Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering最新文献

The draft Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) regulation mandates compliance with best available techniques (BATs) for textile manufacturers. A study in Turkish textile facilities, covering 56 units across four sub-sectors, assessed the status of 488 BATs through on-site visits and surveys. The aim was to gauge the sector’s adherence to BATs. The findings revealed that 37% of surveyed BATs were fully implemented, rising to 88% when considering potential future implementations. This suggests a strong industry inclination toward adopting BATs for cleaner production and competitiveness. The study highlighted significant BAT-related investments in the textile sector, driven by environmental concerns, regulations, customer demands, resource efficiency, competition, and cost-benefit considerations. However, the study results also indicated that there is still much work to do for the implementation of some BATs. It was found that 60 BATs had lower implementation ratios (IR: 0%–3%). Lower IR values for these BATs are mainly due to factors like specificity, high costs, long payback periods, operational difficulties, limited expertise, space constraints, customer requirements, quality concerns, operational issues, and sector-specific challenges. The study recommends similar assessments in other European industrial sectors to evaluate compliance with mandatory BATs outlined in the Industrial Emissions Directive. The insights from this study on the Turkish textile sector can serve as a valuable guide for future evaluations.

Wastewater-based surveillance serves as a supplementary approach to clinical surveillance of COVID-19 during the epidemic. This study aimed to track the prevalence of the disease and the viral genetic variability through wastewater-based surveillance in the post-epidemic era. Between January to December 2023, samples were collected from the influent lines of two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), concentrated using PEG8000, and subjected to detection of the target genes ORF 1ab and N of SARS-CoV-2 via reverse transcriptional quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). For next-generation sequencing (NGS), high-quality samples from both wastewater and clinical patients were selected. Weekly analysis were performed using R software to evaluate the correlation between the SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in wastewater and positive rate of reported cases, indicating a positive correlation. Genetic diversity patterns of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater resembled those in the patient source based on Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA) with three clusters for different stages. The rise of RNA concentration in wastewater indicates the growth of cases and the emergence of new variants, serving as an early warning of potential viral mutations, disease outbreaks even possible epidemics. Furthermore, the genomic surveillance of wastewater could help identify new variants that may not be captured through population monitoring, especially when sample sizes are insufficient. Consequently, surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in municipal wastewater has emerged as a reliable, early-warning monitoring system for COVID-19 in the post-epidemic era.

For many decades, acid deposition used to pose a significant regional air pollution challenge in China. After substantial emission control of anthropogenically derived sulfur and nitrogen containing gasses, both sulfur and nitrogen deposition, as well as the acid rain-affected area, have significantly decreased compared to their peak levels. Forests, particularly in the humid subtropics, are sensitive to acid deposition, as evidenced by soil acidification, sulfate and nitrate leaching in stream water, and elevated soil nitrous oxide emission. Reduction in the total deposition of sulfur and nitrogen, caused a significant decline in sulfate and nitrate leaching from subtropical forest and subsequently in sulfate and nitrate concentrations in stream water, although there was about a 5-year delay. This delay may be attributed to the desorption of accumulated sulfate and continued elevated mineralization of accumulated nitrogen pools. Emissions of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, also declined in nitrogen-saturated subtropical forest soils, as soil water nitrate concentration decreased. Therefore, subtropical forests in China suffering from elevated acid deposition have begun to recover. Yet, the current levels of sulfur and nitrogen deposition continue to exceed the critical loads, i.e., the assigned threshold levels in accordance with emission control policies, in more than 10% of the country’s land area, respectively, indicating remaining risks of acidification and eutrophication. Thus, further emission reductions are urgently needed, also because they will help achieving goals related to air quality and nitrous oxide emissions.

Water toxicity determination with electrochemically active bacteria (EAB) shows promise for providing early warnings for heavy metal pollution in water. However, thus far, only idealized tests with a few types of heavy metals have been conducted. In this study, an automatic water-toxicity-determination system with high technical maturity was established, and the toxicological properties of common heavy metals were systematically assessed. The results demonstrated that the common heavy metals linearly inhibited EAB currents in the range of 0.1 mg/L to 0.5 mg/L. The toxicity ranking of the tested heavy metals was Pb²⁺ > Tl³⁺ > Cu²⁺ > Cd²⁺ > Zn²⁺ > Ni²⁺ > Hg²⁺ > As²⁺. The toxicity interaction mainly exhibited an antagonistic effect in binary heavy metal mixtures. The system can accurately determine surface water toxicity and rapidly monitor heavy metal pollution, with good repeatability and a long lifetime. Overall, this study demonstrates that EAB are capable of long-term (> 60 d) surface water quality monitoring and on-site early warning of heavy metal pollution.

This study focused on enhancing the efficiency of methane upgrading and reducing energy consumption in the biogas upgrading process through the use of biphasic solvents. An aqueous-based biphasic solvent, comprising methyl monoethanolamine (MMEA), N-methyldiethanolamine (MDEA), and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (ItFB), was meticulously prepared. The biogas upgrading effect, regeneration efficiency, regeneration energy consumption, economic viability, selectivity, and phase separation characteristics of this absorbent were systematically analyzed. Various parameters, including different inlet flow rates, stirring rate, methane inlet concentrations, reaction temperatures, and amine mixing ratios, were adjusted to investigate their impact. A comprehensive evaluation was conducted on the biogas upgrading effect and substance migration trends of the biphasic solvent. Optimal process parameters were determined, demonstrating the favorable impact of the biphasic solvent on biogas upgrading. The upgraded gas achieved a methane purity exceeding 96%, and the regeneration energy consumption decreased by 44.27% compared to 30 wt.% MEA, resulting in a more than 50% improvement in economic efficiency. The interaction between the ionic liquid and carbamate facilitated the phase separation process, with carbon enrichment after separation exceeding 95%. This enhancement significantly contributed to the improvement of regeneration energy consumption. The study thus concludes that biphasic solvents, exemplified by the described aqueous-based solution, offer a promising avenue for effective biogas upgrading with notable advancements in economic and energy efficiency.

Insects damaging and penetrating plastic packaged materials has been reported since the 1950s. Radical innovation breakthroughs of plastic biodegradation have been initiated since the discovery of biodegradation of plastics by Tenebrio molitor larvae in 2015 followed by Galleria mellonella in 2017. Here we review updated studies on the insect-mediated biodegradation of plastics. Plastic biodegradation by insect larvae, mainly by some species of darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae) and pyralid moths (Pyralidae) is currently a highly active and potentially transformative area of research. Over the past eight years, publications have increased explosively, including discoveries of the ability of different insect species to biodegrade plastics, biodegradation performance, and the contribution of host and microbiomes, impacts of polymer types and their physic-chemical properties, and responsible enzymes secreted by the host and gut microbes. To date, almost all major plastics including polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyurethane (PUR), and polystyrene (PS) can be biodegraded by T. molitor and ten other insect species representing the Tenebrionidae and Pyralidae families. The biodegradation processes are symbiotic reactions or performed by synergistic efforts of both host and gut-microbes to rapidly depolymerize and biodegrade plastics with hourly half-lives. The digestive ezymens and bioreagents screted by the insects play an essential role in plasatic biodegradation in certain species of Tenebrionidae and Pyralidae families. New research on the insect itself, gut microbiomes, transcriptomes, proteomes and metabolomes has evaluated the mechanisms of plastic biodegradation in insects. We conclude this review by discussing future research perspectives on insect-mediated biodegradation of plastics.

Fish are important food sources for humans, and the availability of appropriate amount of trace elements (TEs) plays a crucial role in fish growth. Currently, due to large volumes of sewage discharge, high levels of certain elements are present in aquatic environments, and these elements accumulate in fish and potentially affect human health. In this study, the distribution and bioaccumulation capacity of trace elements in six dominant fish species from Chaohu Lake (China) were analyzed. The results showed that the bioaccumulation capacity of fish for Zn was greater than other TEs. And the source of the TEs in the fish were explored along with the concentration of the TEs in the aquatic environment, which indicated that TEs in fish were mainly obtained through ingestion and indirectly affected by the industrial activities in the basin. Additionally, stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes were used to classify the trophic levels and explore the biological magnification of TEs of the fish. It was found that Sb and Sr showed biomagnification with the increase of trophic level of fish. Based on the above analyses, the environmental biogeochemical cycle model of TEs in the lake was distinguished and established, which can offer valuable insights for sustainable fishery management in the downstream Yangtze River Delta ecosystem.

Air pollution is one of the most challenging environmental issues in the world. China has achieved remarkable success in improving air quality in last decade as a result of aggressive air pollution control policies. However, the average fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) concentration in China is still about six times of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Air Quality Guidelines (AQG) and causing significant human health risks. Extreme emission reductions of multiple air pollutants are required for China to achieve the AQG. Here we identify the major challenges in future air quality improvement and propose corresponding control strategies. The main challenges include the persistently high health risk attributed to PM_2.5 pollution, the excessively loose air quality standards, and coordinated control of air pollution, greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions and emerging pollutants. To further improve air quality and protect human health, a health-oriented air pollution control strategy shall be implemented by tightening the air quality standards as well as optimizing emission reduction pathways based on the health risks of various sources. In the meantime, an “one-atmosphere” concept shall be adopted to strengthen the synergistic control of air pollutants and GHGs and the control of non-combustion sources and emerging pollutants shall be enhanced.

Water-soluble chitosan (WSC) has been studied for its ability to mobilize soil Pb and promote the phytoremediation by Hylotelephium spectabile in Pb-contaminated fields. We aimed to clarify the internal mechanism by which WSC impacts phytoremediation by examining plant growth and Pb accumulation performance of H. spectabile as well as the Pb form, functional groups, and mineral phases of Pb-contaminated soil. WSC effectively decreased soil pH and activated Pb migration in rhizosphere soils, with a considerable increase in water-soluble and acid-extractable Pb by 29%–102% and 9%–65%, respectively, and a clear decreasing trend in reducible and oxidizable Pb. Fouriertransform infrared spectroscopy revealed a significant increase in amino and hydroxyl groups in the soil generated by WSC. The coordination of Pb with amino and hydroxyl groups may play an important role in the formation of Pb complexes and activation of Pb in soil. In field trials, the application of WSC significantly increased Pb accumulation in H. spectabile by 125.44%, reaching 92 g/hm². Moreover, the organic matter and nitrogen in the soils were increased by WSC, which improved the growth conditions of H. spectabile. No obvious growth inhibition was observed in either the pot or field trials. Therefore, WSC is a promising chelating agent for mobilizing Pb in soil. Additionally, WSC can be potentially used to boost H. spectabil-mediated phytoremediation of Pb-contaminated farmland.

Water resources have crucial implications for the steady development of the urban social economy. This study investigated the hydrochemical signatures and genesis of water resources in the urban area of Lhasa City (UALC). To this end, several analyses, such as ion ratio analysis and correlation analysis, were performed by comprehensively applying mathematical statistics and integrated hydrochemical methods. The results show relatively low concentrations of major ions in the groundwater and surface water (GSW) of the UALC. The primary anions and cations are HCO₃⁻ and Ca²⁺, reflecting the HCO₃-Ca water type. Nevertheless, groundwater exhibits higher concentrations of key chemical components compared to surface water. GSW are weakly alkaline, with pH values of 7.78 and 7.61, respectively, and they have low salinity with average concentrations of total dissolved solids being 190.74 and 112.17 mg/L, respectively. Anthropogenic inputs have minimal influence on the hydrochemical features of GSW, whereas rock weathering is the dominant controlling factor. Furthermore, cation exchange is a significant hydrogeochemical process influencing their hydrochemical features. According to the isotope analysis (²H and ¹⁸O), the primary source of recharge for GSW is atmospheric precipitation, with some input from melted ice and snow. Moreover, GSW samples from the UALC show relatively similar ²H and ¹⁸O isotopic compositions, indicating the existence of a discernible hydraulic connection linking the two water sources. The research findings can serve as a valuable scientific reference and foundation for the sustainable development, effective utilization, and proper safeguarding of regional water resources in high-altitude areas.