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Spatial Distribution, Sources Identification and Risk of the Trace Metals in Surface Sediments of Chaohu Lake Using Multivariate Statistics and Geostatistics

This study evaluated the trace metal sources and their spatial distribution in surface sediments in Chaohu Lake, China, using multivariate statistical analysis and geostatistics. The results of the multivariate statistical analysis, including principal component analysis and cluster analysis, indicated that Cu, Pb and Zn were significantly influenced by anthropogenic sources, whereas, the remaining studied metals mainly originated from natural sources. Ordinary kriging was used to plot the spatial distribution of the trace metals and principal component scores, while indication kriging was applied to generate the probability of the trace metals exceeding their pollution threshold values. We found that natural origins and the grain size effect influenced the spatial distribution of Al, Cr, Fe, Mg, Ni, and V, while human sources combined with the former two factors affected the spatial distribution of Cu, Pb and Zn. The spatial distribution of each principal component scores represented the spatial impact of corresponding component on this lake. The possibility maps show that some areas had a high ecological risk caused by Cu, Pb and Zn. Multivariate statistical analysis and geostatistics are concluded to be effective tools to study trace metals.

Wei Wang, Chenchang Du, Nengcheng Chen, Zeqiang Chen and Xian He

Preliminary Developing A Mathematical Model for Estimating Household Solid Waste Generation Rate: The Case of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Solid waste generation rate plays an important role in calculation and design different elements of a municipal solid waste management system of an urban area. The survey was carried out at 644 households living in 6 selected wards of 6 districts in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) that have different population densities to determine generation rates and main composition (food refuses and plastic bags) in domestic solid waste. Composition of household solid waste of HCMC determined from this study will help to develop a model to predict solid waste generation rate in the future. It is also found from the study that, in 2015 household solid waste generation rate of HCMC is 0.41 kg/capita/day (SD = 0.313), food refuse generation rate is 0.23 kg/capita/day, plastic bag generation rate is 0.032 kg/capita/day, and percentages of food refuses and plastic bags in domestic solid wastes of HCMC are 61.63% and 7.67%, respectively. Statistical data indicate that generation rates of household solid waste, food refuses, and plastic bags are inversely proportional to the number of people in a family and directly proportional to the household income. The rank correlation shows no significance between the household solid waste generation rates and the urbanization levels as well as between household solid waste generation rates and days of a week. A linear regression model proposed to determine generation rates of household solid waste, household food refuse, and household plastic bags shows that household size and household income explain only 14.2% of solid waste generation rate (R2 = 0.142) and 11.9% of plastic bag generation rate (R2 = 0.119). Generation rate of food refuse (within the scope of this study) can only be estimated based on household size (R2 = 0.08).

Le Minh Truong, Tran Thu Trang and Tran Thi My Dieu

The Implications of Fly Ash Remediation Through Vermicomposting: A Review

Generation of fly ash (FA) occurs in huge amounts during the combustion of coal for energy production and is recognized as a serious environmental pollutant. Fly ash management is a major concern of the century. Disposal of FA by various conventional methods leads to degradation of arable land and contamination of the groundwater. Attention is now being paid to the recycling of FA through biological methods. FA has availability of plant nutrients and it also contains some toxic heavy metals. Remediation of metals from FA and an increase in its NPK content enhances its applications in agricultural sector. Vermitechnology is one of the promising options for improving the nutrient status of FA and also reducing the metal content. Biologically modified form of fly ash is used for its chemical composition for agricultural purposes or upgrading the wastelands. An exhaustive review of several studies was done in this paper, which, systematically covers the importance, scope and benefits of remediating the fly ash using different species of earthworms. Changes in the content of N, P and K along with the reduction of metal content in the substrates were observed as per the literature survey thus proving vermiremediation, a sustainable technique.

Zeba Usmani and V. Kumar

Plant-Pollutant Interactions with a Special Mention of Dust Accumulation by Plants - A Review

Industrialization has provided humanity with materials and social benefits. It has also brought in its wake up many unwanted substances and social problems. One of these problems is the degradation of the environment. The environment, upon which our life is most dependent, has fallen victim of pollution brought by the man himself through unplanned and unscientific development and mineral exploitation. Air pollution is an inevitable harmful by-product of rapid industrialization and urbanization that is responsible for a variety of deleterious effects on both human and plant communities. It has been a major environmental concern since the beginning of industrialization, resulting in a release of gaseous and particulate pollutants into the atmosphere. A relationship between traffic density and photosynthetic activity, stomatal conductance, total chlorophyll content and leaf senescence has been reported. Exposure of evergreen plants to air pollutants create many changes in physiological and biochemical parameters. Each plant species has a different ability to absorb and adsorb pollutants by their foliar surfaces, which is influenced by several biochemical, physiological and morphological characteristics. Rampant and uncontrolled use of fossil fuels in industries and transport sector has led to an increase in concentrations of the gaseous pollutants. Indian cities are facing serious problems of airborne particulate matter. Atmospheric particulate matter, which is a mixture of diverse elements, is of most concern in context of public health. Particulates may also cause a reduction in yield, change in photosynthesis and transpiration along with foliar injuries. The plant species which accumulate more dust onto their surfaces can act as buffer around industries and along roadsides. The present study deals with the plant-pollutant interactions and how the physical and chemical characteristics of plants vary with air pollution. It also throws light on how dust affects various plant species and what is the role of plants in dust accumulation.

Bhavika Sharma, Sandeep Sharma and S. K. Bhardwaj

Adsorption Performance of Four Substrates in Constructed Wetlands for Nitrogen and Phosphorus Removal

In this research, nitrogen and phosphorus adsorption characteristics of four substrates, including lava, activated carbon, furnace slag and spongy iron, were studied through basic experiments. Meanwhile, adsorption kinetics, effects of different pH on adsorption performance, sequencing batch adsorption isotherm experiments and saturation analysis of substrates experiments were analysed. Moreover, the possible secondary pollution risks after four substrates saturation adsorption were discussed. The results showed that Freundich and Langmuir models were favourably fit for the variance on nitrogen and phosphorus adsorption characteristics of substrates. The order of ammonia nitrogen adsorption capacity for four substrates was activated carbon>furnace slag>lava>spongy iron. In addition, judging from ammonia nitrogen desorption rates, the capacity of releasing ammonia nitrogen for four substrates increased as an order of spongy iron>lava>furnace slag>activated carbon. Besides, the order of phosphorus adsorption capacity for four substrates was activated carbon>spongy iron>furnace slag>lava. And the capacity of releasing phosphorus after phosphorus desorption for four substrates increased as an order of lava>spongy iron>furnace slag>activated carbon. In summary, after adsorption and desorption properties of four substrates were analysed, it could be concluded that activated carbon was a more favourable filler for constructed wetlands.

Hao Wang, Dongmei Zhao, Huiyuan Zhong and Xuejin Li

Analysis on the Formation and Legislative Prevention and Control Measures of Groundwater Pollution: A Case Study from Xinjiang, China

The pollution of groundwater has worsened with rapid industrialization and economic development and its unreasonable exploitation. In addition, the absence of effective legislation that prevents pollution and effective measures that punish polluters significantly, contributes to groundwater pollution. To secure the sustainable use of groundwater resources, this study analyses the specific causes of groundwater pollution, highlights the lack and insufficiency of the legislation that prevents groundwater pollution, and proposes legal control measures to prevent groundwater pollution in Xinjiang, China. Results show that uncontrolled discharge of industrial wastewater and waste residue, unrestrained mining activities, and excessive fertilizer application are the specific causes of groundwater pollution. Four aspects of legal control measures are proposed to improve the effectiveness of current legislation that prevents groundwater pollution, that is; stringent groundwater pollution control laws and regulations systems, and pollution discharge registration systems; strengthened preventative measures; improved coordination systems; surveys on groundwater pollution conditions and improved systems for the environmental evaluation of groundwater; evaluation systems to optimize government performance and strengthened public education on the groundwater environment. The present results have research and reference value in the analysis of the characteristics and main sources of groundwater pollution, evaluation of groundwater quality, and control of groundwater pollution.

Shiqin Hu and Wanlong Tang

Textile Industrial Wastewater Treatment by Polyacrylamide Aided Magnesium Chloride Hybrid Coagulant

Textile industry is one of the major industries that pose environmental concern, whereby the wastewater produced by it is characterized with high temperature, pH, colour and COD. A hybrid coagulant which is consisting of polyacrylamide aided magnesium chloride was applied in treating textile industrial wastewater. Four independent factors, i.e. pH, dosage, agitation speed and time were used to determine their effects on colour removal (%) and COD reduction (%). All independent factors were proved to have significant effect on the colour removal and COD reduction. The optimal operating parameters were fixed at pH = 12.00, dosage = 1000 mg/L, agitation speed = 100 rpm and agitation time = 5 minutes, in attaining colour removal and COD reduction of 82.83% and 26.38%, respectively. Secondary treatment is needed to reduce COD of the textile industry wastewater to ensure that the effluent is safe to be discharged into the environment.

Khai Ern Lee, Thian Lai Goh and Norbert Simon

Swarm Based Control Strategies For Air Pollution And Electricity Production By Multiobjective Optimization

Air pollution has drastically increased now-a-days due to rapid urbanization and industrialization. There are many sources of air pollution, but the predominant one is caused by burning of coal in Thermal Power Plant (TPP). The TPPs are the major sources of electricity production, especially in developing countries like India. The non-conventional energy sources like solar or wind will produce pollution-free electricity, unfortunately they are in their infancy, and hence the conventional TPP usage is still encouraged. The installation of new TPPs for pollution free electricity production is nearly impossible, hence optimizing existing TPPs for air pollution reduction and maximizing electricity production is of prime importance. This can be achieved by constructing a mathematical model of TPPs and optimizing the same. There are many mathematical techniques to model optimization of air pollution and power generation. This paper proposes a new mathematical model for TPPs based on multiple objectives to be optimized simultaneously. Further, it integrates multi-objectives with Weighted distance Grey Wolf Optimizer (WdGWO) for minimizing air pollution and maximizing electricity generation of Delhi Thermal Power Plants. The presented results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed mathematical model and the algorithm.

Mahmad Raphiyoddin Shaphiyoddin Malik and E. Rasul Mohideen

Ecological Responsibility of Local Governments in Contaminated Site Treatment: Liaoning Province of China as an Example

Industrialization and urbanization have promoted the rapid development of China’s economy. However, the site contamination, environmental and health damage, and the government’s ecological responsibility supervision have become hot topics in the society in recent years. This study selects Liaoning province of China to further analyse the local governments’ ecological responsibility in treating contaminated sites. Moreover, the ecological responsibility of foreign governments in the treatment of contaminated sites is summarized, the characteristics of site contamination are analysed, and the functional localization of local governments in the treatment is clarified. Finally, the paths for local governments to realize the ecological administrative responsibility in the treatment process are pointed out. Research results show that site contamination is characterized by concealment, lag, accumulation, difficulty of repair and complexity. In the treatment process, local governments have two roles, namely: (1) as the public service provider; and (2) as the restorer and redeveloper in the contaminated site treatment. This study suggests the establishment of the perfect treatment laws for contaminated sites, acceleration of the law system construction, strengthening of the responsibility supervision and accountability mechanisms, implementation of the administrative accountability system, improvement of external supervision means, encouragement of the public to participate in environmental contamination control, formulation of environmental management measures in contaminated sites, and regulation of contaminated site treatment market to encourage the local governments to fulfil and implement the ecological responsibility during the treatment of the contaminated sites. This research provides a reference value for the discussion in the dominant role and ecological responsibility of the local governments in the remediation and redevelopment of contaminated sites and the establishment of an effective remediation mechanism.

Rixin Cai

Factors Influencing Legal Framework of Environmental Accounting in Indian Industries - Overview and Theoretical Framework

Indian industries in the context of environmental protection do not have clear policies at the national or industrial level in order to ensure compliance to environmental norms. Thus, there is a growing concern for Indian industry to comply with the environmental reporting with regard to environmental protection. To address this gap, this paper proposes a framework which can be very effective to develop strategies for Indian industries environmental legal framework with regard to environmental protection. Researchers have understood the linkage based on extant literature review which is supported through ISM and MICMAC joined with the inter-relationship between the varied elements. Our study is unique and innovative as we have focused on exploring the different effects of the relationship between environmental accounting, industry and sustainability. The framework proposed in this paper can be utilized to develop strategies towards sustainable development which are focused, practical and effective. The primary challenge of environmental accounting legal framework is the absence of standards in identifying all that needs to be measured and deciding how it is to be measured. The conclusion drawn from the ISM hierarchy shows a high interrelationship and interconnectivity between GRI and CERES for sustainability reporting. Environmental awareness and environmental accounting leads to sustainable reporting.

Archana Singh, Nehajoan Panackal and Girija Shankar

Study on the Hazards of Livestock and Poultry Breeding Pollution and the Legal Measures for Ecological Control: A Case Study of Guangdong Province in China

The current models of traditional livestock and poultry breeding emphasize the expansion of the development scale and increasing the economic benefits of stockbreeding, which have caused severe environmental pollution and waste of resources. Moreover, few laws and regulations have been developed to control livestock and poultry breeding pollution. Different places have set up different standards for pollution and the ecological control rules are not feasible. These facts further increase the hazards of livestock and poultry breeding pollution. In order to further analyse the pollution hazards caused by the livestock and poultry breeding, this study summarizes the categories of pollution hazards caused by the livestock and poultry breeding, and explores the causes for these hazards, with Guangdong Province in China as an example. It further proposes legal measures for ecological control of livestock and poultry breeding pollution. Results show that livestock and poultry breeding pollution can be reflected from three aspects, namely, soil pollution, water pollution and air pollution, and that unreasonable traditional livestock and poultry breeding layout, extensive breeding mode, backward disposal of breeding waste, and weak prevention and control of livestock and poultry breeding pollution are four major causes for such kind of pollution. The ecological control of livestock and poultry breeding pollution hazards can be achieved by implementing specific legal measures, such as: improving the legislation for controlling livestock and poultry breeding pollution in rural areas; establishing a rural environment enforcement agency of uniform power, authority and responsibility; strengthening the supervision mechanism for rural environmental law enforcement; improving the damage compensation system for rural environmental pollution; enhancing the legal construction of agricultural industry organizations. These findings are of great practical significance to the adjustment and optimization of livestock and poultry breeding layouts, the promotion and application of ecological livestock and poultry breeding models, the harmless treatments of livestock and poultry excrements, the improvement of the rural environment and the promotion of sustainable development of animal husbandry.

Jianyun Li

Biological Treatment Systems for Fish Processing Wastewater - A Review

Processing of fish involves mainly the application of various preservation techniques for retaining a superior quality and enhancing shelf life. It also covers aspects like value-addition to produce a wide variety of products. But during these fish processing operations large quantity of effluents, which contain active microorganisms in various forms are being generated. Depending on the processing operation involved, the level of contamination varies. This high-strength wastewater from fish processing industry is of great concern world-wide and hence recently stringent liquid effluent policies are being adopted. A number of treatment strategies at different levels are applicable for reducing this risk, however biological treatment is one of the best options for fish processing wastewater, rich in organic matter. Biological treatment includes both aerobic and anaerobic processes. Aerobic processes such as activated sludge, lagoons, trickling filter and rotating biological contactor are suitable for organics removal. The anaerobic processes can also remove 80-90% organics and produce biogas. A combination of both anaerobic digestion and aerobic process is regarded as an effective approach to reduce the contaminants in fish processing wastewater.

U. Parvathy, K. H. Rao, A. Jeyakumari and A. A. Zynudheen

Uncertainty Analysis of Assessing Climate Change Over the North China Plain in the 2050s Using the WRF Model

This study uses a WRF model to simulate the climate for 2000-2008 and the future climate change for 2051-2059 over the North China Plain under A2, A1B, and B1 emission scenarios. To validate the accuracy of a WRF simulation, the global land data assimilation system (GLDAS) data are introduced in this paper. Considering the effectiveness of GLDAS data first is necessary because these data are the products generated by employing satellite and ground-based observational data. The observations of 49 weather stations (MET) over the North China Plain are selected. The spatial-temporal characteristics of temperature and precipitation of GLDAS are highly consistent with those of the MET. A comparison of temperature and precipitation between that of WRF and GLDAS shows that the temperature generated by WRF is overestimated, but the precipitation rate it obtains is consistent with that of GLDAS (R = 0.94). The temperature obtained by WRF that is corrected by a bias correction technique, which is based on the cumulative distribution function, has a high correlation with that of GLDAS. The results of this study can be used to learn the influence of climate change on agriculture and water resources by deriving a crop model and a hydrological model on a regional scale. Results show that the mean temperature will increase by 0.21°C, 1.20°C and 1.55°C; the daily maximum temperature by 0.74°C, 1.76°C and 2.20°C; and the daily minimum temperature by -0.41°C, 0.52°C and 0.79°C under B1, A1B and A2, respectively. On the other hand, to a certain extent, precipitation will decrease by 6.1%, 13.7% and 7.8% under B1, A1B and A2 in the future.

Ruiping Guo and Chunlin Yang

Research on the Pollution Hazard of Municipal Solid Waste in China and its Prevention and Control Legal Countermeasures

In order to further analyse the hazards of environmental pollution caused by municipal solid waste pollution in China, and put forward the legal countermeasures of preventing and controlling solid pollution, this paper reviews the specific causes of urban solid waste pollution in China, and analyses the harm of four aspects, such as air, water, soil and landscape, caused by the pollution of municipal solid waste. The results show that the main causes of municipal solid waste pollution are, a large population, imperfect laws and regulation system, single disposal of solid wastes and poor public understanding of recycling of solid wastes. Municipal solid waste, mainly pollutes the atmospheric environment, water environment, soil environment and surface landscape. Specific legal countermeasures are proposed based on four aspects: strengthening industrial solid waste control and formulating specific control measures, perfecting the legal system for municipal solid waste control and encouraging classification recycling of garbage, enhancing the construction of a legal liability system for medical wastes and perfecting regulations for the management of electric and electronic wastes, strengthening government supervision and administrative enforcement of solid wastes. The conclusions can provide positive references to strengthen municipal solid waste disposal, relieve municipal solid waste pollution, explore control laws, and achieve an urban ecological balance.

Rui Cao and Hao Wang

Correlation Analysis Between Stand Structure Factors and Environmental Factors for Typical Forest Types in Beijing

Studying the mechanisms between factors of stand structure and the environment is an important way to research and interpret the complex relationships between stand development and the environment. We investigated 113 sample plots of four typical forest types at Badaling forest farm in Beijing, and analysed stand soil structure, the correlations between stand structure and environmental factors, and the spatial distribution of soil nitrogen (TN) content and soil alkali-hydrolyzale (AN) content. The results showed that the typical forest types had significant differences in soil physical and chemical properties; the stand soil status of broad-leaved forest and scrubland was superior to that of the coniferous forest and the coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest. The soil physical structure affected the stand structure more than the soil chemical structure, and stand structure variation caused by the soil factors was more important than the topographic factors in all the four typical forest types. Spatial heterogeneity in TN and AN was evidenced, and the overall N content was low.

Mei Luo, XiaoXian Zheng and Wei Wang

Co-metabolism Degradation of Pyridine with Glucose in Sequencing Batch Biofilm Reactor (SBBR)

Biological treatment of pyridine wastewater is difficult because of it’s poor biodegradability. In order to deal with the problem, this study applied glucose as co-metabolism growth substrate to build co-metabolism system for biological degradation of pyridine in Sequencing Batch Biofilm Reactor (SBBR). The study investigated the effect of dissolved oxygen (DO) on the system building. The result showed that DO had significant influence on the establishment of the system. When the pyridine loading was 0.5 kg COD m-3 d-1 and the glucose loading rate was 1.0 kg COD m-3 d-1, the most suitable DO was 3.5 mg/L. After 70 days operation, the pyridine removal efficiency reached stable, which was 83.6%. Meanwhile, under the condition that DO was 3.5 mg/L, pyridine loading had an effect on pyridine removal efficiency. The favourable pyridine loading was 0.5 kg COD m-3 d-1. PCR-DGGE illustrated that the microbial community varied under different DO concentrations. Compared with seed sludge, the similarity were 50.2%, 44.1%, 35.8% and 62.9% respectively, when DO were 0.5, 2.0, 3.5 and 5.0 mg/L. Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results showed that primary amides and carboxylic acids generated in effluent as intermediate products during pyridine degradation process.

Jingzhou Quan, Yancheng Li, Qinglin Sun and Jian Zhou

Assessment of Trophic State of Nagin Lake Based on Limnological and Bacteriological Studies

The present study was carried out to evaluate the trophic condition of Nagin Lake, Kashmir, based on its limnological features and bacterial load. A total of 15 limnological parameters were analysed, besides the bacterial load. The average values recorded were: air temperature (16.19±1.23°C), water temperature (12.40±0.92°C), depth (3.14±0.14 m), transparency (1.93±0.07m), TDS (149.52±5.66 mg.L-1), TSS (95.63±3.27 mg.L-1), pH (8.42±0.07), conductivity (260.61±12.16 µScm-1), dissolved oxygen (6.96±0.13 mg.L-1), free carbon-dioxide (0.55±0.20 mg.L-1), ammonia (199.6±10.34 µg.L-1), nitrate (399.94±203µg.L-1), total phosphorus (492.12±21.79µg.L-1), orthophosphate (50.06± 2.83µg.L-1) and chlorophyll-a (13.43±0.86µg.L-1). Most of the parameters recorded higher values during the warmer seasons of summer and autumn. The bacterial load showed an increasing trend from winter to summer, showing its direct relation with temperature and inverse relation with the dissolved oxygen content. Carlson’s Trophic State Index was used to calculate the trophic state of the lake which showed higher values, suggesting the deteriorating condition of the lake water.

Monisa Malik, M. H. Balkhi, Adnan Abubakr and Farooz Bhat

GIS-Aided Mapping of Macronutrients in the Rice Growing Soils of Karimnagar District in Telangana State, India

A systematic set of geo-referenced 154 soil samples were collected from the Karimnagar district, Telangana state, India, covering the entire rice growing area using GPS (Global positioning system) and the maps showing the spatial variability of individual macronutrients (N, P, K and S) were generated using Arc-info GIS (Geographic information system). The soil samples were analysed for physico-chemical properties and available macronutrients. The available N status ranged from 119.17-784.0 kg ha-1 while the available P, K and S status varied from 12.61-88.46 kg ha-1, 105.68-754.4 kg ha-1 and 5.85-75.5 mg kg-1 respectively. Analytical results and the GPS data were used for the preparation of thematic map showing spatial distribution of N, P, K and S status, mandal-wise in the district. Locations of soil sampling sites of Karimnagar district were marked on the base map on 1:50,000 scale prepared from state revenue maps and digitized using Arc-info GIS. The delineation study clearly indicated that the available N was found to be low in 61.7% of soil samples of Karimnagar district, while phosphorus is in medium status. Nearly 33.8 and 62% of the surface soils were medium and high in available K, respectively. Most of rice growing soil samples were low (39%) in available sulphur in the district. The GIS-aided thematic maps indicated that 49.73, 11.85 and 24.4% of the total geographical area of Karimnagar district was deficient in the N, P and S, respectively.

P. Ravi, G. Bhupal Raj, G. Jayasree and G. S. Pratyusha Kranthi

Temporal and Spatial Variation Characteristics of Air Pollution and Prevention and Control Measures: Evidence from Anhui Province, China

The rapid advancement of industrialization and urbanization has caused air pollution and increased the pressure on the urban ecological environment. Meanwhile, the unreasonable energy structure, emissions of pollution sources by chemical enterprises, and motor vehicle exhaust have aggravated the air pollution in urban areas. To analyse the temporal and spatial variation characteristics of air pollution and propose specific prevention and control measures for air pollution, taking Anhui Province in China as an example, this study analyses the causes of air pollution by using the air pollution index (API) data of Anhui Province obtained from 2013 to 2015. A comparative analysis is conducted on the API data from 2013 to 2015, and air quality in different cities of Anhui Province in 2015 is evaluated. Results show that unreasonable energy structure, accelerated urban infrastructure construction, and increasing motor vehicle emissions are the main cause of air pollution in Anhui Province. From temporal and spatial perspectives, the average APIs of different cities in Anhui Province from 2013 to 2015 were 64.8, 73.2 and 70.8 respectively. These values reveal the overall fluctuating growth trend of air pollution. From the spatial perspective, the number of days with good air quality in 14 cities of Anhui Province in 2015 ranged from 262 days to 365 days, which accounted for 71.8% to 100% of the total days in a year. It reflects that the degree of urban air pollution in northern Anhui is higher than that in southern Anhui. The conclusions reveal the temporal and spatial variation characteristics of air pollution, and provide policy suggestions for formulating scientific air pollution control measures, effectively implementing air pollution management and improving the current air pollution status.

Shenglong Kuai and Cheng Yin

Persistence of Metribuzin in Tomato Growing Soils and Tomato Fruits

Dissipation of metribuzin and its persistence in tomato fruits was studied by conducting on-farm research trials in three farmer’s fields in Ranga Reddy district of Telangana state. Farmer’s fields with widely varying soil characteristics were selected and metribuzin was applied at 500 g a.i. ha-1. Soil samples were collected at 0, 7, 15, 30, 45 and 60 DAA (days after application) and fruit samples were collected at harvest and analysed on GC-ECD for metribuzin residues. Metribuzin persisted in the soils up to 45 DAA in coarse textured soils and 60 DAA in medium and fine textured soils. Metribuzin leached to 20-30 cm depth in all the soils and leaching was more pronounced in coarse textured soils than in fine textured soils. Organic carbon and clay content significantly influenced the residual life and leaching of metribuzin in soil. In soils, metribuzin dissipation followed a first-order decay process and exponential model was found to give better fit for field dissipation. Half life of metribuzin soil varied from 9.11 to 21.15 days. Metribuzin residues in tomato samples collected at the time of harvest were below the detection limit and MRL of 0.05 mg kg-1 in all the farmer’s fields.

J. D. Saritha, T. Ramprakash, P. C. Rao and M. Madhavi

Hybrid Method of Coagulation-Flocculation and Adsorption-Filtration Processes for the Removal of Hexavalent Chromium from the Aqueous Systems

Hexavalent chromium is one the most important water pollutants. There are a number of available technologies used for the remediation of chromium, but none of them is applicable to all situations. In this study a hybrid method of coagulation-flocculation uses Moringa oleifera seed coagulant polymer and adsorption-fine filtration with composite of kaolinite clay and sand media for removing chromium ions present in aqueous systems. 98% of chromium ions were removed from the water by this novel technique of coagulation-flocculation and adsorption-filtration process.

K. Ravikumar and J. Udayakumar

Evaluation of Agricultural Ecological Efficiency and its Improvement Measures in China Taking Guizhou Province as an Example

The rapid development of the agricultural industry has led to the excessive waste of agricultural resources and the serious destruction of the ecological environment. Agriculture is the basis of national livelihood and economic development, and agricultural ecological efficiency is an important indicator of a region’s agricultural productivity. Guizhou province of China is used as an example in this study to analyse the environmental pollution caused by the agricultural development process, quantitatively determine the agricultural ecological efficiency of a region, and propose measures to improve agricultural ecological efficiency. This study summarizes the development status of natural resources, environmental pollution etc. of agro-ecosystem in Guizhou province, and establishes the agricultural ecological efficiency evaluation indicator system. The agricultural ecosystem panel data of Guizhou province from 2005 to 2015 are also obtained. The data envelopment analysis-Malmquist model is used to calculate the agricultural ecological efficiency of Guizhou province from two levels, i.e., year and city, and the improvement measures for agricultural ecological efficiency are proposed. Results show that the agricultural ecological efficiency of Guizhou province is in the medium development level and increases by 7% on average. Technological progress is the most important factor of the growth of agricultural ecological efficiency. However, comprehensive technical efficiency decrease, and the decrease in scale efficiency are the main factors that cause the reduction in comprehensive efficiency level. The total factor productivity of all the cities in Guizhou province is greater than 1; among the cities, Liupanshui City reaches the highest growth rate, i.e., 12%. The results of this study possess a positive reference value for the adjustment of the agricultural ecosystem structure and the improvement of the agricultural ecological environment level. The findings may also serve as a basis for the enhancement of the comprehensive agricultural sustainable development and the alleviation of the serious destruction of the ecological environment caused by the rapid development of the agricultural industry.

Wei Wang and Yajun Ye

Modification of Pongamia pinnata (Linn.) Seed Chemicals and Their Fungicidal Activities

Environmental concerns associated with the use of synthetic chemicals/petrochemical based pesticides have emphasized the importance of developing eco-friendly products with lower mammalian toxicity and a lower persistence in the environment. Seed chemicals of Pongamia pinnata were isolated and modified into saponified and amide products. Products derived from P. pinnata protein were completely soluble in water and their aqueous solutions are clear at room temperature, while saponified products showed turbidity at higher concentrations. The surface tension and viscosity of saponified products were found to be changed with dilutions, 0.03-0.05 N/m, 0.45-1.35 mpa.s at 0.1 to 5% concentrations, respectively, while surface tension and viscosity of diethanolamide product ranged from 0.036 to 0.020 N/m and 0.023 mpa.s to 1.02 mpa.s at 0.1 to 10% concentration, respectively. The properties of both products showed better surface tension lowering ability and wetting power in comparison to water. Significant (P=0.01) fungal growth inhibition was recorded at higher dilution against the tested fungus, Flavodon flavus and Penicillium chrysogenum. The diethanolamide product showed complete fungal growth inhibition at 5.0% dilution even after 7 days against F. flavus and P. chrysogenum. The present study concludes that surfactant formulation of non edible oil seeds contains fungicidal activities. The different dilutions exhibited pronounced toxicity against the target fungal species.

Neelu Singh and R. K. Verma

Evaluation of Spent Mushroom Compost as a Container Medium for Production of Seedlings of Two Oak Species

Seven media amended with 30% to 75% (by volume) of spent mushroom compost (SMC) were trialed on two oak tree species to evaluate the possibility of using SMC for oak tree container seedling production by comparing the physical and chemical properties of media and assessing the plant growth of oak seedlings. The high electrical conductivity and pH of media amended with SMC decreased quickly by leaching. Seedling quality index of Quercus aliena decreased as the proportion of SMC increased in the media. Only the media with 50% or less SMC yielded seedlings similar to or better than the control. However, for Q. virginiana, all media except that without perlite gave similar or better quality seedlings than the control. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium contents of shoot were significantly increased in both species grown on SMC amended media, except the nitrogen of Q. virginiana. No visual symptoms of nutrient deficiency or toxicity were observed. In conclusion, in container seedling production, SMC can be used with perlite as a peat substitute up to 75% for the salt tolerant Q. virginiana, and 50% for Q. aliena.

Qiansheng Li, Min Deng and Allen J. Coombes

Review on Climate Change and its Impact on Agriculture of Arunachal Pradesh in the Northeastern Himalayan Region of India

Current paper aims to review the climate change scenario of Arunachal Pradesh and its impact on the agricultural productivity and the farming system of the state. Arunachal Pradesh is witnessing climate change with rise in average temperature, particularly the minimum temperature. Though the amount of rainfall remains more or less constant, but the intensity increases with lowering of number of rainy days by 11 per cent in the recent decades. Also, there are profound variations in the spatial and temporal distribution in rainfall patterns with persistent mid season dry spell during July and August. Climate change is threatening food production system and therefore the livelihood and food security of people across the State, particularly that of the hill regions. Fragile and poorly accessible landscapes with sparsely scattered settlements, primitive agricultural practices and poor infrastructure make agriculture of Arunachal Pradesh extremely vulnerable to climate change. The observed and likely future effects are diverse and geographically differentiated, creating uncertainty, which makes the task of preparing for climate change impacts very difficult. To increase the resilience of sector in the state needs pro-environment and pro-development research and policies tailored to the local needs and conditions.

Rupankar Bhagawati, Kaushik Bhagawati†, D. Jini, R. A. Alone, R. Singh, A. Chandra, B. Makdoh, Amit Sen and Kshitiz K. Shukla

Effect of Industrial Effluents on Mineral Uptake of Two Rabi Crops (Triticum aestivum and Raphanus sativus)

The physico-chemical characteristics of effluents from two different industries, viz. textile and sugar factory, were assessed and the effect of various concentrations (0%, 25%, 50%, 75 % and 100%) on mineral uptake in Triticum aestivum and Raphanus sativus was determined. The study revealed that the germination % of wheat and radish was severely affected by these effluents at higher concentration, where a maximum germination was recorded at 25% effluent concentration. The uptake of iron, phosphate, zinc and copper was found in increasing order and was highest at 100% effluent concentration. The above study reveals the feasibility of using industrial effluent for growing vegetables and crops with proper dilution.

Meenakshi Nandal, J. P. Yadav and Mansi Rastogi

Changes in Soil Quality in Limestone Mining Area of Meghalaya, India

Limestone mining in East Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya, India is being carried out extensively for the production of cement. Extraction of limestone is done mainly by adopting opencast method of mining. Mining activities have deteriorated the environment of the area in terms of deforestation, biodiversity loss, water quality and availability, noise pollution, landscape disturbance, soil erosion, generation of spoils and degradation of land. In this paper, we report the results of study conducted on the soil quality in relation to limestone mining. Comparison of soil quality in mining area with that of unmined area shows that soil quality has degraded with respect to most of the parameters analysed during the present study. Remarkable decrease in moisture content, water holding capacity, organic carbon and total nitrogen has been found. Electrical conductivity and bulk density of soil increased in the mining area. On the other hand, there was an improvement in pH from acidic to slightly alkaline soil. However, changes in the values of phosphorus and potassium were not so prominent. The overall changes in soil quality can be attributed due to limestone mining in the area.

R. Eugene Lamare and O. P. Singh

Intensity of China’s Agricultural Environmental Regulation and Progress of Production Technology

The increasingly serious agricultural pollution in China poses the question of whether the Chinese government can adopt environmental protection policies to achieve a “win-win” situation of promoting the progress of agricultural production technology and environmental regulation. This research adopts data envelopment analysis method to measure the progress index of production technology of 31 provinces in China to evaluate the effects of environmental regulations on the progress of agricultural production technology. Panel data method is also used to conduct an empirical test to explore the relationship of the intensity of agricultural environmental regulation, human capital, industrial structure, income level, and related technical factors with the progress of production technology. Results indicate that an increase in the intensity of environmental regulations causes first a decrease in the level of agricultural production technology in the central and eastern regions of China, which then gradually increases, thereby indicating a significant “U” curve trajectory and high statistical significance. By contrast, the western region did not form a statistically significant U-type relationship. In the process of promoting agricultural environmental protection policy, the Chinese government should devote more efforts to strengthening agricultural environmental protection and should attach greater importance to the methods and implementation of agricultural environmental regulations.

Tao Tian, Jing Zhu and Xi Tian

Biological Assessment of Water Pollution Using Periphyton Productivity: A Review

Periphyton is an entire community of organisms and its productivity is quite significant in relation to total primary production, which is often equal to or exceeding as biomass (ash free dry weight) in terms of phytopigment content (chlorophyll-a) to assess water pollution. Productivity is caused by increased nutrient enrichment due to sewage and agro-industries. Periphyton is useful as biological indicator of water pollution. Several biotic and abiotic environmental factors are affected due to periphyton growth. Its growth depends upon some factors such as temperature, light, pH, DO and nutrients (N and P). Productivity is often limited by nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) availability as periphyton use N compounds and phosphorus for their growth. Chlorophyll-a alone is an inadequate predictor of the relative contribution of different algal communities to the total primary production. Periphyton production is associated with various factors and can be evaluated by physico-chemical, chlorophyll and biomass estimation and causes several deleterious effects to water quality.

Shweta Singh, Abhishek James and Ram Bharose

Nutrients and Pollutants Removal in Small-Scale Constructed Wetland in Frangipani Resort Langkawi, Malaysia

Constructed wetlands are the man-made system that mimics the function and structures of natural wetland and manipulated for wastewater treatment. The aim of the present study is to investigate the feasibility of using the small scale constructed wetland (CW) that is integrated with six species of plants to treat municipal wastewater in a hotel. The annual water quality improvement performance of four sampling points in the CW cells is described once in mid-January and mid-September from 2009 until 2013. The parameters studied were pH, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), ammoniacal nitrogen (AN), nitrate nitrogen (NN) and total phosphorus (TP). The removal percentage of each parameter was calculated and described as removal efficiency. Loading capacity of nutrients was also calculated using models. Removal percentage of pollutants and nutrients was higher in January compared to September in average due to some factors that are already explained. However, the results proved that the small scale CW can be one of the best alternatives to be used in hotels and resorts among modern and conventional treatments.

Mohd Shafiq Asnawi Md. Akhir, Ahmad Aldrie Amir and Mazlin bin Mokhtar

Pollution Pattern of Formaldehyde and TVOC in Indoor Air and Its Control Measures

As primary indoor air pollutants, formaldehyde and total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) are characterized by a wide range of pollution sources, large concentration range and long release periods exist. These pollutants are important indicators for monitoring indoor air pollution. This paper analyses the classification and sources of main pollutants in indoor air, focuses on the pollution patterns of formaldehyde and TVOC in interior environments, and measures the relationships among decoration time, functional rooms of different types, and indoor formaldehyde and TVOC pollution levels to further analyse their patterns and propose control measures for improving indoor air quality. Interior decoration pollution can be categorized into organic, inorganic and radioactive pollution. The detection rate of formaldehyde and TVOC in the tested air samples is 100%. The average values of indoor formaldehyde concentration with decoration periods of 3, 3-12 and 12 months are 0.21, 0.11, and 0.04 mg/m3 respectively, whereas those of TVOC concentration are 0.92, 0.49 and 0.21 mg/m3 respectively. Formaldehyde and TVOC concentrations decrease as decoration time increases. The highest average concentrations of formaldehyde and TVOC, maximum over-standard multiples and over-standard rates are observed during the decoration time of 3 months. One year after decorating, formaldehyde content decreases to a value lower than the national standard limit, indoor air quality improves, and the over-standard rate of TVOC concentration significantly decreases compared with that of formaldehyde. The contents of formaldehyde and TVOC in the children’s room are significantly higher than those in the master bedroom, second bedroom and living room. The results of this research exhibit a great reference value for further improving the pollution characteristics database of typical indoor air pollution indicators (formaldehyde and TVOC), enriching the pollution characteristics and regularity of indoor air formaldehyde and TVOC, understanding the current situation of indoor air pollution, and solving the problems of indoor air pollution.

Xinggui Yin

Numerical Analysis of Ammonia Nitrogen Degradation in Water with Sediment

Based on the previous research, the experiment of ammonia nitrogen degradation in water with sediment has been set-up. The sample of sediment was selected from Zhang river. The degradation regularity of ammonia nitrogen in water with sediment was studied systematically. Under the different parameters as sediment concentration, sediment size and different initial concentrations of ammonia nitrogen, a series of experiments on the degradation of ammonia nitrogen in water with sediment were carried out. First-order kinetics was adopted to fit the experimental results, and the influences of the sediment concentration and the particle size on the reaction rate are discussed. The research shows that the degradation process of ammonia nitrogen and organisms both are conformed to the first-order kinetics and the higher the sediment concentration and smaller the particle size are, the greater is the reaction rate constant.

Jianbo Pan, Changjun Zhu, Ming Liu and Shijian Liu

Optimizing Advanced Oxidation Process for Industrial Textile Wastewater Treatment

The H2O2/pyridine/Cu(II) advanced oxidation system is a treatment method involving a combination of a transition metal ion with ligand molecules which decomposes H2O2 to produce hydroxyl radicals (OH*), which will then lead to the mineralization of organic compounds to produce CO2 and H2O. Most researches used this system on synthetic dye wastewater and reported removal in colour only. This study was carried out to assess and to optimize the treatment efficiency in terms of COD reduction and colour removal using this system in the treatment of industrial dye wastewater. Full factorial design and central composite design (CCD) from the response surface methodology (RSM) were utilized in the screening and optimization of the system. Results obtained indicated that this system was found to be capable in reducing the concentration of COD of the dye wastewater up to 80% and removing 94% of the colour at the optimal concentrations of 0.0023 M [H2O2], 0.0073 M [pyridine], 0.0123 M [Cu(II)] and at pH 10. Final COD concentration was recorded at 102 mg/L, and colour point at 55 PtCo. Amount of sludge produced at the end of this treatment system was 260 mg/L.

Joanne C. L. Lim and Khai Ern Lee

Over-exploitation of Groundwater, and its Impact on Phreatic Aquifer System, Surface Water Bodies and Rural Water Supply Schemes in Malur Taluk, Kolar District, Karnataka - A Case Study

Water is a precious natural resource which replenishes each year through monsoon rains. Most of the areas in India are facing severe scarcity of water for drinking, irrigation and industrial needs of the society. The crisis of water resources, the development and their management is of great importance because, the required quantity of the water is not available for use due to uneven spatial distribution. In India, groundwater is the main source of irrigation and water supply needs. Excess use of groundwater for irrigation has adversely affected drinking water supply needs in recent years, which has a direct impact on the quality and quantity of groundwater. Better water/groundwater management practices and planning for artificial recharge of groundwater can only improve the sustainability of groundwater resource in coming years. Like in other places of India, in Karnataka, particularly in Malur taluk in Kolar district, is not having any major surface water bodies to cater to the irrigation and domestic water supply needs of the people. The entire area is by and large totally dependent on groundwater for irrigation, domestic and industrial water supply needs. Due to continuous withdrawal of groundwater to meet the demand, dug wells tapping the phreatic aquifers are totally dry since last two decades, which has tremendous impact on phreatic aquifer system, surface water bodies and rural water supply schemes in the area and also on the quality of groundwater. Better groundwater management practices coupled with artificial recharge to groundwater are the options left for sustainability of groundwater resource in the area. Roof top rain water harvesting is also essential to mitigate the drinking water needs of the people in the area. Drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation in large scale can control the depletion of groundwater level in the area.

S. N. Ramaiah, Ramalinga Reddy and V. Jayarama Reddy

Simultaneous Removal of Phenanthrene and Ni(II) Co-contaminants from Sandy Soil Column by Triton X-100 and Citric Acid Flushing

The remediation of soils co-contaminated with heavy metals (HMs) and hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) is urgent. In this paper, the simultaneous removal of phenanthrene and Ni(II) co-contaminants from sandy soil column by 3250 mg/L of Triton X-100 (TX100) and 0.1 mol/L of citric acid (CA) flushing was conducted. The removal effects were compared and discussed when CA after TX100 (TX100/CA), TX100 after CA (CA/TX100), and a mixture of TX100 and CA (TX100-CA) were used as flushing agents. The maximum concentrations of phenanthrene in effluent solutions appeared when the pore volume number (PVN) of influent was 3, 17.5 and 4 while those of Ni(II) occurred at 12.5, 2 and 2.5 of PVN during TX100/CA, CA/TX100 and TX100-CA flushing, respectively. The total removal efficiencies of phenanthrene were upto 93.7%, 94.5%, and 93.1%, while those of Ni(II) were 80.2%, 80.4% and 80.7% due to TX100/CA, CA/TX100 and TX100-CA flushing, respectively. Larger PVN was required for TX100/CA and CA/TX100 to clean phenanthrene and Ni(II) efficiently. The removal efficiencies of contaminants increased with PVN in Sigmoidal Model. The results showed that flushing using nonionic surfactant and organic acid is promising for in-situ remediation of soils contaminated with HMs and HOCs.

Baowei Zhao and Haifeng Wang

Start-up Performance of Chicken Manure Anaerobic Digesters Amended with Biochar and Operated at Different Temperatures

Batch anaerobic digestion was conducted using chicken manure (CM) and biochar over the course of 30 days in separate 15, 25, 35, 45, 55, and 65°C reactors. Daily volumetric methane production, hydrogen sulfide concentration, pH, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), alkalinity (Alk), and soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) were measured. Results showed that the anaerobic reactors started up successfully under all temperature conditions. It needed one week for 35°C and 45°C reactors to peak the methane production rate, 18 days for 25°C and 65°C reactors, and over one month for 55°C reactor, but it was not the peak as the methane production rate for 15°C reactor. The hydrogen sulfide concentrations at various temperature conditions were not more than 538 ppm, and the difference was small, except 65°C reactors with 1148 ppm concentration. Based on the process parameters of the 15°C reactor, the hydrolysis processing was smooth, but the poor activity and slow growth of methanogens were the key problems to make the efficiency poor. Comparison of the added biochar reactor with a control reactor without biochar operated at 35°C showed that the addition of biochar reduced the lag phase by 41%, enhanced the maximum methane production rate by 18%, and reduced the hydrogen sulfide by more than 95%, although no difference was observed in the cumulative methane production.

Yong Liang, Ling Qiu, Xiaohui Guo, Junting Pan, Wen Lu and Yihong Ge

Treatment of the Acrylic Fibre Wastewater by Fenton Process

The acrylic fibre is one of the major synthetic fibres commonly used in the mass production of clothing. However, the effluents of the acrylic fibre manufacturing contain amounts of organic and inorganic contaminants. Some of these pollutants are toxic and bio-refractory, which may cause serious environmental impacts if they are discharged directly into receiving waters without appropriate treatment. In this study, the Fenton process was used for the treatment of acrylic fibre wastewater. The operational parameters were evaluated according to the single factor experiments. The results showed that the H2O2 dosage, Fe2+ dosage, pH value and reaction time had an important role on the effect of treatment of the acrylic fibre wastewater. The most significant interactive influence of Fe2+ dosage and pH value was observed. Under the following reaction conditions, such as H2O2 dosage of 80 mmol/L, Fe2+ dosage of 25 mmol/L, initial pH value of 3 and a reaction time of 110 min, the COD removal efficiency of the acrylic fibre wastewater was 45.2%.

Cheng Guang Chen, Jian Fu, Muqing Qiu and Li Hang

Effect of Initial Arsenic Concentration on Sediment Adsorption of Arsenic

Aiming at exploring the effect of initial arsenic concentration on sediment adsorption, at first, an orthogonal experiment of four factors and four levels was carried out to determine the optimal experimental conditions. Based on orthogonal experiments, the single factor experiments of different sampling times under the optimal experimental conditions were conducted to explore the influence of the initial arsenic concentration on adsorption of sediment of different concentrations. To confirm the arsenic’s adsorption equilibrium time, the experiments with different sediment concentrations were conducted under the optimal experimental conditions, when sampling times respectively, were 5, 10, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 mins. The results showed that (1) the optimal conditions for the sediment adsorption of arsenic: temperature is 40°C, vibration velocity is 250 r·min-1, pH is 9, and sediment diameter ranges from 0.15 to 0.3 mm; (2) when the sampling time and the sediment concentration are constant, with the increase of initial arsenic concentration, the amount of the unit sediment adsorption increases gradually; when the concentration of the initial arsenic and sediment is constant, adsorption capacity of per unit mass of the sediment increases with time; (3) the time of arsenic adsorption equilibrium from sediment is 60 mins.

Hai-hua Li, Wei-feng Yan, Qian Liang, Zheng-yang E. and Kang-jia Ge

Soil Loss Due to Erosion and its Relation to the Economic Cost

Soil loss as a result of soil erosion has an impact on the economy, specifically when it occurs in agricultural site. The economic impact can be on-site or off-site. The on-site impacts are in the form of nutrient loss, loss of existing production and less yield, while off-site effect consists of flooding, sedimentation and damage plantation. This study focuses on some of the economic aspects of soil loss as they apply to “in-the-field” practices. The research was carried out using current data from existing literature. The data were then interpreted statistically and comparisons between various factors were made. The results indicated that the contribution of rainfall to soil loss varied and depended on some other factors such as type of vegetation cover and soil slope. In terms of economic cost due to soil loss, the off-side cost which included indirect cost such as agricultural productivity was calculated as $176.33 per ton/ha/year. This indirect cost was about more than three times of the direct cost which was $53.35 per ton/ha/year.

Indah Fajarini Sri Wahyuningrum

Kinetic and Thermodynamic Studies on the Adsorption of Zinc Ions from Aqueous Solution by the Blast Furnace Slag

In this work, the adsorption ability of the blast furnace slag to adsorb Zn2+ ions in aqueous solution was investigated. The experimental results are discussed in detail. The adsorption kinetic studies showed that the adsorption of Zn2+ ion from aqueous solution by the blast furnace slag better fits to pseudo second order kinetic model. It implies that the predominant process is chemisorption, which involves a sharing of electrons between the adsorbate and the surface of the adsorbent. The adsorption isotherm studies showed that Langmuir adsorption isotherm model was more suitable for the Zn2+ ion from aqueous solution than the Freundlich adsorption isotherm model. It was also suggested that the adsorption process was homogeneous adsorption. The thermodynamic parameters of DG0, DH0 and DS0 are -0.04 kJ/mol, 51.35 kJ/mol and 165.42 J.mol-1.K-1 respectively. It implied that the adsorption process is an endothermic reaction and chemical adsorption process.

Muqing Qiu and Pu Huang

Life Cycle Assessment of Edible Fungi Residue Compost - A Case Study of Beijing

Based on large quantity and low resource utilization of edible fungi residue in Beijing, the life cycle assessment of edible fungi residue compost was carried out. The environmental impacts including global warming (GW), acidification (AC), eutrophication (EU) and photochemical ozone (PO) were evaluated. Results indicated that edible fungi residue compost was the major risk to acidification and eutrophication. On the contrary, global warming and photochemical ozone were at a low level of potential environmental impact. The potential environment impact of four impact classes and the sum of them were 3.58×10-7 PE, 1.93×10-5 PE, 1.75×10-5 PE, 3.40×10-6 PE and 4.06×10-5 PE respectively, all lower than China’s per capita impact potential. The data indicated that developing edible fungi residue compost to replace part of using of the landfill and random stacking treatment could effectively reduce environment potential impact. Applied to edible fungi residue compost, life cycle assessment could quantify the effect of different environment impact classes, which provide a scientific basis for selecting recycle technology and management plan.

Dai Aona, Luan Yaning and Qi Jun

Concentration of Heavy Metals in Tissues of Mugil cephalus and Lethrinus miniatus from Jazan Coast, Saudi Arabia

Presence of heavy metals at high concentrations in edible fish might lead to some health issues for consumers. The current work determined the concentrations of four heavy metals Cd, Pb, Zn and Cu in seawater, gills and muscles of two common fishes, Mugil cephalus and Lethrinus miniatus, collected in summer 2014 from two different areas of Red Sea, Jazan, Saudi Arabia, using ICP-AES after microwave digestion procedure. The concentrations of investigated metals were higher in the gills than in muscles for the two fish species. However, the concentration of zinc was higher than other metals in all samples, in the following order Zn>Cu>Pb>Cd. The average of maximum metal concentration was measured for Zn (11.087 ± 1.672 mg kg-1w.w) in the gills of Lethrinus miniatus, Cu (0.548 ± 0.249 mg kg-1w.w) in the gills of Mugilcephalu, Pb (0.131 ± 0.092 mg kg-1w.w) in the gills of Mugilcephalu, and Cd (0.064 ± 0.017 mg kg-1w.w) in the gills of Lethrinus miniatus. Concentration of investigated metals in water was following the same order in the fish tissues Zn>Cu>Pb>Cd, with a maximum detected concentrations of 0.0233, 0.0085, 0.0059, and 0.0023 mg L-1, respectively. Despite the detection of heavy metals in the edible tissues of investigated fish, the concentrations were within the recommended maximum residual level of FAO/WHO and EU. Therefore, the investigated fish might be considered safe for human consumption. More extended investigations are highly recommended.

Ali H. Bahhari, Ibrahim N. Al-Switi and Abdul Jabbar Al-Rajab

New Hybrid Anion Exchanger for Fluoride Removal

Contamination of groundwater by fluoride from both anthropogenic and natural sources is an issue of major concern. Anion exchanger A500P was loaded with Zr ions and precipitated with sodium hydroxide, followed by thermal treatment at 60°C, to form hydrated Zr oxide. Fluoride removal using Zr-loaded A500P from solutions with a fluoride concentration of 5 mgL-1 was investigated and compared with that using activated alumina, by performing batch tests under different experimental conditions. The results indicated that fluoride adsorption occurs immediately over the entire surface of the A500P Zr-loaded resin, as well as over activated alumina (the equilibrium has been reached after 6 h). The obtained data indicated the relatively high removal activity of Zr-loaded A500P as compared to that of activated alumina. Furthermore, competitive species such as SO42- and PO43- strongly affected the rate of fluoride removal; at sulphate and phosphate doses of 1000 ppm and 1 ppm, respectively, fluoride removal was completely suppressed. Experiments performed over the pH range 2-10 indicated that the rate of fluoride removal is inversely proportional to pH; that is, a lower pH results in higher removal capacity.

Othman Hakami

Physical Soil Characterization on Stable and Failed Slopes of the Ranau-Tambunan Road, Sabah, Malaysia

In this study, an initiative has been taken to characterize soil physical properties of stable and failed soil slopes along the Ranau-Tambunan road in Sabah. A total of 26 samples consisting of 10 samples from stable slopes and another 16 samples from failed soil slopes were collected. Basic physical soil tests that were performed were particle size distribution, liquid limit, plastic limit and plasticity index. The Mann-Whitney test was used to determine the association between landslides and the physical properties of both slope groups. In addition, mean rank of physical properties for both slope groups were also computed. Based on the test, the particle size distribution, liquid and plasticity index for both groups were indicated as significantly associated with landslides with p values of 0.0305, 0.009 and 0.040 respectively. The plastic limit (p=0.667), however, did not show significant association with landslide occurrences. In terms of mean rank, failed slopes have higher value than stable slopes for fine grain materials comprising of silt and clay (15.94 vs 9.60), liquid limit (16.50 vs 8.70), plastic limit (14.03 vs 12.65) and plasticity index (16.69 vs 8.40).

Norbert Simon, Noran Nabilla Nor Azlan, Rodeano Roslee, Azimah Hussein, Lee Khai Ern and Kamilia Sharir

Influence of Tourmaline on DPC Pore Structure and Removal Effect on Malachite Green

Taking diatomite as the main material, the DPC was obtained by solid-phase sintering and low-temperature calcination craft. The study focused on the content of tourmaline to influence of materials’ microstructure, pore size distribution and the decolourization ability for malachite green aqueous solution. Samples in different tourmaline content were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Hg porosimetry and so on. The results indicate that sample with 12% tourmaline has the smallest average aperture of 177.5 nm and biggest specific surface area of 6.83 m2/g; tourmaline content is enhanced from 0% to 16%, the materials’ porosity decreased from 49.3% to 36.5% and materials’ decolourization ability to malachite green solution’s strengthens gradually. When tourmaline content is 16%, malachite-green aqueous solution is completely decolourized in 6h and the absorption peaks disappear at 412 nm and 618 nm.

Ruqin Gao, Yue Geng , Guoting Li, Yiming Gu and Sun Qian

Controlling Environmental Pollution Through Concrete Technology

The increasing amount of wastes is a concerning reality that has arose the sustainability issues for the environment. Large amount of wastes such as fly ash (from thermal plant), hypo sludge (from paper mill industry) etc. is generated annually which are generally disposed off by landfills leading to environmental pollution. Hypo plant in the paper industry generates large volume of waste in the form of a slurry. This solid waste directly affects the soil properties and contributes to the soil pollution. Also, the production of cement accounts for the global warming by releasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Therefore, the formulation of concrete with industrial waste can help in minimizing the environmental problem. In this study, hypo sludge was used as a replacement of cement in concrete. Polypropylene fibre (PPF) was added to strengthen the concrete. In this research work 25 mixes were prepared at different replacement levels of hypo sludge (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%) and polypropylene fibre (0%, 0.25%, 0.5%, 0.75%, 0.10%) for M-20 mix. Workability was determined; the compressive strength and splitting tensile strength of concrete were tested after 7, 14 and 28 days of curing.

Manmeet Kaur, Jaspal Singh and Manpreet Kaur