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Abstract Composting is one of the effective strategies to treat excessive amount of food waste (FW). In this study, the mode of source separation by residents – composting in situ with complete equipment (CPEM) was proposed. Pilot scale facility covering 132 m2 was constructed and operated to treat FW (6 t/d). Results showed that the composting CPEM including feeding, breaking, dewatering, spiral boosting, composting reactor, odor biofilter, aeration system, and rotating device units was operated stably over two years. During 10 days drum composting, the temperature of FW experienced three classic phases including heating phase, thermophilic phase, and cooling phase. The concentration of H2S and NH3 in the effluent were as low as 0.0001 and 0.025 mg/m3 after biofiltering treatment. After 20 days subsequent post-maturity, total content of N, P and K in the FW compost was as high as 11.66%. When the compost was applied to pakchoi (Brassica chinensis L.), the content of vitamin C and soluble sugar increased 18.78% and 38.49%, and the content of nitrate and nitrite decreased 46.86% and 51.89%, respectively. As for economical consideration, the average investment and energy consumption of the CPEM were as low as US$ 61.5 and 50.0 kWh/t. The successful case of the pilot scale plant suggested that the mode of source separation-composting in situ with CPEM was feasible to realize the recycling of FW.

The current measurement of development only considers the achievement of each dimension of development, making it difficult to analyze the success level of sustainable development models. This study provides a development measure based on social, economic and environmental factors for a composite index of development. This composite index was developed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. After undergoing a reduction process using factor analysis, 16 variables were obtained, which can be used to determine the index of sustainable development. The 16 variables selected form three factors, namely social-economic-environment; economic-environment; and social-economic factors. Social-environment has been indicated as a weak point, enhanced sustainable development in Indonesia doesn’t run smoothly. In the future, it is necessary to develop an environmental education curriculum, so that it can create an environmentally conscious culture.The current measurement of development only considers the achievement of each dimension of development, making it difficult to analyze the success level of sustainable development models. This study provides a development measure based on social, economic and environmental factors for a composite index of development. This composite index was developed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. After undergoing a reduction process using factor analysis, 16 variables were obtained, which can be used to determine the index of sustainable development. The 16 variables selected form three factors, namely social-economic-environment; economic-environment; and social-economic factors. Social-environment has been indicated as a weak point, enhanced sustainable development in Indonesia doesn’t run smoothly. In the future, it is necessary to develop an environmental education curriculum, so that it can create an environmentally conscious culture.

This paper analyzes the economic, social and political three-dimensional driving effects of new energy substitution for fossil energy under the joint action of market, government and international competition from three perspectives: profit motive, mutual benefit and responsibility motive, combined with the relevant data of 78 countries from 1965 to 2021. The results show that fossil energy prices and energy security positively influence the process of new energy substitution, and environmental pollution negatively affects the process of new energy substitution, and the pushback effect of energy security on new energy substitution is more significant in the study interval, indicating that at the beginning of the new energy revolution, global environmental governance and willingness to reduce emissions drive the development of new energy industry, but the “carbon emission reduction” of each country has increased the complexity of new energy substitution, especially in some developed countries in taking responsibility for global environmental governance divergent views. Further heterogeneity analysis reveals that each country’s energy strategy affects the degree of substitution of “quality” and “quantity” of new energy, and the speed, areas and corrective ability of new energy development vary among countries under different strategic choices.

Both indoor unclean fuel use and CVD associates with cognitive function. Indoor fuel has transitioned from the use of unclean fuel to clean fuel in recent years in China. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between adult cognitive function and such a transition and to investigate the potential role of CVD in this association. 7112 participants (26- to 98-years of age) with 12,676 observations living in twelve provinces of China from 1997 to 2015 were extracted based on having complete data. The associations, combined effects, and further mediation effects between indoor unclean fuel use and its transition, CVD, and cognitive function were tested using regression models, stratified analyses, the relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI), mediation analysis methods, and sensitivity analyses. Between 1997 and 2015, cooking fuel use coal and wood went down a lot in China, from a baseline of 26.9% to 6.1%, from 30.1% to 11.5%, respectively. Such a transition showed a positive association with delayed verbal recall (B = 0.288, p < 0.01), especially in rural area, subjects with age ≥ 65 years old, and women (all P < 0.05). The combined effect of the presence of hypertension during a baseline visit and such a transition on changes in delayed verbal recall was antagonistic (RERI = -0.529, p < 0.05). Moreover, the development of hypertension explained more than 50% of such a fuel transition-related decline of verbal memory. The transition of household energy to clean fuel was associated with a higher adult cognitive function. The presence or the development of CVD appeared to affect the association between indoor air pollution and cognitive function, which suggests a need to further optimize prevention of concurrent CVD and risk factor control in adults at higher risk for cognitive impairment and with indoor unclean cooking fuel, especially in potentially susceptible subgroups.

Abstract The globe is presently perusing technologies that entirely automate the processes with negligible losses. To achieve this, the world has initiated their automation from private bodies like home, school, etc. Thus, our paper is created to aid their process. This paper describes the solid-state switching using wireless networks. The proposed paper deals with the replacement of solid-state device instead of application of relays in home automation, as the performance of relays are not very effective in switching at higher inrush currents and they require an adequate environment for its better performance. Solid state devices have advantages like less power consumption, better life span, easy control, etc. Thus, the use of solid-state devices improves the performance of the entire home automation system. This proposed paper uses a protocol DALI (Digitally Addressable Lighting Interface) which controls switching of light resistive loads and improves communication. The soft switching operation of the circuit operates with the wireless network and improves the ability of carrying loads and has a strong controlling ability. The design and circuit framework can be adapted to any of the switch-controlled circuits which is relayed on solid state device.

Abstract Off-site construction is a popular construction technique due to improvements in construction time and efficiency. However, a typical construction will incur several air emission substances which can be categorised as direct and indirect emissions. The effect of these pollutant substances may have severe health impacts on the immediate surrounding environment of the construction site. The study attempts to quantify direct and indirect emissions associated with off-site construction and compare with traditional on-site construction. Two case studies in Chengdu, China is used to investigate the direct and indirect impacts of off-site construction as compared to conventional construction. The results indicate GHG emissions reduction of 8.40% for off-site construction. Impact assessment revealed pre-fabrication having more reduction on global warming and oxidation formation at global level and eutrophication, human toxicity and acidification at regional and local environment. Further analysis revealed a strong relationship between the transportation distance and the level of pre-fabrication on total carbon emission reduction. The methodology provided in the current study exemplified the importance of conducting a well-articulated assessment to help decision making on environmental impact reduction in off-site construction. The results conclude the importance of developing a structured decision making platform to assist the sustainable decision makings in future.

Tunnel–bridge–tunnel groups (TBTGs) are emerging roads that often involve simple road alignments, but complex driving environments. Investigating crashes occurred in TBTGs is essential for revealing the driving environment–adaptability relationships for such roads. This study seeks to analyze the crash characteristics of component sections in TBTGs with different driving environments and compare the impact of differences in the key factor on the crashes. After TBTGs were defined through a proposed safety-critical distance metric determined via visual theory and actual crash analyses, an eight-zone analytical method considering road types and lighting was developed to probe into crashes in TBTGs. The results show that the proper safety-critical distances for bridge–tunnel and tunnel–tunnel groups are 150 and 500 m, respectively. In TBTGs, the crash rate in ordinary sections is higher than that in bridges and tunnels, particularly in the access zone. The first passed tunnel witnesses a higher proportion of crashes at the access zone and transition zone than the second tunnel. The influence of bridge and tunnel ratios on crashes is related to the ratio and type of bridges and tunnels. The findings presented herein can provide evidence-based guidance for the safety design and management of TBTGs.

AbstractBuildings are responsible for approximately 36% of carbon emissions in the European Union. Besides, gradual aging and a lack of adaptability and flexibility of buildings often lead to destructive interventions, resulting not only in higher costs but also in a large amount of construction and demolition waste (CDW). Recently, an innovative system (Ref. VEEP project) has been developed to recycle CDW for the manufacturing of energy‐efficient prefabricated concrete elements (PCE) for new building construction. By applying life cycle costing (LCC) and life cycle assessment (LCA), this study aimed to determine whether the use of VEEP PCE leads to lower carbon emission and lower associated costs over the life cycle of an exemplary four‐story residential building in the Netherlands than a business‐as‐usual (BAU) PCE scenario. This paper provides a case study on the alignment and/or integration of LCA and LCC in an independent and a combined manner (via monetization). This study examines how the internalization of carbon emission and discount rate will affect the final life cycle costs over a 40‐year life span. The simulation results show that the key to economic viability and environmental soundness of VEEP PCE is to reduce production cost and to optimize the thermal performance of the novel isolation material Aerogel; internalization of external cost monetarizes the environmental advantage thus slightly expands the cost advantage of low carbon options, but leads to larger uncertainty about the LCC result.