This study examined the potential of the water-food-energy nexus in Jordan, as there are strong connections between these pillars that will help to ensure a sustainable future. The focus was on the dual relationship between the three sectors, namely the relationship between water and energy, between water and food, and between energy and food.Currently there are several processes arising from the problems associated with the three sectors that ought to be addressed to avoid negative consequences. Increased demand, shortage of supply, climate change, economic aspects, and population growth are among the numerous factors negatively affecting the water, energy, and food sectors that should be considered in order to achieve sustainability. Having studied the mutual relationship between the three sectors.This research will examine the potential solution of renewable energy technologies to address some of the trade-offs between water, energy and food, bringing substantial benefits in all three sectors. It was established that renewable energy appears to be an essential solution to enhance all the sectors combined. Jordan, for instance, receives abundant energy from the sun and wind. It was concluded that the exploitation of renewable energy is the essential solution needed to meet the challenges facing all three sectors, and thus promote the advancement of the country. It is possible to exploit the energy of the sun and wind in Jordan to produce the quantities of energy needed to desalinate sea water and irrigate the plants in order to provide the population with the food they need in order to live.

Indonesia is an archipelago with significant variations in natural resources, infrastructure, socioeconomic, culture, human resource capacity, accessibility, and access to financial and technical assistance. In this situation, integrated and unique efforts are needed to manage natural resources and build synergy between their protection and utilization to achieve water, energy, and food (WEF) security in accordance with the SDG targets. This paper analyzes the implementations of the WEF nexus in rural Indonesia by examining existing legal frameworks and other related policies, journals, textbooks, and publications. We explore factors influencing the success and failure of the implementation of the WEF nexus approaches from technical, socioeconomic, cultural, political, and institutional perspectives of the rural development framework.

This study explores the potential effects of electricity pricing on crop cultivation in Saudi Arabia. The country recently started implementing a domestic energy price reform strategy to make energy consumption more sustainable and increase government revenues as highlighted in the Fiscal Balance Program one of the key realization programs of Vision 2030. Two modeling schemes were developed to complete this analysis. First, a model that applies physical equations to estimate water and energy requirements for 21 crops across 13 provinces. Second, an optimization model that runs iteratively to determine short-run electricity costs, import costs and export revenues. The main finding from the model simulations is that increasing electricity prices will shrink the domestic cultivation and exports of the crops while increasing their imports. For example, as an extreme case, if the agriculture electricity price is raised from $0.048 per kWh to the US industrial electricity price level of $0.692 per kWh, the model optimizes that this will reduce electricity consumption from 33.65 gWh to 7.84 gWh, domestic crop cultivation from 15.1 million tons to 6.3 million tons, and crops' export from 0.062 million tons to 0.057 million tons while will increase crops’ import from 9.5 million tons to 18.3 million tons.

Powder flow behavior is a complex phenomenon in which the physical and chemical properties of powder particles are involved. One of the main features that alter pharmaceutical and food powders flowability is water content. Water content modifies the arrangement and interaction of the powder’s internal particles. A water content increment in powders is generally associated with a flowability decrease. In this paper, the interaction mechanisms between water and powder particles are reviewed. Also, the most used flowing indexes in powders are analyzed, and their relationship with the water content index. Moisture content and water activity effect on powders flowability, described by Carr index, Hausner ratio, angle of repose, and flow factor are examined. Finally, the structural changes within the powder matrix due to water adsorption, agglomeration of particles, and powder caking are discussed. The water content of powders is hard to handle because it is in a dynamic equilibrium under ambient conditions. In this sense, the water content in powders becomes a critical control point to ensure an enhanced flowing capacity. Small changes in water content may lead the powder to flow or not to flow, with its inherent consequences during their storage or transport. Regarding flow factor and moisture content, an individual behavior for each powder is shown. These results could not be extrapolated. On the contrary, water activity data appear interesting due to the linear relationship with flow factor in almost all the reported powders.

Most fossil fuel-derived polymers used for food packaging are non-biodegradable and induce pollution by microplastic, calling for safer material. Here we review microbial production and applications of pullulan, a unique biopolymer produced by fermentation of agro-residues, using a strain named Aureobasidium pullulan. Chemically modified pullulan is widely used in food, pharmaceuticals, biomedical, and cosmetics. Compared to conventional polymers, pullulan increases the tensile strength 6–37-folds and increases the bioadhesion time 72–120-folds. Pullulan has been recently produced from agro-based waste with yields as high as 58-69 g/L.

Since microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) have started emerging as ubiquitous contaminants in the environment, a variety of analytical techniques has been developed and tested for the detection and characterization of polymer particles at a micro- and nano-scale. Yet, no unique method stands out for its ability to yield all the relevant information required to properly address MP and NP contamination in the environment, and even less so in food material. In this review, several approaches to sample preparation and isolation of MPs from food matrices are reported, well-established and promising emerging analytical techniques for the detection and characterization of MPs and NPs are described and discussed. The information reported in this review shows that even the most widely used methods are still under development and MP/NP analysis is still far away from method validation and standardization. The establishment of rigorous best practices to yield reliable data and build a comprehensive knowledge of MP and NP occurrence in food is essential for the implementation of strategies and policies to address MP/NP pollution. Therefore, an outlook of the field towards harmonization and quality improvement of MP/NP analysis is included in this review.

Water, energy, and food are vital resources for human wellbeing. Yet, they are under increased pressure to meet demand from a growing population at a time of worsening insecurity due to depletion and degradation of reserves. These challenges prompted the formulation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015. All the 17 SDGs are connected. They recognize that developments in one sector will impact other sectors and that any proposed development must balance socioeconomic and environmental sustainability. Also, as the three resources are the most impacted by climate change, they provide a close link between adaptation, climate system, human society, and the environment. The intricate interlinkages between water, energy, and food resources with the related relationships with socioeconomic development, healthy ecosystems, human development, and sustainable development caused the rapid growth of the water–energy–food (WEF) nexus concept since the United Nations General Assembly of September 2015. Although the concept existed before 2015, its progression increased after the World Economic Forum of 2011 after a presentation by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) in anticipation of the SDGs. This chapter discusses the evolution of the WEF nexus before and after 2015. The emphasis is on the importance of the concept in establishing the interconnectedness of resources and as a guide for coherent policy decisions that lead to sustainable development.

Electrolyzed oxidizing water (EOW) can be considered in the agrofood industry as a new antimicrobial agent with disinfectant, detoxifying, and shelf-life improvement properties. EOW is produced by electrolysis of water, with no added chemicals, except for sodium chloride. The antifungal and detoxifying mechanisms of EOW depend mainly on: pH, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), and available chlorine concentration (ACC). EOW offers many advantages over other conventional chemical methods, including less adverse chemical residues, safe-handling, secure, energy-saving, cost-effective, and environmentally-friendly. As a result, EOW could be used for the development of safer and more socially acceptable methods for fungi decontamination and mycotoxin detoxification. This review contains an overview of EOW effectiveness to decontaminate non-toxigenic and mycotoxigenic fungi, its safety and efficacy for mycotoxin detoxification, the proposed mechanism of action of EOW on fungal cells, and the chemical mechanism of action of EOW on mycotoxins. Finally, conclusions and future research necessities are also outlined.