International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology最新文献

This work introduces a new mixing technique for producing wood-plastic composites. The main constituents of the wood-plastic composites are recycled low-density polyethylene and residual dust from routing medium-density fiberboard. The new mixing technique depends on separating the fibers and the polymer during the melting stage of the polymer to avoid the degradation of the fibers due to heat. Physical tests including a water absorption test and a thickness swelling test were applied on specimens produced with the single screw extruder and a new mixing technique, with different fiber-polymer weight ratios (50–50%, 55–45%, 60–40%, 65–35%, and 70–30%). It was found that at a (70–30%) mixing ratio, a reduction in water absorption of about 70% and 67% for densities of 1100 and 1250 kg/m³, respectively was reached. While at a (50–50%) mixing ratio, a reduction of about 24% and 14% for densities of 1100 and 1250 kg/m³, respectively  was accomplished. In general, the resistance to water absorption and thickness swelling was observed to be improved for the new mixing technique for all mixing ratios compared to the single-screw extruder.

Remediating organic dye pollution remains a concern in contemporary water management practices. Developing low-cost and high-surface-area adsorbents synthesised by nanotechnology to eliminate organic dyes is an essential issue in water treatment. Recently, silica aerogels, a kind of nanomaterials, have been investigated as adsorbents due to their high porosity, high surface area, and low cost. This study aimed to synthesize and characterize tetraethoxysilane (TEOS)-based silica aerogel (SA) to assess its efficacy in removing eriochrome black T (EBT), which is a potentially hazardous dye. Based on adsorption studies, the optimal adsorption conditions were found to be 0.2 g adsorbent dosage, pH 2, 120 min contact time, 10 mg L⁻¹ initial EBT concentration, and a temperature of 40 °C. The adsorption data were best fitted with a remarkably high correlation coefficient of R² = 0.999 in the pseudo-second-order model. According to the results of the adsorption isotherm model analysis, the R² values for the Temkin, Freundlich, and Langmuir models were determined to be 0.971, 0.935, and 0.954, respectively, particularly at the optimally determined temperature of 40 °C. Thermodynamically, the process is exothermic and spontaneous. In addition to experimental studies, the WB97x-D level of the Density Functional Theory was used to elucidate the detailed adsorption mechanism between SA and EBT in the water phase. The experimental results are consistent with the computational parameters describing the primary adsorption mechanism, including physisorption processes via electrostatic attraction, van der Waals interactions, and hydrogen bonding.

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Household solid waste (HSW) poses long-term environmental and human health-related risks as it contains several toxic components. In the recent past, most of the developing countries strive to improve their urban HSW management practices globally. The management capability or incapability of HSW processing plant (HSWPP) depends on its location. The location selection for HSWPP is a complex multi-criteria decision analysis problem for the policymakers in developing nations. Uncertainty is more common in the selection of HSWPP location from multiple criteria perspective. This paper aims to develop a decision-making method for assessing and choosing a suitable HSWPP location under the context of interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IVIFSs). As a generalized form of fuzzy set, IVIFS theory has been demonstrated as a valuable way for measuring the uncertainty of information in realistic decision-making problems. In IVIFS, the membership grades of an object are subsets of closed interval [0, 1], therefore, the theory of IVIFS is more useful to present the opinions in terms of intervals instead of the crisp numbers. This paper firstly proposes a novel distance measure for IVIFSs to estimate dissimilarity value between IVIFSs. Few pairs of IVIFSs are taken to demonstrate the advantage of proposed distance measure over extant measures. Next, this study develops a new IVIF-score function by analyzing the drawbacks of extant interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy (IVIF)-score and accuracy functions. Further, the proposed score function is used to determine the significance values of involved decision makers. In this approach, the objective weight of criteria is derived through IVIF-standard deviation-based approach and subjective weight of criteria is obtained with IVIF-pivot pairwise relative criteria importance assessment (PIPRECIA) approach and finally, a collective weighting formula is discussed with combination of objective and subjective weights of criteria. Finally, a hybrid gained and lost dominance score (GLDS) method is developed to solve the decision-making problems on IVIFSs setting. Further, we discuss an empirical study of HSWPP locations assessment problem to show the reasonableness and exhibit the efficacy of the presented approach. Moreover, we discuss sensitivity assessment over various values of a parameter, which proves the stability of obtained outcomes. Comparison with extant methods is made to illustrate the robustness of proposed framework. The present work offers a new methodology, which can help the policymakers to evaluate HSWPP locations with uncertain information.

There is significant reliance on groundwater sources in arid and semi-arid regions worldwide. Ensuring the sustainable use of this vital resource is imperative and requires evaluating various attributes through appropriate indicators. While traditional methods of indicator selection often struggle with uncertainty and may overlook essential factors, this study introduces an innovative approach by employing the Fuzzy Delphi Method. This method not only refines indicator selection by addressing uncertainties but also enhances the relevance and accuracy of sustainability assessments. In the context of Iran’s Houmand Absard, where groundwater is the primary source of freshwater, this approach has proven particularly effective. Initially, 86 pragmatic indicators were identified, and a global survey of 155 researchers, combined with fuzzy analysis, reduced these to 27 critical indicators. Notably, environmental indicators emerged as the most significant, with the 'percentage of aquifer area with groundwater overexploitation problem' receiving the highest score of 0.750. This research contributes to the global discourse on groundwater sustainability by providing a more reliable and context-specific framework for indicator selection, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, thereby ensuring better-informed decision-making.

Due to the widespread use of glyphosate in agriculture, remediation techniques have emerged to reduce its impact on the environment. The use of agricultural by-products as soil amendments can enhance microbial proliferation in soil and subsequently reduce glyphosate persistence. Agave by-products possess constituents that can influence on the sorption of phosphorus in soil and displace glyphosate from soil surfaces, which may increase glyphosate availability and, therefore, increase the efficacy of glyphosate remediation. This work describes an initial approach to assess the potential of agave leaf powder to enhance glyphosate bioremediation. Phenolic acids, organic acids, and other constituents were evaluated from Agave attenuata leaf powder. Two experiments were performed under laboratory conditions. A batch equilibrium sorption experiment using three different New Zealand soils showed significant desorption of orthophosphate, aluminium, and iron after the addition of A. attenuata leaf powder to soil solution. Analysis of soil induced respiration showed that agave leaf powder in combination with two glyphosate doses increased the soil induced respiration ratio. Exogenous carbon associated with these treatments was positively correlated with the Carbon: Nitrogen ratio in soil solution, inferring increased microbial activity. These results suggest that Agave leaf powder has potential as a soil amendment to enhance glyphosate biodegradation. Further research is needed to clarify the effect of agave leaf powder on glyphosate biodegradation; and on the desorption of orthophosphate, aluminium, and iron from soils.