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Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) play an important role in the formation of ground-level ozone and secondary organic aerosol (SOA), and they have been key issues in current air pollution prevention and control in China. Considerable attention has been paid to industrial activities due to their large and relatively complex VOCs emissions. The present research aims to provide a comprehensive review on whole-process control of industrial VOCs, which mainly includes source reduction, collection enhancement and end-pipe treatments. Lower VOCs materials including water-borne ones are the keys to source substitution in industries related to coating and solvent usage, leak detection and repair (LDAR) should be regarded as an efficient means of source reduction in refining, petrochemical and other chemical industries. Several types of VOCs collection methods such as gas-collecting hoods, airtight partitions and others are discussed, and airtight collection at negative pressure yields the best collection efficiency. Current end-pipe treatments like UV oxidation, low-temperature plasma, activated carbon adsorption, combustion, biodegradation, and adsorption-combustion are discussed in detail. Finally, several recommendations are made for future advanced treatment and policy development in industrial VOCs emission control. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pentachlorophenol (PCP) - cadmium (Cd) complex pollution has been identified as a form of persistent soil pollution in south China, exerting detrimental impacts on the indigenous soil bacterial communities. Hence, it is worthwhile to investigate whether and how bacterial populations alter in response to these pollutants. In this study, Escherichia coli was used as a model bacterium. Results showed that PCP exposure caused bacterial cell membrane permeability changes, intracellular ROS elevation, and DNA fragmentation, and triggered apoptosis-like cell death at low exposure concentration and necrosis at high exposure concentration. Cd exposure caused severe oxidative damage and cell necrosis in the tested bacterial strain. The co-exposure to PCP and Cd elevated the ROS level, stimulated the bacterial caspase activity, and induced DNA fragmentation, thereby leading to an apoptosis-like cell death. In conclusion, PCP-Cd complex pollution can cause bacterial population to decrease through apoptosis-like cell death pathway. However, it is worth noting that the subpopulation survives under the complex pollution stress. [Display omitted] • PCP exposure triggered bacterial apoptosis-like cell death and necrosis. • Cd exposure caused severe bacterial oxidative damage and cell necrosis. • The co-exposure caused bacterial oxidative stress and apoptosis-like cell death. • Bacterial cell membrane depolarization can be a potential ultrasensitive indicator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transportation plays an important role in achieving deep decarbonization. This paper examines how the sector might be decarbonized in China in light of three national decarbonization scenarios toward the Paris Agreement goals, using Global Change Assessment Model 4.0 (the Tsinghua University version), which includes a detailed representation of China's transportation. Results indicate that while barely affected by meeting the Nationally Determined Contribution, China's transportation sector might need significant changes beyond 2030 to decouple associated CO 2 emissions from GDP growths. Supporting national mitigation has more pronounced implications on freight than passenger transport services, and arouses a radical shift of transport fuels away from fossil-based liquids to clean alternatives. Decarbonizing China's transportation toward 1.5 °C is in many aspects similar to toward 2 °C, but lowers final energy use and ramps up clean fuels at an observably higher pace. In our 1.5 °C scenario, oil-refined liquids tend to phase out in the second half of the century, whereas clean fuels provide 62% (18–36% in 2 °C scenarios) and 98% (68–91% in 2 °C scenarios) of China's transport energy by 2050 and 2100, respectively. Fuel carbon intensity improvements are responsible for the majority of China's transport mitigation in our decarbonization scenarios, followed by energy intensity improvements and transport service reductions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scenario-based analysis is conducted on the long-term projections of liquid biofuels in China for transport fuels. The key influencing factors during each period are assessed. Driven by the transport energy demand growth, increasing price of crude oil and technological progress, liquid biofuels are expected to develop rapidly in the medium and long term. Meanwhile, it is projected that the utilization of liquid biofuels will be full of uncertainties, with wide range of 45 Million ton of oil equivalent (Mtoe) to 120 Mtoe by 2050. At different times, critical factors significantly differ. In the long term (2030–2050), the development of liquid biofuels is highly dependent on the availability of biomass resources. In the medium term (2020–2030), biomass availability and feedstock price are critical. In the near term (current–2020), the feedstock price of 1.5 generation liquid biofuels is critical. In 2050, the utilization of liquid biofuels can reduce 1–7% of overseas oil dependence ratio, 100–370 million tons of CO 2 emission. Market-based instruments, i.e., carbon pricing policy and excise tax preferences, can stimulate the medium- and long-term development of biofuels. However, in the near-term, subsidies are highly necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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There is a potential risk to the environment from persistent estrogenic compounds in sewage sludge. In this study, eight bisphenols (BPs) were identified in sewage sludge collected from wastewater treatment plants in 15 cities in China. The estrogenic potencies of the eight BPs and the estrogenic activities of sludge samples were evaluated using a bioluminescence yeast estrogen screen (BLYES) assay. All sludge samples elicited considerable estrogenic activity at a range of 2.8–4.7 ng E2 g −1 dry weight (dw). All BPs exhibited estrogenic activity in the BLYES assay, but there were significant differences between the potency of individual chemicals. Bisphenol AF had the highest activity, followed by tetrachlorobisphenol A, bisphenol F, bisphenol A, bisphenol E, bisphenol S and 2,4-dihydroxybenzophenone. Tetrabromobisphenol A showed weak estrogenic activity at 1 × 10 4 nM, but significant cytotoxicity above this concentration. The total estradiol equivalency quantities (EEQs) of BPs were in the range of 2.16–49.13 pg E2 g −1 dw, accounting for 0.05–1.47% of the total EEQs in sewage sludge samples. The results indicate that BPs made a minor contribution to the estrogenic activity of the investigated sewage sludge. Nevertheless, our results suggest that considerable attention should be directed to the estrogenic potentials of emerging organic pollutants because of their widespread use and their potential to persist in the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]