Search results for "kiertotalous"

Charitable food aid in Finland: from a social issue to an environmental solution

2019

Since the establishment of the first food bank in 1995, charitable food aid (CFA) has become entrenched in Finland as a seemingly irreplaceable solution to food poverty. Further, it has recently been suggested that the focus of food aid activities is shifting from food poverty and temporary hunger alleviation towards environmental sustainability through addressing food waste via organized re-distribution of expiring food from retail to charitable organizations. This potentially creates a mechanism that (1) solidifies food poverty and (2) fortifies the paradoxical situation where charitable organizations delivering food aid are dependent on food waste rather than trying to reduce it. To unde…

Toxicological and bioactivity evaluation of blackcurrant press cake, sea buckthorn leaves and bark from Scots pine and Norway spruce extracts under a…

2021

Aqueous extracts from blackcurrant press cake (BC), Norway spruce bark (NS), Scots pine bark (SP), and sea buckthorn leaves (SB) were obtained using maceration and pressurized hot water and tested for their bioactivities. Maceration provided the extraction of higher dry matter contents, including total phenolics (TPC), anthocyanins, and condensed tannins, which also impacted higher antioxidant activity. NS and SB extracts presented the highest mean values of TPC and antioxidant activity. Individually, NS extract presented high contents of proanthocyanidins, resveratrol, and some phenolic acids. In contrast, SB contained a high concentration of ellagitannins, ellagic acid, and quercetin, exp…

Surfactant-based enrichment of rare earth elements from NdFeB magnet e-waste: Optimisation of cloud formation and rare earths extraction

2023

Appropriate waste and resource management are essential for a sustainable circular economy with reduced environmental impact. With critical resources, e-waste may serve as indirect raw material. For example, with NdFeB permanent magnets, Neodymium (Nd) and the co-present Dysprosium (Dy) are critical rare earth elements (REEs). However, there exists no economically viable technology for recycling them from electronic waste (e-waste). Here, a method is presented based on cloud point extraction (CPE). The work involves basic complexation chemistry in a cloud medium with pure REE salts, as well as, with real NdFeB-magnets (nearly 28% REE content by weight) from an old hard disk drive (5.2 g mag…

Finnish forest-based companies in transition to the circular bioeconomy : drivers, organizational resources and innovations

2020

Abstract Forest-based businesses are the center of the transition to the sustainable and competitive circular bioeconomy in Finland. This study explores the transition of Finnish FBS firms to new business models, with a focus on the organizational resources and capabilities needed for transition. It also identifies the important elements in the business environment and the role of innovations in this process. The study uses thematic interviews with managers from various FBS firms and companies from interfacing sectors, all of which have operations in Finland. Despite the differences between firms, the study finds many common drivers and resources that FBS companies highlight as significant …

GIS-data related route optimization, hierarchical clustering, location optimization, and kernel density methods are useful for promoting distributed …

2019

Currently, geographic information system (GIS) models are popular for studying location-allocation-related questions concerning bioenergy plants. The aim of this study was to develop a model to investigate optimal locations for two different types of bioenergy plants, for farm and centralized biogas plants, and for wood terminals in rural areas based on minimizing transportation distances. The optimal locations of biogas plants were determined using location optimization tools in R software, and the optimal locations of wood terminals were determined using kernel density tools in ArcGIS. The present case study showed that the utilized GIS tools are useful for bioenergy-related decision-maki…

Elonkirjo ehtyy : suosituksia luonnon monimuotoisuuden turvaamiseksi

2019

Preparation and Characterization of Pulp and Paper Mill Sludge-Activated Biochars Using Alkaline Activation : A Box–Behnken Design Approach

2022

This study utilized pulp and paper mill sludge as a carbon source to produce activated biochar adsorbents. The response surface methodology (RSM) application for predicting and optimizing the activated biochar preparation conditions was investigated. Biochars were prepared based on a Box–Behnken design (BBD) approach with three independent factors (i.e., pyrolysis temperature, holding time, and KOH:biomass ratio), and the responses evaluated were specific surface area (SSA), micropore area (Smicro), and mesopore area (Smeso). According to the RSM and BBD analysis, a pyrolysis temperature of 800 °C for 3 h of holding and an impregnation ratio of 1:1 (biomass:KOH) are the optimum conditions f…

Transition in the Finnish forest-based sector: Company perspectives on the bioeconomy, circular economy and sustainability

2019

The forest-based sector is affected by many profound structural changes and the increasing complexity of the business environment due to, for example, the mature markets of many core products and the aims for bio and circular economies and more sustainable societies. In response to the changing business environment, forest-based sector firms need to restructure their business models and develop new products and services. From the Finnish perspective, new forest-based businesses are crucial in the transition to successful and sustainable bio and circular economies. Views on the concepts of bioeconomy, circular economy and sustainability vary according to which parties are involved. Developin…

Digitalized bioeconomy: Planned obsolescence-driven circular economy enabled by Co-Evolutionary coupling

2019

Driven by digital solutions, the bioeconomy is taking major steps forward in recent years toward achievement of the long-lasting goal of transition from a traditional fossil economy to a bioeconomy-based circular economy. The coupling of digitalization and bioeconomy is leading towards a digitalized bioeconomy that can satisfy the shift in consumers’ preferences for eco-consciousness, which in turn induces coupling of up-down stream operation in the value chain. Thus, the co-evolution of the coupling of digitalization and bioeconomy and of upstream and downstream operations is transforming the forest-based bioeconomy into a digital platform industry. Aiming at addressing this transformation…

Co-evolutionary coupling leads a way to a novel concept of R&D - Lessons from digitalized bioeconomy

2020

Given the increasing role of research and development (R&D) in competitive markets in the digital economy while confronting the dilemma between R&D expansion and a productivity decline, transformation of the R&D model has become a crucial subject for global digital leaders. The authors of this paper postulate that neo open innovation harnessing the vigor of external innovation resources which then developed into a new concept of R&D that self-transforms during an R&D process initiated by Amazon by coupling with users. The authors further develop these postulates by proposing the embedding of a growth characteristic identical to biological coupling. An empirical analysis focusing on the fore…