Airborne particles constitute complex mixtures of liquids and solids that originate from both natural phenomena and anthropogenic activities, significantly impacting environmental systems and human health. In addition to assessing the concentration of these pollutants in the atmosphere and their subsequent effects on ecosystems and public health, it is essential to develop rapid and reliable methodologies for detecting their presence. This study aims to establish and evaluate a novel rapid method for confirming, identifying and quantifying airborne particles present in soil samples utilizing Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). SEM-EDX is an important analytical technique that provides critical morphological and compositional information regarding material surfaces.

Testing was conducted on acidic soil (pH = 5) with a moisture content of 42.05% from an area subjected to airborne pollution. The SEM images do not reveal any particles that could be definitively linked to industrial contamination. The average chemical composition of the analyzed soil was as follows: Oxygen (O) at 53.27%, Silicon (Si) at 31.07%, Aluminum (Al) at 6.94%, Iron (Fe) at 3.21%, Calcium (Ca) at 2.61%, Potassium (K) at 1.44%, Sulfur (S) at 0.62%, Magnesium (Mg) at 0.50%, and Sodium (Na) at 0.32%. Carbon (C) was excluded from elemental analysis due to the deposition of samples on carbon substrates. These results are in good accordance with those obtained from soil analysis conducted using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS).

The findings showed that while industrial areas with a high risk of airborne pollutants have a greater likelihood of contaminated soil, in this specific case, the soil composition did not indicate the presence of potentially hazardous particles, implying a lower risk of pollution in the area studied. The study also confirms that SEM-EDX results are sufficiently sensitive to detect the presence of airborne particles when they are present and can be subjected to further testing.

Introduction:
Across many tropical coastlines, mangroves and coral reefs support each other in ways that are often overlooked. Mangroves trap sediments, reduce erosion, and serve as breeding and feeding grounds for marine species, while coral reefs safeguard shorelines and host exceptionally rich biodiversity. Since these ecosystems rely on one another, disturbances affecting one system inevitably influence the other. However, conservation practices around the world still tend to treat land-based and marine habitats as separate entities. With increasing pressures from climate change and coastal development, recognizing this ecological link is more urgent than ever. This study argues that effective global biodiversity protection requires conserving mangroves and coral reefs through a land–sea connectivity approach.

Methods:
This research develops a conceptual model for conservation that views mangroves and coral reefs as an interconnected ecological unit. It compiles insights from global literature, remote sensing observations, and examples from various coastal regions to illustrate how these ecosystems interact and collectively support biodiversity. Policy analysis and evaluations of community-driven conservation initiatives were conducted to identify strategies that strengthen ecological linkages, enhance resilience, and promote unified land–sea management practices.

Results:
The findings indicate that restoration strategies connecting mangroves and coral reefs produce stronger outcomes than projects managed separately. Integrated conservation leads to faster ecosystem recovery, higher species retention, and greater ecosystem service benefits. Long-term resilience improves when scientific monitoring, community participation, and supportive policy frameworks work together. Coastal regions applying connectivity-based management report healthier fisheries, reduced shoreline degradation, and enhanced carbon sequestration.

Conclusion:
Preventing global habitat and biodiversity loss requires viewing mangroves and coral reefs as one interconnected system. Coordinated policies, ecological restoration, and community stewardship can sustain biodiversity, support climate resilience, and protect coastal livelihoods. Effective conservation must safeguard ecosystems along with the ecological relationships that keep them functioning.

Olive mill wastewater (OMWW), a major by-product of olive oil production, is generated in large volumes throughout the Mediterranean region and contains high concentrations of phenolic compounds, notably tyrosol (TY) and hydroxytyrosol (HT). Owing to their high mobility and toxicity toward microorganisms and aquatic ecosystems, these compounds can disrupt soil processes and pose significant environmental challenges. In this study, olive stone-derived biochar was evaluated as a sustainable and low-cost adsorbent for the removal of TY and HT from aqueous solutions, with performance benchmarked against commercial activated carbon (AC). Comprehensive physicochemical characterization showed that the biochar possesses a high specific surface area (258 m²/g), well-developed porosity, and abundant surface functional groups favorable for phenolic adsorption. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted under controlled conditions (initial phenolic concentration of 50 mg L⁻¹, contact time of 1 h, and neutral pH) to investigate adsorption equilibrium, kinetics, and thermodynamics. Adsorption behavior was described using pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and Elovich kinetic models, as well as Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. Regeneration experiments demonstrated the reusability of the biochar over multiple adsorption–desorption cycles. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed following a cradle-to-grave approach, encompassing biomass collection, biochar production, adsorption application, and regeneration/recovery stages. The environmental impact was evaluated using the global warming potential over a 100-year time horizon (GWP100, kg CO₂-eq). The environmental performance of olive stone biochar was compared with that of a commercial activated carbon subjected to identical adsorption experiments, enabling a consistent and fair comparison. Under the tested conditions, olive stone biochar achieved removal efficiencies of 87% for TY and 91% for HT, comparable to those obtained with AC. Overall, these findings highlight the strong potential of olive stone-derived biochar as an eco-friendly and high-performance alternative for sustainable OMWW treatment, with potential for phenolic recovery and clear relevance to circular economy strategies.

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) generate large amounts of sewage sludge, and managing this sludge is both energy- and cost-intensive. The organic fraction contains recoverable chemical energy that can be converted into biogas, heat, electricity, or upgraded biomethane. This paper presents a triple-E (energy, economic, environmental) assessment of sludge-to-energy options in municipal WWTPs. The analysis is based on a reference WWTP of 200,000 PE, supported by data from the literature, and includes sludge treatment, anaerobic digestion (AD), combined heat and power (CHP) generation, and optional mono-incineration of solar-dried sludge. Mono-incineration is increasingly adopted in Europe because it is publicly accepted, substantially reduces sludge volume and mass, and enables the recovery of phosphorus from ash.

For a sludge production rate of 50 gDS/(PE·day), the corresponding biogas yield is 300 Nm³/tDS. Biogas-fired CHP systems generate about 15 kWh/(PE·year) of electricity and 20 kWh/(PE·year) of thermal energy, meeting approximately 30% of the electrical demand and up to 80% of the thermal demand in WWTPs. Energy autonomy can be further increased by recovering 100–150 kWh/tDS from the mono-incineration of solar-dried sludge.

The specific investment cost of WWTP energy-recovery systems ranges between 400 and 1,000 EUR/PE, with annual operating costs of 40–75 EUR/PE and energy-related costs of 4–8 EUR/PE. Mono-incineration involves average disposal and processing costs of EUR 350 per tonne of dry solids and can be combined with phosphorus recovery, though this introduces additional costs. Under these conditions, AD+CHP typically achieves a payback period of around 10 years, whereas mono-incineration is more capital-intensive and generally results in longer payback periods.

From an environmental perspective, replacing grid electricity with biogas-derived power reduces greenhouse gases emissions by roughly 60%, assuming an EU-27 average grid intensity of 210 gCO₂eq/kWh. Overall, energy-oriented sludge management improves the triple-E performance of municipal WWTPs, provided that the higher costs of mono-incineration are balanced by the value of recovered phosphorus.

Beta diversity facilitates the comparison of difference in species composition among communities across different ecosystems. It varies along environmental gradients, and this understanding helps in exploring the well-being of different butterfly communities within a landscape. The present study investigates the community composition (beta diversity patterns) of limenitinae butterflies along an elevational gradient. Six elevational belts (˂=1500 masl, 1501-2000 masl, 2001-2500 masl, 2501-3000 masl, 3001-3500 masl, ˃=3501 masl) were established in the surrounding regions outside the jurisdiction of the protected areas of Eastern Himalayas. Bray–Curtis dissimilarity was used for estimating species abundance due to its high sensitivity to relative abundance and species composition. Euclidean distance metrics represented dissimilarities between data points. UPGMA was employed for grouping similar communities hierarchically based on shared characters such as environmental variables of habitat. The turnover component of beta-diversity demonstrated species replacement from one site to another, while nestedness highlighted the occurrence of species-poor assemblages as subsets of more species-rich communities. Additionally, Sorenson similarity measured the degree of overlap in species composition between two communities across the elevational gradient. Significantly, beta diversity was estimated at two levels: stepwise beta diversity and pairwise beta diversity. Stepwise beta diversity formed a peak between 3001-3500 masl (0.360), indicating the highest species dissimilarity. However, pairwise beta diversity showed a consistent increase in dissimilarity with an increase in distance between two elevation bands, favoring the distance-decay hypothesis. These higher values are probably indicative of the substitution of species components, suggesting species occurrence exclusively in each elevation belt. Euclidean distance metrics reached the highest value between 2001 to 2500 masl (40.575). The highest species turnover (7.000), nestedness in species occurrence (0.621), and Sorenson’s similarity (0.318) were recorded between 3001 to 3500 masl. Besides beta diversity, turnover due to environmental constraints could be associated with changes in community structure across the study site.

Antibiotics like sulfamethazine (SMZ) and trimethoprim (TMP) are widely used in aquaculture to treat bacterial infections in farmed fish. Their extensive use results in continuous release into wastewater, where they persist as micropollutants. Both compounds show low biodegradability and can accumulate in water bodies. Their presence in aquaculture effluents raises concerns about antimicrobial resistance, ecotoxicity to aquatic organisms, and potential human exposure through water reuse and seafood consumption.

Because of their persistence, advanced oxidation processes such as UVC/H₂O₂, solar/persulfate, and ozone are increasingly examined to efficiently degrade these antibiotics and minimize toxic transformation products. In this study, to the best of our knowledge, the degradation of an SMZ–TMP mixture in aquaculture influents and effluents from two different farms was investigated by UVC/H₂O₂ for the first time. Experiments were conducted in a 150 mL batch reactor using a low-pressure UVC lamp at 8 W and a temperature of 25 °C. SMZ and TMP concentrations were monitored using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC, Waters Alliance 2695, Milford, MA, USA). All water samples exhibited TSS and TOC below 6 and 3 mg/L, respectively, with pH 7.7–7.9 and conductivity of 350–430 μS/cm.

Preliminary experiments show very promising results. Specifically, photolysis experiments showed that UVC alone cannot degrade TMP, achieving less than 15% removal at 10 min, while SMZ exhibited a removal of ~50% at the same time. Remarkably, in the presence of 7 mg/L H₂O₂, the UVC/H₂O₂ process achieved more than 50% TMP and 90% SMZ removal at 15 min. The next steps include simultaneous antibiotic removal and pathogen inactivation, and toxicity assessment of the treated effluents using freshwater (Chlorococcum sp.) and saltwater (Tisochrysis lutea) microalgae species.

Acknowledgements: The research project is implemented in the framework of H.F.R.I call "3rd Call for H.F.R.I.'s Research Projects to Support Faculty Members & Researchers" (H.F.R.I. Project Number: 26141).

Rising energy demand and climate change pressures highlight the urgent need for sustainable strategies in the transport sector, not only to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also to inform effective environmental management and policy decisions. Renewable biofuels produced from bio-hydrotreated oils have emerged as a promising alternative due to their compatibility with conventional diesel engines, lower pollutant emissions, and potential to support climate mitigation objectives. Using waste vegetable oils (WVO) as feedstock further enhances sustainability by valorizing waste streams, reducing dependence on virgin resources, and aligning with circular economy principles.
Integrating green hydrogen in the production process improves environmental performance by providing a low-carbon hydrogen source for hydrotreatment.
This study presents a comprehensive environmental assessment of renewable biofuel production in Portugal, using WVO feedstock and green hydrogen generated from a combined solar and wind electricity supply.
The assessment encompasses the full production chain, including feedstock preprocessing, electricity supply and electrolyser operation, biofuel synthesis, transportation, and disposal. Environmental impacts are quantified across multiple categories, including global warming potential (GWP), human toxicity, acidification, eutrophication, ozone depletion, and resource depletion.
The results indicate that producing renewable biofuel from WVO and green hydrogen powered by solar and wind energy reduces GWP by approximately
0.45 kg CO₂ per kg biofuel compared to conventional processes, with a value observed at 0.304 kg CO₂/ biofuel. Transportation of feedstocks contributes around 37% of total GWP, mainly due to fossil fuel use in trucks and ships. Feedstock choice and electricity source strongly influence overall environmental outcomes.
These findings demonstrate that combining waste-derived feedstocks with green hydrogen and renewable electricity not only reduces the environmental footprint of renewable biofuel production but also provides actionable insights for environmental understanding, ecosystem restoration strategies, and informed policy-making aimed at promoting sustainable energy and transportation systems.

The transition from fossil-derived (grey) hydrogen to electrolytic (green) hydrogen in Haber-Bosch ammonia synthesis introduces substantial technical, energetic, and environmental challenges at the process level. This study provides an integrated technical and environmental assessment per 1 ton of NH₃, combining detailed process simulation with system-level mass, energy, and emission accounting. Methodologically, the novelty lies in the coupled modelling framework that links electrolyser dynamics (including purity variations and intermittency) with the closed-loop behaviour of the ammonia synthesis section, allowing the quantification of stability limits and integration requirements under variable renewable operation. The approach further introduces a unified per-ton NH₃ indicator set that simultaneously evaluates electrical demand, compression duty, CO₂ intensity, and water consumption.

Stoichiometrically, the process requires 0.177 ton H₂/ton NH₃. Using proton-exchange-membrane electrolysis at 50 MWh/ton H₂ results in an electrolytic demand of 8.85 MWh/ton NH₃, and including a representative compression penalty of 1.5 MWh/ton H₂ yields a total electrical requirement of about 9.12 MWh/ton NH₃. From an environmental perspective, conventional SMR hydrogen (8.5 to 9.5 ton CO₂/ton H₂) corresponds to 1.50 to 1.68 ton CO₂/ton NH₃, whereas renewable energy-based electrolysis cuts direct process CO₂ emissions by >95%, contingent on the grid carbon factor for upstream electricity. Water use, quantified at around 9 to 10 kg H₂O per kg H₂, implies 1.6 to 1.8 m³ of deionized water per ton NH₃.

Simulation results show that hydrogen purity fluctuations and pulsating electrolyser output significantly affect loop conversion, recycle duty, and process stability, and that heat-integration and storage strategies are required to maintain steady operation under renewable intermittency. The unified performance indicators and dynamic-integration results generated in this work provide new design benchmarks for retrofitting existing plants and deploying next-generation low-carbon ammonia production systems.

In recent decades, the use of carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) in the automotive and aerospace sectors has increased significantly. This trend has led to a corresponding rise in global demand for carbon fibers, as well as a growth in end-of-life composite products and manufacturing waste, with associated environmental challenges. Given the high cost of carbon fibers, the development of innovative recycling solutions represents a clear win–win strategy for improving the life cycle of these materials and enhancing overall environmental and economic sustainability, in line with European standards for the transition toward a circular economy.

This study aims to assess the environmental performance of the production system for consolidated laminates obtained from recycled composite materials from a cradle-to-gate life cycle perspective. The production system is analyzed using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, based on primary data provided by an engineering and manufacturing company within the framework of the Italian MARiS project, funded by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy.

Environmental impacts are evaluated using SimaPro v.9.6 coupled with the Environmental Footprint 3.1 impact assessment method, with reference to the functional unit of 1 kg of consolidated laminate produced with recycled carbon fibers. The LCA methodology, recognized as a standardized tool for assessing the environmental impacts of products, services, or processes throughout their life cycle, is adopted to identify the main hotspots along the value chain and to explore circular improvement options. The environmental benefits associated with replacing virgin carbon fibers through CFRP recycling are highlighted by comparing the environmental performance of the innovative product (recycling scenario) with that of the conventional product (Business-as-Usual scenario).

Mangrove forests play a vital role in coastal ecosystems by mitigating climate change, protecting shorelines, and supporting biodiversity. However, these critical habitats are declining globally due to encroachment, deforestation, urbanization, and aquaculture expansion. Regular and detailed monitoring is essential for effective conservation and restoration efforts. While freely available satellite imagery, such as from Sentinel-2, provides broad coverage, its coarse spatial resolution limits its usefulness for detailed mangrove monitoring. To address this gap, this study develops an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-assisted super-resolution framework to reconstruct high-resolution historical imagery for monitoring mangrove restoration at Saphan Hin, Phuket, Thailand. We acquired high-resolution UAV imagery in 2024 to calculate precise vegetation indices and canopy cover metrics. These UAV-derived products are used to train a super-resolution deep learning algorithm. The trained model is then applied to upscale historical satellite imagery from Landsat and Sentinel-2 archives (2004–2024), creating an enhanced temporal series. From this reconstructed data, we extract key indicators of restoration trajectories, including canopy density and phenological patterns. This approach enables a direct, high-resolution comparison of ecosystem development between actively restored areas and zones of natural recovery. The primary goal of this study is to demonstrate a practical, scalable workflow that leverages AI to transform low-resolution satellite data into actionable, site-specific insights. By reconstructing past canopy dynamics in the absence of historical high-resolution data, this framework provides a powerful, non-invasive tool for long-term monitoring. It holds significant potential to improve the management of coastal restoration projects, enhance the accuracy of blue carbon accounting, and support the valuation of ecosystem services in vulnerable coastal regions.