International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology最新文献

The levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) indicate an increasing pattern, primarily attributed to the combustion of fossil fuels for energy generation, deforestation, and agricultural activities. The implementation of various solutions aimed at mitigating the emission of CO₂ into the atmosphere is of utmost importance to ensure the preservation of Earth for future generations. The technology of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) is garnering considerable interest among researchers due to its potential to effectively mitigate net CO₂ emissions. Therefore, the purpose of this review was to critically assess advancements in CCUS technology, including its environmental benefits and challenges. The review revealed significant efforts in the implementation of CCUS among major contributors to CO₂ emissions, such as power plants and cement manufacturers, in recent times. The field of CCUS technology has witnessed notable progress, particularly in terms of enhancing adsorption efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and environmental sustainability. This review provides an additional overview of the concept of integrated CO₂ capture and utilization (ICCU), which involves capturing and in-situ converting CO₂ to produce value-added chemicals and fuels. Implementing effective strategies to reduce CO₂ emissions through the use of ICCU is crucial for sustainable CO₂ management.

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Considering the important role and beneficial effects of green spaces in maintaining the ecological balance of the cities, determining the best location is one of the fundamental issues, which is the main goal of this study. In this study, ecological and socio-economic criteria were identified based on experts’ opinions and Delphi method and quantified using fuzzy methods. Several multi-criteria evaluation methods, including the analytic network process, DEMATEL technique, weighted linear combination and COPRAS method, were then used to evaluate the development of green space.

The results of the DEMATEL technique showed that the land use indicator has the highest interaction, and the distance from the police station has the least interaction with other indicators. In addition, altitude was the most effective indicator, and land use was the most impressionable indicator. The ANP method also revealed that land use and vegetation density with a final weight equal to 0.572 and 0.312 were the most important indicator in site selection. The results of weighted linear combination and CPORAS methods indicated that zone 6 and its districts, due to lower erosion, higher rainfall, better soil conditions, and wasteland is a more suitable location for green space development.

In general, the results showed that the methods used in this study, due to high flexibility and accuracy in presenting the results, can be a good alternative for other weighting, locating and ranking methods. Hence, the proposed options by these methods can be selected with higher certainty as a proper location for creating green space.

Highly porous carbon materials from organic biomass showed high surface area mainly caused by the different ratios of volatile material, carbon content, and minimum ash content. These all serve as excellent sources and criteria for developing a sound-activated carbon. In previous literature, methods for removal of bisphenol A (BPA) have been shown to share some common characteristics, such as being expensive, complex to perform and having long incubation time. Here, we report the preparation of the activated carbon material derived from Areca catechu (A. catechu) husk for BPA removal with high adsorption capability. The activated carbons were easy to store and use without adjusting the pH of the targeted solution. The production of this activated carbon includes the usage of phosphoric acid as the chemical activation step, followed by physical activation for a duration of 2 h at 550 °C. The result is an activated carbon with a high surface area (BET) trait of 483.40 m²/g plus a good pore volume of 0.87 cm³/g. The advantage of having a high surface area paired with a good pore volume is equal to having a high adsorption capacity; this has been proven by the result where with 1 g of this activated carbon, it can adsorb 28.41 mg of BPA from the solution, which is more superior compared to previous studies. With this, we demonstrated the potential of A. catechu husk as an alternative source of activated carbon material, explicitly targeting removing BPA from contaminated wastewater such as plastic manufacturing plants.

This paper aims to reveal the impacts of land use/land cover changes on ecosystem services and to guide sustainable development decisions by modelling the future land use/land cover pattern and its ecosystem services in the case of Aydın province, Turkey. In this context, the study examined land use/land cover changes in Aydın province, predicted future land use/land cover patterns with three scenarios (natural development, ecosystem service-based development, and economy-based development) using the PLUS model, and determined the impact of land use/land cover changes on InVEST generated carbon storage and habitat quality ecosystem services. The key drivers of land use/land cover change in Aydın were agricultural expansion, the transformation of different vegetation types into each other, and, even on a small scale, urbanization. The study revealed that changes in the spatial pattern of land use/land cover types, together with the effect of changing vegetation patterns, have a significant impact on carbon storage and habitat quality. While reductions in shrubland and forests were detrimental, transformations from openspaces to them, particularly at their boundaries, enhanced the capacity of carbon storage and habitat quality. On the other hand, even though the scenarios of ecosystem service-based development and economy-based development were based on the economic value of ecosystem services and the value of products/services obtained from different land use/land cover types, respectively, the ecosystem service-based development scenario was characterized by more effective land use/land cover management in terms of maximizing both the economic and ecological benefits. This highlights the significance and emerging need for prioritizing ecological considerations in urban planning.

Waste valorization is an important ally in the effort to reduce waste volumes since not only restricts their accumulation but may also provide useful second-life products as hierarchical porous carbon. The latter usually combines microporosity with mesoporosity exhibiting satisfactory specific surface areas and broad applicability and efficiency due to its hierarchy. Nevertheless, producing such materials with ultra-high surface areas is not trivial. The present work reports a comprehensive study for determining parameters to produce ultra-high surface area hierarchical porous carbons in a reproducible manner. Materials are waste-derived and particularly by cigarette butts which in addition are one of the most common forms of litter. Four main parameters, i.e., KOH/char mass ratio, activation temperature, heating rate, and activation time, were explored to provide a roadmap for producing materials with surface areas of up to 4300 m²/g according to the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method which is one of the highest ever reported specific surface area values for porous carbon materials. The final materials have been proven to be superadsorbents with high efficiency towards the adsorption of a common cationic dye, methylene blue, reaching record uptake values of over 2.5 g/g, following fast kinetics, exhibiting a pseudo-second order kinetic model response, with more than 85% of the dye adsorption taking place in just 15 min.

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The use of natural resources and waste products represents an effective way of addressing a pressing concern for the future of the global population. It is therefore crucial to evaluate wastes and natural materials as raw materials in many industries. The present study sought to investigate the radiation protection features and experimental characteristics of tincal waste added with obsidians from Eastern Turkey (Nemrut, Pasinler, Sarıkamış and Ikizdere regions). Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscopy and Energy dispersive spectroscopy were used to have knowledge for morphological and structural properties of the samples. The X-ray diffraction analysis of the samples with higher obsidian content revealed an amorphous structure with a minor presence of crystalline phases. In contrast, the samples with a higher tincal waste content exhibited crystalline phases. Based on morphologic results, it can be said that obsidian samples exhibited relatively smooth and glassy surfaces, whereas tincal waste displayed a rough surface comprising randomly shaped small particles. In addition, radiation attenuating abilities of the tincal waste added with obsidians were determined by the calculation of tenth value layers, half value layers, mean free paths, mass attenuation coefficients, linear attenuation coefficients, fast neutron removal cross sections, effective atomic numbers and buildup factors using the newly produced Phy-X/PSD code. It is obtained that the samples show good radiation protection performances and the samples can be evaluated as better radiation shields for radiation applications especially in construction industry.

Increasing pollutants in the environment becomes one of the major critical issues these days due to rapid urbanization and industrialization. Therefore, researchers pay attention towards photocatalytic composites (PC) for the degradation of pollutants. This present paper critically looks into the environmental impact of pollutants generation and the concepts behind the use of TiO₂ as well as doped TiO₂ in PC for the degradation of nitrogen dioxides (NOx), volatile organic agents and organic dye. The methods for evaluating degradation efficiencies of the above pollutants are clearly discussed in this paper. This review presents consensus knowledge of various influential parameters, such as, methods of preparation for making PC, type and amount of photocatalyst/raw materials and environmental conditions, etc., associated with the degradation of pollutants. Finally, recommendations are made for future studies in this review paper. This review provides a broader understanding of basic concepts and valuable insights for avenues of innovation in this field.

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Water is essential resource vital for economic prosperity, well-being of ecosystems worldwide. Presence of arsenic, even in low concentrations, poses persistent threat due to its high toxicity, stability, its capacity to accumulate within food chains, affecting human health. To combat this issue, detection methods are striving to achieve lower limit of detection than World Health Organization standard of 10 parts per billion (133.3 nM), particularly focusing on toxic form, As³⁺. Various techniques have been developed to detect, quantify arsenic in drinking water, including spectroscopic and electrochemical methods. Spectroscopic methods offer high sensitivity and selectivity but can be complex, costly to operate, while electrochemical methods, although simpler, cost-effective, may sacrifice some sensitivity, selectivity. Recent years have witnessed emergence of portable, field-deployable arsenic sensing devices, primarily based on electrochemical or optical principles, with potential to transform arsenic contamination monitoring. This review explores recent advancements in arsenic detection techniques in drinking water, highlighting substantial progress in development of highly sensitive and selective methods. It covers range of sensor technologies, such as electrochemical sensors, optical sensors, and nanomaterial-based sensors, all of which offer improved detection limits, accuracy. It discusses integration of emerging technologies like machine learning and miniaturized devices for real-time arsenic monitoring in water sources. Practicality and cost-effectiveness of these techniques are evaluated, emphasizing need for robust, field-deployable sensors to ensure access to safe drinking water in both developed and developing regions. This review aims to contribute to ongoing efforts to mitigate the arsenic contamination crisis and protect public health.

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In this work, a new biochar (BC) derived from woody forest residues and decorated with cobalt ferrite (BC/CoFe₂O₄) was synthesized via co-precipitation. This innovative approach entails a straightforward and cost-effective process. BC was produced via slow pyrolysis (1.66 °C min⁻¹ up to 450 °C, residence time: 72 h). The material was applied for the first time to remove direct red 80 dye (DR80). BC and BC/CoFe₂O₄ had moisture contents of 5.8% and 8.4%, ash of 24.1% and 30.0%, and volatile of 75.5% and 69.5%, respectively. These parameters are crucial for assessing BC quality. The H/C ratio was ~ 0.5, and the O/C ratio was ~ 0.2 for both materials. The materials exhibited thermal stability, with oxygenated groups. The pH_PZC of BC and BC/CoFe₂O₄ were 7.01 and 6.78, respectively. The ratios of D and G bands (I_D/I_G ratio) were 1.07 and 0.74 for BC and BC/CoFe₂O₄, respectively. BC presented peaks related to quartz, dolomite, and calcite, whereas BC/CoFe₂O₄ displayed peaks of CoFe₂O₄. BC presented a morphology of plate-shaped surface, while BC/CoFe₂O₄ presented irregular spheres of 6.6 ± 0.9 nm. The selected area diffraction pattern of BC/CoFe₂O₄ showed crystalline planes of CoFe₂O₄. The oxygen (74.97%), cobalt (8.86%), and iron (16.17%) were detected in BC/CoFe₂O₄ through Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy analysis, confirmed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry. The BC/CoFe₂O₄ promoted practically 100% degradation of DR80 in 180 min. The species responsible for the degradation were identified as the photogenerated hole (h⁺) and O₂^•−. The material can be reused without a significant loss of efficiency.

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Carbon soot, traditionally considered a pollutant due to its harmful effects on human health and the environment, is now recognized as a valuable functional material. Carbon soot’s unique physical and chemical properties make it attractive for various applications, including energy storage, catalysis, electronics, water detoxification, and more. This review article covers the application of soot-derived carbon nanoparticles for water remediation. The article starts with discussing the soot formation mechanism, followed by a characterization of soot particles. Further, the application of carbon soot for oil–water separation and removal of contaminants from water are reviewed. The effect of various process parameters like pH, time of contact, and concentration are discussed. Further, the article discusses carbon soot particle’s limitations and future scope for water remediation. In conclusion, this review highlights the potential of carbon soot as a sustainable and cost-effective solution for water detoxification and presents an outlook for future research in this field. It also discusses the challenges and shortcomings of the work done till now in this area.