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M.S.

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Water and energy are two of the most precious and essential resources which are inseparably connected; vital for the survival and well-being of humanity. Sustainable water resources and energy management emphasizes the requirement for a holistic approach in meeting the needs of the present and future generations. In order to indentify the needs and obstacles relating to water reuse and renewable energy initiatives, Hanson Formpave in partnership with The University of Edinburgh implement a five-year pilot project between May 2005 and June 2010. The research project addressed the use of sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) such as permeable pavements systems (PPS) and integration of renewable energy tools such as geothermal heat pumps (GHPs). The research uses the novel and timely urban drainage system and focuses on water quality assessment when incorporated with GHPs. Twelve-tanked laboratory scaled experimental PPS were evaluated at The King’s Building campus (The University of Edinburgh, Scotland) using different compositions. Variations in designs included the presence of geotextiles layers and geothermal heating/cooling applications. The experimental rigs were examined for a two year period (March 2008 to April 2010). Two types of urban stormwater were used in the analysis; (i) gully pot liquor and (ii) gully pot liquor spiked with Canis lupus familiaris (dog) faeces. This urban wastewater represented the extreme worstcase scenario from a storm event, which can occur on a permeable pavement parking lot. The pavement systems operated in batch-flow to mimic weekly storm events and reduce pumping costs. Six PPS were located indoor in a controlled environment and six corresponding PPS were placed outdoors to allow for a direct comparison of controlled and uncontrolled environmental conditions. The outdoor rig simulated natural weather conditions whilst the indoor rig operated under controlled environmental conditions such as regulated temperature, humidity and light. The project assessed the performance of these pavement rigs with the integration of ground-source heating and cooling, standalone PPS and the abilities for water quality treatment from a physical, chemical and microbiological perspective. The performance efficiency of the GHP was measured by the energy efficiency ration (EER) for steady state cooling efficiency and the coefficient of performance (COP) for the heating cycle efficiency. Findings from the combined PPS and GHP system and standalone systems were able to significantly lower levels for all physiochemical and microbial water quality parameters in the range of (70-99.99%) respectively. Outflow concentrations for all pavement systems met the European Commission Environment Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC). The presence of geotextiles resulted in a significant reduction of contaminants when compared to PPS systems without (p <0.05). Photocatalytic disinfection with titanium dioxide (TIO2) was applied to the effluent from PPS for further treatment and polishing of the stormwater. After the photocatalytic disinfection, the water met the requirements for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) water recycling guidelines and the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines for potable water consumption with regards to microbial contamination. An Energy and temperature balance was developed for two PPS using a 4th order Runge-Kutta numerical method to model the heat fluxes and energy balance within the pavement system. Machine learning techniques such as artificial neural networks (backpropagatioin feed forward neural networks) and self-organising maps (SOM) were applied and successfully predicted the effluent concentrations of nutrients, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and microbial pollutants. The overall outcome of this research is a significant contribution to the development of a new generable of sustainable and eco-friendly pavements. The research project proves scientifically that PPS is one of the most appropriate systems for GHP installation and does not affect its efficiency for water pollutant removal.

Die interventionelle radiologische Drainagenbehandlung ist heutzutage ein unverzichtbarer Bestandteil der modernen minimalinvasiven Therapie von Abszessen und infizierten Flüssigkeitsansammlungen. 180 Drainagebehandlungen an 131 Patienten der Chirurgischen Uniklinik Würzburg wurden im Zeitraum von Januar 2001 bis Juli 2003 untersucht. Es werden die beiden angewandten Verfahren der Seldinger- und Trokartechnik beschrieben und nach ihrem Erfolg bewertet. Dargestellt werden zunächst die rein technischen Ergebnisse der Punktionen. Danach werden die Behandlungen im Hinblick auf Erfolg und Misserfolg bewertet. Der Abszess wird bei der Behandlung unterschiedlicher Verhalte besonders berücksichtigt. Verglichen werden die Behandlungserfolge bei septischen Patienten mit denen bei nicht-septischen Patienten. Außerdem wird der Gesundheitszustand von intensivpflichtigen Patienten mithilfe des APACHE III-Scores bewertet. / Today, interventional radiologic drainage therapy is an indispensable part of modern minimal- invasive therapy of abcesses and infected fluid collections. 180 treatments with drainage therapy in 131 patients of the surgical unit of the university wuerzburg from january 2001 to july 2003 have been analysed. The applied methods, trocar and the technique of seldinger are described and evaluated. First the pure technical results are presented. Then the therapies are evaluated by success or failure. Within the treatment of diverse fluid collections, especially, abscesses are regarded, followed by a comparison of successful therapy in patients with and without sepsis. Futhermore, patients of intensive care unit are stated with help of the APACHE III scoring system.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Science, School of Geosciences, 2017. / The costs of acid mine drainage (AMD) monitoring result in the quest for alternative noninvasive method that can provide qualitative data on the progression of the pollution plume and ground geophysics was the ideal solution. However, the monitoring of AMD plume progression by ground geophysics (time-lapse electrical resistance) proves to be noninvasive but also time consuming. This study focuses on the modeling of different geophysical anomalies (mainly geoelectrical resistivity response) of the karstic aquifers. The models are generated from field parameters such as the electrical resistivity of the host rock and the target rock, depth to the target, noise level and electrode configuration in order to ensure that the model outcomes represent the actual field data. This process uses Complex Resistivity Model (CRMod) and Complex Resistivity Tomography (CRTomo) to generate geoelectric subsurface models. Different resistivity values are applied to targets in order to assess the difference against the baseline model for each target scenario. The resistivity difference is reduced to smallest possible value between the reference and new models in order to gauge the lowest percentage change in the model at which the background noises start to have impact on the results. The study shows that the behavior of targets (aquifer) could be clearly detected through resistivity difference tomography rather than inversion tomography. The electrode array plays a significant part in the detection of target areas and their differences in resistance because of its sensitivity. This therefore indicates that the electrode array should be chosen according to study requirements. Furthermore, this study shows that the modelling of different target sizes, alignments and shapes plays huge role in the final results. Future studies that can provide a correlation between the field quantitative data from sampling and the model outcomes have the ability to add to the knowledge of geophysical modeling, thus reducing costs associated with field based plume AMD monitoring. Key words: Acid mine drainage, geophysics, karst aquifer, complex resistance, modelling, tomography / XL2018

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Master of Science degree, 2017. / Mining is an integral sector of most developing countries and it is a highly lucrative industry that has been in existence for centuries, and assumes an essential part in their economies. However, the legacy of mining in these countries has posed a threat to underground and surface water as a result of contamination arising from Acid Mine Drainage (AMD). Bearing in mind the environmental and ecological impairment posed by AMD there is a need for innovation in the treatment of AMD, to enable financially savvy treatment of the contaminated waters. This research is focused on the extraction of U(VI), As(III) and As(V) from synthetic metal solutions as well as field removal of these metal ions by application of iron hydroxide/oxide-modified zeolite. Batch experiments were performed to evaluate the effectiveness of iron hydroxide/oxide-modified zeolite as a potential low-cost sorbent for extracting As(III), U(VI) and As(V) from AMD. The research approach was based on the possible changes that can occur to a zeolite surface that has been in contact with an iron-laden solution. Zeolite is a commonly used adsorbent, but fewer studies have explored changes that it undergoes as an adsorbent on contact with iron solutions. Thus, the study involved modifying zeolite with iron hydroxide/oxide, which are the main precipitates of iron in the environment and which can possibly alter the adsorption properties of zeolite. Batch extraction studies were performed using the modified zeolite. In paper I, the synthesis of iron (hydr) oxide modified zeolite was achieved through precipitation of iron on the zeolite. The kinetic data for As(V) adsorption by iron (hydr) oxide-modified zeolite model fit well into pseudo second-order and the adsorption capacity was obtained as 0.080 mg g-1. The application of iron (hydr) oxide modified zeolite on AMD for As(V) recovery showed that > 99% of As(V) was extracted from the solution. The high removal efficiency of oxyanionic arsenic species was attributed to arsenic forming complexes with iron oxyhydroxide surface on the surface of the sorbent. Paper II dealt with adsorption of U(VI) from aqueous solution by application of iron hydro (oxide)-modified zeolite in a single-component system. Parameters such as: solution pH, contact time, adsorbent dosage, initial concentration and temperature were optimized before field application to real acid mine drainage. The optimum parameters for U(VI) adsorption were: adsorbent dosage (3.0 g), solution pH (6 ±0.1) and contact time (30 min). Optimum parameters where then applied to acid mine drainage were the effluent was found to be cleaner than the influent. In Paper III, iron oxide-coated zeolite (IOCZ) nanocomposite was prepared and fully characterized. This sorbent was then used for extraction of U(VI) and As(III) from aqueous solutions by application of batch techniques. Batch study results were modelled best by the pseudo second-order kinetic model and Freundlich isotherm. The adsorption capacity of both U(VI) and As(II) was dependent on the temperature. The presence of Cd2+, Co2+ and Cr3+ ions enhance the adsorption of As(III) whereas the opposite trend was observed for U(VI) sorption onto IOCZ nanocomposite. / XL2018

The use of algae as heavy metal bioindicators in aquatic environments has received much attention. In this study, the performance of a common freshwater living green alga, Cladophora sp. as a mercury bioindicator and its potential for phytoremediation applications was assessed by various parameters which included the influence of contact time, pH, initial mercury concentration and the presence of competing metal cations. A rapid uptake of mercury by Cladophora sp. was displayed. More than 99% of mercury in solution was removed within the first 5 min of contact and equilibrium was attained after 10 min. High adsorption capacities of 800 mg kg-1, 530 mg kg-1 and 590 mg kg-1 at pH 3, 6.5 and 8.5 respectively were obtained at the optimum mercury concentration of 1.0 mg l-1. Competitive adsorption studies showed that the selectivity of heavy metal cations by Cladophora sp. was in the following order: Hg2+ ˃Fe2+˃Cu2+˃ Zn2+ ˃ Co2+. These results indicate that living Cladophora sp. algae are suitable for use as mercury bioindicators in AMD waters and are also suitable for the removal of mercury in AMD conditions.