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.

Expand All
Entries
Topic Review
Thallium
Thallium, as a pharmaceutical cosmetic product, is applied for facial hair removal and fungal infections of the scalp. Thallium acetate is currently used as a catalyst in organic synthesis in the oxidation of olefins and hydrocarbons, and in epoxidation and polymerization reactions. Detection of Tl is a challenging task because its concentration in environmental samples may be at a nanogram per gram level or lower.
  • 1.7K
  • 23 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Nitrogen Turbine Engine
An ever-increasing demand for electrical power and soaring levels of energy consumption around the world have led to an energy crisis. Thus, this entry focuses on the conventional technologies against those of newer developments in electrical power generation such as using nitrogen generators. The nitrogen generator method is most appealing as it is a seemingly free energy already existing in nature. A nitrogen generator with a 5000 (Nm3/h) capacity has the potential to be used to analyze gas composition and the results are compared with the gas composition of a conventional steam turbine, which is used to pressurize 6000 (kWh) injection steam turbines. The magnetic bearing must be installed in both systems to modify all centrifuged systems which reduces all energy consumption in all systems by more than 50%. Artificial intelligence is used with the machine to analyze and control nitrogen gas flow to provide a more precise evaluation resulting in a more efficient technology. It should further be noted that the nitrogen turbine is superior to the steam turbine because it does not require the burning of fossil fuel to generate power. Hence, it is crucial to modify conventional technologies to improve energy sustainability and begin the long task of tackling environmental issues.
  • 2.1K
  • 12 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Parthenin
Parthenin, a sesquiterpene lactone of pseudoguaianolide type, is the representative secondary metabolite of the tropical weed Parthenium hysterophorus (Asteraceae). It accounts for a multitude of biological activities, including toxicity, allergenicity, allelopathy, and pharmacological aspects of the plant. Thus far, parthenin and its derivatives have been tested for chemotherapeutic abilities, medicinal properties, and herbicidal/pesticidal activities. However, due to the lack of toxicity-bioactivity relationship studies, the versatile properties of parthenin are relatively less utilised. The possibility of exploiting parthenin in different scientific fields (e.g., chemistry, medicine, and agriculture) makes it a subject of analytical discussion. It is important to highlight that the toxic nature of parthenin can be overcome by thoroughly understanding its structural basis, designing suitable derivatives, and deciding the appropriate doses.
  • 910
  • 09 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Indoor Air Quality Improvement
Poor indoor air quality is a consequence of air contamination with pollutants whose sources may be natural or anthropogenic. The diversity of air contaminants range from particulate materials (PMs), biological pollutants, and over 400 different organic and inorganic chemical compounds, whose concentrations depend on both internal and external factors. Because people spend most of their time inside, poor indoor air quality causes serious human health issues, resulting in significant economic losses. Nature-based solutions using microalgae systems that mimic the role played by microalgae in the oceans, providing oxygen and biofixing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, may be installed in new and already existing buildings to improve indoor air quality in an energy-conserving manner while providing autonomy to the building. 
  • 888
  • 08 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Industrial Ecology Education
Industrial ecology (IE) education is a topic that has received attention in institutions of higher education throughout the world. Some universities have been teaching and researching IE for the past 20 years but its scope is still being defined. There is a need to catalogue and exchange experiences of IE teaching and their results. In addition to an extensive literature review, this paper provides a framework composed of content and strategies for teaching Industrial Ecology. This framework is tested in teaching IE as a general education course for undergraduate students at Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT). The methodology applied in this paper is of a descriptive and empirical nature and thus this paper focuses on a practice-oriented perspective in describing the experience at BIT. A range of different strategies, including lectures, group discussions, case studies, role playing games, oral presentations, evaluation, and student feedback have been incorporated into the course. The course received highly positive evaluation by the participating students. Students were impressed by IE’s characteristic of interdisciplinarity, way of thinking and practical value. Additionally, the course appears to influence students’ values, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. The paper concludes with some thoughts on ways of improving IE education in the future.
  • 795
  • 06 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Quinoa for the Brazilian Cerrado
Quinoa stands out as an excellent crop in the Cerrado region for cultivation in the off-season or irrigated winter season. Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a pseudocereal rich in natural antioxidants, flavonoids, and anthocyanins, and these compounds may protect plants against biotic and abiotic stress. Water stress increases leaf temperature, and reduces crop height, stomatal conductance, plant biomass, and yield. Here, we tested the effects of different water regimes on the agronomic characteristics, physiology, and grain quality of different elite quinoa genotypes under field conditions.
  • 491
  • 08 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Stationary Fuel Cell System
Fuel cell technologies have several applications in stationary power production, such as units for primary power generation, grid stabilization, systems adopted to generate backup power, and combined-heat-and-power configurations (CHP). The main sectors where stationary fuel cells have been employed are (a) micro-CHP, (b) large stationary applications, (c) UPS, and IPS. The fuel cell size for stationary applications is strongly related to the power needed from the load. Since this sector ranges from simple backup systems to large facilities, the stationary fuel cell market includes few kWs and less (micro-generation) to larger sizes of MWs. The design parameters for the stationary fuel cell system differ for fuel cell technology (PEM, AFC, PAFC, MCFC, and SOFC), as well as the fuel type and supply.
  • 1.4K
  • 09 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Application of Google Earth Engine
Google Earth Engine (GEE) is a cloud computing platform that was launched by Google in 2010. Since then, GEE has demonstrated its capacity of preprocessing and mining of geographic big data. GEE enables cloud computation and is an effective tool for carrying out the analysis of global geospatial big data.
  • 3.9K
  • 08 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Green Goldmining
Green goldmining was proposed since goldmining has brought about hardship in local communities through pollution of water and air; lost grazing and agricultural land; the creation of unprotected mining pits; exploitation and depletion of natural resources; as well as forced eviction and relocation of communities without fair compensation. Environmental management accounting practices are suggested to facilitate greener goldmining processes.
  • 744
  • 29 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Drag Reduction Using Additives
Reduction of fluid resistance using the rheological characteristics of a polymer-surfactant solvent is research that contains many aspects, such as the theory of the drag reduction process, historical journey, and ongoing current research development. Many studies have been conducted, but it is challenging to know all existing and new research threads. The present investigation was conducted using literature studies regarding drag reducing agents. This research will also discuss the characteristics of flowing fluids and their effects on the velocity profile with friction factor of flowing fluids in smooth circular straight pipe geometries based on experimental, theoretical approaches. It concludes with aspects of research conducted around reducing drag using drag reducing agents, ideas about innovations, structuring overlook in testing, and modification of the fluid flow state. 
  • 552
  • 29 Sep 2021
  • Page
  • of
  • 106

Featured Entry Collections

>>