Sharif Digital Repository

The soil slurry-sequencing bath reactor (SS-SBR) was studied to treat poorly graded sand with clay (SP-SC) contaminated by aged petroleum hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with concentrations of 23000 mg/kg and 750 mg/kg respectively. An 8 L bioreactor was operated with a 10% solid concentration (0.1 kg dry soil/L slurry). The fill period was relatively instantaneous, and the draw period lasted approximately 1 minute so the react period comprised essentially the entire cycle time. In the draw period a fraction of slurry (10%) was removed from the SS-SBR weekly and it was replaced with untreated slurry. This volumetric replacement strategy provided 70 days hydraulic... 

Phenol is one of the aromatic hydrocarbons. Phenol and its derivatives are highly toxic. These pollutants can be observed in the effluents of many industries. This research investigates the removal of phenol by the use of activated sludge in a batch system. The effects of influencing factors on biodegradation efficiency have been evaluated. The main factors considered in this study were the volume of acclimatized activated sludge inoculation, pH, temperature, and initial concentration of phenol. The inoculation volumes of 1, 3, and 5 mL of acclimatized activated sludge were taken into account. Different pH values of 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 were examined. The experiments were conducted for... 

Mazut as a source content of various hydrocarbons is hard to be degraded and its cracking could turn mazut into useful materials. Nevertheless degradation of mazut by routine methods is too expensive but application of indigenous microorganisms as biocatalysts could be effective and important to lower the costs and expand its consumption. Mazut biodegradation can be improved using various strategies; Therefore in this study newly isolated strain Enterobacter cloacae BBRC 10061 was used in a method of gradual addition of mazut into medium and its results were compared with simple addition method. To investigate degradation of mazut by BBRC 10061, influence of increase of mazut concentration... 

Abstract Background: The aim of this study is to accelerate and improve aerobic granulation within a Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) by cationic polymer addition. Methods: To identify whether the polymer additive is capable of enhancing granule formation, two SBRs (R1 and R2, each 0.15 m in diameter and 2 m in height) are used by feeding synthetic wastewater. The cationic polymer with concentration of 30 to 2 ppm is added to R2, while no cationic polymer is added to R1. Results: Results show that the cationic polymer addition causes faster granule formation and consequently shorter reactor start-up period. The polymer-amended reactor contains higher concentration of biomass with better... 

The current study investigates the effect of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) addition on morphology and antifouling properties of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) asymmetric flat ultrafiltration (UF) membranes. The membranes are prepared via phase inversion method induced by immersion precipitation at different PVC/PAN blending ratio up to 40 wt% PAN. Also, membranes with blending ratio of PVC/ PAN:70/30, which showed the highest water flux and flux recovery ratio, were used for membrane preparation with 4 wt% of Polyethylene glycol (PEG) addition in four different molecular weight, 600 Da, 1,000 Da, 6,000 Da and 20,000 Da, which was used as pore former and hydrophilic polymeric additive. The performance... 

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the photocatalytic degradation of anthracene using Fe-doped TiO2 nanoparticles in the presence of UV. The structure and morphology of Fe-doped TiO2 nanoparticles were studied by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The applied nanoparticles were synthesized by the sol–gel method. The effect of influential parameters on the degradation of anthracene, including pH, time, nanopar-ticles dosage, and the concentration of anthracene was studied. Using the UV/Fe-doped TiO2 system, the optimum experimental values were obtained to be as follows: pH = 7, contact time = 60 min, anthracene concentration =... 

Herein, NiO and Co2 O3, NiCo2 O4, and NiCo2 O4 /multi-walled carbon nanotubes nanocomposite were synthesized by the hydrothermal method and characterized by scanning electron micros-copy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The photocatalytic activity of the synthesized materials was evaluated by Reactive Red 120 dye degradation. The photocatalytic activity of NiO and Co3 O4 was enhanced not only by the formation of NiCo2 O4, but also by its interaction with the functionalized multiwall carbon nanotubes support. The response surface methodology (RSM) was used to obtain the optimum parameters, including catalyst dosage, initial dye concen-tration, and pH on the dye... 

Ultrafiltration (UF) membranes were prepared from blends of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) via phase inversion method induced by immersion precipitation. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was used as pore former and hydrophilic polymeric additive. N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) and water were used as solvent and coagulant (non-solvent), respectively. The effect of different concentrations of PVP on the morphology and performance of the prepared membranes was investigated. Performance of the membranes was evaluated based on pure water flux and filtration of buffered bovine serum albumin (BSA) solution. The contact angle measurements indicated that the hydrophilicity of... 

In this work, desalination of saline brines using the sweeping gas membrane distillation (SGMD) process is investigated. The Taguchi method was applied for optimization of the operating parameters. An L9 orthogonal array was used to investigate the influence of pertinent variables, including feed temperature (Tf: 45°C, 55°C and 65°C), feed flow rate (Qf: 200, 400 and 600 mL/min), feed concentration (Cf: 10, 25 and 50 g/L) and sweeping gas flow rate (Qc: 4, 10, and 16 SCFH) on the distillate flux. Results of the experiments showed that maximum distillate flux, which was about 10 L/m2 h, obtained at 65°C feed temperature, 16 SCFH sweeping gas flow rate and brackish water with 10 g/L salt... 

In this paper, electrical wire explosion (EWE) was used as a simple, clean, in situ method to synthesise nano zero-valent iron (nZVI) particles in liquid mediums. The structural and physical properties of the synthesised nZVI particles were characterised by x-ray diffraction, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis, field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The synthesised spherical nanoparticles, at a specific size of 10–50 nm, possessed large surface areas of approximately 13.27 m2/g, reinforcing the significant advantages of EWE, that is, less aggregation and in situ production of nanoparticles with enhanced removal efficacy, for groundwater treatment.... 

The degradation of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) was investigated in the aqueous solution of coated ZnO onto magnetite nanoparticale based on an advanced photocatalytic oxidation process. The photocatalysts were synthesized by coating of ZnO onto magnetite using precipitation method. The sample was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and vibration sample magnetometer (VSM). Besides, specific surface area was also determined by BET method. The four effective factors including pH of the reaction mixture, Fe3O4/ZnO magnetic nanoparticles concentration, initial MTBE concentration and molar ratio of [H2O2]/ [MTBE] were optimized using response surface... 

In this study, PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 concentrations were measured from April through September 2010. These measurements were made every six days and on days with dust events using a Grimm Model 1.177 aerosol spectrometer. Meteorological data were also collected. Overall mean values of 319.6 ± 407.07, 69.5 ± 83.2, and 37.02 ± 34.9 μg/m3 were obtained for PM10, PM2.5, and PM1, respectively, with corresponding maximum values of 5337.6, 910.9, and 495 μg/m3. The presence of the westerly prevailing wind implied that Iraq is the major source of dust events in this area. A total of 72 dust days and 711 dust hours occurred in the study area. The dust events occurred primarily during July. The longest... 

Background: Purified terephthalic acid (PTA) wastewater from a petrochemical complex was utilized as a fuel in the anode of a microbial fuel cell (MFC). Effects of two important parameters including different dilutions of the PTA wastewater and pH on the performance of the MFC were investigated. Methods: The MFC used was a membrane-less single chamber consisted of a stainless steel mesh as anode electrode and a carbon cloth as cathode electrode. Both power density and current density were calculated based on the projected surface area of the cathode electrode. Power density curve method was used to specify maximum power density and internal resistance of the MFC. Results: Using 10-times,... 

In the present work, ultrafiltration membranes were prepared using emulsion polyvinyl chloride (EPVC) with the addition of various concentrations of polyethylene glycol (PEG) to investigate the morphological structure and separation properties. The effects of polymer concentration, coagulation bath temperature (CBT), and PEG (6 kDa) concentrations—a pore former hydrophilic additive—were studied. Through the phase inversion, the membranes—which were induced by immersion precipitation in a water coagulation bath—were fabricated through dissolving EPVC in N-methyl-pyrrolidinone, a polymer solvent. Morphological features of the membranes were characterized through scanning electron microscopy,... 

Background: Ramsar, a city of Iran located on the coast of the Caspian Sea, has been considered to be enormously important due to its high natural radioactivity levels. People living in High Level Natural Radiation Areas (HLNRAs) have been exposed by several sources, one of which could be foodstuff. However, many studies have been carried out to measure the environmental radioactivity in Ramsar, but no survey has been conducted in all stapled consumed foods yet. This study was dedicated to determine 226Ra activity concentration in the daily diets of Ramsar residents as a probable exposure. Methods: Approximately 70 different market samples were collected during the four seasons based on the... 

To improve the thermal stability of starch in water-based drilling fluid, monoethanolamine (MEA) was added, and the effect was investigated by laboratory experiment. The experimental results show that the addition of monoethanolamine (MEA) increases the apparent viscosity, plastic viscosity, dynamic shear force, and static shear force of the drilling fluid, and reduces the filtration rate of drilling fluid and thickness of mud cake apparently. By creating hydrogen bonds with starch polymer, the monoethanolamine can prevent hydrolysis of starch at high temperature. Starch, as a natural polymer, is able to improve the rheological properties and reduce filtration of drilling fluid, but it works... 

Shallow aquifers in many Holocene alluvial basins around the world have in the last three decades been identified as arsenic pollution hotspots, in which the spatial variation of natural (or: geogenic) arsenic concentration is conditioned by the meandering-river geomorphology and the fluvial lithofacies distribution. Despite the large amount of publications on the specifics of the pollution, still many uncertainties remain as to the provenance and processes that lead to arsenic enrichment in aquifers. In this paper, arsenic in abandoned and sediment-filled meandering-river bends (or: clay-plugs) is highlighted as a primary source of aquifer pollution. The combination of high organic-carbon... 

Purpose: In this study we aimed to develop an optimized prediction model to estimate a fine-resolution grid of ground-level PM2.5 levels over Tehran. Using remote sensing data to obtain fine-resolution grids of particulate levels in highly polluted environments in areas such as Middle East with the abundance of brightly reflecting deserts is challenging. Methods: Different prediction models implementing 3 km AOD products from the MODIS collection 6 and various effective parameters were used to obtain a reliable model to estimate ground-level PM2.5 concentrations. In this regards, the linear mixed effect model (LME), multi-variable linear regression model (MLR), Gaussian process model (GPM),... 

Functionally-graded NiO-8. mol % YSZ composite films were prepared by a controlled voltage-decay electophoretic deposition (EPD) process. The films consisted of three layers with varying NiO concentrations and porosities. Effects of different parameters including the type of the organic media, solid concentration, NiO:YSZ ratio, and iodine on the stability of EPD suspensions and deposition kinetics were studied. A stable NiO-YSZ suspension was attained in isopropanol with NiO-YSZ ratio of 60:40 and iodine concentration of 0.5. mM. The composite film contained varying NiO concentration from 46. wt.% near the substrate to 32. wt.% close to the electrolyte with 42. wt% NiO in the intermediate... 

In this study, crosslinked and non-crosslinked carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) membranes were prepared with different concentrations of polymer. Then, the permeability of pure CO2, N2, and CH4 was measured through these membranes in dry state to investigate the influence of polymer concentration and applied feed pressure on permeability and permselectivity. The permeability of CO2 through membranes was higher than the other gases. A comparison of permeabilities revealed that the permeability of N2, CO2, and CH4 increased on an average of 33, 40 and 20 percent, respectivly, by increasing the feed pressure from 6 to 10...