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The threat of environmental degradation caused by production activities is growing worldwide owing to the unsustainable behavior of firms. Environmental legislation plays a central role in developing firms' conservation-oriented and nature-friendly behavior. Limited literature is available on how environmental legislation affects firms' nature-friendly behavior and adoption of environmentally friendly technologies. This research presents an empirical investigation into the intricate interplay between ecological commitment, environmental knowledge, firms' nature-friendly behavior, and the adoption of environmental technologies within organizations. Moreover, the study examines the moderating role of environmental law between firms' nature-friendly behavior and the adoption of environmental technologies. Data were collected from 401 firms through face-to-face and online surveys during the pandemic in China. The study used Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the collected data. The results show significant associations between ecological commitment (ß = 0.421, p<0.01), environmental knowledge (ß = 0.301, p<0.01) and firms' naturefriendly behavior. The findings also reveal that a firm's nature-friendly behavior (ß = 0.271, p<0.01) positively influences its adoption of environmentally friendly technologies. Similarly, environmental law positively and significantly moderates the relationship between firms' nature-friendly behavior and the adoption of environmental technologies. Therefore, firms should align their values and operations with ecological commitment, fostering a culture of environmental responsibility that permeates all levels of the organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regarding its wide range of applications in different industries, such as oil and gas, and for manufacturing equipment used to control pollution and recycle industrial wastes, Inconel 686 turning process is highly important. The alloy is highly resistant to high temperatures and corrosion, and thus it can preserve its properties at high temperatures. Due to its low heat transfer coefficient and work hardening during operation, Inconel 686 is considered a difficult‐to‐cut material, and hence, turning Inconel 686 is challenged with major limitations regarding input parameter level and cutting fluid and issues such as reduced surface quality. The input parameter level and cutting fluid limitations might severely harm the environment and humans, decrease the machining efficiency and keep cleaner production goals out of reach. Novel cooling methods such as cryo‐MQL can contribute to achieving cleaner production goals. Cooling methods improve the machining performance and prohibit any damage to the surface integrity. In this study, cryo‐MQL, along with carbide‐coated tools and biodegradable vegetable oil, was adopted. The efficiency and success rate of cryo‐MQL were evaluated by comparing the results with those of MQL and wet methods. A wide range of output parameters, such as residual stresses, cutting zone temperature, cutting forces, tool wear, surface smoothness, surface defects and micro‐hardness, were assessed by changing the cutting speed and feed rate. The results indicated that cryo‐MQL could reduce the cutting forces, tool wear rate, cutting zone temperature and residual stresses while improving the surface quality. Moreover, environmental concerns were completely dealt with. Due to the increased possibility of higher input parameter levels, the time and cost of the cutting process were significantly reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface alkali deweighting is an important link to enhance the added value of polyester (PET) textiles. However, the traditional high-concentration liquid alkali treatment has the problem of high pollution and high risk, which runs counter to cleaner production. To reduce the amount of alkali, quaternary ammonium salt accelerators with different structures were used to improve the alkali deweighting efficiency of polyester fabric. The effects of sodium hydroxide, accelerator dosage, molecular structure of accelerator, and holding time on alkali deweighting of polyester fabric were studied. The mechanism was analyzed based on surface morphology, zeta potential. In addition, the differences, such as hydrophilicity, breaking strength, whiteness, and dyeing properties of pretreated textiles, were further compared. The results showed that the alkali deweighting efficiency of accelerator containing benzyl groups was better than that of the accelerator with same alkyl chain containing methyl groups at the same concentration. Meanwhile, as the hydrophobic chain changes from dodecyl to cetyl, and octadecyl, the deweighting efficiency increased markedly, especially for the accelerator containing benzyl group. The 0.5 g/L of octadecyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride (1827) combined with 10 g/L of sodium hydroxide can save 72.2% of alkali consumption to obtain weight loss rate of 20%. Also, the polyester fabrics treated with accelerators showed good hydrophilicity, breaking strength, and dyeing property compared to conventionally treated polyester fabric with the same weight loss rate. These findings provide a new idea for reducing the amount of alkali effectively and basic dyeing of polyester fabrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A molybdenum-bismuth sulfide ore in Hunan Province contains 0.05% molybdenum and 0.1% bismuth. And the traditional flotation process, i.e., full flotation of molybdenum-bismuth-sulfur-separation of molybdenum from bismuth-sulfur-separation of bismuth-sulfur, exists with low recovery of molybdenum and bismuth, complicated pharmaceutical system, larger dosage of pharmaceuticals, and higher production cost. In order to strengthen the separation of molybdenum and bismuth, calcium hypochlorite was introduced to replace sodium sulfide as bismuth depressant, and the flotation process of this molybdenum-bismuth sulfide ore was optimized. The new flotation process is molybdenum-bismuth mixed flotation-molybdenum-bismuth separation-sulfur flotation, which can obtain a molybdenum concentrate with molybdenum grade of 42.02 % and molybdenum recovery of 81.45% and a bismuth concentrate with bismuth grade of 42.23% and bismuth recovery of 76.38%. Compared with the traditional flotation process, the new process increased the grade and recovery of molybdenum concentrate by 1.63 and 2.35 percentage points, and that of bismuth concentrate by 11.98 and 9.21 percentage points, and at the same time reduced the content of pH, COD, suspended solids, and some heavy metal ions in the beneficiation wastewater, which is of good industrial value and broad application prospect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fish ponds are reliable food supply in local scale. However, they have adverse environmental impacts due to discharging pollution to the surface waters. To quantify the sustainability of this industry with the perspective of environment-food nexus, the-state-of-the-art index of food environmental footprint (FEF) is used and calculated for trout ponds (TPs). For this purpose, an integrated method is developed for accounting the environmental impacts of TPs by including grey water footprint (GWF) in Recipe, a tool for life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). GWF stands for the embedded water consumption and LCIA combines the potential health and ecological impacts. Here, water quality data of multiple pollutants, BOD, COD, TSS, NO2, NO3, NH4, TN, PO4, DO and Cu+2, in the influent and effluent of Iranian TPs was obtained by field experiments and discussed with data from 9 countries. Results showed that TSS and NH4 are critical pollutants and the average GWF is about 16 m3/kg. Moreover, human health impacts are relatively greater than ecological damages. Nevertheless, FEF is calculated 0.17 and verifies TP sustainability (< 1). Based on environment-food nexus perspective; it means that the positive value of food production dominates TPs' negative environmental damages. In addition, this study reviewed the efficiency of constructed wetlands for low-strength wastewater treatment. Due to its potential on TSS and NH4 removal, this system can reduce the GWF and added environmental damages of TPs 85% and 58%, respectively. Consequently, FEF decreases to 0.023 showing the very sustainability (< 0.1) of TPs by wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The rise in the world's population has led to an amplified need for fundamental requirements such as healthcare, shelter, and water. At the same time, human practices like agriculture, mining, and deforestation have resulted in challenges related to environmental sustainability and the contamination of water resources. As a result, access to safe drinking water has become a major challenge worldwide, and controlling water pollution is crucial. Several water treatment methods, including adsorption, nanotechnology, and membrane technology, have been developed to mitigate health and environmental impacts. However, many of these methods are too expensive, especially for people living in low-income countries. Additionally, some of the technologies are not very effective at removing pollutants, which exacerbates the problem. The physical, chemical, and biological approaches for treating water are categorized in this review, along with the benefits and drawbacks of each approach. Given that the adsorption method is thought to be one of the more economical and environmentally friendly techniques to treat water, this review recommends that in order to increase the efficacy of the adsorbents, a comprehensive investigation into the exact operation of the adsorbents at the cellular and molecular levels be conducted.

The rise in the world's population has led to an amplified need for fundamental requirements such as healthcare, shelter, and water. At the same time, human practices like agriculture, mining, and deforestation have resulted in challenges related to environmental sustainability and the contamination of water resources. As a result, access to safe drinking water has become a major challenge worldwide, and controlling water pollution is crucial. Several water treatment methods, including adsorption, nanotechnology, and membrane technology, have been developed to mitigate health and environmental impacts. However, many of these methods are too expensive, especially for people living in low-income countries. Additionally, some of the technologies are not very effective at removing pollutants, which exacerbates the problem. The physical, chemical, and biological approaches for treating water are categorized in this review, along with the benefits and drawbacks of each approach. Given that the adsorption method is thought to be one of the more economical and environmentally friendly techniques to treat water, this review recommends that in order to increase the efficacy of the adsorbents, a comprehensive investigation into the exact operation of the adsorbents at the cellular and molecular levels be conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial metabolism is a recent field of research in engineering and sustainability. Its practical objective is to provide structural solutions to organizations and regulate the productive, ecological, and economic system. Due to being a relatively new topic and without a known pattern, the present research adapts the 4R (resources) urban metabolism MFA model developed at ETH in Switzerland by Professor Peter Baccini and applies it to a Canadian food startup (Missfresh). Within the adjusted model, clean production tools, circularity plans, ecological design, inventory flow analysis, and the four general study variables (materials, infrastructure, impacts, and standards) were used for solutions within the company. This research seeks two academic results: the metabolic map (static–dynamic animation) that describes the behavior of the company during a period of time, and the industrial metabolism model adapted and validated for subsequent applications. In practical results, the impacts of the model in the 3Es of sustainability in the industry and the sector are evaluated: ecology, ergonomics, and economy. This research is conducted within the framework of an internship to obtain a master's degree in Sustainable Development and Environment at the University of Montreal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Muthanna Journal of Administrative & Economics Sciences is the property of Muthanna Journal of Administrative & Economics Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study assesses the adoption and operational effectiveness of Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) in Italian wineries, focusing on ISO 14001:2015. It evaluates commitment, planning, communication strategies, emergency preparedness, and employee training practices. Using a comprehensive survey-based methodology, the research elucidates the dynamics of EMS implementation across various scales of winery operations. The research reveals a strong commitment among wineries to environmental objectives such as waste reduction and efficient electricity and water use. However, significant deficiencies were identified in EMS policy implementation, emergency preparedness, and the uptake of ISO 14001:2015 certification, with larger wineries showing more robust engagement in environmental training than smaller ones. The study incorporates five key performance indicators (KPIs) and a predictive model using logistic regression and Random Forest to analyze the likelihood of ISO 14001 certification based on the analyzed variables. The model highlights established processes, environmental policies, and frequent reviews as significant predictors of certification. These findings contribute original value by identifying critical leverage points and barriers affecting EMS effectiveness within the wine sector. The research uncovers nuanced interactions between the scale of operations and management engagement influencing EMSs' success. It proposes novel, survey-based KPIs essential for assessing EMS performance in wineries, demonstrating their practical utility in pinpointing areas for improvement. The research limitations include potential biases from varying participation rates among surveyed wineries, affecting extrapolation to the broader Italian wine industry. Despite these limitations, the study provides substantive practical implications, suggesting that wineries can enhance both environmental sustainability and a competitive edge by addressing gaps in EMS implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PT A is a cement industry that produces slag, portland cement, and composite portland cement. This research aims to examine the environmental impacts of the cement industry by applying the life cycle assessment method. The methods used in this research are divided into goal and scope, life cycle inventory, life cycle impact assessment, and interpretation. This research uses SimaPro software for data processing. In carrying out impact assessments using life cycle assessment, several methods are used such as CML IA Baseline V3.05, Impact 2002+, EPD 2018, and cumulative energy demand. The results show that there are two types of impacts. Primary impacts include global warming, eutrophication, acidification, and stratospheric thinning. Meanwhile, secondary impacts are photochemical oxidation, abiotic depletion of fossils and non-fossils, terrestrial and aquatic ecotoxicity, carcinogenicity, toxicity, water consumption, land use change, and non-renewable energy depletion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SignificanceWith the escalating global climate change and ecological pollution issues, the "dual carbon" target of Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality has been incorporated into various sectors of China's social development. To ensure the green and sustainable development of agriculture, it is imperative to minimize energy consumption and reduce pollution emissions at every stage of agricultural mechanization, meet the diversified needs of agricultural machinery and equipment in the era of intelligent information, and develop low-carbon agricultural mechanization. The development of low-carbon agricultural mechanization is not only an important part of the transformation and upgrading of agricultural mechanization in China but also an objective requirement for the sustainable development of agriculture under the "dual carbon" target.Progress]The connotation and objectives of low-carbon agricultural mechanization are clarified and the development logic of low-carbon agricultural mechanization from three dimensions: theoretical, practical, and systematic are expounded. The "triple-win" of life, production, and ecology is proposed, it is an important criterion for judging the functional realization of low-carbon agricultural mechanization system from a theoretical perspective. The necessity and urgency of low-carbon agricultural mechanization development from a practical perspective is revealed. The "human-machine-environment" system of low-carbon agricultural mechanization development is analyzed and the principles and feasibility of coordinated development of low-carbon agricultural mechanization based on a systemic perspective is explained. Furthermore, the deep-rooted reasons affecting the development of low-carbon agricultural mechanization from six aspects are analyzed: factor conditions, demand conditions, related and supporting industries, production entities, government, and opportunities.Conclusion and Prospects]Four approaches are proposed for the realization of low-carbon agricultural mechanization development: (1) Encouraging enterprises to implement agricultural machinery ecological design and green manufacturing throughout the life cycle through key and core technology research, government policies, and financial support; (2) Guiding agricultural entities to implement clean production operations in agricultural mechanization, including but not limited to innovative models of intensive agricultural land, exploration and promotion of new models of clean production in agricultural mechanization, and the construction of a carbon emission measurement system for agricultural low-carbonization; (3) Strengthening the guidance and implementation of the concept of socialized services for low-carbon agricultural machinery by government departments, constructing and improving a "8S" system of agricultural machinery operation services mainly consisting of Sale, Spare part, Service, Survey, Show, School, Service, and Scrap, to achieve the long-term development of dematerialized agricultural machinery socialized services and green shared operation system; (4) Starting from concept guidance, policy promotion, and financial support, comprehensively advancing the process of low-carbon disposal and green remanufacturing of retired and waste agricultural machinery by government departments.

Introduction. The Municipality of Choconta is known for being the largest producer of papa in Colombia. However, these advantages have been overshadowed by the use of chemical fertilizers, crop diseases, waste accumulation and climate change, which aggravate soil quality and alterations in the physicochemical properties of the crop. Objective. Select the cleanest production strategy for soil resources for potato cultivation based on waste recovery. Materials and methods. A bibliographic review of cleaner production strategies for agricultural crops was carried out. The characterization and selection matrix of the most effective strategy for the recovery of waste and the reduction of contamination in the soil resource was carried out. Results. The characterization of cleaner production strategies was carried out for the improvement of soil resources and agricultural crops from the valorization of waste through composting as a cleaner production strategy. Conclusions. Potato cultivation is affected by environmental pollution generated by climate change, accumulation of heavy metals, chemical fertilizers, among others, which is why it is necessary to characterize cleaner production strategies for the use of organic waste in the improvement of the quality of the crop and the soil for agricultural activity in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The study aims to predict solar energy generation to ensure the successful operation of solar power plants. This objective is crucial in light of the increasing energy demand, global warming concerns, and greenhouse gas emissions. To achieve this, the study employs multiple linear regression and feature selection techniques to calculate energy generation. Additionally, long short‐term memory (LSTM) is used to predict energy generation levels based on climate conditions. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of energy generation is analyzed using inverse distance weighting. The results of the study reveal that temperature, solar radiation, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and vapor pressure deficit are the most significant parameters for predicting energy generation. The LSTM method proves to be highly accurate in predicting fluctuating energy generation patterns. Notably, the southern regions of the study area exhibit a greater potential for energy generation compared to the northern regions. Approximately 30% of the region generates over 1400 kWh, with the southern areas, characterized by hot and dry climates, producing around 1500 kWh, while the northern regions, with cold and humid climates, generate approximately 1100 kWh.

With the improvement in people's living standards, the development and application of smart textiles are receiving increasing attention. In this study, a carbon nanosurface was successfully coated with a SiO2 layer to form C@SiO2 nanomaterials, which improved the dispersion of carbon nanomaterials in an aqueous solution and enhanced the absorption of light by the carbon nanoparticles. C@SiO2 nanoparticles were coupled on the surface of silk fabric with the silane coupling agent KH570 to form C@SiO2 nanosilk fabric. The silk fabric that was subjected to such surface modification was endowed with a special photothermal function. The results obtained with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) showed that C@SiO2 nanoparticles were successfully modified on the surface of the silk fabric. In addition, under the irradiation of near-infrared light with a power of 20 W and a wavelength of 808 nm, the C@SiO2 nanosilk fabric experienced rapid warming from 23 °C to 60 °C within 30 s. After subjecting the functional fabric to hundreds of photothermal experiments and multiple washes, the photothermal efficiency remained largely unchanged and proved to be durable and stable. In addition, the thermogravimetric (TG) analysis results showed that the C@SiO2 nanoparticles contributed to the thermal stability of the silk fabric. The UV transmittance results indicated that C@SiO2 nanofabric is UV-resistant. The silk modification method developed in this study is low-cost, efficient, and environmentally friendly. It has some prospects for future applications in the textile industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of the research is to develop a set of guidelines for the development of business within the framework of the green industry, in compliance with all current environmental regulations, as applied to the realities of the current economic situation in China. The methodology basis is a combination of system analysis of the key principles of business development within the framework of environmental strategy in China with a comprehensive analysis of green industry concept as a factor limiting the activities of enterprises to avoid environmental pollution. The results obtained in the research indicate the presence of significant results in the interaction of government and business in the framework of mutually beneficial collaboration for the growth of the green industry. Chinese business structures invest in the development of "green" industrial and manufacturing technologies while ensuring the necessary level of environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Separated preparation of prealloys and amorphous alloys results in severe solidification–remelting and beneficial element removal–readdition contradictions, which markedly increase energy consumption and emissions. This study offered a novel strategy for the direct production of FePC amorphous soft magnetic alloys via smelting reduction of high-phosphorus iron ore (HPIO) and apatite. First, the thermodynamic conditions and equilibrium states of the carbothermal reduction reactions in HPIO were calculated, and the element content in reduced alloys was theoretically determined. The phase and structural evolutions, as well as element migration and enrichment behaviors during the smelting reduction of HPIO and Ca3(PO4)2, were then experimentally verified. The addition of Ca3(PO4)2 in HPIO contributes to the enrichment of the P element in reduced alloys and the subsequent development of Fe3P and Fe2P phases. The content of P and C elements in the range of 1.52wt%–14.63wt% and 0.62wt%–2.47wt%, respectively, can be well tailored by adding 0–50 g Ca3(PO4)2 and controlling the C/O mole ratio of 0.8–1.1, which is highly consistent with the calculated results. These FePC alloys were then successfully formed into amorphous ribbons and rods. The energy consumption of the proposed strategy was estimated to be 2.00 × 108 kJ/t, which is reduced by 30% when compared with the conventional production process. These results are critical for the comprehensive utilization of mineral resources and pave the way for the clean production of Fe-based amorphous soft magnetic alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shield muck dehydration has disadvantages such as long processing time, low efficiency, and environmental pollution caused by chemicals. Therefore, a novel material composed of liquid dimethyl ether and triguaiacyl phosphite(DME-TTFP) is developed to dehydrate shield muck using phase change method, and the influence of different DME-TTFP amount and reaction time on dehydration effect is examined. The composition, particle size distribution, and morphology of shield muck before and after dehydration are characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and specific surface area analysis, respectively, and the moisture morphological variations of the shield muck during dehydration process is analyzed. The results demonstrate the following: (1) The amount of DME-TTFP incorporation and treatment time considerably affect the dehydration of shield muck. The moisture content decreases with increasing amount of liquid DME-TTFP incorporation and treatment time. (2) The moisture content of the muck can be stabilized at approximately 23% when the mass ratio of liquid DMETTFP to moisture in the muck is set at 8 with a dehydration time of 15-20 min, resulting in an optimal dehydration state. (3) The particle size distribution of the muck after dehydration is relatively constant, and DME-TTFP cannot be found in muck, which exhibits favorable reusability and weak contribution to the composition of the shield muck. (4) The free water would preferentially be detached during early stage of dehydration, and almost completely disengaged in the middle and later stages. Then partial bound water could be gradually detached, and the removal efficiency of bound water attained more than 35% . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Smart Agriculture is the property of Smart Agriculture Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The most commonly used method for industrial flue gas denitrification is selective catalytic reduction (SCR). However, the catalyst preparation is complex and expensive. The iron and steel industry produces large amounts of waste containing metal oxides that can be used as active catalytic components for SCR of nitrogen oxides. In this study, a novel catalyst for SCR of nitrogen oxides was prepared by roasting, sulfuric acid, and sulfuric acid-roasting modification of steelmaking sludge, which is used as the raw material. The physical and chemical properties of the catalysts from steelmaking sludge before and after modification were analyzed using Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, and temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia. It has been revealed that Fe, Mn, V, and Ti are the main active groups of the catalyst. Calcination can transform Fe3O4 to α-Fe2O3 with better denitrification activity, thus improving the catalyst reactivity. A high calcination temperature can cause a collapse of the pore structure of the catalyst, thereby decreasing the surface area and active sites and ultimately reducing the catalytic activity. The catalyst modified at the optimum calcination temperature of 400 °C has the highest catalytic activity at 350 °C and a denitrification efficiency of 57.6%. The sulfuric acid-modified catalyst has excellent catalytic activity. Sulfuric acid impregnation changes the surface morphology of the catalyst, reduces the grain size, generates numerous sulfate species, provides more acidic sites on the catalyst surface, and promotes catalyst performance. The 9 mol·L−1 sulfuric acid-modified catalyst has the highest denitrification efficiency at 300 °C. Compared with the unmodified catalyst, the denitrification efficiency significantly increased from 22.9% to 88.5%. Conversely, a denitrification efficiency of 72.9% is measured for the catalyst modified by sulfuric acid and roasting modification, which is lower than that of the sulfuric acid-modified catalyst at 300 °C. This may be explained by the fact that sulfuric acid and roasting modification causes not only structural changes in the catalyst but also the decomposition of the generated sulfate species, thereby leading to catalytic efficiency reduction. This work shows a feasible preparation of a low-cost SCR catalyst for denitrification by roasting and acid modification using steelmaking sludge as the raw material, provides a theoretical basis for developing low-cost denitrification catalysts using metallurgical solid wastes and promotes clean production in the metallurgical industry.

A convection-type air curtain dust control system and method were proposed to effectively control the high dust concentrations generated during the operation of coal miners and hydraulic supports and to reduce the dust concentration in the entire working space of longwall work surfaces, and the effectiveness of air curtain dust control during single process operation was investigated through numerical simulation. The results showed that when the miner was working alone, there was a significant difference in the concentration distribution inside and outside the dust-proof air curtain, with significantly lower dust concentrations in the area where the miner drivers were operating compared to both sides, with an average dust mass concentration of around 420 mg/m3. Dust concentrations increased to about 700 mg/m3, but large amounts of dust were prevented from diffusing downwind. This indicates that the dust reduction effect is more pronounced after the equipment is opened, which can improve the working environment and reduce the probability of dust combustion and explosion accidents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the experiment was to evaluate the weight gain, digestibility and carcass quality characteristics of heifers supplemented with live yeast, in an intensive finishing system on grassland. The work carried out at a commercial farm, lasted 60 days. Sixty-two crossbred heifers (F1 Nellore×Angus): 13 ± 1.5 months, body weight of 404.85 ± 18.77 kg was allocated to two dietary treatments on bread grass (Brachiaria brizantha) cv. Marandu grassland. The dietary treatments were: control diet (CON) without the inclusion of live yeast and a diet supplemented with live yeast (LY) at the level of 15 g/day. The diets were formulated and adjusted according to daily weight gain for beef cattle, with an intake of 1.2% body weight. The protein values of the grassland areas grazed by the C and LY heifers were observed as 5.08% and 6.75%, respectively. The LY heifers consumed less diet (4.46 vs. 5.31 kg) and had a higher performance (438.5 vs. 431.2 kg) compared to the C heifers. Also, the studied carcass parameters, the digestibility of dietary starch and providing improvement in rumen health in the LY treatment were higher than those in the CON treatment. In conclusion, the dietary LY enhanced growth performance and carcass traits of crossbred (Nellore/Angus) heifers, which are likely linked with improvement in the rumen health and the starch digestibility of the diet in an intensive finishing system on grassland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to predict solar energy generation to ensure the successful operation of solar power plants. This objective is crucial in light of the increasing energy demand, global warming concerns, and greenhouse gas emissions. To achieve this, the study employs multiple linear regression and feature selection techniques to calculate energy generation. Additionally, long short‐term memory (LSTM) is used to predict energy generation levels based on climate conditions. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of energy generation is analyzed using inverse distance weighting. The results of the study reveal that temperature, solar radiation, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and vapor pressure deficit are the most significant parameters for predicting energy generation. The LSTM method proves to be highly accurate in predicting fluctuating energy generation patterns. Notably, the southern regions of the study area exhibit a greater potential for energy generation compared to the northern regions. Approximately 30% of the region generates over 1400 kWh, with the southern areas, characterized by hot and dry climates, producing around 1500 kWh, while the northern regions, with cold and humid climates, generate approximately 1100 kWh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additive manufacturing (AM) processes with their tool-free production process and low infrastructural requirements, such as the Fused Layer Modeling process, make it possible to decentralize production capacities and thus enable distributed production. Companies and scientists expect these to increase resilience and reduce the ecological footprint. This paper focuses on the site selection of distributed additive production networks. By transforming the location planning in AM into a two-level uncapacitated facility location problem, a developed algorithmic approach based on k-means clustering can identify optimized factory distributions. This paper discusses the role and interdependence of costs, pollution and resilience in the selection process of a factory network planning. It shows the interaction between the factor costs leading to low and pollution as well as resilience leading to highly distributed manufacturing. Furthermore, possible approaches to identify optimal factory distributions, upcoming future changes in environmental politics and major advantages of distributed AM are discussed. This paper will support companies and researcher aiming for distributed resilient production using AM. The findings of this paper and parts of the approach can be used for other production technologies such as distributed production through maker spaces or factories with an equally capable machine park. Through the findings of this paper current production networks such as centralized conventional manufacturing can be compared with distributed AM networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural heritage systems have great advantages in clean production, because they well maintain productivity while having low environmental impacts. However, as they are increasingly challenged by modernization, whether they can keep clean production in a modern society has become a general concern. In this study, we first put forward a theoretical framework for the environmental impact assessment of agricultural heritage systems. Then, we apply it to Qingtian Rice-Fish Culture System (QRFCS), the first Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems in China. We focus on its environmental impact in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and analyze the changes in its capacity for reducing GHG emissions under dual impacts of modernization and conservation measures with the carbon footprint model. Results show that the rice-fish culture has obvious advantages in GHG emission reduction over the rice monoculture in the study area, but it is in face of environmental risks brought by the increased inputs of fertilizers and feed. The environmental impact of QRFCS in terms of GHG emissions has decreased these years, but the risk of the rice-fish industry shrinking has increased due to the negative feedback formed by the low input and low output status. However, the positive aspect is that the moderate land scale management has increased the capacity of QRFCS for reducing GHG emissions and promoted its conservation as an agricultural heritage system. We propose that this theoretical framework and its application results will not only provide suggestions for giving full play to the clean production capacity of agricultural heritage systems, but also provide countermeasures for their conservation in the context of modernization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrial sector's need for efficient electric motors is paramount for both energy conservation and climate change mitigation. This study evaluates the environmental impacts of three motor technologies—Squirrel Cage Induction Motors (SCIM) at IE3, Synchronous Reluctance Motors (SynRM), and Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSM) at IE5—using a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach with the EuP Eco-Report tool. The focus is on 11 kW, 4-pole motors, representing typical industrial applications. Results show that IE5 SynRMs and PMSMs offer significantly higher operational efficiency, with PMSMs reaching 95 % efficiency compared to 92.7 % for SCIMs. However, the environmental trade-offs are notable: SynRMs require 156.9 kg of materials, including 80.5 kg of electrical steel, while PMSMs demand 1.8 kg of rare earth materials, contributing to higher manufacturing impacts. Total energy consumption over 15 years in the operational phase reveals a consumption of 3.88 TJ for SCIM, 3.83 TJ for SynRM, and 3.79 TJ for PMSM, indicating substantial savings from higher efficiency motors. Despite their efficiency, PMSMs exhibit higher impacts in water use (1172 l in manufacturing) and heavy metal emissions, primarily due to challenges in recycling rare earth components. This analysis highlights the environmental cost-benefit trade-offs between improving operational efficiency and managing the resource-intense production of higher-efficiency motors. As electric motor technology evolves, careful consideration of life cycle impacts, especially in manufacturing and end-of-life phases, is essential to achieve sustainable energy solutions. [Display omitted] • The EcoReport tool provides essential information for the life cycle of motors. • Permanent magnets and electrical steel are still challenging to recycle. • SynRMs and PMSMs are more efficient than SCIMs in the use phase but not in the manufacturing phase. • PMSMs cause more significant environmental impacts during manufacture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the extent to which the Indonesian National Standard (SNI) for products adopted and applied by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, can encourage them to effectively implement a quality management system (QMS) within their internal organizations, which eventually affects and benefits their process performance and clean production practices. Survey data collected from 44 respondents in 12 SMEs with SNI-certified products were processed and examined using descriptive analysis and regression analysis. The results showed that these could implement QMS effectively partly because it is a requirement for the SNI certification of the proposed product. The effectiveness of QMS implementation affects the achievement of process performance in that it can reduce the number of defective products, process costs, and process cycle times. According to the respondents, an effective QMS makes every activity and action taken in the production process more environmentally friendly and leads to cleaner production practices. These findings can help further research determine the model's feasibility to design and develop a better framework that promotes QMS and clean production practices, especially among SMEs in Indonesia.

Sweet pepper (Capsicum annum) is an important vegetable with high economic and nutritional value. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of biological treatments on the nutritional, nutraceutical and functional status of greenhouse sweet peppers cv. Nirvin. Plants were divided into two categories: Peppers that were biologically treated included five microbial-based fertilizers and insecticide and those that were chemically treated contained a large number of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The results showed that the total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, and leaf chlorophyll content were significantly higher (1.16, 1.14, and 1.09-fold) in the biologically treated plants compared to those that received the chemical treatment. The concentration of Fe, K, Mg, P, Ca, Cu, Si, and Mn also increased in the fruits of biologically treated sweet pepper plants. Fe, Mg, and P content of the leaves was higher in the chemically treated plants, while, the concentration of Zn and Cu showed the higher values in the leaves of the biologically treated plants. There was no significant difference between biological and chemical treatments in plant height as well as the number of flowers and fruits per plant. In conclusion, biological treatment could significantly improve the nutritional, nutraceutical and functional values of sweet peppers. Considering the risk of environmental pollution, the high cost of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, as well as their adverse impact on human health and the ecosystem, biological treatment can be a suitable alternative for sweet pepper management programs.

The study aimed to analyze the diversity of the residual components and develop their handling techniques on fishing industry operations based at Blanakan Port. The methods used were description method, PPA model, and weighted portion analysis. The residual components of the excess stock of supplies for fishing industry operations based on Blanakan Port were remaining fuel (average 38,5 l/boat), remaining fresh water (average 117,5 l/boat), and remaining ice blocks (average 5,3 blocks/boat). While the residual components from the impact of boat operating activities were fuel spills, oil spills, and marine waste, especially plastic packaging. Clean production techniques for handling the residual components of fishing industry operations based on Blanakan Port were (a) providing training on careful planning of fuel supplies (rethink), (b) reducing supplies of ice blocks (reduce), (c) remaining fresh water reused for cleaning equipment (reuse), (d) repair leaky installations (refine) and provide training on raising awareness of the impact of fuel and oil spills (rethink), and (e) reduce supplies with plastic packaging (reduce). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and the need to manage diminishing fossil fuel reserves are two of the biggest challenges facing the planet. It is widely accepted that we must now reduce fossil energy consumption and increase renewable energies production. One of the important renewable energies is biomass that gradually has become more popular for its production technology in recent years. This study focuses on the innovative production of bio-ethanol as a clean and efficient fuel. In this study, the date crop, which is found in arid regions including Iran, was selected as the raw material for bioethanol production. It was shown that Iran has a high potential of producing date crops and it is, unfortunately, going to be wasted yearly. Therefore, date crops are introduced as a new feedstock to produce bio-ethanol in Iran. Hence, feasibility and economic evaluation of this ingenious method are analyzed. According to 2014 statistics, the amount of bio-ethanol production from date crops calculated, 352873.91 tons in Iran. Then, the best region for this production identified based on the amount of date produced, annually. Following that, the profitability of this project is shown through NPV calculation that obtained 203 $M. Therefore, the payback period is considered as less than one year which proves that the idea of using date crops for ethanol production is highly economical in Iran. Therefore, date palm can be considered as a desired source for bioethanol production in countries with similar conditions to Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive fertilizer application in the cropping industry leads to excessive nitrogen and phosphorus in surrounding water bodies, which causes farmers to increase economic cost and damage the environment. To address the problem, we built a crop-soil runoff soil column test system, setting eight fertilizer application levels for eggplants. Then, crop yield, soil fertility and pollutant concentrations in the receiving water bodies were measured. The process of fertilizer application on the water quality of surrounding receiving water bodies and the rationality of fertilizer application were analyzed. The results showed that crop yield, soil fertility, and pollutant concentrations in the receiving water increased with the increase in fertilizer application. The crop yield stabilized when the fertilizer application amount was higher than 0.12 kg/m2; the concentrations of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) in the water increased significantly with the increase in fertilizer application, where particulate nitrogen (PN) and organic phosphorus (OP) were the key pollutants. In addition, crop growth had an interception effect on pollutant migration. The concentration of pollutants in the water was significantly lower in the late crop growth period (after flowering) than in the early. The crop had the best interception effect on pollutants when the fertilizer application was 0.12 kg/m2. The concentrations of TN and TP in the water were 29.7% and 22.3% after the flowering period, being lower than those before the flowering period. Therefore, a reasonable value of 0.12 kg/m2 is recommended for fertilizer application in this article. It can provide a reference for the fertilization system of eggplant planting in North China and theoretical support for the realization of clean production in small rural watershed planting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research reports a bibliometric analysis using the bibliometrix package with information from the SCOPUS database. A descriptive analysis was performed to provide an overview of the countries, institutions, authors, journals and keywords of 80 manuscripts published between 1997 and 2022 in the field of study of emergy and its application in wastewater treatment. The results showed 2 sources with the highest h and g impact index (Ecological Engineering and Journal of Cleaner Production) with a significant growth since 2009. The most cited keywords were "emergy" and "wastewater", and the countries with the most important scientific networks were China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, USA, Brazil, Colombia and Italy. In addition, it shows that collaborative groups among the authors from China and USA are the ones that consolidate the main research network, as well as the largest scientific production with the most cited articles in the field of study of emergy in wastewater treatment. Therefore, the application of the emergy method in wastewater treatment requires extensive research in different types of treatments. This type of analysis would allow the development of a new approach in the application of wastewater treatment in terms of sustainability and the introduction of Latin American countries in this emerging field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As China's export products have been pollution-intensive in recent decades, stringent environmental regulations have been applied to export products. Environmental regulation will squeeze out a firm's expense on innovation and impact its productivity through the cost effect and innovation offset effect. However, the overall impact on productivity change is uncertain because of the trade-off between the two effects. This study explores the relationship between the innovations of export firms and environmental regulation using the panel data of export firms in 18 industrial industries. The impact of the implementation of the Law of Promoting Cleaner Production on the innovation of export firms in industries with different pollution intensities has been studied using the difference-in-differences method. The findings show that environmental regulation has a negative impact on the innovation of export firms. Export destinations create a difference in innovation performance. Environmental regulation tends to have a positive impact on the innovation of firms whose major markets are developed countries. Compared with light pollution-intensive industries, the Law of Promoting Cleaner Production has reduced the innovation ability of export firms in heavy and medium pollution-intensive industries. Therefore, when formulating environmental policies, regulators should consider the impact of such policies on the innovation of export enterprises and formulate a reasonable intensity of environmental regulations to achieve a win–win situation vis-à-vis improving the ecological environment and enhancing the innovation ability of export enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural defect‐endowed photocatalysts are being increasingly recognized due to the enhanced catalytic activity of multiple defect sites (e.g., vacancies or functional groups). However, because of the excessive destruction effect of conventional chemical oxidation methods toward carboxyl defects engineering, the mechanism is still unclear and practice is rare in developing high‐quality structural carboxyl defect‐involved g‐C3N4. Herein, an alternating hydrogen‐oxygen‐plasma treatment is proposed to endow the g‐C3N4 with enriched vacancy defect sites for the subsequent immobilization of carboxyl groups, thus overcoming the problem of lacking of covalent binding sites in g‐C3N4 in developing carboxyl defective g‐C3N4 photocatalysts. The alternating hydrogen‐oxygen‐plasma treatment does not only influence the defect structure of g‐C3N4, but also changes its morphology, optimizes the electronic distribution, and increases the separation efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes, thereby increasing photocatalytic H2 evolution by 7.91 times. Density functional calculations and electrochemical characterization suggest that the carboxyl defects generated by the fast H2‐O2 plasma modification lead to a local asymmetric electron environment, which enhances carrier separation capability and significantly improves H2 generation activity. This study provides a new insight into the rational design and fabrication of defect‐containing photocatalysts, carbon materials, and polymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]