International Journal of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences

Tidal River Sediment Management–A Case Study in Southwestern Bangladesh

Year: 2013 Volume: 7 Issue: 3 171 - 181 Pages

Abstract: The problems of severe drainage congestion and water logging in the southwestern Bangladesh have been solved by an innovative concept, Tidal River Management (TRM). TRM involves the uniform raising of the land inside a tidal basin (beel) while simultaneously maintaining the proper drainage capacity in the river. The present practice of TRM is to link the river with the selected beel by constructing a link canal at the entrance of which most of the sedimentation takes place. This localized sedimentation also creates drainage congestion and water logging making it unattractive to landowners who participate in the program. In this paper a functional sediment management plan is presented to get rid of this problem

Assessment of Landslide Volume for Alishan Highway Based On Database of Rainfall-Induced Slope Failure

Year: 2013 Volume: 7 Issue: 10 693 - 698 Pages

Abstract: In this paper, a study of slope failures along the Alishan Highway is carried out. An innovative empirical model is developed based on 15-year records of rainfall-induced slope failures. The statistical models are intended for assessing the volume of landslide for slope failure along the Alishan Highway in the future. The rainfall data considered in the proposed models include the effective cumulative rainfall and the critical rainfall intensity. The effective cumulative rainfall is defined at the point when the curve of cumulative rainfall goes from steep to flat. Then, the rainfall thresholds of landslide are established for assessing the volume of landslide and issuing warning and/or closure for the Alishan Highway during a future extreme rainfall. Slope failures during Typhoon Saola in 2012 demonstrate that the new empirical model is effective and applicable to other cases with similar rainfall conditions.

Early-Warning Lights Classification Management System for Industrial Parks in Taiwan

Year: 2014 Volume: 8 Issue: 10 709 - 713 Pages

Abstract: This paper presents the early-warning lights classification management system for industrial parks promoted by the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) since 2011, including the definition of each early-warning light, objectives, action program and accomplishments. All of the 151 industrial parks in Taiwan were classified into four early-warning lights, including red, orange, yellow and green, for carrying out respective pollution management according to the monitoring data of soil and groundwater quality, regulatory compliance, and regulatory listing of control site or remediation site. The Taiwan EPA set up a priority list for high potential polluted industrial parks and investigated their soil and groundwater qualities based on the results of the light classification and pollution potential assessment. In 2011-2013, there were 44 industrial parks selected and carried out different investigation, such as the early warning groundwater well networks establishment and pollution investigation/verification for the red and orange-light industrial parks and the environmental background survey for the yellow-light industrial parks. Among them, 22 industrial parks were newly or continuously confirmed that the concentrations of pollutants exceeded those in soil or groundwater pollution control standards. Thus, the further investigation, groundwater use restriction, listing of pollution control site or remediation site, and pollutant isolation measures were implemented by the local environmental protection and industry competent authorities; the early warning lights of those industrial parks were proposed to adjust up to orange or red-light. Up to the present, the preliminary positive effect of the soil and groundwater quality management system for industrial parks has been noticed in several aspects, such as environmental background information collection, early warning of pollution risk, pollution investigation and control, information integration and application, and inter-agency collaboration. Finally, the work and goal of self-initiated quality management of industrial parks will be carried out on the basis of the inter-agency collaboration by the classified lights system of early warning and management as well as the regular announcement of the status of each industrial park.

Critical Analysis of the Hong Kong International Convention on Ship Recycling

Year: 2013 Volume: 7 Issue: 10 684 - 692 Pages

Abstract: In May 2009, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships to address the growing concerns about the environmental, occupational health and safety risks related to ship recycling. The aim of the Hong Kong Convention is to provide a legally binding instrument which ensures that the process of ship recycling does not pose risks to human health, safety and to the environment. In this paper, critical analysis of the Hong Kong Convention has been carried out in order to study the effectiveness of the Convention to meet its objectives. The Convention has been studied in detail including its background, main features, major stakeholders, strengths and weaknesses. The Convention, though having several deficiencies, is a major breakthrough in not only recognizing but also dealing with the ill-practices associated with ship recycling.

A Study of Removing SUVA and Trihalomethanes by Biological Activated Carbon

Year: 2013 Volume: 7 Issue: 10 680 - 683 Pages

Abstract: SUVA (equivalent to UV254/DOC) value in raw water is a precursor for the formation of trihalomethane during chlorination at a water treatment plant. This study collected rapidly filtered water from an advanced water treatment plant for use in experiments on raw water. The removal rate of treating the trihalomethanes formation potential (THMFP) was conducted by using a biological activated carbon. The hydraulic retention time and SUVA loading were major factors in biological degradation tests. The results showed that biological powder-activated carbon (BPAC) lowered the average concentration of UV254 and value of SUVA in raw water. A removal efficiency of THMFP was present in the treatment of the three primary organic carbon items. These results highlighted the importance of the BPAC had an excellent treatment efficiency on THMFP.

Remote Sensing, GIS, and AHP for Assessing Physical Vulnerability to Tsunami Hazard

Year: 2013 Volume: 7 Issue: 10 671 - 679 Pages

Abstract: Remote sensing image processing, spatial data analysis through GIS approach, and analytical hierarchy process were introduced in this study for assessing the vulnerability area and inundation area due to tsunami hazard in the area of Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. Appropriate input parameters were derived from GSI DEM data, ALOS AVNIR-2, and field data. We used the parameters of elevation, slope, shoreline distance, and vegetation density. Five classes of vulnerability were defined and weighted via pairwise comparison matrix. The assessment results described that 14.35km2 of the study area was under tsunami vulnerability zone. Inundation areas are those of high and slightly high vulnerability. The farthest area reached by a tsunami was about 7.50km from the shoreline and shows that rivers act as flooding strips that transport tsunami waves into the hinterland. This study can be used for determining a priority for land-use planning in the scope of tsunami hazard risk management.

Batch and Continuous Packed Column Studies Biosorption by Yeast Supported onto Granular Pozzolana

Year: 2013 Volume: 7 Issue: 10 665 - 670 Pages

Abstract: The removal of chromium by living yeast biomass immobilized onto pozzolana was studied. The results obtained in batch experiments indicate that the immobilized yeast on to pozzolana is a excellent biosorbent of Cr(V) with a good removal rates of 85–90%. The initial concentration solution and agitation speed affected Cr(V) removal. The batch studies data were described using the Freundlich and Langmuir models, but the best fit was obtained with Langmuir model. The breakthrough curve from the continuous flow studies shows that immobilized yeast in the fixed-bed column is capable of decreasing Cr(VI) concentration from 15mg/l to a adequate level.

Integrated Water Management for Lafarge Cement-Jordan

Year: 2013 Volume: 7 Issue: 10 661 - 664 Pages

Abstract: This study aims at implementing integrated water resources management principles to the Lafarge Cement Jordan at Al-Fuhais plant. This was accomplished by conducting water audits at all water consuming units in the plant. Based on the findings of the water audit, an action plan to improve water use efficiency in the plant was proposed. The main elements of which are installing water saving devices, re-use of the treated wastewater, water harvesting, raising the awareness of the employees, and linking the plant to the water demand management unit at the Ministry of Water and Irrigation. The analysis showed that by implementing the proposed action plan, it is expected that the industrial water demand can be satisfied from non-conventional resources including treated wastewater and harvested water. As a consequence, fresh water can be used to increase the supply to Al-Fuhais city which is expected to reflect positively on the relationship between the factory and the city.

Bio Fuel Production from Waste of Starting Dates in South Algeria

Year: 2013 Volume: 7 Issue: 8 572 - 574 Pages

Abstract: Renewable energy, including bio energy are an alternative to fossil fuel depletion and a way to fight against the harmful effects of climate change. It is possible to develop common dates of low commercial value, and put on the local and international market a new generation of products with high added values such as bio ethanol. Besides its use in chemical synthesis, bio ethanol can be blended with gasoline to produce a clean fuel while improving the octane.

The Strategy of Creating a Virtual Interactive Platform for the Low-Carbon Open Innovations Relay

Year: 2013 Volume: 7 Issue: 10 655 - 660 Pages

Authors:
Mykola S. Shestavin

Abstract: A strategy for the creation of a Virtual Interactive Platform (or Networking Platform) to combine the four web-baseness of expert systems on the transfer and diffusion of low-carbon technologies. It used the concept of “Open Innovation” and “Triple Helix” with regard to theories of “Green Growth” and “Carbon Footprint”. Interpreters expert systems operate on the basis of models of the “Predator-Prey” for the process of transfer and diffusion of technologies, taking into account the features caused by the need to mitigate the effects of climate change.

A Carbon Footprint Analysis of Rapeseed Oil and Rapeseed Methyl Ester Produced in Romania as Fuels for Diesel Engines

Year: 2013 Volume: 7 Issue: 9 644 - 648 Pages

Abstract: Considering the increasing need of biofuels in Europe and the legislative requirements of the European Union it is needed to quantify the greenhouse gas emissions of biofuels life cycle. In this article a carbon footprint analysis to quantify these gases emitted during production and use of Romanian rapeseed oil (RO) and biodiesel from rapeseed oil (RME) was conducted. The functional unit was considered the LHV of diesel oil of 42.8 MJ·kg-1 corresponding to 1.15kg. of RO and 1.10 kg. of RME. When the 3 fuels were compared, the results show important benefits when using rapeseed oil or biodiesel instead of diesel. The most impacting stage in terms of GHG emissions is the use of the fuels. In this stage, rapeseed oil registers a total quantity of 3,229 kg CO2eq.·FU-1 and biodiesel register a total quantity of 3,088 kg CO2eq.·FU-1 while mineral diesel registers a total quantity of 3,156 kg CO2eq.·FU-1 emitted in the air. Taking into account that rape plant absorbed during growth stage the same quantity of CO2 as emitted into atmosphere during usage stage of the fuel, when compared the three fuels, rapeseed oil and biodiesel obtain obvious benefits against fossil diesel. Results show that by substituting diesel with RO a total quantity of 5,663 kg. CO2eq.·FU-1 would be saved while using biodiesel a total quantity of 5,570 kg. CO2eq.·FU-1 can be saved.

Modeling Moisture and Density Behaviors of Wood in Biomass Torrefaction Environments

Year: 2013 Volume: 7 Issue: 9 640 - 643 Pages

Abstract: Worldwide interests for the renewable energy are increasing due to environmental and climate changes from traditional petroleum related energy sources. To account for these social needs, ligneous biomass energy is considered as one of the environmentally friend energy solutions. The wood torrefaction process is a feasible method to improve the properties of the biomass fuel and makes the wood have low moisture, lower smoke emission and increased heating value. In this work, therefore, the moisture evaporation model which largely affects energy efficiency of ligneous biomass through moisture contents and heating value relative to its weight is studied with numerical modeling approach by analyzing the effects of torrefaction furnace temperature. The results show that the temperature and moisture fraction of wood decrease by increasing the furnace temperature. When the torrefaction temperature is lower than 423K, there were little changes of the moisture fraction in the wood. Also, it can be found that charcoal is produced more slowly when the torrefaction temperature is lower than 573K.

The Analysis of Hazard and Sensitivity of Potential Resource of Emergency Water Supply

Year: 2013 Volume: 7 Issue: 9 634 - 639 Pages

Abstract: The paper deals with the analysis of hazards and sensitivity of potential resource of emergency water supply of population in a selected region of the Czech Republic. The procedure of identification and analysis of hazards and sensitivity is carried out on the basis of a unique methodology of classifying the drinking water resources earmarked for emergency supply of population. The hazard identification is based on a general register of hazards for individual parts of hydrological structure and the elements of technological equipment. It is followed by a semi-quantitative point indexation for the activation of each identified hazard, i.e. fires of anthropogenic origin, flood and the increased radioactive background accompanied by the leak of radon. Point indexation of sensitivity has been carried out at the same time. The analysis is the basis for a risk assessment of potential resource of emergency supply of population and the subsequent classification of such resource within the system of crisis planning.

Effect of Geographical Co-Ordinates on the Parameters in the Rain Rate Model for Radio Propagation Applications

Year: 2013 Volume: 7 Issue: 8 566 - 571 Pages

Abstract: Rain attenuation plays a lot of roles in the design of satellite and terrestrial microwave radio links, hence a good knowledge of its effect is of great interest to Engineers and scientists in that it is often required to give a high level of accuracy of the rainrate distribution that expresses rainrate from the lowest value to the highest. This study proposes a model to express rainrate parameters alpha (α) and beta (β) as a function of geographical location at 0.01% of the time. The tropical locations used in the development of the effect were Ilorin, Ile-Ife, Douala, Dar-es-Selam, Nairobi, Lusaka, and Brazilia. This expression clearly confirms the variability of rainfall from place to place. When consistency test was carried out using the expression to generate rainrate for each location examined, the result obtained was reliable for rain intensities between 5mm/h and 200mm/h. The variability of α and β with latitude also shows that different latitudes have different cumulative rain distribution. The model proposed in this study would be one of the useful tools to Radio Engineers since the precipitation effect in the design of satellite and terrestrial microwave radio links is among the factors to consider when designing communication systems.

Hydrolysis of Eicchornia crassipes and Egeria densa for Ethanol Production by Yeasts Isolated from Colombian Lake Fúquene

Year: 2013 Volume: 7 Issue: 1 59 - 68 Pages

Abstract: The aquatic plants are a promising renewable energy resource. Lake Fúquene polluting macrophytes, water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes C. Mart.) and Brazilian elodea (Egeria densa Planch.), were saccharifiedby different treatments and fermented to ethanol by native yeasts. Among the tested chemical and biological methods for the saccharification, Pleurotus ostreatus at 10% (m/v) was chosen as the best pre-treatment in both macrophytes (P

Modeling Studies for Electrocoagulation

Year: 2013 Volume: 7 Issue: 11 744 - 747 Pages

Abstract: Synthetic oily wastewaters were prepared from metal working fluids (MWF). Electrocoagulation experiments were performed under constant voltage application. The current, conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen concentration and temperature were recorded on line at every 5 seconds during the experiments. Effects of applied voltage differences, electrode materials and distance between electrodes on removal efficiency have been investigated. According to the experimental results, the treatment of MWF wastewaters by iron electrodes rather than aluminum and stainless steel was much quicker; and the distance between electrodes should be less than 1cm. The electrocoagulation process was modeled by using block oriented approach and found out that it can be modeled as a single input and multiple output system. Modeling studies indicates that the electrocoagulation process has a nonlinear model structure.

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of High Barrier Polymer Packaging for Selecting Resource Efficient and Environmentally Low-Impact Materials

Year: 2013 Volume: 7 Issue: 11 735 - 743 Pages

Abstract: In this study tree types of multilayer gas barrier plastic packaging films were compared using life cycle assessment as a tool for resource efficient and environmentally low-impact materials selection. The first type of multilayer packaging film (PET-AlOx/LDPE) consists of polyethylene terephthalate with barrier layer AlOx (PET-AlOx) and low density polyethylene (LDPE). The second type of polymer film (PET/PE-EVOH-PE) is made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and co-extrusion film PE-EVOH-PE as barrier layer. And the third one type of multilayer packaging film (PET-PVOH/LDPE) is formed from polyethylene terephthalate with barrier layer PVOH (PET-PVOH) and low density polyethylene (LDPE). All of analyzed packaging has significant impact to resource depletion, because of raw materials extraction and energy use and production of different kind of plastics. Nevertheless the impact generated during life cycle of functional unit of II type of packaging (PET/PE-EVOH-PE) was about 25% lower than impact generated by I type (PET-AlOx/LDPE) and III type (PET-PVOH/LDPE) of packaging. Result revealed that the contribution of different gas barrier type to the overall environmental problem of packaging is not significant. The impact are mostly generated by using energy and materials during raw material extraction and production of different plastic materials as plastic polymers material as PE, LDPE and PET, but not gas barrier materials as AlOx, PVOH and EVOH. The LCA results could be useful in different decision-making processes, for selecting resource efficient and environmentally low-impact materials.

Statistical Optimization of Process Conditions for Disinfection of Water Using Defatted Moringa oleifera Seed Extract

Year: 2013 Volume: 7 Issue: 9 628 - 633 Pages

Abstract: In this study, statistical optimization design was used to study the optimum disinfection parameters using defatted crude Moringa oleifera seed extracts against Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacterial cells. The classical one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) and response surface methodology (RSM) was used. The possible optimum range of dosage, contact time and mixing rate from the OFAT study were 25mg/l to 200mg/l, 30minutes to 240 minutes and 100rpm to 160rpm respectively. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the statistical optimization using faced centered central composite design showed that dosage, contact time and mixing rate were highly significant. The optimum disinfection range was 125mg/l, at contact time of 30 minutes with mixing rate of 120 rpm.

Contribution of Root Respiration to Soil Respiration in Sugarcane Plantation in Thailand

Year: 2013 Volume: 7 Issue: 9 624 - 627 Pages

Abstract: The understanding on the contribution of root respiration to total soil respiration is still very limited, especially for sugarcane. In this study, trenching experiments in sugarcane plantations were conducted to separate and investigate soil respiration for this crop. The measurements were performed for the whole growing period of 344 days to quantify root respiration. The obtained monitoring data showed that the respiration rate is increasing with the age of the plant, accounting for up to 29% of the total soil respiration before harvesting. The root to soil respiration ratio increased rapidly during the young seedling stage, i.e. first five months, then declined and finally got stabilized during yield formation and ripening stages, respectively. In addition, the results from the measurements confirmed that soil respiration was positively correlated with soil moisture content.

Morphology of Parts of the Middle Benue Trough of Nigeria from Spectral Analysis of Aeromagnetic Data (Akiri Sheet 232 and Lafia Sheet 231)

Year: 2013 Volume: 7 Issue: 9 618 - 623 Pages

Abstract: Structural interpretation of aeromagnetic data and Landsat imagery over the Middle Benue Trough was carried out to determine the depth to basement, delineate the basement morphology and relief, and the structural features within the basin. The aeromagnetic and Landsat data were subjected to various image and data enhancement and transformation routines. Results of the study revealed lineaments with trend directions in the N-S, NE-SW, NWSE and E-W directions, with the NE-SW trends been dominant. The depths to basement within the trough were established to be at 1.8, 0.3 and 0.8km, as shown from the spectral analysis plot. The Source Parameter Imaging (SPI) plot generated showed the centralsouth/ eastern portion of the study area as being deeper in contrast to the western-south-west portion. The basement morphology of the trough was interpreted as having parallel sets of micro-basins which could be considered as grabens and horsts in agreement with the general features interpreted by early workers.