The role of consumption in material reduction opportunities: the impact of product lifetime in supplying the UK steel demand

Most of the products purchased in the UK are manufactured in other countries. As a result, worldwide greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions released to manufacture all products purchased in the UK are significantly higher than the UK territorial emissions. More than one half of global industrial emissions result from the use of steel, cement, paper, plastics, and aluminium. In this paper, the UK consumption of products that embody these five materials is estimated. For steel, which is the most widely used among these five materials, consumption and accumulation patterns are examined across four product categories. The impact of steel product lifetime extension is examined for the UK as one option for material demand reduction at the consumption stage of the supply chain. Different levels of steel product lifetimes are simulated for the UK in 2050 and their impacts are examined in terms of UK steel production, implicit steel imports, and global carbon dioxide emissions. Steel product lifetime extension promotes a reduction in the need for steel imports, by reducing the demand for new steel, which leads to lower carbon dioxide emissions required to supply the UK steel demand. The results demonstrate the criticality of a focus on the consumption stage, since any interventions made towards demand reduction of end-use goods leads to material reduction across the supply chain

The importance of eliciting stakeholders’ system boundary perceptions for problem structuring and decision-making

Differences in system boundaries and problem framings are unavoidable in multi-organisational decision-making. Unstructured problems, such as the grand challenges, are characterised by the existence of multiple actors with different perspectives and conflicting interests, and they require a coordinated effort from multiple organisations. Within this context, this paper aims to understand stakeholders’ perceptions of system boundaries and problem framings, and their potential effects on decision-making by systematically comparing different stakeholder groups’ causal maps around the same shared concern. Bridging notions from Operational Research, System Dynamics and Organisational Studies, the comparison is based on a novel type of thematic analysis of Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs) built with each stakeholder group on their perceptions of a given system. The proposed integrated approach combines qualitative with quantitative analysis, such as the centrality of the variables and the structure of the CLDs. Such CLDs comparison provides an intuitive way to visualise differences and similarities of the thematic clusters of variables, underlining factors influencing the shared concern. This could be considered a starting point for more shared understanding as well as more integrated holistic perceptions of the system and, consequently, a more systemic decision-making. Furthermore, for the sake of replicability, this paper also presents a qualitative participatory System Dynamics modelling process aimed to define the key aspects of a problem for each group of stakeholders to support a collaborative multi-organisational decision-making process. The research is based on the activities carried out for an urban regeneration case study in Thamesmead, London, United Kingdom

Product renovation and shared ownership: sustainable routes to satisfying the world's growing demand for goods

It has been estimated that by 2030 the number of people who are wealthy enough to be considered as middle class consumers will have tripled. This will have a dramatic impact on the demands for primary materials and energy. Much work has been carried out on sustainable ways of meeting the World’s energy demands and some work has been carried out on the sustainable production and consumption of goods. It has been estimated that with improvements in design and manufacturing it is possible to reduce the primary material requirements by 30% to produce the current demand for goods. Whilst this is a crucial step on the production side, there will still be a doubling of primary material requirements by the end of the century because of an absolute rise in demand for goods and services. It is therefore clear that the consumption of products must also be explored. This is a key areas of research for the UK INDEMAND centre, which is investigating ways of reducing the UK’s industrial energy demand and demand for energy intensive materials. Our ongoing work shows that two strategies would result in considerable reductions in the demand for primary materials: product longevity and using goods more intensively (which may requires increased durability). Product longevity and durability are not new ideas, but ones that can be applied across a raft of goods as methods of reducing the consumption of materials. With long life products there is a potential risk of outdated design and obsolescence, consequently there is a need to ensure upgradability and adaptability are incorporated at the design stage. If products last longer, then the production of new products can be diverted to emerging markets rather than the market for replacement goods. There are many goods which are only used occasionally; these goods do not normally wear out. The total demand for such could be drastically reduced if they were shared with other people. Sharing of goods has traditionally been conducted between friends or by hiring equipment. The use of modern communication systems and social media could enable the development of sharing co-ops and swap spaces that will increase the utilisation of goods and hence reduce the demand for new goods. This could also increase access to a range of goods for those on low incomes. From a series of workshops it has been found that the principal challenges are sociological rather than technological. This paper contains a discussion of these challenges and explores possible futures where these two strategies have been adopted. In addition, the barriers and opportunities that these strategies offer for consumers and businesses are identified, and areas where government policy could be instigated to bring about change are highlighted

Reflux-synthesized bulk and diluted W-Nb-O mixed oxide bronzes for the valorization of short-chain oxygenates aqueous mixtures

[EN] This work reports the preparation of bulk and KIT-6-diluted W-Nb-O mixed oxide bronzes by a reflux method. The influence of the incorporation of Nb and a mesoporous silica on the physicochemical features of the catalysts is studied. The addition of Nb favors the formation of single-phase oxide bronze structure, with improved Lewis acidity; while the incorporation of KIT-6 gives rise to well-dispersed mixed metal oxide particles on the diluter. These diluted W-Nb-O catalysts present enhanced surface areas and mesopore volumes. The materials have been tested in the valorization of an aqueous model mixture (acetol/propanal/ethanol/acetic acid/water weight ratio of 5/25/10/30/30), through C-C bond formation reactions. The increase in the Lewis nature of surface acid sites stands as the key point to maximize the total organic yield during the reaction (Cs-Cio products). The best catalysts maintain their catalytic behavior after five consecutive uses.Financial support by the Spanish Government (RT12018-099668-B-C21, PGC2018-097277-B-100, and SEV-2016-0683) is gratefully acknowledged. DD and AF-A thank the Severo Ochoa Excellence Program (SVP-2014-068669) and the "La Caixa-Severo Ochoa" Foundation, respectively, for their fellowships. NS thanks "Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico y Tecnologico (CNPq)" in Brasil. Authors are also grateful to the Electron Microscopy Service (Universitat Politecnica de Valencia) for facilities.Delgado-Muñoz, D.; Fernández-Arroyo, A.; La Salvia, N.; Domine, ME.; López Nieto, JM. (2019). Reflux-synthesized bulk and diluted W-Nb-O mixed oxide bronzes for the valorization of short-chain oxygenates aqueous mixtures. Chinese Journal of Catalysis. 40(11):1778-1787. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1872-2067(19)63419-4S17781787401

V- and Nb-containing tungsten bronzes catalysts for the aerobic transformation of ethanol and glycerol. Bulk and supported materials

[EN] This work report the applicability of reflux to the synthesis of supported tungsten bronzes (i.e. W-V-O and W-Nb-O), using mesoporous KIT-6 as inert support. For comparison, the corresponding bulk materials prepared by reflux or by hydrothermal synthesis have been also prepared. The catalysts were characterized by several techniques (X-ray diffraction, N-2 adsorption, temperature programmed desorption (NH3), and Raman and FTIR spectroscopies) and tested in the selective aerobic transformation of ethanol and glycerol. These results demonstrate the formation of V- and Nb-containing tungsten oxide bronzes in all of the heat-treated samples (bulk and supported materials), as well as the effective incorporation of metals (V or Nb) in the framework of tungsten bronzes. During the aerobic transformation of ethanol, diethyl ether and ethylene (in Nb-containing catalysts) and acetaldehyde, diethyl ether and ethylene (in V-containing catalysts) were the main reaction products, with very small formation of carbon oxides. During the aerobic transformation of glycerol, acrolein was mainly formed over Nb-containing catalysts, whereas acrylic acid, acrolein and COx were mainly observed over V-containing catalysts. The differences between bulk and supported catalysts have been explained according to changes in their physico-chemical properties: V-containing catalysts presenting both acid and redox sites; and Nb-containing catalysts presenting acid sites. In this way, supported materials seems to be effective in both redox and acid reactions due to the small modifications of the acid characteristics of catalysts.The authors would like to acknowledge the DGICYT (CTQ2015-68951-C3-1-R) and Secretary of State for International Cooperation in Spain (Project AP/040992/11). N.S and D.D thank "Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico y Tecnologico (CNPq)" in Brasil and Severo Ochoa Excellence Program (SVP-2014-068669) in Spain, respectively, for their fellowships. Authors are also grateful to the Electron Microscopy Service (Universitat Politecnica de Valencia) for facilities.La Salvia, N.; Delgado-Muñoz, D.; Ruiz-Rodríguez, L.; Nadji, L.; Massó Ramírez, A.; López Nieto, JM. (2017). V- and Nb-containing tungsten bronzes catalysts for the aerobic transformation of ethanol and glycerol. Bulk and supported materials. Catalysis Today. 296:2-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cattod.2017.04.009S2929

Antimicrobial activity of lipids extracted from Hermetia illucens reared on different substrates

Abstract: As the problem of antimicrobial resistance is constantly increasing, there is a renewed interest in antimicrobial products derived from natural sources, particularly obtained from innovative and eco-friendly materials. Insect lipids, due to their fatty acid composition, can be classified as natural antimicrobial compounds. In order to assess the antibacterial efficacy of Hermetia illucens lipids, we extracted this component from the larval stage, fed on different substrates and we characterized it. Moreover, we analyzed the fatty acid composition of the feeding substrate, to determine if and how it could affect the antimicrobial activity of the lipid component. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated against Gram-positive Micrococcus flavus and Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli. Analyzing the fatty acid profiles of larval lipids that showed activity against the two bacterial strains, we detected significant differences for C4:0, C10:0, C16:1, C18:3 n3 (ALA), and C20:1. The strongest antimicrobial activity was verified against Micrococcus flavus by lipids extracted from larvae reared on strawberry, tangerine, and fresh manure substrates, with growth inhibition zones ranged from 1.38 to 1.51 mm, while only the rearing on manure showed the effect against Escherichia coli. Notably, the fatty acid profile of H. illucens seems to not be really influenced by the substrate fatty acid profile, except for C18:0 and C18:2 CIS n6 (LA). This implies that other factors, such as the rearing conditions, larval development stages, and other nutrients such as carbohydrates, affect the amount of fatty acids in insects. Key points: • Feeding substrates influence larval lipids and fatty acids (FA) • Generally, there is no direct correlation between substrate FAs and the same larvae FAs • Specific FAs influence more the antimicrobial effect of BSF lipids Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Community resilience, land degradation and endogenous lock-in effects: evidence from the Alento region, Campania, Italy

This study analyses social, economic and political “lock-ins” for understanding community resilience and land degradation. The study focuses on lock-ins from within communities, using four case study communities in Italy affected by land degradation. The analysis highlights the complex interrelationships between various lock-ins, and suggests that the communities are on declining resilience pathways that may lead to increasing difficulties in addressing land degradation issues in future