Cleaner Production Strategies Research Articles

Cleaner production strategy tailored versatile biocomposites for antibacterial application and electromagnetic interference shielding

The clean and sustainable development of biomass resources has attracted tremendous attention to alleviate the increasingly serious energy depletion and environmental problems. Hence, it is urgently needed to design a green product through a cleaner production strategy to bridge the gap between materials and sustainability toward environmental protection and practicality. Herein, a bamboo fiber/polybutylene succinate (PBS) biocomposite that carries silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and antibacterial activity, as well as the performance of interface reinforcement, were prepared using a green, efficient, and scalable bionic strategy of PDA coupling with minimal environmental footprint. The proposed bamboo fiber/PBS biocomposites, which showed multifunctionality and environmental adaptability, revealed good antibacterial activity, where the average inhibition zone diameters against E. coli and S. aureus bacteria reached 5.37 ± 0.36 and 3.96 ± 0.74 mm, respectively. Simultaneously, gains in the EMI shielding effectiveness (∼29.72 dB) and mechanical properties (improved by 24.58% in tensile strength, 39.13% in tensile modulus, 14.60% in flexural strength, and 19.67% in flexural modulus) were realized. Overall, this work displays a novel pathway toward eco-friendly and multifunctional nature fiber/polymer composites for high-value utilization.

Knowledge-based rigorous machine learning techniques to predict the deliverability of underground natural gas storage sites for contributing to sustainable development goals

This study presents a method to develop a series of unique deliverability smart models for underground natural gas storage (UNGS) in different types of target formations. The natural gas supply loop is defined by periodic mismatches between demand and supply. Efficient and faster approaches for forecasting UNGS deliverability may not only assist stakeholders but also the competitive natural gas industry. Due to this fact, this article suggests a series of robust deliverability estimation models for 387 UNGS sites in depleted fields, aquifers, and salt domes based on rigorous machine learning (ML) techniques. To this end, the potential of three ML algorithms, including Gaussian Process Regression (GPR), Least Squares Support Vector Machine (LSSVM), and Extra Tree (ET), is employed. To assess and compare the proposed models, statistical parameters including coefficient of determination (R2), root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and standard deviation (SD) were employed. Accordingly, in the case of depleted fields, the GPR, LSSVM, and ET paradigms show overall R2, RMSE, and MAE of 0.999999998, 4.75E−06, 0.00021, and 0.00021. For salt domes, the GPR, LSSVM, and ET models indicate overall R2, RMSE, and MAE of 0.987, 0.0046, and 0.11. Finally, for aquifers, the GPR, LSSVM, and ET algorithms represent overall R2, RMSE, and MAE of 0.999999997, 7.1094E−06, and 0.0002102. The prediction performance reveals that the GPR model is superior to the LSSVM and ET models. This study found that the proposed intelligent models could be utilized as a template for fast estimating the deliverability of UNGS in depleted fields, aquifers, and salt domes with high accuracy. In the end, the outcomes of this study contribute to a deeper understanding of the critical role of machine learning in resolving the difficulty of forecasting the UNSG on cleaner production and sustainable development strategies.

Customized Utilization Strategies of Industrial Lignin to Produce Adsorbents and Flocculants Based on Fractionation and Adequate Structural Interpretation.

Lignin, a by-product of pulping and biorefinery, has great potential to replace petrochemical resources for wastewater purification. However, the defects of lignin, such as severe heterogeneity, inferior reactivity and poor solubility, characterize the production process of lignin-based products by high energy consumption and serious pollution. In this study, several lignin fractions with relatively homogeneous structure were first obtained by organic solvent fractionation, and their structures were fully deciphered by various characterization techniques. Subsequently, each lignin component was custom-valued for wastewater purification based on their structural characteristics. Benefiting from the high reactivity and reaction accessibility, the lignin fraction (lignin-1) refined by dissolving in ethanol and n-butanol could been used as a raw material to produce cationic lignin-based flocculant (LBF) in a copolymerization system using green, cheap and recyclable ethanol as solvent. The lignin fraction (lignin-2) extracted by methanol and dioxane showed low reactivity and high carbon content, which was used to produce lignin-based activated carbon (LAC) with phosphoric acid as activator. Moreover, the influences of synthetic factors on the purification capacity were discussed, and the LBF and LAC produced under the optimal conditions showed distinguished purification effect on kaolin suspension and heavy metal wastewater, respectively. Furthermore, the corresponding purification mechanism and external factors were also elaborated. It is believed that this cleaner production strategy is helpful for the valorization of lignin in wastewater resources.

Identification of factors affecting the reduction of VOC emissions in the paint industry: Systematic literature review - SLR

In recent years, the interest of the manufacturing industry in new perspectives aimed at sustainability has increased, driving the manufacture of paints to use alternatives that help to reduce the impacts generated by the emission of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs); these impacts are especially negative since they have environmental consequences related to atmospheric pollution and social consequences due to their harmful effects on human health. The economic field has a positive effect due to the performance and varied application of the coatings in different industries. A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted to identify factors that contribute to the reduction of VOCs emissions in the coating industry. Search equations were proposed with selected keywords, reading and selection of articles, analysis and classification of the information and finally plotting the data with the use of VantagePoint software. A total of 51 articles were selected for analysis, finding three key factors. (1) green chemistry, based on the formulation of paints from the use and/or synthesis of raw materials with renewable materials; (2) incorporation of cleaner production strategies which involves the change of paint technology, such as water-based, powdered, or with variation of the solids content; and (3) regulations and standards that must be complied with regarding VOCs emissions and that depend on the type of industries and the country where they are applied. Polyurethane resins were identified as the most studied for VOCs abatement. The paints market has focused on new sources to develop environmentally friendly materials, introducing manufacturing processes and technologies that combine sustainability and performance in this industry.

Prefabrication decisions of the construction supply chain under government subsidies.

Prefabrication has been generating increasing interest as a cleaner production strategy to promote sustainable development. Alongside this trend, various subsidies have been set to improve prefabrication levels. This paper evaluates the prefabrication levels of buildings through the assembly rate. A series of models are established to investigate the optimal assembly rate under various government subsidies. The optimal assembly rate and subsidy revenue-sharing coefficient are analyzed in both decentralized and centralized scenarios. By comparing the optimal decisions in these two scenarios, a transfer payment contract is proposed that enables the overall coordination of the prefabricated construction supply chain (PCSC). The results show that the optimal assembly rate in the centralized scenario is higher than that in the decentralized one. When the revenue-sharing coefficient is 100%, the subsidy revenue-sharing contract can coordinate the PCSC system and realize the Pareto improvement. When certain conditions are satisfied in the transfer payment contract, business profits can achieve Pareto optimality. This research provides a reference for construction enterprises making decisions to promote the development of PCSC.

Regrow Napier grass–Chinese milk vetch relay intercropping system: A cleaner production strategy in Cd-contaminated farmland

The cultivation methods determine the production and remediation capacity of crops in heavy metal-contaminated farmland. This study investigated the effects of seedling establishment methods and relay intercropping with Chinese milk vetch (Astragalus sinicus L., CMV) on the production and remediation of Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum, NG) in cadmium (Cd)-contaminated farmland in southern China. The results showed that the regrow NG (RNG) had higher aerial part yield because of its well-developed roots and larger tiller numbers, which increased the Cd uptake. CMV mulching promoted the stubble seedling's growth by increasing the soil temperature during the overwintering period. The CMV return to field increased the soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC), enhanced the bioavailability of Cd in soil, and promoted the Cd uptake of NG. The CMV application also alleviated the total nitrogen decline of soil. The CMV–RNG relay intercropping system (CMV–RNG) produced larger aerial part yield and Cd uptake, mowing NG once (in December), reaching 60.60 t ha−1 (DW) and 29.09 g ha−1, respectively, and August was the suitable month to mow for higher yield and Cd uptake. Meanwhile, the Cd concentration in NG aerial parts was relatively low (0.16–0.59 mg kg−1), making it safe to be used as fodder. Thus, the CMV–RNG system is a cleaner production strategy in Cd-contaminated farmland.

The ROLE OF THE CLEANER PRODUCTION STRATEGY IN ENHANCING THE MAIN SUCCESS FACTORS

The business environment is witnessing tremendous developments in the field of production and technology, which requires the development of production methods to go in line with these developments and the increasing competition, which has gone beyond the economic aspects to extend to the environmental aspects, as economic units tended to adopt a cleaner production strategy and through what they achieve by producing environmentally friendly products and achieving economic efficiency. Reducing costs, providing a safe and clean environment for workers, and reducing waste from production operations.

The Role of The Cleaner Production Strategy in Achieving Sustainable Development: An Exploratory Study at the General Company for Northern Cement / Badoush Cement Factory

The Role of The Cleaner Production Strategy in Achieving Sustainable Development: An Exploratory Study at the General Company for Northern Cement / Badoush Cement Factory

A deep reinforcement learning-based method for predictive management of demand response in natural gas pipeline networks

With the increase of natural gas in the world's energy consumption, the efficient and reliable management of natural gas pipeline networks is becoming even more important than before. In recent years, Demand Response (DR) is considered an effective approach for cleaner production and economic strategy, by introducing the participation of customers (CUs).This paper proposes a novel DR method for predictive management in multi-level natural gas markets with different stakeholders. This method is able to make a better trade-off among supplier's profits, gas demand volatility and CU satisfaction. This method includes three parts: dynamic pricing model, intelligent decision making and data-driven demand forecasting. A Markov decision process-based model is developed to illustrate the process of dynamical optimizing energy prices. Then, deep learning and reinforcement learning are integrated to efficiently solve the sequential decision-making problem, based on the physics constraints of natural gas pipeline networks. Besides, to realize the function of predictive optimization, an energy demand forecasting model is developed based on the deep recurrent neural network model. The proposed dynamic pricing method is able to optimize the pricing strategies in accordance to the demand patterns, and dynamically improve the system stability and energy efficiency. Finally, we apply the developed method to a natural gas network with relatively complex topology and different CUs. The results indicate that the proposed method can achieve the targets of peak shaving and valley filling under different pricing periods. Besides, the sensitivity analysis of the critical parameters in the dynamic pricing model is analyzed in detail, which can give a solid criterion for ensuring the effectiveness of this framework.

Carbon Emission Reduction Strategies Through Cleaner Production at Coconut Milk Processing Plant

The manufacturing industry is one of the most influential sectors contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. As the manufacturing industry strives to achieve its profit goal, most of them face various circumstances to control the rising carbon emissions from the energy, raw material consumption, and waste generations due to production activities. Therefore, it is difficult to quantify the amount of carbon emission reduction if the adjustment is not established according to the manufacturing output. This research concentrates on evaluating energy consumption and waste generation using a statistical approach by a coconut milk processing plant. This research aims to estimate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, mainly carbon dioxide (CO2). The baseline models of energy consumptions and waste generations were constructed using single and multiple linear regression methods. Besides, it investigates the performance of ultimate models of electrical consumption, water consumption, fuel consumption, solid waste generation, and wastewater generations using statistical analysis that involves coefficient of correlation, coefficient of determination, analysis of variance (ANOVA), etc. It indicates that with the implementation of the cleaner production (CP) strategy, the plant had reduced 10,474.94 tons of CO2 and 2,579.67 tons of CO2 in 2018 and 2019, respectively. This study is an aid to the management and engineers of the industry to investigate their accomplishment in reducing environmental impacts caused by production activities from any implementation made such as CP and green industry practices.

Evaluation of life cycle assessment in a paper manufacture by analytical hierarchy process

ABSTRACT Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an attractive approach to implement the waste management system in terms of environmental sustainability. The variety of environmental options has been made an emergence requirement a methodology to choose the best options for decision-makers. This paper aims to generate a comprehensive model to facilitate the life cycle products to develop a cleaner production strategy in paper manufacture. In the first step, the requirement and adopting models are applied to determine the main criteria of LCA. Then, an analytical hierarchy process (AHP) model is designed to assess the LCA qualification of the paper manufacturing process according to the selected criteria. The environmental impact, production process, technical capability, raw material, energy consumption, human resource, manufactured products, and economic are selected as a higher priority after considering the requirement and adopting the decision model. Pair-wise comparative of 52 sub-criteria showed that circulating of water and solid waste reusing from wastewater treatment plant through dissolved air flotation (DAF) and disk filter enables us to have many advantages not only the pollutants removal but also the enhancement of the LCA framework.

Dynamic Simulation of Integrated Cleaner Production Strategies towards High Quality Development in a Heavily Air-Polluted City in China

Air-polluted cities, mostly dominated by heavy industries, are facing the dilemma of economic growth and environment deterioration. Tangshan is the largest iron and steel manufacturing city in China, and its air quality rankings belong to the worst 10 among 168 monitored cities of China in a decade. It is extremely important to adopt cleaner production strategies to facilitate high quality development. This study originally created an integrated plan (DOMCLP) to propose feasible pathways to underpin policy making by local authorities and managers from multiple perspectives. These include “Top-Down” measures—financial subsides and environmental efficiency improvement from a macro vision and industrial restructuring from a mezzo vision—and a “Bottom-Up” strategy of optimal technology selection from a micro vision. The DOMCLP simulated the environmental and economic impacts of different cleaner production strategy mixes from 2020 to 2030. Under the cleaner production scenario, which integrates all three measures, the targeted annual economic growth rate can reach 6.56% over the study period without deterioration of the air environment, and air pollutant emissions can be reduced by more than 74%. Meanwhile, the production of the iron and steel industry can achieve a 43% capacity growth, in which the intensity of SO2 and NOx can be reduced by 97 and 87%, respectively. Furthermore, upgrading the optimal air pollutant control technology is proven to be more effective than other incentive measures and calls for systematic optimization and technology choice shift from end treatment to source and process treatment in the long run. This study proves that the integrated cleaner production strategies can realize a strong decoupling effect on the scale of −5.89 to −0.58 to accomplish balanced economic development and environmental improvement in heavily air-polluted cities, which is significant as other industrial cities begin to move toward a high quality development.

Biochar improved soil health and mitigated greenhouse gas emission from controlled irrigation paddy field: Insights into microbial diversity

Biochar application (BA) and controlled irrigation (CI) can realize the resource utilization of biowaste and water respectively. Both BA and CI can affect soil carbon pool dynamics and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in paddy fields, but their synergistic effects and the microbial mechanism remain unclear. This study investigated the effects of BA on CO2 exchange, GHG emissions, and soil microbial diversity of paddy fields under CI. BA increased soil respiration rate (Rs) from CI paddy fields by 23.81%–41.45 %, possibly due to the increase of Curvibacter, while BA reduced global warming potential by 25.85%–37.84 %. The reduction of N2O emission under CI with BA may be attributed to the increase of Proteobacteria and the decrease of Nitrospira. CI decreased the net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and soil organic carbon but increased Rs and dissolved organic carbon, compared with flood irrigation. Lactobacillus and Mortierella were dominant bacteria and fungi at milk stage. In addition, BA and CI mitigated CH4 emissions and reduced the abundance of Russula. Both bacteria and fungi play important roles in soil carbon cycle, which is mainly affected by soil temperature, humidity, and ammonium. These results indicate that BA combined with CI is a promising cleaner production strategy to simultaneously improve soil health, mitigate GHG emission, and mediate soil microbial community structure.

Cleaner production of liquid fuels and chemicals by synthesis-gas-assisted hydroprocessing of lignin compounds as biomass-derivates

Following the importance of the conversion of lignin compounds into beneficial products, a new cleaner production strategy is proposed. To this end, simulated lignin-derived syngas was utilized instead of pure hydrogen for anisole and cyclohexanone conversion over a platinum catalyst. The experiments at 300–400 °C and 1–15 bar are addressed. The impact of weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) is also investigated. The new strategy offers high activity, selectivity, and yield for the conversion of anisole and cyclohexanone to possibly value-added products. Anisole conversion results in the formation of phenol, cyclohexanone, and methylated phenols. Cyclohexanone reaction produces cyclohexane, cyclohexene, benzene, cresols, phenol, and toluene. Increasing reaction temperature and pressure enhances the conversion of the reactants while increasing WHSV decreases the conversion. The highest anisole (87.44%) and cyclohexanone (77.02%) conversions were obtained at 400 °C, 15 bar, and the smallest WHSV. Temperature, pressure, and WHSV had major effects on the conversions and product distributions. The highest hydrocarbon yields and carbon-to-oxygen ratio enhancement (C/O RE) were managed at different conditions for anisole and cyclohexanone. The present study indicates that the new syngas-assisted strategy could be utilized for the conversion of lignin-derived compounds to hydrocarbons and possibly value-added products.

Increasing plant diversity to mitigate net greenhouse effect of wastewater treatment in floating constructed wetlands

Constructed wetlands (CWs) are an effective wastewater treatment technology but also an important source of greenhouse gases. Converting CW plant biomass to biofuel as an alternative to fossil fuels can reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and plant diversity influences this mitigation effect. However, the impact of plant diversity on net global warming potential combining carbon dioxide and non-carbon dioxide emissions in CWs is less studied, especially in floating CWs where the substrate is absent and both above- and below-ground biomass can be harvested easily for biofuel production. In this paper, four species richness levels were assembled in 90 hydroponic microcosms that simulated floating CWs to explore the effect of plant diversity on global warming potential. The results showed that: (1) increasing species richness increased the aboveground and total biomass but had no effect on belowground biomass, and carbon dioxide emissions were reduced by converting both above- and belowground biomass to biofuel to replace fossil fuels; (2) increasing species richness increased non-carbon dioxide emissions but decreased the overall global warming potential of combined carbon dioxide and non-carbon dioxide emissions; (3) communities containing Oenanthe javanica had lower overall global warming potential; and (4) some species (Oenanthe javanica) had a stronger mitigating effect on global warming potential than species richness. Our observations suggest that it is economically feasible to produce biofuel from hydroponically grown plants in floating CWs, and net energy gain can be achieved. Assembling high species richness and carefully selecting species in floating CWs alongside converting plant biomass to biofuel offers a greener form of wastewater treatment that can contribute to cleaner production strategies.

Comparative life cycle assessment of high-yield synthesis routes for carbon dots

Carbon dots (CDs) are carbon-based nanomaterials with advantageous luminescent properties, making them promising alternatives to other molecular and nanosized fluorophores. However, the development of CDs is impaired by the low synthesis yield of standard fabrication strategies, making high-yield strategies essential. To help future studies to focus on cleaner production strategies, we have employed a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to compare and understand the environmental impacts of available routes for the high-yield synthesis of carbon dots. These routes were: (1) production of hydrochar, via hydrothermal treatment of carbon precursors, and its alkaline-peroxide treatment into high-yield carbon dots; (2) thermal treatment of carbon precursors mixed in a eutectic mixture of salts. Results show that the first synthesis route is associated with the lowest environmental impacts. This is attributed to the absence of the mixture of salts in the first synthesis route, which offsets its higher electricity consumption. Sensitivity analysis showed that the most critical parameter in the different synthetic strategies is the identity of the carbon precursor, with electricity being also relevant for the first synthesis route. Nevertheless, the use of some carbon precursors (as citric acid) with higher associated environmental impacts may be justified by their beneficial role in increasing the luminescent performance of carbon dots. Thus, the first synthesis route is indicated to be the most environmental benign and should be used as a basis in future studies aimed to the cleaner and high-yield production of carbon dots.

Corporate cleaner production strategy development and environmental management accounting: A contingency theory perspective

Despite the popularity of environmental management accounting as an approach to support corporate cleaner production measures, so far, how the environmental management accounting implementation differs according to the stage of cleaner production strategy development is largely unknown. This study thus sought to identify how the uses of environmental management accounting and information characteristics vary among organizations at different stages of cleaner production strategy development. Drawing on the contingency theory view of environmental management accounting system sophistication, cleaner production strategy development stages, and environmental management accounting uses, it developed an analytical framework. Based on eighteen case studies of business in Sri Lanka, the study analyzed the different domain-based and functional uses of environmental management accounting and their characteristics according to their cleaner production strategy development (i.e., reactive, preventive and proactive stages). Overall, the study found that environmental management accounting uses to be limited and fragmented in organizations at the reactive and preventive stages except for using environmental management accounting for cost savings and efficiency improvements. However, the findings suggest that as and when organizations progress into higher levels of cleaner production strategy development, there is a relatively high level of use of environmental management accounting in terms of integrative tools, and for control and stewardship purposes.

Prospective Analysis of Artisanal Mining in the Santa Rita Village: Municipality of Andes, Antioquia

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) of gold has adversely affected the environment and human health for decades, mostly due to excessive use of mercury. With the enactment of the zero mercury law, miners in Columbia began to replace mercury with cyanide and improve their processes. We analyzed the extraction dynamics, based on what had been identified in the municipality of Andes (Colombia) and indexed the pollutant loads of discharges from different small-scale mining gold plants. Gold production for the year 2022 in the municipality of Andes is predicted to total 9811.4 g. None of the sampled small-scale mines currently complies with the permissible parameters for ions and metals in industrial discharges; however, the contamination levels have been reduced for the: La Y mine by 18%, Dorado mine by 13.3%, El Molino by 8.6%, and La Soledad mine by 2.7%. This shows that the ASM operators in the municipality of Andes are beginning to implement cleaner production strategies.

Reuse of water and materials as a cleaner production practice in the textile industry contributing to blue economy

The textile industry has been concerned with the need to address the environmental and ecological sustainability of the oceans, according to a set of principles designated as the Blue Economy. Likewise, the textile industry has been identifying cleaner production practices with the purpose of reducing water consumption and limiting the use of toxics namely for fabric dyeing, in order to limit the disposal of toxic effluents and prevent the contamination of rivers, and oceans. This study has the objective of evaluating the Eco efficiency of a textile industry that implemented Cleaner Production practices for water reuse, and the minimization of the usage of water and materials aligned with the Blue Economy principles. The study used a case study approach, involving data collection through observation, documental analysis and interviews. The study contributes for theory by relating Cleaner Production and Blue Economy, topics that are not often explored together. It also contributes to the managerial practice offering a real case of Cleaner Production and Blue Economy strategy, leading to the minimization of environmental impacts of 516.2 thousand tons per year in several domains, including the biotic, abiotic, water and air. 96.9% of the gains were observed in the use of water resources, including economic gains from water reuse, and from the commercialization of sludge as a by-product. Despite the investment of 771.5 thousand dollars in cleaner technologies a return on investments was achieved after 29 months. The study also favoured the elimination of pollutants in the effluents that are disposed in rivers, lakes and the sea, contributing to the improvement in the health conditions of local communities.

Cleaner production analysis of tofu small scale enterprise

Tofu has been consumed and favored by most Asians. Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics states that the average consumption of tofu in 2017 was about 0,15 kg/person/week. On the other hand, the higher level of tofu production, the level of waste contamination, is also higher. Therefore, cleaner production is one of the practical approaches to reduce tofu industry waste. This research aims to analyze the stages of tofu production in small scale enterprises which have the greatest volume of liquid waste, assess parameters that exceed the quality standard and determine the alternative of cleaner production strategies for tofu production. This research analyzed mass balance, Activity Relationship Chart, Activity Relationship Diagram, wastewater characteristics test, and alternative selection of cleaner production strategy with the pairwise comparison. This research found out that the stages that produced the most liquid waste were the treatment and waste disposal process. The highest priority and the possible alternative of cleaner production to be implemented were waste separation at each stage, wastewater recycles, and water vapor recycles.