Residual Waste Research Articles

Advanced Hybrid Ceramics for Nuclear and Hydrogen Energy Applications

AbstractGlobal energy crisis has encouraged the need for sustainable energy resources, which is the viable alternate of providing effective energy operations and considered as remedy for the ongoing energy crisis. Development in the science and technology eases out plenty of issues that were once thought to be uphill. Presently, earth is being subjected to several grave issues which need to be addressed as soon as possible. Nuclear and hydrogen energy are the important areas which promise the optimistic way of handling the existential energy crisis due to cost, scarcity of resources and unavailability of considerable feedstock. Ceramics are the diverse inorganic materials which offer tremendous chemical and physical characteristics. Due to their structural, compositional and morphological versatility, advanced ceramics based hybrid materials can be exploited in nuclear and hydrogen energy applications as discussed in this review. Extensive survey outlined the applicability of ceramics in various nuclear science based applications as they include fissionable species and possess higher thermal conductivity, their enormous resistance towards radiation and refractoriness in fuels and in waste residuals due to their potential to hold radio nuclides and surveyed the scope of several metal oxides ceramics in carrying out hydrogen energy operations via overall water splitting.

Microbiome convergence and deterministic community assembly along successional biocrust gradients on potash salt heaps.

Potash mining, typically performed for agricultural fertilizer production, can create piles of residual salt waste that are ecologically detrimental and difficult to revegetate. Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) have been found growing on and around these heaps, suggesting resilience to the hypersaline environment. We set out to understand the community dynamics of biocrust formation by examining two succesionary salinity gradients at historical mining sites using a high throughput amplicon sequencing. Bare heaps were distinct, with little overlap between sites, and were characterized by high salinity, low nutrient availability, and specialized, low diversity microbial communities, dominated by Halobacteria, Chloroflexia, and Deinococci. 'Initial' stages of biocrust development were dominated by site-specific Cyanobacteria, with significant overlap between sites. Established biocrusts were the most diverse, with large proportions of Alphaproteobacteria, Anaerolineae, and Planctomycetacia. Along the salinity gradient at both sites, salinity decreased, pH decreased, and nutrients and Chlorophyll a increased. Microbiomes between sites converged during succession and community assembly process analysis revealed biocrusts at both sites were dominated by deterministic, niche-based processes; indicating a high degree of phylogenetic turnover. We posit early cyanobacterial colonization is essential for biocrust initiation, and facilitates later establishment of plant and other higher-level biota.

Significant differences in black and brown carbon concentrations at urban and suburban sites

Light-absorbing carbonaceous particles (LAC) may cause and/or exacerbate non-communicable diseases, interfere with the Earth's radiative balance, darken urban buildings and impair vistas. In this study, we explored the temporal behaviour of LAC concentrations measured at wavelengths of 370 nm (brown carbon, BrC) and 880 nm (black carbon, BC) at two sites of a mid-sized city in Brazil. We observed sharp changes in LAC concentrations at the city centre site in response to variations in traffic volume. The highest concentrations were observed when winds originated from both the city core and from the direction of the bus terminal. The suburban site exhibited a notably uniform diurnal pattern and consistently lower LAC concentrations throughout the day. Nevertheless, substantial increases during the evening led to mean BrC and BC concentrations (2.6 and 2.2 μg m−3, respectively) comparable to daytime peaks observed in the city centre (3 μg m−3 and 2.5 μg m−3). This phenomenon was attributed to the burning of residential waste and overgrown vegetation in nearby vacant lots. Moreover, the highest concentrations coincided with periods of low wind speeds, usually linked to non-buoyant plumes from point sources. BrC concentrations surpassed BC concentrations, even at the city centre site. Not only was the Ångström absorption exponent (Å370/880) larger at the suburban site compared to the city centre (95th percentiles of 1.73 and 1.38, respectively), but it also exhibited a wider span. Overall, the combined LAC and Å370/880 data indicated that i) biomass burning is a major source of LAC at the suburban site; ii) at the city centre, bare BC particles may become internally mixed with BrC from biomass or fossil fuel emissions and enhance absorption at lower wavelengths. The occurrence of LAC peaks outside the evening rush hours suggests that other sources but on-road vehicular emissions may contribute to the deterioration of the air quality in the urban core. Tackling air quality across the urban perimeter requires targeting other potential sources but traffic emissions.

TEKNOLOGI PANEL SURYA UNTUK PENGOLAHAN LIMBAH SISA PENYULINGAN MINYAK KAYU PUTIH

Ujungmanik Village, Kawunganten District, Cilacap Regency, which is in the Segara Anakan Cilacap area, has natural resources, especially eucalyptus plants, which have the potential to develop the economy of the village community. The biggest problem faced by LMDH Dadi Makmur as a unit that manages the eucalyptus oil business is that after the production of eucalyptus oil distillation, it will produce residual waste from cajuput oil twigs and leaves with quite a large volume and only be left piled up around the yard where the distillery is, causing area storage of essential oil raw materials is narrow and also takes a long time to become organic fertilizer. The innovation offered through this community service activity is implementing a briquette printing machine from eucalyptus oil refining waste which is energy efficient and based on solar panels. The results of the dedication show that the eucalyptus oil waste processing activity in addition to reducing environmental pollution also produces biomass briquettes that can be utilized by the residents of Ujungmanik Village as a leading economic product of Ujungmanik Village. Keyword: Cajuput oil, briquette, solar panels

Decontamination and solidification treatment on spent liquid scintillation cocktail

Treatment of spent scintillation cocktail generated by analysis of radioactivity is one of important tasks for management of nuclear laboratories. This study proposed a procedure consists of adsorption of radioactivity and solidification of residual liquid wastes, and fundamental performance of each step was experimentally tested. Batch-wise adsorption showed excellent adsorption performance of Ni onto silica-based adsorbent, and chelate reaction was suggested as the adsorption mechanism by EXAFS analysis. Alkaline activate material successfully solidified the liquid waste, and TG/DTA and XRD analyses revealed that the organic compounds exist inside the matrix. Only 1 % of the loaded organic compounds were leaked from the matrix by a leaching test, and most of the organic compounds should be stably kept inside the matrix.

Effective and efficient design and manufacture of a plastic waste press machine

In Madiredo Village, which is located in Pujon District, Malang Regency, there are many business programs. The problem is that these efforts result in a wide range of waste, including up to 5 tons per day of residential waste and other corporate waste. The debris was gathered from the Bengkaras Hamlet, Madirero Village Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (TPST 3R) Integrated debris Management Site. However, a lot of plastic garbage has still leaked out of the packing. The objective is to create a press machine (press) with an electric motor so that packed plastic trash and levers (used when the power goes out) no longer require manual work. The process involves designing and producing waste press machines, particularly for cardboard, plastic trash, and old bottles. Use of the 2016 version of Solidworks for the simulation design. The lowest stress, 2.038 x 104 N/m2, and the highest Von Misses stress, 2.825 x 108 N/m2, are determined by the modeling findings. The biggest displacement or deflection is 1.737 x 10 mm, while the smallest displacement is 0 mm. The values of the strain range from 1.880 x 10-7 to a minimum of 6.00 x 10-4. Safety factor has a value greater than 1 A 1 horsepower AC motor is used in the press machine's construction. Three different distance stopper pressing variables—33 cm, 35 cm, and 37 cm—as well as various types of waste plastic bags, plastic bottles, and cartons/cardboard are used to test the pressing performance. The results show that pressing plastic trash at a distance from the pressing stopper of 37 cm, a mass of 167 kg, a time of 2.2 minutes, and a compressive force of 6546.4 N/m2 may pack or package well for garbage in plastic bags

Occurrence, source identification and ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in water and sediments of Uchalli lake – Ramsar site, Pakistan

Uchalli Lake is an internationally significant Ramsar site that needs protection for supporting migratory birds. The current study aimed to assess wetland health by examining water and sediments utilizing total and labile heavy metals concentration, pollution indices, ecological risk assessment, water recharge and pollution induction sources through isotope tracer techniques. Al concentration in water was of serious concern as it was 440 times higher than the maximum acceptable concentration of Environmental Quality Standard of the UK for aquatic life in saline waters. Labile concentration predicted very severe enrichment of Cd, Pb, and moderate enrichment of Cu. Modified ecological risk index predicted very high ecological risk in sediments. The δ 18O, δ2H and D-excess values indicate that the lake was mainly recharged by local meteoric water. Enriched values of δ 18O and δ2H suggest a high evaporation of lake water, making lake sediments more enriched with metals. Isotopic and D-excess values of groundwater suggest a quick rainwater recharge to groundwater around the Uchalli Lake. Nitrates isotopes indicate that the rainwater runoff is main source of induction of fertilizers, pesticides and soil bonded metals in the lake system. The lake is recharged by rainwater runoff, from catchment areas, that erode the soil particles and agricultural residual waste dumped in the lake.

Environmental Compatibility of the Suggested New Cities Study Area -Samawah New City

The research presented the experience of creating a new sustainable city, and this experience of establishing an Eco-City (Environmentally friendly) is considered the first experience in Iraq. The current study stressed the importance of the need for environmental planning in the early stages of planning new cities based on realism in planning, design and implementation. Subsequently, that aims to preserve the ecosystem, which is difficult to compensate if degraded or polluted. The research incorporated environmental planning indicators within sustainable urban planning (Reliance on generating electric power that is based on clean and renewable energy sources, Availability of public transport services and pedestrian paths, providing green and open areas, approval the principle of mixed use of urban land; reuse of treated wastewater for various urban usages, as well as an interest in solid waste management and recycling residual wastes. Community participation, intensification and compactness within urban areas are evaluating by indicators conducting statistical analysing, and discussing results within methods and strategies of sustainable urban planning and their compatibility for implementation in new cities in Iraq. The main research contribution was to plan a new Eco-City integrated and comprehensive, healthy and liveable city that provides comfort and luxury to residents, taking into account environmental planning. Another contribution is presenting by eliminating informal housing and reducing pressure on social and technical services within the existing Samawah city, especially study area is adjacent to Samawah existing city.

Evaluating the Impact of Environmental Management Policies on Communities in the Leather Tannery Industrial Area of Garut Regency

Industrialization fundamentally aims to enhance the quality of life and the welfare of people. However, insufficient management of residual production waste generates adverse effects on both the environment and the inhabitants residing near industrial zones. In response, the government has established regulatory measures for environmental protection and management through Government Regulation Number 22 of 2021. This regulation seeks to strike a balance between the community’s economic interests and environmental sustainability, safeguarding the rights of citizens. The core objectives of this research are to assess the state of environmental policies within the Sukaregang leather tanning industrial area, to scrutinize the implementation of environmental management practices, and to evaluate the impact of Government Regulation Number 22 of 2021. Employing a qualitative case study approach, the research centers on the Sukaregang leather tanning industrial area, a pivotal hub for the leather industry and a symbol of the Garut Regency. The data collection involves interviews with key stakeholders, including the Environmental Service, the leather tanning industry, and the affected community. The research concludes that while policies based on Government Regulation Number 22 of 2021 are in place, complementary local regulations are absent. The current implementation of environmental management continues to engender negative externalities in sectors such as agriculture, health, and environmental pollution. To address the shortfalls in achieving policy goals and objectives, it becomes imperative to establish local regulations that facilitate cost-sharing in the waste treatment process, utilizing Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) technology. Such measures are essential for upholding environmental quality for the residents of industrial areas.

Experimental Investigation on Effect of Spent Wash Usage in Mixing Water on Properties of Concrete

Abstract: The by-product of sugar industry- distillery spent wash, is the unwanted residual liquid waste generated during alcohol production and pollution caused by it is one of the most critical environmental issue because it poses a serious threat to the water quality in several regions around the globe. Despite standards imposed on effluent quality, untreated or partially treated effluent very often finds access to water courses. The ever-increasing generation of distillery spent wash on the one hand and stringent legislative regulations of its disposal on the other has stimulated the need for developing new technologies to process this effluent efficiently and economically. This paper presents an overview on experimental study on usage of spent wash in concrete with various percentages and its alternative use in various sectors. The contribution of distillery waste i.e. spent wash on the mechanical properties of concrete is high compared to conventional concrete.

How can industrial heat decarbonisation be accelerated through energy efficiency?

The ongoing energy transition necessitates commitments from various sectors to utilise resources more efficiently. Amongst these, the industrial sector, which is associated with high energy and resource consumption and emissions, has been attracting attention specifically aimed at performance enhancements and continuous progress in energy utilisation. The continued evolution of industrial operations and performance requires energy efficiency measures to be developed and implemented. Diverse portfolios of products, wide-ranging types of equipment, processes and, subsequently, plants, are adopted in the industrial sector, such that energy efficiency measures vary widely, along with their effectiveness, technological maturity, technical and economic impact. It remains a challenge to select the optimal energy efficiency measure(s) for a specific industry, plant and process, given the specific asset requirements. In this context, the development of systematic approaches for identifying optimal energy efficiency measures is of great interest. In this vision paper, we present an assembly of available systematic tools for advancing the energy efficiency of plants and sites in the industrial sector. The contribution of this work to the field of industrial heat decarbonisation arises from developing and proposing the use of a new holistic framework as a guide for the continuous performance improvement of thermal-energy-intensive industries through a series of energy efficiency measures and actions. Specifically, the framework suggests initiating efforts from a proposed top-down peer benchmarking practice aimed at identifying gaps in energy-efficiency performance across products, plants, processes and equipment. In a second stage, recommendations are made in form of a list of steps to close these gaps, starting with conducting equipment gap closure analyses, followed by design improvement studies at the process, plant and site levels using tools such as pinch analysis, steam system optimisation and residual waste heat recovery. We finally propose that simultaneous attention should be given to operational energy management programs along with a sequence of recommended actions to minimise deviations from the targeted energy-efficiency performance. In this vision paper, key technical tools needed to achieve the goal of continuous heat decarbonisation through energy efficiency are reviewed, and the organisational and management aspects required for effective energy targeting and management, and stakeholder engagement are addressed, based upon which relevant research challenges and opportunities are identified.

Biovalorization of Fruit Wastes for Development of Biodegradable Antimicrobial Chitosan-Based Coatings for Fruits (Tomatoes and Grapes).

Organic wastes are generated from high consumption of fruits. In this paper, fruit residual wastes collected from fruit-juice centres were transformed into fine powder, and thereafter, proximate analysis along with SEM, EDX and XRD was done to get into the surface morphology, minerals and ash content of fine powder. Aqueous extract (AE) prepared from this powder was studied using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). The phytochemicals identified are N-hexadecanoic acid; 1,3-dioxane,2,4-dimethyl-, diglycerol, 4-ethyl-2-hydroxycyclopent-2-en-1-one, eicosanoic acid, etc. AE showed high antioxidant and a low MIC value (2mg/ml) against Pseudomonas aeruginosa MZ269380. AE having acceptance as nontoxic to biological system, formulation of chitosan (2%)-based coating was done with 1% AQ. Surface coatings of tomatoes and grapes showed significant inhibition of microbial growth even after 10days of storage at ambient temperature (25 ± 2°C). Colour, texture, firmness and aceptability of coated fruits showed no degradation compared to negative control. Additionally, the extracts showed insignificance haemolysis of goat RBC and damage of Calf Thymus DNA which exhibited its biocompatible nature. Biovalorization of fruit wastes yields useful phytochemicals and can be utilized in various sectors thereby finding a sustainable solution for disposal of fruit wastes.

Potential of Cassava Peel as Cr Metal Biosorbent in Laboratory COD Waste

Cassava peel is an agricultural residual waste that can be found from industrial processing in Indonesia. Cassava peel contains cellulose which can be used as a biosorbent. The aim of this study was to optimize the adsorption of cassava peel waste on chromium metal ions and then to determine the adsorption capacity and adsorption constant values of the Langmuir model and the Freundlich model. The research was divided into four stages, namely manufacture, optimization conditions, maximum capacity, and application to waste. Optimization conditions for weight ratio, optimum concentration, pH, and contact time. Determination of chromium content, standard series, and testing using the APHA method SSA ed. 23rd 3030 D 3111 B, 2017 at a wavelength of 357.78 nm. Determination of adsorption isotherms of Langmuir and Freundlich models. The optimum condition results at a weight ratio of 1 gram in 10 ml of solution, a concentration of 10 ppm, pH 2, and a contact time of 180 minutes. The adsorption capacity is 0.10216 mg Cr/gram cassava peel biosorbent. Application to chrome contamination laboratory waste obtained an adsorbed concentration of 20.681 ppm. In the Langmuir and Freundlich isothermal model, the R2 value is 0.9668 and 0.9985, the n value is 0.73964.

Kajian Nilai Keawetan Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement Dengan Pemanfaatan Buton Granular Asphalt Pada Lapis Perkerasan Ac-Wc

Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) is the residual waste generated from the dredging of damaged road pavements. Usually this RAP material is thrown away so it is rarely reused. In fact, RAP material that has become waste and is no longer used can be used as an added ingredient in the manufacture of new asphalt concrete with rejuvenator. This study aims to determine the durability value of reclaimed asphalt pavement with the use of buton granular asphalt (BGA) as a rejuvenating agent in the gradation of the Laston mixture (AC-WC) against the IRS value. The first testing stage is to test the characteristics of the reclaimed asphalt pavement material and then continue with the marshall test. The optimum asphalt content value obtained after testing is at 5,28% of the total aggregate. The reference used in testing the characteristics of Marshall and IRS is the specification of Bina Marga in 2018 revision 2. The results of the IRS test using the optimum asphalt content of 5,28% with the addition of BGA show that along with the increase in the level of BGA in the AC-WC mixture by using RAP, the ability of the mixture to withstand the load increases and the flexibility of the mixture decreases, so that the asphalt's durability increases, represented by the IRS test of 30 minutes and 24 hours which shows the durability value with 0% BGA content, the value is 112,70%, with the addition of BGA 1% obtained a value of 118,87%, BGA 2% 121,50% and with the addition of 3% BGA content which was 125,11% in the Laston mixture (AC-WC). So from the test results, the IRS value meets the requirements of the 2018 Highways Specification of 90%, so it is concluded that the results of the tests carried out meet the durability requirements and can be applied in the field.

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on landfilling and recycling in the city of Fargo, North Dakota, USA

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic impacted different aspects of human lifestyle, including waste generation and management. The landfilled and recycled waste volume from the City of Fargo’s annual solid waste report between 2019 and 2021 was critically analyzed to understand these impacts. The analysis showed a 4.5% increase in the residential waste volume in 2020 compared to 2019 and 2021, suggesting a pandemic-induced lockdown effect. The monthly residential waste volume was approximately 5–15% greater during the mandatory quarantine period (April – November 2020) than in 2019 and 2021. Commercial waste volume decreased by 12% during 2020 and then sharply increased in 2021 as commercial facilities reopened. The total recycling volume increased slightly by 2.5% in 2020 compared to 2019 and 2021. Cardboard recycling showed a 5.8% increase in 2020 from 2019 and a 13% increase in 2021 compared to 2020. This was presumably caused by the reliance on online shopping during the pandemic and becoming habituated to online shopping. The COVID-19 pandemic did not significantly impact other classes of recycled waste volumes. In summary, COVID-19 affected landfilling and recycling in different capacities in the City of Fargo. The data will contribute to the global understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on solid waste management practices. Implications: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted waste generation and management. In Fargo, USA, the monthly residential waste volume increased by up to 15% during the mandatory quarantine period in 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 and 2021. Conversely, the monthly commercial waste volume decreased during the mandatory quarantine period in 2020. The commercial waste volume increased in 2021 as commercial activities became normal. The cardboard recycling increased significantly because people became used to online shopping during the lockdown, and the practice continues. The findings will contribute to the global understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on solid waste management practices.

Estimating the Potential for Waste Heat Recovery in Italian Dairy Sector Using a Bottom-Up Approach and Data from Energy Audits

As a result of the expected increase in food demand, improving the sustainability of the food industry has become a priority worldwide. The recovery of industrial waste heat is widely regarded as a key strategy to reduce the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of food manufacturing processes. Estimating the available recoverable waste heat can contribute to driving actions that promote the effective exploitation of such an untapped energy source. This study aimed to evaluate the waste heat potential of large and energy-intensive Italian dairy companies. To this end, a methodology that combined key transfer figures adapted to the Italian industrial context and data on fossil fuels consumption from energy audits was adopted to assess the technical waste heat potential. A comparison with the overall waste heat recovered from the projects proposed by large and energy-intensive dairy companies was carried out to estimate the residual waste heat available. Finally, the economic waste heat potential was assessed by varying the heat transfer operating conditions between the waste heat sources and sinks, and assuming that waste heat recovery was operated through heat exchanger technology. The technical waste heat potential of large and energy-intensive dairy industries was valued at roughly 75.6 GWht/year. Simulation results also showed that more than 90% of the studied companies exhibited payback periods below three years for all waste heat recovery projects, except for those involving gas-to-gas or gas-to-liquid heat transfers.

Design and comparative analysis of beater knife mechanism for mango pulp extraction

The purpose of this research work was to design, fabricate and evaluate an enhanced fruit pulp extraction unit to convert the available fruit into pulp to increase profitability and to limit post-harvest losses. This study introduced a newly developed mechanism with beater-type blades having serrated knives. As compared to the existing screw-type pulpers this newly developed pulping machine is quite lightweight, cheap, easy to fabricate, requires low maintenance, and has a low running cost. The major factors that were considered while planning included cost-effectiveness, manufacturing ease, high efficiency and user-friendly operation. The machine works by applying shearing and centrifugal forces on the fed fruits through an innovatively designed set of blades. The data like mass of fruits and residual waste, extracted juice volume and time taken for juice extraction were collected and used to calculate the key performance indicators (KPIs) which included juice yield, extraction efficiency and extraction loss of the unit. The mango types like Sindhri, Chaunsa and Langra were used and maximum average juice yield and extraction efficiency were obtained for Chaunsa variety at 600 rpm with 700-micron diameter sieve mesh size and 25 mm beater and sieve mesh clearance. The beater-type and screw-type pulpers have juice yield percentages of 63.40% & 34.56%, extraction efficiencies of 56.70% & 54.15%, power consumption of 1HP & 2.5HP and manufacturing costs of USD1275 & USD2000 respectively. The processing capacity of this pulp processing unit is 60-70kg/h.

RECOVERY AND UTILISATION OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE INCINERATION BOTTOM ASH: IMPLICATIONS FOR EUROPEAN WASTE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

Over the last two decades, the stated intent of European waste management strategy has evolved from a specific focus on landfill diversion to enabling the transition to a circular economy.. Widespread introduction of source-segregation alongside deployment of material recovery technologies have improved MSW management practices across Europe. However, with diminishing returns it has become more difficult to achieve further landfill diversion through increased recycling alone, and incineration rates (across the EU-27 as a whole) have continued to increase. The advantages of incineration include the ability to harness the energy content of the waste alongside a sizeable reduction in mass and volume. However, the remaining solid residues, the most substantial being incinerator bottom ash, present a management issue. Exploring the role of incineration and the utilisation of incineration bottom ash, this paper highlights the potential risks of lock-in in the context of evolving waste policy. A simple thought experiment suggests that while increased use of incineration may help member states achieve 2035 landfill diversion targets, it would also carry a substantive risk of placing the 2035 recycling target out of reach. To address this, a long-term vision concerning the future of incineration is required, where it is recommended that policy which focuses on landfill diversion and the recycling of residual wastes should be strengthened through mechanisms that gradually phase out incineration and distinguish between open and closed-loop recycling.

Integrated community energy and harvesting systems: A climate action strategy for cold climates

In this article, the Integrated Community Energy and Harvesting System is introduced, a grid modernization solution for cold climates that incites a paradigm shift in virtual power plant design and operation. The focus is on system-wide GHG reductions by using variable temperature micro-thermal networks and prioritizing the harvesting of existing residual (waste) energy resources in communities, such as high-grade heat from decentralized fossil-fuel marginal generators, low-grade heat from cooling processes and curtailed carbon-free electricity. The novel strategy enables rapid fuel switching between residual energy resources, changing the micro-thermal network temperature between 20 and 70 °C on the scale of an hour, which provides valuable electrical demand response while maximizing the use of existing underutilized energy resources. Thermal storage is shown to have a critical role in both storing residual energy for later use, daily and seasonally, and enabling electrical demand response by rapidly changing the micro-thermal network temperature. The quantity of residual energy sources identified highlights that, as much as, 50% of all building heating loads could be met by energy currently rejected to the atmosphere. To illustrate the ICE-Harvest system’s effectiveness, a detailed case study is conducted on a typical integrated community and then applied to 1,000 prospective sites across a cold climate jurisdiction with a relatively low-carbon grid. It is shown that cooling process heat recovery, an energy source which is already located at buildings, can provide 24% of the prospective sites’ heating load when powered by carbon free, otherwise curtailed electricity. The results demonstrate that mass deployment of ICE-Harvest systems has the potential to provide 72% of the heating demand of these building clusters from residual energy sources, corresponding to an over 58% reduction in GHG emissions.

Effect of stacking sequence and thickness variation on the thermo-mechanical properties of flax-kenaf laminated biocomposites and prediction of the optimal configuration using a decision-making framework

Abstract The use of naturally derived eco-friendly biocomposites became more popular due to growing environmental concerns and hunt for sustainable materials. Biocomposites can reduce the residual waste and carbon emission to the environment during their lifecycle. The present study aims to develop biocomposites by reinforcing flax fiber (F) and kenaf fiber (K) laminates with bio-epoxy matrix at four different arrangements (FFF, FKF, KFK, and KKK). The biocomposite samples were fabricated with three laminated thicknesses (3 mm, 4 mm and 5 mm) and the thermo-mechanical performance was investigated. The results showed that FFF biocomposites recorded higher tensile, flexural, and interfacial properties with lower density and absorption of water compared to KKK biocomposites due to higher cylindrical lumen diameter of flax laminates. The hybridization of flax with kenaf fiber at different stacking sequences provided greater strength, modulus, toughness, stiffness, thermal stability and degradation behaviour due to greater interfacial interaction between laminated fiber and bio-epoxy. The FKF biocomposites showed maximum impact strength (52.96 kJ/m2), tensile strength (110.21 MPa), and compressive strength (139.64 MPa) at 5 mm laminated thickness while, flexural (158.67 MPa) and shear strength (39.45 MPa) were maximum at 4 mm thickness with the highest degradation temperature (336 °C). The optimal biocomposite configuration has been identified through employability of a novel decision-making framework encompassing interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets, TOmada de DecisaoInterativaMulticriterio (TODIM) and Schweizer–Sklar operations. The inclusive evaluation with regard to the applied framework has revealed that FKF and KFK biocomposites with 4 mm thickness (Lam5 and Lam8) configuration to have the optimal configuration. On the other hand, Lam 10, i.e., KKK_3 mm turned out to be inferior to all the considered biocomposite configurations.