Environmental impacts of a dairy cheese chain including whey feeding: An Italian case study

2017 ◽  
Vol 140 ◽  
pp. 881-889 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Palmieri ◽  
Maria Bonaventura Forleo ◽  
Elisabetta Salimei
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Italian Case ◽  
Whey Feeding

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES OF REFURBISHMENT VERSUS DEMOLITION AND RECONSTRUCTION: A COMPARATIVE LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF AN ITALIAN CASE STUDY

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 155-172
Author(s):  
Francesco Pittau ◽  
Dayana Giacomel ◽  
Giuliana Iannaccone ◽  
Laura Malighetti
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Demolition Waste ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
Italian Case

ABSTRACT In the building sector, new standards for energy efficiency are reducing the energy consumption and the carbon emissions for building operation to nearly zero. As a result, the greenhouse gas emissions and related environmental impacts from materials production, and especially insulation, are becoming key factors. In the near future, most of the building stock is expected to be refurbished and a great amount of construction materials will be consequently required. A relevant share of waste is generated from building construction and demolition and limiting the volume is a priority of the EU community. In this work the renovation of industrial buildings in a dismissed area located in Lecco, Italy, was considered as a case study. Five alternative construction systems (EPS, WOOD, ROCK, PU, HEMP) for renovating the building envelopes were assumed, and a life cycle assessment (LCA) adopted in order to measure the environmental impact of each alternative. The results were compared with a scenario which included demolition and reconstruction of a similar building with the same net volume and thermal resistance. The results showed that timber and concrete are the most environmentally friendly materials to rebuild the structures in case of demolition, contrary to steel which leads generally to higher environmental impacts, except land use. In general, EPS, WOOD and HEMP technological alternatives accounted for the highest scores, both in terms of burdens on the ecosystems and on depletion of resources, while ROCK accounted for the lowest scores. Finally, refurbishment scenarios generally accounted for a lower global warming potential (GWP) even if demolition, waste treatment and the benefit from recycling/reuse are taken into account.

scholarly journals Optimizing the Environmental and Economic Sustainability of Remote Community Infrastructure

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie E. Filer ◽  
Justin D. Delorit ◽  
Andrew J. Hoisington ◽  
Steven J. Schuldt
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Remote Communities ◽  
Remote Community ◽  
Rural Villages ◽  
Sustainable Technologies ◽  
Study Results

Remote communities such as rural villages, post-disaster housing camps, and military forward operating bases are often located in remote and hostile areas with limited or no access to established infrastructure grids. Operating these communities with conventional assets requires constant resupply, which yields a significant logistical burden, creates negative environmental impacts, and increases costs. For example, a 2000-member isolated village in northern Canada relying on diesel generators required 8.6 million USD of fuel per year and emitted 8500 tons of carbon dioxide. Remote community planners can mitigate these negative impacts by selecting sustainable technologies that minimize resource consumption and emissions. However, the alternatives often come at a higher procurement cost and mobilization requirement. To assist planners with this challenging task, this paper presents the development of a novel infrastructure sustainability assessment model capable of generating optimal tradeoffs between minimizing environmental impacts and minimizing life-cycle costs over the community’s anticipated lifespan. Model performance was evaluated using a case study of a hypothetical 500-person remote military base with 864 feasible infrastructure portfolios and 48 procedural portfolios. The case study results demonstrated the model’s novel capability to assist planners in identifying optimal combinations of infrastructure alternatives that minimize negative sustainability impacts, leading to remote communities that are more self-sufficient with reduced emissions and costs.

scholarly journals Product-Service Systems and Sustainability: Analysing the Environmental Impacts of Rental Clothing

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2118
Author(s):  
Emma Johnson ◽  
Andrius Plepys
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Service Systems ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Fast Fashion ◽  
Product Service ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Environmental Savings ◽  
Product Service Systems

Business models like product-service systems (PSSs) often recognise different sustainability goals and are seen as solutions for the impacts of consumption and fast fashion, but there is a lack of evidence supporting the environmental claims of such business models for clothing. The research aimed to understand if rental clothing business models such as PSSs have the environmental benefits often purported by quantifying the environmental impacts of rental formal dresses in a life-cycle assessment (LCA) in a case study in Stockholm, Sweden. The effects of varying consumer behaviour on the potential impact of a PSS vs. linear business model are explored through three functional units and 14 consumption scenarios. How users decide to engage with clothing PSSs dictates the environmental savings potential that a PSS can have, as shown in how many times consumers wear garments, how they use rental to substitute their purchasing or use needs, as well as how consumers travel to rental store locations.

scholarly journals Investigations on historical monuments’ deterioration through chemical and isotopic analyses: an Italian case study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Ricciardi ◽  
Concetta Pironti ◽  
Oriana Motta ◽  
Rosa Fiorillo ◽  
Federica Camin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Potassium Nitrate ◽  
Sewage Water ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
Italian Case ◽  
Historical Monuments ◽  
Isotopic Analyses ◽  
Historic Centre ◽  
The Church

AbstractIn this paper, we analysed the efflorescences present in the frescos of a monumental complex named S. Pietro a Corte situated in the historic centre of Salerno (Campania, Italy). The groundwater of the historic centre is fed by two important streams (the Rafastia and the Fusandola) that can be the sources of water penetration. The aims of this work are to (i) identify the stream that reaches the ancient frigidarium of S. Pietro a Corte and (ii) characterize the efflorescences on damaged frescos in terms of chemical nature and sources. In order to accomplish the first aim, the water of the Rafastia river (7 samples) and the water of the Fusandola river (7 samples) were analysed and compared with the water of a well of the Church (7 samples). The ionic chromatography measurements on the water samples allowed us to identify the Rafastia as the river that feeds the ancient frigidarium of S. Pietro a Corte. To investigate the nature and the origin of the efflorescences (our second aim), anionic chromatography analyses, X-ray diffraction measurements, and the isotopic determination of nitrogen were performed on the efflorescences (9 samples) and the salts recovered from the well (6 samples). Results of these analyses show that efflorescences are mainly made of potassium nitrate with a δ15N value of + 9.3 ± 0.2‰. Consequently, a plausible explanation for their formation could be the permeation of sewage water on the walls of the monumental complex.

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