Soil erosion in the Hare watershed led to significant land degradation,water pollution,and reduced agricultural productivity.Despite its effects,very few researchers have used combined morphometric and RUSLE model tec...Soil erosion in the Hare watershed led to significant land degradation,water pollution,and reduced agricultural productivity.Despite its effects,very few researchers have used combined morphometric and RUSLE model techniques to quantify soil erosion and thereby prioritize impacted areas.This work used an automated GIS-based tool(SWPT)to prioritize crucial areas based on topohydrological and morphometric factors and predict soil loss in sub-watersheds using the RUSLE model.Land use/cover data were obtained from Landsat imagery,while slope and morphometric information were extracted from digital elevation data with a resolution of 12.5 m.Soil erodibility was determined using Ethiopian soil maps,and rainfall erosivity was computed using meteorological data.An average annual soil loss of 49 t ha-1 yr-1 was observed in the Hare watershed.Sub-watershed 11 was found to be the most affected,with an average annual soil loss of 85.12 t ha-1 yr-1and a compound parameter value(CPV)of 0.059.Subwatershed 17 has the least amount of soil loss,with 3.67t ha-1 yr-1 and a CPV of 1.32.The study emphasizes the usefulness of integrating RUSLE and morphometric analysis for soil and water conservation planning,suggesting a variety of modeling tools in data-sparse locations to quantify and prioritize erosion-prone areas.展开更多
Rapid changes in climate and cryosphere coupled with growing demand of water for irrigation, industrial and domestic use are putting high stress on the existing water resources of the Himalayan region. Surface water s...Rapid changes in climate and cryosphere coupled with growing demand of water for irrigation, industrial and domestic use are putting high stress on the existing water resources of the Himalayan region. Surface water supplies become critically low especially during early summers and dry periods to sustain agriculture and livelihoods in the region. In the present study, groundwater prospects were investigated using vertical electrical sounding(VES) technique to supplement irrigation and domestic water supplies in the Upper Indus Basin of Pakistan. The findings of the study revealed groundwater potential of about 7 km^(3) in the aquifer, the yield of which may vary depending on the geological setup and characteristics of the subsurface lithology. The mean thickness of the aquifer was estimated to be approximately 11 m across the surveyed area, which spans about 2,093 km^(2). Areas with favorable aquifer potential(exceeding 30 m in thickness) account for only approximately 8.4% of the region, while moderate potential(20–30 m thickness) is present in about 19.8% of the surveyed area. Groundwater occurrence is limited in the elevated northeastern regions due to the prevalence of unfractured igneous and metamorphic rock formations. However, in-depth hydrogeological investigations and hydro-dynamics research would be helpful in understanding precise nature of the aquifer system as well as links between various recharge components of the groundwater in the region. An integrated water resource management approach would be beneficial for sustaining agriculture and livelihoods in this diverse mountainous region in future.展开更多
The majority of water utilities,particularly public service providers such as Gidole town,are struggling to deliver a sufficient and consistent supply of water in Ethiopia's developing towns.The primary objective ...The majority of water utilities,particularly public service providers such as Gidole town,are struggling to deliver a sufficient and consistent supply of water in Ethiopia's developing towns.The primary objective of this study was to assess the hydraulic performance of water supply distribution system in Gidole Town,Ethiopia,a representative case of the challenges facing public water utilities in developing towns.The WaterGEMS v8i hydraulic model was utilized to simulate and evaluate the distribution network's performance.The system was configured as a looped network and analyzed against standard permitted pressure and velocity values in the distribution system.The model was effectively calibrated(coefficient of determination(R^(2))=0.969)using measured and observed pressure data.The model simulation run was conducted at peak and low hourly demand with 1.9 and 0.25 hourly factors,respectively.The estimated water demand of the town is 1284.3m^(3)/day(48.4 liters per capita per day),and it would be increased to 3099.77m^(3)/day(66.03 l/c/d)by the 2037 design period.The system experiences significant non-revenue water losses(75,434.11m^(3)/year),accounting for 29.9%of total water production;as a result,the present water supply coverage of the town is only 33.6%.Hydraulic simulations under peak and low demand scenarios revealed nodes with pressures outside the normal range,indicating system-wide inefficiencies.These findings highlight a combined issue of large physical losses and insufficient capacity of the water supply in the town,which is typical of many municipal systems in developing regions.The study concludes that strategic infrastructure rehabilitation,with an emphasis on pressure management and leak reduction,is not only a town necessity but a fundamental requirement for improving water security and financial sustainability for utilities in Ethiopia and similar contexts.The findings and methodology have been forwarded to town's water supply project and institutional development departments for immediate future implementation and provide a replicable framework for evidence-based investment and planning in other struggling municipalities in similar situations.展开更多
Groundwater quality of the Tiruppur district in Tamil Nadu was investigated in this study to develop a Water Quality Index (WQI) model. Hydrochemical parameters showed tremendous variation in certain location over the...Groundwater quality of the Tiruppur district in Tamil Nadu was investigated in this study to develop a Water Quality Index (WQI) model. Hydrochemical parameters showed tremendous variation in certain location over the seasons. Ionic chemistry of groundwater suggested that textile industries and rock-water interaction are major threats to the water quality. Analysis of Na and Ca concentration indicates that direct as well as the inverse cation exchange controls the natural cation chemistry. NO3 concentration shows that the pre-monsoon samples were affected by the fertilizer usage in agricultural fields. Na-Cl type of the water was dominant throughout the study area except few locations. WQI showed that 55% of the pre-monsoon samples and the 47% of the post monsoon samples were classified as poor/very poor/unsuitable for drinking category. Leaching of the textile waste and their transport to the downstream was well observed during the post-monsoon season. The specific contribution of river Noyyal in the transport of the solutes to the discharge zones was proved by the hydrochemistry of the samples.展开更多
The disinfection of drinking water is a major public health achievement; however, an unintended consequence of disinfection is the generation of disinfection by-products（DBPs）. Many of the identified DBPs exhibit in...The disinfection of drinking water is a major public health achievement; however, an unintended consequence of disinfection is the generation of disinfection by-products（DBPs）. Many of the identified DBPs exhibit in vitro and in vivo toxicity, generate a diversity of adverse biological effects, and may be hazards to the public health and the environment.Only a few DBPs are regulated by several national and international agencies and it is not clear if these regulated DBPs are the forcing agents that drive the observed toxicity and their associated health effects. In this study, we combine analytical chemical and biological data to resolve the forcing agents associated with mammalian cell cytotoxicity of drinking water samples from three cities. These data suggest that the trihalomethanes（THMs） and haloacetic acids may be a small component of the overall cytotoxicity of the organic material isolated from disinfected drinking water. Chemical classes of nitrogen-containing DBPs, such as the haloacetonitriles and haloacetamides, appear to be the major forcing agents of toxicity in these samples. These findings may have important implications for the design of epidemiological studies that primarily rely on the levels of THMs to define DBP exposure among populations. The TIC-Tox approach constitutes a beginning step in the process of identifying the forcing agents of toxicity in disinfected water.展开更多
This study investigated the speciation of halogen-specific total organic halogen and disinfection byproducts(DBPs) upon chlorination of natural organic matter(NOM) in the presence of iopamidol and bromide(Br^-).Experi...This study investigated the speciation of halogen-specific total organic halogen and disinfection byproducts(DBPs) upon chlorination of natural organic matter(NOM) in the presence of iopamidol and bromide(Br^-).Experiments were conducted with low bromide source waters with different NOM characteristics from Northeast Ohio,USA and varied spiked levels of bromide(2-30 μmol/L) and iopamidol(1-5 μmol/L).Iopamidol was found to be a direct precursor to trihalomethane(THM) and haloacetic acid formation,and in the presence of Br^-favored brominated analogs.The concentration and speciation of DBPs formed were impacted by iopamidol and bromide concentrations,as well as the presence of NOM.As iopamidol increased the concentration of iodinated DBPs(iodo-DBPs) and THMs increased.However,as Br^-concentrations increased,the concentrations of nonbrominated iodo-and chloro-DBPs decreased while brominated-DBPs increased.Regardless of the concentration of either iopamidol or bromide,bromochloroiodomethane(CHBrClI) was the most predominant iodo-DBP formed except at the lowest bromide concentration studied.At relevant concentrations of iopamidol(1 μmol/L) and bromide(2 μmol/L),significant quantities of highly toxic iodinated and brominated DBPs were formed.However,the rapid oxidation and incorporation of bromide appear to inhibit iodoDBP formation under conditions relevant to drinking water treatment.展开更多
A survey was conducted at eight U.S. drinking water plants, that spanned a wide range of water qualities and treatment/disinfection practices. Plants that treated heavily-wastewaterimpacted source waters had lower tri...A survey was conducted at eight U.S. drinking water plants, that spanned a wide range of water qualities and treatment/disinfection practices. Plants that treated heavily-wastewaterimpacted source waters had lower trihalomethane to dihaloacetonitrile ratios due to the presence of more organic nitrogen and HAN precursors. As the bromide to total organic carbon ratio increased, there was more bromine incorporation into DBPs. This has been shown in other studies for THMs and selected emerging DBPs(HANs), whereas this study examined bromine incorporation for a wider group of emerging DBPs(haloacetaldehydes, halonitromethanes). Moreover, bromine incorporation into the emerging DBPs was, in general, similar to that of the THMs. Epidemiology studies that show an association between adverse health effects and brominated THMs may be due to the formation of brominated emerging DBPs of heath concern. Plants with higher free chlorine contact times before ammonia addition to form chloramines had less iodinated DBP formation in chloraminated distribution systems, where there was more oxidation of the iodide to iodate(a sink for the iodide) by the chlorine. This has been shown in many bench-scale studies(primarily for iodinated THMs), but seldom in full-scale studies(where this study also showed the impact on total organic iodine. Collectively, the THMs, haloacetic acids, and emerging DBPs accounted for a significant portion of the TOCl, TOBr, and TOI;however, ~50% of the TOCl and TOBr is still unknown. The correlation of the sum of detected DBPs with the TOCl and TOBr suggests that they can be used as reliable surrogates.展开更多
The reclamation and disinfection of waters impacted by human activities（e.g., wastewater effluent discharges） are of growing interest for various applications but has been associated with the formation of toxic nitr...The reclamation and disinfection of waters impacted by human activities（e.g., wastewater effluent discharges） are of growing interest for various applications but has been associated with the formation of toxic nitrogenous disinfection byproducts（N-DBPs）. Monochloramine used as an alternative disinfectant to chlorine can be an additional source of nitrogen in the formation of N-DBPs. Individual toxicity assays have been performed on many DBPs, but few studies have been conducted with complex mixtures such as wastewater effluents. In this work, we compared the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of wastewater effluent organic matter（Ef OM） before and after chloramination. The toxicity of chloraminated Ef OM was significantly higher than the toxicity of raw Ef OM, and the more hydrophobic fraction（HPO）isolated on XAD-8 resin was more toxic than the fraction isolated on XAD-4 resin.More DBPs were also isolated on the XAD-8 resin. N-DBPs（i.e., haloacetonitriles or haloacetamides） were responsible for the majority of the cytotoxicity estimated from DBP concentrations measured in the XAD-8 and XAD-4 fractions（99.4% and 78.5%, respectively）.Measured DBPs accounted for minor proportions of total brominated and chlorinated products, which means that many unknown halogenated compounds were formed and can be responsible for a significant part of the toxicity. Other non-halogenated byproducts（e.g.,nitrosamines） may contribute to the toxicity of chloraminated effluents as well.展开更多
Maize (Zea mays) is among the major cereals grown in the high rainfall areas of the subSaharan Africa’s (SSA) such as the Ethiopian part of the Blue Nile basin. However, its productivity is severely constrained by po...Maize (Zea mays) is among the major cereals grown in the high rainfall areas of the subSaharan Africa’s (SSA) such as the Ethiopian part of the Blue Nile basin. However, its productivity is severely constrained by poor soil, water and crop management practices. This study simulated the water productivity of the crop under varying soil fertility scenarios (poor, near optimal and none limiting) using hybrid seeds under rainfed conditions using the FAO AquaCrop model. The result indicated that grain yield of maize increased from 2.5 tons.ha–1 under poor to 6.4 and 9.2 tons.ha–1 with near optimal and non-limiting soil fertility conditions. Correspondingly, soil evaporation decreased from 446 mm to 285 and 204 mm, while transpiration increased from 146 to 268 and 355 mm. Consequently, grain water productivity was increased by 48% and 54%, respectively, with the near optimal and non-limiting soil fertility conditions. The water productivity gain mainly comes from reduced evaporation and increased transpiration without significantly affecting water left for downstream ecosystem services. This has a huge implication for a basin scale water management planning for various purposes.展开更多
A linear regression model in conjunction with cluster analysis was applied to the groundwater quality parameters for the Vaniyambadi industrial area, Tamil Nadu, India. These physico-chemical parameters were collected...A linear regression model in conjunction with cluster analysis was applied to the groundwater quality parameters for the Vaniyambadi industrial area, Tamil Nadu, India. These physico-chemical parameters were collected from 25 wells by intensive groundwater sampling conducted during January 2010. All the major ions, pH and electrical conductivity were analyzed. The abundances of cations were in the order of Na <Ca <Mg <K and those of anions were in the order of Cl <HCO3 <SO4 <CO3, respectively. This was in agreement with the water types, Na-Cl and Na-Ca-HCO3, determined by the Piper plot. High concentrations of the ions Na, Cl and SO4 were recorded near the tanneries that operate within the study area. While the elevated concentrations of HCO3 and F were observed away from the tanneries. This peculiar hydrochemical behaviour suggests that the chemistry of water is predominantly influenced by tannery effluents and weathering of silicate minerals. Results of the linear regression model yielded 11 regression equations for the 5 most correlated parameters. A dendrogram from the cluster analysis showed 2 major clusters representing the influence of tanneries and geological formations in the study area, which confirmed the results of major ion chemistry.展开更多
Constructed wetlands（CWs） have been successfully used for treating various wastewaters for decades and have been identified as a sustainable wastewater management option for developing countries. With the goal of pr...Constructed wetlands（CWs） have been successfully used for treating various wastewaters for decades and have been identified as a sustainable wastewater management option for developing countries. With the goal of promoting sustainable engineered systems that support human well-being but are also compatible with sustaining natural（environmental）systems, the application of CWs has become more relevant. Such application is especially significant for developing countries with tropical climates, which are very conducive to higher biological activity and productivity, resulting in higher treatment efficiencies compared to those in temperate climates. This paper therefore highlights the practice,applications, and research of treatment wetlands under tropical and subtropical conditions since 2000. In the present review, removal of biochemical oxygen demand（BOD） and total suspended solid（TSS） was shown to be very efficient and consistent across all types of treatment wetlands. Hybrid systems appeared more efficient in the removal of total suspended solid（TSS）（91.3%）, chemical oxygen demand（COD）（84.3%）, and nitrogen（i.e.,80.7% for ammonium（NH）4-N, 80.8% for nitrate（NO）3-N, and 75.4% for total nitrogen（TN））as compared to other wetland systems. Vertical subsurface flow（VSSF） CWs removed TSS（84.9%）, BOD（87.6%）, and nitrogen（i.e., 66.2% for NH4-N, 73.3% for NO3-N, and 53.3% for TN）more efficiently than horizontal subsurface flow（HSSF） CWs, while HSSF CWs（69.8%）showed better total phosphorus（TP） removal compared to VSSF CWs（60.1%）. Floating treatment wetlands（FTWs） showed comparable removal efficiencies for BOD（70.7%）,NH4-N（63.6%）, and TP（44.8%） to free water surface（FWS） CW systems.展开更多
Recycling wastewater is becoming more common as communities around the world try to better control their water resources against an increased frequency of either prolonged droughts or intense flooding. For communities...Recycling wastewater is becoming more common as communities around the world try to better control their water resources against an increased frequency of either prolonged droughts or intense flooding. For communities in coastal areas, wastewaters may contain elevated levels of bromide（Br^-） and iodide（I^-） from seawater intrusion or high mineral content of source waters. Disinfection of such wastewater is mandatory to prevent the spread of pathogens, however little is known about the toxicity of wastewater after disinfection in the presence of Br^-and I^-. In this study we compared the induction of chronic cytotoxicity in mammalian cells in samples of municipal secondary wastewater effluent amended with elevated levels of Br^-/I^-after disinfection by chlorine, chloramines or ozone to identify which disinfection process generated wastewater with the lowest level of adverse biological response. Chlorination increased mammalian cell cytotoxicity by 5times as compared to non-disinfected controls. Chloramination produced disinfected wastewater that expressed 6.3 times more cytotoxicity than the non-disinfected controls and was 1.3 times more cytotoxic than the chlorinated samples. Ozonation produced wastewater with cytotoxicity comparable to the non-disinfected controls and was at least 4times less cytotoxic than the chlorine disinfected wastewaters. These results indicate that compared to chlorination and chloramination, ozonation of wastewater with high Br^-/Ilevels yielded the lowest mammalian cell cytotoxicity, suggesting its potential as a more favorable method to disinfect wastewater with minimizing the biological toxicity in mind.展开更多
Soil pore size distribution(SPSD) is one of the most important soil physical properties. This research investigated the relationships of location and shape parameters of the SPSD curves with plant-available water(PAW)...Soil pore size distribution(SPSD) is one of the most important soil physical properties. This research investigated the relationships of location and shape parameters of the SPSD curves with plant-available water(PAW) and least limiting water range(LLWR) of the light-textured soils at the Torogh Agricultural Research Station in north-eastern Iran. Soil moisture release curve(SMRC), PAW and LLWR in matric heads of 100 and 330 h Pa for the field capacity and location and shape parameters of the SPSD curves of 30 soils with different texture and organic carbon contents were determined, and the variable relationships were statistically analyzed. The results showed that the median equivalent pore diameter(de), mean de, standard deviation(SD*), and skewness of the SPSD curves were significantly correlated with PAW(PAW330) and LLWR(LLWR330) measured in a matric head of 330 h Pa. Decrease in deand increase in the diversity of soil pore size(SD*) increased PAW330 and LLWR330. The SD* values of all the soil samples were lower than the optimal ranges suggested in literature. Neither PAW nor LLWR values were significantly different in the soils with the optimal modal deand those with non-optimal modal de. Optimal values of median and mean equivalent pore diameters and kurtosis of SPSD curves led to a significant improvement of PAW330 and LLWR330 as soil physical quality indicators. It was recommended to revise the optimal ranges for SD* and modal defor future studies.展开更多
The provision of water and sanitation services is a key challenge worldwide.The size,complexity,and critical nature of the water and wastewater infrastructure providing such services make the planning and management o...The provision of water and sanitation services is a key challenge worldwide.The size,complexity,and critical nature of the water and wastewater infrastructure providing such services make the planning and management of these systems extremely difficult.Following the digital revolution in many areas of our lives,the water sector has begun to benefit from digital transformation.Effective utilization of remotely sensed weather and soil moisture data for more efficient irrigation(i.e.,for food production),better detection of anomalies and faults in pipe networks using artificial intelligence,the use of nature-inspired optimization to improve the management and planning of systems,and greater use of digital twins and robotics all exhibit great potential to change and improve the ways in which complex water systems are managed.However,there are additional risks associated with these developments,including—but not limited to—cybersecurity,incorrect use,and overconfidence in the capability and accuracy of digital solutions and automation.This paper identifies key advances in digital technology that have found application in the water sector,and applies forensic engineering principles to failures that have been experienced in industries further ahead with automation and digital transformation.By iden-tifying what went wrong with new digital technologies that might have contributed to high-profile acci-dents in the car and aircraft industries(e.g.,Tesla self-driving cars and the Boeing 737 MAX),it is possible to identify similar risks in the water sector,learn from them,and prevent future failures.The key findings show that:①Automation will require“humans in the loop”;②human operators must be fully aware of the technology and trained to use it;③fallback manual intervention should be available in case of tech-nology malfunctioning;④while redundant sensors may be costly,they reduce the risks due to erroneous sensor readings;⑤cybersecurity risks must be considered;and⑥ethics issues have to be considered,given the increasing automation and interconnectedness of water systems.These findings also point to major research areas related to digital transformation in the water sector.展开更多
The presence of iodinated X-ray contrast media（ICM） in source waters is of high concern to public health because of their potential to generate highly toxic disinfection by-products（DBPs）. The objective of this st...The presence of iodinated X-ray contrast media（ICM） in source waters is of high concern to public health because of their potential to generate highly toxic disinfection by-products（DBPs）. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of ICM in source waters and the type of disinfectant on the overall toxicity of DBP mixtures and to determine which ICM and reaction conditions give rise to toxic by-products. Source waters collected from Akron,OH were treated with five different ICMs, including iopamidol, iopromide, iohexol,diatrizoate and iomeprol, with or without chlorine or chloramine disinfection. The reaction product mixtures were concentrated with XAD resins and the mammalian cell cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of the reaction mixture concentrates was measured. Water containing iopamidol generated an enhanced level of mammalian cell cytotoxicity and genotoxicity after disinfection. While chlorine disinfection with iopamidol resulted in the highest cytotoxicity overall, the relative iopamidol-mediated increase in toxicity was greater when chloramine was used as the disinfectant compared with chlorine. Four other ICMs（iopromide, iohexol, diatrizoate, and iomeprol） expressed some cytotoxicity over the control without any disinfection, and induced higher cytotoxicity when chlorinated. Only iohexol enhanced genotoxicity compared to the chlorinated source water.展开更多
The soil and water conservation practices of ecological restoration(ER),fish scale pit(FP),furrow and ridge tillage across the slope(FR),shrub strips(SS),and vegetation-covered ridge(VR)are characteristic of the Jixin...The soil and water conservation practices of ecological restoration(ER),fish scale pit(FP),furrow and ridge tillage across the slope(FR),shrub strips(SS),and vegetation-covered ridge(VR)are characteristic of the Jixing small watershed of the low mountain and hilly region of Jilin Province,Northeast China.This study aims to elucidate the effects of soil and water conservation practices on soil conditions after the short-term implementation of practices.Soil samples were collected from five soil and water conservation sites(ER,FP,FR,SS,and VR)and two controls(BL and CT)to investigate their properties.To evaluate the influence of soil and water conservation practices on soil quality,an integrated quantitative index,soil quality index(QI),was developed to compare the soil quality under the different soil and water conservation practices.The results show that not all soil and water conservation practices can improve the soil conditions and not all soil properties,especially soil organic carbon(SOC),can be recovered under soil and water conservation practice in short-term.Moreover,the QI in the five soil and water conservation practices and two controls was in the following order:ER>VR>BL>FR>CT>SS>FP.ER exhibited a higher soil quality value on a slope scale.In the low mountain and hilly region of Northeast China,ER is a better choice than the conversion of farmlands to planted grasslands and woodlands early in the soil and water conservation program.展开更多
Drought stress is an abiotic stress that imposes serious constraints on plants. The present investigation was carried out to determine the inter-relationship between some physiological attributes of soybeans affected ...Drought stress is an abiotic stress that imposes serious constraints on plants. The present investigation was carried out to determine the inter-relationship between some physiological attributes of soybeans affected by drought stress and pure isolates ofAzotobacter andAzospirillum. Drought stress and bacterial application increased catalase and glutathione peroxidase activity, whereas drought stress increased superoxide dismutase activity during the pod-filling stage. Abscisic acid and proline levels increased due to drought stress and bacterial application during the flowering stage, whereas total plant nitrogen was enhanced under well-watered conditions when plants were inoculated with bacteria. The close relationship between enzyme activity and drought stress with bacteria indicated that antioxidant enzymes play an important role in alleviating the detrimental effects of water stress. In addition, the enhancement of abscisic acid and proline could be positively linked with drought stress, and drought-induced abscisic acid could induce proline accumulation and the expression of antioxidant enzyme genes.展开更多
Biogenic palladium nanoparticles(bio-Pd NPs)are used for the reductive transformation and/or dehalogenation of persistent micropollutants.In this work,H2(electron donor)was produced in situ by an electrochemical cell,...Biogenic palladium nanoparticles(bio-Pd NPs)are used for the reductive transformation and/or dehalogenation of persistent micropollutants.In this work,H2(electron donor)was produced in situ by an electrochemical cell,permitting steered production of differently sized bio-Pd NPs.The catalytic activity was first assessed by the degradation of methyl orange.The NPs showing the highest catalytic activity were selected for the removal of micropollutants from secondary treated municipal wastewater.The synthesis at different H2 flow rates(0.310 L/hr or 0.646 L/hr)influenced the bio-Pd NPs size.The NPs produced over 6 hr at a lowH2 flow rate had a larger size(D50=39.0 nm)than those produced in 3 hr at a high H2 flow rate(D50=23.2 nm).Removal of 92.1%and 44.3%of methyl orange was obtained after 30 min for the NPs with sizes of 39.0 nm and 23.2 nm,respectively.Bio-Pd NPs of 39.0 nm were used to treat micropollutants present in secondary treated municipal wastewater at concentrations ranging fromμg/L to ng/L.Effective removal of 8 compounds was observed:ibuprofen(69.5%)<sulfamethoxazole(80.6%)<naproxen(81.4%)<furosemide(89.7%)<citalopram(91.7%)<diclofenac(91.9%)<atorvastatin(>94.3%)<lorazepam(97.2%).Re-moval of fluorinated antibiotics occurred at>90%efficiency.Overall,these data indicate that the size,and thus the catalytic activity of the NPs can be steered and that the removal of challengingmicropollutants at environmentally relevant concentrations can be achieved through the use of bio-Pd NPs.展开更多
This study focuses on the synthesis of nanocomposites named CCA and CZA that were prepared by the incorporation of cellulose(CL)in the Ca/Al and Zn/Al layered double hydroxide(LDH),respectively.These materials were th...This study focuses on the synthesis of nanocomposites named CCA and CZA that were prepared by the incorporation of cellulose(CL)in the Ca/Al and Zn/Al layered double hydroxide(LDH),respectively.These materials were then used for the uptake of As(Ⅲ)and As(V)from aqueous medium.Characterization of both nanocomposites(CCA and CZA)was done using FTIR and Raman analysis to identify the functional groups,N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms to determine the specific surface area and pore geometry and XPS analysis to obtain the surface atomic composition.Some other characters were investigated using simultaneous TGA and DTA and elemental chemical analysis(CHNS/O).The crystallinity of the prepared nanocomposites was displayed by XRD patterns.Furthermore,the sheet-like structure of the LDHs and the irregularity of surface morphology with porous structure were observed by TEM and SEM microphotographs.Optimization of maximum adsorption capacity was adjusted using different parameters including pH,contact time and adsorbent dosage.The pseudo-second-order model was in good fitting with kinetics results.The adsorption isotherm results showed that CZA exhibits better adsorption capacity for As(Ⅲ)than CCA and the Langmuir isotherm model described the data well for both nanocomposites.Thermodynamic studies illustrated the endothermic nature of CCA and exothermic nature on CZA,as well as the fact that the adsorption process is spontaneous.A real water sample collected from well located in Gabes(Tunisia),has also been treated.The obtained experimental results were confirmed that these sorbents are efficient for the treatment of hazardous toxic species such as.展开更多
Long-term climatic data （maximum temperature, minimum temperature, rainfall and evaporation） for Big Bend in the Lowveld, a semi-arid region of Swaziland, were analysed for any changes or variations. Evaporation and...Long-term climatic data （maximum temperature, minimum temperature, rainfall and evaporation） for Big Bend in the Lowveld, a semi-arid region of Swaziland, were analysed for any changes or variations. Evaporation and rainfall data were analysed to assess water resources availability in the region. Analysis of the available data shows that there is no indication of decrease in rainfall with time, but the results show that there has been a steady increase in minimum temperatures over the last 25 years. The average effective water resources index, measured as the difference between mean annual rainfall and mean annual evaporation, for the region in the period from 1965 to 2001 was -1,500 mm. The large negative index implies low available water for the region, a situation that is likely to affect agricultural, hydropower and other water related development activities in the region. The negative effective water index implies deficits in the region＇s water resources which call for better management of the region＇s water resources. In the agriculture sector, this requires promoting technologies and practices that provide for water saving, improved water use performance and high water productivity. These include soil conservation tillage, wastewater reuse, runoff harvesting and soil fertility interventions through application of fertilizers, manures and mulches, and agronomic management. There is need for more analysis for the other regions in order to get a countrywide picture of the climate as well as water resources situations.展开更多
文摘Soil erosion in the Hare watershed led to significant land degradation,water pollution,and reduced agricultural productivity.Despite its effects,very few researchers have used combined morphometric and RUSLE model techniques to quantify soil erosion and thereby prioritize impacted areas.This work used an automated GIS-based tool(SWPT)to prioritize crucial areas based on topohydrological and morphometric factors and predict soil loss in sub-watersheds using the RUSLE model.Land use/cover data were obtained from Landsat imagery,while slope and morphometric information were extracted from digital elevation data with a resolution of 12.5 m.Soil erodibility was determined using Ethiopian soil maps,and rainfall erosivity was computed using meteorological data.An average annual soil loss of 49 t ha-1 yr-1 was observed in the Hare watershed.Sub-watershed 11 was found to be the most affected,with an average annual soil loss of 85.12 t ha-1 yr-1and a compound parameter value(CPV)of 0.059.Subwatershed 17 has the least amount of soil loss,with 3.67t ha-1 yr-1 and a CPV of 1.32.The study emphasizes the usefulness of integrating RUSLE and morphometric analysis for soil and water conservation planning,suggesting a variety of modeling tools in data-sparse locations to quantify and prioritize erosion-prone areas.
基金The project support of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council.
文摘Rapid changes in climate and cryosphere coupled with growing demand of water for irrigation, industrial and domestic use are putting high stress on the existing water resources of the Himalayan region. Surface water supplies become critically low especially during early summers and dry periods to sustain agriculture and livelihoods in the region. In the present study, groundwater prospects were investigated using vertical electrical sounding(VES) technique to supplement irrigation and domestic water supplies in the Upper Indus Basin of Pakistan. The findings of the study revealed groundwater potential of about 7 km^(3) in the aquifer, the yield of which may vary depending on the geological setup and characteristics of the subsurface lithology. The mean thickness of the aquifer was estimated to be approximately 11 m across the surveyed area, which spans about 2,093 km^(2). Areas with favorable aquifer potential(exceeding 30 m in thickness) account for only approximately 8.4% of the region, while moderate potential(20–30 m thickness) is present in about 19.8% of the surveyed area. Groundwater occurrence is limited in the elevated northeastern regions due to the prevalence of unfractured igneous and metamorphic rock formations. However, in-depth hydrogeological investigations and hydro-dynamics research would be helpful in understanding precise nature of the aquifer system as well as links between various recharge components of the groundwater in the region. An integrated water resource management approach would be beneficial for sustaining agriculture and livelihoods in this diverse mountainous region in future.
文摘The majority of water utilities,particularly public service providers such as Gidole town,are struggling to deliver a sufficient and consistent supply of water in Ethiopia's developing towns.The primary objective of this study was to assess the hydraulic performance of water supply distribution system in Gidole Town,Ethiopia,a representative case of the challenges facing public water utilities in developing towns.The WaterGEMS v8i hydraulic model was utilized to simulate and evaluate the distribution network's performance.The system was configured as a looped network and analyzed against standard permitted pressure and velocity values in the distribution system.The model was effectively calibrated(coefficient of determination(R^(2))=0.969)using measured and observed pressure data.The model simulation run was conducted at peak and low hourly demand with 1.9 and 0.25 hourly factors,respectively.The estimated water demand of the town is 1284.3m^(3)/day(48.4 liters per capita per day),and it would be increased to 3099.77m^(3)/day(66.03 l/c/d)by the 2037 design period.The system experiences significant non-revenue water losses(75,434.11m^(3)/year),accounting for 29.9%of total water production;as a result,the present water supply coverage of the town is only 33.6%.Hydraulic simulations under peak and low demand scenarios revealed nodes with pressures outside the normal range,indicating system-wide inefficiencies.These findings highlight a combined issue of large physical losses and insufficient capacity of the water supply in the town,which is typical of many municipal systems in developing regions.The study concludes that strategic infrastructure rehabilitation,with an emphasis on pressure management and leak reduction,is not only a town necessity but a fundamental requirement for improving water security and financial sustainability for utilities in Ethiopia and similar contexts.The findings and methodology have been forwarded to town's water supply project and institutional development departments for immediate future implementation and provide a replicable framework for evidence-based investment and planning in other struggling municipalities in similar situations.
文摘Groundwater quality of the Tiruppur district in Tamil Nadu was investigated in this study to develop a Water Quality Index (WQI) model. Hydrochemical parameters showed tremendous variation in certain location over the seasons. Ionic chemistry of groundwater suggested that textile industries and rock-water interaction are major threats to the water quality. Analysis of Na and Ca concentration indicates that direct as well as the inverse cation exchange controls the natural cation chemistry. NO3 concentration shows that the pre-monsoon samples were affected by the fertilizer usage in agricultural fields. Na-Cl type of the water was dominant throughout the study area except few locations. WQI showed that 55% of the pre-monsoon samples and the 47% of the post monsoon samples were classified as poor/very poor/unsuitable for drinking category. Leaching of the textile waste and their transport to the downstream was well observed during the post-monsoon season. The specific contribution of river Noyyal in the transport of the solutes to the discharge zones was proved by the hydrochemistry of the samples.
文摘The disinfection of drinking water is a major public health achievement; however, an unintended consequence of disinfection is the generation of disinfection by-products（DBPs）. Many of the identified DBPs exhibit in vitro and in vivo toxicity, generate a diversity of adverse biological effects, and may be hazards to the public health and the environment.Only a few DBPs are regulated by several national and international agencies and it is not clear if these regulated DBPs are the forcing agents that drive the observed toxicity and their associated health effects. In this study, we combine analytical chemical and biological data to resolve the forcing agents associated with mammalian cell cytotoxicity of drinking water samples from three cities. These data suggest that the trihalomethanes（THMs） and haloacetic acids may be a small component of the overall cytotoxicity of the organic material isolated from disinfected drinking water. Chemical classes of nitrogen-containing DBPs, such as the haloacetonitriles and haloacetamides, appear to be the major forcing agents of toxicity in these samples. These findings may have important implications for the design of epidemiological studies that primarily rely on the levels of THMs to define DBP exposure among populations. The TIC-Tox approach constitutes a beginning step in the process of identifying the forcing agents of toxicity in disinfected water.
基金supported by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft,DFG,project number TE 533/4-1)the National Science Foundation (NSF,project numbers NSF1124865 and NSF1124844).
文摘This study investigated the speciation of halogen-specific total organic halogen and disinfection byproducts(DBPs) upon chlorination of natural organic matter(NOM) in the presence of iopamidol and bromide(Br^-).Experiments were conducted with low bromide source waters with different NOM characteristics from Northeast Ohio,USA and varied spiked levels of bromide(2-30 μmol/L) and iopamidol(1-5 μmol/L).Iopamidol was found to be a direct precursor to trihalomethane(THM) and haloacetic acid formation,and in the presence of Br^-favored brominated analogs.The concentration and speciation of DBPs formed were impacted by iopamidol and bromide concentrations,as well as the presence of NOM.As iopamidol increased the concentration of iodinated DBPs(iodo-DBPs) and THMs increased.However,as Br^-concentrations increased,the concentrations of nonbrominated iodo-and chloro-DBPs decreased while brominated-DBPs increased.Regardless of the concentration of either iopamidol or bromide,bromochloroiodomethane(CHBrClI) was the most predominant iodo-DBP formed except at the lowest bromide concentration studied.At relevant concentrations of iopamidol(1 μmol/L) and bromide(2 μmol/L),significant quantities of highly toxic iodinated and brominated DBPs were formed.However,the rapid oxidation and incorporation of bromide appear to inhibit iodoDBP formation under conditions relevant to drinking water treatment.
基金funding from the National Science Foundation (CBET 1705206 and 1706862)。
文摘A survey was conducted at eight U.S. drinking water plants, that spanned a wide range of water qualities and treatment/disinfection practices. Plants that treated heavily-wastewaterimpacted source waters had lower trihalomethane to dihaloacetonitrile ratios due to the presence of more organic nitrogen and HAN precursors. As the bromide to total organic carbon ratio increased, there was more bromine incorporation into DBPs. This has been shown in other studies for THMs and selected emerging DBPs(HANs), whereas this study examined bromine incorporation for a wider group of emerging DBPs(haloacetaldehydes, halonitromethanes). Moreover, bromine incorporation into the emerging DBPs was, in general, similar to that of the THMs. Epidemiology studies that show an association between adverse health effects and brominated THMs may be due to the formation of brominated emerging DBPs of heath concern. Plants with higher free chlorine contact times before ammonia addition to form chloramines had less iodinated DBP formation in chloraminated distribution systems, where there was more oxidation of the iodide to iodate(a sink for the iodide) by the chlorine. This has been shown in many bench-scale studies(primarily for iodinated THMs), but seldom in full-scale studies(where this study also showed the impact on total organic iodine. Collectively, the THMs, haloacetic acids, and emerging DBPs accounted for a significant portion of the TOCl, TOBr, and TOI;however, ~50% of the TOCl and TOBr is still unknown. The correlation of the sum of detected DBPs with the TOCl and TOBr suggests that they can be used as reliable surrogates.
基金supported by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Office of Competitive Research Funds, entitled "Nitrogenous Disinfection By-Products in Reclaimed Wastewater Effluents: Chemistry, Toxicity and Control Strategies"
文摘The reclamation and disinfection of waters impacted by human activities（e.g., wastewater effluent discharges） are of growing interest for various applications but has been associated with the formation of toxic nitrogenous disinfection byproducts（N-DBPs）. Monochloramine used as an alternative disinfectant to chlorine can be an additional source of nitrogen in the formation of N-DBPs. Individual toxicity assays have been performed on many DBPs, but few studies have been conducted with complex mixtures such as wastewater effluents. In this work, we compared the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of wastewater effluent organic matter（Ef OM） before and after chloramination. The toxicity of chloraminated Ef OM was significantly higher than the toxicity of raw Ef OM, and the more hydrophobic fraction（HPO）isolated on XAD-8 resin was more toxic than the fraction isolated on XAD-4 resin.More DBPs were also isolated on the XAD-8 resin. N-DBPs（i.e., haloacetonitriles or haloacetamides） were responsible for the majority of the cytotoxicity estimated from DBP concentrations measured in the XAD-8 and XAD-4 fractions（99.4% and 78.5%, respectively）.Measured DBPs accounted for minor proportions of total brominated and chlorinated products, which means that many unknown halogenated compounds were formed and can be responsible for a significant part of the toxicity. Other non-halogenated byproducts（e.g.,nitrosamines） may contribute to the toxicity of chloraminated effluents as well.
文摘Maize (Zea mays) is among the major cereals grown in the high rainfall areas of the subSaharan Africa’s (SSA) such as the Ethiopian part of the Blue Nile basin. However, its productivity is severely constrained by poor soil, water and crop management practices. This study simulated the water productivity of the crop under varying soil fertility scenarios (poor, near optimal and none limiting) using hybrid seeds under rainfed conditions using the FAO AquaCrop model. The result indicated that grain yield of maize increased from 2.5 tons.ha–1 under poor to 6.4 and 9.2 tons.ha–1 with near optimal and non-limiting soil fertility conditions. Correspondingly, soil evaporation decreased from 446 mm to 285 and 204 mm, while transpiration increased from 146 to 268 and 355 mm. Consequently, grain water productivity was increased by 48% and 54%, respectively, with the near optimal and non-limiting soil fertility conditions. The water productivity gain mainly comes from reduced evaporation and increased transpiration without significantly affecting water left for downstream ecosystem services. This has a huge implication for a basin scale water management planning for various purposes.
文摘A linear regression model in conjunction with cluster analysis was applied to the groundwater quality parameters for the Vaniyambadi industrial area, Tamil Nadu, India. These physico-chemical parameters were collected from 25 wells by intensive groundwater sampling conducted during January 2010. All the major ions, pH and electrical conductivity were analyzed. The abundances of cations were in the order of Na <Ca <Mg <K and those of anions were in the order of Cl <HCO3 <SO4 <CO3, respectively. This was in agreement with the water types, Na-Cl and Na-Ca-HCO3, determined by the Piper plot. High concentrations of the ions Na, Cl and SO4 were recorded near the tanneries that operate within the study area. While the elevated concentrations of HCO3 and F were observed away from the tanneries. This peculiar hydrochemical behaviour suggests that the chemistry of water is predominantly influenced by tannery effluents and weathering of silicate minerals. Results of the linear regression model yielded 11 regression equations for the 5 most correlated parameters. A dendrogram from the cluster analysis showed 2 major clusters representing the influence of tanneries and geological formations in the study area, which confirmed the results of major ion chemistry.
文摘Constructed wetlands（CWs） have been successfully used for treating various wastewaters for decades and have been identified as a sustainable wastewater management option for developing countries. With the goal of promoting sustainable engineered systems that support human well-being but are also compatible with sustaining natural（environmental）systems, the application of CWs has become more relevant. Such application is especially significant for developing countries with tropical climates, which are very conducive to higher biological activity and productivity, resulting in higher treatment efficiencies compared to those in temperate climates. This paper therefore highlights the practice,applications, and research of treatment wetlands under tropical and subtropical conditions since 2000. In the present review, removal of biochemical oxygen demand（BOD） and total suspended solid（TSS） was shown to be very efficient and consistent across all types of treatment wetlands. Hybrid systems appeared more efficient in the removal of total suspended solid（TSS）（91.3%）, chemical oxygen demand（COD）（84.3%）, and nitrogen（i.e.,80.7% for ammonium（NH）4-N, 80.8% for nitrate（NO）3-N, and 75.4% for total nitrogen（TN））as compared to other wetland systems. Vertical subsurface flow（VSSF） CWs removed TSS（84.9%）, BOD（87.6%）, and nitrogen（i.e., 66.2% for NH4-N, 73.3% for NO3-N, and 53.3% for TN）more efficiently than horizontal subsurface flow（HSSF） CWs, while HSSF CWs（69.8%）showed better total phosphorus（TP） removal compared to VSSF CWs（60.1%）. Floating treatment wetlands（FTWs） showed comparable removal efficiencies for BOD（70.7%）,NH4-N（63.6%）, and TP（44.8%） to free water surface（FWS） CW systems.
基金partially supported by grant RD83582201-0 from the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)a USDA grant 2017-68007-26307
文摘Recycling wastewater is becoming more common as communities around the world try to better control their water resources against an increased frequency of either prolonged droughts or intense flooding. For communities in coastal areas, wastewaters may contain elevated levels of bromide（Br^-） and iodide（I^-） from seawater intrusion or high mineral content of source waters. Disinfection of such wastewater is mandatory to prevent the spread of pathogens, however little is known about the toxicity of wastewater after disinfection in the presence of Br^-and I^-. In this study we compared the induction of chronic cytotoxicity in mammalian cells in samples of municipal secondary wastewater effluent amended with elevated levels of Br^-/I^-after disinfection by chlorine, chloramines or ozone to identify which disinfection process generated wastewater with the lowest level of adverse biological response. Chlorination increased mammalian cell cytotoxicity by 5times as compared to non-disinfected controls. Chloramination produced disinfected wastewater that expressed 6.3 times more cytotoxicity than the non-disinfected controls and was 1.3 times more cytotoxic than the chlorinated samples. Ozonation produced wastewater with cytotoxicity comparable to the non-disinfected controls and was at least 4times less cytotoxic than the chlorine disinfected wastewaters. These results indicate that compared to chlorination and chloramination, ozonation of wastewater with high Br^-/Ilevels yielded the lowest mammalian cell cytotoxicity, suggesting its potential as a more favorable method to disinfect wastewater with minimizing the biological toxicity in mind.
文摘Soil pore size distribution(SPSD) is one of the most important soil physical properties. This research investigated the relationships of location and shape parameters of the SPSD curves with plant-available water(PAW) and least limiting water range(LLWR) of the light-textured soils at the Torogh Agricultural Research Station in north-eastern Iran. Soil moisture release curve(SMRC), PAW and LLWR in matric heads of 100 and 330 h Pa for the field capacity and location and shape parameters of the SPSD curves of 30 soils with different texture and organic carbon contents were determined, and the variable relationships were statistically analyzed. The results showed that the median equivalent pore diameter(de), mean de, standard deviation(SD*), and skewness of the SPSD curves were significantly correlated with PAW(PAW330) and LLWR(LLWR330) measured in a matric head of 330 h Pa. Decrease in deand increase in the diversity of soil pore size(SD*) increased PAW330 and LLWR330. The SD* values of all the soil samples were lower than the optimal ranges suggested in literature. Neither PAW nor LLWR values were significantly different in the soils with the optimal modal deand those with non-optimal modal de. Optimal values of median and mean equivalent pore diameters and kurtosis of SPSD curves led to a significant improvement of PAW330 and LLWR330 as soil physical quality indicators. It was recommended to revise the optimal ranges for SD* and modal defor future studies.
文摘The provision of water and sanitation services is a key challenge worldwide.The size,complexity,and critical nature of the water and wastewater infrastructure providing such services make the planning and management of these systems extremely difficult.Following the digital revolution in many areas of our lives,the water sector has begun to benefit from digital transformation.Effective utilization of remotely sensed weather and soil moisture data for more efficient irrigation(i.e.,for food production),better detection of anomalies and faults in pipe networks using artificial intelligence,the use of nature-inspired optimization to improve the management and planning of systems,and greater use of digital twins and robotics all exhibit great potential to change and improve the ways in which complex water systems are managed.However,there are additional risks associated with these developments,including—but not limited to—cybersecurity,incorrect use,and overconfidence in the capability and accuracy of digital solutions and automation.This paper identifies key advances in digital technology that have found application in the water sector,and applies forensic engineering principles to failures that have been experienced in industries further ahead with automation and digital transformation.By iden-tifying what went wrong with new digital technologies that might have contributed to high-profile acci-dents in the car and aircraft industries(e.g.,Tesla self-driving cars and the Boeing 737 MAX),it is possible to identify similar risks in the water sector,learn from them,and prevent future failures.The key findings show that:①Automation will require“humans in the loop”;②human operators must be fully aware of the technology and trained to use it;③fallback manual intervention should be available in case of tech-nology malfunctioning;④while redundant sensors may be costly,they reduce the risks due to erroneous sensor readings;⑤cybersecurity risks must be considered;and⑥ethics issues have to be considered,given the increasing automation and interconnectedness of water systems.These findings also point to major research areas related to digital transformation in the water sector.
基金supported by grant numbers NSF1124865 (SDR and SED)NSF1124844 (MJP)+1 种基金NIH T32 ES 007326 (CHJ)NIH T32 ES 007015 (CHJ)
文摘The presence of iodinated X-ray contrast media（ICM） in source waters is of high concern to public health because of their potential to generate highly toxic disinfection by-products（DBPs）. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of ICM in source waters and the type of disinfectant on the overall toxicity of DBP mixtures and to determine which ICM and reaction conditions give rise to toxic by-products. Source waters collected from Akron,OH were treated with five different ICMs, including iopamidol, iopromide, iohexol,diatrizoate and iomeprol, with or without chlorine or chloramine disinfection. The reaction product mixtures were concentrated with XAD resins and the mammalian cell cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of the reaction mixture concentrates was measured. Water containing iopamidol generated an enhanced level of mammalian cell cytotoxicity and genotoxicity after disinfection. While chlorine disinfection with iopamidol resulted in the highest cytotoxicity overall, the relative iopamidol-mediated increase in toxicity was greater when chloramine was used as the disinfectant compared with chlorine. Four other ICMs（iopromide, iohexol, diatrizoate, and iomeprol） expressed some cytotoxicity over the control without any disinfection, and induced higher cytotoxicity when chlorinated. Only iohexol enhanced genotoxicity compared to the chlorinated source water.
基金Under the auspices of Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau(No.10501-1210)National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.31101606)+1 种基金Basic Scientific Research Operating Expenses of Jilin University(No.200903377)National Key Projects in National Science&Technology Program during the 12th Five-Year Plan Period of China(No.2011BAD16B10-3,2012BAD04B02-3)
文摘The soil and water conservation practices of ecological restoration(ER),fish scale pit(FP),furrow and ridge tillage across the slope(FR),shrub strips(SS),and vegetation-covered ridge(VR)are characteristic of the Jixing small watershed of the low mountain and hilly region of Jilin Province,Northeast China.This study aims to elucidate the effects of soil and water conservation practices on soil conditions after the short-term implementation of practices.Soil samples were collected from five soil and water conservation sites(ER,FP,FR,SS,and VR)and two controls(BL and CT)to investigate their properties.To evaluate the influence of soil and water conservation practices on soil quality,an integrated quantitative index,soil quality index(QI),was developed to compare the soil quality under the different soil and water conservation practices.The results show that not all soil and water conservation practices can improve the soil conditions and not all soil properties,especially soil organic carbon(SOC),can be recovered under soil and water conservation practice in short-term.Moreover,the QI in the five soil and water conservation practices and two controls was in the following order:ER>VR>BL>FR>CT>SS>FP.ER exhibited a higher soil quality value on a slope scale.In the low mountain and hilly region of Northeast China,ER is a better choice than the conversion of farmlands to planted grasslands and woodlands early in the soil and water conservation program.
文摘Drought stress is an abiotic stress that imposes serious constraints on plants. The present investigation was carried out to determine the inter-relationship between some physiological attributes of soybeans affected by drought stress and pure isolates ofAzotobacter andAzospirillum. Drought stress and bacterial application increased catalase and glutathione peroxidase activity, whereas drought stress increased superoxide dismutase activity during the pod-filling stage. Abscisic acid and proline levels increased due to drought stress and bacterial application during the flowering stage, whereas total plant nitrogen was enhanced under well-watered conditions when plants were inoculated with bacteria. The close relationship between enzyme activity and drought stress with bacteria indicated that antioxidant enzymes play an important role in alleviating the detrimental effects of water stress. In addition, the enhancement of abscisic acid and proline could be positively linked with drought stress, and drought-induced abscisic acid could induce proline accumulation and the expression of antioxidant enzyme genes.
基金The ELECTRA project has received funding from European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programunder grant agreement No.826244Eduardo Bolea-Fernandez thanks FWO-Vlaanderen for his postdoctoral grant(No.12ZA320N),The authors would like to thank Victor Lobanov,Mingsheng Jia,and Hira Khan for critically reading the manuscript.
文摘Biogenic palladium nanoparticles(bio-Pd NPs)are used for the reductive transformation and/or dehalogenation of persistent micropollutants.In this work,H2(electron donor)was produced in situ by an electrochemical cell,permitting steered production of differently sized bio-Pd NPs.The catalytic activity was first assessed by the degradation of methyl orange.The NPs showing the highest catalytic activity were selected for the removal of micropollutants from secondary treated municipal wastewater.The synthesis at different H2 flow rates(0.310 L/hr or 0.646 L/hr)influenced the bio-Pd NPs size.The NPs produced over 6 hr at a lowH2 flow rate had a larger size(D50=39.0 nm)than those produced in 3 hr at a high H2 flow rate(D50=23.2 nm).Removal of 92.1%and 44.3%of methyl orange was obtained after 30 min for the NPs with sizes of 39.0 nm and 23.2 nm,respectively.Bio-Pd NPs of 39.0 nm were used to treat micropollutants present in secondary treated municipal wastewater at concentrations ranging fromμg/L to ng/L.Effective removal of 8 compounds was observed:ibuprofen(69.5%)<sulfamethoxazole(80.6%)<naproxen(81.4%)<furosemide(89.7%)<citalopram(91.7%)<diclofenac(91.9%)<atorvastatin(>94.3%)<lorazepam(97.2%).Re-moval of fluorinated antibiotics occurred at>90%efficiency.Overall,these data indicate that the size,and thus the catalytic activity of the NPs can be steered and that the removal of challengingmicropollutants at environmentally relevant concentrations can be achieved through the use of bio-Pd NPs.
文摘This study focuses on the synthesis of nanocomposites named CCA and CZA that were prepared by the incorporation of cellulose(CL)in the Ca/Al and Zn/Al layered double hydroxide(LDH),respectively.These materials were then used for the uptake of As(Ⅲ)and As(V)from aqueous medium.Characterization of both nanocomposites(CCA and CZA)was done using FTIR and Raman analysis to identify the functional groups,N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms to determine the specific surface area and pore geometry and XPS analysis to obtain the surface atomic composition.Some other characters were investigated using simultaneous TGA and DTA and elemental chemical analysis(CHNS/O).The crystallinity of the prepared nanocomposites was displayed by XRD patterns.Furthermore,the sheet-like structure of the LDHs and the irregularity of surface morphology with porous structure were observed by TEM and SEM microphotographs.Optimization of maximum adsorption capacity was adjusted using different parameters including pH,contact time and adsorbent dosage.The pseudo-second-order model was in good fitting with kinetics results.The adsorption isotherm results showed that CZA exhibits better adsorption capacity for As(Ⅲ)than CCA and the Langmuir isotherm model described the data well for both nanocomposites.Thermodynamic studies illustrated the endothermic nature of CCA and exothermic nature on CZA,as well as the fact that the adsorption process is spontaneous.A real water sample collected from well located in Gabes(Tunisia),has also been treated.The obtained experimental results were confirmed that these sorbents are efficient for the treatment of hazardous toxic species such as.
文摘Long-term climatic data （maximum temperature, minimum temperature, rainfall and evaporation） for Big Bend in the Lowveld, a semi-arid region of Swaziland, were analysed for any changes or variations. Evaporation and rainfall data were analysed to assess water resources availability in the region. Analysis of the available data shows that there is no indication of decrease in rainfall with time, but the results show that there has been a steady increase in minimum temperatures over the last 25 years. The average effective water resources index, measured as the difference between mean annual rainfall and mean annual evaporation, for the region in the period from 1965 to 2001 was -1,500 mm. The large negative index implies low available water for the region, a situation that is likely to affect agricultural, hydropower and other water related development activities in the region. The negative effective water index implies deficits in the region＇s water resources which call for better management of the region＇s water resources. In the agriculture sector, this requires promoting technologies and practices that provide for water saving, improved water use performance and high water productivity. These include soil conservation tillage, wastewater reuse, runoff harvesting and soil fertility interventions through application of fertilizers, manures and mulches, and agronomic management. There is need for more analysis for the other regions in order to get a countrywide picture of the climate as well as water resources situations.
