Muellerbutler2024

To evaluate the liability of the spilled contaminant and to design comprehensive emergency response schemes, it is essential to estimate the contaminant source characteristic and identify where, when and how much the spilled contaminant is injected into a surface river. In this study, an effective pollution source inverse method is developed to reconstruct the release history of the injection location, time, and quantity, and provide appropriate emergency response schemes for dealing with surface river environmental pollution. The pollution source inverse method IGSAA is developed by an integration of genetic algorithm (IGA) and simulated annealing algorithm (SAA) in order to guarantee both the global searching ability and convergence speed. The pollution source inverse method IGSAA is then applied to a hypothetical study, comparing with the traditional GA-based and SAA-based methods, to verify the accuracy and efficiency of the contaminant source inverse, and to a trace study of Truckee River in west America to identify the contaminant source release history and characteristic under different scenarios. The pollution source inversion results can help decision-makers (DMs) to identify the contaminant source characteristics of a chemical spill, and carry out emergency disposal scheme for an emergency rescue in a quick response, and enhance the supervision and management ability for a real surface river system.Chromium-containing electroplating sludge usually lacked proper disposal and recycling. High-temperature melting was a technology aiming to form glass-phase slag for the stabilizations of heavy metals. This work investigated the possibility of forming perovskite-like phase by chromium-containing sludge using high-temperature melting. The formed material was applied in catalytic oxidization of volatile organic compound. As a result, Ca2+-doped LaCrO3 was formed according to XRD and HRTEM. When Ca2+ doping reached 33%, i.e., La0.67Ca0.33CrO3, surface oxygen species of the obtained catalyst was increased to 65.7%, which was detected by XPS, resulting in a toluene removal of 50% at 302 °C. Besides, the activity was stable for over 50 h. In addition, the doping amount was as high as 40 mol% of Cr in the catalyst. Based on these results, a high-value-added catalyst was produced by the hazardous waste, which was in favor of hazardous-waste recycling as well as high-temperature-melting development.Contamination of surrounding waters with antibiotics by aquaculture effluents can be problematic due to the possible increase of bacterial resistance, making it crucial the efficient treatment of those effluents before their release into the environment. In this work, the application of waste-based magnetic biochar/titanium dioxide (BC/TiO2) composite materials on the photodegradation of two antibiotics widely used in aquaculture (sulfadiazine (SDZ) and oxolinic acid (OXA)) was assessed. Four materials were synthesized BCMag (magnetized BC), BCMag_TiO2 (BCMag functionalized with TiO2), BC_TiO2_MagIn and BC_TiO2_MagEx (BC functionalized with TiO2 and afterwards magnetized by in-situ and ex-situ approaches, respectively). SDZ half-life time (t1/2) noticeably decreased 3.9 and 3.4 times in presence of BCMag_TiO2 and BC_TiO2_MagEx, respectively. In the case of OXA, even though differences were not so substantial, the produced photocatalysts also allowed for a decrease in t1/2 (2.6 and 1.7 times, in presence of BCMag_TiO2 and BC_TiO2_MagEx, respectively). Overall, the here synthesized BC/TiO2 magnetic nanocomposites through a circular economy process are promising photocatalysts for a sustainable solar-driven removal of antibiotics from aquaculture effluents.Developing regions experience rapid population growth and urbanisation, which require large quantities of materials for civil infrastructure. The production of construction materials, especially for urban transport systems, however, contributes to local and global environmental change. Political agendas may overlook the environmental implications of urban expansion, as economic growth tends to be prioritised. While elevating the standard of living is imperative, decision-making without careful environmental assessments can undermine the overall welfare of society. In this study, we evaluate the material demand and in-use stock productivity for the large-scale development plan for transport infrastructure in the city of Hanoi, Vietnam, from 2010 to 2030, combining geospatial and socioeconomic data with statistics on roads and railways. The results show that the total material stock could rise threefold from 66 Tg in 2010 to 269 Tg in 2030, which roughly translates to an addition of 30 Empire State Buildings per year by mass. The materials we account are required for construction exceed the availability of local sand and will need to be gathered farther away. Furthermore, the material stock productivity of the transport infrastructure appears to have been declining overall since 2010, and this trend may continue to 2030. BFAinhibitor These findings demonstrate the importance of informing urban planning with a comprehensive assessment of construction materials demand, supply capacity, and environmental impacts. Policy priorities for improving the in-use stock productivity are also recommended towards achieving a more efficient utilisation of natural resources.Soil amelioration is an effective practice to alleviate the adverse effects of soil salinization. However, increasing the fertility of salt-affected soils has been challenging, particularly in coastal saline-alkaline paddy soils. Here, we carried out a 45-day incubation experiment to evaluate the impacts of soil amendments on fractions and stability of soil organic matter (SOM) in a saline-alkaline paddy. The experiment simulates the flooding-draining practice and consists of CaCO3, gypsum and biochar amendments using different fertility soils. We measured dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON) in supernatant liquids, water-soluble cations, water extractable organic carbon (WEOC) and nitrogen (WEON), and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN) in soils after the incubation. Results showed that water soluble sodium (Na+) was significantly decreased under all amendments (by 17%-32%), except in high fertility soil. We found a significant decrease in DOC (by 36%-47%) under gypsum treatment, but in DON (by 18%-59%) under biochar treatment.