Preface

Abstract

It was a great honor to welcome all of you at the 10th International Conference on Environmental Science and Engineering (ICESE 2020), held from the 18th till 21st of May 2020 in Vienna, Austria. ICESE 2020 not only covered environmental topics, but also dealt with topics of e.g. renewable energy, city and civil engineering, architectural engineering, and human and natural ecology.Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference committee decided to hold the conference as online meeting to ensure the participant’s personal safety.ICESE 2020 gladly welcomed Prof. Wilhelm Höflinger (Vienna University of Technology, Austria) as chairman of the event. Five keynote speakers set the targets for the main topics to be dealt with. Prof. Franz Winter (Vienna University of Technology, Austria) and Prof. Daniel Gauthier (CNRS PROMES, France) specifically discussed renewable energy sources and the needs of thermal energy storage. Prof. Jan Baeyens (Beijing University of Chemical Technology, China) dealt with the new developments in the pyrolysis of biomass. Prof. Raf Dewil (KU Leuven, Belgium) highligted new processinbg techniques for pharmaceutical polluants in wastewater. Prof. Ignacio Javier Acosta García (University of Seville, Spain) illustrated how a sound architectural engineering affects the working environment.Six parallel sessions thereafter dealt with six different topics: Architectural Environment and Energy Application Engineering, Environmental Pollution and Control, Environmental Policy and Management, Sustainable and Renewable Energy Technology, City and Civil Engineering, and Biodiversity.The event was an impressive experience for students, researchers and engineers by interacting on-line with the experts and specialists on scientific and practical issues, with special focus on technical matters, results’ dissemination and marketing strategies.The present volume of Proceedings presents a selection of papers submitted to and presented at the conference. The papers are gathered in 4 chapters according to the major topics dealt with. The chapters include Tunnel Engineering, Clean Energy Technology, Environmental Policy and Development, Environmental Pollution and Detection. All these papers were subjected to peer-review by the conference committee members and international reviewers. The papers were selected based on their high scientific or practical quality and their relevance to the conference themes.We express our sincere appreciation to the organizing committee and the volunteers who dedicated their time, effort and assistance in planning, promoting, and organizing the conference.Prof. Dr. Ir. Jan Baeyens, co-chairman of ICESE2020Beijing University of Chemical Technology, ChinaJune 6rh, 2020