Contamination of surface and groundwater with excessive concentrations of fluoride is of significant health hazard. Adsorption of fluoride onto waste materials of no economic value could be a potential approach for the treatment of fluoride-bearing water. This experimental and modeling study was devoted to investigate for the first the fluoride removal using unmodified waste granular brick (WGB) in a fixed bed running in continuous mode. Characterization of WGB was carried out by FT-IR, SEM, and EDX analysis. The batch mode experiments showed that they were affected by several parameters including contact time, initial pH, and sorbent dosage. The best values of these parameters that provided maximum removal percent (82%) with the initial concentration of F-1 ions (10 mg/L) and agitation speed (200 rpm) were 90 min, 8, and 3 g/100 mL, respectively. The experimental data were found to fit the Freundlich isotherm model. The maximum adsorption capacity of fluoride on WGB was 1.1 mg/g. The continuous mode experiments clearly confirmed the important role of WGB bed in hindering and confining the propagation of the fluoride-loaded plume as well as there was a very good matching (RMSE ≤ 0.0398) with the predicted results obtained by the simulated mathematical model using COMSOL Multiphysics 3.5a software.
In this work, a weighted H lder function that approximates a Jacobi polynomial which solves the second order singular Sturm-Liouville equation is discussed. This is generally equivalent to the Jacobean translations and the moduli of smoothness. This paper aims to focus on improving methods of approximation and finding the upper and lower estimates for the degree of approximation in weighted H lder spaces by modifying the modulus of continuity and smoothness. Moreover, some properties for the moduli of smoothness with direct and inverse results are considered.
Free vibration behavior was developed under the ratio of critical buckling temperature of laminated composite thin plates with the general elastic boundary condition. The equations of motion were found based on classical laminated plate theory (CLPT) while the solution functions consists of trigonometric function and a continuous function that is added to guarantee the sufficient smoother of the so-named remaining displacement function at the boundaries, in this research, a modified Fourier series were used, a generalized procedure solution was developed using Ritz method combined with the imaginary spring technique. The influences of many design parameters such as angles of layers, aspect ratio, thickness ratio, and ratio of initial in-
... Show MoreBiologically active natural compounds are molecules produced by plants or plant-related microbes, such as endophytes. Many of these metabolites have a wide range of antimicrobial activities and other pharmaceutical properties. This study aimed to evaluate (in vitro) the antifungal activities of the secondary metabolites obtained from Paecilomyces sp. against the pathogenic fungus Rhizoctonia solani. The endophytic fungus Paecilomyces was isolated from Moringa oleifera leaves and cultured on potato dextrose broth for the production of the fungal metabolites. The activity of Paecilomyces filtrate against the radial growth of Rhizoctonia solani was tested by mixing the filtrate with potato dextrose agar medium at concentrations of 15%,
... Show MoreA novel demountable shear connector for precast steel-concrete composite bridges is presented. The connector uses high-strength steel bolts, which are fastened to the top flange of the steel beam with the aid of a special locking nut configuration that prevents bolts from slipping within their holes. Moreover, the connector promotes accelerated construction and overcomes the typical construction tolerance issues of precast structures. Most importantly, the connector allows bridge disassembly. Therefore, it can address different bridge deterioration scenarios with minimum disturbance to traffic flow including the following: (1) precast deck panels can be rapidly uplifted and replaced; (2) connectors can be rapidly removed and replaced; and (
... Show MoreIndexes of topological play a crucial role in mathematical chemistry and network theory, providing valuable insights into the structural properties of graphs. In this study, we investigate the Resize graph of G2(3), a significant algebraic structure arising from the exceptional Lie group (G2) over the finite field F3. We compute several well-known topological indices, including the Zagreb indices, Wiener index, and Randić index, to analyze the graph's connectivity and complexity. Our results reveal intricate relationships between the algebraic structure of G2(3) and its graphical properties, offering a deeper understanding of its combinatorial and spectral characteristics. These findings contribute to the broader study of algebraic graph t
... Show MoreAn innovative desalination method called electrosorption or capacitive deionization (CDI) has significant benefits for wastewater treatment. This process is performed by using a carbon fiber electrode as a working electrode to remove hexavalent chromium ions from an aqueous solution. The pH, NaCl concentration, and cell voltage were optimized using the Box-Behnken experimental design (BDD) in response surface methodology (RSM) to study the effects and interactions of selected variables. To attain the relationship between the process variables and chromium removal, the experimental data were subjected to an analysis of variance and fitted with a quadratic model. The optimum conditions to remove Cr(VI) ions were: pH of 2, a cell voltage of 4.
... Show MoreThe aim of this paper is to present the first record of ctenophore species Pleurobrachia pileus (O. F. Müller, 1776) in the coral reef as was recently found in Iraqi marine waters. The specimens were collected from two sites, the first was in Khor Abdullah during May 2015, and the second site was located in the pelagic water of the coral reef area, near the Al-Basrah deep sea crude oil marine loading terminal. Three samples were collected at this site during May 2015, February and March 2018 which showed that P. pileus were present at a densities of 3.0, 2.2 and 0.55 ind./ m3 respectively. The species can affect on the abundance of other zooplankton community through predation.
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