Environmental management systems in the architectural,engineering and construction sectors: a roadmap to aid the delivery of the sustainable development goals

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Realisation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) will provide improvements to people's lives and longevity of the planet. The architectural,...     

Reproductive Success of Marginal Populations of Dactylorhiza maculata (L.) Soó (Orchidaceae)

Russian Journal of Ecology - Populations at the border of ranges are considered more vulnerable than those in the center. However, some recent reviews contradict this hypothesis. We have studied...     

The Arbuscules Formation Intensity Decreased in Mycorrhizal Alien Plants of Belarusian Polesia

Russian Journal of Ecology - Abstract—We tested a hypothesis about the different abilities of alien and native plants to form arbuscular mycorrhizae. The studies were carried out in the...     

Effect of NOx and SO2 on the photooxidation of methylglyoxal: Implications in secondary aerosol formation

Methylglyoxal(CH_3COCHO,MG),which is one of the most abundant α-dicarbonyl compounds in the atmosphere,has been reported as a major source of secondary organic aerosol(SOA).In this work,the reaction of MG with hydroxyl radicals was studied in a 500 L smog chamber at(293±3) K,atmospheric pressure,(18±2)% relative humidity,and under different NOx and SO_2.Particle size distribution was measured by using a scanning mobility particle sizer(SMPS) and the results showed that the addition of SO_2 can promote SOA formation,while different NOx concentrations have different influences on SOA production.High NOx suppressed the SOA formation,whereas the particle mass concentration,particle number concentration and particle geometric mean diameter increased with the increasing NOx concentration at low NOx concentration in the presence of SO_2.In addition,the products of the OH-initiated oxidation of MG and the functional groups of the particle phase in the MG/OH/SO_2 and MG/OH/NOx/SO_2 reaction systems were detected by gas chromatography mass spectrometry(GC-MS) and attenuated total reflection fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy(ATR-FTIR) analysis.Two products,glyoxylic acid and oxalic acid,were detected by GC-MS.The mechanism of the reaction of MG and OH radicals that follows two main pathways,H atom abstraction and hydration,is proposed.Evidence is provided for the formation of organic nitrates and organic sulfate in particle phase from IR spectra.Incorporation of NOx and SO_2 influence suggested that SOA formation from anthropogenic hydrocarbons may be more efficient in polluted environment.     

Optimal range of plug-in electric vehicles in Beijing and Shanghai

Both China’s national subsidy policies for plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) purchasers and passenger cars corporate average fuel consumption and new vehicle credit regulation (dual-credit policy) favor long-range 300+ km battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and 80+ km plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). However, these electric vehicles tend to have lower energy efficiency and higher purchase and operation costs. Vehicle with larger batteries can also be less equitable because the subsidies are often provided to more expensive vehicles and wealthier owners. This study takes advantage of a novel dataset of daily driving data from 39,854 conventional gasoline vehicles in Beijing and 4999 PHEVs in Shanghai to determine the optimal range of BEVs and PHEVs within their respective cities. We simulate a model to explore ranges with which PEVs emit less GHGs than that of a baseline hybrid and conventional gasoline vehicle while ensuring that all daily travel demands are met. Our findings indicate that in both cities, the optimal ranges to balance cost and travel demand for BEVs are 350 km or less and for PHEVs are 60 km or less in Beijing and 80 km or less in Shanghai. We also find that to minimize carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, the ranges are even lower 10 km in Beijing and 30 km in Shanghai. Our study suggests that instead of encouraging long-range PEVs, governments should subsidize PEV models with shorter ranges. Parallel efforts should also be made to both increase renewable energy over fossil fuels and expand charging facilities. Although individual mobility demand varies, the government could reduce occasional long-distance driving by subsidizing alternative transportation choices. Providing week-long driving trials to consumers before their purchases may help decrease the demand of very long range PEVs by alleviating the range anxiety through a learning process.

     

Mesoporous WO3-graphene photocatalyst for photocatalytic degradation of Methylene Blue dye under visible light illumination

Advanced oxidation technologies are a friendly environmental approach for the remediation of industrial wastewaters. Here, one pot synthesis of mesoporous WO_3 and WO_3-graphene oxide(GO) nanocomposites has been performed through the sol–gel method. Then, platinum(Pt) nanoparticles were deposited onto the WO_3 and WO_3-GO nanocomposite through photochemical reduction to produce mesoporous Pt/WO_3 and Pt/WO_3-GO nanocomposites. X-ray diffraction(XRD) findings exhibit a formation of monoclinic and triclinic WO_3 phases. Transmission Electron Microscope(TEM) images of Pt/WO_3-GO nanocomposites exhibited that WO_3 nanoparticles are obviously agglomerated and the particle sizes of Pt and WO_3 are ~ 10 nm and 20–50 nm, respectively. The mesoporous Pt/WO_3 and Pt/WO_3-GO nanocomposites were assessed for photocatalytic degradation of Methylene Blue(MB) as a probe molecule under visible light illumination.The findings showed that mesoporous Pt/WO_3, WO_3-GO and Pt/WO_3-GO nanocomposites exhibited much higher photocatalytic efficiencies than the pure WO_3. The photodegradation rates by mesoporous Pt/WO_3-GO nanocomposites are 3, 2 and 1.15 times greater than those by mesoporous WO_3, WO_3-GO, and Pt/WO_3, respectively. The key factors of the enhanced photocatalytic performance of Pt/WO_3-GO nanocomposites could be explained by the highly freedom electron transfer through the synergetic effect between WO_3 and GO sheets, in addition to the Pt nanoparticles that act as active sites for O2 reduction, which suppresses the electron hole pair recombination in the Pt/WO_3-GO nanocomposites.