Fuzzy AHP-based study of cleaner production implementation in Taiwan PWB manufacturer

In recent years, many electronic manufacturing firms have looked upon Cleaner Production (CP) as the means by which they could maintain environmental practice and competitive advantages. CP has been adopted by companies as an important factor in enhancing industrial productivity. Sustainable projects that deal appropriately with environmental and social factors are also more likely to be the most profitable.This paper investigated the criteria and attributes that determine a successful adoption and implementation of CP in reference to PWB manufacture in Taiwan. Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) methodology is used to discuss the different decision criteria that include Organizing, Systems and Technologies, Measurement and Feedback, Working environment and Worker's Culture which are all vital factors in an effective CP implementation. AHP is an efficient tool in controlling the fuzziness of the data involved in choosing the most preferred decision variables. The linguistic level of comparisons produced by the manufacturers and experts are tapped and constructed in a form of triangular fuzzy numbers in order to construct fuzzy pairwise comparison matrices. The implementation of the system is demonstrated by a problem involving three stages of hierarchy which contains different criteria and attributes at a wider perspective within an environmental uncertainty. The findings advocate that these enterprises would need to setup the priorities of the CP implementation. The results suggest a generic hierarchical model of organizations of which the highest level is to be prioritized among the CP implementation factors.     

昆钢生活垃圾处理现状及综合处理方案分析

根据昆钢生活垃圾处理的现状,分析存在的问题,并对当今生活垃圾处理技术分析比较,结合昆钢实际情况,从管理和技术的角度提出综合处理方案,提高生活垃圾处理利用率,减少垃圾处理量,有效控制二次污染,提高经济效益,改善生活环境。     

At a tipping point? How the debate on biofuel standards sparks innovative ideas for the general future of standardisation and certification schemes

Consumer demand for environmentally and socially responsible products is the driving force behind the expansion of competing certification systems. Paradoxically, this has led to an increasingly crowded marketplace for labels and confusion among stakeholders such as producers, retailers and buyers, rather than providing clear and reliable product information as intended. The situation has sparked a debate about the future of certification schemes and the need for a more streamlined system. This article explores some of the innovative ideas coming from the current discussion regarding biofuel certification and standardisation and outlines how those ideas can be applied to create a global generic standard-setting scheme for natural resources.     

Operational decisions in response to a performance-based regulation to reduce organic waste impacts near Atlantic salmon farms in British Columbia,Canada

Nutrient enrichment of the seafloor (benthos) has been a primary subject of investigation since the beginning of commercial salmon farming. Waste feed and feces passing through the containment nets can create zones of organic enrichment to the benthos in the vicinity of the pen cages. Early studies of salmon farming in British Columbia Canada (500–1200 metric ton production farms) showed that these effects varied greatly and were reduced where conditions of adequate water depth and strong tidal currents were present. More recent studies of farms producing in excess of 2000 tons of fish have documented measurable organic benthic impacts.The implementation of a performance-based waste regulation in British Columbia in 2002 has caused operational changes to achieve and maintain compliance. This paper describes field monitoring data for four representative farm operations including the waste impact levels prior to the implementation of regulatory standards and the effect of adaptive management actions taken to reduce organic enrichment such as modified feed delivery, relatively small position changes to the cages or reducing site production to achieve continuing compliance.Monitoring over several full production cycles at selected farms indicated that sediment impacts at maximum production levels have decreased while maintaining, and in some cases increasing overall production of salmon.     

A 50 MW concentrating solar power plant for Jordan

The potential of concentrating solar power plant (CSPP) technology in Jordan is assessed and the next steps for development of the first CSPP in the country are presented. For this purpose, a prototype of a 50 MW CSPP for electricity generation in Jordan is proposed and analysis of its economic feasibility has been performed. Moreover, a calculation model – using the concept design of the proposed CSPP, and the solar irradiation data – was developed to estimate the energy yield of the plant. Based on the analyzed solar irradiation data, it was found that Jordan has an outstanding potential for CSPP, especially in the southern locations of the country such as Quweira. At the same time Jordan's energy master plan is seeking for independent energy supply and for an increasing share of renewable energies. Furthermore, Jordan's demand curve over a day closely matches the electricity production of the proposed plant. Combination of these factors creates a very favorable situation. Therefore, establishment of the proposed 50 MW CSPP is highly recommended not only in Jordan, but also in many other countries, which have similar political and economical conditions such as those countries located in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.     

Cleaner tanning practices for tannery pollution abatement: Role of enzymes in eco-friendly vegetable tanning

Concern about pollution related problems in the global scenario are persuading all the processing industries to adopt cleaner manufacturing practices. Thus, the leather industry is also under pressure to look for effective alternative tanning materials for chromium. Natural products like vegetable tannins are regaining importance. However, there are limitations in the use of vegetable tanning materials because of its high organic load in the effluent, which are difficult to degrade leading to high chemical oxygen demand (COD). Moreover, conventional vegetable tanning process requires partial pickling that involves the use of sodium chloride, to suppress osmotic swelling. This results in very high amount of total dissolved solid (TDS) content in wastewaters. In this investigation, an attempt has been made to design an eco-friendly vegetable tanning process combining pickle-free tanning and application of proteolytic enzymes to improve the exhaustion of vegetable tannins. Such an approach has resulted in more than 95% tannin exhaustion in the case of the experimental process, an increase of 10% compared with the conventional vegetable tanning process. The tanned leathers showed slight improvement in hydrothermal stability. Physical and tactile evaluation of experimental leathers has been better than conventionally tanned leathers. Surface colour values illustrated negligible variation in colour and shade between control and experimental leathers. The resultant leather showed opened up, split compact fibre structure that has been well coated, indicating that the enzyme assisted tanning process did not bring about any major change or destruction on the fibre structure of the leathers. The optimized system has been field tested in a commercial tannery. The results showed that the enzyme assisted tanning process is efficient in terms of improved quality of leather and also led to reduction in total solids (TS), chlorides and COD loads. The enzyme assisted tanning system presented appears to be a viable option for combating pollution arising from the conventional vegetable tanning system.     

Development of vermicast from sludge and powdered oyster shell

Soil acidification is one of the rising land degradation issues facing world agriculture. The risk of acidification is currently being assessed as part of agriculture productivity and sustainable theme. This study was conducted to produce a new vermicomposting cast as a recycling resource derived from municipal sewage sludge and waste oyster shell. The earthworm, Eisenia Andrei, was fed under different conditions. The most suitable mixture was 77:23 w/w% of sewage sludge and waste oyster shell. Powdered oyster shell (POS) sludge blend provided a stable pH, due to its buffering capacity during vermiculture because of the Ca²⁺ and OH^? release effect. The vermicast products fulfilled the cast standards of Korea Ministry of Environment for all the parameters such as moisture content, pH, salinity, organic carbon, TKN, Phosphate, and heavy metals. Slowly released organic matter when added to soil improves the capacity of the soil to hold nutrients for plants, improve soil aeration for roots, and improves soil drainage. This product will be an addition to already-commercialized sludge vermicast as a higher value product.     

水解酸化-SBR-BAF工艺处理中药废水

分析现有中药废水处理工艺及废水特点,并考虑到废水处理技术改造的要求,采用水解酸化-SBR-BAF法联合处理该中药废水,研究了SBR反应器的曝气时间、温度及原水pH值对系统处理效果的影响。系统进水ρ(COD)为1 249.4~1 444.5 mg/L、ρ(BOD5)为201.2~292.8 mg/L、ρ(SS)为208.7~310.6 mg/L、色度为70~100倍,曝气时间为14 h、温度为20℃、pH值为7时,出水ρ(COD)为123.4~140.8 mg/L、ρ(BOD5)为19.4~26.1 mg/L、ρ(SS)为32.7~60.4 mg/L、色度为36~50倍,COD、BOD5、SS的平均去除率分别达到90.3%、90.7%、81.8%,表明HAT-SBR-BAF法处理该中药废水是可行的。     

一种新型旋风气幕式排风罩数值模拟研究

利用Fluent计算流体力学软件对新型旋风气幕式排风罩工作流场及有害物分布进行了数值模拟,并与传统排风罩进行了对比。结果表明:旋转射流屏蔽作用下的抽吸流场具有中部压力较低和提高抽吸能力的作用;新型旋风气幕式排风罩不仅能有效地控制有害物扩散,而且可以实现远距离捕集有害物及以较小的排风速度排放有害物。