Beneficial Environmental Effects Research Articles

Bioelectrochemical protein production valorising NH3-rich pig manure-derived wastewater and CO2 from anaerobic digestion

Microbial electrosynthesis (MES) cell use is an innovative approach for single-cell proteins (SCP) production. Coupling MES with the valorization of CO2 from anaerobic digestion and nitrogen from livestock effluents has beneficial environmental effects, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and nitrogen overloading. In addition, the reducing power needed can come from surplus renewable energy. In this study, MES with a biochar-functionalized cathode was tested at varying polarizations, i.e. non polarized, −0.6 V and −1.0 V vs Ag/AgCl, and biogas-derived CO2 and recovered ammonia from pig slurry was supplied.Negative polarization switched the microbial community from heterotrophic, typical of unpolarized MES, to a mix of both heterotrophic and autotrophic/electrotrophic communities at −0.6 V and to mainly autotrophic/electrotrophic at −1.0 V. The more negative polarization allowed the highest CO2 and N capture, i.e. 39 ± 2 % of the supplied CO2, and 6.7 ± 0.8 % supplied N. Microbial biomass characterization indicated a protein content on dry matter basis of 33.1 ± 1.3 % (unpolarized), 43.2 ± 0.6 % (−0.6 V) and 69.1 ± 1.0 % (−1.0 V). The amino acids profiles investigated showed a high nutritional value of the produced biomass, not far from those of conventional protein sources used for producing feed/food.

Exploring the potential of sustainable use of reclaimed water to improve crop production in response to contaminants in Vigna radiata

An efficient method of managing agricultural resources is to reuse wastewater for crop irrigation and fertilization. Irrigation using reclaimed water after treatment can have both beneficial and bad environmental effects. The national water strategy of Saudi Arabia considers reclaimed wastewater as an essential component of Saudi Arabia's water resource. It targets to decrease the load of desalination from the Red Sea and use it as a major source of agriculture and industrial use. In Vigna radiata, an experiment is carried out to determine the level of dilution for agricultural application in a seed germination experiment in response to contaminants. The physicochemical properties such as pH, ammonia, turbidity, and chloride values of reclaimed water were higher as compared to the standard guidelines of KSA for using irrigation water. Further, all the studied parameter concentrations decreased with the dilution of tap water. In the seed germination experiment,% germination, relative seed germination, seedling vigor index, etc. were calculated as compared to the control. The results infer that the application of 30 % reclaimed water (T2) enhanced the germination percentage, relative seed germination, and seedling vigor index of V. radiata. The growth of root, shoot, relative shoot growth, fresh weight, and dry weight of seedlings showed that T5 and T6 treatments are not suitable for Vigna cultivation as compared to the control. However, the results suggested that dilution of reclaimed water decreases the concentrations of potential contaminants of emerging concern, heavy metals, pesticides, etc., and makes the water suitable for irrigation.

Optimizing Electric Vehicle Battery Life: A Machine Learning Approach for Sustainable Transportation

Electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming increasingly popular, due to their beneficial environmental effects and low operating costs. However, one of the main challenges with EVs is their short battery life. This study presents a comprehensive approach for predicting the Remaining Useful Life (RUL) of Nickel Manganese Cobalt-Lithium Cobalt Oxide (NMC-LCO) batteries. This research utilizes a dataset derived from the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, encompassing 14 individual batteries subjected to over 1000 cycles under controlled conditions. A multi-step methodology is adopted, starting with data collection and preprocessing, followed by feature selection and outlier elimination. Machine learning models, including XGBoost, BaggingRegressor, LightGBM, CatBoost, and ExtraTreesRegressor, are employed to develop the RUL prediction model. Feature importance analysis aids in identifying critical parameters influencing battery health and lifespan. Statistical evaluations reveal no missing or duplicate data, and outlier removal enhances model accuracy. Notably, XGBoost emerged as the most effective algorithm, providing near-perfect predictions. This research underscores the significance of RUL prediction for enhancing battery lifecycle management, particularly in applications like electric vehicles, ensuring optimal resource utilization, cost efficiency, and environmental sustainability.

Scrutiny of a Bi-evaporator poly-generation system includes distilled water production unit: Comparative study and Bi-objective optimization

While geothermal energy is typically associated with beneficial environmental effects, it is crucial to acknowledge that it can lead to greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, the implementation of geothermal systems should include an environmental assessment. This study presents and evaluates an innovative geothermal-powered bi-evaporator poly-generation system from seven perspectives: thermodynamic, extended-environmental, exergoenvironmental, exergoeconomic, net present value, and bi-objective optimization. The designed ploy-generation system comprises a desalination unit, a unit for extracting hydrogen, and a modified organic flash cycle, all integrated with a single geothermal flash cycle. These subsystems work in unison to create a comprehensive and integrated system for simultaneously generating purified water, green hydrogen, electricity, and meeting refrigeration load requirements. Regarding the findings at the base mode, the designed system is able to generate net power, refrigeration load, distilled water, and H2 production rates of 244.9 kW, 741.4 kW, 0.4443 kg/s, and 1.062 kg/h, respectively. By employing NSGA-II optimization, the values of commodities are substantially increased, which enhanced the poly-generation system product cost and energetic efficiency by 7.13 % and 30.48 %. Also, the net electricity selling price significantly affects NPV, so the payback period reduces to 8.56 years.

Environmental factors and stroke: Risk and prevention

Stroke is a leading cause of death and adult disability globally. In addition to traditional risk factors, environmental risk factors have emerged over the recent past and are becoming increasingly important. The disproportionate rise of stroke incidence in low- and middle-income countries has been attributed, at least in part, to environmental factors. This narrative review provides details on the interplay between the environment and health generally and stroke specifically, covering topics including air pollution, atmospheric brown clouds, desert dust storms, giant wildfires, chemical contamination, biological aggressors, urbanization, and climate change. It also covers some beneficial environmental effects such as can be harnessed from the exposure to green spaces. It concludes with a summary of pragmatic actions that can be taken to help address some of these challenges at individual, community, and political advocacy levels.

Investiranje u ciljeve održivog razvoja i ESG izveštavanje - računovodstvena perspektiva

There are less than ten years left to achieve the goals set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. However, it seems that the remaining work on their implementation will take far more time than expected. This is particularly the case in developing countries which face difficulties in providing the necessary sources of finance for the acquisition of new technologies, investment in infrastructure projects, and the development of cleaner and environmentally-friendly production. Objective circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Europe and the subsequent energy crisis, have further slowed down these processes, threatening to undo the positive developments in the implementation of the sustainable development goals. Despite a significant progress made in the field of transparent reporting aimed at supporting the achievement of sustainable development goals, our impression is that a great number of different institutions have invested efforts to make a step forward in this domain, but due to the lack of globally coordinated activities, we are still far from a universal conceptual framework. That path is paved with numerous challenges. First, a high-quality conceptual framework must be compliant with the sustainable development goals to be able to track the global progress in their achievement, which requires an adequate system of performance measurement and monitoring at the global level. Second, the operationalization of sustainable development goals, recognized at the global level, must be followed by the adoption of compatible reporting at the corporate level, bearing in mind that companies are actually most responsible for local and planetary problems. The risks arising from inadequate performance measurement at the corporate level are far from being negligible. They are related to the efficiency in channeling limited capital toward the sectors and companies where it will be possible to produce the most beneficial environmental effects. At the same time, there is a risk of potential abuse with regard to the disclosure of good news or the cover-up of bad news, which casts doubt on the accuracy of information on the progress in achieving the SDGs, increasing risks of the misallocation of resources. In this paper, we investigate the complexity of aligning corporate reporting with the requirements imposed by the SDGs.

Long-Term Effects of an Informal Education Program on Tourist Environmental Perception

Tourism is one of the most important economic sectors worldwide, with significant overarching impact on the environment, including negative effects caused by tourist inappropriate behavior while on vacation. By providing informal educational activities, tourism also has an educative role that leads to positive learning outcomes and beneficial environmental effects. Here we present the short- and long-term outcomes of a project for environmental education (Glocal Education) carried out in three travel destinations, aimed at promoting sustainability variables (knowledge, attitude, and awareness) in participating tourists. Since psychological components can affect learning outcomes, we also considered tourist satisfaction in participating in the project and identification with its values, as well as the intention to travel with the hosting tour operator again in the future. Tourists were asked to complete evaluation questionnaires three times: before Glocal Education activities, right after activities (i.e., while still on vacation), and after at least one year from initial project participation. Short- and long-term learning outcomes were tested, and possible relations between these variables and psychological components (satisfaction, identification, and intention) of the learning experience were verified. Overall, knowledge, attitude and awareness increased in the short term, while in the long term, knowledge and attitude decreased, and awareness remained constant. In most cases, psychological components showed positive relation with sustainability variables, which suggested their important role in structuring and carrying out environmental education activities. This study suggests that informal environmental education activities can be advantageous for tourism stakeholders in terms of customer loyalty. Such activities can contribute to enhance environment literacy, by allowing tourists to observe the environmental impact caused by human activity, and understand how their day-to-day actions, even if small, might help address some of the current concerns for environmental conservation.

Fishing grounds footprint and economic freedom indexes: Evidence from Asia-Pacific.

Environmental challenges are as wide as the universe so that its different dimensions can be the subject of diverse studies. In this research, using 17 data from Asia-Pacific during the period 2000 to 2017, an attempt has been made to investigate the economic factors responsible for the ecological footprint in the fishing sector. The main contribution of the present study is to investigate the effects of nine economic freedom indicators along with other control variables on environmental pressure on the status of fishery resources. Based on the results, the Kuznets curve hypothesis was confirmed in the fishing grounds footprint, so that the growth of GDP per capita shows a positive and significant effect, while its squared form coefficient is negative. Other control variables including natural resource rents, urbanization, and energy intensity, do not show significant effects on the fishing footprint. The different components of economic freedom show different effects, while their cumulative effects in the form of the total economic freedom index have a positive effect on the footprint of fishing and lead to increased extraction from fishing resources. The results show that the Government Integrity, Tax Burden, Business Freedom, Monetary Freedom indices increase the fishing footprint, while the indices of trade freedom and investment freedom, by revealing the negative effects on the fishing footprint, have beneficial environmental effects in reducing the pressure on the aquatic resources of countries. The results of the present study reveal the need to examine how the various dimensions of economic freedom affect to provide the proper management of fishery resources.

A Detention Reservoir Reduced Combined Sewer Overflows and Bathing Water Contamination Due to Intense Rainfall

Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) close to water bodies are a cause of grave environmental concern. In the past few decades, major storm events have become increasingly common in some regions, and the meteorological scenarios predict a further increase in their frequency. Consequently, CSO control and treatment according to best practices, the adoption of innovative treatment solutions and careful sewer system management are urgently needed. A growing number of publications has been addressing the quality, quantity and types of available water management and treatment options. In this study, we describe the construction of an innovative detention reservoir along the Arzilla River (Fano, Italy) whose function is to store diluted CSO wastewater exceeding the capacity of a combined drain system. River water sampling and testing for microbial contamination downstream of the tank after a heavy rain event found a considerable reduction of fecal coliform concentrations, which would have compounded the impact of stormwater on the bathing site. These preliminary results suggest that the detention tank exerted beneficial environmental effects on bathing water by lowering the microbial load.

Comparing Soil vs. Foliar Nitrogen Supply of the Whole Fertilizer Dose in Common Wheat

Late-season N application through foliar spraying is recognized as an efficient agronomic practice for improving grain quality in common wheat, although the major part of N is still supplied by soil fertilization. This study assessed the impact of various N doses entirely applied by repeated foliar sprayings on wheat growth, yield and quality, in comparison with conventional soil fertilization management with a recommended dose of 160 kg N ha−1 as ammonium nitrate (C-M). Doses of 96, 104 and 120 kg N ha−1 as both UAN (urea-ammonium-nitrate) and urea applied by foliar spraying were evaluated in a 2-year field trial in Northern Italy in a silty loam soil with 1.7% organic matter. Here, it was demonstrated that the canopy greenness was similar in all treatments, with slight grain yield increases by the lowest foliar N dose vs. C-M. The higher N foliar doses mainly improved the grain protein content and both high- and low-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS, LMW-GS), particularly with urea. It is concluded that in our fertile soil, managing N fertilization exclusively through foliar spraying is feasible without compromising grain yield and ameliorating quality at the same time. Improved nutrient use efficiency and beneficial environmental effects are also expected by reducing the nitrogen load on the agricultural fields by 25–40%.

Surface Ignition Using Ethanol on Mo and Al2O3-TiO2 Coated in CI Engine for Environmental Benefits

Today, because of expansion in oil costs, restricted petroleum product assets, ecological thought and an unnatural weather change, the ethanol fills have been centered around elective powers. The use of ethanol is more effective in compression ignition (CI) engines because it is about 30 percent more effective than in spark-ignition (SI) engines due to increased combustion efficiency. The use of ethanol in low heat rejection (LHR) engines helps raise the temperature of the combustion chamber, creating a heat barrier around it. The effect of coating the cylinder head, pistons, and valves of a diesel engine with the molybdenum (Mo) and Al2O3+TiO2 is investigated in this work. As a result, the coated pieces of the combustion chamber were accommodated by a heated boundary. The coated and uncoated engines were evaluated under similar engine operating conditions. The CO, HC, and smoke emissions were reduced, but NOx emissions slightly increased for the Al2O3+TiO2 coated engine. As a result, it has the most beneficial environmental effects.

Environmental quality and the role of economic policy uncertainty, economic complexity, renewable energy, and energy intensity: the case of G7 countries.

This study explores the environmental impacts of economic policy uncertainty, economic complexity, renewable energy, and energy intensity on the countries in the Group of Seven (G7) countries. To this end, the study employs fully modified ordinary least squares and a fixed effects model with Driscoll and Kraay, Rev Econ Stat 80:549-560, (1998) robust standard errors and a panel dataset from 1997 to 2015. The findings demonstrate a long-term relationship between the variables of interest and carbon dioxide emissions and the ecological footprint. Specifically, high energy intensity increases environmental pollution while high economic policy uncertainty and renewable energy reduces environmental degradation. The environmental Kuznet curve of economic complexity and environmental quality holds for G7 countries. Moreover, economic policy uncertainty strongly moderates the environmental effect of renewable energy, economic complexity, and energy intensity. Specifically, although economic policy uncertainty amplifies the beneficial environmental effects of renewable energy and economic complexity, it enlarges the harmful effect of energy intensity on environmental quality. These empirical outcomes allow us to draw useful implications for policy makers to mitigate the environmental degradation.

Positive global environmental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown: a review.

Global environmental change is mainly due to human behaviours and is a major threat to sustainability. Despite all the health and economic consequences, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on environmental health warrants the scientific community’s attention. Thus, this article examined and narratively reviewed the impact of several drastic measures taken on the macro environment and holistic planetary health. We note that the amount of pollution in the air, water, soil, and noise showed a significant decline during the pandemic. Global air quality improved due to lower anthropogenic emissions of air pollutants and atmospheric particles. Water ecosystems also demonstrated signs of recuperation in many countries. Less commercial fishing internationally resulted in the restoration of some aquatic life. Additionally, significant reduction of solid and water waste led to less soil pollution. Some places experienced cleaner beaches and ocean water while wildlife sightings in urban areas across the world occurred more often. Lastly, the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown also led to a worldwide decline in noise pollution. However, the beneficial environmental effects will not be permanent as the world gradually returns to its pre-pandemic status quo. Therefore, behavioural changes such as adopting a lifestyle that reduces carbon footprint are needed to make a positive impact on the environment. In addition, world leaders should consider the national policy changes necessary to ensure continuity of as many of the positive environmental impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown as possible. Those changes would also serve to lessen the likelihood of another zoonotic calamity.

Life cycle assessment of edible insects (Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae) as a future protein and fat source

Because it is important to develop new sustainable sources of edible protein, insects have been recommended as a new protein source. This study applied Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to investigate the environmental impact of small-scale edible insect production unit in South Korea. IMPACT 2002 + was applied as the baseline impact assessment (IA) methodology. The CML-IA baseline, EDIP 2003, EDP 2013, ILCD 2011 Midpoint, and ReCiPe midpoint IA methodologies were also used for LCIA methodology sensitivity analysis. The protein, fat contents, and fatty acid profile of the investigated insect (Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae) were analyzed to determine its potential food application. The results revealed that the studied edible insect production system has beneficial environmental effects on various impact categories (ICs), i.e., land occupation, mineral extraction, aquatic and terrestrial ecotoxicity, due to utilization of bio-waste to feed insects. This food production system can mitigate the negative environmental effects of those ICs, but has negative environmental impact on some other ICs such as global warming potential. By managing the consumption of various inputs, edible insects can become an environmentally efficient food production system for human nutrition.

Bioremediation of Hexavalent Chromium by Chromium Resistant Bacteria Reduces Phytotoxicity.

Chromium (Cr) (VI) has long been known as an environmental hazard that can be reduced from aqueous solutions through bioremediation by living cells. In this study, we investigated the efficiency of reduction and biosorption of Cr(VI) by chromate resistant bacteria isolated from tannery effluent. From 28 screened Cr(VI) resistant isolates, selected bacterial strain SH-1 was identified as Klebsiella sp. via 16S rRNA sequencing. In Luria–Bertani broth, the relative reduction level of Cr(VI) was 95%, but in tannery effluent, it was 63.08% after 72 h of incubation. The cell-free extract of SH-1 showed a 72.2% reduction of Cr(VI), which indicated a higher activity of Cr(VI) reducing enzyme than the control. Live and dead biomass of SH-1 adsorbed 51.25 mg and 29.03 mg Cr(VI) per gram of dry weight, respectively. Two adsorption isotherm models—Langmuir and Freundlich—were used for the illustration of Cr(VI) biosorption using SH-1 live biomass. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed an increased cell size of the treated biomass when compared to the controlled biomass, which supports the adsorption of reduced Cr on the biomass cell surface. Fourier-transform infrared analysis indicated that Cr(VI) had an effect on bacterial biomass, including quantitative and structural modifications. Moreover, the chickpea seed germination study showed beneficial environmental effects that suggest possible application of the isolate for the bioremediation of toxic Cr(VI).

The pathway toward pollution mitigation: Does institutional quality make a difference?

AbstractInstitutions in a country ensure sustainability and play a significant role in economic development by encouraging best practices in governmental interventions. A strong and transparent institutional framework opposes corruption and improves the management of public finances, which may also yield desired outcomes for the environment and society. However, the role of institutions in environmental issues is still under‐investigated in the literature. This study aims to investigate the relationship between renewable energy consumption, institutional quality, economic performance, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 18 Asia‐Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries for the period 1992–2015. To this end, robust panel data estimation techniques are employed. The study confirms that a cointegration relationship exists among study variables. Evidence from the empirical results reveals that institutions have beneficial environmental effects. Likewise, renewable energy reduces carbon emissions to mitigate climate change, but nonrenewable energy harms the environment. Institutional quality helps to form the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in APEC countries. Finally, causality analysis refers to the unidirectional causality running from institutional quality to CO2 emissions. Results reveal that stronger institutional arrangements in APEC countries could be the solution for implementations of effective environmental regulation to combat rising environmental challenges without sacrificing higher economic growth.

Deciphering the relationship between bikesharing and public transit: Modal substitution, integration, and complementation

Public bikesharing systems (PBSs) have witnessed rapid growth in the last decade. Bikesharing has been found to have a mixed relationship with public transit, but such a relationship has not been well quantified. This research uses real bikesharing trip data in four cities that host the largest bikesharing fleets in the U.S. to investigate when, where, and to what extent bikesharing trips substitute, integrate with, and complement public transit, and what factors contribute to the modal integration between bikesharing and public transit. The results show that it is not where the bikesharing trip takes place that predominantly determines its relationship with public transit but rather when the trip happens (weekday or weekend and what time period during the day) and who takes the trip (a subscriber or customer). Regression models show that modal integration is associated with shorter trip duration, higher public transit service frequency, and higher share of subscribers on weekdays. The relatively high share of bikesharing trips that integrate with public transit helps to improve the experience of riding public transit and in the long term, enhances urban mobility and reduces automobile dependency with multiple beneficial societal and environmental effects.

Fabrication and release behavior of nitrapyrin Microcapsules: Using modified melamine-formaldehyde resin as shell material

As a commonly used nitrification inhibitor, nitrapyrin can significantly improve the utilization of nitrogen in soils. However, the effectiveness of the traditional dosage form of nitrapyrin is reduced by soil adsorption. In this study, nitrapyrin was encapsulated into a melamine-formaldehyde resin microcapsule with good dispersion and release behavior using an in situ polymerization method. The nitrapyrin microcapsules were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and particle-size analysis. The results indicated that the microcapsules had a spherical-shell structure, a uniform morphology with nanoscale micropores on the surface, and a decent nitrapyrin loading content (67.19%). Tests revealed that the release behavior of the nitrapyrin microcapsules was outstanding and conformed to the double-release kinetic model. These results of this study indicate that the nitrapyrin microcapsules can be applied as nitrification inhibitors with beneficial environmental effects and high efficacy.

Development of an efficient biocatalytic system based on bacterial laccase for the oxidation of selected 1,4-dihydropyridines

Biocatalytic oxidations mediated by laccases are gaining importance due to their versatility and beneficial environmental effects. In this study, the oxidation of 1,4-dihydropyridines has been performed using three different types of bacterial laccase-based catalysts: purified laccase from Bacillus licheniformis ATCC 9945a (BliLacc), Escherichia coli whole cells expressing this laccase, and bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) supported BliLacc catalysts. The catalysts based on bacterial laccase were compared to the commercially available Trametes versicolor laccase (TvLacc). The oxidation product of 2,6-dimethyl-1,4-dihydropyridine-3,5-dicarboxylate was obtained within 7–24 h with good yields (70–99%) with all three biocatalysts. The substrate scope was examined with five additional 1,4-dihydropyridines, one of which was oxidized in high yield. Whole-cell biocatalyst was stable when stored for up to 1-month at 4 °C. In addition, evidence has been provided that multicopper oxidase CueO from the E. coli expression host contributed to the oxidation efficiency of the whole-cell biocatalyst. The immobilized whole-cell biocatalyst showed satisfactory activity and retained 37% of its original activity after three biotransformation cycles.

The impact of a tidal barrage on coastal flooding due to storm surge in the Severn Estuary

The proposed Severn Barrage is a controversial but widely discussed proposal to generate clean and renewable energy. A key concern with this technology is that such structures may cause other environmental problems. However, such structures might also have beneficial environmental effects in some areas, such as mitigating coastal flooding from storm surges. In this paper, we model the hydrodynamics of the Severn Barrage and surrounding area using a depth-averaged numerical model. We simulate a storm surge event based on realistic meteorological conditions coinciding with a spring tide. We find that to the east of the barrage the peak water level is significantly reduced by the barrage. To the west of the barrage, on the ocean side, the presence of the barrage leads to a small increase in the water levels during a surge event despite the reduction in the tidal amplitude. We examine different operational strategies for the barrage during a storm event—these make a small but perhaps significant difference. Overall, a barrage can help to mitigate the impact of storm surges on coastal flooding.