On the Environmental Efficiency of Water Storage: the Case of a Conjunctive use of Ground and Rainwater

Rainwater harvesting, consisting in collecting runoff from precipitation, has been widely developed to stop groundwater declines and even raise water tables. However, this expected environmental effect is not self-evident. We show in a simple setting that the success of this conjunctive use depends on whether the runoff rate is above a threshold value. Moreover, the bigger the storage capacity, the higher the runoff rate must be to obtain an environmentally efficient system. We also extend the model to include other hydrological parameters and ecological damages, which respectively increase and decrease the environmental efficiency of rainwater harvesting.     

A systematic review on the adverse health effects of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate

Di (ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is a global environmental pollutant. This study aims to systematically review the literature on health effects of exposure to DEHP including effects on reproductive health, carcinogenesis, pregnancy outcome, and respiratory system. The literature search was done through Scopus, ISI Web of Science, Google Scholar, PubMed, Medline, and the reference lists of previous review articles to identify relevant articles published to June 2016 in each subject area. The inclusion criteria were as follows: original research, cross-sectional studies, case–control studies, cohort studies, interventional studies, and review articles. Both human and animal studies were included. The search was limited to English language papers. Conference papers, editorials, and letters were not included. The systematic review was conducted and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Overall, 152 of the 407 papers met the inclusion criteria. We provided an up-to-date comprehensive and critical assessment of both human and animal studies undertaken to explore the effects of DEHP. It revealed that in experimental studies, exposure to DEHP mainly targeted the reproductive, neurodevelopment, and respiratory systems. Human studies reported that exposure to this contaminant had carcinogenic effects and influenced neurodevelopment in early life. This systematic review underscored the adverse health effects of DEHP for pregnant women and the pediatric age group. It summarizes different response of humans and experimental animals to DEHP exposure, and some suggested underlying mechanisms.     

Melt Flow Behavior and Processability of Polylactic Acid/Polystyrene (PLA/PS) Polymer Blends

The present investigation dealt with the flow behavior and processability of polylactic acid/polystyrene (PLA/PS) polymer blends using a capillary rheometer. For this purpose, PLA/PS blends with different ratios of the concentrations were prepared using a single screw extruder. The shear viscosity, shear stress, shear rate, power-law index, viscous activation energy at a constant shear stress, and elongational stress were determined. PLA/PS blends exhibited a typical shear-thinning behavior over the entire range of shear rates tested, and the viscosity values of the blends would tend to decrease with increasing amount of PLA. In addition, the polymer blend of 70 % PLA and 30 % PS was found to be relatively less sensitive to the processing temperature, implying that the extrusion process was more desirable for fabrication of PLA/PS polymer blend than the injection process.     

Conservative heavy metal total discharge schemes

Currently, according to Taiwan’s Water Pollution Control Act, the environmental control of waterbodies and water quality depends on the effluent standards and the standard of water quality in the rivers. The Act demands that each stationary pollution source comply with the effluent standard before being discharged into the rivers, and that the overall water quality in the river shall not exceed the declared standard of water quality. To improve the condition of the waterbodies and water quality of the rivers, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) in Taiwan has made stricter regulations concerning the discharge standard. Such regulations will help to reduce the weight of individual pollutants discharged; the discharged wastewater, however, will still gradually worsen the water quality of the rivers even after complying with the effluent standard since some of the pollutant dischargers may decrease the concentration of pollutants by diluting the water before discharging; thus, the total weight of metals discharged in the rivers will not be reduced, and the water quality in the areas where the pollutant sources are concentrated will not thereby be significantly improved. To protect the irrigation water and farmlands from being polluted by discharged heavy metals in industrial wastewater, the EPA started controlling the sources in accordance with the total quantity control (TQC) as defined in the Water Pollution Control Act, in the hope of perfecting the environmental protection of waterbodies and water quality, as well as ensuring clean water sources without any pollution for the rivers, land, and people.     

The role of sustainability environment in export marketing strategy and performance: a literature review

Increasing environmental issues, economic and cultural differences, the regulatory framework and the great attention to social responsibility, have forced companies to face the challenge of sustainability. Thus, the adaption of a proper marketing strategy in order to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage in the market (specially export markets) has become an important principle in accepting companies. In this regard, this study is a systematic literature review, which investigated 102 published articles in international journals between 1964 and 2015. In the literature review, the main focus was on key issues such as sustainability, marketing strategies, financial and market export performance. In this article, at first, the concept of sustainability from different aspects was collected and described. Then, external factors, such as competitive intensity, public concern, regulations, technology, cultural/social, and economic, as well as internal factors, such as managers, employees, stakeholders, affecting sustainability, were studied. Finally, adaption of export marketing strategies in order to achieve sustainability export performance is discussed.     

Co-treatment of fruit and vegetable waste in sludge digesters. An analysis of the relationship among bio-methane generation,process stability and digestate phytotoxicity

The co-digestion of a variable amount of fruit and vegetable waste in a waste mixed sludge digester was investigated using a pilot scale apparatus. The organic loading rate (OLR) was increased from 1.46 kg VS/m³ day to 2.8 kg VS/m³ day. The hydraulic retention time was reduced from 14 days to about 10 days. Specific bio-methane production increased from about 90 NL/kg VS to the maximum value of about 430 NL/kg VS when OLR was increased from 1.46 kg VS/m³ day to 2.1 kg VS/m³ day. A higher OLR caused an excessive reduction in the hydraulic retention time, enhancing microorganism wash out. Process stability evaluated by the total volatile fatty acids concentration (mg/l) to the alkalinity buffer capacity (eq. mg/l CaCO₃) ratio (i.e. FOS/TAC) criterion was <0.1 indicating high stability for OLR <2.46 kg VS/m³ day. For higher OLR, FOS/TAC increased rapidly. Residual phytotoxicty of the digestate evaluated by the germination index (GI) (%) was quite constant for OLR < 2.46 kg VS/m³ day, which is lower than the 60% limit, indicating an acceptable toxicity level for crops. For OLR > 2.46 kg VS/m³ day, GI decreased rapidly. This corresponding trend between FOS/TAC and GI was further investigated by the definition of the GI ratio (GIR) parameter. Comparison between GIR and FOS/TAC suggests that GI could be a suitable criterion for evaluating process stability.     

Recent patterns of production for the main cereal grains: implications for food security in China

China’s large population and deteriorating environment have created great concern related to the sustainability of food production, especially since details related to this topic remain poorly studied. Thus, an integrated analysis of both crop yield and cultivated area is essential for gaining a better understanding of cereal grain production in China and for making corresponding policies designed to achieve food security. In this study, we adopt trend analysis of both provincial yield and cultivated area to assess the subsequent provincial-level cereal production sustainability between 1980 and 2011 with the goal of providing a better understanding of regional agricultural development. The results indicate that while maize shows the most promise for yield improvement, rice and wheat production is experiencing substantial yield stagnation among most provinces across mainland China. In addition, the trends in spatial patterns are prominently different from those of yields. The sizes of the main rice- and wheat-growing areas in China have declined greatly, suggesting that the related production of these cereals should attract more attention from land management planners and farmers. Specifically, the south-eastern coastal provinces have largely failed to sustain both crop yield and area, while the north-eastern provinces have witnessed thriving agricultural production during the last three decades. Moreover, we find that cereal production in China is significantly affected by governmental policies related to the agricultural sector. Thus, this analysis of food production in China will help policymakers to better understand how the potential implications of food security in China may be applicable to countries worldwide.     

Fine-scale spatial patterns of the Tertiary relict Zelkova abelicea (Ulmaceae) indicate possible processes contributing to its persistence to climate changes

In this paper, the fine-scale spatial patterns of the Tertiary relict Zelkova abelicea (Lam.) Boiss. were studied (1) to reveal processes that contributed to its persistence to climate changes and (2) to assist future conservation planning, with the purpose of shifting the attention of conservation practitioners from patterns to processes. Results of the fine-scale spatial patterns of Z. abelicea indicate that the species tolerates disturbance and/or tracks changes resulting from disturbance in the range of its distribution through morphological and reproductive plasticity. In addition, our study indicates that Z. abelicea populations are conserved in the absence of metapopulation structure and that the species participates in plant–plant interactions through facilitation processes. Hence, the persistence of the species to climate changes seems to be more complicated and multifactorial than a linear and plain view of species survival in climate refugial areas, and therefore calls for a consideration of the processes revealed in this paper in future conservation planning.     

Recycling-oriented characterization of plastic frames and printed circuit boards from mobile phones by electronic and chemical imaging

This study characterizes the composition of plastic frames and printed circuit boards from end-of-life mobile phones. This knowledge may help define an optimal processing strategy for using these items as potential raw materials. Correct handling of such a waste is essential for its further “sustainable” recovery, especially to maximize the extraction of base, rare and precious metals, minimizing the environmental impact of the entire process chain. A combination of electronic and chemical imaging techniques was thus examined, applied and critically evaluated in order to optimize the processing, through the identification and the topological assessment of the materials of interest and their quantitative distribution. To reach this goal, end-of-life mobile phone derived wastes have been systematically characterized adopting both “traditional” (e.g. scanning electronic microscopy combined with microanalysis and Raman spectroscopy) and innovative (e.g. hyperspectral imaging in short wave infrared field) techniques, with reference to frames and printed circuit boards. Results showed as the combination of both the approaches (i.e. traditional and classical) could dramatically improve recycling strategies set up, as well as final products recovery.     

Investigation on the effect of sintering temperature on kaolin hollow fibre membrane for dye filtration

Despite its extraordinary price, ceramic membrane can still be able to surpass polymeric membrane in the applications that require high temperature and pressure conditions, as well as harsh chemical environment. In order to alleviate the high cost of ceramic material that still becomes one of the major factors that contributes to the high production cost of ceramic membrane, various attempts have been made to use low cost ceramic materials as alternatives to well-known expensive ceramic materials such as alumina, silica, and zirconia in the fabrication of ceramic membrane. Thus, local Malaysian kaolin has been chosen as the ceramic material in this study for the preparation of kaolin hollow fibre membrane since it is inexpensive and naturally abundant in Malaysia. Due to the fact that the sintering process plays a prominent role in obtaining the desired morphology, properties, and performances of prepared ceramic membrane, the aim of this work was to study the effect of different sintering temperatures applied (ranging from 1200 to 1500 °C) in the preparation of kaolin hollow fibre membrane via dry/wet phase inversion-based spinning technique and sintering process. The morphology and properties of membrane were then characterised by SEM, AFM, FTIR, XRD, and three-point bending test, while the performances of membrane were investigated by conducting water permeation and Reactive Black 5 (RB5) dye rejection tests. From the experimental results obtained, the sintering temperature of 1400 °C could be selected as the optimum sintering temperature in preparing the kaolin hollow fibre membrane with the dense sponge-like structure of separation layer that resulted in the good mechanical strength of 70 MPa with the appreciable water permeation of 75 L/h m² bar and RB5 rejection of 68%.