Recycling, reuse and energetic valuation of meat industry wastes in Extremadura (Spain)

The environmental problem caused by the effluents from the four main agrifood industries in Extremadura (W Spain) is evaluated in the present work. In particular, attention is paid to the management of wastes from slaughterhouse operations. Pollution is quantified in terms of equivalent population and biological oxygen demand, for which very high values are reported.Efforts are also focused on the search of viable technical solutions for the treatment of those residues and their energetic valuation. In this sense, anaerobic digestion techniques are proposed, not only because they lead to a drastic decrease in their pollution potential, but also because significant volumes of biogas are obtained. This biogas might be used to produce electricity to be transferred to the electrical network. This way, anaerobic digestion plants would allow depreciation within a relatively short period.In particular, an analysis of the economics of a plant for the codigestion of solid and liquid effluents from meat industry is carried out, and a payback time between 7 and 8 years was achieved.     

Guidelines and legislation for dye house effluents

Increasing attention has been paid over the years to the environmental problems related to industrial activities. Environmental standards have been established and control organisms have been created with a view to applying restrictive legislation. In the dyeing industry, ennoblers discharge in the environment large volumes of strongly coloured effluents that are heavily loaded with pollutants and highly concentrated in salts. This chemical load is generated during the different steps of textile preparation. After reviewing the characteristics of these effluents, this paper gives a comparative review of the current legislations on the dyeing industry emissions. It examines more closely the discharge legislation, first in France and then in other countries around the world. A comparison of the six most representative parameters shows how different the applied constraints are in different countries.     

Fuzzy-based wastewater quality indices for pollution classification: a case study in the United Arab Emirates

This paper presents a fuzzy logic-based tool for assessing the pollution concentration of effluents generated by various industrial and commercial activities. The study proposes a fuzzy overall pollution compliance index (FOPCI) (range 0–100) to classify the wastewater discharged from various types of properties present in Ajman, United Arab Emirates. The work mainly focused on three types of pollution that can occur at the inlets of the wastewater treatment plant of Ajman, due to discharge of industrial and commercial effluents, namely pH pollution, salt pollution, and organic pollution. The proposed FOPCI integrates six characteristics, namely pH, Cl^?, SO₄ ^2?, conductivity, chemical oxygen demand (COD), and fats, oils, and greases (FOG) values into a readily understandable scale. The FOPCI is developed by using the Fuzzy Inference System Toolbox available in MATLAB in two steps, in which during the first step, three sub-indices, namely fuzzy pH compliance index, fuzzy salt compliance index, and fuzzy organic compliance index are developed. It is then processed in the second stage to develop the FOPCI. Fuzzy rules are used to classify effluents quality into six categories based on the concentration of pollutant in the effluent, namely “Excellent Quality”, “Good Quality”, “Acceptable Quality”, “Moderately Polluting”, “Highly Polluting”, and “Extremely Polluting”. This linguistic classification using fuzzy logic will be helpful as a decision support system to provide an outline for the prioritization of plans for wastewater management based on the values of the indices developed.     

Nickel recovery/removal from industrial wastes: A review

Nickel is an important metal, heavily utilized in industry mainly due to its anticorrosion properties. As a consequence, nickel containing wastes such as spent batteries and catalysts, wastewater and bleed-off electrolytes are generated in various processes. These wastes could have a negative impact on the environment and human health if they contaminate soil, water and air. The present review addresses the environmental and economical aspects of nickel recovery/removal from various types of wastes. The main physico-chemical technologies for processing various effluents and wastewaters containing nickel are reviewed and discussed. Nickel recovery from spent batteries, catalysts, electronic waste and other sources is described. Hydrometallurgical approaches are emphasized. Recovery of nickel from wastes is important not only for economical aspects, but also for environmental protection.     

Squandered profit opportunities? Some historical perspective on industrial waste and the Porter Hypothesis

Despite numerous studies, the ‘Porter Hypothesis’ (PH), which states well-designed regulations can compel manufacturers to develop innovations with both economic and environmental benefits, remains unsettled. We examine two significant cases for which PH claims were once made: the British alkali industry and the (Tennessee) Copper Basin smelting operations. Our conclusions are: (1) the PH is based on a flawed understanding of how ‘win win’ innovations spontaneously emerge in competitive settings, (2) regulatory pressures were only one (and typically minor) factor, and (3) “strict and well designed” environmental regulations are unlikely to deliver superior outcomes to traditional property rights-based approaches.     

Use of recycled natural fibres in industrial products: A comparative LCA case study on acoustic components in the Brazilian automotive sector

This paper summarizes the results and the lessons learnt from an LCA case study comparing acoustic automotive components. Three alternative acoustic components produced by the Brazilian automotive sector are considered: dual-layer polyurethane (DL-PU) panel, recycled textile absorption-barrier-absorption (ABA-cotton) panel and recycled textile DL (DL-cotton) panel. DL-PU is a “status-quo” alternative, composed mainly of synthetic plastics and the two other alternatives are mainly made of recycled cotton fibres. Using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method, the three following phases of the panels’ life cycle are examined: production, use and end-of-life. For the latter, two end-of-life scenarios are analysed: landfill and incineration with energy recovery. For the LCA model, some Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) datasets have been adapted from the data available in the EcoInvent database in order to adjust to the Brazilian context. LCA results show that, within the entire life cycle, the DL-cotton option, which combines two layers of recycled fibres of different densities, is overall the best alternative from an environmental perspective. This result is therefore independent from the end-of-life scenario. This is mainly due to the lower weight of this component, which is extremely important for the transportation aspects, but also due to its lower consumption of fossil resources, to the energy saving during its production and to the avoidance of textile disposal that would happen otherwise. The obtained results confirm the available literature dealing with the use of renewable fibres in industrial products. The particular behaviour of recycled fibres compared to virgin ones (in terms of shared contribution of agricultural production and of avoidance of landfilling) is highlighted in this paper, thanks to the application of the “50/50” allocation rule. LCA results are discussed in terms of their potential use in an R&D context. Further research needs are also derived from the case study, including the potential benefits of developing multi-objective optimization methods that include environmental impact to be used in the design of such a component.     

The data game: Measurement,uncertainty, and the challenge of quality

“Measurement, Uncertainty, and the Challenge of Quality,” by Carl Frankel, argues that corporations expect too much of science and measurement, in parallel with a culture that is similarly disposed. While science and measurement are essential to environmental progress, they are also limited in important and often overlooked ways. For instance, risk assessment provides only grossly approximate answers, and subjective quality—a central component of sustainable development—is rarely measured at all. New strategies for measuring the qualitative aspects of experience are urgently required.     

Environmental business management practices for a new age

At the end of the 20th century, business finds itself in a period of transformation and a new emphasis on environmentally responsible practices. Leading-edge companies are now integrating environmental concerns into everyday business activities. Competitive issues, which led to the formation of just-in-time production processes, are now forcing companies to better understand their effects on the environment. Business leaders must now look at environmental issues as opportunities, not burdens. With innovative use of “industrial ecology,” companies can set the stage for long-term growth into the next century. “Business men go down with their businesses because they like the old way so well they cannot bring themselves to change.” Henry Ford.     

Mining and the environment: a case study from Bijolia quarrying site in Rajasthan, India

Mining is essentially a destructive developmental activity, where ecology suffers at the altar of economy. Unfortunately, in most regions of the Earth, the underground geological resources are superimposed by biological resources (forests). This is particularly evident in India. Hence mining operations necessarily involve deforestation, habitat destruction, biodiversity erosion and destruction of geological records which contain information about past biodiversity. Extraction and the processing of ores and minerals also lead to widespread environmental pollution.However, mankind cannot afford to give up the underground geological resources which are the basic raw materials for development. An unspoiled nature can provide ecological security to people but cannot bring economic prosperity. Scientific mining operations accompanied by ecological restoration and regeneration of mined wastelands and judicious use of geological resources, with search for eco-friendly substitutes and alternatives must provide the answer.A case study from the Bijolia quarrying area in Rajasthan, India, provides some sensational revelations of the impact of mining on the human ecosystem.     

Environmental monitoring at Hanford,Washington, USA: A brief site history and summary of recent results

Nuclear and nonnuclear industrial and research activities have been conducted on the Hanford reservation since 1943. Materials originating from these activities may enter the surrounding environment through releases of airborne and liquid effluents and solid wastes. Concern about the environmental effects of these releases has evolved over the past four decades into a comprehensive onsite and offsite monitoring program. Today, environmental monitoring to assess potential impacts of released materials includes field sampling and chemical and physical analyses of air, ground and surface water, fish and wildlife, soil, vegetation, and foodstuffs. This paper reviews the history of Hanford operations and summarizes the current environmental monitoring program and its major findings. Mathematical models based on monitoring data show that radiation doses to people living near the Hanford site are well below existing regulatory standards. Only trace amounts of radionuclides from Hanford have been detected in the offsite environment.     

Industrial symbiosis and waste recovery in an Indian industrial area

Recovery, reuse and recycling of industrial residuals, often dismissed as wastes, are common in India and other industrializing countries largely due to lower associated costs. Some wastes are reused within the facility where they are generated, others are reused directly by nearby industrial facilities, and some are recycled via the formal and informal recycling markets. Direct inter-firm reuse is the cornerstone of the phenomenon termed industrial symbiosis, where firms cooperate in the exchange of material and energy resources. This study applies material flow analysis to an economically diverse industrial area in South India to characterize the recovery, reuse and recycling of industrial residuals. It quantifies the generation of waste materials from 42 companies as well as the materials that are directly traded across facilities and those that are recycled or disposed. This study encompasses a business cluster in Mysore in the State of Karnataka, and is the first in India to thoroughly quantify material flows to identify existing symbiotic connections in an industrial area. Examined industries in this industrial area generate 897,210 metric tons of waste residuals annually, and recovered 99.5% of these, 81% with reused by the companies that generated them, with one company, a sugar refinery, processing most of this amount. Geographic data show that operations within 20 km of the industrial area receive over 90% of residuals exiting facility gates. Two-thirds of this amount goes directly to other economic actors for reuse. This study makes key contributions to the literature in distinguishing how particular types of materials are reused in different ways, the geographic extent of symbiotic activities and the important role of the informal sector in industrial waste management in industrializing regions.     

Green financing,interrupted. Potential directions for sustainable finance in Luxembourg

ABSTRACT

This paper has a quintessentially explorative character. It aims at identifying existing as well as potential (yet missing) links between the finance industry and local businesses that aspire to more sustainable economic practices. Building on the observation that green investments have been gaining weight in global investors’ strategies, we analyse how sustainable – in the most comprehensive sense of the word – green investments could ultimately be(come), when green assets are still managed according to the logic of “financialised finance”. This latter’s technologies of commodification, securitisation and derivatives-trading allegedly oppose alternative economic practices that pursue economic sustainability through social and environmental gains. In contrast, we investigate how the finance industry relates to alternative financial practices, products and organisations that offer sustainability-oriented financing services, – for example, regional banks, cooperatives and the like, – with a specific focus on green, social and solidarity businesses. Both approaches subscribe to apparently contradictory ideologies. We establish a beneficial dialogue between the opposing models of “green capitalism” and “alternative economies” so as to identify potential points of intersection. The context of Luxembourg’s local/regional economies provides a great opportunity to empirically access three levels of investigation: the private sector, the public sector and an international financial centre, a key facilitator for green finance, thus utilising insights from the concept of bricolage. Whilst supporters of Luxembourg’s emerging green finance profile recognise its positive impact on the small country’s national branding, in combination with economic stimuli, more critical commentators point to pure “green washing” effects.     

Transparency,consultation and conflict: Assessing the micro‐level risks surrounding the drive to develop Peru's Amazonian oil and gas resources

Since the 1990s, successive Governments in Peru have sought to expand the exploration and production of the country's oil and gas resources. This economic agenda poses significant opportunities and risks which are usually considered at the macro‐level and framed by debates regarding the so‐called “natural resource curse”. While risks such as “Dutch disease” are important to consider, a worrying set of short‐term issues surrounds the impacts of rapid changes brought on by oil and gas industrial development at the micro‐level, namely, those that affect local communities and the environment. In the case of Peru, this is especially relevant to the vast areas of ecologically sensitive and previously under‐developed Amazonia that are now under concession to oil and gas companies. Low levels of industry transparency combined with a lack of uniform free, prior and informed consent are exacerbating community‐level grievances, and the conflicts to which they can lead. As the oil and gas industry expands in the Peruvian Amazon, the risk of conflict is likely to prove far harder to minimize or ameliorate than are the challenges of managing industry revenues and the risk of currency appreciation most often associated with the natural resource curse.     

新疆“十五”至“十一五”期间影响工业固废产生及排放的主要社会经济因素分析

采用灰色关联分析,找出了影响工业固废量的主要社会经济因素,认为第二产业是影响工业固废的主要因素。第二产业结构比重加大,工业固废量增加。从减少工业固废的角度来看,调整产业结构已是当务之急;环境污染治理投资与工业固废因子关联度最小,说明环保投资已远不能满足环境治理的实际需要,需加大环保投资。     

Control of environmental impact with modern chemical technology

Here are assembled representative excerpts from a new text in applied chemistry. They illustrate the well-referenced treatment of industrial processes that are here considered with their related emission control problems and solutions. A brief account of general aspects of the industry is followed by surveys of the significance and technical aspects of air and water pollution chemistry. Consideration is given to emission avoidance or containment, waste treatment, and waste disposal options as they relate to both of these environmental areas. Details of salt recovery and the products of brine electrolysis plus environmental aspects of these operations are treated as examples of some of the processes discussed. Also covered are fertilizer constituent preparation, formulation, and use with consideration of the large-scale effects of each of these activities. Detailed reference is made to the chemical technology and emission control aspects of the pulp and paper industry and refinery operations. Throughout, integral process changes and waste recycling practices are directly related to emission control aspects of each process in a way to be useful to the student and professional alike. These excerpts are extracted from one of the first, single volume accounts to take this unified approach to the subject.Extract from the bookModern Chemical Technology and Emission Control by M. B. Hocking, published by Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, Tokyo (1985).     

Policy, Principle, and Practice in Industrial Pollution Control: Views from the Regulatory Interface

There has been much criticism of the system for the control of industrial pollution, but not much is known about the views of the regulators and the industry. The objective of this study was to explore the attitudes at this regulatory interface towards the current and proposed regulatory system and make recommendations for improvements. The methodology involved a questionnaire survey sent to over 700 key personnel. Statistical analysis revealed similarities and significant differences between the views of industry and the regulator on the effectiveness of the current regime. Weaknesses related to the derivation and enforcement of standards were identified. The Environmental Quality Standards system was acknowledged to be flawed by both operators and regulators who agreed it should be improved by the expansion of listed chemicals, the introduction of sediment environmental quality standards and direct toxicity assessment of effluents. This paper concludes that these measures should be incorporated into the regulatory system, together with more rigorous enforcement of environmental performance standards including serious sanctions for non-compliance. In the longer term, a reappraisal of the regulatory system is required in order to establish an appropriate framework to ensure that environmental policy commitments are implemented.     

民族地区优势产业振兴路径的三重维度——以广西百色芒果产业为例

民族地区受自然条件、市场和资金等因素影响,产业发展缓慢。从“深度”、“广度”和“融合度”三重维度出发,提升产业层次、培育品牌产业、延伸产业链、挖掘产业附加值、对接生态保护,实现乡村振兴,构建民族地区产业新模式。以百色芒果产业为例,从三重维度出发创新优势产业,总结实践贡献和理论成果,发挥其在西南少数民族地区的示范引领作用,为实现民族地区巩固脱贫攻坚效果和乡村振兴有机衔接做出积极贡献。     

膜法染料废水处理及膜污染的防治

介绍了近年来膜分离技术在染料行业中的应用现状。膜技术的应用包括印染废水的处理、回用等方面。文章同时介绍了膜的污染及其防治等相关方面的内容。     

电子信息行业的水环境压力分析

电子信息行业长期以来都被定义为一个“高产值、低能耗”的清洁产业,其水环境压力经常被低估.以长三角电子信息产业集群的核心地区太湖流域为例,对电子信息行业的水资源消耗、废水和主要污染物排放以及危险废弃物的处置等方面进行了评估,发现高度集聚的巨大产能与特定区域水环境容量的矛盾、污染的产业链转移以及处于“微笑”曲线底部引致的环境投入压力是我国电子信息行业水环境压力的主要表现.