Removal of Hydrophobic Contaminants from the Soil by Adsorption onto Carbon Materials and Microbial Degradation

The pollution of soil is a worldwide concern as it has harmful consequences on the environment and human health. With the continuous expansion of industry and agriculture, the content of hydrophobic organic pollutants in the soil has been increasing, which has caused serious pollution to the soil. The removal of hydrophobic organic contaminants from soil, aiming to recover environmental safety, is an urgent matter to guarantee sufficient food and water for populations. Adsorption has proven to be an effective and economically practicable method for removing organic contaminants. This paper summarizes the use of low-cost adsorbents, such as biochar and activated carbon, for removing hydrophobic organic contaminants from soil. Biochar is usually appropriate for the adsorption of organic contaminants via the adsorption mechanisms of electrostatic interaction, precipitation, and ion exchange. Biochar also has numerous benefits, such as being obtained from several kinds of raw materials, having low costs, recyclability, and potential for environmental treatment. This paper illustrates biochar’s adsorption mechanism for organic contaminants and discusses the microbial degradation of hydrophobic organic contaminants.

Situation and Treatment Methods of Ecological and Environmental Problems during the Process of Urbanization in Rural Areas of China

Rural urbanization is a process of population agglomeration catalyzed by industrialization. At present, China’s urbanization process is accelerating against the backdrop of rapid social development. However, in some areas, economic development is emphasized, while the protection of the ecological environment is neglected, leading to the increasingly obvious contradiction between urbanization and rural ecological environment and is not conducive to economic development. In this paper, the development trend of China’s rural urbanization, the current situation of environmental pollution, and the progress of important environmental treatment projects are analyzed. Accordingly, the main problems in rural environmental protection and the impact of urbanization are explored. The problems led by industrial and domestic pollutants have been amplified by urbanization, while the improved connection between urban and rural areas will benefit the improvement of environmental infrastructure in rural areas. The government-led projects of rural water improvement, sanitary toilet penetration, methane gas production, and solar water heater have made great progress during the past two decades. Based on these understandings, we put forward feasible countermeasures to implement rural ecological environment protection during the process of urbanization to promote the benign development of rural urbanization. Our results will be helpful in providing some useful references for environmental protection in rural areas and promoting the coordinated development of the economy and environment during the process of urbanization in China.

Enhanced Catalytic Activities of TiO2 Nanotube Arrays Co-Sensitized with Pt/CdS/ZnS via Electrodeposition and Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR) Method Approach

In this work, we have synthesized a nanocomposite ZnS/CdS/Pt/TiO2 nanotube arrays (denoted ZCP-NTAs). Firstly, TiO2 nanotube array (NTAs) material was fabricated by the anodic method of a titanium plate in an electrolyte solution containing 0.35 M NaHSO4 and 0.24 M NaF and incubated in the air at 500 ºC for 2 hours. After that, pulsed electrodeposition technology was used to decorate platinum nanoparticles (denoted as Pt NPs) onto the surface of TiO2 nanotubes to form P-NTAs photoelectrodes. Then, the SILAR method is used to deposition CdS quantum dots (symbolized as CdS QDs) on the surface of P-NTAs to form CP-NTAs material. Finally, by the SILAR method, a ZnS passive layer that protects against optical corrosion and inhibits recombination of e−/h+ pairs was coated onto the CP-NTAs to form ZCP-NTAs material. As-prepared ZCP-NTAs photocatalytic material has good absorbability of light in the visible region with light absorption wavelength up to 608 nm, photon conversion efficiency up to 5.32% under light intensity AM1.5G, and decomposition efficiency of 10 mg L−1 methyl orange (MO) in 120 minutes reached 91.50%. This material promises to bring high application ability in the photocatalytic field applied for environmental treatment and other applications.

Assessment of Energy Potential and Benefit under the Ground Source Heat Pump Air Conditioning System in Anqing Area of Eastern China

Now ground source heat pump is a more efficient way to develop and utilize shallow geothermal energy because it is clean and environmentally friendly and has a relatively low energy cost. In order to optimize the planning layout and geographical space development in the eastern new town of Anqing city, which can realize the transformation and upgrading of real space and urban sustainable development, the exploration for shallow geothermal energy will be carried out in this area, so as to find out the comprehensive thermophysical parameters of the shallow rock-soil body and the heat transfer capacity of the vertical heat exchanger, etc. This paper takes the CBD in the eastern new town of Anqing as an example to provide the basis for the feasibility construction of the ground source heat pump project in the study area and evaluate the economic and environmental benefits of the expected project. According to the simulation test data of 5 working conditions of 4 geothermal exploration holes in the study area, we can clearly know that the energy cost per square meter of the ground source heat pump is 11.8 yuan for a building of one hundred thousand square meters in which the heat removal power is expected to be 9481 kW in summer and 3070 kW in winter. And the annual emission of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, suspended dust, and other air pollutants to the atmosphere can be reduced by 1442.5 t, and the solid waste ash and slag can be reduced by 59.7 t. The annual environmental treatment cost will be saved by 166000 yuan.

Immune and Metabolic Effects of Rumen-Protected Methionine During a Heat Stress Challenge in Lactating Holstein Cows

Multiparous, lactating Holstein cows (n = 32) were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 dietary treatments [TMR with rumen-protected Met (RPM) or TMR without RPM (CON)], and within each dietary treatment group cows were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 environmental treatment groups in a split-plot crossover design. In phase 1 (9 d) all cows were fed ad libitum and in thermoneutral conditions (TN). In phase 2 (9 d), group 1 (n = 16) was exposed to a heat stress (HS) challenge (HSC). Group 2 cows (n = 16) were pair-fed (PFTN) to HSC counterparts and remained in TN. After a 21-d washout period, the study was repeated (period 2) and the environmental treatments were inverted relative to treatments from phase 2 of period 1, while dietary treatments remained the same for each cow. During phase 1, cows in RPM had greater plasma Met concentration compared to cows in CON (59 µM and 30 µM, respectively; P < 0.001). Cows in PFTN had a greater decrease (P < 0.05) in plasma insulin than cows in HSC at 4 h (-2.7 µIU/mL vs. -0.7 µIU/mL) and 8 h (-7.7 µIU/mL vs. -0.4 µIU/mL) during phase 2. Compared to cows in PFTN, cows in HSC had an increase (P < 0.05) in plasma serum amyloid A (-59 µg/mL vs. +58 µg/mL), serum haptoglobin (-3 µg/mL vs. +33 µg/mL), plasma lipopolysaccharide binding protein (-0.27 µg/mL and +0.11 µg/mL), and plasma interleukin-1β (-1.9 pg/mL and +3.9 pg/mL) during phase 2. In conclusion, HSC elicited immunometabolic alterations; however, there were limited effects of RPM on cows in HSC.

Performance Measurement for the Recycling Production System Using Cooperative Game Network Data Envelopment Analysis

Resources scarcity and environmental degradation have made sustainable resource utilization and environmental protection necessary worldwide. The development of the circular economy is considered an approach for more appropriate economic and environmental management. This work introduces a cooperative game network data envelopment analysis model for evaluating the implementation effect of recycling production systems from a closed loop and centralized control perspective. The factor efficiency analysis of the involved inputs and outputs is presented to provide guidance for the factor dominance of subsystem efficiencies. An application for assessing the circular economy of EU countries is provided to illustrate the validation of the proposed method. Our results show that the average performance of the production subsystem is superior to that of the recycling subsystem in EU countries. Furthermore, factor efficiency analysis reveals that the inefficient environmental treatment input is the culprit in worse performance of the recycling subsystem. A comparison of the proposed method with recent studies for circular economy performance evaluation is also included.

Green synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles for biomedical application and environmental remediation: a review

Ferrous oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) formed from plant materials have been considered as chemically friendly materials and have offered extensive applications. The distinctive features of IONPs, such as biocompatibility, low toxicity, catalytic behavior and multi reaction mechanism, have embodied them as good candidate for several biomedical applications. However, the synthesis of IONPs using plant extracts is gaining high popularity and recommendations because plant extracts could act as reducing and stabilizing agents during the process of synthesis. Furthermore, the biological method of synthesizing IONPs using plant extract offer some benefits, such as being simple, economic, environmentally friendly and require less energy when compared with both physical and chemical methods of synthesis. Hence, this review significantly summarized the synthesis, optimum conditions and characterization techniques involved in the synthesis of IONPs using several plant extracts. Consequently, comprehensive information about the applications of green synthesized IONPs as antimicrobial and anticancer therapeutic agents were well presented. The effectiveness of IONPs in environmental treatment of effluent containing dyes and other toxic agents were also properly discussed.

Application of the circular economy in the industrial scrapmanagement process: a case study in the Açu Port Complex

The main proposal of the circular economy is to change the concept of "garbage" fromWaste that was structured in this project and replaced by a continuous and cyclical vision of the production, in which resources are no longer just explored and discarded and are now reused in a new Cycle. The Circular Economy encourages new management practices, creating opportunities and value for organizations in harmony with the environment. This article aims to analyze the feasibility of implementing Circular Economy methods, with an emphasis on controlling scrap disposal in the Açu Port Complex (São Joãoda Barra/RJ), bringing sustainable alternatives to Waste Management. In addition to evaluating its environmental and economic efficiency, it proposes to end the linear production process and reinsert waste into the production cycle to minimize environmental treatment and the extraction of raw materials. The investigation will start through specific exploratory research, bringing as a consequence, possible economic alternatives for the reuse of these materials. The research is also classified as descriptiveand case study since a survey of real information on waste management in the Açu Port Complex will be carried out. It is hoped through this research to demonstrate how the circular economy can contribute to economic, social, and environmental development when used in an interdisciplinary way by productive activities.