The spatial distribution dynamic and convergence of CO2 emissions in Iran’s provinces

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - It is essential to study CO2 emissions intensity as the most critical factor affecting temperature increase and climate change in a country like Iran,...     

Survey of discomfort glare from the headlamps of cars widely used in Iran

Objective: On 2-lane roads, discomfort glare can cause annoyance, discomfort, inconvenience, stress, and fatigue to drivers, posing a risk of accidents. The aim of this study is to evaluate discomfort glare from the headlamps of cars widely used in Iran.

Methods: The discomfort glare of new vehicles including Pride Saba model GTX, Pride Model 131SL, Samand Soren, Peugeot 405, Megane, and Peugeot Pars was examined at distances of 5 to 100 m at a background luminance of 50 cd/m² (late twilight/early dawn lighting) and 1 cd/m² (nighttime) using Schmidt-Clausen and Bindels model and de Boer's subjective scale.

Results: According to the de Boer scale, at a background luminance of 50 cd/m², the discomfort glare for all studied vehicles was between 1.98 and 4.05 in high-beam mode and between 3.5 and 5.4 in low-beam mode. At a background luminance of 1 cd/m², discomfort glare was between 0.41 and 2.48 in high-beam mode and between 1.93 and 3.84 in low-beam mode. In high-beam mode, the average levels of discomfort glare of these vehicles gradually increased when the distance between cars was reduced by up to about 20 m. In low-beam mode, there was no discomfort glare up to a vehicle distance of 40 m. In addition, at an angle of 1.15°–5.73° between the line of sight and light of vehicles in high-beam mode, the level of discomfort glare was increased, but at an angle of 5.73°–22.9° the level of discomfort glare was reduced. In low-beam mode at an angle of 2.86°–22.9°, the level of discomfort glare was almost identical. The results show that in high-beam mode and with a 100-m distance between vehicles as well as in low-beam mode at intervals of less than 40 m between cars, discomfort glare is created.

Conclusion: It can be concluded that by providing solutions such as installing road lighting system, an increase in luminance of roads, separating or widening road lanes, increasing the lateral distance between vehicles, and increasing the angle between lighted vehicles and drivers can noticeably reduce discomfort glare.     

Determination of the level of contamination in Khuzestan coastal waters (Northern Persian Gulf) by using an ecological risk index

The aims of the present study were to investigate the metal contents of sediments of several creeks that discharged into coastal waters using the Risk index. This study was carried out in eight creeks in Mahshahr coastal waters in the Northwest of Persian Gulf from October 2005 to November 2006. Superficial sediments were collected seasonally by Peterson grab, and the concentrations of heavy metals were measured by using a voltammetric polarographic method. The range and the mean concentrations obtained in ppm were 15.03–35.16 (27.01) for Cu, 65.57–171.41 (102.67) for Ni, 4.63–20.06 (13.22) for Co, 0.093–0.78 (0.22) for Hg, 65.07–379 (113.70) for Zn, 0.27–1.00 (0.56) for Cd and 7.09–29.72 (14.66) for Pb. To evaluate the levels of sediment contamination, the background values of the different heavy metals were calculated, and the contamination factor for each metal and the degree of contamination for each creek were determined as well. The results show that some elements such as Hg, Zn, and Ni are at risk level, and all of the studied creeks are classified as undergoing a moderate degree of pollution except for Ghannam that showed a considerable degree of contamination. According to the Risk index values, based on sedimentological toxic factors (S_t) of each metal and the BIO Production Index (BPI) in the studied area, the creeks were classified as considerable and with a very high level of ecological risk.     

Impact of energy carriers’ price distortions on energy allocative efficiency: the case study of Iranian provinces

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Government control distorts energy prices which leads to loss of optimal factor combination and, as a result, affects efficiency. Previous researches...     

Functionalized CMK-3 mesoporous carbon with 2-amino-5-mercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole for Hg(II) removal from aqueous media

Ordered mesoporous carbon（CMK-3） was synthesized and functionalized with 2-amino-5-mercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole groups（AMT-OCMK-3） for Hg（Ⅱ） removal from aqueous solution. The modified CMK-3 was characterized by X-ray diffraction, N2adsorption-desorption isotherm, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The effects of solution pH, contact time, initial Hg（Ⅱ） concentration and matrix effect were studied. The adsorption data were successfully fitted with the Langmuir model, exhibiting high adsorption capacity of 450.45 mg/g of AMT-OCMK-3. In the solid-phase extraction system a series of experimental parameters such as sample flow rate, sample volume,eluent volume and concentration of the eluent solution have been investigated and established for preconcentration of Hg（Ⅱ） in aqueous solution. The results showed that the enrichment factor for Hg（Ⅱ） was 250, the precision（relative standard deviation（RSD）, %） for six replicate measurements was 2.05% and the limit of detection for Hg（Ⅱ） was achieved at0.17 μg/L.     

Assessment of the effect of welding fumes on welders’ cognitive failure and health-related quality of life

Introduction. This study examined whether cognitive symptoms and health-related quality of life can be affected by welding fume exposure. Method. Participants consisted of welders (n?=?40) and welder assistants (n?=?25) from welding units as the exposed group, and office workers (n?=?44) as the non-exposed group. All participants were studied using ambient air monitoring and two types of questionnaires: the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) and the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Results. Welders and welder assistants were exposed to higher concentrations of all airborne metals than office employees, except for aluminum and chromium (p?p?M (SD)?=?54.84 (17.88)). The relationships between total CFQ score and the measured concentration of nickel at peak work rate was significant for welders. Conclusion. Cognitive symptoms and health-related quality of life were not related to the measures of welding fume exposure and further research should be performed to find other influencing factors.     

Energy intensity convergence in Iranian provinces: evidence from energy carriers’ consumption intensity

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Investigating the energy intensity convergence in Iran, as a country with very high energy intensity in the world, is important in order to assess...     

Engineered FeVO4/CeO2 nanocomposite as a two-way superior electro-Fenton catalyst for model and real wastewater treatment

FeVO₄/CeO₂ was applied in the electro-Fenton (EF) degradation of Methyl Orange (MO) as a model of wastewater pollution. The results of the characterization techniques indicate that FeVO₄ with triclinic structure and face-centered cubic fluorite CeO₂ maintained their structures during the nanocomposite synthesis. The effect of applied current intensity, initial pollutant concentration, initial pH, and catalyst weight was investigated. The MO removal reached 96.31% and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal 70% for 60 min of the reaction. The presence of CeO₂ in the nanocomposite plays a key role in H₂O₂ electro-generation as a significant factor in the electro-Fenton (EF) system. The metal leaching from FeVO₄/CeO₂ was negligible (cerium 4.1%, iron 4.3%, and vanadium 1.7%), which indicates that the active species in the nanocomposite are strongly interacting with each other and are stable. The performance of the nanocatalyst in real wastewaters, salty, and binary systems was acceptable and the pollutions were removed efficiently. The synergistic effect between V, Fe, and Ce could be account as the reason for the respectable function of FeVO₄/CeO₂. The electron transfer proceeds via Haber-Weiss mechanism. A degradation pathway was proposed through by-products analysis using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) technique. The pseudo-first-order kinetic model described the obtained experimental results (R² = 0.9906). The electro-Fenton system efficiency was improved by adding persulfate. The nanocomposite preserved almost its efficiency after six cycles. The obtained results demonstrate that the synergistic catalyst (FeVO₄/CeO₂) has the capability to introduce as a promising replacement of conventional catalysts in the electro-Fenton processes with brilliant proficiency.