Search results for "Environmental Biotechnology"
showing 10 items of 568 documents
A Non-normal-Mode Marginal State of Convection in a Porous Rectangle
2019
Author's accepted manuscript (postprint). This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Transport in Porous Media. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11242-019-01263-5. The fourth-order Darcy–Bénard eigenvalue problem for onset of thermal convection in a 2D rectangular porous box is investigated. The conventional type of solution has normal-mode dependency in at least one of the two spatial directions. The present eigenfunctions are of non-normal-mode type in both the horizontal and the vertical direction. A numerical solution is found by the finite element method, since no analytical method is known for this non-…
Testing the outflow theory of Malcherek by slit weir data
2018
Abstract In this paper the flow-process of a slit weir is analyzed by the outflow theory of Malcherek. Average flow velocity over the slit weir is expressed in terms of head over weir and the momentum correction coefficient. The theoretically deduced stage-discharge formula was then calibrated using experimental data obtained for a ratio between the weir and the channel width ranging from 0.05 to 0.25. The deduced stage–discharge relationship allows to measure discharge values characterized by errors which are, for 91% of the measured values, less than or equal to ± 5%.
Testing the stage-discharge relationship of a sharp crested sluice gate deduced by the momentum equation for a free-flow condition
2018
Abstract In this paper the stage-discharge relationship of a sharp crested sluice gate is deduced by applying the momentum equation for a free flow condition. The theoretically deduced stage-discharge formula was then calibrated using experimental flume data obtained in previous investigations carried out for a free-flow condition. The deduced stage–discharge relationship is characterized by a momentum coefficient which is empirically estimated by the ratio between the height of the orifice and the water depth in the section upstream the gate. The relative errors are always less than or equal to - 10% to +10% and 71.4% of the errors are less than or equal to ± 2%.
Citizens AND HYdrology (CANDHY) : conceptualizing a transdisciplinary framework for citizen science addressing hydrological challenges
2021
Widely available digital technologies are empowering citizens who are increasingly well informed and involved in numerous water, climate, and environmental challenges. Citizen science can serve many different purposes, from the "pleasure of doing science" to complementing observations, increasing scientific literacy, and supporting collaborative behaviour to solve specific water management problems. Still, procedures on how to incorporate citizens' knowledge effectively to inform policy and decision-making are lagging behind. Moreover, general conceptual frameworks are unavailable, preventing the widespread uptake of citizen science approaches for more participatory cross-sectorial water go…
Leaf Biosorbents for the Removal of Heavy Metals
2018
The presence of heavy metals in waters is a global concern. Among various remediation technologies, biosorption is an attractive and promising process since in many cases, it is fast, selective, and highly efficient. Other advantages, such as applicability for various types of pollutants, simplicity, low cost, ease of operation, and the potential reusability of the adsorbents, make it beneficial. Nowadays, more and more green materials, raw or modified, are inclined to be explored instead of conventional adsorbents, within concept of Green Chemistry. This review focuses on the use of leaves-based biosorbents in raw or modified forms to sequestrate heavy metals from waters and wastewaters.
Multivariate analysis of historical data (2004-2013) in assessing the possible environmental impact of the Bellolampo landfill (Palermo).
2017
Multivariate analysis was performed on a large data set of groundwater and leachate samples collected during 9 years of operation of the Bellolampo municipal solid waste landfill (located above Palermo, Italy). The aim was to obtain the most likely correlations among the data. The analysis results are presented. Groundwater samples were collected in the period 2004–2013, whereas the leachate analysis refers to the period 2006–2013. For groundwater, statistical data evaluation revealed notable differences among the samples taken from the numerous wells located around the landfill. Characteristic parameters revealed by principal component analysis (PCA) were more deeply investigated, and corr…
Data quality oriented procedure, for detailed mapping of heavy metals in urban topsoil as an approach to human health risk assessment
2021
Abstract Urban soils' health is important to the community because of the soils' potential use for recreational activities. A data quality-oriented approach to sampling design is proposed for performing soil representative surveys that gives support to defensible and statistically-based decisions. Krowoderski park in Cracow (Poland) was selected as a study case to investigate heavy metals (HMs) accumulation and to assess human risk exposure according to simulated scenarios. Statistical power was computed for optimizing the number of samples to compare HMs concentration against legal upper tolerance levels (LUTL). The samples' location was iteratively designed as random spatial distribution …
Hydrogen Dark Fermentation for Degradation of Solid andLiquid Food Waste
2021
The constant increase in the amount of food waste accumulating in landfills and discharged into the water reservoirs causes environment pollution and threatens human health. Solid and liquid food wastes include fruit, vegetable, and meat residues, alcohol bard, and sewage from various food enterprises. These products contain high concentrations of biodegradable organic compounds and represent an inexpensive and renewable substrate for the hydrogen fermentation. The goal of the work was to study the efficiency of hydrogen obtaining and decomposition of solid and liquid food waste via fermentation by granular microbial preparation (GMP). The application of GMP improved the efficiency of the d…
Pollution assessment of heavy metals in soils of India and ecological risk assessment: A state-of-the-art
2019
Soil is substantive component of biosphere, which is exposed to plethora of pollutants including heavy metals. These are added by natural as well as anthropogenic activities. Upsurge in heavy metal content affects all organisms by biomagnification. So, it becomes vital to create a database of heavy metals concentration in soil. This is relevant in countries where unsustainable intensive agriculture, industrial and urban development is in progress. The present review of the scientific literature from 1991 to 2018 on heavy metals in soils in India shows that Zn and Pb exceeded their limits for Indian natural soil guidelines (Zn 22.1 and Pb 13.1 μg/g), Canada (Zn 200 μg/g), Swedish (80 μg/g) a…
A multigenerational approach can detect early Cd pollution in Chironomus riparius.
2020
Abstract Cadmium (Cd) is a non-essential highly toxic metal and its presence in the environment has been a concern over the years. On the present study we adopt the spiked water exposure scenario to study early Cd contamination across five generations of the model organism Chironomus riparius. Animals were, at the beginning of each generation, submitted to 0, 1, 3.2, 10, 32 and 100 μg/L of Cd. Classical endpoints like total emergence, EmT50, fertility and the integrative fitness measure, population growth rate (PGR), were calculated at each generation. Results could demonstrate that exposure to brief and low Cd concentrations can affect all the measured endpoints and, therefore, initial Cd …