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Biofuel production from algal biomass
Published in Ozcan Konur, Bioenergy and Biofuels, 2017
Jonah Teo Teck Chye, Lau Yien Jun, Lau Sie Yon, Sharadwata Pan, Michael K. Danquah
The first generation of biofuels, such as bioethanol, biobutanol, and biodiesels, is usually produced using edible, conventional crops (Ullah et al., 2015). They may be produced either by utilizing feedstock via starch fermentation of crops such as wheat, barley, potato, corn, sugar beet, and sugarcane (mostly used), or chemically by using rapeseed, sunflower, soybeans, palm, coconut, and animal fats as feedstocks (Lee and Lavoie, 2013; Maity et al., 2014). The important characteristics of first-generation biofuels include their ability to be blended with petroleum-based fuels and their efficiency in internal combustion engines, as well as the compatibility with flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs). However, the principal disadvantage of using food-based crops as feedstock is the concomitant increase in food prices due to the concealed crisis of food shortage (Naik et al., 2010). Additionally, the crop feedstock requires large agricultural areas to produce sufficient quantities of biomass, which invites competition between food and biofuel production. In terms of environmental issues, this increased agriculture yield and subsequent harvesting may lead to enhanced land clearing, loss in biodiversity due to habitat destruction, water depletion, and air pollution (Brennan and Owende, 2010).
Applications of Carbon Emission Pinch Analysis (CEPA) for China
Published in Dominic C. Y. Foo, Raymond R. Tan, Process Integration Approaches to Planning Carbon Management Networks, 2020
Jia Xiaoping, Li Zhiwei, Wang Fang
For nearly three decades, Chinese society and the environment have been undergoing rapid and drastic changes. The term “ecological civilization” is becoming increasingly important in the global discourse, especially in China (Greene, 2017). These changes will have dramatic effects on economic development and its interactions with resources and environmental issues, such as energy, water, and emissions to air and water. Wang et al. (2019) projected that China’s total emissions from fossil fuel and industrial processes will peak at 13–16 Gt/y CO2 ahead of year 2030, based on the data from 50 Chinese cities. As the largest carbon emitter in the world, China’s carbon management is of great significance to sustainable growth and global climate efforts.
Elements of the water–energy–food nexus in China
Published in Raimund Bleischwitz, Holger Hoff, Catalina Spataru, Ester van der Voet, Stacy D. VanDeveer, Routledge Handbook of the Resource Nexus, 2017
Philip Andrews-Speed, Carole Dalin
China’s geographic mismatch between its arable land and water availability has led to unsustainable agricultural expansion in dry areas, further supported by food self-sufficiency objectives. In particular, Inner Mongolia (in the Yellow River basin) and the greater Beijing area (Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei provinces, in the Hai River basin) are suffering increasingly severe water scarcity. Major associated environmental issues include soil degradation, water resource overexploitation and pollution, and land subsidence from groundwater depletion, threatening both ecosystems and human activity (Tilman et al., 2001).
A new hybrid method for manufacturing sustainability performance assessment: a case study in furniture industry
Published in Production & Manufacturing Research, 2022
Dana Marsetiya Utama, Nadiah Ardiyanti, Anindya Apritha Putri
Population growth, resource depletion, and environmental degradation have all become significant challenges for humans in recent decades (Zhu et al., 2020). The most common environmental issues are resource depletion, increased pollution, and ecological degradation (Sultan et al., 2021; Utama, Widodo, Ibrahim, Dewi et al., 2020). It has prompted businesses to incorporate environmental management concerns into their strategic plans (J. K. Y. J. K. Y. Lee et al., 2021). Waste, toxic chemicals, and greenhouse gas emissions from the manufacturing process all contribute to the manufacturing industry’s environmental impact (Ibrahim et al., 2020; Mohammad Ebrahimi & Koh, 2021). This issue causes stakeholders to be concerned about environmental issues (Helleno et al., 2017; Utama et al., 2022). As a result, eliminating environmental pollution and achieving sustainable development is a corporate social responsibility (Simpson, 2012). The concept of sustainable manufacturing refers to a manufacturing system process that takes into account economic, environmental, and social factors (Machado et al., 2020). This concept aims to produce products in a sustainable manner while maintaining global competitiveness and facing the most recent challenges and problems (J. Y. J. Y. Lee et al., 2014). This concept necessitates the use of more environmentally friendly processes and materials in the production of sustainable products, which is an essential component of sustainable manufacturing (Pusavec et al., 2010). Manufacturing sustainability should be assessed to ensure that sustainable manufacturing is achieved (Cherrafi et al., 2016). Therefore, businesses must abandon traditional techniques that only emphasize cost reduction and efficiency improvement without considering the environmental and social impacts of their operations (Faulkner & Badurdeen, 2014).
A CPSOCGSA-tuned neural processor for forecasting river water salinity: Euphrates river, Iraq
Published in Cogent Engineering, 2022
Zahraa S. Khudhair, Salah L. Zubaidi, Hussein Al-Bugharbee, Nadhir Al-Ansari, Hussein Mohammed Ridha
Iraq is one of the Arab countries located in arid to the semi-arid area. It faces a unique mix of environmental issues (i.e. increased temperature and decreased availability of water resources) due to climate change. The effects of changing weather patterns have already been noticed in recent years, with increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events and increased environmental degradation across the country (Osman et al., 2017).