Pollution
Volume:4 Issue: 1, Winter 2018

The present work solves two-dimensional Advection-Dispersion Equation (ADE) in a semi-infinite domain. A variable source concentration is regarded as the monotonic decreasing function at the source boundary (x=0). Depth-dependent variables are considered to incorporate real life situations in this modeling study, with zero flux condition assumed to occur at the exit boundary of the domain, i.e. its semi-infinite part. Without losing any generality, one can consider that the aquifer is initially contamination-free. Thus, the current study explores variations of two-dimensional contaminant concentration with depth throughout the domain, showing them graphically. Non-point source problem, i.e. the line source problem, can be discussed by solving two-dimensional depth-dependent variable source problem, as x=0 is a 2D line. A new transformation has been used to transform the time-dependent ADE to one with constant coefficients, with Matlab (pdetool) being employed in order to solve the problem, numerically, using finite element method.

This study has used TOMS AI as well as the reanalysis dataset of thirty-four years (1979-2012) to investigate the influence of atmospheric circulation on dust transport during the Harmattan period in West Africa, using Aerosol Index (AI) data, obtained from various satellite sensors. Changes in Inter-Tropical Discontinuity (ITD), Sea Surface Temperature (SST) over the Gulf of Guinea, and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) during Harmattan period (November-March) have been analyzed on daily basis with Harmattan dust mobilization as well as atmospheric circulation pattern being evaluated via a kernel density estimate that shows the relation between the two variables. The study has found out that strong north-easterly (NE) trade winds were over most of the Sahelian region of West Africa during the winter months with the maximum wind speed reaching 8.61 m/s in January. The strength of NE winds determines the extent of dust transport to the coast of Gulf of Guinea during winter. This study has also confirmed that the occurrence of the Harmattan chiefly depends on SST in Atlantic Ocean as well as ITD position, not to mention the strength of low level winds. However, it has been noted that NAO has limited effects on dust mobilization in West Africa, in shear contrast to North Africa where NAO is a strong factor in dust mobilization.

The present research investigates the ability of graphene oxide nanosheets for treatment of dairy wastewater, using In Situ Sludge Magnetic Impregnation” (ISSMI) to separate sludge after adsorption process. To increase the interaction between magnetic nanoparticles and graphene oxide, the former has been functionalized, using 3-Aminopropyl triethoxysilane, with the synthesized graphene oxide and magnetic nanoparticles being characterized by FT-IR, SEM, and NCHS analysis. The experiments have been conducted on the effluent of Pegah factory. The batch adsorption experiments have been carried out to investigate the effect of adsorbent dose, contact time, and pH on the removal of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, COD, and turbidity. At adsorbent dose of 320 mg L-1, the removal efficiencies of 90, 80, 84, and 94% have been observed for TN, TP, COD, and turbidity, respectively. The adsorbent data has been modeled by Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms, giving results that are compatible with Freundlich isotherm. TN, TP, and COD are mostly particulate materials in dairy wastewaters; therefore, when nanosheets aggregate, particulate materials are trapped between GO nanosheets; as a result, pollutants are distributed heterogeneously on the adsorbent's surface. Consequently, adsorption does not occur as monolayer on the surface of GO; for this reason, adsorption follows Freundlich model. Maximum absorption capacity of the adsorbent turns out to be 730 mg g-1 for total nitrogen, 600 mg g-1 for total phosphorus, 26000 mg g-1 for COD, and 5500 mg g-1 for turbidity. Adsorption kinetic has been studied with the first and second order equation, giving results that are compatible with second order equation.

Due to rapid industrialization and urbanization, environmental pollution has become a major concern in developing countries; therefore, the main objective of the current study is to determine heavy metal contents of Pb, and Ni for 42 topsoil samples, collected from 14 green spaces along the 1st and 2nd ring roads in Hamedan City in 2016. For this purpose, after determining some chemical properties as well as acid digestion of soil samples, Pb and Ni concentrations have been found in the soil samples with ICP-OES. All statistical analyses have been conducted, using SPSS 18.0 statistical package, with the results showing that the metal levels in soil samples, collected from green space of 1st and 2nd ring road, have been 34.86±10.28 and 41.57±10.08 mg/kg for Pb and 14.0-20.33 and 14.0-20.0 mg/kgfor Ni, respectively. Also the mean concentration of Pb and Ni have been lower than MPL. According to heavy metal concentration maps, the spatial distribution patterns of Pb, and Ni contents in the soil samples are generally similar along the 1st and 2nd ring road. Due to the fact that traffic volume in the 2nd ring was higher than the 1st one, there has been a significant difference in the mean contents of Pb between the topsoil samples, collected from the 1st and 2nd ring roads; therefore, it is recommended to keep environmental health in order to control the anthropogenic sources, causing the pollutants discharge into the environment is recommended.

The present study is the first attempt to examine temporal and spatial characteristics of aerosol properties and classify their modes over Iran. The data used in this study include the records of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) and Angstrom Exponent (AE) from MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Aerosol Index (AI) from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), obtained from 2005 to 2015. The high concentration of AOD and AI values (representing high-high cluster) have been observed in the southwest and east regions, while their low concentrations (representing low-low cluster) have been found in the high mountainous areas. Based on AE values, Iran has been divided into three distinct regions, including fine, mixture, and coarse aerosol modes in each season. Results show that the maximum/minimum area under fine aerosols mode has occurred in the autumn, covering an area of 84.15% and in the spring, covering an area of 40.5%. In the case of coarse mode, the maximum/minimum area has been found in the spring, covered area=53.5% / in the Autumn covered area=12. 5%. The different aerosol modes regions strongly coincide with the topographical structure. To analyze the relation between aerosol properties and topography, Aerosol Properties Index (API) has been developed by combining OMI and MODIS datasets. API is a simple indicator, capable of showing the degree of aerosol coarseness in each pixel. There is a negative correlation between API and topography over the studied region, meaning that aerosol concentrations are high in the lowlands, but low in the highlands. However, this relation differs in various geographic regions, as Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) model shows a higher determination coefficient in all seasons, in comparison to Ordinary Least Squares (OLS).

The aquatic fern Azolla, a small-leaf floating plant that lives in symbiosis with a nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria (Anabaena), is an outstanding plant, thanks to its high biomass productivity along with its tremendous rate per unit area for nitrogen-fixation. The present study investigates the potential growth of Azolla in secondary effluents for removal of COD, phosphorus, and nitrogen. Results have shown that N and P removal at 100 ppm of each component in separate medium turned out to be 36% and 44%, respectively, whereas in case of a mixed solution of these two compounds, N and P removal declined to 33% and 40.5%, respectively. Moreover, results have suggested that in the presence of phosphorus nitrogen absorption decreased. Furthermore, Azolla has revealed a high potential of COD removal by 98.8% in 28 days. Finally, Azolla may be one of the most promising agents to remove COD and treat nitrogen-free and phosphorus-rich wastewaters.

Groundwater resources make up an important portion of potable and irrigation water in Iran, making it important to monitor toxic elements of pollutants in these resources in order to protect the inhabitant's health. The current study has been carried out to assess the health risks, caused by trivalent inorganic arsenic-polluted groundwater in Qaleeh Shahin Plain, an important agricultural region in Kermanshah Province. For this purpose, in total 20 groundwater wells have been chosen randomly. The samples have been filtered (0.45 μm) and preserved with HNO3 to a pH level lower than 2, then to be taken in acid-washed polyethylene bottles and kept at a temperature of 4 °C for further analysis. Finally, As(III) concentration has been determined, using ICP-OES with three replications. Results have shown that mean content of As (ppb) in groundwater samples were 6.0 ± 3.0 for winter and 9.0 ± 6.0 for summer in 2014. Also, according to the results, the computed values of the hazard quotient (HQ) and target risk (TR) of groundwater samples were below 1 and less than 10E-06, respectively; therefore, non-carcinogenic effect (chronic risk) and carcinogenic exposure are not likely for the inhabitants of this study area. However, due to over and long-term use of agricultural inputs in the study area, it is recommended to have some paramount consideration for better management and care of using agricultural inputs, especially chemical fertilizers, arsenical pesticides, or herbicides, and for treatment of As-polluted groundwater with proper removal methods prior to preparation of drinking water.

The rising global demand for palm oil and its associated products has led to increased numbers of palm oil refineries with its attendant effluent discharge. Many researches have confirmed the ecological disruptive potentiality of Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME), still further attention has to be directed at POME’s potential genotoxicity. The present study has made physico-chemical and genotoxicity assessments of POME from a corporate refinery in Nigeria, using the American Public Health Association (APHA) procedures along with Allium cepa root assay. Allium cepa roots were grown in graduated concentrations of POME and the roots were analyzed for chromosomal aberrations. Results suggest that POME caused growth inhibitions and chromosomal aberrations in A. cepa roots. with mitotic index of A. cepa roots dropping as POME concentrations were increased. The chromosomal aberrations induced in A. cepa were vagrant, sticky chromosomes, bi-nucleated cells, and C-mitosis. These results indicate that palm oil mill effluent is not only capable of causing ecological disruptions in the receiving environment, but is also potentially genotoxic to resident organisms. It is recommended that if effluents from palm oil mill refineries cannot be converted to other useful products and ought to be disposed of, it should first be properly treated and tested for genotoxicity.

Anthropogenic noise is debatably one of the most common threats to national park's resources. Park visitors and workers generally suffer from adverse effects of noise from on- and off-road vehicles. The parks, studied here, are located in strictly urban areas, surrounded by streets with intense vehicle traffic. This study assesses the soundscape of urban parks in two cities of Odisha State, on the basis of acoustic field measurements and interviews. Noise descriptors in and around three different parks in Bhubaneswar and Puri cities have been measured and analyzed. A field experiment has been conducted with 330 participants in three parks, representing urban natural environment. The questionnaire comprised identification of the interviewee, characteristics of the user's profile in terms of his/her use of the park, and aspects of individual’s perception of the soundscape and environmental quality of the park. Positive correlation has been established among the noise levels of these three parks. The present study reveals that the acoustic sound levels of all the investigated parks are more than 50 dB (A) [permissible limit, established by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for green parks]. Considering the urban elements and acoustical characteristics, it can be concluded that all the parks are affected by several factors such as urban planning, land use, main traffic routes, type of public transportation, and its internal sounds.

The present work investigates nitrate and phosphate removal from synthetic treated slaughterhouse wastewater in a novel open raceway pond with sedimentation zone. For this purpose, microalgae Chlorella salina has been cultivated in synthetic wastewater and sedimentation zone has been added to enhance both algae separation in the system and nutrient removal. The effectiveness of Chlorella salina to treat nitrate and phosphate has been tested in open raceway ponds with harvest system. It has been found that Biomass concentration of the Chlorella salina is 1.35 g/L during 11 days of experiment. Also, maximum specific growth rate of the species in the pond has been 0.74 day-1. Throughout the cultivation period, nitrate and phosphate have been analyzed to show that their average removal efficiencies were 100% and 45%, respectively. It can be concluded that the growth of Chlorella salina in novel open pond system is an effective way to reduce nitrate and phosphate levels in slaughterhouse synthetic wastewater. Also, wastewater is suitable for algal growth.

Qualitative status of the environment is signaled by a group of indicators, known as bioindicators, several of which are responsible for showing progressive impacts of different types of pollutants. Having addressed the influence of various bioindicators in environmental pollution, it has been revealed that bioindicators are sensitive to any disturbance in any environment. With regards to the pollution, the quality of an ecosystem can be judged by an organism, which is actually an indicator and play a key role in monitoring its changes. A reliable and cost effective way to evaluate the changes in the environment is possible by means of indicator species as ecological indicators, yet selecting a specific indicator poses a real challenge, followed by its identification as well as relation among indicators and their particular applications. As a result, environmental, ecological, and biodiversity indicators fulfill their goal of monitoring environmental quality. The current situation requires cost effective bioindicators along with their reliability to detect and mitigate the impacts of pollution in our environment.

Lipases have many applications in biotechnology, thanks to their ability of acylglycerides hydrolysis. They alsp possess the unique feature of acting at the lipid-water interface, which distinguishes them from esterases. Commercially useful lipases are produced by microorganisms with the extracellular lipase being produced by many bacteria including Pseudomonas. The greatest production of lipase takes place under optimum conditions such as appropriate temperature, suitable carbon, nitrogen sources, etc. This study tries to collect lipase-producing bacteria from the soil of oil-extraction factories and identify isolated bacteria, while creating optimum conditions for lipase production by bacteria.
Having collected three soil samples from an oil extraction factory, lipase-producing bacteria have been identified, based on biochemical and morphological tests. Finally the optimal conditions for lipase production as well as molecular analysis has been evaluated.
During the study, among the different bacteria, the strain to produce highest lipase has been selected. It has been found out that the optimal conditions for lipase production by this strain is as follows: 48 hours of incubation; incubation temperature of 37 °C; pH of 7; agitation speed of 150 rpm; peptone extract as the nitrogen source; and olive oil as a carbon source.
A lipase-producing bacterium has been identified based on morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics as well as 16S rRNA analysis, identified as Pseudomonas spp.

The current paper determines heavy metals in sediments of six freshwater wetlands of greater Dhaka district from November 1999 to September 2000. The sampling took place in summer, rainy season, and winter, wherein for each season five soil samples were collected from the wetland at a depth of 0 – 15 cm. To assess the status of heavy metal pollution in the sediments, geo-accumulation factor (Igeo), contamination factor (CF), degree of contamination (Cd), and enrichment factor (EF) have been evaluated, with the concentrations of Cd, Mn, Ni, Zn, Cu, Fe, and Pb in the sediments ranging within 0.005 – 0.055 mg/kg, 35.0 – 275.04 mg/kg, 0.35 – 2.19 mg/kg, 0.77 – 12.54 mg/kg, 4.11 – 19.17 mg/kg, 115.60 – 955.94 mg/kg, and 1.82 – 3.93 mg/kg, respectively, standing in the following order: Fe > Mn > Cu > Zn > Pb > Ni > Cd. The maximum concentrations of Mn, Ni, and Pb belonged to summer. Significant temporal variation was observed only in case of Cd, whereas concentrations of Cd, Fe, and Mn varied spatially. The Igeo for Mn indicates a strongly to extremely polluted condition in wetlands, whereas that of Ni and Pb show moderately polluted condition, and for Zn and Cu, it suggests moderately to strongly polluted conditions. The CF values for heavy metals in sediment have been below 1, indicating low contamination. In addition, Cd Mn>Pb>Cd>Zn>Ni, suggesting that the sediments very highly rich in Cu, while Mn, Pb, and Cd exhibit significant enrichment. In the studied wetlands the EF for Zn and Ni shows moderate and deficiency to minimal enrichment, respectively. Implications of these findings can be used as baseline information to monitor and assess the degree of sediment pollution in lentic wetlands.

Heavy metals that enter marine environment and remain in the water as well as the sediments are accumulated by aquatic organisms, thus becoming highly good indicators to monitor metal accumulation in the long run. Metals are potentially harmful to humans and most organisms at varied levels of exposure and absorption. Northern East Mediterranean Sea is a crucial region as it is an area, shared by numerous aquatic species with pollutant factors such as heavy marine traffic, transportation ports, industry plants, iron and steel works, oil pipeline installation, and other small factories. While the previous part of this review (Review of heavy metal accumulation on aquatic environment in Northern East Mediterranean Sea part I: some essential metals) evaluated the data from previous studies concerning toxic effects of selected essential metals on seawater, sediment, and different tissues of aquatic animals, collected from different areas in Northern East Mediterrenean Sea since the 1990s, the present part intends to evaluate the data from previous studies on toxic effects of selected non-essential metals. For this purpose, 94 articles and 6 theses have been examined and a good deal of information has been gathered to open a forward-looking view of the studied area’s pollution. Althought there has not been any harmonization, when comparing heavy metals investigations in the bay, all studies have shown that consumption of aquatic species from the region causes no problem to human health.

The performance of every plant in an environment is an indicator of how the plant can withstand the various environmental conditions. This study investigated the toxicity of crude oil on the growth performance, chlorophyll contents, enzymatic activities and oxidative stress biomarkers of eight accessions of Zea mays. The growth enzyme (amylase and invertase) activities, as well as oxidative stress biomarkers (malondialdehyde, peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase) in Z. mays were assayed using spectrophotometric method. The maize accessions were grown in the experimental pots containing crude oil treatments (2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10%) and harvested after 14 days of seedling emergence. The results showed that the percentage seedling emergence, leaf area, root length, stem girth and shoot length of each accession were significantly reduced (p