Water pollution has become a serious threat to our ecosystem. Water contamination due to human, commercial, and industrial activities has negatively affected the whole world. Owing to the global demanding challenges of water pollution treatments and achieving sustainability, membrane technology has gained increasing research attention. Although numerous membrane materials have focused, the sustainable water purification membranes are most effective for environmental needs. In this regard sustainable, green, and recyclable polymeric and nanocomposite membranes have been developed. Materials fulfilling sustainable environmental demands usually include wide-ranging polyesters, polyamides, polysulfones, and recyclable/biodegradable petroleum polymers plus non-toxic solvents. Consequently, water purification membranes for nanofiltration, microfiltration, reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, and related filtration processes have been designed. Sustainable polymer membranes for water purification have been manufactured using facile techniques. The resulting membranes have been tested for desalination, dye removal, ion separation, and antibacterial processes for wastewater. Environmental sustainability studies have also pointed towards desired life cycle assessment results for these water purification membranes. Recycling of water treatment membranes have been performed by three major processes mechanical recycling, chemical recycling, or thermal recycling. Moreover, use of sustainable membranes has caused positive environmental impacts for safe waste water treatment. Importantly, worth of sustainable water purification membranes has been analyzed for the environmentally friendly water purification applications. There is vast scope of developing and investigating water purification membranes using countless sustainable polymers, materials, and nanomaterials. Hence, value of sustainable membranes has been analyzed to meet the global demands and challenges to attain future clean water and ecosystem.
Environmental Education (EE) programs are of crucial importance. EE are aimed at global citizenship to generate new knowledge and new, more participatory and conscious ways of acting in the environment. This study, therefore, wants to verify the effectiveness of a training intervention that is based on education on climate change issues and on the active participation of subjects in the dimension of the small psychological group. At the intervention 309 students took part, equally distributed by gender (52.1% males), 64.4% enrolled in primary school, 35.6% enrolled in lower secondary school. A quantitative protocol was administered to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. The study shows an increase in pro-environmental behaviors and their stability even after 15–30 days. The intervention seems to be effective in triggering pro-environmental behaviors and maintaining them in the following weeks. The results of this study highlight the need to develop environmental education pro-grams in schools to increase levels of knowledge and awareness on the issue of climate change.
In the dynamic contemporary business landscape, the convergence of technology, finance, and management plays a pivotal role in organizational success. This research explores the multifaceted realm of strategic integration, emphasizing the intricate balance between these domains. The background sets the stage, elucidating the historical evolution and growing relevance of this integration. Various research methodologies, including case studies, surveys, interviews, and data analysis, are used to investigate practical aspects. The study delves into the role of technology, emphasizing digital transformation, innovation, and IT infrastructure. It dissects financial management, focusing on decision-making, risk management, and capital allocation. Additionally, management and leadership are discussed, with an emphasis on change management, strategic leadership, and skill development. Challenges, such as cultural disparities and regulatory complexities, are scrutinized, alongside opportunities like improved decision-making and enhanced productivity. Real-world case studies illustrate success stories and lessons learned. The paper concludes with findings, implications for businesses and management, and practical recommendations for navigating this convergence. This research contributes valuable insights into performance and competitiveness, facilitating a better understanding of key performance metrics and positioning strategies in the digital age.
Graphene, an innovative nanocarbon, has been discovered as a significant technological material. Increasing utilization of graphene has moved research towards the development of sustainable green techniques to synthesize graphene and related nanomaterials. This review article is basically designed to highlight the significant sustainability aspects of graphene. Consequently, the sustainability vision is presented for graphene and graphene nanocomposites. Environmentally sustainable production of graphene and ensuing nanomaterials has been studied. The formation of graphene, graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, and other derivatives has been synthesized using ecological carbon and green sources, green solvents, non-toxic reagents, and green routes. Furthermore, the utilization of graphene for the conversion of industrial polymers to sustainable recycled polymers has been studied. In addition, the recycled polymers have also been used to form graphene as a sustainable method. The implication of graphene in the sustainable energy systems has been investigated. Specifically, high specific capacitance and capacitance retention were observed for graphene-based supercapacitor systems. Subsequently, graphene may act as a multi-functional, high performance, green nanomaterial with low weight, low price, and environmental friendliness for sustainable engineering and green energy storage applications. However, existing challenges regarding advanced material design, processing, recyclability, and commercial scale production need to be overcome to unveil the true sustainability aspects of graphene in the environmental and energy sectors.
The following paper assesses the relationship between electricity consumption, economic growth, environmental pollution, and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) development in Kazakhstan. Using the structural equation method, the study analyzes panel data gathered across various regions of Kazakhstan between 2014 and 2022. The data were sourced from official records of the Bureau of National Statistics of Kazakhstan and include all regions of Kazakhstan. The chosen timeframe includes the period from 2014, which marked a significant drop in oil prices that impacted the overall economic situation in the country, to 2022. The main hypotheses of the study relate to the impact of electricity consumption on economic growth, ICT, and environmental sustainability, as well as ICT’s role in economic development and environmental impact. The results show electricity consumption’s positive effect on economic growth and ICT development while also revealing an increase in pollutant emissions (emissions of liquid and gaseous pollutants) with economic growth and electricity consumption. The development of ICT in Kazakhstan has been revealed to not have a direct effect on reducing pollutant emissions into the environment, raising important questions about how technology can be leveraged to mitigate environmental impact, whether current technological advancements are sufficient to address environmental challenges, and what specific measures are needed to enhance the environmental benefits of ICT. There is a clear necessity to integrate sustainable practices and technologies to achieve balanced development. These results offer important insights into the relationships among electricity consumption, technology, economic development, and environmental issues. They underscore the complexity and multidimensionality of these interactions and suggest directions for future research, especially in the context of finding sustainable solutions for balanced development.
This study investigates the performance assessment of methanol and water as working fluid in a solar-powered vapour absorption refrigeration system. This research clarifies the system’s performance across a spectrum of operating conditions. Furthermore, the HAP software was utilized to determine and scrutinize the cooling load, facilitating a comparative analysis between software-based results and theoretical calculations. To empirically substantiate the findings, this research investigates methanol-water as a superior refrigerant compared to traditional ammonia- water and LiBr-water systems. Through experimental analysis and its comparison with previous research, the methanol-water refrigeration system demonstrated higher cooling efficiency and better environmental compatibility. The system’s performance was evaluated under varying conditions, showing that methanol-water has a 1% higher coefficient of performance (COP) compared to ammonia-water systems, proving its superior effectiveness in solar-powered applications. This empirical model acts as a pivotal tool for understanding the dynamic relationship between methanol concentration (40%, 50%, 60%) and system performance. The results show that temperature of the evaporator (5–15 ℃), condenser (30 ℃–50 ℃), and absorber (25 ℃–50 ℃) are constant, the coefficient of performance (COP) increases with increase in generator temperature. Furthermore, increasing the evaporator temperature while keeping constant temperatures for the generator (70 ℃–100 ℃), condenser, and absorber improves the COP. The resulting data provides profound insights into optimizing refrigerant concentrations for improved efficiency.
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