This review on sustainability covers selected 2018 publications on the focus of sustainability. It is divided into the following sections: (a) Water quantity;(b) Water quality;(c) Climate change and resilience;(d) Pla...
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This review on sustainability covers selected 2018 publications on the focus of sustainability. It is divided into the following sections: (a) Water quantity;(b) Water quality;(c) Climate change and resilience;(d) Planning and ecosystem evaluation;(e) Life cycle assessment (LCA) applications;(f) Sustainable management;(g) sustainability and asset management;(h) sustainability in wastewater treatment;(i) Sustainable water and wastewater utilities;(j) Sustainable water resource management. (C) 2019 Water Environment Federation
Selected 2016 publications on the focus of sustainability are reviewed and discussed here. The followings are the topics presented: center dot Sustainable water and wastewater utilities center dot Sustainable water re...
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Selected 2016 publications on the focus of sustainability are reviewed and discussed here. The followings are the topics presented: center dot Sustainable water and wastewater utilities center dot Sustainable water resources management center dot Stormwater and green infrastructure center dot sustainability in water and wastewater treatment center dot Life cycle assessment (LCA) applications center dot sustainability for water and energy, center dot sustainability and asset management
This article summarizes results of ASME’s third annual survey on the importance of sustainability in different engineering streams. The survey shows that students’ attitudes generally mirror those of more experience...
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This article summarizes results of ASME’s third annual survey on the importance of sustainability in different engineering streams. The survey shows that students’ attitudes generally mirror those of more experienced engineers. The survey respondents argued that government regulations are the only way to ensure sustainable practices. Several respondents argue that waste, suboptimal energy usage, carbon emissions, and decommissioning issues are all costs that society must pay. Government regulations would ensure those costs are carried by producers. sustainability is part of the core curriculum for 27% of the students and an elective for another 61%. Fifty-seven percent say their schools offer extracurricular projects and competitions, and 39% special assignments on sustainable engineering. The article also highlights that industry organizations such as ASME and ISPE can encourage and develop technical practices that the industry can leverage to meet regulatory requirements as well as improve the sustainability of assets.
The paper aims to examinate how an integrative understanding of sustainability (IUS), measured by sustainability integrated into a company's strategy, business model, and top management affects overall financial p...
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The paper aims to examinate how an integrative understanding of sustainability (IUS), measured by sustainability integrated into a company's strategy, business model, and top management affects overall financial performance. This makes the study one of the first to take a holistic approach to the integration of sustainability based on previous research and new regulatory requirements from the Corporate sustainability Reporting Directive. The study evaluates both top line effects (e.g., sales growth) and bottom line effects (e.g., return on assets). To control for any potential endogenous nature of the sustainability-firm performance nexus, we used a two-stage least square estimator with an instrumental variable of the industry mean. We also utilised a Heckman selection process. The study bases on a German sample from 2017 to 2022 in order to observe sustainability integration effects during this period. The results indicate that an IUS supports better bottom line performance, but not necessarily stronger sales growth. Specifically, the strongest evidence is in support of integrating sustainability into strategy, management board, and business model simultaneously. In the end, the study contributes to the literature, theory, methodology, and practices in various ways.
Applying polyphosphate-containing antiscalants poses environmental concerns, which could be addressed by employing green compounds. This work reports the application of citric acid and succinic acid, individually and ...
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Applying polyphosphate-containing antiscalants poses environmental concerns, which could be addressed by employing green compounds. This work reports the application of citric acid and succinic acid, individually and in combination with sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) and sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP), to prevent calcium sulfate precipitation. After determining inhibition performance, the sustainability of the developed inhibitors was assessed in a scenario describing the application of antiscalants in membrane-based water purification. Increasing the levels of phosphorous (P) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) in the generated wastewater stream and the corresponding treatment costs were evaluated. The efficiency of most two-component inhibitors was comparable to those of pure polyphosphates, achieving up to 100% scale inhibition (p < 0.05). These combinations provided up to 70% reduction in polyphosphate consumption, consequently mitigating drawbacks associated with pure polyphosphates and minimizing the risk of biofouling linked to applying green molecules at high dosages. The technical, environmental, and financial analyses proved that, at a dosage of 2 ppm, several combinations of STPP and the organic acids cost-effectively inhibited scaling and generated waste streams not requiring P and COD removal when applied according to the scenario. Compared to pure polyphosphates, these inhibitors brought about a 70-82% reduction in the unit cost of purified water. The total annualized cost and the unit cost of purified water were sensitive to the recovery ratio of the membrane used in the purification process and generally reduced by increasing this ratio. In addition, the sustainability of the most efficient cases was not affected by variations in capital cost. These findings hold great promise for developing more sustainable inhibitors.
The transition of cities toward smartness has accelerated in recent years, yet the interplay between smartness, sustainability, and resilience (SSR) remains underexplored, posing challenges in establishing comprehensi...
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The transition of cities toward smartness has accelerated in recent years, yet the interplay between smartness, sustainability, and resilience (SSR) remains underexplored, posing challenges in establishing comprehensive indicators for smart city development. This study introduces a multidimensional approach to analyze and visualize the interconnections between SSR parameters, which can be incorporated with multidimensional SSR frameworks in order to offer a unified, quantitative perspective. This study was initiated by integrating a comprehensive dataset of 31 Chinese cities and employing a multivariate linear regression model. The model showed a high-quality performance with an R-squared value of 0.9977, showcasing exceptional predictive accuracy. The proposed method introduces the ZOG diagram-a ternary plot that uniquely captures the ideal equilibrium among SSR indices. This diagram allows cities to be classified based on their SSR performance, identifying deviations from ideal development and providing actionable insights for policymakers. Additionally, the Biased Development Coefficient (kappa) is introduced as a metric that quantifies development disparities and assess alignment with balanced SSR growth. By incorporating these advancements, the approach enables realtime monitoring, classification, and strategic planning for urban development, surpassing the limitations of existing methodologies. This study offers high capabilities and potential for understanding SSR interdependencies, laying the groundwork for universally applicable frameworks to evaluate smart city performance and guide sustainable, resilient urban transformation.
This study evaluated three blue hydrogen production processes - solar-grid powered, wind-powered, and thermal power grid (TPG) - considering the context of Hong Kong, SAR, China. A process sustainability analysis was ...
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This study evaluated three blue hydrogen production processes - solar-grid powered, wind-powered, and thermal power grid (TPG) - considering the context of Hong Kong, SAR, China. A process sustainability analysis was performed based on energy, economic, and environmental (3E) factors. The energy efficiency analysis indicates that the TPG system is the most energy-efficient with 64% efficiency, followed by the wind power system at 63% and the hybrid solar-grid powered system at 60%. The economic analysis results indicate that the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCH) is 2.165 $/kg for the TPG system, 2.132 $/kg for the hybrid solar-grid powered system, and 2.060 $/kg for the wind power system. The environmental assessment suggests that wind powered are eco-friendly with a unit point total (mu Pt) of 1.11, compared to the solar-grid 1.50 mu Pt and TPG system's 1.70 mu Pt. Therefore, 3E analysis proposes wind powered process is more sustainable for blue H2 production.
This paper addresses the escalating environmental issue of plastic waste (PW), which poses significant disposal challenges and contributes to ecological degradation. In contrast, recycling and reusing plastic waste of...
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This paper addresses the escalating environmental issue of plastic waste (PW), which poses significant disposal challenges and contributes to ecological degradation. In contrast, recycling and reusing plastic waste offer substantial environmental and economic benefits, far outweighing traditional landfill methods. The paper reviews various economic models and treatment strategies for waste disposal of PW. It also critically analyses the effect of RPF on fresh properties of concrete, mechanical behavior, ductility, acoustic performance, and thermal properties. Studies show that adding recycled plastic fibers (RPF) decreases concrete workability, with higher fiber contents causing greater reductions, though workability remains acceptable within certain dosage limits. This study shows that incorporating waste plastic fibers (WPFs) or PET fibers improves concrete's compressive strength up to 0.75 %-1.5 % and flexural strength up to 0.6 %-1.75 %, but higher fiber contents lead to strength reduction due to weak bonding and poor dispersion. This study also shows that recycled fibers like PET, PP, and HDPE improve concrete durability, with PET offering high alkaline resistance, PP prone to pull-out, and HDPE providing frictionbased adhesion. The integration of PW into the construction industry, both as aggregate and fiber, has the potential to enhance sustainability from both environmental and economic perspectives. This paper provides insights and a global perspective that may guide new pathways toward sustainability for researchers and professionals in the construction sector while also offering recommendations for future academic inquiries.
The building construction industry serves an important role in working towards at least 10 of the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), making sustainability considerations crucial. Alternative construct...
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The building construction industry serves an important role in working towards at least 10 of the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), making sustainability considerations crucial. Alternative construction methods such as prefabrication have been sought to improve sustainability. In Australia, the prefabricated building industry is still relatively immature, primarily targeting either rural/remote constructions or large repeatable commercial designs. There has been little exploration of sustainability or quantifiable data to assess the state of the industry. This paper reviews global understandings of sustainability in prefabricated construction and presents results from the first stage of an exploration into the issue in Australia. This work has been conducted as part of the Australian Manufacturing Growth Centre's 'Prefabrication Innovation Hub'. Drawing on insights from 21 stakeholders from the prefabrication industry, it presents a snapshot of current approaches to, and consideration of, environmental, economic and social sustainability within Australian prefabricated building construction. The paper discusses key challenges currently faced, as well as the areas that provide most opportunity for constructive change. Findings show that whilst sustainability considerations are currently limited, there is an awareness that environmental impacts may be a strength of the industry and there is strong potential to explore the processes being undertaken and identify quantifiable measures of sustainability. Although the prefabrication industry in Australia is still developing, it is likely that in the near future the industry will be faced with choices to adopt more sustainable processes as more advanced manufacturing processes are incorporated into industry practice.
To improve the machinability of metal matrix composites (MMC) and achieve sustainable machining, a laserinduced modification assisted milling method was proposed. The mechanism of nanosecond pulsed laser irradiation o...
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To improve the machinability of metal matrix composites (MMC) and achieve sustainable machining, a laserinduced modification assisted milling method was proposed. The mechanism of nanosecond pulsed laser irradiation on SiCp/Al composites was analyzed. After laser treatment, two modification modes of laser-induced oxidation and laser-induced melting modification were obtained. The effects of laser-induced oxidation assisted milling (LOAM) and laser-induced melting modification assisted milling (LMAM) on cutting force, specific cutting energy (SCE), surface roughness, and tool life were investigated, and the tool wear mechanism was analyzed. The main advantages of the LOAM method are the reduction of milling force and SCE, with normal and thrust force reductions of up to 41.9 % and 36.7 %, and SCE reduction up to 57.4 %. The main advantages of the LMAM method are to improve the machining quality and suppress surface defects, reducing surface roughness by up to 50.1 %. Tool life enhancements were considerable, with LOAM extending tool life by 1.4 times and LMAM by 2 times compared to conventional machining (CM). Milling parameters were optimized under different machining processes, and the optimal process parameters were determined based on Criteria Importance Through Inter Criteria Correlation (CRITIC) and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). The energy consumption structure of the hybrid machining process was analyzed, and models for both energy consumption and machining costs were established. The sustainability of the machining process was evaluated by combining the cutting specific energy, surface roughness, tool life, energy consumption, cost and machining efficiency. The LMAM process significantly boosts energy and economic efficiency, offering improvements of 29.1 % and 33.7 %, respectively. This hybrid machining process can be recognized as a promising sustainable machining technique.
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