Energy Consumption Waste Research Articles

Investigation of the selective oxidation roasting of vanadium‑iron spinel

Recently, a novel method of selective oxidation roasting to extract low valence vanadium (LVV) from vanadium slag was proposed to avoid the toxic V(V)-bearing waste and massive energy consumption in traditional process. In order to investigate the oxidation behavior of LVV in the selective oxidation roasting process, vanadium iron spinel Fe2VO4, the main phase containing vanadium in vanadium slag, was synthesized and its evolution of phase, morphology and bonding structure in the selective oxidation process were investigated systematically in this study. The results showed that the oxidation of Fe(II) prior to V(III) during selective roasting. It was feasible to destroy the structure of spinel by oxidizing Fe(II) selectively, while vanadium still existed in low valence and could be recovered easily, and the maximum recovery of LVV was 97.75%. This study could provide theoretical and technical guidance for extraction of LVV directly from vanadium raw material.

Integrated approach for finding the causal effect of waste management over sustainability in the organization

PurposeIn developed and developing countries, organizations need to do sustainability reporting. The purpose of this paper is to identify the vital linkages of sustainability, which helps to capture the existing waste management practice in sustainable organizations.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reports a mixed-method approach for sustainable organization. Initially, the waste management and sustainability factors have been linked together for finding the relation between them through the situation, actor, process, learning, action, performance (SAP-LAP) linkages framework; it has been used as qualitative design details to achieve sustainability in the organization. The waste management and sustainability factors linkages have been used as a reference to guide the cause and effect relationship through decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) to upgrade knowledge for a sustainable organization.FindingsThe proposed method has been used to meet the functional requirements of sustainability in the organization. Waste management has been analyzed as the most significant benchmarks to achieve sustainability in the organization. The causal relationship reveals that the social image of an organization as a sustainable organization is the effect of its governmental directives, followed by the organization. The governmental directives is the most influencing dimension, and waste management efficiency and energy consumption are the most related, whereas wastivity is the most flexible dimension of sustainability in the organization. To increase its customer satisfaction, profit share and market value, these factors must be considered as vital factors of organization's sustainable performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe scope of the present research has been limited to benchmark sustainability by analyzing eight waste management factors and ten critical sustainability factors that have been grouped into four dimensions in the service sector, which could be generalized. The expert's view has been captured for DEMATEL based on “ratings provided by experts,” which may be biased.Practical implicationsBenchmarked sustainability factors have been proposed to increase the value and performance of the organization. The cause and effect relationship is useful to present the capability of waste management to act as a strong foundation for establishing a sustainable organization, where governmental directives, wastivity, waste management efficiency, and energy consumption act as the benchmarking factors to compare sustainable organization performance in developing the county's viewpoint. The present study considered the fourth dimension of sustainability “government and customer” as the dynamic dimension of sustainability, which can absorb and diffuse the changes in sustainable organization with time and can improvise social acceptance.Originality/valueThe research improves the existing method of measuring the performance of the sustainable organization by using well-established methods.

Identifying a Sustainable Food Procurement Strategy in Healthcare Systems: A Scoping Review

The healthcare system’s climate footprint is equivalent to 4.4% of global net emission. The food service offered, with subsequent food waste production and energy consumption, falls within the spectrum of environmentally harmful activities. The development of a Sustainable Food Procurement Strategy is an opportunity to counteract these negative effects. This article aims to identify the nature and extent of the evidence found in the literature on the processes related to food procurement within healthcare systems and analyse them from the perspective of sustainability dimensions. A scoping review is carried out using online databases to identify scientific and grey literature published in English during the period 2000–2019. An analytical-synthetic approach is used for charting the data. Twenty-six studies are included; 65% of them published in the last five years. These include research articles (n 11), an opinion article (n 1), policy handbooks and guides (n 2), project reports (n 4) and technical reports (n 3), policy forums (n 1), factsheet documents (n 3), and legislative directives (n 1). The outcomes framework highlights multilevel governance, a sustainable food supply system, and healthy and sustainable food services as the main action areas for a sustainable food procurement strategy, along with six transversal features: long-term commitment, investment, evaluation, communication, gender, and a holistic approach.

Comparison of epoxidation methods for biobased oils: dioxirane intermediates generated from Oxone versus peracid derived from hydrogen peroxide

AbstractA study was carried out to compare the epoxidation of unsaturated vegetable oils using dioxirane intermediates generated in situ using Oxone to that by the peracid/hydrogen peroxide method. Epoxidized oils are typically synthesized using hydrogen peroxide, as well as acetic or formic acid. This synthesis requires heating and catalysts and generates acidic waste. Recently, advances have been made in the process of using Oxone (potassium peroxymonosulfate) and ketones to generate in situ dioxiranes to epoxidize alkenes. The dioxirane method allows for room temperature reactions and eliminates the use of peroxides and acids. Epoxidation of soybean oil, hempseed oil and sucrose soyate using in situ generated dioxiranes was carried out and parameters such as molar ratios and addition rates were studied. The data show that optimum reaction conditions are reached when molar ratios of Oxone and unsaturation are 1.6:1 and the Oxone addition rate is 1 mL min–1. As a comparison, epoxidations using the acetic acid/hydrogen peroxide method were carried out and cured materials were prepared from the epoxidized compounds. Negligible differences were identified in the materials prepared from both synthetic pathways. An environmental sustainability assessment using green chemistry principles was also conducted for both methods to evaluate their safety and efficiency with respect to multiple criteria including minimizing waste generation and energy consumption. The analysis shows that, although the peracid method is atom economic and generates less waste, the dioxirane method offers better occupational safety and requires less energy, demonstrating the tradeoffs involved with either pathway if one is to be selected. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry

From the Village to the Neighbourhood

This publication presents the study of urban transformation and opportunities for urban upgrading through the rehabilitation and recycling of neighbourhoods, exploring the past and present of the housing estates of the main Galician industrial cities in order to discover, on different scales, how the public housing projects built in the second half of the twentieth century were formed, how their urban integration process has taken shape, what the open spaces associated with public housing are like, and if they have served as a bridge between the public, the collective and the private, to end with recommendations that can help in participative processes of integral urban regeneration for better articulation, integration and urban cohesion of the open spaces included in the public project. The research proposes an alternative to urban development that avoids the need for new growth, the demographic abandonment of existing neighbourhoods, and their social and physical degradation. Housing estates with obsolete structures offer the greatest opportunities to rehabilitate and recycle open spaces and buildings based on the value of their intrinsic qualities, allowing for the introduction of new and efficient typologies in the city core. On a social level, the recycling and adaptive reuse of housing estates would improve the quality of the urban environment, the consolidation of civic networks and the strengthening of social cohesion. At the environmental level, this would reduce land use for real estate development, infrastructure construction and mobility needs, as well as waste production and energy consumption.

Development of a Decision Support System for 3D Printing Processes based on Cyber Physical Production Systems

3D printing, an additive manufacturing (AM) technology, potentially provides sustainability advantages such as less waste generation, lightweight geometries, reduced material and energy consumption, lower inventory waste, etc. This paper proposes a decision support system for the 3D printing process based on Cyber Physical Production System (CPPS). The user is enabled to dynamically assess the carbon footprint based on the energy and material usage for their 3D printed object. A CPPS framework for the environmental sustainability of the 3D printing process is presented, which supports the derivation of improved strategies for product design and production. A physical world for 3D printing is used with the internet of things (IoT) devices like sensor node, webcam, smart plugs, and raspberry pi to host printer Management Software (PMS) for real-time monitoring and control of material and energy consumption during the printing process. Experiments have been conducted based on Taguchi L9 orthogonal array with polylactic Acid (PLA) as a filament material to estimate the product-related manufacturing energy consumption with the carbon footprint. The proposed framework can be effectively used by the users to supports the decision-making process for saving resources and energy; and minimizing the effect on the environment.

Synthesis, design and evaluation of intensified lignocellulosic biorefineries - Case study: Ethanol production

Second generation (2G) biorefineries have shown a potential to convert lignocellulosic wastes into fuels, energy, and other value-added products. However, despite the efforts made in R&D, there are several barriers to overcome their successful operation and profitability. This motivates to intensify 2G biorefineries by integrating unit operations, performing mass integration and heat integration analysis. The main focus of this work is to present the most important aspects of the design and synthesis for the intensification of 2G biorefineries, and the main contribution is the proposal of a systematic approach to evaluate different process configurations by defining a global intensification criterion. This criterion incorporates indicators to assess waste emissions, utility duties, energy consumption and production cost. The proposed methodology is used to decide the best synthesis and design of a 2G biorefinery for the main ethanol production. Various biorefinery configurations are proposed considering different levels of intensification, and comparing two different pretreatments and two alternative separation processes. As a result, the best intensified design is identified by using the proposed global intensification criterion.

Modeling and calculation power saving modes grain drying materials under energy fields

Storing grain quality materials in post harvest handling and storage is largely dependent on correctly implemented the drying process. In agricultural production mainly use costly convection dryer. The main share of wasteful energy consumption accounts for heat drying agent, some heat is lost to the environment through the working surface of the dryers and spent coolant. Ways to reduce these energy costs is to reduce the amount of drying agent in the process to the level necessary to absorb and remove moisture from the dryer and the working volume of the principles of targeted "delivery" of energy to vysushuyemoho material. Last principles successfully implemented using contactless energy supply of electromagnetic fields in a material exposure by microwave or infrared radiation. The article deals with the theoretical background processes of drying material in cyclic mode with infrared heating and high frequency electromagnetic field. The equations change over time settings grain material by heating using high frequency electromagnetic field or infrared light and ventilation in the grain does not allow heated air drying cycle count process. The algorithm calculating the overall process of drying cycle to determine rational modes of the process, providing minimize energy costs. The article deals with the theoretical background processes of drying material in cyclic mode with infrared heating and high frequency electromagnetic field. The equations change over time settings grain material by heating using high frequency electromagnetic field or infrared light and ventilation in the grain does not allow heated air drying cycle count process. The algorithm calculating the overall process of drying cycle to determine rational modes of the process, providing minimize energy costs. The article deals with the theoretical background processes of drying material in cyclic mode with infrared heating and high frequency electromagnetic field. The equations change over time settings grain material by heating using high frequency electromagnetic field or infrared light and ventilation in the grain does not allow heated air drying cycle count process. The algorithm calculating the overall process of drying cycle to determine rational modes of the process, providing minimize energy costs. The equations change over time settings grain material by heating using high frequency electromagnetic field or infrared light and ventilation in the grain does not allow heated air drying cycle count process. The algorithm calculating the overall process of drying cycle to determine rational modes of the process, providing minimize energy costs. The equations change over time settings grain material by heating using high frequency electromagnetic field or infrared light and ventilation in the grain does not allow heated air drying cycle count process. The algorithm calculating the overall process of drying cycle to determine rational modes of the process, providing minimize energy costs.

Research on matching design method of waste heat reuse system of fuel cell vehicle considering system energy consumption and waste heat exchange rate

SummaryThe research of hydrogen fuel cell waste heat recovery is a new field of fuel cell thermal management, which helps to improve the overall fuel utilization. At present, the research on the waste heat utilization of fuel cell vehicles is less, and it is more based on the traditional vehicle waste heat management ideas without systematic summary of the factors affecting the system performance. This study takes the waste heat reuse system of fuel cell vehicle as the research object, and established the waste heat exchange rate model and energy consumption model of the waste heat reuse system. Through the study of relevant parameter variables, the effects of parameters on system energy consumption and waste heat exchange rate at low temperature were obtained. The matching design of waste heat reuse system of 60 kW fuel cell vehicle was carried out, and the simulation analysis and experimental verification were done. The results showed that when the ambient temperature is −3°C and −6°C, the waste heat exchange rate of the new matching scheme is 16.2% and 16.3% higher than that of the original scheme, respectively. Also, the total energy consumption of the system is reduced by 62.02% and 60.62%, respectively.

Exceeding the Applicability Limit of Aerogel Super Insulation Materials in Different Environmental Conditions

Newly designed and constructed buildings are subjected to increasingly strict regulations which emphasize the minimization and, where possible, the elimination of wasteful energy consumption, thus resulting in a decrease in emissions. Thermal insulation materials have an important role in making better use of the primary energy delivered to consumer systems, be it by an industrial process or building services systems or in residential and commercial buildings. It is well declared that buildings account for about 30% of total energy consumption, while they contribute to about 20% of greenhouse gas emissions. High-performance insulation has great potential to achieve the European Commission’s ambitious goals for reducing the thermal loss of buildings. A new class of super insulation materials (SIMs) could play an important role in the future of insulations (e.g., fiber-reinforced silica aerogel). This material is grouped with super insulation materials by the sixty-fifth annex of the International Energy Agency. However, due to their short presence on the market, we do not know much about their long-term performance, and if their properties change with time, the question is how and in which direction they do. This is why their artificial aging is so important through thermal annealing, in addition to exposing them to high humidity and low temperatures. In this paper, the application of measurement results after the artificial aging of fiber-reinforced silica aerogel will be discussed. In order to see the changes in the thermal insulation capability of the materials, 13 different cases of environmental exposures are discussed. These cases will be presented to see possible changes in the thermal insulation performance of the aerogel after treating it in different climatic conditions. Firstly, samples were exposed to humidity treatments at 296 K with different relative humidities (0, 35, 50, 65, 80 and 90%) until they reached equilibrium moisture contents. Secondly, the samples were heat treated once for 6 weeks at 343 K, then for 1 day at 373, 423, 453 and 483 K. Moreover, we wanted to see the effects of frost, and thus we executed a freeze–thaw cycle on the samples for 25 days between 258 and 303 K. After these curing procedures, the thermal conductivities of the samples were measured with a heat flow meter, according to the ISO 8301 standard. The measured thermal conductivity values after heat treatment, wetting and freezing were used for building energetics calculations, with a special focus on the thermal transmittance of two different hypothetical building structures (brick- and concrete-based walls) covered with the mentioned insulation.

MOTIVATION FOR CHANGE

This article reports on applied research and the aspiration to find ways to increase sustainable behavior through the application of game mechanics and playful solutions. One of the main questions investigated through the research activities was what would motivate people to adopt more sustainable behavior and sustainable consumption. To create a better understanding of the problem, researchers and students looked into the awareness and different perceptions of sustainability in a variety of cultural settings, with special focus on waste separation, energy, and water consumption. In addition to documenting the details about current sustainable behavior, additional questions included how and where people find out about sustainability concepts, and how these concepts are currently being taught.

Rational Engineering of a Multi-Step Biocatalytic Cascade for the Conversion of Cyclohexane to Polycaprolactone Monomers in Pseudomonas taiwanensis.

The current industrial production of polymer building blocks such as ε-caprolactone (ε-CL) and 6-hydroxyhexanoic acid (6HA) is a multi-step process associated with critical environmental issues such as the generation of toxic waste and high energy consumption. Consequently, there is a demand for more eco-efficient and sustainable production routes. This study deals with the generation of a platform organism that converts cyclohexane to such polymer building blocks without the formation of byproducts and under environmentally benign conditions. Based on kinetic and thermodynamic analyses of the individual enzymatic steps, a 4-step enzymatic cascade in Pseudomonas taiwanensis VLB120 is rationally engineered via stepwise biocatalyst improvement on the genetic level. It is found that the intermediate product cyclohexanol severely inhibits the cascade which could be optimized by enhancing the expression level of downstream enzymes. The integration of a lactonase enables exclusive 6HA formation without side products. The resulting biocatalyst shows a high activity of 44.8±0.2U gCDW -1 and fully converts 5mm cyclohexane to 6HA within 3 h. This platform organism can now serve as a basis for the development of greener production processes for polycaprolactone and related polymers.

Are shocks to disaggregated renewable energy consumption permanent or temporary for the USA? Wavelet based unit root test with smooth structural shifts

Abstract Non-stationary renewable energy consumption can be permanently affected by supply, demand and policy shocks, and in this case renewable energy promoting policies can be implemented effectively. It is therefore important to determine which type of renewable energy is stationary. To this end, we introduce a new wavelet-based unit root test which takes into account the smooth structural changes and frequency components in the series. With this method we investigate the stationary of the renewable energy consumption for the US over the period 1973m01-2019m09. To compare the results, we also use conventional ADF and wavelet-based ADF unit root tests that do not take into account structural breaks. The findings of the wavelet-based Fourier ADF unit root test indicate that biofuels energy consumption is stationary, while geothermal, waste, and wind energy consumption are non-stationary. Furthermore, the findings of the wavelet-based ADF unit root test indicate that while hydropower energy consumption is stationary at levels, solar, wood, total biomass, and total renewable energy consumption contain a unit root. Overall, we conclude that renewable energy policies implemented in the US have permanent effects on seven types of renewable energy consumption, whereas these policies have temporary effects on hydropower and biofuels energy consumption.

A Green Alternative for Aryl Iodide Preparation from Aromatic Amines

In continuation of our previous work and the applications of saccharin, we encouraged to investigate the one-pot synthesis of the aryl iodides by the diazotization of the arene diazonium saccharin salts. Arene diazonium salts play an important role in organic synthesis as intermediate and a wide variety of aromatic compounds have been prepared using them. A serious drawback of arene diazonium salts is their instability in a dry state; therefore, they must be stored and handled carefully to avoid spontaneous explosion and other hazard events. The arene diazonium saccharin salts were prepared as active intermediates in situ through the reaction of various aryl amines with tert-butyl nitrite (TBN) in the presence of saccharin (Sac-H). Then, in situ obtained intermediates were used into the diazotization step without separation and purification in the current protocol. A variety of aryl iodides were synthesized at a greener and low-cost method in the presence of TBN, Sac-H, glacial acetic acid, and TEAI. In summary, a telescopic reaction is developed for the synthesis of aryl iodides. The current methodology is safe, cost-effective, broad substrate scope, and metal-free. All used reagents are commercially available and inert to moisture and air. Also, the saccharine and tetraethylammonium cation could be partially recovered from the reaction residue, which reduces waste generation, energy consumption, raw material, and waste disposal costs.

Matrix model of energy audit

The work attempts to build a mathematical model of energy audit as an activity associated with a complex of technical, organizational and economic events. Measures of these events are aimed to identify the possibility of cost-effective optimization of the consumption of energy resources at industrial enterprises. The goal of the energy audit is to identify sources of wasteful energy consumption and energy losses, to develop a comprehensive energy saving program, and to increase energy efficiency. The logical basis of the activity under consideration is the presentation of the cobination of energy and material flows in the enterprise, as a set of connected graphs. The number of graphs considered is determined by the many types of material and energy flows (electricity, thermal energy, enterprise products, etc). The node of the graph, depending on the details of the description, can be either an entire enterprise, which will be a set of interacting enterprises, or a workshop, or installation, etc.

Sustainable Innovation Governance: An Analysis of Regional Innovation with a Super Efficiency Slack-Based Measure Model

As China is undergoing economic transformation and facing increasing energy and environmental problems, it is essential to pay special attention to sustainable innovation governance. This research took industrial waste and total energy consumption into consideration and uses a super efficiency slack-based measure (SBM) model to empirically evaluate the regional innovation efficiency of Chinese provinces. The results showed that the efficiency of China’s regional sustainable innovation has not changed significantly over recent years. In addition, the results also showed large and varying degrees of innovation efficiency across different provinces. Eastern China, in comparison to central and western China, showed higher innovation efficiency. In addition, we found a slightly increasing trend in terms of innovation efficiency disparities between the three areas. On the basis of these findings, the reasons for the innovation efficiency gap between different regions were analyzed. The impacts of influential factors on sustainable innovation efficiency were further explored. We found that technology market maturity affected sustainable innovation efficiency positively, while government funding had a negative impact on sustainable innovation efficiency. Industrial structure and environmental regulations had no significant effect on sustainable innovation efficiency. Finally, some implications for improving governance performance in terms of sustainable innovation were provided.

Assessment of environmental, energy and economic prospective of anaerobic digestion of organic municipal solid waste in Malaysia

The continuous increase in population, higher living standards and economic development resulted in the inevitable increase of waste generation, energy consumption, carbon emissions and environmental degradation. The current average operating expenditure (OPEX) of a landfill is RM148/tonne/day for disposing municipal solid waste (MSW) which is an economic burden to the government. Thus, this study investigates the feasibility of biogas production from organic MSW as a renewable source of energy via anaerobic digestion. The economic and environmental benefits including the sales of electricity and fertilizer were investigated. Organic fraction municipal solid waste (OFMSW) was collected at Sahom landfill, Kampar. Waste composition was analyzed to determine the percentage of organic waste. Approximate and ultimate analysis were conducted to characterize the organic samples and to measure the calorific value. The biogas and bio-fertilizer yield were estimated. It was found that OFMSW consists 45% of the total MSW. Conversion of OFMSW to electricity and fertilizer via anaerobic digestion (AD) resulted in 3,274,812.51 m3/day of biogas which consists of 56.62% CH4 and 43.38% carbon dioxide. This can be resulted in 7,494.08 MWh/day of electrical energy and a daily yield of 13,013.73 tonnes of bio-fertilizer. This transforms the economic burden of solid waste management expenditures into an income generating movement.

Alginate/pectin cold-set gelation as a potential sustainable method for jelly candy production

The reduction of environmental waste emissions and energy consumption in the confectionery industry is desirable. Therefore, this study evaluated the potential of alginate/pectin cold-set gelation technique in the jelly candy manufacturing process. The obtained products were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy and the parameters evaluated were the process energy requirements, sensory acceptance, and physicochemical characteristics (instrumental texture and color, moisture content, pH, and water activity). These parameters were compared to those of a standard pectin jelly candy. The gelling agents considerably influenced the physicochemical parameters of the candies. Alginate/pectin jellies showed a higher hardness value (16.2 N) and an opaque and lighter coloring compared to the pectin jelly candy (6.2 N). There was a dense and homogeneous network with a large amount of pores in cold-set candies, which differed from the sparse network with micelles and large pores in pectin jellies. The energy requirement of the cold-set process (0.013 kWh) was statistically lower than the conventional heating process (0.035 kWh). There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) between the alginate/pectin jellies and pectin candies for all sensory attributes evaluated, indicating that the cold-set gelation technique could be an alternative sustainable technology for the production of jelly candy.

Efficiency Evaluation of Regional Sustainable Innovation in China: A Slack-Based Measure (SBM) Model with Undesirable Outputs

An efficiency evaluation of China’s regional sustainable innovation, evaluating industrial waste and total energy consumption, is the main research subject in this paper. It focuses on a regional measurement and comparison of these undesirable outputs of Chinese firm activities, such as industrial SO2 and CO2 emissions. By applying a data envelopment analysis–slack-based measure (DEA–SBM) model with undesirable outputs indicators, the regional innovation efficiency was evaluated for 30 provinces in China, from 2002 to 2014. The results indicate that the sustainable innovation efficiency of overall China is still relatively low, and varies significantly in different regions. Central and Western China have similar sustainable innovation efficiencies, which are much lower than the sustainable innovation efficiency in Eastern China. Furthermore, the data indicate that regional sustainable innovation efficiency disparities among these three areas are decreasing. Based on these findings, reasons for the sustainable innovation efficiency gap among the different regions were analyzed. To scholars, this paper extends the research on regional sustainable innovation efficiency by implementing an undesirable output perspective to the DEA–SBM model. The findings also provide Chinese policy makers with useful decision support insights for regional sustainable innovation, and energy conservation and emission reduction policies.

Does waste energy usage mitigate the CO2 emissions? A time-frequency domain analysis.

There exist many seminal studies in the literature searching the influences of total renewable usage (or usage of its some components) on CO2 emissions. However, to the best of our knowledge, there does not exist a research work in the literature considering the co-movements between waste energy consumption and CO2 emissions. This paper aims at observing the possible negative or positive impacts of waste energy consumption on environmental quality (in terms of CO2) by monitoring the whole sample period and all subsample periods in the USA for the monthly period 1980:1-2018:12. This paper searches also the positive or negative lead-lag relations between waste and CO2 emissions, if exist, by considering high frequency (1-3-yearcycle) and low frequency (3-8-yearcycle) of the same sample period and subsample periods. The findings obtained by this research in general might underline (a) the outcome indicating that waste energy usage has been effective in diminishing the carbon emissions after the second half of the 2010s in the USA and (b) the energy policy act(s) in the USA implemented which eventually resulted in lower CO2 emissions in the USA especially after the second half of the 2000s. The paper suggests as well some policy proposals which might result in positive contribution of waste energy on environmental quality.