In this work, a flower-like Fe(OH)3@Co2(OH)2CO3 catalyst was prepared via the confinement effects provided by L-phenylalanine, which favored the heterostructure construction of active iron centers (Fe(OH)3) anchored on the Co2(OH)2CO3 nanosheet supports. Benefiting from the created electron-transfer interface and dual metal active sites, the limitation of redox cycling was broken and exhibited highly efficient catalytic activities, the optimal Fe(OH)3@Co2(OH)2CO3 catalyst showed comparable catalytic performance for the degradation of dye (degradation degree of 99% methylene blue and orange II within 18 min). In addition, the prepared catalysts were employed for the efficient removal of antibiotics (tetracycline (98.9%), norfloxacin (92.5%) and doxycycline hyclate (90.2%). Besides, the preferred nanofibrous composite membranes prepared by combination of nanofibrous membranes (NFMs) with Fe(OH)3@Co2(OH)2CO3 catalysts possessed considerable potential for large-scale MB removal (treatment capacity of 238.5 L m−2 and permeability of 191.8 L m−2 h−1 driven by gravity) and stability (182.7 L m−2 of treatment capacity was achieved in the third run). The strategy of construction of rapid interface-redox on the heterogenous catalysts was designed to enhance catalytic performance, which provided a promising chance for the efficiently large-scale removal of dyes and antibiotics.

The bio-oil, with environmental friendliness and good compatibility with asphalt, has been widely used in rejuvenating aged asphalt. In this study, based on the ability of bio-oils to soften aged asphalt and asphaltene deagglomeration on the molecular level, a composite rejuvenator (CD-rejuvenator) was prepared using cardanol and distilled tall oil, and macroscopic rheological properties tests and microscopic tests were used to determine the effectiveness of CD-rejuvenator. According to the outputs of a molecular dynamics simulation, distilled tall oil can shift the peak of the radial distribution function (RDF) of asphaltene back and decrease the aggregation probability of asphaltene. The cardanol's low molecular weight is most helpful in lowering the elastic modulus of aged asphalt molecules. The rheological test results revealed that CD-rejuvenator restored high-temperature rheological properties (G* and δ), and cracking resistance (Glover-Rowe parameter), of aged asphalt more effectively than soybean oil and aromatic oil. The crossover modulus of the rejuvenated asphalt binders shows that the CD-rejuvenator can deagglomerate the asphaltene agglomerates. Additionally, the CD-rejuvenator rejuvenated asphalt exhibited good viscosity behavior and crack resistance after PAV aging. Scanning electron micrographs show that the softening and deagglomeration components of the CD-rejuvenator have a synergistic effect on restoring the microscopic morphology of the aged asphalt surface, with the surface of CD-rejuvenator rejuvenated asphalt exhibiting the least quasi-bee structure and a more uniform surface. The molecular weight of rejuvenated asphalt also demonstrates the effectiveness of the CD-rejuvenator for deagglomerate asphaltene agglomerates. Overall, Regarding rheological characteristics and microstructure recovery effectiveness of aged asphalt, the rejuvenators prepared by using softening and deagglomeration components in blends performed better than the single-component soybean oil or aromatic oil rejuvenators.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are essential to any economy, as they contribute significantly to the gross domestic product (GDP) and create jobs. Nonetheless, the negative environmental impact of SMEs draws attention to the sustainability of SMEs. In order to achieve sustainable performance, businesses must possess a combination of factors that confer a competitive advantage and facilitate the attainment of objectives that culminate in a triple-bottom-line performance. Although prior research has identified the effects of employee behavior and corporate social responsibility (CSR) on firm performance, less is known about the effects of green employee behavior (GEB), green capability (GC), and CSR (to the community – to the environment) on sustainable firm performance (SFP). Current research bridges the literature gaps by answering how GC, GEB, and tax avoidance (TA) in SMEs correlate to achieving SFP. The study utilized a sample of 375 small and medium-sized textile enterprises in Pakistan and employed partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the data. The findings suggest that the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable firm performance is mediated by green capability. Additionally, corporate social responsibility to the environment does not influence the link between tax avoidance and sustainable firm performance, which still does not shadow the importance of tax avoidance and requires serious attention from the management.

Herbal biochar from traditional Chinese medicine residue (TCMR) and related carbon-negative utilization could contribute to the realization of carbon-neutral disposal process of TCMR. For this purpose, herbal biochar preparation by low-temperature pyrolysis and its application as soil amendment is designed, and the integrated effects are assessed by a combined techno-economic, exergy, thermoeconomic and life cycle analyses based on the accounting of material flow, energy flow and environmental flow. Firstly, the economic benefits (i.e., net present value, internal rate of return and payback period) of the system is analyzed by combination of cost-benefit method and sensitivity analysis. Secondly, exergy analysis determines exergy destruction, exergy destruction ratio, exergy destruction coefficient, energy efficiency and exergy efficiency of pyrolysis system. Furthermore, by combining techno-economic and exergy analyses, exergy destruction cost and exergy economic coefficient are calculated to optimize pyrolysis system. Thirdly, the CO2 mitigation cost, carbon neutrality potential and environmental impact are evaluated via combining life cycle assessment with techno-economic and exergy analyses. The results indicate that the higher pyrolysis temperature shows preferable exergy efficiency, energy efficiency and thermodynamic performance. From 400 to 600 °C, herbal biochar preparation and its application can improve economic benefits by 12.9–15%. At 550 °C, such TCMR disposal process can reduce environmental impact to −8651.65 mPts, and the GHG emissions and CO2 mitigation cost of the life cycle process are 395.1 kg CO2-eq/t feedstock and 63.4 CNY/t CO2-eq, respectively. In general, herbal biochar preparation by low-temperature pyrolysis and related application as soil amendment can realize the carbon-negative disposal of TCMR by an economical and efficient way.

Nowadays, water contamination resulting from the disposal of industrial and urban waste poses a significant threat to marine life and human. Hence, providing an effective treatment approach to reduce the total cost and duration of the wastewater treatment process is crucial. Although the adsorption and photocatalysis methods show superb potential for removing hazardous pollutants from water, their combination through a suitable synthesis route is one of the most effective ways to overcome their limitations. Activated carbon (AC) significantly accelerates the rate of pollutant degradation for AC-based photocatalysts compared to bare photocatalysts because of its ability to increase the number of attachment sites, strengthen the interaction between pollutants and photocatalysts, and facilitate rapid electron transfer to prevent electron or hole recombination. This study aims to investigate four main objectives: 1) evaluating key parameters to enhance the surface characterization of AC-derived from lignocellulosic sources using physical and chemical techniques; 2) Surveying various approaches for synthesizing AC-based photocatalysts; 3) explaining the mechanism of photocatalytic degradation of pollutants and the operating parameters in the wastewater treatment process; and 4) providing an overview of the opportunities, challenges, suggestions, and potential future outlooks. Future studies should focus on understanding the structural properties of AC to design effective photocatalytic systems for degrading hazardous contaminants. Generally, AC-based nanocomposites reduce both process costs and duration and promote environmental sustainability by effectively eliminating pollutants.

The construction industry is one of the most energy-intensive industries in China, which contributes to high carbon emissions and hinders efforts to reduce the emissions. The high energy consumption and emission have seriously constrained the growth of low carbon economy in China's construction industry. And reducing the carbon emission from construction industry (CECI) has become the key to sustainable development and the achievement of “double carbon target”. The paper firstly decomposes the main influencing factors and calculates their effects by LMDI model. Then, the Tapio decoupling index is used to explore the decoupling relationship between carbon emissions and economic output. Finally, the spatial-temporal evolution of carbon emissions is analyzed through spatial autocorrelation theory. The results show that the carbon emissions from construction industry are highly increased by the construction employment rate (EM), and may be reduced by the energy intensity (EI) and carbon emission efficiency (CI). And the regions with better decoupling status are the eastern and central regions, which have relatively developed construction industry. Moreover, the spatial-temporal characteristic of carbon emissions is “high in the east and low in the west, high in the south and low in the north,” showing obviously regional differences.

The development of infrastructures in a sustainable manner ensures the preservation of human life. It means that societies should have constant access to clean energy and water resources. The focus on nexus planning and operation including renewable energy sources has covered the requirements for the development of sustainable integrated systems to provide secure energy and water while minimizing carbon footprint. However, the uncertainty of renewable energy resources challenges the operation of such integrated nexuses. In this regard, this paper proposes a risk-constrained operation of a sustainable energy-water nexus with the aim to reduce operational costs as well as carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions amount (t CO2). To supply the energy and water demands, a combination of renewable energy sources and desalination systems are considered. The downside risk constraint is proposed to investigate the impacts of risks of uncertainties associated with renewable energy production and electricity consumption as well as water demands. Electrical and water storage infrastructures are involved to increase the flexibility of scheduling and ensure affordability and sustainability. The problem is modeled as a mixed-integer programming problem resulting in optimal decision-making to manage the energy/water resources and storage systems to provide clean and safe energy and water with the minimum CO2 emission. For the emission sector, the carbon capturing and storing (CCS) technology is proposed to capture the CO2 defusing by the energy sector and resolve the carbon-related issues. To restrict carbon production, both CO2 taxes and cap policies are examined and the results showed that the latter has a considerable effect to incentivize the decision-maker to use CCS technology.

The heavy metalloid arsenic (As), occurring in both trivalent and pentavalent is extremely toxic and has detrimental effect on humans through water-soil-crop transfer. Previously organic and inorganic amendments have been used separately for mitigation of As in rice but there exists a research gap regarding use of them simultaneously. In this study, both pot and field scale investigations were undertaken for four consecutive years in As-contaminated locations to assess the efficacy of zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe)-enriched vermicompost in reducing the As uptake in rice grain. Altogether seven types of vermicompost and three application rates were evaluated. The treatment combination V4D1 (enriched vermicompost V4 applied to soil at 3 t/ha) recorded the lowest soil available As (2.525 mg kg−1) and the highest soil available As (2.982 mg kg−1) was observed with V5D3 (enriched vermicompost V5 applied to soil at 1.5 t/ha). Application of enriched and non-enriched vermicompost reduced As in grain by 58.14 and 31.40% respectively over no vermicompost (control). The partial dependence plot from stepwise regression modelling of different fractions of As revealed that an increase in organically bound As resulted in a decrease in the availability of As and hence uptake by rice. Further, Zn and Fe-enriched vermicompost resulted in increase of iron plaque formation on the root. A significant positive relationship (r = 0.462) was observed between dithionite-citrate-bicarbonate (DCB) extractable -Fe andAs. A significant negative correlation (r = ˗0.410) between DCB-Fe and grain As, advocates better root plaque formation resulting a higher capacity to sequester As onto the root surface and reducing its's entry into the rice system. The carcinogenic risk somewhat was benign (TCR of 2.69 × 10−3 and SAMOE of 0.101) against no vermicompost (TCR of 6.64 × 10−3 and SAMOE of 0.04). Therefore enriching vermicompost with ZnSO4 and FeSO4 at 10% dry weight basis (V4) of the composting substrate can lower arsenic build-up in rice grains without affecting yield.

Electric vehicles can mitigate global warming by eliminating carbon dioxide emissions. Conveying the above green information and other electric vehicle information through green advertising may increase consumers' purchase intentions. However, little literature has explored the relationship between green advertising and consumers' intention to buy electric vehicles. This paper uses an experimental method to analyse the nexus between green advertising and consumers' purchase intention of electric vehicles. The results show that: (1) compared with non-green advertising, green advertising can significantly increase consumers' purchase intentions for electric vehicles; (2) green perceived value and green product attitude are the two main channels through which green advertising affects consumers' purchase intention; (3) both of high environmental attitude and strong impression management motivation can enhance the influence of green advertising on consumers' purchase of electric vehicles. The research sheds light on the impact mechanism of green advertising and provides a new marketing instrument for sellers to promote electric vehicle sales.

Electric vehicles (EVs) have gained prominence as a result of technology advancements, cost savings, and public support for cleaner transportation worldwide. This research aimed to furnish a holistic comprehension of consumers’ purchases in the EV market by integrating the value-belief-norm theory and the theory of planned behavior into a single conceptual framework. The results of our structural equation analysis on 403 participants showed that altruistic and biospheric values positively affect awareness of consequences, whereas egoistic values negatively affect awareness of consequences. The findings also supported the proposed linkages among value-based constructs, including awareness of consequences, an ascription of responsibility, and pro-environmental personal norms. Furthermore, the role of attitude toward behavior, subjective norm, and perceived behavior control in the relationship between pro-environmental personal norm and behavioral intention was approved. To increase the likelihood of consumers accepting EVs, both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Due to the dilution-induced early-age strength reduction, the glass powder (GP) dosage used in concrete to replace ordinary Portland cement (OPC) is restricted. This study used carbonation curing on GP blended cement pastes to overcome this obstacle. The experimental investigations concluded that mutual improvements could be achieved, where, in comparison to the carbonated OPC batch, not only the compressive strength of 20% GP-incorporated batches was higher for both early-age (increment of 13.4%, 1-day strength of 55.4 MPa) and late-age (increment of 11.2%, 28 days strength of 62.4 MPa), but the carbon sequestration degree was also promoted. According to the characterizations of mineralogy, microstructure, and phase evolution of the blended cement paste subjecting to carbonation curing, the addition of 20% GP induced a higher carbonation degree, smaller calcite crystal size, refined pore structure, and reduced porosity than that of pure OPC control references. The sustainability assessments confirmed that carbonated GP blended cement is a cleaner alternative to OPC.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives have increasingly been adopted for legitimacy purposes. Sustainability reporting practices have also been widely debated. In this study, we investigate whether sustainability reporting practices, such as sustainability reports, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards, and external assurance, are associated with environmental performance. We study a sample of 210 Nordic-incorporated listed firms from 2002 to 2020 across Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The baseline model with ordinary least squares regression shows that issuing sustainability reports and reporting under GRI Standards are positively associated with environmental performance whilst external assurance is insignificant. However, we find that environmentally non-certified and CSR awards non-receiving firms have all considered sustainability reporting practices positively related to environmental performance. Employing the substantive versus symbolic approach to legitimacy, we argue that firms with inadequate environmental commitment or reputation might be under immense pressure to achieve corporate legitimacy and may thus use sustainability reporting practices as a substantive approach to legitimacy. Our findings have important policy relevance in the context of the increasing focus on sustainability reporting standards in Europe and other countries. We suggest that quality-enhancing sustainability reporting practices which may curtail firms' symbolic behaviour should be required under mandatory regimes. Meanwhile, firms’ existing practices and initiatives should be considered to provide complementary effects related to environmental performance.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of many economies and shape the sustainability of both production and consumption. SMEs differ drastically in their sustainability performance and maturity. The objective of this paper is to assess what aspects of SMEs' activities, including their links to stakeholders in their supply chains, explain a company's sustainability performance. Using a literature-based theoretical framework for assessing SME sustainability performance and maturity, the study conducts a survey with participants in a 100-company sustainability innovation project conducted in the Greater Copenhagen region. The sample of companies reaches across several industries including construction, hotel/conference, information technology, and manufacturing. The study analyses survey data using paired sample t-tests and regression analyses. The results show that the following factors help explain the sustainability performance and maturity of SMEs in the sample: the degree of customer involvement in product and process development; engaging, communicating and partnering with customers; customer segmentation, technology and innovation as constituent parts in the business strategy; and the amount of time dedicated specifically to commercial and marketing efforts and process development. The study shows that devoting time and resources to engage with customers in product and process development will lead to increased sustainability performance and maturity. These results contrast with the traditional norm that companies develop as a reaction to changing customer requirements. The novelty of this study lies in bringing to light the aspects within the management of SMEs contribute to explaining their sustainability performance, and thus can be used to guide improvements. Unveiling this allows SMEs to deploy sustainability-focused action.

A tri-generation-based sustainable poultry litter (PL) valorization process has been developed in this study. To make the proposed process economically viable and energy efficient, the primary gasification process of PL is further enhanced to convert syngas into dimethyl ether (DME). According to our energy analysis, the current tri-generation process exhibits 57% energy efficiency, which is 12% higher than that of PL gasification (45%). A particle swarm optimization (PSO)-based algorithm was applied to optimize the gasification and DME production process. According to PSO results, the optimum operating conditions are 667 °C, 2 bar, and 1.78 air ratio in the gasification process, while using reaction temperatures of 400 and 100 °C in the DME reactors leads to 242.6 kg/ton DME with 4414.6 kJ/s net heat. On the contrary, only 190.8 kg/ton DME with 4642.2 kJ/s net heat can be generated in the base process. The optimized process is economically viable to achieve an 80% plant operational efficiency with an internal rate of return (IRR) of 16.3% when compared with the base process, which becomes infeasible when the plant efficiency is <90%. A sustainability index (SI) was developed, and the results show that the optimized process was more sustainable (0.290) than the base process (0.279). Therefore, our optimized DME process is more economically viable and eco-friendly.

The fishery eco-economic system has multiple economic-ecological-social values, and the marine fishery has the dual characteristics of "carbon source" and "carbon sink"; net carbon emissions are essential to agricultural production activities' carbon emissions. This is a breakthrough in achieving the goal of “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals.” This study defines the connotation of the fishery eco-economic system and innovatively proposes to combine the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) method with the SD model to construct a dynamic model of net carbon emission of the fishery eco-economic system in Liaoning. In this study, the main drivers of carbon emissions from fishery were investigated by using the LMDI method, the net carbon emissions from the marine fishery in Liaoning Province from 2005 to 2020 were estimated by using a system dynamics model from the perspective of fishery ecosystem, and a multi-scenario projection of net carbon emissions from fisheries from 2021-2040 was made. The results show that: (1) The energy structure and energy intensity have a negative inhibitory effect on carbon emissions, and the fishery economy and the fishery population have a favorable driving effect on carbon emissions. (2) During 2005–2020, carbon emissions from fishery reached a maximum of 2.5×105t in 2010 and began to decline after that. Carbon emissions from marine fishing account for 60% of the total carbon emissions. (3) Across the five forecast scenarios from 2021 to 2040, rapid economic growth significantly affects carbon emissions growth, reducing energy use in fisheries through technological advancements helps to reduce carbon emissions, and increasing shellfish and algal production simultaneously increases carbon sinks.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Industry 4.0 technologies and sustainable supply chain practices gained momentum in building a modern and sustainable supply chain. The pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war presented challenges to emerging economies, emphasizing the need for advanced technologies to ensure continuity and improve performance. While previous studies have examined the direct impact of advanced technologies on performance, the integrated effects of these technologies and sustainable practices, as well as their mediating role between Industry 4.0 and sustainable supply chain performance, remain unexplored. To address this gap, a second-order hierarchical component model was developed and tested using partial least square-based structural equation modeling. Construct dimensions and measurement items were determined through literature review and expert input from Bangladesh's readymade garment industries. A survey collected data from experts and supply chain professionals in various readymade garment industries in Bangladesh. The findings indicate that the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies significantly and positively impacts sustainability performance. Additionally, green supply chain management and circular economy practices mediate the influence of Industry 4.0 technologies, contributing to sustainable supply chain performance. This study stands out as one of the few attempts to examine the impact of Industry 4.0 technologies on sustainable supply chain performance, specifically in the context of Bangladeshi readymade garment industries with the application of green supply chain management and circular economy practices. The valuable insights from this study will guide industrial managers and regulatory authorities in implementing advanced technologies and aligning manufacturing practices with sustainable approaches, thus promoting environmental and socio-economic performance.

Rapid urbanization has contributed to urban heat islands, which can potentially lead to increased energy consumption and carbon emissions, further worsening global warming. The U-shaped street canyon is one of the leading causes of urban heat islands, which may block air circulation and lead to urban heat accumulation. The canyon heat issues can be usually mitigated by nature-based solutions, such as street trees. It is important to increase the greenery space benefits (e.g., cooling effect of trees) with limited canyon space. However, there is an absence of refined greenery space design strategy in various street canyons. This work explored the quantitative design of greenery space (e.g., tree spacing) in different street canyons with complex morphological characteristics, in order to effectively improve co-benefits of trees and mitigate urban heat islands. Eighteen morphological types were considered, including symmetrical & asymmetrical shallow, ideal, and deep street canyons. Co-benefit considering cost of different tree spacings were analyzed, to maximize the benefits of cooling effect and carbon sequestration at minimal nurturing cost. Compared with street canyons without trees, ideal street canyon with tree spacing of 0.2W (W is canyon width) achieved the maximum temperature reduction of 6 °C. The positive correlation between tree spacing and co-benefits was found. The maximum co-benefits of street canyon trees occurred at tree spacing of less than 0.7W, which was largely increased by about 14% compared with 0.2W. This work can provide the guideline for efficient greenery space design, which is crucial for mitigating urban heat islands by nature-based solutions.

Phytoplankton is a crucial primary producer in wetland ecosystems and is highly sensitive to changes in water quality. It has long been considered one of the most important biological indicators for monitoring water pollution. However, our understanding of the various aspects of phytoplankton communities assembly and the factors driving them remains limited. In this study, we conducted collection and analysis of phytoplankton samples from a temperate wetland cluster encompassing both lake and marsh types under the backdrop of industrial pollution from the petroleum industry. Our aim was to investigate the influence of spatial factors, land use patterns, and local environmental variables on the taxonomic and functional structure of the phytoplankton community, utilizing structural equation modeling (SEM) and variation partitioning. Our results revealed that environmental filtering exerts a greater relative impact on shaping the taxonomic composition of phytoplankton compared to mass effects. Human activities, such as industrial and agricultural production, can lead to landscape modifications that increase water nutrient levels and consequently influence the community composition. Taxonomic beta diversity is determined by both mass effects and environmental filtering. In contrast, functional beta diversity responds more to local environmental gradients, while the land use pattern was not important for facets of beta diversity in the wetland cluster. These results validate the concordance and complementarity between functional and taxonomy-based biome structures, highlighting the significance of integrating multiple ecological drivers. The results of this study contribute to a deeper understanding of wetland community assembly and the processes of biogeography, and are of crucial significance for the biological monitoring and management of freshwater ecosystem environmental pollution.

This paper intends to develop geopolymer-based composites for geothermal energy applications. Both silicon carbide (SiC) sand and SiC powder were applied to optimize the thermal and mechanical behaviours of geopolymer. The flexural and compressive strength of geopolymer composites with different mix designs were investigated. A novel test set-up to record the thermal conductivity were designed, and the thermal behaviours of geopolymer composites with different mix design were tested. It was found that the proper addition of SiC powder is conducive to the compressive and flexural strength of geopolymer composites, while the influence of SiC particles is insignificant. The relationship between flexural and compressive strength of geopolymer composites was also investigated, and it was found that the Portland cement association (PCA) code reached the best fitting precision. With the addition of SiC materials, the maximum thermal conductibility of geopolymeric composite can be as high as 5.35 Wm−1K−1, which is about five times higher than conventional cementitious composite. The combined application of SiC powder and SiC particle is practical to increase the thermal conductivity of geopolymer, making it a suitable material for geothermal energy applications. Based on the numerical model, it was concluded that the addition of silicon carbide is beneficial to the heat exchange rate of the energy pile and improves the heat utilization efficiency of the energy pile.

Equal access to clean water for all is the 6th of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. River sediment is an important sink of heavy metals discharged by human activities, and also a critical risk source for drinking water safety. We compared the concentrations of heavy metals in the river sites of countries with various degrees of development, and obtained the distribution results that can fit the Environmental Kuznets Curve. The risk assessment of water sources can correlate or probe socio-economic feedback to the environment. We hope to focus on the environmental changes together with the global riverbeds, rather than just local case studies. Worryingly, humanity has not escaped the law of Environmental Kuznets Curve. There are more than 4 billion people living in the early stage of industrialization nowadays. With their increasing affluence and metal purchasing power, new heavy metal pollution problems will occur in the places with few reports. The development of the national economies, as revealed by donor-acceptor relation models in resource acting force, requires the search for innovative patterns to achieve global progress that is more equitable, efficient and sustainable.