The objective of this work was to isolate cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) from oil palm fronds (Elaeis guineensis) and its subsequent characterization. Isolation involves sodium hydroxide/anthraquinone pulping with mechanical refining followed by total chlorine free bleaching (includes oxygen delignification, hydrogen peroxide oxidation and peracetic acid treatment) before acid hydrolysis. Bleaching significantly decreased kappa number and increased α-cellulose percentage of fibers as confirmed by Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry standards. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis revealed that acid hydrolysis along with bleaching improved crystallinity index and thermal stability of the extracted nanocrystals. It was observed that CNC maintained its cellulose 1 polymorph despite hydrolysis treatment. Mean diameter as observed by TEM and average fiber aspect ratio of obtained CNC was 7.44 ± 0.17 nm and 16.53 ± 3.52, respectively making it suitable as a reinforcing material for nanocomposite. 相似文献
Trace element concentrations were studied in soils of the King George and Elephant islands in the maritime part of West Antarctica. The lowest concentrations of Cu, Pb, Cd, Zn, Ni and Mn were typical for the pristine soil of Elephant Island. The highest concentrations of these elements were found in the Fildes Peninsula and revealed the influence of human activities in the area of the Bellingshausen station and adjacent waste disposal sites. Ornithogenic soils of the Fildes Peninsula have shown low concentrations of Cd and As. Using geoaccumulation indexes, all the pristine soils of King George and Elephant islands and ornithogenic soils of the Fildes Peninsula were classified as unpolluted; the human-affected soils were mainly identified as moderately polluted. Obtained data can be used as background concentration levels for further researches. 相似文献
This study analyzed insolation data to account for multiple scattering in calculating optimal tilt angles for stationary and seasonally moving photovoltaics on three different roof types in the US Pacific Northwest: vegetated roofs, white roofs, and dark roofs. Using these results, we modeled the energy savings for vegetated roofs and roofs covered in varying numbers of photovoltaic panels. We then calculated the net present value, internal rate of return, and other economic measures for all possible combinations of covering rooftops in mixes of photovoltaic arrays and vegetation, accounting for installation costs, proposed carbon taxes, stormwater management discounts, and other relevant factors. Our results quantify how, in the US Pacific Northwest and similar locations, photovoltaics produce higher returns on investment than do vegetated roofs for new buildings, while vegetated roofs produce better returns on investment than do photovoltaics for older buildings. This is important because in many areas, some buildings have photovoltaics when a vegetated roof would have been more cost and energy efficient, while other buildings have vegetated roofs when photovoltaics would have been more cost and energy efficient. Potential applications include modifying incentive programs and other policies to account properly for building age, use, and other relevant factors to ensure building owners make the most energy-efficient decisions between photovoltaic versus vegetated roof installation. Our research also demonstrates how positive returns on investment can be realized in the US Pacific Northwest and similar regions through vegetated roofs and photovoltaics provided they are each installed optimally. 相似文献
Environmental Management - Parks and protected area managers use zoning to decrease interpersonal conflict between recreationists. Zoning, or segregation, of recreation—often by non-motorized... 相似文献
This paper explores the relationship between government spending and environmental quality using panel data for 94 countries for the period 1970–2008. We identify and estimate three distinct channels that comprise the total direct effect of government expenditure on air pollution, namely a marginal effect, an effect conditional on economic growth and an effect conditional on institutional quality. Since adjustment rate of emissions to their equilibrium level is slow due to technological and institutional reasons, we explicitly take into account dynamics by applying appropriate econometric methods. The results demonstrate that there is a significant alleviating direct effect of government expenditure on SO2 and NOx emissions, which increases with the level of economic growth and democracy. However, there is no evidence of a significant effect on pollutants with more global impact on the environment and human health, like N2O and CO2, implying that the adoption of international environmental treaties is required in this case. 相似文献
Long-term measurements of ecological effects of warming are often not statistically significant because of annual variability or signal noise. These are reduced in indicators that filter or reduce the noise around the signal and allow effects of climate warming to emerge. In this way, certain indicators act as medium pass filters integrating the signal over years-to-decades. In the Alaskan Arctic, the 25-year record of warming of air temperature revealed no significant trend, yet environmental and ecological changes prove that warming is affecting the ecosystem. The useful indicators are deep permafrost temperatures, vegetation and shrub biomass, satellite measures of canopy reflectance (NDVI), and chemical measures of soil weathering. In contrast, the 18-year record in the Greenland Arctic revealed an extremely high summer air-warming of 1.3 °C/decade; the cover of some plant species increased while the cover of others decreased. Useful indicators of change are NDVI and the active layer thickness. 相似文献
Expanding populations of farmland foraging geese are causing escalating conflict with agriculture. We used questionnaires to investigate farmers´ perceptions in mid-Norway of spring staging geese and the extent to which they attempt to reduce pasture damage by goose scaring. We predicted farmers’ scaring effort (a measure of dissatisfaction) to increase on fields closer to goose roosting sites where goose grazing intensity was highest (measured by dropping counts). Results showed no such relationship, suggesting that farmers’ perception of goose use was not linked to actual goose use, but influenced by sociological factors and individual opinion. These results confirm the need to distribute subsidies/compensation to affected farmers based upon quantifiable measures of goose use rather than complaint levels. To avoid further conflict escalation, it is equally important that managers are aware of farmers´ perceptions and their causes, to effectively target communication about policies and measures to mitigate goose–agriculture problems. 相似文献
It is common that 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP) coexists with nitrate or nitrite in industrial wastewaters. In this work, simultaneous reductive dechlorination of TCP and denitrification of nitrate or nitrite competed for electron donor, which led to their mutual inhibition. All inhibitions could be relieved to a certain degree by augmenting an organic electron donor, but the impact of the added electron donor was strongest for TCP. For simultaneous reduction of TCP together with nitrate, TCP’s removal rate value increased 75% and 150%, respectively, when added glucose was increased from 0.4 mmol?L–1 to 0.5 mmol?L–1 and to 0.76 mmol?L–1. For comparison, the removal rate for nitrate increased by only 25% and 114% for the same added glucose. The relationship between their initial biodegradation rates versus their initial concentrations could be represented well with the Monod model, which quantified their half-maximum-rate concentration (KS value), and KS values for TCP, nitrate, and nitrite were larger with simultaneous reduction than independent reduction. The increases in KS are further evidence that competition for the electron donor led to mutual inhibition. For bioremediation of wastewater containing TCP and oxidized nitrogen, both reduction reactions should proceed more rapidly if the oxidized nitrogen is nitrite instead of nitrate and if readily biodegradable electron acceptor is augmented.
The environmentally sustainable disposal and recycling of ever increasing volumes of electronic waste has become a global waste management issue. The addition of up to 25% polymeric waste PCBs (printed circuit boards) as fillers in polypropylene (PP) composites was partially successful: while the tensile modulus, flexural strength and flexural modulus of composites were enhanced, the tensile and impact strengths were found to decrease. As a lowering of impact strength can significantly limit the application of PP based composites, it is necessary to incorporate impact modifying polymers such as rubbery particles in the mix. We report on a novel investigation on the simultaneous utilization of electronic and automotive rubber waste as fillers in PP composites. These composites were prepared by using 25 wt.% polymeric PCB powder, up to 9% of ethylene propylene rubber (EPR), and PP: balance. The influence of EPR on the structural, thermal, mechanical and rheological properties of PP/PCB/ EPR composites was investigated. While the addition of EPR caused the nucleation of the β crystalline phase of PP, the onset temperature for thermal degradation was found to decrease by 8%. The tensile modulus and strength decreased by 16% and 19%, respectively; and the elongation at break increased by ~71%. The impact strength showed a maximum increase of ~18% at 7 wt.%–9 wt.% EPR content. Various rheological properties were found to be well within the range of processing limits. This novel eco-friendly approach could help utilize significant amounts of polymeric electronic and automotive waste for fabricating valuable polymer composites.
Green Toxicology refers to the application of predictive toxicology in the sustainable development and production of new less harmful materials and chemicals, subsequently reducing waste and exposure. Built upon the foundation of “Green Chemistry” and “Green Engineering”, “Green Toxicology” aims to shape future manufacturing processes and safe synthesis of chemicals in terms of environmental and human health impacts. Being an integral part of Green Chemistry, the principles of Green Toxicology amplify the role of health-related aspects for the benefit of consumers and the environment, in addition to being economical for manufacturing companies. Due to the costly development and preparation of new materials and chemicals for market entry, it is no longer practical to ignore the safety and environmental status of new products during product development stages. However, this is only possible if toxicologists and chemists work together early on in the development of materials and chemicals to utilize safe design strategies and innovative in vitro and in silico tools. This paper discusses some of the most relevant aspects, advances and limitations of the emergence of Green Toxicology from the perspective of different industry and research groups. The integration of new testing methods and strategies in product development, testing and regulation stages are presented with examples of the application of in silico, omics and in vitro methods. Other tools for Green Toxicology, including the reduction of animal testing, alternative test methods, and read-across approaches are also discussed. 相似文献