Effect of chromium on growth attributes in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)

Heavy metal soil pollution takes place when the metal concentration of soil exceeds natural background level and causes ecological destruction and deterioration of the environment.In the present study,a pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of chromium-contaminated soil in sunflower(Helianthus annuus L.)growth attributes.Three different levels of chromium(Cr)i.e.,20, 40,and 60 mg/kg were applied to three varieties of sunflower(G-3,G-9,and G-59).The results of morphological,chemical,and yield p...     

Wind speed pattern data and wind energy potential in Pakistan: current status,challenging platforms and innovative prospects

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Energy is an essential parameter for the economic growth and sustainable development of any country. Due to the rapid increase in energy demand,...     

Chemical characterization and source apportionment of fine and coarse particulate matter in Lahore,Pakistan

Lahore, Pakistan is an emerging megacity that is heavily polluted with high levels of particle air pollution. In this study, respirable particulate matter (PM_2.5 and PM₁₀) were collected every sixth day in Lahore from 12 January 2007 to 19 January 2008. Ambient aerosol was characterized using well-established chemical methods for mass, organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), ionic species (sulfate, nitrate, chloride, ammonium, sodium, calcium, and potassium), and organic species. The annual average concentration (±one standard deviation) of PM_2.5 was 194 ± 94 μg m^?3 and PM₁₀ was 336 ± 135 μg m^?3. Coarse aerosol (PM_10?2.5) was dominated by crustal sources like dust (74 ± 16%, annual average ± one standard deviation), whereas fine particles were dominated by carbonaceous aerosol (organic matter and elemental carbon, 61 ± 17%). Organic tracer species were used to identify sources of PM_2.5 OC and chemical mass balance (CMB) modeling was used to estimate relative source contributions. On an annual basis, non-catalyzed motor vehicles accounted for more than half of primary OC (53 ± 19%). Lesser sources included biomass burning (10 ± 5%) and the combined source of diesel engines and residual fuel oil combustion (6 ± 2%). Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) was an important contributor to ambient OC, particularly during the winter when secondary processing of aerosol species during fog episodes was expected. Coal combustion alone contributed a small percentage of organic aerosol (1.9 ± 0.3%), but showed strong linear correlation with unidentified sources of OC that contributed more significantly (27 ± 16%). Brick kilns, where coal and other low quality fuels are burned together, are suggested as the most probable origins of unapportioned OC. The chemical profiling of emissions from brick kilns and other sources unique to Lahore would contribute to a better understanding of OC sources in this megacity.     

Biosorption potential and kinetic studies of vegetable waste mixture for the removal of Nickel(II)

Biosorption potential of new low cost biosorbent prepared from vegetable waste, composed of 1:1 mixture of potato and carrot peels for the removal of Ni(II) from aqueous solution was determined. The residual metallic ion concentrations were determined using an atomic absorption spectrophotometric technique (AAS). Batch experiments were conducted to optimize parameters such as initial pH, temperature, contact time, initial metal ion concentration and biosorbent dose and the results showed that maximum adsorption of Nickel (79.32 %) occurs when the contents were stirred for 75 min with 3.0 g of biosorbent at 35 °C and pH 4. Kinetic studies of the reaction revealed that it follows a pseudo-second order reaction. The experimental results were analyzed in terms of Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The Langmuir isotherm model fits well to data of Ni(II) biosorption by the prepared biomass as compared to the model of Freundlich. Both neat and Ni loaded biosorbent samples were analyzed by AAS using a dry ashing process in a furnace and also by use of a FT-IR spectrophotometer and an X-Ray florescence spectrometer in order to confirm the biosorption of Ni(II) and the results have revealed that a significant amount of Ni is present in the spent biosorbent.     

How to bend down the environmental Kuznets curve: the significance of biomass energy

Sources of renewable energy have received wide attention in the literature because of serious threats to the environment. However, some renewable resources, including biomass energy role is debatable in the energy economics literature. This empirical work focuses to analyze the role of biomass energy in carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions using the framework of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) in Pakistan over the period from 1980 to 2015. The bound testing approach suggests there is cointegration among study variables. The study uses an auto-regressive distributed lag model (ARDL) with a structural break in the series. To summarize the findings of the study, it can be inferred that biomass energy increase CO₂ emissions. In addition, biomass energy helps to form a U-shaped relationship between income and CO₂ emissions that support the EKC hypothesis. Also, the feedback hypothesis is found between biomass energy and CO₂ emissions. The findings would guide policymaker with practical guidelines to formulate policies to utilize a high amount of biomass energy in a sustainable manner.

     

DDT residue in soil and water in and around abandoned DDT manufacturing factory

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) belongs to one of the most hazardous groups of chemicals called persistent organic pollutants. Many organochlorine pesticides including p,p(')-DDT are long lasting due to their non-degradability can travel to distant places and being fat soluble can accumulate in animals and human bodies. Due to the persistent nature of p,p(')-DDT, its adverse environmental and health impacts, the present study was undertaken to examine the residual p,p(')-DDT in and around abandoned p,p(')-DDT manufacturing factory in Amman Gharh, Nowshera, NWFP. Samples of soil, sediments and water were collected in and around the factory area, nearby p,p(')-DDT stores, main factory drain leading to river Kabul and nearby villages. Standard procedures were used for the collection, transportation and storage of samples for analyses. Extraction of each sample for p,p(')-DDT analyses was carried out in triplicates using Soxhelt extraction. p,p(')-DDT contents in the samples were analyzed by capillary GC with electron capture detector. Most of the samples collected up to half kilometer distance from the site of the DDT factory were found contaminated. Further the level of p,p(')-DDT decreased with increasing depth from top to bottom and with distance from the site. The results indicate that there is no immediate threat to underground water reservoirs.     

The role of liquefied petroleum gas in decarbonizing India: fresh evidence from wavelet–partial wavelet coherence approach

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - India is predominantly a fossil fuel-intensive South Asian country that has traditionally settled for higher economic gains at the expense of lower...     

Bottled water quality ranking via the multiple-criteria decision-making process: a case study of two-stage fuzzy AHP and TOPSIS

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Access to healthy drinking water is vital to human health and development. Bottled water consumption has been on the rise in recent years. As several...     

The impact of electric power consumption on economic growth: a case study of Portugal,France, and Finland

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Energy plays a vital role in promoting sustainable economic development in complex societies. This study has analyzed the impact of electricity...     

Effect of oxygenated liquid additives on the urea based SNCR process

An experimental investigation was performed to study the effect of oxygenated liquid additives, H₂O₂, C₂H₅OH, C₂H₄(OH)₂ and C₃H₅(OH)₃ on NO_x removal from flue gases by the selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) process using urea as a reducing agent. Experiments were performed with a 150 kW pilot scale reactor in which a simulated flue gas was generated by the combustion of methane operating with 6% excess oxygen in flue gases. The desired levels of initial NO_x (500 ppm) were achieved by doping the fuel gas with ammonia. Experiments were performed throughout the temperature range of interest, i.e. from 800 to 1200 °C for the investigation of the effects of the process additives on the performance of aqueous urea DeNO_x. With H₂O₂ addition a downward shift of 150 °C in the peak reduction temperature from 1130 to 980 °C was observed during the experimentation, however, the peak reduction efficiency was reduced from 81 to 63% when no additive was used. The gradual addition of C₂H₅OH up to a molar ratio of 2.0 further impairs the peak NO_x reduction efficiency by reducing it to 50% but this is accompanied by a downward shift of 180 °C in the peak reduction temperature. Further exploration using C₂H₄(OH)₂ suggested that a 50% reduction could be attained for all the temperatures higher than 940 °C. The use of C₃H₅(OH)₃ as a secondary additive has a significant effect on the peak reduction efficiency that decreased to 40% the reductions were achievable at a much lower temperature of 800 °C showing a downward shift of 330 °C.