To reduce the environmental pollution caused by ammonium paratungstate (APT) production in the Ganzhou area in China, simulated experiments in laboratory and field experiments in cement kilns were performed. The migration characteristics of As in secondary residues (thermometallurgy and hydrometallurgy residues) from APT production in cement kilns were similar, and As in the residues existed in the form of sulfides. When the residues were fed at the kiln inlet, the As in the residues was completely distributed in the clinker after a new mass balance of As was reestablished in a very short time. When the residues were fed at the raw mill, the total input rate of As was far higher than the total output rate. Therefore, a part of As was circulated in the cement kiln, and only a small part of As was distributed in the clinker. In addition, the As concentration in the flue gas and the leaching concentration of As in the clinker were far below the limit value in the Chinese standard. For feeding rates below that are used in the field experiment, co-processing of secondary residues in a cement kiln fed at the kiln inlet is environmentally safe. However, if the secondary residues are consistently fed at the raw mill, the As concentration in the flue gas may gradually increase.

Increasing environmental concern, human health and the continuous upgradation in the stringent standards of vehicular emissions have shown much interest in cleaner diesel fuels. Out of various strategies to mitigate the diesel engine emissions, use of water blended diesel in the form of emulsion has grabbed sufficient attention of the fuel research community. Various researches have shown that water-emulsified diesel has sufficient potential to improve the engine performance simultaneously with a significant reduction in the levels of nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) and particulate matter (PM) emissions. Micro-explosion phenomenon of combustion in emulsion fuel helps to provide efficient and complete combustion which in turn improves brake thermal efficiency. The current study presents a comprehensive review of the usage of water-emulsified diesel fuel in CI engines. Focusing on the performance, combustion, and emission analysis, it also talks in detail about the principle and the chemistry involved in making of a stable and homogeneous water–diesel emulsion compatible for CI engine. The literature survey concludes two crucial points. First, the water-blended diesel emulsion serves as an economical, fuel efficient, and cleaner combustion technology. Second, the optimum blend ratio, emulsifier quantity, and proper process differs in almost all the research papers and hence needed to be standardized.

In order to further understand the status of the water quality of Min River’s sea-entry section, the index systems for water environmental quality assessment was built based on twenty evaluation parameters including dissolved oxygen (DO), permanganate index (CODMₙ), chemical oxygen demand (CODCᵣ), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅), ammonia (NH₃-N), total phosphorus (TP), and total nitrogen (TN). Water environmental quality of Min River’s sea-entry section in 2015–2017 was evaluated by utilizing the entire-array-polygon synthesis illustration method, accompanied by the time-dependent trend analysis. The results demonstrated that the water environmental quality of Min River’s sea-entry section was between the levels I and II of the Environmental Quality Standards for Surface Water (EQSSW, GB3838-2002) in 2015–2017, indicating a generally good water quality. The water quality was affected by both natural factors (such as temperature, rainfall, and runoff) and human factors and had a tendency to deteriorate at the duration of 2015–2017. The research results are of great significance for further understanding of the discharge of pollutants from the Min River basin and will be a strong support for the scientific decision-making of marine management in Fujian Province.

We performed a time series analysis to investigate the potential association between exposure to ambient air pollution and type 2 diabetes (T2D) incidence in the Chinese population. Monthly time series data between 2008 and 2015 on ambient air pollutants and incident T2D (N = 25,130) were obtained from the Environment Monitoring Center of Ningbo and the Chronic Disease Surveillance System of Ningbo. Relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) of incident T2D per 10 μg/m³ increases in ambient air pollutants were estimated from Poisson generalized additive models. Exposure to particulate matter < 10 μm (PM₁₀) and sulfur dioxide (SO₂) was associated with increased T2D incidence. The relative risks (RRs) of each increment in 10 μg/m³ of PM₁₀ and SO₂ were 1.62 (95% CI, 1.16–2.28) and 1.63 (95% CI, 1.12–2.38) for overall participants, whereas for ozone (O₃) exposure, the RRs were 0.78 (95% CI, 0.68–0.90) for overall participants, 0.78 (95% CI, 0.69–0.90) for males, and 0.78 (95% CI, 0.67–0.91) for females, respectively. Exposure to PM₁₀ and SO₂ is positively associated with T2D incidence, whereas O₃ is negatively associated with T2D incidence.

As we all know, geochemical data usually contain outliers and they are heterogeneous, which will severely affect the use of receptor models based on classical estimates. In this paper, an advanced modified RAPCS-RGWR (robust absolute principal component scores-robust geographically weighted regression) receptor model was introduced to analyze the pollution sources of eight heavy metals (Cd, Hg, As, Pb, Ni, Cu, Zn) in a city of southern China. The results showed that source identification and source apportionment are more consistent by this advanced model even though the soil types and farming patterns are diverse. Moreover, this model decreased the occurrence of negative values of the source contribution. For these reasons, the pollution sources were classified into five types by the new model in the study area: agricultural sources, industrial sources, traffic sources, comprehensive sources, and natural sources. (1) The contributions of agricultural sources to Cr and Ni were 243.36% and 242.61%, respectively; (2) the contribution of industrial sources to Cd was 79.25%; (3) the contribution of traffic sources to Cu was 100.31%; (4) the contributions of comprehensive sources to Hg, Pb, and Zn were 253.90%, 242.31%, and 93.32%, respectively; and (5) the contribution of natural sources to As was 208.21%. Overall, the RAPCS-RGWR receptor model improved the validity of the receptor models. It is of great realistic significance to understand and popularize the advanced model in soil source apportionment in agricultural land.

Biological materials play a significant role in the treatment of heavy metal-contaminated soil and wastewater. In this study, the Pb²⁺ biosorption potential of lichen Evernia prunastri, extensively available at a forest in Bilecik-Turkey, was investigated at batch-scale level. The optimal conditions were determined and the adsorption isotherms, kinetics, and thermodynamic calculations were also done. In order to have detailed knowledge about metal biosorption, SEM, FTIR, and BET analyses were carried out before and after the biosorption process. The optimal pH was found pH 4 and the maximum metal uptake capacity was found as 0.067 mol kg⁻¹. The results of this study indicate that the lichen was effectively applied to the removal of Pb²⁺ process as an inexpensive biosorbent from industrial wastewater.

A new adsorbent poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-2-(dodecylthiocarbonothioylthio)-2-methylpropionate triester (PH-DTT-MPT) was first time loaded in a micropipette tip for speciation of chromium in different water samples. Total chromium (Cr), trivalent chromium (Crᴵᴵᴵ), and hexavalent chromium (Crⱽᴵ) in different natural water samples were determined by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. Known concentration of Crᴵᴵᴵ and Crⱽᴵ was passed through a biodegradable polymer for investigation of the behavior of the newly used adsorbent. The newly used copolymer absorbed the Crᴵᴵᴵ on surface of the PH-DTT-MPT at pH 7.0, while Crⱽᴵ was not adsorbed in desired pH value. After passing the real and standard solutions through the micropipette, then 2.0 mol L⁻¹ HCl was used for elution of Crᴵᴵᴵ from the biodegradable polymer. Total Cr was calculated after reducing Crⱽᴵ into Crᴵᴵᴵ by specific concentration of hydroxy ammonium chloride (HONH₂·HCl). The concentration of Crⱽᴵ in different natural water samples was estimated after back calculation of Crᴵᴵᴵ from total chromium. Effect of analytical parameters like adsorbent, pH, eluent, sample volume, flow rates, and interfering ions was also studied. The LOD, LOQ, RSD, and EF of the developed method were calculated as 6.1 ng L⁻¹, 20 ng L⁻¹, 1.17%, and 90, respectively. Validation of developed method was checked by certified reference materials and spiking addition method. The developed method was successfully applied for determination of total Cr, Crᴵᴵᴵ, and Crⱽᴵ in various natural water ecosystems.

The study investigated the sorption capacity of biosorbent-raphia sp. against ammonia. Raphia fibers were used without and with the modification of its surface with NaCl, NaNO₃, and K₂SO₄. The data was analyzed in the state of equilibrium using four isotherm models such as Langmuir, Freudlich, Temkin, and Dubinin-Radushkevich. The equilibrium of ammonia sorption for all studied systems was best described by the Freudlich isotherm model. On its basis, it can be assumed that the studied process is of chemical nature, which results from the value of the coefficient 1/n < 1. In order to confirm the sorption mechanism, analysis of the kinetics of the ammonia sorption process on raphia fibers was performed. Four kinetic models of sorption were calculated: pseudo-first-order model, pseudo-second-order model, Elovich model, and Webber-Morris intermolecular diffusion model. The sorption kinetics of the modeled ammonia waste were carried out using unmodified palm fibers and all kinds of surface modification. This process was best described by the pseudo-second-order sorption model, which can be considered as a confirmation of the chemical nature of ammonia sorption on raphia sp. fibers.

The present work aimed to evaluate the effects of commercial fungicides containing the active compounds from the triazole group—tebuconazole (TBZ) and difenoconazole (DFZ)—and dicarboximide group—procymidone (PRD) and iprodione (IPD) on the mitotic cycle of the plant model Lactuca sativa L. These active compounds have been present in foods sampled at different Brazilian’s states and amounted higher than recommended by law. The bioassay with L. sativa was applied to access the toxicity and better understand the mechanisms of action of these compounds in living beings. The active principles IPD and DFZ presented mitodepressive effect, statistically reducing the MI at all applied concentrations in comparison to the negative control. TBZ was the most cytotoxic active compound tested inhibited in 77% mitotic active in the lowest concentration applied. PRD alter the frequency of mitotic cells only in the concentration above that recommended by the manufacture. C-metaphase and adherent chromosomes were the most frequent cell cycle alteration observed on the treated cells, followed by bridges and lost chromosomes. Therefore, the mechanism of action was mainly aneugenic (70%). For TBZ, the frequency of condensed nucleus was very expressive (313 higher than the negative control).

Oleaginous microalgae and yeast are the two major propitious factories which are sustainable sources for biodiesel production, as they can accumulate high quantities of lipids inside their bodies. To date, various microalgal and yeast species have been exploited singly for biodiesel production. However, despite the ongoing efforts, their low lipid productivity and the high cost of cultivation are still the major bottlenecks hindering their large-scale deployment. Co-culturing of microalgae and yeast has the potential to increase the overall lipid productivity by minimizing its production cost as both these organisms can utilize each other’s by-products. Microalgae act as an O₂ generator for yeast while consuming the CO₂ and organic acids released by the yeast cells. Further, yeast can break complex sugars in the medium, which can then be utilized by microalgae thereby opening new options for copious and low-cost feedstocks such as agricultural residues. The current review provides a historical and technical overview of the existing studies on co-culturing of yeast and microalgae and elucidates the crucial factors that affect the symbiotic relationship between these two organisms. Furthermore, the review also highlighted the advantages and the future perspectives for paving a path towards a sustainable biodiesel product.