Environmental Studies الدراسات البيئية
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- ItemEffect of MIRA Solution on Grape Cultivation Case Study: Al Jeftlik / Jordan Valley(Al-Quds University, 2025-03-16) Younes Abedalrahman Ibrahim Yameen; يونس عبد الرحمن إبراهيم يامينThis research examines the effects of MIRA solution made from digested date palm waste as a bio-fertilizer on grapevine growth, productivity, and fruit quality in the Jordan Valley/Jeftlik. This study evaluates MIRA solution as an organic fertilizer replacement to analyse its performance enhancement effects on plants while supporting sustainable farming methods. The study employs an experimental design with three treatment groups: The study includes three groups for comparison which consist of group A receiving MIRA solution fertilizer, group B using chemical fertilizers and a control group that receives no additional fertigation. Key growth parameters under examination include leaf area together with chlorophyll content and leaf texture while assessments of yield-related factors focus on cluster weight, total yield per tree, and fruit quality parameters including Brix levels, color and sensory attributes. MIRA solution application shows substantial improvement in both grapevine growth and productivity. Treated vines show greater leaf areas of 237 cm² and higher chlorophyll content at 43.8 SPAD units along with better leaf texture when compared to other groups. The vines treated with MIRA generated an average cluster weight of 320 grams and produced 6.7 kg per tree revealing superior yields compared to both chemical fertilized vines and control groups. Fruit quality stands out due to its 19.6% Brix level as well as improved sensory characteristics including sweetness and texture and flavour. The MIRA solution enhances soil quality while improving fertility and microbial activity which helps to establish circular economy principles and sustainable agriculture through recycling organic waste. The study demonstrates that MIRA solution serves as an environmentally sustainable fertilizer substitute in arid and semi-arid areas including the Jordan Valley. These findings suggest the need to expand MIRA production while simultaneously initiating long-term trials and incorporating this organic fertigation method into wider sustainable farming practices.
- ItemFTIR-ATR Spectroscopy as a Tool for Quality Control and Authentication of Apple Juice(Al-Quds University, 2025-05-18) Renad Riyad Mahmoud Ramadan; رناد رياض محمود رمضانApple juice's sweet taste, nutritional value, and health advantages make it one of the most widely consumed fruit drinks. However, the possibility of adulteration has increased due to the juice industry's growing demand and financial incentives, particularly when sugars are added or less expensive ingredients are substituted. Consumer trust and product quality are both compromised by these actions. The use of FTIR-ATR spectroscopy as a quick, inexpensive, and non-destructive method to identify adulteration and evaluate the quality of apple juice is examined in this work. Four apple varieties—Red Delicious, Gala, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith—as well as fourteen dilution levels of each, standard solutions of the main constituents of apple juice, which are the sugar and malic acid. Moreover, seven commercial juice items from the Palestinian market were used to prepare fresh juice samples for the study. At the special mid-infrared peaks of 1062 cm⁻¹ (sugar), 1281 cm⁻¹ (malic acid), and 1634 cm⁻¹ (water reference), absorbance measurements were taken. Significant differences were found when commercial samples were compared to these reference values. The majority of commercial juices had noticeably lower absorbance values at the acid and sugar peaks, suggesting that the sugar may have been enhanced or diluted. Different levels of adulteration were proven by calculated percentages of sugar and malic acid. The product with the greatest estimated natural juice percentage, 98.20%, was (A) Juice, an industrial brand rather than a natural product. However, the lowest natural juice content was found in (D) and (E) juices, which had estimated adulteration levels of 33.17% and 29.39%, respectively. These findings provide credence to FTIR-ATR spectroscopy's usage in the juice business as a useful instrument for quick quality control. It has a useful edge over conventional laboratory techniques due to its capacity to identify minute chemical variations. With this strategy, manufacturers, regulators, and food safety authorities can guarantee authenticity, stop fraud, and safeguard consumer health in an efficient and approachable manner.
- ItemSustainable agriculture solution for saline soil and brackish water-based irrigation(Al-Quds University, 2023-11-30) Sobhi Salah Sobhi Yaghi; صبحي صلاح صبحي ياغيSalinity is one of the most brutal environmental factors limiting the productivity of crop plants. High rates of evapotranspiration, excessive fertilizer use, and inadequate irrigation water quality are the key contributors to the salinization problem in Jordan Valley. On the other hand, the wastewater treatment plants could produce sludge that is a good source of plant nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. One of the solutions is the use of Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) to utilize nutrients and modify them to be more soluble for plants in the soil to absorb that and usage. The purpose of this research is to study the effect of sludge and PGPR application on saline soil and examine the effect of irrigation with fresh and brackish water on the development of three selected crops: Wheat, Ponicam, and Corn. For this study, twenty-four lines of pipes were distributed on 3 Dunums, where six trials/lines were used for separate treatment: control trials, PGPR trials, Sludge trials, and a mix between Sludge and PGPR trials. Each treatment contained three trials of wheat, corn, and ponicam, and was rinsed with fresh and brackish water in each trial separately. The study was conducted at the Arab Development Society, where sludge samples were brought from the Jericho Wastewater Treatment Plant. The study spanned a duration of ninety days, during which measurements were taken from three distinct periods: 14, 30, and 90 days. Plant measurements were analyzed statistically using one-way ANOVA at p < 0.05. Results revealed that applying all treatments had no significant mean difference at p < 0.05, where p value was greater than 0.05, for wheat and ponicam but show a significant value for corn, where p value was lower than 0.05, for each plant stem length and width, plant leaf number, plant leaf length, and width. Notably, control treatments exhibited lower measurements for all of parameters compared to the treated samples. After being exposed to PGPR and sludge without fertigation, the plant's health and productivity was improved due to the available elements being supplied to the plant after the action of PGPR on the sludge. This enhancement was evidenced by an increased number of leaves, wider stems, and longer stems observed after a 90-day period. Salt ion measurements in plant tissues show higher sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl-) concentrations in PGPR and sludge-treated crops compared to the control for corn, wheat, and ponicam. The study recommends the use of PGPR and sludge with fresh water for corn irrigation and suggests further research on Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria (PGPB) and sludge applications. In conclusion, coated seeds irrigated with brackish water exhibit efficiency in overcoming salinity stress, and the addition of sewage sludge partially alleviates the negative impact of salinity stress on plant growth.
- ItemClassification Model for Selecting Appropriate Wastewater Treatment Technology Compatible with the Community Capacity(Al-Quds University, 2023-01-18) Ibrahim Mohammad Yousef Tomizeh; إبراهيم محمد يوسف طميزه; تعتبر معالجة مياه الصرف الصحي قضية بيئية رئيسية لحماية صحة الإنسان في العديد من البلدان في العالم وخاصة في البلدان النامية القاحلة وشبه القاحلة حيث مصادر المياه تعد نادرة ومصدر للصراع بين الأنظمة والتيارات السياسية. قد توفر أنظمة معالجة مياه الصرف الصحي المستدامة مصدرًا مستداما للمياه إذا تمت مراقبتها وإدارتها بشكل صحيح ووجود منظمات وطنية ومحلية تعمل على مراقبة خدمات المياه بانتظام وأن يكون لديها مؤشرات مخصصة لقياس فعالية الخدمة، وتتابع منظمات أخرى الخدمة بعد التنفيذ "مراقبة ما بعد التنفيذ". إلا انه لا توجد عملية واضحة لتقييم واختيار التكنولوجيا المناسبة بما يتناسب مع قدرة المجتمع واحتياجاته. على هذا النحو، أدت المعرفة المحدودة لصانعي القرار إلى اختيار حلول غير مستدامة حيث أن 65٪ من المشاريع في البلدان النامية تفشل في مراحلها الأولى. ومع ذلك، تشير العديد من الدراسات والبحوث إلى أن التركيز ودراسة المجتمع يزيد من ملكية المجتمع لهذه المشاريع. تهدف الرسالة إلى تطوير نموذج تصنيف لمحطات معالجة مياه الصرف الصحي ليكون متوافقًا مع قدرة المجتمع لتقليل الفشل في أنظمة الصرف الصحي. في هذا البحث، سيتم استخدام منهجية (بوعبيد ولويس) بناءً على تحليل ثمانية عوامل قدرة رئيسية لتقييم وتقدير المجتمع ومعالجة مياه الصرف الصحي التقنيات واختيار أنسب التقنيات التي تتوافق مع المجتمع. مع هذا النموذج، سيكون لدى صانعي القرار القدرة على دراسة المشكلة وقياسها وفقًا لمتطلباتهم. فشلت معظم تقنيات الصرف الصحي بعد فترة وجيزة بسبب المراقبة السيئة بعد الانتهاء من تنفيذ المشروع بسبب عدم معالجة اللامبالاة في خصائص المجتمع وعامل القدرة. يحاول العديد من الباحثين العثور على أفضل ما يناسب اختيار تقنية الملاءمة، ولكن بعد اختيار التقنيات، تظهر العديد من الخيارات وبنفس المستوى تؤدي إلى اختيار العديد من التقنيات غير المحددة، مما يؤدي إلى عدم وجود نظام معالجة مستدام، في هذا البحث، ستؤدي بعض المعلمات إلى تضاف لتقليل الخيارات حسب احتياجات المياه المعالجة ومصدرها. يؤدي الامتداد الجغرافي وقلة عدد السكان في الأراضي الفلسطينية إلى تحدي مرهق أمام الحكومات لإنشاء محطات معالجة مركزية لمياه الصرف الصحي في مجتمعاتها، بالإضافة إلى أن 65٪ من الأراضي الفلسطينية هي منطقة ج حيث يُحظر إنشاء محطات معالجة مياه الصرف الصحي المركزية. علاوة على ذلك، فإن الافتقار إلى شبكات الصرف الصحي والأزمات الاقتصادية تؤدي إلى اعتبار محطات معالجة مياه الصرف الصحي ذات تكاليف التشغيلية والصيانة المنخفضة، فضلاً عن الأراضي والطاقة الأقل استهلاكًا مثل عملية الحمأة المُنشطة، هي الخيارات الأنسب حتى تتمكن هذه المجتمعات بالقدرة على إدارة وتشغيل هذه المحطات.Wastewater treatment and sanitation is a major issue in protected environment and health in many countries in the world especially in the developing arid and semi-arid countries where water sources in all countries are rare and a source of conflict. Sustainable wastewater treatment systems may provide sustainable none conventional water source if operated and managed properly. There are national and local organizations work on monitoring water services regularly, assignee indicators to measure the effectiveness of the service, other organizations follow up the service after implementation "post-implementation monitoring". As there is no clear process for evaluating and selecting the appropriate technology commensurate with the community's capacity and needs. As such, the limited knowledge of decision makers has led to choosing unsustainable solutions as 65% of projects in developing countries fail in their early stages. However, many studies and research indicated that focusing and studying the community increases the community ownership of these projects by including the community capabilities and needs in the stage of choosing the technologies. Thesis aims to develop classification model for wastewater treatment plants to be compatible with community capacity to reduce the failure in sanitation systems. With this model, the decision makers will have the ability to examine and scale the problem according to their requirement.in this research (Bouabid and Louis) methodology will be use based on analysis eight main capacity factors to evaluate and asses the community and wastewater treatment technologies and chose the most appropriate technology that compatible with the community. Most of sanitation technologies failed after a short period because of the bad monitoring after implementation of the project finalized because of not tacking inconsideration the community characteristics, and capacity factor. Several researchers try to find the best fit of choosing a propriety technology but after selecting the technologies, many options appear and with the same level leading to a selection of many none specific technologies, leading to none sustainable treatment system, in this research some parameters will be added to reduce options depends on the needs of the treated water and the its source. The geographical extension and the sparse population of the Palestinian territories lead to an exhausting challenge for governments to establish centralized wastewater treatment plants for its communities; in addition, 65% of Palestinian territories are area C where it forbidden to establish centralized WWTPs. Moreover, the lack of sewage networks and the economic crises lead to consider the WWTPs with low operating and maintenance costs, as well as the least consuming land and energy, are the most appropriate options so that these communities have the ability to manage and operate these stations.
- ItemTreatment of Olive Mill Wastewater (OMWW) Using Variable Coagulants with super Flocculants(Al-Quds University, 2018-05-06) Jamila Zhran Ibrahim Zhran; جميلة زهران إبراهيم زهرانOlive mill wastewater (OMWW) management has been a major issue of environmental concern for olive oil producing countries. In Palestine, the problem of untreated OMWW discharge is urgent. Several hundred thousand cubic meters of untreated WW is discharged into open areas (wadies) and cesspools whereas the solid waste (olive husk) is dumped into lands nearby the olive mills without treatment. This increases the risk of contaminating soil, surface water resources, and groundwater aquifers. The negative environmental impact of OMWW is attributed to poor biodegradation and toxicity of polyphenols present in OMWW. In this study, sample of OMWW were collected in October 2016 from Al-Qubayba village in the middle part of west bank (north western of Jerusalem), the level of pollution and their impact on the environment has been determined by measuring physical and chemical properties of OMWW such as: COD, pH, EC, TDS, TSS, TPs. The results revealed that the OMWW have a high risk on environment due to the high phenols concentration that exceeds the maximum allowable limits for discharge to environment or to the sanitary sewer system according to Palestinian standards. The treatment of olive mill wastewater (OMWW) by means of coagulation–flocculation coupling various inorganic materials in different dose and organic polyacrylamide (PAM) was investigated. With respect to their efficiency in terms of total phenols removal and the effect of OMWW application on soil water drop penetration time test (WDPT).