This book presents the latest results related to photocatalytic inactivation/killing of microorganisms, which is a promising alternative disinfection method that produces less or even no disinfection byproduct. The book is divided into 13 chapters, which introduce readers to the latest developments in the photocatalytic disinfection of microorganisms, examine essential photocatalytic (PC) and photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) disinfection studies, and forecast and make recommendations for the further development of PC and PEC disinfection. Bringing together contributions by various leading research groups worldwide, it offers a valuable resource for researchers and the industry alike, as well as the general public. Taicheng An, PhD, is Chair Professor and Director at the Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, China. Huijun Zhao, PhD, is Chair Professor and Director at the Centre for Clean Environment and Energy & Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, Australia. Po Keung Wong, PhD, is a Professor at the School of Life Sciences, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.

This thesis examines the feasibility of using silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as a viable disinfectant. It explores the opportunities and challenges of using AgNPs as an antimicrobial agent, and includes the latest research findings. It compares three kinds of AgNPs with regard to their antibacterial and antiviral effects; their sustainability in real water matrices; and their antiviral mechanisms. The outcome of this research equips the water industry with a better understanding of the capacity, extent and mechanisms of nanosilver disinfection. It is of interest to graduate students, academics and researchers in the area of nanotechnology and environmental engineering.

This volume offers up-to-date and comprehensive information on various aspects of the Nile River, which is the main source of water in Egypt. The respective chapters examine the Nile journey; the Aswan High Dam Reservoir; morphology and sediment quality of the Nile; threats to biodiversity; fish and fisheries; rain-fed agriculture, rainfall data, and fluctuations in rainfall; the impact of climate change; and hydropolitics and legal aspects. The book closes with a concise summary of the conclusions and recommendations provided in the preceding chapters, and discusses the requirements for the sustainable development of the Nile River and potential ways to transform conflicts into cooperation. Accordingly, it offers an invaluable source of information for researchers, graduate students and policymakers alike.

In the present scenario, green technologies are playing significant role in changing the course of nation's economic growth towards sustainability and providing an alternative socio-economic model that will enable present and future generations to live in a clean and healthy environment, in harmony with nature. Green technology, which is also known as clean technology, refers to the development and extension of processes, practices, and applications that improve or replace the existing technologies facilitating society to meet their own needs while substantially decreasing the impact of human on the planet, and reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. The concepts of Green Technologies, if endorsed and pervaded into the lives of all societies, will facilitate the aim of the Millennium Development Goals of keeping the environment intact and improve it for the civilization to survive. Green Technologies and Environmental Sustainability is focused on the goals of green technologies which are becoming increasingly important for ensuring sustainability. This book provides different perspectives of green technology in sectors like energy, agriculture, waste management and economics and contains recent advancements made towards sustainable development in the field of bioenergy, nanotechnology, green chemistry, bioremediation, degraded land reclamation. This book is written for a large and broad readership, including researchers, scientists, academicians and readers from diverse backgrounds across various fields such as nanotechnology, chemistry, agriculture, environmental science, water engineering, waste management and energy. It could also serve as a reference book for graduates and post-graduate students, faculties, environmentalist and industrial personnel who are working in the area of green technologies.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the potential use of graphene-based materials in two important societal areas: medicine and the environment. It discusses how new graphene-based materials can be creatively used for biological purposes, for example as delivery vehicles for diagnostics or therapeutics, ultrasensitive sensors, smart responsive substrates for artificial-tissue design and biomarkers. Moreover, it presents new insights into their use as sorbent or photocatalytic materials for environmental decontamination in water and gas-phase desalination membranes and as sensors for contaminant monitoring, giving relevance to the current discussions on the possible toxicological effects of graphene-based materials.

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.

This book is a product of Brazilian Academy of Sciences Study Group about water issue. The water cycle was addressed based on an integrated point of view, aiming at joining technological and ecological solutions and integrating quantitative and qualitative aspects of this important environmental asset. Issues such as the water resources management and irrigated agriculture, water and health, water and economy, conservation and reuse as management tools, water in the Brazilian semi arid, water in Amazon, urbanization and water resources, education for the sustainability of water resources, groundwater, availability, pollution and eutrophication of water and science, technology and innovation are of the utmost importance for this exact moment in Brazil, and particularly to the State of Sao Paulo. Addressing these issues will undoubtedly contribute towards a sustainable management of water resources trough the coordinated work of different fields of science, progressing a systemic view about water, that would then finally allow management professionals the possibility of an integral action in anticipating problems and thus anticipate solutions.

As we embark into the 21st century, we need to address new challenges ranging from population growth, climate change, and depletion of natural resources to providing better health care, food security and peace to humankind, while at the same time protecting natural ecosystems that provide the services which allow life to flourish on Earth. To meet those challenges, profound changes are required in the way that societies conduct their everyday affairs, ways that will lead to better preservation, protection and sustainable management of natural resources with long lasting impacts. The aim of CleanWAS 2016 is to provide productive opportunities for academics and practitioners from interdisciplinary fields of Environmental Sciences to meet, share and bring expertise and ideas in related disciplines. The CleanWAS conference was first organized in the year 2012. It is an annual event organised by the International Water, Air and Soil Conservation society (INWASCON) and is supported by various Malaysian (UKM, UMS, UIAM) and Chinese universities (CUG, NKU, SYSU).

This book presents recent lessons learned in the context of research and development for various dryland ecosystems, focusing on water resources management, land and vegetation cover degradation and remediation, and socioeconomic aspects, as well as integrated approaches to ensuring water and land security in view of the current and predicted climate change. As water and land are the essential bases of food production, the management of these natural resources is becoming a cornerstone for the development of dryland populations. The book gathers the peer-reviewed, revised versions of the most outstanding papers on these topics presented at the ILDAC2015 Conference in Djerba, Tunisia.

This book describes the latest research advances, innovations, and applications in the field of water management and environmental engineering as presented by leading researchers, engineers, life scientists and practitioners from around the world at the Frontiers International Conference on Wastewater Treatment (FICWTM), held in Palermo, Italy in May 2017. The topics covered are highly diverse and include the physical processes of mixing and dispersion, biological developments and mathematical modeling, such as computational fluid dynamics in wastewater, MBBR and hybrid systems, membrane bioreactors, anaerobic digestion, reduction of greenhouse gases from wastewater treatment plants, and energy optimization. The contributions amply demonstrate that the application of cost-effective technologies for waste treatment and control is urgently needed so as to implement appropriate regulatory measures that ensure pollution prevention and remediation, safeguard public health, and preserve the environment. The contributions were selected by means of a rigorous peer-review process and highlight many exciting ideas that will spur novel research directions and foster multidisciplinary collaboration among different water specialists.

This book offers a problem-and-solution approach to environmental remediation in mining, including the environmentally sustainable utilization of waste materials from the mining industry. It largely comprises articles published in Springer journals, which have been thoroughly revised and expanded. With supplementary data and illustrations, it discusses specific problem areas in relevant Caribbean locations and provides an overview of geotechnical and microbial solutions to prevent post-mining deterioration in this area.

This book mainly focuses on ecological approaches for preventing and controlling non-point source (NPS) pollution on the basis of forestry measures. In addition to the effects of ecological control, it introduces readers to the characteristics of NPS pollution in Taihu Lake watershed, water eutrophication evaluation methods, and potential countermeasures. Given the crucial role of surface runoff and soil erosion in producing water pollution, the book presents forestry measures to combat them, such as the creation of public welfare forests, urban forestry, planting techniques for hedgerows on slope land, the establishment of shelter belts, nitrogen and phosphorus absorption by hydrophytes, and sustainable management for wetlands. Moreover, the results are supplemented by a wealth of numerical calculations, tables, figures and photographs. The book offers a valuable guide for researchers, educators and professionals working in the areas of water environment, water security and ecological construction. Prof. Jianfeng Zhang works at the Institute of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Fuyang, China.

This book presents the most recent innovations, trends, concerns and practical challenges, and solutions in the field of water resources for arid areas. It gathers outstanding contributions presented at the International Water Conference on Water Resources in Arid Areas (IWC 2016), which was held in Muscat, Oman in March 2016. The individual papers discuss challenges and solutions to alleviate water resource scarcity in arid areas, including water resources management, the introduction of modern irrigation systems, natural groundwater recharge, construction of dams for artificial recharge, use of treated wastewater, and desalination technologies. As such, the book provides a platform for the exchange of recent advances in water resources science and research, which are essential to improving the critical water situation

This volume offers a comprehensive analysis of the water resources in the Souss-Massa river basin in southwestern Morocco and provides novel water-management approaches to narrow the gap between supply and demand for water. It evaluates conventional water resources surface water and groundwater and discusses in detail rainfall harvesting into dams along the Souss and Massa wadis. Further, it explores topics including the geology of the aquifer; the risk of over exploitation; alternative water resources, such as desalinated seawater and treated domestic wastewater, as well as management approaches like Data Development Analysis and the SALTMED model. With a focus on linking scientific research to practical applications and the demands of agriculture and associated agro-industry, urbanization and tourism, which compete for the limited water resources, the book appeals to environmental scientists, geologists, engineers and environmental managers.

This book discusses the problems and feasible remediation of fluoride contamination in groundwater. The book investigates applications of various carbons derived from bio-mass and bio-polymers. It also inquires into surface modified carbons that use inorganic ions to help remove excess fluoride ions in drinking water and wastewater effluents. The compliance of kinetic and isotherm models with fluoride sorption is covered, and the suggested mechanisms of defluoridation by surface modified carbon materials is described.

This book concerns the theoretical foundations of hydro mechanics of Pelton turbines from a viewpoint of engineering. For reference purposes all relevant flow processes and hydraulic aspects in a Pelton turbine have been analyzed completely and systematically. The analyses especially include the quantification of all possible losses existing in the Pelton turbine and the indication of most available potential for further enhancing the system efficiency. As a guideline the book therefore supports further developments of Pelton turbines with regard to their hydraulic designs and optimizations. It is thus suitable for the development and design engineers as well as those working in the field of turbo machinery. Many laws described in the book can also be directly used to simplify aspects of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) or to develop new computational methods. The well-executed examples help better understanding the related flow mechanics.

This volume focuses on practical aspects of sustainable water management in urban areas and presents a discussion of key concepts, methodologies, and case studies of innovative and evolving technologies. Topics include: (1) challenges in urban water resiliency; (2) water and energy nexus; (3) integrated urban water management; and (4) water reuse options (black water, gray water, rainwater). This volume serves as a useful reference for students and researchers involved in holistic approaches to water management, and as a valuable guide to experts in governmental agencies as well as planners and engineers concerned with sustainable water management systems in urban environments.

This book provides a critical, carefully researched, up-to-date summary of membranes for membrane bioreactors. It presents a comprehensive and self-contained outline of the fundamentals of membrane bioreactors, especially their relevance as an advanced water treatment technology. This outline helps to bring the technology to the readers' attention, and positions the critical topic of membrane fouling as one of the key impediments to its more widescale adoption. The target readership includes researchers and industrial practitioners with an interest in membrane bioreactors.

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.

This book represents an important new contribution to the literature that presents practical and comprehensive solutions to mining activities. Its timely content has been prepared by several experts from around the world and its practical format addresses the major environmental predictive techniques required for the extraction and processing of metal resources. Packed with reviews and case studies, it covers current methods used to forecast environmental effects of metal mining.

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This volume focuses on microscopic plastic debris, also referred to as microplastics, which have been detected in aquatic environments around the globe and have accordingly raised serious concerns. The book explores whether microplastics represent emerging contaminants in freshwater systems, an area that remains underrepresented to date. Given the complexity of the issue, the book covers the current state-of-research on microplastics in rivers and lakes, including analytical aspects, environmental concentrations and sources, modelling approaches, interactions with biota, and ecological implications. To provide a broader perspective, the book also discusses lessons learned from nanomaterials and the implications of plastic debris for regulation, politics, economy, and society. In a research field that is rapidly evolving, it offers a solid overview for environmental chemists, engineers, and toxicologists, as well as water managers and policy-makers.

This book presents major hydrological, physicochemical and biological processes determining the formation of hydro-physical properties and chemical composition of terrestrial surface water. Generalized hydro-physical, hydro-chemical and hydro-biological parameters affecting surface water quality, in particular in the Ukraine, are provided. Furthermore, a general description of the anthropogenic factors affecting the process of forming natural water's properties is presented. This volume is of interest to ecologists, and scientists, lecturers and students in higher educational institutions investigating patterns of formation of water properties and working on the development of methodologies to model and assess surface water quality, and water quality classifications.

The book examines a new concern in water quality policy, namely aquatic micropollutants. Micropollutants are chemicals detected in small concentrations in waterbodies today, originating from pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, or detergents, among others. Since the regulation of micropollutants is a fairly new issue, it has been largely neglected in social sciences. However, the search for appropriate solutions is of high political relevance at both the national and international levels, with many open questions arising that concern the most adequate governance structures and steering mechanisms. Solutions suitable for classical, macro-pollutants, such as nutrients, do not necessarily apply to micropollutants because of the diversity of compounds and sources, and for technical, financial, and societal reasons. The book addresses this knowledge gap by investigating the steering mechanisms at hand and their prospect for problem solving. In this regard, the research provides a systematic depiction and comparison of policy designs in place for the reduction of micropollutants in the Rhine basin. Moreover, the study yields insights into the governance structures in place, into actors' responsibilities and constellations, and policy processes regarding micropollutants. The study is furthermore embedded into broader theoretical questions of policy research. More precisely, this research is a contribution to policy analysis that aims to achieve more optimal policy results by providing for a better understanding of the nature of policy designs and the social mechanisms behind the choice of them. Despite the intrinsic aim of policy analysis at contributing to more optimal policy outcomes, there remains a lack of research regarding analytical tools that enable an ex-ante assessment of policy designs' problem-solving abilities. To explore such a research path, this book proposes a novel index of policy comprehensiveness for quantifying the prospective performance of policy designs in alleviating an underlying policy issue, e.g. reducing pollutants in waters. Furthermore, the book uncovers the social mechanisms behind policymaking and turns to the question: In which social settings is it possible to achieve a comprehensive policy design? Compared to purely micro-level explanations, the advantage of the network approach is that it goes beyond the mere aggregation of policy actors' attributes by taking into consideration actors' interdependencies. In order to take the network approach seriously, the study systematically links the structure of a policy network with comprehensive policy designs. Network concepts, such as coalition structure, interconnectedness, and belief similarity, are employed from policy change research here in order to explore the link between structural network characteristics and comprehensive policy design. By studying how network structures affect policy design, the book critically examines the explanatory value of the network approach.

This book introduces a new technology for environmental protection, namely plasma cleaning. It brings together technological advances and research on plasma generators and their application in environmental science and engineering, including contaminated soil remediation, waste water degradation, metal recovery from waste solution, sterilization and polluted air remediation. It provides a balanced and comprehensive discussion of the core principles, novel plasma reactors and diagnostics, and state-of-the-art environmental applications of plasma. As such, it represents a valuable reference guide for scientists, engineers and graduate students in the fields of environmental science and plasma physics.

This book focuses on environmental aspects of Boka Kotorska Bay in Montenegro (South Adriatic Sea), an area that has been shaped by seasonal tourism, and explores the use and limitations of its natural resources. The individual chapters highlight its geographic and oceanographic characteristics, climate, history and development, biology, fisheries, agriculture, coastal zones, shipping, marine tourism and pollution. Above all, the environmental impact of tourism on marine, coastal and shoreline areas and the resulting conflicts are discussed in detail. The volume is intended for specialists working in various fields of environmental sciences and ecology, water resources and management, land reclamation and agriculture, and regional climate change.