Resources, Volume 11, Issue 10 (October 2022) – 18 articles

Irpinia (Province of Avellino, Campania Region) is a historical–geographical region of Southern Italy inhabited in pre-Roman times by the ancient Samnite tribe of the Irpini, from which the name originates. This area is characterized by both low population density and high naturalness; located on the axial sector of the southern Apennine orogenic chain, the area possesses a complex hilly and mountainous orography, with predominantly agricultural and forest land uses. In this geographical context, there are many relevant geological/geomorphological sites, witnessing a wide geodiversity attributable to complex geological evolution and relief morphogenesis. The extensive bio-geodiversity has thus led to widespread geotourism practices. Irpinia is favored for its beautiful landscapes, rich cultural heritage, and typical small towns, often enhanced by quality certifications; moreover, geotourism activities are often associated with other forms of sustainable tourism. Starting from this geographical framework, the article analyzes eight attractive geosites that represent the geotouristic value of the entire Irpinia area well. The analysis was conducted using well-known qualitative and quantitative assessment methods. The results obtained, emphasizing the salient aspects of geodiversity, can be used in planning the usability of the sites and, more generally, planning for the Irpinian landscape in a geo-ecotouristic sense. Full article

Despite the improvements made in recent decades on the emission control of waste combustion plants, the chronically low public acceptance still influences the strategical choices of local authorities, who may decide to export waste to other regions instead of treating waste locally in a waste-to-energy (WtE) plant. The present paper proposes a method to identify a more sustainable solution between local waste treatment and the export of waste. To do this, two waste-management scenarios were compared: (1) an in situ WtE scenario, considering a WtE plant in a region of about 500,000 inhabitants; and (2) an ex situ WtE scenario, considering the road transportation of waste to a WtE plant located in another region. This method yields an estimation of the maximum distance that trucks may cover to balance the emissions of the air pollutants released in the in situ WtE scenario. The methodology is based on the COPERT emission model and on emission factors of WtE processes. The results show that the maximum distance is limited by the emissions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by road trucks. Finally, the paper discusses the results considering the energy efficiency of WtE processes and proposes alternative WtE strategies to increase the level of public acceptance. Full article

The global mining industry generates several billion tons of waste every year. Much of it is stored in liquid form, known as tailings, in large impoundments. Recent dam failures at tailing ponds with catastrophic outcomes have raised public concern, such that industry initiatives and investors are beginning to address the problem. So far, a lack of publicly available data makes an independent and comprehensive risk assessment challenging. We introduce a simple and transparent hazard indicator built from environmental proxy variables and screen a global sample of 112 copper mines for natural hazards regarding tailings dams. In a second step, material footprints of copper for the European Union and five major economies are estimated and compared using a Multi-Regional Input–Output model, shedding light on the regions of origin. Finally, hazard scores are linked to regional copper footprints to identify hotspots in supply chains of final consumption. The most hazardous mines are located in Chile and Peru including some of the world’s largest copper producers. China and the US have the largest copper ore footprints and per capita values in the US were 25 times larger than in India. The United States’ and European footprints are satisfied by domestic extraction to about 66 and 40 percent respectively. Copper from Poland contributes around 19 and 28 percent to supply chains of German and European final demand respectively and, as a consequence, Poland constitutes the main hazard hotspot for Europe’s copper supply chain. Full article

This paper provides an overview of existing LCA literature analyzing the environmental impacts of wastewater treatment and reuses, with irrigation as a process or scenario. Fifty-nine (n = 59) papers published between 2010 and 2022 were reviewed to provide insights into the methodological choices (goals, geographical scope, functional units, system boundaries, life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) procedures). The results show that LCA research has steadily increased in the last six years. The LCAs are case-study specific, apply a process perspective, and are primarily conducted by European authors. The LCAs are mainly midpoint-oriented with global warming, acidification and eutrophication potential as the most common impact categories reported. Volumetric-based functional units are the most widely applied. The most commonly used LCIA models were ReCiPe and CML, with Ecoinvent as the most commonly used database and SimaPro as the primary LCA software tool. Despite the fact that these methods cover a wide range of midpoint impact categories, nearly half of the studies focused on a few life cycle impact category indicators. In many studies, the LCA scope is frequently narrowed, and the assessment does not look at the cradle-to-grave system boundary but rather at cradle-to-gate or gate-to-gate system boundaries. Regardless of technology or other system boundary assumptions, the design of environmentally efficient wastewater reuse schemes is primarily determined by the type of energy supplied to the product’s life cycle. Our findings highlight that more holistic studies that take into account the expansion of system boundaries and the use of a broad set of environmental impact categories, supported by uncertainty and/or sensitivity analysis, are required. The overview presented in this paper serves as groundwork for future LCA studies in the field of irrigation with treated wastewater. Full article

Currently installed wastewater treatment systems in many developing countries are unsustainable, failing in either the social, economic or ecological dimension of sustainability. Nexus research looking at resources involved in wastewater treatment could support the transition towards more sustainable systems. Nexus thinking aims to overcome bio-physical systems thinking by including transdisciplinary research methods. Approaches for integrating results from different types of analysis and disciplinary backgrounds are scarce and have not been described extensively in nexus research. Transdisciplinary research suggests creating system, target and transformation knowledge as a common framework to describe meaningful transformations. Our goal is to show how a better understanding of the level of knowledge created by different types of analysis can pave the way towards integrating results for sustainability. In this article, three types of analysis, namely sustainability assessment, stakeholder perspective analysis and wickedness analysis, were applied in two pilot case wastewater treatment systems in Latin America. Through a three-step process, generated knowledge was assessed for each type of analysis individually while also highlighting synergies between them. The results demonstrate that structuring results by generated knowledge type can help combining outcomes in a meaningful manner. The findings show that technical flaws are present and fixable, and that issues relating to behaviours or values are more challenging to address but arguably more meaningful for systemic change. Full article

Ecosystem services are essential for life. Despite traditionally focusing on biodiversity, several studies have presented the ecosystem services provided by geodiversity. However, the choice of the study area is still a step that raises doubts for the researcher. Several elements of geodiversity must occur in the area so that different ecosystem services can be identified. Thus, the selection of the study area is a crucial step of the research. This work aims to determine the criteria for the selection of potential areas for the identification of ecosystem services by geodiversity in Baixada Santista, central coast of São Paulo, Brazil. The criteria established were (i) characterization of the physical environment based on the geodiversity index map and the watershed map and (ii) description of land use based on the characterization of land use and analysis of territorial planning instruments. As a result, the watershed with high levels of geodiversity and diversity of land uses was selected. The criterion was important, as it is an area already used in soil management and different land uses can provide a variety of ecosystem services. Thus, these criteria proved to be effective in the selection of areas for the evaluation of ecosystem services by geodiversity. Full article

The municipal authorities in developing nations face serious challenges in marigold flower garbage management. The primary issue is that they never are reused after prayers. Flower waste of Tagetes erecta, T. patula, and Calendula officinalis L. are commonly used for carotenoid and flavonoid extractions and, subsequently, used for incense stick and biogas production. Marigold plants are also used for phytoremediation during their growth stage. The lutein industry is booming due to its increasing market demand, expected to reach ~2121.2 billion tons by 2022, where marigolds are a major contributor globally. The process of isolating lutein from saponified marigold oleoresin yields a product with 70–85% purity. Lutein is a major xanthophyll (70–88%) of marigold petals, and a maximum of 21.23 mg/g of lutein was extracted. This review discusses the properties of selective marigold species, their compositions, and the extraction of different flavonoids and carotenoids, especially lutein. Moreover, different extraction methods of marigold lutein, the collection of marigold waste, and their subsequent utilization to derive several value-added products are discussed. Among physical treatments, ultrasonic-assisted extraction and enzymatic treatment with 5% solids loading were the maximum-yielding methods. Full article

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the interrelationships among water, energy, and food are complex, partly due to their development models, which are intensive in their use of these resources. This research aims to recognize and quantify the use of water and energy in food in Ecuador by identifying the main interrelationships, together with their causes and current impacts. Regarding methodology, this research uses sectoral data available at the national level and international databases to obtain cross indexes. The following indicators were sought: percentage of energy demanded by food in different stages, extraction of water for agricultural use, food energy productivity, virtual water, and embodied energy. As a result, it was estimated that food consumes 50% of imported energy and cocoa stands out with 7.6 km³ of water footprint; the products with the highest energy consumption are shrimp with 2090 KBOE and fish with 1459 KBOE. Fishing and aquaculture products present with a significantly high consumption level. Nearly all the virtual water and embodied energy are exported in banana, cocoa, and shrimp. Exporting groups make extensive use of the country’s water and energy resources. Full article

Potential natural resources of lithium in Indonesia from brine water and bittern generally have low lithium and high magnesium levels, which need to be separated before further extraction. This research investigates the separation process of magnesium from brine water and bittern using a sodium silicate solution. The experimental results showed that the magnesium precipitation efficiency using sodium silicate was better in brine water than in bittern. A separation selectivity ratio of magnesium to lithium (Mg/Li) below 1 was obtained in brine water of 0.59 and bittern of 0.11 with the addition of a 1.25 mole fraction of sodium silicate solution to magnesium ions. After the precipitation at optimum addition of sodium silicate and water leaching process using distilled water, lithium’s recovery in the brine water and bittern filtrate was 84% and 35%, respectively. In brine water, water leaching increased lithium and magnesium ions in the filtrate. However, in bittern, the water leaching increased lithium recovery without dissolving magnesium ions into the filtrate. The precipitation products from the bittern were identified as complex lithium compounds in the forms of Li₂MgO₄SiLi₂(MgSiO₄) and LiMg₄Na₃O₃₀Si₁₂ phases, while the precipitation products in brine water mostly had a phase of CaO·MgO·Si₂O₅ (Diopside) and LiCl. Full article

In this paper, a method of mathematical modeling for solving the problem of reusing man-made waste from mining and the processing of ores is proposed. The use of intermediate products (man-made waste: tailings of processing plants, rocks from sinking operations and the technical water of mine drainage) in cyclic production presupposes their use as fill material components and placement in the mined-out voids of underground mines. The influence of mining factors on the fill material composition and the parameters of the created fill mass is justified. The results of a practical implementation of the proposed mathematical model are presented, and an algorithm is compiled. Deformation changes and stress concentration are key criteria in the proposed mathematical model. The proposed algorithm allows for the determination of the preferred system of deposit development, and the selection of its parameters and the fill material composition. Full article

Geophysical methods for local rock burst prediction are currently being developed along two lines: improving recording equipment and improving data processing methods. Progress in developing processing methods is constrained by the lack of informative prognostic models that describe the condition of rock mass, the process of rock mass fracturing, and the phenomena that can substantiate the choice of both criteria and test parameters of the condition of rock mass and give an estimate of the time remaining until rock pressure manifestation. In particular, despite achievements in hardware design, researchers using the seismo-acoustic method to predict rock bursts measure the acoustical activity or energy capacity of elastic wave scattering after a man-made explosion and are faced with the dependence of forecast results on destabilizing factors. To solve this problem, we applied an information and kinetic approach to forecasting. In this article, we discuss the principles of selecting test parameters that are resistant to destabilizing factors. We propose a micromechanical model of fracture accumulation in a rock mass block that reflects the dependence of acoustic emission (AE) parameters on time, which makes it possible to detect the influence of various factors on forecast data and filter the signals. We also propose criteria and a methodology for rock burst risk assessment. The results were tested in analyzing the seismo-acoustic phenomena caused by man-made explosions at the Taimyrsky and Oktyabrsky mines in Norilsk. The article gives examples of using the proposed criteria. The effectiveness of their application is compared with traditional methods for assessing rock burst risks and evaluating the stress–strain parameters of rock mass in terms of their being informative, stable, and representative by means of statistical processing of experimental data. Full article

When soils are phosphorus (P) deficient, external sources in the form of fertilisers have to be applied to increase crop yields. The world depends on mined sources for P fertilisers, and recent reports indicate that an increase in the human population has led to rising demand for P fertilisers, making its future supply uncertain. A low supply of chemical P fertilisers may lead to food insecurity. Although the efficacy of organic sources of P is unclear, organic waste materials containing P can potentially replace inorganic P sources. Previously, organic fertilisers have been used to supply N and even P, but the application rates were mostly N based, resulting in inconsistent and comparable results. This research was conducted to understand P mineralisation and the availability of the P-based organic fertilisers. The results showed that available P in the soil at 3 weeks accounted for 50%, 6 weeks accounted for 49%, and 9 weeks counted for 46% of the maize yield. The organic P sources maintained soil available P above the threshold available P value in Malawi. The P sources did not affect the maize P use efficiency (PUE). The results indicate that organic P sources could be used as an alternative fertiliser for maize production in Malawi. Full article

Carbon capture and utilization is an attractive technique to mitigate the damage to the environment. The aim of this study was to techno-economically investigate the hydrogenation of CO₂ to methanol and then conversion of methanol to dimethyl ether using Aspen Plus^® (V.11, Aspen Technology, Inc., Bedford, Massachusetts 01730, USA). Hydrogen was obtained from alkaline water electrolysis, proton exchange membrane and solid oxide electrolysis processes for methanol production. The major cost contributing factor in the methanol production was the cost of hydrogen production; therefore, the cost per ton of methanol was highest for alkaline water electrolysis and lowest for solid oxide electrolysis. The specific cost of methanol for solid oxide electrolysis, proton exchange membrane and alkaline water electrolysis was estimated to be 701 $/ton, 760 $/ton and 920 $/ton, respectively. Similarly, the specific cost of dimethyl ether was estimated to be 1141 $/ton, 1230 $/ton and 1471 $/ton, using solid oxide electrolysis, proton exchange membrane and alkaline water electrolysis based hydrogen production, respectively. The cost for methanol and dimethyl ether production by proton exchange membrane was slightly higher than for the solid oxide electrolysis process. However, the proton exchange membrane operates at a lower temperature, consequently leading to less operational issues. Full article

Landscape harmony is a key factor in the application of nature-based solutions to provide green areas. The search for plants that meet this requirement is crucial in this context. We evaluated the adaptation, resistance, and performance of Polygonum acuminatum and Ludwigia lagunae, macrophytes from the Pantanal biome, in greywater-fed mesocosms simulating zero-liquid discharge systems. Four irrigation solutions were tested for 212 d. Neither species exhibited stress conditions in the adaptation phase, with photosynthetic activity (Fv/Fm) close to that obtained in Pantanal. However, over time, the mesocosms irrigated with greywater (GW) without nutrient supplementation exhibited stress according to correlation analyses of photosystem PSII and physicochemical parameters; L. lagunae for dissolved oxygen below 3 mg L⁻¹ and P. acuminatum for water temperatures above 27 °C. Supplementation of GW with nutrients resulted in good growth and performance. Both species were able to receive high chemical oxygen demand (COD) loads, averaging 34 g m⁻² day⁻¹ for L. lagunae and 11 g m⁻² day⁻¹ for P. acuminatum, with an average removal of 85% by both. L. lagunae had better evapotranspiration capacity, with greater potential for use in cooling islands, whereas P. acuminatum showed a more resistant metabolism without nutrient supplementation. Full article

The separation of both emulsified and immiscible oil/water mixtures using materials with special wetting behavior (hydrophobic-oleophilic or hydrophilic-oleophobic and switchable wettability) has attracted significant research attention in recent years. Among various materials with special wetting behavior, waste material-mediated surfaces have gained more interest because of their various advantages such as fluorine-free and specific surface structural properties, vast availability, flexibility in chemical/structural modification to improve the desired surface properties and eco-friendly nature. This review article describes the oil/water separation application by the waste materials-based special wettable surfaces from different resources. The special wettable surfaces preparation method, treatment effect, efficiency and oil/water separation mechanism are discussed. Moreover, unresolved issues and potential challenges associated with all waste-derived special wettable materials have been highlighted for future development. Full article

Tailings flows resulting from tailings storage facility (TSF) failures can pose major risks to downstream populations, infrastructure and ecosystems, as evidenced by the 2019 Feijão disaster in Brazil. The development of predictive relationships between tailings flow volume and inundation area is a crucial step in risk assessment by enabling the delineation of hazard zones downstream of a TSF site. This study presents a first-order methodology to investigate downstream areas with the potential of being impacted by tailings flows by recalibrating LAHARZ, a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based computer program originally developed for the inundation area mapping of lahars. The updated model, LAHARZ-T, uses empirical equations to predict inundated valley planimetric and cross-sectional areas as a function of the tailings flow volume. A demonstration of a regional application of the LAHARZ-T model is completed for 46 TSFs across Canada. Although the variability in tailings properties and site characteristics cannot be perfectly incorporated or modelled, the LAHARZ-T model offers an efficient method for high-level, regional scale inundation mapping of several potential TSF failure scenarios. Full article

This study investigated the synthesis of zinc ferrite immobilized on chitosan (ZnFe₂O₄@Chitosan) and its application in the photodegradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP), ampicillin (AMP) and erythromycin (ERY) in aqueous solution. Results from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed peaks suggesting its synthesis, while signals from X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed diffraction patterns confirming the synthesis of ZnFe₂O₄@Chitosan with a crystallite size of 35.14 nm. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed a homogeneous morphology with a surface area of 12.96 m² g⁻¹ from the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis. The vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) result revealed a saturation magnetization of 2.38 emu g⁻¹. The photodegradation study of CIP, AMP and ERY showed that both photodegradation and adsorption were taking place at the same time with the percentage degradation efficiency in the order CIP (99.80 ± 0.20%) > AMP (94.50 ± 0.10%) > ERY (83.20 ± 0.20%). ZnFe₂O₄@Chitosan exhibited high stability with capacity > 90% even at the 15th regeneration cycle, suggesting a viable economic value of ZnFe₂O₄@Chitosan. Full article

The UK government has been calling for action in tackling food waste (FW) generation, to which the Hospitality and Food Services (HaFS) sector contributes substantially. Decision-making tools that inform the selection of appropriate FW management (FWM) processes in the HaFS sector are lacking. This study fills this gap by offering a conceptual decision-making tool that supports selecting appropriate and commercially available FW processing techniques for the HaFS sector. The study initially conducted an exploratory analysis of on-site and off-site FWM options commercially available in the UK to inform the development of a two-tier decision-making framework. A set of steering criteria was developed and refined via stakeholder consultations to create flowcharts that guide the selection of FWM options, i.e., Tier 1 of the framework. Tier 2 refines the FWM process selection using a comparative sustainability scorecard of FWM options performance developed through a rapid systematic evidence mapping. The main outcome of this study is a flexible decision-making tool that allows stakeholders to participate in the decision-making process and facilitate the selection of tailored-based FWM processes that better suit their circumstances and needs. This approach to decision-making is more likely to enable solutions that facilitate the sustainable management of wasted resources and promote circularity. Full article