Abstract: Computer based geostatistical methods can offer effective data analysis possibilities for agricultural areas by using
vectorial data and their objective informations. These methods will help to detect the spatial changes on different locations of the large
agricultural lands, which will lead to effective fertilization for optimal yield with reduced environmental pollution. In this study, topsoil (0-20 cm) and subsoil (20-40 cm) samples were taken from a
sugar beet field by 20 x 20 m grids. Plant samples were also collected
from the same plots. Some physical and chemical analyses for these
samples were made by routine methods. According to derived variation coefficients, topsoil organic matter (OM) distribution was more than subsoil OM distribution. The highest C.V. value of
17.79% was found for topsoil OM. The data were analyzed
comparatively according to kriging methods which are also used
widely in geostatistic. Several interpolation methods (Ordinary,Simple and Universal) and semivariogram models (Spherical,
Exponential and Gaussian) were tested in order to choose the suitable
methods. Average standard deviations of values estimated by simple
kriging interpolation method were less than average standard
deviations (topsoil OM ± 0.48, N ± 0.37, subsoil OM ± 0.18) of measured values. The most suitable interpolation method was simple
kriging method and exponantial semivariogram model for topsoil,
whereas the best optimal interpolation method was simple kriging
method and spherical semivariogram model for subsoil. The results
also showed that these computer based geostatistical methods should
be tested and calibrated for different experimental conditions and semivariogram models.
Abstract: The use of sewage sludge and effluents from
wastewater treatment plants for irrigation of agricultural lands is on
the rise particularly in peri-urban areas of developing countries.
The reuse of nutrients and organic matter in treated wastewater
and sewage sludge via land application is a desirable goal. However,
trace or heavy metals present in sludge pose the risk of human or
phytotoxicity from land application. Long-term use of sewage
sludge, heavy metals can accumulate to phytotoxic levels and results
in reduced plants growth and/or enhanced metal concentrations in
plants, which consumed by animals then enter the food chain. In this
research, the amount of heavy metals was measured in plants
irrigated with wastewater and sludge application. For this purpose,
three pilots were made in a Shush treatment plant in south of Tehran.
Three plants species, spinach, lettuce and radish were selected and
planted in the pilots.First pilot was irrigated just with wastewater of
treatment plant and second pilot was irrigated with wastewater and
sludge application .Third pilot was irrigated with simulated heavy
metals solution equal 50 years of irrigation. The results indicate that
the average of amount of heavy metals Pb, Cd in three plant species
in first pilot were lower than permissible limits .In second pilot,
Cadmium accumulations are high in three species plants and more
than the standard limits. Concentration of Cd , Pb have exceed their
permitted limits in plants in third pilot . It was concluded that the use
of wastewater and sludge application in agricultural lands enriched
soils with heavy metals to concentrations that may pose potential
environmental and health risks in the long-term.
Abstract: Global temperature had increased by about 0.5oC over
the past century, increasing temperature leads to a loss or a decrease
of soil organic matter (SOM). Whereas soil organic matter in many
tropical soils is less stable than that of temperate soils, and it will be
easily affected by climate change. Therefore, conservation of soil
organic matter is urgent issue nowadays. This paper presents the
effect of different doses (5%, 15%) of Ca-type zeolite in conjunction
with organic manure, applied to soil samples from Philippines,
Paraguay and Japan, on the decomposition resistance of soil organic
matter under high temperature. Results showed that a remain or
slightly increase the C/N ratio of soil. There are an increase in
percent of humic acid (PQ) that extracted with Na4P2O7. A decrease
of percent of free humus (fH) after incubation was determined. A
larger the relative color intensity (RF) value and a lower the color
coefficient (6logK) value following increasing zeolite rates leading
to a higher degrees of humification. The increase in the aromatic
condensation of humic acid (HA) after incubation, as indicates by the
decrease of H/C and O/C ratios of HA. This finding indicates that the
use of zeolite could be beneficial with respect to SOM conservation
under global warming condition.
Abstract: The degradation of selected pharmaceuticals in some
water matrices was studied by using several chemical treatments. The
pharmaceuticals selected were the beta-blocker metoprolol, the
nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory naproxen, the antibiotic amoxicillin,
and the analgesic phenacetin; and their degradations were conducted
by using UV radiation alone, ozone, Fenton-s reagent, Fenton-like
system, photo-Fenton system, and combinations of UV radiation and
ozone with H2O2, TiO2, Fe(II), and Fe(III). The water matrices, in
addition to ultra-pure water, were a reservoir water, a groundwater,
and two secondary effluents from two municipal WWTP. The results
reveal that the presence of any second oxidant enhanced the
oxidation rates, with the systems UV/TiO2 and O3/TiO2 providing the
highest degradation rates. It is also observed in most of the
investigated oxidation systems that the degradation rate followed the
sequence: amoxicillin > naproxen > metoprolol > phenacetin. Lower
rates were obtained with the pharmaceuticals dissolved in natural
waters and secondary effluents due to the organic matter present
which consume some amounts of the oxidant agents.
Abstract: The Brazilian Agricultural Products Wholesale Market fits well as example of residues generating system, reaching 750 metric tons per month of total residues, from which 600 metric tons are organic material and 150 metric tons are recyclable materials. Organic material is basically composed of fruit, vegetables and flowers leftovers from the products commercialization. The recyclable compounds are generate from packing material employed in the commercialization process. This research work devoted efforts in carrying quantitative analysis of the residues generated in the agricultural enterprise at its final destination. Data survey followed the directions implemented by the Residues Management Program issued by the agricultural enterprise. It was noticed from that analysis the necessity of changing the logistics applied to the recyclable material collecting process. However, composting process was elected as the organic compounds destination which is considered adequate for a material composed of significant percentage of organic matter far higher than wood, cardboard and plastics contents.
Abstract: The objective of this research was to identify the
vegetation-soil relationships in Nodushan arid rangelands of Yazd. 5
sites were selected for measuring the cover of plant species and soil
attributes. Soil samples were taken in 0-10 and 10-80 cm layers. The
species studied were Salsola tomentosa, Salsola arbuscula, Peganum
harmala, Zygophylum eurypterum and Eurotia ceratoides. Canonical
correspondence analysis (CCA) was used to analyze the data. Based
on the CCA results, 74.9 % of vegetation-soil variation was explained
by axis 1-3. Axis 1, 2 and 3 accounted for 27.2%, 24.9 % and 22.8%
of variance respectively. Correlation between axis 1, 2, 3 and speciesedaphic
variables were 0.995, 0.989, 0.981 respectively. Soil texture,
lime, salinity and organic matter significantly influenced the
distribution of these plant species. Determination of soil-vegetation
relationships will be useful for managing and improving rangelands
in arid and semi arid environments.
Abstract: Natural organic matter (NOM) is heterogeneous
mixture of organic compounds that enter the water media from
animal and plant remains, domestic and industrial wastes.
Researches showed that NOM is likely precursor material for
disinfection by products (DBPs). Chlorine very commenly used for
disinfection purposes and NOM and chlorine reacts then
Trihalomethane (THM) and Haloacetic acids (HAAs) which are
cancerogenics for human health are produced. The aim of the study is
to search NOM removal by enhanced coagulation from drinking
water source of Eskisehir which is supplied from Porsuk Dam.
Recently, Porsuk dam water is getting highly polluted and therefore
NOM concentration is increasing. Enhanced coagulation studies were
evaluated by measurement of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC), UV
absorbance at 254 nm (UV254), and different trihalomethane
formation potential (THMFP) tests. Results of jar test experiments
showed that NOM can be removed from water about 40-50 % of
efficiency by enhanced coagulation. Optimum coagulant type and
coagulant dosages were determined using FeCl3 and Alum.
Abstract: This study uses natural water and the surface properties of powdered activated carbon to acclimatize organics, forming biofilms on the surface of powdered activated carbon. To investigate the influence of different hydraulic retention times on the removal efficacy of trace organics in raw water, and to determine the optimal hydraulic retention time of a biological powdered activated carbon system, this study selects ozone-treated water processed by Feng-shan Advanced Water Purification Plant in southern Taiwan for the experiment. The evaluation indicators include assimilable organic carbon, dissolved organic carbon, and total organic carbon. The results of this study can improve the quality of drinking water treated using advanced water purification procedures.
Abstract: The effect of phosphorus supplementation of ammoniated rice straw was studied. The in vitro experiment was carried out following the first stage of Tilley and Terry method. The treatments consisting of four diets were A = 50% ammoniated rice straw + 50% concentrate (control), B = A + 0.2% Phosphor (P) supplement, C = A + 0.4% Phosphor (P) supplement, and D = A + 0.6% Phosphor (P) supplement of dry matter. Completely randomized design was used as the experimental design with differences among treatment means were examined using Duncan multiple range test. Variables measured were total bacterial and cellulolytic bacterial population, cellulolytic enzyme activity, ammonia (NH3) and volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations, as fermentability indicators and synthesized microbial protein, as well as degradability indicators including dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and cellulose. The results indicated that fermentability and degradability of diets consisting ammoniated rice straw with P supplementation were significantly higher than the control diet (P< 0.05). It is concluded that P supplementation is important to improve fermentability and degradability of rations containing ammoniated RS and concentrate. In terms of the most effective level of P supplementation occurred at a supplementation rate of 0.4% of dry matter.
Abstract: In this study, aerobic digestion of tannery industry
wastewater was carried out using mixed culture obtained from
common effluent treatment plant treating tannery wastewater. The
effect of pH, temperature, inoculum concentration, agitation speed
and initial substrate concentration on the reduction of organic matters
were found. The optimum conditions for COD reduction was found
to be pH - 7 (60%), temperature - 30ÔùªC (61%), inoculum
concentration - 2% (61%), agitation speed - 150rpm (65%) and initial
substrate concentration - 1560 mg COD/L (74%). Kinetics studies
were carried by using Monod model, First order, Diffusional model
and Singh model. From the results it was found that the Monod
model suits well for the degradation of tannery wastewater using
mixed microbial consortium.
Abstract: The distribution, enrichment, accumulation, and potential ecological risk of copper (Cu) in the surface sediments of northern Kaohsiung Harbor, Taiwan were investigated. Sediment samples from 12 locations of northern Kaohsiung Harbor were collected and characterized for Cu, aluminum, water content, organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorous, total grease and grain size. Results showed that the Cu concentrations varied from 6.9–244 mg/kg with an average of 109±66 mg/kg. The spatial distribution of Cu reveals that the Cu concentration is relatively high in the river mouth region, and gradually diminishes toward the harbor entrance region. This indicates that upstream industrial and municipal wastewater discharges along the river bank are major sources of Cu pollution. Results from the enrichment factor and geo-accumulation index analyses imply that the sediments collected from the river mouth can be characterized between moderate and moderately severe degree enrichment and between none to medium and moderate accumulation of Cu, respectively. However, results of potential ecological risk index indicate that the sediment has low ecological potential risk.
Abstract: The soil moisture content is an important property of
the soil. The results of mean weekly gravimetric soil moisture
content, measured for the three soil layers within the A horizon,
showed that it was higher for the top 5 cm over the whole period of
monitoring (15/7/2004 up to 10/11/05) with the variation becoming
greater during winter time. This reflects the pattern of rainfall in
Ireland which is spread over the whole year and shows that light
rainfall events during summer time were compensated by loss
through evapotranspiration, but only in the top 5 cm of soil. This
layer had the highest porosity and highest moisture holding capacity
due to the high content of organic matter. The gravimetric soil
moisture contents of the top 5 cm and the underlying 5-15 and 15-25
cm layers show that bottom site of the Hill Field had higher soil
moisture content than the middle and top sites during the whole
period of monitoring.
Abstract: Land degradation is of concern in many countries. People more and more must address the problems associated with the degradation of soil properties due to man. Increasingly, organic soil amendments, such as compost are being examined for their potential use in soil restoration and for preventing soil erosion. In the Czech Republic, compost is the most used to improve soil structure and increase the content of soil organic matter. Land reclamation / restoration is one of the ways to evaluate industrially produced compost because Czech farmers are not willing to use compost as organic fertilizer. The most common use of reclamation substrates in the Czech Republic is for the rehabilitation of landfills and contaminated sites.
This paper deals with the influence of reclamation substrates (RS) with different proportions of compost and sand on selected soil properties–chemical characteristics, nitrogen bioavailability, leaching of mineral nitrogen, respiration activity and plant biomass production. Chemical properties vary proportionally with addition of compost and sand to the control variant (topsoil). The highest differences between the variants were recorded in leaching of mineral nitrogen (varies from 1.36mg dm-3 in C to 9.09mg dm-3). Addition of compost to soil improves conditions for plant growth in comparison with soil alone. However, too high addition of compost may have adverse effects on plant growth. In addition, high proportion of compost increases leaching of mineral N. Therefore, mixture of 70% of soil with 10% of compost and 20% of sand may be recommended as optimal composition of RS.
Abstract: The distribution, enrichment, and accumulation of zinc
(Zn) in the sediments of Kaohsiung Ocean Disposal Site (KODS),
Taiwan were investigated. Sediment samples from two outer disposal
site stations and nine disposed stations in the KODS were collected per
quarterly in 2009 and characterized for Zn, aluminum, organic matter,
and grain size. Results showed that the mean Zn concentrations varied
from 48 mg/kg to 456 mg/kg. Results from the enrichment factor (EF)
and geo-accumulation index (Igeo) analyses imply that the sediments
collected from the KODS can be characterized between moderate and
moderately severe degree enrichment and between none and none to
medium accumulation of Zn, respectively. However, results of
potential ecological risk index indicate that the sediment has low
ecological potential risk. The EF, Igeo, and Zn concentrations at the
disposed stations were slightly higher than those at outer disposal site.
This indicated that the disposed area centers may be subjected to the
disposal impaction of harbor dredged sediments.
Abstract: The research study evaluated the performance of
irrigation system by using special scientific tools like Remote
Sensing and GIS technology, so that proper measurements could be
taken for the sustainable agriculture and water management.
Different performance evaluation parameters had been calculated for
the purposed data was gathered from field investigation and different
government and private organizations. According to the calculations,
organic matter ranges from 0.19% (low value) to 0.76% (high value).
In flat irrigation system for wheat yield ranges from 3347.16 to
5260.39 kg/ha, while the total water applied to wheat crop ranges
from 252.94 to 279.19 mm and WUE ranges from 13.07 to 18.37
kg/ha/mm. For rice yield ranges from 3347.47 to 5433.07 kg/ha with
total water supplied to rice crop ranges from 764.71 to 978.15 mm
and WUE ranges from 3.49 to 5.71 kg/ha/mm. Similarly, in raised
bed system wheat yield ranges from 4569.13 to 6008.60 kg/ha, total
water supplied ranges from 158.87 to 185.09 mm and WUE ranges
from 27.20 to 33.54 kg/ha/mm while in rice crop, yield ranges from
5285.04 to 6716.69 kg/ha, total water supplied ranges from 600.72 to
755.06 mm and WUE ranges from 6.41 to 10.05 kg/ha/mm. Almost
51.3% water saving is observed in bed irrigation system as compared
to flat system. Less water supplied to beds is more affective as its
WUE value is higher than flat system where more water is supplied
in both the seasons. Similarly, RWS values show that maximum
water deficit while minimum area is getting adequate water supply.
Greater yield is recorded in bed system as plant per square meter is
more in bed system in comparison of flat system Thus, the integration
of GIS tools to regularly compute performance indices could provide
irrigation managers with the means for managing efficiently the
irrigation system.
Abstract: Recently, a growing interest has emerged on the
development of new and efficient energy sources, due to the inevitable extinction of the nonrenewable energy reserves. One of
these alternative sources which has a great potential and sustainability to meet up the energy demand is biomass energy. This
significant energy source can be utilized with various energy
conversion technologies, one of which is biomass gasification in
supercritical water.
Water, being the most important solvent in nature, has very important characteristics as a reaction solvent under supercritical
circumstances. At temperatures above its critical point (374.8oC and
22.1 MPa), water becomes more acidic and its diffusivity increases.
Working with water at high temperatures increases the thermal
reaction rate, which in consequence leads to a better dissolving of the
organic matters and a fast reaction with oxygen. Hence, supercritical water offers a control mechanism depending on solubility, excellent
transport properties based on its high diffusion ability and new reaction possibilities for hydrolysis or oxidation.
In this study the gasification of a real biomass, namely olive mill
wastewater (OMW), in supercritical water is investigated with the
use of Pt/Al2O3 and Ni/Al2O3 catalysts. OMW is a by-product
obtained during olive oil production, which has a complex nature
characterized by a high content of organic compounds and
polyphenols. These properties impose OMW a significant pollution
potential, but at the same time, the high content of organics makes
OMW a desirable biomass candidate for energy production.
All of the catalytic gasification experiments were made with five
different reaction temperatures (400, 450, 500, 550 and 600°C),
under a constant pressure of 25 MPa. For the experiments conducted
with Ni/Al2O3 catalyst, the effect of five reaction times (30, 60, 90,
120 and 150 s) was investigated. However, procuring that similar
gasification efficiencies could be obtained at shorter times, the experiments were made by using different reaction times (10, 15, 20,
25 and 30 s) for the case of Pt/Al2O3 catalyst. Through these experiments, the effects of temperature, time and catalyst type on the
gasification yields and treatment efficiencies were investigated.
Abstract: Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) is a measure of
the oxygen used in bacteria mediated oxidation of organic substances
in water and wastewater. Theoretically an infinite time is required for
complete biochemical oxidation of organic matter, but the
measurement is made over 5-days at 20 0C or 3-days at 27 0C test
period with or without dilution. Researchers have worked to further
reduce the time of measurement.
The objective of this paper is to review advancement made in
BOD measurement primarily to minimize the time and negate the
measurement difficulties. Survey of literature review in four such
techniques namely BOD-BARTTM, Biosensors, Ferricyanidemediated
approach, luminous bacterial immobilized chip method.
Basic principle, method of determination, data validation and their
advantage and disadvantages have been incorporated of each of the
methods.
In the BOD-BARTTM method the time lag is calculated for the
system to change from oxidative to reductive state. BIOSENSORS
are the biological sensing element with a transducer which produces
a signal proportional to the analyte concentration. Microbial species
has its metabolic deficiencies. Co-immobilization of bacteria using
sol-gel biosensor increases the range of substrate. In ferricyanidemediated
approach, ferricyanide has been used as e-acceptor instead
of oxygen. In Luminous bacterial cells-immobilized chip method,
bacterial bioluminescence which is caused by lux genes was
observed. Physiological responses is measured and correlated to
BOD due to reduction or emission.
There is a scope to further probe into the rapid estimation of BOD.
Abstract: In order to evaluate the relationship between the sulphur (S), glucose (G), nitrogen (N) and plant residues (st), sulphur immobilization and microbial transformation were monitored in five soil samples from 0-30 cm of Bastam farmers fields of Shahrood area following 11 treatments with different levels of Sulphur (S), glucose (G), N and plant residues (wheat straw) in a randomized block design with three replications and incubated over 20, 45 and 60 days, the immobilization of SO4 -2-S presented as a percentage of that added, was inversely related to its addition rate. Additions of glucose and plant residues increased with the C-to-S ratio of the added amendments, irrespective of their origins (glucose and plant residues). In the presence of C sources (glucose or plant residues). N significantly increased the immobilization of SO4 -2-S, whilst the effect of N was insignificant in the absence of a C amendment. In first few days the amounts of added SO4 -2-S immobilized were linearly correlated with the amounts of added S recovered in the soil microbial biomass. With further incubation the proportions of immobilized SO4 -2-S remaining as biomass-S decreased. Decrease in biomass-S was thought to be due to the conversion of biomass-S into soil organic-S. Glucose addition increased the immobilization (microbial utilization and incorporation into the soil organic matter) of native soil SO4 -2-S. However, N addition enhance the mineralization of soil organic-S, increasing the concentration of SO4 - 2-S in soil.
Abstract: Twelve lactating Etawah Crossedbred goats were used
in this study. Goat feed consisted of Cally andra callothyrsus,
Pennisetum purpureum, wheat bran and dried fermented cassava
peel. The cassava peels were fermented with a traditional culture
called “ragi tape" (mixed culture of Saccharomyces cerevisae,
Aspergillus sp, Candida, Hasnula and Acetobacter). The goats were
divided into 2 groups (Control and Treated) of six does. The
experimental diet of the Control group consisted of 70% of roughage
(fresh Callyandra callothyrsus and Pennisetum purpureum 60:40)
and 30% of wheat bran on dry matter (DM) base. In the Treated
group 30% of wheat bran was replaced with dried fermented cassava
peels. Data were statistically analyzed using analysis of variance
followed SPSS program. The concentration of HCN in fermented
cassava peel decreased to non toxic level. Nutrient composition of
dried fermented cassava peel consisted of 85.75% dry matter;
5.80% crude protein and 82.51% total digestible nutrien (TDN).
Substitution of 30% of wheat bran with dried fermented cassava peel
in the diet had no effect on dry matter and organic matter intake but
significantly (P< 0.05) decreased crude protein and TDN
consumption as well as milk yields and milk composition. The study
recommended to reduced the level of substitution to less than 30% of
concentrates in the diet in order to avoid low nutrient intake and milk
production of goats.
Abstract: Intermittent aeration process can be easily applied on
the existing activated sludge system and is highly reliable against the loading changes. It can be operated in a relatively simple way as well.
Since the moving-bed biofilm reactor method processes pollutants by attaching and securing the microorganisms on the media, the process
efficiency can be higher compared to the suspended growth biological
treatment process, and can reduce the return of sludge. In this study,
the existing intermittent aeration process with alternating flow being
applied on the oxidation ditch is applied on the continuous flow stirred tank reactor with advantages from both processes, and we would like
to develop the process to significantly reduce the return of sludge in the clarifier and to secure the reliable quality of treated water by
adding the moving media. Corresponding process has the appropriate
form as an infrastructure based on u- environment in future u- City and
is expected to accelerate the implementation of u-Eco city in conjunction with city based services. The system being conducted in a
laboratory scale has been operated in HRT 8hours except for the final
clarifier and showed the removal efficiency of 97.7 %, 73.1 % and 9.4
% in organic matters, TN and TP, respectively with operating range of
4hour cycle on system SRT 10days. After adding the media, the removal efficiency of phosphorus showed a similar level compared to
that before the addition, but the removal efficiency of nitrogen was
improved by 7~10 %. In addition, the solids which were maintained in
MLSS 1200~1400 at 25 % of media packing were attached all onto the
media, which produced no sludge entering the clarifier. Therefore, the
return of sludge is not needed any longer.