Environmental Management Technology Research Articles

Enhancing Decision Making and Decarbonation in Environmental Management: A Review on the Role of Digital Technologies

As global concerns about climate change intensify, the need for effective strategies to reduce carbon emissions, has never been more urgent. This review paper explores the crucial role of digital technologies (i.e., data automation (DA) and decision support systems (DSSs)) in enhancing decision making and achieving a ZERONET initiative (decarbonation efforts) within the realms of solid waste management (SWM), wastewater treatment (WWT), and contaminated soil remediation (CSR). Specifically, the paper provides (a) an overview of the carbon footprint (CFP) in relation to environmental management (EM) and the role of DA and DSS in decarbonization; (b) case studies in areas of SWM, WWT, and CSR in relation to the use of (i) digital technology; ((ii) life cycle assessment (LCA)-based DSS; and (iii) multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA)-based DSS; and (c) optimal contractual delivery method-based DSS case studies in EM practices. This review concludes that the adoption of DA and DSSs in SWM, WWT, and CSR holds significant potential for enhancing decision making and decarbonizing EM processes. By optimizing operations, enhancing resource efficiency, and integrating renewable energy sources, smart EM technologies can contribute to a reduction in GHG emissions and the promotion of sustainable EM practices. As the demand for more effective and eco-friendly solutions grows, the role of DA and DSSs will become increasingly pivotal in achieving global decarbonization goals.

Deciphering the Role of Microbial Extracellular and Intracellular Organic Matter in Antibiotic Photodissipation: Molecular and Fluorescent Profiling under Natural Radiation.

This study addresses existing gaps in understanding the specific involvement of dissolved organic matter (DOM) fractions in antibiotic photolysis, particularly under natural conditions and during DOM photobleaching. Employing fluorescent, chemical, and molecular analysis techniques, it explores the impact of extracellular and intracellular organic matter (EOM and IOM) on the photodissipation of multiclass antibiotics, coupled with DOM photobleaching under natural solar radiation. Key findings underscore the selective photobleaching of DOM fractions, propelled by distinct chemical profiles, influencing DOM-mediated antibiotic photolysis. Notably, lipid-like substances dominate in the IOM, while lignin-like substances prevail in the EOM, each uniquely responding to sunlight and exhibiting selective photobleaching. Sunlight primarily targets fulvic acid-like lignin components in EOM, contrasting the initial changes observed in tryptophan-like lipid substances in IOM. The lower photolability of EOM, attributed to its rich unsaturated compounds, contributes to an enhanced rate of indirect antibiotic photolysis (0.339-1.402 h-1) through reactive intermediates. Conversely, the abundance of aliphatic compounds in IOM, despite it being highly photolabile, exhibits a lower mediation of antibiotic photolysis (0.067-1.111 h-1). The triplet state excited 3DOM* plays a pivotal role in the phototransformation and toxicity decrease of antibiotics, highlighting microbial EOM's essential role as a natural aquatic photosensitizer for water self-purification. These findings enhance our understanding of DOM dynamics in aquatic systems, particularly in mitigating antibiotic risks, and introduce innovative strategies in environmental management and water treatment technologies.

Environmental Management Technologies, Environmental Policy Stringency, Energy Productivity and Pollution Emission: Fresh Evidence from Indonesia under STIRPAT Framework

The rapid pace of climate change and global warming has become an ever growing challenge all over the world. Global warming and carbon concentrations can be mitigated by adopting strict environmental policies and effective management of the environment. Therefore, the study aims to empirically investigate the effect of environmental policy stringency (EPS), energy productivity and environmental management technologies (EMT) on pollution emission in Indonesia- one of the most polluting countries of the world. To this end, the study collects data over the 1990 to 2020 period. The study uses Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL) approach to carry out empirical estimation. The findings reveal that environmental management technologies, energy productivity and environmental policy stringency had negative impact on CO2 emission. However, economic growth (GDP) and urbanization had positive role in increasing CO2 emission in the long run and the short run. On the basis of the outcomes, the study recommends that Indonesia should adopt strict environmental policies and legislations to mitigate environmental deterioration. Indonesian government is recommended to promote the adoption of environmental management technologies by providing substantial incentives and investment opportunities for businesses.

Bacterial carbonic anhydrase-induced carbonates mitigate soil erosion in biological soil crusts

Soil erosion is a significant environmental issue worldwide, particularly in island regions where land resources are exceedingly scarce. Biological soil crusts play a crucial role in mitigating soil erosion, yet the precise effect and mechanism of biological soil crusts against erosion remain ambiguous. In this study, biological soil crusts at various developmental stages from a tropical coral island in the South China Sea were chosen to investigate the role of carbonic anhydrase in mitigating erosion. A cohesive strength meter, real-time quantitative PCR, and 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing were employed to assess variations in soil antiscouribility as well as bacterial abundance and composition during the formation and development of biological soil crusts. Scanning electron microscopy was utilized to detect carbonates induced by bacterial carbonic anhydrase and elucidate their role in the solidification of sand particles. The findings indicate that the formation and development of biological soil crusts significantly enhance anti-scouribility. Comparison to those of bare coral sand, the shear stress increased from 0.35 to 1.11 N/m2 in the dark biocrusts. Moreover, significantly elevated carbonic anhydrase activity was observed in biological soil crusts, demonstrating a positive correlation with antiscouribility. In addition, there was a significant increase in bacterial abundance within the biological soil crusts. The enrichment of Cyanobacteriales and Chloroflexales potentially contributed to the increased carbonic anhydrase activity and antiscouribility. Furthermore, three cyanobacterial strains with carbonic anhydrase activity were isolated from biological soil crusts and subsequently confirmed to enhance sand solidification through microbial carbonate precipitation. This study presents initial evidence for the role of microbial carbonic anhydrase in enhancing the antiscouribility of biological soil crusts during their formation and development. These findings offer novel insights into the functional and mechanistic dimensions underlying the mitigation of soil erosion facilitated by biological soil crusts, which are valuable for implementing sustainable biorestoration and environmental management technologies to prevent soil erosion.

Green Supply Chain Management Research Trends and Linkages to UN Sustainable Development Goals

Growing awareness about environmental responsibility among businesses and policymakers has increased interest in Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM). For the first time, using the SDG mapping algorithms, this article focused on 7009 publications from 2013 to 2022 mapped explicitly to 17 SDGs. This study uses bibliometric and science mapping techniques to create a detailed mapping between GSCM research and SDGs. This study created an SDG citation network to show how specific SDGs are related to GSCM practices. The most mapped SDGs in this study are SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 17 (Partnership for the Goals). Our results showed that GSCM research mainly focuses on three thematic areas: industry 4.0 and sustainable supply chains, GSCM practice coordination, and sustainable environmental policy management. This also includes integrating the circular economy into GSCM, sustainable sourcing, supply chain resilience, digital transformation in GSCM for better environmental performance, and the social impact of GSCM. A shift towards integrating sustainability into supply chain processes has been found. Environmental management, performance monitoring, and new technologies like Industry 4.0 and AI have been used to support the SDGs. International interest and collaboration in GSCM research can be seen from the bibliographic coupling study covering countries like Europe, Western Countries, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe. This study shows how GSCM can directly address global challenges identified by the United Nations by mapping GSCM research to specific SDGs.

The 6th International Symposium on Sustainable Urban Development (The 6th ISoSUD) 2023

The International Symposium on Sustainable Urban Development (ISoSUD) is a series of international activities organized by the Faculty of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Technology, Universitas Trisakti, Jakarta. The event is held once every 3 (three) years with themes related to current issues regarding sustainable urban development, in particular related to urban environmental management and environmental technologies. The activity aims to facilitate academics to publish their research results in order to enhance their scientific expertise as researchers.The 6th ISoSUD in 2023 carried the theme “From Recovery To Resilience: Building A Sustainable Future For A Better Life” which means this symposium will focus on how we can recover from the difficult times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and build a better future and sustainable. This theme also shows the importance of building resilience in facing future challenges, whether related to climate change, economic policies, or other social problems.The COVID-19 pandemic that swept the world in the last four years has had a significant impact on human health, the global economy, and the daily lives of people around the world. It will take the concerted efforts of all countries and peoples to overcome this pandemic and rebuild the world after it. This pandemic underscores the need for global efforts to strengthen health systems, enhance societal resilience, strengthen international cooperation, and accelerate action to achieve sustainable development goals and combat climate change. This crisis provides an opportunity to make significant changes in the way we view and manage our economic and social activities and to create a world that is more sustainable and fairer for all people and our planet. Now is the time to make a difference, to make a profound systemic shift towards a more sustainable economy for the benefit of our people and our planet. In other words, now is the right time to undertake significant transformations in existing economic and social systems, which can help sustainably achieve the SDGs and fight climate change to ensure a better future for people and our planet. Overall, post-pandemic recovery must be based on the principles of sustainable development contained in the SDGs. By integrating the SDG goals into our recovery policies and actions, we can create a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient future for our people and the world.The 6th ISoSUD was held in the hybrid conference:a. Day 1, on Wednesday, August 2nd, 2023, at Building M, 12th floor, Universitas Trisakti, Jakarta, Indonesia. There were 130 participants offline and 170 participants on the Zoom platform in the plenary session.b. On day 2, on Thursday, August 3rd, 2023, using the Zoom meeting facility, 270 participants attended virtually on Day 2.In this two-day International Symposium, experts, researchers, and academician shared their valuable insights and research findings. These esteemed presenters hail from 58 universities and institutions in Filipina, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Singapura, and Taiwan, reflecting the symposium’s diverse and inclusive nature. The call paper system that has been used since the first ISoSUD in 2008 succeeded in inviting 165 manuscripts (more than 400 authors) that were presented offline and virtually. Then, 136 from 165 papers were selected further to be published in IOP Proceedings Indexed by Scopus. After another review process, 106 manuscripts were published in IOP EES. To improve the quality of the manuscripts, the organizing committee held a Coaching Clinic for Scientific Paper Writing on June 24th, 2023. Prof. Mohamad Ali Fulazzaky, Ph.D, delivered the coaching clinic.The 6th ISoSUD 2023 involved co-host universities consisting of five from within the country and four from abroad: Universitas Jember (UNEJ), Jember, Indonesia; Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII), Yogyakarta, Indonesia; Universitas Pasundan (UNPAS), Bandung, Indonesia; Institut Teknologi Sepuluh November (ITS), Surabaya, Indonesia; Universitas Indonesia (UI), Jakarta, Indonesia; Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Malaysia; Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), Malaysia; The University of Kitakyushu, Japan; Chung Yuan Christian University (CYCU), Taiwan. During the class presentation session, a presentation from the participants representing the 6th ISoSUD co-host was carried out. Besides that, The 6th ISoSUD 2023 was supported as well by the Indonesian Society of Sanitary and Environment Engineers (IATPI), which has continuously supported our symposium since 2008. And sponsored by PT Enviro Cipta Lestari.List of International Advisory Board, Scientific Committee, Organizing Committee are available in this pdf.

FACTORS INFLUENCING ADOPTION OF AGROFORESTRY FARMING SYSTEM AS A MEANS FOR SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION METHOD IN JERE LGA, BORNO STATE, NIGERIA

Farmers were exposed to agroforestry but did not adopt the system due to some perceived factors. However, unless they adopt agroforestry farming system, the potential benefits of the technology for livelihood improvement and sustainable environmental management will not be realized. Thus, this study was carried out to assess the factors influencing adoption of agroforestry farming systems as a means for sustainable environmental conservation method in Jere L.G.A of Borno State. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select the respondents for this study. A total of one hundred and twenty (120) respondents interviewed for the study. Data were collected using structured questionnaires. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics which include fre­quency distributions, means, and percentages. The ordered logistic regression was used to estimate the factors influencing the adoption of agroforestry as a means of sustainable conservation practices by farmers in the study area. The result revealed that majority of the farmers were aware of agroforestry mostly through their farmers’ association. The major factors that positively influenced adoption of agroforestry include gender, household size, extension services and farming experience. Despite the numerous benefits of agroforestry to environmental conservation, farmers were constrained by land fragmentation possibly due to inheritance, inadequate nurseries where seeds/seedlings can be accessed, inadequate incentives and poor government policies, poor access to extension services, inadequate capital, long gestation period of trees, damage caused by animals/humans, limited use of machineries and unavailability of labour. It was recommended that land fragmentation should be discouraged, extension services, seedlings and incentives should also be provided to farmers in the study area to encourage and motivate them to go into agroforestry farming to sustain environmental conservation in the area.

How do Medium-Sized Companies Decide on Technology Adoption for Environmental Management?

The adoption of environmental management technologies in medium-sized companies is influenced by various strategic, operational, and environmental factors. This study aims to explore the qualitative aspects of decision-making processes related to the adoption of such technologies, providing insights into the roles of internal and external stakeholders and the impact of these technologies on organizational performance. The research employed a qualitative approach, utilizing semi-structured interviews with 19 key stakeholders from medium-sized companies engaged in manufacturing, energy, and waste management. These interviews were designed to reach theoretical saturation and were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify key themes and categories relevant to technology adoption for environmental management. Four main themes were identified: Decision-Making Process, Influencing Factors, Stakeholder Roles, and Outcomes and Benefits. Under these themes, several categories emerged, such as Stakeholder Influence, Evaluation Criteria, Adoption Barriers, Technology Sourcing, Environmental Impact, Regulatory Compliance, Competitive Advantage, Internal and External Stakeholder roles, and the various environmental, organizational, and financial benefits of adopting technologies. The study concludes that the decision to adopt environmental management technologies in medium-sized companies is complex and influenced by a mix of internal strategic goals and external pressures. Effective adoption can lead to significant environmental, organizational, and financial benefits, but is often hindered by barriers like financial constraints and technological complexity.

Sustainable Infrastructure with Smart Technology for Energy and Environmental Management

Editorial Material, Karthiga Shenbagam NLife on this planet has been undergoing severe challenges owing to the rampant anomalies in the natural climate and ecosystem getting modified by human interventions at multitudes of scales. It is inevitable to admit that we have compromised in maintaining global sustainability during the process of ever-satiating quench for better life comforts. There is a much wanted look-back, get corrections and move forward to ensure the real implementations of sustainability principles in every walk of our life. The concept of sustainable infrastructure envisions inclusive growth for design, development and delivery of the services and products. It is imperative to adopt environmental stewardship for conscious and responsible consumption of natural resources to build sustainable enterprises. Technology has a crucial role in enabling to achieve the audacious goals by promoting institutionalization and large-scale influence in the lifestyle. There are many promising technological inventions happening in the field of infrastructure development to integrate the smartness in functionality and ease in adoption that corroborate with conservative measures on energy and environment.At the current scenario, there are more suitable ways of building construction which is no longer a personal choice of matter and there are more suitable sectors newly introduced that improves the infrastructure. A sustainable construction takes into account the natural resources, their environmental impact and the risks that reduce people’s safety. In building construction eco-friendly materials known as low carbon concrete are those that reduces the amount of carbon di oxide produced during the production, placing and maintenance actions.SISTEEM 2022 aims to gather scholars, researchers from all over the world and provide a platform to review the contributions and accomplishments in the field of Civil Engineering in the last few years and draw an agenda for the future course of action keeping the national and global needs in the forefront. This conference will also provide an ideal environment to develop new collaborations and meet experts on the fundamentals, applications, and products of the mentioned fields.List of committees are available in this Pdf.

The impact of financial risk on green innovation: Global evidence

This research examines the effects of financial risk on green innovations by adopting the panel Poisson model for 99 countries. We employ environmental management innovations as a proxy for green innovations and financial risk index as the main explanatory variable, documenting strong evidence that financial risk presents significantly negative impacts on green innovations by decreasing patent applications related to environmental management technologies. Moreover, we conclude that increased financial risk hinders a country's performance of green innovation by restricting foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and foreign trade. Lastly, financial risk considerably affects the development of green innovation in democracy nations and countries with low political risk, but not in non-democracy countries and countries with high political risk. In light of this, our research should help policymakers in many nations develop workable currency and valuable policies from the perspective of financial risk for enhancing their green innovation level and sustainable development.

Characterization and applicability of novel alkali–tolerant carbonatogenic bacteria as environment-friendly bioconsolidants for management of concrete structures and soil erosion

Cracking and erosion are critical factors that reduce the mechanical properties and stability of concrete structures and soil, respectively. They are recognized worldwide as severe disasters causing the collapse of many structures including stone heritage and dams, and landslides. Therefore, it is essential to propose effective and environment-friendly management methods to prevent them. Carbonatogenesis has recently received considerable attention as a reliable biological process for remediating cracks in calcareous structures, stabilizing loose soils, and sequestering CO2 in the environment. Isolating and characterizing carbonatogenic bacteria with excellent performance is crucial for applying this process to the field of environmental and civil engineering. The aim of this study was to isolate new CaCO3–precipitating bacteria and investigate various properties for their use as bioconsolidants. Furthermore, the possibility of restoring damaged structures and stabilizing loose sandy soil using isolated strain was investigated. Strain LC13 with urease and CaCO3–precipitating activity was isolated from limestone cave soil in Korea and identified as Arthrobacter sulfureus by phenotypic characterization and 16S rRNA gene analysis. Although cell growth was observed after an adaptation period at pH 11, strain LC13 grew well at pH 7–11, indicating alkali tolerance. The optimal conditions for CaCO3 precipitation were 1.0% yeast extract, 2.5% urea, 0.35% NaHCO3, and 400 mM CaCl2, with an initial pH of 6.5 at 30 °C. Under optimized conditions, maximal CaCO3 (22.92 ± 0.14 g/l) precipitated after 3 days, which was 10.8–fold higher than the value in a urea–CaCl2 medium. CaCO3 precipitation by strain LC13 was associated with an increased pH due to ureolysis and protein deamination. Using an optimized medium as a cementation solution, strain LC13 completely remediated 340–760 μm wide cracks over 3 days, and also restored the spalling of concrete surfaces. Furthermore, the sand treated with LC13 solidified with a surface strength of 14.9 kPa. Instrumental analysis confirmed that the crystals precipitated were a mixture of CaCO3 polymorphs composed of rhombohedral calcite and spherical vaterite. These results suggest that A. sulfureus LC13 may be useful for implementing sustainable biorestoration and environmental management technologies such as the in situ remediation of structural cracks and in situ prevention of soil erosion.

Sustainable circularity and intelligent data-driven operations and control of the wastewater treatment plant

Rapid urbanization, population increase, emerging contaminants and increasing water scarcity have put a major constraint on the wastewater treatment system. Scarcity of water is steering current way of water recycle, and the drive focus towards resource recovery. Zero waste pathway in circular bioeconomy can bring transformation of wastewater commercialization by adding value with resource recovery. The complex biological reactions, unforeseen microbial behaviours, lack of reliable on-line instrumentation, complex modelling, lack of visualize techniques, low-quality industrial measurements and highly time-varying intensive data-driven operations call for the intelligence techniques and operations. The study is a review of sustainable circularity and intelligent data-driven operations and control of the wastewater treatment plant. Water surveillance and monitoring, circular economy and sustainability, automation pyramid, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, data pipeline, digital twin, data mining, and data-driven visualization, cyber-physical systems and water-energy-health management were reviewed. The deployment of the digital systems has evidently proven to bridges the gap between the data-driven soft sensor, operation and control systems in WWTP. Accurate prediction of the WWTP variables can support process design and control, reduce operation cost, improve system reliability, predictive maintenance and troubleshooting, increase water quality, increase stakeholder's engagement and endorse optimization of the plant performance. This procures the best compliance with international standards and diversification. The inclusion of life cycle environmental or cost management technologies in optimization models is an interesting pathway towards sustainable water treatment in-line with sustainable development goals, circular bioeconomy and industry 4.0.

Catalytic supercritical water gasification of black liquor along with lignocellulosic biomass

Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) is a novel technology for environmental pollution management and hydrogen production from biomass and wastes. In this study, the SCWG of black liquor (BL) which is high-potential biomass and rich in alkalis was investigated. The experiments were conducted in a batch reactor at 350–400 °C, reaction time of 1–60 min, and constant concentration of 9 wt% of BL in the absence and presence of heterogeneous catalysts (3–5 wt%), lignocellulosic biomass, and formic acid (5 and 7 wt %) in three parts. First, the SCWG of BL was performed without any additive. The experimental results showed that the maximum production of H2, CO2, and CH4 was obtained at the highest temperature and reaction time; 400 °C and 60 min. The hydrogen yield was also enhanced by increasing the temperature, and reached 3.51 mol H2/kg dry ash free-black liquor (DAF-BL) at 400 °C. Reaction time increment improved the gas product and gasification efficiency up to 28.03 mmol and 21.73%, respectively. Subsequently, three heterogeneous catalysts (MnO2, CuO, and TiO2) were used, however 5 wt% of MnO2 was the best catalyst, significantly improving the hydrogen yield compared to the same condition of BL gasification without a catalyst. Hydrogen yield reached 5.09 mol H2/kg (DAF-BL) at 400 °C and the reaction time of 10 min. Finally, BL with poplar wood residue as a lignocellulosic biomass and formic acid was gasified separately and the highest hydrogen yield was obtained in the case of 5 wt% of formic acid (10.79 mol H2/kg (DAF-BL)). Overally, SCWG dramatically reduced the chemical oxygen demand of BL to 76% using 5 wt% of formic acid.

An Assessment of Green Rural Road Criteria and Elements for My Green Rural Road Index: A Case Study in Pengerang, Johor

The rural road networks were built to connect the rural people to the town area or to other destination required by the local residents. Normally the rural roads will be developed to connect or increase the socio-economic opportunity in rural area. The green road is one of the key areas that can be look into to create the sustainable concept based on three key aspects namely social, environmental and economic factors. The main focus of the economy aspect is to increase the profits using more efficient resources, especially materials, improving the quality of life by meeting the national needs of social aspects and protecting the environment from the effects of CO2 emissions and efficient use of natural resources for environmental aspects. Therefore, it is important that stakeholders include sustainability criteria in their projects. The application of a sustainable concept on the road can be assessed by the green road evaluation tool. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to build tools to evaluate and declare green rural roads in Malaysia. The data for this study were gathered through group discussions with road construction experts and distributed questionnaires to identify sustainability factors. Then the data were analysed by factor analysis method using SPSS software. Based on the result, there are five main sustainable criteria: Sustainable Design and Construction, Social and Safety, Energy Efficiency, Environmental and Water Management and Materials and Technology that are included in the development of the green road qualification system. The analysis indicates that the social and safety become the prime criteria among other criteria.

Mitigation in erosion control and management of ex-mining water through revegetation and sustainable environmental management technologies

In the open-pit mining system that is being carried out by a company in the mining sector with gold and silver commodities, PT Citra Palu Minerals, land clearing can cause soil erosion which can lead to soil sedimentation, increased turbidity of water that will be released into the environment and potential entry soil eroded into the tailings pond at the Dry Tailing Management Facility (DTMF). Therefore, further action is needed to control erosion and sedimentation as well as water management so that the water to be released into the environment is following environmental quality standards that have been set by the government. Before determining and controlling erosion, it is necessary to know the rate of erosion that occurs at the research location, in this study the USLE (Universal Soil Loss Equation) method was used to predict the rate of erosion with the results obtained, namely 17.07 tonnes/ha on the North DTMF slopes and 21.04 tonnes/ha for DTMF South slopes. To reduce the rate of erosion, it is necessary to control erosion by revegetation of the land, create a water drainage system to the sedimentation pond and treat the collected water using biophytoremediation of land with the use of chemicals to accelerate the deposition process, constructed swamp forest to the latest sustainable technology recommended by the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (LIPI).

Teknologi Wet Process Sebagai Upaya Mereduksi Kadar Air dalam Proses Produksi Kopi (Studi kasus: Dusun Sumbercandik, Desa Panduman, Kec. Jelbuk, Kab. Jember)

Coffee is one of the smallholder plantation commodities whose productivity development is quite potential and has a major influence on the development of the Jember District, especially the northern part of Jember. This research on coffee quality improvement using wet process technology was conducted at the Sukma Elang coffee farmer group in Sumbercandik, Panduman Village, Jelbuk Sub-district, Jember District. This research is one of the strategies to promote Jember products, especially in the field of coffee plantations as an effort to use environmental management technology in the Sumbercandik coffee plantation area. People's coffee in Jember still needs to be fostered in its cultivation, so the role of appropriate environmental management technology is very much needed. Wet process processing technology is one solution to increase optimal results with better quality. Coffee processing with wet process technology produces coffee beans with better quality and can be done on a small scale (farmer level). The purpose of this study is to improve the quality of the coffee beans produced so as to produce high economic value using wet process environmental management technology. The method used in this research was the collection of primary and secondary data. The harvesting equipment used was done by recording the type of harvesting equipment used in the coffee harvesting process in the garden. Analysis of research data includes testing the physical quality of coffee beans which is carried out referring to SNI No. 01-2907-2008. The results showed that wet process coffee processing technology could improve the physical quality and taste of coffee beans. However, further guidance is still needed on optimizing production through escort and group assistance in producing further coffee.

Intercomparison of O<sub>2</sub> ∕ N<sub>2</sub> ratio scales among AIST, NIES, TU, and SIO based on a round-robin exercise using gravimetric standard mixtures

Abstract. A study was conducted to compare the δ(O2/N2) scales used by four laboratories engaged in atmospheric δ(O2/N2) measurements. These laboratories are the Research Institute for Environmental Management Technology, Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (EMRI/AIST); the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES); Tohoku University (TU); and Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO). Therefore, five high-precision standard mixtures for the O2 molar fraction gravimetrically prepared by the National Metrology Institute of Japan, AIST (NMIJ/AIST) with a standard uncertainty of less than 5 per meg (0.001 ‰) were used as round-robin standard mixtures. EMRI/AIST, NIES, TU, and SIO reported the analyzed values of the standard mixtures on their own δ(O2/N2) scales, and the values were compared with the δ(O2/N2) values gravimetrically determined by NMIJ/AIST (the NMIJ/AIST scale). The δ(O2/N2) temporal drift in the five standard mixtures during the intercomparison experiment from May 2017 to March 2020 was corrected based on the δ(O2/N2) values analyzed before and after the laboratory measurements by EMRI/AIST. The scales are compared based on offsets in zero and span. The relative span offsets of EMRI/AIST, TU, NIES, and SIO scales against the NMIJ/AIST scale were -0.11%±0.10%, -0.10%±0.13%, 3.39 %±0.13 %, and 0.93 %±0.10 %, respectively. The largest offset corresponded to a 0.30 Pg yr−1 decrease and increase in global estimates for land biospheric and oceanic CO2 uptakes based on trends in atmospheric CO2 and δ(O2/N2). The deviations in the measured δ(O2/N2) values on the laboratory scales from the NMIJ/AIST scale are 65.8±2.2, 425.7±3.1, 404.5±3.0, and 596.4±2.4 per meg for EMRI/AIST, TU, NIES, and SIO, respectively. The difference between atmospheric δ(O2/N2) values observed at Hateruma Island (HAT; 24.05∘ N, 123.81∘ E), Japan, by EMRI/AIST and NIES were reduced from -329.3±6.9 to -6.6±6.8 per meg by converting their scales to the NMIJ/AIST scale.

Influenza Vaccination Challenges for Hospital Employees in the COVID Era: Experience of a Veterans Affairs Medical Center

BackgroundThe Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends all healthcare personnel receive an annual influenza vaccination. Many challenges exist in achieving this goal, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as, employees working remotely and social distancing rules. In prior years we executed fixed-internal point of distribution (POD) vaccination events. Last year we implemented a highly successful fixed-external Drive-Thru POD. Drive-Thru PODs can be safe and effective approaches to employee vaccination during a pandemic.MethodsA 90-minute drive-thru Flu POD was accomplished from 7am-8:30am at the main employee Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center entrance. Social distancing, masking was enforced. VA-Police directed traffic at the checkpoint into two lanes; flu shot, and non-flu shot lanes. Employees were directed to drive to one of ten tables each staffed with two nurses; Employees received their vaccination while remaining in their vehicle. Employee safety was of paramount concern; weather conditions, rain date, traffic control, location were all predetermined. Coordinating services included: VA-Police, Emergency Management, VA-Fire Department, Public Affairs, Logistics, Nursing, Pharmacy, Environmental Management, and Information Technology for promoting this event.ResultsOn October 7th 385 employees received the flu vaccine compared to 290 in 2019. The event yielded a rate of 427 doses administered per 100 minutes compared to 322 in 2019, and only 15 per 100 minutes during internal flu POD 2018-19. This well-planned event was convenient, safe, and efficient without unintended consequences. The employees appreciated the ease, accommodation, and safety provided during this event.ConclusionsOur drive-thru POD event during COVID-19 was even more successful than the year's prior. Its improved time/vaccine ratio for employee flu vaccine administration and effective project management resulted in a well-organized, streamlined process and higher employee satisfaction. This innovative strategy can be utilized as an emergency-response vaccination plan especially during a pandemic, and the basis for planning a COVID-19 vaccine distribution model.

An environmental management technology for the processing of American aloe fibers using xylano-pectinolytic enzymes.

The objective of this research was to find out the potential of bioscouring using xylano-pectinolytic enzymes, for degumming of aloe fibers. Bioscouring was optimized with 1 : 20 fiber to buffer ratio, using 10 IU xylanase and 3.2 IU pectinase in 50 mM buffer (pH 8.5), EDTA (3 mM), and Tween 80 (1%), at 50°C temperature with agitation rate of 50 rpm and treatment period of 60 min. Enzymatic treatment of aloe fibers increased brightness and whiteness by 55.67% and 24.88%, respectively and decreased yellowness by 44.11% as compared to alkaline fiber scouring, thereby replacing chemical scouring completely. Additionally, the pretreatment of aloe fibers with enzymes resulted in a 50% less consumption of bleaching chemicals with similar optical properties as obtained by 100% bleaching. This is the first report showing the eco-friendly bioscouring approach of aloe fibers, using enzymes produced concurrently from a bacterial isolate.

Environmental and economic consequences of pig-cooling strategies implemented in a European pig-fattening unit

Abstract The increased frequency of hot days due to climate change can potentially impair the environmental and economic performance of pig-fattening farms. Several pig-cooling strategies have been proposed to address these impacts, however their implementation is not always economically viable and the potential environmental-economic trade-offs not well understood. Here, we propose and implement a novel framework for environmental and economic evaluation of pig-cooling strategies in a whole farm context. We also demonstrate through a sensitivity analysis how such models can be integrated with projected climate data to investigate how climate change may affect the assessment of capital investments that are made over significant timescales. We considered two strategies implemented in a pig-fattening farm in south Sweden: pig-cooling with showers and with increased air velocity. Operation of the farm under non-cooling conditions was considered as the baseline system against which the analysis was conducted. We calculated whole-farm annual equivalent values (AEV) with the implementation of each strategy through a discounted cash flow analysis and annualised system environmental impact through a life cycle assessment. Both cooling strategies significantly reduced system environmental impact across all categories except water footprint. Acidification potential was reduced the most, exhibiting a −3.28% reduction with pig showers and −1.51% with increased air velocity. Farm profitability improved by +6.79% with showers and +3.37% with increased air velocity. Ambient temperature increase under non-cooling conditions significantly increased all impact categories with acidification being affected the most (+2.24%), and caused a −4.43% decrease in AEV. Both pig-cooling strategies mitigated these effects on system environmental performance. With increased air velocity we observed a +0.718% increase in acidification, while pig showers were the more resilient option exhibiting a +0.690% increase. The study represents a case-in-point for how to rationalise economically environmental management technologies in pig housing systems based on their cost-effectiveness in mitigating environmental impacts.