Effect of sugar industry spentwash (diluted) on the characteristics of soil and sugarcane (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharum officinarum</Emphasis> L.) growth in the subtropical environment of Sindh,Pakistan

Spentwash is a rich source of organic matter and essential plant nutrients in addition to excess salts. Sugar mills in Pakistan discharge about 3.48 million tons of spentwash annually, with no proper procedures for its disposal or utilization. To test the effect of diluted spentwash on soil and the soil’s ability to support plant growth, sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) variety CPF-237 was planted. The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design involving factorial combination of four concentrations of each spentwash (0, 10, 20, and 30%) and mineral fertilizers (0, 1/3, 2/3, and the full recommended rate of NP). The 10% spentwash plus 2/3 mineral fertilizer treatment substituted 33% each of N and P and 100% of K, saving mineral fertilizer cost (Rs. 48600 ～ US$458) in addition to 29.54% increase in yield over full NP fertilizer. The same treatment also improved the soil organic matter (65%), N (20%), P (25%), and K (230%) over full NP treatment alone. An increase in the salt content of the soil was detected within the prescribed limits, with the exception of HCO₃.     

Oil spill cleanup using graphene

In this article, we study the use of thermally reduced graphene (TRG) for oil spill cleanup. TRG was synthesized by thermal exfoliation of graphite oxide and characterized by X-ray diffusion, Raman spectroscopy, SEM, TEM, elemental analysis, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area measurement. Various aspects of the sorption process have been studied including the sorption capacity, the recovery of the adsorbed oil, and the recyclability of TRG. Our results shows that TRG has a higher sorption capacity than any other carbon-based sorbents, with sorption capacity as high as 131 g of oil per gram TRG. With recovery of the sorbed oil via filtration and reuse of TRG for up to six cycles, 1 g of TRG collectively removes approximately 300 g of crude oil. Moreover, the effects of TRG bulk density, pore volume, and carbon/oxygen ratio and the oil viscosity on the sorption process are also discussed.     

The radioactivity measurements in soils and fertilizers using gamma spectrometry technique

Because of their mineral content, soils are naturally radioactive and one of the sources of radioactivity other than those of natural origin is mainly due to the extensive use of fertilizers. The main aim of this paper is to evaluate the fluxes of natural radionuclides in local production of phosphate fertilizers to determine the content of radioactivity in several commercial fertilizers produced in Algeria and to estimate their radiological impact in a cultivated soil even for the long-term exposure due to their application.For these purposes, virgin and fertilized soils were collected from outlying Setif region in Algeria and from phosphate fertilizers used in this area.Gamma spectrometry was exploited to determine activity concentration due to naturally occurring ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K in five types of samples (two different sorts of fertilizers, virgin and fertilized soils and well water used for irrigation) taken from Setif’s areas.The results show that these radionuclides were present in an average concentration of 134.7 ± 24.1, 131.8 ± 16.7, 11644 ± 550 Bq/kg for the first fertilizer NPK and 190.3 ± 30, 117.2 ± 10.3, 5312 ± 249 Bq/kg for the second fertilizer (NPKs). For the virgin and the fertilized soils, the corresponding values were respectively 47.01 ± 7.3, 33 ± 7, 329.4 ± 19.7 Bq/kg and 53.2 ± 10.6, 50.0 ± 7, 311.4 ± 18.7 Bq/kg. For well water, the values were 1.93 and 0.12 Bq/kg; however the third value was below the Minimum Detectable Activity (MDA).The radium equivalent activity (Raeq) and the representative level index I_γr for all samples were also calculated. The data were discussed and compared with those given in the literature.     

1D and 2D absorption-rate/kinetic modeling and simulation of carbon dioxide absorption into mixed aqueous solutions of MDEA and PZ in a laminar jet apparatus

The kinetics of the reaction between carbon dioxide (CO₂) and mixed solutions of methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) and piperazine (PZ) was investigated experimentally in a laminar jet apparatus. The experimental kinetic data were obtained under no interfacial turbulence and over a temperature range from 313 to 333 K, MDEA/PZ wt% concentration ratios of 27/3, 24/6 and 21/9, and CO₂ loadings from 0.0095 to 0.33 mol CO₂/mol amine. In addition, a new absorption-rate/kinetics model for the kinetics of the mixed of solvents was developed, which takes into account the coupling between chemical equilibrium, mass transfer, and all possible chemical reactions involved in the CO₂ reaction with MDEA/PZ solvent. The partial differential equations of this model were solved by the finite element numerical method (FEM) based on COMSOL software. The obtained experimental kinetics data were used to obtain the kinetic parameters of CO₂ absorption into MDEA/PZ solutions. The reaction-rate constant obtained for PZ blended with MDEA was kPZ = 2.572 × 10¹² exp(?5211/T). The 2D model for the blended amines MDEA/PZ has revealed the concentration profiles of all the species in both the radial and axial directions of the laminar jet which has enabled a better understanding of the correct sequence in which the reaction steps involved in the reactive absorption of CO₂ in aqueous mixed MDEA/PZ solution occur. It also revealed that PZ may be depleted by the time the solvent blend of MDEA/PZ with a loading greater than 0.015 mol/mol amine is exposed to CO₂ from the top of the laminar jet absorber.     

Bioaccumulation of the pharmaceutical 17α-ethinylestradiol in shorthead redhorse suckers (Moxostoma macrolepidotum) from the St. Clair River, Canada

17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2), a synthetic estrogen prescribed as a contraceptive, was measured in Shorthead Redhorse Suckers (ShRHSs) (Moxostoma macrolepidotum) collected near a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in the St. Clair River (Ontario, Canada). We detected EE2 in 50% of the fish samples caught near the WWTP (Stag Island), which averaged 1.6 ± 0.6 ng/g (wet weight) in males and 1.43 ± 0.96 ng/g in females. No EE2 was detected in the samples from the reference site (Port Lambton) which was 26 km further downstream of the Stag Island site. Only males from Stag Island had VTG induction, suggesting the Corunna WWTP effluent as a likely source of environmental estrogen. EE2 concentrations were correlated with total body lipid content (R² = 0.512, p < 0.01, n = 10). Lipid normalized EE2 concentrations were correlated with δ¹⁵N (R² = 0.436, p < 0.05, n = 10), suggesting higher EE2 exposures in carnivores. Our data support the hypothesis of EE2 bioaccumulation in wild fish.     

A simple spectrophotometric method for the determination of cobalt in industrial, environmental, biological and soil samples using bis(salicylaldehyde)orthophenylenediamine

Bis(salicylaldehyde)orthophenylenediamine (BSOPD) has been proposed as new analytical reagent for the direct non-extractive spectrophotometric determination of cobalt. It reacts with cobalt in slightly acidic (0.0002-0.001 M H(2)SO(4)) 50% 1,4-dioxanic medium to form a red-orange chelate with a molar ratio 1:1. The reaction is instantaneous and the maximum absorbance was obtained at 458 nm and remains constant for over 24h. The average molar absorption coefficient and Sandell's sensitivity were found to be 1.109 x 10(4)l mol(-1)cm(-1) and 20 ng cm(-2) of Co(II), respectively. Linear calibration graph was obtained for 0.1-15 mg l(-1) of Co(II) with a correlation coefficient value of 0.995 for Co-BSOPD complex. Large excess of 44 cations, anions and complexing agents do not interfere in the determination. The method was successfully used in the determination of cobalt(II) from synthetic mixture and certified reference materials for the purpose of validating the method and the results of analyses were found to be excellent agreement with those of actual values. This developed method was also used for determination of cobalt in some environmental waters (potable and polluted), biological (blood and urine) and soil samples and solution containing both cobalt(II) and cobalt(III). The results of the proposed method for biological samples were comparable with AAS and were found to be in good agreement. The method has high precision and accuracy (s=+/-0.01 for 0.5 mg l(-1)).     

Virological Characterization of Roof-Harvested Rainwater of Densely Urbanized Low-Income Region

Food and Environmental Virology - Roof-harvested rainwater (RHRW) is considered relatively clean water, even though the possible presence of pathogens in the water may pose human health risks. In...     

A study on the combined effect of noise and vibration on operators' performance of a readability task in a mobile driving environment.

This paper presents a study in which the main objective was to investigate the combined effect of noise and vibration on the performance of a readability task in a mobile driving environment. Subjects performed a readability task on a laptop computer in a sitting posture with their backs supported with a backrest under varying levels of noise and vibration. The data in terms of the mean number of characters read per minute were collected and statistically analyzed. Results showed that the individual effect of noise, vibration, and the operators' gender as well as the interaction between gender and noise, and gender and vibration were statistically significant. However, the combined effect of noise and vibration was not found to be statistically significant. Results also indicated that gender was statistically significant at all levels of noise as well as vibration, and noise and vibration were statistically significant at both levels of gender.