Speciation and fractionation of phosphorus in biosolids-amended soils: effects of water treatment residual nanoparticles

Phosphorus (P) speciation and fractionation are useful tools for assessing P mobility and potential transfer to water bodies. The current study aims to evaluate drinking water treatment residual nanoparticles (nWTRs) effects on P species in biosolids-amended soils using sequential chemical fractionation and mineral equilibrium model. Three different soil types were selected (El-Bostan, Kafr El-Dawar, Borg Al-Arab), amended with biosolids (3%), and different rates of nWTRs were applied. The P fractionation results revealed that addition of nWTRs to biosolids-amended El-Bostan soil increased the immobile aluminum phosphates from 27.30 to 88.90, 92.20, and 94.93% at 0.10, 0.20, and 0.30% application rate, respectively. Similar trend was noticed in Kafr El-Dawar soil. In Borg Al-Arab soil, nWTRs significantly (p < 0.05) increased aluminum phosphate to only 71.73% at the highest application rate (0.30%) due to its high content of calcium carbonate (35.70%). Similarly, phosphorous speciation analysis revealed that application of nWTRs significantly increased the proportions of immobile phosphate form (P sorbed to Al hydroxide) and amorphous sodium aluminum phosphate. Thus, water degradation via eutrophication can be minimized by applying nWTRs to biosolids-amended soils.     

Bioremediation of crude oil by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus licheniformis</Emphasis> in the presence of different concentration nanoparticles and produced biosurfactant

This research work focuses on testing the bacterial strain Bacillus licheniformis for the bioremediation capacity of the crude oil. A biosurfactant and two different nanoparticles with different concentrations (0.05, 0.1, 0.2 g/100 ml) were applied separately to enhance the biodegradation process. The optimum biodegradation of crude oil was demonstrated at 60% of microcosms containing biosurfactant and nanoparticles after 7 days. The bacterial strain is highly potential to consume the total paraffins (iso- and n-paraffins) in crude oil samples. Accordingly, the best biodegradation of total paraffins was observed in microcosms containing (0.2 g) of Fe₂O₃, Zn₅(OH)₈Cl₂ (nps) and biosurfactant separately. Additionally, the consumption of specific member rings of polyaromatics depends on the type and the concentration of nanoparticles. Thus, this bacterial strain was considered as a good candidate to be applied in the bioremediation process of petroleum-contaminated sites using biosurfactant and specific concentration of (Fe₂O₃ and Zn₅OH₈Cl₂) nanoparticles.     

Phytoremediation assessment of native plants growing on Pb–Zn mine site in Northern Tunisia

Pollution by heavy metals presents an environmental concern, and their toxicity threats soil, water, animals and human health. Phytoremediation can be used as a solution to remediate contaminated soils. The aim of this study was to identify native plants collected from tailings: material of Pb–Zn mine sites of Fedj Lahdoum and Jebel Ressas (two abandoned mines located, respectively, in the northwest of Tunisia and in the south of Tunis City). The tolerance of plant to heavy metals (lead, zinc and cadmium) is evaluated. Soil samples were collected and analyzed for Pb, Zn and Cd concentration. The total soil Pb, Zn and Cd are, respectively, reached 6132 mg kg^?1, 11,052 mg kg^?1 and it doesn’t exceed 479 mg kg^?1 for Cd. The highest content of Zn in plants was detected in shoots of Rumex bucephalophorus (1048 mg kg^?1), and the highest Pb concentration was detected in roots of Chrysopogon zizanioides (381 mg kg^?1), while for Cd Silene colorata it accumulated the highest content in roots (51 mg kg^?1). From all plants, only 12 have a translocation factor for Pb which is higher than one. Among all plants, only 17 have a translocation factor that is higher than one for Zn, while for Cd only 13 plants indicate TF > 1. As for the biological absorption coefficient, all samples indicate a rate which is lower than one. These plants can be primarily hyper accumulators and useful in remediation of lead- and zinc-contaminated soils after further biochemistry researches in mechanism of accumulation and translocation of heavy metals in plants.     

Hydrogeochemical evaluation of fractured Limestone aquifer by applying a geochemical model in eastern Nile Valley,Egypt

Rock water interactions play an important role in the flow of groundwater. Groundwater samples were collected from deep production wells with depths ranging from 120 to 230 m. Complete chemical analysis of 40 groundwater samples was collected from the fractured limestone aquifer including major cations (Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺) and major anions (Cl^?, SO₄ ^2?, HCO₃ ^?, CO₃ ^2?). A geochemical modeling (NETPATH Software) was applied for environmental simulate net geochemical mass-balance reactions between initial and final waters along a hydrologic flow path. This program simulates selected evolutionary waters for every possible combination of the plausible phases that account for the composition of a selected set of chemical constraints in the system. The groundwater of the Eocene aquifer mainly belongs to fairly fresh water with salinity contents ranging from 228 to 3595 ppm. The measured groundwater levels range between 8 and 25 m near the river Nile to the limestone plateau (eastwards). Consequently, groundwater flows from east to westward toward the river Nile. Groundwater aquifer in the study area is mainly composed of fractured limestone; the saturated states of the PCO₂, calcite, aragonite, dolomite, siderite, gypsum, anhydrite, hematite, and goethite in addition to H₂ gas were estimated. The undersaturated state of carbon dioxide reflects closed conditions and very low probability of recent recharge, and it reveals also the high tendency of water to precipitates carbonate species. Undersaturation by carbonate minerals is only restricted to some pockets distributed on the different places of the aquifer in the study area. The majority of groundwater samples of Eocene aquifer in the study area indicated that groundwater is not suitable for irrigation with treatment and requires good drainage.     

Sedimentological and geoenvironmental evaluation of the coastal area between Al-Khowkhah and Al-Mokha,southeastern Red Sea,Republic of Yemen

The increasing anthropogenic activities (e.g., constructing touristic resorts) have led to notable changes in the Yemeni Red Sea coastal regions. In this context, recent sediments have been investigated to infer possible natural and man-induced processes on these coastal areas. The target area lies between longitudes 43°13′–43°30′E and latitudes 13°15′–13°55′N. It extends about 90 km along the coastline as a part of the Tihama plain. Geomorphologically, it forms a long-curved stretch with pronounced headlands, embayments and bays. Generally, it is covered by recent sediments (wadi, lagoon, beach and spit deposits along with sabkha, coastal dunes and mangrove). Textural studies reveal that most of the studied sediments are mainly poorly to moderately sorted and are composed mainly of sandy fractions with few gravel and mud, mostly bimodal with minor unimodal patterns. The igneous (granites) as well as basic (basalt, andesite and andesitic pyroclastics) and acidic (dacite and rhyolite) volcanic rocks of Tertiary age, which are exposed to the east of the study area, are believed to be the source of pyroxenes, amphiboles, epidotes, biotite, sphene, zircon, tourmaline and rutile, in a decreasing order of abundance. Moreover, smectite, kaolinite, chlorite, illite and palygorskite are the predominant clay minerals, mainly of detrital origin. The total carbonate content fluctuates from 37.41% (lagoon sediments) to 53.74% (sabkha sediments). The high amount of sea grasses, which covers the tidal flat zone and relates to the fine-grained sediments, accounts for the high organic matter content. The mineralogy of the source rocks has controlled the general distribution of major elements (Fe, Mg, Na, K and Mn) in the beach sediments. In such sediments, the concentrations of the heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Cd, Ni, Pb and Co) may reflect the sediment pollution using different approaches. The enrichment factors (EFs) of the trace metals for most samples reveal values that are greater than 1, referring to three groupings, which are: moderate to moderately severe (Zn, Cu and Mn), minor to moderate (Pb and Co) and zero to minor (Cd and Ni) enrichment. The EFs for Pb, Cd, Ni and Co metals (<5) may be attributed to the crustal materials and/or natural weathering processes. But, those for Zn, Cu and Mn (>5), especially in Al-Khowkhah–Abu-Zahr, Moushij–Zahari–Ruays, Yokhtol and Mokha localities, are possible of anthropogenic contributions.     

Climate change impact on rainfall spatio-temporal variability (Macta watershed case,Algeria)

This work describes the climate change impact study on rainfall patterns in Macta watershed, located in the northwest of Algeria. The monthly rainfall data collection, verification and validation have built a database with 42 stations, each with 42 years of observations from 1970 to 2011. The study of annual total rainfall has identified a downward trend and quantifies the deficits that are within the observation time series. The division of the annual rainfall series into four periods allowed to highlighting the increase in inter-year temporal variability with the coefficient of variation increases from 17 to 27%. The study shows an annual rainfall deficit increment from 13 to 25%. The standard deviation values decrease significantly for the last two periods showing a spatial variability. Multivariate statistical study by the hierarchical clustering method resulted in the formation of station groups indicating the unification of monthly rainfall patterns.     

Assessment of physico-chemical and microbiological surface water quality using multivariate statistical techniques: a case study of the Wadi El-Bey River,Tunisia

Located in the northeastern part of Tunisia, Wadi El Bey drains the watershed through farmland, industrial, and urban areas of the region. It serves to discharge treated wastewater of different types. In this work, the variations of the water quality of Wadi El Bey were studied and evaluated, during 2 years (2012–2013), using multivariate statistical techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA). In addition, the similarities or dissimilarities among the sampling points were as well analyzed to identify spatial and temporal variations. The results obtained based on the cluster analysis, led to identify three similar water quality zones: relatively polluted (LP), moderately polluted (MP), and highly polluted (HP). The inorganic and organic parameters, temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, chemical oxygen demand, salmonella, and enterococcus, seemed to be the most significant parameters of water quality. Three factors were identified as responsible for the data structure, explaining 60.95% of the total variance. The first factor is the physical and non-organic chemical parameters explaining 23.48% of the total variance. The second and third factors are, respectively, the microbiological (21.26%) and organic-nutrient (16.2%).This study shows that multivariate statistical methods can help the water managers to understand the factors affecting the water quality.     

Contribution of the geomagnetism to the region of the massif Jbel Saghro geology,Eastern Anti-Atlas,Morocco

Our investigation relates to the interpretation of the magnetic data of Jbel Saghro, by aeromagnetic processing using Geosoft and ArcGis software. The data were obtained from digitizing the preexisting maps. From the magnetic field anomaly maps, different anomalies were identified with differences in intensities, sizes, and shapes and in being isolated or interfered. The directions are in general ENE-WSW, NNW-SSE, W-E, and NW-SE which are in good agreement with the general tectonic structure of the region. In order to correspond the anomalies to their natural sources and their geometrical configuration, it was necessary to calculate the residual polar. This avoids the presence of two lobes for the same source, what makes it possible to delimit the geological sources laterally. Thus, the attribution of each magnetic anomaly to its geological source becomes possible. Indeed, generally magnetic anomaly of strong intensities and big wavelengths is associated to very magnetized structures related to the Precambrian basement, and the negative a.m. is connected to structures of weak magnetization located in general in the cover. The application of the tilt angle filter allowed the localization of the outcrops of the inliers and new geophysical lineaments. On the other hand, the local maxima of the horizontal gradient made it possible to reveal the large structural features concerning the main tectonic events of the area.     

Robust approach for optimal positioning and ranking potential rainwater harvesting structure (RWH): a case study of Iraq

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) structure is considered as the best solution to conserve water for arid regions. The selection of RWH location is based on several key determinants such as hydrology, environment, topography, and socio-economic. This study proposed a robust methodology to identify and select the location of RWH using geographical information systems (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) with multi-criteria decision techniques in areas where data are scarce. Several thematic maps were extracted such as vegetation cover, soil group, slope, land use, and digital elevation (DEM). The RWH sites were ranked based on four major indexes: evaporation, cost-benefit, sediment, and hydrological index. Sensitivity analysis shows that the variance inverse (VI) and rank order method (ROM) considered all indices that effect ranking as compared to the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy-AHP. Sensitivity analysis also proved that the proposed method is suitable to be used for RWH site selection in arid regions.     

Retention of a heavy metal by marl collected from aquifer substratum

One of the objectives of this work is to characterize marl samples collected from the bedrock aquifer (at 30 m depth) of Wadi Al Ghoula located in Draria southwest of Algiers. The other objective is to make a kinetics study, linear and non-linear isotherm study, and mass transfer study of the adsorption of copper onto marl in aqueous solution. The fitness of kinetics and isotherm models was evaluated by using some error analysis function. One of the major results using an XRF technique is an evidence of the presence of calcite in the weight of 13.82%. The XRD patterns of these samples confirmed the presence of montmorillonite, kaolinite, illite, calcite, and quartz. On the other hand, the FTIR analysis clarified the presence of calcite. The specific surface area of 20,999 m²/g was obtained using the BET, which indicates that the material has a predominance for the mesoporous character. The instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), a nondestructive method, gives the elemental composition of the adsorbent. Based on the value of the coefficient of determination, the adsorption kinetics of copper in aqueous solution using marl as adsorbent follows the pseudo-second-order model. And according to the value of the coefficient of determination obtained for the two models, the intraparticle diffusion and liquid film diffusion control the process of adsorption of copper onto marl with low predominance for the second model of diffusion in the first stage of adsorption. The linear and the non-linear treatments of the two-parameter isotherm models (Langmuir, Freundlish, Temkin) show that the fitting best model of isotherm is the empirical Freundlish isotherm. For the three-parameter isotherm models (Toth, Sips, and Redlish-Peterson), the Sips model is the more accurate fitting model than the two other isotherms in the non-linear approach. Some error analysis functions are used to choose the best results.