New Circular Challenges in the Development of Take-Away Food Packaging in the COVID-19 Period

The COVID-19 pandemic has set new challenges for the HoReCa industry. Lockdowns have coincided with and strongly impacted the industrial transformation processes that have been taking place for a decade. Among the most important HoReCa transition processes are those related to the rapid growth of the delivery-food market and ordering meals via internet platforms. The new delivery-food market requires not only the development of specific distribution channels, but also the introduction of appropriate, very specific food packaging. Food packaging and its functionality are defined by the administrative requirements and standards applicable to materials that have contact with food and principally through the prism of the ecological disaster caused by enormous amounts of plastic waste, mainly attributed to the food packaging. To meet environmental and administrative requirements, new technologies to produce food packaging materials are emerging, ensuring product functionality, low environmental impact, biodegradability, and potential for composting of the final product. However, predominantly, the obtained product should keep the nutritional value of food and protect it against changes in color or shape. Current social transformation has a significant impact on the food packaging sector, on one hand creating a new lifestyle for society all over the world, and on the other, a growing awareness of the negative impact of humans on the environment and increasing responsibility for the planet. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to develop a circular economy based on the paradigm of shortening distribution channels, using local raw materials, limiting the consumption of raw materials, energy, water, and above all, minimizing waste production throughout the life cycle of products, all of which are in line with the idea of low-carbon development.

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Raw materials (CRM/SRM) supply from waste recycling and landfill mining: interdisciplinary approach to exploit resources from extractive waste facilities

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-12675 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Giovanna Antonella Dino ◽

Alessandro Cavallo ◽

Claudia Chiappino

Keyword(s):

New Technologies ◽

Cost Benefit Analysis ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Precious Metals ◽

Interdisciplinary Approach ◽

Integrated Approach ◽

Waste Recycling ◽

Global Market ◽

Low Carbon ◽

Low Carbon Technologies

The acceleration in deployment of the key low carbon technologies in the wind, solar, and energy storage areas has real implications for the commodities market, not only rare earths, such as indium and neodymium. Aluminum, copper, silver, bauxite, iron, lead, and others all stand to potentially benefit from a strong shift to low carbon technologies. It would be reasonable to expect that all low carbon energy systems are more likely than not to be more metal intensive than high-carbon systems. All literature examining material and metals implications for supplying clean technologies agree that building these technologies will result in considerably more material-intensive demand than would traditional fossil fuel mechanisms. At present the minerals/materials considered &#8220;critical&#8221; (Critical Raw Materials &#8211; CRM) for EU economy are mainly constituted by rare earth metals, base and precious metals. The supply of CRM is highly connected to international politics and global market conditions; most of them are exploited in countries other than EU ones, causing high economic dependence from non-EU countries.RM and CRM are principally extracted from natural resources, urban and industrial landfill sites, and extractive waste facilities. To evaluate the potentially exploitable quantity and typologies of RM/CRM and secondary raw materials (SRM), standardized protocols, including waste characterization and waste volume potentially exploitable are needed. Further to this, and together with environmental and human health aspects, the economic and societal aspects need to be integrated and therefore common cost benefit analysis (CBA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies should be also used. A more sustainable and integrated approach in the management of extractive industry at large, also thanks to proper Guidelines, is needed to boost the waste recycling. Some tools, as the sustainable finance, can be applied to encourage industries to be more responsible.Fundamental is the interaction within Research Centers, Academies, Industries and Public Administrations in researching innovative and newer solutions for waste recycling (in terms of new technologies and products) and in guaranteeing the application at a wider scale of the products, objects of patents and already tested, not already present in the global market. In many cases, the possibility to re-use SRM from mining waste is invalidate from landscape constraints or bans on protected areas; to move these limits, it&#8217;s necessary working harmonically with Public Administrations and Mining Companies in order to show them the results of materials recovered in terms of LCA, if compared to mining. &#160;The typical objection from &#8220;stakeholders&#8221; is to consider the removing operations too much invasive on territory, but this belief could be debunked with a correct, agreed approach of the project; good solutions of environmental recovery should be found after exploitation, also to solve safety and pollution problems and return the site in better condition. For these reasons, we consider to give priority to the case-histories which represent a real or potential risk (for production, of stability, hydrogeological, chemical, etc.), but in perspective mostly a precious resource.The present research investigates the chance to guarantee a more sustainable mining in selected Italian case studies.

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Eco-Efficiency and Vulnerability of Agro-Ecosystems to Environmental Threats

Annals ”Valahia” University of Targoviste - Agriculture ◽

10.2478/agr-2018-0013 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 25-32

Author(s):

Amalia-Gianina Străteanu ◽

Simona Nicoleta Stan

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

New Technologies ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Plant Protection ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Crop Protection ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Plant Protection Products ◽

Efficient Production ◽

Beneficial Effects

Abstract Eco-efficiency is based on environmental, social and economic principles, focusing not only on the use of fewer natural resources (raw materials) and energy but also on the cost-effective use of new technologies (eco-innovation) for the same volume of production and generation of low waste (efficient production). Agro-ecosystems globally, once with the development of the pesticide industry (plant protection products) and under the influence of aggressive marketing, have been based on the large-scale application of big amounts (perhaps too high) of pesticides. Many of the pesticides used in agriculture have a high persistence and degrade very slowly, which leads to the soil, water and even air pollution, with negative effects on plants, animals and, implicitly, humans. If these are used in short term and at low concentrations, pesticides can have beneficial effects (crop protection and their conservation and prevention of vector-borne disease) but in large quantities and applied over a long period of time can be toxic to humans and with a negative impact on the environment and ecosystems (degrading essential ecosystem services).

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USING THE METHODOLOGY OF "GREEN" CONSTRUCTION FOR RATING EVALUATION OF ROADS

Биосферная совместимость: человек, регион, технологии ◽

10.21869/23-11-1518-2019-25-1-84-93 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 84-93

Author(s):

Konstantin Pugin

Keyword(s):

Building Materials ◽

New Technologies ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Construction Materials ◽

Road Construction ◽

Environmental Safety ◽

Physicochemical Condition ◽

Term Operation ◽

Green Construction

The use of new technologies and raw materials, including man-made materials, in the production of con-struction and road materials increases the risks of forming a negative technogenic load on environmental objects when used in road construction. This is of particular relevance due to the fact that the road network has a long extension in the settlements and as a result has a negative impact on the person. A new methodolo-gy for "green" construction, which is currently being effectively used in a number of developed European countries, can give a comprehensive assessment of the emergence of risks. On the basis of analytical and la-boratory studies it is shown that the methodology of "green" construction used for the evaluation of residen-tial and industrial buildings can not be applied to the evaluation of road construction objects. When as-sessing the building materials used in road construction, the change in their physicochemical condition dur-ing long-term operation in the elements of road structures is not taken into account. It is shown that the emis-sion of environmentally hazardous chemical compounds that make up construction materials increases with the cyclicity of the pH of the medium of their placement, the discontinuity of the surface. It was proposed to include such provisions as "protection from the aquatic environment", "stable pH values of the external envi-ronment" for the formation of a rating system for assessing the "green" construction of motor roads in order to ensure environmental safety.

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Mineral resources - crucial components of a vital and wealthy society

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-7947 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Antje Wittenberg ◽

Daniel P. S. de Oliveira ◽

Javier González Sanz ◽

Lisbeth Flindt Jørgensen ◽

David Whitehead ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Spatial Data ◽

New Technologies ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Mineral Resources ◽

Raw Material ◽

Mineral Deposits ◽

Low Carbon ◽

The European Union ◽

Public Data ◽

Local Sourcing

Changes in our world mean that Europe is facing many pressing demographic and geographic challenges. A growing, aging population coupled with changes in population density are causing environmental stresses to our ecosystem that when coupled with climate change create challenges in sustainable food production and the use of natural raw materials. At the same time, the Fridays For Future Movement is calling out loudly for Future and Climate Justice, CO2-neutrality, resource efficiency and (almost) closed material loops. These issues are already expressed by the 17 UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) and widely shared through the Paris Agreement. The European Union and the National Governments have launched many frameworks and action plans such as the European Green Deal to achieve a carbon-neutral economy and clean mobility for example. Certainly, any of those transformations and any infrastructure developments will require sustainably produced mineral raw materials to deliver key enabling technologies and to meet the needs of the Industry 4.0 society. Moreover, improvements in buildings such as energy efficiency through insulation technologies, other infrastructure developments and the Europe&#8217;s cultural heritage preservation add to the increasing demand in mineral resources.The demand for ever increasing volumes of mineral resources cannot be met exclusively by recycling and thermodynamics does not allow for fully closed material loops. Hence, a sustainable supply of raw materials will always require accessibility to mineral deposits and productive mines while the effects of competing land-use issues and NIMBY activism are increasing too.The realisation of a low-carbon society and a self-concept of reliable sourcing increasingly require short feed strokes and local sourcing. A good understanding of mineral systems, mining sites, and remaining resources of historical sites will stay of utmost importance. The four GeoERA Raw Materials projects* EuroLITHOS, FRAME, MINDeSEA and Mintell4EU share expertise, information and focus on European on-shore and off-shore resources.EuroLITHOS gives specific attention to ornamental stone resources for which Europe has a long tradition in mining, processing and usage.FRAME designed to research the Strategic and Critical Raw Materials (SCRM) in Europe to gain new insights into reserves and resources taking into account new technologies and developments.MINDeSEA focuses on exploration and investigation of SCRM from seafloor mineral deposits in European waters. Identifying areas for responsible resourcing and information on management and Marine Spatial Planning in European Seas are in its core of action.Mintell4EU focuses on harmonizing data, utilizes the UNFC, providing spatial data and thematic maps. Updated electronic Minerals Yearbook and Europe&#8217;s Minerals Inventory are among the products.Foresight and forecasting of the raw material supply potential of Europe will become more reliable through increased data quality and harmonization. Workshops and training courses will add to ensure an improvement of the European Raw Materials Knowledge Base. GeoERA Raw Materials projects create valuable, accessible and public data, and information for policy-makers and end-users of geological data and minerals information in Europe.&#160;[*] This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 731166

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PEMANFAATAN LIMBAH KULIT DURIAN (Durio zibethinus) DAN KULIT CEMPEDAK (Artocarpus integer) SEBAGAI EDIBLE FILM

Jurnal Riset Industri Hasil Hutan ◽

10.24111/jrihh.v6i1.1222 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 27 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Desi Mustika Amaliyah

Keyword(s):

Tensile Strength ◽

Food Packaging ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Edible Films ◽

Edible Film ◽

Durio Zibethinus ◽

Yield Result ◽

Pre Treatment

Durian (Durio zibethinus) and cempedak (Artocarpus integer) peels waste are not used by the society. The research aim is to extract pectin from durian and cempedak peels and to formulate the pectin into edible films for food packaging. The research stages were first pre-treatment of durian and cempedak peels, pectin extraction, pectin drying, and pectin application as edible films with concentration of 0%, 5%, and 15%. Based on this research it was concluded that pectin can be extracted from durian and cempedak peels with yield result of 27.97 % and 55.58 %, respectively. Edible film obtained has similar characteristics between raw materials cempedak and durian peels. The higher concentration of cempedak peel pectin increased the thickness, but decreased the tensile strength and elongation at a concentration of 15%. While in edible films from durian peel pectin, the higher concentration of pectin decreased the thickness of edible film on pectin concentration of 15%, lowered tensile strength and raised the edible film elongation.Keywords: waste, durian, cempedak, pectin extraction, edible film

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Ecological Innovations in the Automotive Sector. Part I: Construction Innovations

AUTOBUSY – Technika Eksploatacja Systemy Transportowe ◽

10.24136/atest.2018.342 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 19 (11) ◽

pp. 30-35

Author(s):

Marta Wójcik

Keyword(s):

Automotive Industry ◽

Diesel Engines ◽

New Technologies ◽

Negative Impact ◽

The Other ◽

Automotive Sector ◽

Environmental Aspects ◽

Car Industry ◽

Human Transport ◽

Sector Part

The automotive sector is one of the fastest growing sectors of economy. The increasing amount of cars both in Polish and world roads results in the immeasurable benefits associated with the goods and human transport. On the other hand, this phenomenon caused the contamination of the environment. During the fuel combustion in petrol or diesel engines, the harmful gases, for example CO2, NOx and SOx are emitted. Apart from the negative impact on the environment, the emission of the aforementioned gases results in the deterioration of human conditions, as well as, the development of civilization diseases. In order to minimalize the harmful influence of an automotive industry on the environment, new technologies which can reduce the consumption of fuel or limit the fumes emission are developed. The first part of paper presents new solutions in an automotive sector which influence on the decline of the negative impact of automobiles on the environment. Additionally, proposed solutions affect the development of a car industry, taking into consideration environmental aspects.

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The sugar and alcohol industry in the biofuels and cogeneration era: a paradigm change (part II)

Sugar Industry ◽

10.36961/si15275 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 97-104 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Electo Eduardo Silv Lora ◽

Mateus Henrique Rocha ◽

José Carlos Escobar Palacio ◽

Osvaldo José Venturini ◽

Maria Luiza Grillo Renó ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

New Technologies ◽

Process Integration ◽

Animal Feed ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Biofuel Production ◽

New Paradigm ◽

Alcohol Industry ◽

Feed Production ◽

Steam Parameters

The aim of this paper is to discuss the major technological changes related to the implementation of large-scale cogeneration and biofuel production in the sugar and alcohol industry. The reduction of the process steam consumption, implementation of new alternatives in driving mills, the widespread practice of high steam parameters use in cogeneration facilities, the insertion of new technologies for biofuels production (hydrolysis and gasification), the energy conversion of sugarcane trash and vinasse, animal feed production, process integration and implementation of the biorefinery concept are considered. Another new paradigm consists in the wide spreading of sustainability studies of products and processes using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and the implementation of sustainability indexes. Every approach to this issue has as an objective to increase the economic efficiency and the possibilities of the sugarcane as a main source of two basic raw materials: fibres and sugar. The paper briefly presents the concepts, indicators, state-of-the-art and perspectives of each of the referred issues.

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Organic chemical devulcanization of rubber vulcanizates in supercritical carbon dioxide and associated less eco-unfriendly approaches: A review

Waste Management & Research ◽

10.1177/0734242x211008515 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 0734242X2110085

Author(s):

Jabulani I Gumede ◽

Buyiswa G Hlangothi ◽

Chris D Woolard ◽

Shanganyane P Hlangothi

Keyword(s):

Carbon Dioxide ◽

Supercritical Carbon Dioxide ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Chemical Components ◽

Organic Chemical ◽

Attractive Alternative ◽

Special Focus ◽

Waste Tyres ◽

Supercritical Carbon

There is a growing need to recover raw materials from waste due to increasing environmental concerns and the widely adopted transition to circular economy. For waste tyres, it is necessary to continuously develop methods and processes that can devulcanize rubber vulcanizates into rubber products with qualities and properties that can closely match those of the virgin rubber. Currently, the most common, due to its efficiency and perceived eco-friendliness in recovering raw rubber from waste rubbers, such as tyres, is devulcanization in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) using commercial and typical devulcanizing agents. The scCO2 has been generally accepted as an attractive alternative to the traditional liquid-based devulcanization media because of the resultant devulcanized rubber has relatively better quality than other processes. For instance, when scCO2 is employed to recover rubber from waste tyres (e.g. truck tyres) and the recovered rubber is blended with virgin natural rubber (NR) in various compositions, the curing and mechanical properties of the blends closely match those of virgin NR. The atmospheric toxicity and cost of the commonly used devulcanization materials like chemical agents, oils and solvents have enabled a shift towards utilization of greener (mainly organic) and readily available devulcanization chemical components. This literature review paper discusses the approaches, which have less negative impact on the environment, in chemical devulcanization of rubber vulcanizates. A special focus has been on thermo-chemical devulcanization of waste tyres in scCO2 using common organic devulcanizing agents.

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Production of Microfibrillated Cellulose from Fast-Growing Poplar and Olive Tree Pruning by Physical Pretreatment

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11146445 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (14) ◽

pp. 6445

Author(s):

David Ibarra ◽

Raquel Martín-Sampedro ◽

Bernd Wicklein ◽

Úrsula Fillat ◽

María E. Eugenio

Keyword(s):

Negative Impact ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Olive Tree ◽

Barrier Properties ◽

Microfibrillated Cellulose ◽

Mechanical Resistance ◽

Fast Growing ◽

Wide Range ◽

Pfi Refining ◽

Tree Pruning

Motivated by the negative impact of fossil fuel consumption on the environment, the need arises to produce materials and energy from renewable sources. Cellulose, the main biopolymer on Earth, plays a key role in this context, serving as a platform for the development of biofuels, chemicals and novel materials. Among the latter, micro- and nanocellulose have been receiving increasing attention in the last few years. Their many attractive properties, i.e., thermal stability, high mechanical resistance, barrier properties, lightweight, optical transparency and ease of chemical modification, allow their use in a wide range of applications, such as paper or polymer reinforcement, packaging, construction, membranes, bioplastics, bioengineering, optics and electronics. In view of the increasing demand for traditional wood pulp (e.g., obtained from eucalypt, birch, pine, spruce) for micro/nanocellulose production, dedicated crops and agricultural residues can be interesting as raw materials for this purpose. This work aims at achieving microfibrillated cellulose production from fast-growing poplar and olive tree pruning using physical pretreatment (PFI refining) before the microfibrillation stage. Both raw materials yielded microfibrillated cellulose with similar properties to that obtained from a commercial industrial eucalypt pulp, producing films with high mechanical properties and low wettability. According to these properties, different applications for cellulose microfibers suspensions and films are discussed.

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Biodegradable Antimicrobial Films for Food Packaging: Effect of Antimicrobials on Degradation

Foods ◽

10.3390/foods10061256 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 1256

Author(s):

Eva Hernández-García ◽

María Vargas ◽

Chelo González-Martínez ◽

Amparo Chiralt

Keyword(s):

Food Packaging ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Relevant Information ◽

Antimicrobial Compounds ◽

Microorganism Population ◽

Relevant Effect ◽

Antimicrobial Materials ◽

Spoilage Bacteria ◽

Compost Soil ◽

Specific Influence

The environmental problem generated by the massive consumption of plastics makes necessary the developing of biodegradable antimicrobial materials that can extend food shelf-life without having a negative impact on the environment. The current situation regarding the availability of biodegradable food packaging materials has been analysed, as well as different studies where antimicrobial compounds have been incorporated into the polymer matrix to control the growth of pathogenic or spoilage bacteria. Thus, the antimicrobial activity of active films based on different biodegradable polymers and antimicrobial compounds has been discussed. Likewise, relevant information on biodegradation studies carried out with different biopolymers in different environments (compost, soil, aquatic), and the effect of some antimicrobials on this behavior, are reviewed. In most of the studies, no relevant effect of the incorporated antimicrobials on the degradation of the polymer were observed, but some antimicrobials can delay the process. The changes in biodegradation pattern due to the presence of the antimicrobial are attributed to its influence on the microorganism population responsible for the process. More studies are required to know the specific influence of the antimicrobial compounds on the biodegradation behavior of polymers in different environments. No studies have been carried out or marine media to this end.

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