scholarly journals Towards a territorial definition of a circular economy: exploring the role of territorial factors in closed-loop systems

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Carlos Tapia ◽  
Marco Bianchi ◽  
Georg Pallaske ◽  
Andrea M. Bassi
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Closed Loop Systems ◽  
Definition Of

Impedance Reduction Controller Design for Mechanical Systems

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanseung Woo ◽  
Kyoungchul Kong
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Controller Design ◽  
Mechanical Impedance ◽  
Open Loop ◽  
Mechatronic Systems ◽  
Closed Loop Systems ◽  
Guaranteed Stability ◽  
Reaction Forces ◽  
Definition Of

Safety is one of important factors in control of mechatronic systems interacting with humans. In order to evaluate the safety of such systems, mechanical impedance is often utilized as it indicates the magnitude of reaction forces when the systems are subjected to motions. Namely, the mechatronic systems should have low mechanical impedance for improved safety. In this paper, a methodology to design controllers for reduction of mechanical impedance is proposed. For the proposed controller design, the mathematical definition of the mechanical impedance for open-loop and closed-loop systems is introduced. Then the controllers are designed for stable and unstable systems such that they effectively lower the magnitude of mechanical impedance with guaranteed stability. The proposed method is verified through case studies including simulations.

Closing the Loop

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 269-272
Author(s):  
Keith Karn ◽  
Kathryn Rieger ◽  
Eric Bergman ◽  
Bruce Hallbert ◽  
Andrew W. Gellatly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Medical Technology ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Artificial Pancreas ◽  
Subject Matter Experts ◽  
Aircraft Control ◽  
Closed Loop Systems ◽  
Power Plant Control ◽  
Closing The Loop

There has been considerable study and discussion regarding the appropriate role of the human operator in automated systems. Closed-loop systems are commonplace in manufacturing, power plant control, and aircraft control, and there is a growing body of research and public discussion related to automobile control. Closed-loop systems are less common in healthcare with some notable exceptions. The Artificial Pancreas Project is an example of a medical technology where system designers are facing difficult decisions related to removing the human from the control loop. This panel presented an opportunity for open, professional discussion on such closed-loop systems in healthcare that included subject matter experts not only from healthcare human factors, but also from the nuclear, automotive, and aviation human factors domains.

scholarly journals How Do Intelligent Goods Shape Closed-Loop Systems?

2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 20-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Risto Rajala ◽  
Esko Hakanen ◽  
Juri Mattila ◽  
Timo Seppälä ◽  
Mika Westerlund
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Industrial Ecology ◽  
Open Systems ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Disruptive Technologies ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Closed Loop Systems ◽  
Industrial Ecosystems

Disruptive technologies can increase the intelligence of goods and revitalize business models in the circular economy. Applying an industrial ecology perspective, this article discusses how intelligent goods can boost the sustainability of industrial ecosystems. North American and European cases highlight how business model innovators can utilize goods-related information to develop more competitive closed-loop systems. The authors identify three archetypes of closed-loop systems—inner circles, decentralized systems, and open systems—and delineate how they leverage information resources for collaboration. This study advances the understanding of closed-loop systems in the circular economy, which is more dependent than ever on digital platforms.

scholarly journals A Circular Light Bulb Economy: Framework for Sustainable End-of-life Management of Modern Light Bulb

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
S. Selvam ◽  
Shivinder Singh Chandok ◽  
Harsh Singh
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Light Bulb ◽  
Closed Loop System ◽  
Comprehensive Review ◽  
The Impact

This paper presents a framework that focuses on transitioning from a linear light bulb economy to a circular light bulb economy by developing a closed-loop system of reuse. The conceptual framework is based on a pilot study conducted in India and strengthened by a comprehensive review and analysis of relevant literature. Accordingly, the proposed paradigms are a result of best practices identified during the pilot study. The results demonstrate the financial viability of the pilot study conducted over a period of three years. Additionally, the results provide evidence of the impact of the circular economy on economic growth, employment opportunity, and reduction in environmental waste. The discussion also identifies the barriers to the adoption of a circular economy framework including the role of attitude towards the environment and the skill gap in labor.

scholarly journals Circular Economy: Recent Technology Management Considerations : Supply chain innovation key to business-to-consumer closed-loop systems

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-75
Author(s):  
Benjamin T. Hazen ◽  
Ivan Russo ◽  
Ilenia Confente
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Technology Management ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Closed Loop Systems ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Management Perspective ◽  
Business To Consumer ◽  
Means Of Production

As citizens, organisations and governments across the globe increase their interest in environmentally and socially sustainable means of production and consumption, the idea of a circular economy (CE) has been at the forefront of recent discussions held at organisational, national and international levels. This article briefly presents the CE concept from a supply chain management perspective. Then, two contemporary, representative CE technology management problems are introduced. The article concludes with some takeaways that policy makers and managers can use to inform further CE development.

scholarly journals Water-Energy-Nutrients Synergies in the Agrifood Sector: A Circular Economy Framework

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 159
Author(s):  
Efthymios Rodias ◽  
Eirini Aivazidou ◽  
Charisios Achillas ◽  
Dimitrios Aidonis ◽  
Dionysis Bochtis
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Industrial Wastewater ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Agricultural Activities ◽  
Agricultural Systems ◽  
Chemical Fertilizers ◽  
Closed Loop Systems

Circular economy is emerging as a regenerative concept that minimizes emissions, relies on renewable energy, and eliminates waste based on the design of closed-loop systems and the reuse of materials and resources. The implementation of circular economy practices in resource-consuming agricultural systems is essential for reducing the environmental ramifications of the currently linear systems. As the renewable segment of circular economy, bioeconomy facilitates the production of renewable biological resources (i.e., biomass) that transform into nutrients, bio-based products, and bioenergy. The use of recycled agro-industrial wastewater in agricultural activities (e.g., irrigation) can further foster the circularity of the bio-based systems. In this context, this paper aims to provide a literature review in the field of circular economy for the agrifood sector to enhance resource efficiency by: (i) minimizing the use of natural resources (e.g., water, energy), (ii) decreasing the use of chemical fertilizers, (iii) utilizing bio-based materials (e.g., agricultural/livestock residues), and (iv) reusing wastewater from agrifood operations. The final objective is to investigate any direct or indirect interactions within the water-energy-nutrients nexus. The derived framework of synergetic circular economy interventions in agriculture can act as a basis for developing circular bio-based business models and creating value-added agrifood products.

scholarly journals Wastelands as an opportunity for managing Naples’ sustainable transition

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 33-42
Author(s):  
Gilda Berruti ◽  
Maria Federica Palestino
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Urban Metabolism ◽  
Urban Region ◽  
Governance Model ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Sustainable Transition ◽  
Policies And Practices

Circular economy offers new visions of how diversely urban spaces could be inhabited and managed. While the generation and management of waste is being treated through innovative practices, disused industrial, rural, and infrastructural areas are resistant to becoming included in a closed-loop cycle. They, in fact, establish wastelands that need to be completely re-imagined as a precondition for the transition. The fact of shifting the definition of a ’neglected area’ into a ‘wasteland’, in line with the metaphor of urban metabolism, could be of tactical importance for generating alternative policies and practices. In exploring how the transition impacts Naples’ urban region, the paper argues that turning wastelands into resources has the double potential of rehabilitating spaces and challenging the governance model in use, overcoming barriers in multiple sectors.

scholarly journals Barriers to Implementing the Circular Economy in the Construction Industry: A Critical Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 12989
Author(s):  
Rabia Charef ◽  
Jean-Claude Morel ◽  
Kambiz Rakhshan
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Reverse Logistics ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Sustainable Management ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Large Range ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Closed Loop Systems ◽  
Dominant Designs

To facilitate the adoption of the circular economy (CE) in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector, some authors have demonstrated the potential of recent designs that take into account the sustainable management of an asset’s end-of-life (EOL), providing an alternative to the dominant designs that end with demolition. However, there is no review of the literature that encompasses a large range of sustainable designs in the current CE context. This paper provides a critical review of journal papers that deal with the barriers to implementing sustainable designs and approaches to the EOL management of assets that have the potential to fulfil the principles of the CE. Eighteen approaches related to prefabrication, design for change, design for deconstruction, reverse logistics, waste management and closed-loop systems were found. Through an analysis of the barriers that are common among these 18 approaches, we classified them into six different categories (organisational, economical, technical, social, political and environmental). Two Sankey diagrams illustrate the interrelation between the barriers, their categories and the 18 approaches. The diagrams clearly show that most of the barriers are common to multiple approaches and that most of the barriers relate to organisational concerns. The study gives a detailed map of the barriers that would help stakeholders from the AEC sector develop strategies to overcome the current obstacles in the shift to a CE.

scholarly journals Exploring posthuman ethics: opening new spaces for postqualitative inquiry within pedagogies of the circular economy

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Helen Kopnina
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Education ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Corporate Strategy ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Critical Discussion ◽  
Qualitative Inquiry ◽  
Closed Loop Systems ◽  
Education Community ◽  
Retail Company

Abstract This article discusses closed-loop systems, namely Cradle to Cradle and circular economy, in the context of sustainable education. These circular models, at least ideally, promise absolute decoupling of resource consumption from the economy. This article presents student assignments applying these models to Hennes & Mauritz, a clothing retail company, and insect food producer, Protix. While the discussion of circular economy revolves around the economic benefits of closed-loop systems, it rarely addresses posthumanism. Posthumanism is related to postqualitative theory, inspired by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari. Deleuze and Guattari emphasize that nature has become intertwined with technology and culture. In the cases discussed, combining both techno- and organic materials produces ‘monstrous hybrids’. It appears that fully circular solutions are rare as absolute decoupling is limited by thermodynamic (im)possibilities. This realization still has to be developed in environmental education. Within this posthumanist inquiry, the larger lesson from the case studies is the necessity of teaching about degrowth in production, consumption and corporate strategy. In pedagogical terms, this article aims to generate a more critical discussion within the environmental education community about how postqualitative inquiry can provide different and distinct perspectives from qualitative inquiry in the context of the circular economy.

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