Summary

Environmental science emerged from the fields of natural history and medicine during the Enlightenment. Today, it provides an integrated, quantitative, and interdisciplinary approach to the study of environmental systems. Environmental studies are incorporating more of the social sciences in order to understand human relationships, perceptions and policies towards the environment. This entry collection features information about design and technology for improving environmental quality in every aspect.

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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). 
  • 972
  • 08 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Developing Indoor Temperature Profiles of Albanian Homes
Oversimplifying occupant behaviour using static and standard schedules has been identified as a limitation of building energy simulation tools. Three statistically different profiles were developed for each summer and winter, indicating that homes are used in different ways, as well as revealing possible comfort requirements. A statistically significant association was found between the presence of children and the clusters in winter, suggesting that families with dependents use more energy. Building-related factors including building type, building age, and wall insulation were found to be statistically significantly associated with clusters in summer. 
  • 501
  • 08 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Waste to Energy Conversion Processes
Sustainable biofuel production is the most effective way to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions associated with fossil fuels while preserving food security and land use. The most common methods of converting organic waste into energy are biochemical methods such as anaerobic digestion and fermentation. The use of bioelectrochemical technologies such as microbial fuel cells and microbial electrochemical cells to handle organic waste have been proposed as a solution pathway to energy decarbonization.
  • 1.7K
  • 07 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Embodied CO2 in China’s Imports, Exports
Constraining the embodied CO2 from international trade is a crucial part of China’s efforts to achieve emission peak and carbon neutrality. By referring to the WIOD, researchers applies the Global Multi-Regional Input-Output (GMRIO) Model and the Value-added Trade Accounting Method to calculate the amount of embodied CO2 in China’s international trade from 2000 to 2014. Results indicate that China’s embodied CO2 in imports and exports is imbalanced in three dimensions: product, region, and industry. One direct cause of this phenomenon is China’s higher carbon emission factors compared to its trading partner. However, the real cause is the global relocation of energy-intensive industries, which leads China to undertake the production of high-carbon industries. To achieve the 3060 Dual Carbon Goal and high-quality economic development, China needs comprehensive and systematic reforms in its economic structure. 
  • 570
  • 06 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Applications of Nanoparticles
In recent times, metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) have been regarded as having important commercial utility. However, the potential toxicity of these nanomaterials has also been a crucial research concern. In this regard, an important solution for ensuring lower toxicity levels and thereby facilitating an unhindered application in human consumer products is the green synthesis of these particles. Although a naïve approach, the biological synthesis of metal oxide NPs using microorganisms and plant extracts opens up immense prospects for the production of biocompatible and cost-effective particles with potential applications in the healthcare sector. 
  • 767
  • 07 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Malaysia Waste Management Practices
The three main municipalities of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Melaka, were discussed in their actions in household waste management practices and strategies in social, economy, information technology, and governance to achieve success for a better sustainability of the environment.
  • 3.2K
  • 06 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Green Port Implementation in Indonesia and Circular Economy
Several public seaports and fishing terminals are located in the same port complex but have different fragmented operations such as waste management. It is possible to provide a new initiative to ensure sustainability for all entities in the surrounding port ecosystem through the application of Green Port using the circular economy approach and mixed linear programming model. It was discovered that the integration model has the potential to generate new energy by recycling waste from all related entities in the production of a few main fishing products such as tuna, sardine, and squid, as well as vessel traffic, facilities, and cargo flow interactions in addition to other port operations.
  • 738
  • 06 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Olive Oil Wastewater Management
Olive oil production processes usually generate large amounts of high load polluted wastewater known as Olive Mill Wastewater (OMW), locally known as “Zibar”. Most of these olive oil-producing processes are found in the Mediterranean countries, where olive trees are planted to produce both olives and olive oil.
  • 983
  • 02 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Marine Exhaust Gas Treatment Systems
Two basic types of treatment systems of exhaust gases generated from marine compression ignition engines and from marine combustion systems, e.g., exhaust gas boilers, exist. These two basic exhaust gas treatment systems are used for SOx and particulate matter (PM) mitigation. Marine aqueous exhaust gas treatment and mainly SOx reduction systems have been commercially dominant. Since 2011, dry exhaust gas treatment and SOx mitigation systems have been commercially available from only one manufacturer. As can be realized, the main objective of both aqueous and dry exhaust gas treatment systems is the sorption and the rejection of SOx emissions from exhaust gases generated from marine combustion systems. One additional virtue of these systems is the sorption of particulate emissions of marine-generated exhaust gases, thus reducing the heavy metals, the soot, the polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and the sulfur contained in the particulate matter.
  • 1.4K
  • 02 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Circular Economy in the Built Environment
The circular economy (CE) is a paradigm that is becoming increasingly popular to drive the movement to sustainability, requiring the partnership of the private sector to be implemented successfully. The application of CE initiatives in the private sector engagement has received less attention. The private sector is critical to achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda by interacting with societies, governments, and other actors for a circular built environment.
  • 664
  • 02 Jun 2022
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