Water and Water Security

Today, there are many studies about the problems that may be faced in the context of World Water Day. In this chapter, the structure, pollution, quality grading, and human health effects of water; possible pollution prevention measures; and water safety are discussed. It is expected that the world population, which is about 7 billion currently, will rise to 9 billion by 2050. Water consumption is expected to increase at a higher rate, which is a major problem for the environment. By 2025, it has been estimated that two-thirds of the world's population will deal with water shortage. The world is not as rich in water as once thought and, hence, is at high risk for water shortage. For these reasons, we must all fulfill our responsibility to leave a habitable world to future generations.

Pollution and Renewable Energy

This chapter presents the overview of pollution; the issues of soil pollution, water pollution, and air pollution; the aspects of renewable energy; energy security and energy imports; and renewable energy policy and renewable energy policy instruments. Pollution is one of the most important environmental, social, and health issues in the world. Pollution creates many diseases and causes death of many people across the globe. The environmental damage caused by pollution can reach catastrophic proportions and destroy entire ecosystems leading to the death of many species and a big biodiversity loss. Renewable energy is a critical part of reducing global carbon emissions and the pace of investment has greatly increased as the cost of technologies fall and efficiency continues to rise. Renewable energy offers a wide variety of different options to choose from as countries can choose between sun, wind, biomass, geothermal energy, and water resources.

A Framework for Assessment of Existing Solid Waste Management Practices and Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste in Muzzafarnagar City, India

This chapter reports the details of the existing system of MSW management and characterization of Muzaffarnagar City located in Western Uttar Pradesh (UP) state in India. The overall waste generated in the city is about 120-125 tons per day (TPD) with a per capita generation rate of 0.415 kg/person/day with a collection efficiency of 70-80%. Physico-chemical and geotechnical properties of the MSW were carried out to determine its overall characteristics. The characterization results showed about 46% of the waste generated in the city is organic nature (from HIG and MIG) and 52% for (LIG) with chemical characterization showing that the elemental carbon was in the highest proportion. Further, the chapter also recommends suitable remedial measures for proper management of the existing MSW management system and suitable treatment alternatives.

Pollution Exposure to Humans and Its Assessment

Exposure analysis is the receptor-oriented approach of the pollution-level measurement. In this chapter, a detailed discussion is provided of the fundamentals of exposure analysis, methods of measurement, basics of models used for the prediction of pollution concentration indoors and outdoors, and a brief discussion about the health impact of selected pollutants. A detail of fundamental of indoor air quality (IAQ) models like mass balance and CFD models is discussed. Also, basic structures of community multiscale air quality model (CMAQ) and AIRMOD ambient air dispersion models are described. It is observed that measurement of pollution exposure by direct method requires more time and effort as compared with the integrated exposure and stationary measurement. AIRMODE is steady state model and based upon the Gaussian dispersion model. CMAQ is capable of simulating the pollution level for the range of geographic scale for multiple pollutants.

Assessment of the Chemical Precipitation Process as a New Approach for Industrial Emission Abatement Systems

The abatement of emission gases, such as SOx, NOx, and COx, is one of the main problems studied by researchers for continuous developments, necessitating considerable investments by several industries. Currently, the scrubber system with its use form, and the chemical precipitation method that is considered as an alternative, are the two different processes that have demonstrated the best results for emission abatement. In this chapter, an assessment is performed on an industrial scale for both the processes, their comparative advantages are discussed, and possible applications presented.

Water Pollution Burden and Techniques for Control

The enhancements in the socio-economic status of many people has come from the expansion of agricultural and industrial production. But, some of the activities associated with this expansion have adversely affected water quality. This leads to a negative impact on public health, eminence of life, and environment. This chapter sets out to explain the various factors that lead to water contamination and different mitigation techniques to manage them. We need this knowledge so as to develop suitable solutions for a broad range of environmental problems.

Global Warming and Climate Change

This chapter indicates the advanced issues of global warming, the significant aspects of climate change, climate change and crop production, climate change and risk issues, and the public perceptions of climate change. Global warming and climate change are the important environmental concerns that have a major impact on various environmental perspectives. The effects and impacts of global warming are climate change, sea level change, water balance, and human health. The problems of global warming and climate change can be controlled by minimizing the emission of greenhouse gases into the environment through conducting laws, reducing thermal power generating stations, planting trees, and sharing vehicles. Global warming and climate change must be recognized by local governments and environment-related international organizations in order to find the effective approaches to reducing their impacts in environmental settings.

Using of Modified SBA-15 Mesoporous Silica Materials for CO2 Capture

Carbon dioxide emissions cause global warming, and greenhouse gases and climate change are very serious problems. Mesoporous silica material SBA-15 has been preferred mostly as an ideal adsorbent for CO2 due to its excellent properties such as high surface areas and pore volumes, larger pore diameter, and thicker silica wall. In the literature studies, SBA-15 has been modified by different functional groups and the effects of modification methods on the CO2 adsorption have been investigated. Modified SBA-15 adsorbents showed high CO2 adsorption capacity. The aim of this chapter is to review the use of modified-SBA-15 mesoporous silica materials as adsorbent for CO2 capture.

Air Pollution in Asia and Its Effect on Human Health

Although continuous efforts to monitor and mitigate air pollution are being made, it is still prevalent in most countries in the world. Major contributors include fossil fuel exhaust in metropolitan cities from industrial facilities and vehicular emissions. Use of renewable energy and natural gas have played a part in reducing air pollution; however, increasing populations, rampant urbanization, and industrialization, especially during winter months, have given rise to spikes in air pollution levels. Research shows that there is a close relationship between air pollution and mortality rates depending on respiration inadequacy. Studies show that contaminants increase respiratory afflictions in humans. Discontinuing use of fossil fuels, using appropriate burning techniques, and efficiency emission controls on vehicles have been proven to reduce air pollution levels.