The removal of iron, titanium and aluminium from colourless and green waste glasses has been studied under various experimental conditions in order to optimize the process parameters and to decrease the metal content in the waste glass by acidic leaching. Statistical design of experiments and ANOVA (analysis of variance) were performed in order to determine the main effects and interactions between the investigated factors (sample ratio, acid concentration, temperature and leaching time). A full factorial experiment was performed by sulphuric acid leaching of glass for metal removal. After treating, the iron content was 530 ppm, corresponding to 1880 ppm initial concentration of Fe₂O₃ in the original colourless sample. This result is achieved using 1M H₂SO ₄ and 30% sample ratio at 90^oC leaching temperature for 2 hours. The iron content in the green waste glass sample was reduced from 3350 ppm initial concentration to 2470 ppm after treating.

This paper presents the effect of the natural pozzolans as mineral additives on the short- and long-term strength and stability performance of cemented paste backfill (CPB) samples. Prior to their use in CPB studies, the natural pozzolans — the volcanic tuffs (Akkus Trass [AT] and Fatsa Trass [FT]) and pumice (KP) — were tested for their pozzolanic characteristics. These tests revealed that the pozzolanic activity of the natural pozzolans is closely inter-related with their content of reactive silica and, accordingly, KP has the highest pozzolanic activity. The addition, or increasing the amount, of natural pozzolans in the binder phase resulted in a slower rate of strength development of CPB samples. The deterioration in stability of CPB samples prepared from Portland cement (PC) alone (i.e. a strength loss of 24.6%) occurred following 56 days. The replacement of PC with FT and AT led to even higher losses in strength. However, the addition of KP (up to 30 wt%) mitigated, to a certain extent, long-term strength and stability problems with the losses in strength of CPB samples consistently lower than 20%. It can be inferred that the performance of the natural pozzolans as a mineral additive in CPB is dependent intimately on their pozzolanic characteristics.

Improper management of pig manure has resulted in environmental problems such as surface water eutrophication, ground water pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. This study develops and compares 14 alternative manure management scenarios aiming at energy and nutrient extraction. The scenarios based on combinations of thermal pretreatment, anaerobic digestion, anaerobic co-digestion, liquid/solid separation, drying, incineration, and thermal gasification were compared with respect to their energy, nutrient and greenhouse gas balances. Both sole pig manure and pig manure mixed with other types of waste materials were considered. Data for the analyses were obtained from existing waste treatment facilities, experimental plants, laboratory measurements and literature. The assessment reveals that incineration combined with liquid/solid separation and drying of the solids is a promising management option yielding a high potential energy utilization rate and greenhouse gas savings. If maximum electricity production is desired, anaerobic digestion is advantageous as the biogas can be converted to electricity at high efficiency in a gas engine while allowing production of heat for operation of the digestion process. In conclusion, this study shows that the choice of technology has a strong influence on energy, nutrient and greenhouse gas balances. Thus, to get the most reliable results, it is important to consider the most representative (and up-to-date) technology combined with data representing the area or region in question.