Critical evaluation of extracellular polymeric substances extraction methods: Extraction efficiency, molecular characteristics, and heavy metals binding properties.

Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) significantly influence the properties and performance of waste activated sludge. Various pretreatment protocols with different extraction efficiency and characteristics of EPS have been reported, which markedly impact subsequent treatment and disposal of sewage sludge. This study systematically assesses the EPS properties from twelve extraction pretreatment methods.

Enhanced phosphorus bioavailability of biochar derived from sewage sludge co-pyrolyzed with K, Ca-rich biomass ash.

Sewage sludge has great potential for phosphorus (P) recovery. However, sewage sludge-derived biochar suffers from low P bioavailability in land application. K, Ca-rich biomass ash was used to co-pyrolyze with sewage sludge to enhance P bioavailability of synthesized biochar.

Comprehensive evaluation of bioavailable phosphorus in biochar synthesized by co-pyrolysis of sewage sludge and straw ash.

The world's phosphorus (P) resources are gradually depleting. Sewage sludge is an important secondary P resource, and sludge-derived biochar for land use is an effective way to achieve P recovery. However, P in biochar synthesized by direct pyrolysis of sludge usually shows comparatively low bioavailability.

Rethinking time-lagged emissions and abatement potential of fluorocarbons in the post-Kigali Amendment era.

The Montreal Protocol has been successful in safeguarding the ozone layer and curbing climate change. However, accurately estimating and reducing the time-lagged emissions of ozone-depleting substances or their substitutes, such as produced but not-yet-emitted fluorocarbon banks, remains a significant challenge. Here, we use a dynamic material flow analysis model to characterize the global stocks and flows of two fluorocarbon categories, hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), from 1986 to 2060.

Flexible electronics for heavy metal ion detection in water: a comprehensive review.

Flexible electronics offer a versatile, rapid, cost-effective and portable solution to monitor water contamination, which poses serious threat to the environment and human health. This review paper presents a comprehensive exploration of the versatile platforms of flexible electronics in the context of heavy metal ion detection in water systems. The review overviews of the fundamental principles of heavy metal ion detection, surveys the state-of-the-art materials and fabrication techniques for flexible sensors, analyses key performance metrics and limitations, and discusses future opportunities and challenges.

Are electric vehicles really the optimal option for the transportation sector in China to approach pollution reduction and carbon neutrality goals?

Profound worldwide fleet electrification is thought to be the primary route for achieving the target of carbon neutrality. However, when and how electrification can help mitigate environmental impacts and carbon emissions in the transport sector remains unclear. Herein, the overall life-cycle environmental impacts and carbon saving range of two typical A-class vehicles in China, including electric vehicle (EV) and internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV), were quantified by the life cycle assessment model for endpoint damage with localization parameters.

Can e-waste recycling provide a solution to the scarcity of rare earth metals? An overview of e-waste recycling methods.

Recycling e-waste is seen as a sustainable alternative to compensate for the limited natural rare earth elements (REEs) resources and the difficulty of accessing these resources. Recycling facilitates the recovery of valuable products and minimizes emissions during their transportation. Numerous studies have been reported on e-waste recycling using various techniques, including thermo-, hydro- and biometallurgical approaches.

Numerical simulation to optimize passive aeration strategy for semi-aerobic landfill.

Passive aeration has been proven to be efficient for oxygen supply in landfill. The combination of passive aeration and semi-aerobic landfill offers a cost-effective and energy-efficient approach to solid waste (SW) treatment. However, determining the optimal strategy for this combination has remained unclear.

Sludge-derived iron-carbon material enhancing the removal of refractory organics in landfill leachate: Characteristics optimization, removal mechanism, and molecular-level investigation.

Mature landfill leachate is a refractory organic wastewater, and needs physical and chemical pretreatments contemporaneously, e.g. iron-carbon micro-electrolysis (IC-ME).

Photovoltaic panel waste assessment and embodied material flows in China, 2000-2050.

Solar photovoltaics (PV) is one of the most promising renewable energy sources for climate change mitigation. However, not all green energy installations may not continue to be sustainable after their service life. With the largest installed solar capacity in the world, China is expected to face significant challenges in managing the end-of-life (EoL) PV panels in the coming decades, which have not been well addressed yet.

Insights into leachate reduction in landfill with different ventilation Rates: Balance of Water, waste physicochemical Properties, and microbial community.

Ventilation is an efficient approach employed for accelerating stabilization and reducing aftercare of landfill, but its effect on leachate reduction is still elusive. To fill this knowledge gap, five lab-scale landfill reactors with different ventilation rates were established in this study. Suitable ventilation (e.

Bio-oil and biochar from the pyrolytic conversion of biomass: A current and future perspective on the trade-off between economic, environmental, and technical indicators.

Over the years, the transformation of biomass into a plethora of renewable value-added products has been identified as a promising strategy to fulfil high energy demands, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and exploit under-utilized resources. Techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life-cycle assessment (LCA) are essential to scale up this process while lowering the conversion cost. In this study, trade-offs are made between economic, environmental, and technical indicators produced from these methodologies to better evaluate the commercialization potential of biomass pyrolysis.

Using cellulose, starch and β-cyclodextrin poly/oligosaccharides as chiral inducers for preparing chiral particles.

Poly/oligosaccharides are renewable natural resources with abundant chirality. Herein, we develop a general route to prepare optically active particles by using poly/oligosaccharides as both chiral inducers and growth templates. By complexing with Cu(NH) ions, OH groups on C2 and C3 in poly/oligosaccharides can transfer the chirality to Cu(II) and retain it in CuO.

Risk associated with microplastics in urban aquatic environments: A critical review.

The presence of microplastics (MPs) has been recognized as a significant environmental threat due to adverse effects spanning from molecular level, organism health, ecosystem services to human health and well-being. MPs are complex environmental contaminants as they bind to a wide range of other contaminants. MPs associated contaminants include toxic chemical substances that are used as additives during the plastic manufacturing process and adsorbed contaminants that co-exist with MPs in aquatic environments.

Deep convolutional neural networks for construction and demolition waste classification: VGGNet structures, cyclical learning rate, and knowledge transfer.

The sorting of Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste is a critical step to linking the recycling system and to the macro prediction, which helps to promote the development of the circular economy. Moreover, the effective classification and automated separation process will also help to stop the spreading of pathogenic organisms, such as virus and bacteria, by minimizing human intervention in the sorting process, while also helping to prevent further contamination by COVID-19 virus. This study aims to develop an efficient method to sort C&D waste through deep learning combined with knowledge transfer approach.

Progress in the development and use of refrigerants and unintended environmental consequences.

The world has entered into the "fourth-generation" of refrigerants, and it is an undeniable fact that we will continue to encounter several issues in identifying a suitable refrigerant that suits the purpose and poses no harm to the environment. The ever-changing regulations on the use of refrigerants have often posed great challenges to the refrigeration industry and there is a pressing need to develop new refrigerants and develop better equipment to use them. Theoretically, an ideal refrigerant should possess characteristics such as low-global warming potential (GWP), non-toxic, non-flammable, and zero-ozone depletion potential (ODP).

Targeted degradation of refractory organic compounds in wastewaters based on molecular imprinting catalysts.

Efficient removal of low-concentration refractory pollutants is a crucial problem to ensuring water safety. The use of heterogeneous catalysis of molecular imprinting technology combined with traditional catalysts is a promising method to improve removal efficiency. Presently, the research into molecular imprinting targeting catalysts focuses mainly on material preparation and performance optimization.

Assessment of carbon emissions of building interior decoration and renovation waste disposal in the fast-growing Greater Bay Area, China.

Continuing urbanization and significant improvement of lifestyle have ushered in high demand for building floor area, inevitably leading to a rapid increase of interior decoration and renovation activities, which in turn produce a massive quantity of decoration and renovation waste (DRW). However, like many other countries with unremitting demand for building space and infrastructure, China has failed to attach adequate attention to DRW management. Using the yield-per-area method and life cycle assessment approach, this study aims to characterize the generation, flows, management and environmental impacts of DRW from commercial housing in nine cities in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), a highly developed economic zone in China.

Dissolution and separation of non-metallic powder from printed circuit boards by using chloride solvent.

Non-metallic components (NMC) in waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) are made of the thermosetting epoxy resin and glass fiber, which has been a research concern in the waste recycling area. The recycling of thermosetting epoxy resin is a serious challenge due to their permanent cross-linked structure. An efficient approach to chemical recycling of epoxy resin for resource reutilization was developed in this research.

Low-carbon pathways for the booming express delivery sector in China.

Express delivery services are booming in both developed and emerging economies due to their low cost, convenience, and the fast growth in online shopping. The increasing environmental impacts of express delivery services and mitigation potentials, however, remain largely unexplored. Here we addressed such a gap for China, a country which is expanding online retail sales and express delivery rapidly.

Human exposure to PBDEs in e-waste areas: A review.

Polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are commonly added to electronic products for flame-retardation effects, and are attracting more and more attentions due to their potential toxicity, durability and bioaccumulation. This study conducts a sysmtematic review to understand the human exposure to PBDEs from e-waste recycling, especially exploring the exposure pathways and human burden of PBDEs as well as investigating the temporal trend of PBDEs exposure worldwide. The results show that the particular foods (contaminated fish, poultry, meat and breast milk) ingestion, indoor dust ingestion and indoor air inhalation may be key factors leading to human health risks of PBDEs exposure in e-waste recycling regions.

Environmental impacts characterization of packaging waste generated by urban food delivery services. A big-data analysis in Jing-Jin-Ji region (China).

Controversies on food delivery services environmental impacts have been sparked due to the growth of this economic sector. This study focuses on the environmental impacts generated by packaging waste related to urban food delivery services. In particular, the Python based web-crawling and sample survey methods are used for big data mining, and LCA-based environmental impacts evaluation and Kernel density analysis methods are combined to determine the positioning trend of food delivery service providers and expansion direction of environmental pollution load in Jing-Jin-Ji region (North China).

The sponge effect and carbon emission mitigation potentials of the global cement cycle.

Cement plays a dual role in the global carbon cycle like a sponge: its massive production contributes significantly to present-day global anthropogenic CO emissions, yet its hydrated products gradually reabsorb substantial amounts of atmospheric CO (carbonation) in the future. The role of this sponge effect along the cement cycle (including production, use, and demolition) in carbon emissions mitigation, however, remains hitherto unexplored. Here, we quantify the effects of demand- and supply-side mitigation measures considering this material-energy-emissions-uptake nexus, finding that climate goals would be imperiled if the growth of cement stocks continues.

Toxicity evaluation of E-waste plastics and potential repercussions for human health.

At present, waste mobile phone is considered to be one of the fastest-growing obsolete items in the stream of electronic waste (e-waste). Toxic substances such as heavy metals and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) have been widely added to plastics used in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). The recent technological revolution in electronic appliances combined with high and growing consumption has caused a huge generation of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).