The fabrication of carbon materials from biomass residues can be a promising economical approach for absorbing various target pollutants from aqueous phase. In the study, the adsorption of diphenolic acid (DPA) is investigated on activated carbons fabricated from wheat straw (ACWS) and commercial-activated carbon cloth (CACC). Adsorption kinetics, isotherms, and operational variables (solution pH and ionic strength) are analyzed for the adsorption capacity of the DPA on both carbons. The results show that the ACWS has a higher surface area (1164 m²/g) and volume of micropores (0.51 cm³/g) than those of the CACC. The second-order kinetics model fitted the experiment data better than the first kinetics models with a lower percentage of deviation. The adsorption capacity of the ACWS (264.90 mg/g) is higher than the CACC (168.19 mg/g) because of the higher surface area and volume of micropores of the ACWS. The adsorption isotherm shows that the adsorption of the DPA on the ACWS and CACC is consistent with the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models, respectively. The pH has a significant effect on DPA adsorption onto both carbons. The adsorption process is favored at the acidic pH, but the presence of electrolytes has no effect on the adsorption capacity of both carbons due to the screening effect. Thus, the preparation of activated carbon from wheat straw is an attractive option to recycle the wheat straw to added-value materials that can be used for the removal of such pollutants from aqueous solution. These findings can increase the research knowledge about the management of different straws in a sustainable way to produce activated carbon for different applications.

Cutoff walls are widely used to limit seepage, piping, and the uplift under hydraulic structures. Therefore, this study focused on a numerical investigation of the hydraulic performance of cutoff walls beneath hydraulic structures during both static and dynamic conditions, considering location and inclination angle influences. The results confirmed that placing the cutoff wall at the upstream heel was more effective in reducing uplift pressure compared to other placements during static conditions. The inclination angles for the different placements of the cutoff wall had a significant impact on the total uplift pressure, exit hydraulic gradient, and seepage discharge during both static and dynamic states. The earthquakes had a noticeable effect on uplift pressure, seepage discharge, and exit hydraulic gradient. During static conditions, the inclination angle of 90° was the most effective angle for decreasing seepage discharge, irrespective of the cutoff wall position. During an earthquake, the seepage discharge values were high regardless of the inclination angle. In the case of placing a cutoff wall at the upstream heel, the maximum seepage discharge value occurred at an inclination angle of 45°. This study provided insights into the behavior of cutoff walls under different conditions and can inform the design and construction of such structures for effective seepage control. The experimental feed-forward neural network (FFNN) was also successfully built. According to the following criteria (uplift pressure, seepage, and exit hydraulic gradient), the hydraulic performance of cutoff walls beneath hydraulic structures under static conditions can be examined. The FFNN can make predictions with root mean square errors (RMSE) of 0.0697, 0.0021, and 0.0059, respectively, and R² values of 1.00, 0.9994, and 0.9997.

Groundwater is a predominant stream of potable water in numerous areas and frequently harbors pollutant removal, notably iron, and manganese. The present work explored synthesizing and conducting a thorough analysis of a composite material termed nanometal oxide-biochar (NMO) and biochar that is prepared from date palm waste. The application of Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis, SEM/EDX, XRD, and BET facilitated the identification of unique molecule characteristics inside the composite material. This research also investigated the kinetics of manganese and iron adsorption, and the results suggested that both first- and second-order models are applicable, with a slight preference for the pseudo-second-order model. The mechanisms of adsorption in the NMO were further clarified by the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm models, which emphasized that the NMO predominantly undergoes monolayer adsorption. In short, composite materials exhibited an adsorption capacity of 3.169 mg/g and 4.151 mg/g for manganese and iron on biochar as well as 4.33 mg/g and 4.859 mg/g on NMO, respectively. In addition, values for R² provide goodness of fit for the Adams–Bohart and Thomas models. The adsorption capacity for manganese and iron are observed as 31.97 mg/g and 32.28 mg/g on NMO as well as 26.6 mg·L⁻¹ and 29.54 mg·L⁻¹ on biochar, respectively, at a flow rate of 7 mL/min. In conclusion, this study highlights the potential of the NMO-BC composite for monitoring water pollution, sustainably obtained from date palm waste, as a viable approach for eliminating manganese and iron from polluted water.

Social sustainability is often insufficiently addressed in urban water management, particularly regarding equity, inclusion, and governance processes, which constrain progress toward resilient and socially just urban water systems. This study introduces and applies an indicator-based, framework-driven analytical approach to operationalize social sustainability in urban water management. Four principal dimensions—awareness, water-use practices, equity, and inclusion are assessed using a structured semi-quantitative scoring system, complemented by qualitative interpretation. The framework is implemented in two contrasting urban contexts, Peshawar (Pakistan) and Al-Jouf (Saudi Arabia), to investigate how varying socio-economic, climatic, and governance conditions influence social sustainability outcomes within a unified analytical structure. Descriptive statistics, radar-based visualization, sustainability gap assessment, and scenario-based sensitivity analysis are employed to evaluate indicator performance and relative influence. The aggregated findings indicate that the composite social sustainability index achieves approximately 38% of its normalized theoretical maximum, reflecting moderate to low social sustainability within the assessed framework. Awareness and water-use practices demonstrate moderate indicator performance, whereas equity and inclusion consistently exhibit weak outcomes across both contexts. Sensitivity analysis reveals that hypothetical enhancements in equity and inclusion produce significantly greater improvements in overall index performance (approximately 18–22%) compared to similar changes in awareness or behavioral indicators, underscoring the predominant role of governance-related dimensions in the model. Rather than highlighting numerical disparities between cities, the comparative analysis uncovers structurally similar constraints on social sustainability across cities with divergent development and institutional settings. The results underscore that while improvements in awareness and individual behavior are necessary, they are insufficient to achieve socially sustainable urban water management without equity-focused governance reforms and inclusive institutional mechanisms. By rendering social sustainability dimensions analytically explicit and comparable, the framework facilitates more informed governance reflection and establishes a basis for future empirical integration and policy evaluation in urban water systems.

As global climate change exacerbates water scarcity, recycling agricultural drainage water is emerging as a promising solution in water resources-limited regions. This research investigated the hydraulic impact of using gravel bio-filters in contaminated water-courses, focusing on submerged bioreactors as a sustainable engineering solution. This study assessed the hydraulic impacts of installing these bioreactors in polluted waterways using three-dimensional numerical models based on computational fluid dynamics. Results indicated that relative heading-up will increase with the Froude number, demonstrating a direct relationship between flow velocity and heading-up. Altering the shape of bio-filter inlet is predicted to significantly influence heading-up values, with triangular shapes showing the lowest heading-up values compared to basic, rounded, or sloped upstream U.S face shapes. Relative heading-up values will increase by 10.32%, 10.44%, 24.67%, and 31.86% when changing the bio-filter inlet shape from triangular to sloped U.S. face with respect to horizontal and vertical direction, rounded, and basic bio-filter, respectively. Additionally, the number and orientation of shapes in the bio-filter inlet impact relative heading-up, with varying effects predicted based on the inclination angle. These findings provide valuable guidance for mitigating hydraulic impacts and optimizing the design and operation of bioreactors in water resource management, promoting sustainable water purification approaches in contaminated watercourses and conserving surrounding environments.