Scientific Program

Conference Series Ltd invites all the participants across the globe to attend 8th International Conference on Environmental Chemistry and Engineering Berlin, Germany/ Golden Tulip Berlin – Hotel Hamburg.

Day 1 :

Conference Series Environmental Chemistry 2018 International Conference Keynote Speaker Zabihollah Rezaee photo
Biography:

Zabihollah Rezaee is the Thompson-Hill Chair of Excellence, PhD coordinator and Professor of Accountancy at the University of Memphis and has served a two-year term on the Standing Advisory Group (SAG) of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). He received his BS degree from the Iranian Institute of Advanced Accounting, his MBA from Tarleton State University in Texas, and his PhD from the University of Mississippi. Dr. Rezaee holds ten certifications, including Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Professor Rezaee has published over 220 articles and made more than 230 presentations, written 11 books and been invited as keynote speaker on business sustainability, corporate governance and Forensic accounting. His two recent books on Corporate Sustainability were published in November 2012 by John Wiley and in October 2015 by Greenleaf Publishing. His most recent book on Audit Committee Effectiveness was published in in three volumes by Business Expert Press in July 2016.

 

Abstract:

Business sustainability has advanced in the past decade from branding and greenwashing to strategic imperative with its integration into corporate culture, business models, corporate governance and managerial decisions. Business sustainability focuses on financial activities that generate long-term economic sustainability performance (ESP) to create shareholder value as well as non-financial activities that result in the achievement of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) sustainability performance to protect interests of all stakeholders. More than 15,000 companies worldwide are now reporting on some dimensions of their sustainability performance by disclosing both financial ESP and non-financial ESG sustainability performance information.  Analyses of the Global Reporting Initiative database on sustainability, reporting, and assurance from 2005-2016, show that quantity and quality of sustainability reporting and assurance have significantly improved in Europe in the past decade. More than 6,000 European companies are required to disclose environmental, social and governance (ESG) sustainability performance information in their 2017 annual financial reports and onwards.

 

Primary objectives of this presentation are:

  1. Examine four themes of corporate sustainability including the focus on stakeholder aspect, the main objective function of creating shared value for all stakeholders, multidimensional and time horizons.
  2. Discuss all five dimensions of sustainability performance including economic, governance, social, ethical, and environmental (EGSEE).
  3. Present corporate sustainability theories, standards, guidelines and best practices.
  4. Examine corporate sustainability risks including strategic, operation, financial, compliance, and reputation and cybersecurity risks.
  5. Discuss management role in integrating sustainability performance and reporting into corporate culture, business environment, strategic decisions and corporate reporting.
  6. Present research opportunities in corporate sustainability performance, reporting and assurance.
  7. Discuss the integration of sustainability education into the accounting and business curricula.
  8. Present the status of integrated/sustainability performance reporting and assurance globally and in Europe.

 

Conference Series Environmental Chemistry 2018 International Conference Keynote Speaker Ian S Butler photo
Biography:

Ian S Butler has been a member of the Department of Chemistry at McGill University since 1966. He has served as Department Chair, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Science and Associate Vice-Principal (Research). He is an Honorary Member of the Spectroscopy Society of Canada and has been elected as a Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada and the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK). Throughout his career, he has supervised the research of well over 120 scientists, including more than 75 graduate and undergraduate students, and Postdoctoral. Their combined efforts have resulted in the co-authorship of about 550 publications. He has co-authored 11 text books on General Chemistry and Inorganic Chemistry and been recognized nationally by the Gerhard Herzberg Award for Excellence in the Science of Spectroscopy from the Spectroscopy Society of Canada and the David Thomson Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Supervision from McGill University.

 

Abstract:

Nitropolycyclic hydrocarbons (NPAHs) are environmental pollutants that consist of several fused aromatic rings containing one or two nitro (NO2) groups attached to the aromatic rings. It is thought that the photodegradation of NPAHs is related to the geometrical orientation of the nitro groups. To test this hypothesis, the effect of irradiation on 6-nitrochrysene, 9-nitroanthracene and 6-nitrobenzo(a)pyrene has been investigated, when both the NPAHs are dissolved in CH3CN solution and when they are adsorbed onto various solid surfaces. In solution, there appears to be no clear relationship between the photodegradation and the orientation of the nitro groups while, in the solid-state, the nature of surface does have some influence.

Recent Publications

  1. Nada S, Reddy H, Hunter H, Butler I S and Kozinski J A (2015) Supercritical water gasification of lactose as a model compound for dairy industry effluents. Industrial Engineering Chemistry Research 54:9296-9306.
  1. Calahoo C, Zwanziger J W and Butler I S (2016) Mechanical-structural investigation of ion-exchanged lithium silicate glasses using micro-Raman spectroscopy. Journal of Physical Chemistry C 120:7213-7232.
  1. Asghar F, Fatima S, Rana, Badshah A, Butler I S and Muhammad M N (2017) Synthesis, spectroscopic investigation and DFT study of N,N’-disubstituted ferrocene-based thiourea Complexes as potential anticancer agents. Dalton Transactions 47:1868-1878.
  1. Mink J, Mihaly J, Nesmeth C, Hajba, L, Nemeth P, Drees M, Lokshin B V, Wolf M and Butler I S (2017) Preparation and characterization by infrared emission spectroscopy and applications of new mineral-based composite materials of medical interest. Applied Spectroscopy Reviews 53(6):439-485.
  1. Fathy A A, Butler I S, El Rahman M A, Jean Claude B J and Mostafa S I (2018) Anticancer evaluation and drug delivery of new palladium(II) complexes based on the chelate of alendronate onto hydroxyapatite nanoparticles. Inorganica Chimica Acta 473:44-50.

 

  • Environmental Chemistry and Engineering | Environmental Education | Earth and Geochemistry | Chemical and Polymer Engineering | Environmental Climatic Factors | Environmental Health | Environmental Ecosystems | Environmental Technologies and Sustainability Metrics | Green Chemistry | Energy Storage & Conversion | Environmental Chemistry & Pollution Control | Energy & Environment
Location: Sylt 3
Speaker

Co-Chair

Raquel Jimenez-Melero

Universidad de Jaen, Spain

Speaker
Biography:

Emmanuel C Besa completed his MD from the University of the Philippines, College of Medicine, finished his postdoctoral studies from the University of Pennsylvania at Presbyterian Medical Center in Hematology and Oncology. He joined the faculty of the Medical College of Pennsylvania as an assistant professor and promoted to full professor in 1994 and tenure in 1995. The institution evolved into the Drexel University College of Medicine by 2004. He moved to Thomas Jefferson University as Professor of Medicine and Medical Oncology, Kimmel Cancer Center as part of the Division of Hematologic Malignancies and Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation program. He was an active member as part of the Educational Committee of the American Society of Hematology and has designed case teaching which is available at the ASH website. He was awarded the MDS Center of Excellence by the MDS Foundation in 2000 at Drexel and 2005 at Jefferson. He recently retired from his academic position in June 30, 2013 but continues to conduct CME lectures and is active as the Hematology Editor of Medscape Emedicine, an online medical text which is peer reviewed.

 

 

Abstract:

Although not all patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) evolve into acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), it is generally believed that these patients if they survive long enough will eventually transform and was in the past named as a preleukemic syndrome. Basic knowledge regarding the molecular mechanism of the evolution of MDS into AML, development of epigenetic and immunomodulatory agents in its management may give us opportunities of better management of the disease as well as opportunities to prevention of its evolution to a fatal condition given the right circumstances. Continued improvement in classification and prognostication by inclusion of new data including cytogenetics and molecular markers, we are now able to tailor specific treatment for subgroups of patients who share similar diagnostic labels but differ in pathogenesis as indicated by their molecular markers leading to a more specific and personal approach to their management. A specific example in MDS is the presence of a cytogenetic abnormality ie. del5q which is responsive to a specific immunomodulatory agent called lenalidomide (an analogue of thalidomide). This syndrome which for the past decade had no standard therapy that prolonged survival has now shown a doubling overall survival with azacytidine, a demethylating agent. Meanwhile in AML, specific cytogenetic abnormalities have led to a completely different approach such as using a retinoid and arsenic trioxide for acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) with the specific cytogenetic abnormality of a translocation 15;17. We also now identified AML patients with cytogenetic abnormalities of the core binding factor such as inverted 16 as a good prognostic marker and treated specifically with standard induction and high dose cytosine arabinoside consolidation. The intermediate group in AML with normal cytogenetics is a mixture of good and bad prognostic patients and with the help of molecular markers such as FLT3/ITD and NPM markers, we are able to tease out the good from the bad and plan out a more specific approach to their management. We an also identify up front patients who will not respond to our available therapies and should be prepared early for possible hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The latter has evolved so that we can now push this form of treatment to include some of our elderly patients using less aggressive non-myeloablative approaches and using graft versus leukemia effects to our advantage.

 

Speaker
Biography:

Abd El-Aziz Ahmed Said completed his PhD from Assiut University and Postdoctoral studies from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan. He is the Director of Material Science and Nanotechnology Center, Faculty of Science and Former Dean of Faculty of Science, Assiut University. He has published more than 110 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as Editorial Board Member of repute.

 

Abstract:

In this work, the incorporation of CuO into Co3O4 (CuxCo3−xO4, 3.0≤x≥0.0) is presented as promoter to obtain highly active and stable nanocatalysts towards the catalytic conversion of CO into CO2. The pure and mixed oxides were prepared by co-precipitation-sonication method using K2CO3 as precipitant. The catalysts were characterized by TG-DTA, XRD, BET, HRTEM, electrical conductivity and surface chemisorbed oxygen measurements. The results revealed that the addition of CuO (x=0.0-0.75) to Co3O4 monotonically increases the specific surface area, the amount of surface chemisorbed oxygen, electrical conductivity and catalytic activity of the nanocatalysts. The role of the active redox sites existed in these nanocatalysts such as Co3+/Co2+, Cu2+/Cu+ and Co3+/Cu+ which are responsible for such modification was discussed. In addition, the catalytic activity indicated that Cu0.75Co2.25O4 nanocatalyst calcined at 400℃ exhibited the highest catalytic activity with total conversion of CO into CO2 at 125℃. Furthermore, the CuxCo3−xO4 catalysts also display high catalytic long-term stability. Finally the effects of various operational parameters were also studied.

 

Speaker
Biography:

Guillermo J Rincon is an Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana. He has completed his PhD in Environmental Engineering and MS in Engineering at the University of New Orleans, and BSc in Chemical Engineering at La Universidad del Zulia in Venezuela. He has over 10 years of experience in produced water treatment and recovery and has conducted research in advanced treatment technologies for wastewater remediation, dealing specifically with applications of electrocoagulation, electrodisinfection and UV and solar photocatalysis.

 

Abstract:

The research presented herein discusses the feasibility of using electro-coagulation (EC) as a method to treat bilge water discharges, with an emphasis on emulsified oil and heavy metals (copper, nickel and zinc) removal. EC experiments were conducted using a bench-scale continuous-flow reactor (manufactured by Ecolotron, Inc.) and a synthetic oily emulsion as experimental fluid. The as-synthetized bilge water contained 5000 mg/L of oil and grease 5 mg/L, 1.5 mg/L and 2.5 mg/L of copper, nickel and zinc respectively. Experimental results showed high removal efficiencies for oil and grease, specially when using a combination of carbon steel and aluminum electrodes. Operating the bench-scale reactor to allow for 1 min retention time and 0.6 A/cm2 produced pre-filtration effluent concentrations of oil and grease of less than 10 mg/L. High removal effciencies were also observed for heavy metals. 99% removal of zinc and 70% removal for copper and nickel resulted from using the same carbon steel and aluminum electrodes, retention time of 1 minute and a current of 7.5 A.

 

Speaker
Biography:

Raquel Jiménez-Melero is Assistant Teacher in the Department of Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology at the University of Jaén, Spain and Member of the research team called Ecology and Biodiversity of Aquatic Systems. Her aim of the study is the wetlands in general and the zooplankton in particular. In order of understanding, as these ecosystems are going to face the global change, she studied the zooplankton communities respond to the environmental variables and the contaminants. She combines her love for the ecology with her passion for the environmental education and the science popularization.

 

Abstract:

Important conservation efforts are often directed to protect emblematic species or biomes whereas; small closest and less majestic habitats are usually forgotten. That is the case of small ponds. Despite of the great biodiversity they shelter and of their indubitable social and ecological value, these ecosystems are one of the most threatened ecosystems in the world. The value of these ecosystems is incalculable. Among the goods and services they provide, it would have to highlight the regulation of aquifer loading and unloading, brine and salt supply, flood control, carbon sequestration, water storage, regulation of nutrients cycles, production/recycling of organic matter, sediment retention, source of great biodiversity, green tourism, spiritual enrichment and aesthetic experiences and so on. In the particular case of the Andalusian ponds, South Spain as in other parts of the world, the main threats of these ecosystems are climate change, drainage and ploughing to increase cultivable areas, wetlands siltation due to the high soil losses because of the olive growing, increase or decrease of salinity as a result of irrigation techniques adopted and contamination with pesticides, herbicides and drugs. Of particular concern is the latest threat mentioned, since it affects not only wetlands but also reservoirs whose water is for human consumption. In this plenary talk, we want to briefly show the knowledge acquired by our research group after two decades of studying these valuable ecosystems and the strategies we have carried out to make their values known to different sectors of society.

Figure 1: Modification of zooplankton community structure as respond to changes on environmental variables. Dots indicate percentage of contribution of each taxon to the similarity in every treatment estimated with a SIMPER analysis.

Recent Publications

  1. Gilbert J D, de Vicente I, Ortega F, García-Muñoz E, Jiménez-Melero R, Parra G and Guerrero F (2017) Linking watershed land uses and crustacean assemblages in Mediterranean wetlands. Hydrobiologia 799(1):181–191.
  1. Parra G, Galotti A, Jiménez-Melero F, Guerrero F, Sanchez-Moyano E, Jiménez-Gómez F and Conradi M (2016) Effects of experimental long-term CO2 exposure on Daphnia magna. Chemosphere 156:272-279.
  1. Gilbert J D, de Vicente I, Ortega F, Jiménez-Melero R, Parra G and Guerrero F (2015) A comprehensive evaluation of the crustacean assemblages in southern Iberian Mediterranean wetlands. Journal of Limnology 74(1):169-181.
  1. Jiménez-Melero R, Gilbert J D and Guerrero F (2014) Seasonal variation in the sex ratio of Arctodiaptomus salinus (Copepoda:Calanoida): Does it agree with the “cheaper-sex” hypothesis? Journal of Plankton Research 36(6):1413–1418.
  1. Gilbert J D, de Vicente I, Jiménez-Melero R, Parra G and Guerrero F (2014) Selecting priority conservation areas based on zooplankton diversity: the case of Mediterranean wetlands. Marine and Freshwater Research 65(10):857–871.

Break: Lunch Break 13:10-13:55 @ Restaurant Rienacker
Speaker
Biography:

Guohua Luo is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University. His research interest covers from fundamental level by lab-scale experiments to potential industrial applications on novel solid catalysts design and evaluation, gas-solid fluidized-bed reactors for carbon nanotubes, DeNOx process, catalytic synthesis of fine chemicals and green nano-gold@carbon (non-Hg) catalyst for PVC industry. He has published over 90 peer-reviewed academic papers which have been cited over 2000 times. He received three first prizes, from the Ministry of Education of China in natural science (2005) and technology invention (2012), from Chinese Union of Petroleum and Chemical Industry in science and technology progress (2015).

 

Abstract:

Acetylene hydrochlorination to produce VCM (vinyl chloride monomer) is the core reaction for PVC production from coal resource, and this process was taking about 80% market share in 2016 in mainland China. On the other hand, traditional activated carbon based mercury catalyst are widely used commercially and causes severe environmental pollution and social impact day and night. In recent years, R&D on non-Hg catalyst has drawn increasing attention in China from both academic and industrial fileds and even policy-makers. In the last half-century, scientists worldwide have proved that many kinds of metals can be active for this reaction, and among them gold is widely considered as the most active metal for replacing Hg. Smart non-Hg catalyst with both high activity and long lifetime, and related new process with simple design and low operation cost, will show the best potential for future industrial application. In the last ten years, we have proved that the reaction stability of Au-Cu@carbon catalyst can be dramatically enhanced by the introduction of organic ion ligands. Several ligands were selected and trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCCA) was proved to be the best organic ion ligand for preventing Au3+ from reduction by acetylene, leading to over 18000 hour’s industrial plant-trial evaluation record, and the VCM productivity reached 4.2 times comparing to industrial mercury catalyst. Meanwhile, DFT calculation results also show that the stability of catalyst is strongly related to the adsorption energy of reactants on the surface of catalysts. Finally, our previous fluidized beds process using Bi-Cu@SiO2 catalyst will also be discussed in this talk. The dream for green PVC is coming soon in China.

Recent Publications

  1. Hao Xu, Kai Zhou, Jiangkun Si, Chunhua Li and Guohua Luo (2016) Ligand coordination approach for high reaction stability of an Au-Cu bimetallic carbon-based catalyst in acetylene hydrochlorination process. Catalysis Science & Technology  6:1357-1366.
  1. Kai Zhou, Jinchao Jia, Chunhua Li, Hao Xu, Jun Zhou, Guohua Luo and Fei Wei (2015) A low content Au-based catalyst for hydrochlorination of C2H2 and its industrial scale-up for future PVC processes. Green Chemistry 17(1):356-364.
  1. Kai Zhou, Wei Wang, Zhun Zhao, Guohua Luo, Jeffrey T Miller, Michael S Wong and Fei Wei (2014) Synergistic gold bismuth catalysis for non-mercury hydrochlorination of acetylene to vinyl chloride monomer. ACS Catalysis 4(9):3112-3116.
  1. Kai Zhou, Jiangkun Si, Jinchao Jia, Jiaqi Huang, Jun Zhou, Guohua Luo and  Fei Wei (2014) Reactivity enhancement of N-CNTs in green catalysis of C2H2 hydrochlorination by a Cu catalyst. RSC Advances 4(15):7766-7769.
  1. Kai Zhou, Jinchao Jia, Xiaogang Li, Xiaodong Pang, Chunhua Li, Jun Zhou, Guohua Luo and Fei Wei (2013) Continuous vinyl chloride monomer production by acetylene hydrochlorination on Hg-free bismuth catalyst: From lab-scale catalyst characterization, catalytic evaluation to a pilot-scale trial by circulating regeneration in coupled fluidized beds. Fuel Processing Technology 108(SI):12-18.

Speaker
Biography:

Hao Xu received his Bachelor’s degree in 2014 from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China with a major of Chemical and Industrial Biological Engineering. He is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, China. He is working on the development of non-mercury catalysts for acetylene hydrochlorination process and corresponding reactor design & simulation. He also devotes himself to the industrialization of the process and the developed catalysts have been working on pilot-trial equipment for over 18000 hours.

 

 

Abstract:

Acetylene hydrochlorination is the main reaction for the dominant process for VCM (vinyl chloride monomer) production from coal resource in mainland China. The traditional activated carbon based mercury catalyst for this reaction causes severe human damage and environmental pollution. Gold is widely considered as the most active metal for acetylene hydrochlorination reaction and copper is the most common metal with cost-effective advantage. The combination of two metals shows the best potential for environmentally friendly non-mercury catalysts. In our study, the performance of Au/Cu catalyst was dramatically enhanced by the introduction of organic ion ligands. Several ligands were studied and trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCCA) was proved to be an effective ligand for preventing Au3+ from reduction by acetylene, leading to longer catalyst lifetime. The findings were successfully verified by over 18000 hour’s industrial plant-trial evaluation, and the VCM productivity reached 4.2 times comparing to industrial mercury catalyst. Abundant characterization methods including TEM, XRD, TPR, XPS, ICP-AES and nitrogen adsorption-desorption were carried out to reveal the factors which affect the activity and stability of catalysts. Meanwhile, DFT calculation results also illustrated the stability of catalyst is strongly related to the adsorption energy of reactants on the surface of catalysts. Further, reaction and deactivation kinetics of acetylene hydrochlorination reaction was studied and a model was built to simulate the performance of catalyst in long term industrial reactors by limited laboratory data. We have great confidence that the extensive application of non-mercury catalysts can be realized in few years.

 

Speaker
Biography:

Ime Akanyeti obtained her Environmental Engineering Degree from Marmara University, Ä°stanbul, Turkey in 2005. After she received her Master’s Degree in Environmental Sciences in Wageningen University, 2007; she has worked as a Researcher in Wetsus, Centre of European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology in the Netherlands for about a year. She has completed her PhD degree in Edinburgh University, Scotland in 2013. She obtained a position as a Lecturer in February 2014 and Assistant Professor in July 2014 in Department of Environmental Engineering at Cyprus International University. She has published several papers in reputed journals.

 

Abstract:

The synthetic dyes released by the effluents of various industries result in severe environmental pollution that may cause carcinogenic and mutagenic effects on living organisms. Layered double hydroxides (LDH) were extensively studied as high capacity sorbents for the removal of dyes from water. However, a comprehensive understanding of why one dye is sorbed more than the other still remains unknown. In addition, we know very little how sorption mechanisms scale when more than one dye is present in the solution. In this study, a comparative investigation was performed to evaluate the sorption capacity of CoFe LDH for three different dyes: methyl orange (MO), remazol brilliant blue reactive (RBBR) and allura red (AR). Moreover, to shed light on the competitive sorption mechanisms, the sorption behaviour of CoFe LDH in a binary dye solution of MO and RBBR was elucidated. The results indicated that the sorption affinity of CoFe LDH is the highest for MO (750 mg/g) followed by RBBR (155 mg/g) and AR (~83 mg/g), respectively. Sorption of MO on CoFe LDH is best described by the Freundlich isotherm model whereas the Langmuir model has the best fit for RBBR and AR sorption. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and LDH charge analysis results showed that ion exchange mechanism and electrostatic interactions play important roles in dye sorption. In a binary solution, the mass of MO sorbed was reduced significantly while the mass of RBBR sorbed did not change, which was attributed to the alteration of the electrostatic properties of the LDH after the sorption.

 

Speaker
Biography:

Nadia El Ouahedy is a 2nd year PhD student in University of Chouaib Doukkali in Morocco and University of Poitiers in France working on depollution of water by hybrid system as a part of the Project PHC Maghreb 2016. She is doing the preparation of adsorbents from olive waste providing from Morocco, such as the charcoal prepared by the hydrothermal carbonization process at Triers University in Germany, and activated carbon at University of Poitiers in France and Oulu University in Finland, to apply them for the adsorption of bisphenol A and Diuron followed by a catalytic oxidation of those pollutants.

 

Abstract:

Olive stones are an agricultural waste from the olive oil industry and represent one of the most abundant renewable resources in Mediterranean areas. In addition, much attention is paid to water quality and removal of persistent organic pollutants as the well-known endocrine disruptor bisphenol A (BPA) or the herbicides such as Diuron. So, the aim of this study was to explore the possibility of using this biomass for the preparation of activated carbon (AC) for BPA and Diuron adsorption from polluted waters. The AC was prepared according to the method of chemical activation and pyrolysis. To optimize the performances of the obtained materials (expressed in terms of adsorption capacity), the effect of main preparation parameters was studied, such as pyrolysis temperature, activating agent and mass ratio. The prepared AC were characterized by DRX, FTIR, SEM, N2 adsorption-desorption and CHNS. Simultaneously, a study was performed on the effects of temperature, pH solution, and initial concentration on the removal efficiency for our targeted pollutants. Further, simplified kinetic models (pseudo-First-order and pseudo-Second-order) were tested to investigate the adsorption behaviors and Freundlich and Langmuir models to analyze the adsorption equilibrium. Promising performances were pointed out as 70% of Diuron and 92% of BPA can be removed from aqueous solution for an initial concentration respectively 35 mg/L and 20 mg/L, when the usual concentrations of BPA in environmental waters are in the range of 10 ng/L to 400 μg/L and Diuron is around 1600 ng/L. Adsorption on AC has many advantages because it converts agricultural waste to useful added-value adsorbent and proposes a low operating cost, easy use, simple design but efficient technique. To achieve a complete process of remediation, we check the possibility to desorb pollutants from AC and to oxidize them through VOC’s catalytic treatment

 

Rouzbeh Asadi Khansari

Technical and Vocational University, Iran

Title: The effects of biodegradable coating on properties of printing paper

Time : 16:30-16:50

Speaker
Biography:

Rouzbeh Asadi Khansari is a Lecturer in the Faculty of Sowmeh Sara, Department of Wood and Paper Industry at the University of Technical and Vocational, where he has been a Faculty Member since 1997. He is the Head of Wood and Paper Industry Department. He has completed his PhD at Gorgan University and his Undergraduate studies at Tarbiat Modares University (TMU). His research interests lie in the area of coating of papers by biopolymers and nano fibers and biotechnology for pulp and paper, ranging from theory to design to implementation. He has collaborated actively with researchers in engineered wood and fibers composites, particularly wood modification on problems at the panel/fiber interface.

 

Abstract:

Coating improves paper properties and can be applied in production and converting of paper. The main purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of biodegradable coatings on physical and mechanical properties of printing paper. The coatings were composed of kaolin clay, ground calcium carbonate, dispersant and different ratios of polyvinyl acetate, lactic acid and distilled water. Five formulations were made and the formulations had 30% or 50% solid content. After coating using bar method, the base papers were dried and calendered. Physical, barrier and mechanical properties were examined for each sample. The pigments and binders can be seen in the field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) view graphs. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis confirmed the presence of binders and their reactions. The results were obtained from ANOVA and Duncan tables. The coating treatments improved many of the mechanical properties (tear and burst) but had an adverse effect on the mechanical indexes. All measured optical properties (brightness, opacity and yellowness) were improved due to coating. Water absorption values (Cobb) were increased in the many treatments, but it was reduced in one formulation in order to more binders. The three combinations of coatings with 50% solid content reduced roughness which had correlation with improvement of barrier properties. The best barrier properties were found in the 3 combinations. The third suspension with 50% solid had the best droplet contact angle and contact angle change over time. The results showed that our slurry formulations decreased air permeability and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) in the coated papers.
Clay particles on the coated paper.
Recent Publications
  1. Rouzbeh Asadi Khansari, Mohammadreza Dehghani Firouzabadi and Hossein Resalati (2017) The effect of coatings and coating weight by two types of PCC on barrier and optical properties and roughness of paper. Iranian Journal of Wood and Paper Industries 8(2):283-295.
  1. Asadi Khansari R, Dehghani Firouzabadi M R and Resalati H (2017) Fluting and kraft liner papers with GCC coatings and PVA binder. Journal of Wood and Forest Science and Technology 24(1):145-160.

 

Theophilus Clavell Davies

University of Nigeria, Nigeria

Title: Medical geology applications of an African geochemical database

Time : 16:50-17:10

Speaker
Biography:

Theophilus Clavell Davies is a Chartered Geologist who currently holds the position of Visiting Professor of Medical Geology at the University of Nigeria at Nsukka. His teaching and research activities encompass three main themes: combating environmental health impacts of mining in Africa; isolating and obviating the effects of climate change on human health in African megacities, and improvement of ethical standards in African geoscience practice. His work includes field and laboratory studies, and has led to a wide range of publications (over 200), including Editorship of five special issues of high impact journals. Before joining the Department at Nsukka, he was a Research Professor in the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the Mangosuthu University of Technology in South Africa. He is the recipient of several distinguished fellowships and research awards, including the prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Fellowship of Germany and the 2014 NMGS Shell Petroleum Award. He holds (or has held) executive positions in a number of international geo-scientific steering committees such as: Member of the Governing Council and Board of Trustees of the Geological Society of London (1996-2000); Member of the Scientific Board of the UNESCO International Centre for Global-Scale Geochemistry (2016-2021), Regional Councillor for Africa of the Association of Applied Geochemists (2006-Present) and Councillor for Geoscience of the International Medical Geology Association (2011-2015).

 

 

Abstract:

The significance of a complete, high quality African geochemical database (AGD) for addressing the range of Earth and environmental science issues (e.g., mineral exploration, resource evaluation, agriculture, land use planning, processes of crustal evolution, modeling of environmental systems) cannot be over-emphasized; because, for such applications to be made in a robust fashion, we need to understand how the region’s unique and complex geochemical landscape was carved out in the first place. The distinctive nature of Earth processes such as intense tropical weathering, leaching, erosion, podsolization and gleying, as well as later imprints of urbanization and industrialization, have engendered the mobilization and clear redistribution of all but the most refractory elements. As a consequence, it is not uncommon to find large tracts of the continent’s surface environment containing anomalous trace element contents or deficiencies in essential micro-nutrient elements. Through water and food crops, extremes in trace element variation in soils are transmitted into the food chain, with often undesirable consequences for human and animal health. It is thus considered that one of the most important applications of an AGD would be in understanding the hydrological, chemical and biological processes that determine the behaviour of nutritional and toxic elements in the surface environment, in relation to how they may affect the health of man and animals (Medical Geology). This is so, because most of Africa’s population still live close to the land, and depend on it for their daily sustenance. Important scientific problems that would confront the construction of an AGD include defining and understanding regional background and the evolution of appropriate sampling and analytical protocols that would take into account the regions’ unique and complex element distribution patterns in the surface environment. These problems are apparently intractable, but are not unsolvable. Longstanding operational and logistical problems that have impeded previous (largely uncoordinated) efforts at an AGD compilation include the limited availability of state-of-the art analytical instrumentation and requisite laboratory infrastructure. An even more important limitation is the dearth of a sufficient number of highly skilled analytical geochemists and other technical personnel located at appropriate regional centers, which are able to install, operate, trouble-shoot and maintain modern analytical equipment. These problems are compounded by the lack, up to now, of adequate international funding to undertake such a high precision and systematic mapping exercise. In this presentation, recommendations are put forward for carrying out a successful and complete compilation of a high quality AGD that would be invaluable for studies in Medical Geology, as well as in an array of other multipurpose, multi-national environmental applications; and proposed measures given for counteracting potential limitations in its development.

 

 

Speaker
Biography:

Zahra Gholami is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Tsinghua University, China, where she works on selective catalytic reduction of NOx. She has completed her Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate in Chemical Engineering. From 2014 to 2016, she continued her research work as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Malaysia. She has published 20 original research papers in reputed journals and served as Manuscript Peer Reviewer for several journals. Her research interests includes Catalysis, Heterogeneous Catalysts, Reaction Engineering and Environmental Engineering.

 

Abstract:

Flue gas DeNOx process with no ammonia under oxygen condition and moderate temperatures is an ideal process with low cost, but is very challenging. In this work, catalytic activity of a series of carbon nanotubes (CNT) supported catalysts with different molar ratios of Cu:Ce prepared by co-impregnation method were studied for NO reduction by CO. Physicochemical properties of the catalysts were studied by means of SEM, TEM, XRD and XPS. The catalytic performances of these catalysts were evaluated through reduction of NO by CO. The 20wt.% Cu1:Ce3/CNT catalyst shows the highest NOx conversion of 96% at 220°C. Compared to some literatures results, the catalytic activity of the CNT-supported catalysts was significantly enhanced due to the synergistic interactions between Cu:Ce and good properties of CNTs such as high mechanical strength and electrical and thermal conductivity, adsorption and unique nanostructure. The redox equilibrium (Cu2++Ce3+↔Cu++Ce4+) was proposed here and the interaction between copper and cerium resulted in the formation of Cu+ species on the surface of the CNTs. The synergistic effect between surface oxygen vacancies and Cu+ species over the CNT supported catalysts plays an important role in the reduction of NO by CO under oxygen condition and the activity is mainly related to the electronegativity of elements, the reduction and adsorption behaviors of these catalysts. This work can provide some insights into the catalytic reactions among NO and CO under oxygen condition.

 

Speaker
Biography:

Sarisak Soontornchai has completed his DSc (Nutritional Toxicology) from Mahidol University and training from Max von Pettenkofer, Berlin, Germany, and Institute of Chemical and Biochemical Sensor, Muenster, Germany. He is Associate Professor of Public Health in School of Health Science, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, Thailand. He has published about 30 papers and has been serving as Editor-in-Chief of STOU Journal. Additionally, he is as an Editorial Board Member of ASEAN Journal of Open and Distance Learning (AJODL) and Thai Journal of Toxicology.

 

Abstract:

Since chemical safety among household community products are still concerned, therefore, the objectives of this applied research were to survey chemical use situation in household community products on cosmetics and hazardous substances in Nonthaburi Province, Thailand. This qualitative research was conducted in samples of 18 household community product entrepreneurs obtaining product quality according to community product standard in Nonthaburi Province by in-depth interview. The research instrument with content validity by 3 experts was interviewing form on chemical use situation of household community products. Data were analyzed by content analysis. The findings of this research revealed that most of the entrepreneurs were single enterprise with investment cost of 50,000 – 100,000 baht. They formulate their household community products by production process from training. Their chemicals used were selected by consulting experts. They generated their products in their own residents with separated areas, kept their chemicals in those areas as well, and worked guided by attached chemical sheets. They used personal protective equipment and disposed production waste through public drainage pipe. They had no chemical information and hazard communication in their production area. The chemicals mainly used were detergent, surfactants, acids, and bases as well as herbs. They all realized aquatic environment pictogram and correct practices in terms of separated production and cooking containers, chemical contact with gloves, concern with chemical contact to their eyes, immediate cleaning of chemical spill, no smoking while working, and hand washing after chemical handling and before eating.

 

Speaker
Biography:

Alireza Noorpoor has completed his BSc in Mechanical Engineering at University of Mazandaran, Iran. He completed his MSc and PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST), Tehran, Iran in 2000 and 2006 respectively. Now he is an Associate Professor in Graduate Faculty of Environment at University of Tehran (UT). His field of research is air pollution control, energy systems and CFD. Now, he is the Head of Air Pollution Control Technologies Research Group (APTEC) in UT. Also, he has established a knowledge based company, FANPAYA CO. that works in environmental and renewable energy.

 

Abstract:

Discharging cattle manure as the waste of the livestock activities to the environment has resulted in biological and chemical contamination and methane emission that has concluded major large-scale impacts, such as global warming. Thus, anaerobic digesters are utilized to eliminate harmful micro-organisms, which occur in the cattle manure, in a chemical and organic process in absence of oxygen. For improving the efficiency of anaerobic digester, it is necessary to mix all the feedstock within the tank of the digester, properly. In this study, the aim is to model the agitation of the material within an anaerobic digestion tank with a mixer established for stirring cattle manure in a livestock yard; and also to analyze stagnant volume formation and velocity gradient. The CFD model is steady-state and rheological properties of the feedstock are considered. RNG  turbulence model is employed and simple algorithm is used to achieve velocity and pressure field. The results are validated comparing the power consumption of the mixer with the CFD results. Therefore, it is concluded that the employed procedure is suitable to predict the behavior of the cattle manure feedstock in the digester.

Recent Publications

  1. A R Noorpoor and S Nazari kudahi (2015) CO2 emissions from Iran’s power sector and analysis the influencing factors with STIRPAT model. Carbon Management 6(3):1-16.
  1. A R Noorpoor and S Nazari kudahi (2016) Analysis and study of CO2 adsorption on UiO-66/graphene oxide composite using equilibrium modeling and ideal adsorption solution theory (IAST). Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 4:1081-1091.
  1. A R Noorpoor, Parisa Heidarnejad, Nasim Hashemian and Danial Hamedi (2017) Exergy based optimization of a biomass and solar fuelled CCHP hybrid seawater desalination plant. Journal of Thermal Engineering 3(1):029-1033.
  1. Sahar Asgari, A R Noorpoor and Fateme Ahmadi Boyaghchi (2017) Parametric assessment and multi-objective optimization of an internal auto-cascade refrigeration cycle based on advanced exergy and exergoeconomic concepts. Journal of Energy 125:576-590.
  1. Saeed Nazari Kudahi, Ali Reza Noorpoor and Niyaz Mohammad Mahmoodi (2017) Determination and analysis of CO2 capture kinetics and mechanisms on the novel graphene-based adsorbents. Journal of CO2 Utilization 21:17-29.