scholarly journals Waste apple pomace conversion to acrylic acid: Economic and environmental assessment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oseweuba Okoro ◽  
Lei Nie ◽  
Houman Alimoradi ◽  
Amin Shavandi
Keyword(s):  
Acrylic Acid ◽  
Economic Performance ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Apple Pomace ◽  
Process Models ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Selling Price ◽  
Propylene Oxidation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Production Strategies

The global demand for acrylic acid (AA) is increasing due to its wide range of applications. Due to this growing demand, alternative AA production strategies must be explored to avoid the exacerbation of prevailing climate and global warming issues since current AA production strategies involve AA production using fossil resources. Investigations on alternative strategies for AA production therefore constitute an important research interest. The present study therefore assesses waste apple pomace (WAP) as a feedstock for the sustainable AA produc-tion. To undertake this assessment, process models, based on two production pathways were designed, modelled and simulated in ASPEN plus® software. The two competing production pathways investigated include a process incorporating WAP conversion to lactic acid (LA), prior to LA dehydration to generate AA (denoted as the FD pathway) and another process involving WAP conversion to propylene, prior to propylene oxidation to generate AA (denoted as the TFO pathway). Economic and environmental performances of the FD and TFO pathways were assessed via the minimum selling price (MSP) and potential environmental impacts per h (PEI/h) metrics. The study was able to show that the FD pathway presented an improved economic performance (MSP of AA: US $1.17 per kg) performance compared to the economic performance (MSP of AA: US $1.56 per kg) of the TFO pathway. Crucially, the TFO process was shown to present an improved environmental performance (2.07 kPEI/h) compared to the environmental performance of the FD process (8.72 kPEI/h). These observations sug-gests that the selection of the preferred AA production will require a trade-off between the performance measures, and the integration of a multi-criteria decision assessment in future work.

scholarly journals Waste Apple Pomace Conversion to Acrylic Acid: Economic and Potential Environmental Impact Assessments

Fermentation ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Oseweuba Valentine Okoro ◽  
Lei Nie ◽  
Houman Alimoradi ◽  
Amin Shavandi
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Acrylic Acid ◽  
Economic Performance ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Apple Pomace ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Selling Price ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Production Strategies ◽  
Potential Environmental Impact

The global demand for acrylic acid (AA) is increasing due to its wide range of applications. Due to this growing demand, alternative AA production strategies must be explored to avoid the exacerbation of prevailing climate and global warming issues since current AA production strategies involve fossil resources. Investigations regarding alternative strategies for AA production therefore constitute an important research interest. The present study assesses waste apple pomace (WAP) as a feedstock for sustainable AA production. To undertake this assessment, process models based on two production pathways were designed, modelled and simulated in ASPEN plus® software. The two competing production pathways investigated included a process incorporating WAP conversion to lactic acid (LA) prior to LA dehydration to generate AA (denoted as the fermentation–dehydration, i.e., FD, pathway) and another process involving WAP conversion to propylene prior to propylene oxidation to generate AA (denoted as the thermochemical–fermentation–oxidation, i.e., TFO, pathway). Economic performance and potential environmental impact of the FD and TFO pathways were assessed using the metrics of minimum selling price (MSP) and potential environmental impacts per h (PEI/h). The study showed that the FD pathway presented an improved economic performance (MSP of AA: USD 1.17 per kg) compared to the economic performance (MSP of AA: USD 1.56 per kg) of the TFO pathway. Crucially, the TFO process was determined to present an improved environmental performance (2.07 kPEI/h) compared to the environmental performance of the FD process (8.72 kPEI/h). These observations suggested that the selection of the preferred AA production pathway or process will require a tradeoff between economic and environmental performance measures via the integration of a multicriteria decision assessment in future work.

scholarly journals Empirical Correlation between Inelastic and Elastic Spectral Displacement Demands

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 1419-1448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Stafford ◽  
Timothy J. Sullivan ◽  
Domenico Pennucci
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Hazard ◽  
Hazard Assessment ◽  
Spectral Response ◽  
Seismic Hazard Assessment ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Earthquake Intensity ◽  
Empirical Relationships ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Performance Based Seismic Design ◽  
Displacement Demand

Inelastic spectral displacement demand is arguably one of the most effective, simplified means of relating earthquake intensity to building damage. However, seismic hazard assessment is typically conducted using empirical ground-motion prediction equations (GMPEs) that only provide indications of elastic spectral response quantities, which an engineer subsequently relates to inelastic demands using empirical relationships such as the equal-displacement rule. An alternative approach is to utilize relationships for the inelastic spectral displacement demand directly within the seismic hazard assessment process. Such empirical relationships are developed in this work, as a function of magnitude, distance, building period, and yield strength coefficient, for four different hysteretic models that are representative of a wide range of possible structural typologies found in practice. The new relationships are likely to be particularly useful for performance-based seismic design and assessment.

scholarly journals A framework for corrosion assessment in metallic structures, from data analysis to risk based inspection

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-20
Author(s):  
Xiaofei Cui ◽  
Xiaoxia Liang ◽  
Ujjwal Bharadwaj
Keyword(s):  
Corrosion Damage ◽  
Quantitative Information ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Steel Bridge ◽  
Destructive Testing ◽  
Metallic Structures ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Corrosion Assessment ◽  
Metallic Corrosion ◽  
Non Destructive

Metallic corrosion is a big challenge affecting many sectors in a nation’s economy. Necessary corrosion prevention actions have to be taken in order to maintain the integrity of engineering assets susceptible to corrosion. This paper proposes a holistic framework to support the management of corrosion in metallic structures. It is a fully automation corrosion assessment process, with risk updated by Bayesian theory. Through analyzing the thickness data measured by non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques, the influence of corrosion on the component can be estimated using statistical methods, which will enable users to make decisions on maintenance based on quantitative information. A case study using corrosion data from a steel bridge is included to demonstrate the proposed framework. It improved the conventional corrosion analysis method by the proposed statistical approach using representative thickness data, which aims to take full use of the remaining life. This model can be adapted to a wide range of metallic structure suffering from corrosion damage.

scholarly journals The Efffect of Environmental Management Accounting, Environmental Strategy on Environmental Performance and Financial Performance Moderated By Managerial Commitment

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-119
Author(s):  
Eko Cahyo Mayndarto ◽  
Yvonne Agustine
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
Performance Management ◽  
Significant Influence ◽  
Economic Performance ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Management Accounting ◽  
Environmental Strategy ◽  
Management Commitment ◽  
Environmental Management Accounting ◽  
The Impact

Environmental management (EMA) has been considered as a successful idea to reduce ecological burdens in the form of energy dependence and carbon footprint. In addition to the company's highest emphasis on EMA, the organization's environmental strategy (ENS) is articulated and implemented with ecological motivation. The role of the ENS strengthens the internal awareness of the organization to improve environmental conditions and thereby helps reduce negative environmental stresses. In addition, with increasing environmental regulations in place, the need for sound environmental policies and strategies of the company is essential to protect future growth and market image. Results There is a significant influence of environmental management accounting to encourage environmental performance, there is a significant effect of environmental management accounting to encourage economic performance, there is a significant influence of environmental strategy to encourage environmental performance, there is a significant influence of environmental strategy to encourage economic performance, commitment to moderate management The significant influence of Environmental Management Accounting to encourage Environmental Performance, Management Commitment Cannot Moderate the Effect of Environmental Management Accounting which encourages Economic Performance, Management Commitment to Moderate the significant influence of Environmental Strategy to encourage Environmental Performance and Management Commitment to Moderate the Impact of Environmental Strategy which is significant to encourage Economic Performance .  

scholarly journals Broadening Our Understanding of Human Resource Management for Improved Environmental Performance

2021 ◽  
pp. 000765032110532
Author(s):  
Florencio F. Portocarrero ◽  
Anne-Laure P. Winkler ◽  
Jone L. Pearce
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Human Resource Management ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Performance Evaluations ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Performance Criteria ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Hrm Practices

This article evaluates the effect of different human resource management (HRM) practices on organizations’ environmental performance. We develop a model to evaluate the influence of a broad range of HRM practices, including environmental performance criteria in managers’ performance evaluations and two types of internal corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices: socially responsible employee benefits and corporate volunteering practices. To this end, we analyze a sample of 142 manufacturing companies that have completed B Lab’s Impact Assessment process to certify their environmental performance. The results show that including environmental criteria in a higher proportion of managers’ performance evaluations directly impacts organizations’ environmental performance and strengthens the positive effect of other environmental management practices. The findings also demonstrate the direct effects of both types of CSR practices on an organization’s environmental performance. Our study advances recent work on Green HRM and CSR by identifying the specific HRM practices that allow organizations to move from being part of the world’s environmental problem to being part of the solution.

scholarly journals Do Environmental Performance and Disclosure Contribute to the Economic Performance? The Moderating Role of Corporate Action

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-47
Author(s):  
Indra Saputra ◽  
Etty Murwaningsari
Keyword(s):  
Economic Performance ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Linear Regression Method ◽  
Company Performance ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Corporate Action ◽  
Negative Effect

Objective – The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of environmental performance and environmental disclosure on economic performance of the Indonesian listed manufacturing companies by using corporate action as a moderating variable.  Design/methodology – This study used secondary data obtained from the official website of the Indonesia Stock Exchange and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Indonesia. The sample consisted of manufacturing companies that are listed and follow the Company Performance Rating Assessment Program (Program Penilaian Peringkat Kinerja Perusahaan/PROPER) issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry for the period of 2011-2016. The study employed a purposive sampling approach, which includes 22 companies with 132 observations. The multiple linear regression method was used for data analysis. Results – The results indicated that environmental performance has a significant positive effect while environmental disclosure has a significant negative effect on economic performance. The testing of corporate action as a moderating variable demonstrated that it could not strengthen the effect of environmental performance on economic performance. However, it could enhance the effect of environmental disclosure on economic performance.

scholarly journals Business Process Models in the Context of Predictive Process Monitoring

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-46
Author(s):  
Florian Spree
Keyword(s):  
Process Monitoring ◽  
Business Process ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Process Models ◽  
Business Process Model ◽  
Business Process Models ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Predictive Process

Predictive process monitoring is a subject of growing interest in academic research. As a result, an increased number of papers on this topic have been published. Due to the high complexity in this research area a wide range of different experimental setups and methods have been applied which makes it very difficult to reliably compare research results. This paper's objective is to investigate how business process models and their characteristics are used during experimental setups and how they can contribute to academic research. First, a literature review is conducted to analyze and discuss the awareness of business process models in experimental setups. Secondly, the paper discusses identified research problems and proposes the concept of a web-based business process model metric suite and the idea of ranked metrics. Through a metric suite researchers and practitioners can automatically evaluate business process model characteristics in their future work. Further, a contextualization of metrics by introducing a ranking of characteristics can potentially indicate how the outcome of experimental setups will be. Hence, the paper's work demonstrates the importance of business process models and their characteristics in the context of predictive process monitoring and proposes the concept of a tool approach and ranking to reliably evaluate business process models characteristics.

Influence research of multi-dimensional tech-innovation behavior on tech-innovation performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fu-li Zhou ◽  
Xu Wang ◽  
Yun Lin ◽  
Yan-dong He ◽  
Nan Wu
Keyword(s):  
Economic Performance ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Innovation Performance ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Innovation Activity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Innovation Behavior

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the research on the influence of tech-innovation behavior on tech-innovation performance for Chinese manufacturing enterprises. Environmental performance has been taken into consideration with the green manufacturing and sustainability philosophy being a hotspot. Design/methodology/approach To verify the hypotheses and assumptions, a questionnaire was designed and a semi-structured interview was conducted for data collection. In addition, structural equation modeling (SEM) is applied to verify the influence model through assessing the fitting indexes based on the 317 questionnaire responses in the form of Likert-type scale. Findings Tech-innovation behavior and activity from direction, mode and investment behavior dimensions show their different positive influences on tech-innovation performance. This paper has creatively taken environmental tech-innovation performance into consideration, as well as economic performance. This investigation has provided the interpretation for each individual enterprise from three dimensions when conducting tech-innovation activity. Research limitations/implications Tech-innovation behavior, which has been a subject of extended discussion during recent decades, is the effective activity or action for tech-innovation. However, there have not been any studies on the environmental performance influence study, as well as the economic performance from these three dimensions and framework. Practical implications As this paper discusses the tech-innovation performance influence study from three dimensions, individual enterprises can choose the corresponding action for the proper tech-innovation path, especially for small- and medium-sized enterprises. Originality/value This study helps managers recognize tech-innovation activities for better tech-innovation performance based on the empirical study.

scholarly journals Circumventing Unintended Impacts of Waste N95 Facemask Generated during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Conceptual Design Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
Oseweuba Valentine Okoro ◽  
Adjoa Nkrumah Banson ◽  
Hongxia Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Fermentation Process ◽  
Combined Heat And Power ◽  
Hydrothermal Liquefaction ◽  
Process Models ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Generation Process ◽  
Liquefaction Process ◽  
Waste Conversion

The global crisis arising from the current COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a surge in the magnitude of global waste from used Personal Protective Equipment with special emphasis on waste N95 facemask. Creative approaches are therefore required to resolve the surging facemask waste disposal issue in an economical and environmentally friendly manner. In an attempt to resolve the evolving global waste challenge, the present study has assessed the economic and environmental performances of converting N95 facemasks to steam and electricity via a combined heat and power plant, to ethanol via a syngas fermentation process, and to an energy-dense gasoline-like oil product via a hydrothermal liquefaction process. These processes were assessed using “conceptual” process models developed using ASPEN plus as the process simulation tool. Economic and environment assessments were undertaken using net present values (NPVs) and the rate of potential environmental impacts (PEIs) respectively, as sufficient performance measures. Therefore, the present study was able to establish that the conversion of waste N95 facemask to syngas prior to a fermentation process for ethanol production constituted the least economical and least environmental friendly process with a negative NPV and the highest rate of PEI (1.59 PEI/h) value calculated. The NPV values calculated for N95 facemask waste conversion to steam and electricity and energy-dense oil processes were US$ 36.6 × 106 and US$ 53 × 106 respectively, suggesting the preference for the production of a valuable energy-dense oil product. Furthermore, it was observed that when the environmental performance of both processes was considered, rates of PEIs of 1.20 and 0.28 PEI/h were estimated for the energy-dense oil production process and the steam and electricity generation process, respectively. Therefore, the study was able to establish that the utilisation of waste N95 facemask for steam and electricity generation and for generating an energy-dense oil product are both promising approaches that could aid in the resolution of the waste issue if both environmental and economic performances constitute crucial considerations.

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