Search results for: water management.

Authors: Zahra Morshedi

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Environmental considerations have become an integral part of developmental thinking and decision making in many countries. It is growing rapidly in importance as a discipline of its own. Preventive approaches have been used at the evolutional process of environmental management as a broad and dynamic system for dealing with pollution and environmental degradation. In this regard, Environmental Assessment as an activity for identification and prediction of project’s impacts carried out in the world and its legal significance dates back to late 1960. In Iran, according to the Article 2 of Environmental Protection Act, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) should be prepared for seven categories of project. This article has been actively implementing by Department of Environment at 1997. World Bank in 1989 attempted to introducing application of Environmental Assessment for making decision about projects which are required financial assistance in developing countries. So, preparing EIA for obtaining World Bank loan was obligated. Alborz Project is one of the World Bank Projects in Iran which is environmentally significant. Seven out of ten W.B safeguard policies were considered at this project. In this paper, Alborz project, objectives, safeguard policies and role of environmental management will be elaborated

Keywords: AILWMP, EIA, Environmental Management, Safeguard Policies.

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Authors: Pennapa Palapin

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This study aimed to examine the management and development of forest tourism Kamchanoad. Ban Dung, Udon Thani sustainability. Data were collected by means of qualitative research including in-depth interviews, semi- structured, and then the data were summarized and discussed in accordance with the objectives. And make a presentation in the form of lectures. The target population for the study consisted of 16 people, including representatives from government agencies, community leaders and the community. The results showed that Guidelines for the Management and Development of Forest Tourism Kamchanoad include management of buildings and infrastructure such as roads, water, electricity, toilets. Other developments are the establishment of a service center that provides information and resources to facilitate tourists.; nature trails and informative signage to educate visitors on the path to the jungle Kamchanoad; forest activities for tourists who are interested only in occasional educational activities such as vegetation, etc.; disseminating information on various aspects of tourism through various channels in both Thailand and English, as well as a web site to encourage community involvement in the planning and management of tourism together with the care and preservation of natural resources and preserving the local cultural tourist area of Kamchanoad.

Keywords: Management and Development Guidelines, Tourist site, Sustainability.

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Authors: Z. Pavlík, J. Fořt, J. Žumár, M. Pavlíková, R. Černý

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The cup method is applied for the measurement of water vapor transport properties of porous materials worldwide. However, in practical applications the experimental results are often used without taking into account some secondary effects which can play an important role under specific conditions. In this paper, the effect of temperature on water vapor transport properties of cellular concrete is studied, together with the influence of sample thickness. At first, the bulk density, matrix density, total open porosity and sorption and desorption isotherms are measured for material characterization purposes. Then, the steady state cup method is used for determination of water vapor transport properties, whereas the measurements are performed at several temperatures and for three different sample thicknesses.

Keywords: Water vapor transport, cellular concrete, cup method, temperature, sample thickness.

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Authors: Hirich A., Rami A., Laajaj K., Choukr-Allah R., Jacobsen S-E., El youssfi L., El Omari H.

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Yield and Crop Water Productivity are crucial issues in sustainable agriculture, especially in high-demand resource crops such as sweet corn. This study was conducted to investigate agronomic responses such as plant growth, yield and soil parameters (EC and Nitrate accumulation) to several deficit irrigation treatments (100, 75, 50, 25 and 0% of ETm) applied during vegetative growth stage, rainfed treatment was also tested. The finding of this research indicates that under deficit irrigation during vegetative growth stage applying 75% of ETm lead to increasing of 19.4% in terms of fresh ear yield, 9.4% in terms of dry grain yield, 10.5% in terms of number of ears per plant, 11.5% for the 1000 grains weight and 19% in terms of crop water productivity compared with fully irrigated treatment. While those parameters in addition to root, shoot and plant height has been affected by deficit irrigation during vegetative growth stage when increasing water stress degree more than 50% of ETm.

Keywords: Leaf area, yield, crop water productivity, water saving

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Authors: Nahlah Abbas, Saleh A. Wasimi, Nadhir Al-Ansari

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The Greater Zab and Lesser Zab are the major tributaries of Tigris River contributing the largest flow volumes into the river. The impacts of climate change on water resources in these basins have not been well addressed. To gain a better understanding of the effects of climate change on water resources of the study area in near future (2049-2069) as well as in distant future (2080-2099), Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was applied. The model was first calibrated for the period from 1979 to 2004 to test its suitability in describing the hydrological processes in the basins. The SWAT model showed a good performance in simulating streamflow. The calibrated model was then used to evaluate the impacts of climate change on water resources. Six general circulation models (GCMs) from phase five of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) under three Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, and RCP 8.5 for periods of 2049-2069 and 2080-2099 were used to project the climate change impacts on these basins. The results demonstrated a significant decline in water resources availability in the future.

Keywords: Tigris River, climate change, water resources, SWAT.

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Authors: Manel Mosbahi

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The risk of water erosion is one of the main environmental concerns in the southern Mediterranean regions. Thus, quantification of soil loss is an important issue for soil and water conservation managers. The objective of this paper is to examine the applicability of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model in The Sarrath river catchment, North of Tunisia, and to identify the most vulnerable areas in order to help manager implement an effective management program. The spatial analysis of the results shows that 7 % of the catchment experiences very high erosion risk, in need for suitable conservation measures to be adopted on a priority basis. The spatial distribution of erosion risk classes estimated 3% high, 5,4% tolerable, and 84,6% low. Among the 27 delineated subcatchments only 4 sub-catchments are found to be under high and very high soil loss group, two sub-catchments fell under moderate soil loss group, whereas other sub-catchments are under low soil loss group.

Keywords: Critical source areas, Erosion risk, SWAT model.

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Authors: Mohammad Ahmad, Sander Gersen, Erwin Wilbers

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Carbon capture, transport and underground storage have become a major solution to reduce CO₂ emissions from power plants and other large CO₂ sources. A big part of this captured CO₂ stream is transported at high pressure dense phase conditions and stored in offshore underground depleted oil and gas fields. CO₂ is also transported in offshore pipelines to be used for enhanced oil and gas recovery. The captured CO₂ stream with impurities may contain water that causes severe corrosion problems, flow assurance failure and might damage valves and instrumentations. Thus, free water formation should be strictly prevented. The purpose of this work is to study the solubility of water in pure CO₂ and in CO₂ mixtures under real pipeline pressure (90-150 bar) and temperature operation conditions (5-35°C). A set up was constructed to generate experimental data. The results show the solubility of water in CO₂ mixtures increasing with the increase of the temperature or/and with the increase in pressure. A drop in water solubility in CO₂ is observed in the presence of impurities. The data generated were then used to assess the capabilities of two mixture models: the GERG-2008 model and the EOS-CG model. By generating the solubility data, this study contributes to determine the maximum allowable water content in CO₂ pipelines.

Keywords: Carbon capture and storage, water solubility, equation of states.

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Authors: Ping Du, Masaki Sagehashi, Akihiko Terada, Masaaki Hosomi

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Prediction of benzene transport in soil and volatilization from soil to the atmosphere is important for the preservation of human health and management of contaminated soils. The adequacy of a simple numerical model, assuming two-phase diffusion and equilibrium of liquid/solid adsorption, was investigated by experimental data of benzene concentration in a flux chamber (with headspace) where Andosol and sand were filled. Adsorption experiment for liquid phase was performed to determine an adsorption coefficient. Furthermore, adequacy of vapor phase adsorption was also studied through two runs of experiment using sand with different water content. The results show that the model adequately predicted benzene transport and volatilization from Andosol and sand with water content of 14.0%. In addition, the experiment additionally revealed that vapor phase adsorption should be considered in diffusion model for sand with very low water content.

Keywords: Benzene; Transport Model, Adsorption, Soil Contaminant.

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Authors: L. Parvizsedghy, I. Gkountis, A. Senouci, T. Zayed, M. Alsharqawi, H. El Chanati, M. El-Abbasy, F. Mosleh

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The aging and deterioration of water pipelines in cities worldwide result in more frequent water main breaks, water service disruptions, and flooding damage. Therefore, there is an urgent need for undertaking proper maintenance procedures to avoid breaks and disastrous failures. However, due to budget limitations, the maintenance of water pipeline networks needs to be prioritized through efficient deterioration assessment models. Previous studies focused on the development of structural or physical deterioration assessment models, which require expensive inspection data. But, this paper aims at developing deterioration assessment models for water pipelines using statistical techniques. Several deterioration models were developed based on pipeline size, material type, and soil type using linear regression analysis. The categorical nature of some variables affecting pipeline deterioration was considered through developing several categorical models. The developed models were validated with an average validity percentage greater than 95%. Moreover, sensitivity analysis was carried out against different classifications and it displayed higher importance of age of pipes compared to other factors. The developed models will be helpful for the water municipalities and asset managers to assess the condition of their pipes and prioritize them for maintenance and inspection purposes.

Keywords: Water pipelines, deterioration assessment models, regression analysis.

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Authors: B. J. C. Perera, D. A. Sachindra, W. Godoy., A.F. Barton, F. Huang

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Many water supply systems in Australia are currently undergoing significant reconfiguration due to reductions in long term average rainfall and resulting low inflows to water supply reservoirs since the second half of the 20th century. When water supply systems undergo change, it is necessary to develop new operating rules, which should consider climate, because the climate change is likely to further reduce inflows. In addition, water resource systems are increasingly intended to be operated to meet complex and multiple objectives representing social, economic, environmental and sustainability criteria. This is further complicated by conflicting preferences on these objectives from diverse stakeholders. This paper describes a methodology to develop optimum operating rules for complex multi-reservoir systems undergoing significant change, considering all of the above issues. The methodology is demonstrated using the Grampians water supply system in northwest Victoria, Australia. Initial work conducted on the project is also presented in this paper.

Keywords: Climate change, Multi-objective planning, Pareto optimal; Stakeholder preference, Statistical downscaling, Water supply systems.

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Authors: Shyh-Ming Chern, Kai-Ting Hsieh

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Organic solvents find various applications in many industrial sectors and laboratories as dilution solvents, dispersion solvents, cleaners and even lubricants. Millions of tons of spent organic solvents (SOS) are generated each year worldwide, prompting the need for more efficient, cleaner and safer methods for the treatment and resource recovery of SOS. As a result, acetone, selected as a model compound for SOS, was gasified in supercritical water to assess the feasibility of resource recovery of SOS by means of supercritical water processes. Experiments were conducted with an autoclave reactor. Gaseous product is mainly consists of H₂, CO, CO₂ and CH₄. The effects of three major operating parameters, the reaction temperature, from 673 to 773K, the dosage of oxidizing agent, from 0.3 to 0.5 stoichiometric oxygen, and the concentration of acetone in the feed, 0.1 and 0.2M, on the product gas composition, yield and heating value were evaluated with the water density fixed at about 0.188g/ml.

Keywords: Acetone, gasification, SCW, supercritical water.

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Authors: Herti Utami, Sutijan, Roto, Wahyudi Budi Sediawan

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α-Pinene is the main component of the most turpentine oils. The hydration of α-pinene with acid catalysts leads to a complex mixture of monoterpenes. In order to obtain more valuable products, the α-pinene in the turpentine can be hydrated in dilute mineral acid solutions to produce α-terpineol. The design of separation processes requires information on phase equilibrium and related thermodynamic properties. This paper reports the results of study on liquid-liquid equilibrium (LLE) of system containing α- pinene + water and α-terpineol + water. Binary LLE for α-pinene + water system, and α-terpineol + water systems were determined by experiment at 301K and atmospheric pressure. The two component mixture was stirred for about 30min, then the mixture was left for about 2h for complete phase separation. The composition of both phases was analyzed by using a Gas Chromatograph. The experimental data were correlated by considering both NRTL and UNIQUAC activity coefficient models. The LLE data for the system of α-pinene + water and α-terpineol + water were correlated successfully by the NRTL model. The experimental data were not satisfactorily fitted by the UNIQUAC model. The NRTL model (α =0.3) correlates the LLE data for the system of α-pinene + water at 301K with RMSD of 0.0404%. And the NRTL model (α =0.61) at 301K with RMSD of 0.0058 %. The NRTL model (α =0.3) correlates the LLE data for the system of α- terpineol + water at 301K with RMSD of 0.1487% and the NRTL model (α =0.6) at 301K with RMSD of 0.0032%, between the experimental and calculated mole fractions.

Keywords: α-Pinene, α-Terpineol, Liquid-liquid Equilibrium, NRTL model, UNIQUAC model

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Authors: Julia Terlet, Thomas H. Beach, Yacine Rezgui

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Urbanization, population growth, climate change and the current increase in water demand have made the adoption of innovative demand management strategies crucial to the water industry. Water conservation in urban areas has to be improved by encouraging consumers to adopt more sustainable habits and behaviours. This includes informing and educating them about their households’ water consumption and advising them about ways to achieve significant savings on a daily basis. This paper presents a study conducted in the context of the European FP7 WISDOM Project. By integrating innovative Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) frameworks, this project aims at achieving a change in water savings. More specifically, behavioural change will be attempted by implementing smart meters and in-home displays in a trial group of selected households within Cardiff (UK). Using this device, consumers will be able to receive feedback and information about their consumption but will also have the opportunity to compare their consumption to the consumption of other consumers and similar households. Following an initial survey, it appeared necessary to implement these in-home displays in a way that matches consumer's motivations to save water. The results demonstrated the importance of various factors influencing people’s daily water consumption. Both the relevant literature on the subject and the results of our survey therefore led us to include within the in-home device a variety of elements. It first appeared crucial to make consumers aware of the economic aspect of water conservation and especially of the significant financial savings that can be achieved by reducing their household’s water consumption on the long term. Likewise, reminding participants of the impact of their consumption on the environment by making them more aware of water scarcity issues around the world will help increasing their motivation to save water. Additionally, peer pressure and social comparisons with neighbours and other consumers, accentuated by the use of online social networks such as Facebook or Twitter, will likely encourage consumers to reduce their consumption. Participants will also be able to compare their current consumption to their past consumption and to observe the consequences of their efforts to save water through diverse graphs and charts. Finally, including a virtual water game within the display will help the whole household, children and adults, to achieve significant reductions by providing them with simple tips and advice to save water on a daily basis. Moreover, by setting daily and weekly goals for them to reach, the game will expectantly generate cooperation between family members. Members of each household will indeed be encouraged to work together to reduce their water consumption within different rooms of the house, such as the bathroom, the kitchen, or the toilets. Overall, this study will allow us to understand the elements that attract consumers the most and the features that are most commonly used by the participants. In this way, we intend to determine the main factors influencing water consumption in order to identify the measures that will most encourage water conservation in both the long and short term.

Keywords: Behavioural change, ICT technologies, water consumption, water conservation.

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Authors: A.N. Ilia Anisa, Abdurahman H.Nour

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The influence of viscosity on droplet diameter for water-in-crude oil (w/o) emulsion with two different ratios; 20-80 % and 50-50 % w/o emulsion was examined in the Brookfield Rotational Digital Rheometer. The emulsion was prepared with sorbitan sesquiolate (Span 83) act as emulsifier at varied temperature and stirring speed in rotation per minute (rpm). Results showed that the viscosity of w/o emulsion was strongly augmented by increasing volume of water and decreased the temperature. The changing of viscosity also altered the droplet size distribution. Changing of droplet diameter was depends on the viscosity and the behavior of emulsion either Newtonian or non-Newtonian.

Keywords: Diameter, phase ratio, viscosity, water-in-crude oil(w/o).

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Authors: A. Keramati, M. A. Azadeh

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In this paper the effects of top management commitment on knowledge management activities has been analyzed. This research has been conducted as a case study in an academic environment. The data collection was carried out in the form of semi-structured interview with an interview guide. This study shows the effects of knowledge management strategic plan developing in academia strategic plan on knowledge management success. This paper shows the importance top management commitment factors including strategic plan, communication, and training on knowledge management success in academia. In particular the most important role of Strategic planning in knowledge management success is clarified. This study explores one of the necessary organizational infrastructures of successful implementation of knowledge management. The idea of this research could be applied in the other context especially in the industrial organizations.

Keywords: Knowledge Management, top management'scommitment, knowledge management's Success.

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Authors: Emine Ebru Demirci, Remzi Sahin

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The purpose of this study is to compare Self Compacting Concrete (SCC) and Conventional Concrete (CC) in terms of their capillary water absorption. During the comparison of SCC and CC, the effects of two different factors were also investigated: concrete strength class and curing condition. In the study, both SCC and CC were produced in three different concrete classes (C25, C50 and C70) and the other parameter (i.e. curing condition) was determined as two levels: moisture and air curing. It was observed that, for both curing environments and all strength classes of concrete, SCCs had lower capillary water absorption values than that of CCs. It was also detected that, for both SCC and CC, capillary water absorption values of samples kept in moisture curing were significantly lower than that of samples stored in air curing. Additionally, it was determined that capillary water absorption values for both SCC and CC decrease with increasing strength class of concrete for both curing environments.

Keywords: Capillary water absorption, curing condition, reinforced concrete beam, self-compacting concrete.

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Authors: K. Hiro, Y. Imai, M. Tanji, H. Deguchi, K. Hatari

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Negative pressures of liquids have been expected to contribute many kinds of technology. Nevertheless, experiments for subjecting liquids which have not too small volumes to negative pressures are difficult even now. The reason of the difficulties is because the liquids tend to generate cavities easily. In order to remove cavitation nuclei, an apparatus for enclosing water into a metal Berthelot tube under vacuum conditions was developed. By using the apparatus, negative pressures for water rose to ca. -20 MPa. This is the highest value for water in metal Berthelot tubes. Results were explained by a traditional crevice model. Keywords

Keywords: Berthelot method, negative pressure, cavitation

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Authors: Saad S. Alrwashdeh, Henning Markötter, Handri Ammari, Jan Haußmann, Tobias Arlt, Joachim Scholta, Ingo Manke

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In this investigation, synchrotron X-ray imaging is used to study water transport inside polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. Two measurement techniques are used, namely in-situ radiography and quasi-in-situ tomography combining together in order to reveal the relationship between the structures of the microporous layers (MPLs) and the gas diffusion layers (GDLs), the operation temperature and the water flow. The developed cell is equipped with a thick GDL and a high back pressure MPL. It is found that these modifications strongly influence the overall water transport in the whole adjacent GDM.

Keywords: Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell, microporous layer, water transport, radiography, tomography.

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Authors: François Chiocchio, Mahshid Gharibpour

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Regardless of the extent to which succession management is implemented in the private sector, it is still overlooked in the public sector. Traditional succession management is evolving providing a better alignment between business strategies and HR strategies. Succession management brings sustainable effectiveness for succession programs through career path development, knowledge and skill transfer, job retention, as well as high-potential candidates’ empowerment for upcoming vacancies. By way of a systematic literature review, we bring into focus strategic succession management in public organizations and discuss best ways of implementation. 

Keywords: Succession management, strategic succession management, public organization, succession management model.

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Authors: Mst. Nilufa Sultana, Shatirah Akib, Muhammad Aqeel Ashraf, Mohamed Roseli Zainal Abidin

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Most people today are aware that global climate change is not just a scientific theory but also a fact with worldwide consequences. Global climate change is due to rapid urbanization, industrialization, high population growth and current vulnerability of the climatic condition. Water is becoming scarce as a result of global climate change. To mitigate the problem arising due to global climate change and its drought effect, harvesting rainwater from green roofs, an environmentally-friendly and versatile technology, is becoming one of the best assessment criteria and gaining attention in Malaysia. This paper addresses the sustainability of green roofs and examines the quality of water harvested from green roofs in comparison to rainwater. The factors that affect the quality of such water, taking into account, for example, roofing materials, climatic conditions, the frequency of rainfall frequency and the first flush. A green roof was installed on the Humid Tropic Centre (HTC) is a place of the study on monitoring program for urban Stormwater Management Manual for Malaysia (MSMA), Eco-Hydrological Project in Kuala Lumpur, and the rainwater was harvested and evaluated on the basis of four parameters i.e., conductivity, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH and temperature. These parameters were found to fall between Class I and Class III of the Interim National Water Quality Standards (INWQS) and the Water Quality Index (WQI). Some preliminary treatment such as disinfection and filtration could likely to improve the value of these parameters to class I. This review paper clearly indicates that there is a need for more research to address other microbiological and chemical quality parameters to ensure that the harvested water is suitable for use potable water for domestic purposes. The change in all physical, chemical and microbiological parameters with respect to storage time will be a major focus of future studies in this field.

Keywords: Green roofs, INWQS, MSMA-SME, Rainwater harvesting.

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Authors: T. Boonraksa, B. Marungsri

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This paper presents the experimental results on role of ionic solutions affect water treeing propagation in cross-linked polyethylene insulation for high voltage cable. To study the water treeing expansion due to the ionic solutions, discs of 4mm thickness and 4cm diameter were taken from 115 kV XLPE insulation cable and were used as test specimen in this study. Ionic solutions composed of CuSO4, FeSO4, Na2SO4 and K2SO4 were used. Each specimen was immersed in 0.1 mole ionic solutions and was tested for 120 hrs. under a voltage stress at 7 kV AC rms, 1000 Hz. The results show that Na2SO4 and CuSO4solutions play an important role in the expansion of water treeing and cause degradation of the crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) in the presence of the applied electric field.

Keywords: Ionic Solutions, Water Treeing, Water treeing Expansion, Cross-linked Polyethylene (XLPE).

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Authors: M. A. Gad, A. Z. Al-Herrawy

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Microsporidia comprises various pathogenic species can infect humans by means of water. Moreover, chlorine disinfection of drinking-water has limitations against this protozoan pathogen. A total of 48 water samples were collected from two drinking water treatment plants having two different filtration systems (slow sand filter and rapid sand filter) during one year period. Samples were collected from inlet and outlet of each plant. Samples were separately filtrated through nitrocellulose membrane (142 mm, 0.45 µm), then eluted and centrifuged. The obtained pellet from each sample was subjected to DNA extraction, then, amplification using genus-specific primer for microsporidia. Each microsporidia-PCR positive sample was performed by two species specific primers for Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Encephalitozoon intestinalis. The results of the present study showed that the percentage of removal for microsporidia through different treatment processes reached its highest rate in the station using slow sand filters (100%), while the removal by rapid sand filter system was 81.8%. Statistically, the two different drinking water treatment plants (slow and rapid) had significant effect for removal of microsporidia. Molecular identification of microsporidia-PCR positive samples using two different primers for Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Encephalitozoon intestinalis showed the presence of the two pervious species in the inlet water of the two stations, while Encephalitozoon intestinalis was detected in the outlet water only. In conclusion, the appearance of virulent microsporidia in treated drinking water may cause potential health threat.

Keywords: Removal, efficacy, microsporidia, drinking water treatment plants, PCR.

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Authors: P. S. A. Souza, M. R. C. Marques, M. M. Rigo, A. A. Cerqueira, J. L. Paiva, F. Merçon, D. V. Perez

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Produced water (PW), which is water extracted along with oil, is the largest waste stream in the oil and gas industry. With the proper treatment, this wastewater can be used in agricultural irrigation. This study evaluated the effects the application of PW treated by electroflocculation (EF) and combined electroflocculation-reverse osmosis (EF-RO) on soil salinity and sodification parameters. Excessive sodium levels in PW treated by EF may affect soil structural stability and plant growth, and tends to accumulate in upper layers, displacing the nutrient K to deeper layers of the soil profile. PW treated by EF-RO did not promote salinization and soil sodification, indicating that this combined technique may be a viable alternative for oily water treatment aiming at irrigation use in semiarid regions.

Keywords: Electroflocculation, irrigation, produced water, reverse osmosis, soil.

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Authors: A. Doaa M. Atia, Faten H. Fahmy, Ninet M. Ahmed, Hassen T. Dorrah

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Temperature is one of the most principle factors affects aquaculture system. It can cause stress and mortality or superior environment for growth and reproduction. This paper presents the control of pond water temperature using artificial intelligence technique. The water temperature is very important parameter for shrimp growth. The required temperature for optimal growth is 34oC, if temperature increase up to 38oC it cause death of the shrimp, so it is important to control water temperature. Solar thermal water heating system is designed to supply an aquaculture pond with the required hot water in Mersa Matruh in Egypt. Neural networks are massively parallel processors that have the ability to learn patterns through a training experience. Because of this feature, they are often well suited for modeling complex and non-linear processes such as those commonly found in the heating system. Artificial neural network is proposed to control water temperature due to Artificial intelligence (AI) techniques are becoming useful as alternate approaches to conventional techniques. They have been used to solve complicated practical problems. Moreover this paper introduces a complete mathematical modeling and MATLAB SIMULINK model for the aquaculture system. The simulation results indicate that, the control unit success in keeping water temperature constant at the desired temperature by controlling the hot water flow rate.

Keywords: artificial neural networks, aquaculture, forced circulation hot water system,

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Authors: Hossein Lotfizadeh, André McDonald, Amit Kumar

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Renewable energy resources, which can supplement space and water heating for residential buildings, can have a noticeable impact on natural gas consumption and air pollution. This study considers a technical analysis of a combined solar water heating system with evacuated tube solar collectors for different solar coverage, ranging from 20% to 100% of the total roof area of a typical residential building located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The alternative heating systems were conventional (non-condensing) and condensing tankless water heaters and condensing boilers that were coupled to solar water heating systems. The performance of the alternative heating systems was compared to a traditional heating system, consisting of a conventional boiler, applied to houses of various gross floor areas. A comparison among the annual natural gas consumption, carbon dioxide (CO₂) mitigation, and emissions for the various house sizes indicated that the combined solar heating system can reduce the natural gas consumption and CO₂ emissions, and increase CO₂ mitigation for all the systems that were studied. The results suggest that solar water heating systems are potentially beneficial for residential heating system applications in terms of energy savings and CO₂ mitigation.

Keywords: CO2 emissions, CO2 mitigation, natural gas consumption, solar water heating system, tankless water heater.

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Authors: Abu Salim Mustafa

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Water plays a major role in maintaining life on earth, but it can also serve as a matrix for pathogenic organisms, posing substantial health threats to humans. Although, outbreaks of diseases attributable to drinking water may not be common in industrialized countries, they still occur and can lead to serious acute, chronic, or sometimes fatal health consequences. The analysis of drinking water samples from different regions of Kuwait was performed in this study for bacterial and viral contaminations. Drinking tap water samples were collected from 15 different locations of the six Kuwait governorates. All samples were analyzed by confocal microscopy for the presence of bacteria. The samples were cultured in vitro to detect cultivable organisms. DNA was isolated from the cultured organisms and the identity of the bacteria was determined by sequencing the bacterial 16S rRNA genes, followed by BLAST analysis in the database of NCBI, USA. RNA was extracted from water samples and analyzed by real-time PCR for the detection of viruses with potential health risks, i.e. Astrovirus, Enterovirus, Norovirus, Rotavirus, and Hepatitis A. Confocal microscopy showed the presence of bacteria in some water samples. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing of culture grown organisms, followed by BLAST analysis, identified the presence of several non-pathogenic bacterial species. However, one sample had Acinetobacter baumannii, which often causes opportunistic infections in immunocompromised people, but none of the studied viruses could be detected in the drinking water samples analyzed. The results indicate that drinking water samples analyzed from various locations in Kuwait are relatively safe for drinking and do not contain many harmful pathogens.

Keywords: Drinking water, 16S rRNA, microbial diversity, viruses, Kuwait.

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Authors: Niranjali Jayasuirya, Majell Backhausen

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Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) features are increasingly used to treat and manage polluted stormwater runoff in urbanised areas. It is important to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the infrastructure in achieving their intended performance targets after constructing and operating these features overtime. The paper presents the various methods of analysis used to assess the effectiveness of the in-situ WSUD features, such as: onsite visual inspections during operational and non operational periods, maintenance audits and periodic water quality testing. The results will contribute to a better understanding of the operational and maintenance needs of in-situ WSUD features and assist in providing recommendations to better manage life cycle performance.

Keywords: Bio-retention swales, Maintenance plan, Operational plan, Water Sensitive Urban Design, Water quality improvement.

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Authors: Dariush Jafari, Seyed Ali Jafari

Abstract:

The recommended limit for cadmium concentration in potable water is less than 0.005 mg/L. A continuous biosorption process using indigenous red seaweed, Gracilaria corticata, was performed to remove cadmium from the potable water. The process was conducted under fixed conditions and the breakthrough curves were achieved for three consecutive sorption-desorption cycles. A modeling based on Artificial Neural Network (ANN) was employed to fit the experimental breakthrough data. In addition, a simplified semi empirical model, Thomas, was employed for this purpose. It was found that ANN well described the experimental data (R2>0.99) while the Thomas prediction were a bit less successful with R2>0.97. The adjusted design parameters using the nonlinear form of Thomas model was in a good agreement with the experimentally obtained ones. The results approve the capability of ANN to predict the cadmium concentration in potable water.

Keywords: ANN, biosorption, cadmium, packed-bed, potable water.

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Authors: Bruce K. Ferguson

Abstract:

The design requirements for successful human accommodation in urban spaces are well known; and the range of facilities available for meeting urban water quality and quantity requirements is also well established. Their competing requirements must be reconciled in order for urban spaces to be successful for both. This paper outlines the separate human and water imperatives and their interactions in urban spaces. Stormwater management facilities- relative potential contributions to urban spaces are contrasted, and design choices for achieving those potentials are described. This study uses human success of urban space as the evaluative criterion of stormwater amenity: human values call on stormwater facilities to contribute to successful human spaces. Placing water-s contribution under the overall idea of successful urban space is an evolution from previous subjective evaluations. The information is based on photographs and notes from approximately 1,000 stormwater facilities and urban sites collected during the last 35 years in North America and overseas, and the author-s experience on multi-disciplinary design teams. This conceptual study combines the disciplinary roles of engineering, landscape architecture, and sociology in effecting successful urban design.

Keywords: Stormwater, SUDS, Urban design, Values, Urban space.

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Authors: M. Attom, F. Abed, M. Elemam, M. Nazal, N. ElMessalami

Abstract:

—The main objective of this paper is to study the effect of treated waste-water (TWW) on the compaction and compressibility properties of fine soil. Two types of fine soils (clayey soils) were selected for this study and classified as CH soil and Cl type of soil. Compaction and compressibility properties such as optimum water content, maximum dry unit weight, consolidation index and swell index, maximum past pressure and volume change were evaluated using both tap and treated waste water. It was found that the use of treated waste water affects all of these properties. The maximum dry unit weight increased for both soils and the optimum water content decreased as much as 13.6% for highly plastic soil. The significant effect was observed in swell index and swelling pressure of the soils. The swell indexed decreased by as much as 42% and 33% for highly plastic and low plastic soils, respectively, when TWW is used. Additionally, the swelling pressure decreased by as much as 16% for both soil types. The result of this research pointed out that the use of treated waste water has a positive effect on compaction and compression properties of clay soil and promise for potential use of this water in engineering applications. Keywords—Consolidation, proctor compaction, swell index, treated waste-water, volume change.

Keywords: Consolidation, proctor compaction, swell index, treated waste-water, volume change.

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