The Glasgow Declaration called for scientifically based measurements of CO2 emissions in the tourism industry to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. Despite the economic and employment downturn caused by COVID-19, there are limited cases of environmental assessments related to tourism. This study estimates the carbon footprint of the tourism industry in major G20 countries before and after COVID-19. Understanding the characteristics of inbound tourism and domestic tourism is important as they impact different markets. GHG emissions from tourism mainly stem from transportation, but the type of travel and country differences also make souvenirs, accommodation, and food and beverages significant emission factors. The pandemic has greatly impacted the tourism industry. In 2020, GHG emissions from both domestic and inbound tourism significantly decreased, affecting the number of tourists. In some countries, measures against COVID-19 influenced these figures, and although signs of recovery were observed in 2021, the reduction rates varied by country. These emission reductions should be the goals pursued by the tourism industry in the post-COVID-19 era, requiring efforts to achieve sustainable tourism.

Lake sediment records are of great importance for understanding the evolution of watershed environments. Various studies have been carried out to constrain the depositional ages of lake sediments and examine their physical, chemical, and biological characteristics, aiming to construct historical vegetation, environment and climate patterns in Chinese lake watersheds. In this study, we obtained relevant literature on lake sediment records by searching the key word 'age-depth' from the databases – Web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI, the largest Chinese academic database). We analyzed the literature based on its type (published in a Chinese/English journal or as a Master’s/PhD thesis), period of publication, journal (if published in a journal), key authors, study area, dating scale, and main aims. The results suggest that the lakes in the plateau regions are the most popular research topic typically covering 100–200 years (short-term) and 500–30,000 years (long-term). The literature focuses on a wide range of topics, from past environmental evolution in the watershed to lake ecology, and provides a solid foundation for better understanding regional climate change and the preservation of lake environments and ecosystems. In the future, resulting data from environmental reconstruction with lake sediments will be needed to integrate with emerging information processing technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence and meta-analysis), to disentangle the complex interplay between Earth surface processes and global climate change; furthermore, strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration will deepen our comprehension of man-land relationship and promote the sustainable management of lake ecosystems in the context of global climate change.

Livestock farming plays a crucial role in agriculture and is important in meeting people's needs for a better life in the new era. However, due to China's "double carbon" target, the development of animal husbandry has been affected by the level of carbon emissions. To study the spatial dis-tribution and dynamic evolution of livestock carbon emissions in Shandong Province, we used panel data from 16 prefecture-level cities in Shandong Province from 2001 to 2022 to determine the spatial differentiation of livestock carbon emissions in Shandong Province and their dynamic evolution by combining spatial and non-parametric estimation methods based on livestock carbon emissions and livestock emission intensity measured by city. The results of the study show that the distribution of carbon emissions from animal husbandry in Shandong Province is in a "dis-persed-aggregated" pattern, and the intensity of carbon emissions shows a gradual downward trend, with a ladder-like distribution characterized by high in the west and low in the east. Through the analysis of the dynamic evolution of nuclear density, we observe that the regional differences of animal husbandry carbon emissions in Shandong Province are expanding, showing the characteristics of polarization. The difference of carbon emissions in the peninsula is gradually narrowing, and the phenomenon of polarization is weakening. The carbon emissions of animal husbandry in the central and western regions of Shandong are polarized.

The aim of this work is research dedicated to the search for new bactericidal systems for use in cosmetic formulations, dermocosmetics, or the production of wound dressings. Over the last two decades chitosan due to its special biological activity, has become a highly indispensable biopolymer with very wide application possibilities. Literature reports on the antibacterial effects of chitosan are very diverse, but our research has shown that they can be successfully improved through chemical modification. Therefore, in this study, results on the synthesis of new Schiff bases chitosan – dCsSB-SFD and dCsSB-PCA obtained using two aldehydes: sodium 4-formylbenzene-1,3-disulfonate (SFD) and 2-pyridine carboxaldehyde (PCA) respectively. Chitosan derivatives synthesized in this way demonstrate stronger antimicrobial activity. Carrying out the procedure of grafting chitosan with a caproyl chain allowed obtaining compatible blends of chitosan derivatives with κ-carrageenan, which are stable hydrogels with a high swelling coefficient. Furthermore, covalently bounded PCL improved the solubility of obtained polymers in organic solvents. With this respect, the Schiff base-containing polymers obtained in this study, with special hydrogel and antimicrobial properties are very promising materials for the potential use as a controlled-release formulation of both, hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs in cosmetic products for skin health.

The systems for automated monitoring of a human’s personal carbon footprint and CO2-equivalent emissions at industrial enterprises were developed in the article. The personal carbon footprint monitoring system includes data collection subsystems based on energy consumption metering devices, data storage and transmission, and calculation subsystems. To measure the consumption of water, electricity, thermal energy, IoT control sensors were selected. The calculation of the individual carbon footprint of a person is proposed. The system for automated monitoring of the carbon footprint of an enterprise includes a subsystem of devices for monitoring the use of energy resources, a subsystem for data transmission, calculation and prompt display of the carbon footprint. Selected devices for monitoring the consumption of water, energy and heat resources with data transfer to the SCADA system. An algorithm for calculating the carbon footprint of an enterprise is proposed. Structural schemes for automated carbon footprint control have been developed.

This study presents the synthesis and electrochemical evaluation of nitrogen-doped vanadium oxide (N-V2O3/C) as a cathode material for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs), using a hydrothermal method. Compared to undoped V2O3/C, N-V2O3/C exhibits enhanced electrical conductivity, capacity, and electrochemical kinetics, attributed to the incorporation of pyridinic and pyrrolic nitrogen. Initial charge-discharge cycles indicate phase transitions to amorphous vanadium oxides, enhancing conductivity. N-V2O3/C shows a high specific capacity of 168.4 mAh g−1 at 10 A g−1 and remarkable reversibility, highlighted by the transient existence of intermediate species during cycling. Optimal electrochemical performance is achieved with a vanadium to nitrogen molar ratio of 2:3, indicating the significant impact of nitrogen doping concentration on the material’s efficiency. This work underscores the potential of N-V2O3/C as a superior cathode material for AZIBs.

Using density functional theory (DFT), the density of states of NH4V3O8 (NVO) was analyzed pre and post-oxygen defects (Od) formation. The findings revealed a reduced bandgap in NVO after Od introduction, emphasizing the role of Od in enhancing conductivity of the material, thus improving its electrochemical attributes. Through the water bath method, both NVO and its oxygen-deficient counterpart, (NH4)2V10O25⸱8H2O (NVOd), were synthesized as potential cathode materials for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs). Experimental outcomes resonated with DFT predictions, highlighting the beneficial role of oxygen defects in boosting electrical conductivity. Notably, the refined material displayed a remarkable capacity of 479.3 mAh g-1 at 0.1 A g-1, underscoring its promise for advanced energy storage solutions.

Abstract: The need to rapidly reduce GHG has accelerated the adoption of circular models of production. However, this has proved to be a challenging task for SMEs, who lack the financial, organizational and informational capabilities to implement circular business models. In this context, calculating the carbon footprint (CF) of their products could provide the basis for assessing the different circular economy (CE) practices. The aim of this study is to present a CF calculation tool that can be used to calculate the CF of SMEs. The design of the tool was based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, taking into account the various barriers that SMEs face in adopting CE practices. The tool was tested in a small cheese factory in northern Greece. The pro-duction process was mapped, a GHG inventory was created and the total emissions related to the production of a specific product was estimated. The final aim is to test this tool at a large scale.

Achieving the thermal conductivity required for efficient heat management in semiconductors and other devices requires the integration of thermally conductive ceramic fillers at concentrations of 60 vol% or higher. However, the increased filler content often negatively affects the mechanical properties of the composite matrix, limiting its practical applicability. To address this issue, in this paper, we present a new strategy to reduce the required ceramic filler content: the use of a thermally conductive ceramic composite filler with carbon nanotubes (CNT) grown on aluminum nitride (AlN). We have combined catalyst coating technology with vacuum filtration to ensure that the catalyst is uniformly applied to micrometer-sized AlN particles, followed by efficient and uniform synthesis of CNTs using a water-assisted process in a vertical furnace. By carefully controlling the number of vacuum filtration cycles and the growth time of the CNTs, we demonstrate precise control over the number and length of the CNT layers, thereby adjusting the properties of the composite to the intended specifications. When AlN/CNT hybrid fillers are incorporated into silicone rubber, while maintaining the mechanical properties of rubber, the thermal diffusivity achieved at reduced filler levels exceeds that of composites using AlN-only or simultaneous AlN and CNTs formulations. This demonstrates the critical role of CNTs on AlN surfaces. Our study represents a significant advancement in the design of thermally conductive materials with potential implications for a wide range of applications.

This study aims to investigate utilizing Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC), a by-product of sugar beet, as a soil stabilizer for addressing settlement issues beneath pavements. Various tests were conducted to assess the engineering properties of PCC-stabilized subgrades using PCC obtained from Amalgamated Sugar Cooperation in Twin Falls, Idaho. Local loess samples, like those found beneath pavements, were collected for testing purposes. Initial tests involved evaluating the unconfined compressive strength of compacted loess samples, followed by tests on samples mixed with different weight percentages of PCC. The results revealed a significant average increase of 10% to 28% in the strength of loess samples stabilized with 5% PCC compared to the strength of the native soil. The chemical composition and microstructure of PCC were further analyzed through X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometer (EDX), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) Tests conducted at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). XRD analysis indicates the presence of calcium carbonate and silica. EDX analysis unveiled a carbon content of 9% by weight in PCC, which could contribute to the carbon footprint when it breaks down. Additionally, SEM images displayed an irregular microstructure and particle shape of PCC. Furthermore, the inclusion of PCC improved the resistance of loess to saturation collapse.

The operating theatre represents a key contributor to healthcare-derived emissions. Here, we outline the carbon footprint of a lumbar microdiscectomy at our regional unit in Greater Manchester, with the use of AI technology. In doing so, we aim to define the extent of the environmental impact and identify carbon hotspots for sustainable change. Our unit of analysis covered the start of the patient journey into hospital through to the final outpatient appointment. Publicly available and locally sourced data was used. An inventory analysis of two lumbar microdiscectomies was conducted. Each item was categorised reconciled against our AI-powered ‘CO2 analysis’ database. Kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (kg CO2e) was chosen as the primary measure of impact. An average lumbar microdiscectomy at our trust generates 477.73kg CO2e. The operation (173.89kg CO2e, 36.40%) and the inpatient stay (144.67kg CO2e, 30.28%) constituted the biggest contributors. Single-use intraoperative equipment contributed to over three-quarters of the total emissions from the operation. By defining the environmental burden of elective spinal surgery, we have identified carbon hotspots to target for sustainable change. Substituting polluting elements for carbon-friendly alternatives and challenging the single-use culture, modern healthcare systems can help pave the way to a ‘net zero’ healthcare system.

The importance of the contribution from tourism to climate change was pointed out by the International Tourism Organization (UNWTO). By combining process-based Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Input-output analysis, several researches have tried to evaluate the impacts of the tourism industry as well as its products and services. Indeed, the tourism sector has a wide range of industries including travel and tour, transportation, accommodation, food and beverage, amusement, souvenirs etc. However, the existing cases did not show a breakdown of the impact on climate change. In this paper, the carbon footprint (CFP) of the Japanese tourism industry was calculated based on tourist consumption, using the Japanese Input-output table and the Japanese tourism industry. It was shown that the total emissions were approximately 136 million t-CO2 per year. The contribution ratio of each stage is as follows: Transport 56.3%, Souvenirs 23.2%, Petrol (direct emissions) 16.9%, Accommodation 9.8%, Food and Beverage 7.5%, Activities 3.0%. Then, in the breakdown, the impact is high in the following order Air transport 24.7%, Petrol (direct emissions) 16.9%,Accommodation 9.8%, Food and Beverage 7.5%, Petrol 6.1%, Textile products 5.3%, Food items 4.9%, Confectionery 4.8%, Rail transport 3.9%, Cosmetics 1.9%, Footwear 1.8%, etc. In addition to transportation, this research also highlighted especially the contribution from souvenirs, accommodation, food and beverages.

The ubiquitous nature of polymers have led to a widespread demand for sustainable polymers in numerous industrial applications. However, lack of well laid out guidelines, product development pathways and certifications have resulted in a lot of commotions and confusions within the polymer value chain. Herein, a meticulous review is conducted on the topic of polymer sustainability shedding light on the standards, product declarations, biobased-biomass concepts, product carbon footprint etc. It is critical that companies significantly contribute on such sustainability efforts in lieu of market readiness and competitive advantages. Any discussion within the sustainability horizon references a couple of terms/ abbreviations/concepts. In this article, such key terminologies and concepts related to polymer sustainability are reviewed with a holistic outlook on the widespread approaches within the polymer sustainability horizon.

A Berry geometrical phase is identified in a strongly metastable system containing dynamically responsive clathrate hydrate structures within a crystal-fluid material. High energy degeneracy in the associated chemistry produces local stability and false vacuum conditions that lead to non-extensive and non-additive contributions in the fundamental thermodynamic relation. Application of Ginzburg-Landau theory and the scaling laws reveals a coherence length and a penetration depth for a macro-scale dual superconductor. The coherence length determines non-extensive volume changes whilst its inverse gives the Higgs mass. The penetration depth determines the extent of QCD vacuum suppression whilst its inverse gives the vector boson mass together with indirect manifestation as non-additive hyperbolic curvature. Simultaneous emergence of the Ginzburg-Landau superconducting phase transition is consistent with gauge-invariant coupling of the scalar field to the Yang-Mills action in QCD. The discovery of an energy gap in the gradient energy term of the system Lagrangian is associated with a critical correlation length revealed in the transition from a gapped to a gapless superconducting state. Together with the emergence and absorption of the Higgs-like scalar field, a mechanism for describing a renormalized QCD mass gap arises.

A model for enabling the production of lower carbon cement paste is proposed in this research. The model is based on predicting the strength of cement pastes with partial replacement of wheat straw ash (WSA) and silica fume (SF), two major wastes of agricultural and industrial production. The model is set up based on response surface methodology and Box-Behnken design, and included a suite of mechanical tests with distinct replacements following a micro an meso characterization. The model shows capability for predicting strength of any cement paste, including partial substitution of WSA and/or SF at any combination level with excellent accuracy, which is verified with three validation mixtures demonstrating maximum errors of less than 6% at the three ages. The analysis of the response surface evidences that any cement replacement in the range of 0-20% WSA and above 5% SF allows the reduction of the carbon footprint by maximizing the incorporation of both wastes. The proposed model can be used by setting the required strength of cement paste and calculating the maximum possible replacement, which should contribute to making the construction industry more sustainable by utilizing local waste.

Palm oil production involves unit operations that lead to greenhouse gas emissions. A typical mill is estimated to produce greenhouse gas emissions of 637–1,131 kg CO2 eq/t crude palm oil. There has been a huge effort to reduce the carbon footprint of palm oil mills. However, the data from such research have not been consolidated. This paper reviews significant information, results, and conclusions derived from studies in the literature. The latest developments in palm oil milling operations and information on greenhouse gas emissions are presented. Current initiatives in reducing carbon footprint of palm oil mills are discussed along with an assessment of the technologies employed. These include the conventional method of capturing biogas from palm oil mill effluent and emerging approaches such as converting palm sludge oil into biodiesel, deploying enzyme-assisted oil extraction, and converting biomass into fuel for energy generation as an alternative to coal and other fossil fuels. The importance of self-sufficiency is deliberated because a self-sufficient palm oil mill is estimated to reduce emissions by 457 kg CO2 eq/t crude palm oil compared to a mill that requires an external power supply. Methods with the greatest positive effect on the carbon footprint are identified for further investigation.

This paper presents a new engagement model for climate change education (CCE) as a result of analysing interactive digital narratives (IDNs) created during the You and CO2 Climate Change Education Programme. Young people aged 13-15 from two schools in Wales participated in three workshops, which culminated in students producing IDNs about climate change using Twine storytelling software. An inductive, grounded-theory approach informed by Bourdieusien principles of habitus and value was used to explore students’ responses to the Programme. Stage 1 coding identified ‘Core Themes’ and located student responses along tri-axial continua showing engagement, agency, and power. Stage 2 coding combined ‘Core Themes’ to build upon Cantell’s 2019 Bicycle Model of Climate Change Education to create a new ‘Holistic Engagement Model for Climate Change Education and Action’ (HEMCCEA), where learners’ journeys towards full engagement with and understanding of CCE and action could be traced. Barriers to students’ engagement with and understanding of CCE were identified through Bourdieusien analysis of responses. Results show that engagement was related to children’s views on their capacity to effect change on individual, local and governmental level. The HEMCCEA provides a model for adjusting CCE curricula to accommodate young people’s varying cultures and views.

Switzerland, a wealthy country, has a cutting-edge healthcare system, yet per capita, it emits over one ton of CO2, ranking among the world's most polluting healthcare systems. To estimate the carbon footprint of the healthcare system of Geneva’s canton, we collected raw data on the activities of its stakeholders. Our analysis shows that when excluding medicines and medical devices hospitals are the main greenhouse gas emitter by far, accounting for 48% of the healthcare system’s emission, followed by nursing homes (20%), private practice (18%), analysis laboratories (7%), dispensing pharmacies (4%), the homecare institution (3%) and the ambulance services (

Water footprint has been widely used to illustrate the consumption of water in many situations; for instance, in products, processes or regions of interest. In this work, we analyzed – using a sensitivity analysis approach – the effect of some variables in the calculation of the water footprint in the viticulture in Brazilian Serra Gaúcha (the major producing region of Brazilian Wine).The classical Penman-Monteith model for evapotransporation was considered, with uncertainties in some parameters (dead mulch covering fraction in the vineyard, maximum temperatures for some months, altitudes and latitudes of the site). The sensitivity analysis was conducted using the SAFE toolbox under Octave framework. The results indicated that the the portion of the water footprint corresponding to the evapotranspiration is more sensitive to the values of mulch covering fraction and the altitude of the site in comparison with the latitude and the maximum temperatures.

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) trap heat in the atmosphere, causing the Earth's surface temperature to rise. The main GHGs are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). Human activities are increasing GHG concentrations rapidly, which is causing global climate change. Global climate change is increasing environmental and public health problems. To reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, identify where the emissions are coming from, develop a plan to reduce them, and then implement and monitor the plan to ensure that emissions are actually reduced. Anthropogenic global climate change has large and increasingly adverse economic effects. Cities emit the most GHGs due to fossil fuel burning and power usage. The four major GHG emitters are energy, transportation, waste management, and urban land use sectors. Organizations should prepare action plans to lower their GHG emissions and stop the worst consequences of climate change. These action plans require companies and local authorities to submit their GHG emissions reports on a yearly basis. A GHG emissions management system includes several processes and tools created by organizations to understand, measure, monitor, report, and validate their GHG emissions. Two of the most widely adapted frameworks for GHG inventory reporting are ISO 14064 and the GHG Protocol. This review paper aims to identify some of the key points of GHG inventory preparation and mitigation strategies.

A cross-flow ultrafiltration harvesting system of a pre-concentrated microalgae culture was tested in an innovative anaerobic-based WRRF. The microalgae culture was cultivated in a membrane photobioreactor fed with the effluent from an anaerobic membrane bioreactor treating sewage. These harvested microalgae biomass was then anaerobically co-digested with primary and secondary sludge from the water line. Depending on the needs of this anaerobic co-digestion, the filtration harvesting process was evaluated intermittently over a period of 212 days for different operating conditions, mainly the total amount of microalgae biomass harvested and the desired final total solids concentration (up to 15.9 g·L1 with an average of 9.7 g·L1). Concentration ratios of 15-27 were obtained with average transmembrane fluxes ranged from 5 to 28 L·m2·h1. Regarding membrane cleaning, both backflushing and chemical cleaning resulted in transmembrane flux recoveries that were, on average, 21% higher than those achieved with backflushing alone. The carbon footprint assessment shows promising results as the GHG emissions associated with the cross-flow ultrafiltration harvesting process could be less than the emissions savings associated with the energy recovered from the biogas production from the anaerobic valorisation of the harvested microalgae.

In this paper the application of the solid-state cooling based on barocaloric effect in the cold food supply chain is investigated. Barocaloric solid-state technology is applied to the final chain links of the cold food supply chain, regarding the steps of retail and domestic conservation. In this context a barocaloric cooler with regard to food needing to be kept at 5°C (273 K), in order to operate with a promising cooling technology that result energy efficient and environmentally friendly. The categories of food interested in the investigation are meets and fresh food products like soft cheese, yogurt, milk. The energy performances of the barocaloric system have been carried out and compared with a commercial vapor compression refrigerator of a similar size, both operating with R600a under the same working conditions. Basing on the following consideration one can conclude that barocaloric cooling is a favourable technology to be employed in the last link chains of the cold food supply chain if the system operates in ABR cycle at frequencies between 1.25 and 1.50 Hz with a regenerator made of acetoxy silicone rubber as solid-state refrigerant and 50%EG-50%water mixture as heat transfer fluid flowing at the optimal velocity of 0.15 m s-1 that guarantees an appropriate trade-off between the temperature span, the cooling power and the coefficient of performances. Under these conditions the barocaloric system overperforms the domestic vapor compression cooler operating with R600a.

One of the key geophysical technologies for the energy industry during energy transition to zero footprint is fluid imaging. Knowledge of fluid distribution allows better, more optimized production reducing thus CO2 footprint per barrel produced and for CO2 storage the knowledge of where stored fluids go is mandatory to monitor reservoir seals. Electromagnetic is the preferred way to image fluid due to its strong coupling to the fluid resistivity. Unfortunately, acquiring and interpreting the data takes too long to contribute significantly to field operation and cost optimization. Using artificial intelligence and Cloud based data acquisition we can reduce the operational feedback to near real time and for the interpretation to close to 24 h. This then opens new door for the usefulness of this technology from exploration, monitoring and allows the application envelope to be enlarged to much noisier environment where real time acquisition can be optimized based on the acquired data.

Reducing emissions from the iron and steel industry is essential to achieve the Paris climate goals. A new system to reduce the carbon footprint of steel production is proposed in this article by coupling hydrogen direct reduction of iron ore (H-DRI) and natural gas pyrolysis on liquid metal surface inside a bubble column reactor. If grid electricity from EU is used, the emissions would be 435 kg CO₂/tls without considering methane leakage from the extraction, storage and transport of natural gas. Solid carbon, produced as a by-product of natural gas decomposition, finds applications in many industrial sectors, including as a replacement for coal in coke ovens. Specific energy consumption (SEC) of the proposed system is approximately 6.3 MWh per ton of liquid steel(tls). It is higher than other competing technologies, 3.48 MWh/tls for water electrolysis based DRI, and, 4.3-4.5 MWh/tls for natural gas based DRI and blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) respectively. Utilization of large quantities of natural gas, where the carbon remains unused, is the major reason for high SEC. Preliminary analysis of the system revealed that it has the potential to compete with existing technologies to produce CO₂ free steel, if renewable electricity is used. Further studies on the kinetics of the bubble column reactor, H-DRI shaft furnace, design and sizing of components, along with building of industrial prototypes are required to improve the understanding of the system performance.

Soot combustion experiments with 5%O2/He were conducted using model soot, and four distinct compositions of CexPr1-xO2-δ oxides were prepared, varying nominal cerium com-positions (x=0, 0.2, 0.3, and 1). The catalyst samples were comprehensively characterized using techniques such as XRD, Raman spectroscopy, HR-TEM, N2 adsorption at −196 °C, XPS, O2-TPD, H2-TPR, and work function measurements. The Pr-rich compositions, rang-ing from Ce0.3Pr0.7O2-δ to PrO2-δ, resulted in a significant increase in the total evolved O2 amounts and enhanced catalyst reducibility. However, a decrease in textural properties of the catalysts was noted, being particularly important for the pure praseodymia under the synthesis route conducted. The catalytic activity was investigated under two contact modes of mixing between soot and catalyst: loose and tight. The results revealed that the catalytic performance is associated with the surface contact in tight contact mode and with the combination of surface/subsurface/bulk oxygen mobility and the BET surface ar-ea in loose contact mode. Notably, the T10 and T50 parameters were achieved at much lower temperatures than the uncatalyzed soot combustion, even under loose contact conditions. Specifically, the 50% conversion was achieved at 511℃ and 538℃ for Ce0.3Pr0.7O2 and Ce0.2Pr0.8O2, respectively. While no direct correlation between catalytic activity and work function was observed a significant relationship emerges between work function values and the formation of oxy-gen vacancies, whatever the conditions used for these measurements. On the other hand, the ability to generate a high population of oxygen vacancies at low temperatures, rather than the direct activation of gas-phase O2, influences the catalytic performance of Pr-doped ceria catalysts, highlighting the importance of surface/subsurface oxygen vacancy generation, which was the parameter which showed better correlation with the catalytic activity, whatever the soot conversion value or the mode of contact considered.

The stepwise hydrogenation of the C=C bond and C=O group of acrolein on Au₃ and Au₅ model systems is investigated using the density functional theory(DFT) PW91 functional. Our results show that the C=C hydrogenation is more favorable than that of C=O bond on Au₃ with the barriers of the rate-determining step being 0.35 and 0.62 eV respectively. On the other hand, the C=O reduction is preferred over the hydrogenation of the C=C bond on Au₅. The corresponding barriers of the rate-determining steps are 0.45 and 0.54 eV, respectively. This demonstrated that the second hydrogenation step controls the reaction on both Au₃ and Au₅ for C=O and C=C hydrogenation and the C=O hydrogenation on Au₅ is preferred over the hydrogenation of the C=C bond, which is helpful to address the reactivity of small size-selected supported gold clusters.

This study explores the potential of piloting desalination plants in a systematic way to evaluate energy improvements in water desalination processes. Pilot tests with the latest generation of reverse osmosis membranes in large desalination plants are becoming increasingly common, as small-scale experiments are carried out on the operation of new generation membranes with better salt rejection and lower energy consumption. This approach aims to achieve optimal water quality standard at the lowest possible cost. In this way, pilot tests are being carried out before the decision is made whether to change the reverse osmosis membranes, as this represents a significant investment. By carrying out these tests, we hope to minimize the risk of making a mistake to ensure the best results in terms of energy consumption, operating costs and reducing the environmental impact while complying with the required water quality. In this case, the Pareto analysis is used to identify the two or three most significant causes whose treatment affects more than 80% of the possible energy improvement to be implemented. This article introduces a novel approach to studying a total of 180 desalination plants at the territorial level in the Canary Islands. The global scarcity of freshwater resources has greatly contributed to the development of desalination technologies, in which reverse osmosis is one of the most widely used and highly regarded methods.

Mexico´s inhabitants have approximately 7 million dogs and cats as pets, of which there is no accurate information about their environmental impacts as a result of their feeding and comfort requirements. The objective of this study is to compare the environmental footprint between a dog and a cat in a family environment. For this purpose, a life cycle analysis was performed including, among other factors, its feeding and waste management in one year of life. Different environmental indicators including the carbon footprint were considered. It was found that the equivalent CO2 emission of a dog is twice that estimated for a domestic cat and that the main contribution is due to the food production. The ecological footprint that is generated when satisfying the requirements for pet´s well-being impacts in the environment contributes primarily to the carbon footprint.

This study presents an innovative approach for the utilization of industrial by-products and municipal waste in the production of sustainable and environmentally friendly cement mortar. We explored stabilized stainless-steel reduced slag (SSRS) and polyethylene (PE) plastic waste as partial replacements for aggregates. Various engineering properties of the resulting cement mortar specimens, including slump, slump flow, compressive strength, flexural strength, tensile strength, water absorption, and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), were investigated through comprehensive experimental tests. The influence of different water-cement (w/c) ratios and substitution amounts on the engineering properties of the cement mortar samples was thoroughly examined. The findings revealed that an increase in PE substitution adversely affected the overall workability of the cement mortar mixtures, whereas an increase in SSRS amount contributed to enhanced workability. As for the hardened properties, a consistent trend was observed for both cases, with higher w/c ratios and substitution amounts leading to reduced mechanical properties. Water absorption and UPV test results validated the increased formation of porosity with higher w/c ratios and substitution amounts. This study proposes a promising method to effectively repurpose industrial by-products and municipal wastes, transforming them into sustainable construction and building materials. Additionally, a comparative analysis of transportation costs and carbon footprint emissions between SSRS-cement mortar and PE-cement mortar was conducted to assess their environmental impact and sustainability. Generally, higher w/c ratios and replacement levels corresponded to reduced carbon footprint. The geographical location of the source of SSRS and PE remains a challenge and studies to overcome this challenge must be further explored.

The purpose of this research was to analyze the moderating effect of clean energy innovation on the relationship between corporate carbon footprint and corporate profits in those industrial sectors associated with high demand for fossil fuels in which it is "hard to abate" CO₂e emissions. It used a longitudinal research design, in particular a panel study under a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach, based on partial least squares. For the longitudinal moderation analysis, this research employed the Bayesian method by defining a multiple-indicator latent growth curve model (B-LGC model). A global sample was used consisting of 7,827 firm-year observations between 2015 and 2021 corresponding to 167 international firms. The results revealed a very significant impact of the corporate carbon footprint on corporate profits. Likewise, the results showed that innovations in clean energy, when measured as the consumption of renewable energy, positively moderates the relationship between the greenhouse gas emissions from the value chain associated with Scope 3 of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, and the gross profit margin obtained. Besides the academic contribution represented by the moderating effect of clean energy innovation, these findings imply that a more detailed understanding of the emissions of the entire value chain (Scope 3 CO₂e) by executives and managers of high emitting CO₂e companies represents an effective mechanism to obtain higher profits, create competitive advantages and, at the same time, achieve a net zero emissions strategy. More importantly, public policy makers will be able to use these results to revise CO₂e-related policies paying more attention to the Scope 3 CO₂e emissions produced by these companies, to formulate regulatory and control mechanisms that stimulate clean energy innovation.

Building carbon footprint analysis is a key instrument for assessing the impact of different constructions on climate change. Several standards and methodologies are available to calculate the footprint of buildings, including standards and norms, life cycle assessment (LCA), and dedicated software tools. The use of BIM software for these calculations is both scientifically justified and very practical. This scientific publication focusses on the application of a BIM-based research methodology for the analysis of the carbon footprint of a single-family house. The research process included the following steps: (i) design of a single-family house with timber frame construction using Archicad BIM software, (ii) simulation of the building energy performance using the EcoDesigner Star plug-in, (iii) life cycle assessment (LCA) using the plug-in for Archicad, (iv) preparation of a second model with traditional masonry construction for comparison, and (v) comparative analysis of the single-family house models with timber frame and masonry construction. Analysis of the results highlights significant differences in CO2e emissions between masonry and timber buildings and the varying impact of individual elements on the total CO2e emissions of the buildings studied. These findings are relevant for future work on sustainable building design and construction, which aims to minimise negative environmental impacts. The goal of minimising the cumulative carbon footprint of buildings is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and combating climate change.

The adoption of a fully battery-based Electric Vehicles (EVs) in Kuwait apparently seems to be less than one percent and hence Kuwait has the lowest indexed-rank among countries around the globe. The absence of fast-charging stations for fully-battery-based EVs and landlords' reluctance to install home fast-charging plugs are the primary reasons for extremely low adoption rates in this country. Because the government of Kuwait is reluctant to give permission for expatriates to own property in Kuwait, fully battery-based EV ownership is restricted to Kuwaiti nationals who reside in their private properties. To accomplish the present objectives, a quantitative de-scriptive method (closed-ended questions) was used to collect data from a sample of 227 Kuwaiti nationals who owned gasoline cars. The finding of the present study indicates that more than half of the participants stated that they preferred to purchase an EVs within the next three years if certain criteria were met, inclusive of government-controlled pricing policies and charging stations availability, fast-driving lanes, and free of charge parking spaces. Furthermore, more than 40 percent of respondents stated that they would contemplate purchasing an electric vehicle if the price of gasoline or diesel increased by 19 to 50 percent. The finding also indicates that more than forty percent of respondents said that believed that EVs are fire- and crash-safe and roughly half of the participants would pay between 6 and 20% more for an EVs because they be-lieve that EVs are environmentally friendly and significantly faster than gasoline vehicles. In addition, participants rewarded EVs with an excellent mark for their environmental, economic, and technological attributes and benefits.

This manuscript explores sustainable agriculture's role in mitigating environmental challenges and meeting the nutritional needs of a growing global population. The objective is to assess the impact of different fertilizers on two distinct tomato-growing soils, each characterized by unique chemical and biological properties. The study compares four fertilizer treatments: Additionally, it evaluates the environmental implications of these fertilizers, focusing on their Carbon and Water Footprints. The findings indicate significant improvements in soil quality with SBO fertilizer. Both soils experienced a shift towards a near-neutral pH, increased organic matter content, and heightened microbial biomass. Enzyme activities were notably superior in SBO-treated soils. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) results demonstrate that the SBO-based system is the most sustainable, with the lowest Carbon footprint. NPK exerts the highest environmental impact. The Water Footprint analysis aligns with these results, showing that SBO requires the least water for tomato production. In summary, this study underscores the significance of sustainable fertilization practices in improving soil quality and reducing environmental footprints in agriculture, offering potential benefits for food production and environmental conservation.

Understanding the dynamics of Organic Carbon mineralization is fundamental in forecasting biosphere to atmosphere Net Carbon Ecosystem Exchange (NEE). With this perspective, we developed 3D-CMCC-PSM, a new version of the hybrid Process Based Model 3D‐CMCC FEM where also heterotrophic respiration (R_h) is explicitly simulated. The aim was to quantify NEE as a forward problem, by subtracting Ecosystem Respiration (R_eco) to Gross Primary Productivity (GPP). To do so, we developed a simplification of the Soil Carbon dynamics routine proposed in DNDC [1]. The method calculates decomposition as a function of soil moisture, temperature, state of the organic compartments, and relative abundance of microbial pools. Given the pulse dynamics of soil respiration, we introduced modifications in some of the principal constitutive relations involved in phenology and littering sub-routines. We quantified the model structure related uncertainty in NEE, by running our training simulations over 1000 random parameter-sets extracted from parameters distributions expected from literature. 3D-CMCC-PSM predictability was tested on independent time series for 6 Fluxnet sites. The model resulted in daily and monthly estimations highly consistent with the observed time series. It showed lower predictability in Mediterranean ecosystems, suggesting that it may need further improvements in addressing evapotranspiration and water dynamics.

Ecological footprint calculators are digital tools that help individuals calculate their environmental or climate impact, with the aim of stimulating pro-environmental behaviour change. These footprint calculators typically take an information-provision approach, but this strategy assumes that increased levels of knowledge result in increased levels of pro-environmental behaviour (i.e., a reduced footprint). This is not a given – existing literature on the relationship between environmental knowledge and pro-environmental behaviour is inconclusive, and this relationship may be different from that of environmental knowledge and ecological footprint. As such, we investigated the relationship between environmental knowledge and ecological footprint as estimated by a footprint calculator. 448 Dutch participants completed an online survey, including an ecological footprint calculator. We found no evidence for a relationship between environmental knowledge and ecological footprint calculator outcome. Rather, an exploratory analysis of our data showed that environmental values were more important predictors of ecological footprint. The finding that increased levels of knowledge are not related to a reduced ecological footprint suggests that calculators would do well to move beyond information provision, and employ additional behaviour change strategies. Based on our exploratory analysis, we provide several concrete examples of potential strategies.

The objectives of the study were to determine the spatial rate of CO₂ flux (Net Ecosystem Exchange) and soil moisture in a wetland ecosystem applying Sentinel-1 IW (Interferometric Wide) data of VH (Vertical Transmit/Horizontal Receive—cross polarization) and VV (Vertical Transmit/Vertical Receive—like polarization) polarization. In-situ measurements of carbon flux, soil moisture, and LAI (Leaf Area Index) were carried out over the Biebrza Wetland in north-eastern Poland. The impact of soil moisture and LAI on backscattering coefficient (σ°) calculated from Sentinel-1 data showed that LAI dominates the influence on σ° when soil moisture is low. The models for soil moisture have been derived for wetland vegetation habitat types applying VH polarization (R² = 0.70 to 0.76). The vegetation habitats: reeds, sedge-moss, sedges, grass-herbs, and grass were classified using combined one Landsat 8 OLI (Operational Land Imager) and three TerraSAR-X (TSX) ScanSAR VV data. The model for the assessment of Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) has been developed based on the assumption that soil moisture and biomass represented by LAI have an influence on it. The σ° VH and σ° VV describe soil moisture and LAI, and have been the input to the NEE model. The model, created for classified habitats, is as follows: NEE = f (σ° Sentinel-1 VH, σ° Sentinel-1 VV). Reasonably good predictions of NEE have been achieved for classified habitats (R² = 0.51 to 0.58). The developed model has been used for mapping spatial and temporal distribution of NEE over Biebrza wetland habitat types. Eventually, emissions of CO₂ to the atmosphere (NEE positive) has been noted when soil moisture (SM) and biomass were low. This study demonstrates the importance of the capability of Sentinel-1 microwave data to calculate soil moisture and estimate NEE with all-weather acquisition conditions, offering an important advantage for frequent wetlands monitoring.

Strawberry root rot caused by Neopestalotiopsis clavispora is one of the main diseases of strawberry and significantly impacts the yield and quality of strawberry fruit. There are now no effective control techniques available except for fungicide sprays, which may directly impact consumers. Biological control is becoming an alternative method for the control of plant diseases to replace or decrease the application of traditional synthetic chemical fungicides. Trichoderma is widely used as a biological agent for controlling strawberry root rot. In order to provide resources for screening the highly effective biocontrol fungus for controlling strawberry root rot caused by Neopestalotiopsis clavispora, the biocontrol mechanism,the control effects of Trichoderma asperellum CMT10 against strawberry root rot and growth-promoting effects on strawberry seedlings were investigated by plate culture, microscopy observation and root drenching methods.The results showed that CMT10 had obvious competitive, antibiotic and hyperparasitism effects on Neopestalotiopsis clavispora CMGF3. The CMT10 could quickly occupy nutritional space, and the inhibition rates of CMT10 against CMGF3 in confrontation culture on 7 d was 65.49%. The inhibition rates of volatile metabolite and fermentation metabolite produced by CMT10 against CMGF3 were 79.67% and 69.84%, respectively. The mycelium of strain CMT10 can act as hyperparasites by making contacting, winding and penetrating hyphae of CMGF3. Pot experiment showed that the biocontrol efficacy of CMT10 on strawberry root rot caused by Neopestalotiopsis clavispora was 63.00%. CMT10 had obvious promotion effect on strawberry growth, the plant height, root length, total fresh weight, root fresh weight, stem fresh weight and root dry weight, with the promotion rates were 20.09%, 22.39%, 87.11%, 101.58%, 79.82% and 72.33%, respectively. Overall, this study showed the ability of Trichoderma asperellum CMT10 to control strawberry root rot and their potential to develop as novel biocontrol agents to replace chemical fungicides for eco-friendly, sustainable agriculture.

Conventional fertilization practices can lead to many ecological problems, such as nutrient imbalance, soil acidity, and reduced soil fertility in natural rubber plantations. To address these challenges, a field investigation was strategically carried out to substitute inorganic fertilizer with organic fertilizers consisted of six treatments, i.e., no fertilization (CK), inorganic fertilizer (NPK), 25 % replacement of inorganic through organic (25%M), 50 % replacement of inorganic through organic (50%M), 75 % replacement of inorganic through organic (75%M), and 100% organic fertilizer (100%M). The soil physicochemical properties (SOC, TN, AN, C:N, pH, NH4+-N, and NO3--N) and carbon and nitrogen converting enzymes (BG, NAG, and LAP) were all determined. The partial substitution of inorganic fertilizers with organic fertilizers (i.e., 75%M at surface soil layer) showed higher SOC (14.52 g.kg-1), TN (1.06 g.kg-1), AN (20.07 mg.kg-1), C:N (14.63), NH4+-N (10.63 mgkg-1), and NO3--N(11.06 mg.kg-1) than NPK and CK. Such increase in physicochemical properties in partial replacement of inorganic with organic fertilizers plots resulted from higher carbon and nitrogen enzymes activities (BG (143.17 nmol.g-1.h-1), NAG (153.96 nmol.g-1.h-1), and LAP (153.48 nmol.g-1.h-1)) compared to NPK and CK, and further the person correlation and RDA analysis confirmed a significant positive correlation between SOC, AN, and soil enzymes. This study presents a new strategy for assessing the impact of partially replacing inorganic fertilizers with organic fertilizers in rubber plantations, mainly by modifying the soil nutrient composition in tropical regions.

SOC stock (SOCS) changes caused by land use changes are still unclear, and understanding this response is essential for many environmental policies and land management practices. In this study, we investigated the temporal-spatial and vertical distribution characteristics of SOCS on the Western Sichuan Plateau (WSP) using the sparrow search algorithm-random forest regression (SSA-RFR) models with excellent model applicability and accuracy. The temporal-spatial varia-tions in the SOCS were modeled using 1080 soil samples and a set of nine environmental covariates. We analyzed the effect of land use changes on the SOCS on the WSP. The total SOCS increased by 18.03 Tg C from 1990 to 2020. The results of this study confirmed that the SOCS in the study area has increased significantly since 2010, with an increase of 27.88 Tg C compared to the total SOCS in 2010. We found that the spatial distribution of the SOCS increased from southeast to northwest, and the vertical distribution of the SOCS in the study area decreased with increasing soil depth. Forest and grassland are the main sources of SOCS, the total SOCS in the forest and grassland accounted for 37.53 and 59.39% of the total SOC pool in 2020, respectively. Expansion of the wetlands, forest, and grassland areas could increase SOCS in the study area.

Banana plantation is an important type of agro-ecosystem in the tropics, and it is important to carry out a quantitative assessment of the carbon footprint of the banana growing process for the development of low-carbon agriculture to cope with global warming. The carbon footprint of two banana cultivation processes was assessed using the life cycle assessment method through field trials and farmer surveys in Chengmai County, Hainan Province, China. The results showed that: (1) N2O emissions caused by the application of nitrogen fertilizers and compound nitrogen fertilizers were the largest source of carbon emissions from banana plantation farmland, and the production and transportation of common compound fertilizer were the second largest source of carbon emissions. Banana fruits and plants were the main contributors to carbon fixation in banana plantation ecosystems, with about 24.72 t CO2 eq hm-2 for Musa paradisiaca AA, and 34.66 t CO2 eq hm-2 for M. AAA Cavendish var. Brazil. (2) The annual carbon emissions of Musa paradisiaca AA and M. AAA Cavendish var. Brazil farmland systems were 35.40 t CO2 eq·hm-2 and 43.83 t CO2 eq·hm-2, respectively, and the annual carbon fixation was 38.23 CO2 eq·hm-2 and 48.17 CO2 eq·hm-2, respectively. The banana plantations had a negative carbon footprint per unit area, showing a net carbon sink function. (3) Banana is a plant with high carbon emission and strong carbon fixation capacity. Scientific management in the field can achieve the decrease of agricultural inputs, high quality and abundant agricultural products, and the reduction of carbon footprint of farmland.

A low-cost bio-mass-derived carbon substrate has been employed to synthesize MoS₂@carbon composites through a hydrothermal method. Carbon fibers derived from natural cotton provide a three-dimensional and open framework for the uniform growth of MoS₂ nanosheets, thus constructing hierarchically coaxial architecture. The unique structure could synergistically benefit fast Li-ion and electron transport from the conductive carbon scaffold and porous MoS₂ nanostructures. As a result, the MoS₂@carbon composites, when served as anodes for Li-ion batteries, exhibit a high reversible specific capacity of 820 mAh g^-1, high-rate capability (457 mAh g^-1 at 2 A g^-1), and excellent cycling stability. The superior electrochemical performance makes the MoS₂@carbon composites to be low-cost and promising anode materials for Li-ion batteries.

The one-dimensional MoS₂/carbon nanofibers (1D MoS₂/CNFs) are synthesized by electrospinning using exfoliated MoS₂ nanosheets and polyacrylonitrile as raw materials. The exfoliated MoS₂ nanosheets with size of about 150 nm are encapsulated in carbon nanofibers, and the free-standing MoS₂/CNFs can be easily cut into flexible tablet and directly used as binder-free anode for lithium storage. The resultant 1D MoS₂/CNFs exhibit a very high reversible capacity of 700 mAh g^-1 at 100 mA g^-1 after 50 cycles, high rate capacity (450 mAh g^-1 at 1000 mA g^-1 after 200 cycles) and good cycle stability.

In this study, an attempt was made to investigate the Kenya case of multivariate causality of carbon dioxide emissions by employing a time series data spanning from 1961-2011 using the ARDL method of cointegration analysis. The long-run elasticities show that, a 1% increase in financial development increases carbon dioxide emissions by 0.28%, a 1% increase in GDP per capita increases carbon dioxide emissions by 1.32% and a 1% increase in urbanization decreases carbon dioxide emissions by 1.14%. There was a unidirectional causality running from financial development, food production index, GDP per capita, industrialization and urbanization to carbon dioxide emissions. The innovation accounting shows that 20% of future shocks in carbon dioxide emissions are due to fluctuations in financial development, 9% of future shocks in financial development are due to fluctuations urbanization and 22% of future shocks in food production index are due to fluctuations in carbon dioxide emissions.

Reducing GHG emissions is a crucial challenge in urban areas, characterized by high energy consumption and reduced exposure to nature. In this context, the urban green system could play a pivotal role. In the literature, scholars analyzed both the ability of species-specific and layout-specific green infrastructures to increase carbon sequestration and the best location sites of new green infrastructures, to increase the provision of overall ecosystem services. There is a lack of studies helping green urban planners and designers choose where and which green infrastructure to implement, based on vegetation species-specific performance and local carbon emissions of city components. This paper uses tree inventory data from a medium-sized city in central Italy (Perugia) to develop a spatial analysis of the urban parks' performance in carbon sequestration. Then, the method evaluates the carbon emission of a public city building to generate a spatialized balance between buildings’ demand and trees’ supply, to support local decisions about the best locations for new green infrastructures and the choice between species. The paper contributes to GIS-based tools that vary the recommended location sites and species for new green infrastructures based on the demanded ecosystem service.

Footprints are powerful indicators for evaluating the impact of the bioeconomy of a country on environmental goods, domestically and abroad. In this study, we apply a hybrid approach combining a Multi-Regional Input-Output model and land use modelling to compute the agricultural land footprint (aLF). Furthermore, we added information on land-use change to the analysis and allocated land conversion to specific commodities. The German case study shows that the aLF abroad is larger by a factor of 2.5 to 3 than the aLF in Germany. In 2005 and 2010, conversion of natural and semi-natural land-cover types abroad allocated to Germany due to import increases was 2.5 times higher than the global average. Import increases to Germany slowed down in 2015 and 2020, reducing land conversion attributed to the German bioeconomy to the global average. The case study shows that the applied land footprint provides clear and meaningful information for policymakers and other stakeholders. The presented methodological approach can be applied to other countries and regions covered in the underlying database EXIOBASE. It can be adapted, also for an assessment of other ecosystem functions, such as water or soil fertility.

The destruction of natural habitat for cropland and pastures represents a major threat to global biodiversity. Despite widespread societal concern about biodiversity loss associated with food production, consumers access to quantitative estimates of the impact of crop production on the world’s species has been very limited compared to assessments of other environmental variables such as greenhouse gas emissions or water use. Here, we present a consistent dataset of the biodiversity footprints of pastures and 175 individual crops at country level. The data were generated by combining maps of the global distribution of agricultural areas in the year 2000 with spatially explicit estimates of the biodiversity loss associated with the conversion of natural habitat to farmland. Estimates were derived for three common alternative measures of biodiversity – species richness, threatened species richness, and range rarity – of the world’s mammals, birds, and amphibians. Our dataset provides important quantitative information for food consumers and policy makers, allowing them to take evidence-based decisions to reduce the biodiversity footprint of global food production.

The decarbonization of the built environment, both in new construction and renovation, is crucial to mitigate its relevant impact on climate change and achieve the Paris agreement goals. This study presents a systematic LCA-based methodology to assess the whole life carbon emissions of buildings, applied to a proposal for the regeneration of one of Milan’s disused railway yards. As an entry for the 2020 Reinventing Cities competition, Scalo Lambrate is a project for a mainly residential neighborhood with a public park. Strategies to reduce carbon emissions deriving both from the operational energy and construction and maintenance were evaluated and their effects compared to a reference scenario over a time horizon of 100 years. The results show that, while the opportunities to reduce carbon emissions during the use phase are somehow limited due to the already stringent performance requirements for new builds, the use of fast-growing biogenic materials for construction materials, even if mixed with more traditional ones, can provide a significant reduction of the global warming potential over the whole life cycle, with a reduction of 70% over the baseline. The remaining emissions can be offset with afforestation initiatives that, however, must be assessed against land use issues.

We report the relative humidity (R.H.) sensing response of a resistive sensor, employing sensing layers based on a ternary nanohybrid comprising holey carbon nanohorns (CNHox), potassium chloride (KCl), and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) at mass ratios 7/1/2, 6.5/1.5/2, and 6/2/2 (w/w/w/w). The sensing structure comprises a silicon substrate, a SiO2 layer, and interdigitated transducer (IDT) electrodes. The sensing film is deposited on the sensing structure via the drop-casting method. The sensing layers' morphology and composition are investigated through Scanning Electron Microscopy (S.E.M.) and RAMAN spectroscopy. The ternary hybrid-based thin film resistance increases when the sensors are exposed to R.H., ranging from 0% to 100%. The manufactured devices show a room temperature response comparable to a commercial capacitive R.H. sensor and are characterized by excellent linearity, rapid response time, and good sensitivity. The presented sensors exhibit superior performance in terms of sensitivity compared to other similarly manufactured and tested sensors that employ a CNHox-based sensing layer. We explain the sensing role of each constituent of the ternary hybrid nanocomposites based on their chemical and physical properties, electronic properties, and affinity for water molecules. Different alternative sensing mechanisms are considered and discussed, such as the decreasing number of holes in the holey CNHox at the interaction with water molecules, proton conduction, and PVP swelling.

Despite saltmarshes being considered as nature-based solutions (NbS) towards climate change mitigation, India’s saltmarsh ecosystems are least studied. This study quantifies the seasonal variation in carbon stocks mono-specific saltmarsh species (Porteresia coarctata) and its potential to play an important role in India’s climate change mitigation plans. Seasonal (pre-and post-monsoon) sampling of P. coarctata surface water, biomass and 30 cm sediment core was collected across four locations on the east coast of India to quantify sediment dry bulk density (DBD), organic matter (OM%), organic carbon (Corg%), Corg stocks of sediment and biomass, total carbon (C%) and nitrogen (N%) and stable isotopes of δ13C and δ15N. In general, the sediment DBD, OM and Corg of P. coarctata meadows was higher in post-monsoon and was influenced by salinity and pH changes. Isotope (δ¹³C) modelling of various sediment C sources suggested, particulate organic matter (POM) contribution was highest (0.04-0.79%) followed by P. coarctata (0.01–052%) and other macrophytes across our study locations. The seasonal variation of δ¹³C showed increased contribution of marine derived particulate and dissolved organic matter into P. coarctata meadows in post-monsoon season. Heavier δ¹⁵N values were observed in post-monsoon season suggesting anthropogenic input, that was utilized by P. coarctata to increase its above and below-ground biomass and shoot density. The combined ecosystem (30 cm sediment + biomass) Corg stocks of P. coarctata was 1.7-fold higher in post-monsoon (4021.20± 917 Mg C) compared to pre-monsoon (2297.36 ±647 Mg C) season among the four locations with a sediment Corg contribution >70%. Based on the International Panel for Climate Change Tier II assessment the P. coarctata meadows (443 ha) can help in avoiding the pre and post-monsoon emissions of 8431.34 and 14757.84 Mg CO₂ respectively. The combined price of the total CO₂ equivalent stored in P. coarctata meadows in pre- and post-monsoon is US$ 14.50 and US$ 25.38 million respectively. Further studies quantifying the NbS potential of P. coarctata mono-specific and mixed meadows of India’s coast is needed along with integration of saltmarsh ecosystems into India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change.

This research aimed to investigate the relationship between climate policy uncertainty (CPU), clean energy (ENERGY), carbon emission allowance prices (CARBON), and Bitcoin returns (BTC) for the period from August 2012 to August 2022. The empirical analysis strategies utilized in this study included the Fourier Bootstrap ARDL long-term coefficient estimator, Fourier Granger Causality, and Fourier Toda Yamamoto Causality methods. Following the confirmation of cointegration among the variables, we observed a positive relationship between BTC and CARBON, a positive relationship between BTC and CPU, and a negative relationship between BTC and ENERGY. In terms of causal associations, we identified one-way causality running from CARBON to BTC, BTC to CPU, and BTC to the ENERGY variable. The study underscores the potential benefits and revenue opportunities for investors seeking diversified investment strategies in light of climate change concerns. Furthermore, it suggests actionable strategies for policymakers, such as implementing carbon taxes and educational campaigns, to foster a transition towards clean energy sources within the cryptocurrency mining sector and thereby mitigate environmental impacts.

This study explored the effects of cryogenic treatment on the microstructure, hardness, and wear-resistance of diamond-like carbon (DLC) by cryogenically treating NAK 80 mold steel coated with DLC. Raman spectroscopy analyzed the structure of the DLC film. Nanoindenter analyzed the hardness and Young’s modulus of the film, and their relationship determined the wear resistance. Wear test assessed the wear rate and friction coefficient of the DLC film. The results showed that cryogenic treatment increased the rate of carbide precipitation and refined the grain structure. Raman spectroscopy indicated that the Raman intensity rate (I_D/I_G) of treated DLC films was smaller than those without cryogenic treatment. When the sp3 bond increased, the hardness and wear-resistance of the DLC film also increased.

Compressed carbon dioxide energy storage (CCES) offers several benefits over other existing energy storage systems, including ease of liquefaction, high energy storage density, and environmental friendliness. As a result, the research progress, economic and technological feasibility, and system operation of the CCES system are all discussed in depth in this study. The system evaluation method is summarized and the compressed carbon dioxide storage is analyzed, and the performance optimization direction of the compressed carbon dioxide energy storage technology is discussed. When the overall performance of a transcritical CCES system, a supercritical CCES system and a liquid CCES system are compared, it is discovered that the supercritical CCES system has better thermodynamic characteristics and a simpler system configuration, making it suitable for large-scale development and use. The goal of the CCES system's future development is to create a design with an optimum compression and expansion ratio, a more precise analysis and system model, and multi-field coupling. This review's discussion serves as a guide for the best design and use of the CCES system.

The study addresses the urgent environmental issue of climate change, focusing specifically on the role of local food, which is produced and consumed locally, helps reduce carbon emissions by eliminating the need for long-distance transportation. Through quantitative analysis, this study elucidates the potential benefits in environmental impact achieved through the consumption of local food: the significant reduction in carbon emissions. Specifically, the consumption of local food is found to yield an annual decrease of 2,421,296 tCO2 emissions, representing 2.5% of South Korea’s total greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. This reduction further translates into an estimated economic value of USD 54.23 million (KRW 70.5 billion). This study underscores the potential of local food consumption as a tangible strategy to overcome environmental problems. Moreover, its academic contribution lies in its comprehensive analysis of the economic and empirical impacts of local food consumption on environment. Moving forward, we propose policies such as supporting local food distribution networks, providing public education on local food, fostering the local food industry, and providing incentives to revitalize local food consumption.

We study a two-echelon supply chain made up of a supplier and a manufacturer, both of which can reduce their component/product carbon emissions. With the vertical technology spillovers, we explore the optimal decisions of centralized and decentralized supply chains with price dependent demand and propose coordination strategy for the decentralized supply chain. Considering the cost contraction effectiveness of the technology spillovers, the centralized and decentralized game theoretic models of a two-echelon supply chain are developed to investigate optimal decisions of pricing and carbon emissions reduction. Through a systematic comparison and numerical analysis, we show that the profits of both players and the entire supply chain improve with the effect of technology spillovers increasing. Carbon emissions reduction will be taken by various protective measures so that the supplier and the manufacturer who do not innovate can hardly share the results of innovating via the “free-riding” methods when the technology spillover is relatively small. We also propose a revenue-cost sharing contract through bargaining to enhance the performance of the decentralized supply chain.

Retrospective information about the climate system and plant ecophysiology are key inputs in climate and Earth system modelling. Dendrochronology provides such information with large spatiotemporal coverage, and stable carbon isotope (¹³C/¹²C) analysis across tree-ring series is among the most advanced dendrochronological tools. For the past seventy years, this analysis was performed on whole molecules, and, to this day, ¹³C/¹²C variation is attributed to ¹³C discrimination during CO₂ diffusion into leaves and assimilation by rubisco. By contrast, ¹³C discrimination by post-rubisco processes is presumed constant. Here, recently reported results on the first dataset of intramolecular ¹³C discrimination in tree rings were synthesised by variance component analysis. The emerging picture is not consistent with the classical (DR-discrimination-centred) concepts and practices of carbon-isotope dendrochronology. Specifically, leaf and stem post-rubisco discrimination each account for more variation in the data than diffusion-rubisco discrimination, i.e., post-rubisco discrimination is not constant. Furthermore, diffusion-rubisco discrimination is used widely as proxy of leaf intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE), a key determinant in the responses of global biogeochemical cycles to climate change. However, since diffusion-rubisco discrimination is a small component of the total data variance, whole-molecule analysis yields confounded iWUE estimates, yet intramolecular analysis will likely offer solutions. Lastly, all currently observed ¹³C/¹²C-climate relationships are attributed to diffusion-rubisco discrimination. However, here, relationships with temperature and radiation derive from leaf-level post-rubisco discrimination while relationships with precipitation derive from stem-level post-rubisco discrimination. That said, advances in mass spectrometry may soon make intramolecular ¹³C/¹²C analysis broadly available taking carbon-isotope dendrochronology to the next level.

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the scholarly footprint of ChatGPT, an AI language model, using bibliometric and scientometric methods. The study aims to understand the evolution of research output, citation patterns, collaborative networks, application domains, and future research directions related to ChatGPT. By analyzing data from the Scopus database, 533 relevant articles were identified for analysis. The findings reveal the prominent publication venues, influential authors, and countries contributing to ChatGPT research. Collaborative networks among researchers and institutions are visualized, highlighting patterns of co-authorship. The application domains of ChatGPT, such as customer support and content generation, are examined. Moreover, the study identifies emerging keywords and potential research areas for future exploration. The methodology employed includes data extraction, bibliometric analysis using various indicators, and visualization techniques such as Sankey diagrams. The analysis provides valuable insights into ChatGPT's influence in academia and offers researchers guidance for further advancements. This study stimulates discussions, collaborations and innovations to enhance ChatGPT's capabilities and impact across domains.

Urbanization and industrialization processes in Mongolia have been significant and rapid for the last half-century. During this period, changes in political and economic systems, growth in the population, and the occasional harsh climate conditions were subject to fluctuations in the natural resource usage. The total Ecological Footprint (EF) in Mongolia has increased from 6.8 million global hectares (gha) in 1961 to 14.6 million gha in 2012. However, Biocapacity (BC) has decreased from 50.6 million gha in 1961 to 39.0 million gha in 2012. The study shows that grazing land Footprint and carbon uptake land Footprint are the two major contributors of the recent intensified use of biological resources. To ensure stable economic development and sustainable use of natural resources, environmental planning is required to consider both the population’s pressure on the environment and the ecosystem’s regeneration capacity, simultaneously. We have proposed a few possible strategies for sustainable utilization of grazing land Footprint and carbon Footprint. For grazing land Footprint, efficient management of both herding practice and number of animals should be considered. In case of carbon Footprint, it is estimated that with the improved combustion efficiencies of coal-based power plants and the maximum use of renewable energy, carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in Mongolia can be reduced up to 30% compared to the base line business as usual case in 2030.

Emulsifiers like egg yolk (EY) are necessary for the formation of mayonnaise, which is an oil-in-water type colloid. This study aimed to assess the potential of defatted soybean powder treated with supercritical carbon dioxide (DSF-SC) in enhancing the quality of plant-based may-onnaise as plant-based alternatives gain popularity. This study involved producing DSF-SC and comparing its quality attributes to those of mayonnaise made with varying amounts of control soy flour (CSF), DSF-SC, and EY. It was found that mayonnaise made with DSF-SC, with increased emulsifier quantity, showed better emulsion stability, viscosity, and smaller, more uniform particle size compared with CSF mayonnaise. Additionally, DSF-SC mayonnaise was overall rated higher in sensory evaluation. The addition of approximately 2% DSF-SC positively influenced the emul-sion and sensory properties of the vegan mayonnaise, making DSF-SC a promising plant-based alternative emulsifier for replacing animal ingredients.

Abstract: Efforts for carbon emission reduction have been identified as a major climate change mitigation target in the Paris Agreement. The 26th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change highlighted the worldwide effort for cleaner and greener mining, urging the mineral industry to embrace greener operational emissions reduction technologies and strategies. Ghana pledged at the Paris Conference to reduce CO2 emissions by 15% and increase renewable energy share to 10% of the national energy mix. Here the fundamental question is how Ghana’s mining industry can contribute to CO2 emission reduction efforts. This paper investigates barriers to low-carbon emission policy implementation among mining companies in Ghana. The questionnaire survey was conducted among Ghana’s four large-scale gold mining companies. As the sample number of available companies is limited, we used a descriptive analysis to assess the responses. The results show that the companies expressed widely different ways to respond to the issues of cost, a government policy/regulations for carbon emission reduction, and the adoption/acquisition of low-carbon technologies. Those companies that are relatively less prepared for this endeavor emphasized the uncertainties of securing sufficient energy in case of using low-carbon technologies. They also expressed a need for more trained workers to handle low-carbon technologies. All companies agreed with a expected high cost of adopting low-carbon options. There was a communication gap with the relevant government ministry about low-carbon mining options where the government should be able to facilitate the involvement of othe low technology providers, such as solar PV installation.

Three kinds of inorganic alkali are introduced into tetraethylenepentamine (TPEA) and polyethyleneimine (PEI) modified MCM-41 as the CO2 adsorbents. FT-IR and TGA are used to characterize the surface groups and the thermal stability of adsorbents. Chemical titration method is used to measure the alkali amounts of adsorbents. Thermo-gravimetric analysis with 10%CO2/N2 as the simulated flue gas is used to test the CO2 adsorption performance of adsorbents. The results show that all three kinds of inorganic alkali containing adsorbents exhibit promoted CO2 adsorption capability than traditional TPEA and PEI modified samples. Ca(OH)2 and PEI modified samples exhibit the highest adsorption capacity and stable regeneration property. The introduction of inorganic alkali changes the chemical adsorption mechanism between CO2 and increases the effective alkali amounts due to its hydroxyl groups. The CO2 adsorption capacities have a linear dependence relation with the alkali amounts of adsorbents, indicating that alkali amount is a critical factor for novel adsorbents exploring.

Polyphenols are the most common organic compounds in wine. They improve both the sensory aspects of wine and human health by activating antioxidant systems. Therefore, there is a great need for a simple, fast and accessible method to determine the polyphenol content of wine. The aim of this study is to characterize polyphenolic compounds in natural wine samples using an electrochemical method and a modified carbon paste electrode with TiO2 nanoparticles. This work is motivated by the promising improvement of the sensing properties of a TiO2 nanoparticle-modified carbon paste electrode observed in the electrooxidation of different polyphenols. Since the voltammetric response of wine is largely irreversible, another motivation was the possibility of improving the processing of voltammograms to obtain data indicative of wine polyphenols, based on the approach described in the seminal work by Espinoza et al. The modified electrode studied provides an improved and reproducible voltammetric response of gallic acid in wine samples and provides a good basis for further development of an integrated sensor/data system with the possibility of wider application for the quantification of gallic acid as a flavor and visually relevant parameter in winemaking.

Agricultural activities are the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, and carbon emissions from agricultural land use (CEALU) have become a hot issue across the world. However, few scholars explored the impact of agricultural land policies on carbon emissions, such as the High-standard farmland construction(HSFC) in China.Thus，by relying on provincial panel data for China for the period 2005-2017, the effect of the high-standard basic farmland construction policy on carbon emissions from agricultural land use per unit area and its regional differences were quantitatively analyzed using the difference-in-difference (DID) model. The results showed that: 1) China's CEALU per unit area presented a fluctuating upward trend during the period 2005-2017, from 392.58 kg/ha to 457.72 kg/ha, with an average annual growth rate of 1.31%. 2) The high-standard farmland construction(HSFC) policy produced a significant carbon emission reduction effect in agricultural land use, and reduced the CEALU per unit area by 10.80% on average. With the promotion of this policy, its carbon emission reduction effect in agricultural land use presented an overall increasing trend. 3) The carbon emission reduction effect of the high-standard farmland construction policy in agricultural land use was significant in central China, but non-significant in eastern China and western China.

Oil and gas refineries are highly water-intensive industrial settings, with effluent containing a significant level of pollution stemming from diverse organic and inorganic compounds. Besides adhering to discharge standards for industrial effluent, incorporating treated oil refinery effluent (ORE) into the production cycle can play a pivotal role in curbing water consumption. In recent years, there has been research into different approaches to reclaiming ORE. Yet, selecting treatment methods that are technically, economically, and environmentally effective is crucial to preventing resource waste. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the last two decades of literature on methods and technologies used for ORE treatment. Based on the inclusion criteria, the final screening included 82 studies, with acceptable agreement assessed using Cohen's inter-examiner kappa equal to 0.86. The included studies were of biological treatment (n = 27), physicochemical processes (n = 12), advanced purification processes (n = 16), membrane-based technologies (n = 15), and green technologies (n = 13). This comprehensive review showed that the advanced membrane-based techniques are effective in the removal of pollutants from ORE for several reasons, such as reducing the consumption of chemicals, high efficiency, and ease of setup and maintenance. However, combined methods with a focus on membrane-based processes (e.g. UF-RO) are the most promising options for the reclamation of ORE. Since some effluent treatment methods require the use of chemicals and energy to run, future research should focus on environmentally friendly methods and the use of renewable energy.

The SARS-CoV-2 polybasic furin cleavage site is still a missing link. Remarkably, the two arginine residues of this protease recognition site are encoded by the CGG codon, which is rare in Betacoronavirus. However, the arginine pair is common at viral furin cleavage sites, but are not CGG-CGG encoded. The question is: Is this genetic footprint unique to the SARS-CoV-2? To address the issue, using Perl scripts, here I dissect in detail the NCBI Virus database in order to report the arginine dimers of the Betacoronavirus proteins. The main result reveals that a group of Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV) (isolates: camel/Nigeria/NVx/2016, host: Camelus dromedarius) also have the CGG-CGG arginine pair in the spike protein polybasic furin cleavage region. In addition, CGG-CGG encoded arginine pairs were found in the orf1ab polyprotein from HKU9 and HKU14 Betacoronavirus, as well as, in the nucleocapsid phosphoprotein from few SARS-CoV-2 isolates. To quantify the probability of finding the arginine CGG-CGG codon pair in Betacoronavirus, the likelihood ratio (LR) and a Markov model were defined. In conclusion, it is highly unlikely to find this genetic marker in betacoronaviruses wildlife, but they are there. Collectively, results shed light on recombination as origin of the virus CGG-CGG arginine pair in the S1/S2 cleavage site.

Topographic mapping using stereo plotting is not effective because it takes much time and labor-intensive. Thus, this research was conducted to find the effective way to extract building footprint for mapping acceleration. Building extraction method in this process comprises four steps: ground / non-ground filtering, building classification, segmentation, and building extraction. Non-ground points from filtering process were classified as building with the algorithm based on multi-scale local dimensionality to separate points at the maximum separability plane. Segmentation using segment growing was used to separate each building, so edge detection could be conducted for each segment to create boundary of each building. Lastly, building extraction was conducted through three steps: edge points detection, building delineation, and building regularization. With 10 samples and step 0.5, classification resulted quality and miss factor of 0.597 and 0.524, respectively. The quality was improved by segmentation process to 0.604, while miss factor was getting worse to 0.561. Meanwhile, on average shape index value from extracted building had 0.02 difference and the number of errors was 30% for line segment comparison. Regarding positional accuracy using centroid accuracy assessment, this method could produce RMSE of 1.169 meters.

This study was undertaken to derive and analyze the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - EOS (AMSR-E) sea surface temperature (SST) footprint associated with the Remote Sensing Systems (RSS) Level-2 (L2) product. The footprint, in this case, is characterized by the weight attributed to each 4  4 km square contributing to the SST value of a given AMSR-E pixel. High-resolution L2 SST fields obtained from the MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), carried on the same spacecraft as AMSR-E, are used as the sub-resolution “ground truth“ from which the AMSR-E footprint is determined. Mathematically, the approach is equivalent to a linear inversion problem, and its solution is pursued by means of a constrained least square approximation based on the bootstrap sampling procedure. The method yielded an elliptic-like Gaussian kernel with an aspect ratio  1.58, very close to the AMSR-E 6.93GHz channel aspect ratio,  1.7. (The 6.93GHz channel is the primary spectral frequency used to determine SST.) The semi-major axis of the estimated footprint is found to be alignedwith the instantaneous field-of-view of the sensor as expected fromthe geometric characteristics of AMSR-E. Footprintswere also analyzed year-by-year and as a function of latitude and found to be stable – no dependence on latitude or on time. Precise knowledge of the footprint is central for any satellite-derived product characterization and, in particular, for efforts to deconvolve the heavily oversampled AMSR-E SST fields and for studies devoted to product validation and comparison. A preliminarly analysis suggests that use of the derived footprint will reduce the variance between AMSR-E and MODIS fields compared to the results obtained.

In order to foster a more sustainable and eco-friendly trajectory for the construction industry, while concurrently mitigating environmental pollution and energy inefficiency, it is imperative to cultivate an environmentally conscious building and urban environment. Under the background of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, green building evaluation system (GBRS) has become a research hotspot in the field of green building. This paper systematically summarizes the current research progress based on GBRS, focuses on the current weight and indicators setting, analyzes it with Cite Space software, and puts forward its future development direction. The results show that the weight setting method of green building evaluation system is determined by multidimensional and multi-method. From the perspective of environment, society and economy, the scope of indicators setting is expanding. The green building evaluation system will play a guiding role in green building design, and the evaluation process will continue to be optimized and developed in the direction of intelligence and automation.

In this study, the causal-effect between carbon dioxide emissions and forestry production and trade was investigated in Ghana by employing a data spanning from 1961 to 2014 by using the VECM and ARDL model. Evidence of the long-run equilibrium relationship in the VECM shows that, a 1% increase in veneer sheet production reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 1.47% in the long-run. There was evidence of a bidirectional causality between carbon dioxide emissions and veneer sheet production, carbon dioxide emissions and wood charcoal production, and a unidirectional causality running from carbon dioxide emissions to wood fuel production and plywood production to carbon dioxide emissions. Evidence from the long-run equilibrium relationship in the ARDL model shows that; a 1% increase in plywood production will increase carbon dioxide emissions by 0.17% in the long-run, a 1% increase in sawnwood production will increase carbon dioxide emissions by 0.17% in the long-run, a 1% increase in wood charcoal production will increase carbon dioxide emissions by 0.36% in the long-run and a 1% increase in wood fuel production will increase carbon dioxide emissions by 0.37% in the long-run.

Concrete being one of the most frequently used construction materials in the field of construction. The use of concrete has increased with the passage of time as the more and more construction activities are taking place around the globe. Different materials have been added in to the concrete mix to provide the concrete more strength and make it more durable and long lasting. This paper looks into a detailed comparison of concrete strength when casted with in the presence of carbon fibers, steel fibers and glass fibers. The compressive strength for cubes and cylinder with carbon fibers is the highest as compare to steel fibers as well as glass fibers. The compressive strength of concrete is measured on 3 day, 7 day, 14 day and 28 day strength. The compressive strength of cube on 28th day strength is 37.52 MPa for carbon fiber steel, for steel fiber it is 34.22 MPa and with glass fiber the strength is 29.335 MPa whereas the compressive strength of cylinder with carbon fibers the 34.88 MPa, with steel fiber it is 34.22 MPa and with glass fiber the strength is 27.447 MPa. For the cubes the maximum difference between different fibers inducted concrete sample is 28% approximately and for cylinder it is 27%, respectively. On the other hand, the tensile strength of concrete was also gained with the carbon fiber. It was determined that carbon fiber provided about 16% and 12.8% tensile strength higher than glass and steel fibers respectively.

The rapid urbanization has exerted tremendous pressure on natural systems in mountains. As a measure of sustainable use of natural resources, ecological footprint is an important basis for judging whether the development of a country or region is within the biocapacity. Taking Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture as an example, this study comprehensively analyzes the impact of human activities on mountain resources and environment from the three aspects of urbanization, land use and ecological carrying capacity. The results show that Dali Prefecture with the urbanization rate of 33% is still in the accelerated stage of urbanization. The urban space presents the core-periphery feature, and the central city is the focus of human existence and living activities. The per capita ecological footprint is 1.14 hm2/person higher than the ecological carrying capacity, meaning Dali Prefecture is in an ecological deficit state. This indicates that there is an uncoordinated state between urbanization and environment. Arable land is the main source of per capita ecological footprint in the prefecture. However, the urban expansion overly occupies the arable land in the plain sub-region, leading the arable land to an ecological deficit state. In the future, the development of the mountainous area should focus on the protection of arable land and choose a new sustainable path.

Biomass materials have received attention for energy storagebecaused of the advantage of low-cost, easy-to-prepare, and eco-friendliness. Three-dimensional carbon materialswith abundant pore structure gradually becomeresearch hotspot in high-performance energy storage. In this study, an easy-to-prepare, green, light and elastic activated carbon was present using the biomass Juncus effusus (JCE) via high-temperature pyrolysis, followed by activation in air. Compared with previously reported bio-carbons, the proposed air-activated bio-carbon contributes in the fabrication of pores to preserve the interconnected, reticular and tubular structure. Moreover, the interconnected porous material also inherits the excellent tenacity of the original JCE such as the material can be bended to below 90^o under an external force while maintaining structural integrity. The activated porous carbon material exhibits an enhanced electric double-layer capacitance (~210 F g^-1 at 1 A g^-1), with capacitance retention of ~78.62% at 10 A g^-1. The interconnected porous carbon microtubes electrode as a double-layer symmetric capacitor exhibits considerable capacitance retention (84%) after 2000 cycles at 1 A g^-1. The improved energy storage performance was proposed to be attributed to the shortened ionic diffusion distance and sufficient contact between the interface of the carbon electrode and electrolyte, which is resulted from the elastic, undamaged structure and types of pores. These results demonstrated that as-preparedcarbon materials have potentional application in symmetric capacitors.

.With the increasing use of carbon fiber reinforced plastics in various area, carbon fiber composites based on prepregs have attracted attention in industries and academia research. However, prepreg manufacturing processes are costly, and the strength of structures varies depending on the orientation and defects (pores and delamination). For non-contact evaluation of internal defects, we proposed lock-in infrared thermography to investigate orientation angles after a compression test. We also conducted a drop-weight impact test to study the behaviour of the composites after impact according the fibers orientation for composite fabricated using unidirectional carbon fiber prepregs. Using CAI tests, we determined the residual compressive strength and confirmed the damage modes using a thermal camera. The results of the drop weight impact tests show that the specimen laminated at 0° suffered the largest damage because of susceptibility of the resin to impact. In contrast, the specimens oriented in of 0°/90° and +45°/–45° directions transferred more than 90% of the impact energy back to the impactor because of the lamination of fibers in the orthogonal directions. Furthermore, the specimens that underwent complete damage in the impact tests were subjected to the lock-in method and showed internal delamination and cut fibers. With the finite elements analysis, the damage of each ply could be observed. Moreover, the temperature differences in the residual compression tests were not significant.

This research review paper comprehensively assesses the environmental impacts of diverse energy sources and proposes sustainable solutions. Fossil fuels contribute to pollution, habitat destruction, and greenhouse gas emissions. Renewable energy offers cleaner alternatives but faces challenges in manufacturing and disposal. Nuclear power has low emissions but poses risks in waste management and radiation. Biomass can be sustainable if responsibly sourced, but unsustainable practices lead to deforestation and emissions. Solutions include renewable technologies, energy efficiency, carbon capture, and sustainable transportation. Effective policies, incentives, and individual actions are crucial for a greener future. This review highlights the urgency of addressing energy-related environmental impacts and offers valuable insights for policymakers and individuals to take decisive actions for a sustainable energy future that protects the environment and promotes well- being.

Peripheral arterial diseases (PAD) are complex cardiovascular conditions influenced by environmental factors and somatic mutations in multiple genes involved in hematopoiesis and inflammation. While traditional risk factors such as smoking, hypercholesterolemia, and hypertension have been extensively studied, the role of somatic mutations in PAD progression remains underexplored. This article aims to provide a comprehensive review of the molecular mechanisms, genetic landscape, prognostic significance, and clinical implications of somatic mutations in PAD. The expansion of clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) clones in the circulating blood, named clonal hematopoiesis (CH), leads to the infiltration of these clones into atherosclerotic plaques and the production of inflammatory cytokines, increasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases including PAD. Furthermore, recent experimental evidence has demonstrated the involvement of somatically mutated TP53 genes with a high variant allele frequency (VAF) in PAD development and prognosis. The review delves into the relationship between CH and PAD, elucidating the prevalence, impact, and underlying mechanisms of this association. This understanding paves the way for novel therapeutic approaches targeting CHIP to promote tissue regeneration and improve outcomes in PAD patients. It emphasizes the need for further re-search to fully unravel the genetic footprint of the disease and highlights potential clinical implications. The findings presented in this article lay the foundation for personalized medicine approaches and open avenues for the development of targeted therapies based on somatic mutation profiling.

.Maize cultivation in Thailand faces challenges owing to climate change and soil organic carbon (SOC) loss. This highlights the importance of comparing maize soil with paddy soil in terms of the role of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nutrient availability, as they influence SOC content. Soil samples from Chiang Mai province, primarily Fluvisol, were collected for the cultivation of paddy rice and maize, analysed for carbon fractions and chemical properties, and categorised into layers. Comparative analysis revealed that maize soils had lower levels of labile carbon components and organic carbon than paddy soils (P

Forest ecosystems make a greater contribution to carbon (C) stocks than any other terrestrial ecosystem. To understand the role of regional forest ecosystems in global climate change and carbon exchange, forest C stock and its spatial distribution within the small (2,300 km2) Liuxihe River basin were analyzed to determine the different contributors to the C stock. Forest C stocks were quantified by measuring the biomass of trees, understory vegetation, litter and roots, as well as soil organic C, using data from field samples and laboratory experiments. The results showed that forests stored 38.04 Tg C in the entire basin, with secondary and planted forests accounting for 89.82% and 10.18%, respectively, of the stored C. Five types of forests, a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest, a subtropical coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest, a subtropical coniferous forest, a timber forest, and a non-wood forest, stored 257.55 ± 15.01, 218.92 ± 9.59, 195.24 ± 18.29, 177.42 ± 17.55, and 117.86 ± 6.04 Mg C ha−1, respectively. In the forest ecosystem C stocks of the basin, soils averagely contribute about 73.78%, not including root underground biomass. It provides a comprehensive method for forest ecosystem carbon investigation and forest management in small basin scale.

When asked to estimate the carbon footprint of a bundle of relatively low carbon footprint items and relatively high carbon footprint items, people typically report a lower value compared to estimating the high carbon footprint items alone. This finding is called the negative footprint illusion and suggests people report the average rather than sum of the combined items’ carbon footprint. In a recent paper by Gorissen et al. (2024), the authors claimed that people are immune to this illusion if the question is framed differently. Specifically, they found that estimates of the environmental friendliness of a set comprising a burger (high carbon footprint) and an organic apple (low carbon footprint) was higher than for a set comprising the burger alone, whereas no difference was found between the two sets when participants were asked to estimate how environmentally damaging they were. Using larger item categories wherein the degree of the items’ environmental impact is clearly communicated, here we show it does not matter whether participants are required to estimate how friendly or damaging the items are. The roles of attribute substitution, dependent variables, and independent variables (stimulus characteristics) in modulating the negative footprint illusion is discussed.

The long-term use of fertilizers and pesticides in conventional cultivation has resulted in a decrease in soil productivity and vegetable yields in greenhouses. However, only a limited number of studies have explored the impacts of organic cultivation on greenhouse soil. Specifically, there is a scarcity of research examining the alterations in soil aggregate mediated organic carbon and microbial communities, which are known to enhance soil productivity. This study investigated the properties of soil aggregates, including the levels of organic carbon fractions, microbial community, and enzyme activity with the three aggregate classes microaggregates (<0.25 mm), small macroaggregates (2-0.25 mm) and large macroaggregates (>2 mm). These investigations were conducted under three different cultivation methods in a greenhouse: conventional cultivation (CC), integrated cultivation (IC), and organic cultivation (OC) in greenhouse. The results showed that (1) OC and IC promoted the formation of small macro-aggregates and enhanced aggregate stability compared to CC, (2) SOC in the three size fractions of OC increased by 98.99%-92.06% compared to CC; EOC increased by 98.47%-117.59%; POC increased by 138.59%-208.70%; MBC increased by 104.71%-230.61%; DOC increased by 21.93%-40.90%, respectively; (3) Organic cultivation significantly increased enzyme activity in all three particle size aggregates and increased the relative abundance of bacteria in micro-aggregates as well as the relative abundance of fungi in small macro-aggregates. Structural equation model (SEM) analysis revealed that organic farming practices fostered the development of smaller macro-aggregates, elevated microbial and enzyme activities within soil aggregates, and facilitated the conversion of soil nutrients and carbon sequestration. consequently, this led to an increase in soil organic carbon content and improved vegetable yield in greenhouse environments. In conclusion, the soil carbon content and vegetable yield are enhanced through long-term organic cultivation in greenhouses, primarily by increasing the proportion of small macro-aggregates.

There are four commercial pathways to make grill charcoal from wood. These have been modelled to calculate a carbon intensity (CI) for each. Results are presented along with discussion of the sensitivities: biogenic carbon; quality of the charcoal; classification of products, wastes and residues; and division of burden. Grill charcoal’s CI ranges greatly, depending on the pathway by which it is produced. Wood distillation, a commercial process that once was common but now is rare, has a CI 50+% lower than that of the next-lowest commercial process, Kilns. Earth mounds/pits and external-fuelled Retorts have CIs considerably higher still. The carbon efficiency (CE) of Wood distillation is more than twice that of the next-best, again Kilns. CE is defined as normalised, total carbon emitted. This is not the same as CI, it is not usually considered in studies such as this, yet it is important for climate impact. CE could be a useful measure in assessments (such as this) where biogenic carbon is significant.

Using a detailed atmospheric radiative transfer model, we derive macroscopic relationships of downwelling and outgoing longwave radiation, useful for hydrological practice. We validate them using empirical formulae based on downwelling radiation data, which are in common use in hydrology, as well as satellite data for the outgoing radiation. We use the macroscopic relationships to infer the relative importance of carbon dioxide and water vapour in the greenhouse effect. The results show that the contribution of the former is 4% – 5%, while water and clouds dominate with a contribution of 87% – 95%. The minor effect of carbon dioxide is also confirmed by the small, non-discernible effect of the recent escalation of atmospheric CO2 concentration from 300 to 420 ppm, which is quantified at 0.5% for both downwelling and outgoing radiation. Water and clouds also perform other important functions in climate, such as regulating the heat storage and the albedo, as well as cooling the Earth’s surface though latent heat transfer, with a contribution of 50%. By confirming the major role of water on climate, these results suggest that hydrology should have a more prominent and more active role in climate research.

In this paper, carbon nanotubes modified screen-printed electrode (CNTs/SPE) was prepared and the CNTs/SPE was employed for the electrochemical determination of antioxidant substance Chlorogenic acids (CGAs). A pair of well-defined redox peak of CGA was observed at the CNTs/SPE in 0.10 mol∙L^-1 acetic acid-sodium acetate buffer (pH 6.2) and electrode process is adsorption-controlled. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) method for the determination of CGA were proposed based on the CNTs/SPE. Under the optimal conditions, the proposed method exhibited linear ranges from 4.73×10^-7 to 4.45×10^-5 mol∙L^-1, the linear regression equation was Ipa(µA) = 4.1993 C (mol∙L^-1)+1.1039 (r = 0.9976) and the detection limit for CGA could reach 3.25×10^-6 mol∙L^-1. The recovery of matrine was 94.74~106.65% (RSD = 2.92%) in coffe beans. The proposed method is quick, sensitive, reliable, and can be used for the determination of CGA.

Human footprint is having a unique set of ridges unmatched by any other human being, and therefore it can be used in different identity documents for example birth certificate, Indian biometric identification system AADHAR card, driving license, PAN card, and passport. There are many instances of the crime scene where an accused must walk around and left the footwear impressions as well as barefoot prints and therefore it is very crucial to recovering the footprints to identify the criminals. Footprint-based biometric is a considerably newer technique for personal identification. Fingerprints, retina, iris and face recognition are the methods most useful for attendance record of the person. This time world is facing the problem of global terrorism. It is challenging to identify the terrorist because they are living as regular as the citizens do. Their soft target includes the industries of special interests such as defense, silicon and nanotechnology chip manufacturing units, pharmacy sectors. They pretend themselves as religious persons, so temples and other holy places, even in markets is in their targets. These are the places where one can obtain their footprints easily. The gait itself is sufficient to predict the behaviour of the suspects. The present research is driven to identify the usefulness of footprint and gait as an alternative to personal identification.

Carbon (C) is one of the most abundant elements. It is part of all living organisms and is found in all states of matter (solid, liquid, gas, and plasma). It can take the form of one of the hardest and transparent materials (diamond) or it can be flexible and dark ( graphite), with many carbonaceous materials at both extremes. In gaseous form, C is a component of several greenhouse gas emitted during the combustion of fossil fuels. Carbon movement between the atmosphere, land (biosphere and lithosphere), and ocean (hydrosphere) can alter total amounts in each pool. Human activities accelerate C movement into the atmosphere, causing increases in climate change. This shift from terrestrial and oceanic C pools to the atmosphere cause an increase in the intensity and duration of droughts, hurricanes, snowstorms, and other natural phenomenon. Although society hears about C emissions there is a lack of understanding of its importance and the need to decrease C in the atmospheric pool to avoid exacerbating climate change. Forests and biochar are two biological methods to retain C in the terrestrial pool for long time and at very low cost. This review details where C comes from, its relationship with forests, and biochar and their roles in increasing carbon sequestration to limit the impacts of climate change and continue having future sustainable forests and ecosystems services that we enjoy today.

The questions on who is entitled to benefit from REDD+ transactions remains one of the most controversially debated issues around cooperative efforts to reduce deforestation in developing countries. REDD+ has been conceived as international framework for voluntary efforts of developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance carbon removals from forest activities. Designed as international framework under the UNFCCC that calculates emission reductions and removals (ERRs) at the national -and as an interim step on the subnational level – REDD+ is primarily a creature of international law. However, in defining forest-carbon ERRs the international framework competes with national emission trading systems and domestic REDD+ legislation as well as private standards that define units traded on the voluntary carbon market. The definition of various carbon units is closely linked to the question on who is entitled to participate in REDD+ and benefit from the sale of ERRs under results-based payment schemes or carbon market transactions. This paper applies a legal lens to the various claims to participate in REDD+ transactions. It tries to disentangle the various rights to ERRs, various carbon credits, and payments that come with REDD+ and that almost always create confusion and not seldom conflict around REDD+ implementation. The definition of carbon rights and the legal nature of carbon credits depends on local law and differs between countries. However, there are a number of legal considerations that apply and certain underlying concepts are relevant for the understanding of REDD+ transactions and the allocation of benefits and burdens of conservation activities.

Climate change has become a major concern for developing countries given the risk that it posses on energy and food independence, and on general productivity. Despite having an energy system with low carbon intensity when compared to other Latin American countries, Colombia is already facing climate change impacts and requires urgent efforts to mitigate them. As a developing country, the challenge is bigger as policies for economic growth should be in line with the global commitment of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. With the aim of contributing to the design of climate policies, this study assesses the impact of economic development on the environment by examining the validity of the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis for Colombia. Statistically validated and stable autoregressive distributed lag models are estimated for three different environmental indicators: carbon dioxide emissions, methane emissions, and ecological footprint. Moreover, the effects of other variables such as urbanization, foreign direct investment, value added of agricultural and industrial sectors, and energy use are analyzed with dynamic simulations. Empirical evidence supports a long-run equilibrium relationship among investigated variables and the existence of an inverted U-shaped EKC relationship between Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and methane emissions, and GDP and ecological footprint. Shifting to renewable energy sources and leveraging the use of cleaner technologies in agricultural and industrial sectors are found to be key for economic growth without harming the environment.

We studied peat stratigraphy at the Mukhrino peatland, which is a typical ombrotrophic bog for the middle taiga zone of Western Siberia, to gain insights about its history, hydrology and carbon fluxes. Seven cores were collected from locations chosen to represent the typical present-day vegetation types, for dating of separated dissolved (DOC) and particulate (POC) organic carbon fractions using the Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (AMS) radiocarbon ($^{14}$C) method. The oldest peat was found at the bottoms of an underlying lake (10,053 cal. year BP) and an ancient riverbed (10,989 cal. year BP). For the whole history of the peatland the average peat accumulation rate was estimated to be 0.067±0.018 cm yr-1 (0.013-0.332 cm yr-1) and the carbon accumulation rate was 38.56±12.21 g m-2yr-1 (28.46–57.91 g m-2 yr-1). There were clear age differences between the separated samples of DOC and POC. DOC was older than POC in the uppermost 150 cm of the peat deposit, and younger in the deeper layers. The difference in age increased with depth, reaching 2,000–3,000 years at the bottom of the peat deposit (depth 430--530 cm). Following consideration of a range of factors that could potentially cause the dating discrepancy, we hypothesised that DOC continuously moves down into the mineral sediment beneath the peat, as an additional carbon flux that results in mixing of younger and older carbon. On this basis we estimated the apparent rate of DOC downward movement and the associated rate of carbon loss. The first estimate of the average rate of DOC downward movement in Western Siberia is 0.047±0.019 cm yr-1.

Imperfection sensitivity of large amplitude vibration of curved single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is considered in this study. The SWCNT is modeled as a Timoshenko nano-beam and its curved shape is included as an initial geometric imperfection term in the displacement field. Geometric nonlinearities of von Kármán type and nonlocal elasticity theory of Eringen are employed to derive governing equations of motion of nano-beam. Spatial discretization of governing equations and associated boundary conditions is performed using differential quadrature (DQ) method and the corresponding nonlinear eigenvalue problem is iteratively solved. Effects of value and location of the geometric imperfection, and the nonlocal small-scale parameter on the nonlinear frequency ratio and imperfection sensitivity of a curved SWCNT for various boundary conditions are investigated. The results show that the geometric imperfection plays a significant role in the nonlinear vibration characteristics of curved SWCNTs.

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) stands as a pivotal technological stride toward a sustainable future, with the practice of injecting supercritical CO2 into subsurface formations having already been an established practice for enhanced oil recovery operations. The overarching objective of CCS is to protract the operational viability and sustainability of platforms and oilfields, thereby facilitating a seamless transition towards sustainable practices. This study introduces a comprehensive framework for optimizing well placements in CCS operations, employing a derivative-free method known as Bayesian optimization. The development plan is tailored for scenarios featuring aquifers devoid of flow boundaries, incorporating production wells tasked with controlling pressure buildup and injection wells dedicated to CO2 sequestration. Notably, the wells operate under group control, signifying predefined injection and production targets and constraints that must be adhered to throughout the project’s lifespan. As a result, the objective function remains invariant under specific permutations of the well locations. Our investigation delves into the efficacy of Bayesian optimization under the introduced permutation invariance. The results reveal that it demonstrates critical efficiency in handling the optimization task extremely fast. In essence, this study advocates for the efficacy of Bayesian optimization in the context of optimizing well placements for CCS operations, emphasizing its potential as a preferred methodology for enhancing sustainability in the energy sector.

It is important to realize the transformation behavior of wüstite because it greatly affects the final structure of the oxide layer and the surface quality of the steel products. In the present study, the transformation behaviors of the wüstite layer are examined under nearly-oxygen-free conditions, to simulate the cooling processes after the hot rolled strip is coiled. As the single phase wüstite was prepared at 950˚C, the 460˚C transformed oxide layer was composed of a mixture of iron and magnetite formed through eutectoid reactions. For the 750˚C-fabricated wüstite, only magnetite was observed after transformation, without iron precipitates and residual wüstite. It is speculated that the unusual transformation behavior of the low-temperature-made wüstite results from the pseudo-structural intermediate phase transformation between wüstite and magnetite. This pseudo-structure is a pre-transformed wüstite and of various concentration of ferrous ion, which is determined by the fabrication conditions. During the hot strip mill process, the so-called wet scale, wüstite, is produced continuously from finish mill to laminar flow sections and ended at 570˚C. Consequently, the final eutectoid transformation below 570˚C is dominantly controlled by the surface temperature ranged from 750˚C to 950˚C for low carbon steel.

Carbon farming is a capable strategy for more sustainable production of food and other related products. It seeks to produce the diverse array of natural farming methods and marketable products simultaneously. In agroforestry system, carbon sequestration is done by incorporating carbon dioxide (CO2) into plant biomass via photosynthesis. Carbon is, thus, stored in reserves of above-ground biomass, such as timber or branches, and below-ground biomass such as roots, or organic carbon in the soil. In addition to the significance of carbon sequestration in climate change mitigation, soil organic carbon (SOC) is an imperative indicator for the soil health as well as fertility. The change in SOC can explain whether the land use pattern degrades or improves the soil fertility. SOC, found in the soil in the form of soil organic matter (SOM), helps to improve soil health either directly or indirectly. Its direct consequence is related to the process of mineralization. Further, agroforestry is highly capable of generating huge amounts of bio-mass. In fact, agroforestry is believed to be particularly suitable for replenishment of SOC. Therefore, efforts should be made to convince farmers for their resource-use efficiency and soil conserving ability in order to get maximum benefits out of agriculture. According to food and agriculture organization (FAO,) agriculture, forestry, and other land use practices account for 24% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and total global livestock emissions of 7.1 gigatons of CO2-equivalent per year, representing 14.5% of total anthropogenic GHG emissions. Agroforestry system that deliberately integrates trees and crops with livestock in the agricultural production could potentially increase carbon sequestration and decrease GHG emission from the terrestrial ecosystems, thus, helping in global climatic change mitigation. This study, therefore, aimed at clarification about carbon farming, modifications in carbon cycle and carbon sequestration during agricultural development in addition to benefits of agroforestry.

Graph theory plays a crucial role in modeling and designing of chemical structure or chemical network. Chemical Graph theory helps to understand the molecular structure of molecular graph. The molecular graph consists of atoms as vertices and bonds as edges. Topological indices capture symmetry of molecular structures and give it a mathematical language to predict properties such as boiling points, viscosity, the radius of gyrations etc. In this article, we study the chemical graph of carbon Crystal structure of graphite and cubic carbon and compute several degree-based topological indices. Firstly we compute M-Polynomials of these structures and then from these M-polynomials we recover nine degree-based topological indices.

The amount and spatial distribution of foliage in a tree canopy have fundamental functions in ecosystems as they affect energy and mass fluxes through photosynthesis and transpiration. They are usually described by the Leaf Area Index (LAI) and the Leaf Area Density (LAD), which can be measured through a variety of methods, including voxel-based methods applied to LiDAR point clouds. A theoretical study recently compared the numerical errors arising from different voxel-based estimation methods for Plant Area Density (PAD) based on Beer’s law-based, contact frequency and Maximum-Likelihood Estimation, showing that the bias-corrected Maximum Likelihood Estimator was theoretically the most efficient. However, this earlier study i) ignored wood volumes; ii) neglected vegetation clumping inside the voxel; iii) ignored instrument characteristics in terms of effective footprint, iv) was limited to a single viewpoint. In practice, retrieving LAD from PAD is not straightforward, vegetation is not randomly distributed in volumes of interest, beams are divergent and forestry plots are usually sampled from more than one viewpoint, to mitigate the effect of occlusion. In the present short communication, we extend the previous efficient formulation to actual field conditions to i) account for the presence of both wood volumes and wood hits, ii) rigorously include correction terms for vegetation and instrument characteristics, iii) integrate multiview data. A numerical comparison with other methods commonly used to combine information from different viewpoints led to error reduction, especially in poorly-explored volumes, which are frequent in actual canopies. Beyond its concision, completeness and efficiency, this new formulation -which can be applied to multiview TLS, but also UAV LiDAR scanning - can help reducing errors in LAD estimation.

The rapid development of China’s textile industry leads to consumption and pollution of large volumes of water. Therefore, the textile industry has been the focus of water conservation and waste reduction in China’s 13th Five-Year Plan (2016–2020). The premise of sustainable development is to achieve decoupling of economic growth from water consumption and wastewater discharge. In this work, changes in blue water (water consumption), grey water (water pollutants), and water footprints of the textile industry from 2001 to 2014 were calculated. The relationship between water footprint and economic growth was then examined using the Tapio decoupling model. Furthermore, factors influencing water footprint were determined through logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method. Results show that the water footprint of China’s textile industry has strongly decoupled for five years (2002, 2006, 2008, 2011, and 2013) and weakly decoupled for four years (2002, 2007, 2009, and 2010). A decoupling trend occurred during 2001–2014, but a steady stage of decoupling has not been achieved yet. Based on the decomposition analysis, the total water footprint is mainly increased by production scale and inhibited by the technology. In addition, the effect of industrial structure adjustment is relatively weak.

Building on the carbon reduction targets agreed in the Paris Agreements, many nations have renewed their efforts toward achieving carbon neutrality by the year 2050. In line with this ambitious goal, nations are seeking to understand the appropriate combination of technologies which will enable the required reductions in such a way that they are appealing to investors. Around the globe, solar and wind power lead in terms of renewable energy deployment, while carbon capture and storage (CCS) is scaling up toward making a significant contribution to deep carbon cuts. Using Japan as a case study nation, this research proposes a linear optimization modeling approach to identify the potential contributions of renewables and CCS toward maximizing carbon reduction and identifying their economic merits over time. Results identify that the combination of these three technologies could enable a carbon dioxide emission reduction of between 55 and 67 percent in the energy sector by 2050 depending on resilience levels and CCS deployment regimes. Further reductions are likely to emerge with increased carbon pricing over time. The findings provide insights for energy system design, energy policy making and investment in carbon reducing technologies which underpin significant carbon reductions, while identifying potential regional social co-benefits.

The expansion of food production is getting more important due to a rising world population, which is relying on food security on a regional and local scale. Intensive food production systems create a negative impact on the regional ecosystem because of agrochemical pollution and nutrient rich water discharges into nearby rivers. Furthermore, these systems are highly depending on regional water resources causing water scarcity and soil erosion due to the overexploitation of natural resources in general. The objective of this article is to review the water usage in the two most water intensive food production systems, agriculture and aquaculture showing lacking areas, like system management and climate change, which must be considered in the implementation of sustainable water footprint. In addition, the review includes an analysis if the combination of both production system into aquaponic food production and the possibilities of water saving. There are a variety of water footprint analyses for crop and aquatic animal production, but there is also a lack of information about the system management including irrigation systems, system cleaning processes, water substitution, pond removal, evaporation due to climate change and especially in aquaculture, the water footprint of industrial elaborated fish feed.

Many corporations aspire to become Net Zero Carbon Dioxide by 2030-2050. This paper examines what it will take. It requires understanding where energy is produced and consumed, the magnitude of CO2 generation, and the Carbon Cycle. Reviews are provided for prior technologies for reducing CO2 emissions from fossil to focus on their limitations and to show that none offer a complete solution. Both biofuels and CO2 sequestration reduce future CO2 emissions from fossil fuels. They will not remove CO2 already in the atmosphere. Planting trees has been proposed as one solution. Trees are a temporary solution. When they die, they decompose and release their carbon as CO2 to the atmosphere. The only way to permanently remove CO2 already in the atmosphere is to break the Carbon Cycle by growing biomass from atmospheric CO2 and sequestering biomass carbon. Permanent sequestration of leaves is proposed as a solution. Leaves have a short Carbon Cycle time constant. They renew and decompose every year. Theoretically, sequestrating a fraction of the world’s tree leaves can get the world to Net Zero without disturbing the underlying forests. This would be CO2 capture in its simplest and most natural form. Permanent sequestration may be achieved by redesigning landfills to discourage decomposition. In traditional landfills, waste undergoes several stages of decomposition, including rapid initial aerobic decomposition to CO2, followed by slow anaerobic decomposition to methane and CO2. The latter can take hundreds to thousands of years. Understanding landfill chemistry provides clues to disrupting decomposition at each phase.

Carbon dioxide (CO2), a major greenhouse gas, capture and separation has recently become a crucial technological solution to reduce atmospheric emissions from fossil fuel burning. Thereafter, many efforts have been put forwarded to reduce the burden on climate change by capturing and separating them especially from larger power plants by the utilization of different technologies. Those technologies have often suffered from high operating cost and huge energy consumption. On right side, physical process such as adsorption is very cost effective process which have been widely used to adsorb different contaminants including CO2. Henceforth, this review covers the overall efficacies of CO2 capture by the utilization of carbon based materials through adsorption technology. Subsequently, we also address the associated challenges and future opportunities of carbon based materials (CBMs). For CO2 capture, it was found that CBMs followed the order of carbon nanomaterials (i.e., graphene, graphene oxides, carbon nanotubes and their composites) < mesoporous -microporous or hierarchical porous carbons < biochar and activated biochar < activated carbons.

Savannas and adjacent vegetation types like gallery forests are highly valuable ecosystems contributing to several ecosystem services including carbon budgeting. Financial mechanisms such as REDD+ have provided an opportunity for developing countries to alleviate poverty through conservation of its forestry resources. For availing this opportunity carbon stock assessments are essential. Therefore, a research study at two protected areas i.e. Nazinga Game Ranch and Bontioli Nature Reserve, in Burkina Faso was conducted with the objective of assessing carbon Mg C ha-1 in aboveground biomass (AGB)dry of trees in different formations of the south-sudanian savanna in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Similarly analysis of various vegetation parameters was also conducted to understand the overall vegetation structure of these two protected areas. For estimating AGBdry, existing allometric equation for dry tropical woody vegetation types was used. The Importance Value Index (IVI) and Family Importance Value (FIV) were estimated through standard procedures. Various linear and non-linear regression analyses were conducted to test the relationships between carbon and other parameters such as DBH, height and basal area (BA). The results showed that both sites collectively contain mean carbon of 3.41 ± 4.98 Mg C ha-1. Amongst different vegetation types, gallery forests recorded the highest mean carbon of 9.38 ± 6.90 Mg C ha-1. The highest IVI of 115.56 at Nazinga Game Ranch was recorded for Anogeissus leiocarpa. Similarly, highest IVI of 98.59 was recorded for Mitragyna inermis at Bontioli Nature Reserve. The highest FIV was recorded for Combretaceae for both of the sites. To our knowledge, this was the first study conducted to assess the carbon stocks at the two protected areas in southern Burkina Faso. The study therefore was an attempt for addressing the knowledge gap particularly on carbon stocks of protected savannas. It could serve as a baseline for carbon stocks for future initiatives such as payment for environmental services and REDD+ at these areas.

In this study, the mechanical and piezoresistive properties of mortars reinforced with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and carbon micro fibers (CMFs) are determined. Silica fume as well as a polymer with polyalkylene glycol graft chains were used as dispersant agents for the CNTs and CMFs incorporation into the cement paste. The mechanical properties of the mortar composites were investigated in respect to their flexural and compressive strength. A four-probe method was used for the estimation of their piezoresistive response. The test outcomes revealed that the combination of the dispersant agents along with a low content of CNTs and CMF by weight of cement (bwoc) result in the production of a stronger mortar with enhanced mechanical performance and durability. More specifically, there was an increase in flexural and compressive strength up to 38% and 88%, respectively. Moreover, the piezoresistive response of the reinforced cementitious materials was attributed to the variation of electrical resistivity due to tunneling transport of electrons stemming from two different mechanisms due to the incorporation of the conductive admixtures (CNTs and CMF). This work aims to contribute to the progress acceleration in the field of developing structural materials with self-sensing and electrical actuation related properties.

Radiotherapy using accelerated charged particles is rapidly growing worldwide. About 85% of the cancer patients receiving particle therapy is irradiated with protons, which have physical advantages compared to X-rays but similar biological response. In addition to the ballistic advantages, heavy ions present specific radiobiological features that can make them attractive for treating radioresistant, hypoxic tumors. An ideal heavy ion should have lower toxicity in the entrance channel (normal tissue), and being exquisitely effective in the target region (tumor). Carbon ions have been chosen because they represent the best combination in this direction. Normal tissue toxicities and second cancer risk are similar to those observed in conventional radiotherapy. In the target region, they have increased relative biological effectiveness and reduced oxygen enhancement ratio compared to X-rays. Some radiobiology properties of densely ionizing carbon ions are so distinct from X-rays and protons that they can be considered as a different “drug” in oncology, and may elicit favorable responses such as increased immune response and reduced angiogenesis and metastatic potential. The radiobiological properties of carbon ions should guide patient selection and treatment protocols to achieve optimal clinical results.