Search results for "ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT"
showing 10 items of 301 documents
Bioaccumulation, Biodistribution, Toxicology and Biomonitoring of Organofluorine Compounds in Aquatic Organisms
2021
This review is a survey of recent advances in studies concerning the impact of poly- and perfluorinated organic compounds in aquatic organisms. After a brief introduction on poly- and perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) features, an overview of recent monitoring studies is reported illustrating ranges of recorded concentrations in water, sediments, and species. Besides presenting general concepts defining bioaccumulative potential and its indicators, the biodistribution of PFCs is described taking in consideration different tissues/organs of the investigated species as well as differences between studies in the wild or under controlled laboratory conditions. The potential use of species as bioi…
The impact of landfills on the air quality of towns: A simple heuristic model for the city of Palermo
2009
In this study, the landfill of Palermo, is investigated as a potential source of the unusual methane concentrations found in the urban context. The source for these pollution episodes is identified by means of a simple heuristic method. A cross-correlation analysis between wind data and methane concentration levels is also used to confirm the hypotheses formulated. Doppler Sound Detection And Ranging (SODAR) measurements are used to investigate the air masses dynamics at the landfill, in order to better support the adopted assumptions. This interpretative method can be adopted in the first assessment stages of the environmental site performance in order to single out the candidate pollution…
Towards A New Decision Support System for Design, Management and Operation of Wastewater Treatment Plants for the Reduction of Greenhouse Gases Emiss…
2015
The increasing attention paid to the environment has led to a reduction in the emissions from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Moreover, the increasing interest in the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from WWTPs suggests that we reconsider the traditional tools used for designing and managing WWTPs. Indeed, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and methane can be emitted from wastewater treatment, significantly contributing to the greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint. The reduction of energy consumption as well as GHG emission are of particular concern for large WWTPs which treat the majority of wastewater in terms of both volume and pollution load. Nowadays, there is an increasing need to develop new …
The precautionary principle and management of uncertainties in EIAs – analysis of waste incineration cases in Finland
2013
This article examines whether and how the practice of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) serves the idea of the precautionary principle. The article provides an empirical examination and description of how uncertainties and risks were dealt with in conclusive outputs of EIAs of chosen example cases of Finnish waste incineration projects. The analysis focuses on the time when several incineration projects were in the planning phase in Finland and the effects of this development were seen as being controversial. The findings of the analysis are evaluated against a legislative and theoretical framework. The challenges and strengths of the practice are identified. The article suggests that…
Comparison of the environmental assessment of an identical office building with national methods
2019
The IEA EBC Annex 72 focuses on the assessment of the primary energy demand, greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts of buildings during production, construction, use (including repair and replacement) and end of life (dismantling), i.e. during the entire life cycle of buildings. In one of its activities, reference buildings (size, materialisation, operational energy demand, etc.) were defined on which the existing national assessment methods are applied using national (if available) databases and (national/regional) approaches. The ?be2226? office building in Lustenau, Austria was selected as one of the reference buildings. TU Graz established a BIM model and quantified the amou…
Modeling and Analysis of a New Process for Pyruvate Production
2005
Early process development is crucial for the economic and environmental performance of a final production process. A new process for the production of pyruvate is presented as a case study to show how process modeling and an analysis of the results regarding economic and environmental aspects improves the understanding of the process, its cost structure, and its environmental impact. It also enables the quantification of process improvements and the comparison of alternative designs. The model of the pyruvate production shows how strain and fermentation improvements propagate through the process and affect its economic and environmental performance. The comparison of two alternative purific…
Scaling-up processes: Patents and commercial applications
2020
There is currently a great demand for fish and seafood products. However, their high consumption produces large quantities of by-products that can be an ecological problem. That is why it is necessary to look for alternatives to revalue these products and give them a second life, thus reducing their environmental impact. In this sense, several investigations have been carried out in laboratories around the world to extract compounds from marine processing industry for the final high added-value products. Some of these compounds are collagen, omega 3 fatty acids, protein concentrates or chitin/chitosan, among others. Nevertheless, one of the critical steps for obtaining these compounds at th…
Urban Storm-Water Quality Management: Centralized versus Source Control
2010
The continuous growth of urban areas and the increasing public awareness of the environmental impacts of storm water have raised interest on the quality of the receiving water bodies. In the past two decades, many efforts have been directed at improving urban drainage systems by introducing mitigation measures to limit the negative environmental impacts of storm water. These mitigation measures are generally called best management practices (BMPs), sustainable urban drainage systems, or low impact developments, and they include practices such as infiltration and storage tanks that reduce the peak flow and retain some of the polluting materials. Choosing the best mitigation measure is still …
Toward a holistic environmental impact assessment of marble quarrying and processing: proposal of a novel easy-to-use IPAT-based method.
2016
Marble is a natural dimension stone that is widely used in building due to its resistance and esthetic qualities. Unfortunately, some concerns have arisen regarding its production process because quarrying and processing activities demand significant amounts of energy and greatly affect the environment. Further, performing an environmental analysis of a production process such as that of marble requires the consideration of many environmental aspects (e.g., noise, vibrations, dust and waste production, energy consumption). Unfortunately, the current impact accounting tools do not seem to be capable of considering all of the major aspects of the (marble) production process that may affect th…
A life cycle scenario analysis of different pavement technologies for urban roads.
2019
In the past, lowest price was the award criterion, given that structural capacity and safety were assured. In the last years, environmental, energy, and long-term impacts have been introduced (climate change, resource depletion, energy consumption, generated solid waste, discharged water, and emissions). Unfortunately, the introduction of new pavement technologies and materials (i.e., waste plastics) affects maintenance and rehabilitation processes and call for accurate and timeliness studies and criteria. Consequently, this paper presents an energy and environmental assessment of an Italian urban road and considers different material-related scenarios that fully comply with emerging techno…