In this research Artificial Neural Network (ANN) technique was applied to study the filtration process in water treatment. Eight models have been developed and tested using data from a pilot filtration plant, working under different process design criteria; influent turbidity, bed depth, grain size, filtration rate and running time (length of the filtration run), recording effluent turbidity and head losses. The ANN models were constructed for the prediction of different performance criteria in the filtration process: effluent turbidity, head losses and running time. The results indicate that it is quite possible to use artificial neural networks in predicting effluent turbidity, head losses and running time in the filtration process, with a
good degree of accuracy reaching 97.26, 95.92 and 86.43% respectively. These ANN models could be used as a support for workers in operating the filters in water treatment plants and to improve water treatment process. With the use of ANN, water systems will get more efficient, so reducing operation cost and improving the quality of the water produced.
The ability of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) to uptake three pharmaceuticals (diclofenac, mefenamic acid and metronidazole) from two types of soil (clay and sandy soil) was investigated in this study to explore the human exposure to these pharmaceuticals via the consumption of beans. A pot experiment was conducted with beans plants which were grown in two types of soil for six weeks under controlled conditions. During the experiment period, the soil pore water was collected weekly and the concentrations of the test compounds in soil pore water as well as in plant organs (roots, stems and leaves) were weekly determined.
The results showed that the studied pharmaceuticals were detected in all plant tissues; their concentration
Devastated by the combined impact of massive drainage works and upstream damming since the 1980's, Al-Hammar Marsh, Southern Iraq, has completely collapsed with 94 % of its land cover transformed into bare land and salt crusts by 2000. After a policy initiated to restore the Iraqi marshes again in 2003, the marsh recovered about half of its former area. As a part of the ecological recovery assessment of this newly inundated marsh, it is important to investigate the extend impact of desiccation after 3 years of inundation on water quality as the latter plays an important role in the restoration process of the marshes. Therefore, from a restoration point of view, major and trace element distribution and sourcing as well as seasonal variati
... Show MoreThe objective of this work is to study the influence of α-amylase enzymatic solution immersion, soil burial and water immersion on the biodegradability behavior of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) /Corn Starch (CS) blend films Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) /Corn Starch (CS) blend films were prepared by solution casting method with different weight percentages of PVA(0%,10%,30%,50%,70% and 90%) . The biodegradability of the films has been investigated by determination the weight loss of the tested films. It was noticed that the films containing corn starch were highly biodegraded under above influences. The weight loss of the tested films decreased with increasing PVA content and increased with immersion time in enzymatic solution and water and soil bu
... Show MorePumpkin waste powder was used as a coloring and strengthening filler in epoxy to prepare a natural gelcoat . The Pumpkin powder was mixed with different weight ratios (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8%) to the epoxy matrix to select the best value of powder addition. The effect of the pumpkin particle size on the mechanical properties (impact, flexural, hardness, and wear loss) using two different sizes (2.5 and 1.25 microns) was studied. The impact strength increased from (10.09 KJ/ m2) for neat epoxy to (14.79 KJ/ m2) for epoxy with 1% of micron pumpkin fibers ( MPF) with particle size 2.5 micrometer and (14.21 KJ/ m2) for epoxy with 4% (1.25 MPF), flexural strength increased from (41.94 MPa) for n
... Show MoreThe main goal of this study was to assess the climatic parameters in a valuable basin in northern part of Iraq, Erbil central sub-basin. Rainfall, relative humidity, temperature, evaporation, sunshine duration, and wind speed are the climate variables used in this study. The investigated periods (1980-2021) of Erbil meteorological data were used to assess the climatic and drought conditions in the studied basin. The results show a noticeable drop in relative humidity and rainfall over the past two decades, as well as a considerable rise in temperature and evaporation. The mean annual rainfall was 416mm, relative humidity is 48.74% used as term of water availability, and mean annual temperature is 22°C, total an
... Show MoreThis comprehensive study investigates has been made to assess the water quality of Al-Gharraf River, which considered the main branch of Tigris River south of Iraq using the overall Index of Pollution (OIP), depending on 9 physical, chemical, and biological important parameters of water quality were analyzed: hydrogen ion concentration (pH), turbidity (NTU), total dissolved solid (TDS), dissolved oxygen (DO), biological oxygen demand (BOD5) , total hardness (TH), sulfate (SO4), nitrate (NO3),and fecal coliform (FC), which measured monthly at twenty one stations on the river during 2016-2017. Water quality deterioration has occurred in the last ten stations, consequently, the health status of the river
... Show MoreSelf- curing is the potential of lightweight aggregate to absorption great amount of water thru mixing which prominently can moves to the paste during hydration process. Self- curing empowers a water to be distributes more evenly act out the cross section. Whereas, the external curing water is only able to penetrate several millimetres into concrete with low water cement ratio. Brick dust accumulates in the demolish site creates serious environmental contamination. This study investigates the effect of brick dust recovered from construction site on the Properties of mortar cured in three curing conditions. Mortar in this study produced using BD as cement additive with (2, 4, 6, and 8) % by weight of cement. BD was used a
... Show MoreThe natural radioactivity levels in water samples along the Tigris river (one of the major rivers of the world) within Baghdad city were investigated to determine and evaluate the radioactivity risks in the water of the river. The specific activity of the radionuclides (238U, 232Th, 40K, and 137Cs) for thirty different water samples from Tigris river within Baghdad city were measured using gamma-ray spectrometer, employing a NaI(Tl) scintillation detector. The results showed that the average value of the specific activity for 238U, 232Th, 40K, and 137Cs were (24.20, 16.70, 329.22, and 19.40) Bq/l, respectively. The calculated average annual effec
... Show More16 March of every year marked the anniversary of the chemical gas attack on the City of Halabja, Kurdistan, Iraq, and its nearby villages. In the process, 5000 people reportedly died from the attack. Many more were wounded and the event left nearly 60 000 people displaced. A perceived consequence of the chemical bombing of Halabja City was the environmental pollution of the soil and water. A recent questionnaire completed by the population of Halabja City indicated that 35% believed that water pollution was still an issue, and 55% thought that soil pollution posed a high risk.
In 2016, were requested by the Halabja City governor to investigate the situation. And to lay to rest the perception and
Phytoplankton, as one of the most important primary producers in aquatic ecosystems, has been widely used to indicate the health of ecosystems. Nine physico-chemical parameters of water, as well as the phytoplankton community, of Al-Chibayish marsh were studied. Samples were collected from four sites and analyzed every two months from January to October 2019.
Seasonal variations in physical and chemical properties were observed at all sites during the study period. The results indicated that 154 species of phytoplankton were recorded. The highest percentage of species was recorded to be 64.28% for Bacillariophyceae (diatoms) (Centrales 3.24% and Pennales 61.03%), followed by Chlorophyceae (16.23%), Cyanophyceae
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