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The Waste Management Hierarchy is used as a guiding principle for waste management of industrial solid waste. Further, it is extended for the management of industrial liquid effluents as well. The Waste Management Hierarchy consists of the five levels namely; waste prevention, reuse, recycling, recovery, and disposal. This five-tiered Waste Management Hierarchy has been adopted by the European Union under the Waste Framework Directive as a decision-making tool. This paper explores some of the technology options known and available and categorizes them according to the five levels of the Waste Management Hierarchy. This paper presents brief case studies that highlight some benefits to those who embrace this decision-making tool.

Past information systems research on real options has focused mainly on evaluating information technology (IT)investments that embed a single, a priori known option (such as, deferral option, prototype option). In other words, only once a specific isolated option is identified as being embedded in a target IT investment, does this research call upon using real options analysis to evaluate the option. In effect, however, because real options are not inherent in any IT investment, they usually must be planned and intentionally embedded in a target IT investment in order to control various investment-specific risks, just like financial risk management uses carefully chosen options to actively manage investment risks. Moreover, when an IT investment involves multiple risks, there could be numerous ways to reconfigure the investment using different series of cascading (compound) options. In this light, we present an approach for managing IT investment risk that helps to rationally choose which options to deliberately embed in an investment so as to optimally control the balance between risk and reward. We also illustrate how the approach is applied to an IT investment entailing the establishment of an Internet sales channel.

Efforts towards climate neutrality in Europe must prioritise manufacturing industries, particularly the energy-intensive industry (EII) subsectors. This work proposes a novel approach to assessing transformation options for EII subsectors. At the center of this approach we position a potential analysis of technologies’ impact on subsector decarbonisation—an approach only known so far from the investigation of renewable energy potentials. These so-called technical climate neutrality potentials, supplemented by a set of indicators taking into account energy consumption, capital and operational expenditures, and GHG taxation programs per technology and subsector, enable cross-sector comparisons. The indicators allow the reader to compare the impact on GHG emission mitigation, energy demand, and cost for every considered technology. At the same time, we keep an open mind regarding combinations of technological solutions in the overall energy system. This ensures that the technology pathways with the greatest climate neutrality potential are easily identified. These focal points can subsequently serve in, e.g., narrative-driven scenario analyses to define comprehensive guides for action for policymakers. A case study of Austria for the proposed potential analysis demonstrates that bio-CH4 and electrolysis-derived H2 are the most economical green gases, but GHG certificate costs will be necessary for cost-competitiveness in high-temperature applications. Electrification offers advantages over conventional technologies and CO2-neutral gas alternatives in low-to-mid temperature ranges. Under the given assumptions, including GHG emission certificate costs of 250 EUR/t CO2, alternative technologies in the identified climate neutrality pathways can operate at total annual costs comparable to conventional fossil-based equivalents.

Municipal solid waste (MSW) is a natural accrual in various communities resulting from daily activities, which offers challenges and opportunities. Developed countries lean towards “upstream avoidance” type of solutions, while less developed countries use “downstream remediation” solutions. In between these two options, many hybrid solutions involve triage and final disposal of post-treated reduced MSW mass.The aim of the present article is to briefly review the evolution of policies related to MSW, to address an illustrative case of a recent crisis in Lebanon, and to present the development of a multivariate analysis model on public attitudes towards MSW management. It explores incineration with air pollution control and energy recovery. Non-incineration solutions, including anaerobic digestion, may be more appealing provided the full process, its byproducts and risks, are better understood. Furthermore, the latter solution requires a higher level of investment, expertise, continuous quality improvement and supervision, especially in light of public management weaknesses in less developed countries.A multivariate linear regression analysis model is developed and presented to describe public attitudes regarding MSW management. Linear regression was used to model a direct relationship between a response variable and several explanatory variables. A simplifying assumption is made to test the attractiveness of incineration with energy recovery (IER) including a process for air pollution control. In the multivariate analysis, the dependent variable is a composite index that describes the extent to which respondents agree with a potential IER solution. The independent variables include (1) the extent of public awareness-building about upstream triage, (2) privatization, (3) quality management in daily operations, (4) challenges in implementation and (5) reliability of public management authorities. The multivariate analysis showed that there is a statistically significant and positive correlation with a requisite quality in daily operations, and in technological upfront investment. It showed a statistically significant and negative correlation with the reliability of public management and privatization. As for public awareness about upstream household level triage, there was no statistically significant correlation. This last result seems counter-intuitive, but it may be due to the fact that respondents have low expectations about the impact of their actions on government decisions. The general public, faced with socio-economic problems, may not see household triage as a determining factor. Public perception is that triage ends up with a MSW collection and transport with a mixed dumping at final destination.The analysis shows that prevention is preferred to remediation and that it requires supporting public policies to make it practical, especially in less developed countries. Bio-processes are well-accepted and may become part of the local practice once their long-term effects become better understood to mitigate potential risks. The IER option is perceived as technologically and financially viable and that clear public policies should be designed and implemented.

The present investigation demonstrated pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass rice straw using natural deep eutectic solvents (NADESs), and separation of high-quality lignin and holocellulose in a single step. Qualitative analysis of the NADES extract showed that the extracted lignin was of high purity (>90 %), and quantitative analysis showed that nearly 60 ± 5 % ( w / w ) of total lignin was separated from the lignocellulosic biomass. Addition of 5.0 % ( v / v ) water during pretreatment significantly enhanced the total lignin extraction, and nearly 22 ± 3 % more lignin was released from the residual biomass into the NADES extract. X-ray diffraction studies of the untreated and pretreated rice straw biomass showed that the crystallinity index ratio was marginally decreased from 46.4 to 44.3 %, indicating subtle structural alterations in the crystalline and amorphous regions of the cellulosic fractions. Thermogravimetric analysis of the pretreated biomass residue revealed a slightly higher T dcp (295 °C) compared to the T dcp (285 °C) of untreated biomass. Among the tested NADES reagents, lactic acid/choline chloride at molar ratio of 5:1 extracted maximum lignin of 68 ± 4 mg g −1 from the rice straw biomass, and subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis of the residual holocellulose enriched biomass showed maximum reducing sugars of 333 ± 11 mg g −1 with a saccharification efficiency of 36.0 ± 3.2 % in 24 h at 10 % solids loading.

Crop residues are an important biomass, and are significant in the sustainable development of China. This paper uses the Grey-Markov modeling approach, the cost-benefit analysis method, and the constraint optimization method to establish the potential of crop residue recycling in China (CRRC) using a bottom-up analysis. Taking 2010 as the baseline year, the CRRC model is used to determine the quantity trends of crop residue resources, simulating the recycling potential and selecting key crop residue recycling technologies for operation between 2010 and 2030. The results illustrate that the total residue output from different crops will gradually increase to 1062 million tons in 2030. The proportion of crop residue for field burning is expected to decrease as a result of guidance and support from the government. Market mechanisms are also improving the development of the crop residue recycling industry. The economic benefit of crop residue recycling is expected to be worth 132 billion CNY in 2030 according to technology structure options. Key crop residue recycling technologies preferred such as liquefaction, amination, silo, co-firing straw power and composting will account for more than 85% of the total benefits.

The economy of an industrialized country is greatly dependent on fossil fuels. However, these nonrenewable sources of energy are nearing the brink of extinction. Moreover, the reliance on these fuels has led to increased levels of pollution which have caused serious adverse impacts on the environment. Hydrogen has emerged as a promising alternative since it does not produce CO 2 during combustion and also has the highest calorific value. The biohythane process comprises of biohydrogen production followed by biomethanation. Biological H 2 production has an edge over its chemical counterpart mainly because it is environmentally benign. Maximization of gaseous energy recovery could be achieved by integrating dark fermentative hydrogen production followed by biomethanation. Intensive research work has already been carried out on the advancement of biohydrogen production processes, such as the development of suitable microbial consortium (mesophiles or thermophiles), genetically modified microorganism, improvement of the reactor designs, use of different solid matrices for the immobilization of whole cells, and development of two-stage process for higher rate of H 2 production. Scale-up studies of the dark fermentation process was successfully carried out in 20- and 800-L reactors. However, the total gaseous energy recovery for two stage process was found to be 53.6 %. From single-stage H 2 production, gaseous energy recovery was only 28 %. Thus, two-stage systems not only help in improving gaseous energy recovery but also can make biohythane (mixture of H 2 and CH 4 ) concept commercially feasible.

In the present study, an attempt has been made to grow microalgae Scenedesmus quadricauda , Chlorella vulgaris and Botryococcus braunii in mixotropic cultivation mode using two different substrates, i.e. sewage and glucose as organic carbon sources along with flue gas inputs as inorganic carbon source. The experiments were carried out in 500 ml flasks with sewage and glucose-enriched media along with flue gas inputs. The composition of the flue gas was 7 % CO 2 , 210 ppm of NO x and 120 ppm of SO x . The results showed that S. quadricauda grown in glucose-enriched medium yielded higher biomass, lipid and fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) (biodiesel) yields of 2.6, 0.63 and 0.3 g/L, respectively. Whereas with sewage, the biomass, lipid and FAME yields of S. quadricauda were 1.9, 0.46, and 0.21 g/L, respectively. The other two species showed closer results as well. The glucose utilization was measured in terms of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) reduction, which was up to 93.75 % by S. quadricauda in the glucose-flue gas medium. In the sewage-flue gas medium, the COD removal was achieved up to 92 % by S. quadricauda . The other nutrients and pollutants from the sewage were removed up to 75 % on an average by the same. Concerning the flue gas treatment studies, S. quadricauda could remove CO 2 up to 85 % from the flue gas when grown in glucose medium and 81 % when grown in sewage. The SO x and NO x concentrations were reduced up to 50 and 62 %, respectively, by S. quadricauda in glucose-flue gas medium. Whereas, in the sewage-flue gas medium, the SO x and NO x concentrations were reduced up to 45 and 50 %, respectively, by the same. The other two species were equally efficient however with little less significant yields and removal percentages. This study laid emphasis on comparing the feasibility in utilization of readily available carbon sources like glucose and inexpensive leftover carbon sources like sewage by microalgae to generate energy coupled with economical remediation of waste. Therefore on an industrial scale, the sewage is more preferable. Because the results obtained in the laboratory demonstrated both sewage and glucose-enriched nutrient medium are equally efficient for algae cultivation with just a slight difference. Essentially, the sewage is cost effective and easily available in large quantities compared to glucose.

Usage of plastics has been ever increasing and now poses a tremendous threat to the environment. Millions of tons of plastics are produced annually worldwide, and the waste products have become a common feature at overflowing bins and landfills. The process of converting waste plastic into value-added fuels finds a feasible solution for recycling of plastics. Thus, two universal problems such as problems of waste plastic management and problems of fuel shortage are being tackled simultaneously. Converting waste plastics into fuel holds great promise for both the environmental and economic scenarios. In order to carry out the study on plastic wastes, the pyrolysis process was used. Pyrolysis runs without oxygen and in high temperature of about 250–300 °C. The fuel obtained from plastics is blended with B20 algae oil, which is a biodiesel obtained from microalgae. For conducting the various experiments, a 10-HP single-cylinder four-stroke direct-injection water-cooled diesel engine is employed. The engine is made to run at 1500 rpm and the load is varied gradually from 0 to 100 %. The performance, emission and combustion characteristics are observed. The BTE was observed to be higher with respect to diesel for plastic-biodiesel blend and biodiesel blend by 15.7 and 12.9 %, respectively, at full load. For plastic-biodiesel blend, the emission of UBHC and CO decreases with a slight increase in NO x as compared to diesel. It reveals that fuel properties are comparable with petroleum products. Also, the process of converting plastic waste to fuel has now turned the problems into an opportunity to make wealth from waste.

The Precautionary Principle is in sharp political focus today because (1) the nature of scientific uncertainty is changing and (2) there is increasing pressure to base governmental action on more \"rational\" schemes, such as cost-benefit analysis and quantitative risk assessment, the former being an embodiment of 'rational choice theory' promoted by the Chicago school of law and economics. The Precautionary Principle has been criticized as being both too vague and too arbitrary to form a basis for rational decision making. The assumption underlying this criticism is that any scheme not based on cost-benefit analysis and risk assessment is both irrational and without secure foundation in either science or economics. This paper contests that view and makes explicit the rational tenets of the Precautionary Principle within an analytical framework as rigorous as uncertainties permit, and one that mirrors democratic values embodied in regulatory, compensatory, and common law. Unlike other formulations that reject risk assessment, this paper argues that risk assessment can be used within the formalism of tradeoff analysis-a more appropriate alternative to traditional cost-benefit analysis and one that satisfies the need for well-grounded public policy decision making. This paper will argue that the precautionary approach is the most appropriate basis for policy, even when large uncertainties do not exist, especially where the fairness of the distributions of costs and benefits of hazardous activities and products are a concern. Furthermore, it will offer an approach to making decisions within an analytic framework, based on equity and justice, to replace the economic paradigm of utilitarian cost-benefit analysis.