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Pickering emulsion have been widely used to encapsulate bioactives with the aim of preventing degradation, improving bioavailability and achieving the effect of slow release. Curcumin (Cur), as a bioactive compound, was famous as its excellent beneficial human health functions. However, the low solubility and susceptibility to environmental influences limit the application of Cur. In our previous study, the covalent nanoparticles (sugarcane leaf polyphenols-zein, SGLpZ) with excellent antioxidant capacity were successfully fabricated. In addition, the pickering emulsion stabilized using SGLpZ with significance storage stability and antioxidant properties, which inspired us for Cur delivery application. Therefore, in this study, SZP (pickering emulsion stabilized by SGLpZ) were prepared and were firstly used to delivery Cur evaluation. Results exhibited that the mechanism of excellent stabilization of SZP may be due to the wide range of O/W phase interfaces with SGLpZ, which could be further used as a delivery system for Cur. An in-vitro simulated digestion suggested that SZP provided better protection to Cur under three different conditions (different Na+ concentration, temperatures and UV exposure times), compared to ZZP (pickering emulsion stabilized by zein nanoparticles alone). SZP was able to achieve a slow release of Cur as well as the high bioaccessibility of Cur during the in-vitro simulated digestion. Finally, Cur, Cur-ZZP and Cur-SZP inhibited respectively by 33.20±1.00%, 53.26±0.94% and 71.59±0.14% (p ＜0.05) at the Cur concentration of 20 μg/mL in the in-vitro inhibition of AAPH-induced erythrocyte hemolysis assay. The study indicated that the pickering emulsion stabilized by SGLpZ was a reliable Cur delivery system and provided a novel idea of food material application for bioacitive substances delivery. [Display omitted] • A green-sustainable pickering emulsion stabilized by Sugarcane leaf polyphenols-Zein nanoparticles was firstly prepared. • Cur-SZP for better results compared with curcumin and Cur-ZZP in three different external environments. • Cur-SZP achieved slow release and improved bioavailability of curcumin in in-vitro digestion. • The inhibitory effect of Cur-SZP on hemolysis of red blood cells was studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Application of membrane separation process in China is comprehensively investigated. • Leachate treatment capacity of NF is the highest in landfill and incineration plant. • A combination of NF and RO exhibits the best efficiency for leachates treatment. • Membrane processes are more likely to be adopted in economically developed regions. • Operation costs of membrane process mainly depends on the pre-treatment process. To comprehensively investigate the application of membrane separation technology in the treatment of landfill leachate in China, the performance of nearly 200 waste management enterprises of different sizes in China were analyzed, with an emphasis on their scale, regional features, processes, and economic characteristics. It was found that membrane separation technologies, mainly nanofiltration (NF), reverse osmosis (RO), and NF + RO, have been used in China since 2004. The treatment capacity of the two most dominant membrane separation technologies, i.e., NF and RO, were both almost 60,000 m3/d in 2018, and both technologies are widely used in landfills and incineration plants. Their distribution is mainly concentrated in eastern and southwestern China, where the amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) is relatively high and the economy is developing rapidly. Membrane separation technology is the preferred technique for the advanced treatment of leachate because more contaminants can be effectively removed by the technology than by other advanced processes. However, the membrane retentate that is produced using this technology—commonly known as leachate concentrate—is heavily contaminated due to the enrichment of almost all the inorganic anions, heavy metals, and organic matter that remain after bioprocessing. An economic cost analysis revealed that the operating cost of membrane separation technology has stabilized and is between 1.77 USD/m3 and 4.90 USD/m3; electricity consumption is the most expensive cost component. This review describes the current problems with the use of membrane separation technology and recommends strategies and solutions for its future use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we report a facile route to synthesize isolated single iron atoms on nitrogen-sulfur-codoped carbon matrix via a direct pyrolysis process in which hemoglobin, a by-product of the meat industry, was utilized as a precursor for iron, nitrogen and sulfur while bamboo-shaped carbon nanotubes served as a support owing to their excellent conductivity and numerous defects. The resulting metal-nitrogen complexed carbon showed outstanding catalytic performance for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline solutions. At an overpotential of 380 mV, the optimal sample yielded a current density of 83.6 mA cm−2, which is 2.5 times that of benchmark IrO 2 (32.8 mA cm−2), rendering it as one of the best OER catalysts reported so far. It also showed negligible activity decay in alkaline solutions during long-term durability tests. Control experiments and X-ray absorption fine structure analyses revealed that Fe-N x species in the samples are the active sites for OER. Further density functional theory calculations indicated that the presence of sulfur in the carbon matrix modified the electronic structures of active species, thereby leading to the superior activity of the sample. Image 1 • Fe-Nx-S species were formed by a direct pyrolysis of hemoglobin and carbon nanotubes. • The resulting sample showed outstanding performance for the OER in alkaline solutions. • The sample gave a current density of 83.6 mA cm−2 at 380 mV, which is 2.5 times that of IrO 2. • Density functional theory calculations were done to explore the role of the sulfur dopant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Solidification and stabilization effect of Pb in MSWI fly ash was compared. • Pb leaching concentration, volume change ratio, and treatment cost were evaluated. • Combined solidification-stabilization process yielded the best treatment effect. • Optimal parameters are obtained through response surface methodology. Fly ash is a hazardous material that is produced from municipal solid waste incineration. It contains heavy metals and should be properly treated to meet landfill entry requirements. In this study, under the precondition that the leachable concentration of lead (Pb) exceeded the limit value for landfill disposal, the effects of cement solidification, chemical stabilization, and their combination on the leachable Pb concentration and the chemical state of Pb were systematically investigated. In addition, the reaction conditions were optimized by response surface methodology (RSM) in terms of leachable Pb concentration, volume change ratio, and treatment cost. The results indicated that the leachable Pb concentration decreased at lower cement or sodium dihydrogen phosphate (NaH 2 PO 4) dosages in cement solidification or NaH 2 PO 4 stabilization, and the liquid-to-solid ratio had a significant influence on cement solidification. The leachable Pb concentration met the limit value for landfill disposal in the individual processes with 20% cement or 5% NaH 2 PO 4 , and in the combined process with 10% cement + 2% NaH 2 PO 4. The combined process achieved the best treatment efficiency by enabling Pb to transform to a stable residual state. According to the RSM, a combined cement content of 11.64%, NaH 2 PO 4 content of 2.79%, and liquid-to-solid ratio of 0.48 were the optimal parameters, resulting in substantial decreases in the volume change ratio and treatment costs, while satisfying the preconditions for landfill disposal. In conclusion, the combined process can reduce the pollution risk to the environment, and is an efficient and cost-effective pre-treatment method for incinerator fly ash. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The performance differences of three pilot-scale landfills were investigated. • MSW stabilization in the SABL was greatly accelerated. • NH 4 +–N in SABL leachate was substantially lower than that from the other landfills. • SABL leachate exhibited the least chloride pollution risk. Many studies have sought to optimize operation parameters and enhance the treatment capacity of bioreactor landfills (BL) under ideal laboratory conditions. At pilot scale, conclusions drawn from laboratory-scale experiments will be different due to variations in actual landfill composition and changes in environmental conditions. However, comparative pilot-scale studies of traditional anaerobic landfills (AnL) and BLs are rare. In this study, three pilot-scale landfills, including an AnL, anaerobic BL (AnBL) and semi-aerobic BL (SABL), were monitored to examine the difference in performance at different scales and among types of landfills. Settlement amount followed the order SABL (25.45 cm) > AnBL (18.67 cm) > AnL (14.38 cm). Decomposition of organic matter (i.e., volatile fatty acids) was more rapid in SABL than in the other landfills and no hydrolytic acidification period was observed. Therefore, among the three landfills, SABL entered the methanogenic stage in a much shorter time and MSW stabilization was accelerated due to this landfill's unique combination of aerobic-anoxic-anaerobic ambient. In addition, NH 4 +–N concentration in leachate from the SABL (~19.96 mg/L) was substantially lower than from AnL (338.28 mg/L) and AnBL (233.22 mg/L), and SABL leachate exhibited the least chloride pollution risk. This study provides theoretical support and strong evidence for using SABLs to treat MSW in practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Landfill leachate was effectively treated by SAARB combined Fenton method. • Fulvic- and humic-like substances were identified in SAARB effluent. • Two fluorescent substances were tracked with parameters varying in Fenton method. Semi-aerobic aged-refuse biofilter (SAARB) can achieve good treatment efficiency for organics and nitrogen ammonia, but the effluent of SAARB from treating landfill leachate (SAARB leachate) has high chemical oxygen demand (COD), compared to the discharge standard (100 mg/L), and high humification degree. In this study, the conventional Fenton method was used in the advanced treatment of SAARB leachate. Fluorescent components in SAARB leachate were identified and tracked with parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis, and the influencing factors, i.e., Fe2+ dosage, n(H 2 O 2 /FeSO 4) ratio, initial pH, and reaction time, on the removal of fluorescent components were systematically investigated. UV–Vis spectra show the structural transformation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in SAARB leachate. Results show that SAARB leachate mainly contains two fluorescent components: fulvic-like substances [C1; excitation (Ex)/emission (Em) (nm), (245)280/405] and humic-like substances [C2; Ex/Em (nm), (260)360/435]. A higher Fe2+ dosage, longer reaction time, and acidic conditions increased the degradation efficiency of organics, but excess H 2 O 2 inhibited the treatment process. Under optimum Fenton parameters (Fe2+ dosage of 5 mmol/L, n(H 2 O 2 /FeSO 4) ratio of 8, initial pH of 4, and reaction time of 60 min), removal rates of C1 and C2 were 52.97% and 77.81%, respectively. UV–Vis spectra indicate that the Fenton reaction can destroy unsaturated conjugated bonds, decreasing the humification degree, hydrophobicity, molecular weight, and condensation degree. Finally, the biodegradability (represented by BOD 5 (biochemical oxygen demand for 5-days)/COD) greatly increased (from 0.05 to 0.36), thus benefiting further biological treatment. The results provide suggestions and guidance for practical applications in landfill leachate treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Magnetite nanoparticle supported on sepiolite (Fe 3 O 4 -Sep) was fabricated. • Fe 3 O 4 -Sep showed high adsorption ability toward BPA. • Adsorbed BPA can be degraded in-situ via Fenton-like process. • Columnar Fe 3 O 4 -Sep remained stable in the fixed-bed reactor under continuous-flow. • Influence of real water matrix on the combined processes was negligible. In this work, a magnetic sepiolite composite was prepared by chemical co-precipitation method and firstly applied as both adsorbent and catalyst for the removal of bisphenol A (BPA) through a heterogeneous Fenton process. The composite was characterized by XPS, XRD, SEM and TEM techniques. The results of the kinetics study indicate that BPA (50 mg·L−1) can be adsorbed onto the composite via electrons transfer as well as π-π interaction, and then be completely degraded at pH 6.0 within 30 min after the addition of H 2 O 2 (1000 mg·L−1). The analysis of FTIR confirms that the degradation occurred through a combined process of adsorption and oxidation. BPA was pre-concentrated and fixed onto the composite surface and then degraded in-situ by hydroxyl radicals, which were generated through the interaction between H 2 O 2 and surface active sites. To investigate the stability and regeneration properties of the catalyst, the powder composite was extruded into a small cylindrical sample and loaded in a fixed-bed reactor, which was operated under continuous-flow condition. The BPA removal efficiency after 4 h remained at 87%, while the leaching of Fe ions gradually increased. Further, degradation tests in different real waters including tap water and municipal wastewater spiked with BPA (50 μg·L−1) reveal that the influence of real matrix on the oxidation ability was very little. The findings of this study confirm the composite as a promising material for the catalytic removal of organics via the coupled adsorption-oxidation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Strategies of Reviving the Old Industrial Bases provide opportunities for low-carbon transition in Northeast China, which is one of the earliest regions to industrialize and the largest rustbelt in China, but study on the impacts of its socioeconomic factors on CO 2 emissions is still in short, though it is essential for guiding the pathways to achieve low-carbon socioeconomic transition. We adopted the structural decomposition analysis (SDA) to identify the main contributors to emissions increase in Heilongjiang province during 2002–2012, which is the heartland of Northeast revitalization. The results show that the increase in CO 2 emissions was mainly driven by growth in per-capita final demand, which generated 203.8 Mt (153.6%) upstream CO 2 emissions between 2002 and 2012. Changes in production structure and final demand structure had smaller impacts on CO 2 emissions increase (36.1 Mt and 27.0 Mt). However, the positive influences were largely overwhelmed by change in emission intensity, which avoided 135.4 Mt (−102%) CO 2 emissions. Therefore, appropriate measures related to energy structure optimization and efficiency improvement should be implemented. Especially, increasing the proportion of wind, solar and biomass energy in Heilongjiang, where renewable energy is abundant, would reduce the CO 2 emissions significantly. In addition, domestic export took the lead position in driving the CO 2 emissions in Heilongjiang, accounting for 37.6%–43.1% annual emissions between 2002 and 2012. Thus, some financial instrument, such as tax relief for less carbon intensive exports could be adopted to prompt upstream suppliers to decarbonize their production processes. Unlabelled Image • Structural decomposition analysis (SDA) is used to identify the main contributors of CO 2 emissions increase during 2002-2012 in Heilongjiang province. • Growth in per-capita final demand was main driver for CO 2 emissions Increase. • The positive influences were largely overwhelmed by change in emission intensity, which avoided 135.4 Mt (-102%) CO 2 emissions. • Domestic export took the lead position in driving the CO2 emissions in Heilongjiang, accounting for 37.6%-43.1% annual emissions between 2002-2012. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Fe 3 O 4 NPs supported on sepiolite was applied as persulfate activator. • Small size and good dispersion of Fe 3 O 4 NPs were observed by FESEM and TEM. • 71.6% of ATZ and 20% of solution TOC can be removed by Fe 3 O 4 -Sep/PS after 60 min. • The structure stability and catalytic activity were proved during recycle runs. • Pathways included dealkylation, chain oxidation and dechlorination-hydroxylation. In this study, with sepiolite as a support, a novel magnetic Fe 3 O 4 -sepiolite composite was fabricated by coprecipitation method. The characterization results reveal that the sepiolite support could anchor Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles with good dispersion. The composite was used as a catalyst to activate persulfate (PS) for atrazine (ATZ) degradation. 71.6% of ATZ and 20.9% of solution TOC could be removed after 60 min with 92 mmol/L of PS ([ATZ] 0 = 10 mmol/L). Due to the good adsorption capacity of Fe 3 O 4 -sepiolite composite toward ATZ, the degradation was considered to be facilitated by an adsorption process, since the adsorbed ATZ can be more easily transported to the active sites and be degraded in situ. Operation factors, including PS dose and solution pH, were investigated and found to be influential for the ATZ removal. The Fe 3 O 4 -sepiolite composite maintained its catalytic activity and structural stability with negligible Fe leaching during the recycling batch experiments. The intermediate products were further identified and the possible transformation pathway was then proposed based on the results. The findings of this research promote the application of Fe 3 O 4 -sepiolite composite as efficient and recyclable heterogeneous catalyst for organic degradation, and provide insights into the development of alternative catalysts with good adsorptive properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• O 3 /H 2 O 2 and MW/PS processes for the MBR effluent are systematically compared. • MW/PS process has a better treatment effect on refractory organics in MBR effluent. • Ozone plays a major role in the degradation of aromatic organic compounds in the O 3 /H 2 O 2 process. • Hydroxyl and sulfate radicals are the main reactive oxygen species in the MW/PS process. • Chemical oxidation (i.e. O 3 /H 2 O 2 , MW/PS) is a viable technology to eliminate organics in leachate. In this study, refractory organics in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) effluent were investigated following the treatment of landfill leachate by the ozone combined hydrogen peroxide (O 3 /H 2 O 2) and microwave-activated persulfate (MW/PS) processes. The treatment efficiency and the transformation characteristics of refractory organics and reactive oxygen species were determined. It was found that an acidic environment and an increase in the O 3 dosage improved the organic removal efficiency in the O 3 /H 2 O 2 process, and the use of H 2 O 2 improved the treatment efficiency, while excessive H 2 O 2 inhibited it. In the MW/PS process, an increase in the PS dosage and MW power greatly improved the treatment efficiency, while an alkaline environment inhibited it. Under the optimized reaction parameters, the O 3 /H 2 O 2 and MW/PS processes effectively degraded refractory organics (i.e., humic acid and fulvic acid) into components with a smaller molecular weight and simpler structure. The humification, aromaticity, and conjugation of organics in wastewater were greatly reduced. Compared to the O 3 /H 2 O 2 process, the MW/PS process had a better treatment effect on refractory organics, and there were more low molecular weight organics (<1 kDa) in the treated wastewater. Because O 3 is the main selective oxidant in the O 3 /H 2 O 2 process, a large amount of organic acids were accumulated. A large amount of hydroxyl radicals and sulfate radicals with strong oxidation ability were produced in the MW/PS process, and therefore the combined action of hydroxyl and sulfate radicals can efficiently decompose humus and intermediate organics. Overall, the MW/PS process was more effective in treating the MBR effluent than the O 3 /H 2 O 2 process. The results of this study provide a reference for the selection of an advanced oxidation process to eliminate refractory organics in landfill leachate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Zein/Sugarcane leaves polyphenols (SGLpZ) covalent nanoparticles were successfully prepared. • Pickering Emulsions stabilized by SGLpZ with ultrasound showed high stability in lipid oxidation during storage. • SGLp modification Pickering emulsions (SZP) exhibited low free fatty acids release in in-vitro digestion. • SZP showed high safety in hemocompatibility and cytotoxicity assays in-vitro. This study firstly used sugarcane leaf polyphenols (SGLp) to modify zein to form covalent nanoparticles (SGLpZ) and used SGLpZ as an emulsifier to stabilize pickering emulsions (SZP) via ultrasonic method. The results showed that the addition of SGLp could alter the physicochemical properties of zein, including improving increasing the hydrophilicity of zein and the antioxidant properties of zein (three basic antioxidant activities test in vitro). SGLpZ could be able to form a dense film on the surface of the pickering emulsions which inhibited lipid oxidation as the concentration of SGLp increased at 4 ℃ for 20 days, thus stabilizing pickering emulsions (SZP). Further assessment of storage stability of pickering emulsions stabilized by SGLp was evaluated via measuring the free fatty acids (FFA) release in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. The results showed that the FFA release of SZP decreased from 20.61 ± 0.10% to 16.14 ± 0.69%. In addition, SGLp gave SZP a yellow color, which inspired that SZP could be used in the food industry to make yellow-colored functional foods. Finally, the safety of SZP initially assessed by in-vitro hemocompatibility and cytotoxicity (MTT) assays. In conclusion, our fingdings were beneficial for the further design and development of SGLp in food fields and enabled the development a new type in functional protein-plant polyphenols food pickering emulsions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power sector is the pillar industry to promote China's rapid economic growth. It is also one of the sectors with the largest carbon emissions and water consumption. The green transformation of the power sector has become the focus of China's provincial economic and environmental policies. However, due to the complex inter-provincial power sector linkage, provincial power policies have spillover and overlapping effects, making it difficult for policies to coordinate and complement each other. Here, we quantify the value-added, CO2 emissions and water consumption driven by inter-provincial power sector linkage in China, and proposes differentiated policies at provincial and sectoral levels for green transformation of power sector. By quantifying the economic and environmental correlation effects among China's provincial power sectors, we found that low-carbon transformation of power sector in industrial provinces have higher economic costs. East and North China's policies committed to emission reduction in power sector can save more water. [Display omitted] • The economic and environmental linkage effects between China's provincial power sectors are quantified. • Low-carbon transformation of power sector in industrial provinces have higher economic costs. • East and North China's policies committed to emission reduction in power sector can save more water. • Electricity policies in China's high-income provinces should focus on the demand side. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Coupling SAARB and ozonation was firstly applied to the treatment of leachates. • DOM in mature leachate is significantly different from that in young leachate. • Degradation and transformation mechanism were studied using 3D-EEM-PARAFAC model. • The combined process may provide suggestions and guidance for practical project. Abstract Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in mature landfill leachate is significantly different from that in young landfill leachate; the composition of DOM greatly influences both biological treatment and advanced treatment processes. In the present study, the transformation and degradation mechanisms of landfill leachates in a combined semi-aerobic aged refuse biofilter (SAARB) and ozonation process was investigated using organic removal analysis, molecular weight distribution (MWD), 3D-EEM-PARAFAC analysis, UV–Vis spectroscopy, and linear regression. Results revealed that the DOM in mature landfill leachate contained a greater amount of aromatic substances and had higher molecular weight than DOM in young landfill leachate. After the SAARB process, humus contained in the SAARB was discharged with effluent from both mature and young landfill leachate. Due to the differences in composition and structure of organic matter, the COD removal efficiency (17.89%) of SAARB effluent from treating mature landfill leachate (mature SAARB effluent) was much lower than that (45.91%) of SAARB effluent from treating young landfill leachate (young SAARB effluent) under the same operational parameters of the ozonation process. As indicated by PARAFAC analysis, better chemical stability of DOM in mature SAARB effluent resulted in inferior ozone treatment efficiency. Furthermore, the hydrophobicity and the concentration of benzene ring compounds in the mature and young SAARB effluent were reduced significantly by the ozonation process. Therefore, great improvements in the biodegradability of SAARB effluents were achieved in the ozonation process. Overall, the results of this study provide suggestions and guidance for practical applications of these technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Landfill leachate is a typical refractory wastewater for which research into rapid and efficient treatment methods has become very topical. In this study, a coagulation-ozonation process was developed to treat the concentrate arising from membrane treatment of landfill leachate. The effect of coagulant type and initial pH on treatment efficiencies was investigated. Results showed that many of organics were effectively removed in the coagulation process. Thereafter, ozone was applied to further treat the coagulation-resistant organic substances. Our results revealed that the degradation rate of these coagulation-resistant substances followed the trend (color number) CN > (light absorbance at 254 nm) UV 254 > (chemical oxygen demand) COD, and the residual coagulation-resistant substances were oxidized rapidly in the ozone process. Ozone first destroyed the molecular structure of fulvic acid and the by-products generated, such as protein-like substances. In addition, the molecular weight, organic condensation degree, and concentration of benzene ring compounds were considerably decreased. Moreover, the macro molecular organics (i.e., humic acid and fulvic acid) within the size range 1–100 kDa were effectively degraded and partially transformed into bicarbonate. Overall, the combined coagulation-ozonation process reduced COD, UV 254 , and CN in the landfill leachate concentrate by 88.32%, 94.37%, and 98.83%, respectively, and thus the biodegradability of the treated leachate also was significantly improved. This excellent performance proved the feasibility of the combined coagulation-ozonation process for the removal of recalcitrant organic substances contained in landfill leachate concentrate, benefiting subsequent biological treatment. Highlights • Ozonation was applied to treat residual coagulation-resistant substances. • Residual coagulation-resistant substances were oxidized rapidly in the ozone process. • Degradation mechanism of coagulation-resistant organics was investigated using multiple ways. • The combined process significantly improved the biodegradability of the concentrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this study, a ferrous-activated persulfate (PS) process induced by microwave (MW) energy was used to treat an industrial wastewater containing dinitrodiazophenol (DDNP). The effect of different operational parameters, such as PS dose, initial pH, MW power, and the mass ratio of ferrous to PS [i.e., n(Fe2+/PS)], on chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal and the pseudo first-order constant k was systematically studied. Results showed that the constant k and COD removal increased considerably with increasing PS dose, MW power, and n(Fe2+/PS); however, the constant k and COD removal decreased proportionally as the initial pH increased from 3 to 11. A base-activated PS system was formed when the initial pH further increased to 13, which resulted in a dramatic increase of k and COD removal. Controlled experiments demonstrated that the synergetic effect of MW, Fe2+, and PS were significant. The value of k was 0.2425 min−1, COD removal was 71.42%, and biodegradability remarkably increased from 0.056 to 0.6712 during treatment by MW-Fe2+/PS at a PS dose of 8 g/L, MW power of 600 W, initial pH of 3, n(Fe2+/PS) of 0.04, and reaction time of 14 min. Spectral analyses showed that the chromophores (including the diazo group and nitro group compounds) and benzene rings were greatly decomposed. Identification tests for reactive oxygen species showed that the predominant oxidizing species in the MW-Fe2+/PS process was the sulfate radical, and that the hydroxyl radical played a lesser role for color number elimination. From the perspective of both treatment efficiency energy consumption, the MW-Fe2+/PS process was confirmed to be an economical and promising pretreatment process for DDNP industrial wastewater. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • MW-Fe2+/PS process was applied to the treatment of DDNP industrial wastewater. • A significant synergetic effect was observed among microwave, Fe2+, and persulfate in MW-Fe2+/PS process. • SO 4 – and OH were the dominant oxidizing species in the MW-Fe2+/PS process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The MW-Fe0/H 2 O 2 process was used to treat concentrated landfill leachate. • Reaction parameters and the degradation mechanism were systematically studied. • Refractory organics were degraded by the synergistic effects of MW, Fe0 and H 2 O 2. • Various analyses proved that refractory organics were efficiently degraded. • The reaction mechanism of the MW-Fe0/H 2 O 2 process has wide applicability. Abstract To study the treatment effect and mechanism of a combined microwave (MW)-Fe0/H 2 O 2 Fenton-like process on concentrated landfill leachate, the effects of initial pH, Fe0 dosage, H 2 O 2 dosage, MW power and reaction time on the removal of organic substances were investigated. The phase change of Fe0 before and after reaction and its catalytic mechanism were investigated using multiple analytical techniques. Results showed that the removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand, UV 254 and color number were 58.70%, 85.69% and 88.30%, respectively, at initial pH of 2.0, Fe0 dosage of 0.5 g/L, H 2 O 2 dosage of 20 mL/L, MW power of 400 W and reaction time of 14 min. Comparison of different Fenton-like processes indicated that the MW-Fe0/H 2 O 2 Fenton-like process was the most efficient and significantly decreased the aromaticity degree, molecular weight and condensation degree of organic substances in the leachate. The fluorescence peak of concentrated leachate exhibited a blue-shift in the MW-Fe0/H 2 O 2 process, further indicating that the condensation degree of humic substances declined and molecular weight remarkably decreased. The mechanism exhibited an advanced oxidation effect of a heterogeneous Fenton reaction between iron oxide and H 2 O 2 , as well as of adsorption and precipitation effects of iron-based colloids, on organic substances. Moreover, thermal and non-thermal effects of MW accelerated these reactions, achieving fast removal of organic pollutants in the concentrated landfill leachate. Overall, the results of this study showe that the MW-Fe0/H 2 O 2 process is an effective and promising method to handle concentrated landfill leachate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uranium-zirconium (U-Zr) based metallic fuels are promising fuel forms for next-generation fast reactors. The presence of temperature gradient and constituent redistribution in U-Zr based fuels can induce the formation of different phases that have different physical properties such as thermal conductivity. In this work, a semi-empirical model is developed to predict the thermal conductivities of U-Zr alloys for the complete composition range and a wide range of temperatures. The model considers the effects of different electron scattering mechanisms on the electronic thermal resistivity in pure metals and the model's parameters are empirically determined by fitting to the experimental data. A new mixing rule is used to predict the effective thermal conductivity in U-Zr alloys by taking the alloying effects into account. The thermal conductivity predictions by the new model show good agreement with many available experimental data. In comparison with previous models, the new model has further improvement, in particular for high-U alloys that are relevant to reactor fuel compositions and at the low-temperature regime for the high-Zr alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automatic Welding Helmet Use (WHU) detection technology is of great significance for the safety management of construction site, then, this paper proposes a lightweight face-assisted model using YOLOv5s for the detection of WHU (WHU-YOLO). First, the Ghost module is introduced into YOLOv5s to optimize feature extraction parts of backbone and neck, reducing model complexity. Then, the neck of YOLOv5s is reconstructed based on Bi-directional Feature Pyramid Network (Bi-FPN). The experimental results implemented on established Welding helmet and Human face Detection (WHD) dataset indicate that the false positives have been greatly decreased with the assistance of face data and the mean average precision (mAP) reaches 83.65%. Meanwhile, under the environment of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 and 640 × 640 input size, WHU-YOLO with inference time up to 5.7 ms achieves model compression with 35.7%, 34.4% and 30.1% reductions in parameters, weight size and Floating Point Operations (FLOPs) compared with YOLOv5s, respectively, which has no decline on detection performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing complexity of modern engineering systems has motivated a shift of research focus from component-level reliability to system reliability with interdependent components. There is a growing demand for efficient reliability methods to analyze high-dimensional systems that involve numerous dependent components and component variables. The first-order reliability method (FORM), which is widely used for component-level reliability analysis, becomes inaccurate for high-dimensional systems composed of numerous components, each with a nonlinear high-dimensional limit state function. By integrating the orthogonal plane sampling, this paper proposes an improved FORM-based method to tackle the curse of dimensionality for series systems. The idea is to construct secant hyperplanes using the orthogonal plane samples so as to reduce the FORM error for high-dimensional nonlinear limit state functions. The design points of secant hyperplanes are projected to high-dimensional system space using an efficient procedure based on the specified correlation matrix of variables. Finally, the series system reliability is computed as high-dimensional multi-normal integral, which is addressed by the equivalent component method. Four numerical examples are investigated to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method. Results indicate that the proposed method is significantly more efficient than the Monte Carlo simulation and more accurate than the conventional FORM. • The OPS is leveraged for high-dimensional component reliability. • FORM is fused with OPS to analyze reliability of high-dimensional systems. • Solve high-dimensional Gaussian integral via equivalent component method. • The method can be orders more efficient than direct Monte Carlo simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Refractory organic matter in membrane bioreactor effluent resulting from landfill leachate treatment has a complex composition. This paper identified the transformation mechanism of organic matter in a flocculation-ultraviolet (UV)/peroxymonosulfate (PMS) system at the molecular level using electrospray ionization coupled with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. The results showed that the flocculation system was able to remove a large amount of dissolved organic matter (DOM) with high oxidation and unsaturation/saturation. UV radiation displayed a relatively strong reactivity for DOM with an electron-rich structure, which it can transform into DOM with lower aromaticity through photolysis and photosensitivity, although the effectiveness of the transformation was poor. In comparison, due to the action of reactive oxygen species, the UV/PMS system can enable reactions such as demethylation, dehydrogenation, decarboxylation, dehydroxylation, ring cleavage, and decarbonylation. It can remove approximately 60% quantity of the total DOM and produce DOM featuring a higher degree of oxidation and saturation than that of the UV system alone. The results showed that the UV/PMS system was a complementary of flocculation in DOM removal from the membrane bioreactor effluent, while the system also resulted in a large number of sulfuric compounds; thus, requiring further evaluation of its ecological effects. [Display omitted] • Flocculation removed most oxidized DOM and newly-produced sulfuric and aliphatic DOM. • UV radiation decreased the aromaticity of electron-rich DOM. • The combination of UV/PMS and flocculation ahieved effective DOM removal. • Sulfuric compounds were produced in the treated leachate, needing further evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commodity trade between regions implies a large amount of energy transfer. As an important economic growth pole of China, the Jing-Jin-Ji area (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei) is also one of the areas with the largest energy consumption in China. Moreover, the primary energy consumer goods in this area are fossil fuels, such as coal. This has led to serious air pollution in the area. Therefore, the reduction of energy consumption under the premise of maintaining sustained economic growth is an important task of the Jing-Jin-Ji area. In this study, an interprovincial input-output model was applied to quantitatively estimate the embodied energy transfer between Jing-Jin-Ji area and other provinces in China. The results indicated that the Metal and nonmetal mineral processing industry and the Electrical, gas and water industry in the Jing-Jin-Ji area exported a large amount of embodied energy to the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta. However, the embodied energy export of the Jing-Jin-Ji area mainly exported by Hebei province. Beijing and Tianjin even have some net import of embodied energy. The embodied energy transfer between Tianjin, Hebei and other provinces was mainly driven by investment, while the main media of embodied energy transfer between Beijing and other provinces was consumption. Therefore, we suggest that the Jing-Jin-Ji area should further increase the degree of dependence on other provinces' energy-intensive products and reduce the export of energy-intensive products. In addition, there should be difference in the energy and industrial policies among Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, and the problems of high energy consumption and high proportion of heavy industry in Hebei should be first resolved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A porous scaffold was prepared by gelatin groove fibers for cartilage tissue engineering. The morphology of groove fibers and porous scaffolds were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The water absorption property of scaffolds was tested which demonstrated values as high as 1187%. The compressive mechanical property of scaffolds was also evaluated. In wet state, this scaffold exhibited elastic behaviour, and could bear 100 cycles compressive fatigue test. Moreover, this scaffold could promote rat chondrocyte and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC) proliferation. The findings indicate that such scaffold could be valuable candidates for cartilage tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water shortages and the uneven distribution of water resources restrict China’s sustainable development. The concepts of virtual water and water footprints provide a new approach to alleviate regional shortages of Chinese water resources by the inter-provincial allocation of commercial water resources. In this study, an interregional input-output model was applied to quantitatively estimate the water footprint of each province in China and to quantify the inter-provincial transfer of virtual water. The results indicated that there was considerable diversity in the water footprints of the various provinces. Provinces with larger populations and greater GDP had larger water footprints, and developed regions had higher proportions of external water footprints. From the perspective of final demand, local consumption was the main factor driving the water footprints of these provinces. From the perspective of sectoral structure, the agricultural water footprint had a larger proportion in these provinces. The transfer of virtual water in China did not occur from regions with abundant water resources to those suffering from water shortages, but it generally occurred from west to east, from inland to coastal areas, and from underdeveloped to developed regions. Many water-deficient regions also had large net virtual water exports. Water shortages in China will be alleviated by the enhancement of industrial water-use efficiency in water-deficient regions, the transfer of water-intensive industries to regions with abundant water resources, and the development of tertiary industries with low water consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • • Folic acid-chitosan conjugate was synthesized by amidation. • • Characterization of PC-CS/FA-NPs were performed by DLS, FTIR, TGA and SEM. • • The inhibitory effect of PC-CS/FA-NPs on hemolysis of red blood cells was studied. • • The in vitro digestibility of PC-CS/FA-NPs were investigated. Proanthocyanidins have significant biological activity and pharmacological effects and are widely used in food, medicine, and cosmetics. Chitosan nanoparticles loaded with proanthocyanidins have been proven to improve their biological activity. Given some deficiencies of chitosan (CS), the modification of chitosan by folic acid (FA) can obtain new variants with different functions. For this objective, the folic acid conjugated chitosan was designed, and in vitro properties of proanthocyanidins loaded nanoparticles were studied systemically. Firstly, folic acid-chitosan conjugate (FA-CS) was synthesized and characterized. Folate-coupled chitosan-loaded proanthocyanidin nanoparticles (PC-CS/FA-NPs) were prepared by ionic gelation technique using FA-CS as a carrier. The successful nanoparticle synthesis was characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS) techniques and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The synthesized nanoparticles exhibited a spherical shape and smooth and uniform distribution features with a size range of less than 300 nm, as observed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Meanwhile, PC-CS/FA-NPs had good thermal and gastrointestinal digestive stability and had a protective effect on AAPH-induced erythrocyte oxidative hemolysis. In conclusion, folic acid decorated chitosan nanoparticles improved the stability and bioavailability of proanthocyanidins in gastrointestinal digestion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entities in the power supply chain usually tend to cooperate with each other for higher profits. The inter mechanism between the entities and power supply chain is an urgent research subject. To consider the power supply chain and entities better, a extended model of bilateral contract mechanism is proposed in this paper. Utilizing a Stackelberg game, this paper studies dynamic coordination and strategic interactions between power plants, power retailers, and consumers in the electricity trading process under demand uncertainty. An improved coordination model is proposed to help entities get potential profits as well as improve the stability of the power supply. The model is applied to power trading data from Guangdong, China which imposes penalties for inaccuracies in demand variation. Simulations suggest the model's solution exhibits higher reliability and minimizes fines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrospinning is a versatile and convenient technology to generate nanofibers suitable for tissue engineering. However, the low production rate of traditional needle electrospinning hinders its applications. Needleless electrospinning is a potential strategy to promote the application of electrospun nanofiber in various fields. In this study, disc-electrospinning (one kind of needleless electrospinning) was conducted to produce poly(ε-caprolactone)/gelatin (PCL/GT) scaffolds of different structure, namely the nanoscale structure constructed by nanofiber and multiscale structure consisting of nanofiber and microfiber. It was found that, due to the inhomogeneity of PCL/GT solution, disc-electrospun PCL-GT scaffold presented multiscale structure with larger pores than that of the acid assisted one (PCL-GT-A). Scanning electron microscopy images indicated the PCL-GT scaffold was constructed by nanofibers and microfibers. Mouse fibroblasts and rat bone marrow stromal cells both showed higher proliferation rates on multiscale scaffold than nanoscale scaffolds. It was proposed that the nanofibers bridged between the microfibers enhanced cell adhesion and spreading, while the large pores on the three dimensional (3D) PCL-GT scaffold provide more effective space for cells to proliferate and migrate. However, the uniform nanofibers and densely packed structure in PCL-GT-A scaffold limited the cells on the surface. This study demonstrated the potential of disc-electrospun PCL-GT scaffold containing nanofiber and microfiber for 3D tissue regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Belt and Road Initiative was proposed by China in 2013 to promote the interconnected development and prosperity of all participating countries. In the context of global response to climate change, understanding the embodied carbon transfer change along economic trade before and after the Belt and Road Initiative is essential to reduce carbon overall emission. In this paper, we used a multi-regional input-output model to study the embodied carbon transfer in trade between the Belt and Road countries that have signed cooperation documents with China from 2004 to 2017. The results showed that from 2004 to 2017, the growth rate that China's carbon emissions imported from other Belt and Road Initiative countries was about 1.9 times that of its exports. From 2004 to 2017, the proportion of China's carbon imports from other Belt and Road countries in China's total carbon imports increased from 3.41% to 3.73%, and exports decreased from 6.52% to 6.03%. In both 2004 and 2017, Electricity, Gas and Water sector, Heavy Industry sector, Transport sector were the three largest carbon transfer sectors in China's multilateral trade. In 2017, the embodied carbon transfer by multilateral trade among other Belt and Road countries except China increased by 15.53% compared with 2004. By comparing the characteristics of carbon transfer between China and the Belt and Road countries from 2004 to 2017, this study will provide insights for carbon emission reduction policy setting of Belt and Road Initiative countries. • We took countries that have signed documents with China as research objects. • MRIO model was used to analyze the carbon transfer change from 2004 to 2017. • The embodied carbon transfer in 2017 of BRI increased by 15.53% compared with 2004. • The growth rate of China's carbon imports from BRI was 1.9 times that of exports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Economic and ecological analysis of food waste to hydrogen is conducted. • Hydrogen yield from food waste in China from 2004 to 2019 is 221.12 billion kg. • The power generation potential of the hydrogen gas is 661.97 TWh. • Usage of power from hydrogen could reduce global warming by 42,041.9 kt CO 2 eq. • The food waste to hydrogen project is economically feasible in all provinces. Hydrogen gas is widely acknowledged as a significant energy carrier worldwide. Hydrogen gas derived from sustainable sources could be used as an alternative to fossil fuel for electricity generation with zero emission of hazardous pollutants. Food waste valorization to hydrogen is a viable energy source with potential economic benefits. The current study examines the economic viability and environmental effect of producing hydrogen from food waste in China using biogas steam reforming for power generation. The key findings show that the steam reforming of biogas from food waste could produce 221.12 billion kg of hydrogen gas. The quantity of hydrogen gas yield could generate 661.97 TWh of electricity. It was found that the consumption of the available electricity from the hydrogen gas could displace 15,482.26 M liters of diesel fuel combustion. The amount of diesel fuel consumption avoided can reduce global warming by 42,041.90 kt CO 2 e. It was also discovered that hydrogen has an appealing ecological efficiency of 94.64% when used as a source of energy generation. According to the outcomes of the economic analysis, the food waste to hydrogen project is economically feasible in all of China's provinces. The average hydrogen production cost, return on investment, the payback period is $0.814/kWh, 29.8%, and 7.2 years. This study could provide scientific data for investment and decision-making on ecological sustainability in food waste to hydrogen initiatives in China and other emerging nations with a similar culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During leachate treatment, molecular information regarding the completely removed, partially removed, less-reactive, increased, and produced parts of dissolved organic matter (DOM) remains unknown. This study applied ESI FT-ICR MS to investigate the transformation characteristics of leachate nanofiltration concentrate (NFC) DOM during a combined flocculation–O 3 /H 2 O 2 process. The NFC contained 5069 compounds in four main classes (CHO, CHON, CHOS, and CHONS compounds). The DOM number decreased to 4489 during flocculation and to 2903 after the O 3 /H 2 O 2 process. During flocculation, the completely and partially removed DOM was mainly low-oxygen unsaturated and phenolic compounds. Saturated DOM was produced and remained in the flocculated effluent. During the O 3 /H 2 O 2 process, the completely and partially removed DOM were mainly low-oxygen unsaturated and phenolic compounds that were mainly in a reduced state. Flocculation can remove many (condensed) aromatic compounds, and methylation and hydrogenation reactions occurred during flocculation. In the O 3 /H 2 O 2 process, dearomatization, demethylation, carboxylation, and carbonylation reactions further achieved the degradation of DOM that was resistant to flocculation. Overall, the combined flocculation-O 3 /H 2 O 2 process collectively eliminated a broader range of DOM than the single processes could achieve. The results of this study provide an in-depth understanding of DOM transformation in an NFC treatment. [Display omitted] • Transformation of NFC DOM in flocculation-O 3 /H 2 O 2 process was studied by FT-ICR MS. • Removed, less-resistant, and produced parts of NFC DOM in flocculation-O 3 /H 2 O 2 were determined. • A Kendrick mass defect theory was used to study DOM transformation of NFC. • Flocculation-O 3 /H 2 O 2 collectively eliminated a broader range of DOM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fabrication of 3D scaffold to mimic the nanofibrous structure of the nature extracellular matrix (ECM) with appropriate mechanical properties and excellent biocompatibility, remain an important technical challenge in tissue engineering. The present study reports the strategy to fabricate a 3D nanofibrous scaffold with similar structure to collagen in ECM by combining electrospinning and freeze-drying technique. With the technique reported here, a nanofibrous structure scaffold with hydrophilic and superabsorbent properties can be readily prepared by Gelatin and Polylactic acid (PLA). In wet state the scaffold also shows a super-elastic property, which could bear a compressive strain as high as 80% and recovers its original shape afterwards. Moreover, after 6 days of culture, L-929 cells grow, proliferate and infiltrated into the scaffold. The results suggest that this 3D nanofibrous scaffold would be promising for varied field of tissue engineering application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silk fibroin (SF)/PEO nanofibers prepared by green electrospinning is safe, non-toxic and environment friendly, it is a potential drug delivery carrier for tissue engineering. In this study, a core–shell nanofibers named as Dex@SF/PEO were obtained by green electrospinning with SF/PEO as the shell and dexamethasone (Dex) in the core. The nanofiber morphology and core–shell structure were studied by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). The Dex release behavior from the nanofibers was tested by High Performance liquid (HPLC) method. The protective effect of drug loaded nanofibers mats on Porcine hip artery endothelial cells (PIECs) against LPS-induced inflammatory damage were determined by MTT assay. TEM result showed the distinct core–shell structure of nanofibers. In vitro drug release studies demonstrated that dexamethasone can sustain release over 192 h and core–shell nanofibers showed more slow release of Dex compared with the blending electrospinning nanofibers. Anti-inflammatory activity in vitro showed that released Dex can reduce the PIECs inflammatory damage and apoptosis which induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Dex@SF/PEO nanofibers are safe and non-toxic because of no harmful organic solvents used in the preparation, it is a promising environment friendly drug carrier for tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In uranium-zirconium (U-Zr) based metallic fuels, different phases can form at different compositions and temperatures. Typically, lamellar δ-UZr 2 and α-U phases are the dominant microstructures in U-rich U-Zr alloys at temperatures below 880 K. In this work, a finite element method based mesoscale modeling technique is used to calculate the effective thermal conductivities of such heterogeneous microstructures, using the thermal conductivities of two individual phases and their interphase thermal resistance (Kapitza resistance) as input parameters. The Kapitza resistance between δ-UZr 2 and α-U is determined at different temperatures, which shows an approximately T−3 dependence in the temperature range between 300 and 800 K. In addition, the Kapitza resistance exhibits a strong dependence on the aspect ratio of the δ-UZr 2 phase. An analytical model is therefore developed to quantify the effects of both temperature and δ-UZr 2 aspect ratio on the Kapitza resistance. Using this newly developed Kapitza resistance model, the effective thermal conductivities of a number of δ-UZr 2 + α-U heterogeneous microstructures in U-Zr alloys, including non-lamellar microstructures, can be estimated accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a Riemannian Manifold Hamiltonian Monte Carlo based subset simulation (RMHMC-SS) method to overcome limitations of existing Monte Carlo approaches in solving reliability problems defined in highly-curved non-Gaussian spaces. RMHMC is based on the second-order geometric information of a probability space. Specifically, it generates an optimized path for Markov chain evolutions in a Hamiltonian constructed on the Riemannian manifold. Compared with the recently proposed Hamiltonian Monte Carlo based subset simulation (HMC-SS) approach, the RMHMC-SS approach shows better performance in handling highly-curved probability distributions. After a brief review of HMC-SS, the theory and implementation details of RMHMC-SS are presented. Finally, various reliability examples are studied to test and verify the proposed RMHMC-SS method. • Riemannian Manifold Hamiltonian Monte Carlo based subset simulation is developed. • Second order geometric information is used for efficient MCMC evolution. • The method is designed for reliability problems in highly-curved non-Gaussian space. • The method is successfully demonstrated by applications to non-Gaussian problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A novel series of c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitors were designed and developed from a high-throughput-screening hit. Through the optimization of the piperazine amide 1, several potent compounds were discovered. The X-ray crystal structure of 4g showed a unique binding mode different from other well known JNK3 inhibitors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A new epoxy resin matrix with good adherence to T800 carbon fibers (T800 CFs) in filament winding was developed by addition of hardener and resin diluter. Interfacial behavior of the T800 CF/epoxy composites was analyzed according to the Naval Ordnance laboratory (NOL) ring test, short-beam-shear test and fracture surface observation. Meanwhile, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used in analysis of the interfacial behavior. The interfacial properties of the T800 CF/epoxy filament wound composites were improved by optimizing the matrices through increasing the toughness and reducing the viscosity, which is an important factor in influencing the wettability of T800 CFs. The Interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) of the unidirectional T800 CF/epoxy composites and the tensile strength of NOL-ring in this work reached to 123 and 2570MPa, respectively. Also, the interfacial adhesion was much improved by the chemical reactions between the new matrix and the sizing on the T800 CFs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Petroleum-contaminated soil (PCS) is a global environmental issue. An effective remediation technique is urgently needed to address this problem. This study applied a semi-aerobic aged refuse biofilter (SAARB) to the decontamination and remediation of PCS. The effects of petroleum content, surfactant content, and water content on oil removal efficiency were studied, and the operation conditions were optimized using the response surface method. Results showed that contents of petroleum and water that were too high or too low depressed total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) removal. The presence of surfactant markedly reduced the TPH removal efficiency. The optimal operation conditions were the ratio of aged refuse to PCS = 1.6; water content = 41%; and petroleum content = 3.8%. The TPH removal efficiencies under optimized conditions and during a confirmatory experiment were 59.89% and 51.38%, respectively. PCS contained an abundance of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and macro molecular alkanes, and these organic compounds were considerably removed by SAARB treatment. The microbial community exhibited a marked change at both phylum level and genus level after 3 months of remediation in the PCS. At the genus level, norank_f _SS1–B-06-26 became the most dominant; further isolation and verification experiments for its ability to degrade petroleum are needed. In addition, the abundance of norank_o _Saccharimonadales , Aquabacterium , Hydrogenophaga, and norank_f_ Saccharimonadaceae, which can degrade hydrocarbons, also increased. This study provides a theoretical reference for SAARB application in the remediation of PCS. • Petroleum-contaminated soil was remediated by SAARB technique. • Total petroleum hydrocarbon removal by SAARB was more than 50% under idea condition. • Petroleum hydrocarbons were degraded by SAARB, according to 3D-EEM and GC-MS analysis. • Microbial structure greatly changed after remediating by SAARB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development and application of Fenton and ozonation systems in landfill leachate treatment over the last 20 years, and the current research status are reviewed in this paper, with an emphasis on the technical and economic characteristics of Fenton and ozonation systems used to treat different types of landfill leachate. To date, a total of 101 and 78 articles have been published regarding leachate treatment by Fenton and ozonation systems, respectively. These articles considered the use of two systems to treat aged leachate, biologically treated leachate and leachate comprising the concentrated solution resulting from reverse osmosis (RO). The oxidization mechanisms of the two systems used to treat landfill leachate significantly differed in terms of their optimal process parameters (e.g., initial pH value, reagent dosage, and reaction time) and removal efficiency. The Fenton and ozonation systems outperformed persulfate-based advanced oxidation technology in terms of their improved biodegradability of landfill leachate and engineering practicability. The cost of the reagents required to treat landfill leachate by Fenton and ozonation systems accounted for at least 85% of the total operating cost. In contrast to the ozonation system, the Fenton system was more cost-effective when both systems were used to treat the same type of landfill leachate. This study provides a theoretical basis for the operation of Fenton and ozonation systems and also offers technical support for landfill leachate disposal companies that opt to use these technologies. Unlabelled Image • Studies of landfill leachate disposal by Fenton and ozonation systems were reviewed. • Water quality characteristics were determined for different leachate. • Mechanism, parameters, and efficiency in Fenton and ozonation systems were discussed. • Operating costs of Fenton and ozonation systems were established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

3D electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds have been developed for cartilage regeneration, however, there is no consensus on the preferable method for biocompatible scaffolds that enhance regeneration and attenuate inflammation. We designed a 3D porous electrospun polylactic acid (PLA) @gelatin-based scaffold by a novel method. Chondroitin sulfate (CS), commonly used in clinical cartilage treatment, is capable of regulating cartilage formation and inhibiting inflammation. Thus we further functionalized the 3D scaffold by crosslinking of CS, assuming that CS-functionalized scaffold (CSS) would promote cartilage regeneration and modulate inflammation. We confirmed that CSS exhibits not only appropriate reversible compressibility and mechanical property, but also appropriate biocompatibility, allowing cell proliferation. In vitro , the potential of CSS for chondrogenic differentiation was improved compared to control and PLA@gelatin scaffold as chondrogenic markers Collagen2 and Aggrecan was significantly increased. Meanwhile, significant reduction in two crucial inflammatory factors (NO and PGE2) in CSS group demonstrated inflammation inhibition. In vivo , rabbit cartilage defects were created and CSS effectively promoted cartilage repair. Additionally, superior anti-inflammation effect of CSS was demonstrated by reduction in iNOS and PGES, enzymes producing NO and PGE2, respectively by immunohistology. Our results indicated the preferable property of CSS for cartilage regeneration and its potential in immunoregulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• DOM composition in landfill and incineration leachate was systematically compared. • Transformations of the DOM molecular compositions by MBR/NF were investigated. • Phenolic compounds, polyphenols and polycyclic aromatics enriched in MBR leachate. • NF lowered the DOM abundances but with more complex DOM in the NF concentrate. • Coagulation in conjunction with an advanced O 3 /H 2 O 2 process was used to treat NF concentrate. Transformations of the molecular compositions of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in incineration leachate (IL) were investigated. Results revealed that DOM in IL had a lower oxidation degree than that in mature MSW landfill leachate (LL). Moreover, aliphatic compounds (2.0 ≥ H/C ≥ 1.5) having the highest bioavailability were the most abundant type of DOM in IL, making IL significantly more biodegradable than LL. Under microbial actions, etc., DOM composed of phenolic compounds (aromaticity index (AI) ≤ 0.50 and H/C < 1.5), polyphenols (0.66 ≥ AI > 0.50) and polycyclic aromatics (AI > 0.66) in MBR-treated effluents were enriched and more diverse than in the untreated leachates. Nanofiltration (NF) dramatically lowered the relative abundances of phenolic compounds, polyphenols and polycyclic aromatics in effluent generated by treatment of IL in a MBR. Although the concentration of DOM in NF effluent was comparatively low, the DOM compositions in the resulting NF concentrate were nearly identical to those in MBR effluent, but were more complex than those in an international standard DOM due to a higher content of CHOS and CHONS heteroatomic compounds. Particularly, coagulation in conjunction with ozone/hydrogen peroxide oxidation process were dramatically reduced most polyphenols and polycyclic aromatics from the NF concentrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landfill leachate contains high concentrations of complex organic matter (OM) that can severely impact the ecological environment. If landfill leachate is to be treated using a combined "biological + advanced treatment" process, the molecular information of OM must be investigated to optimize the operation parameters of the combined process and maximize the removal of organic pollutants. This study applied ultra-high resolution mass spectroscopy to investigate the degradation and transformation characteristics of refractory OM in mature landfill leachate at the molecular level (m / z = 150–800) during biological treatment (i.e., semi-aerobic aged refuse biofilter, SAARB) and subsequent chemical oxidation (i.e., the Fenton process and ozonation). After SAARB treatment, the polycyclic aromatics (aromatic index, AI > 0.66) and polyphenol (0.66 ≥ AI > 0.50) contents increased, and the highly unsaturated phenolic compounds (AI ≤ 0.50 and H/C < 1.5), which have a high bioavailability, were mostly removed. Compared with raw leachate, SAARB effluent (i.e., SAARB leachate) contained fewer organics with short carbon chains, more organics with long carbon chains, an elevated condensation degree for organics and, thus, a considerably reduced biodegradability. Although both the Fenton and ozonation processes could remove many of the polycyclic aromatics and polyphenols, ozone produced considerable amounts of aliphatic compounds with high bioavailability. Compared to ozonation, the Fenton process utilized the hydroxyl radical to non-selectively react with OM and produced better mineralization results. Unlabelled Image • The Fenton process had a better mineralization effect for leachate treatment. • The SAARB process cannot remove polycyclic aromatic and polyphenol compounds. • Transformation of DOM in Chemical treatment was characterized by ESI FT-ICR MS. • The types of OM targeted by ozonation and the Fenton process are quite different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current close-to-smart power systems, renewable energies are the most significant elements that need to be carefully addressed in power system studies. In this regard, microgrids (MGs) have been introduced recently to activate the large penetration of renewables. However, integration of such generation technologies that are associated with severe uncertainty in their power output would significantly impact the scheduling of energy resources in MGs. Thus, efficient energy management systems are required to be employed in MGs. Therefore, this paper presents a day-ahead scheduling framework for an MG equipped with a solar photovoltaic (PV) unit. In this respect, different climate conditions and their impacts on the power output of the PV unit and the optimal scheduling of the MG have been investigated in this paper. To this end, four different days from the four seasons have been used to extract the data of solar irradiance. The scheduling problem has been formulated in a single-objective optimization framework, where the objective function is defined as minimizing the total operating cost over the scheduling period. An effective optimization algorithm named "modified krill herd (MKH)" algorithm is proposed to solve the mentioned day-ahead scheduling problem, while there are renewable and non-renewable generating units, besides an energy storage system. Furthermore, a comprehensive comparison has been made between the MKH algorithm and some well-known optimization algorithms to verify the superior performance of the suggested method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Refractory organics are degraded by the synergistic effects of MW with PS and H 2 O 2. • The MW/PS process degrades organics better than the MW/H 2 O 2 process. • Differences in DOM degradation mechanisms were revealed at the molecular level. • Humus is better degraded in the MW/PS process due to the major contribution of SO 4 -. This study investigated the degradation of organics in mature leachate treated by microwave radiation-activated persulfate (MW/PS) and hydrogen peroxide (MW/H 2 O 2) processes. Obvious synergistic effects existed in both the MW/PS and MW/H 2 O 2 processes, but were significantly higher in the MW/PS process. Refractory organics were better degraded by the MW/PS process than the MW/H 2 O 2 process due to the major contribution of SO 4 –. Moreover, according to Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry coupled with electrospray ionization analysis results, the refractory organics (e.g. polycyclic aromatics (AI > 0.66), polyphenols (0.66 ≥ AI > 0.50)) were greatly degraded by both the MW/H 2 O 2 and MW/PS processes, but the MW/PS process degraded dissolved organic matter (DOM) over a wider range than the MW/H 2 O 2 process due to the different dominant radicals in the two processes. In addition, after reaction in the MW/PS process, the O/C ratio of DOM in the treated effluent showed an obvious increase, which can be mainly attributed to the reaction of sulfate radicals with the N- and S- containing compounds via single electron transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A combined process to treated landfill leachate was studied at the molecular level. • Mature landfill leachate contained a variety of organics with low bioavailability. • A membrane bioreactor can remove some organics from mature landfill leachate. • A reverse osmosis system can almost completely remove organics from mature leachate. This study investigated the effectiveness of a combined membrane bioreactor (MBR) and reverse osmosis (RO) process for treating leachate produced by a large-scale anaerobic landfill. The MBR process had limited treatment efficiency for removing organic pollutants, but when combined with RO, the integrated system completely removed macromolecular compounds (i.e., humic- and fulvic-like substances) and produced effluent that satisfied the applicable discharge standard. The landfill leachate contained many types of DOM that had high molecular weight and were highly unsaturated. Although the MBR process removed some DOM that had a relatively low saturated degree (mainly aliphatic compounds (2.0 ≥ H/C ≥ 1.5) with relatively high bioavailability), many bio-refractory compounds were not removed. The RO system greatly reduced the content of residual DOM in MBR effluent and was effective for removing heteroatom DOM, especially polycyclic aromatics (AI > 0.66) and polyphenols (0.66 ≥ AI > 0.50). The effluent from the combined process of MBR and RO treatment mainly contained a small number of aliphatic compounds and phenolic compounds (AI ≤ 0.50 and H/C < 1.5) that had higher bioavailability than DOM in the raw leachate and posed little environmental risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semi-aerobic aged refuse biofilters (SAARB) are known to efficiently remove organic matter, nitrogenous substances, and anions from landfill leachate. However, long-term recirculation of mature landfill leachate inevitably leads to accumulation of pollutants and decreases treatment capacity. In this study, the washing action provided by domestic sewage was used to recover and even enhance the treatment performance of SAARBs treating mature landfill leachate. Three SAARB columns were operated for 300 d after which a "Recirculation-Washing-Recirculation" sequence was followed. In the first recirculation period (22 d), removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total nitrogen (TN) decreased from ca. 90% and 60%, respectively, initially to about 75% and less than 20%, respectively. Thereafter, washing (20 d) of the SAARBs was accomplished by applying domestic sewage. In the subsequent second recirculation period (30 d), the SAARBs were operated at the same hydraulic loading as used initially, but achieved high (ca. 90%) COD and relatively high (ca. 59%–76%) TN removal, including degradation of refractory organic matter such as humic- and fulvic-like substances. Overall, the mechanisms of the treatment performance recovery (including organics degradation and nitrification-denitrification) using domestic sewage can be attributed to three main effects: (1) some accumulated pollutants were washed out, thereby leading to recovery of the adsorption ability of aged refuse; (2) the inhibition of bio-refractory organics stress on microbial activities was mitigated by domestic sewage washing; and (3) the wash out of some accumulated salts (e.g., chloride and sulfate ions) probably helped the microbial activity recover. • A "Recirculation-Washing-Recirculation" sequence was operated in SAARBs. • SAARBs treated landfill leachate and were washed with domestic sewage. • Pollutant removal from landfill leachate was improved by washing action. • Microbial activity was improved after washing action. • Washing action greatly promote nitrification-denitrification within SAARBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultraviolet-quenching substances (UVQS), recently identified pollutants in landfill leachate, can interfere with ultraviolet disinfection when landfill leachate is co-treated with municipal sewage. This study investigated the elimination of UVQS in mature landfill leachates through a membrane bioreactor (MBR) and a semi-aerobic aged refuse biofilter (SAARB). Humus (i.e., fulvic and humic acids) was the main component of organic matter in both MBR- and SAARB-treated landfill leachates, while there was a more stable chemical structure of humus in the MBR-treated leachate. The concentration of UVQS in MBR-treated mature landfill leachate was higher than that of SAARB-treated leachate. Ozonation can degrade UVQS effectively, especially for landfill leachate containing a high concentration UVQS (i.e., MBR-treated landfill leachate). However, a large accumulation of small molecule acid might be caused by ozonation for highly concentrated UVQS in landfill leachate, leading to the delayed degradation of total organic carbon. Moreover, ozonation degraded both fulvic acid and humic acid; and degraded humic acid more effectively. For instance, 88.0% removal (MBR-CP2) and 96.0% removal (SAARB-CP2) of humic acid was higher than those (83.3% for MBR-CP1 and 92.3% for SAARB-CP1) of fulvic acid. The destruction of UV-quenching functional groups of organics (such as C C) by ozone was the main UVQS degradation mechanism of ozonation applied to MBR- and SAARB-treated landfill leachates. Therefore, the ozonation process can efficiently decrease UV absorption intensity in both MBR- and SAARB-treated landfill leachates. • More leachate UVQS can be reduced by SAARB (6.35 cm−1) than MBR (29.85 cm−1). • Humus is the main UVQS in MBR- and SAARB-treated landfill leachates. • Humic can be degraded more efficient than fulvic in ozonation process. • Ozonation process can destruct UV-quenching polar functional groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Cartilage decellularized matrix (CDM) is processed into inks for 3D printing. • CDM-based scaffolds with controlled 3D shape and pore structure are obtained. • Fibers can improve the mechanical property of 3D-printed CDM scaffolds. • 3D-printed fiber-reinforced CDM scaffolds exhibit elasticity in wet condition. • Fiber-reinforced CDM scaffolds can repair articular cartilage defects in rabbits. Cartilage decellularized matrix (CDM) is considered a promising biomaterial for fabricating cartilage tissue engineering scaffolds. An ideal CDM-based scaffold should possess customizable 3D shape for complex tissue regeneration and proper pore size for cell infiltration, as well as provide mechanical support for cell growth. 3D printing is an efficiently technique for preparing customizable 3D scaffolds, however, fabricating CDM-based 3D-printed scaffolds with customizable shapes, proper pore structure and satisfactory mechanical properties remains a challenge. In the current study, to achieve customizable CDM-based 3D scaffolds, CDM was successfully processed into inks suitable for 3D printing. Further, the poor mechanics of CDM-based scaffolds were significantly improved by adding electrospinning fiber into the CDM-based inks for 3D printing. Importantly, the 3D-printed electrospinning fiber-reinforced CDM-based scaffold presented good biocompatibility and can enhance repair articular cartilage defects in rabbits. The current study provides a novel strategy for printing electrospinning fiber-reinforced CDM-based scaffolds for tissue regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• MW-PS-H 2 O 2 binary-oxidant process was firstly used to treat DDNP wastewater. • The oxidant utilization rate considerably increased with the binary oxidant process. • Both S O 4 · - and · O H were major contributions to organics degradation. Microwave (MW) irradiation is a superior approach to a warm-up system than conventional heating, and persulfate (PS) and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2) can be efficiently activated to produce a reactive oxygen species for organic degradation. However, shortcomings remain regarding whether to use a low oxidant or the low treatment efficiency of a single oxidant process. In this study, a PS-H 2 O 2 binary oxidant process induced by MW was developed to treat dinitrodiazophenol industrial wastewater. The best chemical oxygen demand (COD) (73.5%) and color number (CN) (98.1%) removal efficiencies were obtained for the MW-PS-H 2 O 2 process under conditions of a total oxidant dose = 7.4 mM and n(PS)/n(H 2 O 2) = 3.7/3.7. In the MW-PS-H 2 O 2 process, the combination of ·OH and SO 4 − better degrades organics in DDNP industrial wastewater with the advantages of lower residual salinity (sulfate ions) and less invalid decomposition of excessive H 2 O 2. In addition, benzene ring substances and functional group substances were greatly degraded, and the molecular weight of the organics considerably decreased as a result of the MW-PS-H 2 O 2 process. Overall, the results demonstrate that the MW-PS-H 2 O 2 process is a promising treatment method for dinitrodiazophenol industrial wastewater with high treatment efficacy and high oxidant utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Provincial CO 2 emissions of China are investigated from different perspectives. • Embodied emission flows driven by final demands and primary inputs are quantified. • Income-based emissions are relatively higher in energy resource-abundant province. • Tertiary industries are the major contributors to China's income-based emissions. Emission accounting can help to identify main CO 2 emitters and inform emission mitigation policymaking. Previous studies have proved that the application of different accounting principles results in different emission levels, thus bring different policy implications, while the emissions enabled by primary inputs (or income-based emission) have been overlooked in studies for carbon mitigation in China. Understanding the role of primary inputs in CO 2 emissions is a prerequisite to create efficient supply-side mitigation policies. Here, we conduct a quantitative study of China's provincial production-, consumption-, and income-based CO 2 emissions in a unified multi-regional input-output analysis framework. The results are compared from the three perspectives for 30 provinces in China to help the government identify the main policy targets from production, demand, and supply sides. We found that 64% and 35% of China's emissions are transferred among provinces driven by final demands and primary inputs, respectively. Mitigation policies in heavily industrialized provinces, such as Hebei, Liaoning, and Henan, where the production-based emissions are higher than the consumption- and income-based emissions, should be focused on production side. Similarly, policies in eastern coastal developed provinces and resource-abundant provinces should be focused on demand- and supply-side, respectively. Moreover, we found that tertiary industries, which previous studies generally regard as low-carbon industries, are the major contributors to China's income-based CO 2 emissions with a total of 2026 Mt or 31% of China's total income-based CO 2 emissions. Thus, expanding tertiary industries without reducing their industrial linkages to carbon-intensive industries is not conducive to China's emission reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) electrospun fibrous scaffolds with customizable shapes and large pores is a challenging task. In this study, for the first time, one-dimensional (1D) gelatin/poly (lactic- co -glycolic acid) (PLGA) electrospun fibers were processed into inks suitable for 3D printing. By combining 3D printing and freeze drying, electrospun fiber-based inks were successfully fabricated into 3D-printed scaffolds (3DP) with precisely controlled shapes and large pores, in addition to fibrous surface morphologies similar to that of a native extracellular matrix (ECM). The 3DP exhibited good elasticity and water-induced shape memory, and was found to be superior to 3D-printed scaffolds fabricated using pure gelatin fibers and freeze-shaped scaffolds fabricated using non-fibrous gelatin/PLGA powder. Moreover, 3DP combined with chondrocytes achieved satisfactory cartilage regeneration in vivo. The novel strategy of 3D printing electrospun fibers established in this study provides a research model for the design and fabrication of multiple scaffolds for various tissue regeneration applications. Unlabelled Image • Electrospun fibers were processed into three-dimensional inks for the first time. • Fiber scaffolds with controlled shapes and large pores were successfully fabricated. • Three-dimensional printed fiber scaffolds exhibited elastic property in the wet condition. • Three-dimensional fiber scaffolds combined with chondrocytes achieved satisfactory cartilage regeneration in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]