The large-scale production and frequent use of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have led to the continuous release and wide distribution of these pollutions in the natural environment. At low levels, EDC exposure may cause metabolic disorders, sexual development, and reproductive disorders in aquatic animals and humans. Adsorption treatment, particularly using nanocomposites, may represent a promising and sustainable method for EDC removal from wastewater. EDCs could be effectively removed from wastewater using various carbon-based nanomaterials, such as carbon nanofiber, carbon nanotubes, graphene, magnetic carbon nanomaterials, carbon membranes, carbon dots, carbon sponges, etc. Important applications of carbon nanocomposites for the removal of different kinds of EDCs and the theory of adsorption are discussed, as well as recent advances in carbon nanocomposite synthesis technology and characterization technology. Furthermore, the factors affecting the use of carbon nanocomposites and comparisons with other adsorbents for EDC removal are reviewed. This review is significant because it helps to promote the development of nanocomposites for the decontamination of wastewater.

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The air-inflated rubber dam is innovatively adopted in this paper for temporary flood-fighting at the subway entrance. Numerical studies using the FLAC 2D software are carried out to investigate the behavior of the proposed structure. Laboratory model tests are also conducted to verify the accuracy of the numerical model. The results from the model tests agree well with those from the numerical analysis. Parametric studies are carried out to investigate the influences of the external floodwater head, inflated air pressure, and anchor position on the performance of the proposed air-inflated rubber dam. It is found that the external floodwater head reduces the tensile force but nonlinearly increases the height of the rubber dam. The inflated air pressure has no obvious effect on the cross-section of the rubber dam but heavily influences the ultimate flood-fighting height and tensile force. An optimum design line for the inflated air pressure of the rubber dam is provided. A deeper anchor position results in a smaller ultimate flood-fighting height. A rubber dam design with a lower anchor depth that has to satisfy the requirements of the anchor bolt is therefore concluded.

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