Scenario-based urban growth allocation in a rapidly developing area: a modeling approach for sustainability analysis of an urban-coastal coupled system

Being located in an urban-coastal coupled system, the Hashtpar City is one of the most attractive areas for urban construction, tourism, agricultural activities and environmental protection in northern Iran. To resolve the issues between land developers and environmental conservation agencies, we conducted a scenario-based urban growth allocation procedure through the SLEUTH model. The scenarios consisted of ‘business as usual’, ‘managed urban growth’ and ‘environmentally sound growth’ that were introduced by modification of model parameters and exclusion layer. The resultant urban growth arrangements were compared for composition and configuration attributes of landscape patterns. According to the results, the pattern of urbanized lands under managed urban growth option demonstrated better connectivity and compactness of urban patches, while the two other scenarios generated a highly fragmented pattern. The managed urban growth can be considered as a compromised solution between other scenarios since it simultaneously takes into accounts both developers and environment protectors points’ of views. On this basis, a combination of centralized and decentralized urban land use planning is a recommended strategy for our urban-coastal environment to fulfill the purposes of a sustainable development process. The findings of the present article suggest that further expansion of the major urban core in the targeted area should be prohibited since it can lead to an urban patch with considerable physical size and noticeable ecological footprint.     

Adsorption study of 14C-paraquat in two Malaysian agricultural soils

The adsorption equilibrium time and effects of pH and concentration of ¹⁴C-labeled paraquat (1,1^??-dimethyl-4,4^??-bipyridylium dichloride) in two types of Malaysian soil were investigated. The soils used in the study were clay loam and clay soils from rice fields. Equilibrium studies of paraquat in a soil and pesticide solution were conducted. Adsorption equilibrium time was achieved within 2 h for both soil types. The amount of ¹⁴C-labeled paraquat adsorbed onto glass surfaces increased with increasing shaking time and remained constant after 10 h. It was found that paraquat adsorbed by the two soils was very similar: 51.73 (clay loam) and 51.59 ?? g g^???1 (clay) at 1 ?? g/ml. The adsorption of paraquat onto both types of soil was higher at high pH, and adsorption decreased with decreasing pH. At pH 11, the amounts of ¹⁴C-labeled paraquat adsorbed onto the clay loam and clay soil samples were 4.08 and 4.05 ?? g g^???1, respectively, whereas at pH 2, the amounts adsorbed were 3.72 and 3.57 ?? g g^???1, respectively. Results also suggested that paraquat sorption by soil is concentration dependent.     

Development of Cellulose Aerogel as a New Material for the Reduction of Harmful Substances in Cigarette Smoke

The current study proposes a novel and improved cigarette filtration design comprising cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) and powdered activated carbons (PACs) with different dry matter contents. The proposed filter samples were primarily analyzed to verify their applicability as cigarette filters via measurements and standard tests, such as SEM, BET, DSC, and airflow permeability analysis. The results were compared with the cellulose acetate (CA) sample used as a conventional cigarette filter. The preliminary results indicated noticeable improvement compared to the reference CA. Also, the cigarettes were tested using a smoking machine, and the filtered smoke was analyzed using GC–MS to evaluate the filters' performance in reducing the harmful substances present in the smoke. The results showed that the filters made of CNF and PAC significantly decreased the toxic substances compared with the reference but did not affect the nicotine substantially and therefore will not negatively impact the trance level of smokers.

     

Introduction of Ionic Liquids as Highly Efficient Plasticizers and Flame Retardants of Cellulose Triacetate Films

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - As a promising biodegradable polymer, cellulose triacetate (CTA) was synthesized and plasticized with ionic liquids to produce flexible biocomposite films...     

Health risk assessment of potentially toxic elements intake via food crops consumption: Monte Carlo simulation-based probabilistic and heavy metal pollution index

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The aim of this study is to assess the content of heavy metals and their potential health risk in consumed food crops. To this end, the samples from...     

Investigating the quantitative and qualitative status of effluent in the wastewater treatment plant in Iran Central Iron Ore

The aim of present study was to investigate the quality of the produced effluent from different units of the Iran Central Iron Ore in Bafq city and comparison of effluent with the standards. This study presents the physicochemical and biological parameters data of effluent of three Sequencing batch reactors (SBR) with a capacity of 160 m³?d^?1. Most common parameters include pH, total suspended solids (TSS), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅), chemical oxygen demand (COD), heavy metals, and total coliforms and fecal coliforms as biological indicators. Then, for each SBR system, the average of each parameter was determined, and results were compared with the standard recommended by the Iranian Environmental Protection Agency. Based on the results, some of the parameters, including BOD₅, COD, and TSS in the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent, are higher than the permitted amount for discharge to the surface water. Considering the BOD₅, COD, and TSS concentration in WWTPs, the treated wastewater is only suitable for agricultural and irrigation use. Therefore, wastewater produced by Iran Central Iron Ore Co. will need additional treatment to achieve standard quality of water before discharge in surface water and adsorbent well.     

Increased Levels of serum Pentraxin 3 in Critical Coronavirus Disease-2019 Patients

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) and ficolin are the plasma phase of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and can activate complement through classical and lectin...     

Toward a green economy: The nexus between economic and environmental factors in MENA countries,ARDL bounds approach

With the transition of the global economy toward a green economy, it is important to analyze the elements that can either support or impede this transformation. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to evaluate the potential of the green economy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries by analyzing the correlation between economic and environmental factors. The objective of this study is to explore the potential of the green economy in MENA countries by analyzing key factors such as access to clean fuel, GDP, and CO₂ emissions. The study aims to distinguish between long- and short-term effects, assess the presence of a long-run relationship or co-integration between the parameter estimates, and evaluate the progress of MENA countries toward a green economy based on the impact of economic, and environmental factors. Using quarterly and seasonally adjusted data from 2000 to 2018, the auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) technique was employed to examine the co-integration of the factors in the long and short terms. Multiple cointegration techniques were also used to determine the feasibility of a green economy by analyzing the relationship between access to clean fuel for technology and cooking, GDP, and CO₂ emissions. The study's findings indicate a clear long- and short-term relationship between the analyzed factors, as confirmed by the error correction model (ECM) which suggests that the variables are cointegrated and potentially relevant. Additionally, the result of the autoregressive distributed lag bound test shows that the green economy variables, GDP, CO₂ emissions, and access to clean fuel, are cointegrated in the long-term.     

Application of electrochemical reactor divided by cellulosic membrane for optimized simultaneous removal of phenols,chromium, and ammonia from tannery effluents

The post treatment of simulated tannery wastewater was evaluated in an electrochemical oxidation process under galvanostatic conditions. A continuous flow reactor divided by a cellulosic membrane consisted of Ti/SnO₂–Sb anodes and iron cathodes was used. Central composite design and response surface methodology (RSM) were applied to investigate the effects of six operational parameters, namely initial concentration of total phenols (TPh), total chromium (TCr), total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), flow rate (Q), current intensity (I), and electrode surface area (A). Effectiveness of the innovative cellulosic membrane was proven by considerable pH variations in the anolyte and catholyte chambers. A faster removal rate was observed for TPh and TAN, followed by TCr. The treatment level was very sensitive to Q and I in the studied ranges. RSM showed the removal efficiencies of 78.14%, 63.42%, and 86.09% for TPh, TCr, and TAN, respectively, are achieved under optimal conditions with consumption of only 9.03 kWh m^?3 electrical energy. Chlorinated compounds such as chloroform, 2,4-dichlorophenol, and chlorobenzene were detected as the degradation intermediates. According to the obtained results, electrolysis in the divided cell with cellulosic membrane is a practical, cost-effective method for advanced treatment of tannery effluents.