Dynamics of the Community of Hole-nesting Birds upon Reduction of Industrial Emissions (the Example of the Middle Ural Copper Smelter)

Russian Journal of Ecology - The dynamics of the species richness, breeding density, and structure of the community of birds occupying nest-boxes upon a 50-fold reduction of atmospheric emissions...     

Research progress and hot spots of hydrothermal liquefaction for bio-oil production based on bibliometric analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of biomass used HTL reaction under high temperature and pressure to produce bio-oil. This technology is considered as...     

Effect of pressure and atmosphere during hydrothermal treatment on the properties of sewage sludge-derived solid fuel

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Efforts to improve the performance of hydrothermal treatment (HT) in producing high-quality solid fuel from sewage sludge were carried out by...     

Preparation of Viscose Fibres Stripped of Reactive Dyes and Wrinkle-Free Crosslinked Cotton Textile Finish

The chemical recycling of cellulosic fibres may represent a next-generation fibre–fibre recycling system for cotton textiles, though remaining challenges include how to accommodate fibre blends, dyes, wrinkle-free finishes, and other impurities from finishing. These challenges may disrupt the regeneration process steps and reduce the fibre quality. This study examines the impact on regenerated viscose fibre properties of a novel alkaline/acid bleaching sequence to strip reactive dyes and dimethyloldihydroxyethyleneureas (DMDHEU) wrinkle-free finish from cotton textiles. Potentially, such a bleaching sequence could advantageously be integrated into the viscose process, reducing the costs and environmental impact of the product. The study investigates the spinning performance and mechanical properties (e.g., tenacity and elongation) of the regenerated viscose fibres. The alkaline/acid bleaching sequence was found to strip the reactive dye and DMDHEU wrinkle-free finish from the cotton fabric, so the resulting pulp could successfully be spun into viscose fibres, though the mechanical properties of these fibres were worse than those of commercial viscose fibres. This study finds that reactive dyes and DMDHEU wrinkle-free finish affect the viscose dope quality and the regeneration performance. The results might lead to progress in overcoming quality challenges in cellulosic chemical recycling.     

Using culturomics and social media data to characterize wildlife consumption

Wildlife provides food, medicine, clothing, and other necessities for humans, but overexploitation can disrupt the sustainability of wildlife resources and severely threaten global biodiversity. Understanding the characteristics of consumer behavior is helpful for wildlife managers and policy makers, but the traditional survey methods are laborious and time-consuming. In contrast, culturomics may more efficiently identify the features of wildlife consumption. As a case study of the culturomics approach, we examined tiger bone wine consumption in China based on social media and Baidu search engine data. Tiger bone wine is one of the most purchased tiger products; its consumption is closely related to tiger poaching, which greatly threatens wild tiger survival. We searched a popular social media website for the term “tiger bone wine” and focused on posts that were originally created from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2018. We filtered and classified posts related to the purchase, sale, or consumption of tiger bone wine and extracted information on providers, consumption motivations, year of production, and place of origin of the tiger bone wines based on the texts and photos of these posts. We found 756 posts related to tiger bone wine consumption, 113 of which mentioned providers of tiger bone wine, including friends (53%), elder relatives (37%), peer relatives (7%), and others (3%). Out of the 756 posts, 266 indicated the motivations of tiger bone wine consumption. Tiger bone wines were consumed as a tonic (34%), medicine (23%), game product (30%), and a symbol of wealth (28%). Some posts indicated ≥2 consumption motivations. These findings were consistent with the search queries from Baidu index. Such information could help develop targeted strategies for tiger conservation. The culturomics approach illustrated by our study is a rapid and cost-efficient way to characterize wildlife consumption.     

Heat dissipation characteristic in the intake grille and radiator of a fuel cell vehicle

ABSTRACT

In this study, a three-dimension (3D) computational model was proposed to investigate the flow and heat transfer characteristics of the intake grilles of two different fuel cell vehicles. The models of the intake grilles were constructed according to the actual sizes of two vehicles, namely, Roewe 950 and Toyota Mirai, considering the heat dissipation unit to simplify the heat transfer model of the vehicle. The results showed that relative to Roewe 950, Mirai intake air flow rate was approximately 10% higher, the heat transfer capacity was approximately 7% higher, and the intake grille area was larger. The coolant outlet temperature of Mirai was lower than that of Roewe 950, which was beneficial for the long term and stable operation of a fuel cell. This comparative study provided guidance for the intake grille and radiator design of fuel cell vehicles. The only difference between fuel cell vehicles on the market and conventional vehicles was that in the former, the internal combustion engine was replaced with a fuel cell stack, which had insufficient heat transfer capacity because of the reducing temperature difference. Increasing the intake grille area and the heat exchange capacity of the radiator were the key issues for the development of fuel cell vehicles. In this study, an optimal window opening angle of the radiator fin of 23° provided a maximal heat transfer coefficient.     

How does population structure affect pollutant discharge in China? Evidence from an improved STIRPAT model

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - China is the most populous country in the world, and the pollution caused by the excessive population should not be underestimated. In recent years,...     

Quantifying the impact of vegetation-based metrics on species persistence when choosing offsets for habitat destruction

Developers are often required by law to offset environmental impacts through targeted conservation actions. Most offset policies specify metrics for calculating offset requirements, usually by assessing vegetation condition. Despite widespread use, there is little evidence to support the effectiveness of vegetation-based metrics for ensuring biodiversity persistence. We compared long-term impacts of biodiversity offsetting based on area only; vegetation condition only; area × habitat suitability; and condition × habitat suitability in development and restoration simulations for the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. We simulated development and subsequent offsetting through restoration within a virtual landscape, linking simulations to population viability models for 3 species. Habitat gains did not ensure species persistence. No net loss was achieved when performance of offsetting was assessed in terms of amount of habitat restored, but not when outcomes were assessed in terms of persistence. Maintenance of persistence occurred more often when impacts were avoided, giving further support to better enforce the avoidance stage of the mitigation hierarchy. When development affected areas of high habitat quality for species, persistence could not be guaranteed. Therefore, species must be more explicitly accounted for in offsets, rather than just vegetation or habitat alone. Declines due to a failure to account directly for species population dynamics and connectivity overshadowed the benefits delivered by producing large areas of high-quality habitat. Our modeling framework showed that the benefits delivered by offsets are species specific and that simple vegetation-based metrics can give misguided impressions on how well biodiversity offsets achieve no net loss.     

南宁城市大气污染对人体健康的危害及治理对策

南宁市大气属煤烟型污染 ,大气的主要污染物为SO2 、NOx、TSP、降尘 ,虽然随着环境管理和污染治理工作的加强 ,污染物浓度逐年下降 ,但是工业区大气污染仍然较重。污染物流行病学调查显示 :工业区癌症和呼吸系统疾病死亡率均高于全市平均水平 2倍左右 ,城区又高于郊区 2倍 ,大气污染综合指数与呼吸内科门诊就诊人数呈正相关。用邓聚龙的灰色系统理论分析得知污染物对癌症和呼吸系统疾病死亡率有关联 ,关联度从大到小排序为 :TSP >降尘 >SO2 >NOx ,最后提出了大气污染治理的对策。     

Industrial Cluster Upgradation of Regenerated Resources in Miluo City

With China's rapid economic growth, ecological construction and environmental protection become increasingly important. The regenerated resources industry is an effective way to solve problems, such as resources depletion, energy shortage, and pollution, and it also has strategic importance for the construction of a resource-conserving and environment-friendly society. The regenerated resources industry has been established in Miluo for long time, which includes a recycling system, a processing and utilization system, and a refuse decontamination system. An industrial cluster is in its early stage of development. In order to solve current problems, such as short industrial chain, low processing rate, and low added value, the industrial cluster should be dynamically upgraded by means of technology innovation, chain nucleus creation, and chain extension. We think the industrial cluster of regenerated resources will become a local brand for Miluo, from which other regions or cities will gain valuable experiences and inspirations.