Chemical Composition Assessment of Sulphurous Waters

Abstract

Sulphurous spring waters are used as therapeutic and preventive remedies for a various disorders such as those of the locomotor system (e.g. rheumatism [1][2], arthritis [3][4], post-traumatic [2]), respirator y tract [5][6], gynecological apparatus [7-8] and peripheral neurological system (e.g. paresis, paraesthesia, polyneuropathies) [9][10]. In skin disorders, they are indicated in psoriasis [11][12], parapsoriazis [13], and other skin thickened disorders, which have a keratolytic effect [1,14], which helps to remove thick and excess of skin [1]. Today, the major dermatologic diseases (i.e. psoriasis and atopic dermatitis) are frequently treated by balneotherapy or spa therapy. Other medical studies [15][16][17] shown that these mineral waters have antioxidant properties in oral treatment. The mechanisms through which sulphurous waters exert beneficial effects on the human body, in therapeutic rheumatic treatment [16] are: the warmth of the bath activates circulation at the level of diseased tissues and helps to their resorption and skin exciting, which producing the antibodies needed to combat the infectious disorder for certain types of rheumatism; the sulphur assimilated in body increases the basal metabolism with 40%, causes vasodilatation in the central cutaneous tissue, induces a decrease of tension values, and increases the number of red blood cell and hemoglobin quantity. Among the physico-dynamic components is also mentioned the production of abundant sweating, the decrease of the muscles excitability, the acceleration of the exudation resorption and the provocation of a sedative action that explains the relieving of the pain. The resorbed sulphur occurs in the general metabolism of the human body, which explains the sugar decrease at diabetics [18], the remaking of the reserves in chondroitin sulphuric acid at articular cartilage level of the rheumatics.Mineral waters were classiûed in many ways according to their physical and chemical elements, such as temperature, chemical composition, molecular concentration, and mechanisms of therapeutic action.In Romania, one of the most well-known balneal resorts is Pucioasa -Vulcana Bai area from Dambovita County. In Pucioasa Resort, the sulphurous cold waters are originated in sedimentary rocks (rich in sulphates such as gypsum, and sulphides) of the hillsides behind the mineral springs.The study aims to assess the chemical composition of sulphurous spring waters collected from Pucioasa -Vulcana Bai balneotherapeutical area, Dambovita County. The sampling were achieved from active and preserved sulphurous sources (i.e. five springs), during the summer period of the year 2016. The content of nine metals (i.e. Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Cd, Zn, and Pb) in water samples was determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma -Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS). The relationships between physicochemical parameters (i.e. pH, conductivity, TDS, salinity, total hardness and dissolved oxygen) and metal concentrations were investigated, as well.

Alternative for the Use of Sewage Sludge in Romania

“…It can be seen that almost 50% of sewage sludge get on the landfill, which means a lost for Romanian economy and a threat for the environment. To analyze the components of the sewage sludge, the XRD method was Table 2 ANALYSES REPORT FOR A ROMANIAN SEWAGE SLUDGE SAMPLE applied, thus observing the large amounts of ash sludge ash remaining from inorganic incineration [4,6,7,9,12,14,16]. The general characteristics of the ashes have also been reported in the literature [14] and show that the major elements in the ash are Si, Al, Ca, Fe and P. Crystalline forms of these elements are invariably quartz (SiO 2 ), whitlockite (Ca 3 (PO 4 ) 2 ) and hematite (Fe 2 O 3 ).…”

Recovery of Treated Sludge

“…The amount of accumulated sludge that can be applied over time is calculated according to the concentration of pollutants [33]: (2) where: R m -the maximum amount of sludge that can be applied during land use, [tons of dry matter per acre] (one acre = 0.4047 ha); L m = the maximum amount of pollutant that can be applied during land use in accordance with the legislation, [kilograms / acre] (one kilogram = 453.59g); C m = percentage of pollutant contained in sludge expressed in decimal (eg 50ppm Cd in sludge = 0.000050); 2000 = kilograms / tonne of dry matter from sludge (2000 kg = 907 kg)…”

Preliminary Study on Characterization of Edible Oils Using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS)

“…Taking into account the metabolic role of some metals, it is necessary an accurate elemental analysis of the edible oils, with high sensitivity and selectivity. Therefore, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) meets these requirements, being a trace-element detection tool with superior analytical capabilities [25,26].…”