Hasil untuk "Environmental engineering"

Yanran Huang, C. C. Wong, J. Zheng et al.

Fei Chen, H. Kusaka, R. Bornstein et al.

Bo Hu, Kan Wang, Liheng Wu et al.

Lynne Sehulster, R. Chinn

B. Vinocur, A. Altman

Attila Becskei, L. Serrano

Mateus Cavalcante Sá, Marco Aurélio Holanda de Castro

Building Information Modeling (BIM) é uma tecnologia promissora na indústria da construção civil. Percebe-se sua consolidação, e as aplicações dessa tecnologia tornam-se indispensáveis para o dia a dia de empresas e projetistas. No segmento de projetos de infraestrutura, especificamente no setor de saneamento, a metodologia BIM vem sendo implementada e disseminada. Uma implementação apropriada facilita os processos de projeto e construção, podendo resultar em obras de melhor qualidade e prazos reduzidos. Nesse sentido, este trabalho apresenta uma proposta de automatização da geração de redes de abastecimento de água em BIM, utilizando uma interface entre o sistema UFC e o Civil 3D. Essa interface foi desenvolvida por meio de rotinas em Dynamo e linguagem Python. Entre as funcionalidades, a interface permite realizar conversões de arquivos do formato .inp para .xlsx. Para validar sua funcionalidade, realizaram-se testes de geração automática em BIM de redes de abastecimento de diversos formatos, incluindo tubos e conexões dimensionados com o sistema UFC, o que permitiu uma avaliação mais ampla. Os resultados demonstraram a aplicabilidade da ferramenta, que constitui uma alternativa viável para integração em fluxos de trabalho.

Prem V. Sharma

Magdalena Pająk, Agnieszka Dzieniszewska, Joanna Kyzioł-Komosińska

This study investigates the adsorption of Acid Black 1 (ABk 1) dye onto natural clinoptilolite (CLIN) and synthetic NaP1 zeolites under various conditions of adsorbent dose (5, 10, 20 g/L), dye concentration (1–1000 mg/L), and contact time (5–1440 min). The adsorption data were analyzed using Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms, as well as pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models. Both linear and nonlinear regression methods were applied to assess the model fit. The results showed that CLIN exhibited maximum adsorption capacities of 35.32 mg/g, 21.9 mg/g, and 9.39 mg/g at doses of 5 g/L, 10 g/L, and 20 g/L, respectively. For NaP1, the corresponding values were 28.44 mg/g, 12.46 mg/g, and 9.11 mg/g. The pseudo-first-order model described adsorption at low dye concentrations and short contact times, while the pseudo-second-order model successfully explained adsorption across all tested conditions. These findings suggest that both zeolites, particularly CLIN, are effective adsorbents for ABk 1 dye removal, presenting a valuable solution for wastewater treatment applications.

Junjun Pei, Jianbin Liu, Kaixing Fu et al.

Abstract In this study, we introduce a highly effective non-metallic iodine single-atom catalyst (SAC), referred to as I-NC, which is strategically confined within a nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) scaffold. This configuration features a distinctive C-I coordination that optimizes the electronic structure of the nitrogen-adjacent carbon sites. As a result, this arrangement enhances electron transfer from peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to the active sites, particularly the electron-deficient carbon. This electron transfer is followed by a deprotonation process that generates the peroxymonosulfate radical (SO5 •−). Subsequently, the SO5 •− radical undergoes a disproportionation reaction, leading to the production of singlet oxygen (1O2). Furthermore, the energy barrier for the rate-limiting step of SO5 •− generation in I-NC is significantly lower at 1.45 eV, compared to 1.65 eV in the NC scaffold. This reduction in energy barrier effectively overcomes kinetic obstacles, thereby facilitating an enhanced generation of 1O2. Consequently, the I-NC catalyst exhibits remarkable catalytic efficiency and unmatched reactivity for PMS activation. This leads to a significantly accelerated degradation of pollutants, evidenced by a relatively high observed kinetic rate constant (k obs ~ 0.436 min− 1) compared to other metallic SACs. This study offers valuable insights into the rational design of effective non-metallic SACs, showcasing their promising potential for Fenton-like reactions in water treatment applications.

R. Sheldon, P. Pereira

A. K. Dangi, Babita Sharma, R. Hill et al.

Abstract Today, environmental pollution is a serious problem, and bioremediation can play an important role in cleaning contaminated sites. Remediation strategies, such as chemical and physical approaches, are not enough to mitigate pollution problems because of the continuous generation of novel recalcitrant pollutants due to anthropogenic activities. Bioremediation using microbes is an eco-friendly and socially acceptable alternative to conventional remediation approaches. Many microbes with a bioremediation potential have been isolated and characterized but, in many cases, cannot completely degrade the targeted pollutant or are ineffective in situations with mixed wastes. This review envisages advances in systems biology (SB), which enables the analysis of microbial behavior at a community level under different environmental stresses. By applying a SB approach, crucial preliminary information can be obtained for metabolic engineering (ME) of microbes for their enhanced bioremediation capabilities. This review also highlights the integrated SB and ME tools and techniques for bioremediation purposes.

Abdelfattah Amari, Ahmad Ismael Saber, Haitham Osman et al.

Abstract Water pollution is a pressing global concern, with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) being considered as “forever contaminants.” Among them, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) has received significant attention for its adverse effects on human health and aquatic ecosystems. This study aimed to design an innovative adsorbent for effective PFOS removal with exceptional water stability, improving its cost-performance trade-off. The current work simultaneously improved the stability of water of Cu-based metal–organic framework (CMOF) and increased its PFOS removal capacity by modifying it with amine-functionalized SiO2 nanoparticles (AF-CMOF). AF-CMOF presented a lower specific surface area of 999 m2 g−1 compared to CMOF with a surface area of 1098 m2 g−1. AF-CMOF showed remarkable PFOS uptake performance of 670 mg/g compared to the performance of the Cu-based MOF which exhibited a PFOS uptake capacity of only 22 mg/g. The most suitable pH for PFOS removal using both adsorbents was determined to be 3. In addition, AF-CMOF demonstrated excellent water stability, retaining its structural integrity even after seven days of water contact, while CMOF structure collapsed rapidly after four days of water exposure. Moreover, the study identified the significant pH influence on the PFOS uptake process, with electrostatic interactions between protonated amine functionalities and PFOS molecules identified as the dominant mechanism. The study’s findings present the potential of synthesized adsorbent as a superior candidate for PFOS uptake and contribute to the development of effective water treatment technologies.

Misha Ali, Hassan Mubarak Ishqi, Q. Husain

Enzyme engineering is a powerful tool to fine‐tune the enzymes. It is a technique by which the stability, activity, and specificity of the enzymes can be altered. The characteristic properties of an enzyme can be amended by immobilization and protein engineering. Among them, protein engineering is the most promising, as in addition to amending the stability and activity, it is the only way to modulate the specificity and stereoselectivity of enzymes. The current review sheds light on protein engineering and the approaches applied for it on the basis of the degree of knowledge of structure and function of enzymes. Enzymes, which have been engineered are also discussed in detail and categorized on the basis of their respective applications. This will give a better insight into the revolutionary changes brought by protein engineering of enzymes in various industrial and environmental processes.

Styliani Avraamidou, S. Baratsas, Yuhe Tian et al.

Abstract Rising populations put huge stresses on natural resources. Extraction and depletion of raw materials and waste created throughout the supply chain of products have enormous environmental and socioeconomic impacts. One way to reduce these impacts is through the move towards the circular economy (CE). CE aims to solve resource, waste, and emission challenges confronting society by creating a production-to-consumption total supply chain that is restorative, regenerative, and environmentally benign. This article highlights research challenges and identifies process systems engineering (PSE) research opportunities to assist in the understanding, analysis and optimization of CE supply chains. A motivating example on the supply chain of coffee is introduced to illustrate the challenges of the transition towards a CE and to propose PSE research opportunities.

Christina N. M. Ryan, Meletios Doulgkeroglou, D. Zeugolis

Electric fields are involved in numerous physiological processes, including directional embryonic development and wound healing following injury. To study these processes in vitro and/or to harness electric field stimulation as a biophysical environmental cue for organised tissue engineering strategies various electric field stimulation systems have been developed. These systems are overall similar in design and have been shown to influence morphology, orientation, migration and phenotype of several different cell types. This review discusses different electric field stimulation setups and their effect on cell response.

Chaohui Yin, Qingsong He, Peng Xie et al.

The assessment of ecological assets is of great significance for protecting and using ecological resources. Traditional methods of ecological assets assessment, which adopt the planar area as the standard, often ignore the impact of the surface area, resulting in a large difference between the evaluation and the actual result. To fill this gap, this paper conducted research on ecological assets assessment based on surface area. Taking mainland China into consideration, this paper constructed a triangulation network based on 30 m resolution DEM data to simulate the real land surface form and calculate its surface area. Then, land use/cover data from 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015 were used to estimate the ecosystem service value (ESV) and analyze its spatial variation. This paper found that: (1) The surface area of mainland China is 1.04 × 107 km2, which is 8.2 × 105 km2 larger than the planar area; (2) A huge difference was found between the total ESV based on the surface and planar area, with an absolute difference of ∼$141.66-$144.14 billion and a relative difference of ∼ 10%. For different ecosystem types, the largest difference was found in the forest ecosystem, followed by the grassland ecosystem, while the wetland ecosystem showed the smallest difference; (3) The high value of absolute difference between the ESV based on the surface and planar area was concentrated in Tibet and Northeast China. The high value of relative difference was mainly distributed in Central and Southern China. On the provincial level, the absolute difference in Tibet ranked in the first place. There was a total of 14 provinces showing a relative difference above 10%; (4) The total ESV based on surface area was basically unchanged, while various ecosystems underwent significant changes. The ESV of wetland increased by nearly 50%, while the ESV of grassland decreased by more than 10%; and (5) Change in the ESV based on surface area showed obvious spatial heterogeneity. High-High cluster was located in Tibet and the Northeast China while the Low-Low cluster was distributed in the North China Plain and Xinjiang. This paper emphasized the importance of the surface area in resource survey and asset estimation and gave more effective suggestions for ecological protection.

Han-seul Lee, Soogyeong Jang, Youngsub Eom et al.

Studies comparing the ocular toxicity potential between legacy and alternative PFAS are lacking. To address this research gap, zebrafish larvae were exposed to both legacy PFAS (i.e., perfluorooctanesulfonic acid [PFOS] and perfluorooctanoic acid [PFOA]) and their corresponding alternatives (i.e., perfluorobutanesulfonic acid [PFBS] and perfluorobutanoic acid [PFBA]). Alterations in their visual behaviors, such as phototactic and optomotor responses (OMR), were assessed at sublethal concentrations. Gene expression variations in visual function-associated pathways were also measured. Visual behavioral assessment revealed that PFOS exposure resulted in concentration-dependent reductions in phototactic responses at 10–1000 μg/L, with PFOA exerting reduction effects only at 100 mg/L. However, their two alternatives had no effect at all tested concentrations. Following an improved contrast-OMR (C-OMR) assessment, PFOS decreased the OMR to a water flow stimulus at 10, 100, and 1000 μg/L. The gene expression analysis revealed that PFOS exposure markedly downregulated most genes involved in the opsins in the photoreceptor and phototransduction cascade, which explains the observed visual behavior changes well. Our findings indicate that PFOS is the most likely PFAS to cause visual toxicity, with PFOA present but less likely, and their substitutes, PFBS and PFBA, cannot be classified as visually toxic to zebrafish.

Chaoyu WANG, Tingye QI, Guorui FENG et al.

As a renewable and clean source, biomass energy is one of the substitutes for traditional fossil energy. However, when biomass is burned as an industrial fuel, it produces a large amount of biomass ash with considerable pozzolanic activity. Currently, the activity of biomass ash is ignored in the utilization of biomass energy. Therefore, research on the regulation mechanism of calcination temperature on the pozzolanic activity of biomass ash will facilitate its efficient utilization. Therefore, we reviewed previous research and selected 500, 700, and 850 ℃ temperatures to calcinate willow leaves. The contents of SiO2, CaO, and other oxides in the willow leaf ash were determined through X-ray fluorescence spectrometer(XRF). The specific surface area of willow leaf ash was determined using a laser particle size analyzer. The mineral composition of willow leaf ash was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the characterization of the chemical bonds of the minerals was supplemented by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The zeta potential of the willow leaf ash–Ca(OH)2 solution was determined through microelectrophoresis to evaluate the system’s stability. After determining the basic physical and chemical properties of willow leaf ash, the mechanical properties of willow leaf ash–cement-based materials were investigated by replacing 20% (mass fraction) cement with the ash, and the factors affecting performance were analyzed. The pozzolanic activity of willow leaf ash at 500, 700, and 850 ℃ was evaluated through the activity index. Rapid evaluation of pozzolanic activity was conducted by active ion extraction capability and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES) analyses. Scanning electron microscopy and XRD characterization methods were combined to analyze the effect of calcination temperature on the structure and composition of the ash and to elucidate the mechanism of the effect of calcination temperature on its pozzolanic activity. The results show that the SiO2 content in the ash was 20% to 30%, and the specific surface area increased with increasing temperature. However, the presence of xonotlite in willow leaf ash was detected through XRD at 850 ℃ Furthermore, the observed FTIR absorption peak at 1120.74 cm−1 corresponded to the stretching vibration of the Si–O–Si structure, which indicated that some amorphous SiO2 was crystallized. The absolute value of the zeta potential of the solution containing willow leaf ash at 500 ℃ and 700℃ was considerably higher than that at 850℃. After replacing a part of the cement with willow leaf ash, the willow leaf ash–cement-based material exhibited the highest compressive strength at 500 ℃ with an activity index of 0.79. The rate of conductivity variation of the willow leaf ash–Ca(OH)2 solution at 500 ℃ and 700 ℃ was higher than that at 850 ℃. The concentration of Si4+ precipitation decreased with the increase in calcination temperature, indicating that willow leaf ash had the highest pozzolanic activity at 500 ℃ followed by 700 ℃. Excessively high calcination temperatures lead to the crystallization of amorphous SiO2 and slagging in willow leaf ash, along with a decrease in the pozzolanic activity. This study provides theoretical support for the regulation of the pozzolanic activity of biomass ash and its applications.

Quinten Deparis, Arne Claes, Maria R Foulquié-Moreno et al.

Abstract The main focus in development of yeast cell factories has generally been on establishing optimal activity of heterologous pathways and further metabolic engineering of the host strain to maximize product yield and titer. Adequate stress tolerance of the host strain has turned out to be another major challenge for obtaining economically viable performance in industrial production. Although general robustness is a universal requirement for industrial microorganisms, production of novel compounds using artificial metabolic pathways presents additional challenges. Many of the bio-based compounds desirable for production by cell factories are highly toxic to the host cells in the titers required for economic viability. Artificial metabolic pathways also turn out to be much more sensitive to stress factors than endogenous pathways, likely because regulation of the latter has been optimized in evolution in myriads of environmental conditions. We discuss different environmental and metabolic stress factors with high relevance for industrial utilization of yeast cell factories and the experimental approaches used to engineer higher stress tolerance. Improving stress tolerance in a predictable manner in yeast cell factories should facilitate their widespread utilization in the bio-based economy and extend the range of products successfully produced in large scale in a sustainable and economically profitable way.