Search results for: feedstock recycling

Authors: Prabhdip Brar

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Since the ancient times recycling, reusing and upcycling has been strongly practiced in India. However, previously reprocess was common due to lack of resources and availability of free time, especially with women who were homemakers. The upward strategy of design philosophy and drift of sustainability is sustainable fashion which is also termed eco fashion, the aspiration of which is to craft a classification which can be supported ad infinitum in terms of environmentalism and social responsibility. The viable approach of sustaining fashion is part of the larger trend of justifiable design where a product is generated and produced while considering its social impact to the environment. The purpose of this qualitative research paper is to find out if the apparel design boutiques in Chandigarh, (an educated fashion-conscious city) are contributing towards making conscious efforts with the re-use of environmentally responsive materials to rethink about eco-conscious traditional techniques and socially responsible approaches of the invention. Observation method and case studies of ten renowned boutiques of Chandigarh were conducted to find out about the creativity of their waste management and social contribution. Owners were interviewed with open-ended questions to find out their understanding of sustainability. This paper concludes that there are many sustainable ideas existing within India from olden times that can be incorporated into modern manufacturing techniques. The results showed all the designers are aware of sustainability as a concept. In all practical purposes, a patch of fabric is being used for bindings or one over the other as surface ornamentation techniques. Plain Fabrics and traditional prints and fabrics are valued more by the owners for using on other garments. Few of them sort their leftover pieces according to basic colors. Few boutique owners preferred donating it to Non-Government organizations. Still, they have enough waste which is not utilized because of lack of time and labor. This paper discusses how the Indian traditional techniques still derive influences though design and techniques, making India one of the contributing countries to the sustainability of fashion and textiles.

Keywords: eco-fashion textile, sustainable textiles, sustainability in india, waste management

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Authors: Amin Padash, Javad Kazem Zadeh Khoiy, Hossein Vahidi

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Purpose: The mechanization system for the urban services was implemented in Tehran City in the year 2004 to promote the collection of domestic wastes; in 2010, in order to achieve the objectives of the project of urban services mechanization and qualitative promotion and improve the urban living environment, sustainable development and optimization of the recyclable solid wastes collection systems as well as other dry and non-organic wastes and conformity of the same to the modern urban management methods regarding integration of the mechanized urban services contractors and recycling contractors and in order to better and more correct fulfillment of the waste separation and considering the success of the mechanization plan of the dry wastes in most of the modern countries. The aim of this research is analyzing of Environmental Risk Assessment of the mechanization waste collection scheme in Tehran. Case Study: Tehran, the capital of Iran, with the population of 8.2 million people, occupies 730 km land expanse, which is 4% of total area of country. Tehran generated 2,788,912 ton (7,641 ton/day) of waste in year 2008. Hospital waste generation rate in Tehran reaches 83 ton/day. Almost 87% of total waste was disposed of by placing in a landfill located in Kahrizak region. This large amount of waste causes a significant challenge for the city. Methodology: To conduct the study, the methodology proposed in the standard Mil-St-88213 is used. This method is an efficient method to examine the position in opposition to the various processes and the action is effective. The method is based on the method of Military Standard and Specialized in the military to investigate and evaluate options to locate and identify the strengths and weaknesses of powers to decide on the best determining strategy has been used. Finding and Conclusion: In this study, the current status of mechanization systems to collect waste and identify its possible effects on the environment through a survey and assessment methodology Mil-St-88213, and then the best plan for action and mitigation of environmental risk has been proposed as Environmental Management Plan (EMP).

Keywords: environmental risk assessment, mechanization waste collection scheme, Mil-St-88213

Procedia PDF Downloads 433

Authors: Amir Sina Fouladi, Arul Arulrajah, Jian Chu, Suksun Horpibulsuk

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Waste generation is a growing concern in many countries across the world, particularly in urban areas with high rates of population growth and industrialization. The increasing amount of waste generated from human activities has led to environmental, economic, and health issues. Improper disposal of waste can result in air and water pollution, land degradation, and the spread of diseases. Waste generation also consumes large amounts of natural resources and energy, leading to the depletion of valuable resources and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. To address these concerns, there is a need for sustainable waste management practices that reduce waste generation and promote resource recovery and recycling. Amongst these, developing innovative technologies such as Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) in construction materials is an effective approach to transforming waste into valuable and sustainable applications. MICP is an environmentally friendly microbial-chemical technology that applies microorganisms and chemical reagents to biological processes to produce carbonate mineral. This substance can be an energy-efficient, cost-effective, sustainable solution to environmental and engineering challenges. Recent research has shown that waste streams can replace several MICP-chemical components in the cultivation media of microorganisms and cementation reagents (calcium sources and urea). In addition to its effectiveness in treating hazardous waste streams, MICP has been found to be cost-effective and sustainable solution applicable to various waste media. This comprehensive review paper aims to provide a thorough understanding of the environmental advantages and engineering applications of MICP technology, with a focus on the contribution of waste streams. It also provides researchers with guidance on how to identify and overcome the challenges that may arise applying the MICP technology using waste streams.

Keywords: waste stream, microbially induced calcite precipitation, construction materials, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 74

Authors: Laura G. Caixeta, Maico R. Severino

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One of the biggest challenges that the industries find nowadays is to incorporate sustainability practices into its operations. The Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) concept assists industries in such incorporation. For the full application of this concept is important that enterprises of a same supply chain have the GSCM practices coordinated among themselves. Note that this type of analyses occurs on the context of developed countries and sectors considered big impactors (as automotive, mineral, among others). The propose of this paper is to analyze as the GSCM concepts are applied on the Brazilian animal nutrition industries. The method used was the Case Study. For this, it was selected a supply chain relationship composed by animal nutrition products manufacturer (Enterprise A) and its supplier of animal waste, such as blood, viscera, among others (Enterprise B). First, a literature review was carried out to identify the main GSCM practices. Second, it was done an individual analysis of each one selected enterprise of the application of GSCM concept. For the observed practices, the coordination of each practice in this supply chain was studied. And, it was developed propose of GSCM applications for the practices no observed. The findings of this research were: a) the systematization of main GSCM practices, as: Internal Environment Management, Green Consumption, Green Design, Green Manufacturing, Green Marketing, Green Packaging, Green Procurement, Green Recycling, Life Cycle Analysis, Consultation Selection Method, Environmental Risk Sharing, Investment Recovery, and Reduced Transportation Time; b) the identification of GSCM practices on Enterprise A (7 full application, 3 partial application and 3 no application); c) the identification of GSCM practices on Enterprise B (2 full application, 2 partial application and 9 no application); d) the identification of how is the incentive and the coordination of the GSCM practices on this relationship by Enterprise A; e) proposals of application and coordination of the others GSCM practices on this supply chain relationship. Based on the study, it can be concluded that its possible apply GSCM on animal nutrition industries, and when occurs the motivation on the application of GSCM concepts by a supply chain echelon, these concepts are deployed for the others supply chain echelons by the coordination (orchestration) of the first echelon.

Keywords: animal nutrition industries, coordination, green supply chain management, supply chain management, sustainability

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Authors: Hanan. Al Chaghouri, Mohammad Azad Malik, P. John Thomas, Paul O’Brien

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The process of assembling metal nanoparticles at the interface of two liquids has received a great interest over the past few years due to a wide range of important applications and their unusual properties compared to bulk materials. We present a low cost, simple and cheap synthesis of metal nanoparticles, core/shell structures and semiconductors followed by assembly of these particles between immiscible liquids. The aim of this talk is divided to three parts: firstly, to describe the achievement of a closed loop recycling for producing cadmium sulphide as powders and/or nanostructured thin films for solar cells or other optoelectronic devices applications by using a different chain length of commercially available secondary amines of dithiocarbamato complexes. The approach can be extended to other metal sulphides such as those of Zn, Pb, Cu, or Fe and many transition metals and oxides. Secondly, to synthesis significantly cheaper magnetic particles suited for the mass market. Ni/NiO nanoparticles with ferromagnetic properties at room temperature were among the smallest and strongest magnets (5 nm) were made in solution. The applications of this work can be applied to produce viable storage devices and the other possibility is to disperse these nanocrystals in solution and use it to make ferro-fluids which have a number of mature applications. The third part is about preparing and assembling of submicron silver, cobalt and nickel particles by using polyol methods and liquid/liquid interface, respectively. Noble metal like gold, copper and silver are suitable for plasmonic thin film solar cells because of their low resistivity and strong interactions with visible light waves. Silver is the best choice for solar cell application since it has low absorption losses and high radiative efficiency compared to gold and copper. Assembled cobalt and nickel as films are promising for spintronic, magnetic and magneto-electronic and biomedics.

Keywords: assembling nanoparticles, liquid/liquid interface, thin film, core/shell, solar cells, recording media

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Authors: C. Alexandridou, G. N. Angelopoulos, F. A. Coutelieris

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Construction industry in Greece consumes annually more than 25 million tons of natural aggregates originating mainly from quarries. At the same time, more than 2 million tons of construction and demolition waste are deposited every year, usually without control, therefore increasing the environmental impact of this sector. A potential alternative for saving natural resources and minimize landfilling, could be the recycling and re-use of Concrete and Demolition Waste (CDW) in concrete production. Moreover, in order to conform to the European legislation, Greece is obliged to recycle non-hazardous construction and demolition waste to a minimum of 70% by 2020. In this paper characterization of recycled materials - commercially and laboratory produced, coarse and fine, Recycled Concrete Aggregates (RCA) - has been performed. Namely, X-Ray Fluorescence and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis were used for chemical and mineralogical analysis respectively. Physical properties such as particle density, water absorption, sand equivalent and resistance to fragmentation were also determined. This study, first time made in Greece, aims at outlining the differences between RCA and natural aggregates and evaluating their possible influence in concrete performance. Results indicate that RCA’s chemical composition is enriched in Si, Al, and alkali oxides compared to natural aggregates. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses results indicated the presence of calcite, quartz and minor peaks of mica and feldspars. From all the evaluated physical properties of coarse RCA, only water absorption and resistance to fragmentation seem to have a direct influence on the properties of concrete. Low Sand Equivalent and significantly high water absorption values indicate that fine fractions of RCA cannot be used for concrete production unless further processed. Chemical properties of RCA in terms of water soluble ions are similar to those of natural aggregates. Four different concrete mixtures were produced and examined, replacing natural coarse aggregates with RCA by a ratio of 0%, 25%, 50% and 75% respectively. Results indicate that concrete mixtures containing recycled concrete aggregates have a minor deterioration of their properties (3-9% lower compression strength at 28 days) compared to conventional concrete containing the same cement quantity.

Keywords: chemical and physical characterization, compressive strength, mineralogical analysis, recycled concrete aggregates, waste management

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Authors: John Lamb, Robert Epstein, Vasundhara L. Bhupathi, Sanjeev Kumar Marimekala

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As we enter the new era of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Cloud Computing, we mostly rely on the Machine and Natural Language Processing capabilities of AI, and Energy Efficient Hardware and Software Devices in almost every industry sector. In these industry sectors, much emphasis is on developing new and innovative methods for producing and conserving energy and sustaining the depletion of natural resources. The core pillars of sustainability are economic, environmental, and social, which is also informally referred to as the 3 P's (People, Planet and Profits). The 3 P's play a vital role in creating a core Sustainability Model in the Enterprise. Natural resources are continually being depleted, so there is more focus and growing demand for renewable energy. With this growing demand, there is also a growing concern in many industries on how to reduce carbon emissions and conserve natural resources while adopting sustainability in corporate business models and policies. In our paper, we would like to discuss the driving forces such as Climate changes, Natural Disasters, Pandemic, Disruptive Technologies, Corporate Policies, Scaled Business Models and Emerging social media and AI platforms that influence the 3 main pillars of Sustainability (3P’s). Through this paper, we would like to bring an overall perspective on enterprise strategies and the primary focus on bringing cultural shifts in adapting energy-efficient operational models. Overall, many industries across the globe are incorporating core sustainability principles such as reducing energy costs, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, reducing waste and increasing recycling, adopting advanced monitoring and metering infrastructure, reducing server footprint and compute resources (Shared IT services, Cloud computing, and Application Modernization) with the vision for a sustainable environment.

Keywords: climate change, pandemic, disruptive technology, government policies, business model, machine learning and natural language processing, AI, social media platform, cloud computing, advanced monitoring, metering infrastructure

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Authors: Laura Vitola, Diana Bajare, Genadijs Sahmenko, Girts Bumanis

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About 8 % of CO2 emission in the world is produced by concrete industry therefore replacement of cement in concrete composition by additives with pozzolanic activity would give a significant impact on the environment. Material which contains silica SiO2 or amorphous silica SiO2 together with aluminum dioxide Al2O3 is called pozzolana type additives in the concrete industry. Pozzolana additives are possible to obtain from recycling industry and different production by-products such as processed bulb boric silicate (DRL type) and lead (LB type) glass, coal combustion bottom ash, utilized brick pieces and biomass ash, thus solving utilization problem which is so important in the world, as well as practically using materials which previously were considered as unusable. In the literature, there is no summarized method which could be used for quick waste-product pozzolana activity evaluation without the performance of wide researches related to the production of innumerable concrete contents and samples in the literature. Besides it is important to understand which parameters should be predicted to characterize the efficiency of waste-products. Simple methods of pozzolana activity increase for different types of waste-products are also determined. The aim of this study is to evaluate effectiveness of the different types of waste materials and industrial by-products (coal combustion bottom ash, biomass ash, waste glass, waste kaolin and calcined illite clays), and determine which parameters have the greatest impact on pozzolanic activity. By using materials, which previously were considered as unusable and landfilled, in concrete industry basic utilization problems will be partially solved. The optimal methods for treatment of waste materials and industrial by–products were detected with the purpose to increase their pozzolanic activity and produce substitutes for cement in the concrete industry. Usage of mentioned pozzolanic allows us to replace of necessary cement amount till 20% without reducing the compressive strength of concrete.

Keywords: cement substitutes, micro and nano fillers, pozzolanic properties, specific surface area, particle size, waste products

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Authors: Wenjun Zhang, Thao Thi Le, Dongyup Shin, Jong Min Kim

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Electrochemical hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) synthesis holds significant promise for decentralized environmental remediation through the electro-Fenton process. However, challenges persist, such as the absence of robust electrocatalysts for the selective two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e⁻ ORR) and the high cost and sluggish kinetics of conventional electro-Fenton systems in treating highly concentrated wastewater. This study introduces an efficient water treatment system for removing substantial quantities of organic pollutants using an advanced electro-Fenton system coupled with a high-valent NiO catalyst. By employing a precipitation method involving crystal facet and cation vacancy engineering, a trivalent Ni (Ni³⁺)-rich NiO catalyst with a (111)-domain-exposed crystal facet, named {111}-NivO, was synthesized. This catalyst exhibited a remarkable 96% selectivity and a high mass activity of 59 A g⁻¹ for H₂O₂ production, outperforming all previously reported Ni-based catalysts. Furthermore, an advanced electro-Fenton system, integrated with a flow cell for electrochemical H₂O₂ production, was utilized to achieve 100% removal of 50 ppm bisphenol A (BPA) in 200 mL of wastewater under heavy-duty conditions, reaching a superior rapid degradation rate (4 min, k = 1.125 min⁻¹), approximately 102 times faster than the conventional electro-Fenton system. The hyper-efficiency is attributed to the continuous and appropriate supply of H₂O₂, the provision of O₂, and the timely recycling of the electrolyte under high current density operation. This catalyst also demonstrated a 93% removal of total organic carbon after 2 hours of operation and can be applied for efficient removal of highly concentrated phenol pollutants from aqueous systems, which opens new avenues for wastewater treatment.

Keywords: hydrogen peroxide production, nickel oxides, crystal facet and cation vacancy engineering, wastewater treatment, flow cell, electro-Fenton

Procedia PDF Downloads 48

Authors: Bill Wason

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143 Crude Palm Oil Coop mills on Sumatra Island are participating in a program to transfer land from defaulted estates to small farmers while improving the sustainability of palm production to allow for biofuel & food production. GCarbon will be working with farmers to transfer technology, fertilizer, and trees to double the yield from the current baseline of 3.5 tons to at least 7 tons of oil per ha (25 tons of fruit bunches). This will be measured via evaluation of yield comparisons between participant and non-participant farms. We will also capture methane from Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME)throughbelt press filtering. Residues will be weighed and a formula used to estimate methane emission reductions based on methodologies developed by other researchers. GCarbon will also cover mill ponds with a non-permeable membrane and collect methane for energy or steam production. A system for accelerating methane production involving ozone and electro-flocculation will be tested to intensifymethane generation and reduce the time for wastewater treatment. A meta-analysis of research on sweet potatoes and sorghum as rotation crops will look at work in the Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil where5 ha. oftest plots of industrial sweet potato have achieved yields of 60 tons and 40 tons per ha. from 2 harvests in one year (100 MT/ha./year). Field trials will be duplicated in Bom Jesus Das Selvas, Maranhaothat will test varieties of sweet potatoes to measure yields and evaluate disease risks in a very different soil and climate of NE Brazil. Hog methane will also be captured. GCarbon Brazil, Coop Sisal, and an Australian research partner will plant several varieties of agave and use agronomic procedures to get yields of 880 MT per ha. over 5 years. They will also plant new varieties expected to get 3500 MT of biomass after 5 years (176-700 MT per ha. per year). The goal is to show that the agave can adapt to Brazil’s climate without disease problems. The study will include a field visit to growing sites in Australia where agave is being grown commercially for biofuels production. Researchers will measure the biomass per hectare at various stages in the growing cycle, sugar content at harvest, and other metrics to confirm the yield of sugar per ha. is up to 10 times greater than sugar cane. The study will look at sequestration rates from measuring soil carbon and root accumulation in various plots in Australia to confirm carbon sequestered from 5 years of production. The agave developer estimates that 60-80 MT of sequestration per ha. per year occurs from agave. The three study efforts in 3 different countries will define a feedstock pathway for jet fuel that involves very high yield crops that can produce 2 to 10 times more biomass than current assumptions. This cost-effective and less land intensive strategy will meet global jet fuel demand and produce huge quantities of food for net zero aviation and feeding 9-10 billion people by 2050

Keywords: zero emission SAF, methane capture, food-fuel integrated refining, new crops for SAF

Procedia PDF Downloads 93

Authors: Adejoke Abeni Adewumi, Eunice Opeyemi Idowu, Kehinde Sunday Ayeni, Dolapo Funmi Odeyemi

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This study examined the growth, nutrient utilization, hematology, and enzyme activities of the African catfish, Clarias gariepinus, juveniles (mean weight 27.69 ±0.51g) fed diets with varying levels of fermented sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas Lam) peels (SPP), for a period of 10 weeks, in the laboratory. Five iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous diets were formulated containing 0% (control diet), 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% SPP-maize replacements tagged diets D0, D25, D50, D75 and D100 respectively. The crude protein content of the test diets ranged from 39.04%-39.92% and crude fibre, 10.52%-11.51%. The growth response of the fish fed the four experimental diets compared favourably with the control diet, as significantly (P>0.05) higher values were observed for Mean Final Weight, Mean Weight Gain, Specific Growth Rate, Food Conversion Ratio, Protein Efficiency Ratio and Net Protein Utilization. However, fish fed diets D50 and D75 demonstrated superior growth. Carcass of fish fed experimental diets also indicated significantly higher (p>0.05) protein and lipid content compared to the initial and fish fed control diet. There was an increase in the white blood cells (WBC) and the lymphocytes as the SPP increased in the diet. The results obtained for mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and mean cell volume (MCV) showed that the fish fed the diet containing 75% SPP had significantly higher (p>0.05) values of MCH (48.00 pg) and MCV (155.00 fl) than the other diets. The lipase activity of the fish fed the 100% SPP meal (0.81U/mg) was significantly higher (p>0.05) than the other diets. These results show that Clarias gariepinus could tolerate up to 75% level of inclusion of fermented sweet potato peel in the diet without any deleterious effect on growth, nutrient utilization, hematological responses and enzymatic activities. Fermented sweet potato peels can conveniently replace conventional energy sources and this could become a means of recycling massive potato peel wastes being generated daily.

Keywords: hematology, fermentation, carcass, growth, African catfish

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Authors: Kimberly Samaha

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In order to attract new types of investors into the emerging Bio-Economy, new methodologies to analyze investment risk are needed. The Bio-Hub Ecosystem model was developed to address a critical area of concern within the global energy market regarding the use of biomass as a feedstock for power plants. This study looked at repurposing existing biomass-energy plants into Circular Zero-Waste Bio-Hub Ecosystems. A Bio-Hub model that first targets a ‘whole-tree’ approach and then looks at the circular economics of co-hosting diverse industries (wood processing, aquaculture, agriculture) in the vicinity of the Biomass Power Plants facilities. This study modeled the economics and risk strategies of cradle-to-cradle linkages to incorporate the value-chain effects on capital/operational expenditures and investment risk reductions using a proprietary techno-economic model that incorporates investment risk scenarios utilizing the Monte Carlo methodology. The study calculated the sequential increases in profitability for each additional co-host on an operating forestry-based biomass energy plant in West Enfield, Maine. Phase I starts with the base-line of forestry biomass to electricity only and was built up in stages to include co-hosts of a greenhouse and a land-based shrimp farm. Phase I incorporates CO2 and heat waste streams from the operating power plant in an analysis of lowering and stabilizing the operating costs of the agriculture and aquaculture co-hosts. Phase II analysis incorporated a jet-fuel biorefinery and its secondary slip-stream of biochar which would be developed into two additional bio-products: 1) A soil amendment compost for agriculture and 2) A biochar effluent filter for the aquaculture. The second part of the study applied the Monte Carlo risk methodology to illustrate how co-location derisks investment in an integrated Bio-Hub versus individual investments in stand-alone projects of energy, agriculture or aquaculture. The analyzed scenarios compared reductions in both Capital and Operating Expenditures, which stabilizes profits and reduces the investment risk associated with projects in energy, agriculture, and aquaculture. The major findings of this techno-economic modeling using the Monte Carlo technique resulted in the masterplan for the first Bio-Hub to be built in West Enfield, Maine. In 2018, the site was designated as an economic opportunity zone as part of a Federal Program, which allows for Capital Gains tax benefits for investments on the site. Bioenergy facilities are currently at a critical juncture where they have an opportunity to be repurposed into efficient, profitable and socially responsible investments, or be idled and scrapped. The Bio-hub Ecosystems techno-economic analysis model is a critical model to expedite new standards for investments in circular zero-waste projects. Profitable projects will expedite adoption and advance the critical transition from the current ‘take-make-dispose’ paradigm inherent in the energy, forestry and food industries to a more sustainable Bio-Economy paradigm that supports local and rural communities.

Keywords: bio-economy, investment risk, circular design, economic modelling

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Authors: S. Sandri, G. M. Contessa, C. Poggi

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An experimental nuclear fusion device could be seen as a step toward the development of the future nuclear fusion power plant. If compared with other possible solutions to the energy problem, nuclear fusion has advantages that ensure sustainability and security. In particular considering the radioactivity and the radioactive waste produced, in a nuclear fusion plant the component materials could be selected in order to limit the decay period, making it possible the recycling in a new reactor after about 100 years from the beginning of the decommissioning. To achieve this and other pertinent goals many experimental machines have been developed and operated worldwide in the last decades, underlining that radiation protection and workers exposure are critical aspects of these facilities due to the high flux, high energy neutrons produced in the fusion reactions. Direct radiation, material activation, tritium diffusion and other related issues pose a real challenge to the demonstration that these devices are safer than the nuclear fission facilities. In Italy, a limited number of fusion facilities have been constructed and operated since 30 years ago, mainly at the ENEA Frascati Center, and the radiation protection approach, addressed by the national licensing requirements, shows that it is not always easy to respect the constraints for the workers' exposure to ionizing radiation. In the current analysis, the main radiation protection issues encountered in the Italian Fusion facilities are considered and discussed, and the technical and legal requirements are described. The licensing process for these kinds of devices is outlined and compared with that of other European countries. The following aspects are considered throughout the current study: i) description of the installation, plant and systems, ii) suitability of the area, buildings, and structures, iii) radioprotection structures and organization, iv) exposure of personnel, v) accident analysis and relevant radiological consequences, vi) radioactive wastes assessment and management. In conclusion, the analysis points out the needing of a special attention to the radiological exposure of the workers in order to demonstrate at least the same level of safety as that reached at the nuclear fission facilities.

Keywords: fusion facilities, high energy neutrons, licensing process, radiation protection

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Authors: A. Aman, S. M. Tang, F. H. Alharrassy

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Omanisation was established to increase job opportunities for national employment in Sultanate of Oman. With half of the population below 25 years of age, the sultanate is striving to diversify the economy fast enough to meet the burgeoning number of jobseekers annually. On the other hand, training personnel to be competent oil and gas operators and technicians is a difficult task in a complex reservoir structures in Oman using highly advanced and sophisticated extracting processes. Coupled towards Omanisation which encourages nationals into the oil and gas sector so as to create sustainable employment for the local population, the challenge to churn out competent manpower became a daunting task. Immersive technologies provided the impetus to create a new digital media sector which provided job opportunities as well as the learning contents to enhance the competency-based training for the oil and gas sector in the Sultanate. This lead to a win-win-win collaboration amongst the government represented by the Information Technology Authority (ITA), private sector specialised company (represented by ASM Technologies), jobseekers and oil and gas organisations. This is also one of the first private-public partnership model in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector in Oman. A pilot phase was conducted for 8 months to develop four virtual applications for training in equipment and process engineering; oil rig familiarisation, Health Safety Environment (HSE) application, turbine application and the mechanical vapour compressor (MVC) water recycling plant in order to enhance the competency level of the trainees. The immersive applications were installed in operational settings which enabled new employees to practice and understand various processes and procedures regarding enhanced oil recovery. Existing employees used the application to review the working principles in order to carry out troubleshooting scenarios. Concurrently, these applications were also developed by local Omani resources within the country. This created job opportunities for job-seekers as well the establishment of a digital media sector. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how immersive technologies can enhance operational competencies, create job and establish a digital media sector in the Sultanate of Oman.

Keywords: immersive, virtual reality, operations training, Omanisation

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Authors: Antoine Karam, Lotfi Khiari, Bruno Breton, Alfred Jaouich

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Anthropogenic sources of zinc (Zn), including industrial emissions and effluents, Zn–rich fertilizer materials and pesticides containing Zn, can contribute to increasing the concentration of soluble Zn at levels toxic to plants in acid sandy soils. The application of municipal sewage sludge or biosolids (MBS) which contain metal immobilizing agents on coarse-textured soils could improve the metal sorption capacity of the low-CEC soils. The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate the sorption of Zn in surface samples (0-15 cm) of six Quebec (Canada) soils amended with MBS (pH 6.9) from Val d’Or (Quebec, Canada). Soil samples amended with increasing amounts (0 to 20%) of MBS were equilibrated with various amounts of Zn as ZnCl2 in 0.01 M CaCl2 for 48 hours at room temperature. Sorbed Zn was calculated from the difference between the initial and final Zn concentration in solution. Zn sorption data conformed to the linear form of Freundlich equation. The amount of sorbed Zn increased considerably with increasing MBS rate. Analysis of variance revealed a highly significant effect (p ≤ 0.001) of soil texture and MBS rate on the amount of sorbed Zn. The average values of the Zn-sorption capacity of MBS-amended coarse-textured soils were lower than those of MBS-amended fine textured soils. The two sandy soils (86-99% sand) amended with MBS retained 2- to 5-fold Zn than those without MBS (control). Significant Pearson correlation coefficients between the Zn sorption isotherm parameter, i.e. the Freundlich sorption isotherm (KF), and commonly measured physical and chemical entities were obtained. Among all the soil properties measured, soil pH gave the best significant correlation coefficients (p ≤ 0.001) for soils receiving 0, 5 and 10% MBS. Furthermore, KF values were positively correlated with soil clay content, exchangeable basic cations (Ca, Mg or K), CEC and clay content to CEC ratio. From these results, it can be concluded that (i) municipal biosolids provide sorption sites that have a strong affinity for Zn, (ii) both soil texture, especially clay content, and soil pH are the main factors controlling anthropogenic Zn sorption in the municipal biosolids-amended soils, and (iii) the effect of municipal biosolids on Zn sorption will be more pronounced for a sandy soil than for a clay soil.

Keywords: metal, recycling, sewage sludge, trace element

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Authors: Kimberly Samaha

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The Bio-Hub Ecosystem model was developed to address a critical area of concern within the global energy market regarding biomass as a feedstock for power plants. Yet the lack of an economically-viable business model for bioenergy facilities has resulted in the continuation of idled and decommissioned plants. This study analyzed data and submittals to the Born Global Maine Innovation Challenge. The Innovation Challenge was a global innovation challenge to identify process innovations that could address a ‘whole-tree’ approach of maximizing the products, byproducts, energy value and process slip-streams into a circular zero-waste design. Participating companies were at various stages of developing bioproducts and included biofuels, lignin-based products, carbon capture platforms and biochar used as both a filtration medium and as a soil amendment product. This case study shows the QCA (Qualitative Comparative Analysis) methodology of the prequalification process and the resulting techno-economic model that was developed for the maximizing profitability of the Bio-Hub Ecosystem through continuous expansion of system waste streams into valuable process inputs for co-hosts. A full site plan for the integration of co-hosts (biorefinery, land-based shrimp and salmon aquaculture farms, a tomato green-house and a hops farm) at an operating forestry-based biomass to energy plant in West Enfield, Maine USA. This model and process for evaluating the profitability not only proposes models for integration of forestry, aquaculture and agriculture in cradle-to-cradle linkages of what have typically been linear systems, but the proposal also allows for the early measurement of the circularity and impact of resource use and investment risk mitigation, for these systems. In this particular study, profitability is assessed at two levels CAPEX (Capital Expenditures) and in OPEX (Operating Expenditures). Given that these projects start with repurposing facilities where the industrial level infrastructure is already built, permitted and interconnected to the grid, the addition of co-hosts first realizes a dramatic reduction in permitting, development times and costs. In addition, using the biomass energy plant’s waste streams such as heat, hot water, CO₂ and fly ash as valuable inputs to their operations and a significant decrease in the OPEX costs, increasing overall profitability to each of the co-hosts bottom line. This case study utilizes a proprietary techno-economic model to demonstrate how utilizing waste streams of a biomass energy plant and/or biorefinery, results in significant reduction in OPEX for both the biomass plants and the agriculture and aquaculture co-hosts. Economically viable Bio-Hubs with favorable environmental and community impacts may prove critical in garnering local and federal government support for pilot programs and more wide-scale adoption, especially for those living in severely economically depressed rural areas where aging industrial sites have been shuttered and local economies devastated.

Keywords: bio-economy, biomass energy, financing, zero-waste

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Authors: Achim Kampker, Heiner H. Heimes, Mathias Ordung, Christoph Lienemann, Ansgar Hollah, Nemanja Sarovic

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Electric cars with their fast innovation cycles and their disruptive character offer a high degree of freedom regarding innovative design for remanufacturing. Remanufacturing increases not only the resource but also the economic efficiency by a prolonged product life time. The reduced power train wear of electric cars combined with high manufacturing costs for batteries allow new business models and even second life applications. Modular and intermountable designed battery packs enable the replacement of defective or outdated battery cells, allow additional cost savings and a prolongation of life time. This paper discusses opportunities for future remanufacturing value chains of electric cars and their battery components and how to address their potentials with elaborate designs. Based on a brief overview of implemented remanufacturing structures in different industries, opportunities of transferability are evaluated. In addition to an analysis of current and upcoming challenges, promising perspectives for a sustainable electric car circular economy enabled by design for remanufacturing are deduced. Two mathematical models describe the feasibility of pursuing a circular economy of lithium ion batteries and evaluate remanufacturing in terms of sustainability and economic efficiency. Taking into consideration not only labor and material cost but also capital costs for equipment and factory facilities to support the remanufacturing process, cost benefit analysis prognosticate that a remanufacturing battery can be produced more cost-efficiently. The ecological benefits were calculated on a broad database from different research projects which focus on the recycling, the second use and the assembly of lithium ion batteries. The results of this calculations show a significant improvement by remanufacturing in all relevant factors especially in the consumption of resources and greenhouse warming potential. Exemplarily suitable design guidelines for future remanufacturing lithium ion batteries, which consider modularity, interfaces and disassembly, are used to illustrate the findings. For one guideline, potential cost improvements were calculated and upcoming challenges are pointed out.

Keywords: circular economy, electric mobility, lithium ion batteries, remanufacturing

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Authors: Kimberly Samaha

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In order to attract new types of investors into the emerging Bio-Economy, a new set of metrics and measurement system is needed to better quantify the environmental, social and economic impacts of circular zero-waste design. The Bio-Hub Ecosystem model was developed to address a critical area of concern within the global energy market regarding the use of biomass as a feedstock for power plants. Lack of an economically-viable business model for bioenergy facilities has resulted in the continuation of idled and decommissioned plants. In particular, the forestry-based plants which have been an invaluable outlet for woody biomass surplus, forest health improvement, timber production enhancement, and especially reduction of wildfire risk. This study looked at repurposing existing biomass-energy plants into Circular Zero-Waste Bio-Hub Ecosystems. A Bio-Hub model that first targets a ‘whole-tree’ approach and then looks at the circular economics of co-hosting diverse industries (wood processing, aquaculture, agriculture) in the vicinity of the Biomass Power Plants facilities. It proposes not only models for integration of forestry, aquaculture, and agriculture in cradle-to-cradle linkages of what have typically been linear systems, but the proposal also allows for the early measurement of the circularity and impact of resource use and investment risk mitigation, for these systems. Typically, life cycle analyses measure environmental impacts of different industrial production stages and are not integrated with indicators of material use circularity. This concept paper proposes the further development of a new set of metrics that would illustrate not only the typical life-cycle analysis (LCA), which shows the reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but also the zero-waste circularity measures of mass balance of the full value chain of the raw material and energy content/caloric value. These new measures quantify key impacts in making hyper-efficient use of natural resources and eliminating waste to landfills. The project utilized traditional LCA using the GREET model where the standalone biomass energy plant case was contrasted with the integration of a jet-fuel biorefinery. The methodology was then expanded to include combinations of co-hosts that optimize the life cycle of woody biomass from tree to energy, CO₂, heat and wood ash both from an energy/caloric value and for mass balance to include reuse of waste streams which are typically landfilled. The major findings of both a formal LCA study resulted in the masterplan for the first Bio-Hub to be built in West Enfield, Maine. Bioenergy facilities are currently at a critical juncture where they have an opportunity to be repurposed into efficient, profitable and socially responsible investments, or be idled and scrapped. If proven as a model, the expedited roll-out of these innovative scenarios can set a new standard for circular zero-waste projects that advance the critical transition from the current ‘take-make-dispose’ paradigm inherent in the energy, forestry and food industries to a more sustainable bio-economy paradigm where waste streams become valuable inputs, supporting local and rural communities in simple, sustainable ways.

Keywords: bio-economy, biomass energy, financing, metrics

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Authors: Enes Caliskan, Hatice Camgoz Akdag

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There is no doubt that humanity needs to realize the sustainability problems in the world and take serious action regarding that. All members of the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the most comprehensive study on sustainability internationally, in 2015. The summary of the study is 17 sustainable development goals. It covers everything about sustainability, such as environment, society and governance. The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), such as the Internet, mobile phones, and satellites, is essential for tackling the main issues facing sustainable development. Hence, the contributions of 3 major ICT companies to the sustainable development goals are assessed in this study. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is utilized as a methodology for this study. Since QFD is an excellent instrument for comparing businesses on relevant subjects, a House of Quality must be established to complete the QFD application. In order to develop a House of Quality, the demanded qualities (voice of the customer) and quality characteristics (technical requirements) must first be determined. UN SDGs are used as demanded qualities. Quality characteristics are derived from annual sustainability and corporate social responsibility reports of ICT companies. The companies' efforts, as indicated by the QFD results, are concentrated on the use of recycled raw materials and recycling, reducing GHG emissions through energy saving and improved connectivity, decarbonizing the value chain, protecting the environment and water resources by collaborating with businesses that have completed CDP water assessments and paying attention to reducing water consumption, ethical business practices, and reducing inequality. The evaluations of the three businesses are found to be very similar when they are compared. The small differences between the companies are usually about the region they serve. Efforts made by the companies mostly concentrate on responsible consumption and production, life below water, climate action, and sustainable cities and community goals. These efforts include improving connectivity in needed areas for providing access to information, education and healthcare.

Keywords: multi-criteria decision-making, sustainable supply chain risk, supply chain agility, quality function deployment, Sustainable development goals

Procedia PDF Downloads 39

Authors: Leila H. Khiabani, Mohammadreza Vafaee, Farshad Hashemzadeh

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Industrial waste management regulates different stages of production, storage, transfer, recycling and waste disposal. There are several common practices for industrial waste management. However, due to various local health, economic, social, environmental and aesthetic considerations, the most optimal principles and measures often vary at each specific industrial zone. In addition, waste management strategies are heavily impacted by local administrative, legal, and financial regulations. In this study, a hybrid qualitative and quantitative research methodology has been designed for waste management planning in an industrial city. Firstly, following a qualitative research methodology, the most relevant waste management strategies for the specific industrial city were identified through interviews with environmental planning and waste management experts. Forty experts participated in this study. Alborz industrial city in Iran, which hosts more than one thousand industrial units in nine hundred acres, was chosen as the sample industrial city in this study. The findings from the expert interviews at the first phase were then used to design a quantitative questionnaire for the second phase of the study. The aim of the questionnaire was to quantify the relative impact of different waste management strategies in the sample industrial city. Eight waste management strategies and three implementation policies were included in the questionnaire. The experts were asked to rank the relative effectiveness of each strategy for environmental planning of the sample industrial city. They were also asked to rank the relative effectiveness of each planning policy on each of the waste management strategies. In the end, the weighted average of all the responses was calculated to identify the most effective waste management strategy and planning policies for the sample industrial city. The results suggested that among the eight suggested waste management strategies, industrial composting is the most effective (31%) strategy based on the collective evaluation of the local expert. Additionally, the results suggested that the most effective policy (58%) in the city’s environmental planning is to reduce waste generation by prolonging the effective life of industrial products using higher quality and recyclable materials. These findings can provide useful expert guidelines for prioritization between different waste management strategies in the city’s overall environmental planning roadmap. The findings may also be applicable to similar industrial cities. In addition, a similar methodology can be utilized in the environmental planning of other industrial cities.

Keywords: environmental planning, industrial city, quantitative research, waste management

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Authors: Laura Salvia Diaz Silvarrey, Anh Phan

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Municipal Plastic Waste (MPW) comprises a mixture of thermoplastics such as high and low density polyethylene (HDPE and LDPE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Recycling rate of these plastics is low, e.g. only 27% in 2013. The remains were incinerated or disposed in landfills. As MPW generation increases approximately 5% per annum, MPW management technologies have to be developed to comply with legislation . Pyrolysis, thermochemical decomposition, provides an excellent alternative to convert MPW into valuable resources like fuels and chemicals. Most studies on waste plastic kinetics only focused on HDPE and LDPE with a simple assumption of first order decomposition, which is not the real reaction mechanism. The aim of this study was to develop a kinetic study for each of the polymers in the MPW mixture using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) over a range of heating rates (5, 10, 20 and 40°C/min) in N2 atmosphere and sample size of 1 – 4mm. A model-free kinetic method was applied to quantify the activation energy at each level of conversion. Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS) and Flynn–Wall–Ozawa (FWO) equations jointly with Master Plots confirmed that the activation energy was not constant along all the reaction for all the five plastic studied, showing that MPW decomposed through a complex mechanism and not by first-order kinetics. Master plots confirmed that MPW decomposed following a random scission mechanism at conversions above 40%. According to the random scission mechanism, different radicals are formed along the backbone producing the cleavage of bonds by chain scission into molecules of different lengths. The cleavage of bonds during random scission follows first-order kinetics and it is related with the conversion. When a bond is broken one part of the initial molecule becomes an unsaturated one and the other a terminal free radical. The latter can react with hydrogen from and adjacent carbon releasing another free radical and a saturated molecule or reacting with another free radical and forming an alkane. Not every time a bonds is broken a molecule is evaporated. At early stages of the reaction (conversion and temperature below 40% and 300°C), most products are not short enough to evaporate. Only at higher degrees of conversion most of cleavage of bonds releases molecules small enough to evaporate.

Keywords: kinetic, municipal plastic waste, pyrolysis, random scission

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Authors: Petre Voicu, Mircea Oaida, Radu Vasiu, Catalin Gheorghiu, Aurel Dumitru

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The present work deals with the way in which food and tobacco waste can be used in agriculture. As a result of the lack of efficient technologies for their recycling, we are currently faced with the appearance of appreciable quantities of residual organic residues that find their use only very rarely and only after long storage in landfills. The main disadvantages of long storage of organic waste are the unpleasant smell, the high content of pathogenic agents, and the high content in the water. The release of these enormous amounts imperatively demands the finding of solutions to ensure the avoidance of environmental pollution. The measure practiced by us consists of the processing of this waste in special installations, testing in pilot experimental perimeters, and later administration on agricultural lands without harming the quality of the soil, agricultural crops, and the environment. The current crisis of raw materials and energy also raises special problems in the field of organic waste valorization, an activity that takes place with low energy consumption. At the same time, their composition recommends them as useful secondary sources in agriculture. The transformation of food scraps and other residues concentrated organics thus acquires a new orientation, in which these materials are seen as important secondary resources. The utilization of food and tobacco waste in agriculture is also stimulated by the increasing lack of chemical fertilizers and the continuous increase in their price, under the conditions that the soil requires increased amounts of fertilizers in order to obtain high, stable, and profitable production. The need to maintain and increase the humus content of the soil is also taken into account, as an essential factor of its fertility, as a source and reserve of nutrients and microelements, as an important factor in increasing the buffering capacity of the soil, and the more reserved use of chemical fertilizers, improving the structure and permeability for water with positive effects on the quality of agricultural works and preventing the excess and/or deficit of moisture in the soil.

Keywords: ecology, soil, organic waste, fertility

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Authors: Ghulam Abbas Shah, Maqsood Sadiq, Ahsan Yasin

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Massive global plastic production, combined with poor degradation and recycling, leads to significant environmental pollution from microplastics, whose effects on plants in the soil remain understudied. Besides, effective mitigation strategies and their impact on ammonia (NH₃) emissions under varying fertilizer management practices remains sketchy. Therefore, the objectives of the study were (i) to determine the impact of organic fertilizers on the toxicity of microplastics in sorghum and physicochemical characteristics of microplastics-contaminated soil and (ii) to assess the impacts of these fertilizers on NH₃ emissions from this soil. A field experiment was conducted using sorghum as a test crop. Treatments were: (i) Control (C), (ii) Microplastics (MP), (iii) Inorganic fertilizer (IF), (iv) MPIF, (v) Farmyard manure (FM), (vi) MPFM, (vii) Biochar (BC), and (viii) MPBC, arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replicates. Microplastics of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) were applied at a rate of 1.5 tons ha-¹, and all fertilizers were applied at the recommended dose of 90 kg N ha-¹. Soil sampling was done before sowing and after harvesting the sorghum, with samples analyzed for chemical properties and microbial biomass. Crop growth and yield attributes were measured. In a parallel pot experiment, NH₃ emissions were measured using passive flux samplers over 72 hours following the application of treatments similar to those used in the field experiment. Application of MPFM, MPBC and MPIF reduced soil mineral nitrogen by 8, 20 and 38% compared to their sole treatments, respectively. Microbial biomass carbon (MBC) was reduced by 19, 25 and 59% in MPIF, MPBC and MPFM as compared to their sole application, respectively. Similarly, the respective reduction in microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) was 10, 27 and 66%. The toxicity of microplastics was mitigated by MPFM and MPBC, each with only a 5% reduction in grain yield of sorghum relative to their sole treatments. The differences in nitrogen uptake between BC vs. MPBC, FM vs. MPFM, and IF vs. MPIF were 8, 10, and 12 kg N ha-¹, respectively, indicating that organic fertilizers mitigate microplastic toxicity in the soil. NH₃ emission was reduced by 5, 11 and 20% after application of MPFM, MPBC and MPIF than their sole treatments, respectively. The study concludes that organic fertilizers such as FM and BC can effectively mitigate the toxicity of microplastics in soil, leading to improved crop growth and yield.

Keywords: microplastics, soil characteristics, crop n uptake, biochar, NH₃ emissions

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Authors: C. G. Mendez-Garcia, E. T. Romero-Guzman, H. Hernandez-Mendoza, C. Solis, E. Chavez-Lomeli, E. Chamizo, R. Garcia-Tenorio

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Plutonium is present in different concentrations in the environment and biological samples related to nuclear weapons testing, nuclear waste recycling and accidental discharges of nuclear plants. This radioisotope is considered the most radiotoxic substance, particularly when it enters the human body through inhalation of powders insoluble or aerosols. This is the main reason of the determination of the concentration of this radioisotope in the atmosphere. Besides that, the isotopic ratio of ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu provides information about the origin of the source. PM₂.₅ sampling was carried out in the Metropolitan Zone of the Valley of Mexico (MZVM) from February 18th to March 17th in 2015 on quartz filter. There have been significant developments recently due to the establishment of new methods for sample preparation and accurate measurement to detect ultra trace levels as the plutonium is found in the environment. The accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is a technique that allows measuring levels of detection around of femtograms (10-15 g). The AMS determinations include the chemical isolation of Pu. The Pu separation involved an acidic digestion and a radiochemical purification using an anion exchange resin. Finally, the source is prepared, when Pu is pressed in the corresponding cathodes. According to the author's knowledge on these aerosols showed variations on the ²³⁵U/²³⁸U ratio of the natural value, suggesting that could be an anthropogenic source altering it. The determination of the concentration of the isotopes of Pu can be a useful tool in order the clarify this presence in the atmosphere. The first results showed a mean value of activity concentration of ²³⁹Pu of 280 nBq m⁻³ thus the ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu was 0.025 corresponding to the weapon production source; these results corroborate that there is an anthropogenic influence that is increasing the concentration of radioactive material in PM₂.₅. According to the author's knowledge in Total Suspended Particles (TSP) have been reported activity concentrations of ²³⁹⁺²⁴⁰Pu around few tens of nBq m⁻³ and 0.17 of ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu ratios. The preliminary results in MZVM show high activity concentrations of isotopes of Pu (40 and 700 nBq m⁻³) and low ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu ratio than reported. These results are in the order of the activity concentrations of Pu in weapons-grade of high purity.

Keywords: aerosols, fallout, mass spectrometry, radiochemistry, tracer, ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu ratio

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Authors: Aisha Al-Baroud

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The United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), Kuwait National Focal Point (KNFP) and Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) cooperated in a joint project to undertake comprehensive and collaborative efforts to remediate 26 million m3 of crude oil contaminated soil that had resulted from the Gulf War in 1990/1991. These efforts are referred to as the Kuwait Environmental Remediation Program (KERP). KOC has developed a Total Remediation Solution (TRS) for KERP, which will guide the Remediation projects, comprises of alternative remedial solutions with treatment techniques inclusive of limited landfills for non-treatable soil materials disposal, and relies on treating certain ranges of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) contamination with the most appropriate remediation techniques. The KERP Remediation projects will be implemented within the KOC’s oilfields in North and South East Kuwait. The objectives of this remediation project is to clear land for field development and treat all the oil contaminated features (dry oil lakes, wet oil lakes, and oil contaminated piles) through TRS plan to optimize the treatment processes and minimize the volume of contaminated materials to be placed into landfills. The treatment strategy will comprise of Excavation and Transportation (E&T) of oil contaminated soils from contaminated land to remote treatment areas and to use appropriate remediation technologies or a combination of treatment technologies to achieve remediation target criteria (RTC). KOC has awarded five mega projects to achieve the same and is currently in the execution phase. As a part of the company’s commitment to environment and for the fulfillment of the mandatory HSSEMS procedures, all the Remediation contractors needs to report waste generation data from the various project activities on a monthly basis. Data on waste generation is collected in order to implement cost-efficient and sustainable waste management operations. Data analytics approaches can be built on the top of the data to produce more detailed, and in-time waste generation information for the basis of waste management and collection. The results obtained highlight the potential of advanced data analytic approaches in producing more detailed waste generation information for planning and optimization of waste collection and recycling.

Keywords: waste, tencnolgies, KERP, data, soil

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Authors: Shinta Holdsworth, Jan Axmacher, Darren J. Mann

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Beetles represent the most diverse insect taxon, and they contribute significantly to a wide range of vital ecological functions. Examples include decomposition by bark beetles, nitrogen recycling and dung processing by dung beetles or pest control by predatory ground beetles. Nonetheless, research into the distribution patterns, species richness and functional diversity of beetles particularly from tropical regions remains extremely limited. In our research, we aim to investigate the distribution and diversity patterns of beetles and the roles they play in small tropical island ecosystems in the Kepulauan Seribu Marine National Park and on Java. Our research furthermore provides insights into the effects anthropogenic activities have on the assemblage composition and diversity of beetles on the small islands. We recorded a substantial number of highly abundant small island species, including a substantial number of unique small island species across the study area, highlighting these islands’ potential importance for the regional conservation of genetic resources. The highly varied patterns observed in relation to the use of different trapping types - pitfall traps and flight interception traps (FITs) - underscores the need for complementary trapping strategies that combine multiple methods for beetle community surveys in tropical islands. The significant impacts of human activities have on the small island beetle faunas were also highlighted in our research. More island beetle species encountered in settlement than forest areas shows clear trend of positive links between anthropogenic activities and the overall beetle species richness. However, undisturbed forests harboured a high number of unique species, also in comparison to disturbed forests. Finally, our study suggests that, with regards to different feeding guilds, the diversity of herbivorous beetles on islands is strongly affected by the different levels of forest cover encountered.

Keywords: beetle diversity, forest disturbance, island biogeography, island settlement

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Authors: Mohammed S. Razali, Kamel Khimeche, Dahah Hichem, Ammar Boudjellal, Djamel E. Kaderi, Nourddine Ramdani

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The use of additive manufacturing technologies has revolutionized various aspects of our daily lives. In particular, 3D printing has greatly advanced biomedical applications. While fused filament fabrication (FFF) technologies have made it easy to produce or prototype various medical devices, it is crucial to minimize the risk of contamination. New materials with antibacterial properties, such as those containing compounded silver nanoparticles, have emerged on the market. In a previous study, we prepared a newly sintered seashell filler (SSh) from bio-based seashells found along the Mediterranean coast using a suitable heat treatment process. We then prepared a series of polylactic acid (PLA) and polybutylene succinate (PBS) biocomposites filled with these SSh particles using a melt mixing technique with a twin-screw extruder to use them as feedstock filaments for 3D printing. The study consisted of two parts: evaluating the antibacterial activity of newly prepared biocomposites made of PLA and PBS reinforced with a sintered seashell in the first part and experimental and modeling analysis of the non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of these biocomposites in the second part. In the first part, the bactericidal activity of the biocomposites against three different bacteria, including Gram-negative bacteria such as (E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), as well as Gram-positive bacteria such as (Staphylococcus aureus), was examined. The PLA-based biocomposite containing 20 wt.% of SSh particles exhibited an inhibition zone with radial diameters of 8mm and 6mm against E. coli and Pseudo. Au, respectively, while no bacterial activity was observed against Staphylococcus aureus. In the second part, the focus was on investigating the effect of the sintered seashell filler particles on the non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of PLA and PBS 3D-printing composite materials. The objective was to understand the impact of the filler particles on the crystallization mechanism of both PLA and PBS during the cooling process of a melt-extruded filament in (FFF) to manage the dimensional accuracy and mechanical properties of the final printed part. We conducted a non-isothermal melt crystallization kinetic study of a series of PLA-SS and PBS-SS composites using differential scanning calorimetry at various cooling rates. We analyzed the obtained kinetic data using different crystallization kinetic models such as modified Avrami, Ozawa, and Mo's methods. Dynamic mode describes the relative crystallinity as a function of temperature; it found that time half crystallinity (t1/2) of neat PLA decreased from 17 min to 7.3 min for PLA+5 SSh and the (t1/2) of virgin PBS was reduced from 3.5 min to 2.8 min for the composite containing 5wt.% of SSh. We found that the coated SS particles with stearic acid acted as nucleating agents and had a nucleation activity, as observed through polarized optical microscopy. Moreover, we evaluated the effective energy barrier of the non-isothermal crystallization process using the Iso conversional methods of Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (F-W-O) and Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (K-A-S). The study provides significant insights into the crystallization behavior of PLA and PBS biocomposites.

Keywords: avrami model, bio-based reinforcement, dsc, gram-negative bacteria, gram-positive bacteria, isoconversional methods, non-isothermal crystallization kinetics, poly(butylene succinate), poly(lactic acid), antbactirial activity

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Authors: Firas Daghistani, Hossam Abuel Naga

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Waste tyres is a global problem that has a negative effect on the environment, where there are approximately one billion waste tyres discarded worldwide yearly. Waste tyres are discarded in stockpiles, where they provide harm to the environment in many ways. Finding applications to these materials can help in reducing this global problem. One of these applications is recycling these waste materials and using them in geotechnical engineering. Recycled waste tyre particulates can be mixed with sand to form a lightweight material with varying shear strength characteristics. Contradicting results were found in the literature on the inclusion of particulate rubber to sand, where some experiments found that the inclusion of particulate rubber can increase the shear strength of the mixture, while other experiments stated that the addition of particulate rubber decreases the shear strength of the mixture. This research further investigates the inclusion of particulate rubber to sand and whether it can increase or decrease the shear strength characteristics of the mixture. For the experiment, a series of direct shear tests were performed on a poorly graded sand with a mean particle size of 0.32 mm mixed with recycled poorly graded particulate rubber with a mean particle size of 0.51 mm. The shear tests were performedon four normal stresses 30, 55, 105, 200 kPa at a shear rate of 1 mm/minute. Different percentages ofparticulate rubber content were used in the mixture i.e., 10%, 20%, 30% and 50% of sand dry weight at three density states, namely loose, slight dense, and dense state. The size ratio of the mixture,which is the mean particle size of the particulate rubber divided by the mean particle size of the sand, was 1.59. The results identified multiple parameters that can influence the shear strength of the mixture. The parameters were: normal stress, particulate rubber content, mixture gradation, mixture size ratio, and the mixture’s density. The inclusion of particulate rubber tosand showed a decrease to the internal friction angle and an increase to the apparent cohesion. Overall, the inclusion of particulate rubber did not have a significant influenceon the shear strength of the mixture. For all the dense states at the low normal stresses 33 and 55 kPa, the inclusion of particulate rubber showed aslight increase in the shear strength where the peak was at 20% rubber content of the sand’s dry weight. On the other hand, at the high normal stresses 105, and 200 kPa, there was a slight decrease in the shear strength.

Keywords: shear strength, direct shear, sand-rubber mixture, waste material, granular material

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Authors: Aditi Chitharanjan Parmar, Marco Gottardo, Giulia Adele Tuci, Francesco Valentino

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The generation of urban organic waste is a significant environmental problem due to the potential release of leachate and/or methane into the environment. This contributes to climate change, discharging a valuable resource that could be used in various ways. This research addresses this issue by proposing a two-step approach by linking biowaste management to aquaculture industry via single cell proteins (SCP) production. A mixture of food waste and municipal sewage sludge (FW-MSS) was firstly subjected to a mesophilic (37°C) anaerobic fermentation to produce a liquid stream rich in short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which are important building blocks for the following microbial biomass growth. In the frame of stable fermentation activity (after 1 week of operation), the average value of SCFAs was 21.3  0.4 g COD/L, with a CODSCFA/CODSOL ratio of 0.77 COD/COD. This indicated the successful strategy to accumulate SCFAs from the biowaste mixture by applying short hydraulic retention time (HRT; 4 days) and medium organic loading rate (OLR; 7 – 12 g VS/L d) in the lab-scale (V = 4 L) continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR). The SCFA-rich effluent was then utilized as feedstock for the growth of a mixed microbial consortium able to store polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), a class of biopolymers completely biodegradable in nature and produced as intracellular carbon/energy source. Given the demonstrated properties of the intracellular PHA as antimicrobial and immunomodulatory effect on various fish species, the PHA-producing culture was intended to be utilized as SCP in aquaculture. The growth of PHA-storing biomass was obtained in a 2-L sequencing batch reactor (SBR), fully aerobic and set at 25°C; to stimulate a certain storage response (PHA production) in the cells, the feast-famine conditions were adopted, consisting in an alternation of cycles during which the biomass was exposed to an initial abundance of substrate (feast phase) followed by a starvation period (famine phase). To avoid the proliferation of other bacteria not able to store PHA, the SBR was maintained at low HRT (2 days). Along the stable growth of the mixed microbial consortium (the growth yield was estimated to be 0.47 COD/COD), the feast-famine strategy enhanced the PHA production capacity, leading to a final PHA content in the biomass equal to 16.5 wt%, which is suitable for the use as SCP. In fact, by incorporating the waste-derived PHA-rich biomass into fish feed at 20 wt%, the final feed could contain a PHA content around 3.0 wt%, within the recommended range (0.2–5.0 wt%) for promoting fish health. Proximate analysis of the PHA-rich biomass revealed a good crude proteins level (around 51 wt%) and the presence of all the essential amino acids (EAA), together accounting for 31% of the SCP total amino acid composition. This suggested that the waste-derived SCP was a source of good quality proteins with a good nutritional value. This approach offers a sustainable solution for urban waste management, potentially establishing a sustainable waste-to-value conversion route by connecting waste management to the growing aquaculture and fish feed production sectors.

Keywords: feed supplement, nutritional value, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), single cell protein (SCP), urban organic waste.

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Authors: P. Joris, E. Lombard, X. Cameleyre, G. Navarro, A. Paillet, N. Gorret, S. E. Guillouet

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Today, on the international space station, multiple supplies are needed per year to supply food and spare parts and to take out waste. But as it is planned to go longer and further into space these supplies will no longer be possible. The astronaut life support system must be able of continuously transform waste into valuable compounds. Two types of production were identified as critical and could be be supplemented by microorganisms. On the one hand, since microgravity causes rapid muscle loss, single cell proteins (SCPs) could be used as protein rich feed or food. On the other hand, having enough building materials to build an advanced habitat will not be possible only by transporting space goods from earth to mars for example. The bacterium Cupriavidus. necator is well known for its ability to produce a large amount of proteins or of polyhydroxyalkanoate biopolymers (PHAs) depending on its implementation. By coupling the life support system to a 3D-printer, astronauts could be supplied with an unlimited amount of building materials. Additionally, based on the design of the life support system, waste streams have been identified: urea from the crew urine and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) from a first stage of organic waste (excrement and food waste) treatment through anaerobic digestion. Thus, the objective of this, within the Spaceship.Fr project, was to demonstrate the feasibility of producing SCPs and PHAs from VFAs and urea in bioreactor. Because life support systems operate continuously as loops, continuous culture experiments were chosen and the effect of the bioreactor dilution rate on biomass composition was investigated. Total transformation of the carbon source into biomass with high SCP or PHA content was achieved in all cases. We will present the transformation performances of VFAs and urea by the bacteria in bioreactor in terms of titers, yields and productivities but also in terms of the quality of SCP and PHA produced, nucleic acid content. We will further discuss the envisioned integration of our process within life support systems.

Keywords: life support system, space travel, waste treatment, single cell proteins, polyhydroxyalkanoates, bioreactor

Procedia PDF Downloads 106