Environmental Quality Control Research Articles

Characteristics and Risk Assessment of 16 Metals in Street Dust Collected from a Highway in a Densely Populated Metropolitan Area of Vietnam

The present study focused on investigating the contamination and risk assessment for 16 metals in street dust from Ha Noi highway, Ho Chi Minh City. The results indicated that the concentrations of metals (mg/kg) were found, in decreasing order, to be Ti (676.3 ± 155.4) > Zn (519.2 ± 318.9) > Mn (426.6 ±113.1) > Cu (144.7 ± 61.5) > Cr (81.4 ± 22.6) > Pb (52.2 ± 22.9) > V (35.5 ± 5.6) > Ni (30.9 ± 9.5) > Co (8.3 ± 1.2) > As (8.3 ± 2.5) > Sn (7.0 ± 3.6) > B (5.7 ± 0.9) > Mo (4.1 ± 1.7) > Sb (0.8 ± 0.3) > Cd (0.6 ± 0.2) > Se (0.4 ± 0.1). The geo-accumulation index (Igeo) showed moderate contamination levels for Pb, Cd, Cu, Sn, Mo, and Zn. The enrichment factor (EF) values revealed moderate levels for Cd, Cu, Mo, and Sn but moderate–severe levels for Zn. The pollution load index of the heavy metals was moderate. The potential ecological risk (207.43) showed a high potential. Notably, 40.7% and 33.5% of the ecological risks were contributed by Zn and Mn, respectively. These findings are expected to provide useful information to decision-makers about environmental quality control strategies.

Environment sustainability practices in bangladeshi cement industries

Cement industries are responsible for huge amount of air pollution, which is harmful for the relevant workers health. According to a new questionnaire-based study, Bangladesh's cement industry has limited opportunities to follow green manufacturing practices. The aim of this paper is to investigate the situation of group wise environmental sustainability practices in Bangladesh, with the goal of assisting cement manufacturers in Bangladesh to improve their environmental sustainability practices in their manufacturing processes. In this paper, a comparison of cement manufacturers across Bangladesh's three major divisions was presented. It has been discovered that a large number of employees from these three departments are unaware of environmental concerns and sustainable industrial activities. Just 53% of the respondents are aware of the environmental concerns surrounding cement production and their customers are the primary sources of such knowledge. Furthermore, only 42% of respondents used the ISO 14000 environmental quality control scheme, despite the fact that 53% of respondents used some kind of green manufacturing. Moreover, the causes for non-adoption as well as environmental factors affecting sustainable industrial practices have been identified and established. The lack of financial resources, lack of understanding and information about environmental issues, lack of demand from customers and stakeholders are the reasons why such practices have not been adopted. In order to follow green production methods, it is essential to use environmentally friendly cement materials, recycled-fiber packaging, biodegradable packaging and environmentally friendly waste management systems and technologies.

Use of optimised MLP neural networks for spatiotemporal estimation of indoor environmental conditions of existing buildings

Controlling the indoor environmental quality in real time is essential for the health, well-being and productivity of occupants of a building. In recent years, research has focused on improving monitoring devices and strategies and developing techniques for estimating indoor conditions. The use of machine learning algorithms in this context has increased considerably. However, monitoring data in real time from large multizone working areas is challenging. The aim of this work is to provide an interpolation methodology based on the use of optimised multilayered perceptron neural networks to estimate the indoor environmental conditions of a building in real time. These estimations are obtained without the need for neither monitoring in the occupied working area nor human intervention and considering low-cost sensors. The neural network is optimised by implementing the multiobjective genetic algorithm NSGA-II to find the best architecture in terms of error and complexity. This method was applied to the building of a research centre in north-western Spain, where interpolated values for indoor air temperature, relative humidity and CO2 concentration were obtained. The results of this case study yielded relative errors close to 6% for temperature, 5% for relative humidity, and 12% for CO2 concentration. These values validate the methodology developed for the estimation of indoor environmental conditions and the contribution of this research to the improvement of the monitoring and control of the indoor environmental quality of a building.

Green city air monitoring and architectural digital art design based on IoT embedded system

Although air quality is the natural resource on which every modern person lives, the quality of air quality will directly affect the healthy and sustainable development of our human beings. However, my country’s current monitoring of air quality still has many shortcomings, such as backward monitoring technology, small monitoring coverage area, and insufficient matching between portable online monitoring and permanent online monitoring, which cannot fully meet the increasing monitoring needs of modern people. This research mainly explores the design technology of embedded monitoring system in the Internet of Things era. Comprehensive application in the field of environmental air quality control, monitoring and management of green building cities in my country and the comprehensive application of modern architectural indoor digital decorative art design. For the bottom-level gas detection hardware control system part of this article, the new STM32 is selected as the bottom-level control hardware core. For the bottom-level detection of non-inhalable particulate matter, a high positioning accuracy gas sensor detection module with scattering working principle is selected. For SO2 For the bottom detection of pollutants and gases such as CO, O3, NO2, etc., the sensor module of the constant potential electrolyte gas concentration detector with high positioning accuracy is used as the bottom detection hardware probe. A combination of multiple digital filtering algorithms, such as limiting filtering and inertial filtering, is used to complete the preliminary analysis and processing of the sampled data.

Collaborative determination of trace element mass fractions and isotope ratios in AQUA-1 drinking water certified reference material.

The Isotrace CNRS workgroup in collaboration with National Research Council of Canada has characterized a number of trace element mass fractions and isotope ratios currently not certified in AQUA-1 natural drinking water reference material (NRC Canada). This survey further expands the use of this material as a tool for environmental quality control, method validation, and method development tool for the international community. Simultaneously, the SLRS-6 river water was analyzed as quality control and also in order to compare both water characteristics, which were sampled in the same area but having undergone different treatment. Mass fractions for B, Cs, Li, Ga, Ge, Hf, Nb, P, Rb, Rh, Re, S, Sc, Se, Si, Sn, Th, Ti, Tl, W, Y, Zr, REEs, and six isotopic ratios are proposed for Sr and Pb. Measurements were mostly performed using ICP-MS with various calibration approaches. The results are reported as consensus or indicative values depending on the number of available datasets, with their associated uncertainties.

Application of Green Building Design Based on the Internet of Things in the Landscape Planning of Characteristic Towns

China is a large agricultural country. In the past, relying on the accumulation of agriculture and the contribution of farmers, it laid a solid foundation for China’s economic construction. However, with the improvement of the national economy and industrialization system, the dual structure of urban and rural areas has become more and more obvious, and the broad masses of farmers have not enjoyed the fruits of industrialization and urbanization. Based on the theoretical research on green rural dwellings, drawing lessons from relevant theories and cases at home and abroad, this paper proposes green rural construction techniques suitable for northern China and studies how to participate in the whole process of rural construction in an all-round way. In the middle and late stages, green concepts should be integrated, especially considering the feasibility of three-star farmhouse standards, from land saving (land planning), energy saving (environmental protection structure, heating, ventilation, and new energy utilization), water saving (rainwater collection and greening), material saving (resource reuse and on-site materials), and indoor environmental quality control (noise control and anticondensation), these five aspects are used to design buildings. The deformation monitoring system can monitor the deformation of agricultural building structures in real time. The experimental results show that the Internet-based agricultural building deformation monitoring system studied in this paper can perform real-time deformation monitoring of various agricultural buildings, thereby improving the safety of agricultural buildings and ensuring agriculture the safety of production, and transportation plays an important role in the protection and accumulation of agricultural information loss. The service life of the building is increased by at least 30%. It is hoped that the research results in this article can provide guidance and reference for the construction and planning of beautiful rural areas. In the future, the construction of beautiful villages will be more beautiful and more distinctive.

Sustainable Risk Assessment of Resource Industry at Provincial Level in China

The development of China’s resource industry is facing great pressures from industrial structure adjustment and environmental restraints, and the sustainable risk of the provincial resource industry is different. Considering the development of the resource industry and environmental pressure, this article selects the panel data of 31 provinces from 2015 to 2019 to construct an index evaluation system with six dimensions: influence, induction, supply and demand safety, regional pollution emission, environment quality, and pollution control. The results showed that Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Shanghai had the highest sustainable risk in the resource industry, while Heilongjiang, Jilin, Tianjin, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Qinghai had the lowest sustainable risk. The resource industry model of all the provinces is divided into sustainable, industrial, ecological, and unsustainable. Finally, this article puts forward reasonable suggestions for the four scenarios and argues that the balanced development of the resource industry sector and environmental protection is conducive to reducing the sustainable risks of the resource industry.

“The Good, the Bad and the Double-Sword” Effects of Microplastics and Their Organic Additives in Marine Bacteria

Little is known about the direct effects of microplastics (MPs) and their organic additives on marine bacteria, considering their role in the nutrient cycles, e.g., N-cycles through the N2-fixation, or in the microbial food web. To fill this gap of knowledge, we exposed marine bacteria, specifically diazotrophs, to pure MPs which differ in physical properties (e.g., density, hydrophobicity, and/or size), namely, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride and polystyrene, and to their most abundant associated organic additives (e.g., fluoranthene, 1,2,5,6,9,10-hexabromocyclododecane and dioctyl-phthalate). Growth, protein overproduction, direct physical interactions between MPs and bacteria, phosphorus acquisition mechanisms and/or N2-fixation rates were evaluated. Cyanobacteria were positively affected by environmental and high concentrations of MPs, as opposed to heterotrophic strains, that were only positively affected with high concentrations of ~120 μm-size MPs (detecting the overproduction of proteins related to plastic degradation and C-transport), and negatively affected by 1 μm-size PS beads. Generally, the organic additives had a deleterious effect in both autotrophic and heterotrophic bacteria and the magnitude of the effect is suggested to be dependent on bacterial size. Our results show species-specific responses of the autotrophic and heterotrophic bacteria tested and the responses (beneficial: the “good,” deleterious: the “bad” and/or both: the “double-sword”) were dependent on the type and concentration of MPs and additives. This suggests the need to determine the threshold levels of MPs and additives concentrations starting from which significant effects can be observed for key microbial populations in marine systems, and these data are necessary for effective environmental quality control management.

Study on the Application of Water Quality Standard Substances in Environmental Monitoring Quality Control

Study on the Application of Water Quality Standard Substances in Environmental Monitoring Quality Control

Application of Capillary Network Air Conditioning System Based on Three-constant Technology in Gymnasium

With the advancement of social development, the continuous improvement of the level of science and technology puts higher requirements on the environmental quality of modern large-scale venues, which requires innovative concepts and high-tech to meet the requirements. In the paper, the capillary radiant air conditioning system based on three-constant technology is taken as the research object, and the steady heat transfer mathematical model of heat transfer from the cold water in the capillary network to the room is established. The structural parameters and operating parameters of the capillary radiant air conditioner are simulated and analyzed for the influence of its thermal performance, the environmental quality detection and control method based on bilinear model was established, and the algorithm of each index parameter was optimized to improve the high consistency between the model prediction parameters and the control tracking parameters. After verifying and testing the model parameters, it proves that the research content of the paper is real and effective, which its effect has reached the value of practical application. Through the research on the capillary network air conditioning system based on three-constant technology, it proves that the application in the construction of large venues has the effect of energy saving and environmental protection, and provides an innovative reference for the construction and development of the stadium.

Application of gas chromatography separation based on metal-organic framework material as stationary phase

金属有机骨架材料(MOFs)是一类由有机配体和金属离子(或金属簇)自组装形成的新型多功能材料。MOFs具有孔隙度高、比表面积大、孔径可调、化学和热稳定性高等特点,被广泛应用于吸附、分离、催化等多个领域。近年来,MOFs作为新型气相色谱固定相用于分离异构体受到了广泛关注。与传统无机多孔材料相比,MOFs在结构和功能上展现出高度的可调性,通过合理地选择配体和金属中心,可以设计合成具有不同孔道大小和孔道环境的MOFs,从而分别从热力学和动力学角度优化色谱分离效果,有效提高分离选择性。该文结合MOFs的结构,讨论了MOFs气相色谱固定相分离不同类型分析物的分离机理。分离机理主要包括MOFs孔道的分子筛效应或形状选择性,MOFs不饱和的金属位点与分析物中不同的官能团之间产生的相互作用,分析物与MOFs孔道之间产生的不同范德华力、π-π相互作用和氢键相互作用。此外,MOFs的手性分离可能主要依赖于外消旋体与手性MOFs中手性活性位点之间的相互作用。该文也对不同分析目标物进行了归类,综述了多种MOFs气相色谱固定相对烷烃、二甲苯异构体和乙基甲苯、外消旋体、含氧有机物、环境有机污染物的气相色谱分离效果。最后,该文还对MOFs在该领域的应用进行了总结与展望,旨在为MOFs气相色谱高效分离的研究提供参考。

An ultra-sensitive colorimetric detection of Ag ions based on etching AuNP@MnO2 nanoparticles with glutathione by using dark field optical microscopy

Abstract Although colorimetric methods have been developed for the detection of silver ions (Ag+) based on gold nanoparticles aggregation induced by formation cytosine-Ag+-cytosine complexes or high salt centration with dark field microscopy (DFM). However, this state is usually unstable, resulting in the poor accuracy and repeatability of analytical methods. Herein, we have constructed an assay of Ag+ based on MnO2-coated gold nanoparticle (AuNP@MnO2). MnO2 shell can be reduced into Mn2+ by glutathione (GSH). The maximum absorption peak of AuNP@MnO2 significantly changes from 528 nm to 572 nm. Simultaneously, the color of a single nanoparticle becomes from yellow to green under DFM. However, in the presence of Ag+, the etching process of MnO2 is inhibited because of coordination between GSH toward Ag+. The maximum UV absorption peak of AuNP@MnO2 is basically unchanged. The linear equation for Ag+ detection is obtained in the range from 1.0 pM to 5.0 nM with R2 = 0.983 by using DFM. According to 3σ/k rule (where σ is the standard deviation of five blank samples and k is the slope of regression line), the limit of detection (LOD) is calculated to be 0.39 pM. Furthermore, this approach can be applied to detect Ag+ in real sample, showing the good potential for environmental monitoring and water quality control.

Low-cost disposable Poly(ethyleneimine)-Functionalized Carbon Nanofibers Coated Cellulose Paper as efficient solid phase extraction sorbent material for the extraction of Parahydroxybenzoates from environmental waters

Parahydroxybenzoates (parabens) are considered as emerging environmental contaminants because of their extensive usage in our daily life products, causing parabens contamination into environmental water systems and lead to toxic effects on environmental health. This study describes a greener extraction method using a new cationic polymer poly (ethyleneimine) functionalized acid-treated carbon nanofibers (PEI-CNFs) coated cellulose paper (CP) as solid-phase extraction (SPE) sorbent material for the extraction of parabens from environmental water samples. The fabrication of PEI-CNFs modified CP was confirmed using field-emission scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy, and fourier-transformer infrared spectroscopy techniques. Various factors affecting the adsorption and desorption of parabens on PEI-CNFs@CP and its extraction efficiencies were studied using HPLC-UV analysis. Under the optimal experimental conditions, maximum extraction efficiencies were achieved for four target parabens, and PEI-CNFs@CP/HPLC-UV method exhibited excellent linearities ranged from 0.5–50 ng mL−1 with regression coefficient values were between 0.9952–0.9970. The presented method showed good sensitivity with quantification limits between 0.5–0.75 ng mL−1 and detection limits between 0.1–0.25 ng mL−1. The developed technique was applied for the real sample analysis (river, lake, domestic sewage water, and drinking tap water). The spiked recovery revealed good recoveries between 86.8–116.0% with RSD less than 8.8% for all the water samples. These results proved that it a simple, fast, efficient, low-cost, and eco-friendly method for the extraction and determination of parabens in environmental water samples and can be applied as a routine analytical tool in environmental monitoring and quality control laboratories.

Impact of Effluent from the Leachate Treatment Plant of Taman Beringin Solid Waste Transfer Station on the Quality of Jinjang River

Rapid population growth has contributed to increased solid waste generated in Malaysia. Most landfills that have reached the design capacity are now facing closure. Taman Beringin Landfill was officially closed, so the Taman Beringin Solid Waste Transfer Station was built to manage the relocation, consolidation, and transportation of solid waste to Bukit Tagar Sanitary Landfill. Leachates are generated as a consequence of rainwater percolation through waste and biochemical processes in waste cells. Leachate treatment is needed, as leachates cause environmental pollution and harm human health. This study investigates the impact of treated leachate discharge from a Leachate Treatment Plant (LTP) on the Jinjang River water quality. The performance of the LTP in Taman Beringin Solid Waste Transfer Station was also assessed. Leachate samples were taken at the LTP’s anoxic tank, aeration tank, secondary clarifier tank, and final discharge point, whereas river water samples were taken upstream and downstream of Jinjang River. The untreated leachate returned the following readings: biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) (697.50 ± 127.94 mg/L), chemical oxygen demand (COD) (2419.75 ± 1155.22 mg/L), total suspended solid (TSS) (2710.00 ± 334.79 mg/L), and ammonia (317.08 ± 35.45 mg/L). The LTP’s overall performance was satisfactory, as the final treated leachates were able to meet the standard requirements of the Environmental Quality (Control of Pollution from Solid Waste Transfer Station and Landfill) Regulation 2009. However, the LTP’s activated sludge system performance was not satisfactory, and the parameters did not meet the standard limits. The result shows a low functioning biological treatment method that could not efficiently treat the leachate. However, a subsequent step of combining the biological and chemical process (coagulation, flocculation, activated sludge system, and activated carbon adsorption) helped the treated leachate to meet the standard B requirement stipulated by the Department of Environment (DOE), i.e., to flow safely into the river. This study categorized Jinjang River as polluted, with the discharge of the LTP’s treated leachates, possibly contributing to the river pollution. However, other factors, such as the upstream sewage treatment plant and the ex-landfill downstream, may have also affected the river water quality. The LTP’s activated sludge system performance at the transfer station still requires improvement to reduce the cost of the chemical treatment.

Metal Risk Assessment Study of Canned Fish Available on the Iranian Market.

Iran is the largest fishery producer in the region reaching nearly 1 million tons. Fish provide a good many nutrients that are beneficial for our health. Due to significant deposits of xenobiotics in the water environments, however, fish may also be a source of non-essential metals, causing a variety of disorders. The main challenges to Iranian fisheries are environmental pollution and quality control, so this study aims to estimate the concentration of cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), and lead (Pb) in canned tuna fish produced and consumed in Iran. We studied four popular brands (N = 4 × 20) with ICP-MS and then looked at the concentrations and calculated the risk assessment parameters. We found that the lowest concentration was observed for Cd (18μg/kg) and the highest for Ni (132μg/kg). Among the brands studied, Pb concentrations differed most (42.0 to 113.3μg/kg) and Hg levels were more consistent (24.0 and 39.4μg/kg). The concentrations of Cd, Hg, and Pb in all the brands tested were below EU permissible thresholds. The intake estimation risk assessment parameters (EDI, contribution to PTWI, and CR) and non-cancer risk assessment parameters based on reference doses (THQ and HI) demonstrated the safety of tested products in respect to all metal concentrations studied, while the parameters regarding the toxic effects (MoE, and ILCR) showed that the consumption might cause health risks in terms of Cd (ILCR), Ni (ILCR), and Pb (MoE). The consumption of the canned fish studied should therefore be maintained at a reasonable level (2-5 meals containing fish weekly), so that it may provide necessary nutrients, while avoiding the health risk due to metal content.

Information Technologies for Control and Management of Environmental Water Quality

Information Technologies for Control and Management of Environmental Water Quality

Zinc oxide-paper based sensor for photoconductive ultraviolet detection

Paper based sensor is the new technology to fabricate a simple, portable, and low cost device that exhibits the comparable properties and functions with those fabricated using complex fabrication process. Paper based sensor is usually applied in environmental monitoring, health diagnostics, and food quality control. This research is focusing on the paper based sensor that will contribute to the development of Ultraviolet (UV) sensor. The fabrication of the sensor was done by using different grade of pencil, namely 6B and 2B on different type of paper. The different grade of pencil corresponds to different percentage of graphite and clay. As for the type of paper, A4 printing paper and Whatman filter paper were used. UV sensing operation was analyzed from the measurement of current-voltage (I-V) characteristics under the exposure of UV light. Zinc oxide (ZnO) was coated on the sensor to facilitate the detection in the presence of UV. The sample fabricated using 6B pencil grade on A4 printing paper and with ZnO coating showed a better UV sensing performance compared to other samples. This is due to the high conduction of 6B pencil grade and smooth surface of A4 printing paper. The ZnO coating increased the sensor sensitivity and response towards the UV light. These findings provide valuable information which can be used in fabricating a low-cost and simple UV paper sensor.

Spatial modelling of PM2.5 concentrations in Tehran using Kriging and inverse distance weighting (IDW) methods

Introduction: Estimating air pollution levels in areas with no measurements is a major concern in health-related studies. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the amount of exposure to particulate matter below 2.5 µ (PM2.5) in the metropolis of Tehran. Materials and methods: The hourly concentrations of PM2.5 during 2017-2018 period were acquired from the Department of Environment (DOE) and Air Quality Control Company of Tehran (AQCC). The hourly concentrations were validated and 24-h concentrations were calculated. Inverse distance weighting (IDW), Universal Kriging, and Ordinary Kriging were used to spa- tially model the PM2.5 over Tehran metropolis area. Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Mean Error (ME) were used to measure and control for the ac- curacy of the methods. Results: The results of this study showed that RMSE and MENA values in Kriging method was less than the IDW, which indicates that the Kriging was the best method to estimate PM2.5 concentrations. According to the final map, the highest annual concentrations of PM2.5 were observed in the southern and southwestern areas of Tehran (districts 10, 15, 16, 17, and 18). The lowest exposure to PM2.5 was found to be in districts 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8. Conclusion: It can be concluded that Kriging method can predict spatial vari- ations of PM2.5 more accurately than IDW method.

Investigation of relationship between particulate matter (PM2.5) and meteorological parameters in Isfahan, Iran

Introduction: Estimating air pollution levels in areas with no measurements is a major concern in health-related studies. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the amount of exposure to particulate matter below 2.5 µ (PM2.5) in the metropolis of Tehran. Materials and methods: The hourly concentrations of PM2.5 during 2017- 2018 period were acquired from the Department of Environment (DOE) and Air Quality Control Company of Tehran (AQCC). The hourly concentrations were validated and 24-h concentrations were calculated. Inverse distance weighting (IDW), Universal Kriging, and Ordinary Kriging were used to spatially model the PM2.5 over Tehran metropolis area. Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Mean Error (ME) were used to measure and control for the accuracy of the methods. Results: The results of this study showed that RMSE and MENA values in Kriging method was less than the IDW, which indicates that the Kriging was the best method to estimate PM2.5 concentrations. According to the final map, the highest annual concentrations of PM2.5 were observed in the southern and southwestern areas of Tehran (districts 10, 15, 16, 17, and 18). The lowest exposure to PM2.5 was found to be in districts 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8. Conclusion: It can be concluded that Kriging method can predict spatial variations of PM2.5 more accurately than IDW method.

Aptasensors for Point-of-Care Detection of Small Molecules.

Aptamers, a group of nucleic acids which can specifically bind to a target molecule, have drawn extensive interest over the past few decades. For analytics, aptamers represent a viable alternative to gold-standard antibodies due to their oligonucleic nature combined with advantageous properties, including higher stability in harsh environments and longer shelf-life. Indeed, over the last decade, aptamers have been used in numerous bioanalytical assays and in various point-of-care testing (POCT) platforms. The latter allows for rapid on-site testing and can be performed outside a laboratory by unskilled labor. Aptamer technology for POCT is not limited just to medical diagnostics; it can be used for a range of applications, including environmental monitoring and quality control. In this review, we critically examine the use of aptamers in POCT with an emphasis on their advantages and limitations. We also examine the recent success of aptasensor technology and how these findings pave the way for the analysis of small molecules in POCT and other health-related applications. Finally, the current major limitations of aptamers are discussed, and possible approaches for overcoming these challenges are presented.