Publications

Altaee, A, Sharif, A & Zaragoza, G 2016, 'Forward osmosis pretreatment of seawater for thermal desalination' in Water Filtration Systems: Processes, Uses and Importance, pp. 1-26.
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Thermal desalination technologies are still widely used for seawater desalination. The main advantages of these technologies is that the capability to treat high salinity seawater and product water TDS is not affected by the feed salinity. Nevertheless, thermal desalination suffers from a number of drawbacks including limited feed conversion ratio and high energy consumption. The latter issue is further aggravated by scale development and deposition on the heat exchangers. Scaling problems can be alleviated by dosing antiscalants in the feed water, though this wouldn't prevent the scaling issue over time. Furthermore, Nanofiltration (NF) filtration of seawater is sometimes carried out for the removal of scaling ions from seawater. NF coupling with thermal desalination may prevent scaling problems, but the cost of NF pretreatment was unjustifiably expensive. Alternatively, Forward Osmosis (FO) pretreatment of seawater was proposed for the removal of scaling ions from the seawater feed to the thermal desalination plants. FO operates by natural osmosis energy created across a semipermeable membrane separating two solutions having different osmotic pressure. Therefore, the cost of seawater pretreatment can be reduced significantly. FO process is relatively new technique and requires more evaluation and investigation before field application. The main challenges of FO application in seawater desalination and pretreatment, in particular, are the draw solution type and FO membrane. Important requirements the selection of the most optimal draw solution is to be inexpensive, easy to regenerate, and non-toxic material. Recent studies proposed brine reject to be the draw solution of FO process; however, brine reject osmotic pressure would induce a limited membrane flux due to its moderately low osmotic pressure. Higher membrane flux can be achieved by manipulating the operating parameters and/or using FO membrane of high water permeability. Applying positive press...

Chen, Z, Ngo, HH, Guo, W & Eslamian, S 2016, 'Water Shortages' in Eslamian, S (ed), Urban Water Reuse Handbook, CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, USA, pp. 3-14.
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The growing environmental problems, including the diminishing natural water resources, greater water demand triggered by population growth and urbanization, deteriorated water quality, and highly changing climate, have highlighted the importance of considering the sustainability of water resource and supply systems in both the urban and rural areas. Specifically, the world population continues to expand with a growth rate of 1.2% each year, resulting in increased pressure on water quality, safety and health.This chapter overviews the current situations in water availability over the world, which based on information from literature review, recent research studies, and analyses of the case studies. It focuses on the issues related to the deficiency of water quantity and deterioration of water quality. With identified problems and challenges, this chapter also discusses some potential responses, opportunities and solutions to combat with water scarcity.

El Saliby, I, McDonagh, A, Erdei, L & Kyong Shon, H 2016, 'Water Reclamation by Heterogeneous Photocatalysis over Titanium Dioxide' in Green Technologies for Sustainable Water Management, American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 679-704.
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© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers. This chapter presents the fundamentals and basic principles of water reclamation by heterogeneous photocatalysis (HP). The effects of important operational parameters on the overall treatment efficiency of photocatalytic system are addressed in the chapter in terms of photocatalyst loading, pollutant concentration, pH and temperature of water, dissolved oxygen, and light intensity. The most popular semiconductor used in HP is Titanium dioxide (TiO2) for being relatively inexpensive, chemically stable, and nontoxic. Most water remediation technologies generate a significant amount of wastewater that requires costly retreatment or discharge to evaporation ponds, rivers, and oceans. HP processes that decompose aqueous contaminants are highly dependent on the reaction conditions and the setup of photocatalytic reactors. Visible-light responsive photocatalysts promise a more effective utilization of solar energy. Doping and co-doping of titania is a practical approach toward obtaining improved visible-light active photocatalysts.

Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Chen, C, Pandey, A, Tung, K-L & Lee, DJ 2016, 'Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactors for Future Green Bioprocesses' in Green Technologies for Sustainable Water Management, American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 867-901.
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© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers. This chapter focuses on the comprehensive overview of the recent progress in anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) applications, including the fundamental aspects and development of AnMBR processes. For a future green bioprocess, the chapter discusses the application development of AnMBRs in domestic and industrial wastewater treatment, opportunities for biogas production and waste minimization and membrane fouling researches. The anaerobic treatment processes are known to have the inherent advantages over the aerobic counterparts, such as sludge minimization and energy savings. The key competitive advantages of AnMBRs over conventional aerobic and anaerobic processes include total biomass retention, excellent effluent quality, bioenergy recovery, smaller footprint, lower energy consumption, high efficiency of wastewater treatment, and strong ability of handling fluctuation in influent quality. Biogas recovery represents one of the key green features of AnMBR technology, particularly for submerged AnMBR (SAnMBR). The compact configure of SAnMBR allows for more convenient collection of biogas.

Jonasson, OJ, Kandasamy, J & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'Stormwater Treatment Technology for Water Reuse' in Green Technologies for Sustainable Water Management, American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 75-105.
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The most common application of stormwater reuse in Australia is for outdoor irrigation, but treated stormwater also can be used to supplement other nonpotable uses, such as flushing toilets, washing clothes, firefighting, and in cooling towers. More recently, instances have emerged where stormwater has been harvested for indirect potable reuse. The water quality criteria depend on the applications, and the treatment required to meet these standards will be affected by the source of the stormwater. The conventional technologies for treating stormwater are traditionally incorporated into a management strategy to meet stormwater quality objectives aiming to protect estuaries and streams. Conventional stormwater treatment systems commonly utilized in harvesting schemes include gross pollutant traps (GPTs), vegetated swales, sediment ponds, constructed wetlands, and biofiltration systems. Some of the high-rate stormwater treatment technologies are fiber filter, deep bed filter, membrane filtration, and membrane hybrid systems.

Kandasamy, J, Kus, B & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'Rainwater Harvesting in New South Wales, Australia' in Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Surampalli, RY & Zhang, TC (eds), Green Technologies for Sustainable Water Management, American Society of Civil Engineers, USA, pp. 35-74.
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© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers. In Australia, recent droughts and concerns about climate change have highlighted the need to manage water resources more sustainably. Rainwater harvesting has emerged as a new field of sustainable water management, which offers an alternative water supply for at least nonpotable uses. This chapter illustrates a detailed sampling on the concentration of pollutants in metropolitan rainwater tanks located at different parts of Sydney. Some rainwater tanks incorporate simple sand filtration devices to improve water quality for potable uses. Concentrated pollutants remaining after treatment and sludge can be discharged to the sewer, alleviating sludge disposal problems, and is attractive in creating a low maintenance system. It is possible to create a sustainable development with a low demand for town water and low storm water pollution export, as well as reduce storm water discharges. Some of the rainwater treatment technologies discussed include adsorption, pilot scale application, and membrane filtration.

Kim, SH, Lee, SH, Tijing & Shon, H 2016, 'Filtration technologies for pretreatment of seawater desalination based on reverse osmosis' in Efficient desalination by reverse osmosis : a best practice guide to RO, IWA Publishing (International Water Assoc), London, pp. 28-60.
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Efficient Desalination by Reverse Osmosis provides a complete guide to best practice from pre-treatment through to project delivery. It is written for utility managers & professionals.

Lin, J-G, Daverey, A, Dutta, K, Guo, W & Ngo, HH 2016, 'Anammox: A Sustainable Technology for Nitrogen Removal and Water Recycling' in Green Technologies for Sustainable Water Management, American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 419-453.
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© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers. This chapter discusses developments in the anammox process, since its discovery, including identification of responsible microbes and their physiology, potential process inhibitors, reactor types used, and application to treat different wastewater. Anammox bacteria are coccoid bacteria with an average diameter ranging between 800 and 1100 nm. Anammox bacteria are chemoautotrophic bacteria and use CO2 as the main inorganic carbon source to oxidize ammonium to nitrogen gas using nitrite as the electron acceptor. Ammonium and nitrite are the two substrates for anammox bacteria. The absence of nitrite in wastewater limits the direct application of the anammox process. Applications of anammox or its related processes, such as SHARON-Anammox, CANON, or SNAD have been tested to treat real world wastewaters by many researchers in lab scale reactors. Anammox combined with partial nitrification has been identified as the most efficient, economical, and environmentally friendly nitrogen removal method in recent years.

Lin, J-G, Dutta, K, Daverey, A, Guo, W & Ngo, HH 2016, 'Wastewater: A Potential Resource of Energy' in Green Technologies for Sustainable Water Management, American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 789-828.
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© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers. This chapter discusses the energy production potential of different wastewater sources and various treatment processes with an aim of establishing sustainable energy management systems. The refractory fraction of wastewater can be converted to energy through thermal, chemical, or electrical processes. The importance of knowing the potential energy available lies in the choice of treatment methods so that most of the energy can be recovered. Some wastes that may be high in energy value, such as halogenated wastes, may be unsuitable or unattractive to some treatment methods. The chapter discusses several systems for energy recovery with simultaneous treatment of wastewater. Some of the systems include anaerobic treatment, microbial fuel cell (MFC), simultaneous algal biomass production, and wastewater treatment. The adverse environmental impacts associated with anaerobic treatment or MFC are mainly because of electricity consumption in the various process units and transportation/disposal of biosolids.

Liu, Y, Wang, Q, Zhang, Y & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Zero Valent Iron Significantly Enhances Methane Production from Waste Activated Sludge by Improving Biochemical Methane Potential Rather Than Hydrolysis Rate' in Environmental Engineering and Activated Sludge Processes, Apple Academic Press, pp. 219-236.
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Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Chen, Z, Surampalli, RY & Zhang, TC 2016, 'Green Technologies for Sustainable Water Management: Introduction and Overview' in Green Technologies for Sustainable Water Management, American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 1-34.
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© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers. This chapter presents the background, current development and future opportunities of green technologies and issues to facilitate strategic planning of sustainable water management systems. It describes the fundamental concepts and current and future applications of green technologies for sustainable improvement in water management. The chapter discusses the appropriate approaches and policies in achieving sustainable objectives and promoting green design and supplies for water utilization. Sustainable water management has received great attention over recent years because of its substantial benefits to the environment, society, and economy. Improvements in water management are likely to come from green technologies fueled by individual curiosity, dedicated effort, and opportunities within a strategic program supported by national and international agencies, universities, and industries. These innovations can significantly contribute to less nonrenewable resource requirement, reduced carbon footprint, greenhouse gas emissions and costs, minimized water losses, and enhanced removal of contaminants.

Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Surampalli, RY & Zhang, TC 2016, 'Front Matter', American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. xiii-xiv.
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Ni, B-J, Pan, Y, Guo, J, Virdis, B, Hu, S, Chen, X & Yuan, Z 2016, 'CHAPTER 16. Denitrification Processes for Wastewater Treatment' in Metalloenzymes in Denitrification, Royal Society of Chemistry, UK, pp. 368-418.
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© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2017. Denitrification processes have been widely recognised as the key processes in biological nitrogen removal from wastewater. In this chapter, the traditional and emerging denitrification processes in wastewater treatment were reviewed in order to illuminate their stoichiometry, microbial community, kinetics, affecting factors, mathematical models and technological applications, including heterotrophic denitrification, anaerobic ammonia oxidation, denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation, sulphur or hydrogen-based autotrophic denitrification and bioelectrochemical denitrification. Although existing technological denitrification processes still have limitations, their applications will undoubtedly increase in the near future because of increasing attention that is being paid to high-rate, cost-effective nitrogen removal from wastewater.

Zhu, A, Guo, J, Ni, B-J, Wang, S, Yang, Q & Peng, Y 2016, 'A Novel Protocol for Model Calibration in Biological Wastewater Treatment' in Environmental Engineering and Activated Sludge Processes, Apple Academic Press, pp. 23-47.
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Abdolali, A, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Lu, S, Chen, S-S, Nguyen, NC, Zhang, X, Wang, J & Wu, Y 2016, 'A breakthrough biosorbent in removing heavy metals: Equilibrium, kinetic, thermodynamic and mechanism analyses in a lab-scale study', SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, vol. 542, pp. 603-611.
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Abdul, JM, Vigneswaran, S, Kandasamy, J & Mahinthakumar, G 2016, 'Fenton Oxidation of Metsulfuron-Methyl with Application to Permeable Reactive Barriers', Environmental Modeling & Assessment, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 149-158.
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© 2015, Springer International Publishing Switzerland. Laboratory experiments were conducted for removal of metsulfuron-methyl (MeS) by Fenton oxidation using a sand column with multiple sampling points and varied flow rates. The transport and degradation of MeS in a sand column were modeled using an advection diffusion reaction system with rate-limited sorption, hydrolysis and second-order degradation kinetics. Rate constants for MeS adsorption and degradation were obtained by fitting the model to experimental breakthrough curves. Results showed that the residence time is the primary influencing factor in the amount of MeS removal by Fenton oxidation with removal efficiencies exceeding 85 %. The column model was extended to two-dimensional porous media, and simulations were conducted to evaluate the feasibility of in situ chemical oxidation using Fenton’s reagent in permeable reactor barriers. Results show that Fenton oxidation can yield remediation efficiencies exceeding 80 % in permeable reactor barriers when compared to less than 10 % with adsorption only.

Abedin, MJ, Imran, A, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Shahir, SA, Varman, M & Ruhul, AM 2016, 'An overview on comparative engine performance and emission characteristics of different techniques involved in diesel engine as dual-fuel engine operation', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 60, pp. 306-316.
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Abatement of pollutant emissions from transport sector is one of the major concerns throughout the globe. One of the main technical challenges for transportation sector is to reduce pollutant emissions from diesel engine and to meet satisfactory engine performance, simultaneously. Different technical changes have been introduced in diesel engine to apply alternative biofuels to reduce pollutant emissions. Blend, fumigation, and emulsion are three different dual fuel engine operation techniques, which have been introduced in diesel engine for biofuel application. In the blend mode, biofuel and diesel are mixed in desired proportions before injecting into cylinder, whereas in fumigation mode, biofuel is injected into intake manifold to mix with the intake fresh air. Emulsion is a process wherein two immiscible substances are mixed together. This study provides a comprehensive review on these three techniques of biofuel injection and their comparative effects on the engine performance and emissions. From these studies, it is found that the effects on engine performance and emission mostly depend on biofuel properties. Increase in break specific fuel consumption (BSFC) is common in each method due to the lower calorific value of biofuels. Brake thermal efficiency (BTE) decreases in blend and fumigation modes, but increases in emulsion mode. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions decrease in fumigation and emulsion modes, but increase in blend mode. Carbon monoxide (CO) and Hydro carbon (HC) emissions increase in fumigation and emulsion modes, but decrease in blend mode. Particulate Matter (PM) emission decreases in all three modes.

Abedin, MJ, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Sabri, MFM, Rahman, SMA, Sanjid, A & Fattah, IMR 2016, 'Production of biodiesel from a non-edible source and study of its combustion, and emission characteristics: A comparative study with B5', Renewable Energy, vol. 88, pp. 20-29.
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This investigation deals with the production of Alexandrian laurel (Calophyllum inophyllum) biodiesel (ALB) and study of the effects of its fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) compositions and physicochemical properties on the engine performance, combustion, and emissions. The experiment had been conducted in a four cylinder turbocharged diesel engine under varying speeds and full loading condition. 10% (ALB10) and 20% (ALB20) blends of Alexandrian laurel biodiesel along with the Diesel and B5 fuel (95% diesel and 5% palm biodiesel) were used for this experiment. ALB consisted of 31.6% saturated and 68.4% unsaturated FAME. Longer chain fatty acids and 10.9% oxygen content of ALB greatly influenced the engine combustion and emission characteristics. Brake specific fuel consumption (bsfc) was found on average 6%-20% higher for B5, ALB10, and ALB20 blends compared to diesel fuel. It was observed that ALB operation shortened the ignition delay period, increased the mass fraction burnt (MFB), and reduced the pick cylinder pressure, heat release rate (HRR) and combustion duration. CO and HC emissions were decreased significantly while operating on B5, ALB10, and ALB20 blends compared to diesel fuel. ALB blends produced on average, 2.5%-3% higher NOX emissions with respect to diesel fuel.

Aditiya, HB, Chong, WT, Mahlia, TMI, Sebayang, AH, Berawi, MA & Nur, H 2016, 'Second generation bioethanol potential from selected Malaysia’s biodiversity biomasses: A review', Waste Management, vol. 47, no. Pt A, pp. 46-61.
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Rising global temperature, worsening air quality and drastic declining of fossil fuel reserve are the inevitable phenomena from the disorganized energy management. Bioethanol is believed to clear out the effects as being an energy-derivable product sourced from renewable organic sources. Second generation bioethanol interests many researches from its unique source of inedible biomass, and this paper presents the potential of several selected biomasses from Malaysia case. As one of countries with rich biodiversity, Malaysia holds enormous potential in second generation bioethanol production from its various agricultural and forestry biomasses, which are the source of lignocellulosic and starch compounds. This paper reviews potentials of biomasses and potential ethanol yield from oil palm, paddy (rice), pineapple, banana and durian, as the common agricultural waste in the country but uncommon to be served as bioethanol feedstock, by calculating the theoretical conversion of cellulose, hemicellulose and starch components of the biomasses into bioethanol. Moreover, the potential of the biomasses as feedstock are discussed based on several reported works.

Aditiya, HB, Mahlia, TMI, Chong, WT, Nur, H & Sebayang, AH 2016, 'Second generation bioethanol production: A critical review', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 66, pp. 631-653.
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It is a popular fact that the world's dependency on fossil fuel has caused unfavourable effects, including lessening crude oil reserve, decreasing air quality, rising global temperature, unpredictable weather change, and so on. As the effort to promote sustainability and independency from fossil fuel, bioethanol is now favoured as the blend or fossil petrol substitute. However, the feedstock functionality of first generation bioethanol production is restricted due to its edibleness since it would clash the feeding purpose. Second generation bioethanol production fulfils the impractical gap of first generation since it employs non-edible feedstock sourced from agriculture and forestry wastes. Lignocellulosic and starchy materials in them are convertible to fermentable sugars that are able to be further processed, resulting anhydrous bioethanol as the end product. This paper critically reviews the existing variance of second generation bioethanol production methodologies, namely pre-treatment, hydrolysis, fermentation and distillation, as well as the worth of second generation production for future reference. The discussions in this paper are also fit as the fundamental for feasible planning of second generation bioethanol production plant.

Ahmed, A, Masjuki, HH, Varman, M, Kalam, MA, Habibullah, M & Al Mahmud, KAH 2016, 'An overview of geometrical parameters of surface texturing for piston/cylinder assembly and mechanical seals', Meccanica, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 9-23.
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Ahmed, MB, Zhou, JL, Ngo, HH & Guo, W 2016, 'Insight into biochar properties and its cost analysis', Biomass and Bioenergy, vol. 84, pp. 76-86.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Biochars (BCs) are widely produced and used for the remediation of environmental contaminants as bio-sorbents. In this review, statistical analysis of different BC physico-chemical properties was conducted. It was observed that woody materials are the most suitable for preparing BCs, among many other potential raw materials such as food wastes and agricultural materials. Currently BCs are produced through a variety of thermal treatment processes between 300 and 900 °C, among which slow pyrolysis is widely used due to its moderate operating conditions and optimization of BC yields. Hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) is also an effective approach for BC production under certain conditions. As pyrolysis temperature is increased, the carbon content, ash content, surface area, and pore volume tend to be increased while the yield, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen content, and H/C and O/C molar ratios tend to decrease. The economic feasibility of BCs depends on a range of factors from raw material price to efficient production technologies. Thus, the overall cost equation of a pilot BC production plant together with the cost equation for BC regeneration has been proposed. The future research directions of BCs are also elaborated.

Ahmed, MB, Zhou, JL, Ngo, HH, Guo, W & Chen, M 2016, 'Progress in the preparation and application of modified biochar for improved contaminant removal from water and wastewater', BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY, vol. 214, pp. 836-851.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd Modified biochar (BC) is reviewed in its preparation, functionality, applications and regeneration. The nature of precursor materials, preparatory conditions and modification methods are key factors influencing BC properties. Steam activation is unsuitable for improving BC surface functionality compared with chemical modifications. Alkali-treated BC possesses the highest surface functionality. Both alkali modified BC and nanomaterial impregnated BC composites are highly favorable for enhancing the adsorption of different contaminants from wastewater. Acidic treatment provides more oxygenated functional groups on BC surfaces. The Langmuir isotherm model provides the best fit for sorption equilibria of heavy metals and anionic contaminants, while the Freundlich isotherm model is the best fit for emerging contaminants. The pseudo 2nd order is the most appropriate model of sorption kinetics for all contaminants. Future research should focus on industry-scale applications and hybrid systems for contaminant removal due to scarcity of data.

Ai, H, Xu, J, Huang, W, He, Q, Ni, B & Wang, Y 2016, 'Mechanism and kinetics of biofilm growth process influenced by shear stress in sewers', Water Science and Technology, vol. 73, no. 7, pp. 1572-1582.
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Sewer biofilms play an important role in the biotransformation of substances for methane and sulfide emission in sewer networks. The dynamic flows and the particular shear stress in sewers are the key factors determining the growth of the sewer biofilm. In this work, the development of sewer biofilm with varying shear stress is specifically investigated to gain a comprehensive understanding of the sewer biofilm dynamics. Sewer biofilms were cultivated in laboratory-scale gravity sewers under different hydraulic conditions with the corresponding shell stresses are 1.12 Pa, 1.29 Pa and 1.45 Pa, respectively. The evolution of the biofilm thickness were monitored using microelectrodes, and the variation in total solids (TS) and extracellular polymer substance (EPS) levels in the biofilm were also measured. The results showed that the steady-state biofilm thickness were highly related to the corresponding shear stresses with the biofilm thickness of 2.4 ± 0.1 mm, 2.7 ± 0.1 mm and 2.2 ± 0.1 mm at shear stresses of 1.12 Pa, 1.29 Pa and 1.45 Pa, respectively, which the chemical oxygen demand concentration is 400 mg/L approximately. Based on these observations, a kinetic model for describing the development of sewer biofilms was developed and demonstrated to be capable of reproducing all the experimental data.

Altaee, A & Hilal, N 2016, 'Dual stage PRO power generation from brackish water brine and wastewater effluent feeds', Desalination, vol. 389, pp. 68-77.
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© 2015. Multi-Stage pumping Dual Stage PRO, MSDSPRO, process was proposed for power generation and brine concentration using brackish water brine and wastewater effluent feeds in stages one and two of the process. MSDSPRO process showed high efficiency for power generation and brackish water brine concentration before disposal. Power density, reverse salt diffusion and brackish water recovery rate were calculated in stages one and two of the DSMSPRO process taking into account the phenomenon of concentration polarization. The results showed that the MSDSPRO process efficiency for power generation was considerable even at relatively low draw solution concentrations. At 73 g/L draw solution concentration, power density was 4 and 6.25 W/m2 in stages one and two, respectively. Reverse salt diffusion was found to increase with draw solution concentration and it was higher in stage two compared to stage one. The ratio of reverse salt diffusion to power density, Js-r/W (mol/Wh) was calculated to determine draw agent loss per unit of power generation in the MSDSPRO process. The results also showed that volume of brackish water brine decreased by 18% after the PRO membrane treatment. As such, MSDSPRO process can be applied for power generation and reducing the volume of brine waste for disposal which is particularly important in inland desalination.

Altaee, A, Ismail, AF, Sharif, A & Zaragoza, G 2016, 'Dual stage PRO process: impact of the membrane materials of the process performance', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 57, no. 14, pp. 6172-6183.
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Altaee, A, Ismail, AF, Sharif, A, Zaragoza, G & Carvalho, PC 2016, 'Two-stage FO-BWRO/NF treatment of saline waters', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 57, no. 11, pp. 4842-4852.
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Altaee, A, Millar, GJ & Zaragoza, G 2016, 'Integration and optimization of pressure retarded osmosis with reverse osmosis for power generation and high efficiency desalination', Energy, vol. 103, pp. 110-118.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. Salinity gradient power is proposed as a source of renewable energy when two solutions of different salinity are mixed. In particular, Pressure Retarded Osmosis (PRO) coupled with a Reverse Osmosis process (RO) has been previously suggested for power generation, using RO brine as the draw solution. However, integration of PRO with RO may have further value for increasing the extent of water recovery in a desalination process. Consequently, this study was designed to model the impact of various system parameters to better understand how to design and operate practical PRO-RO units. The impact of feed salinity and recovery rate for the RO process on the concentration of draw solution, feed pressure, and membrane area of the PRO process was evaluated. The PRO system was designed to operate at maximum power density of δP=δπ2. Model results showed that the PRO power density generated intensified with increasing seawater salinity and RO recovery rate. For an RO process operating at 52% recovery rate and 35 g/L feed salinity, a maximum power density of 24 W/m2 was achieved using 4.5 M NaCl draw solution. When seawater salinity increased to 45 g/L and the RO recovery rate was 46%, the PRO power density increased to 28 W/m2 using 5 M NaCl draw solution. The PRO system was able to increase the recovery rate of the RO by up to 18% depending on seawater salinity and RO recovery rate. This result suggested a potential advantage of coupling PRO process with RO system to increase the recovery rate of the desalination process and reduce brine discharge.

Altaee, A, Millar, GJ, Sharif, AO & Zaragoza, G 2016, 'Forward osmosis process for supply of fertilizer solutions from seawater using a mixture of draw solutions', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 57, no. 58, pp. 28025-28041.
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© 2016 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. Novel desalination approaches are required to provide both drinking and agricultural water as there is ever increasing stress upon precious freshwater resources. It was our hypothesis that a modified Forward Osmosis (FO) process had the potential for production of irrigation water comprising of appropriate concentrations of fertilizers from a seawater feed. Four agents, KNO3, Na2SO4, CaNO3, and MgCl2, plus 35 g/L seawater were used as the draw and feed solutions of the FO process. Net Driving Pressure in the FO process was manipulated either by increasing the concentration of draw solution (FO process) or by increasing feed pressure (Pressure Assisted FO (PAFO) process). A series of nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes were used for the regeneration of draw solution. The results suggested that a PAFO process was more energy efficient than simple FO, provided the energy relating to the brine flow from the NF/RO membrane for pressurizing the feed solution of PAFO process was used. Furthermore, this study suggested using a mixture of a primary draw solution, MgCl2, and a secondary draw solution, KNO3, for NO3 supply into the irrigation water was preferable. As such, MgCl2 provided the driving force for fresh water extraction while KNO3 was the source of fertilizer in the irrigation water. Results showed that water quality provided by application of a MgCl2 + KNO3 draw solution was better than that from KNO3 or Ca(NO3)2. The concentrations of NO3 and SO4 in irrigation water were within recommended levels when the diluted draw solution was regenerated by a dual stage low-pressure RO process.

Altaee, A, Sharif, AO & Hamdan, M 2016, 'Nanofiltration separation of highly concentrated multivalent electrolyte draw solution; a pilot plant study', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 57, no. 43, pp. 20237-20247.
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© 2015 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. Nanofiltration membrane system is proposed for the regeneration of draw solution in a two-stage forward osmosis (FO) process. Pilot plant experiments were carried out on two types of multivalent electrolyte draw solutions, MgSO4 and MgCl2. Two commercial size NF90-4040 Filmtec Nanofiltration (NF) membranes were packed in a high-pressure vessel for the regeneration of draw solution. The concentrations of the draw solution used were between 20 and 118 g/L. The impact of feed concentration, flow rate and feed pressure on the performance of NF membrane was investigated. Both metal salts have shown a high rejection rate by the NF membrane. The rejection rate to the MgSO4 was slightly higher than that to the MgCl2. Experimental results showed that NF rejection rate and permeate flow rate increased with increasing the feed pressure and flow rate but decreased with increasing the concentration of feed solution. However, this was achieved at the expense of higher power consumption. In general, the efficiency of NF system for the regeneration of draw solution was higher at lower feed concentration. This suggests that NF separation method is probably more suitable for the regeneration of low concentration draw solution which is generated from brackish water FO treatment plants. Furthermore, NF application in the regeneration of high-concentration draw solution is not yet feasible due to the limitations in the NF process such operating feed pressure and rejection rate.

Ansari, AJ, Hai, FI, Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Price, WE & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Factors governing the pre-concentration of wastewater using forward osmosis for subsequent resource recovery', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 566-567, pp. 559-566.
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Ansari, AJ, Hai, FI, Price, WE & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Phosphorus recovery from digested sludge centrate using seawater-driven forward osmosis', Separation and Purification Technology, vol. 163, pp. 1-7.
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Arslan, A, Masjuki, HH, Varman, M, Kalam, MA, Quazi, MM & Mosarof, MH 2016, 'Effect of change in temperature on the tribological performance of micro surface textured DLC coating', Journal of Materials Research, vol. 31, no. 13, pp. 1837-1847.
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Abstract

Ashe, B, Nguyen, LN, Hai, FI, Lee, D-J, van de Merwe, JP, Leusch, FDL, Price, WE & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Impacts of redox-mediator type on trace organic contaminants degradation by laccase: Degradation efficiency, laccase stability and effluent toxicity', International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, vol. 113, pp. 169-176.
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This study compares the effectiveness of seven redox-mediating compounds namely, 1-hydrozybenzotriazole (HBT), N-hydroxyphthalimide (HPI), 2,2,6,6-Tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy (TEMPO), violuric acid (VA), syringaldehyde (SA), vanillin (VA), and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS), which follow distinct oxidation pathways, for the degradation of trace organic contaminants (TrOCs). These redox-mediators were investigated for improved degradation of four TrOCs showing resistance to degradation by crude laccase from the white-rot fungus Pleurotus ostreatus. ABTS and VA achieved the highest degradation of the phenolic compounds (i.e., oxybenzone and pentachlorophenol), whereas the non-phenolic compounds (i.e., naproxen and atrazine) were best removed using VA or HBT. This implies that the non-phenolic compounds are more effectively removed by the radical species generated by the [Formula presented] type mediators (i.e., VA and HBT), while removal of the phenolic compounds may depend more on the stability and the redox potential of the radicals generated from the mediator, irrespective of the type. Notably, enzyme stability was greatly affected by the [Formula presented] type mediators but it was compensated by their rapid degradation capacity. Overall, VA and HBT ([Formula presented] type) appear to be the best mediators for enhanced degradation of the selected compounds without causing significant toxicity in the effluent.

Ashraful, AM, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Rashedul, HK, Habibullah, M, Rashed, MM, Mosarof, MH & Arslan, A 2016, 'Impact of edible and non-edible biodiesel fuel properties and engine operation condition on the performance and emission characteristics of unmodified DI diesel engine', Biofuels, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 219-232.
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Aung, TH, Khabbaz, H & Fatahi, B 2016, 'Parametric Study of Applied Stresses on Infiltration Modular Cells Installed under Roads', Procedia Engineering, vol. 143, pp. 1325-1332.
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© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Modular geocellular units are applicable for the prevention and minimisation of stormwater runoff and flooding as a sustainable and cost-effective solution of road applications for drainage. The integrated units buried are exposed to the dead loads and live loads emerging from the surrounding soil pressure, pore water pressure and surcharge. Thus, a computer program using MATLAB is developed for the assessment of the total vertical and lateral earth pressure exerting on the modules complying with the Australian Standards AS 4678 (2002) and AS 5100.2(2004). Lateral earth pressure concept based on Rankine's theory is adopted in this model as the analytical approach. Closed-form solutions based on the fundamental soil mechanics are applied in the analytical calculation steps made. The model also considers different guidelines such as AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications (2010) for the stress distribution of vehicular loads according to the selected axle type. In consideration of the interaction of the moving vehicle and the bridge, the dynamic load allowance is also applied in terms of the static equivalent of the dynamic and vibratory effect as prescribed in AS 5100.2 (2004). Based on the results obtained, the numerical and theoretical results generated by the program provide considerable and influential factors in regarding to the parametric study and sensitivity analysis presented in this paper.

Aung, Y, Khabbaz, H & Fatahi, B 2016, 'Review on Thermo-mechanical Approach in the Modelling of Geo-materials Incorporating Non-associated Flow Rules', Procedia Engineering, vol. 143, pp. 331-338.
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© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Recently, there has been a burgeoning interest in developing constitutive soil models from the laws of thermodynamics, mainly due to the benefits that these models automatically obey them and the approach provides a well-established structure and reduces the need for 'ad hoc' postulates. A thermodynamic framework, also known as thermo-mechanical framework, has the capability to predict the behaviour of geotechnical materials, which requires the anticipated incorporation of non-associated flow rules. As it is very challenging to achieve acceptable accuracy in plasticity modelling of granular materials, this paper aims to review this framework not only to discuss the details of the major components but also to highlight the capability of generating non-associated flow rules in a natural way from thermo-mechanical principles. This approach introduces the use of internal variables to develop the two thermodynamic potentials (the free energy and the rate of dissipation functions), sufficient to derive the corresponding yield function, flow rule, isotropic and kinematic hardening rules as well as the basic elasticity law. It is shown that the non-associated flow rule can be derived naturally from the postulated stress-dependent dissipation increment function. Comparison has been made with stress-independent dissipation to demonstrate that the approach can also successfully explain the behaviour of standard materials with associated flow rules. The basic steps for the thermo-mechanical formulation for developing a constitutive model are also reviewed and summarised. Furthermore, the power of conventional mathematical technique, Legendre transformation, in the derivation of constitutive equations has been highlighted.

Azad, AK, Rasul, MG, Khan, MMK, Sharma, SC, Bhuiya, MMK & Mofijur, M 2016, 'A review on socio-economic aspects of sustainable biofuels', International Journal of Global Warming, vol. 10, no. 1/2/3, pp. 32-32.
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Biofuels are renewable eco-fuel, produced from biological resources. They are classified into 1st, 2nd and 3rd generations based on their feedstocks. The 2nd and 3rd generation biofuels are called advanced and sustainable biofuel. The study reviewed and discussed about socio-economic aspects of the sustainable biofuel in Australia because economy is seen to be a key driver for use of biofuels. Recent researches focused on sustainable biofuel production, their commercialisation worldwide. The world biofuel scenario is presented in this study which shows that total biofuel production is progressively moving towards advanced biofuels. Australian total biofuel production, consumption and available present production facilities are also outlined. The study briefly discussed about Australian energy economy such as energy export, import and trades etc. The study concluded that the 2nd generation biofuel can be considered as sustainable alternatives to petroleum fuel in transport sector providing great economic and environmental benefits to Australia.

Azad, AK, Rasul, MG, Khan, MMK, Sharma, SC, Mofijur, M & Bhuiya, MMK 2016, 'Prospects, feedstocks and challenges of biodiesel production from beauty leaf oil and castor oil: A nonedible oil sources in Australia', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 61, pp. 302-318.
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This study critically reviewed the prospects, feedstocks and challenges of biodiesel production from two non-edible oil sources, namely Beauty leaf oil (BLT) (Calophyllum inophyllum) and Castor oil (Ricinus communis). The recent developments and the lifecycle assessment (LCA) of these species such as their habitat, growth, oil content, free fatty acid profile and biodiesel characteristics are briefly discussed. Different oil extraction techniques and biodiesel conversion methods are also presented. The properties of the pure biodiesel and their blends are compared with petroleum diesel under different ASTM and European standards. Furthermore, the literatures on engine performance and emission studies using these biodiesels are reviewed and presented in tabular form. The review found that BLT oil can be catalytically transesterified to produce biodiesel as a potential alternative transport fuel in Australia. The review concludes that castor oil is not only an alternate fuel resource, but it also holds good lubricating properties and hence is a potential bio-lubricant source for internal combustion engines. Further research is needed on combustion, corrosion, tribo-corrosion, long term engine durability tests and tribological performance tests before recommending commercial scale biodiesel production from BLT oil and Castor oil.

Azari, B, Fatahi, B & Khabbaz, H 2016, 'Assessment of the Elastic-Viscoplastic Behavior of Soft Soils Improved with Vertical Drains Capturing Reduced Shear Strength of a Disturbed Zone', International Journal of Geomechanics, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. B4014001-B4014001.
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© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers. Soil disturbance induced by the installation of vertical drains reduces the horizontal soil permeability and shear strength in the disturbed zone. Thus, the soil disturbance contributes to the reduced overconsolidation ratio (OCR) of the soil in the vicinity of drains, influencing soil deformation. Although a significant amount of research has been conducted on the effect of permeability variations in the smear zone, the influence of the reduced shear strength in the smear zone on the ground behavior has not been investigated. In this study, a numerical solution adopting an elastic-viscoplastic model with nonlinear creep function in combination with the consolidation equations has been developed. Moreover, the effects of shear strength variation in the disturbed zone on the time-dependent behavior of soft soil deposits improved with vertical drains and preloading have been studied. The applied elastic-viscoplastic model is based on the framework of the modified Cam-clay model, capturing soil creep during excess pore-water pressure dissipation. Furthermore, nonlinear variations of the creep coefficient with stress and time as well as the permeability variations during the consolidation process are considered. The predicted results have been compared with available field measurements. According to the results, the OCR profile of the disturbed zone influences the viscoplastic strain rate, the creep strain limit, and consequently the soil deformation.

Baird, ME, Adams, MP, Babcock, RC, Oubelkheir, K, Mongin, M, Wild-Allen, KA, Skerratt, J, Robson, BJ, Petrou, K, Ralph, PJ, O'Brien, KR, Carter, AB, Jarvis, JC & Rasheed, MA 2016, 'A biophysical representation of seagrass growth for application in a complex shallow-water biogeochemical model', ECOLOGICAL MODELLING, vol. 325, pp. 13-27.
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Seagrasses are a critical component of the healthy functioning of many coastal marine ecosystems. Capturing the dynamics of seagrass communities requires both a detailed representation of processes such as seagrass nutrient uptake and photosynthesis, as well as models of light penetration, water column and sediment biogeochemical processes and other ecosystem characteristics that determine the environmental state. Here we develop a new two-state, 13-parameter seagrass model with the aim of providing sufficient detail to represent light and nutrient limitation, but simple enough to be coupled into a 60 state variable biogeochemical model. The novel formulation is built around a nitrogen-specific leaf area parameter, Ω, that is well-constrained and is used in calculating both the rate of photosynthesis and the fraction of the seafloor covered by seagrass, Aeff, where Aeff=1-exp(-ΩSGA) and SGA is the aboveground areal seagrass biomass. The model also contains terms for the uptake of nutrients from multiple layers of varying-porosity sediments, translocation of organic matter between leaves and roots, respiration and simple mortality terms. The model is applied to Gladstone Harbour, a macro-tidal sub-tropical estuary in northeast Australia, and is able to simulate realistic spatial seagrass distributions. A simplified form of the model is derived, which can be used to predict seagrass light-limited growth based on five measurable species-specific parameters (maximum growth rate, mortality rate, compensation irradiance, leaf blade angle and nitrogen-specific leaf area). The steady-state percent coverage of seagrass achieved at varying light levels and mortality intensity is calculated as a means of understanding the dynamics of the new seagrass model.

Baird, ME, Cherukuru, N, Jones, E, Margvelashvili, N, Mongin, M, Oubelkheir, K, Ralph, PJ, Rizwi, F, Robson, BJ, Schroeder, T, Skerratt, J, Steven, ADL & Wild-Allen, KA 2016, 'Remote-sensing reflectance and true colour produced by a coupled hydrodynamic, optical, sediment, biogeochemical model of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia: Comparison with satellite data', ENVIRONMENTAL MODELLING & SOFTWARE, vol. 78, pp. 79-96.
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Baker, KG, Robinson, CM, Radford, DT, McInnes, AS, Evenhuis, C & Doblin, MA 2016, 'Thermal Performance Curves of Functional Traits Aid Understanding of Thermally Induced Changes in Diatom-Mediated Biogeochemical Fluxes', Frontiers in Marine Science, vol. 3, pp. 1-14.
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© 2016 Baker, Robinson, Radford, McInnes, Evenhuis and Doblin.How the functional traits (FTs) of phytoplankton change with temperature is important for understanding the impacts of ocean warming on phytoplankton mediated biogeochemical fluxes. This study quantifies the thermal performance curves (TPCs) of FTs in the cosmopolitan model diatom, Thalassiosira pseudonana, to advance understanding of trade-offs between physiological (photoacclimation, carbon fixation, nitrate, phosphate, and silicate uptake) and morphological traits (cell volume and frustule silicification). We show that each FT has substantial phenotypic plasticity and exhibits a unique TPC, varying in both shape and thermal optimum, and diverging from the growth response. The TPC for growth was symmetric with a thermal optimum (Topt) of 18°C. In comparison, the TPC for primary productivity was warm-skewed with a Topt around 21°C, whereas frustule silicification decreased linearly with increasing temperature. Together, this suggests that the optimal temperature for overall fitness is a balance of trade-offs in the underlying functional traits. Moreover, these results demonstrate that growth is not necessarily an accurate estimate of overall biogeochemical performance and that temperature change will likely influence elemental fluxes such as carbon and silicon. Finally, we show that temperature-driven changes in individual traits e.g., photoacclimation, can mimic responses experienced under other environmental stressors (high light) and so a multi-trait assessment is essential for accurate interpretation of the cellular impact of warming. This study also reveals that multi-trait analysis, in the context of TPCs, provides insight into the cellular physiology regulating the whole cell response and has the potential to provide better estimates of how diatom-mediated biogeochemical fluxes are likely to be impacted in the context of ocean warming. Analyzing the response of multiple traits more comprehensiv...

Belhaj, D, Athmouni, K, Jerbi, B, Kallel, M, Ayadi, H & Zhou, JL 2016, 'Estrogenic compounds in Tunisian urban sewage treatment plant: occurrence, removal and ecotoxicological impact of sewage discharge and sludge disposal', Ecotoxicology, vol. 25, no. 10, pp. 1849-1857.
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The occurrence, fate and ecotoxicological assessment of selected estrogenic compounds were investigated at Tunisian urban sewage treatment plant. The influents, effluents, as well as primary, secondary and dehydrated sludge, were sampled and analyzed for the target estrogens to evaluate their fate. All target compounds were detected in both sewage and sludge with mean concentrations from 0.062 to 0.993 μg L-1 and from 11.8 to 792.9 μg kg-1dry weight, respectively. A wide range of removal efficiencies during the treatment processes were observed, from 6.3 % for estrone to 76.8 % for estriol. Ecotoxicological risk assessment revealed that the highest ecotoxicological risk in sewage effluent and dehydrated sludge was due to 17β-estradiol with a risk quotient (RQ) of 4.6 and 181.9, respectively, and 17α-ethinylestradiol with RQ of 9.8 and 14.85, respectively. Ecotoxicological risk after sewage discharge and sludge disposal was limited to the presence of 17β-estradiol in dehydrated-sludge amended soil with RQ of 1.38. Further control of estrogenic hormones in sewage effluent and sludge is essential before their discharge and application in order to prevent their introduction into the natural environment.

Belhaj, D, Jerbi, B, Medhioub, M, Zhou, J, Kallel, M & Ayadi, H 2016, 'Impact of treated urban wastewater for reuse in agriculture on crop response and soil ecotoxicity', Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 23, no. 16, pp. 15877-15887.
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© 2015, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. The scarcity of freshwater resources is a serious problem in arid regions, such as Tunisia, and marginal quality water is gradually being used in agriculture. This study aims to study the impact of treated urban wastewater for reuse in agriculture on the health of soil and food crops. The key findings are that the effluents of Sfax wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) did not meet the relevant guidelines, therefore emitting a range of organic (e.g., up to 90 mg L−1 COD and 30 mg L−1 BOD5) and inorganic pollutants (e.g., up to 0.5 mg L−1 Cu and 0.1 mg L−1 Cd) in the receiving aquatic environments. Greenhouse experiments examining the effects of wastewater reuse on food plants such as tomato, lettuce, and radish showed that the treated effluent adversely affected plant growth, photosynthesis, and antioxidant enzyme contents. However, the pollution burden and biological effects on plants were substantially reduced by using a 50 % dilution of treated sewage effluent, suggesting the potential of reusing treated effluent in agriculture so long as appropriate monitoring and control is in place.

Bidram, E, Sulistio, A, Amini, A, Fu, Q, Qiao, GG, Stewart, A & Dunstan, DE 2016, 'Fractionation of graphene oxide single nano-sheets in water-glycerol solutions using gradient centrifugation', Carbon, vol. 103, pp. 363-371.
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A centrifugation method for the separation and fractionation of graphene oxide (GO) single nano-sheets in the size range of 150-850 nm is reported. The measured electrophoretic mobility of the fractionated single sheets ranges from -0.2 to -1.4 μm cm/V·s where the interpreted zeta potentials vary from -3 mV to -17 mV with increasing sheet size. The single GO sheets show auto-fluorescence in the visible range of 350-650 nm using an excitation wavelength of 200 nm. Furthermore, the GO nano-sheets functionalized using PEG are found to be non-cytotoxic in in-vitro at concentrations up to 90 μg/ml, with a small reduction in cell viability -10%- at 260 μg/ml. The observed concentration-dependence of the cytotoxicity potentially explains the differing conclusions on cytotoxic potential reported in the literature. The GO nano-sheets therefore have the potential to be used as fluorescent drug delivery carriers of specific size.

Bui, XT, Vo, TPT, Ngo, HH, Guo, WS & Nguyen, TT 2016, 'Multicriteria assessment of advanced treatment technologies for micropollutants removal at large-scale applications', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 563-564, pp. 1050-1067.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. With the introduction and discharge of thousands of new micropollutants (MPs) every year, traditional water and wastewater treatment plants may be incapable of tackling them all. With their low concentrations and diversity in nature, MP removal encounters numerous challenges. Although some MPs are effectively eliminated via conventional treatment methods, most of them can easily escape and are retained in the discharged effluent. Therefore, advanced methods such as (i) adsorption, (ii) oxidation and advanced oxidation processes (O3 and O3-based advanced oxidation processes, UV/H2O2), (iii) membrane processes, and (iv) membrane bioreactors, become an inevitable approach. Despite the unsurprisingly vast number of papers on MP treatment available at present, most of these studies were carried out at a laboratory scale while only a few pilot- and full-scale studies have experimented. Nevertheless, an in-depth assessment of real-world MP treatment methods is extremely crucial for practitioners. To date, no paper has been dedicated to look at this issue. Therefore, this paper aims to review these large-scale treatment methods. First, the paper goes through the regulations and standards which deal with MPs in water courses. It will then assess these methods in various case-studies with reference to different criteria towards serving as a reference for further practical applications.

Chartrand, KM, Bryant, CV, Carter, AB, Ralph, PJ & Rasheed, MA 2016, 'Light Thresholds to Prevent Dredging Impacts on the Great Barrier Reef Seagrass, Zostera muelleri ssp. capricorni', Frontiers in Marine Science, vol. 3, no. JUL, pp. 1-17.
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© 2016 Chartrand, Bryant, Carter, Ralph and Rasheed. Coastal seagrass habitats are at risk from a range of anthropogenic activities that modify the natural light environment, including dredging activities associated with coastal and port developments. On Australia's east coast, the tropical seagrass Zostera muelleri ssp. capricorni dominates intertidal mudbanks in sheltered embayments which are also preferred locations for harbors and port facilities. Dredging to establish and maintain shipping channels in these areas can degrade water quality and diminish light conditions that are required for seagrass growth. Based on this potential conflict, we simulated in-situ light attenuation events to measure effects on Z. muelleri ssp. capricorni condition. Semi-annual in situ shading studies conducted over 3 years were used to quantify the impact of prolonged light reduction on seagrass morphometrics (biomass, percent cover, and shoot density). Experimental manipulations were complimented with an assessment of 46 months of light history and concurrent natural seagrass change at the study site in Gladstone Harbour. There was a clear light-dependent effect on seagrass morphometrics during seagrass growing seasons, but no effect during senescent periods. Significant seagrass declines occurred between 4 and 8 weeks after shading during the growing seasons with light maintained in the range of 4-5 mol photons m-2 d-1. Sensitivity to shading declined when applied in 2-week intervals (fortnightly) rather than continuous over the same period. Field observations were correlated to manipulative experiments to derive an applied threshold of 6 mol photons m-2 d-1 which formed the basis of a reactive light-based management strategy which has been successfully implemented to ensure positive ecological outcomes for seagrass during a large-scale dredging program.

Chekli, L, Bayatsarmadi, B, Sekine, R, Sarkar, B, Shen, AM, Scheckel, KG, Skinner, W, Naidu, R, Shon, HK, Lombi, E & Donner, E 2016, 'Analytical characterisation of nanoscale zero-valent iron: A methodological review', ANALYTICA CHIMICA ACTA, vol. 903, pp. 13-35.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Zero-valent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) have been widely tested as they are showing significant promise for environmental remediation. However, many recent studies have demonstrated that their mobility and reactivity in subsurface environments are significantly affected by their tendency to aggregate. Both the mobility and reactivity of nZVI mainly depends on properties such as particle size, surface chemistry and bulk composition. In order to ensure efficient remediation, it is crucial to accurately assess and understand the implications of these properties before deploying these materials into contaminated environments. Many analytical techniques are now available to determine these parameters and this paper provides a critical review of their usefulness and limitations for nZVI characterisation. These analytical techniques include microscopy and light scattering techniques for the determination of particle size, size distribution and aggregation state, and X-ray techniques for the characterisation of surface chemistry and bulk composition. Example characterisation data derived from commercial nZVI materials is used to further illustrate method strengths and limitations. Finally, some important challenges with respect to the characterisation of nZVI in groundwater samples are discussed.

Chekli, L, Phuntsho, S, Kim, JE, Kim, J, Choi, JY, Choi, J-S, Kim, S, Kim, JH, Hong, S, Sohn, J & Shon, HK 2016, 'A comprehensive review of hybrid forward osmosis systems: Performance, applications and future prospects', JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE, vol. 497, no. 1, pp. 430-449.
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Forward osmosis (FO) has been increasingly studied in the past decade for its potential as an emerging low-energy water and wastewater treatment process. However, the term “low-energy” may only be suitable for those applications in where no further treatment of the draw solution (DS) is required either in the form of pretreatment or post-treatment to the FO process (e.g. where the diluted DS is the targeted final product which can be used directly or simply discarded). In most applications, FO has to be coupled with another separation process in a so-called hybrid FO system to either separate the DS from the final product water or to be used as an advanced pre-treatment process to conventional desalination technologies. The additional process increases the capital cost as well as the energy demand of the overall system which is one of the several challenges that hybrid FO systems need to overcome to compete with other separation technologies. Yet, there are some applications where hybrid FO systems can outperform conventional processes and this study aims to provide a comprehensive review on the current state of hybrid FO systems. The recent development and performance of hybrid FO systems in different applications have been reported. This review also highlights the future research directions for the current hybrid FO systems to achieve successful implementation.

Chen, C, Guo, W & Ngo, HH 2016, 'Advances in Granular Growth Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor (G-AnMBR) for Low Strength Wastewater Treatment', Journal of Energy and Environmental Sustainability, vol. 1, pp. 77-83.
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Chen, C, Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Lee, D-J, Tung, K-L, Jin, P, Wang, J & Wu, Y 2016, 'Challenges in biogas production from anaerobic membrane bioreactors', Renewable Energy, vol. 98, pp. 120-134.
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© 2016 Spectacular applications of anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) are emerging due to the membrane enhanced biogas production in the form of renewable bioresources. They produce similar energy derived from the world's depleting natural fossil energy sources while minimizing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. During the last decade, many types of AnMBRs have been developed and applied so as to make biogas technology practical and economically viable. Referring to both conventional and advanced configurations, this review presents a comprehensive summary of AnMBRs for biogas production in recent years. The potential of biogas production from AnMBRs cannot be fully exploited, since certain constraints still remain and these cause low methane yield. This paper addresses a detailed assessment on the potential challenges that AnMBRs are encountering, with a major focus on many inhibitory substances and operational dilemmas. The aim is to provide a solid platform for advances in novel AnMBRs applications for optimized biogas production.

Chen, G, Wang, Z, Li, X-M, Song, J, Zhao, B, Phuntsho, S, Shon, HK & He, T 2016, 'Concentrating underground brine by FO process: Influence of membrane types and spacer on membrane scaling', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 285, pp. 92-100.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Forward osmosis (FO) is a low energy process when recovery of the draw solutes is not necessary. This study focused on the performance of the FO process for concentrating underground brine (UGB) with saturated sodium chloride as draw solution (DS) using two membranes: commercialized flat sheet cellulose triacetate (CTA) membrane and tailor-made thin film composite (TFC) FO membrane. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and powder X-ray diffractometry (XRD) analysis indicate that, majority of the scaling components were calcium sulfate and sodium chloride crystals formed both through surface and bulk crystallization. The spacer in the FO test cell also promoted scaling. Without spacer, a sharp flux decline of TFC membrane occurred at a higher concentration factor while no sharp flux drop was observed for CTA membrane. It was hypothesized that the rough TFC membrane surface may initiate nucleation and aggregation of the crystals in the active surface, and eventually resulting in scaling.

Chen, H, Liu, Y, Ni, B-J, Wang, Q, Wang, D, Zhang, C, Li, X & Zeng, G 2016, 'Full-scale evaluation of aerobic/extended-idle regime inducing biological phosphorus removal and its integration with intermittent sand filter to treat domestic sewage discharged from highway rest area', Biochemical Engineering Journal, vol. 113, pp. 114-122.
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Biological phosphorus removal (BPR) has been demonstrated to be successfully achieved in the aerobic/extended-idle (AEI) wastewater treatment regime in previous bench-scale studies. To date, however, its feasibility has never been evaluated by any full-scale investigation. Here we report a first full-scale (180 m3/day) evaluation of the AEI process and its integration with intermittent sand filter to treat highway rest area sewage that is often neglected but actually brings significant impacts on receiving water bodies in China. The results showed that 70-99% of influent phosphate was removed in the AEI zone, although the sewage contained 23-37% of carbohydrate that is usually considered to be detrimental for BPR. Batch experimental investigation revealed that the presence of glucose (model compound of carbohydrate) promoted the AEI-inducing BPR efficiency, as opposed to deteriorating the conventional anaerobic/oxic regime-inducing BPR performance. Although the performance of AEI zone was affected by seasonal variation, the efficiencies of contaminant removal were stable and excellent (total nitrogen > 86%, others > 92%) in the integrated system. This study offers an attractive option for BPR from carbohydrate-rich wastewaters and also provides a prototype for wastewater treatment in remote areas.

Chen, J, Guo, C, Ji, Z, Poon, Y-T, Yu, N, Zeng, B & Zhou, J 2016, 'Joint product numerical range and geometry of reduced density matrices', Sci. China Phys. Mech. Astron., vol. 60, no. 2, p. 020312.
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The reduced density matrices of a many-body quantum system form a convex set,whose three-dimensional projection $\Theta$ is convex in $\mathbb{R}^3$. Theboundary $\partial\Theta$ of $\Theta$ may exhibit nontrivial geometry, inparticular ruled surfaces. Two physical mechanisms are known for the origins ofruled surfaces: symmetry breaking and gapless. In this work, we study theemergence of ruled surfaces for systems with local Hamiltonians in infinitespatial dimension, where the reduced density matrices are known to be separableas a consequence of the quantum de Finetti's theorem. This allows us toidentify the reduced density matrix geometry with joint product numerical range$\Pi$ of the Hamiltonian interaction terms. We focus on the case where theinteraction terms have certain structures, such that ruled surface emergenaturally when taking a convex hull of $\Pi$. We show that, a ruled surface on$\partial\Theta$ sitting in $\Pi$ has a gapless origin, otherwise it has asymmetry breaking origin. As an example, we demonstrate that a famous ruledsurface, known as the oloid, is a possible shape of $\Theta$, with two boundarypieces of symmetry breaking origin separated by two gapless lines.

Chen, W, Wu, G, He, T, Li, Z, Guo, Z, Liu, H, Huang, Z & Chen, P 2016, 'An improved synthesis of unsolvated NaB 3 H 8 and its application in preparing Na 2 B 12 H 12', International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 41, no. 34, pp. 15471-15476.
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Octahydrotriborates are potential hydrogen storage materials and chemical vapor deposition precursors to boride films. Their syntheses have been quite challenging, however. In this paper, an improved facile route for the preparation of unsolvated sodium octahydrotriborate (NaB3H8), which is an important precursor to other octahydrotriborates and derivatives, is reported. The key steps in the synthesis involve dispersing Na finely in inert media and preparing fresh tetrahydrofuran (THF)·BH3at room temperature. High purity unsolvated NaB3H8can be obtained in tens of grams or more in one batch, depending on the reactor size. Using NaB3H8as the precursor, sodium dodecaborate (Na2B12H12) has been successfully synthesized. Both octahydrotriborates and dodecaborates have been observed as intermediates during the thermal dehydrogenation of borohydrides, and their facile syntheses would facilitate mechanistic studies on the hydrogen storage of borohydrides, among other potential applications.

Chen, W, Yu, H, Wu, G, He, T, Li, Z, Guo, Z, Liu, H, Huang, Z & Chen, P 2016, 'Ammonium Aminodiboranate: A Long‐Sought Isomer of Diammoniate of Diborane and Ammonia Borane Dimer', Chemistry – A European Journal, vol. 22, no. 23, pp. 7727-7729.
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AbstractAmmonium aminodiboranate ([NH4][BH3NH2BH3]) is a long‐sought isomer of diammoniate of diborane ([NH3BH2NH3][BH4]) and ammonia borane (NH3BH3) dimer. Our results show that [NH4][BH3NH2BH3] is stable in tetrahydrofuran at −18 °C and decomposes rapidly to NH3BH2NH2BH3 and H2 at elevated temperatures. The decomposition pathway is dictated by the dihydrogen bonding between Hδ+ on NH4+ and Hδ− on BH3, as confirmed by theoretical calculations. This is in contrast to the interconversion between [NH3BH2NH3][BH4] and (NH3BH3)2, although all three have dihydrogen bonds and the same stoichiometry.

Chen, X & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Anaerobic conversion of hydrogen and carbon dioxide to fatty acids production in a membrane biofilm reactor: A modeling approach', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 306, pp. 1092-1098.
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Biological conversion of gaseous compounds (e.g., H2/CO2) into valuable liquid fuels or chemicals using mixed culture is a promising technology, which could be effectively and efficiently implemented in a membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) with gas being supplied from inside of membranes. In this study, a model integrating multiple production pathways of fatty acids (including acetate, butyrate, and caproate) was developed and tested using reported mixed culture experimental data from a lab-scale MBfR fed with 60% H2 and 40% CO2. The uncertainty of the four estimated model parameters was explored by a sensitivity analysis. With the developed model, the impacts of key process parameters (i.e., gas supply and hydraulic retention time (HRT)) on the performance of the MBfR converting H2/CO2 to fatty acids were then investigated. The results show that a high HRT is imperative for chain elongation to produce a higher proportion of caproate with a higher added value. A proper gas supply should be provided to favour the speciation of biological gas conversion products as well as to fully exploit the conversion capacity of the MBfR. The findings of this work provide useful information for a better understanding and further applications of this MBfR technology for mixed culture syngas fermentation.

Chen, X & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Model-based evaluation on simultaneous nitrate and arsenite removal in a membrane biofilm reactor', Chemical Engineering Science, vol. 152, pp. 488-496.
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Nitrate (NO3-) and arsenite (As(III)) are two major contaminants in groundwater, which could cause significant risks to human wellbeing and ecological system. In this work, a single-stage membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) coupling denitrifying anaerobic methane (CH4) oxidation (DAMO) and autotrophic As(III) oxidation processes was proposed for the first time to achieve the in-situ or ex-situ simultaneous removal of NO3- and As(III) from groundwater. CH4 is supplied to the MBfR through gas-permeable membranes while NO3- and As(III) are provided in the bulk liquid. A mathematical model was developed by integrating the well-established biokinetics of DAMO microorganisms with the kinetics of As(III)-oxidizing bacteria (AsOB). The key parameter values of AsOB were specifically estimated using the batch experimental data of an enriched pure AsOB culture in conjunction with thermodynamic state calculations. The maximum specific growth rate of AsOB (μAsOB) and the yield coefficient for AsOB (YAsOB) were determined to be 0.00161 h-1 and 0.016 g COD g-1 As, respectively. The modeling results demonstrated that both influent surface loading (or hydraulic retention time (HRT)) and CH4 surface loading played important roles in controlling the steady-state microbial community structure and thus significantly affected the system performance. The As(III)/NO3- ratio between 0.1 and 2 g As g-1 NO3--N in the influent would have no significant impact on the overall system performance despite the varying microbial composition in the biofilm. Through properly adjusting the influent surface loading (or HRT) and CH4 surface loading whilst maintaining a sufficient biofilm thickness at a suitable influent As(III)/NO3- ratio, the maximum removal efficiencies of total nitrogen and As(III) could both reach above 95.0%, accompanied by a high CH4 utilization efficiency of up to 99.0%.

Chen, X, Guo, J, Xie, G, Yuan, Z & Ni, B 2016, 'Achieving complete nitrogen removal by coupling nitritation‐anammox and methane‐dependent denitrification: A model‐based study', Biotechnology and Bioengineering, vol. 113, no. 5, pp. 1035-1045.
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ABSTRACTThe discovery of denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) processes enables the complete nitrogen removal from wastewater by utilizing the methane produced on site from anaerobic digesters. This model‐based study investigated the mechanisms and operational window for efficient nitrogen removal by coupling nitritation‐anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) and methane‐dependent denitrification in membrane biofilm reactors (MBfRs). A mathematical model was applied to describe the microbial interactions among Anammox bacteria, DAMO archaea, and DAMO bacteria. The model sufficiently described the batch experimental data from an MBfR containing an Anammox‐DAMO biofilm with different feeding nitrogen compositions, which confirmed the validity of the model. The effects of process parameters on the system performance and microbial community structure could therefore be reliably evaluated. The impacts of nitritation produced NO2−/NH4+ ratio, methane supply, biofilm thickness and total nitrogen (TN) surface loading were comprehensively investigated with the model. Results showed that the optimum NO2−/NH4+ ratio produced from nitritation for the Anammox‐DAMO biofilm system was around 1.0 in order to achieve the maximum TN removal (over 99.0%), independent on TN surface loading. The corresponding optimal methane supply increased while the associated methane utilization efficiency decreased with the increase of TN surface loading. The cooperation between DAMO organisms and Anammox bacteria played the key role in the TN removal. Based on these results, the proof‐of‐concept feasibility of a single‐stage MBfR coupling nitritation‐Anammox‐DAMO for complete nitrogen removal was also tested through integrating the model with ammonia‐oxi...

Chen, X, Liu, Y, Peng, L, Yuan, Z & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Model-Based Feasibility Assessment of Membrane Biofilm Reactor to Achieve Simultaneous Ammonium, Dissolved Methane, and Sulfide Removal from Anaerobic Digestion Liquor', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1.
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AbstractIn this study, the membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) is proposed to achieve simultaneous removal of ammonium, dissolved methane, and sulfide from main-stream and side-stream anaerobic digestion liquors. To avoid dissolved methane stripping, oxygen is introduced through gas-permeable membranes, which also from the substratum for the growth of a biofilm likely comprising ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AOB), anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) bacteria, denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) microorganisms, aerobic methane oxidizing bacteria (MOB), and sulfur oxidizing bacteria (SOB). A mathematical model is developed and applied to assess the feasibility of such a system and the associated microbial community structure under different operational conditions. The simulation studies demonstrate the feasibility of achieving high-level (>97.0%), simultaneous removal of ammonium, dissolved methane, and sulfide in the MBfRs from both main-stream and side-stream anaerobic digestion liquors through adjusting the influent surface loading (or hydraulic retention time (HRT)) and the oxygen surface loading. The optimal HRT was found to be inversely proportional to the corresponding oxygen surface loading. Under the optimal operational conditions, AOB, DAMO bacteria, MOB, and SOB dominate the biofilm of the main-stream MBfR, while AOB, Anammox bacteria, DAMO bacteria, and SOB coexist in the side-stream MBfR to remove ammonium, dissolved methane, and sulfide simultaneously.

Cherukuru, N, Davies, PL, Brando, VE, Anstee, JM, Baird, ME, Clementson, LA & Doblin, MA 2016, 'Physical oceanographic processes influence bio-optical properties in the Tasman Sea', JOURNAL OF SEA RESEARCH, vol. 110, pp. 1-7.
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Choi, Y, Vigneswaran, S & Lee, S 2016, 'Evaluation of fouling potential and power density in pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) by fouling index', Desalination, vol. 389, pp. 215-223.
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Pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) is an osmotically-driven membrane process to utilize salinity gradient power (SGP), which is renewable energy originated from the different salt concentration between seawater and fresh water. However, PRO suffers from membrane fouling, leading to decreased water permeability and energy density. Although prediction of fouling is important for its mitigation and control, little information is available on fouling potential in PRO process. Accordingly, this study aims at the investigation of fouling propensity of PRO membranes under different conditions. Feed solutions that have different fouling potential were used in a laboratory-scale PRO system. Silt density index (SDI) and modified fouling index (MFI) were applied as indicators for assessing PRO membrane fouling. Results showed that the power density of PRO decreases with an increase of the fouling potential of the feed waters. MFI was proposed to be a fouling index for PRO because it showed a better correlation with the power density than SDI and turbidity. When MFI value is lower than 1400s/L2, the efficiency is higher than 70%, indicating that 30% loss in energy recovery compared to the case with D.I. water. This suggests that pretreatment requirements for PRO may be determined based on MFI results.

Choo, Y, Hu, H, Toth, K & Osuji, CO 2016, 'Sequential deposition of block copolymer thin films and formation of lamellar heterolattices by electrospray deposition', Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics, vol. 54, no. 2, pp. 247-253.
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ABSTRACTThe delivery of sub‐micron droplets of dilute polymer solutions to a heated substrate by electrospray atomization enabled precisely controlled and continuous deposition, or growth, of block copolymer thin films. It also provided, in principle, the ability to fabricate heterolattice materials using sequential depositions. This possibility was explored and the morphology of resulting composite films produced by such sequential electrospray deposition (ESD) of lamellar diblock copolymers of poly(styrene‐b‐4‐vinylpyridine) with differing molecular weights was examined. The structure of the heterolattice interface was a strong function of temperature. Sharp interfaces with abrupt changes in the lamellar period were observed at lower deposition temperatures, while higher temperatures produced a smooth variation in the lamellar period from one molecular weight to the next. The ordering kinetics of a secondary high molecular weight layer could be substantially enhanced depending on the molecular weight of the polymer present in the underlying primary layer. These findings were discussed in the context of temperature and molecular weight dependent diffusion dynamics of the polymers in the melt which control the inter‐mixing of the layers and therefore the structure of the heterolattice interface. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016, 54, 247–253

da M. Costa, LP, McKenzie, TG, Schwarz, KN, Fu, Q & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Observed Photoenhancement of RAFT Polymerizations under Fume Hood Lighting', ACS Macro Letters, vol. 5, no. 11, pp. 1287-1292.
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Given the recent findings of exogenous radical initiator/catalyst-free reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) radical polymerization under both UV and visible light irradiation, the effect of standard laboratory lighting conditions (fluorescent tube lights) on traditional RAFT reactions, that is, those conducted in the presence of a thermally activated radical initiator, remains unknown. This is investigated in the current study, where a significant 'photoenhancement' is observed for most cases under typical RAFT reaction conditions, indicating that fume hood lights can contribute to the generation of radicals in RAFT reactions. Given the observed emission spectrum of a typical fluorescent light source, the photoenhancement is proposed to occur through a visible light activation pathway. These findings are crucial for ensuring maximum reproducibility of controlled polymerizations conducted in the presence of typical sources of irradiation encountered in a standard chemical laboratory.

Dang, LC, Fatahi, B & Khabbaz, H 2016, 'Behaviour of Expansive Soils Stabilized with Hydrated Lime and Bagasse Fibres', ADVANCES IN TRANSPORTATION GEOTECHNICS III, vol. 143, pp. 658-665.
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© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Soil stabilization is the most common ground improvement technique adopted to improve problematic soil properties. This investigation exhibits a series of laboratory tests conducted to evaluate the influences of bagasse fibres and hydrated lime addition on the engineering properties and shrink-swell behaviour of stabilised expansive soils. Bagasse fibre is industrial waste by-product left after the crushing of sugar cane for juice extraction that was used in this study as reinforcing component for expansive soil stabilization. The expansive soils used in this investigation were collected from Queensland, Australia. In order to investigate the influences of bagasse fibres on the engineering behaviour of expansive soil, varying proportions of randomly distributed bagasse fibres of 0.5%, 1.0%, and 2.0% were added to expansive soil and hydrated lime-expansive soils mixed with different bagasse fibre proportions were also investigated. Although, an array of experimental tests have been undertaken on untreated and treated expansive soil samples, merely the outcomes of linear shrinkage, unconfined compressive strength (UCS) tests after various curing periods of 3, 7 and 28 days are presented in this paper. Other test results have been identified as follow up research. The findings of this experimental investigation indicate that bagasse fibre reinforcement blended with hydrated lime increased the compressive strength of expansive soil with increase in curing time and additives contents, whereas the linear shrinkage of stabilised expansive soils decreased with increasing hydrated lime and bagasse fibre proportions and curing periods. Based on the reasonable laboratory test results, it can be noted that the expansive soils can be successfully stabilized by combination of hydrated lime and bagasse fibres.

Davey, PA, Pernice, M, Sablok, G, Larkum, A, Lee, HT, Golicz, A, Edwards, D, Dolferus, R & Ralph, P 2016, 'The emergence of molecular profiling and omics techniques in seagrass biology; furthering our understanding of seagrasses', FUNCTIONAL & INTEGRATIVE GENOMICS, vol. 16, no. 5, pp. 465-480.
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Seagrass meadows are disappearing at alarming rates as a result of increasing coastal development and climate change. The emergence of omics and molecular profiling techniques in seagrass research is timely, providing a new opportunity to address such global issues. Whilst these applications have transformed terrestrial plant research, they have only emerged in seagrass research within the past decade; In this time frame we have observed a significant increase in the number of publications in this nascent field, and as of this year the first genome of a seagrass species has been sequenced. In this review, we focus on the development of omics and molecular profiling and the utilization of molecular markers in the field of seagrass biology. We highlight the advances, merits and pitfalls associated with such technology, and importantly we identify and address the knowledge gaps, which to this day prevent us from understanding seagrasses in a holistic manner. By utilizing the powers of omics and molecular profiling technologies in integrated strategies, we will gain a better understanding of how these unique plants function at the molecular level and how they respond to on-going disturbance and climate change events.

Deng, L, Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Du, B, Wei, Q, Tran, NH, Nguyen, NC, Chen, S-S & Li, J 2016, 'Effects of hydraulic retention time and bioflocculant addition on membrane fouling in a sponge-submerged membrane bioreactor', Bioresource Technology, vol. 210, pp. 11-17.
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The characteristics of activated sludge and membrane fouling were evaluated in a sponge-submerged membrane bioreactor (SSMBR) at different hydraulic retention times (HRTs) (6.67, 5.33 and 4.00h). At shorter HRT, more obvious membrane fouling was caused by exacerbated cake layer formation and aggravated pore blocking. Activated sludge possessed more extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) due to excessive growth of biomass and lower protein to polysaccharide ratio in soluble microbial products (SMP). The cake layer resistance was aggravated by increased sludge viscosity together with the accumulated EPS and biopolymer clusters (BPC) on membrane surface. However, SMP showed marginal effect on membrane fouling when SSMBRs were operated at all HRTs. The SSMBR with Gemfloc® addition at the optimum HRT of 6.67h demonstrated superior sludge characteristics such as larger floc size, less SMP in mixed liquor with higher protein/polysaccharide ratio, less SMP and BPC in cake layer, thereby further preventing membrane fouling.

Deng, L, Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Zhang, H, Wang, J, Li, J, Xia, S & Wu, Y 2016, 'Biofouling and control approaches in membrane bioreactors', Bioresource Technology, vol. 221, pp. 656-665.
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Deng, L, Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Zhang, X, Wang, XC, Zhang, Q & Chen, R 2016, 'New functional biocarriers for enhancing the performance of a hybrid moving bed biofilm reactor–membrane bioreactor system', Bioresource Technology, vol. 208, pp. 87-93.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. In this study, new sponge modified plastic carriers for moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) was developed. The performance and membrane fouling behavior of a hybrid MBBR-membrane bioreactor (MBBR-MBR) system were also evaluated. Comparing to the MBBR with plastic carriers (MBBR), the MBBR with sponge modified biocarriers (S-MBBR) showed better effluent quality and enhanced nutrient removal at HRTs of 12 h and 6 h. Regarding fouling issue of the hybrid systems, soluble microbial products (SMP) of the MBR unit greatly influenced membrane fouling. The sponge modified biocarriers could lower the levels of SMP in mixed liquor and extracellular polymeric substances in activated sludge, thereby mitigating cake layer and pore blocking resistances of the membrane. The reduced SMP and biopolymer clusters in membrane cake layer were also observed. The results demonstrated that the sponge modified biocarriers were capable of improving overall MBBR performance and substantially alleviated membrane fouling of the subsequent MBR unit.

Dharma, S, Masjuki, HH, Ong, HC, Sebayang, AH, Silitonga, AS, Kusumo, F & Mahlia, TMI 2016, 'Optimization of biodiesel production process for mixed Jatropha curcas–Ceiba pentandra biodiesel using response surface methodology', Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 115, pp. 178-190.
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Exploring and improvement of biodiesel production from non-edible vegetable oil is one of the effective ways to solve limited amount of traditional raw materials and their high prices. The main objective of this study is to optimize the biodiesel production process parameters (methanol-to-oil ratio, agitation speed and concentration of the potassium hydroxide catalyst) of a biodiesel derived from non-edible feedstocks, namely Jatropha curcas and Ceiba pentandra, using response surface methodology based on Box-Behnken experimental design. Based on the results, the optimum operating parameters for transesterification of the J50C50 oil mixture at 60 °C over a period of 2 h are as follows: methanol-to-oil ratio: 30%, agitation speed: 1300 rpm and catalyst concentration: 0.5 wt.%. These optimum operating parameters gives the highest yield for the J50C50 biodiesel with a value of 93.33%. The results show that there is a significant improvement in the physicochemical properties of the J50C50 biodiesel after optimization, whereby the kinematic viscosity at 40 °C, density at 15 °C, calorific value, acid value and oxidation stability is 3.950 mm2/s, 831.2 kg/m3, 40.929 MJ/kg, 0.025 mg KOH/g and 10.01 h, respectively. The physicochemical properties of the optimized J50C50 biodiesel fulfill the requirements given in the ASTM D6751 and EN14214 standards.

Dharma, S, Ong, HC, Masjuki, HH, Sebayang, AH & Silitonga, AS 2016, 'An overview of engine durability and compatibility using biodiesel–bioethanol–diesel blends in compression-ignition engines', Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 128, pp. 66-81.
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The realization of declining fossil fuel supplies and the adverse impact of fossil fuels on the environment has accelerated research and development activities in renewable energy sources and technologies. Biofuels are renewable fuels made from edible, non-edible or waste oils, as well as animal fats and algae, and these fuels have been proven to be good substitutes for fossil fuels in the transportation sector. Bioethanol and biodiesels have gained worldwide attention in order to address environmental issues associated with fossil fuels, provide energy security, reduce imports and rural employment, as well as improve agricultural economy. Bioethanol has high oxygen content and octane content up to 35% and 108, respectively and hence, it increases oxygenation and improves combustion of fuel. In addition, bioethanol has lower vaporization pressure, which reduces the risks associated with evaporative emissions. In contrast, biodiesel has good lubricity, which helps protect the surface of engine components from wear and friction. The use of biodiesel–bioethanol–petroleum diesel blends poses a greater challenge with regards to improving the compatibility of the materials with the fuel system in compression ignition (CI) and spark ignition (SI) engines. In this work, the technical conditions of an engine (i.e. engine deposits, wear of the engine components and quality of the lubrication oil) are assessed by the application of with biodiesel–bioethanol–petroleum diesel blends. It is deemed important to evaluate the effects of using bioethanol and biodiesels in diesel engines. This paper provides insight on the feasibility of biodiesel and bioethanol feedstocks, the compatibility of biodiesels, bioethanol and their blends with diesel engines as well as the physicochemical properties of these fuels.

Doblin, MA & van Sebille, E 2016, 'Drift in ocean currents impacts intergenerational microbial exposure to temperature', PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, vol. 113, no. 20, pp. 5700-5705.
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Microbes are the foundation of marine ecosystems [Falkowski PG, Fenchel T, Delong EF (2008) Science 320(5879):1034-1039]. Until now, the analytical framework for understanding the implications of ocean warming on microbes has not considered thermal exposure during transport in dynamic seascapes, implying that our current view of change for these critical organisms may be inaccurate. Here we show that upper-ocean microbes experience along-trajectory temperature variability up to 10 °C greater than seasonal fluctuations estimated in a static frame, and that this variability depends strongly on location. These findings demonstrate that drift in ocean currents can increase the thermal exposure of microbes and suggests that microbial populations with broad thermal tolerance will survive transport to distant regions of the ocean and invade new habitats. Our findings also suggest that advection has the capacity to influence microbial community assemblies, such that regions with strong currents and large thermal fluctuations select for communities with greatest plasticity and evolvability, and communities with narrow thermal performance are found where ocean currents are weak or along-trajectory temperature variation is low. Given that fluctuating environments select for individual plasticity in microbial lineages, and that physiological plasticity of ancestors can predict the magnitude of evolutionary responses of subsequent generations to environmental change [Schaum CE, Collins S (2014) Proc Biol Soc 281(1793):20141486], our findings suggest that microbial populations in the sub-Antarctic (∼40°S), North Pacific, and North Atlantic will have the most capacity to adapt to contemporary ocean warming.

Doblin, MA, Petrou, K, Sinutok, S, Seymour, JR, Messer, LF, Brown, MV, Norman, L, Everett, JD, McInnes, AS, Ralph, PJ, Thompson, PA & Hassler, CS 2016, 'Nutrient uplift in a cyclonic eddy increases diversity, primary productivity and iron demand of microbial communities relative to a western boundary current', PEERJ, vol. 4, no. 4.
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© 2016 Doblin et al. The intensification of western boundary currents in the global ocean will potentially influence meso-scale eddy generation, and redistribute microbes and their associated ecological and biogeochemical functions. To understand eddy-induced changes in microbial community composition as well as how they control growth, we targeted the East Australian Current (EAC) region to sample microbes in a cyclonic (cold-core) eddy (CCE) and the adjacent EAC. Phototrophic and diazotrophic microbes were more diverse (2-10 times greater Shannon index) in the CCE relative to the EAC, and the cell size distribution in the CCE was dominated (67%) by larger micro-plankton (≥ 20μm), as opposed to pico- and nano-sized cells in the EAC. Nutrient addition experiments determined that nitrogen was the principal nutrient limiting growth in the EAC, while iron was a secondary limiting nutrient in the CCE. Among the diazotrophic community, heterotrophic NifH gene sequences dominated in the EAC and were attributable to members of the gamma-, beta-, and delta-proteobacteria, while the CCE contained both phototrophic and heterotrophic diazotrophs, including Trichodesmium, UCYN- A and gamma-proteobacteria. Daily sampling of incubation bottles following nutrient amendment captured a cascade of effects at the cellular, population and community level, indicating taxon-specific differences in the speed of response of microbes to nutrient supply. Nitrogen addition to the CCE community increased picoeukaryote chlorophyll a quotas within 24 h, suggesting that nutrient uplift by eddies causes a 'greening' effect as well as an increase in phytoplankton biomass. After three days in both the EAC and CCE, diatoms increased in abundance with macronutrient (N, P, Si) and iron amendment, whereas haptophytes and phototrophic dinoflagellates declined. Our results indicate that cyclonic eddies increase delivery of nitrogen to the upper ocean to potentially mitigate the negative conse...

Duong, HC, Cooper, P, Nelemans, B, Cath, TY & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Evaluating energy consumption of air gap membrane distillation for seawater desalination at pilot scale level', Separation and Purification Technology, vol. 166, pp. 55-62.
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This study aimed to optimise an air gap membrane distillation (AGMD) system for seawater desalination with respect to distillate production as well as thermal and electrical energy consumption. Pilot evaluation data shows a notable influence of evaporator inlet temperature and water circulation rate on process performance. An increase in both distillate production rate and energy efficiency could be obtained by increasing the evaporator inlet temperature. On the other hand, there was a trade-off between the distillate production rate and energy efficiency when the water circulation rate varied. Increasing the water circulation rate resulted in an improvement in the distillate production rate, but also an increase in both specific thermal and electrical energy consumption. Given the small driving force used in the pilot AGMD, discernible impact of feed salinity on process performance could be observed, while the effects of temperature and concentration polarisation were small. At the optimum operating conditions identified in this study, a stable AGMD operation for seawater desalination could be achieved with specific thermal and electrical energy consumption of 90 and 0.13 kW h/m3, respectively. These values demonstrate the commercial viability of AGMD for small-scale and off-grid seawater desalination where solar thermal or low-grade heat sources are readily available.

Fan, J, Zhang, J, Guo, W, Liang, S & Wu, H 2016, 'Enhanced long-term organics and nitrogen removal and associated microbial community in intermittently aerated subsurface flow constructed wetlands', Bioresource Technology, vol. 214, pp. 871-875.
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Fan, J, Zhang, J, Ngo, HH, Guo, W & Yin, X 2016, 'Improving low-temperature performance of surface flow constructed wetlands using Potamogeton crispus L. plant', Bioresource Technology, vol. 218, pp. 1257-1260.
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Farizal, F, Eka Septia, W, Rachman, A, Nasruddin, N & Indra Mahlia, TM 2016, 'Optimization of Electricity Generation Schemes in the Java-Bali Grid System with Co2 Reduction Consideration', Makara Journal of Technology, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 49-49.
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Fauzi, H, Metselaar, HSC, Mahlia, TMI, Chyuan Ong, H, Nasruddin & Khanlou, HM 2016, 'Preparation and thermal characteristics of eutectic fatty acids/ Shorea javanica composite for thermal energy storage', Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 100, pp. 62-67.
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In this study, two types of fatty acid based composite phase change material (CPCM) have been prepared by mixing-impregnation method. Myristic acid/palmitic acid/sodium palmitate (MA/PA/SP) and myristic acid/palmitic acid/sodium stearate (MA/PA/SS) were used as base eutectic PCMs and Shorea javanica (SJ) was used as a porous material to improve the thermal conductivity and thermal performance of CPCM. Thermal properties, thermal conductivity, and thermal stability of prepared CPCMs were measured using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) thermal analysis, thermal conductivity analysis, and simultaneous thermal analyzer (STA). Furthermore, a chemical compatibility analysis has been done using Fourier transform infra-red spectrophotometer (FT-IR) and a fabricated test rig was used to determine thermal performance. It was seen that CPCMs with addition of 3 wt.% SJ presented a good improvement on thermal conductivity without any significant effect on thermal properties. No chemical reaction between initial eutectic fatty acids and SJ occurred as evidenced by FT-IR and CPCMs show a good thermal stability as well. Therefore, it is concluded that addition of Shorea javanica (SJ) into fatty acid eutectic CPCMs is appropriate to improve the thermal performance of CPCM and it can be acceptable for use as porous material for other PCMs.

Fu, Q, Kim, J, Gurr, PA, Scofield, JMP, Kentish, SE & Qiao, GG 2016, 'A novel cross-linked nano-coating for carbon dioxide capture', Energy & Environmental Science, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 434-440.
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Defect-free and cross-linked ultra-thin (sub 100 nm) film composite membranes have been prepared. The membrane materials formed exhibited significantly high CO₂ permeances of over 1200 GPU as well as excellent CO₂/N₂ selectivity of over 40.

Fu, Q, McKenzie, TG, Ren, JM, Tan, S, Nam, E & Qiao, GG 2016, 'A novel solid state photocatalyst for living radical polymerization under UV irradiation', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 20779.
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AbstractThis study presents the development of a novel solid state photocatalyst for the photoinduced controlled radical polymerization of methacrylates under mild UV irradiation (λmax ≈ 365 nm) in the absence of conventional photoinitiators, metal-catalysts or dye sensitizers. The photocatalyst design was based on our previous finding that organic amines can act in a synergistic photochemical reaction with thiocarbonylthio compounds to afford well controlled polymethacrylates under UV irradiation. Therefore, in the current contribution an amine-rich polymer was covalently grafted onto a solid substrate, thus creating a heterogeneous catalyst that would allow for facile removal, recovery and recyclability when employed for such photopolymerization reactions. Importantly, the polymethacrylates synthesized using the solid state photocatalyst (ssPC) show similarly excellent chemical and structural integrity as those catalysed by free amines. Moreover, the ssPC could be readily recovered and re-used, with multiple cycles of polymerization showing minimal effect on the integrity of the catalyst. Finally, the ssPC was employed in various photo-“click” reactions, permitting high yielding conjugations under photochemical control.

Fu, Q, Xie, K, Tan, S, Ren, JM, Zhao, Q, Webley, PA & Qiao, GG 2016, 'The use of reduced copper metal–organic frameworks to facilitate CuAAC click chemistry', Chemical Communications, vol. 52, no. 82, pp. 12226-12229.
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A reduced copper metal–organic framework (rCu-MOF) containing Cu^I ions was prepared and employed as a catalyst for ‘Click’ reactions. The rCu-MOF presents higher catalytic activity, good structural stability as well as facile recyclability compared to traditional copper halide catalysts.

Fujioka, T, Takeuchi, H, Tanaka, H, Nghiem, LD, Ishida, KP & Kodamatani, H 2016, 'A rapid and reliable technique for N -nitrosodimethylamine analysis in reclaimed water by HPLC-photochemical reaction-chemiluminescence', Chemosphere, vol. 161, pp. 104-111.
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Gao, S-H, Peng, L, Liu, Y, Zhou, X, Ni, B-J, Bond, PL, Liang, B & Wang, A-J 2016, 'Bioelectrochemical reduction of an azo dye by a Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 formed biocathode', International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, vol. 115, pp. 250-256.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd Presently there is great interest to develop pure culture cathodes in bioelectrochemical systems (BES) for achieving decolorization/reduction of azo dyes. In this study, we investigated the decolorization of a model azo dye, acid orange 7 (AO7) in a biocathode inoculated with a model electrogenic microorganism Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 (MR-1). The decolorization efficiency of AO7 reached 95.8 ± 4.6%, 86.4 ± 2.0%, and 77.8 ± 1.0% in 46 h in the biocathode fed with lactate, in the biocathode without lactate, and in the abiotic cathode respectively. Thus, enhanced decolorization of AO7 occurred in the biocathode, compared to the abiotic cathode, regardless of the presence of lactate. To further investigate the AO7 reduction mechanism and electron transfer between the electrode and S. oneidensis, the cathode potential was controlled such that hydrogen was not produced. In the absence of lactate, the AO7 decolorization efficiency (78.5 ± 0.8%) and sulfanilic acid (SA) production efficiency (70.9 ± 1.5%) in the biocathode were higher than the AO7 decolorization efficiency (63.7 ± 3.6%) and the SA production (56.1 ± 1.9%) efficiency in the abiotic cathode. This suggests that the reduction of AO7, with electrode as the sole electron donor, was enhanced by electron transfer between the cathode and the S. oneidensis formed biofilm on the cathode surface. This study demonstrated that S. oneidensis enhanced the capture of electrons from the cathode electrode for the reduction of the organic pollutant AO7.

Gao, T, Chen, R, Wang, X, Ngo, HH, Li, Y-Y, Zhou, J & Zhang, L 2016, 'Application of disease burden to quantitative assessment of health hazards for a decentralized water reuse system', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 551-552, pp. 83-91.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. The aim of this article is to introduce the methodology of disease burden (DB) to quantify the health impact of microbial regrowth during wastewater reuse, using the case study of a decentralized water reuse system in Xi'an Si-yuan University, located in Xi'an, China. Based on field investigation findings, Escherichia coli (E. coli), Salmonella and rotavirus were selected as typical regrowth pathogens causing potential health hazards during the reuse of reclaimed water. Subsequently, major exposure routes including sprinkler irrigation, landscape fountains and toilet flushing were identified. Mathematical models were established to build the relationship between exposure dose and disease burden by calculating the disability adjusted life year (DALY). Results of disease burden for this case study show that DALYs attributed to E. coli were significantly greater than those caused by other pathogens, and DALYs associated with sprinkler irrigation were higher than those originating from other routes. A correlation between exposure dose and disease was obtained by introducing a modified calculation of morbidity, which can extend the assessment endpoint of health risk to disease burden from the conventional infection rate.

Gardner, SG, Nielsen, DA, Laczka, O, Shimmon, R, Beltran, VH, Ralph, PJ & Petrou, K 2016, 'Dimethylsulfoniopropionate, superoxide dismutase and glutathione as stress response indicators in three corals under short-term hyposalinity stress', PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, vol. 283, no. 1824, pp. 1-9.
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© 2016 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved. Corals are among the most active producers of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), a key molecule in marine sulfur cycling, yet the specific physiological role of DMSP in corals remains elusive. Here, we examine the oxidative stress response of three coral species (Acropora millepora, Stylophora pistillata and Pocillopora damicornis) and explore the antioxidant role of DMSP and its breakdown products under short-termhyposalinity stress. Symbiont photosynthetic activity declined with hyposalinity exposure in all three reef-building corals. This corresponded with the upregulation of superoxide dismutase and glutathione in the animal host of all three species. For the symbiont component, there were differences in antioxidant regulation, demonstrating differential responses to oxidative stress between the Symbiodinium subclades. Of the three coral species investigated, only A. millepora provided any evidence of the role of DMSP in the oxidative stress response. Our study reveals variability in antioxidant regulation in corals and highlights the influence life-history traits, and the subcladal differences can have on coral physiology.Our data expand on the emerging understanding of the role of DMSP in coral stress regulation and emphasizes the importance of exploring both the host and symbiont responses for defining the threshold of the coral holobiont to hyposalinity stress.

Ghosh, B, Fatahi, B & Khabbaz, H 2016, 'Mechanical Model to Analyse Multilayer Geosynthetic Reinforced Granular Layer in Column Supported Embankments', ADVANCES IN TRANSPORTATION GEOTECHNICS III, vol. 143, pp. 387-394.
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© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. The objective of this paper is to develop a mechanical model to predict the behaviour of a multilayer geosynthetic reinforced granular fill soft soil system improved with controlled modulus columns beneath the embankment. Deformation of geosynthetics embedded granular layer due to bending and shear is considered in this study. Therefore, geosynthetic reinforced granular fill has been idealised as a reinforced Timoshenko beam while the columns and the soft soil have been idealised as a layer of linear springs with varied stiffness. Plane strain conditions are considered for the loading and reinforced foundation soil system. Tension developed in the geosynthetics, rotation and settlements of the improved soft ground are predicted using the proposed model. This study shows the effects of multilayer geosynthetics on the settlement response of the granular layer. A notable reduction of the settlement has been observed as a result of the using multilayer weaker geosynthetic reinforcement system when compare to one stronger geosynthetics layer. It is also observed that the top reinforcement layer is subjected to maximum mobilised tension at the column edge whereas bottom reinforcement layer is more effective in controlling the deflection in the middle of two columns.

Gopinadhan, M, Choo, Y & Osuji, CO 2016, 'Strong Orientational Coupling of Block Copolymer Microdomains to Smectic Layering Revealed by Magnetic Field Alignment', ACS Macro Letters, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 292-296.
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Gulzar, M, Masjuki, HH, Varman, M, Kalam, MA, Zulkifli, NWM, Mufti, RA, Liaquat, AM, Zahid, R & Arslan, A 2016, 'Effects of biodiesel blends on lubricating oil degradation and piston assembly energy losses', Energy, vol. 111, pp. 713-721.
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Guo, J, Peng, Y, Fan, L, Zhang, L, Ni, B, Kartal, B, Feng, X, Jetten, MSM & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Metagenomic analysis of anammox communities in three different microbial aggregates', Environmental Microbiology, vol. 18, no. 9, pp. 2979-2993.
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SummaryThere is great potential to understand the functional diversity of microorganisms that are involved in waste water treatment through metagenomic analyses. This study presents the first metagenomic comparison of taxonomic and functional profiles of the microbial communities occurring in different aggregates from anaerobic ammonium‐oxidizing (anammox) bioreactors. The anammox bacterial communities in both biofilm and granule sludge samples showed relatively high abundance and diversity compared with floccular sludge. Four of the five known genera of anammox bacteria were detected in the three cultures except Candidatus Jettenia, which was absent in the granules. Candidatus Kuenenia comprised the major population of anammox bacteria in these three sludges, independent of their growth morphologies. The genome assembled for the Candidatus Kuenenia in the granule was very similar to the published reference genome of Candidatus K. stuttgartiensis. Genes involved in the metabolism of the anammox process were highly detected in the biofilm and granule sludges. In particular, the abundance of hydrazine synthase gene (hzs) in the biofilm was around 486 times more pronounced than that in the granules. The knowledge gained in this study highlights an important role of sludge aggregate in affecting community structure and metabolic potential of anammo...

Guo, J, Wang, S, Lian, J, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Liu, Y & Song, Y 2016, 'Rapid start-up of the anammox process: Effects of five different sludge extracellular polymeric substances on the activity of anammox bacteria', Bioresource Technology, vol. 220, pp. 641-646.
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© 2016 This study investigated the rapid start-up of the anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) strategy by inoculating different biomass ratios of denitrifying granular sludge and anammox bacteria. The results demonstrated that two reactors (R1 and R2) were rapidly and successfully started-up on days 25 and 28, respectively, with nitrogen removal rates (NRRs) of 0.70 kg/(m3·d) and 0.72 kg/(m3·d) at biomass ratios of 10:1 (R1) and 50:1 (R2). The explanation for rapid start-up was found by examining the effect of five different sludge extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) on the activity of anammox bacteria in the batch experiments. Batch experiments results first demonstrated that the denitrification sludge EPS (DS-EPS) enhanced the anammox bacteria activity the most, and NO2−-N, NH4+-N removal rates were 1.88- and 1.53-fold higher than the control with optimal DS-EPS volume of 10 mL. The rapid start-up strategy makes possible the application of anammox to practical engineering.

Hanif, M, Mahlia, TMI, Aditiya, HB, Chong, WT & Nasruddin 2016, 'Techno-economic and environmental assessment of bioethanol production from high starch and root yield Sri Kanji 1 cassava in Malaysia', Energy Reports, vol. 2, pp. 246-253.
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Transportation played a significant role in energy consumption and pollution subsequently. Caused by the intense growth of greenhouse gas emission, efficient and sustainable improvement of the transportation sector has elevated the concern in many nations including Malaysia. Bioethanol is an alternative and renewable energy that has a great potential to substitute for fossil gasoline in internal combustion engine (ICE). Although bioethanol has been widely utilized in road transport worldwide, the production and application of bioethanol in Malaysia is yet to be considered. Presently there is comprehensive diversity of bioethanol research on distillation, performance and emission analysis available worldwide. Yet, the study on techno-economic and feasibility of bioethanol fuel in Malaysia condition is unavailable. Thus, this study is concentrated on bioethanol production and techno-economic analysis of cassava bioethanol as an alternative fuel in Malaysia. Furthermore, the current study attempts to determine the effect of bioethanol employment towards the energy scenario, environmental and economy. From the economic analysis, determined that the life cycle cost for 54 ktons cassava bioethanol production plant with a project life time of 20 years is $132 million USD, which is equivalent to $0.11 USD per litre of bioethanol. Furthermore, substituting 5 % of gasoline fuel with bioethanol fuel in road transport can reduce the CO2 emissions up to 2,038 ktons in year 2036. In case to repay the carbon debt from converting natural forest to cassava cropland, cassava bioethanol required about 5.4 years. The cassava bioethanol is much cheaper than gasoline fuel even when 20 % taxation is subjected to bioethanol at current production cost. Thus, this study serves as a guideline for further investigation and research on bioethanol production, subsidy cost and other limitation factors before the extensive application of bioethanol can be implemented in Malaysia.

Hasan, H, Dang, L, Khabbaz, H, Fatahi, B & Terzaghi, S 2016, 'Remediation of Expansive Soils Using Agricultural Waste Bagasse Ash', Procedia Engineering, vol. 143, pp. 1368-1375.
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© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Bagasse is a fibrous material remaining after crushing sugarcane to extract its juice; and bagasse ash is produced after burning bagasse. Improper disposal of this material can create environmental problems around sugar manufacturing plants. Bagasse ash, comprising a high percentage of silica (SiO2), is considered as a sensible pozzolanic material with non-reactive behaviour and has potential to be used in road subgrade stabilisation. One of the main challenges for transportation organisations in Australia is to treat subgrades including expansive soils. Expansive soils exhibit significant movements when the moisture content changes, and hence it causes substantial damage to road pavements constructed over these type of soils. Road engineers need to employ materials having acceptable strength, relatively low price and being eco-friendly. In order to demonstrate the potential ability of bagasse ash in curtailing the adverse effects of expansive soils on roads, an array of experimental tests using bagasse ash have been conducted. In this study to activate and improve the effectiveness of bagasse ash, hydrated lime was used and mixed with black soil samples, collected from Queensland Australia. Samples were prepared using different contents of bagasse ash and hydrated lime (0%, 6%, 10%, 18% and 25% by the dry mass of soil), at a ratio of 3:1, respectively. The results of free swell ratio (FSR) test, unconfined compression strength (UCS) and California bearing ratio (CBR) tests are presented for untreated and treated samples after various curing time periods of 3, 7 and 28 days. The outcomes of these tests clearly demonstrate that stabilisation of expansive soils using bagasse ash and hydrated lime not only improves the strength, but also facilitates to cope with environmental concerns through reduction of sugar industry waste material.

Hawari, AH, Kamal, N & Altaee, A 2016, 'Combined influence of temperature and flow rate of feeds on the performance of forward osmosis', Desalination, vol. 398, pp. 98-105.
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© 2016 The effect of the membrane orientation, feeds flow rate, feeds temperature, and combining effect of both temperature and flow rate on the membrane flux was investigated in order to enhance the performance of forward osmosis (FO) process. Results from experimental work demonstrated that the concentrative internal concentration polarization (CICP) could be mitigated by increasing the feed solution flow rate and using a spacer. On contrary, the severity of dilutive internal concentration polarization (DICP) phenomena was aggravated by increasing the draw solution flow rate. It was also found that when increasing the draw solution (DS) temperature from 20 °C to 26 °C the flux increased linearly and then started decreasing when temperature increased over 26 °C due to the development of a temperature gradient. The experimental results also showed that the membrane flux increased by 93.3% due to temperature increase from 20 to 26 °C and the flow rate from 1.2 to 3.2 L/min using a 0.5 M NaCl solution as the draw solution and distilled water as the feed solution (FS).

Ho, L & Fatahi, B 2016, 'One-Dimensional Consolidation Analysis of Unsaturated Soils Subjected to Time-Dependent Loading', International Journal of Geomechanics, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 04015052-04015052.
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Ho, L, Fatahi, B & Khabbaz, H 2016, 'Analytical solution to axisymmetric consolidation in unsaturated soils with linearly depth-dependent initial conditions', Computers and Geotechnics, vol. 74, pp. 102-121.
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© 2016. This paper introduces an analytical solution for the axisymmetric consolidation of unsaturated soils subjected to constant external loading. The analytical procedure employs variables separation and Laplace transformation techniques while capturing the uniform and linear initial excess pore pressure distributions with depth. Excess pore-air and pore-water pressures as functions of time, radial and vertical flows are determined using Laplace transforms, Fourier Bessel and sine series, respectively. In this study, the consolidation behavior, in terms of changes in excess pore-air and pore-water pressures and the average degree of consolidation, are investigated against the air to water permeability ratio. The effects of radial distance from the drain well on the dissipation rate are likewise highlighted in worked examples. Excess pore pressure isochrones and the matric suction varying with time are also presented.

Hokmabadi, AS & Fatahi, B 2016, 'Influence of Foundation Type on Seismic Performance of Buildings Considering Soil-Structure Interaction', INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL STABILITY AND DYNAMICS, vol. 16, no. 8, pp. 1-29.
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© 2016 World Scientific Publishing Company. In selecting the type of foundation best suited for mid-rise buildings in high risk seismic zones, design engineers may consider that a shallow foundation, a pile foundation, or a pile-raft foundation can best carry the static and dynamic loads. However, different types of foundations behave differently during earthquakes, depending on the soil-structure interaction (SSI) where the properties of the in situ soil and type of foundation change the dynamic characteristics (natural frequency and damping) of the soil-foundation-structure system. In order to investigate the different characteristics of SSI and its influence on the seismic response of building frames, a 3D numerical model of a 15-storey full-scale (prototype) structure was simulated with four different types of foundations: (i) A fixed-based structure that excludes the SSI, (ii) a structure supported by a shallow foundation, (iii) a structure supported by a pile-raft foundation in soft soil and (iv) a structure supported by a floating (frictional) pile foundation in soft soil. Finite difference analyzes with FLAC3D were then conducted using real earthquake records that incorporated material (soil and superstructure) and geometric (uplifting, gapping and P-Δ effects) nonlinearities. The 3D numerical modeling procedure had previously been verified against experimental shaking table tests conducted by the authors. The results are then presented and compared in terms of soil amplification, shear force distribution and rocking of the superstructure, including its lateral deformation and drift. The results showed that the type of foundation is a major contributor to the seismic response of buildings with SSI and should therefore be given careful consideration in order to ensure a safe and cost effective design.

Hu, L, Yang, Z, Cui, L, Li, Y, Ngo, HH, Wang, Y, Wei, Q, Ma, H, Yan, L & Du, B 2016, 'Fabrication of hyperbranched polyamine functionalized graphene for high-efficiency removal of Pb(II) and methylene blue', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 287, pp. 545-556.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Multifunctional hyperbranched polyamine modified graphene oxide (HPA-GO) was successfully prepared and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), zeta potential and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyses. HPA-GO exhibited excellent adsorption performance for the removal of a heavy metal (Pb(II)) and a dye (methylene blue (MB)). The equilibrium adsorption capacity was 819.7 mg g-1 for Pb(II) and 740.7 mg g-1 for MB under the optimal conditions. The pseudo-second order equation and the Langmuir model exhibited good correlation with the adsorption kinetic and isotherm data, respectively, for these two pollutants. The thermodynamic results (ΔG<0, ΔH>0, ΔS>0) implied that the adsorption process of Pb(II) and MB was feasible, endothermic and spontaneous in nature. A possible adsorption mechanism has been proposed where chelation and electrostatic attraction dominated the adsorption of Pb(II) and π-π stacking interactions and electrostatic attraction dominated the adsorption of MB. In addition, the excellent reproducibility endowed HPA-GO with the potential for application in water treatment.

Hu, Y, Wang, XC, Tian, W, Ngo, HH & Chen, R 2016, 'Towards stable operation of a dynamic membrane bioreactor (DMBR): Operational process, behavior and retention effect of dynamic membrane', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 498, pp. 20-29.
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Hu, Y, Wang, XC, Yu, Z, Ngo, HH, Sun, Q & Zhang, Q 2016, 'New insight into fouling behavior and foulants accumulation property of cake sludge in a full-scale membrane bioreactor', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 510, pp. 10-17.
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Imdadul, HK, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Zulkifli, NWM, Alabdulkarem, A, Rashed, MM & Ashraful, AM 2016, 'Influences of ignition improver additive on ternary (diesel-biodiesel-higher alcohol) blends thermal stability and diesel engine performance', Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 123, pp. 252-264.
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Islam, MM, Hassan, MH, Kalam, MA, Zulkifli, NWBM, Habibullah, M & Hossain, MM 2016, 'Improvement of cold flow properties of Cocos nucifera and Calophyllum inophyllum biodiesel blends using polymethyl acrylate additive', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 137, pp. 322-329.
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Islam, MT, Abdullah, AB, Shahir, SA, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Shumon, R & Rashid, MH 2016, 'A public survey on knowledge, awareness, attitude and willingness to pay for WEEE management: Case study in Bangladesh', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 137, pp. 728-740.
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Jamil, S, Jeong, S & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'Application of pressure assisted forward osmosis for water purification and reuse of reverse osmosis concentrate from a water reclamation plant', SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY, vol. 171, pp. 182-190.
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Jeffries, TC, Curlevski, NJ, Brown, MV, Harrison, DP, Doblin, MA, Petrou, K, Ralph, PJ & Seymour, JR 2016, 'Partitioning of fungal assemblages across different marine habitats', ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY REPORTS, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 235-238.
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© 2016 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Fungi are a highly diverse group of microbes that fundamentally influence the biogeochemistry of the biosphere, but we currently know little about the diversity and distribution of fungi in aquatic habitats. Here we describe shifts in marine fungal community composition across different marine habitats, using targeted pyrosequencing of the fungal Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region. Our results demonstrate strong partitioning of fungal community composition between estuarine, coastal and oceanic samples, with each habitat hosting discrete communities that are controlled by patterns in salinity, temperature, oxygen and nutrients. Whereas estuarine habitats comprised a significant proportion of fungal groups often found in terrestrial habitats, the open ocean sites were dominated by previously unidentified groups. The patterns observed here indicate that fungi are potentially a significant, although largely overlooked, feature of the ocean's microbiota, but greater efforts to characterize marine species are required before the full ecological and biogeochemical importance of marine fungi can be ascertained.

Jeffries, TC, Fontes, MLS, Harrison, DP, Van-Dongen-Vogels, V, Eyre, BD, Ralph, PJ & Seymour, JR 2016, 'Bacterioplankton Dynamics within a Large Anthropogenically Impacted Urban Estuary', FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY, vol. 6, no. JAN, pp. 1-17.
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© 2016 Jeffries, Schmitz Fontes, Harrison, Van-Dongen-Vogels, Eyre, Ralph and Seymour. The abundant and diverse microorganisms that inhabit aquatic systems are both determinants and indicators of aquatic health, providing essential ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling but also causing harmful blooms and disease in impacted habitats. Estuaries are among the most urbanized coastal ecosystems and as a consequence experience substantial environmental pressures, providing ideal systems to study the influence of anthropogenic inputs on microbial ecology. Here we use the highly urbanized Sydney Harbor, Australia, as a model system to investigate shifts in microbial community composition and function along natural and anthopogenic physicochemical gradients, driven by stormwater inflows, tidal flushing and the input of contaminants and both naturally and anthropogenically derived nutrients. Using a combination of amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and shotgun metagenomics, we observed strong patterns in microbial biogeography across the estuary during two periods: one of high and another of low rainfall. These patterns were driven by shifts in nutrient concentration and dissolved oxygen leading to a partitioning of microbial community composition in different areas of the harbor with different nutrient regimes. Patterns in bacterial composition were related to shifts in the abundance of Rhodobacteraceae, Flavobacteriaceae, Microbacteriaceae, Halomonadaceae, Acidomicrobiales, and Synechococcus, coupled to an enrichment of total microbial metabolic pathways including phosphorus and nitrogen metabolism, sulfate reduction, virulence, and the degradation of hydrocarbons. Additionally, community beta-diversity was partitioned between the two sampling periods. This potentially reflected the influence of shifting allochtonous nutrient inputs on microbial communities and highlighted the temporally dynamic nature of the system. Combined, our results provide i...

Jegatheesan, JV, Chiemchaisri, C, Shu, L & Guo, W 2016, 'Special issue on Challenges in Environmental Science and Engineering (CESE-2015)', Bioresource Technology, vol. 210, pp. 1-1.
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Jeong, S, Cho, K, Bae, H, Keshvardoust, P, Rice, SA, Vigneswaran, S, Lee, S & Leiknes, T 2016, 'Effect of microbial community structure on organic removal and biofouling in membrane adsorption bioreactor used in seawater pretreatment', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 294, pp. 30-39.
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Jeong, S, Naidu, G, Vollprecht, R, Leiknes, T & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'In-depth analyses of organic matters in a full-scale seawater desalination plant and an autopsy of reverse osmosis membrane', Separation and Purification Technology, vol. 162, pp. 171-179.
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Jeong, S, Nguyen, TV, Vigneswaran, S, Kandasamy, J & Dharmabalan, D 2016, 'Removal of natural organic matter at the Gunbower water treatment plant in northern Victoria, Australia', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 57, no. 20, pp. 9061-9069.
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© 2015 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. Advanced treatment processes are vital if organic matter is to be removed from water as efficiently as possible. To produce high quality water that has low concentrations of natural organic matter (NOM), the Gunbower water treatment plant (WTP) in northern Victoria, Australia has implemented a number of processes including magnetic ion exchange (MIEX), coagulation, clarifier, ultrafiltration (UF), and granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration. This research evaluated the efficiencies of these processes in removing NOM employing various analytical methods, namely liquid chromatography–organic carbon detector (LC–OCD) and three-dimensional fluorescence excitation emission matrix (3D-FEEM). In addition, the fouling potential of source water and treated water was assessed using a modified fouling index with ultrafiltration (MFI-UF). Biological stability was also tested using a modified assimilable organic carbon (AOC) detection method. The combination of MIEX, clarifier, coagulation, UF membrane, and GAC filtration resulted in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) being removed (from 6.01 to 0.47 mg/L). Furthermore 3D-FEEM analysis revealed that these treatment processes reduced humic and fulvic-like organics. AOC and MFI-UF decreased from 79.94 μg-C glucose equivalents/L and 46,350 s/L2 in the source water to 4.06 μg-C glucose equivalents/L and 2,057 s/L2 in the treated water, respectively.

Jeong, S, Vollprecht, R, Cho, K, Leiknes, T, Vigneswaran, S, Bae, H & Lee, S 2016, 'Advanced organic and biological analysis of dual media filtration used as a pretreatment in a full-scale seawater desalination plant', Desalination, vol. 385, pp. 83-92.
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Jia, H, Yang, G, Wang, J, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Zhang, H & Zhang, X 2016, 'Performance of a microbial fuel cell-based biosensor for online monitoring in an integrated system combining microbial fuel cell and upflow anaerobic sludge bed reactor', Bioresource Technology, vol. 218, pp. 286-293.
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© 2016. A hybrid system integrating a microbial fuel cell (MFC)-based biosensor with upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) was investigated for real-time online monitoring of the internal operation of the UASB reactor. The features concerned were its rapidity and steadiness with a constant operation condition. In addition, the signal feedback mechanism was examined by the relationship between voltage and time point of changed COD concentration. The sensitivity of different concentrations was explored by comparing the signal feedback time point between the voltage and pH. Results showed that the electrical signal feedback was more sensitive than pH and the thresholds of sensitivity were S = 3 × 10-5 V/(mg/L) and S = 8 × 10-5 V/(mg/L) in different concentration ranges, respectively. Although only 0.94% of the influent COD was translated into electricity and applied for biosensing, this integrated system indicated great potential without additional COD consumption for real-time monitoring.

Jin, P, Wang, X, Zhang, Q, Wang, X, Ngo, HH & Yang, L 2016, 'A new activated primary tank developed for recovering carbon source and its application', Bioresource Technology, vol. 200, pp. 722-730.
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Johir, MAH, Nguyen, TT, Mahatheva, K, Pradhan, M, Ngo, HH, Guo, W & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'Removal of phosphorus by a high rate membrane adsorption hybrid system', Bioresource Technology, vol. 201, pp. 365-369.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd Membrane adsorption hybrid system (MAHS) was evaluated for the removal of phosphate from a high rate membrane bioreactor (HR-MBR) effluent. The HR-MBR was operated at permeate flux of 30 L/m2 h. The results indicated that the HR-MBR could eliminate 93.1 ± 1.5% of DOC while removing less than 53% phosphate (PO4-P). Due to low phosphate removal by HR-MBR, a post-treatment of strong base anion exchange resin (Dowex∗21K-XLT), and zirconium (IV) hydroxide were used as adsorbent in MAHS for further removal of phosphate from HR-MBR effluent. It was found that the MAHS enabled to eliminate more than 85% of PO4-P from HR-MBR effluent. Hence, HR-MBR followed by MAHS lead to simultaneous removal of organics and phosphate in a reliable manner. The experiments were conducted only for a short period to investigate the efficiency of these resins/adsorbents on the removal of phosphorus and high rate MBR for organic removal.

Johir, MAH, Pradhan, M, Loganathan, P, Kandasamy, J & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'Phosphate adsorption from wastewater using zirconium (IV) hydroxide: Kinetics, thermodynamics and membrane filtration adsorption hybrid system studies', JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, vol. 167, pp. 167-174.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Excessive phosphate in wastewater should be removed to control eutrophication of water bodies. The potential of employing amorphous zirconium (Zr) hydroxide to remove phosphate from synthetic wastewater was studied in batch adsorption experiments and in a submerged membrane filtration adsorption hybrid (MFAH) reactor. The adsorption data satisfactorily fitted to Langmuir, pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order models. Langmuir adsorption maxima at 22 °C and pHs of 4.0, 7.1, and 10.0 were 30.40, 18.50, and 19.60 mg P/g, respectively. At pH 7.1 and temperatures of 40 °C and 60 °C, they were 43.80 and 54.60 mg P/g, respectively. The thermodynamic parameters, δG° and δS° were negative and δH° was positive. FTIR, zeta potential and competitive phosphate, sulphate and nitrate adsorption data showed that the mechanism of phosphate adsorption was inner-sphere complexation. In the submerged MFAH reactor experiment, when Zr hydroxide was added at doses of 1-5 g/L once only at the start of the experiment, the removal of phosphate from 3 L of wastewater containing 10 mg P/L declined after 5 h of operation. However, when Zr hydroxide was repeatedly added at 5 g/L dose every 24 h, satisfactory removal of phosphate was maintained for 3 days.

Johir, MAH, Shim, WG, Pradhan, M, Vigneswaran, S & Kandasamy, J 2016, 'Benefit of adding adsorbent in submerged membrane microfiltration treatment of wastewater', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 57, no. 44, pp. 1-11.
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In this study, the effect of coupling ion-exchange resin (purolite) and powdered activated carbon (PAC) in a submerged membrane reactor was investigated in terms of (i) removal of different classes of organic matter and (ii) reduction of membrane fouling. The degree of fouling in a membrane hybrid system was modelled in terms of transmembrane pressure development and organic removal efficiency using a simple semi-empirical model. Among these three absorbents, PAC was the most effective with higher removal efficiency for DOC (almost 100% reduction of hydrophobic organic compounds). Excitation–emission matrix analysis and LC–OCD were employed for the detailed organic characterisation.

Kalam, MA, Rashed, MM, Imdadul, HK & Masjuki, HH 2016, 'Property development of fatty acid methyl ester from waste coconut oil as engine fuel', Industrial Crops and Products, vol. 87, pp. 333-339.
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Kalaruban, M, Loganathan, P, Shim, WG, Kandasamy, J, Naidu, G, Nguyen, TV & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'Removing nitrate from water using iron-modified Dowex 21K XLT ion exchange resin: Batch and fluidised-bed adsorption studies', SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY, vol. 158, pp. 62-70.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Elevated concentrations of nitrate in surface waters can cause eutrophication, while in drinking water they pose a threat to human health, especially causing blue baby syndrome in infants. An anion exchange resin - Dowex 21K XLT - was surface modified by incorporating Fe (Dowex-Fe) and tested to remove nitrate from aqueous solutions in batch and fluidised-bed adsorption experiments. Solution pH in the 4.0-7.5 range had no effect on nitrate adsorption. The adsorption data at pH 6.5 fitted well to the Langmuir model with maximum adsorption capacities of 27.6 mg N/g, and 75.3 mg N/g for Dowex and Dowex-Fe resins, respectively. Energy dispersion spectrometry and zeta potential measurements indicated that the increase in adsorption due to Fe impregnation was caused by additional surface positive charges induced on the resin by Fe. In both batch and fluidised-bed experiments, nitrate adsorption capacity declined markedly when sulphate was added, but phosphate and chloride additions had little effect. Batch kinetic data fitted well to the pseudo-first, pseudo-second and homogeneous surface diffusion models. Data from the fluidised-bed experiments satisfactorily fitted to the Thomas and plug-flow models. More than 95% of adsorbed nitrate was desorbed by 1 M KCl in all three adsorption/desorption cycles and the resins were successfully regenerated in each cycle with little reduction in adsorption capacity. No significant reduction in the Fe content of Dowex-Fe occurred during the regeneration.

Kalaruban, M, Loganathan, P, Shim, WG, Kandasamy, J, Ngo, HH & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'Enhanced removal of nitrate from water using amine-grafted agricultural wastes', SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, vol. 565, pp. 503-510.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. Adsorption using low-cost adsorbents is a favourable water treatment method for the removal of water contaminants. In this study the enhanced removal of nitrate, a contaminant at elevated concentration affecting human health and causing eutrophication of water, was tested using chemically modified agricultural wastes as adsorbents. Batch and fixed-bed adsorption studies were performed on corn cob and coconut copra that were surface modified by amine-grafting to increase the surface positive charges. The Langmuir nitrate adsorption capacities (mg N/g) were 49.9 and 59.0 for the amine-grafted (AG) corn cob and coconut copra, respectively at pH 6.5 and ionic strength 1 × 10-3 M NaCl. These values are higher than those of many commercially available anion exchange resins. Fixed-bed (15-cm height) adsorption capacities (mg N/g) calculated from the breakthrough curves were 15.3 and 18.6 for AG corn cob and AG coconut copra, respectively, for an influent nitrate concentration 20 mg N/L at a flow velocity 5 m/h. Nitrate adsorption decreased in the presence of sulphate, phosphate and chloride, with sulphate being the most competitive anion. The Thomas model fitted well to the fixed-bed adsorption data from four repeated adsorption/desorption cycles. Plug-flow model fitted well to the data from only the first cycle.

Kanimozhi, C, Kim, M, Larson, SR, Choi, JW, Choo, Y, Sweat, DP, Osuji, CO & Gopalan, P 2016, 'Isomeric Effect Enabled Thermally Driven Self-Assembly of Hydroxystyrene-Based Block Copolymers', ACS Macro Letters, vol. 5, no. 7, pp. 833-838.
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Kelleway, JJ, Saintilan, N, Macreadie, PI & Ralph, PJ 2016, 'Sedimentary Factors are Key Predictors of Carbon Storage in SE Australian Saltmarshes', ECOSYSTEMS, vol. 19, no. 5, pp. 865-880.
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Kelleway, JJ, Saintilan, N, Macreadie, PI, Skilbeck, CG, Zawadzki, A & Ralph, PJ 2016, 'Seventy years of continuous encroachment substantially increases 'blue carbon' capacity as mangroves replace intertidal salt marshes', GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 1097-1109.
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Khabbaz, H & Fatahi, B 2016, 'Environmental geotechnics challenges in Australia', Environmental Geotechnics, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 2-3.
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Khan, MA, Ngo, HH, Guo, WS, Liu, Y, Nghiem, LD, Hai, FI, Deng, LJ, Wang, J & Wu, Y 2016, 'Optimization of process parameters for production of volatile fatty acid, biohydrogen and methane from anaerobic digestion', Bioresource Technology, vol. 219, pp. 738-748.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd The anaerobic digestion process has been primarily utilized for methane containing biogas production over the past few years. However, the digestion process could also be optimized for producing volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and biohydrogen. This is the first review article that combines the optimization approaches for all three possible products from the anaerobic digestion. In this review study, the types and configurations of the bioreactor are discussed for each type of product. This is followed by a review on optimization of common process parameters (e.g. temperature, pH, retention time and organic loading rate) separately for the production of VFA, biohydrogen and methane. This review also includes additional parameters, treatment methods or special additives that wield a significant and positive effect on production rate and these products’ yield.

Khan, MA, Ngo, HH, Guo, WS, Liu, YW, Zhou, JL, Zhang, J, Liang, S, Ni, BJ, Zhang, XB & Wang, J 2016, 'Comparing the value of bioproducts from different stages of anaerobic membrane bioreactors', Bioresource Technology, vol. 214, pp. 816-825.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd The anaerobic digestion process in anaerobic membrane bioreactors is an effective way for waste management, energy sustainability and pollution control in the environment. This digestion process basically involves the production of volatile fatty acids and biohydrogen as intermediate products and methane as a final product. This paper compares the value of bioproducts from different stages of anaerobic membrane bioreactors through a thorough assessment. The value was assessed in terms of technical feasibility, economic assessment, environmental impact and impact on society. Even though the current research objective is more inclined to optimize the production of methane, the intermediate products could also be considered as economically attractive and environment friendly options. Hence, this is the first review study to correlate the idea into an anaerobic membrane bioreactor which is expected to guide future research pathways regarding anaerobic process and its bioproducts.

Khan, MH, Casillas, G, Mitchell, DRG, Liu, HK, Jiang, L & Huang, Z 2016, 'Carbon- and crack-free growth of hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets and their uncommon stacking order', Nanoscale, vol. 8, no. 35, pp. 15926-15933.
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The quality of hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (h-BNNS) is often associated with the most visible aspects such as lateral size and thickness. Less obvious factors such as sheet stacking order could also have a dramatic impact on the properties of BNNS and therefore its applications. The stacking order can be affected by contamination, cracks, and growth temperatures. In view of the significance of chemical-vapour-decomposition (CVD) assisted growth of BNNS, this paper reports on strategies to grow carbon- and crack-free BNNS by CVD and describes the stacking order of the resultant BNNS. Pretreatment of the most commonly used precursor, ammonia borane, is necessary to remove carbon contamination caused by residual hydrocarbons. Flattening the Cu and W substrates prior to growth and slow cooling around the Cu melting point effectively facilitate the uniform growth of h-BNNS, as a result of a minimal temperature gradient across the Cu substrate. Confining the growth inside alumina boats effectively minimizes etching of the nanosheet by silica nanoparticles originating from the commonly used quartz reactor tube. h-BNNS grown on solid Cu surfaces using this method adopt AB, ABA, AC', and AC'B stacking orders, which are known to have higher energies than the most stable AA' configuration. These findings identify a pathway for the fabrication of high-quality h-BNNS via CVD and should spur studies on stacking order-dependent properties of h-BNNS.

Khezri, N, Mohamad, H & Fatahi, B 2016, 'Stability assessment of tunnel face in a layered soil using upper bound theorem of limit analysis', Geomechanics and Engineering, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 471-492.
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Underground tunnelling is one of the sustainable construction methods which can facilitate the increasing passenger transportation in the urban areas and benefit the community in the long term. Tunnelling in various ground conditions requires careful consideration of the stability factor. This paper investigates three dimensional stability of a shallow circular tunnel in a layered soil. Upper bound theorem of limit analysis was utilised to solve the tunnel face stability problem. A three dimensional kinematic admissible failure mechanism was improved to model a layered soil and limiting assumptions of the previous studies were resolved. The study includes calculation of the minimum support pressure acting on the face of the excavation in closed-face excavations. The effects of the characteristics of the layers on the minimum support pressure were examined. It was found that the ratio of the thickness of cover layers particularly when a weak layer is overlying a stronger layer, has the most significant influence on the minimum tunnel support pressure. Comparisons have been made with the results of the numerical modelling using FLAC3D software. Results of the current study were in a remarkable agreement with those of numerical modelling.

Kim, J, Fu, Q, Scofield, JMP, Kentish, SE & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Ultra-thin film composite mixed matrix membranes incorporating iron(iii)–dopamine nanoparticles for CO₂separation', Nanoscale, vol. 8, no. 15, pp. 8312-8323.
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Iron dopamine nanoparticles (FeDA NPs) are incorporated into a nanoscale thick polyethylene glycol (PEG) matrix for the first time, to form ultra-thin film composite mixed matrix membranes (UTFC-MMMs) via a recently developed continuous assembly of polymers (CAP) nanotechnology. The FeDA NPs are prepared by in situ nano-complexation between Fe(3+) and DA and have a particle size that can be varied from 3 to 74 nanometers by adjusting the molar ratio of DA to Fe(3+) ion. The cross-linked selective layer with sub 100 nanometer thickness is prepared by atom transfer radical polymerisation of a mixture of PEG macrocross-linkers and FeDA NPs on top of a highly permeable poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) prelayer, which is spin-coated onto a porous polyacrylonitrile (PAN) substrate. The incorporation of the FeDA NPs within the PEG-based selective layer is confirmed by XPS analysis. The UTFC-MMMs (thickness: ∼45 nm) formed present excellent gas separation performance with a CO2 permeance of ∼1200 GPU (1 GPU = 10(-6) cm(3) (STP) cm(-2) s(-1) cmHg(-1)) and an enhanced CO2/N2 selectivity of over 35, which is the best performance for UTFC membranes in the reported literature.

Kim, J, Fu, Q, Xie, K, Scofield, JMP, Kentish, SE & Qiao, GG 2016, 'CO2 separation using surface-functionalized SiO2 nanoparticles incorporated ultra-thin film composite mixed matrix membranes for post-combustion carbon capture', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 515, pp. 54-62.
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CO2 separation across polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based ultra-thin film composite mixed matrix membranes (UTFC-MMMs) containing surface-functionalized SiO2 nanoparticles (SFSNPs) were investigated. The SFSNPs were prepared by physicochemical adsorption of polyethyleneimine (PEI), polydopamine (PDA) and codeposition of PEI and PDA onto the porous SiO2 nanoparticles (diameter of ~10 nm). A cross-linked PEG-based polymer incorporating the SFSNPs was formed into an ultra-thin, CO2 selective layer of ~ 55 nm via a novel nano-coating technology, namely continuous assembly of polymers (CAP). The resulting PEG-based UTFC-MMMs demonstrate the potential of ultra thin films prepared by the CAP nanotechnology to enhance CO2 separation. The mixed matrix membranes achieved a CO2 permeance of ~1300 GPU (1 GPU=10-6 cm3 (STP) cm-2 s-1 cmHg-1) and a favorable CO2/N2 selectivity of 27, which is a 30% and 25% rise in CO2 permeance and CO2/N2 selectivity respectively above the values obtained from simple PEG-based UTFC membranes.

Kim, J, Park, M, Shon, HK & Kim, JH 2016, 'Performance analysis of reverse osmosis, membrane distillation, and pressure-retarded osmosis hybrid processes', Desalination, vol. 380, pp. 85-92.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. A performance analysis of a tri-combined process that consists of reverse osmosis (RO), membrane distillation (MD), and pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) was conducted by using numerical approaches in order to evaluate its feasibility. In the hybrid process, the RO brine is partially used as the MD feed solution, and the concentrated MD brine is then mixed with the rest of the RO brine to be considered as the PRO draw solution. Here, the brine division ratio, incoming flow rate of RO, dimensions of the MD and PRO processes, and the supply cost of the MD heat source were considered as influential parameters. Previously validated process models were employed and the specific energy consumption (SEC) was calculated to examine the performance of the RO-MD-PRO hybrid process. The simulation results confirmed that the RO-MD-PRO hybrid process could outperform stand-alone RO in terms of reducing the SEC and the environmental footprint by dilution of the RO brine in locations where free or low-cost thermal energy can be exploited. Despite the need for further investigations and pilot-tests to determine its commercial practicability, this study provides insights into future directions for water and energy nexus processes for energy efficient desalination.

Kim, J, Park, MJ, Park, M, Shon, HK, Kim, S-H & Kim, JH 2016, 'Influence of colloidal fouling on pressure retarded osmosis', Desalination, vol. 389, pp. 207-214.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. In this study, colloidal fouling behavior in pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) was systematically investigated in terms of the effects of draw solution concentration, applied hydraulic pressure at the draw side, feed solution pH, and particle size. Commercially-available cellulose triacetate (CTA) membranes were fouled with feed solution containing silica colloidal particles. Two different silica particles with mean diameter of 27 and 152 nm were used as model foulants. Our findings demonstrated that the colloidal fouling in PRO was dominantly affected by the cake layer buildup at the membrane surface. Fouling was further exacerbated by diffused salts from the draw side because retained salts within the cake layer elevated the salt concentration on the membrane surface, and consequently reduced the driving force of PRO. Substantial flux decline with the smaller particles was attributed to the high cake layer resistance due to the formation of the void-less cake layer. In addition, our approaches to mitigate the colloidal fouling revealed that the hydraulic cleaning by increasing the cross-flow rates was not effective to eliminate the compact cake layer. However, adjusting the feed solution pH showed the high potential to relieve the colloidal fouling resulting from the more stabilization of particles at low solution pH.

Kim, Y, Chekli, L, Shim, W-G, Phuntsho, S, Li, S, Ghaffour, N, Leiknes, T & Shon, HK 2016, 'Selection of suitable fertilizer draw solute for a novel fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis-anaerobic membrane bioreactor hybrid system', BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY, vol. 210, pp. 26-34.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. In this study, a protocol for selecting suitable fertilizer draw solute for anaerobic fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis membrane bioreactor (AnFDFOMBR) was proposed. Among eleven commercial fertilizer candidates, six fertilizers were screened further for their FO performance tests and evaluated in terms of water flux and reverse salt flux. Using selected fertilizers, bio-methane potential experiments were conducted to examine the effect of fertilizers on anaerobic activity due to reverse diffusion. Mono-ammonium phosphate (MAP) showed the highest biogas production while other fertilizers exhibited an inhibition effect on anaerobic activity with solute accumulation. Salt accumulation in the bioreactor was also simulated using mass balance simulation models. Results showed that ammonium sulfate and MAP were the most appropriate for AnFDFOMBR since they demonstrated less salt accumulation, relatively higher water flux, and higher dilution capacity of draw solution. Given toxicity of sulfate to anaerobic microorganisms, MAP appears to be the most suitable draw solution for AnFDFOMBR.

Kumar, M, Kuzhiumparambil, U, Pernice, M, Jiang, Z & Ralph, PJ 2016, 'Metabolomics: an emerging frontier of systems biology in marine macrophytes', ALGAL RESEARCH-BIOMASS BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS, vol. 16, pp. 76-92.
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© 2016. Metabolomics is a rapidly emerging discipline within functional genomics which is increasingly being applied to understand biochemical phenotypes across a range of biological systems. Metabolomics measures all (or a subset) metabolites in a cell at a specific time point, reflecting a snapshot of all the regulatory events responding to the external environmental conditions. Although metabolomics and systems biology approaches have been applied to the study of terrestrial plants, few marine macrophytes have been examined using these novel technologies. Marine macrophytes (including seaweeds and seagrasses) are marine ecosystem engineers delivering a range of ecologically and economically valuable biological services; however they are under threat from a wide range of anthropogenic stressors, climate variation, invasive species and pathogens. Investigating metabolomic regulation in these organisms is crucial to understand their acclimation, adaptation and defence responses to environmental challenges. This review describes the current analytical tools available to study metabolomics in marine macrophytes, along with their limitations for both targeted and non-targeted workflows. To illustrate recent advances in systems biology studies in marine macrophytes, we describe how metabolites are used in chemical defence to deter a broad range of invasive species and pathogens, as well as metabolomic reprogramming leading to acclimation or adaptive strategies to environmental and anthropogenic stresses. Where possible, the mechanistic processes associated with primary and secondary plant metabolism governing cellular homeostasis under extreme environments are discussed. Further, we provide a comprehensive overview of an in silico plant metabolome database that can be utilized to advance our knowledge from a system biology approach to marine macrophytes. Finally, functional integration of metabolomics with the allied 'omics' disciplines of transcriptomics a...

Kyong Shon, H, Duc Nghiem, L, Kim, S, Akmar Zakaria, Z, Tijing, L, Shu, L & Jegatheesan, V 2016, 'Editorial', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 57, no. 60, pp. 29192-29192.
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Laiolo, L, McInnes, AS, Matear, R & Doblin, MA 2016, 'Key Drivers of Seasonal Plankton Dynamics in Cyclonic and Anticyclonic Eddies off East Australia', Frontiers in Marine Science, vol. 3, no. AUG, pp. 1-14.
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© 2016 Laiolo, McInnes, Matear and Doblin. Mesoscale eddies in the south west Pacific region are prominent ocean features that represent distinctive environments for phytoplankton. Here, we examine the seasonal plankton dynamics associated with averaged cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies (CE and ACE, respectively) off eastern Australia. We do this through building seasonal climatologies of mixed layer depth (MLD) and surface chlorophyll-a for both CE and ACE by combining remotely sensed sea surface height (TOPEX/Poseidon, Envisat, Jason-1, and OSTM/Jason-2), remotely sensed ocean color (GlobColour) and in situ profiles of temperature, salinity and pressure from Argo floats. Using the CE and ACE seasonal climatologies, we assimilate the surface chlorophyll-a data into both a single (WOMBAT), and multi-phytoplankton class (EMS) biogeochemical model to investigate the level of complexity required to simulate the phytoplankton chlorophyll-a. For the two eddy types, the data assimilation showed both biogeochemical models only needed one set of parameters to represent phytoplankton but needed different parameters for zooplankton. To assess the simulated phytoplankton behavior we compared EMS model simulations with a ship-based experiment that involved incubating a winter phytoplankton community sampled from below the mixed layer under ambient and two higher light intensities with and without nutrient enrichment. By the end of the 5-day field experiment, large diatom abundance was four times greater in all treatments compared to the initial community, with a corresponding decline in pico-cyanobacteria. The experimental results were consistent with the simulated behavior in CE and ACE, where the seasonal deepening of the mixed layer during winter produced a rapid increase in large phytoplankton. Our model simulations suggest that CE off East Australia are not only characterized by a higher chlorophyll-a concentration compared to ACE, but also by a higher concentr...

Le Thi Minh, T, Nguyen Phuoc, D, Dinh Quoc, T, Ngo, HH & Do Hong Lan, C 2016, 'Presence of e-EDCs in surface water and effluents of pollution sources in Sai Gon and Dong Nai river basin', Sustainable Environment Research, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 20-27.
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© 2016 This study aimed to assess the presence of estrogenic endocrine disrupting compounds (e-EDCs) including estriol, bisphenol A (BPA), atrazine (ATZ), octylphenol, octylphenol diethoxylate, octylphenol triethoxylate, nonylphenol, Nonylphenol triethoxylate (NPE3), nonylphenol diethoxylate (NPE2) and 17β-estradiol in: (i) Sai Gon and Dong Nai river waters which have been major raw water sources for drinking water supply for Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and neighbouring provinces, and (ii) water pollution sources located in their catchment basin. NPE3 and NPE2 were detected in most of the surface water samples. Concentrations of NPE3 were in a range of less than 5.9–235 ng L −1 , whereas BPA was detected at significantly high concentrations in the dry season in canals in HCMC. In the upstream of Sai Gon and Dong Nai Rivers, ATZ concentrations were observed at water intake of water treatment plants served for HCMC water supply system. Similarly, high potential risk of NPE2 and NPE3 contamination at Phu Cuong Bridge near Hoa Phu water intake was identified. The significant correlation between NPE2, dissolved organic carbon and total nitrogen was found. Estrogenic equivalent or estrogenic activity of Sai Gon and Dong Nai Rivers was lower than those of the previous studies. Compared with other studies, e-EDCs of pollution in Sai Gon river basin were relatively low.

Le, TM & Fatahi, B 2016, 'Trust-region reflective optimisation to obtain soil visco-plastic properties', Engineering Computations, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 410-442.
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Purpose A non-linear creep function embedded in an elastic visco-plastic (EVP) model can simulate the decrease of creep compression rate with time. It overcomes the limitation of a linear logarithmic creep function, by which creep continuously increases to infinite value as time approaches infinity. However, the determination of the creep model parameters is a challenging task to apply the EVP model. Therefore, this paper presents a new numerical solution to determine the EVP model parameters applying trust-region reflective least square optimisation algorithm and the finite difference scheme to simulate stress-strain behaviour of soft soil. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the developed method is verified against the field case study of Väsby test fill. A set of EVP model parameters is obtained by applying the developed method to the available laboratory consolidation results of Väsby clay. Then, the predictions of settlement and the excess pore water pressure at different depths are compared to the available field measurement. Findings The analysis results show the developed method is a reliable tool to evaluate the long-term performance of soft soils under embankments. Practical implications Practicing engineers can use the proposed optimisation algorithm to increase the accuracy of the soil visco-plastic model parameters by utilising all laboratory results of several loading stages during and after the...

Lee, E-J, An, AK, He, T, Woo, YC & Shon, HK 2016, 'Electrospun nanofiber membranes incorporating fluorosilane-coated TiO2 nanocomposite for direct contact membrane distillation', JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE, vol. 520, pp. 145-154.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. The electrospinning technique as a method for fabricating hydrophobic membranes for membrane distillation (MD) has received much attention in recent times. In this study, TiO2 functionalized with 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane was added directly to the dope solution for electrospinning in order to increase the hydrophobicity of the resulting MD membranes. Three concentrations (10%, 15% and 20%) of polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene (PH) dope solution were used for electrospinning with various amounts of TiO2 (1%, 5% and 10%) to generate nanofibers. The electrospun nanofiber membrane (ENM) of 20% PH with 10% TiO2 exhibited the highest surface hydrophobicity (contact angle=149°) resulting from good dispersion of the TiO2 particles, while the highest liquid entry pressure of 194.5 kPa was observed for the ENM comprising 10% PH with 10% TiO2 due to its reduced pore sizes. Furthermore, the ENMs containing 10% TiO2 exhibited better flux and stable salt rejection than commercial and ENMs without TiO2. Notably, there was no severe wetting in the 20% PH ENM with 10% TiO2 over seven days of operation, despite the high salt concentration (7.0 wt% NaCl) of the feed water.

Lee, H, Golicz, AA, Bayer, PE, Jiao, Y, Tang, H, Paterson, AH, Sablok, G, Krishnaraj, RR, Chan, C-KK, Batley, J, Kendrick, GA, Larkum, AWD, Ralph, PJ & Edwards, D 2016, 'The Genome of a Southern Hemisphere Seagrass Species (Zostera muelleri)', Plant Physiology, vol. 172, no. 1, pp. 272-283.
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Seagrasses are marine angiosperms that evolved from land plants but returned to the sea around 140 million years ago during the early evolution of monocotyledonous plants. They successfully adapted to abiotic stresses associated with growth in the marine environment, and today, seagrasses are distributed in coastal waters worldwide. Seagrass meadows are an important oceanic carbon sink and provide food and breeding grounds for diverse marine species. Here, we report the assembly and characterization of the Zostera muelleri genome, a southern hemisphere temperate species. Multiple genes were lost or modified in Z. muelleri compared with terrestrial or floating aquatic plants that are associated with their adaptation to life in the ocean. These include genes for hormone biosynthesis and signaling and cell wall catabolism. There is evidence of whole-genome duplication in Z. muelleri; however, an ancient pan-commelinid duplication event is absent, highlighting the early divergence of this species from the main monocot lineages.

Lee, J, Jeong, S, Naidu, G, Ye, Y, Chen, V, Liu, Z & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'Performance evaluation of carbon nanotube enhanced membranes for SWRO pretreatment application', Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, vol. 38, no. 8, pp. 123-131.
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© 2016 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) membrane was tested for SWRO pretreatment. The MWCNT membrane itself showed a superior permeate flux (321.3. LMH/bar), which was 4-times as polyethersulfone ultrafiltration (PES-UF) membrane. Reduction of dissolved organic matter improved to 66% with fewer amounts of powder activated carbon (PAC) (0.5. g/L) in MWCNT membrane filtration maintaining a high permeate flux of 600. LMH/bar. It was due to the increased porosity (84.5%) and hydrophilicity (52.9°) by incorporating MWCNT/polyaniline into PES membrane. Ionic strength affected organic removal in seawater filtration by altering electrostatic interaction between organic matter and surface charge of the positively charged MWCNT membrane.

Lee, KY, Park, SM, Kim, JB, Saliby, IE, Shahid, M, Kim, G-J, Shon, HK & Kim, J-H 2016, 'Synthesis and Characterisation of Porous Titania-Silica Composite Aerogel for NO<SUB><I>x</I></SUB> and Acetaldehyde Removal', Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, vol. 16, no. 5, pp. 4505-4511.
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Copyright © 2016 American Scientific Publishers All rights reserved. In this study, the synthesis of porous titania-silica (TiO2-SiO2) composite aerogel at ambient pressure by using non-hazardous chemicals as a source of silica was investigated. TiO2-SiO2 composite aerogels were characterised and their photocatalytic performances were investigated for the removal efficiency of acetaldehyde and NOx under UV light. Results showed that porous composite aerogel with aggregated morphology, high surface area and an increased mesoporosity were formed. TiO2-SiO2(1.8) composite, with high Ti/Si ratio, showed the best results in terms of photocatalytic removal of acetaldehyde and nitrogen oxide.

Li, S, Winters, H, Jeong, S, Emwas, A-H, Vigneswaran, S & Amy, GL 2016, 'Marine bacterial transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) and TEP precursors: Characterization and RO fouling potential', Desalination, vol. 379, pp. 68-74.
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Liu, C, Han, K, Lee, D-J & Wang, Q 2016, 'Simultaneous biological removal of phenol, sulfide, and nitrate using expanded granular sludge bed reactor', Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, vol. 100, no. 9, pp. 4211-4217.
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Biological removal of sulfide, nitrate, and phenol at loading rates of 600 g S/(m(3) day), 900 g N/(m(3) day), and 450 g C/(m(3) day), respectively, from synthetic wastewaters was achieved in an expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactor, whose rates are much higher than literature works and are considered feasible for handling high-strength petrochemical wastewaters without dilution. Effects of C/S ratio (2-2.5:1) on EGSB performance were noted insignificantly. The strains Bacillus sp., Thauera sp., and Pseudomonas sp. were the heterotrophic denitrifiers and the strains Thiobacillus sp., Azoarcus sp., and Sulfurovum sp. were the autotrophic denitrifiers in the EGSB granules. The EGSB reactor experienced biological breakdown at loadings higher than 1200 g S/(m(3) day), 1800 g N/(m(3) day), and 900 g C/(m(3) day) by the following mechanism: high sulfide first inhibits heterotrophic denitrifies (Bacillus sp. and Pseudomonas sp.), thereby accumulating nitrite in the system; then, the accumulated nitrite inhibits autotrophic denitrifiers (Thiobacillus sp., Azoarcus sp., and Sulfurovum sp.) to complete breakdown of the system.

Liu, C, Zhao, D, Ma, W, Guo, Y, Wang, A, Wang, Q & Lee, D-J 2016, 'Denitrifying sulfide removal process on high-salinity wastewaters in the presence of Halomonas sp.', Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, vol. 100, no. 3, pp. 1421-1426.
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Biological conversion of sulfide, acetate, and nitrate to, respectively, elemental sulfur (S(0)), carbon dioxide, and nitrogen-containing gas (such as N2) at NaCl concentration of 35-70 g/L was achieved in an expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactor. A C/N ratio of 1:1 was noted to achieve high sulfide removal and S(0) conversion rate at high salinity. The extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) quantities were increased with NaCl concentration, being 11.4-mg/g volatile-suspended solids at 70 mg/L NaCl. The denitrifying sulfide removal (DSR) consortium incorporated Thauera sp. and Halomonas sp. as the heterotrophs and Azoarcus sp. being the autotrophs at high salinity condition. Halomonas sp. correlates with the enhanced DSR performance at high salinity.

Liu, H, Hu, Z, Zhang, J, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Liang, S, Fan, J, Lu, S & Wu, H 2016, 'Optimizations on supply and distribution of dissolved oxygen in constructed wetlands: A review', Bioresource Technology, vol. 214, pp. 797-805.
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© 2016 Dissolved oxygen (DO) is one of the most important factors that can influence pollutants removal in constructed wetlands (CWs). However, problems of insufficient oxygen supply and inappropriate oxygen distribution commonly exist in traditional CWs. Detailed analyses of DO supply and distribution characteristics in different types of CWs were introduced. It can be concluded that atmospheric reaeration (AR) served as the promising point on oxygen intensification. The paper summarized possible optimizations of DO in CWs to improve its decontamination performance. Process (tidal flow, drop aeration, artificial aeration, hybrid systems) and parameter (plant, substrate and operating) optimizations are particularly discussed in detail. Since economic and technical defects are still being cited in current studies, future prospects of oxygen research in CWs terminate this review.

Liu, Y, Guo, J, Wang, Q & Huang, D 2016, 'Prediction of Filamentous Sludge Bulking using a State-based Gaussian Processes Regression Model', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 31303.
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AbstractActivated sludge process has been widely adopted to remove pollutants in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). However, stable operation of activated sludge process is often compromised by the occurrence of filamentous bulking. The aim of this study is to build a proper model for timely diagnosis and prediction of filamentous sludge bulking in an activated sludge process. This study developed a state-based Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) model to monitor the filamentous sludge bulking related parameter, sludge volume index (SVI), in such a way that the evolution of SVI can be predicted over multi-step ahead. This methodology was validated with SVI data collected from one full-scale WWTP. Online diagnosis and prediction of filamentous bulking sludge with real-time SVI prediction was tested through a simulation study. The results showed that the proposed methodology was capable of predicting future SVIs with good accuracy, thus providing sufficient time for predicting and controlling filamentous sludge bulking.

Liu, Y, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Peng, L, Pan, Y, Guo, J, Chen, X & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Autotrophic nitrogen removal in membrane-aerated biofilms: Archaeal ammonia oxidation versus bacterial ammonia oxidation', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 302, pp. 535-544.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. Recent discovery of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) not only substantially improved our understanding of the global nitrogen cycle, but also provided new possibilities for nitrogen removal from wastewater. In particular, compared to ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), the high ammonia oxidation under oxygen-limited conditions driven by AOA is potentially more suitable for autotrophic nitrogen removal in a single-stage membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) through coupling with anaerobic ammonia oxidation (Anammox). In this work, mathematical modeling is applied to assess the system performance and associated microbial community structure of an AOA–Anammox MABR under low- (30 mg N L−1) and high-strength (500 mg N L−1) ammonium conditions, with a side-by-side comparison to an AOB–Anammox MABR system under the same conditions. Results demonstrate that both ammonium surface loading (or hydraulic retention time) and oxygen surface loading significantly affect the system performance. In contrast to AOB–Anammox system, the AOA–Anammox MABR shows higher total nitrogen (TN) removal and lower oxygen supply, with much better repression of NOB and substantially wider operating window for high-level TN removal (>80%) in terms of varied oxygen and ammonium loadings. These results provide first insights and useful information for design and operation of this novel AOA–Anammox MABR system in its potential future applications.

Liu, Y, Peng, L, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Wang, D, Pan, Y, Sun, J & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Evaluation of Nitrous Oxide Emission from Sulfide- and Sulfur-Based Autotrophic Denitrification Processes', Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 50, no. 17, pp. 9407-9415.
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© 2016 American Chemical Society. Recent studies have shown that sulfide- and sulfur-based autotrophic denitrification (AD) processes play an important role in contributing to nitrous oxide (N2O) production and emissions. However, N2O production is not recognized in the current AD models, limiting their ability to predict N2O accumulation during AD. In this work, a mathematical model is developed to describe N2O dynamics during sulfide- and sulfur-based AD processes for the first time. The model is successfully calibrated and validated using N2O data from two independent experimental systems with sulfide or sulfur as electron donors for AD. The model satisfactorily describes nitrogen reductions, sulfide/sulfur oxidation, and N2O accumulation in both systems. Modeling results revealed substantial N2O accumulation due to the relatively low N2O reduction rate during both sulfide- and sulfur-based AD processes. Application of the model to simulate long-term operations of activated sludge systems performing sulfide- and sulfur-based AD processes indicates longer sludge retention time reduced N2O emission. For sulfide-based AD process, higher initial S/N ratio also decreased N2O emission but with a higher operational cost. This model can be a useful tool to support process operation optimization for N2O mitigation during AD with sulfide or sulfur as electron donor.

Liu, Y, Sun, J, Peng, L, Wang, D, Dai, X & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Assessment of Heterotrophic Growth Supported by Soluble Microbial Products in Anammox Biofilm using Multidimensional Modeling', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 27576.
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AbstractAnaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is known to autotrophically convert ammonium to dinitrogen gas with nitrite as the electron acceptor, but little is known about their released microbial products and how these are relative to heterotrophic growth in anammox system. In this work, we applied a mathematical model to assess the heterotrophic growth supported by three key microbial products produced by bacteria in anammox biofilm (utilization associated products (UAP), biomass associated products (BAP), and decay released substrate). Both One-dimensional and two-dimensional numerical biofilm models were developed to describe the development of anammox biofilm as a function of the multiple bacteria–substrate interactions. Model simulations show that UAP of anammox is the main organic carbon source for heterotrophs. Heterotrophs are mainly dominant at the surface of the anammox biofilm with small fraction inside the biofilm. 1-D model is sufficient to describe the main substrate concentrations/fluxes within the anammox biofilm, while the 2-D model can give a more detailed biomass distribution. The heterotrophic growth on UAP is mainly present at the outside of anammox biofilm, their growth on BAP (HetB) are present throughout the biofilm, while the growth on decay released substrate (HetD) is mainly located in the inner layers of the biofilm.

Liu, Y, Tugtas, AE, Sharma, KR, Ni, B-J & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Sulfide and methane production in sewer sediments: Field survey and model evaluation', Water Research, vol. 89, pp. 142-150.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Sewer sediment processes have been reported to significantly contribute to overall sulfide and methane production in sewers, at a scale comparable to that of sewer biofilms. The physiochemical and biological characteristics of sewer sediments are heterogeneous; however, the variability of in-sediments sulfide and methane production rates among sewers has not been assessed to date. In this study, five sewer sediment samples were collected from two cities in Australia with different climatic conditions. Batch assays were conducted to determine the rates of sulfate reduction and methane production under different flow velocity (shear stress) conditions as well as under completely mixed conditions. The tests showed substantial and variable sulfate reduction and methane production activities among different sediments. Sulfate reduction and methane production from sewer sediments were confirmed to be areal processes, and were dependent on flow velocity/shear stress. Despite of the varying characteristics and reactions kinetics, the sulfate reduction and methane production processes in all sediments could be well described by a one-dimensional sewer sediment model recently developed based on results obtained from a laboratory sewer sediment reactor. Model simulations indicated that the in-situ contribution of sewer sediment emissions could be estimated without the requirement of measuring the specific sediment characteristics or the sediment depths.

Liu, Y, Xiao, H, Pan, Y, Huang, D & Wang, Q 2016, 'Development of multiple-step soft-sensors using a Gaussian process model with application for fault prognosis', Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems, vol. 157, pp. 85-95.
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Predicting the degradation of working conditions and trending of fault propagation before they reach the alarm or failure control limit is significantly important to optimize the operational capacity of a chemical process. However, traditional one-step-ahead (OS) soft-sensors render such benefits inadequate. Direct, Recursive and Direct-recursive strategies are proposed to generalize the Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) model for multi-step-ahead (MS) prediction, thereby supporting the fault diagnosis and prognosis of the product qualities control for chemical processes. The proposed methodology was firstly demonstrated by applying the designed algorithm to a wastewater plant (WWTP) simulated with the well-established model, i.e., Benchmark Simulation Model 1 (BSM1), then extended to a full-scale WWTP with data collected from the field influenced by filamentous sludge bulking. Results showed that the proposed strategies significantly improved the prediction performance.

Lu, S, Chen, F, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Feng, C, Wu, J & Zheng, B 2016, 'Effect of straw and polyacrylamide on the stability of land/water ecotone soil and the field implementation', Ecological Engineering, vol. 94, pp. 12-21.
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Luo, L, Wang, XC, Ngo, HH & Guo, W 2016, 'Thermodynamic entropy of organic oxidation in the water environment: experimental evaluation compared to semi-empirical calculation', Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 23, no. 21, pp. 21350-21359.
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Luo, W, Hai, FI, Price, WE, Elimelech, M & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Evaluating ionic organic draw solutes in osmotic membrane bioreactors for water reuse', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 514, pp. 636-645.
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Luo, W, Hai, FI, Price, WE, Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Yamamoto, K & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Phosphorus and water recovery by a novel osmotic membrane bioreactor–reverse osmosis system', Bioresource Technology, vol. 200, pp. 297-304.
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Luo, W, Phan, HV, Hai, FI, Price, WE, Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Yamamoto, K & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Effects of salinity build-up on the performance and bacterial community structure of a membrane bioreactor', Bioresource Technology, vol. 200, pp. 305-310.
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Luo, W, Xie, M, Hai, FI, Price, WE & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Biodegradation of cellulose triacetate and polyamide forward osmosis membranes in an activated sludge bioreactor: Observations and implications', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 510, pp. 284-292.
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Lyu, H, Gong, Y, Tang, J, Huang, Y & Wang, Q 2016, 'Immobilization of heavy metals in electroplating sludge by biochar and iron sulfide', Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 23, no. 14, pp. 14472-14488.
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Electroplating sludge (ES) containing large quantities of heavy metals is regarded as a hazardous waste in China. This paper introduced a simple method of treating ES using environmentally friendly fixatives biochar (BC) and iron sulfide (FeS), respectively. After 3 days of treatment with FeS at a FeS-to-ES mass ratio of 1:5, the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP)-based leachability of total Cr (TCr), Cu(II), Ni(II), Pb(II), and Zn(II) was decreased by 59.6, 100, 63.8, 73.5, and 90.5 %, respectively. After 5 days of treatment with BC at a BC-to-ES mass ratio of 1:2, the TCLP-based leachability was declined by 35.1, 30.6, 22.3, 23.1, and 22.4 %, respectively. Pseudo first-order kinetic model adequately simulated the sorption kinetic data. Structure and morphology analysis showed that adsorption, electrostatic attraction, surface complexation, and chemical precipitation were dominant mechanisms for heavy metals immobilization by BC, and that chemical precipitation (formation of metal sulfide and hydroxide precipitates), iron exchange (formation of CuFeS2), and surface complexation were mainly responsible for heavy metals removal by FeS. Economic costs of BC and FeS were 500 and 768 CNY/t, lower than that of Na2S (940 CNY/t). The results suggest that BC and FeS are effective, economic, and environmentally friendly fixatives for immobilization of heavy metals in ES before landfill disposal.

Ma, XY, Wang, XC, Wang, D, Ngo, HH, Zhang, Q, Wang, Y & Dai, D 2016, 'Function of a landscape lake in the reduction of biotoxicity related to trace organic chemicals from reclaimed water', Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol. 318, pp. 663-670.
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Mahdavi, H, Fatahi, B, Khabbaz, H, Vincent, P & Kelly, R 2016, 'Comparison of Coupled Flow-deformation and Drained Analyses for Road Embankments on CMC Improved Ground', Procedia Engineering, vol. 143, pp. 462-469.
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© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. The use of controlled modulus columns (CMC) is gaining increased popularity in the support of rail and road bridge approach embankments on soft soils. The further columns are driven into the competent firm soils, the further the design will rely on the inclusions to take the bulk of the vertical loads, as they become rigid inclusions. The advantage of this design approach is that it produces increased control over the settlement, but as a result the columns will attract greater loads, including bending moment and shear force in situations where non-uniform loading or ground conditions exist. The load on the composite soil-CMC is uniformly distributed by the upper layer of granular load transfer platform (LTP), which also includes a layer of reinforcement. Finite difference program FLAC3D has been used to numerically simulate an embankment on the improved ground with end-bearing CMC. A geosynthetic reinforcement layer has been simulated using the inbuilt FLAC3D geogrid element. In this paper, a comparison has been made between the drained and coupled flow-deformation analyses. The force in the reinforcement layer, in particular, has been compared for the two analysis approaches. It was found that according to the numerical simulation, the drained analysis provides lower estimates of the settlement, lateral displacement; and therefore, predicts less tension in the geosynthetic layer.

Majeed, T, Phuntsho, S, Chekli, L, Lee, S-H, Kim, K & Shon, HK 2016, 'Role of various physical and chemical techniques for hollow fibre forward osmosis membrane cleaning', DESALINATION AND WATER TREATMENT, vol. 57, no. 17, pp. 7742-7752.
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© 2015 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. Fouling is an inevitable phenomenon with most of the water treatment systems. Similar to RO, NF and other membrane-based systems, fouling also seriously affects the performance of low-cost forward-osmosis (FO) systems and disturbs the overall efficiency of these systems, and various cleaning practices have been evaluated to restore their designed performances. This study evaluates the performance of various physical and chemical cleaning techniques for hollow fibre forward-osmosis (HFFO) membrane. HFFO membrane was subjected to various fouling conditions using different brackish groundwater qualities and model organic foulants such as alginate, humic acid and bovine serum albumin. Results indicated that physical cleaning affects differently the flux restoration according to the type of foulants (i.e. inorganic or organic) and the crossflow rates play an important role in membrane cleaning in both membrane orientation. The higher cross flow Re values at any particular area seem important for the cleaning. With hydraulic flushing, the flux performances of HFFO were recovered fully when operated in AL-FS orientation, as high shear force helps to detach all scaling layers from the surface; however, the lower shear force did not fully restore the flux for the FS membrane in AL-DS orientation. Chemical cleaning was planned for the fouled HFFO membrane, and HCl and NaOH were used in various combination sequences. It was found that HCl did not clean the membrane used for AL-DS orientation for combined fouling. HCl cleaning (at pH 2) was found to be more effective for removing inorganic scale, whereas NaOH cleaning (at pH 11) for a similar period successfully restored the flux for all the membranes used for FS with inorganic and/or organic foulants. ethylenediamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA) was also evaluated for its cleaning performances and it was found that compared to NaOH, EDTA cleaning (1 mM con...

Majeed, T, Phuntsho, S, Jeong, S, Zhao, Y, Gao, B & Shon, HK 2016, 'Understanding the risk of scaling and fouling in hollow fiber forward osmosis membrane application', Process Safety and Environmental Protection, vol. 104, pp. 452-464.
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© 2016 Institution of Chemical Engineers Fouling studies of forward osmosis (FO) were mostly conducted based on fouling evaluation principals applied to pressure membrane processes such as reverse osmosis (RO)/nanofiltration (NF)/microfiltration (MF)/ultrafiltration (UF). For RO/NF/MF/UF processes, the single flux driving force (hydraulic pressure) remains constant, thus the fouling effect is easily evaluated by comparing flux data with the baseline. Whilst, the scenario of fouling effects for FO process is entirely different from RO/NF/MF/UF processes. Continuously changing driving force (osmotic pressure difference), the changes in concentration polarization associated with the varying draw solution/feed solution concentration and the fouling layer effects collectively influence the FO flux. Thus, usual comparison of the FO flux outcome with the baseline results cannot exactly indicate the real affect of membrane fouling, rather presents a misleading cumulative effect. This study compares the existing FO fouling technique with an alternate fouling evaluation approach using two FO set-ups. Scaling and fouling risk for hollow fiber FO was separately investigated using synthetic water samples and model organic foulants as alginate, humic acid and bovine serum albumin. Results indicated that FO flux declines up to 5% and 49% in active layer-feed solution and active layer-draw solution orientations respectively.

Masjuki, HH, Ruhul, AM, Mustafi, NN, Kalam, MA, Arbab, MI & Rizwanul Fattah, IM 2016, 'Study of production optimization and effect of hydroxyl gas on a CI engine performance and emission fueled with biodiesel blends', International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 41, no. 33, pp. 14519-14528.
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Depletion and environmental impacts of the fossil fuel are the major concerns to think about the alternative energy sources to reduce the load on petroleum fuel. Researchers worldwide are working years to improve the biodiesel fuel economy and emission characteristic. At the same time, they are working on fuel development so that can be used in the IC engine without significant modification in vehicle design. Among different alternative fuels biodiesel as well as hydroxyl gas (HHO, also known as Oxyhydrogen gas) are renewable, recyclable and non-polluting fuel. In this study, HHO gas has been introduced with ordinary diesel (OD) and 20% (v/v) palm biodiesel blended with OD (PB20) for evaluating the engine performance and emission characteristics. Optimum yield of HHO was found using single anode and two cathodes from a solution containing 1% KOH and 100 ml of water producing 2150 cc of HHO gas when electrolysis was carried out for 15 min. Using the HHO generator, about 2% more power and 5% less consumption was observed for biodiesel blended fuel in a single cylinder CI engine at full load variable speed operating conditions. Besides, on an average 20% and 10% reduction of CO and HC emission were observed respectively.

McElroy, DJ, Doblin, MA, Murphy, RJ, Hochuli, DF & Coleman, RA 2016, 'A limited legacy effect of copper in marine biofilms', MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN, vol. 109, no. 1, pp. 117-127.
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The effects of confounding by temporal factors remains understudied in pollution ecology. For example, there is little understanding of how disturbance history affects the development of assemblages. To begin addressing this gap in knowledge, marine biofilms were subjected to temporally-variable regimes of copper exposure and depuration. It was expected that the physical and biological structure of the biofilms would vary in response to copper regime. Biofilms were examined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, chlorophyll-a fluorescence and field spectrometry and it was found that (1) concentrations of copper were higher in those biofilms exposed to copper, (2) concentrations of copper remain high in biofilms after the source of copper is removed, and (3) exposure to and depuration from copper might have comparable effects on the photosynthetic microbial assemblages in biofilms. The persistence of copper in biofilms after depuration reinforces the need for consideration of temporal factors in ecology.

McKenzie, TG, Costa, LPDM, Fu, Q, Dunstan, DE & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Investigation into the photolytic stability of RAFT agents and the implications for photopolymerization reactions', Polymer Chemistry, vol. 7, no. 25, pp. 4246-4253.
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The photolytic stability of RAFT agents under blue LED irradiation has been investigated with regard to photopolymerization reactions.

McKenzie, TG, Fu, Q, Uchiyama, M, Satoh, K, Xu, J, Boyer, C, Kamigaito, M & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Beyond Traditional RAFT: Alternative Activation of Thiocarbonylthio Compounds for Controlled Polymerization', Advanced Science, vol. 3, no. 9, pp. 1500394-1500394.
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Recent developments in polymerization reactions utilizing thiocarbonylthio compounds have highlighted the surprising versatility of these unique molecules. The increasing popularity of reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) radical polymerization as a means of producing well‐defined, ‘controlled’ synthetic polymers is largely due to its simplicity of implementation and the availability of a wide range of compatible reagents. However, novel modes of thiocarbonylthio activation can expand the technique beyond the traditional system (i.e., employing a free radical initiator) pushing the applicability and use of thiocarbonylthio compounds even further than previously assumed. The primary advances seen in recent years are a revival in the direct photoactivation of thiocarbonylthio compounds, their activation via photoredox catalysis, and their use in cationic polymerizations. These synthetic approaches and their implications for the synthesis of controlled polymers represent a significant advance in polymer science, with potentially unforeseen benefits and possibilities for further developments still ahead. This Research News aims to highlight key works in this area while also clarifying the differences and similarities of each system.

McKenzie, TG, Fu, Q, Uchiyama, M, Satoh, K, Xu, J, Boyer, C, Kamigaito, M & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Controlled Polymerization: Beyond Traditional RAFT: Alternative Activation of Thiocarbonylthio Compounds for Controlled Polymerization (Adv. Sci. 9/2016)', Advanced Science, vol. 3, no. 9.
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Messer, LF, Mahaffey, C, Robinson, CM, Jeffries, TC, Baker, KG, Isaksson, JB, Ostrowski, M, Doblin, MA, Brown, MV & Seymour, JR 2016, 'High levels of heterogeneity in diazotroph diversity and activity within a putative hotspot for marine nitrogen fixation', ISME JOURNAL, vol. 10, no. 6, pp. 1499-1513.
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© 2016 International Society for Microbial Ecology. Australia's tropical waters represent predicted 'hotspots' for nitrogen (N 2) fixation based on empirical and modelled data. However, the identity, activity and ecology of diazotrophs within this region are virtually unknown. By coupling DNA and cDNA sequencing of nitrogenase genes (nifH) with size-fractionated N 2 fixation rate measurements, we elucidated diazotroph dynamics across the shelf region of the Arafura and Timor Seas (ATS) and oceanic Coral Sea during Austral spring and winter. During spring, Trichodesmium dominated ATS assemblages, comprising 60% of nifH DNA sequences, while Candidatus Atelocyanobacterium thalassa (UCYN-A) comprised 42% in the Coral Sea. In contrast, during winter the relative abundance of heterotrophic unicellular diazotrophs (δ-proteobacteria and γ-24774A11) increased in both regions, concomitant with a marked decline in UCYN-A sequences, whereby this clade effectively disappeared in the Coral Sea. Conservative estimates of N 2 fixation rates ranged from <1 to 91 nmol l -1 day -1, and size fractionation indicated that unicellular organisms dominated N 2 fixation during both spring and winter, but average unicellular rates were up to 10-fold higher in winter than in spring. Relative abundances of UCYN-A1 and γ-24774A11 nifH transcripts negatively correlated to silicate and phosphate, suggesting an affinity for oligotrophy. Our results indicate that Australia's tropical waters are indeed hotspots for N 2 fixation and that regional physicochemical characteristics drive differential contributions of cyanobacterial and heterotrophic phylotypes to N 2 fixation.

Mofijur, M, Rasul, MG, Hyde, J, Azad, AK, Mamat, R & Bhuiya, MMK 2016, 'Role of biofuel and their binary (diesel–biodiesel) and ternary (ethanol–biodiesel–diesel) blends on internal combustion engines emission reduction', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 53, pp. 265-278.
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Exhaust emission from transportation sector affects the human health. It is the main contributor to degrade the air quality. Biofuel is promising alternative to maintain both human health and environment quality better by reducing harmful emission from biofuel runs diesel engines. This study explores the global and Australian greenhouse gas (GHG) emission scenario along with the contribution of transportation sector to the GHG emission in Australia. Besides, the world biofuel standard with the target and mandate taken by the government of different countries to use biofuel are also discussed in the paper. This review indicated that engine emission is dependant on some factors such as engine operating condition, biofuel types, blending etc. Both biodiesel-diesel and ethanol-biodiesel-diesel blending plays a significant role in reducing the exhaust gas emission such as carbon monoxides (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), particulate matter (PM). But ethanol-biodiesel-diesel and biodiesel-diesel blends produce higher carbon dioxides emission, which is absorbed by the crops and considered as lower net CO2 emission. Finally, about 5-10% of ethanol with 20-25% biodiesel can be added with petro-diesel effectively and efficiently to reduce global GHG emission, thus to maintain environment and human health better.

Mongin, M, Baird, ME, Tilbrook, B, Matear, RJ, Lenton, A, Herzfeld, M, Wild-Allen, K, Skerratt, J, Margvelashvili, N, Robson, BJ, Duarte, CM, Gustafsson, MSM, Ralph, PJ & Steven, ADL 2016, 'The exposure of the Great Barrier Reef to ocean acidification', Nature Communications, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 1-8.
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AbstractThe Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is founded on reef-building corals. Corals build their exoskeleton with aragonite, but ocean acidification is lowering the aragonite saturation state of seawater (Ωa). The downscaling of ocean acidification projections from global to GBR scales requires the set of regional drivers controlling Ωa to be resolved. Here we use a regional coupled circulation–biogeochemical model and observations to estimate the Ωa experienced by the 3,581 reefs of the GBR, and to apportion the contributions of the hydrological cycle, regional hydrodynamics and metabolism on Ωa variability. We find more detail, and a greater range (1.43), than previously compiled coarse maps of Ωa of the region (0.4), or in observations (1.0). Most of the variability in Ωa is due to processes upstream of the reef in question. As a result, future decline in Ωa is likely to be steeper on the GBR than currently projected by the IPCC assessment report.

Monirul, IM, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Mosarof, MH, Zulkifli, NWM, Teoh, YH & How, HG 2016, 'Assessment of performance, emission and combustion characteristics of palm, jatropha and Calophyllum inophyllum biodiesel blends', Fuel, vol. 181, pp. 985-995.
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Mosarof, MH, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH & Ashraful, AM 2016, 'Evaluation of Lubricating Performance of Biodegradable Moringa Oleifera Oil', Modern Environmental Science and Engineering, vol. 2, no. 08, pp. 530-536.
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Mosarof, MH, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Alabdulkarem, A, Ashraful, AM, Arslan, A, Rashedul, HK & Monirul, IM 2016, 'Optimization of performance, emission, friction and wear characteristics of palm and Calophyllum inophyllum biodiesel blends', Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 118, pp. 119-134.
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A running automobile engine produces more friction and wear between its sliding components than an idle one, and thus requires lubrication to reduce this frictional effect. Biodiesel is an alternative diesel fuel that is produced from renewable resources. Energy studies conducted over the last two decades focused on solutions to problems of rising fossil fuel price, increasing dependency on foreign energy sources, and worsening environmental concerns. Palm oil biodiesel is mostly used in Malaysia. This study conducted engine performance and emission tests with a single-cylinder diesel engine fueled with palm and Calophyllum inophyllum biodiesel blends (PB10, PB20, PB30, CIB10, CIB20, and CIB30) at a full-load engine speed range of 1000-2400 rpm, and then compared the results with those of diesel fuel. Friction and wear tests were conducted using the four-ball tester with different temperatures at 40 and 80 kg load conditions and a constant speed of 1800 rpm. The average brake specific fuel consumption increased from 7.96% to 10.15% while operating on 10%, 20%, and 30% blends of palm and C. inophyllum biodiesel. The respective average brake powers for PB20 and PB30 were 9.31% and 12.93% lower compared with that for diesel fuel. PB20 produced relatively lower CO and HC emissions than the diesel and biodiesel blends. Diesel produced low amounts of NOX emission, and the CIB blend produced a lower frictional coefficient compared with the diesel and PB blends. PB30 showed high average FTP and low average WSD, both of which enhanced lubricating performance. An average metal element composition was found in PB20 under the 40 and 80 kg load conditions. PB20 showed lower worn scar surface areas compared with the diesel and biodiesel blends. Results indicated that PB20 has better engine performance, lower emission, and good lubrication properties compared with diesel and biodiesel blends. Thus, PB20 is suitable for use in diesel engines without the need for any en...

Mosarof, MH, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Alabdulkarem, A, Habibullah, M, Arslan, A & Monirul, IM 2016, 'Assessment of friction and wear characteristics of Calophyllum inophyllum and palm biodiesel', Industrial Crops and Products, vol. 83, pp. 470-483.
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Murray, SA, Suggett, DJ, Doblin, MA, Kohli, GS, Seymour, JR, Fabris, M & Ralph, PJ 2016, 'Unravelling the functional genetics of dinoflagellates: a review of approaches and opportunities', Perspectives in Phycology, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 37-52.
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Dinoflagellates occupy an extraordinarily diverse array of ecological niches. Their success stems from a suite of functional and ecological strategies, including the production of secondary metabolites with anti-predator or allelopathic impacts, nutritional flexibility, and the ability to form symbiotic relationships. Despite their ecological importance, we currently have a poor understanding of the genetic basis for many of these strategies, due to the complex genomes of dinoflagellates. Genomics and transcriptomic sequencing approaches are now providing the first insights into the genetic basis of some dinoflagellate functional traits, providing the opportunity for novel ecological experiments, novel methods for monitoring of harmful biotoxins, and allowing us to investigate the production of ecologically and economically important compounds such as the long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid, docosahexanoic acid and the climatically important metabolite, dimethylsulfoniopropionate. Despite these advances, we still generally lack the ability to genetically manipulate species, which would enable the confirmation of biosynthetic pathways and the development of novel bio-engineering applications. Here, we describe advances in understanding the genetic basis of dinoflagellate ecology, and propose biotechnological approaches that could be applied to further transform our understanding of this unique group of eukaryotes.

Naidu, G, Jeong, S, Vigneswaran, S, Hwang, T-M, Choi, Y-J & Kim, S-H 2016, 'A review on fouling of membrane distillation', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 57, no. 22, pp. 10052-10076.
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© 2015 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. Membrane distillation (MD) has been developed for the past 40 years. Nevertheless, only in recent times, MD technology has shown substantial progress, including the development of a few commercial systems. In this study, a comprehensive review is carried out on the application of MD for the production of drinking water. Based on a broad perspective, this review describes the applications of MD for drinking water production, its advantages, and limitations. Specifically, this review focuses on the scaling and organic fouling phenomena in MD for drinking water production as one of the major challenge to MD implementation. The fouling and wetting phenomena in MD is discussed in detail as well as fouling detection methods, the influence of feed solution characteristics, and operational parameters on MD fouling and related areas requiring future investigations. The study highlights a number of approaches on fouling reduction in MD.

Naidu, G, Jeong, S, Vigneswaran, S, Jang, E-K, Choi, Y-J & Hwang, T-M 2016, 'Fouling study on vacuum-enhanced direct contact membrane distillation for seawater desalination', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 57, no. 22, pp. 10042-10051.
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© 2015 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. Vacuum-enhanced direct contact membrane distillation (VE-DCMD) has been proposed to improve the DCMD system performance with better effective energy efficiency. However, the higher driving forces by the presence of vacuum pressure at permeate side of the VE-DCMD system could contribute to higher fouling development. In this study, thus, the biochemical fouling development of VE-DCMD with different vacuum pressures (700, 500, and 300 mbar) for seawater desalination was investigated in comparison with DCMD (1,000 mbar of pressure applied). VE-DCMD showed a significant increase in initial permeate flux while its flux decline was faster than DCMD. Low molecular weight (LMW) organics were found to be a dominant organic foulant on DCMD with thermally disaggregated humic substances (HS) to LMW HS-like organics. On the other hand, the presence of vacuum reduced the disaggregation HS to LMW HS-like organics. However, high driving force of VE-DCMD caused higher deposition of organic foulant including the LMW organics as well as HS. It also led to the higher LMW organic contents in permeate. Fluorescence excitation–emission matrix (F-EEM) analysis result showed that fulvic-like organic is a dominant HS foulant in VE-DCMD. Fouling development on membrane was observed using scanning electron microscope, contact angle, and confocal laser scanning microscope.

Naidu, G, Loganathan, P, Jeong, S, Johir, MAH, To, VHP, Kandasamy, J & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'Rubidium extraction using an organic polymer encapsulated potassium copper hexacyanoferrate sorbent', CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL, vol. 306, pp. 31-42.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. Sea water reverse osmosis (SWRO) brine contains significant quantity of Rb. As an economically valuable metal, extracting Rb using a suitable and selective extraction method would be beneficial. An inorganic sorbent, copper based potassium hexacyanoferrate (KCuFC), exhibited high selectivity to extract Rb compared to potassium hexacyanoferrate consisting of other transition metal combinations such as Ni, Co and Fe. An organic polymer (polyacrylonitrile, PAN) encapsulated KCuFC (KCuFC-PAN) achieved a Langmuir maximum Rb sorption capacity of 1.23 mmol/g at pH 7.0 ± 0.5. KCuFC-PAN showed Rb selectivity over a wide concentration range of co-existing ions and salinity of SWRO brine. High salinity (0.5–2.5 M NaCl) resulted in 12–30% sorption capacity reduction. At a molar ratio of Li:Rb (21:1), Cs:Rb (0.001:1) and Ca:Rb (14,700:1) commonly found in SWRO brine, sorption reduction of only 18% occurred. Nevertheless, at a very high K:Rb molar ratio (7700:1), KCuFC-PAN sorption capacity of Rb reduced significantly by 65–70%. KCuFC-PAN was well suited for column operation. In a fixed-bed KCuFC-PAN column (influent concentration 0.06 mmol Rb/L, flow velocity 2 m/h), two sorption/desorption cycles were successfully achieved with a maximum Rb sorption capacity of 1.01 (closely similar to the batch study) and 0.85 mmol/g in the first and second cycles, respectively. Around 95% of Rb was desorbed from the column with 0.2 M KCl. Resorcinol formaldehyde (RF) resin showed promising results of separating Rb from K/Rb mixed solution in effluents from a fixed-bed column, and a subsequent sequential acid desorption, producing 68% purified Rb.

Naidu, G, Nur, T, Loganathan, P, Kandasamy, J & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'Selective sorption of rubidium by potassium cobalt hexacyanoferrate', SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY, vol. 163, pp. 238-246.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Recovering economically valuable rubidium (Rb) from natural resources is challenged due to its low concentration and limited selectivity of extracting agents. Equilibrium and kinetic studies were conducted on the sorptive removal of Rb at low concentration (5 mg/L) using a commercial and a laboratory prepared potassium cobalt hexacyanoferrate (KCoFC). These laboratory and commercial KCoFCs exhibited similar characteristics in terms of chemical composition, surface morphology (scanning electron microscopy) and crystal structure (X-ray diffraction peaks). KCoFC exhibited a higher sorption capacity for Rb (Langmuir maximum sorption 96.2 mg/g) and cesium (Cs) (Langmuir maximum sorption 60.6 mg/g) compared to other metals such as lithium (Li), sodium (Na) and calcium (Ca) (sorption capacity < 2 mg/g). KCoFC sorption capacity for Rb was affected only when Cs was present at twice the concentration of Rb, while the influence of other metals (Li, Na, and Ca) was minimal even at high concentrations. High Rb sorption capacity was due to the exchange of Rb for K inside the crystal lattice and strong sorption on the sorbent surface. These were evident from the data on K release during Rb sorption and reduced negative zeta potential at the sorbent surface in the presence of Rb, respectively. Kinetic sorption of Rb was satisfactorily described by the pseudo-second order model with intraparticle diffusion and exchange of Rb with structural K acting as major rate limiting steps. Up to 74% desorption of Rb was achieved with 0.1 M KCl. Overall, the results established the superior selectivity of KCoFC for Rb sorption.

Nam, E, Wong, EHH, Tan, S, Guntari, SN, Fu, Q, Kim, J, Delalat, B, Blencowe, A & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Spatial-controlled nanoengineered films prepared via rapid catalyst induced cross-linking', Polym. Chem., vol. 7, no. 19, pp. 3251-3258.
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A new top-down approach to generate stable nanoscale films via catalyst induced cross-linking (CIC) is demonstrated. Polymers with various compositions and bearing pendent norbornene groups (defined as macrocross-linkers) are initially spin-coated onto substrates to form nanometre-thick films; when the films are brought into contact with a catalyst solution, ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP)-mediated cross-linking efficiently occurs to lock the film into place. CIC provides a new paradigm for the fabrication of stable nanoscale films and provides an alternative to traditional methods that use external stimuli (e.g., heat or light) to trigger film cross-linking. The process requires short cross-linking times (<3 min) to generate covalently bonded and stable nanoscale films. This facile nanoengineering approach allows for the creation of complex multi-layered and multi-compositional patterned films, enables excellent control over film properties such as thickness and swellability, and provides access to nanoscale free-standing polymer sheets. To highlight the versatility of the CIC approach, cross-linked, nanostructured and stratified multi-layered films with tunable film thickness were prepared from norbornene functionalised poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate), poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(3-hexylthiophene) macrocross-linkers. CIC proceeds at low catalyst concentrations and allows the catalyst solution to be recycled multiple times, as demonstrated through repetition of 10 individual CIC cycles, making the process economical, scalable and applicable to advanced manufacturing techniques. Furthermore, the technique can be used to produce patterned films through selective exposure of specific regions of the polymer film to the catalyst solution. The CIC approach mediated by ROMP is highly efficient, rapid, robust and versatile, providing new opportunities in film assembly, and complementing existing nanoscale film fabrication methodologies.

Nasruddin, Idrus Alhamid, M, Daud, Y, Surachman, A, Sugiyono, A, Aditya, HB & Mahlia, TMI 2016, 'Potential of geothermal energy for electricity generation in Indonesia: A review', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 53, pp. 733-740.
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Geothermal energy is counted as a type of renewable energy, which means the availability is not affected by the lack of source and the increasing price of fossil oil. Environmental friendly is also one of the advantages of geothermal energy. In general, not all countries have the potential of geothermal energy, only countries traversed by the ring of fire have the geothermal energy resource. As one of the countries that traversed by the world's ring of fire, Indonesia hence holds the geothermal potential, which is indicated by the existing 117 active volcanoes spread across the country. Indonesia's geothermal energy potential is estimated about 40% of the world's geothermal energy potential or about 28,617 MW. However, only about 4.5% is being utilized as electrical energy in the country. The government of Indonesia is continuously putting the effort to increase the capacity of geothermal power plant. It is planned to install more geothermal power plant in Indonesia that amounted up to 9500 MW by 2025.

Nghiem, LD, Hai, FI & Listowski, A 2016, 'Water reclamation and nitrogen extraction from municipal solid waste landfill leachate', DESALINATION AND WATER TREATMENT, vol. 57, no. 60, pp. 29220-29227.
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Nguyen, DD, Chang, SW, Jeong, SY, Jeung, J, Kim, S, Guo, W & Ngo, HH 2016, 'Dry thermophilic semi-continuous anaerobic digestion of food waste: Performance evaluation, modified Gompertz model analysis, and energy balance', ENERGY CONVERSION AND MANAGEMENT, vol. 128, pp. 203-210.
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Nguyen, DD, Ngo, HH & Yoon, YS 2016, 'Effect of internal recycling ratios on biomass parameters and simultaneous reduction of nitrogen and organic matter in a hybrid treatment system', Ecological Engineering, vol. 89, pp. 24-31.
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Nguyen, DD, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Nguyen, TT, Chang, SW, Jang, A & Yoon, YS 2016, 'Can electrocoagulation process be an appropriate technology for phosphorus removal from municipal wastewater?', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 563-564, pp. 549-556.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. This paper evaluated a novel pilot scale electrocoagulation (EC) system for improving total phosphorus (TP) removal from municipal wastewater. This EC system was operated in continuous and batch operating mode under differing conditions (e.g. flow rate, initial concentration, electrolysis time, conductivity, voltage) to evaluate correlative phosphorus and electrical energy consumption. The results demonstrated that the EC system could effectively remove phosphorus to meet current stringent discharge standards of less than 0.2 mg/L within 2 to 5 min. This target was achieved in all ranges of initial TP concentrations studied. It was also found that an increase in conductivity of solution, voltages, or electrolysis time, correlated with improved TP removal efficiency and reduced specific energy consumption. Based on these results, some key economic considerations, such as operating costs, cost-effectiveness, product manufacturing feasibility, facility design and retrofitting, and program implementation are also discussed. This EC process can conclusively be highly efficient in a relatively simple, easily managed, and cost-effective for wastewater treatment system.

Nguyen, DD, Ngo, HH, Yoon, YS, Chang, SW & Bui, HH 2016, 'A new approach involving a multi transducer ultrasonic system for cleaning turbine engines’ oil filters under practical conditions', Ultrasonics, vol. 71, pp. 256-263.
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Nguyen, HH, Khabbaz, H, Fatahi, B & Kelly, R 2016, 'Bridge Pile Response to Lateral Soil Movement Induced by Installation of Controlled Modulus Columns', Procedia Engineering, vol. 143, pp. 475-482.
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© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Controlled modulus columns (CMC) for ground improvement are installed using a hollow stem displacement auger to induce lateral soil displacement effect, followed by grout injection. While the method reduces spoils, the excessive lateral soil displacement may damage adjacent structures. Although there has been growing interest in quantifying such effects, only a handful of studies have been attempted. This paper presents the results of a numerical investigation on the CMC installation effect on an existing bridge pile using the three-dimensional finite difference software package FLAC3D. It has been found that when the CMC is long and the existing bridge pile is slender, the pile bending moment and pile lateral movement, induced by the CMC installation effect, can be significant.

Nguyen, L & Fatahi, B 2016, 'Behaviour of clay treated with cement & fibre while capturing cementation degradation and fibre failure – C3F Model', International Journal of Plasticity, vol. 81, pp. 168-195.
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Crown Copyright © 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Soil treated with cement becomes brittle because its shear strength decreases rapidly in a post-peak state, which is why in recent years the inclusion of fibre into soil treated with cement has become an increasingly popular research area. This paper presents a constitutive model to simulate the behaviour of the fibre reinforced cement treated soil, referred to as the improved soil composite. In this model, a non-linear failure envelope was formulated to merge with the Critical State Line (CSL) of the reconstituted soil mixture at high levels of stress in order to capture the broken cementation bonds and ruptured fibre. A non-associated plastic potential function and a general stress strain relationship that includes the softening of the composite soil were also proposed to simulate the pre-and-post peak state. Moreover, many researchers focus on the addition of fibre into sand, soft clay, and sand treated with cement, whereas the behaviour of soft clay treated with fibre and cement requires further investigation. Hence, in this study a series of undrained triaxial tests were carried out on natural Ballina clay treated with cement and 0.3%-0.5% of fibre to determine how the amount of fibre and cement affects the behaviour of soft clay. SEM images were also analysed to study the structure of the improved Ballina composite at the micro-structural level. The laboratory results indicated that the combined effects of cementation and fibre reinforcement increased the shear strength and ductility of treated soft clay. Under triaxial conditions the peak shear strength of soft clay treated with cement and fibre increases dramatically due to the formation of cementation bonds and the bridging effect provided by the fibres, and the brittleness caused by the cementation bonds breaking also improves significantly due to the inclusion of fibre. However, when shearing at a high mean effective stress the ceme...

Nguyen, L, Fatahi, B & Khabbaz, H 2016, 'Predicting the Behaviour of Fibre Reinforced Cement Treated Clay', ADVANCES IN TRANSPORTATION GEOTECHNICS III, vol. 143, pp. 153-160.
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© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Treating soft clay with cement and fibre has become an effective ground improvement technique for transport infrastructure. Application of recycled fibres in deep soil mixing columns in soft soil sections of road and rail projects is being considered by designers and clients as an efficient technique. However, the combined effect of cement and fibre at failure requires further investigation. As the effective stresses increase to a sufficiently high stress, the effect of cementation is diminished due to the degradation of cementation bonds and the fibre exhibits failure due to either complete pull-out or breakage from the soil matrix. Thus, the failure envelope of the reinforced soil gradually merges with that of un-reinforced soil at higher stresses. In this paper, a constitutive model is proposed to simulate the behaviour of the cement treated-fibre reinforced soil based on the Critical State Soil Mechanic and the Modified Cam Clay model. In particular, the proposed model captures the beneficial effects of cementation and fibre reinforcement such as the improvement in strength and ductility while the cementation degradation and the failure mechanism of the fibre are also considered. In addition, a series of un-drained triaxial tests were conducted to verify the performance of the proposed model. This paper concludes that adding fibre into the cement treated soil clearly improves its residual strength, thus, a significant increase in ductility is observed and well simulated. In this study, by modifying the mean effective stress to include the cementation degradation and the fibre failure mechanism, the proposed model results in realistic prediction for the behaviour of soil treated with cement and fibre.

Nguyen, LN, Hai, FI, Dosseto, A, Richardson, C, Price, WE & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Continuous adsorption and biotransformation of micropollutants by granular activated carbon-bound laccase in a packed-bed enzyme reactor', Bioresource Technology, vol. 210, pp. 108-116.
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Nguyen, LN, van de Merwe, JP, Hai, FI, Leusch, FDL, Kang, J, Price, WE, Roddick, F, Magram, SF & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Laccase–syringaldehyde-mediated degradation of trace organic contaminants in an enzymatic membrane reactor: Removal efficiency and effluent toxicity', Bioresource Technology, vol. 200, pp. 477-484.
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Redox-mediators such as syringaldehyde (SA) can improve laccase-catalyzed degradation of trace organic contaminants (TrOCs) but may increase effluent toxicity. The degradation performance of 14 phenolic and 17 non-phenolic TrOCs by a continuous flow enzymatic membrane reactor (EMR) at different TrOC and SA loadings was assessed. A specific emphasis was placed on the investigation of the toxicity of the enzyme (laccase), SA, TrOCs and the treated effluent. Batch tests demonstrated significant individual and interactive toxicity of the laccase and SA preparations. Reduced removal of resistant TrOCs by the EMR was observed for dosages over 50μg/L. SA addition at a concentration of 10μM significantly improved TrOC removal, but no removal improvement was observed at the elevated SA concentrations of 50 and 100μM. The treated effluent showed significant toxicity at SA concentrations beyond 10μM, providing further evidence that higher dosage of SA must be avoided.

Nguyen, NC, Chen, S-S, Nguyen, HT, Ray, SS, Ngo, HH, Guo, W & Lin, P-H 2016, 'Innovative sponge-based moving bed–osmotic membrane bioreactor hybrid system using a new class of draw solution for municipal wastewater treatment', Water Research, vol. 91, pp. 305-313.
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For the first time, an innovative concept of combining sponge-based moving bed (SMB) and an osmotic membrane bioreactor (OsMBR), known as the SMB-OsMBR hybrid system, were investigated using Triton X-114 surfactant coupled with MgCl2 salt as the draw solution. Compared to traditional activated sludge OsMBR, the SMB-OsMBR system was able to remove more nutrients due to the thick-biofilm layer on sponge carriers. Subsequently less membrane fouling was observed during the wastewater treatment process. A water flux of 11.38 L/(m(2) h) and a negligible reverse salt flux were documented when deionized water served as the feed solution and a mixture of 1.5 M MgCl2 and 1.5 mM Triton X-114 was used as the draw solution. The SMB-OsMBR hybrid system indicated that a stable water flux of 10.5 L/(m(2) h) and low salt accumulation were achieved in a 90-day operation. Moreover, the nutrient removal efficiency of the proposed system was close to 100%, confirming the effectiveness of simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in the biofilm layer on sponge carriers. The overall performance of the SMB-OsMBR hybrid system using MgCl2 coupled with Triton X-114 as the draw solution demonstrates its potential application in wastewater treatment.

Nguyen, NC, Nguyen, HT, Chen, S-S, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Chan, WH, Ray, SS, Li, C-W & Hsu, H-T 2016, 'A novel osmosis membrane bioreactor-membrane distillation hybrid system for wastewater treatment and reuse', Bioresource Technology, vol. 209, pp. 8-15.
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© 2016 . A novel approach was designed to simultaneously enhance nutrient removal and reduce membrane fouling for wastewater treatment using an attached growth biofilm (AGB) integrated with an osmosis membrane bioreactor (OsMBR) system for the first time. In this study, a highly charged organic compound (HEDTA3-) was employed as a novel draw solution in the AGB-OsMBR system to obtain a low reverse salt flux, maintain a healthy environment for the microorganisms. The AGB-OsMBR system achieved a stable water flux of 3.62 L/m2 h, high nutrient removal of 99% and less fouling during a 60-day operation. Furthermore, the high salinity of diluted draw solution could be effectively recovered by membrane distillation (MD) process with salt rejection of 99.7%. The diluted draw solution was re-concentrated to its initial status (56.1 mS/cm) at recovery of 9.8% after 6 h. The work demonstrated that novel multi-barrier systems could produce high quality potable water from impaired streams.

Nguyen, NC, Nguyen, HT, Ho, S-T, Chen, S-S, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Ray, SS & Hsu, H-T 2016, 'Exploring high charge of phosphate as new draw solute in a forward osmosis–membrane distillation hybrid system for concentrating high-nutrient sludge', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 557-558, pp. 44-50.
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Nguyen, QV, Fatahi, B & Hokmabadi, AS 2016, 'The effects of foundation size on the seismic performance of buildings considering the soil-foundation-structure interaction', Structural Engineering and Mechanics, vol. 58, no. 6, pp. 1045-1075.
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Copyright © 2016 Techno-Press, Ltd. Shallow footings are one of the most common types of foundations used to support mid-rise buildings in high risk seismic zones. Recent findings have revealed that the dynamic interaction between the soil, foundation, and the superstructure can influence the seismic response of the building during earthquakes. Accordingly, the properties of a foundation can alter the dynamic characteristics (natural frequency and damping) of the soil-foundation-structure system. In this paper the influence that shallow foundations have on the seismic response of a mid-rise moment resisting building is investigated. For this purpose, a fifteen storey moment resisting frame sitting on shallow footings with different sizes was simulated numerically using ABAQUS software. By adopting a direct calculation method, the numerical model can perform a fully nonlinear time history dynamic analysis to realistically simulate the dynamic behaviour of soil, foundation, and structure under seismic excitations. This three-dimensional numerical model accounts for the nonlinear behaviour of the soil medium and structural elements. Infinite boundary conditions were assigned to the numerical model to simulate free field boundaries, and appropriate contact elements capable of modelling sliding and separation between the foundation and soil elements are also considered. The influence of foundation size on the natural frequency of the system and structural response spectrum was also studied. The numerical results for cases of soil-foundation-structure systems with different sized foundations and fixed base conditions (excluding soil-foundation-structure interaction) in terms of lateral deformations, inter-storey drifts, rocking, and shear force distribution of the structure were then compared. Due to natural period lengthening, there was a significant reduction in the base shears when the size of the foundation was reduced. It was concluded that the size of a...

Nguyen, T, Ghabraie, K, Tran-Cong, T & Fatahi, B 2016, 'Improving Rockbolt Design in Tunnels Using Topology Optimization', International Journal of Geomechanics, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 04015023-04015023.
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© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers. Finding an optimum reinforcement layout for underground excavation can result in a safer and more economical design, and is therefore highly desirable. Some works in the literature have applied topology optimization in tunnel reinforcement design in which reinforced rock is modeled as homogenized isotropic material. Optimization results, therefore, do not clearly show reinforcement distributions, leading to difficulties in explaining the final outcomes. To overcome this deficiency, a more sophisticated modeling technique in which reinforcements are explicitly modeled as truss elements embedded in rock mass media is used. An optimization algorithm extending the solid isotropic material with penalization method is introduced to seek for an optimal bolt layout. To obtain the stiffest structure with a given amount of reinforced material, external work along the opening is selected as the objective function with a constraint on the volume of reinforcement. The presented technique does not depend on material models used for rock and reinforcements and can be applied to any material model. Nonlinear material behavior of rock and reinforcement is considered in this work. Through solving some typical examples, the proposed approach is proved to enhance the conventional reinforcement design and provide clear and practical reinforcement layouts.

Nguyen, TT, Bui, XT, Pham, MD, Guo, W & Ngo, HH 2016, 'Effect of Tris-(hydroxymethyl)-amino methane on microalgae biomass growth in a photobioreactor', Bioresource Technology, vol. 208, pp. 1-6.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. One of the buffers namely Tris (Tris-(hydroxymethyl)-amino methane) was used to increase the growth of microalgae by stabilizing the pH value in microalgae cultures. The objective of this research is to determine the growth rate and biomass productivity of Chlorella sp. with and without Tris addition. Both conditions function at various N:P ratios cultured in photobioreactors (carbon dioxide of 5% (v/v), light intensity of 3.3 Klux). Daily variations in nutrient removal (nitrogen and phosphorus), cell concentration, DO, temperature and pH were measured for data analysis. The results show that the largest yield of biomass was achieved at the N:P ratio of 15:1 with and without Tris. After cultivation lasting 92 h, the algae concentration at this ratio was 1250 mg L-1 and 3568 mg L-1 with and without Tris, respectively. This indicates that adding Tris to the photobioreactor greatly reduces algae biomass due to bacterial competition.

Nguyen, T-T, Bui, X-T, Vo, T-D-H, Nguyen, D-D, Nguyen, P-D, Do, H-L-C, Ngo, H-H & Guo, W 2016, 'Performance and membrane fouling of two types of laboratory-scale submerged membrane bioreactors for hospital wastewater treatment at low flux condition', Separation and Purification Technology, vol. 165, pp. 123-129.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. The performance and membrane fouling of a lab-scale submerged sponge-membrane bioreactor (Sponge-MBR) and a conventional MBR were investigated and compared for hospital wastewater treatment at low fluxes of 2-6 LMH. COD removal by the Sponge-MBR was similar to that of the MBR, while the Sponge-MBR achieved 9-16% removed more total nitrogen than the MBR. This was due to 60% of total biomass being entrapped in the sponges, which enhanced simultaneous nitrification denitrification. Additionally, the fouling rates of the Sponge-MBR were 11-, 6.2- and 3.8-times less than those of the MBR at flux rates of 2, 4 and 6 LMH, respectively. It indicates the addition of sponge media into a MBR could effectively reduce the fouling caused by cake formation and absorption of soluble substances in a low flux scenario.

Nur, T, Loganathan, P, Kandasamy, J & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'Phosphate Adsorption from Membrane Bioreactor Effluent Using Dowex 21K XLT and Recovery as Struvite and Hydroxyapatite', INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH, vol. 13, no. 3.
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© 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Discharging phosphate through wastewaters into waterways poses a danger to the natural environment due to the serious risks of eutrophication and health of aquatic organisms. However, this phosphate, if economically recovered, can partly overcome the anticipated future scarcity of phosphorus (P) resulting from exhaustion of natural phosphate rock reserves. An experiment was conducted to determine the efficiency of removing phosphate from a membrane bioreactor effluent (pH 7.0–7.5, 20, 35 mg phosphate/L) produced in a water reclamation plant by adsorption onto Dowex 21K XLT ion exchange resin and recover the phosphate as fertilisers. The data satisfactorily fitted to Langmuir adsorption isotherm with a maximum adsorption capacity of 38.6 mg_ P/g. The adsorbed phosphate was quantitatively desorbed by leaching the column with 0.1 M NaCl solution. The desorbed phosphate was recovered as struvite when ammonium and magnesium were added at the molar ratio of phosphate, ammonium and magnesium of 1:1:1 at pH 9.5. Phosphate was also recovered from the desorbed solution as hydroxyapatite precipitate by adding calcium hydroxide to the solution at a phosphate to calcium molar ratio of 1:2 at pH 7.0. The P contents of struvite and hydroxyapatite produced were close to those of the respective commercial phosphate fertilisers.

Nur, T, Naidu, G, Loganathan, P, Kandasamy, J & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'Rubidium recovery using potassium cobalt hexacyanoferrate sorbent', DESALINATION AND WATER TREATMENT, vol. 57, no. 55, pp. 26577-26585.
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© 2016 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. Rubidium (Rb) is a highly valued and economically important metal present in large quantities in many natural and wastewaters. However, its recovery is hampered by its low concentration and extracting agents’ limited selectivity. A batch sorption study showed that a potassium cobalt hexacyanoferrate (KCoFC) sorbent had much higher sorption capacities for Rb and caesium (Cs) than for lithium (Li), sodium (Na) and calcium (Ca). Equilibrium sorption data at pH 7 and 24 ± 1°C for Rb and Cs satisfactorily fitted to the Langmuir model with sorption maxima of 96 and 61 mg/g, respectively. A fixed-bed column (12 cm height) containing a mixture of 2.2 g KCoFC and 19.8 g granular activated carbon had a breakthrough sorption capacity of 61 mg/g when a solution containing 5 mg Rb/L was passed through the column at a velocity of 2.5 m/h (0.7 L/h). When 1 and 5 mg Cs/L were added to the Rb solution, Rb sorption capacity dropped to 46 and 41 mg/g, respectively. During Rb sorption, K from the KCoFC lattice was released. Leaching the column containing sorbed Rb with 0.1 M KCl for 60 min at a velocity of 10 m/h desorbed 99% of sorbed Rb. A process for recovering Rb from sea water reverse osmosis brine is presented.

Pan, Y, Ni, B-J, Liu, Y & Guo, J 2016, 'Modeling of the interaction among aerobic ammonium-oxidizing archaea/bacteria and anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacteria', Chemical Engineering Science, vol. 150, pp. 35-40.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. Biological nitrogen removal by using a co-culture of Anammox bacteria, ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and (ammonia-oxidizing bacteria) AOB microorganisms in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) has previously been demonstrated experimentally. In this work, a mathematical model is developed to describe the microbial interaction among AOA, AOB and Anammox bacteria in the single-stage SBR and provide the first insights on the key role of AOA in such system. In this model, AOA and AOB jointly convert ammonium to nitrite partially, which provides electron acceptors to Anammox bacteria to oxidize the remaining ammonium forming dinitrogen gas. The model is successfully calibrated and validated using the long-term (around 350 days) dynamic experimental data from the SBR system, as well as two independent batch tests at different operational stages of the SBR. The model satisfactorily describes the nitrogen conversion data from the system. Modeling results show that AOA would outcompete AOB under low ammonium concentration and low dissolved oxygen conditions due to the revealed higher NH4+ affinity (KNH4AOA of 0.06 g N m-3) and thus higher ammonia oxidation rate under oxygen-limited conditions, indicating that AOA could be a better partner to Anammox bacteria compared to AOB when treating low strength nitrogen sewage. The developed model could also predict and distinguish the different contributions of AOA and AOB to overall aerobic ammonia oxidizing potential, with more than 50% of ammonia oxidation being mediated by AOB at initial stage (~300 days) and AOA being responsible for up to 90% of the ammonium removal afterwards. The results suggest AOA coupled with Anammox could provide new possibilities for biological nitrogen removal from low strength ammonium wastewater.

Pan, Y, van den Akker, B, Ye, L, Ni, B-J, Watts, S, Reid, K & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Unravelling the spatial variation of nitrous oxide emissions from a step-feed plug-flow full scale wastewater treatment plant', SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 1-10.
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Plug-flow activated sludge reactors (ASR) that are step-feed with wastewater are widely adopted in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) due to their ability to maximise the use of the organic carbon in wastewater for denitrification. Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions are expected to vary along these reactors due to pronounced spatial variations in both biomass and substrate concentrations. However, to date, no detailed studies have characterised the impact of the step-feed configuration on emission variability. Here we report on the results from a comprehensive online N2O monitoring campaign, which used multiple gas collection hoods to simultaneously measure emission along the length of a full-scale, step-fed, plug-flow ASR in Australia. The measured N2O fluxes exhibited strong spatial-temporal variation along the reactor path. The step-feed configuration had a substantial influence on the N2O emissions, where the N2O emission factors in sections following the first and second step feed were 0.68% ± 0.09% and 3.5% ± 0.49% of the nitrogen load applied to each section. The relatively high biomass-specific nitrogen loading rate in the second section of the reactor was most likely cause of the high emissions from this section.

Parsa-Pajouh, A, Fatahi, B & Khabbaz, H 2016, 'Experimental and Numerical Investigations to Evaluate Two-Dimensional Modeling of Vertical Drain–Assisted Preloading', International Journal of Geomechanics, vol. 16, no. 1.
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© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers. In this study, the efficiency of proposed formulations for plane-strain modeling of vertical drain-assisted consolidation was evaluated. For this aim, the vertical drain-assisted preloading process was experimentally simulated using a fully instrumented large-scale Rowe cell. Nine pore-water-pressure transducers were installed in various locations to measure the changes in pore-water pressure during the test. Two pressure/volume controllers were connected to an infinite-volume controller to provide continuous water flow. Soft clays with predefined properties were used to form the intact and smear zones. A numerical code was developed by using the finite-difference program FLAC 2D to simulate the consolidation test. A numerical study was conducted to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed solutions for converting the axisymmetric state to a plane-strain condition and was subsequently compared with corresponding numerical analysis. From the results, it is observed that some of the proposed methods resulted in more accurate predictions of settlement and changes of pore-water pressure in the early stages of the consolidation process, whereas other proposed methods performed more accurately in the later stages of consolidation. Thus, three-dimensional modeling with actual soil-permeability properties to simulate the time-dependent behavior of soft soil improved with vertical drains is recommended.

Peng, L, Liu, Y & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Nitrous oxide production in completely autotrophic nitrogen removal biofilm process: A simulation study', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 287, pp. 217-224.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. The dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration is known to be one of the most important factors affecting nitrous oxide (N2O) production, which might weaken the advantages of nitrogen removal in completely autotrophic nitrogen removal biofilm process. In this work, a mathematical model is applied to study the N2O production in a biofilm reactor performing nitritation followed by anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) for nitrogen removal. The nitrifier denitrification pathway through utilization of nitrite as the terminal electron acceptor under oxygen limiting conditions is used to predict N2O production. Simulations explicitly show that a large number of N2O is produced under conditions of low DO concentration for high nitrogen removal. A low ammonium concentration (<50mgNL-1) and a suitable DO level (at around 0.5mgO2L-1) could lead to high total nitrogen (TN) removal with a low N2O production. Biofilm has to be controlled to be in the optimal thickness (1000μm under the simulating conditions of this study), which allows relatively high TN removal, avoiding higher thickness that favors N2O production.

Peng, L, Liu, Y, Gao, S-H, Chen, X & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Evaluating simultaneous chromate and nitrate reduction during microbial denitrification processes', Water Research, vol. 89, pp. 1-8.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Sulfur-based autotrophic denitrification and heterotrophic denitrification have been demonstrated to be promising technological processes for simultaneous removal of nitrate (NO3-) and chromate (Cr (VI)), two common contaminants in surface and ground waters. In this work, a mathematical model was developed to describe and evaluate the microbial and substrate interactions among sulfur oxidizing denitrifying organism, methanol-based heterotrophic denitrifiers and chromate reducing bacteria in the biofilm systems for simultaneous nitrate and chromate removal. The concomitant multiple chromate reduction pathways by these microbes were taken into account in this model. The validity of the model was tested using experimental data from three independent biofilm reactors under autotrophic, heterotrophic and mixotrophic conditions. The model sufficiently described the nitrate, chromate, methanol, and sulfate dynamics under varying conditions. The modeling results demonstrated the coexistence of sulfur-oxidizing denitrifying bacteria and heterotrophic denitrifying bacteria in the biofilm under mixotrophic conditions, with chromate reducing bacteria being outcompeted. The sulfur-oxidizing denitrifying bacteria substantially contributed to both nitrate and chromate reductions although heterotrophic denitrifying bacteria dominated in the biofilm. The mixotrophic denitrification could improve the tolerance of autotrophic denitrifying bacteria to Cr (VI) toxicity. Furthermore, HRT would play an important role in affecting the microbial distribution and system performance, with HRT of higher than 0.15 day being critical for a high level removal of nitrate and chromate (over 90%).

Peng, L, Ni, B-J, Law, Y & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Modeling N2O production by ammonia oxidizing bacteria at varying inorganic carbon concentrations by coupling the catabolic and anabolic processes', Chemical Engineering Science, vol. 144, pp. 386-394.
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Several mathematical models have been proposed to describe nitrous oxide (N2O) production by ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) under varying operational conditions. However, none of these N2O models are able to capture N2O dynamics caused by the variation of inorganic carbon (IC) concentration, which has recently been demonstrated to be a significant factor influencing N2O production by AOB. In this work, a mathematical model that describes the effect of IC on N2O production by AOB is developed and experimentally validated. The IC effect is considered by explicitly including the AOB anabolic process in the model, which is coupled to the catabolic process with the use of the Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and Adenosine diphosphate (ADP) pools. The calibration and validation of the model were conducted using experimental data obtained with two independent cultures, including a full nitrification culture and a partial nitritation culture. The model satisfactorily describes the N2O data from both systems at varying IC concentrations. This new model enhances our ability to predict N2O production by AOB in wastewater treatment systems under varying IC conditions.

Peng, L, Sun, J, Liu, Y, Dai, X & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Nitrous Oxide Production in Co- Versus Counter-Diffusion Nitrifying Biofilms', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1.
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AbstractFor the application of biofilm processes, a better understanding of nitrous oxide (N2O) formation within the biofilm is essential for design and operation of biofilm reactors with minimized N2O emissions. In this work, a previously established N2O model incorporating both ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) denitrification and hydroxylamine (NH2OH) oxidation pathways is applied in two structurally different biofilm systems to assess the effects of co- and counter-diffusion on N2O production. It is demonstrated that the diffusion of NH2OH and oxygen within both types of biofilms would form an anoxic layer with the presence of NH2OH and nitrite ( 'Equation missing'), which would result in a high N2O production via AOB denitrification pathway. As a result, AOB denitrification pathway is dominant over NH2OH oxidation pathway within the co- and counter-diffusion biofilms. In comparison, the co-diffusion biofilm may generate substantially higher N2O than the counter-diffusion biofilm due to the higher accumulation of NH2OH in co-diffusion biofilm, especially under the condition of high-strength ammonium influent (500 mg N/L), thick biofilm depth (300 μm) and moderate oxygen loading (~1–~4 m3/d). The effect of co- and counter-diffusion on N2O production from the AOB biofilm is minimal when treating low-strength nitrogenous wastewater.

Pernice, M, Sinutok, S, Sablok, G, Commault, AS, Schliep, M, Macreadie, PI, Rasheed, MA & Ralph, PJ 2016, 'Molecular physiology reveals ammonium uptake and related gene expression in the seagrass Zostera muelleri', Marine Environmental Research, vol. 122, pp. 126-134.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd Seagrasses are important marine foundation species, which are presently threatened by coastal development and global change worldwide. The molecular mechanisms that drive seagrass responses to anthropogenic stresses, including elevated levels of nutrients such as ammonium, remains poorly understood. Despite the evidence that seagrasses can assimilate ammonium by using glutamine synthetase (GS)/glutamate synthase (glutamine-oxoglutarate amidotransferase or GOGAT) cycle, the regulation of this fundamental metabolic pathway has never been studied at the gene expression level in seagrasses so far. Here, we combine (i) reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) to measure expression of key genes involved in the GS/GOGAT cycle, and (ii) stable isotope labelling and mass spectrometry to investigate 15N-ammonium assimilation in the widespread Australian species Zostera muelleri subsp. capricorni (Z. muelleri). We demonstrate that exposure to a pulse of ammonium in seawater can induce changes in GS gene expression of Z. muelleri, and further correlate these changes in gene expression with 15N-ammonium uptake rate in above- and below-ground tissue.

Perreault, F, Jaramillo, H, Xie, M, Ude, M, Nghiem, LD & Elimelech, M 2016, 'Biofouling Mitigation in Forward Osmosis Using Graphene Oxide Functionalized Thin-Film Composite Membranes', Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 50, no. 11, pp. 5840-5848.
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Petrou, K, Kranz, SA, Trimborn, S, Hassler, CS, Ameijeiras, SB, Sackett, O, Ralph, PJ & Davidson, AT 2016, 'Southern Ocean phytoplankton physiology in a changing climate', JOURNAL OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY, vol. 203, pp. 135-150.
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© 2016 Elsevier GmbH The Southern Ocean (SO) is a major sink for anthropogenic atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), potentially harbouring even greater potential for additional sequestration of CO2 through enhanced phytoplankton productivity. In the SO, primary productivity is primarily driven by bottom up processes (physical and chemical conditions) which are spatially and temporally heterogeneous. Due to a paucity of trace metals (such as iron) and high variability in light, much of the SO is characterised by an ecological paradox of high macronutrient concentrations yet uncharacteristically low chlorophyll concentrations. It is expected that with increased anthropogenic CO2 emissions and the coincident warming, the major physical and chemical process that govern the SO will alter, influencing the biological capacity and functioning of the ecosystem. This review focuses on the SO primary producers and the bottom up processes that underpin their health and productivity. It looks at the major physico-chemical drivers of change in the SO, and based on current physiological knowledge, explores how these changes will likely manifest in phytoplankton, specifically, what are the physiological changes and floristic shifts that are likely to ensue and how this may translate into changes in the carbon sink capacity, net primary productivity and functionality of the SO.

Phan, HV, McDonald, JA, Hai, FI, Price, WE, Khan, SJ, Fujioka, T & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Biological performance and trace organic contaminant removal by a side-stream ceramic nanofiltration membrane bioreactor', International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, vol. 113, pp. 49-56.
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Phuntsho, S, Kim, JE, Johir, MAH, Hong, S, Li, Z, Ghaffour, N, Leiknes, T & Shon, HK 2016, 'Fertiliser drawn forward osmosis process: Pilot-scale desalination of mine impaired water for fertigation', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 508, pp. 22-31.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. The pilot-scale fertiliser driven forward osmosis (FDFO) and nanofiltration (NF) system was operated in the field for about six months for the desalination of saline groundwater from the coal mining activities. Long-term operation of the FDFO-NF system indicates that simple hydraulic cleaning could effectively restore the water flux with minimal chemical cleaning frequency. No fouling/scaling issues were encountered with the NF post-treatment process. The study indicates that, FDFO-NF desalination system can produce water quality that meets fertigation standard. This study also however shows that, the diffusion of solutes (both feed and draw) through the cellulose triacetate (CTA) FO membrane could be one of the major issues. The FO feed brine failed to meet the effluent discharge standard for NH4+ and SO42+ (reverse diffusion) and their concentrations are expected to further increase at higher feed recovery rates. Low rejection of feed salts (Na+, Cl-) by FO membrane may result in their gradual build-up in the fertiliser draw solution (DS) in a closed FDFO-NF system eventually affecting the final water quality unless it is balanced by adequate bleeding from the system through NF and re-reverse diffusion towards the FO feed brine. Therefore, FO membrane with higher reverse flux selectivity than the CTA-FO membrane used in this study is necessary for the application of the FDFO desalination process.

Porter, SH, Xiong, J, Avdeev, M, Merz, D, Woodward, PM & Huang, Z 2016, 'Structural, Magnetic, and Optical Properties of A₃V₄(PO₄)₆ (A = Mg, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni)', Inorganic Chemistry, vol. 55, no. 12, pp. 5772-5779.
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Combined synchrotron and neutron powder diffraction indicates that A3V4(PO4)6 (A = Mg, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) compounds crystallize with triclinic P1̅ symmetry. Lattice parameters expand as expected with successive increases in the ionic radius of the A(2+) ion. Cation disorder on the octahedral sites increases as the ionic radii of A(2+) ion decreases. Direct-current magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate that all compounds with magnetic A(2+) ions order anti-ferromagnetically with transition temperatures ranging from 12 to 15 K. Effective magnetic moments for A3V4(PO4)6 (A = Mg, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) are 5.16, 11.04, 10.08, 9.76, and 7.96 μB per formula unit, respectively, in line with calculated values for high-spin transition metal ions. With the exception of Co3V4(PO4)6 the ultraviolet-visible spectra are dominated by d-d transitions of the V(3+) ions. The striking emerald green color of Co3V4(PO4)6 arises from the combined effects of d-d transitions involving both V(3+) and Co(2+).

Prationo, W & Zhang, L 2016, 'Influence of steam on ignition of Victorian brown coal particle stream in oxy-fuel combustion: In-situ diagnosis and transient ignition modelling', Fuel, vol. 181, pp. 1203-1213.
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Qian, J, Zhou, J, Zhang, Z, Liu, R & Wang, Q 2016, 'Biological Nitrogen Removal through Nitritation Coupled with Thiosulfate-Driven Denitritation', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 27502.
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AbstractA novel biological nitrogen removal system based on nitritation coupled with thiosulfate-driven denitritation (Nitritation-TDD) was developed to achieve a high nitrogen removal rate and low sludge production. A nitritation sequential batch reactor (nitritation SBR) and an anoxic up-flow sludge bed (AnUSB) reactor were applied for effective nitritation and denitritation, respectively. Above 75% nitrite was accumulated in the nitritation SBR with an influent ammonia loading rate of 0.43 kg N/d/m3. During Nitritation-TDD operation, particle sizes (d50) of the sludge decreased from 406 to 225 um in nitritation SBR and from 327–183 um in AnUSB reactor. Pyrosequencing tests revealed that ammonium-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) population was stabilized at approximately 7.0% (calculated as population of AOB-related genus divided by the total microbial population) in the nitritation SBR. In contrast, nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) population decreased from 6.5–0.6% over the same time, indicating the effective nitrite accumulation in the nitritation SBR. Thiobacillus, accounting for 34.2% in the AnUSB reactor, was mainly responsible for nitrogen removal via autotrophic denitritation, using an external source of thiosulfate as electron donor. Also, it was found that free nitrous acid could directly affect the denitritation activity.

Qiang, L, Cheng, J, Yi, J, Rotchell, JM, Zhu, X & Zhou, J 2016, 'Environmental concentration of carbamazepine accelerates fish embryonic development and disturbs larvae behavior', Ecotoxicology, vol. 25, no. 7, pp. 1426-1437.
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Environmental pollution caused by pharmaceuticals has been recognized as a major threat to the aquatic ecosystems. Carbamazepine, as the widely prescribed antiepileptic drug, has been frequently detected in the aquatic environment and has created concerns about its potential impacts in the aquatic organisms. The effects of carbamazepine on zebrafish embryos were studied by examining their phenotype, behavior and molecular responses. The results showed that carbamazepine disturbed the normal growth and development of exposed zebrafish embryos and larvae. Upon exposure to carbamazepine at 1 μg/L, the hatching rate, body length, swim bladder appearance and yolk sac absorption rate were significantly increased. Embryos in treatment groups were more sensitive to touch and light stimulation. At molecular level, exposure to an environmentally relevant concentration (1 μg/L) of carbamazepine disturbed the expression pattern of neural-related genes of zebrafish embryos and larvae. This study suggests that the exposure of fish embryo to antiepileptic drugs, at environmentally relevant concentrations, affects their early development and impairs their behavior. Such impacts may have future repercussions by affecting fish population structure.

Rahman, M, Rasul, M, Hassan, N & Hyde, J 2016, 'Prospects of Biodiesel Production from Macadamia Oil as an Alternative Fuel for Diesel Engines', Energies, vol. 9, no. 6, pp. 403-403.
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This paper investigated the prospects of biodiesel production from macadamia oil as an alternative fuel for diesel engine. The biodiesel was produced using conventional transesterification process using the base catalyst (KOH). A multi-cylinder diesel engine was used to evaluate the performance and emission of 5% (B5) and 20% (B20) macadamia biodiesel fuel at different engine speeds and full load condition. It was found that the characteristics of biodiesel are within the limit of specified standards American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM D6751) and comparable to diesel fuel. This study also found that the blending of macadamia biodiesel-diesel fuel significantly improves the fuel properties including viscosity, density (D), heating value and oxidation stability (OS). Engine performance results indicated that macadamia biodiesel fuel sample reduces brake power (BP) and increases brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC) while emission results indicated that it reduces the average carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC) and particulate matter (PM) emissions except nitrogen oxides (NOx) than diesel fuel. Finally, it can be concluded that macadamia oil can be a possible source for biodiesel production and up to 20% macadamia biodiesel can be used as a fuel in diesel engines without modifications.

Rashed, MM, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Habibullah, M, Imdadul, HK, Shahin, MM & Rahman, MM 2016, 'Improving oxidation stability and NOX reduction of biodiesel blends using aromatic and synthetic antioxidant in a light duty diesel engine', Industrial Crops and Products, vol. 89, pp. 273-284.
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Poor oxidation stability of biodiesel is now a major concern all over the world, especially due to its extensive utilisation in transport and industrialisation. Therefore, biodiesel needs better stability, in order to be sustainably utilised in the long term. The oxygen inhibitor antioxidant can counter the poor oxidation. In this experiment, 20% of Calophyllum inophyllum biodiesel (CIB20) was used as biodiesel feedstock. Three most effective antioxidants N, N′-diphenyl-1, 4-phenylenediamine (DPPD), N-phenyl-1, 4-phenylenediamine (NPPD) and 2-ethylhexyl nitrate (EHN) were used at a 1000ppm concentration with CIB20. The oxidation stability, exhaust emission and performance of a single cylinder diesel engine were analysed and compared to those of diesel. From the results, it was concluded that there was no significant negative impact on biodiesel physiochemical properties, while the stability of biodiesel (CIB20) with the addition of antioxidants with tested blends increased. Among these three antioxidants, DPPD exhibits a better stability in biodiesel. The results shows that CIB20 produced an average of 5.23% lower brake power (BP), 7.84% less brake thermal efficiency (BTE) and 11.2% higher brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), compared to pure diesel. However, by mixing the antioxidant with CIB20, the BP and BTE, increased while the BSFC slightly decreased. For exhaust emission, antioxidants reduced NOx by about 5.92%–8.83%, with an increment of hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon-monoxide (CO) for all blends. For this reason, CIB20 blends with aromatic amine antioxidants can be used in diesel engine without any engine modifications.

Rashed, MM, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Mofijur, M, Rasul, MG & Zulkifli, NWM 2016, 'Performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine fueled with palm, jatropha, and moringa oil methyl ester', Industrial Crops and Products, vol. 79, pp. 70-76.
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This paper aims to investigate the diesel engine performance and emission characteristics fueled with moringa biodiesel and compare those with the performance and emission characteristics of palm biodiesel, jatropha biodiesel, and diesel fuel. In this study, only 20% of each biodiesel (described by MB20, PB20, and JB20, respectively) was tested in diesel engine, given that open literature indicates the possible use of biodiesel of up to 20% in a diesel engine without modification. The physical and chemical properties of all fuel samples are also presented and compared with ASTM D6751 standards. A naturally aspirated multi-cylinder, four-stroke direct-injection diesel engine was used to evaluate their performance at different speeds and full load condition. All biodiesel fuel samples reduce brake power (BP) and increase brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC) than diesel fuel. Engine emission results indicated that blended fuel reduces the average carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC) emissions except nitric oxides (NO) emissions than diesel fuel. Among the biodiesel-blended fuel, Palm biodiesel showed better performance and minimal emission than jatropha and moringa biodiesel fuel. Although PB20 showed better performance, but performance of MB20 biodiesel blend is comparable with other fuels. Correspondingly, 20% of moringa biodiesel can be used in a diesel engine without any engine modification.

Rashed, MM, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Alabdulkarem, A, Rahman, MM, Imdadul, HK & Rashedul, HK 2016, 'Study of the oxidation stability and exhaust emission analysis of Moringa olifera biodiesel in a multi-cylinder diesel engine with aromatic amine antioxidants', Renewable Energy, vol. 94, pp. 294-303.
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In this study, the two most effective aromatic amine antioxidants N,N'-diphenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine (DPPD) and N-phenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine (NPPD), were used at a concentration of 2000 ppm. The impact of antioxidants on the oxidation stability, exhaust emission and engine performance of a multi-cylinder diesel engine fuelled with MB20 (20% Moringa oil methyl ester and 80% diesel fuel blend) were analysed at varying speed conditions at an interval of 500 rpm and a constant load. It was observed that, blending with diesel enhanced the oxidation stability of the moringa biodiesel by approximately 6.97 h, and the addition of DPPD and NPPD to MB20 increased the oxidation stability up to 34.5 and 18.4 h, respectively. The results also showed that the DPPD- and NPPD-treated blends reduced the NOx emission by 7.4% and 3.04%, respectively, compared to the untreated blend. However, they do have higher carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) levels and smoke opacities, but it should be noted that these emissions are still well below the diesel fuel emission level. The results show that the addition of antioxidant with MB20 also improves the engine's performance characteristics. Based on this study, MB20 blends with amine antioxidants can be used in diesel engines without any modification.

Rehman, AU, Szabó, M, Deák, Z, Sass, L, Larkum, A, Ralph, P & Vass, I 2016, 'Symbiodinium sp. cells produce light‐induced intra‐ and extracellular singlet oxygen, which mediates photodamage of the photosynthetic apparatus and has the potential to interact with the animal host in coral symbiosis', New Phytologist, vol. 212, no. 2, pp. 472-484.
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SummaryCoral bleaching is an important environmental phenomenon, whose mechanism has not yet been clarified. The involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) has been implicated, but direct evidence of what species are involved, their location and their mechanisms of production remains unknown.Histidine‐mediated chemical trapping and singlet oxygen sensor green (SOSG) were used to detect intra‐ and extracellular singlet oxygen (1O2) in Symbiodinium cultures.Inhibition of the Calvin–Benson cycle by thermal stress or high light promotes intracellular 1O2 formation. Histidine addition, which decreases the amount of intracellular 1O2, provides partial protection against photosystem II photoinactivation and chlorophyll (Chl) bleaching. 1O2 production also occurs in cell‐free medium of Symbiodinium cultures, an effect that is enhanced under heat and light stress and can be attributed to the excretion of 1O2‐sensitizing metabolites from the cells. Confocal microscopy imaging using SOSG showed most extracellular 1O2 around the cell surface, but it is also produced across the medium distant from the cells.We demonstrate, for the first time, both intra‐ and extracellular

Ren, JM, Ishitake, K, Satoh, K, Blencowe, A, Fu, Q, Wong, EHH, Kamigaito, M & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Stereoregular High-Density Bottlebrush Polymer and Its Organic Nanocrystal Stereocomplex through Triple-Helix Formation', Macromolecules, vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 788-795.
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We report the synthesis of a well-defined molecular bottlebrush polymer with stereoregular side chains (i.e., syndiotactic PMMA). The simultaneous control over the molecular weight, side-chain tacticity, and architecture allows the macromolecule to stereocomplex with the complementary linear stereoregular polymers (i.e., isotactic PMMAs) in controlled manners. By modulating the feed ratio of the complexing materials and chain length of the linear assembling component, a variety of crystalline materials with different sizes and morphologies, including discrete spherical nanoparticle, multiple-particle assembly, and cross-linked network structure, can be produced. Among these, uniformed sized, stable nanocrystals that exhibit temperature-induced solution assembly and disassembly properties can be derived from a combined process of PMMA triple-helix stereocomplex formation and polymer architecture-directed intramolecular crystallization. This work has established a new, facile synthetic protocol toward stimuli-responsive organic nanocrystals, which is applicable to the fabrication of a wide variety of functional crystal nanomaterials with practical applications.

Ren, JM, McKenzie, TG, Fu, Q, Wong, EHH, Xu, J, An, Z, Shanmugam, S, Davis, TP, Boyer, C & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Star Polymers', Chemical Reviews, vol. 116, no. 12, pp. 6743-6836.
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Recent advances in controlled/living polymerization techniques and highly efficient coupling chemistries have enabled the facile synthesis of complex polymer architectures with controlled dimensions and functionality. As an example, star polymers consist of many linear polymers fused at a central point with a large number of chain end functionalities. Owing to this exclusive structure, star polymers exhibit some remarkable characteristics and properties unattainable by simple linear polymers. Hence, they constitute a unique class of technologically important nanomaterials that have been utilized or are currently under audition for many applications in life sciences and nanotechnologies. This article first provides a comprehensive summary of synthetic strategies towards star polymers, then reviews the latest developments in the synthesis and characterization methods of star macromolecules, and lastly outlines emerging applications and current commercial use of star-shaped polymers. The aim of this work is to promote star polymer research, generate new avenues of scientific investigation, and provide contemporary perspectives on chemical innovation that may expedite the commercialization of new star nanomaterials. We envision in the not-too-distant future star polymers will play an increasingly important role in materials science and nanotechnology in both academic and industrial settings.

Ros, M, Pernice, M, Le Guillou, S, Doblin, MA, Schrameyer, V & Laczka, O 2016, 'Colorimetric Detection of Caspase 3 Activity and Reactive Oxygen Derivatives: Potential Early Indicators of Thermal Stress in Corals', Journal of Marine Biology, vol. 2016, pp. 1-11.
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There is an urgent need to develop and implement rapid assessments of coral health to allow effective adaptive management in response to coastal development and global change. There is now increasing evidence that activation of caspase-dependent apoptosis plays a key role during coral bleaching and subsequent mortality. In this study, a “clinical” approach was used to assess coral health by measuring the activity of caspase 3 using a commercial kit. This method was first applied while inducing thermal bleaching in two coral species,Acropora milleporaandPocillopora damicornis. The latter species was then chosen to undergo further studies combining the detection of oxidative stress-related compounds (catalase activity and glutathione concentrations) as well as caspase activity during both stress and recovery phases. Zooxanthellae photosystem II (PSII) efficiency and cell density were measured in parallel to assess symbiont health. Our results demonstrate that the increased caspase 3 activity in the coral host could be detected before observing any significant decrease in the photochemical efficiency of PSII in the algal symbionts and/or their expulsion from the host. This study highlights the potential of host caspase 3 and reactive oxygen species scavenging activities as early indicators of stress in individual coral colonies.

Ruhul, AM, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Alabdulkarem, A, Atabani, AE, Fattah, IMR & Abedin, MJ 2016, 'Production, characterization, engine performance and emission characteristics of Croton megalocarpus and Ceiba pentandra complementary blends in a single-cylinder diesel engine', RSC Advances, vol. 6, no. 29, pp. 24584-24595.
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Potentiality and sustainability of two biodiesel feedstocks namelyCroton megalocarpusandCeiba pentandrahave been investigated. 20% (v/v) optimum combined blending of this two sources can substitute the fossil diesel.

Ruhul, AM, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Fattah, IMR, Reham, SS & Rashed, MM 2016, 'ChemInform Abstract: State of the Art of Biodiesel Production Processes: A Review of the Heterogeneous Catalyst', ChemInform, vol. 47, no. 9, pp. no-no.
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AbstractReview: 183 refs.

Ruhul, MA, Abedin, MJ, Rahman, SMA, Masjuki, BHH, Alabdulkarem, A, Kalam, MA & Shancita, I 2016, 'Impact of fatty acid composition and physicochemical properties of Jatropha and Alexandrian laurel biodiesel blends: An analysis of performance and emission characteristics', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 133, pp. 1181-1189.
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Sablok, G, Mudunuri, SB, Edwards, D & Ralph, PJ 2016, 'Chloroplast genomics: Expanding resources for an evolutionary conserved miniature molecule with enigmatic applications', Current Plant Biology, vol. 7-8, pp. 34-38.
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© 2016 The Authors Chloroplast, methylation depreived uniparental organelle genome is the most studied organelle genome from the perspective of evolution and functional omics. Recent advances in organelle genome sequencing both in terms of genome or transcriptome sequencing has opened a wide range of opportunities to understand the transcriptional and translational role of the genes mainly involved in the light harvesting apparatus and the evolution of the inverted repeats across the lineage. However, as compared to the nuclear genome, limited resources are available in case of organelle genome. In this review, we discuss the recent advances in the chloroplast genomics and the resources that have been developed for understanding the evolution, repeat patterns, functional genomics of this miniature molecule with enigmatic applications.

Sablok, G, Pérez-Pulido, AJ, Do, T, Seong, TY, Casimiro-Soriguer, CS, La Porta, N, Ralph, PJ, Squartini, A, Muñoz-Merida, A & Harikrishna, JA 2016, 'PlantFuncSSR: Integrating First and Next Generation Transcriptomics for Mining of SSR-Functional Domains Markers', Frontiers in Plant Science, vol. 7, pp. 1-9.
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© 2016 Sablok, Pérez-Pulido, Do, Seong, Casimiro-Soriguer, La Porta, Ralph, Squartini, Muñoz-Merida and Harikrishna. Analysis of repetitive DNA sequence content and divergence among the repetitive functional classes is a well-accepted approach for estimation of inter- and intrageneric differences in plant genomes. Among these elements, microsatellites, or Simple Sequence Repeats (SSRs), have been widely demonstrated as powerful genetic markers for species and varieties discrimination. We present PlantFuncSSRs platform having more than 364 plant species with more than 2 million functional SSRs. They are provided with detailed annotations for easy functional browsing of SSRs and with information on primer pairs and associated functional domains. PlantFuncSSRs can be leveraged to identify functional-based genic variability among the species of interest, which might be of particular interest in developing functional markers in plants. This comprehensive on-line portal unifies mining of SSRs from first and next generation sequencing datasets, corresponding primer pairs and associated in-depth functional annotation such as gene ontology annotation, gene interactions and its identification from reference protein databases. PlantFuncSSRs is freely accessible at: http://www. bioinfocabd.upo.es/plantssr.

Sackett, O, Petrou, K, Reedy, B, Hill, R, Doblin, M, Beardall, J, Ralph, P & Heraud, P 2016, 'Snapshot prediction of carbon productivity, carbon and protein content in a Southern Ocean diatom using FTIR spectroscopy', ISME JOURNAL, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 416-426.
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© 2016 International Society for Microbial Ecology All rights reserved. Diatoms, an important group of phytoplankton, bloom annually in the Southern Ocean, covering thousands of square kilometers and dominating the region's phytoplankton communities. In their role as the major food source to marine grazers, diatoms supply carbon, nutrients and energy to the Southern Ocean food web. Prevailing environmental conditions influence diatom phenotypic traits (for example, photophysiology, macromolecular composition and morphology), which in turn affect the transfer of energy, carbon and nutrients to grazers and higher trophic levels, as well as oceanic biogeochemical cycles. The paucity of phenotypic data on Southern Ocean phytoplankton limits our understanding of the ecosystem and how it may respond to future environmental change. Here we used a novel approach to create a 'snapshot' of cell phenotype. Using mass spectrometry, we measured nitrogen (a proxy for protein), total carbon and carbon-13 enrichment (carbon productivity), then used this data to build spectroscopy-based predictive models. The models were used to provide phenotypic data for samples from a third sample set. Importantly, this approach enabled the first ever rate determination of carbon productivity from a single time point, circumventing the need for time-series measurements. This study showed that Chaetoceros simplex was less productive and had lower protein and carbon content during short-term periods of high salinity. Applying this new phenomics approach to natural phytoplankton samples could provide valuable insight into understanding phytoplankton productivity and function in the marine system.

Sahebi, S, Phuntsho, S, Woo, YC, Park, MJ, Tijing, LD, Hong, S & Shon, HK 2016, 'Effect of sulphonated polyethersulfone substrate for thin film composite forward osmosis membrane', DESALINATION, vol. 389, pp. 129-136.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Sulphonated polyethersulfone (SPES) has been synthesized for developing high performance thin film composite (TFC) forward osmosis (FO) membranes with enhanced hydrophilic support layer. Sulphonated substrate not only affects the membrane performance but also changes the membrane morphology from finger-like structure to a sponge-like morphology at higher degree of sulphonation thereby affecting the mechanical strength of the FO membrane. Non-sulphonated TFC-FO membrane with 12 wt.% polymer concentration shows a faint finger-like structure while sulphonated samples at a similar polymer concentration show a fully sponge-like structure with a much higher performance. For example, a water flux of 35 Lm-2 h-1 and 0.28 g L-1 specific reverse solute flux was achieved with sulphonated TFC-FO membrane sample (50 wt.% SPES) under the FO mode using 2 M NaCl as the draw solution and deionized water as feed. Substrate sulphonation also considerably decreased the membrane structural parameter from 1096 μm without sulphonation to 245 μm at 50 wt.% sulphonation. This study therefore shows that, besides surface morphology, the water flux of the FO membrane can also be enhanced by improving its substrate hydrophilic property.

Sanjid, A, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Varman, M, Zulkifli, NWBM & Abedin, MJ 2016, 'Performance and emission of multi-cylinder diesel engine using biodiesel blends obtained from mixed inedible feedstocks', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 112, pp. 4114-4122.
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Schrameyer, V, Krämer, W, Hill, R, Jeans, J, Larkum, AWD, Bischof, K, Campbell, DA & Ralph, PJ 2016, 'Under high light stress two Indo-Pacific coral species display differential photodamage and photorepair dynamics', Marine Biology, vol. 163, no. 8.
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Scofield, JMP, Gurr, PA, Kim, J, Fu, Q, Kentish, SE & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Blends of Fluorinated Additives with Highly Selective Thin-Film Composite Membranes to Increase CO₂ Permeability for CO₂/N₂ Gas Separation Applications', Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, vol. 55, no. 30, pp. 8364-8372.
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A highly permeable poly(ethylene glycol-b-pentafluoropropyl acrylate) diblock copolymer additive is blended with the highly selective PEBAX 1657 block copolymer and spin coated onto cross-linked poly(dimethylsiloxane) gutter layers coated onto porous polyacrylonitrile supports for use in CO2/N2 gas separation applications. Blended films containing up to 70 wt % of the fluorinated additive are successfully formed and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, revealing an average film thickness of 200 nm. Addition of the fluorinated additive results in significant enhancements to CO2 permeance, in the range of 916 to 1538 GPU while maintaining a CO2/N2 selectivity between 21 and 33 when blended at 60-65 wt %. The impact of temperature and pressure on membrane performance was determined at temperatures of 25-55 °C and pressures of 100-500 kPa. Theoretical calculations of the performance without the gutter layer resistance demonstrate that the corresponding active membrane layer could achieve CO2 permeances between 1128 and 2246 GPU and permeabilities between 226 and 449 barrer with CO2/N2 selectivities between 27 and as high as 39. The reported thin-film composite membranes represent a significant increase in performance compared with similar polymeric membranes.

Scofield, JMP, Gurr, PA, Kim, J, Fu, Q, Kentish, SE & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Development of novel fluorinated additives for high performance CO2 separation thin-film composite membranes', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 499, pp. 191-200.
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A series of poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(pentafluoropropyl acrylate) diblock copolymers were synthesized by Reversible Addition Fragmentation Chain Transfer (RAFT) polymerization. These block copolymers were blended up to 60wt% with commercially available PEBAX® 2533. The resulting polymer mixtures were successfully spin coated onto cross-linked polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) gutter layers which in turn had been deposited onto a porous polyacrylonitrile (PAN) support, to form a thin film composite membrane. Gas testing of these membranes for carbon capture applications showed enhanced CO2 permeances up to 1830GPU, without a significant drop in CO2/N2 selectivity at 35°C and 350kPa, relative to a pure PEBAX® upper layer. The impacts of temperature and pressure on membrane performance were investigated for temperatures from 25°C to 55°C and pressures from 100kPa to 500kPa. Theoretical calculations indicated that in the absence of a gutter layer, the upper layer could achieve a CO2 permeance of over 3000GPU with a CO2/N2 selectivity of 22. These results represent a significant increase in gas permeances compared with previously published results for similar membranes.

Sebayang, AH, Masjuki, HH, Ong, HC, Dharma, S, Silitonga, AS, Mahlia, TMI & Aditiya, HB 2016, 'A perspective on bioethanol production from biomass as alternative fuel for spark ignition engine', RSC Advances, vol. 6, no. 18, pp. 14964-14992.
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The increasing fuel consumption of fossil fuels has led to the development of alternative fuels for the future.

Sebayang, AH, Masjuki, HH, Ong, HC, Dharma, S, Silitonga, AS, Mahlia, TMI & Aditiya, HB 2016, 'ChemInform Abstract: A Perspective on Bioethanol Production from Biomass as Alternative Fuel for Spark Ignition Engine', ChemInform, vol. 47, no. 13, pp. no-no.
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AbstractReview: 279 refs.

Shahid, M, El Saliby, I, McDonagh, A, Chekli, L, Tijing, LD, Kim, J-H & Shon, HK 2016, 'Adsorption and Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue Using Potassium Polytitanate and Solar Simulator', JOURNAL OF NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY, vol. 16, no. 5, pp. 4342-4349.
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Copyright © 2016 American Scientific Publishers All rights reserved. Solar photocatalytic degradation of organic water pollutants can be used to degrade toxic organic pollutants in water. In this study, potassium titanate nanofibres were synthesized by an aqueous peroxide route at high pH and examined as photocatalysts for photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) using a solar simulator. Initially, MB was adsorbed on the surface of potassium polytitanates to achieve adsorption equilibrium before the photocatalysts were illuminated using solar simulator. The results showed that potassium polytitanate nanofibres were effective adsorbents of MB and also facilitated its photocatalytic degradation. Sulphate ion evolution during photocatalysis confirmed that some mineralisation occurred and hence photo-oxidative degradation of MB took place. The optimum operational conditions for the photocatalytic degradation of MB were found at 0.05 g/L of photocatalyst load, 10 mg/L MB and pH 7. The stability and regeneration of the photocatalyst specimen was also studied for 3 degradation cycles using adsorption/photocatalysis model. Morphological structure analysis of potassium titanate showed nanocrystallines structure of longitudinally-oriented isolated fibre with a length up to several micrometres with diameters ranging from 10 to 20 nanometres.

Shahid, M, Tijing, LD, Saliby, IE, McDonagh, A, Kim, J-B, Kim, J-H & Shon, HK 2016, 'Adsorption Behavior of Pb(II) Onto Potassium Polytitanate Nanofibres', Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 1916-1919.
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Copyright © 2016 American Scientific Publishers All rights reserved. Potassium polytitanate nanofibres prepared by a hydrothermal method were investigated for their possible application in removing toxic metals from aqueous solution. Particular attention was paid to employing the titanate as a novel effective adsorbent for the removal of Pb(II). Batch adsorption experiments demonstrated that the adsorption was influenced by various conditions such as solution pH, adsorbent dosage and initial Pb(II) concentration. The results showed that the adsorption rate was faster in the first 5 min and equilibrium was achieved after 180 min. The maximum amount of adsorption was detected at pH 5. Potassium titanate showed much higher adsorption capacity compared to P25. The kinetic studies indicated that the adsorption of Pb(II) onto titanate best fit the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. FTIR spectra revealed that the hydroxyl groups in titanate were responsible for Pb(II) adsorption. The principal mechanism of the adsorption of Pb(II) in the present study is attributed to both ion exchange and oxygen bonding. The adsorption-desorption results demonstrated that the titanate could be readily regenerated after adsorption. Therefore, the present titanate exhibits great potential for the removal of Pb(II) from wastewater.

Shancita, I, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Reham, SS & Shahir, SA 2016, 'Comparative Analysis on Property Improvement Using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) (¹H and ¹³C) Spectra of Various Biodiesel Blended Fuels', Energy & Fuels, vol. 30, no. 6, pp. 4790-4805.
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Sharma, RK, Ganesan, P, Tyagi, VV & Mahlia, TMI 2016, 'Accelerated thermal cycle and chemical stability testing of polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 for solar thermal energy storage', Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, vol. 147, pp. 235-239.
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Accelerated thermal cycle test of polyethylene glycol (PEG) of molecular weight 6000, an organic phase change material (O-PCM), has been carried out for 1500 melt/freeze cycles. The latent heat of fusion and melting temperature is measured using differential scanning calorimeter between 0th and 1500th melt-freeze cycles to study the changes in its thermal properties. Also, the changes in the compositional/functional groups of the material during the cycle test are also measured using FT-IR spectroscopy technique. The melting temperature is found to be stable in the quoted range of 55-60 °C with a maximum deviation of 6.5% when compared to that of at 0th cycle. However, a gradual drop in the latent heat of fusion with the increasing number of thermal cycles is measured. The FT-IR spectra do not show any noticeable changes in the peaks which confirm its compositional stability even after the higher number of thermal cycles. Thermal and chemical reliability tests of PEG 6000 along with the techno-economic analysis have shown that this PCM has a significant potential to be used as a thermal energy storage system.

Shirbin, SJ, Lam, SJ, Chan, NJ-A, Ozmen, MM, Fu, Q, O’Brien-Simpson, N, Reynolds, EC & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Polypeptide-Based Macroporous Cryogels with Inherent Antimicrobial Properties: The Importance of a Macroporous Structure', ACS Macro Letters, vol. 5, no. 5, pp. 552-557.
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Synthetic polypeptide-based macroporous cryogels with inherent antimicrobial properties were prepared for potential water purification applications. Gels were chemically cross-linked through the amine residue of a polycationic polylysine-b-polyvaline block copolymer with glutaraldehyde as cross-linker under cryogenic conditions. These cryogels exhibited excellent water swelling and highly compressible mechanical properties owing to their macroporous structure. The antibacterial performance was evaluated based on E. coli viability, with cryogels exhibiting up to 95.6% reduction in viable E. coli after a brief 1 h incubation. In comparison to the hydrogel control, the presence of macropores is shown to be vital to the antimicrobial effect of the gels. The confined environment and increased antimicrobial surface area of the macropores is believed to result in a 'trap and kill' mechanism. Mechanical strength and pore integrity of cryogels were also found to be determinants for antibacterial activity. Along with the lack of toxic leaching, these cryogels with inherent antimicrobial properties pose as potential candidates for use in biological and environmentally friendly water purification applications.

Shon, HK, Phuntsho, S & Jegatheesan, V 2016, 'Special Issue – Challenges in Environmental Science and Engineering', Process Safety and Environmental Protection, vol. 104, pp. 451-451.
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Shuhimi, FF, Abdollah, MFB, Kalam, MA, Hassan, M, Mustafa, AE & Amiruddin, H 2016, 'Tribological characteristics comparison for oil palm fibre/epoxy and kenaf fibre/epoxy composites under dry sliding conditions', Tribology International, vol. 101, pp. 247-254.
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The aim of this study is to compare the tribological characteristics of OPF/E and KF/E composites in terms of fibre composition and temperature. A pin sample with a diameter of 10 mm was made using the hot compaction technique. The dry sliding test was performed using a pin-on-disc tribometer. Increasing the temperature resulted in increased wear and decreased friction coefficient for both composites. The mild-severe wear transition of OPF/E accelerated with fibre composition although it produced a lower wear rate than KF/E at high-temperatures. In addition, the wear mode map for both OPF/E and KF/E composites has been proposed and addressed in this paper based on wear rate values. This mild-severe wear transition has been further confirmed by worn surface morphology.

Sianipar, M, Kim, SH, Min, C, Tijing, LD & Shon, HK 2016, 'Potential and performance of a polydopamine-coated multiwalled carbon nanotube/polysulfone nanocomposite membrane for ultrafiltration application', Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, vol. 34, pp. 364-373.
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© 2015 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. The addition of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) as inorganic fillers is well known to improve membrane performance for water desalination. Most MWNTs are treated by acid treatment to enhance their hydrophilicity before their applications in membranes. However, acid treatment leads to structural damages of the MWNT wall. An alternative way of improving the hydrophilicity of MWNTs is through coating of polydopamine (Pdop), where MWNT wall damage is avoided. In the present study, polydopamine-coating on MWNT is carried out at pH 8.5 and at room temperature (23-25. °C). Different concentrations (0.1-0.5 wt%) of Pdop-MWNTs were incorporated into polysulfone (Psf) membranes fabricated by phase inversion. The results showed that the incorporation of Pdop-coated MWNTs has increased the membrane permeability using BSA solution (1000 ppm) by 19-50% depending on the amount of Pdop-MWNTs in the membrane, and has maintained good rejection performances (99.88%). Moreover, the antifouling properties of the nanocomposite membranes were also improved. Here, the optimum dose was determined to be 0.1. wt% of Pdop-MWNTs. Furthermore, even though the Pdop-MWNT/Psf membranes showed lower permeability than acid-MWNT/Psf membrane, the Pdop-MWNT/Psf membrane obtained higher mechanical strength and would be potentially sustainable for a long term ultrafiltration operation.

Silitonga, AS, Masjuki, HH, Ong, HC, Kusumo, F, Mahlia, TMI & Bahar, AH 2016, 'Pilot-scale production and the physicochemical properties of palm and Calophyllum inophyllum biodiesels and their blends', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 126, pp. 654-666.
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Biodiesel production has grown rapidly in response to the escalating price of fossil fuels in the last 20 years. Biodiesels appear to be one of the solutions to fulfil the increasing energy demands of the transportation sector since it can be used as substitutes of diesel in diesel engines without the need to modify the engines. The aim of this study is to evaluate the properties of biodiesels produced from crude palm and Calophyllum inophyllum oils using a pilot plant. A 50 L stainless steel jacketed reactor pilot plant is built to convert crude palm oil into palm methyl ester using transesterification process whereas crude C. inophyllum oil is processed using acid-catalysed esterification followed by alkaline-catalysed transesterification. The properties of the palm and C. inophyllum methyl esters are characterized according to the American society for testing and materials (ASTM) D6751 and European standard (EN) 14214 standards. In a latter section of this study, the palm and C. inophyllum methyl esters are blended with diesel fuel using different volume ratios. The oxidation stability of these blends is evaluated for two storage conditions for 90 days: (1) vacuum chamber and (2) room temperature. The oxidation stability of these blends is maintained for more than 12 h for 90 days when the fuels are stored in the vacuum chamber, which fulfils the biodiesel standards. Based on the results, both crude palm and C. inophyllum oils are potential feedstocks for industrial-scale biodiesel production and the biodiesels can likely replace diesel fuel in the future.

Silitonga, AS, Masjuki, HH, Ong, HC, Yusaf, T, Kusumo, F & Mahlia, TMI 2016, 'Synthesis and optimization of Hevea brasiliensis and Ricinus communis as feedstock for biodiesel production: A comparative study', Industrial Crops and Products, vol. 85, pp. 274-286.
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Biodiesel from non-edible seeds has attracted the attention of the authors to investigate Hevea brasiliensis (HB) and Ricinus communis (RC) as potential feedstocks. Biodiesel production was carried out using esterification-neutralization-transesterification (ENT) process. The transesterification process was carried out under variation methanol to oil molar ratio, catalyst concentration, reaction temperature, reaction time and speed agitation. On top of that, optimization was evaluated using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and a quadratic polynomial model for ENT method. The optimization results show that production biodiesel from HBME and RCME with ENT method were 99.32% and 99.07% respectively. All the properties measured for produced methyl ester met in ASTMD 6751. Moreover, the presence of ricinoleic (α-elaeostearic) in RCME can improve the cold point, pour point and cold filter plugging point, which resulted in −40.4°C, −27.8°C and −35.0°C respectively. The results of the cold flow properties are better due to higher unsaturated fatty acid concentration. It is indicates that RCME has good performance during cold weather engine operation. It short, biodiesel production using ENT method can produce high methyl ester yield and good biodiesel properties.

Sivagurunathan, P, Kumar, G, Kim, S-H, Kobayashi, T, Xu, K-Q, Guo, W & Hao Ngo, H 2016, 'Enhancement Strategies for Hydrogen Production from Wastewater: A Review', Current Organic Chemistry, vol. 20, no. 26, pp. 2744-2752.
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Slavov, C, Schrameyer, V, Reus, M, Ralph, PJ, Hill, R, Büchel, C, Larkum, AWD & Holzwarth, AR 2016, '“Super-quenching” state protects Symbiodinium from thermal stress — Implications for coral bleaching', Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics, vol. 1857, no. 6, pp. 840-847.
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The global rise in sea surface temperatures causes regular exposure of corals to high temperature and high light stress, leading to worldwide disastrous coral bleaching events (loss of symbiotic dinoflagellates (Symbiodinium) from reef-building corals). Our picosecond chlorophyll fluorescence experiments on cultured Symbiodinium clade C cells exposed to coral bleaching conditions uncovered the transformations of the alga's photosynthetic apparatus (PSA) that activate an extremely efficient non-photochemical 'super-quenching' mechanism. The mechanism is associated with a transition from an initially heterogeneous photosystem II (PSII) pool to a homogeneous 'spillover' pool, where nearly all excitation energy is transferred to photosystem I (PSI). There, the inherently higher stability of PSI and high quenching efficiency of P(700)(+) allow dumping of PSII excess excitation energy into heat, resulting in almost complete cessation of photosynthetic electron transport (PET). This potentially reversible 'super-quenching' mechanism protects the PSA against destruction at the cost of a loss of photosynthetic activity. We suggest that the inhibition of PET and the consequent inhibition of organic carbon production (e.g. sugars) in the symbiotic Symbiodinium provide a trigger for the symbiont expulsion, i.e. bleaching.

Song, K, Zhou, X, Liu, Y, Gong, Y, Zhou, B, Wang, D & Wang, Q 2016, 'Role of oxidants in enhancing dewaterability of anaerobically digested sludge through Fe (II) activated oxidation processes: hydrogen peroxide versus persulfate', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 24800.
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AbstractImproving dewaterability of sludge is important for the disposal of sludge in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). This study, for the first time, investigated the Fe(II) activated oxidization processes in improving anaerobically digested sludge (ADS) dewaterability. The combination of Fe(II) (0–100 mg/g total solids (TS)) and persulfate (0–1,000 mg/g TS) under neutral pH as well as the combination of Fe(II) (0–100 mg/g TS) and hydrogen peroxide (HP) (0–1,000 mg/g TS) under pH 3.0 were used to examine and compare their effect on the ADS dewaterability enhancement. The highest ADS dewaterability enhancement was attained at 25 mg Fe(II)/g TS and 50 mg HP/g TS, when the CST (CST: the capillary suction time, a sludge dewaterability indicator) was reduced by 95%. In contrast, the highest CST reduction in Fe(II)-persulfate conditioning was 90%, which was obtained at 50 mg Fe(II)/g TS and 250 mg persulfate/g TS. The results showed that Fe(II)-HP conditioning was comparable with Fe(II)-persulfate conditioning in terms of highest CST reduction. Economic analysis suggested that the Fe(II)-HP conditioning was more promising for improving ADS dewaterability compared with Fe(II)-persulfate conditioning, with the saving being up to $65,000 per year in a WWTP with a population equivalent of 100,000.

Song, K, Zhou, X, Liu, Y, Xie, G-J, Wang, D, Zhang, T, Liu, C, Liu, P, Zhou, B & Wang, Q 2016, 'Improving dewaterability of anaerobically digested sludge by combination of persulfate and zero valent iron', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 295, pp. 436-442.
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Biological wastewater treatment process generates large amounts of sludge, the treatment and disposal of which incur substantial costs. Enhancement of sludge dewaterability is of great importance for decreasing the sludge disposal cost in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). This study proposes an innovative conditioning approach to improve the dewaterability of the anaerobically digested sludge (ADS) collected from a full-scale WWTP for the first time. The ADS dewaterability was significantly improved in the presence of persulfate (0-1.0 g/g TS; TS: total solids) and zero valent iron (ZVI) (0-4.0 g/g TS) at neutral pH. The largest improvement of ADS dewaterability was obtained at 2.0 g ZVI/g TS and 0.5 g persulfate/g TS, under which the capillary suction time (an indicator of sludge dewaterability) was decreased by approximately 90%. Compared with the traditional Fenton process (Fe2+ + H2O2 at pH 2.0), economic analysis indicated that the ZVI-persulfate conditioning process is more economically attractive for enhancing ADS dewaterability.

Song, X, McDonald, J, Price, WE, Khan, SJ, Hai, FI, Ngo, HH, Guo, W & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Effects of salinity build-up on the performance of an anaerobic membrane bioreactor regarding basic water quality parameters and removal of trace organic contaminants', Bioresource Technology, vol. 216, pp. 399-405.
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Sornalingam, K, McDonagh, A & Zhou, JL 2016, 'Photodegradation of estrogenic endocrine disrupting steroidal hormones in aqueous systems: Progress and future challenges', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 550, pp. 209-224.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. This article reviews different photodegradation technologies used for the removal of four endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs): estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2). The degradation efficiency is greater under UV than visible light; and increases with light intensity up to when mass transfer becomes the rate limiting step. Substantial rates are observed in the environmentally relevant range of pH7-8, though higher rates are obtained for pH above the pKa (~10.4) of the EDCs. The effects of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on EDC photodegradation are complex with both positive and negative impacts being reported. TiO2 remains the best catalyst due to its superior activity, chemical and photo stability, cheap commercial availability, capacity to function at ambient conditions and low toxicity. The optimum TiO2 loading is 0.05-1gl-1, while higher loadings have negative impact on EDC removal. The suspended catalysts prove to be more efficient in photocatalysis compared to the immobilised catalysts, while the latter are considered more suitable for commercial scale applications. Photodegradation mostly follows 1st or pseudo 1st order kinetics. Photodegradation typically eradicates or moderates estrogenic activity, though some intermediates are found to exhibit higher estrogenicity than the parent EDCs; the persistence of estrogenic activity is mainly attributed to the presence of the phenolic moiety in intermediates.

Sounthararajah, DP, Loganathan, P, Kandasamy, J & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'Column studies on the removal of dissolved organic carbon, turbidity and heavy metals from stormwater using granular activated carbon', DESALINATION AND WATER TREATMENT, vol. 57, no. 11, pp. 5045-5055.
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© 2014 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. Stormwater pollutants have the capacity to damage aquatic environments if they are discharged untreated. Suspended solids (turbidity), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and heavy metals removal from stormwater were investigated in batch and fixed-bed column experiments. Field studies revealed that turbidity and DOC in stormwater were effectively removed at filtration velocities of 5, 10 and 11.5 m/h using a 100 cm high granular activated carbon (GAC) filter column. At the higher filtration velocities of 10 and 11.5 m/h, adding a pre-treatment 100 cm high anthracite filter column further improved DOC and turbidity removal. Batch and column laboratory adsorption experiments at pH 6.5–7.2 using GAC showed that the order of removal efficiency for solutions containing single and mixed metals was Pb, Cu > Zn > Ni, Cd. This order was related to the solubility product and first hydrolysis constants of these metals’ hydroxides. This study confirmed that GAC filter is effective in removing turbidity, DOC and heavy metals from stormwater.

Spérandio, M, Pocquet, M, Guo, L, Ni, B-J, Vanrolleghem, PA & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Evaluation of different nitrous oxide production models with four continuous long-term wastewater treatment process data series', Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 493-510.
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Five activated sludge models describing N2O production by ammonium oxidising bacteria (AOB) were compared to four different long-term process data sets. Each model considers one of the two known N2O production pathways by AOB, namely the AOB denitrification pathway and the hydroxylamine oxidation pathway, with specific kinetic expressions. Satisfactory calibration could be obtained in most cases, but none of the models was able to describe all the N2O data obtained in the different systems with a similar parameter set. Variability of the parameters can be related to difficulties related to undescribed local concentration heterogeneities, physiological adaptation of micro-organisms, a microbial population switch, or regulation between multiple AOB pathways. This variability could be due to a dependence of the N2O production pathways on the nitrite (or free nitrous acid-FNA) concentrations and other operational conditions in different systems. This work gives an overview of the potentialities and limits of single AOB pathway models. Indicating in which condition each single pathway model is likely to explain the experimental observations, this work will also facilitate future work on models in which the two main N2O pathways active in AOB are represented together.

Su, S, NuLi, Y, Huang, Z, Miao, Q, Yang, J & Wang, J 2016, 'A High-Performance Rechargeable Mg²⁺/Li⁺ Hybrid Battery Using One-Dimensional Mesoporous TiO₂(B) Nanoflakes as the Cathode', ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 8, no. 11, pp. 7111-7117.
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Mg(2+)/Li(+) hybrid batteries have recently been constructed combining a Mg anode, a Li(+)-intercalation electrode, and an electrolyte containing both Mg(2+) and Li(+). These batteries have been reported to outperform all the previously reported magnesium batteries in terms of specific capacity, cycling stability, and rate capability. Herein, we report the outstanding electrochemical performance of Mg(2+)/Li(+) hybrid batteries consisting of a one-dimensional mesoporous TiO2(B) cathode, a Mg anode, and an electrolyte consisting of 0.5 mol L(-1) Mg(BH4)2 + 1.5 mol L(-1) LiBH4 in tetraglyme. A highly synergetic interaction between Li(+) and Mg(2+) ions toward the pseudo-capacitive reaction is proposed. The hybrid batteries show superior rate performance with 130 mAh g(-1) at 1 C and 115 mAh g(-1) at 2 C, together with excellent cyclability up to 6000 cycles.

Sun, J, Dai, X, Wang, Q, Pan, Y & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Modelling Methane Production and Sulfate Reduction in Anaerobic Granular Sludge Reactor with Ethanol as Electron Donor', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 35312.
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AbstractIn this work, a mathematical model based on growth kinetics of microorganisms and substrates transportation through biofilms was developed to describe methane production and sulfate reduction with ethanol being a key electron donor. The model was calibrated and validated using experimental data from two case studies conducted in granule-based Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket reactors. The results suggest that the developed model could satisfactorily describe methane and sulfide productions as well as ethanol and sulfate removals in both systems. The modeling results reveal a stratified distribution of methanogenic archaea, sulfate-reducing bacteria and fermentative bacteria in the anaerobic granular sludge and the relative abundances of these microorganisms vary with substrate concentrations. It also indicates sulfate-reducing bacteria can successfully outcompete fermentative bacteria for ethanol utilization when COD/SO42− ratio reaches 0.5. Model simulation suggests that an optimal granule diameter for the maximum methane production efficiency can be achieved while the sulfate reduction efficiency is not significantly affected by variation in granule size. It also indicates that the methane production and sulfate reduction can be affected by ethanol and sulfate loading rates, and the microbial community development stage in the reactor, which provided comprehensive insights into the system for its practical operation.

Surawski, NC, Sullivan, AL, Roxburgh, SH & Polglase, PJ 2016, 'Estimates of greenhouse gas and black carbon emissions from a major Australian wildfire with high spatiotemporal resolution', JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES, vol. 121, no. 16, pp. 9892-9907.
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© 2016. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. Estimates of greenhouse gases and particulate emissions are made with a high spatiotemporal resolution from the Kilmore East fire in Victoria, Australia, which burnt approximately 100,000 ha over a 12 h period. Altogether, 10,175 Gigagrams (Gg) of CO 2 equivalent (CO 2 -e) emissions occurred, with CO 2 (~68%) being the dominant chemical species emitted followed by CH 4 (~17%) and black carbon (BC) (~15%). About 63% of total CO 2 -e emissions were estimated to be from coarse woody debris, 22% were from surface fuels, 7% from bark, 6% from elevated fuels, and less than 2% from tree crown consumption. To assess the quality of our emissions estimates, we compared our results with previous estimates which used the Global Fire Emissions Database version 3.1 (GFED v3.1 ) and the Fire INventory from the National Center for Atmospheric Research version 1.0 (FINNv1), as well as Australia’s National Inventory System (and its revision). The uncertainty in emission estimates was addressed using truncated Monte Carlo analysis, which derived a probability density function for total emissions from the uncertainties in each input. The distribution of emission estimates from Monte Carlo analysis was lognormal with a mean of 10,355 Gigagrams (Gg) and a ±1 standard deviation (σ) uncertainty range of 7260-13,450 Gg. Results were in good agreement with the global data sets (when using the same burnt area), although they predicted lower total emissions by 15-37% due to underestimating fuel consumed. Emissions estimates can be improved by obtaining better estimates of fuel consumed and BC emission factors. Overall, this study presents a methodological template for high-resolution emissions accounting and its uncertainty, enabling a step toward process-based emissions accounting to be achieved.

Surawski, NC, Sullivan, AL, Roxburgh, SH, Meyer, CPM & Polglase, PJ 2016, 'Incorrect interpretation of carbon mass balance biases global vegetation fire emission estimates', NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, vol. 7.
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© 2016, Nature Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Vegetation fires are a complex phenomenon in the Earth system with many global impacts, including influences on global climate. Estimating carbon emissions from vegetation fires relies on a carbon mass balance technique that has evolved with two different interpretations. Databases of global vegetation fire emissions use an approach based on 'consumed biomass', which is an approximation to the biogeochemically correct 'burnt carbon' approach. Here we show that applying the 'consumed biomass' approach to global emissions from vegetation fires leads to annual overestimates of carbon emitted to the atmosphere by 4.0% or 100 Tg compared with the 'burnt carbon' approach. The required correction is significant and represents ∼9% of the net global forest carbon sink estimated annually. Vegetation fire emission studies should use the 'burnt carbon' approach to quantify and understand the role of this burnt carbon, which is not emitted to the atmosphere, as a sink enriched in carbon.

Tan, S, Cui, J, Fu, Q, Nam, E, Ladewig, K, Ren, JM, Wong, EHH, Caruso, F, Blencowe, A & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Photocontrolled Cargo Release from Dual Cross-Linked Polymer Particles', ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 8, no. 9, pp. 6219-6228.
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Burst release of a payload from polymeric particles upon photoirradiation was engineered by altering the cross-linking density. This was achieved via a dual cross-linking concept whereby noncovalent cross-linking was provided by cyclodextrin host-guest interactions, and irreversible covalent cross-linking was mediated by continuous assembly of polymers (CAP). The dual cross-linked particles (DCPs) were efficiently infiltrated (∼80-93%) by the biomacromolecule dextran (molecular weight up to 500 kDa) to provide high loadings (70-75%). Upon short exposure (5 s) to UV light, the noncovalent cross-links were disrupted resulting in increased permeability and burst release of the cargo (50 mol % within 1 s) as visualized by time-lapse fluorescence microscopy. As sunlight contains UV light at low intensities, the particles can potentially be incorporated into systems used in agriculture, environmental control, and food packaging, whereby sunlight could control the release of nutrients and antimicrobial agents.

Tang, J, Huang, Y, Gong, Y, Lyu, H, Wang, Q & Ma, J 2016, 'Preparation of a novel graphene oxide/Fe-Mn composite and its application for aqueous Hg(II) removal', Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol. 316, pp. 151-158.
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A novel graphene oxide/Fe-Mn (GO/Fe-Mn) composite was synthesized (molar ratio of Fe/Mn=3/1 and mass ratio of Fe/GO=1/7.5) and investigated for the sorption characteristics and mechanisms of aqueous mercury (Hg(2+)) as well as the biological effects to wheat and rice. Characterization tests showed that Fe-Mn oxides were impregnated onto GO sheets in an amorphous form through oxygen-containing functional groups (i.e., CO, epoxy COC, carboxyl OCO, and CO) and π-π interactions. GO/Fe-Mn possessed large surface area, surface enhanced Raman scattering with more sp(3) defects, and greater thermal stability than GO. XPS analysis revealed that Fe2O3, FeOOH, MnO2, MnOOH, and MnO were the dominant metal oxides in GO/Fe-Mn. Pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Sips isotherm model fitted well with the sorption kinetic and isotherm data. The maximum sorption capacity for mercury was 32.9mg/g. Ligand exchange and surface complexation were the dominant mechanisms for mercury removal. GO/Fe-Mn greatly reduced the bioavailability of mercury to wheat and rice, even promoted the seedling growth. This work suggests that GO/Fe-Mn can be used as an effective and environmental-friendly adsorbent in heavy metal remediation.

Tang, Z, Zhang, L, Wan, L, Huang, Z, Liu, H, Guo, Z & Yu, X 2016, 'Regeneration of alkaline metal amidoboranes with high purity', International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 407-412.
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In this manuscript, we report a facile and safe process for highly efficient regeneration of dehydrogenated alkaline metal amidoboranes (MNH2BH3, MAB, M = Li, K), in which CH3OH is employed as a digestion reagent; then LiAlH4 is used as a reduction reagent in the presence of NH4Cl giving ammonia borane (NH3BH3, AB) as the intermediate; finally the generated AB reacts with corresponding metal hydride to complete the whole self-contained cycle. Using this chemical process, MABs are reproduced in a high purity of 98%. The byproducts of regeneration procedure can be converted to mass commodity chemicals as recyclable auxiliary reagents utilizing the recycling pathways. More importantly, our finding of successful scission of dehydrogenated polymeric MAB residues into small molecule B species that guarantees to facilitate the following regeneration process, provides a general strategy for the efficient regeneration for other MAB compounds and a potentially viable route for the chemical recycling of metal-B-N containing hydrogen storage materials.

Tijing, LD, Woo, YC, Shim, W-G, He, T, Choi, J-S, Kim, S-H & Shon, HK 2016, 'Superhydrophobic nanofiber membrane containing carbon nanotubes for high-performance direct contact membrane distillation', JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE, vol. 502, pp. 158-170.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Tailoring the membrane to have superhydrophobicity, coupled with high porosity, adequate pore sizes and narrow pore size distribution, and thin thickness could find potential application for high-performing direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) process. Electrospinning is an excellent approach in fabricating nanofiber membranes with adequate properties required of an MD membrane. In this study, superhydrophobic, robust, mixed matrix polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene (PcH) nanofiber membranes were fabricated incorporating different concentrations (1-5wt%) of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as nanofillers to impart additional mechanical and hydrophobic properties. The electrospun membrane has been designed to have two cohesive layers, a thin CNT/PcH top layer and a thick neat PcH bottom layer. Through different characterization techniques, CNTs were found to be widely distributed on/in the nanofibers, where more beads-on-string were formed at higher CNT content. However, the beads-on-string did not significantly affect the membrane porosity and pore size, as well as did not degrade the MD performance. Highly-porous structure was observed for all membranes and the nanofiber membrane showed comparable pore sizes with a commercial flat-sheet PVDF membrane but at a much higher porosity (>85%). The contact angle increased to superhydrophobic at 158.5° upon the incorporation of 5wt% CNTs in the nanofiber due to increased roughness and added effect of hydrophobic CNTs. The liquid entry pressure also increased when 5wt% CNT was added compared to the neat PcH nanofiber membrane. The resulting flux of the 5wt% CNT-incorporated nanofiber membrane (24-29.5L/m2h) was consistently higher than the commercial PVDF membrane (18-18.5L/m2h), with an average increase of 33-59% depending on the feed water type (35 or 70g/L NaCl solution) without compromising the salt rejection (>99.99%). The present nanofiber membranes containing CNTs with one-...

To, VHP, Nguyen, TV, Vigneswaran, S & Ngo, HH 2016, 'A review on sludge dewatering indices', Water Science and Technology, vol. 74, no. 1, pp. 1-16.
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Dewatering of sludge from sewage treatment plants is proving to be a significant challenge due to the large amounts of residual sludges generated annually. In recent years, research and development have focused on improving the dewatering process in order to reduce subsequent costs of sludge management and transport. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to establish reliable indices that reflect the efficiency of sludge dewatering. However, the evaluation of sludge dewaterability is not an easy task due to the highly complex nature of sewage sludge and variations in solid–liquid separation methods. Most traditional dewatering indices fail to predict the maximum cake solids content achievable during full-scale dewatering. This paper reviews the difficulties in assessing sludge dewatering performance, and the main techniques used to evaluate dewatering performance are compared and discussed in detail. Finally, the paper suggests a new dewatering index, namely the modified centrifugal index, which is demonstrated to be an appropriate indicator for estimating the final cake solids content as well as simulating the prototype dewatering process.

To, VHP, Nguyen, TV, Vigneswaran, S, Duc Nghiem, L, Murthy, S, Bustamante, H & Higgins, M 2016, 'Modified centrifugal technique for determining polymer demand and achievable dry solids content in the dewatering of anaerobically digested sludge', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 57, no. 53, pp. 25509-25519.
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© 2016 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. This study aims to characterize anaerobically digested sludge (ADS) and correlate the sludge characteristics in terms of soluble organic compounds with polymer demand (PD) during sludge conditioning. The PD required to achieve maximum dewatering of the ADS studied is in the range of 8–10 kg polymer/dry ton. The commonly used capillary suction time parameter to evaluate the solid–liquid separation ability was not a reliable indicator for assessing dewatering. Instead, in this study, a modified centrifugal technique proposed by Higgins (Higgins MCT) was used to assess the maximum achievable dry solids content of the biosolids cake. The Higgins MCT is readily obtained using a bench-scale centrifuge equipped with a modified centrifuge bucket. Using the Higgins MCT, the maximum dry solids contents obtained from conditioned ADS was 30 wt%. These values were comparable to the dry solids content obtained from the same sludge at full-scale level. Our results suggest Higgins MCT is suitable for assessing the final dry solids content and simulating the dewatering process.

Tran, N-AT, Padula, MP, Evenhuis, CR, Commault, AS, Ralph, PJ & Tamburic, B 2016, 'Proteomic and biophysical analyses reveal a metabolic shift in nitrogen deprived Nannochloropsis oculata', Algal Research, vol. 19, pp. 1-11.
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© 2016. The microalga Nannochloropsis oculata is a model organism for understanding intracellular lipid production, with potential benefits to the biofuel, aquaculture and nutraceutical industries. It is well known that nitrogen deprivation increases lipid accumulation in microalgae but the underlying processes are not fully understood. In this study, detailed proteomic and biophysical analyses were used to describe mechanisms that regulate carbon partitioning in nitrogen-deplete N. oculata. The alga selectively up- or down-regulated proteins to shift its metabolic flux in order to compensate for deficits in nitrate availability. Under nitrogen deprivation, proteins involved in photosynthesis, carbon fixation and chlorophyll biosynthesis were all down-regulated, and this was reflected in reduced cell growth and chlorophyll content. Protein content was reduced 4.9-fold in nitrogen-deplete conditions while fatty acid methyl esters increased by 60%. Proteomic analysis revealed that organic carbon and nitrogen from the breakdown of proteins and pigments is channeled primarily into fatty acid synthesis. As a result, the fatty acid concentration increased and the fatty acid profile became more favorable for algal biodiesel production. This advancement in microalgal proteomic analysis will help inform lipid accumulation strategies and optimum cultivation conditions for overproduction of fatty acids in N. oculata.

Tran, NH, Chen, H, Do, TV, Reinhard, M, Ngo, HH, He, Y & Gin, KY-H 2016, 'Simultaneous analysis of multiple classes of antimicrobials in environmental water samples using SPE coupled with UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS and isotope dilution', Talanta, vol. 159, pp. 163-173.
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Vigneswaran, S, Kandasamy, J & Johir, MAH 2016, 'Sustainable Operation of Composting in Solid Waste Management', Procedia Environmental Sciences, vol. 35, pp. 408-415.
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Wakil, MA, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH & Rizwanul Fattah, IM 2016, 'Rice bran: A prospective resource for biodiesel production in Bangladesh', International Journal of Green Energy, vol. 13, no. 5, pp. 497-504.
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The increasing demand of renewable energy sources has pressed the need to search for biofuels. The world is not only thrusting for potential sources of biofuels but also surveilling not to hamper the food supply, particularly in the Third World countries, such as Bangladesh. Rice bran oil is a prominent source of biofuels. Rice, the main cereal in Bangladesh, is cultivated all the year round. Rice hull containing bran is mostly wasted and merely used as feedstock for cattle and for cooking purposes. This study considered rice bran as a prospective source of biodiesel in Bangladesh. The properties of oil collected from rice bran were investigated to ensure the production of biodiesel by transesterification. An economic analysis relative to Bangladesh was conducted, and the production rate of biodiesel under different percentage of catalyst was investigated.

Wang, B, Zhao, F, Du, G, Porter, S, Liu, Y, Zhang, P, Cheng, Z, Liu, HK & Huang, Z 2016, 'Boron-Doped Anatase TiO₂ as a High-Performance Anode Material for Sodium-Ion Batteries', ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 8, no. 25, pp. 16009-16015.
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Pristine and boron-doped anatase TiO2 were prepared via a facile sol-gel method and the hydrothermal method for application as anode materials in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). The sol-gel method leads to agglomerated TiO2, whereas the hydrothermal method is conducive to the formation of highly crystalline and discrete nanoparticles. The structure, morphology, and electrochemical properties were studied. The crystal size of TiO2 with boron doping is smaller than that of the nondoped crystals, which indicates that the addition of boron can inhibit the crystal growth. The electrochemical measurements demonstrated that the reversible capacity of the B-doped TiO2 is higher than that for the pristine sample. B-doping also effectively enhances the rate performance. The capacity of the B-doped TiO2 could reach 150 mAh/g at the high current rate of 2C and the capacity decay is only about 8 mAh/g over 400 cycles. The remarkable performance could be attributed to the lattice expansion resulting from B doping and the shortened Li(+) diffusion distance due to the nanosize. These results indicate that B-doped TiO2 can be a good candidate for SIBs.

Wang, D, Wang, Q, Laloo, A, Xu, Y, Bond, PL & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Achieving Stable Nitritation for Mainstream Deammonification by Combining Free Nitrous Acid-Based Sludge Treatment and Oxygen Limitation', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 25547.
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AbstractStable nitritation is a critical bottleneck for achieving autotrophic nitrogen removal using the energy-saving mainstream deammonification process. Herein we report a new strategy to wash out both the Nitrospira sp. and Nitrobacter sp. from the treatment of domestic-strength wastewater. The strategy combines sludge treatment using free nitrous acid (FNA) with dissolved oxygen (DO) control in the nitritation reactor. Initially, the nitrifying reactor achieved full conversion of NH4+ to NO3−. Then, nitrite accumulation at ~60% was achieved in the reactor when 1/4 of the sludge was treated daily with FNA at 1.82 mg N/L in a side-stream unit for 24 h. Fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) revealed FNA treatment substantially reduced the abundance of nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) (from 23.0 ± 4.3 to 5.3 ± 1.9%), especially that of Nitrospira sp. (from 15.7 ± 3.9 to 0.4 ± 0.1%). Nitrite accumulation increased to ~80% when the DO concentration in the mainstream reactor was reduced from 2.5–3.0 to 0.3–0.8 mg/L. FISH revealed the DO limitation further reduced the abundance of NOB (to 2.1 ± 1.0%), especially that of Nitrobacter sp. (from 4.9 ± 1.2 to 1.8 ± 0.8%). The strategy developed removes a major barrier for deammonification in low-strength domestic wastewater.

Wang, D, Wang, Q, Laloo, AE & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Reducing N₂O Emission from a Domestic-Strength Nitrifying Culture by Free Nitrous Acid-Based Sludge Treatment', Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 50, no. 14, pp. 7425-7433.
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An increase of nitrite in the domestic-strength range is generally recognized to stimulate nitrous oxide (N2O) production by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). It was found in this study, however, that N2O emission from a mainstream nitritation system (cyclic nitrite = 25-45 mg of N/L) that was established by free nitrous acid (FNA)-based sludge treatment was not higher but much lower than that from the initial nitrifying system with full conversion of NH4(+)-N to NO3(-)-N. Under dissolved oxygen (DO) levels of 2.5-3.0 mg/L, N2O emission from the nitritation stage was 76% lower than that from the initial stage. Even when the DO level was reduced to 0.3-0.8 mg/L, N2O emission from the nitritation stage was still 40% lower. An investigation of the mechanism showed that FNA treatment caused a shift of the stimulation threshold of nitrite on N2O emission. At the nitritation stage, the maximal N2O emission factor occurred at ∼16 mg of N/(L of nitrite). However, it increased with increasing nitrite in the range of 0-56 mg of N/L at the initial stage. FNA treatment decreased the biomass-specific N2O production rate, suggesting that the enzymes relevant to nitrifier denitrification were inhibited. Microbial analysis revealed that FNA treatment decreased the microbial community diversity but increased the abundances of AOB and denitrifiers.

Wang, J, Bi, F, Ngo, H-H, Guo, W, Jia, H, Zhang, H & Zhang, X 2016, 'Evaluation of energy-distribution of a hybrid microbial fuel cell–membrane bioreactor (MFC–MBR) for cost-effective wastewater treatment', Bioresource Technology, vol. 200, pp. 420-425.
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Wang, Q, Hao, X & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Towards energy positive wastewater treatment by sludge treatment using free nitrous acid', Chemosphere, vol. 144, pp. 1869-1873.
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Free nitrous acid (FNA i.e. HNO2) was revealed to be effective in enhancing biodegradability of secondary sludge. Also, nitrite-oxidizing bacteria were found to be more susceptible to FNA than ammonium-oxidizing bacteria. Based on these findings, a novel FNA-based sludge treatment technology is proposed to enhance energy recovery from wastewater/sludge. Energy analysis indicated that the FNA-based technology would make wastewater treatment become an energy generating process (yielding energy at 4 kWh/PE/y; kWh/PE/y: kilowatt hours per population equivalent per year), rather than being a large energy consumer that it is today (consuming energy at 24 kWh/PE/y). Importantly, FNA required for the sludge treatment could be produced as a by-product of wastewater treatment. This proposed FNA-based technology is economically and environmentally attractive, and can be easily implemented in any wastewater treatment plants. It only involves the installation of a simple sludge mixing tank. This article presents the concept of the FNA-based technology.

Wang, Q, Ni, B-J, Lemaire, R, Hao, X & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Modeling of Nitrous Oxide Production from Nitritation Reactors Treating Real Anaerobic Digestion Liquor', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 25336.
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AbstractIn this work, a mathematical model including both ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and heterotrophic bacteria (HB) is constructed to predict N2O production from the nitritation systems receiving the real anaerobic digestion liquor. This is for the first time that N2O production from such systems was modeled considering both AOB and HB. The model was calibrated and validated using experimental data from both lab- and pilot-scale nitritation reactors. The model predictions matched the dynamic N2O, ammonium, nitrite and chemical oxygen demand data well, supporting the capability of the model. Modeling results indicated that HB are the dominant contributor to N2O production in the above systems with the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration of 0.5–1.0 mg O2/L, accounting for approximately 75% of N2O production. The modeling results also suggested that the contribution of HB to N2O production decreased with the increasing DO concentrations, from 75% at DO = 0.5 mg O2/L to 25% at DO = 7.0 mg O2/L, with a corresponding increase of the AOB contribution (from 25% to 75%). Similar to HB, the total N2O production rate also decreased dramatically from 0.65 to 0.25 mg N/L/h when DO concentration increased from 0.5 to 7.0 mg O2/L.

Wang, Q, Sun, J, Zhang, C, Xie, G-J, Zhou, X, Qian, J, Yang, G, Zeng, G, Liu, Y & Wang, D 2016, 'Polyhydroxyalkanoates in waste activated sludge enhances anaerobic methane production through improving biochemical methane potential instead of hydrolysis rate', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 19713.
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AbstractAnaerobic sludge digestion is the main technology for sludge reduction and stabilization prior to sludge disposal. Nevertheless, methane production from anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge (WAS) is often restricted by the poor biochemical methane potential and slow hydrolysis rate of WAS. This work systematically investigated the effect of PHA levels of WAS on anaerobic methane production, using both experimental and mathematical modeling approaches. Biochemical methane potential tests showed that methane production increased with increased PHA levels in WAS. Model-based analysis suggested that the PHA-based method enhanced methane production by improving biochemical methane potential of WAS, with the highest enhancement being around 40% (from 192 to 274 L CH4/kg VS added; VS: volatile solid) when the PHA levels increased from 21 to 143 mg/g VS. In contrast, the hydrolysis rate (approximately 0.10 d−1) was not significantly affected by the PHA levels. Economic analysis suggested that the PHA-based method could save $1.2/PE/y (PE: population equivalent) in a typical wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The PHA-based method can be easily integrated into the current WWTP to enhance methane production, thereby providing a strong support to the on-going paradigm shift in wastewater management from pollutant removal to resource recovery.

Wang, Q, Xie, H, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Zhang, J, Liu, C, Liang, S, Hu, Z, Yang, Z & Zhao, C 2016, 'Microbial abundance and community in subsurface flow constructed wetland microcosms: role of plant presence', Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 23, no. 5, pp. 4036-4045.
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In this research, the role of plants in improving microorganism growth conditions in subsurface flow constructed wetland (CW) microcosms was determined. In particular, microbial abundance and community were investigated during summer and winter in Phragmites australis-planted CW microcosms (PA) and unplanted CW microcosms (control, CT). Results revealed that the removal efficiencies of pollutants and microbial community structure varied in winter with variable microbial abundance. During summer, PA comprised more dominant phyla (e.g., Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes), whereas CT contained more Cyanobacteria and photosynthetic bacteria. During winter, the abundance of Proteobacteria was >40 % in PA but dramatically decreased in CT. Moreover, Cyanobacteria and photosynthetic bacterial dominance in CT decreased. In both seasons, bacteria were more abundant in root surfaces than in sand. Plant presence positively affected microbial abundance and community. The potential removal ability of CT, in which Cyanobacteria and photosynthetic bacteria were abundant during summer, was more significantly affected by temperature reduction than that of PA with plant presence.

Wang, Q, Zhou, X, Peng, L, Wang, D, Xie, G-J & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Enhancing post aerobic digestion of full-scale anaerobically digested sludge using free nitrous acid pretreatment', Chemosphere, vol. 150, pp. 152-158.
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Post aerobic digestion of anaerobically digested sludge (ADS) has been extensively applied to the wastewater treatment plants to enhance sludge reduction. However, the degradation of ADS in the post aerobic digester itself is still limited. In this work, an innovative free nitrous acid (HNO2 or FNA)-based pretreatment approach is proposed to improve full-scale ADS degradation in post aerobic digester. The post aerobic digestion was conducted by using an activated sludge to aerobically digest ADS for 4 days. Degradations of the FNA-treated (treated at 1.0 and 2.0 mg N/L for 24 h) and untreated ADSs were then determined and compared. The ADS was degraded by 26% and 32%, respectively, in the 4-day post aerobic digestion period while being pretreated at 1.0 and 2.0 mg HNO2-N/L. In comparison, only 20% of the untreated ADS was degraded. Economic analysis demonstrated that the implementation of FNA pretreatment can be economically favourable or not depending on the sludge transport and disposal cost.

Wang, S, Guo, J, Lian, J, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Liu, Y & Song, Y 2016, 'Rapid start-up of the anammox process by denitrifying granular sludge and the mechanism of the anammox electron transport chain', Biochemical Engineering Journal, vol. 115, pp. 101-107.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. This study investigated the rapid start-up of an anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) reactor by inoculating denitrifying granular sludge mixed anammox bacteria. The mechanism of the anammox electron transport chain (AETC) was also studied using nine different inhibitors in batch tests. This is the first study that shortened the start-up anammox reactor time to 28 days. Nitrogen removal rates (NRRs) up to 0.72 kg/(m3 d) on day 28 were achieved. Each studied inhibitor had a different binding site in the AETC. The effect of each inhibitor was determined by comparing the total nitrogen removal efficiency between the presence of an inhibitor and an appropriate control. The results confirmed that each inhibitor had various inhibition degrees that distinctly affected the AETC. Finally, the AETC mechanism was explored in detail. These findings are important for developing fast start-up processes for anammox reactors.

Wang, Y, Wang, C, Wang, Y, Liu, H & Huang, Z 2016, 'Boric Acid Assisted Reduction of Graphene Oxide: A Promising Material for Sodium-Ion Batteries', ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 8, no. 29, pp. 18860-18866.
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Reduced graphene oxide, an intensively investigated material for Li-ion batteries, has shown mostly unsatisfactory performance in Na-ion batteries, since its d-spacing is believed to be too small for effective insertion/deinsertion of Na(+) ions. Herein, a facile method was developed to produce boron-functionalized reduced graphene oxide (BF-rGO), with an enlarged interlayer spacing and defect-rich structure, which effectively accommodates the sodiation/desodiation and provides more active sites. The Na/BF-rGO half cells exhibit unprecedented long cycling stability, with ∼89.4% capacity retained after 5000 cycles (0.002% capacity decay per cycle) at 1000 mA·g(-1) current density. High specific capacity (280 mAh·g(-1)) and great rate capability were also delivered in the Na/BF-rGO half cells.

Wang, Y, Wang, C, Wang, Y, Liu, H & Huang, Z 2016, 'Superior sodium-ion storage performance of Co₃O₄@nitrogen-doped carbon: derived from a metal–organic framework', Journal of Materials Chemistry A, vol. 4, no. 15, pp. 5428-5435.
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Nitrogen-doped carbon coated Co₃O₄ nanoparticles (Co₃O₄@NC) with high Na-ion storage capacity and unprecedented long-life cycling stability are reported in this paper.

Wei, D, Dong, H, Wu, N, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Du, B & Wei, Q 2016, 'A Fluorescence Approach to Assess the Production of Soluble Microbial Products from Aerobic Granular Sludge Under the Stress of 2,4-Dichlorophenol', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1.
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AbstractIn this study, a fluorescence approach was used to evaluate the production of soluble microbial products (SMP) in aerobic granular sludge system under the stress of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP). A combined use of three-dimension excitation emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy (3D-EEM), Parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC), synchronous fluorescence and two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D-COS) were explored to respect the SMP formation in the exposure of different doses of 2,4-DCP. Data implied that the presence of 2,4-DCP had an obvious inhibition on biological nitrogen removal. According to EEM-PARAFAC, two fluorescent components were derived and represented to the presence of fulvic-like substances and humic-like substances in Component 1 and protein-like substances in Component 2. It was found from synchronous fluorescence that protein-like peak presented slightly higher intensity than that of fulvic-like peak. 2D-COS further revealed that fluorescence change took place sequentially in the following order: protein-like fraction > fulvic-like fraction. The obtained results could provide a potential application of fluorescence spectra in the released SMP assessment in the exposure of toxic compound during wastewater treatment.

Wei, D, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Xu, W, Zhang, Y, Du, B & Wei, Q 2016, 'Biosorption of effluent organic matter onto magnetic biochar composite: Behavior of fluorescent components and their binding properties', Bioresource Technology, vol. 214, pp. 259-265.
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Wei, W, Wang, Q, Li, A, Yang, J, Ma, F, Pi, S & Wu, D 2016, 'Biosorption of Pb (II) from aqueous solution by extracellular polymeric substances extracted from Klebsiella sp. J1: Adsorption behavior and mechanism assessment', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 31575.
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AbstractThe adsorption performance and mechanism of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) extracted from Klebsiella sp. J1 for soluble Pb (II) were investigated. The maximum biosorption capacity of EPS for Pb (II) was found to be 99.5 mg g−1 at pH 6.0 and EPS concentration of 0.2 g/L. The data for adsorption process satisfactorily fitted to both Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second order kinetic model. The mean free energy E and activation energy Ea were determined at 8.22– 8.98 kJ mol−1 and 42.46 kJ mol−1, respectively. The liquid-film diffusion step might be the rate-limiting step. The thermodynamic parameters (ΔGo, ΔHo and ΔSo) revealed that the adsorption process was spontaneous and exothermic under natural conditions. The interactions between EPS system and Pb (II) ions were investigated by qualitative analysis methods (i.e Zeta potential, FT-IR and EDAX). Based on the strong experimental evidence from the mass balance of the related elements participating in the sorption process, an ion exchange process was identified quantitatively as the major mechanism responsible for Pb (II) adsorption by EPS. Molar equivalents of both K+ and Mg2+ could be exchanged with Pb2+ molar equivalents in the process and the contribution rate of ion exchange to adsorption accounted for 85.72% (Δmequiv = −0.000541).

Woo, YC, Kim, Y, Shim, W-G, Tijing, LD, Yao, M, Nghiem, LD, Choi, J-S, Kim, S-H & Shon, HK 2016, 'Graphene/PVDF flat-sheet membrane for the treatment of RO brine from coal seam gas produced water by air gap membrane distillation', JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE, vol. 513, pp. 74-84.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. Brine management of coal seam gas (CSG) produced water is a significant concern for the sustainable production of CSG in Australia. Membrane distillation (MD) has shown the potential to further reduce the volume of CSG reverse osmosis (RO) brine. However, despite its potential, the lack of appropriate MD membranes limits its industrial use. Therefore, this study was aimed on the fabrication of a robust membrane for the treatment of real RO brine from CSG produced water via an air gap MD (AGMD) process. Here, graphene/polyvinylidene fluoride (G/PVDF) membranes at various graphene loadings 0.1-2.0 wt% w.r.t. to PVDF) were prepared through a phase inversion method. Surface characterization revealed that all G/PVDF membranes exhibited favorable membrane properties having high porosity (>78%), suitable mean pore size (<0.11 μm), and high liquid entry pressure (>3.66 bar). AGMD test results (feed inlet: 60.0±1.5 °C; coolant inlet: 20.0±1.5 °C) for 24 h operation indicated a high water vapor flux and salt rejection of 20.5 L/m2h and 99.99%, respectively for the optimal graphene loading of 0.5 wt%, i.e., G/PVDF-0.5 membrane (compared to 11.6 L/m2h and 99.96% for neat PVDF membrane). Long-term AGMD operation of 10 days further revealed the robustness of G/PVDF membrane with superior performance compared to commercial PVDF membrane (85.3% final normalized flux/99.99% salt rejection against 51.4%/99.95% for commercial membrane). Incorporation of graphene has resulted to improved wetting resistance and more robust membrane that has the potential for the treatment of RO brine from CSG produced water via AGMD.

Woo, YC, Lee, JJ, Shim, W-G, Shon, HK, Tijing, LD, Yao, M & Kim, H-S 2016, 'Effect of powdered activated carbon on integrated submerged membrane bioreactor-nanofiltration process for wastewater reclamation', BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY, vol. 210, pp. 18-25.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of powdered activated carbon (PAC) on the overall performance of a submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR) system integrated with nanofiltration (NF) for wastewater reclamation. It was found that the trans-membrane pressure of SMBR increased continuously while that of the SMBR with PAC was more stable, mainly because water could still pass through the PACs and membrane even though foulants adhered on the PAC surface. The presence of PAC was able to mitigate fouling in SMBR as well as in NF. SMBR-NF with PAC obtained a higher flux of 8.1 LMH compared to that without PAC (6.6 LMH). In addition, better permeate quality was obtained with SMBR-NF integrated process added with PAC. The present results suggest that the addition of PAC in integrated SMBR-NF process could possibly lead to satisfying water quality and can be operated for a long-term duration.

Woo, YC, Tijing, LD, Shim, W-G, Choi, J-S, Kim, S-H, He, T, Drioli, E & Shon, HK 2016, 'Water desalination using graphene-enhanced electrospun nanofiber membrane via air gap membrane distillation', JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE, vol. 520, pp. 99-110.
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© 2016 This study demonstrates the preparation and desalination performance via air gap membrane distillation (AGMD) of a graphene-loaded electrospun nanofiber membrane. Different concentrations of graphene (0–10 wt%) were incorporated in/on electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene (PH) membrane to obtain a robust, and superhydrophobic nanocomposite membrane. The results showed that graphene incorporation has significantly enhanced the membrane structure and properties with an optimal concentration of 5 wt% (i.e., G5PH). Characterization of G5PH revealed membrane porosity of >88%, contact angle of >162° (superhydrophobic), and high liquid entry pressure (LEP) of >186 kPa. These favourable properties led to a high and stable AGMD flux of 22.9 L/m2 h or LMH (compared with ~4.8 LMH for the commercial PVDF flat-sheet membrane) and excellent salt rejection (100%) for 60 h of operation using 3.5 wt% NaCl solution as feed (feed and coolant inlet temperatures of 60 and 20 °C, respectively). A two-dimensional dynamic model to investigate the flux profile of the graphene/PH membrane is also introduced. The present study suggests that exploiting the interesting properties of nanofibers and graphene nanofillers through a facile electrospinning technique provides high potential towards the fabrication of a robust and high-performance AGMD membrane.

Wu, H, Fan, J, Zhang, J, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Hu, Z & Lv, J 2016, 'Optimization of organics and nitrogen removal in intermittently aerated vertical flow constructed wetlands: Effects of aeration time and aeration rate', International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, vol. 113, pp. 139-145.
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In this study, to optimize aeration for the enhancement of organics and nitrogen removal in intermittently aerated vertical flow constructed wetlands (VF CWs) for treating domestic wastewater, the experimental VF CWs were operated at different aeration time (1 h d-1, 2 h d-1, 4 h d-1, 6 h d-1, 8 h d-1 and 10 h d-1) and aeration rate (0.1 L min-1, 0.2 L min-1, 0.5 L min-1, 1.0 L min-1 and 2.0 L min-1) to investigate the effect of artificial aeration on the removal efficiency of organics and nitrogen. The results showed that the optimal aeration time and aeration rate were 4 h d-1 and 1.0 L min-1, which could create the appropriate aerobic and anoxic regions in CWs with the greater removal of COD (97.2%), NH4 +-N (98.4%) and TN (90.6%) achieved simultaneously during the experiment. The results demonstrate that the optimized intermittent aeration is reliable option to enhance the treatment performance of organics and nitrogen at a lower operating cost.

Wu, H, Fan, J, Zhang, J, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Liang, S, Lv, J, Lu, S, Wu, W & Wu, S 2016, 'Intensified organics and nitrogen removal in the intermittent-aerated constructed wetland using a novel sludge-ceramsite as substrate', Bioresource Technology, vol. 210, pp. 101-107.
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Wu, H, Lin, L, Zhang, J, Guo, W, Liang, S & Liu, H 2016, 'Purification ability and carbon dioxide flux from surface flow constructed wetlands treating sewage treatment plant effluent', Bioresource Technology, vol. 219, pp. 768-772.
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Wu, Y, Wang, J, Zhang, H, Ngo, HH, Guo, W & Zhang, N 2016, 'The impact of gas slug flow on microfiltration performance in an airlift external loop tubular membrane reactor', RSC Advances, vol. 6, no. 110, pp. 109067-109075.
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Under low gas-velocity, the cake layer gradually formed. Then high gas-velocity scoured the cake layer, which obstructed the cake layer's formation.

Xia, G, Tan, Y, Wu, F, Fang, F, Sun, D, Guo, Z, Huang, Z & Yu, X 2016, 'Graphene-wrapped reversible reaction for advanced hydrogen storage', Nano Energy, vol. 26, pp. 488-495.
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Here, we report the fabrication of a graphene-wrapped nanostructured reactive hydride composite, i.e., 2LiBH4-MgH2, made by adopting graphene-supported MgH2 nanoparticles (NPs) as the nanoreactor and heterogeneous nucleation sites. The porous structure, uniform distribution of MgH2 NPs, and the steric confinement by flexible graphene induced a homogeneous distribution of 2LiBH4-MgH2 nanocomposite on graphene with extremely high loading capacity (80 wt%) and energy density. The well-defined structural features, including even distribution, uniform particle size, excellent thermal stability, and robust architecture endow this composite with significant improvements in its hydrogen storage performance. For instance, at a temperature as low as 350 °C, a reversible storage capacity of up to 8.9 wt% H2, without degradation after 25 complete cycles, was achieved for the 2LiBH4-MgH2 anchored on graphene. The design of this three-dimensional architecture can offer a new concept for obtaining high performance materials in the energy storage field.

Xiao, F, Chen, Z, Casillas, G, Richardson, C, Li, H & Huang, Z 2016, 'Controllable synthesis of few-layered and hierarchically porous boron nitride nanosheets', Chemical Communications, vol. 52, no. 20, pp. 3911-3914.
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Few-layered porous boron nitride nanosheets prepared using MgB₂ as a dynamic template show good CO₂ adsorption selectivity.

Xie, G-J, Liu, B-F, Ding, J, Wang, Q, Ma, C, Zhou, X & Ren, N-Q 2016, 'Effect of carbon sources on the aggregation of photo fermentative bacteria induced by L-cysteine for enhancing hydrogen production', Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 23, no. 24, pp. 25312-25322.
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Poor flocculation of photo fermentative bacteria resulting in continuous biomass washout from photobioreactor is a critical challenge to achieve rapid and stable hydrogen production. In this work, the aggregation of Rhodopseudomonas faecalis RLD-53 was successfully developed in a photobioreactor and the effects of different carbon sources on hydrogen production and aggregation ability were investigated. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) production by R. faecalis RLD-53 cultivated using different carbon sources were stimulated by addition of L-cysteine. The absolute ζ potentials of R. faecalis RLD-53 were considerably decreased with addition of L-cysteine, and aggregation barriers based on DLVO dropped to 15-43 % of that in control groups. Thus, R. faecalis RLD-53 flocculated effectively, and aggregation abilities of strain RLD-53 cultivated with acetate, propionate, lactate and malate reached 29.35, 32.34, 26.07 and 24.86 %, respectively. In the continuous test, hydrogen-producing activity was also promoted and reached 2.45 mol H2/mol lactate, 3.87 mol H2/mol propionate and 5.10 mol H2/mol malate, respectively. Therefore, the aggregation of R. faecalis RLD-53 induced by L-cysteine is independent on the substrate types, which ensures the wide application of this technology to enhance hydrogen recovery from wastewater dominated by different organic substrates.

Xie, G-J, Liu, B-F, Wang, Q, Ding, J & Ren, N-Q 2016, 'Ultrasonic waste activated sludge disintegration for recovering multiple nutrients for biofuel production', Water Research, vol. 93, pp. 56-64.
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Waste activated sludge is a valuable resource containing multiple nutrients, but is currently treated and disposed of as an important source of pollution. In this work, waste activated sludge after ultrasound pretreatment was reused as multiple nutrients for biofuel production. The nutrients trapped in sludge floc were transferred into liquid medium by ultrasonic disintegration during first 30 min, while further increase of pretreatment time only resulted in slight increase of nutrients release. Hydrogen production by Ethanoligenens harbinense B49 from glucose significantly increased with the concentration of ultrasonic sludge, and reached maximum yield of 1.97 mol H2/mol glucose at sludge concentration of 7.75 g volatile suspended solids/l. Without addition of any other chemicals, waste molasses rich in carbohydrate was efficiently turned into hydrogen with yield of 189.34 ml H2/g total sugar by E. harbinense B49 using ultrasonic sludge as nutrients. The results also showed that hydrogen production using pretreated sludge as multiple nutrients was higher than those using standard nutrients. Acetic acid produced by E. harbinense B49 together with the residual nutrients in the liquid medium were further converted into hydrogen (271.36 ml H2/g total sugar) by Rhodopseudomonas faecalis RLD-53 through photo fermentation, while ethanol was the sole end product with yield of 220.26 mg/g total sugar. Thus, pretreated sludge was an efficient nutrients source for biofuel production, which could replace the standard nutrients. This research provided a novel strategy to achieve environmental friendly sludge disposal and simultaneous efficient biofuel recovery from organic waste.

Xie, M, Shon, HK, Gray, SR & Elimelech, M 2016, 'Membrane-based processes for wastewater nutrient recovery: Technology, challenges, and future direction', Water Research, vol. 89, pp. 210-221.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Wastewater nutrient recovery holds promise for more sustainable water and agricultural industries. We critically review three emerging membrane processes - forward osmosis (FO), membrane distillation (MD) and electrodialysis (ED) - that can advance wastewater nutrient recovery. Challenges associated with wastewater nutrient recovery were identified. The advantages and challenges of applying FO, MD, and ED technologies to wastewater nutrient recovery are discussed, and directions for future research and development are identified. Emphasis is given to exploration of the unique mass transfer properties of these membrane processes in the context of wastewater nutrient recovery. We highlight that hybridising these membrane processes with existing nutrient precipitation process will lead to better management of and more diverse pathways for near complete nutrient recovery in wastewater treatment facilities.

Xie, S, Hai, FI, Zhan, X, Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Price, WE & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Anaerobic co-digestion: A critical review of mathematical modelling for performance optimization', Bioresource Technology, vol. 222, pp. 498-512.
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© 2016 Anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) is a pragmatic approach to simultaneously manage organic wastes and produce renewable energy. This review demonstrates the need for improving AcoD modelling capacities to simulate the complex physicochemical and biochemical processes. Compared to mono-digestion, AcoD is more susceptible to process instability, as it operates at a higher organic loading and significant variation in substrate composition. Data corroborated here reveal that it is essential to model the transient variation in pH and inhibitory intermediates (e.g. ammonia and organic acids) for AcoD optimization. Mechanistic models (based on the ADM1 framework) have become the norm for AcoD modelling. However, key features in current AcoD models, especially relationships between system performance and co-substrates’ properties, organic loading, and inhibition mechanisms, remain underdeveloped. It is also necessary to predict biogas quantity and composition as well as biosolids quality by considering the conversion and distribution of sulfur, phosphorus, and nitrogen during AcoD.

Xie, W-M, Ni, B-J, Sheng, G-P, Seviour, T & Yu, H-Q 2016, 'Quantification and kinetic characterization of soluble microbial products from municipal wastewater treatment plants', Water Research, vol. 88, pp. 703-710.
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Soluble microbial products (SMP) formed by microorganisms in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) adversely affect final effluent quality and treatment efficiency. It is difficult to distinguish SMP from residual proteins, lipids and carbohydrates present in the influent that may persist during treatment. No method is currently available to determine quantitatively the extent to which SMP contribute to organic discharges from municipal WWTPs. In this work a modeling approach is presented which allows the SMP fraction of the effluent of a municipal WWTP to be quantified and described. The model is validated, in terms of utilization-associated products, biomass-associated products and extracellular polymeric substances, using influent from a municipal WWTP. SMP was found to account for, on average, 27 mg/L of chemical oxygen demand (COD), or 61% of the total COD in the WWTP effluent. Over 90% of the SMP was comprised of biomass-associated products. Five main factors influencing SMP formation in WWTP were evaluated. Neither wastewater composition nor mixed liquor suspended solids concentration was found to affect SMP production. On the other hand, a positive correlation was observed for SMP formation with both solids retention time and influent COD concentration, and a negative correlation with hydraulic retention time. Thus, operating or designing WWTPs with short solids retention and long hydraulic retention times could be considered as solutions for minimizing SMP production.

Xu, J, Cao, Z, Liu, X, Zhao, H, Xiao, X, Wu, J, Xu, X & Zhou, JL 2016, 'Preparation of functionalized Pd/Fe-Fe3O4@MWCNTs nanomaterials for aqueous 2,4-dichlorophenol removal: Interactions, influence factors, and kinetics', Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol. 317, pp. 656-666.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. Magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were prepared to support Pd/Fe nanoparticles, inhibit the aggregation and passivation, and achieve magnetic separation to avoid the environmental risk of nanoparticles. Rapid adsorption of initial contaminant, steady dechlorination, and gradual desorption of final product was observed. The micromorphology, chemical structure, and components of the nanohybrids were comprehensively characterized by a series of analysis technologies, such as EDX, XRD, SEM, TEM, and XPS. The interactions between the nanohybrids compositions were discussed according to the characterization and experimental data. The whole insight of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) adsorption- dechlorination-desorption was studied in detail, including the pathways, influence factors, dechlorination kinetics and selectivity. Weak acidity (pH = 5.0 and 6.5) favored the 2,4-DCP removal. Satisfactory reactivity of the Pd/Fe-Fe3O4@MWCNTs nanohybrids was observed in five consecutive runs, and 99.2%, 89.6%, 92.1%, 99.8%, and 99.9% of 2,4-DCP was removed, respectively. Most of the final product (phenol) was steadily desorbed to the liquid phase, resulted in the re-exposure of active sites on the nanohybrids and maintained a longer activity.

Xu, J, Liu, X, Lowry, GV, Cao, Z, Zhao, H, Zhou, JL & Xu, X 2016, 'Dechlorination Mechanism of 2,4-Dichlorophenol by Magnetic MWCNTs Supported Pd/Fe Nanohybrids: Rapid Adsorption, Gradual Dechlorination, and Desorption of Phenol', ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 8, no. 11, pp. 7333-7342.
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© 2016 American Chemical Society. 2,4-dichlorophenol was effectively removed from water using magnetic Pd/Fe nanoparticles supported on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The adsorption kinetics, isotherms, and energy for 2,4-dichlorophenol and its partially (4-chlorophenol, 2-chlorophenol) and completely (phenol) dechlorinated products are presented and discussed. The adsorption capacity was 2,4-dichlorophenol > 4-chlorophenol > 2-chlorophenol > phenol for MWCNTs. MWCNTs-Fe3O4-Pd/Fe nanohybrids provided rapid adsorption, gradual dechlorination, and final desorption of phenol, which is attractive as a remediation technology. Over 82.7% of the phenol was desorbed and released to the aqueous phase after 72 h due to its low adsorption capacity, leaving the majority of active sites available on the surface of MWCNTs-Fe3O4-Pd/Fe. The nanohybrids maintained high activity in five consecutive in situ experiments, and they were retrievable using magnetic separation. MWCNTs-Fe3O4-Pd/Fe nanohybrids outperform unsupported Pd/Fe nanoparticles, which were difficult to retrieve, and were easily passivated and aggregated.

Xu, Y, Yuan, Z & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Biotransformation of pharmaceuticals by ammonia oxidizing bacteria in wastewater treatment processes', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 566-567, pp. 796-805.
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Pharmaceutical residues could potentially pose detrimental effects on aquatic ecosystems and human health, with wastewater treatment being one of the major pathways for pharmaceuticals to enter into the environment. Enhanced removal of pharmaceuticals by ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) has been widely observed in wastewater treatment processes. This article reviews the current knowledge on the biotransformation of pharmaceuticals by AOB. The relationship between the pharmaceuticals removal and nitrification process was revealed. The important role of AOB-induced cometabolism on the biotransformation of pharmaceuticals as well as their transformation products and pathways was elucidated. Kinetics and mathematical models describing the biotransformation of pharmaceuticals by AOB were also reviewed. The results highlighted the high degradation capabilities of AOB toward some refractory pharmaceuticals, with their degradations being clearly related to the nitrification rate and their transformation products being identified, which may exhibit similar or higher ecotoxicological impacts compared to the parent compound.

Yao, M, Woo, YC, Tijing, LD, Shim, W-G, Choi, J-S, Kim, S-H & Shon, HK 2016, 'Effect of heat-press conditions on electrospun membranes for desalination by direct contact membrane distillation', DESALINATION, vol. 378, pp. 80-91.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Membrane distillation (MD) is considered as a promising next-generation technology for desalination. However, there is no specific membrane designed and engineered for this application yet. Recently, electrospun polymeric membranes have been widely investigated due to their relatively high porosity, high hydrophobicity and controllable pore size. However, the robustness of such membranes is not guaranteed as they are susceptible to wetting in long-term operation. Heat-press treatment is a simple and effective procedure to improve both morphological and mechanical characteristics of the electrospun membrane. Nevertheless, the heat-press technique is not fully investigated although some conditions are applied to the electrospun membrane in previous researches. In this paper, a comprehensive investigation of the effect of heat-press temperature, pressure and duration on the morphological and mechanical characteristics of electrospun membrane is accomplished. Impressive improvement of mechanical strength and liquid entry pressure (LEP) can be achieved after heat-press treatment on the electrospun membranes. It is also found that temperature and duration play more important roles than pressure in heat-press treatment. In addition, it is ascertained that optimal treatment conditions for heat-press includes temperature at 150. °C, pressure at 6.5. kPa, and duration for 8. h for the present electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene membrane. A decent DCMD permeation flux of 29 LMH and salt rejection of 99.99% can be achieved with the optimally heat-pressed electrospun membranes for desalination at feed and permeate temperatures of 60 and 20. °C, respectively.

Ye, Y, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Liu, Y, Zhang, X, Guo, J, Ni, B-J, Chang, SW & Nguyen, DD 2016, 'Insight into biological phosphate recovery from sewage', Bioresource Technology, vol. 218, pp. 874-881.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd The world's increasing population means that more food production is required. A more sustainable supply of fertilizers mainly consisting of phosphate is needed. Due to the rising consumption of scarce resources and limited natural supply of phosphate, the recovery of phosphate and their re-use has potentially high market value. Sewage has high potential to recover a large amount of phosphate in a circular economy approach. This paper focuses on utilization of biological process integrated with various subsequent processes to concentrate and recycle phosphate which are derived from liquid and sludge phases. The phosphate accumulation and recovery are discussed in terms of mechanism and governing parameters, recovery efficiency, application at plant-scale and economy.

Yin, X, Zhang, J, Hu, Z, Xie, H, Guo, W, Wang, Q, Ngo, HH, Liang, S, Lu, S & Wu, W 2016, 'Effect of photosynthetically elevated pH on performance of surface flow-constructed wetland planted with Phragmites australis', Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 23, no. 15, pp. 15524-15531.
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Zahid, R, Masjuki, HH, Varman, M, Abul Kalam, M, Mufti, RA, Zulkifli, NWBM, Gulzar, M & Azman, SSBN 2016, 'Influence of intrinsic and extrinsic conditions on the tribological characteristics of diamond-like carbon coatings: A review (vol 31, pg 1814, 2016)', JOURNAL OF MATERIALS RESEARCH, vol. 31, no. 13, pp. 1983-1983.

Zahid, R, Masjuki, HH, Varman, M, Kalam, MA, Mufti, RA, Mohd Zulkifli, NWB, Gulzar, M & Nor Azman, SSB 2016, 'Influence of intrinsic and extrinsic conditions on the tribological characteristics of diamond-like carbon coatings: A review', Journal of Materials Research, vol. 31, no. 13, pp. 1814-1836.
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Abstract

Zhang, J, Jia, W, Wang, R, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Xie, H & Liang, S 2016, 'Microbial community characteristics during simultaneous nitrification-denitrification process: effect of COD/TP ratio', Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 2557-2565.
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Zhang, M, Liu, R, Wang, Z, Zhao, B, Song, J, Park, MJ, Shon, HK, Li, X-M & He, T 2016, 'Dehydration of forward osmosis membranes in treating high salinity wastewaters: Performance and implications', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 498, pp. 365-373.
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Zhang, QH, Jin, PK, Ngo, HH, Shi, X, Guo, WS, Yang, SJ, Wang, XC, Wang, X, Dzakpasu, M, Yang, WN & Yang, L 2016, 'Transformation and utilization of slowly biodegradable organic matters in biological sewage treatment of anaerobic anoxic oxic systems', Bioresource Technology, vol. 218, pp. 53-61.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. This study examined the distribution of carbon sources in two anaerobic anoxic oxic (AAO) sewage treatment plants in Xi'an and investigated the transformation characteristics and utilization potential of slowly biodegradable organic matters (SBOM). Results indicated under anaerobic and aerobic conditions, SBOM could be transformed at a rate of 65% in 8 h into more readily biologically utilizable substrates such as volatile fatty acids (VFAs), polysaccharides and proteins. Additionally, non-biodegradable humus-type substances which are difficult to biodegrade and readily accumulate, were also generated. These products could be further hydrolyzed to aldehyde and ketone compounds and then transformed into substances with significant oxygen-containing functional groups and utilized subsequently. The molecular weights of proteinoid substances had a wide distribution and tended to decrease over time. Long hours of microbial reaction increased the proportion of micromolecular substances. This particular increase generated significant bioavailability, which can greatly improve the efficiency of nitrogen removal.

Zhang, QH, Yang, WN, Ngo, HH, Guo, WS, Jin, PK, Dzakpasu, M, Yang, SJ, Wang, Q, Wang, XC & Ao, D 2016, 'Current status of urban wastewater treatment plants in China', Environment International, vol. 92-93, pp. 11-22.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. The study reported and analyzed the current state of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in urban China from the perspective of treatment technologies, pollutant removals, operating load and effluent discharge standards. By the end of 2013, 3508 WWTPs have been built in 31 provinces and cities in China with a total treatment capacity of 1.48 × 108 m3/d. The uneven population distribution between China's east and west regions has resulted in notably different economic development outcomes. The technologies mostly used in WWTPs are AAO and oxidation ditch, which account for over 50% of the existing WWTPs. According to statistics, the efficiencies of COD and NH3-N removal are good in 656 WWTPs in 70 cities. The overall average COD removal is over 88% with few regional differences. The average removal efficiency of NH3-N is up to 80%. Large differences exist between the operating loads applied in different WWTPs. The average operating loading rate is approximately 83%, and 52% of WWTPs operate at loadings of <80%, treating up to 40% of the wastewater generated. The implementation of discharge standards has been low. Approximately 28% of WWTPs that achieved the Grade I-A Discharge Standard of Pollutants for Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant (GB 18918-2002) were constructed after 2010. The sludge treatment and recycling rates are only 25%, and approximately 15% of wastewater is inefficiently treated. Approximately 60% of WWTPs have capacities of 1 × 104 m3/d-5 × 104 m3/d. Relatively high energy consumption is required for small-scale processing, and the utilization rate of recycled wastewater is low. The challenges of WWTPs are discussed with the aim of developing rational criteria and appropriate technologies for water recycling. Suggestions regarding potential technical and administrative measures are provided.

Zhang, QY, Ma, XY, Wang, XC & Ngo, HH 2016, 'Assessment of multiple hormone activities of a UV-filter (octocrylene) in zebrafish (Danio rerio)', Chemosphere, vol. 159, pp. 433-441.
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Zhang, T, Wang, Q, Ye, L & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Effect of free nitrous acid pre-treatment on primary sludge biodegradability and its implications', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 290, pp. 31-36.
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Free nitrous acid (FNA i.e. HNO2) pre-treatment has been demonstrated to be effective in enhancing methane production from waste activated sludge (WAS). In some wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), primary sludge (PS) and WAS are commonly mixed and digested simultaneously in the anaerobic digester. In order to reveal whether and how the PS and WAS should be jointly treated by FNA in WWTPs, this study presents the effects and mechanisms of FNA pre-treatment on methane production from PS. Full-scale derived PS was pre-treated with FNA at concentrations of 0-3.85mgN/L followed by biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests. FNA treated PS was centrifuged to separate the supernatant from the solid phase for BMP tests on both fractions. FNA pre-treatment resulted in the methane potential reduction of 1-7%. The methane production from both supernatant and solid phases also decreased. PS solubilisation in combination with the molecular weight distribution and chemical structure analysis of the soluble phase showed very limited release of readily biodegradable substances from PS with FNA pre-treatment. The fact that FNA pre-treatment compromised the methane production from PS indicates that FNA-based sludge pre-treatment technology should implemented solely on WAS to maximise the methane production from the two sludge streams.

Zhang, T, Wang, Q, Ye, L & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Enhancing post anaerobic digestion of full-scale anaerobically digested sludge using free nitrous acid treatment', Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology, vol. 43, no. 5, pp. 713-717.
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Abstract In some wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), the ever increasing production of sludge with the expanding population overloaded the anaerobic digestion which compromises the sludge reduction efficiency. Post anaerobic digestion of anaerobically digested sludge (ADS) has been applied to enhance sludge reduction, however, to a very limited extent. This study verified the effectiveness of free nitrous acid (FNA i.e. HNO2) pre-treatment on enhancing full-scale ADS degradation in post anaerobic digestion. The ADS collected from a full-scale WWTP was subject to FNA treatment at concentrations of 0.77, 1.54, 2.31, 3.08, and 3.85 mg N/L for 24 h followed by biochemical methane potential tests. The FNA treatment at all concentrations resulted in an increase (from 1.5–3.1 % compared to the control) in sludge reduction with the highest improvement achieved at 0.77 mg HNO2-N/L. The FNA treatment at this concentration also resulted in the highest increase in methane production (40 %) compared to the control. The economic analysis indicates that FNA treatment is economically attractive for enhancing post anaerobic digestion of full-scale ADS.

Zhang, X, Chen, X, Zhang, C, Wen, H, Guo, W & Ngo, HH 2016, 'Effect of filling fraction on the performance of sponge-based moving bed biofilm reactor', Bioresource Technology, vol. 219, pp. 762-767.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd Cubic-shaped polyurethane sponges (15 × 15 × 15 mm) in the form of biofilm carriers were used in a moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) for treating synthetic domestic wastewater. Results indicated there was no significant difference in total organic carbon (TOC) and ammonia (NH4+-N) removal at different filling fractions. Three reactors exhibited high removal efficiencies of over 93% TOC and 95% NH4+-N on average at an HRT of 12 h and aeration flow of 0.09 m3/h. However, total nitrogen (TN) removal and simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) increased with increasing the filling fraction. TN removal averaged at 77.2, 85.5% and 86.7% in 10%, 20% and 30% filling fraction reactor, respectively. Correspondingly, SND were 85.5 ± 8.7%, 91.3 ± 9.4% and 93.3 ± 10.2%. Moreover, it was observed that sponge carriers in the 20% filling fraction reactor achieved the maximum biomass amount per gram sponge, followed by the 10% and 30% filling fraction reactors.

Zhang, X, Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Wen, H, Li, N & Wu, W 2016, 'Performance evaluation of powdered activated carbon for removing 28 types of antibiotics from water', Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 172, pp. 193-200.
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Zhao, C, Xie, H, Xu, J, Zhang, J, Liang, S, Hao, J, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Xu, X, Wang, Q & Wang, J 2016, 'Removal mechanisms and plant species selection by bioaccumulative factors in surface flow constructed wetlands (CWs): In the case of triclosan', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 547, pp. 9-16.
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Zhao, H, Liu, X, Cao, Z, Zhan, Y, Shi, X, Yang, Y, Zhou, J & Xu, J 2016, 'Adsorption behavior and mechanism of chloramphenicols, sulfonamides, and non-antibiotic pharmaceuticals on multi-walled carbon nanotubes', Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol. 310, pp. 235-245.
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The adsorption behavior of different emerging contaminants (3 chloramphenicols, 7 sulfonamides, and 3 non-antibiotic pharmaceuticals) on five types of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), and the underlying factors were studied. Adsorption equilibriums were reached within 12h for all compounds, and well fitted by the Freundlich isotherm model. The adsorption affinity of pharmaceuticals was positively related to the specific surface area of MWCNTs. The solution pH was an important parameter of pharmaceutical adsorption on MWCNTs, due to its impacts on the chemical speciation of pharmaceuticals and the surface electrical property of MWCNTs. The adsorption of ionizable pharmaceuticals decreased in varying degrees with the increased ionic strength. MWCNT-10 was found to be the strongest adsorbent in this study, and the Freundlich constant (KF) values were 353-2814mmol(1-n)L(n)/kg, 571-618mmol(1-n)L(n)/kg, and 317-1522mmol(1-n)L(n)/kg for sulfonamides, chloramphenicols, and non-antibiotic pharmaceuticals, respectively. The different adsorption affinity of sulfonamides might contribute to the different hydrophobic of heterocyclic substituents, while chloramphenicols adsorption was affected by the charge distribution in aromatic rings via substituent effects.

Zhao, J, Liu, Y, Ni, B, Wang, Q, Wang, D, Yang, Q, Sun, Y, Zeng, G & Li, X 2016, 'Combined Effect of Free Nitrous Acid Pretreatment and Sodium Dodecylbenzene Sulfonate on Short-Chain Fatty Acid Production from Waste Activated Sludge', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 21622.
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AbstractFree nitrous acid (FNA) serving as a pretreatment is an effective approach to accelerate sludge disintegration. Also, sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS), a type of surfactants, has been determined at significant levels in sewage sludge, which thereby affects the characteristics of sludge. Both FNA pretreatment and sludge SDBS levels can affect short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) generation from sludge anaerobic fermentation. To date, however, the combined effect of FNA pretreatment and SDBS presence on SCFA production as well as the corresponding mechanisms have never been documented. This work therefore aims to provide such support. Experimental results showed that the combination of FNA and SDBS treatment not only improved SCFA accumulation but also shortened the fermentation time. The maximal SCFA accumulation of 334.5 mg chemical oxygen demand (COD)/g volatile suspended solids (VSS) was achieved at 1.54 mg FNA/L treatment and 0.02 g/g dry sludge, which was respectively 1.79-fold and 1.41-fold of that from FNA treatment and sludge containing SDBS alone. Mechanism investigations revealed that the combined FNA pretreatment and SDBS accelerated solubilization, hydrolysis, and acidification steps but inhibited the methanogenesis. All those observations were in agreement with SCFA enhancement.

Zhao, L-S, Zhou, W-H, Fatahi, B, Li, X-B & Yuen, K-V 2016, 'A dual beam model for geosynthetic-reinforced granular fill on an elastic foundation', Applied Mathematical Modelling, vol. 40, no. 21-22, pp. 9254-9268.
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In this study, a new dual beam model was proposed for a geosynthetic-reinforced granular fill with an upper pavement. This dual beam model was subjected to a uniform surcharge loading and resting on an elastic foundation which was simulated by a Pasternak model. The upper pavement was modeled by an Euler-Bernoulli beam while the geosynthetic reinforced granular fill was simulated by a reinforced Timoshenko beam. The explicit derivation process for the behavior of this dual beam-foundation system was presented and an exact solution was obtained. A two-dimensional finite element analysis and a Pasternak model for simulating the granular fill were carried out to validate the reliability of the proposed dual beam model. A parametric analysis was put forward to investigate the behavior of this dual beam-foundation system. It was found that the length of the pavement structure and vertical uniform loading, the stiffness and shear modulus of the foundation soil had significant influences on the behavior of the dual beam-foundation system.

Zhao, P, Gao, B, Yue, Q, Liu, P & Shon, HK 2016, 'Fatty acid fouling of forward osmosis membrane: Effects of pH, calcium, membrane orientation, initial permeate flux and foulant composition', Journal of Environmental Sciences, vol. 46, pp. 55-62.
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© 2016 Octanoic acid (OA) was selected to represent fatty acids in effluent organic matter (EOM). The effects of feed solution (FS) properties, membrane orientation and initial permeate flux on OA fouling in forward osmosis (FO) were investigated. The undissociated OA formed a cake layer quickly and caused the water flux to decline significantly in the initial 0.5 hr at unadjusted pH 3.56; while the fully dissociated OA behaved as an anionic surfactant and promoted the water permeation at an elevated pH of 9.00. Moreover, except at the initial stage, the sudden decline of water flux (meaning the occurrence of severe membrane fouling) occurred in two conditions: 1. 0.5 mmol/L Ca2 +, active layer facing draw solution (AL-DS) and 1.5 mol/L NaCl (DS); 2. No Ca2 +, active layer-facing FS (AL-FS) and 4 mol/L NaCl (DS). This demonstrated that cake layer compaction or pore blocking occurred only when enough foulants were absorbed into the membrane surface, and the water permeation was high enough to compact the deposit inside the porous substrate. Furthermore, bovine serum albumin (BSA) was selected as a co-foulant. The water flux of both co-foulants was between the fluxes obtained separately for the two foulants at pH 3.56, and larger than the two values at pH 9.00. This manifested that, at pH 3.56, BSA alleviated the effect of the cake layer caused by OA, and OA enhanced BSA fouling simultaneously; while at pH 9.00, the mutual effects of OA and BSA eased the membrane fouling.

Zhao, P, Gao, B, Yue, Q, Liu, S & Shon, HK 2016, 'The performance of forward osmosis in treating high-salinity wastewater containing heavy metal Ni2+', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 288, pp. 569-576.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. In this study, the performance of forward osmosis (FO) in treating the high-salinity feed waters containing heavy metal Ni2+ with different salinities was investigated using two different FO membranes (cellulose triacetate (CTA) and polyamide-based thin-film composite (TFC) membrane). Moreover, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were selected to analyze the used membrane. The result showed that, heavy metals Ni2+ stimulated the formation of CP, and then decreased the water flux. However, this effect decreased with the increase of FS salinity and membrane hydrophilicity. Due to the amphiprotic characteristics, SDBS promoted the water permeation by increasing the hydrophilicity of the membrane surface. The effect of SDBS on CTA-FO membrane was greater than TFC-FO membrane for that CTA-FO membrane was weakly hydrophilic. However, the role decreased with the salinity increasing. Ni2+ removal efficiencies were more than 93%. Specifically, TFC-FO membrane was higher than CTA-FO membrane in high-salinity wastewater, and the FO mode maintained an advantage over the PRO mode. SDBS enhanced Ni2+ removal efficiency greatly at low salinity, and decreased it instead at high salinity. The SEM-EDS analysis supplied the technique support and reflected the role of Ni2+ and SDBS in the membrane directly.

Zhao, P, Gao, B, Yue, Q, Shon, HK & Li, Q 2016, 'Fouling of forward osmosis membrane by protein (BSA): effects of pH, calcium, ionic strength, initial permeate flux, membrane orientation and foulant composition', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 57, no. 29, pp. 13415-13424.
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© 2015 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. In this study, bovine serum albumin (BSA) was selected to represent proteins of secondary wastewater effluent. The role of various physical and chemical interactions, such as calcium concentration, ionic strength, solution pH, feed foulant composition, initial permeate flux, and membrane orientation, in BSA fouling of forward osmosis (FO) membranes was investigated. Fouling experiments showed that membrane fouling by BSA was enhanced with increasing calcium concentration and ionic strength. The former was mainly due to the complexes formed by the interaction of Ca²⁺ and carboxylic functional groups of BSA, and the latter resulted from the decreasing electrostatic repulsion among BSA molecules and between BSA molecules and membrane. Moreover, FO membrane fouling became much more significant at solution pH 4.7 (the BSA isoelectric point), where BSA molecules were neutrally charged and had no electrostatic repulsion among themselves. It was also demonstrated that the presence of alginate (a model polysaccharide) as co-foulant aggravated the BSA fouling of FO membrane, which could be attributed to the remarkable contribution of the alginateBSACa²⁺ complexes within the fouling layer to the total membrane resistance. The fouled membranes were examined by scanning electron microscopy to further sustain the conclusion. In addition, the size distribution of foulant molecules in various FS was measured and used as a reference to judge and control the behavior of BSA fouling. The present paper is contributed to better understanding of FO membrane fouling caused by protein (BSA) and has instructive significance for the future development.

Zheng, X, Yang, Y, Liu, M, Yu, Y, Zhou, JL & Li, D 2016, 'PAH determination based on a rapid and novel gas purge-microsyringe extraction (GP-MSE) technique in road dust of Shanghai, China: Characterization, source apportionment, and health risk assessment', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 557-558, pp. 688-696.
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A novel cleanup technique termed as gas purge-microsyringe extraction (GP-MSE) was evaluated and applied for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) determination in road dust samples. A total of 68 road dust samples covering almost the entire Shanghai area were analyzed for 16 priority PAHs using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results indicate that the total PAH concentrations over the investigated sites ranged from 1.04μg/g to 134.02μg/g dw with an average of 13.84μg/g. High-molecular-weight compounds (4-6 rings PAHs) were significantly dominant in the total mass of PAHs, and accounted for 77.85% to 93.62%. Diagnostic ratio analysis showed that the road dust PAHs were mainly from the mixture of petroleum and biomass/coal combustions. Principal component analysis in conjunction with multiple linear regression indicated that the two major origins of road dust PAHs were vehicular emissions and biomass/fossil fuel combustions, which contributed 66.7% and 18.8% to the total road dust PAH burden, respectively. The concentration of benzo[a]pyrene equivalent (BaPeq) varied from 0.16μg/g to 24.47μg/g. The six highly carcinogenic PAH species (benz(a)anthracene, benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, dibenz(a,h)anthracene, and indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene) accounted for 98.57% of the total BaPeq concentration. Thus, the toxicity of PAHs in road dust was highly associated with high-molecular-weight compounds.

Zheng, Y, Wang, X, Dzakpasu, M, Zhao, Y, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Ge, Y & Xiong, J 2016, 'Effects of interspecific competition on the growth of macrophytes and nutrient removal in constructed wetlands: A comparative assessment of free water surface and horizontal subsurface flow systems', Bioresource Technology, vol. 207, pp. 134-141.
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Zhou, S, Huang, T, Ngo, HH, Zhang, H, Liu, F, Zeng, M, Shi, J & Qiu, X 2016, 'Nitrogen removal characteristics of indigenous aerobic denitrifiers and changes in the microbial community of a reservoir enclosure system via in situ oxygen enhancement using water lifting and aeration technology', Bioresource Technology, vol. 214, pp. 63-73.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. Indigenous aerobic denitrifiers of a reservoir system were enhanced in situ by water lifting and aeration technology. Nitrogen removal characteristics and changes in the bacterial community were investigated. Results from a 30-day experiment showed that the TN in the enhanced water system decreased from 1.08-2.02 to 0.75-0.91 mg/L and that TN removal rates varied between 21.74% and 52.54% without nitrite accumulation, and TN removal rate of surface sediments reached 41.37 ± 1.55%. The densities of aerobic denitrifiers in the enhanced system increased. Furthermore, the enhanced system showed a clear inhibition of Fe, Mn, and P performances. Community analysis using Miseq showed that diversity was higher in the in situ oxygen enhanced system than in the control system. In addition, the microbial composition was significantly different between systems. It can be concluded that in situ enhancement of indigenous aerobic denitrifiers is very effective in removing nitrogen from water reservoir systems.

Zi, SC, Chandren, S, Yuan, LS, Razali, R, Ho, CS, Hartanto, D, Indra Mahlia, TM & Nur, H 2016, 'New method to synthesize mesoporous titania by photodegradation of surfactant template', Solid State Sciences, vol. 52, pp. 83-91.
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Mesoporous titania has been successfully synthesized by photodegradation removal of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as the surfactant, after slow hydrolyzation of titanium(IV) isopropoxide. Fourier transform infrared spectra proved that photodegradation has successfully decreased the peak areas of the alkyl groups from the template. The nitrogen adsorption analysis showed that the pore size and the specific surface area of the mesoporous titania were 3.7 nm and 203 m2 g-1, respectively, proving the mesoporosity of the titania obtained with the existence of the interparticle mesoporosity which was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. Based on X-ray diffraction results, the mesoporous titania obtained was in the form of crystalline anatase phase. Furthermore, results from the diffuse reflectance ultra violet-visible spectra showed that the composition of tetrahedral titanium(IV) was more than the octahedral titanium(IV). When the mesoporous titania obtained was used as a catalyst in the oxidation of styrene, an improvement in the conversion of styrene (38%) was observed when compared to those obtained using Degussa P25 TiO2 (14%) as the catalyst.

Zulkifli, NWM, Azman, SSN, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Yunus, R & Gulzar, M 2016, 'Lubricity of bio-based lubricant derived from different chemically modified fatty acid methyl ester', Tribology International, vol. 93, pp. 555-562.
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Dang, LC, Dang, CC, Khabbaz, H & Fatahi, B 1970, 'Numerical Assessment of Fibre Inclusion in a Load Transfer Platform for Pile-Supported Embankments over Soft Soil', Geo-China 2016, Fourth Geo-China International Conference, American Society of Civil Engineers, Shandong, China, pp. 148-155.
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© 2016 ASCE. This study presents the results of a numerical investigation in the performance of natural fibre reinforced load transfer platform (NFRLTP) for pile supported embankment construction over soft soil. A numerical analysis based on finite element method (FEM) was carried out on an NFRLTP pile-supported embankment in a two-dimensional plane strain condition. The effects of natural fibre inclusion in the load transfer platform on the stress transfer mechanism, generation and dissipation of excess pore water pressure have been analyzed and discussed in detail. The findings indicate that natural fibre reinforced soil as a load transfer platform facilitated the load transfer process from the embankment to piles, while decreases the intensity of load transferred to soft soil, the excess pore water pressure and the overall settlement.

Ghazali, KA, Salleh, SF, Riayatsyah, TMI, Aditiya, HB & Mahlia, TMI 1970, 'The effect of dilute acid pre-treatment process in bioethanol production from durian (Durio zibethinus) seeds waste', IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2nd International Conference on Advances in Renewable Energy and Technologies (ICARET), IOP Publishing, Putrajaya, MALAYSIA, pp. 012058-012058.
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Ghosh, B, Fatahi, B, Khabbaz, H & Hsi, J 1970, 'Reinforced Timoshenko Beam Theory to Simulate Load Transfer Mechanism in CMC Supported Embankments', Proceedings of 12th Australia New Zealand Conference on Geomechanics, Australia New Zealand Geomechanics conference, Australian Geomechanics Society, Wellington, New Zealand, pp. 1099-1106.
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Controlled modulus column (CMC) supported embankments are increasingly being used for construction of major highway embankments on soft ground particularly near waterways or coastal regions. CMCs are sustainable and cost-effective ground improvement technology that transmit the load from the traffic and the embankment to a lower bearing stratum through a composite CMC/soil matrix. The key influencing components of the load transfer mechanism include embankment fill, load transfer platform (LTP) with one or more layers of geosynthetics, CMC and the foundation soils. Rapid growth of the application of geosynthetics between two granular layers in the column supported embankment has been observed in the last two decades. The use of LTP enhances the load transfer mechanism in the CMC improved soft ground and minimises the post construction settlement of the ground. In this paper, reinforced Timoshenko beam theory is adopted to simulate the LTP with one layer of geosynthetics that is resting on elastic foundation with columns. A parametric study is conducted to investigate the importance of the LTP on the load transfer mechanism for the CMC supported embankment. Special attentions are given to the thickness of the LTP, the use of geosynthetics and its influence on deflection of the LTP, the shear force developed in the LTP and the tension developed in geosynthetics. The parametric study reveals that the thickness of the LTP has a significant effect on the behaviour of LTP up to a certain limit.

Ghosh, B, Fatahi, B, Khabbaz, H & Kamruzzaman, AHM 1970, 'Analysis of CMC-Supported Embankments Considering Soil Arching', IN SITU AND LABORATORY TEST METHODS FOR SITE CHARACTERIZATION, DESIGN, AND QUALITY CONTROL, GeoChina International Conference, American Society of Civil Engineers, Jinan, Shandong, China, pp. 286-293.
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© ASCE. In this paper, the behaviour of geosynthetic-reinforced controlled modulus column-supported embankments is studied for different distributions of loadings induced by arching on the load transfer platform (LTP). This study proposes a mechanical model for idealising the response of LTP-soft soil-column system, by representing each sub-system using commonly used mechanical elements such as rough-elastic membrane, beam, and spring. The soil arching effect is incorporated in the model to determine the deflection of the soft soil as well as mobilised tension in the geosynthetics more accurately. The effects of the column stiffness and consolidation of saturated soft soils are also incorporated in the model. Moment and shear force in the LTP, tension developed in the geosynthetics, and settlements of the improved soft ground are predicted using the proposed model. To evaluate the proposed model, a parametric study is conducted to investigate the influence of different pressure distribution due to different arching theories. It is observed that the pattern of distribution of the arching loads affect the performance of controlled modulus column-supported embankments significantly.

Hasan, H, Khabbaz, H & Fatahi, B 1970, 'Impact of Quicklime and Fly Ash on the Geotechnical Properties of Expansive Clay', Geo-China 2016, Fourth Geo-China International Conference, American Society of Civil Engineers, Shandong, China, pp. 93-100.
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© ASCE. Severe damages can occur on civil engineering structures and infrastructure including roads, channels, houses, sidewalks, and driveways if built on expansive soils. In this study to limit the expansive soil impacts on roads, quicklime and class F fly ash were employed as potential stabilisers in enhancing the engineering properties of expansive soils. The samples were prepared by integrating artificial soils combined with a mixture of quicklime-fly ash at a ratio of 1:3. Various contents of quicklime-fly ash were applied on soil samples, composed of 40% bentonite (B) and 60% kaolin (K). Sample properties were measured at 3, 7, and 28 days of curing time. Moreover, another set of soil samples were prepared containing 20% B and 80% K to study the effect of bentonite content on the soil mechanical properties of the stabilised soil.

Hidayata, MHM, Salleh, SF, Riayatsyahb, TMI, Aditiyac, HB, Mahliaa, TMI & Shamsuddina, AH 1970, 'Techno-economic analysis of bioethanol production from rice straw by liquid-state fermentation', IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2nd International Conference on Advances in Renewable Energy and Technologies (ICARET), IOP Publishing, Putrajaya, MALAYSIA, pp. 012048-012048.
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Mahdavi, H, Fatahi, B, Khabbaz, H, Krzeminski, M, Santos, R & Marix-Evans, M 1970, 'Three-Dimensional Simulation of a Load Transfer Mechanism for Frictional and End Bearing CMC Supported Embankments on Soft Soil', Geo-China 2016, Fourth Geo-China International Conference, American Society of Civil Engineers, Shandong, China, pp. 60-67.
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© ASCE. Recently, the use of controlled modulus columns (CMC) has gained popularity in the support of rail and road bridge approach embankments on soft soils. If the columns are extended into a competent firm soil, and designed to take nearly all the vertical loads, they become rigid inclusions. The advantage of this design approach is that settlement will be controlled, but the drawback is that the columns will attract greater load, including bending moment and shear force in situations where non-uniform loading or ground conditions exist. The load on the composite soil-CMC is uniformly distributed by the upper layer of granular load transfer platform (LTP). In this paper, the effect of CMC length on the load transfer mechanism is numerically investigated. Coupled flow-deformation analysis has been performed for a long period to understand the system response in the long term, while interface elements capable of simulating gapping and sliding between CMC and the surrounding soil are considered. A geosynthetic reinforcement layer has been simulated using the inbuilt FLAC3D geogrid element. The force in the reinforcement layer has been evaluated, and in particular, a clear comparison is made between the stresses in CMC and the ground settlement with floating and end-bearing columns.

Nguyen, HH, Khabbaz, H, Fatahi, B, Santos, R, Marix-Evans, M & Vincent, P 1970, 'Installation Effect of Controlled Modulus Columns on Nearby Existing Structures', Geo-China 2016, Fourth Geo-China International Conference, American Society of Civil Engineers, Shandong, China, pp. 125-133.
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© 2016 ASCE. Controlled modulus columns (CMC) ground improvement technique is a novel approach to reduce ground settlement. To install CMC, a rotary displacement auger is used to form a vertical cylindrical cavity, by displacing the surrounding soils laterally, followed by grout injection. While the method reduces spoil generation, excessive lateral soil displacement may damage the adjacent structures and freshly-grouted CMCs. Although there has been growing interest in quantifying such effects, only a handful of studies have been attempted. This paper presents results of a numerical investigation on the CMC installation effect on an existing bridge pile using the three-dimensional finite difference software package FLAC3D. The bridge pile response to the lateral soil movement induced by the CMC installation are presented and discussed.

Nguyen, L, Fatahi, B & Khabbaz, H 1970, 'A Novel Model to Simulate the Behaviour of Cement-Treated Clay under Compression and Shear', Geo-China 2016, Fourth Geo-China International Conference, American Society of Civil Engineers, Shandong, China, pp. 152-158.
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© ASCE. Soft clay treated with cement shows an improvement on strength due to the chemical interaction between cement and clay particles. Laboratory results showed that the peak strength of the cement treated clay reduces as the mean effective stress increases due to the effect of cementation degradation. Therefore, in this paper, a constitutive model was developed to simulate the behaviour of cement treated clay. Based on the critical state soil mechanics, the model proposed the non-linear failure envelope for the cement treated clay to merge with the critical state line (CSL) of the un-reinforced clay when the reinforced samples reach a sufficiently high stress levels. Moreover, a modified mean effective stress was proposed to include the contribution of cementation and its cementation degradation. Furthermore, the proposed model was evaluated by comparing the proposed model predictions against the Singapore clay treated with 10% cement available from the literature. The validation suggested that the proposed model can be used to predict the behaviour of cement treated clay very well.

Nguyen, QV, Fatahi, B & Hokmabadi, AS 1970, 'Influence of Shallow Foundation Characteristics on the Seismic Response of Mid-Rise Buildings Subjected to Strong Earthquakes', Geotechnical Special Publication, GeoChina International Conference, American Society of Civil Engineers, Shandong, China, pp. 117-124.
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Performance based seismic design is a modern approach to earthquake-resistant design shifting emphasis from 'strength' to 'performance'. In this study, the influence of the shallow foundation (footing) size on the seismic performance of the buildings subjected to strong earthquakes is investigated considering soil-structure interaction (SSI). A fifteen storey moment resisting frame sitting on shallow foundation over soft soil with different foundation size is simulated numerically using ABAQUS software. The developed three dimensional numerical simulation accounts for nonlinear behaviour of the soil medium by considering the variation of soil stiffness and damping as a function of developed shear strain in the soil elements during earthquake. Elastic-perfectly plastic model is adopted to simulate foundations and structural elements. Four strong earthquake records, including El Centro 1940, Hachinohe 1968, Northridge 1994, and Kobe 1995 have been taken as input accelerations for time history analysis in time domain. Due to natural period lengthening, there was a significant reduction in the base shears when the size of the foundation was reduced. It can be concluded that the foundation size can influence the dynamic characteristics and seismic response of the building due to SSI and should therefore be given careful consideration in order to ensure a safe and cost effective seismic design.

Rahman, MM, Rahman, HY, Mahlia, TMI & Sheng, JLY 1970, 'Liquid cooled plate heat exchanger for battery cooling of an electric vehicle (EV)', IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2nd International Conference on Advances in Renewable Energy and Technologies (ICARET), IOP Publishing, Putrajaya, MALAYSIA, pp. 012053-012053.
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Shanmuganathan, S, Johir, MAH, Listowski, A, Vigneswaran, S & Kandasamy, J 1970, 'Sustainable Processes for Treatment of Waste Water Reverse Osmosis Concentrate to achieve Zero Waste Discharge: A Detailed Study in Water Reclamation Plant', WASTE MANAGEMENT FOR RESOURCE UTILISATION, International Conference on Solid Waste Management, Elsevier, Bengaluru, India, pp. 930-937.
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Water reclamation systems based on dense membrane treatment such as reverse osmosis (RO) are being progressively applied to meet water quantity and quality requirements for a range of urban and environmental applications. The RO concentrate usually represents 25% of the feed water flow and contains the organic and inorganic contaminants at higher concentrations. The amount of RO concentrate waste water requiring disposal must be as minimal as possible (near zero-discharge); the recovery of high quality water should be as high as possible. Management issues related to proper treatment and disposal of RO concentrate are an important aspect of sustainable water reclamation practice. The RO concentrate is a significant component of water treatment process and poorly managed treatment and disposal of RO concentrate causes significant consequences. Even in a small to medium size water reclamation plant in Sydney, 2000 kL of water is treated by RO and around 300 kL of RO concentrate is produced daily. This RO concentrate consists of a high level of organics (25-30mg/L of DOC which is mainly refractory organics) and inorganic salts (Cl− = 400-650mg/L, Na+ = 400-500mg/L, Ca2+ = 93-200mg/L, K+ = 63-100mg/L). The RO concentrate waste disposal cost can be minimized and made valuable by reclaiming the RO concentrate with the aim of producing salts from the solutes and recycling the water to the treatment system. Technologies for recovery of high salt concentration from the RO concentrate such as forward osmosis (FO) and membrane distillation (MD) are either energy intensive or not developed in large scale. In this study, we highlight a sustainable membrane adsorption hybrid system in treating this RO concentrate.

Shuhimi, FF, Abdollah, MFB, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Mustafa, A & Amiruddin, H 1970, 'Surface durability of oil palm fiber/epoxy composite at various temperatures', PROCEEDINGS OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH DAY 2016, Mechanical Engineering Research Day (MERD), CENTRE ADVANCED RESEARCH ENERGY-CARE, Univ Teknikal Malaysia Melaka. Kampus Teknologi, Melaka, MALAYSIA, pp. 108-109.

Sun, W-J, Chen, C, Liu, S-Q, Sun, D-A, Liang, X-H, Tan, Y-Z & Fatahi, B 1970, 'Study on GMZ bentonite-sand mixture by undrained triaxial tests', E3S Web of Conferences, European Conference on Unsaturated Soils, EDP Sciences, Paris, France, pp. 18006-18006.
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© 2016 The Authors.It is particularly necessary to study the deformation, strength and the changes of pore water pressure of bentonite-based buffer/backfill materials under the undrained condition. A series of isotropic compression tests and triaxial shear tests under undrained conditions were conducted on the compacted saturated/unsaturated GMZ bentonite-sand mixtures with dry mass ratio of bentonite/sand of 30:70. During the tests, the images of the sample were collected by photographic equipment and subsequently were cropped, binarized and centroids marked by image processing technique. Based on identification of the variation of the position of marked centroids, the deformation of the sample can be determined automatically in real-time. Finally, the hydro-mechanical behaviour of saturated and unsaturated bentonite-sand mixtures under the undrained condition can be obtained. From results of triaxial shear tests on unsaturated samples under constant water content, inflated volumetric deformation transforms to contractive volumetric deformation due to the increase of the confining pressure and lateral expansion deformation are observed due to the increase in the shearing stress. Moreover, the net mean stress affects the initial stiffness, undrained shear strength and deformation of the sample during the undrained shear tests.

Woo, Y, Tijing, L & Shon, H 1970, 'Omniphobic membrane using layer-by-layer technique to treat RO brine from CSG produced water by AGMD', The 9th International Desalination Workshop (IDW 2016), The 9th International Desalination Workshop (IDW 2016), Abu Dhabi, UAE.
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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 vapor 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.

Xu, R, Fatahi, B & Hokmabadi, AS 1970, 'Influence of Soft Soil Shear Strength on the Seismic Response of Concrete Buildings Considering Soil-Structure Interaction', Geo-China 2016, Fourth Geo-China International Conference, American Society of Civil Engineers, Jinan, Shandong, China, pp. 17-24.
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© ASCE. Influences of undrained shear strength on seismic response of moment resisting concrete building considering soil-structure interaction (SSI) have been studied. A 15-storey building model resting on class Ee soil with different values of undrained shear strength has been simulated through FLAC3D. Fully nonlinear dynamic analysis under four different earthquakes including two far-field and two near-field recordings has been conducted by direct method and results in terms of base shear, maximum lateral displacement, inter-storey drift and spectral acceleration have been compared and discussed. Results indicate that by increasing the undrained shear strength of the subsoil, the superstructure experiences extra base shear under earthquake excitations due to SSI. Furthermore, the maximum lateral displacements and inter-storey drifts of the superstructure increase by adopting higher values for the undraied shear strength of the subsoil. It is concluded that practicing engineers should treat soil properties gained from field or laboratory tests with extreme care when dealing with numerical based seismic design of the soil-structure systems.

Wilkinson, SJ, Stoller, P, Ralph, P & Hamdorf, B UTS 2016, Feasibility of Algae Building Technology in Sydney, Feasibility of Algae Building Technology in Sydney, no. 1, pp. 1-56, Sydney Australia.

Doblin, MA, Petrou, K, Sinutok, S, Seymour, JR, Messer, LF, Brown, MV, Norman, L, Everett, JD, McInnes, AS, Ralph, PJ, Thompson, PA & Hassler, CS 2016, 'Nutrient uplift in a cyclonic eddy increases diversity, primary productivity and iron demand of microbial communities relative to a western boundary current', PeerJ.
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Doblin, MA, Petrou, K, Sinutok, S, Seymour, JR, Messer, LF, Brown, MV, Norman, L, Everett, JD, McInnes, AS, Ralph, PJ, Thompson, PA & Hassler, CS 2016, 'Nutrient uplift in a cyclonic eddy increases diversity, primary productivity and iron demand of microbial communities relative to a western boundary current', PeerJ.
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Fatahi, B 2016, 'Geo-China 2016', American Society of Civil Engineers, USA, pp. 1-240.
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Lee, DJ, Hallenbeck, PC, Ngo, HH, Jegatheesan, V & Pandey, A 2016, 'Current Developments in Biotechnology and Bioengineering: Biological Treatment of Industrial Effluents', pp. 1-501.
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Current Developments in Biotechnology and Bioengineering: Biological Treatment of Industrial Effluents provides extensive coverage of new developments, state-of-the-art technologies, and potential future trends in data-based scientific knowledge and advanced information on the role and application of environmental biotechnology and engineering in the treatment of industrial effluents. These treatment processes have been broadly classified under aerobic and anaerobic processes which determines the scope and level of pollutant removal. Chapters in this volume review the most recent developments and perspectives at different environmental cleanup operation scales. Outlines available biochemical processes for the treatment of solid industrial waste Covers aerobic and anaerobic treatments, their mechanisms, and selection criteria Highlights specific industrial applications, such as anammox processes.

McInnes, AS, Messer, LF, Laiolo, L, Laverock, B, Laczka, O, Brown, M, Seymour, JR & Doblin, MA 2016, 'Microbial utilization of nitrogen in cold core eddies: size does matter'.
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As the base of the marine food web, and the first step in the biological carbon pump, understanding changes in microbial community composition is essential for predicting changes in the marine nitrogen (N) cycle. Climate change projections suggest that oligotrophic waters will become more stratified with a concomitant shift in microbial community composition based on changes in N supply. In regions of strong boundary currents, eddies could reduce this limitation through nutrient uplift and other forms of eddy mixing. Understanding the preference for different forms of N by microbes is essential for understanding and predicting shifts in the microbial community. This study aims to understand the utilization of different N species within different microbial size fractions as well as understand the preferred source of N to these groups across varying mesoscale and sub-mesoscale features in the East Australian Current (EAC). In June 2015 we sampled microbial communities from three depths (surface, chlorophyll-a maximum and below the mixed layer), in three mesoscale and sub-mesoscale eddy features, as well as two end-point water masses (coastal and oligotrophic EAC water). Particulate matter was analysed for stable C and N isotopes, and seawater incubations with trace amounts of 15NO3, 15NH4, 15N2, 15Urea and 13C were undertaken. All samples were size fractionated into 0.3-2.0 µm, 2.0-10 µm, and >10 µm size classes, encompassing the majority of microbes in these waters. Microbial community composition was also assessed (pigments, flow cytometry, DNA), as well as physical and chemical parameters, to better understand the drivers of carbon fixation and nitrogen utilization across a diversity of water masses and microbial size classes. We observed that small, young features have a greater abundance of larger size classes. We therefore predict that these microbes will preferentially draw down the recently pulsed NO3. Ultimately, the size and age of a feature wil...

Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Surampalli, RY & Zhang, TC 2016, 'Green Technologies for Sustainable Water Management', American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 1-1083.
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Sponsored by the Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Engineering Committee of the Environmental Council of the Environmental and Water Resources Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers Green Technologies for Sustainable Water Management describes science-based principles and technological advances behind green technologies that can be effective solutions to pressing environmental problems. Today’s challenge for sustainable water management is to develop environmentally friendly, economically viable, and energy-efficient processes for treating and preserving the world’s limited water resources. Successful approaches will provide a high removal-efficiency of pollutants and nutrient recovery while also reducing the carbon footprint, minimizing waste, and protecting human health and the environment. Following an overview of water as a valuable resource, this 28-chapter book provides in-depth information on current various green technologies associated with sustainable water and wastewater management. It considers various aspects of pollution prevention, control, remediation, and restoration. The applications of these technologies toward a sustainable society are considered, and needs for future research and development are identified. Researchers, students, scientists, engineers, government officials, and process managers will find this book an excellent source of comprehensive, state-of-the-art material on green technologies for sustainable water management.