RADARSAT data have a potential role for coastal pollution monitoring. This study presents a new approach to detect and forecast oil slick trajectory movements. The oil slick trajectory movements is based on the tidal current effects and Fay's algorithm for oil slick spreading mechanisms. The oil spill trajectory model contains the integration between Doppler frequency shift model and Lagrangian model. Doppler frequency shift model implemented to simulate tidal current pattern from RADARSAT data while the Lagrangian model used to predict oil spill spreading pattern. The classical Fay's algorithm was implemented with the two models to simulate the oil spill trajectory movements. The study shows that the slick lengths are effected by tidal current V component with maximum velocity of 1.4 m/s. This indicates that oil slick trajectory path is moved towards the north direction. The oil slick parcels are accumulated along the coastline after 48 h. The analysis indicated that tidal current V components were the dominant forcing for oil slick spreading.
Naturally-occurring and artificially-induced polyploids have been documented in various fish species but to date no comparison has been reported of the impacts of ploidy on fish biomarker responses to organic pollutants. This study describes effects of ploidy, gender, and dose on biliary fluorescent aromatic compound (FAC) concentrations, hepatic ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities in one of the most commonly cultured warm-water species, the African catfish Clarias gariepinus. Recently matured male and female diploid and triploid fish were intraperitoneally (i.p.) injected with 0, 5 or 25mg/kg benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) and liver and gallbladder were sampled 48hr later. No significant differences were found between ploidies in bile concentrations of 7,8 dihydrodiolbenzo[a]pyrene (7,8D BaP), 1-hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene (1-OH BaP) or 3-hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene (3-OH BaP). However, concentrations of the biliary FACs did differ between males and females at different dose of injection with generally higher concentrations in females at the low dose of BaP and higher concentrations in males at the higher BaP concentration. Hepatic EROD activity did not exhibit gender-dependent difference, whereas it was significantly higher in triploids than diploids. GST activities were not significantly influenced by any of the tested factors. This work advanced our understanding of the role of ploidy, gender, and dose in biotransformation of pollutants in fish.
Hybrid growth microorganisms in sequencing batch reactors have proven effective for treating the toxic compound phenol, but the toxicity effect under different toxicity conditions has rarely been discussed. Therefore, the performance of the HG-SBR under toxic, acute and chronic organic loading can provide the overall operating conditions of the system. Toxic organic loading (TOL) was monitored during the first 7hr while introducing 50mg/L phenol to the system. The system was adversely affected with the sudden introduction of phenol to the virgin activated sludge, which caused a low degradation rate and high dissolved oxygen consumption during TOL. Acute organic loading (AOL) had significant effects at high phenol concentrations (600, 800 1000mg/L). The specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR) gradually decreased to 4.9mg O2/(g MLVSS·hr) at 1000mg/L of phenol compared to 12.74mg O2/(g MLVSS·hr) for 200mg/L of phenol. The HG-SBR was further monitored during chronic organic loading (COL) over 67days. The effects of organic loading were more apparent at 800mg/L and 1000mg/L phenol concentrations, as the removal range was between 22%-30% and 18%-46% respectively, which indicated the severe effects of COL.
The study examined the adsorption of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution onto chitosan, chitosan-GLA and chitosan-alginate beads. Several important parameters influencing the adsorption of Pb(II) ions such as initial pH, adsorbent dosage and different initial concentration of Pb(II) ions were evaluated. The mechanism involved during the adsorption process was explored based on ion exchange study and using spectroscopic techniques. The adsorption capacities obtained based on non-linear Langmuir isotherm for chitosan, chitosan-GLA and chitosan-alginate beads in single metal system were 34.98, 14.24 and 60.27 mg/g, respectively. However, the adsorption capacity of Pb(II) ions were reduced in the binary metal system due to the competitive adsorption between Pb(II) and Cu(II) ions. Based on the ion exchange study, the release of Ca2+, Mg2+, K+ and Na+ ions played an important role in the adsorption of Pb(II) ions by all three adsorbents but only at lower concentrations of Pb(II) ions. Infrared spectra showed that the binding between Pb(II) ions and the adsorbents involved mostly the nitrogen and oxygen atoms. All three adsorbents showed satisfactory adsorption capacities and can be considered as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solutions.
The optimization of process parameters for the bioconversion of activated sludge by Penicillium corylophilum was investigated using response surface methodology (RSM). The three parameters namely temperature of 33 degrees C, agitation of 150 r/min, and pH of 5 were chosen as center point from the previous study of fungal treatment. The experimental data on chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal (%) were fitted into a quadratic polynomial model using multiple regression analysis. The optimum process conditions were determined by analyzing response surface three-dimensional surface plot and contour plot and by solving the regression model equation with Design Expert software. Box-Behnken design technique under RSM was used to optimize their interactions, which showed that an incubation temperature of 32.5 degrees C, agitation of 105 r/min, and pH of 5.5 were the best conditions. Under these conditions, the maximum predicted yield of COD removal was 98.43%. These optimum conditions were used to evaluate the trail experiment, and the maximum yield of COD removal was recorded as 98.5%.
Atmospheric pollution and global warming issues are increasingly becoming major environmental concerns. Fire is one of the significant sources of pollutant gases released into the atmosphere; and tropical biomass fires, which are of particular interest in this study, contribute greatly to the global budget of CO and CO2. This pioneer research simulates the natural biomass burning strategy in Malaysia using an experimental burning facility. The investigation was conducted on the emissions (CO2, CO, and Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Xylenes (BTEX)) from ten tropical biomass species. The selected species represent the major tropical forests that are frequently subjected to dry forest fire incidents. An experimental burning facility equipped with an on-line gas analyzer was employed to determine the burning emissions. The major emission factors were found to vary among the species, and the specific results were as follows. The moisture content of a particular biomass greatly influenced its emission pattern. The smoke analysis results revealed the existence of BTEX, which were sampled from a combustion chamber by enrichment traps aided with a universal gas sampler. The BTEX were determined by organic solvent extraction followed by GC/MS quantification, the results of which suggested that the biomass burning emission factor contributed significant amounts of benzene, toluene, and m,p-xylene. The modified combustion efficiency (MCE) changed in response to changes in the sample moisture content. Therefore, this study concluded that the emission of some pollutants mainly depends on the burning phase and sample moisture content of the biomass.
The effect of pre-treatment of dewatered sludge using different nitrite concentrations and pH for microbial fuel cell (MFC) application was investigated. The results show that the addition of nitrite was feasible to increase the solubilization rate of the sludge and may reduce mass transfer limitation at the anode. This helped the MFC to reach higher voltage and to generate more power. The higher free nitrous acid (FNA) concentration under the acidic condition helped to increase sludge solubilization. However, under an alkaline condition, during which the FNA concentration was relatively low, the solubilization of the sludge was higher. The highest voltage and power density produced was 390 mV and 153 mW/m2, respectively, with the addition of nitrite at 100 mg-N/L and pH 9. Furthermore, it was found that elevated levels of FNA could inhibit electrogenic bacteria thus reducing power generation.
The direct determination of toxic metal ions, in environmental samples, is difficult because of the latter's presence in trace concentration in association with complex matrices, thereby leading to insufficient sensitivity and selectivity of the methods used. The simultaneous removal of the matrix and preconcentration of the metal ions, through solid phase extraction, serves as the promising solution. The mechanism involved in solid phase extraction (SPE) depends on the nature of the sorbent and analyte. Thus, SPE is carried out by means of adsorption, ion exchange, chelation, ion pair formation, and so forth. As polymeric supports, the commercially available Amberlite resins have been found very promising for designing chelating matrices due to its good physical and chemical properties such as porosity, high surface area, durability and purity. This review presents an overview of the various works done on the modification of Amberlite XAD resins with the objective of making it an efficient sorbent. The methods of modifications which are generally based on simple impregnation, sorption as chelates and chemical bonding have been discussed. The reported results, including the preconcentration limit, the detection limit, sorption capacity, preconcentration factors etc., have been reproduced.
The study of trace metals in the atmosphere and lake water is important due to their critical effects on humans, aquatic animals and the geochemical balance of ecosystems. The objective of this study was to investigate the concentration of trace metals in atmospheric and lake water samples during the rainy season (before and after precipitation) between November and December 2015. Typical methods of sample preparation for trace metal determination such as cloud point extraction, solid phase extraction and dispersive liquid-liquid micro-extraction are time-consuming and difficult to perform; therefore, there is a crucial need for development of more effective sample preparation procedure. A convection microwave assisted digestion procedure for extraction of trace metals was developed for use prior to inductively couple plasma-mass spectrometric determination. The result showed that metals like zinc (133.50-419.30μg/m(3)) and aluminum (53.58-378.93μg/m(3)) had higher concentrations in atmospheric samples as compared to lake samples before precipitation. On the other hand, the concentrations of zinc, aluminum, chromium and arsenic were significantly higher in lake samples after precipitation and lower in atmospheric samples. The relationship between physicochemical parameters (pH and turbidity) and heavy metal concentrations was investigated as well. Furthermore, enrichment factor analysis indicated that anthropogenic sources such as soil dust, biomass burning and fuel combustion influenced the metal concentrations in the atmosphere.
In an era of electronics, recovering the precious metal such as gold from ever increasing piles of electronic-wastes and metal-ion infested soil has become one of the prime concerns for researchers worldwide. Biological mining is an attractive, economical and non-hazardous to recover gold from the low-grade auriferous ore containing waste or soil. This review represents the recent major biological gold retrieval methods used to bio-mine gold. The biomining methods discussed in this review include, bioleaching, bio-oxidation, bio-precipitation, bio-flotation, bio-flocculation, bio-sorption, bio-reduction, bio-electrometallurgical technologies and bioaccumulation. The mechanism of gold biorecovery by microbes is explained in detail to explore its intracellular mechanistic, which help it withstand high concentrations of gold without causing any fatal consequences. Major challenges and future opportunities associated with each method and how they will dictate the fate of gold bio-metallurgy from metal wastes or metal infested soil bioremediation in the coming future are also discussed. With the help of concurrent advancements in high-throughput technologies, the gold bio-exploratory methods will speed up our ways to ensure maximum gold retrieval out of such low-grade ores containing sources, while keeping the gold mining clean and more sustainable.
The capability of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to adsorb lead (Pb) in aqueous solution was investigated. Batch mode adsorption experiment was conducted to determine the effects of pH, agitation speed, CNTs dosage and contact time. The removal of Pb(II) reached maximum value 85% or 83% at pH 5 or 40 mg/L of CNTs, respectively. Higher correlation coefficients from Langmuir isotherm model indicates the strong adsorptions of Pb(II) on the surface of CNTs (adsorption capacity Xm = 102.04 mg/g). The results indicates that the highest percentage removal of Pb (96.03%) can be achieved at pH 5, 40 mg/L of CNTs, contact time 80 min, and agitation speed 50 r/min.
The Cr(III) sorption experiments onto Kappaphycus alvarezii waste biomass were conducted at different pH values (2-6) under the conditions of initial metal concentration of 10-50 mg/L and the chemical compositions of Cr-Cu and Cr-Cd. The Cr(III) sorption capacities were slightly dependent on pH, and the maximum sorption capacity was 0.86 mg/g at pH 3. The sorption capacities increased with increase in the initial metal concentration, whereas it was suppressed by the presence of Cu(II) and Cd(III) in the solution. The Cr(III) sorption equilibrium was evaluated using Langmuir, Freundlich and BET isotherms. The sorption mechanisms were characterised using scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The main mechanisms were ion exchange coupled with a complexation mechanism. Kappaphycus alvarezii waste biomass represents a potential for Cr(III) ion removal from aqueous solution.
Co-composting of poultry manure and rubber wood sawdust was performed with the ratio of 2:1 (V/V) for a period of 60 days. An investigation was carried out to study the extracellular enzymatic activities and structural degradation utilizing Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The microbial succession was also determined by using denaturing gel gradient electrophoresis (DGGE). The compost was able to reach its highest temperature of 71°C at day 3 and stabilized between 30 and 40°C for 8 weeks. CMCase, FPase and β-glucosidase acted synergistically in order to degrade the cellulosic substrate. The xylanase activities increased gradually during the composting and reached the peak value of 11.637 U/g on day 35, followed by a sharp decline. Both LiP and MnP activities reached their peak values on day 35 with 0.431 and 0.132 U/g respectively. The FT-IR spectra revealed an increase in aromaticity and a decrease in aliphatic compounds such as carbohydrates as decomposition proceeded. TGA/DTG data exhibited significant changes in weight loss in compost samples, indicating degradation of organic matter. SEM micrographs showed higher amounts of parenchyma exposed on the surface of rubber wood sawdust at day 60, showing significant degradation. DGGE and 16S rDNA analyses showed that Burkholderia sp., Pandoraea sp., and Pseudomonas sp. were present throughout the composting process. Ornithinibacillus sp. and Castellaniella ginsengisoli were only found in the initial stage of the composting, while different strains of Burkholderia sp. also occurred in the later stage of composting.
In this present study, we reported broccoli (Brassica oleracea L.) as a potential candidate for the synthesis of gold and silver nanoparticles (NPs) in green chemistry method. The synthesized metal nanoparticles are evaluated their antimicrobial efficacy against different human pathogenic organisms. The physico-chemical properties of gold nanoparticles were analyzed using different analytical techniques such as a UV-Vis spectrophotometer, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and a Fourier Transform Infrared spectrophotometer. In addition, gold and silver NP antimicrobial efficacy was checked by disc diffusion assay. UV-Vis color intensity of the nanoparticles was shown at 540 and 450 nm for gold and silver nanoparticles respectively. Higher magnification of the Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy image shows the variable morphology of the gold nanoparticles such as spherical, rod and triangular shapes and silver nanoparticles were seen in spherical shapes. The average spherical size of the particles was observed in 24-38 nm for gold and 30-45 nm for silver NPs. X-ray diffraction pattern confirmed the presence of gold nanoparticles and silver nanoparticles which were crystalline in nature. Additionally, the functional metabolites were identified by the Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy. IR spectra revealed phenols, alcohols, aldehydes (sugar moieties), vitamins and proteins are present in the broccoli extract which are accountable to synthesize the nanoparticles. The synthesized gold and silver NPs inhibited the growth of the tested bacterial and fungal pathogens at the concentration of 50 μg/mL respectively. In addition, broccoli mediated gold and silver nanoparticles have shown potent antimicrobial activity against human pathogens.
Palm oil industry is the most important agro-industry in Malaysia, but its by-product-palm oil mill effluent (POME), posed a great threat to water environment. In the past decades, several treatment and disposal methods have been proposed and investigated to solve this problem. A two-stage pilot-scale plant was designed and constructed for POME treatment. Anaerobic digestion and aerobic biodegradation constituted the first biological stage, while ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membrane units were combined as the second membrane separation stage. In the anaerobic expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactor, about 43% organic matter in POME was converted into biogas, and COD reduction efficiency reached 93% and 22% in EGSB and the following aerobic reactor, respectively. With the treatment in the first biological stage, suspended solids and oil also decreased to a low degree. All these alleviated the membrane fouling and prolonged the membrane life. In the membrane process unit, almost all the suspended solids were captured by UF membranes, while RO membrane excluded most of the dissolved solids or inorganic salts from RO permeate. After the whole treatment processes, organic matter in POME expressed by BOD and COD was removed almost thoroughly. Suspended solids and color were not detectable in RO permeate any more, and mineral elements only existed in trace amount (except for K and Na). The high-quality effluent was crystal clear and could be used as the boiler feed water.
Biogas purification via water scrubbing produces effluent containing dissolved CH4, H2S, and CO2, which should be removed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase its potential for water regeneration. In this study, a reactor built with air supplies at the top and bottom was utilized for the treatment of biogas purification effluent through biological oxidation and physical stripping processes. Up to 98% of CH4 was removed through biological treatment at a hydraulic retention time of 2 hr and an upper airflow rate of 2.02 L/day. Additionally, a minimum CH4 concentration of 0.04% with no trace of H2S gas was detected in the off gas. Meanwhile, a white precipitate was captured on the carrier showing the formation of sulfur. According to the developed mathematical model, an upper airflow rate of greater than 2.02 L/day showed a small deterioration in CH4 removal performance after reaching the maximum value, whereas a 50 L/day bottom airflow rate was required to strip the CO2 efficiently and raise the effluent pH from 5.64 to 7.3. Microbiological analysis confirmed the presence of type 1 methanotroph communities dominated by Methylobacter and Methylocaldum. However, bacterial communities promoting sulfide oxidation were dominated by Hyphomicrobium.
Armillaria sp. F022, a white rot fungus isolated from tropical rain forest (Samarinda, Indonesia) was used to biodegrade naphthalene in cultured medium. Transformation of naphthalene by Armillaria sp. F022 which is able to use naphthalene, a two ring-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) as a source of carbon and energy was investigated. The metabolic pathway was elucidated by identifying metabolites, biotransformation studies and monitoring enzyme activities in cell-free extracts. The identification of metabolites suggests that Armillaria sp. F022 initiates its attack on naphthalene by dioxygenation at its C-1 and C-4 positions to give 1,4-naphthoquinone. The intermediate 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde and salicylic acid, and the characteristic of the meta-cleavage of the resulting diol were identified in the long-term incubation. A part from typical metabolites of naphthalene degradation known from mesophiles, benzoic acid was identified as the next intermediate for the naphthalene pathway of this Armillaria sp. F022. Neither phthalic acid, catechol and cis,cis-muconic acid metabolites were detected in culture extracts. Several enzymes (manganese peroxidase, lignin peroxidase, laccase, 1,2-dioxygenase and 2,3-dioxygenase) produced by Armillaria sp. F022 were detected during the incubation.
This paper presents the pattern and changes of fragmented forest in relation with changes of total forest cover in the state of Selangor in three decades. In this study, inventoried forest cover maps of Selangor in 1971/1972, 1981/1982 and 1991/1992 produced by the Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia were digitized to examine the changes in area and number of fragmented forest. Results showed that in 1971/1972, 16 fragmented forests were identified in Selangor. All fragmented forests were identified as dipterocarp forest. A decade later the number of fragmented forests increased by approximately 44% (23). Of the 23 fragmented forests, two were peat swamp forests whereas the remaining were dipterocarp forests. In 1991/1992 the number of fragmented forests (12) was reduced by 47.8%. Two of the fragmented forests were identified as peat swamp forest, seven dipterocarp forest and the other three was mixed of dipterocarp forests and plantation forests. Fragmentation of both dipterocarp and peat swamp forests occurred profoundly during the period between 1971/1972 and 1981/1982, which consequently increased the number of fragmented forests compared with before the period of 1971/1972 where fragmentation happened only at dipterocarp forests. However, many fragmented forests vanished between the 1981/1982 and 1991/1992 periods.
The Langat River in Malaysia has been experiencing anthropogenic input from urban, rural and industrial activities for many years. Sewage contamination, possibly originating from the greater than three million inhabitants of the Langat River Basin, were examined. Sediment samples from 22 stations (SL01-SL22) along the Langat River were collected, extracted and analysed by GC-MS. Six different sterols were identified and quantified. The highest sterol concentration was found at station SL02 (618.29 ng/g dry weight), which situated in the Balak River whereas the other sediment samples ranged between 11.60 and 446.52 ng/g dry weight. Sterol ratios were used to identify sources, occurrence and partitioning of faecal matter in sediments and majority of the ratios clearly demonstrated that sewage contamination was occurring at most stations in the Langat River. A multivariate statistical analysis was used in conjunction with a combination of biomarkers to better understand the data that clearly separated the compounds. Most sediments of the Langat River were found to contain low to mid-range sewage contamination with some containing 'significant' levels of contamination. This is the first report on sewage pollution in the Langat River based on a combination of biomarker and multivariate statistical approaches that will establish a new standard for sewage detection using faecal sterols.
Solubility data of recalcitrant contaminants in cosolvents is essential to determine their potential applications in enhanced soil remediation. The solubilities of phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene and benzo[a]pyrene in ethyl lactate/water and ethanol/water mixtures were measured using equilibrium techniques. The cosolvency powers derived from solubility data were then applied to the model developed from the solvophobic approach to predict the capability of ethyl lactate and ethanol in enhancing the desorption of contaminants from soils. Both ethyl lactate and ethanol cosolvents were shown to be able to enhance the solubilisation of the tested four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by > 4 orders of magnitude above the levels obtained with water alone. However, ethyl lactate demonstrated a greater capacity to enhance PAH solubility than ethanol. The cosolvency powers of ethyl lactate/water system obtained from the end-to-end slope (sigma) and the end-to-half slope (sigma0.5) of the solubilisation curve were 1.0-1.5 and 2.0-2.9 higher than ethanol/water system respectively. In line with this, ethyl lactate/water was demonstrated to enhance the desorption of contaminants from soil by 20%-37% and 18%-61% higher compared to ethanol/water system in low organic content and high organic content soils respectively, with a 2:1 (V/W) ratio of solution:soil and with cosolvent fraction as low as 0.4. With the exception of benzo[a]pyrene, the experimental desorption results agreed fairly with the predicted values, under an applied solution:soil ratio that was enough to hold the capacity of released contaminants.