STABILIZATION POND FOR WASTEWATER TREATMENT

This research is concerned with study and check the suitability of waste stabilization ponds (WSPs) for treating wastewater in Al-Dewaniyah province by taking a sample of community of 10000 population.Experimental work had three cases depending on many considerations such as economical and specification of final effluent. A model of two ponds (facultative and aerobic) in series was used as first case of experimental work. Then third pond with aeration process to aerobic pond were added to the series as second case to improve the effluent. At last, sand filter was used to polish the final effluent from aerobic pond.The three ponds had the same surface area (5.75m*2m) but with different depths, where it was 2m for anaerobic pond, 1.5m for facultative pond and 0.75m for aerobic pond. From the tests taken for the three cases, the results obtained for the last two cases were much better when compared with first case. Sand filter contributed in improving final effluent by decreasing total suspended solid (TSS) also in increasing removal efficiency of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). At the end, the results of this work could be an invitation to use waste stabilization pond for wastewater treatment in rural areas or even small communities but it may need more examinations to get best results

An approach to optimize manufacturing productivity: A pilot study on labor intensive industries

A pilot study was conducted on labor intensive industries to measure the impact of intangible resource inputs on manufacturing productivity. Three intangible resource inputs, degree of skills of labor, favorable working environment, R & D knowledge, were used to measure the impact on productivity. Firm’s data of business operations of sample manufacturing industries, have been used for analysis.Study showed, a positive but weak correlation (r0.5) exists between inputs of upgraded working environment and productivity.A strong and positive correlation is found (r>0.7) between R & D based inputs and productivity. Additionally, the productivity gain ratio was found significantly good (rp >1.3) for R & D base inputs. Study concludes, expenditure on manufacturing R & D is essentially important to generate knowledge as higher value added input to have higher productivity

Sensorless force estimation on fingertip with gravitational compensation for heavy-duty pneumatic tri-grasper robot

The paper presents the proposed sensorless force estimator design for pneumatic robot fingertip by using gravitational compensation and pressure changed in pneumatic cylinder piston. The approach is done to replace the commercial force sensor that may be expensive for heavy-duty configuration. The formulation was done by considering the torque of robot's finger joint, finger dimension as well as its actuator and the different pressures in cylinder piston. The gravitational force is calculated from the geometry of the robot's finger as dynamic gain for the force of pneumatic cylinder. The proposed method is validated on a heay-duty pneumatic Tri-grasper Robot with the simple basic movement and blocked randomly by human barehand. The results show that the force output by the estimator is almost identical to the loadcell sensor that attached on the fingertip at about 2% error in average. The sensitivity is a bit low for small and fragile material but enough for heavy-duty application that generally with hard and rough surfaces

Discriminating cool-water from warm-water carbonates and their diagenetic environments using element geochemistry: the Oligocene Tikorangi Formation (Taranaki Basin) and the dolomite effect

Fields portrayed within bivariate element plots have been used to distinguish between carbonates formed in warm- (tropical) water and cool- (temperate) water depositional settings. Here, element concentrations (Ca, Mg, Sr, Na, Fe, and Mn) have been determined for the carbonate fraction of bulk samples from the late Oligocene Tikorangi Formation, a subsurface, mixed dolomite-calcite, cool-water limestone sequence in Taranaki Basin, New Zealand. While the occurrence of dolomite is rare in New Zealand Cenozoic carbonates, and in cool-water carbonates more generally, the dolomite in the Tikorangi carbonates is shown to have a dramatic effect on the "traditional" positioning of cool-water limestone fields within bivariate element plots. Rare undolomitised, wholly calcitic carbonate samples in the Tikorangi Formation have the following average composition: Mg 2800 ppm; Ca 319 100 ppm; Na 800 ppm; Fe 6300 ppm; Sr 2400 ppm; and Mn 300 ppm. Tikorangi Formation dolomite-rich samples (>15% dolomite) have average values of: Mg 53 400 ppm; Ca 290 400 ppm; Na 4700 ppm; Fe 28 100 ppm; Sr 5400 ppm; and Mn 500 ppm. Element-element plots for dolomite-bearing samples show elevated Mg, Na, and Sr values compared with most other low-Mg calcite New Zealand Cenozoic limestones. The increased trace element contents are directly attributable to the trace element-enriched nature of the burial-derived dolomites, termed here the "dolomite effect". Fe levels in the Tikorangi Formation carbonates far exceed both modern and ancient cool-water and warm-water analogues, while Sr values are also higher than those in modern Tasmanian cool-water carbonates, and approach modern Bahaman warm-water carbonate values. Trace element data used in conjunction with more traditional petrographic data have aided in the diagenetic interpretation of the carbonate-dominated Tikorangi sequence. The geochemical results have been particularly useful for providing more definitive evidence for deep burial dolomitisation of the deposits under the influence of marine-modified pore fluids

Cement Kilns Dust Management In Iraq

Hundred thousands tons of cement kiln dust (CKD) as well as other emissionsare generated annually from existing cement plants in Iraq with significanteconomic and environmental impacts. Therefore, an environmental sector planshould be adopted to scrub the emissions and sound management of CKD wasteleading to save resources and secure better environmental quality are called for.A survey was conducted and carried out covering all cement plants. Analysis ofdata collected has shown that the production capacity was significantly decreasedto about 38 % on the average of the designed capacity. The consumption of rawmaterials and fuel per unit production was increased by about 13 % and 23 %,respectively. The amount of generated CKD is found to be variable among thedifferent cement plants. It can be estimated that the generated CKD on the averageis about (8-33) % of the production output depending on the conditions of eachplant.This study serves to establish a factual basis to develop a convenientenvironmental management plan for the cement industry sector. This studyproposes an environmental mitigation and monitoring plan to address theenvironmental and social challenges to improve the environmental performance ofIraqi cement industry sector

Kinetic and Equilibrium Isotherm Studies for The Removal of Tetracycline from Aqueous Solution Using Engineered Sand Modified with Calcium Ferric Oxides

The novel aspect of this research is the fabrication, characterisation, and application of an engineered adsorbent made from quartz sand coated with calcium ferric oxides (QS/CFO) derived from the wastepaper sludge ash (WPSA) for the removal of tetracycline (TC) from synthetic water. Initially, the new adsorbent was fabricated using a Ca/Fe molar ratio, sand/FeCl3 ratio, pH (of synthesising environment), ethylene glycol dose, and temperature of 1:0.75, 1:1, 12, 6 mL/100 mL, and 95℃, respectively. Then, the new adsorbent was applied to treat water having 50 mg/L of TC in batch experiments, taking into account the effects of the contact time (0–180 min), pH of water (2–12), the dose of adsorbent (0.05–0.5 g), and agitation speed (0–250 rpm). The results obtained proved the engineered adsorbent can remove as much as 90% of the TC (adsorption capacity of 21.96 mg/g) within 180 min at an initial pH, adsorbent dosage, and agitation speed of 7, 0.3g per 50 mL, and 200 rpm, respectively. It was also found that the pseudo-second-order model describes the kinetic measurements better than the pseudo-first-order model, which indicates that the TC molecules have been bonded with the prepared sorbent through chemical forces. Furthermore, the intra-particle diffusion model results demonstrated that the diffusion mechanism plays a significant role in TC adsorption; however, it was not the predominant one. Finally, the outcomes of the characterisation analysis proved that the newly formed layer on the quartz sand substantially contributed to the removal of the TC from the contaminated water

Chiral Magnetic Effect on the Lattice

We review recent progress on the lattice simulations of the chiral magnetic effect. There are two different approaches to analyze the chiral magnetic effect on the lattice. In one approach, the charge density distribution or the current fluctuation is measured under a topological background of the gluon field. In the other approach, the topological effect is mimicked by the chiral chemical potential, and the induced current is directly measured. Both approaches are now developing toward the exact analysis of the chiral magnetic effect.Comment: to appear in Lect. Notes Phys. "Strongly interacting matter in magnetic fields" (Springer), edited by D. Kharzeev, K. Landsteiner, A. Schmitt, H.-U. Ye

Eco‑friendly remediation of tetracycline antibiotic from polluted water using waste‑derived surface re‑engineered silica sand

A new green reactive adsorbent (calcium ferric oxide silica sand (CFO-SS)) made from wastepaper sludge ash and ferric ions was synthesised and shown to remove tetracycline antibiotics (TC) from contaminated water effectively. The synthesised sand was dried at 95 °C, and a series of batch and fixed bed experiments were performed to determine the optimum operating conditions. Results showed that the adsorption capacity of the CFO-SS increases with the concentration gradient between the solid and liquid phases. 0.3 g of the new adsorbent was proven sufficient to remove more than 90% of the TC at a pollutant dose of 50 mg/L in 50 mL of simulated groundwater with an agitation speed of 200 rpm for 3 h. The adsorption isotherm followed the Langmuir isotherm model, with a loading capacity of 21.96 mg/g at pH 7, while the Pseudo second-order model best described the absorption kinetics. The adsorption mechanisms proposed included electrostatic interaction, intraparticle diffusion, hydrogen bonding, and cation-π interactions. Characterisation investigations revealed that the newly precipitated oxides on silica sand play an essential role in TC adsorption support. In fixed-bed experiments, it was discovered that reducing the flow rate and inflow concentration of TC and increasing the sorbent mass significantly extended the lifetime of the produced sorbent in the packed column. The measured breakthrough curves were best fit with the Adams-Bohart and the Clark models, as they provided the highest square root number (R2) values. Finally, considering the efficacy of CFO-SS in TC adsorption performance, it can be noted that the novel synthesised reactive material is an efficient and environmentally friendly material for TC removal, and it presents a potential solution to resolving the challenge of TC-rich groundwater

A comprehensive review for groundwater contamination and remediation: occurrence, migration and adsorption modeling

Provision of safe water for people is a human right; historically, a major number of people depend on groundwater as a source of water for their needs, such as agriculture, industrial or human activities. Water resources have recently been affected by organic and/or inorganic contaminants as a result of population growth and increased anthropogenic activity, soil leaching, and pollution. Water resource remediation has become a serious environmental concern since it has a direct impact on many aspects of people’s lives. For decades, the pump-and-treat method has been considered the predominant treatment process for the remediation of contaminated groundwater with organic and inorganic contaminants. On the other side, this technique missed sustainability and the new concept of using renewable energy. Permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) have been implemented as an alternative to conventional pump-and-treat systems for remediating polluted groundwater because of their effectiveness and ease of implementation. In this paper, a review of the importance of groundwater, contamination, the biological, physical besides the chemical remediation techniques have been discussed. In this review, the principles of the permeable reactive barrier’s use as a remediation technique have been introduced along with commonly used reactive materials and the recent applications of the permeable reactive barrier in the remediation of different contaminants, such as heavy metals, chlorinated solvents and pesticides. This paper also discusses the characteristic of reactive media and contaminants uptake mechanisms. Finally, remediation isotherms, the breakthrough curves and kinetic sorption models are also being presented. It has been found that groundwater could be contaminated by different pollutants and must be remediated to fit the human, agricultural and industrial needs. PRB technique is an efficient treatment process that is an inexpensive alternative for the pump and treat procedure and represent a promising technique to treat groundwater pollution

Lattice QCD Simulations in External Background Fields

We discuss recent results and future prospects regarding the investigation, by lattice simulations, of the non-perturbative properties of QCD and of its phase diagram in presence of magnetic or chromomagnetic background fields. After a brief introduction to the formulation of lattice QCD in presence of external fields, we focus on studies regarding the effects of external fields on chiral symmetry breaking, on its restoration at finite temperature and on deconfinement. We conclude with a few comments regarding the effects of electromagnetic background fields on gluodynamics.Comment: 31 pages, 10 figures, minor changes and references added. To appear in Lect. Notes Phys. "Strongly interacting matter in magnetic fields" (Springer), edited by D. Kharzeev, K. Landsteiner, A. Schmitt, H.-U. Ye