Shieldsberg7516

Platinum group elements (PGE Ru, Rh, Pd, Os Ir, Pt) are rare metals with low abundance in the continental crust. The elements of the palladium subgroup of PGE (PPGE Pt, Pd, Rh) have been exploited more and more over the last thirty years for their physicochemical properties such as high melting point, high resistance to corrosion, mechanical strength and ductility. This led to emerging environmental contamination in different media such as air, road dust, soil, sediment, vegetation, and snow. The aim of this review is to summarize the available data on soil contamination by PPGE and its potential environmental impact. In this paper, the environmental issue of PPGE is discussed with regard to their anthropogenic emission and fate, which includes speciation, possible transformations into bioavailable forms and toxicity. Soil contamination by PPGE is described taking into account urban and non-urban areas. The analytical determination process is also discussed.The association between air pollution and infant mortality has been inconsistently reported. A few studies have estimated short-term effects of air pollution on infants' health. This population-based case-control study aimed to examine the potential effects of air pollution on sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in the post-neonatal period in Taiwan during 1997-2002. Each case of infant death was matched with 20 randomly selected sex-matched controls who were born on the same day and were still alive. We obtained 24-h measurements of air pollutants and meteorological factors in each case and control with 1- to 14-day lags from 55 air-quality monitoring stations. After controlling for potential confounders, conditional logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate effects of air pollutants on SIDS (n = 398) and respiratory death (n = 121) among neonates. In single- and multi-pollutant models, we found that 100-ppb increment in carbon monoxide (Odds Ratio = 1.04-1.07) and 10-ppb increment in nitrogen dioxide (Odds Ratio = 1.20-1.35) with 1- to 14-day lags were associated with significant increase in SIDS, although a significant relationship between air pollution and respiratory death was not determined in 1- to 14-day lags. Short-term carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide exposure were associated with significant increase in SIDS in the post-neonatal period, with latency estimated within days before death.Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) is a biofilm technology that offers more treatment capacity in comparison to activated sludge. The integration of AGS into existing continuous-flow activated sludge systems is of great interest as process intensification can be achieved without the use of plastic-based biofilm carriers. Such integration should allow good separation of granules/flocs and ideally with minor retrofitting, making it an ongoing challenge. check details This study utilized an all-organic media carrier made of porous kenaf plant stalks with high surface areas to facilitate biofilm attachment and granule development. A 5-stage Bardenpho plant was upgraded with the addition of kenaf media and a rotary drum screen to retain the larger particles from the secondary clarifier underflow whereas flocs were selectively wasted. Startup took 5 months with a sludge volume index (SVI) reduction from >200 to 50 mL g-1. Most of the kenaf granules fell in the size range of 600-1400 μm and had a clear biofilm layer. The wet biomass density, SVI30, and SVI30/SVI5 of the kenaf granules were 1035 g L-1, 30.6 mL g-1, and 1.0, respectively, which met the standards of aerobic granules. Improved stability of biological phosphorus removal performance enabled a 25% reduction in sodium aluminate usage. Microbial activities of kenaf granules were compared with aerobic granules, showing comparable N and P removal rates and presence of ammonium-oxidizing bacteria and polyphosphate-accumulating organisms in the outer 50-60 μm layer of the granule. This work is the first viable example for integrating fully organic biofilm particles in existing continuous-flow systems.Various environmental pollutants (e.g., air, water and solid pollutants) are discharged into environments with the rapid development of industrializations, which is presently at the forefront of global attention. The high efficient removal of these environmental pollutants is of important concern due to their potential threat to human health and eco-diversity. Advanced nanomaterials may play an important role in the elimination of pollutants from environmental media. MXenes as the new intriguing class of graphene-like 2D transition metal carbides and/or carbonitrides have been widely used in energy storage, environmental remediation benefitting from exceptional structural properties such as highly active sites, high chemical stability, hydrophilicity, large interlayer spacing, huge specific surface area, superior sorption-reduction capacity. However, the comprehensive investigation concerning the removal of various environmental pollutants on MXenes is yet not available up to date. In this review, we summarized the synthesis and properties of MXenes to demonstrate the key roles in ameliorating their adsorption performance; then the recent advances and achievements in environmental application of MXenes on the removal of gases, organics, heavy metals and radionuclides were comprehensively reviewed in details; Finally, the formidable challenges and further perspectives regarding utilizing MXene in environmental remediation were proposed. Hopefully, this review can provide the useful information for environmental scientists and material engineers on designing versatile MXenes in actual environmental applications.The combustion of coal in Thermal Power Plants generates fine dust particles (coal fly ash, CFA), which are collected from the flue gas streams and deposited as solid wastes. One of the technologically reliable solutions for utilization of CFA is its alkaline conversion into zeolites. The present study focuses on the influence of calcium content in CFA on the chemical and phase composition, morphology and surface properties of coal fly ash zeolites. Comparative studies of the capacity of zeolites of Na-X and Na-Ca-X types from coal fly ash to capture carbon emissions under static and dynamic conditions have been performed. The present study answers a key question from a practical point of view, how does moisture in flue gases affect the adsorption of carbon dioxide on zeolites. The development of efficient adsorbents from CFA with varying composition will contribute to a number of environmental benefits and to the development of efficient CO2 capture technologies in the context of the circular economy.