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Aerated hydration treatment of aubergine and pepper seeds at 25°C (42 h for aubergine, 48 h for pepper) followed by drying increased percent germination across a range of test temperatures (18°C, 25°C and 35°C). The increase in germination obtained by the treatment was retained in storage for up to 4 months. In a glasshouse experiment, aerated hydration decreased mean emergence time but increased seedling dry weight in both species and decreased the proportion of abnormal seedlings in pepper. This work suggests that aerated hydration treatment can improve establishment of these crops in a range of planting temperatures.

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A B S T R A C TMost natural and synthetic textile dyes, especially vat dyes, are resistant to degradation and decolorization by conventional treatment methods. In this study, the purification of synthetic textile wastewater containing commercial indigo dye by a green technological treatment system was investigated. A vertical-flow constructed wetland model comprising three different bedding materials, sand, gravel, and zeolite, was used to treat synthetic indigo dyeing wastewater. Treatment efficiency was evaluated by measuring color and pollution parameters such as chemical oxygen demand (COD), pH, oxidation-reduction potential, and electrical conductivity. According to the results, the constructed wetland system reduced color by up to 97% and lowered the COD by up to 62%. This study demonstrated that the constructed wetland system is a promising technique for purification of indigo dyeing textile effluents of COD and color as compared to conventional methods.

The photocatalytic degradation and mineralization of commercial solution of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) was carried out by UVA/P25 TiO 2 and UVA/P25 TiO 2 /H 2 O 2 oxidation processes under batch-mode conditions. In UVA + TiO 2 photocatalysis (TiO 2 1.5 gL −1 , pH 5, initial 2,4-D 25 mg L −1 ), 97.47% ± 0.27% degradation, 39.89% ± 3.42% mineralization, and 65.52% ± 4.88% oxidation were achieved in 180 min, and in UVA +TiO 2 + H 2 O 2 photocatalysis (TiO 2 1.5 g L −1 , pH 5, initial 2,4-D 25 mg L −1 , H 2 O 2 150 mg L −1 ), 99.74% ± 0.08% degradation, 55.99% ± 2.67% mineralization, and 82.49% ± 1.90% oxidation were obtained in 180 min. The pseudo-first-order kinetic model fitted the experimental data well, and the photocatalytic degradation process was explained by the modified L-H model; k c and K LH were 1.293 mg L −1 min −1 and 0.232 L mg −1 , respectively. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy spectra and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis indicated degradation of organic bonds of the herbicide and adsorption of 2,4-D particles onto the TiO 2 catalyst during 24-h experiments. Moreover, the dependence of k app on the half-life time was determined by calculating the electrical energy per order (E EO ). UVA/TiO 2 /H 2 O 2 photocatalysis may be applied as a pretreatment to 2,4-D herbicide wastewater at a pH of 5 for biological treatment.

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