This paper compares the life cycle energy use of a cast-aluminum, rear liftgate inner and a conventional, stamped steel liftgate inner used in a minivan. Using the best available aggregate life cycle inventory data and a simple spreadsheet-level analysis, energy comparisons were made at both the single-vehicle and vehicle-fleet levels. Since the product manufacture and use are distributed over long periods of time that, in a fleet, are not simple linear combinations of single product life cycles. Thus, it is all the products in use over a period of time, rather than a single product, that are more appropriate for the life cycle analysis. Using a set of consistent data, analyses also examine sensitivity to the level of analysis and the assumptions to determine the most favorable materials with respect to life cycle energy benefits.As expected, life cycle energy impacts of aluminum are lower than steel at a single-vehicle level – energy savings are determined to be 1.8 GJ/vehicle. Most energy savings occur at the vehicle operation phase due to improved fuel economy from lightweighting. The energy benefits are realized only very close to the average vehicle life of 14 years. With the incremental growth of the vehicle fleet, it takes longer – about 21 years – for aluminum to achieve life cycle equivalence with steel. The number of years aluminum needs to achieve equivalence with steel was found to be quite sensitive to aluminum manufacturing energy and fuel economy. As the steel industry races to compete with other materials for automotive lightweighting, a systems approach, instead of part-to-part comparison, is more appropriate in the determination of viability of aluminum substitution from an energy perspective. 相似文献
Some wastes contain many reusable substances of high value. Solid leather waste is one such potential waste which can be converted into value added products. This study attempts to prepare leather insoles with acupressure effect from finished leather wastes and used leather wastes. Leather with acupressure effect (LAE) was fabricated using regenerated leather. LAE was characterized physico-chemically using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermo gravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy. Foot pressure measurements were done using LAE insoles on healthy individuals. Results proved that LAE insoles were able to increase the foot pressure of the wearer and thereby created an acupressure effect in them. Wearing of footwear with LAE insoles were beneficial compared to regular insoles. LAE possessed the required mechanical properties for insole production and it was also biodegradable in nature. The study proves that these composites could be successfully used for the production of cost-effective leather goods and therapeutic footwear. Production of useful byproducts from wastes is income generating and at the same time reduces environmental pollution and a feasible technology for waste recycling has been proved in this study. 相似文献
The Barind tract of West Bengal is an area of tropical sub-humid region composed of old alluvial soil. The area has high water demand due to growing population pressure and intensification in agricultural activity. These create huge stress on surface and ground water availability. Continuous withdrawal of ground water has become an alternative source of irrigation water which has also again made the condition critical. Ground water level has been lowered down drastically in many parts in this region. Under this circumstance, it is necessary to delineate potential ground water-bearing layers. Therefore, the present study attempts to identify potential ground water-bearing zones to manage ground water effectively. Instead of usually used parameters for ground water potentiality delineation here only some particular litholog parameters like breadth of water-bearing layer, depth of water-bearing layer, presence of clay layer above or below major water-bearing layer have been considered for delimiting the same. The result shows that out of total area, 60% area (405,382.2 ha) falls under very low to low potential ground water-bearing zone and only 8.19% area (55,634.97 ha) is potential. Considering this spatial pattern of ground water availability, harvesting structure and magnitude of water withdrawing should be designed. 相似文献
Environmental Science and Pollution Research - To investigate the complex Pb-Cd exposure network in school-going children, a thorough investigation of the probable exposure means (diet, water, and... 相似文献
This study is trying to explore the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures and financial performances (FP) through mediating role of the employee productivity (EP). This study classifies the CSR performances into four contexts, for instance, environment social governance (ESG), environmental improvement activity scores of CSR, social welfare activity score, and governance structure improvement score. The banking performance is classified into three different aspects such as returns on assets (ROA), returns on equity (ROE), and nominal interest margin profit (NIMP). The study covers the data set start from 2008 to 2019 regarding thirty commercial banks of China. The study uses the linear, non-linear, and quadratic techniques to explore the association between CSR disclosures and banking performances. The linear model result shows that the governance score is significant influencing the banking performance. Moreover, the employee productivities are also positive significant affecting the baking performances. The non-linear results of model show that composite score of ESG with employee productivity has significant influence on financial performance.
Environmental Science and Pollution Research - There has been alarming depletion of manganese (Mn) reserves owing to the ongoing extensive mining operations for catering the massive industrial... 相似文献
Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The need for sustainable production of renewable biofuel has been a global concern in the recent times. Overcoming the tailbacks of the first- and... 相似文献
A detailed study has been presented on heavy metal content of the Iture Estuary. Waters of the Sorowie and Kakum rivers that
supply water into the Estuary were investigated to ascertain heavy metal pollution levels due to anthropogenic activities.
Concentration s of Cd, Zn, Se and Pb were measured. The study shows pre-occupying pollution levels that constitute a threat
to both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The abundance of metals in the Estuary is in the order Zn > Pb > Cd > Se. The
level of Cd in the Iture Estuary ranged between 0.011 mg/l and 0.041 mg/l while Se was in the range 0.018 mg/l to 0.029 mg/l,
Pb 0.020 mg/l to 0.075 mg/l and Zn 0.040 to 2.45 mg/l. The impact of contaminated water from the Sorowie River on the Iture
Estuary was outstanding and the study points out the importance of the Sorowie River as a primary pollution source to the
Iture Estuary. The pollution of the Iture Estuary was found to be connected to human activities in its catchments. 相似文献
Samples of effluents, sludge, pulp, final products (paper) and soil were collected from the identified pulp and paper mills
in India. The samples were analysed for 2,3,7,8-tetrachloro-dibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD) and other dioxin congeners and
precursors. Pulp and paper mills using chlorine for the bleaching process showed the presence of 2,3,7,8-TCDD in effluent
samples. In the effluent and pulp samples from mills where chlorine dioxide was used as a bleaching agent, the 2,3,7,8-TCDD
congener ranged from below the detection limit 0.05 to 0.12 ngL−1/ngg−1. The relative standard deviation of reproducibility and the percent recovery of 2,3,7,8-TCDD were 2.07 and 82.4% in pulp
and 2.8 and 92% in effluent, respectively. The 1,3,6,8-TCDD was the only other major dioxin congener found in the treated
and untreated effluent and sludge samples. However, dichlorobenzene, trichlorophenyl, and hexachlorobiphenyl were detected
in all samples. The formation of dioxins can be minimised by replacing chlorine with chlorine dioxide in bleaching processes
in pulp and paper mills. 相似文献