Issue 3
Use of selected advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for wastewater treatment - a mini review
General
Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are widely used for the removal of recalcitrant organic constituents from industrial and municipal wastewater. The aim of this study was to review the use of titanium dioxide/UV light process, hydrogen peroxide/UV light process and Fenton’s reactions in wastewater...
Current status of the metal pollution of the environment of Greece - a review
General
ABSTRACT Pollution from metals and metalloids of the environment of Greece seemed to attract many researchers and elemental pollutants in air, soil and water have been determined and studied systematically during the last decade. The most recent of these studies, concerning the last five years (2003...
Ultrafine particles (UFP) and health effects. Dangerous. Like no other PM? Review and analysis
General
The goal of the current review is to present and analyze the known information proposed and discussed the last few years about UFP and their possible health effects. It includes references from 1992 to 2008. It also includes references from some fundamental studies in the 1970's and 1980's. The...
Flux enhancement by air dispersion in cross-flow microfiltration of a colloidal system through spiral wound module
General
Enhancement of the permeate flux due to reduction of cake layer resistance by air-liquid twophase flow in a cross flow spiral wound microfiltration membrane has been investigated. Experiments were carried out with two different suspension systems, namely baker’s yeast suspension with a dry mass...
Integrated urban water modelling using Aquacycle model
General
The traditional approach to urban water management is primarily based on a supply-oriented approach, where water follows a one-way path from supply to a single use, treatment and then discharged to the environment. The wide acknowledgement of the need to shift towards more sustainable practices has...
Seasonal variations in dissolved heavy metals in the Keritis river, Chania, Greece
General
Agrochemicals, geochemical structure and industrial wastes create a potential source of heavy metal pollution in the aquatic environment. The porpuse of this study was to investigate the seasonal variations in five heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and Cr) in the surface water of the Keritis river, one...
The degradation of phenol in water solution by TiO2 photocatalysis in a helical reactor
General
Heterogeneous photocatalysis is an advanced oxidation process (AOP) which has been widely studied by numerous researchers in the world and is used to degrade or remove a wide range of pollutants in water and air. The photocatalytic oxidation and mineralization of phenol in aqueous catalyst...
Modelling and simulation of a catchment in order to evaluate water resources
General
It is difficult for decision-makers to evaluate the impact of their territorial policies. Aspects to be considered in this evaluation include those relating to humans, environment protection and industry development. Two reasons explain the difficulty: decision-makers cannot specialise in all...
Treatment of the effluent from a kraft bleach plant with white rot fungi Pleurotus sajor caju and pleurotus ostreatus
General
The final effluents from pulp and paper industry, even after biological treatment, often contain a plethora of unwanted by-products, which confer them colour and toxic characteristics. The aim of this work was to promote degradation of organic matter and remove colour by contacting fungi Pleurotus...
Do the maxima of air pollutants coincide with the incedence of childhood asthma in Athens, Greece?
General
In the present study an assessment of the influence of the ambient air pollution on the incidence of the Childhood Asthma Admissions (CAA) is attempted by using cross spectrum analysis. The medical data concern the hospital registries of the three main Children’s Hospitals of Athens for the 14-year...
Assessment of clustering algorithms in discriminating eutrophic levels in coastal waters
General
Cluster analysis has been used widely as a tool for assessing eutrophic trends in coastal waters. The efficiency of clustering in discriminating between oligotrophic, mesotrophic and eutropic sites, depends on the variables used, the distance measure and the clustering algorithm applied. In the...
Modeling the impact of water withdrawal schemes on the transport of pesticides in the Kouris dam (Cyprus)
General
As part of an effort to understand the water quality dynamics in the Kouris Dam and the impact of possible management strategies, the present study assessed the transport process of atrazine in this reservoir and the effects of bottom and surface withdrawal schemes. The 2- D laterally averaged CE...
Chemical kinetics of hydrogen sulfide selective oxidation in aqueous iron chelates solutions
General
The present work concerns the investigation of the chemical kinetics of H2S selective oxidation into elemental sulfur, by gas absorption and chemical reaction in Fe3+·(ΝΤΑ) aqueous solutions. By using initial reactivity data, priority is given to the study of intrinsic kinetics i.e. to avoid...
Mercury detoxification using genetic engineered Nicotiana tabacum
General
Phytoremediation is a low cost alternative solution to soil contamination compared with traditional removal and/or disposal techniques. One of the phytoremediation technologies is the phytovolatilization, whereby the contaminant is not primarily accumulated in above-ground tissues, but is instead...
Drops for crops: modelling crop water productivity on a global scale
General
There is an emerging need to support water and food policy and decision making at the global and national levels. A systematic tool that is capable of analyzing water-food relationships with high spatial resolutions would be very useful. A GEPIC model has recently been developed by integrating a...
Seasonal changes in physico-chemical parameters and nutrient load of river sediments in Ibadan City, Nigeria
General
Seasonal variations in ecological parameters exert a profound effect on the distribution and population density of both animal and plant species (Odum, 1971). The productivity in terms of planktonic biomass in freshwater bodies is regulated by various physico-chemical factors viz., temperature...
Comparative study on the removal of acid violet by adsorption on various low cost adsorbents
General
The kinetic studies on the removal of Acid Violet-17 (AV) by adsorption on various adsorbents such as fly ash (FA), iron chromium oxide (ICO), lignite coal (LC), kapok fruit shell carbon (KC) and cashew nut shell carbon (CC) have been made and the results have been compared with that of commercial...
Hydrodiplomacy in practice: transboundary water management in northern Greece
General
The political dimension of water becomes highly important not only because of its scarcity, but also as a result of its sharing across national boundaries. Approximately 40% of the global population lives in tranboundary water basins, emphasizing the need for cooperation and harmonization of...
Analysis of Nitrate occurrence and distribution in Groundwater in the Gaza Strip using major ion chemistry by Baalousha H.
General
Nitrate in groundwater in the Gaza Strip, Palestine has become a serious problem in the last decade. As a result of extensive use of fertilizers, discharging of wastewater from treatment plants, and leakage of wastewater form cesspools, increased levels of nitrate up to 400 mg/l have been detected...
Trace element accumulation in tree rings of pinus halepensis during the last 140 years
General
The trace element analysis of Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill) as a function of tree age, was achieved by the tree-ring sampling method, in a polluted region of Attica, Greece. The elements quantitatively determined for the last 140 years by atomic spectrophotometry analysis were: Cu, Fe, Zn, Mn...
On the turbulent structure of the marine atmospheric boundary layer from CBLAST Nantucket measurements
General
In this work preliminary results on the characteristics of the turbulent structure of the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer (MABL) are presented. Measurements used here were conducted in the framework of the Coupled Boundary Layers Air-Sea Transfer Experiment in Low Wind (CBLAST-Low) project. A...