International Journal Of Environmental Research
Volume:3 Issue: 1, Winter 2009

Bokbunja seed wastes from a wine manufacturing industry were used to prepare carbon for the purpose of using it as an adsorbent for the removal of Reactive Blue 4 from aqueous solutions. A part of prepared carbon was treated with n-hexane to remove the seed oil present in large amounts in Bokbunja seeds. It was found that the hexane treated carbon was more efficient in removing the dye from aqueous solutions. Optimization of process parameters showed that pH2 and contact time of 120 min was favorable for maximum adsorption. Langmuir and Khan isotherm models were applied to comprehend the adsorption process. Kinetic data showed that pseudo-first order model was a better fit than the pseudo-second order model. Alkaline pH favored desorption. Among the various desorption medium tested, acetone and ethanol showed promising results thus enabling the reuse of the carbon for next adsorption cycle. The study justifies the efforts to minimize the wastes by firstly using a winery waste as adsorbent and later reusing the same for the next cycle of adsorption in addition to recycling the desorption medium while simultaneously recovering the adsorbed dyes

The removal of As(III) ions from aqueous solutions has been investigated using silica ceramic under different experimental conditions of initial arsenite concentration, adsorbent dose, temperature and pH. Better removal was obtained at temperature 25ºC and pH 7.5. The adsorption data have been explained in terms of Langmuir and Freundlich equations. The sorption kinetics was tested for the pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order reaction and intra-particle diffusion, at different experimental conditions. The results revealed that the adsorptions of As(III) onto silica ceramic, which were found to well, fit by the Freundlich isotherm. The rate constants of sorption for kinetic models were calculated and good correlation coefficients (R2 > 0.9974) obtained for the pseudosecond order kinetic model. The result indicates that under the optimum conditions, the maximum adsorption value (1.7886 mg/g) comply that the silica ceramic is an effective adsorbent for arsenite

Biodiversity degradation, lose of wetlands and arsenic pollution are becoming the major environmental threats of Bangladesh. Huge number of population, corruption and lack of capacity of the governmental agencies are deteriorating the over environmental condition of Bangladesh. This paper reports the findings of NGOs and their role in protection of wetlands of Bangladesh. Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF) and its daughter organization Department of Environment (DoE) are comparatively weak in power and capacity in comparison to other ministries. To fill up this gap, a number of environmental NGOs (ENGOs) have emerged in Bangladesh after the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. ENGOs are actively involved in the environmental sectors of Bangladesh by doing research, advocacy, companying activities and as pressure group as well. ENGOs are implementing several projects with government and international donor agencies. Their role to protect and manage wetland ecosystem and biodiversity is very praise-worthy. Bangladeshi ENGOs have very good relations with international ENGOs and donor agencies. Most of the Bangladeshi ENGOs (research based) are dependent on the foreign aids. But the prominent companying ENGOs are not interested to seek governmental and international donors’ supports to uphold their independence and to raise their voice against environmental damages taking by governmental and private projects.

Since 1895 cardamom has been cultivated in the cardamom hills of Western Ghats, India, which form a part of global biodiversity hot spots. These tropical forests in the last couple of decades have been subjected for severe periodical shade lopping and selective felling for maximizing cardamom production. Photosynthesis, transpiration, leaf temperature and leaf relative humidity was studied in response to change in intercepted light condition in each month during the year 2007. The light interception significantly varied from one month to another and increasing trend was noticed from January (close to 48 μ εi m-2 s-1) up to the month of May (close to100 μ εi m-2 s-1) and thereafter decreasing trend followed until December (50 μ εi m-2 s-1). Increased light interception increased photosynthesis, transpiration and leaf temperature. Photosynthesis rate was maximum (close to 7 μ mol CO2 m-2 s-1) in the month of August in which month the interception of light was 77 μ εi m-2 s-1. Increasing light interception beyond 77 μ εi m-2 s-1 did not increase photosynthetic rate of the crop. The highest transpiration rate of 59 μ mol H2O m-2 s-1 was observed when the light interception and leaf temperatures were 100 μ εi m-2 s-1, 33.4 ºC respectively. Summer months have recorded higher transpiration rate than those of monsoon months. Results showed good correlation between light interception and the rates of photosynthesis, transpiration, as well as leaf temperature.

This study evaluates the influence of Yanýklar Creek on the water quality of Fethiye Gulf. Accordingly, this study demonstrates (i) change in the water quality of Fethiye Gulf from 2006 to 2007; (ii) the water quality classification of the Yanýklar Creek feeding Fethiye Gulf; and (iii) how land-based fish farm influences Yanýklar Creek water quality in a Fethiye-Göcek Specially Protected Area. In this study, the high contribution of nitrite-nitrogen, total phosphate and number of total and fecal coliform of Yanýklar Creek is verified to be due to land-based fish farm located on the creek. Since, ammonium nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, nitrite nitrogen and total phosphate concentrations and, number of total and fecal coliform were elevated and dissolved oxygen levels dropped at downstream of the fish farm. Water transparency increased except in July and August. Number of total coliform increased except in October and November. The number of total coliform in the gulf also dramatically exceeded the acceptable limit of 1000 CFU/100mL, thereby implicating wastewater inputs to the gulf as the probable source. Overall data suggest that external phosphorus and nitrogen loads to Fethiye Gulf derive mainly from tributary streams impacted by point sources, and landbased trout fish farm.

Nano-SrTiO3 and TiO2 powders were synthesized using sol-gel method. The SrTiO3 and TiO2 powders were characterized using XRD, SEM, and spectrophotometry. XRD analysis indicated that the TiO2 powder was uniform anatase crystals of 9.9 nm and the SrTiO3 powders was cubic nano-crystal of 16.2nm. Photocatalytic experiments revealed that methyl orange in water can be decomposed on the two powders under sunlight irradiation. Benzyl groups in methyl orange can be fast decomposed on the SrTiO3 powders than on TiO2 powders although color peak was decreased in the reverse order. After irradiation of 4h, the decrease of the color peak and character peak of benzyl were respectively about 72% and 53% on the TiO2 powder; however, the decrease of the color peak and character peak of benzyl were respectively about 93% and 88% on the SrTiO3.

Landfill leachates and leachate sediments were investigated in order to survey the discharge of uranium (U) from municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills and municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) bottom ash landfills. Concentrations of U in the leachates were as high as or higher than concentrations of Cd, a metal more often discussed when considering the environmental effects of landfill leachate. However, the U concentrations in leachate were no greater than levels occurring naturally in water. The U concentrations in leachate sediments were also the same as or lower than those reported in lake sediments around the world. Size charge fractionation of U in freshly sampled leachate showed that the metal was present mainly as either non-labile dissolved complexes or free anions, which have intermediate to high mobility and eco-toxicity. This is in contrast to other heavy metals, such as Cd, which are generally particulate bound in leachate. However, based on all the results of the investigations, it was concluded that leaching of U is not of major concern in MSW and MSWI bottom ash landfills.

The paper presents the results of an investigation on the acoustic performance of vertical profile parallel barriers with quadratic residue diffuser tops and faces. A 2D boundary element method (BEM) is used to predict the barrier insertion loss. The results of rigid and with absorptive coverage are also calculated for comparisons. Using QRD on the top surface and faces of all vertical profile parallel barrier models presented here is found to improve the efficiency of barriers compared with fully absorptive equivalent parallel barrier at the examined receiver positions. It is found that reducing the design frequency of QRD shifts the performance improvement towards lower frequency, and therefore the most efficient model for vertical profile parallel traffic noise barrier is a setup treated with QRDs tuned to around 400 Hz. The overall performance improvement by the above diffusive barrier is predicted to be 5.8 dB (A) compared to its rigid equivalent barrier. It is also found that if increase in absorption coefficient of QRD by well reduction destroys the effect of wells in resonance; it will also have negative effect on the performance of parallel QRD barrier and will reduce the overall A-weighted insertion loss of the reactive barriers.

The concentration contents of Ca, Mg, Sr and Zn in Porites corals from Pulau Langkawi, Pulau Redang and Pulau Tioman were presented. The corals were cleaned and the growth rate examined visually. The growth rate of Porites in Malaysia waters was between 5 to 25 mm yr-1 and each band was selected for determining the metal contents using the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The mean values of Ca (42.1 %), Mg (1184 μg/g), Sr (6276 μg/g) and Zn (60.6 μg/g) were calculated from each annual skeleton band representing the yearly growth. Porites coral from Pulau Langkawi shows a high content of Zn (118 μg/g) representing the water surrounding the island was highly polluted and also shows the uptake of Sr and Ca in the coral skeleton was related to the content of Zn, where Sr and Ca contents decreases when the concentration of Zn was more than 50 μg/g. Terrestrial runoff from Sumatera and west coast of Peninsular Malaysia are presumed to be the cause of pollution in Malacca Straits.

The hazardous effect of heavy metals on the histopathology of selected organs of the freshwater fish common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) was investigated. Gill, liver, kidney and flesh samples were collected after 32 days of exposure to a sublethal concentration of 5 mg/L of combined (Cd + Pb + Cr + Ni) metal solution containing 1.25 mg/L of each metal ion (1/10th of LC50 / 48h) was analyzed by using light microscopy. The main histopathological changes observed in the gill were edema and lifting of lamellar epithelia. The liver of control fish exhibited a normal structural pattern, while the fish exposed to heavy metals showed vacuolation, presence of hemosiderin and fibrosis. The findings in kidney exhibited the presence of macrophages with lipofuscin granules accumulated in the affected cells. In flesh samples lesions and granulomas were observed. The investigation of histological changes in organs of fish is an accurate way to assess the effects of xenobiotics compounds in experimental studies. This investigation presents a reliable indicator of the aquatic ecosystem contamination and the possible negative impact of the surrounding environment.

Cyanide (CN) is a toxic species that is found predominantly in industrial effluents generated by metallurgical operations. Cyanide’s strong affinity for metals makes it favorable as an agent for metal finishing and treatment and also as a lixiviate for metal leaching, particularly gold. These technologies are environmentally sound but require safeguards to prevent accidental spills from contaminating soils as well as surface and ground waters. In this work, total cyanide, sodium, cadmium, iron, zinc and copper concentrations were determined in soil, cassava, hand dug wells and pipe-borne water from Bibiani, a gold mining town in the Western Region of Ghana. Total cyanide levels in soil ranged from 6.04 to 26.17 mg/kg and in water, from 2.17 to 7.83 mg/L. Total cyanide concentrations in raw cassava ranged from 82.45 to 142.91 mg/kg fresh weight. The cooked cassava had cyanide concentrations ranging from 6.79 to 24.91 mg/kg and the cassava peels, 360.05 to 509.51 mg/kg. Sodium concentrations ranged from 998.1 to 1794.7 mg/kg in the soil, 25.94 to 29.92 mg/L in the water and 114.7 to 159.6 mg/kg in cassava. The concentration of iron in the soil ranged from 77.88 to 302.08 mg/kg whilst in water and cassava, iron was below detection limit. Copper concentrations ranged from 12.4 mg/kg to 115.4 mg/kg in soil, 4.6 to 6.0 mg/kg in cassava and below detection in water. The zinc concentrations ranged from 24.1 to 170.3 and 7.6 to 11.6 mg/kg, in soil and cassava respectively. Zinc was below detection in most of the water samples and cadmium was generally low in all the samples. The pH of the soil, water and cassava ranged from 3.88 to 6.95, 3.14 to 7.44 and 5.42 to 5.60 respectively. The moisture content of the soil ranged between 2.47 and 35.40% and that of cassava, 56.08 to 56.87 %. Electrical conductivity and total dissolved solids of water ranged from 34 to 155.5 μS/cm and 31 to 89 mg/L respectively. The results showed a correlation between the metal and cyanide concentrations in all the samples.

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) measures the relative efficiency of a homogenous set of decision-making units (DMUs) when multiple inputs and outputs are present. The DEAbased Malmquist productivity index measuring the productivity change of DMUs over time has proven itself to be a valid tool to compare group performance. However, in the previous models developed for this purpose, it was supposed that all factors were controllable or discretionary. It is noteworthy that in most real cases, there are some inputs and outputs that are non-discretionary or semi-discretionary. Therefore, the main objective of the present study was to develop the DEAbased Malmquist productivity index on such factors to compare group performance at the same period of time. The applicability of the proposed model has been illustrated by the comparison of environmental performance – concerning HSE-MS principles – between the two groups of Iranian and International oil and gas general contractors. Involving the controllability level of factors in comparing group performance, the model offers an scalar that can easily be interpreted to compare the performance of the two groups and to determine the superior performance.

Perylene and penta-aromatic hydrocarbons were determined in sediments as part of a study that was dedicated to the aquatic ecosystem of Oginigba Creek (southern Nigeria) in order to carry out a critical corroboration of occurrence and diagenetic evolution of perylene in the sediments of the creek. The results show that the annual mean levels of perylene ranged from 396.27– 507.19 mg/g dry weight at the various Stations. The observed values for total penta-aromatic hydrocarbons were high (867.3-1243.14mg/g dry weight) in all the stations sampled One origin index or concentration ratio of Ip/Ip+BghiP was also used to evaluate the suitability of the penta-aromatic hydrocarbons as a tracer to distinguish between contaminations arising from different sources. The values for the sampling stations therefore ranged from 0.41 to 0.81. A critical appraisal of the PAH index, consequently, suggested that petroleum combustion is the major penta-aromatic hydrocarbon source in the sediments of the creek. The PAH group profile shows that perylene was high in the sediments and would pose apparent effects in fauna. The high concentration of perylene in the sediments was also indicative of an in situ biogenic derivation. Furthermore, a concentration of perylene ³ 31.88% of total penta-aromatic hydrocarbons established a credible diagenetic origin.

Bioremediation of heavy metals remains a major challenge in environmental biotechnology. Biosorption is a novel technique for decreasing metal ion content in the waste water. Biosorption experiments for Cu (II) were investigated in this study using bacteria isolated from the industrial effluent. The results showed that the dead cells of Pseudomonas sp. were an efficient adsorbent of Cu (II). For analysis, Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm were considered. Both model fitted to the experimental data however the Langmuir model fitted the experimental data better than the Freundlich model for copper. Adsorption was influenced by various parameters, such as the initial metal concentration, pH, and contact time etc. Studies pertaining to the assessment of the best adsorption parameters and quantitative analysis of metal uptake revealed that maximum biosorption for Cu (II) obtained was 74.2 % at pH 7. Citric acid was used as desorbing agents in order to recover heavy metal ions from the adsorbent.

Prevalence and diversity of non government organizations (NGOs) is indicative of social and political maturity in any given society. Nowadays, an important concern of NGOs is their efforts in how to attract people’s participation in conserving the environment. To promote the participation of these organizations in the environmental conservation, need arises as to determine the factors influencing their participation. Considering this in mind, this study conducted. Using data collected from 100 members of the board of directors of 20 NGOs (active in environmental conservation) from Tehran province of Iran, this study analyzed NGOs participation. Results showed that, there should be a relationship between a numbers of factors, such as, age, precedence in environmental activities and level of education and Participation. Regarding gender, there was no significant difference in participation between the respondents. The regression analysis also revealed that the level of education, experience in environmental activities, information-related variables, as well as social related variables were best predictors of their participation. According to these results some recommendation suggested to accelerate NGOs participation in conserving environment.

Foliar surface of plants is continuously exposed to the surrounding atmosphere and is, therefore, the main receptor of particulate pollutants. This physical trait can be used to determine the level of particulate pollution in the surroundings, as well as the ability of individual plant species to intercept and mitigate particulate pollutants. In the present study, leaf cuticle characters of four common roadside plant species, namely Bougainvillea ‘Mahara’, Terminalia arjuna (Roxb.) Wt. and Arn, Cassia fistula Linn, and Polyalthia longifolia Thw. were studied from sites with heavy particulate pollutants in the atmosphere and compared with those of control/ non polluted environs to evaluate their respective pollution mitigating ability. The particles deposited on the leaf surface were 2.5 to 10.0 μm in size and the dust load was recorded in the trend of T. arjuna (2.31 mg/cm2)> C. fistula (1.47 mg/ cm2) > B. ‘Mahara’ (1.33 mg/cm2) and P. longifolia (0.97 mg/cm2). The increase in the size and frequency of epidermal cells and stomata were observed. Cuticle rupture was a major injury symptom, that was observed in T. arjuna, C. fistula and P. longifolia while no cuticular damage was not observed in B. ‘Mahara’. On the basis of these observations it can be concluded that B. ‘Mahara’ is a dust mitigator and it adsorbs and / or absorbs the pollutants from the environment in which it grows.

The present paper studies the objectives and functions of constructing the new towns before and after the revolution in Iran. Before the revolution, new towns were established based on political – bureaucratic objectives, for the operation of huge oil resources and affiliated industries, to accommodate the workforce in industrial complexes, to implement the policy of regional decentralization, to provide housing for the government employees, to attract the surplus population of large cities and to reconstruct the cities destroyed by earthquake. A type of economic and social development strategy was involved in establishing new towns. Although these towns function differently, they are mainly well-populated and active towns. After the revolution, fewer towns were planned. One of the strategies of urban development was to absorb part of the population of the overpopulated cities to provide housing to low-income groups, to accommodate employees of industrial sectors, and to decentralize anatomic and industrial sectors of large cities. Except the new town of Baharestan, which has achieved the 10-year objectives behind its construction for population and housing purposes, other towns which have merely succeeded to attract less population as they were planned, the new town have generally failed to achieve the 10-year envisaged goals and have converted into housing warehouses. At present these 17 new towns has been able to attract only 320548 persons while the three new towns of Ramin, Ramshahr, Tis, have not yet been successful to attract population.