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Vegetation Community Characteristics Under Different Vegetation Eco-restoration Techniques at Xiangjiaba Hydropower Station

The objective of this study is to understand the characteristics of vegetation communities under different vegetation eco-restoration models (vegetation concrete eco-restoration technique, frame beam filling soil technique, thick layer base material spraying technique, and external soil spray seeding technique). Vegetation coverage, dominant species, species composition, and species diversity of vegetation community under different vegetation eco-restoration modes were analyzed by field survey. The vegetation community of the abandoned slag slope was unstable due to the simple vegetation community structure. The species and number of the thick layer base material spraying slope were low and fail to form a healthy multilayer community structure due to invade of Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit. Studying the allelopathy of Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit and seeking the best species composition that can coexist with it is significant to promote the positive succession of the vegetation community. The frame beam filling soil technique, external-soil spray seeding technique, and vegetation concrete eco-restoration technique can effectively promote the succession process of the vegetation community and have well water and soil conservation capacity. These findings suggest that artificial vegetation eco-restoration measures can effectively promote vegetation eco-restoration and the positive succession of vegetation community of disturbed slopes. The research results can provide scientific advice for vegetation eco-restoration and subsequent control and management of disturbed slopes in the Xiangjiaba project, and also can be helpful to other similar projects.

B.Q. Zhao, R.Z. Gao, D. Xia, L. Xia, W.Q. Zhu and W.N. Xu

Impact of Wetting and Drying Cycles on the Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of Vegetation-growing Concrete

Vegetation-growing Concrete (VC), as a new type of cemented soil, is usually used for plants growing on the surface of high and steep rocky slopes. With the widespread application of VC substrate, a pressing problem arises to ensure its durability under wetting and drying conditions. To explore the greatest possible impact on the mechanical properties and microstructure features of VC substrate, an experimental program including triaxial test, SEM analysis, and ultrasonic testing was implemented. The results showed that wetting and drying cycles can significantly decrease more than 40-percent of peak strength, 60-percent of residual strength, and 50-percent of cohesion for VC substrate under ultimate conditions. The fundamental cause of reduction in mechanical performance was found to be the weakening of the bond between soil particles. And it was discovered that structural damage increased as the number of wetting and drying cycles increased but at a slower rate. Based on the tested results, linear functions between the loss extent parameters of mechanical performance and the structural damage variable were established for the VC substrate. Finally, the action mechanisms of wetting and drying cycles for VC substrate were discussed, and the main influential factors were proposed.

Xiaole Huang, Wennian Xu, Yu Ding, Dong Xia, Shiyuan Xiong, Daxiang Liu and Bo Pan

Treatment and Disposal Methods of Concentrate Stream of Seawater Reverse Osmosis- A Review

The exponentially multiplying population of the world demands increasing freshwater resources. Thelimited resources comprising less than 3% of the earth’s water resources are getting polluted at an alarming rate. To deal with this situation, seawater reverse osmosis is being carried out at large scales across the globe. The concentrate generated in return is two times more concentrated in terms of total dissolved solids when compared to the feed. The adverse effects of the concentrate stream on the marine ecosystem and further pollution of water cause an immediate need to treat the concentrate. In this review, the harm caused by the direct discharge of concentrate stream has been discussed and therefore volume minimization using treatment methods has been addressed. The treatment methods are mainly classified into four types; membrane-based, thermal-based, electricity-based, and chemical-based methods. Integrated methods, which have been mainly tested on a pilot scale for zero liquid discharge, have also been discussed. The treatment methods that are probable for seawater concentrate treatment falling under the above categories for other concentrate sources have also been attended to. Finally, the disposal methods employed for the discharge of the leftover concentrate have been addressed. Thermal methods are well established but require a lot of energy compared to other methods whereas chemical methods can be economic due to the profit obtained from recovered chemicals, but they are mostly employed for pretreatment. Electricity-based and membrane-based methods are emerging technologies. It was also found that seawater reverse osmosis concentrate is usually discharged directly and therefore integrated methods based on zero liquid discharge are to be implemented. To compensate for the intensive research required for zero liquid discharge to become a reality, innovative and environmentally-friendly disposal methods are available to cut the resultant footprint.

Zakiya Tabassum and Rajalakshmi Mudbidre

Geochemical Characterization and Saturation Index (Si) in the Montebello Lagunar System Liquidamber Lagoon, Chiapas Mexico

The “Lagunas de Montebello” National Park located in Chiapas, Mexico, is well known for its crystal blue water bodies, some of which, in 2003, started to change color from crystalline to cloudy brown, and occasionally emit a foul smell, contains white-yellowish supernatant debris and dead fish. To determine the causes of the changes in the water characteristics of the “Liquidambar” lagoon of the Montebello lagoon system, a physicochemical characterization was carried out over the first six meters of the water column, together with geochemical speciation analysis and the saturation index calculation for different minerals. Water was classified as calcium-sulfated and the main mechanism that controlled its chemistry was rocks dissolution. Sulfide was found at all sampled depths in the range of 0.11 to 1.13 mg.L-1. The concentration of sulfate in the water column ranged from 249.21 to 298.7 mg.L-1, carbonate ranged from 140.5 to 261.4 mg.L-1, calcium and magnesium ranged from 94.5 to 146.9 mg.L-1 and 34.2 to 38.3 mg.L-1, respectively. Likewise, oxygen was also found to be oversaturated on the surface with a value of 9.32 mg.L-1. The speciation results and SI indicated that the mineral phases calcite, aragonite, and dolomite were oversaturated, being greater on the surface. The results suggested the possibility that the turbidity, the coloration change, and the whitish supernatant were due to the precipitation of carbonate minerals, microbiologically influenced by the photosynthetic activity in the upper layer of the lagoon water.

J. R. Reyes-Santiago, L. A. García-Villanueva, G. Fernández-Villagómez and P. Guzmán-Guadarrama

Hydrochemical Characteristics, Quality Assessment and Solute Source Identification of Coal Bearing Fractured Aquifer in Dingji Coal Mine, Huainan Coalfield, China

Coal-bearing fractured aquifer is regarded as one of the most dynamic mine water inrush sources, and after pumping and treating, it can be used as a water supply for coal mine production, coal preparation plant, rural irrigation, and even reserved drinking water source. Hence, this study focuses on the hydrochemical characteristics, ion source, and water quality evaluation with respect to drinking and irrigation of the coal-bearing fractured aquifer in Dingji coal mine, Huainan coalfield, China. Descriptive statistics and hydrochemical classification diagrams including the Piper diagram and Chadha rectangular diagram were carried out to depict the hydrochemical characteristics and facies. The water quality of the aquifer was assessed for irrigation and drinking purposes using the WHO threshold value, water quality index (WQI), SAR, % Na and RSC. Hydrochemical formation mechanism and solute origin of major ions were explained by Gibbs diagram, bivariate diagrams, and multivariate statistical analysis. The results show that the dominant hydrochemical facies are the Cl-Na type and the HCO3-Na type. The sequence of ions is Na+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+ for cations, and HCO3? > Cl- > SO42- > CO32- for anions. The main solute sources are controlled by various factors including the dissolution of halite, sulfate, and carbonate rocks, the weathering of silicate, and cation exchange. Water quality assessment based on WQI suggests that none of the samples fall under the excellent category, even 32.5% is not suitable for direct drinking. Meanwhile, the samples of the aquifer are generally unsuitable for irrigation. Before utilization for irrigation and even drinking, appropriate water treatment should be applied to guarantee its security during usage.

Jie Ma, Jianghong Wang, Song Chen, Hongbao Dai, Jingyu Zhao, Haitao Zhang and Zhichun Li

Bioremoval of Different Heavy Metals in Industrial Effluent by the Resistant Fungal Strain Aspergillus niger

Developing countries are increasingly concerned with pollution due to toxic heavy metals in the environment. Unlike most organic pollutants which can be destroyed, toxic metal ions released into the environment often persist indefinitely circulating and eventually accumulating throughout the food chain thus posing a serious threat to mankind. The use of biological materials for heavy metal removal or recovery has gained importance in recent years due to their good performance and low cost. Among the various sources, both live and inactivated biomass of organisms exhibits interesting metal binding capacities. Their complex cell walls contain high content of functional groups like amino, amide, hydroxyl, carboxyl, and phosphate which have been implicated in metals binding. In the present study, Aspergillus niger was used to analyze the metal uptake from an aqueous solution. The determination of Cu+2, Pb+2, Cd+2, Zn+2, Co-2 and Ni+2 in samples was carried out by differential Pulse Anodic Voltammetry (DPASV) and the Voltammograms. Production of oxalic acid was carried out by submerged fermentation. The organism used in the present study has the ideal properties to sequester toxic metals and grow faster.

K. J. Naveen Kumar and J. Prakash

Surface Water Pollution Risk From Vietnam Water Quality Index (VN-WQI) in the Ca Mau City, Mekong Delta

This paper presents the study of integrating the remote sensing technology with in-situ ground observation for assessing the status of water quality in Ca Mau city through the Vietnam Water Quality Index (VN-WQI). The Sentinel-2 image and in-situ surface water samples were collected on 20 February 2020 for this study. The sample results were then specified by samples’ coordination. Besides, Sentinel-2 imaging was processed by radiometric and atmospheric correction, geometric registration, and extracted pixel spectral values from the sample locations. The multiple linear regressions of seven water quality parameters including BOD5, COD, NH4, PO4, TSS, pH, Coliform with surface water’s pixel spectral values from the satellite images were calculated and used to simulate water quality parameters on the satellite image. They were integrated into the VN-WQI to estimate, classify, and evaluate the general surface water quality of the Ca Mau city. The results show that there is a regressive correlation between measured data and image spectral values, and the simulation also well fits with the data with an acceptable error. The surface water quality of Ca Mau city is heavily polluted with almost all water quality parameters recognized at B1 to above B2 level according to the QCVN08-MT:2015/BTNMT. In terms of VN-WQI, the results also illustrate the low quality of surface water and heavy pollution only used for water transportation, not for domestic use. This approach can be a powerful method in spatially monitoring water quality and supporting environment management.

Nguyen Ngan Ha, Tran Thi Thu Huong, Pham The Vinh and Tran Thi Van

The Construction of Magnetic MnFe2O4@TpPa-1 Composite Materials and the Adsorption Removal Performance of Organic Pollutants in Solution

MnFe2O4@TpPa-1 adsorbent was developed by co-precipitation and solvothermal method, using ?-ketoenamine linked covalent organic frameworks (COFs, TpPa-1) as supporting material to alleviate the aggregation of MnFe2O4. The properties were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, SEM, TEM, VSM, pHpzc, and N2 adsorption-desorption. The experimental results showed that the pseudo-second-order and Langmuir model best described the adsorption process, suggesting that the adsorption process was chemisorption and spontaneous endothermic reaction, and the maximum adsorption capacity of Bisphenol A (BPA) was 926.65 mg.g-1. The main adsorption mechanism of BPA was hydrogen bonding and ?-? conjugation between active functional groups in the TpPa-1 skeleton and BPA. Furthermore, the magnetic MnFe2O4@TpPa-1 showed good regeneration ability, indicating that MnFe2O4@TpPa-1 could be used in water treatment.

Shuai Wang, Huifang Wang, Luzeng Hu, Zhipeng Lu, Muqing Qiu and Xin Zhong

Seasonal Variation of Zooplankton Communities and the Effects of Environmental Factors in the Seawater Near Taishan Nuclear Power Station

In the seawater near Taishan Nuclear Power Station, Zooplankton community composition and abundance, the biomass of major taxa, vertical distribution pattern, together with several environmental factors were investigated to evaluate the variation tendency as the seasons change. The structure characteristics of the zooplankton community were analyzed by Margalef species richness (d), Shannon-wiener species diversity index (H’), Pielou evenness index(J’), zooplankton dominant (Y), and dominant species replacement rate (R). There are 48 species within 11 classes of zooplankton identified, including 32 species of copepods. Zooplankton species richness changed obviously in the four seasons, Spring saw the highest (8010.00 ind.m-3), followed by winter (5100.00 ind.m-3), autumn (1713.75 ind.m-3), and summer (1196.25 ind.m-3). Similar trends were observed for the wet biomass, which was highest in spring (215.90 mg.m-3), followed by winter (181.70 mg.m-3), summer (78.56 mg.m-3), and autumn (24.69 mg.m-3), which gave an annual average of 125.21 mg.m-3. The results indicate that the abundance and biomass in spring were significantly higher than those in other seasons. Altogether 8 dominant species were identified along the whole year: Acrocalanmus gibber, Bestiolina amoyensis, Paracalanus parvus, Acartia danae, Mesocyclops leuckarti, Noctiluca scientillans, Penilla avirostris, and Lucifer penicilliger. The annual average Shannon-Wiener diversity index, Margalef diversity index, Pielou evenness index were 1.75, 1.83, and 0.74, respectively. The effects of environmental factors on the zooplankton community were studied by R and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). According to Pearson correlation analysis and canonical correspondence analysis, the most important environmental factors influencing the changes of zooplankton species composition, abundance and distribution were water temperature, salinity, and pH in the whole year.

R. He, H.P. Jiao, N. He, Y.Y. Chang, H.Y. Jiang, Y. Zhang, Y.Q. Li and R. Jiang

A Review on Rice Straw Management Strategies

Rice straw is one of the organic materials and natural residue of rice crop or paddy material and is the third-largest residue from agriculture after sugarcane bagasse and maize straw. Southeast Asian countries produce approximately 80% of rice production in the world. It leads to a large quantity of rice straw as a by-product every year. Surplus rice straw is a focal issue associated with storage of rice straw, removal of entire straw from the field, and very little time between the cultivation of the crop. Stubble burning is a quick, cheap, and efficient way to prepare the soil bed for wheat, the next crop. Rice straw has both nutrient and calorific values. Straw is the only organic material available in significant quantities to most rice farmers. About 40 percent of the nitrogen (N), 30 to 35 percent of the phosphorus (P), 80 to 85 percent of the potassium (K), and 40 to 50 percent of the sulfur (S) taken up by rice remains in vegetative plant parts at crop maturity. Straw is either removed from the field, burned in situ, piled or spread in the field, or incorporated in the soil. Open burning of the crop residue kills useful microflora of soil, leads to soil degradation, and contributes to harmful greenhouse gases such as SO2, NO2, CH4, N2O, carbon monoxide in the atmosphere including the hydrocarbon and particulate matter. Therefore, rice straw burning is a serious creator of environmental pollution. The study investigated environment-friendly options of rice straw such as bedding material for cattle, mushroom cultivation, nutrition in the soil, power generation, combustion material, pellet making, bio-gas, bio-ethanol, bio-char, acoustic material, 3D objects, cardboard and composite board, packaging materials, production of bio-composite, cement bricks, and handmade paper. The key purpose of this paper is to provide environmentally friendly alternatives to rice straw instead of open field burning.

Lakhvir Singh and Balraj Singh Brar

On the Issue of Establishing the Stages of Coal Metamorphism for Predicting the Hazardous Properties of Coal Seams

The characteristic stages of metamorphic transformations of mines are established according to the increase in the elemental content of carbon and changes in other components of organic matter. Stages of metamorphism transformations with an average carbon content of more than 93.6?n significantly differ in properties due to the unpredictability of the ratio between the components of organic matter. At these stages, even a minimal difference between the components can be the reason for the emergence of new properties of the coal seams. As the influence of the processes of metamorphism increases, the boundaries of the stages, determined by the percentage of carbon, narrow. The established stages of the transformation of reservoirs in terms of the individual proportion of the components in carbonization practically do not differ from the boundaries of the stages determined by the elemental composition of organic matter. It is noted that the average carbon content at the stages of seam metamorphism, determined by the yield of coke, in most cases does not coincide with the ranges of changes in the average carbon content, established by the individual content of the components or their share in carbonization. The inconsistency of the boundaries in the stages of seam metamorphism makes it unacceptable to use the coke yield as the main criterion for assessing the conversion of coal and even more so the manifestation of hazardous properties of coal seams.

M.I. Antoshchenko, V.Y. Tarasov, Ye.S. Rudniev and O.I. Zakharova

Characterisation and Assessment of Physicochemical Properties of Grapeseed Methyl Ester Using Predictive Correlations and ASTM Standards For CI Engine Application

In the present work, a detailed investigation of the physio-chemical characteristics of grapeseed methyl ester (GSME) obtained from winery biomass waste has been carried out to evaluate its suitability as an energy alternate, for CI engines. GSME was subjected to Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry analysis from which fatty acids compositions were determined followed by other interpretations such as carbon number, number of double bonds, etc. Two different predictive correlations were identified from the literature for predicting the properties that are considered important, for using GSME as a fuel. The predicted properties of GSME are compared with the experimental results obtained through standard ASTM procedures, for diesel, neat grapeseed oil (GSO) and GSME, respectively. Further, the influence of the structural and compositional characteristics of GSME on the physicochemical properties like density, kinematic viscosity, lower calorific value, etc. has been evaluated and found to be closer to diesel.

C. Prabhu, V. Rajasekar and T. Prakash

An Assessment of Machine Learning Integrated Autonomous Waste Detection and Sorting of Municipal Solid Waste

Municipal solid waste deposition in metropolitan areas has become a major concern that, if not addressed, can lead to environmental degradation and possibly endanger human health. It is important to adopt a smart waste management system in place to cope with a range of waste materials. This research aims to develop a smart modelling method that could accurately predict and forecast the production of municipal solid waste. An integrated convolution neural network and air-jet system-based framework developed for pre-processing and data integration were developed. The results showed that machine learning algorithms could be used to detect different types of waste with high accuracy. The best performers were obtained from neural network models, which captured 72% of the information variation. The method proposed in this study demonstrates the feasibility of developing tools to assist urban waste through the supply, pre-processing, integration, and modelling of data accessible to the public from a variety of sources.

Sonam Chaturvedi, Bikarama Prasad Yadav and Nihal Anwar Siddiqui

Adsorption Behavior of Hydroquinone by Diatomite-based Porous Ceramsite

Diatomite-based porous ceramsite is a new kind of environmental material. In this study, ceramsite was prepared by wet grinding, a rolling-ball method, and high temperature-calcination using diatomite as the main raw material with the addition of a pore-forming agent and sintering assistant. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and mercury injection, were used to analyze the structure and characteristics of the prepared materials. Using hydroquinone as the target pollutant, the adsorption behavior of diatomite-based porous ceramsite was investigated. Results indicated that the diatomite-based porous ceramsite had a pore size ranging from 500 to 3000 nm, a specific surface area of 6.14 m2.g-1, and a porosity of 47.8%. When pH was 7, the removal rate and adsorption capacity of the hydroquinone by the diatomite-based porous ceramsite was 91.2% and 4.56 m2.g-1, respectively. In the adsorption process of hydroquinone by diatomite-based porous ceramsite, the diffusion of a liquid membrane was dominant, which could be better described by the quasi-first-order kinetic equation. The Langmuir and Koble-Corrigan equations had a higher fitting degree of data for the adsorption isotherms. The adsorption characteristics of the diatomite-based porous ceramsite are in accordance with the fixed-point adsorption of a single molecular layer and belong to a heterogeneous composite adsorption system. The correlation coefficient R2 and k value of hydroquinone adsorption by the diatomite-based porous ceramsite determined by the liquid film diffusion model were 0.848 and 0.0417, respectively.

Ruqin Gao, Lu Pan, Yingrui Huang, Zhaoyang Wu and Bingtao Liu

Spatiotemporal Evolution and Pattern Differences of Environmental Sanitation Facilities in Rural China: Taking the Improvement of Water and Latrines as an Example

Based on the panel data of water and latrine improvement in rural China from 2003 to 2016, this paper explores the spatiotemporal evolution pattern of rural sanitation facilities and analyzes the spatial heterogeneity of influencing factors of rural sanitation facilities by using the Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) model. The conclusions are as follows: the gap between the western and the eastern regions of China is gradually narrowing; the spatial differences of rural environmental sanitation facilities in provinces were obvious, showing high-high and low-low agglomeration types. Additionally, years of education per capita, population density, and government investment all have a significant positive impact on the improvement of water and latrines. And the proportion of the minority population has a significant negative impact on the improvement of water. The net income per capita, traffic density, and residential investment per capita are significantly positively correlated with the improvement of water and latrines. But the difference is that the impact on the improvement of water is an obviously east-west band and decreases successively, and the impact on the improvement of latrines shows a dual pattern of polarization between north and south.

Xinjie Deng

Strategies and Approaches Towards Environmental Biomonitoring of Freshwater Ecosystems in Philippines

The Philippines, like many other Asian countries, is struggling to combat the current widespread aquatic pollution levels caused by anthropogenic activities. Environmental biomonitoring is an efficient tool to detect and monitor the fluctuating toxicity levels in a dynamic ecosystem using bioindicators like algae, macrophytes, zooplankton, insect, bivalve mollusks, gastropod, fish, amphibians, and others to assess the extent and levels of pollution in aquatic ecosystems. The present review deliberates on the biomonitoring techniques such as bioaccumulation, biochemical alterations, population, and community-level approaches to evaluate the current status with respect to the extent and levels of pollution in the aquatic ecosystems in the Philippines which also is one of the biodiversity hotspots. Therefore, the potential applications for biomonitoring are proposed to mainly include evaluation of actual aquatic pollutions, bioremediation, toxicology prediction, and research on toxicological mechanisms. The purpose of such evaluations is to critically analyze and help stakeholders to come up with a strategic action plan with recommendations on a low-cost, sensitive, and effective bioindicator for rapid and efficient environmental biomonitoring.

J. S. Berame, M. B. Hojilla, E. Trinidad, N. L. Lawsin, J. A. Orozco, I. J. Arevalo and Zeba F. Alam

Investigation on Microbial Fuel Cells Fabricated from Recyclable Materials for Energy Generation and Wastewater Treatment

Microbial fuel cells (MFC) have gained focus due to their diversity in operating conditions & substrates for the generation of sustainable green energy. In the present study, novel MFC has been fabricated using the recyclable aluminum can as air-cathode and graphite rod as anode for the treatment of domestic wastewater and simultaneous power generation. Three different substrate (COD) concentrations, high (>800 mg.L-1), medium (250 mg.L-1 - 800 mg.L-1) and low (<250 mg.L-1) were used. The maximum COD removal efficiencies, voltage generation, power densities were found to be 80%, 0.71 V, and 304.46 mW.m-2 respectively in high strength wastewater setup. In both medium and low strength wastewater setups, after 288 hours, the COD was reduced below 50 mg.L-1 thus limiting the electricity generation substantially. Setup with low-strength wastewater produced a maximum CE (%) of 13.80. Overall results showed that although high-strength wastewater produced better and maximum power densities, medium and low-strength wastewater setups were more consistent in energy generation throughout the experiment.

Somil Thakur and Bhaskar Das

Cell Death Induction Potential in Seed Extracts- Hidden and Bioactive Phytochemical Treasures

Seeds have been known to possess bioactive components with anti-cancer properties. This study aims to demonstrate the processes by which seed extracts from various sources induce cell death. Several assays have been employed to demonstrate the induction of cell death by the respective seed extracts. This review also underscores the importance of Grape Seed Proanthocyanidins (GSPs) in terms of inducing the aforesaid physiological form of seed extract-induced cell death. Furthermore, this review highlights the critical and pressing need to conduct comparative HTS-based strategies (with a battery of cell lines representing different cancers) to identify the major seed extracts that can reproducibly serve to augment the cell death induction capabilities of the existing battery of chemotherapeutic drugs/natural alternatives.

R. Rajasekaran and P. K. Suresh

Estimation of Biomass Availability in Panglao Island Using SENTINEL-2 MSI

Remote Sensing (RS) technology using SENTINEL-2 Multispectral Instrument (MSI) imagery was used in the estimation of residual biomass’ available energy potential. The estimation was done in Panglao Island, within the province of Bohol, Philippines. Estimation of biomass availability was processed using Geographical Information System (GIS) software incorporating the calculation of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to extract information on land resources and its spatial distribution. It was found that the majority of vegetation cover on the island is in the form of perennial woody plants and coconut trees. Coconut production on the island of Panglao contributed 1.26% of the total cultivation area for the province based on processed captures of Sentinel-2 imagery. The residue concentration amounted to 2,865 tons of coconut residues based on the RPR method. This amount of residues can be translated to 52.92 TJ of theoretical energy potential. The result of this study may serve as a baseline for the locality to consider the utilization of agricultural residues such as coming from coconut trees to support the use of indigenous resources for energy generation.

W.N. Galang, I.D.F. Tabañag and M.E. Loretero

Water Quality Evaluation of Wenyu River in Beijing by Matter Element Model

River water quality is an important indicator for identifying river changes and analyzing river health, and has an important impact on the ecological environment of the river basin. In this paper, the matter-element analysis method based on the coupling weight method is used to evaluate the water environment of the water quality measured data of Wenyu River in 2019, which provides a reference for water quality management and protection. Through the establishment of the object element to be evaluated, the classical domain, the section domain, the normalization of the evaluation standard, and the measured data, three representative indicators such as DO, NH3-N, and CODcr are selected as the object element to be evaluated. The standard value corresponding to the water quality standards of Grade I to V is the classic domain. The weight of river indicators is determined by the coupling of the ordinary objective weighting method and the multiple super-scale weighting method. After the weight is determined, the correlation degree is calculated and the matter-element analysis model for water quality evaluation is established. The results showed that the water quality of the Wenyu River in May 2019 was still mainly Grade V water, which was in line with the actual water quality situation. It shows that the method meets the feasibility and practicability in water quality evaluation and is relatively reliable.

Ren Shuangqing, Men Baohui and Shen Yaoduo

Impact of Drying and Wetting Cycles on Vegetation Cement-soil Physical and Mechanical Properties

The physical and mechanical properties of the ecological slope protection substrate will be affected by long-term variation of the meteorological condition, resulting in the stability of the substrate being reduced. So an artificial substrate of vegetation cement-soil was selected as the research object to prepare specimens with the different initial moisture content of 13%, 19%, 25%, 31%, 37%, and 43%. And a series of tests are conducted to investigate the evolution of the physical and mechanical properties under drying-wetting cycling conditions. Typical results of the vegetation cement-soil evolution can be divided into three stages: cement hydration stage, shrinkage stage, and stabilization stage. In terms of different initial moisture content, the shrinkage cracks number, cracks length, crack width, and cracks surface area are increased first and then stabilize with the increase of the number of drying-wetting cycles. In contrast, the cohesion and internal friction angle of the vegetation cement-soil is reduced with the increase of the number of cycles. Comprehensive analysis shows that the initial moisture content of vegetation cement soil ranges from 25% to 31% is the optimal choice to ensure substrate stability in production practice.

Xudong Hu, Jiazhen Gao, Mingtao Zhou, Songtao Peng, Wennian Xu and Chenyuan Wang

Advances in Microfiltration and Ultrafiltration Technology for Greywater Treatment: A Review

Advances in microfiltration and ultrafiltration technology for the treatment of greywater are important today because everything surrounding the use and preservation of water is an issue that increases in importance over the decades, and our planet will be seriously affected by the consequences of climate change, making water availability uncertain. Hence, wastewater recycling and its cyclical use have become a major topic in the scientific and engineering communities. The objective of this research is focused on compiling and updating all the advances in wastewater treatment, with emphasis on Greywater, in which components have a lower pollutant load than the rest of wastewater. In addition, microfiltration and ultrafiltration technologies were the technology selected to investigate in this investigation because they have the local potential for a second use of the wastewater before the discharge of contaminated water to the sanitation network. This research was carried out using words related to the exposed topic, such as “microfiltration”, “ultrafiltration”, “cleaning wastewater” and “greywater” in the search for documents in scientific search engines, selecting those that covered the topic and could be used to create this document. The results that were developed in this investigation, indicate that there is no generalized consensus on how to treat this greywater, nor how to qualify it. Additionally, it is important to note that despite the fact that urban greywater treatments have given good results, with the widespread use of bioreactors for this task, and the existence of various treatment alternatives for liquid waste that have shown good price-value ratio, studies related to greywater treatments using porosities are still in the incipient stages.

Joaquin Ortiz

Toxic Effect of Antibiotics on Freshwater Algal Systems and the Mechanisms of Toxicity: A Review

Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections in humans and animals and also act as a growth promoter for poultry. Due to incomplete metabolism, these antibiotics are excreted in the environment in their parental forms and accumulates in the aquatic ecosystem. Besides the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, these drugs can damage non-target organisms. Green algae are highly sensitive to different antibiotics. Damage in the algal population will cause imbalances in the ecosystems. Till now, the mechanisms of antibiotic toxicity towards algae have not been completely elucidated. It was observed that antibiotics mainly affected the photosynthetic machinery and decreased the carbon fixation process, finally resulting in algal growth inhibition. This present review deals with antibiotics classification, various routes of antibiotics exposure to the freshwater environment, sensitivity towards the different classes of antibiotics, possible Mode-of-Action (MOA) on algal systems, and gaps that need to be filled. Significant gaps include the unavailability of proper eco-toxicological data for antibiotics. Moreover, they exist in nature as complex mixtures, and their behavior in the ecosystem may vastly differ from the parent molecules. To improve our understanding of antibiotic responses mechanism in real-life scenarios, mixture toxicity studies may be the first step.

Barsha Roy and P. K. Suresh

The Importance of Public Awareness in Environmental Protection: A Case Study in Paktika, Afghanistan

Public awareness and knowledge of environmental protection are crucial to avoid environmental pollutions. Lack of relevant scientific principles and lack of public awareness of environmental or other projects are hindrances to controlling environmental pollution. The objective of the study was to identify the importance of public awareness in environmental pollution management. Environmental education and public awareness are crucial to avoid environmental pollutions. The study aims to analyze public awareness of environmental protection. The study was conducted in Sharana, the center of Paktika province, and was attended by 71 students from the Paktika Higher Education Institute’s Education Faculty. Questionnaires and field observations have been selected as methodologies for this research. The results of the study show that 59.2 percent of survey participants consider public awareness and 35.2 percent think that enforcement of environmental laws is important. People in Paktika do not take part in environmental activities due to a lack of public awareness and throw away pollutants everywhere. If this situation continues, it is not far off that it will turn into a disaster.

Hizbullah Rahmani, Wafaurahman Wafa and Fayaz Gul Mazloum Yar

Environmental Efficiency of Construction Industry with onsiderations to Carbon Emission: A Case Study in Henan, China

Low energy utilization is observed in China due to the extensive economic growth mode, which further leads to considerable energy wastes and environmental pollution. The construction industry plays an important role in the national economic development of China and consumes tremendous materials; thus, this industry discharges abundant CO2. The energy consumption growth rate of the construction industry in China is far higher than the national energy consumption growth rate, resulting in the prominent situation of high energy consumption and low yield. A case study based on Henan Province, China, was conducted to further analyze the environmental efficiency of the construction industry. An index system was established by using the Super-slack-based model (Super-SBM). This system chooses the following: labor, energy, capital, and technology of the construction industry as the input variables, economic output as the output variable, and carbon emissions as the unexpected output. This system was also used to investigate the energy efficiency of the construction industry in Henan Province from 2008 to 2019. Results demonstrated that the construction industry in Henan Province has failed to eliminate the extensive development mode thus far. The environmental efficiency of the construction industry presents a fluctuating growth with a mean of 1.048, which generally remains at a relatively low level. The numbers of construction machines and enterprises in the construction industry have redundancy in approximately 50% of the years. Thus, this study can provide some positive references to enrich the evaluation index system and estimation model of energy efficiency of the construction industry, which includes unexpected output. Moreover, the current study can provide a comprehensive understanding of the environmental efficiency of the construction industry in a province in China and realize reasonable allocation of construction industrial resources.

Xin Youyang, Li Xiuzhong and Shang li

Analysis and Evaluation on Characteristics of Heavy Metal Pollution in the Coastal Farmland Soil along the Wuma River

The thesis is aimed to provide a reference for the sustainable utilization of farmland soils along the Wuma River, an upstream tributary of the Chishui River in Guizhou Province. Geo accumulation index method, Nemero comprehensive pollution index method, and potential ecological hazard index method were used based on the experimental data for analyzing and evaluating the heavy metal pollution status of farmland soil along Wuma River. The results showed that: (1) The contents of heavy metals Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb and Hg in farmland soil exceeded the soil background values of 9.82%, 47.80%, 13.72% and 76.06% in Guizhou Province, respectively, but did not exceed the standard limit class II based on the environmental quality. (2). The pollutants of Pb and Zn in the research area mainly come from mineral exploitation, waste residue accumulation, and transportation. The enrichment of Cr and Cu may originate from the domestic garbage dumping and incinerated waste by residents along the coast and irrational agricultural activities. The main contents of Cd, As and Hg come from soil geochemistry. (3) The ranking of accumulations of eight heavy metals was IPb>IHg>ICu>INi>IZn>ICr>IAs>ICd, among which Pb was non-moderately polluted and the remaining heavy metals were at the clean level; Nemero comprehensive pollution index showed that As, Cr, Zn, and Ni were mildly polluted, while Pb, Hg, and Cu were moderately polluted. The ranking of potential ecological risk levels for the eight heavy metals was Hg, Pb, Cu, Ni, As, Cd, Cr, Zn. The overall ecological risk level is mild.

Xiongfei Cai, Die Xu, Shijie Zhao, Li Lei, Ji Wang and Bin Xuan

Study on the Joint Toxicity of Multi-component Mixtures of Quaternary Ammonium Compounds

Pollutants generally exist as mixtures in the environment. Their cumulative toxicity and toxicity interactions are potential risks. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the variation of joint toxicity of a multi-component mixture system, which consisted of six common quaternary ammonium salt surfactants in the environment, on Vibrio qinghaiensis sp.-Q67 (Q67). Vibrio qinghaiensis sp. -Q67 (Vqin-Q67) is a freshwater luminescent bacterium that continuously emits blue-green light (485 nm). The bacterium has been widely used for detecting toxic contaminants. In the mixture system, the luminescent toxicity of each component of the mixture to Q67 was determined by the microplate toxicity analysis method, and the toxicity interaction of the mixture was determined by the toxicity unit method (TU). The combined toxicity of the mixture system was investigated from four aspects, including the number of components, key components, concentration (toxicity) ratio, and exposure time. The results showed that the combined toxic effect of the same mixture system tends to be an additive effect with the increase of the number of components. The combined toxicity of the mixture system was close to that of the key components. Antagonism was presented in the equal toxicity mixture, while synergism was presented in the non-equal toxicity mixture. The combined toxic effect of the multi-component mixture system was not only related to the concentration of the pollutant but also related to the exposure time of the pollutant.

Y. Jin, L.Y. Mo, L.T. Qin and J.F. Dai

Erosion Resistance and Fertility of Frost-Resistant Ecological Substrate in Alpine Region

This research was conducted to quantitatively evaluate the application effect of the frost-resistant ecological substrate in the rock slope of the hydropower station. Field sampling and laboratory tests were conducted to determine the erosion resistance and fertility of frost-resistant ecological substrate, and the test results were compared with those of natural soils with similar site conditions. The research conclusions were as follows. Compared with the natural soil, the content of > 0.25 mm mechanical-stable aggregates, > 0.25 mm water-stable aggregates, average weight diameter, geometric average diameter, organic matter, available nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium of frost-resistant ecological substrate, significantly increased. On the contrary, erodibility factor, percentage aggregate disruption, aggregate degree, and dispersion rate decreased evidently. These results showed that erosion resistance and fertility of the frost-resistant ecological substrate have a better prospect in the engineering application of alpine regions. In addition, the principal component analysis showed that the principal component value of frost-resistant ecological substrate increased by 1.9 times that of natural soil. According to the correlation study, the increase in the amount of > 0.25 mm macro-aggregates and organic matter is the primary reason that ecological substrate has greater stability and fertility than natural soil. In conclusion, the frost-resistant ecological substrate was a suitable soil to create a suitable vegetation growth environment on the surface of rock slope in the alpine region.

Cailing Xue, Ailinaizaier Ainiwaer, Jiazhen Gao and Zhaohui Qin

Briquettes Production as an Alternative Fuel

Bioenergy, which originated from agricultural crop residue and industrial waste, has been studied for sustainable energy generation. As a raw material for briquettes production, agricultural-crop residue, industrial waste, sewage, sludge, or other plants can be used. Briquettes have numerous advantages as they directly help to reduce waste generation and handling. The possibilities of the briquetting, qualities, and other essential factors for briquette production have been discussed. The alternative methods of Briquetting have been addressed with the comparison. The characteristics of the raw materials for briquettes production have been discussed to identify the best agricultural crop residue for briquettes. The properties of binding agents for the briquetting process have been discussed to identify the most practically available binding agent.

U.S.P.R. Arachchige

Influencing Factors of Carbon Emissions in the Construction Industry Based on Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index: A Case Study of China

Carbon emission is further intensified as urbanization and industrialization continue to accelerate. China has maintained its rapid economic development and urbanization in the last 2 decades. The development of the construction industry has not only consumed a large number of energy sources but also resulted in significant carbon emissions, causing some environmental damage. Recognizing the major influencing factors of carbon emissions in the construction industry has become a research hotspot to alleviate environmental pollution caused by the construction industry and meet industrial demands for energy saving and emission reduction. In this study, the factors that influence annual carbon emissions of different building types in China from 2011 to 2018 were decomposed by Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) through a case study in Henan Province. The major influencing factors of carbon emissions have been identified. Results demonstrate that the per capita carbon emission in the construction industry in Henan Province remains high from 2011 to 2018, but it decreases year by year. Carbon emissions from the construction industry in Henan Province increase due to economic development and energy structure. Energy efficiency can inhibit carbon emissions from the construction industry in Henan Province. The obtained conclusions have a positive effect on analyzing annual variations in carbon emissions from the construction industry in a region, identifying influencing factors, and proposing specific countermeasures of energy saving and emission reduction.

Wang Lijuan

Solid Selective Catalytic Reduction: A Promising Approach towards Reduction of NOx Emission from Exhaust of CI Engines

The rising rate of pollution in urban areas has become a worldwide concern in recent years. Diesel engines are considered one of the largest contributors to environmental pollution caused by exhaust emissions, and they are responsible for several health problems as well. Diesel engines contain carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, unburned hydrocarbons, and oxides of nitrogen. The reduction of Nitric oxides (NOx) emission from diesel engine exhaust is currently being researched by automotive manufacturers. After much research, selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology was discovered to be effective in reducing nitrogen oxide emission from diesel engine exhaust. This paper is an attempt to explore the problems associated with the use of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and compares selective catalytic reduction (SCR) with the latest technology named solid selective catalytic reduction (SSCR) for efficient reduction of NOx emission from the exhaust of diesel engines. The issue of contamination, malfunctioning, and freezing of diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) at low temperatures are the major problems associated with the application of SCR. It is observed that by controlling the quantity of ammonia slip, SSCR can give better performance in the reduction of NOx emission from the exhaust of diesel engines.

M. K. Yadav and A. K. Srivastava

Upflow Anaerobic Filter for the Treatment of Wastewater from a Natural Rubber Latex Concentration Unit

In this study, wastewater from a centrifuge rubber latex concentration unit was experimentally treated by an up-flow anaerobic filter (UAF) at variable hydraulic detention time to investigate the COD removal efficiency and the gas production rate. The UAF reactors were made of PVC pipe with an inside diameter of 9.5 cm, 180 cm in height, with a bed volume of 12.8 L, and filled with polyethylene media. The initial COD concentration of wastewater was in the range 4620 - 10400 mg.L-1. HRTs were controlled at 20 days, with the organic loading rate varying from 2.9 to 10.5 kg.day.m-3. The findings show that the COD removal efficiency of the system was in the range of 85% to 92% for the varying organic loading rates. In addition, the specific methane production rate varied from 8.2 to 14 L of CH4 produced/g of COD destroyed/day for the different organic loading rates.

Nithya Gopinath, Madhu G. and Joseph Francis

Temporal and Spatial Distribution of Zooplankton Inhabiting Sandy and Muddy Shore Habitats at Jazan Coastal Area

Few studies were made about zooplankton distribution in Jazan coastal area. The present study dealt with the identification of zooplankton at the sandy shore (AlSalwa coast) and mangrove muddy shore (Turfa peninsula) at the Almarjan coast. Species richness and population density at different seasons were determined for both study areas between May 2016-April 2017. Conductivity, pH, water temperature, and salinity were measured. The relationship between water characters and the seasonal abundance of zooplankton seasons was examined through regression analysis. Ciliates, Rotifers, Nauplius larva, Gammarus sp., Veliger larva, Nematodes, Planaria, Copepods, and Kinorhyncha were recorded for both study areas. The highest species richness and population density were recorded during the summer season for Almarjan sandy shore and Turfa peninsula mangrove. Ciliates were the most abundant zooplankton on the sandy shore, while Kinorhyncha was the least abundant. The zooplankton Nematode was the most abundant at the Turfa Peninsula mangrove, whereas Gnathostomulida was the least abundant. Conductivity, salinity, and water temperature showed a significant regression relationship (P<0.05) with zooplankton abundance. Data was discussed to highlight the role of zooplankton abundance in the mangrove and sandy shore ecosystem.

A.T. AbdAllah, A.M. Alhababy, M.G. Shamsy, M.S. AbdelDayem and Sahar H. Haroun

Application of Cationic Surfactant Modified Mengkuang Leaves (Pandanus atrocapus) for the Removal of Reactive Orange 16 from Batik Wastewater: A Column Study

The feasibility of Mengkuang leaves (Pandanus atrocarpus) as a non-conventional low-cost adsorbent for the removal of an anionic dye, Reactive Orange 16 (RO16), was investigated. Among the dyes that have been commonly used in the Batik industry was reactive dye. In this study, Mengkuang leaves were chemically modified with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), a cationic surfactant, to improve their adsorption performance toward anionic dyes. The adsorbent’s morphological characteristics were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The surface of modified Mengkuang leaves seems to be irregular and uneven, with more porous structures than raw Mengkuang leaves. Adsorption of RO16 dye in fixed bed column using modified Mengkuang leaves adsorbent indicated the breakthrough time increased at higher bed height and lower flow rate. The breakthrough times for bed height of 0.5, 2, and 4 cm were at 16, 68, and 165 min, respectively. Meanwhile, breakthrough time for the flow rate of 2,5 and 7 mL.min-1 were at 327, 104, and 43 min, respectively. However, the study utilizing raw Mengkuang leaves showed no significant removal of RO16. Thus, it can be concluded that the cationic surfactant modification of Mengkuang leaves is advantageous for anionic dye removal. This anionic dye removal is significantly influenced by column parameters such as bed height and flow rate as the plotted breakthrough curves obtained from experimental data were similar to the typical breakthrough curve. When applied to the Yoon-Nelson model, the adsorption data provided the best fit with the R2 value above 0.95. The time taken for the breakthrough is very similar to model prediction values. Experiments with real batik dye wastewater showed the immense potential of modified Mengkuang leaves where total removal of real Batik wastewater was instantaneous.

Megat Ahmad Kamal Megat Hanafiah, Shariff Ibrahim, Nur Izah Fasihah Mohamad Subberi, Nesamalar Kantasamy and Is Fatimah

Study on the Prevention and Control of Fe and Mn Pollution by Resistant Mixed Bacteria in Simulated Mining Area

By simulating the mining environment, the potential of the selected mixed bacteria (Pseudomonas putida, Lysinibacillus xylanilyticus, Lysinibacillus macroides, Bacillus simplex, Brevibacillus agri) to control Fe and Mn pollutants in mining environment were explored. The results showed that the selected bacteria could inhibit the release of Fe and Mn from ore into the aquifer, and the inhibition effect on Mn was significantly stronger than that on Fe. At the same time, these processes also have a certain degree of impact on the external environment, including the gradual increase of pH, the gradual decrease of oxidation-reduction potential, and the decrease of dissolved oxygen concentration. The changes of these external environmental factors will once again directly affect the degradation and immobilization of Fe and Mn. The selected mixed bacteria can also enhance the adsorption of free Fe and Mn, improve the adsorption efficiency and capacity of Fe and Mn, and slow down the desorption of Fe and Mn to water.

Tianxin Li, Fang Zhang and Minjie Zhang

Environmental Regulations, Environmental Subsidies and Enterprise Investment for Environmental Protection: Evidence from Pollution Enterprises of China

Environmental protection concerns the global and long-term development of the social economy. The negative effects of production and management activities of pollution enterprises on the environment attract more and more attention from the whole society. The government is not only continuously strengthening production regulation, responsibility monitoring and establishment of rules and regulations of pollution enterprises, but also increasing supports to environmental-friendly development of pollution enterprises. To explore influences of environmental regulations and environmental subsidies on enterprise investment to environmental protection, influences of environmental subsidies under environmental regulations were discussed through the propensity matching using data of listed enterprises in China’s pollution industry from 2013 to 2019. Results demonstrate that environmental subsidies promote the growth of enterprise investment to environmental protection significantly and environmental regulations are the primary influencing factor. According to heterogeneity analysis, environmental subsidies have significant positive effects on the investment in environmental protection of state-owned enterprises and private enterprises. The quantity and amplitude of investment in environmental protection of state-owned enterprises are more prominent. Environmental subsidies significantly promote investment in environmental protection of enterprises where senior executives have a technological background, but they have no significant influences on enterprises where senior executives have no technological background. Conclusions have some policy significance: government urges pollution enterprises to increase investment in environmental protection and pursue sustainable development from perspectives of incentives (increasing economic subsidies) and pressure (developing collaborative effect of environmental regulation).

Chunwei Han

Low-Cost IoT Enabled Embedded System for Measurement of Environmental Pollutants

In today’s world, with ever-changing pollutants and their concentrations, the designing of low-cost meteorological systems is unavoidable for assessing environmental parameters. Wireless instrumentation is an effective way of measuring the physical quantities as it can measure and transmit the data to the targeted location at high speed. In the present work, an IoT-enabled embedded system was developed to measure the concentration of carbon dioxide, ozone, and the presence of smoke. The ARM microcontroller reads the sensor data and processes the information to calculate the pollutant parameters. The measured data is displayed on the LCD, mobile phone, and a computer simultaneously using wireless technology. With Embedded C, the Keil compiler was used to develop the interfacing software for the designed system. Portability, user-friendliness, and reliability are the significant advantages of the device compared with the conventional systems, and it can be widely used as an inexpensive solution for the monitoring of environmental conditions.

C. Mani Kumar, Shahid Ali, P. Sri Lakshmi, G. Raja Kullayappa and K. Tanveer Alam

Correspondence Between Technology Options Available for Chemical Industries and the Levels of the Waste Management Hierarchy: A Case Study Approach

The Waste Management Hierarchy is used as a guiding principle for waste management of industrial solid waste. Further, it is extended for the management of industrial liquid effluents as well. The Waste Management Hierarchy consists of the five levels namely; waste prevention, reuse, recycling, recovery, and disposal. This five-tiered Waste Management Hierarchy has been adopted by the European Union under the Waste Framework Directive as a decision-making tool. This paper explores some of the technology options known and available and categorizes them according to the five levels of the Waste Management Hierarchy. This paper presents brief case studies that highlight some benefits to those who embrace this decision-making tool.

S. M. D’Sa, D. Patnaik, V. Acham and S. Jadhao

Review on BOD/COD Ratio Toxicity to Daphnia magna, Artemia salina and Brachydanio rerio

This paper review research works on BOD/COD ratio toxicity to three bioindicators, namely: Daphnia magna, Artemia salina, and Brachydanio rerio. Treatment methods are divided into natural, biological, physical, chemical, combined treatment, and phytotechnology for various types of processing operations such as municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants, various effluent treatment, landfill leachate, and organic matter. A. salina shows the lowest toxicity value of the BOD/COD ratio and shows it can withstand processing conditions that are not biodegradable. Then followed by B. rerio and D. magna. Furthermore, the disposal limits are standardized for the protection of freshwater biota. In addition, it must be considered whether there is any other potential of disposal into the receiving environment, and if so, what form of disposal and how much, to protect the biota.

Latifa Mirzatika Al-Rosyid, Harmin Sulistiyaning Titah, Irwan Bagyo Santoso and Sarwoko Mangkoedihardjo

Assessment of LULC Changes for Hesaraghatta Watershed Using GIS Tools and Remote Sensed Data

Hesaraghatta watershed is one of the most vital and environmentally substantial watersheds in the Arkavathi basin. It has a freshwater lake created in the year 1894 across the Arkavathi River to quench the drinking water requirements of Bengaluru city. The watershed is facing significant stresses due to rapid urbanization and other developmental activities. For this study, an attempt is made to assess the distribution of various land use land cover classes and their temporal changes over 18 years using remote sensed data and GIS tools. The watershed is categorized into four land use land cover classifications: settlement, waterbody, vegetation, and bare soil. The maximum likelihood technique is utilized for the image classification and accuracy assessment is carried out to evaluate the accuracy of image classification. The outcome of the study revealed that there is a substantial change in land use land cover classes in the Hesaraghatta watershed.

Bharath A., Manjunatha M., Ranjitha B. Tangadagi, Preethi S. and Mukund Dangeti

Biodiesel Extraction from Chicken Fat and Its Effect on the Performance and Emission Characteristics of the Diesel Engine

This study focuses on the conversion of chicken fat into chicken fat methyl ester (CFME) and its use in the diesel engine. Baseline fuel i.e., diesel and chicken fat biodiesel are the fuels tested to study their effect on the performance and emission characteristics of diesel engines. To enhance the performance and emission characteristics, ethanol up to 20% is added as an additive to the chicken fat biodiesel. The physiochemical properties revealed that the fuel blends properties are closer to the diesel fuel. The experimental investigations revealed that additive blended biodiesel enhanced the performance by reducing the brake-specific fuel consumption and increasing the brake thermal efficiency. Moreover, the emissions are considerably reduced by the additive blended chicken fat biodiesel. Therefore, chicken fat biodiesel can be considered as a substitute fuel to be used in the diesel engine without any modifications.

V. Hariram, J. Godwin John, Subramanyeswara Rao, S. K. Baji Babavali, S. Muni Lokesh, D. Tejeswar Reddy and S. Seralathan

GIS-Based Digital Terrain Analysis of Assam-Meghalaya Foothills in Kamrup District, Assam

Terrain characteristics and their evaluation usually come under geomorphological study and more particularly the applied geomorphological study (Prasad & Sarkar 2011). Foothills are a geographically defined zone having a gradual increase in elevation at the base of a mountain or hill range. Detailed assessment of the present terrain parameters of the study area using GIS is significant as it shows the influence on the landscape of the area. It is a prerequisite in effective management of the impact of transition upon the landscape and its natural resources for sustainable management. In the study, an attempt has been made to delineate the foothill belt of the Assam-Meghalaya border in Kamrup District, Assam using Geographical Information system (GIS), and remote sensing techniques. Datasets available from USGS Earth Explorer, i.e. Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) are used for analyzing the elevation, contour, slope, and terrain characteristics. The present study aims at getting an information archive of the geomorphological and terrain characteristics of the Assam-Meghalaya foothills in Kamrup District, Assam, and its spatio-temporal variation.

C. Borpujari and A. K. Bora

Spatiotemporal Variation Characteristics of Groundwater Quality in A Semi-Arid Steppe Area in Northwest China

In this paper, the open-pit coal mine in semi-arid grassland was taken as the research object. The water samples of the open-pit coal mine and its surrounding areas were collected and the hydrochemical parameters were detected. The temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of the parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity, and dissolved oxygen in the groundwater were studied. The results showed that the groundwater in the study area was alkaline and brackish water. Climate factors might have a certain impact on the pH, conductivity, and dissolved oxygen of groundwater. The pH value of groundwater in the mining area was higher than that in the surrounding pastoral area, while the conductivity value of the mining area was between the pastoral area in the west and the Xilin river area in the east. The parameters of pH, conductivity and total dissolved solids of the four monitoring wells around the mining area showed a slow change or stable phenomenon in the vertical direction with the increase of groundwater depth. This study is of great significance to understand the characteristics of groundwater chemistry in mining areas and the rational development and utilization of groundwater resources.

Quansheng Li, Kai Zhang, Yingming Yang, Shan Chong, Wenfeng Du and Yunlan He

Situation and Treatment Methods of Ecological and Environmental Problems during the Process of Urbanization in Rural Areas of China

Rural urbanization is a process of population agglomeration catalyzed by industrialization. At present, China’s urbanization process is accelerating against the backdrop of rapid social development. However, in some areas, economic development is emphasized, while the protection of the ecological environment is neglected, leading to the increasingly obvious contradiction between urbanization and rural ecological environment and is not conducive to economic development. In this paper, the development trend of China’s rural urbanization, the current situation of environmental pollution, and the progress of important environmental treatment projects are analyzed. Accordingly, the main problems in rural environmental protection and the impact of urbanization are explored. The problems led by industrial and domestic pollutants have been amplified by urbanization, while the improved connection between urban and rural areas will benefit the improvement of environmental infrastructure in rural areas. The government-led projects of rural water improvement, sanitary toilet penetration, methane gas production, and solar water heater have made great progress during the past two decades. Based on these understandings, we put forward feasible countermeasures to implement rural ecological environment protection during the process of urbanization to promote the benign development of rural urbanization. Our results will be helpful in providing some useful references for environmental protection in rural areas and promoting the coordinated development of the economy and environment during the process of urbanization in China.

Xiaoxue Zhang, Faming Sun, Jie Yang, Jian Li, Jing Liang, Mei Yang and Wen Liu

A GIS-Based Methodology to Determine Effect of Vehicular Pollution at Ward Level: Case Study of Jaipur City

To determine appropriate measures to reduce air pollution in any urban city, the first essential requirement is to estimate the spatial distribution of air pollution parameters in that area. In absence of air monitoring stations, alternative methods are required for the same. In the present work, a GIS-based methodology is presented to estimate the level of NO2 based on the road density of the road network of different categories of roads. Road network GIS layer and measured levels of the average value of NO2 for the year 2019 at 12 air pollution monitoring stations of Jaipur city are used to develop a large number of possible linear regression models for estimation of NO2 values based on road density values. Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and adjusted r2 values are used to evaluate and arrive at the best-fitted model. Values from the cities of Jodhpur and Kota are used to validate the model. Using this model, NO2 levels are determined at 91 wards of Jaipur city and the output is compared with the similar map derived based on interpolation of NO2 values at the 12 monitoring stations. It is concluded that the methodology developed in this study generates better estimates of NO2 at the ward levels.

A. D. Vyas, K. Mahale and R. Goyal

Dynamic Relationship Between China’s Environmental Protection Investment and Regional, Environmental Pollution

The carrying capacity of China’s resources and environment has reached a limit. The economic development of different regions has been forced to abandon the original economic development mode manifesting high pollution, high energy consumption, and high emission and to step forward to the new economic development model promoting low energy consumption, low emission, and low pollution. Environmental issues are typical manifestations of market mechanism failure. Government investment in environmental protection, which effectively improves environmental quality, is necessary to achieve sustainable economic development. An index system of the influencing factors that affect regional environmental pollutant emissions was established first in this study to measure accurately the relationship between environmental protection investment in different provinces in China and regional environmental pollution. System GMM (Generalized Method of Moment) method was used to analyze the impact of environmental protection investment on pollutant emissions in 30 provinces in China from 2007 to 2016. Results show that the system GMM method can effectively solve variable endogeneity. Environmental protection investment of explanatory variables has a significant negative effect on pollutant emissions. Among the control variables, per capita GDP (Gross Domestic Product), industrial structure, resident consumption level, and technology market turnover have a significant inhibitory effect on pollutant emissions. Among the control variables, investment in fixed assets and import and export trade is vital in promoting pollutant emission growth. Conclusions provide a reference for improving the governance level of environmental protection investment in China’s provinces, controlling environmental pollution and ecological damage, and realizing a green economic development method.

Xiaowen Qiu

Assessment of Soil Environment Pollution Based on Fuzzy Pattern Recognition Model

As one of the basic elements of the ecosystem and natural environment, the soil is closely related to human life. However, the problem of soil environment pollution is becoming more and more serious, which needs to be solved urgently. It will provide a reference for solving the problem of soil environment pollution if a suitable method can be found to evaluate the degree of soil environment pollution. The degree of soil environment pollution belongs to the fuzzy concept. It is a fuzzy pattern recognition problem to evaluate the degree of soil environment pollution according to the soil environment level standard value. The fuzzy pattern recognition method of soil environment pollution assessment makes full use of the fuzzy characteristics existing in soil environment assessment, considers the common influence of the weight of evaluation factors and the index value, and also considers the correlation between indexes and the similarity of index characteristics of different sampling points, therefore, the interference of some man-made certain factors is concealed. The model was applied to the soil sampling point in Wudi County of Shandong Province in the Yellow River basin of China. The results showed that the evaluation of soil environment pollution by this method accorded with the actual situation and can provide a basis for ensuring the stability of soil ecological environment, improving the quality of cultivated land, and improving regional ecological conditions. At the same time, in view of the current problem of soil environment pollution, the paper calls on human beings to pay attention to environmental protection and be responsible for their own safety and also proposes four aspects of treatment schemes and measures.

Xin Huang and Lin Qiu

Evaluation of Cytotoxicity and Genotoxicity of Water from Nag River, Nagpur, India

The pollution of the river by man-made sewage and waste disposal is not only harmful to animals and plants in it but also for animals higher in the food chain including those close to the food chain. Water is the most vital natural substance, as it plays a role in nearly every aspect of human life. Therefore, there is a great need to ensure that the water used by humans should not contain hazardous substances. Water quality is directly linked to biological life. The Nag River flows from the Lava village of north Ambazari Lake and flows into the center of Nagpur city. As a result of rapid and unstoppable development, significant changes have taken place in the water quality of the Nag River. Because the Nag River’s water is frequently used for irrigation, it should be tested for cytotoxicity and genotoxicity. Since the rate of cancer and genetic disorders has recently increased in the Nagpur region, the Nag River’s water could be a source of carcinogens in the food chain, affecting the population. This study was conducted to analyze the impact of water collected from various points of the Nag River using Allium cepa as a model organism. The results of this study showed that all water samples from the Nag River cause a cytotoxic effect (20-23%) and genotoxic effects (23-28%) in Allium cepa cells. Therefore, before the use of Nag River water, it must be treated to diminish its harmful effect.

P. V. Hirapure, S. A. Paranjape, V. S. Sarodaya, B. A. Mehere and V. J. Upadhye

A Study on the Effect of Soil and Sediment Types on the Fugacity Based Multimedia Partitioning of a Contact Fungicide Fluopyram: An Equilibrium Quality Criterion (EQC) Level 1 Approach

Equilibrium Quality Criterion (EQC) Level I calculations have been performed with Standard Equilibrium Quality Criterion (EQC) environment to study the environmental partitioning of a fungicide Fluopyram. Equilibrium Quality Criterion (EQC) Level I calculation assumes no degradation of the chemical, steady-state, and equilibrium conditions between the environmental compartments. The results reveal that the concentration of Fluopyram is expected to be maximum in the sediment compartment, followed by soil and water compartments. The effect of soil and sediment types on partitioning has been studied by systematically varying the densities of these two compartments. In the sediment compartment, the Fluopyram concentration is predicted to be highest if the sediment type is ‘sandy’ and the soil type is ‘clay’.

A. Thakur, S. Sharma and K. Qanungo

Monitoring Methods of Marine Pollution Range Based on Big Data Technology

With the development of big data technology, traditional monitoring methods for the scope of marine pollution can no longer meet the current needs of accuracy and timeliness. In light of the outstanding topic, this study proposed to use big data technology to monitor the scope of marine pollution. The intelligent digital remote sensing technology was used for multi-dimensional monitoring of ocean water quality and completed the calculation of data collected by water quality sensors through the improved big data comparative analysis method. Finally, the scope of pollution monitoring was realized. The results verified that the proposed monitoring method could achieve high-precision and time-sensitive monitoring of the range of marine pollutants, and could identify the basic information of pollutants.

Q. Zhong and X.M. Liu

Micro-Fabric Transformations of Ball Clay in Alkaline Environment

Based on the strong evidence of case histories, this study focused on mineralogical and morphological changes of an artificial kaolinitic soil -Ball clay, when exposed to different concentrations of sodium hydroxide (0.1N, 1N, 4N, and 8N) under different curing periods (7, 28 and 100 days). Sediment volume tests are conducted on Ball clay with all combinations and results are analyzed with the help of analytical techniques. XRD and SEM studies are analyzed to understand the micro-level changes of alkali contaminated Ball clay. Mineralogical and morphological transmutations of Ball clay are investigated for 7, 28, and 100 days curing period. Results revealed new mineral formations like Sodalite under 4N and 8N concentrations of NaOH with 100 days interactions are well observed. The morphological transformation from needle shape to pellet shape is clear evidence of the rate of dissolution and precipitation of minerals under 100 days curing periods.

V. Sai Kumar, P. Hari Prasad Reddy and Ch. Rama Vara Prasad

Seasonal Variation of Dissolved Lead Speciation in Tagus Estuary, Portugal

The behavior of lead species from Tagus estuarine water collected during winter (January), spring (April), and summer (June) seasons were evaluated. Water samples were titrated with Pb+2 followed by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV). Experimental voltammetric values were interpreted assuming a macromolecular heterogeneous ligand described in a simple way by two types of binding sites, CL1 and CL2, where CL1 is related to stronger binding groups with lower concentration compared to CL2. Water quality parameters like dissolved organic matter (DOC), pH, salinity, temperature, and total lead concentration were measured during the period under study. The results pointed to a higher concentration of CL1 and CL2 sites in April probably due to the phytoplankton bloom. The decrease of KL1 with the increase of salinity from winter to summer may be caused by the increase of major cations (as Ca2+) in solution. The trend of KL2 followed the pH shift in all seasons since an increase of pH favors Pb2+ complexation with CL2 sites. Finally, the decrease of DOC in summer could be responsible for the decrease in the concentration of the different sites in solution from April to June, with a similar decrease of 35±3% for all of them.

M. Praveen Kumar

Environmental Management: Pragmatic Suitability of Low Cost Activated Carbon in Lead (II)Ion Removal by Continuous Mode of Adsorption

Heavy metals such as chromium, lead, and arsenic are usually present in trace amounts in natural waters but many of them are toxic even at very low concentrations. An increasing quantity of heavy metals in our resources is currently an area of greater concern, especially since a large number of industries are discharging their metal containing effluents into freshwater without any adequate treatment. Activated carbons show a significant ability in removing heavy metal ions from an aqueous solution by adsorption, which has been examined by many researchers. Activated carbon derived from Manilkarazapota tree-wood (MZTWAC), which was found to be a suitable adsorbent for the removal of lead ions through continuous adsorption mode, was examined in this paper. A breakthrough curve has been plotted to find the effect of initial concentration and adsorbent bed height in the adsorption of lead (II)ion through MZTWAC. The breakthrough time and the saturation time increased as the initial concentration increased from 40 mg.L-1 to 60 mg.L-1. The saturation time was in the incremental mode when the bed height was increased from 5 cm to 7 cm bed thickness for 40 mg.L-1 concentration. Adams-Bohart’s model perfectly fits with this fixed-bed column in the removal of lead(II) from an aqueous solution using MZTWAC. Activated carbon derived from MZTWAC is better suited for the purpose of detoxifying metal-contaminated wastewater.

R. Sivarethinamohan and S. Sujatha

Impact of Government Regulation on Emission Reduction of Environmental Pollutants in China

In pursuit of rapid economic growth, China ignores the carrying capacity of the natural environment and storage quantity of natural resources, resulting in waste and abuse of a large number of natural resources. With the development of industrialization, environmental and ecological problems are becoming more and more serious. Resources are being wasted seriously, and environmental endurance is faced with a great threat. Government regulation on environmental pollution governance has become a consistent problem to be solved for the further economic and social development of all countries in the world. Most governments adopt the establishment of environmental regulation agencies to regulate enterprise pollution. To explore the impact of government regulation on emission reduction of environmental pollutants, government regulation was taken as an explanatory variable and a multivariate panel regression model was established. The influencing factors of environmental pollutant emission in 30 provinces (cities) in China from 2007 to 2016 were estimated. Results show that the government regulation policy in China cannot significantly promote emission reduction of environmental pollutants. GDP and technological progress can effectively reduce the emission of environmental pollutants. The increasing proportion of the secondary industry and a large amount of foreign investment, both lead to an increase in environmental pollutants emission. Government regulation measures can effectively alleviate ecological environment damage caused by environmental pollutant emission. The policy implication of the findings is that the government of China should formulate appropriate intensity of government regulation. The intensity of environmental regulation cannot be blindly increased. Regulation means of pollution charge, pollution permits, and environmental tax should be flexibly used. According to realistic characteristics of different regions, different degrees of excess production capacity, use of government regulation should be different.

Kai Wang and Xin Yang

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