Research on Public Participation and Information Publicity in Strategic Environmental Assessment

Abstract

It has been generally recognized that strategic environmental assessment integrates environment and development into decision-making and becomes an important decision-making tool for implementing sustainable development. This paper firstly introduces the relationships of SEA, public participation(PP)and information publicity(IP), then discusses the key parts in enforcing the effective process of PP: They are the methods for how to make sufficient information open (What), when to implement PP (When), who will determinate the public (Who), and how to make the models of PP (How). Six cases are compared and analyzed. At last, ways to improve the effectiveness of PP in China is also presented.     

Effective and selective separation of perrhenate from acidic wastewater by super-stable,superhydrophobic, and recyclable biosorbent

• A ZnO-biochar hybrid composite was prepared by solvothermal-pyrolysis synthesis. • The superhydrophobic composite is suitable for selective recovery of Re(VII). • The adsorption mechanism is elucidated by experiments and material characterization. The recovery of scattered metal ions such as perrhenate (Re(VII)) from industrial effluents has enormous economic benefits and promotes resource reuse. Nanoscale-metal/biochar hybrid biosorbents are attractive for recovery but are limited by their insufficient stability and low selectivity in harsh environments. Herein, a superstable biochar-based biosorbent composed of ZnO nanoparticles with remarkable superhydrophobic features is fabricated, and its adsorption/desorption capabilities toward Re(VII) in strongly acidic aqueous solutions are investigated. The ZnO nanoparticle/biochar hybrid composite (ZBC) exhibits strong acid resistance and high chemical stability, which are attributable to strong C-O-Zn interactions between the biochar and ZnO nanoparticles. Due to the advantages of its hydrolytic stability, superhydrophobicity, and abundance of Zn-O sites, the ZBC proves suitable for the effective and selective separation of Re(VII) from single, binary and multiple ion systems (pH= 1), with a maximum sorption capacity of 29.41 mg/g. More importantly, this material also shows good recyclability and reusability, with high adsorption efficiency after six adsorption-desorption cycles. The findings in this work demonstrate that a metal/biochar hybrid composite is a promising sorbent for Re(VII) separation.     

Acoustic performance of near-rail low-height noise barriers installed on suburban railway bridges

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - With the large-scale construction of suburban railway viaducts, the noise problem along the viaducts is becoming more and more prominent. Conventional...     

Identifying impact of international trade and renewable energy consumption on environmental quality improvement and their role in global warming

There is a lack of proper research that highlights the impact of institutional quality (IQ) and renewable energy consumption (REC) on the carbon emission (CE). The significance of IQ and REC in the achievement of zero CE is highlighted in this research. The current research reports the effects of these important factors on the consumption-based carbon emissions in the G-7 countries from 1995 to 2018. Based on the outcome of the cointegration test, the long-run connection is recognized between IQ, REC, GDP, exports, imports, and consumption-based CE. The findings also validated that there exist significant decrease and increase in the CE in both the short and long run; for instance, IQ, REC, and exports decrease the CE, while imports and GDP increase the CE. The estimates of causality test showed that policies aimed at improving IQ, REC, GDP, exports, and imports have a significant impact on the CE. Consequently, based on these results, policymakers in the G-7 must prioritize IQ and REC to enhance environmental quality and attain carbon neutrality.

     

Status and changes of water quality in typical near-city zones of three East African Great Lakes in Tanzania

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Tanzania is the only country bordering all three transboundary East African Great Lakes, i.e., Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika, and Lake Nyasa (Lake...     

Effects of phosphorus-containing material application on soil cadmium bioavailability: a meta-analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Diverse phosphorus-containing materials (PCMs) were widely applied in remediation of cadmium-contaminated soils, and their effects on the change of...     

Hydrogeochemical assessment of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks of potentially toxic elements in aquifers of the Hindukush ranges,Pakistan: insights from groundwater pollution indexing,GIS-based,and multivariate statistical approaches

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Globally, potentially toxic elements (PTEs) and bacterial contamination pose health hazards, persistency, and genotoxicity in the groundwater aquifer....     

Efficient degradation of semi-coking wastewater in three-dimensional electro-Fenton by CuFe2O4 heterocatalyst

Semi-coking wastewater contains a rich source of toxic and refractory compounds. Three-dimensional electro-Fenton (3D/EF) process used CuFe₂O₄ as heterocatalyst and activated carbon (AC) as particle electrode was constructed for degrading semi-coking wastewater greenly and efficiently. CuFe₂O₄ nanoparticles were prepared by coprecipitation method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS). Factors like dosage of CuFe₂O₄, applied voltage, dosage of AC and pH, which effect COD removal rate of semi-coking waste water were studied. The results showed that COD removal rate reached to 80.9% by 3D/EF process at the optimum condition: 4 V, 0.3 g of CuFe₂O₄, 1 g of AC and pH?=?3. Trapping experiment suggesting that hydroxyl radical (?OH) is the main active radical. The surface composition and chemical states of the fresh and used CuFe₂O₄ were analyzed by XPS indicating that Fe, Cu, and O species are involved into the 3D/EF process. Additionally, anode oxidation and the adsorption and catalysis of AC are also contributed to the bleaching of semi-coking waste water. The possible mechanisms of 3D/EF for degrading semi-coking waste water by CuFe₂O₄ heterocatalyst were proposed.

     

Degradation of sulfadiazine by UV/Oxone: roles of reactive oxidative species and the formation of disinfection byproducts

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Sulfadiazine (SDZ) is a typical persistent sulfonamide antibiotic, which has been widely detected in natural drinking water sources. The degradation...     

An investigation on the promoting effect of Pr modification on SO2 resistance over MnOx catalysts for selective reduction of NO with NH3

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Pr-modified MnOx catalyst was synthesized through a facile co-precipitation process, and the results showed that MnPrOx catalyst exhibited much better...