Design approach of the Blantyre wastewater treatment plant using the Ed-Wave tool, Malawi

The EDWAVE tool is a PC based package for imparting training on wastewater treatment technologies. The system consists of four modules viz. Reference Library, Process Builder, Case Study Manager, and Treatment Adviser. The principles of casebased design and casebased reasoning as applied in the EDWAVE Tool are utilised in this paper in evaluating the design approach of Blantyre wastewater treatment plant in Malawi. The study established that a similar case to both the dry season and wet season conditions of Blantyre wastewater treatment works has similarities to Municipal Case 6 in Greece (2003), with a flow rate of 6,600m 3 /day. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) removal efficiency in the dry season was 87% and 11%, respectively, and 12% and 11%, respectively, in the wet season at the Blantyre plant. BOD5 and TSS removal efficiencies at Municipal Case 6 in Greece was 95% and 95.5%, respectively. The study confirmed the practical use of the EDWAVE Tool in the design of wastewater treatment systems. The study also confirmed the importance of screening, grit removal, aerobic biological treatment, and sedimentation in wastewater treatment processes

Multimedia e-learning on technologies for efficient water use

One of the Millennium Development Goals is “To ensure environmental sustainability”, with a special task dedicated to halve by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water. This task collides with alarming studies that, for instance, foresee an acute water shortage in India and other Asian countries by 2050. In this conflicting context we present ED-WAVE, a developing project funded by the Asia-Link Programme, participating six countries (India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Greece, Spain and Finland). Its goal is to create a sustainable international cooperation framework and to develop a multimedia tool for e-Learning on technologies for conservation, reclamation and reuse of natural resources. We therefore use IT tools aimed at improving people’s education, including analysis of current water use status in Asia and Europe, review of potential technological interventions, simulation of impacts of specific technology interventions and translation of knowledge into electronic teaching material

Application of the TRIZ creativity enhancement approach to design of inherently safer chemical processes

10.1016/j.cep.2005.11.009Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification456507-514CENP

Sustainable Operations Management in Logistics Using Simulations and Modelling: A Framework for Decision Making in Delivery Management

Among the other logistic functions, safeguarding the logistic management is an essential task for manufacturing firms. The purpose of this study is to propose a hybrid simulation framework, which can help to forecast events that can interrupt the operational process and have negative impacts on the logistic delivery system. Therefore, a number of research studies have addressed the logistic performance evaluations of fleet management issues in the supply chain. However, most existing research lack inbuilt of hybrid simulation models in logistic management that take into consideration of dynamic feedback and interactions effects, that would allow assessing and addressing the reliability of the logistic delivery system. For this reason, the hybrid simulation paradigm is implemented for modelling the complex logistics management system. This study suggests a novel hybrid-modelling framework with the combination of agent-based modelling and system dynamics to address the dynamic risk effects in the logistic delivery. The main contribution of this study is to suggest a new framework for decision making in delivery management to compare the outcomes of different logistics risk process. This research enables managers and scholars to combine two methods of simulation to reconfigure a framework in new combinations to produce a solution that is useful for logistic operations. The proposed framework offers decision-makers an alternative way of logistics management

Sustainable Development Goals in Mine Tailings Management: Targets and Indicators

Minerals and metals are essential to the economic and social development of our society, and they are critical to modern life. The continuous exploitation of mineral resources has led to a large amount of waste, which has a large impact on the environment. One of the main streams of wastes in mining is mine tailings, which are produced in mineral processing plants. The mining industry must enhance its contribution to achieving sustainable development by incorporating the sustainable development goals into its operations. The objective of this article is to define targets and indicators for mine tailings management to achieve the sustainable development goals, defined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by the United Nations. The result of this study is a collection of indicators proposed to measure the progress of mine tailings management towards sustainable development

Potential of Tailing Deposits in Chile for the Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide Produced by Power Plants Using Ex-Situ Mineral Carbonation

In this study, the potential of copper tailing deposits in Chile for the sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) via ex-situ mineral carbonation integrating the recovery of valuable metals was assessed. An inventory of tailing deposits and CO2 sources existing in Chile was constructed to determine the most suitable site for the installation of a future mineral carbonation plant and to evaluate the technical, economic, and environmental feasibility of CO2 capture, separation, and transport from the source to the mineral carbonation plant. The data of the inventory of tailings deposits in Chile were obtained from the National Service of Geology and Mining. For the thermoelectric plants installed in Chile, data of energy production were obtained from the Energy National Commission. Through the use of the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method and sensitivity analysis, the optimum location in the region of Antofagasta to install a mineral carbonation plant was identified. In addition, the results show that in the region of Antofagasta five tailing deposits have the potential to sequester between 66 to 99 Mt of CO2. Meanwhile, thermoelectric plants in 2018 produced about 9.4 Mt of CO2 that is available to be sequestered, with a maximum generation potential of 21.9 Mt of CO2eq per year. The methodology and the study presented can be considered as a preliminary study to identify tailings that require further analysis

Sustainable Development Goals in Mine Tailings Management: Targets and Indicators

Minerals and metals are essential to the economic and social development of our society, and they are critical to modern life. The continuous exploitation of mineral resources has led to a large amount of waste, which has a large impact on the environment. One of the main streams of wastes in mining is mine tailings, which are produced in mineral processing plants. The mining industry must enhance its contribution to achieving sustainable development by incorporating the sustainable development goals into its operations. The objective of this article is to define targets and indicators for mine tailings management to achieve the sustainable development goals, defined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by the United Nations. The result of this study is a collection of indicators proposed to measure the progress of mine tailings management towards sustainable development

An investigation of the environmental sustainability of palm biomass supply chains via dynamic simulation modeling: A case of Malaysia

With the ever-increasing need for clean and accessible energy sources, biomass has long been considered as a potential prospect. Malaysia is one of the leading suppliers and has the largest palm oil plantation in the world. Therefore, biomass from the palm oil industry appears to be a very promising alternative source of raw materials, including for renewable energy, in Malaysia. However, ensuring the environmental sustainability of the biomass supply chain (BSC) is one of the major challenges faced by the biomass industry. Therefore, this paper aims to assess the effect of changing the efficiency of transportation technology (TT) and production technology (PT) on the environmental sustainability of the palm oil BSC. We developed a dynamic simulation model to explore the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for 50 years (2000e2050) for three palm biomass suppliers (Johor, Perak and Pahang) in Malaysia. Results show that supplier in Perak produced the highest rate of GHG emissions in the whole system. Also, suppliers in Johor and Perak had the highest GHG emissions with 180e240 million tonnes (mt) CO2 equivalent (CO2e) and 375e400mt CO2e, respectively, from transportation of empty fruit bunches (EFB) product. In terms of production, the supplier in Perak had the highest (and constant value) of GHG emissions (up to 160 mt CO2e). The analysis shows that the supplier in Pahang generated the lowest level of GHG emissions. Our findings suggest that improvement of the transportation and production efficiency of BSC should be the priority to work towards the sustainable development of the palm biomass industry