International Journal Of Environmental Research
Volume:9 Issue: 3, Summer 2015

Underground coal gasification (UCG) is a non-conventional method of extracting gas from coal. The primary advantage of UCG is that it recovers gas from uneconomical or unminable coal, potentially increasing the value of the world’s coal reserves by an estimated 70%; for this reason, UCG has been implemented at sites around the world. However, the gaseous, liquid and solid waste streams which accompany UCG are the source of known mutagens and carcinogens, and potential contamination of groundwater has been identified. In the absence of any meaningful data on UCG waste, this study sought to identify the main organic and inorganic chemical and odoriferous properties of UCG wastewater and sludge from a site in Australia, and examined the roles of oxidization, biostimulation and metal sequestration in the treatment of wastewater and sludge generated by the gasification process. Findings suggest that UCG wastewater and sludge emanate a highly objectionable odour and contain significant concentrations of benzene, toluene, a range of petroleum hydrocarbons, and phenols, but relatively low levels of heavy metals and no polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, pesticides or polychlorinated biphenyls. Both oxidation and biostimulation destroyed organic contaminant species by >95%, and sequestration reduced inorganic contaminant species by >94%. As this represents one of the first reliable studies to investigate UCG odour, wastewater and sludge, further research is required to better understand and document the environmental and human health effects, if any, of short-term and chronic exposure to these types of wastes.

The impact of phenolic-contaminated water on microbial community structure was assessed using Biolog microarrays techniques. The following Biolog plates were used: GEN III plates, new test panel for identification of both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, EcoPlates microarray for evaluation of functional diversity of microbial communities and phenotype microarrays (PMs) for characterization of the selected bacterial strains. Most of the isolated strains were identified as: Paenibacillus castaneae, Chryseobacterium indoltheticum, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Acinetobacter johnsonie, Mycobacterium flavescens, Ralstonia pickettii, Acinetobacter schindleri, Microbacterium maritypicum. The mean value of substrate richness (S) was high (30.67). Also, microbial activity in contaminated water evaluated by AWCD and AUC was high. The mean values of AWCD and AUC were 1.5 and 740.10, respectively. Instead, the mean values of Shannon-Weiner functional diversity index (H) and Shannon Evenness index were low, 1.46 and 0.978, respectively. The carbohydrates (Carb) and carboxylic and acetic acids (C & AA) were the most utilized carbon sources by the microbial communities of phenol-contaminated water. The proprieties of Pseudomonas fluorescens and Paenibacillus castaneae to oxidize 190 different substrates as sole carbon sources (PM1 and PM2), and the sensitivity to various toxic chemical compounds at 4 different concentrations (PM11, PM12 and PM13) were evaluated. Phenotypic microarrays used identified the differences between species. Both studied bacterial strains showed high ability to metabolize aminoacids as well as carbohydrates. Among carboxylic acids Pseudomonas fluorescens was able to used more of substrates as a sole of carbon in comparison with Paenibacterium castaneae.

All experiments in this study were carried out in a flume which was located in the hydraulic laboratory of technical faculty in Guilan University. The wave flume was 12 m long, 0.5 m wide, 0.5 m high and equipped with a wave-producing system and ultrasonic sensors. The objectives of current experimental study are to investigate sediment transport, bed formation and sustainability of sandy beaches with different grain size under tsunami attack. Sediment transport, caused by tsunamis, brings about severe damages to human beings, structures, beach topography and environment. Due to the devastating, destructive and scouring effect of tsunami waves, assessing their operation is of great importance. Experimental studies can be significantly helpful to evaluate the process of transported sediment by a tsunami. Three traps were employed to examine sediment transport in different parts of the beach. The achieved results indicated that wave breaking point has significant effect on the beach profile deformation and sustainability. Furthermore, grains with varying sizes, in the same conditions behave differently. As a result, for finer grains wave backwash has more effects on the sediment transport, while for coarser grains the wave itself has a main role in sediment transport.

In the present study, the increase of organic loading rate (OLR) influences the biomethanisation of sewage sludge. The research was conducted at technical scale in wastewater treatment plant in Tyrowo (near Ostróda, Poland). It has been shown that the increase of OLR, by adding co-substrates, cause the increase of biogas production but not biogas yield coefficient. The substrates used for anaerobic digestion were primary sludge and excess sludge. As co-substrates there were fats, thin stillage and whey. The highest total biogas production of 115977 m3/month and electricity production of 231.3 MWh were obtained for the highest OLR of 1.88 kg VS/m3.d. Anaerobic co-digestion of primary and excess sewage sludge with co-substrates at the highest OLR caused an increase of pH to 7.7 and volatile fatty acid concentration to 616 mg/dm3, but there was no loss to the stability of the process. Regardless of organic loading rate, the concentration of ammonium nitrogen was within the optimal range.

Surface waters such as lakes and rivers which are multipurpose fields used for drinking water supply, agricultural irrigation, fisheries and energy production are being threatened by domestic, industrial and agricultural pollution caused by rapidly growing population. Due to the insufficient numbers of studies on Lake Bafa, the largest coastal lake of Turkey, this study was conducted to investigate some physico-chemical properties of the lake’s water and levels of fecal indicator bacteria in it. Additionally, bacteria species isolated from sediments that could be cultured and their heavy metal (Cu, Zn, Ni, Cr, Hg) and antibiotic resistance were determined. Levels of fecal coliforms (FC) and fecal streptococci (FS) were determined through membrane-filtration techniques. While fecal coliform levels detected in the three sampling stations were above the limit value, fecal streptococci levels were below the limit value. Seventeen isolates identified through the 16S rDNA analysis were determined to be the members of the genus Bacillus and Arthrobacter. The resistance displayed by the isolates to heavy metals was in the following order: Cu> Zn> Ni> Cr> Hg. The isolates were also resistant to ampicillin and tetracycline. The results of this preliminary study suggest that the lake which serves agriculture, fishing and recreation purposes should be regularly monitored in terms of public health.

Polyethylene is a synthetic polymer which is used in our daily life for different purposes. Increased use of polyethylene causes severe environmental problems. There are different methods to decrease problem caused by polyethylene for example source reduction, incineration and land filling and all of them have their own drawbacks. So, the best way to reduce the problem caused by polyethylene is its biodegradation. In our work we isolated, Curvularia lunata, Alternaria alternata, Penicillium simplicissimum and Fusarium sp. from local dumpsites of Shivamogga Dist. Degradation experiment was carried out using surface sterilized polyethylene for a period of 3 months and degradation was confirmed by weight loss, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy studies. Individual weight loss shown by Curvularia lunata (1.2%), Alternaria alternata (0.8%), Penicillium simplicissimum (7.7%) and Fusarium sp. (0.7%) was less compared to their combination (27%). Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy results confirmed degradation. Enzymes responsible for polyethylene degradation were also screened and were identified as laccase and manganese peroxidase. So, the results confirm the significant role of consortium in polyethylene degradation compared to single microorganisms. Microbial consortium can be used to solve problem caused by polyethylene in the environment and it is also eco friendly method without any side effects.

Greece has experienced particularly severe and frequent forest fires during Summer 2007 together with exceptionally dry meteorological conditions culminated in distinct heat waves. The present study analyzes the time pattern of daily values of two fire risk indices (Nesterov and Angstrom) based on meteorological data made available for a number of gauging stations between 1 June and 31 August over the 1998-2013 time interval. Weather data were supplemented with meteorological re-analysis profiles with the aim to validate the daily outputs of the two fire risk indices in extreme climatic conditions. Nesterov and Angstrom indices classified Summer 2007 meteorological conditions as exceptional with high probability of fire occurrence during the whole dry season in the majority of Greek regions. Meteorological re-analysis indicates a high deviation of selected upper atmospheric variables from the climatic average since early July 2007 representing persistent and widespread meteorological conditions favourable to fire occurrence in Greece. The crucial role of indicator-based monitoring of heat waves and exceptionally-dry meteorological conditions for mega-fire surveillance in the Mediterranean basin was finally discussed.

The impacts of land cover change on the hydrologic cycle from local to regional scales are not fully understood with regard to humid tropical river basins of Kerala, India. This study provides an approach to identify the effects of land cover changes on streamflow of a river basin in the humid tropical zone of Kerala, India using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The SWAT model was calibrated and validated for two river gauging stations for a period of 18 years (1987 – 2004). The model performed well for predicting the streamflow in Meenachil river basin under changing land cover conditions. The study carried for temporal variation of the surface runoff and evapotranspiration showed that more water is lost by evapotranspiration from the rubber plantation than that from the mixed crop cultivated landscapes. This supports the popular saying of the local people that rubber plantations act as “water pumps”.

The aim of this paper is to assess the adaptation of Iran’s energy policies to the Kyoto Protocol. In the past two decades, Iran has experienced a considerable increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; in 2013 it was the world’s ninth largest emitter. Although adapting to this protocol in Iran’s energy and climate policies seems vital and urgent, its recent status is not promising. This paper develops a model to critically assess Iran’s energy policy performance during the last 15 years after the Protocol. In this regard, a composite index is defined as a proxy of adaptation to the Kyoto Protocol targets. The proposed index is based on several indicators such as energy intensity, energy consumption growth rate, energy consumption per capita, amount of CO2 emissions, and share of the renewable energies in total primary energy supply. The indicators have been selected by expert judgment. The assessment of this composite index for 16 selected countries is discussed. The results indicate that Iran has the lowest adaptation to the Kyoto Protocol among the selected countries. Also, energy intensity and CO2 emission indicators are the most important factors in realizing the adaptation to the Kyoto Protocol targets.

Gmelinoides fasciatus (Stebbing, 1899) is a Baikal endemic amphipod that has recently become widespread in Eurasia. This species accidentally entered the cooling reservoir of the Belovo power plant and became successfully naturalised there. This study describes the peculiarities of G. fasciatus distribution in reservoir sites with different thermal regimes and analyses the environmental factors that limit its spread. The use of heating areas for prevernal breeding promoted the rapid expansion of G. fasciatus in the cooling reservoir. Silted soils, depths greater than 1 m and water heating above 26°C limit the dissemination of G. fasciatus in the reservoir. Invasion of G. fasciatus in the Belovo reservoir has not caused the extinction of the indigenous species Gammarus lacustris. The structural characteristics of aboriginal communities at unpopulated and populated by G. fasciatus zone of reservoir were not statistically different. Invasion of G. fasciatus did not aggravate the competitive interactions in the benthic communities.

The North Bosque River (NBR) was included in the Clean Water Act § 303(d) impaired list. The Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research used the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to develop a phosphorus (P) Total Maximum Daily Load. SWAT was modified to dynamically change manure application rates based on simulated annual soil P, change areas receiving manure, alter manure quantities each year, apply liquid and solid manure pools separately, move manure between subbasins, improve landscape P processes, model contributions of dairy lagoon discharges and improve in-stream water quality kinetics. Data was refined to increase spatial resolution of subbasins and include Public Law (PL)-566 flood retardation reservoirs. A dual level of model performance was established: one level for large drainage areas and a reduced performance level for all other sites. Main stem sites were to have streamflow, sediment, total nutrients achieve the “good” rating from Moriasi et al. (2007). For secondary sites and constituent parts of total nutrients besides PO4 the “satisfactory” rating was acceptable model performance. This dual level of model performance was developed in recognition of uncertainties in model input and measured data that resulted in better model performance for larger drainage areas as compared to smaller drainage areas, and for total nutrients as opposed to their constituent parts. The refined SWAT model was successfully validated for both historical long-term (30-year) base, surface and total streamflow data and monthly streamflow and nutrient loads, as well as average daily load and concentration using water quality and streamflow data.

The objectives of this study are to investigate chromosomal aberrations of snakehead fish in a leachate-affected reservoir located 100 meters from a municipal landfill which compared to non-affected reservoir. Three snakehead fish were collected and chromosomal aberrations were studied using kidney tissue. Lead and mercury were measured in water, sediment and snakehead fish from the affected reservoir at three sampling sites. The results showed that the average concentrations of lead and mercury in water were 0.0012±0.0003 and 0.0053±0.0036 mg/L, respectively. The average concentrations of lead and mercury in sediment were 3.3650±2.1930 and 0.0890±0.0272 mg/kg, respectively. These values did not exceed the standard for water and soil quality except for the mercury in the water, which was higher than acceptable. Lead was not found in snakehead fish from either reservoir. The average concentrations of mercury in snakehead fish from both reservoirs were 0.1330±0.0792 and 0.1180±0.0350 mg/kg, respectively, which were higher than the standard for mercury contamination in food. This study showed that the accumulation of mercury in snakehead fish was higher than in sediment because it accumulates in organisms through the consumption hierarchy. The diploid chromosome number of snakehead fish in both reservoirs was 2n = 42 and the percentage of chromosomal breakages of snakehead fish in the affected reservoir was higher than the non-affected reservoir. There were four types of chromosomal breakages: single chromatid gap, isochromatid gap, single chromatid breaks and isochromatid breaks. The difference in percentage of chromosomal breakages in snakehead fish from both reservoirs was statistically significant (p<0.05).

The aim of this study was to determine the optimum mixture ratios for composting separated cattle manure and pepper plant residues. Five 127 liter laboratory-scale bioreactor were used to investigate of separated dairy manure addition on the composting process of greenhouse pepper plant residues. Cattle manure is considerably rich in nitrogen. However, composting with cattle manure alone is not suitable due to its low C:N ratio and FAS (free air space) value. For this reason, greenhouse pepper plant residues was added as a source of carbon in order to balance the C:N ratio and FAS value of the mixture. During the composting process, the process temperatures, CO2 concentrations moisture and organic matter content of the mixtures were monitored. Results showed that a mixture consisting of 60% cattle manure and 40% greenhouse pepper plant residues allowed for the highest process temperature and organic material decomposition. Consequently, this mixture was determined as the optimum mixture for the composting process.

Development of industry in Sistan and Baluchestan (SB) province in Iran, has increased the amount of Cadmium (Cd) in industrial wastewater, which is used as a secondary water supply in this area. The present study aimed to investigate the variation of Cd concentration in soil column and cultivated cucumber plant in greenhouse under short-term simulated industrial wastewater irrigation. To simulate industrial wastewater, two different solutions with concentration of 0.2 and 1 ppm of Cd were used and labeled medium and strong wastewater. The Cd concentration of higher organs and roots of plants and soil in three different depths (shallow, 20, and 30 cm) were analyzed during 65 days in six days of plant growth period. Results demonstrated that the medium and strong wastewater were unable to contaminate the fruit. However, despite a considerable amount of Cd absorption by root in the first days, Cd concentration decreased significantly during next days to 253.17 ppb in the last day of sampling. In addition, a direct relationship between Cd concentration and time was observed in soil. Furthermore, in the last day of experiment, Cd accumulated more than 1689, 175, and 124 ppb in shallow layer and depths of 20 and 30 cm of soil using 0.2 ppm Cd solution, respectively.

The introduction of Acacia saligna in the north Nile Delta of Egypt is causing harmful impacts on the plant diversity. Thirty stands were established in both invaded and non-invaded areas. The species abundance and diversity were determined. Soil samples were collected and analyzed. The correlation between vegetation and soil variables was investigated. The allelopathic potential of water and methanolic extracts from A. saligna leaves and flowers were examined. Approximately 19 and 50 plant species were recorded in the invaded and non-invaded areas, respectively. Aegilopus bicornis was the dominant species in the invaded areas, while Senecio glaucus dominated the non-invaded areas. The non-invaded areas attained high values of species richness and lower values of evenness than invaded one. Soil analysis revealed that the non-invaded areas attained significantly high content of sulphate, bicarbonate, Na, K and Ca than invaded areas. The methanolic and aqueous extracts of the flowers attained IC50 values of 2.89 g/L and 33.89 g/L, respectively on the germination of Hordeum murinum. However, IC50 values for leaves were 6.08 g/L and 55.04 g/L, respectively. The methanolic extracts of A. saligna expressed more effect on seedling length than the aqueous extracts. The aqueous extract showed stimulatory effect at low concentrations. The invasive successes of A. saligna seem to be related to its ability to release allelopathic compounds together with its competition for resources such as nutrient, water and sunlight. These findings may also have useful implications for coastal ecosystem management and conservation in Egypt.

This paper investigates the importance of considering biomass growth and decay for predicting a field scale microbial degradation of BTEX plume in an unconfined aquifer system in the Pump station area of Tehran oil refinery (TOR), Iran. A two-dimensional finite volume model has been presented to predict multi-species reactive transport incorporating physical, chemical and biological processes in the saturated zone of the aquifer. A multi-purpose commercial software called PHOENICS was modified to solve model equations. A complex Monod approach considering microbial growth and decay employed to describe the biodegradation of BTEX. The results of Monod approach was compared to those results obtained by three kinetics models including zero-order, first-order and Michaelis-Menten expressions that do not support biomass growth and decay. Monod approach predicted a further spreading of the plume. Other kinitics models underestimated the concentrations of BTEX plume, due to neglecting a high bacterial population and increased uptake rate. They are not appropriate to simulate tansport of biodegradable BTEX in the study aquifer. The model predictions agree well with the field measurements with an average error of 5%; describing that the Monod kinetics was well able to simulate the behaviour of the BTEX plume due to supporting bacterial population and considering oxygen as the electron acceptor.

The present study was focused upon the assessment of acetyl-cholinesterase (AChE) activity in the digestive gland (main metabolic center) and foot (highly innervated organ) of the green garden snail, Cantareus apertus (Born, 1778), exposed to different nominal dietary concentrations of Pb (25 and 2500 mg Pb/Kg), Cd (10 and 100 mg Cd/Kg) and their combination (25 mg Pb + 10 mg Cd/Kg and 2500 mg Pb + 100 mg Cd/ Kg) for 60 days. AChE activity was lower in the foot than in the digestive gland (~50%) and decreased with experimental time in both tissues. In metal treated snails, AChE activity was significantly decreased in both tissues to a 50-60% of the values recorded in control snails. This decrease followed a dose depending trend at each exposure time, albeit the response was attenuated at the long-term (60 d) in comparison with the short-term (7 d). Besides, the combination of both metals provoked interactive effects not seemingly related with the tissue levels of the metals. Thus, it was concluded that model toxic metals such as Pd and Cd cause a reduction in AChE activity in both studied tissues, more markedly at the short-term, although antagonistic effects were elicited by both metals in combination. As a whole, lowered AChE activity in C. apertus can be considered as a useful biomarker of the effects provoked by metals on cell signaling and therefore it may be suitable for ecosystem health assessment in metal polluted soils using this species as sentinel organism.

In semiarid regions such as Saida, the steppe ecosystem is currently submitted to desertification under the combined effect of human activity and climate change. Our study is a contribution to the assessment of the biodiversity of steppe formations through a phytoecological diagnosis at the South zone of the wilaya of Saida. To achieve the objective of this study, a methodological approach based on studies of multifarious types. Thirty floristic and soil have been made to end better now characterize the floristic richness, biological type and soil type. The sampling technique is between purposive sampling and a statistical sampling to two degree (transect surveys). The period of fieldwork is the spring season of 2012. The results obtained clearly show that vegetation cover and soil are the subject of an alarming deterioration that results in a very advanced stage of desertification. This results in a drop in agricultural production and installation of non-palatable species by livestock.

An investigation was conducted on hemin modified with axial ligand loaded onto magnetic carriers which created a kind of visible-light activated photocatalyst with good magnetic property. This photocatalyst exhibits excellent photo-degradation performance and can be readily reclaimed in the degradation of bis-phenol A (BPA) in aqueous solution under visible light. The catalysts were characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis (TG), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), magnetometer (VSM) and IR spectra. The effects of different operation parameters on the photocatalytic reaction have also been investigated. The highest degradation ratio reached up to 94.75% after 6 hours under optimized operation conditions. Moreover, the photocatalyst could be readily reclaimed by magnetic separation with an external magnetic field and when it was reused for 5 times under the same conditions, the degradation ratio of BPA solution during the last time was still higher than 90%. Possible mechanism on BPA degradation was also investigated based on a series of control experiments. The main intermediate of BPA degradation was monitored by GC/MS analysis.

The obstacles towards this pursuit not only negatively affect the views and perceptions of the forest villagers about forest resources but also, from time to time, causes Turkey, which has the appropriate environment in terms of livestock, to become one of the countries that import meat. In this study, the perception and views of hair goat breeders about forestry & livestock breeding relations and how to develop these two sectors are investigated. Within the framework of this study, a survey including 121 hair goat breeders was conducted. According to the result of the study, it is found that; (1) Hair goat breeding has undergone a regression when compared with the past. Low output prices of meat and milk, contrary to high prices of feed and other input cost and negative forestry & livestock breeding relations, are the most important reasons of this regression. (2) The highest expectation of the respondents from the forests is related to livestock breeding. Thus, limitations towards goat grazing in the forests negatively affect local views and perceptions of forests.

Electromagnetic radiation emitted by Cell-phones is a new health hazard, especially when they are used inside closed metal bodies such as cars, elevators etc. The modern wireless devices like Bluetooth further enhance the effect of this radiation. The present studies were taken to get quantitative information about the actual power density levels to which a human brain is exposed inside a vehicle while using a cell-phone and a Bluetooth device, and calculation of its specific absorption rate (SAR). The Cell-phone radiation was measured using a handheld portable power density meter TES 593 and specific absorption rates were estimated for human brain tissue from the measured values. These were compared with the SAR values at which biological system of humans and animals start getting affected. The radiation intensity was observed to have increased by 393% when a cell-phone and Bluetooth are used inside a car as compared to no phone/Bluetooth. The specific absorption rates were calculated to be 514 times higher than the biological limit of 1 mW/Kg at exposure frequency of 1800 MHz. The radiation exposure and absorption values were also compared as a function of distance between phone and Bluetooth. The results indicated total exposure intensity and SAR values considerably higher than a human body can safely absorb.

The most used QuEChERS and gas chromatography methods were performed, to evaluate the presence of organochlorines, organophosphate, polychlorinated biphenyl and chlorobenzenes in water and in fish. According to the standard ISO IEC 17025, a recovery rate obtained ranged from 70 to 120% assessing the reliability of analysis results. The exceed rate in fish of Malathion is 22.2, and 5.2 ppm in sampling site XGL411 and XGL416 respectively, Endrin is 4 ppm in XGL415, Trifluralin and Parathion is 1.6, 1.4, 1.8 and 4.2 ppm in XGL413, XGL414, XGL415 and XGL417 respectively and Pyrimiphos-Methyl is 1ppm in XGL417. In water, the exceed rate of Trifluralin is 6.5ppb in XGL411 and Parathion and Pyrimiphos methyl is 1.1, 1.8, 1, 1, 1.5 ppb in XGL412, XGL413, XGL414, XGL415 and XGL420 respectively. The purpose of this work is to assess a chemical analysis related to screening pesticides and potentially toxic metal in water and fish samples taken from Guiers Lake. The estimating level of contamination in fish muscles has been performed using X-ray fluorescence technique and the level of Cadmium have to be monitored due to the potential effects on the fish themselves and the organism that consume them.

Magnetite (FeO.Fe2O3) nanoparticles immobilized on silica and modified by treatment apolaccase were used to decolorize the industrial wastewater from basic red 9 (BR9 by way of Fenton and Fenton-like processes. The surface changes to the silica were determined by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The decolorization system’s optimum parameters,3 pH 9; 20°C Temp. 80°C; initial BR9 concentration (0-50 ppm), and adsorbent concentrations (0-0.2 g/50 mL) were studied to understand their effects on BR9 removal. The optimal parameters values were: pH: 6.0, temperature,40-60oC; contact time,30 min; initial BR9 concentration, 50 ppm; and adsorbent concentration: 0.1 g. Under these conditions immobilized magnetite nanoparticles and their apolaccase modified counterparts showed decolorization efficiencies of 81.01% and 88.6%, respectively, for the removal of BR9 from industrial waste water by way of Fenton and Fenton-like processes. These experiments also showed the adsorbent to be re-useable, cheap, biocompatible, easy to prepare, nontoxic (nanomagnetite particles, H2O2 and silica fume) and capable of generating Fenton reaction conditions with or without additional treatment with apolaccase. The adsorbent was shown to be useful in the decolorization of toxic dyes from industrial wastewater.

A good understanding of adsorption equilibrium and thermodynamics is required to design and operate an adsorption process. This study was conducted to assess the adsorption percentage of Pb2+ ions as a function of contact time, solution pH and temperatures, and adsorbent dosage through a series of batch experiments. The methods including zeta potentials, specific surface area measurements and the analysis of adsorption kinetics thermodynamics were introduced to analyze the adsorption mechanisms of the Pb2+ ions on sepiolite and zeolite minerals. Results showed that the sorption of Pb2+ on Iranian sepiolite and zeolite is a relatively fast process with the equilibrium being attained within 6 hours after the sorbents application. Sepiolite and zeolite yield adsorption capacities (Qe) was found to be 30.5 and 24.4 mg/g for lead ions, respectively. The results also showed that the adsorption of lead metal ions onto sepiolite and zeolite minerals increased with contact time, solution pH, and the amount of adsorbent; but decreased as the temperature of the system increased. The experimental data fitted very well the pseudo-second- order kinetic model. The thermodynamics parameters such as Gibbs free energy, enthalpy, and entropy were also evaluated. The negative values of enthalpy (ΔH°) illustrated the exothermic nature of Pb2+ sorption. The activation energy (Ea) of Pb2+ sorption onto the sepiolite (17.00 kJ/mol) and zeolite (7.60 kJ/mol) indicated that Pb2+ ions were more strongly sorbed onto sepiolite than zeolite.

Zaki’s Reef is located in the Gulf of Suez, a narrow portion of the Red Sea, with exceptionally dry and hot climate and lacks almost all scientific data. This research intends to describe the area’s unique climatology, which may reveal correlations between the reef’s existence at high latitude and extreme climate conditions. Air temperature at Zaki’s Reef fluctuated between 0.3 and 58.6oC with a daily range of 25oC and annual mean of 22.1oC ±0.075. Spectral analysis revealed half day, daily and yearly return periods, all of which have shown that daily and half daily cycles are dominating the local climate with amplitudes of approximately 5oC. Frequency histograms revealed a bimodal signal, one peak at 14-15oC and a second peak at 32-33oC, both represent nighttime and daytime temperatures half-day cycle. Meteorological data collected at Zaki’s Reef were also compared to Hurghada’s and Ismailia’s, 400 and 200 km south and north of the study site, respectively, to reveal any anomalies. Although air temperature daily means at Zaki’s Reef were similar to Hurghada’s, maximum daily means exceeded Hurghada’s by 7oC, while minimums were almost equal to Ismailia’s. Unexpected temperature trends and short distance between mountain range and Zaki’s Reef, prompted us to hypothesize that a Foehn wind may be responsible for the extremely high air temperatures. Air parcel trajectory model results further verified that local wind patterns matched signatures of a Foehn wind. The observed warmer than normal air temperatures may be responsible for securing the survival of these northernmost subtropical coral reefs.

Groundwater is the most widely distributed resource of the Earth and groundwater quality evolves rapidly as it passes through the subsurface pathways within the unsaturated zone. Increasing urbanization and anthropogenic activities have added to the problem of deficient amount of good quality groundwater. The study area is an industrial hub for textile sector. Textile production, particularly dyeing and bleaching, is essentially water intensive and so it generates large quantities of effluents and the practice of discharging untreated industrial waste into the river courses. To assess the evolution of hydrochemistry and quality, sixty two groundwater samples were collected and analyzed for the physicochemical factors such as pH, EC, TDS, TH, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, HCO3-, CO32-, Cl-, NO3-, SO42- and F‌- during the pre-monsoon period of (June-July) 2006, 2008 and 2011. By using Piper trilinear diagram, hydro chemical facies were identified. Gibb’s diagram suggests that the chemical weathering of rock-forming minerals and evaporation influence the groundwater quality. The study area was evaluated for the parameters: Sodium Adsorption Ratio, Residual Sodium Carbonate, Salinity and Permeability Index. Interpretation of these hydro chemical parameters indicates that the groundwater in most of the locations in the study area is not suitable for drinking purpose and for irrigation. However, permeability index values indicate that most all the groundwater samples are suitable for irrigation purpose.

A 3-km reach of the Luján River was studied by establishing 6 sampling stations, which were from 300 to 500 m apart. The first station was the control reading for river nutrients and particulate material. The second station measured the continuous effluent from a wastewater treatment plant flow of the city of Luján and was, therefore, considered a continuous addition point of nutrients. The other 4 stations were used to evaluate whether the river captured phosphorus as phosphate, nitrogen as ammonium, nitrite or nitrates, and the suspended particulate material, both organic and inorganic. These data were used to calculate material uptake (U), uptake velocity (Vf), and net distance Snet under two different hydrological situations, during low and high flow, during the same season of the same year. Results indicate that phosphate ions as well as organic matter are retained for less than 2 km in both high and low flow situations. In the case of ammonium, the results appear similar to those of phosphate ions but it may be transformed into nitrates and transported in the latter form for greater distances. It is concluded that this river, in the reach under study, has a variable retention speed according to its flow but the retention capacity is no less than 900 m and as much as 2000 m. Therefore, a 2 km distance must be considered as the minimum distance before another effluent of nutrients or organic matter is added.

The aim of this study was to determine the environmental risk of pesticide a.i. applied to control insects and fungus in cereal farming in Sanliurfa, Turkey. In 2013, 8 active ingredients (a.i.) in cereal farming were applied for insect and fungus control in Sanliurfa, Turkey. These a.i. were alpha-cypermethrin(EC), chlorpyrifos(EC;WP), difenoconazole(EC), indoxacarb(WG), lambda-cyhalothrin(EC), lufenuron(EC), propiconazole(EC) and tebuconazole(DS). In the present study, environmental risk of these a.i. was calculated via The Pesticide Occupational and Environmental Risk (POCER) indicators. From the results of this study, it was determined that the highest environmental risk is chlorpyrifos(EC). For this pesticide a.i., Exceedence Factor (EF) was assessed as 3.446 for the environment. Regarding the total score, chorpyrifos(EC) had potential risk as 49.2 percent for the environment. The lowest risk was found for tebuconazole(DS) due to its 0.000 EF value for the environment. In this study, it was concluded that the pesticide contamination in environment could be reduced by some factors such as using environmentally friendly pesticide application techniques, buffer zones, recommended dosage etc.

Manganese is one of the significant raw materials for various industries and most difficult element to remove from water because of its high solubility. The treatment of Mn (II) contained wastewater is stringent for environmental preservations. In the present study adsorption of Mn2+ on Zero-Valent Iron nanoparticles synthesized by chemical reduction process and modified with phosphate coating was investigated. Synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR).The effects of contact time, adsorbent dose, Mn (II) initial concentration, pH and temperature were investigated. The maximum adsorption occurred after 5 hrs and maximum removal (92.45%) of Mn(II) took place at a pH of 9. The removal rates of Mn (II) decreased from 93.11% to 68.82% as the initial concentration was increased from 2 to 9% (approximately) when ZVI nanoparticles were used. On the other hand the removal rate is almost steady when modified ZVI nanoparticles with phosphate ion were used. The equilibrium data fits well to Langmuir adsorption isotherm, suggests monolayer adsorption. The adsorption followed the Pseudo second order kinetics. The effect of other metal ions present in water on the removal of Mn (II) has been also investigated.

This paper shows how game theory can be applied to modeling the interaction between government and manufacturer in implementation of cleaner production. A generic game model based upon ‘Two-person Non-cooperative’ static game is created to allow various strategic actions being tested by stages, and aid decision making by selecting optimal strategy for both manufacturer and policy maker to reduce lifecycle based environmental impact while maximizing the economic benefits. The game theoretical result suggests a ‘win-win’ strategic situation as the best interaction, which indicates that manufacturer implements the clean technology voluntarily and government no longer needs to intervene intensely in manufacturer’s environmental unfriendly behavior. In addition, a case example is given to help a tombarthite manufacturer select the feasibly optional clean technology to improve the existing process of production, which provides a useful insight into the application of game theory. Limitations of the game theoretical analysis are discussed to lay out a foundation for further study.

This study reports the removal of cadmium from wastewater in batch mode, using two carbonaceous adsorbents viz. Sunflower Head Carbon (SHC) and Sunflower Stem Carbon (SSC) prepared from waste biomass of sunflower. The adsorbents were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDX). The results of batch experiment showed that the cadmium removal was dependent on pH, Cd(II) ion concentration, adsorbent dose, contact time and temperature. The highest cadmium adsorption was found at pH = 6.0, initial Cd(II) concentration = 100 mg L-1 adsorbent dose = 20 g L-1, contact time = 120 min at temperature = 25±1°C and at 180 rpm. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were applied and Freundlich model was found to fit the data well. The Freundlich adsorption capacity was 1.22 and 1.48 mg g-1by SHC and SSC. The kinetic data was well described by pseudo-second-order model with coefficient of correlation 0.9978 for SHC and 0.9981 for SSC. The adsorption process was found to be endothermic in nature. The adsorbents were desorbed using different strengths of HCl ranging from 12.5 mM to 200 mM. The highest desorption efficiency i.e. 55.6 and 52.6% from SHC and SSC was found at 125 mM.

Rapid expansion of the industrial sector adds more effluent into the agricultural land and in the vicinity of industry, which possesses the major threat of land contamination and environmental degradation. The present study was conducted to determine toxic metal concentration in fly ash and metal accumulation potential of the Saccharum munja and Cynodon dactylon, the two main grass species growing naturally on fly ash lagoon for Fe, Ni, Zn, Cu, Mn, Pb and Cd. Accumulation of metals were found in the order of Fe > Zn > Mn > Cu > Ni > Pb and Cd. In spite of significant accumulation of Fe in the root and shoot, the BCF and BAC were found very low (<1) in both the grasses. The metal excluding properties in shoots of both the grasses with low translocation factor (<1 for Fe, Ni and Pb), high bioconcentration factor (>1 for Zn and Pb) and low bioaccumulation coefficient (<1 for Fe, Mn, Ni, Cu and Cd) suggests its suitability for phytoremediation of fly ash lagoons. Findings of the study suggest that weed species may be used for the stabilization of toxic metals contaminated land and to empower the rural economy.

Animals that breed in ground holes can be exposed to higher doses of radiation from natural radioactive isotopes, including radon and its daughters, present in soil air. One of such species is the Sand Martin Riparia riparia. Examination of natural burrows in sand mines revealed radon levels of 2.82-1320 Bq/m3 in the examined soil horizon where martins dug their burrows. It was shown that adult males whose colonial breeding took place in sand mines received the following average annual doses, respectively: 4.7 mGy (during the care for one brood) and 8.8 mGy (two broods). The doses for females were, respectively: 4.7 mGy (one brood) and 8.7 mGy (two broods). At the same time, the average dose to chicks from these colonies was 6.4 mGy. The results indicate that, apart from radon concentrations in the soil, also breeding behaviour – rearing either one or two broods – significantly affects the annual absorbed radiation dose to adult birds.

In this study, the neutral monosaccharide composition of the Extracellular Polysaccharide (EPS), extracted from thermal Bacillus, was determined by Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry and High Performance Liquid Chromatography. Our analysis indicated that the EPS consisted of rhamnose, mannose, galactose, glucose, fructose, arabinose and xylose. In addition to the neutral sugars in the EPS, it also contained 230 mg protein/g EPS and 17.18 mg uronic acid /g EPS. The X-ray diffraction data indicated mainly of amorphous nature (80 %) and the presence of chitin, chitosan, protein and calcite. Thermogravimetric analysis curve showed that degradation of EPS takes place in three steps (13.38% at < 180 °C. 45.62% at 180-500 °C, 25.55% at > 500 oC) indicating moisture content and high content of carboxyl group, pyrolysis temperature and decomposition of calcite crystals, respectively. Additionally, laboratory batch experiments were performed characterize the effects of different natural organic acids, pH levels, temperatures and Cr(VI) concentrations on microbial EPS production by Bacillus licheniformis B22. Our results indicate that organic acids caused enhanced EPS release. Alginic acid was the most efficient organic acid at EPS production in B. licheniformis B22. The optimum pH level was 6.0-7.0 and the highest EPS production was observed at 50 ºC for B. licheniformis B22. In addition, EPS production increased with increased chromium in the growth medium due to the toxic effect of Cr(VI) on cells. Maximum EPS production was observed when 150 mg/L Cr(VI) was added to the medium.