Academic Projects

Advisor: Wenyu Yang, PhD, Research Associate, TU Dresden, and Associate Professor, Institute for Ecological Research and Pollution Control of Plateau Lakes, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China.

Abstract

Non-point-source pollution is a major concern for surface water due to its implications for aquatic ecosystems and human health. In the face of climate change, it has become imperative to study how this type of pollution behaves under varying climate conditions. This study focuses on assessing the present and future NPS pollution scenarios in the Elbe River with different climate information. The physical model SWAT is used to simulate river discharges, sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus loads in present (1991–2020), near-future (2021–2050), and far-future (2071-2100) scenarios. The near- and far-future scenarios are based on SSP2-4.5 and SSP5.8.5 climate projections, respectively. After calibration and validation, the built model presents good performance, having sensitivity to groundwater, soil evaporation, baseflow, and runoff. The results revealed a decrease in streamflow discharge in both near- and far-future scenarios, while sediment load increased in the near-future but then declined. Both nitrogen and phosphorus loads decrease gradually over the century, with concentrations rising in the near future due to reduced discharge and decreasing in the far future as groundwater becomes a major water source, filtering pollutants and providing less polluted water to the river. Despite limitations in pollutant calibration and agricultural data input, the study underscores the behaviour of NPS pollution under different climate projections that could help policymakers tackle climate change and anthropogenic impacts on Elbe's pollutants.

Advisor: Mohammad Mahfuzur Rahman, PhD, Professor, IFESCU, Bangladesh

Abstract

Reducing water use is now a conservation activity on the environment, as unsustainable utilisation of water assets poses challenges, which are also identified with the production of water-consuming products, for example, pulp & paper. In our country, many research works are done on the improvement of raw materials from different available woods or non-wood products, challenges to implement different management approaches, and existing pollution from the pulp and papermaking industry to human and environmental health. But this study attempts to make an account of freshwater utilisation amounts existing in the production process of the paper industry for different raw materials. The operational water footprint approach for freshwater (blue water footprint) in a specific range limit of raw material input to the final product is followed to complete this study. The total average water footprints of paper products produced from secondary fibre (recycled waste paper) and harvested wood species (bamboo and pulpwood) are calculated as 100.22 m3 and 737.25 m3 to produce a ton respectively. The reuse of treated wastewater can save 48 m3/ton and recycled waste paper as raw material can save literally 637 m3/ton of freshwater. The variation of the mean water footprint (418.73 ± 450.45 m3/ton) of paper products in Bangladesh is considerably higher, and the probability density is lower than that of other countries (worldwide 1016.99 ± 374.92 m3/ton). This study reveals the benefit of using treated wastewater within the operational process of the industry, which helps to save our scarce resources. The recommendation for using recycled waste paper as raw material in paper industries is also reasonable.

Advisor: Shyamal Karmakar, PhD, Associate Professor, and Md. Humayain Kabir, Associate Professor, IFESCU, Bangladesh

Abstract

Our management plan was focused on the south lower bank area of the Karnafuli River. The study area included eleven unions of Anowara Upazila and five unions of Patiya Upazila. It covers the different types of industries such as textile, garment, salt, fertiliser, cement, and sugar refinery, which are contributing to the national economy and leading to development. They also have direct and indirect roles in environmental degradation and pollution. The environmental management plan (EMP) for the study area was done for ten years from 2018 to 2028, along with yearly plans for the different environmental components. The objectives were to observe the existing environmental status of the study area and suggest steps to improve nature from industrial impact, quality, and quantity of environmental components, and manage the stability. There was not any significant integrated research or environmental management plan for the area, but a few industries had individual management plans. We used different sampling methods in the individual group for data collection. The collected samples were tested in the laboratory of IFESCU. Our EMP covers the soil, air and water quality, energy, sound and solid waste status, tourism potential, and socioeconomic factors that influence them. 

Bangladesh is having rapid changes in the social sector with the expansion of urbanisation and industrialisation. The land use land cover change results of 1990 to 2017 showed industrial change, which was very significant (2811.67%) following a positive agricultural land increment (-7.46% to 8.12%). But other land-use changes like barren lands, settlements, homestead forests, and water bodies seem to be decreasing by a great percentage. These results are found from supervised classification accuracy for the 4 different time frames (1990, 1999, 2008, and 2017).

In the soil quality parameter assessment, the organic carbon and organic matter were found higher in the agricultural land than other lands and less in the barren land. And it was also found higher in topsoil than 30 cm lower layers. Barren lands had more salinity, and it was a reason for less agricultural activity here. The pH activity found acidic in every soil, both in the top and the lower layer. 

The drinking water quality found in different areas was at the standard level. But the pond water adjacent to the canal or river was found to be higher in conductivity and dissolved solid values. People collected drinking water from tube wells, but for bathing, they used the pond and tubewell water, whereas canal water had little use. The average per person water use was 124 litres in the study area in a day. 

The sound quality around the industrial area was higher than in the non-industrial area in terms of human comfort. The compliance system in industries was not so good for the air and sound systems. But except for some areas nearby the cement and fertiliser factories, all the people felt comfortable with the present air quality. 

The solid waste system was very poor here, having no proper or authorised collection system. In the bazaar, every stall had its own or a combined open dumping site. Some areas had private recycling and door-to-door collection systems for plastic. The plastic was high in composition in total, but, in the household, kitchen waste was the highest. 

Parki Beach and Mohsen Awlia’s Mazar were the two tourist spots that we visited for the tourism potential survey, where we found many local tourists, and at the weekend, people from outside areas love to visit this place in the afternoon. And from the energy assessment study, we found a proportional relationship between income and energy use among the people.

The study suggests that steps should be taken by the industries to ensure environmental stability and improvement of the overall scenarios by adopting and upgrading the different pollution management systems. The DoE should ensure monitoring and inspection on a regular basis. Some motivational programs for people should be arranged to encourage them about the use of renewable sources of water and energy, and an arranged system for solid waste management should be ensured by the industrial and local authorities.