Industrial sustainability and the circular economy as counterparts to the self-referral structure of Natural Law: Part II – a global case study

Part I of this two-part series of research papers identified the theoretical foundations of industrial sustainability and circular economy in the structure of Natural Law, as explained by Maharishi Vedic Science. Part I showed that all levels of a manifest hierarchy are governed by self-referral and self-interacting feedback loops, and maintained that the circular economic model represents a counterpart to the self-referral mechanics of Natural Law and is therefore more in accord with Natural Law than the standard linear ‘take, make, dispose’ economic model, which is unsustainable due to its attitude to and management of energy and other resource portfolios, waste and end-of-life products. This Part II explores the self-referral structure of Natural Law in the context of one of the world’s largest industrial hazardous wastes: alumina refinery residue or ‘red mud’. The paper examines how this solid waste residue, which is generated at a rate of more than 120 million tonnes each year, can: a) be incorporated into a sustainable, circular economic model in order to reduce waste and improve productivity; and b) be reused or repurposed as either a feedstock to other industrial and municipal processes, such as concrete and cementitious product manufacture, agriculture and mine site rehabilitation, or, if such reuse applications generate other forms of waste, how these, too, can enter further cascading circular economies through beneficial reuse. I propose that a long-term economic and environmental benefit from alumina refinery residue can be liberated when its reuse is based on the principles of self-referral and self-interacting feedback loops as described by Maharishi Vedic Science, and suggest that the deep-rooted commercial, human and environmental risks posed by this industrial waste stream can be minimized or even eliminated through a circular approach to waste management, thereby leading to a more sustainable economic future for the world

Assessing the environmental externalities from biofuels in Australia

In Australia, as in other countries, the environmental costs and benefits of biofuel production and use have been found to vary greatly according to the production method and feedstocks used. In general, the use of biodiesel produced in Australia has been found to provide greater environmental benefits than ethanol, both in terms of reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reduced air pollutant emissions. In this paper, estimates of GHG and air pollutant emissions arising from biofuels and petroleum fuels production and use are employed to calculate the change in environmental externalities when substituting biofuels for petroleum fuels in Australia. These estimates of externalities highlight the need to better understand the environmental implications of biofuel production and use.biofuels, environmental policy, greenhouse gas emissions, air pollutants, externalities, Australia, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Materialising energy and water resources in everyday practices: Insights for securing supply systems

Policies to secure energy and water supplies from the impacts of climate change are currently being developed or are in place in many developed nations. Little is known about how these policies of security, and the systems of resource provision they prioritise, affect householders' capacity to adapt to climate change. To better understand the connections between resource provision and consumption, this paper explores the notion that different 'energies' and 'waters' can be conceptualised as material elements of social practices, which shape the way practices are performed. We draw on a study of Australian migrants and their experiences with different resource provision systems in multiple countries, time periods and contexts across three generations. We discuss the differing characteristics of energy and water provision across three broad resource 'eras', and the way resources enable or reduce resourcefulness, adaptive capacity and resilience. We find that policy makers may inadvertently reduce householders' capacity to respond and adapt to climate change impacts by prioritising the resource characteristics of immateriality, abundance and homogeneity. We conclude that policy which prioritises the resource characteristics of materiality, diversity and scarcity is an important, underutilised and currently unacknowledged source of adaptive capacity

Food Tourism and Branding Tropical North Queensland

Agricultural producers in Tropical North Queensland (TNQ) have diversified through food tourism. This paper examines how industry and stakeholders see regional cuisine and local agricultural production as fitting into overall destination development and the region’s brand. A focus on local foods, including development of the Taste Paradise food brand, can strengthen TNQ’s ‘tropical paradise’ tourism brand. By moving beyond a reef and rainforest focus, which is increasingly problematic given climate change predictions, expanding the TNQ brand through food can help the region tap into new segments, increase awareness of TNQ as a multiexperience destination, and sustain agricultural producers

Soil washing, ozofractionation and metal sequestration: removing organic and inorganic species from contaminated soil and water

Most research of soil washing conducted around the world has involved the removal of inorganic species from contaminated soil matrices. Few have considered its potential for removing organic species, although it has been used to remove volatile organic compounds and diesel. Similarly, a significant amount of research has considered the roles of advanced oxidation and ozonation in destroying organic species in water, but few have examined the potential of ozofractionation to perform this role. The purpose of this study was to assess the capacity of soil washing to remove both organic and inorganic species from a complex contaminated industrial soil, and once contaminants had been liberated from the solid phase, examine whether ozofractionation destroyed organic and inorganic species and whether a chemical reagent sequestered inorganic species in the flushing solution. Findings suggest that soil washing had a salutary effect on liberating organic and inorganic species from contaminated soil, reducing total petroleum hydrocarbons, for example, from 1,290 mg/kg to 320 mg/kg. The study also found that ozofractionation destroyed organic and inorganic species, for example reducing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from 13.2 mg/L to <0.5 mg/L and cyanide from 5.9 mg/L to 0.02 mg/L, and reagents sequestered heavy metals in the flushing solution

Industrial Sustainability and the Circular Economy as Counterparts to the Self-Referral Structure of Natural Law: Part II – A Global Case Study

Part I of this two-part series of research papers identified the theoretical foundations of industrial sustainability and circular economy in the structure of Natural Law, as explained by Maharishi Vedic Science. Part I showed that all levels of a manifest hierarchy are governed by self-referral and self-interacting feedback loops, and maintained that the circular economic model represents a counterpart to the self-referral mechanics of Natural Law and is therefore more in accord with Natural Law than the standard linear ‘take, make, dispose’economic model, which is unsustainable due to its attitude to and management of energy and other resource portfolios, waste and end-of-life products.This Part II explores the self-referral structure of Natural Law in the context of one of the world’s largest industrial hazardous wastes: alumina refinery residue or ‘red mud’. The paper examines how this solid waste residue, which is generated at a rate of more than 120 million tonnes each year, can: a) be incorporated into a sustainable, circular economic model in order to reduce waste and improve productivity; and b) be reused or repurposed as either a feedstock to other industrial and municipal processes, such as concrete and cementitious product manufacture, agriculture and mine site rehabilitation, or, if such reuse applications generate other forms of waste, how these, too, can enter further cascading circular economies through beneficial reuse. I propose that a long-term economic and environmental benefit from alumina refinery residue can be liberated when its reuse is based on the principles of self-referral and self-interacting feedback loops as described by Maharishi Vedic Science, and suggest that the deep-rooted commercial, human and environmental risks posed by this industrial waste stream can be minimized or even eliminated through a circular approach to waste management, thereby leading to a more sustainable economic future for the world

Beach Erosion and Nourishment in Gold Coast: Perceptions, Policies and Prospects

The combination of ongoing urban development and forecasted impacts of the changing climate are projected to place many coastal areas at risk. One of the associated risks is beach erosion, and consequently, nourishment initiatives have become a costly sustainable development issue for local and state governments. For instance, the popular Palm Beach, a nearly four kilometres stretch of sandy beach on the southern Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia has been identified as being more susceptible to serious erosion than other beaches in the city. Consequently, the local council has spent millions of dollars on beach nourishment and is seeking ways to fund the initiative. In this context of coastal management, an exploratory pilot research project was undertaken to examine the question of - “how do local residents and tourists perceive the problem of beach erosion and to what extent are they willing to support beach nourishment initiatives”? Results of quantitative analyses of 68 face to face survey responses of beach goers (local residents and tourists) are outlined in terms of Willingness to Donate (WTD) framework. Findings indicate: a) more than three-quarters of respondents perceived beach nourishment as an important issue, b) local residents were more willing to volunteer towards beach nourishment, and c) tourists were more willing to donate money to work towards resolving the problem. The financial and policy implications of these findings in the context of beach nourishment are discussed

Energy demand on dairy farms in Ireland

peer-reviewedReducing electricity consumption in Irish milk production is a topical issue for 2 reasons. First, the introduction of a dynamic electricity pricing system, with peak and off-peak prices, will be a reality for 80% of electricity consumers by 2020. The proposed pricing schedule intends to discourage energy consumption during peak periods (i.e., when electricity demand on the national grid is high) and to incentivize energy consumption during off-peak periods. If farmers, for example, carry out their evening milking during the peak period, energy costs may increase, which would affect farm profitability. Second, electricity consumption is identified in contributing to about 25% of energy use along the life cycle of pasture-based milk. The objectives of this study, therefore, were to document electricity use per kilogram of milk sold and to identify strategies that reduce its overall use while maximizing its use in off-peak periods (currently from 0000 to 0900h). We assessed, therefore, average daily and seasonal trends in electricity consumption on 22 Irish dairy farms, through detailed auditing of electricity-consuming processes. To determine the potential of identified strategies to save energy, we also assessed total energy use of Irish milk, which is the sum of the direct (i.e., energy use on farm) and indirect energy use (i.e., energy needed to produce farm inputs). On average, a total of 31.73 MJ was required to produce 1kg of milk solids, of which 20% was direct and 80% was indirect energy use. Electricity accounted for 60% of the direct energy use, and mainly resulted from milk cooling (31%), water heating (23%), and milking (20%). Analysis of trends in electricity consumption revealed that 62% of daily electricity was used at peak periods. Electricity use on Irish dairy farms, therefore, is substantial and centered around milk harvesting. To improve the competitiveness of milk production in a dynamic electricity pricing environment, therefore, management changes and technologies are required that decouple energy use during milking processes from peak periods

Beneficial reuse: A field trial to remediate and a bench-scale test to revegetate coal seam gas dam sediments from Queensland

Coal seam gas (CSG) has become an increasingly common method of extracting methane from coal in Australia, with more than 20,000 wells expected to enter production by 2020. However, large quantities of 'produced water' also come to the surface with gas, and these several thousand litres of water per day per well have to be managed sustainably. Furthermore, up to five percent of produced water is composed of suspended or dissolved solids, most typically present in the form of salty brines and a range of other elements, sometimes including benzene and other hydrocarbons like phenols. CSG solids therefore have a high pH and total alkalinity, and hence have elevated electrical conductivity. As a consequence, the settled solids from CSG extraction have no proven beneficial reuse value, and successful revegetation of dams and untreated sediments is limited to salt-tolerant grass species but is often impossible using any species under any condition. The purpose of this study is to investigate the remediation of CSG dam sediments from Queensland for the purposes of determining their potential beneficial reuse as 'clean, usable soil' in revegetation projects. Experiment #1, a field trial conducted in the Bowen Basin, examined the impact of various additives to two different types of CSG dam sediments. Experiment #1 found that both types of sediment could be remediated, examples of which include decreases in pH from 10.0 to 7.4, chloride from 19,900mg/kg to 1,770mg/kg, cation-exchange capacity (CEC) from 23meq/100g to 4.0meq/100g, and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) from 931meq/100g to 44meq/100g, and increases in total phosphorus from 27mg/kg to 855mg/kg and total nitrogen from 950mg/kg to 3,520mg/kg. These findings confirm that contaminated CSG sediments have beneficial reuse potential in dam decommissioning and revegetation projects. Experiment #2, a bench-scale test utilizing samples of treated sediments from Experiment #1, examined the revegetation potential of these remediated CSG sediments. Experiment #2 showed that both types of CSG dam sediment could be effectively revegetated using non-salt-tolerant grass species, while untreated sediments were not suitable for revegetation. However, the design and scale of this work need to be expanded, and variables such as sediment pH, CEC and SAR should be monitored and controlled more carefully before fully reliable conclusions can be made about the revegetation potential of treated CSG dam sediments

A field trial to engender micro-concentrations of lead (II) using a novel sorbent in highly acidic industrial wastewater at a smelter site in Derbyshire

This study examines the relationship between extreme acidity and heavy metals (with a primary focus on lead) in industrial wastewater and the role of chemical reagents derived from alumina refinery residue to neutralize acid and reduce heavy metals to micro-concentrations (i.e., less than 150 μg/L) at a lead smelter in Derbyshire, England. The role of alumina refinery residue reagents in reducing the need for added flocculants and coagulants is also investigated. During the field trial, influent pH to the smelter’s wastewater treatment plant averaged 1.7, with lead concentrations of 4.2 mg/L, cadmium concentrations of 8.7 mg/L, and zinc concentrations of 49.7 mg/L. As a result of adding two chemical reagents at a rate of 0.25 g/L to Tanks 1 and 2 in the wastewater treatment plant, pH increased to an average of 9.5, lead concentrations decreased to 0.11 mg/L (a 96% reduction), cadmium concentrations decreased to an average 0.05 mg/L (a 98% reduction), and zinc concentrations decreased to 0.05 mg/L (a 99% reduction), all of which were under the 150 microgram target established for this trial. These post-treatment acidity and metal concentrations were within acceptable consent limits imposed by the UK’s Environment Agency for discharge to the local receiving environment, and other floccing and coagulating agents, normally used during routine wastewater processing at the site, could be discontinued during the trial