This work was carried to compare the efficiency of Cu and Al electrodes in the elimination of Yellow 10 gw dye solution with the optimization of operative factors such as pH, NaCl, contact time, and current density in the electrocoagulation method. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess the impact of these variables, with significance set at P<0.05. The data was statistically examined with Origin2021 and SPSS software, and significant differences between mean values were determined using analysis of variance (ANOVA). For each experiment, duplicates were kept, and the efficiency of Yellow 10 gw dye solution for those parameters was derived using analysis at a 5% level of significance. The utility of treated dye solutions using both the electrodes was tested on V.radiata in terms of germination percentage, root, and shoot length with distilled water as control. For all of the qualities examined, significant disparities were found among entries. The dye solution used with Al resulted in much higher germination (100%), root length (9.72 cm), and shoot length (24.5 cm).

In recent years, waste management has become a major concern in Russian cities. This can be addressed through the circular economy. Developing Eco-Industrial Parks (EIP) can be considered an innovative infrastructure of a circular economy. EIP is based upon the principles of industrial symbiosis involving the exchange of material and energy flows, sharing of infrastructural facilities, and provision of municipal utility and other services. Researchers have found that most industrial symbiotic interconnections originated spontaneously, the main driver being the increasing commercial benefits of such interchange. Still, the authors were able to identify pre-designed EIP through their examination of global practices. This paper proposes a five-stage methodological approach to EIP organization. This methodology was applied to create a model of an EIP in the Voronezh Region, one of the fastest developing regions in Russia. Implementation of this model is intended to help solve a set of environmental, economic, and social problems of a region. The approach to creating EIPs described in this study can be used in other places to improve resource efficiency and reduce waste disposal. Because Russia’s garbage disposal rate currently exceeds 90% per year, this is one of the country’s top sustainable development priorities.

The objective of the present study was to study the optimization conditions for the production of xanthan by Xanthomonas campestris from pre-treated sugarcane molasses. In the study, the optimization was carried out for different parameters including pH, temperature, and incubation time for the pre-treated sugarcane molasses. The age of inoculums and time of culture growth (6, 12, 18 and 24 hrs), size of inoculums (2%, 5%, 7.5% and 10%), pH (6.6, 6.8, 7.0 and 7.2) and temperature (25°C, 28°C, 30°C, 32°C and 37°C) were studied. It was observed that the xanthan production was maximal with 7.5% (v/v) inoculums, pH. 7 at 30°C for 48 hrs. The study suggested that cane molasses is an appropriate agro-industrial substrate for xanthan gum fermentations, and further scale-up study is needed for gum production in the stirred fermenter.

Coal mining processing and the clearing of land require that materials which have been removed be carefully inspected before it is reused. In this study, the boundary of our model starts with excavation and ends with material recovery. Therefore, further processing of the material to be recovered (recycling, reprocessing) is excluded from the model. In this study, the topsoil layer was collected in three pits numbered one, two, and three, from January to December 2020. The use of the LCA method gives results after the inventory data is carried out, which results in global warming. The results showed material removal unit process generated a total CO2 value of 32.44 kg CO2- eq.tonne-1 of coal, and the coal mining unit process generated a total CO2 value of 255.99 kg CO2- eq.tonne-1 of coal, for the impact of global warming. When compared to the material removal process, the results of the coal mining unit process show the highest global warming impact. Coal processing gives a yield of 25.61 kg CO2- eq.tonne-1 of coal. So that the resulting impact as a whole is 314 kg CO2- eq.tonne-1 of coal. The total emissions resulting from B30 fuel (314 kg CO2- eq.tonne-1 of coal) are smaller than B20 fuel (320 kg CO2- eq.tonne-1 of coal), 6 kg CO2-eq.tonne-1 of coal. The coal mining process includes fuel used in coal extraction, coal hauling, coal stockpiling, blasting, water pumps, and water tracks.

Metal release into the environment from anthropogenic activities may endanger ecosystems and human health. However, identifying and quantifying anthropogenic metal bioaccumulation in organisms remain a challenging task. In this work, we assess Cu isotopes in Pacific oysters (C. gigas) as a new tool for monitoring anthropogenic Cu bioaccumulation into marine environments. Arcachon Bay was taken as a natural laboratory due to its increasing contamination by Cu, and its relevance as a prominent shellfish production area. Here, we transplanted 18-month old oysters reared in an oceanic neighbor area into two Arcachon Bay mariculture sites under different exposure levels to continental Cu inputs. At the end of their 12-month long transplantation period, the oysters’ Cu body burdens had increased, and was shifted toward more positive δ65Cu values. The gradient of Cu isotope compositions observed for oysters sampling stations was consistent with relative geographic distance and exposure intensities to unknown continental Cu sources. A binary isotope mixing model based on experimental data allowed to estimate the Cu continental fraction bioaccumulated in the transplanted oysters. The positive δ65Cu values and high bioaccumulated levels of Cu in transplanted oysters support that continental emissions are dominantly anthropogenic. However, identifying specific pollutant coastal source remained unelucidated mostly due to their broader and overlapping isotope signatures and potential post-depositional Cu isotope fractionation processes. Further investigations on isotope fractionation of Cu-based compounds in an aqueous medium may improve Cu source discrimination. Thus, using Cu as an example, this work combines for the first time a well-known caged bivalve approach with metal stable isotope techniques for monitoring and quantifying the bioaccumulation of anthropogenic metal into marine environments. Also, it states the main challenges to pinpoint specific coastal anthropogenic sources utilizing this approach and provides the perspectives for further studies to overcome them.

International audience | Several sustainable development goals cannot be achieved without implementing a new generation of environmental measures to better preserve or restore biodiversity and ecosystem services. However, understanding and addressing biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation is a challenging problem that is not solvable without integrating the best and latest science. It is crucial to enhance the legibility of this knowledge for decision-makers and policymakers following good-practice standards of scientific assessment. This is the main objective of collective scientific assessments (CSAs), as carried out by the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE) since the early 2000s following a documented procedure to inform public policy and foster public debate on complex interdisciplinary issues. This article describes the main steps of the CSA procedure designed by INRAE’s Directorate for Collective Scientific Assessment, Foresight and Advanced Studies, from formulation of the initial question asked by public or para-public bodies (typically ministry divisions or environmental agencies) to wider dissemination of the results and conclusions. This process description is then illustrated through the example of a CSA recently commissioned by three French Ministries (for Ecology, for Research, and for Agriculture) regarding (i) contamination of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems by plant protection products (PPPs); (ii) the resulting effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services; and (iii) possible prevention and mitigation strategies. The capacity of this kind of CSA to inform public debate and policymaking is then exemplified through a description of the main outcomes generated by the latest CSA dealing with the adverse effects of PPPs. We also provide a short overview of some key expectations from the current CSA, with a focus on the recent development of the ecosystem service approach in ecological risk assessments of PPPs in the European Union. This illustration demonstrates that CSAs, which are applicable to a wide variety of complex interdisciplinary questions that are not limited to environmental issues, are a relevant tool to inform public debate and policymaking.

International audience | This study aimed to better understand the impact of different bauxite residues (BR) on the germination and the development of Sinapis alba (white mustard). Unamended BR from Provence, France (PRO), and Guinea (GUI) bauxite were selected, and modified bauxite residues from PRO and GUI (MBRPRO and MBR-GUI) were obtained by gypsum application and repeated leaching, in order to reduce their pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP). Germination rates were monitored in soil-BR mixtures with increasing concentrations of BR. A rhizotron experiment was done, where Sinapis alba was allowed to develop in a layer of soil on the top of a layer of bauxite residue. To assess the impact of the residue on root development, the WhinRhizo (R) software was used to measure the architectural traits of roots. Peroxidase and fluorescein hydrolase activities were also assessed on the roots grown either in the soil or in the residue layers. Results showed that (i) bauxite residue origin, (ii) bauxite residue modification by gypsum, and (iii) bauxite residue concentration had significant effects on the germination, the root development and architecture, and the enzymatic activities of the roots of Sinapis alba. The PRO residue had a far stronger phytotoxic effect compared to the GUI residue on every measured variable. The toxic effect was strongly modulated by the origin of bauxite residue. The gypsum application efficiently reduced the phytotoxic effect of the residues, but significant negative effects on the different variables were still recorded.

Studies are presented in the context of the past attempts at finding nanocatalysts that can boost the performance of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) ─ in terms of waste treatment and energy generation. Given the great potential of biomimetically synthesized nanoparticles (BMNPs) in providing less expensive and more environmentally friendly alternatives to NPs synthesized by physical and chemical methods, as well as a near-total lack of previous work in this area, the current research was undertaken. Effect of gold and silver nanoparticles (NPs), synthesized biomimetically using five freely available weeds, was assessed as catalysts in the MFCs. In all cases, the nanoparticles were seen to enhance the coulombic efficiency (reflective of the reduction in the waste’s organic carbon load), maximum attainable power density, and overall energy yield of the MFCs by >200% relative to the uncatalyzed MFCs. Gold nanoparticles were more effective than silver nanoparticles by ≥ 20%. The results reveal that biomimetically synthesized NPs can be highly effective in reducing the operational costs as well as ecological footprints of MFCs and further work should be focused on NPs of non-precious metals.

Considering the amount of waste plastics has risen significantly, energy may be extracted from it. Not only is it possible to dispose of waste plastics by converting them to fuel, but it is also possible to extract energy from them. Our research is motivated by the prospect of using waste plastics as a source of energy through waste plastic pyrolysis oil (WPPO). The innovation of this research is that it will assess the efficiency of plastic pyrolysis oil derived from Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) on a Thermal Barrier Coated (TBC) piston engine. The incremental ratio of WPPO to pure diesel with the addition of diethyl ether (DEE) was determined and its output and exhaust emission standards were evaluated using a direct injection single cylinder low heat rejection diesel engine. The results for the WPPO blends were promising as with TBCW20DEE10 demonstrating a 5 to 15% increase in carbon monoxide under different load conditions. TBCW20DEE10 confirmed a greater reduction of hydrocarbons varying from 5 to 12 %. At half load condition, TBCW20DEE10 emits approximately 3.5 % less unitof smoke.

This paper includes a cradle-to-gate life cycle impact evaluation of gasoline blends in India. The potential environmental impacts of gasoline blends with three major components, i.e., methanol, ethanol, and n-butanol are assessed. The production of methanol from the natural gas reforming process, ethanol from hydrogenation with nitric acid, and n-butanol from the oxo process are considered in the current study. The results show that the gasoline blending with methanol has the lowest impact (11 categories) and is nearly constant from 5 to 15%. For gasoline with ethanol as an additive, the global warming potential, ozone depletion potential, and abiotic depletion potential rise with increasing ethanol addition. Meanwhile, increasing ethanol addition reduces the acidification potential and terrestric ecotoxicity potential impact of gasoline blends. Similarly, gasoline with n-butanol as an additive has higher acidification potential, eutrophication potential, human toxicity potential, terrestric ecotoxicity potential, marine aquatic ecotoxicity potential, and photochemical ozone creation potential compared to methanol and ethanol.