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Topic Review
Environmental Monitoring of Pesticide Residues
Pesticide residues are a threat to the health of the global population, not only to farmers, applicators, and other pesticide professionals. Humans are exposed through various routes such as food, skin, and inhalation. Indirect approaches, also called “external exposure approaches”, estimate the exposure of a population through the measurements of pesticide residue levels in food and the environment. Environmental sampling involves water resources, soils, sediments, and air particles. Recent studies have also included indoor and road dust. In addition, indirect assessment models also include food, as fruits, vegetables, and cereals treated with pesticides have also been proven to be significant sources of pesticides. Furthermore, the pesticide residues in abiotic environmental samples also bioaccumulate in biota. Dietary intake of animal products, including meat and subproducts from farm animals, fish, and seafood, is considered an important route of exposure for population.
  • 1.5K
  • 19 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Watershed Processes and Streamflow Prediction
Accurate streamflow prediction (SFP) is crucial for water resource management, flood and drought forecasting, and reservoir operations. However, complex interactions between surface and subsurface processes in watersheds make predicting extreme events challenging. This work highlights the importance of incorporating physical understanding and process knowledge into data-driven SFP models for reliable and robust predictions, especially during extreme events.
  • 1.5K
  • 26 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Use of Electrocoagulation in Wastewater Treatment
Electrocoagulation (EC) is a wastewater treatment method based on chemical reactions between a coagulant formed under the influence of an electric current released from a given electrode. Electrocoagulation is a technology that properly combines electrochemistry, coagulation, and flotation (or sedimentation). This technology consists of four main stages: electrolytic reaction on the surface of the electrode, formation of metal hydroxides (coagulants), adsorption of soluble (colloidal) particles on coagulants, and removal by sedimentation or flotation. Reactions between the coagulant and pollutants lead to precipitation of sediments which are removed by sedimentation or flotation.
  • 1.5K
  • 14 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Adsorption Techniques for Lead Removal
The long-term sustainability of the global water supply, with a paramount emphasis on cleanliness and safety, stands as a formidable challenge in modern era. In response to this pressing issue, adsorption techniques have emerged as pivotal and widely recognized solutions for the removal of hazardous pollutants, with a particular emphasis on lead adsorption from wastewater.
  • 1.5K
  • 08 Dec 2023
Biography
Adriano Sofo
Adriano Sofo graduated with a Master Degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Bari, Italy, in 1997. He spent three years (1999-2002) at the University of Basilicata, Italy, with a Doctorate in Crop Productivity. From 2000 to 2001, he also was a Researcher at the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Italy. As Postdoctoral Traini
  • 1.5K
  • 11 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Polyethylene Terephthalate Recycling Techniques
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a widely used thermoplastic with excellent properties, making it a popular choice for various packaging and single-use plastic products. Its exceptional tensile strength, processability, transparency, thermal stability, barrier properties, toughness-to-weight ratio, and chemical resistance have contributed to its widespread use. However, the significant consumption of PET has led to a substantial amount of PET waste, especially in the form of single-use packaging. This has raised concerns about the environmental impact of plastic waste, such as marine pollution and landfill accumulation.
  • 1.5K
  • 14 Aug 2023
Topic Review
The Plastisphere Micro-Niche and Biodegradation
The particular characteristics of the plastic matrix, such as its floating ability and hydrophobicity, have created a new unique substratum for microbial colonization. The new micro-niche thus created becomes occupied by a specific biofilm called the plastisphere.
  • 1.5K
  • 10 Mar 2023
Topic Review
E-Waste in Africa
Waste electronic and electrical equipment (e-waste) consists of used and discarded electrical and electronic items ranging from refrigerators to cell phones and printed circuit boards.
  • 1.5K
  • 05 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Female Fertility and Environmental Pollution
Terrestrial ecosystems are contaminated by heavy metals and organic chemicals that can be taken up by and accumulate in crop plants, and water tables are heavily contaminated by untreated industrial discharges. As deadly particulates can drift far, poor air quality has become a significant global problem and one that is not exclusive to major industrialized cities. The consequences are a dramatic impairment of our ecosystem and biodiversity and increases in degenerative or man-made diseases. In this respect, it has been demonstrated that environmental pollution impairs fertility in all mammalian species. The worst consequences are observed for females since the number of germ cells present in the ovary is fixed during fetal life, and the cells are not renewable. This means that any pollutant affecting hormonal homeostasis and/or the reproductive apparatus inevitably harms reproductive performance. 
  • 1.5K
  • 18 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Methods for Removal of Ceftriaxone from Wastewater
Ceftriaxone is a type of antibiotic used to treat a variety of bacterial illnesses. The presence of pharmaceuticals in surface water and wastewater poses a threat to public health and has significant effects on the ecosystem. Since most wastewater treatment plants are ineffective at removing molecules efficiently, some pharmaceuticals enter aquatic ecosystems, thus creating issues such as antibiotic resistance and toxicity. 
  • 1.5K
  • 29 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Coastal Dune
This work analyzes the evolution of the large shifting dune included in the Corrubedo Natural Park from 1956 until the present day. The analysis was carried out using aerial images, orthophotographs, topographic surveys and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data. Variations were analyzed in terms of four different aspects: evolution of pathways in each period, changes in the position of the mobile dune front and the degree of vegetation cover, all between 1956 and 2017; and variations in elevation and volume of the dune system between 2001 and 2015. To analyze these aspects, geospatial and geostatistical techniques were employed, which revealed that the dune front had undergone two different phases: one until the 1980s, with a mean seaward advance of 32 m and another one between the 1980 s and 2017, when the front prograded to the continent, with an approximate mean advance of 82 m. Loss of volume, related to the expansion of the mobile dune towards the north, was confirmed in this sector. It is evident that these changes are closely linked to anthropic influence, due to sand extraction until the early 1990s and, more recently, due to an increase in the number of visitors to the Natural Park. The results obtained highlight the need to carry out detailed studies to understand the evolution of this system and to prevent further damage in the future. Moreover, based on these analyses, a strategy to improve coastal and environmental management in the Corrubedo Natural Park could be designed.
  • 1.5K
  • 06 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Sonic Environment and Noise Mitigations
The pandemic has impacted every facet of our life, society, and environment. It has also affected both the requirement and challenges for acoustic research and applications. The present article attempts to present a summary of the impact of COVID-19 on several aspects of acoustics, from the changes in the sonic environment due to reduced human and industrial activities to natural ventilation requirements for mitigating the transmission of coronavirus while mitigating noise, and, more importantly, discusses the potential impacts and challenges for acoustics in the post-COVID-19 era. The present study specifically examines the effects of COVID-19 on the sonic environment, the acoustic treatment by considering the need for constant disinfection, the noise control on construction and neighborhood activities in response to an increased number of people working from home, and the need for having natural ventilation while mitigating noise at home and offices. 
  • 1.4K
  • 26 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Rare Earth Elements (REE)
The rare earth elements (REE) comprise a group of 16 chemically very similar elements that occur widespread in rocks, soils, and water bodies, share similar ionic radii to the essential element Ca2+, and consequently also occur in biota. Given that REE form mainly trivalent cations, they also share similarities to Al3+. Compared to their chemical cognate Ca, they have a higher reactivity. Thus, their accumulation in soils may constitute a severe environmental threat. Over the last decades, the increasing use of REE in modern technology and fertilizers raised concerns about the pollution of soils and water bodies, which led to a rapidly increasing number of publications dealing with REE toxicity to plants, animals and humans, the fate of REE in soil–plant systems, REE cycling in ecosystems and impacts of REE pollution on food security.
  • 1.4K
  • 05 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Properties of Moringa Oleifera Seeds
Because the seeds of Moringa Oleifera contain a water-soluble cationic coagulant protein, they are used as a primary coagulant in drinking water clarification and wastewater treatment through their ability to reduce the turbidity of treated water. These proteins are considered the most widely investigated plant-based coagulant, having been researched by several scholars.The seeds of Moringa Oleifera possess good coagulating properties comparable to commercial alum used in turbidity removal.
  • 1.4K
  • 08 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Solar Desalination
Desalination is a capital-intensive process that requires a significant amount of energy, and since it is now mostly powered by fossil fuels across the globe, it has the potential to leave a significant carbon footprint. 
  • 1.4K
  • 18 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Microbial Biosensors for Wastewater Monitoring
Research on the use of microbial biosensors for monitoring wastewater contaminants is a topic that covers few publications compared to their applicability in other fields, such as biomedical research. It was possible to demonstrate the usefulness of microorganisms as components of biosensors to monitor biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), heavy metals, and inorganic contaminants in wastewater that also had a high sensitivity. Additionally, recombinant DNA techniques were shown to improve the performance of this type of biosensor and can finally be coupled to other emerging technologies, such as microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In conclusion, it was established that microbial biosensors have high acceptability and monitoring characteristics that make them a useful tool to detect low concentrations of pollutants in wastewater that can also provide results in real-time, thus generating forms of ecological safety and social responsibility in companies where wastewater is generated.
  • 1.4K
  • 29 Jan 2023
Topic Review
TiO2-NPs: Wastewater Treatment and Ago-Environment
The tremendous increase in the production and consumption of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) in numerous industrial products and applications has augmented the need to understand their role in wastewater treatment technologies. The use of TiO2 NPs as the representative of photocatalytic technology for industrial wastewater treatment is coming to the horizon. As the use of industrial wastewater to feed agriculture land has been a common practice across the globe and the sewage sludge generated from wastewater treatment plants is also used as fertilizer in agricultural soils. Therefore, it is necessary to be aware of possible exposure pathways of these NPs, especially in the perspective of wastewater treatment and their impacts on the agro-environment. 
  • 1.4K
  • 11 Aug 2020
Topic Review
Biomass Energy Pellets
There is a widespread global shift toward renewable energy sources, where the emphasis is on enhancing the utilization of renewable energy due to the rising costs associated with fossil fuels. In this light, biomass pellets made from woody and non-woody biomass and blends have gained increased attention. Extensive research has been conducted globally to enhance the quality of biomass pellets and to explore the potential to combine woody biomass with other non-woody forms of biomass in biomass pellet production. The heterogeneity of the raw materials used and resulting properties of the biomass pellets have led to the establishment of internationally recognized benchmarks such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 17225 standard to regulate pellet quality.
  • 1.4K
  • 29 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Biotechnological Approaches Applied for Marine Hydrocarbon Spills Remediation
Biological and physico-chemical remediation technologies can be efficient in terms of spill cleanup and microorganisms—mainly bacteria—are the main ones responsible for petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs) degradation such as crude oil. Biodegradation is considered as one of the most sustainable and efficient techniques for the removal of PHCs. 
  • 1.4K
  • 18 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Antibiotic Use in Livestock Farming
Antibiotics are natural or synthetic molecules capable of inhibiting the growth of bacteria (bacteriostatic) or killing some bacteria (bactericidal). Antibiotics are frequent in the livestock industry to prevent and treat diseases caused by bacteria, allowing for healthy growth and reduced animal mortality and morbidity. The use of these antibiotics occurs principally in pigs, cattle, poultry, and the aquaculture industry.
  • 1.4K
  • 22 Jul 2022
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