Environmental Quality Management最新文献

Personal care products and cosmetics have become an essential part of present society. Since the composition of these products directly correlates with public health and the environment, understanding consumer behaviors and attitudes is a significant aspect in controlling their negative impacts. The present study surveyed 300 consumers in Sri Lanka to attain insights into the selection, usage, disposal, and participants' attitudes and knowledge of these products. The majority of the respondents were female (58%) and 71% were between the ages of 18 and 65. Most of them (48%) selected products by their evaluations and 34% were highly concerned about the ingredients. Removal of applied products was mainly done by washing (97%) and in many households, generated wastewater ended up in wastewater gullies (69%). The remaining plastic packages were discarded into municipal garbage trucks (42%) or burned (31%). Alarmingly, 29% of the participants have experienced some kind of adverse reaction by using these products during their lifetime. Therefore, proper monitoring, waste management, and regulation of these products could be beneficial to control many related health and environmental consequences.

The burgeoning industrialization and urbanization along the Indian coastline have led to an increased prevalence of port infrastructure and effluent discharge, raising concerns about their potential impact on the delicate macrobenthic communities in coastal ecosystems. This comprehensive review aims to evaluate and synthesize existing literature on the ecological repercussions of port activities and effluent discharge on macrobenthic organisms in Indian coastal regions. The study encompasses a thorough analysis of relevant research articles, government reports, and scientific databases, focusing on diverse ecosystems such as estuaries, mangroves, and open coastlines. The review discusses the various stressors associated with port operations, including dredging, habitat alteration, and chemical contamination from effluent discharge. Furthermore, it explores the response mechanisms of macrobenthic communities, encompassing changes in species composition, abundance, and diversity. Special attention is given to the potential long-term impacts on ecosystem functioning and services. The synthesis of available data enables the identification of knowledge gaps and the formulation of recommendations for future research and management strategies. Understanding the cumulative effects of port activities on macrobenthic communities is crucial for developing sustainable practices and policies to mitigate adverse impacts while fostering the resilience of coastal ecosystems in the face of anthropogenic pressures. This review contributes to the growing body of knowledge on the ecological consequences of human activities in Indian coastal areas, providing valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, and environmental managers alike.

The negative impact of operations in informal auto mechanic workshops is a major public health concern, and its effect on surface water pollution cannot be overlooked. This current work evaluates the environmental impact of automobile waste on surface water quality in Ebonyi State, Southeast Nigeria. A total of 108 surface water samples were taken in 2022 and 2023 from Abakaliki, Onueke, and Afikpo streams, and WHO as controls using standard analytical methods. Data sets were analyzed using Fisher's Significance Least Difference (F-LSD) at the 0.05 probability level. The study showed that surface water appearance was slightly brown, and the observed upstream is acidic in nature, the midstream is alkaline, and the downstream is natural. Water samples from Abakaliki, Onueke, and Afikpo streams were observed to be hard since their concentration levels were above the WHO standard. Furthermore, the high concentrations of heavy metals (Pb and Mn) as well as the oil and grease content indicate that the surface water in the area of study is polluted and its overall quality is degraded. The study therefore concluded that automobile waste had a negative influence on the surface water quality in the study area. Based on these new findings, it is recommended that automobile waste be properly treated and disposed of to avoid their adverse effects on surface water quality. In addition, given the uncontrolled development of these informal auto workshops across the nation in recent years, there is a need for the execution of environmental standards connected to automobile service activities.

Given the pressing need for economies to mitigate climate change and champion carbon neutrality, this study investigates the threshold effects of financial development and foreign direct investment (FDI) on carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) bloc, taking into account the moderating role of the regulatory environment. Drawing on the environmental Kuznets curve and the pollution haven hypothesis, the study utilizes the dynamic generalized method of moments (GMM) modeling, proposed by Arellano and Bover, to analyze panel data from 37 SSA countries spanning 1990–2022. The findings reveal that financial development in the banking, financial, and private sectors, along with FDI outflows, is associated with a reduction in CO₂ emissions. Conversely, FDI inflows are linked to increased CO₂ emissions. A curvilinear relationship is observed, where initial increases in financial development and FDI correlate with higher emissions, which decline beyond a certain threshold. Stronger regulations enhance the positive impact of financial development on reducing CO₂ emissions. Finally, the findings show a significant heterogeneous effect across the SSA regional blocs. These findings underscore the critical need for implementing stringent environmental regulations and promoting sustainable financial practices to mitigate negative environmental impact. This research provides both theoretical and practical insights into fostering a carbon neutrality agenda and advancing Sustainable Development Goal 13.

Fly ash (FyA), a byproduct from coal combustion in power plants, has become increasingly valuable due to its pozzolanic properties. Primarily, FyA finds applications in the construction industry, including road and brick construction, forest road building, and the cement industry. When added to concrete, it enhances splitting tensile strength, compressive strength, and workability, while also reducing the environmental impact of cement production. Beyond construction, FyA is utilized for air pollutant removal and serves as an adsorbent for various contaminants. It also plays a role in creating geopolymers and nanocomposites, promoting the development of eco-friendly construction materials. This review article presents current data on thermal power plants (ThPPs) in India, the challenges in FyA management, and its environmental impact. It also discusses relevant Indian policies and highlights ongoing research aimed at improving the efficiency and expanding the applications of FyA in various industrial sectors, such as battery manufacturing, zeolite synthesis, and cenosphere extraction. These efforts underscore FyA's potential in supporting sustainable practices. The findings of this review address critical issues related to FyA. By reducing the environmental footprint of cement manufacturing, removing air pollutants, and acting as an adsorbent for various contaminants, FyA demonstrates significant potential in pollution mitigation. It also contributes to the development of eco-friendly construction materials and promotes sustainability in the construction sector. Effective management practices are essential to minimize FyA's negative impact on human health and the environment. The article emphasizes the need for greater awareness and implementation of policies to address these issues comprehensively. By providing a detailed understanding of the benefits and challenges associated with FyA, it aims to pave the way for more effective and sustainable utilization of this industrial byproduct.

Desalination membrane using zwitterion modification provides a significant opportunity to enhance excellent properties for rejecting salt and salt ions. The outstanding properties are designed by positive and negative charges attached to the membrane surface, including water permeability, salt permeability, fouling, and hydrophilicity of the membrane surface. The hydrophilic membrane, which is mentioned as one of the types of desalination membrane, presents the ability to repel salt and salt ions and pass the water. The modification of hydrophilic membranes is also affected by several factors, including water permeability, salt permeability, fouling of membrane surfaces, crossflow velocity, transmembrane pressure, and temperature. Regarding membrane modification, zwitterion has been applied for several ranges, such as the hemodialysis process, live cell imaging, antibacterial surfaces, and wound dressing. However, using a zwitterion modification membrane for desalinating water containing salt content, including brackish water, has yet to be developed. In addition, literature reviews related to polymer membranes for brackish water desalination have never been comprehensively documented. Thus, this review article addresses the zwitterion modification for desalination membranes, which can reject salt and salt ions in brackish water. Furthermore, the mechanism of zwitterion modification for desalination membranes has been presented. Finally, the challenge of zwitterion modification for desalination membranes has been evaluated to inspire insight for future studies.

Bioethanol, a sustainable energy solution derived from renewable biomass, has gained prominence, with corn stover emerging as a substantial biomass resource in Indonesia. Corn stover, a corn residue, is one of the top three agricultural wastes worldwide and is abundantly available. However, a significant portion of corn stover is burned in fields rather than utilized for bioethanol production, whereas it has potential as a bioethanol feedstock. As the world strives to realize sustainable and environmentally friendly energy security, bioethanol production from corn stover can be one of the solutions to be developed. Nonetheless, the current immaturity of bioethanol production technology is one of the causes of large-scale production failure. The present paper comprehensively reviews the technological aspects and process optimization of bioethanol production using corn stover as a feedstock comprising pretreatment, hydrolysis, fermentation, and bioethanol purification processes. According to our critical review, ammonia fiber expansion (AFEX) pretreatment is the most effective conventional pretreatment, with glucose yield up to 90%. Moreover, ultrasound appears to be the most viable option for nonconventional pretreatment of corn stover for producing bioethanol. However, combining ultrasound pretreatment and dilute aqueous ammonia produced 80.6% sugar output. Furthermore, enzymatic hydrolysis emerges as the most effective saccharification, yielding up to 81.39%. Moreover, the fermentation process of corn stover with the saccharification and co-fermentation (SScF) method and the process optimization with response surface methodology (RSM) could produce bioethanol with a concentration of up to 59.8 g/L and 92.07% ethanol yield, respectively. This review also reveals that pervaporation for the purification process is the best choice for producing bioethanol with high purity up to > 99%. In addition, this method could reduce the energy used by 6.6% lower, 24.2% lower carbon footprint, and have the lowest total capital and production costs compared to conventional molecular sieves and extractive distillation. We believe this review article can provide a reference for selecting the best bioethanol production process from corn stover for further research.

The increased level of CO₂ in the atmosphere has led to global warming and climate change. To mitigate these problems, solid adsorbents have become attractive materials for capturing excess CO₂ in the post-combustion method. Molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) can be applied to prepare highly selective adsorbents that could capture CO₂ molecules. The MIP was prepared using the surface imprinted polymer technique in this preliminary work. Only two types of support materials were used (graphite and silica gel) to screen the best support material that could enhance the CO₂ adsorption capacity of the resulting adsorbent, which was analyzed using a fixed-bed column reactor. Graphite-imprinted polymer (GMIP) was found to be a good potential for CO₂ adsorption. The Avrami model best described the adsorption system, while the fixed-bed curve data fit the Yoon–Nelson model well. The semi-empirical method was used to assess the interaction mechanism of the molecularly imprinted polymer with CO₂ during adsorption. This investigation involved testing four different ratios of the template complex to functional monomers. The ratio of 1:4 (CO₂:Allylthiourea) demonstrated the highest binding energy, with a higher formation of hydrogen bonds. Film diffusion and intraparticle diffusion were the main rate-limiting steps that played vital roles at different stages of CO₂ adsorption. This preliminary work has enhanced the development of MIP for CO₂ adsorption and showcased the integration of computational approaches in tailoring specific MIPs.

Poor waste management of mining operations in Selibe Phikwe, Botswana, has resulted in elevated levels of heavy metals (HM) in farmlands and crops near the mining regions, contaminating the food chain and posing a health risk. To mitigate HM contamination in food crops grown in this area, different soil amendments were evaluated for their potential to reduce heavy metal uptake and accumulation in harvested crops. A two-factor complete randomized design was used to conduct a pot experiment in which varied rates of fly ash (FA) were applied to HM-contaminated soil in combination with compost and/or NPK inorganic fertilizers. On this setup, two successive cropping of rape and spinach crops were established. Changes in soil chemical characteristics and heavy metal availability, as well as yield and heavy metal content of harvested plants, were monitored. Our findings showed that the addition of FA from 5% to 15% (w/w) had significantly improved the yield, and reduced the concentration of arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn), and lead (Pb) in shoots for both spinach and rape. Additional application of compost and/or inorganic fertilizer further improved the yield but the optimum yield was obtained through the combination of 10% FA + compost for both spinach and rape. The highest reduction of As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Mn in the shoots of spinach and rape was obtained in soils amended with 10% FA + compost + NPK fertilizer. Improvement of growth due to different amendments could be attributed to their ability to modify soil chemical properties, reduce available heavy metals in soils, and provide essential nutrients for plants. Optimum results based on growth and heavy metal mitigation can be attained by the application of 10% FA and the addition of compost + NPK fertilizer for both spinach and rape. Further verification and efficacy tests under field conditions are recommended.

The transition toward a sustainable bioeconomy offers a pivotal opportunity for Mexico to mitigate environmental impacts and drive economic growth through the valorization of agro-industrial waste. This review highlights the challenges and opportunities of establishing a waste-based bioeconomy in Mexico, emphasizing the role of advanced technologies and infrastructure in transforming agricultural waste into valuable bioproducts like biofuels, bioplastics, and biochemicals. The paper underscores the necessity for robust policy frameworks and collaborative efforts to address technological, infrastructural, and regulatory barriers. It provides a comparative analysis of circular business models and waste valorization strategies successfully implemented in countries such as Brazil, Chile, and the Mediterranean region, drawing practical insights applicable to Mexico. This review uniquely combines technological, policy, and business model innovations to offer a comprehensive approach to the sustainable development of Mexico's bioeconomy. By navigating these complexities, Mexico can unlock significant economic, environmental, and social benefits, contributing to a more sustainable and prosperous future.