Interactions between chloride and sulfate or silica removals using an advanced lime-aluminum softening process.

An advanced softening process called the ultra-high lime with aluminum process (UHLA) was initiated in this research. The UHLA process has the ability to remove sulfate, silica, and chloride from waters such as recycled cooling water and desalination brines. Furthermore, it can remove other scale-forming materials, such as calcium, magnesium, carbonate, and phosphate. The purpose of this paper is to study the interactions among chloride, sulfate, and silica in the UHLA process. Results of equilibrium experiments indicated that sulfate is preferentially removed over chloride. Final chloride concentration increased with increasing initial sulfate concentration. However, initial chloride concentration was found to have negligible effect on final sulfate concentration. Silica was found to have only a small effect on chloride removal.     

Distribution Of Cadmium And Nickel Among Various Forms In Natural And Contaminated Soils Amended With Edta

Because of its strong chelating capacity, application of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) to soils may change the amount and distribution of heavy metals among their various chemical forms. Therefore, a greenhouse experiment was conducted using two cultivars of Brassica species (Brassica juncea and Brassica carinata) as hyper accumulator test crops on natural and artificially Cd and Ni contaminated soils. Both natural and metal amended soils were treated with disodium salt of EDTA at 0 and 1 g kg^–1 soil. After harvest of crops, soil samples were fractionated into water soluble plus exchangeable (WE), carbonate (CARB), organic matter (OM), Mn oxide (MnOX), amorphous Fe oxide (AFeOX), crystalline Fe oxide (CFeOX) and residual (RES) fractions. In metal amended soils, Cd and Ni were found predominantly in the AFeOX fraction in the absence of EDTA application and in the WE fraction in EDTA treated soil. Application of EDTA resulted in the redistribution of Cd among different forms and increased significantly Cd in the WE fraction with a concomitant significant decrease in the OM fraction. In natural soils, more than 40% of the total Cd was present in the RES fraction while in contaminated soil it was only 5%. Nickel in the WE fraction increased significantly while it considerably decreased in the CARB, OM, MnOX, AFeOX and CFeOX fractions with EDTA addition. This indicated that applied EDTA is capable to move Cd and Ni from the less soluble or more stable forms (CARB, OM, MnOX, AFeOX and CFeOX) to the most soluble form (WE). N natural soils, Ni in the RES fraction was found upto 49%, whereas only 10% of the total Ni was observed in contaminated soil, irrespective of EDTA treatment. In general, the amount of Cd recovered after harvest of both the Brassica cultivars did not differ significantly in any fraction except the WE fraction. The amount of Ni recovered in the AFeOX fraction was significantly higher after harvest of B. juncea as compared to B. carinata.Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Natural radioactivity in farm soil and phosphate fertilizer and its environmental implications in Qena governorate, Upper Egypt

Samples of phosphate fertilizers and farm soils, taken to a depth of up to 30 cm in cultivated land, were collected over the Qena governorate, Upper Egypt. Activity concentration of background radionuclides such as (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K of these samples were determined by gamma-ray spectrometry. The results show that these radionuclides were present in concentrations of 366+/-10.5, 66.7+/-7.3 and 4+/-2.6 Bq/kg for phosphate fertilizers. For farm soil and Nile island's soil the corresponding values were 13.7+/-7, 12.3+/-4.6, 1233+/-646 and 11.9+/-6.7, 10.5+/-6.1, 1636+/-417 Bq/kg, respectively. The radium equivalent activity (Ra(eq)), the representative level index, I(gamma r), and absorbed dose in air for all samples were calculated. The data were discussed and compared with those given in the literature.     

Nanoscale zero-valent iron/magnetite carbon composites for highly efficient immobilization of U(VI)

Nanoscale zerovalent iron/magnetic carbon (NZVI/MC) composites were successfully synthesized by simply calcining yellow pine and iron precursors. NZVI/MC pyrolyzed at 800°C (NZVI/MC800) had a higher percentage of NZVI and displayed better resistance to aggregation and oxidation of NZVI than samples prepared at other temperatures. The NZVI/MC800 material was applied for the elimination of U(VI) from aqueous solutions. The results suggested that the NZVI/MC800 displayed excellent adsorption capacity (203.94?mg/g) toward U(VI). The significant adsorption capacity and fast adsorption kinetics were attributed to the presence of well-dispersed NZVI, which could quickly reduce U(VI) into U(IV), trapping the guest U(IV) in the porous biocarbon matrix. The removal of U(VI) on the NZVI/MC samples was strongly affected by solution pH. The NZVI/MC samples also displayed outstanding reusability for U(VI) removal after multiple cycles. These findings indicate that NZVI/MC has great potential for remediation of wastewater containing U(VI).     

The efficacy of an oxidation pond in mineralizing some industrial waste products with special reference to fluorene degradation: a case study

The efficacy of the oxidation pond on the outskirts of the 10th of Ramadan, the main industrial city, in Egypt was examined. Samples of wastewater collected from the inlet and the outlet were screened for some priority pollutants. Acenaphthene and fluorene were the most frequently detected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, while dimethyl phthalate was the most frequently detected phthalate ester. The spectrum of pollutants, their concentrations and frequencies were similar in the inlet and the outlet, indicating an inferior mineralization capability of the pond. Several degradative bacterial strains were isolated from the pond and grown on M56 minimal media supplemented with different pollutants as the carbon source. The efficacy of pure and mixed cultures to break down fluorene, the most frequently detected pollutant was examined. Fluorene degradation was fast in the first 10 days, then followed by a slow phase. Mixed culture had a higher rate of fluorene degradation in comparison to pure cultures. High performance liquid chromatography analysis of fluorene degradation showed three degradative metabolites. But GC/MS analysis detected one compound, identified as acetamide. The present work has indicated the poor efficacy of the pond. Lack of primary treatment of industrial effluent at factory level, coupled with shock loads of toxicants that may damage the microorganisms and their degradative capabilities are presumably main factors behind such inferior performance. Moreover, the type of pollutants discharged into the pond tend to fluctuate and change depending on the rate from the factories discharge and work shifts. Such irregular feeding of persistent pollutants may have led to a wash out of specialized strains of bacteria capable to degrade such persistent pollutants.     

Water purification with sintered porous materials fabricated at 400℃ from sea bottom sediments

A sintering technology for preparing porous materials from sea bottom sediments was developed for use in water purification. The purpose of the present study was to develop methods for converting the sea bottom sediments dredged from Ago Bay into value-added recycled products. The sintered products fabricated at 400℃ were found to be very effective adsorbents for the removal of heavy metals.     

Response of marine phytoplankton to nitrogen deficiency: Decreased nitrate uptake vs enhanced ammonium uptake

The uptake of nitrate and ammonium was measured separately in uni-algal, nitrogen-deficient cultures of four species of marine phytoplankton. Nitrogen-deficient phytoplankton took up ammonium at initial rates which greatly exceeded those measured for nitrogen-sufficient phytoplankton. However, nitrate uptake by nitrogendeficient cultures was generally much slower than either nitrate or ammonium uptake by nitrogen-sufficient cultures or ammonium uptake by nitrogen-deficient cultures. Considerable species differences were observed in the degree to which nitrogen deficiency increased ammonium uptake or decreased nitrate uptake. Loss of ability to take up nitrate, but enhanced ability to take up ammonium, as a result of nitrogen deficiency may be an adaptation to the different mechanisms by which nitrate and ammonium are supplied to the euphotic zone. In areas with an intermittent supply of nitrogen, changes in the ability of some species to take up nitrogen as a result of nitrogen starvation will influence species composition and complicate interpretations of measurements of nitrogen uptake.Contribution no. 1249 from the Department of Oceanography, University of Washington, and contribution no. 82006 from the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences     

Effect of pre-exposure on acute toxicity of organophosphorus insecticides to white mice.

LD50 and in vitro ChE I50 values of Chlorpyrifos, Leptophos, Phosfolan, and Stirophos against white mice showed that the formulated insecticides were higher in their mammalian toxicity than the corresponding technical materials. Pretreatment of mice with a sublethal dose of Phosfolan potentiated the toxicity of post-treatment with formulated Stirophos, Phosfolan, or Chlorpyrifos, but antagonized the toxicity of post-treatment with Leptophos. On the other hand, pretreatment with sublethal doses of Leptophos resulted in potentiation of Stirophos or Phosfolan, but decreased the toxicity of Chlorpyrifos or Leptophos. Pretreatment of mice by sublethal dose of Phosfolan synergized the in vivo inhibitory power of post-treatment by Phosfolan, Chlorpyrifos or Leptophos against brain and Plasma ChE. On the other hand pretreatment with sublethal doses of Leptophos antagonized the inhibitory power of post-treatment with either Chlorpyrifos, Leptophos or Stirophos against mice brain-ChE.     

Isolation of Cr(Ⅵ) reducing bacteria from industrial effluents and their potential use in bioremediation of chromium containing wastewater

The present study is aimed at assessing the ability of Bacillus sp.JDM-2-1 and Staphylococcus capitis to reduce hexavalent chromium into its trivalent form.Bacillus sp.JDM-2-1 could tolerate Cr(Ⅵ) (4800 μg/mL) and S.capitis could tolerate Cr(Ⅵ) (2800 μg/mL).Both organisms were able to resist Cd2+ (50 μg/mL),Cu2+ (200 μg/mL),Pb2+ (800 μg/mL),Hg2+ (50 μg/mL) and Ni2+ (4000 μg/mL).S.capitis resisted Zn2+ at 700 μg/mL while Bacillus sp.JDM-2-1 only showed resistance up to 50 μg/mL.Bacillus sp.JDM-2-1 and S.capitis showed optimum growth at pH 6 and 7,respectively,while both bacteria showed optimum growth at 37℃.Bacillus sp.JDM-2-1 and S.capitis could reduce 85% and 81% of hexavalent chromium from the medium after 96 h and were also capable of reducing hexavalent chromium 86% and 89%,respectively,from the industrial effluents after 144 h.Cell free extracts of Bacillus sp.JDM-2-1 and S.capitis showed reduction of 83% and 70% at concentration of 10 μg Cr(Ⅵ)/mL,respectively.The presence of an induced protein having molecular weight around 25 kDa in the presence of chromium points out a possible role of this protein in chromium reduction.The bacterial isolates can be exploited for bioremediation of hexavalent chromium containing wastes,since they seem to have the potential to reduce the toxic hexavalent form to its nontoxic trivalent form.     

Mineralogy and chemistry of urinary stones: patients from North Jordan

Urinary stone diseases are increasing in the Middle East. The majority of urinary stone cases are found in the northern part of the country. Stone samples taken from patients living in the Irbid area were collected from Princess Basma Hospital. The present study concentrates on the mineralogical and chemical composition of the urinary stones and on the effective environmental factors that assist in developing the different types of urinary stones. Using X-ray diffraction techniques, the mineralogical composition of the urinary stones was found to be as follows: oxalate, cholesten, and uric acid, with cystine stones occuring more frequently than the others. Cholesten and calcium oxalate stones are the most dominant types of stones. Calcium oxalate is the most common type of oxalate stone. Calcium oxalate is represented in: whewellite, wheddellite, and calcium carbonate oxalate hydrate minerals, in addition to other minerals such as brushite, ammonium phosphate, vaterite, valleriite, and bobierrite from other types of stones. Bobierrite (phosphate group) is a new mineral reported in urinary stones, and this has not been determined in any previous study worldwide. Apatite (calcium phosphate) is deduced using scanning electron microscope (SEM) images. The SEM technique determined crystal forms and systems, shapes, morphological features, and the names of the minerals forming urine stones, while optical properties are studied by polarizing microscope. X-ray fluorescence technique determined the concentrations of major and some trace elements. It revealed that Ca is the main constituent of the urinary stones, especially those composed of calcium oxalate and calcium phosphate. The concentration of trace elements was Ba = 1.57, P = 3.61, Fe = 1.78, S = 2.08, Zr = 4.63, Mo = 3.92, Cu = 1.89, Co = 1.56, and F = 4.2% and was higher in the urinary stones of Jordanian patients than in foreigners in the country. Questionnaires completed by patients suggest that the most significant factors directly effecting the formation of stones are water, climate conditions, food rich in protein and rich in different chemicals. Moreover, some drugs and diseases might also help in developing other stones.