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Green Technologies for a Cleaner Environment

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2021) | Viewed by 28193

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
DAGRI - Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agrarie, Alimentari Ambientali e Forestali, University of Florence, Viale delle Idee 30, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
Interests: environmental management; phytoremediation; biomass energy; phytotechnology; ecological engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

An increased awareness of the adverse environmental consequences related to unsustainable development is leading people to welcome modern technologies that rely on principles of sustainability with increasing urgency. As such, green technologies are regarded as a valuable tool to address a large number of environmental issues related to past and present economical activities, also offering opportunities for more sustainable development models.

Although efforts have been made to make these technologies available for developers, resource managers and the general public, there is still a huge gap of information on their actual performance and potentialities, especially for low- and middle-income countries, where green technologies have been less frequently proposed compared to Western countries. Engineers and scientists working in collaboration can create both tailored solutions as well as phased projects that demonstrate the value of green environmental technologies over time.

The aim of the current Special Issue is to provide new insights on green environmental solutions that can be proposed to enhance the overall sustainability and resilience of modern societies, especially in the urban context. Successful applied projects are welcome that highlight both the potential and limitations of using green technologies as alternatives to traditional techniques, thereby helping to transfer useful information to new locations and to advance our understanding of these applied environmental techniques.

In the forthcoming Special Issue, we welcome scientific works (original research papers, field trials and case studies, modelling approaches, and reviews) from real scale applications of natural-based solutions.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Phytoremediation;
  • Constructed wetlands;
  • Green roofs and green walls;
  • Sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS);
  • Environmental restoration.

 Thank you for your contribution.

Dr. Werther Guidi Nissim
Guest Editor

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 3518 KiB  
Article
Air Cleaning Performance of Two Species of Potted Plants and Different Substrates
by Tatiana Armijos-Moya, Pieter de Visser, Marc Ottelé, Andy van den Dobbelsteen and Philomena M. Bluyssen
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(1), 284; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12010284 - 28 Dec 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 6532
Abstract
Potted plants have been reported to uptake VOCs and help “cleaning” the air. This paper presents the results of a laboratory study in which two species of plants (peace lily and Boston fern) and three kinds of substrates (expanded clay, soil, and activated [...] Read more.
Potted plants have been reported to uptake VOCs and help “cleaning” the air. This paper presents the results of a laboratory study in which two species of plants (peace lily and Boston fern) and three kinds of substrates (expanded clay, soil, and activated carbon) were tested and monitored on their capacity to deplete formaldehyde and CO2 in a glass chamber. Formaldehyde and CO2 were selected as indicators to evaluate the biofiltration efficacy of 28 different test conditions; relative humidity (RH) and temperature (T) were monitored during the experiments. To evaluate the efficacy of every test, the clean air delivery rate (CADR) was calculated. Overall, soil had the best performance in removing formaldehyde (~0.07–0.16 m3/h), while plants, in particular, were more effective in reducing CO2 concentrations (peace lily 0.01m3/h) (Boston fern 0.02–0.03 m3/h). On average, plants (~0.03 m3/h) were as effective as dry expanded clay (0.02–0.04 m3/h) in depleting formaldehyde from the chamber. Regarding air-cleaning performance, Boston ferns presented the best performance among the plant species, and the best performing substrate was the soil. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Technologies for a Cleaner Environment)
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Review

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16 pages, 1687 KiB  
Review
The Role of Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) in Mitigating Plant’s Environmental Stresses
by Marco Vocciante, Martina Grifoni, Danilo Fusini, Gianniantonio Petruzzelli and Elisabetta Franchi
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(3), 1231; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12031231 - 25 Jan 2022
Cited by 137 | Viewed by 20981
Abstract
Phytoremediation is a cost-effective and sustainable technology used to clean up pollutants from soils and waters through the use of plant species. Indeed, plants are naturally capable of absorbing metals and degrading organic molecules. However, in several cases, the presence of contaminants causes [...] Read more.
Phytoremediation is a cost-effective and sustainable technology used to clean up pollutants from soils and waters through the use of plant species. Indeed, plants are naturally capable of absorbing metals and degrading organic molecules. However, in several cases, the presence of contaminants causes plant suffering and limited growth. In such situations, thanks to the production of specific root exudates, plants can engage the most suitable bacteria able to support their growth according to the particular environmental stress. These plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) may facilitate plant growth and development with several beneficial effects, even more evident when plants are grown in critical environmental conditions, such as the presence of toxic contaminants. For instance, PGPR may alleviate metal phytotoxicity by altering metal bioavailability in soil and increasing metal translocation within the plant. Since many of the PGPR are also hydrocarbon oxidizers, they are also able to support and enhance plant biodegradation activity. Besides, PGPR in agriculture can be an excellent support to counter the devastating effects of abiotic stress, such as excessive salinity and drought, replacing expensive inorganic fertilizers that hurt the environment. A better and in-depth understanding of the function and interactions of plants and associated microorganisms directly in the matrix of interest, especially in the presence of persistent contamination, could provide new opportunities for phytoremediation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Technologies for a Cleaner Environment)
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