Pub Date : 2023-06-17DOI: 10.1007/s40726-023-00271-w
Baby Keerthi Thirunagari, Rajyalakshmi Garaga, Sri Harsha Kota
Building ventilation rate is a crucial factor in the indoor air quality (IAQ). Furthermore, building-related parameters (window geometry, building orientation, height, and shape) have a substantial impact on the ventilation rates. However, most building designs reported in the literature from various income group countries failed to fulfill the recommended ventilation standards. A systematic and critical review was conducted on the collated literature from the past 20 years using various databases, yielding 145 related articles. Building-related factors influencing the ventilation rates were thoroughly studied in different income groups. In addition, the existing ventilation rates in various building environments were examined. The data analysis of critical literature suggests that the ventilation rates in 80% of the building environments were found lower than the prescribed standards irrespective of the income group countries. Thus, the current study highlights the need for redesign of the existing or new buildings for meeting the adequate ventilation rates.
{"title":"Association of Ventilation Rates with Building Design in Various Built Environments: A Critical Review","authors":"Baby Keerthi Thirunagari, Rajyalakshmi Garaga, Sri Harsha Kota","doi":"10.1007/s40726-023-00271-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s40726-023-00271-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Building ventilation rate is a crucial factor in the indoor air quality (IAQ). Furthermore, building-related parameters (window geometry, building orientation, height, and shape) have a substantial impact on the ventilation rates. However, most building designs reported in the literature from various income group countries failed to fulfill the recommended ventilation standards. A systematic and critical review was conducted on the collated literature from the past 20 years using various databases, yielding 145 related articles. Building-related factors influencing the ventilation rates were thoroughly studied in different income groups. In addition, the existing ventilation rates in various building environments were examined. The data analysis of critical literature suggests that the ventilation rates in 80% of the building environments were found lower than the prescribed standards irrespective of the income group countries. Thus, the current study highlights the need for redesign of the existing or new buildings for meeting the adequate ventilation rates.\u0000</p></div>","PeriodicalId":528,"journal":{"name":"Current Pollution Reports","volume":"9 3","pages":"569 - 589"},"PeriodicalIF":7.3,"publicationDate":"2023-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"6713728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Numerous epidemiological and toxicological studies have demonstrated the important role of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in PM2.5-related adverse health effects. Primary organic aerosol, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and intermediate volatile organic compounds (IVOCs) can react with multiple atmospheric oxidants (e.g., NOx and free radicals) and generate SOA. The chemical composition of SOA varies with precursor identity and aging conditions; however, knowledge regarding their transformation process and mechanisms and associated toxicity remains to be explored. Herein, this review systematically summarizes the chemical and toxicological transformations of different types of organic aerosols, i.e., fresh aerosols from different sources and representative precursors with different structures. Atmospheric aging generally enhances the toxicity of organic aerosol. Specifically, aged aerosols from biomass combustion and traffic emissions are more toxic than those from coal combustion, cooking, and biogenic sources, which might be attributable to their different precursor compositions. For certain precursors, aromatic compound-derived SOA always has the highest oxidative stress and toxicity, followed by unsaturated alkene and saturated alkane-derived SOA, which might be related with their different oxidation products. Furthermore, we describe the current research progress on the effects of major redox reactants involved in the aging process. The toxicity of SOA is complexly affected by the species and contents of atmospheric redox reactants, including 3C*(organic triplet oxidation state), NOx, and transition metal ions. This work is expected to provide a promising perspective for a better understanding of the toxicity profile of SOA and regulation of hazardous SOA pollution.
{"title":"Aging Effects on the Toxicity Alteration of Different Types of Organic Aerosols: A Review","authors":"Ruoyuan Lei, Ziqian Wei, Meijuan Chen, Haifeng Meng, Yun Wu, Xinlei Ge","doi":"10.1007/s40726-023-00272-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s40726-023-00272-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Numerous epidemiological and toxicological studies have demonstrated the important role of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in PM<sub>2.5</sub>-related adverse health effects. Primary organic aerosol, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and intermediate volatile organic compounds (IVOCs) can react with multiple atmospheric oxidants (e.g., NO<sub>x</sub> and free radicals) and generate SOA. The chemical composition of SOA varies with precursor identity and aging conditions; however, knowledge regarding their transformation process and mechanisms and associated toxicity remains to be explored. Herein, this review systematically summarizes the chemical and toxicological transformations of different types of organic aerosols, i.e., fresh aerosols from different sources and representative precursors with different structures. Atmospheric aging generally enhances the toxicity of organic aerosol. Specifically, aged aerosols from biomass combustion and traffic emissions are more toxic than those from coal combustion, cooking, and biogenic sources, which might be attributable to their different precursor compositions. For certain precursors, aromatic compound-derived SOA always has the highest oxidative stress and toxicity, followed by unsaturated alkene and saturated alkane-derived SOA, which might be related with their different oxidation products. Furthermore, we describe the current research progress on the effects of major redox reactants involved in the aging process. The toxicity of SOA is complexly affected by the species and contents of atmospheric redox reactants, including <sup>3</sup>C*(organic triplet oxidation state), NO<sub>x</sub>, and transition metal ions. This work is expected to provide a promising perspective for a better understanding of the toxicity profile of SOA and regulation of hazardous SOA pollution.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":528,"journal":{"name":"Current Pollution Reports","volume":"9 3","pages":"590 - 601"},"PeriodicalIF":7.3,"publicationDate":"2023-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s40726-023-00272-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"6713746","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-31DOI: 10.1007/s40726-023-00264-9
Gaetano Licitra, Francesco Artuso, Marco Bernardini, Antonino Moro, Francesco Fidecaro, Luca Fredianelli
Purpose of Review
Rather than broadly investigating the beamforming field, the present work has the distinctive feature of analyzing the most common algorithms through both a theoretical presentation and a report of their most recent applications to real cases. The intent is to take a step forward towards the harmonization of the sector with a combined approach that could prove to be useful for academics willing to understand the theory and for technicians needing to choose the best algorithms to use in different measurement conditions.
Recent Findings
In recent years, the sector has seen the growth of studies published on the use of beamforming techniques and their applications to real cases. Unfortunately, different authors and research groups developed so many different algorithms that a literature review turns out to be essential to increase awareness and to avoid confusion for both scientists and technicians.
Summary
Nowadays, acoustic cameras have been proven to be powerful instruments that combine a video acquisition with a microphone array to obtain real-time information about the location of noise sources. Different beamforming techniques can be applied to sound signals allowing their visualization or distinguishing the contribution of multiple different emitters. This quality, historically used in different branches of acoustics, is now spreading into environmental noise protection, especially where it is needed to locate the emitters or to better study sources that have not yet been characterized. Acoustic cameras can also be used to identify the responsible for noise limits exceedings at receivers when traditional microphone measurements are not enough, or to identify potential leakages occurred in the installation of noise abatement measurements.
{"title":"Acoustic Beamforming Algorithms and Their Applications in Environmental Noise","authors":"Gaetano Licitra, Francesco Artuso, Marco Bernardini, Antonino Moro, Francesco Fidecaro, Luca Fredianelli","doi":"10.1007/s40726-023-00264-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s40726-023-00264-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Purpose of Review</h3><p>Rather than broadly investigating the beamforming field, the present work has the distinctive feature of analyzing the most common algorithms through both a theoretical presentation and a report of their most recent applications to real cases. The intent is to take a step forward towards the harmonization of the sector with a combined approach that could prove to be useful for academics willing to understand the theory and for technicians needing to choose the best algorithms to use in different measurement conditions.</p><h3>Recent Findings</h3><p>In recent years, the sector has seen the growth of studies published on the use of beamforming techniques and their applications to real cases. Unfortunately, different authors and research groups developed so many different algorithms that a literature review turns out to be essential to increase awareness and to avoid confusion for both scientists and technicians.</p><h3>Summary</h3><p>Nowadays, acoustic cameras have been proven to be powerful instruments that combine a video acquisition with a microphone array to obtain real-time information about the location of noise sources. Different beamforming techniques can be applied to sound signals allowing their visualization or distinguishing the contribution of multiple different emitters. This quality, historically used in different branches of acoustics, is now spreading into environmental noise protection, especially where it is needed to locate the emitters or to better study sources that have not yet been characterized. Acoustic cameras can also be used to identify the responsible for noise limits exceedings at receivers when traditional microphone measurements are not enough, or to identify potential leakages occurred in the installation of noise abatement measurements.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":528,"journal":{"name":"Current Pollution Reports","volume":"9 3","pages":"486 - 509"},"PeriodicalIF":7.3,"publicationDate":"2023-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s40726-023-00264-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"6713687","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-26DOI: 10.1007/s40726-023-00268-5
Arpita, Parmod Kumar, Navish Kataria, Nishita Narwal, Sandeep Kumar, Ravi Kumar, Kuan Shiong Khoo, Pau Loke Show
Carbon dots (CDs) or carbon quantum dots (CQDs) have emerged as rising stars in the carbon family due to their diverse applications in various fields. CDs are spherical particles with a well-distributed size of less than 10 nm. Functional CDs are promising nanomaterials with low toxicity, low cost, and enormous applications in the field of bioimaging, optoelectronics, photocatalysis, and sensing. Plastic is non-biodegradable and hazardous to the environment, however extremely durable and used in abundance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of plastic waste, particularly masks, goggles, face shields, and shoe cover, has increased tremendously. It needs to be recycled in a productive way as plastic wastes take hundreds or thousands of years to degrade naturally. The conversion of plastic waste into magnificent CDs has been reported as one of the key alternatives for environmental sustainability and socio-economic benefits. In this review, synthetic routes for the conversion of plastic wastes into CDs utilizing hydrothermal, solvothermal, pyrolysis, flash joule heating, and characterization of these CDs using different techniques, such as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscope, have been discussed. Furthermore, potential applications of these plastic-derived CDs in sensing, catalysis, agronomics, and LED lights are summarized herein.
{"title":"Plastic Waste-Derived Carbon Dots: Insights of Recycling Valuable Materials Towards Environmental Sustainability","authors":"Arpita, Parmod Kumar, Navish Kataria, Nishita Narwal, Sandeep Kumar, Ravi Kumar, Kuan Shiong Khoo, Pau Loke Show","doi":"10.1007/s40726-023-00268-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s40726-023-00268-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Carbon dots (CDs) or carbon quantum dots (CQDs) have emerged as rising stars in the carbon family due to their diverse applications in various fields. CDs are spherical particles with a well-distributed size of less than 10 nm. Functional CDs are promising nanomaterials with low toxicity, low cost, and enormous applications in the field of bioimaging, optoelectronics, photocatalysis, and sensing. Plastic is non-biodegradable and hazardous to the environment, however extremely durable and used in abundance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of plastic waste, particularly masks, goggles, face shields, and shoe cover, has increased tremendously. It needs to be recycled in a productive way as plastic wastes take hundreds or thousands of years to degrade naturally. The conversion of plastic waste into magnificent CDs has been reported as one of the key alternatives for environmental sustainability and socio-economic benefits. In this review, synthetic routes for the conversion of plastic wastes into CDs utilizing hydrothermal, solvothermal, pyrolysis, flash joule heating, and characterization of these CDs using different techniques, such as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscope, have been discussed. Furthermore, potential applications of these plastic-derived CDs in sensing, catalysis, agronomics, and LED lights are summarized herein.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":528,"journal":{"name":"Current Pollution Reports","volume":"9 3","pages":"433 - 453"},"PeriodicalIF":7.3,"publicationDate":"2023-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s40726-023-00268-5.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"6713808","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Annually, huge amounts of microplastics (MPs) are added to farmlands through sewage sludge (SS)/biosolid applications as a fertilizer. Most research emphasizes the enormity of the problem and demonstrates the fate, impacts, and toxicity of MPs during SS treatment processes and land applications. None has addressed the management strategies. To address the gaps, the current review evaluates the performance analysis of conventional and advanced sludge treatment methods in eliminating MPs from sludge.
Recent Findings
The review uncovers that the occurrence and characteristics of MPs in SS are highly governed by factors such as population density, speed and level of urbanization, citizens’ daily habits, and treatment units in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Furthermore, conventional sludge treatment processes are ineffective in eliminating MPs from SS and are accountable for the increased small-sized MPs or micro(nano)plastics (MNPs) along with altered surface morphology facilitating more co-contaminant adsorption. Simultaneously, MPs can influence the operation of these treatment processes depending on their size, type, shape, and concentration. The review reveals that research to develop advanced technology to remove MPs efficiently from SS is still at a nascent stage.
Summary
This review provides a comprehensive analysis of MPs in the SS, by corroborating state-of-the-knowledge, on different aspects, including the global occurrence of MPs in WWTP sludge, impacts of different conventional sludge treatment processes on MPs and vice versa, and efficiency of advanced sludge treatment and upcycling technologies to eliminate MPs, which will facilitate the development of mitigation measures from the systematic and holistic level.