A systematic review of the variability of freshly-emitted and aged black carbon based on various measurement techniques.

Black carbon (BC) poses acute negative health and environmental impacts. Accurate BC quantification is important for assessing its impacts and developing effective control strategies. However, the unclear optical properties and numerous methods of BC restrict its accurate quantification.

Synergetic effect of photocatalytic oxidation plus catalytic oxidation on the performance of coconut shell fiber biochar decorated α-MnO under visible light towards BPA degradation.

Photocatalytic technology is regarded as a promising approach for fast degradation of refractory organic pollutant in water. However, the performance of the photocatalyst can be restricted by the variation of water matrix conditions. Herein, coconut shell fiber was pyrolyzed to biochar (CSB800) and incorporated with α-MnO to degrade bisphenol A (BPA) in water under visible light irradiation.

Wood induced preparation of FeC decorated biochar for peroxymonosulfate activation towards bisphenol a degradation with low ion leaching.

Heterogeneous iron/persulfate system suffers from the problems of high ion leaching, severe catalyst surface corrosion and low performance stability. Herein, a series of iron compound incorporated N doped biochar composite catalysts were prepared from pyrolyzing wood powder and ferric ferrocyanide mixture, which were used for bisphenol A (BPA) degradation in water through peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation. It was found that the reducing gases released from wood powder at different pyrolysis temperature significantly affected the crystalline phase of the iron compound in the catalyst, in which pure phase iron carbide (FeC) decorated N doped biochar was obtained at pyrolysis temperature of 600 °C or higher.

Novel silver-modified carboxymethyl chitosan antibacterial membranes using environment-friendly polymers.

The rapid reproduction of foodborne bacteria in food packaging threatens the health of consumers, the massive use and waste of packaging also causes serious environmental pollution. In this study, novel biodegradable antibacterial membranes based on silver-modified carboxymethyl chitosan (Ag-CMCS) were prepared. Polylactic acid (PLA) and polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT) were used as the base membrane materials.

Emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds from urban green spaces in the six core districts of Beijing based on a new satellite dataset.

Urban green spaces (UGSs) are often positively associated with the health of urban residents. However, UGSs may also have adverse health effects by releasing biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) and increasing the ambient concentrations of ozone (O) and secondary organic aerosols in urban areas. BVOC emissions from UGSs might be underestimated because of the lack of consideration of the UGS land-use type in urban areas.

Digital soil mapping of soil total nitrogen based on Landsat 8, Sentinel 2, and WorldView-2 images in smallholder farms in Yellow River Basin, China.

Predicting spatial explicit information of soil nutrients is critical for sustainable soil management and food security under climate change and human disturbance in agricultural land. Digital soil mapping (DSM) techniques can utilize soil-landscape information from remote sensing data to predict the spatial pattern of soil nutrients, and it is important to explore the effects of remote sensing data types on DSM. This research utilized Landsat 8 (LT), Sentinel 2 (ST), and WorldView-2 (WV) remote sensing data and employed partial least squares regression (PLSR), random forest (RF), and support vector machine (SVM) algorithms to characterize the spatial pattern of soil total nitrogen (TN) in smallholder farm settings in Yellow River Basin, China.

Expanding the application of ion exchange resins for the preparation of antimicrobial membranes to control foodborne pathogens.

Although ion exchange resins (IERs) have been extensively adopted in water treatment, there are no reports on the application thereof for synthesizing antibacterial materials against pathogenic bacteria. The present study is the first in which the ion exchange characteristic of IERs was utilized to introduce silver ions that possess efficient antibacterial properties. The resulting antibacterial materials were incorporated into polylactic acid (PLA) and/or polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) to prepare antibacterial membranes.

Highly effective and sustainable antibacterial membranes synthesized using biodegradable polymers.

In order to reduce foodborne diseases caused by bacterial infections, antibacterial membranes have received increasing research interests in recent years. In this study, highly effective antibacterial membranes were prepared using biodegradable polymers, including polylactic acid (PLA), polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT), and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). The cation exchange property of CMC was utilized to introduce silver to prepare antibacterial materials.

The catalytic mechanism of intercalated chlorine anions as active basic sites in MgAl-layered double hydroxide for carbonyl sulfide hydrolysis.

In order to make clear the role of intercalated anions in layered double hydroxides (LDHs) for catalytic hydrolysis of carbonyl sulfide (COS), the adsorption and reaction characteristics of COS over the simple MgAl-Cl-LDH model catalyst were studied by both theoretical and experimental methods. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations by CASTEP found that the chloride ions in LDH function as the key Brønsted base sites to activate the adsorbed HO with enlarged bond length and angle, facilitate the dissociative adsorption of intermediates including mono-thiocarbonic acid (MTA) and hydrogen thiocarbonic acid (HTA), and participate in the formation of transient states and subsequent hydrogen transfer process with decreased energy barriers during COS hydrolysis. COS hydrolysis will preferentially go through the dissociated intermediates of mono-thiocarbonates (MT) and hydrogen thiocarbonates (HT) with dramatically decreased energy barriers, and the rate-determining step of COS hydrolysis over MgAl-Cl-LDH will be the nucleophilic addition of C=O in COS by HO (Ea = 1.

Novel application of ion exchange membranes for preparing effective silver and copper based antibacterial membranes.

Ion exchange membranes (IEMs) are widely used in water treatment applications such as electrodialysis. However, the exploration of IEMs as effective antibacterial food contact materials (e.g.

Variation characteristics of fine particulate matter and its components in diesel vehicle emission plumes.

A rapid reaction occurs near the exhaust nozzle when vehicle emissions contact the air. Twenty diesel vehicles were studied using a new multipoint sampling system that is suitable for studying the exhaust plume near the exhaust nozzle. The variation characteristics of fine particle matter (PM) and its components in diesel vehicle exhaust plumes were analyzed.

Real-world emission characteristics of black carbon emitted by on-road China IV and China V diesel trucks.

Diesel vehicle is an important source of black carbon (BC). A portable emission measurement system including a photo-acoustic extinctiometer and SEMTECH-LDV was used to measure the real-world emissions of 14 light-duty and heavy-duty diesel trucks (LDDTs and HDDTs, meeting the China IV and China V standards) in Beijing. BC emission factors and the BC/PM ratio were obtained, and the effects of the vehicle type, emission standard and driving cycle on emissions were analyzed.

Mass absorption cross-section of black carbon from residential biofuel stoves and diesel trucks based on real-world measurements.

Black carbon (BC) as an important part of atmospheric aerosols imposes adverse effects on atmospheric visibility, health, and climate change. Mass absorption cross-section (MAC) is an essential parameter in BC quantitative and model research, which is of growing concern in recent decades. In this study, we conducted real-world measurements on BC emissions from two major sources of residential biofuel stoves and diesel trucks.

Particle number emissions from light-duty gasoline vehicles in Beijing, China.

Humans are more likely to be exposed to ultrafine particles (UFPs) emitted by light-duty gasoline vehicles (LDGVs) in urban road traffic, which can cause serious bodily harm. In this study, we conducted on-road measurement of the Particle Number (PN) emissions from 18 China-3, China-4, and China-5 LDGVs on representative roads in Beijing. To clarify the impact of key parameters (standards, driving conditions, and technology) on the PN emissions, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the emission results.