The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis is one of the models describing the relationship between economic growth and environmental quality. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between economic growth and the two environmental indicators (SO 2 emissions, CO 2 emissions) in 22 Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries. Based on a country level analysis and by using time series data, the study revealed that there is an evidence for SO 2-EKC for Algeria, Tunisia, Yemen, Morocco, Turkey and Libya. Our findings for CO 2 emissions also support an inverted U-shape pattern associated with the EKC hypothesis for Tunisia, Morocco, Turkey and Jordan. The results also showed that MENA region as a whole did not show EKC for SO 2 emissions and CO 2 emissions. Stricter policy measures and higher demands for the adoption of best environmental practices are required in order to generate an inverted U shaped curve relationship between GDP per capita and environmental degradation.

Wet atmospheric samples were collected from different locations in the southern region of Jordan during a 5-year period (October 2006 to May 2011). All samples were analyzed for pH, EC, major ions (Ca(2+), Mg(2+), Na(+), K(+), HCO3(-), Cl(-), NO3(-), and SO4(2-)), and trace metals (Fe(2+), Al(3+), Cu(2+), Pb(2+), and Zn(2+)). The highest ion concentrations were observed during the beginning of the rainfall events because large amounts of dust accumulated in the atmosphere during dry periods and were scavenged by rain. The rainwater in the study area is characterized by low salinity and neutral pH. The major ions found in rainwater followed the order of HCO3 > Cl(-) > SO4(2-) and Ca(2+) > Na(+) > Mg(2+) > NH4(+) > K(+). Trace metals were identified to be of anthropogenic origin resulting from cement and phosphate mining activities located within the investigated area and from heating activities during the cold period of the year (January to April). The wet precipitation chemistry was analyzed using factor component analysis for possible sources of the measured species. Factor analysis (principal component analysis) was used to assess the relationships between the concentrations of the studied ions and their sources. Factor 1 represents the contribution of ions from local anthropogenic activities, factor 2 represents the contribution of ions from natural sources, and factor 3 suggests biomass burning and anthropogenic source. Overall, the results revealed that rainwater chemistry is strongly influenced by local anthropogenic sources rather than natural and marine sources, which is in a good agreement with the results obtained by other studies conducted in similar sites around the world.

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A sequential treatment consisting of coagulation/flocculation followed by transport column experiment was adopted and used in this work for the treatment of landfill leachate containing phenols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Coagulation experiment was performed in a standard jar test apparatus using alum as coagulant material. In column experiments, natural eggshell material was used as filter media after calcinations at 750^oC either separately or combined with granular activated carbon (GAC). Alum addition at a predetermined optimum dose (3.5 g/L) caused a reduction in total suspended solids (TSS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total phenols, and total (PAHs) by 82%, 32%, 24%, and 34% respectively. Specific PAHs analysis revealed higher binding affinity of more hydrophobic PAHs toward particles with 50% reduction than those of less hydrophobic PAHs with only 6% reduction. The results obtained from the transport column experiments indicate that calcined eggshell (ESC) particularly when applied as a mixture with GAC can be used as promising adsorbent for both phenols and PAHs. 95% of phenols and PAHs were removed during the first 1,500 pore volumes (PV) of column operation while > 80% were obtained at the end of the experiment (3,500 PV).

This work is aimed to evaluate the applicability of solid portion of olive mill wastewater (OMW) for its utility as a renewable biofuel. A solar still unit was used to separate the solid residual from the liquid part of OMW. Three triplicate samples of solid residue were collected and tested for their calorific value, proximate analysis, and elemental analysis. The average calorific values obtained based on oxygen bomb calorimeter were 24 ± 0.65 kJ/g which agreed well with that obtained from elemental analysis (23 ± 1.3 kJ/g). This value is higher than that of refuse-derived fuel and lower than that of oil or natural gas but close to that of coal. Results of proximate analysis indicate a high combustible portion (83%) of OMW-Biofuel. The total amount of energy that can be produced from OMW-Biofuel in Jordan, expressed in terms of oil equivalent, accounts for \1.0% of the total imported oil by Jordan in 2014 and, if utilized, would result in annual savings of about US$ 17 million. These results suggest that the OMW-Biofuel can be applicable as a potential fuel.