Prospects and challenges of conservation agriculture in Bangladesh for sustainable sugarcane cultivation

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Sugarcane is an industrial crop globally used for producing biofuels and bioproducts and is the only source of white sugar in Bangladesh. However,...     

Sustainability: A Study of the Level of Ecological Behavior of Postgraduate Students in Brazil

The decline in the supply of natural resources is a cause for concern, especially given continued worldwide population growth. New habits and attitudes toward resource use are slowly being introduced into the everyday lives of persons residing in a number of countries. The term “ecological behavior” refers to acting in favor of the environment, whether these actions are voluntarily or not, or learned or not (Pato & Tamayo, 2006 ). The general objective of this study is to identify the environmental behavior—one of several terms used interchangeably with ecological behavior—of graduate students from a Brazilian federal institution of higher education. We chose this particular group because many of them already act, or will act, as professors. Thus, by virtue of their positions, they will function as opinion leaders who will influence the education of future professionals, establishing a chain through which shared values can gradually change the environmental behavior of society.     

Residues of carbofuran and its two carbamate metabolites in field‐treated rutabaga 1

Abstract

Carbofuran was applied over seeded rutabaga cv. York and residues (corrected for recovery) of carbofuran, 3‐hydroxy‐ and 3‐ketocarbofuran in the harvested roots averaged 0.15, 0.23 and 0.07 ppm in peel and 0.09, 0.14 and 0.05 ppm in pulp, respectively. Samples were extracted by hot acid digestion, partitioned in methylene chloride and cleaned up on Florisil. The 3‐hydroxy‐carbofuran was ethoxylated and the compounds were converted into their dinitrophenyl ethers and analysed by electron capture gas chromatography using 3% OV‐3 column.     

The effects of alginate microspheres on phytoremediation and growth of Lemna minor in the presence of Cd

Today, the removal of increased amount of contaminant concentrations in nature such as metals, nanoparticles, has become an essential issue to struggle with. In this paper, both the toxic effects of non-essential Cd on Lemna minor in presence of alginate microspheres and metal removal capacity of Cd-exposed L. minor and microspheres were investigated. Three test groups were constructed: group (L) containing Lemna, group (M) containing alginate microsphere and group (L?+?M) containing alginate microsphere and Lemna. Five different levels of Cd concentrations were added into these groups. Estimation models were constructed to estimate Cd removal capacities of L. minor and microspheres, and time-concentration-dependent growth (GRC) rates of both microsphere-containing and non-containing groups were modelled by regression analysis. It was seen that microspheres alone only had no positive or negative effects on Lemna growth. It was observed that, for all test groups the time-dependent growth rate has both increase–decrease trends in general. The toxicity effect of Cd on Lemna growth was reduced by adding microspheres into medium. Furthermore, the results stated that test groups containing only microspheres (M, 0–97.56%) and consortium groups (M?+?L, 0–98.26%) were slightly more successful in Cd removal process compared to Lemna (L) groups (L, 0–97.32%).     

Reduced combustion mechanism for C1–C4 hydrocarbons and its application in computational fluid dynamics flare modeling

Emissions from flares constitute unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide (CO), soot, and other partially burned and altered hydrocarbons along with carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water. Soot or visible smoke is of particular concern for flare operators/regulatory agencies. The goal of the study is to develop a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model capable of predicting flare combustion efficiency (CE) and soot emission. Since detailed combustion mechanisms are too complicated for (CFD) application, a 50-species reduced mechanism, LU 3.0.1, was developed. LU 3.0.1 is capable of handling C₄ hydrocarbons and soot precursor species (C₂H₂, C₂H₄, C₆H₆). The new reduced mechanism LU 3.0.1 was first validated against experimental performance indicators: laminar flame speed, adiabatic flame temperature, and ignition delay. Further, CFD simulations using LU 3.0.1 were run to predict soot emission and CE of air-assisted flare tests conducted in 2010 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, using ANSYS Fluent software. Results of non-premixed probability density function (PDF) model and eddy dissipation concept (EDC) model are discussed. It is also noteworthy that when used in conjunction with the EDC turbulence-chemistry model, LU 3.0.1 can reasonably predict volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions as well.

Implications: A reduced combustion mechanism containing 50 C₁–C₄ species and soot precursors has been developed and validated against experimental data. The combustion mechanism is then employed in the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of modeling of soot emission and combustion efficiency (CE) of controlled flares for which experimental soot and CE data are available. The validated CFD modeling tools are useful for oil, gas, and chemical industries to comply with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) mandate to achieve smokeless flaring with a high CE.     

Hydrophobic and Flame-Retardant Foam Based on Cellulose

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - A study aimed to prepare cellulose-based hydrophobic, lightweight, and flame retardant foam composites. Cellulose was activated by phosphoric acid followed...     

Effects of metsulfuron‐methyl on microbial biomass and populations in soils

Abstract

Effects of the herbicide metsulfuron‐methyl on soil microorganisms and their activities in two soils were evaluated under laboratory conditions. Measurements included their populations, soil respiration, and microbial biomass. In the clay soil, bacterial populations decreased with increasing concentration of metsulfuron‐methyl during the first 9 days of incubation but exceeded that of the control soil from day 27 onward. In the sandy loam soil, the herbicide reduced bacterial populations during the first 3 days after application, but these increased to the level of untreated controls after 9 days’ incubation. Fungal populations in both soils increased with increasing metsulfuron‐methyl concentrations, especially in the sandy loam soil. CO₂ evolution was stimulated in both soils in the presence of the herbicide initially, but decreased during days 3 to 9 of the incubation period before increasing again afterward. The presence of metsulfuron‐methyl in the soil increased microbial biomass, except in sandy loam soil at the first day of incubation.     

Heavy metal contamination in the sediment and plants of the Sundarbans,India

Heavy metals are one of the hazardous contaminants in the total environment. The present study shows that the Sundarbans soil is contaminated with sludge and moderately contaminated with Cd and Co according to Contamination factor (CF), Enrichment factor (EF), Index of geo-accumulation (Igeo), and Ecological risk factor (ERF). The correlation, principle component analysis and factor analysis showed that Mn and Fe might have lithogenic origin whereas Cu, Pb, Co and Cd have anthropogenic inputs. The screening quick reference table (SQuiRT) shows that Cu and Cd may exert a possible toxic effect on the sediment dwelling biota. The phytoremediation study revealed that the endangered Heritiera fomes leaves can accumulate 80% of cadmium from the soil, which is highest based on this study as compared to other mangroves. The study also indicated that threatened date palm Phoenix paludosa leaves can accumulate 74% and 73% of Cu and Fe, respectively, from the soil. Now a day, there has been a spurt in mangrove plantations worldwide for the conservation of mangrove ecosystem using ecological engineering approaches. The present study is very much useful to choose a proper plant to decontaminate the soil from various heavy metal pollutants for effective management of mangrove wetlands.