GJESM Publisher (Professor J. Nouri)Global Journal of Environmental Science and Management2383-35721320150701Deposition of carbon nanotubes in commonly used sample filter media1891981272910.7508/gjesm.2015.03.001ENB.D. SmithDepartment of Civil Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, Texas 78249, USAS.B.H. BachDepartment of Chemistry, University of Texas at San Antonio, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, Texas 78249, USAJournal Article20150327There is no single standard technique or methodology to characterize the size, structure, number, and chemical composition of airborne carbon nanotubes. Existing analytical instruments and analytical techniques for evaluating nanoparticle concentrations cannot simultaneously provide morphology, state of agglomeration, surface area, mass, size distribution and chemical composition data critical to making occupational health assessments. This research utilized scanning electron microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis to assess the morphology and mass of carbon nanotubes collected using various commercial sample filters. It illustrated carbon nanotube agglomeration, deposition and distribution in commonly used sample filter media. It also illustrated that a sufficient mass for carbon nanotube analysis by thermogravimetric analysis is uncommon under most current research and production uses of carbon nanotubes. Individual carbon nanotubes were found to readily agglomerate with diameters ranging from 1 – 63 µm. They were collected at the face of or within the filter. They were not evenly distributed across the face of the filters.GJESM Publisher (Professor J. Nouri)Global Journal of Environmental Science and Management2383-35721320150701Phytotoxicity of methylene blue to rice seedlings1992041235110.7508/gjesm.2015.03.002ENX.Z. YuThe Guangxi Key Laboratory of Theory and Technology for Environmental Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science & Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, People’s Republic of ChinaY.X. FengThe Guangxi Key Laboratory of Theory and Technology for Environmental Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science & Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, People’s Republic of ChinaD.M. YueThe Guangxi Key Laboratory of Theory and Technology for Environmental Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science & Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, People’s Republic of ChinaJournal Article20150207Methylene blue is widely used in various industrial branches. Due to insufficient treatment, its occurrence in wastewater is frequently detected, which may result in serious environment problems to aquatic organisms. Hydroponic experiments were conducted with rice seedlings (<em>Oryza sativa</em> L. cv. XZX 45) exposed to methylene blue to determine the effective concentration using relative growth rate and water use efficiency as response endpoints. Results showed that acute toxicity of methylene blue to rice seedlings was evident. Although a linear decrease in relative growth rate and water use efficiency was observed in rice seedlings with increasing methylene blue concentrations, relative growth rate of rice seedlings was more sensitive to change of methylene blue than water use efficiency. Using non-linear regression, EC-48 h values for 10%, 20% and 50% inhibition of the relative growth rate were estimated to be 1.54, 3.22 and 10.13 mg MB/L for rice seedlings exposed to methylene blue, respectively, while smaller EC were obtained for 96 h exposure. In conclusion, the toxic response of young rice seedlings to methylene blue is obvious and inhibitory effects are highly dependent on response endpoints and the duration of exposure period.GJESM Publisher (Professor J. Nouri)Global Journal of Environmental Science and Management2383-35721320150701Comparative potential of black tea leaves waste to granular activated carbon in adsorption of endocrine disrupting compounds from aqueous solution2052141239610.7508/gjesm.2015.03.003ENA.O. IfelebueguDepartment of Geography, Environment and Society, Coventry University, Coventry CV1 5FB, UKJ. E. UkpeborLancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ UKC. C. ObidiegwuDepartment of Geography, Environment and Society, Coventry University, Coventry CV1 5FB, UKB. C. KwofiDepartment of Geography, Environment and Society, Coventry University, Coventry CV1 5FB, UKJournal Article20150305The adsorption properties and mechanics of selected endocrine disrupting compounds; 17 β-estradiol, 17 α – ethinylestradiol and bisphenol A on locally available black tea leaves waste and granular activated carbon were investigated. The results obtained indicated that the kinetics of adsorption were pH, adsorbent dose, contact time and temperature dependent with equilibrium being reached at 20 to 40 minutes for tea leaves waste and 40 to 60 minutes for granular activated compound. Maximum adsorption capacities of 3.46, 2.44 and 18.35 mg/g were achieved for tea leaves waste compared to granular activated compound capacities of 4.01, 2.97 and 16.26 mg/g for 17 β- estradiol, 17 α-ethinylestradiol and bisphenol A respectively. Tea leaves waste adsorption followed pseudo-first order kinetics while granular activated compound fitted better to the pseudo-second order kinetic model. The experimental isotherm data for both tea leaves waste and granular activated compound showed a good fit to the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models with the Langmuir model showing the best fit. The thermodynamic and kinetic data for the adsorption indicated that the adsorption process for tea leaves waste was predominantly by physical adsorption while the granular activated compound adsorption was more chemical in nature. The results have demonstrated the potential of waste tea leaves for the adsorptive removal of endocrine disrupting compounds from water.GJESM Publisher (Professor J. Nouri)Global Journal of Environmental Science and Management2383-35721320150701Effect of the chemical nature of fixed-bed reactor support materials on bioreactor performance and biomass accumulation2152241272610.7508/gjesm.2015.03.004ENB. SenINRA, UR0050, Laboratoire de Biotechnologie de l'Environnement, Avenue des Etangs, Narbonne, F-11100, FranceAmity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Haryana, Gurgaon, 122413, India0000-0002-6712-6244M. TorrijosINRA, UR0050, Laboratoire de Biotechnologie de l'Environnement, Avenue des Etangs, Narbonne, F-11100, FranceP. SousbieINRA, UR0050, Laboratoire de Biotechnologie de l'Environnement, Avenue des Etangs, Narbonne, F-11100, France.J. P. SteyerINRA, UR0050, Laboratoire de Biotechnologie de l'Environnement, Avenue des Etangs, Narbonne, F-11100, FranceJournal Article20150310This study investigated the effect, on reactor performance and biomass retention inside the bed, of the material used to make the supports of anaerobic fixed-bed reactors. Three inert supports of similar shape but made of three different materials polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, high-density polyethylene were manufactured and used. All three supports had the same specific surface area but different relative densities. Three identical 10 L lab-scale upflow anaerobic fixed-bed reactors were filled (80% of the working volume) each respectively with polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene and polyethylene support, and fed with vinasse (44 g total COD/L) for 140 days at 35 °C. The organic loading rates were increased from 0.5 g/L.d to the maximum acceptable by each reactor. Fairly similar maximum organic loading rates were reached for each type of support, with values above 20 g of COD/L.d and more than 80 % soluble chemical oxygen demand removal efficiency. A very large amount of biomass was entrapped and attached in all the supports and represented more than 95% of the total biomass inside the reactors. In terms of performance and biomass accumulation, this study demonstrated quite similar behavior for anaerobic fixed-bed reactors with supports made of different materials, which suggests that the nature of the material used to make the supports has no major influence. The chemical nature of the support material clearly has negligible effect and thus the size, shape, and porosity of the support must be more influential.GJESM Publisher (Professor J. Nouri)Global Journal of Environmental Science and Management2383-35721320150701Priming of prosopis cineraria (L.) druce and acacia tortilis (forssk) seeds with fulvic acid extracted from compost to improve germination and seedling vigor2252321230810.7508/gjesm.2015.03.005ENS. GillInternational Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), Dubai, P.O. Box 14660, United Arab EmiratesA. Al-ShankitiInternational Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), Dubai, P.O. Box 14660, United Arab EmiratesJournal Article20150205Composting of waste plant materials and its use in agriculture and landscape sites is an environmental friendly way of reducing waste material and conserving the environment. In this perspectives a survey has been performed at the Dubai based International Center for Biosaline Agriculture to compost the plants based waste material (lawn cuttings-grass) to compost. The material was inoculated with a consortium of microbes leading to form stable and mature compost with high organic matter (38%). In order to conduct seed germination tests, Fulvic acid was extracted from the compost. A pot experiment was conducted over a period of 30 days in the green house to study the effect of Fulvic acid on the seed germination, and plant growth of <em>Prosopis cineraria</em> (L.) Druce (Ghaff) and <em>Acacia tortilis </em>(Forssk.) Hayne. Seeds of both trees were treated with Fulvic acid at 0.5% and 1% and water treatment was used as control. Generally seed germination and biomass were increased at both rates of fulvic acid. However, a pronounced increase was found in seed germination when fulvic acid was used at 1.0% (<em>Prosopis cineraria</em> 27%; <em>Acacia tortilis</em> 20% increase over control). Similarly biomass (shoot and root) of <em>A. tortilis</em> and <em>P. cineraria</em> was increase 34% and 94% respectively.GJESM Publisher (Professor J. Nouri)Global Journal of Environmental Science and Management2383-35721320150701Equilibrium and kinetic study on chromium (VI) removal from simulated waste water using gooseberry seeds as a novel biosorbent2332441239510.7508/gjesm.2015.03.006ENJ. AravindDepartment of Biotechnology, Kumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore 641049, India0000-0001-9699-2312G. Sudha;Department of Biotechnology, Kumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore 641049, IndiaP. KanmaniDepartment of Biotechnology, Kumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore 641049, IndiaA.J. DevisriDepartment of Biotechnology, Kumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore 641049, IndiaS. DhivyalakshmiDepartment of Biotechnology, Kumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore 641049, IndiaM. RaghavprasadDepartment of Biotechnology, Kumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore 641049, IndiaJournal Article20150212Gooseberry seed (<em>Phyllanthus acidus</em>) was used as an adsorbent to determine its feasibility for the removal of Cr(VI). Various parameters such as pH, temperature, contact time, initial metal concentration and adsorbent dosage were investigated to determine the biosorption performance. Equilibrium was attained within 60 minutes and maximum removal of 96% was achieved under the optimum conditions at pH 2. The adsorption phenomenon demonstrated here was monolayer represented by Langmuir isotherm with R<sup>2</sup> value of 0.992 and the Langmuir constants k and q<sub>0</sub> was found to be 0.0061 (L/mg) and 19.23 (mg/g). The adsorption system obeyed Pseudo second order kinetics with R<sup>2</sup> value of 0.999. The results of the present study indicated that gooseberry seed powder can be employed as adsorbent for the effective removal of hexavalent chromium economically.GJESM Publisher (Professor J. Nouri)Global Journal of Environmental Science and Management2383-35721320150701Biochar impact on physiological and biochemical attributes of Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) in nickel contaminated soil2452541230710.7508/gjesm.2015.03.007ENU. YounisInstitute of Pure and Applied Biology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, PakistanM. AtharCalifornia Department of Food and Agriculture, 3288 Meadowview Road, Sacramento, California, USAS.A. MalikInstitute of Pure and Applied Biology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, PakistanM.H. Raza ShahInstitute of Pure and Applied Biology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, PakistanS. MahmoodInstitute of Pure and Applied Biology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, PakistanJournal Article20141216Disastrous effect of nickel on spinach was discussed by number of authors but the effect of amendments like biochar with nickel on <em>Spinacea oleracea</em>L. is not still discussed by any author of the world because biochar was used as soil amendments which play a vital role in reducing mobilization and uptake of nickel by spinach plants. As nickel contaminated plants are very harmful for the consumption by living organisms. Nickel can be gathered in agronomic soils by anthropogenic actions such as Ni-Cd batteries. In this study, the growth, physiological, photosynthetic and biochemical responses of <em>Spinacia oleracea </em>grown in Ni-spiked soil (0, 25, 50 and 100 mg Ni/Kg soil) at three levels of cotton-sticks-derived biochar “CSB” (0, 3 and 5 %) were evaluated. The results exposed significant decrease in growth, photosynthetic, physiological, and biochemical traits of <em>S. oleracea</em> when grown in Ni-polluted soil<em>.</em> However, this decrease was less pronounced in CSB amended soil. A steady rise in the MDA (0.66 µg/g to 2.08 µg/g), ascorbic acid (1.24 mg/g to 1.57 mg/g)and sugar concentrations (1.73 mg/g to 2.16 mg/g)was observed with increased concentration of Ni. The increasing percentages of CSB from 3 % to 5 % decreased Ni concentrations in root and shoot of experimental plant. Higher production of chlorophyll, amino acids and protein with CSB amendment looked like alleviation in Ni toxicity. Therefore, it is concluded that, Ni toxicity and availability to the plants can be reduced by CSB amendments.GJESM Publisher (Professor J. Nouri)Global Journal of Environmental Science and Management2383-35721320150701Sub-critical water as a green solvent for production of valuable materials from agricultural waste biomass: A review of recent work2552641239310.7508/gjesm.2015.03.008ENA. ShituDepartment of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, MalaysiaS. IzharDepartment of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, MalaysiaT. M. TahirDepartment of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Federal University Dutse, Jigawa State, NigeriaJournal Article20150218Agricultural waste biomass generated from agricultural production and food processing industry are abundant, such as durian peel, mango peel, corn straw, rice bran, corn shell, potato peel and many more. Due to low commercial value, these wastes are disposed in landfill, which if not managed properly may cause environmental problems. Currently, environmental laws and regulations pertaining to the pollution from agricultural waste streams by regulatory agencies are stringent and hence the application of toxic solvents during processing has become public concern. Recent development in valuable materials extraction from the decomposition of agricultural waste by sub-critical water treatment from the published literature was review. Physico-chemical characteristic (reaction temperature, reaction time and solid to liquid ratio) of the sub-critical water affecting its yield were also reviewed. The utilization of biomass residue from agriculture, forest wood production and from food and feed processing industry may be an important alternative renewable energy supply. The paper also presents future research on sub-critical water.