ALBERT

Description: Publication date: Available online 9 July 2016 Source: Geodesy and Geodynamics Author(s): Ruisha Li, Xi Zhang, Shouwen Gong, Hongtao Tang, Peng Jia The equation for determining cross-fault representative value is calculated based on hanging wall and foot wall reference level surfaces. The cross-fault data reliability are analyzed base on the stability of reference datum and observation points, thereby facilitating plotting of the representative value curves after removing interference. The spatial and temporal characteristics of fault deformation abnormalities before the 2016 Menyuan M s6.4 earthquake, as well as the fault-movement characteristics reflected by representative value, are summarized. The results show that many site trends had changed 1–3 years before the Menyuan M s6.4 earthquake in the Qilian Fault, reflecting certain background abnormalities. The short-term abnormalities centrally had appeared in the 6 months to 1 year period before the earthquake near and in the neighborhood of the source region, demonstrating a significantly increased number of short-term abnormalities. Many sites near and in the neighborhood of the source region had strengthened inverse activities or had changed from positive to inverse activities in the most recent 2–3 years, which reflect stress-field enhancements or adjustment features.

Description: Publication date: Available online 22 July 2016 Source: Advances in Climate Change Research Author(s): H.E. Jian-Kun The Paris Agreement establishes a new mechanism for post-2020 global climate governance, and sets long-term goals for global response to climate change, which will accelerate worldwide low-carbon transformation of economic development pattern, promote the revolutionary reform of energy system, boost a fundamental change in the mode of social production and consumption, and further the civilization of human society from industrial civilization to eco-civilization. The urgency of global low-carbon transition will reshape the competition situation of world’s economy, trade and technology. Taking the construction of eco-civilization as a guide, China explores green and low-carbon development paths, establishes ambitious intended nationally determined contribution (INDC) targets and action plans, advances energy production and consumption revolution, and speeds up the transformation of economic development pattern. These strategies and actions not only confirm to the trend of the world low-carbon transition, but also meet the intrinsic requirements for easing the domestic resources and environment constraints and realizing sustainable development. They are multi-win-win strategies for promotion of economic development and environmental protection and mitigation of carbon emissions. China should take the global long-term emission reduction targets as a guide, and formulate medium and long-term low-carbon development strategy, build the core competitiveness of low-carbon advanced technology and development pattern, and take an in-depth part in global governance so as to reflect the responsibility of China as a great power in constructing a community of common destiny for all mankind and addressing global ecological crisis.

Description: Publication date: Available online 28 July 2016 Source: Geoscience Frontiers Author(s): Yusuke Imaeda, Toshikazu Ebisuzaki In the tandem planet formation regime, planets form at two distinct sites where solid particles are densely accumulated due to the on/off state of the magnetorotational instability (MRI).We found that tandem planet formation can reproduce the solid component distribution of the Solar System and tends to produce a smaller number of large planets through continuous pebble ow into the planet formation sites. In the present paper, we investigate the dependence of tandem planet formation on the vertical magnetic field of the protoplanetary disk. We calculated two cases of B z = 3 . 4 × 10 -3 G and B z = 3 . 4 × 10 -5 G at 100 AU as well as the canonical case of B z = 3 . 4 × 10 -4 G. We found that tandem planet formation holds up well in the case of the strong magnetic _eld ( B z = 3 . 4 × 10 -3 G). On the other hand, in the case of a weak magnetic _eld ( B z = 3 . 4 × 10 -5 G) at 100 AU, a new regime of planetary growth is realized: the planets grow independently at different places in the dispersed area of the MRI-suppressed region of r = 8 - 30 AU at a lower accretion rate of Ṁ 〈 10 -7 . 4 M⊙ yr -1 . We call this the "dispersed planet formation" regime. This may lead to a system with a larger number Graphical abstract

Description: Publication date: Available online 19 July 2016 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): Aref al-Swaidani, Ibrahim Hammoud, Ayman Meziab Clayey soils in Syria cover a total area of more than 20,000 km 2 of the country, most of which are located in the southwestern region. In many places of the country, the clayey soils caused severe damage to infrastructures. Extensive studies have been carried out on the stabilization of clayey soils using lime. Syria is rich in both lime and natural pozzolana. However, few works have been conducted to investigate the influence of adding natural pozzolana on the geotechnical properties of lime-treated clayey soils. The aim of this paper is to understand the effect of adding natural pozzolana on some geotechnical properties of lime-stabilized clayey soils. Natural pozzolana and lime are added to soil within the range of 0%−20% and 0%−8%, respectively. Consistency, compaction, California bearing ratio (CBR) and linear shrinkage properties are particularly investigated. The test results show that the investigated properties of lime-treated clayey soils can be considerably enhanced when the natural pozzolana is added as a stabilizing agent. Analysis results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) show significant changes in the microstructure of the treated clayey soil. A better flocculation of clayey particles and further formation of cementing materials in the natural pozzolana-lime-treated clayey soil are clearly observed.

Description: Publication date: Available online 15 July 2016 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): Sadok Benmebarek, Samir Attallaoui, Naïma Benmebarek Back-to-back mechanically stabilized earth walls (BBMSEWs) are encountered in bridge approaches, ramp ways, rockfall protection systems, earth dams, levees and noise barriers. However, available design guidelines for BBMSEWs are limited and not applicable to numerical modeling when back-to-back walls interact with each other. The objective of this paper is to investigate, using PLAXIS code, the effects of the reduction in the distance between BBMSEW, the reinforcement length, the quality of backfill material and the connection of reinforcements in the middle, when the back-to-back walls are close. The results indicate that each of the BBMSEWs behaves independently if the width of the embankment between mechanically stabilized earth walls is greater than that of the active zone. This is in good agreement with the result of FHWA design guideline. However, the results show that the FHWA design guideline underestimates the lateral earth pressure when back-to-back walls interact with each other. Moreover, for closer BBMSEWs, FHWA design guideline strongly overestimates the maximum tensile force in the reinforcement. The investigation of the quality of backfill material shows that the minor increase in embankment cohesion can lead to significant reductions in both the lateral earth pressure and the maximum tensile force in geosynthetic. When the distance between the two earth walls is close to zero, the connection of reinforcement between back-to-back walls significantly improves the factor of safety.

Description: Publication date: Available online 28 June 2016 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): Hossein Mola-Abasi, Issa Shooshpasha It is well known that the cemented sand is one of economic and environmental topics in soil stabilization. In this instance, a blend of sand, cement and other materials such as fiber, glass, nanoparticle and zeolite can be commercially available and effectively used in soil stabilization in road construction. However, the influence and effectiveness of zeolite on the properties of cemented sand systems have not been completely explored. In this study, based on an experimental program, the effects of zeolite on the characteristics of cemented sands are investigated. Stabilizing agent includes Portland cement of type II and zeolite. Results show the improvements of unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and failure properties of cemented sand when the cement is replaced by zeolite at an optimum proportion of 30% after 28 days. The rate of strength improvement is approximately between 20% and 78%. The efficiency of using zeolite increases with the increases in cement amount and porosity. Finally, a power function of void-cement ratio and zeolite content is demonstrated to be an appropriate method to assess UCS of zeolite-cemented mixtures.

Description: Publication date: Available online 28 June 2016 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): Atsushi Sainoki, Hani S. Mitri Fault-slip taking place in underground mines occasionally causes severe damage to mine openings as a result of strong ground motion induced by seismic waves arising from fault-slip. It is indicated from previous studies that intense seismic waves could be generated with the shock unloading of fault surface asperities during fault-slip. This study investigates the shock unloading with numerical simulation. A three-dimensional (3D) numerical model with idealized asperities is constructed with the help of discrete element code 3DEC. The idealization is conducted to particularly focus on simulating the shock unloading that previous numerical models, which replicate asperity degradation and crack development during the shear behavior of a joint surface in previous studies, fail to capture and simulate. With the numerical model, static and dynamic analyses are carried out to simulate unloading of asperities in the course of fault-slip. The results obtained from the dynamic analysis show that gradual stress release takes place around the center of the asperity tip at a rate of 45 MPa/ms for the base case, while an instantaneous stress release greater than 80 MPa occurs near the periphery of the asperity tip when the contact between the upper and lower asperities is lost. The instantaneous stress release becomes more intense in the vicinity of the asperity tip, causing tensile stress more than 20 MPa. It is deduced that the tensile stress could further increase if the numerical model is discretized more densely and analysis is carried out under stress conditions at a great depth. A model parametric study shows that in-situ stress state has a significant influence on the magnitude of the generated tensile stress. The results imply that the rapid stress release generating extremely high tensile stress on the asperity tip can cause intense seismic waves when it occurs at a great depth.

Description: Publication date: Available online 18 June 2016 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): Morteza Esmaeili, Hamid Khajehei Deep mixed column (DMC) is known as one of the effective methods for stabilizing the natural earth beneath road or railway embankments to control stability and settlements under traffic loads. The load distribution mechanism of embankment overlying on loose subgrades stabilized with DMCs considerably depends on the columns' mechanical and geometrical specifications. The present study uses the laboratory investigation to understand the behavior of embankments lying on loose sandy subgrade in three different conditions: (1) subgrade without reinforcement, (2) subgrade reinforced with DMCs in a triangular pattern and horizontal plan, and (3) subgrade reinforced with DMCs in a square pattern and horizontal plan. For this purpose, by adopting the scale factor of 1:10, a reference embankment with 20 cm height, 250 cm length, and 93% maximum dry density achieved in standard Proctor compaction test was constructed over a 70 cm thick loose sandy bed with the relative density of 50% in a loading chamber, and its load-displacement behavior was evaluated until the failure occurred. In the next two tests, DMCs (with 10 cm diameter, 40 cm length, and 25 cm center-to-center spacing) were placed in groups in two different patterns (square and triangular) in the same sandy bed beneath the embankment and, consequently, the embankments were constructed over the reinforced subgrades and gradually loaded until the failure happened. In all the three tests, the load-displacement behaviors of the embankment and the selected DMCs were instrumented for monitoring purpose. The obtained results implied 64% increase in failure load and 40% decrease in embankment crest settlement when using the square pattern of DMCs compared with those of the reference embankment, while these values were 63% and 12%, respectively, for DMCs in triangular pattern. This confirmed generally better performance of DMCs with a triangular pattern.

Description: Publication date: Available online 15 July 2016 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): Brian G. Sexton, Bryan A. McCabe, Minna Karstunen, Nallathamby Sivasithamparam The recently developed elasto-viscoplastic Creep-SCLAY1S model has been used in conjunction with PLAXIS 2D to investigate the effectiveness of vibro-replacement in a creep-prone clay. The Creep-SCLAY1S model accounts for anisotropy, bonding, and destructuration, and uses the concept of a constant rate of viscoplastic multiplier to calculate creep strain rate. A comparison of settlement improvement factors with and without creep indicates that ‘total’ settlement improvement factors (primary plus creep) are lower than their ‘primary’ counterparts (primary settlement only). The lowest settlement improvement factors arise for analyses incorporating the effect of bonding and destructuration. Examination of the variations of vertical stress with time and depth has indicated that vertical stress is transferred from the soil to the column as the soil creeps. This results in additional column yielding. In addition, the radial and hoop stresses in the soil are lower for the ‘creep’ case. The reduced radial stresses lead to additional column bulging and hence more settlement, whereas the hoop stress reductions appear to be a secondary effect, caused by additional plastic deformation for the ‘creep’ case.

Description: Publication date: Available online 27 July 2016 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): Xudong Wang, Qinlin Guo, Shanlong Yang, Dexuan Zhang, Yanwu Wang arthen sites are widely distributed throughout China, and most of them belong to archaeological sites with significant values, which not only directly witness the origin, formation and development of Chinese civilization, but also possess important values for conservation and exhibition. Many researches and practices on their conservation and consolidation have been carried out; however, the consolidation effect is mainly judged by visual observation and expert evaluation. Scientific assessment of conservation and consolidation effects is a challenging issue. Many instruments in other fields cannot be directly applied to the conservation of cultural relics due to their peculiarity. In order to assess the effects of field conservation experiments, this paper tries to understand the consolidation effects at Liangzhu site using nondestructive or micro-damage methods, including thermo-physical parameters testing, infrared thermal imaging, high-density microelectrode resistivity testing, portable microscope observation, and hydrophilic and hydrophobic testing, and thereby explores the practicable methods for evaluating the properties of consolidation materials for earthen sites treatment.

Description: Publication date: Available online 25 June 2016 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): Hongwei Wang, Yaodong Jiang, Sheng Xue, Lingtao Mao, Zhinan Lin, Daixin Deng, Dengqiang Zhang This paper presents an investigation on the characteristics of overlying strata collapse and mining-induced pressure in fault-influenced zone by employing the physical modeling in consideration of fault structure. The precursory information of fault slip during the underground mining activities is studied as well. Based on the physical modeling, the optimization of roadway support design and the field verification in fault-influenced zone are conducted. Physical modeling results show that, due to the combined effect of mining activities and fault slip, the mining-induced pressure and the extent of damaged rock masses in the fault-influenced zone are greater than those in the uninfluenced zone. The sharp increase and the succeeding stabilization of stress or steady increase in displacement can be identified as the precursory information of fault slip. Considering the larger mining-induced pressure in the fault-influenced zone, the new support design utilizing cables is proposed. The optimization of roadway support design suggests that the cables can be anchored in the stable surrounding rocks and can effectively mobilize the load bearing capacity of the stable surrounding rocks. The field observation indicates that the roadway is in good condition with the optimized roadway support design.

Description: Publication date: Available online 18 June 2016 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): Aiqing Wu, Jimin Wang, Zhong Zhou, Shuling Huang, Xiuli Ding, Zhihong Dong, Yuting Zhang Based on the analyses of data obtained from the underground powerhouse at Jinping I hydropower station, a comprehensive review of engineering rock mechanics practice in the underground powerhouse is first conducted. The distribution of strata, lithology, and initial geo-stress, the excavation process and corresponding rock mass support measures, the deformation and failure characteristics of the surrounding rock mass, the stress characteristics of anchorage structures in the cavern complex, and numerical simulations of surrounding rock mass stability and anchor support performance are presented. The results indicate that the underground powerhouse of Jinping I hydropower station is characterized by high to extremely high geo-stresses during rock excavation. Excessive surrounding rock mass deformation and high stress of anchorage structures, surrounding rock mass unloading damage, and local cracking failure of surrounding rock masses, etc., are mainly caused by rock mass excavation. Deformations of surrounding rock masses and stresses in anchorage structures here are larger than those found elsewhere: 20% of extensometers in the main powerhouse record more than 50 mm with the maximum at around 250 mm observed in the downstream sidewall of the transformer hall. There are about 25% of the anchor bolts having recorded stresses of more than 200 MPa. Jinping I hydropower plant is the first to have an underground powerhouse construction conducted in host rocks under extremely high geo-stress conditions, with the ratio of rock mass strength to geo-stress of less than 2.0. The results can provide a reference to underground powerhouse construction in similar geological conditions.

Description: Publication date: Available online 4 August 2016 Source: Advances in Climate Change Research Author(s): Matthew Jenkins, Susan Kaspari, Kang Shi-Chang, Bjorn Grigholm, Paul A. Mayewski Black carbon (BC) deposited on snow and glacier surfaces can reduce albedo and lead to accelerated melt. An ice core recovered from Guoqu glacier on Mt. Geladaindong and analyzed using a Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) provides the first long-term (1843‒1982) record of BC from the central Tibetan Plateau. Post 1940 the record is characterized by an increased occurrence of years with above average BC, and the highest BC values of the record. The BC increase in recent decades is likely caused by a combination of increased emissions from regional BC sources, and a reduction in snow accumulation. Guoqu glacier has received no net ice accumulation since the 1980s, and is a potential example of a glacier where an increase in the equilibrium line altitude is exposing buried high impurity layers. That BC concentrations in the uppermost layers of the Geladaindong ice core are not substantially higher relative to deeper in the ice core suggests that some of the BC that must have been deposited on Guoqu glacier via wet or dry deposition between 1983 and 2005 has been removed from the surface of the glacier, potentially via supraglacial or englacial meltwater.

Description: Publication date: Available online 3 August 2016 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): Shengwu Song, Xuemin Feng, Chenggang Liao, Dewen Cai, Zhongxu Liu, Yunhao Yang The Jinping I hydropower station is a huge water conservancy project consisting of the highest concrete arch dam to date in the world and a highly complex and large underground powerhouse cavern. It is located on the right bank with extremely high in-situ stress and a few discontinuities observed in surrounding rock masses. The problems of rock mass deformation and failure result in considerable challenges related to project design and construction and have raised a wide range of concerns in the fields of rock mechanics and engineering. During the excavation of underground caverns, high in-situ stress and relatively low rock mass strength in combination with large excavation dimensions lead to large deformation of the surrounding rock mass and support. Existing experiences in excavation and support cannot deal with the large deformation of rock mass effectively, and further studies are needed. In this paper, the geological conditions, layout of caverns, and design of excavation and support are first introduced, and then detailed analyses of deformation and failure characteristics of rocks are presented. Based on this, the mechanisms of deformation and failure are discussed, and the support adjustments for controlling rock large deformation and subsequent excavation procedures are proposed. Finally, the effectiveness of support and excavation adjustments to maintain the stability of the rock mass is verified. The measures for controlling the large deformation of surrounding rocks enrich the practical experiences related to the design and construction of large underground openings, and the construction of caverns in the Jinping I hydropower station provides a good case study of large-scale excavation in highly stressed ground with complex geological structures, as well as a reference case for research on rock mechanics.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Sadhan Kumar Ghosh India generates nearly 62 million tons of MSW annually that creates huge problems in the environment. Small number of initiatives of waste treatment, e.g., incineration, pyrolysis, bio-refining & biogas plants, composting, recycling and SLFs are available in the country. For the sustainable Solid Waste Management (SWM), an inclusive improvement policy and paradigm shift is necessary. SBM (SBM), flagged off on October 2, 2014, is considered as a paradigm shift in Indian SWM movement. SBM is the country's biggest-ever cleanliness drive costing over 10,600 million USD for 5 years in 4,041 towns in which SWM considered as one of the six components. One of the stated objectives of SBM is to ensure door-to-door garbage collection and proper disposal of municipal solid waste in all the 83,000 wards in urban areas by 2019. Swachh Bharat citizen communities were formed subsequently to generate awareness and citizen participation. Since then, over a period of 12 months, over 335,000 citizens have become part of the various Swachh Bharat citizen communities across more than 100 cities of India. The study reviews the present status and sustainability of the activities undertaken and proposes some improvement scopes in the schemes under the SB mission for effective SWM in India. The study will definitely help in revisiting the scheme periodically for continual improvement.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): A.O. Coker, C.G. Achi, M.K.C. Sridhar, C.J. Donnett Waste generation is an intrinsic part of human existence. Waste materials are usually characterized by their nature, components and quality. Variations in quality, quantity and composition of solid waste can be linked to various factors such as cultural, economic, social and financial status of inhabitants of the particular space being studied. These distinct factors will also determine the best waste management practice to adopt. This paper captures the current institutional solid waste management in a Nigerian Private institution of higher learning. Using key-informant interview and personal field observations, the waste generation rate, pattern and characterization was made. Results showed that between 0.3 and 0.4 kg/capita/day was generated daily by the students in their respective halls of residence, with population ranging from 762 – 848 students in each of the halls. All the solid wastes generated were collected using appropriate waste collection bags and mobile bin positioned at strategic corners of the university premises. The waste materials after collection were segregated into plastics, bottles, nylon and organic materials by scavengers. After these non-bidegradables were sold in the secondary market, an estimated total sum of 639,900 naira (2908.6USD) was realized daily. At this rate a total sum of 230 million Naira (1,045,454.5 USD) is realizable yearly as wealth from waste. It was concluded that if all the organic waste streams from kitchens, cafeteria and animal houses are utilized for bioenergy and organic fertilizer, the wealth to be generated would be phenomenal.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Pawan Kumar Bharti, Bhupesh Sharma, R.K. Singh, A.K. Tyagi Antarctica is the coldest continent on the earth. The Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean surround the continent. Antarctic continent covers 10% of the earth surface and has a surface area of nearly 14 million square kilometer. It also has 70% of the world's fresh water resources in the form of ice sheets. Thick ice sheets cover the whole continent (almost 98%). As a result of the environmental conditions, the remaining (2%) fraction without ice cover is basically the barren soil and rocks. Many countries have set up scientific research stations in Antarctica. There are about 65 scientific research stations in summer and 30 research stations in winter, which are currently operating for scientific investigations. India has two permanent scientific research stations in the Antarctica located in Schirmacher Oasis in Central Dronning Maud Land and in Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica. However, the activities due to operation and maintenance of the research station in Antarctica have impacts on the Antarctic environment. Besides, the scientific stations also generate waste materials and a significant part of it is discharged into the Antarctic environment, which may create impacts on the Antarctica. The assessment of waste materials emanating from various sources was carried out. The present paper attempts to highlight the environmental parameters observed during ISEA austral summer at Maitri and Bharti station, East Antarctica.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): A.S. Aremu, Ritesh Vijay Indigenous footpaths have been the major means of passage from origin to destination before the advent of cars and town planning. Over the years, these traditional areas have retained their original attributes with additional walking links to the motorable roads. In this study, footpaths to municipal solid waste bins were modelled in order to locate waste bins within an area in Ilorin, north central Nigeria. A network dataset was built in a standard GIS application (ArcMap 10) from the downloaded satellite image of the study area. The Location-Allocation tool in the Network Analyst window was then used to determine the optimal location of facilities based on cut-off walking distance which defines command area of a waste bin. The result of this analysis could act as a decision support tool for the determination of type, size and removal frequency of each waste bin based on estimates of waste generation from each command area.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Mustapha Bashir Kazaure A survey on solid waste management for sustainable development and public health in Dutse metropolis was conducted. One hundred (100) designed questionnaires were distributed across four major areas within the town which included Yadi, GidaDubu, Dan Masara and Mopol base quarters were twenty five (25) are distributed to each of the four sites. From the result, it was discovered that residence of Danmasara quarters discharge all their waste 100(100%) in government approve sites while Yadi quarters are the lowest in terms of discharging waste in government designated locations 6(24%). Based on flooding, Yadi recorded the highest rate of flooding 21(84%) while Dan masaraquartes recorded the lowest 9(36%). Proper waste discharge was also summarized according to educational status of individual respondents within the affected areas under study. It could be observed that people with secondary education had the highest of (47%) while informal education recorded the lowest (08%) in terms of proper waste discharge respectively. It is concluded that most of places in Dutse metropolis do not access to drainage system as well as government designed areas for waste disposal and hence, it is recommended that government should provide adequate waste disposal sites to each area within Dutse metropolis.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Pinky Chandran, Sandya Narayanan This paper studies the role of Dry Waste Collection Centers (DWCCs) in Municipal Solid Waste Management in Bangalore which were set up following LokAdalat's intervention directing the Municipality to set up these centers to enable ward level recycling. The Karnataka High Court further validated the direction by instructing the municipality to set up necessary infrastructures to facilitate ward level decentralized management of waste for all categories. The DWCC is a hallmark of the triple bottom line of sustainable business operations– people, planet and profit, and modeled on three corner- stones – Social Considerations, Economic Considerations and Environmental Impact. Based on a zero-subsidy model for operations, the DWCCs are envisioned to meet the environmental objective of managing the MSW recyclable waste stream through responsible recycling. They are also expected to be a hub for social inclusion of the informal sector in the process, and ensure economic viability through market driven delivery mechanisms. The paper traces the history of DWCCs and studies the operations of 32 DWCCs which have been in operation for more than a year and operated by the informal sector. In addition, the paper will also analyze the effect of dry waste diverted from landfills at the ward level and will provide recommendations to enhancing performance of these centers.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Subzar Bashir, Subhrangsu Goswami Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) is one of the crucial urban basic services which influence the public health and environment of a town. While hill towns in India are already facing tremendous pressure due to lack of infrastructure, unfavourable climatic condition, difficult terrain, and public apathy towards waste management, Tourism induced challenges further aggravate the issue. Although in case of hill towns, tourism has a profound impact on the economy of the town, it comes with new challenges in terms of waste generation resulting into negative impacts on the sensitive hill environment. It is in this context, an effort has been made in this paper to examine the current issues and challenges in MSWM practice in Pahalgam, a small hill town located in the state of J&K, commonly known as “Mini Switzerland”, with special reference to impact of tourism on overall MSWM of the town. The methodology adopted includes review of case of SWM in other hill towns in India, and the legal and policy aspects at the national level. Primary survey of households and hotels was conducted by using stratified random sampling technique. Data was collected through structured questionnaire containing key information related to the issues and challenges in MSWM with special focus on tourism. Interview of city officials was conducted to capture institutional perspective. The study revealed that, in Pahalgam, tourism sector is the major generator of solid waste, Religious-touristic activities during the peak season. The study also finds crucial issues related to lack of capacity of the local body and the issues related to lack availability of plain land, improper location of waste collection infrastructure due to undulated terrain and inadequate collection capacity. The study also finds very strong correlation between unscientific disposal of MSW and degrading surface water quality and increasing occurrence of water borne diseases in the downstream during the peak tourist season.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Vinay Yadav, Subhankar Karmakar, A.K. Dikshit, Shivkumar Vanjari In India, a substantial fraction (∼0.85) of total expenditure on MSW management is spent on collection of waste. Nevertheless, the average waste collection efficiency is about 70% in Indian urban areas. Waste collection efficiency can be increased by utilising staff and collection vehicles effectively with transfer stations (TSs), though choosing best sites (in an economically optimal manner) for TSs siting is a major task. Also, many parameters (e.g., waste-generation rate, running cost of facilities, transportation cost, revenues etc.) in MSW management system are associated with uncertainties. To study the apportionment of these uncertain input parameters into the results, a comprehensive sensitivity analysis has been performed. Furthermore, the effect of interaction among most sensitive parameters is examined through design of experiment. Also, a facility location two stage stochastic model has been proposed to select the best sites for TSs siting, which is basically a framework of facility location problems involving uncertainty. The developed model is applied on the city of Nashik, Maharashtra, India. The model has 9186 constraints and 8152 variables, which has been written in AMPL (a mathematical programming language). KNITRO 5.2 (nonlinearinterior-point trust region optimizer) have been used to solve the developed model. Sensitivity analysis abduces waste generation as the most sensitive kind of parameter followed by the unit transportation cost of waste from source to TSs. Furthermore, multivariate SA identifies the importance of a facility location framework involving uncertainty.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Hamsa Iyer Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), spread over 4,355sq. km is home to seven municipal corporations. All Municipal Corporations in India are mandated to look into solid waste management in their functional domains under the 74th Constitutional Amendment. At present, all the seven municipal corporations depend upon centralised means of managing waste which is dumped at assigned landfills post collection. Apart from the corporation, there are multiple players who play a crucial role in managing the waste. Much of this is managed by informal sector and now emerging recyclers who are setting up processes for decentralised waste management. This paper explores the scale at which different institutions/communities have taken efforts to successfully manage their waste. Most people are unable to achieve 100% decentralized management due to lack of appropriate channels for managing rejects and sanitary waste. More importantly, it is imperative to understand the failure and limitations of the municipal corporation since they are financially dependent on the centre and state for their functioning. But despite all those constraints, it makes sense to gauge energy and material recovery potentials and correlate to municipal waste management. By means of different examples and a technology provider for bio-medical waste, we are able to make an impact towards creating greener, sustainable communities.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Ajaykumar Soni, Deepak Patil, Kuldeep Argade Solid waste management all over world is looked as major challenge to civil bodies. Pune corporation has taken initiatives to collect, segregate and treat solid waste and system for handling around 1600 MT / day is operative. Composting, biogas and inert waste recycle are present mode of treatment. Praj Industries limited, Pune has taken the activity further to noticeable level and can integrate overall waste management activities so that from biodegradables, biodiesel, bio CNG, fuel ethanol and liquid manure can be safely produced. No waste is left over. Biodegradable solid waste in Pune has potential to generate Biodiesel-18 to 20 MT/ day, Fuel ethanol-7 to 9 M3/ day, BioCNG-10 to 12 MT/ day and in addition 1100 to 1200 M3 liquid manure / day can be produced. These energy rich compounds can generate electricity, run vehicles and maintain solid fertility. One has to look scientifically in the optimization of collection and segregation from the point where waste generates.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): K. Chithra, P.P. Anilkumar, M.A. Naseer According to United Nation's World urbanization prospects Report, urban population in the world is expected to touch 70% of the total population by 2050. Urbanization trend in the world has made residential land-use, a major shareholder amongst urban land uses. This land-use has become the major deciding factor for urban infrastructure development at large. Municipal solid waste management and its related infrastructure provision have become a major concern to many of the urban local self-governments in India. Major objective of this paper, which is based on a doctoral research work on the residential land use impact on urban environment is to examine the relative position of municipal solid waste management sector among the other identified sectors of urban environment and also to evolve a waste management index that can be used to compare urban areas in terms of its waste generation and management perspective. An AHP based expert questionnaire survey of 93 experts across India was conducted to identify the significance of municipal solid waste management sector along with the identified impacted sectors of urban environment due to residential land use activities. A household survey was conducted in 51 wards of Kozhikode Corporation to check the performance of the waste management index generated out of the expert survey. The results of the survey show that the municipal solid waste management sector is the most impacted sector among the urban environment sectors. Waste management index of the surveyed wards revealed that the index is aligning very well with the residential density as well as the residential land-use characteristics of the area under consideration. This index has immense potential to identify the urban areas that require intervention possibly by providing infrastructure for municipal solid waste management. Survey inputs are gathered, compared and composed in this regard and the results are presented and communicated in this paper.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): R.L. Verma, G. Borongan, M. Memon Management of solid waste, including the municipal solid waste (MSW), is a major challenge in urban regions of most part of the world, including Southeast Asia. Due to the lack of effective management programs, regulations, and policies; the waste is causing severe health hazard including several communicable diseases, bad odors, nuisance, and environmental impacts, such as, contamination of water, soil, and air. Most Southeast Asian cities are lacking efficient MSW management programs. Thus, in order to contribute to building a good dataset on MSW for the Southeast Asian region, we quantified solid waste generation and analyzed waste composition for Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City is a major urban region of Viet Nam in Southeast Asia. In Ho Chi Minh City, about 8,175 tons of solid waste was generated per day in 2014, consisting 6,800-7,000 of MSW, with 1.02 kg/capita/day generation of waste. The trend in MSW generation from 1992-2010 showed that 98,338 tons of MSW has been increasing every year. The MSW of Ho Chi Minh City contains 65-90% biodegradable matter. The major portion of MSW was food waste from 1.4 million households, 1,837 schools, and 12,000 hotels and restaurants. The current common practice of solid waste management in Ho Chi Minh City is landfilling. About 86% of the total solid waste was landfilled at two major landfill sites (PhuocHiep and Da Phuoc), and the rest 14% waste was recycled. Paper, plastic, metals, glass were the major waste being recycled with a quantity of 3364, 3794, 1124, and 384 tons/month, respectively. Further to support the MSW planning in Ho Chi Minh City, we analyzed gaps and SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats) and provided recommendations to be incorporated in the action plans for efficient management of solid waste in Ho Chi Minh City.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Giresh Mohan, Ujjawal Kumar Sinha, Meva Lal Solid waste management is fast becoming an insurmountable challenge across urban India, requiring urgent solutions, especially in view of rapid urbanization and inability of local urban authorities to tackle it. Saharanpur, a small city in Uttar Pradesh, represents a microcosm of most large cities and towns in India, grappling with similar challenges. With a decadal population growth of over 19% during 2001-2011, which is higher than the national growth, the city is confronted with the task of managing a rapid growth in solid waste. In order to come up with viable solutions to this problem ITC Limited, in collaboration with Muskan Jyoti Samiti, an NGO, and the local municipal authority, initiated a pilot PPP project on solid waste management in the year 2006. With persistent focus on processing, recycling and user fee, this initiative has been able to surpass the national benchmark of 80% waste recovery set by the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD). The cost of collection and processing is covered through revenue from user fees and compost sale.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Tapas Kumar Ghatak Issues related to waste management in the context of Indian Cities still requires a path finder as most of the SWM planners and Executers are still in the dark which part of the SWM rule 2002 needs to be addressed in the primary stage. In fact finding it hard to plan and execute it was thought it may be better to change certain part of the rules which is not even 15 years old. A draft rules awaits approval and most of the people are not actually knows what is being changed and why. In fact this part of the facilities has never been considered as part urban infrastructures neither the citizen's opinion was asked in any stage while framing the rules or while even changing it for betterment. The present paper generates Certain issues related to Waste management which have been experienced while being involved in various cities in national and International arena and picks up certain unaddressed issues related to Waste management in Indian Cities. The main aim of this paper is to combine the opinion with a learned group of participants and try to evolve an effective pathway for its management. One of the most prominent factors which is missing in the entire process is the role of Community as a stake holder and their inclusion in the entire process.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Sadhan Kumar Ghosh The waste management is a major issue in most of the developing countries in the globe. India and China are two faster growing economies who also have similar problems to handle huge amount of municipal solid waste (MSW). Moreover, with the population growth and the increasing GDP, the MSW generation rate is increasing proportionately. Both the countries investing a loads of funds in landfill sites, MSW handling and treatment, but still the problem is not resolved. The main hurdle is the awareness of the citizen and poor institutional initiative all through the country, in general. There are a number of good initiatives, of course. This study aims to explore the present situation of the management of MSW and analyse the sustainability of the initiatives to protect the environment and resource utilisation leading to the least amount of landfill in India and China.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): M. Nelles, J. Grünes, G. Morscheck The new German Closed Cycle Management Act is aimed to turn the waste management into a resource management. The realisation that waste can be a useful source of raw materials and energy is not new; metals, glass, and textiles have been collected before and put to new use. The waste management policy, which has been adapted in Germany over the past 20 years, is based on closed cycles and assigns disposal responsibilities to manufacturers and distributors of products. This has made people even more aware of the necessity to separate waste, led to the introduction of new disposal technologies, and increased recycling capacities. Today, 14 per cent of the raw materials used by the German industry are recovered waste. Modern closed cycle management contributes, with a share of approximately 20 per cent, to achieve the German Kyoto targets on the reduction of climate-relevant emissions.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): K. Patchai Murugan, S. Swarnalatha, G. Sekaran Tannery buffing dust (TBD) contains high amount of potential chemicals including Cr (III) besides carcinogenic organic compounds. The Cr (III) present in TBD can be thermodynamically feasible to convert into carcinogenic Cr (VI). The obnoxious gases such as oxides of sulphur, ammonia and other volatile organic compounds are emitted from tannery buffing dust during the thermal decomposition. Pyrolysis of a chromium-tanned buffing dust under controlled O 2 atmosphere has been carried out in a thermal reactor to eliminate the environmental burden of these toxic pollutants. The effect of process variables, such as temperature, pyrolysis time, and heating rate on the pyrolytic product distribution was studied. Flash pyrolysis upto 550°C and slow pyrolysis from 550 to 800°C with applying O 2 at the rate of 1LPM in the temperature range between 700 and 800°C were studied. The pyrolysed tannery buffing dust was characterized by XRD, SEM, FTIR, TGA and CHNS analyzer. The pyrolysed TBD was effectively solidified / stabilized using Portland cement and also bitumen mixture. Unconfined compressive strength of the blocks was in the range of 16-99KN. The leachability of the stabilization of Cr (III) in the solidified matrix was confirmed through XRD.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Akanksha Kaushal, M.P. Sharma In developing countries, quantities of solid waste generation is increasing day by day and most of which is disposed off through landfilling and open dumping resulting into the release of significant quantities of GHG. CH 4 , the major gas produced by these activities, is known to cause global warming. The paper reports the estimates of CH 4 calculated by using IPCC Default, FOD method and LandGEM model, version 3.02 from Panki open dump site of Kanpur, India. The annual average CH 4 emission rates from Panki open dump site is found as 197.33, 24.27 and 25.14 Gg by IPCC Default method, FOD and LandGEM respectively for the period 2010-2030. The study reveals that IPCC Default method over estimate the result therefore it is not recommended for open dump site. however, LandGEM is recommended over FOD method for open dumps due to the fact that [a] estimates of CH 4 emission is very near to GHG emission by FOD method [b] simplicity in model parameters [c] avoidance of over estimation, if parameters are calculated as per the actual site conditions. So the present study reveals that LandGEM provides better estimation compared to other method and the CH 4 emission rate is found as 25.14 Gg/year for the Panki open dump site, Kanpur. The assessment of methane emission potential reveals the fact that upgrading the open dumps into landfill increases the methane emission rates and their utilization potential and adding the landfill to fill the future needs and utilization of landfill gases.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): R.M. Kurakalva, K.K. Aradhi, K.Y. Mallela, S. Venkatayogi Rapid urbanization and population growth are largely responsible for exponentially increasing rate of solid waste in the urban areas. The proper management and recycling is a major problem of Municipal Corporation which is great concern of human health and environment. The purpose of this study is to assess groundwater contamination in and around of Jawaharnagar Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) dumping site due to heavy metals and its relationship between hydrochemical data. Groundwater samples were collected from the wells located in the vicinity of the dumping site and its surrounds in a watershed. The samples were analyzed for physicochemical properties as well as for major ion concentrations such as Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , Na + , K + , CO 3 2ˉ , HCO 3 ˉ , Cl ˉ , NO 3 ˉ , F ˉ and SO 4 2ˉ using ion chromatograph. Results suggest the high concentrations of major ions such as Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , and F − is observed in groundwater indicating differential weathering of minerals present in granite rocks in the study area. A good number of samples are showing higher values for NO 3 ˉ than that of World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water guideline values. This demonstrates the oxidation of ammonia and similar sources from lechates originating from municipal solid waste of the study area. Further, heavy metals such as Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn are analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer. The data revealed elevated concentrations of Arsenic (0.04-0.36 ppb), Cadmium (0.00-0.09 ppb), Chromium (24.0–28.0 ppb), Copper (0.61–2.9 ppb), Iron (11.99-35.26 ppb), Manganese (1.04-107.2 ppb), Lead (0.19-1.32 ppb) and Zinc (1.49 –49.59 ppb). The present study demands proper management of landfill site and municipal solid waste to reduce further groundwater contamination via percolation of toxic substances.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): R.K. Kashyap, Parivesh Chugh, T. Nandakumar Currently, nearly 210 Million Metric Tonnes/Annum of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is generated in India and most of it gets disposed in Open and un-scientifically managed Landfills. The typical Indian MSW contains approximately 50% of bio-degradable organic components that starts degrading under anaerobic conditions and generates LandFill Gas (LFG). The LFG mainly contains Methane (40-50%) and CO 2 (50-60%). Methane is a Green House Gas (GHG), and is 25 times more potent than CO 2 in causing Global Warming and is the 2 nd largest anthropogenic source of Methane emissions after coal mining. Thus capturing and destructions of LFG shall lead to mitigation of GHG emissions. In addition, open Landfill sites also pose safety risks like fire hazard, explosion, and asphyxiation etc. apart from health risks. At the current MSW generation rate of 0.575MMT/day in India, the LFG generation potential is around 86.25 MMSCMD of LFG. Presently, LFG from the landfill sites is not being captured leading to fugitive GHG emissions. Further, due to rapid population growth and accompanying urbanisation and lack of new landfill sites, the existing waste handling infrastructure is getting stressed and leading to overflowing and vertical growth of the existing landfills. Thus Indian landfills provide good opportunities for the extraction & utilisation of Methane from LFG. However, there are lot of Issues that need to be overcome for exploitation of LFG in a sustainable manner. GAIL (India) Ltd, a Maharatna company, as a part of its R&D activities has taken up an initiative in this direction and implemented a Pilot project to ascertain the recovery of LFG from an un-scientifically managed open active MSW dumping site at Ghazipur Delhi. The utilization of LFG for energy recovery is being explored. This Paper shares the Challenges faced and Key insights gained during the LFG Project Implementation and its Operation.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): P.K. Amritha, P.P. Anilkumar Uncontrolled dumping of waste on open dumps or landfills has become one of the most common methods of disposing waste. Globally, such dumps/landfills have remained as an anomaly in urban landscapes due to its heterogeneous nature and the environmental degradation it causes. This paper considers open dumps/ landfills as specific example cases upgradable to ‘landscaped landfills’ so that landfills transform to be a more sustainable disposal option. Such an approach can be devised only by knowing the quality and quantity of the waste that are disposed in landfills and the background environmental conditions of a particular region. A landfill dominantly of organic/biodegradable character can become a good source of nutrients in developing the soft elements of landscape. In developing a landscaped landfill, the environmental risks associated such as leachate generation, groundwater contamination, greenhouse gas emission and soil stability are major concerns to be addressed. For a long term use of conventional landfills converted into ‘landscaped landfills’ the principles of environmental remediation techniques like phytoremediation, bioremediation and bio reactor landfills have a pivotal role to play. The research work aims at the disposing organic/biodegradable waste on any land or designated open dumps /landfills and simultaneously using the same land for green productive purpose in a cyclic fashion thereby making it a sustainable waste management strategy. The paper discusses the practical issues in converting a landfill into landscaped landfill by doing an onsite experiment using organic kitchen waste considering parameters like the number of households, their expected production of organic waste and suitable worked out land area for dumping, digesting and assimilating waste. In an attempt to streamline the process of planning landscaped landfills, the paper describes a strategy and methodology to convert landfills into a fitting component of typical urban landscapes through enhancing its environmental significance and visual quality for sustainability.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): A. Dubey, M. Chakrabarti, D. Pandit The study hereby is an attempt to evaluate the process of landfill mining as a remediation technique for Municipal Solid Waste dumpsites, which are an inherent feature of each city of note, in the developing countries. These dump sites, more often than not, nothing more than a piece of land where all of the city's refuse is collected, are threats to the environment and consume valuable land, which could otherwise be converted into a revenue generating asset. Many cities are extremely short on land and some are also facing the negative impacts of these dumps in terms of water contamination, air pollution and land degradation to name a few. Encouraged by the positive outcomes of studies carried out earlier, this study was aimed at applying the idea on a broader scale in terms of encompassing a number of cities across the country. The solid waste characterization for the cities taken into the study was obtained and the amount of solid waste deposited in the landfills of these cities was estimated. Based on these, various revenue generating fractions were identified. From the current market cost of the land used as dumpsite and the material salvaged by the landfill mining operation, the benefit-cost scenario was judged. It was found that for most of the scenarios the overall operation of mining the landfills was economical in terms of cost, but the intangible benefits, which cannot be monetized, are expected to be far greater than the rest.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): M.N. Asha, K.S. Chandan, H.P. Harish, S. NikhileswarReddy, K.S. Sharath, G. Mini Liza This paper compares the effectiveness of chemical and physical methods in treating the wash water collected from automobile service stations. Wash water was collected from two service stations in the city of Bangalore, and the effluent was characterised for different parameters such as pH, turbidity, conductivity, total solids, oil and grease, COD (chemical oxygen demand), BOD (biological oxygen demand), chlorides, sulphate and total hardness. For chemical treatment, alum was used and locally available natural materials such as saw dust and sugarcane bagasse were used for physical treatment. Alum at different concentrations was agitated with the effluent for a prescribed contact period which led to the formation of flocs. The filtered samples were tested for COD and oil & grease. in the form of filter columns of three different heights. The percentage reduction in COD and oil and grease was correlated with the depth and type of filter media. A comparison of physical and chemical methods of treatment revealed that natural materials are effective in removing oil & grease and COD from the automobile effluent and hence provide a viable solution because of its eco-friendliness. From the experimental studies it is observed that in physical treatment, the sorption capacity of any material is dependent on its porosity, surface area and height of filter bed.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): N.L. Dvalishvili In November 2010 the new landfill has been put into service in Tbilisi, the territory of which equals to 94 ha and is divided by inner roads into several areas, on which the waste disposal cells (area 5 ha) are installed. The goal of our project was the determination (elaboration of energetic scenarios) of economically profitable ways of utilization/application of basic greenhouse gas CH 4 , on the basis of inventory of methane emission from Norio landfill of municipal solid waste of Tbilisi city by IPCC methodology, and prevention from global climate changes caused by greenhouse gases with the use of methane in the energy sphere. The share of the landfill of municipal solid waste in the greenhouse gases emission in Georgia equals to 7% of the total emission of CH 4 and CO 2 that is very high rate. Our goal was the determination of amount of greenhouse gases (CH 4 and CO 2 ) emerged on the Norio landfill and forecasting of gases emission for the subsequent period. According to inventory data the whole potential of methane emission from Norio landfills equals to 930 mln. m 3 .

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): S.K. Maiti, S. De, T. Hazra, A. Debsarkar, A. Dutta The possible enduring environmental impact of a closed landfill on groundwater and surface water quality depends on the leachate characteristics. Post closure management of closed landfill site is needed for averting the environmental hazards. The present investigation was aimed to characterize leachate and its impact on surrounding water resources of closed dumping site at Dhapa (Kolkata, West Bengal, India). Three sampling points were identified for collection of samples fromand near the closed dumping site. All the samples were examined for pH, TDS, Cl - , BOD 5 , COD, NH 4 + -N, Zn, Cu, Cr, Cd, Hg and Pbto study the seasonal variation of significant parameters. The laboratory analysis shows prevalence of high value of TDS (8994.16±6239.2mg/L), COD (4191.66±2282.19mg/L), NH 4 + -N (1165.93±658.4mg/L), Cl − (4356.65±1304.84mg/L) and two heavy metals viz. Pb (0.56±0.33mg/L) and Hg (0.42±0.44mg/L) in the leachate samples, which have exceeded their respective standards specified in “Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000” for disposal of treated leachates. The maximum concentration of afore-said heavy metals viz. lead and mercury are found to be 0.15±0.18mg/L and 0.16±0.28mg/Land 0.23±0.21mg/L and 0.1±0.05mg/L respectively for surface and ground water resources, which have exceeded their respective permissible limits recommended by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The extent of contamination of local water resources necessitates appropriate treatment of leachate before getting discharged and establishes the significance of post closure management of the closed dumpsite.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Sutripta Sarkar, Subrata Pal, Sunanda Chanda Proper management of waste is a major problem in most of the metropolitan areas. Composting is one of the oldest and simplest methods of organic waste stabilization. It is a self-heating biological conversion, which generates suitable end products such as fertilizers, substrates for mushroom cultivation and bio-gas (methane). The thermophilic phase is a very dynamic phase where high microbial activity leads to accelerated degradation of organic matter. This phase also sanitizes the compost. The aim of the current study is to optimize a composting system utilizing market waste. Three methods of composting were studied and composting by heaping or piling was found to be the most efficient method as a significant thermophilic phase (highest temp. 65.9 0 C) was obtained provided the moisture content was kept around 60%.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Sadhan K. Ghosh, H.S. Haldar, S. Chatterjee, P. Ghosh Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste, which constitutes more than 30% of the solid waste stream in India is not given proper attention and loses it's recycling potential. Absence of enforcement and negligence on behalf of the authorities has given rise to independent overlords who fight among themselves for the control of waste thereby making it even more difficult to categorize and quantify C&D waste. Re-utilization of Solid Waste is in developmental stage and thus ends up mostly in landfills without taking into consideration the malignant effects on the environment. Elements like Lead, Arsenic, Cadmium and Silica find their way into the soil and are then transported into the ground water (Stefania Butera, 2015). So the directive is to minimize the exploitation on the environment and find a means for recycling the waste into environment friendly building materials. Estimation of CD waste is carried out by making use of Building specific and region specific waste generation rates. An all encompassing model which can successfully predict the total amount of waste generated from a particular project does not exist and this fact is quite evident given the diversity of construction techniques and composition of building materials. Even If such a database were to be compiled, end users would find it hard to comprehend and apply this data into meaningful quantity. The most appealing way of making users more aware of the need to recycle is by offering a perspective where they can perform a cost benefit analysis of the revenue that can be generated from proper optimization and reutilization of CD waste. Contractors can make a prior estimate of the investment for a particular project and order precise quantities of the materials required. This would not only eliminate the additional cost incurred but also reduce waste on site from off cuts and poor handling of surplus materials. Therefore the objective is to propose a model which makes use of easily available data like transportation rates and resale value of recyclable materials which would provide an intuitive and simple optimization model while imbibing the basic principles of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle into action.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Naveen Desai, Anuradha Tanksali, Veena S. Soraganvi The ever growing industries, human population and urban areas have increased the generation of waste materials, which is polluting the entire environment. As the environment gets affected, indirectly human race is also affected. Industrial waste management has become a big issue in the present era. Though there are different methods of waste disposal, most of them lead to soil deterioration, toxic effect and increased pollution on land, air, water and living beings apart from being very expensive. We need an eco-friendly one stroke solution for disposal of waste, which not only manages the waste but in return gives some beneficial end product. Vermicomposting is one such promising eco-friendly method which helps in reducing the pollution and simultaneously produces good quality compost using minimal space, labour and cost. Here an attempt is made to decompose milk sludge mixed with paper and garden waste with earthworms by vermicomposting. In one tank substrate is formed with paper and garden waste, milk sludge and cowdung in the ratio 3:1:1. And in another tank a ratio of 7:2:1 was considered. The reproduction of earthworms in the form of cocoons and the chemical composition of the generated manure after 30, 45, 60 days are noted and analysed. It is noted that the manure generated from the first pit has a favourable C:N ratio and decomposes fast, whereas the second pit manure with a higher nitrogen content decomposes slowly and this type of manure can be used for potato, soya bean and corn plant. Milk sludge, highly odorous and difficult to dispose can be treated by this simple eco-friendly method.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Chhavi Jatwani, R.K. Gupta, Reema Rai, Nitish Bansal Heavy metals act as toxicants to soil and crops at elevated level. Earthworms help in bioremediation process they remove heavy metal from the soil and accumulate them in their body tissues especially yellow cells. Depending upon the concentrations of heavy metals the body of earthworm get affected. An experiment was conducted to check the effect of Hg and Co on Eiseniafetida. Nine concentration of heavy metals were sprayed i.e. Hg @0.02,0.04,0.06 ppm ,Co @0.02,0.04,0.06 ppm and Hg+Co @0.01 ,0.02,0.03 ppm for two months . Bio-molecular parameters were calculated at an interval of 15 days for 2 months And it was concluded that Hg at 0.006 ppm affect the biomoleculer concentration of body of earthworm than Co and combination of both. The carbohydrates level has been decreased from 17.65% in 0.06 Hg, 17.05% in 0.06 Co and 17.32% in combination of 0.03Hg+0.03Co. At 0.06ppm of Hg lipid content decreased by 41.25%, 23.26% at 0.06ppm Co and 32.44% at 0.03Hg +0.03 Co whereas protein concentration was decreased by 42.47% at 0.06ppm Hg, 35.27% at 0.06ppm Co and 38.07% at 0.03Hg+0.03Co. So it was concluded that Hg is more toxic to earthworm not only bio-molecular parameter it affect coccon production, coelomocytes, body weight, length also.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): M. Pavlović, D. Tadić, S. Arsovski, A. Tomović, A. Pavlović The market validation of any devices presents one of the most waste important tasks. There are many factors have a critical effect on market validation. These factors are defined by reverse logistic management team. In this paper, a new model for market validation of device for recycling is proposed which includes both quantitative and qualitative factors. In this paper, fuzzy pair-wise comparison matrix of the relative importance of factors is performed by reverse logistic team which use linguistic expressions. The factor weights are given by fuzzy AHP. The values of factor can be crisps and described by pre-defined linguistic expressions. All linguistic terms are modeled by triangular fuzzy numbers. The proposed model is verified through an illustrative example. The obtained results represent an input for future research which should include a good benchmark base for tested different devices which use in reverse logistic chains and their continuous improvement.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Sartaj Ahmad Bhat, Jaswinder Singh, Adarsh Pal Vig The aim of present work was to assess the growth of earthworm Eisenia fetida during vermicomposting of pressmud (PM) sludge. It was mixed with cattle dung (CD) at different ratios (PM: CD) of 0:100 (PM 0 ) 25:75 (PM 25 ), 50:50 (PM 50 ), 75:25 (PM 75 ) and 100:0 (PM 100 ) under different varying weight 8.76 (PM 0 ), 7.63 (PM 25 ), 9.93 (PM 50 ), 9.90 (PM 75 ) and 10.23 g (PM 100 ). Co-composting with cattle dung helped to improve their acceptability for E. fetida and also improved physico-chemical characteristics. Best suitable mixture for highest survival, maximum weight and highest population buildup of E. fetida was determined by observing growth rate, weight, mortality, rate of cocoon production and population buildup. Minimum mortality and highest weight (77 g) of worms were observed in 25:75 (PM 25 ) mixture of PM. However, increasing percentages of wastes significantly affected the number and weight of worms. Nitrogen, phosphorus, sodium, increased from initial feed mixture to final products, while organic carbon, C:N ratio and Potassium showed an opposite trend. Heavy metals (Copper, Chromium, Iron) decreased significantly from initial except Zinc and manganese which accumulate significantly.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Grace P. Sapuay Solid waste management has always been about collection and disposal of garbage. We have currently moved on to a more efficient collection and disposal by using Engineered Sanitary Landfills in the Philippines. However, with the increase in population and the consequent increase in solid waste generation, we are now running out of spaces to establish solid waste disposal facilities. A global trend in solid waste management is towards resource recovery rather than disposal of waste. Resource recovery is no longer limited to recyclable materials such as tins, glass, paper, plastic and rubber. Resource recovery now involves the recovery of all solid waste materials, including residual waste. This is the value of RDF or refuse-derived fuel. RDF uses highly combustible residual waste, such as plastics and some biodegradable materials as fuel for cement kilns. It is currently being used by giant cement manufacturers Holcim and La Farge, consisting about 10% of the fuel they use in their cement kilns, which still uses an estimated 90% coal. The use of RDF, however, as a waste-to-energy technology must still be closely monitored under RA 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act 2000 as well as the Clean Air Act. It remains to be an incinerating technology that requires equipment for flue gascleaning system to prevent air pollution. If RDF can be maintained as a clean technology and recovery of RDF-qualified waste materials can be increased, resource recovery from solid waste will become more efficient, then someday, we will finally be able to achieve zero waste.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Vasanthy Muthunarayanan, Karthika Arumugam, Tamilselvi Duraisam Organic and postconsumer wastes are the major waste of today's concern in our living environment. Though they are one of the very rich sources of nitrogen and carbon, improper disposal results in different types of pollution including aesthetic pollution too. Hence, our aim is to manage the dried paper cup waste, temple waste and bay leaf waste in an eco friendly manner. Vermicomposting is a method involving biooxidation and stabilization of organic matter with the help of earthworms and microorganisms thereby turning waste into valuable soil amendments. The intensive objective of this study is to investigate the physico chemical characteristics, biomass, microbial population and also the histopathalogical analysis of the three different types of waste. Three different sets were prepared for this study, which includes paper cup waste and cowdung along with E. eugenia (A), Temple waste, cow dung along with E. eugenia (B), Bay waste, cow dung along with E. eugenia (C) in 1:1 ratio to carry out the degradation process in an eminent way. These materials were left for pre-composting followed by the introduction of the selected earth worms. Physico-chemical parameters (pH, Electrical conductivity (EC), Total organic matter (TOM), Total Nitrogen (TKN), C:N and Total Phosphorus) were analyzed. We have found that the aging of vermicompost reduce the microbial biomass of both bacteria and fungi. The histopathology analysis showed differences in the tissue damage of earthworm employed in different types of waste. Coherently, we have found noticeable earthworm behaviour during the addition of bay leaf waste and temple waste when compared to the paper cup waste. By this way the earthworms were active till the end of the process of degradation. Thus the addition of organic waste along with the post-consumer waste is justified.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Smita Agarwal, Papiya Mandal, Anjali Srivastava Size-segregated aerosol samplings were carried out during 2013-14 at Okhla landfills, Delhi, which is a municipal solid waste dumping station. Aerosol samples were collected on quartz filters using an Andersen impactor sampler having 9-stages with cut-off diameter >9.0, 9.0-5.8, 5.8-4.7, 4.7-3.3, 3.3-2.1, 2.1-1.1, 1.1-0.65, 0.65-0.43, 〈0.43 μm at flow rate 28.3 lpm. Additionally, a low-volume handy sampler was also used to measure total culturable microbial concentrations operates at flow rate of 2 lpm. The culturable total bacterial and fungal concentrations across the seasons ranged from 8.3×10 5 -1.8×10 7 cfu/m 3 and 1.2×10 3 -2.5×10 5 cfu/m 3 , respectively and also varied across the impactor stages. Major concentration peaks found during winter could be associated with high particulate matter concentration and favourable meteorological conditions in Delhi. On the other hand, comparatively lower concentrations were observed in summer. This is possibly because of microbial lethal effects of adverse meteorological conditions (high temperature and solar radiation) which are more prominent than that of release of microbial flux due to solar ground heating effect in summer. Size distribution analysis shows that bacteria were mostly abundant in fine particle sizes, i.e. 〈0.43-2.1 μm, but few peaks were also observed in size ranges between 5.8->9.0 μm. Fungal spores mostly peaked in coarse sizes (2.1-5.8 μm) and showed unimodal size distribution. Predominant identified bacterial strains were mostly belonged to Bacillus, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Klebseilla and Escherichia genera. Most of the identified fungal spores are known for adverse health effects causing numerous allergic and pathogenic inflammations. These results suggest that the open-solid waste dumping sites are a major source of bioaerosols, and residents living in the nearby areas of landfills are at high health risks.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): S. Vigneswaran, J. Kandasamy, M.A.H. Johir In this paper the optimum design of windrow composting is discussed. There are many reasons to consider implementing centralized open-windrow compost technology in developing countries, especially in municipalities which are not subject to the severe space restrictions. Compared to mechanized or in-vessel operations, windrow composting has many advantages as discussed in the paper. Design aspects of windrow composting facility such as process design, composting area sizing, runoff collection pond sizing, land treatment design for runoff, and capital and operating cost estimation are discussed in detail. In particular, the process design components such as feedstock (solid wastes) recovery, feedstock preparation, composting, stabilization, curing, refining and storing are analysed. A detail cost analysis (Capital and O&M Cost) is made based on processing 3000 tons/yr of yard waste, food waste, etc. to produced 1,500 tons/yr. of finished compost is made.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): M.K. Manu, R. Kumar, A. Garg Drum composting is a potential mean to recycle the food waste (FW) at the source of generation in developing countries. The present study reports the kinetics of the composting process conducted in three plastic drums each of 125 L capacity. To facilitate natural aeration, 10 mm diameter holes were provided on the periphery of two drums while one drum was used as control (i.e., without any hole). Moreover, yard waste (YW) was also added to the feed as bulking agent (FW: YW = 2.5: 1 by wt.). The effect of turning and natural aeration was studied during 60 days of composting of food waste. Various physical, chemical and biological parameters were monitored routinely. The time-based organic matter degradation data was used to determine the kinetic parameters according to the first order rate equation. The reaction rate was found to be 0.0105 day -1 (R 2 = 0.9605) in the modified drum with regular sample turning. The principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchial cluster analysis (HCA) were used as statistical tools to evaluate the variation between the measured parameters.

Description: Publication date: Available online 19 July 2016 Source: Geodesy and Geodynamics Author(s): Yanbao Li, Weijun Gan, Yuebing Wang, Weitao Chen, Shiming Liang, Keliang Zhang, Yongqi Zhang On January 21, 2016, a strong earthquake with a magnitude of M s6.4 occurred at Menyuan, Qinghai Province of China. In almost the same region, there was another strong earthquake happened in 1986, with similar magnitude and focal mechanism. Based on comprehensive analysis of regional active faults, focal mechanism solutions, precise locations of aftershocks, as well as GPS crustal deformation, we inferred that the Lenglongling active fault dips NE rather than SW as suggested by previous studies. Considering the facts that the 2016 and 1986 M s6.4 Menyuan earthquakes are closely located with similar focal mechanisms, both of the quakes are on the north side of the Lenglongling Fault and adjacent to the fault, and the fault is dipping NE direction, we suggest that the fault should be the seismogenic structure of the two events. The Lenglongling Fault, as the western segment of the well-known Tianzhu seismic gap in the Qilian-Haiyuan active fault system, is in a relatively active state with frequent earthquakes in recent years, implying a high level of strain accumulation and a high potential of major event. It is also possible that the Lenglongling Fault and its adjacent fault, the Jinqianghe Fault in the Tianzhu seismic gap, are rupturing simultaneously in the future.

Description: Publication date: Available online 25 July 2016 Source: Advances in Climate Change Research Author(s): Dong-Feng Zhang, Xue-Jie Gao, Ashraf Zakey, Filippo Giorgi In order to understand impacts of global warming on dust aerosol over East Asia, a regional climate model (RegCM3) coupled with a dust model is employed to simulate the present (1991－2000, following the observed concentration of the greenhouse gases) and future (2091－2100, following the A1B scenario) dust aerosol. Three experiments are performed over East Asia at a horizontal resolution of 50 km, driven by the outputs from a global model of the Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate (MIROC3.2_hires), two without (Exp.1 for the present and Exp.2 for the future) and one with (Exp.3 for the future) the radiative effects of dust aerosols. Effects of climate changes on dust aerosols and the feedback of radiative effects in the future are investigated by comparing differences of Exp.2 and Exp.1, Exp.3 and Exp.2, respectively. Results show that global warming will lead to the increases of dust emissions and column burden by 2% and 14% over East Asia, characterized by the increase in December－January－February－March (DJFM) and the decrease in April-May (AM). Similar variations are also seen in the projected frequencies of high dust emission events, showing an advanced active season of dust in the future. The net top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) radiative forcing is positive over the desert source regions and negative over downwind regions, while the surface radiative forcing is negative over the domain, which will lead to a reduction of dust emissions and column burden.

Description: Publication date: Available online 29 July 2016 Source: Geodesy and Geodynamics Author(s): Giuseppe Casula, Maria Giovanna Bianchi We present a dense crustal velocity field and corresponding strain-rate pattern computed using Global Positioning System (GPS)- Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data from several hundred permanent stations in the Italian Peninsula. GPS data analysis is based on the GAMIT/GLOBK 10.6 software, which was developed and maintained mainly by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), using tools based on the distributed-sessions approach implemented in this package. The GPS data span the period from January 2008 to December 2012 and come from several different permanent GPS networks in Italy. The GLOBK package implemented in the last version of the GAMIT package is used to compute the position time-series and velocities registered in the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF) 2008. The resulting high-density intra-plate velocity field provides indications of the tectonics of the Mediterranean region. A computation of the strain-rate pattern from GPS data is performed and compared with the map of the epicentral locations of historical earthquakes that occurred in the last 1000 years in the Italian territory, showing that, in general, higher crustal deformation rates are active in regions affected by seismicity of greater magnitude.

Description: Publication date: Available online 29 July 2016 Source: Geodesy and Geodynamics Author(s): Weitao Chen, Weijun Gan, Genru Xiao, Yuebing Wang, Weiping Lian, Shiming Liang, Keliang Zhang On January 21, 2016, a strong earthquake with a magnitude of Ms 6.4 happened at Menyuan, Qinghai Province of China. In almost the same place, there was another strong earthquake happened in 1986, with similar magnitude and focal mechanism. In this paper, we analyze the characteristics of regional crustal deformation before the 2016 Menyuan Ms 6.4 earthquake by using the data from 10 continuous Global Positioning System (GPS) stations and 74 campaign-mode GPS stations within 200 km of this event: (a) Based on the velocity field from over ten years GPS observations, a regional strain rate field is calculated. The results indicate that the crustal strain rate and seismic moment accumulation rate of the Qilian-Haiyuan active fault, which is the seismogenic tectonics of the event, are significantly higher than the surrounding regions. In a 20 km × 20 km area around the seismogenic region, the maximum and minimum principal strain rates are 21.5 nanostrain/a (NW–SE extension) and −46.6 nanostrain/a (NE–SW compression), respectively, and the seismic moment accumulation rates is 17.4 N m/a. The direction of principal compression is consistent with the focal mechanism of this event. (b) Based on the position time series of the continuous GPS stations for a time-span of about 6 years before the event, we calculate the strain time series. The results show that the dilatation of the seismogenic region is continuously reduced with a “non-linear” trend since 2010, which means the seismogenic region has been in a state of compression. However, about 2–3 months before the event, both the dilatation and maximum shear strain show significant inverse trends. These abnormal changes of crustal deformation may reflect the non-linear adjustment of the stress–strain accumulation of the seismogenic region, when the accumulation is approaching the critical value of rupture.

Description: Publication date: Available online 30 July 2016 Source: Geodesy and Geodynamics Author(s): Ping He, Qi Wang, Kaihua Ding, Jie Li, Rong Zou On 3 July 2015, a Mw 6.4 earthquake occurred on a blind fault struck Pishan, Xinjiang, China. By combining Crustal Movement Observation Network of China (CMONOC) and other Static Global Positioning System (GPS) sites surrounding Pishan region, it provides a chance to constrain the slip rupture for this moderate event by GPS solutions. The maximum displacement is up to 12 cm, 2 cm for coseismic and postseismic deformation, respectively, and both the deformation patterns show a same direction moving northeastward. With rectangular dislocation model, a magnitude of Mw 6.48, Mw 6.3 is calculated based on coseismic, postseismic deformation respectively. Our result indicates the western Kunlun range is still moving toward Tarim basin followed by an obvious postseismic slip associated with this earthquake. To determine a more reasonable model for postseismic deformation, it will need a longer data set.

Description: Publication date: Available online 30 July 2016 Source: Geodesy and Geodynamics Author(s): Guiju Wu, Guangliang Yang, Hongbo Tan The research about subsurface characteristics by using transient electromagnetic method (TEM) and high density resistivity method (HDRM) were already conducted in Ordos. The objective of this research is to detect coalmine goaf areas based on rock resistivity. The data processing using wavelet transform, three point smoothing, RES2DINV and Maxwell processing software to obtain 2D resistivity structure. The results showed that the layers with maximum resistivity values (30–33 Ω m on Line 1, 30–31 Ω m on Line 2, 32–40 Ω m on Line 3) are founded at station 1–7, and 14–20 on Line 1,13–18 on Line 2, and 8–13 and 16–20 on Line 3 which is predicted as goaf layer, and the minimum resistivity values (20–26 Ω m of TEM, 45–75 Ω m of HDRM) at the other layers. This resistivity difference was caused by the geology and characteristics of the study area which is located close by the cleugh with rich coal, so the goaf area distinguishable with aquifer layer and coal seam. The results were also significant accidents and serious destruction of ecological environment.

Description: Publication date: Available online 30 July 2016 Source: Geoscience Frontiers Author(s): Tsuyoshi Komiya, Shinji Yamamoto, Shogo Aoki, Keiko Koshida, Masanori Shimojo, Yusuke Sawaki, Kazumasa Aoki, Shuhei Sakata, Takaomi D. Yokoyama, Kenshi Maki, Akira Ishikawa, Takafumi Hirata, Kenneth D. Collerson The Archean continental crusts account for ca. 20 % of the present volume, but the thermal history of the Earths’ mantle suggests much more continental crusts were formed in the Early Archean. Because the Archean continental crust underwent severe metamorphism, it is important to avoid influence by the later thermal events. We carried out a comprehensive geochronological work of Cathodoluminescence (CL) observation and U-Pb dating of zircons from orthogneisses and supracrustal rocks over the Saglek Block to obtain their protolith ages. The zircons were classified into three domains of core, mantle and rims, and the cores were further classified into three groups of inherited, altered and zoned cores based on the zonation on the CL images. We estimated the protolith ages from Pb-Pb ages of the zoned-cores of zircons with low U contents. We made a detailed sketch of a small outcrop in St. John’s Harbour South (SJHS) area, and classified the orthogneisses and mafic enclaves into seven generations based on the geologic occurrence. The first and second generations comprise mafic rocks and lack magmatic zircons. We conducted CL imaging and U-Pb dating of zircons from the third, sixth and seventh generation of the orthogneisses to estimate the protolith ages at 3902±25, 3892±33 and 3897±33 Ma for each, supporting the presence of the over 3.9 Ga Iqaluk Gneiss. The geological occurrence that the mafic rocks occur as enclaves within the 3.9 Ga Iqaluk Gneiss indicates that they are the oldest supracrustal rocks in the world. Our geochronological and geological studies show the Uivak Gneiss is quite varied in lithology and age from 3.6 to >3.9 Ga, and tentatively classified into six groups based on their ages. The oldest Uivak Gneiss components including the Iqaluk Gneiss are present around the SJHS area, and the orthogneisses become young as it is away. The lines of evidence of overprinting of younger granitoid on older granitoid in small outcrops and geological-map scale as well as presence of inherited zircons even in the oldest suite suggests that crustal reworking played an important role on erasing the ancient crusts. Graphical abstract

Description: Publication date: Available online 27 July 2016 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): Fethi Kitchah, Sadok Benmebarek The stability of shallow tunnels excavated in full face has been a major challenge to the scientific community for a long time. In recent years, new techniques based on the installation of a pre-reinforcement system ahead of the tunnel face were developed to control the deformations and surface settlements induced by the excavation and to ensure the sustainability of the tunnel in the long term. In this paper, a finite difference numerical simulation was conducted to study the behaviors and effects of two pre-reinforcement systems, i.e. the face bolting and the umbrella arch system installed in a section of southern Toulon tunnel in France. For this purpose, two approaches were taken and compared: a two-dimensional (2D) approach based on the convergence-confinement method, and a three-dimensional (3D) approach taking into account the complete modeling of the tunnel. A 2D numerical back-analysis was performed to identify the geomechanical parameters that offer satisfactory agreement with the measurement results. The limit of this method lies in the exact choice of the stress relaxation ratio λ . To overcome this uncertainty, a 3D model was developed, which permitted to study the influence of different pre-support systems on the reaction of ground mass. Both 2D and 3D numerical approaches have been fitted to measurements recorded in a section of the Toulon tunnel and the very satisfactory correspondence has allowed validating the simulations. The results show that the 3D numerical analysis with a full discretization of the inclusions seems unquestionably the most reliable approach.

Description: Publication date: Available online 28 June 2016 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): Shucai Li, Rentai Liu, Qingsong Zhang, Xiao Zhang Grouting is a major method used to prevent water and mud inrush in tunnels and underground engineering. In this paper, the current situation of control and prevention of water and mud inrush is summarized and recent advances in relevant theories, grout/equipment, and critical techniques are introduced. The time-variant equations of grout viscosity at different volumetric ratios were obtained based on the constitutive relation of typical fast curing grouts. A large-scale dynamic grouting model testing system (4000 mm × 2000 mm × 5 mm) was developed, and the diffusions of cement and fast curing grouts in dynamic water grouting were investigated. The results reveal that the diffusions of cement grouts and fast curing grouts are U-shaped and asymmetric elliptical, respectively. A multi-parameter real-time monitoring system ( ϕ = 1.5 m, h = 1.2 m) was developed for the grouting process to study the diffusion and reinforcement mechanism of grouting in water-rich faulted zone. A high early strength cream-type reinforcing/plugging grout, a high permeability nano-scale silica gel grout, and a high-expansion filling grout were proposed for the control of water hazard in weak water-rich faulted zone rocks, water inrush in karst passages, and micro-crack water inrush, respectively. Complement technologies and equipment for industrial applications were also proposed. Additionally, a novel full-life periodic dynamic water grouting with the critical grouting borehole as the core was proposed. The key techniques for the control of water inrush in water-rich faulted zone, jointed fissures and karst passages, and micro-crack water inrush were developed.

Description: Publication date: Available online 4 August 2016 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): Afshin Khoshand, Mamadou Fall Natural methane (CH 4 ) oxidation that is carried out through the use of landfill covers (biocovers) is a promising method for reducing CH 4 emissions from landfills. Previous studies on peat-based landfill covers have mainly focused on their biochemical properties (e.g. CH 4 oxidation capacity). However, the utilization of peat as a cover material also requires a solid understanding of its geotechnical properties (thermal, hydraulic, and mechanical), which are critical to the performance of any biocover. Therefore, the objective of this context is to investigate and assess the geotechnical properties of peat-based cover materials (peat, peat-sand mixture), including compaction, consolidation, and hydraulic and thermal conductivities. The studied materials show high compressibility to the increase of vertical stress, with compression index ( C c ) values ranging from 0.16 to 0.358. The compressibility is a function of sand content such that the peat-sand mixture (1:3) has the lowest C c value. Both the thermal and hydraulic conductivities are functions of moisture content, dry density, and sand content. The hydraulic conductivity varies from 1.74 ×10 −9 m/s to 7.35×10 −9 m/s, and increases with the increase in sand content. The thermal conductivity of the studied samples varies between 0.54 W/(m K) and 1.41 W/(m K) and it increases with the increases in moisture and sand contents. Increases in sand content generally increase the mechanical behavior of peat-based covers; however, they also cause relatively high hydraulic and thermal conductivities which are not favored properties for biocovers.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): S.B. Wath A flush urinal-toilet disposes human waste by using water through a drainpipe to another location. A series of urinal-toilets are fitted in offices, malls, multiplexes, educational institutions, bus railway stations, airports, commercial complexes, stadia and other public places. Most have manual flushing systems like push button, trigger, pull chain, etc. however, use of such manually operated flush can spread germs and bacteria when contacted and thus users avoids to flush or lead to wastage of water if used. Now a day's laser or infrared sensor operated flushes is also used in the places of high commercial value and importance but are expensive and required continuous O&M. Therefore, the sanitary facility may remain un-flushed leading to unhygienic conditions and foul smell. Thus need for a low cost automatic flushing apparatus which can flush the right-controlled amount of water and avoid direct contact thus conserving water as well as maintaining personal hygiene and sanitation The present invention relates to a specially designed mechanical automatic urinal-toilet flusher and a mechanism thereof, which utilizes the weight load/pressure of the person using the urinal-toilet for automatic flushing the urinal- toilet with the specified or measured quantity of water to prevent odors, soil drain and scale buildup. It ensures the compulsory, regular and un-intentional flushing of the urinal-toilet without any direct hand contact of the user to the flush and also conserve water at the same time is simple and cheap, which can be fitted-retrofitted to new as well as existing water pipe line of the urinal-toilets.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Vidyadhar Durgekar This paper explores the performance of sustainable waste management through effective policy, legislations, supply chain integration and participation in technology. It compares a standalone impact analysis of the aspects and the hazards of the municipal solid waste. Considering the practical difficulties and issues on site of the waste disposal in the Cities, this paper does an matrix based analysis to arrive at the solution.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): A. Aich, Sadhan K. Ghosh Municipal solid waste management system cannot be made sustainable only with the technical end-of-pipe solutions but an integrated approach is necessary. The use of SWOT (strength & weakness and opportunity & threats) analysis technique for the selection of technology for processing and disposal of municipal solid waste will help to mitigate the uncertainties and minimise the business/project risk and will also help to identify the raw material feed mix, establish a raw material supply chain, identify the product mix and product market, business model & business risk. In this paper a systematic approach has been developed for the selection of right technology for the sustainable processing and disposal of municipal solid waste.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Aditee Potdar, Anju Singh, Seema Unnikrishnan, Neelima Naik, Mayuri Naik, Indrayani Nimkar, Vikrant Patil Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) has emerged as a core issue, which needs to be tackled effectively in developing countries. The burgeoning population indicates increased MSW generation rates indirectly posing challenge to the final disposal. The final disposal is of critical importance as it largely impacts the environment and public health. A number of technologies are available for management and treatment of MSW but choosing the appropriate one depends on the nature of MSW and local conditions. Selecting the appropriate technology also helps to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, thereby mitigating climate change. The opportunity to reduce GHG emissions is offered by the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). This paper reports how MSW can be managed effectively through CDM. 350 MSW projects have been registered under CDM across 56 developing countries. 51,292,568 metric tons of CO2e are estimated to be reduced through these 350 projects. China registered the maximum number of projects (102), followed by Brazil and Mexico registering 45 and 28 projects, respectively. Overall, 175 projects from China, Brazil, and Mexico account for about 51.63% of the total estimated emissions reductions. Asian region reported the highest number of projects (191) followed by South American region (123). 16 methodologies have been used as stand-alone as well as in combination for management of MSW through CDM and cover several areas through which the potential of MSW can be trapped. China and India used the maximum methodologies (9) followed by Brazil (7). Registering for CDM offers financial benefits as well as technology transfer and ultimately sustainable development. Source reduction and technology development to suit local needs are the areas where developing countries can focus. An integrated system for solid waste management is perfectly suitable for developing countries.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): P.P. Anilkumar, K. Chithra Municipal solid waste management has become a serious concern in India, and for efficient management, it is important that accurate methods are developed for estimating solid waste types, quantities and its distribution. Objective of this research paper, which is based on a HUDCO funded project, is to understand how residential land use and associated activities’ based specific key generators of solid waste in a small/medium scale urban area are related to the quantity of waste generated and thereby to model the same. The study is aimed at deriving a more rational method to estimate quantity of solid waste generated type-wise, in place of the per capita based en-bloc estimation system practiced at present. Criticality of residential land-use and related generators are identified through a Delphi/AHP based expert survey process. Their relationship to waste generation is established based on the field survey conducted in 2 select wards of three cities namely Thiruvananthapuram, Coimbatore and Kozhikode in South India. The sample size was 150 households/ward. The results show that when solid waste estimation based on land use parameters is attempted for residential land-use, not only factors like household size, and income matter but also factors like housing typology, floor area of the residence and lifestyle of the family etc. have a decisive role to play. In its results part, the paper presents models for estimating solid waste for residential land-use based on the critical generator parameters with established correlation. Then the paper discusses the survey based validation results of the models. In conclusion, the paper briefly outlines a system that can be developed to estimate solid waste generation at an appropriate level with superior quantitative and qualitative precision of waste estimation. It can have immense application in waste management related capacity building and in formulating suitable policy guidelines.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Shaoli De, Biswajit Debnath Multiple factors like population density with high degree of commercialization and rapid urbanization has resulted in problems of solid waste disposal which produce 120,000 tones of solid waste per day in India (2014) and its detrimental consequences. But separate studies on the health hazards associated with waste disposal in the localities of Kolkata are scanty. The aim of this study is to explore the adverse health effects prevalent in the community associated with the solid waste disposal system in a specific locality (i.e. Garia) of Kolkata. A garbage disposable area of Kolkata was selected in Garia and the nearby households (within 500 m from the waste disposable land) were randomly selected and case study was done by interview on the effect of garbage disposal on the health of the adjacent residents with two self structured questionnaires, taking note of perception and awareness about garbage disposal practices. Their recommendation was also sought for eradication of menace. The study clearly indicates failure of the existing facilities, high volume of waste generation, inadequate collection space, and the presence of open-dump sites which generates serious health risks. Information of various types of waste materials like polythene bags, construction wastes, regular solid wastes from households were obtained. It was observed that the people living in this area have poor health like allergy, asthma, skin irritation and other gastro intestinal diseases. The public perception indicated that most people lack knowledge of the harmful effects of waste heaps including that they are breeding grounds for flies, cockroaches, and mosquitoes, rodents etc which are responsible for transmission of germs and zoonotic infections to the people living nearby. The findings of the study will help the stakeholders to take necessary steps to eradicate the problem and to grow a healthier environment.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Shyamala Mani, Satpal Singh Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) has emerged as a big challenge not only because of the health and environmental concerns but also due to huge quantities of waste generated. It is observed from many research documents that most urban local bodies (ULBs) in India are unable to handle such huge quantities of solid waste due to financial and institutional debilities. Furthermore, ULBs rarely have sufficient funds, resources, infrastructure and appropriate strategies for improved solid waste management. Segregation of waste, door to door waste collection, technologies for the treatment of waste, land resources and scientific disposal methods are some of the major challenges. Recognizing these challenges, the two ministries of Government of India namely Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) have initiated several policies and programmes to improve the current scenario of MSWM in India. Environment Ministry had promulgated the Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules in2000 which is now being revamped as Solid Waste Management Rules 2015 while the MoUD has prepared a draft manual on MSWM to support cities and towns on planning and implementing a proper MSWM system in line with the SWM Rules being promulgated in 2015. It is observed that many policies and programmes fail to achieve their objectives due to lack of clarity and awareness among the stakeholders and poor enforcement by the regulators. The present paper provides a comprehensive view of SWM and most importantly highlights some major points of the policies/programmes initiated by the Government of India to overcome the challenges of solid waste management in our country.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Animesh Biswas, Arnab Kumar De In this study a fuzzy chance constrained programming approach is developed for municipal solid waste management to minimize the net system cost and maximize the revenue generated from different treatment facilities. Most of the parameters involved with this model are imprecisely defined and probabilistically uncertain. A fuzzy chance programming model is developed to minimize the net system cost of sorting and transporting the wastes and to maximize the revenue generated from different treatment facilities. To resolve the cases arising due to the multiple occurrences of fuzzy goals, a fuzzy goal programming has been adopted. To expound the potential use of the approach, modified version of a case example, studied previously, has been considered and solved. The achieved model solution is compared with the existing technique for waste management, studied earlier.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): P. Albores, K. Petridis, P.K. Dey In our day-to-day living, a simple underlying principle is to consume resources in one form or another. This consumption generates waste, which needs to be dealt with in a responsible, efficient and effective manner. Waste is mostly collected and disposed by municipalities. This presents a challenge for these municipalities in dealing with ever increasing amounts of waste to be managed. This is particularly critical in cities, where the demand for these services is increasing. Management of municipal solid waste (MSW) continues to be one of the top priorities for human communities in the 21st century. The model of integrated solid waste management, reduction of waste right at the source points before it enters the chain of waste stream, reuse of generated wastes for recovery by recycling, and disposal through environmentally sound combustion facilities and landfills that meet policy standards are being used by communities as they evolve. Solid waste management is known to be an important contributor to various environmental problems, for example climate change (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions from landfills), disturbing multiple ecosystems (e.g. heavy metal emissions into air, soil and surface water), and improper use of resources leading to depletion (e.g. inexistent or inefficient recycling processing methods for a few particular key minerals or metals) among others. The formidable rise in solid waste generation require suitable management systems, which methodically handle these environmental issues and eventually contribute to move towards a more environmentally sustainable society. This paper presents a method based on Data Envelopment Analysis to analyse the efficiency of Waste to Energy systems, looking not only at maximising the positive outputs (e.g. Energy), but also minimising the negative ones (e.g. emissions). The results provide a benchmark for municipalities to aim in the operation of their Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM).

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): A. Schüch, G. Morscheck, A. Lemke, M. Nelles German biodegradable waste is collected separately, recycled and ecologically and economically used. Compost and digestate are used as organic fertilizer or replace peat in potting soil and plant substrates. The bio-waste recycling may also directly contribute to climate protection if the methane produced during the fermentation is used for energy production. Around the world biodegradable waste in landfills is the main factor for the generation of the greenhouse gas methane. This environmental impact can be significantly reduced by the separate collection and recycling/use of organic waste. The separate collection of bio-waste is also a precondition for reutilizing of organic matter and nutrients. Only from separately collected bio-wasteit is possible to produce high-quality compost and digestate, which are suitable for agricultural or horticultural use. The separate collection of bio-waste from households affects the amount and composition of the residual waste. By separating bio-waste the remaining amount of waste is reduced up to a third. At the same time the residual waste contains less wet ingredients, which facilitate the waste sorting and makes the treatment in waste incineration plants more effective or even possible. Both, the recycling of compost and digestate on soils, as well as the energy recovery of bio-waste, contribute to climate protection and resource conservation. The operation of the treatment plants determines how much of the greenhouse gases methane, nitrous oxide and ammonia is released during the process. Some plant operators need to be awakened and their awareness of climate-relevant emissions from their bio-waste treatment plants has to be raised. Also the amount of collected organic waste should be further reinforced. In 2015 the separate collection of bio-waste has to improve!

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): K.A. Kolekar, T. Hazra, S.N. Chakrabarty Development of a Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) plan is a complex process. As a foundation and prerequisite for efficient MSWM plan, quantification and prediction of Solid Waste (SW) generation is very much essentials. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) prediction cannot be done directly and depends on so many factors. In actual practices, due to uncertainties and unavailability of sufficient data, modelling methods are needed for prediction of MSW generation. A number of researchers have predicted SW generation using various modeling methods. The main objective of this paper is to review such models related to MSW generation using economic, socio-demographic or management-orientated data and identify possible factors that will help in selecting the crucial design options within the framework of mathematical modeling. Five characteristic classification criteria, namely, modeling method, area covered, time series, independent variables and waste streams are focused in this review. The entire published models are diverse in nature for application from whole country to households. Successful modeling depends significantly on selection of waste stream. From the review and discussion of models the research aims to identify the limitations of previous models which will help in identifying the crucial design options within the framework of modeling. The study is concluded with a few fruitful suggestions.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 35 Author(s): Konstantinos Petridis, Prasanta Kumar Dey Incineration plants in UK carry out two important tasks: reduction of waste disposed to landfills, and power/heat production from waste incineration distributed to the grid. However, incinerating waste produces, except for desirable outputs like exported power, harmful emissions, too. In this work, a DEA/Goal Programming model is presented to assess the performance of each incineration plant. Data from 22 incineration plants have been collected regarding capacity (waste and power), power exported, annual availability and levels of harmful emissions. The proposed model provides an allocation of the examined incineration plants, by shutting down a plant if it doesn’t meet environmental targets. Additional constraints are considered regarding levels of power exported and annual availability. The model is solved for multiple scenarios regarding the number of incineration plants that will be eventually installed. Results are provided regarding the optimal allocation of each incineration plant and the optimal values of under and over achievement of each environmental target. Additionally, a comparative analysis is conducted on the scores derived from the proposed method and DEA models that handle both desirable and undesirable outputs. No differences between the two rankings are derived by applying statistical analysis.

Description: Publication date: Available online 6 July 2016 Source: Geoscience Frontiers Author(s): Yusuke Imaeda, Toshikazu Ebisuzaki We present a new united theory of planet formation, which includes magneto- rotational instability (MRI) and porous aggregation of solid particles in a consistent way. We show that the "tandem planet formation" regime is likely to result in solar system-like planetary systems. In the tandem planet formation regime, planetesimals form at two distinct sites: the outer and inner edges of the MRI suppressed region. The former is likely to be the source of the outer gas giants, and the latter is the source for the inner volatile-free rocky planets. Our study spans disks with a various range of accretion rates, and we _nd that tandem planet formation can occur for M ˙ = 10 − 7.3 − 10 − 6.9 M ⊙ yr − 1 . The rocky planets form between 0.4-2 AU, while the icy planets form between 6-30 AU; no planets form in 2-6 AU region for any accretion rate. This is consistent with the gap in the solid component distribution in the solar system, which has only a relatively small Mars and a very small amount of material in the main asteroid belt from 2-6 AU. The tandem regime is consistent with the idea that the Earth was initially formed as a completely volatile-free planet. Water and other volatile elements came later through the accretion of icy material by occasional inward scat-tering from the outer regions. Reactions between reductive minerals, such as schreibersite (Fe 3 P), and water are essential to supply energy and nutrients for primitive life on Earth. Graphical abstract

Description: Publication date: Available online 7 July 2016 Source: Geodesy and Geodynamics Author(s): Duxin Cui, Shanlan Qin, Wenping Wang An M s6.4 earthquake occurred in the Menyuan county of Qinghai Province on Jan 21, 2016. In order to recognize the development of horizontal deformation and distinguish precursory deformation anomalies, we obtained coordinates time series, velocity and strain model around the seismic zones from processing of continuous observations from 2010 to 6 times of surveying Global Positioning System (GPS) data since 2009. The results show that, before the earthquake, the eastern segmentation of the Qilian tectonic zone where the Lenglongling Fault located is in strong crustal shortening and compressional strain state with dilatational rates of −15 to −25 ppb. The Lenglongling Fault has a strike-slip rate of 3.1 mm/a and a far-field differential orthogonal rate of 7 mm/a, while differential rate is only 1.2 mm/a near the fault, which reflects its locking feature with strain energy accumulation and high seismic risks. Dynamic evolution of deformation model shows that pre-event dilatational rates around the seismic zones increases from −15 ppb/a to −20 ppb/a with its center moving to the source areas. Time series of N components of G337 station, which is 13.7 km away from the Lenglongling Fault, exhibit a 5 mm/a acceleration anomaly. Time series of base-station QHME (in Menyuan) displays a reverse acceleration from the end of Sep. to Dec., 2016 when it comes to a largest deviation, and the accumulative displacement is more than 4 mm and the value reverse till the earthquake. In our results, coseismic displacement of N, E, U components in QHME site are 3.0 mm, 3.0 mm, −5.4 mm, respectively. If we profile these values onto the Lenglongling Fault, we can achieve a 1.1 mm of strike slip and 4.1 mm updip slip relative to the hanging wall.

Description: Publication date: Available online 7 July 2016 Source: Geodesy and Geodynamics Author(s): Weifeng Liang, Guoqing Zhang, Yiqing Zhu, Yunma Xu, Shusong Guo, Yunfeng Zhao, Fang Liu, Lingqiang Zhao In order to study the relationship between gravity variation and Menyuan M s6.4 earthquake, gravity variation characteristics in mid-eastern of Qilian Mountain were analyzed based on the 2012–2015 relative gravity datasets. The results indicated that the gravity changes in mid-eastern of Qilian Mountain increased gradually, while gravity changes around Menyuan remarkably. Besides, great positive-negative gravity changing gradients appeared along the Lenglongling Fault which was located at the north of Menyuan, and the 2016 Menyuan Ms 6.4 earthquake occurred near the junction of positive and negative gravity changes.

Description: Publication date: Available online 19 June 2016 Source: Geodesy and Geodynamics Author(s): Xin Zhao, Shuanggen Jin, Andres Calabia, Jialiang Feng The current global or regional ionospheric models have been established for monitoring the ionospheric variation. However, the spatial and temporal resolutions are not enough to describe total electron content (TEC) variations in small scale for China. In this paper, a regional ionospheric grid model (RIGM) with high spatial-temporal resolution (0.5° × 0.5° and 10-min interval) in China and surrounding areas is established based on spherical harmonics expansion from dense GPS measurements provided by Crustal Movement Observation Network of China (CMONOC) and the International GNSS Service (IGS). The correlation coefficient between the estimated TEC from GPS and the ionosonde measurements is 0.97, and the root mean square (RMS) with respect to Center for Orbit Determination in Europe (CODE) Global Ionosphere Maps (GIMs) is 4.87 TECU. In addition, the impact of different spherical harmonics orders and degrees on TEC estimations are evaluated and the degree/order 6 is better. Moreover, effective ionospheric shell heights from 300 km to 700 km are taken into account and the result indicates that 550 km is the most suitable for regional ionospheric modeling in China at solar maximum.

Description: Publication date: Available online 23 June 2016 Source: Advances in Climate Change Research Author(s): Du Xiang-Wan This study discusses high-carbon characteristics, the unsustainability of China’s development, and the fact that China needs to transform its development mode. China’s low-carbon transition must include industry structure adjustment, energy saving and efficiency increases, energy structure improvement, carbon sink development, adaptation capability, and low-carbon pilot schemes. Low-carbon urbanization is a key measure in China’s low-carbon transition. China’s urbanization faces high-carbon risks. Thus, this study presents a roadmap for transforming urbanization into a low-carbon one. The transition to low-carbon urbanization is a common trend in the developing world. There is a lot of room for international cooperation.

Description: Publication date: Available online 29 June 2016 Source: Advances in Climate Change Research Author(s): David Rayner, Christine Achberger, Deliang Chen This paper describes a new weather generator – the 10-state empirical model – that combines a ten-state, first-order Markov chain with a non-parametric precipitation amounts model. Using a doubly-stochastic transition-matrix results in a weather generator for which the overall precipitation distribution (including both wet and dry days) and the temporal-correlation can be modified independently for climate change studies. This paper assesses the ability of the 10-state empirical model to simulate daily area-average precipitation in the Torne River catchment in northern Sweden/western Finland in the context of 3 other models: a ten-state model with a parametric (Gamma) amounts model; a wet/dry chain with the empirical amounts model; and a wet/dry chain with the parametric amounts model. The ability to accurately simulate the distribution of multi-day precipitation in the catchment is the primary consideration. Results show that the 10-state empirical model represented accumulated 2 to 14-day precipitation most realistically. Further, the distribution of precipitation on wet days in the catchment is related to the placement of a wet day within a wet-spell, and the 10-state models represented this realistically, while the wet/dry models did not. Although all four models accurately reproduced the annual and monthly averages in the training data, all models underestimated inter-annual and inter-seasonal variance. Even so, the 10-state empirical model performed best. We conclude that the multi-state model is a promising candidate for hydrological applications, as it simulates multi-day precipitation well, but that further development is required to improve the simulation of interannual variation.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Merzougui Wafia, Belakehal Azeddine, Bennadji Amar The essence of architectural design rests upon in kind of manipulation between dualism central core and external envelope of any architectural composition; there are some compositions that are concerned with the external envelope,while other compositions the outer shell is result of the interned division. Besides there are other compositions that blend the central core and the external envelope in a harmonious dialogue. This combination between central core and the external envelope touch this diversity in houses of Biskra city through different periods of time to create a comfortable thermal environment. The dry areas, which are distributed on a large scale over the space of Algeria, characterized by climate is hot and dry. We found Morphological diversity in houses of this region that reflects primarily adaptation to climatic conditions, social and economic through different periods. In our research, we depend on the experimental method through digital simulation technology program ECOTECT to calculate data, for various thermal models. in addition in the selection of network studied models we adopted to the variables morphology of both core and the external envelope of the dwelling which are: 1) the oceanic layer, 2) type of the core 3) type of the external envelope. Then we calculated the temperature of various houses layers to make comparisons between various layers and various models. The results of this study came to show the laws that control heat in the atmosphere and that is affected by alphabet elements of local architecture of Biskra region. These laws allow the architect to manipulate to these elements to search for improved thermal yield of the building and control of energy consumption in the range of what is available to him.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed Ibrahim, Nanis Abd El Monem Mohamed The impact of waste accumulation can be highly drastic for many communities in developing countries. In Egypt, the issue gets more challenging as there are no clearly-defined strategies for an efficient management of solid waste, which inflicts serious environmental risks on Egyptian communities and drains a considerable portion of the local economy. This study aims to improve solid waste management in Egypt by exploring the options by which solid waste can be sustainably managed, and reviewing international models of sustainable management systems. Eventually, a strategy is formulated for the sustainable management of solid waste on the local scale of Egypt.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Mona Azouz, Abeer Galal Tourism being a major sector of the Egyptian economy and with the increasing awareness of humanity's negative effect on the planet, the shift towards sustainability became a must. Egypt being blessed with a variety of sites, the research focuses on developing a tool for sustainable sites assessment for hotels to reduce negative impacts on the environment; maximize social and economic benefits for the local community. The research was based on an inductive approach through studying sustainable sites in different International Certification Systems. As a result, an excel sheet for site assessment for hotels is developed that could locally be applied.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Dina Naguib, Moemen Afifi, Sherine Wahba Lately, sustainability in eco-cities had been such an urgent topic. Development forces acts as a threat to eco-lands. This study aims to evaluate the use of different tools through out a comparative analysis of various case studies in order to guarantee their sustainability. A community vision based on sustainability will help align and motivate communities, governments and others and will provide a basis for developing a strategy to achieve this vision. This paper discusses the application of one of the regulatory tools for achieving sustainability in eco-cities which is TDR ‘Transfer of Developing Rights’ as an alternative method that has been applied in other cities, as a new promising solution and the possibilities of its application in future projects could be applied to maintain sustainability of eco-lands within the cities.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Christoph Banhardt, Felix Hartenstein This paper proposes a makeshift approach to carbon accounting in Egyptian towns, which takes into account the limited resources of local municipalities and the widespread lack of available data. Egypt is highly vulnerable to climate change. Escalating temperatures, water scarcity, and rising sea levels threaten all parts of society. Cities absorb a growing portion of the increasing population and are especially exposed to the precarious effects of global warming. Consequently, there is an emergent need for mitigation and adaptation measures in urban areas, which presuppose an adequate accounting of the local greenhouse gas emissions. This paper suggest a series of six steps that can be followed by municipal decision makers to estimate their emissions by collecting existing information on site and utilizing systematic approximations to make up for missing statistics.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Karim M. Ayyad, Ahmed A. Fekry Most green retrofitting efforts adopt case-by-case studies to evaluate retrofitting projects and the economic feasibility of greening a given existing building. These case-by-case studies can only be done by well-informed and well-trained architects or practitioners, and do not give a whole image that can help the decision-maker decide which building to green in a set of alternatives, hindering the spread of green retrofitting. A comprehensive framework with a standard reference index that can be easily computed for each building can help create an updatable database for existing buildings in each town/city, allowing owners, investors and decision-makers to evaluate the different alternatives themselves. This paper addresses the problem by presenting the suggested GRI reference index that can be used in the green retrofit decision-making process, and presents the different factors that affect it and how they can be computed.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Hariwan N. Zebari, Rojhat K. Ibrahim Sustainable architecture is a way of prolonging the aging process of existing architecture. Architectural Sustainability in developing countries is still in its early stages compared to the developed countries. In this particular research, the methods and strategies for sustainable architecture will be addressed within the Kurdistan region of Iraq, specifically within the residential housing. This paper is an attempt to bring awareness to some common practical issues, and also provide simple solutions to make the buildings more efficient, functional, and comfortable.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Hamzah Salman Al-Mamoori Courtyard is a basic element in our traditional buildings. Thermal comfort is very important in courtyard, and without that people cannot use courtyard. In traditional buildings the problem of thermal comfort is solved according to the mechanism of the global planning of the tissue. Thermal comfort is the core of the process and one major issue of sustainability. The mechanism of making courtyard of thermal comfort in modern building of grid iron planning pattern is the research problem. Experiential methodology with theoretical analysis depended to reach that, courtyard can be activated and be of thermal comfort depending on many indicators of type of penetration, staggering position, enclosure and orientation as findings.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Mohammed El Barmelgy, Soheir Hawas, Shaimaa Ashour, Ghada Attiaa The Eastern Necropolis is part of the World Heritage property of Historic Cairo in the URHC 2010-2012. It underlies a diversity of forces that lead to urban informality and ruins the sky line of Old Historic Cairo. Applying a sustainable conservation strategy will supposedly stop further slum formation and achieve urban equality. The research is divided into: 1)Pilot study, 2) Field Work and Survey; Evaluation for the study zone and creating a Base Map for the Eastern Necropolis, 3) Documentary studies; Conservation of heritage areas as an approach to regional planning, 4)Research results and final conclusion.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Indjy M. Shawket Several educational methods are used in building up children; each has different settings accordingly different requirements. The research focuses on Montessori Method that presented innovation in the field of outdoor learning. Here comes a question ‘Does the educational system instruct the design of outdoor spaces?’ Accordingly, the research introduces Montessori principle ‘exploring surrounding environment’, comparing studies on children; finding out how educational system could achieve its objectives through its own settings’ requirements in outdoor spaces’ design. If so; spaces’ design principles should be for each educational system individually in order to reach maximum benefits of the educational process.

Description: Publication date: Available online 10 May 2016 Source: Advances in Climate Change Research Author(s): Yipeng Guo, Jianping Li, Juan Feng Using 26 climate models from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5), climatology and the interannual variability of the annual mean Hadley circulation (HC) are evaluated. The results show that most of 26 models perform well in simulating the spatial structure of the climatology of the annual mean HC, but the results derived from these models are generally weaker than that derived from the reanalysis dataset. 18 models can properly simulate well the asymmetric mode (AM) and symmetric mode (SM) of the annual mean HC variability. Two models can only simulate AM or SM and the other two models simulate reversed sequences of AM and SM. The possible reason why some models cannot properly simulate the AM and SM is that these models not properly simulate the structure of zonal mean sea surface temperature (SST). On the other hand, some models properly simulate the AM and SM, but not properly simulate the corresponding SST structure as well as the responses to SST. Therefore, these models should be taken more care when classify the models into groups.

Description: Publication date: Available online 10 May 2016 Source: Advances in Climate Change Research Author(s): Cosmas Kombat Lambini

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): C.E. Mancebo, G. De la Fuente de Val The Laguna Oca y Herradura del Río Paraguay Biosphere Reserve, have a Formosa City, as a part of the plain alluvial system and ecosystems, being observe serious issues to socioeconomic, cultural and environmental levels. According to the above, it was suggested that the habitants lifestyle from Biosphere Reserve, are unsustainable within the sustainability paradigm and by permacultural practices sustainable livelihoods will be generated. The study focused in assembling a database, about the reality experienced by these communities and the lifestyle of its habitants, was analyzed within the sustainability paradigm. The methodology used, was based on the territory diagnosis and model Survey Evaluation Sustentability Comunity, with a multivariate analysis information. It was found that the habitants living conditions of the communities Reserve are unsustainable, observed that by incorporating permacultural practices, these conditions will change in favor of sustainable development and it will provide capacities to climate change adapt. The study provides theoretical contributions, for conducting future research or prescriptive studies, on the basis of this study.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Ebtesam M. Elgizawy During recent decades, green lawns have gradually become one of the main sources of greening in many cities in both developed and developing countries. Although, much research has received large attention to green lawns in residential places, few studies have addressed the benefits of having access to green lawns at workplaces to enhance the quality of life. More specifically, this study focused on the question of how employees view, socialize, and utilize their workplace green lawns. To provide some insight into this direction, the study was conducted in Smart Village, Egypt that uses green lawns as main form of greening.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Dilhan J. Thilakarathne, Jan Treur Energy management for domestic heating is a non trivial research challenge, especially given the dynamics associated to indoor and outdoor air temperatures, required comfortable temperature set points over time, parameters of the heating source and system, and energy loss rate and capacity of a house. In addition to all these factors, human influence or interaction is also a key aspect in this complex system. It is difficult and very costly to conduct experiments of this nature to scrutinize the dynamics and optimal efficiency of the system under all circumstances and constraints. This paper focuses on a domestic heating energy management system using an air to water heat pump and uses a pre-developed mathematical model for its performance. This mathematical model is integrated within a computational dynamic cognitive model which was developed based on neurocognitive evidence. An approach like this can be used as an experimental workbench for complex scenarios.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Doaa A.R. Mahmoud An economically attractive technique was adopted using date palm fibers as a new carrier for invertase adsorption and for invert sugar production. Experiments were carried out to evaluate the results of incubation of Baker's yeast with palm fibers in aqueous solution at 40° C for half an hour. CO2 produced from this reaction was employed as a reactant and it succeeded to modify the cellulosic surface of the palm fibers. This increased the capacity of invertase that had been secreted from Baker's yeast to be immobilized tightly on the cellulosic surface of the fibers. These results confirmed by FTIR and SEM. Characterization of the enzyme indicated that 1 gram of immobilized invertase on such wastes can produce 600 mg of invert sugar. By this technique, Egypt would be able to supply 6 million kg invert sugar per year. Molasses used instead of sucrose to assess the sustainability of the process.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Hulya Kolozali This study proposes that the impact of the built environment on the natural environment can be mediated by adopting a sustainable approach to building material selection and specification, particularly when articulated at the design stage of the building process. The aim is to identify the main drivers and barriers to sustainable material specification by built environment design professionals. This study carried out for Cyprus where attempts have been made to uncover the attitudes of Cypriot built environment design professionals towards the natural environment, identify the process employed in specifying building materials, and the extent to which they draw inspirations from the natural environment.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Ebtesam M. Elgizawy The rapid increase rate of urban population in developing cities causes the increasing of high buildings with dense constructions, and decreases the green areas which lead to a lot of environmental problems. Therefore, the urban landscape designs directed different searching produce important approaches based on ecological and environmental aspects, such as Vertical Garden. This paper will display the meaning, the advantages and the techniques of the green facades as a part of the sustainability strategy for the urban environment. The results confirm that the experience of using the Green facades in building environment is the source of positive ecological benefits.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Laila M. Khodeir, Dalia Aly, Shaimaa Tarek Heritage buildings are crucial to the human perception of culture. Sustainable retrofitting of such buildings represents an opportunity for their reuse while considering sustainability. HBIM tools (Historic building Information Modeling) can be used as a comprehensive data set of information, related particularly to the restoration of buildings. The aim of this paper is to integrate HBIM tools in the application of sustainable retrofitting of heritage buildings through a conservation framework. The paper provides a literature review and a qualitative analysis of worldwide examples. Findings of this paper provide useful framework for sustainable retrofitting of heritage buildings in the Egyptian context.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Magdy M. El-Bastawisy Incorporating local urban environmental conservation and regional development in Port Fouad town is the main concern of this paper. This paper focuses on investigating the regional development impact on local urban environment of Port Fouad town. The investigation of the national and regional development policies, particularly the current Suez Canal Zone Development policy, will be used to define goals, interests and objectives of the development of Port Fouad and adjacent. The analysis of these development policies will be explored along with the projects provided to Port Fouad area to define the urban planning and environmental issues that may arise in Port Fouad during the development process. The assessment of the potentials and constraints of Port Fouad development will be conducted to outline the criteria and guidelines for initiating the master plan of Port Fouad. A general development plan will be proposed to the area, particularly Port Fouad Island. In addition, a master plan for the development of Port Fouad Island, which could contribute to the conservation of urban environment of Port Fouad, will also be proposed. Finally, the environmental effect of the proposed master plan is also defined.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): Mahmoud Abd Al Rahman, Amro Ali Hassan, Gehad Genidey Mohamed, Eglal Maryiam Remon Many studies approved the unique properties of potassium ferrate as coagulant, disinfectant and oxidant at the same time. This paper represents an attempt to use this properties to remove ammonia from water resources using single dose of ferrate and hence save energy of chlorine and alum dosing. potassium ferrate prove itself as a possible replacement of conventional chemicals by improving water quality; potassium ferrate by 30 ppm dose achieve removal of ammonia, turbidity and total coliform by 92.2%, 82.1% and 99.99% respectively which is higher than using both alum and chlorine with doses 40 and 80 ppm.

Description: Publication date: 2016 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 34 Author(s): M.S. Md Noh, Z. Ahmad, A. Ibrahim, P. Walker Sustainability in construction industry has brought new materials to be used as a wall element in building construction in Malaysia. Wood-wool cement composite panel (WWCP) is the wood based product which manufactured from renewable resources, less embodied carbon emission, lightweight, easy to process and fabricate and available to the construction industry to replace less eco-friendly materials such as common brick and other masonry element. In Malaysia, there are increasing interest in using WWCP as a wall element in building construction, however the structural performance under imposed load and the installation technique using this material still not well established. Therefore, this study aims to improve the sustainability in building construction with the development of new prefabricated wall constructed using wood-wool cement composite panel. Two types of fabrication techniques are considered in fabricating prefabricated wallettes with dimension of 1200 mm x 1200 mm (± 30 mm). The wallettes type W1 is the current practiced technique, meanwhile wallettes type W2 is the new proposed fabrication technique. Three replicates of each type of wallettes were then tested under axial compression load in order to investigate their structural performance. The results of experimental testing showed that, the wallettes fabricated using the new fabrication technique significantly increased two times in load carrying capacity compared to wallettes with current practiced technique.