A Novel Gesomin Detection Method Based on Microwave Spectroscopy

Geosmin contamination in water is a leading cause of odor related complaints to water companies in UK, tainting water with an earthy smell that is detectable by humans in quantities as low as 4 nanograms per liter. Current Geosmin detection methods depend on lab-based equipment, requiring samples to be collected and transported before Geosmin can be tested. This research presents a novel method for the detection of Geosmin in water using Microwave spectroscopy capable of detecting differentiating between four levels of Geosmin contamination: 5 ng/L, 10 ng/L, 0.5 mg/L and 1 mg/L as well as control samples. Frequencies within the 5.4 GHz to 5.9, 6.4 GHz to 6.5 GHz and 7.2 GHz to 7.5 GHz ranges showed significant separation between the sample classe

RSM (Response Surface Methodology) Modelling of Inter-Electrodes Spacing Effects on Phosphate Removal

RSM modelling has been applied in this study to understand the effects of inter-electrodes on the performance of the electrochemical reactors in the removal of pollutants. RSM has been selected because it has the ability to predict the effects of more than one parameter on the targeted variable. Thus, the RSM has been used in this article to model the effects of inter-electrodes spaces (IES) (4 to 10 mm) and treatment time (TT) (5 – 55 min) on the ability of the electrocoagulation (EC) cells to remove phosphate from water. The results showed the best removal of phosphate was 92.5% at I-ES of 4 mm and TT of 50 min. High agreement was noticed between experimental and predicted removals (R 2 = 0.984)

Influence of Using High Volume Fraction of Silica Fume on Mechanical and Durability Properties of Cement Mortar

The high pollution caused by CO2 emission and the high level of energy consumed during cement manufacturing led the researchers to look for alternative techniques to reduce these environmental effects. One of these techniques includes reducing the content of cement in the mix by replacing it with supplementary cementitious materials such as fly ash, slag, silica fume, and so on. Many previous studies dealt with the utilizing of the high volume of supplementary cementitious materials, such as fly ash and slag. However, limited studies investigated the impact of silica fume on mortar or concrete properties in percentages of more than 30%. Thus, to produce environmentally friendly concrete, this study was performed to investigate the effect of the high replacement level of cement with silica fume on the properties of cement mortar. Six replacement proportions of silica fume (0%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60% and 70%) were used in this paper. This paper used the flow rate, compressive strength, water absorption, bulk density and volume of permeable voids tests to test the effect of silica fume on different mortar characteristics. The results indicated that the best mixture among all other mixes was found by 50% substitution of silica fume. At this percentage, an enhancement in compressive strength of nearly 83%, 74% and 75% at 7, 28 and 56 days, respectively and an improvement in water absorption resistance by 8% compared to the control mixture were achieved

Evaluation of the Use of Lignocellusic Biomass in Thermal Insulation for Green Building

Preserving the temperature of the indoor environment within the acceptable limits during the cold weather using a minimal amount of energy consumption is an important factor in the modern housing systems and green buildings. Therefore, this study aims to provide eco-friendly insulation material (organic material). The utlised organic material in this study was Lignocellusic Biomass (it is also known as Poaceae common reed, and Phragmites australis) and straw. The insulation efficiency of this organic matter was evaluated via testing its performance under controlled conditions. The experimental work included three types of insulation, namely organic insulation (straw and reeds), industrial insulation material (fiberglass), and bricks (without insulation). The insulation level was monitored using an infrared camera. The thermal profile was created for each insulation scenario. The results showed that the efficiency of the organic insulation was similar to the fiberglass; only a 0.84% difference was noticed between the industrial and the organic insulation materials in terms of efficiency, which proves that the Lignocellusic Biomass is a potential eco-friendly alternative for the industrial insulation materials

Experimental Investigations of Partial Replacement of OPC with PFA and GGBS in cement mortar

Production of cement has been identified as a major source of carbon dioxide, particulates, and other gases, where it was reported that the production of one ton of OPC could produce one ton of CO2. These gases and particulates exert significant effects on human health and the environment. Therefore, the supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) are becoming sustainable concrete in comparison with ordinary Portland cement (OPC) by decreasing the consumption of cement and carbon dioxide emissions. This experimental study is to focus on the effect of partial replacement in cement by pulverized fly ash (PFA) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS). Four mixes were used with different values of PFA and GGBS and they tested at 1, 2, and 4 weeks. The compressive strength of these specimens was carried out by a compression test. The test results revealed that increasing the ratios of PFA and GGBS replacement results in a decrease in the compressive strength of specimens. The decrease in compressive strength of SCMs mortar ranged from 20 to 30%, and they could be an acceptable value

Performance of Green Mortar Made From Locally Available Waste Tiles and Silica Fume

The continuous depletion of natural resources used in concrete require vital replacement materials to reduce the consumptions of the natural resources. Moreover, the growth in the population increases the construction of new houses to accommodate the population, which increases the demand concrete and other construction materials. The replacement of the existing building materials with the newly materials proceed from recycling the waste materials for example, flooring tiles, which is usually disposed of in landfills without any benefit in Iraq. Therefore, this study aims to recycle locally available floor tiles waste by using it as a total alternative to fine aggregate to enhance the sustainability by reducing the depletion of natural aggregates. Three types of waste tiles were used in this research, which are marble, granite, and porcelain. Four mortar mixtures were designed, casted and tested in the research. One control mixture made from natural sand aggregate and three mixtures in which the sand was fully replaced with each of marble, granite, and porcelain waste tiles with comparable grading as that for sand. The cement was partially replaced with a 10% silica fume (SF) in all mixtures. The flowability, mechanical and durability tests of mortar mixtures were investigated. The results indicated that the combination of porcelain waste tiles aggregates with 10% silica fume imparted superior performance compared to all other mixtures with improvements of 99% in the compressive strength, 53% in the flexural strength and 17% in the water absorption resistance

Street dust contamination by heavy metals in babylon governorate, Iraq

Due to the rapid population growth, advanced technology and continued urbanization worldwide, heavy metals are emitted into the ecosystem and cause negative impacts on health. This study represents the determination of street dust heavy metals copper (Cu), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni) and chromium (Cr) in thirty sites in Babylon governorate, Iraq and investigates the possible sources of the pollution. The analysis was carried out by using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer after the digestion process. The average concentration of Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Ni and Cr in the street dust were found to be 130.9, 201.4, 253.3, 2.2, 49.1 and 69.1 mg/kg, respectively. After performing a comparison with the mean of worldwide scale and values for uncontaminated soil, the findings indicated that there were high heavy metals concentrations in all sites. The main cause is the increased traffic across all areas which makes the vehicles disposed of different elements in the street dust. Moreover, the absence of regulation and lack of basic sewer and rain networks play a significant role to increase the heavy metals concentrations in the city. This research promotes a baseline data for heavy metals pollution in Babylon street dust which could afford to policymakers in order to adopt urgent environmental management strategies such as increasing green area and implementing new technologies to reduce environmental risks

An Implementation of a Multi-Hop Underwater Wireless Sensor Network using Bowtie Antenna

Water quality is a growing area of research, with more and more focus in the UK and globally on environmental issues and water quality. Current methods of monitoring environmental data such as air quality have continued to develop, spurred on by the growth of the Internet of Things. However, water quality monitoring mainly still depends on manual sample collection. This research presents the first implementation of a multi-hop underwater radio frequency sensor network using bowtie antennas combined with the 433 MHz frequency and a controlled flooding routing approach. The experimental work was conducted in the water reservoir and demonstrates the potential of multi-hop routing in underwater sensor networks to extend range to 19 meters as well as improvements on communication distances from 7 meters previously to 17 meters using radio frequency communications in an underwater environment. Simulated results show that the experimental platform used could enable the long-term deployment of an underwater wireless sensor network that used RF for periods of over a year with support for a 100 sensor node network broadcasting twice daily remaining active for 418 days or a 100 sensor node network broadcasting hourly remaining active for 406 days before any node deaths

Recent Advancements in Non-Destructive Testing Techniques for Structural Health Monitoring

Structural health monitoring (SHM) is an important aspect of the assessment of various structures and infrastructure, which involves inspection, monitoring, and maintenance to support economics, quality of life and sustainability in civil engineering. Currently, research has been conducted in order to develop non-destructive techniques for SHM to extend the lifespan of monitored structures. This paper will review and summarize the recent advancements in non-destructive testing techniques, namely, sweep frequency approach, ground penetrating radar, infrared technique, fiber optics sensors, camera-based methods, laser scanner techniques, acoustic emission and ultrasonic techniques. Although some of the techniques are widely and successfully utilized in civil engineering, there are still challenges that researchers are addressing. One of the common challenges within the techniques is interpretation, analysis and automation of obtained data, which requires highly skilled and specialized experts. Therefore, researchers are investigating and applying artificial intelligence, namely machine learning algorithms to address the challenges. In addition, researchers have combined multiple techniques in order to improve accuracy and acquire additional parameters to enhance the measurement processes. This study mainly focuses on the scope and recent advancements of the Non-destructive Testing (NDT) application for SHM of concrete, masonry, timber and steel structures

Granular and Biological Activated Carbon for the Management of Biogenic Taste and Odour Compounds in Drinking Water Treatment

Biogenic taste and odour (T&O) events pose a series of challenges to drinking water treatment plants, increasing treatment costs and influencing customer perception of water quality. Granular activated carbon (GAC) is effective at removing these compounds from drinking water through adsorption; and the development of a biofilm on the surface of the granules turns the system into a biological activated carbon (BAC) and extends its lifetime. Selection of appropriate carbon types is fundamental to ensure high T&O removal throughout all phases of the GAC-BAC lifecycle, from adsorption-only to biofiltration. This study developed and applied a methodology to compare the adsorption capacity of nine different commercially available GACs; conducted bench-scale columns contactors and rapid biofilm growth experiments to assess carbon characteristics that affect biofilm development and biofiltration performance; and performed a metagenomic analysis to assess the effects of carbon characteristics, biofilm age and pre-exposure to T&O compounds on the microbiome, and how these impact biofiltration. The proposed adsorption methodology was successfully applied and revealed that the volume in pores smaller than 2 nm was the carbon characteristic with the most impact on adsorption of geosmin and MIB and should be the primary factor when selecting GACs for T&O. Results showed that different types of oxygen bonds showed opposite effects and total surface oxygen abundance showed little to no effect on adsorption; these results could be the answer to conflicting results reported by previous studies. The removability of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) by GAC rapidly declined over time, but removability of T&O compounds remained high throughout operation. Pre-exposure to T&O compounds had a small effect on their removability; it is hypothesized, however, that biological degradation may play a more important role on the removability of MIB than that of geosmin in BAC contactors. Intermittent exposure to T&O did not significantly affect T&O removability. Metagenomic results showed that BAC biofilms are extremely diverse and complex microbial communities, containing a multitude of different species of bacteria, viruses, archaea and eukaryotes. Carbon type, pre-exposure to T&O and carbon ‘age’ did not appear to significantly affect the microbial community composition. Two potential novel degraders of geosmin and MIB, Pseudomonas alcaligenes and Comamonas testosterone, were found