In this study, in the removal of macro (P, S, Na, K, Ca, Mg) and micro (Sb, Ba, Co, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn, Hg, Mo, Se, Ag, Zn) elements in the effluent of Elazig Wastewater Treatment Plant, the efficiency of Lemna minor L. and Lemna gibba L. has been studied comparatively. For this aim, fronds of these plants have been adapted to the effluent of the treatment plant that feeds pilot scale reactors. The concentrations of elements in fronds harvested during the working period were analyzed by ICP/MS. The analytical results show that Lemna minor L. has a high accumulation potential for P, Sb, Ba, Co, Fe, Pb, Mn, Hg, Ag and Zn while Lemna gibba L. has a high accumulation potential for S, Na, Ca, Mg, Cu, Mo and Se. The results show that Lemna minor L. and Lemna gibba L. can be used as phytoremediators of wastewater.

Urban soil pollution has become a major concern in megacities around the world. Due to their non-degradable characteristic, toxic metals are among the most notorious pollutants. In this study determination of total and bioavailable fraction of toxic metals Ni, Cu, Cr, Zn, Co, Cd, Pb and Mn, in surface soils of district 16th in Tehran municipality is considered. Furthermore, metals uptake potential of a variety of endemic plants is also investigated. Forty one surface soil samples and eleven composite leaf samples were collected within the study area in winter 2015. Except for Cd and Pb, other toxic metals showed generally lower concentrations in comparison with shale and mean earth crust values. Intensified traffic load within the district may be considered as the main reason for such augmented concentrations. The order of bioavailable fraction from total metal concentrations detected to be as: Zn(2.78%) > Cd(2.71%) > Co(1.92%) > Mn(1.79%) > Cu(1.59%) > Pb(.89%) > Ni(.7%) > Cr(.4%). Concentration of different metals in leaf samples revealed that berry, eucalyptus, plane and acacia are more capable in comparison with others in translocating toxic metals from soil. Paying more attention to pollution removal capability of urban plants may play a key role in sustainable municipal management of megacities like Tehran.

Jajarm Alumina Plant, the only Alumina powder producer in Iran, generates 500,000 tons of red mud annually. The commonest method for final disposal of red mud in Iran is Tailing dam which is neither cost-effective nor environmentally-friendly. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the possibility of red mud recovery to be used for stabilization of loose soils. Red mud samples have been collected from tailing dam of Jajarm Alumina Plant to be characterized, using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF). The soil stabilizer has been made by mixing red mud, steel slag, sodium metasilicate, and sodium hydroxide. In order to study the effect of soil stabilizer, five soil samples have been prepared which contain clay, sand, and wind-blown sand ranging from zero to 4 millimeters. Findings show that adding soil stabilizer with red mud significantly enhances compressive strength of soil samples (4.2, 18.2, 5.4, 4, and 4.1 in S1 to S5 samples, respectively). Also the results demonstrate that the red mud, produced from Aluminum industry in Iran, might be successfully used to stabilize loose soils, thereby enhancing their compressive characteristics, reducing environmental issues associated with uncontrolled disposal of such wastes as well as promoting integrated solid waste management strategies.

The purpose of this study is to use both agent-based modeling as a new method in modeling dynamic phenomena and GIS to show the effects of carbon monoxide (CO) on individuals in the city of Tehran. After collecting the latest information about the severity of carbon monoxide pollutants on different days, one of the days with a very high severity of this pollutant has been selected for investigation and the interpolation map of its data has been developed via IDW method in ArcGIS software environment, which is then re-classified with the NetLogo software environment used to run the agent-based model. At this stage, the agents are randomly produced in four different age groups in the environment and begin moving with the onset of the running process in the environment. Also, the symptoms, caused by the pollution effects on the agents, appear in form of changes in color and are based on carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) levels (percentage) of each. The results indicate that among the considered older age groups, the members of the age group above 65, have had been mostly affected by pollution and the effect of pollution on the agents of the age group of 13 to 30 years old has been less than the other groups.

The present study investigates the influence of individual and combined hydrogen peroxide and thermal pre-treatment of waste activated sludge on anaerobic digestion. For so doing, it employs anaerobic batch reactors in the mesophilic conditions. For comparison, soluble fractions of organic matter, biogas production, biochemical methane potential, removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), and volatile solids (VS) have been measured during the anaerobic digestion process in systems with and without pre-treatment. Hydrogen peroxide pre-treatment has been tested in two concentrations of 30 g H2O2/kg VS and 60 g H2O2/kg VS and thermal pre-treatment has been performed at two temperatures of 75℃ and 90℃. According to the results, the solubalisation of organic matter considerably improves, when combined hydrogen peroxide and thermal pre-treatment is employed. As a result, in comparison to the control reactor, higher amounts of biogas (71%) and methane (81%) have been produced in the bioreactor, pre-treated with combined hydrogen peroxide (30 g H2O2/kg VS) and heat (90 ℃). In addition, the removal efficiency of COD and VS from the digested sludge has been enhanced in the pre-treated reactors (up to 39% and 92%, respectively) in comparison to the control reactor. The improved methane yield, COD, and VS are of paramount importance, not only because higher amounts of renewable energy are obtained from the anaerobic digestion process, but because sludge transport costs are reduced and the digested sludge obtains a higher potential application to agricultural lands.

The current study both synthesizes and uses four compounds of graphene oxide (GO), nitrogen doped graphene oxide (ND-GO), high nitrogen doped graphene oxide (HND-GO), and three dimensional high nitrogen doped graphene oxide (3D-HND-GO) in order to remove a model anionic dye, Congo red (CR) from wastewaters. It also compares their carbon nano-structure, with regard to removal efficiency and finds out that 3D-HND-G yields higher efficiency in removal of CR, especially at lower pHs. This is due to its better dispersibility and greater surface area. Also, batch adsorption technique has been utilized and all involved parameters that affect the removal efficiency, e.g. initial pH, adsorbent dosage, initial CR concentration, and contact time are examined. The study applies Central Composite Design (CCD) to figure out their efficacies, with the results showing the following optimum conditions for removal of 100 ppm of CR: 4 mg/mL of the adsorbent, pH = 3, and 25 min of contact time. Furthermore, it studies the adsorption activity of the synthesized adsorbent, including kinetics, isotherm, and desorption comprehensibly. The adsorption isotherm is well-fitted through the Langmuir model, exhibiting high CR adsorption capacity. Also, CR adsorption kinetics shows that it has obeyed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model, indicating that adsorption has made the rate-limiting step. In addition, the proposed adsorbent has successfully been applied to reduce the concentration of CR as hazardous dye materials in the water and wastewater samples.

Nickel and cadmium usually enter the environment and water resources through wastewater, released by various industries, and may have adverse effects. The current study employs α–Fe2O3 nanoparticles of 20-40 nm in order to remove nickel and cadmium from the wastewater of Saba Battery Company. Also, it investigates the influence of effective parameters on adsorption process, including pH, contact time, and the adsorbent rate so that it can optimize the adsorption process. The maximum adsorption rate of nickel and cadmium can be observed in pH ranges of 5 to 9. In addition, adsorption rates for nickel (at pH = 7) and for cadmium (at pH = 5) have been 92.98% and 93.97%, respectively. By increasing the adsorbent rate, the adsorption grows, due to the increase in absorbate surface area, and an optimum adsorbent rates of 0.15 g and 0.2 g are obtained for cadmium and nickel, respectively. The maximum nickel and cadmium adsorption rates occur during the first 60 min of contact with nanoparticles. In this study, adsorption kinetics and isotherms have also been investigated and it has been found that the adsorption kinetics of both nickel and cadmium ions follow the pseudo-second-order model, while adsorption isotherms of nickel and cadmium follow the Freundlich model.

Filter cake is one of the main waste products of zinc processing industries and it contains a high amount of toxic heavy metals. In this research in order to reduce heavy metals leachability in filter cake, Portland cement, natural pozzolan, diammonium phosphate (DAP), triple superphosphate (TSP), lime, zinc oxide and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) have been used. This research’s results suggest that even though leachability of lead in the filter cake is quite low, it should be noted that limestone doubles the solubility level of Pb due to the mineralogical nature of the waste, by converting its sulphate form (PbSO4) to its carbonate form (PbCO3), which is more soluble. TSP was the only additive capable of reducing the leachability of metal elements in the filter cake as well as stabilizing the amounts of Pb and Cd in TCLP extracts within the limit. Although all additives were able to reduce Cd leachability, TSP and ZnO had the most remarkable efficiency. According to XRD results, the main factor in lead stabilization using TSP was a reduction in the amount of PbSO4 (with high Ksp) and an increase in PbS (with low Ksp), which ultimately reduced lead leachability. The Pozzolan which was used for the first time as a stabilizer demonstrated a good performance in reducing the leachability of Cd, Ni and Cu. In addition, due to the pseudo-cementitious properties of Pozzolan, it can reduce leachability of metal elements, along with other additives such as cement, by increasing the solidification efficiency.

The need for oil and natural gas as a major source of energy is vital. On the one hand, it has affected the political and economic equations at the international, regional and national level. On the other hand, it has had negative effects on sociocultural, legal, and environmental aspects as well as on the physical and mental health of human beings. Therefore, the need to provide an environmental policy that addresses the various dimensions of the oil and gas industry will be necessary. The present paper aims to set up a conceptual model of environmental policy for sustainable development in the oil and gas industries of the Kurdistan Region through the use of these 6 components: political, economic, sociocultural, technological, legal and environmental. It will also be using the techniques of PESTLE, SWOT, SPACE, FANP, FDEMATEL, and simulation with the VENSIM software. The results show the weights of the criteria respectively are Political; 1.59, Economic; 0.78, Sociocultural; 0.00, Legal; -0.99, Technological; -0.61 and Environmental; -0.70. So that all components are important, but that political and economic factors have a significant influence on environmental policies and oil and gas industries. Sociocultural components have a neutral role and the technological, legal and environmental components are impressible. Finally, fifteen strategies for the formulation of an effective environmental policy in the oil and gas industry were presented.

Unbalanced distribution of population in a country like Iran as well as accelerating urbanization and environmental degradation, both arising from incorrect location of industrial areas, are two problems that require appropriate industrial development policies to get resolved. Considering the expansion of industrial areas along with their role in contamination of the environment, it is necessary to develop strategies to improve environmental performance. The purpose of this study is to provide strategies for establishment of industrial areas, based on environmental spatial assessment, using SWOT technique and GIS. In this method, once the spatial data are mapped and analyzed with GIS software, leading to determination of effective factors for location of industrial areas and their, the maps of such effective factors can be prepared. After weighing effective layers on location, based on the AHP model, the GIS software capabilities have been used to merge and overlap the maps and the industrial areas location map are prepared. The map has been classified in five classes (very poor, poor, moderate, good, and very good) and finally, based on the final map and SWOT analysis, optimal strategies have been developed to reduce environmental degradations. The location analysis with integrated GIS and SWOT method is effective for providing optimal strategies. More accurate results of this study show that the study area is located in "defensive" position and the authorized areas to locate the industrial areas in the "very good" class are over 240,191.9 hectares large, being mostly in the south and southwest of Tehran.