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PFAS River Export Analysis Highlights the Urgent Need for Catchment-Scale Mass Loading Data (2024)
Journal Article
Byrne, P., Mayes, W. M., James, A. L., Comber, S., Biles, E., Riley, A., & Runkel, R. L. (in press). PFAS River Export Analysis Highlights the Urgent Need for Catchment-Scale Mass Loading Data. Environmental Science and Technology Letters, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.4c00017

Source apportionment of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) requires an understanding of the mass loading of these compounds in river basins. However, there is a lack of temporally variable and catchment-scale mass loading data, meaning ident... Read More about PFAS River Export Analysis Highlights the Urgent Need for Catchment-Scale Mass Loading Data.

Ikaite formation in streams affected by steel waste leachate: First report and potential impact on contaminant dynamics (2023)
Journal Article
Bastianini, L., Rogerson, M., Brasier, A., Prior, T. J., Hardman, K., Dempsey, E., …Mayes, W. M. (2024). Ikaite formation in streams affected by steel waste leachate: First report and potential impact on contaminant dynamics. Chemical Geology, 644, Article 121842. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2023.121842

Highly alkaline (pH 9–12) waters can arise from a range of globally significant and environmentally impactful industrial processes such as lime, steel and cement production, alumina refining and energy generation (e.g. combustion ashes). Such residue... Read More about Ikaite formation in streams affected by steel waste leachate: First report and potential impact on contaminant dynamics.

Antimony and arsenic behaviour in lead/zinc mine tailings during storage under vegetation cover (2023)
Journal Article
Burke, I. T., Courtney, R., & Mayes, W. M. (2023). Antimony and arsenic behaviour in lead/zinc mine tailings during storage under vegetation cover. Applied geochemistry : journal of the International Association of Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, 158, Article 105806. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2023.105806

The high-volume, fine grained tailings produced from Pb/Zn ore processing need to be carefully managed. Metalloid elements, As and Sb, are present in tailings at ∼800 and ∼80 mg kg−1 respectively, and in neutral pH leachates at 5–50 μg L−1. Despite t... Read More about Antimony and arsenic behaviour in lead/zinc mine tailings during storage under vegetation cover.

Quantifying CO2 Removal at Enhanced Weathering Sites: a Multiproxy Approach (2023)
Journal Article
Knapp, W. J., Stevenson, E. I., Renforth, P., Ascough, P. L., Knight, A. C., Bridgestock, L., …Tipper, E. T. (2023). Quantifying CO2 Removal at Enhanced Weathering Sites: a Multiproxy Approach. Environmental Science and Technology, 57(26), 9854-9864. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c03757

Enhanced weathering is a carbon dioxide (CO2) mitigation strategy that promises large scale atmospheric CO2 removal. The main challenge associated with enhanced weathering is monitoring, reporting, and verifying (MRV) the amount of carbon removed as... Read More about Quantifying CO2 Removal at Enhanced Weathering Sites: a Multiproxy Approach.

Mixtures of sediment chemical contaminants at freshwater sampling sites across Europe with different contaminant burdens (2023)
Journal Article
Richardson, S., Mayes, W. M., Faetsch, S., Hetjens, H., Teuchies, J., Walker, P., …Heise, S. (2023). Mixtures of sediment chemical contaminants at freshwater sampling sites across Europe with different contaminant burdens. The Science of the total environment, 891, Article 164280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164280

Extended chemical analyses of fluvial sediments were undertaken to establish the key pollutant pressures and mixtures present across nine European Union inland waterways. A wide range of chemical components and physical parameters were investigated i... Read More about Mixtures of sediment chemical contaminants at freshwater sampling sites across Europe with different contaminant burdens.

Circular economy landfills for temporary storage and treatment of mineral-rich wastes (2023)
Journal Article
Sapsford, D. J., Stewart, D. I., Sinnett, D. E., Burke, I. T., Cleall, P. J., Harbottle, M. J., …Weightman, A. (2023). Circular economy landfills for temporary storage and treatment of mineral-rich wastes. Proceedings of the ICE - Waste and Resource Management, 176(2), 77-93. https://doi.org/10.1680/jwarm.22.00008

Many countries face serious strategic challenges with the future supply of both aggregates and critical elements. Yet, at the same time, they must sustainably manage continued multimillion tonne annual arisings of mineral-dominated wastes from mining... Read More about Circular economy landfills for temporary storage and treatment of mineral-rich wastes.

Pollutant accumulation in road mitigation tunnels for amphibians: A multisite comparison on an ignored but important issue (2023)
Journal Article
White, K. J., Mayes, W., & Petrovan, S. O. (2023). Pollutant accumulation in road mitigation tunnels for amphibians: A multisite comparison on an ignored but important issue. Frontiers in ecology and evolution, 11, Article 1133253. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2023.1133253

Underpasses or road tunnels are increasingly installed to reconnect habitats and ensure safe wildlife passage, thus preventing habitat fragmentation caused by roads and mortality from collisions with vehicles. In the UK, such underpasses are regularl... Read More about Pollutant accumulation in road mitigation tunnels for amphibians: A multisite comparison on an ignored but important issue.

Circular economy landfills for temporary storage and treatment of mineral-rich wastes (2023)
Journal Article
Sapsford, D. J., Stewart, D. I., Sinnett, D. E., Burke, I. T., Cleall, P. J., Harbottle, M. J., …Weightman, A. (2023). Circular economy landfills for temporary storage and treatment of mineral-rich wastes. Proceedings of the ICE - Waste and Resource Management, 176(2), 77-93. https://doi.org/10.1680/jwarm.22.00008

Many countries face serious strategic challenges with the future supply of both aggregates and critical elements. Yet, at the same time, they must sustainably manage continued multimillion tonne annual arisings of mineral-dominated wastes from mining... Read More about Circular economy landfills for temporary storage and treatment of mineral-rich wastes.

Incorporating conceptual site models into national-scale environmental risk assessments for legacy waste in the coastal zone (2022)
Journal Article
Riley, A. L., Amezaga, J., Burke, I. T., Burke, I., Byrne, P., Cooper, N., …Jarvis, A. (2022). Incorporating conceptual site models into national-scale environmental risk assessments for legacy waste in the coastal zone. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 10, Article 1045482. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.1045482

Solid wastes deposited in the coastal zone that date from an era of lax environmental regulations continue to pose significant challenges for regulators and coastal managers worldwide. The increasing risk of contaminant release from these legacy disp... Read More about Incorporating conceptual site models into national-scale environmental risk assessments for legacy waste in the coastal zone.

Methanogenesis from Mineral Carbonates, a Potential Indicator for Life on Mars (2022)
Journal Article
Wormald, R. M., Hopwood, J., Humphreys, P. N., Mayes, W., Gomes, H. I., & Rout, S. P. (2022). Methanogenesis from Mineral Carbonates, a Potential Indicator for Life on Mars. Geosciences, 12(3), Article 138. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences12030138

Priorities for the exploration of Mars involve the identification and observation of biosignatures that indicate the existence of life on the planet. The atmosphere and composition of the sediments on Mars suggest suitability for anaerobic chemolitho... Read More about Methanogenesis from Mineral Carbonates, a Potential Indicator for Life on Mars.

What are the different styles of calcite precipitation within a hyperalkaline leachate? A sedimentological Anthropocene case study (2021)
Journal Article
Bastianini, L., Rogerson, M., Mercedes-Martín, R., Prior, T. J., & Mayes, W. M. (in press). What are the different styles of calcite precipitation within a hyperalkaline leachate? A sedimentological Anthropocene case study. The Depositional Record, https://doi.org/10.1002/dep2.168

This study aims to compare the fabrics of anthropogenic carbonates downstream of lime and steel disposal sites with models of carbonate precipitation from natural systems to elucidate potential drivers, precipitation mechanisms, morphological similar... Read More about What are the different styles of calcite precipitation within a hyperalkaline leachate? A sedimentological Anthropocene case study.

Brownfield sites promote biodiversity at a landscape scale (2021)
Journal Article
Macgregor, C. J., Bunting, M. J., Deutz, P., Bourn, N. A., Roy, D. B., & Mayes, W. M. (2022). Brownfield sites promote biodiversity at a landscape scale. The Science of the total environment, 804, Article 150162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150162

Repurposing of brownfield sites is often promoted, because it is perceived that protecting the “green belt” limits damage to biodiversity; yet brownfield sites provide scarce habitats with limited disturbance, so conversely are also perceived to be e... Read More about Brownfield sites promote biodiversity at a landscape scale.

Comparative assessment of marine weathering of ROP-derived biopolymers against conventional plastics (2021)
Journal Article
Rodgers, K., Mayes, W. M., Santoro, O., Redshaw, C., Mccumskay, R., & Parsons, D. R. (2021). Comparative assessment of marine weathering of ROP-derived biopolymers against conventional plastics. Marine pollution bulletin, 167, Article 112272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112272

Bio-based plastics were designed to replace single-use plastics and to cause less post-consumer environmental damage. This paper assesses the weathering of four bio-based polymers created by ring opening polymerization (ROP) promoted by a previously... Read More about Comparative assessment of marine weathering of ROP-derived biopolymers against conventional plastics.

Hydrogenotrophic Methanogenesis Under Alkaline Conditions (2020)
Journal Article
Wormald, R. M., Rout, S. P., Mayes, W., Gomes, H., & Humphreys, P. N. (2020). Hydrogenotrophic Methanogenesis Under Alkaline Conditions. Frontiers in Microbiology, 11, Article 614227. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.614227

A cement-based geological disposal facility (GDF) is one potential option for the disposal of intermediate level radioactive wastes. The presence of both organic and metallic materials within a GDF provides the opportunity for both acetoclastic and h... Read More about Hydrogenotrophic Methanogenesis Under Alkaline Conditions.

New insights into biomass combustion ash categorisation: A phylogenetic analysis (2020)
Journal Article
Zhai, J., Burke, I., Mayes, W. M., & Stewart, D. (in press). New insights into biomass combustion ash categorisation: A phylogenetic analysis. Fuel, Article 119469. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2020.119469

Combustion of biomass within power stations is a more sustainable way to generate electricity than the use of fossil fuels provided the feedstock is sustainably grown. The physical and chemical properties of biomass combustion ash from different feed... Read More about New insights into biomass combustion ash categorisation: A phylogenetic analysis.

Legacy iron and steel wastes in the UK: Extent, resource potential, and management futures (2020)
Journal Article
Riley, A. L., MacDonald, J. M., Burke, I. T., Renforth, P., Jarvis, A. P., Hudson-Edwards, K. A., …Mayes, W. M. (2020). Legacy iron and steel wastes in the UK: Extent, resource potential, and management futures. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 219, Article 106630. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2020.106630

The iron and steel industry has a long tradition of bulk reuse of slags for a range of construction applications. Growing interest in recent years has seen slag resource recovery options extend to critical raw material recovery and atmospheric carbon... Read More about Legacy iron and steel wastes in the UK: Extent, resource potential, and management futures.

Effect of an extreme flood event on solute transport and resilience of a mine water treatment system in a mineralised catchment (2020)
Journal Article
Mayes, W. M., Perks, M. T., Large, A. R., Davis, J. E., Gandy, C. J., Orme, P. A., & Jarvis, A. P. (2021). Effect of an extreme flood event on solute transport and resilience of a mine water treatment system in a mineralised catchment. The Science of the total environment, 750, Article 141693. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141693

Extreme rainfall events are predicted to become more frequent with climate change and can have a major bearing on instream solute and pollutant transport in mineralised catchments. The Coledale Beck catchment in north-west England was subject to an e... Read More about Effect of an extreme flood event on solute transport and resilience of a mine water treatment system in a mineralised catchment.

What Causes Carbonates to Form “Shrubby” Morphologies? An Anthropocene Limestone Case Study (2019)
Journal Article
Bastianini, L., Rogerson, M., Mercedes-Martín, R., Prior, T. J., Cesar, E. A., & Mayes, W. M. (2019). What Causes Carbonates to Form “Shrubby” Morphologies? An Anthropocene Limestone Case Study. Frontiers in Earth Science, 7, Article 236. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2019.00236

The South Atlantic Aptian “Pre-Salt” shrubby carbonate successions offshore Brazil and Angola are of major interest due to their potential hydrocarbon accumulations. Although the general sedimentology of these deposits is widely recognized to be with... Read More about What Causes Carbonates to Form “Shrubby” Morphologies? An Anthropocene Limestone Case Study.

Atmospheric carbon capture performance of legacy iron and steel waste (2019)
Journal Article
Pullin, H., Bray, A. W., Burke, I. T., Muir, D. D., Sapsford, D. J., Mayes, W. M., & Renforth, P. (2019). Atmospheric carbon capture performance of legacy iron and steel waste. Environmental Science and Technology, 53(16), 9502-9511. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b01265

Legacy iron (Fe) and steel wastes have been identified as a significant source of silicate minerals, which can undergo carbonation reactions and thus sequester carbon dioxide (CO2). In reactor experiments, i.e., at elevated temperatures, pressures, o... Read More about Atmospheric carbon capture performance of legacy iron and steel waste.

Optimization Routes for the Bioleaching of MSWI Fly and Bottom Ashes Using Microorganisms Collected from a Natural System (2019)
Journal Article
Funari, V., Gomes, H. I., Cappelletti, M., Fedi, S., Dinelli, E., Rogerson, M., …Rovere, M. (2019). Optimization Routes for the Bioleaching of MSWI Fly and Bottom Ashes Using Microorganisms Collected from a Natural System. Waste and biomass valorization, 10(12), 3833-3842. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-019-00688-9

This paper presents a route for the treatment of MSWI fly (FA) and bottom ashes (BA) using microorganisms to critically assess whether bioleaching is within reach of effective industrial application. The leaching of metals from BA and FA was investig... Read More about Optimization Routes for the Bioleaching of MSWI Fly and Bottom Ashes Using Microorganisms Collected from a Natural System.