Waste management methods and sustainablity

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015. Waste in its different forms is a significant environmental issue that receives a great deal of attention worldwide. Waste is generated as a result of production and consumption (domestic and industrial) activities and tends to increase with the level of prosperity and economic development of the country. Cost efficient, technology-based and sustainable management of both solid and liquid waste is crucial to economic growth and development of a healthy society in any given region. This chapter reviews traditional as well as modern approaches to solid waste management (SWM) and wastewater treatment. Sustainable methods of waste reduction, waste reuse and recycling are the preferred options when managing waste. There are many environmental benefits that can be derived from the use of these methods. They reduce or prevent greenhouse gas emissions, lessen the release of pollutants, conserve resources, save energy and minimise the demand for waste treatment technology and space. Establishment of sanitary landfills that meet standard hygienic requirements is the most widely adopted method of disposing of solid waste in developed countries. Vermicomposting and biogas technology produce reusable manure and combustible gas respectively from organic solid waste while waste-to-energy (incineration of waste) has quickly emerged as one of the most attractive renewable energy options. Wastewater if not properly disposed of, could be hazardous to human health and environment. Natural aquatic and terrestrial treatment systems with the environment-friendly designs and low-cost sanitation provide benefits for the reuse of water. Wise uses of aquatic and terrestrial plants are a means of several natural wastewater treatment methods. A decentralized wastewater treatment is being considered for most communities because of its economic and environmental advantages. Apart from natural treatment methods, membrane technology, nanotechnology, microbial fuel cells and electrocoagulation offer newer approaches to handling wastewater in a sustainable manner. The overall sustainable development ensures the path of reconciliation for society, environment, and economy in the long-term. People who generate waste, institutions who handle it and the local governance are key partners in an efficient waste management system. Need for education to create awareness on the importance of waste treatment and the sustainability aspects of the emerging technologies remains critical at all societal and governmental levels. Applications of information and communication technologies offer ingenious solutions to the problem of waste management

Monitoring bacterial diversity in a full-scale municipal wastewater treatment plant in dubai by fluorescence in situ hybridization technique

In this study, the bacterial diversity in the activated sludge system of a full-scale municipal wastewater treatment plant in Dubai was monitored over a period of one year using ribosomal RNA (rRNA) targeted oligonucleotide probes for a defined phylogenetic group of bacteria by the Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique. The largest fraction of the bacterial community in the sludge samples belonged to the gamma-subgroup of proteobacteria (25%) followed by gram positive bacteria of high G+C content(16%), gram positive bacteria with low G+C content (9 %), beta-proteobacteria (8%) and alpha-proteobacteria (5 %) with respect to the population percentages stained by DAPI (4,6-diamino-2-phenylindole). A specific nocardioform actinomycete, simultaneously targeted by both HGC69a and MNP1 probes, was predominantly found throughout the study period in all activated sludge mixed liquor samples. The nocardioform actinomycetes group members were detected in both branched and single cell morphotypes. Most of the previously published genus and species specific probes failed to hybridize to the sludge samples. In conclusion, the overall bacterial community populations detected by the sub-group specific 16S rRNA targeted oligonucleotide probes in FISH technique remained almost constant throughout the period of study irrespective of treatment plant conditions

Quantum Dots: Application for the Detection of Salmonella typhimurium

Quantum dots (QDs) or nanocrystals 5 to 50 nm in size have recently emerged as a novel and promising class of fluorophores for cellular imaging. Unlike conventional organic dyes, QDs can be excited by a wide spectrum of wavelengths to give enhanced photostability, and their emission spectra, which differ according to size and material composition, are narrow, symmetrical, and tunable. This novel detection strategy can significantly improve the efficiency of molecular techniques used in the identification of important microbes related to human diseases. The aim of this study was to apply QDs linked antibodies to detect pathogenic Salmonella typhimurium cells. The signal, photostabilty and efficiency of QDs linked antibodies was compared with the organic fluorophore linked antibody for the detection of Salmonella cells. The use of QDs as fluorophores has shown greater enhancement in photostability and brighter signal than conven-tional organic dyes in detecting S. typhimurium cells. This approach might also be extended for the simultaneous detection of more than one pathogenic microorganism in the clinical, food or environmental samples by using specific antibodies linked with the QDs of different sizes and colors

A Hybrid Gold’s Returns Prediction Model Based on Empirical Mode Decomposition

Consumers have produced extraordinary levels of demand of Gold since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008 and investment in small coins and bars striking a record high. Since the previous decade, the prices have reached the sky, but the demand for gold remains firm. With such an enormous need for gold coming from whole over the globe, forecast gold prices are of great interest. The main aim of this study is to forecast the price of gold returns, making use of Autoregressive (AR), Empirical Mode Decomposition Autoregressive (EMDAR) and hybrid Empirical Mode Decomposition Autoregressive Neural Network (EMDARNN). The daily data consists of 4837 observations starting from Jan 1995 to June 2013, has been used in this research. After assessing the accuracy of these models by mean absolute error and mean square error, it turns out that hybrid Empirical Mode Decomposition Autoregressive Neural Network excels all the other methods and produces better forecasting with high precision. Keywords: Gold Price, Autoregressive, Empirical Mode decomposition, Artificial Neural Networ

Assessing methanogenic archaeal community in full scale anaerobic sludge digester systems in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

© 2018 Khan et al. Introduction: Anaerobic digestion for methane production comprises of an exceptionally diverse microbial consortium, a profound understanding about which is still constrained. In this study, the methanogenic archaeal communities in three full-scale anaerobic digesters of a Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant were analyzed by Fluorescence in situ hybridization and quantitative real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) technique. Methods & Materials: Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed to detect and quantify the methanogenic Archaea in the sludge samples whereas qPCR was carried out to support the FISH analysis. Multiple probes targeting domain archaea, different orders and families of Archaea were used for the studies. Results and Discussion: In general, the aceticlastic organisms (Methanosarcinaceae & Methanosaetaceae) were more abundant than the hydrogenotrophic organisms (Methanobacteriales, Methanomicrobiales, Methanobacteriaceae & Methanococcales). Both FISH and qPCR indicated that family Methanosaetaceae was the most abundant suggesting that aceticlastic methanogenesis is probably the dominant methane production pathway in these digesters. Conclusion: Future work involving high-throughput sequencing methods and correlating archaeal communities with the main operational parameters of anaerobic digesters will help to obtain a better understanding of the dynamics of the methanogenic archaeal community in wastewater treatment plants in United Arab Emirates (UAE) which in turn would lead to improved performance of anaerobic sludge digesters

Bacterial community structure in anaerobic digesters of a full scale municipal wastewater treatment plant - Case study of dubai, united arab emirates

© 2019, International Centre for Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems SDEWES. All rights reserved. A highly complex microbial community involved in anaerobic sludge digesters plays vital roles in sludge treatment. The data on microbial ecology is important to accomplish efficient operation of the anaerobic digesters. This study is aimed at monitoring the bacterial community of three full-scale anaerobic digesters of a full-scale municipal wastewater treatment Plant in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Fluorescent in-situ hybridization technique was applied to identify the bacterial groups and quantitative polymerase chain reaction to compare the richness of bacterial and archaeal domain. Results of the fluorescent in-situ hybridization technique analysis showed that the phylum Proteobacteria was most abundant followed by cytophage-Flavobacterium group of Bacteroides, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria. Among proteobacterial subclass Delta- and Alpha- were dominating than Gamma- and Beta-proteobacteria. The genus Desulfobacter and Desulfobacterium were the dominant groups hybridizing 70-76% of total 4\u27, 6\u27- diamidino - 2 phenylindole stained cells. The quantitative polymerase chain reaction results showed that Bacterial domain was dominating in all three digesters compared to the archaeal domain

Polymer Stabilized Metal Nanoparticles for Catalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue in Water

Methylene blue is highly toxic and releases from various industries. It must be transformed into less toxic compounds. The Core-Shell microgels p (Pst core), Pstcore-NIPMamm-MAa and Ag in Pst-p NIPMamm-MAa have been synthesized using the Core-Shell hybrid micro gelling NIPMamm-MAa emulsion polymerization process. The 0.086mM, MB 6.2mM NaBH4 and 0.2916 mg / mL catalysts in the cuvette were measured using UV-visible spectrophotometers. Spectrums were measured at a one-minute interval. The peak at 600 nm steadily decreased over time and was completely eliminated after 11 minutes. Without the catalyst, MB decreases with NaBH4 which showed that the reaction decreases were slow and MB very high within 120 minutes. The Psty core of FT-IR core microgels, pNIpmam-MMAA, and Ag-pNIpmam-MAA core microgels are hybrids. At 2955 and 2845 cm−1 FT-IR spectra, Psty NiPMaM – MaA and Ag-p NiPMaM – MaA were used for core shell microgels, with C-H vibrations expanding the aromatic ring. In this study degradation of Methylene were carried out with Ag- Nanocomposites at different interval of time to check the degradation at minimum time. The degradation of MB dye were carried out with Ag- Nano composites at different interval of time to check the degradation at minimum time

Comparison of Surgical Outcomes of ventriculoperitoneal (VP) Shunt at Choudhary’s Point vs. Keen’s Point

Objectives:  The study compared the outcomes of VP shunt at Choudhary’s vs Keen’s point. Material and Methods:  A quasi-observational study was conducted on 50 patients who presented to NS-2, PINS, with the complaint of hydrocephalus. The study was conducted for 3 months from 1st November 2021 to 31th Jan 2022. Results:  Mean age was 40 years. In 25 (50%) patients, VP shunts were done through Choudhary’s point while in 25 (50%) patients VP shunts were done through Keen’s point. All patients were evaluated on day 3rd POD, 7th POD, 15th POD, and 90th POD.  All patients were improved on 3rd POD. On the 7th POD, 15 (30%) patients deteriorated and showed signs of raised ICP. In these patients, the upper end of VP shunts is again revised due to blockage. On 15th POD, the upper end of VP shunts was blocked in 3 (6%) patients and their upper end was revised. On 90th POD, 2 (4%) patients were presented with upper-end blockage, and again shunt revision was done.  VP shunts in all these patients were done through keen’s point approach. Blockage of the lower end of VP shunt occurred in 10% of patients in which 8% were operated through Keen’s point approach while resting 2% of patients were operated through Choudhary’s point approach.  Conclusion:  VP shunts through Choudhary’s point approach yield good results as compared to Keen's point approach. This site is described by professor Muhammad Anwar Choudhary, as more convenient for insertion of VP shunt

Experimental study on the mean flow characteristics of a supersonic multiple jet configuration

Systems with multiple jets are encountered in many engineering applications, for example, propulsion units in aircraft and rockets. When more than one jet is placed close to each other, the resultant aerodynamics is complicated due to the mutual interaction of the jets. In the present work, mean flowfield and the mixing characteristics of free supersonic jets from twin and triple converging-diverging nozzles placed in close proximity are studied experimentally. The nozzles are designed for Mach numbers 1.5 and 2.0, with an inter-nozzle spacing of twice the nozzle exit diameter. The typical interaction process and the evolution of the triple jet are discussed using cross-sectional contour plots. The influence of introducing additional similar jets on the near flowfield characteristics such as jet-spread, supersonic core, and the shock wave structure is studied using pressure measurements along the jet centerline. As the number of jets increases, the spreading rate decreases due to a decrease in the entrainment. This causes the jets to decay at a slow rate, and the core length increases in the order of an increased number of jets. Schlieren images of single, twin, and triple jets reveal that the supersonic jet core is different in twin and triple when compared with a single jet