This study examines the key drivers behind the continued reliance on traditional biomass fuels such as charcoal and firewood in urban areas of developing countries, including the city of Lubumbashi. The paper focuses on economic constraints, health problems associated with the use of these fuels, the environmental consequences of growing use and also looks at the alternatives for cooking and their accessibility. The various reasons behind the growing and constant use of charcoal and firewood are examined in the context of the city of Lubumbashi and other developing countries. However, the continuous supply of charcoal and firewood not only contributes to the degradation of forests and the extinction of species, but also disrupts the livelihoods of forest-dependent families and exacerbates soil erosion. The charcoal production process is intrinsically damaging to both the environment and human well-being. Not only does it emit large quantities of CO2, contributing to atmospheric pollution, but it also presents health risks for both producers and users. The smoke and soot generated during charcoal production expose people to harmful substances, leading to adverse health effects and even premature death, particularly among children. This review also discusses the impact of this production and use on the education of women and children, who are responsible for cooking and harvesting firewood, resulting in a higher illiteracy rate among women. Faced with the need to take global action to mitigate the impact of climate change, global carbon dioxide emissions must be drastically reduced to meet the Paris Agreement target of zero net emissions by 2050. A practical and sustainable solution is discussed in this review as an alternative to traditional cooking systems namely solar cooking, which offers enormous potential, provided it is accessible, and is an excellent alternative to the heavy reliance on biomass for household energy needs in developing countries.

In this study, the feasibility of sintering ceramsite from engineering excavated soil was studied from experimental verification perspective. The optimal preparation conditions for the sintered ceramsite were determined through multi-factor testing with the sintering temperature from 1100 degrees C to 1175 degrees C and Fe2O3 content from 23 % to 26 % and charcoal powder content from 1.5 % to 3.0 %. The cylindrical compressive strength of the ceramsite can reach 5.02 MPa. It is found that the synergistic effects of Fe2O3 and charcoal powder have a great influence on the expansion properties of ceramsite. The generation of gas and vitreous phase by charcoal powder burning and Fe2O3 reduction effectively can promote the expansion of ceramsite. The typical core-cortex structure of ceramsite is formed, and the compact structure of the external layer significantly reduces the water absorption of ceramsite. Experimental results indicate that under the conditions of adding 23-26 % Fe2O3 powder and 1.5-3.0 % charcoal powder, with a sintering temperature of 1100-1175 degrees C, the obtained ceramic material exhibits excellent strength properties.

The sanitary landfill method remains the primary disposal of municipal waste in developing countries. Effective landfill barriers in intercepting pollutants are warranted to avoid soil and groundwater contamination by leachate leakage from those landfills that threaten human health. This work focuses on enhancing the capability of reticulated red clay barriers to intercept Pb(II) by incorporating activated charcoal and bentonite. The impacts of additives on the hydraulic behavior and Pb(II) blocking efficacy of composite reticulated red clay were explored through hydraulic conductivity and leachate concentration tests, respectively. The microstructural evolution of barrier materials was revealed through scanning electron microscope (SEM) and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) tests. Results suggest that the formulated activated charcoal-bentonite-reticulated red clay composite barrier exhibited significantly better performance than those with the additives individually. The permeability coefficient and Pb(II) leachate concentration of the activated charcoal-bentonite-reticulated red clay barrier with 5% activated charcoal, 16% bentonite, and 79% reticulated red clay were found to be 13.20% and 23.97% of pure reticulated red clay, respectively.The pore size distribution (PSD) curve indicates that the activated charcoal -bentonite-reticulated red clay barrier contains only nanoscale pores. In addition, the activated charcoal and bentonite in the composite barrier form a tortuous network structure that binds the clay aggregates together. This results in more intricate flow paths, enhancing adsorption and ion exchange effects, ultimately reducing hydraulic conductivity and improving the barrier's ability to intercept contaminants.

Salt stress is presently a major environmental concern, given the huge number of soils affected by the presence of dissolved salts. Therefore, it is necessary to find solutions, preferably nature-based ones, to deal with this problem. In this study, biochar, a product made from plant biomass residues through the process of pyrolysis, was tested to alleviate salt stress on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) plants. Six different concentrations of NaCl were tested: 0, 50, 100, 200, 300 and 400 mM with and without the addition of 5% (w/w) biochar. Biochar ability to mitigate salinity damage was assessed by means of both biometric (fresh weight), physiological (chlorophyll content), and biochemical (i.e., electrolyte leakage, total antioxidant power, total soluble proteins, free amino acids, and mineral content) parameters. The experiment lasted four weeks. The results showed that NaCl has a negative effect from the concentration of 100-200 mM and that biochar was to some extent effective in mitigating the negative effects of salt on plant physiology; nevertheless, biochar failed to counteract Na accumulation. Similarly, biochar did not influence the content of free amino acids in lettuce leaves, but enhanced the expression of several parameters, such as total antioxidant power, fresh weight, chlorophyll content, total soluble protein, K content, although only clearly evident in some cases. Overall, the present study showed that biochar is a viable solution to counteract the damage caused by high salt concentrations on plant growth.

This research focuses on enhancing water quality for concrete construction by utilizing treated wastewater from wetlands. The study employs a dual -stage treatment process involving charcoal and aggregate layers for primary treatment, followed by water hyacinths for secondary treatment. Investigating water hyacinths' ability to absorb nutrients and contaminants from wastewater is a unique aspect of the study, offering a potential solution for soil and water remediation. Water hyacinths, especially stems and leaves, act as natural filters, effectively indicating heavy-metal pollution in tropical regions. The primary goal is heavy-metal removal from wastewater, allowing treated -water use in concrete production at varying proportions (20 %, 40 %, 60 %, 80 %, and 100 %). Silica fume at 15 % concentration is incorporated to enhance the concrete's durability. Concrete specimens undergo thorough preparation and mechanical property evaluations, compared to conventional M20 -grade concrete. The results reveal improvements in mechanical properties, particularly with 80 % treated wastewater in the mix. The dual -stage treatment process removes heavy metals, and the inclusion of silica fume enhances the concrete's durability and resistance.

Wildfire is an important factor on carbon sequestration in the North American boreal biomes. Being globally important stocks of organic carbon, peatlands may be less sensitive to burning in comparison with upland forests, especially wet unforested ombrotrophic ecosystems as found in northeastern Canada. We aimed to determine if peatland fires have driven carbon accumulation patterns during the Holocene. To cover spatial variability, six cores from three peatlands in the Eastmain region of Quebec were analyzed for stratigraphic charcoal accumulation. Results show that regional Holocene peatland fire frequency was similar to 2.4 fires 1000 yr(-1), showing a gradually declining trend since 4000 cal yr BP, although inter- and intra-peatland variability was very high. Charcoal peak magnitudes, however, were significantly higher between 1400 and 400 cal yr BP, possibly reflecting higher charcoal production driven by differential climatic forcing aspects. Carbon accumulation rates generally declined towards the late-Holocene with minimum values of similar to 10 g m(-2) r(-1) around 1500 cal yr BP. The absence of a clear correlation between peatland fire regimes and carbon accumulation indicates that fire regimes have not been a driving factor on carbon sequestration at the millennial time scale. (C) 2012 University of Washington. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.