WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment最新文献

{"title":"INDOOR AIR QUALITY AND COMFORT IN NATIVE AMERICAN SHELTERS: SIMULATION AND ACTUAL DATA ANALYSIS","authors":"Paul Fowler, Fernando Del Ama Gonzalo, Anthony Divito, Abigail Carlson, Zachary Lizotte","doi":"10.2495/esus230301","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2495/esus230301","url":null,"abstract":"The wigwam was a Native American shelter built in the north-eastern United States. This study determined if these structures supply comfort to human beings using modern measurement standards and if they provide indoor air quality levels that are healthy. Keene State College faculty and students built a full-size example of a wigwam and monitored data indoors and outdoors. When a fire was introduced into the wigwam to produce comfortable indoor temperatures, the analysis of air temperature and relative humidity, along with CO 2 , VOC, and PM 2.5 levels, determined indoor air quality and comfort. By having a full-size example of a wigwam, the authors were able to compare the accuracy of a digital energy model. Comfort can be accomplished even when using modern standards in this native structure. Temperature, humidity, and rainfall exposure can all be controlled to acceptable levels. Indoor air quality is always at good levels when a fire is not involved because the indoor air in the wigwam is the same as exterior quality levels. However, the particulates and VOC introduced into the environment are at dangerous levels with an open fire. A wood stove with a flue pipe to the exterior was used to reduce the pollutants to acceptable and safe levels.","PeriodicalId":35178,"journal":{"name":"WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138602317","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":"ZERO-EMISSION SOLUTION FOR A SMART MOBILITY HUB","authors":"Markus Sihvonen, Hanna Takala","doi":"10.2495/esus230351","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2495/esus230351","url":null,"abstract":"The road transport industry is facing increasing pressure to reduce its carbon footprint and transition towards eco-friendly solutions. One prominent approach has been the adoption of alternative energy sources for heavy vehicles, with electric trucks emerging as the most promising option due to their reduced emissions, lower fuel costs and improved performance. Concurrently, governments are introducing policies and directives aimed at significantly decreasing CO 2 emissions caused by road transport, often favouring the implementation of smart mobility hubs (SMH) as a means to mitigate the negative impact of road traffic on cities. In line with this movement, the MORE Industrial Park, a major SMH in southern Finland, is pursuing a development strategy to transform into an eco-industrial park with a mission to achieve an emission-free zone. This paper aims to propose a zero-emission first-/last-mile road transportation strategy for the MORE Industrial Park, which serves as a critical SMH for local industries in Hämeenlinna and Janakkala, Finland. The proposed solution suggests utilizing the latest ICT technologies, electric power trains, and the Mobility as a Service concept for sustainable mobility and logistics. The solution seeks to contribute to a greener and more efficient road transport industry in the region.","PeriodicalId":35178,"journal":{"name":"WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment","volume":"32 26","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138602420","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":"GREEN BUILDING INITIATIVE: A CASE STUDY OF THE SJVN CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS, SHIMLA, INDIA","authors":"Rajeev Kumar, Ajay K. Sharma, Gouri Sood","doi":"10.2495/esus230291","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2495/esus230291","url":null,"abstract":"The world is becoming more environmentally conscious and adopting sustainable design practices, thus green building is the need of the hour. The green building is an eco-friendly built environment, as it is based on the fundamental principle of ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’. Similarly, a green building rating system is a method that tests the environmental efficiency of a building through its lifecycle. The paper attempts to create awareness about various green building rating systems prevalent in India and further elaborates the evaluation criterion of most widely used and predominant green building rating systems in India. It has been further explained better with a case study. The Shakti Sadan building is the corporate headquarters of a leading government company and the flag bearer of green architecture and sustainability in the remote hill state of Himachal Pradesh in India. The company that owns this building creates sustainable architecture by adopting techniques like minimum ground coverage, adopting building orientation in a way which allows maximum natural light penetration and ventilation. Also, other green measures taken organisation wide in building construction are renewable energy utilisation, solid waste management, storm and rain water drainage provision, use of sustainable building materials, good air quality, access to daylight and views, pleasant acoustic conditions, low flow fixtures of water, sensor-based indoor lighting to save electricity. The case study has been evaluated on a number of criteria including site parameters, microclimate impact, maintenance and housekeeping, energy, renewable energy utilisation, human health, achieving indoor comfort requirements and social aspects. This is the only building to date in the state of Himachal Pradesh in India to be awarded a four star rating in the year 2022.","PeriodicalId":35178,"journal":{"name":"WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment","volume":"24 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138602452","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":"EXPRESS ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION OF THE IMPACT OF BIOGAS PROJECTS ON ATMOSPHERIC AIR","authors":"A. Kiselev, A. Karaeva, E. Magaril","doi":"10.2495/esus230231","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2495/esus230231","url":null,"abstract":"Greening the global energy sector implies the development and implementation of large-scale energy projects around the world. The quality and effectiveness of the environmental assessment plays a central role in achieving the declared results of eco-modernization: the ability to comprehensively and quickly assess the current activities of an energy facility or an investment project planned for implementation allows one to quickly implement environmental and management solutions. The energy sector is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and the largest consumer of natural resources; this is what one considers in most of the proposed approaches to environmental assessment in the scientific and methodological literature. However, in addition to greenhouse gas emissions (in particular CO 2 ), energy facilities operating on traditional and alternative fuels consume a significant amount of oxygen as a result of their combustion, which also has a number of negative environmental consequences. The purpose of the study is the development of a methodology for rapid environmental assessment of energy projects, taking into account CO 2 emissions and oxygen consumption. The article presents specific indicators of oxygen consumption and CO 2 emissions per unit of generating capacity for various types of fossil and alternative fuels and their adoption on the example of a biogas project at a regional energy facility.","PeriodicalId":35178,"journal":{"name":"WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment","volume":"11 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138602927","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":"CYCLING AS A SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY FORM IN THE MAGNA GRAECIA AREA OF THE CALABRIA REGION, ITALY","authors":"G. Iiritano, Filomena Tiziana Corallini, G. Petrungaro, Francesco Boccia, M. R. Trecozzi","doi":"10.2495/esus230361","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2495/esus230361","url":null,"abstract":"With the Regional Transport Plan, Calabria Region government has launched several initiatives for sustainability in the transport and logistics sector. Among those, there is the initiative for the promotion of cycling mobility with the aim to also support the realization of the Magna Graecia cycle route. The Magna Graecia cycle route crosses three regions of southern Italy, Basilicata, Calabria and Sicily, for about 1,300 km. It is one of Europe’s long-distance cycle itineraries and represents the final part of Eurovelo 7, which runs through Europe for about 7,700 km, interconnected with the national regional cycle network and the other infrastructures of the regional transport system. The realization of the Magna Graecia cycle route aims to favour forms of sustainable tourism, with particular regard to areas with a strong naturalistic and cultural value. The aim is to promote the development of mobility by bicycle, both as a means of daily transport and for tourist and recreational activities, within the general framework of sustainable mobility. Another aim is to increase the attractiveness of the territory, by trying to reduce the negative effects on health and soil consumption, and job opportunities. This is a study of the role of the regional government in promoting policies to support sustainable mobility with reference to cycle mobility, and on the technical-administrative procedure of Magna Graecia cycle route realization. It is an example of how a regional government works to pursue international sustainability objectives by implementing funding programmes.","PeriodicalId":35178,"journal":{"name":"WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment","volume":"33 33","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138601567","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":"COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL DECARBONIZATION POLICIES: IS IT POSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE CARBON NEUTRALITY BY 2050?","authors":"A. Karaeva, E. Magaril, Irina Rukavishnikova","doi":"10.2495/esus230041","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2495/esus230041","url":null,"abstract":"The complexity of the task of decarbonizing the global economy requires an integrated and coordinated approach from the governments of developed and developing countries, the organization of effective international cooperation and scientific and technological progress in the field of environmental technologies and alternative energy sources. At present, despite the measures taken, the problem of achieving carbon neutrality is the difficulties of abandoning fossil fuels in countries showing significant economic growth and being the largest CO 2 emitters in recent decades. The purpose of this study is to review and analyse the current state of different energy sources consumption by the leading countries in CO 2 emissions, and the projected changes in the global energy system during the fourth energy transition considering possible decarbonization scenarios. The article presents a comparative analysis of national policies and initiatives for the transition to a low-carbon economy and assesses the prospects for achieving the stated targets for reducing CO 2 emissions by 2050.","PeriodicalId":35178,"journal":{"name":"WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment","volume":"17 15","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138601771","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":"CHALLENGES FOR THE PRACTICAL USE OF RECYCLED CONCRETE AS A SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVE IN CONSTRUCTION IN THE MEXICO CITY METROPOLITAN AREA","authors":"Martha Patricia Saldaña Rodea, Gerardo Bernache Pérez, Yasuhiro Matsumoto Kuwabara","doi":"10.2495/esus230271","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2495/esus230271","url":null,"abstract":"Concrete is a building material that generates a large amount of CO 2 and consumes a lot of natural resources. Therefore, people seek to replace it with some type of sustainable concrete (SC). One type of SC is the one made with recycled coarse aggregates (RCA), which come from the demolition and subsequent crushing of concrete elements, commonly used in Mexican construction. This paper analyses the situation of the practical use of this type of concrete in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area, one of the largest and densest cities in the world. Four main challenges to be faced in the application of this type of SC were found: (1) lack of quality control, (2) flexibility in the regulations or their non-existence, (3) time required to safeguard on site, and (4) the social acceptance of the main players in the construction industry. In conclusion, the use of concrete with RCA is a constructively feasible option, however, it requires prior training of the personnel who manage it, in addition to awareness campaigns among the population that increase demand, or else, to be enforced under a mandatory regulation.","PeriodicalId":35178,"journal":{"name":"WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment","volume":"85 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138604423","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":"TECHNOLOGICAL AND ENERGY CHALLENGES IN THE MOST VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES: A STUDY IN THE STATE OF CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO","authors":"Emanuele Giorgi, Camilo Lozoya","doi":"10.2495/esus230141","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2495/esus230141","url":null,"abstract":"Based on the assumption that the technological system is assuming a leading role as a driver of socio-environmental development for contemporary societies, the ‘Design for Vulnerables – Technology Challenge’ research project aims to define strategies to facilitate the adaptation of technological devices in the most vulnerable communities, with the aim of overcoming the socio-environmental threats that contribute to creating situations of vulnerabilities. Defining the most appropriate methodologies to encourage technology adaptation to reduce vulnerabilities remains one of the main challenges for architecture and urban planning. The ‘Design for Vulnerables – Technology Challenge’ research project works with multidisciplinary approaches; there are seven disciplines involved in four communities of the state of Chihuahua, Mexico: Paso del Norte, Chihuahua (urban); Nuevas Delicias, Chihuahua (peri-urban); La Regina, Julimes (rural) and Basaseachic, Ocampo (forestry). With the goal to understand methodologies for technology adaptation and to reduce vulnerabilities, the research group is implementing (together with the residents) tech-based interventions, studying their adaption and evaluating their impact on the built environment. The aim of this article is to: (1) describe the analysis and planning processes conducted with vulnerable communities; (2) describe the projects defined by the communities during the participatory planning process and their relationship with the context; (3) analyse the characteristics of these projects; and (4) observe how these characteristics are related to the technological appropriation and energy limitations of the studied contexts. In the four communities, six ‘hub-oriented’ and ‘tech-based’ projects have been defined together with the residents. All of them had to face energy challenges, trying to demonstrate the possibility of independency and replicability of the projects.","PeriodicalId":35178,"journal":{"name":"WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment","volume":"25 22","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138602762","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":"CARBON FOOTPRINT LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF MODULAR WOODEN CONSTRUCTION","authors":"PIN-CHI Chen, CHI-JEN Chen, SZU-TUNG Kuo","doi":"10.2495/esus230281","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2495/esus230281","url":null,"abstract":"Due to the crisis of global warming, the urban development strategy of low-carbon cities has been consistently proposed. The strategy of energy conservation and carbon reduction has become a significant international effort to quantify environmental issues. The construction industries in many countries are predominantly reliant on conventional construction methods and processes characterized by high energy consumption and carbon emissions. This heavy reliance on steel and concrete has resulted in the depletion of land resources and incalculable environmental costs. Among these methods, reinforced concrete (RC) structures constitute the highest proportion. To mitigate the environment impacts caused by RC structures, the adoption of modular timber building systems as a design solution for lightweight buildings proves to be an effective and prudent strategy. The modules building unit created using timber construction offer benefits such as low embodied energy, carbon storage, shorter erection periods, low waste generation, and improved labour productivity. Consequently, modular timber building systems have the potential to be developed as affordable and high-quality building systems. This study uses the life cycle assessment tool to monitor the environmental impacts of modular timber construction systems during the raw material production and construction stages. The main research objectives are as follows: (1) Conduct a carbon inventory analysis of modular timber construction; (2) Estimate the carbon footprint of the production process for modular timber construction; and (3) Estimate the carbon footprint during the construction stage of modular timber construction. The results will be concluded in different stages as follows: (1) material production stage; (2) construction stage; and (3) net carbon emissions of modular wooden building, and will be compared to the existing related cases as well. The findings of this study will contribute to the sustainable development of construction industry in the future.","PeriodicalId":35178,"journal":{"name":"WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment","volume":"9 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138603056","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":"IMPROVING CHAR AND OIL FOR COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS FROM THE PYROLYSIS OF AUTOMOTIVE SHREDDER RESIDUE THROUGH THE USE OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF CATALYSTS","authors":"Peter Bentley, Karl Williams, Ala Khodier","doi":"10.2495/esus230121","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2495/esus230121","url":null,"abstract":"Pyrolysis of automotive shredder residue (ASR) may be a solution for end-of-life vehicles (ELV) to meet legislative targets and to future proof against any reclassification as a hazardous waste. Prior to pyrolysis commercialization, firm markets for all byproducts produced are required. Identified commercial outlets for byproduct char include: (i) activated carbon; (ii) a soil conditioner and (iii) a partial replacement for cement in concrete. Commercialization of pyrolysis treatment for the UK alone would require outlets capable of taking around 100,000 tpa of char, compliant with quality protocols. The challenge for these applications is any retained persistent organic pollutants (POPS) within the matrix of char particles. A solution would be to break these compounds down during the pyrolysis process through the introduction of catalytic material. This paper explores the effectiveness of four catalysts in reducing the organic contamination within pyrolysis byproducts. A purpose-built lab-based pyrolysis unit (30 g of ASR) was used for initial investigations. ASR (pre-shredded to <10mm) was sourced from a UK ELV recycling company using a systematic sampling approach. A control without catalyst was pyrolysed at 500°C for 30 minutes. Each sample was mixed with the catalyst at a ratio of 1:10. The four catalysts used were: (i) 3Å molecular sieve zeolite; (ii) 4Å molecular sieve zeolite; (iii) MCM-41 mesostructured silica and (iv) AL-MCM-41 mesostructured aluminosilicate. Byproducts were collected and chemically analyzed using organic elemental (CHNS) analysis, FT-IR and GC-MS. Findings indicated that all catalysts offered some improvement in reducing the residual organic fractions in char. 4Å was the most effective, increasing the overall carbon percentage by 17.32%. GCMS and FTIR analysis of the oil indicated that catalysts were effective in deoxygenation without reducing the carbon percentage. In conclusion, catalysts may offer a commercial solution to support the uptake of char as a commercial product.","PeriodicalId":35178,"journal":{"name":"WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment","volume":"19 14","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138604180","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}