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Topic Review
Catalytic Ozonation and Membrane Contactors
Membrane filtration has been widely used in water and wastewater treatment. However, this process is not very effective for the removal of refractory organic compounds (e.g., of pharmaceutical origin). Alongside, ozonation is an efficient oxidative process, although ozone is considered to be a rather selective oxidant agent and sometimes it presents quite low mineralization rates. An improvement of this oxidation process is catalytic ozonation, which can degrade organic compounds via the acceleration of hydroxyl radicals’ production. The hydroxyl radicals are unselective oxidative species, presenting high reaction constants with organic compounds. An efficient way to couple membrane filtration with catalytic ozonation is the deposition of an appropriate solid catalyst onto the membrane surface. Catalytic membrane ozonation can enhance the degradation of these compounds and, subsequently, the incidence of membrane fouling (i.e., the major problem of membrane uses).
  • 977
  • 18 Nov 2020
Topic Review
BIM, GPP for CDW Management
Information Modelling and Management (IMM) methods for Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) can promote the adoption of environmentally sustainable practices. Despite the wide regulatory framework and existing drivers, Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) trend is still upward. The literature review regarding IMM and CDW management implementation during the design phases is mainly focused on studies and applications from the designer and contractor’s points of view, although few studies focused on Green Public Procurement (GPP) and CDW management integration from the Public Client’s point of view. This research aims at investigating the integration and efficiency of MEAT and IMM to promote the application of sustainable strategies focused on waste reduction and resource valorization. The study investigates the Public Client’s role in promoting sustainable practices, introducing digital material inventory and BIM during the design phases, and including environmental award criteria in the call for tender documents. A Design Build (DB) procurement model is considered in the case study of a brownfield renovation and the construction of a new school in northern Italy. The methodology provided the Public Client with a replicable method to evaluate the environmental impact of the bids, allowing for proper selective demolition planning, CDW decrease, and organization while promoting their integration in companies’ expertise and procedures.
  • 976
  • 06 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Field-Effect Transistor-Based Biosensors for Environmental Monitoring
The precise monitoring of environmental contaminants and agricultural plant stress factors, respectively responsible for damages to our ecosystems and crop losses, has become nowadays a topic of uttermost importance. This is also highlighted by the recent introduction of the so-called "Sustainable Development Goals" of the United Nations, which aim at reducing pollutants while implementing more sustainable food production practices leading to a reduced impact on all ecosystems. In this context, the standard methods currently used in these fields represent a sub-optimal solution, being expensive, laboratory-based techniques, and typically requiring trained personnel with high expertise. Recent advances in both biotechnology and material science, have led to the emergence of new sensing (and biosensing) technologies, enabling low-cost, precise, and real-time detection. An especially interesting category of biosensors is represented by field-effect transistor-based biosensors (bio-FETs), which enable the possibility of performing in-situ, continuous, selective, and sensitive measurements of a wide palette of different parameters of interest. Furthermore, bio-FETs offer the possibility of being fabricated using innovative and sustainable materials, employing various device configurations, each customized for a specific application. In the specific field of environmental and agricultural monitoring, the exploitation of these devices is particularly attractive as it paves the way to early detection and intervention strategies useful to limit, or even to completely avoid negative outcomes (such as diseases to animals or ecosystems losses). 
  • 975
  • 08 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Urban Growth Boundary
With the rapid and unregulated nature of urban expansion occurring in Chattogram, Bangladesh, the adoption of urban growth restriction mechanisms such as the urban growth boundary (UGB) can provide a robust framework necessary to direct the development of built-up areas in a way that curtails the growth in environmentally sensitive areas of the city. UGBs, in simple terms, can be defined as land regulations that have been put into place, in most cases, by the local government to prohibit urban growth and development beyond a defined boundary. The UGBs are designed to protect non-urban land outside the boundary and to promote compact, contiguous, and sustainable urban development. The UGB, as an urban growth policy tool, has been implemented in a wide variety of cities in both the developed and the developing world.
  • 971
  • 20 May 2022
Topic Review
Aquatic Mosses as Adaptable Bio-Filters
Heavy metals (HMs) are released into the environment by many human activities and persist in water even after remediation. The efficient filtration of solubilized HMs is extremely difficult. Phytoremediation appears a convenient tool to remove HMs from polluted water, but it is limited by the choice of plants able to adapt to filtration of polluted water in terms of space and physiological needs. Biomasses are often preferred. Aquatic moss biomasses, thanks to gametophyte characteristics, can act as live filtering material. The potential for phytoremediation of Hypnales aquatic mosses has been poorly investigated compared to aquatic macrophytes. Their potential is usually indicated as a tool for bioindication and environmental monitoring more than for pollutant removal. When phytoremediation has been considered, insufficient attention has been paid to the adaptability of biomasses to different needs. In this study the heavy metal uptake of moss Taxiphyllum barbieri grown in two different light conditions, was tested with high concentrations of elements such as Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu, As, and Cr. This moss produces dense mats with few culture needs. The experimental design confirmed the capacity of the moss to accumulate HMs accordingly to their physiology and then demonstrated that a significant proportion of HMs was accumulated within a few hours. In addition to the biosorption effect, an evident contribution of the active simplastic mass can be evidenced. These reports of HM accumulation within short time intervals, show how this moss is particularly suitable as an adaptable bio-filter, representing a new opportunity for water eco-sustainable remediation.
  • 971
  • 31 May 2021
Topic Review
DSGSDs on Mars
Deep-Seated Gravitational Slope Deformations (DSGSDs) are a set of slow and complex gravity-driven deformational processes, involving entire slopes (or large portions of them) over long time intervals. These phenomena have been identified on Mars since the early 2000s, and several detailed studies were conducted on them.
  • 971
  • 29 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Civitas (Think Tank)
Civitas: The Institute for the Study of Civil Society is a United Kingdom think tank working on issues related to democracy and social policy.
  • 970
  • 22 Nov 2022
Topic Review Video
Humipedon
The soil covers our entire planet and corresponds to the most superficial part of the earth's crust. Exposed to the attack of atmospheric agents and living organisms, the soil is organized in layers recognizable to the naked eye, more organic towards the atmosphere or water (if submerged), more mineral towards the rocky part of the bottom. To facilitate its study, specialists divided the soil into three sections: richer in organisms part -> 1. Humipedon; bottom still in contact with the unaltered rock section -> 3. Lithopedon; in-between, central, mineral part -> 2. Copedon. The present encyclopedia entry describes the variability of the humipedons of planet Earth. They have been subdivided in ecological groups and classified into different humus systems. The aim is to display them and diffuse their knowledge.
  • 969
  • 30 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Volatile Fatty Acid recovery
Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) are low-molecular-weight carboxylic acids containing two to six carbon atoms that are produced as the final product of acidogenic fermentation in anaerobic digestion process.
  • 969
  • 28 Sep 2021
Topic Review Video Peer Reviewed
Lorenz’s View on the Predictability Limit of the Atmosphere
To determine whether (or not) the intrinsic predictability limit of the atmosphere is two weeks and whether (or not) Lorenz’s approaches support this limit, this entry discusses the following topics: (A). The Lorenz 1963 model qualitatively revealed the essence of a finite predictability within a chaotic system such as the atmosphere. However, the Lorenz 1963 model did not determine a precise limit for atmospheric predictability. (B). In the 1960s, using real-world models, the two-week predictability limit was originally estimated based on a doubling time of five days. The finding was documented by Charney et al. in 1966 and has become a consensus. Throughout this entry, Major Point A and B are used as respective references for these topics. A literature review and an analysis suggested that the Lorenz 1963 model qualitatively revealed a finite predictability, and that findings of the Lorenz 1969 model with a saturation assumption supported the idea of the two-week predictability limit, which, in the 1960s, was estimated based on a doubling time of five days obtained using real-world models. However, the theoretical Lorenz 1963 and 1969 models have limitations, such as a lack of certain processes and assumptions, and, therefore, cannot represent an intrinsic predictability limit of the atmosphere. This entry suggests an optimistic view for searching for a predictability limit using different approaches and is supported by recent promising simulations that go beyond two weeks.
  • 969
  • 07 Aug 2023
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