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Response of Soil Chemical and Microbial Properties to Vegetation Restoration on the Loess Plateau, China

Revegetation has been reported as one of the most effective measures for reducing soil erosion on the Loess Plateau in China. We evaluated the effect of natural revegetation restoration on soil chemical nutrient, microbial biomass and enzyme activities on the Loess Plateau of China. The vegetation types studied, in order from the shortest to the longest enclosure duration, were abandoned grazed grassland (Ab.G3, 3 years), Hierochloe odorata Beauv. (Hi.O7, 7 years) communities, Thymus mongolicus Ronnm (Th.M15, 15 years), Artemisia sacrorum Ledeb (At.S25, 25 years), Stipa bungeana Trin Ledeb (St.B36, 36 years), and Stipa grandis P. Smirn (St.G56, 56 years). The results showed that soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (N) was 9.2-32.2 and 1.2-3.5 g/kg during vegetation restoration, respectively. Except from Th.M15, SOC and total N increased with restoration time. Also, soil microbial biomass carbon (Cmic), phosphorus (Pmic), invertase activities, and alkaline phosphatase activities increased with restoration time. Whereas, soil microbial biomass nitrogen (Nmic) and urease activity was the highest in the early succession period and lowest in the mid succession period (under Th.M15 and At.S25). Revegetation resulted in more abundant and stable soil ecological environment by enhancing soil nutrients and biological properties. Thus, this is a beneficial measure for the recovery of degraded soils on the Loess Plateau of China.

Man Cheng, Zhijing Xue and Shaoshan An

The Effect of Different Soil Erosion Stages on Surface Roughness Under Simulated Rainfall

Soil erosion is a complex and dynamic process. Correspondingly, as one of the main factors of soil erosion, Soil surface roughness (SSR) is also complex and dynamic in the process of soil erosion. Soil erosion process was divided into four stages: before the rain (S0), splash erosion stage (S1), sheet erosion stage (S2), rill-gully erosion stage (S3). The objective of this research is to make it clear how soil erosion affects SSR in detail through evaluating the changes of SSR in different soil erosion stages. Soil beds were operated by four different tillage systems to shape four different surface conditions: artificial shallow ploughing (ASP), artificial deep ploughing (ADP), contour ploughing (CT), and no tillage treatment as (CK). Thirty six experiments were conducted under simulated rainfall. Several indices including the standard deviation (Sd) of soil surface elevation, SSR, and the chain method index Cr’ were measured before and after each rainstorm. The result shows that: For ASP, ADP, and CP tillage systems, in splash erosion stage, all the, Sd SSR, and Cr’ decrease significantly; in sheet erosion stage, Sd, SSR, and Cr’ continue to decrease but the quantity of change is small; in rill-gully erosion stage, Sd, SSR and Cr’ increase obviously. For CK, all the Sd, SSR, and Cr’ increase all the time. This means splash erosion and sheet erosion can decrease SSR, but the degree is different. Rill-gully erosion can increase SSR, make soil surface rougher than before.

Liang Xinlan, Lu Pei, Zhao Longshan, Wu Jia and Wu Faqi

Contamination and Distribution of Tetracyclines, Sulfonamides, Quinolones and Macrolides in the Haihe River, China

Ten kinds of antibiotics belonging to tetracyclines, sulfonamides, quinolones and macrolides were detected in water samples from Haihe River, China. Sulfamethoxazole and sulfachlororyridazine had largest detection frequencies (100% and 86%), with the maximum concentrations of 330 ng/L and 380 ng/L, respectively. Friedman and Moran’s I test indicated that the target antibiotics at different sampling sites were significantly different (p < 0.05), suggesting that the antibiotics detected in the Haihe River were primarily depended on proximal sources of antibiotics. Municipal wastewater plants, fishponds, and livestock’s industries along the river were confirmed to import antibiotics to the tributaries, and then distribute into the mainstream. By studying the variations of relative compositions of antibiotics in both surface water and sediment, we found that sulfonamides had a much higher migration capacity than other antibiotics, quinolones and macrolides deposited in sediment after travelling short distance from sewage outfall and tetracyclines in pollution sources was strongly absorbed in the sediment.

Xiaoteng Xu, Kebin Zhang, Lili Wang, Zhiru Hao, Victor Squires and Li He

Effects of Mucor mucedo on Corncob Decomposition in Pyr-Contaminated Soil Remediation

The effect of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and highly effective degradation fungi Mucor mucedo (MU) was studied on corncob decomposition in Pyr-contaminated soil for 120 days to identify the impact of a degradable immobilized carrier on the remediation of soil contaminated by persistent organic pollutants. Results showed that the corncob was mainly composed of hemicelluloses, cellulose, and water dissolved (WD) material, which accounted for 85 percent of its total weight. MU addition significantly affected corncob decomposition. Thus, humic acid production and WD and benzene-ethanol dissolved material degradation increased. The peaking of the WD content was delayed for 30 days or more. The extractable pyrene content positively correlated with the WD content in the corncob during the decomposition. These results theoretically support a refined remediation principle of immobilized microorganisms.

Wei Hou, Le Zhang, Xi-ping Ma, Xiao-jun Li and Ling-xue Kong

Scenario Analysis of New Buildings’ Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction in Chongqing China (2016-2035)

This paper puts the Twelfth Five-year (2011-2015) Plan as baseline scenario, and sets up optimism scenario and pessimistic scenario. Under the above scenarios, the paper explores the potential of energy conservation and emission reduction of new green buildings and non-green buildings in Chongqing. The results show great potential for energy conservation of new buildings in Chongqing. In optimism scenario, with reasonable policy and market intensify, CO2 reduced by energy saving will be equal to that produced by 47% new population in urbanization in Chongqing. New green residential building is the key to promote building energy conservation. As the improvement of energy efficiency standards, new non-green residential buildings should be an important issue in long term.

Liu Huabing, Ren Hong, Cai Weiguang and Qin Beibei

Statistical Analysis for Understanding Groundwater Chemical Variations

Understanding the hydro-chemical variation of groundwater is important for water usage in the coal mines. In this study, twenty-one and eleven samples have been collected from the coal bearing and limestone aquifer systems, respectively in a coal mine in northern Anhui Province, China. And their major ion concentrations have been analysed by statistical methods including correlation, factor and cluster analysis. The results indicate that the hydro-chemical characteristics of the groundwater samples from these two aquifer systems are different, the groundwater samples from the coal bearing and limestone aquifer systems are dominated by Na-HCO3 and Ca-HCO3 types, respectively. Correlation and factor analysis, as well as traditional hydro-chemical methods indicate that dissolution of evaporates and carbonates, as well as weathering of silicates are contributors for the chemical variations of the groundwater samples. In combination with traditional methods, the study demonstrated that statistical analyses are useful tools for understanding the hydro-chemical variation of groundwater.

Linhua Sun and Herong Gui

Evaluation of Lignocellulosic Agro Wastes for the Enhanced Production of Extracellular Cellulase and Xylanase by Trichoderma harzianum

In the present study, various lignocellulotic agro-wastes paddy straw, coir pith, sugarcane bagassae and dried leaf litter were evaluated for cellulase and xylanase enzyme production adopting solid state fermentation with different moisture levels ranging from 0 to 50% by soil isolate of Trichoderma harzianum. The crude enzyme obtained was partially purified by ammonium sulphate precipitation and DEAE cellulose column chromatography. All the wastes supported growth and enzyme production. Maximum cellulase and xylanase production was recorded in paddy straw followed by sugarcane bagassae with 25% moisture content. Both the enzymes retained maximum activity at 60°C and pH 8.0. The partially purified enzyme by ammonium sulphate precipitation at 60% saturation followed by DEAE cellulose column chromatography yields pure xylanase with the molecular weight of 56 and 61 KD.

S. Karthick Raja Namasivayam, M. Babu and R. S. Arvind Bharani

Patterns of Dust Retention by Urban Trees in Oasis Cities

Dust pollution in Oasis cities located in arid areas affect resident’s body, life and work in long term . The present study examined dust deposition on single leaves of Populus alba L. var. pyramidalis (Bunge) at various heights (1m, 2m, 4m), analysed dust particle size distribution and its contents in arid area city-Aksu, northwest China. The results showed that the amount of dust retained per leaf area of Populus alba L. var. pyramidalis (Bunge) differed significantly between sites, as follows: CAT>IA>P>RA>SFA; Leaves at a height of 1 meter retain the most dust compared with other two heights, as follows: 1m > 2m > 4m. Dust particles larger than PM10 account for more than 90% of all dust particles in all the sites and the dust accumulated on tree leaves is mainly of local urban origin. The variation of heavy metal concentrations in different sites is significant.

Aliya Baidourela and Kaheer Zhayimu

Studies on Laboratory Scale Sequential Batch Reactor for Treatment of Domestic Wastewater

Nowadays, huge amount of domestic and industrial waste is being discharge to the surface or groundwater which poses a great threat to the mankind. Hence, treatment of any kind of wastewater to produce effluent with good quality is necessary. In this regard, choosing an effective treatment system is much important. Sequential Batch Reactor (SBR) holds a special place in the wastewater treatment which is a modified version of activated sludge process. An SBR operates in a true batch mode with equalization, aeration and sludge settling, all occurring in the same tank. The removal of organic load in the reactor mainly depends on the duration of reaction phase, so it is essential to determine the optimum duration of reaction phase. In the present study, an attempt was made to optimize the duration of the reaction phase in SBR for the treatment of domestic wastewater and removal efficiency of COD, BOD and SS were studied. To optimize the duration of reaction phase in SBR, a 100-litre capacity laboratory scale model was fabricated and operated for 100 cycles for various reaction phases. The percentage removal efficiency of BOD, COD and SS for various reaction periods was calculated and the graph between reaction percentage removal efficiency of BOD, COD and SS were drawn, the results were utilized to determine the optimum reaction period for effective treatment of domestic wastewater with high removal efficiency using SBR.

P. Santhosh and D. Revathi

Variation in Water Quality at Different Intensive Whiteleg Shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, Farms in East Java, Indonesia

Measurement of nine water quality parameters were performed every two weeks in two shrimp farms for one production cycle, located in Tuban and Probolinggo, East Java Province, Indonesia. The average productivity for Farm 1 was 17,142.86 kg/ha, with an average size of 17.88 g; while the productivity for Farm 2 was 18,333.33 kg/ha, with an average size of 14.36 g. During the shrimp cultivating period, mean values for salinity, pH and dissolved oxygen (DO) in both the farms were significantly different, whereas temperature in both the farms was not different. TAN, nitrite and orthophosphate concentrations in both the farms were not different. But for nitrate and TSS, the levels are higher in Farm 2 than in Farm 1. The authors conclude that, compared with Farm 1 (water exchange and earthen pond), Farm 2 (zero-water exchange and lined pond) had significantly higher survival rate and higher environmental profits.

M. Fakhri, B. Budianto, A. Yuniarti and A. M. Hariati

Effect of H2O2/Fe2+ Concentration Ratios on Fenton Oxidation of Reactive Red 6B with On-Line Detective Technology

The degradation of Reactive Red 6B (RR6B) wastewater was treated by Fenton oxidation using on-line spectrophotometric monitoring technology. The ratio of peroxide hydroxide concentration and ferrous ion dosage (HF) was investigated. Dyeing degradation process followed first order kinetics and Behnajady-Modirshahla-Ghanbery kinetics because of above 0.98 R2. Fenton process transient reaction rate and instant hydroxyl radical concentration was calculated. The optimum HF was 143 with 98% dye removal, 0.05mol/(L·s) instant transient reaction rate and 2.4×10-11mol/L initial hydroxyl radical concentration.

Hang Xu, Tianlong Yu, Jianxu Wang and Mei Li

Remediation of Phytotoxic Effect of Chromium by Different Amendments in Rice-Wheat Sequence

A pot-house experiment was carried out at Micronutrient Project, AAU, Anand to study the effect of Cr levels (0, 10, 20, 40, 80 and 160 mg/kg soil) in presence and absence of amendments (FYM and gypsum) on rice and wheat under rice-wheat sequences on coarse loamy soil with three replications under factorial completely randomized block design. The experimental results indicated the rice grain yield gradually decreased due to direct effect of Cr while residual effect was found beneficial up to Cr20 which improved grain yield of wheat by 15.09 per cent over control. Similarly, rice and wheat grain as well as straw yield were also found enhanced due to direct and residual effect of FYM and gypsum over their corresponding control. The Cr content in grain and straw of rice and wheat significantly increased with increase in Cr levels due to both direct and residual effect of Cr. The highest Cr content was recorded in straw followed by grain in both the crops. The application of farm yard manure (FYM) and gypsum significantly decreased Cr content of rice and wheat grain and straw due to direct and residual effect. The direct and residual effect of gypsum and FYM decreased Cr content of rice grain by 21.31 and 28.30 per cent over corresponding control. The Cr application increased DTPA-Cr of the soil due to direct and residual effect after rice and wheat. The application of amendments significantly decreased DTPA-Cr in the soil after both rice and wheat in the soil over control. The findings, in general, indicated that the toxic effect of Cr on crop could be mitigated more effectively with FYM application and reduce risk of health hazards for human beings and animals. However, the regular monitoring for soil quality is necessary for managing Cr pollution in the soil.

J. K. Parmar and K. P. Patel

Performance Evaluation of Community Level Defluoridation Plants: A Case Study from Nagaur and Jodhpur, Rajasthan

The Government of Rajasthan has started Rajasthan Integrated Fluoride Mitigation Programme (RIFMP), to provide fluoride free water in fluorosis endemic areas of the state. In the present study, community level defluoridation plants are investigated with regard to their defluoridation potential and determination of residual aluminium concentration in treated water at Nagaur and Jodhpur districts in Rajasthan, India. A total of 38 groundwater samples were collected from various community level Bio-Filter® media based defluoridation plants in fluoride rich villages of the study area. The fluoride concentration in raw water ranged from 0.9 to 3.61 mg/L in Nagaur and 1.18 to 2.54 mg/L in Jodhpur. The removal efficiency of plants operated in Nagaur lied between 88 to 100% except at Chapri Kallan II site (46%). On the other hand, the removal efficiency of plants operated in Jodhpur ranged from 97 to 100%, except at Jujanda (59%). The presence of residual aluminium in treated water was found to be in trace concentrations. The statistical analysis shows that fluoride uptake capacity has a strong correlation with fluoride concentration and alkalinity of raw water.

Manish Yadav, Nitin Kumar Singh, Richa Sinha, Urmila Brighu, Sanjay Mathur and A. B Gupta

Removal of Methylene Blue from Dye Wastewater Using River Sand by Adsorption

Removal of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions by river sand using batch and column techniques was investigated. It was observed that the maximum removal of MB was achieved at pH 4, 45 minutes contact time and 500 g/L dosage adsorbent river sand. Adsorption data were better fitted to the Langmuir isotherm. Pseudo second-order kinetics was most suitable to explain the kinetic study. The removal of methylene blue by column adsorption of river sand was ranged between 29.01% and 99.99%. It was found that the adsorption of methylene blue by river sand was more conformed to the model Thomas. In different flow rates study, flow rate of 10 mL/min in the column adsorption can better remove the methylene blue. This study shows that the river sand cannot undergo desorption.

Azhar Abdul Halim, Kee Ke Han and Marlia Mohd Hanafiah

Study on Treatment of Electroplating Wastewater Using Constructed Wetland

Electroplating waste with very high concentration of metals and COD has always been posing a great challenge for treatment in an environmental-friendly way. The present study attempts at use of constructed wetland in treating electroplating waste. Three types of wetland setups were used in the study, namely: single wetland cell, two-wetland cells in cascade and single wetland cell with adsorbent bed for varying hydraulic detention times (2 days, 4 days and 6 days) in batch mode. The percentage removal of all metals was found to be more than 80%. The effect of varying detention time was not found to improve the removal efficiency in all the three cells varying modes of treatment, thus indicating 2 days to be optimum detention time. The mode of set-up of the wetland cells (i.e., with cascading and with augmented adsorbents) was not found to be statistically significant compared to treatment using single-isolated wetland cell unit, based on ANOVA test for two-factors, i.e., chemical speciation and wetland cell-setup types.

J. S. Sudarsan, V. T. Deeptha, Deepak Maurya, Mukesh Goel, K. Ravi Kumar and Ashutosh Das

Study on Vegetation Recovery of Gas Fields in Sichuan Province, China

Many gas fields are located in China. During the exploitation and transport of gas, environmental effects are unavoidable. In order to analyse the vegetation recovery of gas field in Sichuan Province, the vegetation growth in gas field and around the gas field (undisturbed field) was investigated via plot survey. The vegetation diversity, biomass and recovery period in gas field and undisturbed field were compared. The results showed that (1) recovered gas fields were dominated by grass species, (2) the full recovery of biomass and vegetation coverage requires 3 to 5 years, and (3) the recovery of species diversity takes more than 7 years. This research is beneficial for the environmental restoration of gas fields in southwest China.

Di Feng, Yucun Hu and Chenbing Tung

Groundwater Quality and its Suitability for Drinking and Agriculture from the Vel River Basin, Part of Pune District, Maharashtra, India

Assessment of suitability of groundwater for domestic and agricultural purposes was carried out in Vel river basin, Maharashtra, India. The study area covers an area of 44.23 km2 and lies on the northern side of Pune. Groundwater is the major source for drinking and agricultural activity in this area. Groundwater samples were collected from 15 wells during pre-monsoon period in the year 2012. The water samples were analysed for physical and chemical characteristics. Suitability of groundwater for irrigation was evaluated based on salinity hazard, sodium percent, sodium adsorption ratio, US salinity diagram, Gibbs diagram, Kelly’s ratio and permeability index. Physical and chemical parameters of groundwater such as electrical conductivity, pH, total hardness, Na+,K+,Ca2+,Mg2+,Cl-, HCO3-,CO32-, SO42-, and NO3- were determined. Interpretation of analytical data shows that mixed Ca-Mg-Cl, Ca-Cl, and Na-Cl are the dominant hydrochemical facies in the study area. The results of analysis were compared with the water quality standards of Indian Standard Institute (ISI), and World Health Organization (WHO). The overall groundwater quality is suitable for drinking purposes and for irrigation purpose which was evaluated by calculating Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR), resulting in SAR values less than 10 for all dug wells. The systematic planning of groundwater exploitation using modern technology is essential for the proper utilization of this precious natural resource. Information from this study could be used for effective identification of suitable locations for extraction of potable water for rural population.

M. Kouhsari and D. Nagaraju

Capability of Vetiver Grass (Vetiveria zizanioides (L.) Nash) on Wastewater Treatment from Fermented Rice Noodle

Fermented rice noodle industry can generate a large volume of undesirable liquid waste into the environment. This study was conducted to investigate the ability of Vetiver grass (Vetiveria zizaniodes (L.) Nash) and sedge (Cyperus corymbosus Rottb.) to treat wastewater from fermented rice noodle industry. Vetiver grass and sedge were cultured into flooding condition and used for treated wastewater (TWW) and untreated wastewater (UWW) in experiment. The results found that vetiver grass and sedge could grow well in TWW; whereas, the growth vetiver grass and sedge in UWW was slow because the vetiver grass and sedge were non-tolerant to high COD concentration of UWW in the long period of this experiment. Moreover, UWW also could decrease wastewater treatment efficiency of vetiver grass and sedge. Unlike, TWW could increase wastewater treatment efficiency in both vetiver grass and sedge leading to long period of treatment experiment. The results also found that wastewater treatment capability in both vetiver grass and sedge declined as treatment experimental period increased; however, vetiver grass performance was more stable than sedge. To achieve the water quality standard of Pollution Control Department, wastewater could be remediated up to 56 days using vetiver grass planted in soil filter system.

Chitsanuphong Pratum, Nipon Tungkananuruk and Kanita Tungkananuruk

Characterization of Arsenic Resistant Bacteria from Shallow Tubewell and Evaluation of their Remediation Capacity

The present study was conducted to characterize arsenic resistant bacteria and to evaluate their arsenic remediation capacity. Water samples were collected from the shallow tubewell of Deganga, West Bengal. The arsenic content of shallow tubewell water was 45.07 µg/L. 16S rDNA analysis characterized the isolated arsenic resistant bacteria from the shallow tubewell water to be under the genus Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter. Minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) of arsenic for the selected bacterial isolates Pseudomonas sp. and Acinetobacter sp. was found to be 7 and 17.5 mM As(III), respectively. The selected bacterial isolates were capable of removing arsenic in the range of 1.54-5.95% from the nutrient broth supplemented with 25, 50, 75 and 100 mg/L As(III). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated a significant difference (P<0.05) in arsenic removal between the arsenic concentrations, but there was no significant difference (P>0.05) between the selected bacterial isolates. The selected bacterial isolates could thus be useful for developing a technology for biological removal of arsenic by standardizing certain parameters for the optimum removal of arsenic by the selected bacterial isolates.

Lianthuamluaia, P. K. Pandey, C. S. Purushothaman, A. Vennila and Zohmingthanga

Estimation of Groundwater Recharge Potential of Domagor-Pahuj Watershed Using Water Table Fluctuation Method

Groundwater is one of the important sources of potable water. The water table fluctuation method was used to evaluate the annual variations in water level rise and to estimate the groundwater recharge during pre interventions and post interventions phase of Domagor-Pahuj watershed development. The area experiences an average annual rainfall is 880 mm. The estimates of average annual water table fluctuation and change in groundwater storage volume of randomly selected thirty wells of pre-interventions and post-interventions phases of watershed were 3.03 to 4.34 million m3, and 1.52 to 2.18 million m3, respectively. The total annual groundwater recharge potential estimated for the areas was 1.47 million m3 before intervention and 2.06 million m3 after intervention.

Babloo Sharma, Reena Kumari, Ramesh Singh, R. C. Schan, S. N. Pandey, R. K. Tewari and S. K. Dhyani

Water Quality Simulation in River Based on Matlab

Water quality model is an effective tool for environmental pollution control, water quality planning and environmental management. Using systems analysis techniques to plan water pollution control is the foundation for water quality management. It plays a vital role for the entire planning process. In this paper, Matlab is used to simulate the water quality in river. The results show that the simulation is well with the observation.

Xiuli Li, Zhou Wen and Dedong Liu

Effect of a New Bulking Agent on Sewage Sludge Composting

To improve bulking agent (BA) reusability and reduce bulking agent costs, a new bulking agent was developed using straw and methylene diphenyl diisocyanate. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of the new bulking agent on sewage sludge composting. The results showed that the new bulking agent has high recovery ratio when used in sewage sludge composting, and can improve the composting process. Decreasing the mass ratio of sewage sludge to bulking agent from 3:1 to 2.5:1 in compost pile improved the rate of temperature increase, increased the maximum temperature, shortened the thermophilic stage of the composting process, and achieved an even temperature distribution during the initial heating phase. The recovery ratios for the bulking agent with mass ratios of 3:1 and 2.5:1 were 94.7% and 92.2%, respectively. The recovery and reuse of this new bulking agent could significantly reduce the cost of bulking agents in the composting of sewage sludge, and the appropriate mass ratio of sewage sludge to bulking agent is 2.5:1.

Chuang Ma, Ji-Hong Zhao, Hong-Zhong Zhang, Ming-Bao Wei and Chang-Ming Ye

Distribution Characteristics of Heavy Metals in E-Waste Recycling Sites

A field investigation was carried out on the distribution characteristics of heavy metals in the soils of electronic waste (e-waste) recycling location in Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, China. The results showed that the concentrations of Cd, Cu and Pb were more than the Grade II values of soil quality standards from the State Environmental Protection Administration of China (SEPA), of which the most serious pollutants were Cd and Cu, followed by Pb. Based on the state standard values of soil quality in China, the comprehensive pollution index of Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn in the e-waste recycling locations was 4.3, that indicated that the e-waste recycling location’s soil has been severely contaminated by heavy metals. Another result also showed that there existed compound pollution of Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr and Cd of the soils at test sites, and soils there were not suitable for agricultural cultivation any more.

Zhen Zhang, Min-li Yu, Jun-hui Zhang, Xin Wang and Jin-hua Jiang

Utilization of Portland Cement and Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Fly Ash for Solidification/Stabilization of Sewage Sludge

A solidification/stabilization (S/S) process by using municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash was applied to sewage sludge in order to find a safer way for the two wastes (sewage sludge and MSWI fly ash) disposal. The behaviour of pastes fabricated with various mass ratios of Portland cement/MSWI fly ash has been analysed in terms of mechanical strength, microstructure and leaching characteristics. The results showed that the unconfined compression strength (UCS) of solidified sludge decreased with the mixing amount of MSWI fly ash. However, with the addition of 5% MSWI fly ash represented 28 days UCS of 0.31 MPa, satisfying the landfill threshold of 0.3MPa. Scanning electron microscopy investigations revealed that a large amount of ettringite was present in solidified sludge, leading to a crystallizing network in the solidified products, and therefore, the enhancement of the strength. Environmental assessment of the final products in compliance leaching tests demonstrated that the concentration of heavy metals was below the detection limits.

Wei Na

Process for Copper Recovery from E-waste: Printed Wiring Boards in Obsolete Computers

The printed wiring boards (PWBs) in obsolete computers as a type of e-waste are also a resourceful metal mine hidden in cities. Along with the intensified shrinkage of mineral resources, recovery of metals from e-waste such as obsolete PWBs becomes an inevitable trend and also a requirement for adaptation to circular economy. In this study, copper was recovered from PWBs in obsolete computers via the process of “crush- screen-shake”. Copper was fully separated from other components at the crushing and grinding speeds of 3100 r/m. Then after screening, the materials with a grain-size level of 0.12-0.3 mm contained the highest copper content and were also separated well. After shaking-table separation, the copper grade was up to 78.64%.

Xindong Li and Wanfu Huang

Quasi-3D Numerical Simulation of Salinity Transport for Reservoir Initial Impoundment

In the special geological and water environment of estuarine reservoirs, salt water in the deposits will intrude into the overlying freshwater and affect the water quality and normal operation of the reservoir. It is, therefore, important to identify the spatial extent of salt. Based on site survey, drilling and laboratory data, a quasi-3D model was established, simulating the migration of salt in the initial impoundment of the reservoir. As a result, if the impoundment happened in the normal water year, when the water level rose to 0.5m, salinity ranged from 0.3g/L to 2.8g/L on the surface; at the level of 1.5m, salinity ranged from 0.3g/L to 1.3g/L; and at the level of 4.5m, salinity varied between 0.3g/L and 1.55g/L. This will lead to a better understanding of the implications of groundwater hydrology and improve protection of surface water quality during the extraction of water resources.

Jianwei Zhang, Zhongcheng L.U. and Zhanfeng Zhao

Production of Sludge Ceramsite from Sewage Sludge, Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Fly Ash and Clay

The few reuses and large stockpile of sewage sludge led to a series of social and environmental problems. This study investigated the possibility of using the sewage sludge and municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash as materials to prepare ceramsite by a high temperature sintering process. Two experiments were designed to investigate the addition of sewage sludge and MSWI and sintering treatment. The result showed that the mass ratio of sewage sludge to MSWI fly ash was 8:2 and the the pellets, sintered at 1080°C for 8 min, were beneficial to produce sludge ceramsite. Property tests of sludge ceramsite showed that sludge ceramsite was light (with an apparent density of 680kg/m3), waterproof (with a water absorption of 6.7%), hard (with a compressive strength of 5.4Mpa) and nontoxic (contents of toxic metal leaching test were found to be within the limits of China’s regulatory requirement). These results reveal the feasibility of recycling sewage sludge and MSWI fly ash by sintering as a construction material.

Wei Na

Judgement of Groundwater Quality Around Trivandrum Civil Station, Kerala, India: A GIS Based Approach

Groundwater quality determination is obligatory for assessing its appropriateness for drinking and other domestic purposes. The chemical and biological characteristics of groundwater in and around the Trivandrum civil station were studied during the pre-monsoon season of 2012 to evaluate its aptness. Forty shallow groundwater samples were collected and analysed for required parameters as per the standard procedure. The values acquired were appraised in detail and weighed against BIS standards. Results divulge that the pH values obtained were dreadfully low and fluctuate between 4.6 and 6.9 with a mean value of 5.8, indicating a clear acidic trend. Possible reasons for this atypical phenomenon include spacious incidence of lateritic aquifer, open waste dumping near the open wells, disproportionate use of fertilizers in rubber cultivation and acid washing of rubber sheets in the neighbouring areas. In addition to that the microbial contamination of groundwater was also assessed. The results show that nearly every one of the water samples is contaminated with the influx of total coliform bacteria and faecal coliform bacteria. One of the ailing effects of urbanisation is water pollution due to the invasion of bacteria into the precious groundwater resource, predominantly cramped into shallow open wells. It is decidedly obligatory to put into custom that various apposite schemes to deal with this problem so as to hoard the people from any doable menace owing to the contamination of water.

Dhanya Raj and R. B. Binoj Kumar

Review on Shale Gas Produced Water Chemical Characteristics and Treatment Techniques

Water treatment techniques can be applied in shale gas produced water have been discussed, including membrane filtration, advanced oxidation process, and electrochemical techniques. Membrane filtration was effective to decrease TDS, organic matter, etc. Fouling was still a major challenge during the membrane recovery. Advanced oxidation process was suitable for organic matter removal, and electrochemical techniques could be applied for TDS, heavy metals, and organic matters. No documented case of the use of these technologies in shale gas field applications was found. Thus, practice of treatment of produced water needed to be evaluated. Recommendation was given that water treatment technique should be selected and applied based on the produced water characteristics and joint technique might be required according to the complex of produced water.

Tao Yuan, Ping Lu, Qiyan Feng and Jing Li

Spatiotemporal Variations of Ambient PM10 Concentrations in Nanchong, a Big City of Southwest China

In order to further improve urban air quality, this study applied hourly PM10 mass concentrations in 5 monitoring stations during 2008-2012 to discuss spatiotemporal variations in Nanchong city, southwest China. The results showed that the annual mean PM10 concentrations during 5 years was 61.4µg/m3, and the concentrations order of 5 stations was JC (65.4µg/m3)>SW(64.6µg/m3)>JL(60.9µg/m3)>LY(60.4µg/m3)>GP(55.9µg/m3). The monthly mean concentrations in winter and spring were higher than in fall and summer. There was no obvious “weekend effect” in Nanchong and it was illustrated that the contributions to PM10 of vehicle exhaust could be smaller. The hourly concentrations were 54.8~68.1µg/m3 from 0:00 to 23:00 and the maximum appeared at 12:00 and 21:00 for each station. In addition, the influencing factors for PM10 were straw burning, fireworks and dust storms. The causes of these PM10 variations need to be studied deeply.

Youping Li, Hong Zhou, Huifang Liu and Zhongyu Fan

Measurement of Ecological Footprint Productivity in China

Based on the traditional concept of productivity and from the environmental protection perspective, this paper put forward the concept of ecological footprint productivity (EFP), analysed its connotation, probed into its computation steps, and measured China’s EFP. Results showed that EFPs of cultivated land, forest land, grassland, water areas, and whole land have displayed a tendency of increasing since 2001, showing the development track of the right half of the U-shaped curve. By contrast, the EFPs of fossil energy land and building land had shown no apparent tendency. The EFP of all kinds of lands in China was estimated to show a continuous accelerated growth trend in the coming years.

Jian Jin, Jianxiang Wang, Yuding Wang and Jakuri Butti

Bioremediation: A Sustainable Tool for Environmental Management of Oily Sludge

Advances in technology and industrialization, bring with them, their unpleasant partners, pollution and degradation of the environment. The effects on the environment connected with industrial activities are mainly related to the production of industrial wastes. Because of problem associated with pollutant treatment by conventional methods, such as chemical treatment, incineration or landfills, an alternative approach, bioremediation, or the use of organisms for the removal of contamination or pollutants has become a popular option. Bioremediation is considered as one of the safer, cleaner, cost effective and environmental friendly technology for decontaminating sites which are contaminated with wide range of pollutants. As microorganisms show wide range of mechanisms, there are still few mechanisms which are not known, therefore, bioremediation is still considered as a developing technology. Thus, there is an urgent need for us to review and modify the available options for environmental clean-up. The objective of this paper is to conduct a comprehensive review on various indigenous microorganisms extracted from contaminated soil and capable of bioremediation of hydrocarbons present in the sludge.

Meenakshi Nandal, Pooja Solanki, Mansi Rastogi and Rajni Hooda

Application of Fuzzy Mathematics for Assessment of Water Quality

With the development of urbanization and the improvement of the people’s living standards, the contradiction against water supply and water demand is becoming more and more serious. And the development of the economy led to serious pollution of water, so it is essential to understand the water quality. This paper discussed the choice of the evaluated factors, the operations of the weight value, and compares with the status of the water quality in course of the evaluation. The conclusions indicated that the result of the fuzzy mathematics evaluation represented the water quality of surface waters. The evaluation result was compared with that of the traditional method and the reported results. It is indicated that the performance of the proposed model is practically feasible in the application of water quality assessment and its application is simple.

Ma Ying, Xie Hehai and Zhang Tianyu

Analysis of Aerosol Optical Depth at Jordan During 2003-2012 Using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Data

Aerosol optical depths (AOD) at four sites in Jordan which represent the main cities were investigated based on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) during 2003-2012. Using the AOD data, Angstrom wavelength exponent a, visibility and smoke concentration were analysed. The results showed that at all the four sites during 2003-2012, AOD have an increasing trend in spring months and decreasing trend in winter. The increase of AOD values in spring months is mainly due to the desert dust storm that hit the region. The results also showed that maximum AOD was recorded in Ma’an site followed by Amman and Az Zarqa sites having the same values, and by Irbid site which recorded the lowest values. The Angstrom exponent a showed higher values in Irbid site which indicates that fine mode dominates aerosols, and lower values in Ma’an which indicates coarse mode dominate aerosols.

Khadeejeh Hamasha, Zaid Ababneh, Hamed Hamadneh and Khozima Hamasha

Cyanotoxins and Their Potential Applications - A Review

Cyanobacteria are prokaryotic photoautotrophs capable of carrying out photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation simultaneously and they locate from different habitats are known to produce a diverse array of toxic bioactive compounds, particularly in terms of the physiology and ecology of the cyanobacteria that produce them, remains largely unknown. Although the potential of cyanobacteria as biofertiliser is well known, the attention has recently been focused on the biotechnological potential of cyanobacteria for obtaining pharmacologically active secondary metabolites which exhibit anticancer, antimicrobial, antifungal or anti-inflammatory, antiplasmodial, algicide, antiplatelet aggregation, immunosuppressive activities, expressing allelopathy character as well as the potential for development and application of these compounds as algicides, herbicides and insecticides. This review will discuss the existing evidence for the role of cyanotoxins, and specifically present relevant results from investigations into toxins of cyanobacteria from the published literature.

B. Digamber Rao, M. Ramesh Babu and N. Ellaswamy

Removal of Trihalomethanes in Tehran Drinking Water by an Advanced Oxidation Process

Due to growing population and increasing contamination of surface and groundwater, it is necessary to protect public health by drinking water disinfected with chlorine, the most common method of disinfection. Despite enormous benefits of the chlorination method, there are also disadvantages to human health. Disinfection by-products cause a variety of diseases like cancers in humans. The main group of these by-products is Trihalomethanes (THMs). Different methods such as adsorption, air stripping packed-column, nano-filtration, and granular activated carbon have been applied to eliminate THMs from water resources. In this study, Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) method is used to reduce the contamination of THMs in Tehran drinking water. EPA method 551/1 was used for quantifying the analysis of trihalomethane compounds applying a gas chromatography equipped with an ECD detector. AOP method was performed in a photoreactor equipped with 4 UV lamps. The effects of UV radiation, concentration of hydrogen peroxide, and amount of ZnO nanocatalyst on oxidation reaction of THMs have been investigated. Results show that an optimum amount of hydrogen peroxide with and without applying the catalyst was 5 mL of concentrated solution (30%), and the optimum amount of catalyst with this amount of hydrogen peroxide was 0.5 g in 100 mL of drinking water samples with constant reaction time (1hr) and UV irradiation. The yield of THMs removal reaction in these conditions has been determined 91.78 %. One of the most important superiority of this method, in comparison with other THMS removing methods, is the reduction of THMs contamination of drinking water in trace amounts.

N. Alavi and K. Tahvildari