Green synthesis of metal nanoparticles using Garcinia extracts: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The demand for nanoparticles has been increasing rapidly in recent years due to their unique properties of interest for a wide range of applications. Several...     

Assessment on the distributions and exchange of anionic surfactants in the coastal environment of Peninsular Malaysia: A review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Terrestrial anionic surfactants (AS) enter the marine environment through coastal region. Despite that, in general limited knowledge is available on...     

Faecal sterols as sewage markers in the Langat River, Malaysia: Integration of biomarker and multivariate statistical approaches

The Langat River in Malaysia has been experiencing anthropogenic input from urban, rural and industrial activities for many years. Sewage contamination, possibly originating from the greater than three million inhabitants of the Langat River Basin, were examined. Sediment samples from 22 stations (SL01-SL22) along the Langat River were collected, extracted and analysed by GC-MS. Six different sterols were identified and quantified. The highest sterol concentration was found at station SL02 (618.29 ng/g dry weight), which situated in the Balak River whereas the other sediment samples ranged between 11.60 and 446.52 ng/g dry weight. Sterol ratios were used to identify sources, occurrence and partitioning of faecal matter in sediments and majority of the ratios clearly demonstrated that sewage contamination was occurring at most stations in the Langat River. A multivariate statistical analysis was used in conjunction with a combination of biomarkers to better understand the data that clearly separated the compounds. Most sediments of the Langat River were found to contain low to mid-range sewage contamination with some containing `significant' levels of contamination. This is the first report on sewage pollution in the Langat River based on a combination of biomarker and multivariate statistical approaches that will establish a new standard for sewage detection using faecal sterols.     

Municipal solid waste management in Malaysia: Practices and challenges

Rapid economic development and population growth, inadequate infrastructure and expertise, and land scarcity make the management of municipal solid waste become one of Malaysia’s most critical environmental issues. The study is aimed at evaluating the generation, characteristics, and management of solid waste in Malaysia based on published information. In general, the per capita generation rate is about 0.5–0.8 kg/person/day in which domestic waste is the primary source. Currently, solid waste is managed by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, with the participation of the private sector. A new institutional and legislation framework has been structured with the objectives to establish a holistic, integrated, and cost-effective solid waste management system, with an emphasis on environmental protection and public health. Therefore, the hierarchy of solid waste management has given the highest priority to source reduction through 3R, intermediate treatment and final disposal.     

Wet oxidation: a pre-treatment procedure for sludge

Wet oxidation process is specially effective for wastes with a high organic matter which can not be removed by conventional treatment methods. The digested and raw activated sludges of PAKMAYA yeast factory are treated by wet oxidation process. The liquid-phase organic matter concentration [as total organic carbon (TOC)] was increased by 16.5% in 10 min during the wet oxidation in the presence of Cu as catalyst and H2O2. Lenghtening the period of the wet oxidation, the TOC-concentration was increased by 66% in 120 min. The biodegradability of the sludge after wet oxidation process was also examined. A very little development in the biodegradability was observed, when wet oxidation was applied as pre-treatment to the digested sludge (5% decrease as TOC, in the presence of Cu catalyst and H2O2). However, in the case of digestion of the raw sludge after the application of wet oxidation, the biodegradability increased significantly (approximately 75%, as TOC). Moreover, wet oxidation improved the ability of settling of sludge solids, as well as enhancing the treatment efficiency. Finally, the volume of settled solids was decreased by 80% in the presence of Cu and H2O2. NH3+-N, NO2(-)-N and NO3(-)-N concentrations in the supernatant decreased with the wet oxidation. pH value of the sludge increased from 6.6 to 7.8-8.0. Since stable sludge was taken from the digester where the nitrification process was progressing, a decrease in the nitrite concentration, with an increase in nitrate was observed in the digestion continuing after the wet oxidation pre-treatment. However, in the raw activated sludge, there was a nitrite formation only in the non-pretreated sludge.     

What affects perceptions of local residents toward protected areas? A case study from Kure Mountains National Park,Turkey

Local residents’ active participation is essential in protected areas to ensure achievement of conservation goals. One of the important steps for ensuring the active participation of local residents is to determine the perceptions and the factors that influence the perceptions of the local residents toward the protected area. In this context, the researchers of this study try to come up with the perception formed among the local residents toward the protected areas and especially toward Kure Mountains National Park (KMNP), the factors that would influence their perceptions and the ways how their perceptions are influenced. Multivariate linear regression was used to examine the putative influence of variables on perceptions toward protected areas. According to study results, the survey respondents have displayed a positive perception toward the protected areas in the world and in KMNP. It was determined that the respondents formed a positive perception from their economic, environmental and recreational interaction with KMNP. Also, the outcomes of this study showed that the perception developed by local residents toward the protected areas in the world and KMNP are influenced by gender, the level of satisfaction derived from the national park, duration of their residence in the national park, and that the perception that KMNP conservation are beneficial for the source values of the area, the current protection works in the world, as well as its impacts on their living conditions.     

Facile Green Preparation of Lignocellulosic Biosorbent from Lemongrass Leaf for Cationic Dye Adsorption

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Lignocellulosic biosorbents for wastewater treatment are generally powders. However, powdered biosorbents require the time and energy taken up in grinding...     

Ethanol production from alkali-pretreated oil palm empty fruit bunch by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation with mucor indicus

Oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) is a potential raw material for production of lignocellulosic bioethanol. The OPEFB was pretreated with 8% sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution at 100°C for 10 to 90 min. Enzymatic digestion was carried out using cellulase and β-glucosidase at 45°C for 24 h. It was then inoculated with Mucor indicus spores suspension and fermented under anaerobic conditions at 37°C for 96 h. Sodium hydroxide pretreatment effectively removed 51–57% of lignin in the OPEFB and also its hemicellulose (40–84%). The highest glucan digestibility (0.75 g/g theoretical glucose) was achieved in 40-min NaOH pretreatment. Fermentation by M. indicus resulted in 68.4% of the theoretical ethanol yield, while glycerol (16.2–83.2 mg/g), succinic acid (0–0.4 mg/g), and acetic acid (0–0.9 mg/g) were its by-products. According to these results, 11.75 million tons of dry OPEFB in Indonesia can be converted into 1.5 billion liters of ethanol per year.     

Source apportionment of surfactants in marine aerosols at different locations along the Malacca Straits

This study aims to determine the source apportionment of surfactants in marine aerosols at two selected stations along the Malacca Straits. The aerosol samples were collected using a high volume sampler equipped with an impactor to separate coarse- and fine-mode aerosols. The concentrations of surfactants, as methylene blue active substance and disulphine blue active substance, were analysed using colorimetric method. Ion chromatography was employed to determine the ionic compositions. Principal component analysis combined with multiple linear regression was used to identify and quantify the sources of atmospheric surfactants. The results showed that the surfactants in tropical coastal environments are actively generated from natural and anthropogenic origins. Sea spray (generated from sea-surface microlayers) was found to be a major contributor to surfactants in both aerosol sizes. Meanwhile, the anthropogenic sources (motor vehicles/biomass burning) were predominant contributors to atmospheric surfactants in fine-mode aerosols.     

Dynamic simulation and performance prediction of free displacer Stirling engines

ABSTRACT

In this study, a Stirling engine with a free-displacer and a kinematically controlled power piston was proposed and analyzed from thermodynamic and dynamic points of view. The analysis intended to reveal the dynamic behaviors of moving components of the engine as well as predicting global thermal performance of it. A dynamic-thermodynamic mathematical model of the engine involving the isothermal gas pressure equation and motion equations of the displacer, power piston and crankshaft was developed. For the solution of the dynamic-thermodynamic model equations, and simulation of the engine’s running, a computer program was prepared in FORTRAN language. By considering a hot-end temperature of 1,000 K and a cold-end temperature of 350 K, dimensions of mechanic, volumetric and thermal components of the engine were quantified interactively. Variations of engine speed, engine power, displacer stroke, and engine torque were examined with respect to the spring constant, displacer mass, displacer damping constant and external load and, results were graphically presented. In comparison with engines having free-piston and kinematically driven displacer, the thermodynamic performance of the free-displacer engine was found to be lower. The engine was found to be able to work at constant speed and power. The values of the displacer mass and spring constant were optimized as 1,500 g and 1,30,000 N/s, respectively and the global speed of the engine was determined to be 47.75 Hz for these values. The effective and the indicated work of the engine were determined to be 113 and 126 J, respectively.