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Daugavietis JE, Ziemele J. District heating system's development decarbonization strategy assessment by system dynamics modeling and multi-criteria analysis. J Environ Manage 2024; 356:120683. [PMID: 38522278 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/26/2024]
Abstract
The study introduces a hybrid model that integrates system dynamics modeling and multi-criteria analysis. Through the system dynamics model, the study examines energy, economic, and environmental indicators of a District Heating (DH) company, assessing its dynamics until 2050. Various decarbonization scenarios are explored, involving the transition of the DH system to a 4th generation DH (4GDH) system based on four strategies: utilizing at least (a) 50% Renewable Energy Sources (RES), (b) 50% waste heat, (c) 75% cogenerated heat, or (d) 50% of the combined aforementioned energy and heat. Additionally, development scenarios incorporate measures to enhance energy efficiency on the consumer side and within the heating networks. The sustainability of each scenario is evaluated using the multi-criteria analysis method TOPSIS. The hybrid model establishes a ranking of the transition pathways based on their sustainability scores and benchmarks the results of the developed scenarios against a carbon-neutral DH system. This model serves as a valuable guide for DH system developers and decision-makers. The study focuses on Riga as a practical case study.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jelena Ziemele
- Institute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Latvia, Jelgavas Street 1, Riga, Latvia; Riga Governmental City Agency "Riga Energy Agency", Torna Street 4, Riga, Latvia.
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2
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Jamaludin NF, Ab Muis Z, Hashim H, Mohamed OY, Lek Keng L. A holistic mitigation model for net zero emissions in the palm oil industry. Heliyon 2024; 10:e27265. [PMID: 38500991 PMCID: PMC10945113 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e27265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Revised: 02/18/2024] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Achieving net zero emissions to ensure a sustainable future has become increasingly urgent in light of climate change. The palm oil industry in Malaysia plays a significant role in the country's economy but has faced criticism for its environmental impact, particularly in terms of sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions. While the government has implemented policies and initiatives to promote sustainable palm oil production and reduce emissions, there remains a need for a comprehensive and integrated mitigation strategy to help make an informed decision to improve the performance. To address the limitations of the current framework, this study proposes an Integrated Mitigation Strategy Model which incorporates established frameworks of Palm Oil Mill Carbon Accounting (POMCFA) and Sustainability Index (POMSI). This model has been developed based on the superstructure approach, considering a set of mitigation options to improve weak indicators identified through assessments. The selection of these options is informed by a theoretical review of existing literature on factor changes and their impact on emissions reduction. The model is further validated through case studies, ensuring its robustness and reliability. Based on the case study, it reveals that palm oil mill effluent, diesel consumption, and water consumption contribute the most to carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. In terms of sustainability scoring, the environmental aspect obtains the lowest scores compared to social and economic aspects. Weaknesses identified include dust concentration, palm oil mill effluent, and boiler emissions. Using the heuristics of factor changes equation, the mitigation model suggests implementing high-technology boilers as the optimal solution for these weaknesses. With the theoretical and empirical support behind the choice of variables, our model provides a valuable tool for decision-making in achieving net-zero emissions and sustainable palm oil production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nabila Farhana Jamaludin
- Centre of Advanced Process Safety, Institute of Contaminant Management, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Perak, Malaysia
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Perak, Malaysia
| | - Zarina Ab Muis
- Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia
| | - Haslenda Hashim
- Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia
| | - Ola Yahia Mohamed
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Perak, Malaysia
| | - Lim Lek Keng
- Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia
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3
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Liu K, Wang M, Zhang Q, Dutta S, Zheng T, Valix M, Tsang DCW. Negative-carbon recycling of copper from waste as secondary resources using deep eutectic solvents. J Hazard Mater 2024; 465:133258. [PMID: 38113734 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.133258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Revised: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
Copper plays a crucial role in the low-carbon transformation of global communities with prevalent use of electric vehicles. This study proposed an environmentally friendly approach that utilizes a deep eutectic solvent (DES), choline chloride-ethylene glycol (ChCl-EG), as green solvent for the selective extraction of copper from scrap materials. With hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizing agent, the copper species from the printed circuit boards (PCBs) scraps were efficiently leached by the DES through oxidation-complexation reactions (conditions: 25 min, 20 °C, and 5 wt% H2O2). Molecular dynamics and density functional theory were performed to simulate the intricate cascade of interactions between copper species and hydrogen bond donors/acceptors of DES, providing insights into the mechanistic processes involved. Copper was selectively recovered from the DES leachate containing impurities (e.g., Pb2+, Sn2+, and Al3+) through electrodeposition via a diffusion-controlled reaction under a constant potential mode. A comprehensive life cycle assessment of the process demonstrated that the utilisation of DES in the extraction of copper from waste PCBs could result in significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions (-93.6 kg CO2 eq of 1000 kg waste PCBs), thus mitigating the carbon footprint of global copper use through the proposed solvometallurgical recycling process of secondary resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kang Liu
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China
| | - Mengmeng Wang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China
| | - Qiaozhi Zhang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, 1 Engineering Drive 2, 117576, Singapore
| | - Shanta Dutta
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Tianle Zheng
- Department of Chemistry, College of Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
| | - Marjorie Valix
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Daniel C W Tsang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China; State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
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4
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Dekamin M, Sadeghimofrad T, Ahmadloo A. Energy, economic, and environmental (3E) assessment of the major greenhouse crops: MFCA-LCA approach. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2024; 31:21894-21912. [PMID: 38400977 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-32576-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/17/2024] [Indexed: 02/26/2024]
Abstract
In order to develop sustainable production of greenhouse crops, the economic, energy, and environmental aspects of production should be considered. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the economic, energy, and environmental (3E) sustainability of cucumber, tomato, and bell pepper production in greenhouses by performing material flow cost accounting (MFCA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) material and methods. Calculating the economic and energy value of losses in agricultural sustainability assessment studies is not common. Using the LCA method alone does not allow us to calculate the monetary and energy value of waste. If this method is used simultaneously with MFCA, this gap will be filled. The system boundary for LCA was from cradle to farm, and for MFCA, foreground processes were considered. The production of each crop was compared at the level of 1000 m2 during 1 year. Data were collected through questionnaire-based interviews. The gross value of production for cucumber, tomato, and bell pepper were 8982, 16387, and 17610 $/1000 m2, respectively. The negative production of cucumber, tomato, and bell pepper were 702, 718, and 449 $/1000 m2, respectively. The benefit-to-cost ratio in the production of cucumber, tomato, and bell pepper was calculated as 2.8, 5.17, and 5.8, respectively. The economic productivity in the production of cucumber, tomato, and bell pepper was calculated at 10.25, 7, and 4.4 kg/$. Labor cost was the main cost in the production of all three crops. The total input energy for the production of cucumber, tomato, and bell pepper was estimated to be 99.4, 123.1, and 164.6 GJ/1000 m2, respectively. Negative products in the production of cucumber, tomato, and bell pepper were obtained at - 24.2, - 23.9, and - 13.5 GJ/1000 m2, respectively. The energy productivity of cucumber, tomato, and bell pepper was calculated as 0.23, 0.26, and 0.08 kg/MJ, respectively. The specific energy indices were 4.32, 3.79, and 12.20 MJ/kg for cucumber, tomato, and bell pepper, respectively. The energy ratio in the production of tomato (0.02) was higher than bell pepper (- 0.02) and cucumber (- 0.06). From the perspective of energy, electricity was recognized as the hotspot for the production of three crops. Global warming (GWP100a), ozone layer depletion (ODP), acidification (AC), and eutrophication (EP) indices were calculated for all three crops. Tomato production was ranked first in all impact categories. On-farm emissions and electricity consumption were identified as environmental hotspots. The subsidized price of electricity, natural gas, and chemical fertilizers has led to their excessive use in the production of greenhouse plants. It can be concluded that bell pepper has the best performance from an economic point of view. However, its production is not justified in terms of energy. Tomato was ranked first in terms of energy, and cucumber was ranked first in terms of low environmental impacts. The production of these plants with energy and chemical fertilizer subsidies is currently cost-effective. If the prices are corrected, the production of these plants will face serious challenges. Producing electricity from sunlight and mechanizing production processes can be a solution to these challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Majid Dekamin
- Department of Plant Production and Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, Malayer University, Malayer, Hamadan, Iran.
| | | | - Amir Ahmadloo
- Department of Plant Production and Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, Malayer University, Malayer, Hamadan, Iran
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Le DL, Salomone R, Nguyen QT. Sustainability assessment methods for circular bio-based building materials: A literature review. J Environ Manage 2024; 352:120137. [PMID: 38266527 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Revised: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
Using circular bio-based building materials is considered a promising solution to reduce the environmental impacts of the construction industry. To identify the pros and cons of these materials, it is essential to investigate their sustainability performance. However, the previous sustainability assessment studies are heterogeneous regarding the assessment methods and objectives, highlighting the need for a review to identify and analyse these aspects. Moreover, there is still a lack of studies reviewing the methodological issues and implications of the assessment methods, as well as the current end-of-life scenarios and circularity options for these materials. To address these gaps, this study conducts a systematic and critical review of a sample of 97 articles. The results indicate that Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the most frequently applied method, yet most studies are cradle-to-gate analyses of materials. Otherwise, very few studies consider the end-of-life phase, and most of the end-of-life scenarios analysed are unsustainable and have low circularity levels. The analysis also highlights the methodological issues of the assessment methods used, with a particular focus on LCA, such as a lack of consensus on system boundaries, functional units, and databases for facilitating sustainability assessments associated with the use of circular bio-based building materials. Two primary recommendations emerge from the analysis. Firstly, for LCA studies, it is recommended to increase transparency and harmonisation in assessments to improve the comparability of results. Besides, to overcome data availability issues, it is recommended to use data from multiple sources and conduct sensitivity and uncertainty analyses. Secondly, more sustainability assessments (including the three pillars) considering the whole life cycle with more sustainable end-of-life scenarios and circularity options for these materials should be conducted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dinh Linh Le
- University School for Advanced Studies IUSS Pavia, Piazza Della Vittoria 15, Pavia, 27100, Italy; Department of Economics, University of Messina, Piazza Pugliatti 1, Messina, 98122, Italy; Faculty of Construction Economics and Management, Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, 55 Giai Phong, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi, Viet Nam.
| | - Roberta Salomone
- Department of Economics, University of Messina, Piazza Pugliatti 1, Messina, 98122, Italy.
| | - Quan T Nguyen
- Faculty of Construction Economics and Management, Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, 55 Giai Phong, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi, Viet Nam.
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Zhu J, Zhang J, Wu H, Yi X, Liu Y. Sustainability assessment of small hydropower from an ESG perspective: A case study of the Qin-Ba Mountains, China. J Environ Manage 2024; 350:119523. [PMID: 37995483 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
Small hydropower (SHP) has made significant contributions to economic and social development in rural and remote mountainous regions. However, the adverse ecological-environmental impacts resulting from the SHP sector and challenges in hydropower management have become major areas of concern. From an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) perspective and using three SHP stations (GXD, WZL, and SJB) in the Qin-Ba Mountains as case studies, we constructed a sustainability assessment system comprising 18 indicators across three dimensions. The hesitant fuzzy linguistic term sets (HFLTSs) and cloud models were employed to determine the sustainability level of SHP by characterizing the hesitancy of the evaluator and the uncertainty of the evaluated data. (1) The ecological-environmental protection (E) dimension was assigned the greatest weight, followed by the dimensions of social responsibility contribution (S) and corporate governance management (G). The weights of certain indicators, including the water qualification rate, river morphology maintenance, guaranteed rate of instream flow, comprehensive utilization, and production safety standardization grade were relatively high, conforming to the current context of green development prioritization in which ecological-environmental protection is of the utmost importance. (2) The overall sustainability levels of all three SHP stations were "good", with the E-dimension contributing the most and the G-dimension contributing the least to the sustainability goal. (3) The GXD, WZL, and SJB stations were ranked first, second, and third, respectively, in terms of their sustainability scores. This study provides an innovative perspective for the sustainability assessment of SHP. The evaluation method can be generalized to encompass multi-attribute decision-making problems. The findings of this study can aid in addressing the shortcomings associated with SHP development and promote sustainability within the SHP industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiwei Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an, 710048, China; Research Center of Eco-Hydraulics and Sustainable Development, The New Style Think Tank of Shaanxi Universities, Xi'an, 710048, China.
| | - Jianmei Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an, 710048, China; Research Center of Eco-Hydraulics and Sustainable Development, The New Style Think Tank of Shaanxi Universities, Xi'an, 710048, China; Shaannan Eco-economy Research Center, Ankang University, Ankang, 725000, China.
| | - Haojun Wu
- Beijing Engineering Corporation Limited, Power China, Beijing, 100024, China.
| | - Xihan Yi
- Shaanxi Water Resources and Hydropower Development Center, Xi'an, 710004, China.
| | - Yu Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an, 710048, China; Research Center of Eco-Hydraulics and Sustainable Development, The New Style Think Tank of Shaanxi Universities, Xi'an, 710048, China.
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7
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Xu Y, Luo B, Jia R, Xiao J, Wang X, Yang Y, Xue S, Zeng Z, Brown RW, Zang H. Quantifying synergies and trade-offs in the food-energy-soil-environment nexus under organic fertilization. J Environ Manage 2024; 349:119526. [PMID: 37956518 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Revised: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Recycling livestock manure in agroecosystems can maintain crop production, improve soil fertility, and reduce environmental losses. However, there has been no comprehensive assessment of synergies and trade-offs in the food-energy-soil-environment nexus under manure application. Here, we evaluate the sustainability of maize production under four fertilization regimes (mineral, mineral and manure mixed, manure, and no fertilization) from the aspect of food security, energy output, soil quality, and environmental impact based on a five-year field experiment. Manure and mineral mixed fertilization maintained grain and straw quantity and quality compared with mineral fertilization. Manure and mineral mixed fertilization increased stem/leaf ratio and field residue index by 9.1-28.9% and 4.5-17.9%, respectively. Manure also maintained the theoretical ethanol yield but reduced the straw biomass quality index by increasing ash. Further, manure application increased the soil quality index by 40.5% and reduced N2O emissions by 55.0% compared with mineral fertilization. Manure application showed the highest sustainability performance index of 19, followed by mineral (15), mixed (13), and without fertilization (8). In conclusion, manure application maintains food production and energy output, enhances soil quality, and reduces environmental impact, thereby improving the sustainability of maize production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Xu
- College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Bolun Luo
- College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Rong Jia
- College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Jing Xiao
- College of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China
| | - Xiquang Wang
- College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Yadong Yang
- College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Shuai Xue
- College of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China
| | - Zhaohai Zeng
- College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Robert W Brown
- School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2UW, UK
| | - Huadong Zang
- College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
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Samani P. Synergies and gaps between circularity assessment and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Sci Total Environ 2023; 903:166611. [PMID: 37640077 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
This article evaluates the synergies between circularity assessment and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) by investigating their alignments, misalignments, and challenges in addressing sustainability. The analysis emphasizes the significance of a multi-level approach, positioning these methods at various levels, including philosophy, strategy, assessment, and communication. The findings demonstrate that both LCA and circularity assessment can serve as sustainability assessment methods for circularity strategies, despite existing gaps. However, neither approach can provide a complete picture of a system's environmental performance on its own. Data availability, diverse assumptions, spotlights and shadows (highlighted and neglected elements), multiple life cycles, products, functions, strategies, and as well as temporal aspects are identified as the main challenges in addressing sustainability. This article provides recommendations based on the lessons learned from each approach, suggesting the integration of their strengths and addressing challenges to achieve a comprehensive understanding of environmental sustainability and make informed decisions for a circular and sustainable future. These recommendations include using function-based models and the principles of prospective and dynamic LCAs for the development of future circularity assessments. Additionally, circularity assessment can be used to establish LCA models, aiding in identifying hotspots during the goal and scope definition, and determining allocation and weighting factors in both Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) and Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA).
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Affiliation(s)
- Pouya Samani
- Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), Circularity and Sustainability Impact (CSI), Princetonlaan 6, 3584 CB Utrecht, the Netherlands.
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Ebrahimian F, Mohammadi A. Assessing the environmental footprints and material flow of 2,3-butanediol production in a wood-based biorefinery. Bioresour Technol 2023; 387:129642. [PMID: 37558103 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/05/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023]
Abstract
This study aims to scrutinize and compare the environmental impacts of biobased 2,3-butanediol (BDO) and its fossil-based counterpart. BDO is a fundamental chemical in various industries, traditionally derived from petroleum sources. Wood residues, largely available in Nordic countries, are sustainable alternative feedstocks, offering potential environmental benefits. Material flow analysis followed by consequential life cycle assessment (LCA) were employed to quantify the potential environmental burdens associated with various biorefinery stages of wood-based BDO production. The findings indicated that refraining from wood combustion and, instead, utilizing wood in a biorefinery to produce BDO as the main product, with methane and fertilizer as coproducts from the waste residue, resulted in 125%, 52%, and 90% better environmental performance regarding human health, climate change, and resource scarcity, respectively, compared to fossil-based BDO production. The results offer valuable insights for technology developers and policymakers, empowering them to make informed decisions and support sustainable practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farinaz Ebrahimian
- Department of Engineering and Chemical Sciences, Karlstad University, 65188 Karlstad, Sweden.
| | - Ali Mohammadi
- Department of Engineering and Chemical Sciences, Karlstad University, 65188 Karlstad, Sweden
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Alshehri K, Gao Z, Harbottle M, Sapsford D, Cleall P. Life cycle assessment and cost-benefit analysis of nature-based solutions for contaminated land remediation: A mini-review. Heliyon 2023; 9:e20632. [PMID: 37842596 PMCID: PMC10569992 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 10/01/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Nature-based solutions (NbS) have gained significant attention as a promising approach for remediating contaminated lands, offering multiple ecosystem services (ESs) benefits beyond pollution mitigation. However, the quantitative sustainability assessment of NbS remediation systems, particularly with regard to post-remediation impacts, remains limited. This mini-review aims to address the existing gaps in the assessment of NbS remediation systems by evaluating the limitations of life cycle assessment (LCA) and cost-benefit analysis (CBA) methodologies. A systematic literature search was conducted resulting in the review of 44 relevant studies published between 2006 and 2023. The review highlights an increasing trend in the coverage in the sustainability assessment literature of NbS remediation systems. Phytoextraction was identified as the main NbS mechanism employed in 65 % of the reviewed works, targeting contaminants such as heavy metals and hydrocarbons. However, the post-remediation aspects, including impacts on ESs and the end-of-life management of NbS biomass, were often neglected in the assessments with only a subset of studies partially exploring such aspects. The findings underscore the need for a comprehensive and integrated approach to assess the sustainability of NbS remediation systems, including the incorporation of economic factors, site-specific considerations, and post-remediation impacts. Addressing these gaps will enhance the understanding of NbS effectiveness and facilitate informed decision-making for contaminated land remediation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khaled Alshehri
- School of Engineering, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UK
- Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Bisha, Bisha, 61922, P.O. Box 001, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Zhenghui Gao
- School of Engineering, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UK
| | | | - Devin Sapsford
- School of Engineering, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UK
| | - Peter Cleall
- School of Engineering, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UK
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Huan Y, Zhang T, Zhou G, Zhang L, Wang L, Wang S, Feng Z, Liang T. Untangling interactions and prioritizations among Sustainable Development Goals in the Asian Water Tower region. Sci Total Environ 2023; 874:162409. [PMID: 36878299 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Revised: 02/18/2023] [Accepted: 02/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the interactions among Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is critical for prioritizing SDGs and accelerating the overall SDGs progress. However, SDG interactions and prioritizations at the regional scale have rarely been researched (e.g., Asia), and more importantly, their spatial differences and temporal variations remain elusive. Here, we focused on the Asian Water Tower region (16 countries), which represents major challenges for Asian and even global SDG progress, and we assessed the spatiotemporal variations in SDG interactions and prioritizations in the region from 2000 to 2020 based on correlation coefficients calculations and network analyses. We observed a striking spatial difference in the SDG interactions, which may be minimized by promoting balanced progress toward SDGs 1 (no poverty), 5 (gender equality), and 11 (sustainable cities and communities) across countries. The prioritization differences of the same SDG across countries ranged from 8 to 16 places. Temporally, the SDG trade-offs in the region have declined, implying a possible shift to synergies. However, such success has faced several obstacles, mainly climate change and a lack of partnerships. The prioritizations of SDGs 1 and 12 (responsible consumption and production) have shown the largest increase and decrease, respectively, over time. Overall, to accelerate the regional SDG progress, we highlight the importance of enhancing top prioritized SDGs 3 (good health and well-being), 4 (quality education), 6 (clean water and sanitation), 11, and 13 (climate actions). Related complex actions are also provided (e.g., across-scaled cooperation, interdisciplinary research, and sectoral transformation).
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Affiliation(s)
- Yizhong Huan
- School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; Institute for Sustainable Development Goals, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Tianxiang Zhang
- School of Automation and Electrical Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, China
| | - Guangjin Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Linxiu Zhang
- United Nations Environment Programme-International Ecosystem Management Partnership (UNEP-IEMP), Beijing, China; Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Lingqing Wang
- Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Siyu Wang
- Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zhaohui Feng
- Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Tao Liang
- Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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12
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Wong YB, Gibbins C, Azhar B, Phan SS, Scholefield P, Azmi R, Lechner AM. Smallholder oil palm plantation sustainability assessment using multi-criteria analysis and unmanned aerial vehicles. Environ Monit Assess 2023; 195:577. [PMID: 37062786 PMCID: PMC10106354 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-023-11113-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Oil palm agriculture has caused extensive land cover and land use changes that have adversely affected tropical landscapes and ecosystems. However, monitoring and assessment of oil palm plantation areas to support sustainable management is costly and labour-intensive. This study used an unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to map smallholder farms and applied multi-criteria analysis to data generated from orthomosaics, to provide a set of sustainability indicators for the farms. Images were acquired from a UAV, with structure from motion (SfM) photogrammetry then used to produce orthomosaics and digital elevation models of the farm areas. Some of the inherent problems using high spatial resolution imagery for land cover classification were overcome by using texture analysis and geographic object-based image analysis (OBIA). Six spatially explicit environmental metrics were developed using multi-criteria analysis and used to generate sustainability indicator layers from the UAV data. The SfM and OBIA approach provided an accurate, high-resolution (~5 cm) image-based reconstruction of smallholder farm landscapes, with an overall classification accuracy of 89%. The multi-criteria analysis highlighted areas with lower sustainability values, which should be considered targets for adoption of sustainable management practices. The results of this work suggest that UAVs are a cost-effective tool for sustainability assessments of oil palm plantations, but there remains the need to plan surveys and image processing workflows carefully. Future work can build on our proposed approach, including the use of additional and/or alternative indicators developed through consultation with the oil palm industry stakeholders, to support certification schemes such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
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Affiliation(s)
- Yong Bin Wong
- School of Environmental and Geographical Sciences, University of Nottingham Malaysia, 43500, Semenyih, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Chris Gibbins
- School of Environmental and Geographical Sciences, University of Nottingham Malaysia, 43500, Semenyih, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Badrul Azhar
- Faculty of Forestry and Environment, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Su Shen Phan
- Wild Asia, No 2, Jalan Raja Abdullah, 56000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Paul Scholefield
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Bailrigg, UK
| | - Reza Azmi
- Wild Asia, No 2, Jalan Raja Abdullah, 56000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Alex M Lechner
- School of Environmental and Geographical Sciences, University of Nottingham Malaysia, 43500, Semenyih, Selangor, Malaysia.
- Monash University Indonesia, South Tangerang, 15345, Indonesia.
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13
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Tarpani RRZ, Azapagic A. Life cycle sustainability assessment of advanced treatment techniques for urban wastewater reuse and sewage sludge resource recovery. Sci Total Environ 2023; 869:161771. [PMID: 36702269 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2022] [Revised: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater treatment plants can become a source of valuable resources, such as clean water, energy, fuels and nutrients and thus contribute to the sustainable development goals and a transition to a circular economy. This can be achieved by adopting advanced wastewater and sludge treatment techniques. However, these have to be evaluated on their sustainability to avoid any unintentional consequences. Therefore, this paper presents a life cycle sustainability assessment of advanced wastewater and sludge treatment techniques by integrating the environmental, economic and social aspects. The options considered for advanced wastewater treatment are: i) granular activated carbon; ii) nanofiltration; iii) solar photo-Fenton; and iv) ozonation. The technologies for advanced sludge treatment are: i) agricultural application of anaerobically digested sludge; ii) agricultural application of composted sludge; iii) incineration; iv) pyrolysis; and v) wet air oxidation. The results for the advanced wastewater treatment techniques demonstrate that nanofiltration is the most sustainable option if all the sustainability aspects are considered equally important. If, however, a higher preference is given to the economic aspect, ozonation and granular activated carbon would both be comparable to nanofiltration; if the social aspect is considered more important, only activated carbon would be comparable to nanofiltration. Among the sludge treatment methods, agricultural application of sludge is the most sustainable technique for mean-to-high resource recovery. If the recovery rate is lower, this option is comparable with incineration and pyrolysis with high recovery of their respective products. This work helps to identify the most sustainable techniques that could be combined with conventional wastewater treatments for promoting wastewater reuse and resource recovery across a wide range of operating parameters and products outputs. The findings also support the notion that more sustainable wastewater treatment could be achieved by a circular use of water, energy and nutrients contained in urban wastewaters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raphael Ricardo Zepon Tarpani
- Sustainable Industrial Systems, Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
| | - Adisa Azapagic
- Sustainable Industrial Systems, Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
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14
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Ahmad S, Wong KY, Butt SI. Status of sustainable manufacturing practices: literature review and trends of triple bottom-line-based sustainability assessment methodologies. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2023; 30:43068-43095. [PMID: 35904736 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-22172-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Due to significant requirement of energy, water, material, and other resources, the manufacturing industries significantly impact environmental, economic, and social dimensions of sustainability (triple bottom-line). In response, today's research is focused on finding solution towards sustainable manufacturing. In this regard, sustainability assessment is an essential strategy. In the past, a variety of tools was developed to evaluate the environmental dimension. Because of this fact, previous review studies were grounded mostly on tools for green manufacturing. Unlike previous review articles, this study was aimed to review and analyze the emerging sustainability assessment methodologies (published from 2010 to 2020) for manufacturing while considering the triple bottom-line concept of sustainability. In this way, the paper presents a decade review on this topic, starting from 2010 as the guidelines for the social dimension became available in 2009. This paper has analyzed various methods and explored recent progress patterns. First, this study critically reviewed the methods and then analyzed their different integrating tools, sustainability dimensions, nature of indicators, difficulty levels, assessment boundaries, etc. The review showed that life cycle assessment and analytic hierarchy process-based approaches were most commonly used as integrating tools. Comparatively, still, environmental dimension was more commonly considered than economic and social dimensions by most of the reviewed methods. From indicators' viewpoint, most of the studied tools were based on limited number of indicators, having no relative weights and validation from the experts. To overcome these challenges, future research directions were outlined to make these methods more inclusive and reliable. Along with putting more focus on economic and social dimensions, there is a need to employ weighted, validated, and applicable indicators in sustainability assessment methods for manufacturing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shamraiz Ahmad
- School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan.
- Institute of Management, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Piazza Martiri della Liberta, 33, 56127, Pisa, Italy.
| | - Kuan Yew Wong
- Department of Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Malaysia.
| | - Shahid Ikramullah Butt
- School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan
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15
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Geß A, Hazar Kalonya D. Sustainable Husbandry?-A Comparative LCA of Three Lamb Breeding Systems in Turkey. Circ Econ Sustain 2023; 3:1-23. [PMID: 36685986 PMCID: PMC9834030 DOI: 10.1007/s43615-023-00249-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 12/31/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The agricultural sector has historically been the forefront economic sector in Turkey and is crucial for the rural sustainability and the pastures that are critical for biodiversity. However, inadequate policies and factors such as climate change and malpractices result in brittle pastures, rural-urban migration, and a declining agricultural sector. Also, pastures have been left without function and appropriated to other land uses such as quarries, energy power plants, and mines. Although the husbandry sector produces significant greenhouse gas emissions, pastures have a significant capacity of CO2 sequestration. In this study, Life cycle assessment (LCA) is applied to quantify the advantages and disadvantages of the transition between extensive and intensive production. The methodology presents a holistic analysis of the several impact categories and amounts of relevant products, services, and resource emissions along their life cycles. In order to assess the environmental effects of the lamb meat production, three sheep breeding systems in Turkey are evaluated. The study aims to promote a sustainable use of natural resources/assets without compromising the quality, competitiveness, or animal welfare and obtain recommendations for the future husbandry systems and rural development in Turkey. As an overall result, it can be stated that the intensification of sheep farming can lead to a decrease of greenhouse gas emissions per kg of meat. However, extensive sheep farming shows less impacts on soil acidification or eutrophication and can even be beneficial for erosion resistance or biodiversity if properly managed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Geß
- Department of Life Cycle Assessment, IABP, University of Stuttgart, Wankelstrasse 5, 70563 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Dalya Hazar Kalonya
- Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey
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16
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Meramo S, Fantke P, Sukumara S. Advances and opportunities in integrating economic and environmental performance of renewable products. Biotechnol Biofuels Bioprod 2022; 15:144. [PMID: 36550529 PMCID: PMC9783408 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-022-02239-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
There is a growing global need to transition from a fossil-based to a bio-based economy to produce fuels, chemicals, food, and materials. In the specific context of industrial biotechnology, a successful transition toward a sustainable development requires not only steering investment toward a bioeconomy, but also responsibly introducing bio-based products with lower footprints and competitive market prices. A comprehensive sustainability assessment framework applied along various research stages to guide bio-based product development is urgently needed but currently missing. To support holistic approaches to strengthen the global bioeconomy, the present study discusses methodologies and provides perspectives on the successful integration of economic and environmental performance aspects to guide product innovation in biotechnology. Efforts on quantifying the economic and environmental performance of bio-based products are analyzed to highlight recent trends, challenges, and opportunities. We critically analyze methods to integrate Techno-Economic Assessment (TEA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as example tools that can be used to broaden the scope of assessing biotechnology systems performance. We highlight the lack of social assessment aspects in existing frameworks. Data need for jointly applying TEA and LCA of succinic acid as example commodity chemical are assessed at various Technology readiness levels (TRLs) to illustrate the relevance of the level of integration and show the benefits of the use of combined assessments. The analysis confirms that the implementation of integrated TEA and LCA at lower TRLs will provide more freedom to improve bio-based product's sustainability performance. Consequently, optimizing the system across TRLs will guide sustainability-driven innovation in new biotechnologies transforming renewable feedstock into valuable bio-based products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samir Meramo
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kemitorvet 220, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Peter Fantke
- Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Produktionstorvet 424, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Sumesh Sukumara
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kemitorvet 220, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
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17
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Almeida J, Monahan A, Dionísio J, Delgado F, Magro C. Sustainability assessment of wastewater reuse in a Portuguese military airbase. Sci Total Environ 2022; 851:158329. [PMID: 36030850 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The current water-scarcity crisis that is being felt in Europe, namely in the southern region, has leveraged the development and implementation of national and regional water management plans. These policies aim to promote efficient wastewater reuse in industrial and urban sectors. Thus, stakeholders are now seeking strategies to enhance the sustainability of their wastewater treatment processes. The present work details the evaluation of the wastewater treatment methods used at an Air Force Base located in Portugal. In addition, this study also intended to determine how wastewater reuse can be implemented and add value to the environmental protection mission of the military airbase. Hence, an assessment of wastewater treatment practices was carried out, considering primary and secondary treatments. The chemical, physical, and biological indicators of samples collected over two consecutive years were analyzed to determine trends and fluctuations. The results revealed that the overall effectiveness of nutrient removal is low due to the oversized nature of the treatment plant, the age of the facility, and the composition of the wastewater. The effluent produced meets standards for non-potable reuse and could be used on base for aircraft maintenance and the cleaning of facilities. Nonetheless, the effectiveness of the plant could be improved by implementing a more advanced tertiary wastewater treatment to decrease the concentration of undesired compounds (e.g., total nitrogen), enabling the reuse of water in a broader range of activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joana Almeida
- CENSE-Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, Portugal.
| | - Abigail Monahan
- School for International Training, World Learning Inc., Brattleboro, VT 05302, USA
| | - Joana Dionísio
- School for International Training, World Learning Inc., Brattleboro, VT 05302, USA
| | - Filipe Delgado
- Environmental Department, Portuguese Air Force, Portugal
| | - Cátia Magro
- School for International Training, World Learning Inc., Brattleboro, VT 05302, USA.
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18
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Degieter M, Gellynck X, Goyal S, Ott D, De Steur H. Life cycle cost analysis of agri-food products: A systematic review. Sci Total Environ 2022; 850:158012. [PMID: 35970454 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Revised: 07/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Because of the increasing challenges the global food system is facing on a social, economic and environmental level, and the need to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, agri-food systems are increasingly required to become more sustainable. Life cycle tools, such as a life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost analysis (LCC) to evaluate the environmental and economic performance respectively, play an important role in sustainability research. Contrary to LCA, the LCC methodology is not standardized for agri-food products. This study aims to obtain insights into the use of LCC in the agri-food sector using a systematic review approach. Data related to the methodology and findings of life cycle cost analyses of agri-food products were extracted from 92 articles, covering a wide range of products (crops: 59, food/drinks: 22, other: 11) and purposes. Currently, there is no consensus about LCC type definitions and the definition of different types of system boundaries amongst researchers. Furthermore, these and other methodological choices are often not reported in the analyzed studies. The data collection itself can also differ across studies, especially with regards to the inclusion of different cost categories. It is important to include each cost category since all categories have been identified as a costs hotspot in our list of studies (inputs: 84 %, labor: 62 %, machinery: 27 %, other: 39 %). Standardizing the LCC methodology is recommended to ensure comparability and enhance the scientific impact of studies. Integrating LCC results with findings from other life cycle tools, as done in 29 studies, can further support decision-making. The most common methods for integrating results are eco-efficiency analysis and multi-criteria decision analysis methods. In conclusion, it is clear that LCC is a very valuable tool, as a method on its own or complemented by other life cycle tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margo Degieter
- Division of Agri-Food Marketing and Chain Management, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium.
| | - Xavier Gellynck
- Division of Agri-Food Marketing and Chain Management, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium.
| | | | | | - Hans De Steur
- Division of Agri-Food Marketing and Chain Management, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium.
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19
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Le Tellier M, Berrah L, Audy JF, Stutz B, Barnabé S. A sustainability assessment model for industrial parks: A Choquet integral aggregation approach. J Environ Manage 2022; 316:115165. [PMID: 35544981 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2021] [Revised: 04/10/2022] [Accepted: 04/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
This study deals with subject sustainability assessment for industrial parks which are seen as systems of interrelated companies and infrastructures. Although sustainability was introduced into mainstream policy discourse several decades ago, it remains complex to assess, and thus to improve in an integrated way. This is particularly true for such elaborate structures as industrial parks. However, the literature has made little effort to present tools for industrial parks managers to take decisions towards sustainability. The paper develops a sustainability assessment framework aimed at industrial parks' managers. The model is based on a multi-criteria compromise aggregation principle and relies on a preliminary systemic deployment of industrial park sustainability. The presented assessment uses a double aggregation mechanism using the weighted arithmetic mean (WAM) and the Choquet integral (CI) to account for the interrelations between stakeholders involved in an industrial park. This double aggregation results in two level of assessment, offering a more comprehensive view of the examined industrial park. A first level of assessment allows managers to control and improve the performance of their industrial parks in each pillar of sustainability. The second level is the assessment of the overall sustainability, which supports the managers' analysis of their strategy to achieve sustainability. As an illustration, the model is used to assess the sustainability of a Canadian industrial park. Application of the model shows that the completion of the studied industrial park's action plan results in reaching a 54% sustainability performance considering the managers' long-term sustainability strategy and that their vision of sustainability moderately favors the simultaneous satisfaction of economic criteria with environmental or social criteria. These results illustrates the capacity of the model to guide managers in the sustainable development of their industrial parks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathilde Le Tellier
- Univ. du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Canada; Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LOCIE, 73000, Chambéry, France; Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, LISTIC, F-74000, Annecy, France
| | - Lamia Berrah
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, LISTIC, F-74000, Annecy, France.
| | | | - Benoit Stutz
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LOCIE, 73000, Chambéry, France
| | - Simon Barnabé
- Univ. du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Canada
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20
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Schlattmann A, Neuendorf F, Burkhard K, Probst E, Pujades E, Mauser W, Attinger S, von Haaren C. Ecological Sustainability Assessment of Water Distribution for the Maintenance of Ecosystems, their Services and Biodiversity. Environ Manage 2022; 70:329-349. [PMID: 35699739 PMCID: PMC9252940 DOI: 10.1007/s00267-022-01662-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 04/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Water provision and distribution are subject to conflicts between users worldwide, with agriculture as a major driver of discords. Water sensitive ecosystems and their services are often impaired by man-made water shortage. Nevertheless, they are not sufficiently included in sustainability or risk assessments and neglected when it comes to distribution of available water resources. The herein presented contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6) and Life on Land (SDG 15) is the Ecological Sustainability Assessment of Water distribution (ESAW-tool). The ESAW-tool introduces a watershed sustainability assessment that evaluates the sustainability of the water supply-demand ratio on basin level, where domestic water use and the water requirements of ecosystems are considered as most important water users. An ecological risk assessment estimates potential impacts of agricultural depletion of renewable water resources on (ground)water-dependent ecosystems. The ESAW-tool works in standard GIS applications and is applicable in basins worldwide with a set of broadly available input data. The ESAW-tool is tested in the Danube river basin through combination of high-resolution hydro-agroecological model data (hydrological land surface process model PROMET and groundwater model OpenGeoSys) and further freely available data (water use, biodiversity and wetlands maps). Based on the results, measures for more sustainable water management can be deduced, such as increase of rainfed agriculture near vulnerable ecosystems or change of certain crops. The tool can support decision making of authorities from local to national level as well as private enterprises who want to improve the sustainability of their supply chains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Schlattmann
- Institute of Environmental Planning, Leibniz University Hannover, Herrenhaeuserstr. 2, 30419, Hannover, Germany.
| | - Felix Neuendorf
- Institute of Environmental Planning, Leibniz University Hannover, Herrenhaeuserstr. 2, 30419, Hannover, Germany
| | - Kremena Burkhard
- Institute of Environmental Planning, Leibniz University Hannover, Herrenhaeuserstr. 2, 30419, Hannover, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Probst
- Department of Geography, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Luisenstr. 37, 80333, München, Germany
| | - Estanislao Pujades
- Department of Computational Hydrosystems, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstr. 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Wolfram Mauser
- Department of Geography, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Luisenstr. 37, 80333, München, Germany
| | - Sabine Attinger
- Department of Computational Hydrosystems, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstr. 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christina von Haaren
- Institute of Environmental Planning, Leibniz University Hannover, Herrenhaeuserstr. 2, 30419, Hannover, Germany
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21
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Naseri-Rad M, Berndtsson R, Aminifar A, McKnight US, O'Connor D, Persson KM. DynSus: Dynamic sustainability assessment in groundwater remediation practice. Sci Total Environ 2022; 832:154992. [PMID: 35381250 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Decision-making processes for clean-up of contaminated sites are often highly complex and inherently uncertain. It depends not only on hydrological and biogeochemical site variability, but also on the associated health, environmental, economic, and social impacts of taking, or not taking, action. These variabilities suggest that a dynamic framework is required for promoting sustainable remediation. For this, the decision support system DynSus is presented here for integrating a predeveloped contaminant fate and transport model with a sustainability assessment tool. Implemented within a system dynamics framework, the new tool uses model simulations to provide remediation scenario analysis and handling of uncertainty in various data. DynSus was applied to a site in south Sweden, contaminated with pentachlorophenol (PCP). Simulation scenarios were developed to enable a comparison between alternative remediation strategies and combinations of these. Such comparisons are provided for selected sustainability indicators and remediation performance (in terms of concentration at the recipient). This leads to identifying the most critical variables to ensure that sustainable solutions are chosen. Simulation results indicated that although passive practices, e.g., monitored natural attenuation, were more sustainable at first (5-7 years after beginning remediation measures), they failed to compete with more active practices, e.g., bioremediation, over the entire life cycle of the project (from the beginning of remedial action to achieving the target concentration at the recipient). In addition, statistical tools (clustering and genetic algorithms) were used to further assess the available hydrogeochemical data. Taken together, the results reaffirmed the suitability of the simple analytical framework that was implemented in the contaminant transport model. DynSus outcomes could therefore enable site managers to evaluate different scenarios more quickly and effectively for life cycle sustainability in such a complex and multidimensional problem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehran Naseri-Rad
- Division of Water Resources Engineering, Department of Building and Environmental Technology, Lund University, Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden.
| | - Ronny Berndtsson
- Division of Water Resources Engineering, Department of Building and Environmental Technology, Lund University, Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden; Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies, Lund University, Box 201, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Amir Aminifar
- Department of Electrical and Information Technology, Lund University, Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Ursula S McKnight
- Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, SE-601 76 Norrköping, Sweden
| | - David O'Connor
- School of Real Estate and Land Management, Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester GL7 1RS, United Kingdom
| | - Kenneth M Persson
- Division of Water Resources Engineering, Department of Building and Environmental Technology, Lund University, Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden; Sweden Water Research Ltd., SE-223 70 Lund, Sweden
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22
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Potting J, Thomas JBE, Gröndahl F. Stakeholder participation in sustainability assessment of non-wicked problems: The case of a future seaweed industry in Sweden. Ambio 2022; 51:901-913. [PMID: 34599483 PMCID: PMC8485971 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-021-01609-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2020] [Revised: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Acceptance by, and cooperation with relevant stakeholders in developing new sustainability initiatives when they are generally perceived as positive, is one of the keys for successful implementation of such new sustainability initiatives later on. It is remarkable, however, that ample literature exists about involving stakeholders in research projects focusing on problems with diverging views (controversy) around facts and values (wicked problems), but there is very little literature addressing whether and how to involve relevant stakeholders in case of initiatives where diverging norms and values do not play a (substantial) role, like in sustainability assessment for a future seaweed industry. This perspectives paper addresses that gap, and explores how to design such sustainability assessment, illustrated by how stakeholder interaction influenced the assessment and its results for a future seaweed industry in Sweden, followed by a discussion whether and how a similar approach may benefit sustainability assessment of other non-wicked sustainability initiatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Potting
- Present Address: Water and Environmental Engineering, Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering (SEED), KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Teknikringen 10b, 10044 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jean-Baptiste E. Thomas
- Present Address: Water and Environmental Engineering, Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering (SEED), KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Teknikringen 10b, 10044 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Fredrik Gröndahl
- Present Address: Water and Environmental Engineering, Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering (SEED), KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Teknikringen 10b, 10044 Stockholm, Sweden
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Loukola-Ruskeeniemi K, Müller I, Reichel S, Jones C, Battaglia-Brunet F, Elert M, Le Guédard M, Hatakka T, Hellal J, Jordan I, Kaija J, Keiski RL, Pinka J, Tarvainen T, Turkki A, Turpeinen E, Valkama H. Risk management for arsenic in agricultural soil-water systems: lessons learned from case studies in Europe. J Hazard Mater 2022; 424:127677. [PMID: 34774350 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Revised: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Chronic exposure to arsenic may be detrimental to health. We investigated the behaviour, remediation and risk management of arsenic in Freiberg, Germany, characterized by past mining activities, and near Verdun in France, where World War I ammunition was destroyed. The main results included: (1) pot experiments using a biologically synthesized adsorbent (sorpP) with spring barley reduced the mobility of arsenic, (2) the Omega-3 Index ecotoxicological tests verified that sorpP reduced the uptake and toxicity of arsenic in plants, (3) reverse osmosis membrane systems provided 99.5% removal efficiency of arsenic from surface water, (4) the sustainability assessment revealed that adsorption and coagulation-filtration processes were the most feasible options for the treatment of surface waters with significant arsenic concentrations, and (5) a model was developed for assessing health risk due to arsenic exposure. Risk management is the main option for extensive areas, while remediation options that directly treat the soil can only be considered in small areas subject to sensitive use. We recommend the risk management procedure developed in Germany for other parts of the world where both geogenic and anthropogenic arsenic is present in agricultural soil and water. Risk management measures have been successful both in Freiberg and in Verdun.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ingo Müller
- Saxon State Office for Environment, Agriculture and Geology, Dep. 42 Soil, Contaminated Sites, Halsbrückerstr. 31a, 09599 Freiberg, Germany
| | - Susan Reichel
- G.E.O.S. Ingenieur-gesellschaft mbH, Postfach 1162, 09581 Freiberg, Germany
| | - Celia Jones
- Kemakta Konsult AB, Box 126 55, 112 93 Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Mark Elert
- Kemakta Konsult AB, Box 126 55, 112 93 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Marina Le Guédard
- LEB Aquitaine Transfert-ADERA, 71. Avenue Edouard Bourlaux, CS20032, 33140 Villenave d'Ornon, France
| | - Tarja Hatakka
- Geological Survey of Finland, P.O. Box 96, FI-02151 Espoo, Finland
| | - Jennifer Hellal
- BRGM, 3 avenue Claude Guillemin, BP 36009, 45060 Orléans Cedex 2, France
| | - Isabel Jordan
- G.E.O.S. Ingenieur-gesellschaft mbH, Postfach 1162, 09581 Freiberg, Germany
| | - Juha Kaija
- Geological Survey of Finland, P.O. Box 96, FI-02151 Espoo, Finland
| | - Riitta L Keiski
- University of Oulu, Environmental and Chemical Engineering Research Unit, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4300, FI-90014, Finland
| | - Jana Pinka
- G.E.O.S. Ingenieur-gesellschaft mbH, Postfach 1162, 09581 Freiberg, Germany
| | - Timo Tarvainen
- Geological Survey of Finland, P.O. Box 96, FI-02151 Espoo, Finland
| | - Auli Turkki
- University of Oulu, Environmental and Chemical Engineering Research Unit, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4300, FI-90014, Finland
| | - Esa Turpeinen
- University of Oulu, Environmental and Chemical Engineering Research Unit, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4300, FI-90014, Finland
| | - Hanna Valkama
- University of Oulu, Environmental and Chemical Engineering Research Unit, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4300, FI-90014, Finland
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Wang X, Li C, Lam CH, Subramanian K, Qin ZH, Mou JH, Jin M, Chopra SS, Singh V, Ok YS, Yan J, Li HY, Lin CSK. Emerging waste valorisation techniques to moderate the hazardous impacts, and their path towards sustainability. J Hazard Mater 2022; 423:127023. [PMID: 34482075 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Revised: 08/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/22/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Due to the recent boom in urbanisation, economy, and global population, the amount of waste generated worldwide has increased tremendously. The World Bank estimates that global waste generation is expected to increase 70% by 2050. Disposal of waste is already a major concern as it poses risks to the environment, human health, and economy. To tackle this issue and maximise potential environmental, economic, and social benefits, waste valorisation - a value-adding process for waste materials - has emerged as a sustainable and efficient strategy. The major objective of waste valorisation is to transit to a circular economy and maximally alleviate hazardous impacts of waste. This review conducts bibliometric analysis to construct a co-occurrence network of research themes related to management of five major waste streams (i.e., food, agricultural, textile, plastics, and electronics). Modern valorisation technologies and their efficiencies are highlighted. Moreover, insights into improvement of waste valorisation technologies are presented in terms of sustainable environmental, social, and economic performances. This review summarises highlighting factors that impede widespread adoption of waste valorisation, such as technology lock-in, optimisation for local conditions, unfavourable regulations, and low investments, with the aim of devising solutions that explore practical, feasible, and sustainable means of waste valorisation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang Wang
- Key Laboratory of Eutrophication and Red Tide Prevention of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China; School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, China
| | - Chong Li
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Chun Ho Lam
- School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, China
| | | | - Zi-Hao Qin
- School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, China
| | - Jin-Hua Mou
- School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, China
| | - Mushan Jin
- School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, China
| | | | - Vijay Singh
- Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, 338, AESB, 1304 West Pennsylvania Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Yong Sik Ok
- Korea Biochar Research Center, Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, South Korea
| | - Jianbin Yan
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Hong-Ye Li
- Key Laboratory of Eutrophication and Red Tide Prevention of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China
| | - Carol Sze Ki Lin
- School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, China.
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25
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Sacramento Rivero JC, Mwampamba TH, Navarro-Pineda FS, Musule R, García CA, Martínez-Bravo RD, Morales-García AL, Equihua-Sánchez M, Fuentes-Gutiérrez AF, Gallardo-Álvarez RM, Ruiz Camou CR, Grande-Acosta GK, Manzini F, Islas-Samperio JM, Camarillo R. A Methodological Framework for Assessing the Sustainability of Solid Biofuels Systems. Bioenergy Res 2022; 15:1797-1819. [PMID: 35106115 PMCID: PMC8794610 DOI: 10.1007/s12155-021-10365-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED This paper introduces a methodological framework for assessing the sustainability of solid biofuels in Mexico. The designed framework comprises 13 normalized indicators and two diagnostic studies, covering the economic, social, environmental, and institutional sustainability dimensions, and their intersections. Indicators are normalized using the concept of load capacity of a system, similarly to the planetary boundaries. Thus, the graphical representation of results facilitates their multidimensional analysis. The framework was applied to three case studies: traditional fuelwood in rural households, charcoal for restaurant grilling, and electricity cogeneration from sugarcane bagasse. This was part of an iterative process of testing and refining the framework and simultaneously demonstrating its application in the Mexican bioenergy context. This led to the conclusion that the resulting framework (a) provides a useful, quantitative, and comprehensive overview of both broad and specific sustainability aspects of the assessed system; (b) requires a balance of accessible but also scattered or sensitive data, similarly to most existing frameworks; (c) is highly flexible and applicable to both modern and traditional solid biofuels; and (d) is simple to communicate and interpret for a wide audience. Key directions for improvement of the framework are also discussed. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12155-021-10365-2.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tuyeni H. Mwampamba
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | | | - Ricardo Musule
- Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
- Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Veracruzana campus Coatzacoalcos, Coatzacoalcos, Mexico
| | - Carlos A. García
- Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - René D. Martínez-Bravo
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Ana L. Morales-García
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | | | - Alfredo F. Fuentes-Gutiérrez
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Rosa M. Gallardo-Álvarez
- Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - César R. Ruiz Camou
- Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Genice K. Grande-Acosta
- Instituto de Energías Renovables, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Fabio Manzini
- Instituto de Energías Renovables, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Jorge M. Islas-Samperio
- Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Veracruzana campus Coatzacoalcos, Coatzacoalcos, Mexico
| | - Rafael Camarillo
- Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
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Helfenstein J, Diogo V, Bürgi M, Verburg PH, Schüpbach B, Szerencsits E, Mohr F, Siegrist M, Swart R, Herzog F. An approach for comparing agricultural development to societal visions. Agron Sustain Dev 2022; 42:5. [PMID: 35096149 PMCID: PMC8758632 DOI: 10.1007/s13593-021-00739-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
There is broad agreement that agriculture has to become more sustainable in order to provide enough affordable, healthy food at minimal environmental and social costs. But what is "more sustainable"? More often than not, different stakeholders have opposing opinions on what a more sustainable future should look like. This normative dimension is rarely explicitly addressed in sustainability assessments. In this study, we present an approach to assess the sustainability of agricultural development that explicitly accounts for the normative dimension by comparing observed development with various societal visions. We illustrate the approach by analyzing farm- and landscape-scale development as well as sustainability outcomes in a Swiss case study landscape. Observed changes were juxtaposed with desired changes by Avenir Suisse, a liberal think tank representing free-market interests; the Swiss Farmers Association, representing a conservative force; and Landwirtschaft mit Zukunft, an exponent of the Swiss agroecological movement. Overall, the observed developments aligned most closely with desired developments of the liberal think-tank (72%). Farmer interviews revealed that in the case study area farms increased in size (+ 57%) and became more specialized and more productive (+ 223%) over the past 20 years. In addition, interpretation of aerial photographs indicated that farming became more rationalized at the landscape level, with increasing field sizes (+ 34%) and removal of solitary field trees (- 18%). The case study example highlights the varying degrees to which current developments in agriculture align with societal visions. By using societal visions as benchmarks to track the progress of agricultural development, while explicitly addressing their narratives and respective systems of values and norms, this approach offers opportunities to inform also the wider public on the extent to which current developments are consistent with different visions. This could help identify mismatches between desired and actual development and pave the way for designing new policies. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13593-021-00739-3.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Vasco Diogo
- Land Change Science Research Unit, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Matthias Bürgi
- Land Change Science Research Unit, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Peter H. Verburg
- Land Change Science Research Unit, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Environmental Geography Group, Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | | | - Franziska Mohr
- Land Change Science Research Unit, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Michael Siegrist
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Rebecca Swart
- Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Felix Herzog
- Agroecology and Environment, Agroscope, Zürich, Switzerland
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27
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Gupta J, Kumari M, Mishra A, Akram M, Thakur IS. Agro-forestry waste management- A review. Chemosphere 2022; 287:132321. [PMID: 34563778 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Revised: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 09/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Agroforestry, an integration of farming system with woody perennials leads to the generation of potential agroforestry residues. The conventional treatment of agroforestry waste includes landfilling, thermal management, and decomposition which is accompanied with their own share of disadvantages. The ample amount of residues and products needs effective management to reap the economic and environmental benefits. The channel of waste collection, transportation, and recycle or valorization into products like biofuel, fertilizers, biochar, industrial chemicals is essential to maintain a circular sustainable bioeconomy. Global market value of biowaste to bioenergy (BtB) technology is roughly US $25.32 billion and is projected to enhance to US $40 billion by 2023. Employment of an appropriate pretreatment technology such as fermentation, hydrolysis, gasification etc. is going to elevate the degree of valorization along with surpassing the mobilization barrier. The sustainability assessment of the management process can be achieved with multiple models including technoeconomic analysis, life cycle assessment and multi criteria approach which are dependent on both hard and soft indices. Additionally, the loopholes of the agroforestry sectors would be managed by the introduction of appropriate policies which are undertaken globally by the Orlando and Lugo declarations, food and agriculture organization, Millennium Development Goals, Global Research Alliance and Guidelines for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development. The present review envisaged the agroforestry waste management strategy and its sustainability assessment primarily based upon Social, Economic and Environmental parameters without tormenting the future generations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juhi Gupta
- School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India.
| | - Moni Kumari
- Department of Botany, Gaya College, Gaya, 823001, Bihar, India.
| | - Arti Mishra
- Amity Institute of Microbial Technology, Amity University, Uttar Pradesh, Sector-125, Noida, 201303, India.
| | - Mohd Akram
- Amity Institute of Environmental Sciences (AIES), AUUP, Noida, India.
| | - Indu Shekhar Thakur
- School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India.
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28
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de Faria DRG, de Medeiros JL, Araújo ODQF. Screening biorefinery pathways to biodiesel, green-diesel and propylene-glycol: A hierarchical sustainability assessment of process. J Environ Manage 2021; 300:113772. [PMID: 34560470 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2020] [Revised: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Plant design implies the best choice among a set of feedstock-to-product process pathways. Multiple sustainability performance indicators can blur the decision, and existing sustainability assessment methods usually focus only on environmental life-cycle performance and corporate metrics or solely on the gate-to-gate process. It is relevant to incorporate integrated system analysis to address sustainability comprehensively. To this end, the Sustainable Process Systems Engineering (S-PSE) method was previously introduced to select the most sustainable feedstock-process-product configuration via four-dimensional indicators (environment, efficiency, health-&-safety, and economic), and then pinpoint the sustainability hotspots of the best design to unveil possible improvements. This work expands S-PSE by adding new features: (i) cradle-to-gate environmental assessment; (ii) composition of flowsheets; (iii) new indicators; (iv) statistical screening of indicators; and (v) 2030 Agenda compliance. A biorefinery case-study demonstrates S-PSE: to select the best pathway from soybean-oil, palm-oil, and microalgae-oil to biodiesel, green-diesel, and propylene-glycol. Firstly, statistical screening reduces the indicator set by 62%. Results evince all routes from microalgae-oil as economically unfeasible due to oil cost, despite superior environmental performance. S-PSE evinces palm-oil-to-biodiesel as the most sustainable due to lower cradle-to-gate emissions and manufacturing cost, with sustainability hotspots associated to hazardous methanol input and energy-intensive distillations. 2030 Agenda analysis also outlines palm-oil-to-biodiesel as best for 5 out of 10 Sustainable Development Goals linked to the reduced indicator set.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Ramos G de Faria
- National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology, Av. Nossa Senhora das Graças, 50, Duque de Caxias, RJ, 25250-020, Brazil; Escola de Química, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, CT, E, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-909, Brazil
| | - José Luiz de Medeiros
- Escola de Química, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, CT, E, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-909, Brazil.
| | - Ofélia de Queiroz F Araújo
- Escola de Química, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, CT, E, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-909, Brazil
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Tokazhanov G, Tleuken A, Durdyev S, Otesh N, Guney M, Turkyilmaz A, Karaca F. Stakeholder based weights of new sustainability indicators providing pandemic resilience for residential buildings. Sustain Cities Soc 2021; 75:103300. [PMID: 34545318 PMCID: PMC8443464 DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2021.103300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
During COVID-19, the building and service characteristics of residential buildings turned out to be more critical due to lockdowns. The present research assesses the importance of new sustainability indicators for residential buildings in three categories (e.g., Health and Safety, Environmental Resources Consumption, and Comfort) that provide resilience for pandemic periods. The opinions of stakeholders on the identified indicators were collected and then analyzed. 'Health and Safety' category is found to be the most critical among the others. The prevention of virus propagation, mental health, and building air quality are three crucial indicators playing essential roles in the health and safety category. In more detail, innovative smart technologies, including touchless technologies, are identified as a priority in preventing virus propagation. Outdoor spaces and safe indoor places for socialization are weighted as essential in supporting the well-being and mental health of the resident. Finally, air filtration and segregation of medical waste indicators are considered critical in preventing the spread of viruses. There was a consensus among the local and international experts since they did not significantly report differing opinions for the majority of the indicators. However, there was a shift in experts' opinions towards pandemic-oriented indicators compared to conventional sustainability indicators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Galym Tokazhanov
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, The Environment & Resource Efficiency Cluster (EREC), Nazarbayev University, Kabanbay Batyr Ave. 53, Nur-Sultan 010000 Kazakhstan
| | - Aidana Tleuken
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, The Environment & Resource Efficiency Cluster (EREC), Nazarbayev University, Kabanbay Batyr Ave. 53, Nur-Sultan 010000 Kazakhstan
| | - Serdar Durdyev
- Department of Architectural and Engineering Studies, Ara Institute of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Nurlan Otesh
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, The Environment & Resource Efficiency Cluster (EREC), Nazarbayev University, Kabanbay Batyr Ave. 53, Nur-Sultan 010000 Kazakhstan
| | - Mert Guney
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, The Environment & Resource Efficiency Cluster (EREC), Nazarbayev University, Kabanbay Batyr Ave. 53, Nur-Sultan 010000 Kazakhstan
| | - Ali Turkyilmaz
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, The Environment & Resource Efficiency Cluster (EREC), Nazarbayev University, Kabanbay Batyr Ave. 53, Nur-Sultan 010000 Kazakhstan
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Master of Engineering Management Program, Nazarbayev University, Kabanbay Batyr Ave. 53, Nur-Sultan 010000 Kazakhstan
| | - Ferhat Karaca
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, The Environment & Resource Efficiency Cluster (EREC), Nazarbayev University, Kabanbay Batyr Ave. 53, Nur-Sultan 010000 Kazakhstan
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30
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Chen X, Li C, Li M, Fang K. Revisiting the application and methodological extensions of the planetary boundaries for sustainability assessment. Sci Total Environ 2021; 788:147886. [PMID: 34134372 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Revised: 05/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The planetary boundaries (PBs) delineating the safe operating space for human activities have been broadly recognized as a well-grounded framework for global sustainability assessment. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the application and methodological extensions of the PBs by linking with multiscale environmental sustainability assessments. We find that the targeted scales, sharing principles and sustainability perspectives jointly determine the downscaling of the PBs-a complex process that needs to take into account the biophysical, socioeconomic, ethical and cultural dimensions. Despite the varying sharing principles, in general both top-down and bottom-up approaches have been employed to define the environmental boundaries at sub-global scales on which the various PBs highly differ in their threshold behaviors. To clarify the responsibility of different stakeholders for sustainable development, the PB-informed sustainability assessment should refer to a specific perspective (i.e., production-, consumption-, or life cycle-based). Furthermore, the methodological extensions of PBs have the potential to monitor the progress and gaps of the globally consensus-based Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To achieve the SDGs within the PBs, there is a great need for a thorough transition of socioeconomic systems towards a prosperous, just and sustainable future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianpeng Chen
- School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, 310058 Hangzhou, China
| | - Chenglin Li
- School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, 310058 Hangzhou, China.
| | - Mo Li
- School of Humanities and Social Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 518172 Shenzhen, China
| | - Kai Fang
- School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, 310058 Hangzhou, China; Center of Social Welfare and Governance, Zhejiang University, 310058 Hangzhou, China.
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31
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Quan Q, Gao S, Shang Y, Wang B. Assessment of the sustainability of Gymnocypris eckloni habitat under river damming in the source region of the Yellow River. Sci Total Environ 2021; 778:146312. [PMID: 33725604 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2020] [Revised: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The growth of indigenous fish resources in the source region of a river is dependent upon the protection and sustainable development of suitable habitats, and the dual effects of climate change and hydropower generation have a major impact on hydrodynamic conditions and living conditions in these habitats. Against a background of climate warming, an agent-based model was established using MIKE3 software and was applied to the source region of the Yellow River. Within the study area, water depth, flow velocity, water temperature, and fish distribution in fish habitats before and after implementation of an ecological scheduling scheme in the hydropower stations were compared. In this paper, the Weighted Usable Area (WUA) method was used to evaluate the habitat suitability before and after construction of the dam in order to study the impact of changes in the hydrology and water environment in the source area of the Yellow River on the survival of the indigenous fish Gymnocypris eckloni Herzensten, 1891 and its eggs, and appropriate solutions were proposed. The results showed that the spawning period of G. eckloni (Gymnocypris eckloni Herzensten) will be delayed and egg hatching will face higher risks due to the negative -effects of low water temperature caused by hydropower generation. Water warming induced by global warming is expected to eliminate this negative influence, and the inhabitable area for fish is expected to increase. This study can provide a reference for evaluating sustainable development of the whole river ecosystem under conditions of climatic change and hydropower engineering operations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quan Quan
- State Key Laboratory of Eco-hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region,Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an, China.
| | - Shaoze Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Eco-hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region,Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an, China
| | - Yanwu Shang
- DHI Danish Hydraulic Institute, 181 Guyi Road, Shanghai, China
| | - Boxing Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Eco-hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region,Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an, China
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32
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Lee MRF, McAuliffe GA, Tweed JKS, Griffith BA, Morgan SA, Rivero MJ, Harris P, Takahashi T, Cardenas L. Nutritional value of suckler beef from temperate pasture systems. Animal 2021; 15:100257. [PMID: 34087691 PMCID: PMC8282502 DOI: 10.1016/j.animal.2021.100257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2020] [Revised: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The role of beef in human diets has been questioned over the last few decades, due largely to its typically high mass-based carbon footprint. However, recent advancements in sustainability literature challenge this paradigm based on the new theory that climate impacts of food commodities should be measured relative to their overall nutritional value rather than their nominal mass. This shift has opened a new opportunity for the global beef industry, and especially for pasture-based systems that can avoid food-feed competition for land and other resources, as beef is a nutritionally dense food. Nonetheless, the sector's true capability to supply a wide range of nutrients for humans, consistently across multiple systems under multiple weather patterns, has not been well-documented. Using whole-system datasets from the North Wyke Farm Platform in the South West of England, we investigated the nutritional value of beef produced from the three most common pasture systems in temperate regions: permanent pasture (PP), grass and white clover (GWC) and a short-term monoculture grass ley (MG). Beef produced from these three pasture systems was analysed for key nutrients (fatty acids, minerals and vitamin E) over three production cycles (2015-2017) to determine potential differences between systems. Fatty acid, mineral and vitamin E profiles of the pasture and silage fed to each group were also assessed, with subtle differences between pastures reported. For beef, subtle differences were also observed between systems, with GWC having higher omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) concentrations than PP and MG. However, the overall nutritional quality of beef was found to be largely comparable across all systems, suggesting that temperate pasture-based beef can be classified as a single commodity in future sustainability assessments, regardless of specific sward types. A 100 g serving of temperate pasture-based beef was found to be a high source (>20% recommended daily intake: RDI) of protein, monounsaturated fatty acids, saturated fatty acids, vitamins - B2, B3, B12 and minerals - Fe, P, Zn; a good source (10-19% RDI) of vitamin - B6 and mineral - K; and a complementary source (5-9% RDI) of omega-3 PUFA, vitamin - B9 and minerals - Cu, Mg, Se. The nutritional value of a food item should be used in defining its environmental cost (e.g. carbon footprint) to make fair comparisons across different food groups (e.g. protein sources). Here, we showed that pasture-based beef had a nutrient indexed carbon footprint of between 0.19 and 0.23 Kg CO2-eq/1% RDI of key nutrients.
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Affiliation(s)
- M R F Lee
- Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, Okehampton, Devon EX20 2SB, UK; University of Bristol, Bristol Veterinary School, Langford, Somerset S40 5DU, UK.
| | - G A McAuliffe
- Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, Okehampton, Devon EX20 2SB, UK
| | - J K S Tweed
- Aberystwyth University, Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Science, Gogerddan, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 2EB, UK
| | - B A Griffith
- Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, Okehampton, Devon EX20 2SB, UK
| | - S A Morgan
- Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, Okehampton, Devon EX20 2SB, UK
| | - M J Rivero
- Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, Okehampton, Devon EX20 2SB, UK
| | - P Harris
- Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, Okehampton, Devon EX20 2SB, UK
| | - T Takahashi
- Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, Okehampton, Devon EX20 2SB, UK; University of Bristol, Bristol Veterinary School, Langford, Somerset S40 5DU, UK
| | - L Cardenas
- Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, Okehampton, Devon EX20 2SB, UK
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Walker NL, Styles D, Gallagher J, Prysor Williams A. Aligning efficiency benchmarking with sustainable outcomes in the United Kingdom water sector. J Environ Manage 2021; 287:112317. [PMID: 33714737 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2020] [Revised: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The provision of fundamental services by water and sewage companies (WaSCs) requires substantial energy and material inputs. A sustainability assessment of these companies requires a holistic evaluation of both performance and efficiency. The Hicks-Moorsteen productivity index was applied to 12 WaSCs in the United Kingdom (UK) over a 6-year period to benchmark their sustainability, based on eight approaches using different input and output variables for efficiency assessment. The choice of variables had a major influence on the ranking and perceived operational efficiency among WaSCs. Capital expenditure (utilised as part of total expenditure) for example, is an important input for tracking company operations however, potential associated efficiency benefits can lag investment, leading to apparent poor short-term performance following capital expenditure. Furthermore, water supplied and wastewater treated was deemed an unconstructive output from a sustainability perspective since it contradicts efforts to improve sustainability through reduced leakage and consumption per capita. Customer satisfaction and water quality measures are potential suitable alternatives. Despite these limitations, total expenditure and water supplied and wastewater treated were used alongside customer satisfaction and self-generated renewable energy for a holistic sustainability assessment within a small sample. They indicated the UK water sector has improved in productivity by 1.8% on average for 2014-18 and still had room for improvement, as a technical decline was evident for both the best and worst performers. Collectively the sample's production frontier was unchanged but on average companies moved 2.1% closer to it, and further decomposition of productivity revealed this was due to improvements in economies of scale and scope. Careful selection of appropriate input and output variables for efficiency benchmarking across water companies is critical to align with sustainability objectives and to target future investment and regulation within the water sector.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan L Walker
- School of Natural Sciences, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Bangor University, Gwynedd, UK.
| | - David Styles
- School of Natural Sciences, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Bangor University, Gwynedd, UK; School of Engineering, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
| | - John Gallagher
- School of Natural Sciences, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Bangor University, Gwynedd, UK; Department of Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - A Prysor Williams
- School of Natural Sciences, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Bangor University, Gwynedd, UK
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Aryampa S, Maheshwari B, Sabiiti EN, Zamorano M. A framework for assessing the Ecological Sustainability of Waste Disposal Sites (EcoSWaD). Waste Manag 2021; 126:11-20. [PMID: 33730655 DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2021.02.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2020] [Revised: 02/04/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Although the need for sustainability of waste disposal sites (WDS) is largely agreed upon by various stakeholders, there is still a limitation in evaluating sites' sustainability. This study aimed to define ecological sustainability for WDS and develop a framework for its assessment. A WDS's ecological sustainability was defined as the site's capacity to take up waste without compromising the surrounding ecosystems' health and their abilities to self-regenerate or provide other ecosystem services. A model, called EcoSWaD, was developed in this study to assess the ecological sustainability of WDS. The model has 35 indicators divided into five major themes: (i) location suitability; (ii) operational sustainability; (iii) environmental sustainability; (iv) socioeconomic sustainability; and (v) site capacity sustainability. The EcoSWaD brought together all the different interpretations and indicators in the diverse fields of sustainability study or practice to facilitate a comprehensive and meaningful WDS assessment. Testing the model at the Kiteezi landfill showed that the location, environmental, socioeconomic and site capacity themes at the landfill had low values: 18.7, 19.1, 16.9 and 15, respectively. The operation theme had a very low value of 13.5, showing that the landfill's biggest sustainability concerns stem from site operation and the resultant impact on the environment, local community and site capacity. The overall Sustainability Score of 83.1 showed that the landfill's sustainability is low. A tool for the application of the EcoSWaD can be found at https://ecoswad.org/app/console/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shamim Aryampa
- Western Sydney University, School of Science and Health, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia; Makerere University, School of Agricultural Sciences, Makerere University, P. O Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.
| | - Basant Maheshwari
- Western Sydney University, School of Science and Health, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
| | - Elly N Sabiiti
- Makerere University, School of Agricultural Sciences, Makerere University, P. O Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Montserrat Zamorano
- Departamento de Ingeniería Civil, ETSI de Caminos Canales y Puertos, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
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Zilka M, Stieberova B, Scholz P. Sustainability evaluation of the use of cargo-trams for mixed municipal waste transport in Prague. Waste Manag 2021; 126:97-105. [PMID: 33743340 DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2021.02.053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2020] [Revised: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The use of trams for the transport of waste from urban areas to waste incineration facilities - does it make sense, would it be technically feasible, economically sustainable and environmentally beneficial? These are the questions which we attempted to answer in this comprehensive study. The analysis is performed for a specific potential implementation of this system in Prague and adjacent municipalities. In this work, we compare the current state, where mixed municipal waste is transported to an incineration plant directly by garbage trucks, with variants if mixed municipal waste were taken to transfer stations and from there transported over a longer distance in a large volume by means of tram or truck. Our results show that use of trams results in an overall cost level of €16.41 per ton of waste transported, which represents a slight saving against the existing system at a cost of €17.19 per ton. From the purely economic perspective, however, this does not compete with transportation by truck at €12.28 per ton - above all due to high initial investment into new cargo trams. From the environmental viewpoint, deploying trams brings benefits largely on the local level, where emissions would be reduced by about 50% against the current state. In the global view, assessed through the Life Cycle Assessment method, it appears however only to transfer emissions to the point of energy production, and from this perspective the use of trams is beneficial only if linked with a notable shift from fossil fuel energy to nuclear or renewable sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miroslav Zilka
- Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Management and Economics, Karlovo namesti 13, CZ-11235 Prague 2, Czech Republic.
| | - Barbora Stieberova
- Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Management and Economics, Karlovo namesti 13, CZ-11235 Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Scholz
- Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Management and Economics, Karlovo namesti 13, CZ-11235 Prague 2, Czech Republic
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Han X, Zhao Y, Gao X, Jiang S, Lin L, An T. Virtual water output intensifies the water scarcity in Northwest China: Current situation, problem analysis and countermeasures. Sci Total Environ 2021; 765:144276. [PMID: 33401056 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2020] [Revised: 11/26/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
With 80% water resources in the south and 65% arable land in the north, China is facing a rigorous challenge due to the spatial mismatch between water distribution and food & energy production to make a balanced development of economy and ecosystem. In the past decades, the northwest has played a prominent role in maintaining national food and energy security. However, the lack of water resources in this region poses a great threat to sustainable development. Based on this, this study quantitatively analyzed the evolution trend of water footprint (WF) of major crops and energy products in Northwest China from 2000 to 2015 and revealed the virtual water (VW) transfer pattern with commodity trade and its water resource stress caused by the virtual water output. The results show that, although the improvement of technology has greatly reduced the WF per unit production, the northwest region is still a net VW output area, whose net VW output associated with food and energy trade is increasing sharply from 287.2 × 108 m3 (2000) to 328.5 × 108 m3 (2015) with a growth rate of 14.4%, seriously aggravating the local water resource pressure. To ensure the water, food and energy safety of the northwest, we proposed countermeasures and suggestions on technological development and strategic planning, including water-saving technology promotion, industrial and agricultural structure optimization, and the coordinated management of physical and virtual water. The above findings provide a scientific reference to ensure the sustainable development of Northwest China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinxueqi Han
- College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China
| | - Yong Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China
| | - Xuerui Gao
- Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
| | - Shan Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China
| | - Lixing Lin
- College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China
| | - Tingli An
- College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China
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Yangmin B, Shaohong F, Yan L. Assessing the synergy and sustainability of "Airport-Industry-City"(AIC) system in aerotropolis: Evidence from Zhengzhou Aerotropolis in China. Environ Res 2021; 195:110886. [PMID: 33621596 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.110886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2020] [Revised: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Aviation economy refers to the newly derived income effect after the aggregation of aviation-related industries, it is related economic activities in the formed aerotropolis. Therefore, sustainable development of aerotropolis provides important guarantee for the steady rise of aviation economics and air transport. The research conclusions and practical experience show that, the key to the sustainable development of aerotropolis lies in coordinating the linkage relationship between "Airport-Industry-City" (AIC), as well as the external system connection between AIC and economic, social and environmental systems in the airport area. Therefore, assessing the synergy and sustainability of AIC system is important step. Based on the perspective of sustainable development, the article analyzes the synergetic development mechanism of AIC system, and select positive and negative outward indicators to create AIC synergetic evaluation index system for aerotropolis; Secondly, a synergy measure model and sustainability evaluation model is constructed; Finally, Zhengzhou Aerotropolis is selected as a case study to evaluate the AIC from 2009 to 2018, the research results agree with the actual situation: (1) From 2009 to 2018, the orderliness and overall synergy of AIC system of Zhengzhou Aerotropolis has grown rapidly, and (2) its sustainability has good prospects for development. (3) Aerotropolis must continuously optimize AIC's internal synergetic development mechanism and coordinate the relationship between AIC system and the regional environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bai Yangmin
- College of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, 211106, China; Economics and Management School, Civil Aviation University of China, Tianjin, 300300, China.
| | - Feng Shaohong
- College of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, 211106, China.
| | - Li Yan
- Economics and Management School, Civil Aviation University of China, Tianjin, 300300, China.
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Hasheminasab H, Gholipour Y, Kharrazi M, Streimikiene D. A quantitative sustainability assessment framework for petroleum refinery projects. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2021; 28:15305-15319. [PMID: 33236303 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-10789-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Accepted: 09/09/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Petroleum refinery industry (PRI) projects are inherently unsustainable for the most part, because of their environmentally and socially negative potential effects; nonetheless, their development is inevitable due to their deep positive impact on economic development for stakeholders and the society at large. With these competing realities, it is extremely important to develop tools that can quantify the level of sustainability of various alternatives, so managers can make informed decisions about how to go forward with these projects. Due to the complexity of life cycle and sustainability assessment of PRI projects, in addition to their complicated multidisciplinary nature, indicator-based approaches are used oftentimes as sustainability assessment tools. In this paper, an indicator-based sustainability framework is proposed based on the literature review at the qualitative level to cover the pillars of sustainability (which is social, economic, and environmental). Then, a quantitative set of sustainability assessment factors is developed which tries to address global sustainability concerns and to reinforce the understanding of sustainability by utilizing quantitative means. UN sustainability indicators were used as the basis for the study, and the framework was developed further to reflect the specifics of PRI projects; the result of this step is 140 quantitative sustainability factors. To realize the highly relevant global concerns regarding sustainability assessment factors to be applied to PRI projects, the screening process has been done by Delphi technique in combination with Fuzzy set theory, to select the most important as well as relevant indicators which results in 101 relevant quantitative sustainability factors; then, a panel of experts has converted the screened quantitative factors to meaningful ones for PRI projects. The expert panel has then interpreted the list of factors, according to expert judgments. Finally, a comparative study has been done to see how the results will compare with those of frequently used systems. The results of the study are of primary importance due to their applicability in sustainable decision-making, as well as for future studies. The reinforced indicator-based sustainability framework will make a core, not only to assess existing plants with various characteristics but also for new refineries that are going to be developed based on sustainability principles.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yaghob Gholipour
- Engineering Optimization Research Gr., College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammadreza Kharrazi
- Office of Sustainable Development, Amir Kabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
| | - Dalia Streimikiene
- Kaunas Faculty, Vilnius University, Muitines 8, LT-44280, Kaunas, Lithuania.
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Khounani Z, Hosseinzadeh-Bandbafha H, Nazemi F, Shaeifi M, Karimi K, Tabatabaei M, Aghbashlo M, Lam SS. Exergy analysis of a whole-crop safflower biorefinery: A step towards reducing agricultural wastes in a sustainable manner. J Environ Manage 2021; 279:111822. [PMID: 33348185 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Revised: 11/29/2020] [Accepted: 12/07/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The huge amount of agro-wastes generated due to expanding agricultural activities can potentially cause serious environmental and human health problems. Using the biorefinery concept, all parts of agricultural plants can be converted into multiple value-added bioproducts while reducing waste generation. This approach can be viewed as an effective strategy in developing and realizing a circular bioeconomy by accomplishing the dual goals of waste mitigation and energy recovery. However, the sustainability issue of biorefineries should still be thoroughly scrutinized using comprehensive resource accounting methods such as exergy-based approaches. In light of that, this study aims to conduct a detailed exergy analysis of whole-crop safflower biorefinery consisting of six units, i.e., straw handling, biomass pretreatment, bioethanol production, wastewater treatment, oil extraction, and biodiesel production. The analysis is carried out to find the major exergy sink in the developed biorefinery and discover the bottlenecks for further performance improvements. Overall, the wastewater treatment unit exhibits to be the major exergy sink, amounting to over 70% of the total thermodynamic irreversibility of the process. The biomass pretreatment and bioethanol production units account for 12.4 and 10.3% of the total thermodynamic inefficiencies of the process, respectively. The exergy rates associated with bioethanol, biodiesel, lignin, biogas, liquid digestate, seed cake, sodium sulfate, and glycerol are determined to be 5918.5, 16516.8, 10778.9, 1741.4, 6271.5, 15755.8, 3.4, and 823.5 kW, respectively. The overall exergetic efficiency of the system stands at 72.7%, demonstrating the adequacy of the developed biorefinery from the thermodynamic perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahra Khounani
- Henan Province Engineering Research Center for Forest Biomass Value-added Products, School of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China; Microbial Biotechnology Department, Agricultural Biotechnology Institute of Iran (ABRII), Agricultural Research, Education, and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran
| | | | - Farshid Nazemi
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, 84156-83111, Iran
| | - Marzieh Shaeifi
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Keikhosro Karimi
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, 84156-83111, Iran; Department of Chemical Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Meisam Tabatabaei
- Henan Province Engineering Research Center for Forest Biomass Value-added Products, School of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China; Microbial Biotechnology Department, Agricultural Biotechnology Institute of Iran (ABRII), Agricultural Research, Education, and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran; Biofuel Research Team (BRTeam), Terengganu, Malaysia; Institute of Tropical Aquaculture and Fisheries (AKUATROP), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia.
| | - Mortaza Aghbashlo
- Henan Province Engineering Research Center for Forest Biomass Value-added Products, School of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China; Department of Agricultural Machinery Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran.
| | - Su Shiung Lam
- Henan Province Engineering Research Center for Forest Biomass Value-added Products, School of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China; Institute of Tropical Aquaculture and Fisheries (AKUATROP), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia.
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40
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Abstract
This study aims to assess the sustainability of healthcare waste treatment systems using surrogate weights and the Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE). For this purpose, ten treatment systems, including land disposal, incineration and non-incineration systems, were evaluated in terms of environmental, financial, social, and technical criteria. Firstly, fifteen reputed experts assigned their preferred rankings for the groups of criteria and the sub-criteria. The conversion of these rankings into numerical weights was performed using the SR function, which is an additive combination of Sum and Reciprocal weight functions. Secondly, the alternatives' performance with regards to each criterion allowed PROMETHEE to generate the outranking flows for each alternative. The complete ranking revealed that the rotary kiln (A4) is the most sustainable system followed by steam disinfection (A8), dry heat disinfection and microwave disinfection. However, the municipal landfill is the least sustainable system, while chemical disinfection is ranked in the penultimate position of sustainability. The partial ranking indicated that A4 and A8 are incomparable and both were ranked as most sustainable. Therefore, the sustainability of a system cannot be assessed properly without the exact specification of the system itself. In addition, it is preferable to act on the criteria that affect negatively the system to improve its performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdelhadi Makan
- Team of Water and Environmental Management (G2E), National School of Applied Sciences (ENSAH), Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Al Hoceima, Morocco
| | - Ahmed Fadili
- Team of Water and Environmental Management (G2E), National School of Applied Sciences (ENSAH), Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Al Hoceima, Morocco
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Rogers BC, Dunn G, Hammer K, Novalia W, de Haan FJ, Brown L, Brown RR, Lloyd S, Urich C, Wong THF, Chesterfield C. Water Sensitive Cities Index: A diagnostic tool to assess water sensitivity and guide management actions. Water Res 2020; 186:116411. [PMID: 32949887 PMCID: PMC7480447 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2020.116411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Cities are wrestling with the practical challenges of transitioning urban water services to become water sensitive; capable of enhancing liveability, sustainability, resilience and productivity in the face of climate change, rapid urbanisation, degraded ecosystems and ageing infrastructure. Indicators can be valuable for guiding actions for improvement, but there is not yet an established index that measures the full suite of attributes that constitute water sensitive performance. This paper therefore presents the Water Sensitive Cities (WSC) Index, a new benchmarking and diagnostic tool to assess the water sensitivity of a municipal or metropolitan city, set aspirational targets and inform management responses to improve water sensitive practices. Its 34 indicators are organised into seven goals: ensure good water sensitive governance, increase community capital, achieve equity of essential services, improve productivity and resource efficiency, improve ecological health, ensure quality urban spaces, and promote adaptive infrastructure. The WSC Index design is a quantitative framework based on qualitative rating descriptions and a participatory assessment methodology, enabling local contextual interpretations of the indicators while maintaining a robust universal framework for city comparison and benchmarking. The paper demonstrates its application on three illustrative cases. Rapid uptake of the WSC Index in Australia highlights its value in helping stakeholders develop collective commitment and evidence-based priorities for action to accelerate their city's water sensitive transition. Early testing in cities in Asia, the Pacific and South Africa has also showed the potential of the WSC Index internationally.
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Affiliation(s)
- B C Rogers
- Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Melbourne, Australia; School of Social Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - G Dunn
- Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Melbourne, Australia; School of Social Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Uisce Consulting International, Vancouver, Canada
| | - K Hammer
- Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Melbourne, Australia; School of Social Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - W Novalia
- Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Melbourne, Australia; School of Social Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - F J de Haan
- Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Melbourne, Australia; School of Social Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Australia
| | - L Brown
- Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Melbourne, Australia; Foundry Associates, Melbourne, Australia
| | - R R Brown
- Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Melbourne, Australia; Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - S Lloyd
- Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Melbourne, Australia; e2designlab, Melbourne, Australia
| | - C Urich
- Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - T H F Wong
- Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Melbourne, Australia
| | - C Chesterfield
- Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Melbourne, Australia
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de Faria DRG, Arinelli LDO, de Medeiros JL, Araújo ODQF. Novel ethylene oxide production with improved sustainability: Loss prevention via supersonic separator and carbon capture. J Environ Manage 2020; 269:110782. [PMID: 32425173 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2019] [Revised: 05/10/2020] [Accepted: 05/12/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Sustainability must be always assured in process design. Not rarely, multiple sustainability criteria point oppositely, entailing a need for more systematic and coherent assessments. The Sustainable Process Systems Engineering method is introduced as a two-level hierarchical evaluation of process designs. The first level selects the best design via four-dimensional indicators (environment, efficiency, health-&-safety, and economic), while in the second level, sustainability hotspots of the best design are pinpointed to unveil possible improvements. The method is applied for sustainability assessment of two ethylene oxide processes: the conventional and a novel route employing supersonic separator to prevent ethylene oxide losses using liquid-water injection. Supersonic separator route reduces oxide losses by 83.33 kg/h, representing +0.9% greater ethylene oxide production, 95% less ethylene oxide losses, entailing 2.5% higher net value for 20 operation years despite 0.11% higher investment, and consequently exhibiting the best environmental, technical, health-&-safety and economic performances. Photochemical-oxidation and aquatic-ecotoxicity are environmental indicators with highest improvement due to supersonic separator inclusion. Ethylene oxidation reactor, carbon dioxide stripping-column and cooling-water tower are the main unit-operations with sustainability hotspots.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela R G de Faria
- National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology, Av. Nossa Senhora das Graças, 50, Duque de Caxias, RJ, 25250-020, Brazil; Escola de Química, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, CT, E, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-909, Brazil
| | - Lara de Oliveira Arinelli
- Escola de Química, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, CT, E, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-909, Brazil
| | - José Luiz de Medeiros
- Escola de Química, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, CT, E, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-909, Brazil.
| | - Ofélia de Q F Araújo
- Escola de Química, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, CT, E, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-909, Brazil
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43
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Caldeira C, Vlysidis A, Fiore G, De Laurentiis V, Vignali G, Sala S. Sustainability of food waste biorefinery: A review on valorisation pathways, techno-economic constraints, and environmental assessment. Bioresour Technol 2020; 312:123575. [PMID: 32521468 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2020] [Revised: 05/19/2020] [Accepted: 05/21/2020] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
The need to increase circularity of industrial systems to address limited resources availability and climate change has triggered the development of the food waste biorefinery concept. However, for the development of future sustainable industrial processes focused on the valorisation of food waste, critical aspects such as (i) the technical feasibility of the processes at industrial scale, (ii) the analysis of their techno-economic potential, including available quantities of waste, and (iii) a life cycle-based environmental assessment of benefits and burdens need to be considered. The goal of this review is to provide an overview of food waste valorisation pathways and to analyse to which extent these aspects have been considered in the literature. Although a plethora of food waste valorisation pathways exist, they are mainly developed at lab-scale. Further research is necessary to assess upscaled performance, feedstock security, and economic and environmental assessment of food waste valorisation processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carla Caldeira
- European Commission-Joint Research Centre, Via Enrico Fermi 2749, I-21027 Ispra, VA, Italy
| | - Anestis Vlysidis
- European Commission-Joint Research Centre, Via Enrico Fermi 2749, I-21027 Ispra, VA, Italy
| | - Gianluca Fiore
- European Commission-Joint Research Centre, Via Enrico Fermi 2749, I-21027 Ispra, VA, Italy
| | - Valeria De Laurentiis
- European Commission-Joint Research Centre, Via Enrico Fermi 2749, I-21027 Ispra, VA, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Vignali
- University of Parma, Department of Engineering and Architecture, Viale delle Scienze 181/A, 43124 Parma, Italy
| | - Serenella Sala
- European Commission-Joint Research Centre, Via Enrico Fermi 2749, I-21027 Ispra, VA, Italy.
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44
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Rogers BC, Dunn G, Novalia W, de Haan FJ, Brown L, Brown RR, Hammer K, Lloyd S, Urich C, Wong THF, Chesterfield C. Water Sensitive Cities Index: A diagnostic tool to assess water sensitivity and guide management actions. Water Res X 2020:100063. [PMID: 32875284 PMCID: PMC7451097 DOI: 10.1016/j.wroa.2020.100063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2020] [Revised: 07/23/2020] [Accepted: 08/16/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Cities are wrestling with the practical challenges of transitioning urban water services to become water sensitive; capable of enhancing liveability, sustainability, resilience and productivity in the face of climate change, rapid urbanisation, degraded ecosystems and ageing infrastructure. Indicators can be valuable for guiding actions for improvement, but there is not yet an established index that measures the full suite of attributes that constitute water sensitive performance. This paper therefore presents the Water Sensitive Cities (WSC) Index, a new benchmarking and diagnostic tool to assess the water sensitivity of a municipal or metropolitan city, set aspirational targets and inform management responses to improve water sensitive practices. Its 34 indicators are organised into seven goals: ensure good water sensitive governance, increase community capital, achieve equity of essential services, improve productivity and resource efficiency, improve ecological health, ensure quality urban spaces, and promote adaptive infrastructure. The WSC Index design as a quantitative framework based on qualitative rating descriptions and a participatory assessment methodology enables local contextual interpretations of the indicators, while maintaining a robust universal framework for city comparison and benchmarking. The paper demonstrates its application on three illustrative cases. Rapid uptake of the WSC Index in Australia highlights its value in helping stakeholders develop collective commitment and evidence-based priorities for action to accelerate their city's water sensitive transition. Early testing in cities in Asia and the Pacific has also showed the potential of the WSC Index internationally.
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Affiliation(s)
- B C Rogers
- Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Melbourne, Australia
- School of Social Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
- Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - G Dunn
- Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Melbourne, Australia
- School of Social Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
- Uisce Consulting International, Vancouver, Canada
| | - W Novalia
- Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Melbourne, Australia
- School of Social Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - F J de Haan
- Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Melbourne, Australia
- School of Social Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - L Brown
- Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Melbourne, Australia
- Foundry Associates, Melbourne, Australia
| | - R R Brown
- Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Melbourne, Australia
- Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - K Hammer
- Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Melbourne, Australia
- School of Social Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - S Lloyd
- Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Melbourne, Australia
- e2designlab, Melbourne, Australia
| | - C Urich
- Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - T H F Wong
- Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Melbourne, Australia
| | - C Chesterfield
- Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Melbourne, Australia
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45
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Heredia-Cancino J, Carrillo-Torres R, Munguía-Aguilar H, Álvarez-Ramos M. An innovative method to reduce oil waste using a sensor made of recycled material to evaluate engine oil life in automotive workshops. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2020; 27:28104-28112. [PMID: 32405951 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-09197-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2020] [Accepted: 05/05/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
In this work, a capacitive sensor made of recycled material is proposed to monitor oil quality in automotive workshops in order to reduce the waste of useful lubricant oil caused by shorter periods of use than those established by the manufacturers. The sensor was fabricated from a recycled aluminum heat sink and used to measure the permittivity of oil samples. The proposed method was compared with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis to evaluate degradation parameters, as described in standard practice ASTM E-2412. The obtained results showed good agreement between both techniques, validating the use of the proposed sensor to evaluate oil condition. The use of permittivity measurements could be used to evaluate oil quality in an easier, faster, and economical way compared with other laboratory tests.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Heredia-Cancino
- Universidad Estatal de Sonora, Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.
- Departamento de Investigación en Física, Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.
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46
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Putra MA, Teh KC, Tan J, Choong TSY. Sustainability assessment of Indonesian cement manufacturing via integrated life cycle assessment and analytical hierarchy process method. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2020; 27:29352-29360. [PMID: 32440875 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-09207-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2019] [Accepted: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Cement is a vital material used in the construction of concrete buildings. World annual cement demand is increasing rapidly along with the improvement in infrastructure development. However, cement manufacturing industries are facing challenges in reducing the environmental impacts of cement production. To resolve this issue, a suitable methodology is crucial to ensure the selected processes are effective and efficient and at the same time environmentally friendly. Different technologies and equipment have potential to produce variations in operational effectiveness, environmental impacts, and manufacturing costs in cement manufacturing industries. Therefore, this work aims to present the sustainability assessment of cement plants by taking into consideration of environmental, social, and economic impacts. Three cement production plants located in Western Indonesian are used as case studies where social impact and environmental impact are evaluated via life cycle assessment (LCA) model. This model is integrated with analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a multi-criteria decision analysis tool in selecting the most sustainable cement manufacturing plant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mulya Andhika Putra
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43300, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Khai Chyi Teh
- School of Engineering, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, 47500, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Jully Tan
- School of Engineering, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, 47500, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Thomas Shean Yaw Choong
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43300, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
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47
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Sun Y, Garrido-Baserba M, Molinos-Senante M, Donikian NA, Poch M, Rosso D. A composite indicator approach to assess the sustainability and resilience of wastewater management alternatives. Sci Total Environ 2020; 725:138286. [PMID: 32464749 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2020] [Revised: 03/25/2020] [Accepted: 03/26/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Evaluating the sustainability of wastewater management alternatives is a challenging task. This paper proposes an innovative methodology to assess and compare the sustainability of four wastewater management alternatives: a) centralised water resource recovery facility (WRRF) based on activated sludge (AS); b) centralised WRRF with membrane bioreactors (MBR); c) decentralised WRRFs with upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors and trickling filters; d) centralised-decentralised hybrid system. In doing so, a composite indicator embracing total annual equivalent costs, carbon emission intensity, eutrophication and resilience (based on robustness and rapidity metrics) was developed using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method. The results show that decentralised and hybrid systems contribute less to carbon emission and eutrophication because of energy and fertilizer harvest and with a trade-off of higher costs of 7-17% than the ones of AS and MBR. In addition, decentralised and hybrid systems are more resilient, contributing to lower environmental impacts facing natural disasters. Based on the weights obtained by AHP, the decentralised alternative appears to be the most sustainable option due to its best performance in terms of carbon emission intensity and resilience. By contrast, the MBR alternative appeared the least sustainable evaluated wastewater management alternative. However, this alternative is sustainable option when the eutrophication criterion is heavily prioritized. The proposed approach contributes to the selection of the most sustainable wastewater management alternative from a holistic perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yian Sun
- Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2175, USA.
| | - Manel Garrido-Baserba
- Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2175, USA; Water-Energy Nexus Centre, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2175, USA
| | - María Molinos-Senante
- Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago, Chile; Center for Sustainable Urban Development, CONICYT/FONDAP/15110020, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago, Chile; Gestión Integrada de Desastres Naturales (CIGIDEN), CONICYT/FONDAP/15110017, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago, Chile
| | - Nubia A Donikian
- Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2175, USA
| | - Manel Poch
- LEQUiA, Institute of the Environment, University of Girona, E-17071, Girona, Spain
| | - Diego Rosso
- Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2175, USA; Water-Energy Nexus Centre, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2175, USA
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48
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Ioannidou SM, Pateraki C, Ladakis D, Papapostolou H, Tsakona M, Vlysidis A, Kookos IK, Koutinas A. Sustainable production of bio-based chemicals and polymers via integrated biomass refining and bioprocessing in a circular bioeconomy context. Bioresour Technol 2020; 307:123093. [PMID: 32247685 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2019] [Revised: 02/26/2020] [Accepted: 02/28/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The sustainable production of bio-based chemicals and polymers is highly dependent on the development of viable biorefinery concepts using crude renewable resources for the production of diversified products. Within this concept, this critical review presents the availability of fractionated co-products and fermentable sugars that could be derived from major industrial and food supply chain side streams in EU countries. Fermentable sugars could be used for the production of bio-based chemicals and polymers. The implementation of biorefinery concepts in industry should depend on the evaluation of process efficiency and sustainability including techno-economic, environmental and social impact assessment following circular bioeconomy principles. Relevant sustainability indicators and End-of-Life scenarios have been presented. A case study on the techno-economic evaluation of bio-based succinic acid production from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste has been presented focusing on the evaluation of process profitability and feedstock requirements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia Maria Ioannidou
- Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 118 55 Athens, Greece
| | - Chrysanthi Pateraki
- Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 118 55 Athens, Greece
| | - Dimitrios Ladakis
- Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 118 55 Athens, Greece
| | - Harris Papapostolou
- Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 118 55 Athens, Greece
| | - Maria Tsakona
- Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 118 55 Athens, Greece
| | - Anestis Vlysidis
- Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 118 55 Athens, Greece
| | - Ioannis K Kookos
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Rio, Greece
| | - Apostolis Koutinas
- Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 118 55 Athens, Greece.
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49
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Turkson C, Acquaye A, Liu W, Papadopoulos T. Sustainability assessment of energy production: A critical review of methods, measures and issues. J Environ Manage 2020; 264:110464. [PMID: 32250897 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2019] [Revised: 01/12/2020] [Accepted: 03/18/2020] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Sustainable operations of energy production systems have become an increasingly important policy agenda globally because of the massive pressure placed on energy resources needed to support economic development and population growth. Due to the increasing research interest in examining the operational impacts of energy production systems on the society and the environment, this paper critically reviews the academic literature on the clean, affordable and secure supply of energy focussing on methods of assessments, measures of sustainability and emerging issues in the literature. While there have been some surveys on the sustainability of energy production systems they have either tended to focus on one assessment approach or one type of energy generation technology. This study builds on previous studies by providing a broader and comprehensive examination of the literature across generation technologies and assessment methods. A systematic review of 128 scholarly articles covering a 20-year period, ending 2018, and gathered from ProQuest, Scopus, and manual search is conducted. Synthesis and critical evaluation of the reviewed papers highlight a number of research gaps that exist within the sustainable energy production systems research domain. In addition, using mapping and cluster analyses, the paper visually highlights the network of dominant research issues, which emerged from the review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles Turkson
- Kent Business School, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7FS, UK.
| | - Adolf Acquaye
- Kent Business School, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7FS, UK
| | - Wenbin Liu
- Kent Business School, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7FS, UK
| | - Thanos Papadopoulos
- Kent Business School, University of Kent, Sail & Colour Loft, The Historic Dockyard, UK
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50
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Sebestyén V, Domokos E, Abonyi J. Focal points for sustainable development strategies-Text mining-based comparative analysis of voluntary national reviews. J Environ Manage 2020; 263:110414. [PMID: 32174539 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2019] [Revised: 02/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/06/2020] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Countries have to work out and follow tailored strategies for the achievement of their Sustainable Development Goals. At the end of 2018, more than 100 voluntary national reviews were published. The reviews are transformed by text mining algorithms into networks of keywords to identify country-specific thematic areas of the strategies and cluster countries that face similar problems and follow similar development strategies. The analysis of the 75 VNRs has shown that SDG5 (gender equality) is the most discussed goal worldwide, as it is discussed in 77% of the analysed Voluntary National Reviews. The SDG8 (decent work and economic growth) is the second most studied goal, With 76 %, while the SDG1 (no poverty) is the least focused goal, it is mentioned only in 48 % of documents and the SDG10 (reduced inequalities) in 49 %. The results demonstrate that the proposed benchmark tool is capable of highlighting what kind of activities can make significant contributions to achieve sustainable developments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viktor Sebestyén
- Institute of Environmental Engineering, MTA-PE "Lendület" Complex Systems Monitoring Research Group, University of Pannonia, Veszprém, Hungary.
| | - Endre Domokos
- Institute of Environmental Engineering, University of Pannonia, Veszprém, Hungary
| | - János Abonyi
- MTA-PE "Lendület" Complex Systems Monitoring Research Group, University of Pannonia, Veszprém, Hungary
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