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{"title":"Biomass Densification to Improve Management Efficiency and to Obtain High Value Products in México","authors":"R. Rosales-Serna, A. Carrillo-Parra, J. Ríos-Saucedo, D. Reyes-Jáquez, Donaji Sierra-Zurita, Saúl Santana-Espinoza, Rafael Jiménez-Ocampo, P. A. Domínguez-Martínez, C. Nava-Berumen","doi":"10.3390/resources13030048","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/resources13030048","url":null,"abstract":"In México, the utilization of fast-growing plant species for biomass production presents transportation-related issues such as freshness reduction, the transportation of large volumes with minimal weight due to low density, limited storage availability, and logistical challenges. To enhance understanding in this field, the research aimed to evaluate the densification potential of a variety of organic materials, with a specific emphasis on the biomass derived from eight species of rapidly growing plants, three animal species’ manure, and concentrated feed. After conditioning, 100 g samples underwent particle size analysis and were categorized into seven sizes. Pellets and briquettes (40 g, 10% moisture, 15 MPa pressure, 5 min processing, 80 °C temperature) were produced and evaluated for bulk density (BD) and pellet (PD) and briquette durability (BDU). The predominant particle sizes were 0.850 mm and 0.425 mm. Original biomass bulk density (OBBD) varied notably, with ovine manure (0.50 g cm−3) and cattle feed (0.49 g cm−3) exhibiting the highest values. Caprine manure (0.83 g cm−3) and ovine manure (0.78 g cm−3) yielded the densest pellets at 1.76 and 1.84 g cm−3, respectively. Apple tree pellets achieved premium quality with the highest hardness (97.9%). Cattle manure (1.25 g cm−3) and cattle feed (1.25 g cm−3) had the densest briquettes, with notable BBD/OBBD ratios in pine sawdust (4.6) and corn (4.5). Caprine manure and Acacia biomass briquettes showed premium quality with the highest hardness (99.1%), emphasizing densification variations and the need for tailored approaches based on organic material characteristics.","PeriodicalId":37723,"journal":{"name":"Resources","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140227472","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessment of Environmental Impacts of Thermal Caisson Geothermal Systems","authors":"Pouria Abbasi, Masih Alavy, Pavel Belansky, Marc A. Rosen","doi":"10.3390/resources13030045","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/resources13030045","url":null,"abstract":"This paper investigates the total environmental impacts of a thermal caisson (TC) system by implementing a life cycle assessment methodology. The total environmental impacts consider the comprehensive effect on the environment across two life cycle stages: manufacturing and operation. A comparison between the TC results and two different HVAC systems, including air-conditioning/furnace and conventional ground-source heat pump (GSHP) systems, was made by adopting the ReCiPe 2016 methodology. This study reveals that the operation phase is the predominant contributor to environmental impacts across systems, mainly due to its extended duration. Specifically, the operational impacts of GSHPs are substantial, accounting for approximately 87% of total environmental impacts. A TC GSHP system demonstrates a notable environmental advantage, achieving a 79% reduction in total environmental impact when compared to traditional AC/furnace systems. This represents a 21% improvement over conventional GSHP systems. Despite this substantial reduction in total environmental impact, the TC GSHP system shows an almost 5% increase in the resource availability damage category relative to the conventional GSHP, which is attributed to its higher material consumption. These results highlight the TC GSHP system’s superior efficiency in reducing environmental impacts and its potential as a more sustainable alternative in residential heating and cooling applications.","PeriodicalId":37723,"journal":{"name":"Resources","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140229633","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Circular Economy in Guaiamum and Uçá Crab Waste in Brazil: Potential By-Products—A Systematic Literature Review","authors":"Joel Joaquim de Santana Filho, P. Gaspar, Ana Costa de Souza, A. Paço","doi":"10.3390/resources13030046","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/resources13030046","url":null,"abstract":"This study aimed to fill a gap in the sustainable management of the reverse supply chain of Guaiamum and Uçá crab waste in Brazil, an endangered species. The study focused on the circular economy, governance, and recent developments, and identified circular economy practices in the utilization of solid waste from the fishing and collection of these species in extractive regions, in line with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A systematic literature review was conducted in major scientific databases. The selection of the 20 research publications followed pre-established criteria, including relevance to the SDGs and systematic review methodology. The results highlighted key variables related to the characteristics of by-products and the factors that influence the adoption of circular economy practices, in line with relevant SDGs. The most mentioned by-products include animal feed, organic fertilizer, biofuels, crab shell chitin biocomposite derivatives, as well as Chitosan-based composites for food packaging applications due to their non-toxicity, antimicrobial, and antifungal properties. The study also identified future research opportunities covering education, policy, and management, in line with the UN SDGs. This study emphasizes the importance of the circular economy for solid crab waste in Brazil, a country with 12% of the world’s mangroves, which are essential both as a nursery for crabs and for ocean nutrition. It also analyzes current trends and initiatives in the reverse management of Guaiamum and Uçá crab waste, in the context of Supply Chain and Sustainable Management.","PeriodicalId":37723,"journal":{"name":"Resources","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140229764","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Environmental Oxidation of Acetaminophen in Aqueous Media as an Emerging Pharmaceutical Pollutant Using a Chitosan Waste-Based Magnetite Nanocomposite","authors":"Manasik M. Nour, Maha A. Tony","doi":"10.3390/resources13030047","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/resources13030047","url":null,"abstract":"Clean water is a precious and limited resource that plays a crucial role in supporting life on our planet. However, the industrial sector, especially the pharmaceutical industry, significantly contributes to water consumption, and this can lead to water body pollution. Fenton’s reagent was introduced in the current investigation to oxidize acetaminophen as an emerging pollutant in such effluents. Therefore, we employed a straightforward co-precipitation method to fabricate chitosan-coated magnetic iron oxide, which is referred to in this study as Chit@Fe3O4. X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), scanning electron microscopy (TEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were utilized to characterize the sample. It is crucial to treat such effluents due to the rapid increase in emerging pollutants. In this study, a photo-Fenton system was introduced as a combination of a Chit@Fe3O4 catalyst augmented with hydrogen peroxide under ultraviolet (UV) illumination conditions. The results reveal that only 1 h of irradiance time is efficient in oxidizing acetaminophen molecules. Doses of 20 and 200 mg/L of Chit@Fe3O4 and H2O2, respectively, and a pH of 2.0 were recorded as the optimal operational conditions that correspondingly oxidize 20 mg/L of acetaminophen to a 95% removal rate. An increase in the reaction temperature results in a decline in the reaction rate, and this, in turn, confirms that the reaction system is exothermic in nature. The sustainability of the catalyst was verified and deemed adequate in treating and oxidizing acetaminophen, even up to the fourth cycle, achieving a 69% removal rate. A kinetic modeling approach is applied to the experimental results, and the kinetic data reveal that the oxidation system conforms to second-order kinetics, with rate constants ranging from 0.0157 to 0.0036 L/mg·min. Furthermore, an analysis of the thermodynamic parameters reveals that the reaction is exothermic and non-spontaneous, predicting an activation energy of 36.35 kJ/mol. Therefore, the proposed system can address the limitations associated with the homogeneous Fenton system.","PeriodicalId":37723,"journal":{"name":"Resources","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140230510","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Historical Analysis of the Effects of Drought on Rice and Maize Yields in Southeast Asia","authors":"Teerachai Amnuaylojaroen, Pavinee Chanvichit","doi":"10.3390/resources13030044","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/resources13030044","url":null,"abstract":"This study performs an empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis to study the relationship between rice and maize productivities and the different time scales of the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), including 1-month, 6-month, and 12-month time scales in Southeast Asia during the years 1970–2019. For the 1-month time scale, the averaged SPEI values are in the range of −1.0 to 1.0, indicating a moderate degree of dryness and humidity. Both 6-month and 12-month time scales suggest that many countries in Southeast Asia are experiencing mostly wet conditions, with SPEI values reaching up to 1.5. The relationship analysis by using EOF was indicated by the first and second principal components (PC1 and PC2) suggesting that drought events exhibit a positive orientation to crop productivity, especially maize in Southeast Asia. The pattern of climate oscillations, such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), is likely related to crop productivity in Southeast Asia. The findings emphasize the importance of considering temporal climatic patterns in agricultural decision-making, with implications for enhancing regional climate resilience and ensuring sustainable food security in the face of global climate change.","PeriodicalId":37723,"journal":{"name":"Resources","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140232339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bioaccumulation of Cr, Zn, Pb and Cu in Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. and Erigeron canadensis L.","authors":"Volodymyr Laptiev, S. O. Apori, M. Giltrap, Furong Tian, Nataliia Ryzhenko","doi":"10.3390/resources13030043","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/resources13030043","url":null,"abstract":"The city of Dnipro, a prominent industrial hub in Ukraine, is recognized for its particularly its significant industrial development. This study focused on two prevalent plant species, Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. and Erigeron canadensis L., within the vicinity. Sampling was conducted at points located 12.02 km away from the emission sources associated with battery production and recycling plants in Dnipro. Analysis of heavy metal concentrations such as, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn was conducted using atomic emission spectrometry from the soil and plants tissues of Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. and Erigeron canadensis L. The translocation coefficient (TF) was calculated for both plant species. The results revealed that Cu and Zn exhibited the highest bioaccumulation in the examined plants, whereas Pb demonstrated the lowest. The order of metal uptake by both plants was determined as Cu > Zn > Cr > Pb. Significantly higher concentrations of these metals were observed in the two studied plants compared to the soil (Ftheor < Fexp, p < 0.05), suggesting the bioavailability of metals for these plants. The translocation coefficient (TF) represented the ratio of metal concentration in the shoot/the root. The TF value of Erigeron canadensis L. exceeded 1 for four metals. On the other hand, the TF value of Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. surpassed 1 for Cr, Cu, and Zn. Consequently, both species emerge as potential phytoremediators for soils contaminated with these studied metals.","PeriodicalId":37723,"journal":{"name":"Resources","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140247704","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Aboveground Biomass and Carbon Storage in Mangrove Forests in Southeastern Mexico","authors":"Carlos Roberto Ávila-Acosta, M. Domínguez-Domínguez, C. J. Vázquez-Navarrete, Rocío Guadalupe Acosta-Pech, P. Martínez‐Zurimendi","doi":"10.3390/resources13030041","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/resources13030041","url":null,"abstract":"The aboveground contributions of mangroves to global carbon sequestration reinforce the need to estimate biomass in these systems. The objective was to determine the aboveground biomass storage and quantify the carbon and CO2e content in Rhizophora mangle, Avicennia germinans, and Laguncularia racemosa present in southeastern Mexico. Based on the Forest Protocol for Mexico Version 2.0 methodology, published by Climate Action Reserve, 130 circular plots were randomly selected and established in an area of 930 ha of mangrove vegetation, and the aboveground biomass and stored carbon were determined. The mangrove had a density of 3515 ± 428.5 individuals per hectare. The aboveground biomass of the three species was 120.5 Mg ha−1. The biomass of L. racemosa was 99.5 Mg ha−1, which represents 82.6% of the total biomass. The biomass of R. mangle was 20.33 Mg ha−1, and that of A. germinans was 0.32 Mg ha−1. The total carbon retained in the trees was 60.25 Mg C ha−1 and 221.1 Mg CO2e ha−1. Laguncularia racemosa generated the highest contributions of CO2e. The area of mangroves accumulated 112,065 Mg of aboveground biomass. The carbon contained in this biomass corresponds to 205,623 Mg CO2e. This mangrove contributes to mitigating the effects of climate change globally through the reduction in greenhouse gases.","PeriodicalId":37723,"journal":{"name":"Resources","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140250917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Water Resources (Rainfall and Snow) in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range (Southern Spain)","authors":"E. Pardo‐Igúzquiza, S. Martos-Rosillo, Jorge Jódar, Peter A. Dowd","doi":"10.3390/resources13030042","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/resources13030042","url":null,"abstract":"This paper describes the use of a unique spatio-temporally resolved precipitation and temperature dataset to assess the spatio-temporal dynamics of water resources over a period of almost seven decades across the Sierra Nevada mountain range, which is the most southern Alpine environment in Europe. The altitude and geographical location of this isolated alpine environment makes it a good detector of climate change. The data were generated by applying geostatistical co-kriging to significant instrumental precipitation and temperature (minimum, maximum and mean) datasets. The correlation between precipitation and altitude was not particularly high and the statistical analysis yielded some surprising results in the form of mean annual precipitation maps and yearly precipitation time series. These results confirm the importance of orographic precipitation in the Sierra Nevada mountain range and show a decrease in mean annual precipitation of 33 mm per decade. Seasonality, however, has remained constant throughout the period of the study. The results show that previous studies have overestimated the altitudinal precipitation gradient in the Sierra Nevada and reveal its complex spatial variability. In addition, the results show a clear correspondence between the mean annual precipitation and the NAO index and, to a much lesser extent, the WeMO index. With respect to temperature, there is a high correlation between minimum temperature and altitude (coefficient of correlation = −0.84) and between maximum temperature and altitude (coefficient of correlation = −0.9). Thus, our spatial temperature maps were very similar to topographic maps, but the temporal trend was complex, with negative (decreasing) and positive (increasing) trends. A dynamic model of snowfall can be obtained by using the degree-day methodology. These results should be considered when checking the local performance of climatological models.","PeriodicalId":37723,"journal":{"name":"Resources","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140251068","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Removal of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid from Aqueous Solutions Using Al2O3/Graphene Oxide Granules Prepared by Spray-Drying Method","authors":"A. Kurmysheva, E. Kuznetsova, Marina D. Vedenyapina, P. Podrabinnik, N. S. Pinargote, A. Smirnov, S. Grigoriev","doi":"10.3390/resources13030040","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/resources13030040","url":null,"abstract":"Within this study, aluminum oxide granules with 0.25%vol. of graphene oxide were prepared by a spray-drying method to make an adsorbent for the 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) herbicide removal from aqueous solutions. The obtained adsorbent was studied using infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The presence of graphene in the spray-dried powder was confirmed. The adsorption removal of 2,4-D using the obtained material was performed at an ambient temperature by varying the process parameters such as pH and adsorption time. The adsorption of 2,4-D was a monolayer chemisorption according to the Langmuir isotherm pattern and a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The maximum Langmuir adsorption capacity of the monolayer was 35.181 mg/g. The results show that the Al2O3-0.25%vol. GO powder obtained by spray drying is suitable for the production of adsorbents for toxic herbicides.","PeriodicalId":37723,"journal":{"name":"Resources","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140252893","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Utilization of Biomass Waste at Water Treatment","authors":"I. Cansado, Pedro Francisco Geraldo, P. Mourão, J. Castanheiro, E. P. Carreiro, Suhas","doi":"10.3390/resources13030037","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/resources13030037","url":null,"abstract":"This work presents some preliminary results on the direct use of untreated biomass from agricultural activities as adsorbents for water treatment. Waste was also used to produce activated carbons (ACs) by chemical activation with KOH. The efficacy of agricultural waste such as stubble, sawdust from Teak (Tectona Grandis), fibers from Imbondeiro (Adansonia digitata L.), bamboo flowers, and other regional plants were tested on methylene blue (MB) removal from the aqueous phase. Adsorption studies were conducted in a batch system and the influence of kinetics, pH, and temperature was evaluated. The adsorption performance of the natural adsorbents was significantly high concerning MB. In particular, Imbondeiro presented a maximum removal capacity of 188.3 mg per gram. This amount was similar to or even higher than the values obtained on ACs produced by their predecessors at 873 K. The studies were finished by constructing slow filters containing natural adsorbents or ACs. The maximum amounts of MB removed on a continuous flux were lower than those obtained for a diversity of untreated biomass types on a batch system. However, these amounts were comparable to the published results obtained on a diversity of untreated biomasses in batch mode.","PeriodicalId":37723,"journal":{"name":"Resources","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140257673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}