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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Science and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2022) | Viewed by 45810

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Shu-Yuan Pan

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Guest Editor

Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10673, Taiwan
Interests: waste-to-resource technology; integrated watershed management; ecological engineering; electrokinetic separation; CO₂ mineralization; life cycle assessment; system optimization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Li-Chi Chiang

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Guest Editor

Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
Interests: watershed management; ecosystem service; water quality modeling; hydrological modeling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Yu-Pin Lin

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Guest Editor

Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
Interests: ecological hydrology monitoring and modeling in drainage basins; global change land use modeling; landscape ecology; system dynamic modeling of wetlands; spatial analysis and modeling; blockchain; spatial dynamic modeling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In September 2015, the United Nations adopted the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development“, and indicated 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aiming to develop a holistic approach to realizing sustainable development. A number of SDGs, such as zero hunger (SDG-2), clean water and sanitation (SDG-6), affordable and clean energy (SDG-7), and responsible consumption and production (SDG-12), are highly related to the fields of the sustainable environment. In December 2019, the European Commission set up the “European Green Deal”, and pointed out 10 strategies to boost the sustainable economy, while improving quality of life and the environment. A number of action plans, such as “circular economy”, “biodiversity”, “zero pollution”, and “farm to fork” have been implemented in accordance with the proposed strategies. Along the way to realizing sustainability, the development and deployment of green technologies and engineering are essential to decouple economic growth and environmental protection.

This Special Issue collects original research and critical reviews about scientific and technical information on the recent advances in green technologies and engineering for achieving sustainable environment. The primary areas of interest of this Special Issue include, but are not limited to the following: (1) design criteria for various types of green technologies for achieving new agriculture and circular economy systems; (2) combination of natural and constructed facilities for integrated watershed management; (3) smart technologies for the monitoring, control, and assessment of agricultural and environmental quality; (4) holistic assessment and modelling tools for environmental governance and management; and (5) adaptation to climate change for realizing a sustainable environment.

Asst. Prof. Shu-Yuan Pan
Assoc. Prof. Li-Chi Chiang
Prof. Yu-Pin Lin
Guest Editors

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

new agriculture
circular economy
nonpoint source pollution control
best management practices
non-conventional water reuse
ecosystem services
resilient city and flood management
food, water, energy, and land nexus
adaptation to climate change

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Published Papers (13 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 2014 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Carbon Sequestration Potential in the Restoration of Highly Eutrophic Shallow Lakes

by Andrzej Skwierawski

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(10), 6308; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19106308 - 23 May 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2338

Abstract

The primary goal of the study was to determine the quantity of carbon accumulated in shallow fertile water bodies that were restored after a long period of drainage. Massive drainage of mid-field water bodies took place in north-eastern Poland in the 19th century. Of 143 identified drained lakes (each of more than 1 ha before drying) in the Olsztyn Lakeland, 27 have been restored to their original state through natural rewilding processes or recovery projects. From among the variety of drained water bodies, 8 which have been naturally or artificially restored to their original condition 13 to 47 years ago, were the subject of a detailed study on carbon sequestration. The studied water bodies had high productivity, and they were classified as moderately eutrophic to extremely hypertrophic. An analysis of bottom sediments revealed that, after restoration, the examined water bodies have accumulated 275.5 g C m⁻² a⁻¹ on average, which is equivalent to 10.1 Mg ha⁻¹ a⁻¹ of carbon dioxide (CO₂) removed from the atmosphere. Results showed that the evaluated water bodies are effective carbon sinks. Most of the lakes drained in the 19th century are wastelands today, and they can be relatively easily restored to their original condition to create additional carbon sequestration sites. Lake restoration seems to be a cost-effective method both for carbon capture (as additional potential capacity as part of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) methods) and to support the sustainable use of agricultural areas. However, this second goal may be limited by the poor ecological status of such facilities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Engineering for Sustainable Environment)

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15 pages, 4873 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Input-Output Efficiency of Water-Energy-Food and Its Driving Forces: Spatial-Temporal Heterogeneity of Yangtze River Economic Belt, China

by Min Ge, Kaili Yu, Ange Ding and Gaofeng Liu

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(3), 1340; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031340 - 25 Jan 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3001

Abstract

The high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) plays a crucial role in economic transformation in China. Climate change, rapid population growth, and increased urbanization have contributed towards increased pressures on the water, energy, food (WEF) nexus system of YREB. Thus, there is an imperative need to improve the efficiency of WEF in YREB. However, few studies have conducted spatial-temporal heterogeneity exploration of YREB about the input-output efficiency of WEF (IOE-WEF). Using panel data from 2008–2017, a super slack based model (SSBM), combined with the spatial autocorrelation and spatial econometric method, were proposed to calculate the IOE-WEF of YREB’s 11 provinces, the results indicated that: (1) From the perspective of time, the IOE-WEF in YREB was relatively low and displayed a fluctuating downward pattern while considering the undesirable outputs. (2) From the perspective of space, the spatial distribution of IOE-WEF in YREB was uneven. The efficiency values of the three sub-regions of YREB were “the lower reaches > the middle reaches > the upper reaches”. The IOE-WEF of YREB had a prominent positive spatial correlation and also had a spatial spillover effect. (3) The spatial aggregation effect of IOE-WEF of YREB is gradually weakening. The spatial aggregation types of IOE-WEF in YREB were “high-high” cluster areas in lower reaches and “low-low” cluster areas in upper reaches. (4) From the perspective of driving forces, environmental regulation and technological innovation promoted the improvement of IOE-WEF of YREB, while the industrial structure and mechanization level inhibited the improvement of IOE-WEF of YREB. Furthermore, the role of government support of IOE-WEF of YREB was not obvious. The improvement of IOE-WEF in adjacent regions also had a notable positive spatial spillover effect on the region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Engineering for Sustainable Environment)

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27 pages, 8508 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on the Roof Solar Heating Storage System of Traditional Residences in Southern Shaanxi, China

by Shuo Chen, Bart J. Dewancker, Simin Yang, Jing Mao and Jie Chen

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(23), 12600; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182312600 - 29 Nov 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2244

Abstract

Solar energy is a renewable, green, clean, and universal resource that has great potential in rural areas. Combining solar heating technology with building design to increase indoor thermal comfort in winter is an effective energy-saving and environmentally friendly approach. The factors affecting solar building heating mainly include two aspects; one is the lighting area of the building, and the other is the storage of building materials. By increasing the lighting area and using materials with good heat preservation and storage performance, the indoor temperature in winter can be effectively increased, and the heating time can be prolonged, thus decreasing the energy requirements of the building. In this paper, traditional houses in cold winter areas are selected as the research object, and a roof solar heating storage system is proposed. The method is to transform the opaque roof of the traditional houses into a transparent glass roof, and the thermal insulation and heat storage material HDPE is installed in the attic floorboards. The working principle of this system is to increase the amount of indoor solar radiation to raise the indoor temperature and make use of the thermal insulation performance of heat storage materials to prolong the indoor heating time. Through ANSYS software simulation, the heat transfer process, heat transfer mode, and temperature change of the system are analyzed, and the energy saving of the system is analyzed. The system can effectively raise the indoor temperature and has good energy-saving performance. The indoor temperature is raised by 5.8 °C, and the annual heat load of the building is reduced by 1361.92 kW·h, with a reduction rate of 25.02%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Engineering for Sustainable Environment)

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31 pages, 15538 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on Passive Heating Involving Firewalls with an Additional Sunlight Room in Rural Residential Buildings

by Simin Yang, Bart Dewancker and Shuo Chen

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(21), 11147; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111147 - 23 Oct 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2309

Abstract

With the growth in China’s economic GDP, energy consumption has increased year by year. The energy demand of rural residential buildings is 223 million tons of standard coal equivalent, accounting for 24% of the national energy demand. Therefore, an energy-saving design for rural residences is necessary. This research took the traditional residences in southern Shaanxi as the research object and combined the cooking methods in southern Shaanxi with solar heating, proposing a sunlight heating system with an additional firewall. The system is composed of a firewall system and a sunlight system. The combination of the two systems prolongs the heating time and makes up for the lack of intermittent heating. The firewall principle involves using the heat generated by cooking through the heat storage and heat release capacity of the wall, and using the principle of heat radiation and convection to increase the indoor temperature. Meanwhile, the principle of the additional sunlight room involves using the external facade of the building to establish an additional sunlight room, by absorbing the heat radiation of the sun and using the principle of heat transfer from the wall. The rapid loss of indoor hot air is avoided, the heating time is prolonged, and part of the heat is retained, thereby improving the heating efficiency. A model was established based on the typical residential model in southern Shaanxi, and the presence or absence of solar radiation on the wall was used as the research variable. Using ANSYS software to simulate the analysis, it is concluded that the firewall–sunlight system can extend the heating time and meet the continuous heating demand, and the heating effect is better than that of the firewall heating system alone. When the walls have solar radiation, the annual heat load reduction rate of the buildings under the new system is 20.21%. When the walls do not have solar radiation, the annual heat load reduction rate of the buildings under the new system is 8.56%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Engineering for Sustainable Environment)

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28 pages, 13401 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Insights into the Pollutant Removal Performance of Stormwater Green Infrastructures: A Case Study of Detention Basins and Retention Ponds

by Seol Jeon, Siyeon Kim, Moonyoung Lee, Heejin An, Kichul Jung, Myoung-Jin Um, Kyungjin An and Daeryong Park

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(19), 10104; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910104 - 26 Sep 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2450

Abstract

The quality of water has deteriorated due to urbanization and the occurrence of urban stormwater runoff. To solve this problem, this study investigated the pollutant reduction effects from the geometric and hydrological factors of green infrastructures (GIs) to more accurately design GI models, and evaluated the factors that are required for such a design. Among several GIs, detention basins and retention ponds were evaluated. This study chose the inflow, outflow, total suspended solids (TSS), total phosphorus (TP), watershed area, GI area (bottom area in detention basins and permanent pool surface area in retention ponds), and GI volume (in both detention basins and retention ponds) for analysis and applied both ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and multiple linear regression (MLR). The geometric factors do not vary within each GI, but there may be a bias due to the number of stormwater events. To solve this problem, three methods that involved randomly extracting data with a certain range and excluding outliers were applied to the models. The accuracies of these OLS and MLR models were analyzed through the percentage bias (PBIAS), Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), and RMSE-observations standard deviation ratio (RSR). The results of this study suggest that models which consider the influent concentration combined with the hydrological and GI geometric parameters have better correlations than models that consider only a single parameter. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Engineering for Sustainable Environment)

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21 pages, 6032 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Wind Environment Simulation Accuracy in Traditional Villages with Complex Layouts Based on CFD

by Xingbo Yao, Shuo Han and Bart Dewancker

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(16), 8644; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168644 - 16 Aug 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2546

Abstract

Using wind speed, wind direction, and turbulence intensity values as evaluation indicators, the ventilation performance of villages with complex building layouts was studied. We used the SKE, RNG, and RKE solvers in CFD-3D steady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) to simulate the wind environment of a village. The findings show that for the simulation of rural wind environments with complex building layouts, steady-state simulation solvers need to be evaluated in detail to verify their accuracy. In this study, a village with a complex architectural layout in Southern Shaanxi, China, was taken as the research object, and three steady-state simulation solvers were used to evaluate the ventilation performance of the village. The simulated data were compared with the measured data to find the most suitable solver for this kind of village wind environment simulation. The results show that for the simulation of the village wind environment with a complex building layout, the RNG simulation results have the lowest reliability among the three steady-state solvers. The reliability of wind speed distribution and turbulence intensity distribution are 0.7881 and 0.2473, respectively. However, the wind speed and turbulence intensity values obtained by the SKE solver are the closest to the measured values, which are 0.8625 and 0.9088, respectively. Therefore, for villages with complex building layouts, the SKE solver should be the first choice for simulating wind environment distribution. When using the RNG solver, the overall turbulence intensity value obtained is higher than the measured value. The average deviation between the simulated data and SKE and RKE at a height of 1.7 m is 42.61%. The main reason for this is that RNG overestimates the vortices and underestimates the airflow rate in the building intervals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Engineering for Sustainable Environment)

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24 pages, 9095 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Internet of Energy Based Optimal Multi-Agent Control Scheme for Microgrid including Renewable Energy Resources

by Bilal Naji Alhasnawi, Basil H. Jasim, Zain-Aldeen S. A. Rahman, Josep M. Guerrero and M. Dolores Esteban

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(15), 8146; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18158146 - 31 Jul 2021

Cited by 44 | Viewed by 3457

Abstract

The increasing integration of Renewable Energy Resources (RERs) in distribution networks forms the Networked Renewable Energy Resources (NRERs). The cooperative Peer-to-Peer (P2P) control architecture is able to fully exploit the resilience and flexibility of NRERs. This study proposes a multi-agent system to achieve P2P control of NRERs based Internet of Things (IoT). The control system is fully distributed and contains two control layers operated in the agent of each RER. For primary control, a droop control is adopted by each RER-agent for localized power sharing. For secondary control, a distributed diffusion algorithm is proposed for arbitrary power sharing among RERs. The proposed levels communication system is implemented to explain the data exchange between the distribution network system and the cloud server. The local communication level utilizes the Internet Protocol (IP)/Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), and Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) is used as the protocol for the global communication level. The effectiveness of the proposed system is validated by numerical simulation with the modified IEEE 9 node test feeder. The controller proposed in this paper achieved savings of 20.65% for the system, 25.99% for photovoltaic, 35.52 for diesel generator, 24.59 for batteries, and 52.34% for power loss. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Engineering for Sustainable Environment)

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19 pages, 6059 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Operational Performance and Load Flexibility Analysis of Japanese Zero Energy House

by Xiaoyi Zhang, Weijun Gao, Yanxue Li, Zixuan Wang, Yoshiaki Ushifusa and Yingjun Ruan

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(13), 6782; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18136782 - 24 Jun 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2940

Abstract

ZEHs (Zero Energy House) featuring energy-efficient designs and on-site renewable integration are being widely developed. This study introduced Japanese ZEHs with well-insulated thermal envelopes and investigated their detailed operational performances through on-site measurements and simulation models. Measurement data show that ZEHs effectively damped the variation of indoor air temperature compared to conventional houses, presenting great ability to retain inside heat energy, and are expected to potentially deliver energy flexibility as a virtual thermal energy storage medium. We developed a simplified thermal resistance–capacitance model for a house heating system; response behaviors were simulated under various scenarios. Results compared the variations of indoor temperature profiles and revealed the dependence of load flexibility on the building’s overall heat loss performance. We observed that overall heat loss rate played a crucial role in building heat energy storage efficiency; a well-insulated house shortened the heat-up time with less energy input, and extended the delayed period of indoor temperature under intermittent heating supply; a high set-point operative temperature and a low ambient temperature led to lower virtual thermal energy storage efficiency. The preheating strategy was simulated as an effective load-shifting approach in consuming surplus PV generation; approximately 50% of consumed PV generation could be shifted to replace grid import electricity for room heating during the occupied period. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Engineering for Sustainable Environment)

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31 pages, 9532 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on the Passive Heating System of a Heated Cooking Wall in Dwellings: A Case Study of Traditional Dwellings in Southern Shaanxi, China

by Simin Yang, Bart J. Dewancker and Shuo Chen

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(7), 3745; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18073745 - 3 Apr 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2836

Abstract

In China, research on winter heating and energy saving for residential buildings mainly focuses on urban residences rather than rural ones. According to the 2018 China Building Energy Consumption Research Report, rural residential buildings emit about 423 million tons of carbon, accounting for 21% of the country’s total carbon emissions. According to the research on China’s greenhouse gas inventory, the main sources of carbon emissions in rural areas are from cooking and the burning of fuelwood and biomass for heating in winter. In this study, the southern Shaanxi area, which is hot in summer and cold in winter, was selected as the research site, and a fire wall system was planned that combines cooking and heating facilities in residential buildings. The system uses the heat generated by cooking and the heat storage capacity of the wall, as well as the principle of thermal radiation and heat convection, to increase the indoor temperature. The advantage is that the hot air generated is mainly concentrated in the inside of the wall, which reduces the direct contact with the cold outdoor air and avoids excess heat loss. In this study, in addition to considering the influence of the cooking fire wall system on the indoor temperature, the difference in the outer wall with or without solar thermal radiation was also considered. The research results show that the use of a cooking fire wall heating system reduces the annual heat load of the building to 440.8318 KW·h, which is a reduction rate of 7.91%. When there is solar radiation on the outer wall, the annual thermal load of the building is reduced by 1104.723 kW·h, and the reduction rate is 19.84%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Engineering for Sustainable Environment)

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26 pages, 32651 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of Social Values for Ecosystem Services in Urban Riverfront Space Based on the SolVES Model: A Case Study of the Fenghe River, Xi’an, China

by Zhicheng Zhang, Hongjuan Zhang, Juan Feng, Yirong Wang and Kang Liu

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(5), 2765; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052765 - 9 Mar 2021

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 4251

Abstract

Urban riverfront space has diversified ecosystem services, but due to excessive changes in the geographical environment, such as drastic changes in land use, people gain social value at a great ecological cost. Obtaining benefits from the ecosystem in this way is not sustainable. Therefore, this paper uses the SolVES model to evaluate the social value of ecosystem services on the east bank of the Fenghe River, while also studying the contribution of different environmental variables to social value. The main results are as follows. (1) Environmental variables affect the spatial distribution characteristics of social value. The distance to water (DTW) means the social value was distributed in strips, and the distance to road (DTR) concentrated the social value along the road. The landscape type (LT) means the social value was concentrated in the landscape space. (2) When DTW, DTR, and LT were collectively used as environmental variables, the distribution characteristics of various social values were similar to when LT was used as the only environmental variable. (3) The results of MaxEnt show that LT made a greater contribution to the aesthetic, recreation, therapeutic, and historic values, and was the largest contribution factor to the aesthetic, therapeutic, and historic values, with contribution rates of 47.6, 50.5, and 80.0%, respectively. DTW is the factor that contributed the most to recreation, with a contribution rate of 43.1%. Improving social value based on the influence and contribution of environmental variables can reduce the damage to the ecological environment caused by changes in geographic factors. This is sustainable for both the ecosystem and the services it provides to mankind. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Engineering for Sustainable Environment)

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32 pages, 4743 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dual-Channel Global Closed-Loop Supply Chain Network Optimization Based on Random Demand and Recovery Rate

by Aijun Liu, Yan Zhang, Senhao Luo and Jie Miao

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(23), 8768; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17238768 - 25 Nov 2020

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3261

Abstract

In the process of globalization, customer demand is usually difficult to predict, and product recycling is generally difficult to achieve accurately. It is also urgent to deal with increased inventory while avoiding shortages, with the purpose of reducing supply chain risks. This study analyzes the integrated supply chain decision-making problem in the random product demand and return environment. It proposes a multi-objective optimization model, which is an effective tool to solve the design and planning problems of the global closed-loop supply chain. It consists of a multi-period, single-product and multi-objective mixed integer linear programming model, which can solve some strategic decision problems, including the network structure, entity capacities, flow of products and components, and collection levels, as well as the inventory levels. From the perspective of economic, environmental and social benefits, three objective functions are defined, including maximizing the net present value (NPV) of the system, minimizing the total

C O_{2 e}

emissions of supply chain activities, and maximizing social sustainability indicators. Finally, a numerical example is provided to verify the advantages of this model, and sensitivity analysis results are provided. The results show that changes in product demand and return rate will have a great impact on economic and social performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Engineering for Sustainable Environment)

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Review

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18 pages, 405 KiB

Open AccessReview

Strategies of Recovery and Organic Recycling Used in Textile Waste Management

by Irena Wojnowska-Baryła, Katarzyna Bernat and Magdalena Zaborowska

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(10), 5859; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19105859 - 11 May 2022

Cited by 38 | Viewed by 7563

Abstract

Post-consumer bio-based textile wastes are any type of garment or household article made from manufactured bio-based textiles that the owner no longer needs and decides to discard. According to the hierarchy of waste management, post-consumer textile waste should be organically recycled. However, there is still a problem with the implementation of selective collection of textile waste followed by sorting, which would prepare the waste for organic recycling. A technically achievable strategy for sorted textile waste materials consisting of only one type of fiber material, multi-material textiles are a problem for recycling purposes. Waste textiles are composed of different materials, including natural as well as synthetic non-cellulosic fibers, making bioprocessing difficult. Various strategies for recovery of valuable polymers or monomers from textile waste, including concentrated and dilute acid hydrolysis, ionic liquids as well as enzymatic hydrolysis, have been discussed. One possible process for fiber recycling is fiber recovery. Fiber reclamation is extraction of fibers from textile waste and their reuse. To ensure that organic recycling is effective and that the degradation products of textile waste do not limit the quality and quantity of organic recycling products, bio-based textile waste should be biodegradable and compostable. Although waste textiles comprising a synthetic polymers fractions are considered a threat to the environment. However, their biodegradable part has great potential for production of biological products (e.g., ethanol and biogas, enzyme synthesis). A bio-based textile waste management system should promote the development and application of novel recycling techniques, such as further development of biochemical recycling processes and the textile waste should be preceded by recovery of non-biodegradable polymers to avoid contaminating the bioproducts with nano and microplastics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Engineering for Sustainable Environment)

24 pages, 5181 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Comprehensive Review on Types, Methods and Different Regions Related to Water–Energy–Food Nexus

by Zeyang Bian and Dan Liu

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(16), 8276; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168276 - 4 Aug 2021

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4453

Abstract

Water, food, and energy are three of the most important resources for long-term survival and development. The term “nexus” is used to underline the need of controlling these primary components collectively rather than separately because they are interconnected and linked. With the purpose of better understanding nexus thinking and showcasing nexus analysis approaches and tools, this study explores the current state of the approach to the water–energy–food relationship, which has gotten a lot of attention in recent years. Water–energy, water–food, water–energy–food, water–energy, and climate are the four forms of nexus. This paper examines a variety of methodologies based on their principal objectives and provides a basic overview of a wide range of currently available methods and instruments for analyzing the water–energy–food (WEF) nexus. According to this study, the quantity of studies on the water–energy–food nexus has increased significantly, as the scientific community’s ability to analyze water, food, and energy interlinkages at a greater resolution. The integration and optimization of this multi-centric nexus is explored, with focus on four regions—Asia, Europe, America, and Africa—as a case study. The WEF nexus should be used in case studies to help illustrate its intricacies. Furthermore, this study builds a methodology and frameworks to find study linkages between water, energy, food, and other components, for a nexus analysis and discuss the major challenges and its solutions. This study also includes a scientometric analysis that looks at the countries and keyword mapping. Furthermore, the study is being planned, with an emphasis on quantitative analysis of the water–energy–food nexus which is helpful for the water security at local and global scale. This study aids in the coordination of research efforts to solve the difficult issues in nexus research and create sustainable and adaptable water, energy, and food systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Engineering for Sustainable Environment)

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