There is a special reason for reviewing this book at this time: it is the 50th edition of a compendium that is known and used frequently in most chemical and physical laboratories in many parts of the world. Surely, a publication that has been published for 56 years, withstanding the vagaries of science in this century, must have had something to offer. There is another reason: while the book is a standard fixture in most chemical and physical laboratories, including those in medical centers, it is not as frequently seen in the laboratories of physician's offices (those either in solo or group practice). I believe that the Handbook can be useful in those laboratories. One of the reasons, among others, is that the various basic items of information it offers may be helpful in new tests, either physical or chemical, which are continuously being published. The basic information may relate

Handbook of Chemistry and Physics

Environmental pollution from hazardous waste materials, organic pollutants and heavy metals, has adversely affected the natural ecosystem to the detriment of man. These pollutants arise from anthropogenic sources as well as natural disasters such as hurricanes and volcanic eruptions. Toxic metals could accumulate in agricultural soils and get into the food chain, thereby becoming a major threat to food security. Conventional and physical methods are expensive and not effective in areas with low metal toxicity. Bioremediation is therefore an eco-friendly and efficient method of reclaiming environments contaminated with heavy metals by making use of the inherent biological mechanisms of microorganisms and plants to eradicate hazardous contaminants. This review discusses the toxic effects of heavy metal pollution and the mechanisms used by microbes and plants for environmental remediation. It also emphasized the importance of modern biotechnological techniques and approaches in improving the ability of microbial enzymes to effectively degrade heavy metals at a faster rate, highlighting recent advances in microbial bioremediation and phytoremediation for the removal of heavy metals from the environment as well as future prospects and limitations. However, strict adherence to biosafety regulations must be followed in the use of biotechnological methods to ensure safety of the environment.

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/12/1504/pdf

Microbial and Plant-Assisted Bioremediation of Heavy Metal Polluted Environments: A Review

This paper examines and assesses predictive methods for the saturated hydraulic conductivity of soils. The soil definition is that of engineering. It is not that of soil science and agriculture, which corresponds to “top soil” in engineering. Most predictive methods were calibrated using laboratory permeability tests performed on either disturbed or intact specimens for which the test conditions were either measured or supposed to be known. The quality of predictive equations depends highly on the test quality. Without examining all the quality issues, the paper explains the 14 most important mistakes for tests in rigid-wall or flexible-wall permeameters. Then, it briefly presents 45 predictive methods, and in detail, those with some potential, such as the Kozeny-Carman equation. Afterwards, the data of hundreds of excellent quality tests, with none of the 14 mistakes, are used to assess the predictive methods with a potential. The relative performance of those methods is evaluated and presented in graphs. Three methods are found to work fairly well for non-plastic soils, two for plastic soils without fissures, and one for compacted plastic soils used for liners and covers. The paper discusses the effects of temperature and intrinsic anisotropy within the specimen, but not larger scale anisotropy within aquifers and aquitards.

Predicting the saturated hydraulic conductivity of soils: a review

The factors that may affect short-term leakage through composite liners are examined. It is shown that the leakage through composite liners is only a very small fraction of that expected for either...

Short- and long-term leakage through composite liners. The 7th Arthur Casagrande Lecture1 1This lecture was presented at the 14th Pan-American Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Toronto, Ont., October 2011, and a pre-print appeared in the conference proceedings.

In this review, microbiological and molecular concepts of Microbially induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation (MICP) and their role in bioconcrete are discussed. MICP is a widespread biochemical process in soils, caves, freshwater, marine sediments and hypersaline habitats. MICP is an outcome of metabolic interactions between diverse microbial communities with organic and/or inorganic compounds present in environment. Some of the major metabolic processes involved in MICP at different levels are urea hydrolysis, denitrification, dissimilatory sulfate reduction and photosynthesis. Currently, MICP directed by urea hydrolysis, denitrification and dissimilatory sulfate reduction has been reported to aid in development of bioconcrete and demonstrated improvement in mechanical and structural properties of concrete. Bioconcrete is a promising sustainable technology in reducing the negative environmental impacts due to CO2 emission from construction sector and as well as in terms of economic benefits by way of promoting self-healing process of the concrete structures. Among the metabolic processes mentioned above, urea hydrolysis is the most applied in concrete repair mechanisms. MICP by urea hydrolysis is induced by a series of reactions driven by urease (Ur) and carbonic anhydrase (CA). Catalytic activity of these two enzymes depends on diverse parameters, which are currently being studied under laboratory conditions to understand the biochemical mechanisms involved and their regulation in microorganisms. It is clearly evident that microbiological and molecular components are essential to improve the process and performance of bioconcrete.

/pdf/microbially-induced-calcium-carbonate-precipitation-micp-and-2gifdnnvfe.pdf

Microbially Induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation (MICP) and Its Potential in Bioconcrete: Microbiological and Molecular Concepts

Geosequestration deals with the long-term storage of captured carbon dioxide into various geological formations. Previous studies have focused on the different aspects involved in geological sequestration. The need to capture carbon dioxide from the emitting sources is to curb the rise in atmospheric temperature. The colossal energy demand since the pre-industrial period and with no point known for its culmination in the future, has been sufficed by the burning of fossil fuel, which is the leading cause for the emission of CO2. The combustion of fossil fuels is prolonged from being substituted by an alternative clean source due to its ease and cheaper than the currently available technologies. Hence, for mitigating the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, diverse techniques, including geological sequestration, have been considered. The major components of the geological sequestration technique are capturing, transporting, and long-term storage. Depleted oil and gas fields, saline formations, unminable coal seams, and saline water-filled basalt volcanic rocks are potential formations. Various mechanisms are involved in the storage of CO2 in geological formations spread over a geological time scale. The various fundamental phenomena involve a complex behavior and have been understood from various coupled models that describe the interaction of different phases of materials present in the formation. The scientific challenge is to ensure that the CO2 remains safely in these storage sites for thousands of years. The present study attempted to highlight the role of coupled phenomena in assessing the efficacy of the storage site. The thermo-hydro-mechanical and geochemical coupling in a storage site from a geoengineering perspective is discussed.

A Review on Coupled Phenomena in Aquifers from the Perspective of Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide with Ecological Significance

Population explosion and rapid industrialization have led to generation of large amount of solid and liquid wastes, which require safe disposal and containment. Currently, land disposal or shallow disposal of these wastes is being practiced by industries and the municipal authorities. However, subsequent interaction of the disposed of waste with rain or ground water generates leachates, which in due course of time contaminate the geoenvironment viz., soil, rock and the ground water (Shu et al. 2018). In addition, high-level radioactive waste generated by nuclear industry comprising of radionuclides of transuranics (viz., Pu, Np and Am) and fission products (viz., I, Cs and Sr), require safe handling and disposal in the geological formations. The efficacy of these formations must be established based on detailed investigations related to their geological, hydrological, geochemical, geophysical and geotechnical characteristics and their impact on integrity of the waste form (IAEA 1993; Gurumoorthy and Singh 2004a, b). It must be noticed that the migration of radionuclides from these waste forms depends on the type and condition of the rock mass (intact or fractured) and the soil mass (saturated on unsaturated). The fractured rock mass creates a pathway for the ground water movement and thereby enhances the probability of dissolution and migration of radionuclides from the radioactive waste matrix and resulting in contamination of the geosphere (Hakanen 1993; Jedinakova 1998).

Centrifuge Modeling of Contaminant Transport in Geomaterials

Coupled effect of UV ageing and temperature on the diffusive transport of aqueous, vapour and gaseous phase organic contaminants through HDPE geomembrane

Coupled hydromechanical model for evaluating the volume change and fluid permeation behavior of expansive clay smear in a fault upon interaction with CO2

Soil has been the most widely explored material for construction purpose, since our ancestors stepped out from the cave dwellings and went in search for alternate shelters. As it is the plasticity and consequent mouldability of the soil, that attracted the early humans; it is evident that the clay minerals are the prime contributors for the desired properties. In modern times, the scope of soil as a building material became wider (viz. embankments, landfill liners etc.) and the clay fraction still plays the key role in deciding the material suitability. In this regard, it is necessary to have a thorough understanding of the various elements that influence the behaviour of the clayey fraction within the soil. Among the different factors that influence the clay behaviour, soil pH deserves the prime position, as it can alter the charge distribution of the clay surface and promote mineral dissolution. In view of this, the following chapter address the role of pH in moulding the current personality that we assigned to the clay minerals. In the initial part of the discussion, the different sources and nature of soil acidity/alkalinity, and the role of soil type and genesis in influencing the same has been reviewed. Further, the extent of pH buffering offered by the soil system is discussed, focussing on the various mechanisms involved in the pH-neutralisation. The later section of the chapter discuss the ways with which pH modifies the soil properties such as fabric arrangement and surface charge. Also, the special case of soil-electrokinetic treatment is considered to demonstrate the implications of the property changes in a real life applications.

D. N. Arnepalli

Papers

A Review on Coupled Phenomena in Aquifers from the Perspective of Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide with Ecological Significance

Centrifuge Modeling of Contaminant Transport in Geomaterials

Coupled effect of UV ageing and temperature on the diffusive transport of aqueous, vapour and gaseous phase organic contaminants through HDPE geomembrane

Coupled hydromechanical model for evaluating the volume change and fluid permeation behavior of expansive clay smear in a fault upon interaction with CO2

Soil pH and Its Significance as Ecological Material: Perspectives and Implications