Search results for: As Samra wastewater treatment plant

Authors: K. E. McPHEE, A. Kahraman, M. Onder, E. Ceyhan, B. Tashtemirov

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Water is the main component of biological processes. Water management is important to obtain higher productivity. In this study, some of the yield components were investigated together with different drought levels. Four chickpea genotypes (CDC Frontier, CDC Luna, Sawyer and Sierra) were grown in pots with 3 different irrigation levels (a dose of 17.5 ml, 35 ml and 70 ml for each pot per day) after three weeks from sowing. In the research, flowering, pod set, pod per plant, fertile pod, double seed/pod, stem diameter, plant weight, seed per plant, 1000 seed weight, seed diameter, vegetation length and weekly plant height were measured. Consequently, significant differences were observed on all the investigated characteristics owing to genotypes (except double seed/pod and stem diameter), water levels (except first pod, seed weight and height on 3rd week) and genotype x water level interaction (except first pod, double seed/pod, seed weight and height).

Keywords: Agronomical characteristics, Cicer arietinum, water levels.

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Authors: S. Dehghan, B. Kiani, A. Kazemi, A. Parizad

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The utilization of renewable energy sources in electric power systems is increasing quickly because of public apprehensions for unpleasant environmental impacts and increase in the energy costs involved with the use of conventional energy sources. Despite the application of these energy sources can considerably diminish the system fuel costs, they can also have significant influence on the system reliability. Therefore an appropriate combination of the system reliability indices level and capital investment costs of system is vital. This paper presents a hybrid wind/photovoltaic plant, with the aim of supplying IEEE reliability test system load pattern while the plant capital investment costs is minimized by applying a hybrid particle swarm optimization (PSO) / harmony search (HS) approach, and the system fulfills the appropriate level of reliability.

Keywords: Distributed Generation, Fuel Cell, HS, Hybrid Power Plant, PSO, Photovoltaic, Reliability.

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Authors: L. Richter, J. Lübkemann, P. Nyhuis

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In order to remain competitive in what is a turbulent environment; businesses must be able to react rapidly to change. The past response to volatile market conditions was to introduce an element of flexibility to production. Nowadays, what is often required is a redesign of factory structures in order to cope with the state of constant flux. The Institute of Production Systems and Logistics is currently developing a descriptive and causal model for the redesign of plant structures as part of an ongoing research project. This article presents the first research findings attained in devising this model.

Keywords: Causal model, change driven factory redesign, factory planning, plant structure.

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Authors: Sui Yan Wong, Keat Ping Yeoh, Chi Wai Hui

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In this study, supercritical steam is introduced to Combined Cycle Power Plant (CCPP) in an attempt to further optimize energy recovery. Subcritical steam is commonly used in the CCPP, operating at maximum pressures around 150-160 bar. Supercritical steam is an alternative to increase heat recovery during vaporization period of water. The idea of improvement using supercritical steam is further examined with the use of exergy, pinch analysis and Aspen Plus simulation.

Keywords: Exergy, pinch, combined cycle power plant, CCPP, supercritical steam.

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Authors: Guillermo Romero-Jiménez, Luis A. Jiménez-Fraustro, Mayolo Salinas-Camacho, Heriberto Avalos-Valenzuela

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A geothermal power plant multiple simulator for operators training is presented. The simulator is designed to be installed in a wireless local area network and has a capacity to train one to six operators simultaneously, each one with an independent simulation session. The sessions must be supervised only by one instructor. The main parts of this multiple simulator are: instructor and operator-s stations. On the instructor station, the instructor controls the simulation sessions, establishes training exercises and supervises each power plant operator in individual way. This station is hosted in a Main Personal Computer (NS) and its main functions are: to set initial conditions, snapshots, malfunctions or faults, monitoring trends, and process and soft-panel diagrams. On the other hand the operators carry out their actions over the power plant simulated on the operator-s stations; each one is also hosted in a PC. The main software of instructor and operator-s stations are executed on the same NS and displayed in PCs through graphical Interactive Process Diagrams (IDP). The geothermal multiple simulator has been installed in the Geothermal Simulation Training Center (GSTC) of the Comisi├│n Federal de Electricidad, (Federal Commission of Electricity, CFE), Mexico, and is being utilized as a part of the training courses for geothermal power plant operators.

Keywords: Geothermal power plant, multiple simulator, training operator.

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Authors: Pankaj Singh Rawat, Rajeew Kumar, Pradeep Ram, Priyanka Pandey

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Wheat is an important cereal crop for food security. Boosting the wheat production and productivity is the major challenge across the nation. Good quality of seed is required for maintaining optimum plant stand which ultimately increases grain yield. Ensuring a good germination is one of the key steps to ensure proper plant stand and moisture assurance during seed germination may help to speed up the germination. The tiny size of nanoparticles may help in entry of water into seed without disturbing their internal structure. Considering above, a laboratory experiment was conducted during 2012-13 at G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, India. The completely randomized design was used for statistical analysis. The experiment was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, the appropriate concentration of nanoparticles for seed treatment was screened. In second phase seed soaking hours of nanoparticles for better seed germination were standardized. Wheat variety UP2526 was taken as test crop. Four nanoparticles (TiO₂, ZnO, nickel and chitosan) were taken for study. The crop germination studies were done in petri dishes and standard package and practices were used to raise the seedlings. The germination studies were done by following standard procedure. In first phase of the experiment, seeds were treated with 50 and 300 ppm of nanoparticles and control was also maintained for comparison. In the second phase of experiment, seeds were soaked for 4 hours, 6 hours and 8 hours with 50 ppm nanoparticles of TiO₂, ZnO, nickel and chitosan along with control treatment to identify the soaking time for better seed germination. Experiment revealed that the application of nanoparticles help to enhance seed germination. The study revealed that seed treatment with  nanoparticles at 50 ppm concentration increases root length, shoot length, seedling length, shoot dry weight, seedling dry weight, seedling vigour index I and seedling vigour index II as compared to seed soaking at 300 ppm concentration. This experiment showed that seed soaking up to 4 hr was better as compared to 6 and 8 hrs. Seed soaking with nanoparticles specially TiO₂, ZnO, and chitosan proved to enhance germination and seedling growth indices of wheat crop.

Keywords: Nanoparticles, seed germination, seed soaking, wheat.

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Authors: G. Mesfin, M. Shuhaimi

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This paper proposes a new optimization techniques for the optimization a gas processing plant uncertain feed and product flows. The problem is first formulated using a continuous linear deterministic approach. Subsequently, the single and joint chance constraint models for steady state process with timedependent uncertainties have been developed. The solution approach is based on converting the probabilistic problems into their equivalent deterministic form and solved at different confidence levels Case study for a real plant operation has been used to effectively implement the proposed model. The optimization results indicate that prior decision has to be made for in-operating plant under uncertain feed and product flows by satisfying all the constraints at 95% confidence level for single chance constrained and 85% confidence level for joint chance constrained optimizations cases.

Keywords: Butane, Feed composition, LPG, Productspecification, Propane.

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Authors: Shigenori Togashi, Mitsuhiro Matsuzawa

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A pilot plant for continuous flow microwave-assisted chemical reaction combined with microreactors was developed and water heating tests were conducted for evaluation of the developed plant. We developed a microwave apparatus having a single microwave generator that can heat reaction solutions in four reaction fields simultaneously in order to increase throughput. We also designed a four-branch waveguide using electromagnetic simulation, and found that the transmission efficiency at 99%. Finally, we developed the pilot plant using the developed microwave apparatus and conducted water heating tests. The temperatures in the respective reaction fields were controlled within ±1.1 K at 353.2 K. Moreover, the energy absorption rates by the water were about 90% in the respective reaction fields, whereas the energy absorption rate was about 40% when 100 cm3 of water was heated by a commercially available multimode microwave chemical reactor.

Keywords: Microwave, Microreactor, Heating, Electromagnetic Simulation

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Authors: Himali N. Balasooriya, Kithsiri B. Dassanayake, Saman Seneweera, Said Ajlouni

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Increase in atmospheric CO₂ concentration [CO₂] and ambient temperature associated with changing climatic conditions will have significant impacts on agriculture crop productivity and quality. Independent effects of the above two environmental variables on the growth, yield and quality of strawberry were well documented. Higher temperatures over the optimum range (20-25ºC) lead to crop failures, while elevated [CO₂] stimulated plant growth and yield but compromised the physical quality of fruits. However, there is very limited understanding of the interaction between these variables on the plant growth, yield and quality. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the interactive effect of high temperature and elevated [CO₂] on growth, yield and quality of strawberries. Strawberry cultivars ‘Albion’ and ‘San Andreas’ were grown under six different combinations of two temperatures (25 and 30ºC) and three [CO₂] (400, 650 and 950 µmol mol^-1) in controlled-environmental growth chambers. Plant growth measurements such as plant height, canopy area, number of flowers, and fruit yield were measured during phonological development. Photosynthesis and transpiration, the ratio of intercellular to atmospheric [CO₂] (Ci/Ca) were measured to estimate the physiological adjustment to climate stress. The impact of temperature and [CO₂] interaction on growth and yield of strawberry was significant (p < 0.05). Across both cultivars, highest fruit yields were observed at 650 µmol mol^-1 [CO₂], which was particularly clear at 25°C. The fruit yield gradually decreased at 30°C under all the treatment combinations. However, photosynthesis rates were highest at 650 µmol mol^-1 [CO₂] but no increment was found at 900 µmol mol^-1 [CO₂]. Interestingly, Ci/Ca ratio increased with increasing atmospheric [CO₂] which was predominant at high temperature. Similarly, fruit yield was substantially reduced at high [CO₂] under high temperature. Our findings suggest that increased Ci/Ca ratio at high temperature is likely reduces the photosynthesis and thus yield response to elevated [CO₂].

Keywords: Atmospheric [CO2], fruit yield, strawberry, temperature.

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Authors: Maher J. Tadros, Naji K. Al-Mefleh

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The evaluation of non-conventional water resources on seed germination and seedling growth performance at early growth stages is still in progress especially in forage crops. This study was designed to test the effect of four types of water qualities (treated wastewater (TWW), industrial water (IW), grey water (GW), and Distilled water (DW)) on germination and early seedling vigor of Leucaena leucocephala. The results showed that the germination was not significantly affected by the different water qualities. Seed germination reached maximum after 17, 14, 14, and 21 days under GW, IW, TWW, and DW treatments, respectively. The highest mean of shoot length was scored under the GW treatment. And, the highest mean of root length was scored under DW which was not significant from GW treatment. The means of shoot fresh was the highest under the TWW. The means of root fresh weight was not significantly different from each other's under different treatments. The growth performance was in progress with no mortality during 21 days of growth. Thus, the best non-conventional water qualities alternatives based on the cleanness, nutrients, and toxicity are the GW, TWW and IW, respectively.

Keywords: Seed germination, Growth performance, Leucaena, Multipurpose forest trees, Waste water, Grey water

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Authors: D. E. Egirani, J. E. Andrews, A. R. Baker

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This study investigates sorption of Cu and Zn contained in natural mine wastewater, using mixed mineral systems in sulfidic-anoxic condition. The mine wastewater was obtained from disused mine workings at Cwmheidol in Wales, United Kingdom. These contaminants flow into water courses. These water courses include River Rheidol. In this River fishing activities exist. In an attempt to reduce Cu-Zn levels of fish intake in the watercourses, single mineral systems and 1:1 mixed mineral systems of clay and goethite were tested with the mine waste water for copper and zinc removal at variable pH. Modelling of hydroxyl complexes was carried out using phreeqc method. Reactions using batch mode technique was conducted at room temperature. There was significant differences in the behaviour of copper and zinc removal using mixed mineral systems when compared  to single mineral systems. All mixed mineral systems sorb more Cu than Zn when tested with mine wastewater.

Keywords: Cu- Zn, hydroxyl complexes, kinetics, mixed mineral systems, reactivity

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Authors: A. B. A. Ahmed, Amar, D. I., R. M. Taha

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This research aims to investigate callus induction, somatic embryogenesis and indirect plant regeneration of Crassula ovata (Mill.) Druce – the famous ornamental plant. Experiment no.1: Callus induction was obtained from leaf and stem explants on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with various plant growth regulators (PGRs). Effects of different PGRs, plant regeneration and subsequent plantlet conversion were also assessed. Indirect plant regeneration was achieved from the callus of stem explants by the addition of 1.5 mg/L Kinetin (KN) alone. Best shoot induction was achieved (6.5 shoots/per explant) after 60 days. For successful rooting, regenerated plantlets were sub-cultured on the same MS media supplemented with 1.5 mg/L KN alone. The rooted plantlets were acclimatized and the survival rate was 90%. Experiment no.2: Results revealed that 0.5 mg/L 2,4-D alone and in combination with 1.0 mg/L 6-Benzyladenine (BA) gave 89.8% callus from the stem explants as compared to leaf explants. Callus proliferation and somatic embryo formation were also evaluated by ‘Double Staining Method’ and different stages of somatic embryogenesis were revealed by scanning electron microscope. Full Strength MS medium produced the highest number (49.6%) of cotyledonary stage somatic embryos (SEs). Mature cotyledonary stage SEs developed into plantlets after 12 weeks of culture. Wellrooted plantlets were successfully acclimatized at the survival rate of 85%. Indirectly regenerated plants did not show any detectable variation in morphological and growth characteristics when compared with the donor plant.

Keywords: Callus induction, Crassula ovata, Double Staining, Indirect plant regeneration, Somatic embryogenesis.

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Authors: Astghik R. Sukiasyan

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The semidental sweet maize of Armenian population under drought stress and pollution by some heavy metals (HMs) in sites along the river Debet was studied. Accordingly, the objective of this work was to investigate the antioxidant status of maize plant in order to identify simple and reliable criteria for assessing the degree of adaptation of plants to abiotic stress of drought and HMs. It was found that in the case of removal from the mainstream of the river, the antioxidant status of the plant varies. As parameters, the antioxidant status of the plant has been determined by the activity of malondialdehyde (MDA) and Ferric Reducing Ability of Plasma (FRAP), taking into account the characteristics of natural drought of this region. The possibility of using some indicators which characterized the antioxidant status of the plant was concluded. The criteria for assessing the extent of environmental pollution could be HMs. This fact can be used for the early diagnosis of diseases in the population who lives in these areas and uses corn as the main food.

Keywords: Antioxidant status, maize corn, drought stress, heavy metal.

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Authors: Ahtesham Javaid, Costin S. Bildea

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The design and plantwide control of an integrated plant where the endothermic 1,4-butanediol dehydrogenation and the exothermic furfural hydrogenation is simultaneously performed in a single reactor is studied. The reactions can be carried out in an adiabatic reactor using small hydrogen excess and with reduced parameter sensitivity. The plant is robust and flexible enough to allow different production rates of γ-butyrolactone and 2-methyl furan, keeping high product purities. Rigorous steady state and dynamic simulations performed in AspenPlus and AspenDynamics to support the conclusions.

Keywords: Dehydrogenation and hydrogenation, Reaction coupling, Design and control, Process integration.

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Authors: B. Mahmoud, M.H. Bedoui, R. Raychev, H. Essabbah

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We present in this paper an acquisition and treatment system designed for semi-analog Gamma-camera. It consists of a nuclear medical Image Acquisition, Treatment and Display chain(IATD) ensuring the acquisition, the treatment of the signals(resulting from the Gamma-camera detection head) and the scintigraphic image construction in real time. This chain is composed by an analog treatment board and a digital treatment board. We describe the designed systems and the digital treatment algorithms in which we have improved the performance and the flexibility. The digital treatment algorithms are implemented in a specific reprogrammable circuit FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).interface for semi-analog cameras of Sopha Medical Vision(SMVi) by taking as example SOPHY DS7. The developed system consists of an Image Acquisition, Treatment and Display (IATD) ensuring the acquisition and the treatment of the signals resulting from the DH. The developed chain is formed by a treatment analog board and a digital treatment board designed around a DSP [2]. In this paper we have presented the architecture of a new version of our chain IATD in which the integration of the treatment algorithms is executed on an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array)

Keywords: Nuclear medical image, scintigraphic image, digitaltreatment, linearity, spectrometry, FPGA.

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Authors: M. Gomez, M. D. Murcia, E. Gomez, J. L. Gomez, N. Christofi

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Excilamps are new UV sources with great potential for application in wastewater treatment. In the present work, a XeBr excilamp emitting radiation at 283 nm has been used for the photodegradation of 4-chlorophenol within a range of concentrations from 50 to 500 mg L-1. Total removal of 4-chlorophenol was achieved for all concentrations assayed. The two main photoproduct intermediates formed along the photodegradation process, benzoquinone and hydroquinone, although not being completely removed, remain at very low residual concentrations. Such concentrations are insignificant compared to the 4-chlorophenol initial ones and non-toxic. In order to simulate the process and scaleup, a kinetic model has been developed and validated from the experimental data.

Keywords: 4-chlorophenol, excilamps, kinetic model, photodegradation.

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Authors: E. Satoh, R. Kasahara, T. Aoki, K. Fukatsu, D. Venkata Ramanarao, H. Harayama, T. Murata, A. Suwa

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Rice plant hoppers (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) have been causing extensive economic damage in rice and are considered as serious threat in rice producing countries of Asia. They have developed resistance to major groups of chemical insecticide, and severe outbreaks occur commonly throughout Asia. To control these nuisance pests, Nihon Nohyaku Co., Ltd., recently discovered an insecticide, benzpyrimoxan (proposed ISO name), which is under development as NNI-1501 (development code). Benzpyrimoxan has a unique chemical structure which contains benzyloxy and cyclic acetal groups on pyrimidine moiety (5-(1,3-dioxan-2-yl)-4-[4- (trifluoromethyl)benzyloxy]pyrimidine). In order to clarify the biological properties of benzpyrimoxan, we conducted several experiments and found the following results. Benzpyrimoxan has high activity against nymphal stages of rice plant hoppers without any adulticidal activity. It provides excellent and long lasting control against rice plant hoppers, including populations that have developed resistance to several other chemical groups of insecticide. The study on its mode of action is undergoing. These features highlight the versatility of this insecticide as an effective and valuable tool from the viewpoints of insecticide resistance management and integrated pest management program. With the use of benzpyrimoxan, farmers shall be able to lead the best yield potential by keeping the population density of rice plant hoppers and associated virus diseases under control.

Keywords: Acetal, benzpyrimoxan, insecticide, NNI-1501, pyrimidine, rice plant hoppers.

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Authors: Promise Sethembiso Ngema, Freeman Ntuli, Mohamed Belaid

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The main objective of this study was to remove and recover Ni, Cu and Fe from a mixed metal system using sodium hypophosphite as a reducing agent and nickel powder as seeding material. The metal systems studied consisted of Ni-Cu, Ni-Fe and Ni-Cu-Fe solutions. A 5 L batch reactor was used to conduct experiments where 100 mg/l of each respective metal was used. It was found that the metals were reduced to their elemental form with removal efficiencies of over 80%. The removal efficiency decreased in the order Fe>Ni>Cu. The metal powder obtained contained between 97-99% Ni and was almost spherical and porous. Size enlargement by aggregation was the dominant particulate process.

Keywords: crystallization, electroless plating, heavy metal removal, wastewater treatment

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Authors: D. Lepe-Cervantes, E. Leon-Becerril, J. Gomez-Romero, O. Garcia-Depraect, A. Lopez-Lopez

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In this study, raw coffee wastewater (CWW) was used as a complex substrate for anaerobic digestion. The inoculum adaptation stage, microbial diversity analysis and biomethane potential (BMP) tests were performed. A fast inoculum adaptation stage was used by the replacement of vinasse to CWW in an anaerobic sequential batch reactor (AnSBR) operated at mesophilic conditions. Illumina MiSeq sequencing was used to analyze the microbial diversity. While, BMP tests using inoculum adapted to CWW were carried out at different inoculum to substrate (I/S) ratios (2:1, 3:1 and 4:1, on a VS basis). Results show that the adaptability percentage was increased gradually until it reaches the highest theoretical value in a short time of 10 d; with a methane yield of 359.10 NmL CH₄/g COD-removed; Methanobacterium beijingense was the most abundant microbial (75%) and the greatest specific methane production was achieved at I/S ratio 4:1, whereas the lowest was obtained at 2:1, with BMP values of 320 NmL CH₄/g VS and 151 NmL CH₄/g VS, respectively. In conclusion, gradual replacement of substrate was a feasible method to adapt the inoculum in a short time even using complex raw substrates, whereas in the BMP tests, the specific methane production was proportional to the initial amount of inoculum.

Keywords: Fast inoculum adaptation, coffee wastewater, biomethane potential test, anaerobic digestion.

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Authors: I. M. Sujaul, M. A. Sobahan, A. A. Edriyana, F. M. Yahaya, R. M. Yunus

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This study was carried out to investigate the adverse effect of industrial wastewater on surface water quality in Gebeng industrial estate, Pahang, Malaysia. Surface water was collected from six sampling stations. Physicochemical parameters were characterized based on in-situ and ex-situ analysis according to standard methods by American Public Health Association (APHA). Selected heavy metals were determined by using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP MS). The results revealed that the concentration of heavy metals such as Pb, Cu, Cd, Cr and Hg were high in samples. The results also showed that the value of Pb and Hg were higher in the wet season in comparison to dry season. According to Malaysia National Water Quality Standard (NWQS) and Water Quality Index (WQI) all the sampling station were categorized as class IV (highly polluted). The present study revealed that the adverse effects of careless disposal of wastes and directly discharge of effluents affected on surface water quality. Therefore, the authorities should implement the laws to ensure the proper practices of wastewater management for environmental sustainability around the study area.

Keywords: Gebeng, heavy metals, waste water, water quality index.

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Authors: A. A. Najm, M. R. Haj Seyed Hadi, F. Fazeli, M. Taghi Darzi, R. Shamorady

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Cattle manure and mineral fertilizers are two source of Nitrogen, which can affect the growth and quantity of potato. In this research the effects of the use of cattle manure (5, 10, 15 and 20 ton ha-1), Nitrogen fertilizer (50, 100 and 150 kg N ha-1) and their interaction on potato growth were evaluated during field experiments in 2008 with the help of Randomized Complete Block (RCB) with the factorial arrangement of three experimental replications in Iran. At the 75 th day after emergence, dry weight of Shoots, leaf area index (LAI) and plant height were recorded. Results showed that, dry weight of Shoots, LAI and plant height increased linearly and very significantly in response to the application of manure and Nitrogen fertilizer. While the interaction between manure and Nitrogen fertilizer just on the LAI and plant height was significant, somehow the maximum amount of plant height( 73 cm) was obtained by using 150 kg Nitrogen + 15 tons of manure per hectare, and maximum LAI ( 5.36) was obtained by using 150 kg Nitrogen + 20 tons of manure per hectare. Also in this experiment maximum tuber yield (36.8 tons ha-1) was obtained by the utilization of 150 kg Nitrogen per hectare + 20 tons manure.

Keywords: Solanum tuberosum, LAI, cattle manure, mineral fertilizer, integrated management.

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Authors: A. Goi, M. Trapido, N. Kulik

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The hydrogen peroxide treatment was able to remediate chlorophenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, diesel and transformer oil contaminated soil. Chemical treatment of contaminants adsorbed in peat resulted in lower contaminants- removal and required higher addition of chemicals than the treatment of contaminants in sand. The hydrogen peroxide treatment was found to be feasible for soil remediation at natural soil pH. Contaminants in soil could degrade with the addition of hydrogen peroxide only indicating the ability of transition metals ions and minerals of these metals presented in soil to catalyse the reaction of hydrogen peroxide decomposition.

Keywords: Hydrogen peroxide, oxidation, soil treatment, decontamination.

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Authors: Ali W. Alattabi, Khalid S. Hashim, Hassnen M. Jafer, Ali Alzeyadi

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This study was performed to optimise the react time (RT) and study its effects on the removal rates of nitrogen compounds in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) treating synthetic industrial wastewater. The results showed that increasing the RT from 4 h to 10, 16 and 22 h significantly improved the nitrogen compounds’ removal efficiency, it was increased from 69.5% to 95%, 75.7 to 97% and from 54.2 to 80.1% for NH₃-N, NO₃-N and NO₂-N respectively. The results obtained from this study showed that the RT of 22 h was the optimum for nitrogen compounds removal efficiency.

Keywords: Ammonia-nitrogen, retention time, nitrate, nitrite, sequencing batch reactor, sludge characteristics.

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Authors: N.M Khairi, M.I. Naimah, M.S.B. Shah Rizam, M.T. Nooritawati, Z.A. Husna

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Changes in stem diameter of orchid plants were investigated in a control growing climate. Previous studies have focused on stem diameter in relation to plant water on terrestrial plants in order to schedule the irrigation. The objective of this work was to evaluate the ability of the strain gauges to capture changes in the epiphytes plant stem. Experiments were carried out by using the sympodial orchid, Dendrobium Sonia in a stressed condition. From the findings, the sensor can detect changes in the plant stem and the result can easily be used as a reference for further studies for the development of a proper watering system.

Keywords: Strain gauge, stem diameter, Dendrobium Sonia, epiphyte, terrestrial

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Authors: Z. M. Shareefdeen, A. Aidan, W.Ahmed, M. B. Khatri, M. Islam, R. Lecheheb, F. Shams

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Air emissions from waste treatment plants often consist of a combination of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and odors. Hydrogen sulfide is one of the major odorous gases present in the waste emissions coming from municipal wastewater treatment facilities. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is odorous, highly toxic and flammable. Exposure to lower concentrations can result in eye irritation, a sore throat and cough, shortness of breath, and fluid in the lungs. Biofiltration has become a widely accepted technology for treating air streams containing H2S. When compared with other nonbiological technologies, biofilter is more cost-effective for treating large volumes of air containing low concentrations of biodegradable compounds. Optimization of biofilter media is essential for many reasons such as: providing a higher surface area for biofilm growth, low pressure drop, physical stability, and good moisture retention. In this work, a novel biofilter media is developed and tested at a pumping station of a municipality located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The media is found to be very effective (>99%) in removing H2S concentrations that are expected in pumping stations under steady state and shock loading conditions.

Keywords: biofilter media, hydrogen sulphide, pumping station, biofiltration

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Authors: Fl. Loury, P. Sablonière

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In this paper a stochastic scenario-based model predictive control applied to molten salt storage systems in concentrated solar tower power plant is presented. The main goal of this study is to build up a tool to analyze current and expected future resources for evaluating the weekly power to be advertised on electricity secondary market. This tool will allow plant operator to maximize profits while hedging the impact on the system of stochastic variables such as resources or sunlight shortage.

Solving the problem first requires a mixed logic dynamic modeling of the plant. The two stochastic variables, respectively the sunlight incoming energy and electricity demands from secondary market, are modeled by least square regression. Robustness is achieved by drawing a certain number of random variables realizations and applying the most restrictive one to the system. This scenario approach control technique provides the plant operator a confidence interval containing a given percentage of possible stochastic variable realizations in such a way that robust control is always achieved within its bounds. The results obtained from many trajectory simulations show the existence of a ‘’reliable’’ interval, which experimentally confirms the algorithm robustness.

Keywords: Molten Salt Storage System, Concentrated Solar Tower Power Plant, Robust Stochastic Model Predictive Control.

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Authors: N.H. Abdurahman, Y. M. Rosli, N. H. Azhari, S. F. Tam

Abstract:

The direct discharge of palm oil mill effluent (POME) wastewater causes serious environmental pollution due to its high chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). Traditional ways for POME treatment have both economical and environmental disadvantages. In this study, a membrane anaerobic system (MAS) was used as an alternative, cost effective method for treating POME. Six steady states were attained as a part of a kinetic study that considered concentration ranges of 8,220 to 15,400 mg/l for mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) and 6,329 to 13,244 mg/l for mixed liquor volatile suspended solids (MLVSS). Kinetic equations from Monod, Contois and Chen & Hashimoto were employed to describe the kinetics of POME treatment at organic loading rates ranging from 2 to 13 kg COD/m3/d. throughout the experiment, the removal efficiency of COD was from 94.8 to 96.5% with hydraulic retention time, HRT from 400.6 to 5.7 days. The growth yield coefficient, Y was found to be 0.62gVSS/g COD the specific microorganism decay rate was 0.21 d-1 and the methane gas yield production rate was between 0.25 l/g COD/d and 0.58 l/g COD/d. Steady state influent COD concentrations increased from 18,302 mg/l in the first steady state to 43,500 mg/l in the sixth steady state. The minimum solids retention time, which was obtained from the three kinetic models ranged from 5 to 12.3 days. The k values were in the range of 0.35 – 0.519 g COD/ g VSS • d and values were between 0.26 and 0.379 d-1. The solids retention time (SRT) decreased from 800 days to 11.6 days. The complete treatment reduced the COD content to 2279 mg/l equivalent to a reduction of 94.8% reduction from the original.

Keywords: COD reduction, POME, kinetics, membrane, anaerobic, monod, contois equation.

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Authors: Jim Meng, Mammo Yewondwossen

Abstract:

As a part of routine oesophageal HDR Brachytherapy procedure, treatment planning takes about 45 minutes while patients are under light sedation. Some patients may suffer gagging and/or spasms before the 90-minute brachytherapy procedure complete, and the treatment may need to be aborted. A pre-prepared plan generated before patient’s sedation may reduce the brachytherapy procedure time by 40 minutes. This paper reports rationality and evidence of pre-prepared treatment plans. A retrospective study of 28 patients confirms that pre-prepared plans would be acceptable for all reviewed patients. The rationality is further confirmed by a systemic study with a wide range of applicator curvature and treatment volume. Detailed comparison between CT based treatment plans and pre-prepared plans are discussed. The argument holds for endobronchial HDR brachytherapy too. With the above evidence, pre-prepared plans have been used for all oesophageal and endobronchial HDR brachytherapy cases in our clinic.

Keywords: HDR brachytherapy, treatment planning, oesophageal carcinoma.

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Authors: F. E. Cherati, T. Naij , A. Amraei, Y. Hosseinpor

Abstract:

In order to study the influence of different methods of controlling weeds such as mechanical weeding and mechanical weeder efficiency analysis in mechanical cultivation conditions, in farming year of 2011 an experiment was done in a farm in coupling and development of technology center in Haraz,Iran. The treatments consisted of (I) control treatment: where no weeding was done, (II) use of mechanical weeding without engine and (III) power mechanical weeding. Results showed that experimental treatments had significantly different effects (p=0.05) on yield traits and number of filled grains per panicle, while treatments had the significant effects on grain weight and dry weight of weeds in the first, second and third weeding methods at 1% of confidence level. Treatment (II) had its most significant effect on number of filled grains per panicle and yield performance standpoint, which was 3705.97 kg ha-1 in its highest peak. Treatment (III) was ranked as second influential with 3559.8 kg ha-1. In addition, under (I) treatments, 2364.73 kg ha-1 of yield produced. The minimum dry weights of weeds in all weeding methods were related to the treatment (II), (III) and (I), respectively. The correlation coefficient analysis showed that total yield had a significant positive correlation with the panicle grain yield per plant (r= 0.55*) and the number of grains per panicle-1 (r= 0.57*) and the number of filled grains (r= 0.63*). Total rice yield also had negative correlation of r= -0. 64* with weed dry weight at second weed sampling time (17 DAT). The weed dry weight at third and fourth sampling times (24 and 40 DAT) had negative correlations of -0.65** and r=-0.61* with rice yield, respectively.

Keywords: Dry weight, without engine mechanical weeder, power mechanical weeder, yield rice.

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Authors: Mohamed F. Awad, M. Kraume

Abstract:

The objective of this study is to evaluate the occurrence of fungi in aerobic and anoxic activated sludge from membrane bioreactors (MBRs). Thirty-six samples of both aerobic and anoxic activated sludge were taken from 2 MBR treating domestic wastewater. Over a period of eight months 2 samples from each plant were taken per month. The samples were prepared for count and definition of fungi. The obtained data show that, sixty species belonging to 27 genera were collected from activated sludge samples under aerobic and anoxic conditions. Regarding to the fungi definition, under aerobic condition the Geotrichum was found at (8.8%) followed by Penicillium (75.0%), Yeasts (65.7%) and Trichoderma (55.5%), while Yeasts (77.1%) Geotrichum candidumand Penicillium (61.1%) species were the most prevalent in anoxic activated sludge. The results indicate that activated sludge is habitat for growth and sporulation of different groups of fungi, both saprophytic and pathogenic.

Keywords: Aerobic conditions, Anoxic conditions, Activated sludge, Membrane bioreactor, Fungi.

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