Composition and sources of organic tracers in aerosol particles of industrial central India

Organic aerosols are important atmospheric components, and their formation and sources represent important aspects of urban air quality and health effects. Asia, including India, is the largest global source of aerosol particles due to regional natural advection (e.g. desert and soil dust) and anthropogenic activities (e.g. emissions from traffic, industry and burning of coal, biomass and agricultural waste) that generate vast amounts of particulate matter (PM) significantly contributing to climate change. This article reports on the distributions, concentrations, and sources of organic compounds (i.e., alkanes, carboxylic acids, carbonyl compounds, alcohols, plasticizers, PAHs, biomarkers) of PM in the ambient atmosphere of an extensively industrialized area of central India (Raipur, Chhattisgarh, a coal mega-burning region). The dominant components are emissions from fossil fuel utilization, burning of biomass and plastics, and fugitive sources. Speciation and variations of potential new tracer compounds identified are also described.Keywords: Lipids, Fugitive emissions, Hydrocarbons, GC-MS, Terpenoids, Raipur, PM₁₀, PA

Lead Environmental Pollution in Central India

Non

ORIENTAL JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY A Critical Comparative Study of Indoor Air Pollution from Household Cooking Fuels and its Effect on Health

ABSTRACT This paper throws light on household cooking related exposures and level of indoor air pollutants (particulate matter and gaseous pollutants CO, CO 2 , SO 2 , NO, NO 2 ) in different exposure area from the different types of cooking fuels used. Still the prevalence of biomass fuels exists in Indian households, combustion of which releases higher levels of solid and gaseous pollutants during the cooking hours. The indoor air pollutants (SPM, CO, CO 2 , SO 2 , NO, NO 2 ) were measured with handy samplers with different types of cooking fuels (biomass and LPG). For this purpose 50 randomly selected sampled of the indoor air quality were monitored. The results suggests that average concentration of PM 10 (394.07 ìg/m 3 ) and gaseous pollutants (CO-3.15 ppm, CO 2 -492.63 ppm, SO 2 -0.56 ppm, NO-0.58 ppm, NO 2 -0.52 ppm) were highest during cooking hours with biofuels cooking places. Thus, not only the women who are involved in cooking suffer from the various ill effects, but also other family members who are inside the house during cooking hours also face exposures. The recorded SPM (114.73 ìg/m 3 for PM 10 ) and gaseous pollutants (CO-1.34 ppm, CO 2 -379.83 ppm, SO 2 -0.52 ppm, NO-0.54 ppm, NO 2 -0.52 ppm) in LPG using households were lower as compared to biomass fuel using households. Due to the LPG efficiency the time involved in cooking is also low leading to less exposure to the pollutants released

ORIENTAL JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY Characteristics and Seasonal Variation of Carbonaceous and Water Soluble Organic Components in the Aerosols over East India

ABSTRACT The present investigation intends to measurement of PM 2.5 and PM 10 samples from agricultural (AG) and an Adityapur industrial (AI) site of East India to better characterize the carbonecous and water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC). The current study aimed (a) to determine variation ratio of OC/ PM, EC/PM, WSOC/EC, OC/EC in the study area (b) assess and quantity the Correlation between OC and EC, WSOC and OC, WSOC and PM, WSOC and EC of AG and AI site (c) Analyse the abundance pattern, at AG site indicating dominant contribution from biomass burning sources (woodfuel and agriculture waste) and in AI site sharp contrast influenced by emissions from coal-fired industries. Th

Effect of gamma ray irradiation on optical and luminescence properties of CeO2 doped bismuth glass

High lead oxide based Radiation Shielding Window (RSW) glass is highly toxic in nature and thus health haz-ardous. Therefore, a new way to design environmental friendly non-toxic lead-free RSW glass for nuclear application is very much required. In this work, a lead-free non-toxic glass based on multi-component Bi2O3--BaO-B2O3-ZnO-As2O3-MgO-Na2O system has been studied with different concentrations of cerium oxide (CeO2) as doping agent for enhancing radiation shielding effect. The optical properties of cerium doped bismuth based lead-free radiation shielding glass after exposure to gamma radiation up to 105 rad have been studied. The densities of glass varied from 4.59 to 5.05 g/cc on varying concentrations of bismuth oxide and boron trioxide in glass system. The transmission properties in visible regions from 400 to 1000 nm are investigated through UV-visible spectrometer after exposure to gamma radiation on developed glass using 60Co Gamma Chamber GC5000. The structure of glass as characterized by Raman spectroscopy, XRD, Photoluminescence (PL), FESEM with EDAX, refractive index measurement and dilatometry test has been correlated with its properties. The developed bismuth glass could find its application as lead-free RSW glass in nuclear reactors as an alternative to high lead containing glass

Understanding Sources and Composition of Black Carbon and PM_2.5 in Urban Environments in East India

Black carbon (BC) and PM2.5 chemical characterizations are crucial for insight into their impact on the health of the exposed population. PM2.5 sampling was carried out over selected residential sites of Jamshedpur (JSR) and Kharagpur (KGP), east India, during the winter season. Seven selected elements (SO42−, Cl−, Na+, NO3−, K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+) were analyzed using ion chromatography (IC). Black carbon (BC) sampling was also done at two different sites in JSR and KGP to understand its correlation. The PM2.5 ionic species mass concentration in JSR was in the order of SO42− > Cl− > Na+ > NO3− > K+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+, whereas in KGP, it was SO42− > NO3− > Cl− > Na+ > K+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+. The back-trajectory analysis showed that most of the air masses during the study period originated from the Indo Gangetic Plain (IGP). The Pearson relations of BC-PM2.5 indicate a better positive correlation (r = 0.66) at KGP compared to JSR (r = 0.42). As shown in the diagnostic ratio analysis, fossil fuel combustion and wood burning account for 51.51% and 36.36% of the total energy consumption in JSR city, respectively. In KGP city, the apportionment of origin sources were fossil fuel and wood burning at 43.75% and 34.37%, respectively. This study provides the first inventory of atmospheric particulate-bound chemical concentrations and BC profiles in middle-east India and informs policymakers and scientists for further studies

Statistical evaluation of rainfall time series in concurrence with agriculture and water resources of Ken River basin, Central India (1901–2010)

Trend analysis of long-term rainfall records can be used to facilitate better agriculture water management decision and climate risk studies. The main objective of this study was to identify the existing trends in the long-term rainfall time series over the period 1901–2010 utilizing 12 hydrological stations located at the Ken River basin (KRB) in Madhya Pradesh, India. To investigate the different trends, the rainfall time series data were divided into annual and seasonal (i.e., pre-monsoon, monsoon, post-monsoon, and winter season) sub-sets, and a statistical analysis of data using the non-parametric Mann–Kendall (MK) test and the Sen’s slope approach was applied to identify the nature of the existing trends in rainfall series for the Ken River basin. The obtained results were further interpolated with the aid of the Quantum Geographic Information System (GIS) approach employing the inverse distance weighted approach. The results showed that the monsoon and the winter season exhibited a negative trend in rainfall changes over the period of study, and this was true for all stations, although the changes during the preand the post-monsoon seasons were less significant. The outcomes of this research study also suggest significant decreases in the seasonal and annual trends of rainfall amounts in the study period. These findings showing a clear signature of climate change impacts on KRB region potentially have implications in terms of climate risk management strategies to be developed during major growing and harvesting seasons and also to aid in the appropriate water resource management strategies that must be implemented in decision-making process

Low Expansion Glass-Ceramics Using Industrial Waste and Low-cost Aluminosilicate Minerals: Fabrication and Characterizations

The recycling of the wastes towards value added product development has become a prime challenge. In this work, a low thermal expansion glass-ceramic material based on ternary LAS (Li2O-Al2O3-SiO2) system has been prepared by adopting meltquenching route using industrial waste (blast furnace slag) and low-cost aluminosilicate minerals (China clay and pyrophyllite) at relatively low melting temperature (similar to 1450 degrees C). A part of the precursor powder for pristine glass has also been prepared by sol-gel processing utilizing Li2CO3 and Al(NO3)(3).9H(2)O to obtain better homogeneity in the glass composition vis-a-vis glass-ceramics at lower melting temperature. Thermal properties of the material have been characterized to optimize the nucleation and crystallization temperatures for converting glass to glass-ceramics. Phase structure and surface morphology of the glass-ceramics have been analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy. XRD study reveals the presence of lithium aluminosilicate as a major phase at the crystallization temperature of 730 degrees C. The developed glass-ceramics show a low thermal expansion coefficient (CTE) value of (19 +/- 0.5)x10(-7)/degrees C in the temperature range of 30 degrees-500 degrees C. The present work can unfold an avenue towards conversion of waste into wealth in the form of low CTE glass-ceramics for possible application as cook-top plate of LPG gas oven

Accumulation and Toxicity of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Long-Term Soil Irrigated with Treated Wastewater

Our study focuses on examining the effects of treated wastewater irrigation (TWWI) on agricultural soils in water-scarce regions, with a specific emphasis on the presence and accumulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). This issue is particularly significant due to its potential threats to environmental security. During our research, we discovered the existence of 16 different PAHs in these soils, which are known to have harmful impacts on ecosystems and human health. The concentration of total PAHs ranged from 163.9 ng g−1 to 9177.4 ng g−1, with 4- and 5-ring PAHs being the most dominant contributors. The PAHs Fluoranthene and Pyrene were found to be the most prevalent in all soil samples. Comparing the PAH concentrations in our research area to those reported in other studies, we observed that the agricultural areas in our study were more contaminated. Through positive matrix factorization (PMF) and diagnostic ratios (DRs) analyses, we identified petroleum combustion, vehicular emissions, as well as coal, grass, or wood combustion as the primary sources of PAH contamination. We also noted a negative correlation between clay, silt, pH, and PAH concentrations, while a significant positive relationship was observed between total organic carbon (TOC), sand, and PAHs. Based on the computed environmental risk index value, the presence of PAHs in the area poses a moderate to high level of ecological risk. TWWI was identified as the main contributor to PAHs in the agricultural soils we studied. Therefore, it is crucial to establish and enforce standards for wastewater reuse in agricultural fields before irrigation takes place