Nonthermal plasma (NTP) is an advanced technology that has gained extensive attention because of its capacity for decontaminating food from both biological and chemical sources. Plasma‐activated water (PAW), a product of NTP's reaction with water containing a rich diversity of highly reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS), is now being considered as the primary reactive chemical component in food decontamination. Despite exciting developments in this field recently, at present there is no comprehensive review specifically focusing on the comprehensive effects of PAW on food safety and quality. Although PAW applications in biological decontamination have been extensively evaluated, a complete analysis of the most recent developments in PAW technology (e.g., PAW combined with other treatments, and PAW applications in chemical degradation and as curing agents) is nevertheless lacking. Therefore, this review focuses on PAW applications for enhanced food safety (both biological and chemical safeties) according to the latest studies. Further, the subsequent effects on food quality (chemical, physical, and sensory properties) are discussed in detail. In addition, several recent trends of PAW developments, such as curing agents, thawing media, preservation of aquatic products, and the synergistic effects of PAW in combination with other traditional treatments, are also presented. Finally, this review outlines several limitations presented by PAW treatment, suggesting several future research directions and challenges that may hinder the translation of these technologies into real‐life applications.

As the basis of quantitative research over water-energy-food nexus (WEFN), qualitative analysis is indispensable for depicting the systems and providing effective measures and policies. Preceding qualitative WEFN studies largely neglected the role of local stakeholder participation, which could only reflect fragments of the systems. Causal loop diagrams (CLDs) have been proven to be effective for supporting stakeholder participation in many other areas. Nevertheless, there was a lack of impartial methods that could make CLD analysis tractable without significantly impairing the WEFN systems integrity. To fill such gaps, a novel method based on merging and reduction rules was proposed to reasonably merge and downscale WEFN CLDs built by stakeholders. Based on this improved method, a CLD-based methodology was developed as a prototype for characterizing WEFN systems, prescribing the WEFN problem, exploring its causes and consequences, and identifying effective measures and policies for alleviating conflicts. To validate the applicability of the developed methodology, it was applied to a real case. The results indicated that total water consumption, water allocation among varied sectors, available surface water, and available groundwater, as well as indirect factors such as volume of diverted water and agricultural water consumption, were the keys to alleviate water scarcity problem under WEFN in the study area. Measures and polices focusing on the interactions between surface water and groundwater could be viable for alleviating the problem. Directions to enhance tradeoffs and synergies within WEFN systems were also obtained.

A copula bi-level fractional programming (CBFP) method is developed for planning the water–food–energy–ecology (WFEE) nexus system. CBFP has advantages in (i) dealing with ratio-objective problems, (ii) balancing the conflicts between hierarchical decision levels, and (iii) reflecting joint risks of correlated uncertain variables. Then, a CBFP–WFEE model is formulated to the Ili-Balkhash basin in Central Asia, in which 108 scenarios associated with different irrigation efficiencies, ecological-flow demands (EBW), and water–land resources have been examined. Solutions of water allocation, hydropower generation, and land-use pattern are obtained. Our major findings are as follows: (i) from 2021 to 2050, water allocation to livestock in East Kazakhstan would remarkably increase (by 40.9%) when water allocation to food is satisfied; (ii) hydropower generation would increase with the rising ecological flows and arable land resources; (iii) EBW is the key factor influencing the water inflow to the Balkhash Lake; (iv) the share of ecosystem water allocation would exceed 17.5% by 2050, and grassland area would rank in the first place of the ecosystem. Compared with conventional bi-level stochastic programming and single-level fractional programming models, the CBFP–WFEE model can achieve a higher ecosystem service value and higher efficiency of water–land resources, which can provide more feasible and sustainable alternatives for the WFEE nexus system. The obtained results can help balance the contradictions among water shortage, economic development, and ecology protection, as well as provide synergic management strategies for regional sustainability.

Wastewater treatment is one of the major carriers of the water-energy-food-climate (WEFC) nexus, and although the relationship between water and energy is well recognized, there is still a lack of adequate analysis of the cyber-physical framework to address and assess urban and peri-urban WEFC nexus in an integrated approach. In this review paper, we deeply analyze and summarize the modelling tools and data that are currently used to quantify the nexus in wastewater treatment. Currently, comprehensive models and tools are missing that consider the interconnections amongst catchment, sewer network, wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), river and climatic system in a holistic approach and define relevant monitoring requirements and trustable information provision. Cyber-physical systems provide a technological ground for an efficient management of such integrated systems. The nexus approach in precision irrigation and smart agriculture is further discussed in the paper, highlighting the issue of water reuse and the engagement of different levels of stakeholders. Digital solutions and serious games addressing the nexus in urban and peri-urban water management are also presented to facilitate innovative practice aspects and to foster public involvement. Adaptable digital solutions can help to understand stakeholders’ perception of water quality and its governance and to improve levels of awareness and collaboration between utilities, authorities, farmers and citizens. Finally, recommendations on the added value of currently used models, tools and possible digital solutions are given to WWTP and reclamation managers and/or operators to bring the WEFC nexus approach on the operative environment.

Water, energy, and food are essential resources for humanity. The growing shortages of these resources and serious deterioration of river environments are having a big impact on the sustainable development of the economy and society in China. Water, energy, and food support human life and yet coexist in different ways, and therefore it is critical to find a way for all three key elements to be secured in order to support high standards of sustainable development in China. We used the criteria of stability, coordination, and sustainability of symbiotic systems to select 33 indexes that were then used to establish an index system. The weight of index was determined by using the entropy weight method combined with Analytic Hierarchy Process. The fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method was used to calculate the collaborative security index, which was the basis of our evaluation of the collaborative water–energy–food security of China in time and space. The results show that North China and Northwest China are at high water–food–energy security risk, while East, Central, and South China are at moderate risk. With the exception of Southwest China and South China, risk in most parts of the country has risen over the past decades, while it has fallen in Shandong, Henan, Sichuan, and Yunnan provinces.

Natural resources are a boon for human beings, and their conservation for future uses is indispensable. Most importantly, energy-food-water security (EFWS) nexus management is the utmost need of our time. An effective managerial policy for the current distribution and conservation to meet future demand is necessary and challenging. Thus, this paper investigates an interconnected and dynamic EFWS nexus optimization model by considering the socio-economic and environmental objectives with the optimal energy supply, electricity conversion, food production, water resources allocation, and CO<inline-formula><math display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>2</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula> emissions control in the multi-period time horizons. Due to real-life complexity, various parameters are taken as intuitionistic fuzzy numbers. A novel method called interactive neutrosophic programming approach (INPA) is suggested to solve the EFWS nexus model. To verify and validate the proposed EFWS model, a synthetic computational study is performed. The obtained solution results are compared with other optimization approaches, and the outcomes are also evaluated with significant practical implications. The study reveals that the food production processes require more water resources than electricity production, although recycled water has not been used for food production purposes. The use of a coal-fired plant is not a prominent electricity conversion source. However, natural gas power plants’ service is also optimally executed with a marginal rate of production. Finally, conclusions and future research are addressed. This current study emphasizes how the proposed EFWS nexus model would be reliable and beneficial in real-world applications and help policy-makers identify, modify, and implement the optimal EFWS nexus policy and strategies for the future conservation of these resources.

This study evaluated the impact of a defined plasma treated water (PTW) when applied to various stages within fresh-cut endive processing. The quality characteristic responses were investigated to establish the impact of the PTW unit processes and where PTW may be optimally applied in a model process line to retain or improve produce quality. Different stages of application of PTW within the washing process were investigated and compared to tap water and chlorine dioxide. Fresh-cut endive (Cichorium endivia L.) samples were analyzed for retention of food quality characteristics. Measurements included color, texture, and nitrate quantification. Effects on tissue surface and cell organelles were observed through scanning electron and atomic force microscopy. Overall, the endive quality characteristics were retained by incorporating PTW in the washing process. Furthermore, promising results for color and texture characteristics were observed, which were supported by the microscopic assays of the vegetal tissue. While ion chromatography detected high concentrations of nitrite and nitrate in PTW, these did not affect the nitrate concentration of the lettuce tissue post-processing and were below the concentrations within EU regulations. These results provide a pathway to scale up the industrial application of PTW to improve and retain quality characteristic retention of fresh leafy products, whilst also harnessing the plasma functionalized water as a process intervention for reducing microbial load at multiple points, whether on the food surface, within the process water or on food-processing surfaces.

Accurate information on irrigated areas’ spatial distribution and extent are crucial in enhancing agricultural water productivity, water resources management, and formulating strategic policies that enhance water and food security and ecologically sustainable development. However, data are typically limited for smallholder irrigated areas, which is key to achieving social equity and equal distribution of financial resources. This study addressed this gap by delineating disaggregated smallholder and commercial irrigated areas through the random forest algorithm, a non-parametric machine learning classifier. Location within or outside former apartheid “homelands” was taken as a proxy for smallholder, and commercial irrigation. Being in a medium rainfall area, the huge irrigation potential of the Inkomati-Usuthu Water Management Area (UWMA) is already well developed for commercial crop production outside former homelands. However, information about the spatial distribution and extent of irrigated areas within former homelands, which is largely informal, was missing. Therefore, we first classified cultivated lands in 2019 and 2020 as a baseline, from where the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was used to distinguish irrigated from rainfed, focusing on the dry winter period when crops are predominately irrigated. The mapping accuracy of 84.9% improved the efficacy in defining the actual spatial extent of current irrigated areas at both smallholder and commercial spatial scales. The proportion of irrigated areas was high for both commercial (92.5%) and smallholder (96.2%) irrigation. Moreover, smallholder irrigation increased by over 19% between 2019 and 2020, compared to slightly over 7% in the commercial sector. Such information is critical for policy formulation regarding equitable and inclusive water allocation, irrigation expansion, land reform, and food and water security in smallholder farming systems.

Stable and sustainable grain production is an important guarantee for national security, economic development and social stability. Water and land are essential resources in irrigated agricultural systems. There is intricate relationship in Water, land and food nexus with large uncertainties involved therein. Sustainable agricultural development requires effective and coordinated management of the water-food-land nexus. This paper developed a robust optimization model to optimize the allocation of limited resources and maximize irrigation water productivity in water-food-land nexus system. The proposed optimization model fully considers the system uncertainties to assist decision-makers in developing more effective water and land resource allocation plans. The model is demonstrated to solve a real-world nexus management problem in the Yangtze River basin. The results show that the robust optimization method can solve the uncertainty disturbance and meet the target requirements, thus verifying the effectiveness and feasibility of the model in water-food-land nexus system. The model could be applied to similar river basins that have limited resources.