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Producing recycled aggregate from construction and demolition waste generated by earthquakes and using it as raw material in concrete production would be effective for urgent waste management after disasters and to reduce the environmental impact of concrete production by decreasing resource use. In this study, the life cycle assessment (LCA) method was used to examine the environmental implications of concrete produced using recycled aggregates (RA) derived from construction and demolition waste (CDW) of buildings demolished after the earthquake that struck Iskenderun and was centered in Kahramanmaraş. In addition, the environmental consequences of an equal volume of concrete produced in the same location utilizing natural aggregates (NA) were assessed. For the LCA of these two types of concrete, openLCA software and the ReCiPe midpoint database were used. LCA was conducted considering terrestrial ecotoxicity, climate change, terrestrial acidification, photochemical oxidant formation, marine ecotoxicity, human toxicity, freshwater ecotoxicity, ozone depletion, particulate matter formation, marine eutrophication, and ionizing radiation impact factors. The results show that cement has the highest impact on the environment by far. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Small-for-gestational-age (SGA) and large-for-gestational-age (LGA) births are major adverse birth outcomes related to newborn health. In contrast, the association between ambient air pollution levels and SGA or LGA births has not been investigated in Japan; hence, the purpose of our study is to investigate this association. Methods: We used birth data from Vital Statistics in Japan from 2017 to 2021 and municipality-level data on air pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), photochemical oxidants, and particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5). Ambient air pollution levels throughout the first, second, and third trimesters, as well as the whole pregnancy, were calculated for each birth. The association between SGA/LGA and ambient levels of the air pollutants was investigated using crude and adjusted log-binomial regression models. In addition, a regression model with spline functions was also used to detect the non-linear association. Results: We analyzed data from 2,434,217 births. Adjusted regression analyses revealed statistically significant and positive associations between SGA birth and SO2 level, regardless of the exposure period. Specifically, the risk ratio for average SO2 values throughout the whole pregnancy was 1.014 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.009, 1.019) per 1 ppb increase. In addition, regression analysis with spline functions indicated that an increase in risk ratio for SGA birth depending on SO2 level was linear. Furthermore, statistically significant and negative associations were observed between LGA birth and SO2 except for the third trimester. Conclusions: It was suggested that ambient level of SO2 during the pregnancy term is a risk factor for SGA birth in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the environmental impacts of beef cattle production and their effects on the overall sustainability of Canadian beef production. Cradle to farm gate, cradle to processor's gate, and cradle to consumer plate life cycle assessments were carried out to quantify greenhouse gases (GHG), resource use (i.e., water, land, and fuel), and potential water and air pollution (i.e., freshwater eutrophication, terrestrial acidification, and photochemical oxidants formation). Across the production chain, feed production had the greatest impact on most environmental indicators. The GHG intensity without dairy meat was estimated as 10.4 kg CO2-eq per kg of live weight (LW), corresponding to 32.8 kg CO2-eq per kg of consumed boneless beef. Including dairy meat reduced GHG intensity by 5.8% (0.6 kg CO2-eq kg LW–1) compared to when it was excluded. Other environmental metrics per kg of LW were 657 L, 38.7 m2 annual crop-eq, 0.4 kg oil-eq, 2.6 kg P-eq, 115.9 kg SO2-eq, and 8.7 kg NOx-eq for water use, land use, fossil fuel use, freshwater eutrophication, terrestrial acidification, and photochemical oxidants, respectively. Data provide benchmarks for use in future regional and national assessments that are designed to encourage the adoption of sustainable management practices that can lower the environmental footprint of Canadian beef production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the techno-economic and environmental feasibility of a small-scale biorefinery in Chile's La Araucanía Region, which utilizes wheat straw as feedstock to produce butyric acid using Clostridium tyrobutyricum. Two scenarios were considered; the standalone wheat straw biorefinery and its integration with the anaerobic digestion of pig manure for biogas production, coupled with a cogeneration system, using the xylo-oligosaccharides and lignin obtained in the pretreatment. The simulations were carried out using Aspen Plus, while the Aspen Process Economic Analyzer was used to perform the economic evaluation. The simulation results were validated with experimental data from the literature. An economic assessment was performed considering the different processes involved. A cradle-to-gate life-cycle analysis (LCA) was also applied to evaluate the different environmental impacts. Both studied scenarios were economically feasible, with the highest butyric acid production cost being USD 2.97/kgbutyricacid; however, this value is still higher compared to corn-based biorefineries. Annexed biogas production increased the costs and was less economically attractive. Nonetheless, the integrations with biogas production had lower environmental impacts, except in the photochemical oxidant formation category, which was higher because of the combustion gases obtained by the cogeneration system. A lower carbon footprint (23.5 kg CO2-eq. per ton of wheat straw) was obtained for the scenario including biogas production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several regulations on exhaust gases have been introduced to curb hazardous exhaust of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter (PM) from the paint and printing industries. VOCs produce photochemical oxidants and suspended PM such as PM2.5, which is now recognized as a global environmental problem. We assess a nonthermal plasma technique for controlling VOC emissions, especially, propose a wet-type packed-bed plasma reactor to extend the treatment of water-non-soluble VOCs. This paper proposes a wet-type packed-bed plasma reactor to extend the treatment of water-non-soluble VOCs. The proposed technique is evaluated through the simultaneous removal of nanoparticles and toluene at a relatively high flow rate. Simultaneous treatment of the VOCs and nanoparticles using the reactor indicates that the average particle collection efficiency is 94%, and the removal efficiency of 60 ppm toluene is 73% with a gas flow rate of 10 L/min. The resultant byproducts are benzaldehyde (C6H5CHO), benzyl alcohol (C6H5CH2OH), phenol (C6H5OH), ozone, formic acid, and acetic acid, and some are easily dissolved and removed by the sodium hydroxide solution film. A smaller pellet diameter leads to more efficient toluene removal at lower specific energy values, while the ozone concentration does not change. However, the ozone concentration can be greatly suppressed by dissolving the ozone in the alkali solution film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Ammonia (NH3) production is an energy-intensive process that is concentrated in a few countries at large-scale plants, mainly using the Haber–Bosch (HB) process. Local plants next to farmers can reduce environmental impacts, as well as reduce storage, shortage risks, and price volatility of fertilisers. Since local NH3 production is not cost-effective, we analyse how internalisation of environmental impacts into economic analyses could help to promote novel technologies for NH3 synthesis when supplied with renewable energy. Methods: Mini-HB plants working at high pressure and temperature, as well as novel alternatives based on plasma reactors working at ambient conditions and using electricity from renewable sources, have been recently proposed for decentralised NH3 production. To evaluate the environmental performances of these alternative and traditional NH3 pathways, a life cycle assessment was performed to quantify the reduced emissions in each production process and the impacts of by-product utilisation, such as steam, oxygen, or carbon black. Different scales of storage and transportation, fuelled by traditional energy sources, were modelled to quantify the impacts of the simplified NH3 supply chains. A review of monetary valuation coefficients was performed to internalise the life cycle environmental impacts into the techno-economic analyses of NH3 production in Australia. Results and discussion: Most of the estimated environmental costs were due to the carbon emissions of conventional plants and thermal plasma plants because of the use of fossil-based electricity. However, the high external costs associated with the photochemical oxidant formation and particulate matter affected the thermal plasma and non-thermal plasma (NTP) plants, costing in total 9,500 and 4,200 $/t NH3, respectively, due to the impacts of solar panels manufacturing. In contrast, electrolyser-HB plants obtained rates of 114 $/t NH3 because of the high energy efficiency and oxygen sales. In the future scenario for NTP-based plants, this alternative could also be competitive with rates of 222 $/t NH3. Additionally, the estimated total external costs for the conventional NH3 industry in Australia amounted to about US$5 billion per year. Conclusions: Electrolyser-HB plants could be cost-effective in the short term due to the energy efficiency of HB processes. However, the HB process has reached its efficiency limits, while the NTP process still has room for improvement, as well as its production costs are lower at smaller scales. In addition, if monetised environmental costs are analysed for a whole industry, public administrations could be prompted to invest the expected savings in the promotion of these novel technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photochemical oxidants (Ox; mainly O3) are a concern in East Asia. Because of the prevailing westerly wind in the midlatitudes, O3 concentration generally shows a high in spring over Kyushu Island, western Japan, and Ox warnings have been issued in spring. However, the record from 2000 to 2021 of Ox warning days in Kyushu Island contains one warning case in autumn 2020. Interestingly, a typhoon had passed the day before this Ox warning. To relate these events, a modelling simulation was conducted and it showed the transboundary O3 transport from the Asian continent to the western coast of Japan due to the strong wind field determined by the location of Typhoon Haishen (2020). The sensitivity simulations for changing Chinese anthropogenic sources suggested that both nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compound (VOC) emission regulations in China could decrease high O3 over the downwind region of Japan. Furthermore, VOC emission regulation in China led to an overall O3 decrease in East Asia, whereas NOx emission regulation in China had complex effects of decreasing (increasing) O3 during the daytime (nighttime) over China. The association between air quality and meteorology related to typhoons should be considered along with global warming in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to assess the environmental impacts of liquified natural gas (LNG) process production, identify the increasing potential of environmental performance, publish environmental product declarations, and contribute to a national database of environmental impacts. Methods: The analysis scope covers raw material receiving, a liquefaction process, utility, and storage and loading of the product. The assessed impacts are categorized as primary, secondary, and energy usage impacts using a life cycle assessment method that refers to ISO 14040-2016 and ISO 14044-2017 guidelines. The three methods for impact evaluation included ReCiPe 2016 Midpoint (H) v.1.03, CML-IA Baseline v.3.05, and cumulative energy demand (CED) methods. Results: Every ton of LNG product produced global warming, ozone depletion, acidification, and eutrophication potential of 699.31 kg CO2-eq, 2.62 × 10−4 kg CFC11-eq, 0.4281 kg SO2-eq, and 0.1155 kg PO4-eq, respectively. The secondary impact of the photochemical oxidant was 0.81968 kg C2H4-eq/ton. Abiotic depletion potential–fossil was observed at 23.41183 MJ/ton, while non-fossil was 0.0000041 kg Sb-eq/ton. Biotic depletion potential included terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecotoxicity produced 3.0439 kg 1,4-DCB-eq/ton, 0.0452 kg 1,4-DCB-eq/ton, and 0.0630 kg 1,4-DCB-eq/ton, respectively. Carcinogenic and toxicity impacts produced 0.0681 kg 1,4-DCB-eq/ton and 1.966 kg 1,4-DCB-eq/ton. The impact on the water footprint of every ton of LNG was at 2.6387 m3, and land use change was evaluated at 0.0883 m3a corp-eq. Analysis of cumulative energy demand identified that the LNG plant needs only non-renewable energy. The specific energy consumption is 29,151.056 MJ/ton. Conclusions: This study identified that the hotspots included the steam generation unit in Utility II and sour gas absorption in all studied trains. Steam generation produces more CO2, NOx, and SOx emissions. Besides, the utility applied phosphate and boiler feed water. The process of sour gas adsorption needs electricity and polydimethylsiloxane as an adsorbent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The nutritious quality of dredged sediment makes it fit for mine reclamation. • Plant growth and carbon fixation density were increased with sediment addition. • Soil immobilization and phytoremediation effects were best achieved with M:S = 2:1. • The mine reclamation scenario has environmental and economic advantages. Dredging is one of the most effective methods for inhibiting the endogenous contamination of natural lakes. However, both the amount and the scope of dredging will be restricted if the disposal of the dredged sediment incurs considerable environmental and economic costs. The use of dredged sediments as a post-mining soil amendment for mine reclamation benefits both sustainable dredging and ecological restoration. This study incorporates a field planting experiment with a life cycle assessment to confirm the practical effectiveness of sediment disposal via mine reclamation, as well as its environmental and economic superiority over other alternative scenarios. The results show that the sediment offered plentiful organic matter and nitrogen for mine substrate, stimulating plant growth and increasing photosynthetic carbon fixation density, followed by enhanced plant root absorption and an improved soil immobilization effect on heavy metals. A 2:1 ratio of mine substrate to sediment is recommended to significantly promote the yield of ryegrass while reducing levels of groundwater pollution and soil contaminant accumulation. Due to the significant reduction in electricity and fuel, mine reclamation had minimal environmental impacts on global warming (2.63 × 10-2 kg CO 2 eq./kg DS), fossil depletion (6.81 × 10-3 kg oil eq./DS), human toxicity (2.29 × 10-5 kg 1,4-DB eq/kg DS), photochemical oxidant formation (7.62 × 10-5 kg NO x eq./kg DS), and terrestrial acidification (6.69 × 10-5 kg SO 2 eq./kg DS). Mine reclamation also had a lower cost (CNY 0.260/ kg DS) than cement production (CNY 0.965/kg DS) and unfired brick production (CNY 0.268/kg DS). The use of freshwater for irrigation and electricity for dehydration were the key factors in mine reclamation. Through this comprehensive evaluation, the disposal of dredged sediment for mine reclamation was verified to be both environmentally and economically feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life cycle assessment (LCA) of novel fired clay bricks with synergistic co-valorization of nickel-chrome plating sludge (NCPS) and fly ash (FA) is reported. 0%, 20%, and 37.5% FA was added to improve sludge-deteriorated mechanical properties. Sludge bricks (SBs) exhibited compressive strength of 11.03 MPa, 17% water absorption, nil efflorescence, and permissible heavy metals' leaching, complying with standards as first-class bricks. LCA was performed with the ReCiPe-2016 method, utilizing the primary experimental data, government reports, and the Ecoinvent v3.8 database. LCA analysis revealed that compared to clay bricks, SBs caused 30%, 43%, and 51% lesser harm to ecosystem quality, human health, and resource categories in the endpoint assessment. Kiln emissions, coal, clay, and transportation were chief contributors, but their cumulative endpoint impacts significantly reduced (38%, 52%, 55%, and 45%) on switching to the SBs. Terrestrial acidification, global warming, photochemical oxidant formation, and particulate matter emissions significantly affected midpoint categories. However, their impacts got reduced by 52–57% with SBs. With global annual clay brick production exceeding 1.5 trillion, agricultural soil mining causes irreversible depletion of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, and organic carbon in the soil. SBs utilize only 50% clay, adding substantially to environmental savings. Successful NCPS immobilization in bricks prevents leaching hazards and avoids scientific landfill construction. With a calorific value of 945 kcal/kg, NCPS acts as internal fuel during firing, reducing the external coal requirement. This work establishes the techno-environmental feasibility of recycling NCPS and producing better-performing bricks with lower environmental impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Traction batteries are a key component for the performance and cost of electric vehicles. While they enable emission-free driving, their supply chains are associated with environmental and socio-economic impacts. Hence, the advancement of batteries increasingly focuses on sustainability next to technical performance. However, due to different system definitions, comparing the results of sustainability assessments is difficult. Therefore, a sustainability assessment of different batteries on a common basis considering the three sustainability dimensions is needed. Methods: This paper investigates the sustainability of current and prospective traction battery technologies for electric vehicles. It provides a common base for the comparison of the predominant lithium-ion batteries with new technologies such as lithium-sulfur and all-solid-state batteries regarding the environmental and socio-economic impacts in their supply chain. A life cycle sustainability assessment of ten battery types is carried out using a cradle-to-gate perspective and consistent system boundaries. Four environmental impact categories (climate change, human toxicity, mineral resource depletion, photochemical oxidant formation), one economic performance indicator (total battery cost), and three social risk categories (child labor, corruption, forced labor) are analyzed. Results: The assessment results indicate that the new battery technologies are not only favorable in terms of technical performance but also have the potential to reduce environmental impacts, costs, and social risks. This holds particularly for the lithium-sulfur battery with solid electrolyte. The environmental benefits are even amplified with a higher share of renewable energy for component and battery production. Nevertheless, hotspots related to the high energy demand of production and the supply chain of the active materials remain. Conclusions: This article emphasizes the need to evaluate different battery technologies on a common basis to ensure comparability of the results and to derive reliable recommendations. The results indicate that the lithium-sulfur battery with solid electrolyte is preferable since this battery has the best indicator scores for all impact categories investigated. However, all-solid-state batteries are still under development so that no conclusive recommendation can be made, but further development of these battery technologies appears promising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In Japan, the achievement rate of environmental standards for air pollution has been improving in recent years, but for photochemical oxidants, including ozone, improvement are required. In this study, we investigated trends in ozone counter-measures in the United States and Europe from the State Implementation Plan (SIP) and National Air Pollution Control Program (NAPCP) and examined whether there are any points recommended in Japan. The United States and Europe have different policies on environmental standards for air pollution and ozone control. In the United States, states that do not meet the environmental standards for ozone concentration are required to develop an SIP to attain the standards. There was an urgent need to find a cost-effective approach to addressing the ozone problem, and forest control measures were one of the possibilities. In Europe, the European Union has set “target values” for ozone and NAPCP does not mention forest control measures or ozone sensitivity regimes. The main focus in Europe is on the win-win solution of reducing emissions of air pollutants at the same time as greenhouse gases. Japan should consider a framework including setting feasible step-by-step goals to attain the desired standards. As ozone is greatly affected by advection, wide-regional measures against ozone precursors and prediction of the future precursor reduction and concentration are required. The preparation of an emissions inventory and estimated reduction amount is prerequisites as basic data for simulation. To achieve this, cooperation between national, local and private research institutes is crucial. Since the international community has agreed to prioritize greenhouse gas counter-measures, Japan could consider a win-win solution for both ozone and greenhouse gas reduction.

The popularization of conventional dimethyl oxalate to ethylene glycol (DMOtEG) has kept ongoing in the past decade in China. Recently, a northern China factory in construction attracts attention using alternative formaldehyde to ethylene glycol (FtEG) route. Thus, a question arises about the individual comparative advantages of these two processes. So, this paper conducts a systematic modeling analysis of DMOtEG and FtEG, and the life cycle assessment is performed by SimaPro v9 to compare their impact. The results indicate the inferiority of life cycle energy consumption and life cycle cost of FtEG to those of DMOtEG due to the high energy consumption and pollutant emissions. Moreover, most impact categories of FtEG are worse than the DMOtEG as global warming, and photochemical oxidant formation potential. Despite this, FtEG still wins for better potentials in ozone formation, fine particulate matter formation, and terrestrial acidification because of less nitride emissions. In addition, the decrease in energy consumption and external cost will significantly decrease the life cycle cost under controllable catalyst costs of FtEG. These results describe the impact categories of DMOtEG and FtEG and provide a basis to help decision-makers develop coal to ethylene glycol processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel hybrid inclined-multi effect vertical diffusion (Hybrid I-MEVD) solar still has been proposed and its viability for sustainable water distillation has been assessed based on detailed techno-enviro-economic aspects. The optimum number of diffusion chambers and recommended diffusion gap of integrated MEVD still was estimated to be 4 and 0.01 m, respectively. Incorporation of the bottom reflector at yearly average optimum tilt angle enhanced yield by about 34.0 to 90.0%. Yearly average distillate yield, coefficient of performance, and exergy efficiency were about 21.35 kg/day, 1.05, and 10.44%, respectively. Net carbon-di-oxide, sulphur-di-oxide, and nitrogen oxide emission mitigation potential ranged between 37.02 to 65.05 tons, 266.20 to 467.71 kg and 108.73 to 191.04 kg, respectively. Global warming potential, acidification potential, photochemical oxidants creation potential, eutrophication potential, and human toxicity potential were about 67.25 kg of CO2/kL of distillate, 591.04 g of SO2/kL of distillate, 178.63 g of C2H4/kL of distillate, 23.22 g of PO4/kL of distillate, and 698.53 g of DCB/kL of distillate, respectively. The minimum distillate production cost was estimated to be about 13.3 USD/kL. High distillate production rate, minimal environmental footprint, and distillate production cost justify Hybrid I-MEVD still to be a sustainable option for potable water production in fresh water-starved regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to analyse the life cycle of sheep milk cheese production, to investigate supply chain of cheese and to suggest improvements for minimizing the environmental impacts associated with this agri-food product. The functional unit chosen was 1 kg of sheep milk cheese. Modelling of the production process was performed based on real data obtained from a cheese production company in Romania. Two methods (CML and ReCiPe), included in GaBi software, were used for the environmental impact assessment. The following impacts: abiotic depletion potential elements, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, global warming potential, human toxicity potential (included in CML method) and climate change, fossil depletion, freshwater eutrophication, particulate matter formation, photochemical oxidant formation, terrestrial acidification (included in ReCiPe method), were calculated. Results highlighted that energy production and diesel consumption are the main activities which contribute to the environmental impacts associated with cheese product. Emissions from diesel production and consumption contribute to global warming potential with 11.70% and 82.36%, respectively. Wastewater treatment mainly contributes to freshwater eutrophication with 43.58%, followed by raw milk production (37.52%), diesel production (12.34%) and others. The results of this study showed that the values for most impact categories decrease when the energy is obtained by renewable sources compared to the energy produced by conventional procedures. It was concluded that, in order to reduce the environmental impacts associated with sheep cheese production, the energy used in the process needs to be more environmentally friendly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Farm HACCP" incorporates the concept of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) into farm animal husbandry and sanitation management to ensure the safety of livestock products and improve productivity. Implementing farm HACCP may reduce the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are derived from livestock manure and are responsible for odors, PM2.5, and photochemical oxidants. In this study, the effects of implementing farm HACCP on the emissions, composition, and environmental impact of VOCs from sheds were evaluated. VOCs in swine, dairy cattle, and hen sheds were measured before and after implementing farm HACCP. After implementing farm HACCP, the concentrations in the sheds were 55%–80% lower than the concentration in the sheds before. Odor activity values decreased in the cattle and hen sheds, whereas they increased in the swine shed. In addition, OH radical reactivity, an indicator of reactivity with OH radicals, decreased in all sheds. Finally, the emission rates of VOCs from each shed were estimated to be 42%–97% lower. These results suggest that implementing farm HACCP can reduce emissions of VOCs from livestock industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decades, particulate matter (PM), especially fine PM <2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM 2.5) has been a major research focus. However, the air pollutant is a mixture of gases or vapour-phase compounds, such as carbon monoxide (C), nitrogen oxides (NO x), photochemical oxidants (Ox), and sulfur dioxide (SO 2). Little is known about their cardiovascular effect, individually or in combination with PM. Thus, we aimed to determine the associations between the incidence of acute cardiac events and both gaseous and PM using a case-crossover design. Cardiovascular cases were identified through the Gunma Prefectural Ambulance Activity Database in Japan in 2015 (1,512 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest [OHCA] and 1,002 heart failures from 53,006 ambulance cases). Air quality data from the nearest station was for day of the arrest (lag0) and 1-2 days before the arrest (lag1, lag2) and the moving average across days 0-1 (lag0-1). Conditional logistic regression was used for unadjusted and adjusted analysis for temperature and humidity. Independent associations of OHCA were daily concentrations of SO 2 at lag1 (OR 1.173, 95%CI 1.004, 1.370; p=0.044) and lag0-1 (OR 1.203, 95%CI 1.015, 1.425; p=0.033); and daily NO concentrations at lag2 (OR 1.039, 95%CI 1.007, 1.072; p=0.016). The incidence of heart failure was significantly associated with daily concentrations of O x on the day of the event in univariable model but not after adjustment for temperature and humidity. No associations were found for other pollutants. Short-term exposure to SO 2 and NO are associated with an increased risk of OHCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The short-term association between ambient air pollution and hospital admissions for ischemic stroke is not fully understood. We examined the association between four regularly measured major ambient air pollutants, i.e., sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), photochemical oxidants (Ox), and particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5), and hospital admissions for ischemic stroke by analyzing 3 years of nationwide claims data from 97 cities in Japan. We first estimated city-specific results by using generalized additive models with a quasi-Poisson regression, and we obtained the national average by combining city-specific results with the use of random-effect models. We identified a total of 335,248 hospital admissions for ischemic stroke during the 3-year period. Our analysis results demonstrated that interquartile range increases in the following four ambient air pollutants were significantly associated with hospital admissions for ischemic stroke on the same day: SO2 (1.05 ppb), 1.05% (95% CI: 0.59–1.50%); NO2 (6.40 ppb), 1.10% (95% CI: 0.61–1.59%); Ox (18.32 ppb), 1.43% (95% CI: 0.81–2.06%); and PM2.5 (7.86 μg/m3), 0.90% (95% CI: 0.35–1.45%). When the data were stratified by the hospital admittees' medication use, we observed stronger associations with SO2, NO2, and PM2.5 among the patients who were taking antihypertensive drugs and weaker associations with SO2, NO2, and Ox among those taking antiplatelet drugs. Short-term exposure to ambient air pollution was associated with increased hospital admissions for ischemic stroke, and medication use and season may modify the association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecuador is one of the largest banana exporters in the world. This sector generates wealth and employment in the country. Life cycle method tools support finding critical points and improvement measures in systems. In this study, the Ecuadorian banana is evaluated through life cycle assessment (LCA), including agriculture, packaging, transfer to the Port of Guayaquil, and transport to a foreign port. OpenLCA software was used, applying the Recipe Midpoint (H) V1.13 impact evaluation method and using primary data collected from a local producer and secondary data from Ecoinvent 3.6 databases, Agribalyse 3.0.1, and the literature. Functional units were established at three levels: "1 ton of Banana at-the-farm-gate"; "1 ton of Banana at-the-packaging-stage-gate"; and "1 ton of Banana at-the-port-of-destination". The impact categories evaluated are climate change (GWP100), fossil depletion (FDP), freshwater eutrophication (FEP), marine eutrophication (MEP), ozone layer depletion (ODPinf), particulate matter formation (PMFP), formation of photochemical oxidants (POFP), and terrestrial acidification (TAP100). The carbon footprint (GWP100) of "Banana at-the-farm-gate", "Banana at-the-packaging-stage-gate", and "Banana at-the-foreign-port" ranged from 194 to 220, 342 to 352, and 615.41 to 625.44 kg CO2-Eq/Ton banana, respectively. Hotspots of the system are the fertilizer field emissions, cardboard packaging, rachis disposal, and maritime transport. Improvement measures should focus on reducing the amount of fertilizers and developing circular alternatives for residual biomass valorization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The joint effect of air pollutants at relatively low levels requires further investigation. Here, a database study was performed to evaluate the effects of exposure to mixtures of air pollutants during pregnancy, infancy, and childhood on childhood persistent asthma. We used the Japan Medical Data Center database, which provides access to family linkages and healthcare provider addresses, and included child-mother dyads in which the child was born between January 2010 and January 2017. The exposure of interest was ground-level air pollutants, and the primary outcome was childhood persistent asthma at 4 5 years of age, as defined based on outpatient and inpatient asthma disease codes and/or asthma medication dispensing claims. The weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression was used to evaluate the effects of air pollutant mixtures on 52,526 child-mother dyads from 1149 of 1907 municipalities (60.3 %) in Japan. The WQS regression models showed that with every 10th percentile increase in the WQS index, ground-level air pollutants during pregnancy, infancy, and childhood increased the risk of childhood persistent asthma by an odds ratio of 1.04 (95 % CI: 1.02–1.05; p<0.001), 1.02 (95 % CI: 1.01–1.03; p<0.001), and 1.03 (95 % CI: 1.01–1.04; p<0.001), respectively. Moreover, particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 µm was assigned the highest weight across all three exposure periods. Relatively high weights were assigned to suspended particulate matter and photochemical oxidants during pregnancy, carbon monoxide during infancy, and photochemical oxidants during childhood. Our study showed that a mixture of low-level air pollutants has a detrimental association with childhood persistent asthma. • A nationwide database study was conducted in Japan. • We evaluated air pollutant exposure during pregnancy, infancy, and childhood. • A mixture of low-level air pollutants had detrimental effects on childhood asthma. • PM2.5 had the strongest association with asthma across the three exposure periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several exhaust gas regulations are being implemented to prevent the hazardous emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter (PM) from paint and print factories. The VOCs generate photochemical oxidants and suspended PM, such as PM2.5, which has become a global environmental problem. We evaluate the catalytic nonthermal plasma (NTP) technique for controlling the emission of VOCs. The article proposes a wet-type catalysis plasma reactor to extend the treatment of water-soluble VOCs. Initial evaluation of the proposed technique involves simultaneous removal of nanoparticles along with individual VOCs, toluene, acetaldehyde, acetic acid, and ammonia, at a relatively high gas flow rate of 10 L/min. Further, pellets of α-alumina and TiO2 spheres are employed in the NTP reactors for assessing their catalytic performance. We install an MnO2 catalytic reactor downstream of the plasma reactor for ozone removal. Simultaneous treatment of typical VOCs and nanoparticles using dry and wet-type catalytic NTP reactors shows that the wet-type reactor has superior average particle collection efficiency of 100%. However, the dry-type NTP with α-alumina shows a higher toluene removal efficiency of 91% compared to 73% in the wet type. Further, the respective removal efficiencies for acetaldehyde, acetic acid, and ammonia are 100%, 100%, and 95%. Notably, the toluene removal efficiency drops to 65% with the TiO2 catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formaldehyde column density (ΩHCHO) showed a potentially useful correlation with surface ozone during the LISTOS campaign on Long Island Sound and the KORUS‐AQ campaign in Seoul, South Korea. This builds on previous work that identified this relationship from in situ aircraft observations with similar findings for ground‐based and airborne remote sensing of ΩHCHO. In the Long Island Sound region, ΩHCHO and surface ozone exhibited strong temporal (r2 = 0.66) and spatial (r2 = 0.73) correlation. The temporal variability in ΩHCHO (∼1 Dobson units [DU]) was larger than the range in the spatial average (∼0.1 DU). The spatial average is most useful for informing ozone monitoring strategies, demonstrating the challenge in using ΩHCHO satellite data sets for this purpose. In Seoul, high levels of NO2 resulted in Ox better correlating with ΩHCHO than surface ozone due to titration effects. The ΩHCHO–Ox relationship may therefore reflect the sum of surface ozone and related photochemical oxidants, relevant to air quality standards set to regulate this quantity such as the U.S. EPA National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). The relationship of ΩHCHO to Ox shifted in Seoul during the campaign demonstrating the need to evaluate this relationship over longer time periods. With sufficient precision in future satellite retrievals, ΩHCHO observations could be useful for evaluating the adequacy of surface air quality monitoring strategies. Plain Language Summary: Surface ozone is hazardous to human health and the environment. Space‐based monitoring techniques provide the opportunity to improve our knowledge of regional surface ozone pollution. Ozone measurements from space have limited ability to detect surface concentrations. Observations of column formaldehyde, a trace gas produced during production of surface ozone, are correlated with surface ozone and related pollutants. This relationship points to a potential use of satellite observations for identifying regions of harmful ozone concentrations to complement sparse surface monitoring networks. Key Points: Column formaldehyde (ΩHCHO) is related spatially and temporally with surface ozone during the LISTOS and KORUS‐AQ field campaignsΩHCHO better correlates with Ox (≡ozone + NO2) which more broadly represents ozone and related photochemical oxidantsSatellite ΩHCHO could be an indicator of ozone and related photochemical oxidants and inform air quality monitoring strategies [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Korean New Deal" policy in South Korea emphasizes the necessity of a substantial and timely response to global climate change. In addition to carbon emissions, construction materials have various environmental impacts that necessitate serious considerations. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the major environmental impact categories of construction materials that reflect their diverse environmental impact characteristics using life cycle assessment. To this end, eight environmental impact categories were assessed for seven major construction materials. The contributions of all construction materials to these environmental impact categories were then analyzed to derive major environmental impact categories with contributions ≥95% or higher for each construction material. Consequently, global warming potential and abiotic depletion potential were derived as major environmental impact categories for all seven construction materials. In the case of ready-mixed concrete and cement, the photochemical oxidant creation potential was also found to be an environmental impact category that needs to be considered further. Thus, a study that defines environmental impacts must be considered in conjunction with the carbon emissions of building materials, and presenting the criteria for evaluating the defined environmental impacts is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While photochemical oxidants (Ox = O3+ NO2) are known to increase asthma flare-ups, there is a paucity of studies of the Japanese population, especially for Tokyo residents. We used data on asthma cases (n = 7,455) from ambulance dispatches in Tokyo, 2015–2016. Variables included date and time of incidence, age, sex, occurrence location at the ward (ku) level, and the symptom/cause of dispatch as recorded by paramedics. Ox data were obtained from the nearest air quality monitoring station to the occurrence location, then linked them with the outcomes based on occurrence date. We directly incorporated a distributed lag model into a bi-directional case-crossover study design controlling for ambient temperature and day of week. A 10-ppb increase in Ox for lag days 0–3 was associated with a 5.51% (95% CI: 0.13 to 11.18) increase in ambulance dispatches related to asthma. The association was strongest on lag day 1 (4.67%, 95% CI: 0.51 to 9.00). Exposure to high levels of Ox was associated with increased ambulance dispatches related to asthma exacerbations in Tokyo, Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The road sector is one of the basic pillars for national economic growth owing to its role in movement of goods and people and can contribute positively towards several sustainable development goals (SDGs). On the other hand, road construction using conventional methods can jeopardize the global progress towards climate action and other environmental related SDGs owing to large raw material requirements, fuel demand and pollution associated with it. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a useful quantitative tool to figure out which products and processes are responsible for majority of road's environmental impact at different stages. This information can then be used to design interventions and adopt alternative materials for improving the environmental profile of roads. However, the application of LCA in road sector in developing countries such as India has been limited owing to unavailability of funds to compile information regarding quantities of all materials used (inventory data) and their environmental characterization factors. Here we present a new approach that connects the publicly available road's bill of quantity (BOQ) and analysis of rates (AOR) documents with national construction materials environmental footprint database to calculate the road footprint. A case study on calculating the environmental impacts of a recently built 43 km state highway road in the Indian state of Gujarat is presented to demonstrate the steps involved in the new approach. The environmental impacts per kilometre of the road section came out to be 6.86 million MJ energy use, 281 tons CO 2 eq. GHG emissions, 0.013 kg CFC-11 eq. ozone depletion, 2.16 tons SO 2 eq. acidification, 0.35 tons PO 4 eq. eutrophication and 0.11 tons ethene eq. of photochemical oxidant formation. Among all life cycle phases, the material production stage contributes the highest to the total environmental footprint of the road section. Of the 52 materials used, bitumen, diesel, coarse/fine aggregate, galvanized iron (GI) pipe, concrete, thermoplastic paint used in road markings and steel corrugated sheet and channel post are responsible for majority of impacts. The template presented can be used in India and other developing countries to evaluate the environmental footprint of existing and future road projects. • A new template to conduct 'cradle to construction' LCA of roads presented. • Publicly available analysis of rates document can be used to obtain LCA inventory. • Environmental impact of 52 road materials and 12 item works calculated. • Aggregates, paint, iron pipes, bitumen, and diesel cause majority of impacts. • Material production stage is hotspot causing majority of environmental impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The seasonal open burning of straw around the world has become one of the sources of high global air pollutant emissions. Suspended particles, gaseous pollutants, photochemical oxidants, and other substances produced during straw incineration have greatly catalyzed the deterioration trend of the surrounding environment. The current study explores the spatio-temporal distribution characteristics of straw burning and associated pollution in agricultural areas, proposes suggest on effective governance of straw burning behavior to promote the global carbon neutralization process. This study is based on the method of Multi-source Remote Sensing Spatio-temporal Feature Fusion (MRS-STFF), which combines the change in incineration area, the spatial distribution characteristics of aerosol and the monthly average concentration of pollutants, and studies the driving relationship between burning biomass energy and its associated pollutants utilizing management and control. The results demonstrate that the interannual change of straw incineration area in the experimental area showed a U-shaped trend of decreasing first and then increasing, and the periodical duration decreases, while the change of accompanying pollutants showed a U-shaped trend of first being reduced and then increase, and the periodical duration changeful. This method of combining multi-source data not only provides a reliable decision-making basis for management and control, but also helps to promote the reuse of biomass resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the acceleration of economic development and urbanization in China, sewage sludge generation has sharply increased. To maximize energy regeneration and resource recovery, it is crucial to analyze the environmental impact and sustainability of different sewage sludge recycling systems based on life cycle assessment. This study analyzed four sewage sludge recycling systems in China through life cycle assessment using the ReCipe method, namely aerobic composting, anaerobic digestion and biomass utilization, incineration, and heat utilization and using for building materials. In particular, the key pollution processes and pollutants in sewage sludge recycling systems were analyzed. The results demonstrated that aerobic composting is the most environmentally optimal scenario for reducing emissions and energy consumption. The lowest environmental impact and operating costs were achieved by making bricks and using them as building materials; this was the optimal scenario for sludge treatment and recycling. In contrast, incineration and heat utilization had the highest impact on health and marine toxicity. Anaerobic digestion and biomass utilization had the highest impact on climate change, terrestrial acidification, photochemical oxidant formation, and particulate matter formation. In the future, policy designers should prioritize building material creation for sludge treatment and recycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste management is one of the biggest environmental challenges worldwide. Biomass-derived hard carbons, which can be applied to rechargeable batteries, can contribute to mitigating environmental changes by enabling the use of renewable energy. This study has carried out a comparative environmental assessment of sustainable hard carbons, produced from System A (hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) followed by pyrolysis) and System B (direct pyrolysis) with different carbon yields, as anodes in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). We have also analysed different scenarios to save energy in our processes and compared the biomass-derived hard carbons with commercial graphite used in lithium-ion batteries. The life cycle assessment results show that the two systems display significant savings in terms of their global warming potential impact (A1: −30%; B1: −21%), followed by human toxicity potential, photochemical oxidants creation potential, acidification potential and eutrophication potential (both over −90%). Possessing the best electrochemical performance for SIBs among our prepared hard carbons, the HTC-based method is more stable in both environmental and electrochemical aspects than the direct pyrolysis method. Such results help a comprehensive understanding of sustainable hard carbons used in SIBs and show an environmental potential to the practical technologies. This article is part of the theme issue 'Bio-derived and bioinspired sustainable advanced materials for emerging technologies (part 2)'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel heterojunction plasmonic photocatalyst [Co(Saloph)(His)]/Ag-TiO2 as a nanohybrid material was applied to the photocatalytic activities ranging from the CH bond cleavage of alcohols to aldehyde using different oxidants, O2, H2O2, or TBHP under irradiation of visible-light and NHPI as co-catalysts. The mentioned material was synthesized by photo-deposition of metallic silver nanoparticles on titanium oxide surface, followed by a modification of cobalt(II) Saloph complex under ultrasonic agitation conditions using a histidine linker to reach a photocatalyst under 50 nm and bandgap of 2.64 eV. The [Co(Saloph)(His)]/Ag-TiO2 nanohybrid was characterized by EDS, XRD, DRS, FT-IR, PL spectroscopies, FESEM imaging, and BET technique. This three-component plasmonic photocatalyst revealed a high rate of photocatalytic efficiency with 95% conversion and 99% selectivity in aerobic conditions. The higher photocatalytic performance of [Co(Saloph)(His)]/Ag-TiO2 than those of Co(Saloph)/TiO2 and Ag-TiO2 NPs can be attributed to Localized Surface Plasmonic Resonance (LSPR) of these motives. Therefore, this three-component nanohybrid provides an efficient interfacial electron transfer process through a synergistic effect, which in turn produces a nanocatalyst, benefiting from stability and fast selective C-H bond activation of alcohols at ambient temperature using O2 as an inexpensive environmentally-friendly oxidant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the histopathological and biochemical efficacy of vitamin D on oxidative damage and fibrosis in rat ovaries induced by experimental hyperthyroidism. Methods: This study is a comparative, prospective experimental rat study. Sprague–Dawley female rats were divided into four groups. Only distilled water was given to the rats in group 1 for 25 days. In group 2, 100 μg/day L‐thyroxine was given to rats for 25 days. In Group 3, 100 μg/day L‐thyroxine and 200 IU/day vitamin D were given to rats for 25 days. In group 4, only 200 IU/day vitamin D was administered for 25 days. Results: This study is the first to demonstrate the protective effect of vitamin D against ovarian damage caused by experimental hyperthyroidism. Hyperthyroidism caused fibrotic degenerative changes in the ovaries and an increase in the fibrillin 1 score. It caused serum follicle‐stimulating hormone (FSH) levels to increase and serum E2 levels to decrease. In addition, malondialdehyde (MDA) and total oxidant status (TOS) levels increased in rats with hyperthyroidism. Vitamin D decreased MDA and TOS values and increased total antioxidant status (TAS) values in rats with hyperthyroidism. It also increased TSH values by causing a decrease in TT3 and TT4 values. It decreased fibrosis, follicle degeneration, stromal degeneration, and fibrillin 1 score in ovarian tissue. Conclusion: Vitamin D has positive histopathological and biochemical effects on the oxidative stress and follicle damage caused by hyperthyroidism in ovarian tissue. Human studies with larger case populations should be conducted to evaluate the effects and clinical applications of vitamin D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrate is an increasingly important component of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Chinese cities. The production of nitrate is not only related to the abundance of its precursor, but it is also supported by the atmospheric photochemical oxidants, raising a new challenge for the current emission control actions in China. This paper uses comprehensive measurements and a regional meteorology–chemistry model with optimized mechanisms to establish the nonlinear responses between particulate nitrate and the emission controls of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the megalopolises of China. Nitrate is an essential component of PM2.5 in eastern China, accounting for 9.4 %–15.5 % and 11.5 %–32.1 % of the PM2.5 mass for the warm and cold seasons. The hypothetical NOx emission reduction scenarios (- 10 % to - 80 %) during summer–autumn result in almost linearly lower PM2.5 by - 2.2 % in Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) and - 2.9 % in Yangtze River Delta (YRD) per 10 % reduction of NOx emissions, whereas they lead to a rather complicated response of PM components in winter. Wintertime nitrate is found to increase by + 4.1 % in BTH and + 5.1 % in YRD per 10 % reduction of NOx emissions, with nearly unchanged nitric acid (HNO3) and higher dinitrogen pentoxide (N 2 O 5) intermediate products produced from the increased atmospheric oxidant levels. An inflexion point appears at 30 %–50 % NOx emission reduction, and a further reduction in NOx emissions is predicted to cause - 10.5 % reduction of nitrate for BTH and - 7.7 % for YRD per 10 % reduction of NOx emissions. In addition, the 2012–2016 NOx control strategy actually leads to no changes or even increases of nitrate in some areas (8.8 % in BTH and 14.4 % in YRD) during winter. Our results also emphasize that ammonia (NH3) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are effective in controlling nitrate pollution, whereas decreasing the sulfur dioxide (SO2) and NOx emissions may have counterintuitive effects on nitrate aerosols. This paper helps understand the nonlinear aerosol and photochemistry feedbacks and defines the effectiveness of proposed mitigations for the increasingly serious nitrate pollution in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to assess and measure the environmental impacts of high pressurecooked smoked milkfish (HPCSM) production. Although the literature about measuring the environmental impact is abundant, research about this topic implemented in a HPCSM production remains limited. The assessment was performed using the life cycle assessment (LCA), which is considered as a holistic assessment since it regards the entire life cycle of products from cradle to grave. To make a contribution, the LCA was supplemented with the eco-efficiency index to assess the affordability and sustainability status of the business. To exhibit the methods, a case study has been carried out in Semarang, Indonesia, where the centre of HPCSM production is located. Forty enterprises (thirty-one small-, eight medium-, and one large-scale) were assessed. Results showed that the production process has several environmental impacts, such as climate change, photochemical oxidant formation, acidification, fine dust, eutrophication, ecotoxicity (fresh water), human toxicity, metals depletion, waste, and water stress indicator. In addition, the analysis of eco-efficiency index revealed that all type of products is considered as affordable but not sustainable. The recommendations for the improvement to minimize the environmental impacts and the sustainability status of the enterprises are also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The marine boundary layer (MBL) is an important transportation and reaction zone of atmospheric mercury on Earth. However, the transformation mechanisms of Hg in the MBL remain unclear. In this study, total suspended particle samples were collected in the MBL during two cruises, and the levels of particulate bound mercury (PBM) and mercury isotopes were analyzed. The results showed that (a) continental anthropogenic emissions have limited contribution to PBM in the MBL; (b) PBM likely experienced the oxidation of Hg0 by Br radicals and subsequent adsorption of Hg2+ on to particulate surfaces, as inferred from the significant negative δ202Hg; (c) the Δ199Hg/Δ201Hg ratio of ∼1.0 suggests that PBM underwent photoreduction, which was influenced by organic compounds, and the contribution of photoreduction to the extent of odd‐number mass‐independent fractionation in PBM in the MBL was more significant than that of oxidation triggered by Br atoms. This study provides insights into the photochemical processes influencing mercury in the MBL. Key Points: Continental anthropogenic emissions have a limited contribution to PBM in the MBLPBM may be contributed by oxidation and subsequent adsorption on particlesThe impact of photoreduction on the extents of odd‐MIF in PBM is significant [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) provides a quick and efficient tool for accurately characterizing aflatoxigenic and non-aflatoxigenic isolates of Aspergillus flavus. This method also provides a quantitative analysis of AFs in Aspergillus flavus. The method’s recovery was assessed by spiking a mixture of AF at different concentrations to the testing medium. The validity of the method was confirmed using aflatoxigenic and non-aflatoxigenic strains of A. flavus. The HPLC system, coupled with a fluorescence detector and post-column photochemical reactor, showed high sensitivity in detecting spiked AFs or AFs produced by A. flavus isolates. Recovery from medium spiked with 10, 20, 60, and 80 ppb of AFs was found to be 73–86% using this approach. For AFB1 and AFB2, the limit of detection was 0.072 and 0.062 ppb, while the limit of quantification was 0.220 and 0.189 ppb, respectively. The AFB1 concentrations ranged from 0.09 to 50.68 ppb, while the AFB2 concentrations ranged between 0.33 and 9.23 ppb. The findings showed that six isolates produced more AFB1 and AFB2 than the acceptable limit of 5 ppb. The incidence of aflatoxigenic isolates of A. flavus in sweet corn and higher concentrations of AFB1 and AFB2 emphasize the need for field trials to explore their real potential for AF production in corn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses a critical gap in environmental assessments by focusing on petrochemical port operations, an area traditionally overlooked in life cycle assessments (LCAs) of material supply chains. This study investigates various methods of loading for 22 petrochemical products i.e., gas, liquid, container, tanker, and bulk loading; at the biggest petrochemical port in the world situated in the Persian Gulf with a loading capacity of 35 MMt/yr. Twelve scenarios were developed to enhance environmental efficiency based on hotspots defined in LCAs of port loading operations of petrochemicals in their present state. Scenarios 1 through 5 consider electricity savings of 2%–10%, scenarios 6 through 10 consider renewable photovoltaic energy mix of 10%–50%, and scenarios 11 and 12 consider no flaring and rejection of ash waste from ships. To prioritize these scenarios based on environmental efficiency gains, a comprehensive LCA-GRM hybrid model has been introduced. This integrated model combines life cycle assessment and gray relational modeling, providing a robust framework for evaluating and ranking the scenarios. The Best Worst Method (BWM) is implemented for weighing multiple environmental criteria, contributing to informed decision-making. The findings underscore the substantial impact of electricity consumption and gas flaring in petrochemical port operations, prompting the identification of the 'no flaring' scenario (S11) as the most preferred option. Implementing this scenario could lead to significant reductions in climate change impacts (22.14%), ozone formation and human health impacts (16.73%), and photochemical oxidant formation (15.98%). The study's significance lies in emphasizing the environmental implications of port operations and urging policymakers to integrate port impacts into broader supply chain assessments. We advocate for targeted strategies to enhance electricity efficiency and reduce gas flaring in petrochemical ports, aligning with global sustainability goals. The Comprehensive LCA-GRM hybrid approach offers valuable insights for decision-makers involved in the global transportation of goods through ports. [Display omitted] • Fills the gap in petrochemical port assessments, often overlooked in life cycle analyses. • Introduces LCA-GRM hybrid model, prioritizing environmental improving scenarios. • Develops 12 scenarios targeting hotspots, including electricity savings and no flaring. • No flaring S11 reduces GWP (22.14%), OF-HH (16.73%), and POFP (15.98%). • Urges policymakers to integrate port impacts into the supply chain assessment of chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The chlorination and bromination kinetics of CCBs were evaluated and modeled. • CCBs have distinct reactivity with halogen oxidants and photochemical transients. • Modeling showed that both CCBs were stable in natural waters (from days to months). • Free chlorine dominated the CCB degradation in the solar/chlorine system. • CCB transformation from disinfection to natural photolysis produced higher risks. Organic micropollutants present in disinfected wastewater and discharged to sunlit surface waters may be transformed by multiple processes, such as chlorination due to the presence of chlorine residuals, solar irradiation as well as solar-irradiated chlorine residues. This study reports, for the first time, the multi-scenario degradation kinetics, transformation products, and risk evolution of calcium channel blockers (CCBs), a class of emerging pharmaceutical contaminants with worldwide prevalence in natural waters and wastewater. It was found that the chlorination of the studied CCBs (amlodipine (AML) and verapamil (VER)) was dominated by the reaction of HOCl with their neutral species, with second-order rate constants of 6.15×104 M−1 s−1 (AML) and 7.93×103 M−1 s−1 (VER) at pH 5.0–11.0. Bromination is much faster than chlorination, with the measured k app,HOBr values of 2.94×105 M−1 s−1 and 6.58×103 M−1 s−1 for AML and VER, respectively, at pH 7.0. Furthermore, both CCBs would undergo photolytic attenuations with hydroxyl and carbonate radicals as the dominant reactive species in water. Notably, free chlorine mainly contributed to their abatement during the solar/chlorine treatment. Additionally, the halogen addition on the aromatic ring was observed during chlorination and bromination of the two CCBs. Cyclization was observed under solar irradiation only, while the aromatic ring was opened in the solar/chlorine system. Some products generated by the three transformation processes exhibited non-negligible risks of high biodegradation recalcitrance and toxicity, potentially threatening the aquatic environment and public health. Overall, this study elucidated the environmental fate of typical CCBs under different transformation processes to better understand the resulting ecological risks in these environmental scenarios. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Environmental pollution is a growing problem in developing countries, including China. The packaging-printing industry is considered as one of the main contributors to air pollution in China. Film lamination represents a critical proportion of flexible packaging products. At present, traditional lamination technologies, e.g., dry lamination, consume considerable resources and generate massive pollution. Correspondingly, novel solventless lamination could effectively replace conventional lamination processes and reduce air pollution, particularly the production of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). To promote cleaner packaging and printing production in China, we applied life cycle assessment (LCA) to compare solventless and dry film lamination processes in retort pouch packaging production and further validate the environmental advantages of the solventless approach. Methods: Our research model considered the entire LCA process with an emphasis on film composite processing. E-footprint software and databases were used to assess environmental impacts based on the ISO 14040 standards. In addition, the laminated films were further assessed for peel strength based on the GB standards. Six environmental indicators, including global warming potential (GWP), photochemical oxidant formation potential (POFP), primary energy demand (PED), water use (WU), acidification potential (AP), and respiratory inorganics (RI) were selected, with a particular focus on the first two indices. Results: The LCA results showed that the environment impact of solventless lamination was markedly smaller than that of traditional dry lamination, with critical differences reflected in power consumption and adhesive type. Compared with dry lamination, solventless lamination reduced electrical energy consumption and CO2 emissions by 74.1% and 86.37%, respectively, and the unique adhesive reducing VOC emissions by more than 94.5%. Further estimation results confirmed the above findings, indicating that solventless production can reduce VOC and pollutant emissions from sources and thus promote cleaner production. Conclusion: In short, solventless lamination is an effective method, both in terms of performance and environmental friendliness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A self-sustained, zero-CO 2 emission RES-H 2 Hybrid Energy System (HES) was developed at Lavrion Technological & Cultural Park (Attica, Greece) to cover electric power, heating/cooling loads (tri-generation) of an office building located in its premises. The primary energy is harvested from RES and directly applied to cover contingent loads, whereas the excess energy is converted to hydrogen to be used as energy storage system and thus as a green fuel to cover the building heating needs through direct combustion or to produce combined heating and electricity by means of fuel cells. In this study, the performance of the functional RES-H 2 HES is evaluated as well as its impact by applying the methodology of Life Cycle Assessment. HES resulted in the reduction of Global Warming Potential, Acidification Potential and Photochemical Oxidant Formation by 40%, 42% and 35%, respectively, compared to the exclusive use of Greek energy grid mix for electricity. • Life Cycle Assessment of a hybrid RES-H 2 Hybrid Energy System developed in Greece. • Hybrid Energy System reduced GWP by 40%, compared to the use of GR-energy grid mix. • AP is decreased on Hybrid Energy System by 42%, compared to the GR-energy grid mix. • POF of Hybrid Energy System was 35% less compared to the use of GR-energy grid mix. • Environmental impact of PVs was 5 times higher, compared to WTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The overall aim of this study is to contribute to the creation of LCA database on electricity generation systems in Ethiopia. This study specifically estimates the environmental impacts associated with wind power systems supplying high voltage electricity to the national grid. The study has regional significance as the Ethiopian electric system is already supplying electricity to Sudan and Djibouti and envisioned to supply to other countries in the region. Materials and methods: Three different grid-connected wind power systems consisting of four different models of wind turbines with power rates between 1 and 1.67 MW were analyzed for the situation in Ethiopia. The assessment takes into account all the life cycle stages of the total system, cradle to grave, considering all the processes related to the wind farms: raw material acquisition, manufacturing of main components, transporting to the wind farm, construction, operation and maintenance, and the final dismantling and waste treatment. The study has been developed in line with the main principles of the ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standard procedures. The analysis is done using SimaPro software 8.0.3.14 multi-user, Ecoinvent database version 3.01, and ReCiPe 2008 impact assessment method. The assumed operational lifetime as a baseline is 20 years. Results and discussion: The average midpoint environmental impact of Ethiopian wind power system per kWh electricity generated is for climate change: 33.6 g CO2 eq., fossil depletion: 8 g oil eq., freshwater ecotoxicity: 0.023 g 1,4-DCB eq., freshwater eutrophication: 0.005 g N eq., human toxicity: 9.9 g 1,4-DCB eq., metal depletion: 18.7 g Fe eq., marine ecotoxicity: 0.098 g 1,4-DCB eq., particulate matter formation: 0.097 g PM10 eq., photochemical oxidant formation: 0.144 g NMVOC, and terrestrial acidification: 0.21 g SO2 eq. The pre-operation phase that includes the upstream life cycle stage is the largest contributor to all the environmental impacts, with shares ranging between 82 and 96%. The values of cumulative energy demand (CED) and energy return on investment (EROI) for the wind power system are 0.393 MJ and 9.2, respectively. Conclusion: The pre-operation phase is the largest contributor to all the environmental impact categories. The sensitivity and scenario analyses indicate that changes in wind turbine lifespans, capacity factors, exchange rates for parts, transport routes, and treatment activities would result in significant changes in the LCA results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Consequential life cycle assessment (C-LCA) aims to assess the environmental consequences of a decision. It differs from traditional LCA because its inventory includes all the processes affected by the decision which are identified by accounting for causal links (physical, economic, etc.). However, C-LCA results could be quite uncertain which makes the interpretation phase harder. Therefore, strategies to assess and reduce uncertainty in C-LCA are needed. Part of uncertainty in C-LCA is due to spatial variability that can be reduced using regionalization. However, regionalization can be complex and time-consuming if straightforwardly applied to an entire LCA model. Methods: The main purpose of this article is to prioritize regionalization efforts to enhance interpretation in C-LCA by assessing the spatial uncertainty of a case study building on a partial equilibrium economic model. Three specific objectives are derived: (1) perform a C-LCA case study of alternative transportation scenarios to investigate the benefits of implementing a public policy for energy transition in France by 2050 with an uncertainty analysis to explore the strength of our conclusions, (2) perform global sensitivity analyses to identify and quantify the main sources of spatial uncertainty between foreground inventory model from partial equilibrium economic modeling, background inventory model and characterization factors, (3) propose a strategy to reduce the spatial uncertainty for our C-LCA case study by prioritizing regionalization. Results and discussion: Results show that the implementation of alternative transport scenarios in compliance with public policy for the energy transition in France is beneficial for some impact categories (ICs) (global warming, marine acidification, marine eutrophication, terrestrial acidification, thermally polluted water, photochemical oxidant formation, and particulate matter formation), with a confidence level of 95%. For other ICs, uncertainty reduction is required to determine conclusions with a similar level of confidence. Input variables with spatial variability from the partial equilibrium economic model are significant contributors to the C-LCA spatial uncertainty and should be prioritized for spatial uncertainty reduction. In addition, characterization factors are significant contributors to the spatial uncertainty results for all regionalized ICs (except land occupation IC). Conclusions: Ways to reduce the spatial uncertainty from economic modeling should be explored. Uncertainty reduction to enhance the interpretation phase and the decision-making should be prioritized depending on the goal and scope of the LCA study. In addition, using regionalized CFs in C-LCA seems to be relevant, and C-LCA calculation tools should be adapted accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japan has promoted a policy to use lumber in various types of buildings since 2010. As cross-laminated timber (CLT) is one of the engineered timber products, an amount of CLT production has been increasing in Japan under this policy. The purpose of this study is to produce generic life cycle assessment data for CLT production in Japan and to propose measures for reducing environmental impacts of CLT production. The system boundary includes from material production to CLT production (cradle-to-gate). The operational data at three major Japanese companies are collected in the fiscal year of 2018. The evaluated environmental impact categories are climate change, ozone layer depletion, eutrophication, acidification, photochemical oxidant, land occupation, and land transformation. The results show that electricity used in wood laminae production had the largest impact to climate change and the roundwood production had the second largest. The sensitivity analysis clarified that the use of fossil fuels during the drying process greatly increased CLT's environmental impacts. The policies to promote the introduction of biomass boilers for sawmills are appropriate for reducing environmental impacts. If CLT is used for more than 30 years, greenhouse gas reduction due to temporary carbon storage will be greater than that of the CLT production. It is also recommended to extend the life of buildings using CLT and/or to use CLT for a long time through the reuse of CLT panels to avoid releasing biogenic carbon to the atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Cement manufacturing is associated with global and local environmental issues. Many studies have employed life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the environmental impacts from cement production and investigate measures to improve environmental performance. However, there have not been any scientific studies assessing the impacts of the Myanmar cement industry on the environment. In this study, environmental impacts of the Myanmar cement industry were evaluated using LCA and key contributors to major environmental impacts were identified. Methods: This study follows the principles outlined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 14040:2006 and ISO 14044:2006) to conduct LCA of the cement industry in Myanmar. The functional unit considered is 1 tonne of Portland cement, and a cradle-to-gate analysis was conducted. The input data (raw materials, energy, electricity, and transportation) were collected from 8 cement plants in Myanmar, but data about raw material extraction were adapted from the literature. The output data (emissions to air) were estimated based on the IPCC guidelines, the EMEP/EEA air pollutant emission inventory guidebooks and the US EPA Detonation of explosives; an AP-42 update. LCAs of specific cement plants were implemented, and both midpoint environmental impacts and endpoint damage categories were assessed based on the ReCiPe 2016 method. Results and discussion: The results showed that major environmental impacts from the Myanmar cement industry include climate change, photochemical oxidant formation damaging ecosystem quality, fine particulate matter formation, terrestrial acidification and fossil resource scarcity. They were assessed to account for about 80, 0.5, 18, 0.6 and 0.4% of the overall environmental burdens from cement manufacturing, respectively. Human health damage was the most affected category. Key contributors to these major impacts were found to be CO2, NOx, SO2 and PM2.5 emissions, mostly from the clinker production step. In order to mitigate these environmental impacts and initiate sustainable development in this industrial sector in Myanmar, appropriate mitigation options, including fuel and energy saving, and the use of alternative fuels and materials need to be considered. Conclusion: Through this study, the contribution of the Myanmar cement industry to environmental impacts in a life cycle perspective was investigated and key environmental hotspots were identified in order to suggest mitigation options for the sustainable development of this industrial sector. Based on the study results, some improvement measures should be considered, which include upgrading the cement manufacturing process, increasing the share of clinker substitutes, utilizing alternative fuels, optimizing energy efficiency and implementing energy recovery technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As amply known, ozone concentration in the coastal area of study is well relevant in connection with "photochemical smog", due to high levels of solar radiation and temperature values and possible photochemical oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the presence of nitrogen oxides (NOx). In this paper, a framework for predicting ozone concentration in urban area is presented, relying a LightGBM algorithm for gradient boosting on decision trees. The system represents a pragmatic and scientifically credible approach to data driven modelling applied to complex and uncertain situations. The study concerns the application of data analytic standard methodologies to air quality analysis, which includes the pretreatment of data, the choice of a suitable configuration of the learning algorithm, the identification of the fitting parameters and error minimization. Training and verification data are significant statistical time-series over the past years validated from the air quality monitoring network in the urban area of Genoa (Italy). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]