Mutasem El-Fadel

American University of Beirut | AUB · Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

The study investigates the influence of the modification process on the structural properties of bentonite clay for the removal of Cadmium II (Cd) from electroplating wastewater. The work employs a novel process involving the combination of Na2CO3 activation, hydrothermal and/or carbonization leading to a successful preparation of a series of modif...

Climatic statistical downscaling in arid and topographically complex river basins remains relatively lacking. To address this gap, climatic variables derived from a global climate model (GCM) ensemble were downscaled from a grid resolution of 2.5° × 2.5° down to the station level. For this purpose, a combination of multiple linear and logistic regr...

The sustainability of agriculture is increasingly challenged particularly in the context of socio-political stressors exacerbated by water scarcity and climate change, where it can lead to an unbalance in food security and landscape conservation if not well protected. The reversibility of these outcomes relies on the understanding of farmers’ decis...

In this study, we characterize the distribution of airborne viruses (influenza A/B) in hospital rooms of patients with confirmed infections. Concurrently, we monitored fine particulate matter (PM2.5 & PM10) and several physical parameters including the room air exchange rate, temperature, and relative humidity to identify corresponding correlations...

The increase in worldwide energy demand continues to highlight the dependency on the petroleum industry albeit recent advances and market penetration of renewable technologies. This dependency reflects the importance of minimizing environmental impacts associated with the petroleum industry, especially in terms of the wide variety of industrial res...

Tiny ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (LED)s that are replacing the conventional energy-intensive mercury UV lamps have gained interest since the early 2000's because of their promising advantages. In the context of microbial inactivation (MI) of waterborne microbes, disinfection kinetics of those LEDs exhibited variations among studies, in t...

The assessment of the hydrological response to projected changes in climatic variables is imperative for water resources management, especially in watersheds where snowmelt represents a significant source of runoff. In this study, we modify the source code of the snow accumulation and melting algorithm of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) m...

Hydrogen fueling standards stipulates a sustainable cooling system technically and economically. Accordingly, the interior surface temperature of the on-board H2 storage tank in fuel cell electric vehicles must not exceed the maximum specified limit (358.15 K), and the fueling rate must be ≤ 42.86 sec / kg-H2, with T40 dispenser at 70 MPa. In this...

A spatio-temporal Agent Based Modeling (ABM) framework is developed to probabilistically predict farmers' decisions concerning their future farming practices when faced with potential water scarcity induced by future climate change. The proposed framework forecasts farmers' behavior assuming varying utility functions. The functionality of the propo...

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) offers a promising strategic management alternative for water storage and subsequent recovery to alleviate water shortage and to protect coastal aquifers from saltwater intrusion. Selecting potentially suitable recharge sites remains challenging, particularly in heterogeneous karst systems. In this study, MAR site sui...

In this study, the spatial variation of airborne bacteria in intensive care units (ICUs) was characterized. Fine particulate matter and several physical parameters were also monitored including temperature and relative humidity. The results showed that the total bacterial load ranged between 20.4 and 134.3 CFU/m³ across the ICUs. Bacterial cultures...

In this study, the effectiveness of a novel system of an anaerobic fluidized membrane bioreactor (AnFMBR) in treating wastewater was demonstrated and the results were validated by testing duplicate systems in parallel under similar operating conditions. In this novel system, an outer loop performs as an anaerobic reactor while an inner loop serves...

The Membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology enhances biomass retention with less residual sludge which is desirable for the treatment of strong wastewater such as landfill leachate. The technology has evolved to encompass anaerobic MBRs (AnMBRs) due to the benefit of producing renewable energy in the form of methane biogas and reducing the cost of aer...

This study examines children's exposure to PM2.5 in the classroom environment of spatially and administratively distributed schools. For this purpose, we monitored PM2.5 levels inside and outside 40 classrooms in public and private schools located in urban and rural settings, while exploring the magnitude of indoor sources and correlations between...

Coastal aquifers are vulnerable to saltwater intrusion (SWI) due to several drivers particularly increased water demand and groundwater overexploitation associated with population growth, reduced groundwater recharge, and lately climate change. This study examines the status of SWI in four data scarce coastal aquifers located along the Eastern Medi...

High-resolution air quality maps are critical towards assessing and understanding exposures to elevated air pollution in dense urban areas. However, these surfaces are rarely available in low- and middle-income countries that suffer from some of the highest air pollution levels worldwide. In this study, we make use of land use regressions (LURs) to...

Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactors (AnMBRs) combine the advantages of anaerobic processes and MBR technology to improve effluent quality and energy recovery. However, these systems are associated with operational challenges such as membrane fouling and loss of dissolved methane that increases operation and energy expenses. In this study, a new configur...

This study examines the risks of seawater intrusion (SWI) in data scarce aquifers along the Eastern Mediterranean by quantifying the interaction of the main natural, anthropogenic and climatic drivers, while also considering varying abilities of implementing adaptation and mitigation measures. For this purpose, we conducted a semi-quantitative Stre...

The accumulation of volatile fatty acids during the anaerobic digestion of biodegradable substrate such as Source Sorted Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (SS-OFMSW) is associated with an inhibitory effect on methane producing biochemical pathways. While inconclusive at times, the usage of two-stage digesters has been argued as a potential...

Background Understanding the transmission and dispersal of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) via aerosols is essential for the development of preventative measures in hospital environments and healthcare facilities. Methods During the 2017-2018 influenza season, patients with confirmed influenza or RSV infections were enrolled. Room...

Saltwater intrusion (SWI) is a global coastal problem caused by aquifer overpumping, land-use change, and climate change impacts. Given the complex pathways that lead to SWI, coastal urban areas with poorly monitored aquifers are in need of probabilistic-based decision support tools that can assist in better understanding and predicting SWI, while...

Proper management and treatment of municipal solid waste (MSW) plays a central role towards the reduction or elimination of uncontrolled disposal and the achievement of United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the reduction of its vast adverse environmental and health impacts. Despite that, till now, there has never been a quan...

Outdoor air pollution is a global health concern, but detailed exposure information is still limited for many parts of the world. In this study, high-resolution exposure surfaces were generated for annual and seasonal fine particulate matter (PM2.5), coarse particulate matter (PM10), and carbon monoxide (CO) for the Greater Beirut Area (GBA), Leban...

A novel model/software that assesses emissions from integrated solid waste and wastewater, SWW, management systems is presented. The main objective of SWW is to optimize emissions and carbon credit of complex systems. Besides its general applicability, the software covers the lack of available tools applicable in the context of developing economies...

The dispute between Israelis and Palestinians over shared water resources of the Mountain Aquifer is one potential obstacle in the path of peace in the Middle East. This aquifer is the only source of water for Palestinians in the West Bank and the main provider of freshwater to Israelis. The majority of its natural recharge area lies within the Wes...

This study assesses the economic viability of implementing a successful developed economy-based separate collection scheme in a developing economy test area while taking into consideration different influential factors. Two scenarios with different intensities of source segregated (SS) materials were simulated to compare the overall collection cost...

A new Solid Waste and Wastewater (SWW) management software is presented for optimizing the life-cycle of emissions with carbon credit cost considerations. The software is the first to combine integrated solid waste and wastewater management systems under a single framework when introducing a food waste disposer (FWD) policy. The model/software offe...

Over the past years, several efforts were undertaken in an attempt to improve solid waste management in Lebanon. However, with the lack of a well-established national plan and defined policies and legislation, all attempts achieved little or no progress. Several challenges continue to hinder the sector's successful development at various levels: po...

A novel model/software that assesses emissions from integrated solid waste and wastewater, SWW, management systems is presented. The main objective of SWW is to optimize emissions and carbon credit of complex systems. Besides its general applicability, the software covers the lack of available tools applicable in the context of developing economies...

In this study, we examine the economic and environmental significance associated with the implementation of an EU waste-separated collection scheme in a developing context – Lebanon. Two scenarios, S1 and S2, representing different intensities of source segregation were analysed. In S1, the average source segregation intensity reached 25% and 13% f...

As global waste generation increases at a rapid rate, there is a dire need for waste management practices such as collection, disposal, and recycling to protect from environmental pollution. However, developing countries generate two to three times more waste, resort to open dumps more often than developed countries, and are slower to integrate was...

This study examines the uncertainty associated with two commonly used GIS-based groundwater vulnerability models, DRASTIC and EPIK, in assessing seawater intrusion, a growing threat along coastal urban areas due to overexploitation of groundwater resources. For this purpose, concentrations of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in groundwater samples at t...

Seawater intrusion has become a growing threat in coastal urban cities due to overexploitation of groundwater. This study examines the accuracy of the commonly used geospatial quality assessment models (GQA) and groundwater vulnerability assessment models (GVA) in determining the extent of seawater intrusion in urban coastal aquifers. For that purp...

Solid waste management has witnessed much progress in recent years with considerable efforts targeting the reduction of associated impacts and carbon emissions. Such efforts remain relatively limited in developing economies due to inefficient management practices. In this study, a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach is adopted to identify integrat...

Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (HABs) are an emerging problem worldwide, affecting many important freshwater systems. The use of chemical algaecides can provide an effective short-term mitigation measure to control HABs. In this study, the efficacy of Diquat dibromide was examined under laboratory conditions to control two problematic toxin-re...

This study assesses the economic viability of implementing a successful developed economy-based separate collection scheme in a developing economy test area, while taking into consideration different influential factors. Two scenarios with different intensities of source segregated (SS) materials were simulated to compare the overall collection cos...

This study involved a seasonal exposure assessment in a hospital environment using several air quality indicators including carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs). We examined the distribution of and variation in the indoor and outdoor pollutant concentrations in...

The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model was applied as a downscaling tool over an orographically complex terrain along the Eastern Mediterranean. It was forced with the National Centers for Environment Prediction (NCEP) Final Analysis (FNL) (resolution 1°) for the years 2003 (a cold and wet year) and 2010 (a hot and dry year) and nested at...

The dataset presented in this article is related to the research article entitled “Towards improving emissions accounting methods in waste management: A proposed framework” (Maalouf and El-Fadel, 2018) [1] that examines the variability in aggregated and disaggregated emissions from waste management when using commonly adopted international methods...

This study examines the variability in estimating aggregated and disaggregated emissions from the solid waste sector using worldwide adopted methods for country accounting, life cycle assessment modelling, and corporate reporting. Disaggregation of emissions was conducted by source (waste management process from collection to disposal), gas (CO2, C...

Globally, the demand for water is continuously increasing, placing many regions under the burden of water stress thus leading to transboundary water conflicts and overexploitation of existing water resources. Managing water resources in many of these water-stressed regions are hampered by the lack of long-term spatio-temporal observations of surfac...

The combined impacts of projected/simulated climate change and variability on temperature extremes over a complex topographical terrain along the eastern Mediterranean are assessed in this study. High-resolution dynamical temperature downscaling is conducted for the past (2008) and the near future (until 2050) during eight extreme hot and dry years...

This paper introduces a comprehensive model developed to assess the carbon footprint of integrated solid waste management systems including the diversion at source of the food waste component into the wastewater/sludge management systems using household food waste disposers. In addition to the current state of practice in developed economies, the m...

The potential impacts of projected future climate change scenarios on the hydrologic response of a water-stressed Mediterranean river basin (Upper Litani River Basin in Lebanon) are quantified and assessed using the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) model. Projected basin-level changes in water availability are then compared to multi-sector dema...

This study examines the impacts of increased salinity on agricultural productivity and groundwater use for irrigation with the aim to cope with overexploitation associated with potential climate change impacts. For this purpose, a farmers’ field survey was conducted at a pilot plain with banana plantations partially irrigated with saline groundwate...

This article examines the relative impacts of anthropogenic interventions and global climate change on the dynamics of saltwater intrusion in highly urbanized coastal aquifers. For this purpose, simulations of the impacts of sea-level rise and abstraction scenarios for the near future were undertaken for a pilot aquifer using a multi-objective 3D v...

The launch of the Landsat 8 in February 2013 extended the life of the Landsat program to over 40 years, increasing the value of using Landsat to monitor long-term changes in the water quality of small lakes and reservoirs, particularly in poorly monitored freshwater systems. Landsat-based water quality hindcasting often incorporate several Landsat...

This study quantifies the direct and indirect household economic burden of saltwater intrusion in Beirut, Lebanon, which experiences chronic water shortages. Incurred burdens include water purchase, reduction in the lifespan of household appliances, and building-level water treatment systems. Due to salinity, median household expenditure on water e...

A set of ten downscaling simulations at high spatial resolution (3 km horizontally) were performed using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to generate future climate projections of annual and seasonal temperature and precipitation changes over the Eastern Mediterranean (with a focus on Lebanon). The model was driven with the High Res...

This study presents results from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model applied for climatological downscaling simulations over highly complex terrain along the Eastern Mediterranean. We sequentially downscale general circulation model results, for a mild and wet year (2003) and a hot and dry year (2010), to three local horizontal resolut...

This study examines the performance and fouling potential of flat sheet (FS) and hollow fiber (HF) membrane bioreactors (MBRs) during the treatment of high strength landfill leachate under varying solid retention times (SRT = 5-20 days). Mixed-liquor bacterial communities were examined over time using 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis in an attempt t...

This study examines the stability and efficiency of thermophilic anaerobic digesters treating food waste under various mixing velocities (50-160 rpm). The results showed that high velocities (120 and 160 rpm) were harmful to the digestion process with 18-30% reduction in methane generation and 1.8 to 3.8 times increase in volatile fatty acids (VFA)...

Saltwater intrusion (SWI) represents a threat to coastal aquifers worldwide by rendering groundwater quality not viable for its intended purposes. Therefore, understanding SWI impacts is indispensable for informed decision-making on aquifer management. Despite advances in methods to assess the impact of SWI, it remains challenging to select appropr...

In this study, the carbon footprint of introducing a food waste disposer (FWD) policy was examined in the context of its implications on solid waste and wastewater management with economic assessment of environmental externalities emphasizing potential carbon credit and increased sludge generation. For this purpose, a model adopting a life cycle in...

Water allocation along transboundary rivers invariably ignores the contribution of groundwater in the allocation process of shared water resources. This paper presents a first effort at examining the impact of groundwater on water allocation along the Jordan River Basin (JRB). The sensitivity of allocation is quantified through the assessment of sc...

The Jordan River Basin (JRB) has presented for long a sensitive water management challenge due to its direct association with water scarcity and socio-political conflicts amongst its riparians. This study emphasizes the limitations of existing bilateral agreements with respect to water allocation and argues for the potential of using renewable ener...

In-cabin exposure has increased in recent years due to longer commute and/or prolonged times in cars. The intrusion of the vehicle’s own exhaust into the passenger’s compartment has been recognized as a process that amplifies in-cabin passenger exposure. Quantifying its contribution is hampered by uncertainties associated with its measurement metho...

Population growth and development, coupled with potential climate change impacts, are invariably associated with chronic water shortages particularly in arid and semi-Arid regions. In this study, we evaluate the potential of using onsite graywater reclamation systems towards alleviating water shortages. For this purpose, we developed and administer...