Resilience, Reliability, and Recoverability (3Rs)

Recent natural and human-made disasters, mortgage derivatives crises, and the need for stable systems in different areas have renewed interest in the concept of resilience, especially as it relates to complex industrial systems with mechanical failures. This concept in the engineering systems (infrastructure) domain could be interpreted as the probability that system conditions exceed an irrevocable tipping point. But the probability in this subject covers the different areas that different approaches and indicators can evaluate. In this context, reliability engineering is used the reliability (uptime) and recoverability (downtime) indicators (or performance indicators) as the most useful probabilistic tools for performance measurement. Therefore, our research penalty area is the resilience concept in combination with reliability and recoverability. It must be said that the resilience evaluators must be considering a diversity of knowledge sources. In this thesis, the literature review points to several important implications for understanding and applying resilience in the engineering area and The Arctic condition. Indeed, we try to understand the application and interaction of different performance-based resilience concepts. In this way, a collection of the most popular performance-based resilience analysis methods with an engineering perspective is added as a state-of-the-art review. The performance indicators studies reveal that operational conditions significantly affect the components, industry activities, and infrastructures performance in various ways. These influential factors (or heterogeneity) can broadly be studied into two groups: observable and unobservable risk factors in probability analysis of system performance. The covariate-based models (regression), such as proportional hazard models (PHM), and their extent are the most popular methods for quantifying observable and unobservable risk factors. The report is organized as follows: After a brief introduction of resilience, chapters 2,3 priorly provide a comprehensive statistical overview of the reliability and recoverability domain research by using large scientific databases such as Scopus and Web of Science. As the first subsection, a detailed review of publications in the reliability and recoverability assessment of the engineering systems in recent years (since 2015) is provided. The second subsection of these chapters focuses on research done in the Arctic region. The last subsection presents covariate-based reliability and recoverability models. Finally, in chapter 4, the first part presents the concept and definitions of resilience. The literature reviews four main perspectives: resilience in engineering systems, resilience in the Arctic area, the integration of “Resilience, Reliability, and Recoverability (3Rs)”, and performance-based resilience models

The state of green technologies in South Africa

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Importância dos Elementos de Terras Raras na Sociedade Moderna e sua Potencial Fonte nas Cinzas de Carvão

Introduction: Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are crucial for advanced technologies in modern society, ranging from electronics to renewable energy and defense. Their increasing demand in critical industries underscores the need for a consistent and sustainable supply. Historically extracted from REE-rich minerals such as bastnäsite and monazite, the search for alternative sources has gained prominence, among these, coal ashes stand out, produced by burning coal to generate energy, ashes contain REEs in relatively low concentrations but with significant potential due to their massive global volume. The importance of ensuring the resilience of the REE supply chain has driven research to extract these elements from coal ashes, diversifying sources and reducing reliance on specific minerals. As technologies advance and REE applications expand, the ability to recover them from unconventional sources like coal ashes could have a sustainable impact on our societies. Research into the extraction and utilization of REEs from ashes is in progress and may enhance supply security. This study highlights the global importance of finding alternative sources of REE, such as coal ash, emphasizing the need to ensure a consistent and sustainable supply of these essential elements.Introducción: Los Elementos de Tierras Raras (ETR) son vitales para tecnologías avanzadas en la sociedad actual, desde electrónica hasta energía renovable y defensa. Su demanda creciente en industrias clave subraya la necesidad de un suministro constante y sostenible. Históricamente extraídos de minerales ricos en ETR, como bastnasita y monazite, la búsqueda de fuentes alternativas ha cobrado relevancia, entre estas, las cenizas de carbón se destacan, producidas al quemar carbón para generar energía, las cenizas contienen ETR en concentraciones relativamente bajas pero con un potencial significativo debido a su gran volumen global. La importancia de garantizar la resiliencia de la cadena de suministro de ETR ha impulsado la investigación para extraer estos elementos de las cenizas de carbón, diversificando fuentes y reduciendo la dependencia de minerales específicos. A medida que las tecnologías avanzan y las aplicaciones de ETR se expanden, la capacidad de recuperarlos de fuentes no convencionales como las cenizas de carbón podría tener un impacto sostenible en nuestras sociedades. La investigación en la extracción y uso de ETR de cenizas está en desarrollo y puede aumentar la seguridad en su suministro. Este estudio destaca la importancia global de encontrar fuentes alternativas de REE, como las cenizas de carbón, enfatizando la necesidad de garantizar un suministro constante y sostenible de estos elementos esenciales.Introdução: Os Elementos de Terras Raras (ETRs) são vitais para as tecnologias avançadas na sociedade moderna, desde a eletrônica até a energia renovável e a defesa. Sua demanda crescente em indústrias-chave sublinha a necessidade de um suprimento constante e sustentável. Historicamente extraídos de minerais ricos em ETRs, como bastnasita e monazita, a busca por fontes alternativas tem ganhado relevância, entre essas fontes, as cinzas de carvão se destacam, produzidas pela queima de carvão para gerar energia, as cinzas contêm ETRs em concentrações relativamente baixas, mas com potencial significativo devido ao seu grande volume global. A importância de garantir a resiliência da cadeia de suprimentos de ETRs impulsionou a pesquisa para extrair esses elementos das cinzas de carvão, diversificando as fontes e reduzindo a dependência de minerais específicos. À medida que as tecnologias avançam e as aplicações de ETRs se expandem, a capacidade de recuperá-los de fontes não convencionais, como as cinzas de carvão, poderia ter um impacto sustentável em nossas sociedades. A pesquisa sobre a extração e utilização de ETRs das cinzas está em andamento e pode melhorar a segurança no fornecimento. Este estudo destaca a importância global de encontrar fontes alternativas de REE, como as cinzas de carvão, enfatizando a necessidade de garantir um fornecimento consistente e sustentável destes elementos essenciais

The safety and sustainability of mining at diverse scales: Placing health and safety at the core of responsibility

Mining plays a major role in meeting global resource demands with Europe hosting extensive mineral potential. However, few of these prospects are feasible for conventional exploitation due to their small size & ore grade, proximity to dense populations and tenement constraints. Hence, a significant paradigm shift towards switch-on, switch off small-scale mining (SOSO SSM) is needed in order to increase the viability of small, complex, high-grade deposits. The IMP@CT project developed mobile, modularised solutions to facilitate rapid deployment and in-situ extraction & processing, which necessitates the translation and extension of best practice safety and sustainability from established national regulations and industry standards. Despite decades of accumulated safety regulation, knowledge and experience, workplace errors and violations still lead to fatal accidents, particularly if immature safety attitudes and behaviours pervade an organisation. The presence of a mature safety culture is vital for mitigating the occurrence of injuries and fatalities, through a collective commitment to safety improvement. This study has aimed to consolidate safety and sustainability best practice that is tailored to SSM by identifying the critical safety considerations and applying safety culture maturity principles to the specific challenges associated with a semi-automated SOSO SSM system. Criteria-driven maturity modelling, informed by existing responsible mining initiatives and safety and socio-environmental culture perspectives from site personnel at all hierarchical levels, is developed to assess the environmental and social factors associated with small- to medium-scale regulated mining. The role of agile management for rapid adaptation and continuous improvement of safety and sustainability performance in SOSO SSM is discussed. This research has demonstrated that for SOSO SSM to effectively integrate a mature safety and socio-environmental culture within a flexible, containerised mining paradigm, managerial and technical agility, and human initiative must be encouraged to continuously drive progress in occupational health and safety and generate wider societal benefit

The Circular Economy Challenge: Towards a Sustainable Development

Many recent events, including the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, have proven the necessity of a transformation of the current economic system based on a linear schema of: “take”, “make”, “use”, and “dispose”. This radical change should involve all of the actors involved in the economic system: institutions, industries, consumers, and scientific research. Only cooperation among these stakeholders can ensure an effective shift toward a circular model. However, which kinds of actions can be performed to implement an effective circular economy? The present Special Issue collects nine papers that prove the possibility of implementing the circular economy from different points of view. The authors analyze all of the spheres of sustainability (environmental, economic, and social) in a variety of contexts, evaluating the effect of the circular choices. The nine papers include several key product value chains, in agreement with the most recent European Circular Economy Action Plan (e.g., electronics and ICT, batteries, plastics, construction and buildings, and food). The present paper collection proves that the circular economy is not only a simple business model, but rather, it involves the integration of many strategies for the protection of the natural ecosystem and the maintenance of worldwide economic stability. The holistic approach is essential for a successful business model, and innovation has an indispensable role in the transition. In this context, the present Special Issue aims to be a multidisciplinary collection of innovations useful for all of the stakeholders involved in the circular economy

The Circular Economy Challenge: Towards a Sustainable Development

As it is now known, we have only one earth available for our life and it is our duty to preserve it [...