pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Survey of protozoa and metazoa populations in wastewater treatment plants by image analysis and discriminant analysis

The biota present in the activated sludge of a wastewater treatment plant are mainly composed of bacteria, Protozoa and Metazoa. The Protozoa and Metazoa species are important micro-organisms taking part in the ecosystem balance in wastewater treatment plants and are quite sensitive to physical, chemical and operational
processes. Several authors have established relationships between the predominance of certain species or groups and some variables of the plant. Such analysis demands the identification and quantification of the different species, which requires skilled workers, specializing in zoology or protozoology, and is time-consuming. To
overcome those problems, semi-automatic image analysis and discriminant analysis were carried out for the identification procedures. The overall results were very promising in terms of Protozoa and Metazoa group recognition and of survey of plant conditions. Copyright 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Financial support for the co-operation between the Portuguese (Braga) and French (Nancy) teams was provided by the French Embassy in Portugal and ICCTI (Portugal). A. L. Amaral was supported by a PhD grant (PRAXIS XXI/BD/20325/99) of ‘Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia’ (Portugal). M. da Motta was supported by a grant of the National Council of Scientific and Technological Development of Brazil (CNPq)
Assessment of high density of onsite wastewater treatment systems on a shallow groundwater coastal aquifer using PCA

Onsite wastewater treatment systems are common throughout the world including Australia, with approximately 17% of the Australian population relying on these systems to treat and ultimately dispose of wastewater. Systems which are properly sited, designed and managed are an effective way of providing the necessary treatment of wastewater. However, numerous incidence of onsite system failure is common, and this is further compounded in areas where high densities of systems are established. The density of systems is not appropriately assessed in the siting and design stage. Various factors, such as site and soil characteristics and climate can influence the treatment efficiency, and this is more critical in high density areas. Principal component analysis was used for assessing chemical and microbiological data from shallow groundwater below a high density of onsite treatment systems. The results of this study confirmed that high system densities can significantly impact on shallow groundwater systems. Additionally, changes in spatial and climatic conditions, as well as the type of onsite system can also influence the quality of groundwater
Assessing the effect of clustered and biased multi-stage sampling

We propose a method for detecting biased multi-stage sampling of spatial data and a method to adjust for biased Clustering of samples. We assess the effect of these methods for the analysis of radioactivity contamination data from Rongelap island, with the scientific problem being the estimation of the maximum level of radioactivity over the island. These data were collected over a two-stage process of uniform and clustered samples, which may have an impact on conclusions from a standard analysis that does not account for either of these features.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Postsynthesis modification of a cellulose acetate ultrafiltration membrane for applications in water and wastewater treatment

A technique for postsynthesis modification of a cellulose acetate ultrafiltration membrane with possible application in water and wastewater treatment is studied. The technique used an oxidizing agent (persulfate) to develop free radicals on the membrane surface, and that was expected to promote grafting of hydrophilic macromolecules (polyethylene glycol). A chain-transfer agent (2-mercaptoethanol) was tested to control the grafting process, avoiding the formation of long chains that usually lead to high permeability losses in other graft techniques. The modifications aimed at the decrease of the fouling susceptibility of the membrane studied. The possibility of an increase in rejection was also investigated. The membrane was characterized before and after modification, by attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and in terms of the rejection of neutral reference solutes. The information given by the different techniques of characterization provided strong evidences of the occurrence of modification, although permeation of (real) foulants was the decisive test. To obtain information about the fouling tendency of the nonmodified and modified membranes, two different kinds of foulants were used: a humic acid (usually found in surface waters) and textile auxiliaries (representing one of the most important industries in Portugal). The results showed an increase in the rejections of the humic acid, and significant improvements in the performance of the membrane with respect to fouling tendency in the case of the textile auxiliarie
Biorefinery sustainability assessment

This article presents a comparative sustainability assessment of three biorefineries that produce liquid fuels used in current infrastructure. The three options considered are biochemical production of ethanol from grain and from cellulosic feedstocks and thermochemical production of Fischer‐Tropsch diesel from biomass‐derived syngas. These biorefineries were compared using numerous environmental, economic, and social metrics, with numerical values derived from a thorough review of recent literature. For each of the three biorefinery options, the metrics were not determined from a specific process design, but from a variety of different designs reported in literature. Where necessary, corn was selected as the feedstock for grain ethanol and switchgrass was selected for cellulosic ethanol and Fischer‐Tropsch diesel. These sustainability metrics were used in an Analytic Hierarchy Process decision analysis to compare the sustainability of the different biorefineries. Thus, a new decision‐making tool has been created in which the user can assign different weights to each category and its metrics. This tool was used to explore the influence of different weights, different market conditions, and uncertainties in the values of the metrics on the relative sustainability of the different options. Based on the results of this assessment, cellulosic ethanol biorefineries are modestly more sustainable than grain ethanol and Fischer‐Tropsch diesel. Grain ethanol was favorable economically whereas Fischer‐Tropsch diesel had the highest score on the societal metrics. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 201
Heterogenization of copper catalyst for the oxidation of phenol, a common contaminant in industrial wastewater

Advance oxidation process was employed as a pretreat-\ud
ment of industrial wastewater. For this purpose, the use of\ud
heavy metals as a catalyst is necessary but also complicated\ud
because homogeneous catalysts are difficult to recover after\ud
reaction process. The heterogenization of Cu(II) ions was\ud
proposed by taking advantage of the adsorptive characteris-\ud
tics of polymeric matrices. Crosslinked poly(4-vinylpyridine)\ud
of 2 and 25% and poly(\ud
D\ud
-glucosamine) were tested as sup-\ud
ports of copper. Adsorption was employed to heterogenize\ud
Cu(II) by considering the influences of pH and temperature\ud
on the process. The catalysts were evaluated by their metal\ud
content, catalytic behavior for the oxidation of phenol and\ud
leaching degree after reaction. Poly(4-vinylpyridine) 2% was\ud
the best material for Cu(II) immobilization with an adsorp-\ud
tion capacity of 90 mg g\ud
2\ud
1\ud
. Afterward, poly(4-vinylpyridine)\ud
2%, Cu(II) achieved 64% of phenol conversion, which repre-\ud
sents a favorable result for the oxidation of phenol as the\ud
model of industrial wastewater pretreatments.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
Biodegradation of carbon tetrachloride in simulated groundwater flow channels

Remediation feasibility studies were conducted in simulated groundwater flow channels for carbon tetrachloride (CT). CT was introduced at a concentration of about 2 mg/L (~13 μmoles/L) in three channels, two of them with alfalfa plants and the other with grass. Since no degradation products were found at the outlet after about 100 days, anaerobic conditions were created by adding one liter of 0.2% glucose solution in one channel (with alfalfa) and one liter of 0.1% emulsified soy oil methyl esters (SOME) to another channel (with alfalfa). The fraction removals of total chlorinated methanes in the outlet liquid were 94% in glucose fed channel and 92% in SOME fed channel. Supplements such as glucose, corn starch, cheese whey and SOME stimulated the indigenous microbes to carry out the biodegradation of CT. In both glucose and SOME fed channels, the degradation continued several weeks after stopping the feeding of supplements. Most of the degradation process took place in the initial portion of the SOME fed channel, since SOME likely stayed near the inlet of the channel, due to sorption and retarded flow due to its low solubility; therefore, SOME should be added at multiple locations for effective bioremediation. No CT and degradation products were found in the headspace above the soil surface
Solar powered charge stations for electric vehicles

Every hour, the sun emits more energy onto the Earth’s surface than our entire world population uses in one year. [1] Solar power provides us with the possibility of a cleaner and more renewable future. Global climate change as a result of greenhouse gases and the effects of low air quality caused by pollutants have become very substantial issues in our world today. The costs associated with greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions, and the effect they have on human lives and human health, are major and growing concerns. The development and installation of solar powered charging stations will reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere, future costs associated with climate change, and health issues. Thus, there is environmental, social, and economic value associated with the installation of solar powered charge stations. Solar powered charging stations have the potential of significantly reducing air pollutants and improving urban air quality. The electrification of transportation and the use of solar powered charging stations as an electricity source will improve people’s quality of life
Bio-sorption of Chromium using Aquatic Plant, Lepironia Articulata

This work was focused at investigating the improvement of the heavy metal removal process produced by the aquatic plant, Lepironia articulata for the treatment of wastewater.  The bio-sorption of chromium (Cr) by the aquatic plant, Lepironia articulata signifies one of the key alternatives for heavy metal removal. The application of Lepironia articulate as bio-absorber of heavy metal hasn’t been studied yet. The bio-sorption of chromium (Cr) by the aquatic plant, Lepironia articulata near to Taman Anggerik, Kedah, Malaysia, was examined in wastewater contaminated with 4, 8, 12 and 16 mg l\ud
-1\ud
 of Cr. chromium concentrations were analysed in the wastewater regularly and in aquatic plant biomass after the experiments. The results revealed that maintaining pH at 6.1 ± 0.1, temperature at 22 ± 1 ºC and photoperiod at 12 h/j Lepironia articulata was capable of accumulating in its biomass 3, 15, 24 and 25 mg g\ud
-1\ud
 DM, for the four preliminary Cr concentrations selected. At the selected Cr concentrations, the heavy metal removal ranged between 62.45– 72.84%. The mass balance analysis carried out during the experiment revealed that approximately 40–63% of Cr (based on the preliminary Cr concentrations in wastewater) was eliminated through precipitation process.  Thus, bio-sorption of Cr using aquatic plant, Lepironia articulata may bring a major point of improvement of the conventional wastewater treatment process
Hydrothermal carbonization of primary sewage sludge and synthetic faeces: Effect of reaction temperature and time on filterability

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: DANSO-BOATENG, E. ...et al., 2015. Hydrothermal Carbonization of Primary Sewage Sludge and Synthetic Faeces: Effect of Reaction Temperature and Time on Filterability. Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy, 34(5), pp. 1279-1290., which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ep.12114. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving."The effect of reaction temperature and time on the filterability of slurries of primary sewage sludge (PSS) and synthetic faeces (SF) following hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) was investigated and optimised using response surface methodology (RSM). Filterability was shown to improve as the treatment temperature and reaction time at which the solids were carbonised was increased. The best filtration results were achieved at the highest temperature (200°C) and longest treatment time (240 min) employed here. The specific cake resistance to filtration of the carbonised solids was found to vary between 5.43 x 1012 and 2.05 x 1010 m kg–1 for cold filtration of PSS, 1.11 x 1012 and 3.49 x 1010 m kg–1 for cold filtration of SF, and 3.01 x 1012 and 3.86 x 1010 m kg–1 for hot filtration of SF, and decreased with increasing reaction temperature and time for carbonisation. There was no significant difference in the specific resistance of cold and hot filtration for SF. The RSM models employed here were found to yield predictions that were close to the experimental results obtained and should therefore prove useful in designing and optimizing HTC filtration systems for generating solids for a wide variety of end uses
Effects of reactor pressure and inlet temperature on n-butane/dimethyl ether oxidation and the formation pathways of the aromatic species

Oxidation of n-butane/dimethyl ether (DME)/O2/Ar system was studied by chemical kinetic modeling in a tubular reactor operated adiabatically and at constant pressure. Effects of the reactor pressure on the formation of various major, minor, and trace oxidation products were investigated for two different pressures (1 and 5 atm) and at six different inlet temperature values (700, 800, 900, 1100, 1300, and 1500 K). The analysis was carried out for two different concentrations of dimethyl ether in the inlet fuel mixture (20 and 50 mol %). Higher pressure (5 atm) resulted in higher mole fractions of methane, vinylacetylene, and cyclopentadiene; and lower mole fractions of formaldehyde, acetylene, acetaldehyde, ethane, propargyl, and propane. The mole fractions of CO and CO2 were not affected considerably by the pressure change. The main formation routes of benzene were developed at two different inlet temperature values (1100 and 1300 K), and the main precursors participating in these routes were found to be propargyl, propene, and diacetylene. A skeletal mechanism was developed for the oxidation of n-butane/DME mixture from the detailed mechanism by reduction of the elementary reactions by 79%, and it was tested for accuracy by comparison with the data from the literature.State Planning Organization (2003K120690); Izmir Institute of Technology Scientific Research Fund (2008 IYTE 11
Fluid dynamic design of an axial rotor for hydrokinetic riverbed turbine-improvement introduced by a high lift foil profile

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: [Oller, S. A., Nallim, L. G. and Oller, S. (2016), Fluid dynamic design of an axial rotor for hydrokinetic riverbed turbine-improvement introduced by a high lift foil profile. Environ. Prog. Sustainable Energy, 35: 1198–1206. doi:10.1002/ep.12320], which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ep.12320/abstract. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.The main objective of this article is to achieve a very high lift rotor to take the maximum advantage of the kinetic energy of a slow velocity water flow, which belongs to a lowland river type. Low speed flux and lack of depth are the main obstacles in hydrokinetic operation. The use of a high lift aerodynamic profile and the gain of the rotor number of blades serve to accomplish the task. This work presents the fluid dynamic design for an axial hydrokinetic turbine rotor, studied in a three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulation by means of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The use of CFD techniques avoids some physical model assays. For the hydrokinetic turbine rotor design, first a one-dimensional (1D) theoretical design was carried out, starting with the selection of a suitable airfoil profile to create the hydrofoil blade. Then, the 3D rotor geometry was defined and studied carefully by means of CFD, to check its hydrodynamic behavior, that is, lift and drag, streamline velocities and pressure fields. The CFD results were obtained using an open CFD code (Kratos)Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
Coupling life cycle assessment with process simulation for ecodesign of chemical processes

Because of the central position of the chemical industries along the value chain, process design has a pivotal role, involving many decision makers and multiple levels of decisions. To tackle the environmental concern at source, this article presents a methodological framework for process ecodesign, coupling flowsheeting simulators both for production and energy processes with a Life Cycle Assessment module that generalizes and automates the evaluation of environmental impacts. The life cycle inventory is carried out through the combined use of mass and energy balances resulting both from the global simulation of the process and its associated energy production requirement and from the use of inventory database (i.e., Ecoinvent v3) embedded in the Life Cycle Assessment software tool used (SimaPro). Different process alternatives can thus be evaluated in a systematic way and the energy‐related emissions for any given process that match exactly the real situation can be computed without introducing a bias in the estimation. Through comparisons between a case base and process alternatives, a systematic decision can be made in terms of whether a solution is moving the process towards a more sustainable operation. The effectiveness of the proposed framework is first illustrated through the case study of benzene production and second, by a biodiesel production process from waste vegetable oils which is one of the foremost alternative fuels to those refined from petroleum product
Gis-based identification of topographic sites in Italy with significant ground motion amplification effects

Surface topography can significantly affect earthquake ground motions, as suggested by many examples of unexpected damage suffered by buildings located on the top of hills, on ridges or along slopes. European and Italian seismic codes suggest topographic aggravation factors in the 1 – 1.4 range to be applied to seismic actions, depending not only on simple morphologic parameters (average slope angle, width and height of the relief) but also on the type of relief (isolated cliff or ridge) and on the location of the site relative to the relief. Furthermore, strongly irregular topographies should be dealt with by a specific study.
To provide a practical tool for the identification of critical topographic sites, analyses of high resolution digital elevation models (DEM), with the support of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), are presented in this paper. Simple GIS functions are used to classify critical ranges of inclination, while the identification of valleys and ridges requires more complex procedures. A comparison of different methods for their identification is presented in this work, aiming at finding the most suitable ones for seismic microzonation analyses.
Once the critical conditions are synthesized into GIS layers, their proximity to inhabited centres or strategic structures are checked. The resulting maps can be used for topography-related seismic risk assessment at large scale. We present two examples of application of this procedure, with particular attention to the small historical centres located on the Apennine mountains in Central and Southern Italy
Ambient vibration studies for system identification of tall buildings

This is the peer reviewed version of the article, which has been published in final form at DOI 10.1002/eqe.215. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.The performance of a building under wind and seismic loads depends on stiffness and mass distribution, and may be estimated using finite element codes. Experience has, however, shown that such finite element models often fail to predict accurately the fundamental natural frequencies. Usually the frequencies will be underestimated, that is the building will turn out to be stiffer than anticipated, meaning the design would usually be conservative. On the other hand, effects like torsional eccentricity and foundation compliance may not be correctly modelled, which could be less desirable. A full understanding of linear performance under lateral loads can be obtained through experimental evaluation of the vibration modes. Traditionally only a limited range of modal analysis procedures and software has been applied to civil applications and the ‘special case’ where no input forces can be measured has been the usual situation for large civil structures. Recent developments in system identification, which is the set of procedures to build mathematical models of the dynamic structural systems based on measured data, have added significantly to the potential of ambient vibration or ‘output only’ testing. The aim of the research reported here has been to apply and evaluate the procedures on typical buildings. The procedures are briefly explained and two experimental programmes are then described; a long-term tremor monitoring exercise on a 280m office tower and an ambient vibration survey of a smaller office block. The different forms of response data are examined to study the performance of the analysis procedures and expose benefits and limitations in their use. There is a growing interest in output-only modal analysis procedures in civil engineering. The experience reported in this paper has shown that quick and reliable estimation of mode shapes and frequencies can be obtained, even with small amounts of data. Judgement of modal participation and damping ratios requires more detailed study yet the results are at least as convincing as existing and relatively limited frequency domain methods