The role of technology innovation and people’s connectivity in testing environmental Kuznets curve and pollution heaven hypotheses across the Belt and Road host countries: new evidence from Method of Moments Quantile Regression

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is closely linked to the ecological sustainability of the infrastructure ventures that intrinsically include the...     

Environmental prevalence,fate, impacts,and mitigation of microplastics—a critical review on present understanding and future research scope

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Microplastics are considered to be ubiquitous and widespread emerging contaminants. They are persistent in the nature and pose considerable harm to...     

Time study on the uptake of four different beta-blockers in garden cress (Lepidium sativum) as a model plant

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The aim of this study was to investigate the uptake of four beta-blockers by the model plant Lepidium sativum (garden cress) and their possible...     

Mitigation of yield-scaled greenhouse gas emissions from irrigated rice through Azolla,Blue-green algae,and plant growth–promoting bacteria

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Irrigated transplanted flooded rice is a major source of methane (CH4) emission. We carried out experiments for 2 years in irrigated flooded rice to...     

Structure and activity of thermophilic methanogenic microbial communities exposed to quaternary ammonium sanitizer

Food processing facilities often use antimicrobial quaternary ammonium compound (QAC) sanitizers to maintain cleanliness. These QACs can end up in wastewaters used as feedstock for anaerobic digestion. The aim of this study was to measure the effect of QAC contamination on biogas production and structure of microbial communities in thermophilic digester sludge. Methane production and biogas quality data were analyzed in batch anaerobic digesters containing QAC at 0, 15, 50, 100 and 150 mg/L. Increasing sanitizer concentration in the bioreactors negatively impacted methane production rate and biogas quality. Microbial community composition data was obtained through 16S rRNA gene sequencing from the QAC-contaminated sludges. Sequencing data showed no significant restructuring of the bacterial communities. However, significant restructuring was observed within the archaeal communities as QAC concentration increased. Further studies to confirm these effects on a larger scale and with a longer retention time are necessary.     

Study of cyanide removal from contaminated water using zinc peroxide nanomaterial

The present study highlights the potential application of zinc peroxide(ZnO_2)nanomaterial as an efficient material for the decontamination of cyanide from contaminated water. A process patent for ZnO_2 synthesis has been granted in United States of America(US Patent number 8,715,612; May 2014),South Africa,Bangladesh,and India. The ZnO_2 nanomaterial was capped with polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP)to control the particle size. The PVP capped ZnO_2nanomaterial(PVP-ZnO_2)before and after adsorption of cyanide was characterized by scanning electron microscope,transmission electron microscope,X-ray diffractometer,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and time of flight-secondary ion mass spectrometry. The remaining concentration of cyanide after adsorption by PVP-ZnO_2 was determined using ion chromatograph. The adsorption of cyanide over PVP-ZnO_2 was also studied as a function of p H,adsorbent dose,time and concentration of cyanide. The maximum removal of cyanide was observed in p H range 5.8–7.8 within 15 min. The adsorption data was fitted to Langmuir and Fruendlich isotherm and it has been observed that data follows both the isotherms and also follows second order kinetics.     

Contribution of precursor compounds to the release of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) from waste water treatment plants (WWTPs)

Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances(PFASs) are ubiquitous in sludge and water from waste water treatment plants, as a result of their incorporation in everyday products and industrial processes. In this study, we measured several classes of persistent PFASs,precursors, transformation intermediates, and newly identified PFASs in influent and effluent sewage water and sludge from three municipal waste water treatment plants in Sweden, sampled in 2015. For sludge, samples from 2012 and 2014 were analyzed as well.Levels of precursors in sludge exceeded those of perfluoroalkyl acids and sulfonic acids(PFCAs and PFSAs), in 2015 the sum of polyfluoroalkyl phosphoric acid esters(PAPs) were 15–20 ng/g dry weight, the sum of fluorotelomer sulfonic acids(FTSAs) was 0.8–1.3 ng/g,and the sum of perfluorooctane sulfonamides and ethanols ranged from non-detected to 3.2 ng/g. Persistent PFSAs and PFCAs were detected at 1.9–3.9 ng/g and 2.4–7.3 ng/g dry weight, respectively. The influence of precursor compounds was further demonstrated by an observed substantial increase for a majority of the persistent PFCAs and PFSAs in water after waste water treatment. Perfluorohexanoic acid(PFHxA), perfluorooctanoic acid(PFOA), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid(PFHxS), and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid(PFOS)had a net mass increase in all WWTPs, with mean values of 83%, 28%, 37% and 58%,respectively. The load of precursors and intermediates in influent water and sludge combined with net mass increase support the hypothesis that degradation of precursor compounds is a significant contributor to PFAS contamination in the environment.     

A metal-free composite photocatalyst of graphene quantum dots deposited on red phosphorus

A simple approach to enhance the photocatalytic activity of red phosphorus(P) was developed.A mechanical ball milling method was applied to reduce the size of red P and to deposit graphene quantum dots onto red P. The product was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, contact angle measurements, zeta-potential measurements, X-ray diffraction and UV–vis absorption spectroscopy. The product exhibited high visible-light-driven photocatalytic performance in the photodegradation of rhodamine B.     

Influence of coagulation mechanisms and floc formation on filterability

Minimizing particles in water is a key goal for improving drinking water quality and safety.The media filtration process,as the last step of the solid–liquid separation process,is largely influenced by the characteristics of flocs,which are formed and controlled within the coagulation process.In a laboratory-based study,the impacts of the physical characteristics of flocs formed using aluminum sulfate on the filtration treatment of two comparative water samples were investigated using a photometric dispersion analyzer and a filterability apparatus.In general,the optimum dosage for maximizing filterability was higher than that for minimizing turbidity under neutral p H conditions.For a monomeric aluminum-based coagulant,the charge neutralization mechanism produced better floc characteristics,including floc growth speed and size,than the sweep flocculation mechanism.In addition,the charge neutralization mechanism showed better performance compared to sweep flocculation in terms of DOC removal and floc filterability improvement for both waters,and showed superiority in turbidity removal only when the raw water had high turbidity.For the different mechanisms,the ways that floc characteristics impacted on floc filterability also differed.The low variation in floc size distribution obtained under the charge neutralization mechanism resulted in the flocs being amenable to removal by filtration processes.For the sweep flocculation mechanism,increasing the floc size improved the settling ability of flocs,resulting in higher filter efficiency.     

Vulnerability of agro-ecological zones in India under the earth system climate model scenarios

India being a developing economy dependent on climate-sensitive sector like agriculture is highly vulnerable to impacts of global climate change. Vulnerability to climate change, however, differs spatially within the country owing to regional differences in exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. The study uses the Hadley Centre Global Environment Model version 2-Earth System (HadGEM-ES) climate projections to assess the dynamics in vulnerability across four climate change exposure scenarios developed using Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs). The analysis was carried out at subnational (district) level; the results were interpreted and reported for their corresponding agro-ecological zones. Vulnerability of each district was quantified using indicators capturing climatic variability, ecological and demographic sensitivity, and socio-economic capacity. Our analysis further assigns probabilities to vulnerability classes of all the 579 districts falling under different agro-ecological zones. The results of the vulnerability profile show that Western plains, Northern plains, and central highlands of the arid and semi-arid agro-ecological zones are the most vulnerable regions in the current scenario (1950–2000). In the future scenario (2050), it extends along districts falling within Deccan plateau and Central (Malwa) highlands, lying in the arid and semi-arid zones, along with regions vulnerable in the current scenario, recording the highest vulnerability score across all exposure scenarios. These regions exhibit highest degree of variation in climatic parameters, ecological fragility, socio-economic marginality, and limited accessibility to resources, generating conditions of high vulnerability. The study emphasizes on the priority to take up adaptive management actions in the identified vulnerable districts to not only reduce risks of climate change, but also enhance their inherent capacity to withstand any future changes in climate. It provides a systematic approach to explicitly identify vulnerable regions, where regional planners and policy makers can build on existing adaptation decision-making by utilizing an interdisciplinary approach in the context of global change scenario.