环境科学与技术最新文献

Whether used as an alternative fuel or a clean feedstock, renewable hydrogen (H₂) could facilitate the deep decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors, which is essential to meet China's carbon neutrality target. Nevertheless, the nationwide H₂ backbone networks required have not yet been fully investigated. Employing a techno-economic analysis of solar photovoltaic and wind power on a scale of 1 km combined with source-sink matching among potential multisectoral H₂ hubs, this study develops a decision support system (dubbed China Shared Hydrogen Infrastructure Network Enabler (SHINE)) to explore renewable H₂ layouts commensurate with China's climate ambition, accounting for varying degrees of H₂ demand and reuse of oil and gas pipeline corridors. Given total H₂ demand scenarios of 54, 77, and 100 Mt/yr in 2060, the total length of the proposed trunkline networks will reach roughly 11,700, 18,300, and 29,900 km, with a levelized cost of production and transport of 1.55, 1.62, and 1.72 USD/kg, respectively. Additionally, by incorporating the spatial heterogeneities and sectoral disparities of H₂ deployment expansion into the model, distinct policy instruments can be crafted for the shared nationwide H₂ network.

Coastal salt marshes (CSMs) are vital blue carbon (BC) reservoirs, yet accurately quantifying their gross primary productivity (GPP) remains challenging due to limitations in terrestrial biosphere models (TBMs), which often overlook coastal-specific processes. Here, we present SAL-GPP, a process-based model that incorporates coastal-specific modules to capture the effects of salinity and temperature stress on photosynthesis, as well as light-use efficiency across salinity gradients in diverse CSM plant species. Model validation showed strong agreement with observations, with R² of 0.82 and model efficiencies of 0.82 and 0.74 for daily and seasonal GPP, respectively. Driven with global inputs, SAL-GPP produced high-resolution global simulations, yielding a mean annual GPP of 66.89 ± 11.68 TgC yr^-1 (2011-2020), with 64% concentrated in key hotspots across the southeastern United States, western Europe, southeastern China, and Australia. From 2011 to 2016, global CSM GPP increased by 1.56 TgC yr^-1, then declined, rebounded after 2018, and peaked at 71.45 ± 12.02 TgC yr^-1 in 2020. Model evaluation showed that SAL-GPP outperformed existing remote sensing-based GPP products and TBMs at both site and grid levels. By explicitly incorporating coastal ecosystem dynamics, SAL-GPP supports global BC accounting and climate mitigation strategies aligned with nature-based solutions for carbon neutrality.

Non-targeted liquid chromatography tandem high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is increasingly applied for the structure-resolved chemical analysis of dissolved organic matter (DOM). With new developments in MS instrumentation and analysis software, the approach has gained substantial momentum over the past decade. However, achieving high-quality analytical data that is reproducible and comparable across laboratories can be a bottleneck in non-targeted metabolomics and organic matter chemical analysis, especially for data reuse in repository-scale analyses. Understanding the capabilities as well as challenges of comparing LC-MS/MS data from different laboratories is necessary for inferring global trends from public data sets. To illuminate instrumentation factors that drive differences and variability, we used a standardized data analysis pipeline, including classical (CMN) and feature-based molecular networking (FBMN), to analyze data from a ring trial by 24 laboratories on identical sample sets of algal and DOM extracts that were mixed in predefined concentrations and spiked with standards. Our results showed that data sets from similar mass spectrometer types with unified instrument parameters were qualitatively comparable, resolving the same general trends and shared mass spectral features. Interlaboratory comparability was best for high-intensity features, while low-intensity features showed greater detection variability. Our analysis also highlights challenges when comparing data from instruments with different acquisition rates or operating with less standardized methods. Lastly, we provide recommendations for data integration, public data sharing, standardization, and best practices for standardized LC-MS/MS data acquisition, which will be critical for long-term time series and intercomparability of DOM chemical analyses.

The obesity epidemic is increasingly linked to environmental factors like endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Bisphenol A (BPA), a known EDC, has been suspected to be linked to adiposity through activation of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), a key regulator of adipogenesis. Though many BPA alternatives have been introduced as substitutes, their effects on metabolic health remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the mechanistic interactions of 11 BPA alternatives with PPARγ and their adipogenic potential. Using a PPARγ reporter assay, we assessed the binding affinity and activation potential of BPA alternatives, followed by X-ray crystallography of two potent activators, 4-benzyloxyphenyl 4-hydroxyphenyl sulfone (BPS4BE) and bisphenol PH (BPPH). Additionally, adipogenesis was assessed via a human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) differentiation assay. Results revealed that the alternatives BPPH and BPS4BE potently activated PPARγ (BMD20 (μM): 0.23 and 0.34 respectively). Both significantly induced adipogenesis and a positive correlation was found between PPARγ activation and adipogenic differentiation. Crystallography revealed distinct binding modes for BPPH and BPS4BE compared to rosiglitazone, indicating partial agonism. These findings raise significant concerns about the safety of BPA alternatives and underscore the need for structure-based risk assessment to ensure safer substitutes.

Plastic particles present in soil are exposed to soil solutions containing a mixture of microbial metabolites, dissolved organic matter, mineral and organic colloids, as well as inorganic ions. These components can interact with plastic particles in different ways that may alter their surface properties and environmental behavior. In this study, we examined how soil solution affects the aggregation kinetics and colloidal stability of nanoplastics made from a soil-biodegradable plastic (poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate), PBAT) and a conventional plastic (polyethylene). Without the soil solution, both PBAT and polyethylene nanoplastics aggregated more readily in CaCl₂ than in NaCl, with critical coagulation concentrations of 344 and 284 mM in NaCl and 31 and 36 mM in CaCl₂, respectively. The addition of the soil solution promoted the aggregation of both nanoplastics, as evidenced by the larger aggregate sizes, despite that the critical coagulation concentrations did not decrease correspondingly. Such an increase in aggregate sizes was induced not only by the formation of an eco-corona on nanoplastics, which enhanced aggregation through polymer bridging and attractive patch-charge interactions, but also by the heteroaggregation between nanoplastics and colloids present in the soil solution. These results suggest that interaction with soil solution can promote the aggregation of nanoplastics through eco-corona formation and heteroaggregation, underlining the role of the complex interactions between nanoplastics and their surrounding matrices on the environmental behavior of nanoplastics.

Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is one of the major plasticizer pollutants, and numerous studies have reported the harmful effects of DEHP on human health. However, the effects of urinary DEHP metabolites on the progression of bladder cancer remain unclear. Here, we aimed to identify the representative chemical and explore its effect and mechanism on bladder cancer progression with epidemiological and experimental methods based on the adverse outcome pathway (AOP). The quantile-based g-computation (QGC) model showed a positive association between urinary plasticizer metabolites and bladder cancer risks in older men (NHANES 2005-2018), with mono(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP, the secondary-metabolite of DEHP) identified as a main driver factor. We treated human bladder cancer cells with MEOHP at environmentally relevant concentrations (10, 100, and 1000 nM) and found that 100 nM MEOHP exposure activated a hybrid EMT (epithelial-mesenchymal transition) phenotype. Mechanically, we confirmed that the environmental dose of MEOHP increased nuclear transposition of YAP and β-catenin (molecular initiating event, MIE), thereby sustaining the hybrid EMT phenotype of bladder cancer cells through a series of key events. Our study first investigated the effects of plasticizer secondary metabolite on bladder cancer progression, highlighting the potential damage to urinary system health caused by the metabolites of environmental chemicals and providing a new perspective for the toxicity assessment of pollutants in the future.

The desire to protect aquatic ecosystems and drinking water supplies from the adverse effects of nutrients, trace organic contaminants, and other constituents in municipal wastewater has led to a need for additional treatment, particularly in watersheds with insufficient dilution. Constructed wetlands have emerged as viable alternatives to advanced wastewater treatment processes for effluent polishing due to their low cost and ancillary benefits. Starting in the late 1980s, experiences gained from several decades of operating wetlands in small communities increased confidence that these nature-based treatment systems could be effective and reliable. As a result, investments were made in larger constructed wetlands, with surface areas greater than a million square meters (1 Mm²) and flows often exceeding 1 m³ s^-1, on effluent-dominated rivers and as part of potable water reuse projects. More recently, new wetland designs have improved the constructed wetland system performance by taking advantage of sunlight-mediated processes in the water column and microbial processes on subsurface porous media. Research that provides additional insight into contaminant removal mechanisms, demonstrates long-term viability, and further improves treatment performance could expand the application of constructed wetlands to other difficult-to-solve water quality challenges, including the treatment of municipal water reuse concentrate and the mitigation of nonpoint source pollution.

Achieving sustainability under accelerating climate and socioeconomic pressures requires moving beyond siloed sectoral management toward a system-thinking approach. The water-energy-food-ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus offers a holistic lens, yet most applications remain conceptual, short-term, or treat ecosystems as external constraints. This study operationalizes the WEFE Nexus by embedding ecosystems as a coequal, quantified pillar through a hydrologic-regime-based method, since streamflow is a master variable shaping riverine ecosystem health. Long-term foresight is incorporated via dynamically downscaled climate projections and Shared Socioeconomic Pathways within a coupled water and energy systems (WEAP-LEAP) model. Applied to the semiarid Sakarya Basin in Türkiye, the framework evaluates three future periods (2020-2030, 2055-2065, and 2090-2100) across seven subbasins. Results show systemic trade-offs: municipal water security remains high (>90%), but ecosystem integrity and renewable energy goals are consistently compromised. Overall, WEFE Nexus Index values (0.53-0.86) show significant spatial disparities, with arid upstream regions consistently underperforming. Strikingly, SSP2 (business-as-usual) and SSP5 (fossil-fueled growth) yield nearly identical outcomes, underscoring the systemic unsustainability of current trajectories. This framework advances nexus assessment from theory to practice by integrating reproducible metrics, scenario planning, and spatial modeling, creating a practical tool for developing adaptive and resilient sustainability strategies.

The acceleration of industrialization has driven the increased emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), posing significant threats to both the ecological environment and public health. The deficiency of reactive oxygen species fundamentally restricts the low-temperature catalytic toluene combustion in transition-metal oxide catalysts. Herein, we report a strategy for intelligently designing active Cu⁺-O_v-Ti ensembles by coupling isolated Cu with adjacent oxygen vacancy, which can synergistically activate chemisorbed O₂ into reactive superoxide species (O₂^-). The defective Cu/TiO_2-x catalyst exhibited remarkable catalytic performance for toluene oxidation, achieving a T₉₀ of 225 °C, significantly 100 °C lower than that of the pristine Cu/TiO₂ catalyst. The low coordination geometry and electron transfer within Cu⁺-O_v-Ti ensembles synergistically activated O₂ to form the Cu-(O-O)_ad-Ti bridged superoxide O₂^- intermediate with an elongated O═O bond. In addition, the distinctive Cu-(O-O)_ad-Ti bridging structure with localized electrons facilitated the chemisorbed O₂ dissociation into electrophilic monatomic O^- species, which subsequently nucleophilically attack the methyl C-H of toluene. These benzyl alcohol-derived Ph-CH₂-O^- intermediates can be readily and flexibly converted into reactive benzaldehyde and benzoic acid species, which were available for subsequent aromatic ring-opening reactions. This study not only advances mechanistic insights into the Cu⁺-O_v-Ti ensembles and electrophilic O^- species in toluene catalytic oxidation but also establishes a design Cu⁺-O_v-Ti principle for engineering efficient VOC elimination catalysts.

Improving carbon productivity is essential for simultaneously achieving sustainable development goals and tackling climate change. While the Global Value Chains (GVCs) division enhances productive efficiency, its impact on carbon productivity remains elusive. Here we integrated the GVCs theory with the Environmental Expanded Input-output model to investigate the highly globalized automotive manufacturing industry. We found that CO₂ emissions intensity, the inverse of carbon productivity, fluctuated between 0.37 and 0.47 kg/USD in automotive manufacturing GVCs during 2001-2021. Notably, developing economies nearly doubled their CO₂ emissions intensity during this period, whereas developed economies almost halved theirs. The global distribution of CO₂ emissions and value added is becoming increasingly unequal in industrial production and service segments. Lower production levels and energy efficiency in developing economies, coupled with their upstream roles in GVCs (raw materials and industrial parts suppliers), exacerbate these disparities. Our findings indicate that merely global labor division is insufficient to create low-carbon automotive manufacturing GVCs. Formulating emission reduction targets that consider the diverse roles of economies within GVCs, and supporting developing economies in boosting energy productivity, labor value added efficiency, and skill can help narrow the distribution gaps and enhance the carbon productivity of the entire automotive manufacturing GVCs.