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This paper introduces an LC resonator-based single-frequency eddy current (EC) sensor designed for corrosion detection in reinforcing bars (rebars) embedded within concrete structures. The work addresses the challenges of the limited detection ranges and reduced sensitivity over longer distances, prevalent in current EC sensor applications. The sensor development process involved a systematic experimental approach to carefully selecting each parameter in the LC resonator. The sensor design aimed to assess the condition of the rebar from a distance of up to 5-6 cm outside the concrete and provide insights into different corrosion levels. By examining the characteristics of the inductors, the parallel resistance Rp of the eddy current coil was identified as a key parameter reflecting the corrosion conditions in the rebar. The relationship between the Rp fluctuations and temperature variations was investigated, with the data indicating that an approximately 155 Ω variation can be expected per 1 °C change within the temperature range of 20-25 °C, allowing for temperature compensation if necessary. Subsequently, the sensor's performance was evaluated by placing a rebar within a concrete block, where controlled mechanical degradation cycles were applied to simulate uniform corrosion in the rebar. The experimental results show that our EC sensor can detect material loss around the rebar with accuracy of approximately 0.17 mm.

The biodegradation of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) in soil is very challenging due to the complex recalcitrant nature of hydrocarbon, hydrophobicity, indigenous microbial adaptation and competition, and harsh environmental conditions. This work further confirmed that limited natural attenuation of petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) (15% removal) necessitates efficient bioremediation strategies. Hence, a scaling-up experiment for testing and optimizing the use of biopiles for bioremediation of TPH polluted soils was conducted with three 500-kg pilots of polluted soil, and respective treatments were implemented: including control soil (CT), bioaugmentation and vermicompost treatment (BAVC), and a combined application of BAVC along with bioelectrochemical snorkels (BESBAVC), all maintained at 40% field capacity. This study identified that at pilot scale level, a successful application of BAVC treatment can achieve 90.3% TPH removal after 90 days. BAVC's effectiveness stemmed from synergistic mechanisms. Introduced microbial consortia were capable of TPH degradation, while vermicompost provided essential nutrients, enhanced aeration, and, potentially, acted as a biosorbent. Hence, it can be concluded that the combined application of BAVC significantly enhances TPH removal compared to natural attenuation. While the combined application of a bioelectrochemical snorkel (BES) with BAVC also showed a significant TPH removal, it did not differ statistically from the individual application of BAVC, under applied conditions. Further research is needed to optimize BES integration with BAVC for broader applicability. This study demonstrates BAVC as a scalable and mechanistically sound approach for TPH bioremediation in soil., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Since 2020, there is a new European Regulation (EU, 2020/741) on minimum requirements for water reuse, where routine and validation monitoring requirements (log reductions of indicator microorganisms and reference pathogens) have been established. Many reclamation facilities that are already in operation might have difficulties to comply with these performance targets. Existing disinfection systems must be expanded and upgraded. In the case of UV disinfection systems, fluence requirements must be determined to properly design with a focus on the safety and economic-environmental viability of reclaimed water. This study can be used as a reference to develop fluence-response curves for Clostridium perfringens spores, Escherichia coli, and total and F-specific coliphages, indicator microorganisms referred to in the new European Regulation. Eight UV-LED collimated beam tests were performed. Samples were obtained from filtered effluent of secondary treatment from two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) which ranged between 30 and 54%. Results showed UV sensitivity of 33.46 mJ/cm 2 log I for C. perfringens spores and 2.86 mJ/cm 2 log I for E. coli, both from environmental origin. Coliphages were inactivated below the limit of quantitation. The non-dominance of MS2 phages in environmental F-specific coliphages was observed.

Introduction: Social robots are accompanied by high expectations of what they can bring to society and in the healthcare sector. So far, promising assumptions have been presented about how and where social robots are most relevant. We know that the industry has used robots for a long time, but what about social uptake outside industry, specifically, in the healthcare sector? This study discusses what trends are discernible, to better understand the gap between technology readiness and adoption of interactive robots in the welfare and health sectors in Europe., Methods: An assessment of interactive robot applications at the upper levels of the Technology Readiness Level scale is combined with an assessment of adoption potential based on Rogers' theory of diffusion of innovation. Most robot solutions are dedicated to individual rehabilitation or frailty and stress. Fewer solutions are developed for managing welfare services or public healthcare., Results: The results show that while robots are ready from the technological point of view, most of the applications had a low score for demand according to the stakeholders., Discussion: To enhance social uptake, a more initiated discussion, and more studies on the connections between technology readiness and adoption and use are suggested. Applications being available to users does not mean they have an advantage over previous solutions. Acceptance of robots is also heavily dependent on the impact of regulations as part of the welfare and healthcare sectors in Europe., Competing Interests: JG-V was employed by Ottobock SE & Co. FT was employed by ÖSSUR. GF was employed by Space Applications Services. KB was employed by CYBATHLON. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Östlund, Malvezzi, Frennert, Funk, Gonzalez-Vargas, Baur, Alimisis, Thorsteinsson, Alonso-Cepeda, Fau, Haufe, Di Pardo and Moreno.)

In the present study, the occurrence of indicator antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) both in the influent and the effluent of four Spanish wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) was monitored for 12 months, and the susceptibility profiles of 89 recovered extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli isolates were obtained against a wide range of antimicrobials. The aim of the study was to better understand whether the current wastewater treatment practices allow us to obtain safe reclaimed water mitigating the spread of ARB and ARGs to the environment. Results showed high concentrations of ESBL-producing E. coli as well as a high prevalence of a range of ARGs in the influent samples. The reclamation treatments implemented in the WWTPs were effective in reducing both the occurrence of ESBL E. coli and ARGs, although significant differences were observed among WWTPs. Despite these reductions in occurrence observed upon wastewater treatment, our findings suggest that WWTP effluents may represent an important source of ARGs, which could be transferred among environmental bacteria and disseminate antimicrobial resistance through the food chain. Remarkably, no major differences were observed in the susceptibility profiles of the ESBL E. coli isolated from influent and effluent waters, indicating that water treatments do not give rise to the emergence of new resistance phenotypes.

A case study of 15 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) at a full-scale was assessed for the risks of disinfection byproduct (DBP) formation, mainly the regulated trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs) and chlorate as an inorganic byproduct regulated recently in the EU. Raw wastewater from large, medium/small urban areas were treated with single or combined disinfection processes (i.e., chlorine, peracetic acid (PAA) and ultraviolet (UV) radiation). Sampling was executed once a month over seven months for the medium/small WWTPs and twice a month for the large ones. Due to the potential risk of SARS-CoV-2 contaminated wastewater, several inactivation methods were examined before the DBP analysis. Due to the inactivation step, the stability of THM4 and HAA9 suffered reductions, monitoring their presence only in the effluents after the disinfection treatments. In contrast, chlorate levels remained unchanged after the inactivation treatment; thus both raw wastewater and effluents were examined for their occurrence before disinfection treatments. Results showed that chlorate residues in the raw wastewater varied greatly from undetected levels to as high as 42.2 mg L -1 . As the continuous monitoring of DBPs was performed, a positive correlation with chlorine or chlorine/UV was found. Changes in the physicochemical parameters indicated that the quality of the raw wastewater varied considerably depending on the WWTPs, and it influenced byproduct formation. In all WWTPs, chlorine alone or combined with UV significantly increased the presence of THMs, HAAs, and chlorate levels in the treated effluents. When the same WWTPs changed to PAA or PAA/UV, DBPs were diminished completely. This study highlights the risk of chlorate residues in raw wastewater during the pandemic. It also showed how the chemical risks of DBP formation could be reduced by changing the chlorinated disinfection technologies to PAA or PAA/UV, particularly if reclaimed water is intended for agricultural irrigation to minimize DBP residues., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Durability predictions of concrete structures are derived from experience-based requirements and descriptive exposure classes. To support durability predictions, a numerical model related to the carbonation resistance of concrete was developed. The model couples the rate of carbonation with the drying rate. This paper presents the accelerated carbonation and moisture transport experiments performed to calibrate and verify the numerical model. They were conducted on mortars with a water-cement ratio of either 0.6 or 0.5, incorporating either a novel cement CEM II/C (S-LL) (EnM group) or commercially available CEM II/A-S cement (RefM group). The carbonation rate was determined by visual assessment and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Moisture transport experiments, consisting of drying and resaturation, utilized the gravimetric method. Higher carbonation rates expressed in mm/day -0.5 were found in the EnM group than in the RefM group. However, the TGA showed that the initial portlandite (CH) content was lower in the EnM than in the RefM, which could explain the difference in carbonation rates. The resaturation experiments indicate an increase in the suction porosity in the carbonated specimens compared to the non-carbonated specimens. The study concludes that low clinker content causes lower resistance to carbonation, since less CH is available in the surface layers; thus, the carbonation front progresses more rapidly towards the core.

Epoxy resin coatings are commonly used to protect concrete structures due to their excellent chemical corrosion resistance and strong adhesion capacity. However, these coatings are susceptible to damage by surface abrasion and long-term contact with marine climate conditions, deteriorating their appearance and performance. This study aims to optimize the performance of cement-based epoxy resin coatings, bisphenol-A and polyol, in aggressive environments by functionalizing the selected systems with different nanoparticles such as activated carbon, surface modified nanoclay, silica and zinc oxide. Nanomodified coatings were applied to concrete specimens and subjected to three weeks in a spray salt chamber and three weeks in a QUV chamber. They were found to present improved thermal resistance and curing degree after the weathering test. Their water permeability, adhesion, and abrasion resistance properties were evaluated before and after this test. The results showed that the nature of the nanocomposites determined their water permeability; the bare resin presented the worst result. Additionally, nanomodified composites with activated carbon and silica showed the best adherence and abrasion resistance properties, due to the effect of this aging test on their thermal stability and curing degree.

The effect of COD addition into an anammox reactor was assessed during short and long term exposure. The short term exposure was assessed via batch tests and lasted 48 h. Results indicated the presence of a very active denitrifying community able to consume COD using nitrate and nitrite as electron acceptors. However, the presence of COD did not result in an increase of the ammonium concentration at the end of the tests indicating that anammox activity was not suppressed by the addition of COD. Different COD concentrations (125, 225 and 175 mg COD/L) were also added in the reactor during 3 periods within its operation (period II, III and V respectively). Long term COD addition (up to 102 d of continuous addition during period II and III) caused a decrease of the anammox activity and a shift on the microbial community, with a decrease on the anammox fraction. However, the anammox process was never lost and it fully recovered as soon as COD addition stopped. Finally, dissolved N 2 O was monitored under periods with and without COD addition, showing higher concentrations during transient periods from COD addition to no addition. The results of this paper provide evidence of how a long term COD exposure into an anammox reactor affect the overall nitrogen removal process, the granular structure of the anammox biomass, its microbial composition and for the first time, its N 2 O emissions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Different Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) such as photocatalysis, Fenton-based processes and ozonation were studied to include one of these technologies within an integrated solution for produced water (PW) polishing. Synthetic PW was prepared adding toluene, xylene, naphthalene, phenol, acetic and malonic acids to a seawater matrix. Despite that in all AOPs studied in this work BTEX and naphthalene were removed, the efficiency (in terms of TOC removal) of each treatment varied largely. Among these techniques, photocatalysis was found to be the less effective for the treatment of PW, as TOC removals lower than 20% were obtained for the best scenario after 4 h treatment. In the contrary, best results were obtained by ozonation combined with H 2 O 2 , where all the organic components were removed, including a high percentage of acetic acid, which was not abated by the rest of the AOPs studied. The optimum conditions for ozonation were 4 g h -1 O 3 and 1500 mg L -1 H 2 O 2 at pH 10, where after 2 h a 74% of TOC removal was achieved and the acetic acid elimination was 78%. This condition enabled that ozonation process accounted for the lowest electric energy consumption per order of target compound destruction regarding total organic carbon (TOC)., (Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Produced water (PW) is the wastewater generated when water from underground reservoirs is brought to the surface during oil or gas extraction. PW is generated in large amounts and has a complex composition, containing various toxic organic and inorganic compounds. PW is currently treated in conventional trains that include phase separators, decanters, cyclones and coarse filters in order to comply with existing regulation for discharge. These treatment trains do not achieve more restrictive limitations related to the reuse of the effluent (reinjection into extraction wells) or other beneficial uses (e.g., irrigation). Therefore, and to prevent environmental pollution, further polishing processes need to be carried out. Characterization of the PW to determine major constituents is the first step to select the optimum treatment for PW, coupled with environmental factors, economic considerations, and local regulatory framework. This review tries to provide an overview of different treatments that are being applied to polish this type of effluents. These technologies include membranes, physical, biological, thermal or chemical treatments, where special emphasis has been made on advanced oxidation processes due to the advantages offered by these processes. Commercial treatments, based on the combination, modification and improvement of simpler treatments, were also discussed., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Current water resource recovery facility (WRRF) models only consider local concentration variations caused by inadequate mixing to a very limited extent, which often leads to a need for (rigorous) calibration. The main objective of this study is to visualize local impacts of mixing by developing an integrated hydrodynamic-biokinetic model for an aeration compartment of a full-scale WRRF. Such a model is able to predict local variations in concentrations and thus allows judging their importance at a process level. In order to achieve this, full-scale hydrodynamics have been simulated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) through a detailed description of the gas and liquid phases and validated experimentally. In a second step, full ASM1 biokinetic model was integrated with the CFD model to account for the impact of mixing at the process level. The integrated model was subsequently used to evaluate effects of changing influent and aeration flows on process performance. Regions of poor mixing resulting in non-uniform substrate distributions were observed even in areas commonly assumed to be well-mixed. The concept of concentration distribution plots was introduced to quantify and clearly present spatial variations in local process concentrations. Moreover, the results of the CFD-biokinetic model were concisely compared with a conventional tanks-in-series (TIS) approach. It was found that TIS model needs calibration and a single parameter set does not suffice to describe the system under both dry and wet weather conditions. Finally, it was concluded that local mixing conditions have significant consequences in terms of optimal sensor location, control system design and process evaluation.

In this study, bench scale dissolved air flotation (DAF) and settling processes have been studied and compared to a novel flotation technology based on the use of glass microspheres of limited buoyancy and its combination with conventional DAF, (Enhanced DAF or E-DAF). They were evaluated as pretreatments for advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) to polish produced water (PW) for reuse purposes. Settling and E-DAF without air injection showed adequate turbidity and oil and grease (O&G) removals, with eliminations higher than 87% and 90% respectively, employing 70 mg L -1 of FeCl 3 and 83 min of settling time, and 57.9 mg L -1 of FeCl 3 , 300 mg L -1 of microspheres and a flocculation rate of 40 rpm in the E-DAF process. A linear correlation was observed between final O&G concentration and turbidity after E-DAF. In order to polish the O&G content of the effluent even further, to remove soluble compounds as phenol and to take advantage of residual iron after these treatments, Fenton and photo-Fenton reactions were essayed. After 6 h of the Fenton reaction at pH 3, the addition of 1660 mg L -1 of H 2 O 2 and 133 mg L -1 of iron showed a maximum O&G elimination of 57.6% and a phenol removal up to 80%. Photo-Fenton process showed better results after 3 h, adding 600 mg L -1 of H 2 O 2 and 300 mg L -1 of iron, at pH 3, with a higher fraction of elimination of the O&G content (73.7%) and phenol (95%) compared to the conventional Fenton process., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

For exposure and risk assessment in occupational settings involving engineered nanomaterials (ENMs), it is important to understand the mechanisms of release and how they are influenced by the ENM, the matrix material, and process characteristics. This review summarizes studies providing ENM release information in occupational settings, during different industrial activities and using various nanomaterials. It also assesses the contextual information - such as the amounts of materials handled, protective measures, and measurement strategies - to understand which release scenarios can result in exposure. High-energy processes such as synthesis, spraying, and machining were associated with the release of large numbers of predominantly small-sized particles. Low-energy processes, including laboratory handling, cleaning, and industrial bagging activities, usually resulted in slight or moderate releases of relatively large agglomerates. The present analysis suggests that process-based release potential can be ranked, thus helping to prioritize release assessments, which is useful for tiered exposure assessment approaches and for guiding the implementation of workplace safety strategies. The contextual information provided in the literature was often insufficient to directly link release to exposure. The studies that did allow an analysis suggested that significant worker exposure might mainly occur when engineering safeguards and personal protection strategies were not carried out as recommended., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A moving bead biofilm reactor (MBBR) pilot plant was implemented as a partial nitrification process for pre-treatment of ammonium-rich liquors (676 ± 195 mg L(-1)), and studied for 479 days under variations in hydraulic retention time. The main purpose of this work, was the study of dynamics abundance of total bacteria and single-cells nitrifying bacteria belonging to ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) in biofilms and mixed liquor of the plant. The microbial monitoring was successfully achieved using fluorescence in situ hybridization combined with flocs disaggregation protocol as a useful microbial monitoring tool. A partial nitrification process with a N-NH4(+) removal rate of about 38.6 ± 14.8% was successfully achieved at 211 days after start-up, with a clear dominance of AOB, which accounted for 11.3 ± 17.0% of total bacterial cells compared with only 2.1 ± 4.0% of NOB. The effluent obtained was subsequently supplied to an Anammox reactor for complete ammonium treatment., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The "affinity constant" (KS) concept is applied in wastewater treatment models to incorporate the effect of substrate limitation on process performance. As an increasing number of wastewater treatment processes rely on low substrate concentrations, a proper understanding of these so-called constants is critical in order to soundly model and evaluate emerging treatment systems. In this paper, an in-depth analysis of the KS concept has been carried out, focusing on the different physical and biological phenomena that affect its observed value. By structuring the factors influencing half-saturation indices (newly proposed nomenclature) into advectional, diffusional and biological, light has been shed onto some of the apparent inconsistencies present in the literature. Particularly, the importance of non-ideal mixing as a source of variability between observed KS values in different systems has been illustrated. Additionally, discussion on the differences existent between substrates that affect half-saturation indices has been carried out; it has been shown that the observed KS for some substrates will reflect transport or biological limitations more than others. Finally, potential modeling strategies that could alleviate the shortcomings of the KS concept have been provided. These could be of special importance when considering the evaluation and design of emerging wastewater treatment processes., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Hydroponics culture greenhouses usually work in closed and semi-closed irrigation systems for nutrients and water-saving purposes. Photo-Fenton reaction has been revealed as an efficient way to depollute that kind of recycled effluents containing pesticides, even for high salinity concentrations. However, the inefficacy of organic matter chemical depletion imposes the use of a subsequent treatment. This work proposes the suitability of an integration of advanced oxidation process with a subsequent bioreactor to treat greenhouse lixiviates effluents at high or extremely high conductivity (salts concentration: up to 42 g L⁻¹). As a first step in this study, the performance of a series of sequencing batch reactors was monitored in order to check the biocompatibility of photo-Fenton pretreated effluents depending on their salinity content. In the second step, those same pretreated effluents were loaded to a biofiltration column filled with expanded clay. Finally, bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequencing was carried out to analyse microbial diversity of the biomass developed in the column. Results stated that the chemical-biological coupled system is effective for the treatment of water effluents containing pesticides. The integrated system is able to deplete more than 80% of the organic load, even under extremely high salinity.

Seventeen pharmaceutically active compounds and 22 other trace organic pollutants were analysed regularly in the influent and permeate from a semi-real plant treating municipal wastewater. The plant was operated during 29 months with different configurations which basically differed in the type of biomass present in the system. These processes were the integrated fixed-film activated sludge membrane bioreactor (IFAS-MBR), which combined suspended and attached biomass, the moving bed membrane bioreactor (MBMBR) (only attached biomass) and the MBR (only suspended biomass). Moreover, removal rates were compared to those of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) operating nearby with conventional activated sludge treatment. Reverse osmosis (RO) was used after the pilot plant to improve removal rates. The highest elimination was found for the IFAS-MBR, especially for hormones (100% removal); this was attributed to the presence of biofilm, which may lead to different conditions (aerobic-anoxic-anaerobic) along its profile, which increases the degradation possibilities, and also to a higher sludge age of the biofilm, which allows complete acclimation to the contaminants. Operating conditions played an important role, high mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) and sludge retention time (SRT) being necessary to achieve these high removal rates. Although pharmaceuticals and linear alkylbenzene sulfonates showed high removal rates (65-100%), nonylphenols and phthalate could only be removed to 10-30%. RO significantly increased removal rates to 88% mean removal rate.

The paper presents research on hemoglobin (Hb)-expressing bacteria in biological wastewater treatment systems. The outcome(s) will greatly reduce the aeration needs of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and provide insight into emerging biological nitrogen removal processes using low dissolved oxygen (DO) conditions. In anthropogenic terms, the bacteria that express Hb could be considered as 'bacterial sherpas' that can function under low DO conditions. Hitherto, this functionality of bacteria has not been realized due to the initial response of the aerobic treatment stage: namely, morphology change by bacteria to filamentous forms to overcome oxygen mass transfer limitations causing bulking/foaming and nitrification inhibition. There is evidence, however, of the potential expression of Hb proteins by activated sludge (AS) bacteria. First, bacteria known to possess genes coding Hb proteins have been isolated from AS systems. Secondly, there is evidence that WWTPs are able to operate their biological processes at low DO without sludge bulking or incomplete nitrification. Our research has focused on nitrifying systems and has shown that this is due to prolonged operation at low DO conditions (0.1 mg O2/L), which allows sufficient time for bacterial acclimation. Additionally, it has been shown that enhanced Hb expression is linked to acclimation to low DO conditions.

This paper assesses the applicability of the Frame of Reference (FoR) approach for the environmental monitoring of large-scale offshore Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) projects. The focus is on projects harvesting energy from winds, waves and currents. Environmental concerns induced by MRE projects are reported based on a classification scheme identifying stressors, receptors, effects and impacts. Although the potential effects of stressors on most receptors are identified, there are large knowledge gaps regarding the corresponding (positive and negative) impacts. In that context, the development of offshore MRE requires the implementation of fit-for-purpose monitoring activities aimed at environmental protection and knowledge development. Taking European legislation as an example, it is suggested to adopt standardized monitoring protocols for the enhanced usage and utility of environmental indicators. Towards this objective, the use of the FoR approach is advocated since it provides guidance for the definition and use of coherent set of environmental state indicators. After a description of this framework, various examples of applications are provided considering a virtual MRE project located in European waters. Finally, some conclusions and recommendations are provided for the successful implementation of the FoR approach and for future studies., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Interferences from many sources can affect photo-Fenton reaction performance. Among them, catalyst inhibition can be caused by the complexation and/or precipitation of iron species by the organic matter and salts present in the reaction media. This is the case of the oxidation of effluents containing organophosphorous fosetyl-Al. The degradation of this fungicide generates phosphate anions that scavenge iron and hinder Fe(II) availability. Experimental design was applied to artificially enlighten photo-Fenton reaction, in order to evaluate fosetyl-Al degradation. The performed experiments suggested how iron inhibition takes place. The monitoring of photo-Fenton reaction over a mixture of fosetyl-Al with other two pesticides also showed the interferences caused by the presence of the fungicide on other species degradation. Solar empowered photo-Fenton was also essayed for comparison purposes. Artificial and solar light photo-Fenton reactions were revealed as effective treatments for the elimination of tested fungicide. However, the phosphate ions generated during fosetyl oxidation decreased iron availability, what hampered organic matter degradation., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

We describe an experiment in which art and illustration experts evaluated six 2D vector visualization methods. We found that these expert critiques mirrored previously recorded experimental results; these findings support that using artists, visual designers and illustrators to critique scientific visualizations can be faster and more productive than quantitative user studies. Our participants successfully evaluated how well the given methods would let users complete a given set of tasks. Our results show a statistically significant correlation with a previous objective study: designers' subjective predictions of user performance by these methods match users measured performance. The experts improved the evaluation by providing insights into the reasons for the effectiveness of each visualization method and suggesting specific improvements.