2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) photodegradation on WO3-TiO2-SBA-15 nanostructured composite

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A current environmental problem is the uncontrolled use of various pesticides that are harmful to the environment and public health. The herbicide...     

Lithium extraction from salt lake brines with high magnesium/lithium ratio: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The demand for lithium is growing rapidly with the increase in electric vehicles, batteries and electronic equipments. Lithium can be extracted from brines, yet...     

Dynamic effects of fiscal and monetary policy instruments on environmental pollution in ASEAN

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study aims to re-examine the impacts of monetary and fiscal policy on environmental quality in ASEAN countries from 1990 to 2019. We utilized the...     

Cyclodextrin-based supramolecular assemblies: a versatile toolbox for the preparation of functional porous materials

The discovery of ordered mesoporous materials in 1992 by Mobil Oil Corporation scientists has opened great opportunities for new applications in many emerging fields such as heterogeneous catalysis, biocatalysis, energy conversion, biosensors, photocatalytic devices and environmental technologies. Porous materials are grouped by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) into three classes according to their pore diameter: microporous (<?2 nm), mesoporous (2–50 nm) and macroporous (>?50 nm). One of the most versatile methods for the preparation of those materials is the soft template approach which combines the sol–gel process with molecular self-assembly. While the micelles formed by ionic or nonionic surfactants, as well as amphiphilic polymers, have been extensively used as templates, the supramolecular assemblies formed between cyclodextrins and block copolymers have been less investigated, despite their large chemical and structural diversity. This review article focuses mainly on nanostructured porous inorganic materials derived from cyclodextrins or cyclodextrin-based assemblies. More than 100 references are described and discussed, in which we look both at their synthesis and characterization, as well as their applications in the emerging fields of heterogeneous catalysis and photocatalysis. A special attention is paid to the evaluation of the critical parameters that need to be controlled for improving their (photo) catalytic performances.     

Deployment of parabolic trough concentrated solar power plants in North Africa – a case study for Libya

The study addresses the potential of using concentrated solar power plants (CSPs) as a sustainable alternative of clean energy generation in the Mediterranean region and, in particular, in its North Africa shore. This location presents attractive conditions for the installation of CSPs, in particular high solar irradiation, good manpower concentration, and proximity and availability of water resources for condenser cooling. Energetic, exergetic, and economic analyses were conducted taking into consideration a particular type of CSPs - the parabolic trough concentrated solar power plant, which incorporates the most proven technology and it is already used in Southern Europe (Spain). In addition, the study considered the impact of project financing and incentives on the cost of energy. The combination of higher values for performance and potentially lower levelized cost of electricity (LCE) for the North Africa Mediterranean Rim than the South of Spain region can yield a very favorable return for the invested capital. Tripoli compared to Almeria presented superior performance and potentially lower LCE values ($0.18/kWh versus $0.22/kWh). This is significant, even when it is taken into consideration the fact that the plant in Tripoli, despite a relatively modest capacity factor of 34%, has a large gross power output of 173,886 MWhe. In addition, the implementation at the Tripoli location of a plant similar to the Anadsol plant has a slight advantage (2–3%) in terms of overall efficiency.     

A climate-change vulnerability and adaptation assessment for Brazil's protected areas

Brazil hosts the largest expanse of tropical ecosystems within protected areas (PAs), which shelter biodiversity and support traditional human populations. We assessed the vulnerability to climate change of 993 terrestrial and coastal-marine Brazilian PAs by combining indicators of climatic-change hazard with indicators of PA resilience (size, native vegetation cover, and probability of climate-driven vegetation transition). This combination of indicators allows the identification of broad climate-change adaptation pathways. Seventeen PAs (20,611 km²) were highly vulnerable and located mainly in the Atlantic Forest (7 PAs), Cerrado (6), and the Amazon (4). Two hundred fifty-eight PAs (756,569 km²), located primarily in Amazonia, had a medium vulnerability. In the Amazon and western Cerrado, the projected severe climatic change and probability of climate-driven vegetation transition drove vulnerability up, despite the generally good conservation status of PAs. Over 80% of PAs of high or moderate vulnerability are managed by indigenous populations. Hence, besides the potential risks to biodiversity, the traditional knowledge and livelihoods of the people inhabiting these PAs may be threatened. In at least 870 PAs, primarily in the Atlantic Forest and Amazon, adaptation could happen with little or no intervention due to low climate-change hazard, high resilience status, or both. At least 20 PAs in the Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, and Amazonia should be targeted for stronger interventions (e.g., improvement of ecological connectivity), given their low resilience status. Despite being a first attempt to link vulnerability and adaptation in Brazilian PAs, we suggest that some of the PAs identified as highly or moderately vulnerable should be prioritized for testing potential adaptation strategies in the near future.     

Adsorption/desorption of arsenite and arsenate on chitosan and nanochitosan

Equilibrium sorption studies of anionic species of arsenite, As(III) ions and arsenate As(V) ions onto two biosorbents, namely, chitosan and nanochitosan, have been investigated and compared. The results and trends in the sorption behavior are novel, and we have observed during the sorption process of the As(III) and As(V) on chitosan, a slow process of desorption occurred after an initial maximum adsorption capacity was achieved, before reaching a final but lower equilibrium adsorption capacity. The same desorption trend, however, is not observed on nanochitosan. The gradual desorption of As(III) and As(V) in the equilibrium sorption on chitosan is attributed to the different fractions of the dissociated forms of arsenic on the adsorbent surface and in solution and the extent of protonation of chitosan with the changing of solution pH during sorption. The change of solution pH during the sorption of arsenite ions on chitosan was also influenced by the interaction between the buffering effect of the arsenite species in the aqueous medium and the physical properties of chitosan. The final equilibrium adsorption capacity of chitosan for As(III) and As(V) was found to be around 500 and 8000 μg/g, respectively, whereas the capacities on nanochitosan are 6100 and 13,000 μg/g, respectively.

     

Understanding implications of consumer behavior for wildlife farming and sustainable wildlife trade

Unsustainable wildlife trade affects biodiversity and the livelihoods of communities dependent upon those resources. Wildlife farming has been proposed to promote sustainable trade, but characterizing markets and understanding consumer behavior remain neglected but essential steps in the design and evaluation of such operations. We used sea turtle trade in the Cayman Islands, where turtles have been farm raised for human consumption for almost 50 years, as a case study to explore consumer preferences toward wild‐sourced (illegal) and farmed (legal) products and potential conservation implications. Combining methods innovatively (including indirect questioning and choice experiments), we conducted a nationwide trade assessment through in‐person interviews from September to December 2014. Households were randomly selected using disproportionate stratified sampling, and responses were weighted based on district population size. We approached 597 individuals, of which 37 (6.2%) refused to participate. Although 30% of households had consumed turtle in the previous 12 months, the purchase and consumption of wild products was rare (e.g., 64–742 resident households consumed wild turtle meat [i.e., 0.3–3.5% of households] but represented a large threat to wild turtles in the area due to their reduced populations). Differences among groups of consumers were marked, as identified through choice experiments, and price and source of product played important roles in their decisions. Despite the long‐term practice of farming turtles, 13.5% of consumers showed a strong preference for wild products, which demonstrates the limitations of wildlife farming as a single tool for sustainable wildlife trade. By using a combination of indirect questioning, choice experiments, and sales data to investigate demand for wildlife products, we obtained insights about consumer behavior that can be used to develop conservation‐demand‐focused initiatives. Lack of data from long‐term social–ecological assessments hinders the evaluation of and learning from wildlife farming. This information is key to understanding under which conditions different interventions (e.g., bans, wildlife farming, social marketing) are likely to succeed.