AbstractThe disinfection of water containing microorganisms by exposure to pulsed-discharge plasma using a low-temperature gas-liquid hybrid discharge (HD) reactor was studied.The HD reactor consists of a plexiglas cylinder containing the liquid of high voltage electrode above liquid' s surface and grounded electrode submerged in the liquid. The HD could produce both arc discharges in gas and liquid phases. The high-energy plasma arc produces a pressure shock wave, which kills the targeted micro...
Autori: Gamal M. El-Aragi
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=25242

AbstractIn this paper the results of surface water treatment process for drinking purpose are presented, using the microfiltrationultrafiltration process. The experimental studies were carried out using a microfiltration-ultrafiltration pilot plant and raw water from Bega River, Timisoara as feed. To assess process performance, the water quality, e.g., turbidity, total coliforms and hardness parameters were determined for two different operating regimes subjected to filtration time. A good effic...
Autori: Camelia Podaru, Cristian Danielescu, Florica Manea, Georgeta Burtica, Ilie Vlaicu, Viorel Patroescu
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=25332

Abstract The paper makes qualitative and quantitative analyses of heavy metal contamination of surface waters in Iasi City. The examination of data acquisited from the specific sections of the rivers Bahlui (upstream section, Iasi water treatment plant, Holboca section, downstream section, Iasi water treatment station), Nicolina (quarterly data from the established monitoring system) was performed, based on data provided by the Environmental Protection Agency of Iasi District and Prut Water D...
Autori: Corneliu Horaicu, Florea Cornel Gabrian, Irina Grozavu, Catalin Constantin Calu, Monica Horaicu, Brindusa Robu
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=25546

Abstract As a result of the global climatic changes generated by the alteration of the environment through polution, the ecosystems' natural ressources are incontrollably distributed, generating unforseeable effects at the level of the subsequent evolution of the natural balance factors. One of the greatest challenges of the science concerned with environment protection, is that of real time monitoring of the biochemical constitution. The real time monitoring of a great number of biochemical ...
Autori: Andrada Pretorian, Bojin Dionezie, Gabriel Epure, Ion Savu, Lucia Mutihac, Mihaela Muresan, Nicoleta Petrea, Petrisor Zamora Iordache, Razvan Petre, Rodica Lungu, Vasile Somoghi
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=25583

Abstract Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are capable of learning the relationships between the dependent and predictor surface water quality variables and have a high ability to predict from the new data set. In this study, two different ANN methods, the feedforward network (FFN) and the cascadeforward network (CFN) were applied to predict two surface water quality variables such as chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) and fecal coliform (FC) using twelve other variables as an input to the models. Both me...
Autori: Hasan Merdun, Ozer Cinar
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=25623

Abstract The Jajrood River watershed is one of the main drinking water resources of Tehran, the capital city of Iran. In addition it provides many recreational usages. However, a variety of microbial pollutions is commonly perceived in the Jajrood River, among them a high concentration of coliform group bacteria that has caused strong concerns. In this article, different aspects of microbial pollution as well as the main microbial pollution sources in the region are discussed. Coliform group ...
Autori: Mahdi Jamshidi, Mahdi Maghrebi, Masoud Tajrishy
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=25627

AbstractA comparative study regarding the shape, dimension and bactericidal activity of the undoped and Ag-doped TiO2 nanocrystalswas achieved. In this way, two hydrothermal methods, classical hydrothermal and microwave-assisted hydrothermal, was usedfor nanoparticles synthesis. The obtained materials were investigated by X-ray diffraction, DRUV-VIS spectroscopy, BET andSEM/EDX analysis. Antibacterial activity of undoped and Ag-doped TiO2 materials was tested on real water from Bega River.The be...
Autori: Carmen Lazau, Corina Misca, Corina Orha, Cornelia Bandas, Sorin Olariu
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26034

AbstractThe reuse of a wastewater treatment system was investigated using intermittent media infiltration (IMI) to evaluate the fecalcoliform (FC) removal efficiency with natural zeolite containing clinoptilolite from the state of San Luis Potosí, Mexico and itszinc-modified form (Zeo-Zn). The municipal wastewater, which was from Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico, was treated for FC analysisfor four months. The physicochemical properties of zeolite were analyzed, and their behavior as filter media for ...
Autori: Sasirot Khamkure
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26212

AbstractKohonen Self-organizing map (KSOM) modeling have been applied increasingly for analysis, estimation and prediction ofseveral water quality processes, which are embedded with high complexity, dynamism and non-linearity. KSOM or unsupervisedneural networks were applied to microbial data (Escherichia coli, faecal streptococci, and total coliforms) from the effluent of atwo year data set (2008-2010) on two permeable (pervious) pavement systems used to treat storm water runoff contaminated wi...
Autori: Kiran Tota-Maharaj
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26226

AbstractThe inactivation of Escherichia coli was investigated with two types of underwater electrical discharge systems such as pulsedelectrical discharge (PED) and dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). The DBD system consisted of a quartz tube and a coaxialdischarging electrode, which was submerged in biologically contaminated water. In the underwater PED system, the electricaldischarge starting from the tip of submerged tubular discharging electrode propagated downward and the direction of worki...
Autori: Sang Don Kim
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26263

AbstractThe efficiency of solar disinfection (SODIS) was evaluated and enhanced by concentrating sunlight at low pH values in a solar collector disinfection (SOCODIS) system at different sunlight intensities and is highlighted in the author’s earlier findings. In order for further improving the rainwater disinfection, simple technique like wrapping the PET bottles with heat-resistant plastic bags (Wp) were used for enhancing the thermal/synergistic effects of solar radiations. An analysis of the...
Autori: Abdulrahman Ali Alazba, Mooyoung Han, Muhammad Nasir Amin, Muhammad Tahir Amin
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26298

AbstractWoodland covers about one third of Italy. No longer just a source of products for fuels and buildings, forests also have aprotective function against natural disasters like landslides and they also serve as recreational areas for people.Our primary goal was to define an overall method for assessing the possible uses of woodland areas to help those preparing forestplanning instruments for evaluating the productive, protective and recreational functions of the woodlands. We quantified, usi...
Autori: Alessandro Toccolini, Giulio Senes, Natalia Fumagalli, Paolo Ferrario
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26382

AbstractWater samples from two types of sources: partially treated sewage generated by a medium-sized city, with a high quantity oftotal coliforms and partially treated industrial wastewater, which contained mostly petroleum products from refineries, weretreated using the same concentration of TiO2 catalyst, for different exposure periods. UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopicevaluation of the composition changes of wastewaters under non selective oxidation conditions (achieved by photocatalysis...
Autori: Gabriela Pavelescu
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26474

AbstractPathogenic bacteria are fetal to human health, requiring cost-effective and safe approaches to be removed from drinking watersource. With poly-allylamine-hydrochloride (PAAH) stabilization, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were introduced in this studyto remove pathogenic bacteria by electrostatic interaction and magnet capture. High removal efficiency was achieved for fourmain pathogenic species, as Escherichia, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas and Bacillus, and over 99.5% of the pathogens can b...
Autori: Yunfeng Xu
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26475

Abstract Extensive use of plastics leads to the increase of non biodegradable wastes that have to be recycled due to both dramatically decrease of natural resources to producing them and to their increasing need as well as due to environmental issues. Most of goods made by materials based on wastes have to be commonly used by people. Antibacterial character of those is necessary to avoid epidemics. This paper deals with determination of antimicrobial character of materials based on polymeric...
Autori: Florica Silvia Cristina Patachia
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26751

Abstract The use of non-conventional water resources including treated municipal wastewater has been increasing in the Mediterranean regions over the last decades to cope with water shortages and uneven rainfalls due to climate change. The aim of this paper is to present the first results from two years of experimental field activities carried out in two different demo-places in Southern Italy: the municipal wastewater treatment plants of Noci and Castellana Grotte (Apulia region). In these ...
Autori: Antonio Lonigro
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26787

Abstract Isotopic composition and electrical conductivity (EC) of groundwater were analyzed to trace the source and transport of pathogenic microbes in shallow and deep groundwater wells over a depth range from 9 m to 75 m below land surface (bls). Stable isotopic composition was used for the identification of the source of water while environmental tritium contents were used to estimate the time elapsed since the recharge of the groundwater. The results revealed that drain water contaminate...
Autori: Anju Pant
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26851

Water scarcity, the degradation of freshwater resources, and wastewater pollution are reaching crisis levels, especially in arid regions of the world. The reuse of wastewater was investigated by using intermittent media infiltration (IMI) to evaluate fecal coliform (FC) removal efficiency. Twelve IMI columns were packed with soil and natural filtering materials (sand, zeolite, vermicompost and charcoal) at percentages of 25, 50 and 75. The municipal wastewater was treated for the FC analysis ...
Autori: Sasirot Khamkure
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26935

Semi-conductor oxide enhanced photocatalysis is a sustainable technology suitable for disinfection of water contaminated with pathogens. Disinfection of Escherichia coli was investigated using an immobilized thin film tungsten trioxide (WO3) photocatalyst in a visible light-driven photoelectrocatalytic batch cell (PECB). Disinfection efficiency was monitored under dark electrocatalytic, photolytic and photoelectrocatalytic conditions and assessed using a culture-based approach. Optimal disin...
Autori: Efetobor Scott-Emuakpor
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27014

Waste frying oil (WFO) is a complex and heterogeneous waste collected mainly from restaurants and, to a lesser extent, from food processors and households. In the last decades, interest for this waste has deeply grown and a strong competition in grabbing this raw material has begun. About 90% of WFOs collected in Europe is recycled for biodiesel production, being the high free fatty acids (FFAs) concentration in WFOs one of the main drawback limiting the yield of the conversion process. In th...
Autori: Cinzia Pezzella
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27130

The aim of the present study was to prepare environmentally friendly silver-based materials using Cornus mas L. fruits extract. For this purpose, silver nanoparticles (Cornus mas-AgNPs) were green synthesized using this plant extract. The bioreduction of silver ions was analyzed by UV–VIS and ATR-FTIR spectroscopic studies. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed the formation of spherical phyto-nanosilver particles with size ranging between 12 and 40 nm. Different amounts ...
Autori: Ioana-Raluca Suica-Bunghez
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27139

The aim of this work was to study the effectiveness of photocatalysis in the removal of contaminants from secondary treated municipal wastewater, on a batch scale. The samples were collected from the outlet of the secondary clarifier in the municipal wastewater plant located at Al Khoudh, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. The influences of TiO2 catalyst loading and solar radiation exposure time were investigated for the removal of COD and total Coliforms. 60% removal of COD was achieved with a catalyst...
Autori: Anna Jesil Cheriyan
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27376

Köyceğiz-Dalyan Lagoon is situated in the southwestern region of Turkey. The area between the Köyceğiz Lake and the sea is covered with four small lakes and numerous canals. The Dalyan Channel network connects lake to the Mediterranean Sea is one of the most important reproduction areas for Mediterranean Sea turtles. The objectives of the present study are to evaluate the influence of channel traffic and Köyceğiz Lake on the water quality of Dalyan Channel by evalua...
Autori: Başak Kılıç Taşeli
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27507

The study provides information about separation and identification of natural bioactive compounds from beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) bark with potential therapeutic applications such as antibacterial activity against human pathogens. Beech is a common material used in the wood industry, but its bark is separated from the wood and is considered a by-product. In this study, natural compounds with biological activity were obtained from beech bark by hot water extraction. The high-performance liquid ch...
Autori: Corneliu Tănase
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27561

An attempt has been made in the present study to investigate the wastewater characteristics from six different rural human settlements in the state of Punjab, India. The six selected rural catchments are located on a radius of about 5-50 kilometers from Phagwara town, Kapurthala district. The study area comprises the villages of the districts of Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar in Central Punjab. The wastewater samples were collected between January, 2012 and July, 2012 and a...
Autori: Puneet Pal S. Cheema
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27641

Tunisian fish-processing industries generates large amounts of by-products. Their disposal is an increasing environmental and health problem. For an economic utilization, these by-products may be used in producing higher value-added products such as protein hydrolyzates. In this study, protein hydrolyzates with different degrees of hydrolysis (12%, 20% and 26%) were prepared from heads and viscera of Sardinella aurita using crude protease of Bacillus licheniformis NH1. The obtained hydrolyzates ...
Autori: Nabil Souissi
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27852

In this study, nine microbial strains with oil-degrading function were isolated from oil-contaminated soil near four oil wells in the 0.6 km2 area of the Jinnan Oil Field, Huaian, Jiangsu, China (32°57′ N, 119°02′ E). Based on morphological observations, physiological and biochemical responses, and molecular identification, we confirmed that the nine strains belong to five genera: Pseudomonas, Raoultella, Lysinibacillus, Escherichia, and Klebsiella. The degradation capacity o...
Autori: Yujia Liu
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27848

This study presents the influence of the storage recipients’ material and of the use and the type of stirring on the drinking water quality. The kinetics of drinkable water quality alteration under stationary conditions and under magnetic and sonical stirring have been monitored for a two weeks period. The microbiological parameters (total number of germs developed at 37°C and 22°C, lactose-positive and lactose-negative bacteria, coliform bacteria and Echerichia coli), as well a...
Autori: Laura Damian
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27999

This study is a comparative assessment of domestic water quality collected from 35 sampling points in seven typical rural communities in Abia State, Southeast Nigeria. Physicochemical parameters such as pH, conductivity, turbidity and bacteriological parameters such as plate count and total coliform were analysed in the laboratory using standard World Health Organization (WHO) methodology. Results indicate that there are significant variations (p<0.05) in the physicochemical parameters of the...
Autori: Oliver O. Odikamnoro
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28054

This paper focuses on the effect of some water quality parameters of river water which helps in the calculation of water quality index (WQI) that culminates in the development of a regression model for prediction of WQI of the river system in India. The index was calculated by arithmetic index method using twelve various experimentally estimated water quality parameters such as potential hydrogen, chlorides, dissolved oxygen saturation, nitrates, sulphates, phosphates, total dissolved solids, bi...
Autori: Divya Airattil Haridas
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28065

The scarcity of water resources, especially in the agricultural sector, is an increasing problem both in developing and industrialized countries. Recent studies and reports have shown the high potential of wastewater reuse mostly in South European countries. In this paper, we study the possibility to reuse wastewater from the Santerno full-scale wastewater treatment plant located in Imola (Bologna, Italy). Specific monitoring campaigns have been carried out in Basin 1 of the natural finishing tr...
Autori: Carmine Fiorentino
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28085

The booming production and application of nanoparticles have raised great concern over its effect on environment, due to their increasing release in the environmental systems via intentional or unintentional activities, where their possible physicochemical and toxicological behavior remain unknown. The nanoparticles are released into the different environmental systems like air, soils and waters. However, their interaction with air matrices has been rarely investigated. For this reason, the chan...
Autori: Asli Baysal
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28124

There are substantial publications about the research of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). The purpose of this paper is to identify the global trends and performances of ARGs research. Literatures of ARGs that published between 1974 and 2016 from Web of Science Core Collection were used to create the bibliometric database for the present study in which we coupled cluster analysis and network analysis to visualize research trends of ARGs with international collaborations and trans-disciplinary ...
Autori: Chun-Li Zheng
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28176

Inorganic ceramic materials is receiving more attention in recent times due to their unique characteristics which include different pore structures, hydrophilic surfaces, high chemical, thermal and mechanical stabilities that offer avenues for application in water treatment. In the present work, cost-effective clay ceramic water filters of different designs were developed from clay (50, 60, and 70) %, sawdust (15, 20, 25, and 35) %, grog (5, 10 and 15)% ratios plus 5% bone char by volume and ...
Autori: Enyew Amare Zereffa
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28196

Silk sericin is a water-soluble macromolecular protein obtained from the raw cocoons of silkworm, Bombyx mori. It comprises of about 25% of the total cocoon shell weight and is categorized as a waste by-product in textile and silk industries after the extraction of silk fibers. This study emphasizes on the extraction of sericin from B. mori by a conventional salt alkaline method and characterized their physico-chemical properties, thermal stability, anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant activities. T...
Autori: Inderchand Manjubala
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28213

Water shortage is one of the most worrisome issues around the globe, especially with the increase in the human population. Nowadays, attention has been drawn towards the reuse of greywater because of its large volume and low contaminants. In the present research, greywater samples were collected from different sources including; households, restaurants, mosques, laundries, guest houses and sport clubs in Mansoura city, Egypt. The counts of total coliforms, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus sp., Ps...
Autori: Samir Radwanhttp://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28221

In Brazil, there is a deficit of access in relation to sewage services for a large part of the population, and this fact is the one responsible for the contamination of watercourses. This is because to the lack of investment in infrastructure in the country, since sewage treatment plants require high costs and high area demand for deployment, besides the installation of the collection system, which directs the wastewater to treatment. This paper describes the behavior of wetlands as a post trea...
Autori: Rodrigo de Freitas Bueno
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28241

Every year 93 billion tonnes of raw materials are consumed, but only 9% of them are reused: a potential of about 3 trillion dollars worldwide, 88 billion in Italy, according to Growth Within: A Circular Economy Vision for a Competitive Europe by Ellen MacArthur Foundation with McKinsey. A vehicle is potentially recoverable, in its components for more than 95%, an industrialised process of treatment of end-life vehicles (ELVs). Optimising raw material recovery is currently possible and advantag...
Autori: Luca Pomili
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28295

This research presents the efficiency of an air-based solar drying system for providing comprehensive information on optimal management of the wastewater treatment plant sludge (WWTPs) by using renewable energy. The solar drying method was appropriate for utilizing facilities to remove ammonia and able to inactivate environmentally stable Escherichia coli (E. coli) microorganisms which were dropped at 2 logs CFU/gr. The thermal efficiency of the dryer was recognized under the realistic circumst...
Autori: Zeinab Amin
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28324

The spread of antibiotic resistant organisms and those producing extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL) has become a health care problem worldwide in communities and hospitals, as it leads to more complicated infections, longer duration of treatment, and increases in patient mortality. In the present study, we analyzed 226 clinical samples in order to assess the spread of ESBLproducing Enterobacteriaceae. 196 Enterobacteriaceae were identified and classified as members of the genera Pantoea...
Autori: Abdelbasset Mechai
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28331