Chapters collected from "The Virtual Conference on Chemistry and its Applications (VCCA-2021) - Research and Innovations in Chemical Sciences: Paving the Way Forward". This conference was held in August 2021 and organized by the Computational Chemistry Group of the University of Mauritius. These peer-reviewed chapters offer insights into research on fundamental and applied chemistry with interdisciplinary subject matter.

Coal power is a major cause of air pollution and global warming and has resulted in the release of toxic heavy metals and radionuclides, which place communities at riskfor long-term health problems. However, coal-fired power plants also currently fuel 41% of global electricity.

"Clean Electricity Through Advanced Coal Technologies" discussesthe environmental issues caused by coal power, such as air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and toxic solid wastes.

This volume focuses on increasingly prevalent newer generation technologies with smaller environmental footprints than the existing coal-fired infrastructure throughout most of the world. These technologies include fluidized-bed combustion and gasification. It also provides an overview of carbon capture and sequestration technologies and closely examines the 2008 Kingston TVA spill, the largest fly ash release ever to have occurred in the United States.

Each volume of the "Handbook of Pollution Prevention and Cleaner Production" covers manufacturing technologies, waste management, pollution issues, methods for estimating and reporting emissions, treatment and control techniques, worker and community health risks, cost data for pollution management, and cleaner production and prevention options.
Discusses the environmental impact of coal power, including air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and solid toxic wastesFocuses on newer coaltechnologies with smaller environmental footprints than existing infrastructureProvides an overview of carbon capture and sequestration technologies"

This book provides a systematic exposition of the design features of constructed wetlands, and their management (in terms of siting, physical maintenance, and operation). Only very few books (or chapters) have been published on constructed wetlands in tropical conditions and none are current. The selection of plant species, managing their growth and harvesting cycles, and the impact these have on the attenuation of organic and inorganic pollutants, nutrients, and pathogens would be of interest to students and practitioners of the art working under tropical conditions. The potential of constructed wetlands as a low-cost intervention for developing countries in tropical regions that faced water pollution problems, in particular, deserves to be explored systematically.

The Clean Air Act of 1970 set out for the United States a basic, yet ambitious, objective to reduce pollution to levels that protect health and welfare. The Act set out state and federal regulations to limit emissions and the Environmental Protection Agency was established to help enforce the regulations. The Act has since had several amendments, notably in 1977 and 1990, and has successfully helped to increase air quality. This book reviews the history of the Clean Air Act of 1970 including the political, business, and scientific elements that went into establishing the Act, emphasizing the importance that scientific evidence played in shaping policy. The analysis then extends to examine the effects of the Act over the past forty years including the Environmental Protection Agency's evolving role and the role of states and industry in shaping and implementing policy. Finally, the book offers best practices to guide allocation of respective government and industry roles to guide sustainable development. The history and analysis of the Clean Air Act presented in this book illustrates the centrality of scientific analysis and technological capacity in driving environmental policy development. It would be useful for policy makers, environmental scientists, and anyone interested in gaining a clearer understand of the interaction of science and policy.

This book reports on the 13th International Workshop on Railway Noise (IWRN13), held on September 16-20, 2019, in Ghent, Belgium. It gathers original peer-reviewed papers describing the latest developments in railway noise and vibration, as well as state-of-the-art reviews written by authoritative experts in the field. The different papers cover a broad range of railway noise and vibration topics, such as rolling noise, wheel squeal, noise perception, prediction methods, measurements and monitoring, and vehicle interior noise. Further topics include rail roughness, rail corrugation and grinding, high-speed rail and aerodynamic noise, structure-borne noise, ground-borne noise and vibration, and resilient track forms. Policy, criteria and regulation are also discussed. Offering extensive and timely information to both scientists and engineers, this book will help them in their daily efforts to identify, understand and solve problems related to railway noise and vibration, and to achieve the ultimate goal of reducing the environmental impact of railway systems.

The Kyoto Protocol was a milestone event in the process of getting global climate change on to the political agenda and taking the first tentative steps towards internationally co-ordinated action. This book brings together researchers from the disciplines of law, economics, political science and sociology to analyse the instruments which have been set up to manage climate change and the institutional shifts that are required for the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHGs). The authors highlight the need for an adequate implementation structure and well designed flexible instruments to enable emissions targets to be achieved. They discuss the level of international coordination which is required for the smooth operation of flexibility mechanisms and the importance of ensuring these instruments fit within existing national structures. In some countries, there are concerns that the introduction of cap and credit trading programmes may require an overhaul of existing environmental legislation. Technical innovations will also have a critical role to play in preparing the ground for increasingly ambitious controls of GHGs. The authors emphasise the need for an evolutionary development of instruments to support such innovations and the potentially vital roles of firms and governments to help their quick diffusion. This book presents an unusual, fascinating and highly instructive mixture of approaches which will be readily accessible to a broad array of readers from a variety of scientific backgrounds. It will prove invaluable to economists, political and social scientists, lawyers, practitioners and decision-makers involved with climate change policy and international environmental law.

Due to the non-biodegradability of plastic substances, coupled with poor waste management practices, plastic pollution has become a major environmental issue within the past decade. However, the negative effects of plastic pollution are rarely opposed, or the solutions proposed are costly or still damaging to the environment. New strategies must be undertaken to prevent irreparable environmental damage from disposable plastic products while maintaining and maximizing the benefits of plastics in specialized cases, such as medicine and public health. The Handbook of Research on Environmental and Human Health Impacts of Plastic Pollution is a collection of innovative research that assesses the negative impacts of plastic on the environment, human health, and ecosystems, and explores biotechnological approaches to solve plastic pollution. While highlighting topics including medical wastes, biodegradability, and phthalate exposure, this publication intends to provide readers with the latest solutions for reducing the burden of plastic on the environment. It is ideally designed for environmentalists, policymakers, instructors, researchers, graduate-level students, industrialists, and non-governmental organization professionals seeking current research on health and ecosystem concerns from the overconsumption of plastics.

Paying the Carbon Price analyzes the practice of freely allocating permits in Emissions Trading Schemes (ETSs) and demonstrates how many heavy polluters participating in ETSs are not yet paying the full price of carbon. This innovative book provides a framework to assist policymakers in the design of transitional assistance measures that are both legally robust and will support the effectiveness of the ETSs whilst limiting negative impacts on international trade. Within the realm of international and comparative law, this book closes the gap between the legal frameworks of ETSs in practice, the economic research data and the doctrinal analysis of WTO law. These interesting insights and fresh ideas explore the connection between ETSs, the problems with free allocation of emission permits and the analysis of complex legal instruments. This accessible resource will be invaluable for those researching and teaching climate change law and policy, international trade law and environmental economics. It will also be a useful tool for policymakers, lawyers and economists.

This book explores the production and applications of biochar. This material is used to remove contaminants from industrial effluent and to reutilize waste sludge in the production of biofuel/bioenergy. The treatment of wastewater and reuse of waste sludge in value added products manufacturing and environmental clean-up is explored. This book provides a roadmap for future strategies for pollution abatement and sustainable development.

In recent decades, scientific insight into the chemistry of water has increased enormously, leading to the development of advanced wastewater and water purification technologies. However, the quality of freshwater resources has continually deteriorated worldwide, both in industrialized and developing countries. Although traditional wastewater technologies focus on the removal of suspended solids, nutrients and bacteria, hundreds of organic pollutants occur in wastewater and urban surface waters. These new pollutants are synthetic or naturally occurring chemicals that are not often monitored in the environment but have the potential to enter the environment and cause known or suspected adverse ecological and / or human health effects. Collectively referred to as the "emerging contaminants," they are mostly derived from domestic use and occur in trace concentrations ranging from pico to micrograms per liter. Environmental contaminants are resistant to conventional wastewater treatment processes and most of them remain unaffected, leading to the contamination of the receiving water. As such, there is a need for advanced wastewater treatment process that is capable of removing environmental contaminants to ensure safe fresh water supplies. This book explains the biological and chemical wastewater treatment technologies. The biological wastewater treatment processes presented include: (1) bioremediation of wastewater such as aerobic and anaerobic treatment; (2) phytoremediation of wastewater using engineered wetlands, rhizofiltration, rhizodegradation, phytodegradation, phytoaccumulation, phytotransformation and hyperaccumulators; and (3) mycoremediation of wastewater. The chemical wastewater treatment processes discussed include chemical precipitation, ion exchange, neutralization, adsorption and disinfection. In addition, the book describes wastewater treatment plants in terms of plant size, layout and design as well as installation location. Also presenting the latest, innovative effluent water treatment processes, it is a valuable resource for biochemical and wastewater treatment engineers, environmental scientists and environmental microbiologists.

This book consists of select peer-reviewed papers from the International Conference on Sustainable Environmental Engineering and Science (SEES) 2019. The main focus of the book is to propose sustainable technologies to address the growing environmental challenges. The contents cover several topics of relevance such as air pollution, solid waste management, wastewater treatment, industrial pollution, and suggests eco-friendly and cost-effective techniques to tackle them. Given the range of topics covered, the book will be useful to researchers and professionals working in the multidisciplinary area of sustainability.

In its 27th edition the conference on Air Pollution continues to produce valuable research on issues related to the modelling, monitoring and management of air pollution. The papers included in this book continue a wide ranging collection of high quality research works that develop the fundamental science of air pollution. Air pollution issues remain one of the most challenging problems facing society. The scientific knowledge derived from well-designed studies needs to be allied with further technical and economic studies in order to ensure cost effective and efficient mitigation. Increasingly, it is being recognised that the outcome of such research needs to be contextualised within well formulated communication strategies that help policy makers and citizens to understand and appreciate the risks and rewards arising from air pollution management. Details of the wide spread nature of the air pollution phenomena and in depth explorations of their impacts on human health and the environment are covered in this book. Topics covered include: Air pollution modelling; Aerosols and particles; Air pollutant emission studies; Air quality health effects; Indoor air pollution; Air data quality; Air pollution control technologies; Industrial air pollution; Climate change effects; Emerging pollutants; Air pollution management, policy and legislation.

The Handbook of Chemical Technology and Pollution Control (3rd Edition) provides a detailed review of the chemistry and operating conditions of many of the present large-scale chemical processes important to our economy and high standards of living. The processes that could lead to emissions affecting our air, soil, and water are considered, together with ways in which it may be possible to reduce or eliminate these pollutants. Focusing on cleaner production concepts without neglecting 'end of pipe' measures. With an increase in the awareness of corporate and social responsibility among business and industry leaders, the pressure to reduce harmful emissions and the desire to increase efficiencies and energy utilization, this book provides an essential resource. Suitable for researchers, practitioners and postgraduate students in the fields of chemical and biochemical engineering and environmental science, as well as government monitoring and regulatory agencies and industry leaders who want to stay one step ahead, this book will be a valuable addition to any library.
* Integrated treatment of chemical technology with emission control chemistry
* Introductory outline of the causes and effects of air and water pollution chemistry
* Outline of the operating features and efficiency of basic emission control devices
* Historical background of developments in industrial chemistry to 2004 in a single volume
* Organized for easy access to chemical technology, new developments, or emission control details
* Referenced to current additional sources of information in each area covered
* Review questions provide working experience with the material provided