Resources, conservation & recycling advances最新文献

A study in Nigeria examined the psychological factors affecting face mask disposal behavior (DB) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used, with awareness of consequences and institutional barriers added. 1183 respondents completed an online survey, and structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. The original TPB model revealed that attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms explained 65% of the variance in respondents' behavior. Behavioral intention and perceived behavioral control accounted for 59.3% of the variance in DB. The extended TPB model, which included awareness of consequences and perceived institutional barriers, improved the model's explanatory power by 12.8%. Both TPB models adequately predicted face mask (FM) disposal behavior, with implications for policymakers and waste management authorities to design interventions to promote proper FM disposal behavior.

This research investigated the empirical relationship between meat consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Argentina. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) techniques were employed to analyze time-series data from 1990 to 2020. The ARDL bound test demonstrates the long-term cointegration of all variables. According to the DOLS model, a 1 % increase in meat consumption increases GHG emissions by 0.91 % over the long term. Moreover, a 1 % increase in economic growth and energy consumption will increase Argentina's GHG emissions by 1.15 % and 1.32 %, respectively. The fully modified least squares (FMOLS) method was used to assess the reliability of the DOLS results. Additionally, the pairwise Granger causality test was employed to assess the causal relationship between the variables. The empirical findings indicate that the Argentine livestock industry can become more environmentally friendly with proper policy formulation and implementation.

Recovery of gold from mining tailings is important economically and environmentally in the mining industry. With a limited amount of mineable gold remaining, the process of recovering gold from mine tailings needs development. This paper will specifically investigate the recovery of gold using ion-exchange resins in a thiosulfate-thiourea lixiviant solution. A range of resins of different functionalities: Purolite® A200 (Type II quaternary ammonium), Lewatit® MonoPlus TP 214 and Puromet® MTS9140 (thiourea), Dowex™ M-4195 (bis-picolylamine) and Lewatit® VPOC 1026 (di(2-ethylhexyl)phosphate- D2EHPA) were assessed for their gold uptake capabilities via dynamic column experiments. A mixed-metal solution was used to accurately simulate the spent lixiviant from thiosulfate/thiourea leaching of mine tailings. All resins showed selectivity towards gold over the numerous other metals in solution, which was believed to be due to the stability of aqueous gold thiourea complexes. Puromet® MTS9140 had the highest gold capacity, with a calculated uptake capacity of 41.6 mg/L. Modified-Dose Response (MDR), Bohart-Adams and Yoon-Nelson models were used to describe the data; the MDR model being the most successful.

Charcoal is a common woodfuel in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Unsustainable wood sourcing and inefficient carbonization result into negative environmental impacts. This action research aimed at building the capacity for sustainable charcoal production including `improving the traditional earth mound kiln (TEK) that is used by 99% of charcoal producers in Kenya. Small stems and branches of the invasive Prosopis juliflora were used and produced quality charcoal with 28 kJ/g which will save trees. Improved earth mound kiln (IEK) increased charcoal yield by 49% per mass of sun dried wood fed into the kiln and reduced emissions of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons by 40%, 49% and 44% respectively. Net charcoal yield by a mass of dry wood in TEK and IEK was 26.4% and 28.4% respectively. Communication and capacity development on sustainable charcoal benefit people and environment. Studies on sustainable charcoal and effects on dryland socio-ecological systems will be needed.

Tobacco industry produces a large amount of tobacco waste every year, and the disposal of tobacco waste become a puzzling problem. Recycling of tobacco waste to reconstituted tobacco sheet (RTS) with suitable strength and low-toxicity was prepared in this paper. RTS with 1wt% compound adhesive that content sodium carboxymethyl cellulose and guar gum has a tensile strength (0.548 kN/m) which meet the requirements of industrial production. Strength enhancement was attributed to the synergistic effect of hydrogen bonding and physical cross-linking network through FTIR and SEM characterization. GC–MS was used to analyze the pyrolysis of RTS. The nicotine release of RTS was lower than commercial cigarettes, which significantly reduces the harmful substance. This work has been preliminarily applied to the industrial production. The production process of RTS is simple, with low water consumption and reuse of tobacco waste. Conforming to the concept of environmental protection, energy conservation, and tobacco resource recycling.

This article seeks to contribute new insights into inclusive recycling environments through universal design. The aim is to develop knowledge on how waste is understood and managed by exploring the practice and design of a recycling environment. Applying a norm-critical view, this is explored in a study with participants from a municipal housing company and waste management company in northern Sweden. Methods used are go-along interviews together with professionals and observations of a recycling environment. The results are discussed as: 1) the “(un)social norm;” where our results show that the waste system is perceived as a social system, contradicting previous approaches where waste systems are treated as technical environments. 2) the “(un)design factor;” where we identify how design in a recycling context that doesn´t emphasise diversity may affect activities of sorting.

This study assessed the contribution of mechanically recycled cotton to reducing environmental impacts of fabric production by blending the recycled cotton with 100% virgin cotton of different types, including the U.S., BCI-Brazilian, Global average, and China. GHG emissions, water footprint, air pollution, and land use were investigated for producing 1 kg fabric, considering a 'cradle-to-gate' approach. A 'Take-Back' system was modeled using the circular economy concept to illustrate potential impact reduction by avoiding virgin cotton. Impact reduction scenarios were created considering varying blending ratios (i.e., virgin/ recycled), focusing on 70% virgin and 30% recycled cotton (target). Results reveal that compared to the baseline impacts, the target scenario could reduce environmental impacts by 2.2–8.6% (GHG emissions), 0.6–24.5% (water footprint), 1.4–11.6% (air pollution), and 3.1–25.2% (land use). In summary, recycled cotton could partially substitute 100% virgin cotton for fabric production. Besides, implementing and scaling up the 'Take-Back' system could reduce environmental impacts and contribute to environmental sustainability.

The consumption of recyclates in open-loop recycling systems raises the question in Life Cycle Assessments of how environmental impacts caused by raw materials and recycling can be allocated to the corresponding products. To solve the multifunctional issue of material flows, this study applies the 50:50 method as well as the cut-off and end-of-life approach using the Circular Footprint Formula across a cascade of three product life cycles. This analysis is based on injection molded products made of virgin and secondary materials, which consist of ABS, PA66GF30, PC and POM from post-industrial waste. The loss of quality due to production and mechanical recycling processes is reflected in the decrease of tensile strength. By quantifying the impact of allocation, this paper highlights the effects on the Product Carbon Footprint according to ISO 14,067 to show that a 50:50 as well as a cut-off allocation is suitable for the assessment of technical plastics.