University of the Coast

Adsorption effectively removes contaminants from aqueous media and recovers valuable metals from leachates, and the field has expanded substantially over the past two decades. Adsorption research has generated numerous high-capacity, waste-derived materials, but many studies still evaluate them individually, using adsorption capacity as the principal metric, and treat both the spent adsorbent and the captured species as waste. This review proposes a different unit of analysis: a circular-adsorption framework in which feedstock origin, surface engineering, regenerability, and the fate of the captured species are designed and reported as a coupled system rather than as sequential afterthoughts. To develop this framework, we conducted a defined literature search focused on recent waste-derived adsorbents. The reviewed cases indicate that surface charge, functional-group density, and surface heterogeneity are transferable design variables; that statistical-physics modeling can provide comparative descriptors such as site occupancy and fitted adsorption-energy parameters; and that demonstrated regenerability spans approximately three to fifteen cycles depending on the regeneration chemistry, which in turn influences whether the process terminates in contaminant destruction or resource recovery. The review concludes with a research roadmap centered on real-matrix validation, co-designed regeneration and elution, durability of green crosslinks, direct benchmarking against established separations, and life-cycle accounting, so that water purification and resource recovery can be assessed as a single, auditable circular operation.

Nature-based solutions (NbS) are increasingly promoted for coastal adaptation; however, ecological restoration gains and reductions in wave energy do not necessarily demonstrate sustained control of coastal erosion. This systematic review synthesizes peer-reviewed literature published between 2010 and 2025 to examine how coastal typology, hydrodynamic forcing, sediment balance, monitoring design, and governance influence NbS performance. Searches in Scopus and the Web of Science Core Collection generated 3138 query-level retrievals; after deduplication, screening, and full-text eligibility assessment, 126 studies were included. The evidence synthesis informed the development of a typology-based eligibility framework that identifies when stand-alone NbS, hybrid measures, enabling actions, sediment management, managed retreat, or technical non-eligibility may represent defensible management outcomes. The framework distinguishes process indicators, such as wave attenuation and sediment retention, from geomorphological and risk-reduction outcomes, including shoreline change, beach–dune volume, overtopping frequency, and sediment-budget trajectories. It further integrates problem definition, baseline characterization, threshold-based design, performance validation, adaptive monitoring, and governance within an operational decision pathway. When considered in the Colombian Caribbean context, the framework highlights the relevance of regional sediment deficits, strong alongshore transport, ecosystem degradation, urban encroachment, and fragmented institutional responsibilities for intervention eligibility and long-term performance. Relative to broader NbS guidance, the proposed approach provides an erosion-specific integration of typology screening, mechanism–outcome differentiation, performance verification, and non-eligibility decisions. Because the framework represents a structured synthesis rather than a validated predictive model, its thresholds and decision rules require further testing against documented intervention outcomes and comparative coastal case studies.

This review investigates scalability, environmental performance, and socio-economic sustainability of biochar production in sub-Saharan Africa with a focus on traditional/low-tech solutions. Low-tech methods, including open pits, metal drum kilns, and earth mounds, are easily accessible and reasonably priced, but they can have high emissions, uneven biochar quality, and poor thermal efficiency. Standardizing enhanced low-technology designs, putting strong quality assurance systems in place, mobilizing underutilized biomass streams, and using digital monitoring and artificial intelligence to optimize pyrolysis operations are some of the main strategies proposed to achieve scalable and sustainable biochar production in the region. Retort kilns or sophisticated pyrolysis units with gas recirculation are considered medium-to-high technology to stabilize product qualities, lower emissions, and call for a moderate amount of capital and technical know-how. Along with evaluating feedstock possibilities such as invasive species, forestry wastes, and crop residues, the review incorporates techno-economic analysis, climate-smart forestry tools, and circular economy principles. Economically viable biochar systems in Sub-Saharan African contexts require either (i) integration with existing agro-industrial waste streams (e.g., rice mills, sugarcane processing) where collection infrastructure already exists, or (ii) decentralized production using low-cost kilns (< US500 capital cost) that eliminate transport through on-farm processing. To align waste management and forest conservation with goals for negative carbon soil enhancement, the paper recommends policymakers support standardized low-technology designs, create frameworks for ensuring the quality of biochar, increase the use of underutilized biomass streams, and use digital monitoring and artificial intelligence to optimize pyrolysis processes.

In the pursuit of sustainable solutions in construction, crumb rubber (CR) emerges as a viable alternative for enhancing road infrastructure projects. This study aims to assess the replacement of coarse crumb rubber (CCR) in a granular subbase with a maximum nominal size of 37.5 mm (known as GSB38), under Colombian conditions. The evaluated replacements of CCR were 10

BACKGROUND:Enlicitide decanoate, an oral proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitor, was shown to reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in a phase 2 trial; longer-term data are needed. METHODS:In this multinational, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, we enrolled adults with a history of a major atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease event with an LDL cholesterol level of 55 mg per deciliter or higher and those who were at risk for a first atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease event with an LDL cholesterol level of 70 mg per deciliter or higher. Participants were assigned in a 2:1 ratio to receive enlicitide at a dose of 20 mg or placebo daily for 52 weeks. The primary end point was the mean percent change in LDL cholesterol level from baseline to week 24. Key secondary end points were the mean percent change in LDL cholesterol level at week 52 and the mean percent change in levels of non-high-density lipoprotein (non-HDL) cholesterol and apolipoprotein B and the percent change in lipoprotein(a) level at week 24. RESULTS:Of the 2909 participants in the intention-to-treat population, 1935 received enlicitide and 969 received placebo (5 did not receive enlicitide or placebo). The mean age of the participants was 63 years, and 39.3% were women. The mean (±SD) LDL cholesterol level at baseline was 96.1±38.9 mg per deciliter. The mean percent change in LDL cholesterol levels at week 24 was -57.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], -61.8 to -52.5) with enlicitide and 3.0% (95% CI, 0.9 to 5.1) with placebo, representing an adjusted between-group difference of -55.8 percentage points (95% CI, -60.9 to -50.7; P<0.001). The mean percent change in LDL cholesterol level at week 52, the mean percent changes in non-HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B levels at week 24, and the percent change in lipoprotein(a) levels at week 24 were significantly greater with enlicitide than with placebo (P<0.001 for all comparisons). The incidence of adverse events did not appear to differ between the groups. CONCLUSIONS:Among participants who had a history of or were at risk for a first atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease event, treatment with the oral PCSK9 inhibitor enlicitide resulted in significantly lower LDL cholesterol levels than placebo at 24 weeks. (Funded by MSD [Rahway, NJ]; CORALreef Lipids ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT05952856.).