Study of the Electrochemical Oxidation of Reactive Textile Dyes Using Platinum Electrode

Textile industries are widespread in developing countries. Among the various processes in the textile industry, the dyeing process uses large volumes of water for dyeing, fixing and washing. Textile industry wastewater is characterized by intensive color and high chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations that discarding of these toxic wastewaters to the environment will cause a major problem. In this study electrochemical oxidation of reactive textile dyes: Reactive Blue 52, Reactive Black 5, Reactive Green 15, and Reactive Yellow 125, using platinum anode was examined. Electrolysis is carried out in electrochemical cell containing membrane which is standard membrane in industry. Membrane separated anodic and cathodic area. Supporting electrolyte was 0.1M sodium sulfate which is also present in real textile effluents. Applied voltage of 6, 12 and 24V, and influence of membrane on electrolysis were examined on model dye (Reactive Blue 52). Highest degradation degree for model dye was achieved at 12V, so electrolysis of other dyes was done on this voltage. COD value of all dyes dropped after 60 minutes of electrolysis below a measurable level ( LT 30mg/L O-2), except Reactive Black 5 whose COD reduction was 57.95% with membrane and 35.28% without membrane applied. Complete decolorization was achieved after 10 to 60 minutes for all dyes. Degradation products of model dye Reactive Blue 52 were monitored with HPLC, and influence of pH on decolorization was also examined on model dye

Study of the Electrochemical Oxidation of Reactive Textile Dyes Using Platinum Electrode

Textile industries are widespread in developing countries. Among the various processes in the textile industry, the dyeing process uses large volumes of water for dyeing, fixing and washing. Textile industry wastewater is characterized by intensive color and high chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations that discarding of these toxic wastewaters to the environment will cause a major problem. In this study electrochemical oxidation of reactive textile dyes: Reactive Blue 52, Reactive Black 5, Reactive Green 15, and Reactive Yellow 125, using platinum anode was examined. Electrolysis is carried out in electrochemical cell containing membrane which is standard membrane in industry. Membrane separated anodic and cathodic area. Supporting electrolyte was 0.1M sodium sulfate which is also present in real textile effluents. Applied voltage of 6, 12 and 24V, and influence of membrane on electrolysis were examined on model dye (Reactive Blue 52). Highest degradation degree for model dye was achieved at 12V, so electrolysis of other dyes was done on this voltage. COD value of all dyes dropped after 60 minutes of electrolysis below a measurable level ( LT 30mg/L O-2), except Reactive Black 5 whose COD reduction was 57.95% with membrane and 35.28% without membrane applied. Complete decolorization was achieved after 10 to 60 minutes for all dyes. Degradation products of model dye Reactive Blue 52 were monitored with HPLC, and influence of pH on decolorization was also examined on model dye

Chemical characterization and aging of ambient aerosols in Australian urban and remote areas with a focus on biomass burning organic aerosols

This thesis presents a study of chemical composition of rural and urban ambient aerosols in Australia. Aerosol mass spectrometry and new statistical analytical packages were applied to determine the sources of observed aerosols, as well as to determine atmospheric aging that occurred in the measured air masses. The focus of the study was on examination of the aerosols generated from prescribed and wild biomass burnings. The main aim of this research is to provide insight into the characterization and aging of organic biomass burning-related aerosols in Australian urban and remote areas

Analysis of quality control outcomes of grass pollen identification and enumeration: experience matters

Pollen identification and enumeration is subject to human errors, and hence, it is crucial to evaluate the proficiency of pollen counters. Many networks still depend on manual pollen monitoring, and those adopting automation use manual counting data as a reference. A quality control exercise was undertaken across the AusPollen Aerobiology Collaboration Network to compare data analysis methods, gauge factors associated with accuracy, and improvements in counting proficiency. Counters were instructed to count grass and other pollen of the same two slides. Reported pollen concentrations were compared to an approximation of the true concentration values applying the published benchmark approach and alternative approach using bootstrapping technique. Participants were asked about their experience, training and usual practice via an online questionnaire. The majority (92% of 72) of reported values fell within acceptable ranges of variation from approximated true values. Outcomes were similar regardless of analysis approach, but bootstrapping did not require detection of outliers, and worked well with a small sample size with non-normal distribution. Counter reported pollen data were significantly shifted towards better outcomes compared to an initial exercise, and five of eight counters who were tested two times improved. Counting performance seemed not to be associated with amount of training received but was significantly related to counter experience. For future quality control exercises, particularly for small and skewed datasets, confidence limits of true pollen concentrations may be analysed by bootstrapping. Implementation of quality control exercises with harmonised analysis would enhance delivery of reliable pollen information to community, clinicians and government agencies for forecasting and environmental health management.</p

Literature review on thunderstorm asthma and its implicaitons for public health advice: Final Report

This report, written by the Queensland University of Technology for the Department of Health and Human Services and published in May 2017, explores and details published reports on thunderstorm asthma. It will inform part of the Victorian Government’s response to the thunderstorm asthma outbreak that occurred on 21 November 2016. This review and evaluation of literature is designed to help better understand the factors leading to thunderstorm asthma, and highlight knowledge gaps that need to be filled to better predict and prevent the impact of future episodes

Grass Gazers: Using citizen science as a tool to facilitate practical and online science learning for secondary school students during the COVID-19 lockdown

The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted educational systems worldwide during 2020, including primary and secondary schooling. To enable students of a local secondary school in Brisbane, Queensland, to continue with their practical agricultural science learning and facilitate online learning, a “Grass Gazers” citizen science scoping project was designed and rapidly implemented as a collaboration between the school and a multidisciplinary university research group focused on pollen allergy. Here, we reflect on the process of developing and implementing this project from the perspective of the school and the university. A learning package including modules on pollen identification, tracking grass species, measuring field greenness, using a citizen science data entry platform, forensic palynology, as well as video guides, risk assessment and feedback forms were generated. Junior agriculture science students participated in the learning via online lessons and independent data collection in their own local neighborhood and/or school grounds situated within urban environments. The university research group and school coordinator, operating in their own distributed work environments, had to develop, source, adopt, and/or adapt material rapidly to meet the unique requirements of the project. The experience allowed two-way knowledge exchange between the secondary and tertiary education sectors. Participating students were introduced to real-world research and were able to engage in outdoor learning during a time when online, indoor, desk-based learning dominated their studies. The unique context of restrictions imposed by the social isolation policies, as well as government Public Health and Department of Education directives, allowed the team to respond by adapting teaching and research activity to develop and trial learning modules and citizen science tools. The project provided a focus to motivate and connect teachers, academic staff, and school students during a difficult circumstance. Extension of this citizen project for the purposes of research and secondary school learning has the potential to offer ongoing benefits for grassland ecology data acquisition and student exposure to real-world science.</p

The ambient aerosol characterization during the prescribed bushfire season in Brisbane 2013

Prescribed burnings are conducted in Queensland each year from August until November aiming to decrease the impact of bushfire hazards and maintain the health of vegetation. This study reports chemical characteristics of the ambient aerosol, with a focus on source apportionment of the organic aerosol (OA)fraction, during the prescribed biomass burning (BB) season in Brisbane 2013. All measurements were conducted within the International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health (ILAQH) located in Brisbane’s Central Business District. Chemical composition, degree of ageing and the influence of BB emission on the air quality of central Brisbane were characterized using a compact Time of Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (cToF-AMS). AMS loadings were dominated by OA (64 %), followed by, sulfate (17 %), ammonium (14 %) and nitrates (5 %). Source apportionment was applied on the AMS OA mass spectra via the multilinear engine solver (ME-2) implementation within the recently developed Source Finder (SoFi) interface. Six factors were extracted including hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA), cooking-related OA (COA), biomass burning OA (BBOA), low-volatility oxygenated OA (LV-OOA), semivolatile oxygenated OA (SV-OOA), and nitrogen-enriched OA (NOA). The aerosol fraction that was attributed to BB factor was 9 %, on average over the sampling period. The high proportion of oxygenated OA (72 %), typically representing aged emissions, could possess a fraction of oxygenated species transformed from BB components on their way to the sampling site

Literature review on thunderstorm asthma and its implications for public health advice: Final report

This report, written by the Queensland University of Technology for the Department of Health and Human Services and published in May 2017, explores and details published reports on thunderstorm asthma. It will inform part of the Victorian Government’s response to the thunderstorm asthma outbreak that occurred on 21 November 2016. This review and evaluation of literature is designed to help better understand the factors leading to thunderstorm asthma, and highlight knowledge gaps that need to be filled to better predict and prevent the impact of future episodes

Australian Airborne Pollen and Spore Monitoring Network Interim Standard and Protocols

Despite the high prevalence of allergic rhinitis and asthma, Australia is one of the few developed countries without a standardised national airborne pollen and spore monitoring program. The growing public demand for an Australian Airborne Pollen and Spore Monitoring Network prompted the establishment of a standardised methodology for pollen and spore monitoring that can be applied by existing and newly created Australian monitoring sites. This Standard and Protocols document is designed to articulate best practice for pollen and spore monitoring that can be adopted and implemented nationally by all current and future aerobiology research projects as well as for Australian monitoring and forecasting services. It has been written both for the National Health and Medical Research Council AusPollen Partnership Project entitled “AusPollen: Implementation of a standardized national pollen alert system for better management of allergic respiratory health” and as part of the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services’ thunderstorm asthma forecasting development program which is a collaboration between the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and a series of academic partner institutes. The Standard specifies principles, protocols and procedures to guide monitoring of airborne pollen and spores including all aspects of sample collection, processing, counting and reporting. The overall objective is to enable generation of quality data on exposure to allergenic pollen and fungal spores that can be used to enhance the quality of life of individuals with allergic diseases, assist with clinical diagnosis and management of patients and inform public health policy and practices. This Standard and Protocols document is designed to improve the consistency of processes between sites and to enhance reliability of data enabling better comparability of data derived from different locations across the continent. This is the first Standard and Protocols for Pollen and Spore Monitoring that has been written specifically for Australia and this serves as an interim document that will be amended and adapted according to the experience of users and expert review annually over the next three years and beyond. Throughout the document the rationale for requirements and recommendations for best practice is described. The document outlines minimum standards that should be adopted by all sites. All sites are encouraged to be compliant with the minimum standards within one year of release of this document and to adopt best practice. Individual projects or organisations that are responsible for management of particular pollen monitoring sites may utilize the Audit process (26.9 Pollen Monitoring Site Audit Checklist) to evaluate compliance of individual sites to the minimum requirements outlined within this Standard and Protocol document and to implement audit report recommendations. Protocols designed specifically for surveillance of grass and total pollen concentrations for the purposes of development of daily thunderstorm asthma pollen forecasting are also provided. The summary of minimum requirements suggested by this Standard are listed in Table 1

Influence of oxygen content of the certain types of biodiesels on particulate oxidative potential

Oxidative potential (OP) is related to the organic phase, specifically to its oxygenated organic fraction (OOA). Furthermore, the oxygen content of fuel molecules has significant influence on particulate OP. Thus, this study aimed to explore the actual dependency of the OOA and ROS to the oxygen content of the fuel. In order to reach the goal, different biodiesels blends, with various ranges of oxygen content; have been employed. The compact time of flight aerosol mass spectrometer (c-ToF AMS) enabled better identification of OOA. ROS monitored by using two assays: DTT and BPEA-nit. Despite emitting lower mass, both assays agreed that oxygen content of a biodiesel is directly correlated with its OOA, and highly related to its OP. Hence, the more oxygen included in the considered biodiesels, the higher the OP of PM emissions. This highlights the importance of taking oxygen content into account while assessing emissions from new fuel types, which is relevant from a health effects standpoint