Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Andre F. T. Avelino, Patrick Lamers, Yimin Zhang, Helena Chum
Summary: Expanding the domestic bioeconomy can help diversify the use of national resources and reduce emissions. Evaluating the sustainability of a growing bioeconomy is complex and requires a comprehensive analysis framework. Analysis of the evolution of biofuel industry in the US shows increased impacts on energy, but decreased environmental impacts on an energy-unit basis over time due to industry maturation and scale-up.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Review
Energy & Fuels
C. Oliveira Henriques, S. Sousa
Summary: This paper reviews the Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment (EIO-LCA), one of the underutilized but important approaches in assessing environmental implications of electricity generation. The EIO-LCA analysis, using economic input-output tables and sector-level environmental and energy data, enables comprehensive evaluation of the impacts of all sectors involved in electricity generation. The paper provides an overview of the methodology, its assumptions, and various applications in electricity generation, as well as addressing the issue of disaggregation in the electricity sector.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Pooja Yadav, Dimitris Athanassiadis, Io Antonopoulou, Ulrika Rova, Paul Christakopoulos, Mats Tysklind, Leonidas Matsakas
Summary: The study focuses on life cycle and cost assessment of novel organosolv lignin production process from spruce bark, comparing different scenarios to identify the most environmentally and economically suitable option. Results show that the baseline scenario has higher global warming potential and total cost compared to other scenarios, with scenario S2 being the most optimal choice.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Gulizar Balcioglu, Harish K. Jeswani, Adisa Azapagic
Summary: This study evaluates the life cycle environmental impacts and costs of heat and electricity generation from poplar and Miscanthus, two potential energy crops in Turkey. The results show that poplar-based combined heat and power (CHP) combustion is the best option in terms of environmental impacts. All bioenergy plants provide significant reductions in global warming potential, fossil fuel depletion, and human toxicity. Poplar-based energy plants have better environmental and economic profiles compared to Miscanthus, except when land use change is considered.
SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Asiful Alam, Md Farhad Hossain Masum, Puneet Dwivedi
Summary: The study analyzed the break-even price and carbon emissions of SAF derived from Carinata, and found that it could provide a 65% relative carbon savings compared to conventional aviation fuel. However, the price of Carinata-based SAF is higher than traditional fuel without subsidies. Therefore, continued policy support is needed to promote its manufacturing and distribution in the Southeastern United States.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY BIOENERGY
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Antonella Petrillo, Marta Travaglioni, Simona Di Fraia, Laura Vanoli, Domenico Cirillo, Maurizio La Villetta
Summary: This study presents an Italian case study of a pilot micro-trigeneration plant based on the gasification of wood chips and residual lignocellulosic biomass. Using Life Cycle Assessment techniques, the study provides an estimation of resource consumption and emissions from energy recovery. The results show that greenhouse gas emissions are very low, indicating that biomass can be considered a renewable source and a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Daniele Costa, Paula Quinteiro, Valdecy Pereira, Ana Claudia Dias
Summary: This study presents the first social life cycle assessment of the Portuguese pulp and paper sector. Two different approaches were used to compile the social life cycle inventory and assess the social risks and positive social impacts. The results showed that Portugal and Spain have the highest social risks, with "worker" identified as the most critical stakeholder category. Approach 2 was encouraged for a more detailed evaluation, providing better guidance for corrective measures and decision-making.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ahmed Osman, Neha Mehta, Ahmed M. Elgarahy, Amer Al-Hinai, Ala'a H. Al-Muhtaseb, David W. Rooney
Summary: The global energy demand is projected to increase by nearly 28% by 2040, leading to a growing interest in utilizing biomass as a renewable energy source for producing biofuels. Life cycle assessment plays a crucial role in providing insights into the environmental impacts associated with biofuel production chains. The integration of thermochemical and biochemical conversion routes shows promise for enhancing process efficiency in biomass-to-biofuel conversion, with ongoing research and publication efforts focusing on addressing knowledge gaps in the field.
ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2021)
Review
Energy & Fuels
Antonio Carlos Franco, Luciane Silva Franco, Daniel Poletto Tesser, Rodrigo Salvador, Cassiano Moro Piekarski, Claudia Tania Picinin, Fabio Neves Puglieri
Summary: The study identified benefits of biomethane replacing fossil fuels and using waste as feedstock, but also highlighted barriers such as inadequate public policies, low financial incentives, and high energy consumption. Opportunities and threats in the production and use of biomethane were also identified.
ENERGY SOURCES PART A-RECOVERY UTILIZATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Gulizar Balcioglu, Harish K. Jeswani, Adisa Azapagic
Summary: Forest residues can replace fossil-energy sources in Turkey, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving energy security. Direct combustion of wood chips for cogeneration of heat and power has the lowest environmental impacts and levelised costs, making it the most sustainable option for heat and electricity generation.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Mo Li, Wesley W. Ingwersen, Ben Young, Jorge Vendries, Catherine Birney
Summary: useeior is an open-source R package used to build USEEIO models, aiming to simplify the model building process and improve transparency, efficiency, and flexibility.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Fan He, Yang Yang, Xin Liu, Dong Wang, Junping Ji, Zhibin Yi
Summary: This study decomposes low-precision energy consumption data from China into 149 sectors based on a high-precision input-output table, and analyzes the distribution characteristics of CO2 emissions among sectors. The results suggest that promoting decarbonization of the power industry and improving energy efficiency in other production sectors are key measures for emission reduction. Compared to low-precision models, the model used in this study can improve the precision and accuracy of analysis results and guide emission reduction policies more effectively.
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
D. A. L. Silva, R. A. P. Filleti, R. Musule, T. T. Matheus, F. Freire
Summary: The world market for solid biofuels, particularly pellets and briquettes, has seen an increase in recent years. This study provides a systematic review and exploratory Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of biomass briquettes and pellets produced in Latin America, highlighting their environmental impacts and suggesting potential opportunities. The review showed that most publications focused on the thermo-mechanical properties of pellets and briquettes, rather than their environmental impacts. An LCA was performed based on gathered data, with a focus on global warming potential, terrestrial acidification potential, freshwater eutrophication potential, cumulative energy demand, land use, and water consumption. The study found that dedicated systems for pellets and briquettes production showed lower environmental impacts compared to multifunctional systems. The political implications of these findings include the potential for implementing emission trading systems in Latin America and beyond.
RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Celso Coaresma Neto, Marcelo Pereira da Cunha, Joaquim Jose Martins Guilhoto
Summary: The study assessed the expansion of the sugar-energy sector in Brazil, focusing on bioelectricity supply growth, in two scenarios. The results showed that the BIO scenario could produce more surplus electricity and reduce emissions compared to the BASE scenario, with positive impacts on jobs and GDP.
BIOFUELS BIOPRODUCTS & BIOREFINING-BIOFPR
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Michele Denora, Vincenzo Candido, Paola D'Antonio, Michele Perniola, Andi Mehmeti
Summary: This study compares the effects of uniform and variable fertilization on rain-fed durum wheat production using a multi-indicator model and life cycle-based indicators. The results show that variable fertilization improves energy use efficiency and productivity, reduces energy input, and has positive environmental impacts.
PRECISION AGRICULTURE
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Bu Zhao, Chenyang Shuai, Shen Qu, Ming Xu
Summary: This study proposes a machine learning-augmented method that combines the RAS method and deep neural network model to improve the accuracy of IO table prediction. The results show significant performance improvements in both short-term and long-term predictions, and the method is applicable to carbon footprint accounting.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Correction
Engineering, Environmental
Zijian Ren, Meng Jiang, Dingjiang Chen, Yadong Yu, Fei Li, Ming Xu, Stefan Bringezu, Bing Zhu
RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Ling Ji, Yongyang Wang, Yulei Xie, Ming Xu, Yanpeng Cai, Shengnan Fu, Liang Ma, Xin Su
Summary: This paper assesses the environmental impacts of COVID-19 nucleic acid diagnostics and proposes three potential environmental mitigation and conservation strategies. It is found that waste treatment and diesel-driven transportation have significant environmental impacts. Despite the importance of COVID-19 diagnostics, their environmental impacts should not be ignored.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Shen Qu, Ke Yu, Yuchen Hu, Changchang Zhou, Ming Xu
Summary: Through our study on Chinese cities, we found that there are certain patterns in the relationship between urban economic, energy, water, and waste flows and urban population, but there are still differences in per capita environmental impacts between larger and smaller cities. Despite the presence of a superlinear relationship between urban scale and GDP, resource consumption and infrastructure provision show a linear relationship. An increase in population density tends to decrease per capita resource consumption and infrastructure provision, while intensified socioeconomic activities have the opposite effect.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Xi Chen, Bu Zhao, Chenyang Shuai, Shen Qu, Ming Xu
Summary: Water scarcity is a major challenge to the sustainable development of human society. Quantifying water scarcity risk by considering environmental flow requirement, water intensity, and economic output provides a more accurate assessment of its impact. The global water scarcity risk in 2016 was estimated to be around 2.7 trillion US dollars.
RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Mingyue Yang, Sai Liang, Haifeng Zhou, Yumeng Li, Qiumeng Zhong, Zhifeng Yang
Summary: Forage-livestock conflict (FLC) is a major cause of rangeland degradation in China, posing significant threats to the environment. This study reveals that domestic final demand is responsible for the majority of FLCs in China, with non-pastoral regions driving about three-quarters of the total conflicts. Rangeland-based livestock raising, agricultural and sideline product processing, and catering sectors play a crucial role in driving FLCs. These findings highlight the importance of targeted demand-side strategies and interregional cooperation in mitigating rangeland degradation in China.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Jixuan Li, Kai Huang, Yajuan Yu, Shen Qu, Ming Xu
Summary: Trade leads to geospatial separation of production and consumption, resulting in telecoupling between resource utilization and distant consumption. Our study investigates the telecoupled water withdrawal (TWW) in China, which refers to local water withdrawal driven remotely by consumption in other regions. We find that a significant portion of TWW in China is associated with foreign consumption, particularly from the United States. Our findings highlight the telecoupling of pressure on local water resources in China and emphasize the need for collaborative efforts to ensure the sustainable development of water resources and trade.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Guoling Han, Long Chen, Wendong Wei, Pengfei Zhang, Zeng Xu, Sai Liang, Yi Yang
Summary: Trans-provincial thermal power transmission is an important measure in China to optimize power allocation and address regional discrepancies in power production and consumption. However, it also leads to the redistribution of air pollution between regions. This study found that while thermal power transmission improved air quality and health outcomes in eastern China, it had detrimental effects in the western regions. Overall, trans-provincial thermal power transmission contributed to a significant improvement in air quality and reduced premature deaths in China.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Chunyan Wang, Hanying Jiang, Hao Wu, Yi Liu, Siyue Guo, Ming Xu
Summary: This study examines the scaling relationships between energy consumption and building size at the building level in 16 urban regions in the United States from 2011 to 2019. The findings indicate that the scaling exponents are evolving towards linear scaling, with some fluctuations observed in certain cities. These scaling exponents are negatively correlated with regional climate. Additionally, the study highlights the importance of building types and energy structures in influencing building energy consumption.
JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Yuhan Liang, Qiumeng Zhong, Zijun Deng, Hui Li, Zhifeng Jetashree, Zhifeng Yang, Sai Liang
Summary: Decoupling global economic growth from carbon emissions is crucial for mitigating climate change. This study reveals significant differences in decoupling status across regions and highlights the importance of international multilateral cooperation for achieving strong decoupling of economic growth and carbon emissions.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Yao Wang, Fengmei Ma, Asaf Tzachor, Peng Wang, Heming Wang, Jie Lyu, Qiang Yue, Tao Du, Wei-Qiang Chen, Sai Liang
Summary: This study quantifies the inter-sectoral flows of iron commodities and the resulting economic vulnerabilities using an input-output model and complex network analysis methods. The residential building construction sector was found to be the most vulnerable, while certain service sectors showed vulnerability from a consumption-based perspective. Policy recommendations, such as circular economy and material substitutions, are proposed to reduce the vulnerability of critical sectors dependent on iron and steel.
RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Shiyan Jiang, Hong Chen, Shuhan Yang, Yujie Wang, Ming Xu
Summary: Field research limitations hinder the understanding of food waste in China. The study conducted material flow analysis to assess waste in different stages from 2010-2019. Wheat was found to be wasted the most, while milk was wasted the least. Reductions in waste at different stages can have a significant impact, such as a 5% reduction leading to a 7% decrease in soybean import demand. This study provides valuable data and theoretical basis for food waste intervention and food security strategies.
NPJ URBAN SUSTAINABILITY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yumeng Li, Qiumeng Zhong, Pan He, Long Chen, Haifeng Zhou, Xiaohui Wu, Sai Liang
Summary: Chinese population is at risk of severe health problems due to dietary methylmercury exposure. However, the temporal changes in this risk and the socioeconomic factors driving it are unknown. This study investigates this issue by compiling a time-series inventory of China's methylmercury-related health risk at the provincial level and identifying critical socioeconomic influencing factors through structural decomposition analysis.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2024)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sai Liang, Qiumeng Zhong, Haifeng Zhou, Yihan Liao, Jing You, Jing Meng, Cuiyang Feng, Chen Lin
Summary: This study reveals the rebound and mitigation effects of efficiency-related technological progress in global value chains on greenhouse gas emissions. The study shows that different sectors in the value chains have different potentials for emission mitigation, with upstream sectors having stronger rebound effects and trailing end sectors having greater potential for emission reduction.
Article
Ecology
Jing Zhang, Qiumeng Zhong, Yadong Yu, Jetashree, Xuechun Yang, Cuiyang Feng, Hui Li, Sai Liang
Summary: This study examines the interference of human activities on the natural phosphorus cycle. By studying mainland China, the research finds that phosphate rock is the main source of P emissions in China's P supply chain, and food crops and livestock are important initial suppliers of P. The change in primary input level is the largest driver of P emission increments from 1949 to 2012, while changes in production structure reduce P emissions.
ECOSYSTEM HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY
(2022)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Yinping Xiang, Meiying Jia, Rui Xu, Jialu Xu, Lele He, Haihao Peng, Weimin Sun, Dongbo Wang, Weiping Xiong, Zhaohui Yang
Summary: This study investigated the impact of the non-antibiotic pharmaceutical carbamazepine on antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) during anaerobic digestion. The results showed that carbamazepine induced the enrichment of ARGs and increased the abundance of bacteria carrying these genes. It also facilitated microbial aggregation and intercellular communication, leading to an increased frequency of ARGs transmission. Moreover, carbamazepine promoted the acquisition of ARGs by pathogens and elevated their overall abundance.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2024)
Review
Agricultural Engineering
Weixin Zhao, Tianyi Hu, Hao Ma, Dan Li, Qingliang Zhao, Junqiu Jiang, Liangliang Wei
Summary: This review summarizes the effects and potential mechanisms of biochar on microbial behavior in AD systems. The addition of biochar has been found to promote microbial colonization, alleviate stress, provide nutrients, and enhance enzyme activity. Future research directions include targeted design of biochar, in-depth study of microbial mechanisms, and improved models.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2024)
Review
Agricultural Engineering
Christina Karmann, Anna Magrova, Pavel Jenicek, Jan Bartacek, Vojtech Kouba
Summary: This review assesses nitrogen removal technologies in reject water treatment, highlighting the differences in environmental impacts and economic benefits. Partial nitritation-anammox shows potential for economic benefits and positive environmental outcomes when operated and controlled properly.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Wei-Hao Huang, Ying-Ju Chang, Duu-Jong Lee
Summary: This study modified pinecone biochar with layered double hydroxide (LDH) to enhance its adsorption capacity for heavy metal and phosphate ions. The LDH-biochar showed significantly improved adsorption capacities for Pb2+ and phosphate, and a slight increase for Cu2+ and Co2+. The LDH layer enhanced the adsorption through various mechanisms.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Chao Song, Fanfan Cai, Shuang Yang, Ligong Wang, Guangqing Liu, Chang Chen
Summary: This paper developed a machine learning model to predict the biochemical methane potential during anaerobic digestion. Model analysis identified lignin content, organic loading, and nitrogen content as key attributes for methane production prediction. For feedstocks with high cellulose content, early methane production is lower but can be improved by prolonging digestion time. Moreover, lignin content exceeding a certain value significantly inhibits methane production.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Sang Min Lee, Ju Young Lee, Ji-Sook Hahn, Seung-Ho Baek
Summary: This study successfully developed an efficient platform strain using Yarrowia lipolytica for the bioconversion of renewable resources into adipic acid, achieving a remarkable increase in production level.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Sefkan Kendir, Matthias Franzreb
Summary: This study presents a novel approach using magnetic separation to efficiently harvest freshwater microalgae, Chlorella vulgaris. By combining pH-induced calcium phosphate precipitation with cheap natural magnetite microparticles, harvesting efficiencies up to 98% were achieved in the model medium.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Ishaq Kariim, Ji-Yeon Park, Wajahat Waheed Kazmi, Hulda Swai, In-Gu Lee, Thomas Kivevele
Summary: The impact of reaction temperature, residence time, and ethanol: acetone on the energy compositions and yield enhancement of biocrudes was investigated. The results showed that under appropriate conditions, biocrudes with high energy and low oxygen content can be obtained, indicating a high potential for utilization.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Xiyue Zhang, Xiyao Li, Liang Zhang, Yongzhen Peng
Summary: Intermittent aeration is an innovative approach to enhance nitrogen removal in low carbon-to-nitrogen ratio municipal sewage, providing an efficient strategy for the continuous plug-flow AOA process.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Xu Yang, Mahmoud Mazarji, Mengtong Li, Aohua Li, Ronghua Li, Zengqiang Zhang, Junting Pan
Summary: This study investigated the impact of magnetite on the nitrogen cycle of pig manure biostabilisation. The addition of magnetite increased N2O emissions and decreased NH3 emissions during composting. It also increased the total nitrogen content but should be considered for its significant increase in N2O emissions in engineering practice.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2024)
Review
Agricultural Engineering
Ty Shitanaka, Haylee Fujioka, Muzammil Khan, Manpreet Kaur, Zhi-Yan Du, Samir Kumar Khanal
Summary: The market value of microalgae has exponentially increased in the past two decades, thanks to their applications in various industries. However, the supply of high-value microalgal bioproducts is limited due to several factors, and strategies are being explored to overcome these limitations and improve microalgae production, thus increasing the availability of algal-derived bioproducts in the market.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Martin Kerner, Thorsten Wolff, Torsten Brinkmann
Summary: The efficiency of using enriched CO2 from flue gas for large-scale production of green microalgae has been studied. The results show that the use of membrane devices and static mixers can effectively improve the CO2 recovery rate and maintain the suitable pH and temperature during cultivation, achieving a more economical and sustainable microalgae production.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Rui Ma, Ji Li, Rd Tyagi, Xiaolei Zhang
Summary: This review summarizes the microorganisms capable of using CO2 and CH4 to produce PHAs, illustrating the production process, factors influencing it, and discussing optimization techniques. It identifies the challenges and future prospects for developing economically viable PHAs production using GHGs as a carbon source.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Bing Wang, Peng Zhang, Xu Guo, Xu Bao, Junjie Tian, Guomin Li, Jian Zhang
Summary: The addition of zeolite in the co-composting of chicken manure and straw significantly reduced the emissions of ammonia and N2O, and increased the nitrate content. Zeolite also promoted the abundance of nitrification genes and inhibited the expression of denitrification genes.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Rohit Dey, Franziska Ortiz Tena, Song Wang, Josef Martin Messmann, Christian Steinweg, Claudia Thomsen, Clemens Posten, Stefan Leu, Matthias S. Ullrich, Laurenz Thomsen
Summary: This study investigated the operation of a 1000L microalgae-based membrane photobioreactor system for continuous secondary wastewater treatment. The research focused on a green microalgae strain called Desmodesmus sp. The study aimed to understand key trends and optimization strategies by conducting experiments in both summer and winter seasons. The findings showed that maintaining low cell concentrations during periods of light inhibition was beneficial for nutrient uptake rates. Effective strategies for enhancing algae-based wastewater treatment included cell mass recycling and adjusting dilution rates based on light availability.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2024)
