Editorial: Special issue on the challenges in environmental science and engineering: CESE-2012 9-13 September 2012, RACV City Club, Melbourne, Australia

This special issue carries selected peer-reviewed manuscripts based on the presentations made at CESE-2012, the Fifth Annual International Conference on Challenges in Environmental Science & Engineering , CESE Conference Series that was held from the 9th to the 13th of September 2012 at the RACV City Club in Melbourne, Australia

The Deliverability of the BIT Programme at Lahti UAS in Training BIT Experts

Information Technology has become a vital and indispensable part of business in every industry. In fact, IT is the primary factor that differentiates many businesses from their competitors. Organizations usually rely on IT for several strategic business solutions such as communication, information management, customer relationship management, and marketing. In the near future, the business labor force will anticipate a rising demand in BIT experts who possess both business expertise and IT skills. The Degree Programmes in Business Information Technology at Lahti University of Applied Sciences is constructed to develop BIT experts with versatile competences to satisfy such demand. The objective of this study is to find out if the graduates of the BIT programme at Lahti UAS have enough knowledge and skills to work as BIT experts in modern business environments. The nature of this study is experimental understanding and exploratory research, thus, the qualitative research method together with a deductive approach has been utilized in this thesis. The research framework of this thesis is comprised of six parts. First, this thesis starts with the introduction of the programme objective which is training BIT experts with versatile expertise. Second, the demand of real working life on such BIT experts is explained. Third, the thesis investigates the real life skills and knowledge required for a BIT expert to work in modern business environments. Fourth, specific skills provided by the BIT programme are examined and compared with the real life skills to draw the theoretical conclusion. Fifth, the interviews with the Head of the programme, four programme graduates and one business representative are analyzed to point out the empirical conclusion. Finally the theoretical conclusion and the empirical conclusion are combined to answer the research question and draw the final conclusion

Selective transport of Cadmium by PVC/Aliquat 336 polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs): the role of membrane composition and solution chemistry

This study investigated the extraction and stripping performance of PIMs consisting of PVC and Aliquat 336. Extraction and stripping of three representative heavy metals - namely Cd2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+ - by the synthesized membranes were evaluated as a function of sodium chloride concentration and under different stripping solutions (0.01 M HNO3, Milli-Q water, 0.01 M HCl, and 0.01 M NaOH), respectively. Results reported here indicate that the formation of negatively charged metal chloride complex species was responsible for the extraction of the target metal to PIMs. Experimental results and thermodynamic modeling of the speciation of chloro metal complexes further confirm that the extraction selectivity between Cd2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+ can be controlled by regulating the chloride concentration of the feed solution. An acidic solution without any chloride was the most effective stripping solution, followed by Milli-Q water, and a diluted hydrochloric acid solution. On the other hand, the stripping of metals from PIMs did not occur when a basic stripping solution was used

The effects of feed solution temperature on pore size and trace organic contaminant rejection by the nanofiltration membrane NF270

This study investigated the effect of feed temperature on membrane pore size and the rejection of trace organic contaminants (TrOCs) by the nanofiltration (NF) membrane NF270. Filtration experiments were conducted using a cross flow membrane system at 20, 30 and 40 C. The membrane pore radius was estimated using the pore hindrance transport model at each temperature and the rejection data of three reference organic solutes (i.e. erythritol, xylose and glucose) experimentally obtained in this study. The results suggest that the pore size of an NF membrane is dependent on the feed solution temperature. An increase in the feed temperature from 20 to 40 C led to an increase in the effective pore radius from 0.39 to 0.44 nm. Consequently, the increase in the feed temperature also caused a considerable drop in the rejection of all TrOCs investigated in this study. The decrease in rejection observed here could be attributed to not only the increase in the solute diffusivity but also the enlargement of the membrane pore size. As the feed temperature increased, the decrease in rejection of neutral TrOCs was more severe than that of negatively charged compounds. This is because in addition to size exclusion (or steric hindrance) the rejection of negatively charged TrOCs is also governed by electrostatic interaction given that the membrane surface is also negatively charged

Solar-Powered Compaction Garbage Bins in Public Areas: A Preliminary Economic and Environmental Evaluation

An excel-based model was developed to evaluate economic and environmental benefits of the solar-powered compaction garbage bins in public areas in Australia. Input data were collected from Brisbane and Wollongong City councils, and Sydney Olympic Park. The results demonstrate that solar-powered compaction garbage bins would provide environmental benefits in all scenarios. However, results of the economic analysis of the three studied areas varied significantly. The unique situation of Sydney Olympic Park made implementation in that facility particularly appealing. A lower monthly rental cost is needed for the implementation of this novel waste management practice.solar-powered compaction garbage bins; public areas; waste management; greenhouse gas emission