Characterization of rice husk carbon produced through simple technology

Textile wastewater contains different colors which are harmful to the environment. Activated carbon can be used for the decolorization of textile wastewater. Most of the textile plants in Bangladesh do not use the activated carbon due to its expensive cost and still it is classified as imported item. Low-cost activated carbon produced from locally available materials can solve this problem. This paper describes the color removal of textile wastewater by adsorption process using activated carbon derived from rice husk in a low-cost method. Thermal activation system was applied for the preparation of carbon. The maximum adsorption of color was found at an optimum temperature of 400C with the retention time of 60 minutes. Thus this study demonstrated encouraging performance of activated carbon produced from rice husk compared to the industrial grade activated carbon for decolorization of textile wastewater in the analysis

Chemical characteristics of native soil in shrimp Gher and agricultural land

This study was conducted to characterize the native soil at shrimp Gher and agricultural land in Khulna, Bangladesh. Eight locations were selected and among them five Ghers from south part of Dumuria which is about 60 km away from KUET campus, Khulna, Bangladesh. In the laboratory, various parameters such as salinity, organic content, chloride, pH, alkalinity, conductivity and moisture content were determined by following standard methods. The chloride and alkalinity were determined manually and pH, conductivity and salinity were determined by digital meter. The organic and moisture content both were highest at 30 cm depth for both the cases of shrimp Gher and agricultural land. Chloride was highest at 15 cm depth for both the cases shrimp Gher and agricultural land. Alkalinity was highest at 30 cm depth for shrimp Gher, however, the lowest was for agricultural land. It is concluded that the salinity and organic content vary with depth, age and soil condition

Measuring Coverage in MNCH:A Prospective Validation Study in Pakistan and Bangladesh on Measuring Correct Treatment of Childhood Pneumonia

Antibiotic treatment for pneumonia as measured by Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) is a key indicator for tracking progress in achieving Millennium Development Goal 4. Concerns about the validity of this indicator led us to perform an evaluation in urban and rural settings in Pakistan and Bangladesh.Caregivers of 950 children under 5 y with pneumonia and 980 with "no pneumonia" were identified in urban and rural settings and allocated for DHS/MICS questions 2 or 4 wk later. Study physicians assigned a diagnosis of pneumonia as reference standard; the predictive ability of DHS/MICS questions and additional measurement tools to identify pneumonia versus non-pneumonia cases was evaluated. Results at both sites showed suboptimal discriminative power, with no difference between 2- or 4-wk recall. Individual patterns of sensitivity and specificity varied substantially across study sites (sensitivity 66.9% and 45.5%, and specificity 68.8% and 69.5%, for DHS in Pakistan and Bangladesh, respectively). Prescribed antibiotics for pneumonia were correctly recalled by about two-thirds of caregivers using DHS questions, increasing to 72% and 82% in Pakistan and Bangladesh, respectively, using a drug chart and detailed enquiry.Monitoring antibiotic treatment of pneumonia is essential for national and global programs. Current (DHS/MICS questions) and proposed new (video and pneumonia score) methods of identifying pneumonia based on maternal recall discriminate poorly between pneumonia and children with cough. Furthermore, these methods have a low yield to identify children who have true pneumonia. Reported antibiotic treatment rates among these children are therefore not a valid proxy indicator of pneumonia treatment rates. These results have important implications for program monitoring and suggest that data in its current format from DHS/MICS surveys should not be used for the purpose of monitoring antibiotic treatment rates in children with pneumonia at the present time

Effect of different modes of aeration on composting of solid waste in a closed system

tocpublished_or_final_versionabstractCivil EngineeringDoctoralDoctor of Philosoph

Microstructure of Structural Lightweight Concrete Incorporating Coconut Shell as a Partial Replacement of Brick Aggregate and Its Influence on Compressive Strength

In this study, coconut shell aggregate (CSA) was used in brick aggregate concrete (BAC) to produce structural lightweight concrete. Various BACs containing CSA (CSBACs) were prepared based on the volumetric mix ratio of 1:1.5:3 (cement:fine aggregate:coarse aggregate). CSA was used substituting 0−15% of brick aggregate (BA) by weight. The concrete mixes were designed based on the weight-based water to cement (w/c) ratios of 0.45, 0.50, and 0.55. All the freshly mixed concretes were tested for their workability with respect to slump. In addition, the freshly mixed concretes made with the w/c ratio of 0.50 were examined for their wet density and air content. The hardened concretes were tested for their dry density, compressive strength, and microstructural characteristics (e.g., microcrack, micropore, fissure). The microstructure of CSBACs was investigated by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). In addition, the fissure width between the cement paste and CSA was measured from the SEM images using “ImageJ” software. The correlation between the compressive strength and fissure width of CSBAC was also examined. Test results showed that the air content of CSBACs including 5–15% CSA was higher than that of the control concrete (0% CSA). In addition, the density and compressive strength of concrete decreased with the increased CSA content. Above all, the most interesting finding of this study was the presence of fissures in the interfacial transition zone between the cement paste and CSA of CSBAC. The fissure width gradually increased with the increase in CSA content and thus decreased the compressive strength of concrete. However, the fissure width decreased with the increased curing age of concrete and therefore the compressive strength of CSBAC was enhanced at later ages. Moreover, a good correlation between the compressive strength and fissure width of CSBAC was observed in this study

Measurement of ambient particulate matter (PM1.0, PM2.5 and PM10) in Khulna City of Bangladesh and their implications for human health

Abstract Atmospheric particles have been significantly affecting urban air quality and urban-oriented living in an increasing share of the population in Bangladesh. This study assessed the concentration of PM1.0, PM2.5, and PM10 in Khulna, one of the largest cities in Bangladesh located near the Bay of Bengal. The maximum average concentrations were recorded 415 ± 184.01 µg/m3 for PM10, 302 ± 109.89 µg/m3 for PM2.5, and 143 ± 45.05 µg/m3 for PM1.0. These values are several times higher than the World Health Organization air quality standard and Bangladesh National Ambient Air Quality Standard. According to the size and fractional distribution of PM, most of the monitoring locations were dominated by fine particles. Carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks due to exposure to ambient PM1.0, PM2.5 and PM10 were also quantified to illustrate the relevant potential human health risks. The excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) values of PM1.0 ranged from 8.6E0–4 to 6.0E–07 and PM2.5 varied between 8.6E–04 and 6.0E–07 exceeded the allowable limit at every location indicating the potential cancer-developing risk to the urban population. The health quotient (HQ) values also crossed the least permissible value at most of the locations depicting strong non-carcinogenic risks. Average HQ values of PM2.5 varied from 1.07 to 20.13 while PM10 ranged from 0.44 to 8.3. This research revealed children and elderly people as the most vulnerable age groups with the highest carcinogenic risks through exposure to atmospheric PM in Khulna city. Therefore, air pollution reduction plans and risk mitigation strategies should be developed and implemented by the government authorities. Graphical Abstrac

Baseline characteristics of the study children.

<p>Data are given as number (percent) unless otherwise indicated.</p>a<p>There was only one child in the 0–2 age group at the Bangladesh rural site, hence a standard deviation value could not be calculated.</p><p>SD, standard deviation.</p

Bangladesh rural site—flowchart of selection of pneumonia and no-pneumonia cases in the rural setting.

<p>Bangladesh rural site—flowchart of selection of pneumonia and no-pneumonia cases in the rural setting.</p