scholarly journals Investigation of Potential Environmental Impacts and Sustainable Management of Municipal Solid Waste using the Driving force-Pressure-State-Impact-Response-Outcome (DPSIRO) framework: Case of Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

Author(s):  
Awoke Misganaw ◽  
Banchamlak Akenaw

Abstract The generation of MSW in urban areas in Ethiopia and elsewhere continues to increase and poses a challenge to city governments and citizens if the wastes are not properly managed. Applying an integrated system for managing MSW and recovering the material for use in new products can reduce the negative impacts on the environment. The purpose of this study is to apply the DPSIRO framework to develop a system that reduces the negative impacts of MSW in Bahir Dar city in a sustainable way. The research started by identifying the main driving forces that lead to the generation of MSW. Then, states because of pressures and the consequent impacts were investigated. Finally, the appropriate responses and outcomes obtained from the responses were dealt with. Methods used to quantify GHG emissions, leachate, and eutrophication potential were applied. According to the findings, the waste disposal site emits an estimated 46Gg of greenhouse gases per year in 2020.The eutrophication capacity of organic waste generated in the city was 0.0594 Kg N-equivalent or 59.4g N-equivalent. The waste also contains an average of 1,112mm of leachate per day on an annual basis. The state of the environment has an impact on human health and the ecosystem. Applying the circular economic system, knowledge transfer, and waste management fees are the main responses suggested to decision and policy makers. The responses correspond with balanced economic, social and environmental situations. Outcomes were quantified in terms of organic fertilizer, income and renewable energy (briquette) when the actions were taken.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 6736
Author(s):  
Ong Heo ◽  
Yeowon Yoon ◽  
Jinung Do

When underground space requires excavation in areas below the water table, the foundation system suffers from buoyancy, which leads to the uplifting of the superstructure. A deep foundation system can be used; however, in cases where a hard layer is encountered, high driving forces and corresponding noises cause civil complaints in urban areas. Micropiles can be an effective alternative option, due to their high performance despite a short installation depth. Pressurized grouting is used with a packer to induce higher interfacial properties between micropile and soil. In this study, the field performance of micropiles installed using gravitational grouting or pressure-grouted using either a geotextile packer or rubber packer was comparatively evaluated by tension and creep tests. Micropiles were installed using pressure grouting in weak and fractured zones. As results, the pressure-grouted micropiles showed more stable and stronger behaviors than ones installed using the gravitational grouting. Moreover, the pressure-grouted micropile installed using the rubber packer showed better performance than the one using the geotextile packer.


Author(s):  
Moneim Massar ◽  
Imran Reza ◽  
Syed Masiur Rahman ◽  
Sheikh Muhammad Habib Abdullah ◽  
Arshad Jamal ◽  
...  

The potential effects of autonomous vehicles (AVs) on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are uncertain, although numerous studies have been conducted to evaluate the impact. This paper aims to synthesize and review all the literature regarding the topic in a systematic manner to eliminate the bias and provide an overall insight, while incorporating some statistical analysis to provide an interval estimate of these studies. This paper addressed the effect of the positive and negative impacts reported in the literature in two categories of AVs: partial automation and full automation. The positive impacts represented in AVs’ possibility to reduce GHG emission can be attributed to some factors, including eco-driving, eco traffic signal, platooning, and less hunting for parking. The increase in vehicle mile travel (VMT) due to (i) modal shift to AVs by captive passengers, including elderly and disabled people and (ii) easier travel compared to other modes will contribute to raising the GHG emissions. The result shows that eco-driving and platooning have the most significant contribution to reducing GHG emissions by 35%. On the other side, easier travel and faster travel significantly contribute to the increase of GHG emissions by 41.24%. Study findings reveal that the positive emission changes may not be realized at a lower AV penetration rate, where the maximum emission reduction might take place within 60–80% of AV penetration into the network.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2678
Author(s):  
Nicolas Brusselaers ◽  
Koen Mommens ◽  
Cathy Macharis

The urban built environment concentrates due to the growing urbanization trend, triggering construction and renovation works in urban areas. Although construction works often revitalize cities upon completion, the associated logistics activities engender a significant financial and environmental footprint if not handled appropriately. Cities have the largest potential to reduce negative impacts through requirements on construction logistics. However, today, there is a lack of knowledge within cities on how to set such demands and how to involve and manage the numerous and varying stakeholders in these processes. This paper presents a participatory decision-making framework for the governance of urban construction logistics on economic, environmental and societal levels, building further on the Multi-Actor Multi-Criteria Analysis (MAMCA). The framework was then implemented on a use case in the dense urban Brussels-Capital Region (Belgium), gathering a wide variety of stakeholders in the context of a sustainable Construction Logistics Scenario (CLS) evaluation. Special attention was paid on the identification of implementation barriers and the role of governments to facilitate the introduction and city-wide roll-out of novel CLS. Findings show how different processes are site-, actor- and condition-specific, thereby delivering a common built object which is often based on different motivations and concerns. The study proposes a flexible, replicable and upscalable framework both from an inter- and intracity perspective, which can serve to support (1) the management of processes and CLS, (2) the management of people and the community, and (3) the project and city, in the context of multi-level governance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-179
Author(s):  
Armando Dias Duarte ◽  
Saulo de Tarso Marques Bezerra ◽  
Elizabeth Amaral Pastich Gonçalves

The environment, over the years, has been subjected to strong negative impacts caused by economic policies that have promoted an uncontrolled growth of urbanization in the cities and abusive exploration of the natural resources. In this context, developing socio-environmental indicators to subsidize the formulation of municipal public policies which consider, specifically, the environmental (in)salubrity of each neighborhood or locality of municipalities is imperative. The present paper presents the construction and application of an environmental health indicator for residential neighborhoods in two localities of Caruaru City, Pernambuco State. The data adopted in research were obtained from databases of City Hall institutions, from interviews with the population of the localities and water quality analyses. The results indicated that the neighborhoods analyzed presented characteristics of medium health; water supply, the disposal of solid waste, and socioeconomic aspects require attention and priority of public policies. In conclusion, the proposed indicator can be an instrument to assist in urban planning and environmental management of Brazilian municipalities, because it can guide the performance of public managers and the civil society to identify priority actions for improving the infrastructure of the most unhealthy neighborhoods. Keywords: healthiness; environmental health; environmental sanitation; environmental management; environmental health indicator.


2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (5A) ◽  
pp. 190
Author(s):  
Khoi Diep Ngoc Vo

The paper presents the results of the evaluation of sludge decomposition ability from a municipal wastewater treatment plant by an aerobic process on the Mishimax device (MK-50). The principle of the process was based on the microorganisms activated by the bulking agent as a bio-carrier to decompose organics composition and increase the evaporation by heating. An average sludge amount of 30 kg/day was added into MK-50, with the moisture of 80.2 – 83.6 %, with the C/N ratio of around 22 - 35. The heated air with 50 oC in temperature was supplied into a rotary bioreactor during the experiment period. After every 30 days of fermentation, the results from three experiments showed that the sludge volume decreased from 83 - 85 %, the stabilization efficiency by dry weight of sludge reached at 32 - 39 %, corresponding to the average decomposition rate is 12 g/kg.day, the evaporation efficiency was more than 95 %. Sludge after stabilization process had the colour of brown-grey, pH of about 6.5 - 7.2, the humus particles with the size of less than 1 mm accounted for over 60 %, the evaluation of product indexes according to nutrients like TOC, T-N meet the standard of 10TCN 526:2002/BNN&PTNT. The stabilized sludge was used for growth plant test and compared to a market organic fertilizer under the same conditions of cultivation and monitoring. The initial results of this study were a basis for research of sludge treatment technology approaches to waste recycling orientation in urban areas in Vietnam.


2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jehosua Sinolungan

Abstract: The increasing number of vehicles which increase air pollution has negative impacts on  global health, especially that of lung problems. Nowadays, people’s mobility is fast and variable, needing better and more environmentally friendly transportation, without neglecting the socio-economic aspect. These are the reasons to develop better and more environmentally related transportation facilities. By understanding air pollution mechanisms, and kinds of particles and pollutants from vehicles, we will appreciate and pay more attention to our environment, especially in urban areas. Collaboration among health and government related departments has to be improved to regulate the use of inner city vehicles, so that it can decrease lung problems. Key words: air pollution, transportation, dust particles, urban environment.     Abstrak: Bertambahnya jumlah kendaraan bermotor seiring dengan bertambahnya polusi udara, dan menimbulkan masalah global, yang berdampak negatif antara lain masalah kesehatan paru. Mobilitas manusia semakin beragam sehingga diperlukan dukungan sistem transportasi yang makin baik pula serta akrab lingkungan, tanpa mengabaikan segi sosio-ekonomi. Oleh karena itu sistem transportasi ini perlu dikembangkan menjadi sistem transportasi yang berkelanjutan. Diharapkan dengan mengetahui batasan polusi udara, jenis, serta dampak partikel debu dan gas kendaraan bermotor bagi kesehatan manusia akan  membuat kita lebih mencintai dan memperhatikan lingkugan hidup kita, khususnya sekitar perkotaan. Perana kerjasama lintas sektoral untuk mengatasi polusi partikel debu dan gas buangan perlu ditingkatkan Pengaturan kendaraan layak beroperasi akan menekan mening-katnya kasus infeksi atau gangguan saluran napas. Kata kunci: polusi udara, transportasi, partikel debu, lingkungan perkotaan.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 91-96
Author(s):  
Judit Beke Lisányi

The economic and political transition brought many challenges for the Hungarian agricultural sector. The break-up of large agricultural holdings had serious negative impacts on food production and on the export of agricultural products. Capital intensive profit-seeking intermediaries dominate the trading of agricultural goods that has injurious effects in terms of downward pressure on production prices and an increase in consumer prices. Cooperatives have a key role in effectively tackling the common challenges that small-scale producers have to face. More vertical integration along the food chain could contribute to providing rural employment and to an increase in living standards in rural areas. This study reviews the development, the specific features and the driving forces of modern cooperatives in Central Europe in general, and in Hungary in particular. The focus is on the integrator role of cooperatives and their future role in our globalised world. JEL Classification: Q10, Q13


Author(s):  
Manju Jose

This paper emphasizes the possibility of merging artificial intelligence and Blockchain technologies to solve academic qualifications forgery issues in the educational sectors. Empirical data is collected through interviews with specialists and technical people who are interested in the emerging technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and focus group discussions in the field, as well as from reports in the reviewed literary articles. Scientific journals have also been accessed to analyse the paper goals and objectives. The findings suggest that emerging technologies can be integrated to become more efficient and effective in detecting fraud and forgery before it occurs. Considerable attention should be given to reducing and combating these issues because they have significant negative impacts on the economy and education. Accordingly, the study makes recommendations based on the results and areas of future research, considering the establishment of a unified and integrated system. Initially it will be applied as a pilot in Sultanate of Oman, then gradually it will be extended to the Gulf Cooperation Council States (GCC) and internationally particularly the affiliated and the recognized educational institutions to avoid the phenomena that affects the reputation and quality of education institutions and academic qualifications. The conclusion considers the impacts of the proposed system in the education and economy as well in general.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa Klausner ◽  
Mariano Mertens ◽  
Heidi Huntrieser ◽  
Michal Galkowski ◽  
Gerrit Kuhlmann ◽  
...  

<p>Urban areas are recognised as a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), such as carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) and methane (CH<sub>4</sub>). The total amount of urban GHG emissions, especially for CH<sub>4</sub>, however, is not well quantified. Here we report on airborne in situ measurements using a Picarro G1301-m analyser aboard the DLR Cessna Grand Caravan to study GHG emissions downwind of the German capital city Berlin. In total, five aircraft-based mass balance experiments were conducted in July 2018 within the Urban Climate Under Change [UC]<sup>2</sup> project. The detection and isolation of the Berlin plume was often challenging because of comparatively small GHG signals above variable atmospheric background concentrations. However, on July 20<sup>th</sup> enhancements of up to 4 ppm CO<sub>2</sub> and 21 ppb CH<sub>4</sub> were observed over a horizontal extent of roughly 45 to 65 km downwind of Berlin. These enhanced mixing ratios are clearly distinguishable from the background and can partly be assigned to city emissions. The estimated CO<sub>2</sub> emission flux of 1.39 ± 0.75 t s<sup>-1 </sup>is in agreement with current inventories, while the CH<sub>4</sub> emission flux of 5.20 ± 1.61 kg s<sup>-1</sup> is almost two times larger than the highest reported value in the inventories. We localized the source area with HYSPLIT trajectory calculations and the high resolution numerical model MECO(n) (down to ~1 km), and investigated the contribution from sewage-treatment plants and waste deposition to CH<sub>4</sub>, which are treated differently by the emission inventories. Our work highlights the importance of a) strong CH<sub>4</sub> sources in the surroundings of Berlin and b) a detailed knowledge of GHG inflow mixing ratios to suitably estimate emission rates.</p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Long Ho ◽  
Ruben Jerves-Cobo ◽  
Matti Barthel ◽  
Johan Six ◽  
Samuel Bode ◽  
...  

Abstract. Rivers act as a natural source of greenhouse gases (GHGs) that can be released from the metabolisms of aquatic organisms. Anthropogenic activities can largely alter the chemical composition and microbial communities of rivers, consequently affecting their GHG emissions. To investigate these impacts, we assessed the emissions of CO2, CH4, and N2O from Cuenca urban river system (Ecuador). High variation of the emissions was found among river tributaries that mainly depended on water quality and neighboring landscapes. By using Prati and Oregon Indexes, a clear pattern was observed between water quality and GHG emissions in which the more polluted the sites were, the higher were their emissions. When river water quality deteriorated from acceptable to very heavily polluted, their global warming potential (GWP) increased by ten times. Compared to the average estimated emissions from global streams, rivers with polluted water released almost double the estimated GWP while the proportion increased to ten times for very heavily polluted rivers. Conversely, the GWP of good-water-quality rivers was half of the estimated GWP. Furthermore, surrounding land-use types, i.e. urban, roads, and agriculture, significantly affected the river emissions. The GWP of the sites close to urban areas was four time higher than the GWP of the nature sites while this proportion for the sites close to roads or agricultural areas was triple and double, respectively. Lastly, by applying random forests, we identified dissolved oxygen, ammonium, and flow characteristics as the main important factors to the emissions. Conversely, low impact of organic matter and nitrate concentration suggested a higher role of nitrification than denitrification in producing N2O. These results highlighted the impacts of land-use types on the river emissions via water contamination by sewage discharges and surface runoff. Hence, to estimate of the emissions from global streams, both their quantity and water quality should be included.


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