Pub Date : 2024-11-26DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108020
Giulia Del Serrone, Gennaro Riccio, Laura Moretti
The construction sector, responsible for 39 % of global CO2 emissions, requires innovative solutions to reduce its environmental footprint. This study presents a “cradle-to-cradle” life cycle assessment (LCA) of prestressed concrete railway sleepers, following EN 15804:2012 + A2:2019, to quantify and mitigate their environmental impacts. It covers production, installation, use, maintenance, dismantling, and potential reuse, recovery, and recycling benefits. The product stage contributes 79 % of total environmental impacts, primarily driven by cement (50 %) and steel (49 %). Proposed strategies, including the use of recycled materials and alternative transportation methods, achieve an 18 % reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a 30 % decrease in non-renewable energy consumption, and a 50 % reduction in ozone depletion potential. Key contributions to these reductions come from replacing traditional cement with clinker derived from solid fuels and shifting sleeper transportation from road to rail, highlighting the critical role of sustainable practices in advancing the environmental performance of railway infrastructure.
{"title":"Cradle-to-cradle life cycle assessment of railway prestressed concrete sleepers: A state-of-the-art review and strategies for reducing environmental impacts","authors":"Giulia Del Serrone, Gennaro Riccio, Laura Moretti","doi":"10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108020","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108020","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The construction sector, responsible for 39 % of global CO<sub>2</sub> emissions, requires innovative solutions to reduce its environmental footprint. This study presents a “cradle-to-cradle” life cycle assessment (LCA) of prestressed concrete railway sleepers, following EN 15804:2012 + A2:2019, to quantify and mitigate their environmental impacts. It covers production, installation, use, maintenance, dismantling, and potential reuse, recovery, and recycling benefits. The product stage contributes 79 % of total environmental impacts, primarily driven by cement (50 %) and steel (49 %). Proposed strategies, including the use of recycled materials and alternative transportation methods, achieve an 18 % reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a 30 % decrease in non-renewable energy consumption, and a 50 % reduction in ozone depletion potential. Key contributions to these reductions come from replacing traditional cement with clinker derived from solid fuels and shifting sleeper transportation from road to rail, highlighting the critical role of sustainable practices in advancing the environmental performance of railway infrastructure.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21153,"journal":{"name":"Resources Conservation and Recycling","volume":"214 ","pages":"Article 108020"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2024-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142720817","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-25DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108011
Zipeng Liu , Bernd Nowack
Confronting the pervasive challenge of plastic pollution, our study pioneers a dynamic release model to quantify the historic and current plastic emissions. Utilizing Dynamic Probabilistic Material Flow Analysis (DPMFA) coupled to a release model, we comprehensively tracked emissions of macro- and microplastics in Switzerland from 1950 to 2022, covering 35 product categories and 183 release pathways for seven polymers (LDPE, HDPE, PP, PS, EPS, PVC, PET). The plastic usage exhibited a “Peak Plastic” around the year 2010 with a subsequent decrease in per capita use of plastics from 120±5 to 107±5 kg/cap in 2022. Over the considered timeframe, 27±1 kg/cap of macroplastics and 4 ± 1 kg/cap of microplastics were released to the environment, with the most substantial contributions coming from LDPE and PET. The overall emission factor was 0.66±0.07 % for macroplastics and 0.010±0.01 % for microplastics. The model can provide a crucial framework for crafting targeted interventions toward sustainable plastic lifecycle management.
{"title":"Using dynamic release modeling to predict historic and current macro- and microplastic releases","authors":"Zipeng Liu , Bernd Nowack","doi":"10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108011","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108011","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Confronting the pervasive challenge of plastic pollution, our study pioneers a dynamic release model to quantify the historic and current plastic emissions. Utilizing Dynamic Probabilistic Material Flow Analysis (DPMFA) coupled to a release model, we comprehensively tracked emissions of macro- and microplastics in Switzerland from 1950 to 2022, covering 35 product categories and 183 release pathways for seven polymers (LDPE, HDPE, PP, PS, EPS, PVC, PET). The plastic usage exhibited a “Peak Plastic” around the year 2010 with a subsequent decrease in per capita use of plastics from 120±5 to 107±5 kg/cap in 2022. Over the considered timeframe, 27±1 kg/cap of macroplastics and 4 ± 1 kg/cap of microplastics were released to the environment, with the most substantial contributions coming from LDPE and PET. The overall emission factor was 0.66±0.07 % for macroplastics and 0.010±0.01 % for microplastics. The model can provide a crucial framework for crafting targeted interventions toward sustainable plastic lifecycle management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21153,"journal":{"name":"Resources Conservation and Recycling","volume":"214 ","pages":"Article 108011"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2024-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142704200","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-23DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108026
Zhiming Dong, Liang Yuan, Bing Yang, Fan Xue, Weisheng Lu
Waste sorting is a critical process in construction waste management system. Computer vision (CV) offers waste sorting automation potential by recognizing waste composition and instructing robots or other mechanical devices accordingly. However, how the plethora of CV models developed perform relative to each other remains underexplored, making model selection challenging for researchers and practitioners. This study aims to benchmark existing CV models towards automated construction waste segregation. Seventeen models were selected and trained with unified configuration, and then their performance was evaluated on the aspect of accuracy, efficiency, and robustness, respectively. In experimental results, BEiT attained top accuracy (58.31 % MIoU) while FastFCN had the best efficiency (12.87 ms). SAN displayed the least standard deviation (4.41 %) for robustness evaluation. This research contributes a reliable reference for CV model selection, advancing automated construction waste sorting research and practices, and ultimately promoting efficient recycling while reducing the environmental impact of construction and demolition waste.
{"title":"Benchmarking computer vision models for automated construction waste sorting","authors":"Zhiming Dong, Liang Yuan, Bing Yang, Fan Xue, Weisheng Lu","doi":"10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108026","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108026","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Waste sorting is a critical process in construction waste management system. Computer vision (CV) offers waste sorting automation potential by recognizing waste composition and instructing robots or other mechanical devices accordingly. However, how the plethora of CV models developed perform relative to each other remains underexplored, making model selection challenging for researchers and practitioners. This study aims to benchmark existing CV models towards automated construction waste segregation. Seventeen models were selected and trained with unified configuration, and then their performance was evaluated on the aspect of accuracy, efficiency, and robustness, respectively. In experimental results, BEiT attained top accuracy (58.31 % MIoU) while FastFCN had the best efficiency (12.87 ms). SAN displayed the least standard deviation (4.41 %) for robustness evaluation. This research contributes a reliable reference for CV model selection, advancing automated construction waste sorting research and practices, and ultimately promoting efficient recycling while reducing the environmental impact of construction and demolition waste.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21153,"journal":{"name":"Resources Conservation and Recycling","volume":"213 ","pages":"Article 108026"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2024-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142701156","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Recent attention on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has spurred investigations into green innovation, pivotal for sustainable industry transformation through green patents. Yet, the green innovation performance lacked a more comprehensive measurement with both internal and external criteria; meanwhile, the nexus between green innovation and SDGs remains underexplored in the construction sector. This study pioneers a comprehensive framework to measure green innovation performances by citation-based analysis and to uncover their potential impacts on the achievement of the 17 SDGs by content analysis across 1.8 million patents, identifying 61,951 as green patents by three classification methods. Based on the construction of citation network, results show 79.64 % of citations within single domains, with mere 1.34 % integrating non-construction knowledge, signaling limited novelty. The similarity analysis has been conducted based on contents between novel green patents and 17 individual SDGs. Emphasis on specific SDGs varies, notably on SDGs 13 (climate action), 16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions), 5 (gender equality), and 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure), while SDGs 3, 4, 7, and 11 relating to health and well-being, quality education, affordable and clean energy, and sustainable cities and communities receive less attention. These findings underscore the need for enhanced cross-domain collaborations and a refined classification system to achieve a more balanced contribution across SDGs, promoting sustainable construction.
{"title":"Innovating for a greener future: Novelty in green patents and its impact on sustainable development goals in China's construction sector","authors":"Ziyue Yuan , Yuxuan Lan , Qinyu Zhuo , Shu-Chien Hsu","doi":"10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108025","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108025","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recent attention on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has spurred investigations into green innovation, pivotal for sustainable industry transformation through green patents. Yet, the green innovation performance lacked a more comprehensive measurement with both internal and external criteria; meanwhile, the nexus between green innovation and SDGs remains underexplored in the construction sector. This study pioneers a comprehensive framework to measure green innovation performances by citation-based analysis and to uncover their potential impacts on the achievement of the 17 SDGs by content analysis across 1.8 million patents, identifying 61,951 as green patents by three classification methods. Based on the construction of citation network, results show 79.64 % of citations within single domains, with mere 1.34 % integrating non-construction knowledge, signaling limited novelty. The similarity analysis has been conducted based on contents between novel green patents and 17 individual SDGs. Emphasis on specific SDGs varies, notably on SDGs 13 (climate action), 16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions), 5 (gender equality), and 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure), while SDGs 3, 4, 7, and 11 relating to health and well-being, quality education, affordable and clean energy, and sustainable cities and communities receive less attention. These findings underscore the need for enhanced cross-domain collaborations and a refined classification system to achieve a more balanced contribution across SDGs, promoting sustainable construction.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21153,"journal":{"name":"Resources Conservation and Recycling","volume":"213 ","pages":"Article 108025"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2024-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142701155","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-22DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108008
Zahraossadat Alavi , Kaveh Khalilpour , Nick Florin , Ali Hadigheh , Andrew Hoadley
The growing demand for renewable energy has led to a significant increase in the deployment of wind turbines globally. As these turbines reach the end of their operational lives, managing the waste generated from their composite blades presents environmental challenges. By employing life cycle analysis (LCA), the research assesses the environmental impacts of four major disposal scenarios - landfilling, mechanical recycling, pyrolysis, and solvolysis – in the context of Australia's ongoing energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables. This innovation provides a deeper insight into how shifting energy sources in the near future influence the environmental performance of recycling and disposal methods, offering guidance for more sustainable waste management strategies. According to the results, solvolysis shows the most positive impacts on the environment (single score factor ≈ -500 MPt) owing to the potential to produce recovered carbon fibre. Pyrolysis is the next environmentally friendly method, with a slight difference. Mechanical recycling appears to have comparable results to these methods, however the quality of recycled fibres has significant differences. Sensitivity analysis also underscores the critical role of electricity usage in the environmental impacts by 65 % and 86 % share of human health damage assessment in solvolysis and pyrolysis, advocating for its reduction or transition to renewable sources. Finally, the study shows that transitioning to renewable electricity in recycling processes revealed a potential reduction in the environmental impact by around 33–85 %, depending on the end-of-life treatment scenarios. There is also an opportunity to utilise both pyrolysis and solvolysis methods, as their environmental impacts are comparable when renewable resources are used. As we delve into innovative recycling approaches for wind turbine blades, there arises a hopeful prospect for a more sustainable future where conscientious material management contributes to environmental well-being.
{"title":"End-of-life wind turbine blade management across energy transition: A life cycle analysis","authors":"Zahraossadat Alavi , Kaveh Khalilpour , Nick Florin , Ali Hadigheh , Andrew Hoadley","doi":"10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The growing demand for renewable energy has led to a significant increase in the deployment of wind turbines globally. As these turbines reach the end of their operational lives, managing the waste generated from their composite blades presents environmental challenges. By employing life cycle analysis (LCA), the research assesses the environmental impacts of four major disposal scenarios - landfilling, mechanical recycling, pyrolysis, and solvolysis – in the context of Australia's ongoing energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables. This innovation provides a deeper insight into how shifting energy sources in the near future influence the environmental performance of recycling and disposal methods, offering guidance for more sustainable waste management strategies. According to the results, solvolysis shows the most positive impacts on the environment (single score factor ≈ -500 MPt) owing to the potential to produce recovered carbon fibre. Pyrolysis is the next environmentally friendly method, with a slight difference. Mechanical recycling appears to have comparable results to these methods, however the quality of recycled fibres has significant differences. Sensitivity analysis also underscores the critical role of electricity usage in the environmental impacts by 65 % and 86 % share of human health damage assessment in solvolysis and pyrolysis, advocating for its reduction or transition to renewable sources. Finally, the study shows that transitioning to renewable electricity in recycling processes revealed a potential reduction in the environmental impact by around 33–85 %, depending on the end-of-life treatment scenarios. There is also an opportunity to utilise both pyrolysis and solvolysis methods, as their environmental impacts are comparable when renewable resources are used. As we delve into innovative recycling approaches for wind turbine blades, there arises a hopeful prospect for a more sustainable future where conscientious material management contributes to environmental well-being.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21153,"journal":{"name":"Resources Conservation and Recycling","volume":"213 ","pages":"Article 108008"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2024-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142701158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-21DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108021
Nga Thu Do , Duc Anh Trinh , Virginia N. Panizzo , Suzanne McGowan , Hannah Runeckles , Andrew C.G. Henderson , Andrew R.G. Large , Christopher R. Hackney
Nitrogen (N) is crucial for agricultural yield, but its overuse in fertilisation and presence in uncollected wastewater from urbanization causes eutrophication. The Red River Delta in Vietnam is facing rapidly increasing water quality issues. Here, Material Flow Analysis is applied to quantify N flows in the delta between 2000 and 2020. This novel long-term assessment of changes in rice fertilisation regimes (human excreta, livestock manure and chemical fertilisers), demonstrates dramatic changes in N flows to surface water. The model shows a 41 % increase in rice paddy N use, with chemical fertilisers rising 1.6-fold while manure-derived N declined to 36 %. The total N load into surface water in 2020 increased by 53 % compared to 2000. The “hidden” inflows of domestic wastewater and blackwater into rice fields, which contribute significantly and indirectly to N loads, were identified via the MFA model. This underscores the need for improved fertilisation practices and waste management to mitigate freshwater pollution.
{"title":"Human activity controls nitrogen loads in a large sub-tropical delta from 2000 to 2020","authors":"Nga Thu Do , Duc Anh Trinh , Virginia N. Panizzo , Suzanne McGowan , Hannah Runeckles , Andrew C.G. Henderson , Andrew R.G. Large , Christopher R. Hackney","doi":"10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108021","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108021","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nitrogen (N) is crucial for agricultural yield, but its overuse in fertilisation and presence in uncollected wastewater from urbanization causes eutrophication. The Red River Delta in Vietnam is facing rapidly increasing water quality issues. Here, Material Flow Analysis is applied to quantify N flows in the delta between 2000 and 2020. This novel long-term assessment of changes in rice fertilisation regimes (human excreta, livestock manure and chemical fertilisers), demonstrates dramatic changes in N flows to surface water. The model shows a 41 % increase in rice paddy N use, with chemical fertilisers rising 1.6-fold while manure-derived N declined to 36 %. The total N load into surface water in 2020 increased by 53 % compared to 2000. The “hidden” inflows of domestic wastewater and blackwater into rice fields, which contribute significantly and indirectly to N loads, were identified via the MFA model. This underscores the need for improved fertilisation practices and waste management to mitigate freshwater pollution.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21153,"journal":{"name":"Resources Conservation and Recycling","volume":"213 ","pages":"Article 108021"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2024-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142701157","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-20DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.107993
Roland W. Scholz , Friedrich-Wilhelm Wellmer , Michael Mew , Gerald Steiner
We analyze the dynamics of phosphorus demand and supply in the context of the rapid mid-term increase in food demand (40 % by 2060) and mineral phosphorus demand increase. Including losses at mines, about 93 % of the 319 million tons of phosphate rock containing 30 % P2O5 were needed for food production in 2023. The total use efficiency (TUE) of phosphorus for food, the ratio of the amount of phosphorus ingested by humans to the amount of mineral and natural phosphorus used to produce food, is only 5–10 %. Phosphorus flow data indicate high global recycling potentials for inorganic wastes (especially from animal bones) and agricultural production that is not well assessed. Phosphate rock will be available at reasonable cost for well over a thousand years. The following factors interact to increase reserves: The low price of phosphate rock (compared to energy costs) and a high average grade of mined phosphorus (17 % P2O5) allow for mining lower concentrations with improved technology and higher costs for viable selling prices. The cumulative tonnage mined increases exponentially with declining mean ore grades. Phosphorus lifetime will be extended significantly by increasing the TUE and recycling, both combined with a high level of control and creative solutions.
{"title":"The dynamics of increasing mineral resources and improving resource efficiency: Prospects for mid- and long-term security of phosphorus supply","authors":"Roland W. Scholz , Friedrich-Wilhelm Wellmer , Michael Mew , Gerald Steiner","doi":"10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.107993","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.107993","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We analyze the dynamics of phosphorus demand and supply in the context of the rapid mid-term increase in food demand (40 % by 2060) and mineral phosphorus demand increase. Including losses at mines, about 93 % of the 319 million tons of phosphate rock containing 30 % P2O5 were needed for food production in 2023. The total use efficiency (TUE) of phosphorus for food, the ratio of the amount of phosphorus ingested by humans to the amount of mineral and natural phosphorus used to produce food, is only 5–10 %. Phosphorus flow data indicate high global recycling potentials for inorganic wastes (especially from animal bones) and agricultural production that is not well assessed. Phosphate rock will be available at reasonable cost for well over a thousand years. The following factors interact to increase reserves: The low price of phosphate rock (compared to energy costs) and a high average grade of mined phosphorus (17 % P2O5) allow for mining lower concentrations with improved technology and higher costs for viable selling prices. The cumulative tonnage mined increases exponentially with declining mean ore grades. Phosphorus lifetime will be extended significantly by increasing the TUE and recycling, both combined with a high level of control and creative solutions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21153,"journal":{"name":"Resources Conservation and Recycling","volume":"213 ","pages":"Article 107993"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2024-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142701159","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-20DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108015
Chuanlan Tang , O. van Hal , Yong Hou , Simon J. Oosting , Pierre J. Gerber
Enhancing nitrogen (N) circularity is crucial to mitigate the environmental impacts of N losses in food systems. Substance flow analysis (SFA) effectively assesses N flows, but its application to evaluating food system circularity in China remains limited. We used a SFA model of food system with detailed representation of animals and waste in the North China Plain, an agricultural-intensive area, to assess eight circularity indicators. Findings revealed that the area imported 49 % of feed N yet maintained food N self-sufficiency by producing 110 % of consumed food N. Nitrogen Use Efficiency was 19 %, with 56 % of waste N recycled, contributing half and one-third of fertilizer and feed N inputs. Furthermore, circularity performance varied among prefecture-level cities, with better outcomes in agriculturally active, less populated, and less urbanized areas. We illustrate SFA's value in assessing circularity in Chinese food systems while advocating for improved model accuracy and complementary indicators, emphasizing tailored strategies.
{"title":"Assessing nitrogen circularity in food systems in the North China Plain","authors":"Chuanlan Tang , O. van Hal , Yong Hou , Simon J. Oosting , Pierre J. Gerber","doi":"10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108015","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108015","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Enhancing nitrogen (N) circularity is crucial to mitigate the environmental impacts of N losses in food systems. Substance flow analysis (SFA) effectively assesses N flows, but its application to evaluating food system circularity in China remains limited. We used a SFA model of food system with detailed representation of animals and waste in the North China Plain, an agricultural-intensive area, to assess eight circularity indicators. Findings revealed that the area imported 49 % of feed N yet maintained food N self-sufficiency by producing 110 % of consumed food N. Nitrogen Use Efficiency was 19 %, with 56 % of waste N recycled, contributing half and one-third of fertilizer and feed N inputs. Furthermore, circularity performance varied among prefecture-level cities, with better outcomes in agriculturally active, less populated, and less urbanized areas. We illustrate SFA's value in assessing circularity in Chinese food systems while advocating for improved model accuracy and complementary indicators, emphasizing tailored strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21153,"journal":{"name":"Resources Conservation and Recycling","volume":"213 ","pages":"Article 108015"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2024-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142701160","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
River sand is essential for concrete but its production depletes 50 billion tons of resources annually causing scarcity and environmental issues. Desert sand (DS) covering 6 million square kilometers could help address this scarcity but has inferior properties. This study develops high-strength desert sand concrete (DSC) using 100 % DS through compression casting. Nine concrete mixes were prepared with varying DS replacement levels (0, 50, 100 %) and design strengths (30, 50, 70 MPa). Compression casting improved DSC's compressive and split tensile strength by up to 93 % and 54 % respectively compared to traditional concrete. It also reduced water absorption and voids by up to 41 % and 34 % and enhanced chloride and carbonation resistance by up to 64 % and 100 %. XRD, DSC-TG, and SEM analyses also confirm these results. Compression casting of DSC cut costs, CO2 emissions, and energy consumption by up to 57 %, 43 %, and 42 % respectively. This innovative DSC offers superior engineering, environmental, and economic benefits as a sustainable alternative to traditional concrete.
{"title":"Development of sustainable high-performance desert sand concrete: Engineering and environmental impacts of compression casting","authors":"Syed Minhaj Saleem Kazmi , Muhammad Junaid Munir , Yu-Fei Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>River sand is essential for concrete but its production depletes 50 billion tons of resources annually causing scarcity and environmental issues. Desert sand (DS) covering 6 million square kilometers could help address this scarcity but has inferior properties. This study develops high-strength desert sand concrete (DSC) using 100 % DS through compression casting. Nine concrete mixes were prepared with varying DS replacement levels (0, 50, 100 %) and design strengths (30, 50, 70 MPa). Compression casting improved DSC's compressive and split tensile strength by up to 93 % and 54 % respectively compared to traditional concrete. It also reduced water absorption and voids by up to 41 % and 34 % and enhanced chloride and carbonation resistance by up to 64 % and 100 %. XRD, DSC-TG, and SEM analyses also confirm these results. Compression casting of DSC cut costs, CO<sub>2</sub> emissions, and energy consumption by up to 57 %, 43 %, and 42 % respectively. This innovative DSC offers superior engineering, environmental, and economic benefits as a sustainable alternative to traditional concrete.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21153,"journal":{"name":"Resources Conservation and Recycling","volume":"212 ","pages":"Article 108002"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2024-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142654624","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-12DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108007
Liang Shi , Honglin He , Li Zhang , Junbang Wang , Xiaoli Ren , Guirui Yu , Peng Hou , Jixi Gao , Bin Chen , Keyu Qin , Lili Feng , Shaoqiang Wang , Yan Lv , Mengyu Zhang , Zhongen Niu , Zhaosheng Wang , Mei Huang
China's terrestrial ecosystem carbon sink (TCS) is crucial for the global carbon budget. However, little is known how the enhanced human disturbances and increased extreme climate events may potentially destabilize TCS under warming climate. Using three process-based ecosystem models, we simulated the spatiotemporal variations of China's terrestrial net ecosystem productivity (NEP) from 2000 to 2020. We found that 26.7 % of the land area exhibit simultaneous increases in NEP temporal variability and autocorrelation during this period, indicating an increasing risk of TCS destabilization. Particularly, the southeastern subtropical monsoon region in China emerged as a hot-spot of potentially increasing NEP instability, despite its high carbon sink capacity, both NEP temporal variability and autocorrelation in this area exhibit a notable upward trend. Climate change, notably increasing precipitation and its temporal variation, appeared to be the primary driver of this instability. This harbinger implies that a regime shift in carbon sink capacity may occur as the warming climate continues to push it to the verge of stability.
{"title":"Stability of China's terrestrial ecosystems carbon sink during 2000-2020","authors":"Liang Shi , Honglin He , Li Zhang , Junbang Wang , Xiaoli Ren , Guirui Yu , Peng Hou , Jixi Gao , Bin Chen , Keyu Qin , Lili Feng , Shaoqiang Wang , Yan Lv , Mengyu Zhang , Zhongen Niu , Zhaosheng Wang , Mei Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.108007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>China's terrestrial ecosystem carbon sink (TCS) is crucial for the global carbon budget. However, little is known how the enhanced human disturbances and increased extreme climate events may potentially destabilize TCS under warming climate. Using three process-based ecosystem models, we simulated the spatiotemporal variations of China's terrestrial net ecosystem productivity (NEP) from 2000 to 2020. We found that 26.7 % of the land area exhibit simultaneous increases in NEP temporal variability and autocorrelation during this period, indicating an increasing risk of TCS destabilization. Particularly, the southeastern subtropical monsoon region in China emerged as a hot-spot of potentially increasing NEP instability, despite its high carbon sink capacity, both NEP temporal variability and autocorrelation in this area exhibit a notable upward trend. Climate change, notably increasing precipitation and its temporal variation, appeared to be the primary driver of this instability. This harbinger implies that a regime shift in carbon sink capacity may occur as the warming climate continues to push it to the verge of stability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21153,"journal":{"name":"Resources Conservation and Recycling","volume":"212 ","pages":"Article 108007"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2024-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142654625","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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