Search Results (1,975)

Effluents from the textile industry, particularly those containing synthetic azo dyes, poses a significant environmental threat, necessitating the development of more effective and sustainable pollutant removal methods. Traditional dye removal techniques often fall short in efficiency and environmental impact, prompting the exploration of enzymatic degradation as a promising alternative. This study focuses on chloroperoxidase, a natural biocatalyst recognized for its ability to oxidize synthetic dyes into less harmful products. By exploring the mechanistic distinction between chlorination and oxidative processes, we investigate the enzyme’s specific degradation pathways for azo dyes and the resulting by-products. Utilizing analytical techniques, including liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS), and density functional theory (DFT), we gain insights into the decolorization mechanism, revealing that the enzyme preferentially generates oxidative products through C–N bond cleavage as its initial degradation step. These findings underscore not only the unique mechanistic properties of chloroperoxidase but also its potential as a biocatalyst for industrial applications. This study advocates further research into the optimization of enzyme-based systems, highlighting their relevance in advancing greener chemical practices in the textile industry, thus contributing to more sustainable manufacturing processes. Full article

Today, hydrogen is already widely regarded as up-and-coming source of energy. It is essential to meet energy needs while reducing environmental pollution, since it has a high energy capacity and does not emit carbon oxide when burned. However, for the widespread application of hydrogen energy, it is necessary to search new technical solutions for both its production and storage. A promising effective and cost-efficient method of hydrogen generation and storage can be the use of solid materials, including nanomaterials in which chemical or physical adsorption of hydrogen occurs. Focusing on the recommendations of the DOE, the search is underway for materials with high gravimetric capacity more than 6.5% wt% and in which sorption and release of hydrogen occurs at temperatures from −20 to +100 °C and normal pressure. This review aims to summarize research on hydrogen generation and storage using silicon nanostructures and silicon composites. Hydrogen generation has been observed in Si nanoparticles, porous Si, and Si nanowires. Regardless of their size and surface chemistry, the silicon nanocrystals interact with water/alcohol solutions, resulting in their complete oxidation, the hydrolysis of water, and the generation of hydrogen. In addition, porous Si nanostructures exhibit a large internal specific surface area covered by SiH_x bonds. A key advantage of porous Si nanostructures is their ability to release molecular hydrogen through the thermal decomposition of SiHx groups or in interaction with water/alkali. The review also covers simulations and theoretical modeling of H₂ generation and storage in silicon nanostructures. Using hydrogen with fuel cells could replace Li-ion batteries in drones and mobile gadgets as more efficient. Finally, some recent applications, including the potential use of Si-based agents as hydrogen sources to address issues associated with new approaches for antioxidative therapy. Hydrogen acts as a powerful antioxidant, specifically targeting harmful ROS such as hydroxyl radicals. Antioxidant therapy using hydrogen (often termed hydrogen medicine) has shown promise in alleviating the pathology of various diseases, including brain ischemia–reperfusion injury, Parkinson’s disease, and hepatitis. Full article

(1) Background: Marine eutrophication represents a formidable challenge to sustainable global aquaculture, posing a severe threat to marine ecosystems and impeding the achievement of UN Sustainable Development Goal 14. Current methodologies for identifying eutrophication events and tracing their drivers from vast, heterogeneous text data rely on manual analysis and thus have significant limitations. (2) Methods: To address this issue, we developed a novel automated attribution analysis framework. We first pre-trained a domain-specific model (Aquaculture-BERT) on a 210-million-word corpus, which is the foundation for constructing a comprehensive Aquaculture Eutrophication Knowledge Graph (AEKG) with 3.2 million entities and 8.5 million relations. (3) Results: Aquaculture-BERT achieved an F1-score of 92.1% in key information extraction, significantly outperforming generic models. The framework successfully analyzed complex cases, such as Xiamen harmful algal bloom, generating association reports congruent with established scientific conclusions and elucidating latent pollution pathways (e.g., pond aquaculture–nitrogen input–Phaeocystis bloom). (4) Conclusions: This study delivers an AI-driven framework that enables the intelligent and efficient analysis of aquaculture-induced eutrophication, propelling a paradigm shift toward the deep integration of data-driven discovery with hypothesis-driven inquiry. The framework provides a robust tool for quantifying the environmental impacts of aquaculture and identifying pollution sources, contributing to sustainable management and achieving SDG 14 targets. Full article

Alexandrium spp. blooms produce a range of toxins, including spirolides, goniodomins, and paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs). Of these, PSTs are the most impactful due to their high affinity for voltage-gated sodium ion channels in nerve cell membranes. This interaction can cause neurological effects such as paralysis and, in severe cases, may lead to death. Given the implications of Alexandrium blooms on public health, all mitigation, prevention, and treatment strategies aim to reduce their socioeconomic impacts. However, monitoring harmful algal blooms remains difficult due to confounding influences such as pollution, climate change, and the inherent variability of environmental conditions. These factors can complicate early detection and management efforts, especially as the intensity and frequency of blooms continue to rise, further exacerbating their socioeconomic consequences. This review offers insights into several management approaches to prevent and control Alexandrium blooms, focusing on modified nano-clays as a promising emergency mitigation measure for low-density toxic algal blooms, especially in areas predominantly used for recreational fishing. However, it is recommended that treatment be coupled with monitoring to alleviate reliance on treatment alone. Full article

Nitrogen eutrophication represents a significant environmental challenge in Chinese aquatic ecosystems, exacerbated by rapid agricultural intensification, industrial expansion, and urban development. This review consolidates existing knowledge on the drivers and impacts of nitrogen pollution in Chinese aquatic ecosystems, with a focus on environments such as lakes, rivers, and coastal waters. The primary sources of nitrogen enrichment are excessive fertilizer application, livestock manure discharge, industrial emissions, and untreated industrial and municipal wastewater. These inputs have led to severe ecological consequences, including harmful algal blooms, hypoxia, loss of biodiversity, and deteriorating water quality, threatening ecosystem health and human well-being. The review also examines mitigation strategies implemented in China, encompassing regulatory policies such as the “Zero Growth” fertilizer initiative, as well as technological advancements in wastewater treatment and sustainable farming practices. Case studies highlighting successful interventions, such as lake restoration projects and integrated watershed management, demonstrate the potential for effective nitrogen control. However, persistent challenges remain, including uneven policy enforcement, insufficient public awareness, and gaps in scientific understanding of nitrogen cycling dynamics. This review aims to inform future efforts toward achieving sustainable nitrogen management in China by synthesizing current research and identifying key knowledge gaps. Addressing these issues is crucial for safeguarding China’s aquatic ecosystems and promoting global nutrient stewardship. Full article

Air quality is a vital factor for safeguarding public and environmental health. Particulate matter (i.e., PM2.5 and PM10) and nitrogen dioxide are among the most harmful air pollutants leading to severe health risks such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, while also affecting the environment negatively by contributing to the formation of acid rains and ground level ozone. The European Union has introduced new thresholds on those pollutants to be met by the year 2030, taking into consideration the guidelines set by the World Health Organization, aiming for a healthier environment for humans and living species. Cyprus is an island that is vulnerable to those pollutants mostly due to its geographic location, facilitating shipping activities and dust transport from Sahara Desert, and the methods used to produce electricity which primarily rely on petroleum products. Furthermore, the country suffers from heavy traffic conditions, making it susceptible to high levels of nitrogen dioxide. Thus, the projection of air pollutants according to different scenarios based on regulations and policies of the European Union are necessary towards clean air and better practices. The Screening for High Emission Reduction Potential on Air (SHERPA) is a tool developed by the European Commission which allows the simulation of emission reduction scenarios and their effect on the following key pollutants: NO, NO₂, O₃, PM2.5, PM10. This study aims to assess the potential of the SHERPA simulation tool to support air quality related decision and policy planning in Cyprus to ensure that the country will remain within the thresholds that will be applicable in 2030. Full article

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a diverse group of synthetic fluorinated compounds widely used in industrial and consumer products due to their exceptional thermal stability and hydrophobicity. However, these same properties contribute to their environmental persistence, bioaccumulation, and potential adverse health effects, including hepatotoxicity, immunotoxicity, endocrine disruption, and increased cancer risk. Traditional water treatment technologies, such as coagulation, sedimentation, biological degradation, and even advanced membrane processes, have demonstrated limited efficacy in removing PFAS, as they primarily separate or concentrate these compounds rather than degrade them. In response to these limitations, photoassisted processes have emerged as promising alternatives capable of degrading PFAS into less harmful products. These strategies include direct photolysis using UV or VUV irradiation, heterogeneous photocatalysis with materials such as TiO₂ and novel semiconductors, light-activated persulfate oxidation generating sulfate radicals, and photo-Fenton reactions producing highly reactive hydroxyl radicals. Such approaches leverage the generation of reactive species under irradiation to cleave the strong carbon–fluorine bonds characteristic of PFAS. This review provides a comprehensive overview of emerging photoassisted technologies for PFAS removal from water, detailing their fundamental principles, degradation pathways, recent advancements in material development, and integration with hybrid treatment processes. Moreover, it discusses current challenges related to energy efficiency, catalyst deactivation, incomplete mineralization, and scalability, outlining future perspectives for their practical application in sustainable water treatment systems to mitigate PFAS pollution effectively. Full article

The rapid growth of the human population and industrialization has intensified anthropogenic activities, leading to the release of various toxic chemicals into the environment, triggering significant risks to human health and ecosystem stability. One sustainable solution to remove toxic chemicals from various environmental matrices, such as water, air, and soil, is bioremediation, an approach utilizing biological agents. Microalgae, as the primary producers of the aquatic environment, offer a versatile bioremediation platform, where their metabolic processes break down and convert pollutants into less harmful substances, thereby mitigating the negative ecological impact. Besides the CO₂ sequestration potential, microalgae are a source of renewable energy and numerous high-value biomolecules. Additionally, microalgae can mitigate various toxic chemicals through biosorption, bioaccumulation, and biodegradation. These remediation strategies propose a sustainable and eco-friendly approach to address environmental pollution. This review evaluates the microalgal mitigation of major environmental contaminants—heavy metals, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), persistent organic pollutants (POPs), flue gases, microplastics, and nanoplastics—linking specific microalgae removal mechanisms to pollutant-induced cellular responses. Each section explicitly addresses the effects of these pollutants on microalgae, microalgal bioremediation potential, bioaccumulation process, the risks of trophic transfer, and biomagnification in the food web. Herein, we highlight the current status of the microalgae-based bioremediation prospects, pollutant-induced microalgal toxicity, bioaccumulation, and consequential biomagnification. The novelty of this review lies in integrating biomagnification risks with the bioremediation potential of microalgae, providing a comprehensive perspective not yet addressed in the existing literature. Finally, we identify major research gaps and outline prospective strategies to optimize microalgal bioremediation while minimizing the unintended trophic transfer risks. Full article

Air quality is crucial for public health and the environment, which makes it important to both monitor and forecast the level of pollution. Polluted air, containing harmful substances such as particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, or ozone, can lead to serious respiratory and circulatory diseases, especially in people at risk. Air quality forecasting allows for early warning of smog episodes and taking actions to reduce pollutant emissions. In this article, we review air pollutant concentration forecasting methods, analyzing both classical statistical approaches and modern techniques based on artificial intelligence, including deep models, neural networks, and machine learning, as well as advanced sensing technologies. This work aims to present the current state of research and identify the most promising directions of development in air quality modeling, which can contribute to more effective health and environmental protection. According to the reviewed literature, deep learning–based models, particularly hybrid and attention-driven architectures, emerge as the most promising approaches, while persistent challenges such as data quality, interpretability, and integration of heterogeneous sensing systems define the open issues for future research. Full article

Microplastic (MPL) and nanoplastic (NPL) contamination in soils is widespread, impacting soil invertebrates, microbial communities, and soil–plant systems. Here, we compiled the information from 100 research articles from 2018 onwards to enhance and synthesize the status quo of MPLs’ and NPLs’ impacts on such groups. The effects of these pollutants depend on multiple factors, including polymer composition, size, shape, concentration, and aging processes. Research on soil invertebrates has focused on earthworms and some studies on nematodes and collembolans, but studies are still limited to other groups, such as mites, millipedes, and insect larvae. Beyond soil invertebrates, plastics are also altering microbial communities at the soil–plastic interface, fostering the development of specialized microbial assemblages and shifting microbial functions in ways that remain poorly understood. Research has largely centered on bacterial interactions with MPLs, leaving understudied fungi, protists, and other soil microorganisms. Furthermore, MPLs and NPLs also interact with terrestrial plants, and their harmful effects, such as adsorption, uptake, translocation, and pathogen vectors, raise public awareness. Given the complexity of these interactions, well-replicated experiments and community- and ecosystem-level studies employing objective-driven technologies can provide insights into how MPLs and NPLs influence microbial and faunal diversity, functional traits, and soil ecosystem stability. Full article

Environmental problems associated with emergency emissions, indoor air pollution with harmful particles, and the spread of viruses and bacteria make the topic of cleaning indoor air from small particles of pollution relevant. In the event of a dangerous situation associated with the presence of small particles in the air, especially those smaller than 10 μm, methods for quickly cleaning the air from such pollutants are required. One of these new methods is the efficient spraying of fine aerosol using the ultrasound technique. Fine aerosol with a droplet size of about 30–50 μm interacts more effectively with pollutant particles compared to larger aerosols. In this paper, the process of interaction of droplets with a characteristic size of 30–50 μm with airborne pollutant particles sized 0.1–10 μm is theoretically studied. Particular attention is paid to particles sized 0.1–2 μm, which are the most difficult to remove from the air. The work will serve as a theoretical basis for the development of methods for cleaning indoor air of pollutant particles using fine aerosol. Full article

Laccases, a class of multicopper oxidases found in diverse biological sources, have emerged as key green biocatalysts with significant potential for eco-friendly pollutant degradation. Their ability to drive electron transfer reactions using oxygen, converting pollutants into less harmful products, positions laccases as promising tools for scalable and sustainable treatment of wastewater, soil, and air pollution. This review explores laccase from a translational perspective, tracing its journey from laboratory discovery to real-world applications. Emphasis is placed on recent advances in production optimization, immobilization strategies, and nanotechnology-enabled enhancements that have improved enzyme stability, reusability, and catalytic efficiency under complex field conditions. Applications are critically discussed for both traditional pollutants such as synthetic dyes, phenolics, and pesticides and emerging contaminants, including endocrine-disrupting chemicals, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, microplastic additives, and PFAS. Special attention is given to hybrid systems integrating laccase with advanced oxidation processes, bioelectrochemical systems, and renewable energy-driven reactors to achieve near-complete pollutant mineralization. Challenges such as cost–benefit limitations, limited substrate range without mediators, and regulatory hurdles are evaluated alongside solutions including protein engineering, mediator-free laccase variants, and continuous-flow bioreactors. By consolidating recent mechanistic insights, this study underscores the translational pathways of laccase, highlighting its potential as a cornerstone of next-generation, scalable, and eco-friendly remediation technologies aligned with circular bioeconomy and low-carbon initiatives. Full article

Most studies on microplastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems have focused on the quantitative and qualitative assessment of particles in surface waters. However, the highest concentrations and accumulation of microplastic particles are observed in bottom sediments. The aim of this study was to determine the concentrations of microplastic particles of different morphology in sediments in the beach and littoral zones of Lake Baikal. This study is the first in relation to Lake Baikal to focus specifically on the analysis of microplastic particles in bottom sediments. The results of the study showed that the registered values of concentration of microplastic particles do not exceed the average values for lakes around the world. The predominant type of particles in both the littoral zone and the beach is microplastic fibers. An exception is observed only for one of the locations. This exception is related to the permanent mooring of vessels in this place. Analysis of the types of artificial polymers showed that the microplastic fibers were represented by polyester, and the fragments were represented by alkyd resin (66%), polyvinyl alcohol (32%) and polyvinyl chloride (2%). Shown for the first time in this study, the presence of large numbers of microplastic particles with rare types of artificial polymers suggests that these particles may be under-reported in other studies. The underestimation of particles may be due either to the selection of sampling locations located far from heavily contaminated areas, or to the fragility of these polymers. Although the harm of these types of polymers has not yet been confirmed, the large number of these particles in local areas of lakes should be taken into account. This is due to the large number of organisms, which is usually characteristic of littoral areas, including Lake Baikal, with its diversity of fauna and flora. Full article

Compared with other fossil fuels, the combustion of natural gas releases fewer pollutants, with carbon dioxide being the main emission. As the need for environmental protection increases, gas combustion technology has been progressively developed, working to improve combustion efficiency and reduce harmful emissions. This study utilized computational fluid dynamics to conduct a numerical simulation of gas burners, establishing a physical model on the basis of the standard structural dimensions of the burners. This research focused on investigating the impacts of the excess air ratio, air temperature, and fuel load on combustion characteristics and nitrogen oxide emission levels. These results indicate that although increasing the excess air ratio can effectively reduce nitrogen oxide generation, it adversely affects the combustion efficiency. Additionally, a decrease in air temperature tends to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions, but adaptive adjustments to the combustion system are needed to sustain efficiency. While reducing the fuel load contributes to lower nitrogen oxide emissions, it compromises the combustion efficiency. Full article

The article addresses the issue of liquefied natural gas (LNG) distribution as a marine fuel, analyzing both ecological and economic aspects in the context of the Baltic Sea basin. The authors emphasize that LNG plays an increasingly significant role in the global energy balance, and its application in maritime transport is crucial for implementing sustainable development policies and advancing the energy transition. From an ecological perspective, LNG offers a substantial reduction in harmful emissions compared with conventional marine fuels such as marine diesel oil (MDO) and heavy fuel oil (HFO). In particular, the use of LNG results in lower emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), sulfur oxides (SO_x), nitrogen oxides (NO_x), and particulate matter (PM). The reduction in these pollutants is essential not only for improving air quality in port and coastal areas but also for mitigating global environmental impacts, including climate change. On the economic side, the article focuses on the cost structure of LNG distribution, highlighting that its price dynamics are subject to significant fluctuations. These variations are driven by geopolitical developments, crude oil price volatility, environmental regulations, and the expansion of bunkering infrastructure. From an economic perspective, LNG prices show significant volatility depending on the year and market conditions. Between 2018 and 2023, LNG prices ranged from approximately 450 to 530 USD/ton, at times exceeding the cost of HFO (400–550 USD/ton) but in some years remaining cheaper. In comparison, MDO prices were consistently the highest, increasing over the analyzed period from 600 USD/ton to over 720 USD/ton. This variability results from geopolitical factors, supply and demand dynamics, and environmental regulations, which highlight the strategic importance of LNG as a transitional fuel in shipping. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of LNG as an alternative fuel for shipping in the Baltic Sea, with particular emphasis on the scale of vessel emissions and the key factors influencing its distribution costs. Full article