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This work reports an alternative technique based on a complementary double split-ring resonator to determine the concentrations of ammonia and iron in water. The conventional methods for measuring ammonia and iron concentration involve expensive and bulky instruments in the laboratory. Furthermore, the current methods involve hazardous chemical reagents and complicated procedures. In this work, a low-cost microwave sensor which is portable and easy to operate is proposed. The water samples that have different ammonia or iron concentration is dropped deposited at the sensing area. Their concentration is determined based on the shifting of the resonance frequency in the measurement. The measurement results indicate that the resonance frequency of the resonator reduced from 2.38 GHz (unloaded condition) to a low-frequency range when the water sample containing different concentrations of ammonia or iron are introduced to the sensing area. Based on the collected results, Fourier models are used to establish the relationship between the concentrations of ammonia and iron (in the range of 0 to 53 mg/L) to the resonance frequency shifting. The validity of these models is proven as they introduced a root mean square error (RMSE) of less than 0.009. The findings of this work demonstrated the feasibility of the microwave sensor in detecting water pollutants.

This paper explores the strong potential of chemical mining of wastewater for markers of community-wide intake of wide-ranging harmful chemicals belonging to several usage groups: industrial chemicals, personal care products, pesticides, illicit drugs, lifestyle chemicals and prescription pharmaceuticals as a proxy for multi-chemical community-wide exposure. An estimation of chemical intake in five contrasting town/cities based in the Avon River catchment in the South-West UK was undertaken. High-resolution spatiotemporal pharmaceutical prescription databases were used for system calibration, both in terms of biomarker selection and its correction factor, as well as for the overall system performance evaluation, both spatially and temporality. Only metabolism data accounting for phase two metabolism provided correct estimates of pharma intake. Using parent compounds as XCRs (xenobiotic compounds residue) was found to overestimate exposure due to an inclusion of directly disposed (unused) drugs. Spatiotemporal trends in XC intake were observed as a result of occupational exposure (higher bisphenol A (BPA) intake during weekday), and lifestyle choices (higher cocaine and pyrethroid pesticides intake during weekend). WBE is not intended to estimate individual exposure to chemicals. It can however provide estimates at a community level, and as a result, it has the potential to be developed into an early warning system, a powerful tool for large scale screening studies identifying communities at risk and in need of high resolution individual testing at a localised scale.

Water-based (boiling and steaming) and contact heating (grilling at low and high temperature) methods deployed at 15, 30, and 45 min were investigated concerning their influence on potato's mechanical properties, mastication, and dynamic sensory perception. Instrumental color difference (ΔE) and triangle test results were explicated together. They revealed negligible ΔE (from one to nine) for grilled potatoes, compared to the boiling and steaming treatments (where ΔE ranged up to 24), indicating that appearance was not the only parameter influencing products’ distinguishing. Further investigations revealed that boiling and steaming were capable of increasing samples' mass up to 4% while grilling decreased by 46%. High and low temperature grilling treatments had the strongest effect on mass difference ( η p 2 = 0.949 and 0.84, respectively), while 45′ and 30’ preparation times had similar effects ( η p 2 = 0.981 and η p 2 = 0.959). Water-based methods had a stronger effect on selected mechanical properties (e.g., rupture stress, toughness, and deformability modulus). Grilling increased values of the mentioned mechanical parameters, especially considering the higher temperature. On the contrary, water-based methods decreased them with the preparation prolongation. The same trend was also followed by some mastication parameters (number of chews, consumption time, chewing rate). Estimated correlation coefficients revealed that mass difference had the greatest predictive power considering mastication, followed by toughness and rupture stress.

Recently, the calculus of complex neutrosophic sets and mathematical algebra has been introduced for handling several dynamic datasets. This allows for dealing with several real-life datasets having dynamic changes in their acceptation, rejection, and uncertainty. One of these datasets is water quality index, which is closely related to health care. To deal with this type of dataset, this chapter provides a new mathematical paradigm to select the level of water based on user health requirements. The knowledge discovered from each of the proposed methods is compared to the validated results.

This chapter examines the spectrum of health-related diseases associated with exposure to disinfection by-products (DBPs) in disinfected drinking water based on evidences adduced from epidemiological data, experimental animal studies, and other models. Critical evaluation of confounding factors in the design, application, interpretation of results of animal studies, epidemiological evidences, corresponding implications in population health impact assessment was presented. The use of predictors or biomarkers in assessing the overall health implications of the complex mixture of DBPs and why only a few DBPs have been regulated despite emerging evidences of more toxic compounds in the DBPs consortium were highlighted. Specific health-associated references with contacts with trihalomethanes, haloacetic acids, odorous DBPs, 3-chloro-4(dichloromethyl)-5-hydroxy-2(5H) furanone, chlorite, and bromate were discussed. In conclusion the chapter highlighted differences in sourcing and treatment of water by water utilities in developed and developing countries and recommend more elaborate epidemiologicalstudies in defining the actual health implication of exposure to disinfected water.

Undoubtedly, research on water is most promising and has attracted considerable interest across the globe. Water is essence of life and drives intra-/extracellular functions in all living organisms. Clean and pure water is prerequisite of healthy and stable life. Technology for purification of water has undergone dramatic evolution with the passage of time with scalability and cost. There are a number of membranes at present that are in use for purification of water based on 2D materials like graphene, MOFs, zeolite, TMDCs, MXenes, C3N4, and hBN. The potential and scalability of such membranes have been discussed in this chapter with future prospects. Moreover, fabrication methods of membranes have been explicitly discussed with merit and demerits. This chapter will give overview to readers who are interested in this hot area of research with insights on how to design the next-generation membranes for efficient, scalable, and economical water purification purposes.

Smoldering wildfire in peatlands is one of the largest and most persistent fire phenomena on Earth, which contributes importantly to global carbon emissions. However, very few studies are available on how to extinguish these smoldering wildfires. Herein, we develop an experimental method to explore the effectiveness of the water-based suppression on smoldering peat fire, and the proposed method can also be used to simulate fire suppression by rain. The low-temperature drying process avoids the variation of hydrophobicity of peat soil. The validation shows that the proposed approach can provide a wide range of water-spray intensities with time variation, and two examples of successful suppression of smoldering peat fire and flaming wood crib fire were presented.•The design of small-scale combustion reactor for peat can mimic the smoldering peat fire in the field.•The effectiveness of water-based fire suppression technologies on peat fire are explored in the lab.•The proposed method can evaluate the effect of rain and weather on suppressing the smoldering wildfire., Graphical Abstract Image, graphical abstract

Alcohol-based perfumes are the most common type of fragrance products on the market. However, due to the irritating potential of ethanol, its flammability, and ethical restrictions associated with its use in the Middle East, there is a growing interest in alcohol-free perfume products. The alternative ones are mainly in the form of solid or liquid oils and they also possess a few drawbacks. Therefore new solutions are still being sought with regard to the physical and chemical forms of perfumes’ compositions. An interesting idea is water-based perfume products, which helps to expand the market to the new consumer groups. Microemulsions and nanoemulsions belong to the group of nanodispersions, colloidal systems with a high degree of dispersion (radius

Recent literature has found excessive air content as a drawback in the polymer-modified cement mortars. Excessive air content has an adverse impact on the compressive strength of polymer-modified, cement-based mortars. Entrapped air voids in the cement based mortars are typically classified greater than 1 mm in diameter. In contrast to these voids, the entrained air voids (

The article summarises the data on water quality characteristics of Neeru stream analysed monthly for two years on a seasonal basis averaged to one year. Twenty-five water samples were collected and analysed to understand the quality of water based on index parameters. The data indicates marked variations in the concentration of most constituents mostly in the urban and suburban sections of the stream. The values for Canadian Water Quality Index (CWQI) were within acceptable range except for turbidity and nickel. The tributaries T-1, T-3 (III) and T-4 flowing close to urban settlement revealed relatively high levels of pollution (WQI:85-90), while T-3 (II) bisecting Bhaderwah town was heavily polluted (WQI:82.97). The main water channel (MC-1 to MC-10) with moderate to heavy pollution load in the middle and lower sections revealed reasonably good water quality (WQI 90-95). Keywords: Neeru stream, Canadian water quality index, Physicochemical parameters, Heavy metals, Pollution load, Water chemistry, Ion chromatography

When drilling with water based muds (WBM), significant fluid loss volumes from the mud into the formation can have adverse effects not just on the mud and its properties but also on the stability of the wellbore. Prevention of mud filter loss is one way of assessing the performance of a drilling mud. However, evaluation of the effectiveness or otherwise of a fluid loss control additive can be made by characterizing the mud cake formed. Interestingly, the mud cake characterization is one area that has been somewhat neglected in drilling fluid formulation with agro waste materials. Two cellulosic materials - rice husk and saw dust were chosen for the experimental study. The specie of the rice husk used was the African rice (Oryza glaberrima) while the dust from the saw milling of Oxystigma manni was utilized for this study. To ensure result acceptability, the rice husk and saw dust were ground and the resulting products were sieved to 1.25 × 10−4 m. The filtration characteristics of the formulated mud samples were tested using the American Petroleum Institute (API) filter press and in accordance to the API recommended practice for field testing WBMs. From the filter loss tests, it was observed that the ground rice husk prevented filter loss by an average of 77% compared to ground saw dust filtration control of 63%. In addition, it was observed that at higher concentrations, ground saw dust and rice husk prevented fluid loss to the minimum acceptable API standard. For the filter cake thickness measured in millimetres, ground rice husk exhibited thicker mud cakes when compared with the saw dust by an average amount of 14%. For the mud cake characteristics, the rice husk mud exhibited smooth and slippery cakes while the saw dust mud exhibited rough texture, sticky and firm cakes.

Waterborne coatings are not new. Emulsion paints, mostly used in domestic decoration, have been in use since the 1950s; today they account for around two-thirds of the world's total paint production. Water-based coatings can be emulsions of polymers that are specially tailored, can be dispersions of polymer particles, or can be a dispersion of solid paint particles, which are thermosetting in nature, in water. The vast majority of water-based coatings that are used for domestic purposes today are emulsion polymers that dry quickly to produce tough films. Industries have depended on the dispersion of premixed powder paints and soluble, crosslinkable polymers as primary binders. This article concentrates on the formulation principles and characterization of water-based paints and on a host of new ingredients that have become available over time. Analytical and test methods that find particular use with water-based coatings are detailed, with special emphasis on architectural finishes that form the major portion of water-based products.

The aim of this chapter is to explore how floating or submerged plants can be integrated with already existing structures and with the natural landscape. The most important possibility is integration with hydroelectric basins where large PV plants can be installed. Floating plants could also be integrated with waste water treatment plants, roundabouts or even architectural elements of villas and dwellings. The possibility of using submerged modules is also studied and their integration with swimming pools or fountains is discussed. The technology of hybrid PV-thermal modules, based on infrared water absorption, is also outlined.

Several waterborne polyurethane urea dispersions (WPUUs) were prepared by mixing different amounts of two waterborne polyurethane urea dispersions made with polyester (WPUU-Polyester) and polycarbonate diol (WPUU-PCD). Their crystallinity, thermal, rheological, viscoelastic and adhesion properties depended on the segmented structure and degree of phase separation which were determined by the different content of the parent dispersions. The PUU films made with WPUU-Polyester+WPUU-PCD mixtures containing more than 50 wt% of WPUU-PCD showed higher hard segments content and lower degree of phase separation, and the addition of 25 wt% of WPUU-Polyester imparted crystallinity to the polyurethane urea due to the interactions between the carbonate groups in the soft segments. The differences in the degree of phase separation and crystallinity of the PUU films made with WPUU-Polyester+WPUU-PCD mixtures were evidenced by the increase in the glass transition temperature associated to the alpha relaxation of the soft segments, and the higher modulus at the cross-over between the storage and loss moduli. Excellent adhesion was obtained in plasticized PVC/WPUU/plasticized PVC joints, and a cohesive failure of PVC was always obtained, irrespective of the composition of WPUU-Polyester+WPUU-PCD mixtures. Furthermore, the adhesion of surface-chlorinated vulcanized styrene-butadiene (SBR) rubber/WPUU+5 wt% hardener/roughened leather joints were high and similar in all joints and a dominant cohesive failure in the rubber substrate was produced. The accelerated ageing by immersion in water at 70 °C during different times showed that the polyurethane urea film and the surface-chlorinated vulcanized SBR rubber/WPUU+5 wt% hardener/roughened leather joint made with WPUU-PCD dispersion were not affected, but noticeable hydrolytic degradation of the ester units in the soft segments was produced in PUU-Polyester and, to a less extent, in PUU-50Polyester/50PCD films and adhesive joints. Financial support by UBE CHEMICAL EUROPE (Grant no. UBE1-15ID) is acknowledged.

The influence of intensified technologies on the microstructure of the solid matrix and the implications on the stability of the bioactive compounds are surveyed. The combination of intensified techniques can offer a more efficient alternative to enhance the performance of water-based extraction processes; examples of simultaneous and/or sequential application of these processes are presented. A survey of patents on this area is also summarized.

This chapter starts by considering the unique properties of the “solvent of life”, that is, water. After briefly reviewing its most salient characteristics and providing information on their possible theoretical treatment, the role of water in biology will be considered, especially as far as its effect on the structure and function of biomolecules and biostructures is concerned.

Water flooding of oil reservoirs has been performed for a century in order to improve oil recovery for two reasons: (1) give pressure support to the reservoir to prevent gas production and (2) displace the oil by viscous forces. During the last 30 years, it was discovered that the wetting properties of the reservoir played a very important role for the efficiency of the water flood. Even though much work have been published on crude oil–brine–rock (CBR) interaction related to wetting properties, Professor N.R. Morrow, University of Wyoming, asked the audience the following question at the European enhanced oil-recovery (EOR) meeting in Cambridge, April 2011: Do we understand water flooding of oil reservoirs? If we are not able to explain why injection fluids of different ionic composition can have a great impact on displacement efficiency and oil recovery, the answer to Morrow’s question is NO. Researchers have to admit that we do not know the phenomena of water flooding well enough. The key to improve our understanding is to obtain fundamental chemical understanding of the CBR interaction by controlled laboratory studies, and then propose chemical mechanisms, which should be validated also from field experience. In this chapter, I have tried to sum up our experience and chemical understanding on water-based EOR in carbonates and sandstones during the last 20 years with a specific focus on initial wetting properties and possibilities for wettability modification to optimize oil recovery. Chemically, the CBR interaction is completely different in carbonates and sandstones. The proposed chemical mechanisms for wettability modification are used to explain field observations.

Since the first viable commercial introduction, at least 25 years ago, waterborne epoxy coatings and floorings have become an increasingly commercially important technology. A key highlight in recent years is the transformation of patents into real-world application. A defining example of this is the emulsion curing agent technology, which circumvents any issues of osmotic blistering in high film build flooring applications. A further example is the latest amine dispersion technology, which offers unique formulation and application possibilities. In this chapter, important aspects of polymer and colloid chemistry pertaining to waterborne epoxy coatings are reviewed. The discussion will emphasize chemistries that the authors believe to be of commercial importance or which represent novel approaches to technology. There has been no attempt to be encyclopedic in coverage. Much of the information on the chemical technologies is drawn from patent literature. It should be noted by the reader that commercial practice frequently differs from that described in the patent.

The impact of climate change, particularly drought, places an enormous pressure on the synthesis of process systems that use freshwater resources efficiently. This paper presents the synthesis of water-based polygeneration system to minimize freshwater consumption. A comprehensive model is formulated through a superstructure, featuring the possible configurations of simultaneous heat and power generations, re-circulating cooling water system, wastewater treatment options, as well as reaction and separation technologies for chemical production. Process units are modeled using Aspen Hysys 2006. A case study on the synthesis of optimum water polygeneration system is developed for an ethylene glycol production. The superstructure model is a mixed integer non-linear programming problem (MINLP) consisting of 305 equations, 326 variables and 20 binary variables. The objective of the model is to minimize freshwater make-up subject to 85 constraints. The model is subsequently solved using DICOPT++ in GAMS 20.7 with the optimum solution showing nearly 50% savings of freshwater consumption.

The assessment of human exposure to metals in drinking water became an important issue during the 1990s. Exposure to chemicals in drinking water depends not only on the chemical concentrations but also on drinking water consumption habits. Many papers report chemical concentrations in drinking water. However, few report the water consumption habits of people in different geographical locations. This article presents methods for collecting drinking water consumption data and some results of water consumption habits in China and other countries. Finally, exposure assessment methods are discussed. There are five methods commonly used to estimate human exposure to metals in drinking water based on water consumption habit. These methods may be useful when assessing exposure to other metals in drinking water. They include the consumption habit exposure model (CHEM) method, drink/sample (D/S) method, composite proportional sampling (CPS) method, random daytime sampling (RDS) method, and probabilistic exposure assessment. This article identifies these five methods and their applications in China and other countries. An accurate exposure assessment would include data on actual consumption habits for a particular population, as well as data on metal concentrations in drinking water. Furthermore, participant mobility, temporal variability in concentrations, and changes in drinking water consumption habits must be considered with assessing exposures for chronic diseases. Selection of an exposure assessment method should consider the advantages, disadvantages, cost, and application conditions.

Publisher Summary The promising family of benzoxazines is developed by academia and industry as a new type of phenolic resins, which can potentially open up new applications and product opportunities. Due to the molecular design flexibility of benzoxazines, certain desired properties can be tailored. For most customers or end-users the underlying chemical structures or physical principles are only of secondary importance. Due to the advantages of benzoxazines, it is expected that the use of benzoxazines will grow significantly in the future and become an important part in general industry. The synthesis of benzoxazines can be performed with or without solvents. The industrial application of benzoxazine resins, these oligomers often prove to be beneficial in several ways. In this chapter the general properties of benzoxazines with various other thermosetting materials like standard phenolic resins, BMI, and epoxides are compared. All its aspects are described with an emphasis on the methodology of research activities. Special focus is laid on the toughening additives. The chapter explains efforts to extent the area of benzoxazine research to the field of water-based dispersions. Polymerizable nonionic benzoxazine surfactants and two different types of polymerizable benzoxazine based protective colloids are developed that can effectively stabilize different benzoxazine-based formulations as small droplets in water. The described benzoxazine containing surface-active stabilizers have the strong advantage that they can seamlessly copolymerize and become an integral part of a polybenzoxazine network upon curing.

Publisher Summary In the oil field industry, seals come into contact with fluids such as well fluids, completion fluids and stimulation fluids. Seals need to be designed to withstand harsh conditions. This chapter discusses some introductory information about these fluids and their corrosive characteristics, since they have an adverse effect on seal function. Conventional sealing techniques and designs, including those using highly temperature resistant rubbers such as nitrile to fluororubbers, used to be adequate for most applications. When drilling or completing wells in earth formations, various fluids are typically used. The fluid is often water based. Such fluid is referred to as ‘well fluid’. Completion fluids improve well productivity by reducing damage to the producing zone and they can help prepare, repair, cleanout and complete the well bore during the completion phase. Stimulation fluid is a treatment fluid used to stimulate production in a well. The term is most commonly applied to matrix stimulation fluids. The reinforcing effects of fillers cannot be overlooked while specifying the performance requirements of an ‘O’ ring or a seal for oil field use. The strain or the stretching crystallization of rubbers is another important property to be considered in sealing applications. Sealing materials for high pressures from specialty rubbers specially compounded for oil field service are more expensive and seal design more complicated. Higher sealing pressure increases sealing force and friction.

Business and politics was frequently discussed in spas in ancient times (e.g. Greek and Roman baths). This case study describes how there has been something of a renaissance in the combination of water based activities and business tourism. Many companies are chosing spa hotels as a location for their meetings and conferences, as it is believed that spas help to motivate and relax people and provide incentives for better performance. Spas can provide the ideal social environment for team building and can be conducive to networking. Participants are usually offered leisure based rather than medical packages and treatments, but increasingly workshops aimed at easing stress and dealing with other pyschological or lifestyle issues are becoming more common. Massages and relaxation treatments might also be offered to participants during a meeting or conference. There is a considerable growth rate in this form of wellness tourism in the US, but the trend is likely to increase everywhere.

Publisher Summary This chapter summarizes the methods for accumulating data for climatic stresses, for evaluating the data, and reporting the effects of different climates on several flat-plate collectors. The environmental impact on materials exposed directly to weathering or indirectly to weather dependent stress conditions, as in solar systems, varies over time. Therefore, it is necessary to accumulate stress data over a significant time period. Appropriate periods are usually at least one year or better still, several years to obtain the data needed for assessing the durability of a new material in comparison with others. If the data are intended to be a basis for general accelerated life tests, several different climates should be monitored at different locations and for different periods to identify the most challenging stresses. The impact of evaluation parameters like sampling time or integration intervals is considered. The chapter shows the effect of different climates, different materials, and the different collector types for heating domestic water based on the amount of stresses. Statistical analysis tools and the interpretation of the results are also discussed.

In the past fifteen years, the technology has moved forward under the external pressure on the reduction of volatile organic compounds (VOC) used in the adhesive and sealant industry, the drive in energy saving, and the need for recyclability. It has been demonstrated that most polymers adopted before 1984 are essentially the same. However, the fine tuning of each polymer system and the application of new technologies have propelled this industry to a steady level of growth. In this chapter, an attempt to highlight the chemistry and recent advances is made. For the convenience of the discussion, the chapter arbitrarily divides adhesives into five types according to their functions: structural, hot melt, pressure sensitive, water-based, and UV/EB cured. However, the division of adhesives is not always clear-cut, and there are unavoidable overlaps. Pressure sensitive adhesives can be made from solvent based, water based, hot melt or UV/EB curable systems. Characteristics of various types of adhesives are also summarized chapter. In addition, the chapter also lists advantages and limitations for each type of adhesives.

In this paper the influence of the viscosity-pressure relationship on the film thickness for the line contact situation is presented. The viscosity-pressure behaviour of many lubricants differs significantly from the behaviour according to Barus which is commonly used in EHL. This topic is of interest due to the fact that, for instance, water based lubricants, like emulsions, or biodegradable lubricants are frequently used. Also the “liquid to solid” behaviour of lubricants results in viscosity-pressure relations differing from the Barus relation. It will be shown that, if the viscosity-pressure behaviour differs significant from the Barus relation, the presented film thickness formulas in literature are not accurate. The effect on the minimum film thickness of the viscosity-pressure relations according to Roelands and to Bair & Winer, in the different EHL-regimes, will be shown in this paper. On the bases of this investigation a modified film thickness formula will be proposed.

As one of the CFC-elimination activities in Seiko Epson Corporation (SEC), water-based technology was developed for application in drying and cleaning processes. This technology was found very effective for replacing processes conducted by CFCs. As a result SEC reached the goal of total elimination of CFCs in October 1992.

This chapter describes field performance of Micronair atomizers with ulvair and water- based sprays. Micronairs are widely used in agricultural and hygiene aircraft spraying for applying spray quantities in the order of 0.5 to 5 1/ha. Ciba-Geigy has tested a multitude of ULVAIR-formulations with Micronair AU 3000 to investigate the spray performance depending on blade form, pitch setting, turning speed, and aircraft flying speed. The influence of flow rate and wing position of Micronairs on different aircraft was examined. The principal findings on Micronair performance and spray characteristics are presented in the chapter, followed with the direct effects of Micronair setting, and meteo on VMD, droplet density, droplet-size spectrum, and deposit strength, with a comparison with findings from hydraulic nozzles. It is found that with Micronairs quantity and size of the droplets are governed by the turning speed of the cages. The rpm varies depending on blade form, pitch setting, and flying speed.

Magnetic Particle Inspection is one of the oldest methods of non-destructive testing and remains very important today. Throughout the years during which the method has been used many practical studies of its application have been published as have reports concerning the basic physics of the process, the levels of applied magnetic field needed for generating leakage fields at magnetic discontinuities. During the last twenty-five years there have been several publications on the nature of the fields within discontinuities and the relationships between these fields and the leakage fields in the vicinity. In contrast to this the amount of published work concerning the magnetic particles themselves is very small and reports of the behaviour of magnetic particles in magnetic fields are even rarer. This study was designed to observe the general behaviour of magnetic particle inspection inks in the presence of leakage fields. Both black and fluorescent particles suspended in oil and water based carrier fluids were studied.