scholarly journals Decision Support System to Implement Units of Alternative Biowaste Treatment for Producing Bioenergy and Boosting Local Bioeconomy

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 2306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christos Vlachokostas ◽  
Charisios Achillas ◽  
Ioannis Agnantiaris ◽  
Alexandra V. Michailidou ◽  
Christos Pallas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Optimal Location ◽  
Agricultural Residues ◽  
Local Acceptance ◽  
Biowaste Treatment

Lately, the model of circular economy has gained worldwide interest. Within its concept, waste is viewed as a beneficial resource that needs to be re-introduced in the supply chains, which also requires the use of raw materials, energy, and water to be minimized. Undeniably, a strong link exists between the bioeconomy, circular economy, bioproducts, and bioenergy. In this light, in order to promote a circular economy, a range of alternative options and technologies for biowaste exploitation are currently available. In this paper, we propose a generic methodological scheme for the development of small, medium, or large-scale units of alternative biowaste treatment, with an emphasis on the production of bioenergy and other bioproducts. With the use of multi-criteria decision analysis, the model simultaneously considers environmental, economic, and social criteria to support robust decision-making. In order to validate the methodology, the latter was demonstrated in a real-world case study for the development of a facility in the region of Serres, Greece. Based on the proposed methodological scheme, the optimal location of the facility was selected, based on its excellent assessment in criteria related to environmental performance, financial considerations, and local acceptance. Moreover, anaerobic digestion of agricultural residues, together with farming and livestock wastes, was recommended in order to produce bioenergy and bioproducts.

Circularity in Portugal

2020 ◽  
pp. 224-240
Author(s):  
Ana Cristina Pego
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Sustainable Consumption ◽  
New Production ◽  
Business Decision ◽  
Production Processes ◽  
New Methodologies

The use of renewable energy and recycling products is one of the main achievements of organizations. The circular economy (CE) is a new concept which evolves out of a new management assumption in organizations based on recycling, reuse, and repurposing of products. The circular economy provides a framework for facing challenges and a guide for rethinking and redesigning the future. This chapter analyzes the Portuguese market for circular economy organizations based on discussion of the CE conceptual model. The circular economy is expected to contribute positively by introducing new methodologies for the production of raw materials, with new production processes and giving value to eco products. The challenge for Portuguese organizations is to create management “vectors” which promote networking innovation, labor, capital, and eco products. Overall, the conceptual model presented gives importance to Portuguese business decision making for sustainable consumption, which provides advancements in business for the green supply chain.

scholarly journals Design for and from Recycling: A Circular Ecodesign Approach to Improve the Circular Economy

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 9861
Author(s):  
Jorge Martínez Leal ◽  
Stéphane Pompidou ◽  
Carole Charbuillet ◽  
Nicolas Perry
Keyword(s):  
Product Design ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
Design Phase ◽  
Design For Recycling ◽  
Circular Design

In the context of a circular economy, one can observe that (i) recycling chains are not adapted enough to the end-of-life products they have to process and that (ii) products are not sufficiently well designed either to integrate at best their target recycling chain. Therefore, a synergy between product designers and recycling-chains stakeholders is lacking, mainly due to their weak communication and the time-lag between the product design phase and its end-of-life treatment. Many Design for Recycling approaches coexist in the literature. However, to fully develop a circular economy, Design from Recycling also has to be taken into account. Thus Re-Cycling, a complete circular design approach, is proposed. First, a design for recycling methodology linking recyclability assessment to product design guidelines is proposed. Then, a design from recycling methodology is developed to assess the convenience of using secondary raw materials in the design phase. The recyclability of a smartphone and the convenience of using recycled materials in a new cycle are both analyzed to demonstrate our proposal. The Fairphone 2® and its treatment by the WEEE French takeback scheme are used as a case study.

Many-Attribute Decision Making Using Iterative Attribute Subsets

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Ziegler ◽  
Kemper Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Design Space Exploration ◽  
Design Space ◽  
Space Exploration ◽  
Decision Problems ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Current Design ◽  
Multi Attribute Decision Making

A unique set of cognitive and computational challenges arise in large-scale decision making, in relation to trade-off processing and design space exploration. While several multi-attribute decision making methods exist in the current design literature, many are insufficient or not fully explored for many-attribute decision problems of six or more attributes. To address this scaling in complexity, the methodology presented in this paper strategically elicits preferences over iterative attribute subsets while leveraging principles of the Hypothetical Equivalents and Inequivalents Method (HEIM). A case study demonstrates the effectiveness of the approach in the construction of a systematic representation of preferences and the convergence to a single ‘best’ alternative.

Towards a Green Building: Opportunities and Challenges in Lebanon

2014 ◽  
Vol 935 ◽  
pp. 27-33
Author(s):  
Mohammed Farouk El-Aby
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Resource Depletion ◽  
Rating System ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Current Resource ◽  
Global And Local ◽  
Case Study Methods

Due to the current resource depletion rates, as well as the growing need toward energy and water efficiency, Governments and the private sector adopted the concept of the Green Building, given the fact that buildings are responsible for energy and raw materials on a large scale. That need is clearly manifested in the developing countries facing energy efficiency challenges. Hence, this research highlights the efforts of the governmental and the non-for-profit organizations; represented by Lebanese Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Energy and Water, Lebanon Green Building Council (LGBC) and funded by the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank. The research summarizes the opportunities and challenges of adopting this concept to the benefit of Lebanon and other countries undergoing the same circumstances and facing the same challenges. In the process of reaching a conclusion, the researcher adopted the analytical and the case study methods through two main axes. The former attends to the theoretical studies which include the definition, the principles, the benefits and the global and local rating system of the Green Building. The latter axis addresses the Lebanese experiment through the review of the Opportunities and the Challenges facing the Green Building in Lebanon, and the ARZ Building Rating System. It also illustrates and analyzes a pioneering project in Lebanon that employed the green building patterns, the Ammiq Eco-Restaurant in Bekaa region. The paper is concluded by a set of recommendations that can be the foundation for similar experiences aspiring for adopting the green building as a cornerstone in the arena of sustainable development.

Case Study of Selecting Decision-Making Schemes in Large-Scale Infrastructure Projects

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 06017001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ru Liang ◽  
Zhijie Dong ◽  
Zhaohan Sheng ◽  
Xiangyu Wang ◽  
Changzhi Wu
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Infrastructure Projects

scholarly journals Multi criteria analysis of the energy potential of agricultural residues: The case study of Međimurje County in Croatia

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. e0208
Author(s):  
Sandra Golubić ◽  
Neven Voća ◽  
Stjepan Pliestić
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Biogas Production ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Agricultural Residues ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Energy Potential ◽  
Agricultural Biomass ◽  
Multi Criteria Analysis ◽  
Further Development

Aim of study: The utilization of agricultural residues may become one of the major sources for production of energy from biomass. The objective of this paper was to analyse the type and quantity of agricultural residues and to determine their energy potential.Area of study: The Međimurje County (north Croatia).Material and methods: The paper analyses three models of sustainable agricultural residues management applying the multi-criteria analysis. The assessment included potentially available quantities of residues in crops, fruit, viniculture and livestock production. For determining the most appropriate model of residues utilisation the multi-criteria analysis was applied.Main results: The results show that total quantities of agricultural biomass amount to 323,912 t with energy potential of 1,092 TJ annually. The largest sustainably available potential of agricultural biomass consists of biomass from arable crops production, with total quantity of 33,670 t followed by 281,233 t of manure from livestock production. The lowest share of potential biomass are pruning residues in fruit and grapevine production with total available residual quantity of 8,109 t. Also, it results from the multi-criteria analysis that a central large scale plant for biogas production is the most feasible facility for such production.Research highlights: The results of this paper provide ground for further development of the models for assessing the sustainability of using agricultural residues, and they can also serve as a basis for assessments of bioenergy projects in specific regions of the European Union.

scholarly journals Method of decision making applied to the analysis of the environmental performance of a product: The case study of a Spirit fan

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana Cardoso Braga ◽  
Maria Luiza Almeida Cunha de Castro ◽  
Marlene Teresinha De Muno Colessanti
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Environmental Performance

scholarly journals Application of the circular economy in the industrial scrapmanagement process: a case study in the Açu Port Complex

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Messias Sodré Cunha ◽  
Jully do Nascimento Germano ◽  
Gustavo Tavares Machado ◽  
Frank Pavan de Souza
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Production Cycle ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Productive Activities ◽  
Environmental Treatment ◽  
Environmental Development

The main proposal of the circular economy is to change the concept of "garbage" fromWaste that was structured in this project and replaced by a continuous and cyclical vision of the production, in which resources are no longer just explored and discarded and are now reused in a new Cycle. The Circular Economy encourages new management practices, creating opportunities and value for organizations in harmony with the environment. This article aims to analyze the feasibility of implementing Circular Economy methods, with an emphasis on controlling scrap disposal in the Açu Port Complex (São Joãoda Barra/RJ), bringing sustainable alternatives to Waste Management. In addition to evaluating its environmental and economic efficiency, it proposes to end the linear production process and reinsert waste into the production cycle to minimize environmental treatment and the extraction of raw materials. The investigation will start through specific exploratory research, bringing as a consequence, possible economic alternatives for the reuse of these materials. The research is also classified as descriptiveand case study since a survey of real information on waste management in the Açu Port Complex will be carried out. It is hoped through this research to demonstrate how the circular economy can contribute to economic, social, and environmental development when used in an interdisciplinary way by productive activities.

scholarly journals Calculative measures of organising and decision-making in developing countries: the case of a quasi-formal organisation in Ghana

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Agyemang ◽  
Kelum Jayasinghe ◽  
Pawan Adhikari ◽  
Abongeh Tunyi ◽  
Simon Carmel
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Documentary Analysis ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Traditional Setting

PurposeThis paper examines how a “quasi-formal” organisation in a developing country engages in informal means of organising and decision-making through the use of calculative measures.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a case study of a large-scale indigenous manufacturing company in Ghana. Data for the study were collected through the use of semi-structured interviews conducted both onsite and off-site, supplemented by informal conversations and documentary analysis. Weber's notions of rationalities and traditionalism informed the analysis.FindingsThe paper advances knowledge about the practical day-to-day organisation of resources and the associated substantive rational calculative measures used for decision-making in quasi-formal organisations operating in a traditional setting. Instead of formal rational organisational mechanisms such as hierarchical organisational structures, production planning, labour controls and budgetary practices, the organisational mechanisms are found to be shaped by institutional and structural conditions which result from historical, sociocultural and traditional practices of Ghanaian society. These contextual substantive rational calculative measures consist of the native lineage system of inheritance, chieftaincy, trust and the power concealed within historically established sociocultural practices.Originality/valueThis paper is one of a few studies providing evidence of how local and traditional social practices contribute to shaping organising and decision-making activities in indigenous “quasi-formal” organisations. The paper extends our understanding of the nexus between “technical rational” calculative measures and the traditional culture and social practices prevailing in sub-Saharan Africa in general, and Ghana in particular.

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