The present study is based on the conversion from biomass to biofuels of karanja (Pongamia glabra) seeds via solar thermochemical pyrolysis process. Karanja seeds were pyrolysed at a cavity type reactor temperature of 280-340°C. The pyrolysis process was occurring in the range of 210-550°C. The ultimate and proximate analysis of the pyrolysed bio-oil was performed based on ASTM standards. The FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) analysis of the liquid product indicated the presence of alkenes, alkanes, ketones, carboxylic acids and aromatic rings. GC-MS (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry) demonstrated the presence of hydrocarbons having between 15 and 34 carbon atoms in a chain.

Dyes are important source of water pollution and their degradation products may be carcinogens and toxic to mammals. For evaluation of oxidative degradation of dye wastewater, the kaolinite supported zero valent iron were synthesized. The surface morphology of kaolinite and kaolinite supported zero valent iron were observed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The degradation of dye C.I. Reactive Red 15 in aqueous solution by kaolinite supported zero valent iron was investigated in details. The effects of the dosage of kaolinite supported zero valent iron, pH in solution, reaction time and the initial dye concentration on the degradation were studied. The results showed that the pH value, the dosage of kaolinite supported zero valent iron and the initial dye concentration had an important impact on dye degradation. Under these conditions, such as 80 mg/L dye C.I. Reactive Red 15, 20 min of reaction time, 0.5 g kaolinite supported zero valent iron particles, pH value of 2.0, temperature of 308 K and 120 rpm respectively, the degradation rate of dye C.I. Reactive Red 15 reached 82.3%.

The construction industry is among the pillars of China’s economic development. However, it causes high carbon emission and high energy consumption, which should be considered when drafting energy saving and emission reduction policies. The sustainable development of this industry lies in the effective estimation of carbon emission efficiency and implementation of energy-saving and emission reduction measures in accordance with local practical situations. First, investigations on the emission efficiency of the construction industry and relevant emission reduction policies in foreign developed countries were reviewed in this study. Second, the carbon emission efficiency of the construction industry in 13 prefecture-level cities in Hunan Province (China) from 2011 to 2017 were estimated using the SBM (Slack Based Measure) model involving unexpected outputs. Finally, specific suggestions on reducing the carbon emission of the construction industry were proposed. CO2 emissions in the construction industry increase annually as a response to economic development and urbanization. The carbon emission efficiency of Hunan Province’s construction industry maintained a stable growth rate in 2011-2017. The industry achieved an annual growth rate of 2.7% in 2017 from that in 2011. The carbon emission efficiency of Changsha City, Zhangjiajie City, and Yiyang City were relatively higher than those of other cities in the province. Such findings serve as a reference to the quantification of potential of Hunan Province in reducing the carbon emission, the formulation of specific carbon emission reduction goal, the augmentation of the means to evaluate energy saving and emission reduction, and the development of a low-carbon construction industry.

An extensive survey was carried out to understand the spatial distribution and possible sources of soil heavy metals in a phosphorus-rich area. A total of 615 topsoil samples were gathered, utilizing a regular sampling grid of 1×1 km squares, and the contents of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), vanadium (V) and zinc (Zn) were analysed to investigate the spatial distribution of these heavy metals, identify their sources, and assess levels of pollution. The results showed that the enrichment factor (EF) of the studied metals decreased in the order Cd > As > Pb > Co > Ni > Cr = Cu > Zn, and the mean contents of Cd, As and Pb were significantly higher than the background values. According to potential ecological risk (RI), 11.2% of the study areas had considerable potential ecological risk and the other areas had low to moderate potential ecological risk. The results of multivariate and geostatistical analyses indicated that Co, Cr, Ni and V, and to a lesser extent Cu and Zn, mostly originated from natural sources; while As and Pb, and to a lesser extent Cd, Cu and Zn, mainly originated from phosphorus-related industrial activities. The results also showed that Cd was affected by water with Cd pollution from the Hanjiang River. These results are useful for establishing policies for protecting local soil quality.

The global concerns about the rise in anthropogenic gases have resulted in alternative clean energy sources. Biomass is one of the most prominent renewable energy sources, which can be found in wood and wood wastes, agricultural crops and their waste byproducts, municipal solid waste (MSW), animal wastes, food processing, aquatic plants and algae. Wood and by-products obtained from forest biomass stand at the centre of Renewable Energy Source (RES) due to its availability and usefulness in most developing countries. Sawdust is one of the wood processing residues that is in excess of local demand because of the near absence of its industrial demand in Kwara State. Data relating to its availability, industrial usage and energy potential are rarely available in this study area. This study investigates its availability and inherent energy potential that can be a vital tool for energy policy, planning and development. Wood wastes generated in the state were estimated to be 8012.8 m3/yr with inherent energy potential of 31298 GJ. By putting sawdust, seen as wastes in most wood processing plants, into efficient use will help reduce the competition for wood as a source of heat for cooking and heating.

In this paper, with different types of optimal surfactant monomers and potentiators mixed, the optimum formula of the new surfactant was obtained. The new surfactant with low toxicity, low cost and good dust removal effect was developed by the simulated flue gas experiment and verified the removal efficiency of the new surfactant on the particulate matter in the flue gas. It provided a reference for the industrial application in ultra-low emission of coal smoke. The results showed that the new surfactant could effectively reduce particulate matter in the simulated flue gas, and be the best to the dust particle size less than or equal to 1 micron. The optimum formula was worked out to be: anionic surfactant sodium dodecylbenzene-sulfonate (SDBS) 0.06%, anionic surfactant rapid penetrant T 0.06% and inorganic salt NaCl 1%.

The modelling of chlorophyll-a concentration helps to restrict the harmful effects in marine species caused by increased nutrient loads. The derived satellite data are often used for the monitoring of marine ecology. The common usage of satellite data is monthly average data to avoid the problem of missing values. In order to reduce the effect of missing data, this study employed the cubic spline model by using a satellite data for investigating seasonal variations of chlorophyll-a mapped in an eight-day interval consisting of missing values in Pattani Bay, Thailand from the year 2003 to 2017. This study further used the spline-fitted data for creating the baseline model of chlorophyll-a in Pattani Bay, and for examining the difference between spline fitted and monthly average data. This study revealed that the cubic spline method was able to handle the missing values in satellite data to gain the smoothness in data. When both models were compared, the spline-fitted observation yielded a smoother curve pattern than the monthly average observation. The spline fitted model was also able to display the chlorophyll-a data at any particular day of the year. It was also shown that the chlorophyll-a concentration level in the coastal area of Pattani Bay was higher in the inshore pixels, especially in rainy season.

In the past decade, the deterioration in atmospheric quality caused by emissions of ambient particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) has become an urgent problem in China. As this problem can be mainly attributed to the large amount of coal consumption, a strategy to promote electric power substitution was initiated, and in this case, cutting the price of electricity is considered useful. However, since it was announced that the price of electric power used in the service industry will be reduced by 10%, the proper target to cut the price of electric power used in the secondary industry was under debate. By using the computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, the policy to cut the price of electric power used in the secondary industry was simulated and the effects of the policy on the economy and the environment were explored. The results show that the policy to cut electric power prices will contribute to promoting the strategy of electricity substitution, and further contribute to environmental improvement. This policy can result in positive effects on the systems of the economy and the environment at the same time, and when the target to cut the price of electric power used in the secondary industry is –3%, the maximum positive effects will be obtained: gross domestic product (GDP) growth will be accelerated by 0.015‰, while PM2.5 emissions will be abated by 394.2 tons. Moreover, based on the unique cross-subsidy mechanism in China’s electric power industry, although residents’ consumption welfare can be fully compensated, less cross-subsidy will have a negative effect on the agriculture industry.

It is of great significance to reduce carbon emissions from electric power generation for green development. In addition to technical measures, two trading mechanisms are built to optimize China’s electric power generation: generation rights trading, and carbon emission rights trading. However, as the carbon emission rights trading are initiated, the issues of how to choose the right trading mechanism, and determining the appropriate strategy under the corresponding trading mechanism continue to confuse generation enterprises. In order to clarify these issues, the game theory was used to identify the proper trading strategies for generation enterprises under the two highly similar trade mechanisms. Results show that the two trading mechanisms are complementary to each other to some extent, and the generation enterprises should choose a proper trade strategy according to the endowment of generation prices, the technical abilities, the grid-loss price and the ratio of carbon-electricity conversion. The equilibrium solutions of trading scales and prices for the two trading mechanisms are mostly related to the endowments of generation prices. Generally, the buyers with higher endowments of generation prices should choose the carbon emission rights trading, and the buyers with lower endowments of generation prices can only benefit in generation rights trading. The bigger gaps between the endowments of generation prices of buyers and sellers are, the more likely the trade can be made and further result in a better environmental consequence. The conclusions provide suggestions to the government that, the grid-loss pricing and the ratio of carbon-electricity conversion could be used as key tools to regulate the market for both of the trade mechanisms.

In this study an attempt was made to assess the mining associated urbanization impact on rural agricultural lands due to expansion of mining dump yards, pulverizing mills and beneficiation plants in and around Govindampalle village, YSR District, A.P by using Geospatial technologies. Various land use and land cover (LULC) classes, mainly, cropland, plantation, fallow land, mining/industrial, water body, settlements and scrub lands were recognized and their impact on the environment has been discussed. Google earth historical imagery during 2010 and 2017 are used to map and assess these land use and land cover changes in the ArcGIS flat form. LULC change detection analysis data showed that cropland, water bodies and scrublands were decreased by 10, 2, 14 and 20 percent, respectively from 2010 to 2017. On the other hand industrial areas and agricultural plantations showed an increasing trend with 14 and 20 percent growth rate respectively.