Study of microbes having potentiality for biodegradation of plastics

Plastic is a broad name given to the different types of organic polymers having high molecular weight and is commonly derived from different petrochemicals. Plastics are generally not biodegradable or few are degradable but in a very slow rate. Day by day, the global demand of these polymers is sharply increasing; however, considering their abundance and potentiality in causing different environmental hazards, there is a great concern in the possible methods of degradation of plastics. Recently, there have been some debates at the world stage about the potential degradation procedures of these synthetic polymers and microbial degradation has emerged as one of the potential alternative ways of degradation of plastics. Alternatively, some scientists have also reported many adverse effects of these polymers in human health, and thus, there is an immediate need of a potential screening of some potential microbes to degrade these synthetic polymers. In this review, we have taken an attempt to accumulate all information regarding the chemical nature along with some potential microbes and their enzymatic nature of biodegradation of plastics along with some key factors that affect their biodegradability.     

Combining Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Knowledge to Assess and Manage Feral Water Buffalo Impacts on Perennial Freshwater Springs of the Aboriginal-Owned Arnhem Plateau, Australia

Aboriginal land managers have observed that feral Asian water buffalo (Bubalis bubalis Lydekker) are threatening the ecological and cultural integrity of perennial freshwater sources in Arnhem Land, Australia. Here we present collaborative research between the Aboriginal Rangers from Warddeken Land Management Limited and Western scientists which quantified the ground-level impacts of buffalo on seven perennial freshwater springs of the Arnhem Plateau. A secondary aim was to build the capacity of Aboriginal Rangers to self-monitor and evaluate the ecological outcomes of their land management activities. Sites with high buffalo abundance had significantly different ground, ground cover, and water quality attributes compared to sites with low buffalo abundance. The low buffalo abundance sites were characterized by tall herbaceous vegetation and flat ground, whereas wallows, bare ground, and short ungrazed grasses were indicators of sites with high buffalo abundance. Water turbidity was greater when buffalo abundance was high. The newly acquired monitoring skills and derived indicators of buffalo damage will be used by Aboriginal Rangers to assess the ecological outcomes of their future buffalo control efforts on the Arnhem Plateau.     

River basin governance enabling pathways for sustainable management: A comparative study between Australia,Brazil, China and France

Successful river basin governance is challenged by actor engagement in the various stages of planning and management. A governance approach for determining priorities for actors for sustainable management was developed, based on a river basin diagnostic framework consisting of four social-institutional and four biophysical indicators. It was applied in river basins in Australia, Brazil, China and France. Actors diagnosed current and target capacity for these indicators, and estimated synergistic influences of interacting indicators. The results reveal different priorities and transformative pathways to achieve basin plan outcomes, specific to each basin and actor groups. Priorities include biodiversity for the Murray-Darling, local water management needs for the São Francisco and Yellow rivers, and improved decision-making for the Adour-Garonne. This novel approach challenges entrenched views about key issues and actor engagement roles in co-implementation of the basin plan under existing prevailing governance models, with implications for engagement and international collaboration on basin governance.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01699-4.     

Modelling nitrogen saturation and carbon accumulation in heathland soils under elevated nitrogen deposition

A simple model of nitrogen (N) saturation, based on an extension of the biogeochemical model MAGIC, has been tested at two long-running heathland N manipulation experiments. The model simulates N immobilisation as a function of organic soil C/N ratio, but permits a proportion of immobilised N to be accompanied by accumulation of soil carbon (C), slowing the rate of C/N ratio change and subsequent N saturation. The model successfully reproduced observed treatment effects on soil C and N, and inorganic N leaching, for both sites. At the C-rich upland site, N addition led to relatively small reductions in soil C/N, low inorganic N leaching, and a substantial increase in organic soil C. At the C-poor lowland site, soil C/N ratio decreases and N leaching increases were much more dramatic, and soil C accumulation predicted to be smaller. The study suggests that (i) a simple model can effectively simulate observed changes in soil and leachate N; (ii) previous model predictions based on a constant soil C pool may overpredict future N leaching; (iii) N saturation may develop most rapidly in dry, organic-poor, high-decomposition systems; and (iv) N deposition may lead to significantly enhanced soil C sequestration, particularly in wet, nutrient-poor, organic-rich systems.     

Kinetic assessment of the potassium ferrate(VI) oxidation of antibacterial drug sulfamethoxazole

Sulfamethoxazole (SMX), a worldwide-applied antibacterial drug, was recently found in surface waters and in secondary wastewater effluents, which may result in ecotoxical effects in the environment. Herein, removal of SMX by environmentally-friendly oxidant, potassium ferrate(VI) (K(2)FeO(4)), is sought by studying the kinetics of the reaction between Fe(VI) and SMX as a function of pH (6.93-9.50) and temperature (15-45 degrees C). The rate law for the oxidation of SMX by Fe(VI) is first-order with respect to each reactant. The observed second-order rate constant decreased non-linearly from 1.33+/-0.08 x 10(3) M(-1)s(-1) to 1.33+/-0.10 x 10(0) M(-1)s(-1) with an increase of pH from 7.00 to 9.50. This is related to protonation of Fe(VI) (HFeO(4)(-) <==> H(+) + FeO(4)(2-); pK(a,HFeO(4)) = 7.23) and sulfamethoxazole (SH <==> H(+) + S(-); pK(a,SH)=5.7). The estimated rate constants were k(11)(HFeO(4)(-) + SH) = 3.0 x 10(4) M(-1)s(-1), k(12)(HFeO(4)(-) + S(-)) = 1.7 x 10(2) M(-1)s(-1), and k(13) (FeO(4)(2-) + SH) = 1.2 x 10(0) M(-1)s(-1). The energy of activation at pH 7.0 was found to be 1.86+/-0.04 kJ mol(-1). If excess potassium ferrate(VI) concentration (10 microM) is used than the SMX in water, the half-life of the reaction using a rate constant obtained in our study would be approximately 2 min at pH 7. The reaction rates are pH dependent; thus, so are the half-lives of the reactions. The results suggest that K(2)FeO(4) has the potential to serve as an oxidative treatment chemical for removing SMX in water.     

Case study analysis of the financial impact of catastrophic safety events

Several catastrophic events in the process industry have caused extensive damage to life and property and have forever changed the process safety landscape. Despite the commitment from the industry, incidents still occur with similar root causes, impacting major companies in various ways. This work examines the financial impact of such incidents on the stability and future of affected companies in different industries. Several devastating incidents were analyzed to evaluate the direct impact in the short- and long-term and to discuss factors influencing the ability of affected companies to withstand the consequence of catastrophic events.     

New climate change information modifies frames and decisions of decision makers: an exploratory study in forest planning

Information helps decision makers to address and to decide about environmental problems. In the context of climate change adaptation, often knowledge is missing on how the available information from impact models affects the decision-making process. The main aim of this study was to explore the extent of ambiguity and how new climate change information influenced decision of forest planners. We investigated changes in decisions of planners about forestry actions representing species choice and forest tourism and expiry dates of these actions leading to environmental constraints in the provision of ecosystem services. Forest planners evaluated expiry dates using four forest ecosystem services: forest production, stand yield class, sequestered carbon, and potential tourism. Data were collected during workshops with eleven forest planners from three forest districts in Scotland. Presented climate change information modified the understanding and frames of planners about forestry actions assessed with accompanying expiry dates. Changes in the frames of planners often result in both earlier and later expiry dates. Ambiguity of planners was found to be dependent on diversity in frames and difficulty in evaluating multiple ecosystem services. These findings imply that due to ambiguity forest planners might find it hard to choose climate change adaptation measures and researchers can struggle to convince planners with new research findings.     

Development of Anticorrosive Poly(Ether-Urethane) Amide Coatings from Linseed Oil: A Sustainable Resource

Polyetheramide(PEtA) resin was synthesized by the condensation polymerization of N,N-bis(2-hydroxy ethyl) linseed oil fatty amide diol (HELA) with resorcinol. It was further treated with different percentage of toluylene 2-4-diisocyanate (TDI) to obtain the urethane modified polyetheramide resins (UPEtA). The structural elucidation of PEtA and urethane modified polyetheramide(UPEtA) were carried out by FT-IR, ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR spectroscopic techniques. These analyses confirm the formation of PEtA and UPEtA. Physico-chemical and physico-mechanical analysis were performed by standard laboratory methods. The resin composition UPEtA-24 showed best physico-mechanical properties with scratch hardness 2.0 kg, impact resistance 150 lb/in. and good bending ability. The thermal stability and curing behavior of polymers were respectively studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Thermal analysis shows that these coatings can be used safely upto 190 °C. The coatings of UPEtA resins were prepared on mild steel strips. The anticorrosive behavior of UPEtA coatings were investigated in acid, alkali, water and xylene. All the coatings exhibit good chemical resistance performance in acid, alkali, saline and organic solvents, while the resin UPEtA-24 shows the best performance.