Technical measures to achieve a cleaner production mode for recycled paper mills

China’s paper production reached 79.8 ×10⁶ t in 2008 and ranked number one in the world. Because of its high consumption of water, energy and materials and its serious pollution, the present processes are not likely to be sustainable. An alternative, the closed Water Loop-Papermaking Integration (WLPI) method, is put forward in this paper. The WLPI method can be realized in a recycled paper mill by adding technologies and using recycled water. Many industrial case studies have shown that a large quantity of water, energy and materials can be saved, and the quantity of waste sludge and wastewater discharge was minimized by using the WLPI method. The design of the water reuse system, control of calcium hardness, water recycling and minimal waste sludge are discussed. Anaerobic technology plays an important role in the WLPI method to lower cost, energy use and waste. In the brown paper and coated white board production, zero-effluent discharge can be realized. Fresh water consumption is only 1–2 m³·t^-1. For the paper mills with deinking and bleaching processes, about 10 m³·t^-1 of fresh water and a similar amount of effluent discharge are needed. Power saving using anaerobic technology is 70% when recycled water is used in comparison with the conventional activated sludge process. Waste sludge can be decreased to about 5% of the initial process due to reuse of the waste sludge and the lower bio-sludge production of the anaerobic process.     

Recent advances in the electrochemical oxidation water treatment: Spotlight on byproduct control

• Byproduct formation mechanisms during electrochemical oxidation water treatment. • Control byproduct formation by quenchers. • Process optimization to suppress byproduct formation. Electrochemical oxidation (EO) is a promising technique for decentralized wastewater treatment, owing to its modular design, high efficiency, and ease of automation and transportation. The catalytic destruction of recalcitrant, non-biodegradable pollutants (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), pharmaceuticals, and personal care products (PPCPs), pesticides, etc.) is an appropriate niche for EO. EO can be more effective than homogeneous advanced oxidation processes for the degradation of recalcitrant chemicals inert to radical-mediated oxidation, because the potential of the anode can be made much higher than that of hydroxyl radicals (E_OH = 2.7 V vs. NHE), forcing the direct transfer of electrons from pollutants to electrodes. Unfortunately, at such high anodic potential, chloride ions, which are ubiquitous in natural water systems, will be readily oxidized to chlorine and perchlorate. Perchlorate is a to-be-regulated byproduct, and chlorine can react with matrix organics to produce organic halogen compounds. In the past ten years, novel electrode materials and processes have been developed. However, spotlights were rarely focused on the control of byproduct formation during EO processes in a real-world context. When we use EO techniques to eliminate target contaminants with concentrations at μg/L-levels, byproducts at mg/L-levels might be produced. Is it a good trade-off? Is it possible to inhibit byproduct formation without compromising the performance of EO? In this mini-review, we will summarize the recent advances and provide perspectives to address the above questions.     

Increasing significance of advanced physical/chemical processes in the development and application of sustainable wastewater treatment systems

The awareness of the problem of the scarcity of water of high quality has strongly changed the approach of wastewater treatment. Currently, there is an increasing need for the beneficial reuse of treated wastewater and to recover valuable products and energy from the wastewater. Because microbiological treatment methods are, only to a limited part, able to satisfy these needs, the role and significance of physical/chemical processes in wastewater treatment are gaining more and more interest. The specific future role and aim of the various physical/chemical treatment processes can be categorized in five groups: improvement of the performance of microbiological treatment processes, achievement of the high quality required for reuse of the effluent, recovery of valuable components and energy from the wastewater for beneficial reuse, desalination of brackish water and seawater, and treatment of concentrated liquid or solid waste residues produced in a wastewater treatment process. Development of more environmentally sustainable wastewater treatment chains in which physical/chemical processes play a crucial role, also requires application of process control and modeling strategies. This is briefly introduced by the elaboration of treatment scenarios for three specific wastewaters.     

典型污水处理厂对多环芳烃及其衍生物的去除及再生水健康风险研究

多环芳烃(PAHs)在水环境中可以通过化学或微生物作用转化成其衍生物(SPAHs),而SPAHs可能具有更强的毒性和"三致性"从而危害人体健康。为探明污水厂中PAHs和SPAHs的存在性及不同二级处理和再生水处理工艺对它们的去除效果,对北京及广东共4座污水处理厂中PAHs及SPAHs进行了检测,同时对再生水进行了健康风险评价。结果显示:从进水浓度来看,4座污水处理厂中,低环芳烃浓度(191.8~394.2 ng·L~(-1))明显高于高环芳烃(89.3~108.2 ng·L~(-1));SPAHs中氧取代物(OPAHs)总浓度(253.8~322.2 ng·L~(-1))高于甲基取代物(MPAHs,44.3~220.4 ng·L~(-1))。不同二级处理工艺对PAHs的去除率为43.7%~58.2%,对SPAHs的去除率为45.8%~52.1%。不同再生水处理工艺对PAHs和SPAHs去除率差别较大,PAHs的去除率范围为1.8%~41.1%,SPAHs的去除率范围在2.35%~25.9%。结果表明,目标物的去除以生物降解为主,此外,吸附在固体颗粒上,随颗粒沉淀去除也是主要途径之一。通过对污水厂再生水的风险评价,苯并[a]芘(BaP)和二苯并[a,h]蒽(DBA)2种强致癌物TEQ浓度均高于1,其致癌风险较大,安全性有待提高。     

无磷洗衣粉并非控制水体富营养化的灵丹妙药

很多人认为，使用无磷洗衣粉便能有效解决令人烦恼的“水华”或“赤潮”问题。然而，无论是西方国家长达20年的实践经验，还是我国目前面临的现状显示，无磷洗衣粉对遏制水体富营养化现象作用并不十分明显!究其原因，面源污染和生活污水中的其它磷来源才是构成水体磷负荷的主要来源。因此，在国内外普遍兴建污水处理厂的前提下，是否有必要以洗涤效果不佳、可能会产生新的环境问题的无磷洗衣粉替代传统洗衣粉目前正遭到国外一些有识之士质疑。文章介绍了国外这方面的情况，并总结性地提出了我国在此方面应注意的问题。     

A sustainable development metric based on youth

Nearly two decades ago, the World Bank declared achieving sustained and equitable development to be the greatest challenge facing the human race. In this article, an index of youth investment (IYI) is proposed to highlight children and the intergenerational dimension of sustainable development. The index incorporates quality-adjusted measures for child health and education. Comparisons with two complementary indicators of sustainable development, the human development index (HDI) and the adjusted net saving rate (AS), are made. A cross-section of 34 nations for 2006 is used as an illustration. A discussion of policies for promoting sustainable development through investing in children concludes the article.     

Contrasting ecological information content in whaling archives with modern cetacean surveys for conservation planning and identification of historical distribution changes

Many species are restricted to a marginal or suboptimal fraction of their historical range due to anthropogenic impacts, making it hard to interpret their ecological preferences from modern-day data alone. However, inferring past ecological states is limited by the availability of robust data and biases in historical archives, posing a challenge for policy makers . To highlight how historical records can be used to understand the ecological requirements of threatened species and inform conservation, we investigated sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) distribution in the Western Indian Ocean. We assessed differences in information content and habitat suitability predictions based on whale occurrence data from Yankee whaling logs (1792–1912) and from modern cetacean surveys (1995–2020). We built maximum entropy habitat suitability models containing static (bathymetry-derived) variables to compare models comprising historical-only and modern-only data. Using both historical and modern habitat suitability predictions  we assessed marine protected area (MPA) placement by contrasting suitability in- and outside MPAs. The historical model predicted high habitat suitability in shelf and coastal regions near continents and islands, whereas the modern model predicted a less coastal distribution with high habitat suitability more restricted to areas of steep topography. The proportion of high habitat suitability inside versus outside MPAs was higher when applying the historical predictions than the modern predictions, suggesting that different marine spatial planning optimums can be reached from either data sources. Moreover, differences in relative habitat suitability predictions between eras were consistent with the historical depletion of sperm whales from coastal regions, which were easily accessed and targeted by whalers, resulting in a modern distribution limited more to steep continental margins and remote oceanic ridges. The use of historical data can provide important new insights and, through cautious interpretation, inform conservation planning and policy, for example, by identifying refugee species and regions of anticipated population recovery.     

Integrated energy view of wastewater treatment: A potential of electrochemical biodegradation

• Energy is needed to accelerate the biological wastewater treatment. • Electrical energy input in traditional technology is indirect and inefficient. • Direct injection of electricity can be a game changer to maximize energy efficiency. • Microbial electrochemical unit for decentralized wastewater treatment is proposed. It has been more than one century since the activated sludge process was invented. Despite its proven stability and reliability, the energy (especially the electrical energy) use in wastewater treatment should evolve to meet the increasingly urgent demand of energy efficiency. This paper discusses how the energy utilized in conventional biological wastewater treatment can be altered by switching the indirect energy input to a direct electricity injection, which is achieved by the electrode integration providing extra thermodynamic driving force to biodegradation. By using electrodes instead of oxygen as terminal electron acceptors, the electrical energy can be utilized more efficiently, and the key of direct use of electrical energy in biodegradation is the development of highly active electroactive biofilm and the increase of electron transfer between microbes and the electrode. Furthermore, the synergy of different microbial electrochemical units has additional benefit in energy and resource recovery, making wastewater treatment more sustainable.     

PICABUE: a methodological framework for the development of indicators of sustainable development

SUMMARY

Significant interest in the concept of sustainable development exists amongst scientists, planners, policy makers and the public, and considerable effort and expenditure is made or envisaged at local, national and international levels to promote a more sustainable society. Until ‘green accounting’ and similar systems are made available and are implemented, the sustainability indicator will be the most effective tool available for monitoring progress towards a more sustainable society. Sustainability indicators are already available but are characterized by a poor or absent theoretical underpinning. This paper addresses this problem by proposing a methodological framework that can be applied to the construction of indicators of sustainable development. In order to be consistent with widely accepted definitions of sustainable development, considerations relating to the measurement of quality of life and ecological integrity are central to the methodology. The methodological framework has relevance to a variety of spatial scales and to geographically diverse areas (urban or rural, developed or developing countries) so that a suite of sustainability indicators can be produced that is tailored to the needs and resources of the indicator user, but which remains rooted firmly in the fundamental principles of sustainable development.     

What have we known so far about microplastics in drinking water treatment? A timely review

• 23 available research articles on MPs in drinking water treatment are reviewed. • The effects of treatment conditions and MP properties on MP removal are discussed. • DWTPs with more steps generally are more effective in removing MPs. • Smaller MPs (e.g.,<10 μm) are more challenging in drinking water treatment. Microplastics (MPs) have been widely detected in drinking water sources and tap water, raising the concern of the effectiveness of drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) in protecting the public from exposure to MPs through drinking water. We collected and analyzed the available research articles up to August 2021 on MPs in drinking water treatment (DWT), including laboratory- and full-scale studies. This article summarizes the major MP compositions (materials, sizes, shapes, and concentrations) in drinking water sources, and critically reviews the removal efficiency and impacts of MPs in various drinking water treatment processes. The discussed drinking water treatment processes include coagulation-flocculation (CF), membrane filtration, sand filtration, and granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration. Current DWT processes that are purposed for particle removal are generally effective in reducing MPs in water. Various influential factors to MP removal are discussed, such as coagulant type and dose, MP material, shape and size, and water quality. It is anticipated that better MP removal can be achieved by optimizing the treatment conditions. Moreover, the article framed the major challenges and future research directions on MPs and nanoplastics (NPs) in DWT.     

Technologies for pollutant removal and resource recovery from blackwater: a review

● Blackwater is the main source of organics and nutrients in domestic wastewater. ● Various treatment methods can be applied for resource recovery from blackwater. ● Blackwater treatment systems of high integration and efficiency are the future trend. ● More research is needed for the practical use of blackwater treatment systems. Blackwater (BW), consisting of feces, urine, flushing water and toilet paper, makes up an important portion of domestic wastewater. The improper disposal of BW may lead to environmental pollution and disease transmission, threatening the sustainable development of the world. Rich in nutrients and organic matter, BW could be treated for resource recovery and reuse through various approaches. Aimed at providing guidance for the future development of BW treatment and resource recovery, this paper presented a literature review of BWs produced in different countries and types of toilets, including their physiochemical characteristics, and current treatment and resource recovery strategies. The degradation and utilization of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) within BW are underlined. The performance of different systems was classified and summarized. Among all the treating systems, biological and ecological systems have been long and widely applied for BW treatment, showing their universality and operability in nutrients and energy recovery, but they are either slow or ineffective in removal of some refractory pollutants. Novel processes, especially advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), are becoming increasingly extensively studied in BW treatment because of their high efficiency, especially for the removal of micropollutants and pathogens. This review could serve as an instructive guidance for the design and optimization of BW treatment technologies, aiming to help in the fulfilment of sustainable human excreta management.     

折流式厌氧反应器（ABR）的研究进展

随着对厌氧消化机理研究的不断深入和各种高效厌氧反应器的飞速发展 ,废水的厌氧生物处理技术已经成为资源和环境保护的核心技术之一[1] .ＵＡＳＢ是荷兰Ｗａｇｅｎｉｎｇｅｎ农业大学的Ｌｅｔｔｉｎｇａ等人于 70年代开发的一种高效厌氧反应器 ,目前已经广泛的应用于生产实践 .ＵＡＳＢ的成功极大的促进了其它高效厌氧反应器的发展 ,折流式厌氧反应器 (ＡｎａｅｒｏｂｉｃＢａｆｆｌｅｄＲｅａｃｔｏｒ,简称ＡＢＲ)正是在ＵＡＳＢ基础上开发出的一种新型高效厌氧反应器[2 ,3] .下面将介绍ＡＢＲ反应器废水处理工艺的原理、特点以及国内外研…     

Dissolved methane in anaerobic effluent: Emission or recovery?

Various anaerobic processes have been explored for the energy-efficient treatment of municipal wastewater. However, dissolved methane in anaerobic effluent appears to be a barrier towards the energy and carbon neutrality of wastewater treatment. Although several dissolved methane recovery methods have been developed, their engineering feasibility and economic viability have not yet been assessed in a holistic manner. In this perspective, we thus intend to offer additional insights into the cost-benefit of dissolved methane recovery against its emission.     

Economic efficiency and equity in water quality control: Effluent taxes and information requirements

Water quality standards for any river system can be achieved under numerous management programs or assignment patterns for waste treatment responsibility. This study examines three effluent charge (tax) programs along with a management program based on equal percentage treatment. Each program is developed within the general framework of a water quality management model and is designed to minimize the total real resource cost of waste treatment subject to program constraints (information availability) and water quality standards. An assessment of the relative efficiency and equity of these programs is made within a water quality management simulation of the Patuxent River in Maryland.     

Sustainability in manufacturing processes: practices performed in metal forming,casting, heat treatment,welding and electrostatic painting

ABSTRACT

This article aims to list the main sustainable practices developed in the processes of metal forming, casting, heat treatment, welding and electrostatic painting. When analysed the literature about sustainable manufacturing, a predominance of studies about machining is observed and the processes mentioned are few explored in academic studies. The research strategy used to reach the objective was systematic literature review, conducted for each process cited. Many sustainable practices were identified with prominence of better materials use and energy efficiency. The authors of this article believe that the information presented here can be useful for researches in their future studies and for industry professionals interested in improving manufacturing processes.     

物化预处理-水解酸化-接触氧化法处理选矿废水

对某浮选厂浮选废水进行混凝沉淀+活性碳吸附预处理,然后进入生化系统,厌氧池、好氧池停留时间为10h.结果证明:进水COD为400～700mg/L,出水74～145 mg/L,去除率达75.8%以上,首次成功地将生物法应用到铅锌选矿废水的处理,若对该工艺进行适当调整,完全可以使出水达到排放或回用标准.     

Use of sibling relationship reconstruction to complement traditional monitoring in fisheries management and conservation of brown trout

Declining trends in the abundance of many fish urgently call for more efficient and informative monitoring methods that would provide necessary demographic data for the evaluation of existing conservation, restoration, and management actions. We investigated how genetic sibship reconstruction from young‐of‐the‐year brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) juveniles provides valuable, complementary demographic information that allowed us to disentangle the effects of habitat quality and number of breeders on juvenile density. We studied restored (n = 15) and control (n = 15) spawning and nursery habitats in 16 brown trout rivers and streams over 2 consecutive years to evaluate the effectiveness of habitat restoration activities. Similar juvenile densities both in restored and control spawning and nursery grounds were observed. Similarly, no differences in the effective number of breeders, N_b(SA), were detected between habitats, indicating that brown trout readily used recently restored spawning grounds. Only a weak relationship between the N_b(SA) and juvenile density was observed, suggesting that multiple factors affect juvenile abundance. In some areas, very low estimates of N_b(SA) were found at sites with high juvenile density, indicating that a small number of breeders can produce a high number of progeny in favorable conditions. In other sites, high N_b(SA) estimates were associated with low juvenile density, suggesting low habitat quality or lack of suitable spawning substrate in relation to available breeders. Based on these results, we recommend the incorporation of genetic sibship reconstruction to ongoing and future fish evaluation and monitoring programs to gain novel insights into local demographic and evolutionary processes relevant for fisheries management, habitat restoration, and conservation.     

Comparative network analysis toward characterization of systemic organization for human–environmental sustainability

A preliminary study in comparative ecological network analysis was conducted to identify key assumptions and methodological challenges, test initial hypotheses and explore systemic and network structural characteristics for environmentally sustainable ecosystems. A nitrogen network for the U.S. beef supply chain – a small sub-network of the industrial food system analyzed as a pilot study – was constructed and compared to four non-human carbon and nitrogen trophic networks for the Chesapeake Bay and the Florida Everglades. These non-human food webs served as sustainable reference systems. Contrary to the main original hypothesis, the “window of vitality” and the number of network roles did not clearly differentiate between a human sub-network and the more complete non-human networks. The effective trophic level of humans (a partial estimate of trophic level based on the single food source of beef) was much higher (8.1) than any non-human species (maximum of 4.88). Network connectance, entropy, total dependency coefficients, trophic efficiencies and the ascendency to capacity ratio also indicated differences that serve as hypotheses for future tests on more comprehensive human food webs. The study elucidated important issues related to (1) the steady state assumption, which is more problematic for industrial human systems, (2) the absence or dearth of data on contributions of dead humans and human wastes to feed other species in an integrated food web, (3) the ambiguity of defining some industrial compartments as living versus non-living, and (4) challenges with constructing compartments and trophic transfers in industrial versus non-human food webs. The two main novel results are (1) the progress made toward adapting ecological network analysis (ENA) methodology for analysis of human food networks in industrial cultures and (2) characterizing the critical aspects of comparative ENA for understanding potential causes of the problems, and providing avenues for solutions, for environmental sustainability. Based on this work, construction and comparative network analysis of a more comprehensive industrial human food network seems warranted and likely to provide valuable insights for modifying structures of industrial food networks to be more like natural networks and more sustainable.     

Hybrid energy harvesting systems for self-powered sustainable water purification by harnessing ambient energy

● Energy harvesters harness multiple energies for self-powered water purification. ● Hybrid energy harvesters enable continuous output under fluctuating conditions. ● Mechanical, thermal, and solar energies enable synergic harvesting. ● Perspectives of hybrid energy harvester-driven water treatment are proposed. The development of self-powered water purification technologies for decentralized applications is crucial for ensuring the provision of drinking water in resource-limited regions. The elimination of the dependence on external energy inputs and the attainment of self-powered status significantly expands the applicability of the treatment system in real-world scenarios. Hybrid energy harvesters, which convert multiple ambient energies simultaneously, show the potential to drive self-powered water purification facilities under fluctuating actual conditions. Here, we propose recent advancements in hybrid energy systems that simultaneously harvest various ambient energies (e.g., photo irradiation, flow kinetic, thermal, and vibration) to drive water purification processes. The mechanisms of various energy harvesters and point-of-use water purification treatments are first outlined. Then we summarize the hybrid energy harvesters that can drive water purification treatment. These hybrid energy harvesters are based on the mechanisms of mechanical and photovoltaic, mechanical and thermal, and thermal and photovoltaic effects. This review provides a comprehensive understanding of the potential for advancing beyond the current state-of-the-art of hybrid energy harvester-driven water treatment processes. Future endeavors should focus on improving catalyst efficiency and developing sustainable hybrid energy harvesters to drive self-powered treatments under unstable conditions (e.g., fluctuating temperatures and humidity).     

Occurrence and fate of antibiotics in advanced wastewater treatment facilities and receiving rivers in Beijing,China

The occurrence and removal of 13 antibiotics were investigated in five wastewater treatment plants （WWTPs） with advanced wastewater treatment processes in Beijing, China. Most of the target antibiotics were detected in the secondary and tertiary effluents, with the concentrations of 4.8-1106.0 and 0.3-505.0ng·L^-1. Fluoroquinolone antibiotics showed relatively high concentrations in all samples （782-1814ng·L^-1）. Different tertiary treatment processes showed discrepant antibiotics removal performances. Ozonation process was found more effective in removing target antibiotics compared to the coagulation-flocculation-sedimentation process and sand filtration process. Investigation of the target antibiotics in three typical urban rivers in Beijing was carried out to understand antibiotics occurrence in surface water environment. Eight antibiotics were detected in the studied rivers, with highest concentration of antibiotics in the fiver which was mainly replenished by reclaimed water. This study showed the necessity of employing more effective advanced treatment facilities to further reduce the discharge amount of antibiotics.