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The benefits of aluminum lamination in improving the physical and mechanical properties of wood-based composites is now well documented. This paper shows the contribution of life cycle assessment (LCA) as a tool to assess and compare the environmental footprint in the development of laminated panels. SimaPro 9.0 software, using Ecoinvent database was used to analyze the environmental impacts associated with the manufacturing of wood aluminum-laminated (WAL) panels and aluminum honeycomb panel (AHP). The impact 2002+ method was used to estimate environmental impacts. The LCA results show that the WAL panels manufacturing had a lower environmental impact than AHP manufacturing. In term of product, wood-based composites were the best choice as a core in laminated panel manufacturing. Wood-based composite manufacturing showed environmental advantages in all damage categories except in ecosystem quality. Aluminum alloy sheets manufacturing played an important role in the generation of environmental impacts for laminated panel development.

Understanding the system of connections between societal contexts and policy outcomes in municipal governments provides important insights into how community sustainability happens, and why it happens differently in various communities. A growing body of research in recent years has focused on understanding the socio-economic characteristics of communities and cities that are recognized as policy leaders in sustainability. In this paper, we expand the focus beyond the leaders in sustainability as we apply a selection of socio-demographic influences of community sustainability to a large sample of U.S. communities using community classification analytics to identity a range of community types and levels of engagement with sustainability. Our typology presents an integrated and comprehensive perspective on the structure of community sustainability in the United States, highlighting key points of comparison between human capital factors such as population size and density, affluence, home ownership, and adoption of sustainability policy. The analysis provides new insights not only about community leaders in sustainability, but also communities with the civic and social capacity to do more, and the challenges that may inhibit sustainability efforts in others.

China’s research on and specific implementation of energy saving for buildings are mainly concentrated in urban areas, but according to 2016 statistics, the rural population accounts for 42.65% of the total population, so rural housing has considerable energy-saving potential. However, the degree of attention to the energy consumption of rural houses needs to be improved. Regarding the research on and implementation of passive energy-saving strategies for residences, compared with centralized urban high-rise residences, rural residences mainly have independent courtyards, with a flexible layout and easier transformation. In this study, a system that uses the common cold lanes in traditional villages and buildings’ exterior walls was constructed, and the indoor spaces of courtyard buildings in southern Shaanxi were completely passively cooled in summer. This system can be completely separated from the supply of artificial energy by relying on the accumulation and buoyancy effects of air in patios and cold lanes and the hot-pressure ventilation in buildings to cool the buildings and greatly improve indoor ventilation efficiency. As the building is ventilated and cooled, the air wall formed in the system can effectively prevent direct contact between the outdoor and indoor temperatures and reduce the impact of thermal wall radiation on the interior. In previous studies on the passive design of courtyard houses, scholars considered the effect of thermal wall radiation on indoor temperature in simulations. Therefore, in this study, we also separately calculated whether to consider the difference between the situation with and without wall heat radiation (WHR) when simulating thermal conversion. The final results show that when the cooling system was adopted, the annual cooling load of the whole building was 4786.494 kW·h without WHR. However, with WHR, the cooling load reduction was 2989.128 kW·h, a difference of 1797.336 kW·h.

This study evaluated the environmental conditions of two watersheds selected on the basis of similarities in land use. The environmental conditions of the watersheds were analyzed using two geoprocessing methods and in situ evaluations by applying the rapid assessment protocol (RAP). Geospatial image processing was used to analyze land use, slope, soil classification, and rainfall, while RAP was used to evaluate the connectivity and size of riparian corridors. The results revealed varied uses of land with the landscape matrix in both watersheds, composed of agriculture, pasture, and urban centers. Urban centers were defined as spots and riparian zones as corridors. The analysis of environmental fragility considering all the geospatial variables, classified both watersheds as having medium fragility. The most fragile sites were the urban centers, which had a high slope and degraded riparian zone. Onsite assessments have shown that corridors do not have the size required by legislation; they are fragmented and unstructured, and they contain exotic species. We also propose that a multi-factorial approach be used to evaluate watersheds, associating geospatial assessments and onsite analyses that consider the limitations pointed out in each protocol. This reduces sampling errors and shows the actual state of conservation in riparian zones.

The growing search for alternative energy sources is not only due to the present shortage of non-renewable energy sources, but also due to their negative environmental impacts. Therefore, a lot of attention is drawn to the use of biomass as a renewable energy source. However, using biomass in its natural state has not proven to be an efficient technique, giving rise to a wide range of processing treatments that enhance the properties of biomass as an energy source. Torrefaction is a thermal process that enhances the properties of biomass through its thermal decomposition at temperatures between 200 and 300 °C. The torrefaction process is defined by several parameters, which also have impacts on the final quality of the torrefied biomass. The final quality is measured by considering parameters, such as humidity, heating value (HV), and grindability. Studies have focused on maximizing the torrefied biomass’ quality using the best possible combination for the different parameters. The main objective of this article is to present new information regarding the conventional torrefaction process, as well as study the innovative techniques that have been in development for the improvement of the torrefied biomass qualities. With this study, conclusions were made regarding the importance of torrefaction in the energy field, after considering the economic status of this renewable resource. The importance of the torrefaction parameters on the final properties of torrefied biomass was also highly considered, as well as the importance of the reactor scales for the definition of ideal protocols.

In the context of the globalization and internationalization of economies, to efficiently attract financial and intellectual capital that is necessary for business sustainability, the mechanisms of corporate governance have to be based on gaining the trust of all the interested parties. These objectives require an organizational culture and a climate which is based on correctness, responsibility, transparency, and efficiency, in which ethical principles govern the spread of behaviors in the entire entity. This research identifies the relation between the corporate governance and the entities’ financial performance using the specific context of Romania. The findings of this study reveal new insights on the corporate governance and financial performance based on a sample of companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The results show a positive correlation between the net accounting results, earnings per share, and the duality of the CEO, and a negative correlation between price per share and the duality of the CEO.

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) provides an attractive alternative method for the treatment of high-moisture waste and, in particular, digested sludge. HTC could reduce the costs and environmental risks associated with sludge handling and management. Although it is recognized that the dewaterability of hydrochars produced from digested sludge, even at mild temperatures (180–190 °C), is highly improved with respect to the starting material, the filterability of HTC slurries for the recovery of the solid material (hydrochar) still represents a challenge. This study presents the results of an investigation into the filterability of agro-industrial digested sludge HTC slurries produced by a C-700 CarboremTM HTC industrial-scale plant. The filterability of HTC slurries, produced at 190 °C for 1 h, with the use of acid solutions of hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid or citric acids, was investigated by using a semi-industrial filter press. The use of sulfuric acid or citric acid solutions, in particular, significantly improved the filterability of HTC slurries, reducing the time of filtration and residual moisture content. The acid treatment also promoted the migration of heavy metals and phosphorus (P) in the HTC filtrate solution. This study demonstrates that P can be recovered via the precipitation of struvite in high yields, recovering up to 85 wt% by mass of its initial P content.

The importance of the sustainability concept has gained increasing attention from scholars and practitioners. In this context, the aim of this study was to examine the determinants of intention to continue to use the new Metro in Qatar, which is considered a sustainable mode of travel. Therefore, in this paper, a special attention was paid to certain variables, such as environmental concern, perceived quality, and perceived benefits. A quantitative method approach was employed, in which data were collected based on self-administered questionnaires. A total of 1334 Qatar residents responded to the survey questionnaire, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used for hypothesis testing. The results confirmed the direct effects of perceived behavioral control, social influence, and attitudes on the intention of residents to continue to use the Metro network in their travel. Moreover, perceived behavioral control was found to play a mediating role, enhancing the indirect relationship between perceived benefits and intention to continue to use the Metro network. More importantly, environmental concerns significantly and positively affected the attitudes and perceived behavioral control of travelers; furthermore, these variables presented a mediated influence—through service quality—on the intention to continue to use the Metro network. This study enriched the sustainability behavior literature by examining the influences of crucial factors. Thus, this study is considered of great value for policy-makers who hope to maximize the awareness level of environmental sustainability among the population, in order to encourage them to embrace changes in their lifestyle towards becoming more environmentally responsible.