Quantitative Sustainability Assessment Research Articles

Increasing school building usage through adaptable building design: A quantitative sustainability assessment

While school buildings have the potential to form the hearth of a local community, they currently remain unused for longer periods of time out of school hours in several regions. To exploit this large sustainability potential, school buildings must be able to allow for a flexible building usage. First, this study explores whether letting school infrastructure to external users can be economically profitable. Second, it tackles the knowledge gap on how ventilation systems can facilitate a short- and medium-long-term flexible building usage in a sustainable manner, which is essential to achieve a more extensive school building usage. To answer these research questions, a case study is carried out which includes a flexible building usage that based on the needs of educational stakeholders. The results of the profitability analyses indicate that it is possible for schools to yield substantial profits over a period of 20 years and that the financial risks are low. Next, a life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost assessment (LCCA) are carried out on three different ventilation strategies. It is found that a decentralized balanced mechanical ventilation system has the lowest environmental impact and life cycle cost, since this system requires few adaptions during the study period. The mechanical exhaust ventilation system has the highest environmental impact, while the centralized balanced mechanical ventilation system has the highest life cycle cost. An important insight of this sustainability assessment is that the material-related impact increases in a flexible context and that it sometimes outweighs the energy-related impact.

Evaluation of Subtitle D Covers and Exposed Geomembrane Cover for Landfills: Sustainability and Resiliency

Exposed geomembrane covers (EGMs) are considered as suitable alternatives to traditional subtitle D soil covers with compacted clay layers (CCL) for landfill cover applications. Compared to CCLs, which comprise various layers, including vegetation, erosion soil layers, and barrier liners, EGMs offer benefits such as reduced resource use. There are several risks associated with cover systems, ranging from climate-related shocks or stressors such as earthquakes, droughts, and floods to local shocks such as excessive differential settlement due to the uneven degradation of waste mass. Hence, their resilience and sustainability must be analyzed, particularly considering the escalating impact of climate change and the growing need to integrate resilience and sustainability principles into engineering designs and operations. This study comparatively assessed the resilience and sustainability of three cover systems: EGM, soil cover with geomembranes, and soil cover without geomembranes. A ((tiered quantitative life cycle assessment of sustainability and resilience) framework was employed. The resilience assessment was performed using a rating system, considering the technical performance of the cover systems, along with the environmental, economic, and social implications of the failures. Subsequently, a comprehensive sustainability assessment encompassing environmental, economic, and social dimensions was conducted. A life-cycle assessment of all cover systems was performed to evaluate environmental sustainability, and a cost-benefit analysis was employed to compare their economic aspects. Social sustainability was evaluated using a rating system. The assessments were combined to develop an integrated sustainability and resiliency index. EGM was the most resilient and sustainable alternative for landfill cover systems compared to traditional soil covers. These insights enable an objective comparison of resilience and sustainability, facilitating informed decision-making.

Quantitative sustainability assessment of plant layouts for mechano-chemical remanufacturing of waste tires into rubber sheets with integrated pyrolysis-distillation

Waste tires are a major contributor to the solid waste stream globally. However, waste tires can be recovered and remanufactured into valuable products, such as rubber sheet, steel, and nylon. This study proposes a novel strategy of incorporating pyrolysis–distillation (P–R) lines into remanufacturing plant layouts for the mechano-chemical remanufacturing of waste tires into sheet rubber to add energy products as an additional output to diversify the profitable product range. A quantitative sustainability assessment was performed to evaluate batch, semi-continuous, and fully continuous P–R reactors with capacities of 5–50 t/day for pyrolysis and 5–20 t/day for distillation, which are integrated to develop 99 pre-design options to remanufacture 15–50 t/day of waste tires into energy products. The pre-designs were optimized quantitatively and reduced into eight alternatives for introduction at specific positions in the plant layouts to increase the capacity of the plant by approximately 40% (to process an extra 180 t/day of waste tires) based on European Union experience in producing energy products from waste tires. Accordingly, yields of energy products of 84,768 L/day of diesel, 63 t/day of charcoal, 27 t/day of waste steel, and 8.1 t/day of raw asphalt.can be obtained, thereby yielding 13.734–34.219 million USD/year profit. Furthermore, a high technical feasibility index of 0.82, very high economic sustainability satisfaction factor of 0.98, very high environmental sustainability satisfaction factor of 0.97, and very high social sustainability satisfaction factor of 0.91 indicate that the proposed remanufacturing process is viable as a quadilateral-bottom-line sustainability strategy.

Evaluating the Economic Sustainability of Two Selected Urban Centers—A Focus on Amherst and Braintree, MA, USA

While the topic of sustainable development has been extensively explored, there is a lack of quantitative assessment of economic sustainability in the scientific literature; moreover, the term is often interpreted with excessive attention to the environment but not socio-economic inequality. In addition, university cities are often considered the most sustainable, although the higher education system in the United States is often criticized for the inequality of access to it among different racial and other groups of the population. This paper adds to the debate about how the concepts of sustainability and economic development relate. Many researchers have noted that they come into conflict with each other because their ultimate goals are fundamentally different: a voluntary limitation of production and consumption in the interests of future generations and, conversely, the pursuit of well-being during our lives. We would like to explore the issue of economic sustainability, which, at first glance, may become a compromise between the two approaches outlined above. So, our study is devoted to exploring the ambiguous concept of economic sustainability, which can add some new knowledge to the understanding of how social, economic, and ecological factors relate to each other in the broader framework of sustainability. For this objective, we analyzed the economic sustainability of the town of Amherst, MA. The city’s top employer and core enterprise is the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with over 32,000 students and almost 2000 staff members. Based on a literature review, a hypothesis was put forward that a university city should have a high level of economic sustainability. To assess economic sustainability, the original methodology based on the US Cities Economic Sustainability Index (USCESI) was developed. It evaluates sustainability in three groups of parameters: society, economy, and ecology. The first group includes the level of racial diversity, the level of education of the population, and the access to medical services. The second group consists of the Gini coefficient by income level, the median cost of housing, and the unemployment rate. The environmental situation is assessed according to the Air Quality Index developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency. For comparison, the town of Braintree, MA, was chosen. As a result of the study, the USCESI was calculated for both locations. The analysis showed that both Amherst and Braintree have a high degree of economic sustainability. However, it was revealed that proximity to a significant economic center has a more powerful positive impact on economic sustainability than the location of a large university. In our paper, we proposed a new methodology for measuring economic sustainability with a special focus on inequality as a major problem in American society. The findings provide new knowledge about university cities and debunk the myth that they represent an exception to the general logic of urban development in the United States. A similar approach, with clarification of statistical indicators and a different emphasis, can be applied to other countries where inequality may be the main threat to economic sustainability, not in terms of access to higher education but in other areas.

Remanufacturing waste steel sheet from end-of-life vehicles into electrical installation wall junction boxes: Quantitative sustainability assessment

The growing waste stream from the automotive industry is a mounting environmental burden, but also a potential source of valuable materials. This study evaluates a potential small business based on remanufacturing the metal sheets from end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) by applying inexpensive commercially available technology (such as cutting and welding) to produce wall junction boxes for electrical installations in construction applications. To evaluate this process as a sustainable alternative to recycling or landfilling metal sheets, the technical, economic, and environmental feasibilities of several case studies were analyzed. Single junction boxes can be purchased, manufactured using new steel, or remanufactured using waste sheet steel from ELVs. These boxes are assembled into multi-box modules with 2–5 boxes using backing plates made from new or ELV-derived steel. Twelve production alternatives based on the three main case studies were evaluated, giving profits of 49.4–90.0, 222.5–263.2, and 190.3–231.0 thousand USD/day in the case of purchased boxes/(re)manufactured backing plates, remanufactured boxes/(re)manufactured backing plates, and manufactured boxes/(re)manufactured backing plates, respectively. In a practical case study, remanufacturing of waste sheet steel to produce wall junction boxes for electrical installations was applied on an industrial scale using machinery currently available on the market to prove the technical feasibility of the proposed remanufacturing process. The calculated economic, environmental, and social feasibility values are shown to be sufficiently high for industrial application, with an overall remanufacturing sustainability index of 0.85 (which exceeds literature thresholds). The most appropriate technological alternatives were identified to guide the development of this business.

Expansion of a mechano-chemical plant for remanufacturing waste tires into rubber sheet and profitable wire steel by-products: A quantitative sustainability assessment

Existing mechano-chemical plants remanufacture waste tires into rubber sheet and recover nylon fibers and metal wires. As a novel expansion of this process to improve its profitability and sustainability, this study proposes the integration of a pyrolysis–distillation system to produce energy products and machinery to produce by-products from the waste steel, such as galvanized wire, nails, and crimped mesh. A quantitative analysis was performed to evaluate the amount of steel wire, energy, and CO2 emissions saved by the proposed process. Furthermore, the potential profit was calculated at low and high potential scales, representing sustainable national and international development, respectively, with the aim of establishing a circular economy. Twenty-four alternatives based on technical variations were developed and their technical feasibility and potential profit were evaluated and ranked, providing valuable information for decision makers selecting plant layout options. The economic, environmental, and technical feasibility indexes were calculated and used to specify the social feasibility index. Finally, a quadrilateral-bottom-line sustainability development approach was used to calculate the final sustainability index, showing that the proposed integration is indeed a sustainable business approach. The findings of this study prove that there are significant benefits in expanding existing remanufacturing plants to extract value from the many different materials in waste tires.

Quantitative sustainability assessment of remanufacturing waste reinforcing steel

AbstractConstruction is a major contributor to the solid waste stream globally and various recycling strategies are being evaluated to recover valuable resources. As a novel strategy, remanufacturing waste reinforcing steel bar (rebar) pieces from concrete waste to produce nails was applied on an industrial scale to prove the technical feasibility, where a group of alternatives were developed based on commercially available industrial machinery. The calculated economic and environmental feasibility values are sufficiently high for industrial application, and the most appropriate remanufacturing technological alternative was identified. The sustainability equation was solved to find the social feasibility and overall remanufacturing sustainability index. Rebar waste remanufacturing has a high triple‐bottom‐line sustainability index of 0.885. Based on the proposed process, small remanufacturing companies can be developed, thereby aiding employment and human development by earning profit of 1904–8880 USD/day. The findings of this study are beneficial to decision makers in government and industry and are globally relevant because concrete waste is ubiquitous worldwide.

Sustainability Assessment of Buildings Indicators

The building sector is responsible for a high environmental impact, namely during construction, maintenance, demolition, and lifetime. It is then urgent to develop tools for guiding all stockholders to make buildings more sustainable. In order to make the sustainability assessment of a building, it is necessary to make a survey of the most appropriate parameters for this analysis and organize them hierarchically. The first sustainability certification rating tools were developed in the 90′s of the last century, namely Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM), which allow for the quantitative sustainability assessment of different types of buildings. After the first developments, many authors joined in the endeavor of producing easier-to-use and more accurate sustainability assessment systems using sustainability indicators and their respective weights. This work provides a rational pathway throughout the relevant literature on sustainability indicators, comparing indicators proposed by different authors and different sustainability certification systems.

Editorial: Early-stage quantitative sustainability assessment: Approaches for policy, processes and materials

Editorial: Early-stage quantitative sustainability assessment: Approaches for policy, processes and materials

Quantitative Assessment of Shallow Groundwater Sustainability in North China Plain

The depletion of shallow groundwater has seriously affected the sustainable development of water resources in the North China Plain (NCP). Based on 556 well monitoring observations over a period of 13 years, we quantitatively evaluated the shallow groundwater sustainability in the NCP via various indices (e.g., the reliability, resilience, vulnerability, and sustainability indices), and further discussed the contribution of different drivers (including climatic and non-climatic factors). The main conclusions are summarized as follows: (1) the yearly trend of shallow groundwater shows a serious long-term deficit in the Piedmont Plain but is not significant in the East-Central Plain. (2) As for the sustainability of shallow groundwater in the NCP, the reliability is below the medium level (reliability < 0.5) in most areas and the ability of shallow aquifers to restore groundwater is very weak (resilience < 0.2), while the lack of groundwater storage in most shallow aquifers is not serious (vulnerability < 0.4). The final sustainability index (<0.1) shows the poor sustainability of most shallow aquifers in the NCP. (3) The non-climatic factor is the dominant driver of shallow groundwater depletion in the NCP when compared to the climatic factor. This result is helpful to formulate the water management policies for sustainable shallow groundwater storage in the NCP.

Circular bioprocess for phosphorus nutrient recovery to grow lettuce in lunar space

A mining-farming circular process of inedible vegetable fractions for P-K extraction is proposed to be used as fertilizer under the constraints of the harsh space conditions, providing a quantitative sustainability and circularity assessment.

Quantitative sustainability assessment and sensitivity analysis for a solar-driven combined heating and power system integrated with organic Rankine cycle and ground source heat pump

Integrating renewable energy and combined heating and power (CHP) systems saves fossil energy, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and increases system efficiency. This study proposes a solar-driven CHP system integrated with an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) and a ground source heat pump (GSHP). A quantitative sustainability assessment method is used to evaluate the sustainability performance of the CHP system. This method aggregates the technical, economic, environmental, and social performance of the solar-driven CHP system through an information entropy approach to obtain a composite sustainability index. The results indicate that the solar-driven CHP system scenario with a heat distribution ratio of 75% has a higher composite sustainability index (0.768). A sensitivity analysis of the sustainability performance of the solar-driven CHP system under the optimal scenario shows that the emissions reduction ratio of SO2, CO2, NOx, and PM2.5 are positively correlated with solar irradiation, and the annual cost-saving ratio is more influenced by electricity prices, the job opportunity is more sensitive to job factors of the concentrated solar power. The above results indicate that the quantitative sustainability assessment method is helpful for the selection of CHP systems.

‘Multi-SWOT’ Multi-Stakeholder-Based Sustainability Assessment Methodology: Applied to Improve Slovenian Legume-Based Agri-Food Chains

Assessing the sustainability of agri-food chains is challenging for several reasons. It should account for the impacts on environmental, social, and economic wellbeing simultaneously, considering both the individual links in the chain and the chain as a whole. The primary aim of this study is to assess the conditions for meeting the sustainability criteria of a legume-based agri-food chain in Slovenia. Therefore, a quantitative sustainability assessment methodology was developed, using a multi-stakeholder approach, which upgraded the traditional SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. Our approach, called ‘Multi-SWOT’, aggregates the SWOT table inputs identified by stakeholders into factors, themes and focus areas, according to their importance for the agri-food chain, for each sustainability pillar, and links in the chain. By accounting for the relative number of incentives (beneficial factors) and barriers (constraint factors) we identified those factors that enhance the sustainability of the Slovenian legume-based agri-food chain and the factors jeopardising it. The incorporation of multi-stakeholder perspectives presents an innovative approach that adds value to a standard SWOT analysis. The study serves as a guide to help decision-makers better understand the multidimensionality of sustainability and identify effective activities to support and strengthen the current legume agri-food chain in Slovenia.

Conceptual carbon-reduction process design and quantitative sustainable assessment for concentrating high purity ethylene from wasted refinery gas

The direct emission of waste refinery gas after combustion will cause a severe greenhouse effect. Recovering high-value-added ethylene from wasted refinery gas has fundamental economic and environmental significance. Due to the complexity of the composition of refinery waste gas, designing and optimizing the whole recovery process is still a challenging task. Herein, a novel process (SCOAS) was proposed to obtain polymer-grade ethylene from wasted refinery gas through a direct separation process, and heat pump-assisted thermal integration optimization (HPSCOAS) was carried out. The unique feature of the novel approach is that a new stripper and ethylene reabsorber follow the dry gas absorber to ensure ethylene recovery and methane content. An industrial model, shallow cooling oil absorption (SCOA), and concentration combined cold separation system of ethylene unit using wasted refinery gas was established to analyze the technology and environment. Based on the detailed process modeling and simulation results, the quantitative sustainability assessment of economy and environment based on product life cycle process is carried out. The results show that compared with the traditional process when the same product is obtained, the total annual cost of the HPSCOAS process is the lowest, which is 15.4% lower than that of the SCOA process and 6.1% lower than that of the SCOAS process. In addition, compared with the SCOA process and the HPSCOAS process, the SCOAS process has more environmental advantages. The non-renewable energy consumed by SCOAS is reduced by about 24.8% and 6.1%, respectively. The CO2 equivalent is reduced by about 38.6% and 23.7%.

A Quantitative Sustainability Assessment for Mine Closure and Repurposing Alternatives in Colorado, USA

Responsible mine closure and repurposing are key to contributing to sustainable development by ensuring successful environmental rehabilitation and reducing socioeconomic risks. However, mine closure has primarily focused on remediation and rehabilitation of mined lands with limited consideration of stakeholder perspectives and the broader social, economic, and cultural impacts of closure. In this paper, we use stakeholder input to evaluate and compare three different repurposing alternatives for the tailings dam area of a mine in the state of Colorado, USA, which is expected to close in the next twenty years. By using multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT), we determine which alternative better reflects stakeholder preferences and results in the most economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable outcome. Our results show that although stakeholder groups have different ideas about what constitutes sustainable development in the context of mine closure and repurposing, it is possible to identify to what extent different scenarios can address these perspectives. We argue that integrating stakeholder views into mine closure design and repurposing can lead to more responsible and sustainable mine closure that is unique to a particular setting and stakeholder needs, and we provide a methodology that mining companies may use to understand stakeholder priorities and preferences.

A Review on the Performance Evaluation of Autonomous Self-Healing Bacterial Concrete: Mechanisms, Strength, Durability, and Microstructural Properties

The development of cracks, owing to a relatively lower tensile strength of concrete, diverse loading, and environmental factors driving the deterioration of structures, is an inescapable key concern for engineers. Reparation and maintenance operations are thus extremely important to prevent cracks from spreading and mitigating the lifetime of structures. However, ease of access to the cracked zone may be challenging, and it also needs funds and manual power. Hence, autonomous sealing of cracks employing microorganisms into the concrete sans manual intervention is a promising solution to the dilemma of the sustainable improvement of concrete. ‘Ureolytic bacteria’, key organism species in rumen-producing ‘urease’ enzymes such as Bacillus pasteurii or subtilis—when induced—are capable of producing calcium carbonate precipitations into the concrete. As their cell wall is anionic, CaCO3 accumulation on their surface is extensive, and the whole cell, therefore, becomes crystalline and ultimately plugs pores and cracks. This natural induction technique is an environmentally friendly method that researchers are studying intensively. This manuscript reviews the application process of bacterial healing to manufacture autonomous self-healing bacterial concrete. Additionally, it provides a brief review of diverse attributes of this novel concrete which demonstrate the variations with the auto-addition of different bacteria, along with an evaluation of crack healing as a result of the addition of these bacteria directly into concrete or after encapsulation in a protective shell. Comparative assessment techniques for autonomous, bio-based self-healing are also discussed, accompanied by progress, potential, modes of application of this technique, and its resultant benefits in the context of strength and durability. Imperatives for quantitative sustainability assessment and industrial adoption are identified, along with the sealing of artificially cracked cement mortar with sand as a filling material in given spaces, as well as urea and CaCl2 medium treatment with Bacillus pasteurii and Sporosarcina bacteria. The assessment of the impact on the compressive strength and rigidity of cement mortar cubes after the addition of bacteria into the mix is also considered. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images on the function of bacteria in mineral precipitation that is microbiologically induced are also reviewed. Lastly, future research scope and present gaps are recognised and discussed.

Quantitative Sustainability Assessment And Sensitivity Analysis For a Solar-Driven Combined Heating and Power System Integrated with Organic Rankine Cycle and Ground Source Heat Pump

Quantitative Sustainability Assessment And Sensitivity Analysis For a Solar-Driven Combined Heating and Power System Integrated with Organic Rankine Cycle and Ground Source Heat Pump

КОМПЛЕКСНЫЙ ПОДХОД К ОЦЕНКЕ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКОЙ УСТОЙЧИВОСТИ ПРЕДПРИЯТИЙ ПРОМЫШЛЕННОГО СЕКТОРА

The problem of economic sustainability of industrial enterprises is becoming more and more relevant in modern economic reality. This is explained by the increasing rates of occurrence of fluctuations of various genesis affecting the external and internal environment of an economic entity. Managing the development of an enterprise without maintaining the stability of its economic status is not effective in today's reality. Standard approaches to conducting economic activity and anti-crisis economic policy lose the ability to maintain the stability of the enterprise. Completely new factors and threats of a destructive nature, such as the global pandemic that has disrupted the established supply chains, and the geopolitical tensions, force managers to make renovation management decisions. To generate a successful strategy for the sustainable development of an industrial enterprise, it is necessary to establish in detail the basis and essence of the category of economic sustainability. To achieve this goal, a research of modern approaches to understanding economic sustainability and factors affecting the sustainable development of industrial enterprises was carried out. The main criteria indicators that have the maximum impact on the sustainable development of economic entities without reference to the volume of production and the main field of activity were established. The process of solving the task was based on statistical and factor analysis, on the grounds of which a quantitative assessment of economic sustainability was made. The results obtained can form the basis for the strategic development of mechanisms for sustainable management of industrial sector enterprises of any scale.

Method for Assessing the Sustainability of the Information Direction, Functioning on the Resources of the Communication Network with Failures

The article presents the main directions of the qualitative and quantitative assessment of sustainability in the field of infocommunications, shows the differences in approaches to the definition of sustainability. A method is proposed that differs from the known well-grounded application of the provisions of the theory of random impulse flows. The generalized impulse flow describes the robustness of data transmission in the information direction. The estimation method allows one to take into account both the states of the elements of a composite channel, represented by impulse flows of failures and restorations, and transient processes and sub-processes of information exchange (transmission over a communication line, switching, storage in memory, destructive influences, etc.), represented by separate impulse streams. The variability of the composition of the impulse streams makes it possible to increase the accuracy and reliability of the assessment.

A fractal-based approach for cracking characterization and whole process prediction exploration of PP fiber reinforced ECC containing sustainable ingredients

This study focuses on an eco-friendly engineered cementitious composite (SSPP-ECC) using high-content fly ash (FA) as a cementitious cleaner production alternative, waste superfine sand as silica sand replacement and economical polypropylene (PP) fiber as expensive polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber replacement. The lack of quantitative sustainability assessment and prediction of high ductility SSPP-ECC has impeded the engineering application of SSPP-ECC. This study presents a fractal-based cracking whole process preliminary analysis for SSPP-ECC structural life cycle assessment in order to promote a wider application of SSPP-ECC as large-deformation structural materials, as well as develop the application of fractal geometry in ECC by novel evaluation modes. A new and SSPP-ECC with up to 60% cement replacement by fly ash was designed, followed by a four-point flexural test accompanying with surface crack monitoring. The typical deformation hardening SSPP-ECC has been proved to have engineering potential in improving the structural safety due to good deformation following and crack controlling capacities. It is recommended to combine the fractal dimension and average crack width to reflect the overall fracture energy in the four-point flexural failure process of SSPP-ECC, which would have reliable and effective evaluation effects. Based on the correlation analysis results, the quantitative assessment and prediction models of cracking whole process could be established for eco-friendly SSPP-ECC structural life cycle assessment, which can be benefit to the structural life cycle assessment of SSPP-ECC engineering application based on non-destructive parameters of load and deflection. The eco-friendly SSPP-ECC, as a potential cleaner production, not only is a technically reasonable strategy, but also would lead to significant sustainability benefits with a growing level of environmental awareness.