- Tác động của biến đổi khí hậu đối với hiện tượng thực vật ở Vùng Ngũ Đại Hồ ở Trung Á từ năm 1982 đến 2014

- Tác động đến sức khỏe con người và hệ sinh thái của việc khai thác tài nguyên của Trung Quốc

- Mối liên quan giữa ô nhiễm PM2.5 và tỷ lệ tử vong do Covid-19 ở Tây Âu giai đoạn 2020–2022

- Đánh giá chất lượng nước quy mô toàn quốc từ 2011 đến 2021: Tiến bộ và thách thức

- Việc cải thiện hiệu quả môi trường có quan trọng trong việc giảm cường độ phát thải carbon không? Bằng chứng mới từ 283 thành phố cấp tỉnh ở Trung Quốc

- Tác động của việc sử dụng năng lượng hạt nhân, giá năng lượng và nhập khẩu năng lượng đối với lượng khí thải CO2: Bằng chứng từ các nền kinh tế mới nổi nhập khẩu năng lượng sử dụng năng lượng hạt nhân

- Các yếu tố quyết định và sự liên quan của việc nội bộ hóa hệ thống quản lý môi trường

- Đánh giá các đặc điểm phương tiện đang sử dụng, lượng khí thải hiện tại và các dự báo trong tương lai của Mumbai dưới các can thiệp chính sách khác nhau

- Lập mô hình khuôn khổ thực nghiệm về tác động của du lịch và sự phức tạp của kinh tế đối với sự bền vững môi trường ở các nền kinh tế G7

- Lập bản đồ khoảng cách giữa lợi ích làm mát của không gian xanh đô thị và tính dễ bị tổn thương do nhiệt của dân số

- Phân vùng PM2.5 được tạo ra trong nhà và ngoài trời từ các phép đo dân cư theo thời gian thực ở thành thị và ven đô Bắc Kinh

- Đặc điểm ô nhiễm không khí cục bộ và khu vực ở Síp: Phân tích quan sát khí vi lượng dài hạn

- Tiềm năng giảm thiểu biến đổi khí hậu của việc chuyển đổi từ các bãi rác lộ thiên ở Peru: Đánh giá các chiến lược giảm thiểu tại các bãi rác quan trọng

- Định lượng lượng khí thải của phương tiện trên đường trong thời gian tắc nghẽn giao thông bằng cách sử dụng hệ số phát thải được cập nhật của phương tiện chạy bằng xăng hạng nhẹ và dữ liệu lớn giám sát giao thông trong thế giới thực

- Khám phá cường độ đảo nhiệt đô thị bề mặt (SUHI) và ý nghĩa của nó dựa trên các số liệu khu phố 3D đô thị: Một cuộc điều tra về 57 thành phố của Trung Quốc

- Kiểm kê khí thải của phương tiện giao thông trên đường và sự phân bố theo không gian và thời gian của nó tại thành phố Guayaquil, Ecuador

- Giảm theo cấp số nhân của hạt vi nhựa trong không khí: Từ siêu đô thị đến đại dương rộng mở

- Giám sát và lập bản đồ đa dạng sinh học và các dịch vụ hệ sinh thái ở quy mô nhỏ cho thấy nhiều sức mạnh tổng hợp và ít sự đánh đổi trong quản lý không gian xanh đô thị

- Hồ sơ thành phần của chất chống cháy halogen hóa trong đất bề mặt và lá cây bách tại chỗ từ hai khu công nghiệp hóa chất

- Các chất per- và polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) trong bùn từ các nhà máy xử lý nước thải ở Thụy Điển - Những phát hiện đầu tiên về copolyme flo hóa mới ở châu Âu bao gồm cả phân tích thời gian

- Những tiến bộ gần đây trong than sinh học có nguồn gốc từ vi tảo để xử lý nước thải ngành dệt nhuộm

- Ô nhiễm của ngày hôm qua–Một vấn đề của ngày hôm nay? Nghiên cứu điển hình về sự ô nhiễm lịch sử đã ngừng của sông Mrežnica (Croatia)

- Lập kế hoạch tiết kiệm năng lượng cho ngành sử dụng nhiều năng lượng trong điều kiện giá điện trừng phạt

- Thu hồi năng lượng từ phân gia súc và bùn thải công nghiệp bằng quá trình đồng hydro hóa kết hợp với nhiệt phân và khí hóa

- Đánh giá công nghệ xử lý phoi khoan chứa dầu trong công nghiệp hóa dầu theo sản xuất sạch hơn: Nghiên cứu điển hình tại Trung Quốc

- Tổng quan về vi khuẩn khử sunfat: Quá trình trao đổi chất, các yếu tố ảnh hưởng và ứng dụng trong xử lý nước thải

- Những tiến bộ gần đây trong việc loại bỏ thuốc nhuộm khỏi nước thải bằng cách sử dụng chất hấp phụ chi phí thấp

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 845, 1 November 2022, 157227

Abstract

Dryland ecosystems in the Great Lakes Region of Central Asia (GLRCA) are highly sensitive to climate change due to the climate of spring precipitation. Although shifts in vegetation phenology have been widely attributed to rising temperature, the effects of solar radiation and drought on phenology remain largely unknown. Understanding the mechanisms of vegetation phenology response to climatic factors is essential for assessing the impact of climate change on dryland ecosystems. In this study, we investigated the spatial and temporal variations of vegetation phenology across the GLRCA using a long-term series of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and then examined the response of vegetation phenology to climate change within different climate zones by combining with climate data (surface temperature, soil moisture, short-wave radiation, and standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI)). The results suggested that the start of growing season (SGS) and the end of growing season (EGS) were significantly earlier regionally by −0.143 days/year and −0.363 days/year, respectively. Because of changes in SGS and EGS, length of growing season (LGS) across the GLRCA was shortened at a rate of −0.442 days/yr, which was mainly attributed to advanced EGS. Additionally, SGS of vegetation was negatively correlated with surface temperature but positively correlated with soil moisture and SPEI. These results indicated that surface temperature was a major determinant of advanced spring phenology, while increased soil moisture and mitigated drought would delay spring phenology. The response of autumn phenology to surface temperature and short-wave radiation varied across different climate zones. In arid climate zone, autumn phenology was obviously advanced with the increase of surface temperature and short-wave radiation. In cold climate zone, higher surface temperature and short-wave radiation postponed autumn phenology. Meanwhile, the thermal growing season did not accurately characterize the actual vegetation growing season because GLRCA phenology was different from most of Northern Hemisphere.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 847, 15 November 2022, 157433

Abstract

Ferrous slag produced by a historic smelter is washed from a slagheap and transported by a creek through a cave system. Slag filling cave spaces, abrasion of cave walls / calcite speleothems, and contamination of the aquatic environment with heavy metals and other toxic components are concerns. We characterize the slag in its deposition site, map its transport through the cave system, characterize the effect of slag transport, and evaluate the risks to both cave and aqueous environments. The study was based on chemical and phase analysis supported laboratory experiments and geochemical modeling. The slag in the slagheap was dominated by amorphous glass phase (66 to 99 wt%) with mean composition of 49.8 ± 2.8 wt% SiO2, 29.9 ± 1.6 wt% CaO, 13.4 ± 1.2 wt% Al2O3, 2.7 ± 0.3 wt% K2O, and 1.2 ± 0.1 wt% MgO. Minerals such as melilite, plagioclase, anorthite, and wollastonite / pseudowollastonite with lower amounts of quartz, cristobalite, and calcite were detected. Slag enriches the cave environment with Se, As, W, Y, U, Be, Cs, Sc, Cd, Hf, Ba, Th, Cr, Zr, Zn, and V. However, only Zr, V, Co, and As exceed the specified limits for soils (US EPA and EU limits). The dissolution lifetime of a 1 mm3 volume of slag was estimated to be 27,000 years, whereas the mean residence time of the slag in the cave is much shorter, defined by a flood frequency of ca. 47 years. Consequently, the extent of slag weathering and contamination of cave environment by slag weathering products is small under given conditions. However, slag enriched in U and Th can increase radon production as a result of alpha decay. The slag has an abrasive effect on surrounding rocks and disintegrated slag can contaminate calcite speleothems.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 847, 15 November 2022, 157465

Abstract

The throughput of materials fuels the economic process and underpins social well-being. These materials eventually return to the environment as waste or emissions. They can have significant environmental impacts throughout life cycle stages, such as biodiversity loss, adverse health effects, water stress, and climate change. China is the largest resource extractor globally, but the endpoint environmental impacts and the role of possible socioeconomic drivers associated with its resource extraction remain unclear. Here, we account for and analyze the two endpoint environmental impacts associated with China's resource extraction from 2000 to 2017 and quantify the relative contributions of various socioeconomic factors using structural decomposition analysis. The results show that the environmental impacts of China's resource extraction peaked in 2010. There was a significant decline from 2010 to 2017, in which human health damage decreased by 32.8 % and ecosystem quality damage decreased by 55.8 %. On the consumer side, the advancement in China's urbanization process led to an increase in the environmental impacts of urban residents' consumption, and the effect of investment on the environmental impacts decreased significantly after 2010. Decreases in the intensity of the environmental impacts in most sectors and improvements in production structure could reduce the impacts of resource extraction on human health and ecosystems.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 848, 20 November 2022, 157579

Abstract

The ambient air pollution by particulate matter (PM) has strong negative effects on human health. Recent studies have found correlations between pollution and mortality due to Covid-19. We present here an analysis of such correlation for 32 locations in 6 countries of the Western Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom), for the 2020–2022 period. The data are weekly averaged, and the mortality values were normalized considering the population of the locations. A correlation is qualitatively found for the time-series of PM2.5 pollution and Covid-19 mortality. The higher mortality values occurred during the pollutions peaks, as presented for the city of Paris (France) and the Lombardy regions (Italia), one of the more polluted locations in Western Europe. An almost linear trend with a factor 5.5 ± 1.0 increase in mortality when the pollution increases to ~45 μg.m−3 is found when considering all data. This leads to an increase of 10.5 ± 2.5 % of mortality per 1 μg.m−3. More precisely, the trend depends on the period of the analysis and decreases with time (first spread of the pandemic in Spring 2020, mid-2020 – mid 2021 period where the pandemic was better managed, and vaccinal race after mid-2021). Finally, although the initial conditions could differ from one country to another, the relative trend of increase was similar for the countries here considered. Such results can have some implication on the management of the Covid-19 pandemic and other cardiopulmonary diseases during PM pollution events. They also show the importance of reducing the PM pollution in the major cities.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 849, 25 November 2022, 157803

Abstract

More environmental policies and larger investments in protecting the aquatic environment in China have been made in the last decade than previously. It is important to assess how this will affect river water quality. Here, changes in water quality in China between 2011 and 2021 are assessed. Water bodies meeting class III or better defined in the Chinese Environmental Quality Standards for Surface Water (GB3838-2002) were labeled WQI, water bodies meeting class V or better but below class III were labeled WQII, and water bodies below class V were labeled WQIII. The percentage of WQI water bodies increased from 66.1 % in 2011 to 81.0 % in 2021, and the percentages of WQII and WQIII water bodies decreased between 2011 and 2021. The percentage of WQI water bodies increased more quickly and the percentage WQIII water bodies decreased more quickly after 2017 than between 2011 and 2016. The percentages of WQI water bodies in the Northwest River Basin (RB), Pearl RB, Southeast RB, Southwest RB, and Yangtze RB were >80 %, and were higher than the percentages of WQI water bodies in the other five RBs. The percentages of WQI and WQII water bodies increased but the percentage of WQIII water bodies decreased in the Hai RB. The percentage of WQI water bodies increased but the percentages of WQII and WQIII water bodies decreased in the Huai RB, Liao RB, Yangtze RB, and Yellow RB. The river monitoring capacity increased and pollution sources, particularly point sources, became more controlled, and this improved river water quality. River management in China has passed the first stage of controlling pollution sources after 10 years of centralized management. The next stage should be focused on strengthening control of non-point sources of pollution and rehabilitating ecological systems to improve river health.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 373, 1 November 2022, 133878

Abstract

While promoting environmental efficiency is widely perceived as one of the panaceas for solving environmental issues in China, little effort has been made to identify whether environmental efficiency improvement helps to reduce carbon emission intensity (CEI). Therefore, the work presented in this study remedies the inadequacies in the previous literature by investigating the linkages between environmental efficiency and CEI, by explicitly considering its spatiotemporal heterogeneous effect and dynamic measurement. We first measure the environmental efficiency (EE) and its growth (environmental total factor productivity) at prefecture level in China during 2003–2016 by incorporating a recently modified epsilon-based data envelopment analysis technique in the global Malmquist–Luenberger index. A spatial panel regression approach is then applied to reveal the impact mechanism of EE and its growth on the CEI. The empirical results confirm that promoting EE and environmental technology efficiency can help mitigate the urban CEI. However, the impact of economic scale efficiency on the CEI reduction has not been verified, indicating great room for CEI mitigation by optimizing the urban production scale and reducing production redundancy. Evidence from the spatiotemporal econometric analysis shows a spatially heterogeneous effect of EE on CEI, and the strength of influence tends to decrease over time. The findings also reveal that enhancing EE matters in reducing CEI for southern and western cities. Finally, several control variables have negative direct and indirect (spillover effect) effects on CEI reduction, including urbanization, industrial structure, and foreign direct investment. Our findings suggest that strengthening the synergistic effect between environmental pollution governance and carbon emission control by enhancing EE to promote low-carbon development in Chinese cities.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 373, 1 November 2022, 133937

Abstract

In this study, the impacts of nuclear energy, energy prices, and energy imports on CO2 emissions are examined in the short and long term for 10 energy-importing emerging economies which use nuclear energy. At the same time, the validity of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) using GDP is investigated in this study. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach is based on a panel dataset for 10 emerging economies over 30 years; relevant intermediate estimators including PMG, MG, and DFE are used to achieve the goal. In addition, DOLS and FMOLS estimators are used as robustness tests to support ARDL results. The main finding of the study is that the EKC hypothesis is valid for these economies. In addition, according to empirical results, nuclear energy use and energy prices reduce CO2 emissions. However, energy imports increase CO2 emissions. When analysed as a coefficient, a 1% increase in nuclear energy use and energy prices reduces CO2 emissions by 0.04% and 0.02%, respectively. However, a 1% increase in energy imports increases CO2 emissions by 0.09%.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 374, 10 November 2022, 134064

Abstract

The internalisation of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) is raising interest among scholars. Authors have identified it as the reason of controversial results in literature about the relation between EMS and environmental performance. Often, certified companies without an internalised system are labelled to have symbolic behaviour in environmental management. However, the literature lacks of studies aimed to identify other justifications that could influence the performance of certified companies, also in absence of an internalised EMS. This study wants to analyse the role of the environmental manager satisfaction in the internalisation of EMS and in achieving environmental performance. The paper uses data from a survey of 438 EMAS registered organisations. The results show that the managers' satisfaction positively influence the environmental reputation and competitiveness also without considering the mediating role of internalisation. The paper opens new research avenues on the understanding of the real importance of EMS internalisation and on the need to further investigate the relation between EMS and performance.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 375, 15 November 2022, 134072

Abstract

Public environmental awareness (PEA) is critical to the implementation of environmental policies by governments and product strategies by companies, however, there is less literature discussing its drivers. Environmental information disclosure (EID), as a bottom-up environmental policy, promotes public environmental management. This paper takes the Pollution Information Transparency Index (PITI) as a proxy for the degree of EID and discusses its impact on PEA. Using the PITI of 113 cities and the Baidu index-based PEA for 30 provinces from 2010 to 2019, we find a significant increase in PEA with the widening of EID, and the impacts of EID get larger as the quantile increases. Moreover, the effects of EID on PEA are amplified in areas with heavy pollution, high levels of green innovation, and stringent environmental governance capacities, but are diminished in areas with rampant corruption. The findings of this paper provide recommendations for optimizing EID implementation.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 375, 15 November 2022, 134145

Abstract

Vehicular emissions are the major source of air quality deterioration in Indian megacities. However, there is uncertainty in vehicular emission estimation due to the paucity of vehicular use and travel characteristics, and there is no specific methodology to assess the same. Thus, this study presents a methodology to capture the urban in-use vehicular characteristics. Additionally, it evaluates current vehicular emissions in Mumbai and estimates future emission levels for the year 2030, taking into account various policy interventions. Data for the study were collected via questionnaire surveys at fuel stations across Greater Mumbai – a first in western India. Exhaust and non-exhaust vehicular emissions were developed using the "bottom-up” methodology. Six scenarios were tested for exhaust vehicular emissions and energy consumption under various policy interventions. Monte-Carlo Simulations (MCS) were carried out to find the uncertainties in the vehicular emission estimation. Results showed that approximately 66% of the registered vehicles ply on Mumbai roads, and the on-road fuel efficiency is 12–33% less than the reported lab-based studies. Our study findings suggest that conducting surveys at three fuel stations is adequate for determining urban in-use vehicular characteristics with <5% bias. Reduction in vehicular emissions calls for stringent norms for private passenger vehicles and regulation of non-exhaust vehicular emissions. Given projected vehicular emissions for 2030, urban cities like Mumbai will have to inevitably replace conventional vehicles with electric vehicles to achieve the Paris agreement, which is to limit global warming well below 2 °C.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 376, 20 November 2022, 134281

Abstract

This study explores the association between economic complexity (ECI), tourism, urbanization, globalization, natural resources and renewable energy on carbon dioxide emissions, ecological footprint and carbon footprint in the framework of the Environmental Kuznets Curve in the context of the G7 countries for the period 1990 to 2018. The study has employed second-generation cointegration methods. The results from the F.M.O.L.S. and D. O.L.S. methods describe the mitigating impacts of tourism on the dilapidation of the environment. Further, the Environmental Kuznets Curve is verified in the context of the G7 countries. The ECI reduces ecological footprint in the long run for the G7 countries but enhances carbon dioxide emissions. The empirical outcomes based on Dumitrescu and Hurlin Panel Granger causality test describe that any policy direction to increase tourism, renewable energy, economic growth, and urbanization has a considerable impact on the quality of the environment. The robustness tests confirm the model specifications. Based on the rigorous empirical discussion, we suggest that tourism, renewable energy and globalization would help to alleviate environmental degradation in the G7 countries. The study concludes with important policy suggestions against the backdrop of Sustainable Development.

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 321, 1 November 2022, 115828

Abstract

Evidence of the impact arising from environmental research is increasingly demanded. Exchanges between science providers and actors that use scientific knowledge to address environmental problems are recognized as a key component of the mechanisms through which impact occurs. Yet, the role of interactions between science and policy actors in delivering and shaping research impact is not well established. We aim to better understand how transfer of science in a science-policy network generates impact. Our approach relies on an exploratory social network analysis (SNA), applied to a network of organisations working on land and water management in a catchment in the UK. We analyse flows of scientific information across these organisations and how those contribute to impact, which we conceptualized as change in organisations at three levels: increased awareness, operational change and strategic change. We find that organisations occupying central positions in the network facilitate the transfer of science and influence the level of change achieved. We also find that the effectiveness of the flows of information and impact delivery depends on boundary organisations, in particular public regulatory bodies, that connect agents with others. Moreover, intended change reported by science providers does not often transform directly into change as reported by the receivers of the information. We conclude that both exchanges between researchers and research users and the role of boundary organisations are key to impact delivery and making change possible. This is valuable for understanding where improvements to information flows between organisations might enhance impact.

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 321, 1 November 2022, 115709

Abstract

Rapid urbanization has altered landscape patterns and ecological functions, causing a decline in ecosystem service and generating many ecological and environmental issues. Studying the spatiotemporal interaction between urbanization and ecosystem service (ES) can provide effective supports for regional sustainability and policy formulation. This research utilizes the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) as a case to analyze the spatiotemporal interaction between multi-urbanization indicators and multi-ESs over a large-scale region. The results show that the urbanization process in the YREB evolves from a rapidly growing state to a steady state with a slower rise. The urbanization level of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration is relatively higher than the other regions. The distribution pattern of urbanization shows an overall characteristic of lower urbanization in the west and higher in the east. From 2009 to 2016, ecosystem service value (ESV) in the YREB decreased first and then increased, ESV in 2016 showed a reduction of 12.768 billion yuan compared with the 2009 level. ESV increases gradually from highly urbanized areas to those with lower levels of urbanization. Areas with high ESV levels are distributed at the middle reaches of YREB. There is a U-shaped curve relationship between urbanization and ESV, the ESV sharply increased when the urbanization index exceeded 0.6 in 2012. Land urbanization has the greatest impact on ESV among the four subtypes of urbanization indicators. Urbanization and ESV show the synergy relationship mostly in the eastern region, accounting for 18.18% of the total 110 cities. By contrast, they present the trade-off relationship in northern, southern and central regions, occupying 47.27% of the total observations. This study is helpful to provide scientific suggestions regarding the development of new urbanization, the protection of ESV, and the issue of how to achieve synergistic and sustainable development between them.

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 322, 15 November 2022, 116049

Abstract

Filton Airfield in the UK is a new community under development aiming to become self-sufficient in its water supply toward a circular economy. Urban water management strategies, water demand minimization, urban resource reuse, and wastewater discharge minimization, can improve the urban circular economy. Understanding the practical impacts of those strategies is crucial for a new development area like Filton. As a site investigation, the physiochemical and microbial characteristics of raw rainwater showed acceptable for irrigation and drinking water, indicating no significant risk of using rainwater collected within Filton, but still requiring a treatment process depending on chosen applications. This study further conducted stochastic water demand profiles and urban water cycle simulations at a block scale, taking possible rainwater harvesting (RWH) and greywater recycling (GWR) options for non-potable purposes to quantitatively assess the impact of urban water management strategies on urban harvesting potential indicators (0–100%). When the RWH was implemented, the water demand minimization potential varied from 62% to 71%. Meanwhile, the combined use of RWH and GWR yielded even better results in terms of water demand minimization, peaking at 78% due to the additional supply from GWR. The combination also reduced wastewater production potential from 100% to 54% and consequently improves self-sustainability potential from 0 with no recycling, to 44% with only GWR, and to 100% with the combined use of RWH and GWR. The sensitivity analysis revealed that wastewater discharge is the most sensitive to variations in rainfall patterns (wet and dry conditions) and urban density (water demand patterns), indicating that both need to be balanced for better implementation of urban water harvesting strategies. This study can provide insights into the applicability of urban water resource harvesting and its assessment approaches in existing and new development areas.

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 322, 15 November 2022, 116053

Abstract

A comprehensive understanding of the effect of environmental regulation policy synergy on carbon emissions is essential for the design and decision-making of the other policy combinations. In this paper, the panel data from 30 provinces in China during 2000–2019 are used as samples to investigate the heterogeneity of different policy combinations and compare the differences using a Bayesian non-parametric generalized additive quantile method. The research results imply that the environmental regulation policy synergy has a significant heterogeneous effect on carbon emissions on different levels. Specifically, the effect of environmental regulation policy synergy on carbon emissions has an inverted U-shape trend at the low quintiles, i.e., before the turning point, it shows a "green paradox” effect, and after the turning point, it shows an "emission reduction” effect. However, the effect of environmental regulation policy synergy on carbon emissions shows a significant N-shape trend at the high quintiles, i.e., before the second turning point, it shows an "emission reduction” effect, and after the second turning point, it shows a "green paradox” effect. Moreover, the effect of environmental regulation policy combinations on carbon emissions reduction has been found to vary significantly across regions.

1. Mapping the gaps between cooling benefits of urban greenspace and population heat vulnerability

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 845, 1 November 2022, 157283

Abstract

We provide a novel method to assess the heat mitigation impacts of greenspace though studying the mechanisms of ecosystems responsible for benefits and connecting them to heat exposure metrics. We demonstrate how the ecosystem services framework can be integrated into current practices of environmental health research using supply/demand state-of-the-art methods of ecological modeling of urban greenspace. We compared the supply of cooling ecosystem services in Boston measured through an indicator of high resolution evapotranspiration modeling, with the demand for benefits from cooling measured as a heat exposure risk score based on exposure, hazard and population characteristics. The resulting evapotranspiration indicator follows a pattern similar to conventional greenspace indicators based on vegetation abundance, except in warmer areas such as those with higher levels of impervious surface. We identified demand-supply mismatch areas across the city of Boston, some coinciding with affordable housing complexes and long term care facilities. This novel ES-framework provides cross-disciplinary methods to prioritize urban areas where greenspace interventions can have the most impact based on heat-related demand.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 845, 1 November 2022, 157249

Abstract

Limited number of projects have attempted to partition and quantify indoor- and outdoor-generated PM2.5 (PM2.5ig and PM2.5og) where strong indoor sources (e.g., solid fuel, tobacco smoke, or kerosene) exist. This study aimed to apply and refine a previous recursive model used to derive infiltration efficiency (Finf) to additionally partition pollution concentrations into indoor and outdoor origins within residences challenged by elevated ambient and indoor combustion-related sources. During the winter of 2016 and summer of 2017 we collected residential measurements in 72 homes in urban and peri-urban Beijing, 12 of which had additional paired residential outdoor measurements during the summer season. Local ambient measurements were collected throughout. We then compared the calculated PM2.5ig and using (i) outdoor and (ii) ambient measurements as model inputs. The results from outdoor and ambient measurements were not significantly different, which suggests that ambient measurements can be used as a model input for pollution origin partitioning when paired outdoor measurements are not available. From the results calculated using ambient measurements, the mean percentage contribution of indoor-generated PM2.5 was 19 % (σ = 22 %), and 7 % (11 %) of the total indoor PM2.5 for peri-urban and urban homes respectively during the winter; and 18 % (18 %) and 6 % (10 %) of the total indoor PM2.5 during the summer. Partitioning pollution into PM2.5ig and PM2.5og is important to allow investigation of distinct associations between health outcomes and particulate mixes, often with different physiochemical composition and toxicity. It will also inform targeted interventions that impact indoor and outdoor sources of pollution (e.g., domestic fuel switching vs. power generation), which are typically radically different in design and implementation.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 845, 1 November 2022, 157315

Abstract

Observations of key gaseous trace pollutants, namely NO, NOy, CO, SO2 and O3, performed at several curb, residential, industrial, background and free-troposphere sites were analyzed to assess the temporal and spatial variability of pollution in Cyprus. Notably, the analysis utilized one of the longest datasets of 17 years of measurements (2003–2019) in the East Mediterranean and the Middle East (EMME). This region is considered a regional hotspot of ozone and aerosol pollution.

A trend analysis revealed that at several stations, a statistically significant decrease in primary pollutant concentration is recorded, most likely due to pollution control strategies. In contrast, at four stations, a statistically significant increase in ozone levels, ranging between 0.36 ppbv y−1 and 0.82 ppbv y−1, has been observed, attributed to the above strategies targeting the reduction of nitrogen oxides (NOx) but not that of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).

The NO and NOy, and CO levels at the Agia Marina regional background station were two orders of magnitude and four times lower, respectively, than the ones of the urban centers. The latter denotes that local emissions are not negligible and control a large fraction of the observed interannual and diurnal variability. Speciation analysis showed that traffic and other local emissions are the sources of urban NO and NOy. At the same time, 46 % of SO2 and 40 % of CO, on average, originate from long-range regional transport.

Lastly, a one-year analysis of tropospheric NO2 vertical columns from the TROPOMI satellite instrument revealed a west-east low-to-high gradient over the island, with all major hotspots, including cities and powerplants, being visible from space. With the help of an unsupervised machine learning approach, it was found that these specific hotspots contribute overall around 10 % to the total NO2 tropospheric columns.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 846, 10 November 2022, 157295

Abstract

Waste management is a critical policy towards the reduction of environmental impacts to air, soil and water. Many Latin American countries, however, lack a correct waste management system in many cities and rural areas, leading to the accumulation of unmanaged waste in illegal or unregulated dumpsites. The case of Peru is of interest, as it hosts 5 of the 50 largest dumpsites in the world. An erratic waste management compromises climate actions for Peru to commit with the Paris Agreement, as no correct closure systems are established for these dumpsites. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to assess the contribution of the past and present biodegradable waste produced and disposed of in the most critical open dumpsters to the overall annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of Peru using the IPCC model. Thereafter, the climate change mitigation potential of possible dumpsite closure strategies based on a selection of technologies, including economic feasibility, were estimated. Results show that cumulative GHG emissions in 2018 for the 24 critical dumpsites evaluated added up to 704 kt CO2 eq. and a cumulative value of 4.4 Mt CO2 eq. in the period 2019–2028, representing over 40 % of solid waste emissions expected by 2030. Mitigation potentials for these emissions tanged from 91 to 970 kt CO2 eq. in the ten-year period depending on the mitigation strategies adopted. The costs of these strategies are also discussed and are expected to be of utility to complement Peru's waste management commitments in the frame of the Paris Agreement.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 847, 15 November 2022, 157581

Abstract

Light-duty gasoline vehicles (LDGVs) have made up >90 % of vehicle fleets in China since 2019, moreover, with a high annual growth rate (> 10 %) since 2017. Hence, accurate estimates of air pollutant emissions of these fast-changing LDGVs are vital for air quality management, human healthcare, and ecological protection. However, this issue is poorly quantified due to insufficient reserves of timely updated LDGV emission factors, which are dependent on real-world activity levels. Here we constructed a big dataset of explicit emission profiles (e.g., emission factors and accumulated mileages) for 159,051 LDGVs based on an official I/M database by matching real-time traffic dynamics via real-world traffic monitoring (e.g., traffic volumes and speeds). Consequently, we provide robust evidence that the emission factors of these LDGVs follow a clear heavy-tailed distribution. The top 10 % emitters contributed >60 % to the total fleet emissions, while the bottom 50 % contributed <10 %. Such emission factors were effectively reduced by 75.7–86.2 % as official emission standards upgraded gradually (i.e., from China 2 to China 5) within 13 years from 2004 to 2017. Nevertheless, such achievements would be offset once traffic congestion occurred. In the real world, the typical traffic congestions (i.e., vehicle speed <5 km/h) can lead to emissions 5– 9 times higher than those on non-congested roads (i.e., vehicle speed >50 km/h). These empirical analyses enabled us to propose future traffic scenarios that could harmonize emission standards and traffic congestion. Practical approaches on vehicle emission controls under realistic conditions are proposed, which would provide new insights for future urban vehicle emission management.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 847, 15 November 2022, 157662

Abstract

Excessive urban temperature exerts a substantially negative impact on urban sustainability. Three-dimensional (3D) landscapes have a great impact on urban thermal environments, while their heat conditions and driving factors still remain unclear. This study mapped urban 3D neighborhoods and their associated SUHI (surface urban heat island) intensities in summer daytime across 57 Chinese cities, and then explored their relationships, driving factors as well as implications. Nine categories of urban 3D neighborhoods existed in Chinese cities and the 3D neighborhood of High Density & Medium Rise (HDMR) contributed the largest share of urban areas. The distribution of 3D neighborhoods varied among cities due to their distinct natural and economic traits. The average SUHI intensity can amount to 4.27 °C across all Chinese 3D neighborhoods. High Density & Low Rise (HDLR) and HDMR presented higher SUHI intensities than other 3D neighborhoods in China. Urban green space (UGI) and building height (BH) had great influences on SUHI intensities. The relative contribution of UGI decreased with the increase of building density and building height, but BH presented the opposite trend. The interaction of urban 3D landscapes and function zones led to highly complicated urban thermal environments, with higher SUHI intensities in industrial zones. Besides, the SUHI intensities of 3D neighborhoods presented great diurnal and seasonal variations, with higher SUHI intensities in HDHR and HDMR at nighttime in winter and summer. What's more, urban residents may suffer unequal heat risk inside cities due to the deviations of SUHI intensities among different 3D neighborhoods. It could be a highly effective way to mitigate SUHI effects in cities by increasing urban greening and improving urban ventilation.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 848, 20 November 2022, 157664

Abstract

Emissions from mobile sources have become a major concern for health, environmental sustainability and climate change and high-resolution inventories are needed to support the design and assessment of abatement measures in urban areas. This study addresses the development of a traffic emissions inventory for Guayaquil, the second largest city in Ecuador, using the International Vehicle Emissions Model (IVE). Emissions are allocated with a spatial resolution of 1 km × 1 km and a temporal resolution of 1 h using a top-down methodology. This application combines traffic statistics already available in the city with the data from a field campaign to characterize vehicle fleet composition and activity patterns. The estimated annual emissions for the city were 237.1 kt of CO, 46.4 kt of NOx, 28.5 kt of VOC, 7.7 kt of PM10, 0.70 kt of SO2 and 4549.7 kt of CO2. 92.3 % of CO and 85.4 % of VOC were emitted by light gasoline vehicles, including private passenger vehicles and taxis, which represents 68.6 % and 8.8 %, respectively of the total fleet and contributes 52 % and 22 % of the total vehicle kilometer traveled (VKT), respectively. 48.9 % of NOx and 82 % of PM10 were emitted by the bus fleet although buses only represent 7.5 % of the total fleet and contribute 10.6 % of total VKT in the city. 41.1 % and 36.5 % of CO2 were emitted by buses and private vehicles, respectively. Even though, the average age of the fleet is below 10 years, the fleet in Guayaquil presents outdated emission standards and high emission factors. We found the higher emission rates in dense populated areas are associated to secondary roads. There is not much variability of emissions between months, but the typical daily pattern of emissions shows a peak in the morning and another in the afternoon.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 849, 25 November 2022, 157702

Abstract

Atmospheric transport has been recognized as an important route for microplastics (MPs) entering the ocean since the early 2019s, yet little data of their distribution patterns in marine air are currently available. In this study, we conducted continuous measurements of atmospheric MPs in the marine boundary layer across the western Pacific Ocean. Results suggested that synthetic MPs comprised 25.89 % of all identified particles, with the most being cotton and cellulose (51.68 %). Research revealed that atmospheric synthetic microfibers (22.54 %) are higher than the proportion of the surface oceanic synthetic microfibers (8.20 %) in the recent study. Further, the size of airborne MP fibers over open ocean is probably not the limiting factor during long-range transport. The mean abundance of atmospheric MPs over the western Pacific Ocean during sampling period was 0.841 ± 0.698 items/100 m3. Regression analysis revealed an exponential relationship between average MP abundance and average longitude of sampled stations, and the average abundance of airborne MPs in coastal megacity is three orders of magnitude higher than that in sampled marine air of western Pacific. This study provides a better understanding on the impact of atmospheric transport of MPs within the global plastic cycle.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 849, 25 November 2022, 157801

Abstract

Urban watersheds can play a critical role in supporting biodiversity and ecosystem services in a rapidly changing world. However, managing for multiple environmental and social objectives in urban landscapes is challenging, especially if the optimization of one ecosystem service conflicts with another. Urban ecology research has frequently been limited to a few indicators – typically either biodiversity or ecosystem service indices – making tradeoffs and synergies difficult to assess. Through a recently established watershed-scale monitoring network in Central Texas, we address this gap by evaluating biodiversity (flora and fauna), habitat quality, and ecosystem service indices of urban green spaces across the watershed. Our results reveal substantial heterogeneity in biodiversity and ecosystem service levels and multiple synergies (stacked benefits or "win-wins”). For example, we found that carbon sequestration positively correlated with tree species richness and the proportion of native trees in a green space, indicating that biodiversity goals for increased tree diversity can also provide carbon sequestration benefits. We also documented correlations between green spaces with greater riparian forest cover and lower particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations and cooler temperatures. In addition, we found that bee and wasp species richness was positively correlated with carbon sequestration and human visitation rates, meaning that urban green spaces can optimize carbon sequestration goals without losing pollinator habitat or access opportunities for city residents. Overall, our results indicate that many aspects of habitat quality, biodiversity, and ecosystem services can be simultaneously supported in urban green spaces. We conclude that urban design and management can optimize nature-based solutions and strategies to have distinct positive impacts on both people and nature.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 373, 1 November 2022, 133885

Abstract

Improving the efficiency and productivity of the water supply sector is related to the mitigation of a country's water resources crisis and the governance of the water ecological environment. This paper employs a sequential data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach to examine the comparative efficiency of China's urban water industry by using the country-level data from 1998 to 2017, and then attempts to make a cross-country comparison of the technology gap in the urban water industry between China and major OECD countries. The results show that China's urban water sector performance is improving despite falling short of urban water development in the major OECD. The gap between the performance of China's urban water sector and that of major OECD countries is narrowing. Efficiency improvement has become the main driver of productivity growth of urban water sector in both China and the major OECD countries. Besides, the reduction of capital deepening in the water industry and the easing of water stress could improve the water industry's performance in efficiency. While increased foreign direct investment instead reduces the water industry's efficiency, increased R&D expenditure can improve efficiency, but both are not statistically significant. These findings indicate that compared to major OECD countries, China's urban water industry should strengthen the reform change as soon as possible from asset-heavy to asset-light operation and service, and then improve the water conservation system.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 374, 10 November 2022, 133922

Abstract

Greenbelts around roads are an essential part of the ecosystem that can reduce heavy metal contamination from traffic and contribute to sustainable development. However, only limited studies have examined the rapid detection of heavy metal content in urban road greenbelt zones. In the present study, soil spectral reflectance was measured using a FieldSpec-3 portable handheld ground object spectrometer to measure cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) content from 23 roads in the municipality of Chongqing, China. After smoothing the spectral data using Savitzy-Golay (SG), the first derivative (FD), second derivative (SD), and multiple scattering correction (MSC) procedures were applied. Pearson correlation was used to select the characteristic bands. Cd and Pb amounts were inverted using multiple linear regressions (MLR), partial least squares regressions (PLS), and the backpropagation neural network models. It was found that the Cd and Pb levels in urban road greenbelt zones were higher than the soil background values. The Nemero comprehensive pollution index and potential ecological risk index indicated modest Cd and Pb contamination on sampled roads. In the Cd content inversion models, the MLR and PLS models pretreated with SG-FD provided high prediction accuracy, with determination coefficients of >0.60. For the Pb content inversion models, the PLS model processed by SG-MSC had the best prediction accuracy, with determination coefficients of >0.66. It was shown that the MLR and PLS models processed by SG-FD could be used to forecast soil Cd concentration in urban road greenbelt zones. Comparatively, the PLS model processed by SG-MSC could be used to estimate soil Pb levels. Additionally, these results demonstrate how heavy metals in urban greenbelt zones can be inverted using hyperspectral imaging globally.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 374, 10 November 2022, 134009

Abstract

Balancing socioeconomic development with water resources among cities is critical for the sustainable development of urban agglomerations. Despite this urgent need to analyse balanced development, a recognized method to measure and improve the balanced degree in urban agglomerations impacted by water resource constraints is still lacking. This study proposes a framework to evaluate the balanced development degree and simulate the impacts of interactions and management policies of economy-society-water on balanced development in urban agglomerations. This paper establishes a balanced development degree index using the coupling coordinated degree (CCD) model; constructs a system dynamic (SD) model to simulate economy-society-water interactions; and designs future scenarios to evaluate the impacts of industry, population, water, and comprehensive regulation policies on balanced development. The integrated framework that couples the above three methods was validated in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region in China. The results showed that (a) industrial and population regulations slightly increase the level of balanced development by 0.0025 and 0.0024 in the BTH region but will increase water scarcity in Hebei; (b) improving water use efficiency is an effective way to relieve water stress; and (c) the balanced degree increases by 15% under comprehensive regulatory policies. Integrated water-economy-society management makes it possible to achieve co-development without increasing the water crisis in the BTH region. This study provides support for policy-makers and promotes sustainable development of the water-economy-society in urban agglomerations.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 375, 15 November 2022, 134092

Abstract

Centralized wastewater treatment has been the favorite wastewater treatment strategy until a few decades ago, in order to exploit each possible scale economy. Nowadays, water stress and resource scarcity, due to population growth and climate change, call for water reuse and resource recovery, and these goals do not often find in centralization the best solution. Today, the reuse of reclaimed water can take place at different levels and represents an option of primary importance; therefore, in some cases, centralized systems may be economically and environmentally unsustainable for this additional purpose, and the search for the optimal infrastructure centralization degree must take into account these goals. This review analyzes studies that investigated the search of the best centralization level of wastewater collection and treatment, focusing on the methodologies applied to take the decision and highlighting strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches and how they have evolved over time. The final goal is to guide planners and decision-makers in choosing and handling the most suitable method to assess the centralization level of wastewater infrastructures, based on the objectives set out. The reviewed studies cover a period of twenty years. The differences found along this time span show an ongoing paradigm shift towards hybrid systems, which combine centralized and decentralized wastewater treatments that promote the storage of treated water and various forms of local water reuse and resource recovery. The protection of human health and the environment (which primarily promotes water reuse and resource recovery) has become the main challenge of wastewater treatment systems, that will presumably improve further their economic, social and environmental sustainability to achieve urban development in the context of the water-energy-food security nexus.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 375, 15 November 2022, 134196

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between green innovation and urban carbon emission efficiency (CEE). Based on the panel data of 108 cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the spatiotemporal evolution pattern of green innovation and urban CEE is investigated. The spatial Durbin model shows that green innovation has a positive and significant effect on CEE. The conclusions are robust after considering different spatial weight matrices and possible patent hysteresis. Furthermore, it is found that environmental regulation and industrial upgrading play a significant role in strengthening the relationship between green innovation and CEE. Heterogeneity analysis shows that green innovation has a more significant effect on CEE in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and in the period of 2012–2017. In addition, the impact of green innovation on CEE is linear, while the impact of general innovation on CEE is U-shaped, reflecting the important driving role of green innovation for CEE. The findings in this study offer a reference for improving the efficiency of spatial allocation of technical elements, which are conducive to urban green and low-carbon transformation.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 376, 20 November 2022, 134237

Abstract

Phosphorus removal from wastewater is crucial for limiting water eutrophication. However, due to improper operating conditions, tremendous phosphorus removal chemicals addition or low C/N ratio in the influent, biological phosphorus removal (BPR) has been regarded as a difficult issue in real full-scale municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), especially in the membrane bioreactor (MBR) plants with long sludge retention time. Therefore, application of effective enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) technologies in WWTPs is of great significance to improve the BPR efficiency, reduce chemicals consumption and operating cost. Favorable redox environment, characterized by ORP is important for the growth and enrichment of phosphate-accumulating organisms (PAO), which is mainly responsible for BPR. In this study, a redox environment inducing strategy for EBPR was taken in a real full-scale MBR-WWTP (treatment capacity of 2 × 106 m3/d). The results indicated that the phosphorus release and uptake rate were rather low in the biochemical tank, which reflected the low phosphate-accumulating organisms (PAO) activity and poor BPR efficiency. This problem may be due to inappropriate redox environment, inhibition by phosphorus removal chemicals or low C/N in the influent. After EBPR, the contribution percentage of BPR increased by up to 18% and chemicals dosage reduced by up to 60%. Furthermore, the relative abundance of PAO (Dechloromonas, Thauera and OLB12) was significantly increased in anaerobic tank (4.62, 1.33 and 1.18%), in anoxic tank (4.85, 1.93 and 0.88%) and in oxic tank (5.17, 1.71 and 0.84%) for appropriate redox environment and relieved inhibition by less dosage of phosphorus removal chemicals. In addition, bacteria related to COD degradation and nitrogen removal were also enriched. The simultaneous enhancement of biological phosphorus removal, carbon removal and nitrogen removal was successfully realized in this research, which indicated that the strategy was effective in real large-scale WWTPs.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 376, 20 November 2022, 134275

Abstract

Municipal solid waste (MSW) is an important source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Reduction of GHG emissions and resource recovery from MSW disposal units is vital for China's dual carbon strategy. Carbon emissions during the treatment of MSW from Qingdao City under different disposal modes including the classification of MSW were investigated using the life-cycle assessment (LCA) methodology and life-cycle inventory (LCI) with material flows. It was found that the carbon emissions during MSW disposal depended on the disposal modes. The traditional mode of mixed domestic waste collection + landfill had the largest carbon emission (568.98 kgCO2-eq/t MSW), while the mode of mixed domestic waste collection + incineration served as a carbon sink with a net carbon emission of −28.56 kgCO2-eq/t MSW. The carbon emissions of classification of MSW + anaerobic digestion of kitchen waste + incineration of other wastes and ideal classification of MSW modes (classification of MSW, anaerobic digestion of food wastes, resource utilization of recyclable wastes, and incineration of dry wastes.) were 4.27 and −269.34 kgCO2−eq/t MSW, respectively. Further, it was determined that improving the classification efficiency of food waste had no significant impact on carbon emissions and the reduction of carbon emission increased linearly with the improvement of waste recycling efficiency. When the recovery efficiency reaches 5%, the MSW disposal sector can be expected to achieve near carbon neutralization. This study show that appropriately separating food waste, improving the recycling efficiency of recyclable waste, and reducing the leakage rate of biogas from anaerobic digestion are three feasible strategies to reduce carbon emission from MSW disposal units through the classification of MSW.

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 321, 1 November 2022, 115823

Abstract

As the total water resources consumption control and carbon mitigation continuous improvement, the weak water-carbon incorporate management is increasingly exposed. In this study, a water-carbon nexus assessment framework is proposed to analyze the nexus relationship between water consumption and carbon emission, and distinguishes the coupled water-carbon transmission intensity and the transfer paths under regional and industrial scales. According to the practical input-output table, water consumption, and carbon emission information, the framework is applied to Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration (BTHUA), a population, resource, and trade intensive area of China. Inter-regional/intra-regional water consumption and carbon emission transfer fluxes between sectors, the pairwise ecological relationship, and the water-carbon nexus were analyzed. Results indicated that the water-carbon transfer indexes from Hebei to Beijing and Tianjin were 161.85 kg/m3 and 113.88 kg/m3 in the study period, along with the most water consumption and carbon emission, and the worst water-carbon nexus. From the industrial perspective, electricity and gas supplying industry provided 7.8% and 29.1% of the total carbon transfer in Tianjin and Hebei, as the most key node sectors on the water-carbon nexus in the BTHUA. The research provides valuably supporting the adjustment of the existing urban agglomeration water-carbon nexus management schemes.

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 321, 1 November 2022, 115935

Abstract

With climate change and urbanization development, urban areas are facing more serious floods. As a result, hydrological and hydrodynamic models have recently shown a broad application prospect in urban flood simulating and forecasting. For the area with rich inland rivers, urban water resources can be effectively regulated and redistributed through river networks and hydraulic structures scheduling. However, the lack of research on the effect of scheduling becomes a major limitation in model applications. Based on a coupled hydrodynamics model, the current study simulates the flooding response to the combined rainstorm and scheduling scenarios and analyzes the river overflow at the community scale. The result indicated that three local regions in the Jin'an study area are inundated easily. The locations near Qinting Lake were more sensitive to the water regulation rules than others. In the model of control on Qinting Lake, section A is more sensitive to the schedule control than section B, while for section A, the water level increased by 1.44% under the return period (RP) (10 a), and the rate changed to 2.64% under the RP (100 a). The differences in inundation from various scenarios are relatively small. In the mode of joint discharge rules under RP (50 a), the water level changed by 4.77% in section A and 1.24% in section B. The simulation at the community scale considers the overflow process, and the results indicated that the total inundation area decreased by 12.8 ha under joint schedules. The significant effects to alleviate urban inundation mainly come from the decreased flood overflow from the channel, but not from the flooding nodes. This study provides promising references for urban flood management.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 845, 1 November 2022, 157156

Abstract

The formation of scales in a recirculating water system is a common problem in industrial water treatment; it seriously affects the production in various industries and pollutes the environment. Although conventional scale inhibition methods are effective, they are expensive and harm the environment. Herein, an advanced method is proposed to solve the scaling issue in recirculating cooling water systems using the superconducting high-gradient magnetic field (S-HGMF) treatment. The scale inhibition performance could be improved by changing the magnetic flux density, operation time, and flow rate. The results showed that S-HGMF could increase the number of hydrogen bonds in the recirculating cooling water, enhance molecular interaction, increase the thickness of the ion hydration shell, reduce the nucleation rate, stabilize the water quality, improve the solubility of scale-forming ions, and inhibit scale formation. The scale inhibition performance reached 8.10%. Interestingly, S-HGMF had a memory effect in that it could maintain the scale inhibition effect for some period after treatment completion. Moreover, S-HGMF changed the crystal structure of the scale and promoted the transformation of the scale to a metastable phase. Ultimately, calcite was transformed to aragonite to reduce the precipitation of hard scale (calcite), achieving the purpose of scale inhibition. As a physical method, the application of S-HGMF to inhibit scaling has great potential for industrial applications.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 845, 1 November 2022, 157129

Abstract

There is limited information available regarding the investigation on typical organic pollutants between the soil and in-situ grown plant leaves. This study is to reveal whether the pollution characteristics of soil and leaves can reflect the long-term and short-term pollution situation, and to find the differences between halogenated flame-retardants in the surface soils and in-situ cypress leaves. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), dechlorane plus (DP), and decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) in were investigated in two different industrial parks, which were located at the largest brominated flame-retardant-manufacturing center in Weifang, China. These chemicals were frequently detected with high median concentrations of PBDEs (1.22 × 103 ng/g) and DBDPE (227 ng/g) in the soil samples, and DBDPE (881 ng/g) and PBDEs (461 ng/g) in the in-situ cypress leaves. The DP concentration was 1–4 orders of magnitude lower than the other two chemicals in both the matrices. Different composition profiles of the chemicals in soil and cypress leaves were observed. The PBDEs and DBDPE were found to be the predominant species in soils and cypress leaves, respectively. In comparison, the LG industrial parks had higher concentrations of PBDEs and DBDPE in both the soils and cypress leaves. No significant correlations were observed for these chemicals between the soil and leaf samples, although significant correlations (p < 0.05) were observed for several PBDE congeners among all samples from the industrial parks and a separate industrial park. The results indicated that the soil was not the important source of these chemicals in leaves. A large proportion of DBDPE was preferentially present in cypress leaves, which revealed the situation of recent pollution. The results deepen the understanding of chemical distribution characteristics among different environmental matrices in soils and leaves.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 846, 10 November 2022, 157406

Abstract

Thousands of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are on the global market, while only a minor proportion is monitored regularly in the environment. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been suggested to be a point source for PFAS to the environment due to emission of effluent and sludge. In this study, 81 PFAS including two rarely studied perfluoroalkyl sulfonamide-based (FASA) copolymers were analyzed in sludge samples to understand the usage of PFAS in the society. Sludge samples (n = 28) were collected at four WWTPs in Sweden between 2004 and 2017. The total levels of 79 measured PFAS were between 50 and 1124 ng/g d.w. All sludge samples showed detectable levels of both C8- and C4-FASA-based copolymers. The concentrations of the FASA-based copolymers were proposed to be reported in fluorinated side-chain equivalents (FSC eq.), in order to compare the levels of the copolymers with the other neutral and anionic PFAS, as no authentic standards were available. The concentrations of the FASA-based copolymers in sludge were between 1.4 and 22 ng FSC eq./g d.w. A general predomination of precursor and intermediate compounds was observed. A lower contribution of perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids was noted for the WWTPs more influenced by domestic emission when compared with more influenced by industrial emission. An overall declining trend in the total PFAS concentration was seen between the years 2004 and 2017. The present study observed a shift from the C8-based chemistry toward shorter chain lengths, included a declining trend for C8-FASA-based copolymer over the entire study period. These findings further demonstrate the occurrence of side-chain fluorinated copolymers in Sweden and that sludge is a useful matrix to reflect the usage of PFAS in society and the potential for environmental exposure.

Chemosphere, Volume 306, November 2022, 135565

Abstract

Textile industry utilize a massive amount of dyes for coloring. The dye-containing effluent is released into wastewater along with heavy metals that are part of dye structure. The treatment of textile industry wastewater using conventional techniques (coagulation, membrane technique, electrolysis ion exchange, etc.) is uneconomical and less efficient (for a low concentration of pollutants). Moreover, most of these techniques produce toxic sludge, making them less environmentally friendly. Algae base industry is growing for food, cosmetics and energy needs. Algae biomass in unique compared to lignocellulosic biomass due to presence of various functional group on its surface and presence of various cations. These two characteristics are unique for biochar as a tool for environmental decontamination. Algae biomass contain functional groups and cations that can be effective for removal of organic contaminants (dyes) and heavy metals. Algae can be micro and macro and both have entirely different biomass composition which will lead to a synthesis of different biochar even under same synthesis process. This study reviews the recent progress in the development of an economically viable and eco-friendly approach for textile industry wastewater using algae biomass-derived absorbents. The strategy employed microalgal biochar to remove organic pollutants (dyes) and heavy metals from textile effluents by biosorption. This article discusses different methods for preparing algal biochar (pyrolysis, hydrothermal carbonization and torrefaction), and the adsorption capacity of biochar for dyes and heavy metals. Work on hydrothermal carbonization and torrefaction of microalgal biomass for biochar is limited. Variation in structural and functional groups changes on biochar compared to original microalgal biomass are profound in contract with lignocellulosic biomass. Existing Challenges, future goals, and the development of these technologies at the pilot level are also discussed.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 848, 20 November 2022, 157775

Abstract

The remnants of historical industrial contamination can be detected in many aquatic ecosystems worldwide even at present time. Mrežnica is a river in Croatia that has been, for more than a hundred years, continually exposed to effluents of various industries, which have, in modern time, mostly ceased to operate. Our aim was to establish the level of current contamination and pollution of the Mrežnica river-water and sediments. The study of river contamination at three sites (reference site; site nearby former cotton industry facility in Duga Resa – DRF; industrial zone of Karlovac town - KIZ) in three sampling campaigns (May 2020, April and September 2021) encompassed analyses of physico-chemical water parameters, screening of 369 pesticides, measurement of metal (loid) concentrations in the sediments, and in the dissolved and particulate phases of the river-water. The sediment pollution was assessed through the analyses of total bacteria abundance (by targeting 16S rRNA genes), and their associated metal resistance genes (cnrA, pbrT and czcD) and class 1 integrons (intl1). At the DRF site, industrial organic contaminants that can be traced to textile production were detected (dye and nylon components), as well as increased levels of some metals bound to suspended particulate matter and sediments. At the most downstream KIZ site, occasional high level of industrial herbicide neburon was measured in the river-water, and metal contamination of suspended particulate matter and sediments was evident. Although, based on the comparison with legislation and literature data, the level of contamination was rather mild, the effects on microbial communities were unquestionable, confirmed by increased abundance of the czcD gene at DRF site and the intI1 gene at both industrially impacted sites. Obtained results indicated long-term sediment retention of some industrial contaminants at the places of historical freshwater contamination, and, thus, the necessity for their monitoring even after the termination of contamination sources.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 373, 1 November 2022, 133851

Abstract

As global warming and climate change become more and more serious, governments and scholars are paying more and more attention to these problems. Considering that consumption in manufacturing accounts for about one-half of the world's total energy consumption, the industrial sector is extremely important for preventing global warming. Facing with a multi-objective scheduling problem in the energy-intensive industries under punitive electricity price, a hybrid flow shop scheduling problem with onsite PV power generation and battery system is proposed. An improved multi-objective evolutionary algorithm based on decomposition is adopted, which integrates the low-carbon method with existing algorithms in three stages. First, an enhanced NEH heuristic algorithm is used to improve the quantity of initial solution in the initialization. Then the right-shift and speed scaling method are adapted to reduce the total energy consumption without affecting the maximum completion time. In the third stage, the distribution of renewable energy is performed, and the renewable energy is rescheduled based on the electricity range. The result of random instances and critical peak pricing verify the effectiveness of the proposed study.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 374, 10 November 2022, 133996

Abstract

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of carbonaceous waste is an important way of energy recovery to obtain renewable fuels. Here, cow manure (CM) and industrial sludge (IS), two kinds of wastes with different properties, were pretreated by HTC at different temperatures. The elements migration and the physicochemical structural characteristics of hydrochar during HTC were evaluated. The pyrolysis and gasification performance of hydrochar was also studied. The results show that HTC treatment can significantly increase the carbon content and reduce the oxygen content of feedstocks, so as to obtain clean solid fuels with high energy densification and realize energy recovery from low value wastes. The distribution of pyrolysis products of co-hydrochar is close to that of IS due to the interaction between the components of CM and IS. The co-hydrochar has good gasification reactivity, showing obvious synergistic effect. There is multi-component interaction in the process of co-HTC due to the difference of feedstocks composition and properties between CM and IS. The abundant aliphatic and oxidized aliphatic hydrocarbons in IS may inhibit the polycondensation and aromatization of cellulose and hemicellulose hydrolysates in CM due to hydrogen supply or steric hindrance. Therefore, co-hydrochar has carbon structure and fuel properties close to that of IS hydrochar.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 375, 15 November 2022, 134041

Abstract

The oil-bearing drilling cuttings (OBDC) produced in the petrochemical industry contain a large number of hydrocarbons, and their direct discharge will not only fail to recover the organic matter, but will also seriously harm the environment. In the process of treating OBDC, the consumption of resources and energy and pollution problems may arise, and the current clean production focusing on reduction, non-hazardous and resourcefulness has become the focus of achieving sustainable development. However, there is a lack of studies that consider treatment technology, resource consumption and utilization, and environmental impact under the perspective of cleaner production. In this paper, by studying the indicators related to cleaner production and the Driving Force-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) model, an evaluation index system for OBDC processing technology in the petrochemical industry under cleaner production is constructed. The evaluation results can provide reference for the selection of OBDC treatment process, and provide direction for the development and promotion of the treatment process. In the evaluation system, the DPSIR model can evaluate and manage the OBDC process from different levels and perspectives. The combination of the G1 method and the C-OWA operator method was used to calculate and analyze the index weights, and the improved matter-element analysis method was used to comprehensively evaluate the treatment of OBDC to determine the treatment of technical methods. The evaluation system is applied to actual cases in China. The results show that the low-temperature extraction technique was the best and the chemical washing method was the lowest compared with the three treatment techniques. The oil removal rate of OBDC, recovery of organic matter, secondary waste gas pollution and other indicators have a great impact on the evaluation of the OBDC treatment process under clean production. In order to contribute to the optimal recovery and utilization of resources, it is recommended to develop improvements to the treatment pair technology treatment process based on the results of the evaluation.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 376, 20 November 2022, 134109

Abstract

With the rapid economy and population growth, wastewater containing sulfate originated from industrial and human activities have gradually become a potential threat to the ecological security. As dominant microorganism responsible for treating high-sulfate wastewater, the sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) not only utilizes sulfate as the terminal electron acceptors, but also resists various harsh environments, so it was applied to a broader range of wastewater treatment. Based on previous studies, this study provides a comprehensive review of the metabolic mechanism and functional organisms of SRB. Further, the influence mechanism of environmental factors on the metabolic activity of SRB was analyzed from the perspective of pH, temperature, COD/SO42− ratio, electron donors, oxidation reduction potential, hydraulic retention time, concomitant ions, and syntrophic/competitive effect. Additionally, applications and enhancing strategies for SRB were discussed based on above mechanism of action. Lastly, existing challenges and future development directions in environmental engineering applications are proposed. Future analysis should focus on functional genes and enzymes in assimilation sulfate reduction, research of SRB with complete oxidation capacity, the establishment of mathematical models simulating the metabolic activity and efficiency of SRB, the development of novel carbon sources fit for SRB, the potential value of heavy metals and S0 recovery in sulfate reduction, and exploration of interaction mechanism between organohalides-respiring bacteria (OHRB) and SRB.

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 321, 1 November 2022, 115981

Abstract

The presence of hazardous dyes in wastewater cause disastrous effects on living organisms and the environment. The conventional technologies for the remediation of dyes from water have several bottlenecks such as high cost and complex operation. This review aims to present a comprehensive outlook of various bio-sorbents that are identified and successfully employed for the removal of dyes from aqueous environments. The effect of physicochemical characteristics of adsorbents such as surface functional groups, pore size distribution and surface areas are critically evaluated. The adsorption potential at different experimental conditions of diverse bio-sorbents has been also explored and the influence of certain key parameters like solution pH, temperature, concentration of dyes, dosage of bio-sorbent and agitation speed is carefully evaluated. The mechanism of dyes adsorption, regeneration potential of the employed bio-sorbents and their comparison with other commercial adsorbents are discussed. The cost comparison of different adsorbents and key technological challenges are highlighted followed by the recommendations for future research.

Environmental Pollution, Volume 312, 1 November 2022, 120043

Abstract

Coastal water quality in China has been impacted by direct discharge of industrial wastewater, and various kinds of AOX pollutants have been detected in the seawater and sediment. As the dominant pollution source of Hangzhou Bay, a typical fine chemical industry park "HSEDA” was selected as the study area in this research. The AOX in both wastewater and sludge phases from 22 large-scaled enterprises were simultaneously investigated. The results quantitatively illustrated the AOX flows from engineered wastewater and sludge treatment systems to natural environment. It can be seen that industrial enterprises discharged at least 160 t AOX every year, and about 105.4 t/a AOX eventually entered the natural environment. The dye manufacturing industry, which accounted for more than 60% of the total AOX emission load in HSEDA, was identified as the AOX pollution-intensive sector. The occurrence, characteristic pollutants and fate of AOX in dye wastewater were discussed, on the basis of which the improvements of cleaner production and wastewater treatment technologies have been put forward.

Environmental Pollution, Volume 313, 15 November 2022, 120164

Abstract

Bioremediation of real-time petroleum refining industry oily waste (PRIOW) is a major challenge due to the poor emulsification potential and oil sludge disintegration efficiency of conventional bioamphiphile molecules. The present study was focused on the design of a covalently engineered supramolecular bioamphiphile complex (SUBC) rich in hydrophobic amino acids for proficient emulsification of hydrocarbons followed by the concomitant degradation of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in PRIOW using the hydrocarbonoclastic microbial bio-formulation system. The synthesis of SUBC was carried out by pH regulated microbial biosynthesis process and the yield was obtained to be 450.8 mg/g of petroleum oil sludge. The FT-IR and XPS analyses of SUBC revealed the anchoring of hydrophilic moieties of monomeric bioamphiphilic molecules, resulting in the formation of SUBC via covalent interaction. The SUBC was found to be lipoprotein in nature. The maximum loading capacity of SUBC onto surface modified rice hull (SMRH) was achieved to be 45.25 mg/g SMRH at the optimized conditions using RSM-CCD design. The SUBC anchored SMRH was confirmed using SEM, FT-IR, XRD and TGA analyses. The adsorption isotherm models of SUBC onto SMRH were performed. The integrated approach of SUBC-SMRH and hydrocarbonoclastic microbial bio-formulation system, emulsified oil from PRIOW by 92.86 ± 2.26% within 24 h and degraded TPH by 89.25 ± 1.75% within 4 days at the optimum dosage ratio of SUBC-SMRH (0.25 g): PRIOW (1 g): mass of microbial-assisted biocarrier material (0.05 g). The TPH degradation was confirmed by SARA fractional analysis, FT-IR, 1H NMR and GC-MS analyses. The study suggested that the application of covalently engineered SUBC has resulted in the accelerated degradation of real-time PRIOW in a very short duration without any secondary sludge generation. Thus, the SUBC integrated approach can be considered to effectively manage the hydrocarbon contaminants from petroleum refining industries under optimal conditions.

Journal of Business Research, Volume 150, November 2022, Pages 606-622

Abstract

China, the world’s largest emerging economy, has been under enormous pressure to combat environmental challenges. In response, the Chinese government has implemented a series of cleaner production standards (CPSs) to address pollution issues. Taking advantage of the staggered passage of 56 CPSs during the period 2003–2010, this study uses a difference-in-differences research design to investigate how environmental regulation drives corporate environmental responsibility. The results show that, following the passage of a CPS, firms in regulated industries exhibit a significant improvement in both green investment and green innovation, indicators of corporate environmental responsibility. Moreover, the effect of CPSs is strengthened by pressure from key stakeholders – institutional shareholders and large customers, and also by two market conditions, namely product market competition and financial market development. The findings have important policy implications and suggest that coercive regulatory forces and market forces can reinforce each other to improve the effectiveness of environmental regulations.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 374, 10 November 2022, 133793

Abstract

The steel production industry faces tremendous pressure from carbon emission peaks and carbon neutrality targets. CO2 capture, geological utilization, and storage (CCUS) is crucial for CO2 mitigation in fossil-fuel-based industries at scale. Here, an integrated techno-economic assessment model is built to assess the potential of CCUS retrofitting in the crude steel industry. According to this assessment, the total CO2 emissions from 277 crude steel manufacturers represent about 1.76 billion tons. This systematic evaluation provides preliminary answers to critical questions, such as the factory inventory suitable for CCUS retrofitting, matched geological sites, CO2 mitigation magnitude, and related cost characteristics. Furthermore, the contribution of CCUS to the carbon neutralization of the crude steel industry is predicted. With a 60% and 85% net mitigation rate, more than 53% and 82% of CO2 emissions (942 Mt and 1466 Mt/a) in the crude steel plants can be mitigated with levelized costs of less than 60 USD/t. Suitable plants are mainly distributed in regions in or near the Bohai Bay, Junggar, Jianghan, and Ordos basins. The mitigation potential model predicts that the contribution of CCUS will be in the range of 17.6%–56.5% depending on carbon price or supporting policy, and the cumulative cost will be in the range of 189–633 billion USD. The stochastic analysis shows that the fraction of cumulative CO2 mitigation follows the normal distribution of N (39%, 3.2%), and the related incremental cost follows N (305, 39) billion USD. CCUS could greatly help green transition and the sustainable development of the Chinese steel industry.

Energy Policy, Volume 170, November 2022, 113216

Abstract

Currently, there is much concern about traditional energy transition owing to the exacerbation of various environmental issues. As a highly developed industry in terms of renewable energy, the photovoltaic (PV) industry has played a significant part in achieving the goal of low carbon development. This study examines Chinese-listed PV enterprises from 2014 to 2020 to explore not only the impact of government subsidies on innovation performance but also the moderating effect of carbon trading prices. The results are as follows. First, government subsidies have a promoting effect on innovation performance and R&D input plays a mediating role on a continued basis. Second, this promoting effect is more pronounced in zones designated for carbon trading pilot. Finally, carbon trading prices exert a positive moderating effect between government subsidies and innovation performance. Therefore, while increasing government subsidies, the state should also create a carbon trading market with more realistic trading prices for PV enterprises and give full play to the price discovery process in the carbon market.