Marine plastic pollution (MPP) is an urgent environmental and socio-economic problem. MPP amounts to 300 million tons annually, originates largely from land-based sources and severely impacts marine ecosystem, harms livelihoods and causes costs for businesses and governments. Plastics permeate the whole width and depth of seas and oceans, near well-developed coastal zones and equally in remotest corners. This undermines economic and social value of the oceans, particularly in terms of fisheries productivity and tourism. The G20 members, responsible for about two-thirds of global plastic waste, recognize the problem and undertake preventive measures - individually and collectively. Yet, are there efficient, effective and sufficient given the urgency of MPP and the contribution of G20 countries. This article highlights existing policies and identifies further policy options using a custom framework for MPP policy that merges Circular Economy (CE) and life-cycle perspectives.
Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Pollution/prevention & control
Advanced oxidation process involves production of hydroxyl radical for industrial wastewater treatment. This method is based on the irradiation of UV light to photocatalysts such as TiO2 and ZnO for photodegradation of pollutant. UV light is used for irradiation in photocatalytic process because TiO2 has a high band gap energy which is around 3.2 eV. There can be shift adsorption to visible light by reducing the band gap energy to below 3.2 eV. Doped catalyst is one of the means to reduce band gap energy. Different methods are used for doped catalyst which uses transition metals and titanium dioxide. The band gap energy of three types of transition metals Fe, Cd and Co after being doped with TiO2, are around 2.88 ev, 2.97ev and 2.96 ev, respectively which are all below TiO2 energy. Some of the transition metals change the energy level to below 3.2 eV and the adsorption shifts to visible light for degradation of industrial pollutant after being doped with titanium dioxide. This paper aims at providing a deep insight into advanced oxidation processes, photocatalysts and their applications in wastewater treatment, doping processes and the effects of operational factors on photocatalytic degradation.
Stepping into the new globalizes and paradigm shifted era, a huge revolution has been undergone by the electrochemical industry. From a humble candidate of the superconductor resources, today electrosorption has demonstrated its wide variety of usefulness, almost in every part of the environmental conservation. With the renaissance of activated carbon (AC), there has been a steadily growing interest in this research field. The paper presents a state of art review of electrosorption technology, its background studies, fundamental chemistry and working principles. Moreover, recent development of the activated carbon assisted electrosorption process, its major challenges together with the future expectation are summarized and discussed. Conclusively, the expanding of electrosorption in the field of adsorption science represents a potentially viable and powerful tool, leading to the superior improvement of pollution control and environmental preservation.
This paper attempts to integrate both a forward and reverse supply chain to design a closed-loop supply chain network (CLSC). The problem in the design of a CLSC network is uncertainty in demand, return products and the quality of return products. Scenario analyses are generated to overcome this uncertainty. In contrast to the existing supply chain network design models, a new application of a CLSC network was studied in this paper to reduce waste. A multi-product, multi-tier mixed integer linear model is developed for a CLSC network design. The main objective is to maximize profit and provide waste management decision support in order to minimize pollution. The result shows applicability of the model in the tire industry. The model determines the number and the locations of facilities and the material flows between these facilities.
Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Pollution/prevention & control
Heavy metal pollution remains a global environmental challenge that poses a significant threat to human life. Various methods have been explored to eliminate heavy metal pollutants from the environment. However, most methods are constrained by high expenses, processing duration, geological problems, and political issues. The immobilization of metals, phytoextraction, and biological methods have proven practical in treating metal contaminants from the soil. This review focuses on the general status of heavy metal contamination of soils, including the excessive heavy metal concentrations in crops. The assessment of the recent advanced technologies and future challenges were reviewed. Molecular and genetic mechanisms that allow microbes and plants to collect and tolerate heavy metals were elaborated. Tremendous efforts to remediate contaminated soils have generated several challenges, including the need for remediation methodologies, degrees of soil contamination, site conditions, widespread adoptions and various possibilities occurring at different stages of remediation are discussed in detail.
Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Pollution/prevention & control
In an attempt to mitigate the effects of extreme natural events caused by greenhouse gases (GHGs), a significant number of researchers and environmentalists have repeatedly stressed the importance of implementing protective measures, including the promotion of green consumption. This study examined the elements that motivated the willingness and the practice of green behavior (GB) among low-income households in coastal Peninsular Malaysia. To meet the research objectives, this study adopted the survey questionnaire method to collect data from 380 low-income households. The findings revealed that self-efficacy (SE) and environmental concerns (EC) have statistically significant effects on the attitude toward green products (ATT), while subjective norms (SN) and perceived behavioral control (PBC) have influence on the intention of green vehicles. Eventually, the study discovered the effects of the intention to adopt green vehicle on green vehicle adoption behavior. Hence, the findings of this study provide new insights for policymakers in Malaysia to place more emphasis on improving consumer attitudes, social standards, and PBC, which will ultimately contribute to the adoption of environment-friendly vehicles. In addition, car manufacturers should support this program by designing products and options that would encourage those in the low-income group to replace their conventional vehicles with green alternatives in Malaysia.
With the exponential growth of the global population, the agricultural sector is bound to use ever larger quantities of fertilizers to augment the food supply, which consequently increases food production costs. Urea, when applied to crops is vulnerable to losses from volatilization and leaching. Current methods also reduce nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) by plants which limits crop yields and, moreover, contributes towards environmental pollution in terms of hazardous gaseous emissions and water eutrophication. An approach that offsets this pollution while also enhancing NUE is the use of controlled release urea (CRU) for which several methods and materials have been reported. The physical intromission of urea granules in an appropriate coating material is one such technique that produces controlled release coated urea (CRCU). The development of CRCU is a green technology that not only reduces nitrogen loss caused by volatilization and leaching, but also alters the kinetics of nitrogen release, which, in turn, provides nutrients to plants at a pace that is more compatible with their metabolic needs. This review covers the research quantum regarding the physical coating of original urea granules. Special emphasis is placed on the latest coating methods as well as release experiments and mechanisms with an integrated critical analyses followed by suggestions for future research.
Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Pollution/prevention & control
An advanced image processing approach integrated with communication technologies and a camera for waste bin level detection has been presented. The proposed system is developed to address environmental concerns associated with waste bins and the variety of waste being disposed in them. A gray level aura matrix (GLAM) approach is proposed to extract the bin image texture. GLAM parameters, such as neighboring systems, are investigated to determine their optimal values. To evaluate the performance of the system, the extracted image is trained and tested using multi-layer perceptions (MLPs) and K-nearest neighbor (KNN) classifiers. The results have shown that the accuracy of bin level classification reach acceptable performance levels for class and grade classification with rates of 98.98% and 90.19% using the MLP classifier and 96.91% and 89.14% using the KNN classifier, respectively. The results demonstrated that the system performance is robust and can be applied to a variety of waste and waste bin level detection under various conditions.
Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Pollution/prevention & control
The management of clinical solid waste (CSW) continues to be a major challenge, particularly, in most healthcare facilities of the developing world. Poor conduct and inappropriate disposal methods exercised during handling and disposal of CSW is increasing significant health hazards and environmental pollution due to the infectious nature of the waste. This article summarises a literature review into existing CSW management practices in the healthcare centers. The information gathered in this paper has been derived from the desk study of open literature survey. Numerous researches have been conducted on the management of CSW. Although, significant steps have been taken on matters related to safe handling and disposal of the clinical waste, but improper management practice is evident from the point of initial collection to the final disposal. In most cases, the main reasons of the mismanagement of CSW are the lack of appropriate legislation, lack of specialized clinical staffs, lack of awareness and effective control. Furthermore, most of the healthcare centers of the developing world have faced financial difficulties and therefore looking for cost effective disposal methods of clinical waste. This paper emphasizes to continue the recycle-reuse program of CSW materials after sterilization by using supercritical fluid carbon dioxide (SF-CO2) sterilization technology at the point of initial collection. Emphasis is on the priority to inactivate the infectious micro-organisms in CSW. In that case, waste would not pose any threat to healthcare workers. The recycling-reuse program would be carried out successfully with the non-specialized clinical staffs. Therefore, the adoption of SF-CO2 sterilization technology in management of clinical solid waste can reduce exposure to infectious waste, decrease labor, lower costs, and yield better compliance with regulatory. Thus healthcare facilities can both save money and provide a safe environment for patients, healthcare staffs and clinical staffs.
Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Pollution/prevention & control
Incineration of industrial waste produces large quantities of bottom ash which are normally sent to secured landfill, but is not a sustainable solution. Use of bottom ash in engineering applications will contribute to sustainability and generate revenue. One way of using the industrial waste incineration bottom ash is in controlled low-strength material (CLSM). Use of bottom ash in CLSM has problems related to bleeding and excessive strength development and so an additive has to be used to control bleeding and strength development. The main objective of this research is to study the effect of kaolin addition on the performance of CLSM made using industrial waste incineration bottom ash. CLSM mixes were made with bottom ash, cement, and refined kaolin. Various tests were performed on the CLSM in fresh and hardened states including compressive strength, water absorption, California bearing ratio (CBR) and the tests for concentration of leachable substances on the bleed and leachate. The compressive strength of CLSM tested ranged from 0.11 to 9.86 MPa. CBR values ranged from 6 to 46, and water absorption values from 12 to 36%. It was shown that the addition of kaolin delayed the initial setting time of CLSM mixtures, reduced bleeding, lowered the compressive strength, and increased the values of water absorption, sorption, and initial surface absorption. The CLSM tested did not have corrosivity. It was shown that the hardened CLSM was non hazardous, and the addition of kaolin increased the concentration of heavy metals and salts in the bleed and leachate.
Environmental health problems in Malaysia are mostly attributed to atmospheric pollution, water pollution, climate change, ozone depletion, and solid waste management, as well as toxic, chemical, and hazardous waste management. The Ministry of Health, Malaysia, has been vigorously pursuing the environmental health agenda by collaborating with other agencies at district, state, national, and international levels. This article discusses the issues and management framework of environmental health in Malaysia. Some issues requiring further investigation in order to clearly understand the trade-off between atmospheric change and environmental health are suggested. These suggestions are developed with particular reference to appraisals concerned with the development and implementation of environmental policy, programs, and practice. Research on the relevant issues is discussed and a framework is built involving a comprehensive review of the literature and existing framework of Malaysian environmental health.
Spent bleaching earth, an industrial waste produced after the bleaching of crude palm oil, was investigated for its potential in removing Cr(VI) from aqueous solution. The earth was treated with different amounts of sulfuric acid and under different activation temperatures. Results show that the optimum treatment process involved 10% sulfuric acid at 350 degrees C. The effects of contact time, pH, initial concentration, sorbent dosage, temperature, sorption isotherms and the presence of other anions on its sorption capacity were studied. Isotherm data could be fitted into a modified Langmuir isotherm model implying monolayer coverage of Cr(VI) on acid activated spent bleaching earth. The maximum sorption capacity derived from the Langmuir isotherm was 21.2 mg g(-1). This value was compared with those of some other low cost sorbents. Studies of anion effect on the uptake of Cr(VI) on acid activated spent bleaching earth provided the following order of suppression: EDTA >PO4(3-)>SO4(2-)>NO3(-)>Cl(-).
Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Pollution/prevention & control
Research was undertaken to investigate the treatment of fishery washing water using Bacillus sphaericus, and to recover the spores for subsequent use as bioinsecticide to control the population of mosquitoes. This treatment method could reduce pollution due to organic matter by decreasing the value of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) by about 85% and 92%, respectively. The maximum concentration of spores (83.3 x 10(7) spores ml(-1)) using normal concentration of filtered fishery washing water was only about 27% lower than that obtained in fermentation using 0.25% (w/v) yeast extract. The larvicidal activity of the spores produced in fermentation using fishery washing water to Culex quinquefaciatus, as measured by LD50 after 48 h, was almost the same as the larvicidal activity of spores obtained from fermentation using yeast extract.
Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Pollution/prevention & control
This paper presents the existing philosophy, approach, criteria and delivery of environmental engineering education (E3) for developing countries. In general, environmental engineering is being taught in almost all major universities in developing countries, mostly under civil engineering degree programmes. There is an urgent need to address specific inputs that are particularly important for developing countries with respect to the reality of urbanisation and industrialisation. The main component of E3 in the near future will remain on basic sanitation in most developing countries, with special emphasis on the consumer-demand approach. In order to substantially overcome environmental problems in developing countries, E3 should include integrated urban water management, sustainable sanitation, appropriate technology, cleaner production, wastewater minimisation and financial framework.
Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Pollution/prevention & control
To provide a theoretical basis for sustainable land resource utilization and a reference for areas with similar natural conditions, an evaluation index for land-based ecological security was constructed based on the Driving force-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) model and the improved analytic hierarchy process (IAHP) and entropy methods, and the land-based ecological security status of Xingtai city from 2006 to 2017 was evaluated. Then, the obstacles to land-based ecological security were diagnosed. The results show that the values of the comprehensive evaluation index of land-based ecological security were 0.28-0.66 in the period from 2006 to 2017. The value of the index of land-based ecological security was low in the first seven years and gradually improved in the last five years of the study period. However, the overall situation was grave, and the ecological security conditions were poor. The main obstacles to land-based ecological security were the usage of pesticides, investment in environmental pollution treatments, the degree of machine cultivation, the rate of cultivation and the usage of fertilizer in Xingtai city. Based on the results of the land-based ecological security evaluation and the main obstacles identified in Xingtai city, this paper proposes management strategies and suggestions for improving land-based ecological security in Xingtai city. The specific proposals are as follows: vigorously develop green agriculture, increase investment in environmental pollution control, increase input in science and technology, and strengthen supervision and management of land use.
Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Pollution/prevention & control
The objective of this research was to study the kinetics of synthesis of a commercially important ester - Isopropyl Palmitate (IPP) using immobilized lipase (Lipozyme IM). It was studied in a packed bed differential reactor. In order to establish the kinetics of the reaction, parameters such as linear velocity of the fluid through the reactor, particle size, substrate concentration, substrate molar ratio, temperature and water activity were studied. Operational and storage stability of the enzyme were also assessed. The reaction followed Michaelis-Menton kinetics as observed from the relationship of initial rate of the reaction as a function of substrate concentration. It was found that the optimum substrate concentration was 0.15M palmitic acid and isopropyl alcohol in 1:1 stoichiometric ratio. Inhibition by excess of isopropyl alcohol has been identified. The optimum temperature for the esterification reaction was found to be around 50 degrees C. The activation energy of this process was determined to be 43.67 kJ/mol. The optimum water content was 0.50%. The reaction rates were measured in the absence of any significant external diffusional limitations. Since internal diffusional limitations could not be eliminated, the kinetics observed is only apparent.
Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Pollution/prevention & control
This article aims to investigate the relationship among renewable energy consumption, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and GDP using panel data for 24 Asian countries between 1990 and 2012. Panel cross-sectional dependence tests and unit root test, which considers cross-sectional dependence across countries, are used to ensure that the empirical results are correct. Using the panel cointegration model, the vector error correction model, and the Granger causality test, this paper finds that a long-run equilibrium exists among renewable energy consumption, carbon emission, and GDP. CO2 emissions have a positive effect on renewable energy consumption in the Philippines, Pakistan, China, Iraq, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia. A 1% increase in GDP will increase renewable energy by 0.64%. Renewable energy is significantly determined by GDP in India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Thailand, Turkey, Malaysia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Mongolia. A unidirectional causality runs from GDP to CO2 emissions, and two bidirectional causal relationships were found between CO2 emissions and renewable energy consumption and between renewable energy consumption and GDP. The findings can assist governments in curbing pollution from air pollutants, execute energy conservation policy, and reduce unnecessary wastage of energy.
Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Pollution/prevention & control