Soil and plant contamination with heavy metals is one of the current problems in the world especially contamination with mercury. Heavy metals are very harmful because of their long biological half-lives, non-biodegradable nature and their possibility to accumulate at different body parts. Soil, well water and leafy plant samples (Apium graveoleus, Allium ampeloprasum, Lepidium sativum, Eruca sativa, Petroselinum hortense, Ocimum basilicum , Mentha pulegium) from three different agricultural fields (AL-Musafer village (site 1), AL-Autaifiyah (site 2) and AL-Huriyah (site 3)) in Baghdad government, Iraq were analyzed for mercury concentration. Hg level in soil samples ranged from 3.67 to 5.33 ppm in AL-Autaifiyah and AL-Musafer village, respectively. While, in water samples Hg level ranged from 1.2 in AL-Autaifiyah to 22.8 mg/l in AL-Musafer village. Plant samples recorded Hg level ranged from 0.009 to 2.88 ppm in AL-Autaifiyah and AL-Huriyah, respectively. The results showed that Hg level in water samples and most plant samples were above the acceptable limit according to WHO (1993), and FAQ/WHO (1999) respectively. While Hg level in soil samples was within the acceptable limit put by Ministry of the Environment, Finland (2007).
The evaluation of subsurface formations as applied to oil well drilling started around 50 years ago. Generally, the curent review articule includes all methods for coring, logging, testing, and sampling. Also the methods for deciphering logs and laboratory tests that are relevant to assessing formations beneath the surface, including a look at the fluids they contain are discussed. Casing is occasionally set in order to more precisely evaluate the formations; as a result, this procedure is also taken into account while evaluating the formations. The petrophysics of reservoir rocks is the branch of science interested in studying chemical and physical properties of permeable media and the components of reservoir rocks which are associated
... Show MoreThe moisture sorption isotherms of Mefenamic acid tablets were investigated by measuring the experimental equilibrium moisture content (EMC) using the static method of saturated salt solutions at three temperatures (25, 35, and 45°C) and water activity range from 0.056 to 0.8434. The results showed that EMC increased when relative humidity increased and the sorption capacity decreased, the tablets became less hygroscopic and more stable when the temperature increased at constant water activity. The sorption curves had a sigmoid shape, type II according to Brunauer’s classification. The hysteresis effect was significant along with the whole sorption process. The results were fitted to three models: Oswin, Smith, and Guggen
... Show MorePVA, Starch/PVA, and Starch/PVA/sugar samples of different
concentrations (10, 20, 30 and 40 % wt/wt) were prepared by casting
method. DSC analysis was carried; the results showed only one glass
transition temperature (Tg) for the samples involved, which suggest
that starch/PVA and starch/PVA/sugar blends are miscible. The
miscibility is attributed to the hydrogen bonds between PVA and
starch. This is in a good agreement with (FTIR) results. Tg and Tm
decrease with starch and sugar content compared with that for
(PVA). Systematic decrease in ultimate strength, due to starch and
sugar ratio increase, is attributed to (PVA), which has more hydroxyl
groups that made its ultimate strength higher than that for
Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF) based on the Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) effect has been proposed to detect polluted water samples. The sensing characteristics are illustrated using the finite element method. The right hole of the right side of PCF core has been coated with chemically stable gold material to achieve the practical sensing approach. The performance parameter of the proposed sensor is investigated in terms of wavelength sensitivity, amplitude sensitivity, sensor resolution, and linearity of the resonant wavelength with the variation of refractive index of analyte. In the sensing range of 1.33 to 1.3624, maximum sensitivities of 1360.2 nm ∕ RIU and 184 RIU−1 are achieved with the high sensor resolutions of 7
... Show MoreThe estimation of the amounts of Surface runoff resulting from rainfall in the water basins is of great importance in water resources management. The study area (Bahr Al-Najaf) is located on the western edge of the plateau and the southwestern part of the city center of Najaf, with an area of 2729.4 (km2). The soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) with ArcGIS software was used to simulate the runoff coming from the three main valleys (Kharr (A and B)), Shoaib Al-Rahimawi, and Maleh), that contribute the flow to the study area. The results of the model showed that the SWAT software was successfully simulating the flow conditions based on the coefficient of determination (R2), the Nash coefficient (NS
... Show MoreThe present article delves into the examination of groundwater quality, based on WQI, for drinking purposes in Baghdad City. Further, for carrying out the investigation, the data was collected from the Ministry of Water Resources of Baghdad, which represents water samples drawn from 114 wells in Al-Karkh and Al-Rusafa sides of Baghdad city. With the aim of further determining WQI, four water parameters such as (i) pH, (ii) Chloride (Cl), (iii) Sulfate (SO4), and (iv) Total dissolved solids (TDS), were taken into consideration. According to the computed WQI, the distribution of the groundwater samples, with respect to their quality classes such as excellent, good, poor, very poor and unfit for human drinking purpose, was found to be
... Show MoreThe effects of using aqueous nanofluids containing covalently functionalized graphene nanoplatelets with triethanolamine (TEA-GNPs) as novel working fluids on the thermal performance of a flat-plate solar collector (FPSC) have been investigated. Water-based nanofluids with weight concentrations of 0.025%, 0.05%, 0.075%, and 0.1% of TEA-GNPs with specific surface areas of 300, 500, and 750 m2/g were prepared. An experimental setup was designed and built and a simulation program using MATLAB was developed. Experimental tests were performed using inlet fluid temperatures of 30, 40, and 50 °C; flow rates of 0.6, 1.0, and 1.4 kg/min; and heat flux intensities of 600, 800, and 1000 W/m2. The FPSC’s efficiency increased as the flow rate and hea
... Show MoreThe concrete industry consumes millions of tons of aggregate comprising of natural sands and gravels, each year. In recent years there has been an increasing trend towards using recycled aggregate to save natural resources and to produce lightweight concrete. This study investigates the possibility of using waste plastic as one of the components of lead-acid batteries to replace the fine aggregate by 50 and 70% by volume of concrete masonry units. Compared to the reference concrete mix, results demonstrated that a reduction of approximately 32.5% to 39.6% in the density for replacement of 50% to 70% respectively. At 28 days curing age, the compressive strength was decreased while the water absorption increased by increas
... Show MoreThe thermal performance of a flat-plate solar collector (FPSC) using novel heat transfer fluids of aqueous colloidal dispersions of covalently functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes with β-Alanine (Ala-MWCNTs) has been studied. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with outside diameters of (< 8 nm) and (20–30 nm) having specific surface areas (SSAs) of (500 m2/g) and (110 m2/g), respectively, were utilized. For each Ala-MWCNTs, waterbased nanofluids were synthesized using weight concentrations of 0.025%, 0.05%, 0.075%, and 0.1%. A MATLAB code was built and a test rig was designed and developed. Heat flux intensities of 600, 800, and 1000 W/m2; mass flow rates of 0.6, 1.0, and 1.4 kg/min; and inlet fluid temperatures of 30, 40, an
... Show MoreAn experimental study is conducted to investigate the effect of heat flux distribution on the boiling safety factor of its cooling channel. The water is allowed to flow in a horizontal circular pipe whose outlet surface is subjected to different heat flux profiles. Four types of heat flux distribution profiles are used during experiments: (constant distribution profile, type a, triangle distribution profile with its maximum in channel center, type b, triangle distribution profile with its maximum in the channel inlet, type c, and triangle distribution profile with its maximum in the channel outlet, type d). The study is conducted using heat sources of (1000 and 2665W), water flow rates of (5, 7 and 9 lit/min). The water
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