Cement production, quarrying and stone crushing are major emission sources of alkaline dust that can affect human health and vegetation. The main objectives of this study were to evaluate the potential of using bark pH, soil pH and lichen community for indicating alkaline dust pollution. Twelve polluted sites were in a limestone industrial area. Bark pH and the lichen community were observed on Alstonia scholaris trees, and soil pH was obtained from topsoil samples. The bark pH at all polluted sites was significantly higher (5.5 to 7.3) than that at the unpolluted site (4.3). Among the polluted sites, the highest bark pH value was observed at the nearest site to the center of the industrial area, while the lowest value was discovered at the farthest site. Bark pH showed a strongly negative correlation with the distance from the center. Soil pH at the unpolluted site (6.3) was also significantly lower than that at the polluted sites (7.6 to 8.1), except at the farthest site (6.5). The soil pH also tended to increase closer to the center. Seven lichen species were observed on the trunks of investigated trees in all polluted sites and were observed only at sites more than 4.7 km away from the center, where bark pH ranged from 5.5 to 6.3. The extent of dust impact on vegetation seemed to be within 6-7 km from the center. The results of this study confirm the potential of the bark pH of A. scholaris, soil pH and lichen community as long-term indicators of alkaline dust pollution.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11264-z | DOI Listing |
Inorg Chem
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Clean and Efficient Coal Utilization, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China.
The low sulfur selectivity of Fe-based HS-selective catalytic oxidation catalysts is still a problem, especially at a high O content. This is alleviated here through anchoring FeO nanoclusters on UiO-66 via the formation of Fe-O-Zr bonds. The introduced FeO species exist in the form of Fe and Fe.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
January 2025
Department of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, China.
The generation of radicals through photo-Fenton-like reactions demonstrates significant potential for remediating emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) in complex aqueous environments. However, the excitonic effect, induced by Coulomb interactions between photoexcited electrons and holes, reduces carrier utilization efficiency in these systems. In this study, we develop Cu single-atom-loaded covalent organic frameworks (Cu/COFs) as models to modulate excitonic effects.
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January 2025
State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, P.R. China.
In this study, we introduce a highly effective non-metallic iodine single-atom catalyst (SAC), referred to as I-NC, which is strategically confined within a nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) scaffold. This configuration features a distinctive C-I coordination that optimizes the electronic structure of the nitrogen-adjacent carbon sites. As a result, this arrangement enhances electron transfer from peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to the active sites, particularly the electron-deficient carbon.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Technol
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, Key Laboratory of Optical Detection Technology for Oil and Gas, College of Science, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, PR China.
The purification efficiency of autoexhaust carbon strongly depends on the heterogeneous interface structure between active metal and oxide, which can modulate the local electronic structure of defect sites to promote the activation of reactant molecules. Herein, the high-dispersion CuO clusters supported on the well-defined CeO nanorods were prepared using the complex deposition slow method. The formation of heteroatomic Cu-O-Ce interfacial structural units as active sites can capture electrons to achieve activation of the NO and O molecules.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Technol
January 2025
State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
Ammonia emissions from vehicles and power plants cause severe environmental issues, including haze pollution and nitrogen deposition. Selective catalytic oxidation (SCO) is a promising technology for ammonia abatement, but current catalysts often struggle with insufficient activity and poor nitrogen selectivity, leading to the formation of secondary pollutants. In this study, we developed a bifunctional Ru/Cu-CHA zeolite catalyst for ammonia oxidation, incorporating both SCO sites (Ru) and selective catalytic reduction sites (SCR, Cu).
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