Introduction: The current study investigated the use of acid-treated rice husks to remove heavy metals and organic pollutants from water containing heavy metals (R2C and Cd2) and organic pollutants (phenol and atrazine). Methods: The adsorption effect of acid-treated rice husks was compared with other adsorbents such as activated carbon, chitosan, and bentonite clay. Result: both acid-treated rice husks and activated carbon were highly efficient materials, and thus, rice husks were established as a cost-effective alternative. It was revealed that acid treatment of rice husks enhanced adsorption capacity by half, and lead removal was nearly doubled. The most effective pH value for optimizing organic pollutants and heavy metals while minimizing conditions was found to be 6.5. Regarding the temperature findings, the data revealed a minor increase in temperature; nevertheless, the result was not statistically significant, even if the temperatures became more efficient. When compared to activated carbon, chitosan, and bentonite clay, acid-treated rice husks demonstrated high removal performance, making them a very cost-effective raw material. Finally, the presence of active functional groups that transfer the action of rice husks to pollutants was established by adsorption processes studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) surface area. Conclusion: Therefore, it has been demonstrated that this technique, which entails removing at least one acid-treated rice husk, is more effective at treating industrial wastewater than previously documented and widely used technologies like flocculation, coagulation, and reverse osmosis. It also offers a safe and sustainable substitute for conventional water quality methods.
In the present work, radon gas concentrations in different surface soil samples in Baghdad governorate were measured using RAD-7 detector. The results have been shown that, the Radon gas concentrations ranged between (41.67±1.78Bq/m3), to (185.67±4.22Bq/m3), a map showing the distribution of the concentration of radon in selected areas was defined to identify areas with high pollution level. The reason for the high concentration of radon is that these surface soil samples are taken from agricultural areas. It is also known that fertilizers contain uranium levels as well as areas bombed in wars in the country. It is worth noting that all radon concentrations in Baghdad governorate are below the recommended minimum of 200-300Bq/m3) (Inte
... Show MoreGlobal concerns are rising due to complications associated with the use of chemical agents and antibiotic resistance. Consequently, research focus has shifted towards the quest for effective agents of biological origin. The aim of the present study was to assess the antioxidant and antimicrobial potentials of aqueous and organic extracts derived from various parts of Alcea kurdica. Different parts of A. kurdica were obtained and prepared into leaf, flower and root powders. The powders were extracted with aqueous and organic solvents. The antimicrobial activity of these extracts was assessed against bacterial pathogens using the agar well-diffusion assay. Additionally, the antioxidant effects of the extracts were evaluated using the
... Show MoreHigh tunnels, or unheated plastic greenhouses, are becoming increasingly popular among organic vegetable growers across the United States. However, the intensive production typical of these systems presents soil health challenges, including salinization due to high fertilizer or compost inputs coupled with lack of rainfall to leach salts. Legume cover crops may improve soil health in high tunnels by reducing the need for external inputs, while adding organic matter. We tested the soil health effects of a winter hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) cover crop used to replace fertilizer N in an organic tomato cropping system in high tunnels. Studies were replicated across three sites differing in climate and soil type (Kansas, Kentucky, and Minne
... Show MoreMany water supplies are now contaminated by anthropogenic sources such as domestic and agricultural waste, as well as manufacturing activities, the public's concern about the environmental effects of wastewater contamination has grown. Several traditional wastewater treatment methods, such as chemical coagulation, adsorption, and activated sludge, have been used to eliminate pollution; however, there are several drawbacks, most notably high operating costs, because of its low operating and repair costs, the usage of aerobic waste water treatment as a reductive medium is gaining popularity. Furthermore, it is simple to produce and has a high efficacy and potential to degrade pollu
... Show MoreVarious activities taking place within the city of Baghdad have significantly contributed to organic pollution in Rivers Tigris and Diyala. The present study aimed to assess some physical, chemical and biological aspects of six sites on Rivers Tigris and Diyala as they flow through the city of Baghdad. Monthly samples were collected for the period January to December, 2005. Marked differences in the physical and chemical characteristics of water were noted between the two rivers’ sites. Average values during the study period of dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, particulate organic matter, nitrate, phosphate and total dissolved solids for Tigris and Diyala were 7.8,4.7; 2.4,10.4; 350.1,921.4;7.8,13.9;1.2,4.8;814,2176 mg / l re
... Show MoreFinancial funding of a construction firm plays an important role in all aspects of the process development. It has been noted that financial crises have a direct impact on the construction industry. The Iraqi government, whether locally or globally, has faced a severe shortage of financing which has resulted in incomplete projects. Due to the financial crisis that Iraq went through which led to the suspension of many residential complex projects and the difficulty of the use of public financing methods, we researched the private financing (public-private partnership) methods instead of public financing methods in residential complex projects implementation. This study verified the financial problems and the factors that relate to th
... Show MoreWater scarcity, rising energy costs, and declining irrigation efficiency are significant barriers to wheat production in Iraq. This study evaluates the economic, environmental, and sustainability impacts of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into irrigation management under semiarid conditions. Field experiments conducted at the Al‐Ra'id Research Station in Baghdad during the 2025 season compared conventional diesel‐based irrigation with AI‐assisted irrigation that used soil moisture sensors, Internet of Things (IoT) controllers, and predictive weather algorithms. The analysis employed Cobb–Douglas production modeling, cost–benefit analysis, net
Electrochemical machining is one of the widely used non-conventional machining processes to machine complex and difficult shapes for electrically conducting materials, such as super alloys, Ti-alloys, alloy steel, tool steel and stainless steel. Use of optimal ECM process conditions can significantly reduce the ECM operating, tooling, and maintenance cost and can produce components with higher accuracy. This paper studies the effect of process parameters on surface roughness (Ra) and material removal rate (MRR), and the optimization of process conditions in ECM. Experiments were conducted based on Taguchi’s L9 orthogonal array (OA) with three process parameters viz. current, electrolyte concentration, and inter-electrode gap. Sig
... Show MoreThe majority of real-world problems involve not only finding the optimal solution, but also this solution must satisfy one or more constraints. Differential evolution (DE) algorithm with constraints handling has been proposed to solve one of the most fundamental problems in cellular network design. This proposed method has been applied to solve the radio network planning (RNP) in the forthcoming 5G Long Term Evolution (5G LTE) wireless cellular network, that satisfies both deployment cost and energy savings by reducing the number of deployed micro base stations (BSs) in an area of interest. Practically, this has been implemented using constrained strategy that must guarantee good coverage for the users as well. Three differential evolution
... Show More