Search results for "circular"

CLOSING THE LOOP: STUDY OF INTEGRATED CYCLES WITH NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL SOLUTIONS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF ENERGY, MINERALS AND FRESH WATER

STATE OF PRACTICE IN THE C&DW SECTOR WHILE PURSUING CIRCULAR ECONOMY: THE ITALIAN RECYCLED MATERIALS MARKET IN ROAD ENGINEERING

2022

Construction and demolition waste (C&DW) is mainly produced during the construction, demolition, or renovation activities of engineering structures and it accounts for a remarkable amount of the total C&DW generated, as it is estimated to be around 30%. This proportion differs across countries belonging to different types of economies and tends to be greater in countries with developing economies reaching 74% of total annual production. There is a plethora of applications that C&DW can be used for under a circular economic model and in this research study a focus is being given in the utilization of C&DW within the pavement engineering sector, and more specifically, in the u…

Understanding the current state of practice in the construction and demolition waste sector through the lenses of circular economy: The Italian recyc…

Construction and demolition waste (CeDw) is mainly produced during the construction, demolition, or renovation activities of civil engineering structures and it accounts for a remarkable amount of the total C&Dw generated, as it is estimated to be around 30%. This proportion differs between countries belonging to different types of economies and tends to be greater in countries with developing economies reaching 74% of total annual production. There is a plethora of applications that C&Dw can be used for under a circular economic model and in this research a focus is being given in the exploitation of C&Dw within the pavement engineering sector, and more specifically, in the uti…

The Sustainability of Reclaimed Asphalt as a Resource for Road Pavement Management through a Circular Economic Model

2019

The transition of the road engineering industry to a circular way of doing business requires more efficient and sustainable resources, energy, and waste management. The rates in which reclaimed asphalt is being recycled or reused in the asphalt mixture production process constitutes a crucial parameter in this transition. This paper aims at establishing a further step towards the combined circularity and sustainability of asphalt pavements, by introducing a framework for quantifying their Material Circularity Index. The framework is based on the methodology proposed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and accordingly tailored for the context of asphalt pavements. This study, thus, attempts to…

Understanding formability and geometrical accuracy of SPIF process used as reshaping approach

2021

Putting in place Circular Economy strategies is an urgent action to be undertaken. Manufacturing processes play a relevant role as efficient material reuse enabler. Scientists have to make an effort either to find new process or to rethink old process to reprocess End-of-life (EoL) components to recover both material and functions. In this paper, Single Point Incremental Forming (SPIF) process is used for reshaping sheet metal EoL components. Deep drawing process as well as uniaxial pre-straining (to imitate the End-of-Life component) followed by SPIF operations (to obtain the reshaped components) are set- up and implemented to form and reform aluminum sheet metal components. As the authors…

An energy efficiency analysis of single point incremental forming as an approach for sheet metal based component reuse

2020

Producing materials causes about 25% of all anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Metals play a significant role, steel and aluminum account for 24% and 3% of worldwide material related emissions respectively. Fostering resources efficiency strategies in the field of sheet components could lead to a significant environmental impact reduction. Reshaping could be one of the most efficient strategy to foster material reuse and lower the environmental impact due to material production. Specifically, for aluminum recycling, the overall energy efficiency of conventional route is very low and, more importantly, permanent material losses occur during re-melting because of oxidation. The present paper aims a…

Qualitative analysis on the driving force behind upcycling practices associated with mobile applications: Circular economy perspective

2022

Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada/CBUA

Comparing the Material Circularity Index of the Italian and Spanish motorways: A case study over the Mediterranean basin

2022

Closely following the attempt of the pavement engineering industry to comply with the principles of Circular Economy (CE) while simultaneously promoting its principles, it can be detected that a significant effort is being made towards the minimization of the energy and raw materials usually utilized. In this regard, Reclaimed Asphalt (RA) is a product that exhibits a tremendous exploitation potential. Knowing that by definition CE is restorative [1], regenerative, and aims to keep products, components, and materials at their highest utility and value at all times [2], i.e. it supports the “re-circulation” of materials and energy within the same or alternative product systems and thus the e…

Past and Future: The Urban Landscape and the Virtuous Management of Resource Flows for a Sustainable Environment

2022

A circular process in the case of resource flows can best be expressed according to a plan that takes into account the geographical proximity and synergy between citizens and industries. The study hypothesizes the possibility of anticipating part of the recycling processes in residential urban areas. This streamlines the work phases and consumers become an active part of the process. Circular management of resource flows is an operational problem that emerges with greater severity in an urban landscape, due to the constraints generated by road networks and the need to protect basic values. It often happens that the degradation generated by the irresolute nature of the technical environmenta…

European National Road Authorities and Circular Economy: An Insight into Their Approaches

2020

The pavement engineering industry, having realized the significance of the impacts that it imposes on the environment through the production, construction and management of its products and assets, has been driven towards a more sustainable and circular way of operating. This has partly been through asphalt recycling, which is an area that many road authorities have prioritized. However, not all the National Road Authorities (NRAs) and/or sector stakeholders seem to be adequately familiar with the Circular Economy (CE) concept. This paper attempts to assist the transition of NRAs to a more circular way of doing business, by analyzing the current situation of CE within national/regional auth…