Sheep's wool insulation: A sustainable alternative use for a renewable resource?

Material selection in manufacturing may be characterized as a series of trade-offs between characteristics, properties, environmental impacts, sustainability, availability, and economics. Societal concerns about the environmental impacts of construction practices and materials have been expressed through an increase in the demand, production and use of “green” building products. This, combined with a desire to integrate more bioproducts and natural and renewable resources into the construction industry, has extended to the production and promotion of insulation made from sheep's wool.Although substantial literature exists on the insulation properties and other benefits of wool, less is known about the economics and manufacturing processes of sheep's wool insulation at varying scales of production. This paper contributes to this field of enquiry through presentation of the preliminary results of a wool insulation manufacturing pilot project, in which the scale and economics of the production of sheep's wool insulation were considered. Processing techniques, the impact of sheep breed, yield, energy use, and manufacturing costs were also examined. The results of the pilot project indicate that, while sheep's wool insulation produced at a smaller, or artisanal scale shows some potential, scale of operation and volume of production need to be carefully considered in order to ensure long-term sustainability of the operation. Using the least expensive sheep's wool available for the manufacture of wool batt insulation (and thereby reducing production costs) did not, in this pilot study, have a negative impact on productivity or product performance. Diversion of this waste stream of currently less marketable, and consequently less valuable wool, into the production of a green building material may offer small but significant benefit to sheep producers and the broader agricultural community, as well as consumers.     

超声萃取GC/MS法测定电子电气产品中12种邻苯二甲酸酯的含量

建立了超声萃取GC/MS法测定电子电气产品中12种邻苯二甲酸酯类增塑剂的方法。结果表明:该方法简单快速,灵敏度高,相对标准偏差小于10%,加标回收率为86%~109%;样品处理过程中采用化学毒性小的乙酸乙酯作为萃取溶剂,绿色环保。经过对多批次的各种电子电气产品中12种邻苯二甲酸酯分析测定,均得到满意结果。     

昆山市农产品产地环境质量监测与评价

为研究昆山市农产品产地环境质量,采用采样分析方法,对昆山市农产品产地的代表性土壤、灌溉水、渔业水质量进行了定点取样分析检测,在此基础上依据国家相关环境质量标准进行了单因子污染指数法和综合污染指数法评价。结果表明,该市58.1%的耕层土壤为安全、清洁,36.6%的耕层土壤处于警戒限,为尚清洁,3.8%的耕层土壤为轻污染,1.5%的耕层土壤为中污染;76.0%的灌溉水为安全、清洁,24.0%的灌溉水处于警戒限,为尚清洁;73.5%的渔业水为安全、清洁,23.5%的渔业水处于警戒限,为尚清洁,3%的渔业水为轻污染。     

Achieving sustainable lifestyles? Socio-cultural dispositions,collective action and material culture as problems and possibilities

This article focuses on the everyday life of ordinary households, their behaviour and responsibility with regard to environmental and sustainability issues. Previous research has shown that there is a gap between what households perceive as ideologically correct behaviour and what they actually do. It is argued here that socio-cultural dispositions, material culture and collective action need to be included in future strategies for creating more sustainable lifestyles. The investigation is based on a study of families participating in a year-long project in which the families learned to live in a more environmentally friendly way. In the study of the families, material culture interacted with routines, family relations and citizenship in a reproducing manner. The lifestyle changes were gender-biased, with the women as driving forces but also bearing most of the extra workload. From early life experiences, garbage sorting stood out as an especially powerful tool for a change towards more sustainable lifestyles.     

橡胶制品工业工艺废气排放因子探讨——以轮胎企业为例

介绍AP-42、GB27632—2011中橡胶制品工艺废气污染物情况,并与轮胎企业工艺废气污染物实测数据进行比较分析,探讨了工艺废气的排放因子。结果表明轮胎企业工艺废气主要来自于炼胶、硫化工序,排放主要污染物为颗粒物、二甲苯、非甲烷总烃和二硫化碳,排放因子可参照AP-42确定。     

Improving the thermal performance of single-glazed windows using translucent granular aerogel

Cost-effective materials, products and installation methods are required to improve the energy efficiency of the UK's existing building stock. The aim of this paper is to assess the potential for high-performance translucent granular aerogel insulation to be retrofitted over single glazing to reduce heat loss without blocking out all of the useful natural light. In situ testing of a 10-mm-thick prototype panel, consisting of a clear twin-wall polycarbonate sheet filled with granular aerogel, was carried out and validated with steady-state calculations. Results demonstrate that an 80% reduction in heat loss can be achieved without detrimental reductions in light transmission. Payback calculations accounting for the inevitable thermal bridging from openable solutions such as roller shutters or pop-in secondary glazing suggest that a return on investment between 3.5 and 9.5 years is possible if products are consistently used over the heating season. Granular aerogel is a promising material for improving the thermal performance of existing windows. Future research will seek to map out different ways in which the material can be applied to the existing UK housing stock, identifying which systems offer the greatest potential for widespread CO₂ savings over their life cycle.     

Formulation of a Photosensitized Polyethylene Film; Its Structure and Property Variation Under the Weathering Conditions of Tehran

To develop an environmentally degradable polymer material, a masterbatch pro-oxidant system was blended into low-density polyethylene. The polymer film samples were prepared by compression molding. The prepared films were placed under the natural environment of Tehran for weathering studies and accelerated conditions were also performed for UV aging in UV chamber. At different time intervals, the changes in chemical structure of photosensitized polyethylene samples were studied by FTIR and compared to that of the control polyethylene films. Also the mechanical properties of photosensitized polyethylene films were determined in comparison with the control films by measuring the tensile strength and elongation at break after exposure to the natural environment and UV radiation. Results showed that the overall rate of degradation process is clearly dependent on the polyethylene composition, test conditions (natural or accelerated), season of the year, and the duration of the weathering of the samples.     

Review of sustainability management initiatives within Finnish forest products industry companies—Translating Eu level steering into proactive initiatives

Sustainability has become a major focus area within forest products industry. The European operational environment and national environmental steering in EU member states highlight the importance of sustainable development and the development of associated new management approaches to promote sustainability. This article reviews some key elements of sustainability management, covering examples of both Finnish forest products industry initiatives and public environmental steering at the European level. An assessment is made of the current situation and an outline of a future outlook for sustainability management, with special emphasis on bridging the gap between industry initiatives and environmental steering in the form of legislation, policies and strategies at the EU level.This study applied a hybrid approach comprising a review of EU sustainability initiatives, a policy and legal review and a questionnaire survey of forest industry actors. The results of the future outlook indicate that energy efficiency is perceived to be the most important focus area in addition to e.g. environmental and waste management and recycling. Less than half of the companies aim at applying sustainability management. Life-cycle management is also considered to be important whereas product-based approaches, climate change and local industrial symbiosis receive very little attention. All responding companies aim to integrate the principles of sustainability into their operations and most companies consider that life-cycle thinking, management and assessment are useful for them. Energy efficiency is identified as the most important focus area with energy and materials efficiency seen as the most crucial factors for the achievement of responsible competitive advantage and building of sustainable value-added. The findings indicate that sustainability and life-cycle management are not receiving enough management focus at the moment and neither is the industry receiving enough guidance at either the EU level or via national steering and regulatory frameworks.     

南京市化学原料及化学制品制造业能源消耗预测

化学原料及化学制品制造业作为南京市高能耗、高污染产业,对其能源消耗总量及能源消耗结构进行预测,对节能减排具有重要意义。以2002—2012年能源消耗量弱化之后的数据为原始数据,运用灰色GM(1,1)模型对2013—2020年南京市化学原料及化学制品制造业能源消耗总量以及主要能耗进行了预测。由于部分原始数据序列光滑性较差,所建预测模型的精度较低,使用平均弱化缓冲算子对其进行处理。结果表明,处理之后建模精度提高,预测的结果更加准确。     

中国废弃电器电子产品回收体系发展现状及建议研究

随着中国电子产业的飞速发展和人们消费水平的提高,电器电子产品的拥有量和报废量都持续攀升,废弃电器电子产品(以下简称“废电器”)已成为中国增长速度最快的固体废弃物之一。如何规范有效的回收废电器,建立正规回收渠道,完善回收管理体系是中国废电器管理面临的难题之一。通过对中国废电器的定义、特点以及回收链特征进行概述,结合中国废电器回收体系的发展现状,综合分析回收体系建立的必要性,对中国废电器回收体系管理提出对策和建议。