Aerosols are tiny particles (liquid or solid) suspended in the atmosphere. They play a significant rolein climate dynamics directly or indirectly. Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) and Angstrom Exponent(AE) are significant parameters to study the concentration and size or type of aerosol over an area,respectively. In this article, we utilized three years of AOD and AE parameters derived from moderateresolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite during the period January, 2013 to December,2015 over Ethiopia. In order to study the spatiotemporal pattern of aerosols, we choose three areas(Debretabour, Gojjam and Addis Ababa) over Ethiopian highlands, which are representative of nonindustrial, agricultural and industrial areas respectively. Further we compare continental aerosols withmarine aerosols from Djibouti. Our results clearly depicts the aerosol distribution over Ethiopia ishighly variable spatially and temporally. The results indicates that the urban and biomass aerosols aredominate over Addis Ababa, and Gojjam respectively, whereas dust and biomass aerosols are presentover Debretabour, while Djibouti is loaded by sea spray aerosols. The seasonal variability of AOD isfound to be maximum during the kiremt (summer) and minimum during bega (winter) over all areas(continental and marine).

Industrial sector is understood to be one of the major offenders in polluting environment particularlywater among others. Sugar industry is one among the agro-based industry releasing high organicpollutants rich in BOD. Though conventional treatment methods have been employed in treating sugarindustry effluents at varied degrees, they come with their own setbacks. In this direction naturalcoagulants are explored and evaluated for their potential and efficiency towards treating sugar industryeffluents. The process of coagulation and flocculation removes impurities precisely colloidalimpurities through the phenomenon of destabilization, bridging and sweep coagulation. In order tohave an effective treatment factors governing coagulation are to be optimized to determine the dose,pH, mixing time etc. The prime objective of the present study is to characterize the sugar industryeffluents, test the efficiency of both chemical and natural coagulants to treat these effluents and bringout a comparison and potential of natural coagulants with that of chemical coagulants. Jar testapparatus was employed all coagulation studies and the results were promising with reduction inparameters like colour (99.28%), electrical conductivity (60.39%), turbidity (97.67%), chloride(69.23%) and total dissolved solids (60.42%) highest by ferric chloride followed by the naturalcoagulants. The findings of the study suggest that the lowest dose of 0.25g/l was optimum to removethe physico-chemical parameters both by chemical and natural coagulants and since natural coagulantswere equally competent with chemical coagulants these can be substituted towards achieving greentreatment options.

Air pollution is a global issue and meteorological factors play an important role in its transportationand regional concentration. The current research is aimed to analyse the variations in meteorologicalparameters in a seasonal and geographical location context in the Jiangsu province of China, and itscorrelation with the six criteria air pollutants, and air quality index (AQI). The present analysis willsupplement the limited understanding on the relation between the regions prevalent climatic conditionsand atmospheric pollution. The meteorological data analysis showed Suzhou city located in thesouthern region of the Jiangsu province with high average temperature, relative humidity, and rainfall.Maximum values of temperature, UV index, sunshine, relative humidity, and rainfall occurred duringsummer, while air pressure in winter. High values of all meteorological parameters occurred in thenorthern and southern region of the province. The data correlation study revealed AQI to havenegative correlation with most meteorological parameters, and positive correlation with air pressure inall cities.

The use of constructed wetland (CW) is a natural way of treating wastewater sustainably and economically. However, the implementation of these systems in freezing conditions is still a matter of research and development. The treatment capacity of CWs relies largely on the biological and biochemical processes which further depends on physical conditions such as temperature, solar radiations, etc. Application of wetland systems for treating wastewater faces many challenges in regions with cold climates, resolving which this review has been made. This paper presents a thorough understanding of the components of CWs and their role in contaminant removal. A comprehensive review of the different types of CWs has been done describing the treatment efficiency achieved by its implementation in the cold climate. Furthermore, various technologies which can be clubbed with CWs have also been listed along with the treatment efficiencies obtained. Literature survey indicates that the extent of removing organics (COD and BOD5) and total phosphorous (TP) are not likely to be affected, but total nitrogen (TN) removal appears to slow down at low temperatures. Despite several advantages of CW technology, further research is required to select suitable macrophytes and optimum design parameters to compensate for frigid conditions.

Chromium VI is a frequent pollutant of industrial liquid effluents. It is a substance classified as a carcinogen group I. In this study, a Cr VI sorption mechanism was developed by using nanocellulose spheroids (hydrogel) obtained from ivory nut. Cr VI was detected in water by a colorimetric method, using 1, 5-diphenylcarbazide at λ 540 nm. Then, the sorption capacity of nanocellulose spheroids was tested by varying the solution's pH and temperatures. The outcome of the experiment shows that the most efficient pollutant’s adsorption conditions are occur at pH 4 and 25 °C. Removal percentages of Cr VI reached 91.29% (+/-1.36) and 95.33% (+/- 0.86). Additionally, the sorption kinetics showed that the adsorption reaction on the material reaches its equilibrium 20 to 30 minutes after the reaction starts. Finally, an analysis of adsorption isotherms showed a high adjustment with the Langmuir and Freundlinch isotherms. In this frame, this work’s results show that nanocellulose beads are an interesting alternative to efficiently reduce Cr VI from industrial and drinking water.

Increasing plastic usage pose a significant threat to the marine environment. Many studies have been conducted to examine the amount and environmental impacts of plastic waste across the world. This study was carried out to investigate the density and quality of plastics on the sea surface and seabed of İskenderun Bay. 35 different seabed sampling and 25 different sea surface sampling were conducted by using İskenderun Technical University R/V ISTE-1 vessel. A total of 1 661 581 m2   and 465 511 m2 swept from the seabed and sea surface were scanned, respectively. As a result of these scans, the amount of plastic waste density per unit area of the seabed was found as  0.126 g / m2 ± 0.011 (p: 0.95), and the amount of plastic waste density per unit area of sea surface was calculated as 0.052 gr ± 0.011 (p: 0.95). Scuba dives conducted in river mouths showed plastic deposition pits at the seabed. Major surface current systems and dominant southern winds were found to be effective in the sea surface distribution of plastic materials.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the concentrations of potentially toxic elements in the Suches river using standardized geochemical indices and to identify the main sources of contamination in the section from the Suches lagoon up to 33.8 km downstream of the effluent river, in the district of Cojata, Puno, Peru. The concentration of Al, Ba, Co, Fe, M, Ni, P, V and Zn in sediments of the Suches river was determined by means of mass spectrometry from October 2019 to February 2020. The values of Co, Fe, Mn, Ni, P and Zn exceeded the base values of contamination according to the general geological references while Al, Ba and V, did not surpass them. The contamination factor showed that the elements Co and Ni revealed a very high level of contamination, while the Zn, a considerable level. The area has an average pollution load index value of 2.24, indicating moderate general pollution. The elements Co, Ni, Al and Zn were within the moderate and extreme classification according to the pollution index. The Spearman's correlation analysis allowed determining the association between Al, Fe, Mn, P and V, which share a natural origin and the accumulation of these elements is due to the effects of weathering and soil erosion. The evaluation of the contamination indices and the correlation confirm that Cobalt, Nickel and Zinc are toxic elements associated with gold mining and agricultural activities.

Dairy industries generate enormous volumes of waste water which are significantly rich in organic compounds; contributing to high BOD, COD and sulfates. As a mandate to ‘treat’ effluents generated by different unit operations in a dairy industry, current treatment methods rely on physico-chemical, mechanical and conventional biological interventions. This approach remains unviable because of cost intensiveness and excessive energy usage. Additionally, the significant lowering of pollution indicators remains a daunting task with inlet and outlet parameters. With these identifiable gaps, our study was aimed to screen bio-efficacious, naturally attenuated fungal isolates to lower exceeding levels of sulfate in effluents released by dairy industry. Effluent samples were collected from Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) of Jaipur Dairy, Rajasthan Dairy Co-operation Limited (RCDF), Jaipur. For mycological investigations, qualitative screening was carried out in Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) supplemented with Calcium Sulfate (CaSo4) (0.1g/L). The most promising fungal isolates belonging to Aspergillus sp. was characterized based on its cultural and microscopic characteristics. Microcosm study was conducted by supplementing Aspergillus sp. in Untreated Dairy Effluent (UDE) for a period of 7 days at Room Temperature (RT) under static conditions. Following the incubation phase, mycelial mesh (plug) was indicative of exponential fungal growth. Effluent seeded with Aspergillus sp. and abiotic controls were spinned at 5000 rpm for 15 minutes to eliminate biomass. Sulfate estimation was carried out in Cell Free Extract (CFE) of both experimental and control group. A significant reduction of 67.3% was observed (p<0.05) with respect to positive control and 8.4% when contrasted with abiotic control.

This study utilized kinetic models to study the treatment efficiencies of a laboratory-scale up-flow biological aerated filters reactor (UBAF). The treatment efficiency of a model reactor was studied using different operating conditions of the hydraulic retention times, organic loading rates, and kinetic parameters. As a result of the calculations, the second-order and modified Stover/Kincannon models are appropriate. The substrate removal rate constant K2(S) was 1.7 per day for the reactor, with a correlation coefficient of 0.9979. Utilizing the modified Stover/Kincannon model, the coefficient of the determined concentration was 0.9987; 0.9265; and 0.9685 for Chemical oxygen demand (COD); ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N); and Total Nitrogen (TN), respectively. The calculation of the saturation value constants and maximum utilization rate for Chemical oxygen demand (COD); ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N); and Total Nitrogen (TN) was performed using the modified Stover-Kincannon model were 178.57 and 201.80 for COD; 1.876 and 4.6 for NH4 +-N; 3.823 and 6.644 for TN, respectively. It is possible to determine the kinetic parameter for removing COD, NH4+-N, and TN from wastewater by using the modified Stover-Kincannon model.

Activated carbon was prepared from corn cob agricultural waste with different impregnation ratios and pyrolysis times. The optimal adsorbent prepared using at 4:1 ZnCl2:corn cob char ratio at a temperature of 800 °C for 180 min provided the maximum Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area, total pore volume and average pore width, with values of 912.47 m2/g, 0.52 cm3/g and 22.61 Å, respectively. ZnCl2 was effective in creating well-developed pores on the surface of the activated carbon. The removal efficiency and adsorption capacity of the colour and the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the biologically pre-treated leachate were examined utilizing the best corn cob activated carbon (CCAC) with varying CCAC dosages, contact times and initial pH values. The greatest colour and COD removal effectiveness were 88.6±0.2% and 83.7±0.4%, respectively, at the optimum CCAC dosage of 12 g for 40 min with an initial pH value of 10. In addition, maximum adsorption capacities were achieved for colour and COD of 10.3±0.02 mg/g and 12.6±0.05 mg/g, respectively, under the same conditions. The kinetics of colour and COD adsorption fitted very well with pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The CCAC performs well as an adsorbent for removing colour and COD in biologically pre-treated leachate.