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Geochemical
Signatures of Large Livestock Operations on Surface Water
- - Mark
P Oemke and Murray C Borrello
Large
livestock operations are becoming the dominant form of livestock
operations globally. Their impact on surface water quality
occurs in the form of increased nutrient loading. The claim
has been made that it is difficult to separate the impacts
of these facilities on surface water from general, non-point
source impacts, especially in agricultural watersheds over
which livestock manure is widely applied. The study investigated
two streams and measured different geochemical and biochemical
parameters upstream and downstream of two large livestock
facilities in two separate watersheds. Nutrient loading attributable
to the large livestock facilities resulted in significantly
higher (p < 0.05) nutrient concentrations (particularly
NH3-N and soluble reactive phosphorus - PO4)
downstream as compared with upstream sampling sites. Several
simple chemical analysis and assessment tools proved useful
in uniquely identifying large livestock facility impacts to
surface water. In particular, we found that Soluble Reactive
Phosphorus (SRP) and Ammonia Nitrogen (NH3-N) were
directly and uniquely linked to these large livestock impacts.
This is the first time that direct links between these two
parameters have been used to identify livestock-specific impacts.
These parameters may be strong indicators of nutrient inputs
from large livestock facilities, separate and distinct from
other agricultural sources.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Phytoremediation
Potential of Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms
- - Upma Narang , Renu Bhardwaj,
S K Garg and A K Thukral
Heavy
metals are serious environmental pollutants especially in
areas of high anthropogenic pressure. Unlike organicals that
can be mineralized, heavy metals must be either physically
removed or converted to a biologically inert form. Phytoremediationthe
use of plants for pollution abatementoffers an innovative
green clean technology. Aquatic Macrophyte-based water Treatment
Systems (AMS) offer a low-energy consuming and low-cost method
for removing the contaminants from polluted waters. Eichhornia
crassipes (Mart.) Solms is well-known for its amazing
ability to absorb and concentrate heavy metals such as cadmium,
copper, lead, mercury, europium etc. in aquatic systems. The
present paper reviews the phytoremediating potential of E.
crassipes.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Effect
of Landfill Leachate on Groundwater Quality
- - Mohd
Kamil Yusoff and Ibrahim A Al-Hawas
A
study was conducted in order to evaluate the effect of leachate
from a landfill in the Seri Petaling. The objective of this
study was to determine the effect of the landfill leachate
on the groundwater reservoir and the potential uses of the
groundwater at the landfill site. Various parameters measured
include in-situ parameters (pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature
and conductivity), inorganic macrocomponent and heavy metals.
This landfill was a mature landfill whereby the pH was around
7.3 to 7.5 for well 1 and 5.7 to 6.1 for well 2. Overall,
the concentrations of groundwater's pollutants in sampling
well 1 were higher than sampling well 2 due to the distance
from landfill site. At well 1, the concentration of the pollutants
was increasing. Ammonium-nitrogen (NH3-N) concentration
increased from 1.2 mg/L in August 1998 to 208 mg/L in January
1999. Nickel concentration was higher at well 1. Iron and
copper concentrations in well 2 still exceed the limits of
Raw Water Quality Criteria. Well 2 contains a higher concentration
of sulfate, while no sulfate was detected in well 1. The experimental
results indicate that the underground water quality was greatly
affected by the leachate, since most of the parameters examined
showed increased concentration at well 1.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
An
Expert System for Wastewater Treatment Plant
- - Nur
Ilyana Mohd. Zukki and Latifah Abd Manaf
The
paper presents the development of an expert system to assist
in the operation of wastewater treatment plant. The knowledge-based
system consists of a rule-based expert system for the diagnosis
of activated sludge process and subsequent identification
of remedial control actions. The activated sludge is a commonly
used method for treating wastewater. Due to the biological
nature of the process it is characterized by a poorly understood
basic biological behavior mechanism, lack of reliable instrument
and by control goals that are not always clearly stated. It
is generally recognized that an expert system can cope with
many of the common problems related to the operation and control
of the activated sludge process. In this work, an expert system
is developed which supervises the control system of the whole
treatment plant. The knowledge acquisition to develop this
expert system involved an exhaustive literature review on
wastewater treatment plant operation and interviews with experienced
plant operators. The development tool for this system is Kappa-PC.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Biodiversity
of Methanogenic Archaea in the Various Ecosystems of the Environment:
A Review
- - A
Thulasi, M Chandrasekharaiah and K T Sampath
Methanogens
play an important role in global climate because they are
the largest natural sources of atmospheric methanea heat-trapping
greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. The
methanogens and their relatives are phenotypically heterogenous
comprising of extreme halophiles, sulphate reducing species
(genus Archaeoglobus) and two types of thermopiles (the genus
Thermoplasma and the Thermococcus - Pyrococcus group). The
name proposed for this group of methanogens is Euryarchaeota.
Methanogens have been isolated from faeces of rat, horse,
pig, monkey, baboon, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, giant panda,
goose, turkey and chicken. The chicken and turkey harbour
species of Methanogenium. In sheep, Methanobrevibacter strains
- SM9, M6 and NT7, Methanobrevibacter thaueri, Methanobrevibacter
ruminantium, Methanobrevibacter acididurans, and Methanosphaera
stadtmanae have been identified. In feedlot cattle, it
was found that the methanogens had 89.8%-100% similarity to
cultivated methanogens belonging to the orders Methanobacteriales,
Methanomicrobiales, and Methanosarcinales, and some were 74.1%-75.8%
similar to Thermoplasma volcanium and Thermoplasma
acidophilum.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
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