Phosphorus (P) pollution is a leading cause of water eutrophication, and metal-modified biochar is an effective adsorbent with the ability to alter the migration capacity of phosphorus. This study uses bamboo as the raw material to prepare metal-modified biochar (ZFCO-BC) loaded with Fe and Ca under N₂ conditions at 900 °C, and investigates its adsorption characteristics for phosphate. Batch experimental results show the adsorption capacity of the ZFCO-BC gradually increases (from 4.0 to 69.1 mg/g) as the initial phosphate concentration increases (from 2 to 900 mg/L), mainly through multilayer adsorption. Additionally, as the pH increases from 1 to 7, the adsorption capacity of the ZFCO-BC climbs to reach its maximum value of 48.4 mg/g with an initial phosphate concentration of 150 mg/L. At this pH, phosphate primarily exists as H₂PO₄⁻ and HPO₄²⁻, which both readily react with Fe³⁺ and Ca²⁺ in the biochar. Furthermore, the addition of CO₃²⁻, HCO₃⁻, NO₃⁻, SO₄²⁻, F⁻, and Cl⁻ each affect the removal rate of phosphate by less than 10%, indicating the ZFCO-BC has a highly efficient and selective phosphate adsorption capacity. A multi-column adsorption experiment designed to achieve long-term and efficient phosphorus removal treated 275.5 pore volumes (PVs) of water over 366 h. The cyclic adsorption–desorption experiment results show that 0.5 M NaOH can effectively leach phosphate from the ZFCO-BC. Observations at the molecular level from P K-edge XANES spectra confirm the removal of low-concentration phosphate is primarily dominated by electrostatic attraction, while the main removal mechanism for high-concentration phosphate is chemical precipitation. This study demonstrates that ZFCO-BC has broad application prospects for phosphate removal from wastewater and as a potential slow-release fertilizer in agriculture.

China implemented a vehicle driving area restriction policy to control air pollution by delimiting a no-driving area for high-emission vehicles (HEVs). Current academic research does not evaluate the benefits and costs of this policy based on vehicle level and lacks evidence at the regional level. Therefore, a cost–benefit analysis method is developed to evaluate the benefits and the costs of this policy, based on 2.128 million HEVs in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region from 2008 to 2015. The benefits, the costs, and net benefits of this policy were CNY 98.49, CNY 5.80 and CNY 92.69 billion. The cost–benefit ratios of the BTH region, Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei were 1:16.98, 1:20.88, 1:14.52 and 1:16.55, respectively. Beijing’s cost–benefit ratio was the maximum at the city scale. This work can provide scientific support for promoting driving area restriction policies on older gasoline vehicles and older diesel vehicles, the improvement of cost–benefit analysis and efficient decision-making for the Chinese government.

The total control of major water pollutants (TCMWP) is a critical strategy for improving water quality in China, with the added benefit of yielding climate-related advantages. This study uses the emission factor method to quantify the reductions in pollutants and carbon emissions resulting from China’s implementation of TCMWP. A synergy scale for pollution and carbon reduction was constructed to assess the co-benefits of reducing the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and ammonium nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. Furthermore, to account for regional variations in energy structure regulation strategies, whether aggressive or unified, we developed Pollutant Synergistic Carbon Reduction Pathways at the Regional (R.PSCRP) model framework level to evaluate the carbon emission reduction potential of TCMWP during the “14th Five-Year Plan” period. The study revealed that China’s unified TCMWP employs different but highly effective combinations of emission reduction paths across different regions. Notably, new renovations and expansions of wastewater treatment facilities (NRE-WWTFS) and pipeline network construction and renovation (CR-PNK) together accounted for 89.3% of the total emission reduction. The construction of key water pollutant reduction projects plays a significant role in reducing carbon emissions at the district level compared to direct discharge practices. Additionally, indirect emissions resulting from TCMWP implementation account for approximately 50% of the total carbon reduction achieved. By aligning either harmonized or independent energy adjustment targets, regions were able to achieve substantial pollution and carbon reduction benefits, ranging from 7.5 to 8 million tons of CO₂-equivalent.