Maritime transport is responsible for 13% of the Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions of the transport sector. Port authorities, terminals, shipping companies, and other stakeholders have joined efforts to improve this sector’s environmental performance. In Spain, the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge has developed a methodology to assess the carbon footprint. This methodology has been adapted to ports and applied to processes under the Port Authority of Valencia’s umbrella achieving scopes 1, 2, and 3. The results highlight that ship traffic, within the port, of containers and cruises (categorized in scope 3) had a major impact on the carbon footprint. Buildings lighting managed by the terminals has a significant effect on scope 2. Diesel consumption shares with gasoline consumption the primary representation in scope 1. The carbon footprint between 2008 and 2016 was maintained, although traffic in the port increased by 24% during this period. The results show a decrease of 17% when emissions are compared using the base year’s emissions factors to avoid external factors. Future projects that include self-consumption or renewable energy policies seem to be the next step in a port that shows good results but still has room for improvement in activities of scope 3.

Agricultural packaging has a direct impact on the environmental performance of food. The carbon footprint (CF) of two of the most used packaging systems for international transport by road of fruit and vegetables is assessed and compared. Corrugated cardboard boxes (CCB) and polypropylene foldable boxes (PPB) in two different sizes are the object of this study. For the reusable boxes, three different scenarios are considered regarding the number of uses of each box (20, 50, and 100 uses). Product CF ISO 14067:2018 standard is applied, and requirements of ISO 14026:2017 and ISO 14044:2006 are met for a cradle-to-grave CF analysis. Product distribution and return of the empty box are the stages with the most significant impact for PPB over the manufacturing stage. CCB that does not have any returning stage or requirements of sanitation has its main impact in manufacturing. The comparison between both packaging systems of the same size, considering the functional unit and defined scope, points out CCB has a lower CF than PPB.

An investigation of primary water sources in two Bolivian basins identified the presence of heavy metals toxic to health that exceeded the permissible limits for drinking water. Lead deposited in the San Jacinto and Huacata–Tarija reservoirs within the Guadalquivir basin and arsenic in the Milluni–La Paz basin were identified. The work studies reverse osmosis (RO) to remove Pb and As. The main contribution of this research is the development and construction of a mathematical model based on the Spiegler–Kedem concentration polarization model using different concentrations of Pb and As. The model makes it possible to design high conversion facilities (>80%) and optimize the process from the point of view of energy efficiency in future works. The model was developed to also include an Arrhenius temperature adjustment factor that allows for an accurate prediction of the process performance. The experimentation was carried out in two RO pilot plants using polyamide membranes. The model fits correctly with a maximum relative error between the experimental and theoretical flows of 5.4% and 4.4%. Among the benefits of the study, it guarantees the rejection of metals greater than 99%, even at low pressures.