Biotreatment using immobilized cells (IC) technology has proved to be the most promising and most economical approach for the removal of many toxic organic pollutants found in petroleum-refinery wastewater (PRW) such as phenol. This study was undertaken to evaluate the degradation of phenol by Pseudomonas cells individually immobilized in two different bio-carrier matrices including polyvinyl alcohol-guar gum (PVA-GG) and polyvinyl alcohol-agar agar (PVA-AA). Results of batch experiments revealed that complete removal of phenol was attained in the first cycle after 150 min using immobilized cells (IC) in both PVA-GG and PVA-AA. Additional cycles were confirmed to evaluate the validity of recycling beads of immob

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) of iron oxide (Fe₃O₄) represent the most promising materials in many applications. MNPs have been synthesized by co-precipitation of ferric and ferrous ions in alkaline solution. Two methods of synthesis were conducted with different parameters, such as temperature (25 and 80 ̊C), adding a base to the reactants and the opposite process, and using nitrogen as an inert gas. The product of the first method (MNPs-1) and the second method (MNPs-2) were characterized by x-ray diffractometer (XRD), Zeta Potential, atomic force microscope (AFM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). AFM results showed convergent particle size of (MNPs-1) and (MNPs-2) with (86.01) and (74.14)

In this study, the potential of adsorption of amoxicillin antibiotic (AMOX) from aqueous solutions using prepared activated carbon (AC) was studied. The used AC was prepared from an inexpensive and available precursor (sunflower seed hulls (SSH)) and activated by potassium hydroxide (KOH). The prepared AC was examined for its ability to remove AMOX from aqueous contaminated solutions and characterized with the aid of N2 -adsorption/desorption isotherm Brunauer–Emmett– Teller, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Fourier-transform infrared. Zeta potential of the prepared activated carbon from sunflower seed hulls (SSHAC) were studied in relation to AMOX adsorption. The physical and chemical propert

The study addressed the water ecosystems of the marshes of Maysan Governorate as one of the important areas in Iraq in terms of the environmental, economic and tourism aspects. This area was exposed to great environmental changes due to natural and human factors which greatly affected the water ecosystem and made the area susceptible to many problems that affected the biological life of living organisms. The marshes of Maysan Governorate was affected by vital factors and non-vital factors. The marshes of Maysan Governorate was characterized by the UN Organization as one of the most important centers of biodiversity in the world because of the abundance of different and rare living organisms such as birds, fish, and reptiles as well as the e

An integrated GIS-VBA (Geographical Information System – Visual Basic for Application), model is developed for selecting an optimum water harvesting dam location among an available locations in a watershed. The proposed model allows quick and precise estimation of an adopted weighted objective function for each selected location. In addition to that for each location, a different dam height is used as a nominee for optimum selection. The VBA model includes an optimization model with a weighted objective function that includes beneficiary items (positive) , such as the available storage , the dam height allowed by the site as an indicator for the potential of hydroelectric power generation , the rainfall rate as a source of water . In a

The object of the presented study was to monitor the changes that had happened in the main features (water, vegetation, and soil) of Al-Hammar Marsh region. To fulfill this goal, different satellite images had been used in different times, MSS 1973, TM 1990, ETM+ 2000, 2002, and MODIS 2009, 2010. A new technique of the unsupervised classification called (Color Extracting Technique) was used to classify the satellite images. MATLAP programming used the technique and separated Al-Hammar Marsh from other water features (rivers, irrigated lands, etc.) when calculated the changes in the water content of the study region. ArcGIS 9.3 (arcMAP, arcToolbox) were used to achieve this work and calculate area of each class.

Different compositions of hydrogels composed of mathacrylamide homopolymer (60 and 90% of PMAM) were prepared using the free radical polymerization technique, with and without methylene bisacrylamide as crosslinker (0 and 3%). Several parameters and properties were studied to evaluate their performance as oil/water separators. Many parameters are used, such as residual oil in water, water recovery, separation time, hydrogels coated percentages, swelling parameters, mechanical properties, microscopic and photographic images, and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that water recovery (87-97), Separation efficiency (96.2-99.6 %), separation time (6-9.5 min.), hydrogels coated percentages (18-23 %), water content (70-97 %), and