Natural radioactivity concentrations due to the coal mining in Gabal El-Maghara, North Sinai, Egypt, were determined using gamma-ray spectroscopy. Coal, water and soil samples were investigated in this study. The (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K activity concentrations in coal before extraction were 18.5 +/- 0.5, 29.5 +/- 1.2 and 149.0 +/- 8.4 Bq kg(-1), respectively. These concentrations were reduced to 18-22% after extraction due to the clay removal of the coal ore. The activity contents of the water and soil samples collected from the surrounding area did not show any evidence of enhancement due to the mining activities. Absorbed dose rate and effective dose equivalent in the mine environment were 29.4 nGy h(-1) and 128.0 microSv a(-1), respectively. The measured activity concentrations in the mine environment and the surrounding areas (5 km away from the mine) are similar to that found in other regions in North and South Sinai. Based on the measurements of gamma-ray emitting radionuclides, the mine activity does not lead to any enhancement in the local area nor represents any human risk. 相似文献
Mine tailings coming from the exploitation of sulphide and/or gold deposits can contain significant amounts of arsenic (As), highly soluble in conditions of weathering. Open mine voids backfilling techniques are now widely practiced by modern mining companies to manage the tailings. The most common one is called cemented paste backfill (CPB), and consists of tailings mixed with low amounts of hydraulic binders (3-5%) and a high proportion of water (typically 25%). The CPB is transported through a pipe network, to be placed in the mine openings. CPB provides storage benefits and underground support during mining operations. Moreover, this technique could also enhance contaminant stabilization, by fixing the contaminants in the binder matrix. CPB composites artificially spiked with As were synthesized in laboratory, using two types of hydraulic binders: a Portland cement, and a mix of fly ash and Portland cement. After curing duration of 66 days, the CPB samples were subjected to several leaching tests in various experimental conditions in order to better understand and then predict the As geochemical behaviour within CPBs. The assessment of the As release indicates that this element is better stabilized in Portland cement-based matrices rather than fly ash-based matrices. The As mobility differs in these two matrices, mainly because of the different As-bearing minerals formed during hydration processes. However, the total As depletion does not exceed 5% at the end of the most aggressive leaching test, indicating that As is well immobilized in the two types of CPB. 相似文献
When sewage sludge is incorrectly applied, it may adversely impact agro-system productivity. Thus, this study addresses the reaction of Cucumis sativus L. (cucumber) to different amendment rates (0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 g kg?1) of sewage sludge in a greenhouse pot experiment, in which the plant growth, heavy metal uptake and biomass were evaluated. A randomized complete block design with six treatments and six replications was used as the experimental design. The soil electrical conductivity, organic matter and Cr, Fe, Zn and Ni concentrations increased, but the soil pH decreased in response to the sewage sludge applications. As approved by the Council of European Communities, all of the heavy metal concentrations in the sewage sludge were less than the permitted limit for applying sewage sludge to land. Generally, applications of sewage sludge of up to 40 g kg?1 resulted in a considerable increase in all of the morphometric parameters and biomass of cucumbers in contrast to plants grown on the control soil. Nevertheless, the cucumber shoot height; root length; number of leaves, internodes and fruits; leaf area; absolute growth rate and biomass decreased in response to 50 g kg?1 of sewage sludge. All of the heavy metal concentrations (except the Cu, Zn and Ni in the roots, Mn in the fruits and Pb in the stems) in different cucumber tissues increased with increasing sewage sludge application rates. However, all of the heavy metal concentrations (except the Cr and Fe in the roots, Fe in the leaves and Cu in the fruits) were within the normal range and did not reach phytotoxic levels. A characteristic of these cucumbers was that all of the heavy metals had a bioaccumulation factor <1.0. All of the heavy metals (except Cd, Cu and Zn) had translocation factors that were <1.0. As a result, the sewage sludge used in this study could be considered for use as a fertilizer in cucumber production systems in Saudi Arabia and can also serve as a substitute method of sewage sludge disposal.
In our previous work, the prepared high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) membranes, synthesized using four concentrations (20, 25, 30, and 35 wt%) of waste HIPS, were proved to be promising for water purification by microfiltration process (MF). However, the fabricated membranes' mechanical properties and microfiltration process parameters were not investigated. Consequently, in this study, various parameters affecting the previously fabricated membranes' performance in the filtration process, such as membrane mechanical properties, feeding pressure, fouling behavior, and polymer concentration, were thoroughly investigated. With increasing polystyrene concentrations, the ultimate tensile strength of the fabricated membranes increased. When the concentration was increased from 20 to 25 wt percent, the elongation at break rose, but as the concentration was increased further, the membrane became brittle. Permeate flux and rejection both declined as polymer content was raised. Accordingly, the highest flux and humic acid (HA) rejection were shown by 20 wt% (14.18 L/m2h (LMH) and 98.95%, respectively). The antifouling properties declined when the polymer concentration was raised, and 20 wt% had the lowest total fouling resistance. Furthermore, the permeate flux was reduced while increasing the HA initial concentration. 相似文献
ABSTRACTVertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) is an economic and widely used energy converter for converting wind energy into useful form of energy, like mechanical and electrical energy. For efficient energy conversion in low wind speed and to have improved power coefficient of asymmetric blade VAWT, selection of optimum blade thickness is needed thus entailing its detailed investigation with respect to different operating wind speed conditions. Present study methodically explores the impact of thickness to chord (t/c) ratio on aerodynamic performance of a three bladed asymmetrical blade H-Darrieus VAWT at different low wind speed conditions by using 2D unsteady CFD simulations. The optimal t/c is obtained on the basis of maximum power coefficient and average moment coefficient of the turbine. The aerodynamic performance curves are obtained at different operating and t/c conditions and the performance insights are corroborated with the findings from the flow physics study to come to some concrete conclusions on the effects of the thickness to chord ratio. The present study identifies large blade curvature to create a large diverging passage on the blade suction surface as the prominent reason for aerodynamic performance drop at a high t/c ratio. 相似文献
Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Liver toxicity is affected by several factors, including certain medications, fumes emission from factories, materials used in industries, and... 相似文献
Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This research was designed to experimentally study the influence of using three metal oxide nanofluids at different high flow rates with various mass... 相似文献
Food and Environmental Virology - Side by side air sampling was conducted using a PTFE filter membrane as dry sampler and an impinger containing a suitable culture medium as a wet sampler. Most of... 相似文献