C. Castañeda, Miguel Ángel Díaz, Yomaira Devia, Juan Sebastian Ballen, Juan David Baquero Barrios
{"title":"MULTIFUNCTIONAL LANDSCAPES AND SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS: A CASE STUDY ON PRODUCTIVE SECTORS OF RANCHERÍA RIVER BASIN, GUAJIRA, COLOMBIA","authors":"C. Castañeda, Miguel Ángel Díaz, Yomaira Devia, Juan Sebastian Ballen, Juan David Baquero Barrios","doi":"10.2495/EID180271","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2495/EID180271","url":null,"abstract":"This study quantifies the economic contributions of the different productive sectors in the Ranchería River basin from 1980 to the present, according to official information available from the DNP, La Guajira’s Chamber of Commerce, and other sources. The study provides a comparative analysis of the economic benefits derived by direct users of the Ranchería River basin in the Colombian Guajira region, contrasting the economic valuation of direct uses by agricultural, livestock, and mining activities with the main socioeconomic indicators (e.g. GDP, poverty, unsatisfied basic needs) of the basin’s municipalities. The economic valuation was made with the market price methodology using information by subsectors of each one of the branches of economic activity. For a better understanding of the relationship between territorial dynamics and the basin’s economy, the study presents some maps capturing vegetation cover and land use in the basin area using available archival geographic information systems, mainly from the Colombian Geographic Institute (IGAC), over different periods.","PeriodicalId":217537,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact IV","volume":"59 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122309216","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
C. Ferone, R. Cioffi, S. Cimino, L. Lisi, Simone Malvezzi, Giovanni Perillo
{"title":"COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ON MONOLITHIC DENOX CATALYSTS","authors":"C. Ferone, R. Cioffi, S. Cimino, L. Lisi, Simone Malvezzi, Giovanni Perillo","doi":"10.2495/EID180081","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2495/EID180081","url":null,"abstract":"Catalysts based on the Vanadia-Titania system are widely used for the abatement of pollutants, particularly nitrogen oxides (NOx), in the exhaust gases of industrial plants. Their mechanism of operation is based on the catalytic reduction reaction of nitrogen oxides with ammonia (SCR). In this paper, two commercial catalysts based on the V-W-Ti system of very similar nominal composition were compared. The two samples were analyzed in the fresh state and after a period of operation in a waste-gas plant of a waste-to-energy plant. The materials were first characterized from the chemicalstructural point of view through instrumental techniques such as X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), IR spectroscopy (FT-IR), SEM scanning electron microscopy observations with analysis EDS, measurement of pore size and specific surface area through nitrogen adsorption/ desorption and BET technique. Subsequently, the catalytic properties of the new and used catalysts in the NH3-SCR reaction were evaluated. The results of the analyzes showed that the samples are both made of a titanium matrix in the form of anatase, reinforced with glass fibers, used as a support for the active phases based on V and W. The percentages of vanadium are practically the same for both systems, while the tungsten percentage is very different. The specific surface also has very similar values for the two fresh catalysts. The tests of catalytic activity, on the other hand, have given very different results, particularly for one of the two catalysts, the performance decays much faster than the other. The kinetic measurements show that the decay is not due to a specific surface decrease, due to the presence of precipitates, but to a difference in initial activity between the two catalysts, linked to the different tungsten content.","PeriodicalId":217537,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact IV","volume":"6 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129234767","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Mcmaster, Gerald R. Tetreatult, T. Clark, J. Bennett, Jessie Cunningham, M. Evans
{"title":"AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM HEALTH ASSESSMENT OF THE ATHABASCA RIVER MAINSTEM OIL SANDS AREA USING WHITE SUCKER HEALTH","authors":"M. Mcmaster, Gerald R. Tetreatult, T. Clark, J. Bennett, Jessie Cunningham, M. Evans","doi":"10.2495/EID180371","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2495/EID180371","url":null,"abstract":"The Governments of Canada and Alberta designed an environmental monitoring plan for the lower Athabasca River between Fort McMurray and its confluence with Lake Athabasca. This plan, known as the Joint Oil Sands Monitoring Plan (JOSM), included monitoring aquatic ecosystem health with a focus on wild fish in the mainstem of the Athabasca River. The fish health program for JOSM used endpoints developed through Canada’s Environmental Effects Monitoring Programs for the pulp and paper and metal mining sectors under Canada’s Fisheries Act. Fish can be sensitive to multiple stressors, are critical components of aquatic ecosystems, and have significant social and economic value. The objective of the fish component of the aquatic monitoring program was to provide necessary data and supporting information to address key questions regarding both environmental health of fish populations and fish health issues related to use and consumption. The JOSM mainstem program consisted of large bodied fish health assessments at five stations and small bodied fish health assessments at nine stations on the Athabasca River. The large bodied white sucker were sensitive indicators of fish health in the system as consistent changes in fish health downstream, within the oil sands deposit were documented. These differences were indicative of nutrient enrichment as white sucker had increased condition and increased levels of internal fat stores relative to fish upstream of the oil sands area. The fish biomarker, ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase activity, was a good indicator of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and indicated the potential for increased exposure to these compounds downstream of oil sands development. Tiers and triggers are being developed for the program to predict change into the future and to be used in management decisions for further development in the area.","PeriodicalId":217537,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact IV","volume":"23 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125628567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Regina Santos, L. Fernandes, R. Cortes, F. Pacheco
{"title":"ANALYSIS OF HYDROLOGY AND WATER ALLOCATION WITH SWAT AND MIKE HYDRO BASIN IN THE SABOR RIVER BASIN, PORTUGAL","authors":"Regina Santos, L. Fernandes, R. Cortes, F. Pacheco","doi":"10.2495/EID180311","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2495/EID180311","url":null,"abstract":"Hydrological modelling is an important tool for the detailed evaluation of hydrological processes, allowing the analysis of the consequences of current management practices and the prediction of the impact of mediumand long-term agricultural and demographic projections. The present study intends to analyze the water management practices and demographic evolution of the Sabor River basin between 1960 and 2009, and to evaluate the mediumand long-term impact of agricultural and demographic projections. To that end, we used two separate software packages to fulfill the proposed goal, SWAT and MIKE HYDRO Basin. This SWAT was used in the construction of the hydrological model and MIKE HYDRO Basin in the simulation of water allocation, namely irrigation and domestic consumption. Primary results indicate that the low population density recorded in the basin area between 1960 and 2009 was negligible and had no significant impact on the flow. However, as the agricultural area occupies 59% of the basin, the water consumption for irrigation represented, on average, 27% of the streamflow.","PeriodicalId":217537,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact IV","volume":"20 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132127467","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"ALTERNATIVES FOR THE EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT OF SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL COMPONENTS IN HYDROCARBON PROJECTS: TECHNICAL INSTRUMENTS FOR MAKING MANAGEMENT DECISIONS","authors":"C. Castañeda, Monica Herrera","doi":"10.2495/eid180191","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2495/eid180191","url":null,"abstract":"The development of hydrocarbon projects in areas of special interest in the presence of ethnic groups, as well as the possible negative impact on biodiversity and services of strategic ecosystems represents a challenge and an opportunity for the implementation of technical instruments accompanying entrepreneurs and competent authorities in improved social, economic, and environmental management of both positive and negative impacts. This paper presents the results of the construction of a system of indicators to manage both positive and negative impacts on hydrocarbon projects in areas of special interest due to their biodiversity and/or the presence of ethnic groups. The investigation had the active participation of the lawyer and the geologist of MOMPOS Oil and Co., with whom a collaboration agreement was signed in 2015–2016. The main objective of the proposed indicators is to guide decision-making regarding the project, identifying the main factors that will compromise the development because they will require a greater investment in compensation issues for biodiversity loss; conflict with armed groups, presence of illicit crops in the territory and prior consultation processes in territories of ethnic groups recognized by law. The proposal of resulting indicators reflects the major management requirements of both business and the various authorities involved in the management of these projects. Particularly in the regions where these projects are advanced, given that the project approach is to orient measures of environmental and social management required in the existing regulatory framework.","PeriodicalId":217537,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact IV","volume":"41 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127651542","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"MEASURING FARMLAND LOSS: LESSONS FROM ONTARIO, CANADA","authors":"Sara Epp, W. Caldwell","doi":"10.2495/EID180151","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2495/EID180151","url":null,"abstract":"Farmland in Ontario, Canada is under immense pressure from development associated with population growth and urbanization. The future sustainability of agriculture in Ontario is dependent upon a stable land base and precise understanding of the availability of farmland; however, in many communities, farmland is sacrificed for residential subdivisions, commercial developments and aggregate operations, among others. The provincial government has recognized the development threats facing farmland and created the Greenbelt Act (2005) to protect prime farmland and other sensitive landscapes. While this protectionist policy has appeared to stop some development, farmland continues to be lost to non-farm land uses and a policy failure is assumed. In reality, much of this land was designated decades prior for urban development but the loss is not evident until urban development begins. In order to assess the strength of the Greenbelt policy and understand the amount of farmland lost, quantitative data at a region or county level is needed. Currently, no accurate data regarding the amount of farmland lost to other land uses exists. This presentation will explore a new methodology for measuring the loss of farmland through official plan amendments on private property in southern Ontario. Analysis of data in the form of a case study is presented from 2 counties and regions. This highlights the amount of farmland converted to other land uses both before and after Greenbelt Act (2005) came into force. The economic and environmental impacts of farmland loss and the role of planning policies will also be discussed. This analysis and methodology will be applicable in many different jurisdictions.","PeriodicalId":217537,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact IV","volume":"52 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115660382","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"DEVELOPING PROCEDURES AND GUIDANCE FOR PERFORMING AN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF US WOODEN PALLETS","authors":"S. Alanya-Rosenbaum, Richard Bergman, B. Gething","doi":"10.2495/EID180041","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2495/EID180041","url":null,"abstract":"Because of the increasing demand for sustainable products and services at a global level, manufacturers are encouraged to document the environmental performance of their products and services. This helps to enhance efficiency of supply chain and create value for stakeholders. Declaration of environmental performance supports manufacturers’ claims for products such as wood products, which many stakeholders consider more environmentally benign than other products. Through the internationally accepted life-cycle assessment (LCA) tool, many wood products have been shown to be less energy intensive and generate less greenhouse gas emissions than their non-wood alternatives. However, until now, solid wooden pallets have not been studied in detail. This is the first study of this type because of the complexities of wooden pallet production, sizing, usage, reparability, and durability. For this project, the LCA analysis will provide a comprehensive understanding of environmental performance especially from the wooden pallet recovery side and thus can be used to identify potential improvements in the sector as well. The project goal is to conduct a cradle-to-grave environmental assessment of wooden pallet production throughout the whole life cycle of pallets using the LCA tool. The study will investigate the current state of wooden pallet manufacturing in the United States using up-to-date sectoral data from at least 20% of the production of the US wooden pallet industry. The resultant source data will be used to model the life cycle of wooden pallets and perform the life-cycle impact assessment that will underpin a sectoral environmental product declaration (EPD) for wooden pallet manufacturing in the United States. This paper presents the methodology development for standardization of LCA in wooden pallet manufacturing, which will provide the basis for development of the first wooden pallet product category rule (PCR) and the subsequent EPDs for wooden pallets. The objective is to provide guidelines and enhance development of environmental EPDs in US wooden pallet production for the shift toward more sustainable manufacturing.","PeriodicalId":217537,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact IV","volume":"66 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127220688","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"FINANCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF COMBINED ACTIONS IN ROAD TUNNELS FOR THE DECREASE OF ENERGY AND RAW MATERIAL CONSUMPTION","authors":"F. Salata, Iacopo Golasi, A. Peña-García","doi":"10.2495/EID180341","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2495/EID180341","url":null,"abstract":"Road tunnels are critical infrastructures for the economic and social development due to the remarkable improvement in transport and travel time in mountainous zones. However, the impact of tunnels is rather contradictory from all the perspectives: they contribute to safety since traffic in narrow roads bordering mountains and cliffs, sometimes in adverse weather conditions is avoided, but the severity of accidents in their interior is higher; tunnels contribute to savings in fuel, CO2 emissions and raw materials because time and distance is shorted, but their construction costs are very high and the energy consumption of their installations really remarkable. Anyhow, the balance is positive, and most countries are building longer and more modern tunnels whenever they are necessary. Since the trend towards more, better and safer tunnels is a reality, it is necessary to optimize their costs from all the perspectives. One of the deepest impact of these infrastructures on economy and sustainability are their lighting installations, whose yearly invoice frequently exceeds 1M€ in not too long tunnels. In the last years, intensive research has been carried out to decrease the consumption in terms of energy and materials in these installations. As consequence, interesting strategies have been proposed: use sunlight, introduction of pavements with special reflection patterns, regulation of luminaries in flux depending on the conditions etc. In spite of the increasing studies from a strictly technical perspective, the amount of works focused on combined strategies and mainly on their economic and environmental impact is rather low. In this work, the impact of some of these combined actions are considered in terms of CO2 emissions and financial balance. The results and their interpretation as well as some recommendations for future implementations are presented.","PeriodicalId":217537,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact IV","volume":"456 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130764910","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A SOLAR FARM PROTOTYPE DESIGN THAT ACHIEVES NET-ZERO STATUS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AT THE ORGAN PIPE CACTUS NATIONAL MONUMENT IN ARIZONA, USA","authors":"N. Chalfoun","doi":"10.2495/EID180361","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2495/EID180361","url":null,"abstract":"Faculty and students of the House Energy Doctor (HED) Master of Science program at the University of Arizona’s College of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape Architecture are currently engaged in a multi-year effort towards accomplishing a vision that would preserve the heritage of the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (OPNM) buildings while transforming its status into the first net-zero park in the United States. The project is a collaboration with experts in heritage architecture from the park and students and faculty of HED. During the years, 2015 and 2016, of the project, two major park-built areas have been redeveloped; the Visitor Center and the Residential loop. While the work on the visitor center was documented and published in WIT STREMAH 2017, Alicante, Spain, this paper presents the recent work performed in 2016 on the one-mile residential loop. Three major tasks have been accomplished in this built area and focused on transforming the existing 13 residences into net-zero operation. The first accomplishment is the energy efficiency achieved through the use of energy performance simulation and integration of advanced environmental systems. The second, is the economic impact through the alternative designs developed in Studio 601 that focused on regional sustainable energy efficient high-performance buildings using latest environmental technologies for indoor and outdoor spaces. Development of the residential loop conformed to Mission 66 standards while added an important education trail component to the complex. Finally, all environmental strategies used in the design development were verified by empirical research and experimentation in the House Energy Doctor laboratory. This paper demonstrates the methods of intervention used on the residential loop to achieve the net-zero status and three redesign schemes as well as the energy performance predictions and verifications. These valuable findings could then be transformed to the design profession to facilitate future net-zero performance buildings.","PeriodicalId":217537,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact IV","volume":"90 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131852116","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"USING POLYCARBOBETAINES FOR CU RECOVERY FROM CATHOLYTES GENERATED BY ELECTRODIALYTIC TREATMENT OF SEWAGE SLUDGE ASH","authors":"G. Kirkelund, J. Mouton","doi":"10.2495/EID180391","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2495/EID180391","url":null,"abstract":"Electrodialytic remediation is a process that uses a low current density to remove heavy metals from different waste matrixes such as sewage sludge ash (SSA). The SSA is suspended in water and separated from the anolyte and catholyte compartments by ion exchange membranes. The heavy metal cations are separated from the ash and electromigrate into the catholyte, where they can electrodeposit on the cathode. Despite this electrodeposition, the catholyte contains heavy metals after the remediation process. Newly developed water-soluble polycarbobetaines (PCBets) have shown potential for selective removal of metal ions and especially Cu in synthetic solutions. In this study, it was investigated for the first time if the PCBets can remove Cu from the catholytes generated by electrodialytic remediation. Four electrodialytic separation experiments were made, treating SSA in slurries at liquid to solid ratios 3.5:21. The Cu removal from the SSA was between 6–30%, resulting in catholyte concentrations between 0.18–4.34 mg Cu/l. The Cu selective PCBet, PCEAC was added to the four different catholytes for Cu extraction after a pH adjustment to around five of the catholytes. The removal of Cu was almost negligible by the PCEAC, regardless of the initial Cu concentration. Thus, the samples were spiked with Cu to concentrations between 77–319 mg/l and then the removal of Cu was tested by the addition of PCEAC or PCEAMC from the catholyte solution, resulting in Cu removals up to 70% and 40% respectively. However, a significant co-adsorption of Al, Ca and Zn was also seen. Based on the results, there is a potential in combining the use of PCBets to electrodialytic treatment, however the metal concentration in the catholyte should be increased and the PCBets should be further developed to avoid co-adsorption.","PeriodicalId":217537,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact IV","volume":"42 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128366361","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}