Cleaner Waste Systems最新文献

This study recycles and repurposes discarded studio waste materials, such as broken ceramics, glass fragments, sawdust, and bits of shattered P.O.P molds, to create visually compelling creative works. The interest for this study is inspired by the prolific generation of waste that arises from the studio learning practices of sculpture and ceramic students. A studio-based research approach utilizing Aesthetico-Action Research design is employed in a systematic approach to explore the feasibility and promise of composite amalgamation. The researchers mix resin and fiberglass composite materials with the various types of studio waste. The primary objective is to achieve creative outcomes with unconventional and unique finishes. The technique, philosophical and symbolic application, and usage of these materials in creating distinct art pieces including an exclusive “African woman” offer intriguing insights. The study reveals that the studio can efficiently repurpose waste materials, creating new cast materials for sculptures and ceramic works with distinctive and non-traditional finishes. This highlights the intrinsic transforming capacity of disposable waste materials, presenting a compelling opportunity for new and sustainable artistic practice where material finishes are not concealed.

Introduction

The analysis of corporate and consumer sustainability practices is currently the focus of several scientific disciplines due to their environmental impact and diversity.

Objective

This research aims to create a hierarchy of consumer perceptions of zero waste thinking that can guide government decisions regarding university communities' sustainability efforts. To achieve the objectives of this study, Hungarian university citizens (students, faculty, staff) as potential zero waste consumers in Győr were involved in a purposive sampling approach.

Methods

This study adopted the Covariance-Based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM) methodology to prove the hypotheses related to the 7Rs regarding Zero Waste perceptions of university citizens. The rethink element of the hierarchy was defined as the default condition for the 7 R application and therefore remained at the top of the hierarchy as an endogenous variable.

Results

The study concluded that it is possible to adapt a business 7 R framework for consumer use, but only 5Rs can be applied. The analysis was conducted at a 90% confidence level, under which condition the independent variables together explain 87% of the variance of the rethink factor. The results show that the four constructs, namely rot (β =0.12, ρ<0.1), reduce (β =0.21, ρ<0.1), recycle (β =0.26, ρ<0.05), and reuse (β =0.43, ρ<0.05) significantly affect rethinking. Based on these regression weights, a hierarchy of importance can be established. In line with the original 7 R business concept, rethink is at the top of the hierarchy, followed by the other elements.

Conclusions

The results suggest that the zero waste attitudes of university citizens are currently limited to the 5Rs, which should require government leadership to strengthen these factors or a more consistent presence and support for the 2Rs that are missing from the established model. Governments can use the results of this research in their sustainability-related decisions.

This study analyzed construction waste prevention measures applied to a social housing project, with life cycle assessment (LCA), by three scenarios: base case scenario (BCS) – a single family house built with masonry blocks; prevention scenario 1 (PS1) – BCS assuming a theoretical optimization in materials consumption; prevention scenario 2 (PS2) – a house built with cast-in-situ concrete walls. The prevention scenarios showed waste reductions of 4% (PS1) and 36% (PS2). The environmental impacts have been evaluated by using CML baseline v.3.05; the impact categories were selected according to the EN 15.978:2011: global warming potential (GWP), acidification (AP), eutrophication (EP), ozone layer depletion (ODP), photochemical ozone formation (POF), abiotic depletion (AD), and abiotic depletion – fossil fuels (ADF). The PS1 reduced environmental impacts by 5% whereas PS2 increased by 15%, compared with BCS. The most critical construction steps for BCS and PS1 were coating and superstructure, whereas for PS2 were superstructure and painting. The materials extraction and production stage represent about 90% of the total impacts. The most critical materials for BCS and PS1 were concrete, cement, and steel, whereas for PS2 those were concrete, steel, and paint. The most relevant categories for the three scenarios analyzed were GWP, ADF, and AP. The waste management stage was irrelevant in generating impacts, contributing for less than 1% of the total impacts. These results highlight that despite reducing waste generation, prevention does not necessarily reduce the overall impacts of the edification, and therefore, the materials and construction methods used are especially relevant.

The generation of solid waste, more specifically municipal solid waste (MSW), has been considered one of the major global environmental problems since urbanization started. Among Scandinavian states, Denmark and Norway have placed in the top positions (1 and 2 respectively) for high MSW production. Sweden has a steady plan for MSW management/treatments by practising material recycle, biological treatment and energy recovery. The aim of this review is to compare municipal waste generation between Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia. A systematic literature review was performed by screening academic and public articles to assess factors for better MSW management based on technological solutions. Key results include the importance of new tariffs and legislations, producer responsibilities for electronic products, municipality involvement, distribution of responsibilities, and infrastructure developments for better MSW management in Sweden. The application of modern technologies have also been considered for MSW management in Sweden. Societal participation (willingness, awareness and concern) in Sweden also plays a significant role in MSW management. A better packaging system, application of interactive visualization (gamification) in waste sorting, public awareness, and infrastructure development could significantly improve the waste sorting process and conversion of waste management from a linear economy towards a circular economy.

The concept of sustainable and eco-friendly production of textiles has gained significant traction in recent years. Utilizing sustainable raw materials, processes, and recycling methods are fundamental strategies in the development of cleaner and more eco-conscious textile manufacturing. The current work reports a sustainable approach to manufacturing melange yarn from recycled fibers shredded from pre-consumer cotton/viscose mélange fabric waste. The recycled fibers obtained by the shredding method are short and lumpy, necessitating the blending with virgin fibers which serve as carriers throughout the spinning process. In the traditional ring spinning system, the poor inter-fiber cohesion, especially shorter recycled fibers, inhibits achieving the optimum yarn quality. With a view to their better control during spinning, advanced spinning systems such as Siro, compact and compact-Siro spinning were adopted. Experimental results revealed that all these spinning systems led to superior yarn qualities. Among them, yarn produced with compact-Siro spinning demonstrated the most significant improvements in yarn structure (reduced hairiness, unevenness & imperfections) and properties (increased strength & elongation). Through adept engineering and precise process control, 30-Ne (19.68 Tex) melange yarns containing up to 60% recycled mélange fiber were successfully produced. These melange yarns proved to be suitable for manufacturing knit fabrics with aesthetics similar to commercial mélange fabrics. The innovation of producing melange yarn, incorporating 60% recycled fibers, introduces a revolutionary concept aimed at supporting the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12. This initiative aims to reduce the reliance on production of viscose, and cultivating and processing cotton, thereby making significant contributions to environmental conservation in various dimensions. Moreover, embracing this approach offers the potential for cost savings in the production of melange clothing.

In this paper, we explore the industrial-scale feasibility of using concentrated solar power (CSP) as the heat source in the smoldering remediation of petroleum-contaminated soil. Approximately 5 L soil samples were loaded in a narrow-channel reaction chamber and heated from the bottom with CSP to identify the required heat input to achieve ignition. Both petroleum and granular activated carbon (GAC) were used as combustible media. GAC was selected as a cleaner-burning alternative to petroleum and could emulate petroleum-contaminated soil at a mixture of 40 g GAC per kg pool sand on a 1.5 cm bed of GAC. This mixture of GAC showed robust ignition with a minimum power input of 240 W, which was slightly higher than the power input required to ignite industrially generated petroleum-contaminated soil. Preheat temperatures in excess of 300°C were achieved in most experiments, allowing for robust ignition of the smoldering remediation process. CSP was collected using parabolic reflectors 600 mm in diameter and was delivered to the reaction chamber with fiber optic bundles. Each solar concentrator delivered between 50 and 80 W to the reaction chamber, and four concentrators were required to reliably achieve the required power input.

The past few decades have witnessed a significant increase in the generation of construction and demolition (C&D) waste, posing a considerable sustainability challenge for the construction industry and environmental sustainability efforts. Due to its detrimental environmental effects, reducing C&D waste has become a crucial priority. However, the construction industry encounters various obstacles to effectively managing C&D waste. This research is centered on a comprehensive examination of these challenges. A systematic literature review was conducted, and the RStudio Bibliometrix package was used to analyze the barriers. This study thoroughly assessed 72 articles concerning C&D waste management (CDWM) from 2003 to 2023, sourced from the Web of Science database. The results revealed five distinct clusters of CDWM barriers, namely “managerial barriers,” “culturally ingrained waste behaviors in the construction industry,” “financial barriers,” “challenges in waste quantification,” and “insufficient information modeling.” This study makes a significant contribution to the existing literature on C&D waste management by applying quantitative analytical analyses via RStudio software, such as trend topic analysis, h-index, cluster analysis, and thematic mapping, which provide a deeper insight into the domain of CDWM barriers. Unlike previous studies, this work offers a holistic exploration of CDWM barriers and the intellectual structure within the field. This study advances the understanding of CDWM barriers by offering innovative quantitative methodologies and comprehensive insights. It is a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners seeking to address CDWM challenges, ultimately promoting sustainable practices in the construction industry.

The leather industry in Bangladesh grapples with significant environmental challenges related to harmful waste discharge, intensifying the urgency for industry leaders to address pollution concerns through effective waste management. In light of this, waste recycling becomes a viable avenue to mitigate environmental degradation. However, limited research exists that specifically focuses on the behavioral inclination of top management toward waste recycling, especially within the context of the leather industry. To address this literature gap, this research seeks to investigate the intention of top management to recycle waste in Bangladesh's leather industry. The foundational theoretical framework for constructing the research structure is the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). A hybrid multi-method technique was employed, combining Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) approaches to uncover symmetric and asymmetric effects of various antecedents on waste recycling intention. The PLS-SEM findings reveal a significant impact of attitude, perceived behavioral control, and perceived environmental concern on the intention to recycle waste. While fsQCA results suggest the continued importance of subjective norms in the model by revealing its moderate causal impact, a finding that diverges from the initial PLS-SEM results, which found it to be non-significant. The study extends and contextualizes the TPB theory in waste recycling intention and applies a hybrid method, making significant contributions to the existing literature. Furthermore, these findings offer valuable insights for practitioners and policymakers in the leather industry, aiding in crafting impactful interventions to foster pro-environmental actions.

Kola nut seed shell is a largely generated food waste that can be explored as an alternative energy source to reduce the damaging effects of the combustion of fossil fuels on the environment and reduce its usage since it’s limited in nature. The seed shell’s proximate and ultimate data were obtained using standard procedures; ash deposition indices were obtained using XRF data; crystallinity of its cellulosic component was determined using XRD data; pyrolysis was done using a fixed bed pyrolyzer; and ultrasonication of crude bio-oil and its alcoholic blends was done using an ultrasound bath rated at 55 W. Its shell has moderate Moisture Content (MC) (5.84%), high C (51.92%), low amounts of S (0.020%), N (0.11%), ash content (5.26%), high VM (84.85%), Fixed Carbon (FC) (4.05%), C/N (472), H/C (0.096), and Higher Heating Value (HHV) (17.23 MJ/kg). Its mass ratio combination gave the empirical formula CH_0.096O_0.82N_0.002. It pyrolytically degrades at a thermal temperature range of 400–550 °C. XRF analysis of its ash base on Na₂O+K₂O/SiO₂ was 0.0897, which means no sintering inclination; B/A (0.27, low ash deposition tendency); SiO₂/Al₂O₃ (22.92) and Fe₂O₃/CaO (0.135) (low and high ash deposition tendencies, respectively); slagging viscosity index (83.48, high slagging tendency); %SiO₂ (71.52); babcock (Rs, 5.4 × 10⁻⁵); fouling indices (1.7 × 10⁻², low deposition tendencies); and total alkalis (0.0642, low fouling tendency). GC and FTIR of the upgraded bio-oil showed complex compounds suitable as biofuel. Its co-pyrolysis with other biomass could reduce fouling, sintering, ash, and corrosion issues.

The growing human population is increasing the need for crop production, which has resulted in elevated requirements of Nitrogen-Phosphorous-Potassium (NPK) fertilisers. This tremendous demand cannot be sustained on traditional processes, which cause significant resource depletion and unacceptable environmental impacts due to their heavy reliance on fossil fuels. To overcome this, alternative sources to obtain fertilisers have been explored, including the recovery of nutrients from wastewater and waste streams. However, this approach faces several challenges, such as the dilution of the streams, low public acceptance, and lack of support. With the aim of surpassing these barriers, the present study provides a review of existing Research & Development (R&D) projects in the field, comparing the available technologies to identify the optimal train of technologies for nutrient recovery: Anaerobic Digestion followed by the valorisation of the digestate (directly or producing P-based fertilisers such as P salts, CaP, H₃PO₄ and P₂O₅) and the liquid fraction (obtaining struvite, ammonium sulphate/nitrate, and reclaimed water). Moreover, an innovative strategy for nutrient recovery based on the decentralised treatment of separated concentrated streams is proposed as a useful strategy for valorising nutrients, developing a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis. Finally, non-technological strategies are suggested to mainstream waste valorisation, aimed at overcoming social barriers by promoting stakeholder acceptance and producing recycled fertilisers with low associated rejection. Nutrient valorisation through the decentralised treatment of source separated waste/wastewater using optimised train of technologies seems a sustainable strategy for addressing the current and future massive demand of fertilisers.