Biological & Environmental Sciences
http://hdl.handle.net/10576/3074
2024-03-19T10:45:06ZCONTAMINATION OF ARSENIC IN RICE-BASED BABY FOOD PRODUCTS AND THEIR HEALTH RISKS
http://hdl.handle.net/10576/52700
CONTAMINATION OF ARSENIC IN RICE-BASED BABY FOOD PRODUCTS AND THEIR HEALTH RISKS
ABDULLAH, HASA A.
This study aims to assess the health risks associated with arsenic exposure in consumers of rice-based infant food products. The consumption patterns of rice-based baby food products among individuals aged 4-12 months in Qatar utilized two consumption scenarios: a food balance sheet analysis and national dietary intake. The collected rice-based infant food products from four different categories (plain rice, rice with fruits, rice with vegetables, and rice with milk) and seven different brands (A, B, C, D, E, F, and G) in Qatar from three major hypermarkets during two distinct seasons (winter and summer) to investigate the potential impact of seasonal variations on arsenic contamination in rice and rice-based products. The collected products were analyzed using the ICP-MS method, revealing a total arsenic content ranging from 0.144 μg/kg to 55.14 μg/kg. Subsequently, the statistical analysis was conducted for consumption and contamination data using a non-parametric test (Kruskal–Wallis) due to the non-normal distribution of contamination data, and there were significant differences among the product brands regarding arsenic contamination. Based on these contamination data, three case scenarios were considered: the worst case (maximum arsenic concentration), in which infants consume highly contaminated products; the average case (mean arsenic concentration); and the best case (minimum arsenic concentration), where infants are assumed to consume the lowest or uncontaminated rice-based products. Utilizing these scenarios, the exposure assessment was conducted employing both probabilistic and deterministic approaches, which allowed the determination of the Hazard Quotient (HQ) and Lifetime Cancer Risk (LTCR). The findings of the study indicate that the consumption of plain rice increases the risk of arsenic exposure, and the consumption of rice-based food products poses a health risk to infants aged 4-12 months in Qatar if these products are consumed daily according to national dietary guidelines.
2024-01-01T00:00:00ZTREATMENT OF RAW SEWAGE WASTEWATER IN A PILOT SCALE PLANT THROUGH A NOVEL METHOD USING MICROALGAE, AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE PRODUCED BIOMASS FOR FERTI-IRRIGATION: A QATARI CASESTUDY
http://hdl.handle.net/10576/52699
TREATMENT OF RAW SEWAGE WASTEWATER IN A PILOT SCALE PLANT THROUGH A NOVEL METHOD USING MICROALGAE, AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE PRODUCED BIOMASS FOR FERTI-IRRIGATION: A QATARI CASESTUDY
MOHAMED, AHMAD MUJTHABA DHEEN
Global population is on the rise. Water scarcity and demand is at an all-time high. Yet anthropogenic activities keep increasing the amount of wastewater in the environment. While humans have developed wastewater treatment technologies, the conventional method has dire consequences. Its energy intensive nature and sludge production at the end of the treatment has meant that energy requirements and landfills are on the rise. This study aims to use different microalgae to treat preliminary pretreated raw municipal wastewater and use the resulting microalgae biomass and treated effluent for ferti-irrigation of tomatoes. Findings showed Scenedesmus sp. to be the most promising in terms of growth in wastewater (OD = 1.051), nutrient removal (75% - 92% removal efficiency) and plant growth enhancement, leading to the plants with the tallest height, most number of leaves and heavies fresh root biomass, dry root biomass and dry shoot biomass. Chlorella sp. also showed promising results, Nostoc sp. showed variation in performance and Leptolyngbya sp. did not show any signs of growth.
2024-01-01T00:00:00ZANALYSIS OF HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATIC FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ALGAL BLOOMS BASED ON REMOTE SENSING PRODUCTS AROUND THE COASTAL REGION IN THE ARABIAN GULF
http://hdl.handle.net/10576/52697
ANALYSIS OF HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATIC FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ALGAL BLOOMS BASED ON REMOTE SENSING PRODUCTS AROUND THE COASTAL REGION IN THE ARABIAN GULF
AL-SHAMLAN, MARYAM YOUSUF
Algal Blooms (ABs) are a global ecological disaster threatening aquatic ecosystems, human health, and economics. In the Arabian Gulf, monitoring and early warning systems are needed due to a lack of in-situ data. This study detects ABs using advanced satellite-based remote sensing data. The study has three goals: 1) Document temporal and spatial AB patterns in the Arabian Gulf, focusing on Qatar's coastal zone; 2) Analyze key oceanographic factors causing ABs; and 3) Quantify correlations between these factors and past ABs to enable predictive models in early warning systems. Satellite image-based data revealed a modest positive association (r=0.58) between sea surface temperature and chlorophyll-a levels, with the highest AB from May to September. Salinity has a smaller negative connection (r=-0.26) with chlorophyll and a positive correlation with easterly winds. These findings have major implications for early warning systems, Arabian Gulf ABs management, and regional preparation.
2024-01-01T00:00:00ZNovel approach in treating industrial wastewater using metal-organic framework nanoparticles impregnated with biosurfactants.
http://hdl.handle.net/10576/51450
Novel approach in treating industrial wastewater using metal-organic framework nanoparticles impregnated with biosurfactants.
Eldos, Haneen Ibrahim Rasheed
Arabian Gulf countries including Qatar are amongst the main oil and gas (O&G) producers globally. A huge amount of water is used during the upstream and downstream processes of oil and gas refiners. As a result, a large quantity of wastewater is produced. Treatment of this wastewater is a critical issue due to the significant amount of wastewater generated and the potential organic and inorganic contaminants it may contain. Hence, developing treatment strategies for industrial wastewater that are adaptive, eco-friendly, costeffective, and efficient is the main challenge toward the environmental protection field and sustainable development of the O&G sector. Nanotechnology is an emerging advanced technology that incorporates various nanoadsorbents for wastewater. Current work in this field is invested in developing new modified nano-adsorbents and studying their efficiency in mopping up several environmental contaminants from wastewater. The main aim of this study was to develop novel nanoparticles to overcome some limitations encountered by efficient nanoadsorbents due to their mobility, which is attributed to rapid particle aggregation. Firstly, different process wastewaters (PWWs) from the O&G industry were collected and characterized to investigate the type and quantity of organic and inorganic contaminants present. The results revealed that the collected PWWs contained high organic contaminants including gasoline range organics (GRO), extractable petroleum hydrocarbons (EPH), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and inorganic contaminants. Two nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized and characterized by different techniques, namely zeolite imidazole framework-8 (ZIF-8) and iron oxide nanoparticles (IONs). In this study, the adsorptive removals of volatile petroleum hydrocarbons (VPHs) from an aqueous solution by ZIF-8 and IONs were investigated. In this work, the two NPs (ZIF-8 and IONs) were modified by biosurfactant (BS) extracted from hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria isolated from process wastewater. The main aim behind coating ZIF-8 and IONs with BS is to improve their surface properties and enhance the adsorption capacity of mixture VPHs (namely p,o,m-xylene, pentane, ethylbenzene, methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), toluene, n-hexane, benzene, octane, decane, 1,2,3-trimethyl benzene, naphthalene, and 1-methyl naphthalene) from an aqueous phase. The characterization results confirmed the successful loading of BS onto ZIF-8 and IONs surfaces, showing a higher capability of VPHs adsorption. The adsorption isotherm results showed that the BSimpregnated ZIF-8 and IONs have higher adsorption capacity than the unmodified ZIF-8 and IONs. Overall, the results of this work deliver deep knowledge in understanding about different interaction mechanisms between ZIF-8 and IONs and BS in addition between ZIF-8 and IONs and VPHs demonstrating the high potentiality of ZIF-8 and IONs modification techniques to adsorb different contaminants.
2024-01-01T00:00:00Z