Economic impacts of soil fertility degradation by traces of iron from drinking water treatment
TL;DR: The most common drinking water clarification technology worldwide is based on precipitation using the floccules of iron(III) oxide-hydroxide FeO(OH) and the coagulation sludge obtained is usually mixed with biowaste and composted as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The most common drinking water clarification technology worldwide is based on precipitation using the floccules of iron(III) oxide-hydroxide FeO(OH). The coagulation sludge obtained is usually mixed with biowaste and composted. Inexperienced farmers are interested in these composts, in the expectation that the smallest fractions of the precipitated organic matter together with the colloidal particles of clay captured during the clarification process might increase the level of soil organic matter as well as cation-exchange capacity (CEC) of soil and increase crop yields. Nevertheless, those who have used these composts observed that plants on treated soil show signs of phosphorus (P) insufficiency, despite having been fertilized appropriately. It has been published recently that the traces of iron (Fe) from the FeO(OH) turn the soil P into Fe phosphates (FeP), which makes P not readily available to agricultural plants. A 6-year field-scale experiment was carried out and was accompanied by robust analyses on soils and yields. It was confirmed that the traces of Fe from the coagulation sludge worsen the availability of soil P to plants. However, for the first time, evidence has been obtained concerning the fact that the Fe also damages the efficiency of P fertilizers applied afterward. A questionnaire was conducted among drinking water treatment plant operators and regulators to identify a reason why similar practices have not been banned yet. The results showed a growing awareness of the issue among experts, but politicians seem to prefer putting off unpopular measures. We recommend abandoning the application of these composts onto arable land and the revitalization of the affected fields using biochar activated by calcium and aluminum phosphates (CaP and AlP) so that the problem is not delayed to such an extent that its solution would become a problem for future generations.
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TL;DR: In this article, the United Nations estimates the rate of deforestation over 10 million hectares per year, with additional infested wood available due to drought, bark beetle calamity and other damage vectors.
69 citations
TL;DR: In this article , the authors discuss the potential of hydrogen and algae biodiesel as a promising substitute for conventional fossil fuels, but they do not address the technical barriers in scaling up commercial-scale algae production.
38 citations
TL;DR: In this paper , the differences in field measurements of vernacular houses in coastal and mountain areas in Indonesia were analyzed using a combination of graphic and descriptive methods, showing that the location difference between coast and mountain results in a relatively high difference in temperature (43.6%).
Abstract: Temperature and humidity are essential factors in analyzing a building’s thermal performance. This research presents the differences in field measurements of vernacular houses in coastal and mountain areas in Indonesia. Field measurements were taken for five consecutive days in four vernacular houses. The variables were measured at the beginning and at the peak of the rainy season. Analysis included a combination of graphic and descriptive methods. The research results show that the location difference between coast and mountain results in a relatively high difference in temperature (43.6%). The outdoor temperature in the mountain area is lower than that of the coastal area. The outdoor humidity of the mountain area is 0.69% higher than that of the coastal area. In the tropical coastal area, the outdoor temperature of the exposed-brick house is 0.94% lower than that of the coastal wooden house. The outdoor air humidity of the brick house is 0.89% higher than that of the coastal wooden house. In the tropical mountain area, the outdoor temperature of the exposed-stone house is 2.47% lower than that of the wooden house. The outdoor air humidity of the stone house is 0.4% lower than that of the wooden house. The outdoor conditions affect the indoor conditions of the respective houses. These microclimatic differences are influenced by micro-environmental factors, such as the density of surrounding buildings, amount of vegetation, and shading. The research shows that height difference is the most dominant factor influencing outdoor microclimate. Regional microclimate becomes the basis for determining the most suitable envelope materials in different areas. The innovative contribution of the work is, among other benefits, the identification of factors that influence the wellbeing of the buildings’ users in the researched geographical area and the analysis of the interaction of the external and internal environment of buildings. From the above facts, it follows that the results of this work can contribute to the development of prediction models to determine the type of cover, material, shape, and load-bearing elements needed to create comfortable and energy-efficient buildings.
11 citations
TL;DR: Zhang et al. as mentioned in this paper used OLS and GTWR models to explore the complex mechanism of interaction between industrial agglomeration externalities and urban land use efficiency, especially the spatiotemporal non-stationary characteristics.
Abstract: All over the world, Industrial agglomeration has become a key to improve the efficiency of urban land use and regulate the process of urbanization. Industrial agglomeration, as a universal economic geographical phenomenon, has been extensively studied, but few scholars have discussed the relationship between industrial agglomeration and urban land use efficiency. Based on this, after classifying the type of agglomeration externalities, our study uses OLS and GTWR models to explore the complex mechanism of interaction between industrial agglomeration externalities and urban land use efficiency, especially the spatiotemporal non-stationary characteristics. We found that the impact of industrial agglomeration externalities on urban land use efficiency is significantly unstable in time and space, and the coexistence, substitution and aging mechanism of agglomeration externalities among different types were also observed. Our research can provide reference for city managers to formulate reasonable industrial policies and enterprises to choose the location. Meanwhile, our research has made some contributions to the academic research on urban land use efficiency.
9 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors demarcate farmers in various categories, according to their perceptions on environmental and climate change issues in the northern part of Bangladesh, using principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA).
Abstract: The implementation of sustainable adaptation strategies (SASs) is crucial to mitigate climate change impact as well as reduce the loss of natural disasters and increase agricultural crop production. However, current policies and programs based on agricultural incentives are mostly inadequate to increase SASs practices at the farm level. Hence, a deeper understanding of farmers’ ‘perceived typologies to the environmental issue and climate change’ is necessary for implementing SASs to enhance farmers’ ability to adapt at the farm level. This research intends to demarcate farmers in various categories, according to their perceptions on environmental and climate change issues in the northern part of Bangladesh. Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) were employed to analyze the survey data collected from 501 households in the study area. Farmers were clustered into three types, ‘Ecocentric’, ‘Worried’, and ‘Anthropocentric’, based on their perceived knowledge regarding environmental issues and climate change, which guides the adoption of SASs. The ‘Worried’ cluster showed a high sense of perceived risk of climate change and a significant positive association with the adoption of SASs. By contrast, ‘Ecocentric’ and ‘Anthropocentric’ groups showed a low sense of awareness of climate change and a significant negative association with the adoption of SASs. The findings can assist policymakers in promoting the adoption of SASs based on the farmers’ cluster and thus enhance their resilience.
6 citations
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TL;DR: The current state-of-the-art of available technologies for water purification are reviewed and their field of application for heavy metal ion removal is discussed, as heavy metal ions are the most harmful and widespread contaminants.
Abstract: Water pollution is a global problem threatening the entire biosphere and affecting the life of many millions of people around the world. Not only is water pollution one of the foremost global risk factors for illness, diseases and death, but it also contributes to the continuous reduction of the available drinkable water worldwide. Delivering valuable solutions, which are easy to implement and affordable, often remains a challenge. Here we review the current state-of-the-art of available technologies for water purification and discuss their field of application for heavy metal ion removal, as heavy metal ions are the most harmful and widespread contaminants. We consider each technology in the context of sustainability, a largely neglected key factor, which may actually play a pivotal role in the implementation of each technology in real applications, and we introduce a compact index, the Ranking Efficiency Product (REP), to evaluate the efficiency and ease of implementation of the various technologies in this broader perspective. Emerging technologies, for which a detailed quantitative analysis and assessment is not yet possible according to this methodology, either due to scarcity or inhomogeneity of data, are discussed in the final part of the manuscript.
838 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a large number of solid adsorbents such as Natural Adsorbents, Agricultural Wastes, Industrial wastes, Biomass, Nanoadsorbents: Carbon based nanomaterials, Nobel metal based nano-materials, Metal oxide based nanomorphs, Spinel ferrite-based nanomological material, Nanocomposites, Dendritic polymers; Geopolymer cement have been discussed for the removal of different pollutants from waste water.
Abstract: There are number of water purification techniques but the adsorption is one of the most simplest, effective and economical method for wastewater purification. In this article a large number of solid adsorbents such as Natural adsorbents, Agricultural Wastes, Industrial wastes, Biomass, Nanoadsorbents: Carbon based nanomaterials, Nobel metal based nanomaterials, Metal oxide based nanomaterials, Spinel ferrite based nanomaterials, Nanocomposites, Dendritic polymers; Geopolymer cement have been discussed for the removal of different pollutants from waste water. Removal of Fluoride, Phosphate, Nitrate and Radionuclides from wastewater has also been reviewed in this article. Adsorption isotherm models, kinetic models, thermodynamic parameters and adsorption mechanism have also been discussed. The present article lists different type of adsorbents and reviews state-of-the-art of the removal of different pollutants from water. The efforts have been made to discuss the sources of contamination and toxicities of pollutants. Adsorption mechanisms responsible for pollutants removal by different adsorbents have been reviewed. Attempts have also been made to point out the advantages and drawbacks of adsorbents and the future research needs in the area of water purification by adsorbents.
581 citations
TL;DR: The recombination zone was well confined inside the emitting layer and the recombination rate was most efficient in a 2CbzTAZ-based OLED, which exhibited the lowest driving voltage and the highest efficiencies.
Abstract: In this study, we demonstrated a blue phosphorescent organic light-emitting diode (BPOLED) based on a host with two carbazole and one trizole (2CbzTAZ) moiety, 9,9′-(2-(4,5-diphenyl-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)-1,3-phenylene)bis(9H-carbazole), that exhibits bipolar transport characteristics. Compared with the devices with a carbazole host (N,N’-dicarbazolyl-3,5-benzene, (mCP)), triazole host (3-(biphenyl-4-yl)-5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-4-phenyl-4H-1,2,4-triazole, (TAZ)), or a physical mixture of mCP:TAZ, which exhibit hole, electron, and bipolar transport characteristics, respectively, the BPOLED with the bipolar 2CbzTAZ host exhibited the lowest driving voltage (6.55 V at 10 mA/cm2), the highest efficiencies (maximum current efficiency of 52.25 cd/A and external quantum efficiency of 23.89%), and the lowest efficiency roll-off, when doped with bis[2-(4,6-difluorophenyl)pyridinato-C2,N](picolinato)iridium(III) (FIrpic) as blue phosphor. From analyses of light leakage of the emission spectra of electroluminescence, transient electroluminescence, and partially doped OLEDs, it was found that the recombination zone was well confined inside the emitting layer and the recombination rate was most efficient in a 2CbzTAZ-based OLED. For the other cases using mCP, TAZ, and mCP:TAZ as hosts, electrons and holes transported with different routes that resulted in carrier accumulation on different organic molecules and lowered the recombination rate.
367 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the Czech Ministry of Environment argues that charcoal is not supported because of its high price per ton and the ecological criteria and price per energy should be also taken into account as analyzed in detail.
Abstract: Limits set by the Kyoto protocol brings Czech Republic billions of EUR from carbon emissions trading. The Ministry of Environment wants to invest the aforementioned revenue into energy savings and other projects like subsidies on the purchase of stoves for solid biofuels in regions with the most polluted air. Surprisingly, charcoal is not supported. Robust analysis of solid biofuels was made according to valid standards and routine chemical procedures. Data shows that there is no reason for charcoal to be rejected. It was confirmed that solid biofuels do not achieve the quality of black coal. The Czech Ministry of Environment argues that charcoal is not supported because of its high price per ton. The ecological criteria and price per energy should be also taken into account as analyzed in detail. Within the discussed ethical context, an improper form of support may affect market in a short term.
296 citations
TL;DR: Robust analysis using conventional bankruptcy prediction tools revealed that the existing models are adaptable to local conditions, particularly local legislation and most of these outdated tools have sufficient capability to warn of impending financial problems several years in advance.
Abstract: Every corporation has an economic and moral responsibility to its stockholders to perform well financially. However, the number of bankruptcies in Slovakia has been growing for several years without an apparent macroeconomic cause. To prevent a rapid denigration and to prevent the outflow of foreign capital, various efforts are being zealously implemented. Robust analysis using conventional bankruptcy prediction tools revealed that the existing models are adaptable to local conditions, particularly local legislation. Furthermore, it was confirmed that most of these outdated tools have sufficient capability to warn of impending financial problems several years in advance. A novel bankruptcy prediction tool that outperforms the conventional models was developed. However, it is increasingly challenging to predict bankruptcy risk as corporations have become more global and more complex and as they have developed sophisticated schemes to hide their actual situations under the guise of "optimization" for tax authorities. Nevertheless, scepticism remains because economic engineers have established bankruptcy as a strategy to limit the liability resulting from court-imposed penalties.
169 citations