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In 2008, a number of Southern African countries cultivated about 900,000 ha of Jatropha, with a number of biodiesel plants ready for production; however, none of the projects succeeded. In 2014, KiOR advanced biofuel Energy Company in the USA announced bankruptcy due to incompetent technology. Studies disclose that the reasons for biofuel plants failure are not only due to lack of incentives and unclear policies but also due to lack of economic feasibility and low production yields. This paper aims to review the techno-economy assessment of second-generation biofuel technologies. The purpose of this paper is to summarize specific techno-economic indicators such as production cost, technology efficiency and process life cycle analysis for advanced biofuel technology and to narrate and illustrate a clear view of what requires assessment to deploy a feasible advanced biofuel technology. This study also reviews assessment of biomass supply chain, feedstock availability and site selection criteria. The review also elaborates on the use of different processes, forecasting and simulation-modeling tools used in different techno-economic analysis studies. The review provides guidance for conducting a technical and economic feasibility study for the advanced biofuels energy business.

The aim of this review is, therefore, to evaluate the techno-economic feasibility studies for the establishment of viable industrial scale production of second-generation biofuels. It does so by grouping studies based on technology selection, feedstock availability and suitability, process simulation and economies as well as technology environmental impact assessment.

In conclusion, techno-economic analysis tools offer researchers insight in terms of where their research and development should focus, to attain the most significant enhancement for the economics of a technology. The study patterns within the scope of techno-economics of advanced biofuel reveal that there is no generic answer as to which technology would be feasible at a commercial scale. It is therefore important to keep in mind that models can only simplify and give a simulation of reality to a certain extent. Nevertheless, reviewed studies do not reach the same results, but some results are logically similar.

The originality of this article specifically illustrates important technical and economic indicators that should be considered when conducting feasibility studies for advance biofuels.

A systems perspective of waste management allows an integrated approach not only to the five basic functional elements of waste management itself (generation, reduction, collection, recycling, disposal), but to the problems arising at the interfaces with the management of energy, nature conservation, environmental protection, economic factors like unemployment and productivity, etc. This monograph separately describes present practices and the problems to be solved in each of the functional areas of waste management and at the important interfaces. Strategies for more efficient control are then proposed from a systems perspective. Systematic and objective means of solving problems become possible leading to optimal management and a positive contribution to economic development, not least through resource conservation. India is the particular context within which waste generation and management are discussed. In considering waste disposal techniques, special attention is given to sewage and radioactive wastes.

Pakistan is an agricultural country having the world's largest canal irrigation system. Indus basin that covers 70 percent of irrigated area for crop production is the major source of water in the country. Owing to rapid increase in population and uncertain environmental conditions, this water is not adequate to cope with the crop water requirement and needs additional means to provide extra water for agricultural purposes. The main source of irrigation is canal and ground water but the quality of ground water is so poor for the sustainability of agriculture system. To cope with the present demand, use of municipal sewage water that consists of domestic liquid waste, as well as industrial effluents, is becoming a common practice. The present study aims to reflect the hazardous effects of sewage water on the environment, with the main focus on heavy metals and chemical composition of soil and vegetables.

Industrial effluent was collected from one ghee mill, one flour mill, three textile industries and three hosieries located in Faisalabad, an industrial city of Pakistan highly affected with water pollution. All water samples were analyzed for pH, EC, SAR and RSC. Water analysis was also carried out for various nutrients and heavy metals (K⁺¹, P²⁺, Fe²⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Mn²⁺, Ni²⁺ and Pb²⁺). Soil samples from various depths (0‐15, 15‐30, 30‐60, 60‐90 and 90‐120 cm) were taken to analyze for EC, pH, SAR, Na⁺¹, SO₄, K⁺¹, P²⁺, Fe²⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Mn²⁺, Ni²⁺ and Pb²⁺ after irrigation with canal water and sewage water. Cadmium, lead and copper concentration was determined in various vegetables grown in areas irrigated with canal water and industrial effluents to determine their final concentration in the final product ultimately affecting the human health.

Although the sewage water is a source of many nutrients, it also includes a significant amount of heavy metals like Fe²⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Mn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Pb²⁺ and pathogens. Extensive use of this effluent for irrigation purpose has resulted in an upsurge of such metals in soils and various crops, which ultimately resulted in clinical problems in human beings.

The present study reflects the composition of sewage water and heavy metal accumulation in soil, as well as crops. It further highlights the different potential hazards to humans due to these contaminants.

The ownership of waterworks is topical in many countries and especially developed countries seem to speak for public ownership instead of private ownership. This paper attempts to provide a new view of the debate between public and private ownership by presenting three public governance models and comparing them in the light of waterworks performance.

The research is qualitative in nature and presents SWOT analyses of three different public governance models used in the Finnish water sector. Empirical evidence was collected mainly through interviewing Finnish waterworks managers.

The results indicate that there are clear differences between the autonomy and transparency of the most common public governance models. Reforming waterworks organised as municipal units into municipal‐owned enterprises and municipal‐owned companies is considered a good option compared to, for example, privatisation or outsourcing.

According to this study, restructuring appears to increase business orientation, improve accuracy in bookkeeping and, in some cases, increase transparency. The selection of the right governance model also provides opportunities for institutional investors.

While previous research has concentrated on comparing public and private ownership, this paper presents and discusses three public governance models and what kind of opportunities they present to public service provision.

Sulphides, in particular hydrogen sulphide, not only possess an unpleasant odour and are toxic, but also cause acute corrosion damage to municipal sewage systems and plants. The hydrogen peroxide waste water deodorization system introduced by Degussa AG of Frankfurt am Main, Federal Republic of Germany, oxidizes hydrogen sulphide and other sulphides to counteract odours and corrosion, the residual oxygen also preventing the renewed formation of hydrogen sulphide. If temporary oxygen deficiency should occur during biological treatment, more oxygen can be added simply and rapidly in the form of hydrogen peroxide. These processes are easily controlled, involve little investment and offer the advantage that pure water and oxygen are the only product remaining from reactions involving hydrogen peroxide.

To achieve new emission standards and enhance the denitrification of the oxidation ditch in the Handan West Sewage Treatment Plant, this research used the ASM Bio-P model based on self-made simulation software to study the optimum operation of the denitrification efficiency. The results indicate that:1) the volume of the aerobic zone was increased and the volume ratio between aerobic and anoxic zones was controlled to approximately 3:1; 2) the concentration of the dissolved oxygen (DO) in the aerobic zone was increased and was controlled at 1 mg/L in summer and 3 mg/L in winter; 3) the proper sludge retention time (SRT) was controlled and was maintained at 15 d in summer and 20 d in winter; and 4) the appropriate reflux ratio was controlled to 100% and 50% for summer and winter, respectively. The COD, TN, NH₃-N and TP in the effluent reached the first (B) standard of the Discharge Standard of Pollutants for Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant (GB18918-2002).

To determine the influence of alkali components (especially Ca compounds) on the hematite phase formation during thermal processing of sewage sludge and the observation of transformations proceeding at different ratios of Ca to FePO₄.

The model compositions were heated to temperatures of 600°C and 950°C, then calcined within 3 hours without mixing. Cooled products were subjected chemical analysis regarding the content of phosphorus that was soluble in cold water, 0.4 per cent HCl, 2 percent citric acid and aqua regia as well as crystallographic identification.

On calcining at 600°C, CaO reacts with FePO₄, forming hydroxylapatite. The hematite phase which is insoluble in mineral acids crystallizes above 600°C. Further increasing the calcining temperature leads to transformations resulting in Ca₉Fe(PO₄)₇ and hematite formation. Molar ratios of CaO to FePO₄ · 2H₂O of 1.0 and 2.0 lead to hematite phase formation and increase the availability of phosphorus compounds (characterized by phosphate solubility in 0.4 percent HCl and 2 percent citric acid) in compositions after calcining.

The addition of CaO to sewage sludge before the combustion process should be beneficial from the point of view of further extraction of phosphorus compounds from the ash obtained. Suitable CaO addition favours iron binding into the hematite phase and raises the solubility of the phosphorus compounds in the ashes formed.

This paper is a new source of information which complements existing knowledge about phosphorus recovery from sewage sludge.

This study aims to examine the impact of migration growth on environmental outcomes and local governance and assess how well the existing local municipal governance has responded to the environmental impact of increased migration influx in Ontario, Canada using the annual data during 2012–2021.

This study used the grey relational analysis (GRA) to examine the correlation degree between migrant growth, environmental outcomes and local governance, used coupling coordination degree model (CCDM) to access to what extent the existing local governance systems have responded to the environmental impact of immigrant growth.

Results show that higher immigrant populations are associated with worse environmental outcomes and the need for more municipal environmental investment and service. The present local municipal environmental service in Ontario lags behind in response to the environmental impacts of increased migration. Good local governance practices and environmental services are required to improve the environmental adaptation capacity of host countries to migrant influx.

Climate change has been regarded as an important driver of internal and international human migration. The mass influxes of migrants will threaten cities’ environmental quality and put considerable pressure on municipal services. This study provides empirical evidence for Ontario’s municipal environmental governance and relevant authorities on how to deal with the environmental impact of increased migration and contributes to call the attention of other countries to the urban environmental pressure caused by migration influx due to the changing climate world wide.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the occurrence and risk of dispersion in the environment of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms from sanitary sewage sludge produced in two conventional wastewater treatment systems adopted in the West of the State of Paraná, Brazil.

The sludge samples were collected for three months from two wastewater treatment plants, totaling six sample points, and sent to the laboratory where the physical-chemical and biological determinations were performed.

This work made possible to find that the sludge produced in the sewage treatment plants presents potential risks related to the spread of microorganisms due to the occurrence of resistant isolates of Escherichia coli and Salmonella sp. It was also possible to detect that the largest concentrations of metal ions in the sludge favored the occurrence of bacterial resistance to antibiotics. The occurrence of pathogens, heavy metals and other emerging pollutants in sewage indicates that the sludge requires proper treatment, to provide safe agricultural reuse or disposal.

The techniques applied for monitoring sludge were effective to check the risk of resistant microorganisms input into the environment. Studies concerning sewage treatment plants’ final effluents can bring additional data about the incorporation of such microorganisms into aquatic environments.

The results made possible to observe the need to provide post-treatment for the sludge, especially of the sludge obtained from the anaerobic fluidized bed reactor, since the removal of pathogens, as well as the nutrients, is not satisfactory.

Recent years have produced significant demand for geographical contributions to the study of social movements in general and of environmental social movement organizations (ESMOs) in particular. Geographical approaches to the study of ESMOs emphasize “the mediation of social movement agency by place” (Miller, 2000; Routledge, 1993) and call attention to the role of place-based environmental knowledge (EK) in the broader “struggle(s) over meaning” that increasingly constitute environmental politics (Buechler, 1997; Escobar, 1992; Rangan, 2000; Watts, 1990). My chapter responds to this call by providing an examination of the reproduction of EK by antipollution organizations in India’s central Ganges River Basin (GRB). Through interviews with organization leaders and members, along with analysis of organizational websites and publications, I examine the EK of two key antipollution organizations in the GRB: The Sankat Mochan Foundation (SMF) and Kanpur Eco-Friends (KEF). Analysis focuses on methods of knowledge reproduction employed by each organization, their respective framing practices, and the localized natures of the EK they reproduce. I argue that each organization works to reproduce a specific and place-based understanding of pollution in the GRB that informs their framing of the pollution problem, the tactical activities in which their members engage, and the power relations that exist between the two organizations and their leaders. Further, I argue that engaging with EK as both a method of understanding pollution and a tactic for consolidating political power is essential to making sense of the relative success of these movement organizations and the challenges they face in trying to build a broader coalition and mass-mobilization against pollution in the Ganges.