The Tigris River is one of the main rivers and an important resource for the population of Iraq. The present study aimed to quantify the concentration of surface-active substances in the Tigris River and to investigate the dynamics of this ecosystem. Five sampling sites were selected along the river within Baghdad city (Al-Muthanna Bridge, Al-Greaat Bridge, Al-Sarrafia Bridge, Al-Jadriyah Bridge, and Al-Za'franiya Area) for the period from July 2020 to April 2021. The study examined the relationship between the concentrations of surface-active materials (surfactants, including anionic and nonionic types) and their potential interaction with nutrients—nitrate (NO₃⁻), phosphate (PO₄), and sulfate (SO₄²⁻)—as well as the influence of various physicochemical water parameters on surfactant concentrations. The results of the descriptive analysis of water parameters during the dry and wet seasons showed variations and elevated concentrations of some parameters beyond permissible limits, such as TDS, NO₃⁻, PO₄, SO₄²⁻, and DO. According to the OIP analysis, only Site 2 (Al-Greaat Bridge) was classified as polluted (Class-C4) during the wet season (6.58), while the other sites were categorized as slightly polluted (Class-C3) in both dry and wet seasons. Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that PO₄, TDS, and NO₃⁻ were the most influential parameters and had a strong positive relationship with anionic surfactants. Regarding temporal variation, higher values of TDS, NO₃⁻, PO₄, SO₄²⁻, and DO were observed during the dry season. This reflects the impact of human activities (agriculture, industrial discharge, and sewage effluents) and natural processes (rainfall, evaporation, and biological activity) on the water quality of the Tigris River. Therefore, the Tigris River faces significant water quality challenges due to both anthropogenic and natural factors. Effective management strategies are essential to mitigate these impacts and protect the health of the river ecosystem and the communities that depend on it. The findings of this study align with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which focuses on clean water and sanitation.
Photonic Crystal Fiber Interferometers (PCFIs) are widely used for sensing applications. This work presents the fabrication and study the characterization of a relative humidity sensor based on a polymer-infiltrated photonic crystal fiber that operates in a Mach- Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) reflection mode. The fabrication of the sensor only involves splicing and cleaving Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF) with Single Mode Fiber (SMF). A stub of (LMA-10) PCF spliced to SMF (Corning-28). In the splice regions. The PCFI sensor operation based on the adsorption and desorption of water vapour at the silica-air interface within the PCF. The sensor shows a high sensitivity to RH variations from (27% RH - 95% RH), with a change in its reflected powe
... Show MoreThis article presents the simultaneous adsorption of bimetal Cu2+ and Zn2+ from an aqueous solution using activated carbon synthesized from a plum seed precursor by sulfuric acid and microwave activation: plum seeds chemically activated by 45% (w/w) sulfuric acid with 2:1 ratio for 4 h, then carbonized for 2 h at 700 °C and the product obtained activated in a microwave oven for 20 min at 700 W for final of activation. Plum seeds and activated carbon produced were characterized in terms of their physical and chemical composition using Brunauer–Emmett–Teller measurements, field emission scanning electr
Sheet piles are necessary with hydraulic structures as seepage cut-off to reduce the seepage. In this research, the computational work methodology was followed by building a numerical model using Geo-Studio program to check the efficiency of using concrete sheet piles as a cut-off or reducer for seepage with time if the sheet piles facing the drawdown technique. Al-Kifil regulator was chosen as a case study, an accurate model was built with a help of observed reading of the measuring devices, which was satisfactory and helped in checking the sheet piles efficiency. Through the study, three scenarios were adopted (with and without) drawdown technique, it was found that at the short time there's no effect of the drawdown technique on
... Show MoreWater quality planning relies on Biochemical Oxygen Demand BOD. BOD testing takes five days. The Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is increasingly used for water resource forecasting. This work designed a PSO technique for estimating everyday BOD at Al-Rustumiya wastewater treatment facility inlet. Al-Rustumiya wastewater treatment plant provided 702 plant-scale data sets during 2012-2022. The PSO model uses the daily data of the water quality parameters, including chemical oxygen demand (COD), chloride (Cl-), suspended solid (SS), total dissolved solids (TDS), and pH, to determine how each variable affects the daily incoming BOD. PSO and multiple linear regression (MLR) findings are compared, and their performance is evaluated usin
... Show MoreConcrete columns with hollow-core sections find widespread application owing to their excellent structural efficiency and efficient material utilization. However, corrosion poses a challenge in concrete buildings with steel reinforcement. This paper explores the possibility of using glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) reinforcement as a non-corrosive and economically viable substitute for steel reinforcement in short square hollow concrete columns. Twelve hollow short columns were meticulously prepared in the laboratory experiments and subjected to pure axial compressive loads until failure. All columns featured a hollow square section with exterior dimensions of (180 × 180) mm and 900 mm height. The columns were categorized into
... Show MorePharmaceuticals have been widely remaining contaminants in wastewater, and diclofenac is the most common pharmaceutical pollutant. Therefore, the removal of diclofenac from aqueous solutions using activated carbon produced by pyrocarbonic acid and microwaves was investigated in this research. Apricot seed powder and pyrophosphoric acid (45 wt%) were selected as raw material and activator respectively, and microwave irradiation technique was used to prepare the activated carbon. The raw material was impregnated in pyrophosphoric acid at 80◦C with an impregnation ratio of 1: 3 (apricot seeds to phosphoric acid), the impregnation time was 4 h, whereas the power of the microwave was 700 watts with a radiation time of 20 min. A series o
... Show MoreBackground. Implant insertion in regions with poor bone quantity, such as the posterior maxilla, is potentially associated with an increased rate of implant failure. Calcium sulfate can be used as the coating material for commercially pure titanium (CpTi) and as the bone graft material around implants when bound to eggshell powder to enhance the bone quality and quantity of bone defect regions. This study performed a torque removal test to evaluate the effectiveness of eggshell powder as a bone substitute for filling bone defects around CpTi-coated implants coated with nanocrystalline calcium sulfate. Materials and Methods. Eighty screw implant designs were used in the tibiae of 20 white New Zealand rabbits. A total of uncoated 20 s
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