Environmental science. Advances最新文献

This paper considers elements of the dynamic process of production dispersal and monitoring of persistent organic pollutants in the environment that has unfolded over the past 100 years. The interactions between science, industry, policy making and public health have taken many different forms in different parts of the world over time. The current state of affairs of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the global environment is only partially understood and in flux because the components act in a distributed and asynchronous manner. We argue that the work under the Stockholm Convention (SC) since 2004 can be seen as synthesis of what has been done so far and a blueprint of what challenges lie ahead. The framework of UNEP, with the invaluable help of the Secretariat, has strung together over two decades a global network of scientists, indigenous groups, policy makers and other stakeholders interacting through meetings, documents and decisions, this effort has yielded an open, transparent and reliable method of work and a large repository of publicly available technical and scientific information. In this paper we consider in some detail the methods and the outcomes for screening substances of new potential concern, the methods and outcomes of monitoring trends in the context of effectiveness evaluation of the SC and the urgent need to converge in concept and quantification with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC).

In Europe the Environmental Quality Standard (EQS) for nickel in freshwaters was set in 2013 based on the best available evidence at the time. Since then, additional information about the toxicity of nickel to aquatic organisms and the effects of water chemistry conditions on nickel bioavailability have become available, and there is much more information available about the water chemistry conditions that affect nickel toxicity in freshwaters. This study has taken the updated information about nickel ecotoxicity and bioavailability and evaluates how this could potentially affect the EQS for nickel if it was to be updated. Although the sensitivity of freshwaters to nickel based on the update is very similar to the EQS on a site-specific basis, the thresholds derived are slightly lower. A broader range of water chemistry conditions can be covered by the update than are currently covered by the existing EQS. An updated standard of 2.9 μg L⁻¹ bioavailable nickel could be derived based on the UK dataset evaluated here, which is slightly lower than the existing EQS of 4 μg L⁻¹ bioavailable nickel. Consequently, a slightly higher number of potential compliance failures would be expected based on the update. A simple and practical approach toward the incorporation of local nickel background concentrations into the compliance assessment process for sites that fail the bioavailability based EQS is also proposed. Initial assessments suggest that compliance with the existing EQS could potentially result in more than 5% of species in freshwater aquatic ecosystems being affected, but that with the exception of a very small number of cases the proportion of potentially affected species would be less than 8% of species in the ecosystem. In regions where the existing EQS is not fully implemented, particularly through limited consideration of bioavailability, the adoption of the updated standard is likely to be less beneficial than focusing on better implementation of the existing EQS. However, in regions where the existing EQS has been implemented extensively for some time the updated standard offers a refinement in terms of the coverage of a higher proportion of surface waters and a slightly higher level of protection for sensitive species than the existing EQS.

This review paper, titled “Greening the waves: experimental and chemometric approaches in spectroscopic methods for organic pollutant determination in natural waters,” provides a comprehensive exploration of innovative strategies to enhance the sustainability and efficacy of water quality monitoring. The global prevalence of organic pollutants in natural waters poses significant environmental challenges, necessitating the development of analytical methods that are not only sensitive and accurate but also environmentally friendly. The concept of green analytical chemistry serves as the foundation for this review, focusing specifically on experimental and chemometric approaches within the realm of spectroscopic methods. The introductory section establishes the urgency of adopting green methodologies and outlines the limitations of conventional techniques for organic pollutant determination. Subsequently, the review delves into recent experimental innovations in spectroscopic methods, including UV-vis, FTIR, and fluorescence. These advancements not only improve the precision of detection but also align with the principles of green chemistry by minimizing resource consumption and waste generation. A significant portion of the review is dedicated to exploring the role of chemometric approaches in enhancing the reliability and interpretability of spectroscopic data. Various tools, such as multivariate analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), and partial least squares (PLS), are scrutinized for their ability to extract meaningful information, leading to more robust determinations of organic pollutants in natural waters. Case studies and applications are presented to illustrate successful implementations of the discussed experimental and chemometric approaches in real-world scenarios. These examples showcase the versatility and adaptability of the proposed methods across diverse environmental settings, providing tangible evidence of their efficacy in water quality monitoring. The review concludes with a forward-looking perspective, discussing ongoing research directions, emerging trends, and potential challenges in the field. The integration of artificial intelligence and big data into chemometric analyses is highlighted as a promising avenue for future development, emphasizing the role of these technologies in shaping the landscape of sustainable water quality analysis. Thus, “Greening the Waves” aims to consolidate knowledge on experimental and chemometric strategies in spectroscopic methods, offering a roadmap for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to adopt more environmentally conscious approaches in the critical task of organic pollutant determination in natural waters.

The persistent use of primary alkaline batteries in electronic gadgets and lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles is creating a large volume of battery waste. Proper management and processing are necessary to prevent the dumping of used batteries in landfills. Valuable metals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and zinc can be extracted and purified from spent batteries. Alternatively, they can be used in synthesising functional materials. This review explores a promising solution for battery waste management by repurposing it to create materials capable of removing harmful gases. Reusing battery components such as electrodes, electrolytes, and polymer separators leads to the development of innovative strategies for creating adsorbents and catalysts. These materials are capable of efficiently capturing or catalysing harmful gases into harmless gases or ions. The review outlines various methods for converting battery waste into valuable materials, structural modifications, performance evaluations, and underlying mechanisms responsible for the removal of harmful gases. This review highlights the potential of battery waste as a sustainable resource for addressing rising air pollution and promoting a circular economy.

Evidence of arsenic in potable water is a huge global concern for human well-being. For the adsorption of arsenic from groundwater, a promising material Ni–Fe layered double hydroxide modified using chitosan (NFC) was synthesized in a lab-scale study. In the original research, two pollutant-adsorbent contact approaches, i.e., magnetic stirrer and ultrasonicator, were utilized to accomplish maximum pollutant removal, and the latter was found to give better results. The current work utilized OpenLCA software and the ReCiPe Midpoint (H) (v1.02) approach to conduct a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which assesses and compares the environmental effects of both techniques. The synthesis of 1 kg of NFC and treatment of 1000 L of water contaminated with As(III) from a 50 mg L⁻¹ initial concentration to its WHO acceptable limit served as the basis for evaluations. Environmental effects of handling used materials were taken into account. Furthermore, environmental impacts arising from recycling of the adsorbent were also determined. According to the LCA analysis, the use of electricity and chemicals mainly nickel and liquor ammonia were the main causes of the environmental effects, especially in the global warming potential, human toxicity potential, freshwater ecotoxicity potential, and marine ecotoxicity potential categories. The manufacture of the nanomaterial was the most energy-intensive step of the process, which indicates that energy consumption needs to decrease during scaling up. As electricity consumption is optimized for large-scale operations, there is potential for an increased relative contribution of chemicals to environmental impacts. Furthermore, two distinct electrical sources were chosen to perform sensitivity analysis. The environmental effects of the current development process and application were contrasted with those of granular activated carbon (GAC) and it was found to have fewer negative effects than LDH. It can be concluded that energy and chemical optimization should take precedence in the manufacture of future materials.

Freshwater ecosystems face numerous conservation challenges due to anthropogenic pressures and environmental changes, necessitating advanced monitoring methods for effective conservation strategies. Traditional monitoring approaches have limitations, including low resolution and the inability to address emerging threats or understand the structure–function relationship within ecosystems. This paper explores how Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) approaches can revolutionize freshwater conservation efforts by integrating unbiased molecular insights into biomonitoring. By leveraging NGS methods a comprehensive understanding of ecosystem dynamics can be achieved. The paper emphasizes the critical link between microbial community composition and ecosystem functioning, highlighting the assessment of functional diversity and activity as key metrics in evaluating ecosystem health. The significant advancements NGS brings to the field enable a proactive approach to conservation strategies and informed management decisions. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the importance and advancements in integrating NGS methods, marking a paradigm shift in conservation practices and leveraging cutting-edge technologies to safeguard the integrity and resilience of freshwater ecosystems for future generations.

Regulation of chemicals requires knowledge of their toxicological effects on a large number of species, which has traditionally been acquired through in vivo testing. The recent effort to find alternatives based on machine learning, however, has not focused on guaranteeing transparency, comparability and reproducibility, which makes it difficult to assess advantages and disadvantages of these methods. Also, comparable baseline performances are needed. In this study, we trained regression models on the ADORE “t-F2F” challenge proposed in [Schür et al., Nature Scientific data, 2023] to predict acute mortality, measured as LC50 (lethal concentration 50), of organic compounds on fishes. We trained LASSO, random forest (RF), XGBoost, Gaussian process (GP) regression models, and found a series of aspects that are stable across models: (i) using mass or molar concentrations does not affect performances; (ii) the performances are only weakly dependent on the molecular representations of the chemicals, but (iii) strongly on how the data is split. Overall, the tree-based models RF and XGBoost performed best and we were able to predict the log10-transformed LC50 with a root mean square error of 0.90, which corresponds to an order of magnitude on the original LC50 scale. On a local level, on the other hand, the models are not able to consistently predict the toxicity of individual chemicals accurately enough. Predictions for single chemicals are mostly influenced by a few chemical properties while taxonomic traits are not captured sufficiently by the models. We discuss technical and conceptual improvements for these challenges to enhance the suitability of in silico methods to environmental hazard assessment. Accordingly, this work showcases state-of-the-art models and contributes to the ongoing discussion on regulatory integration.

In this study, we evaluated the suitability of elutriation, a method successfully employed in the extraction of microplastics from marine sediments, for the extraction of microplastics from freshwater and terrestrial soils. Five soils were sampled throughout Oklahoma, USA in order to capture a range of sand, silt, clay, and organic matter composition. Each soil was subjected to microplastic extraction with and without elutriation, followed by digestion in 7.5% NaOCl, and then flotation in 6 M ZnCl₂. The mass of each soil was measured after elutriation to determine sample mass reduction, and multiple methods including fluorescence imaging and automated particle counting through ImageJ, Attenuated Total Reflectence-Fourier Transfor Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and Pyrolysis-coupled Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (py-GC/MS) were used to determine microplastic quantity, mass, and characteristics. T-test was used to check for statistically-significant differences between methods in terms of mass or particle quantity. For all tested soils, elutriation resulted in greater sample mass reduction than non-elutriated samples, and was between 59.0–97.3% for the tested soils. Furthermore, no statistically significant (p < 0.05) differences were observed in particle quantification or polymer mass between methods, and no differences were observed for polymer or size distribution. Additionally, 33% more polymers were positively identified (R² = 70%) by ATR-FTIR analysis in elutriated samples compared to non-elutriated soils. The mass reduction provided by elutriation allows for the processing of larger sample volumes, leading to greater accuracy and sensitivity in detecting microplastics. As such, we recommend elutriation be performed as a pretreatment step to extract microplastics from soils.

Improving energy security and lowering greenhouse gas emissions need the utilization of renewable resources like biomass. The production of power, heat, and biofuels from biomass has gained significant attention in the current energy scenario. The current study highlights the developments, advancements, and future possibilities of merging thermochemical and biochemical conversion processes for the manufacture of value-added chemicals and green fuels. While biological processes have extensive processing times and low product yields, thermochemical methods are limited by high processing costs and temperature requirements. The integration of thermochemical and biochemical conversion processes facilitates the circular economy and improves resource usage. Despite the wide range of feasible integration scenarios, the majority of research that is now accessible in the literature concentrates on the developments in thermochemical or biochemical processes as a standalone conversion pathway. The present review aids in gaining a basic understanding of potential routes to unlock pathways for complete biomass conversion. Pyrolysis, as well as hybrid conversion techniques, are the most appealing methods from an economic evaluation standpoint. In this work, a techno-economic analysis of the significant conversion processes has also been presented. Examining the environmental impact and costs of alternative waste conversion processes is necessary when obtaining energy from garbage or biomass. So, life cycle assessment (LCA) is a useful method for comparing the environmental effects of various waste-to-energy options. To increase the production of biofuels, further research is required in the areas of feedstock pretreatment, catalyst development, and total production system optimization.

Lead toxicity is a challenge for the large-scale commercial production and the field implementation of photovoltaics. The fabrication of lead-free perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is environmentally acceptable; researchers have investigated the unique perovskite materials that are non-toxic in nature. The recent advancements in PSCs with suitable bandgap energy, optical and electrical features and structural alterations, methods for manufacturing metal electrodes and their internal and external effects have been investigated. Moreover, the toxic lead causes various diseases due to lead spreading in the environment which has been minimized by encapsulation. Incorporation of heterovalent and isovalent materials to reduce lead toxicity and improve stability has been discussed, and encapsulation techniques to avoid deterioration and corrosion have also been discussed. This critical review addresses the stability issues and challenges of PSCs. The intention is to pique the interest of younger researchers already active in this rapidly emerging study area.