Comparative efficacy of mitigation techniques for the detoxification of Prunus persica (L.) from selected pesticide residues

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Fruits are the valuable and important components of human diet. Among them, Prunus persica is a rich source of different minerals and dietary fibers....     

Biomass fuel burning and its implications: Deforestation and greenhouse gases emissions in Pakistan

Pakistan is facing problem of deforestation. Pakistan lost 14.7% of its forest habitat between 1990 and 2005 interval. This paper assesses the present forest wood consumption rate by 6000 brick kilns established in the country and its implications in terms of deforestation and emission of greenhouse gases. Information regarding consumption of forest wood by the brick kilns was collected during a manual survey of 180 brick kiln units conducted in eighteen provincial divisions of country. Considering annual emission contributions of three primary GHGs i.e., CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O, due to burning of forest wood in brick kiln units in Pakistan and using IPCC recommended GWP indices, the combined CO₂-equivalent has been estimated to be 533019 t y⁻¹.     

Palm oil and its wastes as bioenergy sources: a comprehensive review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Due to global warming and increasing price of fossil fuel, scientists all over the world have been trying to find reliable alternative fuels. One of...     

The asymmetric effect of tourism,financial development,and globalization on ecological footprint in Turkey

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - With the growing interest among researchers in analyzing the ecological footprint of any country, this study focuses on new dimensions to analyze the...     

Evaluation of fresh and stored rainwater quality in fluoride and arsenic endemic area of Thar Desert,Pakistan

In the current study, the chemistry of fresh and stored rainwater of Thar Desert, Pakistan, was estimated during two consecutive monsoon periods. The present research deals with the variation in physicochemical parameters, total arsenic (As^t), inorganic arsenic species (Asⁱ, As^V, As^III), and fluoride (F^?) in stored rainwater (SRW) at different time intervals (1 week to 3 months). The pH of fresh rainwater (FRW) samples showed slightly acidic to neutral in nature (6.08–7.06) which were inconsistent with the reference pH value (5.6) of rainwater. The resulted data indicated that As^t and F^? levels in SRW were enhanced with time duration. The levels of As^t and F^? in SRW after different time intervals were found in the range of 194–683 μg/L and 10–35.4 mg/L, respectively. The values of As^t and F^? were 20–70 and 7–24 times higher than those of WHO permissible limits, 10 μg/L and 1.5 mg/L, respectively. The As^III was dominant species in SRW, which corresponds to >60 % of Asⁱ. The characteristics of the SRW revealed an unacceptable quality to consume for drinking and agricultural purposes in the studied area.     

Monitoring of growth and physiological activities of biofilm during succession on polystyrene from activated sludge under aerobic and anaerobic conditions

The present research work monitored the successive biofilm development and its catabolic role in the degradation of polystyrene (PS). PS material was artificially colonized with biofilm by incubating it with activated sludge under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Biofilm formation was monitored by gravimetric weight analysis, spectrophotometric absorbance technique, heterotrophic plate count, and scanning electron microscopy under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The wet weight (1.59 and 1.17 g) and dry weight (0.41 and 0.08 g) of a biofilm showed a significant constant increase under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, respectively, from first till 9 weeks of incubation. Plate count of the selected bacteria (Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Shigella dysenteriae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) considerably declined (90–99 %) in the biofilm after seventh and fifth weeks of incubation under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, respectively, indicating a positive shift from pathogenic to beneficial microbial community. While most probable number index of fecal coliforms and E. coli in the sludge showed more reduction (98 and 99 %) under aerobic as compare to anaerobic conditions (86 and 91 %) after 9 weeks of biofilm formation on PS cubes. Correspondingly, the decreasing levels of chemical oxygen demand and biochemical oxygen demand (up to 73 %) showed signs of sludge digestion. Scanning electron microscope coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscope revealed nature of PS media containing high carbon content. However, biofilm development proved to be involved in the biochemical transformation of the PS medium as indicated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.     

The effect of fiscal decentralization,environmental regulation,and economic development on haze pollution: empirical evidence for 270 Chinese cities during 2007–2016

The current discourse addresses fiscal issues, financial decentralization, and environmental quality and significantly affects economic development and sustainability. This investigation aims to address the research gap in fiscal decentralization and haze pollution for innovation and sustainable growth. This study uses the annual data of 270 Chinese cities from 2007 to 2016 for comprehensive analysis and employs spatial regression methods. The key findings imply that haze pollution in neighbouring cities causes further ecological issues. While the environmental regulations of China tend to have negative impacts on pollution, fiscal decentralization was found to be a key contributor to environmental pollution in Chinese cities. Overall, the study supports the validity of the pollution refuge hypothesis in China. Lastly, the conclusions allow us to conclude that China might need micro-level reforms regarding fiscal decentralization, environmental tax laws, and encouragement of cleaner production technologies.

     

Comparative analysis using EIA for developed and developing countries: case studies of hydroelectric power plants in Pakistan,Norway and Sweden

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an important legislative and scientific tool that may assist and improve the quality assistance for the decision-making process in sustainable development. Here, a comparison of EIAs from three cases of hydropower projects in Pakistan, Norway and Sweden is reported. A huge difference concerning the incorporation of environmental considerations into the decisionmaking process between developed and developing countries is observed. The EIA system of Pakistan appears to be less efficient in the application and review process. In addition, the appraisal of issues, the decision-making process and evaluation through post-monitoring is not as well performed in Pakistan as in cases of hydroelectric power plants in Sweden and Norway. The key reason for this shortcoming is misconceptions about the EIA process, which initially receives intense attention but becomes weakened by the time of implementation. This implies that there is a need to adopt simplified and flexible EIA techniques suitable for the infrastructure and resources of a specific country, taking into account institutional, technical and financial constraints. Improvements are required in public participation, awareness, as well as in environmental control and data system sectors in Pakistan, besides simply enacting legislation to achieve the goals of the EIA system.     

Seasonal exports of phosphorus from intensively fertilised nested grassland catchments

We carried out a one year (2002) study of phosphorus (P) loss from soil to water in three nested grassland catchments with known P input in chemical fertilizer and animal liquid slurry applications. Chemical fertilizer was applied to the grasslands between March and September and animal slurry was applied over the twelve months. The annual chemical P fertilizer applications for the 17 and 211 ha catchments were 16.4 and 23.7 kg P/ha respectively and the annual slurry applications were 10.7 and 14.0 kg P/ha, respectively. The annual total phosphorus (TP) export in stream-flow was 2.61, 2.48 and 1.61 kg P/ha for the 17, 211 and 1524 ha catchments, respectively, compared with a maximum permissible (by regulation) annual export of ca. 0.35 kg P/ha. The export rate (ratio of P export to P in land applications) was 9.6% and 6.6% from the 17 and 211 ha catchments, respectively. On average, 70% of stream flow and 85% of the P export occurred during the five wet months (October to February) indicating that when precipitation is much greater than evaporation, the hydrological conditions are most favourable for P export. However the soil quality and land use history may vary the results. Particulate P made up 22%, 43% and 37% of the TP export at the 17, 211 and 1524 ha catchment areas, respectively. As the chemical fertilizer was spread during the grass growth months (March to September), it has less immediate impact on stream water quality than the slurry applications. We also show that as the catchment scale increases, the P concentrations and P export decrease, confirming dilution due to increasing rural catchment size. In the longer term, the excess P from fertilizer maintains high soil P levels, an antecedent condition favourable to P loss from soil to water. This study confirms the significant negative water quality impact of excess P applications, particularly liquid animal slurry applications in wet winter months. The findings suggest that restricted P application in wet months can largely reduce the P losses from soil to water.     

Rice straw ash extract, an efficient solvent for regioselective hydrothiolation of alkynes

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Herein, we describe a simple and inexpensive protocol for the hydrothiolation of alkynes. In this context, water extract of rice straw ash (WERSA) has been proven...