International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology最新文献

The study examined the feasibility of utilizing the mixture of ceramic sludge and roller kiln wastes, to produce low-cost ceramic-based membranes designated for use in wastewater treatment applications. In recent years, the treatment of wastewater contaminated with humic acid has posed significant challenges due to its complex nature and resistance to conventional treatment methods. To improve the physical, mechanical, and filtration qualities of the membranes, the study involved preparing them using a blend of five distinct composition ratios of totally recycled ceramic sludge and roller kiln wastes, which were then sintered at temperatures ranging from 900 °C to 1300 °C. The most effective membrane showed the best permeate flux and humic acid separation efficiency for the wastewater samples when it was sintered at 1000 °C using only ceramic sludge waste. The produced membranes were thoroughly examined to reveal their structural and chemical characteristics. This confirmed the effective integration of functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (f-MWCNTs) and their influence on the membranes’ functionality. f-MWCNTs were added to the membrane’s surface via wet impregnation and drop casting methods. This resulted in a notable improvement in the membrane’s humic acid separation efficiency, which increased to 92.61%, and the flux increased to 128.46 L/m²/h at a concentration of 100 mg L⁻¹ as well. The opportunity to develop effective and environmentally sustainable ceramic membranes for water treatment using industrial ceramic wastes is highlighted by this study.

The Northwest Minas Gerais is a significant grain-producing region in Brazil. Center pivot irrigation in the region increased by 84% from 2010 to 2020, and records of conflicts over water use have occurred since 2000. This study carries out a hydroclimatic analysis of water resources in the Northwest Minas Gerais, using orbital and field data related to 567 pivots, considering the expansion of the irrigated area in the region over the years, the rainfall regime, and the flow of rivers. The time series of precipitation from 1982 to 2022 and river flows from 1978 to 2015 show a significant decrease in rainfall of up to 14.4% since 2012 and a reduction in river flow in all sub-basins analyzed. Furthermore, there was a 99.4% growth in irrigated areas in the last ten years. Due to this scenario, using outdated information to define water allocation rights can escalate conflicts in the use of water resources in the Northwest Minas Gerais region. The results show the need to implement sustainable and contemporary water use management in the Northwest Minas Gerais region. Implementing effective policies, advocating the efficient use of water in agriculture, and promoting collaboration between various sectors are vital to facing current and future challenges.

Industry and civic society are unaware of polluted water’s quality, quantity, and environmental impact. On the other hand, unregulated extraction of groundwater, inefficient use of water at various stages of production, structural challenges in plumbing, lack of low-cost reliable meters, inaccurate data and tampering issues, inability of environmental regulation, and a manpower shortage to inspect the unit at regular intervals across thousands of factories necessitate the development of an automated system for effluent treatment plant monitoring. In this study, we design a cost effective, realistic water quality and quantity monitoring system for different stages of industrial production, with real time data for underground water extraction. All the collected data will be uploaded to a server and displayed on an online dashboard in real-time. The dashboard will be shared by both industries and government officials. We deployed machine learning to provide real-time predictive analytics on water quality and quantity. We automated the effluent treatment plant processes by testing the water quality and quantity in real time and sending appropriate instructions to the respective stakeholders. The industries can be aware of the water quality and quantity in each stage of production by monitoring the data before releasing the water in the environment. This project will help to achieve current and future national and international water compliance, and several sustainable development goals.

This composite study presents detailed instructions on the applicability of the results of a sequential extraction method (SE), coupled with statistical analyses, a Secondary Phase Enrichment Factor (Kspef), risk assessment indices, and, for the first time, the Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA). The study gives important data on the current risk of mobility of the elements and the methodology of appropriate measures before establishing an effective mitigation strategy and predicting the risk of mobility after changing environmental conditions, such as the harmful effects of ongoing climate change. The combination of techniques is used to assess the origin and contamination level of potentially toxic elements in the roadside agricultural soil impacted by traffic at Highway E75 (Serbia). The results show that B, Ni, Co, V, Ba, Cr, As, and Mo at most localities are of natural origin, sourced by a protracted decomposition of the geological matrix. Cu, Zn, Pb, Hg, Sb, and Cd have natural and anthropogenic origins (traffic and agricultural activities). Ba has the highest bio/geoavailability and belongs to the group of elements with a higher environmental risk. Groups with a moderate environmental risk include the elements As, Cd, Co, Ni, and V. A moderate to high-risk level of contamination of the soils with Pb, Cu, Zn, Sb, and Hg is documented exclusively at particular localities. The results of SE, coupled with the CIA coefficient, are applicable to predict the processes of chemical alteration of the mineral components of soils, including evaluating a degree of natural soil contamination.

Even though when the COVID-19 pandemic started, in 2020, the urban cleaning and solid waste management services were not disrupted in Goiânia, Brazil, they were directly affected by social distancing measures. Therefore, the goal of this study was to determine the environmental impacts of municipal solid waste management in the municipality of Goiânia, through life cycle assessment. For this purpose, quantitative data was requested to Companhia de Urbanização de Goiânia regarding waste collection (commingled and source-separated) and final disposal in the unlicensed landfill of Goiânia, between 2016 and 2020. To quantify the environmental impacts, six different scenarios were assessed with EASETECH, a specific life cycle assessment tool for waste, using 12 impact categories. Comparing the data of 2020 with 2019, commingled collection increased 2.2%, while source-separated collection decreased 7.6% than in 2019, mainly due to the changes in eating habits and lifestyle imposed by the pandemic. Concerning environmental impacts, the results indicated that scenario 2, which has the lowest of potentially recyclable waste diversions and relies on an unlicensed landfill, has presented the worst environmental result. Conversely, only by replacing the unlicensed landfill with a licensed one, reduces the environmental impacts between 68.5% and 75%. And when the amount of recycling was gradually increased in Scenario 6, the reduction in environmental impacts exceeded 84%.

Climate change and urbanization have caused environmental problems to cities, making it critical to build a low-carbon, resilient, and sustainable urban environment. Green façade (GFA) is an important nature-based solution for implementation by exploring urban vertical space. GFA is often expected to meet versatile needs across different fields, but existing literature has not well documented the evolution of green façade research and future directions. Accordingly, this study examined GFA studies in 2010–2023 through a review to identify progressive trends, conceptual terminology, knowledge gaps, and future research directions. Overall, the GFA could be described by 46 additional terms given structure, vegetation, and technique properties. GFA research has evolved into transdisciplinary research, but mainly includes four clusters: (1) urban greening and sustainability; (2) energy saving mechanism and associated factors; (3) green infrastructure and cooling benefits; and (4) modelling and simulation for heat island mitigation and microclimate regulation. However, the ecological properties, lighting, and acoustic performance of GFA have scarcely been analyzed. Europe and China were key contributors of relevant literature, and there was strong co-authorship among authors from an organization, region, or country. Future efforts should focus on (1) verification and quantification of GFA environmental, ecological, and health benefits, (2) technical needs, economic benefits, social acceptance and support, and policy formation for promotion, (3) development of efficient and tangible numerical models and GFA typology for parametric analysis, and (4) promotion of inter-department, inter-organization, and inter-regional collaboration. Overall, this study enhances GFA understanding to enable the transformation from research to practice.

Adopting and maintaining the utilization of alternative fuels in diesel engines depend on lower pollutant emissions and an environmentally friendly fuel. In the present research, exhaust emission and performance parameters of a coated diesel engine running on the hackberry methyl ester (HME) extracted from hackberry seeds were investigated. The engine tests were executed by using a single cylinder, four-stroke diesel engine under a constant load and at different speeds (1800–3000 rpm). The mixtures containing hackberry biodiesel at 20%, 50%, and 100% (vol.) were used in the study. The piston crown and the surface of the valves were coated using a 300-μm thick Chromium (III) oxide layer. Furthermore, engine block temperatures were acquired. It was determined that hydrocarbon (HC), vibration, exhaust gas temperature (EGT), carbon monoxide (CO), and smoke values lowered; whereas, brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), brake thermal efficiency (BTE), and nitrogen oxide (NO_X) values increased in HME and its fuel blends when compared to diesel fuel. While lower BSFC, CO, smoke, and HC values were detected in the coated engine, lower NO_X, BTE, EGT, and vibration values were observed in the uncoated engine.

This paper presents a study that aims to investigate the application of multivariate analysis and correlational analysis in examining trace elements (TEs) within sediment samples. The study involved the collection of sixty samples from diverse surface water sources in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, and their quantification using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The study utilized these TE levels to compute 18 pollution determinant indices, categorized into individual contamination indices (ICIx) and complex contamination indices (CCIx), which varied in their requirement for reference values. The ICIx and CCIx that necessitated background values were evaluated across three scenarios: geometric (GeoM), median (MeM), and control (ControlM) means. TE concentrations ranged from 5800.20–6567.92 mg/kg for iron, 3.47–7.21 mg/kg for copper, 13.22–19.81 mg/kg for zinc, 3.58–13.60 mg/kg for lead, below detection limit—0.45 mg/kg for cadmium, 4.20–9.21 mg/kg for nickel, and 4.21–9.29 mg/kg for cobalt. There were significant deviations (p < 0.05) among sampling locations for each element. The indices exhibited strong positive correlations across scenarios, with exceptions noted for the Potential Ecological Hazard Index (PEHIx) and Ecological Hazard (EH). Cluster Analysis indicated that 3 out of 4 CCIx do not require reference values, 5 out of 7 ICIx, and 4 out of 5 CCIx requiring background values were essential under each scenario. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) elucidated that over 80% of the total variance was explained, with all indices except EH and PEHIx predominantly distributed in the first principal component for each background scenario. This suggests that the selected principal components effectively capture a significant portion of the variability inherent in the original dataset of contamination indices.

Technological updates in electronic products generate attention to the environmental impacts arising from the life cycle of products. In the telecommunications sector, cables for local area networks (LAN) stand out due to production and consumption on high scales around the world. With each change in product development, these items tend to have their lifetime reduced and, consequently, discards end up being premature several times and without proper treatment and control. This problem, associated with the increased consumption of materials for manufacturing, ends up causing environmental impacts. Propose improvements in the environmental performance of this product is a strategic objective for the telecommunications sector. Before implementing improvements, it is necessary to assess the product’s environmental impacts to make the decision-making process effective and efficient. However, no studies with this data were found in the literature. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was applied to identify and quantify the relevance of the negative environmental impacts in the LAN cable life cycle. From this, data from the Life Cycle Inventory of the product was collected with the support of a multinational company in the telecommunications sector. In a second moment, Ecodesign was applied for the formulation of 5 scenarios that minimized the environmental impacts generated in the production process. The research shows the most beneficial product options for the ecosystem is structured by aluminium and biopolyethylene. We recommend to evaluate whether there are impacts on the technological and economic performance of products resulting from the practical application of the Ecodesign scenarios proposed in this research.

Environmental problems and excessive energy consumption are the primary bottleneck of the transfer station project, owing that the deodorant design are generally based on the empirical values. Therefore, scientific researches on the parameters of deodorization design is of great importance. This article systematically investigated the influence of several key parameters on the deodorizing effect, by combining typical practical engineering cases, taking ammonia as a representative of the transfer station odor components. The key designing parameter values have been optimized via the Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation through Airpak3.0 software, including the suction air volume, the ratio of the air exhaust to the supply volume, the position of air supply outlet, and the air volume control in different seasons/highs period. It is expected that this study would provide strong technical support for engineering design and energy saving operation.

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