feed price and milk value on dairy farm profitability.

Re‐engineering materials management

Materials management function is always a major concern to the management of any industrial organisation as high inventory and an inefficient procurement process affect the profitability to a great extent. Problems multiply due to a very current business environment in India. Hence, existing materials planning and procurement processws and inventory management systems require a re‐look with respect to a changing business environment. This study shows a radical improvement in materials management function of an Indian petroleum refinery through business process re‐engineering (BPR) by analysing current processes, identifying key issues, deriving paradigm shifts and developing re‐engineered processes through customer value analysis. BPR has been carried out on existing processes of “materials planning and procurement” and “warehousing and surplus disposal”. The re‐engineered processes for materials management function trigger a few improvement projects that were identified by the group of executives who took part in the re‐engineering exercise. Those projects were implemented in an integrated framework with the application of the state of art information technology tools.

The Appropriate Disposal of Retirement Fund Surpluses

This paper attempts to clarify the different paradigms from which defined benefit funds are viewed, and the financial nature of the contracts implicit in their rules. Suggestions are made as to the principles that trustees might follow in applying the surpluses for the benefit of stakeholders. KEYWORDS: Pension funds; surpluses; defined benefit; fiduciary duties South African Actuarial Journal: 2001 1: 1-34

Manufacturing control of a serial system with binomial yields, multiple production runs, and non-rigid demand: a decomposition approach

In this paper, the problem of ordering a series of production runs to meet a single make-to-order demand, where the various stages in the production process have binomial yields, is addressed. The use of additional procurement of part-finished material or reworking defective material previously made to supplement yield at any stage is considered. The costs of this and manufacture, disposal of surplus or shortage are assumed to be proportional to the numbers involved. Set-up costs may or may not be incurred. The treatment follows from, and builds on, a previous single-run analytical result by developing an approximation in which the problem is decomposed into a series of single runs.

Kinetics of the Alkaline Hydrolysis of High Explosives RDX and HMX in Aqueous Solution and Adsorbed to Activated Carbon

Aqueous alkaline hydrolysis of bulk quantities and wastewater contaminated with high explosives is a promising technology for treatment and disposal of the worldwide surplus of munitions. We investigated the hydrolysis kinetics of the high explosives hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) and octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX) for temperatures ranging from 50 to 80 °C and in the pH range from 10 to 12. The experimental data were described using a pseudo-first-order model with subsequent calculation of second-order rate constants from experiments with excess hydroxide concentration. The temperature dependency of the rate constants was evaluated using the Arrhenius model. The activation energies were determined to be ERDX = 99.9 ± 1.9 kJ mol-1 and EHMX = 111.9 ± 0.8 kJ mol-1. The rate of HMX hydrolysis is much slower than the rate of RDX hydrolysis and may become rate limiting in the treatment of RDX/HMX mixtures. The alkaline hydrolysis of RDX yields 1.6 M NO2-, 1.5 M HCOO-, 0.1 M CH3COO-, 1.1 M HCHO (11), 0.9 M NH3, 1.1 M N2O, and 0.34 M N2 per mol of RDX hydrolyzed. Acetate ion (CH3COO-) is a previously unknown end product of the alkaline hydrolysis of RDX. A mass balance showed a recovery of 94% carbon and 90% nitrogen. During GC/MS analysis of the end products, no further unknown products could be found. In batch desorption studies, it was also shown that RDX-laden activated carbon can be regenerated using alkaline hydrolysis (T = 80 °C, pH 12) and that the desorption of the hydrolysis products is complete.

The cost of disarmament: Dismantlement of weapons and the disposal of military surplus

The cost of disarmament: Dismantlement of weapons and the disposal of military surplus