A review on co-pyrolysis of agriculture biomass and disposable medical face mask waste for green fuel production: recent advances and thermo-kinetic models.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is blessed with agricultural resources, and with the growing population, it will continue to prosper, which follows the abundance of agricultural biomass. Lignocellulosic biomass attracted researchers' interest in extracting bio-oil from these wastes. However, the resulting bio-oil has low heating values and undesirable physical properties. Hence, co-pyrolysis with plastic or polymer wastes is adopted to improve the yield and quality of the bio-oil. Furthermore, with the spread of the novel coronavirus, the surge of single-use plastic waste such as disposable medical face mask, can potentially set back the previous plastic waste reduction measures. Therefore, studies of existing technologies and techniques are referred in exploring the potential of disposable medical face mask waste as a candidate for co-pyrolysis with biomass. Process parameters, utilisation of catalysts and technologies are key factors in improving and optimising the process to achieve commercial standard of liquid fuel. Catalytic co-pyrolysis involves a series of complex mechanisms, which cannot be explained using simple iso-conversional models. Hence, advanced conversional models are introduced, followed by the evolutionary models and predictive models, which can solve the non-linear catalytic co-pyrolysis reaction kinetics. The outlook and challenges for the topic are discussed in detail.

Impact of disposable mask microplastics pollution on the aquatic environment and microalgae growth.

The COVID-19 pandemic has mandated people to use medical masks to protect the public. However the improper management of disposable mask waste has led to the increase of marine pollution, in terms of water quality, and the decline in aquatic microorganisms. The aim of this research was to investigate the impact of disposable mask waste on fresh water and microalgae biomass quality. Disposable masks (untreated or treated with Enterococcus faecalis) were placed in 10-L glass reactors containing fresh water or water containing algal Chlorella sp. and its growth supplements (Chlorella medium) (four 10-L reactors in total) and kept in controlled conditions for 3 months. Water and biomass yield quality were evaluated using water quality analysis, spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and proximate lipid and protein analysis. Disposable masks, incubated in either fresh water or Chlorella medium, affected several water quality parameters such as chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD), dissolved oxygen (DO), and pH. Microplastic identification revealed that some fibers were present in the water following a 100-day treatment process. Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis was used to determine the change in important, organic functional groups and highlighted the disappearance of a peak at 1530 cm-1 corresponding to the primary protein (C-N) and the appearance of new peaks at 1651 cm-1 and 1270 cm-1 corresponding to methyl alcohol (CH2OH) and ketone (C = O), respectively. This indicated the detrimental effect of disposable mask fragmentation on the biomass quality. The SEM investigation has shown a damage to the surface membrane of Chlorella sp. cells. Altogether, disposable masks decreased the water quality and damaged microalgae by inhibiting their growth. Therefore, the disposable mask contaminated by various microbes, after being used by a human, may be one of the most dangerous hazards to the environment.

The use of technological innovation in bio-based industries to foster growth in the bioeconomy: a South African perspective

Several countries around the world are taking advantage of emerging technologies to leverage the use of natural resources to develop and grow bio-based industries. As a result, these activities have become the backbone of bioeconomy-growth strategies in the developing world. Adoption of the concepts and technological aspects of this facet of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) across government, academia, and industry has fostered innovation in the health, agricultural, and manufacturing sectors. However, the relationship between the technological catalysis of innovation and the bioeconomy from the perspective of a developing country has been left unexplored. In this context, this review explores the contribution of technological advances toward a sustainable, valuable bioeconomy and the current policy mandates. We focus our attention on South Africa because the country has a holistic, well-defined bioeconomy strategy that is consistent with the conditions of developed nations more generally. The review suggests that developing countries could adopt a multidisciplinary approach to designing their bioeconomy strategies. We further assert that developing holistic strategies that address the recent COVID-19 pandemic and potential future world crises could be beneficial in achieving sustainable development goals.

Re-evaluating the precision of yield targets set by MOET app v.2.0

This paper presents the evaluation results of the yield target setting precision of the revised MOET App (v.2.0), following the inclusion of the correction factors generated from rice biomass correlations between MOET and nutrient omission plot setups obtained from 2017 to 2018. The project started with trainings on MOET kit and MOET App use for the seed production personnel across PhilRice stations in Nueva Ecija, Negros, Bukidnon and Agusan in 2018 DS. Included in the trainings were the establishment of MOET kit tests and generation of variety- and site-specific recommendations via the MOET App for several nationally or regionally recommended varieties (NSIC Rc 122, 160, 216, 218, 222, 238, 286, 300, 358, 402, 436, 440, 442, 480, PSB Rc18 and PSB Rc82) that each PhilRice station intended to produce in the succeeding 4 cropping periods from 2019 to 2020. Relative yield advantages and economic benefits from using the MOET App fertilizer recommendations over PhilRice' current fertilizer management in seed production per station were monitored every cropping while the precision evaluation of yield target setting was done after the last cropping of 2020 WS. In 2019, relative yield advantages averaged 0.43t ha-1 in DS and 0.25t ha-1 in WS. In 2020 DS, an average relative yield advantage of 0.63t ha-1 was obtained across stations and 0.93t ha-1 in 2020 WS in Nueva Ecija only due to travel restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Economic benefits of using the MOET App showed an average of 0.50t ha-1 and 0.65t ha-1 yield increase over the seed production units' fertilizer management in DS and WS, respectively. While savings in fertilizer cost were better realized during the WS at an average of Php 4,126.34 ha-1 season-1 across stations. Results of the precision evaluation of the yield target showed marked improvements with a 95.24% probability of achieving 17% higher grain yields than the target set by MOET App v.2.0. However, the overall normalized Root Mean Square Error (nRMSE) of 38.14% exceeded the range for a fairly acceptable fit with the model due to large gaps between target and actual yields obtained from DS field trials.

An eco-friendly strategy for recovery of H-2-CH4-rich syngas, benzene-rich tar and carbon nanoparticles from surgical mask waste using an updraft gasifier system

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a new type of waste (surgical mask waste "WMs") that presents a major challenge now and in the future, given the strong possibilities of similar epidemics to reoccur. In order to find an effective industrial solution to the millions of WMs produced daily, this research aims to develop a new eco-friendly strategy to convert WMs into H-2-CH4-rich syngas, carbon nanoparticles (CNPs), and benzene-rich tar using an updraft gasifier system. The experiments started with the preparation of WM granules using shredding followed by granulation processes. Subsequently, the granules were processed in a lab-scale reactor with a capacity of 0.9-1 kg/h and consisted of a continuous WM feed system, a gasifier, a sampling system for syngas and tar, a ceramic filtration unit for separating the CNPs against the synthesis gas, and a burner. The gasification experiments were performed in ambient air with different air-fuel equivalence ratios (ER: 0.21, 0.25, and 0.29) and temperatures (700 degrees C, 800 degrees C, and 900 degrees C) to determine the optimal conditions that yield the maximum amount of H-2-CH4-rich syngas and CNPs with less impurities. The chemical composition and morphology of the obtained gasification products (syngas, tar, and CNPs) were observed using GC-FID, FTIR, and SEM. The results showed that the maximum production of syngas (4.29 +/- 0.16 kg/h with HHV of 3804 kJ/kg) and CNPs (0.14 +/- 0.011 kg/h) accompanied by a moderate tar rate (0.123 +/- 0.009 kg/h with HHV of 41,139.88 kJ/kg) could be obtained at 900 degrees C and ER = 0.29, while the highest H-2 (16.93 +/- 1.7 vol.%) and CH4 (10.44 +/- 0.85 vol.%) contents in syngas product were synthesized at 900 degrees C and ER = 0.19. Benzene and toluene were the major GC-FID compounds in the formulated tar product with abundance up to 25.6% and 11%, respectively. Meanwhile, gasification conditions of 900 degrees C and ER = 0.24 allowed the best morphology to be formulated for spherical-shaped CNPs with a diameter of less than 200 nm.

Influence of biochar on improving hydrological and nutrient status of two decomposed soils for yield of medicinal plant - Pinellia ternata

The root tuber of Pinellia ternata has been used as a traditional therapeutic herbal medicine. It is reported to impart beneficial attributes in recovering COVID-19 patients. To meet an increasing demand of P. ternata, this study is intended to investigate the effects of biochar on the soil hydrological and agronomic properties of two decomposed soils (i.e., completely decomposed granite (CDG) and lateritic soil) for the growth of P. ternata. The plant was grown in instrumented pots with different biochar application rate (0%, 3% and 5%) for a period of three months. Peanut shell biochar inclusion in both soils resulted in reduction of soil hydraulic conductivity and increase in soil water retention capacity. These alterations in hydrological properties were attributed to measured change in total porosity, biochar intra pore and hydrophilic functional groups. The macro-nutrient (i.e., N, P, K, Ca, and Mg) concentration of both soils increased substantially, while the pH and cation exchange capacity levels in the amended soils were altered to facilitate optimum growth of P. ternata. The tuber biomass in biochar amended CDG at all amendment rate increases by up to 70%. In case of lateritic soil, the tuber biomass increased by 23% at only 5% biochar application rate. All treatments satisfied the minimum succinic acid concentration required as per pharmacopoeia standard index. The lower tuber biomass exhibits a higher succinic acid concentration regardless of the soil type used to grow P. ternata. The biochar improved the yield and quality of P. ternata in both soils.

Sources of water-soluble organic carbon in fine particles at a southern European urban background site

In this study, the temporal evolution and sources of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) in submicron particles at an urban background site in Elche (Spain) were investigated. Measurements of PM1 (N = 200) were carried out over one year (2021). Samples were analysed for organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), WSOC, levoglucosan, elements and major ions. A positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis was performed in order to identify the sources of WSOC on an annual and a monthly basis. During the study period, traffic restrictions due to COVID-19 led to lower concentrations of PM1 and carbonaceous compounds than expected. The WSOC annual average mass concentration was 0.95 mugm-3, with maximum values during the colder months. The apportionment results indicate that the biomass burning (BB) source contributed 30.63% to WSOC levels, road traffic (RT) accounted for 23.90% of the WSOC, while the contribution of a source related to secondary organic aerosol formation (ammonium sulfate-AS) was 33.80%. Minor sources of WSOC were: soil dust (SD) and secondary nitrate (SN), which contributed 7.44% and 4.22%, respectively, to WSOC concentrations. The WSOC/OC ratio did not exhibit significant variations during the study period, since source contributions were similar for WSOC and OC. The highest values of this ratio were recorded in summer, due to the higher contribution from the AS source to WSOC concentrations.Copyright © 2023 The Authors

Enhancing the fuel properties of beverage wastes as non-edible feedstock for biofuel production

A few industries, such as the beverage industry, have experienced some growth in sales during the COVID-19 pandemic. Globally, beverage companies alone generate over 200 million tonnes of biomass annually, which largely ends up as animal feed or in landfills. With the UK government's commitment to reduce its carbon footprint by at least 68% in 2030, many companies, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), are exploring options to reduce carbon emissions and develop roadmaps to become carbon neutral. It has thus become imperative for beverage companies to find value in or repurpose their waste. This paper unlocks the potential for improving the fuel properties of beverage waste through a blending process and explores the determination of optimal fractions for the blends via characterization. With an initial moisture content of 82 and 58 wt.% brewery spent grain (BSG) and spent coffee grounds (SCG), respectively, the pre-treatment process reduced moisture content by approximately 10-15 wt.%. The study concludes that biomass blending improved the fuel properties of the biomass, providing a competitive comparison with coal for energy applications.

Occupational Health Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment with Introduction of Biomass in Coal Based Captive Power Plant

Introduction: Occupational Health should aim at the Promotion and Maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental, and social well-being of all the employees. A pilot project was taken up due to acute shortages of coal during the COVID Pandemic, on industrial level, mixing of biomass with coal at a ratio of 20:80 respectively was considered as a good raw material. With introduction of biomass, workers were exposed to different organic substances either directly through dermal route or respirable dust with risk of becoming victims to Occupational diseases. Objective(s): The objective of the study is to identify and mitigate occupational health hazard of various nature prevailing at workplace after introduction of new raw materials;to safeguard the workforce from discomfort and occupational illness and to provide healthy working environment at RIL-Hazira. Method(s): Walk through survey was initiated by team of industrial hygienist and medical officer along with the process engineer. Subsequent workplace evaluation was done according to ACGIH screening criteria for respirable dust & VOC monitoring. To measure airborne respirable contaminants, we have considered housekeeping staff, operator, field executive, Boiler operation engineer which were found more likely to be at the risk of airborne contaminant exposure. To identify the concentration of contaminants, personal air sampler (SKC Make) was used for collection of respirable dust samples for different job category of workers. NIOSH 600 method was used for exposure assessment and samples were collected by using PVC filter used at the flow rate of 2.5 lpm. The composition of biomass pellets was received from biomass team & chemical analysis of biomass was done at our laboratory. Occupational Diseases known to be caused by organic agricultural compounds used as fuel were taken into account such as Bagasossis, farmer's lung & other hypersensitivity pneumonias, non-tubercular mycobacterial infections, infections caused by various fungi & bacteria. Prevention & Control measures were taken during the project such as modification of process, local exhaust ventilation, worker education on different diseases, personal hygiene, use of PPE, good housekeeping. Result(s): Through effective Risk assessment, Hazard Identification and measures taken to mitigate Occupational health hazards, no occupational health disease was reported after implementation of the change in process in a total of 55 identified workers. Moving forward these workers will be periodically monitored. The amount of total respirable dust was reduced by approx. 10- 25% at different location of the plant after control measures taken. This project also brought huge monetary benefits to the plant. Leading forward as the pilot project for introduction of biomass was a great success it has been planned to be scaled up to 40% mixture of biomass.

Strategic use of thermo-chemical processes for plastic waste valorization

Plastic is one of the most widely used materials in industries including packaging, building, and construction due to its lightweight, low cost, durability, and versatility. However, the mass production of plastics has exacerbated plastic pollution. Globally, plastic waste is predominantly incinerated, landfilled, or released into the environment;only 5-6% is recycled in the United States. Although conventional management protocols such as incineration and landfilling are evidently effective for plastic waste disposal, they are associated with significant environmental and societal challenges. In addition, most recycled plastic is downcycled, and thus does not provide sufficient incentive to use recycled materials instead of virgin materials. This review discusses thermo-chemical upcycling processes such as (catalytic) pyrolysis and heterogeneous catalysis. Furthermore, we present the recent progress in the thermo-chemical upgrading of single-type plastic waste, heterogeneous plastic mixtures, and post-consumer plastic waste obtained from different locations and, finally, suggest future research directions.

Snapshots of wintertime urban aerosol characteristics: Local sources emphasized in ultrafine particle number and lung deposited surface area.

Urban air fine particles are a major health-relating problem. However, it is not well understood how the health-relevant features of fine particles should be monitored. Limitations of PM2.5 (mass concentration of sub 2.5 µm particles), which is commonly used in the health effect estimations, have been recognized and, e.g., World Health Organization (WHO) has released good practice statements for particle number (PN) and black carbon (BC) concentrations (2021). In this study, a characterization of urban wintertime aerosol was done in three environments: a detached housing area with residential wood combustion, traffic-influenced streets in a city centre and near an airport. The particle characteristics varied significantly between the locations, resulting different average particle sizes causing lung deposited surface area (LDSA). Near the airport, departing planes had a major contribution on PN, and most particles were smaller than 10 nm, similarly as in the city centre. The high hourly mean PN (>20 000 1/cm3) stated in the WHO's good practices was clearly exceeded near the airport and in the city centre, even though traffic rates were reduced due to a SARS-CoV-2-related partial lockdown. In the residential area, wood combustion increased both BC and PM2.5, but also PN of sub 10 and 23 nm particles. The high concentrations of sub 10 nm particles in all the locations show the importance of the chosen lower size limit of PN measurement, e.g., WHO states that the lower limit should be 10 nm or smaller. Furthermore, due to ultrafine particle emissions, LDSA per unit PM2.5 was 1.4 and 2.4 times higher near the airport than in the city centre and the residential area, respectively, indicating that health effects of PM2.5 depend on urban environment as well as conditions, and emphasizing the importance of PN monitoring in terms of health effects related to local pollution sources.

Tracking changes in atmospheric particulate matter at a semi-urban site in Central France over the past decade.

Nearly 10-year (2013-2022) data on atmospheric particulate matters (PMs) were collected to investigate the air quality in a suburban site of Orléans city (France). The PM10 concentration decreased slightly between 2013 and 2022. PMs concentrations showed a monthly variation with higher concentration in cold periods. PM10 presented a clear bimodal diurnal variation peaking at morning rush hour and midnight, whereas the fine PMs such as PM2.5 and PM1.0 only had significant peaks during nighttime. Further, PM10 had more pronounced week-end effect than other fine PMs. COVID-19 lockdown impact on PMs levels was further investigated, showing that the lockdown during cold season could result in an increase of PMs concentrations because of the enhanced household heating. We concluded that PM10 could originate from biomass burning and fossil fuel related activities, air parcels from the western Europe through Paris were also important source of PM10 in the investigated area. Fine PMs, such as PM2.5 and PM1.0, originated mainly from biomass burning in addition to secondary formation at the local scale. This study provides a long-term PMs measurement database to explore the sources and characterization of PMs in central France, which could support future regulation and formulation of air quality standards.

PM2.5 carbonaceous components and mineral dust at a COALESCE network site - Bhopal, India: Assessing the impacts of COVID-19 lockdowns on site-specific optical properties.

Thermal elemental carbon (EC), optical black carbon (BC), organic carbon (OC), mineral dust (MD), and 7-wavelength optical attenuation of 24-hour ambient PM2.5 samples were measured/estimated at a regionally representative site (Bhopal, central India) during a business-as-usual year (2019) and the COVID-19 lockdowns year (2020). This dataset was used to estimate the influence of emissions source reductions on the optical properties of light-absorbing aerosols. During the lockdown period, the concentration of EC, OC, BC880 nm, and PM2.5 increased by 70 % ± 25 %, 74 % ± 20 %, 91 % ± 6 %, and 34 % ± 24 %, respectively, while MD concentration decreased by 32 % ± 30 %, compared to the same time period in 2019. Also, during the lockdown period, the estimated absorption coefficient (babs) and mass absorption cross-section (MAC) values of Brown Carbon (BrC) at 405 nm were higher (42 % ± 20 % and 16 % ± 7 %, respectively), while these quantities for MD, i.e., babs-MD and MACMD values were lower (19 % ± 9 % and 16 % ± 10 %), compared to the corresponding period during 2019. Also, babs-BC-808 (115 % ± 6 %) and MACBC-808 (69 % ± 45 %) values increased during the lockdown period compared with the corresponding period during 2019. It is hypothesized that although anthropogenic emissions (chiefly industrial and vehicular) reduced drastically during the lockdown period compared to the business-as-usual period, an increase in the values of optical properties (babs and MAC) and concentrations of BC and BrC, were likely due to the increased local and regional biomass burning emissions during this period. This hypothesis is supported by the CBPF (Conditional Bivariate Probability Function) and PSCF (Potential Source Contribution Function) analyses for BC and BrC.

Effects of COVID‐19 lockdown measures on nitrogen dioxide and black carbon concentrations close to a major Italian motorway

During the first half of 2020, the Italian government imposed several restrictions to limit the spread of the COVID‐19 pandemic: at the beginning of March, a heavy lockdown regime was introduced leading to a drastic reduction of traffic and, consequently, traffic‐related emissions. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of these restrictions on pollutant concentrations close to a stretch of the Italian A22 motorway lying in the Alpine Adige valley. In particular, the analysis focuses on measured concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and black carbon (BC). Results show that, close to the motorway, NO2 concentrations dropped by around 45% during the lockdown period with respect to the same time period of the previous 3 years. The equivalent analysis for BC shows that the component related to biomass burning, mostly due to domestic heating, was not particularly affected by the restrictions, while the BC component related to fossil fuels, directly connected to traffic, plummeted by almost 60% with respect to the previous years. Since atmospheric concentrations of pollutants depend both on emissions and meteorological conditions, which can mask the variations in the emission regime, a random forest algorithm is also applied to the measured concentrations, in order to better evaluate the effects of the restrictions on emissions. This procedure allows for obtaining business‐as‐usual and meteorologically normalized time series of both NO2 and BC concentrations. The results derived from the random forest algorithm clearly confirm the drop in NO2 emissions at the beginning of the lockdown period, followed by a slow and partial recovery in the following months. They also confirm that, during the lockdown, emissions of the BC component due to biomass burning were not significantly affected, while those of the BC component related to fossil fuels underwent an abrupt drop.

Actualization and Adoption of Renewable Energy Usage in Remote Communities in Canada by 2050: A Review

Remote community initiatives for renewable energy are rapidly emerging across Canada but with varying numbers, success rates, and strategies. To meet low-carbon transition goals, the need to coordinate technology deployment and long-term policy to guide the adoption is critical. Renewable resources such as wind, solar, hydro, and biomass can provide energy at a subsidized cost, create sustainable infrastructure, and provide new economic viability in social value integration. The renewable energy transition is crucial to Canada in sustaining remote and indigenous communities by providing local, clean, and low-carbon-emission energy for heat, power, and possibly transportation. This paper identified 635 renewable resources projects deployed to improve and increase electricity supply. To an extent, balancing demand within the remote and indigenous communities of Canada and highlighting sustainable renewable energy development through ownership participation within the communities is achievable before 2050 and beyond through energy efficiency and the social value of energy. The article identifies clean energy targets as mandated by the different provinces in Canada to reach net-zero GHG emissions.

Experimental analysis of the recovery and chemical properties of pyrolytic oil derived from medical waste with varying components combined via a systematic combination approach

Pyrolysis of medical waste components combined via a novel systematic combination approach (sequentially binary, ternary, and quaternary copyrolysis) was conducted at 400°C to investigate the synergy between medical waste components in improving chemical characteristics and yields of pyrolytic oil. Pyrolysis of hydrocarbon-polymer-containing materials such as medical gloves and rubber bands produced more than 30% of liquid products with substantial compositions of saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon polymers. On the other hand, moisture- and carbonyl-rich pyrolytic liquid products with low selectivity were obtained from pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass waste such as HVS paper (houtvrij schrijfpapier, meaning "writing paper made from wood pulp”) and garden waste. Binary copyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass and medical gloves exhibited improvement on pyrolytic liquid yield and selectivity toward saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon polymers due to hydrogen donor as the medical glove fraction became dominant. The addition of rubber band to the mixture of HVS paper and medical face masks enhanced the pyrolytic liquid yield. The pyrolysis of the mixture of HVS paper, medical face masks, medical gloves, and either rubber bands or cotton fabrics with mixture ratio of 60:20:10:10 yielded the most optimum pyrolytic liquid yield with significant distribution of alkanes in the pyrolytic liquid products. © 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Relationship between Lightning, Lightning Fire and Human Activities

Lightning is the main source of natural fire, and lightning fire and other types of forest fires together constitute the global forest fire system. It is generally believed that lightning fire, as a natural fire source, has nothing to do with human beings and is different from man-made fire sources, but in fact, human activities have inextricable links with the occurrence of lightning fire. Since 2019, due to the severe impact of COVID-19 lockdowns, non-essential activities and mobility have decreased, which has led to a significant decrease in pollutant concentrations and lightning. In this paper, we linked the lightning fire with modernization process of human beings, the expansion of habitation, the change of underlying surface, the development of prediction technology and firefighting technology, and the laws and regulations of the country, to explore the impact of human activities on the occurrences of lightning and the forest lightning fire. Lightning is the fire source of the three elements in lightning fire occurrence, the lightning that can cause lightning fire is mainly cloud-to-ground lightning. The human activities in recent decades have profoundly affected the content of aerosols in environment. Aerosols are the main factors affecting lightning, and the large amount of pollution aerosols emitted from urban areas, soot aerosols emitted from biomass combustion and urban heat island effect have all increased the probability of lightning occurrence. The average annual ground lightning density of different land cover types is obviously different, and the construction land has the highest average annual ground lightning density. Intense lightning in forest areas has a higher density and slope. Most of the forests are located in high altitude areas, which is consistent with previous studies showing high lightning frequency in high altitude areas. The lightning in forests is intenser, steeper and more destructive, so forest areas are prone to lightning strikes. Lightning has the characteristic of selective discharge, that is, it will discharge into some special areas, which are also known as lightning selection areas, such as the place groundwater is exposed to the ground, where different conductive soils are connected, and where there are underground metal mines, such as copper and iron mines, and underground lake and water reservoir areas. Lightning strikes are caused by changes in soil conductivity caused by human activities such as mining waste rock sites, reservoir construction on mountain tops, and power transmission lines in mountainous areas. At the same time, due to the abundant trees in the mountainous area, it is also important to avoid the resulting lightning fire. With the development of lightning monitoring technology, a lightning location monitoring system has been established in some areas of China. Especially in 2021, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration launched the "Enlisting and Leading" emergency science and technology project of forest lightning fire prevention and control, and the project team has constructed a lightning fire sensing system in the Daxing'anling region with three-dimensional lightning full-wave detection network as the main body, covering the forest area of the Daxing'anling forest region, which can accurately locate the location of cloud-to-ground lightning in real time, improve the monitoring and warning ability of lightning fires, and improve the efficiency of lightning fire discovery. National laws and regulations indirectly affect lightning fires by affecting forest cover and climate change. This paper is expected to provide reference for the occurrence, prevention and control of forest lightning fire in the future, and provide a basis for the formulation of corresponding policies.

Changes of atmospheric metal(loid) deposition from 2017 to 2021 at Mount Emei under China's air pollution control strategy

Acid deposition and particulate matter (PM) pollution have declined considerably in China. Although metal(loid) and acid deposition and PM have many common sources, the changes of metal(loid) deposition in China in the recent decade have not been well explored by using long-term monitoring. Therefore, we analyzed the dry and wet deposition of eleven metal(loid)s (including Al, As, Ba, Cd, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Pb, Sr, and Zn) from 2017 to 2021 at Mount Emei, which is adjacent to the most economic-developed region in western China (Sichuan Basin (SCB)). Anthropogenic emissions contributed to over 80% of the annual wet deposition fluxes of metal(loid)s and acids (SO4 2-, NO3 -, and NH4 +) at Mount Emei, and the major source regions were the SCB, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, and Gansu Province. Metal(loid) and acid deposition had similar seasonal variations with higher wet deposition fluxes in summer but higher wet deposition concentrations and dry fluxes in winter. The seasonal variations were partially associated with higher precipitation but lower pH in summer (968 mm and 5.52, respectively) than in winter (47 mm and 4.73, respectively). From 2017 to 2021, metal(loid) deposition did not decline as substantially as acid deposition (5.6%-30.4%). Both the annual total deposition fluxes and concentrations of Cr, Cu, Sr, Ba, and Pb were even higher in 2020-2021 than in 2017-2018. The inter-annual and seasonal changes implied the responses of metal(loid) deposition to anthropogenic emission changes were buffered (e.g., transformation, dilution, and degradation) by precipitation rates, acidity, natural emissions, and chemical reactions in the atmosphere, among others.Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd

Valorization of biomass ash for the effective removal of dipyrone from water: an efficient and low-cost option

Background: In order to propose a destination for the bottom ash generated from biomass burning, its morphology, functional groups and mineral phases were studied. Dipyrone has been extensively used as an antipyretic, increased due to cases of COVID-19, and due to excretion by urine, incorrect disposal and industrial effluents has been destined to wastewater, being harmful to human and animal life. The present study proposes using biomass ash for the adsorption of dipyrone. Result(s): The characterization of biomass ash shows a sufficient surface area size for adsorption, and a mainly amorphous structure with some peaks of quartz, calcite and other mineral phases. The results show that the kinetic model which best describes the adsorption is the pseudo-first-order model. The Langmuir model best fits at 25 degreeC, and the Freundlich model best describes the adsorption at 35 and 45 degreeC. The thermodynamic parameters indicated that the process is endothermic with a maximum adsorptive capacity of 65.27 mg g-1. In addition, the adsorption is spontaneous, disordered and chemical. The ionic strength study reveals that the adsorbent is promising for real effluent treatment and there is evidence that electrostatic interaction is not the primary adsorptive mechanism, agreeing with the result obtained from pH testing. The proposed mechanism for dipyrone removal involves hydrogen bonds, pi bonds and electron donor-acceptor complex. Conclusion(s): The results are promising in comparison with recent literature and solve two environmental problems: biomass bottom ash disposal and pharmaceutical removal in aqueous medium. The ash may be regarded as a low-cost and environmentally friendly adsorbent. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).

Design and Development of Human Temperature Measuring System Using Drone Based Multispectral and Thermal Images

People's failure to maintain a social distance is causing the COVID19 virus to spread. We have used the drone thermal images for a maximum of 10 km of coverage to detect temperature and reduce virus spread areas. The part of the work is based on utilizing disinfectant spraying drones, disinfectant testing with the guidance of doctors, setting the path planning of drones for surveying the temperature of people, and monitoring the infected place using GPS. When the thermal camera of the drone detects the temperature values using remote sensing images, the drone covers crowded places like hospitals, cinemas, and temples using remote sensing images. One drone model is designed to provide present results using thermal images. The Proposed drone can cover an affected area of up to 16,000 square meters per hour for capturing remote sensing images. It predicts affected areas using faster CNN algorithms with 2100 thermal images. Thermal mapping is used to monitor the social distance between people, alert people that a virus is spreading, and reduce the risk factor of people's movement. In this paper, remote sensing images are analysed and detect higher temperature areas using thermal mapping (Messina and Modica in Remote Sensing 12:1491, 2020). © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.