Poly(sodium acrylamidoalkanoates) in water treatment

Poly(sodium 6-acrylamidocaproate), poly(sodium 11-acrylamidoundecanoate), poly(sodium 11-N-methylacrylamidoundecanoate) and poly(sodium 11-N-ethylacrylamidoundecanoate) have been synthesized. The performance of these anionic polyelectrolytes as coagulant aids in water treatment was assessed by the jar test. The effects of polymer dosage and pH on their performances were investigated in order to establish the optimum flocculation conditions. The effectiveness of these polyelectrolytes as well as a commercially available cationic polyamine organic coagulant aid was compared in terms of floc size, settling rate and the quality of treated water. Poly(sodium 6-acrylamidocaproate) and poly(sodium 11-acrylamidoundecanoate) were superior to poly(sodium 11-N-methylacrylamidoundecanoate) and poly(sodium 11-N-ethylacrylamidoundecanoate), and they are as effective as the commercial cationic coagulant aid.     

Tsunami run-up and inundation along the coast of Sabah and Sarawak,Malaysia due to a potential Brunei submarine mass failure

Submarine landslides, also known as submarine mass failures (SMFs), are major natural marine disasters that could critically damage coastal facilities such as nuclear power plants and oil and gas platforms. It is therefore essential to investigate submarine landslides for potential tsunami hazard assessment. Three-dimensional seismic data from offshore Brunei have revealed a giant seabed mass deposited by a previous SMF. The submarine mass extends over 120 km from the continental slope of the Baram Canyon at 200 m water depth to the deep basin floor of the Northwest Borneo Trough. A suite of in-house two-dimensional depth-averaged tsunami simulation model TUNA (Tsunami-tracking Utilities and Application) is developed to assess the vulnerability of coastal communities in Sabah and Sarawak subject to potential SMF tsunami. The submarine slide is modeled as a rigid body moving along a planar slope with the center of mass motion parallel to the planar slope and subject to external forces due to added mass, gravity, and dissipation. The nonlinear shallow water equations are utilized to simulate tsunami propagation from deepwater up to the shallow offshore areas. A wetting-drying algorithm is used when a tsunami wave reaches the shoreline to compute run up of tsunami along the shoreline. Run-up wave height and inundation maps are provided for seven densely populated locations in Sabah and Sarawak to highlight potential risks at each location, subject to two scenarios of slide slopes: 2° and 4°. The first wave may arrive at Kudat as early as 0.4 h after the SMF, giving local communities little time to evacuate. Over a small area, maximum inundated depths reaching 20.3 m at Kudat, 26.1 m at Kota Kinabalu, and 15.5 m at Miri are projected, while the maximum inundation distance of 4.86 km is expected at Miri due to its low-lying coast. In view of the vulnerability of some locations to the SMF tsunami, it is important to develop and implement community resilience program to reduce the potential damage that could be inflicted by SMF tsunamis.     

Development of clean technology in alcohol fermentation industry

A zero-discharge system for the alcohol fermentation industry was developed by recycling distillery waste (stillage). Stillage was able to be recycled as cooking water for the next fermentation after treating it with appropriate separation processes. Ultrafiltration with a ceramic membrane played a key role in the separation processes. When the permeate from the ultrafiltration of stillage was recycled to the cooking step, the total fermentation time was prolonged from 60 to 70–80 h, but the average ethanol production yield (8.8%) was similar to that in the conventional process (9.0%). In contrast, direct recycle of stillage without membrane filtration showed negative effects on both fermentation time and alcohol yield as recycling was repeated. This new process was confirmed to have stable operation over eight recycles. This new clean technology for the ethanol production industry makes it possible to eliminate the stillage treatment steps using the conventional biological treatment processes such as anaerobic digestion and activated sludge steps currently being operated in industry.     

Sandbar-regulated hydrodynamic influences on river hydrochemistry at Mengabang Telipot River, Peninsular Malaysia

Influences of river hydrodynamic behaviours on hydrochemistry (salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen saturations and dissolved phosphorus) were evaluated through high spatial and temporal resolution study of a sandbar-regulated coastal river. River hydrodynamic during sandbar-closed event was characterized by minor dependency on tidal fluctuations, very gradual increase of water level and continual low flow velocity. These hydrodynamic behaviours established a hydrochemistry equilibrium, in which water properties generally were characterized by virtual absence of horizontal gradients while vertical stratifications were significant. In addition, the river was in high trophic status as algae blooms were visible. Conversely, river hydrodynamic in sandbar-opened event was tidal-controlled and showed higher flow velocity. Horizontal gradients of water properties became significant while vertically more homogenised and with lower trophic status. In essence, this study reveals that estuarine sandbar directly regulates river hydrodynamic behaviours which in turn influences river hydrochemistry.     

The impact of heavy metal pollution gradients in sediments on benthic macrofauna at population and community levels

The effect of sediment pollution on benthos was investigated in the vicinity of a large sewage treatment outflow at Incheon North Harbor, Korea. Animal size, vertical distribution and standard community parameters were analyzed along a 3 km transect line (n = 7). Univariate parameters showed a general trend of increasing species diversity with increasing distance from the pollution source. Multi-dimensional scaling analysis led to the clear separation of 3 locational groups, supporting gradient-dependent faunal composition. The innermost location was dominated by small sub-surface dwellers while the outer locations by large mid to deep burrowers. Looking for the size-frequency distribution, most abundance species (Heteromastus filiformis) showed the presence of larger size animals with increasing proximity to the pollution source. Meanwhile, species-specific vertical distributions, regardless of the pollution gradient, indicated that such shifts were due to species replacement resulting from a higher tolerance to pollutants over some species.     

Removal mechanism of elemental mercury by using non-thermal plasma

The removal mechanism of elementary mercury (Hg(0)) by non-thermal plasma (NTP) has been investigated, where dielectric barrier discharge and O(3) injection methods as oxidation techniques are employed, together with the analysis of mercury species deposited on the reactor surface using temperature-programmed desorption and dissociation (TPDD) and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy. The removal of Hg(0) by NTP is found to be time-dependent and proceed through three domains; the Hg(0) concentration just slightly decreases as soon as NTP is initiated and then becomes constant for several minutes (Region 1), thereafter starts to decrease rapidly for 1h (Region 2) and, after passing fall-off region, very slowly decreases for about 4h (Region 3). The deposited mercury species on the reactor surface were conglomerated like islands, rather than dispersed uniformly, and their ratio of Hg(0) to O composition is observed to be 1:2. Additionally, the new peak in TPDD spectra observed in the region of 260-380°C is proposed as HgO(3). These results lead us to conclude that the deposited mercury species by NTP have extra O atoms to oxidize the adsorbed Hg(0), resulting in the acceleration of removal rate as the oxidation of Hg(0) proceeds.     

Characterization of trace organic contaminants in marine sediment from Yeongil Bay, Korea: 1. Instrumental analyses

Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine (OC) pesticides (HCB, HCHs, CHLs, and DDTs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), alkylphenols (APs), and bisphenol A (BPA) were measured in 26 marine sediments collected from Yeongil Bay, Korea, in order to characterize their spatial distribution and sources. PCBs (2.85-26.5 ng/g, dry wt.) were detected mainly in the inner bay locations Mean OC pesticide ranged from 1.16 ng/g dry wt. for HCH to 0.05 ng/g dry wt. for HCB). PAH concentrations ranged from <10.0 to 1870 (mean: 309)ng/g dry wt., and were predominated 3- and 4-ring congeners. Concentrations of APs, such as nonylphenol, octylphenol, butylphenol (means 89.1, 4.61, 11.0 ng/g dry wt., respectively), were greater at locations proximal to municipal wastewater discharges. Concentrations of PCBs and PAHs were great near shipyards and industrial complexes. Vertical profiles of PAHs and APs indicated that they have been associated with sediments since the 1950s.