Journal of Environment and Water Engineering (original) (raw)

Papers by Journal of Environment and Water Engineering

Environmental Geochemistry and Health

Many ornamental plants have the ability to extract toxic metals from the soil and are able to sto... more Many ornamental plants have the ability to extract toxic metals from the soil and are able to store large amounts of metals in their organs with no health problems for humans as they do not enter the human food chain. This study aimed to investigate the effect of sewage sludge application on the performance of Helianthus annuus and to investigate its phytoremediation ability for heavy metals (Pb, Ni and Cd) in soil. This study was carried out with three levels of sewage sludge related to southern Tehran wastewater treatment plant, including 0, 10 and 20 percent by weight of soil in three replications in a completely randomized block design on Helianthus annuus. The results showed that the application of sewage sludge caused a significant increase in the concentration of heavy metals and wet and dry yield of different parts of the flower in the plant. Application of sewage sludge at 20 percent by weight of soil was more suitable for growth index and accumulation of heavy metals in plant in terms of growth index such as wet weight (root 12.03 g and shoot 48.56 g), dry weight (root 1.97 g and shoot 8.69 g), stem diameter (0.78 cm), stem height (19.4 cm) and flower diameter (7.44 cm) as well as concentration of heavy metals Pb (root and shoot 9.09 and 4.35 mg/kg respectively), Ni (root and shoot 3.65 and 2.04 mg/kg respectively) and Cd (root and shoot 0.598 and 0.364 mg/kg respectively). Due to root bioaccumulation factor above 1 and transfer factor less than 1, Helianthus annuus is a plant suitable for the uptake and transfer of heavy metals, which prevents the entry of heavy metals into the shoot parts by a plant stabilization mechanism. Keywords

Environment and Water Engineering, Oct 23, 2017

Climate is one of the most important and effective phenomenon of human life. Today's huma... more Climate is one of the most important and effective phenomenon of human life. Today's human, in order to develop industrial and municipal centers, and to increase food resources, needs to increase its information in the context of different climatic zones. The aim of this research was to achieve cluster classification by multivariate statistical methods. In this regard, 12 climatic elements were selected from 11 synoptic stations (isometropia) inside the East Azarbaijan Province for climatic zoning of the region. The maps and diagrams (plots) were plotted using SURFER and MATLAB software and data analysis was done using SPSS and MINITAB. The principal components analysis was performed for the average temperature, water vapor pressure difference between the maximum and minimum temperature and wind data. Moreover, in factor analysis with varimax rotation, three factors were obtained: humidity, average mean temperature, and minimum absolute temperature. The intensity of the factors was portrayed from North East to East and North West to South East. In the cluster analysis, three climatic zones were obtained.

In this study, MCM-41 was prepared via hydrothermal method in presence of ethanol as a cosolvent ... more In this study, MCM-41 was prepared via hydrothermal method in presence of ethanol as a cosolvent and co-surfactant in alkaline media. Inorganic sorbent ZnCl 2-MCM-41 was synthesized via covalent grafting method by dispersion of samples into pure toluene for solid state interaction between silanol groups of MCM-41 surface and ZnCl 2 particles. Samples were characterized by nitrogen adsorption analysis, XRD, BET surface area, and FTIR spectrometry. MCM-41 BET surface area measured was 1099 m 2 /g, which was later reduced to 602 m 2 /g after incorporation of ZnCl 2 particles onto MCM-41 surface. Effect of different experimental conditions such as solution temperature, pH, contact time, and initial concentration of Ni (II) ions were investigated on the amount of nickel adsorption. For experimental data, the Langmuir isotherm showed a better fit than Freundlich isotherm, which indicates that nickel adsorption onto inorganic sorbent was homogeneous and monolayer. At optimum conditions, maximum adsorption capacity of Ni (II) by sorbent obtained was 303 mg/g according to Langmuir isotherm. Pseudo-second order model predicted kinetic of nickel adsorption onto synthesized sorbent better than other models. Free energy was 9.8 kJ/mol determined by Dubinin-Radushkevich model, which confirms chemical nature of nickel adsorption onto synthesized sorbent.

So far, many studies have been carried out to design reshaping berm breakwaters (RBB) that mostly... more So far, many studies have been carried out to design reshaping berm breakwaters (RBB) that mostly have provided the effect of individual parameter on the structure stability. Therefore, it is essential to present systematic optimal geometrical design of RBB. In this research, a generic program is presented to determine the optimal geometrical structure of RBB based on the administrative costs. Hence, at first a methodology was proposed to determine the breakwater optimal dimensions based on the calculated berm recession from empirical formulae of previous studies and the cost of extraction and transportation of the materials from Jahad-Touseh mines. The nominal diameter of stone blocks and the berm height from sea bed were selected as a decision variable based on the sensitivity analysis. The results of implementation of the proposed structure using random search algorithm represent a significant reduction in costs of breakwaters construction compared with non-optimal values of decision variables. Based on the resulting optimal values, the optimal percentages of extraction from miscellaneous mines considering lowest extraction and transportation costs were determined. It was found that the minimum cost is obtained if the values of nominal diameter of stone blocks and the berm height from sea are equal to 0.82 and 4.9 meters respectively. Therefore, the optimal width of berm recession was determined equivalent to 17.77 meter. Moreover, in order to achieve an optimal economic plan, the breakwaters constituent materials in Jahad-Touseh mines were suggested to have 63.37 percentage with gradation of 1 to 2.5 tons and 61.71 percentage with gradation of 0.3-1.5 tons respectively.

Investigating the spatial variation of groundwater quality parameters is important in identifying... more Investigating the spatial variation of groundwater quality parameters is important in identifying the quality of the aquifer and contaminating resources, and determining the most appropriate management solutions. Geostatistical and GIS methods can be useful tools in this regard. The aim of this study was to evaluate the geostatistical methods in order to investigate and analyze the spatial amount of salinity, nitrate, and total dissolved solids of subsurface waters of Sistan Plain in northern Sistan and Baluchestan province. For this purpose, ordinary Kriging (OK) and simple Kriging (SK) and certain methods such as inverse distance weigthing (IDW), local polynomial interpolation (LPI), global polynomial interpolation (GPI) and radial basis function (RBF) were used. First, the normality of the data was investigated and the non-normal data were normalized by logarithmic method. Then analysis of variograms was performed. The results were evaluated using a cross-evaluation method. The f...

One of the most serious challenges during filtration of oily wastewater is membrane fouling that ... more One of the most serious challenges during filtration of oily wastewater is membrane fouling that caused by oil and other pollutants. The silica mesoporous FSM-16 modified with metformin (FSM-16-Met) is known as proper additive for membrane modification in order to achieving a modified membrane with antifouling capability for highly efficient oily wastewater treatment. In this work, the fabrication of microfiltration polyether sulfone (PES) membranes by using an efficient correction process were done. With benefiting from the FSM-16-Met nanoparticles, the modified PES/FSM-16-Met membranes exhibited excellent fouling resistance, while maintaining a high pure water mass transfer efficiency without notable oil permeation (more than 150 kg/m2.h). The optimal modified PES/FSM-16-Met membrane has a high pure water flux (156.07 kg/m2.h) and low contact angle compared to the unmodified membrane (79.8° and 46.25° for unmodified and the optimal modified membranes respectively). Also, the flux ...

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2016

Water pollution in recent decades is as serious threat to the human and natural ecosystem so that... more Water pollution in recent decades is as serious threat to the human and natural ecosystem so that assessing changes water quality are one of the most important topics for desirable use . In this investigation has been studied the Azna river quality in Chamzaman Hydrometric station that used for dry period (April to September) and wet period (October to March).To evaluate the water quality were used the Piper, Schoeller, Wilcox and time-series diagrams. Results water river Azna in Piper diagram indicative water type is calcic bicarbonates. In studied river, according to the graph Schuler is evaluated good and desirable for drinking. According to statistical studies, the methods of data analysis led to be determined 11 principal components for the data set, the first three components with more than 70% variability, statistical population interpret. Also according to the graph plotted cluster the samples is plotted in four clusters contains: the first cluster SO4-2 and pH, second cluster K+,third cluster Ca2+ and in the fourth cluster TDS, EC, Cl-, Mg2+, HCO3-, Na+ and TH. The highest correlation between the total dissolved solid and chloride is observed. According to meaningful level of 0/05 in Kolmogorov – Smirnov, all ions of Azna River have normal distribution. Linear regression analysis of cations, anions and electrical conductivity as the dependent variableversus of total dissolved solids as the independent variable show high correlation between TDS with EC and Cl.

International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 2009

We had a very successful launch of IJABE in 2008. Since then the journal has received manuscript ... more We had a very successful launch of IJABE in 2008. Since then the journal has received manuscript contributions from many authors and published over 21 papers on a wide range of topics in addition to others. IJABE was included in Chemical Abstracts soon after the first issue and in CAB Abstracts after the second issue. Both Chemical Abstracts and CAB Abstracts are major academic publication indexing databases. In addition, IJABE has also been listed by Open J-Gate, the world

Volume 9 (2023) by Journal of Environment and Water Engineering

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2023

This study intended to investigate the decisions of different kinds made by farmers about preserv... more This study intended to investigate the decisions of different kinds made by farmers about preserving the Qare Qeshlaq wetland by saving water resources in the farmlands (2019-2022). Using survey data collected from 298 farmers of the rural areas on the edge of the wetland, as being randomly stratified, they were asked to participate in an interview along with filling out a self-implemented questionnaire (n=298). We gained insight into the association of being aware of wetland protection projects with participation in projects, subjective norms contribute to differentiating participants from non-participants in wetland protection projects. The behavioral intention to take care of the wetland also determines the strategy of using water saving-water technologies. The perceived effects of wetland protection projects affect the behavioral intention to save water resources. Furthermore, cultural bias has a negative effect on the behavioral intention to save water resources. Behavioral intention also has a positive and significant effect on the behavior of saving water resources, and the behavior itself affects the intention of wetland protection. In the concluding section, management implications were presented to increase the participation of farmers in saving water resources and wetland protection projects.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2023

Land use/land cover (LULC) change, strongly affects surface water characteristics, especially in ... more Land use/land cover (LULC) change, strongly affects surface water characteristics, especially in urban watersheds. The aim of this study was to determine LULC in the Samian Watershed and assessing its relationship with water quality parameters. In this study, LULC maps was obtained by ENVI software in four periods (1992 to 2016). Then, 9 water quality parameters at five river gauge stations were selected for further analysis. The Mann-Kendall test was performed to examine the trends in water quality parameters and Pearson test was used to assess the correlation between quality parameters and land uses. According to the results, rangeland decreased by 9.75%, irrigated agriculture increased by 8.45%, residential increased by 1.42% and rainfed agriculture increased by 3.29% compared to the first period. Average of TDS and EC in the study periods in Samian and Gilandeh stations, has been increased. The correlation analysis using Pearson test between quality data and LULC also shows that the EC, Ca, Cl, SO4, Mg and Na pameters of had a significant relationship with increasing residential, irrigated and rainfed land uses.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2023

The awareness of floods and estimating the debris flow is a fundamental step for assessing risk a... more The awareness of floods and estimating the debris flow is a fundamental step for assessing risk and planning in the watershed. The village of Sijan, located in the Southern Alborz, is one of the areas threatened by debris flows. The research aimed to estimate the volume of debris flows along 700 m of a stream of Sijan Village time range from 2018 to 2021. The study method included surveying the stream in two-time intervals, which involved one concrete and four gabion checkdams, and calculation of erosion and sedimentation happened via debris flow using the Civil-3D software. Results showed that five check dams had 823 m2 and 750 m3 area and volume, respectively. Debris flows covered 25500 m2 after the flood in 2019, in which the estimated erosion and deposition volumes were 7250 m3 and 10100 m3 according to the elevation difference technique. The Sijan stream channel experienced sedimentation and erosion along the northern and southern banks. Implemented watershed management measures have played a vital role in mitigating the risk of debris flows, especially at the concrete check dam.
Keywords
Deposition Erosion Mountainous Streams Surveying Watershed Management

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2023

The volume of sediment transport rate during floods is one of the important issues in river engin... more The volume of sediment transport rate during floods is one of the important issues in river engineering. This volume of sediments has caused countless damages to the hydraulic structures which are built along the rivers, every year. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of hydrograph unsteadiness parameter on bedload transport rate. For this purpose, a real unsteady flow hydrograph was created inside a 15 m long tilting flume by installing an interface board between the computer and the pump inverter. 20 cases of hydrographs with different unsteadiness parameters were tested and the scour rate was obtained during the hydrograph time. The results indicate that the maximum scouring rate always occurs near the peak of the flood hydrograph and the time lag between them was positive. For hydrographs with the same peak and different base time, the maximum scouring rate occurs in the hydrograph with more unsteadiness. The maximum scouring rate of the bed has a direct relationship with the unsteadiness parameter, and it can be said that an 88% decrease in the flow unsteadiness parameter leads to a 76% decrease in the maximum bedload rate. Also, the scour rate in the ascending limb of the hydrograph is higher than the descending limb, which by reducing the unsteadiness parameter, the distance between the limbs in the sediment hysteresis diagram decreases.
Keywords
Flood Generated Hydrograph Scour Rate Sediment Transport Unsteady Flow

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2023

Estimating reference evapotranspiration (ET0) is a fundamental requirement of agricultural water ... more Estimating reference evapotranspiration (ET0) is a fundamental requirement of agricultural water management. However, the lack of necessary meteorological data makes it difficult to estimate ET0 using the FAO-Penman-Monteith equation wider areas. Therefore, this research examines the estimation of daily reference evapotranspiration using MODIS Land Surface Temperature (LST) from satellite imagery in two climates of Tabriz and Rasht. ET0 has been estimated using two random forests (RF) and random forests optimized with genetic (GA-RF) algorithms. The parameters used in both stations include the combination of daily land surface temperature (LSTday), nightly land surface temperature (LSTnight) and average land surface temperature at night, and day (LSTmean). The obtained results indicated that LSTmean has an excellent ability to estimate ET0 in both stations. In Tabriz station with a semi-arid climate, GA-RF-7 model with RMSE=0.516 and in Rasht station with a very humid climate, the GA-RF-5 model with RMSE=0.868, have the best performance among the studied models. Moreover, the evaluations revealed that the temperature of the earth's surface at night is as important as the temperature of the earth's surface during the day, and by combining these two parameters, satisfactory results may be obtained.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2023

Usually, the methods used to highlight oil stains are, In order to distinguish different parts of... more Usually, the methods used to highlight oil stains are, In order to distinguish different parts of a stain, they work poorly in terms of thickness. the spectrum of oil slicks is affected by seawater and the physical and chemical properties of the oil. For this reason, in the upcoming research, by using Sentinel 2 satellite images and using spectral indices, different thicknesses of oil slicks were investigated and distinguished from each other. The used indices are related to two groups of hydrocarbons (FI, RAI, HI, RG, RR, WAF) and seawater (CHL, CDOM). The index separability (IS) mathematical model based on classroom distance was used to evaluate the spectral indices used quantitatively. The results show that the spectral indices of hydrocarbons are more suitable for distinguishing the emulsion from seawater and other parts of the oil slick. Thus, the value of the IS parameter for the FI index in order to detect and differentiate emulsions with segments such as seawater, shining part, code 4, and code 5 are equal to 1.542, 0.967, 0.423, and 0.4236 respectively. On the other hand, the spectral indices of seawater are suitable for detecting the thinner parts of the oil slick.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2023

Rivers are considered to be among the most significant sources of fresh water, and their quality ... more Rivers are considered to be among the most significant sources of fresh water, and their quality monitoring holds significant importance in terms of both spatial and temporal changes. In this study, the water quality of Golin River was investigated using the CWQI index for the construction of warm and cold-water fish breeding centers. Different parameters as: DO, pH, BOD5, NO3, Ec, turbidity, temperature, TDS, CaCO3, NO2, total hardness, CO2, Cu, NH3, and Fe were sampled twice a month from the water from April 2019 to March 2020. The results showed that the parameters of BOD5, TDS, CaCO3, NH3, Cu, and NO3 were in the unfavorable category in comparison with the standards of hot and coldwater fish farming. Comparison of CWQI index in cold-water fish farming in different months showed that the highest and lowest numerical values of the index with values of 70.02 and 60.37 were observed in February and December, respectively. Also, the numerical values of the index in warm-water fish farming were observed as the highest and the lowest numerical values of the index with the values of 85.38 and 70.96, in April and February, respectively. The results of this study showed that according to the final value of CWQI index, in general, the water of Golin river was suitable for warm-water and cold-water fish farming in the desired range.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2023

The present study was conducted to assess the water quality of the Balighli-Chai and Ghare-Sou Ri... more The present study was conducted to assess the water quality of the Balighli-Chai and Ghare-Sou Rivers, the main rivers of Ardabil Province, Iran. The levels of dissolved oxygen (DO), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), nitrate (NO3) and phosphate (PO4) were measured and simulated using the QUAL2Kw model during low-and high-water periods. Also, selfpurification capacity and total maximum daily load (TMDL) levels of water quality parameters were calculated. The obtained results indicated considerable differences between the levels simulated by the model from the measured data for both rivers. Most of the river sections had low selfpurification capacities. Maximum self-purification capacity (%) were: high water period: DO =-226.61; BOD5 = 90/30; NO3 = 99.88; PO4 = 96.49; low water period: DO =-281.71; BOD5 = 89.13; NO3 = 94.74; PO4 = 90.21. TMDL scores for DO, BOD5 and NO3 were higher during the high-water period, but entire sections of both rivers showed high excess loads of PO4. The results showed that most ranges of both rivers didn't have appropriate water quality conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to make proper decisions to control pollution levels and improve water quality in this basin.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2023

The Caspian Sea is important in terms of environment and monitoring of biological pollutants due ... more The Caspian Sea is important in terms of environment and monitoring of biological pollutants due to its long coastlines and commercial activities of the industrial port of agriculture and tourism. Identifying marine environmental pollutants is the first step to rebuilding and protecting this valuable ecosystem. The purpose of this study was to determine the amount of Polychlorinated biphenyls in sediments and Barnacles of Anzali and Caspian ports in Guilan province, Iran. Therefore, Barnacle and sediment samples were collected in 2 stations whit 3 replications in Anzali and Caspian ports by VanVeen Grab sampler in summer according to the life cycle of Barnacles. After preparation and drying with freeze dryer, after analysis, it was read by gas chromatography. The highest concentration of PCBs in Barnacles in Anzali station was related to isomers PCB-81 & PCB-77 and the lowest was related to isomers PCB-114 and PCB-156. The highest concentration of PCBs in Barnacles in Caspian station was related to isomers PCB-28 and PCB-77 and the lowest was related to isomers PCB-114 & PCB-153. The highest PCB concentration in sediment in Anzali and Caspian ports was recorded similarly for isomers PCB-52 & PCB-28 and the lowest was related to isomers PCB-114 and PCB-156.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the surface modification efficiency of raw zeolite by hexad... more The aim of this study was to evaluate the surface modification efficiency of raw zeolite by hexadecyl trimethylammonium cationic surfactant for cyanide sorption. Properties such as mineralogy, morphology and elemental composition of sorbents were determined. Batch and column tests were performed to evaluate the sorption efficiency of raw and modified zeolite from solution and released from the cyanide polluted pulp. The presence of clinoptilolite mineral and surfactant surface coating due to modification using surfactant was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis and electron microscopy images. The results of isotherm experiment showed that modification of zeolite with surfactant increased the adsorption capacity of cyanide by zeolite 7 times compared to the raw sample and the maximum adsorption capacity of cyanide by modified zeolite was 3.97 mg/g. The ability of surfactant-modified zeolite to sorb more cyanide than raw zeolite was confirmed by the results of the column test on the cyanide released from the pulp. It was observed that with increasing time, the concentration of cyanide in the outlet solution increases, but this increase in the cyanide concentration in the outlet solution of the column containing the modified zeolite is less than the raw zeolite.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2023

The saline water intrusion to aquifers in arid regions is one of the major challenges in the deve... more The saline water intrusion to aquifers in arid regions is one of the major challenges in the development of water resources. In this research, the risk of saline water intrusion near a salt playa in Sirjan plain was evaluated by modifying and optimizing the GALDIT model. Parameters such as aquifer type, aquifer hydraulic conductivity, groundwater level, distance to the salt playa, the current status of saline water intrusion, and aquifer thickness were used to zone the risk of saline water intrusion. To modify and optimize the GALDIT model, a single parameter sensitivity analysis method, analytical hierarchy process, and fuzzy logic were used. According to the different models' results, the Sirjan plain was classified into three saline water intrusion risk zones namely: low, moderate, and high. Groundwater electrical conductivity and chloride ion concentration were employed for the validation of the results of the models. Achieving results shows that the fuzzy logic is the best method for optimizing the GALDIT model. So that the correlation coefficients between the results of the Fuzzy GALDIT model results and parameters of electrical conductivity and chloride ion concentration are equal to 0.88 and 0.90 respectively.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2023

Flow resistance in rivers with vegetation patches is one of the challenging parameters in river e... more Flow resistance in rivers with vegetation patches is one of the challenging parameters in river engineering. This study aimed to investigate the effect of vegetation patches on flow resistance in Shapur, Fahlian, and Dalaki rivers. The data measured in this study include velocity measurement, surveying, and bed sampling. In this study, considering the simplifying assumptions, the equation for the flow resistance due to vegetation patches was derivated. Accordingly, the flow resistance due to vegetation patches was obtained by the difference in the flow resistance due to bed from the value of the total flow resistance for each section. The results show that the average percentage of vegetation patches' contribution from the total flow resistance is 44%, which shows the significant effect of vegetation patches on flow resistance. In addition, an investigation of 71 measured velocity profiles showed the phenomenon of Dip in the velocity profiles near the vegetation patches, and by moving away from the vegetation patches, the effect of this phenomenon is reduced and the profiles become S-shaped.

Environmental Geochemistry and Health

Environment and Water Engineering, Oct 23, 2017

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2016

International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 2009

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2023

In the present research, three data-driven models including M5P, REP tree, and random forest were... more In the present research, three data-driven models including M5P, REP tree, and random forest were used to estimate daily reference evapotranspiration. The abilities of these three models to estimate reference evapotranspiration were studied in single and combined modes. To this end, the daily meteorological data of five synoptic stations in Kerman province in the period from 2000 to 2020 were used. A combination of meteorological variables, using sensitivity analysis versus the reference evapotranspiration values obtained from FAO-Penman-Monteith, was considered as input for each of the mentioned models. Finally, the accuracy of the mentioned models and empirical methods in estimating the evapotranspiration of the reference plant were compared using statistical indicators, and the superior model was selected. The results of validation data showed that the M5P model in the form of individually (RMSE = 0.083 and NS = 0.998 in Bam station) and the weighted averaging in the form of the ensemble (RMSE = 0.155 and NS = 0.994 in Bam and Sirjan stations) in all stations had better results for estimating evapotranspiration rates than other methods. In general, tree models, especially M5P, had better results in estimating daily evapotranspiration than empirical models.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2023

Estimation of flow energy loss in gabion spillways can be effective in managing erosion downstrea... more Estimation of flow energy loss in gabion spillways can be effective in managing erosion downstream of structures, flood control, and riverbed stabilization. Therefore, in this research, using two soft computing models evolutionary polynomial regression (EPR) and multivariate adaptive regression spline (MARS), the amount of energy loss in these spillways was estimated. About 75% of the 74 laboratory data samples were used for training and the remaining 25% were used for testing the models. The dimensionless parameters of Froude number (Fr), spillway slope (S), gabion number (GN), and porosity (n) were used as input parameters. The results showed that the MARS model predicted the energy loss values by root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), and correlation coefficient (CC) of 0.05, 0.017, and 0.99, respectively, which has better performance than the EPR model has. The results of the Taylor diagram also showed that the performance of MARS and EPR are satisfying, and their accuracy is very close to each other. The regression equation by the EPR model was more complex than the regression equation by the MARS model. According to the obtained results, the use of the two soft computing models in estimating energy loss in spillways is recommended.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2023

Controlling the excess flow energy when using the inclined chute to transfer water is always one ... more Controlling the excess flow energy when using the inclined chute to transfer water is always one of the important hydraulic issues. In the present study, the effect of determining how the shape of the blocks and the longitudinal distance between them ts affec the energy dissipation under various angles of chutes was evaluated experimentally. The experiments were carried out on three chutes with angles of 20, 23, and 26.6 degrees, five different geometric shapes of blocks, and three different longitudinal distances of 1.5H, 2H, and 2.5H (H is block height). The results indicated that the energy dissipation rate on smooth chute models was between 21.38 to 66%. The baffles on the chute create the flow resistance, and the difference between the energy dissipation rate in baffled chute models compared to smooth chutes is between 21 and 61%. By increasing the angle of the chute from 20 to 26.6 degrees, the energy dissipation on smooth and baffled chutes decreases by 22 and 6%, respectively. Increasing the longitudinal distance between the blocks reduces energy dissipation in all models. For the superior model, a 66% increase in the longitudinal distance between the blocks decreases the energy dissipation rate by 10%.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2023

Among the important parameters in water quality, are the amount of turbidity and the depth of lig... more Among the important parameters in water quality, are the amount of turbidity and the depth of light penetration in water. One common way to determine water turbidity is to use a Secchi disk, but this method is time-consuming and expensive, so an alternative method should be considered. Deep learning methods can play an important role in this field. The purpose of this study was to classify water quality based on turbidity and Secchi disk depth using a convolutional neural network method implemented in a Python programming environment. For this purpose, a simulated reservoir was used in the laboratory and the turbidity was increased step by step by increasing the clay in the reservoir water. Simultaneously with measuring the depth of the Secchi disk and water turbidity, the samples were imaged. These images were given to the convolutional neural network together with the obtained data. The results showed that the convolutional neural network with 300 epochs, can estimate the water quality class with 95% accuracy and 93% kappa statistic, and it has only a 5% error rate.
Keywords
Deep Learning Image Laboratory Python Software Water Quality

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2023

In this study, hydroxyapatite-supported zero-valent iron nanoparticle was synthesized by the sodi... more In this study, hydroxyapatite-supported zero-valent iron nanoparticle was synthesized by the sodium borohydride reduction method. To evaluate the performance of adsorbent for the removal of Cu(II) and Ni(II) ions, the influence of different sorption parameters, such as contact time, temperature, initial concentration of metal ions, the dosage of adsorbent, and pH value of the solutions were investigated. The highest removal efficiency of both metals occurred under the optimal conditions of 7, 45 min, 0.1, 50 ºC, and 5 mg/l for pH, contact time, adsorbent mass, temperature, and initial concentration, respectively. The kinetic and equilibrium data were well fitted by the pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir-Freundlich model, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacities of adsorbent towards Cu(II) and Ni(II) were 138 and 108 mg/g, respectively. The results indicated that the adsorbent could remove the majority of metals (95%) within 40 min without pH control. Thermodynamic parameters, i.e., ΔG°, ΔH°, and ΔS°, indicated that the sorption process was spontaneous and thermodynamically favorable.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2023

The presence of pharmaceutical wastewater can pose significant challenges to the environment. Sin... more The presence of pharmaceutical wastewater can pose significant challenges to the environment. Since conventional wastewater treatment processes are not efficient for the complete separation of drug materials, solvent extraction through a hollow fiber membrane contactor could be a promising alternative. In this study, a developed polysulfone (PSF) hollow fiber membrane was fabricated using a non-solvent phase separation (NIPS) method to extract penicillin G from aqueous solutions in the membrane contactor system. From the characterization experiments, the prepared polysulfone membrane demonstrates an outer surface contact angle of 69.6°, critical water entry pressure (CEPw) of 250 kPa, total porosity of 72.2%, and collapsing pressure of 500 kPa. The extraction of penicillin G from the aqueous phase was performed with a 5% w/w solution of Aliquat 336. The effect of the operating parameters on the extraction flux of penicillin G was investigated using the response surface method (RSM). The optimum penicillin G flux of 1.46×10-3 kg/m 2 s was found at an operating pressure of 100 kPa, an aqueous phase flowrate of 70.5 ml/min, and an organic phase flowrate of 200 ml/min. Therefore, the developed PSF hollow fiber membrane contactor can be considered a proper choice to remove antibiotics (penicillin G) from aqueous solutions.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2023

By using photocatalytic processes, it is possible to reduce volatile organic compounds in the air... more By using photocatalytic processes, it is possible to reduce volatile organic compounds in the air under special conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of the photocatalytic process in the presence of organic-metallic nanostructures model Bi2S3@NH2-MIL125(Ti) in reducing ethylbenzene concentration. The concentration of 150-300 ppm and the amount of deposited catalyst (1-3 g/m 2) were studied. By increasing the airflow rate contaminated with ethylbenzene, the efficiency of the process decreased from 79% at 0.5 l/min to 41% at the flow rate of 3 l/min. By increasing the amount of catalyst coated on the reactor wall, the efficiency of the process increased from 65% at a dosage of 0.5 g/m 2 to 86% at a dosage of 3 g/m 2. By increasing the amount of input concentration. Of ethylbenzene, the efficiency of the process decreased from 94% at a concentration of 150 ppm to 55% at a concentration of 300 ppm. The optimal process conditions were determined at a flow rate of 0.5 l/m, the concentration of ethylbenzene, 150 ppm, and the amount of catalyst, 3.0 g/m 2. The presence of different light sources including UV A, C, and visible light could reduce the initial concentration of ethylbenzene by.94, 95, and 67% respectively.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2023

Organophosphorus compounds are extensively used worldwide as pesticides which cause great hazards... more Organophosphorus compounds are extensively used worldwide as pesticides which cause great hazards to human health and the environment. The aim of this study was to investigate the removal of diazinon insecticide from aqueous solution by using polypyrrole (PPy) onto polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) adsorbent in a batch system. Investigation of the adsorbent structure was performed by SEM and FTIR analyses. The effect of experimental parameters on adsorption such as pH, contact time, initial diazinon concentration, and initial adsorbent mass was studied. According to the experiments, the optimal pH of diazinon adsorption by PPy/PVA adsorbent at 20 °C was 6. As the contact time increased, the adsorption efficiency increased and reached equilibrium (98%) after 10 min. The adsorption capacity of diazinon increased with increasing adsorbent mass and reached its highest value in the adsorbent mass of 0.025 g in 10 ml of aqueous diazinon solution. The kinetics study showed that the data followed by Morris-Weber and pseudo-second-order equations. The equilibrium data also show good agreement with the Freundlich isotherm. Based on the results of the present study, PPy/PVA adsorbent has a high potential for diazinon pesticide removal and it can be suggested as a cheap, efficient and available adsorbent for diazinon pesticide removal from aqueous solutions. The maximum adsorption capacity of mercury by polymer composite was 23.37 mg/g.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2022

In this study, the adsorption of methylene blue (MB) from an aqueous solution on copper-alginate ... more In this study, the adsorption of methylene blue (MB) from an aqueous solution on copper-alginate (Cu(II)-A) granules containing activated carbon derived from polyethylene terephthalate (PEtAC) with different experimental conditions was investigated. The composition and structure of the granules were characterized by SEM and BET methods. The effect of various variables including dye concentration, pH, adsorbent amount, and contact time was investigated by batch method. Equilibrium data were evaluated using Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin isotherms. The adsorption isotherm fits well with the Langmuir model (0.9973), which shows that the MB dye adsorption on the granules is homogeneous. The maximum adsorption capacity under optimal conditions for the removal of MB was 86.96 mg/g. Kinetic data were analyzed using the first-order and second-order Lagergren equations. The quasi-second-order model showed the best fit for the synthetic studies (R 2 = 0.9997). In addition, no obvious decrease was observed after up to five adsorption cycles, indicating that the PETAC/Cu (II)-A adsorbent has good stability and reusability. Overall, the results show that the prepared granules can be used as an efficient adsorbent for the treatment of colored effluents.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2022

Ibuprofen is one of the most widely used drugs in the world, which affects the health of living o... more Ibuprofen is one of the most widely used drugs in the world, which affects the health of living organisms by causing pollution in water sources. Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim of determining the effectiveness of modified carbon of straw and sesame stubble in removing ibuprofen from aqueous solutions. For this purpose, ammonium chloride, zinc chloride, and phosphoric acid were used to optimize the adsorbent. Also, the changes in the absorbent surface and its characteristics were studied using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) technique. After determining the optimal conditions of pH variables, contact time, temperature, and adsorbent dose, the surface adsorption process was investigated under three Langmuir, Freundlich, and Dubinin-Radoshkevich models. On the other hand, first-order and pseudosecond-order kinetic models were used to process the adsorption data. The results showed that the surface adsorption process followed the Freundlich isotherm model pseudo-second-order kinetics. pH, contact time, initial concentration of ibuprofen, and optimal adsorbent dose were 3, 120 min, 50 mg/l, and 0.10 g/l respectively at 25°C. The results of this study showed that agricultural residues such as straw and sesame stubble can be used as effective and cost-effective adsorbents to remove the remaining pharmaceutical compounds from aqueous solutions.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2022

The use of natural processes, including the physiological potential of plants, is a suitable solu... more The use of natural processes, including the physiological potential of plants, is a suitable solution. In this study in order to assess the effect of waste leachate and industrial wastewater on the absorption of heavy metals by the Vetiver plant, two separate factorial experiments were performed in the crop year 2020-2021 as a completely randomized design. Experiment treatments factors included waste leachate and industrial wastewater use separately on 5 levels (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100%) in three replications (B1, B2, B3) and two irrigation periods of 5 and 10 days (A5, A10). The amount of iron, zinc, copper, manganese, potassium, and sodium measured in vetiver showed waste leachate had a significant effect at the level of 5% (P <0.05). Meanwhile, the use of industrial wastewater had a significant effect on the amount of iron, zinc, copper, manganese, and sodium absorbed by the vetiver at the level of 5% (P <0.05) but it had no significant effect on the potassium amount (P> 0.05). R4A1 and W5A1 treatments showed a relatively good response with a decrease in biomass production below 10% compared to the control treatment. According to the results, the Vetiver species has relatively high compatibility in the absorption of heavy metals with unconventional waters and can have a special application for soil and water protection.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2022

Pharmaceutical contaminants are one of the most important environmental problems that must be cle... more Pharmaceutical contaminants are one of the most important environmental problems that must be cleared of aqueous environments before they enter the environment. The adsorption method is operationally easy and costeffective if the adsorbent is not expensive. The purpose of this study is optimization the process of removal of tetracycline from aqueous solutions by nanoclay adsorbent and investigation the kinetics and adsorption isotherms. In this study, after preparing the nanoclay, the optimization of parameters was done with Design Expert software. The parameters effect of pH, initial concentration, and amount of adsorbent were investigated, and SEM, XRD, and FTIR analyzes were done to identify nanoclay properties. The optimal values of parameters were pH equal to 9.5, an adsorbent amount equal to 1.2 g, and initial concentration equal to 21.15 mg /l at 25 °C, time of 30 min, and stirring speed of 1000 rpm. The study of kinetic models and equilibrium isotherms showed that the adsorption follows the Pseudo-second Order (R 2 =0.999(, and the Langmuir model, respectively. Under optimal conditions, nanoclay as a low cost and environmentally friendly adsorbent has a good ability to adsorb tetracycline from aqueous solutions.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2022

The study of sediments as one of the reservoirs for absorbing environmental pollutants and especi... more The study of sediments as one of the reservoirs for absorbing environmental pollutants and especially heavy metals is of particular importance. Therefore, this research was conducted with the aim of identifying and evaluating the contamination of arsenic, cadmium, nickel, and vanadium elements in the sediments of the Farahabad coast of the Caspian Sea in 2018. In this study, after collecting 36 sediment samples from 12 selected stations, the values of pH, EC, organic matter, and texture of sediments were determined. The concentrations of elements were determined by inductively coupled plasma optical spectroscopy. In addition to evaluate the pollution of sediments, environmental toxicology criteria were calculated, including indicators of pollution coefficient, enrichment, and pollution load. In order to identify the potential sources of elements and their grouping in the sediment samples, multivariate statistical methods were used, namely principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering. For statistical processing of the results, one-way analysis of variance, one-sample t-test, and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used in the SPSS software. The average concentration of arsenic, cadmium, nickel, and vanadium was 12.7, 0.191, 35.0, and 31.9 mg/kg, respectively. The output results of PCA, HCA models, EF index values, and coefficient of variation, as well as Pearson's correlation matrix, showed that arsenic probably originates from man-made sources and cadmium, nickel, and vanadium elements have natural sources.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2022

The gas production operation in the gas refinery, in addition to creating special and ordinary wa... more The gas production operation in the gas refinery, in addition to creating special and ordinary wastes, also leads to the production of industrial wastes. Failure to properly manage special waste in such refineries will cause environmental hazards and threaten the workforce’s health. This research aimed to identify, differentiate and prioritize industrial wastes in this refinery to eliminate or reduce environmental risks. After collecting waste information, 19 cases of industrial waste were identified in process units and facilities. Then the data was analyzed through documentation, expert theory and Delphi method, and according to the importance of multi-criteria decision-making method for ranking and waste management, TOPSIS method was used for prioritization. The findings showed waste Sulfur with an amount of 86%, has the highest priority of relative proximity to high-risk waste and mixed laboratory containers, with an amount of 20%, have the least priority of relative proximity to low-risk waste among industrial wastes. Also, based on the percentage distance of the relative closeness of the residues to each other, 5 groups (about 26%) are at the high level, 6 groups (about 32%) are at the medium level and 8 groups (about 42%) are at the low level of industrial wastes were placed.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2022

Industrial and agricultural processes have resulted in the release of cadmium metal into the ecos... more Industrial and agricultural processes have resulted in the release of cadmium metal into the ecosystem. One way to remove this heavy metal is adsorption. This research aimed to determine the efficiency of magnetic nanographene for removing cadmium ions from aqueous solution., This research was done in a discontinuous system at a laboratory scale. For this purpose, the effect of effective parameters such as pH, concentration, contact time, ambient temperature, adsorbent dose, and other factors was investigated. The results showed that the maximum amount of cadmium absorption occurred in the conditions of pH=6, concentration 100 mg/l, contact time 120 min, ambient temperature 45 ° C and adsorbent dose 0.01 g. Thermodynamic parameters showed that the absorption process of cadmium metal was spontaneous and endothermic in the temperature range of 288 to 318 K The pseudo-second-order model with adsorption rate constant (K2 = 0.0092) and coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.99) showed that it describes the laboratory data better. Also, the examination of adsorption isotherms showed that the Freundlich isotherm (R2 = 0.96) was more suitable for describing the adsorption process and was more consistent with the laboratory data. According to the results of this research, magnetic oxide nanographene adsorbent with 92.8% efficiency can be used to remove cadmium from aqueous solutions.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2022

The most important goal in the planning and optimal operation of the reservoir system is to deter... more The most important goal in the planning and optimal operation of the reservoir system is to determine the various operating policies that can operate properly Under the drought condition and existing uncertainties. In this study, a combination of the Horse herd optimization algorithm (HOA) and WEAP simulator model was used to extract the optimal reservoir exploitation policies in the form of specific optimization and objective functions were calculated based on the results of the implementation of each scenario and the total operating period for Maroon and Jarreh reservoir dams. The results showed that the average error of the optimal rules extracted from the support vector machines relative to the output of the HOA algorithm in the validation stage is less than 17%, which indicates the high efficiency of this method in predicting the optimal pattern of the dam control curve in real-time. Moreover, evaluation of different scenarios showed that agricultural development in areas 1, 4, and 5 of Ramhormoz will be reduced by an average of 50% and also a 10% reduction in inflow to Marun and Jarreh dams will have negative effects on Shadegan wetland.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2022

Nowadays, machine learning models are able to make good predictions based on pattern extraction b... more Nowadays, machine learning models are able to make good predictions based on pattern extraction between data. In this study, a neural-fuzzy network (ANFIS) was used to predict the inflow to the reservoirs of a dam namely, the Mahabad dam located in the northwestern part of Iran. A new Harris Hawk (HHO) optimization algorithm was also used to improve the ANFIS (HHO-ANFIS) structure. Monthly precipitation and temperature and inlet flow data to the reservoir one to three months ago were used as input parameters as 6 different input patterns. About 70% of the data was used for training and 30% to test the models. The results showed that the ANFIS model has good accuracy in training data although, for test data, its accuracy was greatly reduced. The development of the HHO-ANFIS model improved the accuracy of the prediction. The patterns with all input parameters had the highest prediction accuracy. In this pattern, values of Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), and Nash Sutcliffe Efficiency coefficient (NSE) for test data were 3.9 MCM, 2.41 MCM, and 0.86, respectively. Due to the good performance of the model used, it can be recommended for time series predictions.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2022

Because direct measurement of evapotranspiration is costly and timeconsuming, researchers have tu... more Because direct measurement of evapotranspiration is costly and timeconsuming, researchers have turned to the estimation of evapotranspiration via indirect approaches. The aim of this study is to investigate the capability of kernel-based, tree-based, bagging-based data-driven, and empirical models to estimate reference evapotranspiration. For this purpose, data related to meteorological parameters such as average temperature, hours of sunshine, maximum and minimum temperature, wind speed, precipitation, and relative humidity were collected over a period of 39 years. A correlation matrix, relief algorithm, and trial and error based on the author's own experience were used to select input scenarios. The performance of these methods was evaluated using correlation coefficient (R 2), root mean square error (RMSE), scattering index (SI), Nash Sutcliffe (NS), and Wilmot indexes (WI). Based on the results, scenario 13 includes maximum temperature and monthly time index based on the relief algorithm was selected as the best scenario, also on the other hand the random tree model with R=0.99, RMSE=0.04 mm/day, and SI=0.01 was selected as the superior method. Thus, the maximum temperature was defined as the efficient meteorological parameter for the reference evapotranspiration modeling.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2022

Here, the contraction coefficient, discharge coefficient, hydraulic jump length, and relative ene... more Here, the contraction coefficient, discharge coefficient, hydraulic jump length, and relative energy dissipation in which the gate acts as a supercritical flow generator were investigated at different openings. The maximum value of the contraction coefficient is related to the gate with the lowest amount of opening. The amount of gate opening is inversely related to the discharge coefficient. At a certain discharge, increasing opening leads to a decrease in relative energy dissipation. Moreover, with increasing Froude number, relative energy dissipation increases. Here, the amplitude of the Froude number changed from 2.2 to 14.2, which has a direct effect on the hydraulic jump length, and with increasing opening, the Froude number and jump length decreased. The amount of opening is inversely related to the upstream water depth and the hydrodynamic force applied to the gate. Regression nonlinear polynomial relationships were presented to predict relative energy dissipation and discharge coefficient with appropriate statistical indicators of root mean square error and Kling Gupta. For the discharge coefficient, mdecreasedore than 78% of the data have an error of less than ±1.5%. In addition, for energy dissipation relative to the upstream and downstream, more than 88% of the data have a relative error of less than ±5 and ±1%, respectively.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2022

FSM-16 mesoporous silica modified with metformin (FSM-16-Met) is known as a suitable additive for... more FSM-16 mesoporous silica modified with metformin (FSM-16-Met) is known as a suitable additive for membrane modification in order to obtain a modified membrane with anti-fouling capability for highly efficient oily wastewater treatment. In this research, the production of polyether sulfone microfiltration membranes was done using an efficient modification process. The modified membrane with FSM-16-Met nanoparticles showed excellent fouling resistance, while maintaining a high net water transfer efficiency of more than 150 kg/m2.h without significant oil infiltration. The optimal modified membrane PES/FSM-16-Met had a high net water flux of 156.07 kg/m2.h and a low contact angle compared with the unmodified membrane (respectively 79.8 and 46.25 for the unmodified and was the modified optimum). Also, the flux recovery ratio is more than 97% and the ability to resist clogging is Rir = 79.58 and Rir = 2.13%, respectively, for unmodified and modified membranes during filtration at different concentrations of oily feed (300 and 500 mg/l). It was one of the features obtained in this study. Overall, this work provides insight into efficient polymer membrane modifications with very low oil cake layer formation on the membrane surface, which shows great potential for industrial-scale oily wastewater treatment in the future.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2022

Acoustic Doppler velocimetry (ADV) is one of the most suitable devices for measuring flow charact... more Acoustic Doppler velocimetry (ADV) is one of the most suitable devices for measuring flow characteristics. Determination of measurement frequency and duration, in a way that the results are calculated with the lowest error, is very important. The goal of this study was to determine the optimum measurement frequency and duration to save money and time. 3D instantaneous subcritical flocharacteristicsts are measured at 200, 100, 25, and 5Hz frequencies for a duration of 3 minutes, in a laboratory flume with an aspect ratio of less than 5. Then, 3D averaged velocities, shear velocity, turbulence intensity, and Reynolds shear stress are calculated. Results show that the reduction of error is independent of the number of measured data and its dependence is on the data collection duration and frequency. For measurements of 3D averaged velocity components, the appropriate measurement frequency and duration are 1Hz and 50 seconds, respectively. To determine the shear velocity, using logarithmic law, reducing the frequency and duration, results in a maximum error of 13%. For calculation of turbulence flow characteristics, like turbulence intensity and Reynolds shear stress, the measurement frequency, and duration of up to 25Hz and 50-70sec, respectively, results in an error of less than 10%.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2022

This study was conducted with the general purpose of explaining the behavior of agricultural wate... more This study was conducted with the general purpose of explaining the behavior of agricultural water conservation among farmers in Bavi County. The statistical population of this study consisted of all farmers in Bavi County of Khuzestan province. Using Cochran formula sampling and the stratified proportional sampling method, 190 persons were selected as the study sample. The data collection tool of the study was a questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by a panel of experts, and its reliability was established by calculating Chronbach's Alpha Coefficient (α > 0.7). Data analysis was done by SPSSwin18 and Smart Pls software. In this research, the theory of planned behavior was used for the research framework. The results of structural equation modeling showed that the variables of attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavior control, and inclination are able to explain 60.5% of water conservation behavior. In general, the results of this study can provide new insights for policymakers in this field, because in previous studies, more emphasis has been placed on incentives and limitations for water conservation, and attention has not been paid to environmental psychological studies.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2022

In recent years, due to water shortages in the Hirmand watershed, integrated management of water ... more In recent years, due to water shortages in the Hirmand watershed, integrated management of water resources in this area is essential. In this research, the aim is to simulate and optimize water consumption in order to integrate water resources management. For this purpose, the WEAP model was used for simulation and the goal programming model was used to optimize water use. The simulation results showed that in the reference scenario, the Hirmand watershed is facing a water shortage of 586.69×10 6 m 3 per year. The goals of economic sustainability and ecological sustainability of water use are not met and only the goals of social sustainability of water use are met. After optimization, water consumption was allocated to an activity that achieved the goal of economic sustainability of water use. On average, the economic efficiency of water use in the Hirmand watershed area increased by 99.58%., optimization led to a reduction of water consumption by 382.82×10 6 m 3 /year and achieving the goal of ecological sustainability of integrated water resources management in the Hirmand watershed area. Thus, the water supply in the environment and agriculture increased to 93.60 and 89.03% respectively.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2022

Fluoride is one of the developed compounds that can enter water resources in different ways. The ... more Fluoride is one of the developed compounds that can enter water resources in different ways. The World Health Organization has recommended its maximum permissible concentration in drinking water of 1.5 mg/l so that its concentration exceeding the permissible limit can be harmful to the health of living organisms and ecosystems. The aim of this study was to determine the efficiency of activated carbon modified by the thermo-chemical method from oak fruit in fluoride removal. This research was conducted in a discontinuous system on a laboratory scale, and for this purpose, the effect of effective parameters such as time, pH, concentration, adsorbent dose, and other factors was investigated. The results of the experiments showed that the maximum amount of removal takes place during 90 min, pH=3, adsorbent dose of 0.1 g/l, and pollutant concentration of 50 mg/l. The results of the synthetic models showed that the Freundlich model with the coefficient of determination (R2=0.863) is a better model than the Langmuir model with the coefficient of determination (R2=0.736) to describe the synthetic behavior of the absorber. Until now, most absorption methods have been performed to remove the pollutant concentration of 30 mg/l. In the current study, with the input pollutant concentration of 50 mg/l, it can be stated that the activated carbon modified from the oak fruit is a cheap, efficient, and effective adsorbent. It is considered available to remove fluoride from aqueous solutions.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2022

In this research, the aquifer potential of Jiroft Plain was investigated in terms of quantity and... more In this research, the aquifer potential of Jiroft Plain was investigated in terms of quantity and quality. For this purpose, the groundwater potential index and the groundwater quality index were calculated using the hierarchical analysis process. Related parameters were used to calculate the groundwater potential index. The groundwater quality index was also calculated according to the amount of dissolved solids in the groundwater, the total hardness, and the concentration of sodium, sulfate, and chloride ions. Finally, using the capabilities of the geographic, information system, maps of the quantitative and qualitative potential of groundwater were prepared. Based on the obtained results, Jiroft Plain was divided into three categories, good, medium, and poor, in terms of quantitative potential, which accounted for 42, 32, and 26% of the area of the plain, respectively. From the point of view of qualitative potential, Jiroft plain is divided into four areas: unsuitable, poor, acceptable, and good, which cover 2, 11, 27, and 60% of the area of Jiroft plain, respectively. Based on the results of this research, the best groundwater potential is observed in the middle part of the plain and the weakest groundwater potential is observed in its eastern and southern margins. In terms of quality potential, except for the south and southwest parts of the plain, the quality potential of groundwater is suitable in other parts.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2022

In this research, the effect of the mulch layer on the soil surface as an anti-evaporation layer ... more In this research, the effect of the mulch layer on the soil surface as an anti-evaporation layer was investigated in three soils with a different texture from three points of Tabriz green space including Abbas Mirza in the south, Einali in the north, and Khavaran in eastern Tabriz. The soils were placed in small lysimeters with a diameter and height of 30 cm (25 cm of soil and 3 cm of mulch). This field experiment was a completely randomized blocks design with five treatments included; control (no mulch layer) and four types of mulch cover including fine sand, manure, wood chips, and petrochemical waste, and three replications conducted over 20 days. The analysis of variance in all soil samples showed a significant effect (p<0.01) of the surface mulch layer on the amount of surface evaporation from lysimeters. The results also showed in sandy loam soils of Abbas Mirza and Khavaran regions, sand mulch treatment with 69.2% and 66.9%, respectively, and in clay loam soils of Einali region, wood chips treatment with 70% reduced evaporation. Petrochemical waste treatment showed the least effect in reducing the amount of evaporation in all three types of soil tested.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2022

Nowadays, discharge of toxic heavy metals through industrial, domestic, and agricultural effluent... more Nowadays, discharge of toxic heavy metals through industrial, domestic, and agricultural effluents into the environment, in this study, the efficiency of thin-layer nanocomposite (TFN) nanofiltration membranes made using surface polymerization in combination with modified cellulose nanoparticles (mNC) was assessed for the removal of lead and chromium ions from aqueous solutions. In so doing, after modification of MNCSNCs, fabrication of membrane substrate and also PA selective layer, and then testing the performance of the membrane, the physical properties of the modified nanoparticles and nanocomposite membranes were also investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and zeta potential. Based on the Results obtained, the water flux of TFN2 membranes increased from 42 to 125 l/m 2 /h. Also, at pH = 8.5, the removal rate of Pb(II) and Cr(III) was 93% and 100%, respectively. Moreover, under these conditions, the adsorption process followed the Langmuir adsorption isotherm and the pseudo-second-order kinetic models. In general, the results showed that the synthesized nanofiltration nanocomposite membrane by embedding modified cellulose nanocrystals can be used to effectively remove Pb(II) and Cr(III) ions from aqueous solutions.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2022

Recently, the use of carbon nanotubes in water treatment membranes has been proposed. Understandi... more Recently, the use of carbon nanotubes in water treatment membranes has been proposed. Understanding the mechanism of the process in nanotubes may have a significant impact on the development of this technology. In this study, to clarify the molecular mechanism and measure the impact of the effective factors, the water desalination process by filters consisting of carbon nanotubes has been investigated by the molecular dynamics simulation method. The effect of factors such as nanotube diameter applied pressure, and porosity on the process is studied. The results showed that reducing the filtration pressure increases salt rejection. However, reducing the pressure reduces the water flow through the nanotubes, which should be considered in the optimal design of the treatment system. Increasing the porosity of the membrane for a given nanotube does not have a significant effect on the desalination rate, but it greatly increases the flow rate. The simulation results showed that if the geometry studied in this study is used as a filter for nanotubes (10, 10), the flow rate of water at a pressure of 100 MPa will be equal to 7 ml/s per unit cross-section of the filter.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2021

Drought is a natural event that causes water deficit in many countries every year. Arid and semi-... more Drought is a natural event that causes water deficit in many countries every year. Arid and semi-arid climate and inappropriate distribution of rain in terms of spatially and temporally has caused doubled increase of negative effects of water deficit in Iran. It is necessary to study drought phenomenon in order to plan and manage encountering with this phenomenon. In this research, the meteorological and hydrological drought situation of Doroud-Boroujerd basin was investigated using data from five meteorological stations and three hydrometric stations from 1987 to 2016. For this purpose, EDI drought meteorological index and RDI drought hydrological index with threshold discharges of Q70 and Q90 were used. The daily precipitation data were used to calculate EDI index and daily discharge data were used to determine RDI index. The results were assessed and compared on annual, monthly and regional scale. The results indicated the prevalence of normal and moderate droughts in most areas of the basin. Moreover, it was found that the EDI index is less sensitive to the length of the statistical period and has logical time changes; hence, it has the capability required for use in drought monitoring system. This index determined 2012 as the driest year. In addition, RDI index showed 1991 as the driest year in both discharge cases, Q70 and Q90 threshold.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2021

Increased water pollution has become an important environmental problem due to the discharge of u... more Increased water pollution has become an important environmental problem due to the discharge of urban and industrial wastewater into water resources that contain heavy metals and other pollutants. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Activated Gamma Alumina (AGA) in the removal of lead and chromium (VI) from water, for the synthesis of which, aluminum hydrate has been used. Aluminum hydrate was exposed to 700 °C and converted to gamma alumina. The effect of variables such as pH, contact time, adsorbent dose and initial concentration of pollutants that are effective in removing lead (II) and chromium (VI) also investigated. The maximum removal efficiency of lead and chromium (VI) removal was obtained by Activated Gamma Alumina at a dose of 1 g/L, pH equivalent of 8 for lead and equivalent of 3 for chromium (VI), initial lead and chromium (VI) concentration 20 mg/L and contact time 60 min. Also, the study of absorption isotherm and kinetic model showed that the data of the elimination process are correlated with Langmuir model (Lead: R2 = 0.9805 and Chromium: R2 =0.9865) and kinetic of the pseudo-second-order models (Lead R2=0.9914 and Chromium R2=0.9536). The maximum adsorption capacity for lead and chromium (VI) obtained 27.78 and 30.77 mg/g, respectively. According to the results obtained in this study, the AGA adsorbent has a high ability to remove lead and chromium (VI) and can be recommended as a cheap adsorbent for the filtration of lead and chromium contaminated backwater.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2021

Reference evapotranspiration is one the most important climatic parameters to determine crop wate... more Reference evapotranspiration is one the most important climatic parameters to determine crop water requirement, climatic and hydrological studies and water resources management. The aim of this study was spatial estimating and zoning of reference evapotranspiration using the MODIS sensor images performed for Sefidroud basin. For this purpose, among the MODIS sensor products, Land Surface Temperature was selected and based on that, daily values of maximum and minimum air temperatures were modeled for studied area using Multiple Linear Regression and non-linear model of Support Vector Machines-based. Then, map of reference evapotranspiration zoning was prepared for studied area using Hargreaves-Samani method. Afterwards, by developing a linear regression model, the extracted reference evapotranspiration from Hargreaves-Samani method was converted to the FAO-Penman-Monteith method and based on that, map of reference evapotranspiration zoning on the basis of the FAO-Penman-Monteith method was extracted for the study area. Based on performed analyses, Support Vector Machine and Multiple Linear Regression models were selected to model minimum and maximum air temperatures, respectively and by applying cross validation method, the adjusted coefficient of determination for these models obtained was 0.81 and 0.92. The results showed that it is possible to make spatial estimation of reference evapotranspiration with an appropriate accuracy by considering an algorithm on the basis of combining satellite-based Land Surface Temperatures and statistical models. Zoning of reference evapotranspiration for any region can be extracted by only having some meteorological data in few point stations and by utilization from the satellite-extracted Land Surface Temperatures.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2021

Biological uptake nickel by living, inactive, microbial or plant-derived biomass is an alternativ... more Biological uptake nickel by living, inactive, microbial or plant-derived biomass is an alternative and innovative technology to remove this contaminat from aqueous solutions. It has high adsorbency and readsorption capacity. In this study, with the aim of introducing different types of microbial and plant-derived biological adsorbents in order to remove nickel from aqueous solution and revealing the adsorption capacity of each adsorbent, articles published between 2001 and 2020 were used. The results of research works performed were used to compare the adsorption capacity of microbial and plant-derived biosorbents to remove nickel from aqueous solution. Studies showed that the skin uptake capacity of grapefruit with 95% is more favorable than other plant derivatives. Curtobacterium sp also has the best performance with 100% adsorption capacity among microbial biosorbents. Research showed that the use of these biomasses, as a biological adsorbent, for the removal of nickel in aqueous solution is a promising and environmentally friendly prospect.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2021

Strategic planning and management is one of the most important factors of management systems in a... more Strategic planning and management is one of the most important factors of management systems in an organization. The purpose of this study was to plan, develop and prioritize the environmental management strategies of Anzali International Wetland for sustainable development. For this purpose, at the first listing and determining internal and external factors were done using questionnaires and Likert scale. Then SWOT analysis and quantitative strategic planning matrix (QSPM) were used. The current strategic position of the environmental management of Anzali Wetland was recognized as defensive. Defensive strategies were prioritized according to the results of the QSPM matrix. The most important defensive strategies were attention to participatory planning, communication and regional cooperation in order to protect the ecological and economic services of the wetland with a score of 5.368 followed by improving and upgrading the integrated system of comprehensive management of the wetland with a score of 5.198. Strategic planning and management in Anzali Wetland can lead to optimal resource management and adoption of appropriate environmental policies in order to protect this wetland.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2021

In recent years, due to limited water resources in Malayer plain, irrigation methods are changing... more In recent years, due to limited water resources in Malayer plain, irrigation methods are changing from surface to under pressure. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in soil quality due to changes in irrigation methods. For this purpose, 14 farms and 2 orchards equipped with sprinkler and drip irrigation system were selected and their soil quality changes compared with the corresponding values before implementation were evaluated by Mann-Whitney statistical test. Soil quality parameters included acidity (pH), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), organic matter (C), electrical conductivity of solutes (ECe) and potassium (K). The zoning map of the studied quality parameters was also prepared using ArcGIS software before and after the implementation of pressurized irrigation systems. The results showed that the difference between the values of the studied parameters before and after the implementation of pressurized irrigation systems including ECe, pH and C were non-significant at the level of 5% probability and the changes of P, K and N were significant. The results of measuring the qualitative parameters showed an increase in the mean values of pH, N, P and C from 7.72 to 7.80, 0.067 to 0.121 mg/kg, 11.01 to 17.95 mg/kg and 0.68 to 0.80%, respectively, compared with before the implementation of pressurized irrigation systems. However, ECe and K values of field soils decreased from 1.06 to 0.53 dS/m and 255.1 to 156 mg/kg, respectively. The results showed that changing the irrigation method reduced potassium and increased soil phosphorus and nitrogen.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2021

In this research, a numerical model was developed to simulate dam break flow in the presence of o... more In this research, a numerical model was developed to simulate dam break flow in the presence of obstacles. The proposed model approximated the equations of moderately shallow water averaged at the finite volume method by implicit semi-Lagrangian method and the explicit and four-steps Runge-Kutta method with the fourth order accuracy was used to departure point determination. Radiation boundary conditions was applied to open boundaries and the model calculated the wet/dry boundary automatically. To demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed model, first, the solution obtained by this model was compared with analytical solution of dam break problem. Results were in good agreement with analytical solution. Then, the modeling results of dam break flow, in the presence of a square obstacle and four square obstacles, was compared with other researcher numerical model results. Finally, modelling results of dam break flow through an idealized city (a square city layout of 5×5 buildings) were investigated. In each experiment, the obstacles were non submerged and aligned with the approach flow direction. The results showed that the developed model had an acceptable accuracy at transient flow simulation in complex geometries and could appropriately predict the waves height and waves celerity caused by a dam break event in the presence of obstacles.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2021

The purpose of this study was to determine the concentration of heavy metals (Pb, Ni, Cr and V) i... more The purpose of this study was to determine the concentration of heavy metals (Pb, Ni, Cr and V) in soil and evaluate the potential environmental risk of heavy metals in the surface soils of Assaluyeh-Bandar Abbas gas condensates pipeline base. For this purpose, 10 stations were randomly selected in a longitudinal transect and soil sampling was performed. Acid digestion of samples was performed and after their filteration, the concentration of each heavy metal was measured using atomic absorption spectroscopy thriugh calibration solutions. According to the results obtained, the mean concentrations of pb, Ni, Cr and V heavy metals in the study area were be 7.4±1.4, 42.5±2.4, 53.6±5.9 and 19.7± 2.5 mg/kg, respectively. As the findings of this work were all in the permissible level provided in national environmental standards, it was proved that the construction of the pipeline did not result in heavy metal contamination in the environment. However, human activities may have increased the concentration of metals. In this study, significant correlations were observed between Pb and V (P<0.01) and Cr and V (P<0.05) and also between Ni and Cr (P<0.05). The results of calculating geoaccumulation (Igeo), modified concentration degree (mCd) and potential ecological risk indices showed that the soils of studied areas were as unpolluted soil, very low pollution and low potential ecological risk categories, respectively.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2021

Oil contaminated soil is a vital threat to the environment. The aim of the present research was t... more Oil contaminated soil is a vital threat to the environment. The aim of the present research was to investigate the total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH), and heavy metals of nickel and vanadium reduction using Prosopis juliflora, under different treatments of biochar and compost in pots. One-year-old P. juliflora seedlings were planted in pots containing oil sludge. The pots included 1 and 2% of compost and biochar. Furthermore, two control treatments including with and without P. juliflora were used for the study. This study was conducted in the complete randomized plot sampling with three replications. After six months, soil samples were taken from the pots and transferred to the laboratory. Then, the concentration of TPH, nickel, and vanadium was determined. The results indicated that the least TPH belonged to the compost 2% treatment (10.63 ppm), which was significantly different compared with other studied treatments. The highest value belonged to the control treatment without P. juliflora (22.57 ppm). The highest value of vanadium belonged to the control treatment (69.50 mg/kg). Compost 2% had the least values of vanadium (47.66 mg/kg). Comparison between treatments showed no significant differences among compost 1% (117.17 mg/kg), compost 2% (118.00 mg/kg), and biochar 2% (116.67 mg/kg). The highest reduction of nickel was observed within the mentioned treatments. Therefore, using biochar and compost can improve the phytoremediation capacity of P. juliflora.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2021

In order to determine the amount of irrigation water, it is required to calculate the amount of t... more In order to determine the amount of irrigation water, it is required to calculate the amount of the plant water requirement or evapotranspiration. The equations used to calculate evapotranspiration do not use the same climatic parameters and are not suitable for all climatic conditions due to their experimental nature. Potential evapotranspiration (ETp) and reference evapotranspiration (ETo) are different in concepts, equations, and contexts; however, many researchers have considered the use of the two terms to be the same. This study provided a comprehensive review of the ETp and ETo equations. In this regard, using meteorological data of synoptic station and lysimetric information of the region, reference and potential evapotranspiration were compared and studied based on four experimental groups during 4 years. The equations were calibrated using statistical indicators to select the most ideal model. The results showed that the evapotranspiration potential and the reference are completely different from each other, so that in the same method of the temperature equations of ETo and ETp, the RMSE calculated was 1.17 and 1.1, mm/day, respectively. According to the studies from the ETo and ETo, the temperature group equations had the best performance, showing the superiority of this group of equations in areas with arid and semi-arid climate.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2021

Restaurants and kitchens release large amounts of wastewater into the environment on a daily basi... more Restaurants and kitchens release large amounts of wastewater into the environment on a daily basis. Upstream anaerobic sludge bed system (UASB) can be effective in the treatment of this type of wastewater due to its advantages. In this method, granulated sludge, large molecules of oil, fat and detergents in wastewater are converted to biogas under anaerobic conditions. Therefore, the performance of the UASB in removing of COD and fat from wastewater of restaurant was investigated with 1925 and 225 mg/lit, respectively, COD and fat was investigated. The results show that the UASB wastewater treatment system is able to remove 78% of wastewater COD at temperature of 25 ℃ and a hydraulic residence time of nine hours. In addition, the effect of temperature and hydraulic residence time on the performance of the UASB system was investigated. The results show that with increasing temperature, the percentage of COD removal first increases and then decreases, so that at 40 ℃, 84% of COD wastewater is removed. Also, by increasing the hydraulic retention time to one day, the highest percentage of COD removal, i.e., 92.5%, was obtained at 40 ℃. The optimal treatment conditions for this type of wastewater in the UASB system, are this condition, and also the UASB system can be removed fat and nitrate 96.5 and 90%, respectively. In addition, the performance of the activated sludge aerobic treatment system was investigated and the results show the maximum removal of COD is 53.5%.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2021

Economic growth contributes to better health and better health to economic growth, Considering th... more Economic growth contributes to better health and better health to economic growth, Considering the effects of environmental pollution on the health of people in the community and its costs, it is expected that by improving the quality of the environment, on the one hand, the costs saved in the health sector will be used for investment and production growth, On the other hand, by improving the level of health in society, productivity will increase, which can be a stimulus for more production. Therefore, in this study, the relationship between environmental pollution, health expenditure (HE) and economic growth (Y) in Southeast Asian countries from 1990 to 2019 using long-term and short-term analytical method of combined group average estimator or PMG has been investigated. The panel unit root test and determine the degree of co-integration model variables 1 and the panel co-integration test and concluded that a long-term relationship between the co-integration model variables there, Model estimation showed that only economic growth with a coefficient of 1.336 has a positive and long-term effect on HE, which means that a unit of change in economic growth increases and changes health costs by 1.336 in the same direction. According to the principles, the quality of the environment had an inverse and significant relationship with health costs, Coefficient of 0.848 indicates the impact of health costs on this variable.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate the trend of hydro-climatic variables, detect the oc... more The purpose of this study was to investigate the trend of hydro-climatic variables, detect the occurrence of climate change and subscale the climatic variables during future periods and evaluate the intensity and magnitude of future floods. The trend of hydroclimatic variables was first investigated using Mann-Kendall and Sen tests. Then, the output data of maximum temperature, minimum temperature and precipitation of CANESM2 general circulation model were sub-scaled under RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 climate change scenarios using SDSM 4.2.9 model. Later, HEC-HMS model was used to evaluate the intensity and magnitude of events in the Emameh watershed in future periods. The results showed that 20.8 and 14.6% of the maximum temperature and minimum temperature series had a significant upward trend. While 5.5% of the rainfall time series had a significant upward trend. Therefore, unlike the temperature variable, the monthly precipitation variable did not have a definite trend during the observation period as in future periods, in some months it showed an increasing trend and in some months it showed a decreasing trend. However, the maximum and minimum temperatures under the diffusion scenarios increased in the following periods. The peak flow and volume of the simulated floods, under the most severe events in each period, was significantly smaller for future periods than for the observation period. Comparison of the most severe events with each other in different periods showed an increase in the volume and magnitude of the flood in the RCP2.6 scenario compared with RCP8.5. Therefore, in the context of climate change, the number of floods and their destructive power has increased and managers and planners are recommended to pay attention to this, especially in urban areas.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2021

The aim of this study was to investigate the quality of wastewater and to determine the concentra... more The aim of this study was to investigate the quality of wastewater and to determine the concentration of heavy elements. For this purpose, wastewater samples were collected before and after four wastewater treatment systems in the villages around Zarand named Dehmilan, Hatkan, Sarbagh and Sekukan, each in 10 stages and at one-week intervals; a total of 80 samples were prepared. Different parameters including BOD, COD, TOC, EC, TSS, TDS, DO, TKN, TP, pH, Temperature, turbidity, and alkalinity and also the concentrations of Cd, Zn, Pb, Ni and Mo were measured using the standard methods and were compared with the permissible concentration of Iran Department of Environment. The results showed that after treatment in all the studied systems, the concentrations of Cd and Pb were reduced from 17.5 and 37.4 to 0.5 and 60.0%, respectively, whereas the concentration of Ni increased 8.7-59.7%. The amount of BOD and COD in the effluent of most of the studied treatment systems were up to 283.9 and 271.3% higher than the permissible levels, respectively. Furthermore, in all the treatment plants except Dehmilan, TSS decreased to less than the permissible level. Moreover, in comparison with the standard levels, the amount of TP and DO increased while pH and turbidity decreased. In the effluent of all treatment plants, the concentrations of Cd, Zn, Pb and Ni were less than the permissible limits (up to a maximum of 58.0, 82.4, 97.7 and 85.2%, respectively), whereas the concentration of Mo was higher than the permissible level.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2021

One of the problems of watershed erosion control is the lack of sediment data to accurately estim... more One of the problems of watershed erosion control is the lack of sediment data to accurately estimate erosion and sediment yield. Sediment estimation using empirical models is common due to its ease of use, which has somewhat remedied the lack of statistical data, but it is essential to ensure the accuracy of models. To evaluate the efficiency of MPSIAC model in Zaribar watershed, a number of sediment check-dams that were at least ten years old, were selected. After determining the depth of sediments and preparing a map using surfer software, the volume of sediments in check-dam reservoirs was calculated and the results with the estimated sediment of the hydrological unit upstream of the check-dams obtained using the MPSIAC model, were compared. The results indicated that the average of observed data of ten selected hydrological units was 0.38, the minimum sediment was 0.03 and the maximum sediment was 1.18 m3/ha.yr. The estimated amount of sediment in the model is an average of 2.02, a minimum of 0.61 and a maximum of 2.96 m3/ha.yr. The results of analysis of both methods using paired t-test showed that the difference between the means for the sedimentation values estimated using the model with the measured values at the level of 5% is not significant. Also, determining the efficiency and RMSE showed that the MPSIAC model is not suitable in study area.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2021

Accurate estimation of dam lake evaporation is of great importance in reservoir water management.... more Accurate estimation of dam lake evaporation is of great importance in reservoir water management. This factor has led to the installation of meteorological stations in most dams. At the meteorological station, the rate of evaporation from the lake surface is measured using an evaporation pan. Remote sensing methods are cost effective and can be generalized to the whole area. In this study, the daily evaporation rate from the surface of Suleiman Shah Lake was calculated using a combination of SEBAL algorithm and meteorological data and using five Landsat 8 satellite images. The obtained results were compared with the evaporation rate obtained from different methods. The results showed that among the combined methods, Penman Kimberly 1996 method, among other methods, Blanche-Kridel method had the highest agreement and Hafner method had the least agreement with the measured data indicated with R2, RMSE and MAE equal to 0.96, 2.78 and 5.66, respectively. The results of this study can be used to estimate evaporation in other regions with similar climates.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2021

To prevent the occurrence of floods, it is necessary to identify areas having high potential for ... more To prevent the occurrence of floods, it is necessary to identify areas having high potential for this phenomenon. The aim of this research was to estimate runoff coefficient, understanding the effective factors in flooding, and the flood hazard of Arasbaran forests (Sotanchai basin). For this purpose, first, the required data, including the maximum daily precipitation, soil, slope, land use, vegetation density and drainage density layers, were prepared in geographic information system (GIS) environment. In the following using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method, an effective weight was assigned to each of the six factors influencing the flood hazard of the basin. Through applying the weight of each layer and combining it, the flood hazard zonation map of the basin was prepared with different return periods (10, 25, 50, and 100 years). The results showed that 15 - 19% of the basin area had a medium flood potential during the period of 10 to 100 years and 1-13% had a high flood hazard. During the 10- and 25-year return periods, no area of the basin was in the flood hazard category, but in the 50- and 100-year return periods, 0.32 and 0.96% of the basin area were in the very high flood hazard category, respectively. Generally, it can be concluded that due to good forest density and vegetation, flood hazard was low in the region, instead areas with high flood hazard were located in areas, where forests have been destroyed.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2021

Emphasis on water resources based on adaptation to water scarcity makes production adaptable to c... more Emphasis on water resources based on adaptation to water scarcity makes production adaptable to climate conditions. In this study, after identifying the educational resources, the educational needs of greenhouse owners were determined prioritized with reference to water scarcity conditions. For the educational needs assessment, three-dimensional model and Delphi method were applied. Data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation indices and Kolmogorov and Smirnov, one-sample t, one-sample Sign, Kruskal-Wallis, and Yumen-Whitney tests. The findings of this study showed that the operating status of irrigation systems from the three perspectives of "greenhouse owners", "experts" and "trainers" were 4.34±0.95, 2.83±1.04 and 2.86±0.64 (out of 5 points), respectively. The status of exploitation of educational resources from the three points of view were 2.26±1.23, 2.46±0.99 and 2.56±1.10 (out of 5 points), respectively. Moreover, the knowledge and skills of greenhouse owners regarding educational needs from the three perspectives were 3.61±0.9, 2.50±1.09 and 2.48±0.9 (out of 5 points), respectively. Evaluations showed that greenhouse owners are not aware of the principles of proper operation of irrigation systems and do not have sufficient knowledge and skills regarding educational needs. It is necessary to change the content and use of educational resources according to the greenhouse owner's conditions and interests. In addition, the most important educational needs of greenhouses owners based on the three views were "time management of different stages of irrigation", "how to use irrigation systems" and "introduction of different irrigation systems and their disadvantages and benefits".

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2021

The proper combination of cutoff time and lengths of border are among the criteria for high effic... more The proper combination of cutoff time and lengths of border are among the criteria for high efficiency in surface irrigation. The objective of this study was to determine cutoff time and the optimal distance and flowrate in closed-ended border systems. The basic assumption in this method is that the point along the field, where the lowest water depth permeates should receive water equal to the required depth. For this purpose, the data applied were consisted of 18 vegetated and non-vegetated borders, and bed slope of 0.001 to 0.005, Maning's roughness of 0.017-0.211, border length of 100 m and flow rate range from 0.08 to 0.16 m3/min.m. After determining the cut-off time, the application efficiency obtained using the method presented in this study was compared with zero inertia (WinSRFR 4.1) model. The highest similarity of results was observed in closed end border for R-6, R-13, R-14 and R-17 border with 0% difference and the highest difference was for R-1 border with 8.67% difference in efficiency. Maximum efficiency was obtained in some border with decreasing length and in some border with increasing length. Generally, it can be concluded that the application efficiency obtained from both methods was close to each other.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2021

Among different industries in each country, tourism industry is directly related to the environme... more Among different industries in each country, tourism industry is directly related to the environment. Tourism is not a clean and non- destructive industry, so that tourists’ behaviors in addition to positive effects can also have many negative consequences on the environment. The purpose of this study was to analyze factors affecting environmental behavior of tourists in Susan Plain, Izeh county. Statistical population of the study consisted of tourists traveled to Susan Plain during Nowruz Holidays in 2019. The sample size was determined by available sample and they were randomly selected (n=150). The research tool was a questionnaire, which its validity was verified by a panel of academics and its reliability was approved through Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The data were analyzed by SPSS (Ver. 22) and LISREL (Ver. 8.80) software. The results showed that variables of environmental knowledge, attitude, and values had positive and significant correlation with variable of environmental behaviors. Furthermore, according to the results, variables of environmental knowledge, attitude, and values could describe 83% of tourists’ environmental behavior changes. As a recommendation, it is worthwhile to use environmental topics in the textbooks from primary school to university.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2020

In order to increase water productivity at farm level and smart irrigation, appropriate systems a... more In order to increase water productivity at farm level and smart irrigation, appropriate systems are essential so that can measure the moisture content in a proper and acceptable accuracy. In this regard, the wetting front device was made at the Soil and Water Research Institute and was evaluated in 3 textures: light, medium, and heavy at 3 levels of water salinity: no salinity (S0), 5(S1), and 10 (S2) dS/m. Then, to evaluate and measure the device in the mentioned conditions, it was tried to simultaneously measure the device numbers and soil sampling at certain depths at intervals of 24 h. After collecting data on the time of arrival of the moisture front to the soil depth and changes in soil moisture, statistical analysis was performed by soil sampling and soil detection device. The results showed that the device reacts in different textures and salinities. Moreover, the sensitivity of its sensors to sudden changes in soil moisture due to the arrival of the moisture front to a certain depth of soil has acceptable accuracy. Statistical results showed that the device has about 6 to 9% normal error in determining soil moisture in non-saline conditions, 28 to 41% in terms of using water with salinity of 5 dS/m, and 31-37% when a water with salinity of 10 dS/m was used. The model efficiency index also showed that the device is very useful in non-saline conditions with an average efficiency of 0.75 and is not recommended in saline conditions with negative efficiency index.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2020

In this study, 18 surface and groundwater samples and 5 wastewater samples were analyzed to asses... more In this study, 18 surface and groundwater samples and 5 wastewater samples were analyzed to assess water recourses and wastewater quality at Shahid Hashemi Nezhad Gas Refinery region in terms of corrosion and scaling. The parameters measured were pH, EC, temperature, and concentration of major ions, including K+, Na +, Ca2+, Mg2+, SO42, Cl, HCO3- and CO32,. Majority of the water samples showed Na+- SO42- and Na+-Cl- type and face by Piper diagram. To assess corrosion and scaling of the samples, various indices were calculated including LSI, RSI, PSI, AI and S&DSI for CaCO3 deposition, and L&SI and Skillman for sulfates deposition especially CaSO4. The results showed most of the water samples had scale forming due to high hardness and alkalinity, and the wastewater samples were often corrosive and therefore, all of the samples did not have favorable quality for industrial uses. The results of hydrogeochemical studies indicated evaporation, evaporative minerals such as gypsum and anhydrite in the water flow path, carbonate formations and their dissolution were the most important parameters in controlling ionic content of the water resources.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2020

In order to protect the bank and prevent their erosion spur dike is used. Importance of these str... more In order to protect the bank and prevent their erosion spur dike is used. Importance of these structures in the bend is more, because of secondary flows and consequently bank erosion. In this paper the flow pattern around series of vertical spure dikes in the 90° bend is investigated by a 3D RANS solver. In order to simulate the complex behavior of free surface and turbulent flow the volume of fluid method and realizable k-ɛ closure have been used, respectively. Two lengths spure dike (equal to 15 and 25 percent of width), two spacing (3 and 5 three times the length) and two depths (3 and 5cm) in constant discharge 25 lit/s in the mild bend flume with width 0.7m and depth 0.12 m has been examined. Comparison among the results with experimental data shows good agreement among them. Also, the results illustrate spure dike deviations maximum velocity to the inner bank in entrance of bend and then deviations to the middle flume. Increasing the length of the spure dikes increases the velocity but it has no effect on the location of the maximum velocity as in all arrangement occurrence in 71 to 81 degree of bend. In the case of shear stress, the maximum value is in the range of 71 to 81˚.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2020

In this study, the effect of climate change on temperature and rainfall data in the Kermanshah Sa... more In this study, the effect of climate change on temperature and rainfall data in the Kermanshah Sanjabi basin was investigated. For this purpose, using climate and temperature data from 1979-2005 (observation period), the values of these variables in 2041-2100 (forecast period) were predicted under three scenarios RCP8.5, RCP4.5 and RCP2.6 and CanESM2 atmospheric general circulation model. The SDSM model was used to fine-tune the survey data in the study area. The results showed that the mean annual precipitation, maximum and minimum annual temperatures in the squared Ravansar basin will increase in the forecast period of 2041-2100. The most predicted values of these variables belong to the RCP8.5 scenario so that according to this scenario, the average increase in precipitation in December, in the forecast periods 2041-2070 and 2071 2100 is 153 and 159.6%, respectively, compared with the average rainfall in the observation period. Based on the results of this study, it is expected that in order to properly manage the water resources of the RWC due to the impact of climate change, a proper perspective on the future status of water resources in the watershed will be presented to water resource managers in the future.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2020

Treatment of municipal wastewater and its proper disposal is one of the most critical needs for u... more Treatment of municipal wastewater and its proper disposal is one of the most critical needs for urban services. Stabilization pond method is one of the simplified methods, low cost, and easy maintenance and operation. For evaluation of the Qorveh County Wastewater Treatment Plant, 54 samples were taken from the raw wastewater and the effluent in winter and spring seasons and 12 factors including: BOD, COD, TDS, TSS, pH, TC, FC, temperature, phosphate, nitrate, ammonia and the inlet and outlet turbidity of wastewater were measured according to Standard Methods. ANOVA and t-Test were used to analyze the data and to compare them with the national standards. The results showed that removal efficiency of BOD, COD, TSS, TDS, TC, FC, nitrate, phosphate and ammonia by Qorveh treatment plant were 81.56, 82.44, 70.81, 24.12, 99.91, 92.23,79.34, 56.51, and 96.16% respectively. The results of ANOVA aslso showed that the treatment plant performance was not affected by the season change. Comparing the amount of parameters with discharge standard determined that the values of BOD, COD, TSS, TDS, TC, and FC were higher than the standard and the effluent could not be discharged into surface waters. Based on the grey water reuse for agricultural purposes, although all parameters except biological parameters were lower than the permitted level, the reuse of this wastewater without disinfection and supplementary purification is not possible due to the sensitivity and importance of health of agricultural products.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2020

In this study, in order to simulate the current climate (1970-2016) for calculating the drought i... more In this study, in order to simulate the current climate (1970-2016) for calculating the drought index in Fars Province, the data used include daily rainfall, minimum temperature, maximum temperature, and sunny hours at Shiraz station in a period of 46 years (1970-2016) as the entry for the LARS-WG statistical model. To simulate the climatic parameters at the Shiraz station basin, the data of HADCM3 model were downscaled using WG-LARS model under two scenarios A2 and A1B. The results showed that the average annual rainfall will increase under A2 scenario by about 1.5% and under A1B scenario by about 5.5%. Moreover, sunshine hours in the study period will be reduced under both scenarios. With high precision, the model could simulate maximum temperature, minimum temperature, and radiation parameters, but more error in simulating was presented in the precipitation parameter than other parameters. The highest increase, with about 80%, was due in September under scenario A2, which occurred in the upcoming period of the study period. Based on the SPI drought index, the most severe droughts occurred in 2008 in Shiraz station showing an index value of -2.89. Moreover, SPI shows that the most precipitation was recorded in 1995 with an index value of 1.91.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2020

Today, the phenomenon of flooding is one of the most complex hazardous events that, more than any... more Today, the phenomenon of flooding is one of the most complex hazardous events that, more than any other natural disaster, causes deaths and finances every year in different parts of the world. Therefore, flood susceptibility mapping is the first step in a flood management program. The purpose of this study was to identify flood susceptible areas using two methods of random forest (RF) and Bayesian generalized linear model (GLMbayesian) machine learning in the Tajan watershed in Mazandaran province, Sari. Past flood distribution maps were prepared to predict future floods. Of the 263 flood locations, 80% (210 flood locations) was used for modeling and 20% (53 flood locations) was used for validation. Based on previous studies and surveying of the study area, 13 conditional factors were selected for flood zoning. The results showed that three factors of elevation (21.55), distance from the river (15.28) and slope (11.18) had the highest impact on flood occurrence in the study area, respectively. The results also showed that the AUC values for RF and GLMbayesian models were 0.91 and 0.847, respectively, indicating the superiority of the RF model and the accuracy of this model in flood susceptibility mapping in the study area. The highest flood susceptibility area in the RF model is in the very low class and the high class in the GLMbayesian model.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2020

Investigating the Reduction of Odorous Agents from Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants by Biofi... more Investigating the Reduction of Odorous Agents from Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants by Biofiltration

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2020

The purpose of this research was to analyze the quantitative changes and statistical comparison o... more The purpose of this research was to analyze the quantitative changes and statistical comparison of the hydrological river flow indices due to dam construction in the upstream and downstream hydrometric stations during 2004-2013 period at the Ardabil Province. For this purpose, the flow duration curve (FDC) and 30 hydrologic indicators in the upper and lower stations of Yamchi Dam were calculated. The statistical analysis was performed against calculated indices using paired t-test and FDC analysis. According to the results, the mean high-water discharge in Nir (upstream) and Poleh Almas (downstream) stations was calculated to be equal 1.43 and 1.73 m3/s, indicating no significant differences between these stations in term of high-water discharge. Therefore, the maximum and minimum flow and discharge rates of 5, 85, 90, 95 exceedance probabilities and Q90/Q50, slope, standard deviation and Lane Index had significant difference under the effect of dam construction and the mean discharge was reduced. Moreover, indicators of zero discharge, zero percent, low flow, high flow, normal, median, mode, 25, 35, 45, 50, 65, 75, 85 exceedance percent and discharge of Q90/Q50 experienced a significant difference. The results showed that the river regime discharge in Pole-Almas station is affected by the Yamchi Dam and the average discharge had reduced. In addition, there is a significant difference between hydrological indicators of minimum and maximum discharge and FDCs at studied stations. Therefore, evaluating the changes in river regimes provides the possibility of making sound management decisions in river flow utilization.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2020

This study presents the preparation, characterization, and performance evaluation of antifouling ... more This study presents the preparation, characterization, and performance evaluation of antifouling mixed matrix microfiltration membranes. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the influences of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as nanofiller on the fabrication of polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) mixed matrix membrane prepared via the phase inversion method. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images displayed that the pore size and porosity of the prepared membranes was increased by adding the MOF. By adding 0.3 wt% of the MOF, the pure water flux was maximized to be 1525.37 kg/ m2.h, which was owing to the excellent permeability of the MOF/PVDF membrane during the long-term filtration in cross flow setup. The flux recovery ratio (FRR) was also increased up to 80%. In order to assess antifouling performance of the modified membrane, the fouling parameters was evaluated using the effluent from the jet loop-airlift reactor with the turbidity of 11 NTU as a fouling factor. The 0.3 wt.% TMU-5 MOFs/PVDF membrane showed the high hydrophilicity with contact angle of 66.93° and the lowest irreversible fouling resistance (Rir) value of 4.55%. As a conclusion, the MOF/PVDF membranes represented good selectivity and antifouling properties during long-term microfiltration experiments.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2020

In recent years, over using of water, climate and land use changing in different river basins, ha... more In recent years, over using of water, climate and land use changing in different river basins, have had different impacts on the river flow, particularly low-flow. With respect to the extraction of the groundwater resources and its effect on event time and the length of this time, it is essential to study the low-flow in different stations. The purpose of this study was to investigate and determine the trend of spatio-temporal low-flow in selected hydrometric stations in Alborz south mountains basins. For this purpose, daily discharge data were collected for different hydrometeric stations within the study area and 39 stations were selected. Daily discharge of these stations were reconstructed with correlation method and outliers were eliminated. Then, the time series of 5, 7, 10, 15, 30, 60 days of stations were calculated. Basins were then clustered into two classes including plain and no plain. The trend of low flows was calculated using Mann Kendall, Teil-sen, and spearman tests. For each cluster, a regression relationship was established between the low flow trend and basin upstream area. Results showed that about 10 stations had no significant trend and other stations found have significant negative trend at 1, 5, 10% levels. Plain basins experienced lower negative low flow trends as the basin area increased, which could be attributed to the over extraction of groundwater resources, but in no plain basins direct correlation was obtained as area increased.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2020

The problem of population growth, changing people''''''''s eating habits, as well as the problem ... more The problem of population growth, changing people''''''''s eating habits, as well as the problem of waste disposal of and management have increased the volume of waste generated in residential centers. Today, how to dispose of, landfill site selection, and properly management of waste landfill, along with the lack of suitable land for this purpose, has become one of the environmental urban problems. Therefore, finding a suitable place for this purpose is one of the important goals of urban development projects to achieve sustainable development. Due to the lack of waste recycling equipment in Koohdasht town, the aim of this study was to find a suitable place for disposal of municipal waste with reference to the environmental considerations and sustainable development. For this purpose, a combined model of network analysis process (ANP) and linear weight combination (WLC) was used in ArcGIS 10.2 software considering 9 parameters: distance from the drainage network (river, waterway), fault, residential areas (city and village), communication lines, wells and springs, as well as geological layers, land use, height, and slope percentage. The results showed that the study area was divided into five classes in terms of fitness. In other words, 19% of the area under study was identified as suitable for municipal waste landfill. The zoning map also shows that fertile lands are designated as unsuitable areas, reflecting the accuracy of the model with terrestrial realities.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2020

Given the water crisis and the importance of access to suitable and potable quality water in the ... more Given the water crisis and the importance of access to suitable and potable quality water in the country, especially in recent decades, it is crucial to study the water quality and identify the factors affecting quality reduction for optimal planning. In most rural areas of Iran, aquifers are the most important sources of drinking water supply, whose water quality is affected by natural and human factors. Among the natural factors are geological formations and among human factors are pollutants related to industrial units, urban activities, and agricultural activities in each region. In the present study, it was attempted to establish a relationship between geology and the quality of groundwater resources in order to assess the quality of drinking water. In order to validate the research results, by conducting field studies, the geology, geomorphology of the region, and possible sources of contaminants were identified. Then, through laboratory tests, chemical properties of water such as pH, TDS, total hardness, amount of anions, cations and turbidity of the water of the main well of Arandan complex and three secondary water supply sources in the region (well of Arandan village, Cheshmeh Soofian spring, and Navareh spring) were determined. In the next step, using CHIMESTRY and EXCEL software, water classification was performed and the type of water and type of source stone were determined. According to the classification, the groundwater type of the area is calcium-magnesium bicarbonate, which is associated with calcareous formations and carbonate sediments spread in the heights of the area. The results showed that out of the four samples studied, the main water supply well of Arandan, Soofian and Navareh water supply complexes were suitable for drinking; the well water of Arandan village, despite being affected by the geology of the region, was found to be unsuitable for drinking due to its unfavorable location and location in the vicinity of rural sewage wells and containing excess nitrate.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2020

Unhygienic disposal of pesticide waste after use on the farm has very dangerous consequences for ... more Unhygienic disposal of pesticide waste after use on the farm has very dangerous consequences for the environment and agriculture. The purpose of the study was to analysis of factors affecting management behavior of rural wheat producers towards pesticide waste in Qorveh County. Statistical population of the research consisted of irrigated wheat producers (N= 1700). Sample size was determined 170 using the Cochran formula. Cases were selected through random proportional stratified sampling. The main research tool was a researcher-made questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by experts and its reliability was confirmed by citing Cronbach's alpha, CR and AVE coefficients. The findings of the structural equation model showed that there was a positive and significant relationship between farmers' knowledge and information resources and their attitudes toward the use of chemical pesticides. Besides, knowledge and attitude variables were able to explain 71% of the changes in wheat farmers' managerial behavior towards pesticide wastes.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2020

One of the problems of controlling erosion in catchment areas is the lack of statistical data to ... more One of the problems of controlling erosion in catchment areas is the lack of statistical data to accurately estimate the amount of sedimentation and erosion. In order to implement soil protection programs and determine methods to reduce sedimentation, it is necessary to estimate the total volume of annual sediment production. The purpose of this study was to estimate the erosion intensity and sedimentation rate of Babolroud catchment located in Mazandaran province with an area of 962 km2 and the variety of topography, lithology and vegetation using MPSIAC empirical model and to determine the accuracy of this model using Arc-GIS. In this method, the role of 9 factors affecting soil erosion were evaluated and depending on the severity and weakness of each factor, a score is attributed to it. Finally, considering the sum of the scores obtained for different factors, the sedimentation rate of the catchment was estimated. The results showed that, Babolroud catchment area with sedimentation rate of 166.469 m3/km2.y is located on the low zone of sedimentation. One of the causes is the presence of dense pastures and calcareous formations and rocks with medium to high hardness in most areas. Moreover, according to the results, the highest amount of erosion is in the northern part of the catchment. In order to evaluate the accuracy of the results obtained from the experimental model, the observed information of the two sedimentation stations was used and the results indicate a relative average difference of 21% in the MPSIAC model.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2020

Jajarm Plain in the province of North Khorasan is located, in terms of structural zoning, in the ... more Jajarm Plain in the province of North Khorasan is located, in terms of structural zoning, in the north of the central desert basin and in the south of the Alborz mountain range. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors influencing the evolutionary process of groundwater resources and hydrogeochemical characteristics of water resources of Jajarm plain. To achieve this goal, 20 water samples were taken from the plain wells and physical parameters such as pH, TDS, EC, and salinity were measured in situ using multimeter. In addition, the chemical properties of the surface water entering the plain were also evaluated. The hydrogeochemical analysis was carried out in the laboratory through induction plasma method, the statistical analysis and modeling were performed in Chemistry and AqQA software environment. According to the Piper chart, most of the groundwater in this plain was a part of the sodic and chloride type facies, and in some examples, the sodic facies and the sulfate type. Chemical analysis of water entering the aquifer of Jajarm plain showed that the sources of ions entering the plain of Jajarm were affected by the lithology of rocks and sediments that were exposed to weathering for a long time; hence, as the plain waters, due to the passage of the detrital evaporation formations of the third period (marl, salt gypsum, and marl limestone formation), have dissolved them and increased the ratio of Cl+ SO4> HCO. The results showed that the presence of rocks and minerals of carbonate (calcite), sulfate (gypsum) and silicate (tuff and detrital igneous rock) in the water passage has caused the scenarios of Ca>CO3 and Ca+Mg>CO3. Based on the calculations, it was found that the evolutionary trend of water samples in this plain, if not properly managed, will lead to the formation of SO₄>Mg ratio, which will probably lead to the formation of sodium carbonates and halites in the future, and also eventually rising EC and the emergence of saline in the Jajarm plain in the future.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2020

Land subsidence occurs more slowly and gradually in comparison with other natural hazards, such a... more Land subsidence occurs more slowly and gradually in comparison with other natural hazards, such as floods and earthquakes; therefore, it has received much less attention from human communities. However, the subsidence over time causes irreparable damage to the structure of underground aquifers, vital infrastructure such as roads, power lines, and urban structures. In this study, in order to monitor land subsidence in Chahardoli and Qorveh plains located in Hamadan and Kurdistan Provinces, the method of Permanent Scatterer (PS) was used using 59 images of Sentinel satellite in ascending passage and 58 images in descending passage. According to the average displacement of PSs in the region between Hassan Abad Emam and Ahutapeh villages of Asadabad city located in Chahardoli plain of Hamadan Province, displacement in the form of subsidence for Ahutapeh and Hassan Abad Emam villages respectively about -170 and -166 mm was happened in the time period of 2017-2018. Moreover, the research found that the subsidence in the northern part of Chahardoli plain in Hamadan Province is much more than the subsidence in the southern part of Chahardoli plain in Kurdistan Province. In order to find the cause of subsidence, the approach of examining the information of piezometric wells in the region and their changes over time was used. In this regard, it can be concluded that the land subsidence in Qorveh plain and Chahardoli plain of Hamadan and Kurdistan provinces can be attributed to the uncontrolled extraction of groundwater resources.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2020

Hydro-suction is an appropriate and economical method for dredging deposited sediment at reservoi... more Hydro-suction is an appropriate and economical method for dredging deposited sediment at reservoirs. In this study, a physical model was made and some experiments were designed to analyze the ranges of blockage depth in different hydraulic conditions. In the model, 80 tests were conducted using three diameters (d), three water heads (H) and different diving depths of pipe inlet (Z) from the sediment level to the blockage depth. In general, the results indicated that the more increase in the diving depth, the higher hydro-suction efficiency. In some of the experiments, a vortex flow was observed under the pipe inlet. The results indicated that the formed vortex flow have a positive effect on the hydro-suction efficiency. The results associated to the blockage depth approved that hydro-suction systems with larger pipe diameter and more water head have a greater blockage depth (Zb). The Froude number (Fr) analysis indicated that an increase in Fr would cause increment efficiency and blockage depth of hydro-suction system. Subject to a constant pipe diameter, the results revealed that increasing the H/d ratio equal to 66.66 and 133.33%, would enhance the Zb/d ratio equal to 58.89 and 112.22%, respectively.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2020

Water is a vital substance for human and water supply has become a crisis in many arid countries.... more Water is a vital substance for human and water supply has become a crisis in many arid countries. Due to arid and semi-arid climate of Iran, it has many challenges to supply fresh water. According to the urgent need for water and also the lack of water resources, it is a nessessity to implement the water management programs like recycle and reuse of runoffs in order to meet the water needs in agriculture and green space. Nowadays, use of concrete porous pavements in urban paths is increased significantly, and it can be used to reduce water pollution. Due to the usefulness of different adsorbents in reducing pollution, in this study the effect of replacing pumice, scria, zeolite and travertine adsorbents with volume percentages of 25, 50, 75 and 100% and metal sulfide nanoparticles with 1, 2, 3 and 4% with porous concrete aggregates on qualitative parameters in runoff have been investigated by Taguchi method. Experiments related to physical properties were performed in the concrete technology laboratory as well as tests related to qualitative parameters in the chemistry laboratory. In this study, three parameters of additive, volume percentage of additive and metal sulfide nanoparticles have been used. Finally, using Minitab and Excel software, the parameters and the effect of each of them in reducing pollution were investigated. The results showed that the greatest impact on reduction of pollution was the percentage of additive, type of additive and volume of nanoparticles, respectively. Finally, as a proposed concrete mix design that has the highest effect on pollution elimination, 75% of the volume fraction and 1% of the nanoparticle can be introduced.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2019

Due to its particular physical and chemical conditions, river estuary can affect the structure an... more Due to its particular physical and chemical conditions, river estuary can affect the structure and concentration of heavy metals present in river water at the time of mixing freshwater and seawater. The mixing of saline and fresh water plays an essential role in autopurification and sedimentation of heavy metals. In the present study, the autopurification of Cd, Co, Ni, Cr and Pb elements was assessed during mixing of Caspian Sea and Shafarood River freshwater in its estuary under laboratory conditions and through controlled potential reduction, pH, DO, and salinity. The rate of heavy metal flocculation at the estuary was Cd (62.2%)

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2019

Water supply is considered as water democracy. Sustainable water resources management has been ma... more Water supply is considered as water democracy. Sustainable water resources management has been manifested in response to growing pressures from population growth, socio-economic development, climate change, and ecological degradation. Despite the long history of water structure engineering in Iran, there is always a lack of sustainable water resources management framework, and recreation of hidden values of historic hydraulic structures. The purpose of this study was to compare the characteristics of the historic hydraulic structures of desert cities with water resources’sustainable management criteria and the importance of restoration, protection and recreation of this historical heritage. This is an inferential-comparative study. Information gathering tools were library studies, review of written literature, and documents. Study of the structure, performance and management system of the historical hydraulic structures of Yazd Desert City indicated that despite the weaknesses of traditional systems, these structures have been in great harmony with the sustainable management framework for water resources. Therefore, modeling and recreating the values and systems governing the structure and functioning of these structures as the most fundamental factors in explaining the thought and practice of social and ecological life can provide the basis for sustainability in all its dimensions.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2019

As groundwaters make an important part of the permanent rivers flow, their role in maintaining th... more As groundwaters make an important part of the permanent rivers flow, their role in maintaining the life of rivers and creating ecological balance in watershed can be determined by knowing the base flow contribution. Moreover, identification of runoff production processes is crucial for assessing the effects of climate change and landuse on the hydrologic response of the watershed. In the current study, the base water separation in Doroud watershed located in Lorestan province with 6 study areas was performed during a period from 1982 to 2011 using PART, one parameter recursive digital filter (Lyne -Hollick) and two parameters recursive digital filter (Eckhart) with filters value of 0.925, 0.95, 0.975, and 0.99. Then the results obtained by these methods were compared with those of BFI method. The comparisonshowed that Lyne -Hollick method with filter value of 0.975 was the best method to separate base water from direct runoff in Doroud watershed. In Bayatan watershed, Silakhor sub-watershed, Ab Sardeh sub-watershed, Sarab Sefid sub-watershed, and Gale Rood sub-watershed, the Eckhart's method with filter value of 0.975, Lyne -Hollick method with filter value of 0.975, PART and Lyne -Hollick method with filter value of 0.975, Lyne -Hollick method with filter value of 0.95, and Lyne -Hollick method with filter value of 0.925 were the suitable methods for hydrograph decomposition, respectively. Considering the results obtained by this study and having statistics of this watershed flow rate ona daily basis, the abovementioned methods can be used in future years for hydrograph decomposition.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2019

Rivers accumulate huge amounts of floating debris including the trunk, branches and leaves during... more Rivers accumulate huge amounts of floating debris including the trunk, branches and leaves during the floods, leading to increase the depth of local scour around bridge piers. A large number of the laboratorial and field studies have been performed to understand the mechanism of scouring phenomenon under floating debris. Over two past decades, different types of the artificial intelligence methods have been used to estimate the maximum scour depth around bridges piers. In this study, the Neuro-Fuzzy model based on group method data handling (NF-GMDH) was used to estimate the scour under effect of debris accumulations. The NF-GMDH network was developed using evolutional algorithms: genetic algorithm (GA), particle swarm optimization (PSO), and gravitational search algorithm (GSA). Parameters effective on the maximum scour depth included average velocity of upstream flow of the bridge pier, critical velocity of river bed sediments, depth of flow in section without debris, thickness of submerged debris, debris diameter, average particle size, pier diameter, and channel width. After training and experiencing each NF-GMDH models, the performances of each one was evaluated through statistical parameters. The results showed that the models proposed had better performance compared with emperical relationships. NF-GMDH-PSO (R=0.8413 and RMSE=0.37) and NF-GMDH-GA (R=0.8407 and RMSE=0.3640) had relatively similar performance. Finally, sensitivity analysis indicated that the ratio of pile diameter (D) to mean diameter of bed sediments (d50) has the most influence on determination of maximum scour depth.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2019

Berm breakwaters are reshaping rubble mound breakwaters, which as a result of impact with wave at... more Berm breakwaters are reshaping rubble mound breakwaters, which as a result of impact with wave attacks, the seaside profile of these breakwaters reach a stable condition after erosion and reshaping. Berm recession (Rec) is one of the most important parameters that should be controlled for designing a stable berm breakwater. Failure of a berm breakwater is typically defined when the berm recession exceeds the initial berm width. Based on experimental tests, the effect of sea state and structural parameters on berm recession was investigated in this study. The berm recession was recorded under different number of waves through performing 34 experiments. The results showed that a berm breakwater experiences more than appproximately 90% of its final recession during exposing to the first 3000 waves. In addition, rising the berm elevation had less effect on reducing the berm recession in comparison with both increasing the berm width and decreasing the water depth. On the other hand, increasing the berm width was the most effective parameter in controlling the berm recession. So that, 20% increase in the berm width had a greater effect on decreasing the berm recession, than 45% increase in the berm elevation. By the way, especially in the absence of suitable stone materials, increasing the berm elevation can be yet a good alternative in order to design a stable structure with simple construction activities.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2019

In irrigation management, the amount and quality of irrigation water is very important. Inappropr... more In irrigation management, the amount and quality of irrigation water is very important. Inappropriate water and soil quality will cause the plant to grow, destroy the soil structure and eventually reduce crop yield. In this study, according to the field measurement, the boundaries of the system were investigated, a conceptual model was developed to determine causal relationships, structural test, and the extent test used for the system dynamics method. Scenarios including water supply from Karkheh Dam and wells of the region as well as crop pattern were evaluated and selected. The conceptual model was based on five sub-models: water demand, water supply, environmental stresses, water economy and environment. The results showed that the use of Karkheh Dam water of 160 million cubic meters and the extraction of 90 million cubic meters of the plain aquifer will keep the groundwater level at a distance of 10 meters from the soil surface and will supress the problem of rising groundwater level. In crop pattern scenarios, the model results were the use of crop pattern with emphasis on increasing forage and beet levels to prevent drainage.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2019

Soil characteristics have spatial variations. Understanding spatial variations of soil characteri... more Soil characteristics have spatial variations. Understanding spatial variations of soil characteristics is among the effective factors in sustainable land management. A better understanding the effects of management factors on soil characteristics need to quantify their heterogeneity and variability. This research was conducted with the aim of investigating spatial variations of some soil characteristics such as soil texture (clay, silt and sand), calcium carbonate (CaCo3), soil acidity (pH), and soil salinity using geostatistic methods. For this purpose, 252 soil samples (from 0 to 20 cm depth) were prepared from the study area and physical and chemical properties of soil were measured. After normalizing the data, the half-shift of each of the studied characteristics was calculated and the best model was fitted to them. Then, the characteristics of the study were estimated through different methods of conventional Kriging, simple Kriging, discrete Kriging and Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) using ArcGIS software. The accuracy of the estimation was evaluated using the mean absolute error (MAE), the mean bias error (MBE), and the root mean square error (RMSE). The results showed that the best model for the acidity was the spherical model and for the other measured variables was the exponential model. Moreover, the conventional CoKriging method for clay, calcium carbonate and acidity (pH), IDW method for silt and soil salinity, and conventional Kriging method for sand were better than other methods used and provided more accurate estimates.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2019

Sustainable agriculture requires identification and development of scientific methods that have a... more Sustainable agriculture requires identification and development of scientific methods that have an important role in optimizing water use, employment and income, community health, and non-oil exports. Significant economical and therapeutic value, market demand and high processing level of medical plants have caused the daily increasing growth of these plants around the world. Considering the climatic and geographical conditions in Iran, the development of these crops, especially in arid areas and semi-arid has doubled. Therefore, in the present study, climatic, topographic and socioeconomic criteria were selected as effective measures in the cultivation of Rosa Damascena and were weighed using the network analysis process and then the ArcGIS was used to digitize and combine the layers. After the formation of the regional spatial database, descriptive information of the maps was added, weighted overlapping in the GIS environment, and finally zoning the areas susceptible to cultivating Rosa Damascena. The results showed that three factors including annual rainfall, altitude, and mean annual temperature had maximum impact and slope parameter had the least impact on the quality and quantity of Rosa Damascena. Moreover, the zoning map showed that 38 percent of northern parts, 15.6 percent of central pats and 11 percent of western parts of the province, have the most suitable sites for Rosa Damascena cultivation.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2019

The study of the temperature mechanism and temperature advection along with the thickness layer a... more The study of the temperature mechanism and temperature advection along with the thickness layer and its effect on the rainfall level of an area is one of the most important subjects in the field of atmospheric science. The present study was carried out with the aim of studying the temperature advection and recognition of thickness layer in relation to spring rainfall in Iran. For this purpose, a daily rainfall database with a spatial resolution of 15 × 15 km2 was used in the period 1961–2013. After extraction of precipitation days, the corresponding pressure data was extracted using the programming capabilities in the Grades environment, and with the help of cluster analysis, representative days and spring weather patterns were identified in the Matlab environment. To determine the day of precipitation, three criteria of daily rainfall of 1 mm or more, minimum two-day continuity, and minimum 50% coverage were considered. Sea level pressure maps of 700 and 500 hPa were extracted along with temperature advection and thickness of the atmosphere. The results showed that five effective patterns were identified on Iran's spring general rainfall mechanism. The strongest amount of temperature advection from the Siberian high pressure occurred in the eastern and north-eastern parts of the country and reduced to the west and south of its intensity. Generally, from the east to the west and from the north to the south, there was a milder temperature advection during spring rainfalls in Iran. In addition, the most severe temperature advection occurred at sea level due to high-pressure thermal systems. At higher altitudes and higher levels, the temperature advection had a milder state than the sea level, and reduced the severity of the temperature advection due to the dynamic situation of the atmosphere, especially the blocking systemand Mediterranean deep trough.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2019

The expansion of urbanization along with industrial and agricultural activities on the banks of t... more The expansion of urbanization along with industrial and agricultural activities on the banks of the Alshar River and subsequent discharge of wastewater into water sources have caused water contamination by various pollutants. In this study, seasonal and annual changes in the long-term water quality changes in the Alshar River were evaluated. For this purpose, water quality data used were recorded at the Sarab Sayyed Ali hydrometric station located at the outlet of the Alshar River from 1970 to 2018. For analysis, 11 water quality variables were selected. Man-Kendall test was used to examine the trend of changes. The results showed that the patterns were similar for changes in parameters at both annual and seasonal scales, with decreasing concentrations of HCO3, Na, pH and SAR and increasing concentrations of Mg, Ca, TH, TDS, EC, Cl, and SO4. In the annual period, the trend of change of all qualitative parameters except Na was statistically significant at 99% level. During the summer seasons, there were more intense upward and slower downward trends, with the strongest increase in concentration during this season. However, in the winter, the results were in contrary with the summer. In most of the qualitative parameters, the decreasing and increasing trends were higher in spring than in autumn. The reason for this could be attributed to the fact that winter snow melting from the altitudes occurs in the spring, causing increased surface currents and a relative decrease in concentrations.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2019

Hospital wastewater is one of the most infectious and dangerous wastewaters that may contain larg... more Hospital wastewater is one of the most infectious and dangerous wastewaters that may contain large amounts of pathogenic microorganisms, dangerous pollutants of various hormones. More than 80 different types of drugs have been found that are not completely eliminated in biological processes and reach the receiving water. In this study, one of the important hospitals of Tehran, in a crowded area with high volume of referrals, was investigated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of drugs, especially sedative drug compounds, in hospital treated wastewater. For this purpose, instant sampling was carried out three times from the effluent of the hospital wastewater treatment plant and the samples were conditioned using solid phase extraction (SPE) method. The extracted materials were measured by HPLC equipped with UV and FLD detectors, resulting in the identification of various sedatives (including Diazepam, Oxazepam, Lorazepam, Alprazolam Clonazepam, Chlordiazepoxide, and Bromazepam). The mean concentration of sedatives in the January sampling showed that the highest concentration observed for Lorasepam with a mean of 0.15 ng/l and the lowest one for Chlordiazepoxide with a mean of 0.02 ng/l. The highest and lowest concentrations measured in February were 0.15 and 0.02 ng/l for Lorasepam and Chlordiazepoxide respectively.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2019

In this study, the performance of moving-bed sequencing batch reactor with intermittent aeration ... more In this study, the performance of moving-bed sequencing batch reactor with intermittent aeration strategy (IA-MBSBR) was evaluated for treatment of livestock wastewater in simultaneous nitrification-denitrification process. The statistical design and analysis were employed to optimize independent variables such as sludge retention time (SRT), temperature, and aeration rate using response surface methodology (RSM) through Box-Behnken design (BBD). The effect of variables was investigated on chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal and SND efficiency . The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to confirm the suitability and significance of the quadratic models. Based on the results, a very high regression coefficient was achieved between the variables and the responses: COD removal and SND efficiency were R2 = 0.9788 and R2 = 0.9600, respectively indicating an excellent evaluation of experimental data by polynomial regression model. Long SRT reduced the negative effect of low temperature, but lowered COD removal and ESNDin high temperature. Further, appropriate aeration rate was vital for the SND to reach equilibrium between the nitrification and denitrification processes. The optimal conditions obtained from the models were SRT= 20 d, temperature = 19.16 °C and aeration rate= 0.1 , which results in COD removal and ESND of 92.9 and 91.3%, respectively. It was found that an alternating anaerobic/aerobic conditions with step-filling mode is an effective, economic, and environmentally-friendly strategy for the biological treatment of livestock wastewater in the moving-bed sequencing batch reactor.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2019

Estimation of sediment load in rivers is one of the most important and applicable issues in studi... more Estimation of sediment load in rivers is one of the most important and applicable issues in studies and design of river and water engineering projects. Therefore, identification and suggestion of suitable methods for estimating suspended sediment load should be done based on relevant research. These methods include artificial neural network models, neurophysics, sedimentation rate curve as well as multivariate regression model. In this study, the efficiency of these methods was investigated in predicting discharge rate of suspended sediments of Gharachai River watershed. Daily time series data of measured flow discharge and sedimentation of bridge station of Gharachai River were used. The statistical period used in this model was two years (2016-2017). Independent variables used to enter the network include runoff and suspended load at the Gharachai River Doab Bridge station. The dependent variable, which is the network output, was the suspended load. After modeling with each compound and calculating RMSE and R2 values, the best combination was selected. The results showed that the neurophasic method based on discharge and sediment inputs and artificial neural network models based on discharge inputs were more accurate than multivariate regression and sedimentation rate curve. For values higher the long-run mean of the statistical series, the values simulated by the ANN model and for values less the mean and annual sediment load were also closer to the observed values. While for maximum values, no significant difference was found between ANN models, neurophysics, and linear regression.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2019

In this research, projection of precipitation in the three distinct 20-years future periods (i.e.... more In this research, projection of precipitation in the three distinct 20-years future periods (i.e. 2021-2040, 2041-2060, and 2061-2080) was performed using the LARS-WG6 statistical downscaling model. For this purpose, two scenarios of the IPCC fifth assessment report (namely RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) and MPI-ESM-MR general circulation model, which is known to be a CMIP5 coupled models were utilized. The precipitation trends were analyzed in the base and future periods using the Mann-Kendall method for both seasonal and annual time scales. Sen’s estimator method was used to estimate the slopes of trend lines. The results showed that winter precipitation will be increased during the three considered future periods. Moreover, in the spring and autumn, according to the RCP8.5 scenario, precipitation will be decreased in all future periods. The precipitation in December and January would be increased in all three future periods using both scenarios. March, July, September, and October will also experience a decline in precipitation in the three future periods, according to both scenarios. The mean annual precipitation in the future period of 2061-2080 would be decreased based on both scenarios. The highest reduction in precipitation would occur in the period 2061-2080 belonged to the RCP8.5 scenario in which the amount of reduction in mean annual precipitation is equal to 10.4%. In addition, based on the RCP4.5 scenario, the highest increase in the average annual precipitation during the future period of 2041-2060 was equal to 8.1%. There was no significant trend in precipitation series at 5% level. The slope of the trend lines in the base period and the future periods, based on the scenario RCP8.5, was found to be negative in all seasons. While in the future period, based on the RCP4.5 scenario, the trend line slope was positive for in all seasons.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2019

Analysis of existing drought management policies in some countries, including Iran, indicates tha... more Analysis of existing drought management policies in some countries, including Iran, indicates that decision-makers mainly react to drought episodes through a crisis-management approach, instead of developing a comprehensive and long-term policies. One of the comprehensive programs is the drought risk management model adopted in the member state of the European Union (EU), which is based on the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). In the present study, the above-mentioned document along with the experiences of different countries faced with the drought crisis was analyzed in order to prepare a drought management plan for the country. This study is an applied research performed through library studies based on scientific and international resources. The results showed that in the process of drought management, creation of organizational capacity is the main factor to evaluate drought and its various effects on the community. This can only be achieved through the establishment of a Drought Independent Committee. On the other hand, drought management should be seen as a risk management process that emphasizes permanent monitoring of resources and observes climate change in the monitored area, rather than the onest of disaster as a crisis management. Drought management has been accepted by the international community in terms of risk management instead of crisis management. The proposed plan presented in this study is based on active drought management (risk management) that provides appropriate plans and preparedness for drought response, by offering long-term planning and forecasting.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2019

Urban green space has always faced challenges to estimate the actual water requirement of plants ... more Urban green space has always faced challenges to estimate the actual water requirement of plants due to the diversity of different plant species, their dispersal, and the different densities. In this research, we have tried to estimate the need for the University of Science and Research Branch with an area of 10.59 hectares. First, it has been necessary to identify and categorize existing species and finally 77 plant species were identified on the site of Science and Research Branch. In addition, due to the diversity in trees and green spaces, the California Journal’s method was used to calculate crop coefficient. The meteorological data required from the meteorological stations in Tehran was then obtained by the Iran Meteorological Organization and processed by the CROPWAT program. In the next step, the potential evapotranspiration was calculated using Penman Monteith method. Finally, the water requirement for green space was determined by the California University method. The results of this study indicate that the maximum water requirement is 246033.7 cubic meters in July. Also, in January, February, November, and December, due to the long-term average rainfall, this amount provides the water requirement of the site and there is no need for irrigation during this period.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2019

In this study, chitosan-coated magnetically nanoparticles were used to remove the Reactive Red 12... more In this study, chitosan-coated magnetically nanoparticles were used to remove the Reactive Red 120 dye from aqueous solution. Chitosan is one of the most famous biological polymers that can be used as adsorbent in the removal of color pollutants. Magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles synthesized by mixing FeCl3.6H2O and FeCl2.4H2O were coated on low molecular weight chitosan polymer. Magnetic nanoparticles coated with chitosan were then characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and vibrating sample magnetomer (VSM) analysis. The effect of three parameters of pH, dye concentration, and the adsorbent dosage on adsorption was investigated. Under these conditions, the optimal adsorption was obtained at pH = 4, initial dye concentrations = 150 mg/l, and the adsorbent dosage of 2 g/l. Adsorption data were adapted to Langmuir and Freundlich isothermic models. The results showed that the data obtained from the dye adsorption on the chitosan-coated magnetically nanoparticles fit better with Langmuir model.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2019

The erosion of bed and river banks and sediment transport is one of the reasons for migration and... more The erosion of bed and river banks and sediment transport is one of the reasons for migration and changes in river morphology, which causes changes in the quality and quantity of flow. Groins are among the rivers' structures that extend from the coast to the river's axis. One of the important issues in their design is the localized scouring phenomenon on the nose, which appears due to changes in the pattern of flow and the presence of strong vortices. In recent years, most of the research on single-row open and closed open spray guns has been carried out and has been performed in a laboratory. Therefore, in this research, scouring and three-dimensional flow patterns were simulated near the open two-row openings with two zigzag and parallel formations with Flow-3D model and using the RNG turbulence model and compared with experimental results. The results showed that the scour area and the dimensions obtained from numerical simulation as well as flow patterns are in good agreement with experimental results.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2019

In recent years determination of different components of water balance has been the focus of many... more In recent years determination of different components of water balance has been the focus of many hydrological modeling techniques. In most basins, it is not feasible to measure all the different quantities for a detailed and enhanced hydrological modeling. Therefore, it is necessary to select a model capable of simulating hydrological events with the least number of variables; while being simple to use. Hence, in this paper the monthly runoff of Ravansar Sanjabi basin, Kermanshah, Iran was simulated through AWBM and SWAT models. AWBM is a lumped model simulating the runoff in basins using rainfall and evaporation variables. On the other hand, SWAT model is a continuous and semi-distributive model, which can simulate the hydrological processes in basins through a wide range of information such as physical information of basins (soil, land use, slope) as well as weather data such as precipitation, temperature, wind, relative humidity, and solar radiation. Simulation results during the calibration and validation periods were evaluated through two statistical indices: Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) and coefficient of determination, R2. Comparison of calculated statistical coefficients showed that SWAT model has better results in simulating monthly runoff in calibration and validation periods so that the calculated NSEcoefficient was equal to 0.7 and 0.81 respectively and 0.63 and 0.5 for AWBM model respectively.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2019

Many studies have projected increasing the temperature with decreasing precipitation for future d... more Many studies have projected increasing the temperature with decreasing precipitation for future decades in different regions of Iran. But, few studies have evaluated the effect of climate change on the dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) sources. One of the obstacles is the lack of recognition of carbon models and the lack of sufficient information on the required data and how to supply the data. The purpose of present study was to investigate the structural and practical application of the RothC model as the most widely used model worldwide for assessing the effects of climate change on soil carbon sources. In this study, the model’s function for calculating SOC and the factors affecting SOC decomposition, including temperature correction coefficient, moisture correction coefficient, and vegetation correction coefficient were completely investigated. Then, in the application section of the model, the required data and how to provide them in the conditions of Iran, and finally validation and implementation of the model for future climate conditions were discussed. Results showed that the RothC model is now the best carbon model for Iran conditions due to the simplicity and availability of the required data to its implementation. Generally, the present study provides useful information needed in implementation and validating the RothC model to simulate and predict the effects of climate change on the dynamics of soil carbon sources.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2018

Many financial and living expenses are caused annually due to the destruction of bridges in the f... more Many financial and living expenses are caused annually due to the destruction of bridges in the flood events. Studies show that changes in bridges' geometry can lead to changes in the time to reach maximum scouring. The purpose of this study was to investigate the time variation of scour depth at the bridge pier. For this purpose, a laboratory flume with a length of 14 meters, a width of 1.5 meters and a height of 0.7 meters was used. Four different forms of the slot were created on the rectangular pier including two rectangular (vertical and horizontal), square and diamond slots. Experiments were carried out at three levels: above the bed, on the bed and under the bed at four flow rates of 21.2, 25.6, 29 and 32 l/s in sediments with a mean diameter of 0.5 mm. The results of this study showed that the scour rate is higher in the first minutes of the start of the test. Over time, the intensity of changes is reduced. increasing the depth and volume of the scour hole, decreases the intensity of the changes. Moreover, there is a delay between approaching the dimensionless scour number to a certain degree and next changes in this parameter, which indicates that in a flood event, performing emergency measures could be effective. In addition, at a given time, placing slot at the top of bed increased the scouring dimensionless number by twice rather than placing under the bed.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2018

Organic hydrocarbons as a result of carcinogenesis and mutation caused many concerns. In this res... more Organic hydrocarbons as a result of carcinogenesis and mutation caused many concerns. In this research, straw and chalk absorber was used as an organic adsorbent to remove oil pollution from wastewater. The adsorption experiments were performed discontinuously using oil-containing laboratory solutions. Optimum adsorption conditions were obtained by changing the factors affecting adsorption including pH, initial concentration of contaminant, contact time and adsorbent amount on adsorption at different levels, the oil absorption was determined by weighting method. Ultimately, the use of adsorbent for laboratory wastewater was studied. The highest absorbent efficiency at the time of equilibrium was observed for absorbing oil in 15 minutes a bout 28.85% absorbance, which did not have a significant difference with other contact times, which could be due to low contact time and the lowest value was observed with a significant difference of 3 minutes about 17.82% absorption, with the absorption rate being most significant in relation to the time of low, due to increased absorption time Increases. The highest rate of straw absorption was observed in pH = 7, which did not have a significant difference with other pH about36.95% absorption and the lowest percentage of adsorption was observed at pH = 9, which had no significant difference with other pHs (19.09% absorption; P <0.05). The effect of straw absorbent values in 2 g/L was significantly higher than other amount of adsorbents about 61.05% absorption and the lowest percentage of adsorption was significantly different from other values in 0.25 and 0.5 grams per liter about 25.92%. Therefore, it can be concluded that the straw absorbent, in the form of adding more contact time, has a high efficiency in absorbing oil from wastewater and can be used in the treatment of industrial wastewater.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2018

Textile pollutants, especially dyes are toxic compared to other pollutants and their presence is ... more Textile pollutants, especially dyes are toxic compared to other pollutants and their presence is more sense in the environment. Reactive dye due to its high molecular weight and aromatic structure is more dangerous than other dyes. These dyes are highly soluble in water and are not easily removed by common treatment methods. Among the methods of wastewater treatment, application of membrane filtration via nanofibers can be more effective, since these membranes are very porous and their pores are interconnected; moreover, they can easily be functionalized. This research aimed at removal of reactive blue 19 dye from the simulated dyeing effluent using adsorbent through a membrane produced by electrospinning of the PVA solution. In this regard, the influence of different parameters on the fiber production conditions such as polymer concentration, applied voltage intensity, distance of nozzle to collector and feeding rate were investigated. In addition, effects of environmental factors including pH and temperature, contact time and nanofiber mass on the dye removal efficiency were studied. The very fine nanofiber was produced by 1.7% wt PVA at 15 kV with 1.0 ml/h feeding rate from 13 cm. The research found 91% dye removal efficiency using prepared nanofibers at pH 2.1, 35˚C and 20 mg/l nanofibers. The results indicate that the process of dye adsorption on the nanofiber mass is endothermic.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2018

It is essential to remove dye products from wastewater. The main aim of present study was to inve... more It is essential to remove dye products from wastewater. The main aim of present study was to investigate the efficiency of marble powder as an adsorbent for removal of BR 46 dye from aqueous solution.This study was performed experimentally in laboratory scale and in a batch system. In this research, the effect of initial dye concentration, absorbent dosage, contact time and pH on efficiency of dye removal were investigated. SEM, XRD and FT-IR were used to characterize the marble powder. Langmuir and the Freundlich adsorption isotherms were selected to explicate the interaction of the dye and adsorbent. Two kinetic models (the pseudo-ﬁrst-order and the pseudo-second-order) were used to calculate the adsorption rate constants. The results showed that the efficiency of dye removal was increased with increasing adsorbent dosage and by increasing adsorbent dose from 0.05 to 2 g/l, dye removal efficiency was increased from 82.91 to 87.55%. The highest dye removal efficiency (56.9%) was obtained in pH= 9. By decreasing initial dye concentration from 30 to 250 mg/l, dye removal efficiency was increased from 90.84% to 56.7%. The appropriate time period to get the maximum of dye adsorption and equilibrium state was 90 min.The results also showed that the adsorption of Basic Red 46 followed the Langmuir isotherm model (r2= 0.89). Moreover, results indicated that the adsorption kinetics of the dye followed pseudo-second-order model. Compared to the other expensive dye removal methods, the marble powder can be considered as a non-expensive adsorbent for the removal of BR 46 from aqueous solution.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2018

Temperature is one of the major parameters of plant growth and influences the amount of water req... more Temperature is one of the major parameters of plant growth and influences the amount of water requirement.Therefore, in this paper, the future temperature trend in the Abhar area was studied under the influence of climate change during the future time periods and compared with the observation period. In this way, the observation period of 1986-2010, the horizon near 2045-2011, the middle horizon of 2046-2070, and the far horizon of 2080-2100 was considered. The LARS-WG software was used in order to downscale, scenario file generation and general circulation atmospheric model simulation. In order to simulate the climate was used, the HadCM3 model by A2 scenario. In generating a scenario file, the numbers of both series (GCM PREDICTIONS and LARS-WG PARAMETERS) were considered, and the scenario file was generated for each of the three horizons future near, middle and far. The results of this study show the increasing trend of minimum, average and maximum temperature parameters over the next horizons. The amounts of the increase of the parameters studied during the mentioned horizons, respectively, in the parameter of the minimum annual temperature of 0.63,1.64 and 3.34°C, the mean annual temperature was 0.26, 0.72 and 1.46 °C and maximum temperature parameter will be 0.32, 0.55 and 0.81°C.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2018

Azo dyes have different applications in industry. However they could impose carcinogenic and muta... more Azo dyes have different applications in industry. However they could impose carcinogenic and mutagenic influence on different organisms. Several chemical and ph ysical methods have been
proposed in removing of these dyestuffs. Alternatively, biological treatment is recognized as economical and environmentally friendly method for decolorization of dyestuff wastewaters. In the current research the capacity of the removal of Remazol Black-B and Remazol Red-B by Streptomyces hygroscopicus PTCC1132 in static condition was investigated. An OA layout was constructed with four factors (temperature, pH, salt concentration and dye concentration) at four levels for the experimental design. The design and analysis of Taguchi experiments was performed by Qualitek-4 software. We showed that the Remazol Black-B decolorization can be significantly improved by Optimization of the factors involved in Remazol Black-B decolorization by S. hygroscopicus. The optimal conditions were pH 9, temperature 33oC, salt concentration 1 % and dye concentration 5000 ppm. Under optimum conditions. Thus, this straine, under the achived effective condition az a result of exprements analysis i.e, temperature 33 degree of centigriade, pH=8, and salt concentration =1% up to 100 percent of azo dyes(RR-B) with the density of(10000 ppm)will be removed aqueous medium. employing this type of bactria in biological treatment of wastwater with industrial dyes can be of great help in treatment and re-use wastewater.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2018

Microplastics as emerging and unfamiliar contaminants have been considered by researchers during ... more Microplastics as emerging and unfamiliar contaminants have been considered by researchers during the last decades. These small particles and fragments, typically have a size less than 5 mm and could penetrate into the marine environments by different ways, threatening the environment and animal health. Therefore, in this study, according to the studies by different researchers, this pollutant is introduced and some of its effects are mentioned in marine environments. One impacts of microplastics on marine organisms, such as marine vertebrates and invertebrates, arise from direct ingestion of plastic fragmentS by the marine biota leading into internal injuries. They also can have negative effects on the distribution of certain species of marine organisms, which they oviposit on the surface of these contaminants. Chemical adsorption is the most important impact of microplastics in marine environments, which not only transfers pollution, but also increases environmental resistance of these contaminants. Recent research works on the effects of microplastics pollution in the marine environment emphesis that permanent and continous monitoring of these materials and discovery of the pollution hotspots is crucial in environmental issues.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2018

Nowadays, rapid development of the chemical industry has brought about environmental pollution, a... more Nowadays, rapid development of the chemical industry has brought about environmental pollution, a serious threat, as a result of the entry of organic and inorganic chemicals, as well as heavy metals. Surface absorption by the use of biological polymers is a novel environmentally friendly technology for reducing and removing heavy metals from industrial wastewater. The objective of this study was to investigate the performance of lignocellulose nanofiber (LCNFs) adsorbents in the removal of Cu(II) from aqueous media. The test conditions are considered for two completely identical adsorbents. In the batch system, parameters of pH (4-8), adsorbent dosage (0.1- 0.5 g/l), contact time (15-120 min), Cu(II) initial concentration (5-50 mg/l), and temperature (15-40 °C) were studied. The results were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Duncan's tests for significant evaluation of changes in parameters. Results showed that the highest percentage of removal of Cu(II) (99.8%.) for LCNFs at pH 7, Cu(II) concentration of 10 mg/l, adsorbent dosage of 0.3 g/l, contact time of 60 min at temperature of 25 °C was obtained. This study showed that LCNFs adsorbents are considered as an optimal adsorbent for removal Cu(II) by removing more than 98% of Cu(II) from aqueous solutions.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2018

The unavoidable requirement to avoid the undesirable consequences of tourism and to achieve optim... more The unavoidable requirement to avoid the undesirable consequences of tourism and to achieve optimal pattern of tourism development is land planning and ecological capability assessment. The purpose of this study was to identify and locate the appropriate ecotourism zones on the route of the Gheshlagh tourism in Sanandaj, Kurdistan, Iran. The research method was descriptive-analytic, library and field studies, as well as the use of GIS geographic information system. For this purpose, required layers of information including altitude, gradient, slope, vegetation and water resources were prepared. In the next step, variables were evaluated using the AHP model and experts’ opnion. Then, using spatial analyzers in the GIS environment, the outputs were derived from the reference maps, and the overlay of these maps in the GIS environment using the algebraic aggregation operator was the final output of the tourism spatial zonation.The results were calculated in five classes of utility and showed that about 20% of the region is suitable for development of tourism and about 20% of the region has the ability to develop moderately with ecological aspects. About 33% of the total area showed prohibited tourism development. The results of this research can be used as an indicator for the development of appropriate and optimal applications within the framework of economic projects in the region.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2018

Modeling the dam break phenomenon is more important in order to calculate the approximate dischar... more Modeling the dam break phenomenon is more important in order to calculate the approximate discharge flow due to break to perform the measures to control it or to prevent the resulting hazards. In this research, Gambit software was used to generate the form and dimensions of the geometry of the laboratory model. Then, the generated geometry file was transferred to the Fluent hydraulic model. In Fluent environment, all effective parameters were determined. The VOF method was used for modeling. The case study in this research was the rocky sedimentary located near the Nowshan basin, which is located around Urmia city, and the dam break modeling was done for it in a three-dimensional characteristic. The results obtained from the laboratory conditions were compared with the results of the Fluent model, which is related to modeling the dam break phenomenon in two-dimensional form. Various wave characteristics were studied, including wave propagation, wave velocity, and water depth variation at the bottom of the dam in dry and wet bed conditions. Comparison of the results shows that the Fluent model has high accuracy in modeling the flow due to dam break. To construct the geometry of a part of the stream that includes the reservoir and the reservoir, a topographic map of the stream was used in AutoCAD environment.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2018

One of the main reasons of bridge destruction is the bridge piers scour. A more accurate computat... more One of the main reasons of bridge destruction is the bridge piers scour. A more accurate computation of scour depth would lead to a more solid design of bridge piers. Empirical equations can be applied to compute the scour depth. In this study, the coefficients of 17 empirical equations were optimized using genetic algorithm and fieldwork values. 80% of the field data were used to optimize the equations and the rest were used to verify them. The RMSE, MAE, E and R2 criteria were applied to evaluate the optimization method where the results showed the ability of genetic algorithm in empirical equations optimization. The (Froehlich 1988) equation had the highest degree of precision among the empirical equations, so the genetic algorithm has had the least effect on the optimization of this equation. The optimized (Neill 1964), (Melville 1975), (Laursen & Toch 1956), (Blench II 1962) and (Hancu 1971) equations with respectively, 75, 72, 71, 71 and 71 percent showed the highest reduction in RMSE error criteria. The optimized (Blench II 1962) equation with RMSE, MAE, E and R2 criteria equal to 0.57m, -0.085m, 62 percent and 0.65 respectively, presented the highest correlation coefficient and lowest error. In the end, more equations were proposed to predict the bridge piers scour depth.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2018

The use of plant residues as fertilizer in sustainable agricultural systems is important in order... more The use of plant residues as fertilizer in sustainable agricultural systems is important in order to maintain soil fertility and achieve sustainable production. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of plant residues of wheat, corn, and green sugarcane on some soil chemical properties. For this purpose, a pot experiment was conducted in a completely randomized block design with three replications in the greenhouse of the Faculty of Agriculture, Shiraz University. To test the straw and wheat straw, corn, and sugarcane residues, three types of soils with silty loam texture, loam, and sand were added under incubation conditions in two periods of 30 and 120 days. Changes in organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, acidity, and soil salinity were investigated under different treatments of plant residues. The results showed that the amount of organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and soil acidity increased significantly with application of plant residues. Soil salinity was not affected by plant residues. Residues of sugarcane on the amount of organic carbon and acidity, wheat residues on potassium and nitrogen and corn residues on phosphorus and nitrogen had the most effect. In our research, it was found that maintaining 50% of plant residues, especially straw and wheat straw, not only improved the physicochemical conditions of the soil, but also the need for nutrient consumption decreased significantly.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2018

Underground dams are structures blocking the natural flow of groundwater and provide groundwater ... more Underground dams are structures blocking the natural flow of groundwater and provide groundwater resources. In arid regions with limited water resources, it can be managed by constructing these structures. The purpose of this study was to select suitable site for the construction of underground dams in ShahreKurd and Marghmalek watersheds based on site selection criteria. As several different criteria should be considered, it is essential to use methods that are capable of fulfilling the desired criteria. For this purpose, GIS and Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) were used in this research. To prioritize the areas, different criteria and sub-criteria such as water (quantity, quality), reservoir (reservoir depth, reservoir slope, permeability and reservoir area), axis (axis length, axis depth and lithology of the supports) and socio-economic factors (distance from rural areas, distance from road, drinking, agricultural and industrial water supplies, and impact on water resources) were considered. The water quantity with a weight of 0.83 had the highest rank. Finally, 15 regions were introduced for prioritization out of 60 suitable sites in the study area using Boolean logic. The results showed that the best axes for underground dam construction were located in alluvial beds of low slope, high-flow rivers, with large reservoir volume, high runoff, and high permeability.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2018

Zinc is one of the essential micronutrients for plant growth and its deficit is often reported in... more Zinc is one of the essential micronutrients for plant growth and its deficit is often reported in calcareous soils. The total amount of soil Zn does not necessarily indicate Zn availability for plant. Therefore, finding an appropriate extractant, in order to estimate plant available Zn in soil is important. Considering that little information in Iran is available regarding available Zn, in heavy metals contaminated calcareous soils, therefore, assessment of status of available Zn for plants by chemical extractants is very important and necessary. The aim of this research was to assess extraction methods Mehlich 3, AB-DTPA and DTPA-TEA to estimate the sunflower available Zn in 9 contaminated soils. Sunflower plant parameters including dry matter, concentration, and Zn uptake were determined in a pot experiment. The results showed that in contaminated soils, the highest concentration of Zn by use of AB-DTPA and the lowest concentration of Zn by use of DTPA-TEA were extracted. Moreover, in contaminated soils significant correlation wasfound between extracted Zn by DTPA-TEA with concentration and Zn uptake (r=0.78). There were significant correlations between extracted Zn by Mehlich 3 with concentration (r=0.68) and Zn uptake by plant (r=0.80). Thus, it can be concluded that DTPA-TEA and Mehlich 3 methodes can be used to estimate the ability of sunflower-available Zn in contaminated soils.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2018

Due to the environmental hazards, nitrogenous wastewater treatment is essential and important. In... more Due to the environmental hazards, nitrogenous wastewater treatment is essential and important. In recent decades, novel biological processes such as Annamox and SHARON have developed which are cheaper and more effective compared to conventional processes. In the present study, several significant biological parameters such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, organic carbon, salt concentration, nitrite concentration and sludge retention time (SRT) were investigated. The results showed that SHARON process lowered the need for carbon source while Annamox process without carbon source requirement, was implemented in anaerobic condition. The optimum pH for Annamox process was reported 6.7-8.3. Nitrite and salt concentrations were important control parameters to prevent Annamox bacterial activity. Desired temperature for the bacterial growth was 30-40℃ for Annamox and higher than 25℃ for SHARON, and process efficiencies were not directly related to SRT. Overall, the new biological processes of nitrogen removal were described promising due to the decrease in need for aeration and carbon source and are suitable alternatives for conventional processes.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2018

Rivers are important as one of the main sources of water supply for uses including agriculture, i... more Rivers are important as one of the main sources of water supply for uses including agriculture, industry, and human consumption. This study evaluated the water quality of the Beheshtabad River (Shalamzar Spring - Jointing to Koohrang River) located in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, using the National Sanitation Foundation Water Quality Index (NSFWQI). Using standard methods, this study determined nine water quality parameters: nitrate (NO3), temperature (T), phosphate (PO4), turbidity, dissolved oxygen (DO), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), electrical conductivity (EC), total solids (TS) and pH, at five selected stations along the river for three months, July to September 2015. Results showed that water quality fluctuated between medium and good quality during the investigation. In addition, according to the mean values of WQI, water quality was classified as medium quality for the three months. Water pollution increased from upstream to downstream in the end of summer because of agricultural fertilizers and wastewater discharge from upstream fish farms and recreation service centers.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2018

The purpose of this study was to experimentally investigate the treatment of petroleum hydrocarbo... more The purpose of this study was to experimentally investigate the treatment of petroleum hydrocarbons-contaminated wastewater using UV/O3 method. To predict the degree of pollutant destruction, the initial concentrations of O3 and pollutant, pH, solution temperature, reaction time and UV intensity were designed. For this purpose, 1-liter cylindrical glass reactor was used. The radiation source was a low-pressure mercury UV lamp with 254-nanometer wavelength (30 W UV-C) placed on the top of the batch photoreactor in order to perform UV/O3 experiments. Different concentrations of O3 (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 mg/l) were tested. In a concentration of 15 mg/l petroleum and contact time of 5, 10, 30, 20, 40, 50, 60, 100, and 120 minutes, the removal rate of hydrocarbons in the UV/O3 system was 15, 28, 31, 36, 42, 52, 56, 73, and 59.5%, wheras, the COD removal efficiency at the same contact times was 22, 38, 45, 61.5, 67.5, 70, 80, 88.5, 76.5% respectively. When the initial pH was 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, and 12, the approximately efficiency of hydrocarbon removal was 75, 8, 62, 63, 4, 58, 44, 8, 35, 8, and 30% respectively. The results of this study showed that 20 mg/l O3 dose at pH = 3 and UV intensity of 2.8 W/cm (254 nm), the optimal utilization conditions for mineralization of hydrocarbon provide 73% removal after 100 minutes of reaction time.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2018

One method of groundwater quality assessment is applying Groundwater quality index (GWQI), which ... more One method of groundwater quality assessment is applying Groundwater quality index (GWQI), which is a combinational method of different quality parameters of groundwater. The aim of this study was to estimate the Marvdasht-Kharameh Plain groundwater quality for drinking by employing GWQI along with applying geostatistics technology in GIS environment. For this purpose, the norm of five years quality data of 49 wells were used. GWQI was estimated by applying inverse distance weighting method to quality parameters. Kriging geostatistics pattern was used for assessing spatial changes and mapping the quality parameters and GWQI. Spherical variogram pattern had the best fitting on quality parameters and GWQI. The results illustrated that spherical variogram pattern with 19200 m effective range is appropriate for GWQI. Based on sensitivity analysis, EC, TDS, and Mg had the most and pH, sulphate and TA had the least influence on GWQI. The GWQI range was variable from 47 to 1000. Upon to GWQI map, the north-western parts of Marvdasht-Kharameh Plain aquifer had suitable quality for drinking while it was not suitable to use in southern parts of aquifer.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2018

Shortage and water crisis have made it essential to improve management and consequently to increa... more Shortage and water crisis have made it essential to improve management and consequently to increase the efficiency of irrigation systems. Since a large percentage of agricultural lands in Iran are irrigated by furrow irrigation, research on this method application is required. In this study, the simulation accuracy of WinSRFR and SIRMOD models were compared and analyzed with the data taken from the farm of Agricultural Faculty, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran, where the field experiments were also performed. The farm soil had clay loam texture with bulk density of 1.18 g/cm3 under furrow irrigation. The length, depth, slope, and flowrate of the open-ended furrow under continuous flow were 25 m, 65 cm, 0.007 m/m and 4 l/s respectively. The results showed that the percentage of average prediction error of advance time in the WinSRFR model was 7 percent less than the SIRMOD model. The value of λ in simulation of WinSRFR and SIRMOD models was 0.82 and 0.68 respectively, which estimated the error rate of 18 and 32 percent, respectively. In estimating the average infiltrated depth, the WinSRFR and SIRMOD models estimated the average infiltrated water depth with λ = 0.97 and λ = 1.11, respectively, showing that the WinSRFR model has carried out the simulation of application efficiency with a three-percent error and with higher accuracy than the SIRMOD model. The results showed that WinSRFR model is more applicable and higher accuracy than the SIRMOD model.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2017

Due to the lack of drinking water resources and their importance in the economy of any region, it... more Due to the lack of drinking water resources and their importance in the economy of any region, it is vital to locate most suitable place for water storage and water harvesting. Hence, this study was conducted to determine the appropriate places of conservation dams through applying heuristic methods of optimum like AHP and ANP methods in Torghabe and Shandiz located in Khorasan Razavi Province. Selection criteria in this research were five parameters including reservoir volume, reservoir damage, runoff, location, and geology. The research found that eight points in Torghabe and four points in Shandiz have good potential for constructing water reservoir structures. Thus, in Torghabe, a point having higher runoff and reservoir volume compared with the other points was considered as the best place for dam construction. In Shandiz, a point having the highest rating location and geology was proposed as appropriate location for construction. The results showed although ANP method is more advanced than AHP method, both methods have equal value in selecting the best option for constructing the water reservoir.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2017

Increasing the emissions of greenhouse gases is among the factors affected the speed of occurrenc... more Increasing the emissions of greenhouse gases is among the factors affected the speed of occurrence of
climate change during recent decades. In present study, first using time series data of 2006-2012 and
RCM-PRECIS simulation model, the impacts of greenhouse gases emission on climatic variables of
temperature and precipitation was investigated under different scenarios in watersheds of Qazvin
Province. Then, the ordinary least squares (OLS) method and regression analysis were used to assess the
impacts of climatic variables of temperature and precipitation on the selected products yield. Afterwards,
considering the results of regression analysis in positive mathematical programing (PMP) model, the
amount of the created variation in supply and demand of irrigation water and agricultural output in
watersheds of Qazvin Province was investigated. The results showed that emission of greenhouse gases
under scenarios A, B, and C affects the climatic variables of temperature and precipitation about 0.43 to
1.27 °C and -14.1 to 1.31 mm respectively. This case changes the selected products yield in the surface of
each river basin of Qazvin Province. Change in yield affects acreage of agricultural crops by about -10.51
to 3.17 percent, the amount of irrigation water supply by about -10.4 to 1.64 percent, and the amount of
irrigation water demand by about 1.60 to 7.35 percent. Moreover, the results showed that maximum and
minimum decrease in the gap between supply and demand of irrigation water happens in Kharroud and
Shahroud watersheds by about 9.20 and 1.82 percent respectively. With estimating the gap between
demand and supply of irrigation water, one can adopt the appropriate decisions for sustainable water
resources in watersheds of Qazvin Province.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2017

Nowadays, one of the most important environmental pollution is heavy metals industrial wastewater... more Nowadays, one of the most important environmental pollution is heavy metals industrial wastewater. Among the various types of heavy metals, chromium is one of the hazardous and toxic environmental pollutants. In order to prevent damage caused by chromium, it seems essential to prevent its entrance to the environment. The purpose of this study was modelling chromium removal using iron oxide nanoparticles through artificial neural network model for estimating the best removal Cr(VI) model. The optimum conditions (more than 90% removal efficiency) achieved were at pH=3, initial concentration of Cr = 10 mg/L; dosage of Fe2O3 = 1 g/L; contact time = 60 minutes, and temperature =25 . After backpropagation (BP) training, the ANN model was able to predict adsorption efficiency with a tangent sigmoid transfer function (Tansig) at hidden layer with 11 neurons and a linear transfer function (Purelin) at out layer. The Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm (LMA) was applied, giving a minimum mean squared error (MSE) for training and cross validation at the ninth place of decimal. The high correlation coefficient (R2ANN = 0.996) between the model and its closeness to the experimental coefficient (R2Exp = 0.998) showed that the model is able to predict the removal of Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions by iron oxide nanoparticles.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2018

In recent years, as dam safety standards have increased, hydraulic engineers have become more eag... more In recent years, as dam safety standards have increased, hydraulic engineers have become more eager to design an economical and safe energy dissipation system at the main flood evacuation course. Ogee spillway and flip bucket are the most used types of spillway and energy dissipation structures. The main aims of the present research were modeling and analyzing hydraulic characteristics of the flow over convergent chute and flip bucket with negative slope of Gelvard Dam, Neka, the north of Iran using Flow-3D software and comparing the results of spillway geometry modification in relation to the initial model. The validation results of numerical model with the experimental data showed that RNG model is the most appropriate turbulence model. Moreover, with respect to the dimensions of computational cells, sensitivity analysis showed that square mesh with dimensions of 0.6 m is appropriate. Considering the results of the numerical modeling, due to increasing the flow velocity more than 20 m/s at the end of chute and maximum pressure of -70000 pa in this area, cavitation threatens the circular arc. Therefore, the slope of the chute and circular arc radius was changed respectively and numerical analysis results were remeasured. The results showed that by reducing the chute slope, the critical points of cavitation decreased from 3 points to 1 point. In addition, it was indicated that changing circular arc radius had no considerable effect on hydraulic characteristics. It just showed that when arc radius increases, jet length increases up to 5 m.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2017

One of the most common types of polymeric waste is beverage bottles. Unfortunately, undertaking b... more One of the most common types of polymeric waste is beverage bottles. Unfortunately, undertaking basic measures for recycling or reuse of these materials is very limited in Iran and always a huge amount of this waste is released into the environment. The present study was conducted in order to reduce evaporation from water resources of Sarcheshmeh Copper Complex and optimal use of great waste of this polymer. For this purpose, a plan is presented to build a Foamthalate floating cover. This cover was obtained from industrial injection of polystyrene into filled molds with Delester™ bottles. After preparing and constructing coatings, Foamthalate covers were transferred to research ponds in the vicinity of Sarcheshmeh tailing dam and the performance of coatings was evaluated for two months. The obtained results showed performance of Foamthalate coatings in evaporation reduction is more than 90%. Finally, because of the dual-purpose function ofFoamthalate, it can be considered as successful and efficient design to protect the environment and deal with water scarcity challenge.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2017

Basic studies on water resources and estimating erosion and sedimentation is crucial for calculat... more Basic studies on water resources and estimating erosion and sedimentation is crucial for calculating and precise designing dam reservoirs. Mathematical models are one of the important tools for prediction of sedimentation in riverbed and dam reservoirs. These models are based on the analysis of equations governing an important phenomenon in transmission, distribution, accumulation, and leach sediment. The GSTRS3 model was used to predict sediment in Qarasoo River on Kermanshah Plain. For this purpose, a parcel of river with 18 km length, including 60 cross sections, was selected. At different sections, the sediment grading curves were prepared using Sieve and hydrometer methods. and the results showed that the Yang equation had better function in predicting longitudinal and transverse profiles than other models. Therefore, using the best fitted model for the next 10 years, the amount of the transmitted sediments was estimated as 329536 tons for Qareso River. Moreover, it was found that GSTARS3 presents an acceptable level of prediction for assessing the sediment trends in rivers as confirmed by correlation coefficient of 0.85 between observed and predicted longitudinal profiles. Thus, this model can be used to study the mechanisms of sedimentation in other rivers of Iran.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2018

Floods control, artificial recharge of ground water aquifers, and attempt to optimize the efficie... more Floods control, artificial recharge of ground water aquifers, and attempt to optimize the efficiency of water and soil resources are the most important benefits that have been achieved as a result the construction of flood spreading stations in the country. The aim of this research is assessment and determination of economic effects of flood spreading project on water resources and agriculture by monitoring and recording relevant data steadily and continuously. For this purpose, profitability and economic justification of the project were studied using proper criteria of economical evaluation of investment projects. The results showed that water cultivation area of downstream villages of project have been 3.5 folds more compared to the year 2013. Moreover, the added value of the injected flood based on measuring the volume of controlled flood was estimated to be 14.6 Million Rials. The added value of grassland production project became 1354 Million Rials. Whereas, the added values of wood production and agriculture section were estimated to be 13.4 and 657 Million Rials respectively. Economic evaluation indicators of project (NPV, ROR, and B/C) were estimated to be 1399 Million Rials, 0.38, and 2.87 respectively showing economic justification of project.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2018

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2017

Investigations have indicated that in-stream structures have better performance rather than alter... more Investigations have indicated that in-stream structures have better performance rather than alternative structures such as rip-rap revetment and spur-dikes in term of cost, performance, maintenance, and environmental enhancement and help preserve the environment on the banks of meandering rivers. The slotted triangular vanes are among the in-stream structures. This study aimed at investigating the effect of slotted triangular vanes in sedimentary channels bed variation in 90 degrees bend flume (R/B=4, R and B, bend radius and width of the flume, respectively). The experiments were performed by three distances of four, six, and eight times the effective length (Le) in Froude numbers of 0.287, 0.304, and 0.322 under clear water conditions. The bed materials used were sand with an average diameter (d50) of 1.5 mm and a geometric standard deviation ratio (σ) of 1.22. The vanes angle to the upper bank was constant. After conducting analysis, the bed topography and required data were collected. The results showed that by installing the vanes attached to the outer bend flume, local scour occurred at the tips of vanes. By increasing distance between the vanes, the average depth of scour around the tips of vanes increased so that the distance of 4Le presented better performance than the distance 6Le and 8Le in scour protection around vanes. The Scouring bed materials were precipitated on the back of vanes and near outer bank. By increasing distance between the vanes and increasing space between the vanes, scouring bed materials allocated more flume along the length; hence, the maximum mound height decreased.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2017

As one of the fauna and flora reservation sites, hyrcanian forest ecosystems have experienced sev... more As one of the fauna and flora reservation sites, hyrcanian forest ecosystems have experienced sever destruction during recent decades because of the improper land uses. Use of fallout radionuclide, particularly Cs137, is one of the trusty methods in soil erosion rate. The purpose of this research was to estimate soil erosion rate in Hyrcanian forest heights in Ziarat catchment using radioactive element Cs137. Therefore, first Cs137 inventory was calculated in three land uses including forest, rangeland, and cultivate lands. After that, the erosion and sedimentation rates for each land use were determined using mass balance II model for cultivate areas and intuition and diffusion model for uncultivated area. The impact of land use on the soil erosion and sedimentation rate and organic carbon storage were investigated using ANOVA. The research found that the annual Cs137 inventory estimated was 575, 286, and 258 Bq/m2 in the forest, rangeland, and cultivate lands respectively. The maximum and minimum erosion rate had occurred in cultivated land by 39.8 and forest land by 5.2 ton/ha/y respectively. In addition, there was a positive correlation between erosion and sediment rate and organic carbon storage. The findings of this research can be used for sustainable management of Ziarat Catchment.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2017

For river management, it is essential to allocate a certain amount of water to sustain life and e... more For river management, it is essential to allocate a certain amount of water to sustain life and ecology of the river. In recent years, the environmental flow requirement (EFR) of river has been posed as a new competitor of basin water consumptions aside domestic, agriculture, and industry sectors. In this research, different hydrological criteria of EFR was probed in downstream of Zivakeh hydroelectric power plant. Five hydrological methods such as the probability of 95% and 90% of flow duration curve, Montana, 1SD, monthly distribution probability of drought with the return period of 25 years, and 1, 7, and 30 days with different return periods such as 1Q10, 7Q10, 30Q5 were used. For analysis 22-years daily data from the water year of 1372 to 1393 were used. The results indicated that the monthly average of the five methods varied from 0.48 to 3.13 m3/s that equals 35.5 MCM and 25% of mean annual runoff (MAR) of the river. These values for EFR show good agreement with the common indices.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2017

This study aimed at investigating climate change impacts on precipitation and temperature variati... more This study aimed at investigating climate change impacts on precipitation and temperature variations in the watershed of Karoon 3 Dam using LARS-WG statistical model in the future. For this purpose, the climate data of 10 atmospheric general circulation models (GCM) were used under three distinict emission senarios in the watershed of Karoon 3 Dam. The precipitation and temperature parameters of the study area were simulated for 2011-2099 using the data of 1980 - 2007 in six synoptic stations. First, mean monthly precipitation was calculated using daily data by Inverse Distance Weighted interpolation method. In order to investigate six months’ precipitation variation, the summation of 6, 12, and 24 months’ precipitation were calculated.The model calibration and verification was evaluated using LRAS-WG5 model for the base year (2007-1980) in order to determine the production feasibility and simulation of meteorological data in future periods. Using atmospheric GCM and the IPCC climate change scenarios, the simulation and production of meteorological data was performed for future periods. The monthly precipitation and minimum and maximum temperature difference were analyzed. The research showed thatdifference between monthly maximum and minimum temperature decreases under climate change in spring and summer. Spring precipitations increase while summer and autumn precipitations decrease. The most increase of precipitation takes place in winter and in January. Moreover, the results showed that the frequency of normal and wet years with respect to the long-term average rainfall in the area was more in B1 and A2 emissions scenarios compared with A1B.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2017

It is highly emphasis on the wastewater treatment because of its high potential in contaminating ... more It is highly emphasis on the wastewater treatment because of its high potential in contaminating the food and water. One of the most effective biological methods in wastewater treatment is usage of plants. A group of the plants, which has attracted the researchers’ attention is the microalgae. Microalgae consume the nutritious materials with the help of the sun light, turn these materials into useful biomass and secure the wastewater resources from contamination. In this study, the Chlorella Vulgaris microalgae performance was assessed in purifying municipal wastewater. First, the microalgae were grown inside a photobioreactor and later the biomass of microalgae was cultivated under varying conditions in the wastewater medium in order to examine their performance. During the period of growing microalgae in the wastewater, BOD of wastewater was determined in different conditions at various retention times using BOD meter. The best condition for the Chlorella Vulgaris microalgae growth was determined at 35 ˚C and biomass concentration of 30%. The results showed that under the optimal growth condition and after 72 hours of retention time, Chlorella Vulgaris was capable to remove 82% of the wastewater BOD. The results asserted Chlorella Vulgaris microalgae capability in decreasing wastewater BOD and its applicability in wastewater treatment.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2017

In recent decades, soil pollution with petroleum hydrocarbons in oil-rich countries (such as Iran... more In recent decades, soil pollution with petroleum hydrocarbons in oil-rich countries (such as Iran) has been one of the most challenging issues. In these countries with petroleum industries, mines of oil exploration, refineries, etc., leakage from tanks or pipelines of oil transmission due to corrosion and damage bring about oil pollution for the soil. This study aimed at evaluating and measuring the amount of heavy metals in the soil of Kermanshah Refinery and statistical analysis in order to locate high-risk areas in terms of pollution caused by oil leaks, extraction, refining, and transportation. Therefore; 15 samples of surrounded soil of Kermanshah Refinery were analyzed to determine soil pollution with petroleum compounds. According to results of ICP-MS analysis of soil samples, the process of heavy metal changes in the soil of Kermanshah Refinery was Cr>Zn>Ni>V>Cu>Pb>Co>Sc>As>Cd. Geo accumulation index indicated that the intensity of the refinery soil is classified in the range of no pollution to average with reference to chromium and nickel. Besides, the finding from enrichment factor indicated the average enrichment of the region soil by chromium and lead. Moreover, it confirmed that enrichment in lead and copper has anthropogenic origin. Pollution load index of chromium, nickel, zinc, copper, and lead showed soil pollution to these metals. Zoning map of heavy metal density in the region soil demonstrates that high density of the elements in some stations is related to the petroleum leakage from installations and storage tank.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2017

Solid waste is one of the most important sources of soil contamination. Soil chemical contaminant... more Solid waste is one of the most important sources of soil contamination. Soil chemical contaminants such as heavy metals have created deep concern throughout the world. Heavy metals are naturally present in all soils, but soil contamination due to human activities is increasing. The accumulation of these metals in the soil eventually results in their entry into the food cycle and threaten human health and other living beings. In this study, the soil pollution of Zahedan city landfill by heavy metals was studied using contamination factor index. A total of 20 soil samples, 10 topsoil samples (up to 30 cm) and 10 depth soil samples (from a depth of 30 to 60 cm) were collected from landfill and processed for determination of element concentrations by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry and for statistical analysis, the SPSS software version 23 was used. The results showed that mean concentrations of chromium, cadmium, lead, and arsenic in topsoil were 152.48, 0.213, 54.499, and 0.344 mg/kg respectively while these concentrations for deep soil were 177.14, 0.252, 49.365, 0.414 mg/kg respectively. The contamination factor index confirmed that most of sample stations were in class of low (CF >1 and 1 15â‰¤"> CF >3) to moderate pollution.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2017

The hexavalent chromium is one of the toxic and soluble heavy metals, which is absorbed and store... more The hexavalent chromium is one of the toxic and soluble heavy metals, which is absorbed and stored in human body through the digestive system and skin. Therefore, the aim of this study was to adsorb the hexavalent chromium from aqueous media using continuous flow fixed bed of pine fruit. The adsorbent was prepared in laboratory scale and pulverized by standard ASTM sieve (100 mesh). Stock solution of chromium was prepared using potassium dichromate and the unknown concentration of hexavalent chromium was determined using atomic absorption spectrometry. In order to study the behavior of the sorbent in the fixed-bed column, we used glass column with the length of 25 cm and diameter of 2.5 cm. The effect of initial concentration of chromium and flow rate were examined. Test results showed that the maximum uptake of Cr(VI) obtained was 38.748 mg/g in a flow rate of 12 ml/min and initial concentration of 0.11 mg/l. According to the obtained results, the total amount of chromium absorbed and the adsorption capacity of the column decreased by increasing the concentration of initial chromium concentration. The maximum adsorption of Cr(VI) using the pine fruit powder achieved at flowrate of 4 ml/min and initial concentration of adsorbent of 0.15 mg/l. our findings confirms the capability of pine fruit powder application as an effective and cheap method for the removal of Cr(VI) from polluted effluents.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2017

Coagulation and flocculation process is one of the common methods used in water treatment plants ... more Coagulation and flocculation process is one of the common methods used in water treatment plants used for treatment of surface waters. If performed correctly, this process can affect the removal of heavy metals and the removal rate will reach its maximum value. In the present study, the effect of coagulants dosage and different elements in water such as calcium and sulfate ions on the arsenic reduction process were assessed at different pH values. Jar test was used to determine the optimal dosage of coagulant and to assess the effect of parameters such as pH, coagulant dosage, temperature, stirring speed, etc. The reduction percentage of total arsenic in the presence of PAC was 10 to 15% more than Ferric Chloride. The results showed that in the case of the polyelectrolyte coagulants aid, the reduction rate was high. Soluble material in water had different impact on the reduction of arsenic concentrations with changes in pH values.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2017

Soil erosion is a phenomenon that leads to destruction and loss of valuable soil, especially unde... more Soil erosion is a phenomenon that leads to destruction and loss of valuable soil, especially under accelerated conditions. As the life of human societies requires water and soil, variety of biological and mechanical operations are practiced in order to prevent soil erosion and water loss, runoff control, and to improve the soil vegetative coverage. In order to evaluate the role of biological and mechanical watershed management projects on the erosion and sediments of Chehel Gazi Watershed, Sanandaj, the erosion and sediment of the watershed was determined using MPSIAC Model after identifying the performed operations. Then using paired T-test method, the impact of watershed practices on decreasing erosion and sediment was investigated. The results showed that specific sediment of watershed has decreased from 2.7 to 2.5 ton/hectare. Moreover, the level of higher sediment classes decreased and level of lower sediment classes increased. The statistical analyses showed that there is a significant difference between sedimentation before and after the watershed management project.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2017

Increased generation of pollutants such as heavy metals is one of the serious and developing envi... more Increased generation of pollutants such as heavy metals is one of the serious and developing environmental issues threatening human society. Heavy metal pollution not only affects the physical and chemical properties of the soil but also it is dangerous to human health through entering into the food chain and finding its way into the groundwater. The present study was conducted to predict soil lead concentration, as one of the most important heavy metals, using readily available soil properties based on artificial neural network model. For this purpose, 63 soil samples were collected from 60-cm depth of the land surrounding Kashafrud River located in Mashhad City. Measured parameters included pH, electrical conductivity, particle size distribution, organic carbon, and Pb content in soil. The multilayer perceptron (MLP) as an artificial neural network model was used to predict the Pb concentration in soil. The performance of this model was assessed by the coefficient of determination (R2), mean absolute error (MAE), and also root mean square error (RMSE). The results showed that artificial neural network model is a suitable method to determine Pb concentration in soil rather than the direct laboratory measurement, which is an expensive and time-consuming method.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2017

One of the most important issues in increasing the efficiency of modern irrigation systems is the... more One of the most important issues in increasing the efficiency of modern irrigation systems is their field evaluation after exploiting. Irrigation efficiency is the main indicator in measuring and managing agricultural water consumption. This study was carried out in order to evaluate the hydraulic performance of center pivot irrigation system at Shahriar and Eshtehard cities in Tehran and Alborz Provinces respectively. In order to measure water consumption, the systems were evaluated using application efficiency (Ea) and potential application efficiency of low quarter (PELQ) indicators. Moreover, the irrigation distribution uniformity was evaluation through using coefficient of uniformity (CU) and distribution uniformity (DU). For calculating these indicators, the field measurement was used to collect water under each system. It was found that the Herman and Hein CU for the Shahriar and Eshtehard center pivot systems were 70.2 and 88% respectively and the DU for these systems were, 47.87 and 81.3 % respectively. The adequacy rates and Ea were 36 and 12% and 85, 81% respectively. In terms of efficiency, these systems are in good condition. The calculated PELQ is calculated 85.3 and 66.5% respectively, which are acceptable.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2016

Because of scarcity of surface water, consideration of water quality is a very important issue in... more Because of scarcity of surface water, consideration of water quality is a very important issue in Iran. Surface water quality monitoring and assessment is very expensive and time consuming; Therefore, finding a cheap, simple, and relatively exact method which can predict water quality would be very useful. In this study, Water Quality Index was used for measuring water quality. In order to monitor surface water quality and calculating the water quality, the data of six quality survey stations in SofiChay watershed during the period 1972-2012 were used. To determine the influencing parameter on the surface water quality within the watershed, the Shannon weight entropy method was used. Based on the amount of Shanon entropy and the calculated entropy weight, the effective parameter was evaluated in six stations: Tazekand, khormazard, Esfestanaj, Kahlikdarasi, Maragheh, and Khekan. The results indicated influencing parameters at the stations studied are pH, Mg, TDS, EC, and HCO3 respectively. Calculating the water quality index through using Shannon entropy indicated excellent quality of surface waters of the study area.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2016

Estimation of scour depth and understanding the flow field around pier would help to design with ... more Estimation of scour depth and understanding the flow field around pier would help to design with safer factor. In this study, we used the numerical model SSIIM as a CFD model to simulate flow and scour pattern simultaneously around single pier. The model was verified using laboratory data including the results reported for single pier. In this model, we considered the as a turbulence model to solve the 3D Navier-Stokes flow equations and used their outputs as inputs of sediment transition equations. Comparison between scour calculations of SSIIM model and experimental terms showed that the model has appropriate deviation value for estimating the maximum scour depth around single pier. Numerical and graphics discussions of scour pattern and flow field have been done in various simulation time for pier. Graphical results showed that the down flow at front of pier and upward flow at the rear of pier. In addition, the maximum down flow was simulated with high accuracy in compare with experimental results.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2016

Time series analyses is a base method for more decisions about hydrological process and water ope... more Time series analyses is a base method for more decisions about hydrological process and water operation. In Iran, drought is a continues and normal condition happening frequently and can be predicted by statistical and mathematical methods and models. In this research, meteorological drought was analyzed in 5 stations of Salmas region (Nazarabad, Salmas, Yalgozagaj, Chahrygeolya and Urban) located in West Azarbijan Province, Iran. For this purpose, the monthly rainfall time series, 30 years lengths (1979-2008) for these stations were simulated by times series models as: AR, MA, ARMA and ARIMA. Then the best model was used for forecasting the drought. Then the monthly rainfalls were predicted for next 7 years using the chosen model. In the following, the intensity of droughts was calculated by standard precipitation index (SPI). The final model chosen for the stations of Nazarabad, Salmas, Yalgozagaj, Chahrygeolya and Urban were the ARMA(1,1), ARMA(3,2), ARMA(1,1), ARMA(2,3) and ARMA(4,2) models, respectively. The results showed that for 30 years (1978-2008), drought had increasing trend just in Nazarabad station, while in other stations such as Salmas, Yalgozagaj, Chahrygeolya had decreasing trend.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2016

In this study, groundwater of Ardabil aquifer quality in terms of drinking and agricultural, was ... more In this study, groundwater of Ardabil aquifer quality in terms of drinking and agricultural, was evaluated. For this purpose, 76 wells including 32 drinking wells and 44 agricultural wells were considered. The results indicated that groundwater quality on the Water Quality Index (WQI) is in good condition. Based on the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Institute of Standard and Industrial Research of Iran (ISIRI), 10.5 percent of the wells have nitrate levels above the limit in the wet season; but in the dry season, about 29 percent of the wells had nitrate values higher than allowable level. In order to assess the quality of groundwater for agricultural use, as well as the Wilcox diagram and other parameters of sedimentation and corrosion including: Langelier saturation index (LSI), Ryznar Index (RSI) and Puckorius (POR), magnesium hazard (MH), permeability (I), the remaining sodium percentage (RSC), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and the percentage of sodium and chlorine were used. The results showed groundwater of this aquifer are corrosive and use it in urban water supply systems, causing illness and various problems caused by corrosion of pipes and the, the human will. The use of these waters, for agricultural purposes will cause problems in metal fittings of sprinkler irrigation systems.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2016

This study was performed to evaluate the effect of soil physicochemical characteristics on the gu... more This study was performed to evaluate the effect of soil physicochemical characteristics on the
gully expansion in the Darrehshahr Township of Ilam Province, Iran. In this regard, 36 gullies
were selected. The soil physicochemical properties and geometry characteristics of gullies
were tested using aerial photography, the digital maps, and field operations. The multiple
regression was used to determine the impact of these factors on each gully geometry
characteristics and to establish relationship between dependent and independent variables.
The results showed that EC, SAR, and Na+ have the highest impact and play the most
important role in the development of gully. Whereas amount of organic matter and total of
Ca+++Mg++ prevent gully development because of their soil adherence and flocculating
nature. Moreover, based on the cross-section development model, the amount of SAR and the
Na+ had the highest impact in the increasing cross section of gully. However, the amount of
gypsum and total of Ca++ and Mg++ play the most important role in control and prevent of the
gully development.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2016

In the past decade, remote sensing has been widely used to identify surface changes of different ... more In the past decade, remote sensing has been widely used to identify surface changes of different vegetation and their classification. Increasing the level of Canebrake of the Zarivar Lake and its risks for aquatic organisms living in the lake has become one of the most important issues in recent years. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify surface changes of this Canebrake in the past three decades using Landsat TM and ETM+. For this purpose, bands 3, 4, and 5 of images were geo-referenced. RMSE were less than one pixel for all bands. The supervised classification method with a maximum likelihood algorithm was also applied to detect the changes of water area on the combined images (bands 5, 4, and 3) of months with full water in the lake. NDVI index was utilized to identify the surface changes of Canebrake on the images taken in the months with low water in the lake. The results show that the rise and fall of water area and surrounding canebrake has a direct correlation with a rainfall and increase in both levels maybe occur at the same time. Study on the coastal strip of water area with GPS and combined images showed that the coastal line had not a significant change in the past three decades.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2016

Food contamination with aflatoxins, a secondary metabolite produced by filamentous fungi, is a fu... more Food contamination with aflatoxins, a secondary metabolite produced by filamentous fungi, is a fundamental subject in food safety for human. Therefore, especial attention should be dedicated about contamination of animal feed and transfer to human food chain by contaminated livestock products. The promising approach for controlling aflatoxins in food is prevention of fungi growth. However, practically this method is not successful; therefore, alternative techniques are needed to eliminate these toxins from consumed products in human and animals. In present study, four phrases used as key words were “aflatoxin, reducing methods, food and feed “by databases including Elsevier, Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar. After reviewing 83 articles, 59 studies were selected; these papers were published between 1960 -2014 for recent review. Therefore, it was decided to collect and review the common and usual methods for decreasing or deletion of deterioration of Aflatoxin in livestock feed and human food including physical, chemical and biological methods.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2016

The used dialysis liquid is considered as the largest volume of water used in medicine. The conce... more The used dialysis liquid is considered as the largest volume of water used in medicine. The concentrated liquid is manufactured in equal commercial quality and fully controlled procedure. But the quality of water used may pose different qualities. Using ordinary tap water to dialysate has always the possibility of transmission of potentially toxic substances from the patient's blood along with it. Therefore, the quality of water used to prepare dialysis solution is of great importance. The aim of this study was to determine microbial and chemical parameters of water used in dialysis center in one of the hospitals in Sanandaj City. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study in which 35 water samples from 10 hemodialysis machine were randomly selected. The study was performed in the second quarter of 2015. The chemical sampling was carried out once per month while the microbial sampling was taken twice per month. Evaluation of chemical and microbial indicators of water used in the dialysis ward of the hospital in Sanandaj showed that the water does not have microbial contamination but exceeding elements such as nitrite, sodium, calcium, and magnesium than the standard in some of the samples make it essential to do further monitoring of the water treated in dialysis ward.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2016

Sustainability and water resources management is an important issue. Therefore, appropriate organ... more Sustainability and water resources management is an important issue. Therefore, appropriate organization management of demand and regulating consumption patterns may build sustainable solutions for moderated in water resources dissipation. By having a proper planning respect to the utilization pattern of land (i.e. the optimal cropping pattern) we may manage the demand for water. The current study attempted to design cropping pattern, for the purpose of increasing the productivity of water resources in agricultural sector of Dehgolan County and apply respect to virtual water. The necessary data collected from 110 farms through simple random sampling and to find the cost of cultivation the statistical year book of agricultural organization used. The optimal cropping patterns were determined in three different scenarios such as increasing agricultural strategic crops price policy, with existence of strategic crops and use of total area under cultivation for the sample farms including Less than 10 hectares, between 10 to 20 hectares and more than 20 hectares. The result showed that, Wheat, potato, cucumber and alfalfa crops are main products in the cropping pattern for three groups of fields and according to the results of three concerns scenarios, the application of increasing price policy strategy had positive impact on the farmers' income and use of this policy along the policy use of available total land was more effective in the sustainability of water resources.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2016

This research was conducted to investigate the potential of scale forming and corrosiveness of dr... more This research was conducted to investigate the potential of scale forming and corrosiveness of drinking water in the reservoirs and drinking water distribution network in Shiraz, Iran.The area under study was divided into 17 zones. During winter, spring, and summer 2011, 144 water samples were collected from the water reservoirs and the various sites of water distribution system. The chemical parameters were measured. Then, values of the Langelier (LI), Rayznar (RI), Larson (LI) and aggressive (AI) indices were calculated for each sample. In this research, 41 samples of home pipes were collected from different zones of Shiraz and the rate of scale formation was calculated for each sample. The scale composition of 33 home pipe samples and 8 network pipe samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction method. Results showed that the mean values of LI, RI, LS, and AI were 0.07 (considered as slightly scale forming), 7.1 (non-scale forming), 1.2 (corrosive), and 14 (non-corrosive) respectively. The average rate of scale formation and their values for the drinking water of Shiraz pipes is 0.26 mm/yr. The research found that the main compositions in the scale samples were calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, magnesium carbonate, magnesium sulfate, hematite, maghemite, magnetite, goethite, zinc oxide, gypsum, vivianite, dolomite, hydroxyapatite, and troilite. The main elements in the scale samples were magnesium, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur, zinc, copper, and lead. According to the results of this research, zones located in the east, south, and southeast of Shiraz, because of high levels of hardness and sulfate exhibit more scale formation as a problem.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2016

The breakwater as structures that have an important role in the protection of coastal facilities ... more The breakwater as structures that have an important role in the protection of coastal facilities was used to create calm in the harbor, reduce wave energy and also protect the coast against wave attack. Wave overtopping is an important parameter to design breakwater. In this paper, a new formula will be proposed to estimate wave overtopping on the reshaping breakwater. In this research, further effective parameters such as stone diameter (Dn50) and water depth at toe of the structure (d) were considered to estimate wave overtopping. Wave overtopping occurs when water level goes higher than the crest of the structure. To derive a new formula, at first a relation was proposed using hydraulic and structural parameters associated with wave overtopping and then the dimensionless parameter was used by Buckingham theory. A comparison was made between the new relation and the relations proposed by former studies. This research indicated that the proposed formula is accurate in estimating wave overtopping on reshaping berm breakwater.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2016

Estimation of reference crop evapotranspiration is one of the most important elements in optimizi... more Estimation of reference crop evapotranspiration is one of the most important elements in optimizing agricultural water consumption and in management of water resources. Forecasting the daily and weekly reference evapotranspiration can be used in predicting of crop water requirements and in short range planning irrigation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of three types of artificial neural networks: MLP (multilayer perceptron), RBF (radial basis function network), and SVM (support vector machine) in forecasting the daily and weekly reference evapotranspiration at Tabriz synoptic stations. For this purpose, the meteorological data of 39-year period (1971-2009) were used. To train the neural network, 80 percent of time series data was selected randomly and 20 percent of data was used to validate the different models. To create the time series of daily and weekly reference evapotranspiration in a given period, the standard Penman-Monteith FAO 56 equation was used. Different combinations of input data (different delays) were used to evaluate the models. The results of daily forecasting of reference evapotranspiration showed that SVM with RBF kernel with input set of M5, RMSE=0.51 mm/day and R2=0.92 had the best performance. Moreover, the results of weekly forecasting of reference evapotranspiration showed that SVM with polynomial kernel with inputs set of M8, RMSE=3.88 mm/week and R2=0.95 had the best performance.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2016

Simulation of moisture distribution pattern in the root zone and accurate determination for desig... more Simulation of moisture distribution pattern in the root zone and accurate determination for design can be considered as one of the criteria for improving yield productivity and utilization management in surface irrigation systems. In this study, experiments were carried out in a transparent plexy-glass physical model (0.5×1.22× 3 m) on three different soil textures (fine, heavy and medium). The emitter outflows were considered as 2.4, 4 and 6 l/hr with irrigation duration of 6 hrs. Then, using the p theorem of Buckingham and Dimension Analysis (DA), equations were developed to estimate the pattern of moisture distribution (horizontal and vertical) in three soil textures in subsurface drip irrigation. These equations were as function of initial moisture, radial distance of points, applied water volume, hydraulic conductivity and emitter outflows. Comparison between simulated and observed values showed that these equations are capable in predicting the pattern of moisture distribution in different directions. The average of Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) values in clay soil and for emitter outflows 2.4, 4 and 6 l/hr were 0.039, 0.08 and 0.036, respectively. These values for loamy soil were 0.15, 0.044 and 0.091, respectively; while for sandy soil were 0.018, 0.019 and 0.02, respectively. Using these equations in designing surface drip irrigation systems, the moisture distribution could be simply simulated and optimum management can be accordingly applied.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2016

More than 85 percent of current ground water resources extractions are supplying agriculture wate... more More than 85 percent of current ground water resources extractions are supplying agriculture water demands in Birjand Plain. Because of the importance of water quality for irrigation, 47 samples collected from piezometric wells in Birjand Plain, to determine ground water quality suitability for agriculture. pH and EC values measured at filed campaign beside laboratory analysis of water samples for major ions concentrations. After chemical analysis of water samples, different geo-statistical models had used to model Cl, HCO3, SAR, pH and EC water qualities parameters. Then the error of each simulation was calculated. Finally, the best method was performed to prepare spatiality maps of Cl, HCO3, SAR, pH and EC parameters in Birjand aquifer based on FAO classification. The interpolation errors assessment highlighted Kriging as the most accurate method for all investigated parameters, in compare to Inverse Distance weighting (IDW) and Radial Basis Functions (RBF). The spatiality maps based on FAO classification show that ground water resources in Birjand plain are not applicable for agriculture due to extremely high values of SAR, Cl, and HCO3, where its usage has limited a little for agriculture by EC and its quality has a suitable range of pH.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2016

Great progress and development in geographic information systems technology has provided users th... more Great progress and development in geographic information systems technology has provided users the ability to use this discipline to evaluate changes resulting from natural and human factors, and to determine these changes. In this research, the changes trend in rainfall in the region of Marivan Plain and groundwater level changes were studied using GIS. The geographical coordinates of 23 rain gauges in the GIS were used to produce maps of their distribution using Thiessen polygon method. The study area was delineated from the interpolated map. Monthly precipitation data for a period of 15 years (1997-2011) were obtained from stations in the study area, and the mean precipitation for the area was calculated using the Thiessen polygon method. First, a point map was created using 23 rain gauge station coordinates of the plain, which was then interpolated using the nearest point method. The slope of the regression line reveals increase in rainfall amount during the year of study. Fluctuation of ground water table was studied for the years 1997-2011. Using coordinates of 27 wells dug in the study area, a point map was created. Average yearly groundwater table data related to observational wells in 1997 and 2011 were used to interpolate the point map using the moving average method. The results revealed 2509316 m3 declines in volume of the water.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2016

The presence of trace amounts of phosphorus in treated wastewaters from municipalities and indust... more The presence of trace amounts of phosphorus in treated wastewaters from municipalities and industries results in eutrophication.Therefore, its removal is crucial for controlling eutrophication in receiving water. Hence, the aim of this study was to evaluate the phosphor adsorption from aqueous solution using single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) as a sorbent. The batch experiments were performed at laboratory scale. The SWCNT was characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The effects of operational parameters such as adsorbent dosage, pH, and initial phosphor concentration on initial phosphor removal were evaluated. The isotherm and kinetics of phosphor adsorption were determined. The results showed that phosphor removal was directly proportional with increase in adsorbent dosage and it was reversely proportional with increase in initial phosphorous concentration. Therefore, with adsorbent dosage increased from 0.1 to 0.4 mg/l, the percentage of removal increased from 83.0 to 92.5%. Moreover, the pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order kinetic, and intraparticle diffusion models were used to describe the kinetic data. The experimental data fitted well with pseudo-second order kinetic model. Equilibrium isotherms were analyzed by Langmuir, Freundlich, and Tempkin adsorption models. It was found that the adsorption isotherm was correlated reasonably well with Freundlich isotherm. The high adsorption capacity of SWCNT indicates that this adsorbent might be a suitable alternative to remove pollutants from aqueous media. It is concluded that the SWCNTs have a high potential for phosphor adsorption and can be used as an effective adsorption for removal of phosphor form effluents.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2016

Public consumption of lemon juice and best-selling market makes adulteration by jobbers to reduci... more Public consumption of lemon juice and best-selling market makes adulteration by jobbers to reducing of production costs which caused to dangerous problems in people's health and relevant regulatory authorities. Previous studies showed none of the proposed methods by the Standard Organization of Iran could not able to identify adulteration in lemon juice due to changed via adding of some synthetic materials. Therefore, all of proposed methods are actually incapable in detection of adulteration including: mixing of some rough straw with lukewarm water, using of extracts in lemon juice production , adding of citric acid , dilution with water and mineral acid adding. Unfortunately, the type of adulteration in lemon juice in Iran is different with other countries. lemon juice is completely synthetic production which caused to gastrointestinal side effects as well as damage to the enamel teeth and public health. It seems that the IRIS should be revised due to incapable in response to adulteration discoveries. Therefore, it supposed the necessary proceeding in solving of this problem which used as main seasoning and important source of vitamin C in throughout the years. This review shows the advantages and disadvantages of alternative methods in industries to provide differences in natural lemon juice for the first time to provide adequate research in finding of effective methods in identifying of lemon juice.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2016

The Calculation of Continuity and Intensity of Droughts using Modified SPEI Index (Case study: Ta... more The Calculation of Continuity and Intensity of Droughts using Modified SPEI Index (Case study: Tabriz and Urmia Cities) Marhamat Sebghati*1, Hesam Ahmadi2 and Alireza Moghaddam3 1M.Sc. Faculty of Natural Resources (Watershed Managment), Urmia University, Urmia, Iran 2Assistance Prof. Faculty of Natural Resources (Watershed Managment ), Urmia University, Urmia, Iran 3PhD Candidate of Water Resources Engineering, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran *Corresponding Author: Sebghati.marhamat@gmail.com Abstract In recent years, global climate change and increasing drought are the important environmental issues, and many studies have been done about these issues. In this research, continuity and intensity of drought for Tabriz and Urmia cities, during 31 years period, using corrected SPEI index by Penman-Monteith FAO method was investigated. Mmoving average of 3, 6 and 12 month for monitoring rainfall trend was used comparison. The results showed that SPEI index in both cities were mainly faced with drought conditions. In addition, analysis of the moving average, drought index and statistical distributions of wet and dry years showed same results in most years for both citis. The most intensive drought index derived for Tabriz and Urmia stations were equal to -2.75 and -2 respectively. The longest drought indicated for both cities was within 2005 to 2010. Keywords: Statistical distributions, drought, SPEI Index, moving average, Penman-Monteith FAO.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2016

Nowadays, protecting environment, especially aqueous medium is a crucial task in modern world. Be... more Nowadays, protecting environment, especially aqueous medium is a crucial task in modern world. Because of their nature, dyes have not only negative impacts on the aesthetic aspects of the environment, but also result in serious biological and chemical side effects on the environment. Various processes have been applied for removal of dyes from effluent. The aim of this research was to assess the removal of Cat Blue 41 from aqueous media using Fe:TiO2 in the presence of sunlight. Based on a descriptive-laboratory scale experiment using RSM design experiment, the effect of independent variables of pH, nanoparticles dosage, initial dye concentration, H2O2 concentration and contact time on the photodegradation of the dye was carried out through 26 experimental run. Analysis of the proposed model was performed using ANOVA. The proposed model for the removal of dye was statistically significant at the 95 percent confidence level. The removal efficiency was function of the independent variables of nanoparticles dosage, initial dye concentration, and contact time. The photodegradation of Cat Blue 41 showed high photodegradation efficiency of Fe:TiO2 nanoparticles under sunlight irradiation. It was found that increasing the nanomaterials dosage, contact time, and H2O2 concentration results in increasing removal efficiency so that increasing nanomaterials dosage from 0.3 to 3 g/l resulted in increasing dye removal efficiency from 48.6 to 88.9% respectively. In addition, increasing pH and initial dye concentration led into reducing removal efficiency so that increasing dye concentration from 25 to 200 mg/l resulted in decreasing its removal efficiency from 69.8 to 35.5% respectively. Therefore, design of experiment suitably optimized the removal process and reducing the number of runs resulted in increasing efficiency of the pollutant removal.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2016

In coastal aquifers, infiltration and internal extending seawater is the most common reason for t... more In coastal aquifers, infiltration and internal extending seawater is the most common reason for the increased salinity. Locating adjacent to the hypersaline lake and a sharp drop in groundwater in the region has exposed West Azerbaijan Province to salinity invasion. In this study, geostatistical methods with various models were used to evaluate the effects of the salinity invasion toward the groundwater aquifers in West Azerbaijan. In order to analyze the interpolation methods, the kriging, cokriging, and inverse distance weight (IDW) with weighted variables and without weighted variables were used. To assess the accuracy of the developed models of geostatistical estimator, the coefficient of determination (R2), root square error (RMSE), and mean bias error (MBE) were used. Based on the results of this study, it was found that spherical kriging model, the spherical cokrigings model with Ca auxiliary, Model 2 in IDW method and Model 2 with HCO3 as variable weighted in IDW method were selected as the best models. Among the methods used for interpolation of salinity invasion in the study area, cokriging method showed the lowest error. Comparison of the zoning maps of salinity invasion showed that IDW model was sensitive to minimum and maximum values and showed those values in wider area in the study area. However, kriging and cokriging models are more accurate and perform the zoning with more accuracy.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2015

Iran is located in arid and semiarid areas; hence, it is essential to optimize the use of water r... more Iran is located in arid and semiarid areas; hence, it is essential to optimize the use of water resources, conserve, and reduce the loss of these resources. The use of mulch is one way to reduce water loss, especially in agriculture. This research was conducted in a completely randomized design in 2014. In order to investigate the effect of the amount and types of mulch on reducing soil surface moisture, nine treatments with three replications experiments were conducted in University of Birjand. The treatments were gravel mulch types (3 and 4), straw (10 and 20 g), coco peat (5 and 10 g), and zeolite (5 and 20 g). The treatments were saturated then weighed. The moisture loss per day was calculated for each treatment. The research showed that during testing the treatment, effect was significant at 1%. In addition, moisture content reduction did not change on a regular basis in none of the treatments. Moreover, it was found that the greatest effect in reducing evaporation from the soil surface obtained when coco peat, stubble, and straw were applied at 10, 10, and 20 g respectively). Comparing total evaporation after the completion of the experiment indicated that all treatments had positive and significant effect on reducing evaporation. The reduction of evaporation rate in treatments of straw 10 g, coco peat 10, gravel 4, and especially in straw 20 g was more than other treatments.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2015

In this research, the impact of meteorological parameters on SO2 accumulation between 2009 to 201... more In this research, the impact of meteorological parameters on SO2 accumulation between 2009 to 2015 years over Urmia City was investigated. Due to the polluted days and no remarkable effects relating to increasing industrial activities and transport services as well as the number of lorries and cars around the Urmia City, the parameter of meteorology plays a very crucial role in this issue. Therefore, some meteorological parameters considered were wind speed, wind direction, nebulosity, and temperature and SO2 pollutant as air pollution index. This study revealed that SO2 accumulation over Urmia City happens when the wind speed is 2-3 m/s, prevailing wind direction is Eastern, South-Eastern, nebulosity is none or low and the temperature is between -5 to +5 °C. February month is the most polluted month in year and the highest pollution occurs at 15-20 h.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2015

In recent years, newly-developed data mining and machine learning techniques have been applied in... more In recent years, newly-developed data mining and machine learning techniques have been applied in various ﬁelds to build intelligent information systems. However, few of these approaches offer online support or are ﬂexibleto be adapted to large and complex datasets. Therefore, the present research work adopts Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) techniques to obtain appropriate parameter settings for membership function and integrates the Adaptive-Network-based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) model to make the model fit for predicting scour depth. A dataset of 188 scour depths for single piers presented by the USGS was used. Results of the model prediction show that the derived model is best fitted to the field data. The proposed one-order momentum method is able to learn quickly through one-pass training and provides high-accuracy short-term predictions. Moreover, this method is suitable for online learning but the two-order momentum method is appropriate for incremental learning. The PSO-ANFIS approach could provide better results in predicting scour depths compared with other models.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2015

Irrigation and drainage networks are having numerous problems in various stages such as design, i... more Irrigation and drainage networks are having numerous problems in various stages such as design, implementation and utilization usually that reduce efficiency and destroy its structures. Also its reform and restructuring is difficult and unprofitable. This subject is main concern for water planners in the country and so far several activities for management of irrigation and drainage networks have been taken but most of these measures have not had significant success due to the lack of holistically. The main purpose of this study was to assess the irrigation and drainage networks performance (Gavoshan B2 unit (from the viewpoint of water user cooperatives in Kamyaran Township. To prepare the questionnaire, preliminary data were collected by PRA techniques and analysed using SWAT model and 12 point of strength, 10 weakness, 8 opportunity, 11 threats were ranked and 25 strategy have been presented. Findings showed that internal factors (strength and weakness points) had higher score weight than external factors (treatments and opportunities). Strength points with mean score weight of 3.97 had maximum and opportunities with mean score weight of 3.36 had minimum score. Score weight of strength points are more than score weight of weakness, that it shows its related Criteria has positive effect of on project. Also score weight of threats points are more than score weight of opportunity, that it shows its related Criteria has negative effect of on project. Hence, based on results is determined that diversification strategy should be considered as priority for optimization development of irrigation networks performance.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2015

Flow sediment load is a useful indicator in predicting soil erosion in watersheds. As a result, d... more Flow sediment load is a useful indicator in predicting soil erosion in watersheds. As a result, developing a model to estimate sediment load can be useful in the management and operations of watersheds and river engineering projects. In this study, the data classification was studied as a way to increase the accuracy of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model for estimating suspended sediment. For this purpose, the amount of suspended sediments in the Khalifa-Tarkhãn and Chehelgazi Rivers in Gheshlagh watershed, Kurdistan, Iran was predicted in three modes using an ANN with multilayer configurations. The measured data were also modeled without such classification. Then the runoff data were classified as high and low flows and the sediment data based on sediment concentration were classified as high and low concentrations. The observed runoff and sediment data were used to calibrate the models. Then the calculated values were compared with observed data and the models efficiency was examined using statistical tests. The findings indicate the effective role of data classification in improving the ANN efficiency in sediment estimation. So that classification based on sediment concentration promoted the model efficiency in Chehelgazi and Khalifa-Tarkhān by 16.6 and 30.5% respectively. The comparison of classifications showed that in comparison with flow, the sediment classification has more affective role on models estimations. The results of this study can be used to improve the management of the basin by more accurately estimating suspended sediments transporting in the rivers leading to Gheshlagh Dam Reservoir.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2015

Abstract Investigating the soil hydraulic properties such as wilting point and field capacity is... more Abstract

Investigating the soil hydraulic properties such as wilting point and field capacity is very important in studying and modeling water and solute in soil. Due to the spatial and temporal changes of these characteristics, recent studies have led to the development of indirect methods to estimate the soil properties. In this study, 10 models were used in order to estimate the soil water characteristics curve (SWCC) in soils of Clay, Clay loam, and Sandy loam; hence, to choose the best model. For this purpose, first the SWCC for the studied soils was calculated using pressure plate and then, models were fitted to the experimental data. Saturated hydraulic conductivity was measured in the laboratory and it was estimated by Rosetta model. The results showed that except for Campbell and Russo, all models presented the appropriate performance in estimation of SWCC. Moreover, Biexponential model fitted well with the best performance compared with other models in soils of Clay, Clay loam, and Sandy loam with the sum of the squared residuals (SSR) of 5×10-4, 2×10-4, 1×10-4 respectively, RMSE: 0.013, 0.015, and 0.015 cm3/cm3 respectively and R2: 0.997, 0.995, and 0.998 respectively. SSCBDTH331500 method in Rosetta model predicted the amount of saturated hydraulic conductivity with high accuracy. The results of this research will help to provide the optimum method for estimating SWCC.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2015

Melamine, an organic compound, derived from cyanamide, is composed of 66% by weight of nitrogen. ... more Melamine, an organic compound, derived from cyanamide, is composed of 66% by weight of nitrogen. It is sometimes illegally added to food products, especially milk and its products in order to increase tempting protein content. The standard tests to measure the protein, such as Kjeldahl and Dumas, estimate the amount of food proteins by measuring the amount of nitrogen available. Therefore, by adding nitrogen-rich compounds such as melamine to food, these tests are unable to differentiate non-protein nitrogen sources of the protein one. Hence, an economic incentive is created to add it to food. In March 2007, the United States FDA found traces of melamine in animal feed imported from China (wheat gluten or rice protein concentrate), which caused kidney stones and urinary tract disorders as well as death in large number of household dogs and cats. In addition, in late 2008, about 300,000 Chinese children fell ill due to the consumption of melamine-contaminated milk powder and six of them died. In recent years, examining the toxicity of melamine has been studied in hurting reproductive organs, forming bladder and kidney stone and even bladder cancer. Today, in many countries the maximum concentration limit (MCL) of melamine in baby milk powder, as an only source of food for children, and some other food products has been determined, which are elaborated. In this review article, it is attempted to discuss the uses and properties of melamine and its analogues, the toxicity of melamine and its analogues, sources of contamination of food with melamine and its maximum concentration level, and the methods to identify it.

Environment and Water Engineering (EWE), 2015

Abstract In this study, MCM-41 was prepared via hydrothermal method in presence of ethanol as a ... more Abstract

In this study, MCM-41 was prepared via hydrothermal method in presence of ethanol as a co-solvent and co-surfactant in alkaline media. Inorganic sorbent ZnCl2-MCM-41 was synthesized via covalent grafting method by dispersion of samples into pure toluene for solid state interaction between silanol groups of MCM-41 surface and ZnCl2 particles. Samples were characterized by nitrogen adsorption analysis, XRD, BET surface area, and FTIR spectrometry. MCM-41 BET surface area measured was 1099 m2/g, which was later reduced to 602 m2/g after incorporation of ZnCl2 particles onto MCM-41 surface. Effect of different experimental conditions such as solution temperature, pH, contact time, and initial concentration of Ni(II) ions were investigated on the amount of nickel adsorption. For experimental data, the Langmuir isotherm showed a better fit than Freundlich isotherm, which indicates that nickel adsorption onto inorganic sorbent was homogeneous and monolayer. At optimum conditions, maximum adsorption capacity of Ni(II) by sorbent obtained was 303 mg/g according to Langmuir isotherm. Pseudo-second order model predicted kinetic of nickel adsorption onto synthesized sorbent better than other models. Free energy was 9.8 kJ/mol determined by Dubinin-Radushkevich model, which confirms chemical nature of nickel adsorption onto synthesized sorbent.