Low Carbon Footprint Research Articles

Effects of wetting events on mass timber surface microbial communities and VOC emissions: implications for building operation and occupant well-being

IntroductionHumans have used wood as a construction material throughout history. Currently, mass timber products, such as cross-laminated timber (CLT), are becoming more popular as a structural material, since they are renewable and have a lower carbon footprint than concrete or steel. Nonetheless, some building types, such as healthcare, veterinary, and food manufacturing, avoid using structural mass timber due to concerns about microbial growth in the event of wetting. One solution is to use protective coatings on mass timber products to increase moisture resistance, although the coatings themselves may generate concerns about volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions. Natural uncoated wood also produces VOCs, some of which may have intrinsic antimicrobial effects.MethodsIn this study, we inoculated coated and uncoated cross- laminated timber (CLT) blocks with a mock microbial community and isolated each block within individual sealed microcosms. We characterized VOCs and surface microbial communities from the CLT blocks before, during, and after wetting periods of varying durations. VOC concentration and emission rate were analyzed with chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), while microbial community abundance, diversity, and composition were analyzed through qPCR and shotgun metagenomics.ResultsVOC emissions were elevated immediately after inoculation, then decreased through the remainder of the experiment, except for a plateau during the wetting period. VOCs from uncoated CLT blocks were primarily terpenes, while coated blocks emitted VOCs associated with coatings, plastics, and industrial solvents, as well as terpenes. One VOC—acetoin (3-hydroxy, 2-butanone)—was present at high levels across all samples immediately after microbial inoculation. Bacteria comprised 99.54% of the identified microbial sequences. The plastic control microcosm (not containing a CLT block) had higher abundance of viable bacteria for the majority of the study, but there was no difference in abundance between coated and uncoated blocks. Prior to wetting periods, microbial composition was driven primarily by sampling day, whereas surface type played a larger role during and after wetting periods.

Polyethylene Terephthalate‐Based Heat Sealable Packaging Film Without Heat Sealing Layer

ABSTRACTThe food packaging industry is evolving to meet demands for circularity, cost‐effectiveness, lower carbon footprint and higher production efficiency with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) emerging as a preferred material for packaging. Despite its advantages, PET faces two main challenges in flexible barrier packaging applications, such as flow packs or form‐fill‐seal pouches. First, PET films for flexible packaging often lack adequate moisture and oxygen barriers, limiting their range of applications. Second, the high melting temperature of PET of around 250°C complicates the sealing process, causing deformation and poor‐quality seals. Traditional solutions involve multilayer films, in which PET is laminated with a superior permeation‐barrier layer and a lower melting‐temperature heat‐sealing layer. This results in nonrecyclable packaging, posing sustainability issues. In the present work, PET‐based heat sealable films were developed to address these issues. Specifically, a water‐based organic–inorganic hybrid nanocomposite sol–gel coating was applied to one side of the 23‐μm thick PET film, followed by drying and curing. The thickness of the subsequent coatings was approximately 2.3 μm. The sol–gel's rheological properties allow for a microscopically thin application that hardens into a micrometre‐thick, flexible, transparent and abrasion‐resistant coating with a decomposition temperature well above melting temperature of PET. The wettability of the coating was slightly higher than that of PET. The result of the pencil hardness test indicates tight bonding of the coating to the PET film. Mechanical tests of the coated and uncoated PET indicate that the mechanical properties of the bulk PET were retained after the application and curing of the coating, and the reinforcing effect of the coating was confirmed by the measurement of the Young's moduli and the puncture resistance test. Characterization using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirms that the film contains organo‐silicon compounds and aluminium oxides. Uncoated sides of a pair of PET films were faced and heat‐welded at 250°C, demonstrating significantly reduced deformation around the welding portion. The coating reduced oxygen and water vapour transmission rates by more than a factor of 3 and 4, respectively.

Assessing biosorbent materials for antibacterial properties and filtration efficiency for potential application in wastewater treatment

Abstract This study investigates the efficacy of certain biosorbents as a filtration method to reduce chlorination and its costs in wastewater treatment. A two-step filtering process was used, with each phase containing 200 mL of bacterially contaminated water that was passed through 100 g of biosorbents. Colony forming units were counted using routine plate counts to determine the bacterial load reduction in filtered and unfiltered water. SEM–EDX analysis was used to investigate changes in particle size, elemental composition and structural changes in biosorbents, whereas hydraulic flow rate estimates determined material permeability. Adsorption decreased bacterial concentrations in all biosorbents. Although cow bone had the highest flow rate (4.62 E-06 m3/hr·m2), fly ash and dolomite had the best antibacterial properties, removing 100% of bacteria in the first 200 mL of water passed through biosorbent columns and removing bacteria at the third filtration with a count of less than 150 CFU/mL. Dolomite with activated carbon reduced color, odor, and turbidity. Dolomite and fly ash were found to be less expensive than traditional water filtration systems such as ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis, which are commonly used in industrial wastewater treatment. Future pilot-scale research is needed to fully evaluate these preliminary findings. Importantly, this research proposes a novel approach to wastewater treatment with circular economy benefits, recyclability, and a lower carbon footprint for the biosorbent materials evaluated. This lends support to their potential integration into wastewater treatment systems, which would reduce chlorine dosing and improve sustainability.

Ecological Building Material Obtained Through the Moderate Thermal Consolidation of Ceramic Slurry Collected from Industrial Waste Waters

The slurry collected from the waste water resulting from ceramic tile processing contains significant amounts of quartz, kaolinite, and mullite, along with traces of iron hydroxides as observed using XRD analysis coupled with mineralogical optical microscopy (MOM). Such an admixture would be ideal for the development of ecologic building materials. Microstructural conditioning enhances the binding properties of kaolinite. Therefore, the influence of the vibration compaction of the moistened slurry at 30% humidity on the compressive strength was assessed. The compressive strength of the unvibrated sample is about 0.8 MPa with failure promoted by the microstructural unevenness. Several vibration amplitudes were tested from 20 to 40 mm. The optimal vibration mode was obtained at an amplitude of 25 mm for 10 min, ensuring a compressive strength of 2.37 MPa with a smooth and uniform failure surface involved within the binding layer as observed using SEM microscopy. The samples prepared under optimal conditions were thermally consolidated at 700, 800, and 900 °C below the mullitization temperature to ensure a low carbon footprint. XRD results reveal kaolinite dehydration in all fired samples, inducing its densification, which increases with increasing heating temperature. SEM coupled with EDS elemental investigations reveal that the dehydrated kaolinite better embeds quartz and mullite particles, ensuring a compact microstructure. The binding strength increases with the firing temperature. The mullite particles within the samples fired at 900 °C induce the partial mullitization of the dehydrated kaolinite matrix, increasing their homogeneity. The compression strength of the fired samples is temperature dependent: 4.44 MPa at 700 °C; 5.88 MPa at 800 °C, and 16.87 MPa at 900 °C. SEM fractography shows that failure occurs due to the dehydrated kaolinite matrix cracks and the quartz particles. The failure is rather plastic at low temperatures and becomes brittle at 900 °C. Reducing the firing temperature and treatment time reduces the carbon footprint of the consolidated ceramic parts. Samples fired at 700 °C exhibit a compressive strength comparable to low quality bricks, those fired at 800 °C exhibit a strength comparable to regular bricks, and those fired at 900 °C exhibit a superior strength comparable to high-quality bricks.

Selecting the Sustainable Tourist Market for Bali Based on Carbon Footprint

This article investigates the carbon footprints of tourists from various countries to inform Bali's sustainable tourism strategy, especially its environmental sustainability. Analysing data from the top 20 tourist-generating countries, the research employs a carbon footprint calculator to assess emissions associated with their flights. The findings categorise these countries into three groups based on their carbon emissions: low, medium, and high-carbon footprint markets. Countries with lower carbon footprints, particularly Southeast Asian ones, should be prioritised as target markets to promote sustainable tourism in Bali. Conversely, tourists from medium and high-carbon-footprint countries should be considered the less-preferred tourist market, and their number should be reduced through demarketing strategies. The article concludes with managerial implications and highlights research limitations, emphasising the need for ongoing efforts in sustainable tourism management.

Impact Of Coal-Based Electricity Generation, Land Use Change, Steel And Cement Production On CO2 Emissions: Evidence From Eastern European And Central Asian Countries

The problem of studying carbon footprint factors is one of the key ones for understanding the relationship between socio-economic development and atmospheric pollution. We employ a panel quantile regression approach to reveal the impact of the energy sector (namely, coal-based electricity and hydropower generation), manufacturing (steel and cement production), and agriculture (cropland area change) on CO2 emissions in 16 Eastern European and 4 Central Asian countries for the period from 2000 to 2020. We provide evidence for a U-shaped environmental Kuznets curve for countries with a lower carbon footprint, while the countries with the highest emissions are found to have an inverted U-shaped relationship between them and GDP per capita. The relationship between electricity production from coal and emissions is positive and significant at all quantiles (except the 30th quantile), and for hydropower, it is negative and significant from the 20th to 70th quantile: a 1% increase in generation leads to CO2 emissions increase by 0.08-0.20% and a decrease by 0.04-0.07%, respectively. Crude steel production positively influences emissions (from the 10th to 80th quantile levels): a 1% increase in the output of steel products results in carbon emissions increase by 0.05-0.07%. The relationship between cropland expansion and emissions is positive from the 40th quantile, but the coefficient shows high significance only at the 80th quantile. These findings allow us to conclude that CO2 emissions reduction in Eastern European and Central Asian countries could be achieved by the replacement of coal in the electricity generation structure by renewables (including hydropower), the introduction of sustainable land use practices to preserve carbon sinks, and technological modernization of crude steel production.

Effective In Situ TOPCon Gettering of Epitaxially Grown Silicon Wafers during Bottom Solar Cell Fabrication

Epitaxially grown silicon wafers (EpiWafers) have a lower carbon footprint than conventional wafers produced by ingot crystallization but have also a lower initial material quality which can be significantly improved by gettering. We show that in situ gettering during the application of asymmetric n‐type and p‐type tunnel oxide passivating contacts (TOPCon) increases the material quality of n‐type EpiWafers when fabricating bottom solar cells for a perovskite‐silicon tandem device. In specific, the gettering effect of the TOPCon layers is compared to phosphorus gettering by systematically evaluating minority charge carrier lifetimes of n‐type EpiWafers with base resistivities between 0.5 and 16 Ωcm. For the 1.3 Ωcm EpiWafers, the average lifetimes increase from above 100 µs in the initial state to above 1 ms after TOPCon gettering as well as after phosphorus gettering. To evaluate the impact of the EpiWafers’ quality on cell performance, implied solar cell parameters are calculated from injection‐dependent lifetime images for TOPCon bottom solar cell precursors with and without previous phosphorus gettering. The very high electronic wafer quality obtained after TOPCon processing demonstrates that the EpiWafers are very well suited for TOPCon bottom solar cells without the need of an additional phosphorus gettering step.

A Study on the Role of Carbon Offsetting in Sustainable Supply Chains Encouraging Low-Carbon Footprint Practices

In this paper, carbon offsetting in contributing to making the supply chains sustainable in manufacturing businesses is under analysis. Given rising environmental challenges, carbon offsetting has appeared to be central among strategies geared toward decreasing global supply chain carbon footprint. Carbon footprint investment, awareness of a company's footprint, low- carbon supplier preference, government compliance policies, and new technology influence contribution to a supply chain as a sustainable undertaking have been subjected to inquiry under research. The research uses a descriptive research design, gathering information from 112 manufacturers and suppliers using questionnaires and interviews and secondary data based on industry and academic sources. Quantitative and qualitative analysis are used to test the impact of different factors in the adoption of carbon offsetting practices. The research points out the benefits of carbon offset programs in lowering carbon emissions, improving brand image, cost savings, and compliance with regulations. Challenges including low awareness of low-carbon suppliers and the necessity of third-party verification for offset programs are also pointed out. The study concludes by offering practical suggestions for companies to adopt efficient carbon offsetting strategies, such as greater investment, improved visibility of suppliers, and building transparency through third-party certification. In the end, this research emphasizes the importance of carbon offsetting in building sustainable and competitive supply chains, which will lead to long-term environmental and economic advantages. Keywords Carbon Offsetting, Sustainable Supply Chains, Manufacturing, Carbon Footprint, Low-Carbon Suppliers, Compliance, Cost Savings, Transparency.

Integrating Life Cycle Assessment in Innovative Berry Processing with Edible Coating and Osmotic Dehydration.

This study presents a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of a berry production system using osmotic dehydration and edible coating to extend the shelf life and improve the nutritional value. The goal is to evaluate environmental impacts, identify hotspots, and propose improvements. Osmotic dehydration is the main contributor to environmental impact, particularly due to the energy and resources required by apple juice as the osmotic agent. It contributes up to 0.64 kg CO2 eq. per kg of blueberries, 1.36 kg CO2 eq. per kg of raspberries, and 0.66 kg CO2 eq. per kg of strawberries. The edible coating, however, has minimal environmental impact due to its low energy consumption and biodegradable materials. Packaging has a lower carbon footprint but contributes more to fossil fuel depletion and human toxicity. Raspberries show the highest human health impact (3.5 × 10-6 DALY/kg) and ecosystem impact (9.5 × 10-8 species.yr/kg), followed by strawberries (1.78 × 10-6 DALY/kg, 4.97 × 10-8 species.yr/kg) and blueberries (1.7 × 10-6 DALY/kg, 5.1 × 10-8 species.yr/kg), highlighting the greater environmental and health costs of raspberries. Despite the environmental burden of osmotic dehydration, it offers economic benefits by extending the shelf life, reducing losses, improving supply chain efficiency, and enhancing product quality, which leads to higher prices and profit margins. The study concludes that, while the environmental impacts of osmotic dehydration should be optimized, its economic and logistical benefits make it a promising preservation solution. Further research into eco-friendly practices is recommended to reduce ecological costs while maintaining commercial advantages.

Estimation of longitudinal and transverse stiffness of hemp fibers and their composites using experimental material parameters and invariants

AbstractThe use of hemp is becoming increasingly favored due to its low carbon footprint and biodegradability advantages combined with its low density, high specific stiffness, and strength. This paper aims to simplify, normalize, and present published experimental data on the stiffness of long unidirectional hemp composites to avoid dispersion and to provide new effective stiffness parameters for comparison with other composites. Trace normalized values of longitudinal, transverse, and shear moduli of untreated and treated long hemp composites were calculated based on over 100 tensile experimental values normalized to a volume fraction of 0.4% for comparison. The trace normalized longitudinal stiffness values of untreated and chemically modified hemp composites are 0.7 and 0.85, with a coefficient of variation of 4.8% and 6.8%, respectively. These are comparable with non‐natural composites such as carbon (0.88), Kevlar (0.88) and flax (0.78). Predicting moduli of composites and micromechanics has been used to obtain back‐calculations, leading to an average value for hemp fiber of 56.3 GPa longitudinal modulus, 6.8 GPa for transverse moduli, and 7.4 GPa for shear. The relationship between the longitudinal modulus and the U2 parameter was found to be linear, with a ratio of 0.42 and 0.48 for hemp and chemically modified composites, respectively. Due to the limited experimental data available, only preliminary compression results are presented.Highlights Simple estimation of transverse and shear modulus of hemp composites and fibers. Influence of treatment on the stiffness of hemp composites. Experimental material properties of hemp composites. Stiffness comparison between composites at a volume fraction of 0.4%.

The prospect of bamboo and non-fodder rice husk for sustainable bioethanol production.

Due to the rapid industrialization globally, there is a constant increase in demand for energy, which drives up fuel prices and contributes to the depletion of fossil fuels. The rise in the use of fossil fuels results in increasing greenhouse gas emissions contributing to biodiversity loss. Thus, the development of alternative green biofuel (e.g., bioethanol) from renewable and surplus biomass resources has taken center stage as our attention is drawn to environmental concerns and energy security. However, till now, the studies pertaining to the process optimization and techno-economic analysis of bioethanol production using indigenous non-conventional biomass resources are scarcely reported for the industrial application. Henceforth, this study employed Bambusa bambos (BB) culm and non-fodder rice husk (NFRH) as the raw material due to its high holocellulose content (60-70%) for bioethanol production and based on its biomass availability in the agrarian state of Karnataka (India). Thereupon, the statistical design of experiment (DoE) method was applied for the thermo-chemical pretreatment optimization of the collected biomass resources, and the fermentation was performed using osmotolerant Angel™ yeast for the bioethanol production. Overall, the maximum reducing sugar (RS) concentration of 70.7 ± 2.6g/L under optimal condition of 10% (w/v) loading at 121°C for 30min using 0.3M sulfuric acid and bioethanol concentration of 4.7 ± 0.8g/L (0.42g/g RS) with conversion efficiency of 70% was obtained from the indigenous BB biomass, whereas the NFRH biomass yielded the maximal concentration of RS around 91.5 ± 2.2g/L as per optimized conditions [15% w/v loading at 121°C for 30min using 0.5M sulfuric acid] with 61% saccharification efficiency and bioethanol productivity of 5.3 ± 0.4g/L (0.10g/g RS). Conclusively, 61-101 L of bioethanol is estimated from 1 tonne of BB and NFRH biomass resources from the study with net energy ratio of greater than 1.0, low carbon footprint (0.14-1.97kg carbon dioxide equivalent), bioconversion of 10-40% as per the mass-balance analysis, and production costing of less than 100 ₹/L; hence, this result provides a cost-effective sustainable solution for bioethanol production that can raise farmers income as well as enables the rural development.

The Role of Pigs in the Carbon Footprint of Red Meat in Canada

Global livestock production is a major driver of climate change. Lumping beef and pork together as red meat masks important differences in their carbon footprints, land uses, and social status. These two red meat choices in Canada were compared by using a meta-model of the Unified Livestock Industry and Crop Emissions Estimation System (ULICEES). ULICEES calculated fossil CO2, N2O and CH4 emissions for beef, dairy, pork, poultry, and sheep production in Canada, based on both the livestock and their supporting land base in 2001. The dynamic drivers of the meta-model were crop yields, breeding female populations, tillage practices, nitrogen fertilizer use, and the crop complex of each livestock industry. When the potential carbon sequestration in the land growing harvested perennial forage is credited to beef production, the CO2e emissions offset does not reduce the carbon footprint of beef enough to match the lower carbon footprint of pork. Most of the land required to grow hay for beef would not be needed to feed a protein-equivalent pig population. In a hypothetical conversion of all beef production to pork production for 2021, 4.5 Mha of land under perennial forage was freed and 10.0 MtCO2e per year was mitigated when that area was re-cultivated for annual crops—a GHG mitigation equal to 12% of the GHG emissions budget of Canadian agriculture. Leaving that area under a perennial ground cover mitigated 19.8 MtCO2e per year, the equivalent of 23% of the sector’s GHG emissions budget.

Comparative analysis of deep learning architectures for breast region segmentation with a novel breast boundary proposal

Segmentation of the breast region in dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) is essential for the automatic measurement of breast density and the quantitative analysis of imaging findings. This study aims to compare various deep learning methods to enhance whole breast segmentation and reduce computational costs as well as environmental effect for future research. We collected fifty-nine DCE-MRI scans from Stavanger University Hospital and, after preprocessing, analyzed fifty-eight scans. The preprocessing steps involved standardizing imaging protocols and resampling slices to ensure consistent volume across all patients. Using our novel approach, we defined new breast boundaries and generated corresponding segmentation masks. We evaluated seven deep learning models for segmentation namely UNet, UNet++, DenseNet, FCNResNet50, FCNResNet101, DeepLabv3ResNet50, and DeepLabv3ResNet101. To ensure robust model validation, we employed 10-fold cross-validation, dividing the dataset into ten subsets, training on nine, and validating on the remaining one, rotating this process to use all subsets for validation. The models demonstrated significant potential across multiple metrics. UNet++ achieved the highest performance in Dice score, while UNet excelled in validation and generalizability. FCNResNet50, notable for its lower carbon footprint and reasonable inference time, emerged as a robust model following UNet++. In boundary detection, both UNet and UNet++ outperformed other models, with DeepLabv3ResNet also delivering competitive results.

A Sustainable Alternative for Road Construction with Low Carbon Footprint

"GREENING THE GLOBE, ONE ROAD AT A TIME the Power of Geopolymer Concrete for Roads" WHAT IS CARBON FOOTPRINT? ´ Carbon Footprint Ø Human Activities ´ Release Greenhouse Gases (GHGs), (such as methane, CO2, etc) ´ Involves use of Energy for various purposes Ø Carbon Footprint = Embodied CO2 Emission + Embodied Energy Ø A quantified measure of impact of our daily choices and actions on the environment

Clean Energy Alternatives, Policies, and Implementation in Nigeria: A Comparative Analysis

Nigeria the largest economy and the most populous nation in Africa is faced with energy poverty and frequency grid collapse due to over dependence on a single source of energy (hydroelectric power). Climate change and its ecological devastation is affecting the globe, and alternative energy transition was envisaged as the most sustainable energy of the future due to its low carbon footprint. Nigeria as a nation is bless with abundant alternative energy resources. Therefore, this research aimed to analyze the alternative energy sources in Nigeria, their potentials, alternative energy policy implementation and its challenges. Qualitative research approach was utilized as this study’s research methods, SALSA framework (search, appraisal, synthesis and analysis) was utilized to search, evaluate and analyze the selected literatures for this study’s analysis. This analysis underscores that Nigeria has solar, wind and biomass as the major alternative energy resources, solar alternative energy has potential of about 5250Wh/m2 with an average solar radiation of 19.8 MJ/m2/day over 6 hours. This analysis also provided that Nigeria has abundant wind alternative energy potential particularly in the North and Coastal regions of the country with an alternative energy power density of about 3.40 to 520 kilowatts per square meter. Although wind energy has been underutilized, Katsina wind farm has so far remained the only wind farm operating in the country with Gurara wind farm currently under construction. Biomass alternative energy constitute about 80% of the country’s energy resources mainly used for cooking, heating and small-scale industrial application. Forest residues, agricultural remains and municipal solid waste make up a significant portion of the country’s biomass alternative energy resources. This analysis also highlight that Nigeria has alternative energy policies e.g. the Renewable Energy Master Plan (REMP), National Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy (NREEEP) however, economic constraints, inconsistent policy, corruption and lack of political will, have remain a serious challenge in the policy implementation. Therefore, for Nigeria to increase its alternative energy share and achieve transition, it should examine and update policies to address present issues, expedite processes, and establish specific, attainable goals for the implementation of alternative energy policy in the country.

A novel approach to wind energy modeling in the context of climate change at Zaafrana region in Egypt

Global warming, driven by the excessive emission of greenhouse gases from the combustion of fossil fuels, has emerged as a critical environmental challenge which is considered as a motivation for this research. Where, the switch to sustainable energy sources is crucial because of the pressing need to slow down climate change and lower carbon footprints. Of all the renewable energy sources, wind energy is particularly important as a means of reducing carbon emissions from the generation of electricity. With the increase in the penetration of renewable energy resources in electrical power systems, the stochastic behavior of the renewable energy resources has to be taken into account for better analysis in power systems. However, the stochastic behavior of the renewable energy is also affected by the environmental conditions. In this context, The main objective of this paper is to present a novel wind energy modeling that includes the effect of ambient temperature on the wind turbine capabilities. This effect is presented as the de-rating curve for wind turbine output power to respect the thermal capabilities of the electrical components of the wind turbine. That’s why this novel model is developed to consider the effect of ambient temperature to represent the practical limitations of wind turbines which wasn’t considered by previous literature although the temperature has a siginicant impact on the wind turbine output power. In this Paper, Gamesa G80 wind turbine is used to perform the numerical analysis of the proposed new model. Moreover, Exponential Distribution Optimizer (EDO), Aquila Optimizer (AO), and Equilibrium Optimizer (EO) algorithms are used to find various probability distribution functions (PDFs) parameters to model wind speed data from Zaafrana region in Egypt using Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Coefficient of Correlation (R^2) as judging criteria. In addition, real temperature data from the same site are used to validate the proposed model compared to the manufacturer’s capabilities. The results show that mixed PDFs provide a better representation for the wind speed data. Moreover, the study demonstrates that ambient temperature cannot be neglected in wind power modeling, as the wind turbine output power varies significantly. Additionally, this work highlights the impact of climate change on the efficiency of renewable energy sources like the wind energy. The proposed wind energy model could be valuable to system operators as a decision-making aid when dealing with and analyzing complex power systems.

Improving the Feasibility of 2G Ethanol Production from Lignocellulosic Hydrolysate Using Immobilized Recombinant Yeast: A Technical–Economic Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment

This work addresses the technical–economic–environmental analysis of a 1G2G ethanol integrated process using immobilized recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae and crude sugarcane bagasse acid hydrolysate mixed with molasses. Three case studies were evaluated and compared with the traditional 1G plants. The minimal ethanol-selling price and the life cycle assessment using CML-IA midpoint indicators were chosen as the economic and environmental metrics, respectively. The values found for the ethanol-selling price ranged from 472.92 USD/m3 to 966.53 USD/m3 for the integrated case studies. Compared to the average sales value of 1G ethanol (673.48 USD/m3), the first and second case studies were interesting for their economic viability, while the third case study would require a 43.5% increase in the price of ethanol to achieve production profitability. In the environmental assessment, the integrated 2G ethanol processes of the first and third case studies allowed for the increase in ethanol production per ton of sugarcane processed without decreasing the environmental performance of the process. The third case study presented the lowest environmental impact indicators, except for global warming potential and photochemical oxidation categories, highlighting the importance of the development of biomass pretreatment strategies with lower carbon footprint. The strategy of integrating the 2G process into a 1G ethanol biorefinery offers interesting economic and environmental values, allows the use of hemicellulose, and contributes to the development of 2G processes in sugarcane biorefineries and to the sustainability of the processes.

A High-Quality Reference Genome and Comparative Genomics of the Widely Farmed Banded Cricket (Gryllodes sigillatus) Identifies Selective Breeding Targets.

Farmed insects have gained attention as an alternative, sustainable source of protein with a lower carbon footprint than traditional livestock. We present a high-quality reference genome for one of the most commonly farmed insects, the banded cricket Gryllodes sigillatus. In addition to its agricultural importance, G. sigillatus is also a model in behavioural and evolutionary ecology research on reproduction and mating systems. We report comparative genomic analyses that clarify the banded cricket's evolutionary history, identify gene family expansions and contractions unique to this lineage, associate these with agriculturally important traits, and identify targets for genome-assisted breeding efforts. The high-quality G. sigillatus genome assembly plus accompanying comparative genomic analyses serve as foundational resources for both applied and basic research on insect farming and behavioural biology, enabling researchers to pinpoint trait-associated genetic variants, unravel functional pathways governing those phenotypes, and accelerate selective breeding efforts to increase the efficacy of large-scale insect farming operations.

Bioplastics and biodegradable plastics: A review of recent advances, feasibility and cleaner production.

Bioplastics and biodegradable plastics: A review of recent advances, feasibility and cleaner production.

High durability, low-carbon, and low-cost nano-engineered concrete for marine concrete infrastructures

High durability, low-carbon, and low-cost nano-engineered concrete for marine concrete infrastructures