Search Results (1,904)

Road transport is one of the most significant sources of environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions; therefore, the development of sustainable mobility is becoming an important direction of urban transport policy. The objectives of the European Union’s transport policy encourage cities to plan and implement measures that reduce the environmental impact of transport, improve transport conditions, and increase the availability of mobility alternatives. The aim of this study is to evaluate the planning of sustainable mobility development in Lithuanian cities by analysing sustainable urban mobility plans, the measures proposed in them, and their links to the needs of urban transport systems. The study applied descriptive statistics, comparative analysis, and document content analysis methods. The urban plans of Lithuanian cities were evaluated according to the following criteria: the time scope and relevance of the plan, the completeness of the analysis of the existing transport system, the assessment of the environment and quality of life in cities, and the compliance of the planned sustainable mobility measures with the needs of the city. The results of the study show that only a portion of Lithuanian cities have prepared sustainable urban mobility plans, and their contents and analytical bases differ. Some of the plans do not provide a sufficiently detailed and relevant analysis of the current situation; therefore, the need for the selected measures is not always clearly justified. The cities analysed generally envisage or apply measures to improve public transport, develop pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, regulate traffic, create electric vehicle infrastructure, and promote multimodality. It was concluded that sustainable mobility planning in Lithuanian cities is uneven, and its assessment depends not only on the diversity of the envisaged measures but also on the analytical quality of planning documents, the justification of measures, and the consistency of envisaged implementation measures. The study highlights the need to strengthen data-based sustainable mobility planning and to more clearly link the measures envisaged in the plans with the specific challenges of urban transport systems. Full article

Coal combustion in large-scale power plants is a major source of atmospheric pollution, including SO₂, NO_x, particulate matter, and the halogen acids HCl and HF. Predicting HCl and HF emissions is challenging due to interactions among fuel composition, fly ash chemistry, combustion conditions, and flue gas dynamics. In this study, artificial neural network (ANN) models are developed from field experiments at the lignite-fired TPP “Kostolac B”. The models incorporate operational parameters (flue gas temperature and flow rate) and fuel/ash characteristics (moisture and total sulphur in coal and CaO content in ash) to estimate HCl and HF emissions. SHAP analysis identified key variables affecting halogen acid release. The developed ANN models achieved satisfactory predictive accuracy, with the test-set performances of RMSE = 2.05 mg/Nm³, R² = 0.80, and MAPE = 18.7% for HCl prediction, and RMSE = 3.23 mg/Nm³, R² = 0.83, and MAPE = 18.7% for HF prediction. SHAP analysis indicated that CaO content in fly ash and coal moisture are the primary drivers of HCl and HF emissions, while operating conditions and coal sulphur content influence emissions through non-linear interaction effects. The proposed ANN-SHAP framework provides a data-driven approach for emission prediction and interpretation, supporting decision-making in emission management. Full article

Background: Container terminals are crucial nodes in global supply chains, but they also contribute significantly to environmental pollution. The analysis of sustainability in port logistics through carbon footprint offers crucial knowledge on how to reduce environmental impact in logistics. Methods: This systematic review uses a PRISMA-based research flow to extract key facts about energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, particularly CO₂, which are still prevalent in terminal operations and logistics. Results: The paper analyses strategies and technologies adopted to reduce the carbon footprint, such as efficient infrastructure, electrification, automation, digitalisation, and AI-powered port logistics. It highlights the potential of sustainable logistics solutions, such as real-time cargo tracking, intelligent robotics and data analytics, to make container terminals more eco-friendly. Conclusions: Beyond analysing sustainability assessment models for the ecological efficiency and operational performance of container terminals, this paper highlights the need for future applied research into how investments in sustainable practices, as demonstrated by the most successful Asian port examples, can further reduce container terminal environmental footprint. Full article

The catalytic removal of refractory VOCs in gas–solid reactions usually suffers from the formation of toxic byproducts and catalyst deactivation. The advanced oxidation process (AOP) wet scrubber has recently attracted interest in VOCs purification due to its high efficiency and inhibited gaseous byproducts emission. MOFs/metal sulfides (termed M50C50) were designed to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for toluene removal in a wet scrubber. The heterojunction interface synergistically couples MIL-100(Fe) and CoS for dual functions, the M50C50 enabled the rapid transfer the toluene from the gas phase to the aqueous phase, where they were subsequently mineralized by SO₄^•− and •OH radicals. The primary active sites responsible for PMS activation were identified as reducing sulfur species, along with low-valence cobalt and iron species. Over 90% of toluene were removed with a wide pH range, while •OH and SO₄^•− were involved in the mineralization of intermediates. The process showed high mineralization efficiency (75% CO₂ evolution) and effectively reduced the formation of toxic byproducts, underscoring its potential for minimizing secondary pollution risks. This work provides a novel route to designing composite catalysts for deep VOC oxidation via AOP wet scrubbers, greatly facilitating their use in environmental remediation. Full article

The European Union produces approximately 8 million tons (dry matter) of sewage sludge annually. Conventional management approaches, such as landfilling and incineration, pose significant environmental concerns, including greenhouse gas emissions and pollutant dispersion. This study evaluates the environmental sustainability of an innovative sludge recovery pathway, Hydrothermal Dewatering (HTD), developed and validated within the LIFE FREEDOM project. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was conducted on a pilot plant treating 1000 tons of sewage sludge. The quantitative results reveal that the HTD process generates a total climate change impact of 8.95 × 10⁴ kg CO₂ eq per functional unit (1000 t). The heating and reaction phase represents the main environmental hotspot, accounting for 92.9% of the overall single-score impact. Crucially, comparative analyses indicate that the HTD process exhibits statistically comparable aggregated impacts to incineration and landfilling, while demonstrating distinct environmental advantages in specific midpoint categories. Furthermore, the assessment of the solid residue (HTD-cake) as a 10 wt% substitute for natural clay in brick manufacturing confirmed the absence of environmental burden shifting. Overall, the findings quantitatively validate HTD as a viable and competitive alternative to traditional end-of-life options. Full article

The atmospheric air quality is one of the crucial factors determining people’s health, duration and quality of life. The importance of ammonia (NH₃) and ethylene (C₂H₄) is due to the fact that they are precursors of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) and phytotoxicants, which significantly affect air quality, cause human diseases and damage plants. The Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometry is a powerful tool for long-term monitoring of the atmospheric gas composition, including toxic gases. The paper presents the results of atmospheric FTIR measurements of NH₃ and C₂H₄ at the St. Petersburg State University observational site (59.88° N, 29.83° E, 20 m above sea level) located in a suburb of greater Saint Petersburg. This work demonstrates the applicability of the ground-based atmospheric FTIR spectroscopy to long-term monitoring of air pollution in urbanized areas and in particular to provide information on the NH₃ and C₂H₄ abundance in the atmosphere, including the analysis of their annual cycle, long-term trends, and positive anomalies. It was shown that for NH₃ and C₂H₄, a statistically significant decrease in column-averaged dry-air mole fraction values (X_NH3 and X_C2H4) was observed, amounting to (−2.3 ± 0.2)%/year for the 2009–2025 period and with the rate (−2.2 ± 0.4)%/year for the 2016–2025 period, respectively. Periodically recorded X_NH3 anomalies indicate the presence of intensive emission sources in the region, subjecting ecosystems in adjacent areas to constant exposure to NH₃ concentrations exceeding the critical level. Anomalously high values of X_NH3 and X_C2H4 were recorded simultaneously only once—on 17 October 2017. Using data on HCN total column (as a forest fire indicator) and the results of atmospheric dispersion modeling, it was shown that this pollution event was caused by the influence of biomass burning products emitted from wildfires located approximately 250 km to the north-west from the observational site in the Helsinki area (Finland). Full article

Rice crop residue burning (RCRB) in India constitutes a major annual environmental crisis, contributing significantly to regional air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and public health deterioration across the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Despite growing policy attention, a systematic, data-driven understanding of the diverse perspectives—agricultural, environmental, economic, and socio-political—expressed across multiple textual sources remains lacking. This study proposes a large language model (LLM)-driven topic modeling pipeline leveraging TopicGPT, an instruction-tuned prompting framework, to extract and evaluate high-level thematic insights from heterogeneous text corpora related to RCRB in India. Our pipeline integrates four sequential stages—topic generation, topic refinement, multi-label topic assignment with grounded evidence, and assignment correction—operated via a locally deployed LLM through the Ollama inference framework. Post-extraction, we evaluate topic quality using ten quantitative metrics encompassing embedding-based coherence, inter-topic diversity, Silhouette score, Davies–Bouldin index, Calinski–Harabasz score, and distribution entropy, among others. Results demonstrate that the proposed pipeline effectively recovers semantically coherent and diverse topic structures from multi-source text data, offering actionable insights for policymakers and researchers addressing RCRB. Full article

The iron and steel industry is one of the most energy- and emission-intensive industrial sectors, accounting for approximately 95% of global metal production and 7–9% of global CO₂ emissions. Its decarbonization is therefore central to climate change mitigation and has potential co-benefits for environmental quality and human health through reductions in air pollutants associated with conventional coal-based steelmaking. This review addresses the following question: which technological and systemic pathways can reduce emissions from iron and steel production, and what constraints limit their deployment across regions? The article synthesizes current knowledge on the dominant blast furnace–basic oxygen furnace and electric arc furnace routes, their emission intensities, and their role in global steel production. It then evaluates two complementary groups of decarbonization pathways: optimization of existing carbon-intensive processes and the transition to low- and near-zero-carbon technologies, including hydrogen-based direct reduction, electrification, carbon capture, utilization and storage. Particular attention is given to the dependence of these pathways on low-carbon electricity, hydrogen availability, scrap supply, infrastructure, policy frameworks, and regional economic conditions. The review highlights that technological readiness alone is insufficient to ensure deep decarbonization; implementation depends on the alignment of energy systems, industrial investment cycles, and climate policy. From a public health perspective, steel decarbonization should be understood as a climate mitigation measure with potential health co-benefits, particularly where it reduces both greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollution. Full article

Maritime transport remains a significant source of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, while existing vessels face increasing pressure to comply with both local pollutant limits and emerging carbon intensity constraints. This study presents a sustainability-oriented techno-economic assessment of alternative sulphur compliance strategies using real operational data from a 1998-built cruise vessel. Three scenarios were evaluated: a counterfactual heavy fuel oil baseline, heavy fuel oil operation with open-loop scrubbers, and full switching to marine diesel oil. Pollutant emissions were estimated using a Tier 3-oriented approach, while fuel-related Tank-to-Wake greenhouse gas intensity, prospective carbon cost exposure, total cost, break-even fuel price spread and sensitivity analyses were integrated into a decision support framework. Results show that scrubbers reduce SO_x emissions by 96.9%, but increase fuel consumption, CO₂ emissions and NO_x emissions by approximately 3.6%. Marine diesel oil switching reduces SO_x by more than 99%, particulate matter by 88.8% and CO₂ by 4.6%, while also lowering prospective carbon cost exposure. However, under base case fuel price assumptions, heavy fuel oil operation with scrubbers remains the lower cost strategy, with a 2035 cost advantage of 4.03 to 5.30 million USD/year, depending on the carbon cost scenario. The findings show that the contribution of sulphur compliance strategies to sustainable maritime operation depends strongly on fuel price spreads, carbon cost exposure and remaining vessel lifetime under evolving regulatory conditions. By quantifying the trade-offs between local air pollution reduction, fuel-related carbon exposure and economic viability, this study contributes to sustainable maritime decision-making for aging vessels and supports compliance planning under regulatory uncertainty. Full article

Cooking oil fumes (COFs) are major pollutants generated during thermal food processing, with emissions rising rapidly due to urbanization and the expanding catering industry, posing significant risks to indoor air quality and human health. This review systematically examines the formation mechanisms, physicochemical properties, and environmental and health impacts of COFs. Their formation involves primary processes such as thermal oxidation, cracking, Maillard reactions, and water vaporization, alongside secondary reactions where volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contribute to ozone (O₃) and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. COFs exhibit complex gas–liquid–solid coexistence and contain hazardous components including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), benzene compounds, aldehydes, and ultrafine particles (Dp ≤ 0.1 μm). Based on reported data, emission factors under typical cooking conditions range from 17.966 to 71.923 mg/(min·kg oil) for VOCs, 0.016 to 1.710 mg/(min·kg oil) for benzene compounds, and 0.458 to 1.820 mg/(min·kg oil) for formaldehyde. This highlights the variability in cooking fume emissions and associated health risks. Despite growing research attention, challenges remain in emission characterization and health risk assessment. By synthesizing current knowledge, this review provides a scientific basis for developing precise mitigation strategies and guiding future regulatory standards, with implications for improving food processing practices and indoor air quality management. Full article

Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) is a persistent pollutant in soils due to its exceptional chemical and biological stability. Pyrolysis has been recognized as an effective technology for the remediation of PFOS-contaminated soil. However, its large-scale application faces challenges such as the requirement of high temperatures, long residence time, and corrosive off-gas treatment. The application of additives during pyrolysis is a promising strategy to overcome these challenges. In this study, six additives (Fe₂O₃, Fe₃O₄, CaO, Ca(OH)₂, kaolinite, and MgO) were employed to improve PFOS removal from soil by pyrolysis. The effects of temperature, residence time, and removal efficiency with additives on the PFOS decomposition mechanism and economic benefits were systematically investigated. The results showed that all additives could allow for effective PFOS removal at a relatively low temperature (350 °C) and with a short residence time (30 min). Fe₂O₃ and CaO at a 5% dosage exhibited PFOS removal efficiency reaching 95.19% and 95.49%, respectively, which were 21.00% higher than that of the no-additive system. The thermodynamic analysis showed that the additives could reduce the activation energy (Ea) of PFOS pyrolysis, among which Fe₂O₃ showed the most significant effect (54.24 kJ/mol). Although additives exerted no significant effect on the type of PFOS decomposition products in soil, they effectively reduced the emission of acidic off-gases. Among them, CaO and Ca(OH)₂ showed the most significant reduction by forming inorganic fluorides, followed by Fe₂O₃ and Fe₃O₄, through providing active sites. Economic analysis indicated that CaO had the lowest cost for PFOS removal (2.86 CNY/mg), followed by Fe₂O₃ (2.88 CNY/mg). Comprehensively considering PFOS removal efficiency, decomposition mechanism, economic cost, and pH of treated soil, Fe₂O₃ was identified as the optimal additive. This study provides new insights into the PFOS pyrolysis in soils, and proposes an energy-efficient remediation approach by reducing temperature, residence time, Ea, and off-gas emissions, which offers support for the large-scale application of this technology. Full article

This study provides an empirical assessment of greenhouse gas emissions and the environmental performance of hybrid vehicles in the European Union. The analysis integrates a macro-level examination of nitrous oxide (N₂O) emission trends in EU Member States for road and pipeline transport with a micro-level econometric investigation of emissions generated by the internal combustion engines of hybrid vehicles. The empirical analysis is based on a large sample of hybrid vehicles of different brands and variants, including 1350 observations used to examine the relationship between CO₂ emissions and fuel consumption per 100 km, and 123 observations to analyze nitrogen oxides (NO_x) emissions. CO₂ is assessed as the principal greenhouse gas emitted during vehicle operation, while NO_x (NO and NO₂) is examined as a major regulated atmospheric pollutant relevant to environmental performance. A bibliometric analysis of NO_x-related publications further highlights increasing scientific attention to this pollutant, supporting the relevance of the current study. Results reveal significant heterogeneity across hybrid vehicle models in terms of fuel consumption and NO_x emissions, indicating that environmental performance is strongly influenced by technological design and operational characteristics. Robust multiple regression models (R² = 0.84 for vehicle with low CO₂ emissions, 0.82 for high CO₂ emissions and R² = 0.72 for NO_x emissions) revealed significant correlations between pollutant emissions and fuel consumption, providing valuable tools for predicting emissions and informing environmental policies and hybrid vehicle design. Overall, the findings indicate that hybrid vehicles can contribute to improved environmental performance and lower greenhouse gas emissions relative to conventional vehicles, while their effectiveness depends on model specific characteristics and broader sectoral emission dynamics in the EU. These insights provide evidence for policymakers and industry stakeholders to support the transition toward cleaner vehicle technologies and align climate neutrality targets in the European Union. Full article

Coal has been Malaysia’s primary energy source for electricity generation for the past few decades, resulting in increased greenhouse gas emissions and irreversible environmental damage. Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) have emerged as a viable clean-energy alternative to mitigate these environmental effects. There has been significant emphasis on developing pollution-free technology, with limited attention given to the environmental impact of SOFC. Research and development efforts have primarily focused on the design and technical aspects of SOFC. Prior to the introduction of SOFC to market, quantifying the environmental footprint of SOFC manufacturing is necessary to support a sustainable energy transition. This study conducts a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of SOFC manufacturing in accordance with ISO 14040 and 14044 standards. The analysis focuses on a planar electrolyte-supported SOFC with a lifespan of 4.57 years, using a functional unit of 1 kWh electrical output. The Environmental Footprint (EF) 3.1 method implemented in GaBi Software was used for the impact assessment. Key environmental impact categories considered in the LCA include Climate Change (CC), Acidification Potential (AP), Eutrophication Potential (EP), Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP), Photochemical Ozone Formation (POF), and Human Toxicity Potential (HTP). The total climate change impact is approximately 19.674 kg CO₂ eq./kWh, with the Balance of Plant (BoP) phase contributing 91% of this impact, while the fuel cell stack phase contributes 1.25%. The study identifies key areas for improvement, primarily related to BoP and other high-impact processes, and emphasizes the importance of targeted measures to effectively reduce the environmental impacts associated with SOFC manufacturing. Full article

Global climate change poses escalating ecological challenges, with agriculture contributing approximately 30% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, primarily from nitrous oxide (N₂O) and methane (CH₄). The farmland carbon-nitrogen cycle represents a key nexus for coordinating pollution control and carbon mitigation. This study applies bibliometric methods, including co-occurrence analysis, clustering, and burst detection, to 1286 publications retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (1990–2025) and CiteSpace 6.2.R4. Results indicate that China (444 papers, centrality 0.42), the United States (211 papers), and Germany (151 papers) are leading contributors, with major institutions forming a multi-centered international collaboration network. Keyword analysis identified 11 core clusters (modularity Q = 0.82, silhouette S = 0.91), with nitrous oxide emerging as the central theme (frequency 670). The field has evolved through three stages: fundamental emission mechanism studies (1990–2005), agricultural management practices (2006–2015), and integrated mitigation strategies with microbial mechanism exploration (2016–2025). Current frontiers emphasize microbial-mediated carbon-nitrogen cycling and yield-scaled emission assessments bridging theory and practice. Future research should prioritize cross-scale coupling analysis, multi-objective management frameworks, smart agricultural technologies, and policy integration. This study provides a systematic bibliometric mapping of the evolution of synergistic carbon-nitrogen research in agricultural systems, offering a quantitative overview of development trends and research gaps. Full article

To mitigate the effects of climate change, the world must significantly reduce its reliance on fossil fuels to lower greenhouse gas emissions. The nuclear power and renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, water, waste, and geothermal energy, emit minimal to no greenhouse gases or pollutants during operation. These sources are considered crucial for combating climate change and supporting sustainable development. However, the production of electricity, like most industries, generates waste. Comparisons show clear differences: fossil fuel plants produce the largest total waste mass (primarily combustion ash, flue gas desulfurization residues, and wastewater sludge), while nuclear facilities generate a minimal volume but high-activity spent fuel and long-lived radioactive materials. Solar PV systems generate significant end-of-life electronic waste and glass encapsulant, and wind turbines yield moderate composite blade residues. Hydropower sediment management and geothermal scaling contribute unique waste streams of local concern. Regardless of the energy source, responsible waste management is critical to minimize environmental impacts. This article explores the sustainability of low-carbon energy sources, specifically focusing on waste management with the aim of highlighting the need of implementing targeted strategies such as advanced recycling and material substitution in order to minimize environmental impacts and enhance the circularity of low-carbon energy systems. Full article