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Estimation of Soil Contamination with Heavy Metals in the Streets of Al-Diwaniyah City in Al-Qadisiyah Governorate, Iraq Full text
2022
Kawthar Hassan Obayes
This study aims to calculate the contamination levels of the elements (Pb, Cr, Ni and Cd) in soil samples taken from the Iraqi city of Al-Diwaniyah in the Al-Qadisiyah Governorate. Twenty samples of dust collected between the street and the sidewalk were collected for some areas of Al-Diwaniyah city, and then analyses were conducted to determine the concentrations of toxic and carcinogenic elements with the global determinants. The study’s findings revealed that there were very high concentrations of heavy metals compared to the internationally permissible limits, where the highest concentration of lead and chromium was in Main Street - Al-Asry District (112.6 ppm) and (115.1 ppm), respectively, and the lowest concentration of them was in Health Center Street - Al-Furat District (15.8 ppm) and (48.8 ppm), respectively, where the lowest lead value exceeded the internationally permitted limits and the lowest chromium value fell below the permissible limit. As for nickel and cadmium, the highest values of nickel and cadmium appeared in Main Street - Eastern Republican District which amounted to (135.2 ppm) and (2ppm), respectively, which is significantly greater than the internationally permissible limit, while the lowest values appeared in University Street - University District, which is (3.6 ppm) (0.05 ppm) respectively, which is less than the internationally permissible limit. It is noted from the results obtained that high rates of heavy metals concentrations in the soil samples of Al-Diwaniyah City indicate that the main factor in this rise is pollution caused by human activities, and the reason for this is due to the effect of vehicle launchers and some launchers of workshops and factories, as well as its presence in sand-laden dust of various sources. This rise might have an effect on the environment and human health at all of the selected sites.
Show more [+] Less [-]Chromate Reduction by Allochromatium sp. Isolated from the Coastal Area of Visakhapatnam Full text
2022
Kadari Rajyalaxmi, S. Girisham, S. M. Reddy and E. Sujatha
A phototrophic purple bacterium Allochromatium sp. strain GSKRLMBKU–01 was used in this study for the reduction of hexavalent chromium. This phototrophic bacterium was isolated from samples collected from the coastal area of Visakhapatnam, India. Both the cells (free (FC) and alginate entrapped immobilized (IC)) are used for the reduction of chromate. Among them, chromate reduction was increased using immobilized cells. Immobilized cells entrapped in sodium alginate reduced the chromate up to 33 ± 3.0 μM on the 8th day of incubation by Allochromatium sp., incubated in presence of light (2000 lx) under the strictly anaerobic conditions, while a chromate reduction up to 26 ± 0.20 μM was recorded by FC of Allochromatium sp. Chromate reduction can be recorded even up to the 20th day by both FC and IC. An incubation period of 8 days was found to be optimum for its growth and chromate reduction. The maximum growth in terms of dry cell weight (DCW) of FC is recorded up to 1.7 ± 0.20 g.L-1 and IC is 2.0 ± 0.30 g.L-1. The growth was recorded even on complete chromate reduction. The final pH of the FC was recorded at pH 8.5 ± 0.10, while the final pH of 8.6 ± 0.20 was recorded for the IC of Allochromatium sp. in the growth medium. The obtained results were mentioned in terms of mean and standard deviation which are statistically significant at P ≤ 0.001 level. The detoxification of chromium in the large-scale systems by employing a purple phototrophic bacteria Allochromatium sp., is proposed.
Show more [+] Less [-]Local Community-Based Management Model in Karimunjawa National Park Full text
2022
Rizal Akbar Aldyan, MTh. Sri Budiastuti, Warto and Wiwik Setyaningsih
This research aims to study the management model of Karimunjawa National Park Based on Local Communities. Activities are carried out in all sections of Karimunjawa National Park Management. Data sources are informants involved in Karimunjawa National Park Management and secondary data was collected using rapid monitoring methods, namely in-depth interviews, field observations, FGDs, and various other data collection techniques (technique triangulation). Methods of Data Analysis were observation using interactive data analysis. Empowerment of local communities in the Karimunjawa National Park in the Karimunjawa National Park area is carried out in three ways: coral reef rehabilitation activities, mangrove forest planting, and lowland tropical forest tree-planting efforts to develop a conservation village model.
Show more [+] Less [-]Assessment of Corrosion Potential Based on Water Quality Index in the Distribution Network of Urban Patna, Bihar, India Full text
2022
Saurabh Kumar, Reena Singh and N. S. Maurya
Corrosion in the distribution network pipe can lead to pipe failure and water quality problems. This study assesses the corrosion or scaling potential based on the Water Quality Index (WQI) of drinking water in the distribution networks of Patna, Bihar, India. The water samples were collected from 18 points of the distribution network. In situ parameters like temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, and TDS were measured. Other parameters such as Alkalinity, Total hardness, Calcium, Magnesium, Chloride, Residual chlorine, Sulfate, Nitrate, and Dissolved oxygen were examined in the laboratory. Corrosiveness indicators, such as the Langelier saturation index (LSI), Ryznar stability index (RSI), Puckorius scaling index (PSI), Larson-Skold index (Ls), and Aggressive index (AI) are being used for water sample corrosion prediction. Experimental Corrosion rate (CR) is analyzed to show the actual prediction of corrosion. WQI was calculated to observe the effect of water quality on Corrosiveness indices and CR. A general conclusion was reached that LSI concludes 66.67% corrosive, 22.22% scaling, and 11.11% neutral, RSI concludes 88.88% corrosive, 5.56% scaling, and 5.56% neutral, PSI indicates 38.88% corrosive, 5.56% scaling, and 55.56% neutral, Ls indicates 94.44% scaling, and 5.56% corrosive, AI indicates 77.78% corrosive, and only 22.22% scaling. The average Experimental Corrosion rate is found at 1.91 mils per year. In this study, a weak correlation (r = 0.35) between Corrosion rate and WQI has been observed. A weak correlation is also observed between corrosion rate and corrosiveness indices (r < 0.5). It is concluded that the Corrosiveness Indices fail to represent the actual behavior of water.
Show more [+] Less [-]Mountainous City Landscape Water Supply System Potential Carbon Footprint: Case of the Philippines’ Catbalogan Sky City Mega Project Full text
2022
Ronald L. Orale and Doris Montecastro
Catbalogan Sky City Mega Project (CSCMP) is a climate-change (CC) adaptation strategy proposed after Typhoon Haiyan devastated the Philippines in November 2013. It is currently being built on top of a hill about 120m from sea level to avoid the impact of storm surges, sea-level rise, and flooding. With the city’s continued expansion, water demand further worsens the supply gap. This study focused on determining the carbon footprint of the proposed water supply scarcity solution. This solution includes the construction of a reservoir to receive runoff water from the watershed where the CSCMP is located. Results of the study show that the reservoir can supply the water requirement for the entire city. However, the carbon footprint of the recommended solution is between 123% and 557% due to water treatment of heavily contaminated runoff water and the power consumption in distributing water to higher elevations. There is a need for the city to design a harvesting system that will reduce the need for more intense water treatment (i.e., reducing exposure of runoff water to contaminants) and the use of renewable energy in powering pumps and other treatment activities.
Show more [+] Less [-]Sensitivity of WRF Model for Simulation of 2014 Massive Flood Over Kashmir Region: A Case of Very Heavy Precipitation Full text
2022
Zahid Nabi and Dinesh Kumar
The present study simulates the devastating floods in Kashmir that caused widespread damage in the valley from September 2-6 2014. The study used NCEP-NCAR FNL data for the initialization and simulation of the WRF ARW model. Statistical analysis of temperature over four places namely Anantnag, Srinagar, Pulwama, and Baramulla taking RMSE and MBIAS at 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours was also done against observed ECMWF-ERA5 temperature data. Further analysis of RMSE and MBIAS showed a minimum value at 48, 72, and 96 h indicating the improvement of prediction after 6 hours. Rainfall amount was under-predicted by the model with a time lag of 4 h while temperature time series over four districts were significantly closer to observation. Furthermore, the Model was able to capture the strong vertical velocities along with sufficient moisture content up to 600 hPa at the time of observed rainfall.
Show more [+] Less [-]Analysis and Characterization of Municipal Solid Wastes Generated in a Community in the Northern Philippines Full text
2022
J. M. Ngohayon and J. Tulagan
The residential community of Potia in the Northern Philippines experiences various problems arising from mismanaged municipal solid waste. Hence, a waste analysis and characterization study on the generated municipal solid wastes was conducted to determine the municipal solid waste generation data which can be used for planning and formulation of potential solutions. For three consecutive days, the generated municipal solid wastes were gathered from the sample which included residential sources, commercial sources (food establishments, service centers, general stores, and markets), industrial sources, and institutional sources (institutions and health units). The total generated municipal solid waste in Potia is about 508.30 kg.day-1 of which most were contributed by the residential sources (70.59%), followed by commercial (25.09%), industrial (2.64%), and institutional (1.70%). The overall composition of the generated MSW is also dominated by biodegradable waste (76.90%), followed by residual waste (14.66%), recyclable waste (7.35%), and special waste (1.08%). The total volume of daily generated MSW is about 3.37 m3.day-1.
Show more [+] Less [-]Community Level Physiological Profiling of Microbial Communities Influencing Mine Spoil Genesis in Chronosequence Coal Mine Overburden Spoil Full text
2022
P. Agrawal, A. Agrawal and A. K. Patel
Ecological restoration through mine spoil genesis should be dogmatic and the strategies involved a holistic approach, which emphasizes the role of microbial community composition that varies in accordance with the physiological and nutritional status of mine spoil profiles. This is because the patterns observed aboveground is being driven by the belowground diversity and processes. Thus, the relationship between microbial community structure and mine spoil genesis in chronosequence coal mine spoil has attracted considerable research attention. The occurrence of higher microbial diversity and difficulties in culturing microbes necessitate the use of a culture-independent approach through community-level physiological profiling based on the patterns of carbon source utilization using BIOLOG Ecoplate and thereby the functional diversity of microbial communities in different age series coal mine spoil was determined. The average well-color development exhibited an increasing trend with a minimum in OB0 (0.0640) and a maximum in OB15 (0.5060) over time. The patterns of substrate utilization (carbohydrates, carboxylic and ketonic acids, amino acids, polymers, amines, and amides) reflect the shift in microbial community composition in different age series coal mine spoil over time. Gradual increase in species richness and Shannon diversity index with the increase in age of mine spoil substantiated relatively higher microbial diversity reflecting the sign of mine spoil genesis. Principal component analysis and redundancy analysis based on the differential patterns of substrate utilization discriminate different age series coal mine spoil into independent clusters, which evaluated the broad-scale patterns of microbial community dynamics influencing the pace and progress of mine spoil genesis.
Show more [+] Less [-]Environmental Modelling of Ionic Mass Transfer Coefficient in a Unique Electrocoagulation Reactor Full text
2022
Safaa K. Hashim Al-Khalaf , Ahmed Samir Naje, Zaid Abed Al-Ridah and Haider M. Zwain
Ionic mass transfer in a novel electrocoagulation reactor (ECR) using a rotating impeller anode is studied experimentally using the limiting current density method. The CFD simulation is also conducted for characterizing the novel electrocoagulation reactor (ECR) and validating the experimental study of ionic mass transfer. Variables included rotational speed and anode diameter. The Bland-Altman method was used to verify the accuracy of experimental and simulation results. Data for the condition 11852 < Re < 58550 and 88 < Sc < 285 were found to fit the equation for the largest diameter of 11.2 cm; Sh = 2.1Re0.93Sc0.33. Based on COD removal efficiency, optimal EC performance is realized at the largest anode diameter of 11.2 cm, confirming the enhancement of aluminum mass transfer by increasing the anode diameter. The experimental values of current density and mass transfer coefficient are validated by CFD simulation for all the rotational speeds and anode diameters. The accuracy is up to 95% for the experimental current densities compared with simulation values.
Show more [+] Less [-]Response Surface Optimization of Culture Conditions of Microcystis sp. to Enhance its Biomass Production and Explore its Potential as Antimicrobials Full text
2022
R. Kanimozhi, D. Arvind Prasath, R. Dhandapani and Santhosh Sigamani
The menace of drug-resistant bacteria is an issue of global concern. The growth mechanism of the algae Microcystis sp. encompasses the capacity to upset bacterial pathogens, and this approach is explored in the study. Microcystis sp. biomass harnessing was optimized via DoE-RSM (Design of Experiment-Response Surface Methodology), and further, the in vitro antimicrobial abilities to counter the drug-tolerant microbes were considered. This investigation aimed to increase the biomass output via optimization of essential components of the media parameter like NaNO3, K2HPO4, and MgSO4 as the variables. A maximal biomass yield of 262 mg.L-1 was accomplished within the optimized conditions and the Microcystis sp. displayed notable antimicrobial action against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Hence the Microcystis sp. could be an ideal biocontrol agent to mitigate the drug-tolerant microbes. A partial sequencing was performed, and gene sequences were subject to BLAST at NCBI, and the microbial isolate was identified as Microcystis aeruginosa, and the accession number was also procured for this sequence submission as MT792731.1.
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