Feasibility of an environmentally friendly method of contaminant flushing in water distribution systems using containment ponds

Water distribution system flushing is one way to get rid of contamination. In conventional flushing, all the contaminated water gets discharged to the environment, thereby harming it. A new method is proposed here as an alternative solution, in which a containment pond lined with impermeable material will be constructed in a suitable place within the municipality. Network modelling was performed to investigate the feasibility of the new method. It was found that (1) the proposed flushing method can successfully reduce environmental impacts compared to hydrant flushing only, (2) a containment pond cannot clear the system periphery away from the containment pond, (3) the best location of a containment pond is not always at the furthest location from the source reservoir, and (4) for some systems, some pond locations might be better from an economic perspective, while other locations will be better environmentally.

Fast and Clean Synthesis of Nylon-6/Synthetic Saponite Nanocomposites

Nylon/saponite nanocomposites were synthesized and characterized. The nanocomposites were prepared by means of a fast, efficient, low cost, and environmentally friendly method. All of the tested preparations resulted in the pre-designed nanocomposites. To this end, delaminated saponites were directly synthesized to be used as a filler in a polymer matrix formed by nylon-6 by the in situ intercalation polymerisation of an ε-caprolactam monomer without the use of surfactants or other organic reagents to organophilise the clay, thus avoiding the drawbacks of contamination. The efficiency of the preparation method increased, and significant savings were achieved in terms of both energy reaction time, savings of 60% and 70%, respectively, by using microwave radiation as an energy source during the synthesis of the nanocomposites. In addition, given that the method that was followed avoids the use of contaminating organophilic agents, it is important to highlight the savings in reagents and the fact that there was zero environmental contamination.

“Green technology” processing of pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and larch (Larix sibirica Ledeb.) wood greenery to produce bioactive extracts

In order to explore the extractives of conifers an effective and environmentally friendly method of extraction with aqueous-alkaline solution allowing to isolate up to 10.4% of extractive substances (ES) from pine wood greenery and up to 6.9% from larch wood greenery was investigated. The component fractional composition of aqueous-alkaline extracts was studied. The antioxidant fraction activity of neutral and acidic components isolated from the produced extracts was evaluated. It was found that these fractions have a high antioxidant activity, where the activity of larch extract components was higher than that of the respective components of pine extract. Due to their rich chemical composition and high biological activity, extracts of pine and larch wood greenery produced by aqueous-alkaline extraction have good application prospects as biologically active preparations.

Synthesis of Biobased and Hybrid Polyurethane Xerogels from Bacterial Polyester for Potential Biomedical Applications

Organic–inorganic xerogel networks were synthesized from bacterial poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) for potential biomedical applications. Since silane-based networks usually demonstrate increased biocompatibility and mechanical properties, siloxane groups have been added onto polyurethane (PU) architectures. In this work, a diol oligomer (oligoPHB-diol) was first prepared from bacterial poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) with an environmentally friendly method. Then, hexamethylene diisocyanate or biobased dimeryl diisocyanate was used as diisocyanate to react with the short oligoPHB-diol for the synthesis of different NCO-terminated PU systems in a bulk process and without catalyst. Various PU systems containing increasing NCO/OH molar ratios were prepared. Siloxane precursors were then obtained after reaction of the NCO-terminated PUs with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane, resulting in silane-terminated polymers. These structures were confirmed by different analytical techniques. Finally, four series of xerogels were prepared via a sol–gel process from the siloxane precursors, and their properties were evaluated depending on varying parameters such as the inorganic network crosslinking density. The final xerogels exhibited adequate properties in connection with biomedical applications such as a high in vitro degradation up to 15 wt% after 12 weeks.

Green synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe2O3) using saffron extract

In this study, iron oxide nanoparticles were prepared using saffron plant extract, and the prepared particles were diagnosed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray resolution (EDX), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis). This method falls within the green chemistry, an environmentally friendly method and at a lower cost than other methods

Blue-LED Calibration on DOAS System to Measure Nitrogen Dioxide Emission Compared with USEPA Method 7B Standard

Air polution level measurement sometime needs tricky instrumentation, costly, and use chemical reagent that could bad impact to environment, it also time consuming for analysis. In other hand, air polution level measurement, include nitrogen dioxide (NO2) needs accuracy, rapid and environment friendly for its analysis and measurement. Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) develop as spectrum measurements both UV and visible, transmitted by specific canal using absorption Lambert Beer’s Law principal. On this basic method, NO2 measurement needs light source with 330 – 500 nm wavelength, it is possible to use cheap blue-LED for this measurement. This research intends to calibrate prototype instrumentation for measuring NO2 by DOAS based using Blue-LED (375 nm) passed in continual gas container. NO2 emission simulated in laboratory scale by reacting copper (Cu) with nitric acid (HNO3) result NO2 gas formation. Blue-LED spectrum analysed by compact CCD Spectrometer for its absorbance spectrum, then calibrated with NO2 measurement using USEPA Method 7B standard that is commonly used in testing laboratory as standard method for NO2 measurement. It has good corelation between spectrum absorbance in CCD Spectrometer to USEPA Method 7B with more than 95% linierity. As rapidity of this measurement and shown good accuracy, more development for this method could carry fast, accurate, cheap, also environmentally friendly method for NO2 measurement.

Development and Characterization of Silver Containing Free Standing Polymer FILMS for Dosimetry Applications

Polymer gels and films, due to their near equivalence to biological tissue, are amongst the most promising future dosimetry tools for medical applications. The application of polymer dose gels is limited by the sensitivity of dose readout methods and dose gel properties. It is a challenge to find suitable dosimeters for registration of doses delivered to the target by orthovoltage therapy units. The application of metal-particle-enriched polymer composites for dose registration in X-ray therapy might be an elegant solution, especially if recent dose-reading technologies exploring advantages of different physical phenomena are involved. In this work, X-rays from the orthovoltage therapy range were used for the irradiation of experimental samples. In addition, radiation-induced processes of formation of silver nanoparticles in AgNO3–PVA gels and in free standing AgNO3PVA films, also containing some additional solvents, namely glycerol, ethanol, and isopropanol, have been investigated, with the aim to apply the developed composites for medical dosimetry purposes. A simple and environmentally friendly method for the formation of free-standing AgPVA films at room temperature was proposed and realized for preparing AgPVA films for investigation. Radiation-induced synthesis of silver nanoparticles in AgPVA composites was investigated, analyzing LPSR-based UV-VIS spectral changes to the irradiated films with respect to irradiation doses, and dose-related tendencies were also evaluated. It was shown that AgPVA films were more sensitive for detection of doses from the interval 0–1.0 Gy, thus indicating potential application of AgPVA films for dosimetry purposes.

Production of nanopowders of bismuth oxide doped with silver by pulsed electron beam evaporation in vacuum

Various bismuth containing compounds are promising in many applications, including for creating photocatalysts based on them using a visible range of light. However, strong polymorphism (9 polymophic phases of Bi2O3), thermal instability and changes in the properties of bismuth oxide during long-term storage significantly complicate work with it. One way to increase stability and improve photocatalytic properties is by doping Bi2O3 with various metals. Ag doped Bi2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) are typically produced using chemical techniques often associated with the presence of toxic chemicals. The present paper used an environmentally friendly method of producing NPs using the method of pulsed electron beam evaporation in vacuum. The evaporation target was obtained by solid phase synthesis in an electric furnace on air using silver nitrate additives (1 and 5 wt.%). Textural, thermal and magnetic properties of the obtained NPs have been studied. Was found that the Ag-Bi2O3 NPs have a specific surface area (SSA) of 23.7 m2/g, which was almost 2 times bigger than the SSA of the pure Bi2O3 (13.2 m2/g) obtained previously. The thermal stability of the Ag-doped Bi2O3 samples was maintained to the temperature 350°C. While further heating on air took place the phase transition β → α

Lithium recovery from synthetic geothermal brine using electrodialysis method

The demand of lithium in the global market is experiencing a significant increase. The electric vehicle era is the driving force of this lithium increase phenomenon. Although the demand of lithium continues to increase every year, the available lithium resources are still not able to meet the demand, so that lithium resources with much greater potential are being considered. The main objective of this study is to extract lithium from a primary resource, geothermal brine, with a practical and environmentally friendly method. Research on the extraction of lithium resources from synthetic geothermal brine with a specific lithium composition using the electrodialysis (ED) method has been carried out. The ED device used is provided with electricity and is operated using temperature variations (30°C and 40°C) and variations in electric voltage (2 V and 4 V). The highest flux is achieved at an operating temperature of 40°C and a power supply voltage of 4 V.

Efficacy of Beauveria bassiana against the cotton leaf roller, Haritalodes (Syllepte) derogata (Fabricius, 1775) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) under laboratory conditions.

Objective: The leaf-roller caterpillar Haritalodes (=Syllepte) derogata (Fabricius, 1775) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) induces high yield losses by damaging cotton leaves and reducing the photosynthetic activity of the plant. Laboratory bioassays were carried to evaluate the effect of Beauveria bassiana on the survival of H. derogata larvae. Methodology and results: In the first trial, screening of thirteen B. bassiana isolates was performed on third larval instars at 107 conidia.mL-1 . In the second trial, effects of five concentrations (105 to 109 conidia.mL-1 ) of the three best isolates of the fungus were tested. Conidia suspension was applied on each larva topically. Germination rates of conidia used varied between 90.2% to 95.7%, 24 hours after incubation. Five isolates were found to be the most promising namely Bb116, Bb3, Bb11, Bb6 and Bb115. In the second bioassay, caterpillar mortality increased with fungal concentration. Lethal Concentration (LC50) was estimated to 1.18x1015 conidia.mL-1 , 1.75x1013 conidia.mL-1 , 1.75x1013 conidia.mL-1 , 9 days after inoculation for Bb3, Bb11 and Bb115, respectively. Conclusion and application of results: The use of B. bassiana as a biopesticide against H. derogata could be a good alternative method to control the pest. It is an environmentally friendly method with less side effects compared to the application of synthetic pesticides on cotton. This method could be tested in future station and field experiments. Keywords: Cotton, Integrated pest management, Haritalodes (=Syllepte) derogata, Beauveria bassiana, Lethal Concentration.