Recycling food and agriculture by-products to mitigate climate change: a review

Food loss and waste is a major issue affecting food security, environmental pollution, producer profitability, consumer prices, and climate change. About 1.3 billion tons of food products are yearly lost globally, with China producing approximately 20 million tons of soybean dregs annually. Here, we review food and agricultural byproducts with emphasis on the strategies to convert this waste into valuable materials. Byproducts can be used for animal and plant nutrition, biogas production, food, extraction of oils and bioactive substances, and production of vinegar, wine, edible coatings and organic fertilizers. For instance, bioactive compounds represent approximately 8–20% of apple pomace, 5–17% of orange peel, 10–25% of grape seeds, 3–15% of pomegranate peel, and 2–13% of date palm seeds. Similarly, the pharmaceutical industry uses approximately 6.5% of the total output of gelatin derived from fish bones and animal skin. Animals fed with pomegranate peel and olive pomace improved the concentration of deoxyribonucleic acid and protein, the litter size, the milk yield, and nest characteristics. Biogas production amounts to 57.1% using soybean residue, 53.7% using papaya peel, and 49.1% using sugarcane bagasse.

     

Personal exposure to PM2.5-bound heavy metals associated with cardiopulmonary function in general population

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - To better understand the cardiopulmonary alterations associated with personal exposed PM2.5-bound heavy meals, we conducted a cross-sectional study in...     

A comprehensive review on green buildings research: bibliometric analysis during 1998–2018

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Buildings account for nearly 2/5ths of global energy expenditure. Due to this figure, the 90s witnessed the rise of green buildings (GBs) that were...     

Research progress and hot spots of hydrothermal liquefaction for bio-oil production based on bibliometric analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of biomass used HTL reaction under high temperature and pressure to produce bio-oil. This technology is considered as...     

全氟辛烷磺酸盐(PFOS)对半滑舌鳎(Cynoglossus semilaevis)免疫相关基因表达的影响

为了解全氟辛烷磺酸盐(perfluorooctane sulfonate, PFOS)暴露对半滑舌鳎(Cynoglossus semilaevis)免疫功能的影响,在实验室条件下,运用RT-PCR方法分析了PFOS暴露对半滑舌鳎热休克蛋白hsp70、hsp90、C型凝集素(c-type lectin)和细胞色素c氧化酶(cytochrome c oxidase, cox)等4种免疫相关基因表达水平的影响。实验测定了上述4种基因在半滑舌鳎肝、鳃、肠及肌肉4种不同组织中随时间(0、24 h、48 h、96 h和7 d)的表达变化情况。结果表明,在4种组织中,hsp70基因的表达与对照相比为上调,其中,肝组织hsp70基因的表达量显著高于其他各组织,且表达高峰值的出现也早于其他各组织;hsp90基因在肝和鳃组织中表达量随时间不同而波动,在肠组织中表达上调,在肌肉中表达显著下调;c-type lectin基因表达量与对照组相比表达显著下调或无明显差异;cox基因在肝组织和肠组织中表达下调,在鳃和肌肉中表达上调。上述研究结果表明,PFOS能引起免疫相关基因的表达变化,对半滑舌鳎具有潜在的免疫毒性。肝组织中各免疫基因对PFOS胁迫的响应高于其他组织。本研究可为阐明全氟辛烷磺酸盐对半滑舌鳎的免疫毒性提供基础数据。     

Determination of 27 pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in water: The benefit of isotope dilution

• Isotope dilution method was developed for the determination of 27 PPCPs in water. • The established method was successfully applied to different types of water samples. • The correction effect of corresponding 27 ILSs over 70 d was investigated. • Benefit of isotopic dilution method was illustrated for three examples. Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are a unique group of emerging and non-persistent contaminants. In this study, 27 PPCPs in various water samples were extracted by solid phase extraction (SPE), and determined by isotope dilution method using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem triple quadruple mass spectrometer (LC-MS/MS). A total of 27 isotopically labeled standards (ILSs) were applied to correct the concentration of PPCPs in spiked ultrapure water, drinking water, river, effluent and influent sewage. The corrected recoveries were 73%–122% with the relative standard deviation (RSD)<16%, except for acetaminophen. The matrix effect for all kinds of water samples was<22% and the method quantitation limits (MQLs) were 0.45–8.6 ng/L. The developed method was successfully applied on environmental water samples. The SPE extracts of spiked ultrapure water, drinking water, river and wastewater effluent were stored for 70 days, and the ILSs-corrected recoveries of 27 PPCPs were obtained to evaluate the correction ability of ILSs in the presence of variety interferences. The recoveries of 27 PPCPs over 70 days were within the scope of 72%–140% with the recovery variation<37% in all cases. The isotope dilution method seems to be of benefit when the extract has to be stored for long time before the instrument analysis.     

Magnetotactic bacteria: Characteristics and environmental applications

• Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) synthesize magnetic nanoparticle within magnetosomes. • The morphologic and phylogenetic diversity of MTB were summarized. • Isolation and mass cultivation of MTB deserve extensive research for applications. • MTB can remove heavy metals, radionuclides, and organic pollutants from wastewater. Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are a group of Gram-negative prokaryotes that respond to the geomagnetic field. This unique property is attributed to the intracellular magnetosomes, which contains membrane-bound nanocrystals of magnetic iron minerals. This review summarizes the most recent advances in MTB, magnetosomes, and their potential applications especially the environmental pollutant control or remediation. The morphologic and phylogenetic diversity of MTB were first introduced, followed by a critical review of isolation and cultivation methods. Past research has devoted to optimize the factors, such as oxygen, carbon source, nitrogen source, nutrient broth, iron source, and mineral elements for the growth of MTB. Besides the applications of MTB in modern biological and medical fields, little attention was made on the environmental applications of MTB for wastewater treatment, which has been summarized in this review. For example, applications of MTB as adsorbents have resulted in a novel magnetic separation technology for removal of heavy metals or organic pollutants in wastewater. In addition, we summarized the current advance on pathogen removal and detection of endocrine disruptor which can inspire new insights toward sustainable engineering and practices. Finally, the new perspectives and possible directions for future studies are recommended, such as isolation of MTB, genetic modification of MTB for mass production and new environmental applications. The ultimate objective of this review is to promote the applications of MTB and magnetosomes in the environmental fields.     

A review of measurement methods for peracetic acid (PAA)

• Physical and chemical properties and application of peracetic acid solution. • Determination method of high concentration peracetic acid. • Determination method of residual peracetic acid (low concentration). Peroxyacetic acid has been widely used in food, medical, and synthetic chemical fields for the past several decades. Recently, peroxyacetic acid has gradually become an effective alternative disinfectant in wastewater disinfection and has strong redox capacity for removing micro-pollutants from drinking water. However, commercial peroxyacetic acid solutions are primarily multi-component mixtures of peroxyacetic acid, acetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, and water. During the process of water treatment, peroxyacetic acid and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) often coexist, which limits further investigation on the properties of peroxyacetic acid. Therefore, analytical methods need to achieve a certain level of selectivity, particularly when peroxyacetic acid and hydrogen peroxide coexist. This review summarizes the measurement and detection methods of peroxyacetic acid, comparing the principle, adaptability, and relative merits of these methods.