Fluoride removal by a continuous flow electrocoagulation reactor

Long-term consumption of water containing excessive fluoride can lead to fluorosis of the teeth and bones. Electrocoagulation (EC) is an electrochemical technique, in which a variety of unwanted dissolved particles and suspended matter can be effectively removed from an aqueous solution by electrolysis. Continuous flow experiments with monopolar aluminium electrodes for fluoride removal were undertaken to investigate the effects of the different parameters such as: current density (12.5-50A/m(2)), flow rate (150-400 mL/min), initial pH (4-8), and initial fluoride concentration (5-25mg/L). The highest treatment efficiency was obtained for the largest current and the removal efficiency was found to be dependent on the current density, the flow rate and the initial fluoride concentration when the final pH ranged between 6 and 8. The composition of the sludge produced was analysed using the X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectrum. The strong presence of the aluminium hydroxide [Al(OH)(3)] in the above pH range, which maximizes the formation of aluminium fluoride hydroxide complex [Al(n)F(m)(OH)(3n-m)], is the main reason for defluoridation by electrocoagulation. The results obtained showed that the continuous flow electrocoagulation technology is an effective process for defluoridation of potable water supplies and could also be utilized for the defluoridation of industrial wastewater.     

Optimization of membrane-based CO2-removal from natural gas using simple models considering both pressure and temperature effects

Simple models for permeability and selectivity variations of the CO₂/CH₄ system in 6FDA-2,6-DAT membrane have been derived that include both temperature and pressure effects simultaneously in a single equation. The proposed models were used in MATLAB, for a membrane-based CO₂-removal process design for natural gas sweetening. The effects of the following factors on design parameters were examined: feed temperature, feed pressure and permeate pressure. The effect of permeate pressure was found to be very significant in the optimization process. In order to reduce hydrocarbon losses to below 2%, a two-stage membrane process was modeled and simulated in MATLAB, and the extent of desired hydrocarbon recovery was shown to be crucial in the optimization process. It has also been shown that there exist minima for the total required area of the two-stage membrane-based process, and as the CO₂ load increases in the feed, the position of these minima shift to higher values of methane loss.     

Flow injection spectrophotometric determination of methamidophos using online hydrolysis

A new protocol for the online spectrophotometric determination of methamidophos has been developed. The method is based on online hydrolysis of methamidophos, and the resulting hydrolyzed product is reacted with sodium nitroproside to form a colored complex. The calibration curve is linear over the concentration range of 0.5–20 μgml^?–?1, with a molar absorptivity of 2.5×10⁴ L mol^?1 cm^?1. The method is fast and reproducible with a sample throughput of 90 samples/h. The method is successfully applied to formulations and real samples.     

A mathematical model to predict the composition and generation of hospital wastes in Iran

The aim of this study is to investigate the quality and quantity of hospital wastes in Iran. The generated hospital wastes have been estimated by the number of hospitals and the number of active beds in each province of Iran in 2001. All data and information have been gathered from: (i) Iran Statistics Center, (ii) literature review, and (iii) hospital waste investigations for an average hospital. Physical analyses have been conducted in terms of various materials (plastic, textile, paper, metal, and others) and components (biological, infectious, medical, and regular wastes). Based on the above-mentioned investigation and information, a mathematical model has been developed to calculate the generation of (infectious) hospital wastes for any desired year. Utilizing the model, generated infectious hospital wastes has been estimated as 698,937 tones for 2008 (short-term) and 3,494,387 tones for 2028 (long-term period). If the real infectious wastes are collected separately, then the generated infectious wastes will be reduced by 15.1% of the above-mentioned amount (139,787 tones for 2008, and 698,877 tones for 2028). Results of physical analysis show the components of the hospital waste as: (a) infectious, 67.3%; (b) medical, 8.8%; (c) biological, 1.8%; and (d) common municipal wastes, 22.1%. An appropriate collection method requires training the staff at hospitals along with preparation of the required facilities. Of course, both of these requirements are cost intensive.     

Removal of dinitrotoluenes from water via reduction with iron and peroxidase-catalyzed oxidative polymerization: a comparison between Arthromyces ramosus peroxidase and soybean peroxidase

A two-step process for the removal of dinitrotoluene from water is presented: zero-valent iron reduction is coupled with peroxidase-catalyzed polymerization of the resulting diaminotoluenes (DAT). The effect of pH was examined in the reduction step: at pH 6 the reaction occurred much more rapidly than at pH 8. In the second step, optimal pH and substrate ratio, minimal enzyme concentration and effect of polyethylene glycol (PEG) as an additive for greater than 95% conversion of DAT, over a 3h reaction period were determined using high performance liquid chromatography. Two enzymes were investigated and compared: Arthromyces ramosus peroxidase (ARP) and soybean peroxidase (SBP). The optimal pH values were 5.4 and 5.2 for ARP and SBP, respectively, but SBP was more resistant to mild acid whereas ARP was more stable in neutral solutions. SBP was found to have a greater hydrogen peroxide demand (optimal peroxide/DAT molar ratio for SBP: 2.0 and 3.0 for 2,4-diaminotoluene (2,4-DAT) and 2,6-diaminotoluene (2,6-DAT), respectively; for ARP: 1.5 and 2.75 for 2,4-DAT and 2,6-DAT, respectively) but required significantly less enzyme (0.01 and 0.1 U ml(-1) for 2,4-DAT and 2,6-DAT, respectively) to convert the DAT than ARP (0.4 and 1.5 U ml(-1) for 2,4-DAT and 2,6-DAT, respectively). PEG was shown to have no effect upon the degree of substrate conversion for either enzyme.     

Effect of metal tolerant plant growth promoting Bradyrhizobium sp. (vigna) on growth, symbiosis, seed yield and metal uptake by greengram plants

The nickel and zinc tolerant plant growth promoting Bradyrhizobium sp. (vigna) RM8 was isolated from nodules of greengram, grown in metal contaminated Indian soils. The plant growth promoting (PGP) potentials of strain RM8 was assessed both in the presence and absence of nickel and zinc under in vitro conditions. Strain RM8 tolerated a high level of nickel (300 microg ml(-1)) and zinc (1400 microg ml(-1)) on yeast extract mannitol agar medium. Bradyrhizobium sp. (vigna) strain RM8 produced 13.3 microg ml(-1) of indole acetic acid in Luria Bertani broth at 100 microg ml(-1) of tryptophan which increased to 13.6 microg ml(-1) at 50 microg Ni ml(-1) and 13.5 microg ml(-1) at 300 microg Zn ml(-1). Strain RM8 was positive for siderophore, HCN and ammonia both in the absence and presence of nickel and zinc. The PGP activity of this strain was further evaluated with increasing concentrations of nickel and zinc using greengram as a test crop. The bioinoculant enhanced the nodule numbers by 82%, leghaemoglobin by 120%, seed yield by 34%, grain protein by 13%, root N by 41% and shoot N by 37% at 290 mg Ni kg(-1) soil. At 4890 mg Zn kg(-1) soil, the bioinoculant increased the nodule numbers by 50%, leghaemoglobin by 100%, seed yield by 36%, grain protein by 13%, root N by 47% and shoot N by 42%. The bioinoculant strain RM8 reduced the uptake of nickel and zinc by plant organs compared to plants grown in the absence of bioinoculant. This study suggested that the bioinoculant due to its intrinsic abilities of growth promotion and attenuation of the toxic effects of nickel and zinc could be exploited for remediation of metal from nickel and zinc contaminated sites.     

Oil spill cleanup cost estimation—Developing a mathematical model for marine environment

The field of oil spill cost modelling is not as well explored as desirable. Generally speaking, the existing models have either low accuracy, in that their predictions are far from the real cost, or low applicability, in that they are only valid under very specific conditions; such as in one particular country. This work strives to construct a model that is functional in a global scope and still possess a high level of accuracy. The resulting attempt is in many ways superior to the publicly available competitors, not only because of its predictive capacity but also because the model is quick to use, and its input variables should be readily available to any informed user. The model is more accurate comparing with similar available models. However, further study is needed to modify it to obtain more realistic results.     

Statistical analysis of arsenic contamination in drinking water in a city of Iran and its modeling using GIS

In this research, probable arsenic contamination in drinking water in the city of Ardabil was studied in 163 samples during four seasons. In each season, sampling was carried out randomly in the study area. Results were analyzed statistically applying SPSS 19 software, and the data was also modeled by Arc GIS 10.1 software. The maximum permissible arsenic concentration in drinking water defined by the World Health Organization and Iranian national standard is 10 μg/L. Statistical analysis showed 75, 88, 47, and 69% of samples in autumn, winter, spring, and summer, respectively, had concentrations higher than the national standard. The mean concentrations of arsenic in autumn, winter, spring, and summer were 19.89, 15.9, 10.87, and 14.6 μg/L, respectively, and the overall average in all samples through the year was 15.32 μg/L. Although GIS outputs indicated that the concentration distribution profiles changed in four consecutive seasons, variance analysis of the results showed that statistically there is no significant difference in arsenic levels in four seasons.     

Determination of radioactive elements and heavy metals in sediments and soil from domestic water sources in northern peninsular Malaysia

Soil serves as a major reservoir for contaminants as it posseses an ability to bind various chemicals together. To safeguard the members of the public from an unwanted exposure, studies were conducted on the sediments and soil from water bodies that form the major sources of domestic water supply in northern peninsular Malaysia for their trace element concentration levels. Neutron Activation Analysis, using Nigeria Research Reactor-1 (NIRR-1) located at the Centre for Energy Research and Training, Zaria, Nigeria was employed as the analytical tool. The elements identified in major quantities include Na, K, and Fe while As, Br, Cr, U, Th, Eu, Cs, Co, La, Sm, Yb, Sc, Zn, Rb, Ba, Lu, Hf, Ta, and Sb were also identified in trace quantities. Gamma spectroscopy was also employed to analyze some soil samples from the same area. The results indicated safe levels in terms of the radium equivalent activity, external hazard index as well as the mean external exposure dose rates from the soil. The overall screening of the domestic water sources with relatively high heavy metals concentration values in sediments and high activity concentration values in soil is strongly recommended as their accumulation overtime as a consequence of leaching into the water may be of health concern to the members of the public.     

Bioaccumulation of trace elements in different tissues of three commonly available fish species regarding their gender,gonadosomatic index,and condition factor in a wetland ecosystem

In the present research, accumulation of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn were determined in sediments and fillet, liver, kidney, gonads, and gills of three commonly fish species in the largest wetland ecosystem that is located in southwest of Iran; Shadegan wetland. Shadegan is one of the most important wetland that posses various fauna and flora but suffers inputs from agricultural and industrial activities. So, sediment samples and fish species including Barbus grypus, Barbus sharpeyi, and Cyprinus carpio were collected during winter 2009. Results showed that mean concentrations of trace elements (except Ni and Co) were high in liver and gills of B. grypus. Also trace elements had the most accumulation in liver of B. sharpeyi except for Cd (0.26 mg kg^− 1 d.w.) and Mn (13.45 mg kg^− 1 d.w.) that were high in gills. Beside, kidney is determined as target tissue for Ni and V in B. grypus and for Pb in C. carpio, due to their high concentration. Zn levels in all tissues of C. carpio showed the highest concentrations in comparison to other fish species. Generally, accumulations of most of the studied elements in B. grypus and B. sharpeyi were higher in females than in males, while in fillet and gonads of C. carpio, this trend was inverted. Bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) were determined for different tissues of fish species with respect to elemental concentrations in sediment. BAFs results indicated that Zn, Pb, and Cu have higher BAF than other elements. Also this investigation demonstrated that trace elements have different affinities with condition factor of studied fish species. Gonadosomatic index (GSI) and Pb showed positive correlation together in both B. sharpeyi and B. grypus, respectively, in females and males. Moreover, females of C. carpio showed significantly positive relation of GSI and all studied elements.