scholarly journals Closing Water Cycles in the Built Environment through Nature-Based Solutions: The Contribution of Vertical Greening Systems and Green Roofs

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 2165
Author(s):  
David Pearlmutter ◽  
Bernhard Pucher ◽  
Cristina S. C. Calheiros ◽  
Karin A. Hoffmann ◽  
Andreas Aicher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Green Roofs ◽  
Cycling Performance ◽  
Linear Process ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Water Shortages ◽  
Vertical Greening ◽  
Water Cycles

Water in the city is typically exploited in a linear process, in which most of it is polluted, treated, and discharged; during this process, valuable nutrients are lost in the treatment process instead of being cycled back and used in urban agriculture or green space. The purpose of this paper is to advance a new paradigm to close water cycles in cities via the implementation of nature-based solutions units (NBS_u), with a particular focus on building greening elements, such as green roofs (GRs) and vertical greening systems (VGS). The hypothesis is that such “circular systems” can provide substantial ecosystem services and minimize environmental degradation. Our method is twofold: we first examine these systems from a life-cycle point of view, assessing not only the inputs of conventional and alternative materials, but the ongoing input of water that is required for irrigation. Secondly, the evapotranspiration performance of VGS in Copenhagen, Berlin, Lisbon, Rome, Istanbul, and Tel Aviv, cities with different climatic, architectural, and sociocultural contexts have been simulated using a verticalized ET0 approach, assessing rainwater runoff and greywater as irrigation resources. The water cycling performance of VGS in the mentioned cities would be sufficient at recycling 44% (Lisbon) to 100% (Berlin, Istanbul) of all accruing rainwater roof–runoff, if water shortages in dry months are bridged by greywater. Then, 27–53% of the greywater accruing in a building could be managed on its greened surface. In conclusion, we address the gaps in the current knowledge and policies identified in the different stages of analyses, such as the lack of comprehensive life cycle assessment studies that quantify the complete “water footprint” of building greening systems.

scholarly journals Water Footprint and Life Cycle Assessment: The Complementary Strengths of Analyzing Global Freshwater Appropriation and Resulting Local Impacts

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 803
Author(s):  
Winnie Gerbens-Leenes ◽  
Markus Berger ◽  
John Anthony Allan
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Local Impacts ◽  
Global Water

Considering that 4 billion people are living in water-stressed regions and that global water consumption is predicted to increase continuously [...]

scholarly journals Water footprint assessment of gold refining: Case study based on life cycle assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 122 ◽  
pp. 107319
Author(s):  
Wei Chen ◽  
Jinglan Hong ◽  
Chengxin Wang ◽  
Lu Sun ◽  
Tianzuo Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Gold Refining

scholarly journals An integrated life cycle and water footprint assessment of nonfood crops based bioenergy production

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Li ◽  
Fengyin Xiong ◽  
Zhuo Chen
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Integrated Analysis ◽  
Actual Performance ◽  
Bioenergy Production ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Hybrid Pennisetum

AbstractBiomass gasification, especially distribution to power generation, is considered as a promising way to tackle global energy and environmental challenges. However, previous researches on integrated analysis of the greenhouse gases (GHG) abatement potentials associated with biomass electrification are sparse and few have taken the freshwater utilization into account within a coherent framework, though both energy and water scarcity are lying in the central concerns in China’s environmental policy. This study employs a Life cycle assessment (LCA) model to analyse the actual performance combined with water footprint (WF) assessment methods. The inextricable trade-offs between three representative energy-producing technologies are explored based on three categories of non-food crops (maize, sorghum and hybrid pennisetum) cultivated in marginal arable land. WF results demonstrate that the Hybrid pennisetum system has the largest impact on the water resources whereas the other two technology options exhibit the characteristics of environmental sustainability. The large variances in contribution ratio between the four sub-processes in terms of total impacts are reflected by the LCA results. The Anaerobic Digestion process is found to be the main contributor whereas the Digestate management process is shown to be able to effectively mitigate the negative environmental impacts with an absolute share. Sensitivity analysis is implemented to detect the impacts of loss ratios variation, as silage mass and methane, on final results. The methane loss has the largest influence on the Hybrid pennisetum system, followed by the Maize system. Above all, the Sorghum system demonstrates the best performance amongst the considered assessment categories. Our study builds a pilot reference for further driving large-scale project of bioenergy production and conversion. The synergy of combined WF-LCA method allows us to conduct a comprehensive assessment and to provide insights into environmental and resource management.

The cost of green roofs disposal in a life cycle perspective: Covering the gap

Energy ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 406-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgia Peri ◽  
Marzia Traverso ◽  
Matthias Finkbeiner ◽  
Gianfranco Rizzo
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Green Roofs ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective ◽  
The Cost

scholarly journals Environmental Sustainability of Building Retrofit through Vertical Greening Systems: A Life-Cycle Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4886
Author(s):  
Katia Perini ◽  
Fabio Magrassi ◽  
Andrea Giachetta ◽  
Luca Moreschi ◽  
Michela Gallo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Baseline Scenario ◽  
Life Cycle Approach ◽  
Complete Life Cycle ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Use Phase ◽  
Vertical Greening

Urban greening provides a wide range of ecosystem services to address the main challenges of urban areas, e.g., carbon sequestration, evapotranspiration and shade, thermal insulation, and pollution control. This study evaluates the environmental sustainability of a vertical greening system (VGS) built in 2014 in Italy, for which extensive monitoring activities were implemented. The life-cycle assessment methodology was applied to quantify the water–energy–climate nexus of the VGS for 1 m2 of the building’s wall surface. Six different scenarios were modelled according to three different end-of-life scenarios and two different useful lifetime scenarios (10 and 25 years). The environmental impact of global-warming potential and generated energy consumption during the use phase in the VGS scenarios were reduced by 56% in relation to the baseline scenario (wall without VGS), and showed improved environmental performance throughout the complete life cycle. However, the water-scarcity index (WSI) of the VGS scenarios increased by 42%. This study confirms that the installation of VGSs offers a relevant environmental benefit in terms of greenhouse-gas emissions and energy consumption; however, increased water consumption in the use phase may limit the large-scale application of VGSs.

scholarly journals Activated Rho GTPases in Cancer—The Beginning of a New Paradigm

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 3949 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pontus Aspenström
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Rho Gtpases ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Small Gtpases ◽  
Cell Morphogenesis ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Direct Involvement ◽  
Cell Locomotion ◽  
Human Cancers ◽  
Cytoskeletal Dynamics

Involvement of Rho GTPases in cancer has been a matter of debate since the identification of the first members of this branch of the Ras superfamily of small GTPases. The Rho GTPases were ascribed important roles in the cell, although these were restricted to regulation of cytoskeletal dynamics, cell morphogenesis, and cell locomotion, with initially no clear indications of direct involvement in cancer progression. This paradigm has been challenged by numerous observations that Rho-regulated pathways are often dysregulated in cancers. More recently, identification of point mutants in the Rho GTPases Rac1, RhoA, and Cdc42 in human tumors has finally given rise to a new paradigm, and we can now state with confidence that Rho GTPases serve as oncogenes in several human cancers. This article provides an exposé of current knowledge of the roles of activated Rho GTPases in cancers.

scholarly journals Dietary Choline Intake: Current State of Knowledge Across the Life Cycle

Nutrients ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandra Wiedeman ◽  
Susan Barr ◽  
Timothy Green ◽  
Zhaoming Xu ◽  
Sheila Innis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Soluble Form ◽  
Dietary Recommendations ◽  
Current State ◽  
Dietary Nutrient ◽  
Choline Intake ◽  
Dietary Choline

Choline, an essential dietary nutrient for humans, is required for the synthesis of the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, the methyl group donor, betaine, and phospholipids; and therefore, choline is involved in a broad range of critical physiological functions across all stages of the life cycle. The current dietary recommendations for choline have been established as Adequate Intakes (AIs) for total choline; however, dietary choline is present in multiple different forms that are both water-soluble (e.g., free choline, phosphocholine, and glycerophosphocholine) and lipid-soluble (e.g., phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin). Interestingly, the different dietary choline forms consumed during infancy differ from those in adulthood. This can be explained by the primary food source, where the majority of choline present in human milk is in the water-soluble form, versus lipid-soluble forms for foods consumed later on. This review summarizes the current knowledge on dietary recommendations and assessment methods, and dietary choline intake from food sources across the life cycle.

scholarly journals Quantitative assessment of the dynamics and attribution of arable land water scarcity for arid and semiarid areas based on water footprint framework: the Inner Mongolia case

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanyuan Wang ◽  
Fanhao Meng ◽  
Min Luo
Keyword(s):  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Inner Mongolia ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Water Shortages ◽  
Semiarid Areas ◽  
Arid And Semiarid Areas ◽  
Land Water ◽  
Arid And Semiarid

Abstract Growing water shortages have been a systemic risk around the world, especially in arid and semi-arid areas, with seriously threatening global food security and human well-being. Reasonable and accurate evaluations of the water shortages of cultivated lands provide scientific reference for irrigation strategies. In this study, to better understand the distribution and cause of water scarcity for the arid and semiarid areas, we used the arable land water scarcity index (AWSI), based on water footprint theory to accurately estimate the temporal and spatial patterns of the AWSI of Inner Mongolia in China over 1999–2018, and further reveal the key factors influencing the AWSI distribution. The AWSI distribution pattern of Inner Mongolia was high in southwest and low in northeast, with an average value of 0.63 and suffering from high water stress for a long time. The AWSI presented an increasing trend in 1999–2018, with slow in west (change rate2%) and fast in east (2%). The main factors that significantly affected the AWSI were precipitation, relative humidity, and agricultural planting area. This study can provide scientific reference for the formulation of agricultural water management and sustainable use strategies in arid and semiarid areas.

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