Origin of nitrate and sulfate sources in volcano-sedimentary aquifers of the East Africa Rift System: An example of the Ali-Sabieh groundwater (Republic of Djibouti).

Within the East African Rift System (EARS), the complex Ali-Sabieh aquifers system, located in the south of the Republic of Djibouti, was overexploited and subjected to anthropogenic and/or geogenic pollution with high concentrations of dissolved nitrate (up to 181 mg/l) and sulfates (up to 1540 mg/l). This study is the first undertaken on the hydrochemistry of this aquifer system, combining geochemical tools and multi-isotope - δH(HO), δO(HO), δO(SO), δS(SO), δN(NO), δO(NO), δC(DIC), and C- was used to decipher the origin and fate of different nitrate and sulfate sources to groundwater. The groundwater samples of the region show a chemical evolution from fresh Ca(Na)-bicarbonate to brackish Na-Cl , mainly due to water-rock interaction.

Hg and Po in consumed fish of the Tadjoura Gulf (Djibouti): Levels and human health risk assessment.

Hg and Po were measured in the muscle tissue of commercially important fish species collected in the main coastal cities of the Djiboutian coast (Tadjoura Gulf) to evaluate the potential risk associated with their consumption. The levels of Hg among the different species ranged from 0.02 to 1.

Levels and sources of heavy metals and PAHs in sediment of Djibouti-city (Republic of Djibouti).

Selected heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in marine sediment from 28 sites Djibouti city. The concentrations of trace elements varied from 0 to 288.1mg/kg with relative abundance of trace metals in sediments was in the order of Zn>Cu>Ni>Cr>Co>Pb>Cd.

Solar photo-Fenton using peroxymonosulfate for organic micropollutants removal from domestic wastewater: comparison with heterogeneous TiO₂ photocatalysis.

This work aims at decontaminating biologically treated domestic wastewater effluents from organic micropollutants by sulfate radical based (SO4(-)) homogeneous photo-Fenton involving peroxymonosulfate as an oxidant, ferrous iron (Fe(II)) as a catalyst and simulated solar irradiation as a light source. This oxidative system was evaluated by using several probe compounds belonging to pesticides (bifenthrin, mesotrione and clothianidin) and pharmaceuticals (diclofenac, sulfamethoxazole and carbamazepine) classes and its kinetic efficiency was compared to that to the well known UV-Vis/TiO2 heterogeneous photocatalysis. Except for carbamazepine, apparent kinetic rate constants were always 10 times higher in PMS/Fe(II)/UV-Vis than in TiO2/UV-Vis system and more than 70% of total organic carbon abatement was reached in less than one hour treatment.

Ciprofloxacin oxidation by UV-C activated peroxymonosulfate in wastewater.

This work aimed at demonstrating the advantages to use sulfate radical anion for eliminating ciprofloxacin residues from treated domestic wastewater by comparing three UV-254nm based advanced oxidation processes: UV/persulfate (PDS), UV/peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and UV/H2O2. In distilled water, the order of efficiency was UV/PDS>UV/PMS>UV/H2O2 while in wastewater, the most efficient process was UV/PMS followed by UV/PDS and UV/H2O2 mainly because PMS decomposition into sulfate radical anion was activated by bicarbonate ions. CIP was fully degraded in wastewater at pH 7 in 60min for a [PMS]/[CIP] molar ratio of 20.

Solar photo-Fenton like using persulphate for carbamazepine removal from domestic wastewater.

This work aimed at decontaminating biologically treated domestic wastewater effluent from pharmaceutical residues by using sulphate radical based homogeneous photo-Fenton involving persulphate (PS) as an oxidant, ferrous iron (Fe(II)) as a catalyst and simulated solar irradiation as a light source. This is the first time that the beneficiary use of solar energy in PS/Fe(II)/UV-Vis system was evaluated by using carbamazepine (CBZ) as a probe compound. In wastewater, CBZ was fully degraded in 30 min for an initial CBZ concentration of 50 μM and an optimal PS:Fe(II) molar ratio of 2:1 thanks to the high selectivity in reactivity of the sulphate radical limiting scavenging effects of organic matter and inorganic ions.

Wastewater reclamation using discarded reverse osmosis membranes for reuse in irrigation in Djibouti, an arid country.

The purpose of this paper is to establish the feasibility of recovering discarded reverse osmosis (RO) membranes in order to reduce the salinity of domestic treated wastewater. This study shows that the reuse of RO membranes is of particular interest for arid countries having naturally high mineralized water such as Djibouti. The pilot desalination unit reduces the electrical conductivity, the turbidity and the total dissolved salt respectively at 75-85, 96.