Reduction Of Environmental Effects Research Articles

Sustainable Assessment of Built Heritage Adaptive Reuse Practice: Iranian Industrial Heritage in the Light of International Charters

ABSTRACT Adaptive reuse of Industrial heritage is among the most common of sustainable approaches to preserve heritage values and pass them on to the future generations. It also leads to a reduction in environmental effects, and carbon footprint. The purpose of this research is to present an assessment of the sustainability of 12 Iranian adaptively reused industrial heritage sites in light of international charters. To reach this objective, 7 indexes and 20 indicators have been selected in terms of principles of sustainability and compliance with the green international charters. Then, five experts were interviewed through focus group discussion (FGD) to assess the cases based on the sustainable criteria. The findings indicate that the case studies generally meet sustainability criteria set by international charters, however community participation in the decision – making process and more creativity is highly recommended in the green adaptive reuse process. Moreover, it was observed that mixed-use flourishes in contrast to other alternatives. This research, aims to evaluate the case studies of the adaptively reused in Iran covering strengths and weaknesses to use the experience gained in future studies. Although this study focused on Iranian cases, the methodology can be useful in similar cases worldwide in the future.

A Study Using the Hybrid Fuzzy AHP&TOPSIS Method in the Conversion of a LEED-Certified Education Building into a Nearly Zero-Energy Building in a Cold Climate

In cold climate regions, it is essential to design and manufacture energy-efficient buildings for both economic benefits and the reduction of environmental effects by controlling energy consumption. This study aimed to increase the cost-effective energy performance and approach the nearly zero energy building (nZEB) by taking the leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) in the cold climate region of Turkey as a model. The results of single and mixed scenarios that increase energy efficiency were determined by making energy modelling of the building. By applying single and mixed energy efficiency scenarios, a maximum saving of 85.60 % per year in terms of primary energy, an improvement of 83.6 % in terms of global costs and a reduction of 86.4 % in CO2 emissions were obtained compared to the reference building. The payback period of the scenarios is between 3.8 years and 14.53 years. The most suitable single and mixed scenario was determined by a systematic hybrid model, in which the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) and technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) methods among multi-criteria decision-making methods are used together. The results showed that economic criteria were decisive in determining the most suitable scenario for cold climate regions. The results of this study revealed that there can be a realistic decision-support model for the creation of energy-efficient buildings for countries without the need for foreign certification.

Experimental investigation on utilization of brewers waste as fine aggregate in concrete

All over the world, among the food industries it is well known that the brewing industry plays a major role and also during the beer production, there is a possibility of generating 85 % of byproduct as draff. In the attempt of replacing this spent grain in concrete in view of nullifying the environmental impacts caused due to the spent grain generation and also to meet out the requirement of fine aggregate in construction industry. The main aim is to identify the possibility of replacing the fine aggregate with spent grain in concrete and also to analyze the strength of the concrete to the conventional one. The utilization of spent grain in the concrete will not only help in reduction of environmental effects but also it will lead to a development of concrete economically. This is because brewing industries generates large number of byproducts of waste (spent grain) and many researchers in the country are involved in reutilizing this into a value-added product though most of them utilize the residue as a raw material for several process. Here we use this spent grain as fine aggregate in concrete as an alternative to reduce the depletion of resources and to enhance the sustainability. This kind of material has a greater impact over the environment indicating green building by using economical construction materials. This paper presents an overview on the results obtained from the testing done over the concrete made with spent grain as an fine aggregate. The research involves testing of cubes, cylinders &prisms respectively and then the data generated are compared with conventional concrete specimens and finally reported.

Designing the Qualitative Model of the Mission-oriented Innovation System (MIS) in Order to Complete the Value Chain of Iron and Steel Industries in Ghadir International Mining and Industries Development Company

The purpose of this research is to design a qualitative model of the mission-oriented innovation system in order to complete the value chain of Ghadir iron and steel industries. the target population of the current research, included managers of Ghadir International Industries and Mines Development Company and its subsidiary companies and university professors who have conducted researches in the field of innovation system. The statistical sample selection method was the snowball sampling method. For this reason, 15 experts were selected until reaching saturation by snowball sampling method. In this research, unstructured open interview method was used to collect data and information for analysis. This research was conducted qualitatively using the data-based technique with the approach of Strauss and Corbin (1998) and with the help of Max Kyoda software. The findings of the research indicated that the causal factors of mission-oriented innovation include the systematic indicators of the mission-oriented innovation system, the characteristics of missions; The core category includes mission-oriented innovation process; Mission-oriented innovation platforms include creating mission-oriented innovation opportunities, developing steel industry infrastructure, necessary platforms for group learning; Intervening factors of mission-oriented innovation include weak planning and formulation of policies, technological barriers, research challenges; Mission-oriented innovation strategies include cultivating human resources, formulating mission-oriented policies, promoting technological policies, developing the innovation ecosystem; The consequences of mission-oriented innovation include the development and improvement of production processes, reduction of environmental effects, capital-oriented growth, transformation in the entire value chain.

English

2 ABSTRACT:The concept of sustainability in construction has been widely accepted among all stakeholders of the industry. However, at present, there has been a lack of sufficient, credible and reliable quantitative indictors, metrics and/or data on the actual benefits of sustainable construction. In particular, reduction of environmental effects during construction activities has been one of the main issues facing stakeholders. This study represents a single process emission analysis for the hollow-core floor systems of our case studies using theconstruction environmental decision support tool (CEDST). A comprehensive set of results is obtained from the study. These results are presented in several categories for comparative assessment - energy use, Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), PM10 and VOC emissions. Other categories include solid waste and liquid emissions.

乳量および乳成分率への環境の影響と泌乳曲線による環境要因の補正

乳量，乳脂率，乳タンパク質率，および乳脂率の乳タンパク質率に対する比（FPR）への産次，分娩月，地域の影響と泌乳曲線の形の違い，および泌乳曲線を用いた，これら環境要因の補正について検討した．家畜改良事業団に集積されたホルスタイン種雌牛の2008〜2010年の検定日記録13,364,965件を用いた．産次を4グループ，分娩月を12グループ，全国の地域を4グループに分けた．5次のLegendre多項式とWilmink式を組合せた泌乳曲線を用いて，環境の効果を補正した標準成績を求めた．すべての形質の泌乳曲線の形は，産次，分娩月，地域の組合せによって違いがあった．ただし，乳量では，産次と地域の組合せには違いがなかった．標準成績は2010年の夏期に大きく低下し，例年より暑熱の影響が強く，エネルギー摂取量より粗飼料摂取量の回復が遅れた可能性が示唆された．乳成分の標準成績により，飼養管理において多面的な情報提供が可能となる．

English

The developmental path taken globally over the past few decades has been ultimately detrimental to the health of our surroundings leading to problems of excessive natural resource depletion, waste generation and environmental stress through harmful emissions. The construction industry being a major contributor to these problems, now faces increasingly restrictive environmental conservation and protective, laws, and regulations. Yet at present, there has been a lack of sufficient, credible and reliable quantitative indictors, metrics and/or data on the actual benefits of sustainable construction. In particular, reduction of environmental effects during construction activities has been one of the main issues facing stakeholders. To address this problem, this study identifies materials and energy flows during construction and develops a method to quantify and measure environmental impacts during raw materials extraction, production, fabrication and installation. By using a Hybrid Life Cycle Assessment approach, this paper provides a detailed assessment of both direct and supply chain impacts. The results quantify and compare the two floor systems in terms oftheir environmental impacts.

Holistic Drilling-Fluid and Waste Management in the Fayetteville Shale

This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 144036, ’Holistic Drilling-Fluid and Waste Management in the Fayetteville Shale,’ by Mark Mabile, SPE, and David Richardson, Southwestern Energy, and Steven Garner, Barry Broussard, and Richard Smith, SPE, Performance Fluid Management, prepared for the 2011 SPE North American Unconventional Gas Conference and Exhibition, The Woodlands, Texas, 14-16 June. The paper has not been peer reviewed. Successful application of a holistic-fluid-management (HFM) program from January 2009 through December 2010 improved drilling-fluid performance and reduced waste and costs in Southwestern Energy’s Fayetteville shale-gas project in Arkansas. The HFM program lowered drilling-waste volumes by approximately 45%, while reducing drilling-fluid and -waste costs by 36%. The reduction in combined costs (i.e., fluid systems, solids-control equipment, and waste disposal) totaled USD 69 million while drilling more than 4,200,000 ft in 705 wells with oil-based mud (OBM) during the 24-month study period. Introduction Like most shale-gas projects, the Fayetteville shale requires specific well-construction techniques. Most of the wells drilled during the project period were horizontal, with total measured depths of 8,000 to 9,000 ft with lateral sections approximately 4,500 ft long. On average, 15 rigs were active during 2010, each unit completing approximately 35 wells/yr. During this 24-month study, 1,000 wells were drilled for a total footage of more than 5,700,000 ft. Of these, 720 wells were drilled with oil-based mud (OBM) with a total footage of more than 4,200,000 ft. Fifteen anomalous wells that exhibited severe lost circulation or other problems were excluded from the study. The remaining 705 wells drilled with OBM are the subject of this paper. Various studies have shown the economic and environmental benefits gained by use of drilling-fluid-management programs for conventional oil and gas plays. Typically, before management programs were applied, procurement of drilling fluids and associated services accounted for 20 to 30% of the combined costs for overall fluid management, solids control, and waste disposal. Reductions in the quantities of chemicals and base fluids used and in waste generated at drilling sites can result in significant cost savings and a reduction in environmental effects. Drilling-Fluid-Management Considerations The solid- and liquid-waste streams produced in typical well construction can be grouped into five general categories—cuttings; drilling fluid on cuttings; drilling-fluid dilution, dumping, and tank bottoms; water; and other waste fluids. The aggregate volume of the generated waste typically is 10 to 15 times the overall volume of the hole drilled. The cuttings volume cannot be reduced, but all other waste streams can be reduced.

Influence of street characteristics, driver category and car performance on urban driving patterns

Driving patterns (i.e., speed, acceleration and choice of gears) influence exhaust emissions and fuel consumption. The aim here is to obtain a better understanding of the variables that affect driving patterns, by determining the extent they are influenced by street characteristics and/or driver-car categories. A data set of over 14,000 driving patterns registered in actual traffic is used. The relationship between driving patterns and recorded variables is analysed. The most complete effect is found for the variables describing the street environment: occurrence and density of junctions controlled by traffic lights, speed limit, street function and type of neighbourhood. A fairly large effect is found for car performance, expressed in terms of the power-to-mass ratio. For elderly drivers, the average speed systematically decreases for all street types and stop time systematically increases on arterials. The results have implications for the assessment of environmental effects through appropriate street categorisation in emission models, as well as the possible reduction of environmental effects through better traffic planning and management, driver education and car design.

Results from 44 months of observations with a superconducting gravimeter at Moxa/Germany

Abstract Results for more than 42 months of observations with the superconducting gravimeter CD-034 at the Geodynamic Observatory Moxa are discussed. Moxa observatory is one of the newer stations within the ‘Global Geodynamics Project’ (GGP). A special feature of the gravimeter at Moxa is its dual sensor system; differences in the results obtained from the two sensor recordings are generally well within the standard deviations of the tidal analysis. One significant difference concerns the slightly different drift rates of 31 and 49.5 nm/s2 per year for upper and lower sensor; both sensor drifts can be fitted by a linear function. We find that the noise levels are close to the ‘New Low Noise Model’ for the seismic-modes and are also low in the tidal bands. Due to this low noise, Moxa is a station well suited to search for small geodynamic signals. The long-period variation in the gravity residuals correlates well with the polar motion. The difference signal between the two sensor recordings has a peak-to-peak amplitude of about 6 nm/s2 and shows systematic variations. Its spectrum is characterised by instrumental noise between 0.2 and 0.4 cph. The noise level of the difference and of the sum of the two residual datasets are clearly lower, respectively, higher than the noise contents of the gravity residuals themselves. This is a strong indication for the existence of broadband signals common to the two residual datasets, leading to the conjecture that the reduction of environmental effects is still not sufficient. Our results once more emphasize the necessity to correct the data for barometric pressure effects when analyzing the data for seismic modes. The reduction visibly increases the signal-to-noise ratio in the low frequencies of the mode band and helps to avoid misinterpreations of peaks. Besides the well known barometric pressure influence we can establish hydrological effects in the data which are probably caused by soil moisture and groundwater table variations as well as by batch-wise water movement within the weathering layer. As the major part of the observatory surroundings is above gravimeter level, an anticorrelation between hydrological and gravity changes is observed. In addition, it can be shown that global hydrological effects reach an order of magnitude that makes it necessary to consider these effects when analyzing long-period signals like polar motion. Vice versa these effects are large enough to be detectable in the gravity data. A first joint analysis of five datasets from the GGP network shows no indications for signals related to the Slichter triplet or core modes.

Environmental impacts of pulp and paper wastewater: evidence for a reduction in environmental effects at north American pulp mills since 1992

In the early 1990s, a variety of responses were reported in fish populations living downstream of bleached kraft pulp mills. This included delayed sexual maturity, smaller gonads, changes in fecundity, and a depression in secondary sexual characteristics. The changes in fish reproductive development were also associated with alterations in the endocrine mechanisms controlling the production of the sex steroid hormones. The early studies were conducted predominantly at large bleached kraft pulp mills with primitive pulping processes and little effluent treatment. Subsequent studies documented several of the changes at some sites with effluent treatment and without chlorine use, and the dominant reproductive changes (delayed maturity, reduced egg production, changes in secondary sexual characteristics) were replicated in laboratory fish exposed to secondary-treated effluent. Studies have continued to follow the responses of wild fish as these mills underwent process modifications and installed secondary treatment. Improvements in the performance of wild fish have been recorded at five North American sites after the mills modernized their waste treatment and pulping processes. However, the improvements are not complete and are not universal and the process changes resulting in the improvement in environmental conditions have not been defined and their identification remains a priority. Reductions in gonad size and depressions of sex hormones are still seen at one mill with 100% chlorine dioxide substitution and secondary treatment.

Environmental impacts of pulp and paper wastewater: Evidence for a reduction in environmental effects at North American pulp mills since 1992

In the early 1990s, a variety of responses were reported in fish populations living downstream of bleached kraft pulp mills. This included delayed sexual maturity, smaller gonads, changes in fecundity, and a depression in secondary sexual characteristics. The changes in fish reproductive development were also associated with alterations in the endocrine mechanisms controlling the production of the sex steroid hormones. The early studies were conducted predominantly at large bleached kraft pulp mills with primitive pulping processes and little effluent treatment. Subsequent studies documented several of the changes at some sites with effluent treatment and without chlorine use, and the dominant reproductive changes (delayed maturity, reduced egg production, changes in secondary sexual characteristics) were replicated in laboratory fish exposed to secondary-treated effluent. Studies have continued to follow the responses of wild fish as these mills underwent process modifications and installed secondary treatment. Improvements in the performance of wild fish have been recorded at five North American sites after the mills modernized their waste treatment and pulping processes. However, the improvements are not complete and are not universal and the process changes resulting in the improvement in environmental conditions have not been defined and their identification remains a priority. Reductions in gonad size and depressions of sex hormones are still seen at one mill with 100% chlorine dioxide substitution and secondary treatment.

The Reduction of Environmental Effects on Tension-Twist Coupled Composite Tubes

A method is presented for designing composite laminates which will pro duce tension-twist coupling in tubes but show reduced variation in that coupling due to hygrothermal effects. Experimental results are presented which demonstrate coupling vari ations due to changes in temperature and moisture content. These effects are modeled the oretically as the variation of constituent shear moduli since shear modulus dominates cou pling behavior. This model predicts the same form of variation as seen in the experimental measurements of coupling. Based on laminates which do not exhibit thermally induced shear deformation, hybrid laminates were developed that can reduce or eliminate hygro thermal sensitivity while retaining coupling.