ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Environmental Science
V. K. Gupta; Suhas; I. Tyagi; S. Agarwal; R. Singh; M. Chaudhary; A. Harit; S. Kushwaha
Abstract
Fertilizer plant waste carbon slurry has been investigated after some processing as an adsorbent for the removal of dyes and phenols using columns. The results show that the carbonaceous adsorbent prepared from carbon slurry being porous and having appreciable surface area (380 m2/g) can remove dyes ...
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Fertilizer plant waste carbon slurry has been investigated after some processing as an adsorbent for the removal of dyes and phenols using columns. The results show that the carbonaceous adsorbent prepared from carbon slurry being porous and having appreciable surface area (380 m2/g) can remove dyes both cationic (meldola blue, methylene blue, chrysoidine G, crystal violet) as well as anionic (ethyl orange, metanil yellow, acid blue 113), and phenols (phenol, 2-chlorophenol, 4-chlorophenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol) fruitfully from water. The column type continuous flow operations were used to obtain the breakthrough curves. The breakthrough capacity, exhaustion capacity and degree of column utilization were evaluated from the plots. The results shows that the degree of column utilization for dyes lies in the range 60 to 76% while for phenols was in the range 53-58%. The exhaustion capacities were quite high as compared to the breakthrough capacities and were found to be 217, 211, 104, 126, 233, 248, 267 mg/g for meldola blue, crystal violet, chrysoidine G, methylene blue, ethyl orange, metanil yellow, acid blue 113, respectively and 25.6, 72.2, 82.2 and 197.3 mg/g for phenol, 2-chlorophenol, 4-chlorophenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol, respectively
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Environmental Science
N.T. Abdel-Ghani; E.S.A. Rawash; G.A. El-Chaghaby
Abstract
The present work was carried out to evaluate the removal of p-nitrophenol by adsorption onto olive cake based activated carbon having a BET surface area of 672 m²/g. The batch adsorption experimental results indicated that the equilibrium time for nitrophenol adsorption by olive cake-based activated ...
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The present work was carried out to evaluate the removal of p-nitrophenol by adsorption onto olive cake based activated carbon having a BET surface area of 672 m²/g. The batch adsorption experimental results indicated that the equilibrium time for nitrophenol adsorption by olive cake-based activated carbon was 120min. The adsorption data was modeled by equilibrium and kinetic models. The pseudo- first and second order as well as the Elovichkinetic models were applied to fit the experimental data and the intraparticle diffusion model was assessed for describing the mechanism of adsorption. The data were found to be best fitted to the pseudo-second order model with a correlation coefficient (R2=0.986). The intraparticle diffusion mechanism also showed a good fit to the experimental data, showing two distinct linear parts assuming that more than one step could be involved in the adsorption of nitrophenol by the activated carbon. The equilibrium study was performed using three models including Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin. The results revealed that the Temkin equilibrium model is the best model fitting the experimental data (R2=0.944). The results of the present study proved the efficiency of using olive cake based activated carbon as a novel adsorbent for the removal of nitrophenol from aqueous solution.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Environmental Science
M. Bandibas; V. Hilomen
Abstract
Reforestation is one of the Philippines’ government efforts to restore and rehabilitate degraded mangrove ecosystems. Although there is recovery of the ecosystem in terms of vegetation, the recovery of closely-linked faunal species in terms of community structure is still understudied. This research ...
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Reforestation is one of the Philippines’ government efforts to restore and rehabilitate degraded mangrove ecosystems. Although there is recovery of the ecosystem in terms of vegetation, the recovery of closely-linked faunal species in terms of community structure is still understudied. This research investigates the community structure of mangrove crabs under two different management schemes: protected mangroves and reforested mangroves. The transect-plot method was employed in each management scheme to quantify the vegetation, crab assemblages and environmental variables. Community composition of crabs and mangrove trees were compared between protected and reforested mangroves using non-metric multi-dimensional scaling and analysis of similarity in PRIMER 6. Chi-squared was used to test the variance of sex ration of the crabs. Canonical Correspondence Analysis was used to determine the relationship between crabs and environmental parameters. A total of twelve species of crabs belonging to six families were identified in protected mangroves while only four species were documented in reforested mangroves. Perisesarma indiarum and Baptozius vinosus were the most dominant species in protected and reforested mangrove, respectively. Univariate analysis of variance of crab assemblage data revealed significant differences in crab composition and abundance between protected mangroves and from reforested mangroves (P<0.05). Canonical correspondence analysis showed that soil texture was found to greatly affect the distribution of crab assemblages and mangroves (P<0.05).Environmental factors and human intervention had contributed to the difference in crab assemblages in mangrove ecosystems.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Environmental Science
A.R. Karbassi; S. Tajziehchi; N. Farhang Adib
Abstract
Estuaries are well known for their potential in removing metal from fresh water to provide micro-nutrients to aquatic life. In the present investigation, we have tried to bring out the metal removal potential of estuaries during accidental spills. For this purpose artificial river water containing high ...
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Estuaries are well known for their potential in removing metal from fresh water to provide micro-nutrients to aquatic life. In the present investigation, we have tried to bring out the metal removal potential of estuaries during accidental spills. For this purpose artificial river water containing high concentration of Mn, Cu, Zn, Ni and Pb were mixed with sea water at different salinity regimes. Water samples were taken from a station on the main branch of Tajan River that flows in to the Caspian Sea. For this purpose, solutions with a concentration of 5 mg/L of each studied metal (Mn,Cu, Zn, Pb) were prepared in Tajan River water. The salinity regimes include 3, 6, 8, 10 and 11 ppt. It was noted that metal concentration decreased by increasing salinity. Metals were flocculated at different rates: Cu (88%) > Ni (86%) > Pb (84%) > Mn (74%).Thus, as average about 80% of total elemental content flocculates. Hence, it was concluded that a large amount of micro nutrients is carried by the river and flocculated in the estuary where the river water mixes with the sea water which may play a vital role in supplying nutrients to the aquatic animals. Cluster analyses have shown that Mn and Ni are governed by EC, pH and salinity.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
S. Bag; N. Mondal; R. Dubey
Abstract
In recent years managing solid wastes has been one of the burning problems in front of state and local municipal authorities. This is mainly due to scarcity of lands for landfill sites. In this context experts suggest that conversion of solid waste to energy and useful component is the best approach ...
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In recent years managing solid wastes has been one of the burning problems in front of state and local municipal authorities. This is mainly due to scarcity of lands for landfill sites. In this context experts suggest that conversion of solid waste to energy and useful component is the best approach to reduce space and public health related problems. The entire process has to be managed by technologies that prevent pollution and protect the environment and at the same time minimize the cost through recovery of energy. Energy recovery in the form of electricity, heat and fuel from the waste using different technologies is possible through a variety of processes, including incineration, gasification, pyrolysis and anaerobic digestion. These processes are often grouped under “Waste to Energy technologies”. The objective of the study is twofold. First authors assessed the current status of solid waste management practices in India. Secondly the leading barriers are identified and Interpretive structural modeling technique and MICMAC analysis is performed to identify the contextual interrelationships between leading barriers influencing the solid waste to energy programs in the country. Finally the conclusions are drawn which will assist policy makers in designing sustainable waste management programs.
CASE STUDY
A. Padash; S.A. Jozi; S.M.B. Nabavi; B. Dehzad
Abstract
In recent decades, necessity to protect environment has been a serious concern for all people and international communities. In appropriate development of human economic activities, subsistence dependence of the growing world population on nature decreases the natural diversity of ecosystems and habitats ...
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In recent decades, necessity to protect environment has been a serious concern for all people and international communities. In appropriate development of human economic activities, subsistence dependence of the growing world population on nature decreases the natural diversity of ecosystems and habitats day by day and provides additional constraints for life and survival of wildlife. As a result, implementation of programs to protect species and ecosystems is of great importance. The current study was carried out to implement a comprehensive strategic environmental management plan in the Mond protected area in southern Iran. Accordingly, the protected area was zoned using multi criteria decision method. According to the numerical models, fifteen data layer were obtained on a scale of 1:50,000. The results revealed that 28.35% out of the entire study area belongs to nature conservation zone. In the following step, in order to offer the strategic planning using strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats method, a total number of 154 questionnaires were prepared and filled by the relevant experts. For this purpose, after identifying the internal and external factors, they were weighted in the form of matrices as; internal factor evaluation and external factor evaluation. Analytical hierarchy process and expert choice software were applied to weight the factors. At the end, by considering the socioeconomic and environmental issues, the strategy of using protective strategies in line with international standards as well as a strong support of governmental national execution with a score of 6.05 was chosen as the final approach.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
J. Aravind; P. Kanmani; G. Sudha; R. Balan
Abstract
The current investigation presents the role of gooseberry (Phyllanthus acidus) seeds as an effective biosorbent for remediating chromium (VI)), a toxic heavy metal pollutant commonly found in effluents from tanneries and relevant industries. Biosorption was affected by pH, temperature and initial metal ...
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The current investigation presents the role of gooseberry (Phyllanthus acidus) seeds as an effective biosorbent for remediating chromium (VI)), a toxic heavy metal pollutant commonly found in effluents from tanneries and relevant industries. Biosorption was affected by pH, temperature and initial metal concentration. Furthermore, there is a need to understand the holistic effect of all variables to ascertain the best possible conditions for adsorption, therefore, these factors were considered and a total of 17 trials were run according to the Box Behnken design. Quadratic model had maximum R2 value (0.9984) and larger F value (1109.92). From the Analysis Of Variance table and R2 value, quadratic model was predicted to be the significant model with the best fit to the generated experimental data. The optimal parameters obtained from the contour plot for the maximum removal of chromium(VI) were initial metal concentration of 60 mg/L, pH value of 2, and temperature of 27°C. Under these conditions, maximum removal of 92% was obtained. Thus this biosorbent substantially eliminates chromium(VI) under optimized conditions, enabling its use in larger scale.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Environmental Science
Q. Xie; S. Bai; Y. Li; L. Liu; S. Wang; J. Xi
Abstract
This study investigated the microbial community in a full scale anaerobic baffled reactor and sequencing batch reactor system for oil-produced water treatment in summer and winter. The community structures of fungi and bacteria were analyzed through polymerase chain reaction–denaturing gradient ...
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This study investigated the microbial community in a full scale anaerobic baffled reactor and sequencing batch reactor system for oil-produced water treatment in summer and winter. The community structures of fungi and bacteria were analyzed through polymerase chain reaction–denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and Illumina high-throughput sequencing, respectively. Chemical oxygen demand effluent concentration achieved lower than 50 mg/L level after the system in both summer and winter, however, chemical oxygen demand removal rates after anaerobic baffled reactor treatment system were significant higher in summer than that in winter, which conformed to the microbial community diversity. Saccharomycotina, Fusarium, and Aspergillus were detected in both anaerobic baffled reactor and sequencing batch reactor during summer and winter. The fungal communities in anaerobic baffled reactor and sequencing batch reactor were shaped by seasons and treatment units, while there was no correlation between abundance of fungi and chemical oxygen demand removal rates. Compared to summer, the total amount of the dominant hydrocarbon degrading bacteria decreased by 10.2% in anaerobic baffled reactor, resulting in only around 23% of chemical oxygen demand was removed in winter. Although microbial community significantly varied in the three parallel sulfide reducing bacteria, the performance of these bioreactors had no significant difference between summer and winter.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
S. Sharma; R.C. Chhipa
Abstract
Water is a unique natural resource among all sources available on earth. It plays an important role in economic development and the general well-being of the country. This study aimed at using the application of water quality index in evaluating the ground water quality innorth-east area of Jaipur in ...
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Water is a unique natural resource among all sources available on earth. It plays an important role in economic development and the general well-being of the country. This study aimed at using the application of water quality index in evaluating the ground water quality innorth-east area of Jaipur in pre and post monsoon for public usage. Total eleven physico–chemical characteristics; total dissolved solids, total hardness,chloride, nitrate, electrical conductance, sodium, fluorideand potassium, pH, turbidity, temperature) were analyzed and observed values were compared with standard values recommended by Indian standard and World Health Organization. Most of parameter show higher value than permissible limit in pre and post monsoon. Water quality index study showed that drinking water in Amer (221.58,277.70), Lalawas (362.74,396.67), Jaisinghpura area (286.00,273.78) were found to be highly contaminated due to high value of total dissolved solids, electrical conductance, total hardness, chloride, nitrate and sodium.Saipura (122.52, 131.00), Naila (120.25, 239.86), Galta (160.9, 204.1) were found to be moderately contaminated for both monsoons. People dependent on this water may prone to health hazard. Therefore some effective measures are urgently required to enhance the quality of water in these areas.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Environmental Science
H. Janadeleh; A. Hosseini Alhashemi; S.M.B. Nabavi
Abstract
The major aim of the present study was to investigate element (Fe, Ni, Pb, V, Zn) concentrations in sediment and different tissues of Phragmities australis and Typha latifolia in Hor al-Azim Wetland Southwest Iran. Sampling of sediments and aquatic plants was carried out during spring and summer 2014. ...
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The major aim of the present study was to investigate element (Fe, Ni, Pb, V, Zn) concentrations in sediment and different tissues of Phragmities australis and Typha latifolia in Hor al-Azim Wetland Southwest Iran. Sampling of sediments and aquatic plants was carried out during spring and summer 2014. Results showed that the mean concentrations of elements in Phragmities australis in root and stem-leaf were as follows: Iron:4448 mg/kg, Nickel: 28 mg/kg, Lead:8 mg/kg, Vanadium:10 mg/kg and Zinc 15.5 mg/kg in root and: Fe:645 mg/kg, Ni:15 mg/kg, Pb:4 mg/kg, V:4 mg/kg and Zinc 16 mg/kg respectively. Also, the mean concentrations of Fe, Ni, Pb, V and Zn in roots of Typha latifolia were 8696 mg/kg, 34 mg/kg, 5 mg/kg, 19 mg/kg and 27 mg/kg respectively. The mean concentrations of Fe, Ni, V, Pb, Zn in stem-leaves of Typha latifolia were as follows: 321 mg/kg, 3 mg/kg, 7 mg/kg, 2 mg/kg and 14 mg/kg respectively. The mean concentrations of Fe, Ni, V, Pb and zinc were as: 40991 mg/kg, 65 mg/kg, 60 mg/kg, 31 mg/kg, 60 mg/kg respectively in surface sediment of study area. Concentration pattern of elements in sediment were as: Fe>Ni>Zn>V>Pb. The highest concentration of elements in the plant was seen in the roots. Also, Typha latifolia can uptake more concentration of elements than Phragmities australis. Based on the enrichment factor, Ni in summer had the highest EF values among the elements studied and it has a moderate enrichment.