Efficiency of aluminum and iron electrodes in removal of colour, turbidity and total suspended solid from biologically treated municipal wastewater

The present investigation was undertaken to observe the effect of different combinations of aluminium and iron (Al-Al, Al-Fe, Fe-Fe and Fe-Al) electrodes on the removal of colour, turbidity (TD) and total suspended solids (TSS) of biologically treated municipal wastewater ( BTMW) using applied potential (V), operating time (OT) and initial pH. The maximum removal of colour (98.7 %) and TSS (96.89 %) was found with the use of Al-Al combination with optimum operating conditions (Voltage: 40 V; OT: 40 mins.; IED: 1.0 cm; EA: 160 cm2; initial pH: 7.5 and ST: 30 mins). It was interesting to note that TD of BTMW was completely removed at these optimal operating conditions. The economic evaluation of electrode combinations was observed to be in the order of Fe-Al (1.17 US /m3)> Al-Fe (1.11 US /m3)> Fe-Fe (1.08 US /m3) >Al-Al (1.01 US /m3) in terms of energy and electrode consumption. Thus, the BTMW can be effectively treated with the Al-Al electrode combination in comparison to other electrode combinations (Al-Fe , Fe-Fe and Fe-Al)

Efficiency of turbidity and BOD removal from secondarily treated sewage by electrochemical treatment

The present investigation observed the effect of operating time, current density, pH and supporting electrolyte on the removal efficiency of Turbidity (TD) and Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of secondarily treated sewage (STS) using electrochemical process. A glass chamber of 2 litre volume was used for the experiment with two electrode plates of aluminum, each having an area of 125 cm2 and 2 cm distance apart from each other. The treatment showed that the removal efficiency of TD and BOD increased to 87.41 and 81.38 % respectively with theincrease of current density (1.82 -7.52 mA/cm2), time (5 - 40 mins.) and different pH (4-8) of the STS. The most effective removal efficiency was observed around the pH 7. Further, 0.5 g/l NaCl as a supporting electrolyte for electrochemical treatment of STS was found to be more efficient for an increase to 95.56 % and 86.99 % for the removal of TD and BOD at 7.52 mA/cm2 current density in 40 mins. respectively. The electrode and energy consumption was found to vary from 2.52 x10-2 to 10.51 x10-2 kg Al/m3 and 2.76 kwh/m3 to 45.12 kWh/m3 depending on the operating conditions.The kinetic study results revealed that reaction rate (k) increased from 0.0174 to 0.03 min-1 for TD and 0.0169 to 0.024 min-1 for BOD with increase in current density from 1.82 to 7.52 mA/cm2

Influence of operating conditions on the electrolytic treatment for the removal of color, TSS, hardness and alkalinity using Al-Al electrode combination

The present investigation observed the effect of current density (CD), operating time (OT), inter electrode distance (IED), electrode area (EA), initial pH and settling time (ST) using Al-Al electrode combination on the removal of color, total suspended solids (TSS), hardness (HR) and alkalinity (ALK) from biologically treated municipal wastewater (BTMW) of Sewage Treatment Plant (STP), Jagjeetpur, Haridwar, India. The maximum removal of color (99.86%), TSS (98.7%), HR (78.9%) and ALK (43.69 %) from BTMW was found with the optimum operating conditions of CD (2.65 A/m2), OT (40 mins.), IED (0.5 cm), EA (160 cm2), initial pH (7.5) and ST (60 min.). However, the maximum removal of ALK was found with the optimum operating conditions of CD (1.68 A/m2), OT (40 mins.), IED (1.0 cm), EA (80 cm2), initial pH (7.5) and ST (90 min.) The electrolytic treatment ( ET) brought down the concentration of HR and ALK to the desirable limit of the BIS standards of drinking water. There was no need of pH adjustment of the BTMW during ET as the optimal removal efficiency was close to the pH of 7.5. Under optimal operating conditions, the operating cost was found to be 1.01 $/m3 in terms of the electrode consumption (23.71x 10-5 kg Al/m3) and energy consumption (101.76 Kwh/m3). The study revealed that BTMW can be effectively treated with the Al-Al electrode combination for color, TSS, HR and ALK removal

Removal of COD and BOD from biologically treated municipal wastewater by electrochemical treatment

The present investigation observed the effect of current density (CD), operating time (OT), inter electrode distance (IED), electrode area (EA), initial pH and settling time (ST) using Fe-Fe electrode combination on the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) from biologically treated municipal wastewater (BTMW) of Sewage Treatment Plant (STP). The maximum removal of COD (92.35%) from BTMW was found with the optimum operating conditions of CD (2.82 A/m2), OT (40 mins.), IED (0.5 cm), EA (160 cm2), initial pH (7.5) and ST (60 min.), while the maximum removal of BOD (84.88%) was found with the ST (30 min.) at the same operating conditions. There was no need of pH adjustment of the BTMW during ET as the optimal removal efficiency was close to the pH of 7.5. Under optimal operating conditions, the operating cost was found to be 54.29 Rs./m3 / 1.08 US$/m3 in terms of the electrode consumption (78.48 x 10-5 kg Al/m3 ) and energy consumption (108.48 Kwh/m3)

An overview of pesticides in the development of agriculture crops

The development of agriculture yield is closely related to the use of pesticides. This review categorizes and identifies the pathway of toxicity in the environment and their prevention measures to reduce risks from pesticide use. The inherent properties of selected pesticides released into the environment through different routes such as spray, drift, vaporization, surface run-off, unlawful acts, spills and drainage discharges, and through leaching or soil dust are related to their potential effects on environmental health. The intensive use of various pesticides like BHC, endrin, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, DDT, endosulfan and pyrethroids have harmful effects on non-target organisms and interfere in the development of agriculture crops. The preventive measures for pesticides are the crop rotation, use of protective equipment, integrated pest management, protection and regulation policy in pesticide application. The development of alternatives to pesticides is also needed in order to advance the design of better farming systems. A regular monitoring programme of pest management would help to improve the production of high quality of food as well as to protect the health of the environment and humans

Severe Corrosion On Rotor Blades of Back Pressure Type Steam Turbine Due to Unique Reason. What Went Wrong?

Case Stud

From admission to discharge in mental health services: a qualitative analysis of service user involvement

Background: User involvement and recovery are now widely used terms within the mental health policy, research and practice discourse. However, there is a question mark about the impact these ideas have in everyday practice. Of interest is the degree of involvement in key transitions of care. In particular admission to and discharge from acute inpatient mental health wards. Objective: To explore the nature of service user involvement in the admission and discharge process into and out of acute inpatient mental health care. Design: A qualitative study using focus groups. Setting and Participants: One acute, inpatient mental health ward was the focus of the study. Seven uni-professional focus group interviews were conducted with ward staff, community staff and service users (total number of participants = 52). Conventional, thematic qualitative techniques were used to analyse the data. Results: The data analysed and presented in this article relates to the loss of the service user voice at the key transition points into and out of acute inpatient care. Due to the lack of resources (inpatient beds and community care follow up) the role service users could play was diminished. In their narratives clinical staff associated the person with the process and used language which dehumanised the individual. Conclusion: Service users experience numerous care transitions into and out of hospital. As there is the potential for these encounters to have a lasting negative effect, the importance of ensuring service users have a voice in what is happening to them is crucial

Indian Diabetes Risk Score (IDRS): An effective tool to screen undiagnosed diabetes

Background: Diabetes is an insidious public health problem. India has the second largest number of adults living with diabetes worldwide (77 million). Indian Diabetes Risk Score (IDRS) is a simple, cost-effective and feasible tool for mass screening programme at community level. Aim & Objective: To assess diabetes risk in adults aged 30 years and above and to identify high risk subjects for screening undiagnosed diabetes in an urban population of Meerut. Settings and Design: Community based cross-sectional study. Methods and Material: All adults who were ?30 years of age and non-diabetic were interviewed using pre-designed, pre-tested questionnaire for their socio-demographic profile and lifestyle. Fasting Blood glucose of all study subjects were done to screen undiagnosed diabetics. Statistical analysis used: Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Epi Info TM 7.2.3.1 was used. Pearson’s Chi Square were applied. Results: 33.4% were found to have high diabetes risk. Risk of diabetes increases with age. 7.6% of the study subjects were found to be diabetic and were unaware of their diabetic status. Physical inactivity and increasing waist circumference were found to be significantly associated with risk of diabetes. Diabetes risk was also significantly associated with positive family history. Conclusions: Screening and early identification of high risk individuals would help in early diagnosis and treatment to prevent or to delay the onset of diabetes mellitus and its complications

Inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis MtrA response regulator by anticancer drugs via computational methods

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) causes TB disease and millions of deaths are reported every year. Drug resistance TB and its complex treatment is a big problem worldwide. The present  study aimed to design new and safer antitubercular compounds to tackle this serious threat. The unique drug target is the MtrAB Two-component regulatory system (2CRS) of mycobacteria. MtrAB system consists of MtrB sensor kinase (SK) and MtrA response regulator (RR). This system is essential in MTB and is involved in mycobacteria's proliferation. This important physiological process is operated by the phosphorylation of MtrB and then to MtrA. The phosphorylation mechanism triggers modulation in the expression of MtrA targets genes and helps perform appropriate function. This phenomenon depends on the active and inactive confirmation of MtrA, which involves a ligand (Metal ion complex e.g. Mg2+). In this study, anti-cancerous compounds were selected for the inhibition of MtrA. However, molecular docking exhibited binding affinity ranging from −10.8 to −4.7 kcal/mol, targeting the binding pocket of the selected Tuberculosis–MtrA protein (PDB ID: 5L8X). This energy difference between the native ligand and docked compounds showed that the six molecules: (Risperidone, 2-(benzofuran-2-yl)-6,7-dimethyl-4H-chromen-4-one, (2E)-1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-3-(quinolin-4-yl)prop-2-en-1-one, Estradiol Cypionate, (2Z)-6-hydroxy-2-(3,4,5-trimethoxybenzylidene)-1-benzofuran-3(2H)-one, (2E)-3-(2,3-dihydro-1,4-benzodioxin-6-yl)-1-(3-hydroxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one) mentioned are more potent than the native ligand.These six molecules were first time reported as the inhibitor for MtrA of MtrAB Two-component regulatory system and can be utelize for further study