International Journal of Economic and Environmental Geology
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Purification of Crude Glycerol Recovered From Fish Processing Waste Biodiesel Process
Full text linkBiodiesel and crude glycerol are byproducts of the esterification and transesterification reactions that occur between triglyceride molecules and alcohol in the presence of acid and base catalysts. Purification of crude glycerol is necessary to increase the economic sustainability of the biodiesel industry. This study was carried out for pre-treatment of crude glycerol sourced from fish processing waste during biodiesel manufacturing, treated through an acidification process using phosphoric acid (H3PO4), and then using further purification treatment with Jatropha curcas bio-adsorbent. Based on the measurement, the quantity of 0.1% phosphoric acid (H3PO4) solution was required to treat the crude glycerin. The reaction conditions include heating solution to 60°C and stirring it at 40 rpm for varying treatment periods such as 15, 30, 45, and 60 min. The crude glycerol's pH was adjusted to begin the acidification process, and soap was then converted into fatty acids and salts using phosphoric acid. The maximum purified glycerol yield of 76.6% by weight was obtained with treatment time of 15min using vacuum distillation at 120°C. The crude and purified glycerol’s density was measured as 1.013 g/mL and 1.001 g/mL, respectively. However, after bio-adsorbent treatment at temperature of 50°C and 10% loading weight of the Jatropha curcas bio-adsorbent, the best impurity elimination was accomplished in 15 min. The research findings demonstrated that, following acidification and bio-adsorbent treatments, the FFA% decreased from 2.82% to 2.24%, while its density increased from 1.002 g/mL to 1.032 g/mL, respectively. The purified glycerol properties were found in accordance with BS 2621-1979 standard, showing that the acidification method for purifying of crude glycerol, in conjunction with bio-adsorbent treatment is efficient in enhancing the glycerol purity. It also improves glycerol's application in generating high-value products that enhance revenue streams for the biodiesel production.
Keywords: Petrography, calcitic-marble, dolomitic-marble, construction industry, alkali carbonate reactivity
Spatiotemporal Analysis of Land Use / Land Cover in Swat, Pakistan Using Supervised Classification in Remote Sensing: 2000 to 2015: Spatiotemporal Analysis of Land Use / Land Cover in Swat, Pakistan Using Supervised Classification in Remote Sensing: 2000 to 2015
No full textSHORT COMMUNICATION
Spatiotemporal Analysis of Land Use / Land Cover in Swat, Pakistan Using Supervised
Classification in Remote Sensing: 2000 to 201
Performance Evaluation of Models Established for the Estimation of Diffused Solar Radiation: Case Study Lahore, Pakistan: Performance Evaluation of Models Established for the Estimation of Diffused Solar Radiation: Case Study Lahore, Pakistan
No full textA suitable design of solar power project requires accurate measurements of solar radiation for the site of investigation. Such measurements play a pivotal role in the installation of PV systems. While conducting such studies, in general, global solar radiation (GSR) is recorded, whereas diffuse component of solar radiation on a horizontal surface is seldom recorded. The objective of the present study is to assess diffuse solar radiation (DSR) on horizontal surfaces by using polynomial models for Lahore, Pakistan (27.89 N, 78.08 E) and by correlating clearness index with diffuse fraction. The established models are compared with some of the existing models from the literature. Performance of models is evaluated by employing five goodness-of-fit (GoF) tests that are, mean bias error (MBE), root mean square (RMSE), Coefficient of Determination (R2), Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) and Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC). The comparison of the results of goodness-of-fit tests with those of existing models indicate that the models established in the present study are performed better as compared to the existing models. The values of statistical error analysis further suggested that a cubic model with a good accuracy of 97.5% and AIC of -22.8 is relatively more suitable for this climatic region for estimating diffuse solar radiation. The study shows that the model developed is in good agreement with Elhadidy and Nabi model with an accuracy of 96.1% and AIC of 4.4 and satisfactory results are obtained for Lahore. The findings can help to give a generous understanding of solar radiation in order to optimize the solar energy conversion systems. The results of this study provide a better understanding of the associations between global solar radiation, clearness index and diffused fraction for the region under study
A Systematic Review of Occupational Health and Safety in Mining Sector in Pakistan : A Systematic Review of Occupational Health and Safety in Mining Sector in Pakistan
No full textThe mining sector in Pakistan is regarded as a hazardous occupation due to its dangerous nature and working environment, which frequently results in deadly accidents. This study is aimed to conduct a systematic review of the existing studies on occupational safety and health in the mining sector of Pakistan. For this systematic review, Web of Science, PubMed, Science Direct, Science Hub, and Google Scholar were consulted to search data. Following keywords were used related to occupational health and safety in mining: occupational health and safety (OH&S), mining safety measures, mining health issues, and mining safety culture in Pakistan's mining industry. The result of the meta-analysis shows that OH&S is a major concern in the mining sector. Natural factors, including roof falls, gases and dust, and explosions, as well as human factors such as lack of training, ignorance of safety measures, lack of knowledge, outdated mining methods, and neglect of safety equipment (helmets, goggles, safety gloves, and masks), have led to accidents and casualties. Demographic factors such as age and personal factors like work experience and duration of job are also major causes of mining accidents that lead to fatalities and injuries. The government, stakeholders, and miners themselves have not been able to take serious initiatives to ensure safety. This study concluded that mining conditions are hazardous throughout the country. Workers lives are in danger. Improvements in safety not only protect workers lives but also decrease mining accidents, and lead to increased production.
Keywords; Occupational health and safety; mines; mining; Pakistan
Remediation of Heavy Metals in Contaminated Soil: A Review of Effects, Mechanisms and Strategies : Remediation of Heavy Metals in Contaminated Soil: A Review of Effects, Mechanisms and Strategies
No full textContamination with heavy metals is a major problem that is increasing everywhere in the globe. This problem has drastically impacted the whole world including human and environmental health in the past 30 years. There are a number of strategies to remediate soil that is contaminated with heavy metals such as physical, biological and chemical, and these can be used individually and sometimes with one another to tackle this issue. Heavy metals such as lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) are often more effectively transmitted with the help of chemical and physical methods such as immobilization and soil cleaning due to low biological acid levels and strong soil binding. In contrast, metals such as cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) are more mobile, and are suitable for biological approaches, including Phytoremediation & microbial therapy. Mercury (Hg) remains a challenge due to the conversion and complex transformations in environments to improve all methods. This review summarizes the toxic effects of heavy metal contaminated soil in different parts of earth. Microbes are used to change the concentration of heavy metals in soil to improve the ability of plants to grow in healthy way. This paper reviews about the mechanisms and strategies to remediate the contaminated soil. This paper discusses necessary technologies used for remediation of soil and also mentioning about the types and methods. There are so many microbes and plants that can be used as the best options for removing toxic heavy metals from soils because conventional and physical approaches can be expensive and ineffective in areas with low metal toxicity, where phytoremediation and bioremediation are considered as eco-friendly approaches.
Keywords: Soil, heavy metals, remediation, plants, microbes, contamination strategies, effects
A Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Energy Systems: A Comparative Analysis of Pakistan, European Union and USA : A Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Energy Systems: A Comparative Analysis of Pakistan, European Union and USA
No full textSustainable energy infrastructure relies on the adoption of advanced low carbon and affordable technologies. In developing countries like Pakistan, sustainability of the energy system has become a challenge because of the gap between electricity demand and supply, inefficient energy generation, dependence on carbon- intensive technologies, low electrification rate and increased effects of climate change. Measuring the sustainability of energy systems is vital to ascertain the level of sustainability, innovativeness and the reliability. Various studies have proposed indices for measuring the sustainability of energy systems. Rarely can any index boast of providing a comprehensive framework for measuring all aspects of sustainability. This study has reviewed the existing indices and developed a framework based on strengths and weaknesses of the existing indices. The framework has divided the sustainability into four main segments with further division into thirteen sub-segments which consist of forty-nine indicators. Later, we have applied the newly proposed framework to comparatively measure the sustainability level of energy system in Pakistan, USA and European Union. The results provide a vital input to the policy makers to focus on critical areas for enhancing the sustainability of energy systems in developing countries. Keywords: Energy systems, national energy policy, sustainability assessment framework
The Effects of Industrial Value Addition and Energy Consumption on Environmental Deterioration: New Evidence from Islamic Countries : The Effects of Industrial Value Addition and Energy Consumption on Environmental Deterioration: New Evidence from Islamic Countries
No full textThe current research is aimed at finding out the effects of energy consumption and industrial value addition on environmental deterioration. Panel data for the years 2000-2017 was employed to explore the long- and short-term association of variables for the selected Islamic countries. Panel Unit Root Test was used to check the stationarity of the data. Moreover, Fisher panel Co-integration tests, PMG, Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Square method (DOLS) were also applied to find out relationship between the variables. The study suggested that economic growth, industrial value addition and energy consumption positively affect the CO2 emission. Moreover, high-energy consumption to meet the demands of energy in transportation and production sectors leads to increased environmental pollution. The coefficient of industrial value addition shows significant effect on environmental deterioration in long term. Our study suggests the use of cleaner technology in production system and replacing renewable energy by non-renewable energy sources
Using Multi-Mission Satellite Elevation Data for Delineation of Gilgit Watershed in Pakistan in Geographical Information Technology Environment: Using Multi-Mission Satellite Elevation Data for Delineation of Gilgit Watershed in Pakistan in Geographical Information Technology Environment
No full textThe hydro-climatological variations in Gilgit watershed of Upper Indus basin is less scientifically understood due to diverse geography, remoteness of the region and larger variations in climatic conditions. Extraction of catchments at multiple scales is an important task in undertaking the watershed management studies. Satellite remote sensing (SRS) and geographical information technology (GIT) provide a very useful method to study the watersheds. In view of the facts, watershed/ natural resources management in Gilgit river basin, application of geospatial techniques to various elevation datasets is required in order to obtain more accurate results using these elevation datasets. To achieve this goal, the topographic feature extraction has been studied in the catchment of Gilgit river using different Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) viz., SRTM, ASTER GDEM and GTOPO30. Several small watersheds for the Phakor, Karamber, East Gammu, Bhort and Bad-e-Swat glaciers were delineated for the basin definition. The delineated watersheds have been visually analyzed against the optical Landsat 8 OLI imagery for mountainous ridge matching. The results revealed that, SRTM 30m (radar based) exhibited more accuracy among these DEMs because of its precise delineation in the Gilgit sub-basin. However, it is appropriate to say that computed area from all three DEMs generally show close agreement. This study is a good contribution towards better understanding of the watershed management and the hydrological responses in Gilgit watershed of the upper Indus catchment
A Critical Review on Potentiality of Marine Resources of the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean: Bangladesh Perspective: A Critical Review on Potentiality of Marine Resources of the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean: Bangladesh Perspective
No full textThe Bay of Bengal (BoB) is rich in resources (both living and non-living). Marine living resources include fisheries, mangrove forests, coral ecosystems, plankton, sea grass and seaweeds, etc. Whereas, non-living resources are oil, gas, gas hydrates, sea salt, heavy minerals, etc. Present study reveals that the oil and gas fields discovered in the BoB are parallel with exploration activities. Bangladesh part of the BoB includes the low exploration area, consequently only one producing gas field, whereas India and Myanmar discovered many significant gas and oil fields in their territory. India discovered gas hydrates in the BoB in 2016. In the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Bangladesh, 0.11 tcf to 0.63 tcf gas hydrates were discovered in 2022, with assessment of 17-103 tcf of natural gas, though gas hydrates exploration at industrial scale is still a big challenge in the world due to stability, composition and distribution of gas hydrates in nature. Different types of heavy minerals are also present in the coastal parts of the country. The Indian Ocean has about 20% of the worldwide tuna production, though Bangladesh contributes very little of it. In the marine part of the country, 475 species of fishes are found compared to 250 species on land. BoB is very important for BIMSTEC countries and also for China and Pakistan in consideration of seaborne trade. Bangladesh can introduce modern cruises like other BoB countries to visit the coastal islands as well as Sundarbans mangrove forest contributing considerably to local employment and economic expansion. Marine organisms have unique nutritional value and contain many kinds of bioactive substances. At present, internationally recognized antibiotics of cephalosporin series, vidarabine antiviral drugs, and a series of sodium alginate marine drugs have been existing. Japan has invested manpower and material resources in seawater by extracting lithium and achieving progress. Japan, Germany, United States and Sweden have also have a certain scale of seawater extracting uranium experiment devices. Despite the challenges like lack of trained personnel, scientific equipment and poor ocean governance, Bangladesh essentially needs to take the opportunity to explore the potential marine areas.
Keywords: Oil and gas, gas hydrates, marine organisms, tuna, coastal tourism
Comprehensive Study on Foliar Application of Zn (Fortification) on Growth, Yield and Zinc Content in Wheat : Comprehensive Study on Foliar Application of Zn (Fortification) on Growth, Yield and Zinc Content in Wheat
No full textThis experiment was conducted at Latif Agriculture Farm, Tandojam, District Hyderabad during Rabi season 2020-2021 to assess the effects of zinc applied in the form of foliar on wheat yield and growth characteristics, employing a randomized complete block design (RCBD). Zinc was sprayed in various concentrations (0, 0.10%, 0.30%, and 0.50%) on leaves at different growth stages. Results revealed that the foliar zinc application along with NPK recommended doses significantly raised the plant height (73.46 and 85.63) at 90 days and harvest time on T4 relative to the control (59.32 and 73.24), respectively. The number of grains per spike showed a consistent rise with increasing zinc application, with T4 and T3 displaying significantly higher grain numbers (26.89) than the control. The thousand grain weight significantly increased and the highest was observed at T4 compared to the control and other treatments. Moreover, grain yield significantly increased in T4, recording the highest yield compared to the control and other treatments. Zinc concentration in grains displayed a significant rise with increasing zinc application, notably higher in T4 than other treatments. Zinc application also increased zinc content in wheat straw, with T4 exhibiting the highest (29.55 µg g-1) zinc content compared to the control and other treatments. Overall, the findings demonstrate the positive impact of foliar application of zinc on various growth stages of wheat, emphasizing its potential in enhancing grain yield and quality. This study advocates for the implementation of foliar application of zinc strategies to fortify wheat crops, thus contributing to agricultural practices aimed at increasing productivity and nutrient enrichment.
Keywords: Zn fortification, foliar spray, zinc content, wheat genotype