Environmental Science
A.S. Deshpande; R. Kumari; A. Prem Rajan
Abstract
A multitude of microbes are involved in the solubilisation of minerals and metals as this approach offers numerous advantages over traditional methods. This strategy is preferred as it is eco-friendly and economical, thus overcoming the drawbacks of the traditional approach of pyrometallurgy. Many different ...
Read More
A multitude of microbes are involved in the solubilisation of minerals and metals as this approach offers numerous advantages over traditional methods. This strategy is preferred as it is eco-friendly and economical, thus overcoming the drawbacks of the traditional approach of pyrometallurgy. Many different types of bacteria are employed in the process of Bioleaching, which are collectively grouped under chemolithotrophs, as they derive their energy from inorganic compounds. Bioleaching is the mobilization of metal cations from insoluble ores by microorganisms. All chemolithotropic bacteria are extremophiles since they have the ability to survive in extreme conditions. They carry out the process of Bioleaching through three mechanisms: Indirect, contact/ direct and cooperative bioleaching. This review gives a sneak peek into the different strains of chemolithotrophs which are used in bioleaching, and some recent work in the field. It also gives an insight into the general process and mechanism of Bioleaching, the study of which will pave way for developing better and efficient industrial bioleaching operations.
F. Rostami; S. Feiznia; M. Aleali; M. Heshmati; B. Yousefi yegane
Abstract
Grupi and Kashkan marl formations comprise a considerable part of Zagros region. These formations have a considerable erodibility and sedimentation potential because of their special geological and mineralogical characteristics. The objective of this study was to compare the erosion and sediment ...
Read More
Grupi and Kashkan marl formations comprise a considerable part of Zagros region. These formations have a considerable erodibility and sedimentation potential because of their special geological and mineralogical characteristics. The objective of this study was to compare the erosion and sediment yield of Kashkan and Grupi formations in Merk watershed located in southeast Kermanshah, using the Modified Pacific Southwest Inter-Agency Committee model. This model is suitable for estimating erosion and sediment intensity within each geomorphologic unit comprising nine effective environmental factors as geological, pedological, climate, runoff, topography, land cover, land use, surface, and river erosion factors. The results indicated that Kashkan formation comprises siltstone, sandstone, shale, and conglomerate, and Grupi formation contains shale, clay, and limestone with a high erodibility potential. Field measurements and soil samples analyzed for effective factors releaved that sediment yield for Merek watershed was 18080.6 m3/ha/y. Furthermore, field measurement and soil samples analyzed for effective factors releaved that sediment yields for Kashkan and Gurpi were 7243.3 and 10837.5 m3/ha/y, respectively. The reasons for erosion intensity and sedimentation in the two mentioned formations are slopes, vegetation and land use in addition to the type of rocks in Kashkan and Gurpi formations which are predominantly marl and shale.
Environmental Management
P.C. Emenike; D.O. Omole; B.U. Ngene; I.T. Tenebe
Abstract
The expensive nature of metal ions detoxification from wastewater have restricted the use of conventional treatment technologies. Cheap, alternative measures have been adopted to eliminate metal contamination, and adsorptions using agricultural adsorbents seem to be the way forward. The use of agricultural ...
Read More
The expensive nature of metal ions detoxification from wastewater have restricted the use of conventional treatment technologies. Cheap, alternative measures have been adopted to eliminate metal contamination, and adsorptions using agricultural adsorbents seem to be the way forward. The use of agricultural adsorbents for cadmium (II), copper (II) and lead (II) ion removal has gained more interest in literature due to the level of contamination in water bodies. This review shed lights on the removal proficiency of various low–cost agricultural adsorbent for the elimination of cadmium (II), copper (II) and lead (II) ions, considering performance, surface modification, equilibrium adsorptive studies, kinetic characteristics, coefficient of correlation (R2) and reuse. Furthermore, these agricultural adsorbents have displayed better performance when rivaled with commercial/conventional adsorbent. Observations from different adsorptive capacities presented owe their performance to surface area improvement/modification, pH of the adsorbent, ionic potential of the solution, initial concentration and elemental component of the adsorbent. However, gaps have been identified to improve applicability, sorption performance, economic viability, optimization, and commercialization of suitable agricultural adsorbents.
Environmental Engineering
C.A. Odiji; O.M. Aderoju; M.C. Ekwe; D.T. Oje; J.O. Imhanfidon
Abstract
Runoff assessment and estimation is crucial for watershed management as it provides information that is needed to expedite the course of watershed planning and development. The most commonly used model due to its simplicity and versatility in runoff estimation is the soil conservation service curve number ...
Read More
Runoff assessment and estimation is crucial for watershed management as it provides information that is needed to expedite the course of watershed planning and development. The most commonly used model due to its simplicity and versatility in runoff estimation is the soil conservation service curve number developed by the United States Department of Agriculture. The study estimates the surface runoff of Upper Benue watershed using a geospatial based soil conservation service curve number model. Datasets utilized for this purpose are; Rainfall, land use, digitial elevation model and FAO-Soil. The soil and land use data were intersected to create the curve number grid and database. The curve number grid combined with the mean annual rainfall data from 1990 – 2017 was used to estimate runoff. The result revealed that 61.5% of rainfall was direct runoff while 38.5% of the rainfall was retained by tree/plant cover and soil. The average curve number for the normal condition was calculated to be 80.1 while the dry and wet season was 59.6, and 93.2 respectively. The average runoff volume for 27 years was estimated to be 69,887.43mm3. A correlation coefficient of 0.79 was found for the relationship between rainfall and runoff. The research highlights the importance of geospatial technique when integrated with soil conservation service curve number to estimate runoff conditions in Upper Benue Watershed.
Environmental Engineering
E.N. Hidayah; R.B. Pachwarya; O.H. Cahyonugroho
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The existence of organic matter is one of the main issues for wastewater reclamation since chlorination is applied most frequently before use wastewater reclamation for many purposes. One of the eco-friendly and effective methods is using innovative material through resin immobilized ...
Read More
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The existence of organic matter is one of the main issues for wastewater reclamation since chlorination is applied most frequently before use wastewater reclamation for many purposes. One of the eco-friendly and effective methods is using innovative material through resin immobilized heterogeneous photocatalyst, which is based on the principle of advanced oxidation processes. Resin immobilized photocatalyst has been using for pollutant reduction, however lack of studies focused on dissolved effluent organic matter and its impact on the formation carcinogenic as by-product of water or wastewater treatment. This study aims to characterize organic matter by resin immobilized photocatalyzed titanium dioxide and zinc oxide and to determine its effectiveness in removing organic matter and potential for disinfection by-products in treated wastewater compare with resin only.METHODS: The bulk parameters, including total organic carbon, aromatic organic carbon as ultraviolet at 254 nm wavelength and specific ultraviolet absorbance value, and disinfection by-products formation potential, including trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids concentration was measured.FINDINGS: The results present that all materials could remove organic carbon in the range 58.18% - 93.45%, aromatic organic carbon removal 48.77% - 76.51%, and specific ultraviolet absorbance value decreased into less than 2 L/mg-m after longer contact time. Disinfection by-products formation potential concentration removal decreased and indicated the consistency results with bulk parameters removal. Resin immobilized photocatalyzed zinc oxide performed a higher efficiency removal than resin immobilized photocatalyzed titanium dioxide and resin only.CONCLUSION: This study exhibited the performance of resin immobilized photocatalyst with titanium dioxide and zinc oxide in removing dissolved organic matter and to control the formation of disinfection by-products. A combination between bulk parameters and disinfection by-products formation potential removal concluded that the aromatic structure, was mainly haloacetic acids precursors, while the non-aromatic organic fraction was probably trihalomethanes precursors.
L. Askarizadeh; A.R. Karbassi; M.B. Ghalibaf; J. Nouri
Abstract
Ancient City of Ray, located at the southern urban part of Tehran province, is one of the best recognized civilization sites in the world. In this study, the past earthquake incidence in Ray was reviewed using hazards united states tool as a geographic information system-based natural hazard analysis ...
Read More
Ancient City of Ray, located at the southern urban part of Tehran province, is one of the best recognized civilization sites in the world. In this study, the past earthquake incidence in Ray was reviewed using hazards united states tool as a geographic information system-based natural hazard analysis tool. hazards united states tool was chosen to estimate the damage on structural and non-structural elements during various earthquake scenarios with magnitudes of 4.5, 6 and 7.5 on the Richter scale in Ray City. Earthquake magnetitudes of 4.5, 6 and 7.5 would severely damage 49, 72 and 82% of buildings, respectively. The number of casualties was estimated to be in the range of 558 to 2220 people. It was also computed that 93, 197 and 331 km3 of debris would be produced at 4.5, 6 and 7.5 Richter earthquake, respectively. Subsequently, Arc-GIS was used to find out the best route from the affected areas to the temporary disposal locations and to allocate the required number of heavy equipments and manpowers for debris disposal planning. A set of factors, including diversity of the existing wastes, separation of the recyclable wastes, and allocation of the best place and route for debris disposal in the shortest time and with the shortest distance in the street network, were presented and considered in the analyses. Finally, it was concluded that debris management is not only a logistic activity, but also it is an inseparable part of the post-accident recovery process.
N. Amani; A.A. Reza Soroush
Abstract
Building information modeling can help in predicting the energy efficiency in future based on dynamic patterns obtained by visualization of data. The aim of this study was to investigate the effective parameters of energy consumption using BIM technology which can evaluate the buildings energy performance. ...
Read More
Building information modeling can help in predicting the energy efficiency in future based on dynamic patterns obtained by visualization of data. The aim of this study was to investigate the effective parameters of energy consumption using BIM technology which can evaluate the buildings energy performance. First, three forms of general states in the building were modeled to evaluate the proposed designs in Autodesk Revit Software. Then, the main building form for energy modeling and analysis was selected. Autodesk Revit 2020 software was also used to obtain the results of climate data analysis and building energy consumption index. Finally, the most optimal mode was selected by examining different energy consumption modes. The results showed that the use of building information modeling technology in adjusting the parameters affecting energy consumption can save energy cost up to 58.23% in block D. Energy cost savings for block C and the western lobby were obtained as 51.03% and 43.05%, respectively. Based on energy use intensity, energy cost savings for blocks C, D, and the western lobby were estimated as 16.67%, 16.30%, and 11%, respectively. The results of parametric studies on alternative schemes of energy use intensity optimization showed that 16.30% savings could be achieved by the base building model in a 30-year time horizon. Therefore, it was concluded that optimization of energy consumption would reduce the environmental pollutants emission and contribute to preservation and sustainability of the environment.
Environmental Science
Z. Mohebi; H. Mirzaei
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Assessment of biodiversity is a key factor in understanding of function and ecosystem management. Nevertheless, an operating procedure for assessing biodiversity and spatial pattern has not been established yet. Therefore, this empirical study was conducted to explore the role ...
Read More
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Assessment of biodiversity is a key factor in understanding of function and ecosystem management. Nevertheless, an operating procedure for assessing biodiversity and spatial pattern has not been established yet. Therefore, this empirical study was conducted to explore the role of diversity of species in the spatial patterning of tow shrub herbaceous communities. METHODS: First, the biodiversity analysis was performed by Past3 software to compare the relationship between the two communities. Secondly, the distance and quadrat indices were employed to explore the spatial relationship of dominant species with diversity. In this regard, 64 and 84 plant species recorded in two vegetation types were investigated. Distribution patterns were extracted by distance and quadrat indices and Ecological Methodology software.FINDINGS: The results showed that vegetation type 2 had more diversity and richness compared to vegetation type 1. Besides, the spatial distributions of dominant species (Astragalus gossipinus and Bromus tomentellus) in the two vegetation types were clumped and random with tendency to be clumped. The Scrophulariaceae, Malvaceae, Papaveraceae, and Euphorbiaceae families were not found in vegetation Type 1, and vegetation Type 2 had no species of the Boraginaceae, Rosaceae, Thumeliaceae, Capparidaceae, Oleaceae, Sistaceae, and Dispaceae families. The results showed significant differences in the number of Gaminae and Legominosea families between the two vegetation types. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that in communities with a dominant cover of shrub, the distribution pattern was clumped, and quadrat indices were less efficient than distance indices. While, in high-diversity communities with a predominant cover of gross, spatial distribution was random and distance and quadrat indices were more convergent.
H. Eryilmaz
Abstract
Global warming is increasing permanently, because the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is rising continuously. According to National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere was 407 ppm in June 2016 and 413 ppm in April 2017 as a last record for now. ...
Read More
Global warming is increasing permanently, because the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is rising continuously. According to National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere was 407 ppm in June 2016 and 413 ppm in April 2017 as a last record for now. If the effects of other greenhouse gases, such as CH4, N2O, SF6, NF3, chlorofluorocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons are added, the effective concentration may reach or exceed 550 ppm CO2-equivalent. According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change-2014 Climate Change Report, this is about two times higher than 278 ppm CO2 concentration in the pre-industrial year 1765. Thus, very urgent solutions must be found. The aim of this article is to suggest a vital, fast and very meticulous solution using NH3 gas in the atmosphere in order to decrease the atmospheric CO2 without delay. The laboratory experiments in the gas phase for (NH3+ CO2) reaction showed us that to use NH3 gas in the atmosphere will be a very fast, effective method for decreasing CO2 concentration of atmosphere. (NH3+ CO2) reaction is also quantitative in the cold atmosphere strata and there will be no more free ammonia in the atmosphere and no public health problem.
A. Masih
Abstract
Modern studies in the field of environment science and engineering show that deterministic models struggle to capture the relationship between the concentration of atmospheric pollutants and their emission sources. The recent advances in statistical modeling based on machine learning approaches have ...
Read More
Modern studies in the field of environment science and engineering show that deterministic models struggle to capture the relationship between the concentration of atmospheric pollutants and their emission sources. The recent advances in statistical modeling based on machine learning approaches have emerged as solution to tackle these issues. It is a fact that, input variable type largely affect the performance of an algorithm, however, it is yet to be known why an algorithm is preferred over the other for a certain task. The work aims at highlighting the underlying principles of machine learning techniques and about their role in enhancing the prediction performance. The study adopts, 38 most relevant studies in the field of environmental science and engineering which have applied machine learning techniques during last 6 years. The review conducted explores several aspects of the studies such as: 1) the role of input predictors to improve the prediction accuracy; 2) geographically where these studies were conducted; 3) the major techniques applied for pollutant concentration estimation or forecasting; and 4) whether these techniques were based on Linear Regression, Neural Network, Support Vector Machine or Ensemble learning algorithms. The results obtained suggest that, machine learning techniques are mainly conducted in continent Europe and America. Furthermore a factorial analysis named multi-component analysis performed show that pollution estimation is generally performed by using ensemble learning and linear regression based approaches, whereas, forecasting tasks tend to implement neural networks and support vector machines based algorithms.
Environmental Management
G. Saini; P. S. Deepak
Abstract
The entire world is reeling under the worst pandemic of last 100 years. Over 128 million people have been infected with it and 2.8 million deaths have already taken place, till 30th March 2021. The identification of materials positive cases is the first step towards its containment and treatment. However, ...
Read More
The entire world is reeling under the worst pandemic of last 100 years. Over 128 million people have been infected with it and 2.8 million deaths have already taken place, till 30th March 2021. The identification of materials positive cases is the first step towards its containment and treatment. However, testing of individuals is an extensive, expensive and time-consuming exercise. In addition, societal taboos are also associated with infected individuals resulting in very few people volunteering for testing, esp. in the developing and under-developed world. An alternative approach that circumvents individual testing is the wastewater-based epidemiology. A state-of-the-art review of this method is provided in context of its utility for COVID-19 detection. This technique relies on collecting and testing samples from sewers and/or wastewater treatment plants for the presence of pathogens and then using that data to determine and predict the spread of the infection, thereby allowing the provision of appropriate containment and treatment steps. The study covers key aspects of wastewater-based epidemiology application for COVID-19 detection including its need, detailed process of detection and assessment, data analysis, economics and challenges to its application. Findings from a number of case studies are presented to elucidate the utility of this technique. It is clearly seen that WBE-based approach is a much better strategy as compared to individual testing and can be adopted to prevent further spread of Covid-19. The work is expected to further emphasize the application of this method for COVID (and other pandemic) detection and implementing containment strategies. This is clearly a much more economical and non-intrusive approach as compared to the individual testing.
M. Kadłubek
Abstract
In this study, an investigation of long-term forecasts relating to the development of the transport sector in Poland is performed, including the ones by 2030 and 2050. Selected transport development forecasts from the perspective of the membership of Poland in the European Union are presented and most ...
Read More
In this study, an investigation of long-term forecasts relating to the development of the transport sector in Poland is performed, including the ones by 2030 and 2050. Selected transport development forecasts from the perspective of the membership of Poland in the European Union are presented and most of all, from the perspective of national studies. The basement for the review was the prognosis of European Commission, Central Statistical Office, International Monetary Fund, Department of Economic, Sectoral and Agricultural Market of BGZ BNP PARIBAS S.A., Motor Transport Institute, Wise Europa Institute of Warsaw Transport Institute, as well as prognosis of the scientific experts. Despite temporary economic downturns, the demand for freight transport is steadily growing and, as shown by the forecasts, it will grow in the future. In 2018 the situation on the freight transport market was expected to remain stable, mainly due to the continuous high demand for international carriages.
Environmental Engineering
M. Hazbehiean; N. Mokhtarian; A. Hallajisani
Abstract
More than 5.5 trillion cigarettes are manufactured, and approximately 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are being scattered across the globe per year. These cigarette butts are considered as one of the most hazardous wastes and environmental threats in the world. Thermochemical techniques can be used to turn ...
Read More
More than 5.5 trillion cigarettes are manufactured, and approximately 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are being scattered across the globe per year. These cigarette butts are considered as one of the most hazardous wastes and environmental threats in the world. Thermochemical techniques can be used to turn biomass and solid wastes into valuable final products. Pyrolysis is a comfortable thermochemical technique for turning biomass into biochars, biofuels, briquette solid fuels, and further valuable products such as activated carbons, carbon black, and printing ink. In this study, it was attempted to review the available researches about pyrolysis of cigarette butts with an emphasis on transforming them into carbonated solid and liquid products. It was found that, in addition to the process variables, the type of cigarette butts treatment has a significant effect on the yield and quality of the finished goods. Further studies on the pyrolysis of cigarette butts, especially microwave-assisted pyrolysis and hybrid waste pyrolysis, seemed to be necessary. Solving the technical issues associated with the pyrolysis of cigarette butts to produce the value-added goods would contribute to their application in waste disposal and recycling of other resources. Future studies should focus on the separation methods with the help of gas products to provide the heat required in the reactor. Moreover, mixing the sewage sludge material, as a feed, with cigarette butts and application of appropriate models and experiments to attain the products with specific properties are recommended. The results of this study can be used to eliminate the hazards of the cigarette butts scattered in the environment and create the added value for the pyrolysis process.
Environmental Science
D. Sivakumar; P. Srikanth; P. W. Ramteke; J. Nouri
Abstract
The amount of agricultural waste generated by agro-based industries such as palm oil, rubber, and wood processing plants have more than tripled. Selangor, Perak, and Johor account for 65.7 percent of the total number of recognised pollution sources in the manufacturing and agro-based sectors. Livestock ...
Read More
The amount of agricultural waste generated by agro-based industries such as palm oil, rubber, and wood processing plants have more than tripled. Selangor, Perak, and Johor account for 65.7 percent of the total number of recognised pollution sources in the manufacturing and agro-based sectors. Livestock dung is another major cause of pollution, contributing significantly to increase pollution levels in the environment. Large portion of agro-industrial waste is untreated and unused, it is frequently disposed of by replicating or dumping then again off the cuff landfilling. These untreated wastes wreak havoc on natural change by releasing ozone-depleting chemicals. Aside from that, the usage of fossil fuels is also leading to an increase in ozone-depleting compounds. Agro-waste is a huge environmental hazard in the current epidemic situation. The management of agro-waste and the conversion of agro-waste into a usable product through the application of biotechnological technologies in agriculture are receiving a lot of attention in today''s world. Solid state fermentation is the finest approach for converting agro-waste into valuable bio products among biotechnological instruments. Various agro-wastes such as wheat straw, barley straw, cotton stalks, sunflower stacks, and oil cakes from various agriculture goods, as well as major horticulture wastes such as apple, mango, orange peels, and potato peels, were used to create beneficial products in this review. All aspects of the production of industrial products from various agro-waste by using microorganisms such as Amycolatopsis Mediterranean, Xanthomonas campestries, and Aspergillus niger producing biopolymers such as polysaccharides, similar to starch, cellulose, agar, hemi-celluloses, gelatin, alginate, and carrageenan are covered in the current revels. Yeasts and cyanobacteria are commonly employed to make bio-lipids, whereas Bacillus species are utilised to make proteins and bio-enzymes. Cucumber and orange strips, on the other hand, have recently been employed to create proteins and bio-enzymes. As a result, this review covers the many forms of agro-wastes and their by-products as well as biotechnological technologies used to treat them.
Environmental Management
V. G. Shcherbak; I. Brizgan; V. Chevhanova; L. Svistun; O. Hryhoryeva
Abstract
This study provides a comprehensive scientific analysis of contemporary problems resulted from the forced migration of the Ukrainian population and its impact on the sustainable development of 47 host communities of Poltava region. By means of cluster analysis 4 clusters of 26 rural territories were ...
Read More
This study provides a comprehensive scientific analysis of contemporary problems resulted from the forced migration of the Ukrainian population and its impact on the sustainable development of 47 host communities of Poltava region. By means of cluster analysis 4 clusters of 26 rural territories were identified. They differ in the size of local budgets and the involvement level of forcedly displaced population into the local economy. Factor analysis showed that the involvement level of forcedly displaced population in the region's economy is determined by 2 groups according to 10 indicators. 8 indicators of the first factor determine 2/3 of the dispersion of refugees' impact on rural economy. The first factor reduces the gross regional product by 61.75%. The indicators of the second factor shows a positive impact and determines 15% of the dispersion. The use of game theory to identify conflicts of interest between refugees and host communities was justified. The reasonability to use the taxonomy method to construct a map of positioning rural areas according to the size of local budgets and the degree of integration of refugees is justified. The use of the created map identified the “growth points” in particular clusters. As a result of the implementation of the proposed conflict resolution mechanism between refugees and host communities, the budget of the rural areas of the first cluster increased by 18%, the second cluster by 14.5%, the third cluster by 13%, the fourth by 8%, refugee participation by 30%.
V. Babenko; V. Sidorov; Y. Koniaieva; L. Kysliuk
Abstract
This article discusses the prospects for the development of the implementation of scientific and technical cooperation. On the example of international cooperation between Ukraine and Chile, there are approaches to improving the procedure for developing cooperation priorities. The current state of these ...
Read More
This article discusses the prospects for the development of the implementation of scientific and technical cooperation. On the example of international cooperation between Ukraine and Chile, there are approaches to improving the procedure for developing cooperation priorities. The current state of these relations does not reflect real trends in the development of international economic relations in the vector of strengthening the scientific and technical component. Based on the analysis of analytical materials, one of the priority areas of the joint development of scientific and technical issues may be the use of non-traditional renewable energy technologies. Both in Ukraine and in Chile there are objective factors (natural, resource, socio-economic, environmental-technological) for their development. For Ukraine, it is interesting the experience of the scientific and production implementation of these technologies and the organizational and economic support of these priorities in the context of state and regional policy. All these aspects, including through the exchange of intellectual products, will make it possible to increase the effectiveness of support policies, the innovative susceptibility of subjects of production and business activities of Ukraine and the corresponding development of producers and consumers' motivation to non-conventional renewable energy technology.
P. Saxena; S. Sonwani
Abstract
The indoor air quality is much more matter of concern as relative to ambient or outdoor air quality, especially in the context of human health. However, very few studies have been reported for remediation of indoor ozone by plant species. The main objective of this study is to evaluate ozone deposition ...
Read More
The indoor air quality is much more matter of concern as relative to ambient or outdoor air quality, especially in the context of human health. However, very few studies have been reported for remediation of indoor ozone by plant species. The main objective of this study is to evaluate ozone deposition velocities and ozone removal effectiveness of three indoor ornamental plant species (Dracaena deremensis, Tagetes erecta and Lilium candidum) that can be used in the remediation of indoor ozone. Ozone deposition velocity was estimated through measurement of leaf surface areas of selected plant species and exposing them to 3-regular daytime cycles where ozone concentrations under controlled conditions first increased from 8 h followed by 16 h in the absence of ozone. Values of ozone deposition velocity after the completion of first exposure were found maximum (7.7 m/h) in case of Dracaena deremensis and minimum (0.5 m/h) after the completion third exposure in Lilium candidum. The ozone removal effectiveness found in the range of 0.7 to 13% for leaf surface area to room volume ratio of 0.06/m with reference to an air exchange system and background loss present in an indoor environment. Among the selected plant species, Dracaena deremensis has got the highest ozone deposition velocity as well as ozone removal effectiveness and Lilium candidum has got the lowest values. Hence, this study concludes with the sustainable use of ornamental plant species in the remediation of the indoor ozone pollution, which can further help in improving the health condition of the residents.
D. Wielgórka; W. Szczepaniak
Abstract
Eco-innovation is any innovation that leads to sustainable development by limiting the negative impact of production activities on the environment, increasing the resilience of nature to loads or ensuring greater efficiency and responsibility in the use of natural resources. Eco-innovations are the opportunity ...
Read More
Eco-innovation is any innovation that leads to sustainable development by limiting the negative impact of production activities on the environment, increasing the resilience of nature to loads or ensuring greater efficiency and responsibility in the use of natural resources. Eco-innovations are the opportunity for enterprises. Their introduction contributes to reducing the costs of doing business, allows you to take advantage of new opportunities development and positively affects the company's image. The main goal of the research is to recognize the situation and the level of eco-innovation in Poland, including the micro, small and medium enterprises sector and to compare the obtained results with the ones from European Union countries. The result of the research is indicating the barriers and opportunities to support the development of eco-innovation in the micro, small and medium enterprises sector in Poland. Lack of financial resources for eco-innovation was indicated as the largest barrier by MSMEs in Poland. The most significant barriers to eco-innovation in Poland are mainly of an economic nature, including the high cost of implementation, difficult access to capital, uncertain return on investment and the weak system of economic and fiscal incentives encouraging eco-innovation.
T.T. Tran; Y.M.T. Nguyen; L.T. Pham; B.K. Veettil; S.N. Hoang; Q.X. Ngo
Abstract
The Lo Go-Xa Mat is a national park in the southeastern region of Vietnam, which has a particularly high biodiversity and it includes different wetlands which are unique diverse in species composition. It can be categorized into two types: temporarily-seasonally and permanently flooded wetlands. Ta Not ...
Read More
The Lo Go-Xa Mat is a national park in the southeastern region of Vietnam, which has a particularly high biodiversity and it includes different wetlands which are unique diverse in species composition. It can be categorized into two types: temporarily-seasonally and permanently flooded wetlands. Ta Not grassy marsh is representative of the seasonally flooded wetland. Whilst the diversity and ecology of plants and mammals are well documented, little or no information of the benthic ecology in the seasonally flooded wetland exist. This study aims to provide a new database of the nematode’s structure in the seasonally flooded wetland and its relation with environmental variables as well as detection of the ecological quality, considering nematodes as bioindicators. This work is the first investigation on nematodes communities in associate with some environmental variables in the Ta Not grassy marsh. The results showed that free-living nematodes in the Ta Not seasonally flooded grassy marsh are characterized by the high density (ranged from 235.01 to 898.43 inds.10cm-2) but rather low diversity. More specifically, the genus richness (S) ranged from 8.20 to 8.60. The observed Margalef’s species richness (d) was ranging from 1.07 to 1.53 and the Shannon-Wiener index (H') was measured from 2.36 to 2.52. In addition, the Pielou's evenness (J′) ranged from 0.55 to 0.68 and the Hill indices indicated average values ranging between 5.46- 5.84 for N1, between 4.32-4.60 for N2, and between 2.64-2.86 for Ninf. Specifically, our results indicated that deep level, pH, and NH4+ showed a significant correlation with the nematode density and bio-indices. The sediment of the Ta Not grassy marsh was assessed as in good conditions in all stations based on the Maturity Index of nematodes.
A. Mesjasz-Lech
Abstract
The markets globalization is one of the factors creating conditions for the development of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship does not have one generally accepted definition. Most often, entrepreneurship is perceived as the ability to increase the number of enterprises. Entrepreneurship can be understood ...
Read More
The markets globalization is one of the factors creating conditions for the development of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship does not have one generally accepted definition. Most often, entrepreneurship is perceived as the ability to increase the number of enterprises. Entrepreneurship can be understood as the potential to identify and use development opportunities regardless of own resources. Entrepreneurship is therefore associated with such areas as new organizational forms, stimulation of innovation and cooperation with the entrepreneurial environment. Unfortunately, enterprises face many difficulties which can have the supply and demand nature. These difficulties hinder the enterprise functioning on the market and its development. Logistics performance perceived as the implementation of the highest quality of logistics standards allows overcoming the difficulties of entrepreneurship, especially for the transport and storage sector. For this reason, the article aims to determine the relationship between logistics performance and the entrepreneurship rate for selected European Union countries. Logistics performance was determined by a synthetic measure of development estimated using numerical taxonomy methods for variables forming the Logistics Performance Index. The same method was used to build the entrepreneurship rate, accepting as variables selected entrepreneurship indicators for the transport and storage sector. The correlation analysis was performed with the use of the Spearman rank correlation coefficient. The years 2014-2016 were analyzed. The availability and completeness of data dictated the choice of years, countries and indicators for analysis.
Environmental Science
E. Budianto; S.H. Astuti
Abstract
Nifedipine is a hypertension drug must be consumed three times a day due to its low oral bioavailability. One way of developing a controlled drug delivery system is making nifedipine microcapsules by using environmentally friendly polymers of polylactic acid and polycaprolactone via the evaporation method ...
Read More
Nifedipine is a hypertension drug must be consumed three times a day due to its low oral bioavailability. One way of developing a controlled drug delivery system is making nifedipine microcapsules by using environmentally friendly polymers of polylactic acid and polycaprolactone via the evaporation method using oil-in-water solvents. Polylactic acid and polycaprolactone can be said to be environmentally friendly polymers, because they can be degraded naturally in nature both in the biotic, and abiotic environment, or microorganism. In this study, polylactic acid, Polycaprolactone, and nifedipine were dissolved in dichloromethane solvent; then, an emulsifier was added for the emulsification stage. After passing through the dispersion stage for the process of compaction of the microcapsules by solvent evaporation, the microcapsules were filtered. Microcapsules were characterized using particle size analysis, X-ray diffractometry, and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The drug release percentage was determined by dissolving microcapsules for 55 hours using a buffer at the potential of hydrogen 1.2 and pH 7.4 as dissolution media. In this study, all variations in the composition of polyblend resulted in a percent efficiency of encapsulation ranging from 78.82%-89.84%, and percent release ranging from 6.80%-39.07%. The composition of 100% polylactic acid produces the highest percent encapsulation efficiency of 89.84% but produces the lowest percentage of drug release at 6.80%. The best composition obtained was polylactic acid: polycaprolactone 1:9 (weight per weight), with a percent release of 39.07% and percent encapsulation of 78.82%. Microcapsule solids produced are approximately 96%. Particle Size of microcapsule ranges at 0.5 μM.
M. Voynarenko; A. Kholodenko
Abstract
In this study criterion of maximum profit intensity for transportation problems, in contrast to the known criteria of minimum expenses or minimum time for transportation, is considered. This criterion synthesizes financial and time factors and has real economic sense. According to the purpose of this ...
Read More
In this study criterion of maximum profit intensity for transportation problems, in contrast to the known criteria of minimum expenses or minimum time for transportation, is considered. This criterion synthesizes financial and time factors and has real economic sense. According to the purpose of this paper, the algorithm of the solution of such a transportation problem is constructed. It is shown that the choice is carried out among Pareto-optimal options. Moreover, the factor of time becomes defining for the high income from transportation, and the factor of expenses – at low ones. Not absolute but relative changes of numerator and denominator become important when the criterion represents the fraction (in this case – the profit intensity as the ratio of profit to time). A nonlinear generalization of such transportation problem is proposed and the scheme of its solution in a nonlinear case is outlined. Graphic illustrations of Pareto-optimal and optimal solutions of transportation problem by profit intensity criterion are also given.
P. Gholamiderami; P. Lahooti; H. Darbam
Abstract
The aim of this study was to produce mulch by combining natural mineral and organic substances in order to reach soil stabilization and improve soil physical and mechanical properties in Koopal area. The effects of organic mulch (at 3 levels of O1: combination of 1% sugarcane bagasse biochar+0.5% gum ...
Read More
The aim of this study was to produce mulch by combining natural mineral and organic substances in order to reach soil stabilization and improve soil physical and mechanical properties in Koopal area. The effects of organic mulch (at 3 levels of O1: combination of 1% sugarcane bagasse biochar+0.5% gum Arabic+0.5% gelatin; O2: combination of 3% sugarcane bagasse biochar+1% gum Arabic+1% gelatin; and O3: combination of 5% sugarcane bagasse biochar+1.5% gum Arabic+ 1.5% gelatin) and MNF organomineral mulch (at 3 levels of MNF1: 1%; MNF2: 3%; and MNF3: 5%) on soil were investigated. The soil samples were incubated for 2 and 4 months and finally placed in a wind tunnel. Some physical and chemical properties of soil were obtained as pH=7.42, O.M%=0.223, and soil texture of silty loam. The obtained results showed that compared to control, application of the mulches increased soil organic carbon percentage (1.1%), mean weight diameter (2.47 mm), geometric mean diameter (1.27 mm), penetration resistance (370), shear strength (27.38) and tensile strength (0.8) significantly and decreased soil loss (0.10 g/m2/s), fracture index, soil texture index (62.16), and crust index (1.18) significantly (p <0.01) in both incubation periods. Effects of the mulches on soil organic carbon were reduced after 4 months. In mulch treatments, soil loss rate, mean weight diameter, geometric mean diameter and tensile strength were increased significantly. In general, the organic mulch could stabilize the soil and improve the physical and mechanical properties of the soil.
P. Hrytsiuk; T. Babych; O. Mandziuk
Abstract
Grain production is one of the Ukrainian agro-industrial complex main branches. An indicator of the grain production efficiency is its profitability. It is characterized by significant annual fluctuations that induce risk. Redistribution of existing grain crops areas taking into consideration their profitability ...
Read More
Grain production is one of the Ukrainian agro-industrial complex main branches. An indicator of the grain production efficiency is its profitability. It is characterized by significant annual fluctuations that induce risk. Redistribution of existing grain crops areas taking into consideration their profitability can bring to increase of production efficiency. The paper observes Markowitz’s optimal portfolio theory appliance to grain branch. The central aim of this work is the development and justification of a new technique of sown areas portfolio risk evaluating. In this study, the annual profitability of four cereal crops cultivated in the Rivne region: wheat, barley, corn, and oats, have been analyzed. It is shown that the profitability of the cereals is not normally distributed. Under these conditions, the portfolio variance loses part of its informativity and can not serve as a good risk measure. It has been determined that the profitability of crops with good precision follows Laplace distribution (double exponential distribution). The analytical expression for Value-at-Risk measures has been obtained using the Laplace distribution function. Numerical risk assessments performed. Using a modified Markowitz model and obtained risk estimates the efficient frontiers of cereal sown areas portfolios in the Rivne region were constructed. Obtained results allow indicating ways for optimization the region grain industry structure.
Environmental Engineering
S. Gautam; G. Saini
Abstract
Industrial effluents are a menace to the environment and the fact that their characteristics vary from industry-to-industry only adds to the complex challenge they offer to the engineers and scientists. Resource-efficient and environment-friendly solutions to this hazard are a call of the hour. Coagulation, ...
Read More
Industrial effluents are a menace to the environment and the fact that their characteristics vary from industry-to-industry only adds to the complex challenge they offer to the engineers and scientists. Resource-efficient and environment-friendly solutions to this hazard are a call of the hour. Coagulation, by synthetic chemicals, has been used as a cost-effective and efficient method for managing the effluents generated by a large number of industries. However, the synthetic chemicals themselves are a cause of concern due to their non-native nature, non-degradability, and health conditions associated with their left-over residues. Natural coagulants offer a cost-effective, environment-friendly, and sustainable alternative to the application of synthetic chemicals. Such natural coagulants, despite their demonstrated effectiveness in treating the industrial wastewaters, have their own limitations and are yet to be investigated for large-scale applications. The current work presents a state-of-the-art review of the natural coagulants' application in treating industrial wastewaters and their relative advantages and disadvantages as compared to the chemical coagulants. Future research areas have also been identified that may ultimately lead to the large-scale commercial application of natural coagulants and will result in an environment-friendly and sustainable solution to the problems created by industrial effluents and synthetic chemical coagulants.
EndNote