- Đánh giá lại lượng khí thải carbon từ các đám cháy và ước tính mới về lượng hấp thụ carbon ròng trong các khu rừng của Nga trong giai đoạn 2001–2021

- Già hóa dân số có làm giảm áp lực môi trường do quá trình đô thị hóa ở 156 quốc gia?

- Sự thay đổi không gian và thời gian của môi trường sinh thái trong Hiệp hội các quốc gia Đông Nam Á từ năm 2000 đến năm 2021 dựa trên sự tổng hợp thông tin

- Tính bền vững về môi trường của một quốc gia có thể gây ảnh hưởng đến tình hình kinh tế và tài chính của quốc gia đó không? Mối quan hệ giữa các chỉ số hoạt động môi trường và rủi ro quốc gia

- Hành trình Ý: Khí thải carbon dioxide, vai trò của du lịch và các động lực kinh tế và khí hậu khác

- Mua sắm bền vững trong xây dựng và thực hiện mục tiêu phát triển bền vững (SDG) 12

- Phát hiện ảnh hưởng nhân quả của môi trường nhiệt giữa các vùng khí hậu ở Hoa Kỳ

- Từ carbon thấp đến carbon trung tính: Phân tích thư mục về tình trạng, tiến hóa và xu hướng phát triển

- Xem xét ai được hưởng lợi từ cơ sở hạ tầng xanh trong đại dịch coronavirus năm 2020: Xem xét các vấn đề tiếp cận các khu vực xanh từ quan điểm kinh tế xã hội và môi trường

- Hướng tới một ứng dụng mới của dịch tễ học dựa trên nước thải trong đánh giá toàn dân về phơi nhiễm với các hợp chất hữu cơ dễ bay hơi

- Việc sử dụng đất do con người gây ra và quá trình đô thị hóa làm thay đổi động lực học và tăng cường xuất khẩu carbon hòa tan trong hệ thống sông đô thị hóa

- Đánh giá sự thay đổi mức tiêu thụ nicotin trong hai năm của người dân Hà Nội bằng phân tích nước thải với các chỉ dấu sinh học định chuẩn

- Đánh giá quy mô châu Âu về tiềm năng của quá trình ozon hóa và xử lý than hoạt tính để giảm phát thải chất ô nhiễm vi mô với nước thải

- Xu hướng ban ngày của các hạt aerosol sinh học huỳnh quang trong nhà và ngoài trời ở khu vực đô thị nhiệt đới

- Đánh giá nguy cơ ngập úng đường đô thị để đề xuất các biện pháp giảm thiểu tương đối

- Lộ trình đến Internet năng lượng đô thị: Phân tích kinh tế kỹ thuật-môi trường của hệ thống năng lượng tích hợp điện tái tạo và khí đốt tự nhiên

- Sự phát triển không gian và thời gian có độ phân giải cao của lượng khí thải carbon từ các hoạt động xây dựng ở Bắc Kinh

- Đánh giá tác động môi trường, năng lượng và kinh tế của các giải pháp thay thế quản lý bùn thải dựa trên cơ sở đốt rác

- Đánh giá tình trạng ô nhiễm, hiện trạng sinh thái các dòng sông nằm trong lưu vực sông Vistula và Oder chịu tác động của ngành khai khoáng tại Trung Âu (Ba Lan)

- Một mô hình đa mục tiêu cho mạng lưới chuỗi cung ứng khép kín dựa trên thuế carbon với sự không chắc chắn hai lần: Một ứng dụng cho ngành công nghiệp da

- Hệ vi sinh vật trong nước thải ngành dệt may: Phục hồi các bộ gen lắp ráp metagenome (MAG) bằng cách sử dụng phương pháp giải trình tự shotgun từ Jetpur, Gujarat, Ấn Độ

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

- Quy định về môi trường và tăng trưởng năng suất xanh: Bằng chứng từ các ngành sản xuất của Ý

- Tác động trung gian của các công nghệ công nghiệp 4.0 đối với thực tiễn quản lý chuỗi cung ứng và hiệu suất chuỗi cung ứng

- Hiện trạng và thách thức của các ứng dụng và công nghệ chuỗi công nghiệp hydro trong bối cảnh trung hòa carbon

- Phân tích lượng khí thải carbon và năng lượng của quy trình xử lý nước thải đô thị tích hợp với máy xử lý chất thải thực phẩm

- Tích tụ công nghiệp và ô nhiễm khói mù: Bằng chứng từ Trung Quốc

Volume 845, 1 November 2022, 157333, Science of The Total Environment

Abstract

Air pollution has caused wide concern in China, and many governance policies and plans have been implemented in recent years. Based on counterfactual quasi-natural experiments, we analyzed the implementation effects of autumn and winter air pollution control policies in the Jing-Jin-Ji region and surrounding areas using a difference-in-differences (DID) model. The control group was selected based on geographical and meteorological factors, and we analyzed the impact of the policies on six pollutants. The results show that the policies reduced air pollution overall, but not every pollutant. Due to the policy contribution, the concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 in autumn and winter from 2017 to 2018 decreased by 6.9 % and 8.5 %, respectively. The numerical value of PM2.5, PM10, CO, and AQI in 2018–2019 decreased by 18.2 %, 7.2 %, 13.9 %, and 8.8 %, respectively. The role in the reduction of O3, SO2, and NO2 was not obvious. This work provides a research paradigm for evaluating the effects of atmospheric environment policy which can be applied to other studies and provide references for formulating additional policies.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 846, 10 November 2022, 157322

Abstract

Russia has the largest forest area on earth. Its boreal forests officially store about 97 Pg C, which significantly affect the global carbon cycle. In recent years, forest fires have been intensifying on the planet, leading to increased carbon emissions. Here we review how differences in fire control management of Russian forests affect fire related emissions. Carbon emissions due to fire were estimated using satellite data and compared to official reports for 2001–2021. We found that the relative areas affected by fire did differ between different fire protection zones, and 89 % of the area burnt was in forests controlled by fire-fighting aircraft or areas without protection. As a result, 417.7 Mha of poor or unprotected Russian forests (42 % of total) account about a half of total carbon emissions. According to our estimates, the average area of burnt forests in Russia was about 8.3 Mha per year between 2016 and 2021, resulting in annual carbon emission of 193 million metric tons (Mt) C emissions, and 53 % of them were from unprotected forest. These estimated carbon emissions are significantly higher than official national reports (79 Mt C yr−1). We estimated that net carbon uptake for Russia for 2015–2021 was about 333 ± 37 Mt C, which is roughly double the official estimates.

Our results highlight large spatial differences in fire protection and prevention strategies in fire related emissions. The so-called control zone which stretches across large parts of Eastern Russia has no fire control and is the region of major recent fires. Our study shows that to estimate the Russian forest carbon balance it is critical to include this area. Implementation of some forest management in the remote areas (i.e., control zone) would help to decrease forest loss and resulting carbon emissions.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 847, 15 November 2022, 157656

Abstract

Revealing the vegetation response law under drought stress has become a hot issue in global climate change research. Against the background of human beings actively responding to climate change, quantitatively revealing the change and migration laws of green biomass loss (GBL) caused by drought in historical and future periods is insufficient. In this regard, we innovatively constructed a joint kNDVI-SPEI (kernel normalized difference vegetation index and standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index) distribution based on copula theory to accurately capture GBL dynamic under various drought scenarios unlike previous studies conducted in a deterministic way. Taking the drought-sensitive and ecologically vulnerable Central Asia (CA) as a typical region, we verified that an average 94.4 % of region showed greater vegetation vulnerability in times of water shortage from May to October, which exhibited the greatest probability of GBL under different drought scenarios, mainly in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Significantly intensified drought due to high emissions will cause an 18.16 percentage-point increase in GBL probability in the far future (FFP, 2061–2100) compared to the near future (NFP, 2019–2060), which is much higher than in the lower-emission (0.38 %) and moderate-emission scenarios (9.82 %). In the NFP, the GBL barycenter will shift from Kazakhstan to Xinjiang, China; in the FFP, it will shift back to Kazakhstan due to the measures taken by the Chinese government to conserve energy and reduce emissions. Results illustrate that against the background of worsening drought, active climate change coping strategies can reverse the migration trajectory of the GBL barycenter caused by drought, which provides a new idea for vegetation protection research in response to global climate change.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 848, 20 November 2022, 157330

Abstract

Urbanization and population aging are key indicators of human-related social attributes. With economic progress and urban development, human living conditions and the level of medical and health care have been continuously improved. Population aging has become a global trend, which brings serious challenges to the world. Environmental sustainability is closely linked to both urbanization and aging. Most of the existing studies only focus on the linear relationship between urbanization and the environment, and the effect of aging on the ecological environment is also controversial. It is of great significance to conduct systematic research on urbanization-aging-environment. This paper aims to reconstruct the linear relationship between urbanization and the environment, investigating the nonlinear effect of population aging on the nexus of urbanization-environment in 156 countries. This paper focuses on exploring ways to improve environmental quality from the perspective of population aging. To this end, the panel threshold regression models of urbanization‑carbon emissions and urbanization-ecological footprint are developed respectively. In which, urbanization is set as the explanatory variable, carbon emissions and ecological footprint are set as the explained variables, and population aging is set as the threshold variable. This paper divides four income groups according to the income standard of the World Bank, and regresses the panel data of the global and four income groups respectively to reflect the comprehensiveness of this work. The results show that there is a threshold effect of population aging on the nexus of urbanization‑carbon emissions/ecological footprint both the global scale and different income groups. On a global scale, urbanization has a positive effect on carbon emissions and ecological footprint. When aging crosses the threshold in turn, the promotion effect of urbanization on carbon emissions gradually becomes smaller, and the influence coefficient of urbanization on the ecological footprint shows an inverted U-shaped change trend. Aging can reduce the environmental pressures related to urbanization. There is heterogeneity in the nonlinear regression results for different income groups. Population aging variable in high income group, upper middle income group helps to improve environmental quality. In lower middle income countries and low income countries, aging slightly increases the coefficients of urbanization and ecological footprint.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 848, 20 November 2022, 157527

Abstract

The heatwave frequency and intensity have significantly changed as the climate warms and human activities increase, which poses a potential risk to human society. However, the impact factors that determine the change of heatwave events remain unclear. Here, we estimated the heatwave events based on data from 2474 in-suit gauges during 1960–2018 at daily scale in China. Besides, we explored possible drivers and their contributions to the change of heatwave based on correlation analysis, multiple linear regression (MLR), and random forest (RF) in different subregions of China. The results show that the temporal changes of all heatwave metrics exhibit significant differences between the period 1960–1984 and the period 1985–2019. Spatially, the heatwave frequency and duration significant increase in the southern China (S), eastern arid region (EA), northeastern China (NE), Qinghai-Tibet region (QT) and western arid and semi-arid region (WAS). The occurrence of the first heatwave event in a year tends to be earlier in S, NE, EA, WAS, and QT than before. Based on the regression modelling and RF, human activities play an important role in heatwave intensity in all subregions of China. For heatwave frequency, urbanization generate a dominant influence in NE, EA, and QT, with relative contributions (RC) ranging from 32.8 % to 38.9 %. Long-term climate change exerts the dominant influence in C, N, and S. Moreover, the first day of the yearly heatwave event (HWT) in NE is significantly influenced by climate change, with RC of 33.9 % for temperature variation (TEM). Our findings could provide critical information for understanding the causes of heatwave across different regions of China in the context of rapid urbanization and climate change.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 373, 1 November 2022, 133890

Abstract

As a multinational organization with rapid economic development, the eco-environment of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will be an important factor in determining the success or failure of the future development of the region. This study uses information granulation based on granular computing and spatial distribution characteristics of the remote sensing ecological index (RSEI) to granulate indicator. According to the different influences of different countries in ASEAN, a new scale-up evaluation method of RSEI is proposed, which considers the influence of countries and establishes the weight by scale transformation knowledge granularity entropy. The RSEI research results of ASEAN from 2000 to 2021 show that 1) from 2000 to 2021, the eco-environmental quality of ASEAN was good. The areas with better RSEI accounted for 40.3566%, while the poor areas accounted for 32.6194%. The areas with extremely poor and excellent remote sensing ecology accounted for less. 2) From 2000 to 2021, the remote sensing eco-environment of ASEAN showed a certain volatility, the quality of the remote sensing eco-environment was declining, and the spatial differentiation was increasing. 3) The spatial distribution of the remote sensing eco-environmental quality of the Malay Peninsula is better than that of the Indochina Peninsula. 4) The order of impact of ASEAN remote sensing eco-environmental indicators is heat, dryness, greenness and humidity.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 374, 10 November 2022, 134075

Abstract

Research on the natural driving mechanism and trade-offs and synergies of ecosystem services (ES) is a prerequisite for the implementation of scientific integrated ecosystem management, especially in ecologically fragile alpine ecological barrier regions. This study mainly studies the spatiotemporal dynamics and natural driving mechanism of water yield (WY), soil conservation (SC), windbreak and sand fixation (WS) and carbon sequestration (CS) in the northeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, identifies the trade-off and synergy features between ES in horizontal space. The results showed that the distribution of four ES presents different geographical spatial patterns, and an obvious increasing trend during the study period. Seven natural factors (precipitation, temperature, windspeed, etc.) can explain 38.1～47.0% of the spatiotemporal dynamics of ES in 2000, 2010 and 2020. Vegetation characteristics and elevation are the main explanatory variables controlling ES spatial pattern with the total contribution rate of 29.3% in 2000 and 26.5% in 2010. Temperature and elevation are the two most critical natural factors affecting ES, with the contribution ratio of 29.9% in 2020. The contribution of single nature factor on each ES pattern is different in the same year, and show interannual changes in different year. The contributions of wind speed, precipitation and slope to SC are uncertain, and the effect of temperature on CS is nonlinear. The trade-off and synergy cluster areas are mostly agglomerated and embedded in the compatibility region, with the characteristics of regional differentiation. The trade-offs and synergies between ES generally present the characteristics of interannual fluctuation, except WY-SC and WS-CS, which show a weakening trend in 2000, 2010 and 2020. Based on the above findings, we further discussed the complex trade-off and synergy relationships of ES, and the results provide scientific support for sustainable development by creating win–win scenarios under future climate change trends.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 375, 15 November 2022, 134121

Abstract

Due to international events such as the declaration of Sustainable Development Goals, countries have started to develop their national strategies for effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda based on those targets. This study aimed to analyse the existing relationship between the environmental proactiveness and sustainability of countries and their associated Country Risk Scores. For this purpose, two main indicators were considered: (a) the Environmental Performance Index, as a measure of a country's environmental sustainability pro-activeness, and (b) the Country Risk Score, which represents a country's economic, political, and financial situation. Data for 163 countries were used to test whether the Environmental Performance Index is related to the Country Risk Score while controlling for country groupings (memberships and/or alliances). This analysis was complemented by a regression approach using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to identify the combination of conditions leading to a high or low Country Risk Score. The results showed that the Environmental Performance Index is a good predictor of the Country Risk Score. In particular, the Environmental Health component of the Environmental Performance Index emerged as a better fit. However, the complementary analysis uncovered the important role of Ecosystem Vitality. Furthermore, the analysis confirmed the moderating effect of the country groupings. Overall, the Environmental Performance Index scores correlate with Country Risk Scores. The Environmental Performance Index reflects good governance practices, which are related to those evaluated by the Country Risk Score.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 375, 15 November 2022, 134012

Abstract

Green credit policy (GCP) is an important measure to realize green transformation of economy and society. Taking the panel data of 1359 Chinese A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2019 as samples, this paper analyzes the effect and mechanism of green credit policies on corporate financing costs by using difference in difference (DID) method. After the implementation of GCP, the financing cost of enterprises with high energy consumption and high pollution increases compared with those with energy conservation and environmental protection. In addition, GCP not only affects the financing cost of corporate debt by changing the financing scale and commercial credit, but also affects the financing cost of corporate equity by changing financial status and information disclosure degree. However, compared with enterprises in medium and low carbon emission regions, GCP has a more significant impact on the financing cost of enterprises in high carbon emission regions.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 375, 15 November 2022, 134144

Abstract

Tourism is an engine of socio-economic progress and cultural development but could detrimentally affect the environment. The present study uses an extended Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence and Technology (STIRPAT) framework to examine, for the first time, the main determinants of carbon dioxide emissions in Italy's regions. Across the period 1995–2019, we analyse five possible driving channels of CO2 releases, comprising tourism, climate, demographic, economic, and techno-infrastructural variables. The panel data results highlight that waste and electricity consumption generated by tourism activities increase carbon dioxide emissions. Similarly, the tourism development index, derived from a principal component analysis, is a significant determinant of CO2 emissions. In addition, CO2 releases are larger for northern regions and lower for southern and central regions. Finally, airport density, GDP growth and investments harm the environment, while precipitations reduce carbon emissions.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 376, 20 November 2022, 134294

Abstract

As the major consumer of resources and energy, the construction industry has been at the heart of the debate on sustainable development. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide the overarching guidance for the construction industry to promote sustainable development from environmental, social, and economic dimensions. Moreover, sustainable consumption and production (SCP) are highlighted in the SDG 12, while Sustainable Procurement (SP) focuses on promoting sustainable development through procurement processes and decisions. However, little has been written about how the construction industry could turn the challenges of SP into opportunities that promotes procurement practices in accordance with national policies and priorities. This study examines the drivers and challenges on the adoption of sustainable procurement in construction and how it impacts the achievement of SDG 12. The quantitative approach using questionnaires identified the drivers and barriers to SP implementation in construction and the SP practices contributing to the realisation of SDG 12 (Responsible consumption and production). The results confirmed that the construction industry should play a significant role in achieving the SDGs and show that construction SP practices contribute to the realisation of 9 of the SDG 12 targets. The results also suggested that governments should play a more active role in partnership with industry stakeholders and that the social and economic dimensions of sustainability deserve more attention. The value of this study is to provide construction industry stakeholder an insight into the drivers and challenges of SP and how to turn SP challenges into opportunities by adopting initiatives that consider the environmental, social, and economic impact of all procurement decisions. It also highlights the important role of the construction industry towards the realisation of the SDGs, particularly the significance of SP practices in the construction industry to the achievement of SDG 12.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 376, 20 November 2022, 134180

Abstract

Under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China and BRI countries mutually benefited from the trade in the economy. Meanwhile, considerable CO2 emissions were embodied in the trade, possibly putting pressure on China's "3060" target of peaking CO2 emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. Yet less is known about the heterogeneous impacts of BRI-induced trade on China, especially at the provincial level. This study quantifies the provincial mismatch of CO2 emissions and economic benefits induced by BRI countries' final demand using the latest linked multiregional input-output model. We found that provinces in China paid around 0.24–7.01 Mt embodied CO2 emissions to obtain per unit billion USD dollars in fulfilling BRI countries' final demand. Regarding the sectoral patterns, embodied CO2 emissions of electricity, gas, and water sector accounted for the largest proportion (more than 50%) for 60% of provinces. Other services sector greatly contributed to each province's economic benefits. We also found that only 15.2% of these embodied CO2 emissions could be mitigated even though upgrading the technology levels of all sectors in backward provinces to China's average level. This indicated that measures relying on the current technology are far from enough for achieving the carbon targets. Therefore, it is urgent to deepen the technology innovation and reform of emission sectors in the short term. In the long run, seeking new long-term pathways of emission reduction, such as optimizing trade structure, is conducive to promoting the sustainable development of BRI and the "3060" realization.

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 322, 15 November 2022, 116001

Abstract

The quantification of cross-regional interactions for the atmospheric transport processes is of crucial importance to improve the predictive capacity of climatic and environmental system modeling. The dynamic interactions in these complex systems are often nonlinear and non-separable, making conventional approaches of causal inference, such as statistical correlation or Granger causality, infeasible or ineffective. In this study, we applied an advanced approach, based on the convergent cross mapping algorithm, to detect and quantify the causal influence among different climate regions in the contiguous U.S. in response to temperature perturbations using the long-term (1901–2018) climatology of near surface air temperature record. Our results show that the directed causal network constructed by convergent cross mapping algorithm, enables us to distinguish the causal links from spurious ones rendered by statistical correlation. We also find that the Ohio Valley region, as an atmospheric convergent zone, acts as the regional gateway and mediator to the long-term thermal environments in the U.S. In addition, the temporal evolution of dynamic causality of temperature exhibits superposition of periodicities at various time scales, highlighting the impact of prominent low frequency climate variabilities such as El Niño–Southern Oscillation. The proposed method in this work will help to promote novel system-based and data-driven framework in studying the integrated environmental system dynamics.

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 322, 15 November 2022, 116087

Abstract

With global climate change becoming increasingly serious, carbon neutrality, a key strategy to mitigate climate change, has attracted widespread attention. However, due to the multidisciplinary and complexity of carbon neutrality studies, as well as the diversification of research content, a comprehensive review and systematic synthesis of which is quite limited. In this paper, a bibliometric analysis on the topic of carbon neutrality is conducted to reveal the research progress from a quantitative and visual perspective and describe the evolution of research hotspots. The results show that carbon neutrality research is abundant at both the macro and micro levels. Low carbon development is the premise of carbon neutrality, and emission reduction and carbon sinks are the basis of carbon neutrality. The degree of research varies significantly in different countries, with China dominating in the number of publications, followed by the USA and the UK. The realization of carbon neutrality cannot be fully achieved by one single perspective and requires a comprehensive and systematic analysis of technology, economy, and society. Carbon neutrality is a technology-driven process guided by policy. Economically, carbon taxes and carbon markets are two important market mechanisms for reducing carbon emissions. Technically, researches of negative carbon technologies and renewable energy are growing rapidly. Carbon market, carbon negative technology, circular economy, and green energy will become the focus of future research. This paper helps scholars to understand the overall state of carbon neutrality research and provides a historical reference for future research.

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 322, 15 November 2022, 116044

Abstract

Access to green areas was one of the most contested issues during Japan's first coronavirus emergency period in 2020. The access was examined using a large-scale online questionnaire survey. An integrated analysis of socioeconomic attributes and environmental factors was conducted, and a typology of respondents, in terms of being beneficiaries of green infrastructure, was provided. Based on empirical datasets, we identified: (1) a relatively strong influence of the pandemic on the access to green areas for young females, both positively and negatively, (2) difficulties of green area access for unmarried low-income respondents in terms of aspects such as travel time, and (3) the influence of neighboring environments on green area access; for example, if there were agricultural lands near the respondents' residential areas, they tended to visit those lands instead of other green areas. The identified typology can serve as a basis for policy targets or components within policy, to enhance the management of green infrastructure as "open” and public areas. This analysis method can be applied to different regions globally, and it contributes to policymaking for green area management to enhance social and individual well-being.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 845, 1 November 2022, 157008

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the feasibility of detecting 35 urinary biomarkers of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) exposure in community wastewater. 24-h composited municipal wastewater samples were collected from two communities ( = 8) in the southeastern US. Using isotope-dilution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, results showed 16 metabolites were detected in wastewater samples, including indicators of exposure to acrolein, acrylonitrile, 1,3-butadiene, crotonaldehyde, -dimethylformamide (DMF), ethylbenzene, nicotine, propylene oxide, styrene, tetrachloroethylene, toluene, and xylene. Additional metabolites qualitatively identified exposure to acrylamide and trichloroethylene. Community 1 (closer proximity to manufacturing facilities) had a greater number of detects ( per 1000 people. Normalizing to nicotine consumption biomarkers to account for differences in smoking behaviors, Community 1 continued to have higher levels of propylene oxide, crotonaldehyde, DMF, and acrylonitrile exposures, VOCs generally sourced from manufacturing activities and vehicle emissions. This is the first study to utilize wastewater to detect urinary biomarkers of VOCs exposure. These preliminary results suggest the WBE approach as a potentially powerful tool to assess community health exposures to indoor and outdoor air pollutants.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 845, 1 November 2022, 157327

Abstract

Background

The effect of long-term PM2.5 exposure on lung function has not been well established.

Objectives

To investigate the effects of long-term personal PM2.5 exposure on lung function decline, obstructive, and restrictive ventilatory disorders.

Method

Personal PM2.5 concentrations were evaluated using an estimation model. Lung function parameters including forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and peak expiratory flow (PEF) were measured in 3053 Wuhan participants from the Wuhan-Zhuhai cohort and were repeated every 3 years. Participants were classified into persistently high exposure group, persistently low exposure group and inconsistent exposure group according to the median of PM2.5 concentration of each visit. Mixed linear models with subject-specific random intercept were used to assess the association of 3-year change of lung function with personal PM2.5 exposure, and generalized linear models were used to assess the association of 6-year change of lung function with personal PM2.5 exposure. Cox regression models were applied to assess the associations of PM2.5 with obstructive and restrictive ventilatory disorders.

Results

The medians of personal PM2.5 concentrations at baseline and two follow-ups were 153.18, 209.57 and 83.78 μg/m3, respectively. Compared with participants in the persistently low exposure group, participants in the persistently high exposure group showed a 2.99 % (95 % CI: 0.91, 5.08), a 380.15 mL/s (95 % CI: 32.82, 727.48) and a 5.98 % (95 % CI: 0.84, 11.11) additional decline in FEV1/FVC, PEF and PEFpred after 6 years, respectively. Stratified analyses showed that age, gender, body mass index, smoking status and drinking status had no significant modification effect on the associations. The associations of PM2.5 exposure with obstructive and restrictive ventilatory disorders were not significant, except for a positive association between persistently high PM2.5 exposure and restrictive ventilatory disorder among ever drinkers.

Conclusion

Long-term high PM2.5 exposure was associated with FEV1/FVC, PEF and PEFpred declines.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 846, 10 November 2022, 157436

Abstract

Greenhouse gas emissions from urban rivers play a crucial role in global carbon (C) cycling, this is tightly linked to dissolved C in rivers but research gaps remain. The effects of urbanization and anthropogenic land-use change on riverine dissolved carbon dynamics were investigated in a temperate river, the River Kelvin in UK. The river was constantly a source of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere (excess concentration of CH4 ranged from 13 to 4441 nM, and excess concentration of CO2 ranged from 2.6 to 230.6 μM), and dissolved C concentrations show significant spatiotemporal variations (p < 0.05), reflecting a variety of proximal sources and controls. For example, the concentration variation of dissolved CH4 and dissolved CO2 were heavily controlled by the proximity of coal mine infrastructure in the tributary near the river head (~ 2 km) but were more likely controlled by adjacent landfills in the midstream section of the rivers main channel. Concentration and isotopic evidence revealed an important anthropogenic control on the riverine export of CO2 and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). However, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) input via groundwater at the catchment scale primarily controlled the dynamics of riverine DIC. Furthermore, the positive relationship between the isotopic composition of DIC and CO2 (r = 0.79, p < 0.01) indicates the DIC pool was at times also significantly influenced by soil respiratory CO2. Both DIC and DOC showed a weak but significant correlation with the proportion of urban/suburban land use, suggesting increased dissolved C export resulting from urbanization. This research elucidates a series of potentially key effects anthropogenic activities and land-use practices can have on riverine C dynamics and highlights the need for future consideration of the direct effects urbanization has on riverine C dynamics.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 846, 10 November 2022, 157310

Abstract

Monitoring the actual change in consumption of nicotine (a proxy for smoking) in the population is essential for formulating tobacco control policies. In recent years, wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been applied as an alternative method to estimate changes in consumption of tobacco and other substances in different communities around the world, with high potential to be used in resource-scarce settings. This study aimed to conduct a WBE analysis in Hanoi, Vietnam, a lower-middle-income-country setting known for high smoking prevalence. Wastewater samples were collected at two sites along a sewage canal in Hanoi during three periods: Period 1 (September 2018), Period 2 (December 2018–January 2019), and Period 3 (December 2019–January 2020). Concentrations of cotinine, 3-hydroxycotinine, and nicotine ranged from 0.73 μg/L to 3.83 μg/L, from 1.09 μg/L to 5.07 μg/L, and from 0.97 μg/L to 9.90 μg/L, respectively. The average mass load of cotinine estimated for our samples was 0.45 ± 0.09 mg/day/person, which corresponds to an estimated daily nicotine consumption of 1.28 ± 0.25 mg/day/person. No weekly trend was detected over the three monitoring periods. We found the amount of nicotine consumption in Period 1 to be significantly lower than in Period 2 and Period 3. Our WBE estimates of smoking prevalence were slightly lower than the survey data. The analysis of benchmarking biomarkers confirmed that cotinine was stable in the samples similar to acesulfame, while paracetamol degraded along the sewer canal. Further refinement of the WBE approach may be required to improve the accuracy of analyzing tobacco consumption in the poor sewage infrastructure setting of Vietnam.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 846, 10 November 2022, 157317

Abstract

Cooking in China supply the large population with nutrition and, as a commercial activity, it also promotes the economic growth of Chinese society. The specific cooking styles in China can produce complex volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions. The resulting adverse effects on the environment and human health of carbonyls from cooking should not be ignored. We quantitatively evaluated the contribution of carbonyls to common VOCs (carbonyl/VOC ratio) from cooking activities in China through the establishment and comparison of the source profiles, emission factors (EFs), emission amount and ozone formation potential (OFP). It was found that carbonyls are crucial components of VOCs from commercial, canteen and residential cooking activities (COC, CAC and REC, respectively). The carbonyl/VOC ratio from cooking activities in China had EFs, emissions, and a total OFP of 22–65 %, 23–34 %, and 49–104 %, respectively. The high OFP was due to the high OFP emissions intensity (OFPEI) and maximum incremental reactivity (MIR) values of carbonyls. This indicates that to alleviate O3 pollution, OFP-based control measures that target carbonyls might be more efficient than measures that target common VOCs. Priority should be given to emission controlling COC emissions, specifically those from medium- and large-scale catering. Formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and hexanal were the key carbonyl species that form O3 in the environment. Our findings imply that cooking-emitted carbonyls should not be overlooked in investigations of O3 formation and that these compounds should be subject to strict regulations.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 847, 15 November 2022, 157679

Abstract

China's large residential building stocks lead to the serious effect of operational carbon lock-in, which becomes a major challenge in hitting the carbon peak by 2030. This work is the first to develop the Generalized Divisia Index Method with a matrix of 8 × 14 to identify fourteen factors and analyze the provincial carbon change (especially the decarbonization progress) in residential building operations from 2000 to 2018. It shows that: (1) The operational carbon emissions released by residential buildings increased during 2000–2018, with an average rate of 4.53 % per yr in 30 samples. Behind this, the most positive contributor is residential floor areas, while the most negative contributor is the share of household consumption expenditure in the gross domestic product. (2) The annual decarbonization of most provinces in northern China peaked before 2008, accounting for 4.70 mega-tons of carbon dioxide (MtCO2) per province per yr, and in central and eastern China mainly peaked in approximately 2014, accounting for 7.21 MtCO2 per province per yr, and the annual decarbonization in southern China generally continued to grow. (3) High levels of decarbonization and decarbonization efficiency have been observed in northern and southwestern China, with 35.06 MtCO2 per province of decarbonization and 7.05 % per province of efficiency in 2001–2018. Overall, this study improves the analytical method to assess the decarbonization of building operations, and it helps the governments investigate the building decarbonization potential to promote the schemes of carbon peak.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 848, 20 November 2022, 157124

Abstract

Micropollutants (MPs) in wastewater pose a growing concern for their potential adverse effects on the receiving aquatic environment, and some countries have started requiring that wastewater treatment plants remove them to a certain extent. Broad spectrum advanced treatment processes, such as ozonation, activated carbon or their combination, are expected to yield a significant reduction in the toxicity of effluents. Here we quantify the reduction of effluent toxicity potentially achieved by implementing these advanced treatment solutions in a selection of European wastewater treatment plants. To this end, we refer to a list of "total pollution proxy substances” (TPPS) composed of 1337 chemicals commonly found in wastewater effluents according to a compilation of datasets of measured concentrations. We consider these substances as an approximation of the "chemical universe” impinging on the European wastewater system. We evaluate the fate of the TPPS in conventional and advanced treatment plants using a compilation of experimental physicochemical properties that describe their sorption, volatilization and biodegradation during activated sludge treatment, as well as known removal efficiency in ozonation and activated carbon treatment, while filling the gaps through in silico prediction models.

We estimate that the discharge of micropollutants with wastewater effluents in the European Union has a cumulative MP toxicity to the environment equal to the discharge of untreated wastewater of ca. 160 million population equivalents (PE), i.e. about 30 % of the generated wastewater in the EU. If all plants above a capacity of 100,000 PE were equipped with advanced treatment, we show that this load would be reduced to about 95 million PE. In addition, implementing advanced treatment in wastewater plants above 10,000 PE discharging to water bodies with an average dilution ratio smaller than 10 would yield a widespread improvement in terms of exposure of freshwater ecosystems to micropollutants, almost halving the part of the stream network exposed to the highest toxic risks.

Our analysis provides background for a cost-effectiveness appraisal of advanced treatment "at the end of the pipe”, which could lead to optimized interventions. This should not be regarded as a stand-alone solution, but as a complement to policies for the control of emissions at the source for the most problematic MPs.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 848, 20 November 2022, 157811

Abstract

We evaluated diurnal trends of size-resolved indoor and outdoor fluorescent biological airborne particles (FBAPs) and their contributions to particulate matter (PM) within 0.5–20 μm. After a ten-week continuous sampling via two identical wideband integrated bioaerosol sensors, we found that both indoor and outdoor diurnal trends of PM were driven by its bioaerosol component. Outdoors, the median [interquartile range] FBAP mass concentration peaked at 8.2 [5.8–9.9] μg/m3 around sunrise and showed a downtrend from 6:00 to 18:00 during the daytime and an uptrend during the night. The nighttime FBAP level was 1.8 [1.4–2.2] times higher than that during the daytime, and FBAPs accounted for 45 % and 56 % of PM during daytime and nighttime, respectively. Indoors, the rise in concentrations of FBAPs smaller than 1 μm coincided with the starting operation of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system at 6:00, and the concentration peaked at 8:00 and dropped to the daily average by noontime. This indicated that the starting operation of the HVAC system dislodged the overnight settled and accumulated fine bioaerosols into the indoor environment. For particles larger than 1 μm, the variation of mass concentration was driven by occupancy. Based on regression modeling, the contributions of indoor PM, non-FBAP, and FBAP sources to indoor mass concentrations were estimated to be 93 %, 67 %, and 97 % during the occupied period.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 849, 25 November 2022, 157691

Abstract

Road waterlogging has become a significant issue in developed cities due to the rapid urbanization in China. It is necessary to accurately identify the risk of waterlogging in urban roads and propose appropriate mitigation measures. This study considered urban waterlogging as a landscape ecological process. The road waterlogging risk was simulated and estimated using the Minimum Cumulative Resistance model under natural drainage conditions. The results indicate that: 1) The Minimum Cumulative Resistance model effectively assesses the waterlogging risk for each road segment. The roads in and around the central city have relatively higher waterlogging risks. The overall length of high-risk roads is 918.7 km, accounting for 31.3 % of the total. 2) There are 448 potential runoff paths and 448 inflow sites. The city's center and its north and south sides are the primary locations of the high-risk runoff paths and the inflow sites. 3) Road waterlogging is significantly more affected by the land-use types of High density residential and Industrial under rainfall intensities of a-year, 2-year, 3-year, and 5-year return periods. And the effects of various land-use types on waterlogging vary with the rainfall intensity. Using landscape ecology theory to analyze the risk of road waterlogging is a novel method to address urban waterlogging issues. This approach provides a more accurate approach to identifying the urban waterlogging risks and can be applied to developed cities suffering from waterlogging to help decision-makers devise the most effective mitigation measures.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 373, 1 November 2022, 133877

Abstract

Smart cities have the potential to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality, but empirical evidence regarding the effect of smart city policies on carbon emissions is limited. In this novel study, we investigate the effect of China's smart city policy on household daily consumption and carbon emissions. The empirical analysis is based on a difference-in-differences regression, in which the dependent variable is the household indirect carbon emissions estimated based on the consumer lifestyle approach and a dataset of 201 Chinese cities between 2010 and 2018. The main findings are as follows. First, the smart city policy significantly reduces household indirect carbon emissions, and the reduction is greater when the policy pilot region includes the whole city rather than only certain subareas. Second, the mechanisms through which the smart city influences household indirect carbon emissions are mainly the reductions in transportation- and education-related emissions resulting from developments in smart technology. Third, the above effects last for years, and they are regionally heterogeneous and more significant in the cities of eastern China. The findings in this paper suggest that smart cities can potentially achieve city sustainability by promoting greener consumption behavior.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 373, 1 November 2022, 133823

Abstract

Ecosystems play an essential role in maintaining biodiversity, regulating climate, and promoting functional biodiversity in arid urban agglomerations. Accurately assessing the characteristics of ecosystem services and identifying eco-optimal regions in urban agglomerations in arid regions are important for ecological security and the sustainable development of regional ecological systems. In this study, the ecosystem service functions of Urban Agglomeration on the Northern Slope of the Tianshan Mountains (UANSTM) were evaluated using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) model based on the Geographic Information System (GIS) platform coupled with multi-source data. Moreover, the eco-optimal regions were identified by the Ordered Weighted Average (OWA). The findings demonstrate that the development and ecological construction of the UANSTM lead to the conversion of a large amount of unused land to grassland, cultivated land, and construction land. Analyzing the relationship between ecosystem services and land types shows that the high value ecosystem services are mainly distributed in forest land and grassland. In terms of changes in ecosystem services, the net primary productivity (NPP) and habitat quality (HQ) values increased, while the value of soil retention (SR) and water yield (WY) decreased. The relationship between ecosystem services is mainly pairwise synergy, except for HQ-WY and NPP-WY. Regarding spatial distribution, the trade-offs and synergies of ecosystem services demonstrated different geospatial heterogeneity. The OWA model was employed to establish different risk values and weights to simulate different risk scenarios. The area of coverage of risk scenario 5, with the highest trade-off values, was selected as the eco-optimal region. The eco-optimal regions were mainly located in the urban agglomeration's central and southwestern high-altitude areas, where a safety barrier was established for the ecological region. The results of this study can serve as a reference for the ecological construction, land planning, and management of urban agglomerations in arid regions.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 373, 1 November 2022, 133888

Abstract

The integrated energy system which coordinates natural gas, renewable energy, and other energy subsystems is an effective way to promote a low-carbon economy. An effective framework for system assessment and optimisation is a critical issue. This paper takes a natural gas-wind-photovoltaic integrated energy system as the research object and uses the simulation software to analyse its techno-enviro-economic feasibility. Firstly, a mathematical model is customised to optimise the system installation and operation plans. Renewable electricity replaces some natural gas, resulting in pipeline pressure fluctuation. Here, the Stoner Pipeline Simulator software is used to simulate pipeline network operation to quantify the aforementioned pressure fluctuations. The proportion of renewable energy is gradually reduced until the network pressure fluctuation is less than 20% to ensure the stability of pipeline operation. Then, the optimal operation scheme can be determined. Taking three cities in Shandong, China, as cases, the results show that the proposed system is beneficial for urban energy internet development: (i) the total net present cost is reduced by 19.7%, 19.8%, and 20.8%, (ii) annual CO2 emission is reduced by 23.7%, 18.4%, and 12.2%; (iii) the levelised cost of energy is 0.142 $/kWh, 0.143$/kWh, and 0.153$/kWh.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 374, 10 November 2022, 133985

Abstract

Recreation-oriented urban river ecological restoration can help restore damaged ecosystems and improve human well-being. This study selects the urban river network of Rencheng District, Jining City, China as a case to map and construct a river-based recreational network (RRN) in an urban river restoration context. Morphological spatial pattern analysis, connectivity evaluation methods, and an overlay method of ArcGIS are applied to identify river network connectivity and ecological sources, which are used to map RRN. The research findings show that except rivers in the Liangshan-Jining Canal, other rivers have medium, poor, or extremely poor ecological connectivity. The ecological sources are mainly distributed in the vicinity of Nanyang lake and Taibai lake. The distribution of river connectivity is largely correlated with the regional physical geography pattern (e.g., geological structure and topological position of water patches), as well as historical human activities (e.g., canalization). Furthermore, the continuous subsidence of coal mining subsidence areas, urban expansion and rural construction, environmental damage and pollution, natural changes (e.g., climate change) are the risk sources of river network connectivity. To restore the ecological and social connectivity of urban river network, an adaptive RRN is proposed according to the current environmental status and the factors affecting the river connectivity. Specifically, form-based and process-based restoration measures can be adopted in urban built-up areas and rural areas, respectively. The findings provide a holistic solution for the restoration and recreational use of urban river network at a regional scale, thereby promoting the coordination of urban ecosystems and sociocultural systems.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 375, 15 November 2022, 134081

Abstract

Due to the high intensity of urban construction and human intervention, the imbalance between ecosystem service supply and demand (ESSD) in urban agglomerations is deteriorating. The quantitative study of ecosystem service flow (ESF), as a critical process connecting ESSD, can assist decision-makers in accurately identifying the potential for ecological cooperation among cities, solving the conflict between ESSD in urban agglomerations, promoting regional ecological integration, and achieving sustainable and healthy development. Currently, quantitative research on ESF is focused chiefly on flow direction identification. However, the relationship between ESSD and ESF, flow scope, path, and rate measurement, are still in the exploratory stage. Using the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) as an example, this paper evaluated the four ESSDs based on the InVEST model: habitat quality (HQ), carbon storage (CS), water yield (WY), and soil retention (SR), and quantified the comprehensive economic value of the four ESSDs using the alternative cost method with the city/county as the basic units. Finally, utilizing the breakpoint model and the field intensity model, we built an ESF value transfer model and estimated the value of ESFs transmitted from ESSD surplus cities/counties to the deficit in the GBA. The findings revealed an imbalance between ESSD in the GBA, with most of them being in severe ESSD deficit or surplus, and ESFs had played a key role in improving this. The primary transfer out locations (TOL) of ESFs were Huizhou, Zhaoqing, and Jiangmen. In contrast, the primary transfer in locations (TIL) of ESFs were Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, and other highly urbanized areas. The total value of ESFs in the GBA was as high as 4.218 billion yuan. As an attempt toward quantifying the ESF, this work provides a framework for the future establishment of scientific ecological compensation norms for urban agglomerations to encourage benign and equitable ecological exchanges between cities/counties.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 376, 20 November 2022, 134272

Abstract

Building, a main greenhouse gas source, accounts for approximately 38% of all carbon emissions, and whole-life-cycle carbon emissions from building operations account for 60%–80% of construction-related emissions. However, the high-resolution spatiotemporal distribution of building-operation carbon emissions is unclear. We developed a top-down method to calculate and map carbon emissions by (1) compiling a building-operations carbon-emission inventory that includes direct energy consumption and calculating the carbon emissions of four key energy-intensive sectors via an emissions-factor approach; (2) cleaning, reclassifying and assigning weights to POI data obtained from AutoNavi; and (3) using a GIS to obtain sectoral carbon emissions in each grid according to the POI weights and to overlay and map the total carbon emissions. In Beijing, overall carbon emissions peaked at 95.87 million tons (2012). Emissions showed a clustered core with a multicenter discrete radial distribution pattern. Additionally, the carbon emissions intensity peaked at 487.44 kg/m2 (2015). The per-unit-grid carbon emissions distribution range was generally normally distributed, and the range of 103–105 kg/grid had the widest distribution and largest number of associated grids. Southeastern carbon emissions hotspots developed, and cold spots appeared along the periphery. This research could help planners quickly zone and reduce carbon emissions, leading to improved future development strategies.

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 321, 1 November 2022, 115848

Abstract

In this study, different management strategies for sewage sludge disposal were evaluated associated with environmental, energy, and economic impact, using life cycle assessment (LCA), cumulative energy demand (CED) and life cycle costing (LCC) approaches. Four scenarios, including mono-incineration, co-incineration in municipal solid wastes (MSW) incineration plant, co-incineration in coal-fired power plant and co-incineration in cement kiln, were assessed. The environmental burdens generated from the sludge incineration contributed primarily to the global warming, followed by eutrophication, marine aquatic ecotoxicity, and human toxicity potential across the four scenarios. Furthermore, mono-incineration scenario appeared to be the most environmentally unfriendly, energy and economy intensive alternative, with the LCA, CED and LCC value of 5.41E-09, 1736 MJ and 1.84 million CNY, respectively. By contrast, co-incineration in cement kiln exhibited the lowest CED (368 MJ), LCC (0.59 million CNY), and environmental burdens (1.02E-09). In addition, the sensitivity analysis indicated that four scenarios were sensitive to the changes in the electricity efficiency and the moisture content contained in sewage sludge, suggesting that it was of great significance to enhance the efficiency of sludge dewatering and thermal drying The findings of this study can provide scientific reference for selecting the optimal strategies for the most environmentally and economically friendly sewage sludge management with optimum energy efficiency.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 845, 1 November 2022, 157170

Abstract

In this paper, we successfully synthesized a fluorescent hybrid material (f-Silica gel) for the removal and recognition of cations. A Bodipy derivative was used as a source of fluorescent material. The characterization of Bodipy derivative and the modified surfaces were performed by some techniques like NMR, XRD, SEM, and FT-IR. The spectroscopic studies (complex stoichiometry, pH effect, response time) were carried out with fluorescence spectroscopy for the sensitive and selective recognition of Cu (II) ions. The LOD (limit of detection) was calculated as 4.63 μM and the most optimum response time was determined as 25 min. Moreover, the complex interaction between f-Silica gel and Cu (II) ions stables generally in the range of pH: 1–12. f-Silica gel can be also used as a solid support surface to remove Cu (II) ions from the wastewater. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms of Cu (II) on the f-Silica gel were determined with several parameters such as the amount of adsorbent, temperature, and pH. Langmuir adsorption isotherm model was performed for the adsorption of Cu (II) ions and the maximum capacity was found to be 19. 920 mg/g. The kinetic data ensured that the R2 value was obtained as 0.9941 from the kinetic model (pseudo-second-order). Thus, it is very close to the desired value (1) and the value of qe(expe) is very close to the value of qe(calc). The thermodynamic results support the spontaneous, random, and endothermic adsorption process. All results indicated that the hybrid material can be used as both a sensor and an adsorbent for the detection and removal of Cu (II) ions in environmental processes.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 845, 1 November 2022, 157392

Abstract

The rapid industrialization has contributed to the miracle of economic growth in China, while also caused a series of environmental problems. As one of the most concerning urban disease in China, the aggravation of haze pollution is closely related to the accelerating urbanization and industrialization process in recent years, and the strong spatial diffusion makes the negative externality of haze pollution more harmful. This characteristic of haze pollution is closely related to the spatial structure of industrial sectors, especially the agglomeration of industrial sectors. This paper established a spatial economic framework to investigate the spillover effect of industrial agglomeration on haze pollution based on satellite raster map data of PM2.5 and location entropy index, and further discuss the question that whether industrial agglomeration can achieve a balanced development for both economic growth and environmental quality. The results indicated that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between industrial agglomeration and haze pollution, and the indirect effect from spatial spillover dominated this impact. Industrial agglomeration has a single threshold effect on the knowledge spillover and the utilization of pollution disposal infrastructure of industrial sectors. Only when the agglomeration level reaches the threshold value, the scale effect can be realized to promote the air quality. The resource allocation efficiency and knowledge spillovers of industrial agglomeration need to be promoted in order to reach the inflection point and realize the win-win situation.

Chemosphere, Volume 306, November 2022, 135594

Abstract

Hydraulic fracturing technology has made unconventional oil and gas development economically viable; however, it can lead to potential environmental issues such as groundwater pollution. Strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) is considered as a sensitive tracer to indicate potential groundwater contamination. In this study, strontium (Sr) and 87Sr/86Sr sources of hydraulic fracturing flowback fluid are identified with 87 flowback fluid samples and 5 borehole core samples. High Sr concentrations and 87Sr/86Sr values were found in fracturing flowback fluid. The hydrogeochemistry evidence shows high Sr and 87Sr/86Sr in fracturing flowback fluid mainly comes from formation water with high ion concentrations, while Sr and 87Sr/86Sr of formation water develop in diagenesis and long term water-rock interaction (e.g., feldspar dissolution and clay mineral transformations) under the high temperature and pressure. A complete evaluation system was executed to assess the sensitivity of 87Sr/86Sr indicating potential pollution on groundwater. The mixing curves which 87Sr/86Sr combined with Sr and Cl were also established by mixing models to indicate groundwater pollution. The modeling results show mineral dissolution/precipitation and cation exchange have little impact on 87Sr/86Sr in the mixing process between fracturing flowback fluid and groundwater, which 87Sr/86Sr can identify contamination when only 0.89% of fracturing flowback fluid mixes with groundwater. Finally, the potential contamination pathways are discussed. It is highly unlikely fracturing flowback fluid contaminates groundwater and soil through upward migration, whereas leakage is a more prevalent pollution pathway.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 848, 20 November 2022, 157275

Abstract

The results of a quantitative analysis of asbestos content in the ground with varying degrees of concentration of this mineral as a result of natural phenomena such as rock weathering, contamination by the manufacture of asbestos and cement products, and the many years of use of "eternit roofs” are presented. Preliminary thermal treatment, soil grinding and sieving were used for the determinations, followed by electrostatic separation in order to obtain the concentration of asbestos in a smaller volume. It was used for microscopic preparations for the identification and planimetry of asbestos. A polarizing optical microscope was used in the qualitative and quantitative analysis. The levels of re-emission of asbestos dust into the air as a result of the exploitation of contaminated soil were estimated. Polluted land in industrially areas, at a distance of up to 1200 m, contains 0.0003 % to 0.02 % asbestos. The content of 0.01 % asbestos does not require remediation in the absence of soil use. It may cause <500 fibres/m3. Removing the facade of asbestos-cement panels from the building at a distance of up to 10 m resulted in concentration <0.007 % of free asbestos in the ground, and for used roofs <0.001 % from above the distance of 3 m. This means that land in the vicinity of buildings with facade or roofing made of a-c products can be safely exploited. The direct discharge of rainwater from the gutter into the ground, however, contaminates it well above this value and those places should be treated as hazardous waste due to the presence of asbestos fibres in unbound form, containing <9,8 %. Ultimately, the size of the threat depends on many factors and can be comparable with the pollution of industrial production.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 373, 1 November 2022, 133832

Abstract

Few studies have explored the relationship between air pollution and settlement intention. In this study, we fill the gap by investigating the impact of air pollution on migrants' settlement intention and analyzing its heterogeneous effect and potential mechanisms. We find migrants are more likely to settle down in cities with clean air than in those with dirty air. The results are consistent when different air quality indices are used and the endogeneity problem is mitigated using thermal inversion as an instrument for air quality. Heterogeneity analyses show that low-SES (social economic status) migrants are more likely to migrate out due to polluted air. The mechanisms results show that air quality may affect the long-term settlement intention of migrants through two channels: the direct subjective attitude effect and indirect health effect. In addition, we also find that air pollution only affects migrants' permanent settlement intention, while it has no impact on their short-run stay intention. Our results shed light on air pollution as an important contributor to migrants' migration and settlement choice and as a determinant in discussions on cities’ brain drain.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 373, 1 November 2022, 133920

Abstract

Defossilisation of the current fossil fuels dominated global energy system is one of the key goals in the upcoming decades to mitigate climate change. Sharp reduction in the costs of solar photovoltaics, wind power, and battery technologies enables a rapid transition of the power and some segments of the transport sectors to sustainable energy resources. However, renewable electricity-based fuels and chemicals are required for the defossilisation of hard-to-abate segments of transport and industry. The global demand for carbon dioxide as raw material for the production of e-fuels and e-chemicals during a global energy transition to 100% renewable energy is analysed in this research. Carbon dioxide capture and utilisation potentials from key industrial point sources, including cement mills, pulp and paper mills, and waste incinerators, are evaluated. According to this study's estimates, the demand for carbon dioxide increases from 0.6 in 2030 to 6.1 gigatonnes in 2050. Key industrial point sources can potentially supply 2.1 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide and thus meet the majority of the demand in the 2030s. By 2050, however, direct air capture is expected to supply the majority of the demand, contributing 3.8 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide annually. Sustainable and unavoidable industrial point sources and direct air capture are vital technologies which may help the world to achieve ambitious climate goals.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 374, 10 November 2022, 133879

Abstract

As a typical resource-based region, Xinjiang is under increasing pressure to reduce carbon emissions. The ability to identify the drivers of carbon emissions in the industry and mapping out key emission reduction paths are core components of achieving carbon emission reduction in Xinjiang. This research incorporates energy and environmental factors, constructs a hybrid input–output model of "energy-environment-economy,” and uses the environmental input–output structural decomposition (EIO-SDA) and structural path decomposition (SPD) methods to analyze the drivers of carbon emissions from energy consumption and key emission reduction paths in Xinjiang. First, it shows that the economic-scale effect and the energy-intensity effect are the biggest facilitators of carbon emissions and most significant barriers to carbon emission reduction in Xinjiang. Second, capital formation and domestic trade are the primary sources of demand driving changes in carbon emissions in Xinjiang. Third, sectors involving the production and supply of electricity and heat, such as heavy manufacturing and energy industries, including petroleum processing, coking, nuclear, fuel processing, and chemical industries, are the key sectors responsible for carbon emission reduction in Xinjiang. Last, in terms of industry chains, "metal smelting and rolling processing industry/non-metallic mineral products industry—construction industry—fixed capital formation” and "oil and gas extraction industry (S20)—(intermediate sector)—final demand” are the most important paths driving the growth and decline of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Xinjiang industries, respectively. To promote Xinjiang's carbon emission reduction targets, the Xinjiang government should actively improve its energy structure, promote a change in demand growth patterns, and formulate comprehensive management policies for high-carbon-transfer industries according to an industry chain perspective.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 375, 15 November 2022, 134063

Abstract

Household food waste (FW) management has become an emerging environmental issue affecting sustainable urban development. The application of in-sink domestic food waste disposers (FWDs) have brought significant public attentions due to its simplified waste handling process and reduced household expenses. However, the potentail negative impacts of mixing FW in the sewer system, i.e., the reduction of aeration efficiency in wastewater treatment processes (WWTPs) and corresponding increase of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, has not been quantified. In this study, real-time oxygen transfer efficiency in processing water was measured in WWTPs receiving negligible amount of FW and compared with those receiving sewage combined with FWD effluent. WWTP receiving sewage with FW had 6–10% lower oxygen transfer rate than those without FW, resulting in extra energy consumptions of 0.25–0.30 kWh/m3 and GHG emissions of 0.35–0.41 kg CO2/m3. For estimating the substantial impacts of FWD to the carbon cycle, sludge treatment scenarios were designed among anaerobic digestion (AD), incineration, and direct landfill disposal. Compared with AD (−0.07 kWh/kg) and incineration (0.112 kWh/kg), FWD/WWTP consumed more energy (0.69–0.9 kWh/kg) and most of which (∼64%) was required by aeration. The operating costs of WWTPs also increased by 1.6–2.1 times in comparison with those did not receive FW. The application of FWD, however, could reduce the overall GHG emissions by 35.2% in comparison with direct landfilling. Decision-makers should guide householders and waste management practitioners through new policies such as carbon credits and/or waste charging scheme to support more environmental-friendly disposal methods of FW, especally when the maturity of socio-economic conditions are of concerns. Compared with AD and incineration, FWD may be a compromising alternative to control GHG emissions with existing wastewater treatment facilities especially to those regions where complete FW classification and treatment are not well-established.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 376, 20 November 2022, 134347

Abstract

The year 2022 is the seventh year since the Paris Agreement was signed. In the context of the same goals of achieving carbon neutrality and transforming the energy structure, hydrogen has become one of the most appealing options for realizing a better vision. This paper reviews the status and challenges of hydrogen application paths in high carbon emission sectors, especially in the electricity and heating, transportation, and steel industries. The discussions focus on the potential contribution from the replacement of primary energy and the reduction in carbon emission by switching to a hydrogen economy. In the case of China in 2030, the application of hydrogen in a single sector is expected to save up to $27.8 billion in carbon tax. Additionally, the key technologies for hydrogen production, storage, and carbon footprint in the industry chain are discussed. In contrast, the cost-effective blue hydrogen is still the best choice. The hydrogen storage technologies suitable for large-scale and low energy consumption need to be broken through. The study of carbon footprint in the industry chain will promote the development of hydrogen in the designated sectors and provide insights for the policy decision on hydrogen development at the regional or industrial level.

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 322, 15 November 2022, 115945

Abstract

The ever-growing concern of sustainability and survivability attracts academicians and practitioners to develop strategies and supply chain capabilities that cater to the challenges and helps in achieving the sustainability development goals. There is a need to develop a holistic model that facilitates understanding the relationships among supply chain practices, industry 4.0 technologies, and supply chain performance measures. Thus, this study examines the mediating effect of industry 4.0 technologies on supply chain management practices and supply chain performance measures. A survey-based data was collected from manufacturing organizations across India, and 361 complete responses were obtained. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized for data analysis. This study has multiple contributions. First, the results indicate that the supply chain management practices influence the industry 4.0 technologies adoption. Second, the results also revealed that the industry 4.0 technologies significantly positively affect supply chain performance measures. Finally, industry 4.0 technologies mediated the relations between supply chain management practices and supply chain performance measures. Furthermore, the findings offer important insights into understanding the underlying mechanisms in successfully adopting and effectively using industry 4.0 technologies. The implications for theory and practices are also discussed.

Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Volume 184, November 2022, 121993

Abstract

Environmental policy is at the core of the current research debate and policy action. Few studies have discussed the impact of environmental regulation on productivity growth at industry level, and the empirical evidence on this issue is still controversial. Based on panel data on thirteen Italian manufacturing industries from 1995 to 2017, this study analyzes the effect of environmental policies on sectoral productivity by measuring the adjusted productivity growth using the Malmquist-Luenberger index. The main result of this analysis is that environmental regulation has no negative effect in most of the sample industries. A bootstrapping approach has been used to assess the robustness of estimated results.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Available online 25 November 2022, 135338

Abstract

Although digitalization has attracted much attention in research and practice, the implications of firm digitalization for environmental performance are still unclear. Building on the knowledge management perspective, this study focuses on the Chinese traditional high-polluting textile and apparel industry and aims to empirically explore the effects of firm digitalization on environmental performance. We collected secondary data from 553 firm-year observations of 74 listed Chinese textile and apparel firms from the CSMAR database. By panel data analysis, the results highlight a U-shaped relationship between firm digitalization and environmental performance, and strong technical background, financial background and high education levels of the top management team (TMT) positively moderate the relationship. This study contributes to the literature on the digitalization-environmental performance relationship, breaks new ground by focusing on textile and apparel listed firms, and has implications for managers in optimising the TMT structure to increase the returns from digitalization endeavours.

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.

Ecological Genetics and Genomics, Available online 24 November 2022, 100155

Abstract

The microorganisms in textile industry effluent represent dynamic and complex community structure and functional diversity. Genome resolved identification and characterisation of the metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) using shotgun metagenomics is a powerful approach to understand the genomic attributes of microbial communities from the industrial wastewater and effluent treatment process. Our research findings decipher the MAGs obtained from textile industry sites from common effluent treatment plant (CETP), effluent treatment plant (ETP), dye washing and printing area from Jetpur, Gujarat, India. Overall, sixty-one MAGs were obtained from nine shotgun metagenome samples using improved variational autoencoders for metagenomic binning (VAMB) machine learning based approach. The MAGs obtained were represented by Saccharospirillaceae bacterium S5C81, Sulfurospirillum cavolei S2C617, Desertifilum sp. S8C857, Shewanella xiamenensis S2C505, Saccharospirillaceae bacterium S4C81, and Bacillaceae bacterium S6C1905 having completeness of >95% and contamination <1%. The functional annotation of the MAGs revealed the abundance of the genes involved in biogeochemical cycling process, methane metabolism, biofilm formation, and textile dye degradation, metabolism of xenobiotics by cytochrome P450 pathway and metabolism of aromatic compounds. The MAGs will further facilitate the understanding of textile industry wastewater microbiome, ecology and adaption, genomic characteristics and impact of pollution from textile industry. Furthermore, promising microorganisms could be utilized for bioremediation of polluted industrial sites.

Computers & Industrial Engineering, Volume 173, November 2022, 108724

Abstract

The sustainable development goals give very keen importance to the reduction of total carbon emission through industries round the globe. Industries are thus focussing on the reduction of their total carbon emission in accordance with the government and other environmental organizations' policies. In this paper, we focus on developing a multi-objective Closed-Loop Supply Chain model to optimize the distribution plan that minimizes the transportation and other operational costs and carbon footprint. Also, we use the concept of carbon tax in the mathematical model, which can help the decision-maker to decide optimal internal carbon price for the firm. Keeping in mind the uncertainty that inherently exists in data, we consider the parameters as fuzzy rough numbers, and to deal with such numbers we use the concept of two fold uncertainty. To exhibit the effectiveness of the model, we discuss a case study of a small-scale leather industry based in India. The results show that the carbon price of INR 2500 is best for the firm to reduce the carbon emission up to required level. The present study will be of much use for the industries to control carbon emissions by internally adopting the optimal carbon tax. In the numerical application, we have done a sensitivity analysis to check the impact of different carbon taxing scenarios on the carbon emission and total supply chain optimization cost.

Ecological Indicators, Volume 144, November 2022, 109505

Abstract

Many regions of the world are industrialised and urbanized like the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB), which is located in one of the most industrialized areas of Europe. Due to the presence of coal and other mineral deposits and their excavation, this area is subject to extensive industrialization, including the functioning of mining and metallurgy industries. According to the Water Framework Directive, water released from mines contains a wide range of pollutants and hence poses a serious threat to the ecology of river systems, eventually resulting in their degradation. The aim of this study was to assess the ecological status of rivers located in the Vistula and Oder river basins, which are affected by the coal mining industry. In this study, macroinvertebrates were used as biological response on the water pollution, and were collected at 30 sampling sites in 12 rivers following the methodology of monitoring studies. The results revealed major differences in the parameters related to river salinity and nutrient loads in the studied rivers. Only the two rivers, Żylica and Liswarta, showed good ecological status, while bad ecological status was recorded for Bierawka, Rawa, Łęgoń, and Biała Przemsza rivers. A redundancy analysis of the results indicated the following: the quality class was positively related to the degree of conductivity; the density of macroinvertebrates was positively related to a higher content of N-NO2 (Nitrite nitrogen) and EPT (The number of families from Ephemeropthera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera), ASPT (average score per taxon PL), and 1-GOLD (abundance of Gastropod, Oligochaeta, and Diptera) indices were positively related to a higher content of dissolved oxygen. The condition of water and benthic invertebrates was significantly influenced by the industrial catchment, which was apparent from the ecological status of the studied systems. The rivers in the most industrialized part of this area were found to be characterized by worse conditions.