Understanding smallholder farmers’ perceptions of climate change, technology, association involvement, and government policy, including its indicators, impacts, and impediments, is critical for promoting sustainable agriculture. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the most significant social and environmental factors restricting the agricultural development of small farmers in terms of credit facilities and government subsidies. The agriculture area of Colon (Ecuador) was selected for a stakeholder analysis to identify and assess the priority, needs, goals and requirements of key people regarding agriculture and environmental management. Besides, a logistic regression model was applied to estimate the effect of social and environmental independent variables on credit facilities and government benefits. According to results, smallholder farmers face many challenges, but targeted policy development, supporting the perception of climate change, and enhancing access to markets can help them overcome these obstacles.
{"title":"Environmental and Socioeconomic Drivers Influencing Agriculture Development among Smallholder Farmers in Ecuador","authors":"Delia Acosta, Freddy Bazurto, Jasson Zambrano, Amparo Panchana","doi":"10.5755/j01.erem.79.4.33483","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.79.4.33483","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding smallholder farmers’ perceptions of climate change, technology, association involvement, and government policy, including its indicators, impacts, and impediments, is critical for promoting sustainable agriculture. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the most significant social and environmental factors restricting the agricultural development of small farmers in terms of credit facilities and government subsidies. The agriculture area of Colon (Ecuador) was selected for a stakeholder analysis to identify and assess the priority, needs, goals and requirements of key people regarding agriculture and environmental management. Besides, a logistic regression model was applied to estimate the effect of social and environmental independent variables on credit facilities and government benefits. According to results, smallholder farmers face many challenges, but targeted policy development, supporting the perception of climate change, and enhancing access to markets can help them overcome these obstacles.","PeriodicalId":11703,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research, Engineering and Management","volume":"30 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138945927","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-22DOI: 10.5755/j01.erem.79.4.33173
Hugo Guillermo Jiménez Pacheco, Antonio Erick Linares Flores Castro, C. Vera-Vásquez, Abdel Alejandro Portocarrero Banda, Herbert Jesús Del Carpio Beltrán
Microbial fuel cells (MFC) are electrochemical systems through which sustainable energy can be produced due to the degradation of organic matter using substrates with a varied chemical composition. The bioprocess that takes place inside the MFC takes advantage of the oxidation of organic matter. This process releases protons and electrons extracellularly, and the latter are transferred from the anode to the cathode generating bioelectricity. The MFC operating system produces energy due to the bacterial metabolism, through an electron transfer phenomenon that reflects into a bio energy conversion with minimal impacts on the environment. With the MFC system, it is possible to investigate the use of new residual substrates for energy production, the types of native microbial communities that develop during the degradation of specific compounds and the design of more efficient cells. In this research, copper and graphite were evaluated as low-cost electrodes using batch microbial fuel cells for 208 hours of operation, a data logger was used, and physicochemical parameters were taken during this period. The maximum power density presented was 14 mW/m2 with the graphite electrode and 6.7 mW/m2 with the copper electrode. Electrogenic bacteria were identified through biochemical and molecular tests such as bacterial culture, strain purification, DNA extraction and sequencing of microorganisms. The bacteria were uploaded to the NCBI gene data bank and the identity of these strains was identified: avian graphite 1 “Av_A1” (Pseudomonas aureginosa), avian graphite 2 “Av_A2” (Bacillus cereus) and avian copper 1 “AV_C1” (Bacillus tropicus). A dual chamber MFC was assembled, so each microbial cell can contain the residual substrate and the corresponding electron acceptor, both for the anodic and cathodic cell. These cells were separated by a Nafion® or Ultrex® membrane cation exchange membrane. The results showed us that optimal conditions for the generation of bioelectricity can be established in MFC cells, adding information to the literature on the behavior of bacteria that thrive in stressful environments such as copper and simple materials such as the graphite.
{"title":"Poultry Residual Biomass as Substrate to Generate Bioelectricity using a dual Chamber Microbial Fuel Cell “MFC” with Graphite and Copper Electrodes","authors":"Hugo Guillermo Jiménez Pacheco, Antonio Erick Linares Flores Castro, C. Vera-Vásquez, Abdel Alejandro Portocarrero Banda, Herbert Jesús Del Carpio Beltrán","doi":"10.5755/j01.erem.79.4.33173","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.79.4.33173","url":null,"abstract":"Microbial fuel cells (MFC) are electrochemical systems through which sustainable energy can be produced due to the degradation of organic matter using substrates with a varied chemical composition. The bioprocess that takes place inside the MFC takes advantage of the oxidation of organic matter. This process releases protons and electrons extracellularly, and the latter are transferred from the anode to the cathode generating bioelectricity. The MFC operating system produces energy due to the bacterial metabolism, through an electron transfer phenomenon that reflects into a bio energy conversion with minimal impacts on the environment. With the MFC system, it is possible to investigate the use of new residual substrates for energy production, the types of native microbial communities that develop during the degradation of specific compounds and the design of more efficient cells. In this research, copper and graphite were evaluated as low-cost electrodes using batch microbial fuel cells for 208 hours of operation, a data logger was used, and physicochemical parameters were taken during this period. The maximum power density presented was 14 mW/m2 with the graphite electrode and 6.7 mW/m2 with the copper electrode. Electrogenic bacteria were identified through biochemical and molecular tests such as bacterial culture, strain purification, DNA extraction and sequencing of microorganisms. The bacteria were uploaded to the NCBI gene data bank and the identity of these strains was identified: avian graphite 1 “Av_A1” (Pseudomonas aureginosa), avian graphite 2 “Av_A2” (Bacillus cereus) and avian copper 1 “AV_C1” (Bacillus tropicus). A dual chamber MFC was assembled, so each microbial cell can contain the residual substrate and the corresponding electron acceptor, both for the anodic and cathodic cell. These cells were separated by a Nafion® or Ultrex® membrane cation exchange membrane. The results showed us that optimal conditions for the generation of bioelectricity can be established in MFC cells, adding information to the literature on the behavior of bacteria that thrive in stressful environments such as copper and simple materials such as the graphite. ","PeriodicalId":11703,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research, Engineering and Management","volume":"89 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138945358","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-22DOI: 10.5755/j01.erem.79.4.34064
Hannes Waldetoft, Bahare Esfahani, Tomas Viktor, O. M. Karlsson
In the receiving areas of effluents from municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), aquatic organisms are threatened by adverse effects due to exposure to pharmaceutical residues. To elucidate the uptake of pharmaceuticals in fish, measurements were made in bile of brown trout (Salmo trutta) exposed in aquaria to 100% effluent water and in muscle, liver, kidney, and bile in northern pike (Esox lucius), European perch (Perca fluviatilis) and common rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus) from a lake receiving municipal wastewater. Pharmaceuticals were also measured in hepatopancreas of signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus). In addition to the measurements in fish and crayfish, pharmaceuticals were measured in the effluent, upstream and downstream of the WWTPs. In effluent water, pharmaceuticals were detected in the µg/L range, with the highest concentrations being of commonly prescribed NSAIDs and hypertension drugs, such as diclofenac, ibuprofen, naproxen, losartan, and metoprolol. However, the differences in concentrations between different sampling occasions were high, indicating a need for repeated sampling to obtain representative average concentrations. Pharmaceuticals in fish samples showed strong tendencies to species and tissue-specific partitioning. Levels of diclofenac in the brown trout bile were within the range of 4–16 µg/g w.w and naproxen within 37–170 ng/g w.w, while for all other pharmaceuticals, they were below detection limits. Several other pharmaceuticals were present in a similar order of magnitude in the effluent as diclofenac, suggesting diclofenac has a strong partitioning to trout bile. In the wild fish, the highest number of detected pharmaceuticals and the highest levels were observed in kidney of pike. Diclofenac in pike kidney was at most 37 ng/g w.w, followed by propranolol (20 ng/g w.w) and losartan (18 ng/g w.w). In crayfish, no pharmaceuticals were detected. The results suggest that the kidney of pike is a suitable tissue for evaluating pharmaceuticals in fish, while hepatopancreas of signal crayfish is not.
{"title":"Pharmaceuticals in Municipal Wastewater – Two Case Studies of Uptake in Fish and Crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) in Aquaria Experiment and In-field Sampling","authors":"Hannes Waldetoft, Bahare Esfahani, Tomas Viktor, O. M. Karlsson","doi":"10.5755/j01.erem.79.4.34064","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.79.4.34064","url":null,"abstract":"In the receiving areas of effluents from municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), aquatic organisms are threatened by adverse effects due to exposure to pharmaceutical residues. To elucidate the uptake of pharmaceuticals in fish, measurements were made in bile of brown trout (Salmo trutta) exposed in aquaria to 100% effluent water and in muscle, liver, kidney, and bile in northern pike (Esox lucius), European perch (Perca fluviatilis) and common rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus) from a lake receiving municipal wastewater. Pharmaceuticals were also measured in hepatopancreas of signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus). In addition to the measurements in fish and crayfish, pharmaceuticals were measured in the effluent, upstream and downstream of the WWTPs. In effluent water, pharmaceuticals were detected in the µg/L range, with the highest concentrations being of commonly prescribed NSAIDs and hypertension drugs, such as diclofenac, ibuprofen, naproxen, losartan, and metoprolol. However, the differences in concentrations between different sampling occasions were high, indicating a need for repeated sampling to obtain representative average concentrations. Pharmaceuticals in fish samples showed strong tendencies to species and tissue-specific partitioning. Levels of diclofenac in the brown trout bile were within the range of 4–16 µg/g w.w and naproxen within 37–170 ng/g w.w, while for all other pharmaceuticals, they were below detection limits. Several other pharmaceuticals were present in a similar order of magnitude in the effluent as diclofenac, suggesting diclofenac has a strong partitioning to trout bile. In the wild fish, the highest number of detected pharmaceuticals and the highest levels were observed in kidney of pike. Diclofenac in pike kidney was at most 37 ng/g w.w, followed by propranolol (20 ng/g w.w) and losartan (18 ng/g w.w). In crayfish, no pharmaceuticals were detected. The results suggest that the kidney of pike is a suitable tissue for evaluating pharmaceuticals in fish, while hepatopancreas of signal crayfish is not.","PeriodicalId":11703,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research, Engineering and Management","volume":"56 47","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138946200","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-22DOI: 10.5755/j01.erem.79.4.33913
Satith Sangpradid, Theeraya Uttha, Ilada Aroonsri
Air pollution, particularly fine particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less (PM2.5), is a significant public health concern in many regions worldwide, including the northeastern region of Thailand. This study investigates the correlation between PM2.5 concentrations and meteorological spatial datasets such as surface relative humidity (SRH), surface wind speed (SPD), visibility (Vis), surface temperature (ST), and aerosol optical thickness (AOT) in the region. GIS techniques and the inverse distance weighting technique were used to create spatial maps of the meteorological datasets and ground station PM2.5 measurements. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to examine the relationship between PM2.5 and the meteorological datasets. Decision tree and support vector machine (SVM) algorithms were employed to estimate PM2.5 concentrations based on the spatial datasets. The results showed that Vis and ST have a moderate positive linear relationship with PM2.5, while AOT has a moderate negative linear relationship. SRH and SPD have weak relationships with PM2.5. The decision tree and SVM algorithms demonstrated a strong positive correlation between estimated and measured PM2.5 concentrations. The study shows that machine learning algorithms can be effective tools for estimating PM2.5 concentration based on AOT data, and feature selection can improve model performance. Ensemble learning could be employed to further improve model performance, particularly in regions with high spatial variability. Overall, the study provides a promising approach for estimating PM2.5 concentration using machine learning algorithms and AOT data.
{"title":"Estimates of PM2.5 Concentration Based on Aerosol Optical Thickness Data Using Ensemble Learning with Support Vector Machine and Decision Tree","authors":"Satith Sangpradid, Theeraya Uttha, Ilada Aroonsri","doi":"10.5755/j01.erem.79.4.33913","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.79.4.33913","url":null,"abstract":"Air pollution, particularly fine particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less (PM2.5), is a significant public health concern in many regions worldwide, including the northeastern region of Thailand. This study investigates the correlation between PM2.5 concentrations and meteorological spatial datasets such as surface relative humidity (SRH), surface wind speed (SPD), visibility (Vis), surface temperature (ST), and aerosol optical thickness (AOT) in the region. GIS techniques and the inverse distance weighting technique were used to create spatial maps of the meteorological datasets and ground station PM2.5 measurements. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to examine the relationship between PM2.5 and the meteorological datasets. Decision tree and support vector machine (SVM) algorithms were employed to estimate PM2.5 concentrations based on the spatial datasets. The results showed that Vis and ST have a moderate positive linear relationship with PM2.5, while AOT has a moderate negative linear relationship. SRH and SPD have weak relationships with PM2.5. The decision tree and SVM algorithms demonstrated a strong positive correlation between estimated and measured PM2.5 concentrations. The study shows that machine learning algorithms can be effective tools for estimating PM2.5 concentration based on AOT data, and feature selection can improve model performance. Ensemble learning could be employed to further improve model performance, particularly in regions with high spatial variability. Overall, the study provides a promising approach for estimating PM2.5 concentration using machine learning algorithms and AOT data.","PeriodicalId":11703,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research, Engineering and Management","volume":"8 40","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138943997","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-22DOI: 10.5755/j01.erem.79.4.32708
S. D. Said, A. Muslim, Azwar Yahya, Nasrullah Razali, Qodri Yudit Angesta, I. Irmayani, Tony Hadibarata, Atikah Kadri
Adsorption of Cu(II) from aqueous solution on the activated carbon (AC) prepared from Arenga pinnata Merr fruit shell (APMFS) waste with the assistance of ultrasound was evaluated by conducting batch mode experiments. As a result, KOH activation using 40 kHz of ultrasound restructured active binding sites and produced more pores on the APMFS-AC according to FT-IR and SEM analyses, respectively. Increasing the sonication time from 45 min to 135 min increased the adsorption capacity from 6.535 mg/g to 7.042 mg/g, respectively, at the initial Cu(II) concentration of 257.213 mg/L, 27°C and pH 5. With an increment of the adsorption temperature to 45°C, it increased the adsorption capacity up to 11.765 mg/g. The investigation on the independent variables showed the optimum conditions of adsorption which were 257.213 mg/L of the initial Cu(II) concentration, 60 min of contact time, pH 5 and 45°C using 135 min of sonicated APMFS-AC. The Cu(II) adsorption isotherm was fitted with the Langmuir model at the optimum condition. The Langmuir mono-layer adsorption capacity obtained was 11.765 mg/g with the BET saturation capacity, and the total pore volume values were 13.029 mg/g and 3.987 L/mg, respectively. The Cu(II) adsorption followed the pseudo second-order kinetics model with the adsorption rate 0.473 g/mg.min. Thermodynamic parameters of enthalpy change (∆H0, 27.035 kJ/mol), Gibbs free energy (∆G0, 7.292 kJ/mol), entropy change (∆S0, 0.062 kJ/mol.K), and activation energy (E, 22.637 kJ/mol) were determined. These results confirmed that endothermic, spontaneous and chemical adsorption took place.
{"title":"Adsorption of Cu(II) from Aqueous Solution on Sonicated Activated Carbon Prepared from Arenga Pinnata Merr Fruit Shell Waste: Isotherm, Kinetic and Thermodynamic Studies","authors":"S. D. Said, A. Muslim, Azwar Yahya, Nasrullah Razali, Qodri Yudit Angesta, I. Irmayani, Tony Hadibarata, Atikah Kadri","doi":"10.5755/j01.erem.79.4.32708","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.79.4.32708","url":null,"abstract":"Adsorption of Cu(II) from aqueous solution on the activated carbon (AC) prepared from Arenga pinnata Merr fruit shell (APMFS) waste with the assistance of ultrasound was evaluated by conducting batch mode experiments. As a result, KOH activation using 40 kHz of ultrasound restructured active binding sites and produced more pores on the APMFS-AC according to FT-IR and SEM analyses, respectively. Increasing the sonication time from 45 min to 135 min increased the adsorption capacity from 6.535 mg/g to 7.042 mg/g, respectively, at the initial Cu(II) concentration of 257.213 mg/L, 27°C and pH 5. With an increment of the adsorption temperature to 45°C, it increased the adsorption capacity up to 11.765 mg/g. The investigation on the independent variables showed the optimum conditions of adsorption which were 257.213 mg/L of the initial Cu(II) concentration, 60 min of contact time, pH 5 and 45°C using 135 min of sonicated APMFS-AC. The Cu(II) adsorption isotherm was fitted with the Langmuir model at the optimum condition. The Langmuir mono-layer adsorption capacity obtained was 11.765 mg/g with the BET saturation capacity, and the total pore volume values were 13.029 mg/g and 3.987 L/mg, respectively. The Cu(II) adsorption followed the pseudo second-order kinetics model with the adsorption rate 0.473 g/mg.min. Thermodynamic parameters of enthalpy change (∆H0, 27.035 kJ/mol), Gibbs free energy (∆G0, 7.292 kJ/mol), entropy change (∆S0, 0.062 kJ/mol.K), and activation energy (E, 22.637 kJ/mol) were determined. These results confirmed that endothermic, spontaneous and chemical adsorption took place.","PeriodicalId":11703,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research, Engineering and Management","volume":"120 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138947635","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-22DOI: 10.5755/j01.erem.79.4.33604
Z. Kapsdorferová, Veronika Zábojníková, Matej Čereš, Petronela Švikruhová, Karol Fronc
Due to its dependence on natural resources and weather conditions, agriculture is widely acknowledged as one of the most vulnerable sectors when talking about climate change. Lower yields and productivity, droughts, and water shortages have had an impact on food security globally. The food system using agrochemicals, cattle breeding, processing storage, transportation, and trade contributes even more to global emissions. Incorporating sustainability in the production of diverse and healthy food as a systematic approach to the concept of food security is challenging for the future capacity reduction of ecological systems due to the degradation of natural resources and the rise in social and economic inequality. Regenerative agricultural production that ensures long-term food security and nutrition, as well as processing and trade are therefore essential currently to secure the cooperation of social and economic systems. The main goal of the presented scientific paper is to point out the serious challenge of today related to environmental food losses and food waste in the world and the Slovak Republic in particular.
{"title":"Innovation Activities to Reduce Food Losses and Food Waste in the Slovak Republic","authors":"Z. Kapsdorferová, Veronika Zábojníková, Matej Čereš, Petronela Švikruhová, Karol Fronc","doi":"10.5755/j01.erem.79.4.33604","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.79.4.33604","url":null,"abstract":"Due to its dependence on natural resources and weather conditions, agriculture is widely acknowledged as one of the most vulnerable sectors when talking about climate change. Lower yields and productivity, droughts, and water shortages have had an impact on food security globally. The food system using agrochemicals, cattle breeding, processing storage, transportation, and trade contributes even more to global emissions. Incorporating sustainability in the production of diverse and healthy food as a systematic approach to the concept of food security is challenging for the future capacity reduction of ecological systems due to the degradation of natural resources and the rise in social and economic inequality. Regenerative agricultural production that ensures long-term food security and nutrition, as well as processing and trade are therefore essential currently to secure the cooperation of social and economic systems. The main goal of the presented scientific paper is to point out the serious challenge of today related to environmental food losses and food waste in the world and the Slovak Republic in particular. ","PeriodicalId":11703,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research, Engineering and Management","volume":"88 24","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138945385","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Knowing the concentration of elements in children’s classroom dust and the associated ecological and health risks is essential in preventing and controlling possible elemental poisoning. Dust samples were collected from 37 nursery and kindergarten classrooms across three local government areas in Abeokuta, Nigeria, and assessed for elemental concentrations using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrophotometry. The hazard and the cancer risk indexes were estimated using the geo-accumulation index (Igeo) and health risks posed to children. The highest mean concentrations (mg/kg) of Ca, Fe, K, and Ti ranged between 4034.22–15995.09, 1758.95–2409.62, 5146.66–8996.75, and 730.96–1140.38, respectively. About 33.33% of the monitored metals displayed Igeo values within the moderately polluted and extremely polluted categories in Abeokuta South and North. All the monitored locations were strongly polluted with Ca, Fe, K and Ti, including arsenic at Abeokuta South. Metals with high pollution (Cf > 6) were Ca, Fe, Co, As, K, Ti and Ge in Abeokuta South. Ca, Fe, Co, As, K, Sc, Ti and Ge in Abeokuta North; and Ca, Fe, As, K, Sc, Ti and Ge at Odeda. Arsenic levels were 128.42 (considerable), 2934.27 (very high) and 179.33 (high) for the ecological risk factors. Dust samples for Abeokuta South and North posed the least and greatest ecological risks, respectively, and the risk potentials of arsenic across all the locations were in the ecologically risky ranges. However, hazard indexes < 1 were recorded across the monitored sites, indicating no immediate non-carcinogenic health risks, while cancer risks for Co, Ni, As, and Cr were < 1.0E−04, respectively, depicting no significant carcinogenic risk. This study concluded that the levels of elements monitored do not pose any health risk to the children but are of concern to the ecosystem. Therefore, policies on locating schools in areas with minimum anthropogenic pollution should be formulated and continuous cleaning of classroom surfaces should be encouraged.
{"title":"Elemental Profiling, Pollution and Health Risks Assessments of Classroom Dust from Selected Nursery and Kindergarten Schools Ogun State, Nigeria","authors":"Funmilola Felicia Oyebanji, Kofoworola Amudat Olatunde, Habiblahi Olabode Kasumu, Tosin Samson Akinola, Adebayo Afinuomo, Olaide Tiamiyu, Kolade David Ogunnowo, Toyin Ayodele Arowolo","doi":"10.5755/j01.erem.79.3.32606","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.79.3.32606","url":null,"abstract":"Knowing the concentration of elements in children’s classroom dust and the associated ecological and health risks is essential in preventing and controlling possible elemental poisoning. Dust samples were collected from 37 nursery and kindergarten classrooms across three local government areas in Abeokuta, Nigeria, and assessed for elemental concentrations using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrophotometry. The hazard and the cancer risk indexes were estimated using the geo-accumulation index (Igeo) and health risks posed to children. The highest mean concentrations (mg/kg) of Ca, Fe, K, and Ti ranged between 4034.22–15995.09, 1758.95–2409.62, 5146.66–8996.75, and 730.96–1140.38, respectively. About 33.33% of the monitored metals displayed Igeo values within the moderately polluted and extremely polluted categories in Abeokuta South and North. All the monitored locations were strongly polluted with Ca, Fe, K and Ti, including arsenic at Abeokuta South. Metals with high pollution (Cf > 6) were Ca, Fe, Co, As, K, Ti and Ge in Abeokuta South. Ca, Fe, Co, As, K, Sc, Ti and Ge in Abeokuta North; and Ca, Fe, As, K, Sc, Ti and Ge at Odeda. Arsenic levels were 128.42 (considerable), 2934.27 (very high) and 179.33 (high) for the ecological risk factors. Dust samples for Abeokuta South and North posed the least and greatest ecological risks, respectively, and the risk potentials of arsenic across all the locations were in the ecologically risky ranges. However, hazard indexes < 1 were recorded across the monitored sites, indicating no immediate non-carcinogenic health risks, while cancer risks for Co, Ni, As, and Cr were < 1.0E−04, respectively, depicting no significant carcinogenic risk. This study concluded that the levels of elements monitored do not pose any health risk to the children but are of concern to the ecosystem. Therefore, policies on locating schools in areas with minimum anthropogenic pollution should be formulated and continuous cleaning of classroom surfaces should be encouraged.","PeriodicalId":11703,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research, Engineering and Management","volume":"33 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135853426","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Soil-washing using ethylenediamine-tetraacetate (EDTA) is an effective method for the remediation of lead (Pb) contaminated land. In practice, it is necessary to manage wastewater from this remediation process. The Electrocoagulation technique is an alternative method to remove Pb from soil-washing wastewater. The primary purpose of this study is to determine optimum conditions for the electrocoagulation process of Pb removal from soil-washing wastewater. This study used an electrochemical batch reactor with a monopolar parallel circuit. Based on the initial research, the Pb concentration in soil-washing wastewater was 3600 mg/L. Several parameters were used to obtain the optimal condition for Pb removal: operational voltage, type of electrode used, and time. The result showed that the optimum condition for Pb removal is on the operational voltage of 7 volt (V), using aluminium electrode pair, at an operating time of 80 min within the Pb removal efficiency of 96%. Furthermore, the kinetics study showed the highest Pb precipitation was 0.041/min following the first-order model. Using these optimal parameters, the Pb precipitation and removal efficiencies for real soil-washing wastewater were 0.0416/min and 96.7%, respectively. The electrocoagulation method is efficient for simultaneously removing lead from polluted effluents.
{"title":"Dissolved Lead Removal from Soil-washing Process Using Electrocoagulation","authors":"Vemi Ridantami, Agus Jatnika Effendi, Muhayatun Santoso, Mahrus Salam, Laili Fitria, Wisnu Prayogo","doi":"10.5755/j01.erem.79.3.33490","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.79.3.33490","url":null,"abstract":"Soil-washing using ethylenediamine-tetraacetate (EDTA) is an effective method for the remediation of lead (Pb) contaminated land. In practice, it is necessary to manage wastewater from this remediation process. The Electrocoagulation technique is an alternative method to remove Pb from soil-washing wastewater. The primary purpose of this study is to determine optimum conditions for the electrocoagulation process of Pb removal from soil-washing wastewater. This study used an electrochemical batch reactor with a monopolar parallel circuit. Based on the initial research, the Pb concentration in soil-washing wastewater was 3600 mg/L. Several parameters were used to obtain the optimal condition for Pb removal: operational voltage, type of electrode used, and time. The result showed that the optimum condition for Pb removal is on the operational voltage of 7 volt (V), using aluminium electrode pair, at an operating time of 80 min within the Pb removal efficiency of 96%. Furthermore, the kinetics study showed the highest Pb precipitation was 0.041/min following the first-order model. Using these optimal parameters, the Pb precipitation and removal efficiencies for real soil-washing wastewater were 0.0416/min and 96.7%, respectively. The electrocoagulation method is efficient for simultaneously removing lead from polluted effluents.","PeriodicalId":11703,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research, Engineering and Management","volume":"144 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135854022","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-13DOI: 10.5755/j01.erem.79.3.33084
Rosario Palacios-Hugo, José Luis Calle-Maravi, Mary Flor Césare-Coral, Joshua Iparraguirre, Paul Virú-Vásquez
The maintenance of the extensive parks at National Agrarian La Molina University (UNALM) generates a large amount of forest biomass, with high treatment costs. For this reason, the pyrolysis of the forest biomass is an alternative for valorization, allowing proper management producing biochar. The aim of the research was to evaluate the stability of biochar at 300°C and 500°C from forest biomass of five predominant species at UNALM, Grevillea robusta, Schinus molle, Casuarina cunninghamiana, Ficus benjamina and Eucalyptus spp. To determine the stability of biochar produced, two methodologies were used (IBI and an adaptation of the López et al.(2010) method), for which organic, labile, oxidizable, recalcitrant carbon on biochar were determined. The results showed a decrease in biochar yield of 6.50% with an increasing pyrolysis temperature. Regarding physicochemical characteristics, the biochar produced was alkaline (pH above 8); besides, the pH and electrical conductivity increased with temperature, by 0.64 and 0.38 ds/m, respectively. However, in the case of nitrogen and ashes, the opposite occurred. It was concluded that all the biochar produced complied with the stability limits according to the applied methodologies, and BSM500 had the highest value of stability considering the applied methodologies. This may indicate that it could have the greatest sequestration of C once applied to the soil and also the reduction of emissions; for that reason, it would be important to carry out future research to estimate the potential for C sequestration in the long term.
{"title":"Physicochemical Characterization and Stability of Biochar Obtained from 5 Species of Forest Biomass in Peru","authors":"Rosario Palacios-Hugo, José Luis Calle-Maravi, Mary Flor Césare-Coral, Joshua Iparraguirre, Paul Virú-Vásquez","doi":"10.5755/j01.erem.79.3.33084","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.79.3.33084","url":null,"abstract":"The maintenance of the extensive parks at National Agrarian La Molina University (UNALM) generates a large amount of forest biomass, with high treatment costs. For this reason, the pyrolysis of the forest biomass is an alternative for valorization, allowing proper management producing biochar. The aim of the research was to evaluate the stability of biochar at 300°C and 500°C from forest biomass of five predominant species at UNALM, Grevillea robusta, Schinus molle, Casuarina cunninghamiana, Ficus benjamina and Eucalyptus spp. To determine the stability of biochar produced, two methodologies were used (IBI and an adaptation of the López et al.(2010) method), for which organic, labile, oxidizable, recalcitrant carbon on biochar were determined. The results showed a decrease in biochar yield of 6.50% with an increasing pyrolysis temperature. Regarding physicochemical characteristics, the biochar produced was alkaline (pH above 8); besides, the pH and electrical conductivity increased with temperature, by 0.64 and 0.38 ds/m, respectively. However, in the case of nitrogen and ashes, the opposite occurred. It was concluded that all the biochar produced complied with the stability limits according to the applied methodologies, and BSM500 had the highest value of stability considering the applied methodologies. This may indicate that it could have the greatest sequestration of C once applied to the soil and also the reduction of emissions; for that reason, it would be important to carry out future research to estimate the potential for C sequestration in the long term.","PeriodicalId":11703,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research, Engineering and Management","volume":"25 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135854017","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Recently, biofuels are intensively studied regarding the need of alternative renewable energy sources. Woody biomass has been one of the raw materials which are used in various ways including biofuels. As for biofuels, woody biomass has yet to possess some disadvantages such as bulk dimension, low density, non-uniformity, and high moisture content. Pelletizing has been one of the ways to improve the quality of woody biomass to be a proper biofuel. However, wood pellets also still offer downside such as hygroscopicity. Torrefaction is one of the methods to upgrade pellets quality such as high calorific value, fixed carbon, and hydrophobicity. In this study, merbau wood waste pellets were dry torrefied at a temperature of 200°C and 250°C for 15 and 30 minutes. The data obtained showed that torrefaction applied on merbau wood waste pellets could produce high quality pellets.
{"title":"Torrefaction for Upgrading the Quality of Merbau Wood Waste Pellets","authors":"Johanes Pramana Gentur Sutapa, Gianova Vierry Prasetyadi","doi":"10.5755/j01.erem.79.3.33741","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.79.3.33741","url":null,"abstract":"Recently, biofuels are intensively studied regarding the need of alternative renewable energy sources. Woody biomass has been one of the raw materials which are used in various ways including biofuels. As for biofuels, woody biomass has yet to possess some disadvantages such as bulk dimension, low density, non-uniformity, and high moisture content. Pelletizing has been one of the ways to improve the quality of woody biomass to be a proper biofuel. However, wood pellets also still offer downside such as hygroscopicity. Torrefaction is one of the methods to upgrade pellets quality such as high calorific value, fixed carbon, and hydrophobicity. In this study, merbau wood waste pellets were dry torrefied at a temperature of 200°C and 250°C for 15 and 30 minutes. The data obtained showed that torrefaction applied on merbau wood waste pellets could produce high quality pellets.","PeriodicalId":11703,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research, Engineering and Management","volume":"42 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135853271","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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