Spatial systems approach to sustainable development: A conceptual framework

Even though “sustainable development” seems to have emerged as the development paradigm of the 1990s, a great deal of vagueness still surrounds the meaning, definition, and theoretical underpinnings of the concept. There is also a general lack of emphasis on the spatial dimension of sustainable development when developing relevant conceptual or environmental accounting frameworks. In clarifying the concept, this article proposes a definition that explicitly incorporates the temporal as well as the spatial dimension of sustainability. It also develops a logically consistent conceptual framework for the analysis and evaluation of sustainable development, following a spatial systems approach. Five interconnected aspatial subsystems or subsets of a spatial system are identified and their respective operational dimensions discussed. A proposed composite index calleddegree of stainable development (DSD) and its five component indicators are also outlined. The difficulties involved in operationalizing the DSD measure and the conceptual framework are noted, and the various tasks that need to be undertaken in this regard are specified. It is concluded that future research utilizing the proposed conceptual framework should not only foster the development of appropriate methodologies for the comparative evaluation of sustainable development at global, national, or regional scales, but also offer insights to appropriate decision makers at various levels regarding available options and alternative actions for the healthy development of their respective societies.     

Assessment of heavy metals in water,sediment, Anabas testudineus and Eichhornia crassipes in a former mining pond in Perak,Malaysia

The concentrations of Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sn and Zn were analysed in water, sediment, muscle of climbing perch fish (Anabas testudineus), and tissue of water hyacinth plants (Eichhornia crassipes) collected from a former tin-mining pond in Perak, Malaysia. The monitoring was performed during the minimum and maximum rainfall periods. The concentrations of As, Cr, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn in water exceeded the permissible limits set by the Interim National Water Quality Standards for Malaysia (INWQS). The risk index (RI) values determined for As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn in sediment presented a low degree of ecological risk. The order of the top three heavy metals measured in fish muscle was Zn?>?Fe?>?Al. The estimated daily intake (EDI) of As and Cr exceeded the allowable limits in both rainfall periods. The bioconcentration factor (BCF) and translocation factor (TF) values of Zn in water hyacinth were 24.865 and 3.214, respectively. The concentrations of Cu and Zn in the plant tissue were significantly correlated (p?<?.05) with the concentrations of heavy metals in water. Overall, climbing perch and water hyacinth are excellent bioindicators of environmental impacts on water bodies.     

Characteristics of granular sludge developed in an upflow anaerobic sludge fixed-film bioreactor treating palm oil mill effluent.

In the present study, characteristics of the granular sludge (including physical characteristics under stable conditions and process shocks arising from suspended solid overload, soluble organic overload, and high temperature; biological activity; and sludge kinetic evaluation in a batch experiment) developed in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket fixed-film reactor for palm oil mill effluent (POME) treatment was investigated. The main aim of this work was to provide suitable understanding of POME anaerobic digestion using such a granular sludge reactor, particularly with respect to granule structure at various operating conditions. The morphological changes in granular sludge resulting from various operational conditions was studied using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy images. It was shown that the developed granules consisted of densely packed rod- (Methanosaeta-like microorganism; predominant) and cocci- (Methanosarsina) shaped microorganisms. Methanosaeta aggregates functioned as nucleation centers that initiated granule development of POME-degrading granules. Under the suspended solid overload condition, most of the granules were covered with a thin layer of fiberlike suspended solids, so that the granule color changed to brown and the sludge volume index also increased to 24.5 from 12 to 15 mL/g, which caused a large amount of sludge washout. Some of the granules were disintegrated because of an acidified environment, which originated from acidogenesis of high influent organic load (29 g chemical oxygen demand [COD]/L d). At 60 degrees C, the rate of biomass washout increased, as a result of disintegration of the outer layer of the granules. In the biological activity test, approximately 95% COD removal was achieved within 72 hours, with an initial COD removal rate of 3.5 g COD/L d. During POME digestion, 275 mg calcium carbonate/L bicarbonate alkalinity was produced per 1000 mg COD(removed)/ L. A consecutive reaction kinetic model was used to simulate the data obtained from the sludge activity in the batch experiment. The mathematical model gave a good fit with the experimental results (R2 > 0.93). The slowest step was modeled to be the acidification step, with a rate constant between 0.015 and 0.083 hours(-1), while the rate constant for the methanogenic step was obtained to be between 0.218 and 0.361 hours(-1).     

Photocatalytic properties of hierarchical CuO nanosheets synthesized by a solution phase method

CuO nanomaterials were synthesized by a simple solution phase method using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide(CTAB) as a surfactant and their photocatalytic property was determined towards the visible-light assisted degradation of Reactive Black-5 dye. A detailed mechanism for the formation of CuO nanostructures has been proposed.The effect of various experimental parameters such as catalyst amount, dye concentration,p H and oxidizing agent on the dye degradation efficiency was studied. About 87% dye was degraded at p H 2 in the presence of CuO nanosheets under visible light. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of CuO nanosheets can be ascribed to good crystallinity, grain size,surface morphology and a strong absorption in the visible region. CuO is found to be a promising catalyst for industrial waste water treatment.     

Determination of total hydrocarbon concentration in coastal waters and sediments off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia

To determine the level of total hydrocarbon concentrations (THCs) along the eastern coastal regions of Peninsular Malaysia, samples of subsurface seawater (1 m) and surface sediments were collected from several sampling stations between June and August 1993. THCs in seawater and sediments as determined by fluorescence spectroscopy ranged from 1.4 to 21.8 µg L-1 (Seligi crude oil equivalents) and from 0.79 to 20.0 mg kg-1 (dry weight Seligi crude oil equivalents) respectively. In comparison to results obtained in similar surveys in Malaysian waters, the levels of THCs found in the present study were significantly lower indicating lower hydrocarbon contamination in the area studied.     

Relationships between certain individual characteristics and occupational accidents

Background. Work accidents and injuries are an occupational health and safety problem. Methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted for 404 frontline workers who were randomly selected from the Arya Sasol Petrochemical Company in Bushehr, Iran, during 2016. A statistical analysis was performed using the χ² test and the logistic regression model with SPSS version 18. Results. The overall occupational accident rate among the participants was found to be 9.2%. Statistically significant differences were observed for body mass index, education, job experience, smoking habit, consumption of sedative pills and presence of sleep disorders. Three factors had significant adjusted odds ratios (ORs): body mass index (OR 2.41, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.16, 5.04]), education (OR 0.25, 95% CI [0.07, 0.85]) and job experience (OR 0.29, 95% CI [0.15, 0.57]). Conclusions. Preventive programs should be implemented for industrial workers, especially young workers, workers who smoke, overweight workers and workers with psychosomatic disease.     

Rapid adsorption of toxic Pb(Ⅱ) ions from aqueous solution using multiwall carbon nanotubes synthesized by microwave chemical vapor deposition technique

Multiwall carbon nanotubes(MWCNTs) were synthesized using a tubular microwave chemical vapor deposition technique, using acetylene and hydrogen as the precursor gases and ferrocene as catalyst. The novel MWCNT samples were tested for their performance in terms of Pb(Ⅱ)binding. The synthesized MWCNT samples were characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared(FT-IR), Brunauer, Emmett and Teller(BET), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy(FESEM) analysis, and the adsorption of Pb(Ⅱ) was studied as a function of p H,initial Pb(Ⅱ) concentration, MWCNT dosage, agitation speed, and adsorption time, and process parameters were optimized. The adsorption data followed both Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms. On the basis of the Langmuir model, Qmaxwas calculated to be 104.2 mg/g for the microwave-synthesized MWCNTs. In order to investigate the dynamic behavior of MWCNTs as an adsorbent, the kinetic data were modeled using pseudo first-order and pseudo second-order equations. Different thermodynamic parameters, viz., ΔH0, ΔS0and ΔG0were evaluated and it was found that the adsorption was feasible, spontaneous and endothermic in nature. The statistical analysis revealed that the optimum conditions for the highest removal(99.9%) of Pb(Ⅱ) are at p H 5, MWCNT dosage 0.1 g, agitation speed 160 r/min and time of 22.5 min with the initial concentration of 10 mg/L. Our results proved that microwave-synthesized MWCNTs can be used as an effective Pb(Ⅱ) adsorbent due to their high adsorption capacity as well as the short adsorption time needed to achieve equilibrium.     

Quantitative sustainability assessment of remanufacturing waste reinforcing steel

Construction is a major contributor to the solid waste stream globally and various recycling strategies are being evaluated to recover valuable resources. As a novel strategy, remanufacturing waste reinforcing steel bar (rebar) pieces from concrete waste to produce nails was applied on an industrial scale to prove the technical feasibility, where a group of alternatives were developed based on commercially available industrial machinery. The calculated economic and environmental feasibility values are sufficiently high for industrial application, and the most appropriate remanufacturing technological alternative was identified. The sustainability equation was solved to find the social feasibility and overall remanufacturing sustainability index. Rebar waste remanufacturing has a high triple-bottom-line sustainability index of 0.885. Based on the proposed process, small remanufacturing companies can be developed, thereby aiding employment and human development by earning profit of 1904–8880 USD/day. The findings of this study are beneficial to decision makers in government and industry and are globally relevant because concrete waste is ubiquitous worldwide.     

On–off control of aeration time in the simultaneous removal of ammonia and manganese using a biological aerated filter system

The biological aerated filter (BAF) system, a new alternative in drinking water treatment, was designed to remove NH₄⁺–N and Mn²⁺ simultaneously. This study aimed to control the aeration time in the BAF system for simultaneous NH₄⁺–N and Mn²⁺ removal to achieve the Malaysian effluent quality regulation for drinking water. The experiment was conducted under four strategies of S1, S2, S3 and S4. The results demonstrated that acceptable levels of NH₄⁺–N and Mn²⁺ were achieved over a 6 h aeration period (S1), producing effluent concentrations of 0.7 mg/L (93.2% removal) and 0.08 mg/L (79.6% removal), respectively. At the initial treatment of S1 and S2, the dissolved oxygen (DO) level rapidly increased until it reached a saturated concentration (6.8 mg/L DO) after 2 h period. Automatic on–off aeration time to maintain 3 mg/L DO set point (S4) resulted with a good effluent quality of NH₄⁺–N and Mn²⁺ compared with the 2 mg/L DO set point (S3) which did not meet the regulated standard limits. Through the automatic on–off aeration time, the saturated and excessive DO levels in the BAF system can be avoided consequently reduce the wastage of energy and electrical consumption for simultaneous NH₄⁺–N and Mn²⁺ removal from drinking water treatment.