Seawater desalination is a rapidly growing coastal industry that is increasingly threatened by algal blooms. Depending on the severity of algal blooms, desalination systems may be forced to shut down because of clogging and/or poor feed water quality. To maintain stable operation and provide good feed water quality to seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) systems, ultrafiltration (UF) pre-treatment is proposed. This research focused on assessing the ability of UF and other pre-treatment technologies to reduce biofouling in SWRO systems. An improved method to measure bacterial regrowth potential (BRP) was developed and applied at laboratory, pilot and full scale to assess the ability of conventional UF (150 kDa) and tight UF (10 kDa) alone and in combination with a phosphate adsorbent to reduce regrowth potential and delay the onset of biofouling in SWRO. The improved bacterial regrowth potential method employs a natural consortium of marine bacteria as inoculum and flow cytometry. The limit of detection of the BRP method was lowered to 43,000 +/- 12,000 cells/mL, which is equivalent to 9.3 +/- 2.6 g-Cglucose/L. The reduction in bacterial regrowth potential after tight UF (10 kDa) was 3 to 4 times higher than with conventional UF (150 kDa). It was further reduced after the application of a phosphate adsorbent, independent of pore size of the UF membrane. Pilot studies demonstrated that the application of tight UF (10 kDa) coupled with a phosphate adsorbent consistently lowered the bacterial regrowth potential and no feed channel pressure drop increase was observed in membrane fouling simulators (MFS) over a period of 21 days. The study also showed that non-backwashable fouling of UF membranes varied strongly with the type of algal species and the algal organic matter (AOM) they release. The presence of polysaccharide (stretching -OH) and sugar ester groups (stretching S=O) was the main cause of non-backwashable fouling. In conclusion, this study showed that an improved BRP method is suitable for the assessment of SWRO pre-treatment systems and it can be a useful tool to develop potential strategies to mitigate biofouling and improve the sustainability of SWRO systems.

Episodes of air pollution throughout the 20th and 21st centuries have had a huge influence socially, economically and politically. From the Great Smog of London to the Kuwait Oil Fires, and from the ashes of Mount St Helens to air pollution in Beijing, this book chronicles their enduring legacies in medicine, science and public policy. Using technical information and insight from witnesses directly involved in the incidents, ten key episodes are brought together to allow comparison and analysis.Written for students, academics and professionals of atmospheric physics and chemistry, environmental science, public policy and other clinical disciplines, Air Pollution Episodes provides the unique opportunity to understand and learn from the most famous and sometimes devastating incidences of air pollution globally.

Climate change, and also other factors, are capable of bringing about major disasters on a scale hitherto unimaginable. Ecological and other risks, besides having scientific and technological dimensions, are also a subject of study for social scientists, concerned with how disasters and potential disasters are noticed, perceived, guarded against, managed once they have occurred, and coped with after they have happened. This book considers a range of ecological risks and disasters and how they are managed in both China and Europe. It examines how far risks and disasters are perceived and managed in different ways in Europe and China, explores how an increasing humanitarian approach to "vulnerable people" being taken up in Europe is also being adopted in China, and assesses how far the management of disasters differs from wider government management of more ordinary aspects of everyday life. The book argues that the same stresses and strains which are present in normal society are there also, in enhanced form, in disaster situations.

China is currently afflicted by enormous environmental problems. This book, drawing on ancient and modern Chinese environmental thinking, considers what it is that makes an environment a desirable place for living. The book emphasises ideas of beauty, and discusses how these ideas can be applied in natural, agricultural and urban environments in order to produce desirable environments. The book argues that environment is both a product of nature and of human beings, and as such is potentially alterable by culture. The book explores the three aspects of environmental beauty whereby such alteration might be beneficially made: integrated and holistic; ecological and man-made; and authentic and everyday. This book addresses environmental issues by distinctively suggesting that an aesthetic approach inspired from ancient Chinese tradition could help us overcome the many problems that human beings have created at local and global levels. Although its main focus is the traditional and current contexts of the People's Republic of China, the book transcends national borders. A typical example is the ancient Chinese thought system and cultural practice of Feng Shui ( ) that sought to negotiate how the natural environment and human constructions can cohabit without destructing each other. The author evokes that sought-after harmony through the powerful image of gardens of life whose environmental beauty can be found in traditional Chinese gardens and palaces as well as historically and culturally preserved cities.

The long-term future for coal looks bleak. The recent UN climate change conference in Paris called for an end to the use of fossil fuels. However, coal remains one of the world’s most important sources of energy, fuelling more than 40% of electricity generation worldwide, with many developing nations relying almost wholly on coal-fuelled electricity. Coal has been the fastest growing energy source in recent years and is essential for many industrial activities, but the coal industry is hugely damaging for the environment. A major driver in climate change and causing around 40% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, coal fuel comes at a high environmental price. Furthermore, mining and air pollution kill thousands each year. A timely addition to the series, this book critically reviews the role of coal in the 21st century, examining energy needs, usage and health implications. With case studies and an examination of future developments and economics, this text provides an essential update on an environmental topic the world cannot ignore.

This book is a compendium of highly purposeful studies all waiting to be conducted. It explains how avoiding common study design flaws, opportunities are created to observe that true risk assessment questions may not exist, that chemically exposed receptors are probably unharmed, and that ecological risk assessment might not be needed at all.

This book is Volume 2 which is published to complement "Environmental Processes and Management: Tools and Practices" (https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-38152-3), 2020 This book provides an in-depth, well-researched and science-based approach to applying key project management and spatial tools and practices in environmental projects. This book is an important read for leaders considering projects that balance social-economic growth against minimizing its ill effects on Planet Earth. This book brings together several aspects of groundwater engineering, as well as the formula and analytical approaches required for more informed decision-making. It also highlights the vital importance of understanding the technological, economic and social dimensions of environmental studies explained through dynamic approaches and illustrative figures that have short-term results and long-term impacts. This book emphasizes on encouraging the modern and vibrant research works conducted by young researchers across the world. This book clearly details the general application of fundamental groundwater processes, the character of the different types of systems in which they occur and the way in which these factors influence process dynamics, environmental systems and their possible remedies. The book sets a possible recommendation for the professionalism with which environmental research should be planned, executed, monitored, assessed and delivered. While primarily intended for professionals responsible for the management of groundwater projects or interested in improving the overall efficiency of such projects, it is also useful for managers in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. The book is a valuable resource for students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In addition, this book serves as an indispensable guide for anyone willing to develop their skills in modern groundwater / environmental management and related techniques

The Indian Nitrogen Assessment: Sources of Reactive Nitrogen, Environmental and Climate Effects, and Management Options and Policies provides a reference for anyone interested in Reactive N, from researchers and students, to environmental managers. Although the main processes that affect the N cycle are well known, this book is focused on the causes and effects of disruption in the N cycle, specifically in India. The book helps readers gain a precise understanding of the scale of nitrogen use, misuse, and release through various agricultural, industrial, vehicular, and other activities, also including discussions on its contribution to the pollution of water and air. Drawing upon the collective work of the Indian Nitrogen Group, this reference book helps solve the challenges associated with providing reliable estimates of nitrogen transfers within different ecosystems, also presenting the next steps that should be taken in the development of balanced, cost-effective, and feasible strategies to reduce the amount of reactive nitrogen.

Current development results in a linear flow from raw material to waste, which cannot be sustainable in the long term. Plus, a global population of 7 billion people means that there are 7 billion waste producers in the world. At present, dumping and landfilling are the primary practices for getting rid of municipal solid waste (MSW). However, this waste contains resources that we've yet to utilize. To create sustainable societies, we need to approach zero waste by recovering these resources. There are cities and countries where zero waste is close to becoming a reality. Landfilling of organic waste is forbidden in Europe, and countries such as Sweden, Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland have developed a variety of technologies to recover resources from MSW. Resource Recovery to Approach Zero Municipal Waste explores the solid waste management laws and regulations of different countries, comparing the latest resource recovery technologies and offering future perspectives. The book tackles the many technical, social, ecological, economical, and managerial aspects of this complex subject while promoting the development of sustainable societies to achieve a greener global environment.

Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology attempts to provide concise, critical reviews of timely advances, philosophy and significant areas of accomplished or needed endeavor in the total field of xenobiotics, in any segment of the environment, as well as toxicological implications.

Are the Great Lakes getting better or worse?' This is the question that the public, scientists and managers are asking the International Joint Commission after a quarter-century of cooperative action by the United States and Canadian governments to clean up the Great Lakes. This volume contains papers from the workshop on Environmental Results, hosted in Windsor, Ontario, by the Great Lakes Science Advisory Board of the International Joint Commission, on September 12 and 13, 1996. The Great Lakes have been through almost a century of severe pollution from the manufacture, use and disposal of chemicals. In the 1960s wildlife biologists started to investigate the outbreaks of reproductive failure in fish-eating birds and ranch mink and to link these to exposure to organochlorine compounds. Human health researchers in the 1980s and 1990s linked growth retardation, behavioral anomalies and deficits in cognitive development with maternal consumption of Great Lakes fish prior to pregnancy. The Great Lakes became the laboratory where the theory of endocrine disruptors was first formulated. Now a group of Great Lakes scientists, hosted by the International Joint Commission, has compiled the story of the trends in the concentrations and effects of persistent toxic substances on wildlife and humans. The technical papers review the suitability of various organisms as indicators, and present the results of long-term monitoring of the concentrations and of the incidence of effects. The evidence shows that there was an enormous improvement in the late 1970s, but that in the late 1990s there are still concentrations of some persistent toxic substances that have stubbornly remained at levels thatcontinue to cause toxicological effects.

The control of arsenic pollution has attracted worldwide attention, as it is one of the top 20 hazardous substances, and greatly threatens the human health, ecological balance, and industrial development. Arsenic pollution results from natural enrichment and anthropological activities, especially mining and smelting operations. This book introduces arsenic pollution control technologies for aqueous solution and solid wastes produced by the utilization of arsenic-containing materials. It systematically discusses the principles and technologies of arsenic pollution control based on the author's 16 years of research on arsenic, to help readers gain an understanding of various aspects of arsenic pollution control, including the pollution source distribution of arsenic in typical smelters, arsenic behaviors and pollution control technologies in aqueous solution and solid waste, and clean unitization of arsenic-containing materials.

Modern civilization faces a broad spectrum of daunting problems, but rational solutions are available for them all. This book explores the following issues: (1) Threats to the environment and climate change; (2) a growing population and vanishing resources; (3) the global food and refugee crisis; (4) intolerable economic inequality; (5) the threat of nuclear war; (6) the military-industrial complex; and (7) limits to growth. These problems are closely interlinked, and their possible solutions are discussed in this book.

Modern civilization faces a broad spectrum of daunting problems, but rational solutions are available for them all. This book explores the following issues: (1) Threats to the environment and climate change; (2) a growing population and vanishing resources; (3) the global food and refugee crisis; (4) intolerable economic inequality; (5) the threat of nuclear war; (6) the military-industrial complex; and (7) limits to growth. These problems are closely interlinked, and their possible solutions are discussed in this book.

Venomous Earth is the compelling story of the worst chemical disaster in human history - unfolding now. It explores the geology, politics and biology of why tens thousands of people are dying, hundreds of thousands developing cancer and tens of millions of people are at risk in Bangladesh, India and beyond, from arsenic-contaminated well water.
Andrew Meharg compares this scenario with that in other areas of the world where drinking water is tainted with arsenic, such as extensive areas of South Western USA, the Alto Plano of South America and New Zealand's volcanic regions. He details historical precedents spanning thousands of years in mining and smelting communities, and due to the widespread use of arsenic in alchemy, farming, medicine and manufacturing. His tale takes in William Morris, Paracelsus, George W Bush and a cosmetic that killed two popes.
Finally Venomous Earth looks at how the current arsenic crisis is to be tackled and highlights new challenges to our ongoing struggle with the toxic element.

This volume is second part of the five-part set on bioenergy research. This book provides new insight about the latest development in bioenergy research. It presents the various bioenergy options which are further explored for practical viability, their progress and utility in the industry. The main objective of the book is to provide insights into the opportunities and required actions for the development of an economically viable bioenergy industry for practical replacement of fossil fuels. This book is of interest to teachers, researchers, scientists, capacity builders and policymakers. Also the book serves as additional reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of environmental sciences. National and international bioenergy scientists, policy makers will also find this to be a useful read. Other four volumes of this set explore basic concepts, commercial opportunities, waste to energy and integrated solution for bioenergy concerns.

Edited by One of the Best Specialists in Soil Science Recent studies reveal that Phosphorus (P) in the form of phosphate, a macronutrient essential for plant growth, and crop yields can influence the bioavailability, retention, and mobility of trace elements, metal(loid)s, and radio nuclides in soils. When this occurs, phosphates can affect the dynamics of heavy metals and influence soil characteristics, impacting soil mobility and toxicity. Phosphate in Soils: Interaction with Micronutrients, Radionuclides and Heavy Metals utilizes the latest research to emphasize the role that phosphate plays in enhancing or reducing the mobility of heavy metals in soil, and the soil-water-plant environment. It provides an in-depth understanding of each heavy metal species, and expands on phosphate interactions in geological material.Composed of 12 chapters, this text: Provides an overview of the reactions of metal(loid)s and common P compounds that are used as fertilizer in soils Emphasizes the effect of phosphorus on copper and zinc adsorption in acid soils Discusses findings on the influence of phosphate compounds on speciation, mobility, and bioavailability of heavy metals in soils as well as the role of phosphates on in situ and phytoremediation of heavy metals for contaminated soils Places emphasis on the influence of phosphate on various heavy metals species in soils, and their solubility/mobility and availability Provides extensive information on testing various high phosphate materials for remediation of heavy metal, micronutrients, and radionuclides contaminated sites Explores the reactivity of heavy metals, micronutrients and radionuclides elements in several soils Presents a case study illustrating various remediation efforts of acidic soils and remediation of Cu, Zn, and lead (Pb) contaminated soils around nonferrous industrial plants Emphasizes the significance of common ions (cations and anions) on phosphate mobility and sorption in soils, and more The author includes analytical and numerical solutions along with hands-on applications, and addresses other topics that include the transport and sorption modeling of heavy metals in the presence of phosphate at different scales in the vadose zone.

Climate Liberalism examines the potential and limitations of classical-liberal approaches to pollution control and climate change. Some successful environmental strategies, such as the use of catch-shares for fisheries, instream water rights, and tradable emission permits, draw heavily upon the classical liberal intellectual tradition and its emphasis on property rights and competitive markets. This intellectual tradition has been less helpful, to date, in the development or design of climate change policies. Climate Liberalism aims to help fill the gap in the academic literature examining the extent to which classical-liberal principles, including an emphasis on property rights, decentralized authority and dynamic markets, can inform the debate over climate-change policies. The contributors in this book approach the topic from a range of perspectives and represent multiple academic disciplines. Chapters consider the role of property rights and common-law legal systems in controlling pollution, the extent to which competitive markets backed by legal rules encourage risk minimization and adaptation, and how to identify the sorts of policy interventions that may help address climate change in ways that are consistent with liberal values.

The Llobregat belongs to the most thoroughly studied rivers in Europe and is a paradigm of the confluence of human and natural disturbances in a single basin. Because of its location in a very densely populated region and its Mediterranean character, the Llobregat supports a mixture of irregular flow, water abstraction, excess nutrients, mining debris, and a wide array of pollutants. The aquatic organisms strive to survive in a dramatically changing river that passes through a succession of dams, weirs and channels. The long-term river monitoring as well as the research that has been carried out in the river for a long time have provided an extensive knowledge of these disturbances and their effects on the biological communities. This book highlights the available information, with emphasis on the hydrological, chemical and biological elements interspersed in the river. Experts in the field discuss the main nutrient patterns and pollutant occurrence and the responses of the biological quality elements as well as the river ecosystem to the overall natural and man-made influences.

This book provides an authoritative overview of emerging pollutants in sewage sludge and soils. It traces the latest research and new trends on the characterization, removal and treatment of such pollutants in urban and industrial sewage sludge and soils. The book covers topics such as antibiotic resistance, fate and environmental impact of contaminants of emerging concern, environmental transmission of human pathogenic viruses and their effect on soil, and the repercussion of various emerging pollutants on biodiversity. It also offers a case study of the epidemiology-based surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater and sludge. The book appeals not only to researchers and professionals working with emerging contaminants, but also to policy makers and a broader audience interested in learning more about the effects of these contaminants in human and environmental health.

This book gives an overview of recent findings on the mitigation of gas emission from landfills and sludge processing. Special attention is given to methane and the migration of POPs, heavy metal ions, ammonia and nitrate from landfills to the water-soil system and to the atmosphere. Strategies for mitigating the impact of pollution on ecosystems are also discussed. This book contains thirty-one selected papers presented at an International Workshop on Management of Pollutant Emission from Landfills and Sludge, Kazimierz Dolny, Poland,16-19 September 2006. Topics include mitigation of gas emission from landfills,pathway of POPs in waste, wastewater and landfill leachate, and migration of heavy metals from waste disposal sites and sewage sludge.

As China strives to significantly increase its economic output, the nation faces an acute deterioration of the physical resources from which this prodigious growth springs. Major problems include water shortages, the pollution of water, high levels of carcinogens in the air, accelerating erosion, and industrial pollution. Originally published in 1984, Vaclav Smil documents and evaluates China's environmental crisis. This title will be of particular interest for students of Environmental Studies and Development Studies.

China's air pollution is infamous. The haze can make it impossible to see buildings across the street, and the pollution forces schools to close and creates health and morbidity problems, in addition to tremendous environmental degradation. However, China also faces another important environmental problem, which is less well-known to the public: that of soil degradation and pollution. This book provides an overview of the problems related to soil degradation and pollution throughout China, examining how and why current policy has fallen short of expectation. It also examines the challenges faced by policy makers as they attempt to adopt sustainable practices alongside a booming and ever-expanding economy. China's Soil Pollution and Degradation Problems utilizes grey literature such as newspaper articles, NGO reports and Chinese government information alongside academic studies in order to provide an extensive review of the challenges faced by grassroots organizations as they tackle environmental policy failings throughout China. This book will be of great interest to students of environmental pollution and contemporary Chinese studies looking for an introduction to the topics of soil pollution and soil degradation, and for researchers looking for an extensive list of sources and analysis of China's environmental problems more broadly.

The last two decades showed an introduction of world-wide threats to the biosphere and human health due to the effects of anthropogenic activities. This book pays attention to ecological and geophysical aspects of controlling the natural environment. The scientific basis of observations, assessment and forecasting of this natural environment are treated extensively. Methods of ecological and climatic monitoring are presented and their realization in several countries are discussed. Analysis of possible climatic changes, the ozone-layer problems, the polluting of the oceans, acid rain and the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident are concrete examples presented.

Examines regulatory and other strategies for improving chemical risk management in small enterprises in the European Union. This book considers what supports are necessary to secure the implementation of these strategies and is particularly concerned with the role of chemical product supply as envisaged by REACH.