Exploitation Of Raw Materials Research Articles

Reactivity and Pozzolanic Properties of Biomass Ashes Generated by Wheat and Soybean Straw Combustion.

A sustainable use of locally available wastes from agriculture as supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) is an alternative solution for the prevention of excessive raw material usage, reduction of CO2 emission and cost-effective concrete production. This paper studies the reactivity of non-traditional waste SCMs: Wheat straw ash (WSA), mixture of wheat and soybean straw ash (WSSA) and soybean straw ash (SSA), which are abundant as agricultural by-products in Serbia. The chemical evaluation using XRF technique, thermal analysis (TGA/DSC), XRD and FTIR methods were performed along with physical properties tests to investigate the feasibility of utilizing biomass ashes as cement substitutes. The obtained results demonstrate a high pozzolanic activity of WSA, which is attributed to a high reactive silica content of the ash and its satisfactory level of fineness. A wider hump in XRD pattern of WSA compared to WSSA and SSA confirmed that it abounds in amorphous (reactive) phase. The insufficient activity index of soybean-based biomass ashes, characterized with a low silica content, was improved by additional grinding and/or blending with amorphous silica-rich material. This points out the mechanical activation, i.e., grinding procedure, and chemical activation, i.e., modification of the chemical composition, as techniques efficient at producing pozzolanic materials from biomass wastes. Tested biomass ashes are characterized with negligible leaching values of heavy metals, thereby satisfying eco-friendly principles of SCM utilization. The application of biomass ashes as SCMs leads to substantial cost savings, as well as benefits to the environment, such as lower consumption of cement, reduction of CO2 emissions during the production of cement and sustainable waste management.

On the reconstruction of prehistoric social territories: The La Désirade lithic workshops and the distribution of La Désirade chert (French West Indies)

The widespread presence of raw materials suitable for the production of stone tools on the south-eastern part of La Désirade, a small island east of Guadeloupe (French West Indies), is an interesting feature as these materials cannot be obtained on most of the neighbouring limestone islands. Small amounts of lithic off-site material have been found all over the south-eastern part of La Désirade, indicating that this area was incidentally used for the exploitation of local raw materials for the production of lithic artefacts. Concentrated and repeated activity, related to the exploitation of La Désirade chert, took place at four lithic workshops.
 This paper aims to reconstruct social and economic patterns, which may shed a light on prehistoric Amerindian territoriality and mobility, based on the exploitation and distribution of this local raw material. An inventory was made of sites where La Désirade chert was exploited and worked and of sites where this material showed up in the form of worked items.
 The La Désirade chert has been found in several prehistoric site assemblages outside La Désirade itself. However, it turns out to have a very restricted distribution, not exceeding 30 km distances from the raw material occurrences. The authors concluded that exploiting these sources may have been embedded in the general procurement strategy of the seafaring communities involved and that the observed distribution may demonstrate the extent of the territory of closely related communities that exploited a similar catchment area.

Designing a sustainable closed-loop pharmaceutical supply chain in a competitive market considering demand uncertainty, manufacturer’s brand and waste management

Pharmaceutical supply chain (PSC) is one of the most important healthcare supply chains and the recent pandemic (COVID-19) has completely proved it. Also, the environmental and social impacts of PSCs are undeniable due to the daily entrance of a large amount of pharmaceutical waste into the environment. However, studies on closed-loop PSCs (CLPSC) are rarely considered real-world requirements such as competition among diverse brands of manufacturers, the dependency of customers’ demand on products’ price and quality, and diverse reverse flows of end-of-life medicines. In this study, a scenario-based Multi-Objective Mixed-Integer Linear Programming model is developed to design a sustainable CLPSC, which investigates the reverse flows of expired medicines as three classes (must be disposed of, can be remanufactured and can be recycled). To study the competitive market and deal with demand uncertainty, a novel scenario-based game theory model is proposed. The demand function for each brand depends on the price and quality provided. Then, a hybrid solution approach is provided by combining the LP-metrics method with a heuristic algorithm. Furthermore, a real case study is investigated to evaluate the application of the model. Finally, sensitivity analysis and managerial insights are provided. The numerical results show that the proposed classification of reverse flows leads to proper waste management, making money, and reducing both disposal costs and raw material usage. Moreover, competition increases PSCs performance and improves the supply of products to pharmacies.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10479-021-03961-0.

Compacted Ground Glass Particles—Carbide Lime Blends: An Environment Friendly Material

The increase in the waste production due to the expanding need for raw material in geotechnical engineering is harmful to the environment and affects the sustainability agenda. Yet, the reuse and recycling of urban and/or industrial waste aiming the development of alternative materials are essential approaches in mitigating the negative effects related to the raw-materials exploitation. Thus, present research intends to assess the performance of compacted ground glass waste-carbide lime blends, two residues. For this, strength and durability tests were set based on a statistical strategy in order to verify the importance of the following variables: dry unit weight, carbide lime content and amount of fine ground glass powder. Besides, the granulometry of the coarser glass particles was also assessed in the strength tests (continuous, discontinuous and uniform). The unconfined compressive strength and the durability results could be successfully correlated to the porosity/binder index and the statistical analysis revealed the great impact of the amount of fine ground glass content on the behavior of the studied mixtures. In general, the results revealed the potential of such material to be positively employed in pavement bases and subbases.

Experimental studies on mechanical and durability characteristics of lc3 concrete

In the present day context utilization of natural resources is increasing day by day, which is a burden for future generations. Limiting the usage of natural raw materials and development of sustainable methodologies is needed in all aspects of construction activities. In this regard, manufacturing of cement requires large amount of limestone deposits, fuel energy and on the other hand cement manufacturing liberates carbon dioxide (CO2) into atmosphere. Liberation of CO2 results in global warming which leads to climatic changes. Hence there is a need to develop an alternative material superior to cement without compromising its properties. To address the above problem present study is focused on examining the usage of Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3) as partial replacement to clinker to an extent of 50% in concretes. M 30 grade of concrete is considered for investigation with three types of binders (i.e. LC3, Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and Pozzolana Portland Cement (PPC). From the studies on strength and durability it is evident that the performance of LC3 concrete is better than OPC and PPC based concrete.

Using SF and CKD as cement replacement materials for producing cement mortar

When considering binding materials, cement mortar is thought to be one of the most conventional and effective materials. The cement mortar is mainly containing cement, sand (fine and rough), and water. In fact, there are many environmental and economical limitations to the usage of raw materials in mortar blends. For considering these limitations, many researchers studied the ability to incorporate waste-materials to fully or partially replace conventional raw materials. In this research, compressive strength and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) will be studied by incorporating (SF) and (CKD) of mortar specimens and study the effect after 7,14, and 28 days. The obtained results from the collected samples (M1, M2, and M3) were compared with the reference mortar samples that contain ordinary Portland cement (OPC) only. The collected results showed that samples with CKD and SF have less compressive strength than ones with OPC with 28 days of curing. In addition, with higher CKD content, lower compressive strength was obtained. Samples (M1, M2) have the highest (UPV) values at different curing periods.

Reducing the CO2 Footprint from Simn Production by Optimization of Fluxes

During the production of manganese ferroalloys a large amount of CO2 is emitted. Eramet Norway is committed to reducing its CO2 footprint, and have started several actions in order to reach its long-term climate goals. One of the short-term actions is to optimize the pre-reduction and raw material usage. The usage of carbonated materials contributes to the CO2 emissions both through releasing the bound CO2, and through the released CO2 reacting with solid carbon according to the Boudouard reaction. Removing carbonated fluxes is thus one potential way of reducing the CO2emissions from the furnace. Mass balance calculations were done to check the potential for CO2reduction through removing fluxes, namely dolomite, from the mix blend on a 32 MW SiMn furnace.An industrial trial was run to verify the results from the mass balance. The trial without dolomite lasted for over four months with good operational results. A decrease in CO2 footprint of 8.5% and a reduction in SEC of 5% was achieved when compared to the reference with dolomite. The main drawback of the reduced usage of fluxes is a decrease in Mn recovery.

Comprehensive environmental assessment of innovative humic agro product

There has been made the assessment of the product «CAVITA BIOCOMPLEX» quality parameters, manufactured according to the innovative technology of ultrasonic cavitation processing of peat in water medium at high static pressure. To carry out this assessment it has been used the universal system of procedure of comprehensive assessment of humic products. This system is based on the level approach. It was found that the sample of agro product in the capacity of the main bioactive components contains fulvic and humic acids (47.2-64.0% calculated at dry weight basis). It is chemically and biologically safe for the environment. The usage of high-quality natural raw materials in combination with the “green” technology of “CAVITA BIOCOMPLEX” production makes it possible to use it not only as additional application with any mineral or organic fertilizers, plant protection products, herbicides, but also as basic fertilizer for biological agricultural technologies.

The importance of educating younger generations about raw materials and their uses in our daily life

Raw materials are of great importance for humankind as they enable the development of technology, drive industry and economy, and overall the lifestyle we know today. The paper is addressing the topic of interactive learning about the mineral raw materials, i.e. metals and non-metals. Due to population growth and consequently increased global demand for raw materials, there is a need to educate younger generations about the raw materials and their properties and origin, so they would know from an early age where the mineral products they use come from and how purchase decisions affect the social environments of people who live in countries with resources exploitation. Today’s trends in mining are oriented towards more sustainable exploitation and management, taking into account the economic, social and environmental aspects. An example of such is exploitation of secondary raw materials from tailings and heaps. But in some countries, mining is stuck in the past, using obsolete technologies causing increased pollution and strongly present linear economy approaches of take-use-dispose attitudes or even unethical approaches, such as children being exploited as a cheap workforce, people being abducted, tortured and even killed over minerals (minerals being exploited in such way are called blood or conflict minerals). Further, due to the potential negative impacts on health and safety, due to the emissions in air, water and surface disturbance, the public perception of mining is still perceived as negative in most cases. School curriculums most often lack description of current situations in the global mining. Therefore, within the EIT RawMaterials BRIEFCASE and 3D BRIЕFECASE projects the project partners provide the comprehensive view of the issues of today’s mining and use of raw materials. The paper presents the description of both projects and the non-conventional teaching methods — the hands-on and digital tools for pupils and teachers, i.e. the briefcases, the "Briefcase of mineral applications" game, workshops and the supporting materials. The main objective of projects is to raise the pupils’ awareness about the utility and indispensability of minerals and mining and the consequences of their uses and production systems, which would increase in the long term the awareness about the social and environmental consequences of raw material production.

Critical raw materials as a part of sustainable development

The presented article deals with the issue of critical raw materials in the European Union with an emphasis on sustainable development and also barite, as an only one critical raw material mined in Slovakia. The article points out in detail the deposits of individual critical raw materials within the European Union. They clearly profile the European area´s dependence on imports of critical raw materials in accordance with the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the European Union's list of critical raw materials. Based on a defined Herfindahl-Hirschman index, which is clearly methodologically described, the article also points to the exploitation of critical raw materials in the European Union, what is in consideration of sustainable development crucial because some inventions are fundamentally dependent on them, as is their production on world markets. This article deals with critical raw materials in the EU, because it is in this area that we would like to experience the 4th industrial revolution, which is characterized by "new products" with a short life cycle, products with the least possible impact on the environment, i.e. innovations that are often impossible without important raw materials. Is it at all possible to talk about sustainable development with such raw material sources in European Union?

Life cycle assessment for milling of Ti- and Ni-based alloy aero engine components

Motivation: Aero engine optimization focuses on reducing emissions during operation. Resource extraction and manufacturing are considered insufficiently. An LCA of resource extraction and machining for aero engine components comparing a Ti-alloy and a Ni-alloy was conducted.Method: Aero engine components were manufactured comparing a Ti-alloy and a Ni-alloy.Results: Machining mostly affects climate change, water use, resource depletion and human toxicity. The Ni-alloy showed an overall higher environmental impact than the Ti-alloy.Conclusion: Raw material, tool life and energy usage significantly contribute to environmental impacts. Further investigation should focus on tool life travel path optimization and reducing raw material.

Usability of Marble Waste as a Road Base Material, Case Study of Bilecik Province

As a result of the constantly increasing needs, developments in technology and industry cause an increase in waste. With the increase of wastes, it has become necessary to recycle wastes in order to reduce the environmental problems that arise. For this purpose, many sectors try to minimize the expenses during the manufacturing stages, energy consumption, raw material, and space usage as much as possible. In the construction industry, where raw material consumption is the highest, the most consumed raw material is aggregate. Approximately 95% of the materials used in road constructions consist of aggregate, and the aggregate used is obtained from the quarries. The need for aggregate quarries is increasing day by day and the general structure of the earth is partially deformed. In this context, the wastes generated in the marble quarries of Bilecik province were evaluated as road base material according to the Turkey Highways Technical Specification (TKTŞ). Laboratory experiments defined in TKTŞ were carried out and the results showed that marble wastes can be used as road base material. As a result, using marble wastes as road base material will provide an environmental and economic benefit.

Acquisition et exploitation des ressources animales et lithiques sur le site Moustérien de Mirefleurs (Puy-de-Dôme)

The Mousterian open air site of Mirefleurs is located on a versant dominated by a basaltic flow, in the Allier valley (Fig. 1). Since 1970's, the site has been digged several times. This paper presents the results of several diggs located in different parts of the site. The stratigraphic data result from an intervention realized in 2003. The site of Mirefleurs delivered a lithic industry and a plentiful fauna, disrupted in various times by solifluxion (Fig. 3). Fauna is widely dominated by Horse, which shows more affinities with Equus caballus germanicus than with the shape of the upper Palaeolithic Equus caballus gallicus (Prat, 1968; Guadelli, 1987) (Tables 3 to 32). The characteristics of this animal indicate an age near the end of isotopic stage 3, corresponding at a cold and dry environment. The AMS datations realized on horse bones give an age of 37,700±2600 BP and 28,210±820 BP. The absence of marks of carnivores on the bones lets suppose an unimportant participation of these last ones and a human origin in the implementation of this accumulation of bones. It seems that horses have been killed without any selection and with an important waste. This behaviour would explain the low representation of males, the strong representation of the adults and the small quantity of notches observed on bones. Lithic industry indicates a local exploitation of raw materials (Table 44). Discoïde and centripetal recurrent débitage are dominant (Figs. 9–11). Blanks are mostly retouched in different kinds of scrapers (Figs. 12 and 13). A second chaîne opératoire concerns flint tablets, which are retouched in some bifacial scrapers. Technological and typological characteristics of this lithic industry allow an attribution to Quina Mousterian (Niederlander et al., 1956; Combier, 1967; Le Tensorer, 1978).

Effect of wood particle size on the water absorption of wood-plastic composites

The main aim of this paper is to present the research findings which come out from the experimental determination of the influence of input raw material properties and composition on the water absorption of wood-plastic composites. During the WPCs production, important raw material parameters such as wood sawdust particle size, wood/plastic concentration ratio or type of plastic matrix can be recognized. In this research study, the aim was to produce WPCs of an acceptable and competitive level of quality which is determined from the final mechanical properties of WPCs. Particle size of wood sawdust used for production of WPC has significant influence on mechanical properties of composites and also on other important properties (water absorption, hardness, frost resistance, etc.). Using a variety combination of influencing variables the final quality of composites and also the operating parameters of the injection molding press can be improved. Their effect can be seen from the quality indicators and from the operating parameters of the injection press which has a direct impact on the production costs. The paper deals with the determination of the impact and the relationship between the input wood sawdust particles sizes, wood/plastic concentration ratio and water absorption of composites. By side intention of authors is to determine the possibilities of waste raw materials usage. The experimental research findings were obtained using a semi-operational injection molding press where the injection is provided by a working screw. As the input raw material, spruce sawdust, HDPE plastic matrix and recycled HDPE, represented by lids from PET bottles, was used. The effect of the input wood sawdust particle size on water absorption was determined according to a combination and default levels of wood/HDPE concentration ratio, using recycled HDPE instead of virgin HDPE and particle size of wood sawdust.

Ecological Restoration Plasters and Mineral Pigments Designed with Raw Material from the Island of Gavdos

Gavdos is an island of ca. 34 km2 located to the south of Crete, Greece, with a local landscape rich in clay material of remarkable diversity in colour and quality. The limited natural and human-made resources are persistently recycled, forming the built structures of the island and determining the island’s sustainable local tradition. In the framework of this research, areas with clay soil were identified through a geological survey and testimonies of local inhabitants. The studied clay samples were characterized with mineralogical and physicochemical analyses. Two out of ten samples with a clay content higher than 50%, after low-temperature thermal treatment (600 °C and 700 °C), functioned as pozzolanic additives enhancing the performance in resistance to salt decay and plasticity of lime mortars. Seven raw clay samples were used as pigments in lime-based colours and their performance and durability, as assessed with the appropriate laboratory analyses, revealed the existence of stable mineral pigments under UV and visible light irradiation. There is great potential in the exploitation of local raw material from the island of Gavdos for the restoration of the traditional building stock on the island in terms of resource efficiency, environmental impact and preservation of the local identity.

IMPROVEMENT OF THE TECHNOLOGY OF FISH PUDDING FOR INFANT NUTRITION

The article deals with the improvement of the technology of fish pudding for infant nutrition. The current state and innovative developments of domestic and foreign scientists have been analyzed, perspective directions of enrichment of the fish puddings range and development of the market of products for infant nutrition have been defined. It is established that the main leaders in the production of this type of product are: Italy, England, Germany, Norway, Bulgaria, which specialize in vegetable and fish products. The effectiveness of combining fish, vegetable and animal raw materials in order to perform the nutritional value of fish puddings, in accordance with the requirements of baby food products, is theoretically substantiated and experimentally confirmed. Through the experimental research, the ingredient composition has been optimized and recipes for new fish puddings for infant nutrition based on fish (hake, pike-perch), vegetable (pumpkin) and animal raw materials (butter, milk, eggs) have been developed in the following ratio: sample 1 ( hake – 50, pumpkin – 16, butter – 4, milk – 13,4, eggs – 16,2); sample 2 ( pike-perch – 50, potato –16, butter – 4, milk – 13,4, eggs – 16,2). The results of researches of structural and mechanical indicators, namely – boundary shear stress, are given in the study. Studies have shown that adding pumpkin to the pudding reduces this indicator. This can be explained by the increase in moisture retention capacity, which makes the finished product susceptible to mechanical impact, ie more soft and juicy. To ensure the warranty period of storage, the patterns and dynamics of changes in quality indicators during the storage have been studied. The results of studies of acid and peroxide values of fat showed that with increasing duration of storage, these indicators increase within acceptable limits, which confirms the possibility of the selected raw materials usage in the recipes of new fish puddings. Based on the obtained results, the prospects of further research are determined - to develop a technological scheme for the production of fish puddings based on representatives of freshwater fish, namely grass carp and silver carp

The effect of zeolite and cement stabilization on the mechanical behavior of expansive soils

Expansive clays are one of the problematic soils which impose significant economic damage to the construction projects due to their volume change during wet-dry conditions. Although cement is one of the most conventional materials of treating expansive soils, the increasing trend of cement production due to the growth in urbanization has resulted in substantial environmental issues like greenhouse gas emission and considerable raw material usage. To address such constraints, the present investigation aims at evaluating the effect of partial cement replacement with zeolite on the mechanical behavior of the cement-stabilized expansive soil. Four different cement contents (6, 8, 10, and 12%) and various percentages of cement replacement with zeolite (0, 10, 30, 50, 70, and 90%) were designated, then standard proctor compaction and unconfined compression tests were conducted. The results indicated that the addition of cement led to an increase in the maximum dry density (MDD) and optimum moisture content (OMC) of the soil-cement mixture, whereas increasing the zeolite content resulted in opposite trends. After 28 days of the curing period, cement replacement with 30% zeolite also resulted in achieving the maximum unconfined compressive strength (UCS). The maximum UCS improvement rate was obtained from 12% cement replaced with 30% zeolite in the specimen. Frequently, samples with higher cement contents well proved the efficiency of the optimum zeolite content. Besides, brittleness decreased by zeolite addition into the mixture observing failure modes of the stabilized specimens. Similar to previous test results, the highest stiffness (E50) was measured at 30% zeolite content. Finally, the active composition (AC) parameter was introduced, demonstrating that the highest strength improvement rate could be achieved by cement replacement with 30% zeolite in various cement contents and n/AC, having a power relation with mechanical behavior, could be used as a key parameter for prediction of the strength, as well.

Preparation and evaluation of catfish protein as a wood adhesive

In order to decrease the usage of formaldehyde and petroleum-derived raw materials, there has been a lot of interest in using protein-based wood adhesives as more eco-friendly and less hazardous alternatives. Fish proteins can be extracted from fish and are known to have good adhesive properties. In this work, we extracted the protein from catfish skin and characterized its effectiveness as a wood adhesive. Upon analysis, this protein from catfish skin (a byproduct of catfish processing) performed well as an adhesive, with similar (or slightly better) dry adhesive strength relative to cottonseed protein isolate. The blend of catfish protein and cottonseed protein displayed about the same dry adhesive strength when compared to catfish protein alone. The hot water resistance of catfish protein and cottonseed protein was comparable, but the 1:1 blend exhibited improved performance than the two proteins by themselves. These results suggest that the protein from catfish skin may be a suitable material for wood adhesive applications.

A comprehensive study of waste coconut shell aggregate as raw material in concrete

The eminence exploitation of raw materials from the environment causes the natural sources to degrade and limits the future practices in the construction sector. The economy in this sector holds around 40% of the total flow of source materials into the GDP of the nation. The production of such materials are either consume a good amount of energy, responsible for causes of CO 2 , NO x , SO x, into the atmosphere or leads to the restriction on the usages of available natural sources in the future. Hence, the implementation of new practices for the incorporation of raw materials to save the extraction of available natural sources in the construction can be a beneficial foot step. The use of an agricultural by-product i.e. coconut shell can be a promising material for manufacturing the concrete in the partial replacement of coarse aggregates. Result indicates that coconut shell can be used as lightweight concrete which can be used in non-load bearing structures, strip footings and non-structural elements. Environmental concerns can also be minimizing by making such sustainable efficient practices by the use of these waste coconut shell materials.

Improvement of the effectiveness of greywacke crushing process by applying an impact crusher in quarry for the production of railway ballast

The production of aggregates in rock mining requires an optimal system of crushers, separators and conveyors. Proper machine selection allows to obtain aggregates with appropriate technical parameters and increase the output of required fractions with a given unit cost. The usage of rock raw materials for the production of railway ballast used in the railway track superstructure is connected with the necessity to meet strictly defined quality requirements.