Investigation of operational efficiency and up-coning problem of scavenger wells in lower indus basin of Pakistan

Groundwater in lower Indus Basin of Pakistan is available in thin aquifers. If groundwater is exploited to unsustainable level, up-coning problem can occur. Up-coning is the saline water intrusion in the fresh water aquifer. Once quality of fresh water is deteriorated because of upconing of saline water, it is very hard to make it again fit for irrigation usage. Thus, it is always advised to abstract groundwater without bringing saline water into the fresh water aquifer. In this study, we have investigated the operational efficiency of 79 scavenger wells installed at right side of Jamrao canal, lower Indus Basin Pakistan to check whether these wells were performing with the design operational efficiency. We found that majority of scavenger wells were running quite below the design operational efficiency. We also performed a constant rate pumping test on one of the scavenger wells to check whether any chances of up-coning were happening if the both pumps (fresh water and saline water) of the selected scavenger wells were operational. The pumping test results reveal that chances of up-coning were negligible if the pumps are run within the design operational hours (14.4 hrs per day)

Water quality index assessment for the Skudai watershed and its tributaries

It is very important to develop a rehabilitation plan for the watersheds that have been degraded because of increased development activities and high urbanization. Identifying the most vulnerable parts of a watershed is challenging and can be done if water quality in the river was determined in different sections from the upstream to the downstream of a watershed. In this study, we delineated the Skudai watershed into 25 sub-watersheds using ArcGIS technique. Later, we identified tributaries in each sub-watershed. The sub-watersheds were grouped into three main categories, i.e. natural, semi-urban, and urban sub-watersheds. Water quality samples were collected at different tributaries from all three categories of sub-watersheds. The paper presents water quality analysis results. The Skudai River (natural part) was classified into natural sub-watershed. The Senai and Kempas rivers were classified into sub-urban watersheds while Melana and Danga rivers were classified into urban watersheds. The water quality index (WQI) for the Skudai River (Natural) was 95.2 and falls in class I category, i.e. clean. The Senai River had WQI of 84.5 and Class II category, i.e. slightly polluted. However, Kempas River which was also in the sub-urban watershed had calculated WQI of 54.4, in Class III and polluted. Melana River had was also polluted river with WQI of 68.8 (Class III). The Danga River was also polluted river with WQI value as 55.2

Evaluation of Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) as a Potential Raw Material Source for Briquette Production

In the present study we investigated the fuel properties of bio-briquettes made from a combination of water hyacinth and empty fruit bunch fiber (palm oil mill residue). Water hyacinth (WH) was mixed with empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibers in a ratio of 25, 50, 75, 90, and 100% by weight and cassava starch added as binder. The experimental results showed that the addition of WH had a little effect (p < 0.05) on the physical and combustion properties of the briquettes. The proximate analysis showed that the moisture content, ash content and fixed carbon content were increased with the increase in WH amount from 25 to 100%, while the volatile matter content and calorific value decreased. Combustion test showed that the increase in the WH percentage in bio-briquette resulted in the decreased of O2 and CO level, whereas, that of CO2 and NO, NO2 and SO2 were increased. Therefore, the results conclude that the WH: EFB biomass bio-briquette could be a great potential as an alternative source to conventional coal to minimize the emission of greenhouse gases

Development of a local integrated disaster risk assessment framework for Malaysia

This study developed an integrated disaster risk assessment framework (IDRAF) to measure disaster risk at the local administrative boundaries in Malaysia. The proposed framework can enhance government effort for disaster risk reduction by implementing an integrated disaster risk framework and guiding decision makers to properly evaluate and analyze risk for mitigation, preparedness, and planning. The framework was developed, expanding from the multi‐hazard spatial overlapping and Methods for the Improvement of Vulnerability Assessment in Europe (MOVE) theoretical framework. There are five significant phases to develop this framework: problem formulation, data collection, multi‐hazard characterization, multi‐dimensional vulnerability characterization, and weightage determination. The IDRAF proposed for Malaysia consists of eight hazards and six vulnerability dimensions, which consist of 16 factors (or vulnerability group) and 54 indicators. The multi‐hazard characterization has two components: frequency of occurrence and spatial inter-action. The multidimensional vulnerability characterization reduces vulnerability indicators using principal component analysis (PCA). Measuring integrated risk is an effective strategy at the local level or national level to assess the potential disaster impacts in detail and accurately. This study will offer explicit knowledge and boost community competency, creating techniques and tools to analyze various risk factors and vulnerability indicators for decision makers and practitioners

Developing of emergency evacuation kit in response of Malaysia East Coast flood disaster

The flood struck East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia in December 2014 has resulted in huge natural disaster. More than 4.82 million people across four states especially Kelantan were sink flooded, resulted shut down of the area from outside traffic and delaying the rescue forces. Emergency aid has difficulties to reach the evacuation centres and victims were scattered trapped with low life support on water, food, energy and healthcare supply. Therefore, an integrated assessment of flood in the basin is important to seek for effective responses. In response to disaster vulnerability for risk reduction among society who living in flood prone, community contribution is needed in preparation of emergency evacuation kit as a part of preparedness. The survey will be conduct by distribution of questionnaire to the flood disaster victims in order to discover the most important necessities during flood situation. The results of this survey may lead to the preparation of emergency evacuation kit for use in future

Identification of pharmaceutical residues in treated sewage effluent in Johor, Malaysia

The introduction of pharmaceutical residues into aquatic environment has threatened the livelihood of aquatic organisms worldwide. The entrance of these residues into the environment originates from sewage effluents discharged from domestic wastewater treatment plants. Up to date, their presence in the sewage effluent is not monitored in Malaysia. Therefore, this study aims to identify the presence of pharmaceutical residues in the effluent domestic sewage treatment plants employed in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Briefly, ten pharmaceutical compounds, including acetaminophen, sulfathiazole, sulfamethazine, sulfamethoxazole, clarithromycin, trimethoprim, lincomycin, carbamazepine, naproxen and ibuprofen, were selected based on their worldwide consumption. Sewage samples from five different types of sewage treatment system were collected. The samples were filtered prior to solid-phase extraction. Finally, the extracted samples were analysed with LC-MS/MS. The analyses showed that only sulfathiazole was not present in all effluent samples. Acetaminophen recorded the highest concentration of 9299 ng/L in an Imhoff Tank. Meanwhile, the lowest concentration of pharmaceutical residue detected was sulfamethazine, i.e. 0.843 ng/L, in a sequencing batch reactor. Overall, six out from ten pharmaceutical residues were found in all sewage samples denoting the inefficiency of current biological treatment systems in removing trace pharmaceutical compounds from sewage

Chapter 10 - Sustainable engineering of food waste into high-quality animal feed using a drying technology

Sustainable management through recycling of the food waste into animal feedstock is one of the promising approaches to overcome the food wastage-related issues. However, this action has been limited in some developed countries due to the lack of safety and security issues. Food waste contains high moisture content and it causes the spread-out of bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and sulfate reducing bacteria. The presence of these pathogens might cause food waste to be contaminated and causes infectious and pandemic diseases to human beings via animals. Thus this chapter aimed to discuss a case study where the evaluation of an effective method for food waste recycling is highlighted. As the food waste pre-drying facilities for the prerequisite animal feedstock pellets testimonial, this study ensures the end products processed inside the university (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia) are safe to be used as animal feeds by investigating the quality of end products. The observation reveals that solar drying food waste exhibits high protein and low moisture contents which the percentage is reached to 22% and 20%, respectively. Meanwhile, the oven drying method could reduce the E. coli content to only 500×103 CFU/g. Therefore, the solar drying method is the most effective to reduce high moisture content and able to achieve high protein content which is acceptable to be used as animal feeds

Sustainable Waste Management through International Cooperation : Review of Comprehensive Waste Management Technique 2 Training Course <Review>

Borderless effect of environmental disaster and health infection caused by improper waste handling had caused deterioration of natural resources. The negative impact can be seen especially in developing countries who still seek for suitable approach in managing solid waste management effectively. International cooperation through cross-cultural technology transfer of waste management methods and techniques have been framed as one possible role of developed country can offer to developing countries to reduce the impact of waste management globally. The purpose of this study is to analyze the technical transferability factor of cross-cultural training course, referencing the course built up syllabus, but will primarily focus on participant country report and action plan to determine the beneficial level

Assessing Applicability of Technologjes for Waste to Energy in Developing Asian Cities <Articles>

High economic growth in developing Asian countries (DACs) has evoked pressure on natural resource utilization and generated excessive amount of waste. Parallel with changes in waste generation and continuing dependency on landfill as final waste treatment option, has increased potential of methane release which caused direct impact on greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission density. There is an emerging need in DACs to have an alternative waste treatment option that can provide two fold benefits of wise use of biomass waste and reduce GHG emissions. This study tends to assess the applicability of waste to energy technologies from Japan to be introduced for implementation in DACs. Commercialization interest was observed earlier to see the tendency of Japan's involvement in technology transfer. Eventhough there was a high rate in transferring biogas technology, but only 10% of it was a converted energy from animal biomass and none utilizing municipal solid waste (MSW). Furthermore, available technologies were evaluated based on cost, technology level and resource recovery indication. Based on collected qualitative data, result had shown that biogas technology was most applicable and commercially available than others. To reduce the implementation barrier, the most suitable approach was proposed. It was suggested that decentralized, networked but top-down approach will be the best option to enhance technology transfer from Japan