Topic Review
Organic Fouling
Organic fouling in the forward osmosis process is complex and influenced by different parameters in the forward osmosis such as type of feed and draw solution, operating conditions and type of membrane. In this article, we reviewed organic fouling in the forward osmosis focussing on wastewater treatment applications. Model organic foulants used in the forward osmosis literature were highlighted, followed by the characteristics of organic foulants when real wastewater are used as feed solutions. The present study evaluated various physical and chemical cleaning protocols for organic fouled membrane and the efficiency of cleaning methods for the removal of organic fouling in the forward osmosis process. The study made recommendations on future cleaning technologies such as Ultraviolet and Ultrasound. Generally, a combination of physical and chemical cleaning is the best for restoring the water flux in the FO process.
  • 1.7K
  • 27 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Tools for Shoreline Change Analysis and Detection
A shoreline is the point of the physical border between land and water. While this definition looks simple, it is indeed challenging in its practical application. The position of the shoreline changes through time due to cross-shore and alongshore sediment movement in the littoral zone, and through changes in water levels. Shoreline change analysis and detection studies have progressed from using simple observation (description) from historical maps and topographical maps to employing high-resolution multi-temporal satellite images with remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) approaches for a better understanding of the subject.
  • 1.7K
  • 05 May 2022
Topic Review
Biochemical Oxygen Demand
Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is the amount of dissolved oxygen (DO) needed (i.e. demanded) by aerobic biological organisms to break down organic material present in a given water sample at certain temperature over a specific time period. The BOD value is most commonly expressed in milligrams of oxygen consumed per litre of sample during 5 days of incubation at 20 °C and is often used as a surrogate of the degree of organic pollution of water. BOD reduction is used as a gauge of the effectiveness of wastewater treatment plants. BOD of wastewater effluents is used to indicate the short-term impact on the oxygen levels of the receiving water. BOD analysis is similar in function to chemical oxygen demand (COD) analysis, in that both measure the amount of organic compounds in water. However, COD analysis is less specific, since it measures everything that can be chemically oxidized, rather than just levels of biologically oxidized organic matter.
  • 1.7K
  • 18 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Membrane Fouling
Membrane-based separation has gained increased popularity over the past few decades, particularly reverse osmosis (RO). A major impediment to the improved performance of membrane separation processes, in general, is membrane fouling. Fouling has detrimental effects on the membrane’s performance and integrity, as the deposition and accumulation of foulants on its surface and/or within its pores leads to a decline in the permeate flux, deterioration of selectivity, and permeability, as well as a significantly reduced lifespan. Several factors influence the fouling-propensity of a membrane, such as surface morphology, roughness, hydrophobicity, and material of fabrication. Generally, fouling can be categorized into particulate, organic, inorganic, and biofouling. Efficient prediction techniques and diagnostics are integral for strategizing control, management, and mitigation interventions to minimize the damage of fouling occurrences in the membranes. To improve the antifouling characteristics of RO membranes, surface enhancements by different chemical and physical means have been extensively sought after. Moreover, research efforts have been directed towards synthesizing membranes using novel materials that would improve their antifouling performance. 
  • 1.7K
  • 18 May 2021
Topic Review
Multiple Attribute-based Decision-making Models
Sustainability of agricultural practices depends on economic, environmental, and social conditions. The Rajasthan state of India has arid climatic conditions where kharif crops are commonly grown. In this work, the four major criteria are considered such as the farm area, crop yield per unit area, the cost prices, and the market sales price. Merged analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and entropy techniques have been employed to give reasonable weight coefficients for the objective and subjective weights to each criterion. Multiple attribute-based decision-making models (MADM) have been developed using three proven techniques, namely the Exprom2, the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), and the VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I KompromisnoResenje (VIKOR). The crop Pennisetum glaucum emerged as the most productive kharif crop in the arid climatic conditions of Rajasthan, India under the given criteria. The sensitivity analysis of the three methods identifies the most significant criteria and validates that Pennisetum glaucum is the first ranked crop despite the interchange of the weights. The methodology used in this study may be applied across the globe to select appropriate crops for maximizing the profit, optimizing the natural resources, and promoting sustainable agricultural practices. This study may be used to enhance the agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) to make the agriculturalists self-sufficient and to help the state policymakers in making elective regional policies.
  • 1.7K
  • 05 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Climate Apocalypse
A climate apocalypse (also called a climate dystopia and a climate-induced collapse, among other names) is a hypothetical scenario involving the global collapse of human civilization and potential human extinction as either a direct or indirect result of anthropogenic climate change and ecological breakdown. Under a global catastrophe of this scale, some or all of the Earth may be rendered uninhabitable as a result of extreme temperatures, severe weather events, an inability to grow crops, and an altered composition of the Earth's atmosphere. Although there is consensus on the attribution of recent climate change to human activity, and concern about future tipping points and feedback loops, there is no consensus on the likelihood of climate-induced collapse.
  • 1.7K
  • 17 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Geoheritage
“Geoheritage” is a new term that assumes complete perception of Man for nature and the environment. As stated by McBriar “Geological-geomorphological heritage is the collection of geotopes, deposits, forms, and processes that comprise the geological history of each region, and the concept of preserving geological-geomorphological heritage is a cultural concept”.
  • 1.7K
  • 23 Sep 2021
Topic Review
List of Minerals N (Complete)
This list includes those recognised minerals beginning with the letter N. The International Mineralogical Association is the international group that recognises new minerals and new mineral names, however minerals discovered before 1959 did not go through the official naming procedure, although some minerals published previously have been either confirmed or discredited since that date. This list contains a mixture of mineral names that have been approved since 1959 and those mineral names believed to still refer to valid mineral species (these are called "grandfathered" species). The list is divided into groups: The data was exported from mindat.org on 29 April 2005; updated up to 'IMA2018'. The minerals are sorted by name, followed by the structural group (rruff.info/ima and ima-cnmnc by mineralienatlas.de, mainly) or chemical class (mindat.org and basics), the year of publication (if it's before of an IMA approval procedure), the IMA approval and the Nickel–Strunz code.
  • 1.7K
  • 10 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Recovery of Palladium from the Spent Automobile Catalysts
The spent automobile catalysts (SAC) is the major secondary source of palladium and the production of SAC is increasing rapidly over years. The price of palladium keeps rising over the years, which demonstrates its preciousness and urgent industrial demand. Recovering palladium from the spent automobile catalysts benefits a lot from economic and environmental protection aspects.  Hydrometallurgical methods such as chloride leaching with oxidants possess a high selectivity of palladium and low consumption of energy, and are cost-effective and flexible for different volume feeds compared with pyrometallurgical methods. The recovery ratios of palladium and other platinum-group metals should be the focus of competition since their prices have been rapidly increased over the years, and hence more efficient extractants with high selectivity of palladium even in the complexed leachate should be proposed in the future. 
  • 1.7K
  • 12 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Pollutant Dispersion
This entry reviews atmospheric processes affecting pollutant transport and diffusion over complex terrain, focusing in particular on the peculiarities of processes over mountains when compared to flat terrain. In fact, pollutant dispersion processes over complex terrain are much more complicated than over flat areas, as they are affected by atmospheric interactions with the orography at different spatial scales. In particular, atmospheric flows over complex terrain are characterized by a continuous and interacting range of scales, from synoptic forcing to mesoscale circulations and turbulence fluctuations. In complex terrain, the mechanical and thermal influence of the orography can modify the large-scale flow and produce smaller-scale motions which would not exist on flat terrain, thus enhancing the spatial and temporal variability of atmospheric processes relevant for pollutant dispersion.
  • 1.7K
  • 26 Oct 2020
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