Iranian Journal of

Background and Objective:  Nitrophenols are among the most common and toxic compounds in industrial effluents that 2, 4 dinitrophenol (2, 4-DNP) is the most toxic compound in this group. The object of this study was to optimize the removal of 2, 4-DNP by thermally activated persulfate using a central composite design.
Materials and Methods: This study was performed on a batch thermal reactor with a volume of 4 L. In this study, a central composite design (CCD) with RSM method was used for designing and optimizing the operation parameters such as initial pH of solution, potassium persulfate concentration and temperature. The effect of 2, 4-DNP concentration and reaction time at optimum conditions were also investigated.
Results: The results indicated that the degradation rate of 2, 4-DNP was enhanced by increasing the concentration of persulfate and reducing temperature and pH. The optimum conditions for the highest degradation efficiency (99%) were  as initial concentration 10 mg/L, reaction time 30 min, temperature 60 °C, Potassium persulfate concentration 10 mmol/L, and pH 5. At the optimum conditions, when 2, 4-DNP concentration was increased to 50 mg /L, the 2, 4-DNP degradation rate decreased to 73%.
Conclusion: This study indicated that the heat-activated PS oxidation could be an efficient approach for decomposition of 2, 4-DNP. Temperature was the most influential variable in this regard (p<0.0001).
 

Background and Objective: Mercury (Hg) contamination in marine ecosystems is a major threat to human health in the developing countries like Iran. The main route of mercury exposure is from consumption of fish and seafood. Upon entering mercury in human bodies, Hg is converted into methyl mercury, which may lead to serious implications including neurological disorders, reproductive abnormalities, kidney failure, emotional instability, gingivitis and tremors. Therefore, research on mercury concentrations in marine ecosystems (water and fishes) can be help to protect human health and reduce the risks of mercury contamination.
Materials and Methods: In this study in order to evaluate the concentrations of Hg in water and fish, water samples (36 stations), fish tissue livers (n=33) and muscles (n=33) of four fish species from the Caspian Sea (southern coasts) were collected and analyzed. For determination of Hg in water and fish samples, Voltammetry and GF-AAS techniques were used, respectively.
Results: The results showed that the average Hg concentration detected in water samples was 1.657 (μg/L) and in fish muscle and liver tissues were 68.636 and 125.606 (μg/g.dw), respectively. The bioaccumulation factor showed that mercury concentrations from water to fish are in the range of 14 to 80 times. The highest levels of mercury in water and fish were observed in the southwest coasts of the Caspian Sea.
Conclusion: According to USEPA and SPPA (China) standards, more than 58 % of the water samples collected from the southern coasts of the Sea was polluted by mercury. However, the average concentrations of mercury in fish samples were less than the standards by WHO and EPA. 
 

Background and Objective: In the field of environmental risk assessment, Cyanide is one of the most important pollutants of water, soil and air that has an important impact on the ecosystem and environment of the contaminated area. Therefore, the present study aimed to prove the biological effectiveness of Vetiveria zizanioides in phytoremediation of soils contaminated with cyanide.
Materials and Methods: This research study was conducted on a gold mine wastewater. The dried effluent samples amended with soil with various cyanide concentrations. Seven treatments with different concentrations of cyanide were obtained (mean cyanide content in G soil, 14.77 mg/kg, F soil, 10.13 mg/kg, E soil, mg/kg 8.09, D soil, mg/kg 7.53, C soil, 3.32 mg/kg, B soil, 2.52 mg/kg and A soil without cyanide (as control). After two months, the amount of cyanide in the soil, roots and leaves of the plant, as well as the total protein and proline content, and the number and length of the leaves of the plant were measured and then statistically evaluated by SPSS15 Tukey and t Paired Samples T Tests.
Results: The results of this study showed that the increase of cyanide had a significant effect on the amount of proline (proline in the plant increased), total protein (in the plant increased), number of leaves (decrease in number) and the length (length reduction) of the leaves of the vetiver. The amount of cyanide in the leaves and roots of the plant was increased. Cyanide content was decreased in the different treatments. Cyanide content was decreased in G 50.93%, F 38.20%, E 27.19%, D 38.37%, C 17.77% and B 16.66%.
Conclusion: The results indicated that increase of the amount of cyanide in soil resulted in observational changes in the morphological and biochemical characteristics of the plant. However, Vetiveria zizanioides exhibited very high resistance to soil cyanide and the planting of vetiver in highly contaminated soils can lead to a reduction of cyanide up to 50 percent. Vetiveria zizanioides had higher resistance to cyanide and showed better phytoremediation than the other plants.
 

Background and Objective: Considering the fact that Iran is located in semi-arid climate and the harmful effects of dust storms on different ecosystems, this study aimed to identify and locate dust storms using fungal bio-aerosols (spores) and HYSPLIT model in southwestern region of Iran.
Materials and Methods: MODIS satellite images and HYSPLIT model were used to investigate the temporal changes of dust masses entering the Khuzestan province.  Sampling was carried out from dust storms in Abadan and Khorramshahr cities and from the soil of the dried parts of Hur al-Azim and Shadegan wetlands in a two-month period (from May to July 2019).
Results: The results of numerical modeling show that Abadan and Khorramshahr cities were affected by dust storms of internal origin (from Hur-al-Azim wetland). After isolation of bioaerosols from air and soil samples, a total of 6 fungal genera were identified in soil samples and 6 genera in dust samples of internal origin by PCR-Sequencing method. Talaromyces, Alternaria, Penicillium and Aspergillus were identified as the predominant genera fungi in soil and air samples.
Conclusion: With 70% similarity of fungi found in soil and air samples, it can be concluded that the main source of fungi in Abadan and Khorramshahr is Hur al-Azim wetland.

Background and Objective: The increase in waste at integrated urban waste centers, along with the problems and adverse environmental consequences due to their inappropriate establishment have become more apparent. This research was conducted with the aim of determining and investigating environmental pollution in urban waste integration management centers.
Materials and Methods: This research investigated the environmental pollutants in the integrated waste center in Koohak at various distances ranging from 0 to 900 meters. Four main criteria—waste, water pollution, air pollution and sound pollution—were determined, each with 16 sub-criteria. The map of each criterion and sub-criteria were multiplied by the coefficients they received from the weights obtained using the Analytical Network Process (ANP) method. By combining the criteria using the Weighted Linear Combination (WLC) method and superimposing them, finally, the studied area was ultimately classified into three classes: inappropriate, medium, and suitable.
Results: Air pollution, with a weight of 0.26, had the highest rating compared to the other three criteria. Noise pollution (0.25), water pollution (0.24) and waste-related criteria (0.23) were ranked next. The results of the Kruskal-Wallis test indicated a significant difference in pollutant concentrations between different stations (p<0.05). Additionally, the results show that the average concentration of pollutants at distances of 0-300 meters differed significantly from those at all other distances (p<0.05). After determining the suitable zones using the WLC method, the results showed that 62.5 percent of the criteria were approved by the environmental organization.
Conclusion: By examining the results of the methods used in this research, it can be concluded that the combination of ANP and WLC methods provide effectivee results. However, uncertainty in subjective decisions and time constraints in decision-making have posed challenges in assessing waste collection in integrated urban waste centers.