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Abstract Green stormwater infrastructure is a common feature of urban cities which is mostly designed for hydrological and water quality purposes. The last decade has seen a rise in research on the environmental impact assessment of vegetated water sensitive urban design (WSUD) technologies. However, the added ecosystem benefits of these systems, such as carbon sequestration, have received less attention. In this study, the life cycle net carbon footprint of various vegetated WSUD technologies namely green roofs, rain gardens, bioretention basins, vegetated swales and stormwater ponds, have been reviewed and analysed including their carbon sequestration potential. The carbon footprint of each vegetated WSUD technology was evaluated through the four phases of the life cycle assessment (LCA): material production, construction, operation and maintenance and end-of-life phases. The results of this study show that the initial embodied carbon associated with production, transportation and construction phases is the major contributor to the carbon footprint for most of the vegetated WSUD technologies. Rain gardens are shown to provide the highest carbon sequestration potential which offsets its carbon footprint. Carbon sequestration of bioretention basins, green roofs, vegetated swales and stormwater ponds can mitigate approximately 70%, 68%, 45% and 8% of their carbon footprint respectively. This study demonstrates the significant role of carbon sequestration in mitigating the carbon footprint from the assigned life time of the vegetated WSUD technologies. The results presented in this study will allow designers and policymakers to include the carbon implication in their WSUD strategies.

Abstract The long-term management of radioactive wastes is a key part of the French nuclear programme. A public organisation, the National Radioactive Waste Management Agency (ANDRA), is in charge of such management. The approach adopted in France is to dispose of solid or solidified short-lived wastes of low and intermediate activity in surface land disposal using the principle of multiple barriers throughout the period necessary for the radioactivity to decay to a level at which it is no longer hazardous to the environment. Two centres of this type have been established, the first—the `La Manche' Disposal Centre—has received over 500 000 m3 of waste during the 25 years of its operation from 1969 to 1994. The `Aube' Disposal Centre, designed to accommodate 1 million m3, has now taken over. ANDRA has established an integrated management system covering every stage of conditioning, transporting and disposing the different types of waste produced. The aim of this system is to guarantee safety at acceptable cost by minimising the environmental impact and the overall operating constraints.

This paper aims to investigate the effect of the addition of 5% alcohol (butanol) with biodiesel-diesel blends on the performance, emissions, and combustion of a naturally aspirated four stroke multi-cylinder diesel engine at different engine speeds (1200 to 2400 rpm) under full load conditions. Three types of local Australian biodiesel, namely macadamia biodiesel (MB), rice bran biodiesel (RB), and waste cooking oil biodiesel (WCB), were used for this study, and the data was compared with results for conventional diesel fuel (B0). Performance results showed that the addition of butanol with diesel-biodiesel blends slightly lowers the engine efficiency. The emission study revealed that the addition of butanol additive with diesel-biodiesel blends lowers the exhaust gas temperature (EGT), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NOx), and particulate matter (PM) emissions whereas it increases hydrocarbon (HC) emissions compared to B0. The combustion results indicated that in-cylinder pressure (CP) for additive added fuel is higher (0.45-1.49%), while heat release rate (HRR) was lower (2.60-9.10%) than for B0. Also, additive added fuel lowers the ignition delay (ID) by 23-30% than for B0. Finally, it can be recommended that the addition of 5% butanol with Australian biodiesel-diesel blends can significantly lower the NOx and PM emissions.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of environmental management initiatives in the furniture retail area. The specific aim is to present reflections of participants implementing environmental initiatives in an Australian furniture retailer, Living Edge, in alignment with a secondary snapshot of environmental initiatives from other furniture retailers. Design/methodology/approach Primary reflections from the retailer’s manager and external consultant, both involved in the implementation of environmental initiatives, are enriched with secondary review of environmental management system trends and examples from regions active in the designer furniture sector, including Europe, Southeast Asia and North America. Findings An integrated view has been distilled around environmental impact in the furniture supply chain and consumer pressure to minimise the impact. Stakeholders require furniture retailers to improve efficiency and profitability amid the countervailing market demand for environmental sustainability. Retailers may seek competitive advantage through effectively applied and communicated environmental management. The voluntary adoption of systems, international standards and innovative practices that conserve natural resources are amongst the key to success. A live case example of Australian experience is added to the knowledge base for the global retail furniture industry. Research limitations/implications One Australian retailer is exemplified to highlight the lived experiences of implementing environmental initiatives. The secondary global review presents a cross-section rather than an in-depth analysis of furniture sector retailers. Originality/value There are limited Australian perspectives of designer furniture and its intersection with environmental issues, thus, the paper addresses this gap in the literature and adds to informed practice in a global industry.

Agriculture has radically changed the global nitrogen (N) cycle and is heavily dependent on synthetic N-fertiliser. However, the N-use efficiency of synthetic fertilisers is often only 50% with N-losses from crop systems polluting the biosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere. To address the large carbon and energy footprint of N-fertiliser synthesis and curb N-pollution, new technologies are required to deliver enhanced energy efficiency, decarbonisation and a circular nutrient economy. Algae fertilisers (AF) are an alternative to synthetic N-fertiliser (SF). Here microalgae were used as biofertiliser for spinach production. AF production was evaluated using life-cycle analyses. Over 4 weeks, AF released 63.5% of N as bioavailable ammonium and nitrate, and 25% of phosphorous (P) as phosphate to the growth substrate; SF released 100% N and 20% P. To maximise crop N-use and minimise N-leaching, we explored AF and SF dose-response-curves with spinach in glasshouse conditions. AF-grown spinach produced 36% less biomass than SF-grown plants due to AF's slower and linear N-release; SF exhibited 5-times higher N-leaching than AF. Optimised AF:SF blends yielded greater synchrony between N-release and crop-uptake, boosting crop yields and minimising N-loss. Additional benefits of AF included greener leaves, lower leaf nitrate concentration, and higher microbial diversity and water holding capacity of the growth substrate. An integrated techno-economic and life-cycle-analysis of scaled-up microalgae systems (+/- wastewater) normalised to the application dose showed that replacing the most effective SF-dose with AF lowered the annual carbon footprint of fertiliser production from 3.644 kg CO2 m-2 (C-producing) to -6.039 kg CO2 m-2 (C-assimilation). N-loss from growth substrate was lowered by 54%. Embodied energy for AF:SF blends could be reduced by 29% when cultivating microalgae on wastewater. Conclusions: (i) microalgae offer a sustainable alternative to synthetic N-fertiliser for spinach production and potentially other crop systems, (ii) microalgae biofertilisers support the circular-nutrient-economy and several UN-Sustainable-Development-Goals.

Abstract Thermal energy storage is (TES) a preferred demand side management (DSM) technology for shifting cooling load demand from peak hour to off-peak hour in the heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) industry. In this study, the technical and economical feasibility of introducing TES systems in a building in subtropical Central Queensland (Australia) is presented. Firstly, the cooling load profile of existing systems is simulated using building simulation software DesignBuilder (DB) and verified with on-site measured data. Then, using the verified simulation technique, the technical and economical feasibility of TES systems are analysed for both full and partial storage scenarios. The results show that the full and partial chilled storage systems can save up to 61.19% and 50.26% respectively of the electricity cost required for cooling when compared with the conventional system in subtropical climate.

Abstract CO2 capture affords to control the greenhouse gas emissions effectively. Monoethanolamine (MEA) absorption of CO2 shows great potentials to mitigate the industrial CO2 emission. Unfortunately, it is an energy-intensive process. A meso-scale model was developed to characterize coupling effects between micro-scale and phase-scale to intensify the MEA absorption process. Mass transfer coefficient (MC) and Nusselt number (Nu) are used to determine the mechanisms among micro-scale, phase-scale and meso-scale. It is found that meso-scale MC and Nu do not equal to the sum of micro-scale and phase-scale values due to the interaction effects between micro-scale and phase-scale. MEA conformer, O–N distance, temperature and slip velocity significantly affect the meso-scale MC and Nu due to their strong impacts on film structure and interphase area. The liquid film thickness and length decrease by 40% and 32% as slip velocity increased from 0.1 m/s to 0.3 m/s, respectively, while the interphase area increases by 6%. The energy consumption is reduced to 2.65 GJ/t under the gGt MEA conformer, saving 17% energy against the experiment baseline case. The meso-scale model is proved to be a useful method to intensify the amine solutions absorption of CO2. Adjusting pH value, concentrating the amine solution to 9 kmol/m3, extremely increasing the absorption temperature up to 353.15 K and adding nano Fe3O4 are the feasible ways to achieve the meso-scale intensification effects.

Substantial amounts of nitrogen (N) fertiliser are necessary for commercial sugarcane production because of the large biomass produced by sugarcane crops. Since this fertiliser is a substantial input cost and has implications if N is lost to the environment, there are pressing needs to optimise the supply of N to the crops' requirements. The complexity of the N cycle and the strong influence of climate, through its moderation of N transformation processes in the soil and its impact on N uptake by crops, make simulation-based approaches to this N management problem attractive. In this paper we describe the processes to be captured in modelling soil and plant N dynamics in sugarcane systems, and review the capability for modelling these processes. We then illustrate insights gained into improved management of N through simulation-based studies for the issues of crop residue management, irrigation management and greenhouse gas emissions. We conclude by identifying processes not currently represented in the models used for simulating N cycling in sugarcane production systems, and illustrate ways in which these can be partially overcome in the short term.

A comprehensive understanding of the effects of agricultural management on climate–crop interactions has yet to emerge. Using a novel wavelet–statistics conjunction approach, we analysed the synchronisation amongst fluxes (net ecosystem exchange NEE, evapotranspiration and sensible heat flux) and seven environmental factors (e.g., air temperature, soil water content) on 19 farm sites across Australia and New Zealand. Irrigation and fertilisation practices improved positive coupling between net ecosystem productivity (NEP = −NEE) and evapotranspiration, as hypothesised. Highly intense management tended to protect against heat stress, especially for irrigated crops in dry climates. By contrast, stress avoidance in the vegetation of tropical and hot desert climates was identified by reverse coupling between NEP and sensible heat flux (i.e., increases in NEP were synchronised with decreases in sensible heat flux). Some environmental factors were found to be under management control, whereas others were fixed as constraints at a given location. Irrigated crops in dry climates (e.g., maize, almonds) showed high predictability of fluxes given only knowledge of fluctuations in climate (R2 > 0.78), and fluxes were nearly as predictable across strongly energy- or water-limited environments (0.60