• Energy Research
• 2021-2025close
• engineering and technology close
• 13. Climate action close
• 11. Sustainability close
• 12. Responsible consumption close

This study focuses on formulating the most sustainable concrete by incorporating recycled concrete aggregates and other products retrieved from construction and demolition (C&D) activities. Both recycled coarse aggregates (RCA) and recycled fine aggregates (RFA) are firstly used to fully replace the natural coarse and fine aggregates in the concrete mix design. Later, the cement rich ultrafine particles, recycled glass powder and mineral fibres recovered from construction and demolition wastes (CDW) are further incorporated at a smaller rate either as cement substituent or as supplementary additives. Remarkable properties are noticed when the RCA (4–12 mm) and RFA (0.25–4 mm) are fully used to replace the natural aggregates in a new concrete mix. The addition of recycled cement rich ultrafines (RCU), Recycled glass ultrafines (RGU) and recycled mineral fibres (RMF) into recycled concrete improves the modulus of elasticity. The final concrete, which comprises more than 75% (wt.) of recycled components/materials, is believed to be the most sustainable and green concrete mix. Mechanical properties and durability of this concrete have been studied and found to be within acceptable limits, indicating the potential of recycled aggregates and other CDW components in shaping sustainable and circular construction practices. The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support from EU Horizon 2020 Project VEEP ‘‘Cost-Effective Recycling of C&DW in High Added Value Energy Efficient Prefabricated Concrete Compo-nents for Massive Retrofitting of our Built Environment” (No.723582).

IT technologies related to Industry 4.0 facilitate the implementation of the framework for sustainable manufacturing. At the same time, Industry 4.0 integrates IT processes and systems of production companies with IT solutions of cooperating companies that support a complete manufactured product life cycle. Thus, the implementation of sustainable manufacturing implies a rapid increase in interfaces between IT solutions of cooperating companies. This, in turn, raises concerns about security among manufacturing company executives. The lack of a recognized methodology supporting the decision-making process of choosing the right methods and means of cybersecurity is, in effect, a significant barrier to the development of sustainable manufacturing. As a result, the propagation of technologies in Industry 4.0 and the implementation of the sustainable manufacturing framework in companies are slowing down significantly. The main novelty of this article, addressing the above deficiencies, is the creation, using the combined DEMATEL and ANP (DANP) and PROMETHEE II methods, of a ranking of the proposed three groups of measures, seven dimensions and twenty criteria to be implemented in companies to ensure cybersecurity in Industry 4.0 and facilitate the implementation of the sustainable production principles. The contribution of Industry 4.0 components and the proposed cybersecurity scheme to achieve the Sustainable Development goals, reducing the carbon footprint of companies and introducing circular economy elements was also indicated. Using DANP and PROMETHEE II, it can be concluded that: (i) the major criterion of cybersecurity in companies is validation and maintaining electronic signatures and seals; (ii) the most crucial area of cybersecurity is network security; (iii) the most significant group of measures in this regard are technological measures.

AbstractShipbuilding is an energy-intensive industrial sector that produces a significant amount of waste, pollution and air emissions. However, the International Maritime Organization concentrates only on reducing emissions during the operational phase. In order to completely phase out emissions from the shipping industry, a life-cycle approach must be taken. The study implemented the proposed transdisciplinary energy management framework in a Bangladeshi shipyard. The framework aims to support shipyard decision makers in making rational and optimized decisions to make shipyards sustainable, while maintaining good product quality and reducing relative cost. This is achieved by applying the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process and Fuzzy Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution methods to identify optimal solutions. In addition to making shipyards more sustainable, the framework can enhance both the business and socio-economic prospects of the shipyard and promote the reputation of the shipyard and improve its competitiveness and, in line with this, lead to the promotion of nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement for States. The implementation of the framework shows that the political and legal discipline, the social criteria and the implementation of ISO 14001 and cyber security were the most important criteria and options for the yard's decision makers.

The energy expended to cool the occupied areas by air conditioners represents a substantial share of the total energy exhausted in buildings. Therefore, developing strategies to reduce this energy is crucial. One of the preponderance strategies adopted to depreciate energy consumption in buildings is the occupancy-based strategy. In this research, an innovative model was established to achieve the goal of reducing cooling energy consumed in buildings based on occupancy-based combined with a constant temperature setpoint strategy in two phases, and each phase engrosses in 20 days. Phase one is to identify the extent of cooling energy employed according to the use of room occupants and its costs in consumption was 276.01 kWh after completion of this phase. Sequentially, constructing phase two intended to reduce cooling energy consumption by employing an automatic air-conditioner (AC) control strategy relying on an improved human detection algorithm with a 25℃ as temperature setpoint, resulting in 112.45 kWh of consumption. To complement the motives for elaboration, the human detection measurement using you only look once (YOLO) improved by applying pre-processing algorithms to reach an average human detection enhancement of 21.2%. The proposed model results showed that potential savings associated with the embraced strategy decreases by more than anticipated as the amount of reduced energy reached 59% savings.

As smart cities become a global topic, interest in smart mobility, the core of smart cities, is also growing. The technology that comes closest to general users is “autonomous driving”. In particular, the successful market entry and establishment of some private companies proved that “autonomous driving” is not technology of the future but imminent reality. However, safety in autonomous vehicles that rely on sensors instead of the driver’s five senses has been the focus of attention from the beginning and continues to be so. In this study, we attempted to counter this interest. Based on the actual data of thirty traffic accidents, assuming the AEBS (Autonomous Emergency Braking System) was installed to assist the driver in safe driving, it was reinterpreted through simulation to see what changes occurred in the accident. In the computer program, PC-Crash, the results were first analyzed through simulation using Euro NCAP (New Car Assessment Program)’s AEBS test standards. Subsequently, the other variables in the AEBS were controlled and the accident was reinterpreted by changing only the angle of the radar detection sensor. As a result, it was confirmed that a total of 27 accidents out of thirty accidents could have been prevented with the AEBS. In addition, it proved that the crash avoidance rate of vehicles gradually increased as the radar angle increased.

Inert gas is often used in the deoxygenation of microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) to maintain growth and viability of anaerobes. However, the effects of the gas atmosphere on hydrogen production and microbial community of MECs are often neglected. Here, the performances and biofilm microbiomes of MECs pre-sparged with different gases were compared. MECs pre-sparged with argon gas (Ar) yielded more hydrogen (3.73 ± 0.13 mol-H2/mol-acetate) and a higher hydrogen production rate (2.99 ± 0.17 L-H2/L-reactor-day) than MECs pre-sparged with N2 (3.41 ± 0.13 mol-H2/mol-acetate and 2.27 ± 0.28 L-H2/L-reactor-day, respectively). Microbiome analysis indicated that the relative abundance of Geobacter increased from 59.25% to 77.79% when the gas atmosphere in MECs shifted from N2 to Ar. Hydrogen production may have been catalyzed by nitrogenase from Geobacter and photosynthetic bacteria in MECs pre-sparged with Ar. These findings suggested that the gas atmosphere substantially influences the microbiome of anode biofilms and Ar sparging is most effective for enhancing hydrogen production in MECs.

Abstract Transportation de-carbonization is a complex problem involving the economy, population, technology and environment. Implementing the pathway simulation based on systematic methods will help to optimize the transportation sustainability plan. This study’s key motivation is that earlier research ignored the relationship between driving factors and the transmission process. To quantitatively identify the path and process of emission reduction, a hybrid system dynamics STIRPAT-SD model is proposed to explore the transportation optimization’s de-carbonization ability. This study fully considers the composition of elements and subsystems based on the STIRPAT theoretical model and visually shows the system’s feedback relationship. Transportation structural and technical optimization scenarios are set to identify the threshold reduction paths. It is found these optimization strategies have significant de-carbonization effects. And transportation structure policy has the highest de-carbonization efficiency, the emission intensity decreased by 9.1% under the TSS2 scenario (Transportation structure scenario). This study proposes a novelty model combining dynamic simulating processes with a significantly theoretical model to improve simulation and factor composition accuracy. And the joint scenario setting identifies the most effective de-carbonization pathway and clarifies the threshold of all possible pathways. Research findings can effectively track, test, predict the achievement of policy goals, and provide policy optimization references for the sustainable development related to the transportation system in practice.

Hydraulic fracturing drilling technology can cause a high risk of surface spill accidents and thus water contamination. Climate change together with the high water demand and rapid increase in industrial and agricultural activities are valued reasons why we should all care about the availability of water resources and protect them from contamination. Hence, the purpose of this study is to estimate the risk associated with a site contaminated with benzene from oil spillage and its potential impact on groundwater. This study focused on investigating the impact of soil variability and water table depth on groundwater contamination. Temperature-dependent parameters, such as soil water content and the diffusion of pollutants, were considered as key input factors for the HYDRUS 1D numerical model to simulate benzene migration through three types of soil (loamy, sandy clay loam, and silt loam) and evaluate its concentration in the water aquifer. The results indicated that an anticipated increase in earth’s average surface temperature by 4 °C due to climate change could lead to a rise in the level of groundwater pollution in the study area by 0.017 mg/L in loamy soil, 0.00046 mg/L in sandy clay loam soil, and 0.00023 mg/L in silt loam soil. It was found that climate change can reduce the amount of benzene absorbed from 10 to 0.07% in loamy soil, 14 to 0.07% in sandy clay loam soil, and 60 to 53% in silt loam soil. The results showed that the soil properties and solute characteristics that depend on the temperature have a major and important role in determining the level of groundwater pollutants.