Publications

Altaee, A, Mabrouk, A & Bourouni, K 2015, 'Impact of Water Salinity on the Yield of Production Well: Forward Osmosis Seawater Pretreatment' in Pant, KK, Shishir Sinha, S, Shailendra Bajpai, S & J N Govil, JN (eds), Advances in Petroleum Engineering I: Refining, Studium Press LLC.
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The process of oil extraction often requires pumping water into the injection well to dislodge oil which is finally collected in the production well. Aquifer, river and sea waters have been for injection to stimulate oil production in both on and off-shore reservoir. Recent research by British Petroleum (BP) found a strong relationship between the salinity of the injected water and oil recovery. The lowest the water salinity is the highest the oil recovery rate. In other words, using low salinity water in the injection well will increase oil reservoir productivity. Since low salinity water is not always available especially in remote areas, desalination would guarantee the removal of high salinity from seawater for injection well use. Nowadays, it is possible to produce fresh water from seawater by appropriate desalination process. Reverse Osmosis (RO) is one of the desalination processes which are widely used in the production of freshwater from seawater. Although the process is highly reliable and efficient, RO cost is rather expensive. One of the technologies which have been suggested as an alternative to RO seawater desalination is NF-NF/BWRO hybrid membrane system. The proposed system involves using two different types of high permeability and rejection rate membrane for the removal of high salinity from seawater. Pilot plant and simulation results showed the high efficiency and cost-effectiveness of NF-NF/BWRO technology for seawater desalination. The process can be competitive to RO and most importantly more economical. Furthermore, NF-NF/BWRO system is modular and can be retrofitted in any existing plant. It is expected that the implementation of NF-NF/BWRO technology has the potential to produce low salinity water at lower cost than RO and boost oil recovery from the injection well.

Fatahi, B, Khabbaz, H & Fatahi, B 2015, 'Improving Geotechnical Properties of Closed Landfills for Redevelopment Using Chemical Stabilization Techniques' in Indraratna, B, Chu, J & Rujikiatkamjorn, C (eds), Ground Improvement Case Histories, Elsevier, Oxford, pp. 239-266.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Construction on closed landfill sites is generally a challenging task due to the complex behavior of creep, settlement, high amount of moisture content, and weak shear strength of waste materials. This chapter presents the experimental results and numerical analyses for the use of fly ash and quicklime in improvement of the geotechnical properties of municipal solid wastes (MSW). The waste materials were collected from a closed landfill in the southwest of Sydney. The samples were prepared by integrating MSW with a mixture of fly ash-quicklime with a ratio of 3:1 in percentages of 5, 10, 15, and 20 of fly ash by dry weight of the MSW. A series of experimental tests and numerical analysis were conducted on treated and untreated MSW samples. It was found that the chemical stabilization effectively increased the compressive strength, the shear strength parameters, the stiffness, and the brittleness index, whereas it decreased the settlement and the permeability of the MSW layer. The finite element program, PLAXIS version 9, was used to evaluate the settlement of a landfill model. The laboratory results were used to validate the numerical model. The settlement of the landfill model 10 and 20 years after the surcharge load was applied for different fly ash-quicklime contents and various depths of improvement was estimated. Results indicated that treatment of MSW significantly reduced the vertical displacement of the landfill model under surcharge load. This reduction was greater with higher depths of improvement.

Fatahi, B, Pathirage, U, Indraratna, B, Pallewattha, M & Khabbaz, H 2015, 'The Role of Native Vegetation in Stabilizing Formation Soil for Transport Corridors' in Indraratna, B, Chu, J & RUJIKIATKAMJORN, C (eds), Ground Improvement Case Histories, Elsevier, Oxford, pp. 591-628.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This chapter describes a detailed field investigation conducted near an Australian native tree, Eucalyptus largiflorens. This investigation included field procedures such as drilling boreholes and taking soil samples, measuring the soil moisture content, soil suction, and also excavating trenches to observe the distribution of tree roots under the ground. It also includes the development a root water uptake model to examine and explain the soil properties, specifications for vegetation, and meteorological conditions; this root water uptake model incorporates key factors such as soil suction, active root density distribution, and potential transpiration. A two-dimensional finite element approach based on ABAQUS software was used to solve the transient coupled flow and deformation equations. The root water uptake model was implemented into the coupled analysis by introducing a sink term as a subroutine in the finite element analysis. The finite element mesh can be constructed using partially/fully saturated soil elements to represent the salient aspects of unsaturated permeability and the soil water characteristic curve. The model was formulated on the general effective stress theory of unsaturated soils, and based on this proposed model, the matric suction profile adjacent to the tree was analyzed numerically. To verify the model, the soil moisture content and suction profiles measured on site were compared to the predicted values, and profiles of ground settlement and lateral movement adjacent to the tree are presented and interpreted. By considering the various properties of the soil, types of vegetation, and atmospheric conditions, the proposed model would be of most use in predicting how this formation would react in a rail environment because the model developed in this study may improve the design and construction procedures for railway lines, foundations, and embankments near native vegetation. However, be...

Hong, S & Shon, HK 2015, 'Membrane Fouling in Forward Osmosis Processes' in Forward Osmosis, American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 217-240.
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© 2015 by the American Society of Civil Engineers. All Rights Reserved. Several filtration systems have been applied to advanced water treatment and even conventional water treatment processes. Although the membrane filtration systems are the most feasible alternative for water treatment, several problems still remain for efficient operation of membrane filtration. Among these problems, fouling is one of the major challenges to overcome in membrane technology. Reverse osmosis (RO) membrane is a polyamide thin-film composite membrane and forward osmosis (FO) membrane is a cellulose-based membrane, thus fouling could differ between RO and FO due to different membrane surface characteristics, which are discussed in this chapter. The chapter also discusses various strategies that mitigate fouling formation in the FO process in terms of spacers, cross-flow velocity, air scouring, cross-flow type, and osmotic backwashing. The osmotic backwashing is applied to an osmotic membrane bioreactor system that utilizes a submerged FO membrane in the bioreactor.

Li, X-M, Chen, G, Shon, HK & He, T 2015, 'Treatment of High-Salinity Wastewater from Shale Gas Exploitation by Forward Osmosis Processes' in Forward Osmosis, American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 339-361.
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© 2015 by the American Society of Civil Engineers. All Rights Reserved. This chapter reviews state-of-the-art treatment of shale-gas-produced water with a focus on the treatment of shale-gas flow-back water (SGW) by forward osmosis (FO). It briefly introduces the origin and chemical/physical characteristics of SGW. Management of shale-gas wastewater depends on multidimensional criteria, e.g., local regulations, site conditions, water quality, and economic feasibility. Approaches used to treat high-salinity wastewater include deep well injection, transport and centralized treatment, treatment and disposal, and reuse. The chapter analyzes the advantages and limitations of potential treatments methods and summarizes the process parameters and selection of membrane and draw solutions. Studies were performed to examine the effectiveness of FO in treating high-salinity wastewater produced from shale-gas exploitation. The chapter discusses the potential for using the FO process to treat SGW on a large scale.

Phuntsho, S, Kim, JE, Majeed, T, Lotfi, F, Sahebi, S, Park, MJ & Shon, HK 2015, 'Fertiliser-Drawn Forward Osmosis Desalination for Fertigation' in Shon, HK, Phuntsho, S, Zhang, TC & Surampalli, RY (eds), Forward Osmosis, American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, Virginia, USA, pp. 395-426.
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© 2015 by the American Society of Civil Engineers. All Rights Reserved. This chapter explains the concept of the fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis (FDFO) desalination process and evaluates the potential of fertilizer solutions as draw solutions (DS). Different types of fertilizers are used to grow crops, and hence understanding what types of fertilizers are more suitable for the FDFO desalination process and how to screen and assess suitable fertilizer candidates for use as DS in the FDFO desalination process is important. FDFO desalination adds value to irrigation water and provides more opportunities for improving the efficiencies of water and fertilizer use. The major limitations of the FDFO desalination process are the challenge of meeting the irrigation water quality standards in terms of nutrient concentrations, which limits the direct use of FDFO product water for fertigation. Several options are discussed that could be integrated with the FDFO desalination process to reduce the final nutrient concentration closer to an acceptable limit.

Ralph, PJ, Hill, R, Doblin, MA & Davy, SK 2015, 'Theory and Application of Pulse Amplitude Modulated Chlorophyll Fluorometry in Coral Health Assessment' in Woodley, CM, Downs, CA, Bruckner, AW, Porter, JW & Galloway, SB (eds), Diseases of Coral, Wiley, Hoboken, New Jersey, pp. 506-523.
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© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Scleractinian corals exist in symbiosis with dinoflagellate alga (genus Symbiodinium), which provides access to nutrients by the host but also makes it makes the holobiont vulnerable to photosynthetic stress, providing an opportunity for rapid health assessment using chlorophyll a (chl-a) fluorescence techniques. Common photosynthetic stressors of corals are high irradiance, ultraviolet light, temperature extremes, chemical pollution and low salinity, which are further compounded by other major anthropogenic pressures on coral reefs. Coral Symbiodinium cells contain chlorophyll (chl) a, c2 and a range of accessory pigments. The chl-a within the pigment complex absorbs light maximally in the blue (peak at 440 nm) and red (peak at 678 nm) regions of the spectrum and re-emits light energy in the form of fluorescence, maximally in the red bandwidth (630 to 770 m with a peak at 680 nm). In vivo chl-a has a variable fluorescence yield that is dependent upon the wavelength of excitation irradiance and varies over time as a result of the complex interaction of the photosynthetic pathways (Kautsky effect). When a chloroplast captures a photon of energy, the chl a molecule is excited from its ground state to an excited state. There are three competing and complementary energy dissipation processes for that excited molecule: (i) driving photosynthesis via the electron transport chain leading to carbon fixation, (ii) heat dissipation, or (iii) returning to the ground state and re-emitting some of the energy as fluorescence. This is why chl a fluorescence can be used as a proxy for photochemistry (and energy dissipation). During periods of high incident irradiance, if the amount of absorbed light exceeds the maximum rate of electron transport, then the excess energy must be dissipated, or photodamage can occur. Pulse-amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometry provides a versatile technique for monitoring and assessing zooxanthellae health. It measure...

Shon, HK, Chekli, L, Phuntsho, S, Kim, J & Cho, J 2015, 'Draw Solutes in Forward Osmosis Processes' in Shon, HK, Phuntsho & Zhang, T (eds), Forward Osmosis, American Society of Civil Engineers, USA, pp. 85-113.
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© 2015 by the American Society of Civil Engineers. All Rights Reserved. This chapter provides insight into the selection of suitable draw solutions (DS) and reviews different DS characteristics affecting the performance of forward osmosis (FO) processes. Although some commercial applications of FO technology exist, the development of an effective large-scale process is currently limited due to the lack of both suitable DS and membrane. The success of most FO applications also relies on how the DS can be recovered from the produced water. Therefore, in commercial FO processes, such as FO followed by reverse osmosis seawater desalination, emergency drinks and osmotic dilution are used without a DS recovery system-a simple and energy-saving solution. Research is still needed to develop more suitable DS to achieve full-scale commercialization of the FO process.

Shon, HK, Phuntsho, S, Zhang, TC & Surampalli, RY 2015, 'Preface' in Forward Osmosis: Fundamentals and Applications, American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. ix-x.
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© 2015 by the American Society of Civil Engineers. All Rights Reserved. This introduction presents an overview of the book’s key concepts. The book’s main objective is to introduce the principles and concept of the forward osmosis (FO) process and the potential for various applications, such as desalination, fertigation, wastewater reuse, and mine water treatment. The book also covers other important aspects of the FO process such as membrane fabrication and modeling. The introduction briefly outlines each chapter, including various water treatment technologies available on the market. One of the most advanced and reliable water treatment technologies is the membrane process. Depending on the membrane pore size and its removal capacity, the membrane process is classified into four different types: microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration. and reverse osmosis.

Abdolali, A, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Zhou, JL, Du, B, Wei, Q, Wang, XC & Nguyen, PD 2015, 'Characterization of a multi-metal binding biosorbent: Chemical modification and desorption studies', BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY, vol. 193, pp. 477-487.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. This work attends to preparation and characterization of a novel multi-metal binding biosorbent after chemical modification and desorption studies. Biomass is a combination of tea waste, maple leaves and mandarin peels with a certain proportion to adsorb cadmium, copper, lead and zinc ions from aqueous solutions. The mechanism involved in metal removal was investigated by SEM, SEM/EDS and FTIR. SEM/EDS showed the presence of different chemicals and adsorbed heavy metal ions on the surface of biosorbent. FTIR of both unmodified and modified biosorbents revealed the important role of carboxylate groups in heavy metal biosorption. Desorption using different eluents and 0.1M HCl showed the best desorption performance. The effectiveness of regeneration step by 1M CaCl2 on five successive cycles of sorption and desorption displays this multi-metal binding biosorbent (MMBB) can effectively be utilized as an adsorbent to remove heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions in five cycles of sorption/desorption/regeneration.

Aditiya, HB, Sing, KP, Hanif, M & Mahlia, TMI 2015, 'Effect of Acid Pretreatment on Enzymatic Hydrolysis in Bioethanol Production from Rice Straw', International Journal of Technology, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 3-3.
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© IJTech 2015. Clean, safe and sustainable energy sources must be found to minimize all side-effects of fossil fuel consumption. Second generation bioethanol possesses a great potential as an alternative energy source especially in the transportation sector. In this study, rice straw was selected to be studied as a conversion of potential lignocellulosic biomass into bioethanol. Firstly, rice straw was processed with mechanical pretreatment using a home blender, followed by acid pretreatment using 2.0 M sulphuric acid (H2SO4) at 90°C for 60 minutes. The glucose yield was found to be 9.71 g/L. Then, rice straw pretreated with acid was hydrolyzed using 24 mg of cellulase from Tichoderma Ressei ATCC 26921 over a 72-hour duration, which yielded a total glucose count of 11.466 g/L. After fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, it was found that by combining enzymatic hydrolysis with acid pretreatment yielded a higher ethanol content after fermentation (0.1503% or 52.75% of theoretical value) compared to acidic pretreatment alone (0.013% or 11.26% of theoretical value).

Ahmed, MB, Zhou, JL, Ngo, HH & Guo, W 2015, 'Adsorptive removal of antibiotics from water and wastewater: Progress and challenges', SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, vol. 532, pp. 112-126.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Antibiotics as emerging contaminants are of global concern due to the development of antibiotic resistant genes potentially causing superbugs. Current wastewater treatment technology cannot sufficiently remove antibiotics from sewage, hence new and low-cost technology is needed. Adsorptive materials have been extensively used for the conditioning, remediation and removal of inorganic and organic hazardous materials, although their application for removing antibiotics has been reported for ~30 out of 250 antibiotics so far. The literature on the adsorptive removal of antibiotics using different adsorptive materials is summarized and critically reviewed, by comparing different adsorbents with varying physicochemical characteristics. The efficiency for removing antibiotics from water and wastewater by different adsorbents has been evaluated by examining their adsorption coefficient (Kd) values. For sulfamethoxazole the different adsorbents followed the trend: biochar (BC)>multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)>graphite=clay minerals, and for tetracycline the adsorptive materials followed the trend: SWCNT>graphite>MWCNT=activated carbon (AC)>bentonite=humic substance=clay minerals. The underlying controlling parameters for the adsorption technology have been examined. In addition, the cost of preparing adsorbents has been estimated, which followed the order of BCs

Akhiani, AR, Mehrali, M, Tahan Latibari, S, Mehrali, M, Mahlia, TMI, Sadeghinezhad, E & Metselaar, HSC 2015, 'One-Step Preparation of Form-Stable Phase Change Material through Self-Assembly of Fatty Acid and Graphene', The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, vol. 119, no. 40, pp. 22787-22796.
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Al Mahmud, KAH, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH & Abdollah, MFB 2015, 'Tribological Study of a Tetrahedral Diamond-Like Carbon Coating under Vegetable Oil–Based Lubricated Condition', Tribology Transactions, vol. 58, no. 5, pp. 907-913.
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Al Mahmud, KAH, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Mobarak, HM & Zulkifli, NWM 2015, 'An updated overview of diamond-like carbon coating in tribology', Critical Reviews in Solid State and Materials Sciences, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 90-118.
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Altaee, A & Hilal, N 2015, 'Design optimization of high performance dual stage pressure retarded osmosis', Desalination, vol. 355, pp. 217-224.
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© 2014 Elsevier B.V. Dual stage PRO process was proposed for power generation. The present study evaluated two design configurations of the dual stage PRO process. The old dual stage PRO design was modified to enhance the process performance. In the new design, the entire seawater flow from the first stage goes to the second stage to increase the second stage membrane flux. Seawater salinities between 32. g/L and 45. g/L were tested to investigate the effect of draw solution TDS on the process performance. The results showed that PRO process performed better at higher seawater salinity. Furthermore, the performance of the new dual stage PRO design was higher than that of the old dual stage PRO process. Power density in the new dual stage PRO design was 17.4% higher than that in the old dual stage PRO design. Mainly, this was attributed to the higher membrane flux in the modified PRO design. It was also found that the specific power consumption of the new PRO design was about 8% less than that of the old PRO design. Finally, the results also showed that for a given plant capacity, the membrane elements required in the new PRO design were less than that in the old PRO design. As such, the proposed new design would be suggested for power generation for being more efficient and at cheaper cost.

Altaee, A & Hilal, N 2015, 'High recovery rate NF–FO–RO hybrid system for inland brackish water treatment', Desalination, vol. 363, pp. 19-25.
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© 2014 Elsevier B.V. Brackish water desalination is a common method for fresh water supply in arid areas. Concentrated brine is the major waste stream generated from the desalination process. The current study proposes a multi-stage Nanofiltration (NF)-Forward Osmosis (FO)-Brackish Water Reverse Osmosis (BWRO) system to increase the recovery rate of brackish water. The simulation results showed that the NF-FO-BWRO system was able to achieve >. 90% recovery rate for a number of feed salinities varied from 1 to 2.4. g/L. High permeability NF membrane was used in the first stage to produce the first permeate flow at relatively low power consumption. Concentrated brine from the NF was fed to an FO membrane for power for additional fresh water extraction before disposal. 0.25-0.5. M NaCl was used as the draw solution in the FO membrane. The results showed that system recovery rate increased with increasing the concentration of the draw solution. NF process was responsible of 75% of the total recovery rate while BWRO process contribution was up to 20%. Almost 80% of the total power consumption for desalination was due to the BWRO process. NF and FO processes accounted for the rest 20% power consumption. The BWRO system also required 2 to 3 times more membranes than FO and NF processes. NF-FO-BWRO is flexible and can generate different proportions of permeate flows through controlling the recovery rates of each component.

Altaee, A & Sharif, A 2015, 'A conceptual NF/RO arrangement design in the pressure vessel for seawater desalination', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 54, no. 3, pp. 624-636.
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© 2014, © 2014 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. Abstract: The main objective of this study is to understand the operation mechanisms of reverse osmosis (RO) membrane and optimization of the operating mechanisms of the RO system in order to reduce the membrane fouling and/or energy requirements. Typically, the high-pressure RO membrane vessel is loaded with membrane elements having the same flux and salt rejection rate. It has been conceived that when different types of RO elements are loaded into the pressure vessel in a special arrangement according to their permeability and salt rejection rate, this arrangement has the potential for reducing the energy consumption of the RO plant. Here, a conceptual design is introduced to describe this new idea. The effects of feed salinity and temperature were investigated in this paper using the reverse osmosis system analysis filmtec membrane design software. A two pass membrane treatment process was designed for desalting seawater at different salinities varied from 35,000 ppm to 43,000 ppm. The results showed a net energy saving from 2.5 to 3% (depends on the feed salinity) could be achieved. The effect of the feed temperature was also investigated, and the new design was found to be more energy efficient. Membrane scaling was also investigated in this study, and it was found that the new membrane arrangement design was less efficient than old design at feed salinity 35,000 ppm and vice versa at feed salinity 45,000 ppm. This was attributed to the use of high membranes permeabilities in the new design.

Altaee, A & Sharif, A 2015, 'Pressure retarded osmosis: advancement in the process applications for power generation and desalination', Desalination, vol. 356, pp. 31-46.
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© 2014 Elsevier B.V. The current study highlights the advancement in Pressure Retarded Osmosis (PRO) process and covers most recent development in the process applications. The first application of PRO process goes back to 1973 by Sidney Loeb who suggested using the concept of osmotic energy for power generation. In principle, two solutions of different concentrations are separated by semipermeable membrane of, relatively, high water permeability and solute rejection rate. The high-concentration solution is usually known as the draw solution while the low-concentration solution is called the feed solution. The draw solution is pressurized before entering the membrane. Due to the osmotic pressure gradient across the membrane, fresh water transports in the direction of the osmotic pressure gradients resulting in the dilution of the high-concentration solution. After leaving the membrane, the diluted draw solution is depressurized in a turbine system for power generation. Different types of membrane materials and solute gradient resources were proposed and their impact on the performance of PRO process was investigated. In addition to power generation, the hybridization of PRO process with membrane and thermal processes for power generation and seawater desalination is not unusual nowadays. The current study provides a critical review about the recent advancements in the PRO process and research outcomes.

Altaee, A, Sharif, A, Zaragoza, G & Ismail, AF 2015, 'Evaluation of FO-RO and PRO-RO designs for power generation and seawater desalination using impaired water feeds', Desalination, vol. 368, pp. 27-35.
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Crown Copyright © 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. PRO and FO coupling with an RO membrane process is proposed to reduce the cost of seawater desalination and the potential for power generation. Three conceptual design configurations, PRO-RO, FO-RO and RO-PRO were evaluated here using standard seawater concentration and impaired water as the draw and the feed solutions respectively. The PRO-RO and RO-PRO designs were evaluated for power generation and seawater desalination while the FO-RO design was proposed for seawater desalination only. The impact of the draw and feed solutions' flow rate and the impaired water TDS on the performance of each design was estimated using pre-developed software. The simulation results showed that the performance of all designs was more sensitive to the increase in the flow rate of draw solution than to the flow rate of feed solution. Furthermore, all designs showed a decrease in membrane flux and recovery rate with increasing the TDS of feed water from 0.2 g/L to 10 g/L as a result of decreasing the net driving force across the membrane and the concentration polarization phenomenon. The FO-RO design produced the lowest RO permeate concentration followed by the PRO-RO and RO-PRO designs respectively. In terms of power generation, the RO-PRO design was more efficient than the PRO-RO design. The FO-RO design exhibited the lowest desalination power consumption followed by the PRO-RO and RO-PRO designs respectively. At 10 g/L feed concentration, the net power consumption in the FO-RO was 9.4% less than that in the PRO-RO which was in turn 5.3% less than that in the RO-PRO design. The estimated cost of the FO/PRO module in the PRO-RO design was 2.2 and 4.3 times higher than that in the FO-RO and RO-PRO designs respectively.

AMARJARGAL, A, TIJING, LD & KIM, CS 2015, 'Simple fabrication of Ag nanoparticle-impregnated electrospun nanofibres as SERS substrates', Bulletin of Materials Science, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 267-270.
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Ansari, AJ, Hai, FI, Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Price, WE & Nghiem, LD 2015, 'Selection of forward osmosis draw solutes for subsequent integration with anaerobic treatment to facilitate resource recovery from wastewater', Bioresource Technology, vol. 191, pp. 30-36.
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Arbab, MI, Varman, M, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Imtenan, S, Sajjad, H & Rizwanul Fattah, IM 2015, 'Evaluation of combustion, performance, and emissions of optimum palm–coconut blend in turbocharged and non-turbocharged conditions of a diesel engine', Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 90, pp. 111-120.
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Fossil fuel depletion, global warming with rapid changes in climate, and increases in oil prices have motivated scientists to search for alternative fuel. Biodiesel can be an effective solution despite some limitations, such as poor fuel properties and engine performance. From this perspective, experiments were carried out to improve fuel properties and engine performance by using a binary blend of palm and coconut biodiesel at an optimized ratio. MATLAB optimization tool was used to determine this blend ratio. A new biodiesel was developed and represented by PC (optimum blend of palm and coconut biodiesel). Engine performance and emission were tested under a full load at variable speed condition by using a 20% blend of each biodiesel with petroleum diesel, and the results were compared with petroleum diesel under both turbocharged and non-turbocharged conditions. PC20 (blend of 20% PC biodiesel and 80% petroleum diesel) showed the highest engine power with lower brake-specific fuel consumption than the other tested fuels in the presence of a turbocharger. The emissions of PC20 were lower than those of all other tested fuels. The experimental analysis reveals that PC showed superior performance and emission over palm biodiesel blend.

Arslan, A, Masjuki, HH, Varman, M, Kalam, MA, Quazi, MM, Al Mahmud, KAH, Gulzar, M & Habibullah, M 2015, 'Effects of texture diameter and depth on the tribological performance of DLC coating under lubricated sliding condition', Applied Surface Science, vol. 356, pp. 1135-1149.
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Aryal, R, Furumai, H, Nakajima, F, Beecham, S & Kandasamy, J 2015, 'Characterisation of Prolonged Deposits of Organic Matter in Infiltration System Inlets and Their Binding with Heavy Metals: a PARAFAC Approach', Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, vol. 226, no. 6.
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Aryal, R, Lee, B-K, Beecham, S, Kandasamy, J, Aryal, N & Parajuli, K 2015, 'Characterisation of Road Dust Organic Matter as a Function of Particle Size: A PARAFAC Approach', Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, vol. 226, no. 2.
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Azad, AK, Rasul, MG, Mofijur, M, Bhuiya, MMK, Mondal, SK & Sattar, MK 2015, 'ENERGY AND WASTE MANAGEMENT FOR PETROLEUM REFINING EFFLUENTS: A CASE STUDY IN BANGLADESH', International Journal of Automotive and Mechanical Engineering, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 2170-2187.
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© Universiti Malaysia Pahang. Transport fuel is one of the major concerns of the energy market. This fuel mainly comes from the processing of crude petroleum oil. The transport fuel processing industries, such as crude oil distillation plants, gas condensate fractionation plants, natural gas processing plants, etc., are one of the most energy- and emission-intensive sectors in the world. On the other hand, the handling and transportation of petroleum products like gasoline, kerosene, diesel, naphtha, octane and sprite, etc. also produce environmental pollution. This study reviewed energy and waste management by transport fuel processing industries in Bangladesh. Such industries are also known as petrochemical industries. They mainly produce gaseous pollutants such as process gas, waste gas, etc. and liquid pollutants such as produced water, waste oil and grease, etc. The gaseous pollutants are burnt in the flare system to save the environment. The liquid pollutants are more hazardous because of their higher salinity and corrosivity and higher amounts of grease. The literature on waste water management techniques, pollution abatement techniques and oil-water separator techniques is described. The waste water treatment techniques used in the case study industries are briefly discussed. Energy flows for both gaseous and liquid waste management are developed. Energy-saving and time frame measures which can be implemented are also outlined. The study found that the rational use of energy and proper environmental management are essential for achieving the energy and environmental sustainability of transport fuel process industries.

Azari, B, Fatahi, B & Khabbaz, H 2015, 'Numerical analysis of vertical drains accelerated consolidation considering combined soil disturbance and visco-plastic behaviour', GEOMECHANICS AND ENGINEERING, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 187-220.
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© 2015 Techno-Press, Ltd. Soil disturbance induced by installation of mandrel driven vertical drains decreases the in situ horizontal hydraulic conductivity of the soil in the vicinity of the drains, decelerating the consolidation rate. According to available literature, several different profiles for the hydraulic conductivity variation with the radial distance from the vertical drain, influencing the excess pore water pressure dissipation rate, have been identified. In addition, it is well known that the visco-plastic properties of the soil also influence the excess pore water pressure dissipation rate and consequently the settlement rate. In this study, a numerical solution adopting an elastic visco-plastic model with nonlinear creep function incorporated in the consolidation equations has been developed to investigate the effects of disturbed zone properties on the time dependent behaviour of soft soil deposits improved with vertical drains and preloading. The employed elastic visco-plastic model is based on the framework of the modified Cam-Clay model capturing soil creep during excess pore water pressure dissipation. Besides, nonlinear variations of creep coefficient with stress and time and permeability variations during the consolidation process are considered. The predicted results have been compared with Väsby test fill measurements. According to the results, different variations of the hydraulic conductivity profile in the disturbed zone result in varying excess pore water pressure dissipation rate and consequently varying the effective vertical stresses in the soil profile. Thus, the creep coefficient and the creep strain limit are notably influenced resulting in significant changes in the predicted settlement rate.

Belhaj, D, Baccar, R, Jaabiri, I, Bouzid, J, Kallel, M, Ayadi, H & Zhou, JL 2015, 'Fate of selected estrogenic hormones in an urban sewage treatment plant in Tunisia (North Africa)', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 505, pp. 154-160.
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© 2014 Elsevier B.V. Estrogenic compounds have been monitored for one year at an urban sewage treatment plant (STP) located in Tunisia, to evaluate their fate and seasonal variations. The concentrations of these compounds were determined in both wastewater and sludge phases by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results showed that the highest removal of all estrogens (≥. 80%) was observed in summer. Mass balance analysis revealed that biodegradation was the predominant removal mechanism. Moreover, the results showed that the removal efficiency of the studied emerging micropollutants and their concentrations in the solid phase of return sludge were much higher in winter and spring than in summer and autumn. These findings were closely related to microbial activity and the concentration of mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSSs). Finally, the findings can be used to help with the modifications that could be implemented in that STP for the improved removal of estrogenic contaminants.

Bhuiya, MMK, Rasul, MG, Khan, MMK, Ashwath, N, Azad, AK & Mofijur, M 2015, 'Optimisation of Oil Extraction Process from Australian Native Beauty Leaf Seed (Calophyllum Inophyllum)', Energy Procedia, vol. 75, pp. 56-61.
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Brodersen, KE, Nielsen, DA, Ralph, PJ & Kuhl, M 2015, 'Oxic microshield and local pH enhancement protects Zostera muelleri from sediment derived hydrogen sulphide', NEW PHYTOLOGIST, vol. 205, no. 3, pp. 1264-1276.
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© 2014 New Phytologist Trust. Seagrass is constantly challenged with transporting sufficient O2 from above- to belowground tissue via aerenchyma in order to maintain aerobic metabolism and provide protection against phytotoxins. Electrochemical microsensors were used in combination with a custom-made experimental chamber to analyse the belowground biogeochemical microenvironment of Zostera muelleri under changing environmental conditions. Measurements revealed high radial O2 release of up to 500 nmol O2 cm-2 h-1 from the base of the leaf sheath, maintaining a c. 300-μm-wide plant-mediated oxic microzone and thus protecting the vital meristematic regions of the rhizome from reduced phytotoxic metabolites such as hydrogen sulphide (H2S). H2S intrusion was prevented through passive diffusion of O2 to belowground tissue from leaf photosynthesis in light, as well as from the surrounding water column into the flow-exposed plant parts during darkness. Under water column hypoxia, high belowground H2S concentrations at the tissue surface correlated with the inability to sustain the protecting oxic microshield around the meristematic regions of the rhizome. We also found increased pH levels in the immediate rhizosphere of Z. muelleri, which may contribute to further detoxification of H2S through shifts in the chemical speciation of sulphide. Zostera muelleri can modify the geochemical conditions in its immediate rhizosphere, thereby reducing its exposure to H2S.

Cai, Q, Turner, BD, Sheng, D & Sloan, S 2015, 'The kinetics of fluoride sorption by zeolite: Effects of cadmium, barium and manganese', Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, vol. 177-178, pp. 136-147.
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Chae, S-R, Noeiaghaei, T, Jang, H-C, Sahebi, S, Jassby, D, Shon, H-K, Park, P-K, Kim, J-O & Park, J-S 2015, 'Effects of natural organic matter on separation of the hydroxylated fullerene nanoparticles by cross-flow ultrafiltration membranes from water', SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY, vol. 140, pp. 61-68.
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© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Transport, reactivity, and microbial toxicity of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are significantly influenced by the size and surface charge of the nanoparticle aggregates in the environmental media in which they are contained. To remove or separate the colloidal aggregates of ENMs from the aquatic environment, it is important to understand fate and transport of ENMs, and their interaction with other environmental components. Here, we explore the effects of natural organic matter (NOM) and NaCl concentrations on the removal efficiency of hydroxylated fullerene (fullerol) nanoparticle aggregates, nC60(OH)24 by cross-flow ultrafiltration (UF) membranes. We demonstrate that the removal efficiency of nC60(OH)24 (185 nm) by the UF membrane (nominal pore size = 30 nm) was limited at approximately 30%. As NaCl concentration increased from 0 to 1.5 M NaCl, the size of nC 60(OH)24 increased from 185 nm to 1405 nm but the maximum removal efficiency remained below 60%. The presence of NOM increased the stability of nC60(OH)24 and deteriorated the retention of nC60(OH)24 by the UF membranes. The more hydrophilic NOM (i.e., fulvic acid) resulted in lower separation efficiency of nC60(OH)24 by the UF membrane than the less hydrophilic NOM (i.e., humic acid).

Chekli, L, Galloux, J, Zhao, YX, Gao, BY & Shon, HK 2015, 'Coagulation performance and floc characteristics of polytitanium tetrachloride (PTC) compared with titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) and iron salts in humic acid-kaolin synthetic water treatment', SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY, vol. 142, pp. 155-161.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Polymeric metal coagulants are increasingly used to improve the coagulation/flocculation process efficiency, yet the research on the development of titanium and particularly polytitanium salts remains very limited. In this study, the performance of recently developed polytitanium tetrachloride (PTC) coagulant was compared with both titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) and a commonly used coagulant, ferric chloride (FeCl3) in terms of water quality parameters and floc properties. Compared with FeCl3 coagulant, titanium-based coagulants had broader region of good flocculation in terms of pH and coagulant dose. Further, they achieved higher removal of UV254 and turbidity but lower dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal. Charge neutralisation, physical entrapment of colloids within coagulant precipitates and adsorption were found to be the main coagulation mechanisms for TiCl4 while sweep coagulation and adsorption were found to play a more important role for both FeCl3 and PTC. The aggregated flocs formed by PTC flocculation had the largest floc size of around 836 μm with the highest floc growth rate. A little distinction of the floc strength factor was found among the coagulants tested (i.e. 44.8%, 44.2% and 38.9% for FeCl3, TiCl4 and PTC respectively) while TiCl4 coagulant yielded the flocs with the highest floc recovery factor. This study indicates that Ti-based coagulants are effective and promising coagulants for water purification. Besides, the resulted flocculated sludge can be recycled and produce functional TiO2 photocatalyst which is a significant advantage over conventional coagulants.

Chekli, L, Roy, M, Tijing, LD, Donner, E, Lombi, E & Shon, HK 2015, 'Agglomeration behaviour of titanium dioxide nanoparticles in river waters: A multi-method approach combining light scattering and field-flow fractionation techniques', JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, vol. 159, pp. 135-142.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) are currently one of the most prolifically used nanomaterials, resulting in an increasing likelihood of release to the environment. This is of concern as the potential toxicity of TiO2 NPs has been investigated in several recent studies. Research into their fate and behaviour once entering the environment is urgently needed to support risk assessment and policy development. In this study, we used a multi-method approach combining light scattering and field-flow fractionation techniques to assess both the aggregation behaviour and aggregate structure of TiO2 NPs in different river waters. Results showed that both the aggregate size and surface-adsorbed dissolved organic matter (DOM) were strongly related to the initial DOM concentration of the tested waters (i.e. R²>0.90) suggesting that aggregation of TiO2 NPs is controlled by the presence and concentration of DOM. The conformation of the formed aggregates was also found to be strongly related to the surface-adsorbed DOM (i.e. R²>0.95) with increasing surface-adsorbed DOM leading to more compact structures. Finally, the concentration of TiO2 NPs remaining in the supernatant after sedimentation of the larger aggregates was found to decrease proportionally with both increasing IS and decreasing DOM concentration, resulting in more than 95% sedimentation in the highest IS sample.

Chekli, L, Zhao, YX, Tijing, LD, Phuntsho, S, Donner, E, Lombi, E, Gao, BY & Shon, HK 2015, 'Aggregation behaviour of engineered nanoparticles in natural waters: Characterising aggregate structure using on-line laser light scattering', JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS, vol. 284, pp. 190-200.
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© 2014 Elsevier B.V. Adsorption of natural organic matter, aggregation and disaggregation have been identified as three of the main processes affecting the fate and behaviour of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) in aquatic environments. However, although several methods have been developed to study the aggregation behaviour of ENPs in natural waters, there are only a few studies focusing on the fate of such aggregates and their potential disaggregation behaviour. In this study, we proposed and demonstrated a simple method for characterising the aggregation behaviour and aggregate structure of ENPs in different natural waters. Both the aggregate size of ENPs and their adsorption capacity for dissolved organic matter (DOM) were strongly related (R2>0.97, p<.05) to the combined effect of initial concentration of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and the ionic strength of the natural waters. The structure of the formed aggregates was strongly correlated (R2>0.95, p<.05) to the amount of DOM adsorbed by the ENPs during the aggregation process. Under high ionic strength conditions, aggregation is mainly governed by diffusion and the aggregates formed under these conditions showed the lowest stability and fractal dimension, forming linear, chain-like aggregates. In contrast, under low ionic strength conditions, the aggregate structure was more compact, most likely due to strong chemical binding with DOM and bridging mechanisms involving divalent cations formed during reaction-limited aggregation.

Chen, G, Wang, Z, Nghiem, LD, Li, X-M, Xie, M, Zhao, B, Zhang, M, Song, J & He, T 2015, 'Treatment of shale gas drilling flowback fluids (SGDFs) by forward osmosis: Membrane fouling and mitigation', DESALINATION, vol. 366, pp. 113-120.
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Chen, J, Huang, Z, Wang, C, Porter, S, Wang, B, Lie, W & Liu, HK 2015, 'Sodium-difluoro(oxalato)borate (NaDFOB): a new electrolyte salt for Na-ion batteries', Chemical Communications, vol. 51, no. 48, pp. 9809-9812.
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Compatible with various common solvents, a new electrolyte salt NaDFOB has been studied, which enables excellent reversible capacity and high rate capability when used in Na/Na_0.44MnO₂ half cells.

Chen, J, Xia, G, Guo, Z, Huang, Z, Liu, H & Yu, X 2015, 'Porous Ni nanofibers with enhanced catalytic effect on the hydrogen storage performance of MgH₂', Journal of Materials Chemistry A, vol. 3, no. 31, pp. 15843-15848.
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Porous Ni nanofibers (NFs) were synthesized via a single-nozzle electrospinning technique with subsequent calcination and reduction.

Chen, W, Huang, Z, Wu, G & Chen, P 2015, 'New synthetic procedure for NaNH2(BH3)2 and evaluation of its hydrogen storage properties', Science China Chemistry, vol. 58, no. 1, pp. 169-173.
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Chen, W, Huang, Z, Wu, G, He, T, Li, Z, Chen, J, Guo, Z, Liu, H & Chen, P 2015, 'Guanidinium octahydrotriborate: an ionic liquid with high hydrogen storage capacity', Journal of Materials Chemistry A, vol. 3, no. 21, pp. 11411-11416.
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Guanidinium octahydrotriborate, with a melting point of <−10 °C, releases >10 wt% high purity hydrogen below 100 °C.

Chen, X, Guo, J, Xie, G-J, Liu, Y, Yuan, Z & Ni, B-J 2015, 'A new approach to simultaneous ammonium and dissolved methane removal from anaerobic digestion liquor: A model-based investigation of feasibility', Water Research, vol. 85, pp. 295-303.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. The presence of a high level of dissolved methane (e.g., 20-26 g m-3) in the anaerobic sludge digestion liquor represents a major challenge to the treatment of this stream, as its emission to the atmosphere contributes significantly to the carbon footprint of wastewater treatment. Here we propose a new approach to simultaneous ammonium and dissolved methane removal from the anaerobic digestion liquor through integrating partial nitritation-Anammox and denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) processes in a single-stage membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR). In such an MBfR, the anaerobic digestion liquor is provided in the bulk liquid, while oxygen is supplied through gas-permeable membranes to avoid dissolved methane stripping. A previously developed model with appropriate extensions was applied to assess the system performance under different operational conditions and the corresponding microbial interactions. Both influent surface loading (or hydraulic retention time) and oxygen surface loading are found to significantly influence the total nitrogen (TN) and dissolved methane removal, which jointly determine the overall system performance. The counter diffusion and concentration gradients of substrates cause microbial stratification in the biofilm, where ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) attach close to the membrane surface (biofilm base) where oxygen and ammonium are available, while Anammox and DAMO microorganisms jointly grow in the biofilm layer close to the bulk liquid where methane, ammonium, and nitrite are available with the latter produced by AOB. These results provide first insights and useful information for the design and operation of this new technology for simultaneous ammonium and dissolved methane removal in its potential future applications.

Choo, Y, Mahajan, LH, Gopinadhan, M, Ndaya, D, Deshmukh, P, Kasi, RM & Osuji, CO 2015, 'Phase Behavior of Polylactide-Based Liquid Crystalline Brushlike Block Copolymers', Macromolecules, vol. 48, no. 22, pp. 8315-8322.
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Deng, L, Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Zuthi, MFR, Zhang, J, Liang, S, Li, J, Wang, J & Zhang, X 2015, 'Membrane fouling reduction and improvement of sludge characteristics by bioflocculant addition in submerged membrane bioreactor', Separation and Purification Technology, vol. 156, pp. 450-458.
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Duong, HC, Chivas, AR, Nelemans, B, Duke, M, Gray, S, Cath, TY & Nghiem, LD 2015, 'Treatment of RO brine from CSG produced water by spiral-wound air gap membrane distillation — A pilot study', Desalination, vol. 366, pp. 121-129.
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Duong, HC, Gray, S, Duke, M, Cath, TY & Nghiem, LD 2015, 'Scaling control during membrane distillation of coal seam gas reverse osmosis brine', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 493, pp. 673-682.
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Everett, JD & Doblin, MA 2015, 'Characterising primary productivity measurements across a dynamic western boundary current region', DEEP-SEA RESEARCH PART I-OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH PAPERS, vol. 100, pp. 105-116.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Determining the magnitude of primary production (PP) in a changing ocean is a major research challenge. Thousands of estimates of marine PP exist globally, but there remain significant gaps in data availability, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere. In situ PP estimates are generally single-point measurements and therefore we rely on satellite models of PP in order to scale up over time and space. To reduce the uncertainty around the model output, these models need to be assessed against in situ measurements before use. This study examined the vertically-integrated productivity in four water-masses associated with the East Australian Current (EAC), the major western boundary current (WBC) of the South Pacific. We calculated vertically integrated PP from shipboard ¹⁴C PP estimates and then compared them to estimates from four commonly used satellite models (ESQRT, VGPM, VGPM-Eppley, VGPM-Kameda) to assess their utility for this region. Vertical profiles of the water-column show each water-mass had distinct temperature-salinity signatures. The depth of the fluorescence-maximum (fmax) increased from onshore (river plume) to offshore (EAC) as light penetration increased. Depth integrated PP was highest in river plumes (792±181mgCm^-2d^-1) followed by the EAC (534±116mgCm^-2d^-1), continental shelf (140±47mgCm^-2d^-1) and cyclonic eddy waters (121±4mgCm^-2d^-1). Surface carbon assimilation efficiency was greatest in the EAC (301±145mgC (mgChl-a)^-1d^-1) compared to other water masses. All satellite primary production models tested underestimated EAC PP and overestimated continental shelf PP. The ESQRT model had the highest skill and lowest bias of the tested models, providing the best first-order estimates of PP on the continental shelf, including at a coastal time-series station, Port Hacking, which showed conside...

Fatahi, B & Khabbaz, H 2015, 'Influence of Chemical Stabilisation on Permeability of Municipal Solid Wastes', Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 455-466.
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© 2014, Springer International Publishing Switzerland. There are a number of important challenges in redevelopment of closed landfill sites including high permeation, complexity in settlement behaviour, weak shear strength, gas emission as well as health and safety issues. This paper is a part of a thorough experimental study on chemically stabilised old landfill sites. The decomposed waste materials were collected from Bankstown landfill located in the south-west of Sydney. The samples were prepared by mixing MSW, with a mixture of fly ash–quicklime with a ratio of 3:1 in percentages of 5, 10, 15 and 20 of fly ash by dry weight of the MSW. Permeability of treated and untreated MSW samples has been estimated during consolidation of MSW specimens in an automated triaxial cell. According to the results, increasing the content of fly ash–quicklime in the MSW specimen reduced the coefficient of permeability, the coefficient of consolidation and the permeability change index (Ck). The coefficient of permeability for an untreated specimen was 6.2 × 10−8 m/s and this figure was reduced to 3.2 × 10−8 m/s in specimens mixed with 26 % fly ash–quicklime (under an average confining pressure of 250 kPa). Increasing the effective confining pressure up to the pre-consolidation pressure caused no significant change in the coefficient of permeability. However at higher pressures the reduction was tangible. It is found that the chemical stabilisation effectively reduces the permeability of the MSW layer. This reduction in the coefficient of permeability can be attributed to a reduction in the bleed channels and void spaces due to the conversion of soluble calcium hydroxide to cementitious compounds. It will be beneficial and effective in redevelopment of closed landfill sites incorporating chemical treatments. The outcomes of this study may facilitate the hydraulic properties of chemically treated closed landfill sites.

Fauzi, H, Metselaar, HSC, Mahlia, TMI, Silakhori, M & Ong, HC 2015, 'Thermal characteristic reliability of fatty acid binary mixtures as phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal energy storage applications', Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 80, pp. 127-131.
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Fu, Q, McKenzie, TG, Tan, S, Nam, E & Qiao, GG 2015, 'Tertiary amine catalyzed photo-induced controlled radical polymerization of methacrylates', Polymer Chemistry, vol. 6, no. 30, pp. 5362-5368.
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A novel tertiary amine catalyst and trithiocarbonate synergistic photo-induced controlled radical polymerization of methacrylates has been realized under mild UV irradiation, yielding polymethacrylates with low molecular weight distributions and excellent end-group fidelity.

Fu, Q, Xu, J, Ladewig, K, Henderson, TMA & Qiao, GG 2015, 'Degradable cross-linked polymer vesicles for the efficient delivery of platinum drugs', Polymer Chemistry, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 35-43.
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Nontoxic and acid-degradable polymer vesicles were synthesized as drug carriers. In vitro dose–response cytotoxicity studies suggested that the drug-loaded polymer vesicles were more efficient in delivering cis-platin into cancer cells compared to the internalization of the free drug.

Fujioka, T & Nghiem, LD 2015, 'Fouling control of a ceramic microfiltration membrane for direct sewer mining by backwashing with ozonated water', Separation and Purification Technology, vol. 142, pp. 268-273.
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Fujioka, T, Oshima, N, Suzuki, R, Price, WE & Nghiem, LD 2015, 'Probing the internal structure of reverse osmosis membranes by positron annihilation spectroscopy: Gaining more insight into the transport of water and small solutes', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 486, pp. 106-118.
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Fujise, L, Suggett, DJ, Frommlet, JC, Serodio, J & Ralph, PJ 2015, 'TURNING UP THE HEAT ON SYMBIODINIUM CELL CYCLE ANALYSIS', EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY, vol. 50, pp. 58-59.

Galloux, J, Chekli, L, Phuntsho, S, Tijing, LD, Jeong, S, Zhao, YX, Gao, BY, Park, SH & Shon, HK 2015, 'Coagulation performance and floc characteristics of polytitanium tetrachloride and titanium tetrachloride compared with ferric chloride for coal mining wastewater treatment', SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY, vol. 152, pp. 94-100.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Abstract The production and discharge of large volumes of wastewater during coal mining activities are one of the major environmental issues in Australia. Therefore, it is crucial to develop and optimise effective treatment processes for the safe disposal of coal mining wastewater (CMWW). In this study, we investigated the performance of a recently developed polytitanium tetrachloride (PTC) coagulant and compared with the performance of titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) and the commonly used ferric chloride (FeCl3) coagulant for the treatment of CMWW from one of the coal mining sites in Australia. The use of Ti-based coagulants is particularly attractive for the CMWW treatment due to the advantage of being able to recycle the sludge to produce functional titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalyst; unlike the flocs formed using conventional coagulants, which need to be disposed in landfill sites. The results showed that both PTC and TiCl4 performed better than FeCl3 in terms of turbidity, UV254 and inorganic compounds (e.g. aluminium, copper or zinc) removal, however, PTC performed poorly in terms of dissolved organic carbon removal (i.e. less than 10%). While charge neutralisation and bridging adsorption were the main coagulation mechanisms identified for TiCl4 treatment; sweep coagulation and bridging adsorption seemed to play a more important role for both PTC and FeCl3 treatments. The flocs formed by PTC coagulation achieved the largest floc size of around 900 μm with the highest floc growth rate. Both Ti-based coagulants (i.e., PTC and TiCl4) showed higher strength factor than FeCl3, while TiCl4 coagulant yielded the flocs with the highest recovery factor. This study indicates that Ti-based coagulants are effective and promising coagulants for the treatment of CMWW.

Gao, T, Wang, XC, Chen, R, Ngo, HH & Guo, W 2015, 'Disability adjusted life year (DALY): A useful tool for quantitative assessment of environmental pollution', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 511, pp. 268-287.
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© 2014 Elsevier B.V. Disability adjusted life year (DALY) has been widely used since 1990s for evaluating global and/or regional burden of diseases. As many environmental pollutants are hazardous to human health, DALY is also recognized as an indicator to quantify the health impact of environmental pollution related to disease burden. Based on literature reviews, this article aims to give an overview of the applicable methodologies and research directions for using DALY as a tool for quantitative assessment of environmental pollution. With an introduction of the methodological framework of DALY, the requirements on data collection and manipulation for quantifying disease burdens are summarized. Regarding environmental pollutants hazardous to human beings, health effect/risk evaluation is indispensable for transforming pollution data into disease data through exposure and dose-response analyses which need careful selection of models and determination of parameters. Following the methodological discussions, real cases are analyzed with attention paid to chemical pollutants and pathogens usually encountered in environmental pollution. It can be seen from existing studies that DALY is advantageous over conventional environmental impact assessment for quantification and comparison of the risks resulted from environmental pollution. However, further studies are still required to standardize the methods of health effect evaluation regarding varied pollutants under varied circumstances before DALY calculation.

Gardner, SG, Nielsen, DA, Petrou, K, Larkum, AWD & Ralph, PJ 2015, 'Characterisation of coral explants: a model organism for cnidarian-dinoflagellate studies', CORAL REEFS, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 133-142.
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Golicz, AA, Schliep, M, Lee, HT, Larkum, AWD, Dolferus, R, Batley, J, Chan, C-KK, Sablok, G, Ralph, PJ & Edwards, D 2015, 'Genome-wide survey of the seagrass Zostera muelleri suggests modification of the ethylene signalling network', JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY, vol. 66, no. 5, pp. 1489-1498.
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Gulzar, M, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Varman, M & Rizwanul Fattah, IM 2015, 'Oil filter modification for biodiesel–fueled engine: A pathway to lubricant sustainability and exhaust emissions reduction', Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 91, pp. 168-175.
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Gulzar, M, Masjuki, HH, Varman, M, Kalam, MA, Mufti, RA, Zulkifli, NWM, Yunus, R & Zahid, R 2015, 'Improving the AW/EP ability of chemically modified palm oil by adding CuO and MoS2 nanoparticles', Tribology International, vol. 88, pp. 271-279.
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Guo, J, Peng, Y, Ni, B-J, Han, X, Fan, L & Yuan, Z 2015, 'Dissecting microbial community structure and methane-producing pathways of a full-scale anaerobic reactor digesting activated sludge from wastewater treatment by metagenomic sequencing', Microbial Cell Factories, vol. 14, no. 1, p. 33.
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BACKGROUND: Anaerobic digestion has been widely applied to treat the waste activated sludge from biological wastewater treatment and produce methane for biofuel, which has been one of the most efficient solutions to both energy crisis and environmental pollution challenges. Anaerobic digestion sludge contains highly complex microbial communities, which play crucial roles in sludge treatment. However, traditional approaches based on 16S rRNA amplification or fluorescent in situ hybridization cannot completely reveal the whole microbial community structure due to the extremely high complexity of the involved communities. In this sense, the next-generation high-throughput sequencing provides a powerful tool for dissecting microbial community structure and methane-producing pathways in anaerobic digestion. RESULTS: In this work, the metagenomic sequencing was used to characterize microbial community structure of the anaerobic digestion sludge from a full-scale municipal wastewater treatment plant. Over 3.0 gigabases of metagenomic sequence data were generated with the Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform. Taxonomic analysis by MG-RAST server indicated that overall bacteria were dominant (~93%) whereas a considerable abundance of archaea (~6%) were also detected in the anaerobic digestion sludge. The most abundant bacterial populations were found to be Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria. Key microorganisms and related pathways involved in methanogenesis were further revealed. The dominant proliferation of Methanosaeta and Methanosarcina, together with the functional affiliation of enzymes-encoding genes (acetate kinase (AckA), phosphate acetyltransferase (PTA), and acetyl-CoA synthetase (ACSS)), suggested that the acetoclastic methanogenesis is the dominant methanogenesis pathway in the full-scale anaerobic digester. CONCLUSIONS: In short, the metagenomic sequencing study of this work successfully dissected the detail microbial community s...

Guo, S, Qu, F, Ding, A, Bai, L, Li, G, Ngo, HH, Guo, W & Liang, H 2015, 'Effects of poly aluminum chloride dosing positions on the performance of a pilot scale anoxic/oxic-membrane bioreactor (A/O-MBR)', Water Science and Technology, vol. 72, no. 5, pp. 689-695.
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The effects of poly aluminum chloride (PACl) dosing positions on the performance of a pilot scale anoxic/oxic membrane bioreactor were investigated. PACl dosage was optimized at 19.5 mg Al2O3/L by jar test. Nutrients removal efficiencies and sludge properties were systematically investigated during periods with no PACl dosing (phase I), with PACl dosing in oxic tank (phase II) and then in anoxic tank (phase III). The results showed that total phosphorus removal efficiency increased from 18 to 88% in phase II and 85% in phase III with less than 0.5 mg P/L in effluent. Ammonia nitrogen removal efficiencies reached 99% in all phases and chemical oxygen demand removal efficiencies reached 92%, 91% and 90% in the three phases, respectively. Total nitrogen removal efficiency decreased from 59% in phase I to 49% in phases II and III. Dosing PACl in the oxic tank resulted in smaller sludge particle size, higher zeta potential, better sludge settleability and lower membrane fouling rate in comparison with dosing PACl in the anoxic tank.

Habibullah, M, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Gulzar, M, Arslan, A & Zahid, R 2015, 'Tribological Characteristics ofCalophyllum inophyllum–Based TMP (Trimethylolpropane) Ester as Energy-Saving and Biodegradable Lubricant', Tribology Transactions, vol. 58, no. 6, pp. 1002-1011.
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Habibullah, M, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Rahman, SMA, Mofijur, M, Mobarak, HM & Ashraful, AM 2015, 'Potential of biodiesel as a renewable energy source in Bangladesh', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 50, pp. 819-834.
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Habibullah, M, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Zulkifli, NWM, Masum, BM, Arslan, A & Gulzar, M 2015, 'Friction and wear characteristics of Calophyllum inophyllum biodiesel', Industrial Crops and Products, vol. 76, pp. 188-197.
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Habibullah, M, Rizwanul Fattah, IM, Masjuki, HH & Kalam, MA 2015, 'Effects of Palm–Coconut Biodiesel Blends on the Performance and Emission of a Single-Cylinder Diesel Engine', Energy & Fuels, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 734-743.
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This study aims to investigate the effects of palm or coconut biodiesel blend and their combination on the performance and emissions of a single-cylinder diesel engine. A 20% v/v blend of palm biodiesel (PB20) or coconut biodiesel (CB20) and varying percentage mixtures of these two feedstocks (PB15CB5, PB10CB10, and PB5CB15) were used in the experiments. Biodiesel was produced using one-step transesterification. Physicochemical analysis showed that both palm and coconut biodiesel met the specifications of ASTM D6751. A 10 kW, horizontal, one-cylinder, four-stroke direct injection diesel engine was used to carry out tests under full load conditions at varying speeds from 1400 to 2400 rpm with an interval of 200 rpm. Burning of CB20 reduced break power by 1.72% and increased brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC) and NOx emission by 4.07% and 4.49%, respectively. Conversely, burning of PB20 negligibly reduced brake power and increased NOx emission by only 1.79%. Meanwhile, combined palm-coconut biodiesel at a constant final blend reduced NOx emission by 0.54% to 1.85% and slightly improved brake power and BSFC. Thus, the advantages of the high cetane number of coconut and the high ignition quality of palm biodiesel were aggregated in the combined blends.

Hamdan, M, Sharif, AO, Derwish, G, Al-Aibi, S & Altaee, A 2015, 'Draw solutions for Forward Osmosis process: Osmotic pressure of binary and ternary aqueous solutions of magnesium chloride, sodium chloride, sucrose and maltose', Journal of Food Engineering, vol. 155, pp. 10-15.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. The objective of the present work is to investigate the behaviour of binary and ternary aqueous systems, which could be employed in the selection criteria for draw agents (DA) to be used in Forward Osmosis (FO) process applications. In this study the osmotic properties of the selected binary and ternary aqueous solutions of magnesium chloride (MgCl2), sodium chloride (NaCl), sucrose and maltose are investigated. Osmotic pressures were calculated from water activities obtained from measured relative humidity of the solutions of concentrations in the range 0.5-6.0 mol kg-1 at 298.15 K. The osmotic behaviours of the ternary systems were compared with their binary counter parts; the results showed either positive or negative osmotic synergic effects. This could be used besides transport properties for considering the selection of favourable draw agents from those that exhibited positive synergy, i.e. the osmotic pressure of a ternary solution is greater than the sum of the pressures of the corresponding binary solutions. The results showed that the ternary aqueous solutions of MgCl2 + NaCl showed significant positive synergy and therefore are possible suitable candidates as draw solutions, less so were the sugar-electrolyte systems.

Hassler, CS, Norman, L, Nichols, CAM, Clementson, LA, Robinson, C, Schoemann, V, Watson, RJ & Doblin, MA 2015, 'Iron associated with exopolymeric substances is highly bioavailable to oceanic phytoplankton', MARINE CHEMISTRY, vol. 173, pp. 136-147.
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© 2014 Elsevier B.V. Growth limitation of marine algae due to lack of iron occurs in up to 40% of the global ocean. Despite important advances on the impact of organic compounds on iron biogeochemistry, their roles in controlling iron availability to prokaryotic and eukaryotic phytoplankton remain unclear. Whether algal and bacterial exopolymeric substances (EPS) include organic ligands which may help iron-limited phytoplankton growth remains an unknown. If so, then EPS could relieve phytoplankton iron limitation with implications for the biological carbon pump and hence the regulation of atmospheric CO2. Here we compared the biological impact of algal, bacterial and in situ EPS with model compounds, a siderophore and two saccharides on biological parameters including, iron bioavailability, phytoplankton growth, photo-physiology and community structure. Laboratory and field experiments demonstrated that EPS produced by marine microorganisms are efficient in sustaining biological iron uptake as well as algal growth, and can affect natural phytoplankton community structure. Our data suggest that natural phytoplankton growth enhancement in the presence of EPS was not solely due to highly bioavailable iron forms, but also because EPS contains other micronutrients. Stronger ligands were detected following iron-siderophore enrichments (log KFe'L=12.0) and weaker ligands were measured in the presence of EPS (log KFe'L=10.4-11.0). The trend of the conditional stability constants of organic ligands did not seem to be affected as a result of biological activity and photo-chemistry during our four day incubations. The shift in the phytoplankton community observed during our field experiments was not uniformly observed between different sites rendering it difficult to extrapolate which functional group(s) would benefit the most from iron bound to EPS.

Henschke, N, Everett, JD, Suthers, KM, Smith, JA, Hunt, BPV, Doblin, MA & Taylor, MD 2015, 'Zooplankton trophic niches respond to different water types of the western Tasman Sea: A stable isotope analysis', DEEP-SEA RESEARCH PART I-OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH PAPERS, vol. 104, pp. 1-8.
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Hill, R, Bellgrove, A, Macreadie, PI, Petrou, K, Beardall, J, Steven, A & Ralph, PJ 2015, 'Can macroalgae contribute to blue carbon? An Australian perspective', LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY, vol. 60, no. 5, pp. 1689-1706.
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Ho, L & Fatahi, B 2015, 'Analytical solution for the two-dimensional plane strain consolidation of an unsaturated soil stratum subjected to time-dependent loading', COMPUTERS AND GEOTECHNICS, vol. 67, pp. 1-16.
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© 2015. This paper introduces an exact analytical solution predicting variations in excess pore-air and pore-water pressures and settlement considering the two-dimensional (2D) plane strain consolidation of an unsaturated soil stratum subjected to different time-dependent loadings. Based on the proposed solution, the distributions of excess pore pressures along vertical and horizontal directions can be determined. The general solution is first expressed in a series of eigenfunctions of homogeneous partial differential equations (PDEs) and is then substituted into the governing flow equations. Using term-by-term differentiation and the orthogonality of the sine function, the governing equations become ordinary differential equations (ODEs). Once the complex domain is obtained by applying the Laplace transformation technique, the closed-form analytical solutions describing the dissipation of excess pore-air and pore-water pressures can be obtained by taking a Laplace inverse. In this study, four external loadings, including ramping, asymptotic, sinusoid and damped sine wave, are simulated and incorporated into the proposed solutions. For the data analysis, the 2D consolidation behavior is investigated against variations in the permeability ratio (ka/kw). Additionally, parametric studies regarding loading functions are presented in this paper.

Ho, L, Fatahi, B & Khabbaz, H 2015, 'A closed form analytical solution for two-dimensional plane strain consolidation of unsaturated soil stratum', INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS, vol. 39, no. 15, pp. 1665-1692.
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© 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This paper discusses the excess pore-air and pore-water pressure dissipations and the average degree of consolidation in the 2D plane strain consolidation of an unsaturated soil stratum using eigenfunction expansion and Laplace transformation techniques. In this study, the application of a constant external loading on a soil surface is assumed to immediately generate uniformly or linearly distributed initial excess pore pressures. The general solutions consisting of eigenfunctions and eigenvalues are first proposed. The Laplace transform is then applied to convert the time variable t in partial differential equations into the Laplace complex argument s. Once the domain is obtained, a simplified set of equations with variable s can be achieved. The final analytical solutions can be computed by taking a Laplace inverse. The proposed equations predict the two-dimensional consolidation behaviour of an unsaturated soil stratum capturing the uniformly and linearly distributed initial excess pore pressures. This study investigates the effects of isotropic and anisotropic permeability conditions on variations of excess pore pressures and the average degree of consolidation. Additionally, isochrones of excess pore pressures along vertical and horizontal directions are presented. It is found that the initial distribution of pore pressures, varying with depth, results in considerable effects on the pore-water pressure dissipation rate whilst it has insignificant effects on the excess pore-air pressure dissipation rate.

Hokmabadi, AS, Fatahi, B & Samali, B 2015, 'Physical Modeling of Seismic Soil-Pile-Structure Interaction for Buildings on Soft Soils', International Journal of Geomechanics, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 04014046-04014046.
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© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers. The present research intends to study the effects of the seismic soil-pile-structure interaction (SSPSI) on the dynamic response of buildings with various heights by conducting a series of shaking table tests on 5-, 10-story, and 15-story model structures. Two types of foundations for each case are investigated, including (1) a fixed-base structure, representing the situation excluding the soil-structure interaction; and (2) a structure supported by an end-bearing pile foundation in soft soil. An advanced laminar soil container has been designed that uses three-dimensional numerical modeling to minimize the boundary effects and to simulate free-field motion during the shaking table tests. Four real earthquake events, including Kobe 1995, Northridge 1994, El Centro 1940, and Hachinohe 1968, are imposed to each model. According to the experimental measurements, it is observed that the SSPSI amplifies the maximum lateral deflections and in turn interstory drifts of the structures supported by end-bearing pile foundations in comparison with the fixed-base structures. The rocking component plays an important role in increasing the lateral deflection of the superstructures, which can shift the performance level of the structures to near collapse or even collapse levels and as a result should be assessed precisely in the seismic design of buildings resting on soft soils.

Hong, Y, Burford, MA, Ralph, PJ & Doblin, MA 2015, 'Subtropical zooplankton assemblage promotes the harmful cyanobacterium Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii in a mesocosm experiment', JOURNAL OF PLANKTON RESEARCH, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 90-101.
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Hou, L, Yin, G, Liu, M, Zhou, J, Zheng, Y, Gao, J, Zong, H, Yang, Y, Gao, L & Tong, C 2015, 'Effects of Sulfamethazine on Denitrification and the Associated N₂O Release in Estuarine and Coastal Sediments', Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 326-333.
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Denitrification is an important pathway of nitrogen removal and nitrous oxide (N2O) production in estuarine and coastal ecosystems, and plays a significant role in counteracting aquatic eutrophication induced by excessive nitrogen loads. Estuarine and coastal environments also suffer from increasing antibiotic contamination because of the growing production and usage of antibiotics. In this study, sediment slurry incubation experiments were conducted to determine the influence of sulfamethazine (SMT, a sulphonamide antibiotic) on denitrification and the associated N2O production. Genes important for denitrification and antibiotic resistance were quantified to investigate the microbial physiological mechanisms underlying SMT's effects on denitrification. SMT was observed to significantly inhibit denitrification rates, but increasing concentrations of SMT enhanced N2O release rates. The negative exponential relationships between denitrifying gene abundances and SMT concentrations showed that SMT reduced denitrification rates by restricting the growth of denitrifying bacteria, although the presence of the antibiotic resistance gene was detected during the incubation period. These results imply that the wide occurrence of residual antibiotics in estuarine and coastal ecosystems may influence eutrophication control, greenhouse effects, and atmospheric ozone depletion by inhibiting denitrification and stimulating the release of N2O.

Hu, H, Choo, Y, Feng, X & Osuji, CO 2015, 'Physical Continuity and Vertical Alignment of Block Copolymer Domains by Kinetically Controlled Electrospray Deposition', Macromolecular Rapid Communications, vol. 36, no. 13, pp. 1290-1296.
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The fabrication of block copolymer (BCP) thin films is reported with vertically aligned cylindrical domains using continuous electrospray deposition onto bare wafer surfaces. The out‐of‐plane orientation of hexagonally packed styrene cylinders is achieved in the “fast‐wet” deposition regime in which rapid evaporation of the solvent in deposited droplets of polymer solution drives the vertical alignment of the self‐assembled structure. Thermally activated crosslinking of the polybutadiene matrix provides kinetic control of the morphology, freezing the vertical alignment and preventing relaxation of the system to its preferred parallel orientation on the nontreated substrate. Physically continuous vertically oriented domains can be achieved over several micrometers of film thickness. The ability of electrospray deposition to fabricate well‐ordered and aligned BCP films on nontreated substrates, the low amount of material used relative to spin‐coating, and the continuous nature of the deposition may open up new opportunities for BCP thin films.image

Imtenan, S, Ashrafur Rahman, SM, Masjuki, HH, Varman, M & Kalam, MA 2015, 'Effect of dynamic injection pressure on performance, emission and combustion characteristics of a compression ignition engine', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 52, pp. 1205-1211.
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Imtenan, S, Masjuki, HH, Varman, M & Rizwanul Fattah, IM 2015, 'Evaluation of n-butanol as an oxygenated additive to improve combustion-emission-performance characteristics of a diesel engine fuelled with a diesel-calophyllum inophyllum biodiesel blend', RSC Advances, vol. 5, no. 22, pp. 17160-17170.
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Oxygenated additives modify the physicochemical properties of the biodiesel–diesel blends which influences the combustion mechanism in a way that improves the performance and emission characteristics significantly.

Imtenan, S, Masjuki, HH, Varman, M, Rizwanul Fattah, IM, Sajjad, H & Arbab, MI 2015, 'Effect of n-butanol and diethyl ether as oxygenated additives on combustion–emission-performance characteristics of a multiple cylinder diesel engine fuelled with diesel–jatropha biodiesel blend', Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 94, pp. 84-94.
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Iqbal, MA, Varman, M, Hassan, MH, Kalam, MA, Hossain, S & Sayeed, I 2015, 'Tailoring fuel properties using jatropha, palm and coconut biodiesel to improve CI engine performance and emission characteristics', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 101, pp. 262-270.
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Ismail, MS, Moghavvemi, M, Mahlia, TMI, Muttaqi, KM & Moghavvemi, S 2015, 'Effective utilization of excess energy in standalone hybrid renewable energy systems for improving comfort ability and reducing cost of energy: A review and analysis', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 42, pp. 726-734.
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Jamil, S, Loganathan, P, Kazner, C & Vigneswaran, S 2015, 'Forward osmosis treatment for volume minimisation of reverse osmosis concentrate from a water reclamation plant and removal of organic micropollutants', DESALINATION, vol. 372, pp. 32-38.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Reverse osmosis concentrate (ROC) produced in water reclamation and desalination plants can endanger the environment if it is not treated before discharge. Volume minimisation of ROC can help in its easy disposal. The study examined the use of forward osmosis (FO) with and without granular activated carbon (GAC) fixed-bed adsorption pretreatment for volume minimisation of ROC and removal of organic micropollutants. Five repeated FO steps using 2 or 3. M NaCl as the draw solution reduced the volume of ROC to 8%. With each successive step the flux decreased due to membrane fouling and scaling caused by increased concentrations of organics and inorganics resulting from volume reduction of ROC. However, flux decline was arrested in the second or third step by reducing the pH of the feed solution from 7.0 to 5.0. FO treatment rejected 9 of the 18 organic micropollutants at >. 82% and GAC treatment removed 15 of them at >. 82%. GAC pre-treatment followed by FO treatment removed almost all the organic micropollutants from the ROC. GAC pretreatment also reduced total organic carbon concentration in ROC by adsorption, thus controlling membrane fouling.

Jeong, S & Vigneswaran, S 2015, 'Practical use of standard pore blocking index as an indicator of biofouling potential in seawater desalination', Desalination, vol. 365, pp. 8-14.
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Jiang, Z, Tijing, LD, Amarjargal, A, Park, CH, An, K-J, Shon, HK & Kim, CS 2015, 'Removal of oil from water using magnetic bicomponent composite nanofibers fabricated by electrospinning', Composites Part B: Engineering, vol. 77, pp. 311-318.
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Jin, P, Wang, X, Wang, X, Ngo, HH & Jin, X 2015, 'A new step aeration approach towards the improvement of nitrogen removal in a full scale Carrousel oxidation ditch', Bioresource Technology, vol. 198, pp. 23-30.
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Johnston, EL, Mayer-Pinto, M, Hutchings, PA, Marzinelli, EM, Ahyong, ST, Birch, G, Booth, DJ, Creese, RG, Doblin, MA, Figueira, W, Gribben, PE, Pritchard, T, Roughan, M, Steinberg, PD & Hedge, LH 2015, 'Sydney Harbour: what we do and do not know about a highly diverse estuary', MARINE AND FRESHWATER RESEARCH, vol. 66, no. 12, pp. 1073-1087.
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© 2015 CSIRO. Sydney Harbour is a global hotspot for marine and estuarine diversity. Despite its social, economic and biological value, the available knowledge has not previously been reviewed or synthesised. We systematically reviewed the published literature and consulted experts to establish our current understanding of the Harbour's natural systems, identify knowledge gaps, and compare Sydney Harbour to other major estuaries worldwide. Of the 110 studies in our review, 81 focussed on ecology or biology, six on the chemistry, 10 on geology and 11 on oceanography. Subtidal rocky reef habitats were the most studied, with a focus on habitat forming macroalgae. In total 586 fish species have been recorded from the Harbour, which is high relative to other major estuaries worldwide. There has been a lack of process studies, and an almost complete absence of substantial time series that constrains our capacity to identify trends, environmental thresholds or major drivers of biotic interactions. We also highlight a lack of knowledge on the ecological functioning of Sydney Harbour, including studies on microbial communities. A sound understanding of the complexity, connectivity and dynamics underlying ecosystem functioning will allow further advances in management for the Harbour and for similarly modified estuaries around the world.

Jones, EM, Doblin, MA, Matear, R & King, E 2015, 'Assessing and evaluating the ocean-colour footprint of a regional observing system', JOURNAL OF MARINE SYSTEMS, vol. 143, pp. 49-61.
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Katz, A, McDonagh, A, Tijing, L & Shon, HK 2015, 'Fouling and Inactivation of Titanium Dioxide-Based Photocatalytic Systems', Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, vol. 45, no. 17, pp. 1880-1915.
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Titanium dioxide is an effective photocatalyst for the breakdown of many environmental contaminants. The complex mixtures that can occur in water matrices can significantly affect the breakdown of the contaminants in water by titanium dioxide (TiO2). The authors discuss a wide variety of foulants and inhibitors of photocatalytic TiO2 systems and review different methods that can be effective for their fouling prevention. Approaches to regenerate a fouled or contaminated TiO2 catalysts are explored and the effect of substrates on immobilized titanium dioxide is also reviewed.

Khan, MH, Huang, Z, Xiao, F, Casillas, G, Chen, Z, Molino, PJ & Liu, HK 2015, 'Erratum: Synthesis of Large and Few Atomic Layers of Hexagonal Boron Nitride on Melted Copper', Scientific Reports, vol. 5, no. 1.
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Khan, MH, Huang, Z, Xiao, F, Casillas, G, Chen, Z, Molino, PJ & Liu, HK 2015, 'Synthesis of Large and Few Atomic Layers of Hexagonal Boron Nitride on Melted Copper', Scientific Reports, vol. 5, no. 1.
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Khezri, N, Mohamad, H, HajiHassani, M & Fatahi, B 2015, 'The stability of shallow circular tunnels in soil considering variations in cohesion with depth', Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, vol. 49, pp. 230-240.
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Kim, DI, Kim, J, Shon, HK & Hong, S 2015, 'Pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) for integrating seawater desalination and wastewater reclamation: Energy consumption and fouling', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 483, pp. 34-41.
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Kim, J, Jeong, K, Park, M, Shon, H & Kim, J 2015, 'Recent Advances in Osmotic Energy Generation via Pressure-Retarded Osmosis (PRO): A Review', Energies, vol. 8, no. 10, pp. 11821-11845.
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© 2015 by the authors. Global energy consumption has been highly dependent on fossil fuels which cause severe climate change and, therefore, the exploration of new technologies to produce effective renewable energy plays an important role in the world. Pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) is one of the promising candidates to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels by harnessing energy from the salinity gradient between seawater and fresh water. In PRO, water is transported though a semi-permeable membrane from a low-concentrated feed solution to a high-concentrated draw solution. The increased volumetric water flow then runs a hydro-turbine to generate power. PRO technology has rapidly improved in recent years; however, the commercial-scale PRO plant is yet to be developed. In this context, recent developments on the PRO process are reviewed in terms of mathematical models, membrane modules, process designs, numerical works, and fouling and cleaning. In addition, the research requirements to accelerate PRO commercialization are discussed. It is expected that this article can help comprehensively understand the PRO process and thereby provide essential information to activate further research and development.

Kim, JE, Phuntsho, S, Lotfi, F & Shon, HK 2015, 'Investigation of pilot-scale 8040 FO membrane module under different operating conditions for brackish water desalination', DESALINATION AND WATER TREATMENT, vol. 53, no. 10, pp. 2782-2791.
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© 2014, © 2014 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. Two spiral wound forward osmosis membrane modules with different spacer designs (corrugated spacer [CS] and medium spacer [MS]) were investigated for the fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis (FO) desalination of brackish groundwater (BGW) at a pilot-scale level. This study mainly focused on examining the influence of various operating conditions such as feed flow rate, total dissolved solids (TDS) concentration of the BGW feed, and draw solution (DS) concentrations using ammonium sulfate ((NH4)2SO4, SOA) on the performance of two membrane modules. The feed flow rate played a positive role in the average water flux of the pilot-scale FO membrane module due to enhanced mass transfer coefficient across the membrane surface. Feed TDS and DS concentrations also played a significant role in both FO membrane modules because they are directly related to the osmotic driving force and membrane fouling tendency. CS module performed slightly better than MS module during all experiments due to probably enhanced mass transfer and lower fouling propensity associated with the CS. Besides, CS spacer provides larger channel space that can accommodate larger volumes of DS, and hence, could maintain higher DS concentration. However, the extent of dilution for the CS module is slightly lower.

Kim, Y, Lee, S, Shon, HK & Hong, S 2015, 'Organic fouling mechanisms in forward osmosis membrane process under elevated feed and draw solution temperatures', Desalination, vol. 355, pp. 169-177.
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© 2014. Organic fouling mechanisms in forward osmosis (FO) were systematically investigated at varying feed and draw temperatures. The effect of temperature variation on FO performance was first examined without foulants. When draw temperature increased, internal concentration polarization (ICP) decreased, which caused water flux to increase. Water flux was also improved with increasing feed temperature due to water permeability increased by decreased viscosity. Thus it can be deduced that water flux enhancement was induced by combined effects of reduced ICP and enhanced water permeability. A series of fouling experiments was then elaborately designed to fundamentally elucidate organic fouling mechanisms. Results demonstrated that organic fouling was significantly influenced by convective and diffusive organic transports induced by increasing temperature. Faster flux decline was observed with increasing draw temperature, primarily due to increased permeation drag. When increasing feed temperature, FO membrane was less fouled, attributing to enhanced organic back diffusion from membrane surface as well as increased organic solubility. Furthermore, fouling became more severe above certain critical flux at which organic convection by permeation drag dominated fouling mechanism as seen with escalating both temperatures simultaneously. Findings from this study can be utilized beneficially when FO temperature may be varied and needs to be optimized.

Kong, J-J, Yue, Q-Y, Zhao, P, Gao, B-Y, Li, Q, Wang, Y, Ngo, HH & Guo, W-S 2015, 'Comparative study on microstructure and surface properties of keratin- and lignocellulosic-based activated carbons', Fuel Processing Technology, vol. 140, pp. 67-75.
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Kumar, M, Reddy, CRK & Ralph, PJ 2015, 'Polyamines in morphogenesis and development: a promising research area in seaweeds', Frontiers in Plant Science, vol. 6, no. FEB, pp. 27-27.
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Kunhikrishnan, A, Shon, HK, Bolan, NS, El Saliby, I & Vigneswaran, S 2015, 'Sources, Distribution, Environmental Fate, and Ecological Effects of Nanomaterials in Wastewater Streams', Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, vol. 45, no. 4, pp. 277-318.
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© 2015 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Engineered nanomaterials (ENM) are manufactured, as opposed to being an incidental by-product of combustion or a natural process, and they often have unique or novel properties that emerge from their small size. These materials are being used in an expanding array of consumer products and, like all technological developments, have both benefits and risks. As the use of ENM in consumer products becomes more common, the amount of these nanomaterials entering wastewater stream increases. Estimates of nanomaterials production are in the range of 500 and 50,000 tons per year for silver and titanium dioxide (TiO2) alone, respectively. Nanomaterials enter the wastewater stream during the production, usage, and disposal of nanomaterial-containing products. The predicted values of nanomaterials range from 0.003 (fullerenes) to 21 ng L-1 (nano-TiO2) for surface waters, and from 4 ng L-1 (fullerenes) to 4 g L-1 (nano-TiO2) for sewage treatment effluents. Therefore, investigating the fate of nanomaterials in wastewater streams is critical for risk assessment and pollution control. The authors aim first to identify the sources of nanomaterials reaching wastewater streams, then determine their occurrence and distribution, and finally discuss their fate in relation to human and ecological health, and environmental impact.

Lai, Q, Paskevicius, M, Sheppard, DA, Buckley, CE, Thornton, AW, Hill, MR, Gu, Q, Mao, J, Huang, Z, Liu, HK, Guo, Z, Banerjee, A, Chakraborty, S, Ahuja, R & Aguey‐Zinsou, K 2015, 'Hydrogen Storage Materials for Mobile and Stationary Applications: Current State of the Art', ChemSusChem, vol. 8, no. 17, pp. 2789-2825.
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AbstractOne of the limitations to the widespread use of hydrogen as an energy carrier is its storage in a safe and compact form. Herein, recent developments in effective high‐capacity hydrogen storage materials are reviewed, with a special emphasis on light compounds, including those based on organic porous structures, boron, nitrogen, and aluminum. These elements and their related compounds hold the promise of high, reversible, and practical hydrogen storage capacity for mobile applications, including vehicles and portable power equipment, but also for the large scale and distributed storage of energy for stationary applications. Current understanding of the fundamental principles that govern the interaction of hydrogen with these light compounds is summarized, as well as basic strategies to meet practical targets of hydrogen uptake and release. The limitation of these strategies and current understanding is also discussed and new directions proposed.

Law, Y, Ye, L, Wang, Q, Hu, S, Pijuan, M & Yuan, Z 2015, 'Producing free nitrous acid – A green and renewable biocidal agent – From anaerobic digester liquor', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 259, pp. 62-69.
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Le, TM, Fatahi, B & Khabbaz, H 2015, 'Numerical optimisation to obtain elastic viscoplastic model parameters for soft clay', INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PLASTICITY, vol. 65, pp. 1-21.
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© 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. In this paper, a numerical optimisation procedure is presented to obtain non-linear elastic viscoplastic (EVP) model parameters adopting the available consolidation data. The Crank-Nicolson finite difference scheme is applied to solve the combination of coupled partial differential equations of the EVP model and the consolidation theory. Then, the model parameters are determined applying the trust-region reflective optimisation algorithm in conjunction with the finite difference solution. The proposed solution for the model parameter determination can utilise all available consolidation data during the dissipation of the excess pore water pressure to determine the required model parameters. Moreover, in order to include creep in the numerical predictions explicitly from the very first time steps, the reference time in the elastic viscoplastic model can readily be adopted as a unit of time. Results obtained from two sets of laboratory experiments adopting hydraulic consolidation (Rowe cells) on a soft soil are reported and discussed. The proposed numerical optimisation procedure is utilised to obtain the viscoplastic model parameters adopting the experimental results, while the settlement and pore water pressure predictions are compared with experimental results to evaluate the accuracy and reliability of the proposed numerical procedure. The predictions are in good agreement with the measurements, supporting the proposed numerical method as a practical tool to analyse the stress-strain behaviour of soft clay.

Le, TM, Fatahi, B, Disfani, M & Khabbaz, H 2015, 'Analyzing consolidation data to obtain elastic viscoplastic parameters of clay', GEOMECHANICS AND ENGINEERING, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 559-594.
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© 2015 Techno-Press, Ltd. A nonlinear creep function incorporated into the elastic visco-plastic model may describe the long-term soil deformation more accurately. However, by applying the conventional procedure, there are challenges to determine the model parameters due to limitation of suitable data points. This paper presents a numerical solution to obtain several parameters simultaneously for a nonlinear elastic visco-plastic (EVP) model using the available consolidation data. The finite difference scheme using the Crank-Nicolson procedure is applied to solve a set of coupled partial differential equations of the time dependent strain and pore water pressure dissipation. The model parameters are determined by applying the algorithm of trust-region reflective optimisation in conjunction with the finite difference solution. The proposed method utilises all available consolidation data during dissipation of the excess pore water pressure to determine the required model parameters. Moreover, the reference time in the elastic visco-plastic model can readily be adopted as a unit of time; denoting creep is included in the numerical predictions explicitly from the very first time steps. In this paper, the settlement predictions of thick soft clay layers are presented and discussed to evaluate and compare the accuracy and reliability of the proposed method against the graphical procedure to obtain the model parameters. In addition, comparison of the available experimental results to the numerical predictions confirms the accuracy of the numerical procedure.

Li, X, Li, J, Wang, H, Huang, X, He, B, Yao, Y, Wang, J, Zhang, H, Ngo, HH & Guo, W 2015, 'A filtration model for prediction of local flux distribution and optimization of submerged hollow fiber membrane module', AIChE Journal, vol. 61, no. 12, pp. 4377-4386.
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A filtration mathematical model was developed on the basis of complete mass balance and momentum balance for the local flux distribution prediction and optimization of submerged hollow fiber membrane module. In this model, the effect of radial permeate flow on internal flow resistance was considered through a slip parameter obtained from the local flux experiments. The effects of fiber length, inside diameter, and average operating flux on local flux distribution were investigated using this model. The predicted results were in good agreement with the experimental data obtained from literature. It was also found that the asymmetry distribution of local flux could be intensified with the increase of average operating flux and fiber length, but slowed down with the increase of fiber inside diameter. Furthermore, the simulation coupled with energy consumption analysis could efficiently predict and illustrate the relationship between fiber geometry and water production efficiency. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 4377–4386, 2015

Li, X, Zhang, H, Hou, Y, Gao, Y, Li, J, Guo, W & Ngo, HH 2015, 'In situ investigation of combined organic and colloidal fouling for nanofiltration membrane using ultrasonic time domain reflectometry', Desalination, vol. 362, pp. 43-51.
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Liu, H, Zhang, J, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Wu, H, Cheng, C, Guo, Z & Zhang, C 2015, 'Carbohydrate-based activated carbon with high surface acidity and basicity for nickel removal from synthetic wastewater', RSC Advances, vol. 5, no. 64, pp. 52048-52056.
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The feasibility of preparing activated carbon from carbohydrates (glucose, sucrose and starch) with H₃PO₄ activation was evaluated by comparing its physicochemical properties and Ni(ii) adsorption ability with a reference Phragmites australis-based activated carbon.

Liu, H, Zhang, J, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Wu, H, Guo, Z, Cheng, C & Zhang, C 2015, 'Effect on physical and chemical characteristics of activated carbon on adsorption of trimethoprim: mechanisms study', RSC Advances, vol. 5, no. 104, pp. 85187-85195.
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Five different types of activated carbon varying in porosity, structure, and functional groups were prepared and used as adsorbents.

Liu, Y & Ni, B-J 2015, 'Appropriate Fe (II) Addition Significantly Enhances Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidation (Anammox) Activity through Improving the Bacterial Growth Rate', Scientific Reports, vol. 5, no. 1, p. 8204.
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AbstractThe application of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) process is often limited by the slow growth rate of Anammox bacteria. As the essential substrate element that required for culturing Anammox sludge, Fe (II) is expected to affect Anammox bacterial growth. This work systematically studied the effects of Fe (II) addition on Anammox activity based on the kinetic analysis of specific growth rate using data from batch tests with an enriched Anammox sludge at different dosing levels. Results clearly demonstrated that appropriate Fe (II) dosing (i.e., 0.09 mM) significantly enhanced the specific Anammox growth rate up to 0.172 d−1 compared to 0.118 d−1 at regular Fe (II) level (0.03 mM). The relationship between Fe (II) concentration and specific Anammox growth rate was found to be well described by typical substrate inhibition kinetics, which was integrated into currently well-established Anammox model to describe the enhanced Anammox growth with Fe (II) addition. The validity of the integrated Anammox model was verified using long-term experimental data from three independent Anammox reactors with different Fe (II) dosing levels. This Fe (II)-based approach could be potentially implemented to enhance the process rate for possible mainstream application of Anammox technology, in order for an energy autarchic wastewater treatment.

Liu, Y, Ni, B-J, Ganigué, R, Werner, U, Sharma, KR & Yuan, Z 2015, 'Sulfide and methane production in sewer sediments', Water Research, vol. 70, pp. 350-359.
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Recent studies have demonstrated significant sulfide and methane production by sewer biofilms, particularly in rising mains. Sewer sediments in gravity sewers are also biologically active; however, their contribution to biological transformations in sewers is poorly understood at present. In this study, sediments collected from a gravity sewer were cultivated in a laboratory reactor fed with real wastewater for more than one year to obtain intact sediments. Batch test results show significant sulfide production with an average rate of 9.20 ± 0.39 g S/m(2)·d from the sediments, which is significantly higher than the areal rate of sewer biofilms. In contrast, the average methane production rate is 1.56 ± 0.14 g CH4/m(2)·d at 20 °C, which is comparable to the areal rate of sewer biofilms. These results clearly show that the contributions of sewer sediments to sulfide and methane production cannot be ignored when evaluating sewer emissions. Microsensor and pore water measurements of sulfide, sulfate and methane in the sediments, microbial profiling along the depth of the sediments and mathematical modelling reveal that sulfide production takes place near the sediment surface due to the limited penetration of sulfate. In comparison, methane production occurs in a much deeper zone below the surface likely due to the better penetration of soluble organic carbon. Modelling results illustrate the dependency of sulfide and methane productions on the bulk sulfate and soluble organic carbon concentrations can be well described with half-order kinetics.

Liu, Y, Ni, B-J, Sharma, KR & Yuan, Z 2015, 'Methane emission from sewers', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 524-525, pp. 40-51.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Recent studies have shown that sewer systems produce and emit a significant amount of methane. Methanogens produce methane under anaerobic conditions in sewer biofilms and sediments, and the stratification of methanogens and sulfate-reducing bacteria may explain the simultaneous production of methane and sulfide in sewers. No significant methane sinks or methanotrophic activities have been identified in sewers to date. Therefore, most of the methane would be emitted at the interface between sewage and atmosphere in gravity sewers, pumping stations, and inlets of wastewater treatment plants, although oxidation of methane in the aeration basin of a wastewater treatment plant has been reported recently. Online measurements have also revealed highly dynamic temporal and spatial variations in methane production caused by factors such as hydraulic retention time, area-to-volume ratio, temperature, and concentration of organic matter in sewage. Both mechanistic and empirical models have been proposed to predict methane production in sewers. Due to the sensitivity of methanogens to environmental conditions, most of the chemicals effective in controlling sulfide in sewers also suppress or diminish methane production. In this paper, we review the recent studies on methane emission from sewers, including the production mechanisms, quantification, modeling, and mitigation.

Liu, Y, Pan, Y, Wang, Q & Huang, D 2015, 'Statistical process monitoring with integration of data projection and one-class classification', Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems, vol. 149, pp. 1-11.
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Liu, Y, Peng, L, Chen, X & Ni, B-J 2015, 'Mathematical Modeling of Nitrous Oxide Production during Denitrifying Phosphorus Removal Process', Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 49, no. 14, pp. 8595-8601.
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© 2015 American Chemical Society. A denitrifying phosphorus removal process undergoes frequent alternating anaerobic/anoxic conditions to achieve phosphate release and uptake, during which microbial internal storage polymers (e.g., Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA)) could be produced and consumed dynamically. The PHA turnovers play important roles in nitrous oxide (N2O) accumulation during the denitrifying phosphorus removal process. In this work, a mathematical model is developed to describe N2O dynamics and the key role of PHA consumption on N2O accumulation during the denitrifying phosphorus removal process for the first time. In this model, the four-step anoxic storage of polyphosphate and four-step anoxic growth on PHA using nitrate, nitrite, nitric oxide (NO), and N2O consecutively by denitrifying polyphosphate accumulating organisms (DPAOs) are taken into account for describing all potential N2O accumulation steps in the denitrifying phosphorus removal process. The developed model is successfully applied to reproduce experimental data on N2O production obtained from four independent denitrifying phosphorus removal study reports with different experimental conditions. The model satisfactorily describes the N2O accumulation, nitrogen reduction, phosphate release and uptake, and PHA dynamics for all systems, suggesting the validity and applicability of the model. The results indicated a substantial role of PHA consumption in N2O accumulation due to the relatively low N2O reduction rate by using PHA during denitrifying phosphorus removal.

Liu, Y, Peng, L, Gao, S-H, Dai, X & Ni, B-J 2015, 'Mathematical modeling of microbial extracellular electron transfer by electrically active microorganisms', Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, vol. 1, no. 6, pp. 747-752.
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A new mathematical model was proposed to describe the extracellular electron transfer process by electrically active microorganisms.

Liu, Y, Peng, L, Guo, J, Chen, X, Yuan, Z & Ni, B-J 2015, 'Evaluating the Role of Microbial Internal Storage Turnover on Nitrous Oxide Accumulation During Denitrification', Scientific Reports, vol. 5, no. 1.
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AbstractBiological wastewater treatment processes under a dynamic regime with respect to carbon substrate can result in microbial storage of internal polymers (e.g., polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB)) and their subsequent utilizations. These storage turnovers play important roles in nitrous oxide (N2O) accumulation during heterotrophic denitrification in biological wastewater treatment. In this work, a mathematical model is developed to evaluate the key role of PHB storage turnovers on N2O accumulation during denitrification for the first time, aiming to establish the key relationship between N2O accumulation and PHB storage production. The model is successfully calibrated and validated using N2O data from two independent experimental systems with PHB storage turnovers. The model satisfactorily describes nitrogen reductions, PHB storage/utilization and N2O accumulation from both systems. The results reveal a linear relationship between N2O accumulation and PHB production, suggesting a substantial effect of PHB storage on N2O accumulation during denitrification. Application of the model to simulate long-term operations of a denitrifying sequencing batch reactor and a denitrifying continuous system indicates the feeding pattern and sludge retention time would alter PHB turnovers and thus affect N2O accumulation. Increasing PHB utilization could substantially raise N2O accumulation due to the relatively low N2O reduction rate when using PHB as carbon source.

Liu, Y, Sharma, KR, Ni, B-J, Fan, L, Murthy, S, Tyson, GQ & Yuan, Z 2015, 'Effects of nitrate dosing on sulfidogenic and methanogenic activities in sewer sediment', Water Research, vol. 74, pp. 155-165.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Nitrate dosing is widely used to control sulfide and methane formation in sewers. The impact of nitrate on sulfide and methane production by sewer biofilms in rising mains has been elucidated recently. However, little is known about the effect of nitrate on biologically active sewer sediment, which is substantially thicker than rising main biofilms (centimeters vs. hundreds of micrometers, respectively). In this study, we investigated the effect of nitrate addition to sewer sediment cultivated in lab-scale sewer sediment reactors. Batch test results showed that nitrate addition does not suppress sulfide production in sewer sediment, but it reduces sulfide accumulation through anoxic sulfide oxidation in the sediment and hence, also reduces sulfide accumulation in the bulk water. Microsensor measurement of sediment sulfide revealed the presence of sulfide oxidation and sulfide production zones with the interface dynamically regulated by the depth of nitrate penetration. In contrast, the methane production activity of sewer sediment was substantially reduced, likely due to the long-term inhibitory effects of nitrate on methanogens. Pore water measurements showed that methane production activity in the sediment zone with frequent nitrate exposure was completely suppressed, and consequently, the methane production zone re-established deeper in the sediment where nitrate penetration was infrequent.

Liu, Y, Wang, Q, Zhang, Y & Ni, B-J 2015, 'Zero Valent Iron Significantly Enhances Methane Production from Waste Activated Sludge by Improving Biochemical Methane Potential Rather Than Hydrolysis Rate', Scientific Reports, vol. 5, no. 1, p. 8263.
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AbstractAnaerobic digestion has been widely applied for waste activated sludge (WAS) treatment. However, methane production from anaerobic digestion of WAS is usually limited by the slow hydrolysis rate and/or poor biochemical methane potential of WAS. This work systematically studied the effects of three different types of zero valent iron (i.e., iron powder, clean scrap and rusty scrap) on methane production from WAS in anaerobic digestion, by using both experimental and mathematical approaches. The results demonstrated that both the clean and the rusty iron scrap were more effective than the iron powder for improving methane production from WAS. Model-based analysis showed that ZVI addition significantly enhanced methane production from WAS through improving the biochemical methane potential of WAS rather than its hydrolysis rate. Economic analysis indicated that the ZVI-based technology for enhancing methane production from WAS is economically attractive, particularly considering that iron scrap can be freely acquired from industrial waste. Based on these results, the ZVI-based anaerobic digestion process of this work could be easily integrated with the conventional chemical phosphorus removal process in wastewater treatment plant to form a cost-effective and environment-friendly approach, enabling maximum resource recovery/reuse while achieving enhanced methane production in wastewater treatment system.

Liu, Y, Zhang, Y & Ni, B-J 2015, 'Evaluating Enhanced Sulfate Reduction and Optimized Volatile Fatty Acids (VFA) Composition in Anaerobic Reactor by Fe (III) Addition', Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 49, no. 4, pp. 2123-2131.
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© 2015 American Chemical Society. Anaerobic reactors with ferric iron addition have been experimentally demonstrated to be able to simultaneously improve sulfate reduction and organic matter degradation during sulfate-containing wastewater treatment. In this work, a mathematical model is developed to evaluate the impact of ferric iron addition on sulfate reduction and organic carbon removal as well as the volatile fatty acids (VFA) composition in anaerobic reactor. The model is successfully calibrated and validated using independent long-term experimental data sets from the anaerobic reactor with Fe (III) addition under different operational conditions. The model satisfactorily describes the sulfate reduction, organic carbon removal and VFA production. Results show Fe (III) addition induces the microbial reduction of Fe (III) by iron reducing bacteria (IRB), which significantly enhances sulfate reduction by sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) and subsequently changes the VFA composition to acetate-dominating effluent. Simultaneously, the produced Fe (II) from IRB can alleviate the inhibition of undissociated H2S on microorganisms through iron sulfide precipitation, resulting in further improvement of the performance. In addition, the enhancement on reactor performance by Fe (III) is found to be more significantly favored at relatively low organic carbon/SO4^2- ratio (e.g., 1.0) than at high organic carbon/SO4^2- ratio (e.g., 4.5). The Fe (III)-based process of this work can be easily integrated with a commonly used strategy for phosphorus recovery, with the produced sulfide being recovered and then deposited into conventional chemical phosphorus removal sludge (FePO4) to achieve FeS precipitation for phosphorus recovery while the required Fe (III) being acquired from the waste ferric sludge of drinking water treatment process, to enable maximum resource recovery/reuse while achieving high-rate ...

Liu, Y, Zhang, Y & Ni, B-J 2015, 'Zero valent iron simultaneously enhances methane production and sulfate reduction in anaerobic granular sludge reactors', Water Research, vol. 75, pp. 292-300.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Zero valent iron (ZVI) packed anaerobic granular sludge reactors have been developed for improved anaerobic wastewater treatment. In this work, a mathematical model is developed to describe the enhanced methane production and sulfate reduction in anaerobic granular sludge reactors with the addition of ZVI. The model is successfully calibrated and validated using long-term experimental data sets from two independent ZVI-enhanced anaerobic granular sludge reactors with different operational conditions. The model satisfactorily describes the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal, sulfate reduction and methane production data from both systems. Results show ZVI directly promotes propionate degradation and methanogenesis to enhance methane production. Simultaneously, ZVI alleviates the inhibition of un-dissociated H2S on acetogens, methanogens and sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) through buffering pH (Fe0+2H+=Fe2++H2) and iron sulfide precipitation, which improve the sulfate reduction capacity, especially under deterioration conditions. In addition, the enhancement of ZVI on methane production and sulfate reduction occurs mainly at relatively low COD/SO42- ratio (e.g., 2-4.5) rather than high COD/SO42- ratio (e.g., 16.7) compared to the reactor without ZVI addition. The model proposed in this work is expected to provide support for further development of a more efficient ZVI-based anaerobic granular system.

Lotfi, F, Phuntsho, S, Majeed, T, Kim, K, Han, DS, Abdel-Wahab, A & Shon, HK 2015, 'Thin film composite hollow fibre forward osmosis membrane module for the desalination of brackish groundwater for fertigation', DESALINATION, vol. 364, pp. 108-118.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. The performance of recently developed polyamide thin film composite hollow fibre forward osmosis (HFFO) membrane module was assessed for the desalination of brackish groundwater for fertigation. Four different fertilisers were used as draw solution (DS) with real BGW from the Murray-Darling Basin in Australia. Membrane charge and its electrostatic interactions with ions played a significant role in the performance of the HFFO module using fertiliser as DS. Negatively charged polyamide layer promotes sorption of multivalent cations such as Ca2+ enhancing ion flux and membrane scaling. Inorganic scaling occurred both on active layer and inside the support layer depending on the types of fertiliser DS used resulting in severe flux decline and this study therefore underscores the importance of selecting suitable fertilisers for the fertiliser drawn forward osmosis (FDFO) process. Water flux under active layer DS membrane orientation was about twice as high as the other orientation indicating the need to further optimise the membrane support structure formation. Water flux slightly improved at higher crossflow rates due to enhanced mass transfer on the fibre lumen side. At 45% packing density, HFFO could have three times more membrane area and four times more volumetric flux output for an equivalent 8040 cellulose triacetate flat-sheet FO membrane module.

Lu, X, Nejati, S, Choo, Y, Osuji, CO, Ma, J & Elimelech, M 2015, 'Elements Provide a Clue: Nanoscale Characterization of Thin-Film Composite Polyamide Membranes', ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 7, no. 31, pp. 16917-16922.
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Luo, W, Hai, FI, Kang, J, Price, WE, Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Yamamoto, K & Nghiem, LD 2015, 'Effects of salinity build-up on biomass characteristics and trace organic chemical removal: Implications on the development of high retention membrane bioreactors', Bioresource Technology, vol. 177, pp. 274-281.
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Luo, Y, Jiang, Q, Ngo, HH, Nghiem, LD, Hai, FI, Price, WE, Wang, J & Guo, W 2015, 'Evaluation of micropollutant removal and fouling reduction in a hybrid moving bed biofilm reactor–membrane bioreactor system', Bioresource Technology, vol. 191, pp. 355-359.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. A hybrid moving bed biofilm reactor-membrane bioreactor (MBBR-MBR) system and a conventional membrane bioreactor (CMBR) were compared in terms of micropollutant removal efficiency and membrane fouling propensity. The results show that the hybrid MBBR-MBR system could effectively remove most of the selected micropollutants. By contrast, the CMBR system showed lower removals of ketoprofen, carbamazepine, primidone, bisphenol A and estriol by 16.2%, 30.1%, 31.9%, 34.5%, and 39.9%, respectively. Mass balance calculations suggest that biological degradation was the primary removal mechanism in the MBBR-MBR system. During operation, the MBBR-MBR system exhibited significantly slower fouling development as compared to the CMBR system, which could be ascribed to the wide disparity in the soluble microbial products (SMP) levels between MBBR-MBR (4.02-6.32. mg/L) and CMBR (21.78 and 33.04. mg/L). It is evident that adding an MBBR process prior to MBR treatment can not only enhance micropollutant elimination but also mitigate membrane fouling.

Majeed, T, Lotfi, F, Phuntsho, S, Yoon, JK, Kim, K & Shon, HK 2015, 'Performances of PA hollow fiber membrane with the CTA flat sheet membrane for forward osmosis process', DESALINATION AND WATER TREATMENT, vol. 53, no. 7, pp. 1744-1754.
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© 2013, © 2013 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. Abstract: Fertilizer drawn forward osmosis desalination has been earlier explored using flat sheet forward osmosis (FSFO) membrane, which highlighted flux and reverse solute flux (RSF) performance. This study evaluated and compared the performances of a newly developed polyamide (PA)-based hollow fiber forward osmosis (HFFO) membrane and cellulose triacetate FSFO membrane. Both membranes were evaluated for pure water permeability, salt rejection rate (1,000 mg/L NaCl) in RO mode. Physical structure and morphology were further examined using scanning electron micrograph (SEM). SEM images revealed that the overall thickness of the HFFO and FSFO membranes was 152 and 91 μm, respectively. Flux and RSF performances of these two membranes were evaluated using nine fertilizer DS as NH4Cl, KNO3, KCl, (NH4)2SO4, Ca(NO3)2, NH4H2PO4, (NH4)2HPO4, NaNO3, and CO(NH2)2 in active layer–feed solution membrane orientation. HFFO membrane clearly showed better performance for water flux with five DS ((NH4)2SO4, NH4H2PO4, KNO3, CO(NH2)2, and NaNO3) as they showed up to 66% increase in flux. Beside thick PA active layer of HFFO membrane, higher water flux outcome for forward osmosis (FO) process further highlighted the significance of the nature of support layer structure, the thickness and surface chemistry of the active layer of the membrane in the FO process. On the other hand, most DS showed lower RSF with HFFO membrane with the exception of Ca(NO3)2. Most of DS having monovalent cation and anions showed significantly lower RSF with HFFO membrane.

Majeed, T, Phuntsho, S, Sahebi, S, Kim, JE, Yoon, JK, Kim, K & Shon, HK 2015, 'Influence of the process parameters on hollow fiber-forward osmosis membrane performances', DESALINATION AND WATER TREATMENT, vol. 54, no. 4-5, pp. 817-828.
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Continued efforts are made in improving the performance of the low-cost forward osmosis (FO) membrane process which utilizes naturally available osmotic pressure of the draw solution (DS) as the driving force. Selection of a suitable DS and development of a better performing membrane remained the main research focus. In this study, the performance of a hollow fiber forward osmosis (HFFO) membrane was evaluated with respect to various operating conditions such as different cross-flow directions, membrane orientation, solution properties, and solution flow rates (Reynolds number). The study observed that operating parameters significantly affect the performance of the FO process. FO comparatively showed better performance at counter-current orientation. NaCl, KCl, and NH4Cl were evaluated as DS carrying common anion. Properties of the anionic part of the DS were found important for flux outcome, whereas reverse solute flux (RSF) was largely influenced by the properties of DS cationic part. FO was operated at different DS and feed solution (FS) flow rates and FO outcome was assessed for varying DS and FS Reynolds number ratio. FO showed better flux outcome as Re ratio for DS and FS decreases and vice versa. Results indicated that by adjusting FO processes conditions, HFFO membrane could achieve significantly lower specific RSF and higher water flux outcome. It was observed that using 2 M NaCl as DS and deionized water as FS, HFFO successfully delivered flux of 62.9 LMH which is significantly high compared to many FO membranes reported in the literature under the active layer-DS membrane orientation mode.

Majeed, T, Sahebi, S, Lotfi, F, Kim, JE, Phuntsho, S, Tijing, LD & Shon, HK 2015, 'Fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis for irrigation of tomatoes', DESALINATION AND WATER TREATMENT, vol. 53, no. 10, pp. 2746-2759.
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Fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis is a low-energy desalination concept particularly developed for the irrigation use of desalinated water. It has an advantage of not requiring regeneration of the draw solution (DS), thus, it can be used directly for the purpose of irrigation without any additional treatment. The current study was aimed to evaluate the real application of forward osmosis (FO) targeting irrigation of tomato crops based from their fertilizer requirements. Fertilizer-DSs were prepared to drive seawater desalination using commercially available fertilizers such as NH4NO3, NH4Cl, KNO3, KCl, NH4H2PO4, and urea. DSs were prepared to represent varying nitrogen:phosphorous:potassium (N:P:K) ratios used in assorted tomato growth stages. The FO performance evaluated in terms of the flux and reverse solute flux (RSF) showed significant variations in outcome. The resultant flux for different DSs was influenced by the particular fertilizer present in DS mixture and its concentration. This flux varied from 2.50 to 12.49 LMH. Comparatively, DS carrying high osmotic pressure components showed high-flux outcome. The fraction Jw/∆π of these fertilizer-DSs varied from 0.062 to 0.19 LMH/bar, which indicates a changing flux outcome against the same osmotic pressure. To select the best performing fertilizer-DS, nitrogen source fertilizers like urea, NH4NO3, and NH4Cl were further evaluated for 10-0-10 NPK value. It was found that NH4Cl-based DS mixtures performed better than urea- and NH4NO3-based DS. The RSF results indicated that all nitrogen- and potassium-based DS exhibited higher N- and K-RSF. However, the DS using NH4H2PO4 delivered extremely low P-RSF of 12.35 g/m2/h. Long-term run tests with seawater quality feed solution resulted in FO producing a final DS enriched in nutrients greater than the tomato plant’s requirement. This implies that the use of dilution or any other technique to reduce excessive nutrients is essential before using the final DS fo...

Malik, A, Lenzen, M, Ralph, PJ & Tamburic, B 2015, 'Hybrid life-cycle assessment of algal biofuel production', BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY, vol. 184, pp. 436-443.
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© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. The objective of this work is to establish whether algal bio-crude production is environmentally, economically and socially sustainable. To this end, an economic multi-regional input-output model of Australia was complemented with engineering process data on algal bio-crude production. This model was used to undertake hybrid life-cycle assessment for measuring the direct, as well as indirect impacts of producing bio-crude. Overall, the supply chain of bio-crude is more sustainable than that of conventional crude oil. The results indicate that producing 1. million tonnes of bio-crude will generate almost 13,000 new jobs and 4. billion dollars' worth of economic stimulus. Furthermore, bio-crude production will offer carbon sequestration opportunities as the production process is net carbon-negative.

Masum, BM, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Palash, SM & Habibullah, M 2015, 'Effect of alcohol–gasoline blends optimization on fuel properties, performance and emissions of a SI engine', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 86, pp. 230-237.
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Mayer-Pinto, M, Johnston, EL, Hutchings, PA, Marzinelli, EM, Ahyong, ST, Birch, G, Booth, DJ, Creese, RG, Doblin, MA, Figueira, W, Gribben, PE, Pritchard, T, Roughan, M, Steinberg, PD & Hedge, LH 2015, 'Sydney Harbour: a review of anthropogenic impacts on the biodiversity and ecosystem function of one of the world's largest natural harbours', MARINE AND FRESHWATER RESEARCH, vol. 66, no. 12, pp. 1088-1105.
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© 2015 CSIRO. Sydney Harbour is a hotspot for diversity. However, as with estuaries worldwide, its diversity and functioning faces increasing threats from urbanisation. This is the first synthesis of threats and impacts in Sydney Harbour. In total 200 studies were reviewed: 109 focussed on contamination, 58 on habitat modification, 11 addressed non-indigenous species (NIS) and eight investigated fisheries. Metal concentrations in sediments and seaweeds are among the highest recorded worldwide and organic contamination can also be high. Contamination is associated with increased abundances of opportunistic species, and changes in benthic community structure. The Harbour is also heavily invaded, but invaders' ecological and economic impacts are poorly quantified. Communities within Sydney Harbour are significantly affected by extensive physical modification, with artificial structures supporting more NIS and lower diversity than their natural equivalents. We know little about the effects of fishing on the Harbour's ecology, and although ocean warming along Sydney is among the fastest in the world, we know little about how the ecosystem will respond to warming. The interactive and cumulative effects of stressors on ecosystem functioning and services in the Harbour are largely unknown. Sustainable management of this iconic natural system requires that knowledge gaps are addressed and translated into coherent environmental plans.

McKenzie, TG, Fu, Q, Wong, EHH, Dunstan, DE & Qiao, GG 2015, 'Visible Light Mediated Controlled Radical Polymerization in the Absence of Exogenous Radical Sources or Catalysts', Macromolecules, vol. 48, no. 12, pp. 3864-3872.
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McKenzie, TG, Wong, EHH, Fu, Q, Sulistio, A, Dunstan, DE & Qiao, GG 2015, 'Controlled Formation of Star Polymer Nanoparticles via Visible Light Photopolymerization', ACS Macro Letters, vol. 4, no. 9, pp. 1012-1016.
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Mofijur, M, Hazrat, MA, Rasul, MG & Mahmudul, HM 2015, 'Comparative Evaluation of Edible and Non-edible Oil Methyl Ester Performance in a Vehicular Engine', Energy Procedia, vol. 75, pp. 37-43.
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Mofijur, M, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Ashrafur Rahman, SM & Mahmudul, HM 2015, 'Energy scenario and biofuel policies and targets in ASEAN countries', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 46, pp. 51-61.
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Mofijur, M, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Rasul, MG, Atabani, AE, Hazrat, MA & Mahmudul, HM 2015, 'Effect of Biodiesel-diesel Blending on Physico-chemical Properties of Biodiesel Produced from Moringa Oleifera', Procedia Engineering, vol. 105, pp. 665-669.
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Mofijur, M, Rasul, MG & Hyde, J 2015, 'Recent Developments on Internal Combustion Engine Performance and Emissions Fuelled With Biodiesel-Diesel-Ethanol Blends', Procedia Engineering, vol. 105, pp. 658-664.
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Mofijur, M, Rasul, MG, Hyde, J & Bhuyia, MMK 2015, 'Role of Biofuels on IC Engines Emission Reduction', Energy Procedia, vol. 75, pp. 886-892.
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Mohammadi, I & Khabbaz, H 2015, 'Shrinkage performance of Crumb Rubber Concrete (CRC) prepared by water-soaking treatment method for rigid pavements', Cement and Concrete Composites, vol. 62, pp. 106-116.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This investigation deals with the shrinkage properties of rubberised concrete pavement. Arrays of concrete samples were prepared with different water-cement ratios and rubber content. The experimental results revealed that the introduction of rubber into concrete mixes results in the control of shrinkage cracks if the optimised content of rubber is selected. Accordingly, the optimised rubber content was determined based on the mix characteristics, mechanical properties and the results of plastic and drying shrinkage tests. The mechanical strength, toughness, bleeding, plastic shrinkage and drying shrinkage tests were conducted in this experimental program. Analysing the results revealed that the most promising performance results were achieved for samples prepared with the rubber contents of 20% and 25% of fine aggregates, and water-cement ratios of 0.45 and 0.40, respectively.

Naidu, G, Jeong, S & Vigneswaran, S 2015, 'Interaction of humic substances on fouling in membrane distillation for seawater desalination', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 262, pp. 946-957.
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Nghiem, LD, Elters, C, Simon, A, Tatsuya, T & Price, W 2015, 'Coal seam gas produced water treatment by ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis and multi-effect distillation: A pilot study', Separation and Purification Technology, vol. 146, pp. 94-100.
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Nguyen, AH, Ngo, HH, Guo, WS, Pham, TQ, Li, FM, Nguyen, TV & Bui, XT 2015, 'Adsorption of phosphate from aqueous solutions and sewage using zirconium loaded okara (ZLO): Fixed-bed column study', SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, vol. 523, pp. 40-49.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. This study explores the potential of removing phosphorus from aqueous solutions and sewage by Zr(IV)-loaded okara (ZLO) in the fixed-bed column. Soybean residue (okara) was impregnated with 0.25. M Zr(IV) solution to prepare active binding sites for phosphate. The effect of several factors, including flow rate, bed height, initial phosphorus concentration, pH and adsorbent particle size on the performance of ZLO was examined. The maximum dynamic adsorption capacity of ZLO for phosphorus was estimated to be 16.43. mg/g. Breakthrough curve modeling indicated that Adams-Bohart model and Thomas model fitted the experimental data better than Yoon-Nelson model. After treatment with ZLO packed bed column, the effluent could meet the discharge standard for phosphorus in Australia. Successful desorption and regeneration were achieved with 0.2 NaOH and 0.1 HCl, respectively. The results prove that ZLO can be used as a promising phosphorus adsorbent in the dynamic adsorption system.

Nguyen, HT, Chen, S-S, Nguyen, NC, Ngo, HH, Guo, W & Li, C-W 2015, 'Exploring an innovative surfactant and phosphate-based draw solution for forward osmosis desalination', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 489, pp. 212-219.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. The reverse salt flux phenomenon of forward osmosis affects the quality of the feed water, reduces water flux, and increases the cost for replenishing lost draw solute. In this study, a novel draw solution comprising a mixture of Triton X100 and Na3PO4 for minimizing the reverse salt flux during forward osmosis (FO) was explored. The results indicated that the reverse salt flux caused by coupling 0.5mM Triton X100 to 0.55M Na3PO4 draw solution was only 0.13g/m²h, and the specific reverse salt flux was 0.03g/L using DI water as the feed solution, which are the lowest recorded values among all forward osmosis studies. Hydrophobic attractive interactions between tail groups of Triton X100 with the FO membrane are believed to be the main mechanism for minimizing salt leakage. Results from desalination experiments demonstrated that using 0.55M Na3PO4 coupled with 0.5mM Triton X100 as the draw solution and brackish water and seawater as the feed solution with total dissolved solids of 4090 and 36,800ppm achieved water fluxes of 4.89L/m²h and 1.15L/m²h, respectively. Furthermore, using a two-stage ultrafiltration-nanofiltration system for the draw solution recovery enabled 98% recovery of solutes.

Nguyen, HT, Nguyen, NC, Chen, S-S, Ngo, HH, Guo, W & Li, C-W 2015, 'A new class of draw solutions for minimizing reverse salt flux to improve forward osmosis desalination', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 538, pp. 129-136.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. The applications of forward osmosis (FO) have been hindered because of the lack of an optimal draw solution. The reverse salt flux from the draw solution not only reduces the water flux but also increases the cost of draw solute replenishment. Therefore, in this study, Tergitol NP7 and NP9 with a long straight carbon chain and low critical micelle concentration (CMC) were coupled with highly charged ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as an innovative draw solution to minimize reverse salt diffusion in FO for the first time. The results showed that the lowest reverse salt flux of 0.067 GMH was observed when 0.1. M EDTA-2Na coupled with 15. mM NP7 was used as a draw solution and deionized water was used as a feed solution in FO mode (active layer facing with the feed solution). This is due to the hydrophobic interaction between the tails of NP7 and the FO membrane, thus creating layers on the membrane surface and constricting the FO membrane pores. Moreover, 1. M EDTA-2Na coupled with 15. mM NP7 is promising as an optimal draw solution for brackish water and sea water desalination. Average water fluxes of 7.68, 6.78, and 5.95 LMH were achieved when brackish water was used as a feed solution (5, 10, and 20. g/L NaCl), and an average water flux of 3.81 LMH was achieved when sea water was used as a feed solution (35. g/L NaCl). The diluted draw solution was recovered using a nanofiltration (NF-TS80) membrane with a high efficiency of 95% because of the high charge and large size of the draw solution.

Nguyen, NC, Chen, S-S, Nguyen, HT, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Hao, CW & Lin, P-H 2015, 'Applicability of a novel osmotic membrane bioreactor using a specific draw solution in wastewater treatment', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 518-519, pp. 586-594.
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Nguyen, TC, Loganathan, P, Nguyen, TV, Pham, TTN, Kandasamy, J, Wu, M, Naidu, R & Vigneswaran, S 2015, 'Trace elements in road-deposited and waterbed sediments in Kogarah Bay, Sydney: enrichment, sources and fractionation', SOIL RESEARCH, vol. 53, no. 4, pp. 401-411.
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© 2015 CSIRO. Trace elements (TEs) in road-deposited sediments (RDS) can be transported by stormwater to neighbouring water bodies to cause aquatic pollution. A study was conducted in Kogarah Bay, Sydney, Australia, to assess the possible sources and potential mobility of TEs in RDS and the contribution to the TE load to the adjacent waterbed sediments in canals and the bay. Of the 11 TEs analysed, pseudo-total concentrations of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), vanadium (V), chromium (Cr), and antimony (Sb) were greatly enriched in RDS over baseline soils (top 10cm depth) collected in bushlands. All TE concentrations in waterbed sediments (top 10cm depth) were similar to those in baseline soils but lower than in RDS. Correlation and principal component analyses revealed that Zn, Cu, Cr and Sb were related to each other in RDS, and probably originated from tyres and brake linings. Vanadium occurred in another component, likely to have originated mainly from road asphalt. Pseudo-total and mobile-fraction (0.1m acetic acid, pH 2.85 extraction) TE concentrations in RDS were: iron>manganese, Zn>Cu, lead>Cr, nickel, V, Sb, cadmium. The potential ecological TE risk was low to medium in RDS but low in baseline soils and waterbed sediments.

Nguyen, TC, Loganathan, P, Nguyen, TV, Vigneswaran, S, Kandasamy, J & Naidu, R 2015, 'Simultaneous adsorption of Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn by an iron-coated Australian zeolite in batch and fixed-bed column studies', CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL, vol. 270, pp. 393-404.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Excessive levels of heavy metals in water are an environmental hazard. An Australian zeolite with (ICZ) and without (Z) iron-coating, was used to remove five heavy metals from aqueous solutions using adsorption in batch and column experiments. The batch study showed that the Langmuir adsorption capacities of heavy metals on Z and ICZ at pH 6.5 and ionic strength 10-3M NaNO3 were in the order Pb>Cu>Cd>Cr, Zn for single metal (5.0-11.2mg/g) and for mixed metals solution (3.7-7.6mg/g). The data for the kinetics of adsorption satisfactory fitted to both the pseudo-first and second order models with fits slightly better for the latter model. Data fitted to a diffusion model revealed that adsorption took place in two or more than two different stages: a fast external surface adsorption, and a gradual adsorption controlled by both film diffusion and intra-particle diffusion. The column adsorption data were fairly well described by Thomas model, with the order of Thomas adsorption capacity following a similar trend as in the batch study. In both batch and column experiments, the adsorption capacities were higher for ICZ than for Z and were generally lower in mixed metals system than in single metals system. Leaching of used ICZ columns with 0.1M HCl, resulted in 64-93% of adsorbed metals being desorbed, and 10% of Fe being dissolved from the ICZ.

Ni, B-J & Yuan, Z 2015, 'Recent advances in mathematical modeling of nitrous oxides emissions from wastewater treatment processes', Water Research, vol. 87, pp. 336-346.
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Nitrous oxide (N2O) can be emitted from wastewater treatment contributing to its greenhouse gas footprint significantly. Mathematical modeling of N2O emissions is of great importance toward the understanding and reduction of the environmental impact of wastewater treatment systems. This article reviews the current status of the modeling of N2O emissions from wastewater treatment. The existing mathematical models describing all the known microbial pathways for N2O production are reviewed and discussed. These included N2O production by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) through the hydroxylamine oxidation pathway and the AOB denitrification pathway, N2O production by heterotrophic denitrifiers through the denitrification pathway, and the integration of these pathways in single N2O models. The calibration and validation of these models using lab-scale and full-scale experimental data is also reviewed. We conclude that the mathematical modeling of N2O production, while is still being enhanced supported by new knowledge development, has reached a maturity that facilitates the estimation of site-specific N2O emissions and the development of mitigation strategies for a wastewater treatment plant taking into the specific design and operational conditions of the plant.

Ni, B-J, Batstone, D, Zhao, B-H & Yu, H-Q 2015, 'Microbial Internal Storage Alters the Carbon Transformation in Dynamic Anaerobic Fermentation', Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 49, no. 15, pp. 9159-9167.
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Microbial internal storage processes have been demonstrated to occur and play an important role in activated sludge systems under both aerobic and anoxic conditions when operating under dynamic conditions. High-rate anaerobic reactors are often operated at a high volumetric organic loading and a relatively dynamic profile, with large amounts of fermentable substrates. These dynamic operating conditions and high catabolic energy availability might also facilitate the formation of internal storage polymers by anaerobic microorganisms. However, so far information about storage under anaerobic conditions (e.g., anaerobic fermentation) as well as its consideration in anaerobic process modeling (e.g., IWA Anaerobic Digestion Model No. 1, ADM1) is still sparse. In this work, the accumulation of storage polymers during anaerobic fermentation was evaluated by batch experiments using anaerobic methanogenic sludge and based on mass balance analysis of carbon transformation. A new mathematical model was developed to describe microbial storage in anaerobic systems. The model was calibrated and validated by using independent data sets from two different anaerobic systems, with significant storage observed, and effectively simulated in both systems. The inclusion of the new anaerobic storage processes in the developed model allows for more successful simulation of transients due to lower accumulation of volatile fatty acids (correction for the overestimation of volatile fatty acids), which mitigates pH fluctuations. Current models such as the ADM1 cannot effectively simulate these dynamics due to a lack of anaerobic storage mechanisms.

Ni, B-J, Pan, Y, van den Akker, B, Ye, L & Yuan, Z 2015, 'Full-Scale Modeling Explaining Large Spatial Variations of Nitrous Oxide Fluxes in a Step-Feed Plug-Flow Wastewater Treatment Reactor', Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 49, no. 15, pp. 9176-9184.
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Nitrous oxide (N2O) emission data collected from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) show huge variations between plants and within one plant (both spatially and temporarily). Such variations and the relative contributions of various N2O production pathways are not fully understood. This study applied a previously established N2O model incorporating two currently known N2O production pathways by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) (namely the AOB denitrification and the hydroxylamine pathways) and the N2O production pathway by heterotrophic denitrifiers to describe and provide insights into the large spatial variations of N2O fluxes in a step-feed full-scale activated sludge plant. The model was calibrated and validated by comparing simulation results with 40 days of N2O emission monitoring data as well as other water quality parameters from the plant. The model demonstrated that the relatively high biomass specific nitrogen loading rate in the Second Step of the reactor was responsible for the much higher N2O fluxes from this section. The results further revealed the AOB denitrification pathway decreased and the NH2OH oxidation pathway increased along the path of both Steps due to the increasing dissolved oxygen concentration. The overall N2O emission from this step-feed WWTP would be largely mitigated if 30% of the returned sludge were returned to the Second Step to reduce its biomass nitrogen loading rate.

Ni, B-J, Yu, H-Q & Zeng, RJ 2015, 'Understanding the Microbial Internal Storage Turnover in Wastewater Treatment: Retrospect, Prospect, and Challenge', Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, vol. 45, no. 6, pp. 591-612.
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Biological wastewater treatment processes usually occur under dynamic conditions involving a dynamic regime with respect to carbon substrate, which results in different microbial internal storage processes. These storage processes play important roles in pollutant removal (e.g., chemical oxygen demand, nitrogen and phosphate removal) and resource recovery (e.g., anaerobic digestion for methane production). This review focuses on two different internal storage processes: microbial storage for shock loading of electron donor and another for separate electron donor and acceptor. The review gives the up-to-date status on several essential microbial internal storage issues: their formation and consumption, the kinetics of these processes, the key factors governing microbial storage, their relationship to microbial growth and other important microbial products, their role in nitrous oxides emissions, and their implications in biological wastewater treatment systems. Although previous research in microbial internal storage has undoubtedly improved our level of understanding, it is clear that much remains to be learned about the processes, as many unanswered questions still remain; some of these important future research areas are then outlined. One of the challenges appears to be the competitions for carbon substrate by these microbial internal storage groups when they encounter the same dynamic regimes.

Ni, S-Q, Sun, N, Yang, H, Zhang, J & Ngo, HH 2015, 'Distribution of extracellular polymeric substances in anammox granules and their important roles during anammox granulation', Biochemical Engineering Journal, vol. 101, pp. 126-133.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Extracellular matrix plays a significant role in formation of matrix structure, biogranulation process and improvement of stability of anammox granules. Distributions of cells and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in anammox granules cultured from activated sludge and inactive methanogenic granules were probed. Anammox bacteria secreted more EPS than anaerobic/aerobic granules. The layer of EPS surrounding anammox cells was thicker than other types of granules. In high-enriched granules, the proteins and β-. d-glucopyranose polysaccharides were principally distributed at the core, whereas the cells and α-. d-glucopyranose polysaccharide accumulated in both the interior and outer layers of granules. In low-enriched ones, cells and α-. d-glucopyranose polysaccharides were mainly distributed at the outer rim and the β-. d-glucopyranose polysaccharides were located in both the core and the outer layer, whilst the proteins were distributed throughout the whole structure of granules. EPS distribution indicated that low-enriched granules possessed higher stability than high-enriched ones, in consistent with granule strength test.

Nie, M, Yan, C, Dong, W, Liu, M, Zhou, J & Yang, Y 2015, 'Occurrence, distribution and risk assessment of estrogens in surface water, suspended particulate matter, and sediments of the Yangtze Estuary', Chemosphere, vol. 127, pp. 109-116.
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The occurrence and distribution of six selected estrogen compounds were investigated in samples of surface water, suspended particulate matter (SPM), and sediment in the Yangtze Estuary and its coastal areas over four seasons. With the exception of 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), all estrogens were detected at least once in all three phases with bisphenol A (BPA) and estriol (E3) as the dominant estrogens in all phases. EE2 was not detected in any surface water samples. In addition, the highest total estrogen concentrations were found in January in all phases, which could be due to the low flow conditions and temperature during this season. A significant positive correlation was found between total estrogen concentrations and organic carbon (OC) contents, both in the water phase and solid phase (i.e. SPM and sediment), indicating the vital role played by OC. Based on a yeast estrogen screen (YES) bioassay, the higher estrogenic risk was found in the SPM and sediment phase when compared to the water phase. These results were confirmed by a risk assessment which revealed that the Yangtze Estuary was displayed a low to high risk over the seasons for all selected estrogens.

Nielsen, DA, Pernice, M, Schliep, M, Sablok, G, Jeffries, TC, Kuehl, M, Wangpraseurt, D, Ralph, PJ & Larkum, AWD 2015, 'Microenvironment and phylogenetic diversity of Prochloron inhabiting the surface of crustose didemnid ascidians', ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY, vol. 17, no. 10, pp. 4121-4132.
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Nisola, GM, Limjuco, LA, Vivas, EL, Lawagon, CP, Park, MJ, Shon, HK, Mittal, N, Nah, IW, Kim, H & Chung, W-J 2015, 'Macroporous flexible polyvinyl alcohol lithium adsorbent foam composite prepared via surfactant blending and cryo-desiccation', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 280, pp. 536-548.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Macroporous polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) foam composites with high loading of uniformly distributed lithium ion sieves (LIS) were successfully fabricated and evaluated for Li⁺ recovery. Surfactant blending combined with cryo-desiccation effectively produced LIS/PVA foams with hierarchical porosity composed of macro- and mesopores. Glutaraldehyde cross-linking rendered the LIS/PVA foams insoluble in water but exhibited high water absorbency and flexibility. Relative to the LIS powder, the foams exhibited minimal reductions in adsorption capacity (qe) and kinetic properties due to: (1) high total porosity and surface area, (2) hydrophilicity of PVA matrix, and (3) high LIS loading, which promoted particle exposure on the foam surface. These features facilitated easy convective flow of water through the matrix and allowed intimate contact between the Li⁺ feed source and the LIS surface. Thus, LIS/PVA foams with high loadings (200-300wt%) exhibited meager reductions in qe (7-13%) and kinetic properties compared to the LIS powder. With LIS loading increase, Li⁺ selectivity of LIS/PVA foams against other cations (i.e. Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺) likewise approached that of the LIS powder. While 300wt% LIS/PVA had low mechanical property, lower LIS loadings of 200- and 250wt% were highly durable and exhibited no deterioration in adsorption performance and reusability. Among the prepared LIS/PVA, 250wt% demonstrated the highest adsorption performance and can be repeatedly used for long-term application. The developed LIS/PVA foams are promising Li⁺ adsorbents for secondary Li⁺ sources; application of these foams via a simple 'absorb and squeeze' mechanism could be more practical than the energy-intensive processes like packed bed and membrane systems.

Nur, T, Shim, WG, Loganathan, P, Vigneswaran, S & Kandasamy, J 2015, 'Nitrate removal using Purolite A520E ion exchange resin: batch and fixed-bed column adsorption modelling', INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 1311-1320.
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© 2014, Islamic Azad University (IAU). Removing excessive nitrate from water is essential because it causes eutrophication which in turn has a harmful effect on aquatic life, resulting in a reduction in biodiversity and posing a danger to people’s health when the water is used for drinking. In this study, nitrate removal from aqueous solutions was studied using an ion exchange resin (Purolite A520E) in batch and fixed-bed column experiments. Batch adsorption kinetics was very well described by pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and homogeneous surface diffusion models for resin doses 1.5 and 3.0 g/L at a nitrate concentration 20 mg N/L. Column kinetic data satisfactorily fitted to the empirical Thomas model and a numerical model based on advection–dispersion equation for filtration velocities 2.5 and 5.0 m/h at a column height of 12 cm and inlet concentration 20 mg N/L. The experimental and Thomas model predicted breakthrough adsorption capacity ranges for the two filtration rates were 12.0–13.5 and 8.2–9.7 mg N/g, respectively, whereas the maximum adsorption capacity determined using Langmuir adsorption isotherm model in the batch study was 32.2 mg N/g.

Nurhadi, M, Efendi, J, Lee, SL, Mahlia, TMI, Chandren, S, Ho, CS & Nur, H 2015, 'Utilization of low rank coal as oxidation catalyst by controllable removal of its carbonaceous component', Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers, vol. 46, pp. 183-190.
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Ozmen, MM, Fu, Q, Kim, J & Qiao, GG 2015, 'A rapid and facile preparation of novel macroporous silicone-based cryogels via photo-induced thiol–ene click chemistry', Chemical Communications, vol. 51, no. 98, pp. 17479-17482.
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We prepared novel cryogelsviafacile thiol–ene reaction at low temperatures, which can selectively remove oils with excellent recyclability.

Palash, SM, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Atabani, AE, Rizwanul Fattah, IM & Sanjid, A 2015, 'Biodiesel production, characterization, diesel engine performance, and emission characteristics of methyl esters from Aphanamixis polystachya oil of Bangladesh', Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 91, pp. 149-157.
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Pan, Y, Ni, B-J, Lu, H, Chandran, K, Richardson, D & Yuan, Z 2015, 'Evaluating two concepts for the modelling of intermediates accumulation during biological denitrification in wastewater treatment', Water Research, vol. 71, pp. 21-31.
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The accumulation of the denitrification intermediates in wastewater treatment systems is highly undesirable, since both nitrite and nitric oxide (NO) are known to be toxic to bacteria, and nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas and an ozone depleting substance. To date, two distinct concepts for the modelling of denitrification have been proposed, which are represented by the Activated Sludge Model for Nitrogen (ASMN) and the Activated Sludge Model with Indirect Coupling of Electrons (ASM-ICE), respectively. The two models are fundamentally different in describing the electron allocation among different steps of denitrification. In this study, the two models were examined and compared in their ability to predict the accumulation of denitrification intermediates reported in four different experimental datasets in literature. The N-oxide accumulation predicted by the ASM-ICE model was in good agreement with values measured in all four cases, while the ASMN model was only able to reproduce one of the four cases. The better performance of the ASM-ICE model is due to that it adopts an 'indirect coupling' modelling concept through electron carriers to link the carbon oxidation and the nitrogen reduction processes, which describes the electron competition well. The ASMN model, on the other hand, is inherently limited by its structural deficiency in assuming that carbon oxidation is always able to meet the electron demand by all denitrification steps, therefore discounting electron competition among these steps. ASM-ICE therefore offers a better tool for predicting and understanding intermediates accumulation in biological denitrification.

Park, C-H, Tijing, LD, Pant, HR & Kim, CS 2015, 'Effect of laser polishing on the surface roughness and corrosion resistance of Nitinol stents', Bio-Medical Materials and Engineering, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 67-75.
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Park, MJ, Phuntsho, S, He, T, Nisola, GM, Tijing, LD, Li, X-M, Chen, G, Chung, W-J & Shon, HK 2015, 'Graphene oxide incorporated polysulfone substrate for the fabrication of flat-sheet thin-film composite forward osmosis membranes', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 493, pp. 496-507.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. The preparation and performances of the newly synthesized thin film composite (TFC) forward osmosis (FO) membranes with graphene oxide (GO)-modified support layer are presented in this study. GO nanosheets were incorporated in the polysulfone (PSf) to obtain PSf/GO composite membrane support layer. Polyamide (PA) active layer was subsequently formed on the PSf/GO by interfacial polymerization to obtain the TFC-FO membranes. Results reveal that at an optimal amount of GO addition (0.25wt%), a PSf/GO composite support layer with favorable structural property measured in terms of thickness, porosity and pore size can be achieved. The optimum incorporation of GO in the PSF support layer not only significantly improved water permeability but also allowed effective PA layer formation, in comparison to that of pure PSf support layer which had much lower water permeability. Thus, a TFC-FO membrane with high water flux (19.77Lm^-2h^-1 against 6.08Lm^-2h^-1 for pure PSf) and reverse flux selectivity (5.75Lg^-1 against 3.36Lg^-1 for pure PSf) was obtained under the active layer facing the feed solution or AL-FS membrane orientation. Besides the improved structural properties (reduced structural parameter, S) of the support layer, enhanced support hydrophilicity also contributed to the improved water permeability of the membrane. Beyond a certain point of GO addition (≥0.5wt%), the poor dispersion of GO in dope solution and significant structure change resulted in lower water permeation and weaker mechanical properties in support as well as FO flux/selectivity of consequent TFC membrane. Overall, this study suggests that GO modification of membrane supports could be a promising technique to improve the performances of TFC-FO membranes.

Park, SH, Park, B, Shon, HK & Kim, S 2015, 'Modeling full-scale osmotic membrane bioreactor systems with high sludge retention and low salt concentration factor for wastewater reclamation', Bioresource Technology, vol. 190, pp. 508-515.
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Peng, L, Chen, X, Xu, Y, Liu, Y, Gao, S-H & Ni, B-J 2015, 'Biodegradation of pharmaceuticals in membrane aerated biofilm reactor for autotrophic nitrogen removal: A model-based evaluation', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 494, pp. 39-47.
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Wastewater treatment systems are a primary pathway for pharmaceuticals (PhACs) entering the aquatic environment, which require reliable prediction through integrating the specific biodegradation processes into modeling framework. As ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) are known to be able to catalyze the oxidation of a wide array of organic compounds, membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) that remove nitrogen autotrophically through aerobic ammonia oxidation by AOB followed by Anammox may be capable of removing PhACs. In this work, a mathematical model was constructed to assess the PhAC biodegradation and removal potential in MABR under various operational conditions. The cometabolic biodegradation kinetics was used to model PhAC biodegradation by both AOB and heterotrophs. Simulations show that AOB play a major role in PhAC biodegradation with minor contribution from heterotrophs under the influent condition with high-strength ammonium. Both oxygen surface loading and influent surface loading (or hydraulic retention time (HRT)) are found to significantly impact the simultaneous removal of PhACs and total nitrogen (TN) at the optimal biofilm thickness of 750. μm. Approximately 80% of PhACs can be removed in the MABR under operational conditions (oxygen surface loading and HRT) optimal for TN removal with above 75% TN removal achieved. When treating low-strength nitrogenous wastewater, PhAC removal efficiency decreases substantially due to the lower abundance of AOB. The presence of organic matters would substantially increase PhAC removal efficiency mainly via heterotrophs biodegradation pathway, but would suppress the Anammox activity.

Peng, L, Liu, Y, Gao, S-H, Chen, X, Xin, P, Dai, X & Ni, B-J 2015, 'Evaluation on the Nanoscale Zero Valent Iron Based Microbial Denitrification for Nitrate Removal from Groundwater', Scientific Reports, vol. 5, no. 1.
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AbstractNanoscale zero valent iron (NZVI) based microbial denitrification has been demonstrated to be a promising technology for nitrate removal from groundwater. In this work, a mathematical model is developed to evaluate the performance of this new technology and to provide insights into the chemical and microbial interactions in the system in terms of nitrate reduction, ammonium accumulation and hydrogen turnover. The developed model integrates NZVI-based abiotic reduction of nitrate, NZVI corrosion for hydrogen production and hydrogen-based microbial denitrification and satisfactorily describes all of the nitrate and ammonium dynamics from two systems with highly different conditions. The high NZVI corrosion rate revealed by the model indicates the high reaction rate of NZVI with water due to their large specific surface area and high surface reactivity, leading to an effective microbial nitrate reduction by utilizing the produced hydrogen. The simulation results further suggest a NZVI dosing strategy (3–6 mmol/L in temperature range of 30–40 °C, 6–10 mmol/L in temperature range of 15–30 °C and 10–14 mmol/L in temperature range of 5–15 °C) during groundwater remediation to make sure a low ammonium yield and a high nitrogen removal efficiency.

Peng, L, Liu, Y, Gao, S-H, Dai, X & Ni, B-J 2015, 'Assessing chromate reduction by dissimilatory iron reducing bacteria using mathematical modeling', Chemosphere, vol. 139, pp. 334-339.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Chromate (Cr (VI)) is a ubiquitous contaminant in aquifers and soils, which can be reduced to its trivalent counterpart (Cr (III)), with the hazard being relieved. The coupling microbial and chemical reduction by dissimilatory iron reducing bacteria (IRB) is a promising approach for the reduction of Cr (VI) to Cr (III). In this work, three mathematical models with different Cr (VI) reduction pathways were proposed and compared based on their ability to predict the performance of an IRB-based stirred-flow reactor treating Cr (VI) contaminated medium and to provide insights into the possible chemical or microbial pathways for Cr (VI) reduction in the system. The Cr (VI) reduction was considered as chemical reaction between Fe (II) and Cr (VI), direct microbial reduction by IRB and combined biotic-abiotic reduction in these three models, respectively. Model evaluation results indicated that the model incorporating both chemical and microbial Cr (VI) reductions could well describe the system performance. In contrast, the other two single-pathway models were not capable of predicting the experimental data, suggesting that both chemical and microbial pathways contributed to Cr (VI) reduction by IRB. The validity of the two-pathway model was further confirmed by an independent experimental data set with different conditions. The results further revealed that the organic carbon availability and Cr (VI) loading rates for the IRB in the system determined the relative contributions of chemical and microbial pathways to overall Cr (VI) reduction.

Peng, L, Ni, B-J, Ye, L & Yuan, Z 2015, 'N2O production by ammonia oxidizing bacteria in an enriched nitrifying sludge linearly depends on inorganic carbon concentration', Water Research, vol. 74, pp. 58-66.
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The effect of inorganic carbon (IC) on nitrous oxide (N2O) production by ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) was investigated over a concentration range of 0-12 mmol C/L, encompassing typical IC levels in a wastewater treatment reactors. The AOB culture was enriched along with nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) to perform complete nitrification. Batch experiments were conducted with continuous carbon dioxide (CO2) stripping or at controlled IC concentrations. The results revealed a linear relationship between N2O production rate (N2OR) and IC concentration (R(2) = 0.97) within the IC range studied, suggesting a substantial effect of IC on N2O production by AOB. Similar results were also obtained with an AOB culture treating anaerobic sludge digestion liquor. The fundamental mechanism responsible for this dependency is unclear; however, in agreement with previous studies, it was observed that the ammonia oxidation rate (AOR) was also influenced by the IC concentration, which could be well described by the Monod kinetics. These resulted in an exponential relationship between N2OR and AOR, as previously observed in experiments where AOR was altered by varying dissolved oxygen and ammonia concentrations. It is therefore possible that IC indirectly affected N2OR by causing a change in AOR. The observation in this study indicates that alkalinity (mostly contributed by IC) could be a significant factor influencing N2O production and should be taken into consideration in estimating and mitigating N2O emissions in wastewater treatment systems.

Peng, L, Ni, B-J, Ye, L & Yuan, Z 2015, 'Selection of mathematical models for N2O production by ammonia oxidizing bacteria under varying dissolved oxygen and nitrite concentrations', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 281, pp. 661-668.
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Mathematical models for nitrous oxide (N2O) production by ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) based on a single pathway have been proposed to support the design and operation of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). However, the boundary conditions for each of these models have not been established to date. This study tests the predictive ability of two single-pathway models based on the AOB denitrification pathway and the hydroxylamine (NH2OH) oxidation pathway, respectively, to describe the N2O data generated by a N2O model that incorporates both pathways, and provides theoretical guidance on how to use these two single-pathway models as well as the two-pathway model under various conditions. The model based on the AOB denitrification pathway can be used under the condition of a constant dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration, applied either at a low DO concentration (<~0.5mg O2/L) with any non-inhibitory nitrite (NO2-) concentrations or at higher DO (≥~0.5mg O2/L) with relatively high NO2- (≥~1.0mg N/L) but non-inhibitory concentrations. The model based on the NH2OH oxidation pathway can be applied under the condition of relatively high DO concentrations (≥~1.5mg O2/L), being either constant or time-varying, with any non-inhibitory NO2- concentrations. Under other conditions, the two-pathway model should be applied.

Peng, L, Ni, B-J, Ye, L & Yuan, Z 2015, 'The combined effect of dissolved oxygen and nitrite on N2O production by ammonia oxidizing bacteria in an enriched nitrifying sludge', Water Research, vol. 73, pp. 29-36.
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Both nitrite [Formula: see text] and dissolved oxygen (DO) play important roles in nitrous oxide (N2O) production by ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB). However, few studies focused on the combined effect of them on N2O production by AOB as well as the corresponding mechanisms. In this study, N2O production by an enriched nitrifying sludge, consisting of both AOB and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB), was investigated under various [Formula: see text] and DO concentrations. At each investigated DO level, both the biomass specific N2O production rate and the N2O emission factor (the ratio between N2O nitrogen emitted and the ammonium nitrogen converted) increased as [Formula: see text] concentration increased from 3 mg N/L to 50 mg N/L. However, at each investigated [Formula: see text] level, the maximum biomass specific N2O production rate occurred at DO of 0.85 mg O2/L, while the N2O emission factor decreased as DO increased from 0.35 to 3.5 mg O2/L. The analysis of the process data using a mathematical N2O model incorporating both the AOB denitrification and hydroxylamine (NH2OH) oxidation pathways indicated that the contribution of AOB denitrification pathway increased as [Formula: see text] concentration increased, but decreased as DO concentration increased, accompanied by a corresponding change in the contribution of NH2OH oxidation pathway to N2O production. The AOB denitrification pathway was predominant in most cases, with the NH2OH oxidation pathway making a comparable contribution only at high DO level (e.g. 3.5 mg O2/L).

Pham, TTN, Mainali, B, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Listowski, A, O'Halloran, K, Miechel, C & Corby, N 2015, 'Effect of heavy metals in recycled water used for household laundry on quality of cloth and washing machine', DESALINATION AND WATER TREATMENT, vol. 54, no. 1, pp. 178-190.
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Recycled water for washing clothes saves significant amount of potable water and hence has a great potential for sustainable urban-water management. To date, there has been no official acceptance and very rare practice of use of recycled water for household laundry. This study investigates the effects of critical heavy metals (Pb, Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn) on cloth quality and corrosive/scaling of washing machine to evaluate the feasibility of using recycled water for household laundry. The experimental data can be used for future recycled-water-quality guidelines. Five representative cloth materials namely polyester, satin, polycotton, denim and organic cotton were selected for washing in tap water and synthetic recycled water which contained different concentrations of heavy metals. Cloth durability, surface morphology and textile colour of washed cloth samples were measured to investigate the effects of heavy metals on quality of fabric. Langelier Saturation Index (LSI) was used as the indicator for predicting corrosive/scaling effects on washing machine. The results indicated that quality of fabrics after 50 wash cycles was found to have no change by recycled water when concentration of Pb and Mn < 0.5 mg/L, Fe < 1 mg/L, Cu < 5 mg/L and Zn < 30 mg/L. Lower than the above values, the LSI indicated that recycled water would not lead to any negative impact on washing machine.

Phan, HV, Hai, FI, McDonald, JA, Khan, SJ, Zhang, R, Price, WE, Broeckmann, A & Nghiem, LD 2015, 'Nutrient and trace organic contaminant removal from wastewater of a resort town: Comparison between a pilot and a full scale membrane bioreactor', International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, vol. 102, pp. 40-48.
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Porter, SH, Huang, Z, Cheng, Z, Avdeev, M, Chen, Z, Dou, S & Woodward, PM 2015, 'Structural and magnetic properties of RTiNO2 (R=Ce, Pr, Nd) perovskite nitride oxides', Journal of Solid State Chemistry, vol. 226, pp. 279-285.
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Porter, SH, Huang, Z, Dou, S, Brown-Xu, S, Golam Sarwar, ATM, Myers, RC & Woodward, PM 2015, 'Electronic Structure and Photocatalytic Water Oxidation Activity of RTiNO₂ (R = Ce, Pr, and Nd) Perovskite Nitride Oxides', Chemistry of Materials, vol. 27, no. 7, pp. 2414-2420.
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Pradhan, M, Vigneswaran, S & Kandasamy, J 2015, 'Assessment of fouling behaviour in submerged microfiltration system coupled with flocculation', Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, vol. 21, pp. 254-260.
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Pramanik, BK, Roddick, FA, Fan, L, Jeong, S & Vigneswaran, S 2015, 'Assessment of biological activated carbon treatment to control membrane fouling in reverse osmosis of secondary effluent for reuse in irrigation', Desalination, vol. 364, pp. 90-95.
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Radford, D, Szabo, M, Raven, J & Ralph, PJ 2015, 'SATISFYING THE NUTRIENT TANK OF NANNOCHLOROPSIS OCULATA; CO-LIMITATION REDUCES FILLING EFFICIENCY', EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY, vol. 50, pp. 138-139.

Rahman, MA, Hogan, B, Duncan, E, Doyle, C, Rahman, MM, Nguyen, TV, Lim, RP, Maher, W, Naidu, R, Krassoi, R, Vigneswaran, S & Hassler, C 2015, 'Ecotoxicological Effects of an Arsenic Remediation Method on Three Freshwater Organisms—Lemna disperma, Chlorella sp. CE-35 and Ceriodaphnia cf. dubia', Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, vol. 226, no. 12, pp. 1-10.
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© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland. Chemical methods have been used for the remediation of arsenic (As)-contaminated water; however, ecological consequences of these methods have not been properly addressed. The present study evaluated the effects of the Fe-oxide-coated sand (IOCS) remediation method on As toxicity to freshwater organisms (Lemna disperma, Chlorella sp. CE-35, and Ceriodaphnia cf. dubia). The As removal efficiency by IOCS decreased substantially with time. The IOCS remediation method was less effective at suppressing the toxicity of AsV than AsIII to L. disperma but was highly effective in reducing both the AsIII and AsV toxicity to C. cf. dubia. The growth of Chlorella sp. was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in remediated and pre-remediated water than in controls (non-As-contaminated filtered Colo River water) for AsIII, while the opposite was observed for AsV, indicating that AsV is more toxic than AsIII to this microalga. Although the IOCS can efficiently remove As from contaminated water, residual As and other constituents (e.g. Fe, nitrate) in the remediated water had a significant effect on freshwater organisms.

Rashedul, HK, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Teoh, YH, How, HG & Rizwanul Fattah, IM 2015, 'Effect of antioxidant on the oxidation stability and combustion–performance–emission characteristics of a diesel engine fueled with diesel–biodiesel blend', Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 106, pp. 849-858.
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Alexandrian laurel or Calophyllum inophyllum oil is recently considered one of the most anticipated nonconsumable or nonedible biodiesel sources. An attempt has been made in this study to increase the oxidation stability and investigate the engine performance, emission, and combustion characteristics of a diesel engine by adding 1% (by vol.) of two antioxidants, such as 2,6-Di-tert.-butyl-4-methylphenol and 2,2′-methylenebis (4-methyl-6-tert-butylphenol), in higher percentages of C. inophyllum biodiesel (CB30) with diesel fuel (B0). The experiment was performed on a single-cylinder, water-cooled, direct-injection diesel engine for this purpose. The addition of both antioxidants increased the oxidation stability without significantly changing other physicochemical properties. Results also show that the antioxidants enhanced the start of combustion of biodiesel, which resulted in a short ignition delay. The peak pressure and the peak heat release rate during premixed combustion phase of pure CB30 and its modified blend with antioxidant were higher than those of B0. Both antioxidant blends showed higher brake power, higher brake thermal efficiency, and lower brake specific fuel consumption than pure CB30. Both antioxidants significantly reduced NOX emission; however, CO, HC, and smoke opacity were slightly higher than those of CB30. Based on this study, Alexandrian laurel or C. inophyllum biodiesel blend (CB30) with antioxidant can be used as an alternative fuel in a diesel engine without modifications.

Rattananurak, W, Chang, J-S, Wattanachira, S, Johir, MAH & Vigneswaran, S 2015, 'A novel plate settler in immersed membrane bioreactor (iMBR) in reducing membrane fouling', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 55, no. 1, pp. 10-16.
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Raven, JA & Ralph, PJ 2015, 'Enhanced biofuel production using optimality, pathway modification and waste minimization', JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYCOLOGY, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 1-31.
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In response to their environment, algae in the wild may use an approximation to optimality of resource allocation in cellular structures, photosynthetic pigments, enzymes, transporters in membranes and RNAs and in their genetic material. However, under controlled conditions, when algae are grown for biofuel (lipid) production for example, some of these processes can be altered to increase the efficiency of photosynthesis and therefore, lipid yield. This suggests that there is scope for selecting mutations and for genetic engineering at various levels in the photosynthetic apparatus with the aim of increasing efficiency of photon use and the rate of transformation of resources per unit biomass to improve biofuel yields. More specifically, the wavelength range covered by photosynthetic pigments and photochemical reaction centres could be increased, the number of protons transported from the thylakoid lumen to the stroma per unit ATP synthesised by the ATP synthetase could be decreased, the fluctuating light effect could be utilised and photosynthetic pathways changed, e.g. replacing part or all of the current machinery for autotrophic fixation of inorganic carbon. There are also possibilities for decreasing carbon loss by decreasing `wasteful aspects of dark respiration and of dissolved organic carbon loss. Provided that the environmental fluctuations to which algal growth conditions are constrained, there are possibilities for decreasing the resource costs of protection from ROS, and by down-regulating photoprotective mechanisms, as well as limiting the capacity to repair processes related to photoinhibition. Decreased protein turnover is also a potential energetic saving. These interventions apply to individual processes; however, this may not be immediately incorporated into the optimal allocation of resources by the alga, and further intervention using a system biology approach may be required.

Reham, SS, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Shancita, I, Rizwanul Fattah, IM & Ruhul, AM 2015, 'Study on stability, fuel properties, engine combustion, performance and emission characteristics of biofuel emulsion', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 52, pp. 1566-1579.
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This study reviewed papers related to biofuel emulsion, principally assessing the use of biofuel emulsion. The discussion is focused mainly on three active areas of emulsified biofuel, namely, exploration of various factors affecting the preparation of stable emulsion and its fuel properties, investigation of the effect of water concentration on physicochemical properties of fuel, and observation of the improvement and degradation of combustion, performance, and emission characteristics and the possible methods to enhance these characteristics.

Ren, L-F, Liang, S, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Ni, S-Q, Liu, C, Zhao, Y-K & Hira, D 2015, 'Enhancement of anammox performance in a novel non-woven fabric membrane bioreactor (nMBR)', RSC Advances, vol. 5, no. 106, pp. 86875-86884.
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As well as a membrane separator, a non-woven fabric module could be employed as a biomass carrier to enhance microorganism proliferation and nitrogen removal.

Ruhul, AM, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Fattah, IMR, Reham, SS & Rashed, MM 2015, 'State of the art of biodiesel production processes: a review of the heterogeneous catalyst', RSC Advances, vol. 5, no. 122, pp. 101023-101044.
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This study described the latest technology for fixed batch and continues biodiesel production for both laboratory and industrial scale as well as the role of the heterogeneous catalyst in biodiesel production process.

Sablok, G, Raju, GVP, Mudunuri, SB, Prabha, R, Singh, DP, Baev, V, Yahubyan, G, Ralph, PJ & La Porta, N 2015, 'ChloroMitoSSRDB 2.00: more genomes, more repeats, unifying SSRs search patterns and on-the-fly repeat detection', DATABASE-THE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL DATABASES AND CURATION.
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Sablok, G, Srivastva, AK, Suprasanna, P, Baev, V & Ralph, PJ 2015, 'isomiRs: Increasing Evidences of isomiRs Complexity in Plant Stress Functional Biology', FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE, vol. 6, pp. 949-949.
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Sahebi, S, Phuntsho, S, Kim, JE, Hong, S & Shon, HK 2015, 'Pressure assisted fertiliser drawn osmosis process to enhance final dilution of the fertiliser draw solution beyond osmotic equilibrium', JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE, vol. 481, pp. 63-72.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Adequate dilution of fertiliser draw solution (DS) during fertiliser drawn forward osmosis (FDFO) desalination is important to meet nutrient concentration level for direct fertigation. The maximum DS dilution, however, occurs until the point of osmotic equilibrium between DS and feed solution (FS) thereby limiting the extent of DS dilution. Post-treatment such as nanofiltration (NF) process is required to reduce the fertiliser concentration. In this study however, pressure assisted fertiliser drawn osmosis (PAFDO) process was investigated to enhance DS dilution beyond the point of osmotic equilibrium and potentially eliminate NF post-treatment. The hydraulic pressure applied enhanced water flux significantly depending on the pressure. The applied pressure was found more effective at lower DS concentrations than at higher DS concentrations. For example, when a pressure of 10bar was applied to 10g/L NaCl FS with 0.1M (NH4)2SO4 DS, the water flux increased by 1928% against 38% with 3.0M (NH4)2SO4 DS. This additional water flux could dilute the fertiliser DS beyond the osmotic equilibrium concentrations thereby meeting the fertigation standard. PAFDO could potentially eliminate NF post-treatment significantly helping reduce the footprint and capital cost. However, the effective gain in water flux due to applied pressure at osmotic equilibrium decreased with the increase in the FS concentrations.

Sajjad, H, Masjuki, HH, Varman, M, Kalam, MA, Arbab, MI, Imtenan, S & Ashraful, AM 2015, 'Influence of gas-to-liquid (GTL) fuel in the blends of Calophyllum inophyllum biodiesel and diesel: An analysis of combustion–performance–emission characteristics', Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 97, pp. 42-52.
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Sanjid, A, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Rahman, SMA, Abedin, MJ & Fattah, IMR 2015, 'Characterization and prediction of blend properties and evaluation of engine performance and emission parameters of a CI engine operated with various biodiesel blends', RSC Advances, vol. 5, no. 17, pp. 13246-13255.
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The present research is aimed to investigate the feasibility of using palm (PB), mustard (MB) and Calophyllum biodiesel (CB) as renewable and alternative fuels.

Schliep, M, Pernice, M, Sinutok, S, Bryant, CV, York, PH, Rasheed, MA & Ralph, PJ 2015, 'Evaluation of Reference Genes for RT-qPCR Studies in the Seagrass Zostera muelleri Exposed to Light Limitation', SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, vol. 5.
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Scofield, JMP, Gurr, PA, Kim, J, Fu, Q, Halim, A, Kentish, SE & Qiao, GG 2015, 'High‐performance thin film composite membranes with well‐defined poly(dimethylsiloxane)‐b‐poly(ethylene glycol) copolymer additives for CO₂ separation', Journal of Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry, vol. 53, no. 12, pp. 1500-1511.
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ABSTRACTA series of well‐defined diblock copolymers (BCPs) consisting of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) were synthesized and blended with commercially available PEBAX® 2533 to form the active layer of thin‐film composite (TFC) membranes, via spin‐coating. BCPs with a PEG component ranging from 1 to 10 kDa and a PDMS component ranging from 1 to 10 kDa were synthesized by a facile condensation reaction of hydroxyl terminated PEG and carboxylic acid functionalized PDMS. The BCP/PEBAX® 2533 blends up to 50 wt % on cross‐linked PDMS gutter layers were tested at 35 °C and 350 kPa. TFC membranes containing BCPs of 1 kDa PEG and 1–5 kDa PDMS produced optimal results with CO2 permeances of approximately 1000 GPU which is an increase up to 250% of the permeance of pure PEBAX® 2533 composite membranes, while maintaining a CO2/N2 selectivity of 21. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015, 53, 1500–1511

Semblante, GU, Hai, FI, Huang, X, Ball, AS, Price, WE & Nghiem, LD 2015, 'Trace organic contaminants in biosolids: Impact of conventional wastewater and sludge processing technologies and emerging alternatives', Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol. 300, pp. 1-17.
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Shahid, M, McDonagh, A, Kim, JH & Shon, HK 2015, 'Magnetised titanium dioxide (TiO₂) for water purification: preparation, characterisation and application', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 54, no. 4-5, pp. 979-1002.
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The study of titanium dioxide (TiO2) as a photocatalyst for water purification has attracted significant attention over the past four decades. However, the separation of photocatalyst from water suspension may be difficult, costly and jeopardise the use of this water treatment technology. Recently, the development and production of magnetised TiO2 have been achieved to offer a solution for the photocatalyst separation problem. This paper discusses the preparation techniques, characterisation and the applications of magnetised TiO2. Many researchers have studied magnetised TiO2 photocatalysts but the lack of articles discussing the water purification processes is still slowing any advance in this field. Here, the progress of the scientific research on preparation techniques to coat magnetic particles by materials such as organic polymers, silica, magnesia, and alumina are reviewed to compare and discuss recent findings. The doping of photoactive TiO2 photocatalyst into the magnetic-coated particles is also emphasised. In addition, the characterisation of magnetised TiO2 in terms of physicochemical properties and operating conditions produced by each technique are critically reviewed. Moreover, examples of applications of TiO2 and magnetised TiO2 photocatalyst in water purification are summarised. In general, the effectiveness of organic removal by magnetised TiO2 is still lower compared to single phase TiO2. The future prospect of this field is deliberated to develop a novel, economic and efficient magnetised TiO2 photocatalyst, which has high organic removal properties.

Shahid, M, Saliby, IE, Tijing, LD, McDonagh, A, Park, SM, Lee, KY, Shon, HK & Kim, J-H 2015, 'Synthesis and Characterisation of Silica-Modified Titania for Photocatalytic Decolouration of Crystal Violet', Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, vol. 15, no. 7, pp. 5326-5329.
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In the past few years, silica-modified titania has drawn increasing attention due to their special properties making them ideal candidates for a wide range of applications. In this study, we report a novel method for the synthesis of silica-modified titania by a sol–gel method using sodium silicate solution (1 M). The hydrolysis and condensation reactions of titanium dioxide (TiO2, Degussa Aeroxide® P25) in sodium silicate solution proceeded with citric acid (3 M) as a catalyst. The orbital shaking method was followed for the removal of sodium salt formed during the sol–gel process. Solvent exchange was carried out using methanol and hexane. Finally, chemical modification of the gel was conducted using trimethylchlorosilane followed by ambient pressure drying. The obtained silica-modified titania was characterised for nanostructural analysis using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The nitrogen adsorption–desorption measurements were employed to investigate the BET surface area, pore structure and pore volume of specimens. Thermal gravimetric analysis showed exothermic peaks at temperature range of 90–190 °C representing the oxidation of organic groups from –Si–R network. The silica-modified titania showed high photocatalytic activity and an easy recovery using crystal violet as model water pollutant.

Shahir, SA, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Imran, A & Ashraful, AM 2015, 'Performance and emission assessment of diesel–biodiesel–ethanol/bioethanol blend as a fuel in diesel engines: A review', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 48, pp. 62-78.
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Shanmuganathan, S, Johir, MAH, Nguyen, TV, Kandasamy, J & Vigneswaran, S 2015, 'Experimental evaluation of microfiltration-granular activated carbon (MF-GAC)/nano filter hybrid system in high quality water reuse', JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE, vol. 476, pp. 1-9.
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© 2014 Elsevier B.V. In order to achieve high quality water reuse, a dual membrane hybrid system (combining microfiltration-granular activated carbon (MF-GAC)) adsorption hybrid system followed by nanofiltration (NF)) was used. This system[U+05F3]s performance was evaluated in terms of organic matter, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), and removal of inorganic matter. Biologically treated sewage effluent (BTSE) collected from a water reclamation plant in Sydney, Australia was used as the water source. The removal efficiency of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) of MF-GAC strongly depends on the dose of GAC and filtration flux. MF-GAC system effectively removed hydrophobic organics (45-80%) as well as hydrophilic organics (50-80%). The removal of various PPCPs ranged from 33% to 92%, and as expected, the amount of inorganic matter removed by the MF-GAC system was very small. Hence, the NF system, as a second membrane system, was employed to polish the effluent from the MF-GAC hybrid system. The NF system rejected most of DOC (>95%), sulfates (99%) and a substantial amount of calcium (70%), and magnesium (60%) from MF-GAC effluent. Further, more than 90% of PPCPs were removed by the NF system. Overall the dual membrane hybrid system proved to be very effective in removing organics, PPCPs and inorganic matter. The MF-GAC followed by NF results in high quality water reuse and this system can serve as an effective treatment option for water reuse schemes.

Shanmuganathan, S, Nguyen, TV, Jeong, S, Kandasamy, J & Vigneswaran, S 2015, 'Submerged membrane - (GAC) adsorption hybrid system in reverse osmosis concentrate treatment', SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY, vol. 146, pp. 8-14.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Abstract Wastewater reclamation plants using reverse osmosis as the final polishing treatment produce reverse osmosis concentrate (ROC), which consists of high salinity, nutrients and (recalcitrant) organics. The ROC collected from the water reclamation plant in Sydney was treated with a micro filtration (MF)-GAC hybrid system that removed natural and synthetic organics prior to its discharge into the environment. The MF-GAC hybrid system's performance was studied in terms of trans-membrane pressure (TMP) development, and organics removal. These features were measured using liquid chromatography-organic carbon detection (LC-OCD), Fluorescence Excitation-Emission matrix (F-EEM), and Liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectroscopy (LC-MS). Adding GAC into the membrane reactor reduced the TMP by reducing membrane fouling both through mechanical scouring and pre-adsorption of organics. F-EEM confirms the removal of humics-like and fulvic-like compounds by GAC from ROC. Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) were also removed by the MF-GAC hybrid system.

Shanmuganathan, S, Vigneswaran, S, Nguyen, TV, Loganathan, P & Kandasamy, J 2015, 'Use of nanofiltration and reverse osmosis in reclaiming micro-filtered biologically treated sewage effluent for irrigation', DESALINATION, vol. 364, pp. 119-125.
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Micro-filtered, biologically treated sewage effluent (BTSE) generally has high sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl) concentrations. Therefore it cannot be directly used for irrigating sensitive crops. A study was conducted on a micro-filtered BTSE from a Sydney water treatment plant to determine whether the BTSE can be treated using nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) to bring these risk parameters within safety limits. The study showed that using NF and RO alone could not produce the required ratio of SAR. Furthermore, NF alone did not remove the necessary levels of Na and Cl ions while RO did. However, blending equal proportions of NF permeate and RO permeate obtained from a two stages hybrid treatment system consisting of NF followed by RO resulted in a product quality suitable for irrigation in terms of the above mentioned risk factors. Utilizing NF prior to RO reduced the RO membrane fouling as well. Both NF and RO removed most of the pharmaceutical and personal care products from the feed water and this may subsequently protect soil and ground water from potential hazards.

Shi, L, Wei, D, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Du, B & Wei, Q 2015, 'Application of anaerobic granular sludge for competitive biosorption of methylene blue and Pb(II): Fluorescence and response surface methodology', Bioresource Technology, vol. 194, pp. 297-304.
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Shirbin, SJ, Ladewig, K, Fu, Q, Klimak, M, Zhang, X, Duan, W & Qiao, GG 2015, 'Cisplatin-Induced Formation of Biocompatible and Biodegradable Polypeptide-Based Vesicles for Targeted Anticancer Drug Delivery', Biomacromolecules, vol. 16, no. 8, pp. 2463-2474.
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Shrestha, A, Johir, MAH, Vigneswaran, S & Kandasamy, J 2015, 'A comparative study on in-line flocculation and spiral flocculation followed by media filtration as a pre-treatment of seawater', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 55, no. 4, pp. 892-900.
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© 2014 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. Abstract: In this study the efficiency of two different flocculation systems namely in-line flocculation and spiral flocculation followed by media filtration (sand or anthracite) have been investigated as a pre-treatment of seawater to reverse osmosis. The performances of these filtration systems were assessed in terms of turbidity removal, head loss development, ultra filter-modified fouling index (UF-MFI) and organic matters removal. Both systems showed 60–70% removal of turbidity. In-line flocculation and filtration showed 2–3 times higher head loss development than spiral flocculation filtration. These filtration systems helped to reduce the fouling potential (in terms of UF-MFI) by 50–73%, whereas dissolved organic carbon-removal efficiency was 30–45%. The fractionation of organic matter showed that both systems removed 70% of hydrophobic organic matters. The removals of hydrophilic organics were around 30–40%. Among the hydrophilic compounds, the removal of biopolymer and lower molecular weight neutrals and acid were higher than that of humic substances’ and building blocks’.

Silakhori, M, Fauzi, H, Mahmoudian, MR, Metselaar, HSC, Mahlia, TMI & Khanlou, HM 2015, 'Preparation and thermal properties of form-stable phase change materials composed of palmitic acid/polypyrrole/graphene nanoplatelets', Energy and Buildings, vol. 99, pp. 189-195.
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Silitonga, AS, Masjuki, HH, Mahlia, TMI, Ong, HC, Kusumo, F, Aditiya, HB & Ghazali, NNN 2015, 'Schleichera oleosa L oil as feedstock for biodiesel production', Fuel, vol. 156, pp. 63-70.
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Singer, JP, Pelligra, CI, Kornblum, N, Choo, Y, Gopinadhan, M, Bordeenithikasem, P, Ketkaew, J, Fatt Liew, S, Cao, H, Schroers, J & Osuji, CO 2015, 'Multiscale patterning of a metallic glass using sacrificial imprint lithography', Microsystems & Nanoengineering, vol. 1, no. 1.
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AbstractBulk metallic glasses (BMGs) have been developed as a means to achieve durable multiscale, nanotextured surfaces with desirable properties dictated by topography for a multitude of applications. One barrier to this achievement is the lack of a bridging technique between macroscale thermoplastic forming and nanoimprint lithography, which arises from the difficulty and cost of generating controlled nanostructures on complex geometries using conventional top-down approaches. This difficulty is compounded by the necessary destruction of any resulting reentrant structures during rigid demolding. We have developed a generalized method to overcome this limitation by sacrificial template imprinting using zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures. It is established that such structures can be grown inexpensively and quickly with tunable morphologies on a wide variety of substrates out of solution, which we exploit to generate the nanoscale portion of the multiscale pattern through this bottom-up approach. In this way, we achieve metallic structures that simultaneously demonstrate features from the macroscale down to the nanoscale, requiring only the top-down fabrication of macro/microstructured molds. Upon detachment of the formed part from the multiscale molds, the ZnO remains embedded in the surface and can be removed by etching in mild conditions to both regenerate the mold and render the surface of the BMGs nanoporous. The ability to pattern metallic surfaces in a single step on length scales from centimeters down to nanometers is a critical step toward fabricating devices with complex shapes that rely on multiscale topography for their intended functions, such as biomedical and electrochemical applications.

Sleap, SB, Turner, BD & Sloan, SW 2015, 'Kinetics of fluoride removal from spent pot liner leachate (SPLL) contaminated groundwater', Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 2580-2587.
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Sounthararajah, DP, Loganathan, P, Kandasamy, J & Vigneswaran, S 2015, 'Adsorptive removal of heavy metals from water using sodium titanate nanofibres loaded onto GAC in fixed-bed columns', JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS, vol. 287, pp. 306-316.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Heavy metals are serious pollutants in aquatic environments. A study was undertaken to remove Cu, Cd, Ni, Pb and Zn individually (single metal system) and together (mixed metals system) from water by adsorption onto a sodium titanate nanofibrous material. Langmuir adsorption capacities (mg/g) at 10-3M NaNO3 ionic strength in the single metal system were 60, 83, 115 and 149 for Ni, Zn, Cu, and Cd, respectively, at pH 6.5 and 250 for Pb at pH 4.0. In the mixed metals system they decreased at high metals concentrations. In column experiments with 4% titanate material and 96% granular activated carbon (w/w) mixture at pH 5.0, the metals breakthrough times and adsorption capacities (for both single and mixed metals systems) decreased in the order Pb>Cd, Cu>Zn>Ni within 266 bed volumes. The amounts adsorbed were up to 82 times higher depending on the metal in the granular activated carbon+titanate column than in the granular activated carbon column. The study showed that the titanate material has high potential for removing heavy metals from polluted water when used with granular activated carbon at a very low proportion in fixed-bed columns.

Sounthararajah, DP, Loganathan, P, Kandasamy, J & Vigneswaran, S 2015, 'Effects of Humic Acid and Suspended Solids on the Removal of Heavy Metals from Water by Adsorption onto Granular Activated Carbon', INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH, vol. 12, no. 9, pp. 10475-10489.
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Su, S, Huang, Z, NuLi, Y, Tuerxun, F, Yang, J & Wang, J 2015, 'A novel rechargeable battery with a magnesium anode, a titanium dioxide cathode, and a magnesium borohydride/tetraglyme electrolyte', Chemical Communications, vol. 51, no. 13, pp. 2641-2644.
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Commercial TiO₂ in a compatible electrolyte of 0.5 mol L⁻¹ Mg(BH₄)₂/LiBH₄/TG ([LiBH₄] = 1.5 mol L⁻¹) delivers high specific capacity, and excellent cycling stability and rate capability. This work opens up a new alternative for the development of rechargeable magnesium batteries.

Suggett, DJ, Goyen, S, Evenhuis, C, Szabo, M, Pettay, DT, Warner, ME & Ralph, PJ 2015, 'Functional diversity of photobiological traits within the genus Symbiodinium appears to be governed by the interaction of cell size with cladal designation', NEW PHYTOLOGIST, vol. 208, no. 2, pp. 370-381.
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© 2015 New Phytologist Trust. Dinoflagellates of the genus Symbiodinium express broad diversity in both genetic identity (phylogeny) and photosynthetic function to presumably optimize ecological success across extreme light environments; however, whether differences in the primary photobiological characteristics that govern photosynthetic optimization are ultimately a function of phylogeny is entirely unresolved. We applied a novel fast repetition rate fluorometry approach to screen genetically distinct Symbiodinium types (n=18) spanning five clades (A-D, F) for potential phylogenetic trends in factors modulating light absorption (effective cross-section, reaction center content) and utilization (photochemical vs dynamic nonphotochemical quenching; [1 - C] vs [1 - Q]) by photosystem II (PSII). The variability of PSII light absorption was independent of phylogenetic designation, but closely correlated with cell size across types, whereas PSII light utilization intriguingly followed one of three characteristic patterns: (1) similar reliance on [1 - C] and [1 - Q] or (2) preferential reliance on [1 - C] (mostly A, B types) vs (3) preferential reliance on [1 - Q] (mostly C, D, F types), and thus generally consistent with cladal designation. Our functional trait-based approach shows, for the first time, how Symbiodinium photosynthetic function is governed by the interplay between phylogenetically dependent and independent traits, and is potentially a means to reconcile complex biogeographic patterns of Symbiodinium phylogenetic diversity in nature.

Sun, J, Hu, S, Sharma, KR, Ni, B-J & Yuan, Z 2015, 'Degradation of methanethiol in anaerobic sewers and its correlation with methanogenic activities', Water Research, vol. 69, pp. 80-89.
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Methanethiol (MT) is considered one of the predominant odorants in sewer systems. Therefore, understanding MT transformation in sewers is essential to sewer odor assessment and abatement. In this study, we investigated the degradation of MT in laboratory anaerobic sewers. Experiments were carried out in seven anaerobic sewer reactors with biofilms at different stages of development. MT degradation was found to be strongly dependent on the methanogenic activity of sewer biofilms. The MT degradation rate accelerated with the increase of methanogenic activity of sewer biofilms, resulting in MT accumulation (i.e. net production) in sewer reactors with relatively low methanogenic activities, and MT removal in reactors with higher methanogenic activities. A Monod-type kinetic expression was developed to describe MT degradation kinetics in anaerobic sewers, in which the maximum degradation rate was modeled as a function of the maximum methane production rate through a power function. It was also found that MT concentration had a linear relationship with acetate concentration, which may be used for preliminary assessment of MT presence in anaerobic sewers.

Sun, W-J, Wei, Z-F, Sun, D-A, Liu, S-Q, Fatahi, B & Wang, X-Q 2015, 'Evaluation of the swelling characteristics of bentonite–sand mixtures', Engineering Geology, vol. 199, pp. 1-11.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. The swelling characteristic of bentonite-sand mixtures is an important index in evaluating the long term performance of the deep geological repository of nuclear waste. In this study the swelling characteristics of different types of bentonite-sand mixtures with various sand contents are compared. It is concluded that for pure bentonite and bentonite-sand mixtures with less sand than the critical sand content, the relationship between montmorillonite void ratio and vertical stress can be expressed as a unique line in a double logarithmic plot, and volumetric strain under a given vertical stress and swelling pressure at a constant volume after full saturation can be predicted based on this line; however, for mixtures with more sand than the critical sand content, the above relationship deviates from the line when the stress is larger than the starting deviation stress, which can be determined using the sand skeleton void ratio. Before the sand skeleton forms, the vertical stress is borne mainly by montmorillonite particles and the amount of swelling at full saturation is determined by the content of montmorillonite per unit volume, however, after the sand skeleton forms the vertical stress is borne by both the montmorillonite and the sand skeleton. The stress distribution coefficient is proposed to present a proportion of the vertical stress that is borne by both parts. A predictive method, verified by the swelling tests on bentonite-sand mixtures with various sand contents, is suggested to predict the amount of swelling due to saturation in the full range of sand content.

Surawski, NC, Sullivan, AL, Meyer, CP, Roxburgh, SH & Polglase, PJ 2015, 'Greenhouse gas emissions from laboratory-scale fires in wildland fuels depend on fire spread mode and phase of combustion', ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS, vol. 15, no. 9, pp. 5259-5273.
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© Author(s) 2015. Free-burning experimental fires were conducted in a wind tunnel to explore the role of ignition type and thus fire spread mode on the resulting emissions profile from combustion of fine (< 6 mm in diameter) Eucalyptus litter fuels. Fires were burnt spreading with the wind (heading fire), perpendicular to the wind (flanking fire) and against the wind (backing fire). Greenhouse gas compounds (i.e. CO2, CH4 and N2O) and CO were quantified using off-axis integrated-cavity-output spectroscopy. Emissions factors calculated using a carbon mass balance technique (along with statistical testing) showed that most of the carbon was emitted as CO2, with heading fires emitting 17% more CO2 than flanking and 9.5% more CO2 than backing fires, and about twice as much CO as flanking and backing fires. Heading fires had less than half as much carbon remaining in combustion residues. Statistically significant differences in CH4 and N2O emissions factors were not found with respect to fire spread mode. Emissions factors calculated per unit of dry fuel consumed showed that combustion phase (i.e. flaming or smouldering) had a statistically significant impact, with CO and N2O emissions increasing during smouldering combustion and CO2 emissions decreasing. Findings on the equivalence of different emissions factor reporting methods are discussed along with the impact of our results for emissions accounting and potential sampling biases associated with our work. The primary implication of this study is that prescribed fire practices could be modified to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from forests by judicial use of ignition methods to induce flanking and backing fires over heading fires.

Tabatabaiefar, HR, Fatahi, B, Ghabraie, K & Zhou, W-H 2015, 'Evaluation of numerical procedures to determine seismic response of structures under influence of soil-structure interaction', Structural Engineering and Mechanics, vol. 56, no. 1, pp. 27-47.
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Copyright © 2015 Techno-Press, Ltd. In this study, the accuracy and reliability of fully nonlinear method against equivalent linear method for dynamic analysis of soil-structure interaction is investigated comparing the predicted results of both numerical procedures with the results of experimental shaking table tests. An enhanced numerical soil-structure model has been developed which treats the behaviour of the soil and the structure with equal rigour. The soil-structural model comprises a 15 storey structural model resting on a soft soil inside a laminar soil container. The structural model was analysed under three different conditions: (i) fixed base model performing conventional time history dynamic analysis, (ii) flexible base model (considering full soil-structure interaction) conducting equivalent linear dynamic analysis, and (iii) flexible base model performing fully nonlinear dynamic analysis. The results of the above mentioned three cases in terms of lateral storey deflections and inter-storey drifts are determined and compared with the experimental results of shaking table tests. Comparing the experimental results with the numerical analysis predictions, it is noted that equivalent linear method of dynamic analysis underestimates the inelastic seismic response of mid-rise moment resisting building frames resting on soft soils in comparison to the fully nonlinear dynamic analysis method. Thus, inelastic design procedure, using equivalent linear method, cannot adequately guarantee the structural safety for mid-rise building frames resting on soft soils. However, results obtained from the fully nonlinear method of analysis fit the experimental results reasonably well. Therefore, this method is recommended to be used by practicing engineers.

Tahan Latibari, S, Mehrali, M, Mehrali, M, Afifi, ABM, Mahlia, TMI, Akhiani, AR & Metselaar, HSC 2015, 'Facile synthesis and thermal performances of stearic acid/titania core/shell nanocapsules by sol–gel method', Energy, vol. 85, pp. 635-644.
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Tahan Latibari, S, Mehrali, M, Mehrali, M, Mahlia, TMI & Metselaar, HSC 2015, 'Fabrication and Performances of Microencapsulated Palmitic Acid with Enhanced Thermal Properties', Energy & Fuels, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 1010-1018.
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Tamburic, B, Evenhuis, CR, Suggett, DJ, Larkum, AWD, Raven, JA & Ralph, PJ 2015, 'Gas Transfer Controls Carbon Limitation During Biomass Production by Marine Microalgae', CHEMSUSCHEM, vol. 8, no. 16, pp. 2727-2736.
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© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim. This study presents the first in-depth analysis of CO2 limitation on the biomass productivity of the biofuel candidate marine microalga Nannochloropsis oculata. Net photosynthesis decreased by 60 from 125 to 50 μmolO2L^-1h^-1 over a 12 h light cycle as a direct result of carbon limitation. Continuous dissolved O2 and pH measurements were used to develop a detailed diurnal mechanism for the interaction between photosynthesis, gas exchange and carbonate chemistry in the photo-bioreactor. Gas exchange determined the degree of carbon limitation experienced by the algae. Carbon limitation was confirmed by delivering more CO2, which increased net photosynthesis back to its steady-state maximum. This study highlights the importance of maintaining replete carbon concentrations in photo-bioreactors and other culturing facilities, either by constant pH operation or preferably by designing a feedback loop based on the dissolved O2 concentration. Just grow it: We present the first in-depth analysis of CO2 limitation on biomass productivity of the marine microalga Nannochloropsis oculata. Net photosynthesis decreases by 60 over a 12 h light cycle as a direct result of carbon limitation. Continuous dissolved O2 and pH measurements are used to develop a detailed diurnal mechanism for the interaction between photosynthesis, gas exchange and carbonate chemistry in the photo-bioreactor.

Tan, S, Fu, Q, Scofield, JMP, Kim, J, Gurr, PA, Ladewig, K, Blencowe, A & Qiao, GG 2015, 'Cyclodextrin-based supramolecular polymeric nanoparticles for next generation gas separation membranes', Journal of Materials Chemistry A, vol. 3, no. 28, pp. 14876-14886.
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Cyclodextrin-based supramolecular polyrotaxanes are for the first time used as soft nanoparticle additives for the selective layer of composite membranes. They exhibit outstanding gas transport characteristics at low additive percentages, due to the dynamic nature of the PDMS side chains.

Tan, S, Nam, E, Cui, J, Xu, C, Fu, Q, Ren, JM, Wong, EHH, Ladewig, K, Caruso, F, Blencowe, A & Qiao, GG 2015, 'Fabrication of ultra-thin polyrotaxane-based films via solid-state continuous assembly of polymers', Chemical Communications, vol. 51, no. 11, pp. 2025-2028.
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Surface-confined ultra-thin polyrotaxane (PRX)-based films with tunable composition, surface topology and swelling characteristics were prepared by solid-state continuous assembly of polymers (ssCAP).

Thakur, IS, Pandey, A & Ngo, HH 2015, 'Preface', Indian Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 53, no. 6, p. 315.

Thankappan, R, Nguyen, TV, Srinivasan, SV, Vigneswaran, S, Kandasamy, J & Loganathan, P 2015, 'Removal of leather tanning agent syntan from aqueous solution using Fenton oxidation followed by GAC adsorption', JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY, vol. 21, pp. 483-488.
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The optimum conditions for the removal of leather tanning agent syntan from aqueous solution by Fenton oxidation at 22°C for an initial syntan concentration of 500 mg/L were pH 3, and concentrations of H2O2 and FeSO4 of 300mg/L and 500mg/L, respectively. Fenton oxidation followed by granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption in fixed-bed column resulted in more than 95% removal of dissolved organic carbon, compared to 55-70% removal by Fenton oxidation alone and GAC adsorption alone. The removal of individual organic fractions was also higher for the combined treatment compared to the Fenton oxidation alone.

Thompson, PA, Bonham, P, Thomson, P, Rochester, W, Doblin, MA, Waite, AM, Richardson, A & Rousseaux, CS 2015, 'Climate variability drives plankton community composition changes: the 2010-2011 El Nino to La Nina transition around Australia', JOURNAL OF PLANKTON RESEARCH, vol. 37, no. 5, pp. 966-984.
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Tian, C, Pei, H, Hu, W, Hao, D, Doblin, MA, Ren, Y, Wei, J & Feng, Y 2015, 'Variation of phytoplankton functional groups modulated by hydraulic controls in Hongze Lake, China', ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH, vol. 22, no. 22, pp. 18163-18175.
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Tijing, LD, Woo, YC, Choi, J-S, Lee, S, Kim, S-H & Shon, HK 2015, 'Fouling and its control in membrane distillation-A review', JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE, vol. 475, pp. 215-244.
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© 2014 Elsevier B.V. Membrane distillation (MD) is an emerging thermally-driven technology that poses a lot of promise in desalination, and water and wastewater treatment. Developments in membrane design and the use of alternative energy sources have provided much improvement in the viability of MD for different applications. However, fouling of membranes is still one of the major issues that hounds the long-term stability performance of MD. Membrane fouling is the accumulation of unwanted materials on the surface or inside the pores of a membrane that results to a detrimental effect on the overall performance of MD. If not addressed appropriately, it could lead to membrane damage, early membrane replacement or even shutdown of operation. Similar with other membrane separation processes, fouling of MD is still an unresolved problem. Due to differences in membrane structure and design, and operational conditions, the fouling formation mechanism in MD may be different from those of pressure-driven membrane processes. In order to properly address the problem of fouling, there is a need to understand the fouling formation and mechanism happening specifically for MD. This review details the different foulants and fouling mechanisms in the MD process, their possible mitigation and control techniques, and characterization strategies that can be of help in understanding and minimizing the fouling problem.

Torrejos, REC, Nisola, GM, Park, MJ, Shon, HK, Seo, JG, Koo, S & Chung, W-J 2015, 'Synthesis and characterization of multi-walled carbon nanotubes-supported dibenzo-14-crown-4 ether with proton ionizable carboxyl sidearm as Li+ adsorbents', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 264, pp. 89-98.
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Tout, J, Siboni, N, Messer, LF, Garren, M, Stocker, R, Webster, NS, Ralph, PJ & Seymour, JR 2015, 'Increased seawater temperature increases the abundance and alters the structure of natural Vibrio populations associated with the coral Pocillopora damicomis', FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY, vol. 6, pp. 432-432.
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Rising seawater temperature associated with global climate change is a significant threat to coral health and is linked to increasing coral disease and pathogen-related bleaching events. We performed heat stress experiments with the coral Pocillopora damicornis, where temperature was increased to 31°C, consistent with the 2-3°C predicted increase in summer sea surface maxima. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing revealed a large shift in the composition of the bacterial community at 31°C, with a notable increase in Vibrio, including known coral pathogens. To investigate the dynamics of the naturally occurring Vibrio community, we performed quantitative PCR targeting (i) the whole Vibrio community and (ii) the coral pathogen Vibrio coralliilyticus. At 31°C, Vibrio abundance increased by 2-3 orders of magnitude and V. coralliilyticus abundance increased by four orders of magnitude. Using a Vibrio-specific amplicon sequencing assay, we further demonstrated that the community composition shifted dramatically as a consequence of heat stress, with significant increases in the relative abundance of known coral pathogens. Our findings provide quantitative evidence that the abundance of potential coral pathogens increases within natural communities of coral-associated microbes as a consequence of rising seawater temperature and highlight the potential negative impacts of anthropogenic climate change on coral reef ecosystems.

Tout, J, Siboni, N, Messer, LF, Garren, M, Stocker, R, Webster, NS, Ralph, PJ & Seymour, JR 2015, 'Increased seawater temperature increases the abundance and alters the structure of natural Vibrio populations associated with the coral Pocillopora damicornis', Frontiers in Microbiology, vol. 6, pp. 1-12.
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Rising seawater temperature associated with global climate change is a significant threat to coral health and is linked to increasing coral disease and pathogen-related bleaching events. We performed heat stress experiments with the coral Pocillopora damicornis, where temperature was increased to 31°C, consistent with the 2–3°C predicted increase in summer sea surface maxima. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing revealed a large shift in the composition of the bacterial community at 31°C, with a notable increase in Vibrio, including known coral pathogens. To investigate the dynamics of the naturally occurring Vibrio community, we performed quantitative PCR targeting (i) the whole Vibrio community and (ii) the coral pathogen Vibrio coralliilyticus. At 31°C, Vibrio abundance increased by 2–3 orders of magnitude and V. coralliilyticus abundance increased by four orders of magnitude. Using a Vibrio-specific amplicon sequencing assay, we further demonstrated that the community composition shifted dramatically as a consequence of heat stress, with significant increases in the relative abundance of known coral pathogens. Our findings provide quantitative evidence that the abundance of potential coral pathogens increases within natural communities of coral-associated microbes as a consequence of rising seawater temperature and highlight the potential negative impacts of anthropogenic climate change on coral reef ecosystems.

Tran, NH, Gin, KY-H & Ngo, HH 2015, 'Fecal pollution source tracking toolbox for identification, evaluation and characterization of fecal contamination in receiving urban surface waters and groundwater', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 538, pp. 38-57.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. The quality of surface waters/groundwater of a geographical region can be affected by anthropogenic activities, land use patterns and fecal pollution sources from humans and animals. Therefore, the development of an efficient fecal pollution source tracking toolbox for identifying the origin of the fecal pollution sources in surface waters/groundwater is especially helpful for improving management efforts and remediation actions of water resources in a more cost-effective and efficient manner. This review summarizes the updated knowledge on the use of fecal pollution source tracking markers for detecting, evaluating and characterizing fecal pollution sources in receiving surface waters and groundwater. The suitability of using chemical markers (i.e. fecal sterols, fluorescent whitening agents, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, and artificial sweeteners) and/or microbial markers (e.g. F + RNA coliphages, enteric viruses, and host-specific anaerobic bacterial 16S rDNA genetic markers) for tracking fecal pollution sources in receiving water bodies is discussed. In addition, this review also provides a comprehensive approach, which is based on the detection ratios (DR), detection frequencies (DF), and fate of potential microbial and chemical markers. DR and DF are considered as the key criteria for selecting appropriate markers for identifying and evaluating the impacts of fecal contamination in surface waters/groundwater.

Tran, NH, Ngo, HH, Urase, T & Gin, KY-H 2015, 'A critical review on characterization strategies of organic matter for wastewater and water treatment processes', Bioresource Technology, vol. 193, pp. 523-533.
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Tran, VS, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Zhang, J, Liang, S, Ton-That, C & Zhang, X 2015, 'Typical low cost biosorbents for adsorptive removal of specific organic pollutants from water', BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY, vol. 182, pp. 353-363.
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Specific organic pollutants (SOPs) such as phenolic compounds, PAHs, organic pesticides, and organic herbicides cause health and environmental problems due to their excessive toxic properties and poor biodegradability. Low-cost biosorbents are considered as a promising alternative for conventional adsorbents to remove SOPs from water. These materials have several advantages such as high sorption capacities, good modifiability and recoverability, insensitivity to toxic substances, simple operation in the treatment processes. However, previous reports on various types of biosorbents for removing SOPs are still moderately fragmented. Hence, this paper provides a comprehensive review on using typical low-cost biosorbents obtained from lignocellulose and chitin/chitosan for SOPs adsorption. Especially, their characteristics, biosorption mechanism together with utilization for eliminating SOPs are presented and discussed. The paper also gives a critical view regarding future applications of low-cost biosorbents in SOPs-contaminated water treatment.

Trevathan-Tackett, SM, Kelleway, J, Macreadie, PI, Beardall, J, Ralph, P & Bellgrove, A 2015, 'Comparison of marine macrophytes for their contributions to blue carbon sequestration', ECOLOGY, vol. 96, no. 11, pp. 3043-3057.
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Turner, BD, Henley, BJ, Sleap, SB & Sloan, SW 2015, 'Kinetic model selection and the Hill model in geochemistry', International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, vol. 12, no. 8, pp. 2545-2558.
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Vigneswaran, S & Kwon, D-Y 2015, 'Effect of ionic strength and permeate flux on membrane fouling: Analysis of forces acting on particle deposit and cake formation', KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering, vol. 19, no. 6, pp. 1604-1611.
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© 2015, Korean Society of Civil Engineers and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. In Cross-Flow Microfiltration (CFMF), suspended particles deposit to form a cake layer on the membrane surface, which provides a resistance to permeate flow. The cake resistance, which plays an important role on the performance of CFMF, is mainly determined by the packing porosity of the cake and, the physical and chemical properties of particles. This study aimed at understanding the porosity and the specific filtration resistance of the cake for a given condition. These properties have been studied using experiments under a constant permeate flux. Factors such as permeate flux and ionic strength were investigated in terms of the particles deposition and cake formation. This study also adopted a force balance model to predict the deposit rate of particles and then compare with the experimental results. Inter-particle forces (electric double layer repulsion force and Van der Waals attraction force) were incorporated into the calculation of cake structure (cake porosity and specific resistance) together with the equilibrium condition of hydrodynamic forces. The experimental results showed that the higher the permeate flux led to the greater amount of particles deposit and the denser structure of cake. The porosity of cake decreased with the increase in ionic strength (0∼0.01M) and then increased sharply afterwards (0.01∼0.1M). The hydrodynamic force balance model estimated well the tendency of variation in cake structure depending on the ionic strength.

Vo, PT, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Zhou, JL, Listowski, A, Du, B, Wei, Q & Bui, XT 2015, 'Stormwater quality management in rail transportation - Past, present and future', SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, vol. 512, pp. 353-363.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Railways currently play an important role in sustainable transportation systems, owing to their substantial carrying capacity, environmental friendliness and land-saving advantages. Although total pollutant emissions from railway systems are far less than that of automobile vehicles, the pollution from railway operations should not be underestimated. To date, both scientific and practical papers dealing with stormwater management for rail tracks have solely focused on its drainage function. Unlike roadway transport, the potential of stormwater pollution from railway operations is currently mishandled. There have been very few studies into the impact of its operations on water quality. Hence, upon the realisation on the significance of nonpoint source pollution, stormwater management priorities should have been re-evaluated. This paper provides an examination of past and current practices of stormwater management in the railway industry, potential sources of stormwater pollution, obstacles faced in stormwater management and concludes with strategies for future management directions.

Wakil, MA, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Atabani, AE & Rizwanul Fattah, IM 2015, 'Influence of biodiesel blending on physicochemical properties and importance of mathematical model for predicting the properties of biodiesel blend', Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 94, pp. 51-67.
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Wang, J, Yang, J, Zhang, H, Guo, W & Ngo, H-H 2015, 'Feasibility study on magnetic enhanced flocculation for mitigating membrane fouling', Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, vol. 26, pp. 37-45.
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During coagulation/flocculation-membrane filtration (CF-MF) process, membrane fouling was alleviated more significantly through magnetic enhanced flocculation-membrane filtration (MEF-MF) in the presence of ferromagnetic seeds in coagulants. Porous cake layer with flocs of large size was able to alleviate decline rate of membrane flux. Foulant analysis proved that magnetic enhanced flocculation (MEF) pretreatment was more efficient for the reductions of low and mid-molecular weight (MW) organic structures than CF-MF. Biopolymers with high molecular weight were also effectively removed before filtration. Overall, MEF-MF could provide a novel alternative approach to mitigate membrane fouling for surface water treatment.

Wang, J, Yang, S, Guo, W, Ngo, H-H, Jia, H, Yang, J, Zhang, H & Zhang, X 2015, 'Characterization of fouling layers for in-line coagulation membrane fouling by apparent zeta potential', RSC Advances, vol. 5, no. 128, pp. 106087-106093.
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This study investigated the apparent zeta potential of fouled membranes for in-line coagulation membrane fouling monitoring in micro-polluted water treatment.

Wang, Q, Xie, H, Zhang, J, Liang, S, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Liu, C, Zhao, C & Li, H 2015, 'Effect of plant harvesting on the performance of constructed wetlands during winter: radial oxygen loss and microbial characteristics', Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 22, no. 10, pp. 7476-7484.
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© 2014, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. The aboveground tissue of plants is important for providing roots with constant photosynthetic resources. However, the aboveground biomass is usually harvested before winter to maintain the permanent removal of nutrients. In this work, the effects of harvest on plants’ involvement in oxygen input as well as in microbial abundance and activity were investigated in detail. Three series of constructed wetlands with integrated plants (“unharvested”), harvested plants (“harvested”), and fully cleared plants (“cleared”) were set up. Better performance was found in the unharvested units, with the radial oxygen loss (ROL) rates ranging from 0.05 to 0.59 μmol O2/h/plant, followed by the harvested units that had relatively lower ROL rates (0.01 to 0.52 μmol O2/h/plant). The cleared units had the lowest removal efficiency, which had no rhizome resources from the plants. The microbial population and activity were highest in the unharvested units, followed by the harvested and cleared units. Results showed that bacterial abundances and enhanced microbial activity were ten times higher on root surfaces compared with sands. These results indicate that late autumn harvesting of the aboveground biomass exhibited negative effects on plant ROL as well as on the microbial population and activity during the following winter.

Wang, Y, Huang, Z & Wang, Y 2015, 'A new approach to synthesize MoO₂@C for high-rate lithium ion batteries', Journal of Materials Chemistry A, vol. 3, no. 42, pp. 21314-21320.
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A new approach is used to synthesize MoO₂@C with excellent capacity, rate capability and cycle stability for LIBs.

Wang, Y, Wang, B, Xiao, F, Huang, Z, Wang, Y, Richardson, C, Chen, Z, Jiao, L & Yuan, H 2015, 'Facile synthesis of nanocage Co3O4 for advanced lithium-ion batteries', Journal of Power Sources, vol. 298, pp. 203-208.
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Wang, YX, Ngo, HH & Guo, WS 2015, 'Preparation of a specific bamboo based activated carbon and its application for ciprofloxacin removal', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 533, pp. 32-39.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V.. The studied bamboo based activated carbon (BbAC) with high specific surface area (SSA) and high micro pore volume was prepared from bamboo scraps by the combined activation of H3PO4 and K2CO3. The BbAC was characterized based on the N2 adsorption isotherm at 77K. The results showed that the SSA and pore volume of BbAC increased with increasing impregnation ratio and reached maxima at the impregnation ratio of 3:1 at 750°C. Under these optimal conditions, the BbAC obtained could have a maximum SSA of 2237m²/g and a maximum total pore volume of 1.23cm³/g with the micro pore ratio of more than 90%. The adsorption performance of ciprofloxacin (CIP) on the BbAC was determined at 298K. The Langmuir and Freundlich models were employed to describe the adsorption equilibrium and the kinetic data were fitted by pseudo first-order and pseudo second-order kinetic models. The results showed that the Langmuir model and the pseudo second-order kinetic model presented better fittings for the adsorption equilibrium and kinetics data, respectively. The maximum adsorption amount of CIP (613mg/g) on the BbAC was much higher than the report in the literature. Conclusively, the BbAC could be a promising adsorption material for CIP removal from water.

Wang, Z, Liu, G, Zheng, H, Li, F, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Liu, C, Chen, L & Xing, B 2015, 'Investigating the mechanisms of biochar’s removal of lead from solution', Bioresource Technology, vol. 177, pp. 308-317.
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© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between Pb2+ adsorption and physicochemical properties of biochars produced at different pyrolytic temperatures. Ten biochars were prepared from peanut shell (PS) and Chinese medicine material residue (MR) at 300-600°C. Adsorption kinetics and isotherms were determined, and the untreated and Pb2+-loaded biochars were analyzed by FTIR, SEM-EDX and XRD. Functional groups complexation, Pb2+-π interaction and precipitation with minerals jointly contributed to Pb2+ adsorption on these biochars. New mineral precipitates (e.g., Pb2(SO4)O and Pb4(CO3)2(SO4)(OH)2) formed during Pb2+ sorption. For high-temperature biochars (≥500°C), Pb2+ sorption via complexation reduced, but the contribution of Pb2+-π interaction was enhanced. Dramatic reduction of Pb2+ sorption on demineralized biochars indicated the dominant role of minerals. These results are useful for screening effective biochars as engineered sorbents to remove or immobilize Pb2+ in polluted water and soil.

Wei, D, Wang, B, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Han, F, Wang, X, Du, B & Wei, Q 2015, 'Role of extracellular polymeric substances in biosorption of dye wastewater using aerobic granular sludge', Bioresource Technology, vol. 185, pp. 14-20.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. In this study, the role of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in biosorption of dye wastewater was evaluated using aerobic granular sludge as biosorbent. Based on the experimental data, the removal efficiencies of methylene blue (MB) by EPS and Sludge were 9.38 and 80.72%, respectively, implying that EPS made a certain contribution for MB removal. The adsorption rates of EPS, Sludge, and total Sludge. +. EPS for MB were better fitted with pseudo-second order kinetic model, and the equilibrium adsorption isotherm data agreed well with Langmuir model. The interaction between EPS and MB was explored by a combined three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix (3D-EEM) and synchronous fluorescence spectra. 3D-EEM indicated that protein- and humic acid-like substances were the main peaks of EPS, and gradually quenched with increased MB concentrations. According to synchronous fluorescence spectra, the main fluorescence quenching was caused by tryptophan residues, and the type belonged to a combined dynamic and static quenching.

Wilkinson, AD, Collier, CJ, Flores, F, Mercurio, P, O'Brien, J, Ralph, PJ & Negri, AP 2015, 'A Miniature Bioassay for Testing the Acute Phytotoxicity of Photosystem II Herbicides on Seagrass', PLOS ONE, vol. 10, no. 2.
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Woo, YC, Lee, JJ, Tijing, LD, Shon, HK, Yao, M & Kim, H-S 2015, 'Characteristics of membrane fouling by consecutive chemical cleaning in pressurized ultrafiltration as pre-treatment of seawater desalination', DESALINATION, vol. 369, pp. 51-61.
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Woodcock, S, Manojlovic, B, Baird, ME & Ralph, PJ 2015, 'A POISSON-PARETO MODEL OF CHLOROPHYLL-A FLUORESCENCE SIGNALS IN MARINE ENVIRONMENTS', ANZIAM JOURNAL, vol. 56, no. 4, pp. 373-380.
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© Australian Mathematical Society 2015. Because of its central role in the global carbon cycle, quantifying the biomass of photosynthetic microalgae in the oceans is crucial to our ability to estimate the oceans' carbon drawdown. Many traditional methods of primary production assessment have proven to be extremely time consuming and, consequently, have handled only very small sample sizes. The recent advent of in situ bio-optical sensors, such as the water quality monitor (WQM), is now providing lower cost and higher throughput data on these crucial biological communities. These WQMs, however, only quantify the total fluorescence of all individual cells within their optical sample windows, irrespective of size. In this paper, we further develop an established model, based on Pareto random variables, of the size structure of the microalgae community to understand the effect of the WQMs' sampling and data pooling on their estimates of algal biomass. Unfortunately, evaluating sums of Pareto variables is a notoriously difficult problem. Here, we utilize an approximation for the right-tail of the resulting distribution to derive parameter estimates for the underlying size structure of the microalgae community.

Wu, H, Fan, J, Zhang, J, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Hu, Z & Liang, S 2015, 'Decentralized domestic wastewater treatment using intermittently aerated vertical flow constructed wetlands: Impact of influent strengths', Bioresource Technology, vol. 176, pp. 163-168.
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Wu, H, Fan, J, Zhang, J, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Liang, S, Hu, Z & Liu, H 2015, 'Strategies and techniques to enhance constructed wetland performance for sustainable wastewater treatment', Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 22, no. 19, pp. 14637-14650.
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Constructed wetlands (CWs) have been used as an alternative to conventional technologies for wastewater treatment for more than five decades. Recently, the use of various modified CWs to improve treatment performance has also been reported in the literature. However, the available knowledge on various CW technologies considering the intensified and reliable removal of pollutants is still limited. Hence, this paper aims to provide an overview of the current development of CW strategies and techniques for enhanced wastewater treatment. Basic information on configurations and characteristics of different innovations was summarized. Then, overall treatment performance of those systems and their shortcomings were further discussed. Lastly, future perspectives were also identified for specialists to design more effective and sustainable CWs. This information is used to inspire some novel intensifying methodologies, and benefit the successful applications of potential CW technologies.

Wu, H, Zhang, J, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Hu, Z, Liang, S, Fan, J & Liu, H 2015, 'A review on the sustainability of constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment: Design and operation', Bioresource Technology, vol. 175, pp. 594-601.
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© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. Constructed wetlands (CWs) have been used as a green technology to treat various wastewaters for several decades. CWs offer a land-intensive, low-energy, and less-operational-requirements alternative to conventional treatment systems, especially for small communities and remote locations. However, the sustainable operation and successful application of these systems remains a challenge. Hence, this paper aims to provide and inspire sustainable solutions for the performance and application of CWs by giving a comprehensive review of CWs' application and the recent development on their sustainable design and operation for wastewater treatment. Firstly, a brief summary on the definition, classification and application of current CWs was presented. The design parameters and operational conditions of CWs including plant species, substrate types, water depth, hydraulic load, hydraulic retention time and feeding mode related to the sustainable operation for wastewater treatments were then discussed. Lastly, future research on improving the stability and sustainability of CWs were highlighted.

Xiao, F, Naficy, S, Casillas, G, Khan, MH, Katkus, T, Jiang, L, Liu, H, Li, H & Huang, Z 2015, 'Edge‐Hydroxylated Boron Nitride Nanosheets as an Effective Additive to Improve the Thermal Response of Hydrogels', Advanced Materials, vol. 27, no. 44, pp. 7196-7203.
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Xiao, P, Nghiem, LD, Yin, Y, Li, X-M, Zhang, M, Chen, G, Song, J & He, T 2015, 'A sacrificial-layer approach to fabricate polysulfone support for forward osmosis thin-film composite membranes with reduced internal concentration polarisation', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 481, pp. 106-114.
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Xie, K, Fu, Q, He, Y, Kim, J, Goh, SJ, Nam, E, Qiao, GG & Webley, PA 2015, 'Synthesis of well dispersed polymer grafted metal–organic framework nanoparticles', Chemical Communications, vol. 51, no. 85, pp. 15566-15569.
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We prepared novel polymer grafted MOF nanoparticles for the first time with excellent water dispersity and significantly enhanced catalytic effect.

Zahid, R, Masjuki, HH, Varman, M, Mufti, RA, Kalam, MA & Gulzar, M 2015, 'Effect of Lubricant Formulations on the Tribological Performance of Self-Mated Doped DLC Contacts: a review', Tribology Letters, vol. 58, no. 2.
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Zhang, J, Jin, J, Cooney, R, Fu, Q, Qiao, GG, Thomas, S & Merkel, TC 2015, 'Synthesis of perfectly alternating copolymers for polymers of intrinsic microporosity', Polymer Chemistry, vol. 6, no. 28, pp. 5003-5008.
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A two-pot synthetic strategy was developed to accomplish sequence control in a completely alternating fashion for co-polymers of intrinsic microporosity.

Zhang, T, Wang, Q, Ye, L, Batstone, D & Yuan, Z 2015, 'Combined free nitrous acid and hydrogen peroxide pre-treatment of waste activated sludge enhances methane production via organic molecule breakdown', Scientific Reports, vol. 5, no. 1.
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AbstractThis study presents a novel pre-treatment strategy using combined free nitrous acid (FNA i.e. HNO2) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to enhance methane production from WAS, with the mechanisms investigated bio-molecularly. WAS from a full-scale plant was treated with FNA alone (1.54 mg N/L), H2O2 alone (10–80 mg/g TS) and their combinations followed by biochemical methane potential tests. Combined FNA and H2O2 pre-treatment substantially enhanced methane potential of WAS by 59–83%, compared to 13–23% and 56% with H2O2 pre-treatment alone and FNA pre-treatment alone respectively. Model-based analysis indicated the increased methane potential was mainly associated with up to 163% increase in rapidly biodegradable fraction with combined pre-treatment. The molecular weight distribution and chemical structure analyses revealed the breakdown of soluble macromolecules with the combined pre-treatment caused by the deamination and oxidation of the typical functional groups in proteins, polysaccharides and phosphodiesters. These changes likely improved the biodegradability of WAS.

Zhao, F, Wang, B, Tang, Y, Ge, H, Huang, Z & Liu, HK 2015, 'Niobium doped anatase TiO₂ as an effective anode material for sodium-ion batteries', Journal of Materials Chemistry A, vol. 3, no. 45, pp. 22969-22974.
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Nb-doped anatase TiO₂ anode materials with high reversible sodium storage capacities, excellent cycling stability and rate capability were synthesized by a sol–gel method.

Zhao, P, Gao, B, Xu, S, Kong, J, Ma, D, Shon, HK, Yue, Q & Liu, P 2015, 'Polyelectrolyte-promoted forward osmosis process for dye wastewater treatment – Exploring the feasibility of using polyacrylamide as draw solute', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 264, pp. 32-38.
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Zhao, P, Gao, B, Yue, Q, Kong, J, Shon, HK, Liu, P & Gao, Y 2015, 'Explore the forward osmosis performance using hydrolyzed polyacrylamide as draw solute for dye wastewater reclamation in the long-term process', CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL, vol. 273, pp. 316-324.
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Zhao, YX, Gao, BY, Shon, HK, Phuntsho, S & Yang, YZ 2015, 'Enhanced Coagulation of Titanium Tetrachloride Aided by the Modified Compound Bioflocculant', JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, vol. 141, no. 9.
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© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers. The compound bioflocculant (CBF) was modified by graft copolymerization of acrylic amide and dimethyl diallyl ammonium chloride, and the novel copolymer was denoted as MCBF. The effect of MCBF used as coagulant aid with titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) was investigated for both high and low molecule weight natural organic matter (NOM) removal. Floc characteristics were studied using a laser diffraction particle-sizing device. Results indicated that the monomers were successfully grafted onto the CBF, and the molecule weight and zeta potential of CBF were greatly improved. The MCBF with TiCl4 exhibited synergistic effect by promoting NOM removal, especially at low TiCl4 doses. Additionally, using MCBF as a coagulant aid with TiCl4 can significantly increase the floc growth rate, size, strength, and broken-floc recoverability. The effect of MCBF on fractal dimension of flocs generated by TiCl4 depended on NOM properties. Both coagulation performance and floc properties were significantly affected by dosing sequence.

Zhao, YX, Phuntsho, S, Gao, BY, Yang, YZ, Kim, J-H & Shon, HK 2015, 'Comparison of a novel polytitanium chloride coagulant with polyaluminium chloride: Coagulation performance and floc characteristics', JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, vol. 147, pp. 194-202.
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© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. Polymerized inorganic coagulants are increasingly being used in the water supply and wastewater treatment process, yet there is limited research on the development of polytitanium coagulants. The aim of this study is to synthesize polytitanium chloride (PTC) coagulants and investigate their coagulation behavior and floc characteristics for humic acid removal in comparison to polyaluminum chloride (PAC). The PTC samples with different B (molar ratios of OH/Ti) values were prepared using an instantaneous base-feeding method, employing sodium carbonate as the basification agent. The coagulation efficiency was significantly influenced by different B values. The results suggest that the humic acid removal increased with the increasing B value for PAC, while the inverse trend was observed for PTC. The optimum B value was chosen at 1.0 and 2.0 for PTC and PAC, respectively. Under the optimum coagulant dose and initial solution pH conditions, the PTC coagulant performed better than the PAC coagulant and the floc properties were significantly improved in terms of floc growth rate and floc size. However, the PAC coagulants produced flocs with better floc recoverability than the PTC coagulants.

Zhou, X, Jiang, G, Wang, Q & Yuan, Z 2015, 'Role of indigenous iron in improving sludge dewaterability through peroxidation', Scientific Reports, vol. 5, no. 1.
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AbstractImprovement of sludge dewaterability is important for reducing the total costs for the treatment and disposal of sludge in wastewater treatment plants. In this study, we investigate the use of hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizing reagent for the conditioning of waste activated sludge. Significant improvement to sludge dewaterability was attained after the addition of hydrogen peroxide at 30 mg/g TS and 28 mg/g TS under acidic conditions (pH = 3.0), with the highest reduction of capillary suction time being 68% and 56%, respectively, for sludge containing an iron concentration of 56 mg Fe/g TS and 25 mg Fe/g TS, respectively. The observations were due to Fenton reactions between the iron contained in sludge (indigenous iron) and hydrogen peroxide. For the sludge with an insufficient level of indigenous iron, the addition of ferrous chloride was found to be able to improve the sludge dewaterability. The results firstly indicated that indigenous iron can be utilized similarly as the externally supplied iron salt to improve sludge dewaterability through catalyzing the Fenton reactions.

Zhou, X, Jiang, G, Zhang, T, Wang, Q, Xie, G-J & Yuan, Z 2015, 'Role of extracellular polymeric substances in improvement of sludge dewaterability through peroxidation', Bioresource Technology, vol. 192, pp. 817-820.
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Zhou, X, Wang, Q & Jiang, G 2015, 'Enhancing methane production from waste activated sludge using a novel indigenous iron activated peroxidation pre-treatment process', Bioresource Technology, vol. 182, pp. 267-271.
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Zhou, X, Wang, Q, Jiang, G, Liu, P & Yuan, Z 2015, 'A novel conditioning process for enhancing dewaterability of waste activated sludge by combination of zero-valent iron and persulfate', Bioresource Technology, vol. 185, pp. 416-420.
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Zhu, A, Guo, J, Ni, B-J, Wang, S, Yang, Q & Peng, Y 2015, 'A Novel Protocol for Model Calibration in Biological Wastewater Treatment', Scientific Reports, vol. 5, no. 1, p. 8493.
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AbstractActivated sludge models (ASMs) have been widely used for process design, operation and optimization in wastewater treatment plants. However, it is still a challenge to achieve an efficient calibration for reliable application by using the conventional approaches. Hereby, we propose a novel calibration protocol, i.e. Numerical Optimal Approaching Procedure (NOAP), for the systematic calibration of ASMs. The NOAP consists of three key steps in an iterative scheme flow: i) global factors sensitivity analysis for factors fixing; ii) pseudo-global parameter correlation analysis for non-identifiable factors detection; and iii) formation of a parameter subset through an estimation by using genetic algorithm. The validity and applicability are confirmed using experimental data obtained from two independent wastewater treatment systems, including a sequencing batch reactor and a continuous stirred-tank reactor. The results indicate that the NOAP can effectively determine the optimal parameter subset and successfully perform model calibration and validation for these two different systems. The proposed NOAP is expected to use for automatic calibration of ASMs and be applied potentially to other ordinary differential equations models.

Zuthi, MFR, Ngo, HH, Guo, WS, Nghiem, LD, Hai, FI, Xia, SQ, Zhang, ZQ & Li, JX 2015, 'Biomass viability: An experimental study and the development of an empirical mathematical model for submerged membrane bioreactor', Bioresource Technology, vol. 190, pp. 352-358.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. This study investigates the influence of key biomass parameters on specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR) in a sponge submerged membrane bioreactor (SSMBR) to develop mathematical models of biomass viability. Extra-cellular polymeric substances (EPS) were considered as a lumped parameter of bound EPS (bEPS) and soluble microbial products (SMP). Statistical analyses of experimental results indicate that the bEPS, SMP, mixed liquor suspended solids and volatile suspended solids (MLSS and MLVSS) have functional relationships with SOUR and their relative influence on SOUR was in the order of EPS. > bEPS. >. SMP. >. MLVSS/MLSS. Based on correlations among biomass parameters and SOUR, two independent empirical models of biomass viability were developed. The models were validated using results of the SSMBR. However, further validation of the models for different operating conditions is suggested.

Arslan, A, Masjuki, HH, Varman, M, Kalam, A, Mufti, RA, Gulzar, M & Quazi, MM 1970, 'Effect of surface texture on the tribological performance of DLC coating', PROCEEDINGS OF MALAYSIAN INTERNATIONAL TRIBOLOGY CONFERENCE 2015, Malaysian International Tribology Conference (MITC), MALAYSIAN TRIBOLOGY SOC-MYTRIBOS, Penang, MALAYSIA, pp. 246-247.

Dang, L, Hasan, H, Fatahi, B & Khabbaz, H 1970, 'Influence of Bagasse Ash and Hydrated Lime on Strength and Mechanical Behaviour of Stabilised Expansive Soil', GEOQuébec 2015, GEOQuébec 2015, Québec City, Canada.

Dang, L., Hasan, H., Fatahi, B., Jones, R. & Khabbaz, H. 1970, 'Effects of Bagasse Ash and Hydrated Lime Addition on Engineering Properties of Expansive Soil', GEOMATE 2015, GEOMATE 2015, The GEOMATE International Society, Osaka, Japan.

Fatahi, B & Khabbaz, H 1970, 'Research-based computer games to train civil engineering students to be lifelong learners', Proceedings of the 43rd SEFI Annual Conference 2015 - Diversity in Engineering Education: An Opportunity to Face the New Trends of Engineering, SEFI 2015, SEFI - Annual Conference of European Society for Engineering Education, SEFI, Orléans, France, pp. 56389-1-56389-8.
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In spite of vast efforts to adopt available information technology in higher education teaching and learning, the truth is that most of university students and academic staff make only limited use of communication technology. Selwyne [1] concluded that there is a growing need for the education community to account for the distinct ?digital disconnect? between the enthusiastic rhetoric and rather more mundane reality of university information and communication technology use. Recent advances in computer science and multimedia as well as optimistic effects of multifaceted modes of education on student learning, have encouraged teachers to look at adopting the new technology to improve students? learning experience. Chang et al. [2] have suggested that digital games can be powerful informal learning environments encouraging active and critical learning, supplementing traditional teaching methods. It is well accepted that well designed discipline based computer games can help with student learning process and experience in higher education. In this study, a computer game called ?Back to Bedrock? has been developed for soil Behaviour subject at undergraduate level and students? learning process has been monitored and evaluated. It was aimed to help Civil Engineering students with information collection methods, creative thinking, problem solving, and lifelong learning abilities, through a research-based computer game. The results of this project indicate that implementing innovative methods such as computer game based assignments can provide enjoyable competitive and cooperative learning environment enhancing students? learning motivation, and critical thinking abilities, improving the overall performance of students in the subject.

Fatahi, B, Khabbaz, H & Ho, L 1970, 'Debate Activity as an Effective Interactive Learning Approach for Civil Engineering Students', 26th Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education (AAEE 2015), AAEE - Annual Conference of Australasian Association for Engineering Education, Deakin University Press, Geelong, Australia, pp. 980-990.
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The research team has attempted to improve the learning experience of Civil Engineering students by introducing debate activities in engineering subjects. This could encourage the students to be active learners (against passive learner or lecture receivers) and we consider this process as an activity (what students actually do) and not a task (the work prescribed by the teacher). In this project, a main stream civil engineering subject, namely Soil Behaviour has been targeted. Feedback received from the students has indicated that the developed in-class debate activity has been effective in improving communication and critical-thinking skills of students. Availability of new collaborative theatres and collaborative learning spaces could add great advantages to enhancing the efficiency of collaborative group work, in terms of planning and preparation for the debates. In addition, available online discussion boards and online subject website would provide flexibility for students to access digital resources and prepare their arguments. The professional training sessions, on the other hand, could equip participants with important tips to improve the argument presentation skills while were trained to overcome the panic and fear of making mistakes during the speech. International students, whose English is not their first language, were particularly encouraged to attend the training sessions helping them to obtain profound presentation skills not only for Soil Behaviour debate but also for their future career.

Fatahi, B, Khabbaz, H & Valipour, H 1970, 'Application of research-inspired assessment to enhance students learning in civil engineering', Proceedings of the 43rd SEFI Annual Conference 2015 - Diversity in Engineering Education: An Opportunity to Face the New Trends of Engineering, SEFI 2015, SEFI - Annual Conference of European Society for Engineering Education, SEFI, Orléans, France, pp. 56388-1-56388-8.
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The relationship between teaching and research has become a highly challenging issue due to evidence of synergy between them and complexity of integrating them. As reported by Locke [1], the separation of research and teaching could be the result of policy and operational decisions to distinguish the way these activities are funded, managed, assessed and rewarded. However, this would not necessarily excuse higher education institutions from a commitment to optimise the beneficial relations between teaching and research. For example, research conducted by Posch and Steiner [2] at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich on innovation for sustainability, concludes that appropriate integration of research and teaching activities leads to mutual benefits for both higher education institutions and students. In this study an approach introducing research activities in Civil Engineering subjects to enable students to develop skills within critical and creative thinking and being lifelong learners has been developed and evaluated. Research based activities/assessments in two major Civil Engineering subjects at undergraduate level have been introduced, and students? learning process has been monitored and evaluated. The results of this project indicate that by incorporating research components in subjects, research-based learning culture among Civil Engineering students were developed. This clearly gave more satisfaction to the students about the learning experience. Statistical analysis of results indicated that students with better performance in mini-projects performed better in the final exam, which was a totally independent assessment task. In addition, the averaged final exam mark of students with good quality projects was higher than the one for other students.

Ghosh, B, Fatahi, B, Kamruzzaman, AHM & Khabbaz, H 1970, 'Assessing load transfer mechanism in CMC-supported embankments adopting Timoshenko beam theory', Geotechnical Engineering for Infrastructure and Development - Proceedings of the XVI European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, ECSMGE 2015, XVI European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Ice Virtual Library, Edinburgh, Scotland, pp. 577-582.
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Controlled modulus columns (CMC) supported embankments are increasingly being used for construction of major highway embankments on expansive soils particularly near waterways or coastal regions. CMC is a faster, sustainable and economical ground improvement technology that stiffens the poor soil and transmits the load from the traffic to a lower bearing stratum. The key influencing elements of the load transfer mechanism include embankment fill, load transfer platform (LTP), CMC and the underlying soils. Use of LTP enhances the load distribution mechanism in the CMC improved soft ground and minimises the post construction settlement of the ground. In this paper, reinforced Timoshenko beam theory is introduced to simulate the LTP with one layer of geosynthetics resting on CMC improved soft soil. A parametric study is conducted to investigate the importance of the height of the embankment on the maximum settlement of the LTP, tension developed in the geosynthetics and stress concentration ratio (the ratio of the stresses acting on CMC and soft soils) for the CMC supported embankments. Special attention is given to the stiffness of soft soil and shear stiffness of the geosynthetic layer. It has been observed that height of the embankment, the stiffness of the soft soil and the shear stiffness of the geosynthetics significantly influence the maximum settlement of the LTP and the stress concentration ratio.

Gulzar, M, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Varman, M, Mufti, RA, Zahid, R & Yunus, R 1970, 'AW/EP behavior of WS₂ nanoparticles added to vegetable oil-based lubricant', PROCEEDINGS OF MALAYSIAN INTERNATIONAL TRIBOLOGY CONFERENCE 2015, Malaysian International Tribology Conference (MITC), MALAYSIAN TRIBOLOGY SOC-MYTRIBOS, MALAYSIA, Penang, pp. 194-195.

Ho, L, Fatahi, B & Khabbaz 1970, 'Exact analytical solution for one-dimensional consolidation of unsaturated soil stratum subjected to damped sine wave loading', Proceedings of 12th Australia New Zealand Conference on Geomechanics, 12th Australia New Zealand Conference on Geomechanics, Wellington, New Zealand, pp. 1-8.
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A considerable surcharge exerted on an unsaturated soil stratum leads to the emergence of excess pore pressures. During the consolidation process, these pressures tend to dissipate towards permeable boundary surfaces, resulting in a reduction of the soil volume. Such phenomenon can be mathematically described by inhomogeneous governing equations of flow based on Fick’s law (with respect to air phase) and Darcy’s law (with respect to water phase). This paper discusses the dissipation of excess pore-air and pore-water pressures and settlement of an unsaturated soil stratum subjected to an external damped sine wave loading. An analytical solution is derived from the governing equations of flow using eigenfunction expansion and Laplace transformation methods. Eigenfunctions and eigenvalues are parts of the general solution and can be obtained based on oneway drainage boundary condition. On the other hand, the damped sine wave loading is mathematically simulated and incorporated in the solution. Once the time variable (t) in partial differential equations is transformed into the Laplace complex argument (s), generalised Fourier coefficients can be computed by taking a Laplace inverse, and then the final solution can be obtained. In this study, the air to water permeability ratio (k /k ), influencing changes in dissipation rates of excess pore pressures and settlement are investigated and discussed. It is observed that the increasing permeability ratio has a significant effect on the change in the pore pressures.

Park, MJ, Phuntsho, S, He, T, Nisola, GM, Tijing, LD, Li, XM, Chen, G, Chung, WJ & Shon, HK 1970, 'Graphene oxide incorporated polysulfone substrate for the fabrication of flat-sheet thin-film composite forward osmosis membranes', 2nd International Conference on Desalination Using Membrane Technology, 2nd International Conference on Desalination Using Membrane Technology, Singapore.
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The preparation and performances of the newly synthesized thin film composite (TFC) forward osmosis (FO) membranes with graphene oxide (GO)-modified support layer are presented in this study. GO nanosheets were incorporated in the polysulfone (PSf) to obtain PSf/GO composite membrane support layer. Polyamide (PA) active layer was subsequently formed on the PSf/GO by interfacial polymerization to obtain the TFC-FO membranes. Results reveal that at an optimal amount of GO addition (0.25 wt%), a PSf/GO composite support layer with favorable structural property measured in terms of thickness, porosity and pore size can be achieved. The optimum incorporation of GO in the PSF support layer not only significantly improved water permeability but also allowed effective PA layer formation, in comparison to that of pure PSf support layer which had much lower water permeability. Thus, a TFC-FO membrane with high water flux (19.77 Lm-2h-1 against 6.08 Lm-2h-1 for pure PSf) and reverse flux selectivity (5.75 Lg-1 against 3.36 Lg-1 for pure PSf) was obtained under the active layer facing the feed solution or AL-FS membrane orientation. Besides the improved structural properties (reduced structural parameter, S) of the support layer, enhanced support hydrophilicity also contributed to the improved water permeability of the membrane. Beyond a certain point of GO addition (≥0.5 wt%), the poor dispersion of GO in dope solution and significant structure change resulted in lower water permeation and weaker mechanical properties in support as well as FO flux/selectivity of consequent TFC membrane. Overall, this study suggests that GO modification of membrane supports could be a promising technique to improve the performances of TFC-FO membranes.

Schubert, D, Neiner, D, Bowden, M, Whittemore, S, Holladay, J, Huang, Z & Autrey, T 1970, 'Capacity enhancement of aqueous borohydride fuels for hydrogen storage in liquids', Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 14th International Symposium on Metal-Hydrogen Systems (MH), Elsevier BV, Salford, ENGLAND, pp. S196-S199.
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Silitonga, AS, Masjuki, HH, Ong, HC, How, HG, Kusumo, F, Teoh, YH & Mahlia, TMI 1970, 'Engine Performance, Emission and Combustion in Common Rail Turbocharged Diesel Engine from Jatropha Curcas Using Artificial Neural Network', SAE Technical Paper Series, JSAE/SAE 2015 Small Engine Technologies Conference & Exhibition, Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan.
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<div class='section abstract'><div class='htmlview paragraph'>This paper investigates the performance, emission and combustion of a four cylinder common-rail turbocharged diesel engine using <i>jatropha curcas</i> biodiesel blends (JCB). The test was performed with various ratios of <i>jatropha curcas</i> methyl ester (JCME) in the blends (JCB10, JCB20, JCB30, and JCB50). An artificial neural networks (ANN) model based on standard back-propagation algorithm was used to predict combustion, performance and emissions characteristics of the engine using MATLAB. To acquire data for training and testing of the proposed ANN, the different engine speeds (1500-3500 rpm) was selected as the input parameter, whereas combustion, performance and emissions were chosen as the output parameters for ANN modeling of a common-rail turbocharged diesel engine. The performance, emissions and combustion of the ANN were validated by comparing the prediction dataset with the experimental results. The results show that the correlation coefficient was successfully controlled within the range 0.9798-0.9999 for the ANN model and test data. The value of MAPE (Mean Absolute Percentage Error) was within the range 1.2373-6.4217 and the Root Mean Square (RSME) value was below 0.05 by the model, which is acceptable. This study shows that modeling techniques as an approach in alternative energy can give improvement advantage of reliability in the prediction of performance and emission of internal combustion engines.</div></div>

Woo, Y, Tijing, LD, Yao, M & Shon, HK 1970, 'Nanofiber Membranes for Membrane Distillation: Potential and Performance', 8th International Conference on Materials for Advanced Technologies of the Materials Research Society of Singapore & 16th IUMRS - International Conference in Asia together with 4th Photonics Global Conference 2015, Singapore.
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The worldwide problem on water scarcity has led to innovations in desalination technologies. The main desalination technologies used nowadays are multi-stage flash distillation and reverse osmosis; however both require large amounts of energy for pure water production. Scarcities in energy and water are considered as two of the top challenges in the world, thus there is a necessity to provide desalination technologies that can address both of these issues. Membrane distillation (MD) is gaining momentum as a potential alternative for water purification and desalination because it can possibly utilize low grade/waste heat, and solar energy with very high recovery (100% theoretical). MD is a thermally-driven membrane separation process utilizing low operating temperature (below 90oC) that allows only water vapour to pass through a hydrophobic, porous membrane, and is operated at ambient pressure or at vacuum pressure. MD is driven by the difference in partial vapor pressure between the hot feed and cold permeate streams. A good MD membrane should have adequate hydrophobicity or preferably superhydrophobicity, high porosity and low tortuosity, a small mean pore size and narrow pore size distribution (PSD), and adequate mechanical and chemical stability. A number of techniques are used to modify the surface to improve the hydrophobicity of a membrane such as layer-by-layer assembly, plasma treatment, lithography, and coating/incorporation of hydrophobic materials/nanoparticles. However, most of these methods require several processes and special equipment. Hence, finding a fabrication method that is easy and could be possibly scaled-up to produce hydrophobic/superhydrophobic membranes with adequate properties would be a welcome development in the membrane technology for MD. In the past two decades, electrospinning has attracted wide interest in the production of nanofiber membranes for various applications such as for tissue engineering, sensors, clothing...

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