The application of system dynamics in different practices of a waste management system

The continuous increase in waste generation warrants global management of waste to reduce the adverse economic, social, and environmental impact of waste while achieving goals for sustainability. The complexity of waste management systems due to different waste management practices renders such systems difficult to analyze. System dynamics (SD) approach aids in conceptualizing and analyzing the structure, interactions, and mode of behavior of the complex systems. The impact of the underlying components can therefore be assessed in an integrated way while the impact of possible policies on the system can be studied to implement appropriate decisions. This review summarizes various applications of SD pertinent to the waste management practices in different countries. Practices may include waste generation, reduction, reuse/recovery, recycling, and disposal. Each study supports regional-demanding targets in environmental, social, and economic scopes such as expanding landfill life span, implementing proper disposal fee, global warming mitigation, energy generation/saving, etc. The interacting variables in the WMS are specifically determined based on the defined problem, ultimate goal, and the type of waste. Generally, population and gross domestic product can increase the waste generation. An increase in waste reduction, source separation, and recycling rate could decrease the environmental impact, but it is not necessarily profitable from an economic perspective. Incentives to separate waste and knowledge about waste management are variables that always have a positive impact on the entire system.

     

Simultaneous removal of cyanobacterial blooms and production of clean water by coupling flocculation with a rotary drum filter

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A comprehensive review on green buildings research: bibliometric analysis during 1998–2018

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A comparison analysis of the decoupling carbon emissions from economic growth in three industries of Heilongjiang province in China

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The land carrying capacity and environmental risk assessment of livestock and poultry breeding considering crop planting

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - At present, the contradiction between survival and ecology necessitates the integration of crop planting, chemical fertilizer application, and...     

Lithium extraction from salt lake brines with high magnesium/lithium ratio: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The demand for lithium is growing rapidly with the increase in electric vehicles, batteries and electronic equipments. Lithium can be extracted from brines, yet...     

Study on coupling between mineral resources exploitation and the mining ecological environment in Shanxi Province

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Due to rapid socioeconomic development, seeking the coordination of resources exploitation and the ecological environment has become an objective...     

Research progress and hot spots of hydrothermal liquefaction for bio-oil production based on bibliometric analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of biomass used HTL reaction under high temperature and pressure to produce bio-oil. This technology is considered as...     

Utilization of iron ore tailing for the synthesis of zeolite A by hydrothermal method

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The research of market structures for remanufactured products

The rapid development of technology has made it easier to distribute products directly, and many enterprises excel at executing a multi-channel strategy to distribute products. The introduction of direct channel adds a new competition dimension to the enterprises. This paper considers three market channel structures: R-Channel, D-Channel and H-Channel. In R-Channel, both new products and remanufactured products are sold through a retailer. In D-Channel, new products are sold through retailers and remanufactured products are sold directly to consumers. In H-Channel, new products are sold through retailers, while remanufactured products through dual channel. Using the game theory, we obtain and analyse the equilibrium prices, market demands and the profits gain under these three settings. At the same time, the influence of consumers’ willingness to pay on the environment performance is researched. Our results show that the manufacturer prefers H-Channel. By introducing the direct channel the manufacturer is always economically better off, but it is not for the retailer. The numerical simulation also confirms the theoretical analysis and shows that H-Channel has advantages of economic benefit and environmental performance. It is feasible for practical application.