Health Belief Model and Reasoned Action Theory in Predicting Water Saving Behaviors in Yazd, Iran

Background: People's behaviors and intentions about healthy behaviors depend on their beliefs, values, and knowledge about the issue. Various models of health education are used in deter-mining predictors of different healthy behaviors but their efficacy in cultural behaviors, such as water saving behaviors, are not studied. The study was conducted to explain water saving beha-viors in Yazd, Iran on the basis of Health Belief Model and Reasoned Action Theory. Methods: The cross-sectional study used random cluster sampling to recruit 200 heads of households to collect the data. The survey questionnaire was tested for its content validity and reliability. Analysis of data included descriptive statistics, simple correlation, hierarchical multiple regression. Results: Simple correlations between water saving behaviors and Reasoned Action Theory and Health Belief Model constructs were statistically significant. Health Belief Model and Reasoned Action Theory constructs explained 20.80% and 8.40% of the variances in water saving beha-viors, respectively. Perceived barriers were the strongest Predictor. Additionally, there was a sta-tistically positive correlation between water saving behaviors and intention. Conclusion: In designing interventions aimed at water waste prevention, barriers of water saving behaviors should be addressed first, followed by people's attitude towards water saving. Health Belief Model constructs, with the exception of perceived severity and benefits, is more powerful than is Reasoned Action Theory in predicting water saving behavior and may be used as a framework for educational interventions aimed at improving water saving behaviors

Removal Efficiency of Electrochemical Process by Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Impregnated on Rod Carbon for Arsenite Anions in a High Ionic Strength Solution

The entry of heavy metals (e.g., arsenite anions) into water sources due to industrial and mining activities is considered a serious problem for the environment. Therefore, arsenite removal from polluted water has attracted the attention of researchers due to its toxic effects on human health. In the present study, the efficiency of the electrochemical (EC) purification of arsenite anions in a high ionic strength solution was investigated using a carbon electrode impregnated with iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs). These NPs were synthesized by the co-precipitation method and immediately impregnated on the carbon rod. Experiments were performed by two electrodes (carbon and carbon impregnated with NP electrode) in a 50 mL EC reactor. The effect of different parameters such as electrical current (0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, & 0.9 A), EC time (2, 5, 10, 15, and 20 minutes), pH (3, 5, 7, 9, & 11), and the initial concentrations of arsenite anion (2, 5, 10, 15 and 20 mg/L) was investigated on the removal efficiency to achieve the highest removal of arsenite anions. Arsenite anions (10 mg/L) were completely removed from the aqueous solution with an ionic strength of 0.141 M at an electrical current of 0.7 A, a pH of 8, and an EC time of 20 minutes. In addition, pH was the most effective parameter in removing arsenite anions from aqueous solution in the EC method. According to the results, EC treatment using an electrode impregnated with iron oxide NPs is highly efficient in removing arsenite anions from the contaminated water

Efficiency of the Combined Chemical Precipitation -Reduction Process to Remove Dye and Chromium from Industry Wastewater of Home Appliance

Background: Industrial wastewater is one the most important pollutants of environment. This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of the combined chemical precipitation-reduction process for removal of dye and chromium from wastewater of home appliance factories. Methods: This experimental study was performed in laboratory scale on wastewater from the dying unit of the home appliance factory. The process used was a combination of the chemical precipitation-reduction process. Combine sampling was done and 214 samples were analyzed. COD, dye, and chromium were measured in samples. MgCl2, Polyaluminium Chloride (PAC), and FeCl3, cationic polymer and bentonite were used for chemical precipitation; and sodium meta bi sulfite was used for chemical reduction. Data were analysed by ANOVA and Tukey tests and by SPSS 16 software. Results: The results show that PAC had the highest color removal efficiency (90.92%). Also, the highest COD removal was related to the combination of magnesium chloride (1.4 mg/l), poly aluminum chloride (0.6 mg/l), and the coagulant aid cationic polymer (0.4 mg/l) with an efficiency of 89.11%. Moreover, total efficiency of the combined chemical precipitation and reduction process in chromium removal was 94%. Conclusion: The chemical precipitation- reduction process as a pre-treatment method has high efficiency in removal of COD, dye and chrome from wastewater of home appliance factories

An Investigation of the Efficacy of Cuttlefish Bone Powder in the Removal of Reactive Blue 19 Dye from Aqueous Solutions: Equilibrium and Isotherm Studies

Introduction: Discharge of textile wastewater causes the reduction of sunlight penetration, interferes with the receiving waters ecology and damage the environment. The aim of this study was to determine the removal efficiency of reactive blue 19 dye from aqueous solutions by cuttlefish bone powder. Materials & Methods: This study was performed experimentally and in laboratory scale. In this research, the effect of adsorbent dose, contact time, initial dye concentration and pH was evaluated. Dye concentration in unknown samples was determined by UV/Vis spectrophotometer. In order to better understand the adsorption process, the experimental data were analysed with Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. Results: Results showed that increasing the adsorbent dose up to 0.4 gr/100ml and increasing of contact time, led to an increase in the efficiency of dye removal. Increasing the initial pH had no effect on the adsorption efficiency and increasing the initial concentration of dye decreased the removal efficiency. The Removal efficacy of the dye was found to be 60%, 45%, 37.5% and 31.9% at the time interval of 3h and the initial dye concentrations of 25, 50, 75 and 100 mg/l, respectively. The experimental data were in good concordance with Langmuir isotherm model (R2=0.993). Conclusion: Cuttlefish bone powder is a natural and inexpensive adsorbent that can be used for the removal of environmental contaminations. The adsorption process is affected by sorbent dose, initial dye concentration and contact time but pH had no significant effect on removal efficienc

Modeling and Performance of Waste Tires as Media in Fixed Bed Sequence Batch Reactor

Introduction: The modeling aims to simulate or optimize a process in physical, chemical or biological environments and the derived model will provide a considerable assistance to generate data and predict unknown condition, in case of sufficient suitability. Unsuitable disposal and elimination of waste tires have polluted the environment and human life areas, it also have caused removal of a huge amount of recyclable materials and energy. Besides, attached growth biological processes of wastewater treatment are faced with very high costs of the beds used in such methods. Thus, this study targeted at the following topics: reuse of waste tires, reduction of the costs associated with preparation of biological wastewater treatment system beds, and increased productivity of refineries.  Materials and Methods: The current experimental study was conducted in pilot scale, in which ability of Fixed Bed Sequence Batch Reactor (FBSBR) and Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) was evaluated by synthetic wastewater in diverse loadings. Ultimately, the derived data were analyzed using the statistical software packages SPSS and MS Excel. Results: The maximum removal efficiencies of dissolved chemical oxygen demand for FBSBR and SBR reactors were 98.3 % and 97.9 %, respectively. In addition, Stover-Kincannon model provided a very suitable fitness (R2   > 0.99) for loading the bioreactor FBSBR. Conclusion: According to the results, not only waste tires can be reused, but also these wastes can be employed as a proper biological bed in wastewater refineries to improve their efficiency

Potential investigation of Reusing Ardabil Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant Sludge Based on AHP and TOPSIS Models

Introduction :By ever-increasing of population, shortage of water resources and the necessity of wastewater treatment, huge volumes of sludge that is a byproduct of wastewater treatment, requires to be disposed in environmentally secure ways. The target of specifying strategic preferences of reuse of sludge has been to find the correct way of disposal or beneficial use of sludge. Material and methods: In this study, to select the best alternative for reuse of wastewater sludge two systematic methods are introduced, which four alternatives for reuse of sludge (use in agriculture, use in green space, biogas, desert combat) are introduced and they are compared by four main parameters including: 1- physicochemical 2-biological 3 - economic, social and cultural, and 4 - environmental pollution situation, that each contains some criteria. In this study, first each of the related parameters and criteria are compared by the expert groups of and through questionnaire. Then these weights are entered into Expert Choice software for the analyze of AHP model and paired comparisons and weightings have been done on the related parameters and criteria. Ultimately, the output of the software is entered into TOPSIS software for the analyze of TOPSIS model until the best alternative is selected. Results: sludge of Ardabil municipal wastewater treatment plant, according to standards and EPA regulations is eligible to class B, and due to the chemical in terms of heavy metals have special (excellent) quality and contains considerable quantities of organic substance, nutrients and micronutrients which indicates the fertilizer value of the sludge. Conclusion: The result of this comparison has shown that the application of sludge in green spaces is the most appropriate alternative and then use in agriculture, biogas alternative, and desert combat alternative are, respectively, placed in the second to fourth preference for the reuse of sludge derived from municipal wastewater treatment plant

Efficiency of Coagulation and Flocculation Process Combined with Chemical Sequestration in Removal of Organic and Inorganic Contaminants from Aautomotive Industry Sewage

Introduction: The most important environmental problem of automotive industries is the produced wastewater due to its various processes. The flocculation and coagulation along with chemical sequestration are among important processes for removing contaminants from wastewaters. The aim of this study is to investigate the efficiency of coagulation and flocculation process along with chemical sequestration in the removal of organic and inorganic pollutants from automotive industry sewage. Materials & Methods: This study is an applied-experimental study. The removal of organic and inorganic substances by coagulation, flocculation process combined with chemical sequestration was carried out in batch reactors. The parameters turbidity, heavy metals' concentration, color, phosphate, coagulants concentration, exposure time, TSS, pH and COD were studied. The concentration of color and residue of heavy metals were determined using spectrophotometer -UV and atomic absorption. Results: The research results showed that the removal percentage of Cr, Ni, Pb and Zn by ferric sulfate combined with lime at a pH equal to 10 and the exposure time of 100 minutes were 52.65, 96.3, 3.27 and 100 respectively, and percentage of removing them by aluminum sulfate combined with lime was 52.65, 97.8, 3.37 and 99.81 respectively. the removal percentage of TSS, COD, color, turbidity, phosphates ferric sulfate was also 68.9, 83, 94, 84 and 47.2 respectively, and this amount of removal by aluminum sulfate was 62, 80, 94, 73.5 and 48 respectively at neutral pH and concentration of coagulant was obtained equal to 150 mg/ L. Conclusion: According to the results, the use of coagulation and flocculation process combined with chemical sequestration in the removal of organic and inorganic pollutants in wastewaters of automotive industry achieved under optimal conditions is very effective and can be used in water treatment of automotive industry

A Review on the Importance of Hormones Monitoring and Their Removal in Conventional Wastewater Treatment Systems

Introduction: Micro pollutants have become one of the most important environmental concerns around the world. These natural and synthetic compounds have been called Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) due to their interfere with the normal function of the endocrine system in humans and animals. They include natural and synthetic hormones and their metabolites, surfactant, insecticide, as well as some pharmaceuticals and health care products. Because of these compounds effects, importance of their monitoring in Iran is perceived like other countries. Materials and Methods: This paper was carried out on the basis of studies accomplished from 2000 to 2017 and also the ones published in databases such as Google Scholar, Elsevier, Scopus, Science direct, Magiran, and SID using hormone removal, micro pollutant removal, removal hormones from wastewater, sex hormones removal, steroidal hormones, hormone removal from wastewater, and removal efficiency of micro pollutants as the keywords. PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) statement was used for selecting articles. Results: Sexual reproduction of fish exposed to estrogenic compounds was changed. Phytoestrogens exist on a certain strain of clover which caused severe infertility in sheep grazing on them. Some studies have reported that a decrease in men's sperm and breast cancer in women are caused by exposure to estrogenic compounds. Conclusion: According to the current study, further studies are needed to determine the entry routes of steroid hormones into aquatic environment, the detection techniques and measurements, as well as the best removal method in Iran

The Role of Environmental Education in Increasing the Awareness of Primary School Students and Reducing Environmental Risks

Introduction: Primary schools are children's first social environments. Other people's attitudes towards environmental hazards play a key role in developing children's personality. This study aimed to identify and assess the environmental risks (such as emission of pollutants into the air, discharge of pollutants into water and soil, energy consumption, etc.) in Shohadaye Kork female primary school in Kashan, Iran, and also to investigate the role of environmental education in the promotion of students' environmental knowledge. Materials and Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, at first, environmental hazards were identified by a checklist through field visits and observing students' activities, and then they were assessed through Preliminary Hazard Analysis (PHA) method. After that, the Risk Assessment Code 1 (RAC1) was calculated. By Considering the involved hazards, environmental education was presented and then RAC2 was calculated. Environmental awareness of 172 students was investigated by a questionnaire. SPSS V 19 was used for statistical analysis. Results: 26 environmental hazards were identified, including 22 acceptable and 4 unacceptable (critical) hazards; 21 of them could be directly resolved by proper education. The mean scores of students' environmental tests were 5 and 18.21, respectively before and after the education. After taking control of measures all hazards were placed within the acceptable range. Conclusion: Schools environmental management plays an important role in preparing students for environmental education that the results of this study showed a significant relationship between education and promotion of students' environmental awareness