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
Luminescent Ln-Ionic Liquids beyond Europium
What is called an ionic liquid (IL) has a very broad definition, comprising multiple substances possessing a wide diversity of structures and properties. An IL consists of both organic and inorganic ions, and may contain more than one cation or anion. Normally, a substance is considered to be an IL if completely composed of ions, with a melting point below 100 °C. Ionic liquids containing lanthanides or lanthanide compounds in ionic liquids are very important in the field of soft luminescent materials. 
  • 855
  • 27 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Wastewater Based Epidemiology
Wastewater-Based epidemiology (WBE) is spreading of any disease or disorder caused by the chemicals or pathogens that come from waste materials such as urine, fecal materials, medical waste  or any solid or liquid waste product. The extraction, detection, analysis, and interpretation of chemical/biological compounds (biomarkers) excreted in the sewage system can eventually contribute to WBE. So wastewater analysis could be equivalent to community-based urine and fecal analysis that can subsequently give a reflection  of community health. Under pandemic situation with time limitations and restrict access to massive diagnostic, an alternative approach as a complementary tool to investigate virus circulation in the community is essential. In the situation of limited and time-consuming diagnostic tests, monitoring sewage systems could better estimate the spread of the virus and determine whether there are potential cases because wastewater surveillance can also account for those who contract mild or asymptomatic state.
  • 902
  • 06 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Food Safety Culture in Nigeria
Food safety culture describes a collection of learned and shared attitudes, values and beliefs that form the foundation of the hygienic behaviors used within a particular food handling environment. Sharman et al. defines food safety culture as a long-term paradigm in a food handling organization deeply rooted in beliefs, behaviors and assumptions which impact the food safety performance within the organization.
  • 1.3K
  • 22 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Rhizoremediation of Petroleum Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Soils
Rhizoremediation of PHCs is facilitated through a process known as the ‘rhizosphere effect’, in which plants exude a myriad of organic compounds into their root-surrounding zone (the rhizosphere), resulting in an increase in abundance and activity of certain rhizospheric microbes, which in turn can degrade or metabolize hydrocarbon contaminants. 
  • 684
  • 23 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Bioethanol Production Using Seawater
  Bioethanol has many environmental and practical benefits as a transportation fuel. It is one of the best alternatives to replace fossil fuels due to its liquid nature, which is similar to the gasoline and diesel fuels traditionally used in transportation. In addition, bioethanol production technology has the capacity for negative carbon emissions, which is vital for solving the current global warming dilemma. However, conventional bioethanol production takes place based on an inland site and relies on freshwater and edible crops (or land suitable for edible crop production) for production, which has led to the food vs. fuel debate. Establishing a coastal marine biorefinery (CMB) system for bioethanol production that is based on coastal sites and relies on marine resources (seawater, marine biomass and marine yeast) could be the ultimate solution. In this paper, we aim to evaluate the environmental impact of using seawater for bioethanol production at coastal locations as a step toward the evaluation of a CMB system. Hence, a life cycle assessment for bioethanol production was conducted using the proposed scenario, named Coastal Seawater, and compared to the conventional scenario, named Inland Freshwater (IF). The impact of each scenario in relation to climate change, water depletion, land use and fossil depletion was studied for comparison. The Coastal Seawater scenario demonstrated an improvement upon the conventional scenario in all the selected impact categories. In particular, the use of seawater in the process had a significant effect on water depletion, showing an impact reduction of 31.2%. Furthermore, reductions were demonstrated in natural land transformation, climate change and fossil depletion of 5.5%, 3.5% and 4.2%, respectively. This indicates the positive impact of using seawater and coastal locations for bioethanol production and encourages research to investigate the CMB system.
  • 1.6K
  • 21 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Controlling Factors of California Precipitation
Using observational data covering 1948–2020, the environmental factors controlling the winter precipitation in California were investigated. Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis was applied to identify the dominant climate regimes contributing to the precipitation. The first EOF mode described a consistent change, with 70.1% variance contribution, and the second modeexhibited a south–east dipole change, with 11.7% contribution. For EOF1, the relationship was positive between PC1(principal component) and SST (sea surface temperature) in the central Pacific Ocean, while it was negative with SST in the southeast Indian Ocean. The Pacific–North America mode, induced by the positive SST and precipitation in the central Pacific Ocean, leads to Californiabeing occupied by southwesterlies, which would transport warm and wet flow from the ocean, beneficial for precipitation. As for the negative relationship, California is controlled by biotrophically high pressure, representing part of the Rossby wave train induced by the positive SST in the Indian ocean, which is unfavorable for the precipitation. For EOF2, California is controlled by positivevorticity at the upper level, whereas at the lower level, there is positive vorticity to the south and negative vorticity to the north, the combination of which leads to the dipole mode change in the precipitation.
  • 589
  • 20 Aug 2021
Topic Review
EU Road Transport Carbon Emissions
To accomplish the 1.5 °C and 2 °C climate change targets, the European Union (EU) has set up several policy initiatives. Within the EU, the carbon emissions of the road transport sector from the consumption of diesel and gasoline are constantly rising. (1) Background: due to road transport policies, diesel and gasoline use within the EU is increasing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere and adding to climate risks. (2) Methods: sustainability analysis used was based on the method recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (3) Results: to meet its road transport requirements, the EU produces an estimated 0.237–0.245 billion tonnes of carbon per year from its total consumption of diesel and gasoline. (4) Conclusion: if there is no significant reduction in diesel and gasoline carbon emissions, there is a real risk that the EU’s carbon budget commitment could lapse and that climate change targets will not be met. Sustainability analysis of energy consumption in road transport sector shows the optimum solution is the direct electrification of road transport. 
  • 1.2K
  • 20 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Polyelectrolyte Multilayers
Polyelectrolyte multilayers are thin organic films obtained by self-assembly of PEs with other charged/uncharged (macro)molecules using an LbL method. The physical and chemical architecture of PEMs can be determined from the nanoscopic level to the macroscopic level. Both weak and strong PEs can participate in the formation of multilayers together with other low molecular or macromolecular compounds (charged or uncharged), the properties of the obtained materials being dependent on the nature and characteristics of the partners involved in the deposition process.
  • 682
  • 19 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Resistive Gas Sensor
With a series of widespread applications, resistive gas sensors are considered to be promising candidates for gas detection, benefiting from their small size, ease-of-fabrication, low power consumption and outstanding maintenance properties. One-dimensional (1-D) nanomaterials, which have large specific surface areas, abundant exposed active sites and high length-to-diameter ratios, enable fast charge transfers and gas-sensitive reactions. They can also significantly enhance the sensitivity and response speed of resistive gas sensors.
  • 3.3K
  • 17 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Anabaenopeptins
Anabaenopeptins (APs) are structurally diverse peptides widely distributed in distinct ecosystems among cyanobacteria. Some structural features of these molecules are shared with other cyanotoxins, such as the presence of modified residues, exocyclic amino acids, circular structure, and amino acids in D-configuration. However, among the cyanopeptides, the ureido linkage is exclusively found in APs. Thus, these cyclic peptides demonstrate toxicity and structural diversity which will be explored in this topic, including biotechnological and ecological relevance, and their distribution.
  • 996
  • 16 Aug 2021
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