ALBERT

Beschreibung: The feasibility of the industrial application of kapok fiber for the removal of lead (II) ions from aqueous stream was evaluated in this study. The fiber was modified using NaOH solution and also was oxidized with NaClO 2 solution. Both of the chemically enhanced kapok fibers showed a high adsorption efficiency, which was 23.4 and 34.6 mg/g, respectively, while unmodified kapok fibers had 4.70 mg/g. Kinetic reactions and their rate constants exhibited that the removal of lead was linearly correlated with adsorption capacity of the modified and oxidized kapok fibers. Adsorption isotherm of the experiment fitted very well with the Langmuir model for the chemically enhanced kapok fibers. Adsorption capacity decreased with a decrease in the pH. The recycling process of the used kapok fibers was also carried out and the results found that kapok fibers were reusable with relatively high regeneration rate.

Beschreibung: This study was conducted to identify the influence of three principal parameters constituting topography (slope inclination, soil depth, and slope length) on hillslope instability in a small catchment, known as Higashifukubegawa of Shikoku Island, western Japan. The typhoon rainfall of 19–20 October 2004 was significant in causing a total of seven slope failures in the catchment, though other rainfall events of various intensities in the same year did not cause failure. To understand the influence of the three principal parameters, numerical modeling of seepage and slope stability was performed in slope profiles constructed by varying the three parameters across their permissible range prepared from the seven slope failures of Higashifukubegawa in GeoStudio (GeoStudio Tutorials includes student edition lessons, Geo-Slope International Ltd., Calgary, 2005 v.4). The change in porewater pressure and slope mass weight due to variation in values of principal parameters was used to interpret the change in factor of safety or instability. The results showed that (1) instability increases with increase in the values of all three selected parameters across their range in Higashifukubegawa with remarkable decreasing trend in factors of safety, (2) slope inclination and soil depth were observed to affect instability through change in both unsaturated zone moisture content and mobilizing force of slope mass, (3) but with slope length, the unsaturated zone moisture content was not found to change considerably which implies that the instability due to slope length is mainly governed by change in slope mass weight. Overall, this study has dealt in great detail with how hillslope instability changes with principal parameters of topography under the same simulating conditions of hydrological and geo-mechanical parameters.

Beschreibung: The paper presents results of geothermal projects carried out in the last 23 years by the interdisciplinary research team at the AGH University of Science and Technology, in cooperation with numerous scientific institutions, published in the form of geothermal atlases in different parts of Poland. For many years, the Department of Fossil Fuels at the Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection, AGH University of Science and Technology, has conducted the fundamental research and implementation work, aiming at the selection of optimum areas for utilization of geothermal waters and energy. Over the years, a methodology of estimation of geothermal resources with use of advanced techniques and numerical modeling has been developed. Recapitulation of the studies of the occurrence and utilization of geothermal waters and energy within geological units of the Polish Lowlands, Carpathians and Carpathian Foredeep has been reflected in seven Atlases. The Atlases represent a result of interdisciplinary, constructive cooperation of specialists from various, often remote fields of knowledge, fundamental and technological in nature, including: geologists, geophysicists, hydrogeologists, geochemists, drilling engineers, heat engineers, and many other specialists. The Atlases enable the selection of the most promising areas for utilization of geothermal waters and energy in Poland. The best geothermal conditions are predicted in the Polish Lowlands and Podhale region although in many areas of the Carpathians and the Carpathian Foredeep favorable geothermal conditions also occur.

Beschreibung: In the present work, remediation of lead-containing solution using raw and modified kaolinite has been presented. The micro and nanostructure of samples has been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Laser diffraction and scattering (LDS), was analyzed by particle size analyzer based on laser diffraction and particle size distribution (PSD) was done. The degree of metal adsorption was evaluated analyzing the Pb(II) contaminated samples by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (micro- and nanostructure on immobilization efficiency correlCP AES). The results show the impact of immobilization efficiency and ation between micro- and nanostructure. The thermodynamic data (Δ H °, Δ S °, Δ G °) are calculated from the temperature-dependent sorption isotherms. The results suggest sorption process of Pb(II) on kaolinite as spontaneous and endothermic.

Beschreibung: This study compares various immunomagnetic separation (IMS) protocols. The average recovery efficiency of IMS for different Salmonella concentrations (between 10 2 and 10 5 CFU/ml) was 53.5 ± 12.9 % ( n  = 24). When turbidity was less than 1,000 NTU, altering the debris ratio of water samples produced no significant changes in the recovery efficiency of IMS. Prolonging the incubation time or increasing the amount of immunomagnetic beads increased the recovery efficiency of IMS. This study also compares processes in which water samples were filtered, eluted/concentrated, and then processed by the IMS and non-IMS methods before PCR. Results indicate that IMS can effectively eliminate these inhibitors prior to polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The detection limit of Salmonella analysis process with IMS separation before enrichment was superior to IMS separation after enrichment. The proposed Salmonella analysis process, which included IMS to concentrate and purify the Salmonella , improves the sensitivity and the detection efficiency of the entire analysis process.

Beschreibung: The study of the stability of rock slope is very important because its instability can cause large disasters. Because the main influence factor of the stability of rock slope is the geological environment, the engineering experience analogy method is a practical and extensively applied method. The main feature of the engineering analogy method is the cluster. Based on the analysis of a dataset of rock slope samples and using the engineering analogy method in relation to the abstraction ant colony clustering algorithm, a new method for rock slope stability analysis is proposed. Using this method, rock slopes can be automatically clustered to obtain the stability status of rock slopes in one class. Therefore, the class rating can represent the stability status of rock slopes. Some real engineering examples are used to verify the computing effect of the new algorithm. Engineering applications prove that this new algorithm can automatically estimate the stability of rock slope with high validity. Its robustness surpasses the robustness of traditional algorithms, and its application is more convenient than that of traditional algorithms. However, as a heuristic algorithm, the selection of algorithm parameters is sometimes challenging, and the computation effect for a highly complex problem is not satisfactory. Therefore, this practical method of slope stability analysis should be popularized.

Beschreibung: Earthquakes can directly trigger multiple simultaneous slope failures in mountainous regions. Among these slope failures, flow-like landslides with high velocities and long run-outs can result in damage that is more destructive than other types of landslides. Timely and accurate recognition of the locations and magnitudes of flow-like landslides is essential for post-disaster relief. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors are suitable for deformation monitoring because of their capability to operate at day or night and in all weather conditions. Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) is an advanced technique that extracts three-dimensional terrain and changes information from the radar images at a regional scale. The focus of this study is the Donghekou landslide-debris flow that was triggered by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. ALOS/PALSAR remote satellite images were interpreted by InSAR to generate digital surface elevation models. A comparison of data from a typical InSAR configuration with field survey data proves that the former is an effective method for rapidly detecting flow-like landslides in a mountainous area. The comparison also shows that the accuracy of the results is closely related to the correlation between the satellite radar images used, and further that the study accuracy would improve with the inclusion of better correlation. In this way, representations of pre- and post-landslide terrains could be generated for use in numerical simulations. The InSAR method has particular significance for areas without terrain data prior to slope failure, and can provide basic data for landslide hazard assessments.

Beschreibung: The origin of the high salinity in the groundwater of a coastal wetland in an arid climate was studied in the Playa Fracasso marsh, located on the northwest coast of the extra-Andean Patagonia. Research was carried out by means of the design of a network of soil pits and short piezometers in the marsh and the surrounding landforms. Continuous fluctuations of the water table, in situ physical and chemical properties, major ions (Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , Na + , K + , Cl − , SO 4 2− , HCO 3 − ) and stable isotopes ( 18 O and 2 H) in groundwater, as well as soil salinity, were measured. The combined analysis of the hydrodynamics, the ion ratios rCa 2+ /rCl − and rMg 2+ /rCa 2+ vs. rCl − and the isotopic composition made it possible to recognize an area within the high marsh in which the origin of groundwater is mainly marine and another in which the contributions are of mixed origin. By means of the analysis of rCl − vs. δ 18 O, a salinization process with no change in isotopic composition was identified. Its interpretation, together with those of the soil salinity profiles and the records of the fluctuations in electrical conductivity associated with extraordinary tides, was used to define a conceptual model of salinization which could be useful to understand other coastal wetlands under similar arid climatic conditions. It consists in a cyclical mechanism of evapotranspiration, precipitation, dissolution and transport of salts during tides.

Beschreibung: Hydrologic response of a catchment with the most common expression through runoff coefficient reflects a complex response of interaction between the rainfall and catchment physical properties. In this study, an attempt has been made through the mean rainfall–runoff polygon method to explore the impact of land use change on the mean monthly runoff coefficient estimated from 27 years of the hydrology and land use records of a tropical catchment located in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Specifically, the land use and flow records are divided into three intervals: (1982–1990), (1992–2000) and (2002–2010). The mean monthly rainfall–runoff polygon plotted is rendered to the three time intervals. The results have shown that contrasting shapes were computed which demonstrate the significant variability in the rainfall–runoff response characteristics under the linkage of land use changes. Ample information describing the hydrological responses of the study area has been attained through the quantitative approaches. The study has concluded that the rainfall–runoff polygon method can be used as a simple alternative method for assessing the impact of land use changes on the hydrological response.