Electric vehicles (EVs) are regarded as an effective method for dealing with serious environmental pollution. The Chinese government has implemented a series of incentives to accelerate the promotion of EV. However, the increasing production of EVs gives rise to a greater demand for better quality charging station. This study aimed to certify the impact of the production of EVs on charging station research and development (R&D) in China, with mediating effect methods and a panel fixed effect model. The conclusions derived from the study were: (1) Statistically, the production of EVs positively and significantly impacts charging station R&D; (2) the mediating role of investment in charging stations is verified in the relationship between the production of EVs and charging station R&D; (3) environmental tax can moderate the relationship between the production of EVs and charging station R&D. These results implicate, for the first time, that the production of EVs can enhance charging stat... [more]

Heavy metal-containing wastewater with high salinity challenges wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) where the conventional activated sludge process is widely applied. Bioremediation has been proven to be an effective, economical, and eco-friendly technique to remove heavy metals from various wastewaters. The newly developed algal-bacterial aerobic granular sludge (AGS) has emerged as a promising biosorbent for treating wastewater containing heavy metals, especially Cr(VI). In this study, two identical cylindrical sequencing batch reactors (SBRs), i.e., R1 (Control) and R2 (with 1% additional salinity), were used to cultivate algal-bacterial AGS and then to evaluate the effect of salinity on the performance of the two SBRs. The results reflected that less filamentation and a rougher surface could be observed on algal-bacterial AGS when exposed to 1% salinity, which showed little influence on organics removal. However, the removals of total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) and total phosphorus (... [more]

Bioethanol has many environmental and practical benefits as a transportation fuel. It is one of the best alternatives to replace fossil fuels due to its liquid nature, which is similar to the gasoline and diesel fuels traditionally used in transportation. In addition, bioethanol production technology has the capacity for negative carbon emissions, which is vital for solving the current global warming dilemma. However, conventional bioethanol production takes place based on an inland site and relies on freshwater and edible crops (or land suitable for edible crop production) for production, which has led to the food vs. fuel debate. Establishing a coastal marine biorefinery (CMB) system for bioethanol production that is based on coastal sites and relies on marine resources (seawater, marine biomass and marine yeast) could be the ultimate solution. In this paper, we aim to evaluate the environmental impact of using seawater for bioethanol production at coastal locations as a step toward... [more]

The increasing trends in gas pollution, water pollution, and solid waste pollution have an adverse impact on human health and ecological habitats [...]

The article summarizes the arguments within the scientific discussion about performance management in mining companies and their significance for obtaining competitiveness in the market of mining companies in the direction of sustainable development and economic growth. The main goal of the paper is to evaluate the performance indicators of mining processes after the implementation of strategic innovation—a new layout of the mining area focused on a combination of stationary and mobile mining equipment and their influence on the environment in a selected mining company in Slovakia in area of mining of limestone. Methods of research were focused on using economic indicators for the valuation of the efficiency and functionality of the mining processes. We used Pareto analysis for evaluation that points to critical mining processes and their significance in the financial area with orientation to costs, revenues. This research was used economic analysis with direction to efficiency, an ind... [more]

Rare earth elements (REEs) are strategic materials widely used in different applications from Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to catalysis, which are expected to grow more in the future. In order to reduce the impact of market price and reduce the environmental effect from soil extraction, recovery/purification strategies should be exploited. This paper presents a combined acid-leaching/oxalate precipitation process to recover lanthanum from spent FCC catalyst using nitric acid. Preferred to hydrochloric and sulphuric acid (preliminary assessed), HNO3 showed a good capability to completely leach lanthanum. The combination with an oxalate precipitation step allowed demonstrating that a highly pure (>98% w/w) lanthanum solid can be recovered, with a neglectable amount of poisoning metals (Ni, V) contained into the spent catalyst. This could open a reliable industrial perspective to recover and purify REE in the view of a sustainable recycling strategy.

In this research work, MFe2O4/CNS was prepared using the hydrothermal−microwave method. The influence of cations (M) toward functional groups of composites and their performance in pesticide degradation were studied. Rice husk was pyrolyzed hydrothermally (200 °C, 6 h) and by microwave (800 W, 40 min). Each product was mixed with MCl2 (Zn, Ni, Mn), FeCl3, KOH, and water, and calcined (600 °C, 15 min) to obtain a composite. Characterization by XRD confirmed the MFe2O4/CNS structure. The FTIR spectra of the composites showed different band sharpness related to C-O and M-O. A mixture of dried paddy farm soil, composite, BPMC (buthylphenylmethyl carbamate) pesticide solution (0.25%), and H2O2 solution (0.15%) was kept under dark conditions for 48 h. The solution above the soil was filtered and measured with a UV-Vis spectrophotometer at 217 nm. Applications without the composite and composite−H2O2 were also conducted. The results reveal that dark BPMC degradation with the composite was 7.5... [more]

The long-term field experiment on the Kastanozem showed that the standard moldboard plowing to a depth of 22 cm (control), chiseling to a depth of 35 cm, and three-tier plowing (machine type PTN−40) to a depth of 45 cm was incapable of providing a stable soil structure and aggregate system. The transcendental Biogeosystem Technique (BGT*) methodology for intra-soil milling of the 20−45 cm layer and the intra-soil milling PMS−70 machine were developed. The PMS−70 soil processing provided the content of 1−3 mm sized aggregate particle fraction in the illuvial horizon of about 50 to 60%, which was 3-fold higher compared to standard plowing systems. Soil bulk density reduced in the layer 20−40 cm to 1.35 t m−3 compared to 1.51 t m−3 in the control option. In the control, the rhizosphere developed only in the soil upper layer. There were 1.3 roots per cm2 in 0−20 cm, and 0.2 roots per cm2 in 20−40 cm. The rhizosphere spreads only through the soil crevices after chilling. After three-tier pl... [more]

Analyzing the entire liquefaction cycle, using a large temperature span with many degrees of freedom, may not always result in a practical solution. The objective of this paper is to investigate the feasibility of using an environmentally friendly refrigerant compound, ammonia, in the mixed refrigerant (MR) for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) pre-cooling cycle through thermodynamic performance, economic analyses and environmental impact. Fifteen cases studies within three major mixed refrigerants groups of MR-1, MR-2 and MR-3 were developed by adding ammonia to various molar compositions of lighter and heavier hydrocarbons. The thermodynamic analysis shows increasing ammonia’s concentrations in the mixed refrigerant by 10% had the largest enhancement on coefficient of performance (COP) of MR-1 by 0.67 and decreased the specific energy consumption of the pre-cooling cycle by 128 kJ/kg compared to the base case. Economic analyses revealed that the mixed refrigerant MR-1, with ammonia, me... [more]

Soil contamination by mercury, which is one of the most toxic heavy metals due to its bioaccumulative capacity, poses a risk to the environment as well as health. The Almadén mining district in Ciudad Real, Spain is one of the most heavily-polluted sites in the world, making the soils unusable. Bioremediation, and more specifically phyto-rhizoremediation, based on the synergistic interaction established between plant and Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR), improves the plant’s ability to grow, mobilize, accumulate, and extract contaminants from the soil. The objective of this study is to evaluate the plant growth-promoting ability of four PGPR strains (and mixtures), isolated from the bulk soil and rhizosphere of naturally grown plants in the Almadén mining district, when they are inoculated in emerged seeds of Lupinus albus, var. Dorado in the presence of high concentrations of mercury. After 20 days of incubation and subsequent harvesting of the seedlings, biometric measurem... [more]

Attachment of particles and droplets to bubbles—the latter being of various fine sizes and created by different techniques (as described in detail)—forms the basis of flotation, a process which indeed was originated from mineral processing. Nevertheless, chemistry often plays a significant role in this area, in order for separation to be effective, as stressed. This (brief) review particularly discusses wastewater treatment applications and the effect of bubble size (from nano- to micro-) on the flotation process.

Waste generated during regeneration of Ion Exchanger (IX), used for deionizing water, needs to be neutralized before it can be discharged back to a clean water source. An efficient and novel process is disclosed that minimizes the neutralization volume and chemicals required for pH adjustment. The currently employed neutralization setups in the industry are environmentally unsustainable. Various neutralization setups were studied for treating waste generated from IX regeneration. From the collected plant data, the treatment requirements of waste streams generated during regeneration of IX beds were analyzed. An efficient neutralization setup was developed to lower the operating and capital costs by eliminating the need of some equipment and by lowering the neutralization volume. The new process results in considerable savings compared to currently used processes in the industry and is environmentally benign. The improved neutralization setup proposed in this work has achieved a 63% red... [more]

This study was performed to investigate the distribution characteristics of airborne bacteria emitted from swine manure composting plants. The types of swine manure composting plants selected for the survey in this study were as follows: screw type, rotary type, and natural dry type. Mean levels of airborne bacteria in swine manure composting plants were 7428 (±1024) CFU m−3 for the screw type, 3246 (±1407) CFU m−3 for the rotary type, and 5232 (±1217) CFU m−3 for the natural dry type, respectively. Based on the results obtained from this study, the swine manure composting plant operated by screw type showed the highest concentration of airborne bacteria, followed by the natural dry type and rotary type. The monthly concentration of airborne bacteria was the highest in August and the lowest in November, regardless of the type of swine manure composting plant. The respirable size of airborne bacteria accounted for about 50% of the total. The ratio of respirable to the total quantity of... [more]

Industries are nowadays not only expected to produce goods and provide services, but also to do this sustainably. What qualifies a company as sustainable implies that its activities must be defined according to the social and ecological responsibilities that are meant to protect the society and the environment in which they operate. From now on, it will be necessary to consider and measure the impact of industrial activities on the environment, and to do so, one key parameter is the carbon footprint. This paper demonstrates the utility of the LCI as a tool for immediate application in industries. Its application shall facilitate decision making in industries while choosing amongst different scenarios to industrialize a certain product with the lowest environmental impact possible. To achieve this, the carbon footprint of a given product was calculated by applying the LCI method to several scenarios that differed from each other only in the supply-chain model. As a result of this LCI ca... [more]

Many studies have found that FDI can reduce the pollutant emissions of host countries. At the same time, the intensity of environmental regulation would affect the emission reduction effect of FDI in the host country. This study aims to reveal the internal mechanisms of this effect. Specifically, this paper studies the impact of FDI on technological innovation in China’s industrial sectors from the perspective of technology transactions from 2001 to 2019, and then analyzes whether the intensity of environmental regulation can promote the relationship. Results indicate that FDI promotes technological innovation through technology transactions. In addition, it finds that the intensity of environmental regulation significantly positively moderates the relationship between FDI and technological innovation, which is achieved by positively moderating the FDI−technology transaction relationship. Regional heterogeneity analysis is further conducted, and results show that in the eastern and wes... [more]

Based on the panel data of 224 prefecture-level and above cities in China from 2003 to 2016, this paper empirically studies the impact of urban sprawl on air pollution and introduces a mediating effect model to test the mediating role of vehicle ownership concerning the impact of urban sprawl on air pollution. The research in this paper arrives at three conclusions. First, urban sprawl has a significant positive effect on air pollution, and this conclusion is still valid after solving the endogeneity problem and conducting a robustness test. Second, the results of mediating effect test show that urban sprawl indirectly affects air pollution through the partial mediating effect of vehicle ownership. By removing the mediating effect, urban sprawl has a significant negative impact on air pollution, indicating that the mediating effect of vehicle ownership is higher concerning the impact of urban sprawl on air pollution. Third, further panel quantile regression results show that the higher... [more]

The reuse of wastewater has been observed as a viable option to cope with increasing water stress in Africa. The present case studies evaluated the optimization of the process of phycoremediation as an alternative low-cost green treatment technology in two municipality wastewater treatment pond systems that make up the largest number of domestic sewage treatment systems on the African continent. A consortium of specific microalgae (Chlorella vulgaris and Chlorella protothecoides) was used to improve the treatment capacity of domestic wastewater at two operational municipality wastewater pond systems under different environmental conditions in South Africa. Pre- and post-phycoremediation optimization through mass inoculation of a consortium of microalgae, over a period of one year under different environmental conditions, were compared. It was evident that the higher reduction of total phosphates (74.4%) in the effluent, after treatment with a consortium of microalgae at the Motetema po... [more]

Among the innovative technologies utilized for the treatment of contaminated soils, the use of green surfactants appears to be a biocompatible, efficient, and attractive alternative, since the cleaning processes that normally use synthetic surfactants as additives cause other problems due to toxicity and the accumulation of by-products. Three green surfactants, i.e., two biobased (biobased 1 and biobased 2) surfactants produced by chemical synthesis and a microbial surfactant produced from the yeast Starmerella bombicola ATCC 22214, were used as soil remediation agents and compared to a synthetic surfactant (Tween 80). The three surfactants were tested for their ability to emulsify, disperse, and remove different hydrophobic contaminants. The biosurfactant, which was able to reduce the water surface tension to 32.30 mN/m at a critical micelle concentration of 0.65 g/L, was then used to prepare a commercial formulation that showed lower toxicity to the tested environmental bioindicators... [more]

The issue of oily wastewater treatment has become a worldwide challenge due to increasing industrial oily wastewater and frequent oil spill accidents. As an integral part of practical sewage treatment, pretreatment is conducted to remove inorganic particles, floating oil, and some emulsified oil, and to pave the way for post-treatment. Here, we report a facile fabricated, hydrostable, and rapid underwater-formed superoleophobic copper mesh with polydopamine (PDA) coating for efficient oily wastewater pre-treatment. Unlike with traditional technologies, using the interface phenomenon to solve the problem of oil/water mixture separation provided a new approach for the low energy input pretreatment process. The PDA coating formed by the in situ Fenton method not only rapidly constructs a protection layer for the etched hierarchical micro-size particles on mesh and results in enhanced hydrophilicity, but also exhibits high uniformity and enhanced stability in acid/alkali medium. Benefiting... [more]

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are intermittently emitted at high concentrations (tens of thousands of ppmv) from small-scale laundry shops in urban areas, affecting the urban atmospheric environment. In this study, we suggested integrating VOC treatment processes incorporating condensation and adsorption in series to remove VOCs released from small-scale laundry dryers (laundry weighing less than 30 kg). We designed two different processes depending on regeneration modes for adsorber beds; an open-circuit flow process and a closed-loop flow process in regeneration mode. Our VOC treatment processes enable sustainable operation via the regeneration of adsorbers on a regular basis. Before applying the VOC treatment processes, average concentration of total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) was 4099 ppmv (12,000 ppmv of the peak concentration) during the drying operation. After applying our closed-loop flow process, TVOC concentration decreased to 58 ppmv, leading to 98.5% removal eff... [more]

With the increase in industrialization and urbanization, water pollution has become increasingly serious, and wastewater treatment has become a common step in preventing this. For a greater understanding of the sustainability of different wastewater treatment systems, two processes, Anaerobic Baffled Reactor + Anaerobic-Anoxic-Oxic and Anaerobic Baffled Reactor + Cyclic Activated Sludge System, were selected, and their sustainability was evaluated based on three indicators, namely emergy yield ratio, environmental load rate, and emergy sustainability development index, according to emergy theory. The results show that the emergy yield ratio and environmental load rate of the ABR + CASS process were lower than those of the ABR + A2/O process, and the emergy sustainability development index of the ABR + CASS process was higher than that of the ABR + A2/O process, showing better sustainability. The research methods and findings of this study play an important role for decision makers in s... [more]

The stable quality of circulating water ensures the long-term stable operation of various processes in petrochemical production and achieves energy savings and emission reduction while reducing environmental pollution and yielding economic benefits to petrochemical enterprises. However, traditional circulating water quality evaluation and modeling for corrosion rate prediction suffer from adaptability and accuracy problems. To address these problems, the water quality analysis data of the circulating water in the field were subjected to data preprocessing and water quality index calculation to perform feature engineering, followed by modeling using a machine learning method that integrates the adaptive immune genetic algorithm and random forest (RF) algorithm and can intelligently select the water quality parameters to be used as the input variables for the RF modeling. Finally, the method was validated using an industrial example, and the results indicate that the method is capable of... [more]

Kiln is a prime need in the ceramics industry, where energy loss is a major part which consumes about 60% production cost through thermal energy for different applications. Higher density of fired and tunnel kiln refractory material lowers the thermal diffusivity and the proper selection of fired material minimizes the energy loss along the kiln. In particular, this research analysed the results of a heat recovery system comprised of a metallic recuperator which gives around 8% energy savings in natural gas consumption. In this work, detailed power quality analysis of low-power factor motors of a tunnel kiln was carried out and a power factor improvement solution was suggested to save electrical energy with payback period of 0.8 y. The motor operating at a low-power factor consumes more reactive power which does not produce beneficial work. A low-power factor around 0.4 causes network power loss, increases in transformer loss and voltage drops. The solution with accumulative capacitanc... [more]

, genetic hybrids of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the Saccharomyces eubayanus, is one of the most widely used lager yeasts in the brewing industry. In recent years, new strategies have been adopted and new lines of research have been outlined to create and expand the pool of lager brewing starters. The vineyard microbiome has received significant attention in the past few years due to many opportunities in terms of biotechnological applications in the winemaking processes. However, the characterization of S. cerevisiae strains isolated from winery environments as an approach to selecting starters for beer production has not been fully investigated, and little is currently available. Four wild cryotolerant S. cerevisiae strains isolated from vineyard environments were evaluated as potential starters for lager beer production at laboratory scale using a model beer wort (MBW). In all tests, the industrial lager brewing S. pastorianus Weihenstephan 34/70 was used as a reference strain. The... [more]

This study presents a current status and future trends of innovative and environmentally sustainable technological solutions for the post-harvest food supply chain and the food industry, in terms of ecological packaging, active, and/or intelligent packaging. All these concerns are currently highlighted due to the strong increase in the purchase/sale of products on online platforms, as well as the requirements for stricter food security and safety. Thus, this study aims to increase the global awareness of agro-industrial micro, small, and medium size enterprises for the adoption of innovative food solutions though industry digitalization (Industry 4.0), associated logistics and circular economy, with a concern for cybersecurity and products information, communication and shelf-life extension. The adoption of these guidelines will certainly foster along the complete food chain (from producer to consumer, with all intermediary parties) the awareness on environmentally sustainable technolo... [more]