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A new environmental ban has forced the restructure of open dumps in China since 1 July 2011. A technical process was established in this study that is feasible for the upgrade of open dumps through restructuring. The feasibility of restructuring and the benefit of greenhouse gas emission reductions were assessed according to field surveys of five landfills and four dumps in Nanjing. The results showed that the daily processing capacities of the existing landfills have been unable to meet the growth of municipal solid waste (MSW), making restructuring of the landfills imperative. According to an assessment of the technical process, only four sites in Nanjing were suitable for upgrading. Restructuring the Jiaozishan landfill effectively reduced the leachate generation rate by 5.84% under its scale when expanded by 60.7% in 2015. CO2 emissions were reduced by approximately 55,000–86,000 tons per year, in which biogas power generation replaced fossil fuels Fossil fuels accounted for the largest proportion, up to 45,000–60,000 tons. Photovoltaic power generation on the overlying land has not only reduced CO2 emissions to 26,000–30,000 tons per year but has also brought in continuing income from the sale of electricity. The funds are essential for developing countries such as China, which lack long-term financial support for landfill management after closure.

Highly efficient nanocatalysts which can selectively decompose hydrous hydrazine for hydrogen production are introduced.

A field study was conducted on two texturally different soils to determine the influences of biosolids application on selected soil chemical properties and carbon dioxide fluxes. Two sites, located in Manildra (clay loam) and Grenfell (sandy loam), in Australia, were treated at a single level of 70 Mg ha-1 biosolids. Soil samples were analyzed for SOC fractions, including total organic carbon (TOC), labile, and non-labile carbon contents. The natural abundances of soil δ13C and δ15N were measured as isotopic tracers to fingerprint carbon derived from biosolids. An automated soil respirometer was used to measure in-situ diurnal CO2 fluxes, soil moisture, and temperature. Application of biosolids increased the surface (0-15 cm) soil TOC by > 45% at both sites, which was attributed to the direct contribution from residual carbon in the biosolids and also from the increased biomass production. At both sites application of biosolids increased the non-labile carbon fraction that is stable against microbial decomposition, which indicated the soil carbon sequestration potential of biosolids. Soils amended with biosolids showed depleted δ13C, and enriched δ15N indicating the accumulation of biosolids residual carbon in soils. The in-situ respirometer data demonstrated enhanced CO2 fluxes at the sites treated with biosolids, indicating limited carbon sequestration potential. However, addition of biosolids on both the clay loam and sandy loam soils found to be effective in building SOC than reducing it. Soil temperature and CO2 fluxes, indicating that temperature was more important for microbial degradation of carbon in biosolids than soil moisture.

One of the repeating themes around the provision of the knowledge and skills needed for delivering sustainable communities is the idea of a “common language” for all built environment professionals. This suggestion has been repeated regularly with each new political and professional review within and between different sectors responsible for the delivery of sustainable communities. There have been multiple efforts to address academic limitations, industry fragmentation and promote more interdisciplinary working and sector collaboration. This research explored the role of skills for sustainable communities, particularly within the higher education (HE) sector, and the responses to support the development of a “common language of sustainability” that can be shared between different sectors, professional disciplines and stakeholders. As an interdisciplinary group of academics and practitioners working with the HE sector in the North East of England, we evaluate the progression of sector collaboration to develop a quintuple helix model for HE. We use this as a suitable framework for systematically “mapping” out the mixed sector (academic, public, business, community and environmental organisations) inputs and influences into a representative sample of HE degree modules that are delivered from foundation and undergraduate to postgraduate levels, including examples of part-time and distance-learning modules. We developed a cascade of models which demonstrate increasing levels of collaboration and their potential positive impact on the effectiveness of education on sustainable communities. The methodological assessments of modules were followed by semi-structured group reflective analysis undertaken through a series of online workshops (recorded during the Covid19 lockdown) to set out a collective understanding of the generic skills needed for the delivery of sustainable communities. These generic skills for sustainable communities are presented as a pedagogical progression model of teaching activities and learning outcomes applied to the levels within HE. We propose sustainability education principles and progressions with the hope that they can have an impact on the design or review of current degree modules and programmes. The paper informs future sustainability research to be grounded in holism and systems thinking; better understanding of values, ethics, influencing and political impact; and procedural authenticity.

Featured paper: See Editorial p553

AbstractWarming of freshwaters as a result of climate change is expected to have complex interactions with the toxicity of contaminants to aquatic organisms. The present study evaluated the effects of temperature on the acute toxicity of endosulfan, chlorpyrifos, and phenol to 3 warm water species of fish—silver perch, rainbowfish, and western carp gudgeon—and 1 cold water species, rainbow trout. Endosulfan was more toxic to silver perch at 30 °C and 35 °C than at 15 °C, 20 °C and 25 °C during short exposures of 24 h, but at 96 h, temperature had no effect on toxicity. Toxicity to rainbow trout increased with increasing temperature, whereas warm water species exhibited maximum toxicity at around 30 °C, decreasing again toward 35 °C. Chlorpyrifos became more toxic to all species with increasing temperature. Phenol toxicity to all species decreased at low to intermediate temperatures; but as temperatures increased further toward the upper thermal limit, phenol became more toxic. Increasing toxicity in the upper thermal range of cold water species may contribute to upstream range contraction in rivers with high toxicant loads. In contrast, warm water species may not exhibit a range shift within rivers as a result of interactions between temperature and toxicity. Catchment management to offset global warming at local scales may present opportunities to mitigate increased toxicity of contaminants to fish. Environ Toxicol Chem 2015;34:1809–1817. © 2015 SETAC

In this work we assess the pathways for environmental improvement by the coal utilization industry for power generation in Australia. In terms of resources, our findings show that coal is a long term resource of concern as coal reserves are likely to last for the next 500 years or more. However, our analysis indicates that evaporation losses of water in power generation will approach 1000 Gl (gigalitres) per year, equivalent to a consumption of half of the Australian residential population. As Australia is the second driest continent on earth, water consumption by power generators is a resource of immediate concern with regards to sustainability. We also show that coal will continue to play a major role in energy generation in Australia and, hence, there is a need to employ new technologies that can minimize environmental impacts. The major technologies to reduce impacts to air, water and soils are addressed. Of major interest, there is a major potential for developing sequestration processes in Australia, in particular by enhanced coal bed methane (ECBM) recovery at the Bowen Basin, South Sydney Basin and Gunnedah Basin. Having said that, CO2 capture technologies require further development to support any sequestration processes in order to comply with the Kyoto Protocol. Current power generation cycles are thermodynamic limited, with 35-40% efficiencies. To move to a high efficiency cycle, it is required to change technologies of which integrated gasification combined cycle plus fuel cell is the most promising, with efficiencies expected to reach 60-65%. However, risks of moving towards an unproven technology means that power generators are likely to continue to use pulverized fuel technologies, aiming at incremental efficiency improvements (business as usual). As a big picture pathway, power generators are likely to play an increasing role in regional development; in particular EcoParks and reclaiming saline water for treatment as pressures to access fresh water supplies will significantly increase.

Two chickpea genotypes viz. Bhakar-2011 (desi) and Noor-2013 (kabuli) were sown in soil filled pots supplied with low (0.3 mg kg-1) and high (3 mg kg-1 soil) zinc (Zn) under control (70% water holding capacity and 25/20 °C day/night temperature), drought (35% water holding capacity) and heat (35/30 °C day/night temperature) stresses. Drought and heat stresses reduced rate of photosynthesis, photosystem II efficiency, plant growth and Zn uptake in chickpea. Low Zn supply exacerbated adverse effects of drought and heat stresses in chickpea, and caused reduction in plant biomass, carbon assimilation, antioxidant activity, impeded Zn uptake and enhanced oxidative damage. However, adequate Zn supply ameliorated adverse effect of drought and heat stresses in both chickpea types. The improvements were more in desi than kabuli type. Adequate Zn nutrition is crucial to augment growth of chickpea plants under high temperature and arid climatic conditions.