Fully-automated SPE coupled to UHPLC-MS/MS method for multiresidue analysis of 26 trace antibiotics in environmental waters: SPE optimization and method validation

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Achieving simultaneous determination of antibiotic multiresidues in environmental waters by solid phase extraction (SPE) coupled with...     

Effects of Exposure Conditions on Antioxidant Depletion,Tensile Strength,and Creep Modulus of Corrugated HDPE Pipes Made With or Without Recycled Resins

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - The service lifetime of corrugated high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes used in transportation infrastructure applications has been the subject of...     

Methods to alleviate the inhibition of sludge anaerobic digestion by emerging contaminants: a review

The rising occurrence of emerging contaminants in sludges both inhibits the anaerobic digestion of sludges and induces health issues when sludges are recycled in agriculture, calling for methods to remove contaminants. Here we review emerging pollutants in wastewater treatment plants, before and after anaerobic digestion. We present their inhibitory effects and remediation methods to alleviate inhibition. Pharmaceuticals have been detected in about 50% of the sludge samples. Sewage sludge contaminants include 19% of diuretics, 16–21% of lipid-modifying agents, hydrochlorothiazide, diclofenac, furosemide, clarithromycin, atorvastatin, and carbamazepine. Levels of antibiotics, azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, and estrone range from 500 to 600 ng/g in sludges from wastewater treatment plants. Remediation methods comprise electrooxidation, ultrasonication, thermal hydrolysis, ozonation, and bioaugmentation. Fermenting the sludges with acidogenic bacteria reduces the level of emerging pollutants in the supernatant. Nonetheless, liquid digestates still contains emerging pollutants such as sunscreen octocrylene at 147 ug/L and acetaminophen at 58.6 ug/L. As a result, pretreatment of sludge containing emerging pollutants is required.

     

Income inequality and environmental degradation in Egypt: evidence from dynamic ARDL approach

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Over the past four decades, the Egyptian economy has suffered from both income inequality and environmental degradation. This dual problem raises the...     

Cultivation of microalgae on liquid anaerobic digestate for depollution,biofuels and cosmetics: a review

Solid wastes from domestic, industrial and agricultural sectors cause acute economic and environmental problems. These issues can be partly solved by anaerobic digestion of wastes, yet this process is incomplete and generates abundant byproducts as digestate. Therefore, cultivating mixotrophic algae on anaerobic digestate appears as a promising solution for nutrient recovery, pollutant removal and biofuel production. Here we review mixotrophic algal cultivation on anaerobic waste digestate with focus on digestate types and characterization, issues of recycling digestate in agriculture, removal of contaminants, and production of biofuels such as biogas, bioethanol, biodiesel and dihydrogen. We also discuss applications in cosmetics and economical aspects. Mixotrophic algal cultivation completely removes ammonium, phosphorus, 17β-estradiol from diluted digestate, and removes 62% of zinc, 84% of manganese, 74% of cadmium and 99% of copper.

     

Correction to: Reducing ammonia emission by aluminum sulfate addition in litter and its influence on productive,reproductive, and physiological parameters of dual-purpose breeding hens

Environmental Science and Pollution Research -     

Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of phytonutrients as antibiotic substitutes in poultry feed

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Globally, there is increasing demand for safe poultry food products free from antibiotic residues. There is thus a need to develop alternatives to...     

Utilization of alum sludge waste for production of eco-friendly blended cement

This work was focused on evaluating the suitability of replacing Portland cement (PC) by 5, 10 and 15 mass % of activated alum sludge waste (AAS) as a pozzolanic material. Exploitation of low-cost nanocomposite for bolstering the physical, mechanical, and stability against firing of PC–AAS-hardened composites was inspected. CuFe₂O₄ spinel nanoparticle with average particle size (~ 50 nm) was prepared. Inclusion of CuFe₂O₄ spinel in different PC–AAS-hardened composites bolsters their physicomechanical features at almost normal curing ages as well as their stability against firing. The positive impact of synthesized CuFe₂O₄ spinel was affirmed via TGA/DTG and XRD techniques, which indicated the presence of diverse hydration yields such as CSHs, CASHs, CFSH, and CuSH that enhance the overall physicomechanical characteristics and thermal stability of various PC–AAS-hardened composites. The composite containing (90 PC–10 AAS waste–2 CuFe₂O₄) offers many benefits from the economic and environmental view.

Graphical abstract

     

Evaluating pollution damage function through carbon pricing,renewable energy demand,and cleaner technologies in China: blue versus green economy

Climate change and increased greenhouse gas emissions boost the global average temperature to less than 2°C, which is the estimated breakeven point. The globe is moving into blue pollution economies as the environmental sustainability objective becomes more distorted. The study looked at three United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, namely (i) affordable and clean energy; (ii) industry, innovation, and infrastructure; and (iii) climate change, to see how far the Chinese economy has progressed toward green and clean development strategy. In the context of China, the “pollution damage function” was intended to refer to carbon damages related to carbon pricing, technological variables, sustained economic growth, incoming foreign investment, and green energy. The data was collected between 1975 and 2019 and analyzed using various statistical approaches. The results of the autoregressive distributed lag model suggest that carbon taxes on industrial emissions reduce carbon damages in the short and long run. Furthermore, a rise in inbound foreign investment and renewable energy demand reduces carbon damages in the short term, proving the “pollution halo” and “green energy” hypotheses; nonetheless, the results are insufficient to explain the stated results in the long run. In the long run, technology transfers and continued economic growth are beneficial in reducing carbon damages and confirming the potential of cleaner solutions in pollution mitigation. The causal inferences show the one-way relationship running from carbon pricing and technology transfer to carbon damages, and green energy to high-technology exports in a country. The impulse response estimates suggested that carbon tax, inbound foreign investment, and technology transfers likely decrease carbon damages for the next 10 years. On the other hand, continued economic growth and inadequate green energy sources are likely to increase carbon pollution in a country. The variance decomposition analysis suggested that carbon pricing and information and communication technology exports would likely significantly influence carbon damages over time. To keep the earth’s temperature within the set threshold, the true motivation to shift from a blue to a green economy required strict environmental legislation, the use of green energy sources, and the export of cleaner technologies.

Graphical abstract

Source: Authors’ self-extract

     

Hydrogen production from wastewater,storage, economy,governance and applications: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - In the context of climate change, most of the actual dihydrogen production is not sustainable with about 96% of the 60 million tons of dihydrogen produced annually...