CO2 Values Research Articles

Geographic Information System and Contamination Indices for Environmental Risk Assessment of Landfill Disposal Sites in Central Saudi Arabia

Landfills pollute air, soil, and surface and groundwater worldwide. The present work aims to assess the environmental risks of three landfills in southern Riyadh using GIS, soil quality guidelines, and contamination indices. GIS tools indicated an increase in the area of the landfill sites with time. The concentration of heavy metals (HMs) in the investigated landfills had the following descending order: Fe (11,532 mg/kg) ˃ Al (5405 mg/kg) ˃ Pb (561.7 mg/kg) ˃ Zn (356.8 mg/kg) ˃ Mn (165 mg/kg) ˃ Cr (74.8 mg/kg) ˃ Cu (42.7 mg/kg) ˃ Ni (22.4 mg/kg) ˃ V (21.8 mg/kg) ˃ As (5.16 mg/kg) ˃ Co (4.08 mg/kg). The highest values of Al, As, Co, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn were recorded from Al Kharj road landfill (RL3). However, the average values of all HMs were lower than those from most worldwide soils and backgrounds, except for Zn, Cu, Cr, and Pb. Results of enrichment factor and statistical analysis indicated deficiency to minimal enrichment and geogenic sources for Al, Co, Mn, and V, while those of As, Cr, Pb, Zn, and Cu showed EF ˃ 2, which might be indicative of anthropogenic activities, especially in RL3. Additionally, very high contamination and a high effects range—median were reported in individual samples, especially for Pb, As, and Zn, indicating frequent adverse effects for these HMs. The difference in contamination for the HMs in the studied landfill sites might be attributed to the difference in the magnitude of input for each metal into the landfill site and/or the difference in the removal rate of each metal from it.

Comparison of Carbon-Dioxide Emissions of Diesel and LNG Heavy-Duty Trucks in Test Track Environment

Environmental protection and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are getting increasingly high priority in the area of mobility. Several regulations, goals and projects have been published in recent years that clearly encourage the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission, the adoption of green alternatives and the use of renewable energy sources. The study compares CO2 emissions between conventional diesel and liquefied natural gas (LNG) heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs), and furthermore investigates the main influencing factors of GHG emissions. This study was carried out in a test–track environment, which supported the perfect reproducibility of the tests with minimum external influencing factors, allowing different types of measurements. At the results level, our primary objective was to collect and evaluate consumption and emission values using statistical methods, in terms of correlations, relationships and impact assessment. In this research, we recorded CO2 and pollutant emission values indirectly via the fleet management system (FMS) using controller area network (CAN) messages. Correlation, regression and statistical analyses were used to investigate the factors influencing fuel consumption and emissions. Our scientific work is a unique study in the field of HDVs, as the measurements were performed on the test track level, which provide accuracy for emission differences. The results of the project clearly show that gas technology can contribute to reducing GHG emissions of HDVs, and LNG provides a reliable alternative way forward for long-distance transportation, especially in areas of Europe where filling stations are already available.

Comprehensive analysis of particulate matter, gaseous pollutants, and microbiological contamination in an international chain supermarket

Indoor environmental quality is of utmost importance since urban populations spend a large proportion of their life in confined spaces. Supermarkets offer a wide range of products and services that are prone to emitting several air pollutants. This study aimed to perform a comprehensive characterisation of the indoor and outdoor air quality in a multinational supermarket, encompassing not only criteria parameters but also unregulated pollutants of concern. Monitoring included measurements of comfort parameters, CO2, multiple gaseous pollutants, particulate matter (PM10) and bioburden. PM10, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and carbonyls were subject to chemical speciation. Globally, the supermarket presented CO2, VOCs, and PM10 values below the limits imposed by international regulations. The PM10 concentration in the supermarket was 33.5±23.2 μg/m3, and the indoor-to-outdoor PM10 ratio was 1.76. Carbonaceous constituents represented PM10 mass fractions of 21.6% indoors and 15.3% outdoors. Due to the use of stainless-steel utensils, flour and fermentation processes, the bakery proved to be a pollution hotspot, presenting the highest concentrations of PM10 (73.1±9.16 μg/m3), PM10-bound elements (S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, and Cr) and acetaldehyde (42.7 μg/m3). The maximum tetrachloroethylene level (130 μg/m3) was obtained in the cleaning products section. The highest values of colony-forming units of bacteria and fungi were recorded in the bakery, and fruit and vegetable section. The most prevalent fungal species was Penicillium sp., corresponding to 56.9% of the total colonies. In addition, other fungal species/sections with toxicological or pathogenic potential were detected (Aspergillus sections Aspergilli, Circumdati, Flavi, Mucor and Fusarium sp.).

Comparative Sensitivity Analysis of GA, PSO, and PSO-GA Algorithms for Carbon Environment Development and Sustainability

<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;" lang="EN-US">To effectively address the CO<sub>2</sub> emissions in the tourism place, in this study focuses a Sanshan scenic spot for precise prediction. The main factors contributing CO<sub>2</sub> emission as, accommodation, transportation and catering services which intends to improve the need of carbon emission forecasting methods. To address this issue, we proposed an innovatively integrating the optimization algorithms Genetic Algorithm and Particle Swarm Optimization for accurately predicting the CO<sub>2</sub> emissions. Initially, this system taken input from the CO2 emissions occurred from the year of 2010 to 2020. The optimization model contains the input variables, initializing populations, evaluating fitness values, and iterating until convergence to found best prediction model. The experimental results of the proposed PSO-GA system attains 9.86 highest sensitivity showcases best performance in predicting CO<sub>2 </sub>emissions, as evidenced by its superior Adjusted Rand Index value of 1 after 160 iterations. The predicted and measured values of CO<sub>2</sub> emissions using this algorithm remains significant and advanced carbon environment development at scenic spots. The PSO-GA was used to calculate the carbon emissions of three mountainous scenic spots over the next five years, and the medium and high carbon levels should change to a medium carbon development stage by 2024.</span></p>

Biodegradation potentials of soil-borne fungal cultures grown on haloxyfop R methyl ester herbicide medium

The heterotrophic and haloxyfop-R methyl ester utilizing fungal counts associated with two top soil samples was determined. Five (5) fungal isolates; Aspergillus niger, Candida sp., Trichoderma sp., Fusarium sp., and Alternaria sp. Were cultured from the soil samples using serial dilution as well as pour plate techniques. These isolates were sub-cultured and screened for their ability to use haloxyfop-R methyl ester as sole source of metabolic energy as well as using the turbidimeteric method. Two of the screened fungal isolates which exhibited maximal optical density (OD) difference values; A. niger and Fusarium sp. Were selected and utilized for the subsequent degradation/shake flask experiment. Growth profile parameters which included; pH, OD, dissolved CO2 and weighed dry fungal biomass were determined during the growth profiling test at a 96 hour interval for 16 days using appropriate methods and equipment. Mean soil pH values were 5.08 ± 0.02 and 4.62 ± 0.02 for samples A and B. The mean total heterotrophic fungal count was 8.7×10³ cfu/g ± 1.5 for A and 1.6 × 10⁴ cfu/g ±1.0 for B. The mean pH value observed for A. niger in the course of the growth profile test ranged from 6.0 ± 8.7 to 7.3 ± 8.0 and 7.3 ± 5.8. The mean OD values observed for A. niger and Fusarium sp. In the course of the shake flask experiment varied from 0.66 ± 7.1 to 1.96 ± 4.5 and 1.62 ± 5.4 to1.99 ± 3.6 respectively. With reference to the detection of mean dissolved CO2 values, utilized as an indirect indicator of herbicide mineralization, the axenic cultured A. niger was the most effective amongst the growth profile fungal cultures.

The Coefficient of Reactivity and Activation Energy as the Criteria of Assessment of the Influence of Sustainable Aviation Fuels on Combustion Process in a Rapid Compression Combustion Machine and a Turbine Engine

Aviation in Europe is required to use fuels containing up to 2 wt. % of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs). A better understanding of the impact of SAFs on the combustion process will be helpful in solving problems that may arise from the widespread use of these kinds of fuels. It was assumed that the reactivity coefficient αi and the activation energy could be a criteria for assessing the impact of SAFs on the combustion process. Based on DGEN engine tests, the following activation energy values of CO2 and CO formation reactions were obtained—Jet A-1: EaCO2/R=3480 and EaCO/R=982; A30: EaCO2/R=3705 and EaCO/R=2903; and H30: EaCO2/R=3637 and EaCO/R=2843. These results indicate differences in the structure of combustion reaction chains involved by the SAF addition to Jet A-1 fuel. The same conclusion has been formulated on the basis of the reactivity coefficient αi. The values of maximum cylinder pressure (Pmax) obtained during indicator RCCM (rapid compression combustion machine) tests correlated with both the activation energy and coefficients of reactivity. This suggests that the influence of SAF addition to Jet A-1 fuel on the structure of chemical reactions chain during RCCM tests is similar to the influence during DGEN 380 tests. The assumption stated above was confirmed. This indicates the possibility of the preliminary forecasting of CO2 and CO emissions from the DGEN 380 engine based on the test at the RCCM stand.

Dual Cocatalytic Sites Synergize NiFe Layered Double Hydroxide to Boost Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzer

AbstractNickel‐iron layered double hydroxide (LDH) is a promising cost‐efficient catalyst to replace noble metals for alkaline oxygen evolution reaction (OER), yet its intrinsic activity under high current density conditions is not satisfactory, which greatly constrains the industrial application of NiFe LDH catalysts. Herein, a new class of integrated Co and W co‐doped NiFe LDH catalysts is reported with dual cocatalytic sites for alkaline OER catalysis. The optimized Co2.8, W3.8‐NiFe LDH integrated catalyst has superior alkaline OER activity (255 mV@1000 mA cm−2) and excellent catalytic stability (200 h@500 mA cm−2). The turnover frequency value of Co2.8, W3.8‐NiFe LDH can reach 4.02 s−1 at 1.49 V versus RHE, which is 9.6 times higher than that of NiFe LDH and superior to the noble metal catalysts. Moreover, it can achieve 1.0 A cm−2 at 1.86 V and maintain 300‐h stable operation in anion exchange membrane water electrolyzer. Theoretical and experimental studies indicate that W sites promote the *OH adsorption and Co sites favor protons desorption of OH*. These dual cocatalytic sites jointly promote *O coverage, effectively accelerating alkaline OER kinetic.

Mortality and Associated Factors in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis Associated Pulmonary Hypertension with and without Interstitial Lung Disease: A Long-Term Follow-up Study.

We aimed to analyze the prevalence, mortality, and prognostic factors in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) with or without interstitial lung disease (ILD). The associations between mortality and demographics, transthoracic echocardiography, right heart catheterization (RHC), pulmonary functional parameters at baseline, and treatment modalities in two groups; patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH, PH without significant ILD) and PH + ILD were evaluated. The mean age of the patients was 56.6±13.5 (range: 34-82, 44 women/ 2 men), and 23 (52.3%) were deceased during a median follow-up of 45 months. The survival rates of PH-SSc patients were 91% for the first year, 75% for 2 years, 68% for 3 years, and 43.1% for 5 years. The majority of deceased patients were in the PH + ILD group (p=0.007). The PH + ILD group had more diffuse skin involvement, anti-Scl-70 positivity, high C-reactive protein, low FVC, and lower DLCO values. The deceased patients had higher ePASP, low CO, and FVC values compared to surviving patients. Median survival time was significantly better in patients on combined therapy (44 vs. 61 months, p=0.01). The mortality-related factors in the PH + ILD group were decreased initial FVC, high ePASP on echocardiography, low cardiac output on RHC, deteriorated functional class, and monotherapy. This is the first reported SSc-PH cohort from Turkey by a multidisciplinary team after the implementation of PAH-specific drugs. SSc-PH is a severe complication of SSc with high mortality especially in patients with accompanying severe ILD.

АНАЛИЗ ФУНКЦИОНАЛЬНЫХ ИНДИКАТОРОВ ИНТЕЛЛЕКТУАЛЬНЫХ ТРАНСПОРТНЫХ СИСТЕМ КАК ПОКАЗАТЕЛЕЙ ПОВЫШЕНИЯ ЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКОЙ БЕЗОПАСНОСТИ АВТОМОБИЛЬНОГО ТРАНСПОРТА В КУРСКОЙ ОБЛАСТИ

The article presents an analysis of modern research in the field of assessing the anthropogenic impact of motor transport, including emissions of pollutants into the air, noise and vibration impact. When implementing measures aimed at reducing the negative impact of motor transport, considerable attention is paid to the development and implementation of intelligent transport systems (ITS). To assess the effectiveness of using ITS elements in the Kursk region in terms of improving environmental performance, the authors analyzed the following functional indicators of ITS: mass emissions of pollutants contained in vehicle exhaust gases; noise level from traffic flow; CO and NOx concentration values. The conducted field studies and calculations indicate the high efficiency of ITS implementation to reduce the environmental load on sections of the road network.

Potentially Toxic Metals Enrichment in Soils of Ishiagu Mining Community, Southeastern Nigeria

This Study was carried out to evaluate potentially toxic metals enrichment, pollution and potential ecological risk in the soils of Ishiagu. The concentrations of Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Cobalt (Co), Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb), Manganese (Mn), Nickel (Ni), Zinc (Zn), Aluminum (Al) and Iron (Fe) in soil samples from the area were analyzed by Bureau Veritas Laboratory, Vancouver, Canada, using inductively-coupled plasma optic emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Descriptive statistics, enrichment factor, pollution load and potential ecological risk indices were employed to analyze the data in order to understand the characteristics of potentially toxic metals in the study area. The potentially toxic metals statistic show the mean values (mg/kg-1 ) of Pb, Zn, Mn, Fe, Al, Cd, Cr, Ni, Co, and Cu to be 205.7, 162, 527, 35892, 11374, 1.3, 21.6, 15, 14.6 and 11.1 respectively. The soil enrichment varied considerably between mining and non-mining areas with mining area being extremely enriched with Pb, Zn and Cd, and significantly enriched with Co, Cu, Ni and Fe. Non- mining areas are minimally enriched with all investigated metals. The soils around the mines are polluted with Pb and Cd, where both metals also pose very high ecological risks.

A Modeling Framework of Atmospheric CO2 in the Mediterranean Marseille Coastal City Area, France

As atmospheric CO2 emissions and the trend of urbanization both increase, the ability to accurately assess the CO2 budget from urban environments becomes more important for effective CO2 mitigation efforts. This task can be difficult for complex areas such as the urban–coastal Mediterranean region near Marseille, France, which contains the second most populous city in France as well as a broad coastline and nearby mountainous terrain. In this study, we establish a CO2 modeling framework for this region for the first time using WRF-Chem and demonstrate its efficacy through comparisons against cavity-ringdown spectrometer measurements recorded at three sites: one 75 km north of the city in a forested area, one in the city center, and one at the urban/coastal border. A seasonal CO2 analysis compares Summertime 2016 and Wintertime 2017, to which Springtime 2017 is also added due to its noticeably larger vegetation uptake values compared to Summertime. We find that there is a large biogenic signal, even in and around Marseille itself, though this may be a consequence of having limited fine-scale information on vegetation parameterization in the region. We further find that simulations without the urban heat island module had total CO2 values 0.46 ppm closer to the measured enhancement value at the coastal Endoume site during the Summertime 2016 period than with the module turned on. This may indicate that the boundary layer on the coast is less sensitive to urban influences than it is to sea-breeze interactions, which is consistent with previous studies of the region. A back-trajectory analysis with the Lagrangian Particle Dispersion Model found 99.83% of emissions above 100 mol km−2 month−1 captured in Summer 2016 by the three measurement towers, providing evidence of the receptors’ ability to constrain the domain. Finally, a case study showcases the model’s ability to capture the rapid change in CO2 when transitioning between land-breeze and sea-breeze conditions as well as the recirculation of air from the industrial Fos region towards the Marseille metroplex. In total, the presented modeling framework should open the door to future CO2 investigations in the region, which can inform policymakers carrying out CO2 mitigation strategies.

Concrete carbonation in tropical urban and urban/marine environments after 20 years of natural exposure

This work is part of the DURACON project, which seeks to characterize the durability of concrete exposed to environmental conditions prevailing in Ibero-America and is based on the exposure of unreinforced and reinforced concrete specimens in marine and urban environments in each participating Ibero-American country. This research presents the results obtained from exposing unreinforced and steel-reinforced concrete specimens to prevailing environmental conditions in twelve natural exposure sites in Mexico during an exposure period of approximately 20 years to determine an empirical model that allows predicting the value of the carbonation rate, k′CO2, as a function of the nth-root of time (NRT) for the concretes evaluated. The concrete specimens, plain and reinforced, exposed to the elements in these cities were manufactured with two types of concrete, one with a w/c ratio = 0.65 and the other with a w/c ratio = 0.45. The tests mainly focused on measuring the concrete carbonation front depth during the ∼ 20 years of exposure and the measurement of environmental parameters at the exposure sites, such as temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, and atmospheric CO2 concentration. The electrochemical parameters of the reinforcing steel (half-cell potential, Ecorr, and current density, icorr) in the reinforced specimens were also obtained after ∼ 20 years of exposure to corroborate which sites showed lower or higher corrosion activity. This model to obtain k′CO2 as a function of the environmental parameters of the Mexican exposure sites and the physical properties of the concretes was compared with the value of kCO2 obtained from the square root of time (SRT) model. It was found that the k′CO2 values were 30 % higher on average than the kCO2 obtained with the empirical SRT equation. However, it should be noted that k′CO2 must be linked to the corresponding nth-root of time, whereas the value of n to obtain kCO2 is constant and equal to ½. An agreement was also obtained between the probability of activation of the reinforcing steel, using the corrosion parameters (Ecorr and icorr), and the probability of eCO2 ≤ 15 mm (lowest concrete cover used in this study).

Empowering Students to Understand Climate Change and Recognize Disinformation

Climate change caused predominately by carbon dioxide (CO2) from fossil fuel use is a critical issue for our future. It is incumbent on science educators to learn about it and teach it in ways that illustrate the power of science to understand climatic changes and model past, present, and possible climate futures. It is equally important for educators to address alternative explanations that do not cause present warming. We provide sufficient background to understand the effects of atmospheric CO2 on climate, how we know past values of both CO2 and temperature, and how mathematical models lead to a quantitative understanding and predictions of increases in temperature on doubling atmospheric CO2. We discuss alternative but incorrect explanations for present warming that are employed by those who use misinformation and disinformation to take attention away from the main cause, the burning of fossil fuels. Guided student activities are provided to help students develop an understanding of the causes and strategies to mitigate the worst effects of climate change. We must provide students with a sound understanding of climate change to empower them with the knowledge to make effective choices. Informed students can develop into agents of change as we prepare them to live in their changing climate futures.

Catechol- and Phenolic Hydroxyl-Functionalized Partially Bio-Based (Co)poly(ether sulfone)s with Multifarious Applicability

A largely bio-based new bisphenol, namely, 4,4′-((3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)methylene)-bis(2-methoxyphenol) (DMBM) was synthesized by the reaction of veratraldehyde with guaiacol. DMBM and varying compositions of DMBM and bisphenol A were polycondensed with bis(4-fluorophenyl) sulfone to afford reasonably high molecular weight film-forming (co)poly(ether sulfone)s possessing built-in methoxyl groups. T10 and Tg values of (co)poly(ether sulfone)s were in the range 382–478 °C and 171–187 °C, respectively indicating their good thermal stability and the values decreased with increase in mol % incorporation of DMBM. The methoxyl groups present in (co)poly (ether sulfone)s were quantitatively de-blocked resulting in the formation of corresponding polymers possessing pendant catechol moieties and free phenolic hydroxyl groups. By virtue of the presence of these functional moieties, (co)poly(ether sulfone)s are amenable for post-polymerization modifications, and exhibited properties such as antimicrobial (23 mm against Staphylococcus aureus and 18 mm against Escherichia coli)), antioxidant (72 % scavenger of free radicals), adhesive (2.24 MPa lap shear strength) and usefulness as redox-active agent in zinc-ion batteries. These data underscore the promise of DMBM as a versatile monomer of wider utility for the synthesis of functional (co)poly(ether sulfone)s capable of expanding their applicability beyond the conventional ones.

Assessment of metal-associated health risk in different trophic levels in tropical estuary on the southeast coast of India

Metal contamination in coastal and marine ecosystems has become a significant global concern due to its hazardous characteristics, environmental persistence, and ability to bioaccumulate in aquatic ecosystems. This poses a serious threat to the environment and the health of humans worldwide. To address these concerns, this study estimated the concentrations of metals in various trophic levels, including phytoplankton, zooplankton, bivalve, and fish. Monthly sampling was carried out in Pondicherry Fishing Harbor (PFH) and Pondicherry Open Sea (POS) between January 2017 and December 2018. The value of Cd, Pb, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Mn in sediment at the PFH was considerably higher compared to the POS, indicating the impact of human activity there. The contamination factor (CF) for other metals was <0.5, suggesting minor contamination in the Pondicherry coastal sediment, the CF value for Cd was higher at PFH. Comparably, the risk index (RI) at the PFH was likewise greater because of Cd, leading to an overall risk grade of “considerable” at the PFH whereas it was “low” at the POS. The marine pollution index (MPI) showed minimal values in fish regardless of the collection sites, which was calculated based on the values of all metals. The estimated daily intake, target hazard quotient, and hazard index assessed for potential human health risk suggest that the values were within acceptable thresholds for adults and children for fish consumption from POS. However, the direct consumption of bivalve for the long term poses significant non-carcinogenic health risks in both age groups, particularly in children, who are 1.31 times more susceptible than adults. These findings highlight the need to evaluate the presence of metals in the food chain to determine their transfer to the different trophic levels, which can help mitigate the associated risks for sustainable coastal ecosystem management.

Impact of construction activities on the air quality of Agra city, Uttar Pradesh, India

The current research work was carried out to comprehensively assessed the impact of construction activities on the air quality. Seven sites were chosen along the metro line construction in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India, to meet the study's goals. The monitoring was performed for 24 hours at each site using the respirable dust sampler (RDS) with a gaseous sampling attachment. The raw data was processed to calculate the Air Quality Index (AQI). The data obtained indicate that all the examined sites had PM10 (particulate matter having the diameter less than or equal to 10 micron) values above the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQ) values of 100 µg/m3, while SS-05 and SS-06 had PM2.5 (particulate matter having the diameter less than or equal to 2.5 micron) values above the NAAQ values of 60 µg/m3. Values of CO, SO2, and NO2 were discovered to be lower than the NAAQ standard limits. Because PM10's sub index (Si) was found to be the greatest across all locations, it was determined to be the criterion pollutant among all the metrics. Based on the AQI value, the research area's overall air quality was determined to be moderately polluted. At every location, a variety of management techniques, including mist guns, water spraying, and planting, are regularly used to reduce air pollution. Effective implementation of applied air pollution control measures is required to make the air clean and safe for breathing.

Anthropic-Induced Variability of Greenhouse Gasses and Aerosols at the WMO/GAW Coastal Site of Lamezia Terme (Calabria, Southern Italy): Towards a New Method to Assess the Weekly Distribution of Gathered Data

The key to a sustainable future is the reduction in humankind’s impact on natural systems via the development of new technologies and the improvement in source apportionment. Although days, years and seasons are arbitrarily set, their mechanisms are based on natural cycles driven by Earth’s orbital periods. This is not the case for weeks, which are a pure anthropic category and are known from the literature to influence emission cycles and atmospheric chemistry. For the first time since it started data gathering operations, CO (carbon monoxide), CO2 (carbon dioxide), CH4 (methane) and eBC (equivalent black carbon) values detected by the Lamezia Terme WMO/GAW station in Calabria, Southern Italy, have been evaluated via a two-pronged approach accounting for weekly variations in absolute concentrations, as well as the number of hourly averages exceeding select thresholds. The analyses were performed on seven continuous years of measurements from 2016 to 2022. The results demonstrate that the analyzed GHGs (greenhouse gasses) and aerosols respond differently to weekly cycles throughout the seasons, and these findings provide completely new insights into source apportionment characterization. Moreover, the results have been combined into a new parameter: the hereby defined WDWO (Weighed Distribution of Weekly Outbreaks) normalizes weekly trends in CO, CO2, CH4 and eBC on an absolute scale, with the scope of providing regulators and researchers alike with a new tool meant to better evaluate anthropogenic pollution and mitigate its effects on the environment and human health.

BIOACCUMULATION OF CU AND CO IN LEAFY AND FRUIT VEGETABLES FROM THE SUBURBS OF MITROVICA, KOSOVO

Contamination of vegetables with heavy metals is one of the basic environmental problems, especially in developing cities, primarily due to the uncontrolled level of pollution caused by industrial growth and the increase in the number of vehicles using petroleum fuels. This paper aims to determine the bioconcentration of heavy metals Cu and Co in leafy and fruit vegetables grown near Kosovska Mitrovica (Republic of Kosovo). Three places near Kosovska Mitrovica (Zvečan, Frashër, and Polski) are grown: parsley, spinach, lettuce, peppers, eggplant, and cucumber. All analyzed crops are from the 2023 harvest. In the same period, an analysis was made of the soil on which the crops were grown. The bioconversion factor (BF)of the selected leafy and fruit vegetables was also determined. The ICP-MS technique was used to determine the concentration of Cu and Co in soil and leafy and fruit vegetables. From the obtained analyzes it was determined that the soil in Frashër contains the highest amount of Cu and Co - 58.4 mg/kg and 11.6 mg/kg respectively. The amount of Cu in the examined dry leafy and fruit vegetables is in the range from 5.38 mg/kg to 22.4 mg/kg, and of Co from 0.27 mg/kg to 2.99 mg/kg. The bioconcentration factor of the studied leafy and fruit vegetables of Cu and Co is in the range of 0.04 to 0.26 and 0.15 to 0.65 respectively. The accumulation of Co in the analyzed vegetables is higher than the accumulation of Cu, due to the higher BF values for Co. The statistical processing of the results (t-test) showed that there is a difference in the concentration of Cu and Co between leafy and fruit vegetables, but there is no statistically significant difference because the obtained p-values are greater than the marginal p-values.

A full-scale CFD model of scavenge air inlet temperature on two-stroke marine diesel engine combustion and exhaust emission characteristics

Most ships in the maritime transport sector are equipped with large two-stroke marine diesel engines in their propulsion systems. Therefore, ensuring stable and long-term operation of these engines is crucial to maintaining freight transportation. The design of the ship's machinery, particularly the diesel engine, is a crucial step in achieving this goal. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools can be used to achieve this goal. This article presents a full-scale CFD study on the effect of different scavenge air inlet temperatures (300, 312, 330 and 340 K) on the combustion process and generation of exhaust emissions in a two-stroke marine diesel engine using ANSYS Forte software. Regarding the cylinder pressure, the presented model agrees well with experimental data. The maximum cylinder pressure decreases as the scavenge air inlet temperature increases, whereas the maximum cylinder temperature increases as the scavenge air inlet temperature increases. The maximum NOX, CO and UHC emission values are calculated to be 2256.5, 20375.8 and 3743.9 ppm, respectively, at a scavenge air inlet temperature of 340 K. Due to the higher combustion temperature caused by the increasing scavenge air inlet temperature, it is observed that the exhaust emission levels increase.

Investigating the Relationship between Urbanization and Air Pollution Using Google Earth Engine Platform: A Case Study of Istanbul

Rapid population growth in megacities such as Istanbul has led to various effects, such as industrialization, urbanization, loss of green areas, increasing vehicle traffic, and higher consumption of fossil fuels. These reasons, along with many other environmental factors, contribute to the rise of air pollution in urban life. This study aimed to examine the relationship between urbanization and air pollution in Istanbul. For this purpose, land cover maps covering Istanbul province were produced using Landsat-5 (TM), Landsat-8 (OLI), and Sentinel-2 (MSI) images for the years 1996 to 2021 at three-year intervals on the Google Earth Engine platform. Land cover for classification purposes was divided into five different classes: forest, water surface, urban area, and bare land, and classified using a random forest machine learning algorithm. To examine the impact of this urban area growth on air pollution, in the second step of the study, the column number density values of Sentinel 5P (TROPOMI) data for SO2, NO2, CO, and O3 gases for 2019, 2020, and 2021 were analyzed. The averages of the data from 39 air pollution monitoring stations across Istanbul were also examined. According to this classification, the urban area expanded from 491 km2 in 1996 to 1222 km2 by 2021. Considering the total surface area of Istanbul province, the urban area, which was 9% in 1996, reached 23% by 2021. The TROPOMI values were calculated as follows: the average column number density values for SO2, NO2, CO, and O3 were 0.0003538 mol/m², 0.0339514 mol/m², 0.0000984 mol/m², and 0.1453515 mol/m², respectively. Similarly, the gas concentrations of SO2, NO2, CO, and O3 measured from the ground stations were calculated as 6.603 µ/m3, 786,815 µ/m3, 43.763 µ/m3 and 45.773 µ/m3, respectively. Correlations between urbanization and TROPOMI values revealed a positive correlation of 0.39, 0.02, and 0.80 for SO2, NO2, and CO gases, while a negative correlation of 0.25 was found for O3 gas. The study also examined correlations between TROPOMI and ground station measurements, resulting in positive correlations of 0.55, 0.66, and 0.16 for SO2, NO2, and CO gases, respectively, while a negative correlation of 0.05 was found for O3 gas. Based on these findings, among the air pollutants studied both through TROPOMI and ground station data, the highest correlation was observed for CO gas.