This book discusses soil and recycling management in the Anthropocene era. Nitrogen shortage is one of nature's most important productivity regulators, but since the advent of technical nitrogen fixation (TNF), biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) input has nearly doubled, particularly in grass and arable lands covering over 13 million km2 of the Earth's surface. This book explores how monoculture grass, arable lands and forests are often over fertilized with TNF, animal slurries, sewage sludge, or municipally produced composts, and as a result, flora and fauna that have adapted to a nitrogen shortage in the soil will have to adjust to a surplus; those that are unable to adapt will disappear.

This open access book provides new perspectives on circular economy and space, explored towards the definition of regenerative territories characterised by healthy metabolisms. Going beyond the mere reuse/recycle of material waste as resources, this work aims to understand how to apply circularity principles to, among others, the regeneration of wastescapes. The main focus is the development over time, and in particular the way how spatial planning and strategies respond to new unpredictable urgencies and opportunities related with territorial metabolisms. The book specifically focuses on living labs environments, where it is possible to tackle complex problems through a multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder approach - including the use of digital spatial decision support environment - which could be able to include all the involved stakeholders. Through a spatial scope of circularity, this book describes several examples including among others ideas from different contexts such as Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium and Vietnam. Through including reflections on methodology and representation, as well as on solutions for circular and healthy metabolisms, the book provides an excellent resource to researchers and students.

This book discusses the detailed concepts of concrete and its development with pros and cons. Besides, the significance of various industrial wastes as partial replacements with concrete ingredients such as cement and aggregates are discussed. The creation of cement contributes to around 7% of carbon emissions into the atmosphere leading to greenhouse effect and global warming. Similarly, the wastes generated from various industries such as thermal, steel, ceramic, marble, paper and etc. shows the impact on atmosphere and leads to air pollution and land pollution. Thus, it is essential to focus on these wastes to use them in a profitable manner without compromising the current needs. This book discusses a few examples on studies of using various industry wastes as partial replacement of cement in concrete

Advanced Organic Waste Management: Sustainable Practices and Approaches provides an integrated holistic approach to the challenges associated with organic waste management, particularly related to sustainability, lifecycle assessment, emerging regulations, and novel approaches for resource and energy recovery. In addition to traditional techniques, such as anaerobic digestion, composting, innovative and emerging techniques of waste recycling like hydrothermal carbonization and vermicomposting are included. The book combines the fundamentals and practices of sustainable organic waste management with successful case studies from developed and developing countries, highlighting practical applications and challenges. Sections cover global organic waste generation, encompassing sources and types, composition and characteristics, focus on technical aspects related to various resource recovery techniques like composting and vermicomposting, cover various waste-to-energy technologies, illustrate various environmental management tools for organic waste, present innovative organic waste management practices and strategies complemented by detailed case studies, introduce the circular bioeconomy approach, and more.

This open-access book addresses latest Sino-German results of the joint research efforts within Major Water Program of the Chinese Government supported by German research funding. The Major Water Program aims at the restoration of polluted water environments and sustainable management of water resources in China. The joint BMBF-CLIENT project SINOWATER deals with three most significant and strongest polluted Chinese waters, the river Liao and the Dian-lake as well as Tai-lake in the area of the metropolises Shenyang, Kunming and Suzhou, respectively. The project was conducted by the Research Institute for Water and Waste Management at RWTH Aachen (FiW) e.V., Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Consumer Protection, Technical University of Munich, RWTH Aachen University, German and Chinese companies (Martin Membrane Systems AG, Steinhardt GmbH Wassertechnik, GuHong, JT-elektronik, bluemetric, Huawang Water, EVU Group, Atemis GmbH, i+f process GmbH) in close cooperation with Chinese Academy of Environmental Sciences, Tongji University, and the Dianchi Lake Management Authorities. Overall, the joint Sino-German research project SINOWATER provided solutions for the improvement of the water quality in the mentioned water bodies as well as development and optimization of Good Water Governance. These objectives could be achieved through the implementation of innovative German water technologies and the optimization of water management elements in the fields of industrial and municipal wastewater treatment as well as river and shallow lake management.

This book focuses on the properties of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) and recent advances in their application in lignocellulosic biomass processing. Lignocellulosic biomass conversion to biofuels, biochemicals and other value-added products has attracted global attention because it is a readily available, inexpensive and renewable resource. However, in order for biomass technologies to be commercially viable, biomass recalcitrance needs to be cost-effectively reduced. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are new 'green' solvents that have the high potential for biomass processing thanks to their low cost, low toxicity, biodegradability, and easy recycling and reuse. After an overview of the current lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment, the book discusses the synthesis and physiochemical properties of DESs, as well as key findings on the effects of DES on cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin solubilization, biomass pretreatment and biomass crystallinity. It then addresses the enzymatic hydrolysis performance of DES-pretreated solids, compatibility of DESs with enzymes and microorganisms, and the recycling potential of DESs. Lastly, it compares DESs with ionic liquids, and examines the challenges and opportunities relating to extending the use of DESs in lignocellulosic processing.

Emerging Trends to Approaching Zero Waste: Environmental and Social Perspectives thoroughly examines the impact of various technological innovations, current guidelines and social awareness on the reduction of waste, with the ultimate aim of achieving the zero-waste target. Insights in the book will help users adopt the best possible methodologies at grass-root levels and show how modern societal procedures are becoming sustainable, with a goal of zero waste. It comprehensively discusses the scientific contributions of the environmental and social sector, along with the tools and technologies available for achieving the zero-waste targets. This book is the first step toward understanding state-of-the-art practices in making the zero-waste goal a reality. It will be especially beneficial to researchers, academics, upper-level students, waste managers, engineers and managers of industries researching or hoping to implement zero-waste techniques.

This book is divided into seven chapters, which address various leachate landfill management issues such as the quality, quantity and management of municipal landfill leachate, together with new methods. There are many methods available for the treatment and management of municipal landfill leachate. The waste management methods presented here can be applied in most third-world countries, due to the lack of waste separation and high organic content of waste. The book provides descriptions and a hierarchy of waste management, reviews the history of solid waste disposal, and covers a range of topics, including: leachate and gas generation in landfills; natural attenuation landfills; landfill site selection; leachate and stormwater management, collection and treatment; landfill gas management; landfill cover requirements; leachate collection; types of natural treatment systems; and design procedure and considerations. In closing, it provides an overview of the current solid waste management status in Iran.

This book focuses on the crucial sustainability challenge of reducing food waste at the level of consumer-society. Providing an in-depth, research-based overview of the multifaceted problem, it considers environmental, economic, social and ethical factors. Perspectives included in the book address households, consumers, and organizations, and their role in reducing food waste. Rather than focusing upon the reasons for food waste itself, the chapters develop research-based solutions for the problem, providing a much-needed solution-orientated approach that takes multiple perspectives into account. Chapters 1, 2, 12 and 16 of this book are available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com

This book provides a multi-level and multi-dimensional insight into urban water and sanitation development by analyzing sector reforms in Africa. With the recent events in mind - water shortages in Cape Town, widespread cholera in Haiti, mass-migration from low-income countries, etc. - it elaborates a pressing topic which is directly linked to the precarious living conditions of the urban poor in the developing countries. It is urgent to acknowledge the proposed findings and recommendations of the book which will help to improve the situation of potential refugees in their home countries with a realistic vision for the development of the most basic of all life supporting services. So many efforts to reverse the negative trend in water and sanitation development have failed or targets have been repeatedly missed by far without notable consequences for decision makers on different levels and institutions. It has unnecessarily consumed many young lives, contributed to keep billions in poverty until today and fostered discrimination of women. The knowledge gap and the confusion in the sector lined out in the book becomes evident when a national leader in a low-income country declares a state of emergency in urban water and sanitation while at the same time global monitoring publishes an access figure for urban water of over 90% for the same country. It is time to change this with an effective sector development concept for our partner countries and a more realistic discourse on global level. The book argues for a sweeping rethinking and combines extended local knowledge, lessons learned from history in advanced countries and thorough research on reforms in Francophone and Anglophone developing countries. This was possible because the writer was working in Sub-Saharan partner countries for almost 30 years as an integrated long term advisor in different sector institutions (ministry, regulator, financing basket and different sizes of utilities) and had the opportunity to cooperate closely with the main development partners. The reader has the opportunity to obtain a comprehensive understanding of how the sector works and sector institutions in low-income countries function and can discover the reasons behind success and failures of reforms. The book also covers issues which have a significant influence on urban water and sanitation development but are hardly the subject of discussions. It helps to make the shortcomings of the water and sanitation discourse more apparent and assist institutions to move beyond their present perceptions and agendas. All of this makes the book different from other literature about urban water and sanitation in the developing world.

This open access book summarizes research being pursued within the FENIX project, funded by the EU community under the H2020 programme, the goal of which is to design a new product service paradigm able to promote innovative business models, to open added value to the vessels and to create new market segments. It experiments and validates its approach on three new concepts of added-value specialized vessels able to run requested services for several maritime sectors in the most effective, efficient, economic valuable and eco-friendly way. The three vessels share the same lean design methodology, IoT tools and HPC simulation strategy: a lean fact-based design model approach, which combines real operative data at sea with lean methodology, to support the development and implementation of the vessel concepts; IT customized tools to enable the acquisition, processing and usage of on board and local weather data, through an IoT platform, to provide business services to different stakeholders; HPC simulation, providing a virtual towing tank environment, for early vessel design improvement and testing. The book demonstrates that an integrated LCC analysis and LCC strategy to guarantee sustainability to vessels concepts and the proper environmental attention inside the maritime industry.

This book highlights the latest research on waste processing technologies, particularly for domestic, agricultural, and petroleum based pollutants, intended to achieve waste valorisation. In addition, it discusses the important role of plastic recycling, as well as advanced waste processing techniques.

Source Reduction and Waste Minimization is the second volume in the series Advanced Zero Waste Tools: Present and Emerging Waste Management Practices. It addresses processes and practices for waste minimization to support efforts to promote a more sustainable society and provide readers with a proper understanding of the major mechanisms followed for waste minimization across fields. Despite being one of the major challenges mankind is facing to establish a sustainable society, waste minimization techniques are not broadly adopted and an organized collection of these techniques with corresponding evidence of results is not available currently. This book covers numerous mechanisms supported by scientific evidence and case studies, as well as in-depth flowcharts and process diagrams to allow for readers to adopt these processes. Summarizing the present and emerging zero waste tools on the scale of both experimental and theoretical models, Advanced Zero Waste Tools is the first step toward understanding the state-of-the-art practices in making the zero-waste goal a reality. In addition to environmental and engineering principles, it also covers economic, toxicologic, and regulatory issues, making it an important resource for researchers, engineers, and policymakers working toward environmental sustainability.

"This second edition of Remediation Engineering will continue to be the seminal handbook that regulators must have on-hand to address any of the remediation issues they are grappling with daily. The book is wide-ranging, but specific enough to address any environmental remediation challenge." -Patricia Reyes, Interstate Technology Regulatory Council, Washington, DC, USA "This book offers the researcher, teacher, practitioner, student, and regulator with state-of-the-art advances in conducting site investigations and remediation for common and emerging contaminants. It is revolutionary in its approach to conducting subsurface investigation, which greatly influences a successful and appropriate response in assessing and addressing environmental risk. This book is a giant leap forward in understanding how contaminates behave and how to reduce risk to acceptable levels in the natural world." -Daniel T. Rogers, Amsted Industries Incorporated, Chicago, Illinois, USA "This text is a superb reference and a good tool for learning about state-of-the-art techniques in remediation of soil and groundwater. [It] will become a ready reference at many companies as the engineering community creates increased value from remediation efforts around the world." -John Waites, AVX Corporation, Fountain Inn, South Carolina, USA Remediation Engineering was first published in 1996 and quickly became the go-to reference for a relatively young industry, offering the first comprehensive look at the state-of-the-science in treatment technologies of the time and the contaminants they applied to. This fully updated Second Edition will capture the fundamental advancements that have taken place during the last two decades within all the subdisciplines that form the foundation of the remediation engineering platform. It covers the entire spectrum of current technologies that are employed in the industry and also discusses future trends and how practitioners should anticipate and adapt to those needs. Features: Shares the latest paradigms in remediation design approach and contaminant hydrogeology Presents the landscape of new and emerging contaminants Details the current state of the practice for both conventional technologies, such as sparging and venting Examines newer technologies such as dynamic groundwater recirculation and injection-based remedies to address both organic and inorganic contaminants. Describes the advances in site characterization concepts such as smart investigations and digital conceptual site models. Includes all-new color photographs and figures.

This book addresses a complex issue - water sustainability - that requires a combined approach to manage both water and energy. It highlights several technologies that have been introduced to study the water-energy linkage. It also discusses the need to develop effective laws for water management. In turn, the book assesses hybrid biological systems and demonstrates why they are better for the wastewater treatment process. Lastly, it reviews wastewater quality requirements, which have been the primary driver of industrial wastewater treatment programs in India. Gathering selected, high-quality research papers presented at the IconSWM 2018 conference, the book offers a valuable asset, not only for researchers and academics, but also for industrial practitioners and policymakers.

This book highlights the significance of urban agricultural production, the technologies and methods for supplying organic materials to the farmland, recovering plant nutrients and energy in cities, and systems for sustaining farmlands in order to produce agricultural crops and supply safe food to citizens. Focusing on the effective recycling of biomass waste generated in cities for use in organic farming, it discusses alternatives to traditional composting, such as carbonizing organic waste, which not only produces recyclable materials but also converts organic waste into energy. Recycling discarded organic matter appropriately and reusing it as both material and energy is the basis of new urban organic farming, and represents a major challenge for the next generation of urban agriculture. As such, the book presents advanced research findings to facilitate the implementation of safe, organic agricultural production with only a small environmental load.

Global material crises are imminent. In the very near future, recycling will no longer be a choice made by those concerned about the environment, but a necessity for all. This means a paradigm shift in domestic behavior, manufacturing, construction, and design is inevitable. The Architecture of Waste provides a hopeful outlook through examining current recycling practices, rethinking initial manufacturing techniques, and proposing design solutions for second lives of material-objects. The book touches on a variety of inescapable issues beyond our global waste crisis including cultural psyches, politics, economics, manufacturing, marketing, and material science. A series of crucial perspectives from experts cover these topics and frames the research by providing a past, present, and future look at how we got here and where we go next: the historical, the material, and the design. Twelve design proposals look beyond the simple application of recycled and waste materials in architecture-an admirable endeavor but one that does not engage the urgent reality of a circular economy-by aiming to transform familiar, yet flawed, material-objects into closed-loop resources. Complete with over 150 color images and written for both professionals and students, The Architecture of Waste is a necessary reference for rethinking the traditional role of the architect and challenging the discipline to address urgent material issues within the larger design process.

Electronic and electric waste (e-waste), defined as end-of-life electronic products, including computers, television sets, mobile phones, transformers, capacitors, wires and cables, are a major global environmental concern. The crude recycling of e-waste releases persistent toxic substances, such as heavy metals, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and the environmental pollution and health risks caused by the improper disposal of e-waste has become an urgent issue. This book offers an overview of e-waste history, sources, and entry routes in soil, air, water and sediment. It also addresses e-waste transport and fate, bioavailability and biomonitoring, e-waste risk assessment, impacts on the environment and public health. In addition, it discusses the impact of e-waste on soil microbial community diversity, structure and function and reviews the treatment and management strategies, such as bioremediation and phytoremediation, as well as policies and future challenges. Given its scope, it is a valuable resource for students, researchers and scholars in the field of electronics manufacturing, environmental science and engineering, toxicology, environmental biotechnology, soil sciences and microbial ecology, as well as and plant biotechnology.

This book provides high-quality research results and proposes future priorities for more sustainable development and energy security. It covers a broad range of topics on atmospheric changes, climate change impacts, climate change modeling and simulations, energy and environment policies, energy resources and conversion technologies, renewables, emission reduction and abatement, waste management, ecosystems and biodiversity, and sustainable development. Gathering selected papers from the 7th Global Conference on Global Warming (GCGW2018), held in Izmir, Turkey on June 24-28, 2018, it: Offers comprehensive coverage of the development of systems taking into account climate change, renewables, waste management, chemical aspects, energy and environmental issues, along with recent developments and cutting-edge information Highlights recent advances in the area of energy and environment, and the debate on and shaping of future directions and priorities for a better environment, sustainable development and energy security Provides a number of practical applications and case studies Is written in an easy-to-follow style, moving from the basics to advanced systems. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable resource for readers in academia and industry alike, and can be used at the graduate level or as a reference text for professors, researchers and engineers.

This book covers state-of-the-art technologies, principles, methods and industrial applications of electronic waste (e-waste) and waste PCB (WPCB) recycling. It focuses on cutting-edge mechanical separation processes and pyro- and hydro-metallurgical treatment methods. De-soldering, selective dismantling, and dry separation methods (including the use of gravity, magnetic and electrostatic techniques) are discussed in detail, noting the patents related to each. The volume discusses the available industrial equipment and plant flowsheets used for WPCB recycling in detail, while addressing potential future directions of the field. This practical, comprehensive, and multidisciplinary reference will appeal to professionals throughout global industrial, academic and government institutions interested in addressing the growing problem of e-waste. Covers principles, methods and industrial applications of e-waste and PCB recycling; Details state-of-the-art mechanical separation processes and pyro- and hydro-metallurgical treatment methods; Describes the available industrial equipment used and plant flowsheets for PCB recycling and addresses potential future developments of this important field.

"This is the start of an enormous change in waste - both a challenge and an opportunity"John Burns, Waste Implementation Programme Director, DEFRA*In 2004the UK Government was faced with numerous challenges in the context of environmental management, and has been under pressure to perform for at least the next five years. Targets set in Brussels either by the European Commission or the European Parliament will be difficult to meet.Additionally, new environmental legislation continues to flow in from both Europe and Westminster.

This book describes various aspects of modern microbiology including microbial enzymes, secondary metabolites, next-generation sequencing, microbial-based biopesticides, microbial-based cancer therapies, biodiesel, and microbial products from fermentation, biodegradation, bioremediation and wastewater treatment. Further, it explains how and why microbes play an important role in preserving the welfare of living beings and the environment. Many bacteria play a significant part in cleaning our environment by detoxifying various xenobiotic compounds, while several microbes produce secondary metabolites that are useful to human beings. The book is divided into 15 chapters that cover various aspects of microorganism-based biotechnology, including recent methodologies such as advanced molecular techniques, as well developments in classical microbiological techniques. The authors also explain how the latest and classical techniques are being used in modern-day microbial biotechnology. All chapters were written by experts from prominent universities, research laboratories, and institutes around the globe. Above all, they focus on recent advances in microbial technology that promote the welfare of living beings and the environment.

This two-volume work presents comprehensive, accurate information on the present status and contemporary development in phycoremediation of various types of domestic and industrial wastewaters. The volume covers a mechanistic understanding of microalgae based treatment of wastewaters, including current challenges in the treatment of various organic and inorganic pollutants, and future opportunities of bioremediation of wastewater and industrial effluents on an algal platform. The editors compile the work of authors from around the globe, providing insight on key issues and state-of-the-art developments in algal bioremediation that is missing from the currently available body of literature. The volume hopes to serve as a much needed resource for professors, researchers and scientists interested in microalgae applications for wastewater treatment. Volume 1 focuses on the different aspects of domestic and industrial wastewater treatment by microalgae. The case studies include examples such as genetic technologies as well as the development and efficient use of designer consortia for enhanced utilization of microalgae. This volume provides thorough and comprehensive information on removal of persistent and highly toxic contaminants such as heavy metals, organic pesticides, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, endocrine disruptors, pharmaceutical compounds, and dyes from wastewater by microalgae, diatoms, and blue-green algae. Design considerations for algal ponds and efficient use of photobioreactors and HRAPs for wastewater treatment are some other highlights. This volume addresses the applications, potentials, and future opportunities for these various considerations in water pollution mitigation using algal technologies.

This book offers a valuable tool for understanding current efforts to promote the reuse and enhancement of pre-consumer waste in the development of new products for the construction sector, as well as the financial and regulatory tools being used to support this trend. It explores the vast and complex topic of the circular economy from the perspective of strategies for the reuse/recycling of waste, and develops a number of key premises: waste reuse/recycling must be considered using a logic of cross-sectoriality, recognizing the need to enhance the "dialogue" between different sectors; pre-consumer waste is particularly interesting for the recycling market because the construction sector can reduce its environmental impacts by enhancing its capacity to use secondary raw materials and by-products from other sectors; and lastly, the manufacturing sector is currently experimenting with promising forms of reducing/recycling pre-consumer waste and is at the same time providing by-products that can be used in other production chains. As such, the book offers a valuable asset for professionals who are interested in sustainability in construction, and in the study of construction products; however, it will be equally useful for local decision-makers tasked with implementing development policies and innovations in the industrial sector.

Arsenic contamination poses a major environmental problem, especially in Southeast Asian countries like Bangladesh and India. Threatening the health of millions of people due to arsenic's toxicity and carcinogenicity, the major routes of arsenic exposure for humans are either through drinking water or crops. Rice is the crop most affected by arsenic owing to its cultivation in major arsenic contaminated areas, biogeochemical factors in the soil during rice growth, and specific features of rice that enable it take up more arsenic than other crop plants. This book addresses the problem of arsenic by pursuing a holistic approach. It presents the status quo in different parts of the world (North and South America, Europe, Asia, etc.) and provides essential information on food-related arsenic exposure risks for humans, and possible preventive and curative measures for tackling arsenic poisoning. It covers the arsenic contamination status of rice, rice-based products, other vegetables, fishes, mushrooms, and other foods, with a special focus on rice-arsenic interactions. The mechanisms of arsenic uptake, translocation and distribution in plants and grains are also explained. In closing, the book reviews a variety of prospective agronomic and biotechnological solutions to the problem of arsenic accumulation in rice grains. The book is intended for a broad audience including researchers, scientists, and readers with diverse backgrounds including agriculture, environmental science, food science, environmental management, and human health. It can also be used as an important reference guide for undergraduate and graduate students, university faculties, and environmentalists.