Resource Recovery Research Articles (Page 5)

Urban sustainability requires innovative approaches that simultaneously address resource efficiency, waste reduction, and behavioural change. This study critically examines the role of behavioural nudges in promoting circular economy practices within urban contexts, synthesising insights from behavioural economics, industrial ecology, and urban governance literature. The research highlights how choice architecture, defaults, and framing can influence urban residents’ consumption and disposal behaviours, particularly in waste management, repair initiatives, and resource recovery programmes. Case studies from diverse municipal contexts illustrate both the potential and limitations of nudges, emphasising that short-term behavioural shifts do not automatically translate into long-term environmental gains. Quantitative evidence on resource savings, waste reduction rates, and behavioural persistence underscores the need for system-level integration, linking nudges with infrastructure, policy, and financial incentives. Importantly, the study identifies critical research gaps, including underexplored cultural contexts, vulnerable populations, and a lack of longitudinal impact assessments, which constrain scalable, equitable interventions. The analysis concludes with policy recommendations for designing integrated nudge systems embedded within urban planning, emphasising participatory design, equity, and sustainability metrics. This was achieved by combining behavioural insights with circular economy principles. The study provides a framework for evidence-based interventions that enhance urban resource efficiency, foster pro-environmental behaviour, and support the transition toward resilient and inclusive cities. This research contributes to both academic knowledge and practical policy by outlining pathways for sustainable, long-term urban transformation.

The term Environmental Biotechnology is widely used, but lacks a universally accepted definition, with varying interpretations across disciplines and sectors leading to challenges in funding, policy formulation, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Through a literature review and engagement activities, this study examines existing definitions, identifies key areas of divergence, and explores pathways toward a more cohesive understanding. Findings reveal a spectrum of valid interpretations, often shaped by specific contexts, with researchers generally recognising a shared conceptual framework within their own subfields but encountering ambiguities across subject boundaries. Common points of difference include whether Environmental Biotechnology is restricted to microorganisms or encompasses other biological systems. Some understandings reflect sector-specific needs, contributing to fragmentation, though a broader approach could strengthen the field’s identity by providing a unifying framework, mapping overlaps with related fields such as Industrial Biotechnology. A working definition is proposed for Environmental Biotechnology as the use of biologically mediated systems for environmental protection and bioremediation, incorporating resource recovery and bioenergy production where these enhance system sustainability. Importantly, it was recognised that any definition must remain adaptable, reflecting the evolving nature of both the science and its applications.

The rapid growth of solar energy as a renewable resource has led to a significant increase in discarded solar panels. Recycling their glass components, especially fine cullet fragments, remains a major challenge due to impurity levels and processing limitations. This study proposes a sustainable approach to recycle solar panel glass cullet into high-purity silica nanoparticles using alkali fusion followed by acid precipitation. Process conditions including cullet to NaOH ratio, fusion temperature, and surfactant addition were optimized. The highest silica yield of 60.26% was achieved at a 1:1.4 cullet to NaOH ratio and 500℃. Polyethylene glycol (PEG 1000) was used as a surfactant to reduce agglomeration and enhancing surface characteristics. BET analysis showed that PEG addition increased the specific surface area to 372.34 m2∙g‒1 and formed a compact mesoporous structure with an average pore size of 8.91 nm. In comparison, samples without PEG exhibited a larger pore size of 12.36 nm and a lower surface area of 360.24 m2∙g‒1. EDX confirmed the high purity of the synthesized silica, with 95.12% SiO2. These findings demonstrate a practical and environmentally beneficial method to convert problematic solar panel waste into valuable nanomaterials, supporting sustainable resource recovery and circular economy goals.

Selective ion separations are central to technologies spanning water purification, resource recovery, and clean energy. Conventional polymer membranes, which rely on steric hindrance or Donnan exclusion, struggle to discriminate between chemically similar ions in high-ionic-strength environments. Ligand-functionalized membranes offer a transformative strategy by embedding molecular recognition directly into polymer matrices, enabling selective complexation and transport. This Viewpoint highlights the structure-function relationships underlying ligand-mediated ion separation, emphasizing the interplay of dehydration penalties, ligand coordination, and nanoscale confinement. We discuss design principles, denticity, donor identity, rigidity, and spatial organization, alongside the permeability-selectivity trade-off, multicomponent effects, and stability challenges. Finally, we outline emerging strategies, from bioinspired ligands to computationally guided design, that chart a path toward next-generation membranes for precise and energy-efficient ion separations.

To address circularity and resource recovery in modern structural applications, industry is seeking materials that are sustainable and lightweight. Although natural fiber-reinforced composites offer sustainability advantages, their mechanical properties remain inferior to those of synthetic fiber systems, limiting practical deployment. Flax fibers were selected as reinforcement due to their high specific stiffness, biodegradability, and wide availability. This study implements a three-level strategy to enhance the flexural performance of flax fiber-reinforced composites: at the process level, curing under distinct heating rates to promote a more uniform polymer network; at the material level, incorporation of a carbonaceous additive derived from fuel–oil furnace waste to strengthen interfacial adhesion; and at the structural level, adoption of a sandwich configuration with a recycled PET core to increase section bending inertia. Specimens were fabricated via vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) and tested using a three-point bending method. Mechanical testing shows clear improvements in flexural performance, with the sandwich architecture yielding the highest values and increasing flexural strength by up to 4.52 × relative to the other conditions. For the curing series, FTIR indicates greater reaction extent, evidenced by lower intensities of the epoxide ring at 915 cm−1 and glycidyl/oxirane band near 972 cm−1, together with a more pronounced C–O–C stretching region, consistent with the higher flexural response. While SEM observations revealed interfacial debonding at 5% FCB, a hybrid mechanism with crack deflection appeared at 10%. This transition created tortuous crack paths, consistent with the higher flexural strength and modulus at 10% FCB. A distinctive feature of this work is the integration of three reinforcement strategies—controlled curing, waste-derived carbon additive, and recycled PET sandwich design. This integration not only enhances the performance of natural fiber composites but also emphasizes sustainability by valorizing recycled and waste-derived resources, thereby supporting the development of greener composite materials.

Waste management in Khun Thale Subdistrict faces significant challenges, with inefficient sorting systems leading to missed resource recovery opportunities. This study employed Human-Centered Design methodology to develop and implement innovative waste management solutions through the "SDG Station" project. Waste composition analysis revealed that paper waste (38%), plastic (30%), and organic waste (17%) were the primary components in general areas, whereas flea market waste consisted predominantly of organic matter (73%). The project implemented multiple interconnected systems: a recycling incentive program ("Trash Lucky") that collected 3,434 kg of recyclable materials across three phases; an organic waste processing system that produced 2,052 cubic meters of biogas from 42,634 kg of organic waste; and vermicomposting that generated 485 kg of soil conditioner from 56 kg of waste. Innovative applications included biogas pipeline delivery to food vendors, which reduced cooking costs and created economic benefits for students through mandated food price reductions. Integrating agrivoltaic farming systems enhanced resource utilization through the "Farm to Table" concept. Overall, the project achieved significant greenhouse gas reductions, totaling 23,976.11 kg CO₂eq, and demonstrated alignment with 11 of the Sustainable Development Goals. The implemented waste bank model offers valuable policy frameworks for scaling sustainable waste management practices throughout Thailand.

Each year, hundreds of female koalas are presented to koala hospitals suffering from a range of morbidities, many of which require euthanasia for animal welfare reasons. These koalas represent a possible resource for genetic recovery by means of oocyte retrieval for genome banking or use in assisted reproductive technology. To examine the feasibility of koala oocyte recovery, this study conducted a preliminary survey of follicular activity and disease presence in fixed ovarian tissues from koala cadavers in South East Queensland. Ovarian activity and pathology were assessed by gross examination and histology. Bursal pathology was categorized into koalas with no, small (<10 mm diameter), moderate (10-20 mm diameter), or large (>20 mm diameter) sized bursae, whereas uterine pathology was diagnosed by an experienced reproductive pathologist. Antral follicles were observed in 94.4% of ovaries recovered from koalas with no bursal or uterine pathology (n = 18/44), 95.2% of the ovaries of koalas with bursal but no uterine pathology (n = 11/44), 100% of the ovaries of koalas showing only uterine pathology (n = 4/4) and 89.5% of ovaries from koalas with both bursal and uterine pathology (n = 11/44). Of the fixed ovarian tissue suitable for PCR Chlamydia detection (35/44), none were positive. As proof of concept, oocytes were also collected and evaluated from six koala cadavers within 2 h post-mortem. Although further studies are required to determine the quality and viability of the retrieved koala oocytes, our preliminary survey provides strong evidence that ovarian activity mostly continues unabated, irrespective of reproductive pathology, and that oocytes can be recovered successfully.

Reducing nitrate into ammonium by Fe0-phenolic network with spatiotemporal proton delivery for food sustainability.

In recent years, extreme weather events caused by climate change, such as ice storms, typhoons and earthquakes, have caused increasingly devastating damage to critical energy infrastructure. Emergency mobile resources can be matched with difference distributed power collocation, application fault active isolation, island reconstruction way to ensure the key load supply, however, limited by the distributed power resources under the time and space dimension of volatility, how to fully coordinate emergency mobile resources in power system load recovery has become a key technical problem to be solved. In view of the above problems, this paper proposes a two-disaster load recovery method for emergency mobile resources (Emergency Power Supply, EPS) and distributed power island. First, Put forward the pre-disaster EPS pre-dispatching method with balanced considering the mobile characteristics and operation cost; next, Based on the pre-disaster EPS pre-scheduling method, Establish the primary and secondary double objective functions from the aspects of cutting load and network loss, And normalized to the post-disaster island recovery scheduling model considering the collaborative application of EPS, fixed energy storage and distributed power island; last, Apply the proposed method to fault scenarios under improved IEEE-33 nodes and IEEE-69 nodes. The example shows that the proposed pre-post-disaster two-stage model can obtain the optimal EPS scheduling path and the best island division mode, In contrast to not considering pre-disaster pre-scheduling, It can restore the interrupt load more quickly and efficiently.

Beyond waste to bioactive potential: advances in olive by-product valorization and resource recovery.

Resource recovery from chemical wastes offers significant economic and environmental opportunities. In particular, repurposing recycled materials to construct light-driven oxidant activation systems presents a promising strategy for organic wastewater remediation. However, in such a photo-Fenton-like system, precise regulation of active species remains a major challenge, limiting performance optimization. Here, we propose a sustainable approach using catalysts derived from deteriorated potassium iodide (KI) reagents. Theoretical analyses reveal that I- and I3 - species from degraded KI function as effective redox mediators, generating internal electric fields that substantially lower energy barriers for carrier separation. The resulting catalytic system exhibits outstanding decontamination performance, achieving complete removal of the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole with a pseudo-first-order rate constant of 0.79min-1, representing 3.76- and 79.00-fold enhancements over systems using standard KI and single-based catalysts, respectively. Mechanistic studies confirm the efficient utilization of photogenerated carriers and the selective generation of singlet oxygen through non-radical pathways. Notably, this novel mechanism shows broad applicability across various oxidant activation systems, with the I-/I3 - redox mediator effectively modifying substrate electronic structures to enhance reactive oxidant interactions. This work introduces an innovative strategy for converting chemical wastes into high-value materials, advancing sustainable wastewater treatment, and opening new avenues for resource-efficient chemical applications.

Effectiveness and mechanism of in situ sludge biochar carrier enhancing salt-tolerant bacteria for pyrazolone degradation in high-salinity pharmaceutical wastewater.

The rational delineation of open-pit mining areas constitutes the core foundation for achieving safe, efficient, economical, and sustainable mining operations. The quality of this decision-making directly impacts the economic benefits experienced throughout the mine’s entire lifecycle and the efficiency of resource recovery. Traditional open-pit mining area delineation relies on an experience-driven manual process that is inefficient and incapable of real-time dynamic data optimization. Thus, there is an urgent need to establish an intelligent decision-making model integrating multi-source data and multi-objective optimization. To this end, this study proposes an intelligent mining area division algorithm. First, a geological complexity quantification model is constructed, incorporating innovative adaptive discretisation resolution technology to achieve precise quantification of coal seam distribution. Second, based on the quantified stripping-to-mining ratio within grids, a block-growing algorithm generates block grids, ensuring uniformity of the stripping-to-mining ratio within each block. Subsequently, a matrix of primary directional variations in the stripping-to-mining ratio is constructed to determine the principal orientation for merging blocks into mining areas. Finally, intelligent open-pit mining area delineation is achieved by comprehensively considering factors such as the principal direction of mining areas, geological conditions, boundary shapes, and economic scale. Practical validation was conducted using the Shitoumei No. 1 Open-Pit Coal Mine in Xinjiang as a case study in engineering. Engineering practice demonstrates that adopting this methodology transforms mining area delineation from an experience-driven to a data-driven approach, significantly enhancing delineation efficiency. Manual simulation of a single scheme previously required approximately 15 days. Applying the methodology proposed herein reduces this to just 0.5 days per scheme, representing a 96% increase in efficiency. Design costs were reduced by approximately CNY 190,000 per iteration. Crucially, the intelligently recommended scheme matched the original design, validating the algorithm’s reliability. This research provides crucial support for theoretical and technological innovation in intelligent open-pit coal mining design, offering technical underpinnings for the sustainable development of open-pit coal mines.

The Larimichthys crocea represents a critically important economic marine species in China’s East Yellow Sea. However, its populations have experienced significant decline due to overexploitation. Despite implemented conservation measures—including stock enhancement, spawning ground protection, and seasonal fishing moratoria—the recovery of yellow croaker resources remains markedly slow. To address this, our study employed the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model to evaluate and characterize the habitat selection patterns of Larimichthys crocea, thereby providing a theoretical foundation for scientifically informed stock enhancement and resource recovery strategies. Species occurrence data were compiled from field surveys conducted during April and November (2019–2023), supplemented with records from the GBIF database and peer-reviewed literature. Concurrent environmental variables, including primary productivity, current velocity, depth, temperature, salinity, silicate, nitrate, phosphate, and pH, were obtained from the Copernicus and NOAA databases. After rigorous screening, 136 distribution points (April) and 369 points (November) were retained for analysis. The model performance was robust, with an AUC (Area Under the Curve) value of 0.935 for April (2019–2023) and 0.905 for November (2019–2023), indicating excellent predictive accuracy (AUC &gt; 0.9). April (2019–2023): Nitrate, salinity, phosphate, and silicate were identified as the primary environmental factors influencing habitat suitability. November (2019–2023): Silicate, salinity, nitrate, and primary productivity emerged as the dominant drivers. Spatially, Larimichthys crocea exhibited high-density distributions in offshore regions of Zhejiang and Jiangsu, particularly near the Yangtze River estuary. Populations were also associated with island-reef systems, forming continuous distributions along Zhejiang’s offshore waters. In Jiangsu, aggregations were concentrated between Nantong and Yancheng. This study delineates habitat suitability zones for Larimichthys crocea, offering a scientific basis for optimizing stock enhancement programs, designing targeted conservation measures, and establishing marine protected areas. Our findings enable policymakers to develop sustainable fisheries management strategies, ensuring the long-term viability of this ecologically and economically vital species.

Trace element quantification in solid fuel wastes by LA-ICP-MS: a review.

Valorisation of liquid digestate from organic waste: stripping, thermophilic anaerobic digestion and membrane technologies for resources recovery, and emerging contaminants assessment.

Interplay of charge composition and nanochannel confinement in ion separation through graphene oxide membranes.

Advances in bioreactor technologies are transforming sustainable aquaculture water treatment by improving pollutant removal and supporting environmental conservation and resource recovery. Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) represent a leading sustainable approach by integrating physical, chemical, and biological treatment processes to recycle water within the system, minimizing freshwater consumption and effluent discharge. Innovative biological systems integrated with Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) including Moving Bed Biofilm Reactors, membrane bioreactors, anaerobic digesters, photobioreactors, and biofloc efficiently reduce nitrogen, phosphorus, organic matter, and other pollutants using diverse microbial communities without harmful chemicals. Recent developments feature microalgae cultivation for carbon capture and nutrient recycling, nanotechnology to boost microbial performance, and hybrid treatment methods for enhanced effectiveness. While Moving Bed Biofilm Reactors offer high ammonia and organic removal in compact setups, anaerobic bioreactors provide cost-effective nitrate reduction, and constructed wetlands effectively remove organics and phosphorus with more space needs. These bioreactors technology enhance aquaculture sustainability by reducing pollutant loads, mitigating eutrophication risks, and improving fish health through optimized water quality. Despite operational and cost challenges, these technologies promote water reuse, lower pollutant discharge, and enable circular economy practices like bioenergy production. Future research focuses on tailored, integrated treatments, engineered microbes, and resource-loop closing frameworks to bolster sustainability, regulatory compliance, and economic viability in intensive aquaculture. The aim of this review article is to examine recent innovations and developments in bioreactor technologies applied to aquaculture wastewater treatment.

In the face of growing environmental pressures, enzymes are emerging as powerful and versatile tools for combating pollution. With their exceptional specificity, ability to function under mild conditions, and minimal environmental impact, enzymes offer a sustainable alternative to traditional remediation methods. They can effectively break down and neutralize a wide range of pollutants—including pesticides, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, dyes, and microplastics—without generating toxic by-products. Innovations such as enzyme immobilization, microbial consortia, and hybrid technologies have significantly enhanced their stability and performance in real-world conditions. Advances in protein engineering and the use of artificial intelligence now enable the design of tailor-made enzymes with improved resilience and substrate range. Enzymes also play a vital role in the circular economy by transforming waste into valuable secondary raw materials, biofuels, and biodegradable products. While challenges remain in scaling up these technologies and reducing costs, the potential of enzyme-based biotechnologies is immense, positioning them as a promising path toward environmentally friendly and efficient solutions for pollution control, resource recovery, climate-resilient development, and as a cornerstone of future environmental strategies.

Ex situ aqueous-based CO2 mineralization ofmagnesium-bearingmine wastes presents a promising pathway for carbon sequestrationand resource recovery, relying on both direct and indirect carbonationapproaches. However, their efficiency depends on optimizing key processparameters, such as solid/liquid particle size, pretreatment, temperature,pressure, pH, and their interactions. This study provides a comprehensiveanalysis of CO2 mineralization in magnesium-based minewastes, utilizing an extensive data library from existing literature.Both direct and indirect mineralization approaches, including extractionand carbonation, were assessed to understand key process parameterinteractions. Utilizing artificial neural networks (ANN) and a 3k full factorial design coupled with Analysis of Variance (ANOVA),the study investigated nonlinear relationships and the statisticalsignificance of influencing factors for these processes. Key findingsindicated that for the extraction process, optimization is drivenby feedstock material pretreatment, extraction agent, temperature,and particle size. For direct CO2 carbonation, prioritizationof pretreatment, CO2 concentration, and particle size reductionare most important, with a secondary focus on solution chemistry.However, for the indirect carbonation approach, the dominance of carbonationassisting agents and solution pH highlights the importance of solutionchemistry in aqueous carbonation rather than the physical propertiesof the feedstocks. These insights provide a robust framework for understandingthe complex relationships between different process variables thatplay a pronounced role in the CO2 mineralization of magnesium-richmining materials. Understanding influential factors enables betterdesign and optimization of processes for enhanced efficiency and sustainability.