Themed collection Best Papers 2022 – Environmental Science: Advances

Massive CO₂ removals will be necessary to avoid climate tipping. Comparing removals with past, current and future carbon stocks and flows reveals the importance of avoiding fossil emissions completely and developing scalable technical solutions.

Microplastic (MP) pollution is an emerging threat to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Fluoride contamination has created a drinking water crisis globally.

Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) in the environment are an emerging issue of global concern.

Pretreatment routes of oil palm biomass.

Mining wastewater treatment (MWWT) methods have played a vital role in sustainable water management in recent years.

Harnessing microbial biofabrication coupled to a protocol inspired by indigenous textile processes, we engineer high-performance biotextiles with a sustainable circular life cycle, including the plant and mineral dyed bioleather sneakers shown.

Monitoring bacteria is essential for ensuring microbial safety of water sources, including river water and treated wastewater.

Promising 0D non-stoichiometric Cu_xIn_1−xS quantum dots show robust photodegradation towards gemifloxacin under visible light.

Rose bengal-integrated electrospun PAN nanofibers displayed high antimicrobial efficacy against both Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis bacteria under white light irradiation. This methodology offers a feasible strategy for water disinfection.

New technologies to improve the investigation of biodegradability and the environmental fate of pharmaceutical formulations.

A 3D printed hydrogel-based adsorbent provides an easy, eco-friendly, and cost-effective way to remove heavy metal ions from aqueous environments.

Cold-start emissions of the sustainable alternative diesel fuel OME are predominantly NO_x, formaldehyde, formic acid and unburned OME. Electrical heating in combination with fuel dosing is an effective method for after-treatment system heating.

GO, CuO-rGO and ZnO-rGO were tested for their ability to remove textile dyes (R-6G, MG) and antibiotics (AMOX, TC) as wastewater depollution materials. Although GO was most effective for the cationic dyes, CuO-rGO efficiently removed anionic antibiotics.

Development of a multifunctional and reusable air filter as a capture-and-disinfection system to kill pathogens in a single-pass air flow.

Economical synthesis of a triptycene-based and imine linked porous organic polymer for fast and reversible iodine capture from various media.

Designed program for sustainable solutions to a highly contentious activity, hydraulic fracturing, through an interrelationship study.

In the current study, an attempt was made to fabricate silk fibroin/graphene oxide (SF/GO) blend films.

Although geological carbon sequestration is considered one of the pillars required to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, only a few demonstration sites are currently being developed around the globe. A workflow is presented here to identify potential new pilot sites.

Thermally stable, 3D rod-like, nanosized, pH-stable Fe–Al metal–organic-framework with terephthalic acid as a linker with a surface area 120.255 m² g⁻¹ was synthesized solvothermally for fluoride adsorption and the photodegradation of rhodamine B/methylene blue (pH 2–11).

Nanoscale nutrients are promising for improving crop performance.