Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering

In this study, extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) producing strain was isolated from municipal wastewater sludge (MWWS). Growth profile and the EPS production by Cloacibacterium normanense using wastewater sludge as raw material in shake flask fermentation for 96 h were investigated. The highest concentration of S-EPS (13.0 ± 0.8 g/L) and C-EPS (0.3 ± 0.1 g/L) were attained at 48 h of fermentation. S-EPS revealed higher flocculation activity (94.2%) and dewaterability (59.9%) than other types of EPS in kaolin suspension. The dewaterability of MWWS with 2 g suspended solids (SS)/L was improved by 37.6% using 0.02 ± 0.01 g/L of S-EPS and 600 mg/L of Al2(SO4)3. The study showed a promising approach of new isolated strain to produce high concentration EPS in sludge with high flocculation activity as well as good settling.

Growth rate measurement of Scirpus grossus plant is conducted to know the growth characteristic. By knowing the growth characteristic of plant, it can be decided the exact time of the fastest growth of plant. Growth rate of plant can be measured by physical parameters such as stem height, number of leafes, leafes lenght, root lenght, wet weight and dry weight of plant. The aim of this study is to observe the growth characteristics of Scirpus grossus plant, which is need to apply the plant in wastewater treatment using reedbed system. By knowing the growth characteristics of plant, will be choose the exact age the plant that is match to be used in the experiment. Besides, it also can be used as a compartment physical indicator that shows the abnormality of Scirpus grossus plant which is exposing to wastewater. The steps conducted in this study are propagation plant to get second generation of plant which is observed its growth rate on stem height, leafes height, and number of leafes, root height, wet weight and dry weight.

Environmental impact assessments (EIAs) apply criteria to minimize the negative effects of projects on the environment. However, the EIA process has been criticized by European environmental organizations and governments.One common criticism deals with the fact that the responsibility for creating the environmental impact statement (EIS) normally belongs to the project’s promoter; another is the lack of rigor in the criteria for accepting or rejecting these studies. In 1994, the European Commission developed a procedure to evaluate the quality of such studies. In the present research, our objectives were to assess the quality of a sample of EIS documents created from 1990 to 2002 by the Spanish Autonomous Administration of Valencia and to assess the efficiency of the European Review Checklist method. We statistically evaluated 40 EISs, then undertook a qualitative appraisal of the documents. Next, we applied the European Review Checklist to the sample documents to appraise their quality. Based on the results of this analysis, we proposed and applied a new evaluation methodology. We assessed the overall quality by consecutive application of the three methodologies. We report important advantages of using the improved appraisal methodology and discuss the results. We found that combining qualitative analysis with a checklist that supports a more rigorous appraisal methodology improved the reliability of assessments of EIS quality, and that the technical level of the EISs should be improved, along with the accuracy and objectivity of the review tools. Based on these results, we recommend that formal measures be implemented to control and monitor the quality of EISs.

In this study, 12 specimens with three different lateral reinforcement ratios (ρ=0.022, 0.012 and 0.007) and four RG replacement ratios (0%, 30%, 50% and 100%) were prepared and tested under pure axial load in order to investigate the influence of recycled coarse aggregate (RG) and lateral tie reinforcement ratio (ρ) on the compressive behavior of a confined recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) column. The experimental data obtained from the tests are reported and compared with the predicted values obtained from the widely accepted Mander’s confined concrete model developed for conventional confined concrete to assess applicability of the model to recycled aggregate concrete. The results showed that the effect of RG on the compressive behavior of the RAC was negligible at low stress level, and it began to appear as the load increased at load levels above about 35% of Peak, regardless of ρ. The slope of the normalized compressive strength (f’cc/f’co) and normalized corresponding strain (εcc/εco) against ρ showed that the lateral reinforcement exerted the greatest effect on the stress and strain enhancement in the RG-30 series, and the smallest effect in the RG-50 series. The ratios of experimental values to those predicted from Mander’s model, ’cc_exp/f’cc_model and εcc_exp/εcc_model, showed that the model tended to give unconservative strength (f’cc) and strain (εcc) values for the RAC columns.

Near half of the world population lives in cities. For many years big cities have faced the difficulties caused by junctions. Junctions and congestion are the cause of many other problems, like air pollution, time waste, delays, increased average trip time, decreased average cruise speed, increased fuel consumption and many others. These important issues cost a lot to governments in terms of both time and money. Cities suffer from the well-known problem of fixed-time planning for traffic signals at intersections. In this paper the authors went through these problems and discussed about the difficulties of fixed-time plan traffic lights and their solutions. Adaptive traffic control systems are one of the solutions which are exactly opposite to fixed-time plans. Four different adaptive traffic control systems will be discussed. Each of them has unique characteristics that make it worthy to compare. The general architecture of these systems is based on a similar concept, but there is a great number of general and detailed differences that makes them interesting to compare. By making a deep comparison between these systems, which is one of the outputs of this research, governments and the authorities in charge can have an appropriate reference to look for their benefits and choose an adaptive traffic control system to apply to their networks.

Chromium (VI) oxide (CrO3) has gained extensive attention due to its versatile physical and chemical properties. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the impact of biofield treatment on physical, thermal and structural properties of CrO3 powder. In this study, CrO3 powder was divided into two parts i.e. control and treatment. Control part was remained as untreated and treated part received Mr. Trivedi’s biofield treatment. Subsequently, control and treated CrO3 samples were characterized using Thermo gravimetric analysis-differential thermal analysis (TGA-DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). DTA showed that the melting point of treated CrO3 was increased up to 212.65°C (T3) as compared to 201.43°C in control. In addition, the latent heat of fusion was reduced upto 51.70% in treated CrO3 as compared to control. TGA showed the maximum thermal decomposition temperature (Tmax) around 330°C, was increased upto 340.12°C in treated CrO3 sample. XRD data revealed that lattice parameter and unit cell volume of treated CrO3 samples were reduced by 0.25 and 0.92% respectively, whereas density was increased by 0.93% in treated CrO3 sample as compared to control. The crystallite size of treated CrO3 was increased from 46.77 nm (control) to 60.13 nm after biofield treatment. FT-IR spectra showed the absorption peaks corresponding to Cr=O at 906 and 944 cm-1 in control, which were increased to 919 and 949 cm¬1 in treated CrO3 after biofield treatment. Overall, these results suggest that biofield treatment has substantially altered the physical, thermal and structural properties of CrO3 powder.

The current air pollution increase prompts scientists to look for new candidates for highway alignment that would eventually result in reduced vehicle fuel consumption. In the current study, an empirical and computational method has been proposed which needs to be implemented simultaneously with the alignment optimization process so that different alignment candidates could be assessed in terms of fuel consumption of vehicles. The results obtained from the final equation indicate the total cost of CO2 clean-up required for each vehicle in each highway candidate and these costs could be compared to each other to determine the best candidate of highway.

Carbon footprint is a term used to describe the total amount of carbon dioxide and other green house gas (GHG) emissions for which an individual/process/organization/activity is responsible. The challenge of global climate change has motivated state transportation agencies involved in the construction and maintenance of transportation infrastructure to investigate strategies that reduce the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the construction and rehabilitation of highway infrastructure. The road sector is coming under pressure to review current practice and the potential to reduce carbon emissions. To reduce GHG emission, different approaches are adopted for road construction and maintenance such as Warm Mix and Cold Mix Technologies. Warm mix asphalt is produced at temperatures 20 to 40ºC lower than hot mix asphalt (HMA). Cold Mix Asphalt is produced and paved at ambient temperature using bitumen emulsion. The immediate benefit of producing and placing asphalt mixes at a lower temperature is the reduction in energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, fumes, and odours generated at the plant and the paving site. The life cycle approach has been accepted as a robust method of measuring carbon footprint. Tools and data-sets have been developed to facilitate the measurement. Among them is the Calculator for Harmonised Assessment and Normalisation of Greenhouse-gas Emissions for Roads (CHANGER) developed by International Road Federation (IRF). This paper outlines the common methodology of road carbon foot printing, application of results in sustainable construction assessment schemes and resources available to undertake such analysis. Case studies of using CHANGER are provided in India for different technologies. The CO2 output of these projects is compared.

Water treatment plant is collectively the industrial scale process that makes water more potable or useful by the use of some processes according to the tests and experiments carried out on the water. This project involves the use of surface water. Surface water could be regarded as all inland water permanently or intermittently occurring on the earth surface. The two sources of surface water used are ‘Elemi’ and ‘Ureje’ River. The objectives of this project is to find out the quality of water based on BOD, COD, DO, pH and other water quality parameters and to provide information for engineers to execute the project. The process involved in making these water sample potable are; pretreatment, coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration and disinfection. In comparing the quality of water from the Elemi River and Ureje River, it can be concluded that Elemi River is better to use for domestic purposes than Ureje River.

This paper discusses how the fate of nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon in wastewater and sludge management affects the environmental performance as it may easily be shifted from a resource to a problem and vice versa. The paper explores the impact of some variations in wastewater treatment technology with resulting shifts of elements between forms and media. To this end, life cycle assessment (LCA) results were calculated for a model municipal wastewater treatment plant with primary settling and secondary treatment, and anaerobic digestion of mixed primary and secondary sludge and subsequent use of the sludge in agriculture (baseline scenario). The effect of changing plant operation to increase nitrogen removal and to add also phosphorus control was studied, using data from mass and energy balances. Further, the paper shows that how data for many flows containing nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon is selected in LCA within ranges found in literature may have a large influence on the results. This effect was studied by varying the flows in the baseline scenario between high and low values found in literature. It was shown that LCA results are considerably affected by both considered operational changes and by assumptions on the magnitudes of some flows. The paper argues that more careful consideration of flows of these elements should be made in the operation of wastewater treatment plants and in selection of data in life cycle assessment (LCA) studies.

Integrated applications using Augmented Reality (AR) and Building Information Modeling (BIM), enhanced by the capacity of handheld devices, are becoming prevalent in the building industry; however their use in learning environments has not been fully explored. Recent research shows that interaction with computer-based tools can enhance learning and collaboration skills. Augmented Reality–the ability to enhance real world observations with computer-generated information– is bringing new dimensions to learning. Combining AR with computer modeling applications and other simulation technologies promises to guide the next generation of computer-based learning environments. This paper describes a learning environment, Ecocon, designed by the integration of AR, BIM, visual simulations, and interactive lessons to support collaborative and interdisciplinary learning for the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) fields. Building on theoretical perspectives and advances in the understanding of learning processes, cognition, and development, we describe the pedagogical principles for the design of a prototype tool to enhance AEC interdisciplinary education. The main features of the tool include: 1) using real-world or field
contexts for delivering context-aware information and lessons, 2) enriching AR visualization with “intelligence,” so augmented information is responsive to a user’s location, and 3) providing data visualization to support learning.

Many Ghanaian communities are faced with issues of solid waste disposal and health risks that undermine efforts towards ensuring a clean environment and good health for all. This research focuses on solid waste disposal and health issues among residents in the Sawaba community. Questionnaires, observation and unstructured interview guide were the methods employed for data collection using a sample size of 150 respondents. The systematic sampling technique was used to arrive at the sample size for the selected respondents. Percentages, frequency charts, photographs (Figures), cross tabulation and chi-square tests, with the aid of Statistical Product for Service Solution (SPSS) were the tools used to analyze the data. The shared experiences from residents showed that, issues of improper solid waste disposal have posed threat to health of residents. The cross tabulation and the chi-square tests on diseases contraction and distance of final disposal sites from the houses showed that, residents living closer to open dump sites have contracted related diseases such as malaria, skin infections among others as result of improper refuse disposal. The Environmental Health and Health department, and residents in the community are concerned and hoping a lasting strategy would be found to ensure a clean environment and good health for all. As result it was recommended that, there should be proper siting of final disposal sites to avoid pest and diseases proliferation, provision of more refuse containers and household waste bins for residents among others.

Electricity generation in microbial fuel cell (MFC) using reaeration mechanism to facilitate cathodic oxygen reduction is sustainable and economical. This study examined the effects of operational parameters of electrical load (Rext), organic load and cathode area (Sa) on MFC performance under reaeration rate (K2) of 0.5-1.5 d-1in cathode chamber. Two MFCs, consisting of MFC-A (with Rext10 Ω) and MFC-B (Rext1000 Ω), were operated in parallel and continuously fed with influent chemical oxygen demand (CODin) 324–561 mg/L to anode chamber; and in each MFC the Sa covering 184, 553, 992 and 1290 cm2 was tested. Results indicated that in MFC-A the current production increased with aqueous COD in anode chamber, in which the relationship between current and aqueous COD can be modeled with Monod kinetics. The estimated kinetic constants of maximum current Imax is 3 mA, and half-saturation constant of current Ks is 310 mg/L. The lowest dissolved oxygen (DO) of 1.9 mg/L occurred at highest CODin of 561 mg/L. In MFC-B, constant current of 0.4 mA and DO at 3.2-3.7 mg/L were maintained for all CODin. The Sa had insignificant influence on electricity generation in both MFCs. This study demonstrated the importance of electrical load, organic load, and their interactions among them in designing reaeration-assisted MFC for organic waste treatment.

Bed load transport is an important process in maintaining balance and stabilising channel geometry for restoring the form and function of river ecosystems. The amount and spatial distribution of bed load sediment particles contribute significantly to riverbed level changes. The prediction of bed load sediment transport evolution is an important aspect of catchment planning. This work can be effectively supported through numerical simulation by detailed analyses of flow components and sediment transport inside watersheds. The purpose of this research is to develop a twodimensional depth-averaged numerical model for flow and sediment transport using eight bed load transport equations to predict the time variation of bed deformation in steep slope, torrents and mountain river areas. The two-dimensional depth-averaged shallow water equations, along with the sediment continuity equation, are solved by using the Marker and Cell explicit scheme. Applying the eight bed load transport formulas to both ADM and MLSHM experimental flumes. After we will choice to the most appropriate formula to simulate the bed load transport rate and bed elevation change in the Yang yang mountains river in South Korea. The differences found between the measured experimental data and the numerical simulation for both flow and the time variations of bed deformation showed that the numerical model used in this research is useful for the analysis and prediction of riverbed level variations.