Addressing global environmental megatrends by decoupling the causal chain through floating infrastructure

In the coming decades humanity will be confronted with a number of complex challenges affecting the prosperity and livelihood of billions of people around the globe. The root of these challenges lies in the downright explosion in global population over the last decades combined with a staggering increase of urbanization rates leading to an unprecedented level of demand for food, water, materials and space. Consequently, growing scarcity of essential resources are an ever increasing threat towards global peace and stability. This conflict potential is exacerbated by global warming and the associated sea level rise, which can once again be traced back to the rapidly growing demand for energy and food of the world’s economies. In this paper we develop a comprehensive chain of cause and effect surrounding these global developments. Furthermore, we discuss how floating infrastructure, through its application to renewable energy generation, food production, flood protection and even urban expansion, is capable of decoupling multiple linkages in the chain, thus presenting itself as a promising mid- to long-term strategy for addressing these global challenges

From resources to research—a framework for identification and prioritization of materials research for sustainable construction

In this article, a framework is presented to aid in the identification and prioritization of research projects related to the development of materials for sustainable construction. The framework is based on a holistic ranking of materials’ technical, economic, and environmental performance as well as the future availability of their respective raw material constituents. The detailed ranking enables a comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of existing as well as newly developed materials. Each of the 27 attributes included in the framework is measured on a precisely defined scale, which is based on literature and expert data, and presented in detail. Thus, an objective and efficient evaluation of individual materials by practitioners and researchers is possible. Combining the evaluation of material performance with the analysis of factors affecting the respective long-term availability, it is possible to focus funding on specific areas and approaches where research and policy measures have the highest probability of providing long-term improvements to the construction industry. The applicability of the framework is illustrated with the evaluation of steel and stainless steel

Assessing the long-term potential of fiber reinforced polymer composites for sustainable marine construction

Fiber reinforced polymer composites (FRPC) have gain rapid interest as light-weight and corrosion-resistant materials for various applications in marine infrastructure. Despite their advantages, FRPCs are still susceptible to other environmental factors present in the marine environment and manufactured mostly from non-renewable materials. This greatly affects the overall economic and environmental sustainability of such components. To determine the long-term suitability of various FRPCs for use in marine environments, this paper provides a holistic comparison of the performance of 16 FRPCs (four fiber types: glass, carbon, natural, basalt; and four polymer resins: epoxy, polyester, vinylester, thermoplastic) not only from a technical, but also from an economic, environmental and resource perspective. The resulting ranking not only assesses each material’s long-term potential, but also provides a detailed overview of individual strengths and weaknesses. Although ranked the lowest of all materials, the partial renewability of the natural fiber composites makes them an interesting material in the longer term. Therefore, we use the framework to evaluate a number of approaches aimed at improving the overall performance of these composites

Analyse selbst entwickelter Problemlöseaufgaben

Problemlöseaufgaben sind fester Bestandteil des heutigen Unterrichts. Sie dienen dem vertiefen Verständnis einer Sache. Die vorliegende Arbeit stellt die zentralen Aspekte des Problemlösens vor und klärt wie diese in den Unterricht integriert werden können. Anhand selbst entwickelter Aufgaben werden Lösungswege analysiert und untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen verschiedene Lösungsstrategien und Denkprozesse für das Lösen von Problemlöseaufgaben auf

Holistic evaluation of the suitability of metal alloys for sustainable marine construction from a technical, economic and availability perspective

The demand for resilient infrastructure located in marine environments is expected to increase in the coming decade as rapid urbanization of coastal areas continues and industries such as oil and gas, renewable energy generation or aquaculture move further offshore to utilize the extensive amount of resources and space available on the open ocean. Increasing environmental concerns, global scarcity of various materials, as well as dwindling resource stocks have made sustainability considerations a major issue for the construction of such infrastructure. Metal alloys, as one of the most commonly used materials for marine construction, are often the focus of discussions on criticality and are associated with a high environmental impact if produced from virgin mineral resources. In this paper we analyze the long-term potential of five metal types commonly used in marine construction (carbon steels, stainless steels, aluminum alloys, titanium alloys and nickel-copper alloys). By evaluating and ranking these materials' performance according to 27 precisely defined attributes related to durability, economics, sustainability and future availability, we provide a detailed comparison of each material's strengths and weakness. Additionally, by focusing on the identified weaknesses of the individual materials we discuss promising areas of research which support the sustainable use of these metals for marine construction in the long term

Environmental assessment of alternative methanesulfonic acid production using direct activation of methane

In this paper we present a comparative life cycle assessment of two processes for the industrial production of methansulfonic acid. The conventional multi-step process for the production of methansulfonic acid is based on the reaction of methanol and hydrogen sulfide to form methanthiol which is used to produce dimethyldisulfate. The dimethyldisulfate reacts further with nitric acid to form methanesulfonic acid. A newly developed process presents the possibility to form methanesulfonic acid directly from methane and sulfur trioxide in a single step at mild conditions. Thus this process enables for the first time the production of a high value chemical through direct activation of methane on an industrial scale. The cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment conducted with the ReCiPe Method revealed that this direct process has a total environmental impact that is 3 times lower than that of the conventional process. The differences resulted from lower energy requirements and alternative reactants used in the direct process. The results therefore demonstrate the potential for methane extracted from natural gas as a greener alternative to oil as a chemical feedstock in the medium term