Search results for: subcritical water

Authors: Andrés I. Ávila, Patricia Aros, César San Martín, Elizabeth Kehr, Yovana Leal

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We consider a linear programming model to help farmers to decide if it is convinient to choose among three kinds of export fruits for their future investment. We consider area, investment, water, productivitiy minimal unit, and harvest restrictions and a monthly based model to compute the average income in five years. Also, conditions on the field as area, water availability and initia investment are required. Using the Chilean costs and dollar-peso exchange rate, we can simulate several scenarios to understand the possible risks associated to this market.

Keywords: mixed integer problem, fruit production, support decision model, fruit tree farms

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Authors: Sakshi Gupta, Kavita Sardana

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Management of a forest catchment involves diverse dimensions, multiple stakeholders, and conflicting interests, primarily due to the wide variety of valuable ecosystem services offered by it. Often, the coordination among different levels of formal institutions governing the catchment, local communities, as well as societal norms, taboos, customs and practices, happens to be amiss, leading to conflicting policy interventions which prove detrimental for such resources. In the case of Ala Catchment, which is a protected forest located at a distance of 9 km North-East of the town of Dalhousie, within district Chamba of Himachal Pradesh, India, and serves as one of the primary sources of public water supply for the downstream town of Dalhousie and nearby areas, several policy measures have been adopted for the restoration of the forest catchment, as well as for the improvement of public water supply. These catchment forest restoration measures include; the installation of a fence along the perimeter of the catchment, plantation of trees in the empty patches of the forest, construction of check dams, contour trenches, contour bunds, issuance of grazing permits, and installation of check posts to keep track of trespassers. While the measures adopted to address the acute shortage of public water supply in the Dalhousie region include; building and maintenance of large capacity water storage tanks, laying of pipelines, expanding public water distribution infrastructure to include water sources other than Ala Catchment Forest and introducing of five new water supply schemes for drinking water as well as irrigation. However, despite these policy measures, the degradation of the Ala catchment and acute shortage of water supply continue to distress the region. This study attempts to conduct an institutional analysis to assess the impact of policy measures for the restoration of the Ala Catchment in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh in India. For this purpose, the theoretical framework of Ostrom’s Institutional Assessment and Development (IAD) Framework was used. Snowball sampling was used to conduct private interviews and focused group discussions. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to interview a total of 184 respondents across stakeholders from both formal and informal institutions. The central hypothesis of the study is that the interplay of formal and informal institutions facilitates the implementation of policy measures for ameliorating Ala Catchment, in turn improving the livelihood of people depending on this forest catchment for direct and indirect benefits. The findings of the study suggest that leakages in the successful implementation of policy measures occur at several nodes of decision-making, which adversely impact the catchment and the ecosystem services provided by it. Some of the key reasons diagnosed by the immediate analysis include; ad-hoc assignment of property rights, rise in tourist inflow increasing the pressures on water demand, illegal trespassing by local and nomadic pastoral communities for grazing and unlawful extraction of forest products, and rent-seeking by a few influential formal institutions. Consequently, it is indicated that the interplay of formal and informal institutions may be obscuring the consequentiality of the policy measures on the restoration of the catchment.

Keywords: catchment forest restoration, institutional analysis and development framework, institutional interplay, protected forest, water supply management

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Authors: Montree Bunruanses, Preecha Yupapin

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In this work, the quantum material called Amrita (elixir) is made from top-down gold into nanometer particles by fusing 99% gold with a laser and mixing it with drinking water using the atmospheric water (AWG) production system, which is made of water with air. The high energy laser power destroyed the four natural force bindings from gravity-weak-electromagnetic and strong coupling forces, where finally it was the purified Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) states. With this method, gold atoms in the form of spherical single crystals with a diameter of 30-50 nanometers are obtained and used. They were modulated (activated) with a frequency generator into various matrix structures mixed with AWG water to be used in the upstream conversion (quantum reversible) process, which can be applied on humans both internally or externally by drinking or applying on the treated surfaces. Doing both space (body) and time (mind) will go back to the origin and start again from the coupling of space-time on both sides of time at fusion (strong coupling force) and push out (Big Bang) at the equilibrium point (singularity) occurs as strings and DNA with neutrinos as coupling energy. There is no distortion (purification), which is the point where time and space have not yet been determined, and there is infinite energy. Therefore, the upstream conversion is performed. It is reforming DNA to make it be purified. The use of Amrita is a method used for people who cannot meditate (quantum meditation). Various cases were applied, where the results show that the Amrita can make the body and the mind return to their pure origins and begin the downstream process with the Big Bang movement, quantum communication in all dimensions, DNA reformation, frequency filtering, crystal body forming, broadband quantum communication networks, black hole forming, quantum consciousness, body and mind healing, etc.

Keywords: quantum materials, quantum meditation, quantum reversible, Bose-Einstein condensate

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Authors: Mohammad Khalid, Mariya Munir, Jacelyn Rice Boyaue

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Highways are considered a major source of pollution to storm-water, and its runoff can introduce various contaminants, including nutrients, Indicator bacteria, heavy metals, chloride, and phosphorus compounds, which can have negative impacts on receiving waters. This study assessed the ability of biochar for contaminants removal and to improve the water holding capacity of soil biochar mixture. For this, ten commercially available biochar has been strategically selected. Lab scale batch testing was done at 3% and 6% by the weight of the soil to find the preliminary estimate of contaminants removal along with hydraulic conductivity and water retention capacity. Furthermore, from the above-conducted studies, six best performing candidate and an application rate of 6% has been selected for the column studies. Soil biochar mixture was filled in 7.62 cm assembled columns up to a fixed height of 76.2 cm based on hydraulic conductivity. A total of eight column experiments have been conducted for nutrient, heavy metal, and indicator bacteria analysis over a period of one year, which includes a drying as well as a deicing period. The saturated hydraulic conductivity was greatly improved, which is attributed to the high porosity of the biochar soil mixture. Initial data from the column testing shows that biochar may have the ability to significantly remove nutrients, indicator bacteria, and heavy metals. The overall study demonstrates that biochar could be efficiently applied with clay soil to improve the soil's hydraulic characteristics as well as remove the pollutants from the stormwater runoff.

Keywords: biochar, nutrients, indicator bacteria, storm-water treatment, sustainability

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Authors: Nihad Chakri, Btissam El Amrani, Faouzi Berrada, Halima Jounaid, Fouad Amraoui

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Public baths or hammams play an essential role in the Moroccan urban and peri-urban fabric, constituting part of the cultural heritage. Urbanization in Morocco has led to a significant increase in the number of these traditional hammams: between 6,000 and 15,000 units (to be updated) operate with a traditional heating system. Numerous studies on energy consumption indicate that a hammam consumes between 60 and 120m3 of water and one to two tons of wood per day. On average, one ton of wood costs 650 Moroccan dirhams (approximately 60 Euros), resulting in a daily fuel cost of around 1300 Moroccan dirhams (about 120 Euros). These high consumptions result in significant environmental nuisances generated by: Wastewater: in the case of hammams located on the outskirts of Casablanca, such as our study area, the Municipality of Dar Bouazza, most of these waters are directly discharged into the receiving environment without prior treatment because they are not connected to the sanitation network. Emissions of black smoke and ashes produced by the often incomplete combustion of wood. Reducing the liquid and gas emissions generated by these hammams thus poses an environmental and sustainable development challenge that needs to be addressed. In this context, we initiated the Eco-hammam project with the objective of implementing innovative and locally adapted solutions to limit the negative impacts of hammams on the environment and reduce water and wood energy consumption. This involves treating and reusing wastewater through a compact system with heat recovery and using alternative energy sources to increase and enhance the energy efficiency of these traditional hammams. To achieve this, on-site surveys of hammams in the Dar Bouazza Municipality and the application of statistical approaches to the results of the physico-chemical and bacteriological characterization of incoming and outgoing water from these units were conducted. This allowed us to establish an environmental diagnosis of these entities. In conclusion, the analysis of well water used by Dar Bouazza's hammams revealed the presence of certain parameters that could be hazardous to public health, such as total germs, total coliforms, sulfite-reducing spores, chromium, nickel, and nitrates. Therefore, this work primarily focuses on prospecting upstream of our study area to verify if other sources of pollution influence the quality of well water.

Keywords: public baths, hammams, cultural heritage, urbanization, water consumption, wood consumption, environmental nuisances, wastewater, environmental challenge, sustainable development, Eco-hammam project, innovative solutions, local adaptation, negative impacts, water conservation, wastewater treatment, heat recovery, alternative energy sources, on-site surveys, Dar Bouazza Municipality, statistical approaches, physico-chemical characterization, bacteriological characterization, environmental diagnosis, well water analysis, public health, pollution sources, well water quality

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Authors: Marina Nisnevitch, Anton Valkov, Faina Nakonechny, Kate Adar Raik, Yamit Mualem

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Photosensitizers are dye compounds belonging to various chemical groups that in all the cases have a developed structure of conjugated double bonds. Under illumination with visible light, the photosensitizers are excited and transfer the absorbed energy to the oxygen dissolved in an aqueous phase, leading to production of a reactive oxygen species which cause irreversible damage to bacterial cells. When immobilized onto a solid phase, photosensitizers preserve their antibacterial properties. In the present study, photosensitizers were immobilized in polyethylene or propylene and tested for antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive S. aureus, S. epidermidis and Streptococcus sp. For this purpose, water-soluble photosensitizers, Rose Bengal sodium salt, and methylene blue as well as water-insoluble hematoporphyrin and Rose Bengal lactone, were immobilized by dissolution in melted polymers to yield 3 mm diameter rods and 3-5 mm beads. All four photosensitizers were found to be effective in the eradication of Gram-positive bacteria under illumination by a white luminescent lamp or sunlight. The immobilized photosensitizers can be applied for continuous water disinfection; they can be easily removed at the end of the treatment and reused.

Keywords: antimicrobial polymers, gram-positive bacteria, immobilization of photosensitizers, photodynamic antibacterial activity

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Authors: Young-Hun Ko, Seung-Jun Kim, Khaqan Baluch, Hyung- Sik Yang

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In this study, the polymer gel was used as coupling material in a blasting hole and its comparison was made with other coupling materials like sand, water, and air. Trazul lead block test and AUTODYN numerical analysis were conducted to analyze the effects of the coupling materials on the intensity of the explosion, as well as the verification tests were conducted by using concrete block test. The emulsion explosives were used in decoupling conditions, sand, water, and polymer gel were used as the coupling materials. The lead block test and the numerical analysis showed that the expansion of the blast hole in the lead block was similar to that of the water and gelatin and followed by sand and air conditions. The validation of concrete block test result showed the similar result as Trazul lead block test and the explosion strength was measured at 0.8 for polymer gel, 0.7 for sand, and 0.6 for no coupling material, in comparison to the full charge (1.0) case.

Keywords: Trazul lead block test, AUTODYN numerical analysis, coupling material, polymer gel, soil covering concrete block explosion test

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Authors: Abdelrady K. Nasr, Ezzat M. A. Noweer, Mahmoud M. Ramadan

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The root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita Kofoid and White (Tylenchida: Heteroderidae), is one of the most important plant-parasitic nematodes attacking large numbers of vegetable and fruit plants in Egypt. Moreover, the soil predatory mites (Protogamasellopsisdenticus (Nasr), Gaeolaelaps longus (Hafez, El-Badry and Nasr) and Cosmolaelapskeni(Hafez, El-Badry and Nasr) are one of the excellent agents for biocontrol, this study was designed to evaluate the predation of the root-knot nematode (M. incognita) using water agar technique. The water agar medium was used as an experimental medium to rear both the mentioned mites and egg masses; these media allowed observe the development and predacious manner. The present study revealed that the predatory mites successfully developed and reproduced their egg masses. The mean life cycle of the tested mites P. denticus, G. longus, and C.keni were 10.33, 12.00, and 9.77 days, respectively. The mean total life span of the female of P. denticus, G. longus, and C. keni on egg-mases of M. incognita were obtained 63.44, 77.55 and 70.11 days, respectively, and the mean total fecundity of predatory mites, P. denticus, G.longus, and C. keni on egg-mases nematode were observed 62.66, 31.61 and 11.83 eggs, respectively. The mean total number of eggs laid by female P. denticus was significantly higher than other predatory mites, G. longus and C. keni. According to the obtained results, the tested predacious mites can be applied to combat the spreading of M. incognita in the agriculture field as a safe and effective biological control.

Keywords: biological control, plant-parasitic nematodes, predaceous mites, water agar

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Authors: N. Bourayou, A. -H. Meniai, A. Gouaoura

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The presence of salt can either raise or lower the distribution coefficient of a solute acetic acid in liquid- liquid equilibria. The coefficient of solute is defined as the ratio of the composition of solute in solvent rich phase to the composition of solute in diluents (water) rich phase. The phenomena are known as salting–out or salting-in, respectively. The effect of monovalent salt, sodium chloride and the bivalent salt, sodium sulfate on the distribution of acetic acid between 1-butanol and water at 298.15K were experimentally shown to be effective in modifying the liquid-liquid equilibrium of water/acetic acid/1-butanol system in favour of the solvent extraction of acetic acid from an aqueous solution with 1-butanol, particularly at high salt concentrations of both salts. All the two salts studied are found to have to salt out effect for acetic acid in varying degrees. The experimentally measured data were well correlated by Eisen-Joffe equation. NRTL model for solvent mixtures containing salts was able to provide good correlation of the present liquid-liquid equilibrium data. Using the regressed salt concentration coefficients for the salt-solvent interaction parameters and the solvent-solvent interaction parameters obtained from the same system without salt. The calculated phase equilibrium was in a quite good agreement with the experimental data, showing the ability of NRTL model to correlate salt effect on the liquid-liquid equilibrium.

Keywords: activity coefficient, Eisen-Joffe, NRTL model, sodium chloride

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Authors: Odufu Ifakachukwu Clifford

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Developing country governments are struggling to meet the basic needs and demands of citizens, especially so for the rural poor. With tightly constrained budgets, these governments have followed the lead of developed countries that have sought to restructure public service delivery through privatization, contracting out, public-private partnerships, and similar reforms. Such reforms in service delivery are generally welcomed when it is believed that private sector partners are better equipped to provide certain services than are governments. With respect to basic and essential services, however, a higher degree of uncertainty and apprehension exists as the focus shifts from simply minimizing the costs of delivering services to broadening access to all citizens. The constitution stipulates that everyone has the right to have access to sufficient food and water. Affordable and/or subsidized water, then, is not a privilege but a basic right of all citizens. Citizens elect political representatives to serve in office, with their sole mandate being to provide for the needs of the citizenry. As governments pass on some amount of responsibility for service delivery to private businesses, these governments must be able to exercise control in order to account to the people for the work done by private partners. This paper examines the legislative and policy frameworks as well as the environment within which PPPs take place in South Africa and the extent to which accountability can be strengthened in this environment. Within the aforementioned backdrop of PPPs and accountability, the constricted focus area of the paper aims to assess the extent to which the provision of clean and safe consumable water in South Africa is sustainable, cost-effective in terms of provision, and affordable to all.

Keywords: privatisation, accountability, essential services, government

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Authors: Hocine Benabid, M. F. Ghorab

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The exploration of open pit mines and quarries has always been important resources that provide many valuable needed minerals but very often accompanied by large amounts of dust rejected into the air and also many other negative environmental impacts. The dust remains suspended in the atmosphere before being deposited on soils, on forest trees, on plants and also on water, causing at long term allergic and respiratory diseases for residents living in the vicinity or even far away from the mines and quarries. As a consequence of this activity, dust can also disturb the photosynthetic activity of plants and affect water quality. It is for these reasons and because of the intensification of these activities that our motivations have become larger to deal with this kind of topic, which is becoming nowadays an environmental and health concern for almost every country in the world.

Keywords: mines, dust, environmental impacts, environmental concern

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Authors: Adnan Alhathal Alanezi

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The performance of vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) process for water desalination was investigated utilizing a new design membrane module using two commercial polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) flat sheet hydrophobic membranes. The membrane module's design demonstrated its suitability for achieving a high heat transfer coefficient of the order of 103 (W/m2K) and a high Reynolds number (Re). The heat and mass transport coefficients within the membrane module were measured using VMD experiments. The permeate flux has been examined in relation to process parameters such as feed temperature, feed flow rate, vacuum degree, and feed concentration. Because the feed temperature, feed flow rate, and vacuum degree all play a role in improving the performance of the VMD process, optimizing all of these parameters is the best method to achieve a high permeate flux. In VMD desalination, the PTFE membrane outperformed the PVDF membrane. When compared to previous studies, the obtained water flux is relatively high, reaching 43.8 and 52.6 (kg/m2h) for PVDF and PTFE, respectively. For both membranes, the salt rejection of NaCl was greater than 99%.

Keywords: desalination, vacuum membrane distillation, PTFE and PVDF, hydrophobic membranes, O-ring membrane module

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Authors: М. Zh. Khazimov, А. B. Kudasheva

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The article presents the state of solid fuel reserves and their share in the world energy sector. The air pollution caused by the operation of heating devices using solid fuels is a significant problem. In order to improve the air quality, heating device producers take constant measures to improve their products. However, the emission results achieved during an initial test of heating devices in the laboratory may be much worse during operation in real operating conditions. The ways of increasing the efficiency of the boiler by improving its design for combustion in full-layer mode are shown. The results of the testing of the improved КВТС-0.2 hot water boiler is presented and the technical and economic indicators are determined, which indicate an increase in the efficiency of the boiler.

Keywords: boiler unit, grate, furnace, coal, ash

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Authors: Kathy Mwende Kiema, Remember Samu, Murat Fahrioglu

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Despite the implementation of a Feed in Tariff (FiT) for solar power plants in Kenya, the uptake and subsequent development of utility scale power plants has been slow. This paper, therefore, proposes a Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plant configuration that can supply both power to the grid and operate a sea water desalination plant, thus providing an economically viable alternative to Independent Power Producers (IPPs). The largest city on the coast, Mombasa, has a chronic water shortage and authorities are looking to employ desalination plants to supply a deficit of up to 100 million cubic meters of fresh water per day. In this study the desalination plant technology was selected based on an analysis of operational costs in $/m3 of plants that are already running. The output of the proposed CSP plant, Net Present Value (NPV), plant capacity factor, thermal efficiency and quantity of CO2 emission avoided were simulated using Greenius software (Green energy system analysis tool) developed by the institute of solar research at the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Data on solar irradiance were derived from the Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment (SWERA) for Kenya.

Keywords: desalination, feed in tariff, independent power producer, solar CSP

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Authors: Toshikee Yadav, Deepti Tikariha, Jyotsna Lakra, Kallol K. Ghosh

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Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are potent atmospheric pollutants that consist of two or more benzene rings. PAHs have low solubility in water. Their slow dissolution can contaminate large amounts of ground water for long period. They are hydrophobic, non-polar and neutral in nature and are known to have potential mutagenic or carcinogenic activity. In current scenario their removal from the environment, water and soil is still a great challenge and scientists worldwide are engaged to invent and design novel separation technology and decontaminating systems. Various physical, chemical, biological and their combined technologies have been applied to remediate organic-contaminated soils and groundwater. Surfactants play a vital role in the solubilization of these hydrophobic organic compounds. In the present investigation Solubilization capabilities of structurally different gemini surfactants i.e. butanediyl-1,4-bis(dimethyldodecylammonium bromide) (C12-4-C12,2Br−), 2-butanol-1,4-bis (dimethyldodecylammonium bromide) (C12-4(OH)-C12,2Br−), 2,3-butanediol-1,4-bis (dimethyldodecylammonium bromide) (C12-4(OH)2-C12,2Br−) for three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); phenanthrene (Phe),fluorene (Fluo) and acenaphthene (Ace) have been studied spectrophotometrically at 300 K. The result showed that the solubility of PAHs increases linearly with increasing surfactant concentration, as an implication of association between the PAHs and micelles. Molar solubilization ratio (MSR), micelle–water partition coefficient (Km) and Gibb's free energy of solubilization (ΔG°s) for PAHs have been determined in aqueous medium. (C12-4(OH)2-C12,2Br−) shows the higher solubilization for all PAHs. Findings of the present investigation may be useful to understand the role of appropriate surfactant system for the solubilization of toxic hydrophobic organic compounds.

Keywords: gemini surfactant, molar solubilization ratio, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, solubilization

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Authors: Nagasamy Venkatesh Dhandapani, Amged Awad El-Gied

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Cefixime, a BCS class II drug, is insoluble in water but freely soluble in acetone and in alcohol. The aqueous solubility of cefixime in water is poor and exhibits exceptionally slow and intrinsic dissolution rate. In the present study, cefixime and β-Cyclodextrin (β-CD) solid dispersions were prepared with a view to study the effect and influence of β-CD on the solubility and dissolution rate of this poorly aqueous soluble drug. Phase solubility profile revealed that the solubility of cefixime was increased in the presence of β-CD and was classified as A_L-type. Effect of variable, such as drug:carrier ratio, was studied. Physical characterization of the solid dispersion was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). These studies revealed that a distinct loss of drug crystallinity in the solid molecular dispersions is ostensibly accounting for enhancement of dissolution rate in distilled water. The drug release from the prepared solid dispersion exhibited a first order kinetics. Solid dispersions of cefixime showed a 6.77 times fold increase in dissolution rate over the pure drug.

Keywords: β-cyclodextrin, cefixime, dissolution, Kneading method, solid dispersions, release kinetics

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Authors: Farid Shekari

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Salicylic Acid (SA) is a plant hormone that improves some physiological responses of plants under stress conditions. Seeds of two desi type chickpea cultivars, viz., Kaka and Pirooz, primed with 250, 500, 750, and 1000 μM of SA and a group of seeds without any treating (as control) were evaluated under rain fed conditions. Seed priming in both cultivars led to higher efficiency compare to non-primed treatments. In general, seed priming with 500 and 750 μM of SA had appropriate effects; however the cultivars responses were different in this regard. Kaka showed better performance both in primed and non-primed seed than Pirooz. Results of this study revealed that not only yield quantity but also yield quality, as seed protein amounts, could positively affect by SA treatments. It seems that SA by enhancing of soluble sugars and proline amounts enhanced total water potential (ψ) and RWC. The increment in RWC led to rose of chlorophyll content of plants chlorophyll stability. In general, SA increased water use efficiency, both in biologic and seed yield base, and drought tolerance of chickpea plants. HI was a little decreased in SA treatments and it shows that SA more effective in biomass production than seed yield.

Keywords: chlorophyll, harvest index, proline, seed protein, soluble sugar, water use efficiency, yield component

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Authors: Yehia Manawi, Ahmad Kayvanifard

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Membrane distillation is an emerging technology which has been used to produce freshwater and purify different types of aqueous mixtures. Qatar is an arid country where almost 100% of its freshwater demand is supplied through the energy-intensive thermal desalination process. The country’s need for water has reached an all-time high which stipulates finding an alternative way to augment freshwater without adding any drastic affect to the environment. The objective of this paper was to investigate the potential of using the industrial low grade waste heat to produce freshwater using membrane distillation. The main part of this work was conducting a heat audit on selected Qatari chemical industries to estimate the amounts of freshwater produced if such industrial waste heat were to be recovered. By the end of this work, the main objective was met and the heat audit conducted on the Qatari chemical industries enabled us to estimate both the amounts of waste heat which can be potentially recovered in addition to the amounts of freshwater which can be produced if such waste heat were to be recovered. By the end, the heat audit showed that around 605 Mega Watts of waste heat can be recovered from the studied Qatari chemical industries which resulted in a total daily production of 5078.7 cubic meter of freshwater. This water can be used in a wide variety of applications such as human consumption or industry. The amount of produced freshwater may look small when compared to that produced through thermal desalination plants; however, one must bear in mind that this water comes from waste and can be used to supply water for small cities or remote areas which are not connected to the water grid. The idea of producing freshwater from the two widely-available wastes (thermal rejected brine and waste heat) seems promising as less environmental and economic impacts will be associated with freshwater production which may in the near future augment the conventional way of producing freshwater currently being thermal desalination. This work has shown that low grade waste heat in the chemical industries in Qatar and perhaps the rest of the world can contribute to additional production of freshwater using membrane distillation without significantly adding to the environmental impact.

Keywords: membrane distillation, desalination, heat recovery, environment

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Authors: Moletsane Makgotso, Mogakabe Elijah, Marrengane Zinhle

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South Africa’s water resources quality is becoming more and more weakened by eutrophication, which deteriorates its usability. Thirty five percent of fresh water resources are eutrophic to hypertrophic, including grossly-enriched reservoirs that go beyond the globally-accepted definition of hypertrophy. Failing infrastructure adds to the problem of contaminated urban runoff which encompasses an important fraction of flows to inland reservoirs, particularly in the non-coastal, economic heartland of the country. Eutrophication threatens the provision of potable and irrigation water in the country because of the dependence on fresh water resources. Eutrophicated water reservoirs increase water treatment costs, leads to unsuitability for recreational purposes and health risks to human and animal livelihood due to algal proliferation. Eutrophication is caused by high concentrations of phosphorus and nitrogen in water bodies. In South Africa, Microsystis and Anabaena are widely distributed cyanobacteria, with Microcystis being the most dominant bloom-forming cyanobacterial species associated with toxin production. Two impoundments were selected, namely the Klipvoor and Leeukraal dams as they are mainly used for fishing, recreational, agricultural and to some extent, potable water purposes. The total oxidized nitrogen and total phosphorus concentration were determined as causative nutrients for eutrophication. Chlorophyll a and total microcystins, as well as the identification of cyanobacteria was conducted as indicators of cyanobacterial infestation. The orthophosphate concentration was determined by subjecting the samples to digestion and filtration followed by spectrophotometric analysis of total phosphates and dissolved phosphates using Aquakem kits. The total oxidized nitrates analysis was conducted by initially conducting filtration followed by spectrophotometric analysis. Chlorophyll a was quantified spectrophotometrically by measuring the absorbance of before and after acidification. Microcystins were detected using the Quantiplate Microcystin Kit, as well as microscopic identification of cyanobacterial species. The Klipvoor dam was found to be hypertrophic throughout the study period as the mean Chlorophyll a concentration was 269.4µg/l which exceeds the mean value for the hypertrophic state. The mean Total Phosphorus concentration was >0.130mg/l, and the total microcystin concentration was > 2.5µg/l throughout the study. The most predominant algal species were found to be the Microcystis. The Leeukraal dam was found to be mesotrophic with the potential of it becoming eutrophic as the mean concentration for chlorophyll a was 18.49 µg/l with the mean Total Phosphorus > 0.130mg/l and the Total Microcystin concentration < 0.16µg/l. The cyanobacterial species identified in Leeukraal have been classified as those that do not pose a potential risk to any impoundment. Microcystis was present throughout the sampling period and dominant during the warmer seasons. The high nutrient concentrations led to the dominance of Microcystis that resulted in high levels of microcystins rendering the impoundments, particularly Klipvoor undesirable for utilisation.

Keywords: nitrogen, phosphorus, cyanobacteria, microcystins

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Authors: Jarosław Milewski, Rafał Bernat

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This paper presents an analysis of using cryogenic separation unit for recovering fuel from anode off gas of molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs) in order to upgrade the efficiently of the unit. In the proposed solution, the CSU is used for condensing water and carbon dioxide from anode off gas, and re-cycling the rest of the stream to the anode, saving certain amount of fuel (at least 30%). The resulting system efficiency is increased considerably. CSU, virtually consumes power, thus this solution has energy penalty as well, on the other hand, MCFC generates large amount of heat at elevated temperature, thus part of the CSU can be based on absorption chiller. In all cases, a high amount of fuel is obtained after condensation of water and carbon dioxide and re-cycled to the anode inlet. Based on mathematical modeling done previously, the concept and guidelines for forthcoming experimental investigations are presented in this paper. During planned experiments, an existing single cell laboratory stand will be equipped with re-cycle device (a fan, a peristaltic pump, etc.). Parallel, a mixture of anode off gas will be cooled down for determining the proper temperature for the separation of water and carbon dioxide.

Keywords: cryogenic separation, experiments, fuel cells, molten carbonate fuel cells

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Authors: Farzad Doostishoar, Abdolreza Hasanzadeh, Seyed Amin Ayatolahi Mousavi

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Introduction and Goals: Deuterium has different action from its isotopes hydrogen in chemical reactions and biochemical processes. It is not a significant difference in heavier atoms between the behavior of heavier isotope and the lighter One but for very lighter atoms it is significant . According to that most of the weight of all creatures body is water natural rate can be significant. In this article we want to study the effect of reduced deuterium on the fungus cell. If we saw the dependence of deuterium concentration of environment on the cells growth we can test this in invivo models too. Methods: First we measured deuterium concentration of the distillated water this analyze was operated by Arak’s heavy water company. Then the deuterium was diluted to ½ ¼ 1/8 1/16 by adding water free of deuterium for making media. In tree of samples the deuterium concentration was increased by adding D2O up to 10,50,100 times more concentrated. For candida albicans growth we used sabor medium and for aspergillus fomigatis growth we used sabor medium containing chloramphenicol. After culturing the funguses species we put the mediums for each species in the shaker incubator for 10 days in 25 centigrade. In different days and times the plates were studied morphologically and some microscopic characteristics were studied too. This experiments and cultures were repeated 3 times. Results: Statistical analyzes by paired-sample T test showed that aspergilus fomigatoos growth was decreased in concentration of 72 ppm( half deuterium concentration of negative control) significantly. In deuterium concentration reduction the growth reduce into the negative control significantly. The project results showed that candida albicans was sensitive to reduce and decrease of the deuterium in all concentrations.

Keywords: deuterium, cancer cell, growth, candida albicans

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Authors: Hassan Jebreen

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These models of a conservative pollutant in groundwater do not include representation of processes in soils and in the unsaturated zone, or biogeochemical processes in groundwater, These demonstration models can be used as the basis for more detailed simulations of the impacts of pollution sources at a local scale, but such studies should address processes related to specific pollutant species, and should consider local hydrogeology in more detail, particularly in relation to possible impacts on shallow systems which are likely to respond more quickly to changes in pollutant inputs. The results have demonstrated the interaction between groundwater flow fields and pollution sources in abstraction areas, and help to emphasise that wadi development is one of the key elements of water resources planning. The quality of groundwater in the Hebron area indicates a gradual increase in chloride and nitrate with time. Since the aquifers in Hebron districts are highly vulnerable due to their karstic nature, continued disposal of untreated domestic and industrial wastewater into the wadi will lead to unacceptably poor water quality in drinking water, which may ultimately require expensive treatment if significant health problems are to be avoided. Improvements are required in wastewater treatment at the municipal and domestic levels, the latter requiring increased public awareness of the issues, as well as improved understanding of the hydrogeological behaviour of the aquifers.

Keywords: groundwater, models, pollutants, wadis, hebron

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Authors: Fauzi Jarushi, Paul Cosentino, Edward Kalajian, Hadeel Dekhn

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At certain depths during large diameter displacement pile driving, rebound well over 0.25 inches was experienced, followed by a small permanent set during each hammer blow. High pile rebound (HPR) soils may stop the pile driving and results in a limited pile capacity. In some cases, rebound leads to pile damage, delaying the construction project, and the requiring foundations redesign. HPR was evaluated at seven Florida sites, during driving of square precast, prestressed concrete piles driven into saturated, fine silty to clayey sands and sandy clays. Pile Driving Analyzer (PDA) deflection versus time data recorded during installation, was used to develop correlations between cone penetrometer (CPT) pore-water pressures, pile displacements and rebound. At five sites where piles experienced excessive HPR with minimal set, the pore pressure yielded very high positive values of greater than 20 tsf. However, at the site where the pile rebounded, followed by an acceptable permanent set, the measured pore pressure ranged between 5 and 20 tsf. The pore pressure exhibited values of less than 5 tsf at the site where no rebound was noticed. In summary, direct correlations between CPTu pore pressure and rebound were produced, allowing identification of soils that produce HPR.

Keywords: CPTU, pore water pressure, pile rebound

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Authors: Jakub Elbl, Lukáš Plošek, Antonín Kintl, Jaroslav Hynšt, Soňa Javoreková, Jaroslav Záhora, Libor Kalhotka, Olga Urbánková, Ivana Charousová

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This work presents the first results from the long-term laboratory experiment dealing with impact of drought on soil properties. Three groups of the treatment (A, B and C) with different regime of irrigation were prepared. The soil water content was maintained at 70 % of soil water holding capacity in group A, at 40 % in group B. In group C, soil water regime was maintained in the range of wilting point. Each group of the experiment was divided into three variants (A1 = B1, C1; A2 = B2, C2 etc.) with three repetitions: Variants A1 (B1, C1) were controls without addition of another fertilizer. Variants A2 (B2, C2) were fertilized with mineral nitrogen fertilizer DAM 390 (0.140 Mg of N per ha) and variants A3 (B3, C3) contained 45 g of Cp per a pot. The significant differences (ANOVA, P<0.05) in the leaching of mineral nitrogen and values of saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) were found. The highest values of Ksat were found in variants (within each group) with addition of compost (A3, B3, C3). Conversely, the lowest values of Ksat were found in variants with addition of mineral nitrogen. Low values of Ksat indicate an increased level of hydrophobicity in individual groups of the experiment. Moreover, all variants with compost addition showed lower amount of mineral nitrogen leaching and high level of microbial activity than variants without. This decrease of mineral nitrogen leaching was about 200 % in comparison with the control variant and about 300 % with variant, where mineral nitrogen was added. Based on these results, we can conclude that changes of soil water content directly have impact on microbial activity, soil hydrophobicity and loss of mineral nitrogen from the soil.

Keywords: drought, microbial activity, mineral nitrogen, soil hydrophobicity

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Authors: Aiswarya C. L, Swatantra Pratap Singh

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In recent years, most desalination plants have been powered by fossil fuels, and to a lesser extent, by green energy. Greenhouse gases emitted by fossil-fuelled plants significantly impact the global climate. So scientists are forced to develop a powerful energy source to protect the environment with greater sustainability due to climate change issues. Nuclear energy can supply much more fresh water than what is currently available. Furthermore, it is more affordable and does not emit any greenhouse gases. This review compares conventional desalination plants with nuclear-powered desalination plants in terms of cost, energy consumption, water recovery, and environmental issues. On the basis of the review conducted, nuclear desalination has been demonstrated to be technically feasible and economically competitive with a variety of fossil fuels, renewable energy sources, and waste heat sources. Nuclear sources have been criticized due to their lack of safety. But studies show, if we were able to handle the issue with care, the problems could be eliminated. Here we're looking at the Seawater Reverse Osmosis Plant (SWROP) at Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu, India and review the further possibility of implementing nuclear desalination technology in other states of India.

Keywords: energy consumption, environmental impacts, nuclear desalination, water recovery

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Authors: V. Vsevolozhskaia

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Since 1990, energy-efficient development concepts have constituted both a turning point in civil engineering and a challenge for an environmentally friendly future. Energy and water currently play an essential role in the sustainable economic growth of the world in general and Russia in particular: the efficiency of the water supply system is the second most important parameter for energy consumption according to the British assessment method, while the water-energy nexus has been identified as a focus for accelerating sustainable growth and developing effective, innovative solutions. The activities considered in this study were aimed at organizing and executing the renovation of the property in residential buildings located in St. Petersburg, specifically buildings with local or federal historical heritage status under the control of the St. Petersburg Committee for the State Inspection and Protection of Historic and Cultural Monuments (KGIOP) and UNESCO. Even after reconstruction, these buildings still fall into energy efficiency class D. Russian Government Resolution No. 87 on the structure and required content of project documentation contains a section entitled ‘Measures to ensure compliance with energy efficiency and equipment requirements for buildings, structures, and constructions with energy metering devices’. Mention is made of the need to install collectors and meters, which only calculate energy, neglecting the main purpose: to make buildings more energy-efficient, potentially even energy efficiency class A. The least-explored aspects of energy-efficient technology in the Russian Federation remain the water balance and the possibility of implementing rain and meltwater collection systems. These modern technologies are used exclusively for new buildings due to a lack of government directive to create project documentation during the planning of major renovations and reconstruction that would include the collection and reuse of rainwater. Energy-efficient technology for rain and meltwater collection is currently applied only to new buildings, even though research has proved that using rainwater is safe and offers a huge step forward in terms of eco-efficiency analysis and water innovation. Where conservation is mandatory, making changes to protected sites is prohibited. In most cases, the protected site is the cultural heritage building itself, including the main walls and roof. However, the installation of a second water supply system and collection of rainwater would not affect the protected building itself. Water efficiency in St. Petersburg is currently considered only from the point of view of the installation that regulates the flow of the pipeline shutoff valves. The development of technical guidelines for the use of grey- and/or rainwater to meet the needs of residential buildings during reconstruction or renovation is not yet complete. The ideas for water treatment, collection and distribution systems presented in this study should be taken into consideration during the reconstruction or renovation of residential cultural heritage buildings under the protection of KGIOP and UNESCO. The methodology applied also has the potential to be extended to other cultural heritage sites in northern countries and lands with an average annual rainfall of over 600 mm to cover average toilet-flush needs.

Keywords: cultural heritage, energy efficiency, renovation, rainwater collection, reconstruction, water management, water supply

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Authors: M. Soleimani, D. Cree, C. Chafe, L. Bates

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The accidental release of petroleum products into the environment could have harmful consequences to our ecosystem. Different techniques such as mechanical separation, membrane filtration, incineration, treatment processes using enzymes and dispersants, bioremediation, and sorption process using sorbents have been applied for oil spill remediation. Most of the techniques investigated are too costly or do not have high enough efficiency. This study was conducted to determine the sorption performance of hemp byproducts (cellulosic materials) in terms of sorption capacity and kinetics for hydrophobic and hydrophilic fluids. In this study, heavy oil, light oil, diesel fuel, and water/water vapor were used as sorbate fluids. Hemp stalk in different forms, including loose material (hammer milled (HM) and shredded (Sh) with low bulk densities) and densified forms (pellet form (P) and crumbled pellets (CP)) with high bulk densities, were used as sorbents. The sorption/retention tests were conducted according to ASTM 726 standard. For a quick-purpose application of the sorbents, the sorption tests were conducted for 15 min, and for an ideal sorption capacity of the materials, the tests were carried out for 24 h. During the test, the sorbent material was exposed to the fluid by immersion, followed by filtration through a stainless-steel wire screen. Water vapor adsorption was carried out in a controlled environment chamber with the capability of controlling relative humidity (RH) and temperature. To determine the kinetics of sorption for each fluid and sorbent, the retention capacity also was determined intervalley for up to 24 h. To analyze the kinetics of sorption, pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second order and intraparticle diffusion models were employed with the objective of minimal deviation of the experimental results from the models. The results indicated that HM and Sh materials had the highest sorption capacity for the hydrophobic fluids with approximately 6 times compared to P and CP materials. For example, average retention values of heavy oil on HM and Sh was 560% and 470% of the mass of the sorbents, respectively. Whereas, the retention of heavy oil on P and CP was up to 85% of the mass of the sorbents. This lower sorption capacity for P and CP can be due to the less exposed surface area of these materials and compacted voids or capillary tubes in the structures. For water uptake application, HM and Sh resulted in at least 40% higher sorption capacity compared to those obtained for P and CP. On average, the performance of sorbate uptake from high to low was as follows: water, heavy oil, light oil, diesel fuel. The kinetic analysis indicated that the second-pseudo order model can describe the sorption process of the oil and diesel better than other models. However, the kinetics of water absorption was better described by the pseudo-first-order model. Acetylation of HM materials could improve its oil and diesel sorption to some extent. Water vapor adsorption of hemp fiber was a function of temperature and RH, and among the models studied, the modified Oswin model was the best model in describing this phenomenon.

Keywords: environment, fiber, petroleum, sorption

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Authors: M. Irannezhad, E. H. N. Gashti, U. Moback, B. Kløve

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Climate change because of increases in concentration level of greenhouse gases emissions to the atmosphere will result in mean sea level rise about +1 m by 2100. To prevent coastal floods resulted from the sea level rising, different flood control structures have been built, e.g. the Thames barrier on the Thames River in London (UK), with acceptable protection levels at least so far. Gothenburg located on the southwest coast of Sweden, with the River Göta älv running through it, is one of vulnerable cities to the accelerated rises in mean sea level. Developing a water level model by MATLAB, we evaluated using a sea barrage in the Göta älv River as the flood control structure for protecting the Gothenburg city during this century. Considering three operational scenarios for two barriers in upstream and downstream, the highest sea level was estimated to + 2.95 m above the current mean sea level by 2100. To verify flood protection against such high sea levels, both barriers have to be closed. To prevent high water level in the River Göta älv reservoir, the barriers would be open when the sea level is low. The suggested flood control structures would successfully protect the city from flooding events during this century.

Keywords: climate change, flood control structures, gothenburg, sea level rising, water level mode

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Authors: Noori Shafiqullah

Abstract:

Millions of people reside downstream of river basins that heavily rely on snowmelt originating from the Hindu Kush (HK) region. Snowmelt plays a critical role as a primary water source in these areas. This study aimed to evaluate snowfall and snowmelt characteristics in the HK region across altitudes ranging from 2019m to 4533m. To achieve this, the study employed a combination of remote sensing techniques and the Snow Model (SM) to analyze the spatial and temporal distribution of Snow Water Equivalent (SWE). By integrating the simulated Snow-cover Area (SCA) with data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), the study optimized the Precipitation Gradient (PG), snowfall assessment, and the degree-day factor (DDF) for snowmelt distribution. Ground observed data from various elevations were used to calculate a temperature lapse rate of -7.0 (°C km-1). Consequently, the DDF value was determined as 3 (mm °C-1 d-1) for altitudes below 3000m and 3 to 4 (mm °C-1 d-1) for higher altitudes above 3000m. Moreover, the distribution of precipitation varies with elevation, with the PG being 0.001 (m-1) at lower elevations below 4000m and 0 (m-1) at higher elevations above 4000m. This study successfully utilized the SM to assess SCA and SWE by incorporating the two optimized parameters. The analysis of simulated SCA and MODIS data yielded coefficient determinations of R2, resulting in values of 0.95 and 0.97 for the years 2014-2015, 2015-2016, and 2016-2017, respectively. These results demonstrate that the SM is a valuable tool for managing water resources in mountainous watersheds such as the HK, where data scarcity poses a challenge."

Keywords: improved MODIS, experiment, snow water equivalent, snowmelt

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Authors: Nada Verdel, Tomaz Rijavec, Albin Pintar, Ales Lapanje

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Objectives: White water circuits of woodfree paper mills contain suspended, dissolved, and colloidal particles, such as cellulose, starch, paper sizings, and dyes. By closing the white water circuits, these particles start to accumulate and affect the production. Due to high amount of organic matter that scavenge radicals and adsorbs onto catalyst surfaces, treatment of white water with photocatalysis is inappropriate. The most suitable approach should be bioaugmentation-assisted bioremediation. Accordingly, objectives were: - to isolate bacteria capable of degrading organic compounds used for the papermaking process - to select the most active bacteria for bioaugmentation. Status: The state-of-the-art of bioaugmentation of pulp and paper mill effluents is mostly based on biodegradation of lignin. Whereas in white water circuits of woodfree paper mills only papermaking compounds are present. As far as one can tell from the literature, the study on degradation activities of bacteria for all possible compounds of the papermaking process is a novelty. Methodology: The main parameters of the selected white water were systematically analyzed during a period of two months. Bacteria were isolated on selective media with particular carbon source. Organic substances used as carbon source either enter white water circuits as base paper or as recycled broke. The screening of bacterial activities for starch, cellulose, latex, polyvinyl alcohol, alkyl ketene dimers, and resin acids was followed by addition of lugol. Degraders of polycyclic aromatic dyes were selected by cometabolism tests; cometabolism is simultaneous biodegradation of two compounds, in which the degradation of the second compound depends on the presence of the first. The obtained strains were identified by 16S rRNA sequencing. Findings: 335 autochthonous strains were isolated on plates with selected carbon source. The isolated strains were selected according to degradation of the particular carbon source. The ultimate degraders of cationic starch, cellulose, and sizings are Pseudomonas sp. NV-CE12-CF and Aeromonas sp. NV-RES19-BTP. The most active strains capable of degrading azo dyes are Aeromonas sp. NV-RES19-BTP and Sphingomonas sp. NV-B14-CF. Klebsiella sp. NV-Y14A-BTP degrade polycyclic aromatic direct blue 15 and also yellow dye, Agromyces sp. NV-RED15A-BF and Cellulosimicrobium sp. NV-A4-BF are specialists for whitener and Aeromonas sp. NV-RES19-BTP is general degrader of all compounds. To the white water adapted bacteria were isolated and selected according to their degradation activities for particular organic substances. Mostly isolated bacteria are specialized to lower the competition in the microbial community. Degraders of readily-biodegradable compounds do not degrade recalcitrant polycyclic aromatic dyes and vice versa. General degraders are rare.

Keywords: bioaugmentation, biodegradation of azo dyes, cometabolism, smart wastewater treatment technologies

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