The main objectives of the present study are to both evaluate the level of awareness about air pollution and examine the determinants, likely to affect this awareness. As a result, it discusses influential factors on air pollution awareness, presenting findings from a case study, conducted in the city of Isfahan, Iran, wherein 400 individuals have been selected via proportional random sampling and the data has been collected by means of a questionnaire, provided by the authors, the validity of which has been confirmed by a panel of experts. As for the assessment of the questionnaire’s reliability, this study has used Cronbach's alpha to find out that it has been beyond 0.7 for all variables. The data have been analyzed, using descriptive and inferential statistics, such as the extent of mean, standard deviation, the coefficient of variation, correlation analysis, and regression analysis. Results from the latter show that level of education, level of using information sources, membership, motivation, and participation could explain 50% of the variations in the level of awareness concerning air pollution.

For the first time, sulfur dioxide concentration was monitored between 2005 and 2016 over Iran which is among the countries with a high SO2 emission rate in the world. To that end, SO2 column concentration at Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) from Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) was analyzed. OMI is a sensor onboard the Aura satellite which can measure daily SO2 concentration on the global scale. From OMI maps, 19 notable SO2 hotspots were detected over Iran. The results indicate that the most elevated level of SO2 among these 19 hotspots belong to Khark Island and Asaluye in Bushehr province, southwest of Iran. Annual trend analysis shows that SO2 concentration has been slightly augmented during 2005-2016 over this country. Distribution analysis of SO2 concentration over Iran showed that the most polluted provinces are Bushehr, Khuzestan and Ilam lied in the southwest of Iran. On the contrary, the lowest level of SO2 has observed over northwest of Iran at West and East Azerbaijan and Ardabil provinces. The correlation coefficient between total energy production in Iran and SO2 concentration from 2005 to 2016 is as high as ~0.7. Hence, it can be derived that energy production, most notably production of crude oil, plays a pivotal role in SO2 concentration over Iran.

The effluent generated from a thermal power plant waste is a mixture of several chemicals and to identify the effect of these chemicals on soil, a case study on naturally contaminated sites at Al-Musayyib region, Hilla city in Iraq has been carried out. Soil and water samples were collected from the sites and analyzed to identify the pollutants and their effect on soil characteristics. Laboratory experiments were formulated to model the field around a channel collecting effluent for about 20 years and the pollutant transport pattern through the soil using soaking process was studied. Experiments were also conducted to study the effect of pollutants on engineering properties of the soil. For environmental management, permeable reactive barriers are used as stabilization and solidification technology to control the pollution through the soil. In this study, the suitability of locally available materials like activated granular carbon was also investigated as reactive media in permeable reactive barrier. The results have shown higher change in geo-environmental properties of soil with the soaking period and it has also been proved that granular carbon improves the geo-environmental properties of polluted soil.

A total of 58 Cadmium tolerant bacterial isolates were isolated from 26 samples collected from 20 villages/city of different contaminated water samples from industrial and mining affected areas of Chhattisgarh (India). Out of 58 bacterial isolates, 15 bacterial isolates were able to grow in presence of 40 mM cadmium chloride. These fifteen were further screened by biochemical characterization, antibiotic susceptibility and presence of czcA gene. However, finally five selected isolates (BSWC3, RgCWC2, RgUWC1, RpSWC3, KDWC1) were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing belonged to the genus Serratia liquefaciens, Klebsiella quasipneumoniae subsp. similipneumoniae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pantoea dispersa and Enterobacter tabaci, respectively. Among these two best culture Serratia liquefaciens BSWC3 and Klebsiella pneumoniae RpSWC3 were testes for their bioremediation efficiency individually as well as in mixed culture. Atomic Absorption spectrophotometer analysis of samples revealed that cadmium (Cd) tolerant bacterial isolates BSWC3, RpSWC3 and Combination of BSWC3 and RpSWC3 were significantly reduce of cadmium concentration i.e. 44.46%, 40% and 50.92%, respectively as compared to control. Therefore, the finding of the present study revealed the use of mixed culture or consortium of indigenous isolates is the better option for bioremediation of heavy metals.

Hydrocarbon Processing Industries (HPIs) emit large amounts of highly reactive hydrocarbons and Nitrogen Oxides to the atmosphere. Such simultaneous emissions of ozone precursors result in rapid and high yields ozone (O3) formation downwind. The climate of the Middle East has been shown to be favorable for O3 formation in summer. There are also vast activities in processing oil and gas in this region. This study aimed to investigate the influence of HPIs located in the Middle East on ozone formation. We chose the South Pars Zone (SPZ) located in the coastal area of the Persian Gulf with concentrated HPIs as a case study. To do this, after developing an emission inventory for O3 precursors, we used OZIPR, a Lagrangian photochemical model, coupled with SAPRC-07 chemical mechanism to describe the effects of HIPs on ozone formation in the SPZ and downwind area from June to August of (2017). Results indicate that the SPZ has a far-reaching and wide-ranging impact on O3 formation in downwind areas and an area at a distance of 300 km can be affected profoundly (Average 0.06 ppm and maximum increase 0.24 ppm). Given the large numbers of HPIs located in the Middle East, we predict that the transport of O3 and its precursors from this region play an important role in the ozone air pollution in a much wider area and the role of these industries should be taken into account for regional and interregional ozone concentration modeling.

The present research studies the performance of Converter Sludge (CL)as a nano-activator of persulfate (PS) in Permeable Reactive Barrier (PRB) as an in-situ technology for leachate treatment.In batch experiments, the acidic conditions (pH = 3) have been the most suitable for removal operations, where COD and NH3 removal efficiencies are 69.15% and 60.96%, respectively. The Box–Behnken design (BBD) has been employed to optimize three parameters, namely PS/ COD ratio, CS dose, and pore volume (PV), using COD and NH3 of leachate landfill as the target pollutant. The BBD is considered a satisfactory model to optimize the process. Under optimal conditions (PS/COD ratio: 3.47, CS dose: 3.09 g L-1,and PV: 4.27), the measured values of the COD and NH3 removal efficiencies have been 74.2 and 66.8, respectively, all within the 95%-prediction intervals, which indicate the model’s success in predicting removal values. The biodegradability (BOD5/COD) of the real leachate has been enhanced from 0.25 to 0.77, with the toxicity of real leachate getting decreased by more than 90%.

Several studies have been conducted to develop more accurate and precise indices for hydrocarbons source apportionment. The present study, however, develops a new multi-metric index for hydrocarbons source apportionment. It measures Poly Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) concentration at six stations with well known petrogenic origin, calculating Phe/An, Flu/Py, Chr/BaA, BaA/Chr, An/(An+Ph), Flu/(Flu+Pyr), and IP/(IP+Bghi) indices. All the indices could correctly determine the source of hydrocarbons, except for IP/(IP+Bghi). Subsequently, it uses principle component analysis method to create a combined multi-metric index, based on PAHs, the concentration of which also contributes to the evaluation of new index performance in stations with known origins. Results show that the new multi-metric index can determine the source of hydrocarbons with greater certainty. Then, using this index, the potential source of contamination in the area has been divided into six sections, namely HPY, MPY, LPY, MPE, HPE, and LPE, which indicate origin of high, moderate, and low risk of petrogenic contamination, as well as source of pyrolytic contamination with high, moderate, and low probabilities.

Due to its wide range of hazardous hydrocarbons and even heavy metal ions, oily sludge has become a great environmental challenge which must be dealt with quite quickly. As a result, ther have been numerous efforts during recent years to develop an efficient method for sludge recovery. The current research studies the effectiveness of solvent extraction with toluene and Fe2O3 nanoparticles for recovery and upgrading of oily sludge. Having employed Design of Experiment (DOE), it has found optimum conditions for sludge recovery with solvent extraction, namely a temperature of 55°C and mixing time of 17 minutes with solvent to sludge ratio of 6.4/4.2. Under these conditions, the sludge recovery has been 37%, which is the maximum available with toluene. Furthermore, it has studied the effectiveness of Fe2O3 nanoparticles for improvement of sludge pyrolysis efficiency in order to upgrade the oily sludge, wherein it has been observed that nanoparticles can significantly decrease the temperature and time of reaching maximum conversion during sludge pyrolysis process. The temperature and time of reaching to the maximum conversion, by means of gamma Fe2O3 nanoparticles, is about 200°C and 1200 s, respectively, which is lower than the condition in which pure sludge is being pyrolyzed.

The term bioremediation describes biological machinery of recycling wastes to make them harmless and useful to some extent. Bioremediation is the most proficient tool to manage the polluted environment and recover contaminated river water.  Bioremediation is very much involved in the degradation, eradication, restriction, or reclamation varied chemical and physical hazardous substances from the nearby with the action of all-inclusive microorganisms. The fundamental principle of bioremediation is disintegrating and transmuting pollutants such as hydrocarbons, oil, heavy metal, pesticides and so on. Different microbes like aerobic, anaerobic, fungi and algae are incorporated in bioremediation process. At present, several methods and approaches like bio stimulation, bio augmentation, and monitoring natural recovery are common and functional in different sites around the world for treating contaminated river water. However, all bioremediation procedures it has its own pros and cons due to its own unambiguous application. Above all, utilization of bioremediation paving a minimal inconsiderably contaminated, healthy as well as safe and sound future.

Ahvaz can be regarded as one of the most polluted cities in the world in terms of air pollution. Successive years of drought and weather conditions in recent years have resulted in particulate matter (PM10) concentration in Ahvaz. In this study, using probability distribution techniques, an appropriate threshold to identify the PM10 maximum extreme concentrations (MEC) has been detected. Based on log-logistics probability distribution, which has the best fit to the data of PM10 concentration in Ahvaz, the 0.99 percentile threshold which is specified by 1516 μg/m³ is known as the primary PM10 concentrations in Ahvaz air. Based on the mentioned threshold, 24 days in which the PM10 concentration was equal to or more than the threshold were selected for synoptic analysis. Analysis of the circulation of weather types showed that two weather types circulations at 500 hPa level provide the climatic conditions for the occurrence of (MEC) caused by PM10 concentration ≥1516 μg/m³ in Ahvaz in the first type (which is for hot days). Under such condition, the closed high pattern of 500 hPa level is accompanied by the ground low pressures. In the second type (which is for cold and transitional days) the closed high pattern of 500 hPa level is accompanied by the ground high pressures. In addition, this study showed that the (MEC) of PM10 in both models fed with several different sources at different levels and due to being multi-source, storms can create MEC.