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Water Quality Assessment Using Multivariate Statistical Techniques: A Case Study of Yangling Section, Weihe River, China

Multivariate statistical techniques, including cluster analysis (CA), principal component analysis (PCA), factor analysis (FA) and discriminant analysis (DA), were applied for the evaluation of temporal and seasonal variations and interpretation of a complex water quality data set at Yangling Section of Weihe River. Hierarchical cluster analysis grouped 12 months into three clusters, i.e., C1 (relatively highly polluted months), C2 (moderate polluted months) and C3 (less polluted months), based on the similarity of water quality characteristics. Factor analysis/principal component analysis, tested to the data sets of the three groups obtained from cluster analysis, identified 9, 6 and 7 latent factors explaining more than 76, 69 and 62% of the total variance in the data sets of C1, C2 and C3, respectively. The varifactors obtained indicate that parameters responsible for variation are mainly related to temperature and DO (natural), CODMn, turbidity, NH4+, TN, pH and TOC (point source: domestic wastewater) in C1; temperature, DO and EC (natural), CODMn, TN, pH, and TOC in C2; and temperature, DO and EC (natural), CODMn, pH and TOC (point source: domestic wastewater and industrial effluents), turbidity and TN (non-point source: agriculture and soil erosion) in C3. However, discriminant analysis showed no significant data reduction, as it used 8 parameters (turbidity, EC, NH4+, DO, TN, pH, temperature and TOC) affording more than 81% correct assignations in temporal analysis, while 8 parameters (CODMn, turbidity, EC, DO, TN, pH, temperature, TOC) affording more than 88% correct assignations in seasonal analysis. Thus, this research illustrated the necessity and usefulness of multivariate statistical techniques for analysis and interpretation of large complex water quality data sets, identification of possible pollution sources/factors and information about variation in water quality for effective river water quality management.

Xiuquan Xu and Jianen Gao

The Effect of Sea Food Processing Discharge on the Nearby Wetlands in Cherthala-Aroor-Edakochi Coastal Belt of Kerala, India

Effluents from the sea food processing plants discharged into the water bodies may cause eutrophication. This study has been carried out to assess the impact of effluent discharge on water quality and phytoplankton population in Vembanad-kol wetland adjacent to seafood processing industries. Five stations were selected in the Cherthala-Aroor-Edakochi coastal belt of Vembanad lake, four were near to the seafood processing facilities, and the fifth station was kept as a reference site, which is free from the direct seafood processing effluent discharge. Samples were collected on monthly for a period of one year (October 2011 to September 2012) for physico-chemical and biological analysis. The higher level of salinity, alkalinity, hardness, BOD, COD, nitrate, phosphate, ammonia, silicate and depleted level of dissolved oxygen indicated the pollution status of study stations (S1-S4) compared to reference site (S5). Among the 137 genera of phytoplanktons, Bacillariophyceae was the major class followed by Chlorophyceae and Cyanophyceae. In addition to this, the class Rhodophyceae, Chrysophyceae, Haptophyceae, Eustigmatophyceae and Cryptophyceae were also reported. Percentage composition and biological indices of the phytoplanktons were assessed. The pollution tolerant genera like Navicula, Nitzschia, Scenedesmus, Coscinodiscus, Ankistrodesmus, Chlorella, Oscillatoria, Phormidium, etc. were dominant in the four stations (S1-S4) during the study period. This baseline information on the water quality status of Vembanad lake will be useful for future ecological assessment and monitoring to conserve this Ramsar site.

V. Vidya, K. Sumathy and G. Prasad

Impact of Policies on Unexploited Land Change in Guiyang City, Guizhou Province, China

Unexploited land change is a main driver of regional eco-environment change. Through an integrated technique of geographic information system (GIS), remote sensing (RS), and global positioning system (GPS), the authors attempted to address this topic by examining unexploited land conversion in Guiyang City in Guizhou province in southwestern China as a case study, as well as looking at the effect of policies in land use from 1996 to 2010 in the same area. Results showed that: Agricultural development of unexploited land was encouraged from 1996 to 2000, and a progression conversion process with direct and indirect transformations overlaid was formed by unexploited land ® arable land + unexploited land ® forest land and grass land ® arable land. The conversion management of unexploited land was enhanced, unexploited land occupied for construction was controlled, and the area of unexploited land converted to forest land and grassland showed an upward trend from 2000 to 2006. Local government was encouraged and supported in exploring construction and use of unexploited land, and achieved the maximum value by converting unexploited land to construction land, as a result we see the area of forest land and grassland decreased from 2006 to 2010.

Yan Liu, Xianjin Huang, Taiyang Zhong, Guangjie Luo, Ran Yu and Li Li

Emissions and Performance of a Single Cylinder CFR Cetane Engine Using Biodiesel-Water Emulsion

Emulsification technique is one of the most important methods to the reduction of pollutants from diesel engine. In this research, a single cylinder diesel engine was operated with water in canola biodiesel as fuel and the effect of water emulsification on the engine performance and emissions were investigated. Emulsified biodiesel fuels of 3.5 and 10 water/water-biodiesel mixture fuel ratios by volume were used in a light-duty diesel engine, operating at various engine speeds. The results show that the brake engine torque, the brake engine power and the brake thermal efficiency decrease as the water percentage in the emulsion increases but the brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) increases as the percentage of water increases in the emulsion fuel. In addition, carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC) increase as the percentage of the water increases in the emulsion fuel. However, exhaust gas temperature, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and smoke emissions decrease as the percentage of water increases in the emulsion fuel.

E. Orak, Y. Karagoz and M. Ozkan

Microbial Dynamics of Endemic Earthworms on Soil Health and Sustainable Agriculture

Earthworms harness the microorganisms which are beneficial to the agro-ecosystem, as they synergistically decompose soil organic matter and help in nutrients cycling. Lampito mauritii and Perionyx excavatus are endemic earthworms which dominate the Indian soils, especially in south India. However, the exotic earthworm Eudrilus eugeniae has been harnessed for the formation of compost and organic matter decomposition. Endemic earthworms do not coexist with exotics as they eliminate the former due to competition for food and space. The present study aims to reveal the physical, chemical and biological differences between the different products of the endemic earthworms L. mauritii and P. excavatus and the exotic earthworm E. eugeniae to better understand their contributions to agricultural soil and nutrient management. The three major earthworm products include cast, compost and drilosphere soil of earthworms. Different groups of microorganisms present in earthworm products include major microbial groups, biofertilisers, carbon, and nitrogen mineralizers. The results reveal that the products of endemic earthworms show significant increase in biofertilisers such as nitrogen fixers and phosphate solubilizers, heterotrophic bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes compared to the products from the exotic earthworm. Among the three products studied, vermicompost, especially of the endemic species, shows a balanced C/ N ratio and increased microbial density including biofertilisers.

Chengalvarayan Dhakshayani, Sultan Ahmed Ismail* and Nausheen Dawood

The Study of Island Natural Disasters and Preventive Measures

Islands tend to be natural disaster-prone areas, and frequently experience meteorological, geological and ecological disasters. Based on an analysis of the characteristics of major natural disasters (storm surge, coastal erosion, red tide, invasive species), the authors provide an evaluation and analysis of China’s marine disasters between the years 2000 and 2013. In addition, the following preventive measures are recommended such as perfecting observation and forecasting systems, strengthening the construction of disaster prevention projects and enhancing the level of integrated management for island protection to mitigate the harm caused by natural disasters as well as to promote the socio-economic development of island areas.

Degang Wang, Ning Wang, Li-gui Wang, Chunqiu Liu, Li Sun and Ananda Colace

The Terraced Fields Environmental Impact Assessment in Data-Scarce Areas Based on the Embedded Terraced Module SWAT Model

The terraced field widely distributed in Loess Plateau where serious soil and water loss happens, has a significant influence on watershed hydrological environment. At present, for the deficiency of watershed scale terraced fields hydrological environment impact assessment model and lacking of measured data, the terraced fields environmental impact assessment has attracted many attentions of the researchers. This paper adopts the hydrologic analogy combined with a scale physical model method, to infer the runoff and sediments in data-scarce area. Using the embedded terraced module SWAT model to assessment of terraced fields environmental impact, the results show that was a new way to conjecture the hydrologic data in data-scarce area. And the terraced field module can meet the accuracy requirement, the NS sufficient were both above 0.5 in calibration and verifying period. The soil erosion modulus of terraced fields contained in and removed from the watershed, was respectively 5.3% and 16.2% greater than the real. This indicates that the embedded terraced module SWAT model could be used in terraced fields environmental impact assessment in Loess Plateau small watershed.

Yuanxing Zhang, Jianen Gao, Hui Shao, Hongjie Wang, Chunhong Zhao, Hong Wang and Xiuquan Xu

Applicability of Different Models of Reference Crops Evapotranspiration in China

Measuring and counting reference crops evapotranspiration (ET0) accurately is of great importance for water resources evaluation and efficient utilization of agricultural water resources. In order to evaluate the applicability of the six formulas in China, this paper selected eight weather stations. They were Erlianhaote, Jiexiu, Yuncheng and Yichang stations which are on the same longitude but in different climatic conditions, and Tieganlike, Huailai, Jinzhou and Dandong weather stations which are on the same latitude but in different climatic conditions. By taking the daily meteorological data of 1960-2012 as the original data, the paper adopted Penman-Monteith method, Makkink, Penman, Kimberly Penman, Hargreaves-Samani, Priestley Taylor and Irmark-Allen to calculate the daily reference crops evapotranspiration. And the other 6 methods were contrastively analysed by using the Penman-Monteith method proposed by United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. The results show that in the same longitude and latitude, score sequence of Makkink, Pemman and Kimberly Penman is: humid area>sub-arid areas>sub-humid areas>arid areas. Irmark-Allen’s entropy score sequence was sub-humid area>sub-arid areas>arid zone>humid area. But in the two cases, the order of Hargreaves-Samani and Priestley Taylor is different. The suitability of Hargreaves-Samani and Priestley Taylor is the best in China, followed by Irmark-Allen and Makkink, but the applicability of Penman and Kimberly Penman is poorer. This paper provides theoretical basis and reference by using different types of the formulas to calculate reference crops evapotranspiration in different regions of China.

Xi Wang, Honglei Wang, Fangfang Jia and Xiuru Wang

Prioritizing Subwatersheds from Drainage Morphometric Parameters for Erosion Studies in Chitravathi Watershed, Chickballapur District, Karnataka

Assessment of soil erosion in a watershed is important to take measure to control it. This paper presents the result of drainage morphometry approach to understand the status of erosion and deposition in the Chitravathi watershed. The study of drainage morphometry leads to an understanding of the dissection of the area, which in turn helps in deciphering the erosion condition. Soil erosion status in the subwatersheds of Chitravathi watershed is prioritized using drainage morphometric parameters.

T. Mahadevaiah and B. K. Narendra

Factors that Affect the Species Richness of the Raptor Guild of the Carnivore Community in the Afro-Alpine Sections of the Bale Mountains National Park (BMNP)

The Afro-alpine moorlands of the Bale Mountains National Park (BMNP) constitute a diverse guild of avian carnivores. The response of the species richness of this guild to ecological processes is evaluated in this paper. Importance of elevation, topographic physical features, patch heterogeneity of habitat and prey were evaluated in explaining the species richness of the guild of diurnal raptors. The spatial variation in the moorland ecosystem as result of associations of these explanatory process variables was determined through a Principal Component Analysis. This showed there were three spatial clusters of census patches that held significantly different number of species of the guild. Importance of the variables that defined the spatial variability of the ecosystem in explaining the changes in the species richness of the raptor guild was explored through simple correlation analyses and step-wise multiple linear regression that made use of PCA components of covarying explanatory variables. The first axes of the PCA mainly defined by elevation, patch physical features, habitat heterogeneity, diversity of relatively small birds and relatively large sized avian and mammalian prey was selected as a significant predictor. In this model, species richness responded negatively to the environmental variables. Heterogeneity of patches in vegetation type and species richness of prey communities that included birds and mammals such as hare and hyrax affected the species richness of the raptors significantly positively. A simple linear regression model showed interspecific niche overlap declined as a function of species richness.

Anteneh Shimelis, Ermias Addmasu, Afework Bekele, Stuart Williams and Simon Thirgood

Monitoring and Evaluation Study on Traffic Noise of College Road

With the increase of traffic mileages, traffic flow and running speed, highway traffic noise pollution is aggravating and expanding the interference degree and scope of residents along the line, whose normal life, work, study and rest environment are disturbed seriously. Traffic noise pollution has gradually become the most concerned environmental pollution problem for the residents who live along the line. We monitored the noise of the section of College North Road which is from Hebei University of Engineering North Gate to Meishilin Supermarket. Through comprehensive analysis and evaluation on social environment and residents’ health impact, we proposed reasonable measures to reduce noise pollution.

Jihong Zhou, Qi Jiang and Xia Zhang

Hydro-Chemical Analysis and Classification of Groundwater in Tiptur Town and its Surrounding Areas, Tumkur District, Karnataka

Tiptur Taluk is located in the southeastern corner of Karnataka state at north latitude 13°16’ and east longitude of 76°29’. The Taluk spreads over an area of 785.5 sq.km and frequently face water scarcity as well as quality problems. The major sources of employment are coconut business and agriculture, horticulture and animal husbandry covering almost 70 to 80% of the workforce. Water samples were collected from 50 locations during the period of summer and winter season, 2009-11. The class of groundwater belonged to C2S1, C3S1 and suitability of water for irrigation was evaluated based on the sodium adsorption ratio, Na%, salinity hazard and USSL diagram.

S. B. Basavaraddi, Heena Kouser and E. T. Puttaiah

Analysis of Microbial Community in Luliang Oil Field

This paper examines the total bacterial concentration and the functional bacteria concentration of the injection water from the injection well LU3064 and the produced fluid from the production well LU3036 using the plate count method and the most-probable-number method. We find that the bacterial community of the injection water is more complex and the bacteria concentration is higher than those of the produce fluid. Additionally, the surface tension of the produced fluid is lower than that of the injection water by 12%. We performed a diversity analysis to the injection water from LU3064 and the produced fluid from LU3036 by constructing the 16S rDNA clone library using molecular biology approaches. Through the comparison to GenBank, we found that the community in the injection water has a high diversity. The dominant bacteria belong to Alphaproteobacteria. The bacterial community of the produced fluid is relatively simpler, where Pseudomonas constitutes more than 80%, which are the dominant bacteria. There are also other functional bacteria such as Bacillus that exists in the produced fluid. We conclude that the oil recovery of Luliang oil field can be increased by microorganism flooding method.

Yi Lina, Ma Yuandong, Cui Qingfeng, Yu Li, Huang Lixin and Dhakal Jafarzadeh

Study on the Change and Regional Differences About Total Factor Productivity Considering the Environmental Pollution in China

By the directional distance function method, this paper calculated and compared the TFP (Total Factor Productivity) in 30 regions of China from 2000 to 2011 considering the environmental pollution. The study indicated that the TFP of each region has been ever-increasing whether consider environmental pollution factors, but the growth rate has been decreasing. The TFP has been in recession situation since the financial crisis in 2008. According to regional differences, the average annual growth rate of TFP in east was much higher than that of the central and west regions. Considering the environmental pollution, the average TFP in each region fell slightly. Comparing with the TFP without environment factor, the TFP in west region fell sharper, while it appeared double win of environment and economy development in the east region.

Jiansheng Zhang, C. Kopytov and Mou Qifang

E-waste, A New Challenge to the Environmentalists

Electronic waste or e-waste is one of the rapidly growing problems of the world. E-waste comprises of a multiple of components, some containing a toxic substance that can have an adverse impact on human health and the environment if not handled properly. Rapid economic growth in Asia and the increasing transboundary movement of secondary resources will increase that require both 3R endeavours (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) in each country. In India e-waste management assumes a greater significance not only due to generation of its own e-waste but also because of the dumping of e-waste from developed countries. This paper highlights the concise overview of India’s current e-waste scenario, namely magnitude of problem, environmental and health hazards, current disposal and recycling operation, existing legal framework, organization working on the issue and recommendation for action with regulatory bodies in India.

Manoj Kumar Jhariya, K. P. Sahu and Abhishek Raj

Study on Arsenic (III) Sorption Behaviour by River Sediment

The present study deals with sediment sorption of arsenic onto sediments from the middle Yellow River and major affecting factors (such as temperate, pH, particle size and sediment dose have been studied by isothermal sorption and single factor experiments. The results showed that sorption equilibrium time of each dose and particle size sediment was 5-10 min. expect 1kg/m3. When the sediment dose was 1kg/m3, the sorption equilibrium time was about 180min. The retention rate of As(III) increased with respect to sediment dose while the retention quality of per sediment decreased. As the sediment concentrations are the same, the smaller the particle size, the more the retention quality. The order for sorption As(III) was fine sediment>medium sediment>coarse sediment. When pH<7, the percentage of As (III) removal was higher compared to pH 7. A general increase was there in sorption with respect to pH above 7.0 for both the fractions of the sediment. It is evident that the pH for minimum uptake of As (III) is 7.0, and for maximum uptake is 9.0. At the same time, temperate as the main factor for sorption was also studied. The temperate experiments showed that the temperature is of significance to sorption. When temperatures between 10-15°C, the higher the temperature, the lower the removal rate. When temperatures between 15-20°C, the higher the temperature, the bigger the removal rate. After temperature greater than 20°C, temperature change effects on arsenic sorption rates do not remain obvious.

Li Hai-hua, Meng Rui-jing, Huang Qiang and Qiu Lin

A Rating Tax Control Model to Mitigate China’s Transboundary Water Pollution Problems

In this paper, we introduce a rating tax control model (RTCM) based on generalized Nash equilibrium theory to deal with transboundary water pollution problem. Under RTCM, the more transfer of pollution, the high should be paid in the presence of rating tax. We prove that the RTCM is equivalent to a nonlinear program. With the help of generalized Clarke’s gradient, we give the optimality condition of RTCM. Finally, we use a simple example to illustrate the validity of our results.

Changmin Li Jian Xue and Xiaoqiang Xie

Phytostabilization of Chromium by Organic Amendments in Sunflower (Helianthus annus L.) Field Soil

Chromium, in the trivalent form (Cr III), is an important component of a balanced human and animal diet and its deficiency causes disturbance to the glucose and lipids metabolism in them. But the concentration above the permissible limit causes the crop failure and human health impacts. In contrast, hexavalent Cr (Cr VI) is highly toxic, carcinogen and may cause death in animals and humans if ingested in large doses. Recently, concern about Cr as an environmental pollutant has been escalating due to its buildup to toxic levels in the environment as a result of various industrial and agricultural activities. In our study, a reduction of chromium of about 87 per cent was recorded in sunflower field. At the same time reduction of only 33.8 per cent from the initial concentration of Cr in the surface soils under sunflower was observed due to the addition of organic amendments. Such reduction is attributed to the formation of either organo-chromic complexes (Immobilization) or chelates. Phytostabilization utilizes the plant production of compounds, which immobilize contaminants at the interface of roots and soil, or root and water. An example of this method is where root exudates cause the precipitation of metals, reducing their bioavailability.

R. Sunitha and S. Mahimairaja

Study on the Optimization of Fishway Inlet

Fishway is the only path through which the aquatic animal fauna can smoothly pass obstruction of its upstream migration. The conventional design and study of fishway are mainly focused on the internal structure and flow conditions, while the researches on the layout of fishway inlet and the optimization of fishway structure are relatively less. That leads to difficulties or even impossibilities for fishes to enter the fishway in engineering applications. In this paper, the principles of the fishway inlet location selection were verified by numerical simulations through establishing the ecological hydraulics indexes of fishway inlet as well as combining the fish swimming performance with the flow pattern index of fishway inlet. What’s more, a new fishway inlet structure which can control the discharge and velocity was proposed so as to take into account the role of tempting fish and making up water. Through the above methods, the fishway inlet has been optimized and it can help fish smoothly finish migration.

Xiao He, Jia Li, Wenmin Yi and Xi Mao

Research on the Location and Allocation Strategy of the Construction of Waste Resource Center Based on Environment Protection

Urban construction and environment protection are important contents in the urban regeneration. The output of the construction waste is very huge, which has serious impacts on the ecological environment and the urban land use during the urban regeneration process. This paper establishes a mathematic strategy model of the location, capacity and allocation of the construction waste resource center, without considering the landfill for the disposal of the construction waste, which was the basic recycling disposal method of the construction waste. Then, in aspect of solving the mathematical model, it is proposed to adapt basic simulated annealing algorithm with two stages improvement to solve the model, which is also controlled in urban construction experience data. Results of the case simulation show that the mathematical model and the solving method are suitable to the limited number of the construction waste resource center model, which can be the references to the problem of urban construction and environment protection in the urban regeneration.

Shilong Li, Hongyan Tian and Mazhar Hassan

Biodecolourisation of Azo Dye Reactive Red 22 by Bacillus infantis strain AAA isolated from Seawater and Toxicity Assessment of Degraded Metabolites

Decolorization and degradation of Azo dye Reactive Red-22 (RR-22) by a bacterial strain isolated from marine seawater and identified as Bacillus infantis sp. AAA was assessed. Maximum decolorization (95%) of RR-22 (100 mg/L) was achieved at pH 9, 37°C and 3% salt concentration under static conditions in 6h. Various environmental characteristics such as pH, temperature, salt concentration and dye concentration were analysed to determine the optimum decolorization conditions. Decolorization analysis was carried out by UV-vis spectrophotometer. The FTIR spectra showed the absence of –N=N– in the degraded sample. The HPLC chromatogram showed the presence of multiple peaks at different retention times conforming degradation. The phytotoxicity results exhibited the toxic nature of RR-22 compared to the less toxicity of degraded metabolites on seeds of Vigna mungo and Vigna radiata showing 30% and 20% germination.

K. V. Bhaskara Rao and A. S. Arun Prasad

Study of Soil Moisture Dynamics in Relation to Microtopography in the Loess Region of Northern Shaanxi, China

Soil moisture is the primary limiting factor of vegetation restoration and rehabilitation in the loess region of northern Shaanxi Province, China. A 5-year study was conducted in a microtopographically diverse landscape of China’s loess region on the dynamics (monthly variations, vertical distribution, spatial variability) of soil moisture content in representative microtopographical units (including undisturbed slope as a control) as part of a long-term observational experiment at the Wuqi Ecological Station of Beijing Forestry University. One goal was to improve the efficiency of the use of soil moisture through a reasonable spatial distribution of planted vegetation. According to the 5-year average monthly variations in soil moisture content, we divided soil moisture conditions in the study area into four stages: slow moisture loss (March to May), moisture depletion (June to August), slow recovery (September to October), and stabilization (November to February). From January to December, soil moisture content varied with microtopography as follows: gullies > gently sloped terraces > collapsed soils > undisturbed slopes (control) > furrows > scarps. In terms of vertical distribution, soil moisture content varied obviously and was stratified; it also increased with increasing soil depth. Specifically, soil moisture content was generally low at 0-20 cm deep, varied considerably at 20-100 cm deep and the variation of soil moisture increased significantly at 100-160 cm deep. Spatial variability of soil moisture content in relation to microtopography can be categorized as follows: scarps > undisturbed slopes > furrows > collapsed areas > gentle-sloped terraces > gullies. These results provide reference information for implementing microtopographical and tree-oriented near-natural afforestation and optimizing vegetation selection for diverse microtopographical units of the loess region of northern Shaanxi.

Yao-jun Bo, Qing-ke Zhu, Wei-jun Zhao, Yan-ming Zhao and Auer. B. Reddy

Exogenous Hydrogen Sulphide Protection of Cucurbita ficifolia Seedlings against NaHCO3 Stress

Salinity is one of the main environmental stresses that affect plant growth and development. H2S plays an important role in a variety of responses against abiotic stresses. This study was conducted to determine the effects of exogenous NaHS, a hydrogen sulphide (H2S) donor on physiological characteristics of Cucurbita ficifolia seedlings under NaHCO3 stress. The accumulation of chlorophyll content, malondialdehyde (MDA), soluble protein and soluble sugar along with the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) in leaves were estimated. NaHCO3 stress decreased the chlorophyll content, increased the accumulation of MDA, soluble protein and soluble sugar, and improved SOD and POD activities in leaves, compared to the control. However, exogenous NaHS treatment (1.0 mmol/L) significantly increased the chlorophyll content, soluble protein and soluble sugar contents, and decreased the MDA content, SOD and POD activities of NaHCO3-stressed seedlings. It is strongly suggested that NaHCO3 stress inhibits the growth of Cucurbita ficifolia seedlings, while exogenous H2S can effectively protect Cucurbita ficifolia seedlings against NaHCO3 stress.

Yongdong Sun, Weirong Luo and Shiyong Sun

Hydrologic Modelling of Mahanadi River Basin in India Using Rainfall-Runoff Model

The present study highlights on the application of an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) tool, Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) system model for hydrologic simulation of Mahanadi river basin in India. A monthly time step hydrologic model was developed using rainfall-runoff method incorporated in WEAP with an aim to address the challenge of water resources estimation in Mahanadi basin. The model was set-up without taking into account effects of development and it was calibrated against measured flow data available at six gauging stations. A good agreement was observed between simulated and measured flow after calibration. Crop coefficient (Kc) and effective precipitation are the parameters changed during calibration. The range of calibrated parameters was found as ± 5 % and ± 1 % for Kc and effective precipitation respectively for different catchments. The simulation of stream flow using calibrated values revealed that, in most cases, the variation between measured and simulated stream flow values is less than 10%. This shows the good agreement with measured data by using calibrated parameters. The calibrated and validated model can be applied for runoff simulations in other basins with similar hydro-meteorological conditions. The results of the study demonstrate the potential of using WEAP model for water resource management and assessment of future resource development in the basin.

M. Singh, V. Shinde, S. K. Pradhan, A. L. Chalodiya and K. N. Shukla

Assessment on Sediment Pollution and Suggestions of its Disposal Method in a Reservoir used as an Urban Water Source in China

In this study, sediment volume, heavy metals Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, Hg, As, Cd and the nutrient substance such as TOC, TN, TP in sediment in a reservoir (an urban water source) in China were employed as the contamination index to assess the sediment pollution, using the method of index of geo-accumulation (Igeo). The result shows that, apart from sample 13# of Pb and 20# of Cu, the Igeos of which are between 0 and 1, there is no other heavy metal pollution occurred in the reservoir. For the nutrient matters, TOC, TP and TN, the pollution levels are below the national average in this reservoir. The sediment volume is estimated as 5.6 × 107 m3, nearly 10% of the storage capacity of the reservoir at the normal water level, implying that the situation of the sediment will affect the water supply in some way and it is essential to take measures to control this potential sediment pollution. The authors suggest that the dredging technology is the most effective way to solve sediment pollution in this reservoir, as the nutrient matters in the sediment are much abundant and could be used for resource utilization, such as building materials, fill materials and land use. Compared to the others, land use shows more potential for future development.

Meng Chong, Kong Fanli, Yin Hua and Li Yu

Effect of pH Value on Denitrification Phosphorus Removal in Sequencing Batch Reactor

This paper is aimed to solve the effect of pH value in denitrification and phosphorus removal process, and to determine the best pH value for the treatment. pH value was an important indicator of activated sludge reaction in the water treatment process, and it was necessary to keep the suitable pH value to obtain a good treatment effect. The influence of anaerobic phosphorus release and anoxic phosphorus absorption under pH = 6.0, pH = 7.0 and pH = 8.0 in sequencing batch reactor was studied in this paper. The experiment results showed that, in anaerobic phase, anaerobic phosphorus release increased with the increase of pH value, and no significant change was observed in HRT for anaerobic. In anoxia phase, when pH = 6.0, the activity of denitrifying phosphorus removal bacteria was significantly inhibited and phosphorus absorption was poor. When pH = 7.0 and 8.0, the anoxic phosphorus uptake and denitrification system worked well. In the late stages of anoxic phase pH>8.0, the release and absorption of phosphorus was also very stable.

Jie Deng, Hongwei Rong, Chaosheng Zhang and Kefang Zhang

In Vitro Propagation of Endangered Orchid Taxa Using Alginate-Encapsulated Protocorm Like Bodies (PLBs)

In the present investigation various concentrations of sodium alginate and calcium chloride solutions were tested in order to optimize the size, shape and texture of alginate synthetic seeds or beads for Rhynchostylis retusa, an epiphytic medicinal orchid. The seven weeks old protocorm like bodies (PLBs) were encapsulated with 2 to 3% sodium alginate (w/v) in the BM medium and exposed to 50 to 100 mM calcium chloride solution (CaCl2.2H2O). It was observed that 3% sodium alginate dipped in 100mM CaCl2.2H2O solution was incubated for 40 min in orbital shaker to produce firm, transparent and uniform beads. The synthetic seeds were stored at 4°C and 25°C for 6 months to study their viability on the plantlets regeneration ability. The germination percentage of encapsulated PLBs decreased gradually with increase in storage time. This technology can be adopted for ex-situ germplasm conservation of medically important endangered orchids.

Vishal Sharma

Integrated Digitization Evaluation of Soil Fertility in Coal Mine Reclamation Area

Along with the increase of population, land resources are becoming more and more precious. Therefore, the evaluation of the reclaimed soil fertility is very important. The level of soil fertility is comprehensive reflection of many basic properties of soil, and is closely related to soil quality. In this paper, integrated digitization evaluation of soil fertility is used to evaluate soil of three typical reclamation areas in Huainan city, Anhui province, China. The results show that in three reclamation areas, the order of soil fertility level is XinZhuangZi reclamation area > DaTong ecological wetland > PanYi reclamation area.

XiaoLong Li, JinXiang Yang, MingXu Zhang, Liangmin Gao and Duoxi Yao

Research on Fungicides Mixing Processing of Sewage Treatment in Oilfield

Aiming at the problem of water pollution and serious deficiency of water resources, sewage disposal system was researched and applied to the sewage treatment in oil field, and types of fungicide and germicidal mechanism were also discussed. Fluent, a fluid engineering software, was used to simulate the sterilization flow, and the results showed that different effects of fungicide mainly depended on different pH and different compatibility conditions. Under certain conditions, it was not allowed to use fungicides. Besides, size of sterilization tank, location of import and export, location of adding drug mouth and pump displacement were also important influencing factors for sewage and mixing procedure of fungicides.

Zhao Lijun, Li Qingsheng and Wang Xusheng

Time Series Analysis of Water Quality in Hanjiang River

According to characteristics of time series in Hanjiang river, exponential smoothing and seasonal decomposition are adopted to predict the water quality in Hanjiang river. The accuracy of prediction will directly influence whether we can work out a reasonable plan and management measures. The paper introduces the principle of exponential smoothing method and seasonal decomposition, and the process is detailed using SPSS. The results indicate that the predictions are reasonable and reliable, and the methods are fitting for the time series analysis.

Juan Zhang and Changjun Zhu

A Comparative Study of Biodegradation of Textile Azo Dyes by Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas putida

Azo dyes are synthetic in origin having complex aromatic structure and widely used in textile, paper, food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. Most of the azo dyes used in textile industry are xenobiotic compounds and recalcitrant to conventional degradation process. These dyes cause serious environmental problems because of their carcinogenic nature and reduced penetration of light in aquatic environment. In the present study, the efficiency of the two bacterial cultures on degradation of three different toxic azo dyes (acid, direct and reactive azo dyes) were analysed. The bacterial strains used in this study are Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas putida. To increase the degradation potential, the organisms were acclimatized to the dye environment for sufficient period by gradually decreasing the nutrient broth concentration and increasing the dye concentration so that it can effectively degrade dye rich textile effluent. The effect of concentration of dye, pH, temperature and agitation was studied to determine the optimal conditions for effective decolourisation and degradation. FT-IR and UV spectral analysis were performed to confirm the biodecolourisation.

S. Hilda Josephine and A. S. S. Sekar

Experimental Study of Ultrasonic Disintegration on Biological Nitrogen and Phosphorus Removal

In wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in China, the lack of carbon source has become a critical element, which restricts the efficiency of biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal (NPR). This paper analyses the application of ultrasonic disintegration of sludge, exploiting the internal carbon source for the biological NPR. Tests on WWTP have been conducted and the indexes of CODcr, TN, NH3-N, TP in the raw water and effluent recorded respectively. The efficiency and mechanism of NPR have been analysed. This research shows that with the application of ultrasonic disintegration of sludge, economic and practically high-quality carbon source can be obtained.

Cao Zhourong, Yang Shunsheng, Zheng Xipeng and Zhao Guohan

Effect of Plasticizer on Mechanical and Moisture Absorption Properties of Eco-friendly Corn Starch-based Bioplastic

Plastics are extensively used in every facet of our lives. But at the same time, petroleum-based plastics have hazardous effect on the environment. Bioplastics, made from biological materials represent an effective solution to this problem. Starch based bioplastics account for the major portion of the bioplastic market. In the manufacture of starch-based thermoplastics, plasticizers are added to the polymer matrix to enhance its flexibility. This study examined the effect of glycerol as plasticizer on the mechanical and moisture absorption properties of starch-based bioplastics. Varying amount of glycerol was used to produce bioplastics and then their tensile strength, density and moisture content were determined. It was observed that, there is a decreasing trend in tensile strength and moisture content with increase in the amount of glycerol, whereas, this trend gets inverted in case of density.

Suman Gujar, Bartik Pandel and A. S. Jethoo

From Seed to Feed: Organic Food Leisure Park Construction

Food quality and safety has become the key problem that China faces today. As a new type of urban agricultural development model which combines organic food production with leisure tourism, the organic food leisure park performs multiple functions, including production, leisure, ecological and social. As the important measure to promote food quality and safety, organic food leisure park has vast future development potential. Based on the “seed to feed idea” of RUAF Foundation, this work takes the construction of organic food leisure park in Qinyang City, Henan Province, China as an example. The discussion is made in three aspects: environmental quality, function layout and the ecological cycle model. The results show that the combination of organic food production and leisure sightseeing effectively improves the comprehensive benefits of organic agriculture.

Lifang Qiao, Kai Zhou and Yichuan Zhang

Antihyperlipidemic Activity of Ethanolic Extract of Celery Leaves on Rats Rattus norvegicus

India has about 45000 plant species; while medicinal properties have been assigned to several thousand. Apium graveolens (Celery) belonging to family Apiaceae, used as a decorative herb in India in general and more particular in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Celery roots, leaves, stem, oils and seeds are used for the therapeutic purpose in treating and preventing many diseases. In the present study the effect of celery on cholesterol induced rats was studied. Ethanolic extract of celery leaves was orally administered by post treatment at the dose level of 500mg/kg of body weight for 7th, 14th, 28th and 56th days respectively. Administration of cholesterol induced rats resulted in increased total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, VLDL and decreased the HDL cholesterol. Administration of celery extract resulted in HDL cholesterol increase and decrease in the total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL and VLDL in duration dependent manner. The above finding proved that 56th day treatment of ethanolic extract of celery was found to have more protective effect on lipid profiles in cholesterol induced rats. The results of the above studies are discussed in the light of recent literature.

Renugopal Perumalraja and S. Dawood Sharief

Isolation and Characteristics of 17Beta-Estradiol-Degrading Dyella spp. Strains From Activated Sludge

A 17b-estradiol (E2) degrading strain was isolated by using enrichment culture of activated sludge from wastewater treatment plants and identified as the genus Dyella. The estradiol degradation by this strain fitted in a first-order reaction. The degradation rate constant K was 0.025 h-1. Methanol and sodium acetate could be utilized by the bacteria. In contrast, ethanol and glucose were not completely utilized within 10 days. Estradiol was converted to estrone first and then used for further degradation. Estrone degradation by the bacteria also fitted in a first-order reaction (K=0.0133 h-1). The relationship between the specific degradation rate and substrate concentration fitted in the Monod equation.

Changwen Wang, Jun Li, Baihang Zhao, Yonglei Wang and Guoyang Liu