This study evaluates the environmental performance of a hazardous waste incinerator with integrated electricity generation using a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. The aim is to quantify the environmental impacts of hazardous waste incineration with energy recovery and to assess improvement options based on circular economy principles. Three systems were examined: the current situation (CS), a scenario including the beneficial reuse of incineration bottom ash (S1), and a carbon capture and utilization scenario involving CO₂-based methanol production (S2). The assessment followed a consequential LCA framework with system expansion to address multifunctionality by crediting avoided environmental impacts. The system boundary was defined as gate-to-grave, covering operational inputs, emissions to air and water, electricity generation, and final disposal of residues. Electricity produced from the Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plant was credited through substitution of the average Turkish electricity mix. The functional unit was set as 1 ton of waste entering the facility. Foreground data were obtained from a large-scale operating hazardous waste incinerator, while background processes were modelled using the Ecoinvent 3.7 database within SimaPro 9.2 Results show that electricity consumption is the major contributor to environmental burdens in the CS, with a climate change impact of 921 kg CO₂-eq per ton of waste. This impact decreased to 856 kg CO₂-eq/ton in S1 and to 51 kg CO₂-eq/ton in S2. Although S2 achieved the lowest impacts in most categories due to CO₂ capture and conversion, it exhibited higher particulate matter formation and freshwater ecotoxicity linked to steam use. S1 performed best in freshwater ecotoxicity through bottom ash reuse and metal recovery. Overall, the findings demonstrate that circular economy strategies and CO₂ capture technologies can significantly enhance the environmental sustainability of hazardous waste management.
The increasing use of fly-ash particles generated from high-temperature industrial combustion in Anthropocene proxy research has increased interest in studying historical atmospheric contamination trends. Spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCPs), a specific type of fly-ash, provide a direct anthropogenic marker preserved in stratigraphic archives, complementing isotopic approaches and strengthening chronological frameworks. Chemically robust and environmentally persistent, SCPs are widely used as indicators of industrial pollution. However, conventional SCP microscopy methods are time-consuming, motivating exploration of automated imaging systems for more efficient detection and quantification in peat records. This study develops a semi-automated SCP analysis method using a FlowCAM imaging system by creating a dedicated particle-recognition library. A FlowCAM equipped with a 10 × objective and an 80-µm flow cell was used, and SCP reference materials were incorporated to enhance classification accuracy. The resulting library was applied to peat samples spanning a concentration gradient. SCP concentrations obtained by FlowCAM were strongly linearly correlated with expected values. The method’s limit of detection was 350 g DM⁻1, corresponding to the detection of a single SCP. Analysis of gradient samples showed that FlowCAM performs best when SCP concentrations are high, providing robust and reproducible counts when samples contain large numbers of particles. At very low concentrations, detection becomes less reliable because the standard protocol is based on a fixed sample volume, which inherently limits the probability of capturing rare particles. Although sensitivity could be increased by processing larger volumes, this was beyond the scope of this study. Overall, the method is well suited for screening and quantifying SCPs in moderately to highly contaminated samples—such as typical European industrial-era peat records—rather than targeting the detection of single or extremely sparse SCPs. This work demonstrates that FlowCAM offers a rapid, semi-automated, and cost-effective tool for analysing SCP trends in natural peat archives and represents a promising complement to conventional microscopy-based techniques.
Ershiwei Chenxiang Pill (ECP) is effective in treating cardiovascular diseases including hypertension. High-altitude hypertension (HAH) is pathophysiologically distinct from general hypertension, primarily due to chronic hypoxia-induced mechanisms such as aberrant activation of the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) pathway and altered vascular remodeling. The molecular mechanism of ECP against HAH remains unclear. This study aims to elucidate this mechanism using network pharmacology and molecular docking. The effective components and target proteins of ECP were screened by the TCMSP database and TCMID database. The HAH genes were retrieved from NCBI, OMIM, and GeneCards databases. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed to screen core targets. The distribution of the target in the organ was also assessed. The GO and KEGG enrichment analysis was carried out by the DAVID6.8 database. Finally, AutoDock 4.2.6 software was used for molecular docking verification. A total of 125 active components and 308 potential targets from ECP were identified, with 57 overlapping targets with HAH. PPI analysis revealed 14 key targets. GO analysis yielded 397 biological processes, 39 cellular components, and 52 molecular functions. KEGG analysis identified 207 pathways, among which the HIF-1 signaling pathway, Fluid shear stress and atherosclerosis were highlighted as most biologically relevant to HAH. Molecular docking confirmed strong binding affinities between four key components (apigenin, (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate, chrysoeriol, baicalein) and six core targets (VEGFA, PPARG, HIF1A, ESR1, MMP9, CAV1), with binding energies ranging from − 6.7 to -9.2 kcal/mol. This study systematically reveals that ECP may treat HAH through multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway mechanisms, with a core emphasis on modulating hypoxia-responsive pathways (e.g., HIF-1) and vascular function. These findings offer novel insights into the mechanistic basis of ECP in HAH treatment and provide a foundation for further experimental validation.
Microplastic pollution has become a significant global environmental concern, affecting aquatic ecosystems worldwide, particularly those in inland waters. River confluences are especially important study sites because they receive inputs from multiple pollution sources and play a critical role in material transport between land and sea. This study assessed the distribution, characteristics, and ecological risks of microplastics in surface water and sediment from the Bach Hac-Red River basin in northern Vietnam. Microplastic concentrations ranged from 43.18 to 103.15 items/m3 in surface water and from 200 to 650 items/kg in sediment. A positive but statistically insignificant correlation was observed between surface water and sediment concentrations (r = 0.68; p = 0.211). Fibers and fragments were the dominant shapes in all samples. Microplastics smaller than 100 µm accounted for 48.91% of those in surface water and 65.91% in sediment. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and polyamide (PA) were the predominant polymer types. Ecological risk assessments using the Nemerow pollution index (NPI), pollution load index (PLI), polymer hazard index (PHI), and potential ecological risk index (PRI) indicated low bioavailability (0.024 and 1.041), low contamination (PLI: 1.60 and 1.83), moderate polymer risk (PHI: 45.46 and 48.16), and low ecological risk (PRI: 34.81 and 78.12) in surface water and sediment, respectively. These findings provide valuable baseline data for environmental protection and offer essential insights for future monitoring and management of microplastic pollution in inland aquatic systems.
The presence of phosphate and hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI), also known as chromate) in wastewater poses significant challenges for water quality management. This study investigates the effectiveness of Fe-impregnated cattle manure biochar (Fe-CMB) as an adsorbent for the simultaneous removal of chromate and phosphate from water. Fe-CMB was synthesized and characterized using various analytical techniques, including Fe-SEM, XRF, BET, XRD, and FTIR, to assess its physical and chemical properties. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of key operational parameters, including initial concentration, contact time, temperature, and pH, on the removal efficiency of both phosphate and chromate. The adsorption kinetics closely followed the pseudo-second-order model, indicating that chemisorption was the predominant mechanism governing the removal process. The Langmuir isotherm, which suggested monolayer adsorption with maximal adsorption capacities of 31.1 mg/g for phosphate and 30.6 mg/g for chromate, provided the best fit to the equilibrium data. Thermodynamic analysis revealed that the adsorption process was endothermic and accompanied by an increase in entropy at the solid–liquid interface. Notably, while phosphate adsorption remained nonspontaneous across all temperatures, chromate adsorption became spontaneous at higher temperatures. Both phosphate and chromate adsorption were more favorable under acidic conditions, with respective adsorption capacities of 26.01 mg/g and 27.13 mg/g observed at pH 3. When chromate and phosphate were present simultaneously in the solution, the adsorption capacity for chromate (0.94 mmol/g, 48.88 mg/g) was approximately three times greater than that for phosphate (0.31 mmol/g, 9.60 mg/g). The presence of chromate significantly inhibited phosphate adsorption, reducing it by up to 62.7%, whereas phosphate had only a minor effect on chromate removal. This asymmetric inhibition suggests that chromate has a stronger affinity for Fe-CMB, underscoring the importance of considering competitive interactions in real wastewater applications. These results highlight the potential of Fe-CMB as a sustainable and eco-friendly adsorbent for the simultaneous removal of chromate and phosphate in wastewater treatment applications.
Phosphogypsum (PG) is an industrial by-product generated during the wet process of phosphoric acid production. Currently, nearly 100 million tons of PG is produced in China annually. To prevent the main pollutants in PG, namely phosphorus and fluorine, from being leached into the soil by rainfall, this study explored the use of industrial waste carbide slag, a calcium-rich material, to immobilize these elements in the PG and soil. The results showed that the concentration of available phosphorus decreased with increasing PG particle size, while that of fluorine followed a parabolic trend, peaking at a particle size of 0.125 mm. The stabilization efficiency for both phosphorus and fluorine increased with the proportions of carbide slag. At a CS-to- PG ratio of 1:50, the leaching concentration of F in the PG was reduced by 87.4% at 15 °C and 98.2% at 25 °C. In soil column leaching experiments, under simulated rainfall conditions, a higher dosage of carbide slag (1:25) significantly reduced the leaching of water-soluble fluorine, total fluorine, water soluble phosphorus, and total phosphorus from soil affected by PG stacking—by 98.9%, 60.7%, 67.4%, and 20.9%, respectively, compared to the treatment with PG but without carbide slag. Although PG alone increased soil conductivity and lowered soil pH, the addition of carbide slag effectively neutralized acidity, stabilized soil pH, and reduced conductivity through immobilization of soluble ions. These results indicate that carbide slag is an effective and low-cost amendment for immobilizing phosphorus and fluorine and mitigating their environmental risks in PG.
In this work, a feasible conversion of mangosteen peel (MP) waste into mesoporous sulfonated hydrochar (SMP-HC) via hydrothermal assisted sulfuric acid (H2SO4) activation was carried out. The hydrothermal activation process was assisted by 1M H2SO4 for 14 h at 100 0C to produce SMP-HC. The specific surface area (BET SA) analysis shows a mesoporous structure of SMP-HC with remarkable increase of ca. 576 folds (BET SA = 14,4 (m2/g) as compared to the raw MP (0.025 m2/g). Thus, SMP-HC was utilized to be a promising adsorbent for removal of toxic cationic dye namely methylene blue (MB) dye from aqueous environment. Box-Behnken design (BBD) with desirability function was applied to optimize and validate the adsorption working parameters including SMP-HC dosage (coded A:0.02–01 g/0.1L), solution pH (coded B: 4–10), and contact time (coded C:2–8 min). The optimal desirability function conditions for MB dye removal (97.5%) by SMP-HC were found to be SMP-HC dose = 0.07 g/0.1L, solution pH = 9.9, and contact time = 8 min. The maximum adsorption capacity (qm) of SMP-HC for MB dye was found to be 203.5 mg/g at 25 0C. The loading of MB dye onto SMP-HC surface can be attributed to the several possible attractions including electrostatic attraction, π-π interaction, pore filling, and hydrogen bonding. This research shows the possibility of MP waste conversion into functionalized hydrochar with preferable adsorptive performance towards MB dye removal from the contaminated water.
The parboiling process of paddy in rice mills generates wastewater characterized by a high organic load rich in lignin and phenolic compounds. Untreated discharge of this rice mill wastewater (RMW) can cause severe deterioration of soil and water quality. In this pioneering study, a nature-based treatment technology was developed and optimized for the effective remediation of RMW. An integrated constructed wetland (CW) and vermifiltration system was designed to address the limitations of CWs, such as low hydraulic capacity and high land requirement, as well as the decline in earthworm activity in vermifilters (VFs) under high organic loads. Process optimization was performed using response surface methodology with a central composite design, considering influent chemical oxygen demand (COD), CW length, and influent phenol concentration as the independent input variables. A quadratic polynomial model with high predictive accuracy (R2 = 0.9884) was developed to characterize the COD removal efficiency. The model predicted an optimum COD removal of 95% (desirability = 0.949) at 2000 mg/L influent COD, 50 cm CW length, and 10 mg/L influent phenol, within the tested range. Experimental validation confirmed an overall COD removal efficiency of 94% under these conditions. Under the optimized conditions, the CW, VF1, and VF2 exhibited COD removal efficiencies of 87%, 43%, and 27%, respectively. Validation with both real and synthetic RMW presented < 5% deviation between predicted and observed values, underscoring the robustness of the model. The integrated CW and vermifiltration system demonstrated a statistically optimized and sustainable approach for high-strength agro-industrial RMW treatment.
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