Showing papers in "EnvironmentAsia in 2017"

Relationship of rainfall distribution and water level on major flood 2014 in Pahang River Basin, Malaysia

Abstract: Climate change gives impact on extreme hydrological events especially in extreme rainfall. This article discusses about the relationship of rainfall distribution and water level on major flood 2014 in Pahang River Basin, Malaysia in helping decision makers to flood management system. Based on DID Malaysia rainfall station, 56 stations have being use as point in this research and it is including Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan and Perak. Data set for this study were analysed with GIS analysis using interpolation method to develop Isohyet map and XLstat statistical software for PCA and SPC analyses. The results that were obtained from the Isohyet Map for three months was mid-November, rainfall started to increase about in range of 800mm-1200mm and the intensity keep increased to 2200mm at mid-December 2014. The high rainfall intensity sense at highland that is upstream of Pahang River. The PCA and SPC analysis also indicates the high relationship between rainfall and water level of few places at Pahang River. The Sg. Yap station and Kg. Serambi station obtained the high relationship of rainfall and water level with factor loading value at 0.9330 and 0.9051 for each station. Hydrological pattern and trend are extremely affected by climate such as north east monsoon season that occurred in South China Sea and affected Pahang during November to March. The findings of this study are important to local authorities by providing basic data as guidelines to the integrated river management at Pahang River Basin.

Stabilized Old Landfill Leachate Treatment Using Electrocoagulation

Abstract: Electrocoagulation of leachate samples was performed by using aluminium and iron electrodes. The objective of study was to optimize the parameters such as current density, electrolysis time and pH ...

Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Solid Waste Open Burning in Terengganu, Malaysia

Abstract: With more than 40 percent of the world’s rubbish is burned, open burning is a significant source of atmospheric pollution globally and remains one of the main environmental issues and health concerns for many developing nations. Despite having stringent criminal penalties for illegal open burning, Malaysia encounters increasing trend in open burning incidents. A better understanding of the knowledge, attitudinal, and perception towards open burning would inform more effective intervention efforts towards changing this trend. A questionnaire survey to assess knowledge, attitude and practice of public was conducted in Kuala Terengganu. A total of 384 respondents from various demographic backgrounds participated in the survey. Descriptive analysis was used to analyse the respondents’ socio-demographic profiles. Pearson correlation was used to uncover the relationship between knowledge, attitude and practice among the respondents. Results showed that the respondents had good knowledge on open burning and showed positive attitude towards protecting the environment from the problem. However, they displayed lack of practice to tackle the problem in real life. The study also found a weak relationship between knowledge with attitude and practice on open burning. Policy-makers should, therefore, devise intervention programmes that can encourage higher practice rather than merely focusing on raising awareness.

Distribution of gas phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in selected indoor and outdoor air samples of Malaysia: a case study in Serdang, Selangor and Bachang, Malacca.

Abstract: Distribution of 10 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the gas phase of air from selected indoor and outdoor areas of Selangor and Malacca, Malaysia has been investigated. A locally designed Semi Permeable Membrane Device (SPMD) was applied for passive air sampling for 37 days at selected locations. Cleanup was carried out with Gas Purge Micro Syringe Extraction (GP-MSE) and the final analysis was using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). In this study, 6 indoor and 12 outdoor locations were selected for air sampling. A total of 10 compounds of PAHs (Ʃ10PAHs) were determined in the range of 0.218 ng/m 3 1.692 ng/m and 0.378 ng/m 1.492 ng/m in outdoor and indoor samples respectively. In the outdoor samples, locations such as near a petrol station and heavy traffic showed the maximum levels of Ʃ10PAHs, while rooftop samples showed the lowest Ʃ10PAHs. The distribution of gas phase Ʃ10PAHs was influenced by vehicular emission. Low molecular weight (LMW) compounds (2-3 rings) were dominant in all samples (>70%) indicating that SPMD has successfully sampled the gas phase of the air.

Comparison of nitrogen removal and full-scale wastewater treatment plant characteristics in Thailand and Japan

Abstract: Four full-scale systems wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were used as study sites. All of these WWTPs were designed and operated for biological nitrogen removal (BNR) by using nitrification-denitrification processes. In general, the WWTPs in Thailand operated at higher values of temperature, HRT and SRT. Influents and effluents from these sites are compared and discussed in terms of BNR, dominant nitrifying microorganisms and WWTP design. Nitrogen removal was observed in all the sites and correlated to the influent total N (TN) to BOD ratio. Polymerase chain reaction coupled with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis was used to identify dominant bacteria involved in nitrogen transformations: ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB), and nitrate reducing bacteria (NRB). AOB Nitrosomonas sp. was found only in Thailand where aerobic HRT was ≥ 4 hours and SRT was ≥15 days. Furthermore, AOB Nitrosospira sp. were found only in Japan at aerobic HRT ≤ 4 hours and SRT≤ 13 temperature (21-27°C). NOB Nitrospira sp. was found at aerobic HRT ≥ 4 hours and SRT ≥ 6 days. Interestingly, Nitrotoga sp. was found in the aerobic tank one in Thailand and one in Japan and co-occurred with NRB Burkholderia denitrificans. The higher wastewater temperature and lower influent nitrogen concentration in Thailand appear to promote a different AOB and NOB community structure than in Japan. The most important factor affecting TN removal was the influent TN to BOD ratio.