Search results for "Cycling"
showing 10 items of 516 documents
Cool barnacles: Do common biogenic structures enhance or retard rates of deterioration of intertidal rocks and concrete?
2017
Sedentary and mobile organisms grow profusely on hard substrates within the coastal zone and contribute to the deterioration of coastal engineering structures and the geomorphic evolution of rocky shores by both enhancing and retarding weathering and erosion. There is a lack of quantitative evidence for the direction and magnitude of these effects. This study assesses the influence of globally-abundant intertidal organisms, barnacles, by measuring the response of limestone, granite and marine-grade concrete colonised with varying percentage covers of Chthamalus spp. under simulated, temperate intertidal conditions. Temperature regimes at 5 and 10 mm below the surface of each material demons…
Materials recovery from WEEE: current situation in Sicily.
2012
The potential recovery of materials and energy in one year in Italy and in Sicily was estimated assuming that all WEEEs were gathered through the collection – treatment – disposal system implemented according to the rules in force. The embodied energy (EE) recovery associated to material recovery was also estimated, starting from standard values of EE and from yields declared for each component. Mass fractions composition for some categories of WEEE given by a facility in Catania agree with the national averages. Starting from data given by another facility - located in Siracusa - which processes all the five R categories (R1 to R5), potential mass and energy recovery was estimated for this…
Interpreting Life Cycle Assessment results of bio-asphalt pavements for more informed decision-making
2020
Due to emerging climate challenges, engineers are looking to replace the conventional asphalt pavements by utilizing bio-materials combined with Reclaimed Asphalt (RA). However, there is insufficient record in the literature assessing their environmental performance. This study addresses the analysis of the results obtained from a life cycle assessment exercise of asphalt pavements containing bio-materials and RA within their binder courses, developed within the BioRePavation project. The aim is to analyze the environmental benefits achieved, by means of hotspot mapping and sensitivity analysis of the most impactful factors of their lifecycles. Two alternatives are compared to a conventiona…
Rheological investigation on the ageing performance of bio-recycled asphalt binders and mixtures
2023
The current need to move towards more sustainable technologies in the construction sector has promoted the investigation of using alternative materials in asphalt mixtures for pavements. Biomaterials, used as biobinders, have shown their potential as partial replacement of bitumen in asphalt mixtures as solution to decreasing the demand for fossil-fuel-based binders as well as CO2 emissions. However, more research is needed to increase the replacement of bitumen in asphalt mixtures. In this investigation,biobinders are used as full replacement of virgin bitumen and as recycling agent within asphalt mixtures with high Reclaimed Asphalt (RA) content. Blends of biobinders and RA binders, and b…
Properties of blended mortars produced with recycled by-products from different waste streams
2023
The construction industry encounters significant challenges in effectively managing solid waste produced during the extraction and production of building materials. In different countries, slurry waste generated from granite and marble processing industries, such as glass industry waste, constitutes a considerable portion of the total solid waste. Its undesirable disposal is causing unprecedented environmental damage. Using these non-biodegradable wastes to produce building materials would reduce the environmental burden and contribute to sustainable construction. This study, in detail, investigates the feasibility of utilizing Granite Powder (GP), Ground Granite Powder (GGP), and Ground Gl…
ISOLAMENTO TERMICO: DAL RICICLO ALL’INNOVAZIONE
2016
Il mondo dell’edilizia è sempre più esigente in ambito di sostenibilità dell’involucro edilizio. Le prestazioni di isolamento termico devono rispondere ai valori qualitativi e quantitativi, sempre più restrittivi, imposti dalla normativi a scala europea e nazionale. I filoni di ricerca che si sono conseguentemente sviluppati, spaziano dalle tematiche dell’impiego di materiali rinnovabili, al riuso e riciclo di materiali di scarto della produzione industriale fino alla sperimentazione di soluzioni innovative che prevedono sistemi di tipo sottovuoto. La memoria presenta i risultati ottenuti su sistemi di isolamento termico che riciclano il materiale di scarto della potatura dell’Opunthia Ficu…
TEMI E PROGETTI DI ARCHITETTURA NELLA CITTA’ AL TEMPO DELLA CRISI
2017
La città comeluogo complesso e multiforme di relazioni, identità, conoscenze, consumi, conflitti e integrazioni, ma anche economie e forme di produzione di beni materiali e immateriali, continua ad essere illuogo privilegiato del nostro immaginario e dei nostri progetti. È proprio sulla città e i suoi abitanti chela crisi si manifesta più duramente conla conseguente perdita di competitività e di attrattività. In questo ambito, è possibile affrontare il tema della crisi dell'architettura, sottraendolo a una interpretazione esclusivamente economica, solo se si è in grado di conoscerela complessità attuale, richiamandol'attenzione, in Italia come altrove, verso modelli innovativi ispirati a pr…
LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT-DRIVEN SELECTION OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY STRATEGIES
2010
The paper presents an application of the Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) to the planning and environmental management of an ‘‘eco-industrial cluster.’’ A feasibility study of industrial symbiosis in southern Italy is carried out, where interlinked companies share subproducts and scraps, services, structures, and plants to reduce the related environmental impact. In particular, the research focuses on new recycling solutions to create open recycling loops in which plastic subproducts and scraps are transferred to external production systems. The main environmental benefits are the reduction of resource depletion, air emissions, and landfilled wastes. The proposed strategies are also economically…
Reprocessing of polyethyleneterephthalate and characterisation of monopolymer blends of virgin and recycled polymers
1997
Recycling of polyethyleneterephthalate (PET from bottles is considered by changing both reprocessing machines and the effect of humidity. The rheological and mechanical properties of this recycled material remain very close to that of the virgin material provided that a careful drying is carried out before any melt operation. The reprocessing has been carried out mainly in view of the use of this secondary material in blends with virgin PET-monopolymer or homopolymer blends. Indeed, this use is a common industrial practice to reuse plastic scraps. Most monopolymer blends show properties between those of the two components but in some cases lower than those expected on the basis of an additi…
Towards the implementation of circular economy in the water softening industry: A technical, economic and environmental analysis
2020
Abstract To reduce the environmental impact of the industrial sectors, circular strategies should be implemented to purify the effluents and recover raw materials. In this context, a novel integrated methodological approach is proposed to identify the most suitable strategy to improve the sustainability of the water softening industry via the treatment and recycling of the produced wastewater. Different concentration technologies and energy supply systems are compared to find economically feasible and environmentally friendly treatment systems. The investigated chains present the same pre-treatment step (nanofiltration and crystallization) and different concentration technologies: Multi-Eff…