Techno-Economic Assessment of Three Modes of Large-Scale Crop Residue Utilization Projects in China

In China, the non-exploitation of bioenergy poses major problems and challenges. To solve bioenergy problems, considerable efforts have been made to expedite the construction of large-scale crop residue utilization projects. In this study, three principal supported modes of large-scale crop residue utilization projects were taken as empirical cases in Hubei province bioenergy planning. In terms of the overall benefit and sustainable development, a third-grade evaluation index system was established. The analysis was carried out using the analytical hierarchy process, principal component projection, and grey relational analysis. The conclusion indicates that according to the evaluation values, the sequence from best to worst was crop residue biogas project, crop residue briquette fuel project, and crop residue gasification project. Nevertheless, there was no remarkable difference in the overall evaluation values. The biogas project had certain advantages in terms of the production cost, soil improvement, and expenditure saving, whereas the gasification project was comparatively insufficient in environmental efficiency, product benefit, by-product disposal, and technical rationality. According to actual evaluation results, the unilateral determination approach of the single weight index can be seen as being overcome through the unified adaptation of the evaluation methods. The research results can serve as a reference for making investment decisions to build large-scale crop residue utilization projects.

A Systematic Literature Review of Concepts and Factors Related to Pro-Environmental Consumer Behaviour in Relation to Waste Management Through an Interdisciplinary Approach

Although there has been a steady increase in the number of studies on consumer behaviour in relation to sustainable development, there is limited focus on the product disposal phase. This systematic literature review intends to: (1) clarify how concepts related to pro-environmental consumer behaviour are understood and analysed in the academic literature on waste management; (2) discover any interplay between pro-environmental consumer behaviour and generic consumer behaviour, and the conditions and factors that favour it. A typical systematic literature review methodology was applied to the papers available on Web of Science, Science Direct and EBSCO (Elton Bryson Stephens Company) host between 1975 and 2019, leading to the selection of 699 final papers. The findings reveal that: (1) Although scholars tend to create a variety of pro-environmental consumer behaviour models depending on their specific field of inquiry, all approaches can be traced back to a limited number of reference theories; (2) The overall level of interplay between pro-environmental consumer behaviour and generic consumer behaviour is limited, nevertheless a favourable context or a supportive institutional-legal framework can significantly influence it; (3) A plethora of conditions and factors favour this type of interplay, involving social psychology, laws, economics, institutions and more; (4) Several critical issues appear in the analysed papers, especially some scholars’ assumptions to be able to identify all key factors. It follows the need for a more interdisciplinary approach, a deeper analysis of the effectiveness of the intervention measures at the governmental and institutional level, and a clear classification of factors and conditions (as proposed by this review).

The Persuasive Effect of Competence and Warmth on Clothing Sustainable Consumption: The Moderating Role of Consumer Knowledge and Social Embeddedness

Commonly, most companies regard consumer satisfaction to be their major goal. Companies have in the past been focusing on consumer choice in product sales from a utility theory perspective. However, these days, in addition to personal choice, clothing disposal and sustainable consumption are also becoming main concerns of consumers because of growing environmental problems in many parts of the world. In this research, two studies were conducted, and the results of study 1 were economic factors that affected sustainable consumption behavior positively, and competence cognition was the basis of this effect. A philanthropic factor also positively influenced sustainable consumption behavior, and this effect was mediated by warmth cognition. Economic factors influenced consumers’ product disposal behavior not only through competence cognition but also through warmth cognition. Therefore, to encourage disposal behaviors, such as recycling and donation, strategies are needed that can appeal to economic advantages. Study 2 examined the clothing disposal behavior considering environmental economic factors by scenarios. As a result, it was confirmed that environmental economics factors influenced clothing disposal behavior. In addition, we could confirm the moderated mediating effect as well as the moderating effects of knowledge level. The implications of these results and some suggestions for future research are discussed.

Intricate Analysis of Potential Materials for Sustainable Product Development

Raw materials are scarce and are exponentially depleting. Material usage and product disposal both lead to improvidence of raw ingredients for products. We use materials for manufacturing new products while simultaneously throwing away used non-biodegradable products which pollute the environment. The world of designing and manufacturing needs to use new material(s) which can be selected using the methodology proposed in the research text. To select the best material for a product, its environmental impact, cost and properties that decide the quality of a product are plotted in a 3 dimensional space. Now the threshold limit of quality defining properties is obtained through experimentation. Cutoff cost is decided through market research and then environmental impact is minimized. The material beyond the cutoff planes is rejected and the best among the remaining materials is selected. The product developed using this method for material selection will contain the negative environmental impact during manufacture, use and expenditure of used products and thus helping sustainable development.Keywords: Sustainability, Life Cycle Analysis, Material selection, Cost optimization, Environmental Repercussion, Mechanical properties

The Use of Products Disposal of Bottoms Residues as a Hydrophobic Additive

The most rational direction of disposal of industrial waste is their use in obtaining products for construction purposes, such as concrete. For the purposeful regulation of the structure and properties of cement mortars and concretes, special highly effective additives-modifiers to concrete are widely used to increase strength and durability. In this paper, it was proposed to use the product disposal of bottoms residues as a hydrophobic additive – a composite material in the form of a fine powder. Disposal products, containing in their composition hydrophobic wax substances and silica-containing sorbents, give strength and water resistance to cement brick due to the manifestation of the acquired property of bulk hydrophobization. By keeping the samples in a solution of Na2SO4, the hydrophobic properties of the disposal products were confirmed. Concrete with the addition of a disposal product, obtained on the basis of the decontamination composition CaO:SFDP:spent silica gel, has the best performance.

The Effects of Consumers’ Perceived Values on Intention to Purchase Upcycled Products

As concerns around today’s environmental problems increase, there is a growing need for consumers to accelerate their sustainable behaviors relating to product disposal such as product reuse and product life extension. The purpose of this study was to investigate consumers’ value perceptions and their intentions to purchase upcycled products. This study identified the total perceived utility of upcycled products as six values that influence different levels of product attitude, which, in turn, affect purchase intention. In addition, the study examined the moderating role of purchase experience in the relationship between perceived value and product attitude. Survey data from 413 people in the United States were used to test our hypotheses. We found that three values (i.e., green, emotional, aesthetic) had a significantly positive effect on both product attitude and purchase intention. The moderating effect of purchase experience was found only on the paths between green and functional values and product attitude. The findings offer implications for academics, practitioners, and policymakers in designing strategies that encourage people to purchase upcycled products. We conclude that organizations should design strategies that maximize the emotional and aesthetic values of upcycled products using varied and engaging content, such as storytelling, based on each product’s background.