ALBERT

Description: Over the course of the past few decades, there has been an exponential growth in environmental courts and tribunals (ECTs). At present, over 350 of these specialized fora for resolving environmental disputes exist, spanning across every region throughout the world. Some of the ECTs have been more successful but others have been less successful. This article identifies 12 characteristics that experience suggests are required for an environmental court or tribunal to operate successfully in practice, drawing upon examples from multiple jurisdictions. In identifying best practices, both substantive and procedural, from existing ECTs, this article will assist two groups: first, stakeholders who are in the process of planning or creating environmental courts or tribunals in their jurisdictions and, secondly, stakeholders and countries that are looking to improve the functioning and performance of their own ECTs.

Description: Legal education plays an important but under-acknowledged role in anthropogenic environmental change because it shapes and qualifies people to become lawyers, judges and policy makers. Their work can prohibit and legitimate particular environmental practices. The conceptual framework of law, its taxonomy, as taught to students of law, often perpetuates an unsustainable relationship to the environment where it separates questions of entitlement to land and natural resources from questions of responsibility for them. The implication of perpetuating this separation in law curricula is that generations of legal practitioners will remain unlikely to develop a coherent system of environmental law that aligns rights with responsibilities. Environmental education scholar David Orr argues that ‘all education is environmental education’. But legal education often excludes environmental considerations even where these are materially relevant. Given the role of legal education in shaping future law, this article contends that rethinking its categories opens the possibility to create sustainable land use practice laws and policy.

Description: This article utilises the concept of interdisciplinarity as a background against which to reflect on the nature of environmental law scholarship. The article argues that, while interdisciplinary scholarship has some tangible benefits in terms of expanding the perimeters of a discipline, the effects of interdisciplinary work are often exaggerated. In fact, interdisciplinary scholarship may have the unintended consequence of entrenching academic disciplines even further. In light of this, it is argued that environmental law scholarship is best perceived and defined as a deliberative practice which takes place within, and speaks to, a specific community of scholars—an interpretive community. In order to secure a vibrant discipline, the article argues that the community ought to maintain a flexible, open-ended and broadly defined approach to environmental law scholarship.

Description: European Union (EU) legal studies generally picture the Member States’ local and regional authorities as implementers of national and supranational norms rather than independent regulators. Yet, sub-national authorities (SNAs) have become active regulators in the context of climate change mitigation and adaptation, a role not foreseen by EU primary law, which this article understands to constitute the surface of EU law. This article examines regulatory activity of SNAs from the perspective of EU law. It illustrates that sub-national, national, supranational and international actors are engaged in a process of mutual learning and experimentation and that, below its surface, EU law recognises that SNAs are not mere implementers of norms but also independent regulators.

Description: This article presents a fresh analysis of the implications of the 2006 judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Case C-244/05 Bund Naturschutz in Bayern , which clarified the standard of legal protection afforded to sites eligible for adoption as Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) under the EU’s Habitats Directive. The article argues that, as a result of this line of case law, it will be unlawful ( at least in certain cases, and perhaps in all) to apply the Article 6(4) Habitats Directive derogation in respect of eligible sites which have not yet been adopted by the European Commission as SCIs. The Commission appears to have been aware of this potential implication, and acted swiftly to minimise the potentially disruptive impact of the judgment on plans and projects within the EU. The article also considers the relevance of the CJEU’s Sweetman judgment ( C-258/11 ) to the Bund Naturschutz in Bayern line of jurisprudence.

Description: What does the specialised nature of an environment court entitle it to do? The recent decision of the New Zealand Supreme Court in Environmental Defence Society Incorporated v Marlborough District Council (‘the King Salmon case’)[2014] NZSC 38 helps to answer this question. For the past 20 years, the New Zealand Environment Court has decided applications within a framework of the broadly defined statutory purpose of sustainable resource management. The King Salmon case narrows this wide discretion. This article analyses the implications of the decision, suggesting that it helps to delineate between functions of specialist environment courts that may be considered appropriate (adjudicative and legislative fact finding) and decision-making that strays too far into the policy-sphere.

Description: This article compares the protection from unnecessary suffering afforded to wild animals with that afforded to domesticated animals and animals under human control. It considers various forms of species-specific biodiversity- and conservation-based protection for wild animals, under legislation such as the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010, as well as the general protection from intentionally inflicted unnecessary suffering afforded to wild mammals under the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996. The article then compares the standard of protection afforded to wild animals with that afforded to non-wild animals under section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which criminalises unnecessary suffering unreasonably caused to non-wild animals.

Description: ASEAN - Improving Environmental Governance and Access to Justice (Amado S. Tolentino Jr) 95 APCEL / MFA - Urban and Industrial Environmental Management "The Singapore Model" (Koh Kheng-Lian) 102 Content Type Journal Article Pages 95-103 Journal Environmental Policy and Law Online ISSN 1878-5395 Print ISSN 0378-777X Journal Volume Volume 41 Journal Issue Volume 41, Number 2 / 2011

Description: Brazil - The Belo Monte Dam Case (Patricia Galindo da Fonseca and Antoine Bourgoignie) 104 Content Type Journal Article Pages 104-107 Journal Environmental Policy and Law Online ISSN 1878-5395 Print ISSN 0378-777X Journal Volume Volume 41 Journal Issue Volume 41, Number 2 / 2011

Description: IRENA / PrepCom-5 / Assembly-1 - Inaugural Meeting of IRENA Assembly 94 Content Type Journal Article Pages 94-94 Journal Environmental Policy and Law Online ISSN 1878-5395 Print ISSN 0378-777X Journal Volume Volume 41 Journal Issue Volume 41, Number 2 / 2011

Description: UNEP GC-26 / GMEF - A Complex Session (Donald Kaniaru) 56 CSD - PrepComs Meet (Ann Powers) 58 ITLOS / Case No. 17 - Seabed Mining "Advisory Opinion on Responsibility and Liability" (Donald K. Anton, Robert A. Makgill and Cymie R. Payne) 60 ICJ - Costa Rica v. Nicaragua "Provisional Relief Granted" 66 ILC - Impact of Conflict on Treaties "An Environmental Perspective" 67 IDDRI - Implications of the Nagoya Protocol (Mireille Jardin and Claudio Chiarolla) 70 ITPGRFA / GB-4 - The Treaty's Role Following Nagoya 71 ITPGRFA - Compliance "Procedures and Operational Mechanisms" (Elsa Tsioumani) 74 UNFF-9 - Sustainable Forest Management (Elisa Morgera) 74 UN Year of Forests - Sustainable Forest Management Tools "National Legal Frameworks since 1992" (Patrice Talla Takoukam) 77 UNCCD / CRIC-9 - Progress in Operations (Soledad Aguilar) 89 COFI-29 - Bycatch, Aquaculture Certification and Ecolabelling "New Guidelines Adopted" (Elisa Morgera) 91 Content Type Journal Article Pages 56-93 Journal Environmental Policy and Law Online ISSN 1878-5395 Print ISSN 0378-777X Journal Volume Volume 41 Journal Issue Volume 41, Number 2 / 2011

Description: Content Type Journal Article Pages 108-109 Journal Environmental Policy and Law Online ISSN 1878-5395 Print ISSN 0378-777X Journal Volume Volume 41 Journal Issue Volume 41, Number 2 / 2011

Description: Low-temperature methane and methanol steam-reforming catalysts Ni/Al 2 O 3 , Cu/Al 2 O 3 and Ni–Cu/Al 2 O 3 with various loadings of Ni and Cu were prepared using a wet impregnation method. The samples were characterized using scanning electron microscope, surface area (BET) test, X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared test, CO chemisorption test and temperature-programmed reduction tests. XRD testing showed that NiO and CuO were present. Ni–Cu-alloyed catalyst shows a significant change in the catalyst characteristics compared with those of individual metals. The results presented in this paper show the main changes in the catalyst properties using ex situ testing.

Description: In this paper we report the synthesis of a series of new Mn/Ti containing perovskites, La 1– x Mn x Mn 1– x Ti x O 3– , for investigation of their potential for use as solid oxide fuel cell electrodes, particularly anodes. Single-phase samples could be achieved for x ≤ 0.4. Above this level, La 2 Ti 2 O 7 impurities were found. Conductivity measurements showed electronic conductivity up to a maximum of 12 S cm –1 at 850°C in air. While the samples were shown to be stable in both air and 5% H 2 /N 2 , the conductivities in the latter were significantly lower (0.4 S cm –1 ), which would be an issue for potential anode applications.

Description: In this paper, using lithium chloride and calcium chloride as modifying agents, the modified silica gel and molecular sieve composite based on ceramic fiber was prepared by treating ceramic fiber paper with sequential impregnation of the suspension of waterglass and molecular sieve and the aqueous solution of salt. The composition of the modified composite was characterized by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Thermogravimetry (TG) and temperature programmed desorption (TPD) were used to evaluate the desorption performance of the composite. FTIR spectra indicated that impregnation salt has no effect on the composition of molecular sieve. TG and TPD analysis indicated that desorption activated energy of modified composite was lower than that of molecular sieve. The result of the dynamic and static adsorption experiment showed that the adsorption performance of molecular sieve enhanced greatly through the modification.

Description: In the present work, the process of synthesis of methyl esters from Jatropha curcas crude oil as an alternative vegetable oil, using a two-step catalyzed process is shown. In the first step, sulfuric acid was used as a catalyst for the esterification reaction of free fatty acid (FFA) and methanol in order to reduce the FFA content to ~0.2%. In the second step, the product from the first step was further reacted with methanol using potassium metoxide as a catalyst. The two-step processes have been developed and optimized by application of the factorial design and response surface methodology. The optimum conditions for biodiesel production were obtained when using methanol to FFA contents of Jatropha crude oil molar ratio (MR) of 20:1, 5 wt% of sulfuric acid, at 60°C with a reaction time of 60 min in the first step, followed by using an MR of methanol to product from the first step of 6:1, 0.95 wt% of KOCH 3 , at 45°C with a reaction time of 60 min in the second step. The percentage of methyl ester in the obtained product was more than 98%. The model has been found to describe the experimental range studied adequately and allows us to scale-up the process. In addition, the fuel properties of the produced biodiesel were in the acceptable ranges according to EN14214 European biodiesel standards.

Description: Adsorption heat transformation (AHT) is one of the challenging technical approaches for supporting the world community initiatives to alleviate or reverse the gravity of the problems arising from CO 2 emissions and global warming. The key tool for enhancement of the AHT efficiency and power is a harmonization of adsorbent properties with working conditions of the AHT cycles. It can be realized by means of target-oriented designing the adsorbent specified for a particular AHT cycle. Two-component composites ‘salt in porous matrix’ (CSPMs) offer new opportunities for nano-tailoring their sorption properties by varying the salt chemical nature and content, porous structure of the host matrix and synthesis conditions. CSPMs have been recognized as promising solid sorbents for various AHT cycles, namely adsorption chilling, desiccant cooling, heat storage and regeneration of heat and moisture in ventilation systems. In this review, we survey a current state-of-the-art and new trends in developing efficient CSPMs for various AHT cycles.

Description: In this article, we outline and review the methods that are currently used to simulate the micro/meso-scale flow and reactive transport processes in the porous catalyst layers (CLs) of a fuel cell. The approaches beyond the atomic scale (molecular dynamics) and below the conventional continuum scale (Navier–Stokes solvers) use coarse-grained pseudo-particles which can either move on a fixed lattice or continuously in space. The focus is mainly put on the development of the off-lattice pseudo-particle models, such as coarse-grained molecular dynamics (CG-MD), dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) and smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) methods. As an example, a CG-MD method is performed as a microscopic structure reconstruction technique to reflect the self-organized phenomena during the formation steps of a CL. In addition, we also highlight the combined nano-scale elementary kinetic processes and the issues on the coupling of DPD and SPH to finite element (FE) modeling techniques. This article also highlights the critical aspects and addresses the future trends and challenges for these models.

Description: Novel binderless zeolite beads of types A and X have been synthesized and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, mercury intrusion, nitrogen adsorption, thermogravimetry, water adsorption isotherm measurements, cyclic hydrothermal treatments and storage tests. The binderless molecular sieves show an improved adsorption capacity, sufficient hydrothermal stability, higher specific energies and the potential for a better performance density of the storage. Both open and closed storage tests have shown comparable adsorption capacities and specific energies for the binderless molecular sieves. A significantly higher discharging temperature, however, could be realized with the open storage system.

Description: Climate change may seriously affect the energy consumption of buildings by influencing their air conditioning loads, especially the ventilation loads which vary directly with the local weather conditions. Research on how the ventilation load responds to climate change is of great significance, especially in coastline subtropical regions like Hong Kong. This paper investigated the impacts of climate change on buildings' ventilation load and building energy use in Hong Kong with the hourly meteorological data from 1950 to 2007. Results have been well validated by the simulation of a typical local hotel building during this period. The results show that climate warming increases both sensible and latent parts of the cooling ventilation load. The latent part, which occupies ~80% of the total ventilation load, increases at a higher rate, about twice of that of the sensible one. Furthermore, it is found that the urban heat island (UHI) effect causes a much higher growth rate of the ventilation load at night, which is about three times compared with that in the daytime. The latent part of the cooling ventilation load at night, which is found to be the most sensitive component to the climate change, plays a most significant role in the energy consumption increase. The possible measures were thus suggested to avoid negative changes of the ventilation load. Besides, reducing the UHI effect by better urban planning also significantly benefits the local buildings with a long air-conditioning operation time.

Description: This paper presents a numerical simulation of the fluid flow and heat transfer in the shell-side of a large-scale shell-and-tube heat exchanger with longitudinal flow through porous-medium and distributed-resistance model. Such characteristics as flow field distribution, shell-side pressure drop, heat transfer performance and overall performance factor of the shell-side were studied with change in L / D and Re . It was shown that when L / D decreased from 6.0 to 1.5 with the same Re , the fluid flow maldistribution became intense, pressure drop increased sharply, and that the overall performance factor decreased sharply. Particularly, when L / D ≤ 2.0, the problems became more and more serious. Through a detailed analysis of the pressure field distribution, it was discovered that 〉80% of the total pressure drop occurred in the region of the inlet and the outlet, where the fluid flow mainly cross the tube bundle. In order to solve the problems, the use of a novel structure of multi-parallel-channel inlet and outlet (MPC) in the shell-side was proposed. A comprehensive investigation showed that MPC is very effective not only in optimizing the fluid flow distribution of the shell-side and enhancing the global heat transfer performance of a heat exchanger, but also in decreasing shell-side pressure drop.

Description: Renewable energy has gained great attention and interest in recent years due to growing energy consumption and greater environmental concerns. Biomass is regarded as a promising candidate for replacing fossil-derived products, through either thermal, biological, or physical processes. This review focuses on thermal processing of biomass in molten salts for production of renewable fuels and chemicals, concepts based on dispersion of biomass or waste particles in a molten salt bath. Inorganic salts have very high heat capacities and good thermal stability at high temperatures. Some molten salts have catalytic properties, and in thermal processing of biomass, the product yields and compound compositions of products can be adjusted by varying compositions and amount of molten salts. In addition, molten salts will retain noxious contaminants, and it is thus possible to use difficult convertible- and/or contaminated biomass as feedstock.

Description: Reed canarygrass is a temperate perennial grass of interest as a bioenergy crop. The canarygrass was evaluated for conversion to bioethanol using liquid hot water and dilute ammonia pretreatments prior to fermentation. The resulting hydrolysates were evaluated for production of ethanol, xylose and soluble xylans. Dilute ammonia gave higher yield efficiencies than liquid hot water. The optimal condition for dilute ammonia (4% w/v) pretreatment was 170°C for 20 min. Hydrolysates were converted to ethanol using Saccharomyces in the presence of a blend of commercial cellulases and additional carbohydrases. The final ethanol conversion efficiency was 84% based upon total hexosans, with 72% of the xylan converted to soluble xylan oligomers.

Description: Content Type Journal Article Pages 58-60 Journal Environmental Policy and Law Online ISSN 1878-5395 Print ISSN 0378-777X Journal Volume Volume 43 Journal Issue Volume 43, Number 1 / 2013

Description: China - Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Climate Change Legislation (Mingde Cao) 52 Content Type Journal Article Pages 52-58 Journal Environmental Policy and Law Online ISSN 1878-5395 Print ISSN 0378-777X Journal Volume Volume 43 Journal Issue Volume 43, Number 1 / 2013

Description: UNECE/Water Convention - MoP-6 "Achievements, New Tools and Future Challenges" (Francesca Romanin Jacur) 42 UNECE: Aarhus Convention - Compliance Committee "Deliberations" (Elsa Tsioumani) 46 Mauritius/UK - The Chagos Archipelago "Latest Developments" 50 Content Type Journal Article Pages 42-51 Journal Environmental Policy and Law Online ISSN 1878-5395 Print ISSN 0378-777X Journal Volume Volume 43 Journal Issue Volume 43, Number 1 / 2013

Description: A Lagrangian particle tracer method embedded within a 3-D finite difference hydrodynamic model is used to study the transport and exchange processes in a semi-enclosed water of Madura Strait, East Java, Indonesia. The 3-D hydrodynamic model forcing functions consist of tidal elevation at north and east open boundary, river discharge of Brantas River estuaries, and monsoonal wind. The validated model successfully estimated the variability of residence time. The calculation results show that water residence times in Madura Strait and especially in its tributaries are mainly governed by the strength of river discharges, whereas the direction of advection is influenced mainly by monsoon wind directions and less by the tide-induced residual current. Content Type Journal Article Pages 117-128 Authors Mochamad Saleh Nugrahadi, The Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), Jl. M.H. Thamrin 8, Jakarta 10340, Indonesia Kurt Duwe, HYDROMOD GbR, Hafenstr. 32b, D-22880 Wedel, Germany Friedhelm Schroeder, Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht Centre for Materials and Coastal Research, Max-Planck-Straße 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany Dirk Goldmann, HYDROMOD GbR, Hafenstr. 32b, D-22880 Wedel, Germany Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 10 Journal Issue Volume 10, Number 1 / 2013

Description: Organic matter (OM) processing in estuaries is crucial in the marine environment as significant quantities of OM are buried or modified in these land-ocean-interaction zones. Southeast Asia is globally important in this regard because of high sediment inputs to the ocean and intense human modifications in the coastal zone, as exemplarily can be observed in the catchment of Java's second largest river, the Brantas. In order to investigate sedimentary OM processing, surface sediments and short sediment cores were sampled in its estuary in the rainy and dry seasons of 2008. δ^{13}C_{org}, δ^{15}N and C/N ratios as well as amino acids and hexosamines were used to determine the sources, transformation and fate of estuarine sedimentary organic matter. Ranges in δ^{13}C_{org} of −24.9 to −20.1‰, in δ^{15}N of 3.5 to 5.4‰ and a C/N ratio of 7.9 to 16.5 in the sediments indicate a mixture of freshly produced marine algae and degraded terrestrial soil organic matter. The relative contributions of the autochthonous and allochthonous OM in the estuarine sediments differed according to the amount and dispersal of the land-derived material. As the discharge of the two main river arms, the Porong and the Wonokromo River, showed strong differences with upto five-fold higher values in the Porong River in the rainy season, the highest proportion of terrestrial OM was found off the Porong river mouth that received the highest riverine runoff. Also the lowest sedimentary reactivity was detected in this region as displayed by amino acids (AA) and hexosamines (HA). AA+HA ranged between 0.76 and 5.25 mg g^{-1}, amino acid bound carbon between 5.9 and 22.6% and the AA/HA ratio between 4.2 and 13.0. Furthermore, a reduced intensity of OM degradation was observed in front of the Porong River outlet, which has been attributed to the high quantity of deposited material and the low reactivity of the surface sediments. In a global context, the reactivity of sedimentary OM from the Brantas estuary was in the range of degraded sediments from offshore regions or stations at greater water depth. It indicates that severe OM degradation based on a strong tidally induced resuspension of sediments in the turbid and well mixed waters of the shallow Brantas estuary is responsible for burial of refractory carbon. Content Type Journal Article Pages 95-115 Authors Claudia Propp, Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology, Fahrenheitstrasse 6, D-28359 Bremen, Germany Ingo Jänen, Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology, Fahrenheitstrasse 6, D-28359 Bremen, Germany Tim Jennerjahn, Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology, Fahrenheitstrasse 6, D-28359 Bremen, Germany Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 10 Journal Issue Volume 10, Number 1 / 2013

Description: The probable maximum precipitation (PMP) is defined as the highest precipitation (measured by a rain gauge) for a given period that is meteorologically reliably recorded in the rainfall station. Estimation of the PMP is very important, especially for the safety design of dams and reservoirs, because precipitation data are available for a much longer period of time than those for river floods. Analysis of the daily rainfall, which was used to estimate the PMP values of the upstream Brantas River showed high consistency, so that the collected rainfall data were reliable. These facts were shown by a straight line produced by each rainfall station based on the double mass curve test. The PMP estimation for upstream Brantas River varied between 419 and 556 mm/day. The estimated PMP values were highest at the Birowo station and lowest at the Tangkil station. They were then not correlated to the maximum daily rainfall observed at a rainfall station. This means that there are other factors as described by the Hershfield equation that resulted in higher estimated PMP values. Therefore, the safety design of dam and reservoir construction in this area has to consider the estimated maximum PMP reaching 556 mm/day. Content Type Journal Article Pages 17-24 Authors Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, The Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), BPPT Building 2, floor 18, Jl. M.H. Thamrin 8, Jakarta 10340 Seno Adi, The Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), BPPT Building 2, floor 18, Jl. M.H. Thamrin 8, Jakarta 10340 Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 10 Journal Issue Volume 10, Number 1 / 2013

Description: The Brantas River catchment on the Indonesian island of Java is among the most densely-populated regions in the world. Damming of the river and intensive agriculture in the catchment are supposed to affect the biogeochemistry and ecology of the river, its reservoirs and coastal waters. We collected water, suspended matter and phytoplankton samples from the Sutami and the Selorejo lakes, two major reservoirs in the catchment, in May 2001 and June 2002. Water samples were analyzed for dissolved inorganic nutrients and suspended matter was analyzed for carbon and nitrogen contents and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope composition. Phytoplankton cells were counted, identified and grouped into four major classes. Both reservoirs displayed clear signs of eutrophication as shown by high nutrient concentrations and high phytoplankton abundance. Phytoplankton abundance was generally higher in the Sutami than in the Selorejo reservoir and in the Sutami reservoir it was much higher in June 2002 than in May 2001. Phytoplankton responded to the amount and composition of nutrients in such a way that diatoms dominated when silicate concentrations and N/P ratios were high in the Sutami reservoir in May 2001. The mass occurrence of the water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes in the Selorejo reservoir was probably responsible for a high uptake of dissolved nutrients resulting in an N/P ratio 〈8. This favoured the growth of cyanobacteria which can fix atmospheric nitrogen. Excessive phytoplankton growth in the Sutami reservoir in June 2002 led to a drastic silicate reduction (165 μM in May 2001, 95 μM in June 2002). This and an N/P ratio 〈4 consequently resulted in a much lower abundance of diatoms and a much higher abundance of cyanobacteria than in May 2001. The biogenic extraction of silicate by diatoms in reservoirs has often been observed in high latitude regions where it, in combination with high anthropogenic additions of nitrogen and phosphorus and a lack of silicate replenishment downstream of reservoirs, leads to eutrophication of coastal waters and a shift from biomineralizing to nonbiomineralizing phytoplankton. Because of the high weathering rates in the tropical Brantas River catchment, silicate concentrations in the downstream portion of the river were as high as in the headwaters and coastal phytoplankton was dominated by diatoms despite nutrient extraction in reservoirs. It indicates that human activities in river catchments in the humid tropics affect coastal ecosystems in a different way than in high latitude regions. Content Type Journal Article Pages 41-53 Authors Tim C. Jennerjahn, Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology, Fahrenheitstrasse 6, 28359 Bremen, Germany Sascha Klöpper, Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology, Fahrenheitstrasse 6, 28359 Bremen, Germany Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 10 Journal Issue Volume 10, Number 1 / 2013

Description: The Brantas River is the second largest river on the island of Java which has undergone major changes in the past decades because of the demands of an evergrowing population. Water management measures were mainly designed (i) to provide flood protection, (ii) to provide raw water for irrigation, households and industry, and (iii) to generate hydropower. The objective of this paper is to delineate the history of development and attendant environmental changes since 1970 as well as to address the effects of a mud volcano eruption in 2006. Data from three gauging stations representing the upstream, midstream and downstream portions of the Brantas River were chosen to display patterns in discharge (1970-2003) and in nutrients (1991-1997). Overall discharge decreased over time at all stations with the strongest decrease in the downstream portion. The amplitude of seasonal changes in discharge was highest in the downstream portion. Dissolved inorganic nutrient concentrations increased slightly downstream as a result of land use. An eruption of a mud volcano in 2006 added to the initially high sediment load of the river. A portion of the mud was directed into the river leading to extremely high suspended matter and low dissolved oxygen concentrations. As a large part of the high suspended sediment load, already settled in the river, dredging was initiated in order to avoid blocking of the river. The dredging material was used for land reclamation. The high nutrient and sediment loads of the Brantas River are to a large extent the result of intensive human activities in the catchment like hydrological alterations and land-use change. Extreme natural events like the mud volcano exacerbate the consequences of human alterations on the water quality and biogeochemistry of the river. Content Type Journal Article Pages 5-15 Authors Seno Adi, The Agency for the Assessment and Application Technology (BPPT), BPPT Building 2, Floor 18, Jl. M.H. Thamrin 8, Jakarta 10340, Indonesia Ingo Jänen, Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology, Fahrenheitstrasse 6, 28359 Bremen, Germany Tim C. Jennerjahn, Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology, Fahrenheitstrasse 6, 28359 Bremen, Germany Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 10 Journal Issue Volume 10, Number 1 / 2013

Description: Investigations are carried out to study the heat and mass transfer characteristics of a falling film horizontal absorber by employing a two-dimensional numerical technique. The potential refrigerant, R134a (1,1,1,2-tetrafluroethane), is absorbed by the falling film of the R134a–DMAC (dimethylacetamide) solution. The variations of performance parameters along the tube surface are presented for different solution inlet temperatures and absorber pressures. The mass flux at the interface is observed to be higher at higher solution temperature and absorber pressure. The variation of the interface to bulk fluid and bulk fluid to wall heat transfer coefficient, overall heat transfer coefficient and mass transfer coefficient are studied for different solution temperatures and absorber pressures.

Description: Solar–thermal power plants are being deployed world-wide. These plants have traditionally used steel absorber pipes. Two types of fluids have been used in such ventures, synthetic aromatic fluid or water. Fluid flow in parabolic trough systems leads to instability in the tube due to the concentrated solar flux on only one-half of the absorber tube, resulting in temperature asymmetricity. The resulting stresses cause deflection and bending of the tube. This paper deals with direct steam systems and proposes incorporation of internal helical fins within the tube to reduce temperature variation. The fins provide an orderly distribution of flow from the ‘hot’ to the ‘cold’ side of the tube. A CFD simulation was carried out for three fin pitches, and an aluminium pipe without fins. The effect on heat transfer improvement and temperature asymmetry is presently reported. It is shown that the thermal gradient between the upper and lower temperature for the pipe without a helical fin (20 K) is considerably higher compared with the pipes with 100, 200 and 400 mm pitch helical fins, i.e. 10.8, 13, 14.9 K, respectively. Also, the thermal gradient for the aluminium pipe was also much lower when compared with the steel pipe.

Description: Aerogels are a special type of solid material with nanometre-scale pores 〈1/3000th the width of a human hair. Porosity is in excess of 90%, in some cases as high as 99.9%, and densities can be as low as 3 kg/m 3 . Aerogels are essentially ‘puffed-up sand’ and are often termed ‘frozen smoke’. Their thermal conductivity (0.014 W/m K at room temperature) is the lowest of any solids, and they also have good transparency. The acoustic properties of aerogels make them effective insulators against noise, and aerogels have the lowest refractive index, and dielectric constant of all solid materials. The unusual properties of aerogels open the way to a new range of opportunities for their application in buildings. This paper provides information on their unique features and reviews the potential applications for aerogels in buildings as well as latest developments in the field.

Description: The UK is implementing different types of policies to encourage the use of renewable energy for electricity generation. Currently, the UK is falling behind other European countries in this respect. Hence, co-operatives play an important role in helping the UK to move forward. Co-operatives are of interest to the Government in respect of economic development in the community. Co-operatives keep both the business, or entity, and the wealth it creates locally, which also supports the local economy. Survival rates are higher for co-operatives, which will make them a more sustainable choice for businesses and have a positive impact upon employment opportunities. Co-operatives can be adapted to suit all types of situations, especially during difficult times such as the world economic downturn. This article explores the role energy co-operatives can play within the context of electricity generation in the UK. A review of the degree of exploitation of two leading and currently deployed renewable energy technologies is presented for key member states within the EU. This is followed by a discussion on the growth of the co-operatives and their role in meeting the aims of achieving a low-carbon economy.

Description: This paper presents the experimental results of a single cylinder Enfield engine using an electronically controlled fuel injection system which was developed to carry out exhaustive tests using neat compressed natural gas (CNG), and mixtures of hydrogen in CNG (HCNG) as 5, 10, 15 and 20% by energy. Experiments were performed at 2000, 2400 and 2800 rpm with wide open throttle and varying the equivalence ratio. Hydrogen, which has a fast burning rate, when added to CNG, enhances its flame propagation rate. The emissions of HC, CO, decreased with increasing percentage of hydrogen but NO x was found to increase. The results indicated a marked improvement in the brake thermal efficiency with the increase in percentage of hydrogen added. The improved thermal efficiency was clearly observed to be more in lean regions when compared with rich regions.

Description: Green roof is a passive cooling technique that stops incoming solar radiation from reaching the building structure below. Many studies have been conducted over the past 10 years to consider the potential building energy benefits of green roofs and have shown that they can offer benefits in energy reduction for winter heating as well as summer cooling. Green roofs have many benefits over conventional roofs: they reduce storm water run-off, the heat island effect in cities and energy requirements for cooling; all of this while sequestering some CO 2 from the atmosphere. But because of their expense, the building industry has yet to fully embrace their large-scale implementation. Over the summer', two test structures, one with a green roof and the other with an RCC roof, were built and tested at the Ujjain Engineering College, Ujjain, RGPV University, to determine their cooling potential. Results indicate that the test cell with the green roof consistently performs better than those with the conventional cement RCC roof.

Description: For better use of evaporative cooling techniques in humid climate, a desiccant cooling system (DCS) can be an alternative option in place of a conventional cooling system. This paper presents a theoretical comparative study of the performance of a DCS for four different climatic conditions of India (i.e. hot and dry, warm and humid, moderate and composite climates). From the analysis, it was found that the performance of a DCS is suitable in warm and humid climate. The thermodynamic equations of intermediate states of the desiccant cooling cycle are also presented. Effects of some parameters such as outdoor specific humidity, R / P ratio (regeneration air flow/process air flow) and power required to regenerate the desiccant wheel have been studied. The theoretical minimum R / P ratio has been computed for the maximum coefficient of performance (COP) of a DCS and its value was found to be 0.55 in Mumbai (warm and humid climate) for the 80% effectiveness of ECW. This paper also presents the relationship between COP and regeneration power with the different values of R / P ratios.

Description: This article studies in detail the permeation properties of highly permeable and highly selective polymer membrane for water vapor/volatile organic compound (VOC). A dense cellulose acetate (CA) membrane is prepared by the dry method. The sorption and permeation properties of water vapor and VOCs (acetic acid, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, toluene and ethane) are experimentally investigated. Besides, the mass transfer coefficient of self-membrane can be separated from the total mass transfer coefficient. Using sorption and permeation data of gases, diffusion coefficient is calculated based on a solution–diffusion mechanism. The selectivity for water vapor/VOC is discussed and analyzed. The permeability selectivities of water vapor/VOC are all over 100. The result shows that the novel CA sense membrane is suitable for air dehumidification and total heat recovery.

Description: Building-mounted micro-wind turbines are capable of contributing a significant proportion of a building's energy needs. However, the introduction of this technology in built-up areas has been limited due to a number of issues, such as lower wind speeds, high turbulence and noise. This study presents an investigation into the effect of turbulence, which is more prominent in the built environment, on the operation of a micro-scale horizontal-axis wind turbine. For this purpose, an innovative method of sensing the yaw position of the wind turbine is required, which is discussed along with detailed methodology and the results obtained. The wind turbine used in the experiment uses a swing rudder system, and the effectiveness of this in turbulent conditions was also investigated. This study concluded that the wind turbine missed ~20% of the total power available in the wind and that the swing rudder system was suited to high wind speeds, while the fixed rudder suited to low wind speeds.

Description: Electricity production with an organic Rankine cycle and a transcritical Rankine cycle is investigated in this paper with R-123 and CO 2 as working fluids, respectively. The analysis focuses on the off-design behavior with different control strategies to show some of the occurring difficulties. It was found that both cycles need an advanced control strategy to avoid non-feasible operation (R-123) or significant losses in work output (CO 2 ). A challenge for the advanced control is the required large change in expander speed, which can lead to compatibility problems with the grid.

Description: The Brantas River is a tropical mid-sized river with mountainous headwaters, covering a catchment area of around 11,050 km^2 at the east coast of Java, Indonesia. Its watershed is located in one of the most densely populated regions worldwide, facing alterations by agriculture, urbanization and aquaculture ponds. Additionally, one of the two major distributaries of the Brantas River in the lowlands, the Porong River is affected by inputs from the "LUSI" mud volcano since April 2006. We investigated spatio-temporal variations in inorganic nutrient biogeochemistry of the Brantas River, its major distributaries in the lower reaches and its coastal-estuarine regions and related them to land use and hydrology. Highest nutrient loadings occurred during the wet periods (November to April) making up 80% and 87% of the annual dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN: NO_3^-, NO_2^-, NH_4^ +) and phosphorus (PO_4^{3-}) loads, respectively, with the Porong River accounting for 90% and 82% of the annual DIN and PO_4^{3-} input. During wet periods the estuaries were flushed with DIN and PO_4^{3-} rich freshwater, leading to high concentrations in coastal waters. Much lower nutrient concentrations were observed in coastal waters during dry periods because of low river discharge and nutrient load. During dry periods an increased exchange time and increased biological activity were responsible for estuaries acting as a sink for NO_3^- and a source for NH_4^ + and PO_4^{3-}. In contrast, during wet periods most of the introduced NO_3^- was directly discharged into coastal waters without further processing and NH_4^ + and PO_4^{3-} fluxes were slightly lower. Variations in the DIN composition were mainly related to differences in land use with NO_3^- dominating the agriculture-dominated upper Brantas River and increasing NH_4^ + and NO_2^- content in the lower reaches affected by urban wastewater and aquaculture. The mud volcano affected parts of the Porong River showed drastic changes in the DIN composition and depletion of dissolved oxygen during low flow periods. In contrast, during wet periods most of the mud volcano input was diluted by the large freshwater and inorganic nutrient supply from the upstream regions. Our results suggest that the densely urbanized Brantas River with multiple anthropogenic nutrient sources (agriculture, urban sewage release, aquacultures) leads to an increased export of dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus into coastal waters. The enhanced nutrient export supports nutrient enrichment in coastal waters, can possibly affect the phytoplankton production and composition, leading to eutrophication within nearshore regions of the Madura Strait. Content Type Journal Article Pages 73-93 Authors Ingo Jänen, Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology, Fahrenheitstr. 6, 28359 Bremen, Germany Seno Adi, Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology, Jl. M.H. Thamrin 8, Jakarta 10340, Indonesia Tim C. Jennerjahn, Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology, Fahrenheitstr. 6, 28359 Bremen, Germany Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 10 Journal Issue Volume 10, Number 1 / 2013

Description: Using an automated water quality station in the lower Brantas River, East Java, Indonesia, highly time-resolved time series (1 min^1) of main parameters that govern water quality have been measured (oxygen, chlorophyll-a, turbidity, nutrients, total inorganic and organic carbon) from 2003 to 2008. All parameters showed distinct seasonal variations related to dry and wet seasons. Due to the large input of organic material from sewage and industry into the river the most important parameter is the dissolved oxygen that displays a distinct seasonal behaviour with relatively large values during wet season and very low values in dry season. In addition, during dry season high variations between day and night were observed with zero oxygen concentrations at night. From highly time-resolved oxygen time series the main metabolic rates (primary production, respiration) together with atmospheric exchange rates could be calculated in a semi-quantitative way. From this, it could be estimated that the anthropogenic carbon input into the river has to be reduced from about 70 t/d BOD equivalents to at least 33 t/d in order to prevent anaerobic conditions. Content Type Journal Article Pages 55-72 Authors Friedhelm Schroeder, Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht Centre for Materials and Coastal Research, Max-Planck-Straße 1 21502 Geesthacht, Germany Hans-Diethard Knauth, Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht Centre for Materials and Coastal Research, Max-Planck-Straße 1 21502 Geesthacht, Germany Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 10 Journal Issue Volume 10, Number 1 / 2013

Description: Content Type Journal Article Category Guest Editorial Pages 1-4 Authors Tim C. Jennerjahn, Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology, Fahrenheitstrasse 6, 28359 Bremen, Germany Seno Adi, The Agency for the Assessment and Application Technology (BPPT), BPPT Building 2 Floor 18, Jl. M.H. Thamrin no.8, Jakarta 10340, Indonesia Friedhelm Schroeder, Helmholtz Centre for Materials and Coastal Research, Max-Planck-Strasse 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 10 Journal Issue Volume 10, Number 1 / 2013

Description: The design, development and operation of an automated water quality station at the banks of the Brantas River, Java, Indonesia is described. The objective of the work was to prove that such a station can be operated in tropical areas with trained local personnel. By designing and building a modular system within a transportable container, a generalised system that can be applied to other tropical or subtropical regions was developed. The main problem in tropical waters — biofouling of sensors – was solved by automated cleaning procedures that include pressure cleaning with acidified water and chlorination. Low maintenance requirements could be achieved by a completely automated operation and remote maintenance via phone and internet. The different components of the system – water inlet, hydraulic circuit, data management – are described in detail. The performance and the costs of the automated water quality station are discussed. Content Type Journal Article Pages 25-39 Authors Friedhelm Schroeder, Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht Centre for Materials and Coastal Research, Max-Planck-Straße 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany Michael Boer, 4H Jena Engineering GmbH, Mühlenstraße 126, 07745 Jena, Germany Didik Agus Wijanarko, Badan Lingkungan Hidup Prov Jatim, Indonesia Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 10 Journal Issue Volume 10, Number 1 / 2013

Description: Content Type Journal Article Pages 161-168 Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 10 Journal Issue Volume 10, Number 1 / 2013

Description: Physicochemical analysis of fresh potable water and treated wastewater collected from the sewage plant were carried out. The analysis of different parameters namely pH, electrical conductivity, TDS, hardness of water, Ca^{2+}, Mg^{2+}, total alkalinity, chloride, sulphates, NO_2^-, fluoride, dissolved oxygen, phosphates, sodium and potassium ions were carried out as per the standard methods. The preliminary study aimed at utility of treated wastewater and how far it is extendable upto the proper usage for different purposes. Content Type Journal Article Pages 155-159 Authors Mushini Venkata Subba Rao, Department of Chemistry, G.M.R. Institute of Technology, Rajam 532 127, Andhra Pradesh, India V. Dhilleswara Rao, Department of Chemistry, G.M.R. Institute of Technology, Rajam 532 127, Andhra Pradesh, India Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 10 Journal Issue Volume 10, Number 1 / 2013

Description: Haematological profiles have been frequently used to assess the health status of fish subject to metallic stress. The present study examined potential alterations that may arise in the haematological profile of the Mozambique Tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) due to exposure to cadmium (Cd). Adult female fish collected from an aquarium were housed in glass tanks and exposed to three concentrations (0.2, 2 and 10 mg l^{-1}) of CdCl_2 for five days. At the end of the trial, fish were sacrificed to obtain blood to record five primary (erythrocyte count - RBC, lymphocyte count - WBC, haemoglobin concentration - Hb, packed cell volume - PCV and clotting time) and three secondary (mean cell haemoglobin - MCH, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration - MCHC and mean cell volume - MCV) haematological parameters. Results revealed that the observed patterns were erratic and significant changes were observed only at the low (0.2 mg l^{-1}) and high (10 mg l^{-1}) levels of exposure. Significant increases were noted in RBC and WBC counts, Hb, PCV, MCH, MCHC and MCV, while the clotting time was significantly reduced (2.2 minutes in the control and 0.8 at the highest concentration). These results are of particular concern since the lowest test concentration (0.2 mg l^{-1}), which was capable of inducing changes in some of the blood parameters, falls within the ranges recorded in some of the water bodies of Sri Lanka. Content Type Journal Article Pages 149-153 Authors R.A.A.R. Ranatunge, Department of Zoology, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka M.R. Wijesinghe, Department of Zoology, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka W.D. Ratnasooriya, Department of Zoology, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka R. Wijesekera, Department of Zoology, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 10 Journal Issue Volume 10, Number 1 / 2013

Description: River Ganges is one of the most important rivers of India. This important and sacred river is becoming contaminated day by day. In the present study, 500 water samples were collected from river Ganges and screened for presence of Salmonella by PCR. Out of 500 samples, 44 were found to be positive for Salmonella and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium was the most common serovar isolated from 24 samples. These isolates were screened for presence of stn, inv A and pef A genes which are mainly responsible for virulence of Salmonella. In 21 isolates stn gene was present, while inv A and pef A genes were present in 22 and 18 isolates respectively. In 15 isolates, all three virulent genes were present. The present study indicates that these isolates may be virulent and being a serious cause of health problems both in animals and humans. Content Type Journal Article Pages 141-147 Authors M.K. Saxena, Animal Biotechnology Centre, Department of Veterinary Physiology and Biochemistry G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India - 263145 Rubi Singh, Department of Microbiology, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar Uttarakhand, India - 263145 Achana Yadav, Animal Biotechnology Centre, Department of Veterinary Physiology and Biochemistry G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India - 263145 Shashi Kiran, Animal Biotechnology Centre, Department of Veterinary Physiology and Biochemistry G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India - 263145 Anjani Saxena, Animal Biotechnology Centre, Department of Veterinary Physiology and Biochemistry G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India - 263145 B.D. Lakhchura, Animal Biotechnology Centre, Department of Veterinary Physiology and Biochemistry G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India - 263145 Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 10 Journal Issue Volume 10, Number 1 / 2013

Description: This study was conducted to investigate the impact of water quality of the Bangshi River, a part of the Bangshi-Turag system in the north-central (NC) region of Bangladesh, on irrigated soil, and growth and yield performances of rice (BRRIdhan-29) by selecting a polluted site (PS) and a pollution free control site (CS) along the river. Water and soil samples from both sites were collected on different growing stages of rice and analyzed on spots and in laboratories following standard methods and instruments. Growth and yield parameters of rice from both sites were collected through measurements and surveys in the rice fields and farmers' households. The results of the study revealed that the values of pH, EC, DO, Cl, NH_4-N, SAR, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Cd, Ni and Cr in river water exceeded the safe limits for irrigation at the PS, whereas these parameters were within the safe limits at the CS. The contents of most nutrients (except B) as well as metals in soil were found to be higher at the PS than those of the CS. However, the most growth and yield parameters of rice (except the weights of unfilled/damaged grains and rice husks) were significantly lower at the PS than those of the CS, which might be due to the irrigation with water polluted mostly by untreated industrial effluents. Content Type Journal Article Pages 129-139 Authors Masudur Rahman, Environmental Science Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna - 9208, Bangladesh M. Shahjahan Mondal, Institute of Water and Flood Management, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology Dhaka - 1000, Bangladesh Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 10 Journal Issue Volume 10, Number 1 / 2013

Description: In the present study, mixed microbial culture isolated from the sludge of effluent treatment plant of a refinery was tested for its phenol biodegradation potential under static batch condition. The result showed that, after acclimatization, the culture could biodegrade upto 750 mg L^{-1} of phenol. 100% phenol degradation was achieved for the various concentrations studied. Kinetic study showed that specific growth rate of microorganisms and specific substrate degradation rate increased up to 300 mg L^{-1} of initial phenol concentration and then started decreasing. The biodegradation kinetics was fitted to different substrate inhibition models by using optimization software tool (solver) in Microsoft office 2007. Among all models, Aiba model (μmax = 0.3187 h^{-1}, K_I = 400, R^2 = 0.915) and Edward Model (μmax = 0.0011 h^{-1}, K_I = 210 mg L^{-1}, R^2 = 0.942) were fitted the best. Growth kinetics was also fitted well to the classical Haldane model. The values of inhibition constant, K_I from Yano model indicated that this culture may well degrade phenol beyond 750 mg L^{-1}. Content Type Journal Article Pages 19-24 Authors Hemant Kumar, Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati Guwahati, Assam – 781039, India Kaustubha Mohanty, Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati Guwahati, Assam – 781039, India Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 3 / 2012

Description: A study has been taken to evaluate the impact of industrial waste generated from different industries existing in Jagatpur Industrial Estate on river Mahanadi. Samples were collected from final discharge point to river Mahanadi of different industries as well as upstream and downstream of river Mahanadi to Jagatpur Industrial Estate. Samples were collected in three seasons. The results obtained at U/S and D/S points on river Mahanadi in different seasons (winter, summer and rainy) has been compared graphically. From the seasonal variation it was observed that almost all parameters are in increasing trend. In the rainy season, yearly average value at the D/S point is quite high as compared to yearly value at U/S point. The high values in rainy season is due to washing of waste dumping near Mahanadi bed. Quality Ratings for different parameters has been calculated from that water quality index was found out and compared. From the results it is concluded that, due to industrial waste discharge, water quality of river Mahanadi is deteriorated at the D/S point on river Mahanadi and the results are not meeting the prescribed standard for drinking water under Class A. Content Type Journal Article Category Short Note Pages 79-81 Authors Swati Panda, Department of Zoology, Salipur College, Salipur, Orissa, India A.K. Patra, Department of Zoology, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India S.K. Mohanty, State Pollution Control Board, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 3 / 2012

Description: Environmental gradients in physico-chemical properties and distance to human settlements at two wetlands (around Hyena and Nalogomon dams) in the Nairobi National Park were studied. Ordination showed that over 84% of the variation in both wetland waters and soils was accounted for by twelve parameters (physico-chemical properties and distance to settlements). In wetland waters, Cu and Mn contributed most to variation that was related to distance to nearest urban settlements. This means that the concentration of the two elements increased as distance to settlements decreased. Elements Cu and Mn are pollution indicators and their increased concentration during the wet season in wetlands close to urban areas could be due to run-off or storm waters from the settled areas finding its way into the wetland. Critically, P and Cu varied along the distance gradient, being highest closest to urban settlements. The ordination plots on the wetland soil/sediment show a clear gradient, that is, a distance to urban settlements gradient that separates the two wetlands. Content Type Journal Article Pages 11-18 Authors W.K.S. Ruto, School of Biological Sciences, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197-00100, Nairobi, Kenya J.I. Kinyamario, School of Biological Sciences, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197-00100, Nairobi, Kenya N.K. Ngétich, School of Biological Sciences, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197-00100, Nairobi, Kenya E. Akunda, School of Biological Sciences, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197-00100, Nairobi, Kenya J.K. Mworia, School of Biological Sciences, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197-00100, Nairobi, Kenya Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 3 / 2012

Description: Effluent from an urban pond receiving domestic sewage for many decades was investigated. The chemical analysis of sewage of the pond revealed very high concentrations of BOD, COD, total N, NH_4^ +-N at alkaline pH with very low concentration of DO and caused stunted growth of Eichhornia crasspes. Hence, biomass productions by E. crassipes in different rate of diluted cultures, sewage with tap water were studied. The plant recorded significantly (p 〈 0.01) increased biomass production, N uptake efficiency as well as N removal efficiency in two times dilution than undiluted sewage culture. Analysis of variance revealed significant variation among different rate of dilutions for net biomass production (F = 58.13), N uptake efficiency (F = 89.80) and N removal efficiency (F = 18.61) by E. crassipes at the end of two months culture study. Content Type Journal Article Pages 45-50 Authors A.K. Giri, Institute of Environment & Development Studies, Bundelkhand University, Jhansi – 284128 (U.P.), India P. Sachan, Institute of Environment & Development Studies, Bundelkhand University, Jhansi – 284128 (U.P.), India S. Kushwaha, Institute of Environment & Development Studies, Bundelkhand University, Jhansi – 284128 (U.P.), India M.P. Singh, Institute of Environment & Development Studies, Bundelkhand University, Jhansi – 284128 (U.P.), India S. Verma, Institute of Environment & Development Studies, Bundelkhand University, Jhansi – 284128 (U.P.), India Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 3 / 2012

Description: Noise assessment is carried out in various residential, commercial and industrial places in and around Belpahar and Brajarajnagar of Ib River coalfield. The average noise intensities at various residential places range from 57.10 to 63.25 dB during day time (6 am-10 pm) and from 46.77 to 56.22 dB during night (10 pm-6 am). It clearly demonstrates that the noise levels are in close proximity or beyond the permissible limit. Though the average noise intensities at various commercial and industrial places are within the permissible limit, the Lmax noise values are more than the permissible limit. Analysis of variance is also computed for different residential, commercial and industrial places to infer the level of significance. Content Type Journal Article Category Short Note Pages 73-78 Authors Haraprasad Mohapatra, Kaptipada College, Kaptipada, Mayurbhanj – 757040, Orissa Shreerup Goswami, Department of Geology, Ravenshaw University, Cuttack – 753003, Orissa, India Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 3 / 2012

Description: This paper deals with an important phenomenon taking place these days – melting of polar ice caps and glaciers on various mountains around the globe. This phenomenon has already affected the population in India and Pakistan due to the drying up of rivers. This is an indication for those living in South East Asia, and Far East that without the rivers to irrigate fields, there would be major food crisis. In addition, it would result in mass migration of people due to the shortage of water. This paper, at first, provides evidences of drying up processes of rivers Indus in Pakistan and Ganga in India – to show that the adverse effect of the global warming is already there in India and Pakistan, and this fact was completely missed out at the Copenhagen Conference in December 2009. Next, the paper shows that, without the glaciers on the Himalayas, vast areas in India and Pakistan would turn into deserts because in these areas the climate would change drastically due to lack of vegetation and influx of solar energy. Content Type Journal Article Pages 67-72 Authors Anand M. Sharan, Faculty of Engineering, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Canada A1B 3X5 Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 3 / 2012

Description: Content Type Journal Article Pages 97-106 Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 3 / 2012

Description: A number of chemical and pharmaceutical industries have been established since past three decades. Effluents from these industries are being directly discharged into surrounding land, irrigation fields and surface water bodies thereby contaminating the groundwater table. Application of different multivariate statistical approaches is used to interpret the relationship between the specific process that control the quality of water in surface and ground water in Bollaram industrial town near Hyderabad (India). Thirteen parameters have been monitored on thirty eight sampling points from a survey conducted in surface and ground water. This data was analysed using statistical analysis (CA). Sr, Ba, Co, Ni and Cr were associated and controlled by mixed origin with similar contribution from anthropogenic and geogenic sources whereas Fe, Mn, As, Pb, Zn, B and Co were derived from anthropogenic activities. Statistical analysis showed good results rendering the three different groups for surface water and two groups for ground water of similarity between the sampling sites reflecting the different water quality parameters of the study area. This correlation identified with the processes of salinity, alkalinity and pollution which are considered as lithologically and non-lithologically controlled factors. Content Type Journal Article Category Short Note Pages 91-96 Authors Ishrath, P.G. College of Science, Saifabad, Osmania University, Hyderabad – 500004, India Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 3 / 2012

Description: This study is a documented research work that determines the emission quantities of HFCs, PFCs and SF6 in Thailand. The information included in this study is comprised of secondary data that have been collected from relevant government agency sources and the results of a field survey. The field survey provides information about the production process, the production output, and the emission factors for each specific production process, extracted from the Revised 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National GHG Inventories, Volume 3. The effect of the use of HFC-134a in the manufacturing and servicing of household refrigerators and automobile air-conditionings was calculated during 2001–2006 and the results indicated that the direct emission of HFCs based on CO_2 and carbon equivalent was 59,280,394 and 16,300,616 MT carbon, respectively. Similarly, the effect of the use of SF6 in the manufacture was calculated during 2001-2006 and the results indicated that the direct emission of SF6 based on CO2 and carbon equivalent was 29,473 and 8038 MT carbon, respectively. The direct emission was calculated from the amount of HFCs, PFCs and SF6 that had leaked or had purged directly into the atmosphere. It was found that the direct emissions from manufacturing and servicing refrigerator had increased and the different emissions depend on the amount of GHG that was converted which was compared to the amount of equivalent CO_2. Content Type Journal Article Pages 51-57 Authors Varittha Sriruang, 1Air Quality and Noise Management Bureau, Pollution Control Department (PCD) Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand Nathsuda Pumijumnong, 1Air Quality and Noise Management Bureau, Pollution Control Department (PCD) Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand Winai Nutmagul, 1Air Quality and Noise Management Bureau, Pollution Control Department (PCD) Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand Vanisa Surapipith, 1Air Quality and Noise Management Bureau, Pollution Control Department (PCD) Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 3 / 2012

Description: Theoretically, water supply, sanitation and poverty are intertwined. This intertwined link is governed by various socio-economic, political and cultural factors. In Pakistan, this interlink is very strong. This paper is designed to assess the extent of this link and to evaluate various options of interventions and their effectiveness. Data analysis suggests that the sector suffers from poor attributes of access, quality, coverage and expenditure constraints. Sector's review indicates that approaches, strategies and priorities suffer from a number of problems. Results imply that water and sanitation approaches are less likely to work well or very effective. At least the approaches are not sustainable in the long run till the situation of the poor people will not be changed. Improvement could only be possible where the services are targeted efficiently with better access with low cost technologies coupled with improved pro-poor financial mechanisms. This can be achieved by extending the services to the income poor and water and sanitation poor and by extending the services in rural areas such as schools where the lack of facilities are visible. Content Type Journal Article Pages 25-36 Authors Ahmed Nawaz Hakro, Faculty, College of Economics, Management and Information Systems University of Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman PO Box 33, Pc 616, Birkat Al Mouz, Sultanate of Oman Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 3 / 2012

Description: The antibiotic resistance shown by bacterial isolates from aquatic sources was studied. Resistance towards ampicillin was higher compared to the other antibiotics viz. amikacin, chloramphenicol, gentamicin and tetracycline. Compared to the isolates from unpolluted water sources the isolates from industrially polluted water showed higher incidence of resistance towards antibiotics such as ampicillin, chloramphenicol, gentamicin and tetracycline. Antibiotic resistance pattern of the isolates was compared. Incidence of multiple drug resistance to three or more drugs was more in isolates from polluted water. The results suggest that industrially polluted water bodies can act as reservoirs of multidrug resistant bacteria from where they can spread to the environment. Content Type Journal Article Category Short Note Pages 79-81 Authors Divya Mohan, Dept. of Microbiology, School of Biosciences, Mahatma Gandhi University Kottayam, Kerala – 686 560, India Suja Philip, Dept. of Microbiology, School of Biosciences, Mahatma Gandhi University Kottayam, Kerala – 686 560, India Jyothis Mathew, Dept. of Microbiology, School of Biosciences, Mahatma Gandhi University Kottayam, Kerala – 686 560, India Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 3 / 2012

Description: In this study of plasma pyrolysis of cotton, main focus was drawn on the energy recovery possibilities by generating Syn gas (H_2 + CO) by thermal pyrolysis and gasification (cracking) of cotton through plasma as heat source. Through GC analysis, we concluded that plasma pyrolysis of cotton in temperature range of 500 to 700°C yields H2 as main component around 15–25% volume basis and other compounds like CO, CO_2, CH_4, C_2H_6, C_2H_4, C2H2 and soot (carbon). Dioxin and furan formation do not take place as we worked in higher temperature ranges and then provided sudden fast quenching to avoid De-Nevo synthesis. The theoretical and experimental energy recovery comparisons have also been done and shown. Content Type Journal Article Pages 59-66 Authors Pragnesh N. Dave, Department of Chemistry, K.S.K.V. Kachchh University, Bhuj – 370 001, Gujarat, India Asim Joshi, 1Chemical Engineering Department, Institute of Technology, Nirma University Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway, Ahmedabad – 380 019 Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 3 / 2012

Description: The removal of Co(II) ions by two Cameroon clays – kaolinite and smectite as adsorbents – was investigated in a batch system. The effect of Co(II) ions initial concentration, Co, pH and contact time, t, has been studied in terms of kinetic models. The experimental data fitted well the pseudo-second order kinetic model allowing the rate constant to be evaluated. This study shows that these clays could be used as important efficient adsorbent materials for the uptake of Co(II) ions from aqueous solution at low initial concentrations. This study is important for the treatment of Co(II) ions effluent where continuous removal can be achieved on a large scale. Content Type Journal Article Pages 37-43 Authors Horace Manga Ngomo, Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé 1 P.O. Box 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon Charles Fon Abi, Department of Chemistry, Higher Teachers' Training College, University of Yaoundé 1 P.O. Box 47, Yaoundé, Cameroon Gaëlle Tatiana Ngnie Tuemgnie, Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé 1 P.O. Box 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon Patrice Kenfack Tsobnang, Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé 1 P.O. Box 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon Joseph Ketcha Mbadcam, Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé 1 P.O. Box 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 3 / 2012

Description: Bioassays employing the luminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri (LUMIStox system), the brine shrimp (Artemia salina) as well as the acetylcholinesterase inhibition test were used to evaluate sediment toxicity of surface sediments from five East Sumatra rivers. In March and November of 2008 samples were collected from Rokan, Siak, Kampar, Indragiri and Musi rivers from overall 52 stations. The sediments were extracted with a sediment/water ratio of 1:1 (w/v). The most toxic sediments were found at the stations 529 (Kampar), 543 (Musi) as well as 517 (Siak) during the November 2008 campaign. Of the bioassays employed in this study, the acetylcholinesterase inhibition test was the most responsive to the extracts (EC_{50}: 0.4 ± 0.1 to 1.02 ± 0.3 g/L), whereas the invertebrate lethality assay using Artemia salina was less sensitive (EC_{50}: 6.1 ± 0.6 to 9.3 ±; 0.4 g/L). While it was not possible to correlate the observed ecotoxicological effects with a specific and/or class of contaminants it is notable that the Siak sediment extracts were consistently ranked the most toxic with all test species and all test phases. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-9 Authors Bettina Scholz, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Schleusenstr. 1, 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany Daniel Ziehe, 1Johann Heinrich von Thuenen Institute, Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries Institute of Agricultural Climate Research, Bundesallee 50, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany Lucinéia A. Pivetta, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Schleusenstr. 1, 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany Nils Pielok, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Schleusenstr. 1, 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany Gerd Liebezeit, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Schleusenstr. 1, 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 3 / 2012

Description: Nigeria - The Making of a Climate Policy "Multi-Stakeholder Discourse" (Peter Koblowsky and Chinwe Ifejika Speranza) 130 Content Type Journal Article Pages 130-132 Journal Environmental Policy and Law Online ISSN 1878-5395 Print ISSN 0378-777X Journal Volume Volume 42 Journal Issue Volume 42, Number 2 / 2012

Description: UNEP GCSS-12 / GMEF - Brief Observations (Donald W. Kaniaru) 76 UN / GSP - Report on "A Future Worth Choosing" 80 CMS / COP-10 - The "Future Shape" of an Innovative Convention 82 UNFCCC - Durban: A Success or Failure? (Doaa Abdel Motaal) 85 UNCCD / COP-10 - Towards a Global Authority on Desertification andLand Degradation (Luc Gnacadja and Lindsay C. Stringer) 87 UNCLOS - Responsibilities and Obligations of Sponsoring States "ITLOS Advisory Opinion" (Pia Vromman) 90 UNESCO - Global Protected Area Programmes "An Overview" (Gianfranco Tamburelli) 96 Content Type Journal Article Pages 76-101 Journal Environmental Policy and Law Online ISSN 1878-5395 Print ISSN 0378-777X Journal Volume Volume 42 Journal Issue Volume 42, Number 2 / 2012

Description: Content Type Journal Article Pages 133-134 Journal Environmental Policy and Law Online ISSN 1878-5395 Print ISSN 0378-777X Journal Volume Volume 42 Journal Issue Volume 42, Number 2 / 2012

Description: International Environmental Dispute Settlement - Rio+20 and Beyond (Bharat H. Desai and Balraj Sidhu) 102 WTO - Focus on Food Security (Elsa Tsioumani) 117 IRENA - Highlights of the Second Assembly 119 Content Type Journal Article Pages 102-121 Journal Environmental Policy and Law Online ISSN 1878-5395 Print ISSN 0378-777X Journal Volume Volume 42 Journal Issue Volume 42, Number 2 / 2012

Description: UN / ECE / Water Convention - Transboundary Groundwater and Convention Implementation (Laura Covino-Kerpelman) 122 South China Sea - Control of Land Based Sources of Marine Pollution "A Regional Overview" (Part 1) "Daud Hassan" 124 Content Type Journal Article Pages 122-129 Journal Environmental Policy and Law Online ISSN 1878-5395 Print ISSN 0378-777X Journal Volume Volume 42 Journal Issue Volume 42, Number 2 / 2012

Description: The industrial expansion during the twenty-year period of 1983 to 2003 had shown its impact on rainwaters of Visakhapatnam. The ionic contents of SO_4, NH_4, NO_3, Ca, Na and Cl along with pH and electrical conductivity are analysed for the rainwaters of Visakhapatnam industrial corridor during the period. The analysis shows that the atmospheric dust is more in summer rains than in the post-monsoon period, when the same had been washed down. However, unabated increase of air pollution over the two decades is indicated by the steady rise of conductivity of rainwater. The ratio between Ca^+ + NH_4^+ and NO_3^- + SO_4^- shows values consistently less than one, indicating the rise of acidic nature, in spite of the neutralization due to alkaline agents like Ca and NH_4. Gradual decline of pH of rainwater forecasts an impending acidic rain in near-future. Content Type Journal Article Pages 101-108 Authors Somu Naidu Yellapu, Department of Geophysics, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam Kavitha Chandu, 1Department of Electronics, GITAM University, Visakhapatnam Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 2 / 2012

Description: This article focusses on the microbial retting of jute bast fibres under aerobic condition using sequencing batch reactor. Retting operation was carried out for varying time period namely 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 days respectively. The optimum retting period was judged based on the characteristics of the retted fibre with respect to fibre fineness, tenacity, modulus, strain at break and linear density. The morphological characteristic were visualized based on the scanning electron microscope image. As the retting period increased the fineness of the fibre improved; however based on the tenacity (0.468 N/tex) and modulus (50.23 N/tex) a 25-day retting period was found to be optimum in this present study. The predominant microbial species present in the jute retting liquor were found to be species of Bacillus, Clostridium, Aspergillus and Mucor. As the current method of retting operation was carried out under aerobic condition, the emission of green house gas doesn't arise. Moreover the wash water arising due to rinsing of retted fibre was recycled, thereby achieving a zero discharge concept. Content Type Journal Article Pages 109-117 Authors Krishnan Vijayaraghavan, Biotechnology Research Division, Department of Biotechnology, Prathyusha Institute of Technology and Management, Thiruvallur District, Tamil Nadu, India Dhas Nirmal Stephen, Biotechnology Research Division, Department of Biotechnology, Prathyusha Institute of Technology and Management, Thiruvallur District, Tamil Nadu, India Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 2 / 2012

Description: A simple analytical method was developed and optimised for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in activated sludge consisting of supernatant and solid, which collected from the aerobic reactor (aerated zone) of the biological treatment step in a wastewater treatment plant. The procedure accomplishes in feasible time of extraction and reasonable solvent volume without the need of any special technique to perform the extraction step. The method involves extraction of entire sample by sonication and mechanical shaking using n-hexane, preconcentration by solvent evaporation, and determination by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array and fluorescence detectors. The developed method was optimised to give precise results in both low and high spiked samples: relative standard deviation lower than 10%, limits of detection lied between 0.2 and 5 μg kg^{-1}, and recoveries were between 66% and 109%. This method allows the monitoring of the bioremediation efficiency of PAHs by the activated sludge, since it permits the extraction of both PAHs; those that adsorbed to the solid phase, and the other that presented in supernatant phase. The activated sludge could be valuable in the bioremediation of lighter PAH compounds mainly those which consist of two and three fused aromatic rings. Content Type Journal Article Pages 11-23 Authors Yamen AlSalka, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Damascus, Damascus, Syria Kai Lehnberg, Institute for Hygiene and Environmental Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany Djamila Al-Halbouni, Institute for Biology 1, Unit of Soil Ecology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany François Karabet, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Damascus, Damascus, Syria Mohammad Shahir Hashem, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Damascus, Damascus, Syria Rasha Al Misrabi, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Damascus, Damascus, Syria Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 2 / 2012

Description: In a tropical country like India, instability in agricultural production stems from vagaries of rainfall. A complete and quantitative understanding of spatial and temporal variation of this resource is, therefore, required to increase and stabilize food production. The use of average seasonal or monthly rainfall does not seem to be appropriate for planning purposes as it does not cover the risk factor. A detailed probability analysis can bring out the amount of rainfall expected at different probability levels which in turn can give the number of years of adequate, deficient and excess rainfall. Keeping in mind the above aspects, the present paper studies probabilistic rainfall scenario over the Vidarbha region which, despite having tremendous agricultural potential, could not develop to its full potential. The study reveals that dynamic influence (mainly lows and depressions moving over the area) is the main cause of rainfall over Vidarbha. Accumulated Assured Rainfall (AAR) analysis, by fitting incomplete Gamma Distribution Model at different probability levels, indicates that it is maximum in the eastern part of Bhandara and northern part of Gadchiroli districts while it is minimum over western Vidarbha covering northern parts of Buldhana, Akola and adjoining Amravati districts. Weekly assured rainfall analysis reveals that in seventy per cent of the years, the eastern most districts of the region get at least 25 mm of rainfall per week continuously for 13 weeks during mid – June to first half of September. Based on AAR analysis at 70% probability level the entire study region has been divided into five homogeneous rainfall zones (namely A, B, C, D and E). The region to the west of 79°E (A, B, and C zones) receives lower rainfall compared to that to the east of 79°E (D and E zones). This could be attributed to the fact that Vidarbha mainly gets rainfall from lows/depressions formed over Bay of Bengal and move in a westerly/ northwesterly direction and sheds much of its rainwater over the eastern D and E zones, while A, B and C zones get rainfall when these systems pass their heyday. In each of these zones the amount of peak rainfall and when the peak is received has also been found out. This type of rainfall information at different probability levels could serve as basic input of planning for agriculture, land use, drainage requirements and water resources development. Coupled with soil information these will help deciding crop types that could be raised to increase and stabilize production. Content Type Journal Article Pages 25-39 Authors Jayanta Sarkar, India Meteorological Department, Pune – 411005, India. E-mail: jayantasarkar2003@yahoo.co.in Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 2 / 2012

Description: Environmental degradation due to leaching of elements from fly ash is of great concern. Leaching result of Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn from the high sulphur fly ash collected from captive power plant of Nagaon Paper Mill, Assam is reported. The pH of the leachate is weakly alkaline in nature, ranging from 7.39 to 7.90. Fly ash contains very high concentration of elements in comparison with Gondwana counterpart. However, mobilization of elements from the Nagaon fly ash is very less, and is possibly due to the presence of high unburnt carbon. Content Type Journal Article Pages 57-60 Authors Sk. Md. Equeenuddin, Department of Mining Engineering, National Institute of Technology Rourkela – 769008, Orissa, India Santosh Kumar, Department of Mining Engineering, National Institute of Technology Rourkela – 769008, Orissa, India Shantanu Kumar Dutta, Central Pollution Control Board, Shillong – 793 014, Meghalaya, India Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 2 / 2012

Description: With the rise of the environmental protection movement, greater emphasis has been given to the water quality safeguarding in terms of minimizing water pollution and thereby reducing the environmental impact to nature. The contamination and availability of clean water plays an important role in meeting the demand of domestic, industry and agriculture. The fresh river water is depleting at a much faster rate. The study aims at the assessment of water quality of the river Sabarmati within Ahmedabad city. Total six sampling stations have been selected for river water sample collection. Various parameters like pH, TDS, DO, BOD and TC were being analyzed as per the prescribed method of GPCB. Discussion also emphasises on the toxicological impacts of various pollutants to the human health as well as environment and minimizes potential environmental impacts of them. From this study, we concluded that the water quality of river Sabarmati is getting contaminated with impurities and it requires certain water treatments so that it can be directly used for drinking purpose although it is found suitable for agricultural purpose. Content Type Journal Article Pages 85-90 Authors V.K. Srivastava, Department of Sciences, School of Technology Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar – 382007, India Chintan Pathak, Department of Sciences, School of Technology Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar – 382007, India Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 2 / 2012

Description: The capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, is a mega city with around 12 million people in 2006. Its urban growth rate is one of the fastest in the world. The city is surrounded by four rivers with well distributed streams and drainage channels as well as inlands and open water bodies. The chemical and biological environments of these water bodies profoundly influence the inhabitants' life in numerous ways. Agriculture, economy, health, as well as expansion of the city are influenced by the environment of these water bodies. The untreated domestic sewage and uncontrolled industrial discharges are turning the water quality from bad to worse. Groundwater storage is on the verge of great threat because of increasing pollution of the surface water. Ecological balance of these water streams is facing serious threat due to pollution with severely limiting fish growth. Unplanned urbanization and industrialization in the city are contributing largely to all the problems regarding water environment. Seasonal open water bodies are still considered suitable for development of fishery and aesthetic applications. Development activities are required to ensure various environments of water bodies safe and sustained, and regulations are needed to be imposed to protect these environments. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-9 Authors A.M.M. Maruf Hossain, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) Buk-gu Gwangju 500-712, Gwangju, Republic of Korea Shafiqur Rahman, Department of Soil, Water and Environment, Faculty of Biological Sciences University of Dhaka, Dhaka – 1000, Bangladesh Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 2 / 2012

Description: About 80 percent of the water supplied to consumers in Indian cities gets converted into sewage. The metros, major cities and towns together generate about 20,000 million litres of wastewater (sewage) per day. About 50 to 70 percent of the pollution load of rivers and streams is from domestic sewage. Sources of fresh water are getting exhausted and development of new water resources is cost intensive and time consuming. Since water stored in dams and lakes is the main source of water for urban population, it is to be conserved, collected after its use and treated before it is discharged into the nearby water bodies. Sustainable development is necessity of the present world for every industry. Wastewater treatment industry is not an exceptional for this; in fact it is primary need for conservation of natural water sources. To prevent the degradation and to maintain the quality of water in the rivers, the sewage generated from cities is to be treated before its disposal into the nearby river. The treated sewage can be used for secondary purposes like gardening, agriculture, industrial reuse and recreational fields. The paper discusses the integrated approach in decentralised planning, designing and execution of new sewage treatment plants of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation for sewage treatment and disposal. Content Type Journal Article Pages 91-99 Authors S.N. Tirthakar, College of Military Engineering, Pune – 411031 (India) C.H. Vinaykumar, College of Military Engineering, Pune – 411031 (India) Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 2 / 2012

Description: The physico-chemical characteristics of rice mill wastewater was measured and the effect of rice mill wastewater on respiration and enzyme activities (amylase, invertase, protease and dehydrogenase) of rice cropped soil was investigated under field and pot conditions at 15 days interval for 90 days. For the pot experiment five different concentrations (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%) of rice mill wastewater was used. The results of the field experiment revealed significant difference in the soil respiration and enzyme activities rates of control and experimental plots from 30 days onwards. After 90 days the soil respiration and enzyme activities were inhibited by about 25-34% in experimental plots, whereas the results of the pot experiment revealed a maximum increase of about 36% in soil respiration and 24-45% in enzyme activities (amylase, invertase, protease and dehydrogenase) in 50% wastewater irrigated soil and a maximum decrease of about 40% in soil respiration and 24-40% in enzyme activities in 100% wastewater irrigated soil. The adverse effects of rice mill wastewater (100%) on soil respiration and enzyme activities were attributed to alkaline pH (8.0) of wastewater with higher contents of phenols (35 mg^{-1}l), silica (58 mg^{-1}l) and sodium (235 mg^{-1}l). Significant increase in soil respiration and enzyme activities at lower concentrations (i.e. 50%) may be due to the fact that, the above parameters being in the diluted form could favour the microflora to boost their activities. On the basis of above findings, we suggest that the rice mill wastewater should be diluted up to 50% before use for agricultural purpose. However, further works on the effect of rice mill wastewater on different crops and soil animals are needed to corroborate the present findings. Content Type Journal Article Pages 61-71 Authors A. Padhan, Environmental Engineering Division, Department of Chemistry, ITER SOA University, Jagamora, Bhubaneswer – 751030, Orissa, India S.K. Sahu, P.G. Department of Environmental Sciences (Auto.), Sambalpur University Jyoti Vihar - 768019, Orissa, India Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 2 / 2012

Description: An integrated approach of geographical information system (GIS), global positioning system (GPS) and water quality index (WQI) studies has been effectively used for identifying the spatial distribution for quality of groundwater zones in Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), a coastal city of Andhra Pradesh state. Physico-chemical analysis was carried out for various selected parameters such as pH, alkalinity, electrical conductivity (EC), total hardness (TH), calcium hardness (CaH), sodium (Na), potassium (K), chlorides (Cl), sulphates (SO_4), fluorides (F) and indirectly estimated parameters like total dissolved solids (TDS), magnesium hardness (MgH), carbonates plus bicarbonates (CO_3+HCO_3) by adopting standard methods and compared with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The analytical results revealed that most of the groundwater was found to be in polluted category. The GIS analysis of spatial distribution map of the overall water quality index revealed that only nine percent of groundwater during pre-monsoon and around sixteen percent in post-monsoon is suitable for drinking purpose. Content Type Journal Article Pages 41-55 Authors P. Swarna Latha, Department of Geography, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam-530 003, India K. Nageswara Rao, Geography Discipline, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi-110 068 Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 2 / 2012

Description: Content Type Journal Article Pages 125-130 Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 2 / 2012

Description: Saltwater intrusion is a major coastal management problem which leads to the destruction of fishery, breeding grounds and habitat. Several dykes and water regulatory systems have been implemented to prevent salt water intrusion and to regulate water level in the catchment area in the Koggala lagoon. The groyne built at the lagoon mouth helped to keep the outlet open throughout the year for better mixing and water exchange, but it has been a matter of concern for local resource users due to salinity increase in the lagoon. Therefore, the study was focused in salt water intrusion into lagoon and upstream areas and its impact on water quality and drinking water wells of surrounding areas. Monthly mean salinity of the lagoon varied strongly from 20 psu to 34.5 psu in relation to the monsoon rains. During the drought, due to the water level difference between lagoon and the canal created a salt water intrusion into upstream areas through the sluice gates, even the gates were closed. During the period of high salinity (February and March) of the lagoon, surface and bottom salinity levels of the upsteam area were 16 and 22 psu respectively due to saltwater intrusion through the anicut at Warabokka. Moreover, the water exchange and mixing of the lagoon is governed by the gravitational circulation. However during the dry season, tide plays a major role for salt water intrusion and mixing creating well mixed condition. Thus, the lagoons can be classified as a partially mixed estuary. The faunal and the floral compositions of the lagoon had changed markedly due to salt water intrusion. Present analysis indicated that the salinity, dissolved oxygen content and chlorophyll-a content mostly affected the abundance and diversity of zooplankton in the Koggala lagoon. Construction of barrier across the rockfill groyne may minimize the salt water intrusion. Content Type Journal Article Pages 73-84 Authors H.B. Jayasiri, National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) Crow Island, Colombo 15, Sri Lanka D.D.G.L. Dahanayaka, National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) Crow Island, Colombo 15, Sri Lanka Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 2 / 2012

Description: Water quality models are tools for simulating the movement of precipitation and pollutant from the surface through pipe and channel networks, storage, treatment units and finally to receiving waters (Brown and Barnwell, 1987). In the present study, an attempt is made to know the level of knowledge and perception on water quality models by potential users. In this context 113 potential users were selected to measure their ability to understand the fundamentals of water quality modeling. The association between knowledge and perception of the potential users with variables such as age, level of education and experience were determined by chi square test and it was found that results are highly associated with knowledge and perception. Content Type Journal Article Pages 119-124 Authors T.V. Mallesh, Department of Civil Engineering, Sri Siddhartha Institute of Technology, Tumkur, India S.M. Prakash, KNSIT, Bangalore, India L. Prasanna Kumar, PESCE, Mandya, India Journal Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution Online ISSN 1875-8568 Print ISSN 0972-9860 Journal Volume Volume 9 Journal Issue Volume 9, Number 2 / 2012

Description: In general, the raw product gas of biomass gasification contains a range of minor species and contaminants, including particles, tar, alkali metals, chlorine, nitrogen compounds and sulphur compounds. This study reviews the recent developments in product gas cleaning technologies for these species and summarizes the findings of the research project ‘Mop fan and electrofilter: an innovative approach for cleaning product gases from biomass gasification’ which was recently carried out by the authors. The results of the project showed that combination of mop fan and electrofilter (ESP) has great potential in removing fine particles, tars and chemical contaminants in the product gas.

Description: Low energy efficiency and limitations of cooling temperatures in the ejector refrigeration systems (ERSs) are major obstacles for its widespread use. The application of binary or multicomponent fluids may prove to be one of the successful ways to increase the ERS performance by 30–50%. Zeotropic mixtures, which have unlimited solubility and evaporate at specified pressures and varying temperatures, are considered as possible candidates to be applied in a binary-fluid ERS (BERS). An ideal candidate working fluid should exhibit high molecular weight, low latent heat of evaporation, high normal boiling temperature and high compressibility factor. A refrigerant fluid should have low molecular weight, high latent heat of evaporation, low boiling point and compressibility factor. BERS pursues simultaneous achievement of two main goals: increase in system's efficiency and take the condensation point up to 45–50°C at fixed coefficient of performance, i.e. employ atmospheric condenser in ERS. This article presents schematic diagrams of a multicomponent-fluid ERS; its cascade principle based on BERS enables to produce cold at several temperature ramps, using renewable or low-grade heat sources. Research outcomes from this article can improve the effective application of ejector technology.

Description: This paper presents a novel model to evaluate the electrical performance of a silicon photovoltaic (PV) module with respect to changes in main environmental parameters such as temperature and illumination intensity. A simple one-diode model is proposed to estimate the electrical parameters of PV module considering the series resistance and shunt conductance. Effects of PV module parameters on current–voltage characteristic curve are investigated. The proposed model also makes a thermodynamic assessment concerning the effects of environmental and electrical parameters on efficiency and maximum power output of the PV module. Kyocera KD205GH-2P 205-W high-efficiency multi-crystal PV module is used for model evaluation. Model results are compared with the manufacturer's data report and an excellent agreement is observed.

Description: Several solutions are currently being tested to improve the thermal efficiency of ground heat exchangers (GHEs) employed in geothermal closed loops. For shallow exchangers, the main effort is towards maximizing the surface available for heat exchange, while reducing the interference among exchangers; popular solutions towards this end are the slinky coil and the radiator shape. Recently, the flat panel has been proposed as a novel alternative to horizontal exchangers. In this study, the performance and thermal impact of the radiator and flat panel installations are compared by solving the transient flow and heat transport problem within the surrounding ground via a numerical model. Adopting the same computational conditions, the two installations yield different resulting domain thermal fields. The flat panel shows a higher capability to affect larger volumes of surrounding ground, so the soil temperatures reach values less extreme than in the radiator case. Since horizontal GHE temperatures remain 2–3° warmer in winter time, a higher coefficient of performance is expected for the flat panel.

Description: In this study, energy–exergy–environmental–economic (4-E) analyses of stand-alone line-focusing concentrating solar power plants are carried out for different plant capacities ranging from 1 to 50 MW e . Solar power plants based on concentrating power technologies are used to harness the solar radiation effectively. Among the solar power technologies, line-focusing concentrating systems such as linear Fresnel reflector (LFR) and parabolic trough collector (PTC) are simple in design and cost-effective with high dispatchability. The energy and exergy efficiencies of various components of the solar field and power block are determined. The overall energy and exergy efficiencies of 50-MW e LFR power plants are estimated as 12.17 and 17.21% and 23.16 and 32.76%, respectively, for the PTC power plant. The results show that a maximum energy loss occurs in the solar field and power block for LFR and PTC power plants respectively, and a maximum exergy loss occurs in the solar field for both power plants. The analyses of solar power plants have been carried out to estimate the environmental benefits; the results showed that a 1-MW e stand-alone line-focusing concentrating solar power plant can save 1813 tonnes of CO 2 , 12.52 tonnes of SO 2 , 6.23 tonnes of NO x and 0.98 tonnes of particulate matter annually compared with that of an Indian subcritical coal power plant. The levelized electricity cost for the LFR- and PTC-based stand-alone solar power plant varies from INR 14.77 to INR 10.19 and INR 14.7 to INR 8.48 for the plant capacities that vary from 1 to 50 MW e .

Description: The photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus produces hydrogen under nitrogen-limited, anaerobic, photosynthetic conditions. The present study examined whether R. capsulatus can produce hydrogen under microaerobic conditions in the dark with limiting amounts of O 2 and fixed nitrogen. The relationship between hydrogen production, different O 2 concentrations and carbon sources as well as two different N sources, glutamate and ammonium, were studied in batch culture using a Hup strain of R. capsulatus . The effect of different O 2 concentrations, ranging from 0.5 to 20%, on hydrogen production was examined in dark batch cultures of R. capsulatus grown on RCV medium. Different carbon sources, e.g. glucose, succinate, lactate, acetate and malate, were used at various concentrations (20–40 mM). Similarly, different concentrations of glutamate and ammonium (2–9 mM) were examined for optimum microaerobic dark hydrogen production. Maximum hydrogen production was observed at an O 2 concentration of 4–8%. There was a highly positive correlation between O 2 and growth ( r 2 = 0.67), whereas O 2 concentration and hydrogen productivity were negatively correlated ( r 2 = –0.3). Succinate (25 mM) together with glutamate (3.5 mM) gave the highest specific hydrogen productivity [5.61 μmol hydrogen/(mg cell dry weight/ml)]. The maximum average hydrogen yield was 0.6 mol hydrogen/mol malate followed by 0.41 mol hydrogen/mol lactate, 0.36 mol hydrogen/mol succinate, whereas minimum amounts of hydrogen were produced from glucose and acetate (0.16 mol hydrogen/mol and 0.07 mol hydrogen/mol, respectively). The implications for developing a system capable of improved hydrogen production are discussed.

Description: Substantial growth in refrigeration and air-conditioning industry has made a significant impact on net energy consumption. Condenser pressure is one of the critical parameters in the energy-efficient operation of refrigeration and air-conditioning systems. A novel system is developed to use the condensate, available at the cooling coil, for condenser cooling of a window air-conditioner unit by employing evaporative cooling. Performance testing of the system has shown 13% savings in energy and up to 18% enhancement in coefficient of performance. The maximum benefit of the evaporative cooling cycle over the basic cycle was found to be in the region of moderate climatic conditions.

Description: The consumption of natural gas as a primary energy source in Italy has increased during recent years, mainly due to more widespread use of modern natural gas-fired combined cycle power plants. It is generally accepted that such an increased use of natural gas is beneficial, particularly in summer, due to the ‘take-or-pay’ contracts that often regulate energy supply. Conversely, the use of electrical energy should be decreased, in order to limit the ‘peak demand’ problem that has become prevalent in Italy. Therefore, besides electrically driven heat pumps (EHPs) that achieve good efficiencies, it is interesting to also consider the option of combustion engine-driven GEHPs for space heating purposes. In the latter type of HPs, losses attributed to the production and transport of electricity are eliminated and, in addition, there is the possibility to re-use the heat from the combustion engine. This article presents an assessment of the annual economic and energy profiles of electric and internal combustion engine HPs for space heating purposes. Due to the dependency of the performance of such technology on the source and sink (heating circuit) temperature levels, a comparison is performed of air-to-water HP systems (the most widely used) in two cases of maximum flow temperatures. The calculations show that natural gas-driven HPs can achieve approximately the same efficiency as electrically driven HPs that are powered with electricity from modern natural gas-fired combined cycle power plants. Within this study, the efficiencies of such systems are also compared with those that utilize conventional boiler technologies.

Description: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has estimated that ill-effects of carbon emissions will grow to 5% by 2050. Although ICAO had initially endorsed the idea of the emissions trading system to meet CO 2 emission reduction objectives, prospects for a comprehensive global agreement appear to be distant, and a multi-faceted approach is required with a strong commitment from all stakeholders. Other options could be the usage of carbon neutral fuels, coming from biomass, algae and most recently the usage of CO 2 in the air and water in the atmosphere, and then the Fischer Tropsche process to combine the H 2 and CO 2 together to produce oil (Louise and Paul. Aviation and climate change. House of Commons Library, 2008 ).

Description: A coupled system of two liquid desiccant columns—one dehumidifying the air and the other regenerating the solution—has been investigated for very low solution to air flow ratios ( S / A ) in the range of 0.2–1.6%. The present study explores the feasibility of integrating the columns with the conventional room air conditioner (AC) to enhance the dehumidification capacity of the hybrid AC system. The air inlet conditions to dehumidifying column are assumed typical of supply air from a room AC at 8–16°C dry bulb temperature (DBT) and 75–95% relative humidity. Similarly, inlet air to regenerating column is assumed at 40–60°C DBT and 15–20 g/kg specific humidity, which are typical of the condenser exit air. It is observed that the moisture transfer from supply to condenser air takes place at the rate of 0.28–0.6 g/s for a 0.8 TR AC unit. This indeed enhances the dehumidification of the supply air considerably. Moreover, the supply air gets sensibly heated following the isenthalpic dehumidification process, which enables the hybrid system to maintain low humidity in the conditioned space.

Description: Biomass energy is growing worldwide as generators continue their search for sustainable energy sources. This project focuses on the storage of biomass fuels, investigating degradation. Four different fuels were stored in air-tight buckets for 9 months to promote artificial degradation and provide an initial benchmark in a long-term project investigating the impact of different storage scenarios on a range of fuels. At regular intervals, samples were taken out of buckets for analysis including stereo zoom microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. Fungal analysis was carried out on two degraded fuels.