Công bố quốc tế lĩnh vực môi trường số 32-2023

Về quản lý môi trường

– Sự mở rộng toàn cầu không ngừng của đảo nhiệt đô thị trong thế kỷ qua.

– Các chỉ số khí hậu có thể dự báo sự thay đổi hàng ngày của nồng độ PM2.5 vào mùa đông ở Đông Á không?

– Các loại nguyên tắc kinh tế tuần hoàn 60R và định hướng chiến lược ứng dụng chúng trong kinh doanh.

– Các nút thắt cổ chai có thể xảy ra trong quá trình chuyển đổi năng lượng sạch: Tổng quan và các tác động được mô hình hóa – Trường hợp Phần Lan.

– Độ tin cậy của bộ thông số mô hình quản lý nước mưa cho điều kiện khí hậu khô và ẩm.

– Một bước hướng tới tính trung lập carbon trong E7: Vai trò của thuế môi trường, thay đổi cơ cấu và năng lượng xanh.

– Tác động kinh tế vĩ mô của trợ cấp xanh.

– Kiểm toán trách nhiệm giải trình đối với tài nguyên thiên nhiên, quy định môi trường của chính phủ và giảm thiểu ô nhiễm: Một nghiên cứu thực nghiệm dựa trên mô hình khác biệt trong khác biệt.

– Mức độ formaldehyde trong tầng đối lưu suy ra các bệnh về não do formaldehyde gây ra trong môi trường xung quanh và gánh nặng toàn cầu ở Trung Quốc, 2013-2019.

– Ô nhiễm không khí dạng hạt và nhiễm trùng COVID-19, mức độ nghiêm trọng và tỷ lệ tử vong: Đánh giá hệ thống và phân tích tổng hợp.

– Ảnh hưởng của các yếu tố khí tượng đối với sự lây lan của COVID-19 ở Ý trong đợt một và đợt hai.

Về môi trường đô thị

– Ưu tiên hóa chất cho dược phẩm và các sản phẩm chăm sóc cá nhân trong một nhánh đô thị của sông Potomac.

– Các hợp chất hữu cơ dễ bay hơi trung bình trong không khí khu dân cư Canada vào mùa đông: Ảnh hưởng đến chất lượng không khí trong nhà.

– Mối liên quan giữa việc tiếp xúc ngắn hạn với ô nhiễm PM2.5, NO2 và O3 với các tình trạng liên quan đến thận và vai trò của thông số kỹ thuật điều chỉnh nhiệt độ: Một nghiên cứu chéo trường hợp ở bang New York.

– Mối liên hệ giữa việc tiếp xúc lâu dài với ô nhiễm không khí với tình trạng thiếu ngủ kinh niên ở Hàn Quốc: Một nghiên cứu dài hạn cấp cộng đồng, 2008-2018.

– Các kiểu thời tiết đặc biệt ảnh hưởng đến ô nhiễm không khí và lây lan COVID-19 ở thủ đô Tokyo.

– Tác động của hình thái đô thị đến dòng nhiệt hợp lý và trao đổi bức xạ ròng.

– Đặc điểm không gian, nguồn và rủi ro phơi nhiễm của polychlorinated biphenyls trong bụi và đất từ môi trường đô thị ở đồng bằng Niger của Nigeria.

– Phát hiện khuyết tật đường ống nước thải tự động hỗ trợ học sâu để quản lý môi trường nước đô thị.

– Peroxymonosulfate/Quá trình năng lượng mặt trời để lọc nước thải đô thị ở quy mô nhà máy thí điểm: Đánh giá kinh tế kỹ thuật.

– Tác động tổng hợp của COVID-19, kinh tế và khí hậu đối với sự phân bổ không gian của nông nghiệp toàn cầu và an ninh lương thực.

Về môi trường khu công nghiệp

– Chất hấp phụ xanh, không độc hại và hiệu quả từ chất thải tro nguy hại để thu hồi kim loại có giá trị và loại bỏ kim loại nặng khỏi dòng chất thải.

– Đưa ra các mục tiêu và lộ trình khử cacbon – Một nghiên cứu điển hình cho ngành công nghiệp ô tô.

– Các xu hướng không gian và thời gian trong các tỷ lệ đồng vị δ66Zn và 206Pb/207Pb dọc theo tuyến đường nông thôn xuôi theo hướng gió từ khu công nghiệp Thượng Silesian: Vai trò của di sản so với ô nhiễm ngày nay.

– Khu dân cư gần với sự phát triển dầu khí hiếm và dị tật bẩm sinh ở Ohio.

– Công nghệ và cơ chế xử lý nước thải Tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) từ ngành công nghiệp vi điện tử.

– Este Organophosphate (OPE) đã được thiết lập và mới nổi và sự mở rộng của vấn đề ô nhiễm môi trường: Đánh giá và định hướng trong tương lai.

– Ai đang kiểm soát tương lai năng lượng của chúng ta? Đại diện cho ngành công nghiệp và môi trường trong các ủy ban tiện ích công cộng của Hoa Kỳ.

– Tro khử bụi kết hợp với khí thải nhiệt độ cao để tạo ra khí năng lượng CO và loại bỏ kim loại nặng đồng bộ.

– Đánh giá và mô hình hóa chất lượng nước thải, lợi ích kinh tế và giảm phát thải khí nhà kính khi tiếp nhận nước thải nhà máy bia trên A2O bằng GPS-X.

– Những hiểu biết mới về cơ chế xử lý Fered-Fenton đối với nước thải công nghiệp có hàm lượng clorua cao: Vai trò của nhiều loài phản ứng.

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QUẢN LÝ MÔI TRƯỜNG

1. The unrelenting global expansion of the urban heat island over the last century

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 880, 1 July 2023, 163276

Abstract

The past century has seen dramatic increases in global temperatures and mounting urbanization. As a result of these events, the urban heat island (UHI) effect has received growing attention in scientific research worldwide. A global search was initially conducted using a scientific literature database to collect all available relevant publications to understand how the UHI has been expanding worldwide and affecting more cities across different latitudes and altitudes. Subsequently, a semantic analysis was performed to extract city names. The literature search and analysis combined resulted in 6078 publications in which UHI was investigated in 1726 cities worldwide in the 1901 to 2022 time period. The cities were grouped into ‘first appearance’ and ‘recurrent appearance’. Results show that UHI was studied in only 134 cities during the 90-year period from 1901 to 1992, with a remarkable growth over time in the number of cities where interest in UHI increased. Interestingly, the number of first appearances was always notably higher than the number of recurrent appearances. The Shannon evenness index was employed to identify the spatial locations (hotspots) across the globe where UHI-related research has been concentrated in multiple cities over the last 120 years. Finally, Europe was selected as a testbed for conducting an analysis to shed light on how economic, demographic, and environmental factors can impact UHI. Our study is unique for having demonstrated not only the rapid growth of cities affected by UHI globally but also the increasing and unrelenting expansion of UHI occurrences across different latitudes and altitudes over time. These novel findings will undoubtedly be of interest to scientists investigating the UHI phenomenon and its trends. Stakeholders will acquire a broader perspective and deeper understanding of UHI in order to engage in more effective urban planning to offset and mitigate the phenomenon’s adverse effects in the context of increasing climate change and urbanization.

2. Resilience or efficiency? Strategic options for sustainable development of agricultural systems in ecologically fragile areas of China

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 881, 10 July 2023, 163411

Abstract

Sustainable development of agricultural systems is crucial for ensuring global food security, and resilience and efficiency are important topics for sustainable development of agricultural systems. Therefore, it is important to study the coupling and coordination relationship between agricultural system resilience and agricultural production efficiency, and explore the sustainable development model of agricultural system accordingly. Using statistical data from 2000 to 2020, we constructed a system of indicators for sustainable development of agricultural systems, and assessed the coordination status and interaction of agricultural system resilience and agricultural production efficiency in 49 county-level administrative units in the Loess Hilly Region Gansu Section (LHRGS) of China with the help of the coupling coordination degree (CCD) model, bivariate Moran’s I index, and geographically weighted regression (GWR) model.

The results show as follows: (1) The level of resilience of the LHRGS agricultural system and the level of agricultural production efficiency shows a continuous upward trend and a robust growth state. (2) High-value areas of the LHRGS agricultural system resilience are concentrated in counties with better resource endowment, and high-value areas of agricultural production efficiency are distributed in regions with stronger innovation capacity, and there is a moderate level of coupling relationship between them. (3) The sustainable development capacity of the agricultural system is gradually improving, but there is a certain degree of heterogeneity between agricultural system resilience and agricultural production efficiency. (4) Agricultural input factors have significant effects on the sustainable development of the agricultural systems, and significant spatial differences are found in the effects of different agricultural input factors on the sustainable development of agricultural systems. Based on the findings of this study, policy recommendations for the sustainable development of agricultural systems in ecologically fragile areas are proposed.

3. Can climate indices forecast daily variations of wintertime PM2.5 concentrations in East Asia?

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 881, 10 July 2023, 163505

Abstract

Synoptic meteorological variability plays an important role in determining air quality. In East Asia, the expansion and contraction of the Siberian high-pressure system is an essential mechanism for determining surface particulate matter concentrations (PM2.5) during the winter season. Here, we selected four climate indices that reflected the variability of the Siberian high-pressure system and analyzed their correlation with the daily variability of the observed winter PM2.5 concentrations in China and South Korea over the past six years (2014/15-2019/20). Siberian High Intensity (SHI) and East Asian Winter Monsoon (EAWM) indices were good indicators of daily PM2.5 concentration changes. Two to four days after the daily SHI and EAWM indices exceed the threshold (±1), the daily PM2.5 concentrations in East Asia significantly increased or decreased, up to 40 % compared to the mean winter PM2.5 concentrations. The climate indices associated with the Siberian high-pressure system thus potentially effectively forecast the daily PM2.5 concentrations in East Asia within a period of one week.

4. Estimating particulate matter concentrations and meteorological contributions in China during 2000-2020

Chemosphere, Volume 330, July 2023, 138742

Abstract

Estimating the effects of airborne particulate matter (PM) on climate and human health is highly dependent on the accurate prediction of its concentration and size distribution. High-complexity machine learning models have been widely used for PM concentration prediction, but such models are often considered as “black boxes”, lacking interpretability. Here, a simple structure lightGBM model is built for ground PM estimation, and the SHAP approach is used to separate the meteorological contributions due to its strong influence on PM concentration.

The models show good performance with correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.84-0.88, 0.80-0.85, and 0.71-0.79, for PM2.5, PM10, and PM2.5-10 (2.5-10 μm), respectively. The lightGBM model trains 45 times faster than the XGBoost model while showing similar accuracy. More importantly, the models have small performance gaps between training and predicting (delta R2: 0.07-0.12), effectively reducing overfitting risk. The PM datasets (10 km daily) of three size ranges are then generated over China from 2000 to 2020. The SHAP method shows good agreement with the meteorological normalization approach in separating the meteorological contributions (R2 > 0.5).

In the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region (BTH), meteorology has greater influence on PM2.5-10 (−5.66%-9.99%) than PM2.5 and PM10. In the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), and the Pearl River Delta (PRD), albedo has a large contribution to PM2.5 concentration under the influence of solar radiation. Notably, relative humidity (RH) has different seasonal effects on PM of three size ranges. In the BTH region, RH has negative effects on PM2.5 (−0.52 μg/m3) and positive effects on PM10 (1.01 μg/m3) and PM2.5-10 (3.39 μg/m3) in spring, but has opposite effects in summer. The results of SHAP approach are consistent with existing conclusions and imply its feasibility in explaining haze formation. The generated PM datasets are useful in health assessment, environmental management, and climate change studies.

5. Impact of circular economy on the decarbonization of the Italian residential sector

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 408, 1 July 2023, 136949

Abstract

Circular economy is a new economic model that aims at overcoming today’s linear “take, make, dispose” pattern, decoupling global economic development from finite resource consumption. Household appliances are a promising field for the adoption of Circular Economy, being one of the most resource-intensive industries and due to the global e-waste problem. The aim of this work is to quantify the potential contribution of making the household appliances sector more circular to the decarbonization of the Italian energy system, using the TIMES-RSE model. First, a literature review of the available circular measures was performed and used as a basis for modeling assumptions.

The following circular measures were considered: extending the lifetime of appliances, increased adoption of remanufactured appliances, growing importance of leasing, lower average washing temperature for washing machines, and lower usage of tumble dryers. Second, each circular practice was modeled either as a new technology available for the optimization of the system or as a change in demand for a certain commodity. The reference scenario is the Italian Long Term Strategy.

It is shown that the modeled circular practices can reduce the energy consumption of household appliances in 2050 by 0,327 Mtoe (−16%) and cut in half their costs through the 2020-2050 period, saving 96 billion euros (−47%). Moreover, savings could be even higher if efforts are taken to remove barriers to their diffusion, including consumers’ habits and manufacturers’ inertia. As the energy weight of appliances is low within the overall residential sector, energy savings of these circular practices are negligible at the sectoral level, however, economic savings of 107 billion euros are achieved over 2020-2050 (−22%).

6. The typology of 60R circular economy principles and strategic orientation of their application in business

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 409, 10 July 2023, 137189

Abstract

The circular economy is one of the recent concepts promoted as the pathway for further green and sustainable development, yet entrepreneurs and managers lack the knowledge on implementing circular economy principles. Assuming the multi-dimensional and systemic character of the circular economy, this article provides a road map of 60R circular economy principles that can be adopted in any company to create a positive economic, environmental, and social impact.

This set of circular economy principles allows the existing performance of companies within environmental regeneration to be assessed, and identifies possible improvements to business circularity. Identifying additional “R” principles could lead to increased synergy or complementarity between them. These 60R circular economy principles are classified in four groups – reduce, reuse, recycle and reverse logistics. The proposed list of CE principles provides a useful framework for business managers to structure potential tasks and develop strategies for CE implementation and serve as a roadmap for researchers to extend existing research on CE principles. This study is based on the systematic literature review critically examining 148 articles and providing a comprehensive and profound overview of circular economy principles to be considered by business practitioners and entrepreneurs. Previously, CE principles are researched in environmental sciences, engineering, and energy. This article contributes to the existing knowledge gap and builds new knowledge on the discipline of business management, as publications in these fields are scarce. The study highlights the significance of reverse logistics and calls for extensive research on how companies can incorporate material or product returns into their business models or strategies, which is a critical research question for future studies.

7. Possible bottlenecks in clean energy transitions: Overview and modelled effects – Case Finland

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 410, 15 July 2023, 137317

Abstract

Limiting the negative effects of human-induced global warming is the focus of climate policy worldwide. In the European Union (EU), the target for reaching carbon neutrality is set to 2050, including a proposed renewable energy target of 45% for 2030. In Finland, the government has pledged to reach net-zero emissions already by 2035, which is expected to require large increases in wind and nuclear capacity, as well as sector coupling with, e.g., transport and heating. In view of these plans, this study evaluates the feasibility of attaining carbon neutrality in Finland by 2035, while considering delays from potential bottlenecks, such as limited raw material availability, fuel availability, manufacturing capacity, and import reliance.

The literature review highlights the considerable dependence of renewable technologies on critical raw materials and other minerals, largely imported from non-EU countries. Modelling revealed how increased biomass usage considerably reduces the size of national carbon sinks, vital for reaching net-zero emissions in Finland in the coming decade. In light of this, current climate strategy was shown to be partially outdated and short of reaching carbon neutrality by 2035, already without including potential delays from the analyzed bottlenecks. Subsequently, alternative measures to improve sustainability and reduce emissions are presented. The findings of this paper are also relevant for other countries aiming to reach net-zero emissions, especially for those which have climate strategies emphasizing bioenergy and wind power.

8. Environmental sustainability disclosure in Asian countries: Bibliometric and content analysis

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 411, 20 July 2023, 137195

Abstract

Stakeholders’ awareness of corporate social responsibility has increased, with governments, companies, investors, and consumers paying more attention to environmental sustainability disclosures. Asian countries contribute to the highest worldwide emission. Thus, sustainability disclosures become necessary because it provides transparency and effort of the corporation to the climate change and sustainability.

This study aims to identify recent knowledge for the disclosure of environmental sustainability in Asian context by examining the literature in Asian countries from 2009 to 2021, trends, research themes, and directions for future studies using bibliometric and content analysis. As a result, 208 articles on environmental sustainability disclosure in Asian countries were extracted from the Scopus database and analyzed.

The study finds that environmental sustainability disclosures related research in Asian countries can be clustered into five major themes, including: environmental disclosure, sustainable accounting and finance, corporate characteristics, sustainability governance, and sustainability reporting and performance. Research topic is shifted from the assessment methods of the disclosures to the integration of sustainability dimensions into the reporting system. Several factors are found to affect the decision of the corporation to disclose their environmental accounting. This study provides recommendations for future research based on the findings and evaluation of current research trends and themes.

9. Robustness of storm water management model parameter sets for dry and wet hydroclimatic conditions

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 411, 20 July 2023, 137328

Abstract

The Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) is an urban watershed model for simulating urban runoff quantity and quality. Although SWMM has been widely used, little to no research has explored the effect of fitting the same SWMM dataset to multiple hydrologic conditions.

This paper assesses the impact of best-fit parameter estimates on the hydrologic responses of dry and wet hydroclimatic conditions, evaluates parameter uncertainty, and identifies the physical processes that govern parameter changes during dry and wet conditions. We compared the ability of SWMM to predict flows when independently calibrated to a dry and a wet year, respectively, using an automatic calibration program for SWMM, OSTRICH-SWMM (Optimization Software Toolkit for Research Involving Computational Heuristics).

The model developed using SWMM calibrated to a wet year performed better during the model assessment period. The best fit estimates of SWMM parameters differed significantly between dry and wet years. For instance, Manning’s roughness coefficient for overland flow was higher in a dry year, as less runoff meant less flow depth on surfaces. Some parameters, e.g., % effective imperviousness, exhibited an expanded posterior probability distribution, increasing the uncertainty of the parameter estimate. However, other parameters, such as Manning’s roughness coefficient for streams were the least sensitive and well-defined as the width of their posterior distribution only spanned a relatively narrow range which did not change drastically between the two cases.

The robust assessment conducted in this study demonstrated that the hydrologic behavior of SWMM was different between models developed and calibrated for dry and wet hydroclimatic conditions. The different optimal parameter values suggest that although the processes and mechanisms driving hydrologic processes in dry and wet years are similar, their magnitude differs greatly.

This study highlights that precipitation patterns affect the selection of optimal parameter values and the water budgets differed markedly between dry and wet years, as expected. The results of this study can assist urban watershed planners in selecting the most appropriate model to use for prediction purposes or when there is a paucity of data available for model calibration. This study recommends changing SWMM model parameters on an annual basis when projecting the effects of new conditions outside of current experience (i.e., land use and climate change) on urban runoff quantity and quality.

10. A step towards carbon neutrality in E7: The role of environmental taxes, structural change, and green energy

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 337, 1 July 2023, 117556

Abstract

To achieve sustainable production and consumption patterns in the modern world, emerging countries are concentrating more on how economic variables may employ carbon neutrality targets appropriately.

Using renewable energy, structural changes initiative, and imposing environmental taxes are all part of the plan to achieve the carbon neutrality goal in terms of reduced carbon emissions (CO2), haze pollutants, and greenhouse gases (GHG). Environmental taxation, renewable energy, structural changes, trade openness, and foreign direct investment (FDI) are aspects taken into account in this study, along with the long-term viability of the natural ecology in the E7 (China, Turkey, India, Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, and Mexico) economies. The Driscoll Kraay fixed effect OLS technique and the Method-of-Moment quantile (MMQ) regression technique were adopted for the baseline analysis for the data span of 2000 to 2020.

From the empirical analysis, it was discovered that environmental Tax, structure change, and renewable energy have a negative connection with carbon emissions for the understudy countries. Moreover, the pollutant haven hypothesis (PHH) was confirmed since the findings discovered a positively significant relation involving FDI and carbon emission. Similarly, trade openness was seen to have a positive connection with carbon emissions.

Thus, it is concluded that effective environmental taxation, renewable energy enhancement, and structure changes mitigate pollution while trade openness and FDI inflow enhance carbon emission for the E7 economies. According to the results, rigorous environmental tax rules will enable enterprises to transition manufacturing to green and sustainable alternatives. Finally, the report recommends that transferring tax money to research and development of sustainable technology programmes will enable governments to meet the SDG-7 and SDG-13 objectives of the United Nations.

11. Macroeconomic effects of green subsidies

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 410, 15 July 2023, 137166

Abstract

In this study, we explore the macroeconomic effects of green subsidies that governments apply to support the ecological transition in their economies. This includes subsidies provided to consumers, green firms, and private banks that lend to green firms. In our experiments, we assume that these subsidies are financed through a carbon tax. Calibrated to France, we find that providing subsidies to support the labor cost of green firms is the most effective tool to reduce pollution and support the growth of the green sector. This policy is more effective than a carbon tax alone, and especially for stimulating a positive supply-demand cycle in the green sector.

In terms of pollution reduction, capital injection into green firms, green vouchers for consumers, and subsidies to private banks’ lending to green firms are less effective than carbon tax alone.

If labor becomes more substitutable between green and brown sectors, the effects of green subsidies are attenuated. If capital becomes more substitutable between green and brown sectors, then the effects of green subsidies are amplified.

12. Accountability audit of natural resource, government environmental regulation and pollution abatement: An empirical study based on difference-in-differences model

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 410, 15 July 2023, 137205

Abstract

For many years, the lack of environmental supervision by local governments has been a challenge for China’s environmental governance. In the process of promoting green development, the system of accountability audit of natural resource (AANR for short), which has a supervisory role, is an innovative policy attempt with Chinese characteristics, and pollution emissions are a key factor in assessing the effectiveness of the policy.

Based on 2012-2017 panel data from 30 provincial regions, this research empirically investigates the effectiveness of AANR in treating pollution and improving air quality using the difference-in-difference model using the AANR pilot project launched in 2015. The results show that AANR can significantly reduce industrial wastewater and sulfur dioxide emissions and improve air quality in the long term.

Meanwhile, AANR can improve the environmental regulating behaviour of local governments, which serves in part as an intermediate. This study recommends enhancing the necessary evaluation standards, promoting the standardisation and institutionalisation of AANR, and implementing big data audit techniques to further boost the promotion effect of AANR on pollution reduction. This research innovatively incorporates accountability audit of natural resource, government environmental regulation and pollution abatement into the same research system, providing theoretical and practical references for achieving green development and building a high-quality modern economic system.

13. Identifying the role of green financial development played in carbon intensity: Evidence from China

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 408, 1 July 2023, 136943

Abstract

Existing studies have explored the effect of green finance on carbon emissions. However, few studies have distinguished green financial efficiency from scale, which are crucial aspects for financial development. We add these dimensions to construct a synthetic index of green financial development and apply the entropy method to measure it based on China’s provincial dataset from 2000 to 2019 through a series of econometric analyses.

Green technology innovation, energy mix optimisation, and industrial structure upgrades are selected as the influencing channels to demonstrate the effect of green financial development on carbon intensity. The results show that in general, green financial development significantly decreases carbon intensity. All components of green finance have a positive influence in decreasing carbon intensity, except for green investment tools.

Green financial efficiency has been a more important driver of carbon intensity reduction than the green financial scale, specifically for the eastern regions after the 12th Five Year Plan. The two-step analysis of the influencing mechanisms reveals that all three green transition channels are essential for decreasing the carbon intensity. These results imply more green finance policies on enhancing synergetic effect, optimising investment structure and increasing allocation efficiency are called in the future.

14. Tropospheric formaldehyde levels infer ambient formaldehyde-induced brain diseases and global burden in China, 2013-2019

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 883, 20 July 2023, 163553

Abstract

Although air pollutions cause human diseases, no epidemiological study has investigated the effect of exposure to air pollutants on brain diseases in the general population. Our objective was to examine the association between tropospheric airborne pollutants and human health risk and global burden, especially, attributable to indoor formaldehyde (FA) pollution in China. The data of tropospheric pollutants, such as: CO, NO, O3, PM2.5 or PM10, SO2, and FA in China, 2013-2019, which were derived from the database of satellite remote-sensing, were first calculated and then analyzed them according to satellite cloud pictures.

The rate of prevalence, incidence, deaths, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) of the Chinese population was obtained from the Global Burden of Diseases (GBD 2010). A linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between tropospheric FA concentrations and GBD indexes of human brain diseases, the numbers of fire plot, the average summer temperature, population density and car sales in China from 2013 to 2019.

Our results showed that the levels of tropospheric FA could reflect the degree of indoor air FA pollution on a nationwide scale in China; in particular, only tropospheric FA exhibited a positive correlation with the rates of both prevalence and YLDs in brain diseases including: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and brain cancer, but not in Parkinson’s disease and depression. In particular, the spatial-temporal changes in tropospheric FA levels were consistent with the geographical distribution of FA exposure-induced AD and brain cancer in both sex old adults with age (60-89). In addition, summer average temperature, car sales and population density were positively correlated with tropospheric FA levels in China, 2013-2019. Hence, mapping of tropospheric pollutants could be used for air quality monitoring and health risk assessment.

15. Banks, emissions, and environmental impacts of China’s ozone depletion substances and hydrofluorocarbon substitutes during 1980-2020

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 882, 15 July 2023, 163586

Abstract

Ozone-depleting substances (ODSs), which also contribute to global warming, have been controlled by the Montreal Protocol (MP) since 1987. China joined the MP in 1991 and began reducing production and consumption of ODSs in the country, leading to a decrease in emissions of ODSs. Based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change guidelines, the latest emission factors and actual consumption in China (MP scenario), both the historical banks and the historical emissions of ODSs and substitute hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) during 1980-2020 were calculated.

To understand the reduction in ODS and HFC emissions by implementing the MP, we also estimated China’s virtual emissions (NMP, i.e., the amount of ODS emissions without the MP) over the same period. The avoided cumulative ODS consumption and emission values of 10.8 and 5.8 (4.8-6.9) million tonnes (Mt) of CFC-11-equivalent (eq), respectively, were estimated by comparing the two scenarios. Furthermore, 26 (22−33) giga tonnes (Gt) of CO2-eq emissions, equivalent to an increase of 0.031 W m−2 radiative forcing, were estimated to be avoided by 2020, which will prevent an additional 0.025 °C increase in temperature.

The MP implemented by China has resulted in substantial environmental benefits over the last 30 years. However, owing to the massive use of HFCs as substitutes, the cumulative emissions reached 2286 Mt. CO2-eq during 1990-2020, and it will be challenging to phase down HFCs in the environment after China ratified the Kigali Amendment in 2021.

16. Particulate matter air pollution and COVID-19 infection, severity, and mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 880, 1 July 2023, 163272

Abstract

Ecological evidence links ambient particulate matter ≤2.5 mm (PM2.5) and the rate of COVID-19 infections, severity, and deaths. However, such studies are unable to account for individual-level differences in major confounders like socioeconomic status and often rely on imprecise measures of PM2.5. We conducted a systematic review of case-control and cohort studies, which rely on individual-level data, searching Medline, Embase, and the WHO COVID-19 database up to 30 June 2022. Study quality was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Results were pooled with a random effects meta-analysis, with Egger’s regression, funnel plots, and leave-one-out/trim-and-fill sensitivity analyses to account for publication bias.

N = 18 studies met inclusion criteria. A 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 was associated with 66 % (95 % CI: 1.31-2.11) greater odds of COVID-19 infection (N = 7) and 127 % (95 % CI: 1.41-3.66) odds of severe illness (hospitalisation, ICU admission, or requiring respiratory support) (N = 6). Pooled mortality results (N = 5) indicated increased deaths due to PM2.5 but were non-significant (OR 1.40; 0.94 to 2.10).

Most studies were rated “good” quality (14/18 studies), though there were numerous methodological issues; few used individual-level data to adjust for socioeconomic status (4/18 studies), instead using area-based indicators (11/18 studies) or no such adjustments (3/18 studies). Most severity (9/10 studies) and mortality studies (5/6 studies) were based on people already diagnosed COVID-19, potentially introducing collider bias. There was evidence of publication bias in studies of infection (p = 0.012) but not severity (p = 0.132) or mortality (p = 0.100).

While methodological limits and evidence of bias require cautious interpretation of the findings, we found compelling evidence that PM2.5 increases the risk of COVID-19 infection and severe disease, and weaker evidence of an increase in mortality risk.

17. The influence of meteorological factors on COVID-19 spread in Italy during the first and second wave

Environmental Research, Volume 228, 1 July 2023, 115796

Abstract

The relation between meteorological factors and COVID-19 spread remains uncertain, particularly with regard to the role of temperature, relative humidity and solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation. To assess this relation, we investigated disease spread within Italy during 2020. The pandemic had a large and early impact in Italy, and during 2020 the effects of vaccination and viral variants had not yet complicated the dynamics.

We used non-linear, spline-based Poisson regression of modeled temperature, UV and relative humidity, adjusting for mobility patterns and additional confounders, to estimate daily rates of COVID-19 new cases, hospital and intensive care unit admissions, and deaths during the two waves of the pandemic in Italy during 2020.

We found little association between relative humidity and COVID-19 endpoints in both waves, whereas UV radiation above 40 kJ/m2 showed a weak inverse association with hospital and ICU admissions in the first wave, and a stronger relation with all COVID-19 endpoints in the second wave. Temperature above 283 K (10 °C/50 °F) showed a strong non-linear negative relation with COVID-19 endpoints, with inconsistent relations below this cutpoint in the two waves. Given the biological plausibility of a relation between temperature and COVID-19, these data add support to the proposition that temperature above 283 K, and possibly high levels of solar UV radiation, reduced COVID-19 spread.

MÔI TRƯỜNG ĐÔ THỊ

1. Environmental and economic impacts of improper materials in the recycling of separated collected food waste through anaerobic digestion and composting

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 880, 1 July 2023, 163240

Abstract

Separately collected food waste (SC-FW) is effectively recycled through industrial anaerobic digestion (AD) and composting. However, the presence of improper materials in SC-FW not only generates technical problems to AD and composting, but also lowers the quality of the outputs of the processes. As a consequence, improper materials found in SC-FW cause not negligible environmental and economic burdens.

In this study, the environmental and economic impacts due to the presence of unsuitable materials in the SC-FW, determined through compositional analysis, were estimated through life cycle assessment and environmental life cycle costing approaches. Three different scenarios were analysed for both AD and composting processes: (i) the current situation (CS); (ii) the improved scenario (AS) with an amount of improper materials in SC-FW reduced to 3 % (w/w); (iii) the ideal scenario (IS) with the total absence of foreign materials.

Environmental benefits were determined for the AS and IS scenarios in 17 of the 19 analysed impact categories. Considering the GHG emissions, higher savings were measured for AD in AS and IS scenarios (47 % and 79 %, respectively) than in CS scenario. Similarly, savings of −10.4 kg fossil oil eq/tonSC-FW (AS) and − 17.1 kg fossil oil eq/tonSC-FW (IS) for AD could be obtained with respect to the CS scenario. Greater economic benefits were calculated for AD (−76.4 €/tonSC-FW) and composting (−52.2 €/tonSC-FW) in the IS scenario. Savings up to € 2,249,780 and € 3,888,760 could have been obtained in 2022 by reducing to 3 % (w/w) and eliminating, respectively, the amount of improper materials in the SC-FW.

The results of the compositional analyses of SC-FW allowed to identify the incorrect behaviours in FW source-sorting activity and to plan interventions to improve the current FW management system. The quantified environmental and economic benefits could further motivate citizens to correctly differentiate FW.

2. Assessing uncertainty and heterogeneity in machine learning-based spatiotemporal ozone prediction in Beijing-Tianjin- Hebei region in China

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 881, 10 July 2023, 163146

Abstract

Accurate prediction of spatiotemporal ozone concentration is of great significance to effectively establish advanced early warning systems and regulate air pollution control. However, the comprehensive assessment of uncertainty and heterogeneity in spatiotemporal ozone prediction remains unknown.

Here, we systematically analyze the hourly and daily spatiotemporal predictive performances using convolutional long short term memory (ConvLSTM) and deep convolutional generative adversarial network (DCGAN) models over the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in China from 2013 to 2018. In extensive scenarios, our results show that the machine learning-based (ML-based) models achieve better spatiotemporal ozone concentration prediction performance with multiple meteorological conditions. A further comparison to the air pollution model-Nested Air Quality Prediction Modelling System (NAQPMS) and monitoring observations, the ConvLSTM model demonstrates the practical feasibility of identifying high ozone concentration distribution and capturing spatiotemporal ozone variation patterns at a high spatial resolution (here 15 km × 15 km).

3. Chemical prioritization of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in an urban tributary of the Potomac River

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 881, 10 July 2023, 163514

Abstract

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are incredibly diverse in terms of chemical structures, physicochemical properties, and modes of action, making their environmental impacts challenging to assess. New chemical prioritization methodologies have emerged that compare contaminant monitoring concentrations to multiple toxicity data sources, including whole organism and high-throughput data, to develop a list of “high priority” chemicals requiring further study.

We applied such an approach to assess PPCPs in Hunting Creek, an urban tributary of the Potomac River near Washington, DC, which has experienced extensive human population growth. We estimated potential risks of 99 PPCPs from surface water and sediment collected upstream and downstream of a major wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), nearby combined sewer overflows (CSO), and in the adjacent Potomac River.

The greatest potential risks to the aquatic ecosystem occurred near WWTP and CSO outfalls, but risk levels rapidly dropped below thresholds of concern – established by previous chemical prioritization studies – in the Potomac mainstem. These results suggest that urban tributaries, rather than larger rivers, are important to monitor because their lower or intermittent flow may not adequately dilute contaminants of concern.

Common psychotropics, such as fluoxetine and venlafaxine, presented the highest potential risks, with toxicity quotients often > 10 in surface water and > 1000 in sediment, indicating the need for further field studies. Several ubiquitous chemicals such as caffeine and carbamazepine also exceeded thresholds of concern throughout our study area and point to specific neurotoxic and endocrine modes of action that warrant further investigation. Since many “high priority” chemicals in our analysis have also triggered concerns in other areas around the world, better coordination is needed among environmental monitoring programs to improve global chemical prioritization efforts.

4. Capturing the SARS-CoV-2 infection pyramid within the municipality of Rotterdam using longitudinal sewage surveillance

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 883, 20 July 2023, 163599

Abstract

Despite high vaccination rates in the Netherlands, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to circulate. Longitudinal sewage surveillance was implemented along with the notification of cases as two parts of the surveillance pyramid to validate the use of sewage for surveillance, as an early warning tool, and to measure the effect of interventions.

Sewage samples were collected from nine neighborhoods between September 2020 and November 2021. Comparative analysis and modeling were performed to understand the correlation between wastewater and case trends. Using high resolution sampling, normalization of wastewater SARS-CoV-2 concentrations, and ‘normalization’ of reported positive tests for testing delay and intensity, the incidence of reported positive tests could be modeled based on sewage data, and trends in both surveillance systems coincided.

The high collinearity implied that high levels of viral shedding around the onset of disease largely determined SARS-CoV-2 levels in wastewater, and that the observed relationship was independent of variants of concern and vaccination levels. Sewage surveillance alongside a large-scale testing effort where 58 % of a municipality was tested, indicated a five-fold difference in the number of SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals and reported cases through standard testing.

Where trends in reported positive cases were biased due to testing delay and testing behavior, wastewater surveillance can objectively display SARS-CoV-2 dynamics for both small and large locations and is sensitive enough to measure small variations in the number of infected individuals within or between neighborhoods. With the transition to a post-acute phase of the pandemic, sewage surveillance can help to keep track of re-emergence, but continued validation studies are needed to assess the predictive value of sewage surveillance with new variants. Our findings and model aid in interpreting SARS-CoV-2 surveillance data for public health decision-making and show its potential as one of the pillars of future surveillance of (re)emerging viruses.

5. Intermediate volatile organic compounds in Canadian residential air in winter: Implication to indoor air quality

Chemosphere, Volume 328, July 2023, 138567

Abstract

Intermediate volatile organic compounds (IVOCs) have recently been characterized for their contributions to the formation of secondary organic aerosol in atmospheric air. However, IVOCs in air in various indoor environments have not been characterized yet. In this study, we characterized and measured IVOCs, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), in residential indoor air in Ottawa, Canada. IVOCs, including n-alkanes, branched-chain alkanes (b-alkanes), unspecified complex mixtures (UCM) IVOCs, and oxygenated IVOCs (such as fatty acids), were found to have a large impact on indoor air quality.

The results indicate that the indoor IVOCs behave differently from those in the outdoor environment. IVOCs in the studied residential air ranged from 14.4 to 69.0 μg/m3, with a geometric mean of 31.3 μg/m3, accounting for approximately 20% of the total organic compounds (IVOCs, VOCs and SVOCs) in indoor air. The total b-alkanes and UCM-IVOCs were found to have statistically significant positive correlations with indoor temperature but have no correlations with airborne particulate matter less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) as well as ozone (O3) concentration. However, indoor oxygenated IVOCs behaved differently from b-alkanes and UCM-IVOCs, with a statistically significant positive correlation with indoor relative humidity but no correlation with other indoor environmental conditions.

6. Associations between short-term exposure to PM2.5, NO2 and O3 pollution and kidney-related conditions and the role of temperature-adjustment specification: A case-crossover study in New York state

Environmental Pollution, Volume 328, 1 July 2023, 121629

Abstract

Epidemiologic evidence on the relationship between air pollution and kidney disease remains inconclusive. We evaluated associations between short-term exposure to PM2.5, NO2 and O3 and unplanned hospital visits for seven kidney-related conditions (acute kidney failure [AKF], urolithiasis, glomerular diseases [GD], renal tubulo-interstitial diseases, chronic kidney disease, dysnatremia, and volume depletion; n = 1,209,934) in New York State (2007-2016). We applied a case-crossover design with conditional logistic regression, controlling for temperature, dew point temperature, wind speed, and solar radiation. We used a three-pollutant model at lag 0-5 days of exposure as our main model.

We also assessed the influence of model adjustment using different specifications of temperature by comparing seven temperature metrics (e.g., dry-bulb temperature, heat index) and five intraday temperature measures (e.g., daily mean, daily minimum, nighttime mean), according to model performance and association magnitudes between air pollutants and kidney-related conditions. In our main models, we adjusted for daytime mean outdoor wet-bulb globe temperature, which showed good model performance across all kidney-related conditions.

We observed the odds ratios (ORs) for 5 μg/m3 increase in daily mean PM2.5 to be 1.013 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.001, 1.025) for AKF, 1.107 (95% CI: 1.018, 1.203) for GD, and 1.027 (95% CI: 1.015, 1.038) for volume depletion; and the OR for 5 ppb increase in daily 1-hour maximum NO2 to be 1.014 (95% CI; 1.008, 1.021) for AKF. We observed no associations with daily 8-hour maximum O3 exposure.

Association estimates varied by adjustment for different intraday temperature measures: estimates adjusted for measures with poorer model performance resulted in the greatest deviation from estimates adjusted for daytime mean, especially for AKF and volume depletion. Our findings indicate that short-term exposure to PM2.5 and NO2 is a risk factor for specific kidney-related conditions and underscore the need for careful adjustment of temperature in air pollution epidemiologic studies.

7. Association of long-term ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and incident non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in Chinese adults

Environmental Pollution, Volume 329, 15 July 2023, 121666

Abstract

Air pollution is increasingly recognized as an important environmental risk factor for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, epidemiologic evidence on long-term exposure to high air pollution concentrations with incident NAFLD is still very limited. Here, we constructed a population-based dynamic cohort involving 17,106 subjects who were enrolled between 2005 and 2013 and subsequently followed until 2017, combined with a high-resolution ambient fine particulate matter ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5) dataset, to investigate the association of long-term PM2.5 exposure (cumulative annual average levels ranged from 36.67 to 111.16 μg/m3) with NAFLD incidence (N = 4,640). We estimated the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for incident NAFLD among those exposed to the highest quartile of PM2.5 was 2.04 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.80-2.30] compared with individuals exposed to the lowest quartile of PM2.5.

The dose-response relationships for PM2.5 are non-linear for NAFLD across the exposure distribution. Further stratified analyses revealed that lean (<23 kg/m2), younger (<40-year-old), and women individuals appeared more vulnerable to the harmful effects of PM2.5 exposure. Our study suggests a greater long-term high ambient PM2.5 exposure is associated with an increased risk of NAFLD in Chinese adults, particularly in specific groups, including lean, women, and younger people.

8. Association of long-term exposure to air pollution with chronic sleep deprivation in South Korea: A community-level longitudinal study, 2008-2018

Environmental Research, Volume 228, 1 July 2023, 115812

Abstract

Background and objective

Although there are many findings about the effects of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and sleep deprivation on health respectively, the association between PM2.5 and chronic sleep deprivation has rarely been investigated. Thus, we aimed to investigate this association using a nationwide survey in South Korea.

Method

We examined the association between long-term exposure to PM2.5 and chronic sleep deprivation using a national cross-sectional health survey covering the entire 226 districts in inland South Korea from 2008 to 2018, with a machine learning-based national air pollution prediction model with 1 km2 spatial resolution.

Results

Chronic sleep deprivation was positively associated with PM2.5 in the total population (odds ratio (OR): 1.09, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05-1.13) and sub-population (low, middle, high population density areas with OR: 1.127, 1.09, and 1.059, respectively). The association was consistently observed in both sexes (males with OR: 1.09, females with OR: 1.09)) and was more pronounced in the elderly population (OR: 1.12) than in the middle-aged (OR: 1.07) and young (OR: 1.09) populations.

Conclusions

Our results are consistent with the hypothesis regarding the relationship between long-term PM2.5 exposure and chronic sleep deprivation, and the study provides quantitative evidence for public health interventions to improve air quality that can affect chronic sleep conditions.

9. Peculiar weather patterns effects on air pollution and COVID-19 spread in Tokyo metropolis

Environmental Research, Volume 228, 1 July 2023, 115907

Abstract

As a pandemic hotspot in Japan, between March 1, 2020-October 1, 2022, Tokyo metropolis experienced seven COVID-19 waves. Motivated by the high rate of COVID-19 incidence and mortality during the seventh wave, and environmental/health challenges we conducted a time-series analysis to investigate the long-term interaction of air quality and climate variability with viral pandemic in Tokyo. Through daily time series geospatial and observational air pollution/climate data, and COVID-19 incidence and death cases, this study compared the environmental conditions during COVID-19 multiwaves.

In spite of five State of Emergency (SOEs) restrictions associated with COVID-19 pandemic, during (2020-2022) period air quality recorded low improvements relative to (2015-2019) average annual values, namely: Aerosol Optical Depth increased by 9.13% in 2020 year, and declined by 6.64% in 2021, and 12.03% in 2022; particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10 decreased during 2020, 2021, and 2022 years by 10.22%, 62.26%, 0.39%, and respectively by 4.42%, 3.95%, 5.76%. For (2021-2022) period the average ratio of PM2.5/PM10 was (0.319 ± 0.1640), showing a higher contribution to aerosol loading of traffic-related coarse particles in comparison with fine particles.

The highest rates of the daily recorded COVID-19 incidence and death cases in Tokyo during the seventh COVID-19 wave (1 July 2022-1 October 2022) may be attributed to accumulation near the ground of high levels of air pollutants and viral pathogens due to: 1) peculiar persistent atmospheric anticyclonic circulation with strong positive anomalies of geopotential height at 500 hPa; 2) lower levels of Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) heights; 3) high daily maximum air temperature and land surface temperature due to the prolonged heat waves (HWs) in summer 2022; 4) no imposed restrictions. Such findings can guide public decision-makers to design proper strategies to curb pandemics under persistent stable anticyclonic weather conditions and summer HWs in large metropolitan areas.

10. Impact assessment of urbanization on vegetation net primary productivity: A case study of the core development area in central plains urban agglomeration, China

Environmental Research, Volume 229, 15 July 2023, 115995

Abstract

Rapid urbanization process has a negative or positive impact on vegetation growth. Net primary productivity (NPP) is an effective indicator to characterize vegetation growth status. Taking the core development area of the Central Plains urban agglomeration as the study area, we estimated the NPP and its change trend in the past four decades using the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach (CASA) model and statistical analysis based on meteorological and multi-source remote sensing data.

Meanwhile, combined with the urbanization impact framework, we further analyzed urbanization’s direct and indirect impact on NPP. The results showed that the urban area increased by 2688 km2 during a high-speed urbanization process from 1983 to 2019. As a result of the intense urbanization process, a continuous NPP decrease (direct impact) can be seen, which aggravated along with the acceleration of the urban expansion, and the mean value of direct impact was 130.84 g C·m−2·a−1.

Meanwhile, urbanization also had a positive impact on NPP (indirect impact). The indirect impact showed an increasing trend during urbanization with a mean value of 10.91 g C·m−2·a−1. The indirect impact was mainly related to temperature in climatic factors. The indirect impact has a seasonal heterogeneity, and high-temperature environments of urban areas are more effective in promoting vegetation growth in autumn and winter than in summer. Among different cities, high-speed development cities have higher indirect impact values than medium’s and low’s because of better ecological construction. This study is of great significance for understanding the impact of urbanization on vegetation growth in the Central Plains urban agglomeration area, supporting urban greening plans, and building sustainable and resilient urban agglomerations.

11. Impacts of urban morphology on sensible heat flux and net radiation exchange

Urban Climate, Volume 50, July 2023, 101588

Abstract

Urban morphology affects the sensible heat flux and net radiation exchange which can alter urban heat mitigation plans. This study first parameterized the geometric effects on the net radiation, and then calculated the net radiation and sensible heat flux in the urban landscape of Hong Kong. Considering that the sensible heat flux is the main heat sink in compact urban areas, this study proposes a Normalized Urban Sensible Heat Mitigation Index (NUSHMI) based on the ratio of the net radiation and sensible heat flux.

Overall, there is major difference in the dependence of net radiation and sensible heat flux on geometric parameters. Net radiation Rn, reaches an optimal value, either maximum or minimum depending on the parameters of SVF and a standard deviation of building height σh, at intermediate parameter values, which suggests a guideline relevant to urban design targeting the mitigation of urban climate. Contrariwise, sensible heat flux decreases or increases, again depending on SVF and σh, is being considered, with increasing values of the same parameters. For example, Rn, reaches a minimum value for a Sky View Factor (SVF) between 0.5 and 0.6, while it reaches a maximum value for a standard deviation of building height σh between 20 and 30 m. These two results suggest that radiative forcing, i.e. Rn, can be minimized by urban space with SVF around 0.55 and σh around 25 m. The relationships between sensible heat flux and SVF or σh do not show multiple minima or maxima (as with Rn), with the exception of building density, which could also be applied as a guideline in urban design.

The results based on the proposed NUSHMI indicated the NUSHMI reaches the highest values when building density is about 0.7 and building height is about 80 m and when the building height standard deviation within an area is about 10 m to 20 m. These findings revealed how the urban morphology affects the surface heat flux exchange between urban canopy and atmosphere boundary layer, and can help to design an efficient urban landscape towards urban heat mitigation for highly compacted cities, e.g. controlling the building density, height, and the height deviation. This combination of urban geometric parameters identifies an urban configuration maximizing the dissipation of absorbed radiant energy as sensible heat. It should be noted, however, that heat load upon buildings would be reduced at the price of maximizing heat dissipation within the built-up space.

12. Rapid increase of the nighttime electricity demand in Beijing due to compound heatwaves

Urban Climate, Volume 50, July 2023, 101595

Abstract

Under the carbon-neutral development pathway in China, >96% of the total power generation will be provided by clean energy sources by 2060. However, since solar power generation is unavailable at night, it is crucial to investigate the changes in nighttime electricity demand in response to increasing occurrences of tropical nights. This study reveals that nighttime electricity consumption is more sensitive to temperature changes compared to daytime consumption, which has already been extensively studied. The correlation coefficient between nighttime consumption and daily minimum temperature (Tmin) is found to be 0.7.

Furthermore, the elasticity of nighttime electricity consumption increases even more when Tmin exceeds 24 °C. The combined effects of heatwaves occurring during both daytime and nighttime can further increase electricity consumption by 40%. By utilizing a high-resolution hybrid downscaling climate projection dataset, we estimate the electricity consumption at the end of the 21st century. The frequency of compound daytime/nighttime heat extremes is projected to increase to 4.2 times the current level under RCP4.5. Consequently, the frequency of large nighttime electricity consumption over 6 kWh per capita will rise by 109%. Our quantitative analysis sheds light on the necessity of energy storage planning to ensure energy security under climate change.

13. Spatial characteristics, sources and exposure risk of polychlorinated biphenyls in dusts and soils from an urban environment in the Niger Delta of Nigeria

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 883, 20 July 2023, 163513

Abstract

Chlorinated organic compounds, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), are a threat to both humans and the environment because of their toxicity, persistence, and capacity for long-range atmospheric transport. The concentrations of 28 PCB congeners, including 12 dioxin-like and seven indicator PCBs, were investigated in soils, and indoor and outdoor dusts from Port Harcourt city, Nigeria, in order to evaluate the characteristic distribution patterns in these media, their sources, and possible risk.

The PCB concentrations varied from 4.59 to 116 ng g−1 for soils, and from 1.80 to 23.0 ng g−1 and 2.73 to 57.4 ng g−1 for indoor and outdoor dusts respectively. The sequence of PCB concentrations in these matrices was soil > outdoor dust > indoor dust.

The composition of PCBs in these matrices indicated the prevalence of lower chlorinated PCBs in indoor and outdoor dusts, while the higher chlorinated congeners were dominant in soils. Di-PCBs were the predominant homologues in indoor dusts, while deca-PCBs were the most prevalent homologues in outdoor dusts and soils.

The TEQ values of dioxin-like PCBs in 60 % of the soils, 100 % of the indoor dust, and 30 % of the outdoor dust were above the indicative value of 4 pg TEQ g−1 established by the Canadian authority. The hazard index (HI) values for exposure of adults and children to PCBs in these media were mostly greater than one, while the total cancer risk (TCR) values exceeded the acceptable risk value of 10−6, which indicate probable non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks resulting from exposure to PCBs in these media. Source analysis for PCBs in these matrices shows that they originated from diverse sources.

14. Deep learning-assisted automated sewage pipe defect detection for urban water environment management

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 882, 15 July 2023, 163562

Abstract

A healthy sewage pipe system plays a significant role in urban water management by collecting and transporting wastewater and stormwater, which can be assessed by hydraulic model. However, sewage pipe defects have been observed frequently in recent years during regular pipe maintenance according to the captured interior videos of underground pipes by closed-circuit television (CCTV) robots. In this case, hydraulic model constructed based on a healthy pipe would produce large deviations with that in real hydraulic performance and even be out of work, which can result in unanticipated damages such as blockage collapse or stormwater overflows. Quick defect evaluation and defect quantification are the precondition to achieve risk assessment and model calibration of urban water management, but currently pipe defects assessment still largely relies on technicians to check the CCTV videos/images.

An automated sewage pipe defect detection system is necessary to timely determine pipe issues and then rehabilitate or renew sewage pipes, while the rapid development of deep learning especially in recent five years provides a fantastic opportunity to construct automated pipe defect detection system by image recognition. Given the initial success of deep learning application in CCTV interpretation, the review (i) integrated the methodological framework of automated sewage pipe defect detection, including data acquisition, image pre-processing, feature extraction, model construction and evaluation metrics, (ii) discussed the state-of-the-art performance of deep learning in pipe defects classification, location, and severity rating evaluation (e.g., up to ~96 % of accuracy and 140 FPS of processing speed), and (iii) proposed risk assessment and model calibration in urban water management by considering pipe defects. This review introduces a novel practical application-oriented methodology including defect data acquisition by CCTV, model construction by deep learning, and model application, provides references for further improving accuracy and generalization ability of urban water management models in practical application.

15. Peroxymonosulfate/Solar process for urban wastewater purification at a pilot plant scale: A techno-economic assessment

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 881, 10 July 2023, 163407

Abstract

The safe reuse of reclaimed water for agricultural irrigation has been considered as an alternative, feasible and sustainable option to address water scarcity. This work aims to validate the capability of the solar water photochemical process based on the synergistic effect between peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and natural solar radiation for actual urban wastewater (UWW) purification at a pilot plant scale using a solar Compound Parabolic Collector photo-reactor.

The PMS/Solar process performance was assessed by monitoring simultaneously the inactivation of naturally occurring bacteria (Escherichia coli, Total coliforms, Enterococcus spp. and Pseudomonas spp.) as a potential tertiary treatment to fit the minimum bacterial requirements for UWW purification but also additional challenges have been in deep analysed simultaneously. In this regard, a global analysis including the degradation of three Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) (Diclofenac-DCF, Sulfamethoxazole-SMX and Trimethoprim-TMP), the removal of antibiotic resistant elements, the residual toxicity and the treatment cost has been analysed. Different PMS concentrations (0-1 mM) were tested and an enhancement in the process performance was obtained with increasing oxidant load, obtaining the best results with 1 mM of PMS, at which detection limit (DL) of 2 CFU/mL was reached for all microbial targets after 15 min (1.1 kJ/L of accumulated solar UV-A radiation (QUV)) and 80 % of CECs removal was reached after 27 min (2.0 kJ/L of QUV) of solar treatment time. Inactivation of naturally occurring antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and removal of 16S rRNA and selected antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) (i.e., intI1, sul1, qnrS, blaTEM, blaCTX-M32, tetM) were also investigated.

ARB was successfully inactivated to values below the DL, but the process was not able to completely remove ARGs. A total reduction of intI1 (30 %), 16S rRNA (19 %), sul1 (14 %), blaCTX-M32 (12 %), qnrS (10 %), blaTEM (8 %), and tetM (7 %), was obtained after 120 min (11.5 kJ/L of QUV). An absence of an eco and phytotoxic effect of treated samples was observed towards Aliivibrio fischeri and three seeds, respectively. Finally, an estimated treatment cost of 0.96 €/m3 for the simultaneous UWW disinfection and decontamination demonstrates the promising capability of this solar treatment for UWW reclamation and reuse in agriculture, especially in areas with a high solar radiation incidence.

16. Compound impact of COVID-19, economy and climate on the spatial distribution of global agriculture and food security

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 880, 1 July 2023, 163105

Abstract

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold around the world, the per unit area yield of the world’s three major crops (i.e. maize, rice and wheat) decreased simultaneously for the first time in 20 years, and nearly 2.37 billion people faced food insecurity in 2020. Around 119-124 million people were pushed back into extreme poverty.

Drought is one of the natural hazards that mostly affect agricultural production, and 2020 is one of the three warmest years on record. When the pandemic, economic recession and extreme climate change occur simultaneously, food crisis will often be exacerbated. Due to the limited research on the geographic modelling of crops and food security at the country level, we investigated the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic (COVID-19 incidence and mortality rate), economic (GDP and per capita GDP), climate (temperature change and drought), and their compound effects on three crop yields and food security in the world.

On the basis of verifying the spatial autocorrelation, we used the global ordinary least squares model to select the explanatory variables. Then, geographically weighted regression (GWR) and multi-scale GWR (MGWR), were utilised to explore spatial non-stationary relationships. Results indicated that the MGWR was more efficient than the traditional GWR. On the whole, per capita GDP was the most important explanatory variable for most countries. However, the direct threats of COVID-19, temperature change and drought on crops and food security were small and localised. This study is the first to utilise advanced spatial methods to analyse the impacts of natural and human disasters on agriculture and food security in various countries, which can serve as a geographical guide for the World Food Organization, other relief agencies and policymakers to conduct food aid, health and medical assistance, financial support, climate change policy formulation, and anti-epidemic policy formulation.

MÔI TRƯỜNG KHU CÔNG NGHIỆP

1. A comprehensive method of source apportionment and ecological risk assessment of soil heavy metals: A case study in Qingyuan city, China

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 882, 15 July 2023, 163555

Abstract

The study combined multiple models to provide a deeper understanding to soil heavy metal contamination and source information, which are essential for controlling pollution and reducing human health risks. In this study, the agricultural soils were collected from the Qingyuan City of China as an example. The multiple models (APCS/MLR, PMF, and GDM) were used to identify and quantitatively apportion the main sources of heavy metal pollution in the area.

The results showed that Cu (56.4 %), Ni (70.9 %), B (44.5 %), and Cr (72.8 %) were associated with natural sources, such as soil parent material and soil-forming processes. However, Pb (41.2 %), Zn (61.8 %), Hg (67.0 %), and Cd (69.6 %) were associated with agricultural activities, atmospheric deposition, vehicle exhaust emissions, and vehicle tires, while Mo, Se, and Mn were possibly derived from natural sources, including rock weathering and soil parent materials. Additionally, the network of environmental analysis revealed that soil microbes are far more sensitive to soil heavy metal pollution than herbivores, vegetation, and carnivores. This study can serve as a guideline for reducing the ecological and health risks associated with heavy metals in soil by controlling their preferential sources.

2. Green, non-toxic and efficient adsorbent from hazardous ash waste for the recovery of valuable metals and heavy metal removal from waste streams

Chemosphere, Volume 329, July 2023, 138524

Abstract

As compared to alkali-activated geopolymers with phosphoric acid which may be used in high concentrations resulting in disposal concerns, acid-based geopolymers may have superior properties. A novel green method of converting waste ash to a geopolymer for use in adsorption applications such as water treatment is presented here. We use methanesulfonic acid, a green chemical with high acid strength and biodegradability to form geopolymers from coal and wood fly ashes.

The geopolymer is characterized for its physico-chemical properties and tested for heavy metal adsorption. The material specifically adsorbs iron and lead. The geopolymer is coupled to activated carbon forming a composite, which adsorbs silver (precious metal) and manganese (hazardous metal) significantly. The adsorption pattern complies with pseudo-second order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm. Toxicity studies show while activated carbon is highly toxic, the geopolymer and the carbon-geopolymer composite have relatively less toxicity concerns.

3. Deriving decarbonization targets and pathways – A case study for the automotive industry

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 409, 10 July 2023, 137256

Abstract

Climate models and decarbonization scenarios use carbon budgets to distribute emission allowances and derive reduction targets for sectoral developments to limit global warming. These requirements are often not aligned with corporate climate targets due to missing targeting approaches for sectors and scopes as well as differences between absolute and intensity targets.

Therefore, the aim of this paper is the development of an allocation scheme by combining frameworks for CO2eq accounting like the ISO 14040, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the IPCC Guidelines for inventory accounting to link sectoral carbon budgets to stages of product life cycles and vice versa. To calculate carbon budgets and reduction targets, a case study for the automotive industry is conducted. Consequently, average data sets of emission reporting, studies and LCAs for material compositions, forecasts on vehicles sales and the shares of electrified products are used. Depending on the applied decarbonization scenarios, different reduction trajectories aligned with pathways to limit global warming well below 2 °C and respectively to 1.5 °C are determined. As a result, the company has to reduce their absolute emissions from 2019 to 2030 by −25% to −46% equal to an intensity target of −32% to −51%.

4. Spatial and temporal trends in δ66Zn and 206Pb/207Pb isotope ratios along a rural transect downwind from the Upper Silesian industrial area: Role of legacy vs. present-day pollution

Environmental Pollution, Volume 328, 1 July 2023, 121609

Abstract

Transect sampling is an under-exploited tool in isotope studies of atmospheric pollution. Few studies have combined Zn and Pb isotope ratios to investigate whether atmospheric pollution at a receptor site is dominated by a different anthropogenic source of each of these toxic elements. It has been also unclear whether pollution abatement strategies in Central Europe have already resulted in regionally well-mixed background isotope signature of atmospheric Zn and Pb. Zinc and lead isotope ratios were determined in snow collected along a rural transect downwind from the Upper Silesian industrial area (southern Poland).

Spatial and temporal gradients in δ66Zn and 206Pb/207Pb ratios at four sites were compared with those of ore and coal collected in eight Czech and Polish mining districts situated at distances of up to 500 km. Snow pollution was extremely high 8 km from Olkusz in 2011 (1670 μg Zn L−1; 240 μg Pb L−1), sharply decreased between 2011 and 2018, and remained low in 2019-2021. Snow pollution was lower at sites situated 28-68 km from Olkusz. Across study sites, mean δ66Zn and 206Pb/207Pb ratios of snow were −0.13‰ and 1.155, respectively.

With an increasing distance from Olkusz, the δ66Zn values first increased and then decreased, while the 206Pb/207Pb ratios first decreased and then increased. The δ66Zn values in snow plotted closer to those of Upper Silesian ores (−0.20‰) than to the δ66Zn values of Upper Silesian stone coal (0.52‰), showing predominance of smelter-derived over power-plant derived Zn pollution. The 206Pb/207Pb ratios of Upper Silesian coal (1.171) and Upper Silesian ores (1.180) were higher compared to those of snow. A206Pb/207Pb vs. 208Pb/207Pb plot identified legacy pollution from leaded gasoline as the low-radiogenic mixing end-member. Across the transect sites, only the last sampling campaign exhibited a high degree of isotope homogenization for both Zn and Pb.

5. Accurate multi-objective prediction of CO2 emission performance indexes and industrial structure optimization using multihead attention-based convolutional neural network

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 337, 1 July 2023, 117759

Abstract

The establishment of specific targets for the global carbon peaking and neutrality raises urgent requirements for prediction of CO2 emission performance indexes (CEPIs) and industrial structure optimization. However, accurate multi-objective prediction of CEPIs is still a knotty problem. In the present study, multihead attention-based convolutional neural network (MHA-CNN) model was proposed for accurate prediction of 4 CEPIs and further provided the rational suggestions for further industrial structure optimization.

The proposed MHA-CNN model introduces deep learning mechanism with efficient resolution strategies for training model overfitting, feature extraction, and self-supervised learning to acquire the adaptability for CEPIs. Multihead attention (MHA) mechanism plays important roles in influence weight interpretation of variables to facilitate the prediction performance of CNN on CEPIs. The MHA-CNN model presented its overwhelmingly superior performance to CNN model and long short-term memory (LSTM) model, two frequently-used models, in multi-objective prediction of CEPIs using 8 influence variables, which highlighted advantages of MHA module in multi-dimensional feature extraction. Additionally, contributions of influence variables to CEPIs based on MHA analyses presented relatively high consistency with the geographical distribution analyses, indicating the excellent capacity of the MHA module in variable weights identification and contribution dissection.

Based on the more accurate prediction results by MHA-CNN than those by CNN and LSTM model, the increase in the tertiary industry and the decreases in the first and secondary industries are conducive to improvement of total-factor carbon emission efficiency and further enhancement of effective energy utilization in regions with inefficient carbon emissions. This study provides insights towards the critical roles of the proposed MHA-CNN model in accurate multi-objective prediction of CEPIs and further industrial structure optimization for improvement of total-factor carbon emission efficiency.

6. Residential proximity to unconventional oil and gas development and birth defects in Ohio

Environmental Research, Volume 229, 15 July 2023, 115937

Abstract

Background

Chemicals used or emitted by unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD) include reproductive/developmental toxicants. Associations between UOGD and certain birth defects were reported in a few studies, with none conducted in Ohio, which experienced a thirty-fold increase in natural gas production between 2010 and 2020.

Methods

We conducted a registry-based cohort study of 965,236 live births in Ohio from 2010 to 2017. Birth defects were identified in 4653 individuals using state birth records and a state surveillance system. We assigned UOGD exposure based on maternal residential proximity at birth to active UOG wells and a metric specific to the drinking-water exposure pathway that identified UOG wells hydrologically connected to a residence (“upgradient UOG wells”). We estimated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for all structural birth defects combined and specific birth defect types using binary exposure metrics (presence/absence of any UOG well and presence/absence of an upgradient UOG well within 10 km), adjusting for confounders. Additionally, we conducted analyses stratified by urbanicity, infant sex, and social vulnerability.

Results

The odds of any structural defect were 1.13 times higher in children born to mothers living within 10 km of UOGD than those born to unexposed mothers (95%CI: 0.98-1.30). Odds were elevated for neural tube defects (OR: 1.57, 95%CI: 1.12-2.19), limb reduction defects (OR: 1.99, 95%CI: 1.18-3.35), and spina bifida (OR 1.93; 95%CI 1.25-2.98). Hypospadias (males only) was inversely related to UOGD exposure (OR: 0.62, 95%CI: 0.43-0.91). Odds of any structural defect were greater in magnitude but less precise in analyses using the hydrological-specific metric (OR: 1.30; 95%CI: 0.85-1.90), in areas with high social vulnerability (OR: 1.27, 95%CI: 0.99-1.60), and among female offspring (OR: 1.28, 95%CI: 1.06-1.53).

Conclusions

Our results suggest a positive association between UOGD and certain birth defects, and findings for neural tube defects corroborate results from prior studies.

7. Treatment technologies and mechanisms for tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) wastewater from micro-electronic industry: A review

Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Volume 194, July 2023, 106999

Abstract

With the advent of Industry 4.0, the micro-electronic industry has become one of the fastest-growing industries worldwide. As a result, tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) wastewater, as the typical wastewater from the micro-electronic industry, has been dramatically increasing. The efficient treatment of TMAH wastewater has attracted growing attention due to its toxicity to the eco-environment and human health. However, the review of the mechanisms of TMAH wastewater treatment is still lacking. This paper systematically reviewed the mechanisms of TMAH treatment using various processes, including recovery processes and degradation processes. The recovery mechanisms of TMAH included cation exchange under the electrostatic attraction for adsorption, directed migration of TMA+ and OH− driven by electrodes for electrodialysis, etc. The degradation mechanisms of TMAH included methanogenic TMAH degradation, TMAH-oxidative methylotrophic degradation, and demethylation and oxidation. The results highlighted that both hybrid recovery and treatment processes exhibited the most efficient recovery and removal of TMAH. Future research on TMAH wastewater treatment should focus on energy metabolism, electron transfer, and co-digestion of biodegradation, efficient novel materials for TMAH recovery and degradation, and appropriate hybrid recovery and treatment processes for resource reuse of TMAH wastewater. Ultimately, the possible pathways for the resource reuse of TMAH wastewater were also proposed.

8. Established and Emerging Organophosphate Esters (OPEs) and the Expansion of an Environmental Contamination Issue: A Review and Future Directions

Journal of Hazardous Materials, Available online 20 July 2023, 132095

Abstract

The list of organophosphate esters (OPEs) reported in the environment continues to expand as evidenced by the increasing number of OPE studies in the literature. However, there remains a general dearth of information on more recently produced and used OPEs that are proving to be emerging environmental contaminants. The present review summarizes the available studies in a systematic framework of the current state of knowledge on the analysis, environmental fate, and behavior of emerging OPEs. This review also details future directions to better understand emerging OPEs in the environment. Firstly, we make recommendations that the current structural/practical abbreviations and naming of OPEs be revised and updated. A chemical database (CDB) containing 114 OPEs is presently established based on the suspect list from the current scientific literature. There are 12 established OPEs and a total of 83 emerging OPEs that have been reported in human and/or biota samples. Of the emerging OPEs more than 80% have nearly 100% detection frequencies in samples of certain environmental media including indoor air, wastewater treatment plants, sediment, and fish. In contrast to OPEs considered established contaminants, most emerging OPEs have been identified more recently due to the more pervasive use of high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) based approaches and especially gas or liquid chromatography coupled with HRMS-based non-target analysis (NTA) of environmental sample fractions. Intentional/unintentional industrial use and non-industrial formation are sources of emerging OPEs in the environment. Predicted physical-chemical properties in silico of newer, molecularly larger and more oligomeric OPEs strongly suggest that some compounds such as bisphenol A diphenyl phosphate (BPA-DPP) are highly persistent, bioaccumulative and/or toxic. Limited information on laboratory-based toxicity data has shown that some emerging OPEs elicit harmful effects such as cytotoxicity, development toxicity, hepatotoxicity, and endocrine disruption in exposed humans and mammals. Established, and to a much lesser degree emerging OPEs, have also been shown to transform and degrade in biota and possibly alter their toxicological effects. Research on emerging OPE contaminants is presently limited and more study is warranted on sample analysis methods, source apportionment, transformation processes, environmental behavior, biomarkers of exposure and toxicity.

Environmental Implication

Organophosphate esters (OPEs), mainly used as flame retardants and plasticizers, have been widely applied to industrial and commercial products. Given their persistent physical and chemical properties, OPEs are ubiquitous with interference to endocrine system and neurological, developmental, and reproductive functions. This review summarizes the available studies within a systematic framework of the current state of knowledge on the analysis, environment fate, and behavior of emerging OPEs and details future directions. The findings are useful for better understanding emerging OPEs in the environment and help realize their pot.

9. Who’s controlling our energy future? Industry and environmental representation on United States public utility commissions

Energy Research & Social Science, Volume 101, July 2023, 103091

Abstract

Public utility commissions (PUCs) are small state-level regulatory institutions in the United States adjudicating conflicts over electrical power rates, energy generation, electric vehicle infrastructure, and energy efficiency among other issues. PUCs are critically understudied institutions given their central role in addressing climate change. This is partially due to a lack of data related to public utility commissioners. What are the characteristics of these energy system regulators? I make an initial contribution with expansive original data on the professional backgrounds of the over 800 commissioners who served from 2000 to 2020. Particular attention is given to ties to the utilities PUCs regulate, the fossil fuel industry, and environmental positions in government, business, and advocacy. Utility industry backgrounds have become more frequent, but there has been a greater increase in environmental connections in recent years. These data and findings can stimulate additional research on the increasing environmental responsibilities of PUCs.

10. Heavy metal pollution in Mongolian-Manchurian grassland soil and effect of long-range dust transport by wind

Environment International, Volume 177, July 2023, 108019

Abstract

Grasslands provide a range of valuable ecosystem services, but they are also particularly fragile ecosystems easily threatened by human activities, such as long-term open-pit mining and related industrial activities. In grassland area, dust containing heavy metal(loid)s generated by mines may further migrate to remote places, but few studies have focused on the long-range transport of contaminants as an important pollution source. In the present study, one of the largest and most intact grassland ecosystems, the Mongolian-Manchurian steppe, was selected to investigate its pollution status and track potential sources. A total of 150 soil samples were collected to explore reginal distribution of nine heavy metal(loid)s that has potential risk in grassland. We conducted a combined multi-variant analysis of positive matrix factorization (PMF) and machine learning, which foregrounded the source of long-range transport of contaminants and inspired the hypothesis of a novel stochastic model to describe contaminants distribution. Results showed four different sources accounting for 44.44% (parent material), 20.28% (atmospheric deposition), 20.39% (farming), and 14.89% (transportation) of the total concentration, respectively. Factor 2 indicated that coal surface mining lead to a significant enrichment of As and Se with their concentration far above the global average level, which was different from other reported grassland areas. Machine learning results further confirmed that atmospheric and topographic features were their contamination controlling factors. The model results proposed that As, Se and Cu released by surface mining will be transported over long distance under prevailing monsoon, until finally deposited in the windward slope of mountain due to terrain obstruction. The long-range transport by wind and deposition of contaminants may be a prevailing phenomenon in temperate grassland, making it a pollution source that cannot be ignored. Evidence from this study reveals the urgency of precautions for fragile grassland ecosystems around industrial areas and provides a basis for its management and risk control policies.

11. Dust removal ash coupled with high-temperature exhaust gas to produce energy gas CO and remove the heavy metals synchronously

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 410, 15 July 2023, 137217

Abstract

In order to solve the utilization problem of dry quenching coke dust removal ash (DRA) and high-temperature exhaust gas (HTEG) at the same time, this study proposes a new technology that combines DRA and hightemperature exhaust gas to produce energy gas CO and realize the removal of heavy metals in dust removal ash. The reaction properties of DRA and high-temperature exhaust gases, as well as the migration law of heavy metals, are preliminarily evaluated using thermodynamic simulation software (FactSage) and a combination of thermogravimetric mass spectrometry (TG-MS). The dropper furnace (DF) experiments are used to verify the feasibility of the new technology by simulating the high-temperature flue gas environment. The findings reveal that as pressure rises, the content of gas products namely CO2 and CH4 rises while the content of gas products CO and H2 falls. At the same time, when the temperature rises, the CO and H2 contents rise. Heavy metals such as Cd, Pb, and Zn are also more volatile, whereas heavy metals such as Ni, Cr, and Cu, require higher temperatures to volatilize. As the temperature increases from 800 to 1200 ◦C, the Pb removal rate climbs from 34.6% to 92.5%, the Cd removal rate increases from 46.5% to 95.6%, and the Zn removal rate increases from 13.4% to 80.5%. The new technology captures CO2 from high-temperature exhaust gases and converts them into CO energy gases, simultaneously realizing the removal of heavy metals. This provides an innovative solution for the treatment of organic solid waste.

12. Satellites reveal Earth’s seasonally shifting dust emission sources

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 883, 20 July 2023, 163452

Abstract

Establishing mineral dust impacts on Earth’s systems requires numerical models of the dust cycle. Differences between dust optical depth (DOD) measurements and modelling the cycle of dust emission, atmospheric transport, and deposition of dust indicate large model uncertainty due partially to unrealistic model assumptions about dust emission frequency. Calibrating dust cycle models to DOD measurements typically in North Africa, are routinely used to reduce dust model magnitude. This calibration forces modelled dust emissions to match atmospheric DOD but may hide the correct magnitude and frequency of dust emission events at source, compensating biases in other modelled processes of the dust cycle. Therefore, it is essential to improve physically based dust emission modules.

Here we use a global collation of satellite observations from previous studies of dust emission point source (DPS) dichotomous frequency data. We show that these DPS data have little-to-no relation with MODIS DOD frequency. We calibrate the albedo-based dust emission model using the frequency distribution of those DPS data. The global dust emission uncertainty constrained by DPS data (±3.8 kg m−2 y−1) provides a benchmark for dust emission model development. Our calibrated model results reveal much less global dust emission (29.1 ± 14.9 Tg y−1) than previous estimates, and show seasonally shifting dust emission predominance within and between hemispheres, as opposed to a persistent North African dust emission primacy widely interpreted from DOD measurements.

Earth’s largest dust emissions, proceed seasonally from East Asian deserts in boreal spring, to Middle Eastern and North African deserts in boreal summer and then Australian shrublands in boreal autumn-winter. This new analysis of dust emissions, from global sources of varying geochemical properties, have far-reaching implications for current and future dust-climate effects. For more reliable coupled representation of dust-climate projections, our findings suggest the need to re-evaluate dust cycle modelling and benefit from the albedo-based parameterisation.

13. Development of the early warning model for oil produced water pollution and compliance with the guidelines using dimensional analysis

Journal of Water Process Engineering, Volume 53, July 2023, 103870

Abstract

This paper reports on the development of a model intended to provide an early warning indication of pollution caused by oil produced water and also serve as a predictive tool for compliance/noncompliance to the set guidelines related to the discharge of wastewater into municipals’ channels. The development of this model made use of the results obtained for the measurements of the various physico-chemical parameters of the oil-produced water samples collected from the treatment plant at an oil refiner depot. In addition, the development of the model made use of the rate of evaporations patterns observed for the oil-produced water samples stored in a Class A evaporation Pan. The modelling approach was based on experimental data collected at the oil depot, in South Africa for six months and a multiplicative model was developed to relate OPWE as a function of influencing parameters. The developed model indicated a reasonably well accuracy (RMSE = 0.49 mm) for the OPWE estimation. The evaporation and correlation study supported the hypothesis. Furthermore, the model developed by this work has the potential to be used for fingerprinting since OPWE from different processes may have similar chemical compositions but in different levels and ratios.

14. Assessment and modeling of effluent quality, economic benefits, and greenhouse gas reduction for receiving brewery wastewater on A2O by GPS-X

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 883, 20 July 2023, 163671

Abstract

Recently, breweries have been allowed to discharge brewery wastewater (BWW) to the sewage pipe network to alleviate the shortage of carbon sources of municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWTPs) under the premise of signing a contract with MWTPs in some countries. This study aims to provide a model-based method for MWTPs to evaluate the threshold, the effluent risk, the economic benefits, and the potential greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction of receiving BWW. In this research, a simulation model of an anaerobic-anoxic-oxic process (A2O) receiving BWW was established based on the data of a real MWTP and brewery using GPS-X. The sensitivity factors of 189 parameters were analyzed, and several sensitive parameters were calibrated stably and dynamically. By analyzing the errors and standardized residuals, the calibrated model was proved to be high-quality and reliable. In the next phase, the impact of receiving BWW on the A2O was evaluated in terms of effluent quality, economic benefits, and GHG emissions reduction. The results showed that receiving a certain amount of BWW can effectively reduce the carbon source cost and GHG emissions for the MWTP compared with adding methanol. Though the chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand in five days (BOD5), and total nitrogen (TN) in the effluent increased in various degrees, the effluent quality still met the discharge standard implemented by the MWTP. The study can also facilitate the modeling work for many researchers and promote more kinds of food production wastewater to be treated equally.

15. New insights into the mechanism of Fered-Fenton treatment of industrial wastewater with high chloride content: Role of multiple reactive species

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 882, 15 July 2023, 163596

Abstract

Hydroxyl radical (radical dotOH) is considered the dominant reactive species in the electro-Fenton (EF) and Fered-Fenton (EF-Fere) processes for wastewater treatment. However, in chloride-rich media, this is arguable due to the obscure mechanisms for the oxidant speciation and pollutant degradation. Herein, the role of active chlorine and Fe(IV)-oxo species (FeIVO2+) as primary oxidizing agents in HClO-mediated Fered-Fenton (EF-Fere-HClO) process is discussed, along with the dependence of their contribution on the pollutant structure. HClO generated from anodic oxidation of Cl− can be consumed by added H2O2 to form singlet oxygen (1O2), which is detrimental because this species is quickly deactivated by water. The reaction between HClO and Fe2+ was proved to generate FeIVO2+, rather than radical dotOH or Clradical dot suggested in the literature. The yield of FeIVO2+ species was proportional to the Cl− concentration and barely affected by solution pH. The long-lived HClO and FeIVO2+ can selectively react with electron-rich compounds, which occurs simultaneously to the non-selective attack of radical dotOH formed from Fenton’s reaction. The FeIVO2+ and radical dotOH concentration profiles were successfully modelled. Although the accumulation of toxic chlorinated by-products from HClO-mediated oxidation might cause new environmental concerns, the toxicity of pesticide wastewater with 508 mM Cl− was halved upon EF-Fere-HClO treatment.

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