scholarly journals An overview of the potential environmental impacts of large-scale microalgae cultivation

Biofuels ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippa K. Usher ◽  
Andrew B. Ross ◽  
Miller Alonso Camargo-Valero ◽  
Alison S. Tomlin ◽  
William F. Gale
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Microalgae Cultivation

INDUSTRY-DRIVEN AND CIVIL SOCIETY-DRIVEN STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS IN THE IRON MINING AND SMELTING COMPLEX OF CORUMBÁ, BRAZIL

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (02) ◽  
pp. 1450010 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANA CECI MOTA ◽  
EMILIO LÈBRE LA ROVERE ◽  
ALBERTO FONSECA
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Performance Criteria ◽  
Environmental Assessments ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
Iron Mining ◽  
Society Committee ◽  
Mining And Smelting ◽  
Smelting Complex

Historical records of socio-environmental impacts related to large-scale iron ore development in Brazil are driving different planning approaches in the burgeoning iron mining and smelting complex of Corumbá, located at the border of the Pantanal ecosystem in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Among the most relevant efforts are two strategic environmental assessments (SEA): one was led by a mining company and the other by a civil society committee. This paper assesses to what extent these SEAs can contribute to the mitigation of negative socio-environmental impacts of the Corumbá Complex. It also evaluates if the SEA methodologies meet a number of SEA Performance Criteria. The analyses, which were based on literature reviews and content analysis of the SEA documents, reveal that the two SEAs represent an important effort to incorporate environmental variables into more strategic levels of the Pantanal region's planning. Nonetheless, both SEAs have serious limitations, given that they are not formally nested in governmental policies, plans and programmes.

scholarly journals QSAR-Based Studies of Nanomaterials in the Environment

2017 ◽  
pp. 1339-1366
Author(s):  
Valeria V. Kleandrova ◽  
Feng Luan ◽  
Alejandro Speck-Planche ◽  
M. Natália D. S. Cordeiro
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Scale Production ◽  
Quantitative Structure ◽  
Environmental Toxicity ◽  
Qsar Modeling ◽  
Qsar Studies ◽  
Large Scale Production ◽  
Vast Range

Nanotechnology is a newly emerging field, posing substantial impacts on society, economy, and the environment. In recent years, the development of nanotechnology has led to the design and large-scale production of many new materials and devices with a vast range of applications. However, along with the benefits, the use of nanomaterials raises many questions and generates concerns due to the possible health-risks and environmental impacts. This chapter provides an overview of the Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships (QSAR) studies performed so far towards predicting nanoparticles' environmental toxicity. Recent progresses on the application of these modeling studies are additionally pointed out. Special emphasis is given to the setup of a QSAR perturbation-based model for the assessment of ecotoxic effects of nanoparticles in diverse conditions. Finally, ongoing challenges that may lead to new and exciting directions for QSAR modeling are discussed.

Investigation of the two-decade environmental impact of large-scale agricultural cultivation and its impact on climate change in the Lajta-Project

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
András Polgár ◽  
Karolina Horváth ◽  
Imre Mészáros ◽  
Adrienn Horváth ◽  
András Bidló ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Winter Wheat ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Winter Barley ◽  
Cultivated Plants ◽  
Agricultural Activity

<p>Crop production is applied on about half of Hungary’s land area, which amounts to approximately 4.5 million hectares. The agricultural activity has significant environmental impacts.</p><p>Our work aims the time series investigation of the impacts of large-scale agricultural cultivation<strong> </strong>on environment and primarily on climate change in<strong> </strong>the test area by applying environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) method.</p><p>The investigated area of Lajta Project can be found in the triangle formed by the settlements Mosonszolnok, Jánossomorja and Várbalog, in the north-western corner of Hungary, in Győr-Moson-Sopron county. The area has intense agri-environment characteristics, almost entirely lacking of grasslands and meadows.</p><p>We were looking for the answer to the question “To what extent does agricultural activity on this area impact the environment and how can it contribute to climate change during a given period?” The selection of the plants included in the analysis was justified by their significant growing area. We analysed the cultivation data of 5 crops: canola, winter barley, winter wheat, green maize and maize. Material flows of arable crop production technologies were defined in time series by the agricultural parcel register data. These covered the size of the area actually cultivated, the operational processes, records on seeds, fertilizer and pesticide use and harvest data by parcels. The examined environmental inventory database contained also the fuel consumption and lubricating oil usage of machine operations, and the water usage of chemical utilization.</p><p>In the life cycle modelling of cultivation, we examined 13 years of maize, 20 years of green maize, 20 years of winter barley, 18 years of winter wheat and 15 years of canola data calculated on 1 ha unit using GaBi life cycle analysis software.</p><p>In addition, we also calculated by an average cultivation model for all cultivated plants with reference data to 1 ha and 1 year period.</p><p>We applied methods and models in our life cycle impact assessment. According to the values of the impact categories, we set up the following increasing environmental ranking of plant cultivation: (1) canola has minimum environmental impacts followed by (2) green maize and (3) maize with slightly higher values, (4) winter barley has 6 times higher values preceded by (5) winter wheat with a slight difference. The previous environmental ranking of the specific cultivated plants’ contribution was also confirmed as regards the overall environmental impact: canola (1.0%) – green maize (4.9%) – maize (7.1%) – winter barley (43.1%) – winter wheat (44.0%).</p><p>Environmental impact category indicator results cumulated to total cultivation periods and total crop growing areas (quantitative approach) display the specific environmental footprints by crops. Increasing environmental ranking of environmental impacts resulted from cultivating the sample area is the following: (1) canola – (2) maize – (3) green maize – (4) winter barley – (5) winter wheat. The slight difference resulted in the rankings in quantitative approach according to the rankings of territorial approach on the investigated area is due to the diversity of cultivation time factor and the crop-growing parameter of the specific crops.</p><p>Acknowledgement: Our research was supported by the „Lajta-Project”.</p>

scholarly journals The rise and fall of biodiversity offsetting in the Lodge Hill large-scale housing development, South East England

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 706-731 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitrios Bormpoudakis ◽  
Joseph Tzanopoulos ◽  
Evangelia Apostolopoulou
Keyword(s):  
Urban Development ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Housing Development ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Neoliberal Policies ◽  
South East England ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Selection Of

In this paper, we aim to shed light on the geographies that led both to the selection of Lodge Hill for the construction of a large-scale housing development and to the subsequent attempt to use biodiversity offsetting to compensate for its environmental impacts. We draw on extensive fieldwork from 2012 to 2016, and diverge from previous studies on offsetting by focusing less on issues related to metrics and governance and shifting our analytic attention to the economic and urban geographies surrounding the Lodge Hill case. We argue that this approach can offer not only an empirically grounded account of why offsetting is being selected to address the impacts of specific urban development projects, but also an in-depth understanding of the factors that determine offsetting’s actual implementation on the ground. Viewing the Lodge Hill case through the frame of urbanization allows us to better grasp the how, why and when particular alliances of actors contest and/or support the implementation of biodiversity offsetting. Our analytical lens also helps exposing the fragility of neoliberal natures and the roles inter-capitalist competition and species biology and ecology can play on the success or failure of neoliberal policies.

scholarly journals Distinct microalgae species for food—part 1: a methodological (top-down) approach for the life cycle assessment of microalgae cultivation in tubular photobioreactors

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 2977-2995 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Schade ◽  
T. Meier
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Baseline Scenario ◽  
Season Length ◽  
Microalgae Cultivation ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Tubular Photobioreactor ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Tubular Photobioreactors

Abstract Specific microalgae species are an adequate source of EPA and DHA and are able to provide a complete protein, which makes them highly interesting for human nutrition. However, microalgae cultivation has also been described to be energy intensive and environmentally unfavorable in pilot-scale reactors. Moreover, production in cold temperature zones has not been sufficiently investigated. In particular, the effects of tube materials and cultivation season length have rarely been previously investigated in the context of a comparative LCA of microalgae cultivation. A computational “top-down” model was conducted to calculate input flows for Nannochloropsis sp. and Phaeodactylum tricornutum cultivation in a hypothetical tubular photobioreactor. Cultivation processes were calculated according to detailed satellite climatic data for the chosen location in Central Germany. This model was applied to a set of different scenarios, including variations in photobioreactor material, tube diameter, microalgae species, and cultivation season length. Based on these data, a life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed following ISO standard 14040/44. The impact assessment comprised the global warming potential, acidification, eutrophication, cumulative energy demand, and water scarcity. The results showed that a long cultivation season in spring and fall was always preferable in terms of environmental impacts, although productivity decreased significantly due to the climatic preconditions. Acrylic glass as a tube material had higher environmental impacts than all other scenarios. The cultivation of an alternative microalgae species showed only marginal differences in the environmental impacts compared with the baseline scenario. Critical processes in all scenarios included the usage of hydrogen peroxide for the cleaning of the tubes, nitrogen fertilizer, and electricity for mixing, centrifugation, and drying. Microalgae cultivation in a tubular photobioreactor in a “cold-weather” climate for food is sustainable and could possibly be a complement to nutrients from other food groups. The added value of this study lies in the detailed description of a complex and flexible microalgae cultivation model. The new model introduced in this study can be applied to numerous other scenarios to evaluate photoautotrophic microalgae cultivation in tubular photobioreactors. Thus, it is possible to vary the facility location, seasons, scale, tube dimensions and material, microalgae species, nutrient inputs, and flow velocity. Moreover, single processes can easily be complemented or exchanged to further adjust the model individually, if, for instance, another downstream pathway is required.

Environmental impacts of a large-scale incinerator with mixed MSW of high water content from a LCA perspective

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 173-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziyang Lou ◽  
Bernd Bilitewski ◽  
Nanwen Zhu ◽  
Xiaoli Chai ◽  
Bing Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
High Water ◽  
High Water Content

Salvage harvesting – past lessons and future issues

2006 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Lindenmayer
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Forest Planning ◽  
Salvage Logging ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Natural Resource Managers ◽  
Salvage Harvesting

The increasing prevalence and/or increasing intensity of large-scale natural disturbance events in forests means that post-disturbance salvage logging is becoming more widespread. Salvage logging can have a wide range of environmental impacts, but some of these are not well known or not well understood by policy makers and natural resource managers. Some of these impacts are briefly summarized in this paper. Improved long-term forest planning needs to be embraced that takes into account the not only the environmental but also the social and environmental impacts of salvage harvesting. Past mistakes and future opportunities associated with salvage harvesting are illustrated by a case study from the Lower Cotter Catchment in south-eastern Australia. Key words: salvage harvesting, natural disturbance, environmental impacts, ecologically sustainable forestry, forest planning, long-term forest sustainability

Identifying locations for large-scale microalgae cultivation in Western Australia: A GIS approach

2015 ◽  
Vol 149 ◽  
pp. 379-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan J. Boruff ◽  
Navid R. Moheimani ◽  
Michael A. Borowitzka
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Microalgae Cultivation
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document