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2024 International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
doi: 10.1007/s13762-024-05965-2
The green growth impact of global value chain embedding becomes more complex in the context of digital transformation. Based on partially linear functional-coefficient model, this paper used panel data for 16 Chinese industrial sectors from 2007 to 2020 to assess the impact and underlying mechanisms of global value chain on green total factor productivity considering the moderating role of digitalization. The results revealed that global value chain position and backward participation caused green productivity to decrease, while forward participation had a non-significant effect. As the digitalization level rose, the impact of global value chain position on green productivity changed from negative to positive. Moreover, green productivity was increasingly inhibited by forward participation, but the adverse effects of backward participation gradually subsided. Actually, digitalization boosted green technological progress effects of global value chain position and backward participation, but impeded the technological progress of forward participation, thus affecting green productivity. Therefore, to achieve green growth, China's industrial sector must accelerate the synergistic development of digital transformation and global value chain, and focus on the different impacts of participation modes.
Hazar, H.; Telceken, T.; Sevinc, H.
2024 International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
doi: 10.1007/s13762-024-05979-w
Adopting and maintaining the utilization of alternative fuels in diesel engines depend on lower pollutant emissions and an environmentally friendly fuel. In the present research, exhaust emission and performance parameters of a coated diesel engine running on the hackberry methyl ester (HME) extracted from hackberry seeds were investigated. The engine tests were executed by using a single cylinder, four-stroke diesel engine under a constant load and at different speeds (1800–3000 rpm). The mixtures containing hackberry biodiesel at 20%, 50%, and 100% (vol.) were used in the study. The piston crown and the surface of the valves were coated using a 300-μm thick Chromium (III) oxide layer. Furthermore, engine block temperatures were acquired. It was determined that hydrocarbon (HC), vibration, exhaust gas temperature (EGT), carbon monoxide (CO), and smoke values lowered; whereas, brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), brake thermal efficiency (BTE), and nitrogen oxide (NOX) values increased in HME and its fuel blends when compared to diesel fuel. While lower BSFC, CO, smoke, and HC values were detected in the coated engine, lower NOX, BTE, EGT, and vibration values were observed in the uncoated engine.
A. Maschio, T.; Saavedra, Y. M. B.; Aldaya, I. A.; dos Santos, M. P.; Penchel, R. A.; de Oliveira, J. A.
2024 International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
doi: 10.1007/s13762-024-06015-7
Technological updates in electronic products generate attention to the environmental impacts arising from the life cycle of products. In the telecommunications sector, cables for local area networks (LAN) stand out due to production and consumption on high scales around the world. With each change in product development, these items tend to have their lifetime reduced and, consequently, discards end up being premature several times and without proper treatment and control. This problem, associated with the increased consumption of materials for manufacturing, ends up causing environmental impacts. Propose improvements in the environmental performance of this product is a strategic objective for the telecommunications sector. Before implementing improvements, it is necessary to assess the product’s environmental impacts to make the decision-making process effective and efficient. However, no studies with this data were found in the literature. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was applied to identify and quantify the relevance of the negative environmental impacts in the LAN cable life cycle. From this, data from the Life Cycle Inventory of the product was collected with the support of a multinational company in the telecommunications sector. In a second moment, Ecodesign was applied for the formulation of 5 scenarios that minimized the environmental impacts generated in the production process. The research shows the most beneficial product options for the ecosystem is structured by aluminium and biopolyethylene. We recommend to evaluate whether there are impacts on the technological and economic performance of products resulting from the practical application of the Ecodesign scenarios proposed in this research.
Acevedo-Barrios, R.; Puentes Martínez, D. A.; Hernández Rocha, I. O.; Rubiano-Labrador, C.; De la Parra-Guerra, A. C.; Carranza-López, L.; Monroy-Licht, A.; Leal, M. A.; Tovar, D.
2024 International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
doi: 10.1007/s13762-024-06004-w
Perchlorate (ClO4−), which is a powerful endocrine disruptor affecting iodine fixation in the thyroid gland in humans and in biota, is a pollutant of natural and anthropogenic origin. For this reason, this pollutant must be eliminated from the ecosystems. It has been found in extreme environments such as Antarctica. ClO4− reduction can be achieved with physicochemical treatments in small concentrations and through bacterial degradation. This is a cost-effective method, easy to implement, which makes it a viable method for the removal of perchlorate contamination in ecosystems. This review provides an updated discussion of reducing perchlorate contamination; that includes different perspectives of investigations related to its origin, use, effects on living beings; as well as the technologies used to eliminate this pollutant from the environment; its environmental fate in strategic ecosystems such as Antarctica in particular and astrobiological perspectives.
Ferreira, M. L.; Tormen, G. P.; De Andrade, A. M.
2024 International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
doi: 10.1007/s13762-024-05994-x
The Northwest Minas Gerais is a significant grain-producing region in Brazil. Center pivot irrigation in the region increased by 84% from 2010 to 2020, and records of conflicts over water use have occurred since 2000. This study carries out a hydroclimatic analysis of water resources in the Northwest Minas Gerais, using orbital and field data related to 567 pivots, considering the expansion of the irrigated area in the region over the years, the rainfall regime, and the flow of rivers. The time series of precipitation from 1982 to 2022 and river flows from 1978 to 2015 show a significant decrease in rainfall of up to 14.4% since 2012 and a reduction in river flow in all sub-basins analyzed. Furthermore, there was a 99.4% growth in irrigated areas in the last ten years. Due to this scenario, using outdated information to define water allocation rights can escalate conflicts in the use of water resources in the Northwest Minas Gerais region. The results show the need to implement sustainable and contemporary water use management in the Northwest Minas Gerais region. Implementing effective policies, advocating the efficient use of water in agriculture, and promoting collaboration between various sectors are vital to facing current and future challenges.
Adeniran, O. A.; Salihu, A.; Sallau, A. B.; Ibrahim, S.; Isa, M. T.
2024 International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
doi: 10.1007/s13762-024-05951-8
Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) are products of microbial metabolism that exist as a complex of polymers found outside the cells and interior of cell aggregates. Microorganisms use EPS to protect themselves from toxic environment and this property enables the application of EPS in the treatment of wastewater. Removal of lead (II) and chromium (VI) from simulated wastewater by EPS from Penicillium expansum was studied. Maximum uptake of lead (II) was 773.05 mg/g of EPS, while the maximum uptake of chromium (VI) was found to be 618.75 mg/g of EPS in the simulated wastewater under the same removal conditions of 180 rpm, 90 mg/L EPS, 100 min contact time, 5.0 pH, 40 °C temperature, 120 mg/L initial concentration of lead (II) and 100 mg/L initial concentration of chromium (VI). Thermodynamic analyses gave respective enthalpy values of − 1.093 kJ/mol and − 1.030 kJ/mol for lead (II) and chromium (VI), with corresponding entropy values of 2.673 kJ/mol/K and 1.896 kJ/mol/K, these values indicated that the metal uptake by EPS was exothermic and the process can occur spontaneously. Pseudo-second order was the predominant model in the kinetic studies, having the highest R2 values of 0.997 for lead (II) and 0.992 for chromium (VI) compared to the other studied kinetic models. Out of the 5 adsorption isotherms considered in this study, the removal process by EPS for both lead (II) and chromium (VI) fitted into the 3 models which can be ranked based on the R2 values as Redlich-Peterson, Temkin and Langmuir isotherms. The findings indicate the ability of EPS produced by P. expansum to remove lead (II) and chromium (VI) simultaneously from simulated wastewater which could be due to identical binding sites for both metals with possible involvement of chemical bonds in the stabilization of complexes formed between EPS and Pb2+ or EPS and Cr6.
de Oliveira Neto, G. C.; da Silva, D.; Arns, V. D.; Tucci, H. N. P.; Pinto, L. F. R.; Seri, M. N.
2024 International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
doi: 10.1007/s13762-024-06010-y
The firms from textile sector are increasingly integrating industry 4.0 technologies alongside micro-level circular economy, considering cleaner production to enhance sustainable performance. The objective of this study is to assess the extent to which industry 4.0 technologies fosters circular economy practices at the micro level, considering cleaner production, thereby bolstering sustainable performance within large textile industry located in Brazil. A systematic literature review was developed with the aim of evaluating the relationship between Industry 4.0 Technologies, Circular Economy, Cleaner Production and Performance. To this end, the current state of the art on this subject was identified, however, no exploratory studies were identified. Survey method was employed, complemented by expert analysis to refine the research instrument. Structural equation modeling was utilized for hypothesis testing, alongside Pearson correlation analysis to examine relationships between variables. Findings indicate that the adoption of industry 4.0 technologies within large textile industry located in Brazil has moderately spurred micro-level circular economy initiatives, because a lack of established mechanisms for valorizing residue and restoring the value of products and packaging after consumption. In addition, sustainable performance was not validated because the focus was only on environmental and economic performance aimed at supplying the foreign market and moderately influenced social performance. Another result showed that the cloud computing, cybersecurity systems, and additive manufacturing did not stimulate micro-level circular economy actions and performance. On the other hand, the industry 4.0 technologies that boosted micro-level circular economy and performance were cyber physical system, autonomous robots, augmented reality, big data analytics, simulation, artificial intelligence and the internet of things.
Colvero, D. A.; Pfeiffer, S. C.; Ramalho, J. C. M.; do Nascimento, A. A.; de Lima, A. C. A.
2024 International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
doi: 10.1007/s13762-024-06003-x
Even though when the COVID-19 pandemic started, in 2020, the urban cleaning and solid waste management services were not disrupted in Goiânia, Brazil, they were directly affected by social distancing measures. Therefore, the goal of this study was to determine the environmental impacts of municipal solid waste management in the municipality of Goiânia, through life cycle assessment. For this purpose, quantitative data was requested to Companhia de Urbanização de Goiânia regarding waste collection (commingled and source-separated) and final disposal in the unlicensed landfill of Goiânia, between 2016 and 2020. To quantify the environmental impacts, six different scenarios were assessed with EASETECH, a specific life cycle assessment tool for waste, using 12 impact categories. Comparing the data of 2020 with 2019, commingled collection increased 2.2%, while source-separated collection decreased 7.6% than in 2019, mainly due to the changes in eating habits and lifestyle imposed by the pandemic. Concerning environmental impacts, the results indicated that scenario 2, which has the lowest of potentially recyclable waste diversions and relies on an unlicensed landfill, has presented the worst environmental result. Conversely, only by replacing the unlicensed landfill with a licensed one, reduces the environmental impacts between 68.5% and 75%. And when the amount of recycling was gradually increased in Scenario 6, the reduction in environmental impacts exceeded 84%.
Poznanović Spahić, M.; Gulan, A.; Sakan, S.; Tančić, P.; Spahić, D.; Glavaš-Trbić, B.
2024 International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
doi: 10.1007/s13762-024-05978-x
This composite study presents detailed instructions on the applicability of the results of a sequential extraction method (SE), coupled with statistical analyses, a Secondary Phase Enrichment Factor (Kspef), risk assessment indices, and, for the first time, the Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA). The study gives important data on the current risk of mobility of the elements and the methodology of appropriate measures before establishing an effective mitigation strategy and predicting the risk of mobility after changing environmental conditions, such as the harmful effects of ongoing climate change. The combination of techniques is used to assess the origin and contamination level of potentially toxic elements in the roadside agricultural soil impacted by traffic at Highway E75 (Serbia). The results show that B, Ni, Co, V, Ba, Cr, As, and Mo at most localities are of natural origin, sourced by a protracted decomposition of the geological matrix. Cu, Zn, Pb, Hg, Sb, and Cd have natural and anthropogenic origins (traffic and agricultural activities). Ba has the highest bio/geoavailability and belongs to the group of elements with a higher environmental risk. Groups with a moderate environmental risk include the elements As, Cd, Co, Ni, and V. A moderate to high-risk level of contamination of the soils with Pb, Cu, Zn, Sb, and Hg is documented exclusively at particular localities. The results of SE, coupled with the CIA coefficient, are applicable to predict the processes of chemical alteration of the mineral components of soils, including evaluating a degree of natural soil contamination.
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