114,527 research outputs found
Energy efficiency in discrete-manufacturing systems: insights, trends, and control strategies
Since the depletion of fossil energy sources, rising energy prices, and governmental regulation restrictions, the current manufacturing industry is shifting towards more efficient and sustainable systems. This transformation has promoted the identification of energy saving opportunities and the development of new technologies and strategies oriented to improve the energy efficiency of such systems. This paper outlines and discusses most of the research reported during the last decade regarding energy efficiency in manufacturing systems, the current technologies and strategies to improve that efficiency, identifying and remarking those related to the design of management/control strategies. Based on this fact, this paper aims to provide a review of strategies for reducing energy consumption and optimizing the use of resources within a plant into the context of discrete manufacturing. The review performed concerning the current context of manufacturing systems, control systems implemented, and their transformation towards Industry 4.0 might be useful in both the academic and industrial dimension to identify trends and critical points and suggest further research lines.Peer ReviewedPreprin
Operationalizing the circular city model for naples' city-port: A hybrid development strategy
The city-port context involves a decisive reality for the economic development of territories and nations, capable of significantly influencing the conditions of well-being and quality of life, and of making the Circular City Model (CCM) operational, preserving and enhancing seas and marine resources in a sustainable way. This can be achieved through the construction of appropriate production and consumption models, with attention to relations with the urban and territorial system. This paper presents an adaptive decision-making process for Naples (Italy) commercial port's development strategies, aimed at re-establishing a sustainable city-port relationship and making Circular Economy (CE) principles operative. The approach has aimed at implementing a CCM by operationalizing European recommendations provided within both the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework-specifically focusing on goals 9, 11 and 12-and the Maritime Spatial Planning European Directive 2014/89, to face conflicts about the overlapping areas of the city-port through multidimensional evaluations' principles and tools. In this perspective, a four-step methodological framework has been structured applying a place-based approach with mixed evaluation methods, eliciting soft and hard knowledge domains, which have been expressed and assessed by a core set of Sustainability Indicators (SI), linked to SDGs. The contribution outcomes have been centred on the assessment of three design alternatives for the East Naples port and the development of a hybrid regeneration scenario consistent with CE and sustainability principles. The structured decision-making process has allowed us to test how an adaptive approach can expand the knowledge base underpinning policy design and decisions to achieve better outcomes and cultivate a broad civic and technical engagement, that can enhance the legitimacy and transparency of policies
Reclaiming Brownfields: A Primer for Municipalities
This resource provides information about brownfields redevelopment targeted to municipal planners and decision-makers. The primer defines brownfields, identifies benefits and barriers involved in brownfield redevelopment, discusses related issues such as green building and equitable development, and describes Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and federal brownfields funding and technical assistance resources. The primer is organized within a folder. The folder also contains case studies of brownfield redevelopment projects from the region, as well as two previously-published DVRPC resources on brownfields: the Brownfields Resource Guide: Funding and Technical Assistance for Remediation and Reuse (publication number 07052) and Municipal Implementation Tool #10: Reclaiming Brownfields
Planning for sustainable development of energy infrastructure: fast â fast simulation tool
Energy management has significant impact on planning within local or regional scale. The consequences of the implementation of large-scale renewable energy source involves multifaceted analyses, evaluation of environmental impacts, and the assessment of the scale of limitations or exclusions imposed on potential urbanized structures and arable land. The process of site designation has to acknowledge environmental transformations by inclusion of several key issues, e.g. emissions, hazards for nature and/or inhabitants of urbanized zones, to name the most significant. The parameters of potential development of energy-related infrastructure of facility acquire its local properties â the generic development data require adjustment, which is site specific or area specific. FAST (Fast Simulation Tool) is a simple IT tool aimed at supporting sustainable planning on local or regional level in reference to regional or district scale energy management (among other issues). In its current stage, it is utilized â as a work in progress â in the assessment of wind farm structures located within the area of Poznan agglomeration. This paper discusses the implementation of FAST and its application in two conflicting areas around the agglomeration of Poznan
An Integrated Multi-Criteria System to Assess Sustainable Energy Options: An Application of the Promethee Method
The planning and appraisal of sustainable energy projects involve rather complex tasks. This is due to the fact that the decision making process is the closing link in the process of analysing and handling different types of information: environmental, technical economic and social. Such information can play a strategic role in steering the decision maker towards one choice instead of another. Some of these variables (technical and economic) can be handled fairly easily by numerical models whilst others, particularly ones relating to environmental impacts, may only be adjudicated qualitatively (subjective or not). In many cases therefore, traditional evaluation methods such as cost-benefit analysis and the main economic and financial indicators (NPV, ROI, IRR etc.) are unable to deal with all the components involved in an environmentally valid energy project. Multi-criteria methods provide a flexible tool that is able to handle and bring together a wide range of variables appraised in different ways and thus offer valid assistance to the decision maker in mapping out the problem. This paper sets out the application of a multi-criteria method (PROMETHEE developed by J.P. Brans et al. 1986) to a real life case that is in tune with the objectives of sustainable development.Renewable energy, Multicriteria, Sustainable devolopment
Selecting eco-friendly thermal systems for the "Vittoriale Degli Italiani" historic museum building
Thermal systems installed in museums should guarantee the maintenance of the optimal hygrothermal parameters ranges for the conservation of their collection materials. Considering the preservation of historic buildings, according to their historical and landscaping constraints, not all the thermal system typologies could be installed in these buildings' typologies. Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to present some indications for the choice of the best thermal system solutions for a considered historic museum building, called Vittoriale degli Italiani, in the north of Italy, taking into account their installation feasibility and their related environmental impacts. The methodology includes a monitoring of the current hygrothermal parameters as well as the assessment of design heat and cooling loads related to the maintenance of the optimal hygrothermal parameters ranges for the conservation of collection materials. In addition, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of each selected system typology is considered for highlighting the most eco-friendly solution among the suitable ones. The obtained results highlights the feasible thermal system solutions able to maintain the hygrothermal parameters between the optimal ranges with a lower environmental impact in the Vittoriale degli Italiani historic museum building
Factory Eco-Efficiency Modelling: Framework Development and Testing
Eco-efficiency is becoming an increasingly important organisational
performance measure. Its indicators are regularly used alongside productivity, cost,
quality, health and safety in operations and corporate social responsibility
reporting. The purpose of this paper is to show an eco-efficiency modelling
framework, and its application in the case of an automotive manufacturer. The
framework composes, models and analyses resource and production data. Focus
on energy, water distributions and material transformations in manufacturing, utility
and facility assets are used to analyse eco-efficiency. Resources are examined in
respect to three data granularity factors: subdivision, pulse, and magnitude. Models
are linked with performance indicators to assess asset eco-efficiency. This work
contributes to industrial sustainability literature by introducing a modelling
framework that links with data granularity and eco-efficiency indicators
Opportunities for Dutch Biorefineries
Deze Roadmap Bioraffinage beschrijft een aantal mogelijke routes naar de ontwikkeling en implementatie van een bioraffinage-gerelateerde Bio-based Economy in Nederland. De Roadmap combineert korte- en middellange termijn mogelijkheden (commerciële implementatie, demonstratie plants, pilot plants en gerelateerd toegepast onderzoek) met strategisch onderzoek voor de langere termijn. Tevens zijn vier z.g. Moonshots uitgewerkt, als voorziene bioraffinagestrategieën met een grote potentie voor de Nederlandse economi
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