Japanese botanist Kenji Suetsugu determined which organisms are responsible for the dispersal of seeds of Balanophora fungosa, a parasitic plant that lacks chlorophyll.
To obtain this data, the scientist conducted a series of observations and experiments on Ishigaki Island, located in the Ryukyu archipelago. The study established that the primary carriers of B. fungosa in this region are terrestrial hermit crabs of the species Coenobita brevimanus.
These crustaceans consume the fruits of the balanophore, after which they spread the seeds on their bodies and along with their excrement.
Furthermore, cockroaches of the species Periplaneta australasiae participate in the dispersal of B. fungosa. According to information published in the journal Ecology, this case marks the first documented instance where hermit crabs are responsible for the seed dispersal of plants.
Water tanks installed on rooftops of houses are widely used for washing and hygiene purposes in Indian homes. Due to their location on the roof, they quickly become contaminated during rainfall. If regular cleaning is not performed, green or black moss begins to form on the walls and bottom of the tank.
In addition to aesthetic contamination, this leads to the spoilage of water used for washing dishes, clothes, and bathing. However, the biggest difficulty is that removing moss accumulated at the bottom of the tank is quite challenging, which often causes people to postpone this procedure.
If moss has also formed in your tank, this article presents simple home methods that can help you get rid of it.
To remove moss accumulated inside the tank, it is necessary to completely empty it first. Then, thoroughly scrub the walls and bottom of the tank with a long, stiff brush. It is also important to clean the corners and the area around the lid, as moss forms there too.
Furthermore, on areas with heavy deposits, you can spray baking soda, add a little water, and form a paste. Scrub this area with a brush after a few minutes. This will help loosen the dirt and moss, after which they can be easily removed with a brush.
In addition to baking soda, white vinegar, which is available in the kitchen, can be used to combat moss. Mix vinegar with water and apply it to the inner surface of the tank. After some time, scrub with a brush and rinse thoroughly with clean water. It is strictly forbidden to mix vinegar with bleach.
Saltwater can also be used to remove moss, as salt helps loosen the layer of dirt and moss, simplifying the cleaning process with a brush.
After the moss has been removed, it is crucial to rinse the tank multiple times with clean water. Rinse until all residues of baking soda, vinegar, salt, or dirt have disappeared.
To prevent the re-formation of moss, always keep the tank lid tightly closed. Especially during rainy and stormy days, the roof lid can break or blow away. Therefore, during such periods, the tank lid on the roof must be checked weekly. It is also advisable to try to protect the tank from direct sunlight, as the sun promotes moss growth.
It is important to remember: after cleaning the tank for drinking water, there should be no traces of household cleaning agents or chemicals remaining. If there is too much moss or an unpleasant odor appears, it is better to call a professional tank cleaning service.
Mobarakeh Steel has moved away from the traditional view of waste, shifting towards material cycle management. This approach involves returning scrap metal to the production process, transforming slag into infrastructure elements, and converting by-products from operational costs into sources of economic and environmental advantage.
According to reports, even before Isfahan woke up, the roads were already busy. Transport moves along the city's fourth ring road, whose asphalt contains fillers derived from a source few would associate with road construction—it is metallurgical production slag. Material that once signified the end of an industrial cycle has now become part of urban infrastructure.
This simple picture raises an important question: if material leaving a furnace can re-enter the economic life, can it still be called 'waste'? This question is relevant not only to Isfahan but to the entire global steel industry. This sector requires huge volumes of raw materials and energy for production while simultaneously striving to reduce its environmental impact.
Under such conditions, value is determined not only by the steel leaving the production line but also by the materials at intermediate and final stages of the process. Here, the circular economy transforms from a mere ecological concept into a new operational logic of production: material should not be considered finished as long as it retains the potential to create value. Mobarakeh Steel has implemented this logic directly within its plant.
In the steel complex, the term 'waste' is too general to describe complex materials. Mobarakeh Steel has identified about 300 types of operational and non-operational waste streams, each possessing unique characteristics, composition, processing methods, and areas of application.
This diversity shows that the circular economy cannot begin at the scrap sales stage; first and foremost, it is necessary to know exactly what materials exist. Therefore, the priority task has been the creation of a comprehensive Waste Atlas for Mobarakeh Steel—a basic reference guide for identifying, classifying, and documenting technical knowledge related to these materials.
The significance of this atlas lies not only in data recording. In an industry where a significant portion of knowledge is formed by employee experience, documentation prevents the loss of organizational memory and ensures structured decision-making for future generations. However, the most important result is the change in perspective on the material itself. Once a waste stream is identified, its properties are defined, a processing path is outlined, and potential applications are revealed, it ceases to be an unknown residual product. It becomes secondary raw material—material for which a future can be determined.
However, knowledge without data is insufficient. In a large industrial complex with such material diversity, waste streams must be fully visible and traceable—from scrap intake to processing, consumption, sales, and inventory management.
To achieve this goal, Mobarakeh Steel is developing a Waste Processing Dashboard, an integrated system designed to unify these material flows into a single standardized platform. The project has reached approximately 60% completion and is scheduled for launch this year.
At first glance, this system is a management tool; however, internally, it creates a bridge between material data and strategic decisions. When data is centralized, it becomes clear which materials are consumed the most, which processes require optimization, what product has recyclable value, and what output can find new buyers in the industrial supply chain. In the next phase, this data infrastructure can pave the way for predictive analytics and the use of technologies such as artificial intelligence for more accurate waste identification and sorting. Thus, the circular economy is built not just by returning materials, but by the ability to track and see the material throughout its entire lifecycle.
Scrap metal is perhaps the best-known form of material recovery in the steel industry. Steel used in vehicles, buildings, or industrial equipment does not necessarily leave the economic cycle upon the product's end of life. It can be collected, sorted, melted, and turned into raw material for secondary production.
In this cycle, the past becomes input for the future. For Mobarakeh Steel, returning scrap to the production process is part of continuous efforts to reduce waste and use resources more efficiently. Nevertheless, the importance of this practice extends beyond the plant. The more the industry can recover materials from the life cycles of previous products, the less it depends on mining and transporting virgin natural resources—this has both economic and environmental significance in a world facing growing pressure on energy and natural resources. From this perspective, scrap is not iron whose life cycle has ended; it is iron that has simply moved from one industrial life to another.
While scrap represents the return of material to the plant, slag demonstrates the return of material outward, into society. After being formed during the steel smelting process, slag can be used in civil construction after appropriate treatment.
One of the clearest examples is Isfahan, where treated slag from Mobarakeh Steel was incorporated into the asphalt production for the city's fourth ring road. In another initiative, this material was also incorporated into railway infrastructure, where the use of Mobarakeh Steel slag in the development of railway stations specifically and physically connected the steel and transport industries for the first time.
Material that was once at the very last stage of the steel smelting process can now support the infrastructure that facilitates the large-scale movement of goods, materials, and people. From city ring road asphalt to railway tracks, a unified logic emerges: what is considered the end of a process in one industry can become the beginning of a process in another. Here, slag ceases to be an unwanted product; it transforms into a material performing a new function in another part of the economy. This transition defines the boundary between basic waste management and true material cycle management.
When treated slag leaves the plant and is used in civil construction projects, something more significant than just consuming a by-product occurs: two previously separate economic supply cycles become interconnected. Steel production provides an output; road construction requires materials; technology, standards, and processing eliminate the gap between them.
When technical specifications are met, these connections reduce dependence on primary raw materials and lessen the burden on natural ecosystems. This same logic can link various industries on a broader scale—from road and civil construction to cement production and other sectors capable of utilizing steel by-products. Here, the circular economy stops being a local cycle within the factory; it becomes an interconnected network uniting different industries.
No cycle can exist without sustainable economic value. Mobarakeh Steel's performance indicators for 2025 demonstrate that this circular approach goes beyond environmental preservation and affects financial metrics. The implementation of 11 improvement projects over the year generated a total positive financial effect of 13.5 trillion IRR (13.5 Hemmat). This set of measures included revenue generation and cost reduction, with the sale of by-products and the commercialization of waste serving as key drivers of value creation.
Here, the circular economy evolves from a purely ecological obligation into a strategic economic decision. Material that previously had to be managed as an expense item can now be sold. By-products can find viable commercial markets. Waste reduction lowers operating costs, and process optimization allows for greater value extraction from existing resources without the need for capacity expansion. This shift represents one of the most important transformations in the steel industry: industrial growth no longer requires increased resource consumption—it means using what we already have in a smarter way.
Will the future of steel be determined solely by iron ore? Global competitiveness in the steel industry in the coming years will depend not only on production capacity. Access to scrap, the ability to recycle by-products, resource efficiency, data management, cost reduction, and the creation of markets for secondary materials will become the main pillar of industrial strength.
In such an environment, the maximum competitive advantage belongs to plants capable of extending the lifespan of materials—materials that are mined once, used once, and returned to the cycle again. Mobarakeh Steel is actively testing this circular logic on an industrial scale while promoting waste identification, intelligent waste tracking, scrap recycling, and slag processing. This path is far from complete—in fact, it should have no end.
We can return to that initial scene: a morning in Isfahan. The fourth ring road is bustling with traffic. Under the tires is material that once emerged from the heat of the industrial furnace.
However, the journey of this material did not end there. This time, instead of returning to the furnace, it returned to the city. Meanwhile, on the other side of the cycle, metallic scrap returns from the city back to the furnace. Two separate paths, governed by a single continuous logic: the material remains in motion. Its form changes, its application shifts, but its value does not end.
Perhaps this is the true future of the steel industry: not a factory that consumes resources and discards them, but an enterprise that finds a secondary purpose for every material wherever possible. In such a world, 'waste' is no longer a material name—it is simply the name of the moment when we have not yet discovered the next destination for that material.
Expert Eric Solheim noted that more than ten years ago he felt strong concern about the smog in Beijing, which prevented him from exercising outdoors. However, now, having returned to the city, the former executive director of the UN Environment Programme finds time for morning runs. Solheim observed that most cars on the roads have become new energy-efficient vehicles that are quiet, non-polluting, and cost-effective, demonstrating the results of China's approach to green development.
Behind these obvious changes lies a broader commitment to promoting environmental progress. On Saturday, China's landmark Ecological and Environmental Protection Code came into force, further strengthening the legal framework for the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature. This legislative act, being the second formal statutory code after the Civil Code, enshrines Xi Jinping's concept of ecological civilization in law for the first time.
As President Xi Jinping stated, 'Harmony between humanity and nature is a defining feature of Chinese modernization. China acts as a firm player and a major participant in promoting global green development.'
The concept of 'clear waters and lush mountains,' first put forward in 2005 during Xi's visit to Yucun village in Zhejiang province, has transformed from a local slogan into a cornerstone of China's national strategy. This concept means that 'clear waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.'
China currently holds a leading position globally in the implementation of renewable energy sources. In 2025, the added capacity of new renewable energy sources reached a record level, accounting for over 60% of the global increase. According to the National Energy Administration, about 300 million kilowatts of new wind and solar capacity this year made renewable energy the main driver of the transition to green, low-carbon energy.
Clifford Cobb, a leading environmental economist from the United States, closely monitors China's environmental path. He believes this idea represents a new model of development. Cobb noted: 'In the last 20 years, China has proven that it is possible to protect nature while generating economic value. This vision of mutually beneficial cooperation can be learned from by the whole world.'
Salah Hagar, an Egyptian architect and sustainable development expert, believes that the ecological values championed by Xi's thought have universal significance. He stated: 'Respect for nature, adaptation to it, and its protection are necessary for human development everywhere.'
Xi emphasized that the strictest institutions and legislation must exist to ensure environmental progress in China. Over the past decade, China has intensified its environmental legislative base, strengthened control, and achieved significant success in implementing environmental protection standards.
The country has enshrined ecological civilization in its Constitution, adopted an environmental protection law described as 'the strictest in the country's history,' addressed pressing environmental problems related to air and water pollution, noise, and has strengthened the protection of key areas and fragile ecosystems, including the Yangtze River, Yellow River, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and China's chernozem region.
Another strict mechanism is China's central environmental supervision system, which has increased the accountability of local environmental protection authorities and helped solve long-standing problems in various regions. These improvements in the environmental sector have brought tangible benefits to the local population, making environmental quality part of daily life.
The Ecological and Environmental Protection Code, which came into force on China's National Ecology Day, consolidates years of achievements in legislative and regulatory fields, strengthening the legal basis for ecological preservation. This code, consisting of 1242 articles divided into five chapters, covers areas such as pollution control, environmental protection, and green, low-carbon development. It was developed through the systematic integration, compilation, revision, and refinement of over 30 environmental and environmental protection laws, more than 100 administrative regulations, and over 1000 local laws and rules.
The Code also emphasizes that a healthy ecological environment is the most universal form of public well-being. Specifically, pollution prevention provisions cover not only traditional issues like air and water pollution but also new pollutants and modern environmental risks, including light pollution and electromagnetic radiation.
China's green development strategy promotes global cooperation. A vivid example of this can be seen in the vast steppes of the Akmola region in northern Kazakhstan, where renewable energy is transforming the local economy. Engineer Hasabay Kinlosan participates in this transformation, daily servicing over 40 wind turbines as part of a major cooperation project under the Belt and Road Initiative between China and Kazakhstan. These turbines annually generate over 800 million kilowatt-hours of clean electricity, reducing carbon emissions by 650,000 tons.
As the Belt and Road Initiative moves to a new stage of high-quality development, China's philosophy of ecological and environmental management resonates worldwide. Almas Chukin, a renowned Kazakh economist, stated: 'China has become a leader in solar and wind energy and is solving global problems such as climate change through actions, not just words.'
This commitment to a common green future extends far beyond Central Asia. It has supported low-carbon development and the enhancement of ecological potential in more than 100 developing countries, especially small island states and African nations. Through multilateral platforms such as the South-South Climate Cooperation Initiative and the Green Development Partnership within the Belt and Road, China exports not only technologies but also development models and sustainable development experience.
China's contribution to global biodiversity is also significant. In 2022, China hosted the Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the Convention on Biological Diversity and helped agree on the historic Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. UN officials noted that the success of the agreement is largely due to China's long-standing emphasis on the 'universal participation' approach to environmental governance.
Eliason Kaganga, a scientist from Tanzania specializing in Lake Victoria conservation, noted: 'Xi's concept of ecological civilization has great theoretical value and has proven highly effective in practice. China's solutions, especially those that expand the rights of local populations, bring long-term benefits to African countries and communities.'
