- Biến đổi khí hậu và ô nhiễm không khí: Biến tác động qua lại của chúng thành nguy cơ tử vong trong hiện tại và tương lai đối với các thành phố Rome và Milan.

- Tác động tương tác và hòa giải của tăng trưởng kinh tế và hiệu suất đổi mới đối với lượng khí thải carbon: Thông tin chi tiết từ 282 thành phố của Trung Quốc.

- Các mối quan hệ cấu trúc của các chiến lược xanh của một công ty đối với hoạt động môi trường: Vai trò của quản lý chuỗi cung ứng xanh và đổi mới tiếp thị xanh.

- Phát thải môi trường ảnh hưởng đến quản lý chất thải quang điện mặt trời ở Úc: Một mạng lưới hệ thống tối ưu hóa các cơ sở thu gom chất thải.

- Khung ra quyết định để đánh giá sự cân bằng môi trường trong việc tăng cường các dịch vụ hệ sinh thái trên các cảnh quan nông nghiệp phức tạp.

- Các tác động môi trường của hệ thống lưu trữ sinh học nước mưa với các thành phần thiết kế và xây dựng khác nhau.

- Quản lý chuỗi cung ứng xanh: Khung lý thuyết và hướng nghiên cứu.

- Sự hài lòng của công chúng đối với cây xanh đô thị và việc quản lý chúng ở Úc: Vai trò của các giá trị, niềm tin, kiến thức và lòng tin.

- Sự phát thải vi nhựa trong không khí từ các trạm trung chuyển chất thải rắn đô thị ở trung tâm thành phố.

- Kết hợp động lực học chất lỏng tính toán và mạng lưới thần kinh để mô tả đặc điểm của các cực vi khí hậu: Tìm hiểu các tương tác phức tạp giữa trung khí hậu và hình thái đô thị.

- Đặc trưng hóa các biến thể không gian của nồng độ PM10 và PM2.5 tăng cao trên toàn thành phố bằng cách sử dụng hệ thống giám sát di động dựa trên taxi.

- Những phát triển gần đây của lò phản ứng sinh học màng kỵ khí để xử lý nước thải đô thị và thu hồi năng lượng sinh học: Tập trung vào các cấu hình mới và phân tích cân bằng năng lượng.

- Các mô hình không gian-thời gian và nhiều cơ chế thúc đẩy phát thải carbon trong quá trình đô thị hóa: Một nghiên cứu điển hình ở Chiết Giang, Trung Quốc.

- Các phương án bên cầu để giảm phát thải khí nhà kính và diện tích đất của các hệ thống lương thực đô thị: Phân tích kịch bản cho Thành phố Vienna.

- Các sản phẩm chuyển hóa của tetracyclin trong ba nhà máy xử lý nước thải đô thị điển hình.

- Một thập kỷ thông lượng CO2 được đo bằng phương pháp hiệp phương sai xoáy bao gồm cả thời kỳ đại dịch COVID-19 tại một trung tâm đô thị ở Sakai, Nhật Bản.

- Giải quyết các rào cản xã hội đối với cơ sở hạ tầng thoát nước mưa xanh trong các khu dân cư từ góc độ sinh thái xã hội.

- Nguy cơ ô nhiễm kim loại nặng đối với đất canh tác do sản xuất công nghiệp ở Trung Quốc: Mô hình không gian và sự khai sáng của nó.

- Đặc điểm của sự phân bố theo không gian và thời gian của chì xung quanh khu công nghiệp pin bởi LA-SPAMS.

- Đánh giá tính bền vững tập trung vào giải pháp cho quá trình chuyển đổi sang nền kinh tế tuần hoàn: Trường hợp nhựa trong ngành công nghiệp ô tô.

- Phân tích tính dễ bị tổn thương của mạng lưới nước công nghiệp sử dụng mô hình đầu vào-đầu ra không hoạt động động.

- Sử dụng chất thải sắt từ các ngành công nghiệp thép trong hoạt hóa persunfat để phân hủy hiệu quả các dung dịch thuốc nhuộm.

- Khung ra quyết định đa tiêu chí theo định hướng bền vững sáng tạo để ưu tiên các hệ thống công nghiệp với các yếu tố phụ thuộc lẫn nhau: Phương pháp và nghiên cứu điển hình về phát điện.

- Khử cacbon trong ngành công nghiệp gang thép: Đánh giá có hệ thống các hệ thống công nghệ xã hội, đổi mới công nghệ và các lựa chọn chính sách.

- Tối ưu hóa toàn doanh nghiệp nhận thức về năng lượng và năng lượng sạch trong ngành công nghiệp khí công nghiệp.

- Các công cụ hữu ích để tích hợp bản đồ tiếng ồn về tiếng ồn khác với tiếng ồn của giao thông, cơ sở hạ tầng và nhà máy công nghiệp ở các nước đang phát triển: Casework of the Aburra Valley, Colombia.

QUẢN LÝ MÔI TRƯỜNG

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 830, 15 July 2022, 154680

Abstract

Heat and cold temperatures associated with exposure to poor air quality lead to increased mortality. Using a generalized linear model with Poisson regression for overdispersion, this study quantifies the natural-caused mortality burden attributable to heat/cold temperatures and PM10 and O3 air pollutants in Rome and Milan, the two most populated Italian cities. We calculate local-specific mortality relative risks (RRs) for the period 2004–2015 considering the overall population and the most vulnerable age category (≥85 years). Combining a regional climate model with a chemistry-transport model under future climate and air pollution scenarios (RCP2.6 and RCP8.5), we then project mortality to 2050.

Results show that for historical mortality the burden is much larger for cold than for warm temperatures. RR peaks during wintertime in Milan and summertime in Rome, highlighting the relevance of accounting for the effects of air pollution besides that of climate, in particular PM10 for Milan and O3 for Rome. Overall, Milan reports higher RRs while, in both cities, the elderly appear more susceptible to heat/cold and air pollution events than the average population. Two counterbalancing effects shape mortality in the future: an increase associated with higher and more frequent warmer daily temperatures – especially in the case of climate inaction – and a decrease due to declining cold-mortality burden. The outcomes highlight the urgent need to adopt more stringent and integrated climate and air quality policies to reduce the temperature and air pollution combined effects on health.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 830, 15 July 2022, 154702

Abstract

Ash is a fundamental component of plant litter and plays a vital role in regulating litter decomposition. However, to date, global patterns and underlying mechanisms of initial litter ash concentrations remain unclear. Here, we used 570 observations collected from 104 independent publications to assess the global patterns of initial plant litter ash concentrations and evaluated the effects of mycorrhizal association [arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) vs. ectomycorrhiza (ECM)], taxon group (gymnosperm vs. angiosperm), life form (tree vs. shrub vs. herb), leaf type (broadleaf vs. needle), and environmental factors such as climate and soil properties on initial litter ash concentration. The results showed that (1) global average ash concentrations varied significantly among different plant tissues and were 7.3, 4.5, 3.7, 3.5, 3.1, 2.4, and 1.5% in leaf, root, bark, reproductive tissue (flower and fruit), branch, stem, and wood litter, respectively; (2) in leaf litter, the initial ash concentrations of AM plants and species associated with both AM and ECM fungi were higher than those of ECM plants, and those of the tree species were lower than those of the herbs and shrubs; in root litter, the initial ash concentrations of the AM plants were lower than those of the species associated with both AM and ECM fungi but higher than those of the ECM plants; in both leaf and root litter, the initial ash concentrations of the angiosperms and broadleaf trees were higher than those of the gymnosperms and needle trees, respectively, while the effect of plant traits on branch litter was not obvious; and (3) the initial ash concentration of leaf litter was predominantly driven by mycorrhizal association and taxon group, while that of root litter tended to be driven by mycorrhizal association well as soil organic carbon. Our study clearly assessed the global patterns and underlying mechanisms of initial plant litter ash concentrations, which could help in better understanding the role of ash in litter decomposition and the related processes of carbon and nutrient cycling.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 831, 20 July 2022, 154910

Abstract

China is under rapid urbanization and consequently facing increasing carbon emissions (CE). Economic growth (EG) and innovation performance (IP), as two critical indicators of urbanization, are considered the driving forces of CE. Although economy and innovation are entangled and can jointly affect CE in reality, the measured effects of economy and innovation on CE are often treated separately in traditional studies. We adopted a three-part research framework including the total, interaction and mediation effect tests to elucidate how EG and IP affected CE in China from 2005 to 2015 based on insights from 282 Chinese cities. The empirical results showed that both economy and innovation contributed to CE, although the contribution has reduced over the 11 years. In particular, the interaction effect between economy and innovation for North China, Northeast China, and Southwest China was −4.201, −8.442, and − 3.897, respectively, in 2015, meaning that these regions adversely affect CE. In addition, we found that the economy helps reduce CE via innovation. When considering the changes of economy and innovation, their mediation effect on CE changes varied in different regions, attributable to the level of economy and innovation as well as the stocks of energy resources. Therefore, future planning for low-carbon transition should regard the economy and innovation together. Based on this principle, we propose five detailed policies. Overall, this study is valuable not only for further understanding the triangle relationship among economy, innovation, and CE, but also for reaching low-carbon goals.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 831, 20 July 2022, 154934

Abstract

China provides over 80% of global rare earth (RE) that caused serious domestic environmental impacts. However, how much RE-related pollution was transferred to China along global supply chain remains poorly understood. Here we, for the first time, established the RE industry-specific input-output approaches to trace environmental costs transfer through China's RE exports from whole supply chain perspective. We found that foreign consumption contributed over half of the environmental costs from China's RE production, with a gross value increasing from $4.8 billion (65% of total environmental costs) in 2010 to $5.4 billion in 2015 (74% of total environmental costs). Countries in the East Asia (i.e., Japan and South Korea) made the largest contribution (27–37%) to the exports induced environmental costs, followed by North America (i.e., the United States, Mexico, and Canada) with a contribution of 20–27% and the rest East Asia (including countries in Asia-Pacific except China Mainland, by 16–23%). Exports induced environmental costs were mainly from RE raw materials (60%) and high value-added products (22%). Suggestions such as rationalizing RE cost as well as production- and consumption-based measures to mitigate environmental impacts were proposed to enhance RE utilities for global sustainable development.

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 313, 1 July 2022, 114924

Abstract

Piloted in 2013, the Carbon Emission Trading (CET) policy is the most practical tool for emission reduction in China, however, midstream firms increase capital investment to cope with compliance costs, resulting in more expensive intermediate commodities that may hurt export benefits of industrial chain terminal. Based on the A-shared listed firms of Chinese metal industrial chain during 2008–2018, this paper applies the difference-in-difference model to explore the effects of CET on chain reactions of corporate activities. After a set of robustness tests, the results show that midstream firms accelerate capital deepening in response to CET and become more capital-intensive, but gain losses of outputs both in revenue and in quantity, accompanying cost pass-through to downstream firms, which are all contributed by the external pressure imposed by stakeholders and internal incentive from senior managers. Then, affected by price fluctuation in markets of production factors and carbon-intensive commodities, CET increases the cleanliness standards of midstream firms and promote their export benefits immediately, and cost pass-through generates more expensive intermediate products and results in export contraction of downstream firms, but precision machine manufacturing has seen export growth, as their products are more sensitive to technological breakthroughs than material costs.

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 314, 15 July 2022, 115038

Abstract

Reactive nitrogen (Nr) is an indispensable material for food production. However, it may cause serious environmental problems. The enhancement of nitrogen management in the food supply chain is an effective way to reduce Nr loss and increase Nr use efficiency. While Nr flows in association with the food chain have synergy in a mega-region, in-depth investigations at a cross-regional scale have remained relatively undocumented. This study developed a food-related Nr flow model based on a material flow analysis for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region (BTH) during the years 1978–2017. A multi-regional input-output method was applied to investigate the Nr emissions embodied in the transboundary food supply. The results showed that the total Nr emissions from the food system during the years 1978–2017 in the BTH region increased until 2004 and subsequently decreased gradually. In 2017, Beijing exhibited the lowest Nr emissions per capita (2.3 kg N/cap) and per land use (3089 kg N/km2), while Hebei and Tianjin demonstrated the greatest Nr emissions intensity by capita (13.6 kg N/cap) and by land use (6392 kg N/km2), respectively. While farming and livestock husbandry dominated the regional Nr emissions (i.e., responsible for 90% of the total in 2017), food consumption and waste management have had an increasingly substantial role, as their shared percentage in the total increased by 22% over the study period. Nr emissions resulting from the inner-transboundary food supply chain decreased by 81% between 2012 and 2015 but dramatically increased by 231% between 2015 and 2017. This rebound effect partially resulted from the implementation of coordinated development planning for the BTH region in 2015. This study can facilitate the efficient regulation of regional nitrogen flows and the desired transition of food supply chain.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 356, 1 July 2022, 131877

Abstract

Global climate sanctions are expected to force supply chain affiliates to reduce greenhouse gas and face trade distortions caused by carbon leakage. In this regard, this study examines how internal green activities such as green managerial innovation, green supply chain management, and green innovation facilitate firms to achieve environmental performance. Also, we endeavor to unveil the role of intellectual property rights and incorporate the mediating role of green supply chain management and the moderating role of green marketing innovation. Using the structural equation model technique, we examined hypotheses with 452 South Korean firms sampled through a web-based survey. Our results validated the direct effect of green managerial innovation and intellectual property right on green supply chain management, green supply chain management and intellectual property right on green innovation, and green innovation on environmental performance. In addition, we confirmed the significant mediating role of green supply chain management between intellectual property rights and green innovation and the moderating role of green marketing innovation between green innovation and environmental performance. These findings contribute to the literature on clean production and environmental performance by uncovering a firm's internal green strategies for resource utilization and identifying the contingent roles of green marketing innovation.

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 314, 15 July 2022, 115007

Abstract

The Australian urban construction electricity sector has witnessed a transformational effect in the use of small-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the past decade. Currently, Australia has one of the highest rates of rooftop solar PV users with over 20% of households connected. This will see a rapid growth in the volume of PV waste in the coming years when these PV systems come to their end-of-life or require replacement. The collection and transportation involved in solar PV waste treatment has a significant impact on the environmental sustainability of Australian cities while designing a holistic reverse logistic (RL) network may play an essential role in the reduction of the associated cost and environmental impacts. In this study, the Weibull distribution model is employed to forecast the PV waste in the next three decades in South Australia. The study further estimates the pollutant emission associated with the collection and transportation of the waste for recycling and recovery using hotspot analysis, location allocation modelling and vehicle routing problem. Generation of pollutants - Particulate Matter (PM), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Carbon dioxide (CO2) and Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) associated with transport and energy consumption are estimated through three routing scenarios. Results indicate that, there will be 109,007 tons of PV waste generated in urban and suburban context in South Australia by 2050. Among the three routing scenarios generated, the third scenario with optimised transfer stations and an additional recycling facility showed more than 34% reduction in pollutant emission. Such additional PV waste management facilities require policy support and regulations to effectively manage solar PV waste treatment and logistics.

Journal of Cleaner Productionm Volume 357, 10 July 2022, 131707

Abstract

Despite the emphasis of manufacturing firms on sustainability, integration of their orientation for long-term business performance is still challenging. This article examines how manufacturing firms devise strategies for sustainability by implementing sustainability practices like sustainable new product development and byproduct management to achieve environmental effectiveness and competitive business outcomes. A survey of 207 U.S. manufacturing firms is used for empirical testing and validation. The analysis of benchmark instruments indicates a high level of internal and external validity. The findings suggest that (1) sustainability orientation influences sustainable new product development and byproduct management; (2) Sustainable new product development and byproduct management jointly and directly impact environmental performance; (3) Environmental performance is crucial in determining business performance. The technological infrastructure of a firm reports a moderating effect between sustainable operations and performance outcomes. The longevity of a firm reports a moderating effect between environmental performance and business performance. To achieve broad social orientation goals, firms take a longer time horizon, take consistent steps to promote internal stakeholders’ wellbeing, and move forward with their purposeful reputation building in the larger ecosystem. This paper expands the sustainability literature by undertaking one of the first studies integrating sustainability orientation, sustainable new product development, byproduct management, and performance chain outcomes.

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 314, 15 July 2022, 115077

Abstract

Decision-making processes to ensure sustainability of complex agro-ecosystems must simultaneously accommodate production goals, environmental soundness, and social relevancy. This means that besides environmental indicators and human activities, stakeholders' perceptions need to be considered in the decision-making process to enable the adoption of mitigation practices. Thus, the decision-making process equates to a multi-criteria and multi-objective problem, requiring additional tools and methods to analyze the possible tradeoffs among decision alternatives based on social acceptability. This study was aimed at establishing a decision support system that integrates hydro-ecologic models and socio-cultural perspectives to identify and assess feasible land management alternatives that can enhance the Kaskaskia River Watershed (KRW) ecosystem services in Illinois (USA). The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to simulate the spatio-temporal response of nine environmental predictors to four major management alternatives (crop rotation, cover cropping, reduced tillage, modified fertilizer application) based on stakeholder acceptability and environmental soundness, under 32 distinct climate projections. The stochastic multicriteria acceptability analysis (SMAA) was then applied to classify the management alternatives from the least to the most efficient based on three preference schemes: no preference, expert stakeholders’ preference, and non-expert stakeholders’ preference. Results showed that preference information on watershed ecosystem services is crucial to guide the decision-making process when a broad spectrum of criteria is considered to assess the management alternatives' systemic response. The disparity between expert and non-expert stakeholders' preferences showed different rankings of alternatives across several subcatchments, where the two-year corn one-year soybean rotation scheme was expected to offer the best management alternative to ensure a sustainable agro-production system in the highly cultivated subcatchments of the KRW. In contrast, non-conventional tillage practices were expected to contravene agricultural production, and therefore should be discarded unless combined with complementary measures. This study will enable stakeholders to identify the most suitable management practices to adapt to natural and anthropogenic changes and encourage engagement between government institutions and local communities (multi-stakeholder consensus) to provide a better platform for decision-making.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 359, 20 July 2022, 131972

Abstract

Policies and strategies that encourage the adoption of environmentally friendly practices in the agricultural sector also promote mechanisms that facilitate their implementation. One of them is the creation of Producer Organizations and the granting of subsidies to farmers. Therefore, this study aims to analyse the most relevant aspects of the management of Agricultural Waste Biomass (AWB) by Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organizations (FVPOs) in a province in southeastern Spain. For this purpose, a case study was carried out that included surveys of 14 FVPOs (38% of the total). A descriptive method and a multivariate statistical technique were used to characterise these organizations. The results show that most of the FVPOs implement more than one AWB reduction and/or valorization practice, mainly the use of biodegradable and/or compostable raffia. However, the findings of the cluster analysis show that there are differences in the degree of relevance that the FVPOs give to the reduction and/or valorization of AWB. This exploratory study provides novel and relevant information that contributes to the characterization of the FVPOs and improves the knowledge on their trend in the management of AWB. It also serves as a tool for governments to assess the environmental provisions included in the regulatory framework of FVPOs. From this it will be possible to identify improvement actions to promote AWB valorization practices in the fruit and vegetable sector under the circular economy and bioeconomy approaches.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 359, 20 July 2022, 132091

Abstract

Nature-based blue-green infrastructure for urban stormwater management, such as bioretention systems, is considered to provide multiple benefits compared with conventional stormwater runoff quantity and quality control. There are a range of bioretention systems and design and construction can vary widely. Studies comparing environmental impacts between different stormwater bioretention systems with various design elements and construction components have been lacking and hence, this study aims to address this gap. Various designs of stormwater bioretention systems with differing construction components and filter media mixtures have for the first time been compared using a life cycle assessment approach. Environmental impacts related to the production, transportation, and installation phases (i.e. before operation) of four types of bioretention systems, encompassing 11 configurations, have been assessed. The various construction components and filter media mixtures used incur differing degrees of environmental impacts. The filter media mixtures requiring longer transportation distances were associated with the highest environmental impacts. In this analysis, the bioretention systems built with more kerb stone, without geotextile and a filter media with sand, soil and gravel incurred the lowest environmental impacts. Whereas the bioretention systems constructed with the most concrete and with filter media that included pumice incurred the highest environmental impacts in all categories, up to 9–24 times greater than the systems with less concrete and no pumice. When means of transportation and distances were considered further in the sensitivity analysis, the concrete intensive structures incurred the highest environmental impacts. These findings can improve design choices and selection of construction components for stormwater bioretention systems where environmental impacts are considered important.

Computers & Industrial Engineering, Available online 14 July 2022, 108441

Abstract

Practitioners and academicians dedicate significant attention to tackling initiatives and executing mechanisms to address society’s environmental concerns. Further, organizations and researchers recognize that there is a need to implement green supply chain management (GSCM) practices as a part of green strategy. To date, embedding a sustainability dimension into supply chain management remains a challenge for organizations given the lack of systematic knowledge of the key dimensions of GSCM practices, the factors that influence the implementation of GSCM practices, and the benefits that organizations gain through the implementation of such practices. To address this problem, this study reviews 156 research articles published between 1997 and 2021 in the GSCM literature, and offers a theoretical framework that synthesizes and integrates the knowledge acquired from the reviewed literature. This framework includes various dimensions of GSCM practices identified in the past research studies, the antecedents that influence implementation of GSCM practices, and the outcomes of implementation of such practices. Further, this study offers theoretical and practical perspectives to support future research utilizing a research model as a baseline to guide organizations in the understanding of the primary GSCM attributes, their predictors, and benefits.

Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, Volume 73, July 2022, 127623

Abstract

The success of urban forest management strategies is dependent on public support for and engagement with urban trees. Satisfaction with urban trees and their management, and the level of trust people have in urban tree managers, are useful for understanding public opinions. Yet these concepts, and the mechanisms leading to the formation of public opinions remain poorly explored in the literature. Here we explore how satisfaction with urban trees and with urban tree management, and trust in the agencies responsible for urban tree management, are explained by cognitive factors (values, beliefs, and knowledge) and socio-ecological contextual factors (tree presence/canopy cover, cultural diversity, and socioeconomic status) using an online survey of 16 local government areas in south-eastern Australia. Analyses of 2367 responses revealed that people’s opinions about trees in general (values and beliefs) were overwhelmingly positive, while their opinions about more contextualised measures such as satisfaction and trust were more mixed. Two distinct pathways that influence satisfaction were identified: one linked to beliefs about having trees in cities, and another one linked to trust in urban tree management. At the local government level, satisfaction was negatively associated with a measure of cultural diversity and very low levels of tree canopy cover, but not with socioeconomic disadvantage. Satisfaction with local trees could be improved by increasing the quality of ecological function of trees, such as habitat provision and tree diversity. Community engagement could also improve satisfaction and trust, particularly perceived procedural fairness of decision-making, reinforce positive beliefs about the outcomes of having trees in cities, and dispel negative beliefs. Engagement processes should recognise that people hold complex and diverse opinions about urban trees, and by incorporating these opinions into decision-making we can meet the increasingly complex and diverse expectations being placed on urban forests.

Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, Volume 198, July 2022, 106993

Abstract

The role of Internet-of-Things (IoT) in precision agriculture and smart greenhouses has been reinforced by recent R&D projects, growing commercialization of IoT infrastructure, and related technologies such as satellites, artificial intellige nce, sensors, actuators, uncrewed aerial vehicles, big data analytics, intelligent machines, and radio-frequency identification devices. Even though the integration of intelligent technologies offers unlimited potential in precision commercial agriculture, optimal resource management remains a challenge considering that IoT infrastructure is unevenly distributed across the world and concentrated in high-income countries. The utilization of IoT technologies in smart greenhouses often involves a tradeoff between the cost of agricultural production, environmental conservation, ecological degradation, and sustainability. The installation of IoT infrastructure is capital-intensive and often translates to higher energy demand, that elevates the risk for climate change. The widespread use of IoT sensors and networks also increases new challenges in the management of electronic waste, depletion of finite resources, and destruction of fragile ecosystems, resulting in climate change. the integration of IoT systems in greenhouses would be augmented by the global deployment of advanced 5G technology and Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation broadband internet with low latency and high speeds. Intelligent application of agrochemicals could yield significant savings ($500/acre or more), while need-based irrigation and fertilizer application would help improve crop yields. Globally, the deployment of IoT infrastructure would yield about $500 billion of added value to the GDP by 2030. The forecasted economic benefits affirm that the applications of IoT for optimized greenhouse environment and resources management were sustainable, and any potential risks are incomparable to the long-term benefits in commercial agriculture. The review article contributes new insights on the role of IoT in agriculture 4.0, the challenges, and future prospects for developing nations, which lacked the resources to invest in precision agriculture technologies.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Available online 18 July 2022, 133178

Abstract

Growing environmental and social issues pose a challenge to the business world as to how to sustain and grow in an environment characterised by uncertainties. Drawing upon a systematic literature review, this study prioritizes on examining the impact of humane entrepreneurship (HumEnt) on sustainable corporate performance (SCP) for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging economy because this extent remains scant in the current literature. Furthermore, it also explores whether sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) mediates the relationship between HumEnt and SCP. Simultaneously, examining whether green corporate social responsibility (GCSR) moderates HumEnt's influence on SSCM. This study follows quantitative approach using Smart PLS version 3.3.2 to analyse Structural Equation Modelling to investigate the structural relationships. There were 468 valid responses obtained from the main survey. The survey participants are those who hold senior levels at the selected enterprises. The results reveal that HumEnt has a positive and meaningful relationship with SSCM and SCP. In addition, SSCM partially mediates the relationship between HumEnt and SCP. Besides, GCSR positively and significantly affects SSCM, and simultaneously moderates HumEnt's influence on SSCM. Given the above discussion on the gap, the main finding of this study is a novelty in the field. These contributions may be of interest to business practitioners, business leaders and academics. In this context, circular economy practices are essential in promoting SSCM to achieve sustainable performance. This study seeks to provide an influence map on how GCSR involves realising HumEnt to promote SSCM for a circular economy to achieve greater sustainability.

MÔI TRƯỜNG ĐÔ THỊ

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 828, 1 July 2022, 154400

Abstract

With the continuous progress of urbanization, municipal solid waste (MSW) transfer stations, which are key points for garbage collection and transportation, have moved to residential areas than before. The emission characteristics of gas-phase emerging contaminants should be comprehensively assessed in the assessment of health threats to workers and environmental risks. In this study, the emission characteristics of airborne microplastic particles (>50 μm) were analyzed on the roof vent and waste reception hall of four MSW transfer stations in Shanghai during different seasons. The average concentration of airborne microplastic particles was 2.5 ± 1.3 n/m3. The particle sizes of airborne microplastics at the four waste transfer stations were mainly in the range of 100 μm to 500 μm. Microplastics mainly occur as films and fibers. The dominant microplastic type was Rayon, which accounted for 69.4% of the total amount. The rate of microplastic particles emission into the environment for a single transfer station was estimated to be in the range of 41,297 to 82,593 n/h. Compared with the waste reception hall, the concentration of airborne microplastic particles in the roof vent decreased by 25%, which indicated that the odor treatment facility effectively reduces the concentration of microplastic particles.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 829, 10 July 2022, 154223

Abstract

The urban form and extreme microclimate events can have an important impact on the energy performance of buildings, urban comfort and human health. State-of-the-art building energy simulations require information on the urban microclimate, but typically rely on ad-hoc numerical simulations, expensive in-situ measurements, or data from nearby weather stations. As such, they do not account for the full range of possible urban microclimate variability and findings cannot be generalized across urban morphologies. To bridge this knowledge gap, this study proposes two data-driven models to downscale climate variables from the meso to the micro scale in arbitrary urban morphologies, with a focus on extreme climate conditions. The models are based on a feedforward and a deep neural network (NN) architecture, and are trained using results from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of flow over a series of idealized but representative urban environments, spanning a realistic range of urban morphologies. Both models feature a relatively good agreement with corresponding CFD training data, with a coefficient of determination R2 = 0.91 (R2 = 0.89) and R2 = 0.94 (R2 = 0.92) for spatially-distributed wind magnitude and air temperature for the deep NN (feedforward NN). The models generalize well for unseen urban morphologies and mesoscale input data that are within the training bounds in the parameter space, with a R2 = 0.74 (R2 = 0.69) and R2 = 0.81 (R2 = 0.74) for wind magnitude and air temperature for the deep NN (feedforward NN). The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed CFD-NN models makes them well suited for the design of climate-resilient buildings at the early design stage.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 829, 10 July 2022, 154478

Abstract

The spatial distribution of elevated particulate matter (PM) concentrations represents a public health concern due to its association with adverse health effects. In this study, a city-wide spatial variability of PM (PM10 and PM2.5) concentrations in Jinan, China is evaluated using a combination of measurements from 1700 fixed sites and taxi-based mobile monitoring (300 taxis recruited). The taxi fleet provides high spatial resolution and minimizes temporal sampling uncertainties that a single mobile platform cannot address. A big dataset of PM concentrations covering three land-use domains (roadway, community and open-field) and pollution episodes is derived from the taxi-based mobile monitoring (~3 × 107 pairs of PM10 and PM2.5). The ability of taxi-based mobile monitoring to characterize location-specific concentrations is assessed. We applied an "elevation ratio” to identify the elevated PM concentrations and quantified the ratios at 30-m road segments. Higher PM concentrations occurred during haze episode with lower elevation ratios in all land-use domains compares to non-haze episode. Different characteristics (distribution and range) of the elevation ratios are shown in different land-use domains which highlight the potential local emission hotspots and could have transformative implications for environmental management, thus, contribute to the effectiveness of pollution control strategy.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 356, 1 July 2022, 131856

Abstract

Municipal wastewater (MWW) produced in a stable and huge amount is increasingly regarded as a valuable resource for generating clean water, bioenergy and nutrients. Efficient bioenergy and bioresource recovery from the MWW are challenging in conventional aerobic and anaerobic biotechnologies due to technical limitations. The emerging anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) show great potential to overcome such limitations by integrating the merits of anaerobic digestion and membrane filtration. In this review, the fundamental aspects regarding MWW quality and process properties of AnMBRs are briefly introduced. Recent developments in AnMBRs towards performance enhancement, fouling mitigation and energy demand reduction are assessed in terms of process characteristics and energy efficiency. The promising AnMBR configurations targeted include biogas-sparging AnMBR, particle-fluidized AnMBR, granular-sludge AnMBR, anaerobic dynamic membrane bioreactor (AnDMBR) and anaerobic forward osmosis membrane bioreactor (AnFOMBR), with the energy balance systematically discussed as well as economic and environmental benefits briefly analyzed based on life cycle assessment (LCA) studies. Lastly, future perspectives for AnMBR research and development (R&D) are highlighted by a proposed technical framework with an emphasis on the pre-treatment and post-treatment options, dissolved methane management and process optimization, which are expected to advance large-scale AnMBR applications in an economically viable and environmentally sustainable manner.

Journal of Cleaner Productionm, Volume 358, 15 July 2022, 131954

Abstract

Urbanization has been viewed as an important factor in rapidly increasing carbon emissions. While urbanization relates to various aspects across space and time, a comprehensive assessment of its influences on carbon emission remains scare. In order to explore the multiple effects of urbanization on carbon emissions, a spatial panel data model was applied in this study, by combing nighttime light remote sensing data form 1995 to 2015 in the case of Zhejiang, China. The results showed that on time series, carbon emissions showed an overall trend of growing rapidly first and slowing down then, and its growth rate was closely related to the socio-economic development. Spatially, high carbon emission areas were mainly concentrated in the northeast and eastern coastal areas, while the southwest regions were the main low-carbon emission areas. Furthermore, the investigation of impact factors revealed that the expansion and fragmentation of urban land, augment of the secondary industry, and consumption behavior would lead to growth in carbon emissions, while the connectivity between urban lands, rising of urban population, and residents' low-carbon awareness could promote carbon mitigation. To be noticed, the impact of economic growth on carbon emissions may gradually be weakening as the industry upgrades. Overall, this research has provided a useful insight into the relationship between urbanization and carbon emissions that can support policy makers and urban planners.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 358, 15 July 2022, 132008

Abstract

City sustainability evaluation has a positive effect on guiding urban economy toward efficiency, stability and innovation with minimal resource consumption. This paper evaluated the sustainability level of Urban Agglomeration on the West Side of the Straits (WSS) in China from three dimensions: economy, society, and environment. We proposed a weighting method based on the hybrid GRA (HGRW) to calculate indicator weights, which considers the interaction between indicators through the similarity of curves, especially the annual increment curves. Evaluation results showed the sustainability level of WSS was not high with regional polarization and imbalance. Five core cities ranked in the top five, of which Xiamen performed best with an evaluation value over 0.65. The development of three sustainability dimensions was uncoordinated. Most cities were in the status of near coordination or primary coordination. The factors that drive and hinder city sustainability were related to economic and social aspects, such as investment in fixed assets, worker's wages, and education investment. Based on these findings, we made targeted suggestions for the local development planning.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 359, 20 July 2022, 132064

Abstract

The provision of food is fundamental for society, but it is also a major driver of environmental change. Cities are important consumers of food, harboring more than half of the global population, a share that is expected to grow in the coming decades. Here we investigate the urban food system of Vienna, a large central European city. We quantify the land and greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint of Vienna's food system and explore potentials to reduce the urban footprint through changes in food consumption, applying a counterfactual approach. We systematically compare the land and GHG effect of a shift of consumption towards i) diets with a lower share of animal products, ii) food from regional agriculture and iii) food from organic agriculture, based on the FoodClim model presented in this study. Our results show that Vienna's food system currently requires 639000 ha of agricultural land, about two thirds of it in foreign countries and emits 2.29 Mt CO2e/yr over the whole supply chain. A change in diets has the largest impact, reducing both Vienna's food system land footprint by 54% and its GHG footprint by 57%, while the effect of regionalization is comparatively small. Combined scenarios show that it is possible to maintain a healthy level of meat in diets and to switch to organic agriculture with lower land and livestock productivities and to still save half of the GHG emissions, while avoiding an expansion of the land footprint.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 830, 15 July 2022, 154647

Abstract

Antibiotics in the environment could undergo various processes with formation of transformation products, but little has been known about their occurrence and (eco)toxicological consequences. Here we investigated the occurrence and fate of nine transformation products of four tetracyclines (tetracycline, oxytetracycline, chlortetracycline and doxycycline) in three municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Guangzhou, China. The results showed the detection of all the tetracyclines and their transformation products in the WWTPs, with mean concentrations ranging from 17.8 ng/L (anhydrotetracycline) to 49.1 ng/L (oxytetracycline) in influent, 3.03 ng/L (tetracycline) to 6.94 ng/L (4-epi-chlortetracycline) in effluent, and 19.8 ng/g (isochlortetracycline) to 503 ng/g (4-epi-tertracycline) in sludge, respectively. The transformation products of tetracycline, oxytetracycline, chlortetracycline and doxycycline accounted for 73%–83%, 26%–52%, 70%–73% and 69%–74% of total concentrations, respectively. The aqueous removal rates of tetracyclines and their transformation products in the three WWTPs ranged from 18.4% (demethyl-chlortetracycline) to 93.7% (oxytetracycline). Mass balance analysis based on both aqueous and solid phase showed that their removals were mainly attributed to the sludge adsorption. Residual tetracyclines and their transformation products in the effluents would pose no obvious ecological risks to three aquatic organisms (green algae, daphnia and fish). However, 43.5% of sludge samples had high risks from these tetracyclines and transformation products, especially the compounds with poor biodegradability. The results from this study suggest that transformation products should be included in future environmental monitoring and control.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 831, 20 July 2022, 154632

Abstract

Urban non-point source (NPS) pollution has gradually become one of the important factors affecting the urban water environment. The quantitative evaluation of urban NPS pollution is the priority to identify key control area of urban NPS pollution. Current model applied in China is mainly focused on small-scale area, large-scale spatial continuous simulation is lacking. In this study A spatial continuous evaluation method coupled with high-resolution remote sensing data has been established and the method was applied to Tongzhou, China. With the spatial distribution of land-use type and built-up area which were been obtained by remote sensing technology, the accumulative and wash-off load of urban NPS nitrogen and phosphorus were estimated for the prominent problems of nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient pollution in the rivers in the study area. The main sources of urban NPS Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution are roof and road rainfall runoff respectively. Compared to other urban NPS pollution models, the method developed in this study can quickly realize spatial visualization assessment of urban NPS pollution and provide a means to estimate urban NPS loads in entire city or urban agglomeration, it is applicable for common urban NPS pollutants and also has advantages in areas without data.

Environmental Pollution, Volume 304, 1 July 2022, 119210

Abstract

Cities constitute an important source of greenhouse gases, but few results originating from long-term, direct CO2 emission monitoring efforts have been reported. In this study, CO2 emissions were quasi-continuously measured in an urban center in Sakai, Osaka, Japan by the eddy covariance method from 2010 to 2021. Long-term CO2 emissions reached 22.2 ± 2.0 kg CO2 m−2 yr−1 from 2010 to 2019 (± denotes the standard deviation) in the western sector from the tower representing the densely built-up area. Throughout the decade, the annual CO2 emissions remained stable. According to an emission inventory, traffic emissions represented the major source of CO2 emissions within the flux footprint. The interannual variations in the annual CO2 flux were positively correlated with the mean annual traffic counts at two highway entrances and exits. The CO2 emissions decreased suddenly, by 32% ± 3.1%, in April and May 2020 during the period in which the first state of emergency associated with COVID-19 was declared. The annual CO2 emissions also decreased by 25% ± 3.1% in 2020. Direct long-term observations of CO2 emissions comprise a useful tool to monitor future emission reductions and sudden disruptions in emissions, such as those beginning in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 313, 1 July 2022, 114987

Abstract

Despite the well-recognized financial limitations, social aspects can also impact the adoption of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) as it is ingrained in the socio-ecological system we live in. Thus, this work focuses on gaining an understanding of the public's perceptions of GSI by considering cognitive biases that hinder its adoption. This work is composed of two forms of human-subject studies, including an online-based survey and a series of semi-structured interviews. The survey (n = 510) was conducted to gauge public opinions toward GSI, whereas the interviews with representatives of major local regulatory agencies were to learn about the logistics for GSI implementation in Mecklenburg County, NC. The results were interpreted using the theory of planned behavior of rational actors. Statistical results showed a weak interpretation through this theory to explain the survey participants' intention to adopt GSI measures. This could suggest that the incorporation of irrationality, such as cognitive biases, could further enhance the predictability of the theory. At the same time, an inconsistency between the findings from the survey and the interviews was identified: most survey participants showed an overall uniform positive attitude, intention, and behavior regarding GSI practice adoption, whereas the interviewed experts all suggested a wide diversity on such terms. Suggestions were made based on the findings for better policy-making on public engagement for local regulatory agencies. This research aims to help local stormwater management authorities explore shortcomings in current stakeholder engagement plans to gain sustainable support for GSI implementation in urbanized areas.

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 313, 1 July 2022, 115005

Abstract

As concerning with water insecurity driven by water scarcity threatens the lives and livelihoods of humanity worldwide, urban water demand management is focused on promoting residential water conservation behaviors (WCBs) as a critical policy response to water scarcity. However, urban water conservation initiatives cannot be successful unless households involve in residential WCBs voluntarily by adopting water curtailment and/or water-efficiency actions. Thus, understanding motivations and mechanisms underlying accepting these two types of WCBs and interpreting their distinctions are primary policy considerations to make sustainable water consumption behaviors. Hence, the purpose of this research was twofold: (1) To explore intentions to household adoption of water curtailment and water-efficiency actions, key corresponding determinants, and distinctions between them; and (2) To evaluate the capability and robustness of the Health Belief Model (HBM) to explain residential WCBs. The present research design was a cross-sectional survey conducted in Tehran, Iran. The outcomes from structural equation modeling indicated that: (1) Water curtailment intention was solely determined by self-efficacy and perceived benefits; (2) In addition to self-efficacy and perceived benefits, perceived severity, cues to action, and perceived barriers were significantly related to water-efficiency intention; (3) While only perceived susceptibility was not a significant determinant for water-efficiency intention, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived barriers, and cues to action could not significantly explain water curtailment intention; (4) Self-efficacy also emerged as the strongest predictive variable behind intentions to adopt both WCBs; (5) The perceived barriers had a negative significant relationship only with water-efficiency intention; and (6) The HBM could explain 72% and 61% of the variance in households’ intentions to adopt water curtailment and water-efficiency actions, respectively. These outcomes supported that the HBM could propose a reliable and practical heuristic theoretical framework to predict residential WCBs. Moreover, the findings confirmed significant differences among socio-psychological factors behind intentions to household adoption of both WCBs, which need to be addressed. The research results introduced numerous implications from theoretical and policy standpoints for improving residential WCBs.

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 313, 1 July 2022, 114929

Abstract

Previous research papers on urban water resources accounting were confined to the perspectives of production and consumption, ignoring the perspective of income. This paper proposes a systems framework to analyze the income, production, and consumption-based water uses and underlying driving forces of a city based on the methods of multi-scale input-output analysis and structural decomposition analysis. A case study is performed for Shanghai as a megacity. The results show that the income, production and consumption-based water uses of Shanghai had decreased from 5.70 billion m3, 10.85 billion m3 and 28.45 billion m3 in 2007 to 2.80 billion m3, 6.20 billion m3 and 24.10 billion m3 in 2017, respectively. Domestic imported primary inputs had emerged as an important virtual water supplier of Shanghai and its share of total supply-side water use had increased from 23.92% in 2007 to 42.95% in 2017. Meanwhile, about 46% and 40% of Shanghai's total consumption-based water use had been imported from other Chinese regions and foreign countries in 2017, respectively. It is revealed that trade played an important role in relieving water use pressure in Shanghai. The factors that had increased the uses of water resources in Shanghai include population, per capita value-added, per capita output, final consumption structure, and per capita final consumption. The factors that had reduced the water uses in Shanghai include technology, value added mix, output structure, value added structure, domestic import, commodity mix, and foreign import. It is suggested that in addition to curbing urban water use from the production side, more targeted water-saving measures should be devised from the supply (e.g., restricting loan to heavy water-consuming enterprises) and consumption sides (e.g., encouraging residents to buy low-water products).

Environmental Research, Volume 210, July 2022, 112899

Abstract

The impact of COVID-19 control on air quality have been prevalent for the past two years, however few studies have explored the toxicity of atmospheric particulate matter during the epidemic control. Therefore, this research highlights the characteristics and sources of oxidative potential (OP) and the new health risk substances environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) in comparison to city lockdown (CLD) with early days of 2019–2020. Daily particulate matter (PM2.5) samples were collected from January 14 to February 3, 2020, with the same period during 2019 in Xi'an city. The results indicated that the average concentration of PM2.5 decreased by 48% during CLD. Concentrations of other air pollutants and components, such as PM10, NO2, SO2, WSIs, OC and EC were also decreased by 22%, 19%, 2%, 17%, 6%, and 4% respectively during the CLD, compared to the same period in 2019. Whereas only O3 increased by 30% during CLD. The concentrations of EPFRs in PM2.5 was considerably lower than in 2019, which decreased by 12% during CLD. However, the OP level was increased slightly during CLD. Moreover, both EPFRs/PM and DTTv/PM did not decrease or even increase significantly, manifesting that the toxicity of particulate matter has not been reduced by more gains during the CLD. Based on PMF analysis, during the epidemic period, the contribution of traffic emission is significantly reduced, while EPFRs and DTTv increased, which consist of significant O3 and secondary aerosols. This research leads to able future research on human health effect of EPFRs and oxidative potential and can be also used to formulate the majors to control EPFRs and OP emissions, suggest the need for further studies on the secondary processing of EPFRs and OP during the lockdown period in Xi'an. .The COVID-19 lockdown had a significant impact on both social and economic aspects. The city lockdown, however, had a positive impact on the environment and improved air quality, however, no significant health benefits were observed in Xi'an, China.

Environmental Research, Volume 210, July 2022, 112962

Abstract

Street dust (SD) are the particulates that primarily originated from Earth's crust and secondary alteration and erosion of natural and anthropogenic materials. The multi-dimensional pollution and health risk assessment of potentially toxic metals (PTMs) in these particles remain unknown in the majority of world urban areas. The elemental concentration, mineralogy, and micro-morphology of street dust were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), SEM-EDX, XRD, and petrographical observation. Multivariate statistical analysis combined with positive matrix factorization (PMF) and Monte-Carlo simulations were applied to source identification and health risk assessment of PTMs. A severe enrichment of Sb, Cu and Zn and moderate contamination of Sn, Pb, and Cr were observed in the samples particularly in the areas with higher loads of traffic. The results of geochemical indices showed that K, Al, Mn, and V have natural/geogenic origins. While Sb, Pb, Cr, Cu, and Zn showed an enrichment relative to the background values with dominant anthropogenic sources. The results were confirmed by source appointment techniques. The results of deterministic and probabilistic health risk assessment by Monte-Carlo simulations revealed the non-carcinogenic nature of As, Mn, and Pb for children mainly through skin and ingestion routes. It can be concluded that the chemical compound of street dust in Gorgan city is affected by both natural (loess deposits) and anthropogenic sources. Also, children are in the risk of exposure to PTMs in street dust more than adults.

Environmental Research, Volume 210, July 2022, 112994

Abstract

In an urbanizing world, with 55% of the population living in cities, it is essential to design friendly and healthy ones. An emerging body of evidence has associated greenspace exposure with improved cognitive development, including attentional function; however, the longitudinal studies looking at the association with attentional function are still scarce. Therefore, the objective of this study was to analyze the association of the exposure to greenspace and attention in school children. This study was based on 751 participants at 8 years and 598 at 11–13 years of two sub-cohorts of the INMA cohort study in Gipuzkoa and Asturias, Spain. Greenspace exposure at home was characterized using four indicators: (i) average of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and (ii) Vegetation Continuous Field (VCF) in buffers of 100 m, 300 m, and 500 m around the residential address, (ii) availability of a green space within 300 m from the residential address, and (iv) residential distance to green spaces. Participants’ attention was characterized twice at ages of 8 and 11 years, using the computerized Attentional Network Test (ANT). General linear models were used for the cross-sectional analyses and linear mixed effects model for the longitudinal analyses. Our cross-sectional analyses showed a statistical significant protective association between average NDVI at 300 m and inattentiveness (−7.20, CI 95%: 13.74; −0.67). In our longitudinal analyses, although we generally observed beneficial associations between greenspace exposure and attention, none attained statistical significance. No statistically significant indirect effect were seen for NO2. Our findings add to the emerging body of evidence on the role of green spaces in neurodevelopment, which can provide the evidence base for implementing intervention aimed at promoting neurodevelopment in urban children.

MÔI TRƯỜNG KHU CÔNG NGHIỆP

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 828, 1 July 2022, 154382

Abstract

Industrial production is the main source of heavy metals for cultivated land in China as it has been the world's factory. However, owing to there being insufficient data and appropriate methods, it is difficult to rank the risk level and identify spatial patterns of heavy metal pollution in cultivated land. This study developed an innovative methodology for relative regional risk assessment based on the risk theory of source-pathway-receptor, and the heavy metal pollution risks of cultivated land were appraised on a national scale. The results showed that: (i) the cultivated land with high, medium, and low risk of heavy metal pollution accounted for 4.23%, 10.01%, and 4.53% in China; (ii) the heavy metal pollution risk level of cultivated land increased gradually from the northwest to the southeast of China, and the risk in the north was more serious than that in the south; (iii) the aggregated distribution areas of high-risk regions in China were the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, the Tianjin coastal area, the Sichuan-Chongqing economic zone, central-southern Hunan, central Hebei, and the Yellow River coast of Henan; and (iv) China's prevention and control policies effectively curbed heavy metal pollution in cultivated land, the pollution risks have declined significantly. It is suggested that different protection and control strategies should be upgraded and implemented according to different risk modes.

Science of The Total Environment, Volume 829, 10 July 2022, 154640

Abstract

Rational division of environmental management power among governments is a necessary institutional support for speeding up the realization of green development goals. Based on the combined microdata of China Industrial Enterprise Database and China Enterprise Pollution Database from 2000 to 2012, the effect of environmental decentralization on enterprise pollution emission is empirically examined in this research. Results show that Chinese-style environmental decentralization, especially environmental supervision decentralization and environmental monitoring decentralization, significantly aggravates the pollution emissions of enterprises. Moreover, the impact of environmental decentralization on enterprise pollution emissions has regional and enterprise ownership heterogeneity. The mechanism test results denote that the production scale effect, energy structure effect and pollution control effect are the micro mechanisms of environmental decentralization aggravating the pollution emission of enterprises. This research confirms the existence of "race to the bottom” among local governments in China and provides evidence support and beneficial enlightenment for the vertical reform of the environmental management system.

Chemosphere, Volume 298, July 2022, 134291

Abstract

A convenient technique for direct solids analysis, laser ablation single particle aerosol mass spectrometry (LA-SPAMS), was used to investigate lead and other components in soil and bark samples from around a battery industrial park. In total, over 50,000 particles ranging in size from 0.2 to 2 μm were sampled and approximately 15–35% of the particles were analyzed for chemical composition. The mean mass spectrum results showed that the intensity of lead varied widely among sampling points, reaching the highest intensity in the topsoil and bark at sampling point 4, located closest to the core factory. Based on the neural network algorithm of adaptive resonance theory (ART-2a), the topsoil and bark samples were classified into five categories: crustal composition (Ca+, silicates, aluminates, etc.), elemental carbon (C2-, C3−, C4−, etc.), organic carbon (CN−, levoglucosan, etc.), secondary inorganic sources (phosphates, nitrates, sulfates), and heavy metals (Pb+, Zn+, Cu+), with the proportion of Pb varying from 0.020 to 0.25% and 0.030–9.41% in topsoil and bark samples, respectively, while the proportion of Cu and Zn in topsoil and bark samples did not differ as greatly as Pb. In addition, the particle number concentrations of lead particles in topsoil and bark ranged from 0.14 to 3.48% and 0.36–37.93%, respectively. The concentrations of Pb in topsoil and bark samples measured by ICP-OES varied from 71 to 791 ppm and 172–2595 ppm, respectively. Overall, both the lead content in topsoil samples measured by LA-SPAMS and ICP-OES reached maximum values at sampling points 4 and 5, respectively, indicating moderate pollution with Pb at these two sites. This convenient LA-SPAMS method not only accurately detects the composition of solid samples, the mixing state of particulate matter, and the analytical component sources, but also omits tedious pretreatment steps, reduces the use of organic solvents, and shortens the detection time of solid samples, thereby providing an attractive method for soil environmental quality monitoring.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 358, 15 July 2022, 131606

Abstract

To overcome barriers and make a societal transition towards a safe, healthy, and sustainable circular economy, realistic and ambitious solutions need to be identified. This study improves the Solution-focused Sustainability Assessment framework (SfSA) with a ‘chain approach’, which aims to involve stakeholders from across a product chain of interest to explore the ‘solution space’ from different perspectives. The approach allows to gain a broad insight into the scientific and practical aspects of a problem and its potential solutions. The approach is applied to a specific case: the circular economy of plastics in the automotive industry. Stakeholders across the value-chain together identified forty-one different barriers and various solutions. The stakeholders involved considered the solutions in the realms of policy and economics, such as pricing of environmental impact and norms for recyclate, as most feasible and impactful. Reflection on these results by experts underpinned and enriched these results. The emphasis on policy and economic barriers and solutions does not necessarily mean focus should solely be on solving policy and economic restraints and improving current policy measures. The results show that barriers are connected. When one barrier is overcome, another such as safety of substances may come to the forefront. The same holds for the solutions. The transition towards circular use of plastics in the automotive industry requires a network of solutions that together create systemic change, such as policy solutions as well as gathering data for assessments. This study shows the value of bringing together stakeholders from across the value-chain in a search for barriers and solutions: i) it provides new insights and data on barriers and solutions that cannot be extracted from literature; ii) it challenges stakeholders to see the system they are part of and think in terms of solutions; iii) stakeholders learn from each other and discover that there are more opportunities than they thought of beforehand. Work has to be done to make the solutions suitable for further quantification and to continue to involve stakeholders in the other SfSA steps to gather data, assess solutions, and implement those solutions together.

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 314, 15 July 2022, 115015

Abstract

Network Integration is an effective strategy for water conservation. However, increased interplant linkages can make the entire system vulnerable to cascading failures in case of loss of water flow in some plants. The potential indirect impact of water shortages on such integrated systems may not be evident without the use of appropriate models. This work defines inoperability as the fractional loss of water flow relative to normal operations. A comparison between the applicability of demand-driven versus supply-driven Inoperability Input-output Model (IIM) is conducted. Then, a Vulnerability Assessment Framework which integrates vulnerability indicators into the Dynamic Input-Output Model (DIIM) is developed to analyse failure propagation in water networks in an industrial park. The DIIM is then applied to simulate the cascading effects of disturbances. From a time perspective, the vulnerabilities of the industrial parks With Integrated Optimal Water Network (WWN) and Without Integrated Optimal Water Network (WOWN) are assessed considering robustness, adaptability, and recoverability as the indicators. The results indicate that supply-driven IIM is more suitable for cascading failure analysis of water networks. The average inoperability at 16% from supply-driven IIM is higher than that from demand-driven IIM. In the freshwater disturbance scenario, the dependence of the plant on freshwater is proportional to the rate of inoperability change, the time to reach a new equilibrium. In this study, the robustness of WWN is about fivefold that of WOWN, but the recovery rate is only one-sixth of the latter. This work can help identify system vulnerabilities and provide a scientific insight for the development of park-wide water management strategies. 

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 314, 15 July 2022, 115074

Abstract

A double waste stream problem arises from the increasing use of electrical and electronic equipment and their energy consumption: potentially toxic wastes from the equipment itself and potential acid mine drainage from the waste of the coal mines that provide the fuel to cover the energy demand. CEReS (Co-processing of Coal Mine & Electronic Wastes: Novel Resources for a Sustainable Future) is a novel method to co-process the coal mine and low-grade PCBs waste to reduce their environmental impacts while producing metals and other valuable products. The aim of this study is to investigate whether CEReS method is more environmentally friendly than the conventional practices of landfilling and incineration. Based on a Polish coal mine case study, our study found that the CEReS method could potentially eliminate the environmental impacts related to toxicity but increase the climate change impacts by ten times. A sensitivity analysis has shown that using a lower carbon electricity mix could reduce the climate change and fossil depletion impacts. It is also recommended to reduce water and energy requirements in some stages of the method.

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 314, 15 July 2022, 115108

Abstract

The performance of three solid iron wastes (SIW-1, SIW-2 and SIW-3) was evaluated as an activator of persulfate (PS) for the degradation of methylene blue (MB). SIW-3 showed the highest performance among the three catalysts. The morphology, chemical composition and chemical structure of the three SIW were investigated using various analyses. Complete degradation of methylene blue (MB) in neutral pH was achieved after 60 min at PS concentration of 4 mM, initial MB concentration of 10 mg/L and catalyst dose of 1.0 g/100 mL using light. The degradation efficiency of MB decreased from 100% to 34.6% by increasing the initial MB concentration from 10 mg/L to 100 mg/L. The degradation of MB followed the second-order model. Scavenging experiments showed the major role of hydroxyl and sulfate radicals in the MB degradation. The performance of iron waste in the retained form was investigated and the degradation efficiencies were 96%, 91.2%, 91%, 89% and 86% in five succeeding cycles at pH 7, catalyst dose of 1 g/100 mL, initial MB concentration of 10 mg/L and PS concentration of 4 mM. Moreover, the reusability of suspended iron waste was investigated. The degradation efficiencies of methylene blue, methyl red, Congo red and acid blue-25 were 100%, 97%, 96% and 97.3%, respectively after 60 min. The degradation pathways of MB were proposed after the identification of intermediates using liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy analysis. This study revealed that the iron waste can be efficiently employed for PS activation in the suspended and immobilized modes which reduces the total cost of the Fenton process paving the way for the large-scale application of this technique.

Environmental Impact Assessment Review, Volume 95, July 2022, 106776

Abstract

With the development of technology and manufacturing, the conflicts between environment protection, economic interest and social benefit have been awared and paid more attention to in recent years. The sustainability performance has been considered by increasing number of decision makers. In the real-life practice, it will strongly affect the prioritization results if the criteria considered in the sustainability assessment are interdependent. Therefore, a non-orthogonal coordinate system based multi-criteria decision making method which can incorporate the interactions and interdependences among the criteria for sustainability assessment is proposed in this study. An illustrative case about electricity production was used to illustrate the developed sustainability prioritization model. The results obtained by the proposed method are compared with that based on the traditional method, and sensitivity analysis is also carried out. The results reveal that it is prerequisite to incorporate the interactions and interdependences between sustainability-oriented decision-maker, and the developed non-orthogonal coordinates based sustainability assessment framework is feasible for the prioritization of industrial systems with the considerations of the interactions and interdependences among the evaluation criteria.

Energy Research & Social Science, Volume 89, July 2022, 102565

Abstract

The iron and steel industry is the largest coal consumer and the most greenhouse gas intensive industry. It consumes about 7% of global energy supply, and conservative estimates report that it is responsible for 7–9% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Decarbonization of the iron and steel industry is thus vital to meet climate change mitigation targets and achieve a sustainable future for the industry. This paper presents a comprehensive and systematic review that considered more than 1.6 million pieces of literature and analyzes in depth a shortlist of 271 studies on the iron and steel industry's decarbonization. Applying a sociotechnical lens that investigates raw materials, iron and steel making processes, steel products making and usage, and waste and recycling, the review identifies the climate footprint of the iron and steel industry. The review also assesses current and emerging practices for decarbonization, identifying 86 potentially transformative technologies. The benefits of decarbonizing the iron and steel industry are considered through energy and carbon savings, financial savings, and other environmental and public health benefits. Barriers to decarbonization are considered across financial, organizational, and behavioral aspects. The review also discusses various financial tools and policy instruments that can help overcome the barriers. Lastly, research gaps are outlined.

Computers & Chemical Engineering, Available online 22 July 2022, 107927

Abstract

Industrial gases, such as nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen, play an essential role in a wide range of sectors, including chemicals, metals, energy, and healthcare. Due to the high energy intensity of the production processes, the industrial gas industry is constantly exploring opportunities to reduce its energy cost. In addition, with the urgent need for decarbonization, there has been a strong push for clean technologies, especially in the hydrogen business. In this work, we review the existing literature on energy-aware optimization for the industrial gas industry, focusing on decision-making at the enterprise level in atmospheric gases and hydrogen supply chains. Case studies drawn from previous industry-university research collaborations are presented to highlight the potential benefits of demand response. Moreover, we provide a perspective on opportunities and challenges in clean energy for this industry, emphasizing the need to transition to more sustainable and agile industrial gas supply chains.

Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 313, 1 July 2022, 114953

Abstract

The behavior of environmental noise in developing countries is conditioned by characteristics that are not only linked to transport, infrastructures, and industrial plants in the annuity (common representation in noise maps), but also to other types of sources and periodicities that can influence significantly in noise levels. For this reason, this work proposes different temporal analyzes during the annuity that can be linked to the noisy activities typical of developing tropical countries. To do this, a noise monitoring network composed of seven monitors representing different sources present in the Aburrá Valley (AV) in Colombia is analyzed with measurements of LAeq, every hour, in a period between August 2016 and July 2019. The results show that AV noise is strongly influenced by leisure activities related to high-power sound systems, different celebrations, and continuous noise from car traffic that affect the population mainly on weekends and nights. This work marks a clear path to precisely address noise pollution in the action plans of developing countries.

Construction and Building Materials, Volume 341, 25 July 2022, 127828

Abstract

The contribution of geopolymer concrete is irrefutable and imperative in the context of sustainable construction practices. The current study highlights the relevance of red mud and glass powder in conjunction with fly ash as the aluminosilicate source material for geopolymer concrete production. The performance of the designed binders was evaluated accentuating the function of fly ash replacement levels (10%-40%), curing time, and curing method (ambient, external exposure, and oven curing). Experimental results affirm that the mix containing 10% red mud and glass powder in equal proportions depicted the highest compressive strength at 28 days under external exposure (48 MPa) and oven curing (75 MPa). The study also revealed allowable leachability of geopolymer composites as per relevant standards. Analysing the 28 days compressive strength data using machine learning algorithms showed that the relationship between the dependent and the set of independent variables could be best predicted by a non-linear model, substantiated by the highest level of accuracy (98.79%).

Journal of Environmental Sciences, Available online 20 July 2022

Abstract

In most of the world's building material industries, the control of flue gas pollutants mainly focuses on a single pollutant. However, given the large capacity and high contribution of China's building materials industry to global air pollution, the need to develop multi-pollutant emission reduction technology is urgent. Recently, China has focused on reducing the emissions of flue gas pollutants in the building materials industry, established many key research and development projects, and gradually implemented more stringent pollutant emission limits. This project focuses on the most recent advances in flue gas emission control technology in China's building materials industry, including denitration, dust removal, desulfurization, synergistic multi-pollutant emission reduction, and the construction of pilot research and demonstration projects for pollutant removal in several building material industries. On this basis, revised pollutant limits in flue gas emitted in China's building material industry are proposed.

Environmental Pollution, Volume 307, 15 August 2022, 119512

Abstract

The iron and steel industry (ISI) is one of the most energy-intensive industries in China, which makes a substantial contribution to the emissions of air pollutants. Among the various manufacturing processes, sintering is the major emitting process, which shares over half of the emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) for the entire industry. In this study we made a comprehensive evaluation of the air pollutant emissions from the sintering process of China's ISI in 2017 based on the Continuous Emission Monitoring System (CEMS) database and estimated the future reduction potentials. We found that there was a general decreasing trend of emission concentrations in the sintering flue gas in response to the strengthened emission control policies, but the mild increase of the oxygen content in the second half of the year flattened the decreasing trend, indicating the necessity for simultaneous control of the oxygen content in the flue gas. Despite the relative high standard-reaching rates of 90% to the emission concentration limits in GB 28662-2012, the standard-reaching rates to the ultra-low emission standards were only 12%, 40% and 27% for NOx, SO2 and PM respectively, with the lowest value mostly occurred in the western provinces. In 2017, the NOx, SO2 and PM emissions from the sintering process were 378.6 kt, 169.0 kt and 51.9 kt, respectively. If the ultra-low emission standards were met, the corresponding NOx, SO2 and PM emissions would decrease by 69.9%, 52.9%, and 56.4% respectively, illustrating large emission reducing potentials by achieving the ultra-low emission standards.

Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Volume 182, July 2022, 106274

Abstract

With the proclaimed advent of Industry 4.0 in supply chains, digitalisation is expected to restructure the ways in which buying firms and suppliers in supply chains collaborate, including on sustainability issues. Digital technologies are expected to foster information exchange and facilitate collaboration on sustainability issues between firms. Yet, there is limited empirical evidence explaining the role of Industry 4.0 in the context of sustainable supply chain management. This qualitative, exploratory study examines digitalisation in the electronics supply chain and its implications for sustainable supply chain collaboration (SCC). We focus on environmental sustainability aspects, such as environmental data analysis and energy use in the supply chain. We conducted 18 interviews with representatives from international electronics buying firms and Chinese suppliers to explore a) how digital technologies are currently used in SCC, and b) which opportunities, risks, and obstacles are associated with digitalisation in sustainable SCC. Our results indicate that a broad range of digital technologies on different digital maturity levels (including Industry 4.0 technologies) are used in SCC, but their use for sustainability purposes is still underdeveloped. Digitalisation is expected by most firms to improve sustainability, e.g., using big data analytics for energy management or easing the transfer of sustainability knowledge in the chain (what we call "digital environmental upgrading"). We argue, however, that if firms do not prioritise addressing sustainability through digitalisation in collaboration, digitalisation-related sustainability potentials will either not materialise on the firm-level, e.g., due to data sharing concerns, or will tend to be overshadowed by the negative indirect effects of digitalisation, such as rebound effects. We propose three political and managerial levers to enhance the overall socio-ecological performance of the supply chain.