Temporal and spatial variations of air pollution across China from 2015 to 2018.

This study investigated concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, CO and O3, and air quality index (AQI) values across 368 cities in mainland China during 2015-2018. The study further examined relationships of air pollution status with local industrial capacities and vehicle possessions. Strong correlations were found between industrial capacities (coal, pig iron, crude steel and rolled steel) and air pollution levels. Although statistical and significant reductions of PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, CO and AQI values were observed in response to various laws and regulations in industrial sectors, both particle and gaseous pollutants still had annual average concentrations above recommended limits. In order to further reduce air pollution, more efforts can be done to control traffic emissions caused by minicars and heavy trucks, which was revealed after investigating 16 vehicle types. This was also consistent with the apparent air quality improvement during the COVID-19 lockdown period in China in 2020, despite industrial operations being still active at full capacities.

NO2 levels as a contributing factor to COVID-19 deaths: The first empirical estimate of threshold values.

This study represents the first empirical estimation of threshold values between nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations and COVID-19-related deaths in France. The concentration of NO2 linked to COVID-19-related deaths in three major French cities were determined using Artificial Neural Networks experiments and a Causal Direction from Dependency (D2C) algorithm. The aim of the study was to evaluate the potential effects of NO2 in spreading the epidemic. The underlying hypothesis is that NO2, as a precursor to secondary particulate matter formation, can foster COVID-19 and make the respiratory system more susceptible to this infection. Three different neural networks for the cities of Paris, Lyon and Marseille were built in this work, followed by the application of an innovative tool of cutting the signal from the inputs to the selected target. The results show that the threshold levels of NO2 connected to COVID-19 range between 15.8 µg/m3 for Lyon, 21.8 µg/m3 for Marseille and 22.9 µg/m3 for Paris, which were significantly lower than the average annual concentration limit of 40 µg/m³ imposed by Directive 2008/50/EC of the European Parliament.

Impacts of iron and steelmaking facilities on soil quality.

Iron and steel are highly important materials used in a wide range of products with important contribution to the economic development. The processes for making iron and steel are energy intensive and known to contribute to local pollution. Deposition of the metals may also have adverse impacts on soil quality, which requires detailed assessment. The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts of iron and steelmaking facilities on the local soil quality. Soil samples were collected in the vicinity of two steelmaking sites in Australia, one based on blast furnace steelmaking operation, while the second site was based on electric arc furnace steel recycling. The soil samples were compared to a background site where no industrial impact is expected. The soil collected near industrial facilities contained larger toxic metal contents, however this concentration for all priority metals was within the Australian National Environmental Protection Measure guidelines for the acceptable recreational soil quality. When compared to the international soil quality guidelines, some of the soils collected near the industrial sites, particularly near the blast furnace operated steelmaking, exceeded the arsenic, iron and manganese (according to United States Environmental Protection Agency guidelines) and chromium, copper and nickel concentrations (according to the Canadian guidelines). The work further provided a novel environmental assessment model taking into consideration the environmental and health impacts of each element. The environmental assessment revealed most significant contribution of manganese, followed by titanium, zinc, chromium and lead. Titanium was the second most important contributor to the soil quality, however this metal is currently not included in any of the international soil quality guidelines.

Agronomic assessment of pyrolysed food waste digestate for sandy soil management.

The digestate (DFW) of an industrial food waste treatment plant was pyrolysed for production of biochar for its direct application as bio-fertilizer or soil enhancer. Nutrient dynamics and agronomic viability of the pyrolysed food waste digestate (PyD) produced at different temperatures were evaluated using germination index (GI), water retention/availability and mineral sorption as indicators when applied on arid soil. The pyrolysis was found to enrich P, K and other micronutrients in the biochar at an average enrichment factor of 0.87. All PyD produced at different temperatures indicated significantly low phytotoxicity with GI range of 106-168% and an average water retention capacity of 40.2%. Differential thermogravimetric (DTG) thermographs delineated the stability of the food waste digestate pyrolysed at 500 °C (PyD500) against the degradation of the digestate food waste despite the latter poor nutrient sorption potential. Plant available water in soil is 40% when treated with 100 g of digestate per kg soil, whereas PyD500 treated soil indicated minimal effect on plant available water, even with high application rates. However, the positive effects of PyD on GI and the observed enrichment in plant macro and micronutrients suggest potential agronomic benefits for PyD use, in addition to the benefits from energy production from DFW during the pyrolysis process.

Numerical Analysis of Indoor Air Characteristics and Window Screen Influence on Particulate Matter Dispersion in a Childcare Center Using Computational Fluid Dynamics.

Indoor exposure to outdoor pollutants adversely affects health, varying with building dimensions and particularly ventilation that have critical role on their indoor dispersion. This study assesses the impact of outdoor air on indoor air quality in a child care center. Computational fluid dynamics was utilized to analyze the dispersion of particulate matter, with a specific focus on window screens featuring 6 distinct pore sizes ranging from 0.8 mm to 2 mm and 2 different thicknesses of 0.5 mm and 0.1 mm. Results indicate that the presence of a window screen offers significant advantages in controlling particle infiltration compared to scenarios without a screen, as larger particles tend to pass directly through the window within the breathing zone. The scenario without window screens minimizes pressure drop but lacks enhanced particle capture capabilities. However, for effective particle reduction, the window screen with a pore size of 0.8 mm (R0.8T2) and a thickness of 0.5 mm proves to be the most beneficial, achieving the particle filtering efficiency of approximately 54.16%, while the larger window screen with a pore size of 2 mm and a thickness of 1 mm exhibits the lowest efficiency at about 23.85%. Nonetheless, screens with very small sizes are associated with a high-pressure drop, impacting energy efficiency, and overall window performance. Larger pores with smaller thicknesses (0.5 mm) reduced particle count by approximately 45.97%. Therefore, the significance of window screen thickness beyond pore size for particle reduction efficiency is highlighted, emphasizing screens' role in indoor air quality and health protection.

Heavy metal pollution levels and health risk assessment of dust storms in Jazmurian region, Iran.

The Jazmurian basin in Iran is an area affected by climate change and desertification where aerosols and dust storms are common. The aim of this work was to determine the human and ecological risks from atmospheric particles during dust storms in different cities in the Jazmurian basin. For this purpose, the dust samples were collected from Jiroft, Roodbar Jonoob, Ghaleh Ganj, Kahnooj and Iranshahr cities, which are located around the Jazmurian playa in southeast of Iran. Satellite-based Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aerosol products and the Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) were used to detect aerosol loading in the atmosphere. Moreover, the trace element composition of the collected particles was determined and used to evaluate human and ecological impact assessment using US EPA human health risk assessment and ReCiPe 2016 endpoint hierarchist impact assessment method incorporated in the OpenLCA 1.10.3 software. The human health risk assessment of the particles revealed high non-carcinogenic risks for children from exposure to nickel and manganese and carcinogenic risks in both adults and children due to hexavalent chromium, arsenic and cobalt during dust storm events. Terrestrial ecotoxicity was found to have the largest ecological impact on ecosystems with copper, nickel and zinc exhibiting the largest contributions.

Kinetic model of PFAS removal by semi-batch foam fractionation and validation by experimental data for K-PFOS.

Adsorptive bubble separation techniques such as foam fractionation have recently been applied for the extraction of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from waters at both laboratory and operational scales. However, few authors have developed mathematical models of their removal of PFAS. This study presents a theoretical framework for the kinetics of PFAS removal from fresh and monovalent saline waters by a semi-batch foam fractionation process, by the mechanisms of adsorption, entrainment and volatilization, as a function of pertinent parameters including PFAS air-water adsorption, bubble radius, electrolyte concentration and ionic strength, PFAS volatility, and flow and geometric parameters. The freshwater model is validated for the removal of potassium perfluorooctane sulfonate (K-PFOS) using published experimental data (Meng, P. et al., Chemosphere, 2018, 203, 263-270). The proposed models provide quantitative tools for process design and the optimization of individual PFAS removal by semi-batch adsorptive bubble separation techniques such as foam fractionation.

Recycling and Resource Recovery from Polymers.

Over 100 million tonnes of waste plastics is projected to enter our environment by 2030 [...].

Influence of iron ore properties on dioxin emissions during iron ore sintering.

Iron ores are principal input materials for iron and steel-making industries. Quality of iron ores is one of the critical parameters for formation of environmental pollutants related to the steel-making process. Dioxins are identified as one of the most toxic pollutants emitted during ironmaking, specifically during the sintering process. This study applied four types of iron ores and analyzed their moisture, density, particle size distribution and element concentrations to investigate their effect on the dioxin formation during sintering. Each type of iron ore was processed in a sinter pot grate. During each processing route, exhausted dust and generated sinter products were collected and subjected to PCDD/F and PCB analysis. Statistical analysis was applied to assess correlations between properties of iron ores and exhausted dioxin emissions, identifying key contributors to dioxin formation during sintering process. Results showed that Fe in iron ores was positively and significantly related to PCB 114 formation in dust and confirmed its co-catalytic effect on dioxin formation. Concentrations of Al, Ti and Cl in iron ores greatly increased PCDD/F and PCB emissions in the sintered products compared to dioxins in dust samples. The S levels and density of iron ores were highly related to the increasing PCDD/F and PCB emissions in both sinter and dust samples. By contrast, concentrations of Si in iron ores played a significant role in decreasing PCDD/F and PCB emissions in both sinter and dust samples. This study also confirmed the optimum size (< 1 mm-2.59 mm) for iron ores, which helps reduce dioxin emissions without affecting the quality of iron and steel-making products.

Lead poisoning of backyard chickens: Implications for urban gardening and food production.

Increased interest in backyard food production has drawn attention to the risks associated with urban trace element contamination, in particular lead (Pb) that was used in abundance in Pb-based paints and gasoline. Here we examine the sources, pathways and risks associated with environmental Pb in urban gardens, domestic chickens and their eggs. A suite of other trace element concentrations (including As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn) are reported from the sampled matrices. Sixty-nine domestic chickens from 55 Sydney urban gardens were sampled along with potential sources (feed, soil, water), blood Pb concentrations and corresponding concentrations in eggs. Age of the sampled chickens and house age was also collected. Commercial eggs (n = 9) from free range farms were analysed for comparative purposes. Study outcomes were modelled using the large Australian VegeSafe garden soil database (>20,000 samples) to predict which areas of inner-city Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are likely to have soil Pb concentrations unsuitable for keeping backyard chickens. Soil Pb concentrations was a strong predictor of chicken blood and egg Pb (p=<0.00001). Almost 1 in 2 (n = 31/69) chickens had blood Pb levels >20 µg/dL, the level at which adverse effects may be observed. Older homes were correlated with higher chicken blood Pb (p = 0.00002) and egg Pb (p = 0.005), and younger chickens (<12 months old) had greater Pb concentrations, likely due to increased Pb uptake during early life development. Two key findings arose from the study data: (i) in order to retain chicken blood Pb below 20 µg/dL, soil Pb needs to be < 166 mg/kg; (ii) to retain egg Pb < 100 µg/kg (i.e. a food safety benchmark value), soil Pb needs to be < 117 mg/kg. These concentrations are significantly lower than the soil Pb guideline of 300 mg/kg for residential gardens. This research supports the conclusion that a large number of inner-city homes may not be suitable for keeping chickens and that further work regarding production and consumption of domestic food is warranted.

Influence of pyrolysis temperature on production and nutrient properties of wastewater sludge biochar.

The important challenge for effective management of wastewater sludge materials in an environmentally and economically acceptable way can be addressed through pyrolytic conversion of the sludge to biochar and agricultural applications of the biochar. The aim of this work is to investigate the influence of pyrolysis temperature on production of wastewater sludge biochar and evaluate the properties required for agronomic applications. Wastewater sludge collected from an urban wastewater treatment plant was pyrolysed in a laboratory scale reactor. It was found that by increasing the pyrolysis temperature (over the range from 300 °C to 700 °C) the yield of biochar decreased. Biochar produced at low temperature was acidic whereas at high temperature it was alkaline in nature. The concentration of nitrogen was found to decrease while micronutrients increased with increasing temperature. Concentrations of trace metals present in wastewater sludge varied with temperature and were found to primarily enriched in the biochar.

Life cycle impact assessment of metal production industries in Australia.

Metal production industries are associated with positive economic benefits, however their activities are significantly resource and energy intensive, contributing to emission of pollutants and greenhouse gases to the environment. The balance between the economic inputs and environmental footprint of the metal production industries determines their contribution to sustainability. This work provides environmental impact assessment of the production of aluminium, copper, gold, iron and steel, lead, nickel and zinc, and considers their contribution to the economy. The emissions of selected representative industries in Australia were sourced from public national emission inventories and used as input parameters in the openLCA software. ReCiPe midpoint and endpoint hierarchist impact assessment methods were used to investigate the environmental impacts of the selected industries. The results indicate that lead, followed by aluminium and nickel production had the largest environmental impacts. The work further revealed the specific emissions for better control for each industry taking into consideration their relative environmental and economic impacts. For instance, adoption of renewable energy sources would significantly decrease the greenhouse gas emissions and the associated environmental impacts of the copper, zinc, gold, and iron and steel production industries. Improvement of sustainability of the production of lead would require further control of trace metal emissions, while for aluminium and nickel production, improved control of emissions of particles and the acidic gases SO2 and NOx.

Comparative life cycle assessment of system solution scenarios for residual municipal solid waste management in NSW, Australia.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a promising tool to evaluate the environmental impacts of different technologies for sustainable waste management. This study employs LCA to assess environmental impacts of alternative scenarios for residual municipal solid waste (MSW) management in New South Wales (NSW) based on current conditions and policies. Six different scenarios including a baseline scenario (landfilling) were applied for NSW waste management for energy production and their impacts on environment. The initial results showed that the scenario 3 that employed anaerobic digestion for food waste, incineration for combustible waste and plastic waste, and landfilling for non-combustible waste produced electricity of 625 kWh/t, which was maximum compared to the other scenarios. LCA results further suggested that among all scenarios, scenario 5 (similar to scenario 3 except combustible waste was treated through gasification and plastic waste was recycled) has the lowest level of environmental burdens in global warming, freshwater and marine ecotoxicity, and human non-carcinogenic toxicity. The sensitivity analysis for energy conversion rates (23-30%) for incineration and plastic recycling rate (66-91.3%) for MSW was further conducted and the results showed that energy conversion rate of 30% makes scenario 3 more valuable for electricity generation and less impactful for ecosystems damage category compared to scenario 5. On the other hand, plastic recycling rate of 91.3% has the lowest environmental burdens and by decreasing recycling rate to 66% the environmental impacts increase; however, it was noticed that reduction in recycling rate does not make any change in the order of scenarios. Overall, the study suggests that each waste type in NSW should be treated with a specific technology to achieve the highest resource recovery and lowest environmental impacts where energy conversion and plastic recycling rates have significant impacts.

Pyrolysis of heavy metal contaminated biomass pre-treated with ferric salts: Product characterisation and heavy metal deportment.

The metal(loid)-enriched Avicennia marina biomass obtained from phytoremediation was impregnated with two ferric salts (FeCl3 and Fe(NO3)3) prior to pyrolysis at 300-700 °C, aiming to study the influence on pyrolytic product properties and heavy metal(loid) deportment. Results showed that the impregnated ferric salts increased the fixed carbon content of biochars, hydrocarbon fractions in bio-oils, and the evolution of CO and H2 in gases. Cd in biomass could be effectively removed from the biomass by FeCl3 impregnation. During pyrolysis, the ferric salts enhanced the elemental recovery of As, Cr, Ni and Pb in the biochars and decreased their distribution in gases. Notably, the ferric salt pre-treatment inhibited the mobility and bio-availability of most elements in the biochars. This study indicated that ferric salt impregnation catalysed the pyrolysis process of metal(loid) contaminated biomass, enabled the operation temperature at 500-700 °C with minimal environmental risks, providing a safe and value-added way to the phytoremediation-pyrolysis scheme.

The relevance of particle size distribution and bioaccessibility on human health risk assessment for trace elements measured in indoor dust.

Trace metal contaminants in indoor dust pose a significant potential exposure risk to people because of the time spent indoors and the readily ingested and inhaled fine-grained composition of indoor dusts. However, there is limited trace metal data available on the specific interaction of dust particle size fraction and their respective bioaccessibility/bioavailability and its consequent effect on health risk assessment. This study addresses this knowledge gap by examining bioaccessible and bioavailable trace element concentrations (As, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn) in 152 discrete size fractions from 38 indoor vacuum samples from a larger dataset (n = 376) of indoor dust from Sydney, Australia. Arsenic, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn were most concentrated in the 90-150 µm fraction with Cr and Mn being more concentrated in < 45 µm fraction. Dust particle size fractions < 45 µm, 45-90 µm, 90-150 µm and 150-250 µm were analysed for their individual gastric phase (G-alone) in vitro trace element bioaccessibilities. Lead exposure risk was estimated using the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Integrated Exposure Uptake Biokinetic (IEUBK) children's model. Mean Pb bioaccessibility was 59.6%, 42%, 62% and 62.2% for < 45 µm, 45-90 µm, 90-150 µm, and 150-250 µm, respectively. Mean Pb absolute bioavailability (ABA) was lower at 26.2%, 18.4%, 27.2% and 27.3% for size fractions < 45 µm, 45-90 µm, 90-150 µm, and 150-250 µm, respectively. The predicted blood Pb (PbB) levels for a hypothetical child aged 1 to 3 years for each of the dust particle size fractions was > 5 µg/dL. Lead concentrations measured in the selected dust samples show a potential for adverse health impacts on young children with the greatest risk being from indoor dust sized 90-150 µm.

Contamination identification, source apportionment and health risk assessment of trace elements at different fractions of atmospheric particles at iron and steelmaking areas in China.

China has the largest share of global iron and steel production, which is considered to play a significant contribution to air pollution. This study aims to investigate trace element contamination at different fractions of particulate matter (PM) at industrial areas in China. Three PM fractions, PM2.1-9.0, PM1.1-2.1 and PM1.1, were collected from areas surrounding iron and steelmaking plants at Kunming, Wuhan, Nanjing and Ningbo in China. Multiple trace elements and their bioavailability, as well as Pb isotopic compositions, were analysed for identification of contaminants, health risk assessment and source apportionment. Results showed that PM particles in the sites near industrial areas were associated with a range of toxic trace elements, specifically As, Cr(VI), Cd and Mn, and posed significant health risks to humans. The isotopic Pb compositions identified that coal and high temperature metallurgical processes in the steelmaking process were the dominant contributors to local air pollution in these sites. In addition to iron and steelmaking activities, traffic emissions and remote pollution also played a contributing role in PM contamination, confirmed by the differences of Pb isotopic compositions at each PM fraction and statistical results from Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE) and Geometrical Analysis for Interactive Aid (GAIA). The results presented in this study provide a comprehensive understanding of PM emissions at iron and steelmaking areas, which helps to guide subsequent updates of air pollution control guidelines to efficiently minimise environmental footprint and ensure long term sustainability of the industries.

Pollution and contamination assessment of heavy metals in the sediments of Jazmurian playa in southeast Iran.

Jazmurian playa was an ephemeral lake with a large catchment in southeast Iran, which dried up over the last 10 years as a result of prolonged drought. As the lake was recipient of incoming industrial water with trace metals deposited to the sediment, the dust is the cause of environmental concern of the region and requires evaluation and better management. The aim of this study was to evaluate the environmental and ecological pollution of Jazmurian playa. Hence, 24 collected surface sedimentary samples were analyzed with ICP-OES. The environmental pollution indices including degree of contamination (Cd), geoaccumulation index (Igeo), enrichment factor (EF), pollution load index (PLI) and potential ecological risk (PER) were determined. The study revealed moderately to strongly pollution levels of Pb, Ni and Al, while Dy, Pb, Y, Yb, Sm, Te, U, Cu, Mn, Sc represented moderate pollution. The EF values indicated four sites were highly enriched with Dy, Pb and Ni. The PER results showed high risk for four sites and considerable risk for others. Cluster analysis illustrated interconnection between the contaminants and the sites with major pollution at six sites. Obviously, climate change has considerable complex environmental impacts through transformation of local water and sediment pollution problem.

Thermal processing of paper sludge and characterisation of its pyrolysis products.

Paper sludge is a waste product from the paper and pulp manufacturing industry that is generally disposed of in landfills. Pyrolysis of paper sludge can potentially provide an option for managing this waste by thermal conversion to higher calorific value fuels, bio-gas, bio-oils and charcoal. This work investigates the properties of paper sludge during pyrolysis and energy required to perform thermal conversion. The products of paper sludge pyrolysis were also investigated to determine their properties and potential energy value. The dominant volatile species of paper sludge pyrolysis at 10 degrees C/min were found to be CO and CO(2), contributing to almost 25% of the paper sludge dry weight loss at 500 degrees C. The hydrocarbons (CH(4), C(2)H(4), C(2)H(6)) and hydrogen contributed to only 1% of the total weight loss. The bio-oils collected at 500 degrees C were primarily comprised of organic acids with the major contribution being linoleic acid, 2,4-decadienal acid and oleic acid. The high acidic content indicates that in order to convert the paper sludge bio-oil to bio-diesel or petrochemicals, further upgrading would be necessary. The charcoal produced at 500 degrees C had a calorific value of 13.3MJ/kg.

Assessment of trace elements pollution in the sea ports of New South Wales (NSW), Australia using oysters as bioindicators.

In this study Sydney rock oysters (S. glomerata) from six major sea ports of NSW, Australia were used as bioindicators to assess the distribution and levels of trace element accumulation in the ports. Substantial enrichment of Cu, Pb and Zn in the oysters of the sea ports were detected when compared to their background samples and the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) provisional tolerable intake standard. Enrichment of As, Al, Fe, Mn, Br, Sr were also found in the oysters at the port areas. The bioconcentration ratios of the trace elements illustrated significant Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Mn, Al, Pb and Cr accumulation in S. glomerate. The biota sediment accumulation factor suggested Cu, Mn and Zn accumulation at two of the ports (Port Yamba and Botany), indicating availability of these metals in the oysters as strong metal accumulators. In addition, integrated metal contamination illustrated notable Fe, Zn, Cu and Al contamination at port environment, whereas cluster analysis portrayed interconnection between the contaminants and the study sites.

Assessment of trace elements pollution in sea ports of New South Wales (NSW), Australia using macrophytobenthic plant Ecklonia radiata as a bio-indicator.

In this study seaweeds (Ecklonia radiata) from six major sea ports of NSW, Australia were used as a bioindicator to assess the distribution and levels of trace elements accumulation in the ports compared to the background ecosystem. Bioconcentration ratio (BCR), biota sediment accumulation factor (BSAF), enrichment factor, multivariate statistical analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis were used to identify trace elements contamination. The results illustrate BCRs of Al, Fe, Mn, Zn, Pb, Cu, As and Ba in E. radiata whereas the BASFs portray boron enrichment in all sea ports along with bioaccumulation of As in Port Jackson and Pb in Port Botany. However, trace elements variations between studied and background locations was found to be significant for Port Kembla and Newcastle. The principal component analysis result explained four principal groups with 76.25% cumulative variance. Cluster analysis was further performed to detect major groups of elements and sites to portray interconnection between the contaminants and the locations.