Contamination by oil and its derivatives causes serious damage to the environment, motivating the development of innovative technologies for the removal of these contaminants, such as the use of biosurfactants. In the present study, the biosurfactant from Candida tropicalis UCP0996 produced in the low cost-medium formulated with molasses, residual frying oil, and corn steep liquor, was characterized and its toxicity, formulation, and application in removal and biodegradation of oil were investigated. The surface tension of the medium was reduced to 30.4 mN/m, yielding 4.11 g/L of isolated biosurfactant after 120 h. Tests under extreme environmental conditions indicated the stability of the biosurfactant. Chemical characterization by thin layer chromatography (TLC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), and gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy (CG-MS) revealed the glycolipidic nature of the biosurfactant. The isolated biosurfactant show... [more]

When a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) uses anaerobic digestion (AD) on its sludge treatment line, the opportunity to install a sidestream deammonification process for the cost-effective removal of the N-rich reject water load generated by the sludge digester should be considered. In this context, the ANITA™ Mox process based on the moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) technology has been implemented at more than 30 full-scale facilities over the last 10 years to treat reject water from conventional AD or after thermal hydrolysis process (THP) to reduce the N-load and associated treatment costs on the WWTP. This paper reviews the lessons learned in the implementation of the ANITA™ Mox process at several WWTP in the US, Europe, and Australia.

The growing production of green technologies (such as electric vehicles and systems for renewable electricity production, e.g., wind turbine) is increasing the rare earth element (REE) demands. These metals are considered critical for Europe for their economic relevance and the supply risk. The end-of-life permanent magnets are considered a potential secondary resource of REEs thanks to their content of neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr) or dysprosium (Dy). The scientific literature reports many techniques for permanent magnet recovery. This work used a life cycle assessment (LCA) to identify the most sustainable choice, suggesting the possible improvements to reduce the environmental load. Three different processes are considered: two hydrometallurgical treatments (the first one with HCl and the other one with solid-state chlorination), and a pyrometallurgical technique. The present paper aims to push the stakeholders towards the implementation of sustainable processes for end-of-life... [more]

L. is a traditionally used medicinal plant. With its pronounced antimicrobial potential, this alpine Achillea species may also be used in modern phytotherapy to treat MRSA infections and prevent dermal infections, such as acne vulgaris. For the present study, A. atrata was cultivated in its natural habitat in Switzerland as well as in Germany to elucidate the potential of standardizing plant material derived from this species for pharmaceutical production. Phytochemical characterization of phenolic constituents by HPLC-DAD-MSn revealed that environmental conditions have only a minor impact on the phenolic profile. Metabolic differences between cultivated and wild plants grown in the same environment suggested the possible existence of genetically derived chemotypes. In total, 28 substances were identified, with marked differences in the occurrence of phenolic compounds observed between flowers and leaves. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, 7 phenolic compounds have been reported f... [more]

Flammable fuel-N2O mixtures raise safety and environmental protection issues in areas where these mixtures are used (such as: industry, research, internal combustion engines). Therefore, it is important to know their laminar combustion velocities and propagation speeds—important safety parameters for design of active protection devices against gas explosions and corresponding safety recommendations. In this paper, the laminar combustion velocities of N2-diluted CH4-N2O flames, obtained in experiments on outwardly propagating flames, at various initial pressures (within 0.5−2.0 bar) and room temperature, are reported. The experiments were made in a 0.5 L spherical cell with central ignition. The laminar combustion velocities were calculated from the constants of cubic law of flame propagation during the early stage of closed cell explosions and the expansion coefficients of unburned flammable mixtures, using the adiabatic model of the flame propagation. The expansion coefficients were d... [more]

Mineral fertilization is considered to be useful for improving soil fertility and yields. However, its use is linked to global warming and soil and water pollution by its rapid mobilization. On the other hand, organic fertilization is recommended to maintain or improve soil organic carbon and total nitrogen stocks while contributing to climate change mitigation. The main goal of this study was to assess the effect of two different fertilizer types, mineral and organic, during three cowpea crop cycles on the soil’s physicochemical properties, enzyme activities, crop yield, crop quality and nutritional composition when considering two cowpea cultivars (Feijão frade de fio preto (FP) and Feijão frade de fio claro (FC)). The use of mineral fertilizers was seen to contribute to improved soil fertility due to the increase in soil properties, such as recalcitrant carbon, total nitrogen, ammonium content, available K and available Mg. On the other hand, organic fertilizers only increased the n... [more]

The unique and outstanding physical and chemical properties of aluminosilicate minerals, including zeolites, make them extremely useful in remediation processes. That is due to their demonstrated high efficiency, inexpensiveness, and environmental friendliness in processes aimed on the elimination of heavy metals from water. The paper reports the results of the examination of selectivity of the tested clay minerals and zeolites toward different heavy metals in light of the postulated sorption mechanisms. It was stated that while the most efficient at concurrent removal of lead and copper from aqueous solutions were synthetic zeolites 3A and 10A, smectite was the best in dealing with prolonged pollution with Pb2+ and Cu2+. Determined as one of the parameters in DKR isotherm energy of the process for each combination of sorbate and sorbent, it showed that the dominant mechanism of adsorption on the tested mineral sorbents was physisorption. The exception was kaolinite, for which that ene... [more]

The phytoremediation role of aquatic plants in situ is extremely important today when, due to repeated droughts and periodical shrinkage of surface water resources, the load of biogenic and toxic substances in these waters is increasing dramatically. The aim of the study was to assess the bioaccumulation of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn and Zn) by the Groenlandia densa reintroduced in the area of its historical occurrence in the habitat of rivers characterized by Ranunculion fluitantis vegetation. Research material was collected from 3 sites in the Natura 2000 area in Western Pomerania on areas differing in anthropogenic load, from sites on streams in agricultural, urbanized and forested catchments. The study showed varying content of trace metals in Groenlandia densa. Plants and sediments collected from the site with the highest anthropogenic load, located in an urbanized catchment, contained more metals. The tolerance of Groenlandia densa to elevated Mn levels in water/sediment wa... [more]

Due to its excellent toughness and stiffness in cryogenic conditions, 9% nickel steel is applied to LNG storage facilities, and its usage is increasing as a result of changes in environmental regulations. A study was conducted on the development of a predictive model to optimize the laser welding process of 9% nickel steel, and two prediction models were developed using one hundred data points obtained through experiments. A global regression model used as a general prediction model and a modified regression model using the p-value of the analysis of variance were developed, and their prediction performance was compared. It was found that the modified regression model was superior to the global regression model in terms of predicting the bead shape, including parameters such as penetration depth, bead height, and area ratio.

Carotenoids are important phytochemicals contributing nutritional health benefits in the human diet, with a significant contribution from cereals as one of the major food component around the world. Different methods have been described and adopted for the extraction and isolation of carotenoid compounds. Saponification can be seen as an option for carotenoid extraction from cereals as it converts retinol esters to retinol and removes other abundant compounds such as triglycerides. Extraction of carotenoids content of locally adapted and organic cereals have been limitedly investigated and was, therefore, evaluated in the present study, with a specific aim to understand genotypic and local cultivation effects and interactions. Therefore, 17 diverse cereal genotypes of local origin were grown organically in four localities and evaluated for carotenoid content and composition by HPLC. The results showed a large variation in content and composition of carotenoids in locally adapted and or... [more]

The laccase enzyme was successfully immobilized over a magnetic amino-functionalized metal−organic framework Fe3O4-NH2@MIL-101(Cr). Different techniques were used for the characterization of the synthesized materials. The Fe3O4-NH2@MIL-101(Cr) laccase showed excellent resistance to high temperatures and low pH levels with a high immobilization capacity and large activity recovery, due to the combination of covalent binding and adsorption advantages. The long-term storage of immobilized laccase for 28 days indicated a retention of 88% of its initial activity, due to the high stability of the immobilized system. Furthermore, a residual activity of 49% was observed at 85 °C. The immobilized laccase was effectively used for the biodegradation of Reactive Black 5 (RB) and Alizarin Red S (AR) dyes in water. The factors affecting the RB and AR degradation using the immobilized laccase (dye concentration, temperature and pH) were investigated to determine the optimum treatment conditions. The... [more]

Plastic production has been increasing at enormous rates. Particularly, the socioenvironmental problems resulting from the linear economy model have been widely discussed, especially regarding plastic pieces intended for single use and disposed improperly in the environment. Nonetheless, greenhouse gas emissions caused by inappropriate disposal or recycling and by the many production stages have not been discussed thoroughly. Regarding the manufacturing processes, carbon dioxide is produced mainly through heating of process streams and intrinsic chemical transformations, explaining why first-generation petrochemical industries are among the top five most greenhouse gas (GHG)-polluting businesses. Consequently, the plastics market must pursue full integration with the circular economy approach, promoting the simultaneous recycling of plastic wastes and sequestration and reuse of CO2 through carbon capture and utilization (CCU) strategies, which can be employed for the manufacture of ole... [more]

Pressure-driven processes have come a long way since they were introduced. These processes, namely Ultra-Filtration (UF), Nano-Filtration (NF), and Reverse-Osmosis (RO), aim to enhance the efficiency of wastewater treatment, thereby aiming at a cleaner production. Membranes may be polymeric, ceramic, metallic, or organo-mineral, and the filtration techniques differ in pore size from dense to porous membrane. The applied pressure varies according to the method used. These are being utilized in many exciting applications in, for example, the food industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and wastewater treatment. This paper attempts to comprehensively review the principle behind the different pressure-driven membrane technologies and their use in the removal of heavy metals from wastewater. The transport mechanism has been elaborated, which helps in the predictive modeling of the membrane system. Fouling of the membrane is perhaps the only barrier to the emergence of membrane technology and... [more]

The rapid increasing number of automobile products has brought great convenience to people’s living, but it has also caused serious environmental issues, waste of resources and energy shortage during its whole lifecycle. Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER) refers to the company’s responsibility to avoid damage to the natural environment derived from its corporate social responsibility (CSR), and it plays an important role in solving resource and environmental problems. However, due to various internal and external reasons, it is difficult for the automobile manufacturing industry to find the key drivers for the implementation of CER. This research proposes a model framework that uses the fuzzy decision-making test and evaluation laboratory (fuzzy DEMATEL) method to analyze the drivers of CER from the perspective of the triple bottom line (TBL) of economy, environment and society. Firstly, the common drivers of CER are collected using literature review and questionnaire survey... [more]

New observations of non-indigenous species (NIS) in coastal waters, such as the Gulf of Cadiz (Spain) have increased since 1980 and more or less exponentially in the last five years. Ballast water has become the most significant pathway for unintentional introductions of NIS into marine ecosystems. For example, the marine larvae of crustacean decapods that inhabit the water column could be transported in ballast water. Although elevated concentrations of metals are toxic to many marine organisms, some of them have evolved effective detoxification, or avoidance mechanisms making it possible to consider they have a superior ability to withstand exposures to these toxicants. In this text, we try to reinforce the hypothesis that anthropogenic modifications (such as chemical alterations and modified environments) benefit NIS with broad environmental tolerances. Taking these risks into account, a reinforcement of efficient Ballast Water Management Systems to respond to today’s challenging en... [more]

Ponding system or land application techniques are widely used at industrial scale to treat palm oil mill effluent (POME) prior to discharge to the environment. POME is considered as one of the major problems that has generated voluminously from the palm oil industries. The main purpose of this article is to organize the scattered available information on various aspects and a wide range of promising current POME treatments including biological microorganisms, physicochemical methods of coagulation, and membrane and thermochemical process. In addition, the integrated system of anaerobic-aerobic bioreactor (IAAB), which has been touted as highly efficient with easy control at acceptable temperature range and shorter treatment time, has potential to be exploited for POME treatment. The main influencing factors for IAAB POME treatment are highlighted as outstanding characteristics for challenges and future prospects.

Industries have to integrate environmental, social, and economic aspects into their supply chain management to achieve sustainability. Hence, the industry needs to take appropriate actions in choosing the right suppliers. The aim of this study is to develop a framework for selecting sustainable suppliers by integrating quality management tools using the Kano model, Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process, and Decision Matrix Method. To identify the critical sustainability criteria, the Kano model by the clustering the criteria for sustainable selection supplier was used. We then used the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process to determine the weight of each criterion and applied the Decision Matrix Method to select the most sustainable supplier. Afterward, the appropriate proposed framework was implemented in one of the palm oil industries in Indonesia to validate that the framework is applicable and useful. The study shows that the environmental dimension is the most sustainable supplier crite... [more]

In this study, paper-mill wastewater was treated using the Submerged Membrane Bioreactor (SMBR) process. In particular, the ozone oxidation treatment process is applied after SMBR to remove the fluorescent whitening agent, which is a trace pollutant and non-biodegradable. Fluorescent whitening agent concentration was indirectly measured by UV scanning and COD concentration. The concentration of COD before SMBR and ozone oxidation was 449.3 mg/L, and the concentration of treated water was 100.3 mg/ℓ. The COD removal efficiency of paper-mill wastewater through SMBR and the ozone oxidation process was about 77.68%. The optimized amount of ozone was required for the removal of the fluorescent whitening agent after SMBR was 95 mg·O3/ℓ calculated by UV scan results. Additionally, the optimized amount of required ozone to remove COD was calculated to 0.126 mg·COD/mg·O3.

This study describes the influence of orchard cultural practices during the productive process of cherries on the environmental impact in terms of energy, air, soil and water through a “farm to market” Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The results were used to identify the orchard cultural practices that contribute significantly to the environmental impact and to find solutions to reduce those impacts, serving as best practices guide to improving the environmental performance and as benchmarks for other national and international cherry and fruit growers. Primary data for production, harvest and post-harvest periods were gathered experimentally. The openLCA 1.10.2 software and the ecoinvent 3.5 database were used for modelling. Test case scenarios are modelled to identify the influence of cultural practices in low and high cherry production campaigns depending on climatic conditions and consequently diseases and plagues. Moreover, results are compared with other studies, not only covering c... [more]

Diffusion dialysis (DD) employing anion exchange membranes (AEMs) presents an attractive opportunity for acid recovery from acidic wastewater. However, challenges exist to make highly acid permeable AEMs due to their low acid dialysis coefficient (Uacid). Here, a series of porous and highly acid permeable AEMs fabricated based on chloromethyl polyethersulfone (CMPES) porous membrane substrate with crosslinking and quaternization treatments is reported. Such porous AEMs show high Uacid because of the large free volume as well as the significantly reduced ion transport resistance relative to the dense AEMs. Compared with the commercial dense DF-120 AEM, our optimal porous AEM show simultaneous 466.7% higher Uacid and 75.7% higher acid/salt separation factor (Sacid/salt) when applied to acid recovery at the same condition. Further, considering the simple and efficient fabrication process as well as the low cost, our membranes show great prospects for practical acid recovery from industria... [more]

This study explores the collaboration between upstream manufacturer brands and first-line retailers in Taiwan’s 3C product market, which is influenced by several factors. Both parties are motivated by profit and thus, strive for mutual cooperation in the business environment. Whether influencing factors exist between the retailer and manufacturer is a crucial issue. This study investigates 308 customer electronics retailers in Taiwan. Focusing on relationship quality, relational trust, and retailer satisfaction with the brand, we explore the possibility of future collaboration between retailers and manufacturer brands. The study results indicate the relationship quality between retailers and manufacturers has a significant impact on the relationship of trust. Both the relationship quality between retailers and manufacturers and the relational trust between the retailers and manufacturers have significant impacts on the retailer’s satisfaction with the manufacturer. Retailer satisfactio... [more]

This study examined the relationship among carbon dioxide emissions and linkage effects using Input−Output (IO) data of the information and communications technology (ICT) industry between South Korea and the USA. As we wanted to find out if the ICT industry, which the world is passionate about, is a sustainable industry. The linkage effects are analyzed to determine the impact of ICT industry on the national economy, and CO2 emissions of the industry are analyzed to determine how much influence it has on air pollution. In addition, we classify ICT industry by ICT service and manufacturing industries as the key industries in Korea and the US. Data were collected from OECD ranging from 2006 to 2015 in order to quantitatively estimate backward linkage, forward linkage effect, and carbon dioxide emissions. The results indicated that ICT manufacturing industry in Korea has high backward and forward linkage effects. CO2 emissions from ICT service is more than from ICT manufacturing in both... [more]

The objective of this trial was to assess the application of UVA-LED technology as an alternative source of irradiation for photo-Fenton processes, aiming to reduce treatment costs and provide a feasible treatment for landfill leachate. An optimized combination of coagulation with ferric chloride followed by photo-Fenton treatment of landfill leachate was optimized. Three different radiation sources were tested, namely, two conventional high-pressure mercury-vapor immersion lamps (100 W and 450 W) and a custom-designed 8 W 365 nm UVA-LED lamp. The proposed treatment combination resulted in very efficient degradation of landfill leachate (COD removal = 90%). The coagulation pre-treatment removed about 70% of the COD and provided the necessary amount of iron for the subsequent photo-Fenton treatment, and it further favored this process by acidifying the solution to an optimum initial pH of 2.8. The 90% removal of color improved the penetration of radiation into the medium and by extensio... [more]

Numerous pathways and narratives have been developed to shed light on how society could transform its production systems in line with the aspirational targets of the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals [...]

Micropollutants and emerging substances pose a serious problem to environmental sustainability and remediation, due to their widespread use and applications in everyday life. This group of chemicals is diverse but with common toxic and harmful properties. Their concentration in the environment is often very low; however, due to their recalcitrant nature, they are persistent in air, water, and soil. From an engineering point of view, the challenge is not straightforward. It is difficult to remove these contaminants from complex mixtures of substances by conventional methods used in wastewater and drinking water treatment. Ozonation and ozone-based AOPs are accepted processes of degradation of resistant substances or at least enhancement of their biodegradability. The aim of this review paper is to present research trends aimed at solving problems in the research and application of ozone-based processes in the removal of micropollutants from wastewater, thus preventing leakage of harmful... [more]