scholarly journals Vinasse: current concepts, challenges and opportunities for the sustainability

Author(s):  
José Geraldo FERRARESI-DE ARAUJO ◽  
Isaías Naú NIÑO-CASTILLO

The objective was to highlight the historical documents that foresee the use and abuse of ethanol production (vinasse) in Brazil according to literature published in the period 1934-2020. The methodology used was documentary, the review and analysis of which brought with it the synthesis and perspectives of vinasse as well as its uses and abuses. Results: a) there are legal instruments in Brzil since 1934 whose goal is to care for the environment; b) about in 1978 was prohibited the direct dumping of stillage into bodies of water and c) in 2011 environmental guidelines were provided on this topic to achieve sustainability in the Brazilian space. Conclusions: 1) as can be seen in the cited literature, vinasse is one of the most impressive respurces for ethanol production; 2) Brazil is the second largest ethanol producer worldwide; 3) the use of stillage for cooling sugarcane fiekds, its organic content, chemical and biochemical oxygen demand rates are high and 4) the synergy between academics from universities, the government sector, civil society, companies in the productive chain of the sugar energy sector, among others, is important.

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 30-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Davidson ◽  
Wei Ding ◽  
Anthony Marshall

Purpose To better understand the challenges and opportunities facing China, the IBM Institute for Business Value in cooperation with Oxford Economics surveyed 1,150 executives from across China. Survey respondents represented a variety of industries and included executives from Chinese corporations, start-up enterprises, the government sector and educational institutions. Design/methodology/approach This report shares the executives’ vision for the Chinese economy, and proposes actions to help spark growth and positive change. Findings The Chinese executives surveyed see the current economic environment in China as encompassing five main challenges – immature services sector, declining domestic consumption growth, lending decisions creating over investment in some sectors, declining export growth and environmental issues impacting economic development. Practical implications The article identifies the six most important ways to accelerate China’s growth according to the executives: Originality/value Despite challenges, Chinese executives are optimistic about the country’s economic growth prospects. In fact, 93 percent of executives believe China will maintain stable to high growth of more than 5 percent over the next five years. And almost a quarter of them believe China will be able to return to its recent very high growth rates in excess of 8 percent.


Author(s):  
Luca Cernuzzi ◽  
Magalí González ◽  
Marco Ronchetti ◽  
Adolfo Villafiorita ◽  
Komminist Weldemariam

In a world characterized by rapid change driven by globalization, an ICT-based economy transformation poses some challenges and opportunities for the private sector and the government sector alike. ICT has for some time been at the core of government tasks, inseparable from strategy, planning, consultation and implementation to improve citizen’s life in different ways. Nevertheless, indications are that the government sector has been falling behind in these practices (mostly in developing countries), compared to the private sector. This realization has prompted some governments to put ICT high on their policy agendas, with the aim of introducing ICT-based solutions to improve their public administration processes, and thus deliver ‘quality public services’. We define ICT for Good (ICT4G) as the use of ICT to addressing critical problems in societies characterized by low ICT penetration in a way that life is impacted for the better. Along this line, we have been working on the design, development, and evaluation of ICT solutions that directly require the involvement of citizen on the usage of the developed system itself and/or on the decision-making processes. In this chapter, we discuss our experiences and lessons learned in this holistic approach to e-Governance projects from the ICT4G perspective and the role it can play for developing countries.


2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 92-102
Author(s):  
Trung Duc Le

The industrial production of ethanol by fermentation using molasses as main material that generates large quantity of wastewater. This wastewater contains high levels of colour and chemical oxygen demand (COD), that may causes serious environmental pollution. Most available treatment processes in Vietnam rely on biological methods, which often fail to treat waste water up to discharge standard. As always, it was reported that quality of treated wastewater could not meet Vietnameses discharge standard. So, it is necessary to improve the treatment efficiency of whole technological process and therefore, supplemental physico-chemical treatment step before biodegradation stage should be the appropriate choice. This study was carried out to assess the effect of coagulation process on decolourization and COD removal in molasses-based ethanol production wastewater using inorganic coaglutant under laboratory conditions. The experimental results showed that the reductions of COD and colour with the utilization of Al2(SO4)3 at pH 9.5 were 83% and 70%, respectively. Mixture FeSO4 – Al2(SO4)3 at pH 8.5 reduced 82% of colour and 70% of COD. With the addition of Polyacrylamide (PAM), the reduction efficiencies of colour, COD and turbidity by FeSO4 – Al2(SO4)3 were 87%, 73.1% and 94.1% correspondingly. It was indicated that PAM significantly reduced the turbidity of wastewater, however it virtually did not increase the efficiencies of colour and COD reduction. Furthermore, the coagulation processes using PAM usually produces a mount of sludge which is hard to be deposited.


2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (02) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rina S. Soetopo ◽  
Sri Purwati ◽  
Henggar Hardiani ◽  
Mukharomah Nur Aini ◽  
Krisna Adhitya Wardhana

A continuous pilot scale study has been conducted to investigate the effectiveness of anaerobic digestion of biological sludge. The sludge has a total solid content of 0.53% - 1.1%, pH of 7.20 to 7.32. Its organic content is about 97 %, The research were conducted in two stages, which are acidification (performed in 3 m3 the Continously Stirred Tank Reactor/CSTR at pH of 5.5 to 6.0) and methanation (performed in 5 m3 the Up Flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket/UASB reactor at pH 6.5 to 7.0). The retention time (RT) was gradually shortened from 6 days to 1 day for acidification and from 8 days to 2 days for methanation. The results showed that operating the CSTR at the RT of 1 day and the organic loading of 8.23 g Volatile Solid (VS)/m3.day could produce Volatile Fatty Acid (VFA) at an average value of 17.3 g/kg VS.day. Operating the UASB reactor at the RT of 2 days and the organic loading (Chemical Oxygen Demand/COD) of 2.4 kg COD/m3.day could produce biogas at an average value of 66.3 L/day, with an average methane content of 69.9%, methane rate of 0.17 L CH4/g COD reduction or 19.06 L CH4/kg VS. Furthermore, methanation could reduce COD at an average value of 51.2 %, resulting in the effluent average value of COD filtrate and COD total of 210.1 mg/L and 375.2 mg /L, respectively.Keywords: acidification, methanation, CSTR, UASB, biogas ABSTRAKPercobaan digestasi anaerobik lumpur IPAL biologi industri kertas secara kontinyu skala pilot telah dilakukan di industri kertas dengan tujuan mengkaji efektivitas proses digestasi anaerobik dalam mengolah lumpur tersebut. Lumpur yang digunakan memiliki total solids sekitar 0,53% – 1,1%, pH netral (7,20 – 7,32) dengan komponen utama senyawa organik sekitar 97%. Percobaan dilakukan dalam dua tahap yaitu asidifikasi dalam reaktor CSTR berkapasitas 3 m3 pada pH 5,5 – 6,0 dan metanasi dalam reaktor UASB berkapasitas 5 m3 pada pH 6,5 – 7,0. Percobaan dilakukan dengan waktu retensi yang dipersingkat secara bertahap dari 6 hari ke 1 hari untuk proses asidifikasi dan dari 8 hari ke 2 hari untuk proses metanasi. Hasil percobaan menunjukkan bahwa pengoperasian reaktor CSTR dengan waktu retensi 1 hari dan beban organik 8,3 g VS/m3.hari dapat menghasilkan VFA rata-rata 17,3 g/kg VS.hari dengan kisaran 8,36 – 30,59 g/kg VS.hari, sedangkan pengoperasian reaktor UASB pada waktu retensi 2 hari dan beban organik 2,4 kg COD/m3.hari dapat menghasilkan biogas rata-rata 66,3 L/hari dengan kadar metana rata-rata 69,9% atau 0,17 L CH4/g COD reduksi atau 19,06 L CH4/kg VS. Selain itu proses metanasi dapat menurunkan COD terlarut rata-rata 51,2%, dengan konsentrasi efluen COD terlarut  rata-rata 210,1 mg/L dan COD total rata-rata 375,2 mg/L.Kata kunci: asidifikasi, metanasi, CSTR, UASB, biogas


Author(s):  
Pankaj Sharma ◽  
Ravi Parkash

The paper analyze the role of rural tourism for the development of rural areas, The study analyzed how the different types of tourist product diversifications influence the development possibilities of studied rural areas in India. The government should sponsor private Sector to promote tourism in rural areas. For upgrading the rural tourism government requires to understand the rural location, demography, socio-culture, financial and political background of that area. How we can involve the rural citizens to improve their socio-economic condition. The objective of this paper is to present an update on rural tourism expansion and development in India. Rural tourism is rising in terms of number of visitors and the government of India should focus on it as an engine of growth


2003 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Owaied S. Al-Mashaan

The present study examined associations among job satisfaction and optimism, pessimism, and psychosomatic symptoms in a sample of 718 Kuwaiti employees (350 men and 368 women). Men scored significantly higher than women on both the scales of Job Satisfaction and Optimism, while women scored significantly higher than men on both scales for Pessimism and Psychosomatic Symptoms. Job satisfaction scores correlated significantly and positively with Optimism scores and negatively with Pessimism scores. There was also a significant negative correlation between scores on Optimism and Pessimism, and a significant negative correlation between scores on Optimism and Psychosomatic symptoms. Results were discussed within the Kuwaiti context.


1998 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Sheng ◽  
E. Hertwich

With the expansion of pollution-prevention initiatives in the government sector, development of certification and eco-labeling mechanisms in foreign trade, and the emergence of “green” market drivers for consumer demand, industry is under increasing pressure to evaluate the “life-cycle” waste streams which emanate from their products and manufacturing processes. While much research has been devoted to the study of “system-level” design-for-environment (i.e. design for disassembly, serviceability, modularity), little attention has been given to the influence of planning and design decisions at the unit manufacturing process level, which has a significant impact on waste streams through material, catalyst, parameter and feature selection decisions. One of the most pressing issues in environmentally-conscious manufacturing is the ability to compare the environmental impacts of dissimilar waste streams to formulate the above decisions. This paper presents an overview of the hierarchical levels of comparative waste assessment which links process-level emissions to immediate, site-wide, and eco-system impacts. Significant issues to be addressed are: (1) the aggregation of data collection required for each level of decision-making, (2) the range of environmental effects needed to be analyzed at each level, (3) the uncertainty present at different levels of data aggregation, (4) the influence of site-specific (fate and transport) factors, and (5) the transformation of environmental information into metrics usable in detailed design and planning of products and processes. Case studies in the fabrication of metal parts and printed circuit boards are presented.


2002 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
David E. Terpstra ◽  
R. Bryan Kethley

This study examined nearly 400 federal court cases in which substantive, or primary, selection devices were legally challenged as being discriminatory. The findings indicated that the relative frequency of occurrence of discrimination charges varied for different types of organizations. Some industry sectors and some job types were associated with a much greater risk of exposure to litigation than others. For example, the government sector appeared to have a relatively high degree of exposure to selection discrimination litigation. The findings also indicated that the outcomes of the federal court cases (whether the ruling was for the defendant/employer or for the plaintiff) varied by industry type, job type, and type of discrimination charge. Specific recommendations are offered to organizations that operate in high risk industry sectors, and that have high risk job types, with an eye toward reducing the possibility of litigation.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernesto Ferreira Vasconcellos ◽  
Bernardo Henrique Leso ◽  
Marcelo Nogueira Cortimiglia

Purpose This paper aims to identify challenges and opportunities for social enterprises (SE) in civil engineering in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach Starting from the transformative social innovation theory and inspired by grounded theory principles, this paper conducts three-stage exploratory research. First, this paper mapped the Brazilian SE civil engineering ecosystem. Next, this paper classified the SE initiatives along with an organizing framework. Finally, this paper conducted 11 interviews with key ecosystem actors and analyzed data through iterative, parallel and interrelated content analysis procedures. Findings The 37 SE found were classified along “Sustainability,” “Housing,” “Transportation” and “Sanitation” pillars, which are aligned with the United Nations’ social development goals. This paper found 50 challenges and opportunities, which were aggregated along seven dimensions. Three elements are particularly relevant as opportunities: opportunities for SE with ecosystem supporters, specialized investors and partnership with major companies; while government and early investment are the most relevant challenges. Research limitations/implications Research findings and conclusions cannot be extended to other sectors and countries. Usual limitations associated with exploratory qualitative research must also be highlighted. Practical implications The government should offer financial and technical support for civil engineering in working in partnership with ecosystem supporters. Academy could use SE content and ecosystem for its students and should offer diverse resources for network creation. Originality/value Focusing on civil engineering SE in Brazil, this study sheds light on a high-impact sector that has not been studied yet.


Author(s):  
Disha Garg ◽  
Kartik Sharma ◽  
Parul Nayar ◽  
Shubhi Goyal ◽  
Shruti S Nagdeve

Purpose: With the conception of one’s professional life, it is essential to understand all the possibilities and opportunities that lie before them. In the case of architecture, there exists a bias towards the private sector where newly graduate students aspire to work in private practices and possibly even envision a practice of their own at a certain point in life. While there is nothing wrong with envisioning a future in the private sector, it is also essential to be aware about the public sector and understand the opportunities it provides to be able to make an informed decision. There is a preconceived notion about the monotonous nature of government jobs and a lack of awareness about students about the opportunities in this sector. Hence, it becomes crucial to understand the numerous opportunities this sector has to offer and thus, explore the potential of architects in government organizations. Methodology: The research for this paper has been done by referring to existing literature and interviews with concerned people. With an understanding of how and why is the government sector an essential  area of research for budding architects and planners. The research was done through interviews and possible case studies was done based on review of existing literature. Main Findings: The government is one sector with tremendous possibilities in the realm of architecture but is often plagued with stereotypes and preconceptions which have emerged over the years. It is imagined to be “lazy”, “uninnovative” and “non-productive” but this sector has evolved over the recent years and is now shaping to be one of the more lucrative sectors for practice. The number of perks, benefits and a clear comparative advantage of a higher salary, added with the direct contribution towards serving the nation, the government sector clearly has an unrealised potential for architectural professionals. Implications: With younger architetcs having preconceived notions about role of architetcs in a government sector limited to unexciting set of designs without creativity, this article may help bring a fresh thought process to choose professional sector wisely.


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