Journal of Environmental Management最新文献

Currently, extensive research has focused on optimizing the materials of the matrix layer in green roofs to enhance their performance, while studies on the impact of green roof improvements on microorganisms remain limited, despite the critical role of microorganisms in facility longevity and environmental sustainability. This study simulated rainfall in a city in China, applied different amendments, and analyzed the nitrogen and phosphorus pollution characteristics of the substrate layer of green roofs composed of zeolite and peat soil, as well as the response of microbial communities in the substrate. The results indicated that Polyacrylamide (PAM) led to leaching of total nitrogen (TN); while Polyaluminium chloride (PAC), Aluminum sulfate (AS), and Polymeric ferrous sulfate (PFS) all exhibited retention effects on TN, with PFS demonstrating the greatest TN reduction effect. The three amendments of PAC, AS, and PFS all showed good reduction efficiency for total phosphorus (TP). In terms of microbial community response, the application of PAC, AS, and PFS led to a significant decrease in α-diversity in the substrate layer, while the PAM group showed slightly higher α-diversity compared to the control group. The five phyla with the highest abundance were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteriota, Chloroflexi, Bacteroidota and Acidobacteriota. After the experiment, the microbial diversity of the PAC, AS, PFS groups increased, whereas the microbial diversity of the control group (CK) and the PAM group decreased. Based on the development trends of microbial community diversity and structure, it was found that the PAC, AS, and PFS treatment groups not only exhibited resistance to continuous rainfall conditions but also adapted to the stress of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in the substrate layer.

The production of purified terephthalic acid (PTA), a precursor for the plastic industry, employs metals-cobalt (Co) and manganese (Mn)-as catalysts, generating wastewater (PTA WW) that contains metals and organic compounds. Co and Mn are essential to microbial necessities during anaerobic digestion (AD), but they can potentially inhibit this process when present in high concentrations. This study investigated the fractionation and bioavailability of Co, Mn, and iron (Fe) in anaerobic sludge from continuous (R1 and R2) and sequential batch reactors (SBR1 and SBR2) treating PTA WW. The modified Tessier sequential extraction procedure showed that Mn was mainly distributed in bioavailable phases, whereas Co and Fe were mainly associated with less mobile, non-bioavailable phases. No Co, Mn, and Fe addition was necessary during the reactors' operation, showing that metals present in PTA WW sustain the AD process, and accumulate in the sludge over time. Notably, SBR1 and SBR2, operated under Co, Mn, and Fe suppression, showed stable performance, indicating that the metal pool accumulated in the granular sludge also sustained the AD process. These findings highlight the potential to operate anaerobic reactors treating PTA WW without continuous trace metal supplementation, which brings beneficial economic implications for the industrial process.

- This study investigates the structural, optical, and catalytic properties of mafic rock grains derived from Gabbro collected in the United Arab Emirates are to evaluate their potential as alternative catalysts for environmental applications. Nitrogen adsorption and desorption analysis revealed mesoporous and macroporous structures with low specific surface area (0.56-4.96 m²/g). UV-Vis spectroscopy showed that the analyzed gabbroic rocks have band gap energies that are suitable for photocatalytic activity under illumination with visible light. The results of the photocatalytic experiments carried out under simulated sunlight showed the superior ability of the invested gabbro rock to oxidise 4-nitrophenol dissolved in water with a degradation extent of up to 65.4 %. The photodegradation of 2-propanol in air under simulated sunlight was also successful with acetone as the only formed intermediate. Thermocatalytic tests showed a significant NO₂ reduction activity of the investigated gabbroic rocks at temperatures above 125 °C with the highest NO₂ reduction rate of 17.5 %. The implementation of light radiation enabled the reduction of NO₂ by the studied gabbroic rock at temperatures below 120 °C. CO adsorption and its photoconversion to CO₂ was observed in the analyzed samples. Most of the CO₂ formed from CO is not released into air, as it is captured on the surface of the rocks in the form of carbonates. The high catalytic activity and CO and CO₂ adsorption ability can be correlated to the properties of the rocks' surface. The results underline the potential of gabbroic rocks as efficient and sustainable catalysts for pollutant degradation and NO₂ reduction in environmental remediation processes. These results are not only environmentally relevant for air and water quality in the various regions where gabbroic rocks occur but also pave the way for their use as commercial photocatalysts.

An essential part of green transformation and a low-carbon circular economy system is the recycling of organic waste through composting. Composting is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative approach that safely converts organic waste into biofertilizers. Composting process efficiency and compost quality can be predicted by machine learning-based models using data from a limited number of experiments. In this study, the effects of composting market waste with hazelnut shells and hulls on compost maturity were modeled using a hybrid model. The hybrid model offers superior features not in existing modeling tools in the literature, such as the ability to simultaneously model linear and nonlinear relationships, providing a fuzzy approach to process uncertainty, and incorporating a deep learning strategy. During the composting, temperature, pH, C/N, moisture content, NH₄⁺/NO₃^-, and germination index of the final composts were determined. The results showed that the compost with 12.5 % hazelnut shells reached the required maturity standard. The germination index of the final compost increased from 0.958 to 1.255 with the addition of hazelnut shells in all reactors. The hybrid model was compared with five benchmark methods and achieved improvements exceeding 70-80 % in some cases. The hybrid model produced valid and consistent predictions with proportional errors below 5 % for almost all process parameters and was unaffected by initial conditions. In the optimization with the Genetic Algorithm, the input parameters were reached 95 % and above desirability levels. As result, the model, proven accurate and robust, can provide process insights and serve as a reliable simulation tool.

Drylands host complex biocrusts and vascular plant communities, and these ecosystems are vital to human wellbeing, global ecosystem sustainability, and vegetation management; they support multiple ecosystem functions simultaneously across half of our planet. However, studies on the influence of biocrust-plant interactions on multifunctionality in their coexisting state are lacking, limiting the predictability of global drylands resilience under future climate change accurately. Here, we investigated biocrusts from the Loess Plateau of China. We performed a two-year in situ experiment to explore how biocrust-vascular plant interactions affect ecosystem multifunctionality across four key functions in removed biocrusts (shrub and grass) and intact biocrusts (mixed moss and shrub/grass) ecosystems. Vascular plants, particularly grasses, contributed most to dryland ecosystem functioning. However, the combination of intact biocrusts and vascular plants significantly reduced primary productivity, carbon sequestration, nutrient supply and cycling, water and climate regulation, and biodiversity maintenance compared with vascular plants in removed biocrusts plots. The ecosystem multifunctionality index further supported this finding and showed that mixed patches of biocrusts and shrub/grass plants significantly reduced the ecosystem multifunctionality compared with vascular plants of removed biocrusts. Our short-term biocrust removal experiments suggests that potential competition between vascular plants and biocrusts may limit multifunctionality in the semiarid dryland. Therefore, future studies can help elucidate the role of non-vascular and vascular plant competition in supporting functions during global changes, which is necessary for better management of vegetation restoration in dryland ecosystems in the future.

Photocatalytic technology has garnered significant attention due to its environmentally friendly nature and effective degradation capabilities. However, the absence of photocatalytic materials that possessed high removal efficiency, facile separation from aqueous phases, and good recyclability has constrained the advancement of photocatalytic treatment technologies. To address these challenges, a novel magnetic flower-like Bi₅O₇I-modified CuFe₂O₄ (BOI/CFO) photocatalyst was successfully fabricated via solvothermal method and subsequent calcination. The prepared BOI/CFO composites exhibited excellent antimicrobial properties and highly efficient photocatalytic degradation performance. Under the optimal conditions, the photodegradation efficiency of BOI/CFO composite (10 mg) for doxycycline (20 mg/L) was 99.48 % within 30 min under visible light irradiation, and retain above 88 % even after 5 consecutive uses. Further characterization and bacterial experiments confirmed the presence of a photogenerated electron transfer mechanism in the BOI/CFO composite and its strong antimicrobial capability. Finally, the possible doxycycline degradation pathways were speculated by analyzing the corresponding degradation intermediates with LC-MS method, and the toxicity evolution of the doxycycline degradation products was valuated by using density functional theoretical method. This research is anticipated to furnish valuable insights into the designing of photocatalysts characterized by superior recyclability S-Scheme Heterojunction Photocatalyst.

The benefits of urban green spaces (UGSs) to public health arise not only from the green spaces themselves but also from the surrounding environment (SE). However, leveraging multimodal social media data to comprehensively assess the associations between environmental features and sentiment toward UGSs remains challenging. This study integrates SHapley Additive exPlanations and Geographically Weighted Regression, using 59,880 social media text entries and 49,501 images from 280 UGSs in Beijing to reveal nonlinear associations, synergies, and spatial heterogeneities across different scales of UGSs. The results show that: (1) SE features play a more important role than UGS attributes in determining UGS sentiment, with building coverage ratio, gross domestic product, and population density contributing the most. (2) All environmental variables exhibit nonlinear, interactive effects, and geographic heterogeneity on UGS sentiment. (3) Within SE features, accessibility is positively associated with sentiment in community green spaces but negative in non-community green spaces, whereas floor area ratio is positive in both, revealing scale-dependent heterogeneity across UGSs and localized effects within their effective ranges. Our methodology combines photo- and text-based sentiment analysis, offering a more accurate and efficient approach to capturing public insights and thereby enabling more precise UGS planning decisions.

Global mangrove restoration efforts often face high failure rates due to unsuitable site conditions and ineffective techniques. Despite strong initiatives, replanting mangroves without additional intervention remains highly challenging. The Artificial Mangrove Root (AMR) system considered here is a novel, removable, hybrid nature-based solution bioinspired by the sediment-trapping and wave-dissipating functions of natural mangrove roots. This study evaluates the effectiveness of one of the first large-scale AMR installation implemented to enhance mangrove rehabilitation along a 1.2-km stretch of coastline covering approximately 20 ha at the Bang Pu Recreation Center in the Eastern Chao Phraya Delta, Thailand. Shoreline change analysis (1954-2024) was used to assess the outcomes of long-term mangrove rehabilitation while UAV-LiDAR surveys, comprising point clouds with an average density of 350 points/m² and vertical accuracy better than ±3 cm, conducted over a 20-month period quantified seabed elevation changes induced by AMR installation. The results show that AMRs effectively trapped sediment, increasing seabed elevation by up to 40 cm while reaching an equilibrium within one year. With the current configuration, approximately 4 ha of new substrate reached elevations favorable for mangrove replantation, where field observations confirmed early seedling survival. As a pilot study, these findings provide quantitative, high-resolution evidence of the AMR's capacity to create favorable biophysical conditions for mangrove establishment. However, broader generalizations require long-term, multi-site monitoring and integration with ecological parameters such as soil properties, carbon sequestration, and seedling dynamics. By supporting mangrove recovery, AMRs offer a scalable, adaptive approach contributing to sustainable coastal management and global development goals.

The persistence of acetamiprid in aquatic environments, due to incomplete removal by conventional treatments, poses serious ecological and health concerns. This study investigated the Catalytic Wet Peroxide Oxidation (CWPO) treatment of acetamiprid using a sustainable iron-rich carbonaceous catalyst (FeBioAC) derived from sewage sludge. The catalyst exhibited high specific surface area (550 m²·g^-1) and thermal stability, enabling the efficient degradation of acetamiprid under mild conditions. CWPO experiments were conducted under varying concentrations (15-50 μg·mL^-1), temperatures (35-65 °C), and water matrices, including river samples and wastewater effluents. The optimal H₂O₂/acetamiprid ratio of 9.2 μg H₂O₂·μg ACE^-1 achieved 90 % removal in ultrapure water and above 84 % in real matrices, with high catalyst reusability over four cycles. Kinetic modelling revealed that a dual-reactant hyperbolic model best described the process (R² = 0.9863), with a notably low activation energy (12.56 kJ·mol^-1). Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations provided mechanistic insights into the degradation pathways, highlighting dechlorination, hydroxylation, and decyanation as dominant reactions. Toxicity assessments confirmed that transformation products were substantially less harmful than the parent compound. These findings positioned FeBioAC as a sustainable and effective catalyst for removing emerging contaminants from complex aquatic environments.