Agri-food-energy system metabolism: a historical study for northern France,from nineteenth to twenty-first centuries

Regional Environmental Change - We reconstruct the metabolism of cereal grain production and processing systems in the Seine river basin at four time points between 1860 and 2010 in terms of...     

Adsorption of As(III) versus As(V) from aqueous solutions by cerium-loaded volcanic rocks

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Contamination of drinking water with arsenic causes severe health problems in various world regions. Arsenic exists predominantly as As(III) and As(V)...     

Structural factors influencing conservation decision-making: a case of species prioritisation in Australia

Prioritisation methods have been adopted for >20 years to inform resource allocation in species conservation. The academic literature on prioritisation focuses on technical matters, with little attention to the socio-political factors affecting the uptake of priorities. We investigated the policy instruments employed to promote uptake, and the structural factors affecting the uptake of priorities, using as our case study a species prioritisation method adopted by the Queensland Government (Australia). We interviewed 79 key informants and analysed policy documents and plans. The Queensland Government relied on ‘information delivery’ as a policy instrument to foster uptake. We identified communication channels to assist ‘information delivery’ between Government and intended users, but also found that several structural factors limited their use: fragmentation of policies, the relative strength of alternative priorities and centralisation of power in decision-making. We discuss the results in relation to other conservation planning initiatives and suggest how structural barriers can be addressed.     

Physical Characterization and Pre-assessment of Recycled High-Density Polyethylene as 3D Printing Material

3D printing has received lots of attention due to its limitless potential and advantages in comparison to traditional manufacturing processes. This study focuses on the most popular type of home 3D printers, namely fused filament fabrication (FFF) printers, which use plastic filaments as the feedstock. The rather high material cost and large amount of plastic waste generated by FFF 3D printers have driven the need for plastic filaments produced from recycled plastic waste. This study evaluates, in terms of physical characterization, the feasibility of using recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE), one of the most commonly used plastics, as the feedstock for 3D printers, in comparison with the common acrylonitrile butadiene styrene plastic pellets. In-house extrusion using recycled HDPE pellets and flakes is possible. The diameter consistency and extrusion rate results, along with other physical characterization results, including differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and water absorption, suggest that making filaments from recycled HDPE pellets is a viable option, as the obtained filament has favorable water rejection and comparable extrusion rate and thermal stability. Existing methods for overcoming the warping and adhesion problems in 3D printing with HDPE were also reviewed. In order to increase the market competitiveness of waste-derived filaments, optimization of the extrusion process, studies on the mechanical and aging properties, and development of a standard characterization methodology and database are crucial.     

Experimental investigation and optimization of dimple-roughened impinging jet solar air collector using a novel AHP-MABAC approach

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The effect of the flow and geometric parameters of a dimple-roughened absorber plate on the enactment of solar air collectors (SACs) with air-impinged...     

Zoo animal manure as an overlooked reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes and multidrug-resistant bacteria

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Animal fecal samples collected in the summer and winter from 11 herbivorous animals, including sable antelope (SA), long-tailed goral (LTG), and...     

Effect of plasticizer dosage on properties of multiple recycled aggregate concrete

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Recently, studies on multiple recycling of concrete have been attracting attention. In general, multiple recycling increases adhered mortar content...     

Study to improve the reactivity of magnesium cations to CO2 for carbon capture and utilization technology using edible salt manufacturing plant wastewater

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - This study aims to improve the formation of MgCO3 via inorganic carbon capture utilization (CCU) technology using industrial wastewater from an...     

Sustainable Water Resources Management in a Conflict Resolution Framework1

Abstract: A decision support system for sustainable water resources management in a water conflict resolution framework is developed to identify and evaluate a range of acceptable alternatives for the Geum River Basin in Korea and to facilitate strategies that will result in sustainable water resource management. Working with stakeholders in a “shared vision modeling” framework, sustainable management strategies are created to illustrate system tradeoffs as well as long‐term system planning. A multi‐criterion decision‐making (MCDM) approach using subjective scales is utilized to evaluate the complex water resource allocation and management tradeoffs between stakeholders and system objectives. The procedures used in this study include the development of a “shared vision model,” a simulated decision‐making support system (as a tool for sustainable water management strategies associated with water conflicts, management options, and planning criteria), and the application of MCDM techniques for evaluating alternatives provided by the model. The research results demonstrate the utility of the sustainable water resource management model in aid of MCDM techniques in facilitating flexibility during initial stages of alternative identification and evaluation in a basin suffering from severe water conflicts.     

Development of a SWAT Patch for Better Estimation of Sediment Yield in Steep Sloping Watersheds1

Abstract: The watershed scale Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model divides watersheds into smaller subwatersheds for simulation of rainfall‐runoff and sediment loading at the field level and routing through stream networks. Typically, the SWAT model first needs to be calibrated and validated for accurate estimation through adjustment of sensitive input parameters (i.e., Curve Number values, USLE P, slope and slope‐length, and so on). However, in some instances, SWAT‐simulated results are greatly affected by the watershed delineation and Digital Elevation Models (DEM) cell size. In this study, the SWAT ArcView GIS Patch II was developed for steep sloping watersheds, and its performance was evaluated for various threshold values and DEM cell size scenarios when delineating subwatersheds using the SWAT model. The SWAT ArcView GIS Patch II was developed using the ArcView GIS Avenue program and Spatial Analyst libraries. The SWAT ArcView GIS Patch II improves upon the SWAT ArcView GIS Patch I because it reflects the topographic factor in calculating the field slope‐length of Hydrologic Response Units in the SWAT model. The simulated sediment value for 321 subwatersheds (watershed delineation threshold value of 25 ha) is greater than that for 43 subwatersheds (watershed delineation threshold value of 200 ha) by 201% without applying the SWAT ArcView GIS Patch II. However, when the SWAT ArcView GIS Patch II was applied, the difference in simulated sediment yield decreases for the same scenario (i.e., difference in simulated sediment with 321 subwatersheds and 43 subwatersheds) was 12%. The simulated sediment value for DEM cell size of 50 m is greater than that for DEM cell size of 10 m by 19.8% without the SWAT ArcView GIS Patch II. However, the difference becomes smaller (3.4% difference) between 50 and 10 m with the SWAT ArcView GIS Patch II for the DEM scenarios. As shown in this study, the SWAT ArcView GIS Patch II can reduce differences in simulated sediment values for various watershed delineation and DEM cell size scenarios. Without the SWAT ArcView GIS Patch II, variations in the SWAT‐simulated results using various watershed delineation and DEM cell size scenarios could be greater than those from input parameter calibration. Thus, the results obtained in this study show that the SWAT ArcView GIS Patch II should be used when simulating hydrology and sediment yield for steep sloping watersheds (especially if average slope of the subwatershed is >25%) for more accurate simulation of hydrology and sediment using the SWAT model. The SWAT ArcView GIS Patch II is available at http://www.EnvSys.co.kr/~swat for free download.