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The problem of acid gas exhaust emissions treatment has not been fully resolved at present. Dry adsorption of acid gases with alkaline sorbents is currently being investigated, to improve solid sorbents. In this study, 5 types of hydrated lime were characterised and tested. The sorption capacities were measured by means of a system consisting of a feed line (HCl/N2), a thermostatic reactor and a water absorber. The physical characteristics of sorbent samples were also compared. Analyses conducted with scanning electronic microscopy revealed that sample C1 showed uniform particle distribution. Samples C2 and C3 showed the co-presence of fine and coarse particles. Sample C4 showed very fine particles with agglomeration phenomena. In sample C5, fibrous elements were found. Energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) analyses showed a similar composition of the samples, with the exception of the presence of Mg in some of them. After 30 min of testing, the following differences in sorption capacities with respect to C1 (3.59 mg g−1) were found: C2, −20%; C3, −13%; C4, −17%; C5, −3%. Higher sorption capacities were associated with more uniform particle size distributions. Conversely, agglomeration of fine particles may have adversely affected the performance of sorbents.

Sustainable food supply has gained considerable consumer concern due to the high percentage of spoilage microorganisms. Food industries need to expand advanced technologies that can maintain the nutritive content of foods, enhance the bio-availability of bioactive compounds, provide environmental and economic sustainability, and fulfill consumers’ requirements of sensory characteristics. Heat treatment negatively affects food samples’ nutritional and sensory properties as bioactives are sensitive to high-temperature processing. The need arises for non-thermal processes to reduce food losses, and sustainable developments in preservation, nutritional security, and food safety are crucial parameters for the upcoming era. Non-thermal processes have been successfully approved because they increase food quality, reduce water utilization, decrease emissions, improve energy efficiency, assure clean labeling, and utilize by-products from waste food. These processes include pulsed electric field (PEF), sonication, high-pressure processing (HPP), cold plasma, and pulsed light. This review describes the use of HPP in various processes for sustainable food processing. The influence of this technique on microbial, physicochemical, and nutritional properties of foods for sustainable food supply is discussed. This approach also emphasizes the limitations of this emerging technique. HPP has been successfully analyzed to meet the global requirements. A limited global food source must have a balanced approach to the raw content, water, energy, and nutrient content. HPP showed positive results in reducing microbial spoilage and, at the same time, retains the nutritional value. HPP technology meets the essential requirements for sustainable and clean labeled food production. It requires limited resources to produce nutritionally suitable foods for consumers’ health.

Increasing heat-stress conditions, rising evaporative demand and shifting rainfall patterns may have multifaceted impacts on Cambodia's agricultural systems, including vegetable production. Concurrently, domestic vegetable supply is highly seasonal and inadequate to meet the domestic food demand, which consequently poses risks to food security locally, particularly in rural areas. This study assesses the impact of climate change on the yields and crop water productivity (CWP) of tomato, pak choi and yard-long bean cultivated year-round under different irrigated conditions (drip, furrow and net irrigation) in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The findings of this study show a similar annual precipitation decline (-23%) when comparing the 2017-2040 and 2070-2099 periods for both Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs 4.5 and 8.5), though with significant seasonal differences between the two climate scenarios. Increasing water and heat-stress conditions are expected to have adverse impacts on tomato plants compared to pak choi and yard-long bean, which have a much higher heat tolerance. Differing yield trends are expected depending on the transplanting/sowing date, irrigation method and RCP. In tomato, for example, a -55% yield loss is projected by the end-century (2070-2099) when transplanting in January, whereas a + 37% yield increase is expected between November and December over the same period. In addition, pak choi yield enhancements of up to +30% are projected if sowing in May under RCP 8.5 for both drip and net irrigation conditions. Similarly, higher yard-long bean yields are simulated under RCP 8.5 (+29%) compared to RCP 4.5 (+11%) for the average of all sowing dates (January to December) and irrigation methods (drip, furrow and net irrigation). In sum, the findings of this work are relevant for evidence-based decision-making and the development of projects, policies and programmes increasingly informed by simulation results from bundling climate-crop approaches to transform agriculture in response to climate change.

Heating and cooling using aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) has hardly been applied outside the Netherlands, even though it could make a valuable contribution to the energy transition. The Climate-KIC project "Europe-wide Use of Energy from aquifers" - E-USE(aq) - aimed to pave the way for Europe-wide application of ATES, through the realization and monitoring of six ATES pilot plants across five different EU countries. In a preceding paper, based on preliminary results of E-USE(aq), conclusions were already drawn, demonstrating how the barriers for this form of shallow geothermal energy can be overcome, and sometimes even leveraged as opportunities. Based on final pilot project results, key economic and environmental outcomes are now presented. This paper starts with the analysis of specific technological barriers: unfamiliarity with the subsurface, presumed limited compatibility with existing energy provision systems (especially district heating), energy imbalances and groundwater contamination. The paper then shows how these barriers have been tackled, using improved site investigation and monitoring technologies to map heterogeneous subsoils. In this way ATES can cost-efficiently be included in smart grids and combined with other sources of renewable (especially solar) energy, while at the same time achieving groundwater remediation. A comparative assessment of economic and environmental impacts of the pilots is included, to demonstrate the sustainability of ATES system with different renewables and renewable-based technologies. The paper concludes with an assessment of the market application potential of ATES, including in areas with water scarcity, and a review of climate beneficial impact.

Abstract Reactions induced by sunlight (direct photolysis and indirect photochemistry) are important ecosystem services that aid freshwater bodies in removing contaminants, although they may also exacerbate pollution in some cases. Without photoinduced reactions, pollution problems would be considerably worse overall. The photochemical reaction rates depend on seasonality, depth, water chemistry (which also significantly affects the reaction pathways), and pollutant photoreactivity. Photochemical reactions are also deeply impacted by less studied factors, including hydrology, water dynamics, and precipitation regimes, which are key to understanding the main impacts of climate change on surface-water photochemistry. Climate change is expected in many cases to both exacerbate freshwater pollution, and enhance photochemical decontamination. Therefore, photochemical knowledge will be essential to understand the future evolution of freshwater environments.

Assessment of future water resources under climate change is required in the Himalayas, where hydrological cycle is poorly studied and little understood. This study focuses on the upper Dudh Koshi river of Nepal (151km(2), 4200-8848ma.s.l.) at the toe of Mt. Everest, nesting the debris covered Khumbu, and Khangri Nup glaciers (62km(2)). New data gathered during three years of field campaigns (2012-2014) were used to set up a glacio-hydrological model describing stream flows, snow and ice melt, ice cover thickness and glaciers' flow dynamics. The model was validated, and used to assess changes of the hydrological cycle until 2100. Climate projections are used from three Global Climate Models used in the recent IPCC AR5 under RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. Flow statistics are estimated for two reference decades 2045-2054, and 2090-2099, and compared against control run CR, 2012-2014. During CR we found a contribution of ice melt to stream flows of 55% yearly, with snow melt contributing for 19%. Future flows are predicted to increase in monsoon season, but to decrease yearly (-4% vs CR on average) at 2045-2054. At the end of century large reduction would occur in all seasons, i.e. -26% vs CR on average at 2090-2099. At half century yearly contribution of ice melt would be on average 45%, and snow melt 28%. At the end of century ice melt would be 31%, and snow contribution 39%. Glaciers in the area are projected to thin largely up to 6500ma.s.l. until 2100, reducing their volume by -50% or more, and their ice covered area by -30% or more. According to our results, in the future water resources in the upper Dudh Koshi would decrease, and depend largely upon snow melt and rainfall, so that adaptation measures to modified water availability will be required.

AbstractThe efficiency of Geothermal Heat Pumps (GHPs) strongly depends on the site-specific parameters of the ground, which should therefore be mapped for the rational planning of shallow geothermal installations. In this paper, a case study is presented for the potentiality assessment of low enthalpy geothermal energy in the Province of Cuneo, a district of 6900 km2 in Piedmont, NW Italy. The available information on the geology, stratigraphy, hydrogeology, climate etc. were processed and mapped, and conclusions were drawn on the geothermal suitability and productivity of different areas of the territory surveyed.

Abstract Growing urban populations, changes in rainfall patterns and ageing infrastructure represent significant challenges for urban water management (UWM). There is a critical need for research into how cities should adapt to become resilient to these impacts under uncertain futures. UWM challenges in the Ebbsfleet Garden City (UK) were investigated via a participatory process and potential sustainable solutions were explored using a System Dynamics Model (SDM). Collaborative development of the SDM by the Ebbsfleet Learning and Action Alliance developed stakeholders’ understanding of future UWM options and enabled a structured exploration of interdependencies within the current UWM system. Discussion by stakeholders resulted in a focus on potable water use and the development of the SDM to investigate how residential potable water consumption in the Ebbsfleet Garden City might be reduced through a range of interventions, e.g., socio-environmental and economic policy incentives. The SDM approach supports decision-making at a strategic, system-wide level, and facilitates exploration of the long-term consequences of alternative strategies, particularly those that are difficult to include in quantitative models. While an SDM can be developed by experts alone, building it collaboratively allows the process to benefit from local knowledge, resulting in a collective learning process and increased potential for adoption.