Use of coatings to minimise acid emissions during ceramic tile firing

The manufacture of traditional ceramic products (ceramic tiles, roof tiles, and bricks) is often associated with the emission of F, Cl, and S compounds during the firing stage. According to the literature, fluorine emissions can be reduced by adding CaCO₃ to the raw materials mixture used in fabricating these products. However, data available to the authors indicate that this procedure, which has been successfully applied in manufacturing structural ceramics (roof tiles and bricks), is ineffective in ceramic tile manufacture and modifies tile end properties.This paper examines the possibility of reducing such emissions by applying coatings of alkaline-earth carbonates on to the ceramic tile bottom surface to retain the acid compounds emitted during tile firing. The effectiveness of MgCO₃, CaCO₃, SrCO₃, and BaCO₃ coatings for retaining these acid emissions was studied, using the evolved gas analysis (EGA) technique with a TG-DSC-FTIR-QM instrument.The SrCO₃ coating was found to provide the greatest retention, showing that SO₂ and HCl were retained more efficiently than HF. The presence of fluorides, chlorides, and sulphates of Ca, Sr, and Ba was verified in the respective fired coatings, confirming the existence of chemical reactions between the emitted acid compounds and the coating materials at high temperature.     

Eco-efficiency trends of the Flemish industry: decoupling of environmental impact from economic growth

A methodology for eco-efficiency reporting is proposed with eco-efficiency indicators for climate change, acidification, photo-oxidant formation, human toxicity, freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity, eutrophication, energy consumption and waste generation. The method is applied to emission, consumption and production data of the Flemish industry provided by the Flemish environmental agency for the period 1995–2006. For climate change, acidification, photo-oxidant formation, human toxicity, freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity and eutrophication, the eco-efficiency improved by 39, 55, 41, 58, 72 and 53%, respectively. For each of these impact categories, the total environmental impact decreased despite an increase in production, indicating absolute decoupling of environmental impact from economic growth. The eco-efficiency indicator for energy consumption and waste generation improved by 16 and 14%, respectively. However, due to the increase in production, the total energy consumption and the amount of waste generated increased: for these two environmental themes decoupling from economic growth was relative. Despite the improved eco-efficiency, industry remains one of the main polluters in Flanders. The application of the method to emission, energy consumption and production data of the Flemish industry resulted in a comprehensive and correct source of information for the general public and the government. Moreover, it can serve as a basis for economically and environmentally sound decisions and for the evaluation of the impact of former decisions.     

Eco-efficiency in the Australian minerals processing sector

The resources sector has come to accept that the global quest for sustainable development is one of the key shapers of its future development and business success. While much uncertainty remains regarding the full ramifications of sustainable development, it is uncontested that preventive environmental and resource productivity strategies, or eco-efficiency (EE), are conditional for the minerals industry's ability to progress in sustainable development. A customised framework for EE in minerals processing is proposed. It connects five prevention practices (process design; input substitution; plant improvement; good housekeeping; and reuse, recycling and recovery) with five resource productivity themes (resource efficiency; energy use and greenhouse gas emissions; water use and impacts; control of minor elements and toxics; and by-product creation). These are illustrated with practical examples from gold, base metals, alumina, aluminium and pigment operations in Australia. This illustrates that EE is possible from technical and operational perspectives, with implementation ultimately depending on the ability of project teams to build a convincing business case. Moreover, from a technology perspective, EE can be fostered at three distinct and mutually reinforcing innovation platforms: operations; plant design; and process technology.     

GHG emission projection and mitigation potential for ceramic tableware industry in Thailand

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change - The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the global ceramic production is estimated at more than 400 Mt CO2/year, which have increased...     

Eco-efficiency in the SMEs of Venezuela. Current status and future perspectives

This paper presents a comparison analysis of eco-efficiency in the small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) of Venezuela. The research can be divided into three parts: the first part reviews similar studies in the literature on the level of eco-efficiency exhibited by the companies of Venezuela and other countries. In the second place, the findings of a survey conducted on Venezuelan SMEs allowed the definition of 54 eco-efficiency profiles. Thirdly, six national experts in cleaner production and eco-efficiency were interviewed. The interview was based on a questionnaire similar to that used in the survey of the Venezuelan SMEs. At a second meeting, the experts were asked to discuss on the similarities and differences between their answers and those of the company's managers.The findings of the survey allow us to conclude that Venezuelan SMEs understand the legal environmental regulations that affect them but they do not perceive the influence of external driving forces like customers demand for green products or institutional incentives. The adoption of eco-efficiency practices is not perceived as an incentive to improve competitiveness so that the environmental strategies adopted generally aim at reducing costs or avoiding non-compliance sanctions and negative effects on the company image. Materials recycling and reuse, especially packaging materials, are common practices; however, other environmental tools or practices have not been implemented yet, e.g. environmental management systems (EMS), process, product and services design tools based on the product life cycle, renewable energy resources or green marketing. There are also differences among the eight industrial sectors analyzed, food and chemical industries having the higher index of eco-efficiency practices, and plastic and wood industries the lower.     

面向未来的企业可持续发展必由之路:生态效益

介绍工业生态学中生态效益的基本概念、核心思想和企业向生态效益型发展的必要性和必然性 ,分析了推行生态效益管理的关键和难点 ,并提出我国企业推行生态效益的对策建议。     

生态效率分析在制浆造纸工业项目环境影响评价中的应用

简要阐明生态效率的基本思想,提出资源效率、新水效率、能源效率和环境效率4个生态效率指标的意义和具体计算方法,探讨将工业生态效率分析理论与方法应用到制浆造纸项目环境影响评价的清洁生产分析、生产方案优化设计、环保措施经济技术可行性论证等方面,旨在为同类项目的环境影响评价开拓新的工作思路和方法,为项目的建设和环保管理提供具体和科学的指导.     

基于DEA的上海市非中心城区工业生态效率研究

运用数据包络分析（DataEnvelopmentanalysis,DEA）的方法,从环境污染和资源消耗两个方面,建立了工业生态效率评价的指标体系,评价了2008年上海市非中心城区各区县的工业生态效率。结果表明,松江区处于上海市工业生态效率的前沿面,9个区县中有2／3区县的工业生态效率优于上海市平均水平。其中,崇明、嘉定和青浦处于规模报酬递增阶段,奉贤、闵行、浦东、金山、宝山则处于规模报酬递减阶段。最后,基于C2R模型对各区县的投入产出情况进行了优化调整,认为削减SO2的排放量和减少能源的消耗应是各区县提高工业生态效率的关键。     

日本电力企业环境效率指标应用及借鉴意义

本文以日本电力企业东京电力为案例,详细地介绍、分析了电力企业环境效率指标的定义、计算、实现对策等.在此基础上指出了对我国企业特别是电力企业的借鉴意义,主要表现在增强环境效率意识,开发并公开环境效率指标,改变环境对策投入的观念,扩大环境对策领域等方面.     

Eco-efficiency evaluation of the petroleum and petrochemical group in the map Ta Phut Industrial Estate,Thailand

Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate (MTPIE), located in Rayong province, eastern of Thailand, was developed by the state enterprise, Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand, Ministry of Industry, to serve industries that use natural gas as the main raw material development. This research presents the eco-efficiency evaluation of the petroleum and petrochemical group (PP) in the MTPIE. There are 31 factories in the PP group, which can be divided into three categories: upstream, intermediate, and downstream. The eco-efficiency values of the PP group were evaluated according to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development recommendations. The comparison of eco-efficiency values between three industrial categories in the PP group demonstrates that factories in the downstream category obtained particularly good eco-efficiency results concerning material consumption, water use, and hazardous waste generation. The eco-efficiency trends of the PP group were simply analyzed by snapshot graph. With the availability of the data on environmental indicator, the water use indicator was selected to be an example indicator for analyzing the eco-efficiency trends of the PP group. The eco-efficiency snapshot concerning the net sale and water use during the year of 2003–2005 showed that the eco-efficiency trends of the PP group in the MTPIE shifted from half eco-efficient in 2004 to fully eco-efficient in 2005. This research can provide a basic framework on eco-efficiency evaluation for the industrial sector in Thailand, which will feed into strategic development, and would enable public participation in the discussion on branch developments and contributions to national trends.     

Modularised eco-innovation in the auto industry

The article explores the integration of alternative drivetrain solutions in the automotive industry. The article includes an analysis of the structure of the conventional automotive value chain and presents four examples of alternative vehicle designs. The article concludes that the component sharing across drivetrain solutions such as the battery electric, the hybrid and the fuel cell system opens a window of opportunity for modular design strategies that may make integration into the otherwise locked conventional production system possible.     

域外太阳能产业的现状

在化石能源日益稀缺的背景下,各国均大力发展太阳能利用,其中日本、欧洲国家(德国)和美国等经济发达、能源消耗大的国家起步较早,在技术和应用上都处于领先地位.由于太阳能发电成本较传统能源高,因此需要政府给予政策扶持.从20世纪90年代末开始,欧美、日本等国家纷纷实行"阳光计划",在太阳能发电价格、税收、发展基金等方面给予较大优惠.同时,在政府资助下,欧洲一些高水平研究机构也加大了研究步伐.欧美、日本等国家还制定了长期的能源发展战略,对太阳能的发展进行了长期规划.     

Climate change adaptation in the ski industry

Regardless of the success of climate change mitigation efforts, the international community has concluded that societies around the world will need to adapt to some magnitude of climate change in the 21st century. While some economic sectors (e.g., agriculture, water resources and construction) have been actively engaged in climate change adaptation research for years, adaptation has received scant consideration within the tourism-recreation industry. This is particularly the case for adaptation by tourism operators (supply-side). One exception where progress on supply-side climate adaptation has been made is the ski industry. This paper provides a brief overview of the literature on the implications of climate change for the international ski industry and how adaptation by ski area operators has been treated within these studies. This is followed by an inventory of climate adaptation practices currently used by ski industry stakeholders, including the historical development of certain key adaptations and constraints to wider use. The characteristics of ski areas with higher adaptive capacity are identified. Considering the highly competitive nature of the ski industry and the generally low climate change risk appraisal within the industry, climate change adaptation is anticipated to remain individualistic and reactive for some time. With only a few exceptions, the existing climate change literature on winter tourism has not considered the wide range of adaptation options identified in this paper and has likely overestimated potential damages. An important task for future studies is to develop methodologies to incorporate adaptation so that a more accurate understanding of the vulnerability of the international ski industry can be ascertained.     

Evaluate HAA removal in biologically active carbon filters using the ICR database

The effects of biologically active carbon (BAC) filtration on haloacetic acid (HAA) levels in plant effluents and distribution systems were investigated using the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Information Collection Rule (ICR) database. The results showed that average HAA5 concentrations in all locations were 20.4 μg·L⁻¹ and 29.6 μg·L⁻¹ in ICR plants with granular activated carbon (GAC) and ICR plants without GAC process, respectively. For plants without GAC, the highest HAA levels were observed in the quarters of April to June and July to September. However, for plants with GAC, the highest HAA levels were observed in the quarters of April to June and January to March. This HAA level profile inversely correlated well with water temperature, or biologic activity. For GAC plants, simulated distribution samples matched well with distribution system equivalent samples for Cl₃AA and THMs. For plants with and without GAC, simulated distribution samples overestimated readily biodegradable HAAs in distribution systems. The study indicated that through HAA biodegradation, GAC process plays an important role in lowering HAA levels in finished drinking water.     

基于DEA-Tobit的城市生态效率评价及影响因素研究——以江苏省为例

基于DEA-Tobit两阶段分析框架,利用超效率DEA模型评价了江苏省13个地级市及苏南、苏中、苏北3个区域2009~2013年的工业生态效率,并采用Tobit模型测量了城镇化率、产业结构、环境规制对该效率值的影响。研究表明:江苏省城市工业生态效率整体处于中上水平,但地区间差异较大:苏中优于苏南,苏南优于苏北;工业用水、工业用地消耗过多,工业废气排放过量是目前影响江苏省城市工业生态效率提升的主要原因;提高城镇化率对江苏省城市工业生态效率有积极的影响,产业结构调整对城市工业生态效率有微弱的抑制作用,环境规制对城市工业生态效率影响并不显著。     

中国水务:产业效应亟待引导

21世纪被提升到以"水世纪"命名的意义,时刻提醒着中国公众关注"水短缺"危机,加入保护水资源行动的行列.     

重庆地区锶盐产业可持续发展对策研究

描述了锶的特性;介绍了锶盐在现代工业、化工及军事工程中不可替代的作用;分析了重庆地区锶矿开采、锶盐加工中存在的问题;提出了解决制约锶盐产业可持续发展瓶颈问题的措施。     

Environmental improvements in the metal finishing industry in Australasia

Metal finishing, as an industry, has had a vexed history with the environment and regulatory authorities over many decades throughout the world. Over the past 20 years, this situation has been vastly improved in some developed countries. This paper will examine the industry's recent progress in Australasia and highlight specific issues including new technologies adopted, research projects undertaken, responses to Government legislation and education. Many toxic chemicals have been replaced, recycled in closed loop scenarios and prevented from entering the environment via the atmosphere, water ways or landfilling. This paper is written as a qualitative industry summary rather than an academic study. It is meant to highlight the major changes that have occurred and the reasons why, rather than present documented and detailed evidence. The author has drawn on his 35 years experience in the industry as well as many experienced colleagues from around the world. Although the geographic scope is Australasia, many comments emanate from the state of Victoria because it is still the manufacturing base, especially in relation to the auto industry that has affected the changes to a large degree.