Study of five years nitrite and nitrate content trends of Zanjan groundwater resources using GIS from 2006 to 2010

Background and Aims: Nitrite and nitrate ions are considered part of the natural cycle of nitrogen. Concentrations over the standards endanger human health, therefore determination of groundwater nitrite and nitrate contamination, using a new technology is necessary. The purpose of this study was to compile, map, and evaluate patterns of nitrite and nitrate occurrence in Zanjan groundwater during 2006 to 2010.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was investigated on Zanjan drinking water wells. Groundwater samples were taken directly from 72 wells. Nitrite and nitrate content of samples identified. Geographic information systems, ArcGIS and IDRISI, were used to map and evaluate the data and also analysis the nitrite and nitrate content trends.Results: The results of this study showed that only a well had nitrate concentration above the standard and other wells were acceptable in nitrite and nitrate concentrations. The data showed falling and rising trend in nitrite and nitrate concentrations, respectively.Conclusion: Whereas the sewer system and wastewater treatment plant in Zanjan is not yet fully implemented, and traditional method of wastewater disposal is using absorption wells, hence, it can be contamination sources in the water.Key words: Nitrite, Nitrate, Groundwater, GIS, Zanja

Status and Challenges of Medical Waste Management in Hospitals of Iran

Medical waste is of great importance due to its hazardous nature that can cause undesirable effects on humans and the environment. This study focuses on medical waste management in hospitals of Iran. Data were collected based on questionnaires and for self-report of medical waste management. The results along with other information were sent to the ministry of health network system. Results indicated that the mean generation rate of non-hazardous and sharp and infectious and total wastes in Iran were, respectively, 1.84, 1.09 (36.9% of total waste generated) and 2.98 kg/bed/day. Chemical waste generation rate in Iran is 0.02 kg/bed/day (0.68%) that relative to infectious waste and total waste generation rate is much lower which could be due to improper segregation of medical wastes. There is significant differences between private and governmental hospitals, in terms of infectious and sharp waste generation rates (P=0.027). Also there are significant differences between specialized and general hospitals in group of non-hazardous waste (P=0.039), infectious waste (P=0.001) and total waste generation rate (P=0.02). 65.41% of governmental hospitals used autoclave for infectious waste treatment. In the private and governmental hospitals 14.8% and 24.29%, respectively not have any treatment devices and hazardous waste was disposed without treatment

Identifying the Role of Media Technology Advances in Economics

The purpose of this article is to identify the role of media technology development in the economy. In this study, 30 experts in the field of media were used as a sample. The research method is qualitative. Since in this research, there was a need to address the depth of the subject and a deep and comprehensive understanding of media experts, for this reason, the interview method was used. In order for the interviews to have a specific structure, semi-structured interviews have been used. Data were also analyzed through content analysis using maxqda software. In this study, 23 effective factors that determine the positive and negative role of media technologies in the economy were identified, including: information production and increasing economic knowledge, more employment, consumer welfare, reducing economic inequality, reducing political risk, increasing Economic security and efficiency, more control and supervision of people over economic activities, expansion of corporate markets, creation of free online market, innovations and innovations resulting from new technologies increase revenues, increase competition between organizations increase the quality of economic activities, improve and Improving the standards of economic development, public participation in economic activities, expressing people's satisfaction or dissatisfaction with economic activities, spending time on social networks

Trends of particulate matter (PM10) concentration and related Air Quality Index (AQI) during 2005-2012 in Kermanshah, Iran

Background and Aims: Atmospheric dust, also known as a part of PM10, can cause some adverse effects on public health. The aim of this study was to investigate dust concentration trends in Kermanshah city and also to compare related Air Quality Index (AQI) in different years, seasons and months during 2005 to 2012.Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, totally 2589 samples were taken from air monitoring stations owned by the Environmental Protection Agency. The ghatered data were then analyzed using SPSS software V.16.Results: The frequency percentage of PM10 concentrations based on AQI descriptions (healthy, moderate, unhealthy for sensitive groups, unhealthy, very unhealthy and dangerous) were 12.16, 68.36, 12.82, 3.43, 0.77 and 2.43 percents, respectively. It is further interesting to note that in all monitored days during the present study, 19.43% of total days were in unhealthy conditions within AQI> 100. So that, although the frequency of dusty days decreased from summer to fall, failure to meet air quality standard requirements increased from fall to winter and further to spring.Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the observed changes in PM10 concentration were significant in the course of seasons and months. The worst air quality condition occured in summer (specially July). It seems possible that these results are due to frequent dust enterance originating from neighboring countries, humidity reduction, drought and unsustainable use of water resources, temperature rising, as well as wind speed and direction. Because of adverse health effects of particulate matter, it is necessary to promote environmentally aware and responsible science of its trend, short-term and long-term and also international planning to reduce its detrimental impacts.Key words: Air pollution, AQI, Dust, Kermansha

Removal of Ibuprofen from aqueous solutions by Ozonation process

AbstractBackground and Aims: Ibuprofen (IBU) is one of the most consumed nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) widely used in musculoskeletal and analgesic treatments. This study set out with the aim of assessing the efficiency of conventional ozonation process in a semi-batch plug-flow reactor in order to remove IBU fromaqueous solutions.Materials and Methods: A laboratory scale semi-batch plug-flow ozonation reactor was employed during the present study. Four variables including pH, dosage of ozone, hydraulic retention time (HRT), and initial Ibuprofenconcentration, which might affect the degradation of Ibuprofen, were taken into consideration. The IBU concentration was determined using HPLC.Results: Working under optimal operating conditions (pH = 8, HRT = 60 min, C=5 mg/L and Ozone dose 2/5 g/h), about 59% IBU degradation was noticed. Results also revealed that the degradation of IBU well fitted with the firstorderkinetics.Conclusion: The operating variables of pH, dosage of ozone, initial Ibuprofen concentration, and HRT were optimized using a plug-flow reactor to improve contact between dissolved ozone and the drug. pH and HRT were the most affecting variables. Furthermore, a predictive model allowing us to predict the percentage of IBP degradationas a function of pH and HRT under experimental conditions was obtained.Keywords: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, Ibuprofen, Ozonation, Hydraulic retention timeFor downloading the full text please click here

Optimization of coagulation-flocculation process for dye and COD removal from real dyeing wastewater and evaluation of effluent biodegradability in a carpet factory

Background and Aim: Textile industry is one of the largest consumers of water in the world. The wastewater from the textile industry is known to have strong colour, chemical oxygen demand (COD), highly fluctuating pH and high temperature. The release of coloured wastewater represents a serious environmental and public health concern. Among the various physicochemical and biological methods of textile wastewater treatment, coagulationflocculation is considered as an attractive and favourable technique because of its low cost, easy operation and highefficiency.Materials and methods: The study was conducted in the laboratory scale using Jar test. Dye removal from real wastewater was investigated by the use of three mineral coagulants including poly aluminum chloride, ferric sulfate and ferric chloride. In order to optimize the process, parameters including pH, coagulant dose, time and speed of coagulation were considered. Treated samples were analysed to determine the residual color and COD.Results: According to the results of our experiments, under optimum conditions of process (pH 9, doses of 250 mg/lcoagulant and coagulation speed of 175 rpm with a duration of 5 minutes), the highest removal efficiencies (COD 44.4% and color 95%) were obtained by the use of poly aluminum chloride. The results showed that poly aluminum chloride enhanced the biodegradability of wastewater from 0.07 to 0.21 at optimized process conditions.Conclusion: Although the coagulation process reduced a large percentage of pollution load in the wastewater, another process has to be followed to meet the wastewater discharge standards in receiving sources.Keywords: Textile wastewater, Dye, Coagulation, Biodegradabilit

Assessment of safety in drinking water supply system of Birjand city using World Health Organization’s water safety plan

Background: The conventional method for managing drinking water quality is not a suitable preventive strategy for protecting public health. A water safety plan (WSP) presents a systematic approach to ensuring the health and quality of drinking water. This study assessed the drinking water supply system safety of Birjand city using the WHO’s WSP. Methods: This investigation employed the WSP-QA Tool and the WSP manual of the WHO and the AWI. For this purpose, software checklists were prepared and, after confirmation of content and face validity, completed based on Birjand’s water and wastewater company records and interview with company’s experts. Data was analyzed using WSP-QA Tool. Results: From total possible 440 points for full use of the program and 328 points of the studied phases, a score of 190 was acquired, indicating a 43.18% coordinated implementation with WSP. System description and management procedures showed the maximum and minimum percentages of congruency with the WSP of 87.5% and 25%, respectively. Among the components of the water supply system, water resource had the most attention. Conclusion: As regards the percentage of overall WSP-phase implementation and the low attention given to some key parameters of the water supply system, such as risk assessment and management procedures, the system currently enjoys a relatively medium level of safety. However, the high points of some phases such as system description, operational monitoring and verification enhance the system’s flexibility for changing the current approach of qualitative management to the WSP. Keywords: Drinking water, Safety, Water supply, Risk assessment, Softwar

Effect of synthesis method on NS-TiO2 photocatalytic performance

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COD removal and decolorization efficacy of ozonation process in spiral high pressure super mixing reactor for treatment of alcohol distilleries wastewater

Background and Aims: Alcohol distillery wastewater is a highly polluted wastewater which its treatment poses a special problem. In this work, the efficiency of ozonation process exploited in a spiral high pressure super mixing reactor was studied for COD removal and decolorization of alcohol distilleries wastewater. The results was also compared with a conventional reactor. Materials and Methods: The present laboratory-scale research was done on real effluent from anaerobic wastewater treatment unit of alcohol wastewater. Experiments were conducted in a pressurized spiral super mixing reactor equipped with static mixers and also in a control conventional reactor with the same volume. The process performance criteria, such as COD, BOD and color, were determined according to standards methods for water and wastewater examination. Results: The pressurized spiral super mixing reactor showed high efficiency in removing pollutants and reducing ozone consumption as compared to conventional reactor. Typically, during 30 min, and pH =5.3, the COD removal efficiency in the pressurized spiral super mixing reactor was 4.8 times higher than that of conventional reactor. According to the results, the efficacy of ozonation process increased by changing the pH from acidic to alkaline. Generally, the respective highest removal efficiency of COD and color was obtained at pH=11 and pH=5.3  in both reactors at their maximum retention time.  Also the biodegradability of wastewater (BOD/COD) was enhanced in both reactors following ozonation process. Conclusion: The pressurized spiral super mixing reactor performance in reducing ozone consumption highlights the potential applicability of this reactor for wastewater treatment of alcohol industry. The reactor can be used as pre-treatment or post treatment processes for the appropriate treatment of industrial wastewater. Keywords: Ozone, Alcohol industry, Pressurized spiral super mixing reactor, Colour, CO