This work is motivated by the need in overcoming the electricity crisis in Gaza, which is initiated due to political reasons and the spread of COVID-19. Building quarantine centers is one of the most important means used in combating the COVID-19, but connecting these centers to the electricity distribution network at the appropriate time is not always possible and increases the burden on the local utility company. This article proposed a hybrid off-grid energy system (HES) to effectively energize the quarantine COVID-19 center in Gaza economically and environmentally. To achieve this aim, the estimated load profile of the quarantine center is fed to the HOMER-Pro program. In addition, the various systems components are introduced to the program, then modeled, and optimized. The developed approach was tested using a real case study considering realistic input data. HOMER-Pro program is used to simulate and optimize the system design. The results revealed the potential of the HES to provide environment-friendly, cost-effective, and affordable electricity for the studied quarantine center, as compared to just the diesel generators system. For the considered case study, it is found that the PV-wind-diesel generators HES can cover the connected load with the lowest cost ($ 0.348/kWh) in comparison to other possible HES structures. Taking into consideration the price of harmful emissions, the wining system shows a reduction of 54.89% of the cost of energy (CoE) compared to other systems. For the considered case study, it is found that a combination of 150 kW PV, 200 kW wind, and two diesel generators with capacities of 500 and 250 kW can hold 100% of the electrical load required to keep the quarantine COVID-19 center in operation. The initial capital cost of this HES is $510,576 where the share of wind energy, solar PV, inverter, and diesel-electric generators are $320,000, $83,076, $25,000, and $82,500, respectively. The replacemen cost ($55,918) is due to diesel generators. The total operation and maintainance cost (O&M) is $268,737, that is, 25.6% for wind turbines, 1.2% for inverters, and 70.7% for diesel electric generators. The PV/wind/diesel generators HES generate 1,659,038 kWh of electricity. The total energy requirement of 1,442,553 kWh, which means a surplus of 212,553 kWh of energy/year. The total energy (kWh) is an integration of energy sources which are 427,276 (25.8%), 274,500 (16.5%), and 857,263 (57.7%), due to wind, solar and diesel generators respectively. The cost of yearly consumed fuel is $437,828.769. The payback period for the winning system is 1.8 years. Finally, it is proved that the developed approach gives a reasonable solution to the decision-makers to find a fast, economic and reliable solution to energize the quarantine centers.

Presently, the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic presents a major threat to global communal fitness also socio-financial development. Ignoring worldwide isolation as well as shutdown attempts, the occurrence of COVID-19 infected patients continues to be extremely large. Nonetheless, COVID-19's final course, combined with the prevalence of emerging contaminants (antibiotics, pharmaceuticals, nanoplastics, pesticides, and so forth) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), presents a major problem in wastewater situations. The research, therefore, intends near examine an interdisciplinary as well as technical greet to succor COVID-19 with subsequent COVID cycles of an epidemic as a framework for wastewater treatment settings. This research investigated the potential for wastewater-based epidemiology to detect SARS-CoV-2 also the enzymes happening in wastewater conditions. In addition, a chance for the incorporation into the WWTPs of emerging and robust technologies such as mesmeric nanobiotechnology, electrochemical oxidation, microscopy, and membrane processes to enhance the overall likelihood of environmental consequences of COVID-19 also strengthen such quality of water is resolved.

PARIS III (Program for Assisting the Replacement of Industrial Solvents III, Version 1.4.0) is a pollution prevention solvent substitution software tool used to find mixtures of solvents that are less harmful to the environment than the industrial solvents to be replaced. By searching extensively though hundreds of millions of possible solvent combinations, mixtures that perform the same as the original solvents may be found. Greener solvent substitutes may then be chosen from those mixtures that behave similarly but have less environmental impact. These extensive searches may be enhanced by fine-tuning impact weighting factors to better reflect regional environmental concerns; and by adjusting how close the properties of the replacement must be to those of the original solvent. Optimal replacements can then be compared again and selected for better performance, but less environmental impact. This method can be a very effective way of finding greener replacements for harmful solvents used by industry.

There are many good reasons to promote sustainable development and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other combustion emissions. The air quality in many urban environments is causing many premature deaths because of asthma, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and dementia associated with combustion emissions. The global social cost of air pollution is at least $3 trillion/year; particulates, nitrogen oxides and ozone associated with combustion emissions are very costly pollutants. Better air quality in urban environments is one of the reasons for countries to work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. There are many potential benefits associated with limiting climate change. In the recent past, the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have been increasing and the number of weather and climate disasters with costs over $1 billion has been increasing. The average global temperature set new record highs in 2014, 2015, and 2016. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the transition to electric vehicles and electricity generation using renewable energy must take place in accord with the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. This work reviews progress and identifies some of the health benefits associated with reducing combustion emissions.

Biological production of hydrocarbons is an attractive strategy to produce drop-in replacement transportation fuels. Several methods for converting microbially-produced fatty acids into reduced compounds compatible with petrodiesel have been reported. For these processes to become economically viable, microorganisms must be engineered to approach the theoretical yield of fatty acid products from renewable feedstocks such as glucose. Strains with increased titers can be obtained through both rational and random approaches. While powerful, random approaches require a genetic selection or facile screen that is amenable to high throughput platforms. Here, we present the use of a high throughput screen for fatty acids based on the hydrophobic dye Nile red. The method was applied to screening a transposon library of a free fatty acid overproducing strain of in search of high producing mutants. Ten gene targets were identified via primary and secondary screening. A strain comprising a clean knockout of one of the identified genes led to a 20% increase in titer over the baseline strain. A selection strategy that combines these findings and can act in an iterative fashion has been developed and can be used for future strain optimization in hydrocarbon producing strains.

Iron nanoaggregates have been prepared using the sodium borohydride reduction method and post-coated with Pd using aqueous phase electro-deposition. The Fe/Pd nanoaggregates were used to examine dechlorination of trichloroethylene (TCE) with regard to matrix effects using materials representative of a potential zero-valent metal remediation site surrounding the Paducah gaseous diffusion plant in Paducah, KY. A surface-area-normalized first-order rate constant of 1.4 x 10(-1) L m(-2) h(-1) was obtained for the case of ideal dechlorination of 19.6 mg L(-1) TCE at room temperature and pH 6.2 using 0.5 g L(-1) Fe/Pd (0.42 wt % Pd) loading. This value decreases by an order of magnitude to 1.9 x 10(-2) L m(-2) h(-1) when the reaction is carried out in a realistic background matrix when the pH is high (8.8). For all variables tested, Pd content has the most impact on reaction rates. Circulating batch-column experiments are used to study dechlorination under flow conditions and demonstrate the ability of nonstabilized Fe/Pd nanoaggregates to remove significant amounts of TCE (80-90%) over a broad range of groundwater velocities (12.9-83 ft per day) using moderate metal loadings (0.23-0.5 g L(-1)).

The health emergency linked to the spread of COVID-19 has led to important reduction in industrial and logistics activities, as well as to a drastic changes in citizens' behaviors and habits. The restrictions on working activities, journeys and relationships imposed by the lockdown have had important consequences, including for environmental quality. This review aims to provide a structured and critical evaluation of the recent scientific bibliography that analyzed and described the impact of lockdown on human activities and on air quality. The results indicate an important effect of the lockdown during the first few months of 2020 on air pollution levels, compared to previous periods. The concentrations of particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide have decreased. Tropospheric ozone, on the other hand, has significantly increased. These results are important indicators that can become decision drivers for future policies and strategies in industrial and logistics activities (including the mobility sector) aimed at their environmental sustainability. The scenario imposed by COVID-19 has supported the understanding of the link between the reduction of polluting emissions and the state of air quality and will be able to support strategic choices for the future sustainable growth of the industrial and logistics sector.

Electricity consumption in Brazil increases significantly, making feasibility studies to diversify the Brazilian electricity mix with other renewable sources become essential. However, the electricity market continues to be primarily driven by government or regulatory incentives and economic status. With the coronavirus pandemic since the beginning of 2020, the market has been undergoing significant changes that cause uncertainty in consumer investments in grid-connected photovoltaic systems. This article presents an economic feasibility analysis of photovoltaic system installation for the Brazilian residential sector, estimating a cash and term investment and comparing the viability of the investment before the global pandemic (December 2019) with the pandemic scenario (April 2021) for each of the 27 Brazilian capitals. The baseline scenario for economic feasibility analysis calculations considered a power system of 4 kW. The results show that the effects of the pandemic in the electricity market were positive in the feasibility of investing in grid-connected photovoltaic systems. Also, financing the system increases the chances of profitability. The current scenario is possibly the most attractive ever experienced by potential investors. However, this favorable scenario could decline in the coming years due to climatic and governmental factors.

Technology plays a crucial role in fighting COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic impacts all facets of human life, including food preservation and supply chain. The changes in the food processing and preservation brings changes to the global food choice. In the age of the COVID-19 pandemic scare, the present article explores the framework for food security. It offers insights into food security with a focus on renewable energy to help rural farmers, besides, exploring the possibility of the diffusion of COVID-19 via food chain. This article indicates that the implementation of stand-alone and hybrid renewable energy systems is relatively fresh in food processing, preservation, and transportation chain. Green food preservation may be a revolutionary idea to address the challenges of the future to secure both producers and customers, besides, to improve the attractiveness of the ecological, economic, and creative sectors. This study reveals that the transformation can be achieved from a technological and economic point of view with the key steps to fulfill this goal in a cost-effective manner. The observation also shows a suitable methodology to identify the best energy, economic and environmental scenario towards fulfilling the energy needs in isolated areas.

The COVID-19 pandemic presented a chance to investigate the effects of system-wide emergencies on major global commodities such as water and energy. In terms of environmental policies and attaining supply security, these developmental goals are interrelated. Despite pandemic disruptions, there is a compelling need for a systematization in these areas for the transition to clean water access and sustainable energy. This article presents a comprehensive assessment of the effects of COVID-19 on these two sustainable development goals. Further, an integrated aspect of water and energy access for sustainable development is evaluated with insights on the effects of COVID-19 on the water-energy nexus. Additionally, technological evolution for building better water and energy supply systems is presented. An insight into developing robust healthcare systems and how the water and energy SDGs affect population dynamics is also speculated, which indicates varied short-term adaption experiences, and highlights the need for a re-evaluation of the water-energy nexus. The integrated solutions contributing to stability of the water supply chain, energy storage, and policy making during and after an outbreak are critical to achieving developmental goals.