Two-dimensional material-based functional aerogels for treating hazards in environment: Synthesis, functional tailoring, applications, and sustainability analysis

Environmental pollution is a global problem that endangers human health and ecological balance. As a new type of nanomaterial, two-dimensional material (2DM)-based aerogel is one of the most promising candidates...

Heterogeneity: method and applications for complex systems analysis

Socio-ecological systems like another physical systems are complex systems in which are required methods for analyzes their non-linearities, thresholds, feedbacks, time lags, and resilience. This involves understanding the heterogeneity of the interactions in time and space. In this article, we carry out the proposition and demonstration of two methods that allow the calculation of heterogeneity in different contexts. The practical effectiveness of the methods is presented through applications in sustainability analysis, land transport, and governance. It is concluded that the proposed methods can be used in various research and development areas due to their ease of being considered in broad modeling frameworks as agent-based modeling, system dynamics, or machine learning, although it could also be used to obtain point measurements only by replacing values.

Assessment of a Geothermal Combined System with an Organic Rankine Cycle and Multi-effect Distillation Desalination

An analysis is reported of a geothermal-based electricity-freshwater system in which an organic Rankine cycle is integrated with a multi-effect distillation desalination unit. The system is driven by geothermal hot water extracted from the production well. Mass, energy, entropy, and exergy rate balances are written for all system components, as are energy and exergy efficiency expressions for each subsystem. The exergy destruction rate associated with the temperature and chemical disequilibrium of the freshwater and brine with the reference environment are taken into account to reveal accurate results for irreversibility sources within the desalination process. The developed thermodynamic model is simulated using thermodynamic properties of the working fluids (i.e., ammonia, seawater, distillate, and brine) at each state point. A sustainability analysis is performed that connects exergy and environmental impact concepts. That assessment expresses the extent of the contribution of the system to sustainable development and reduced environmental impact, using exergy methods. Results of the sustainability analysis indicate that, with an increase in the reference environment temperature from 20 to 35 $$^\circ{\rm C}$$ ∘ C , the exergy destruction rate decreases for the multi-effect distillation and organic Rankine cycle systems respectively from 6474 to 4217 kW and from 16,270 to 13,459 kW. Also, the corresponding sustainability index for the multi-effect distillation and organic Rankine cycle systems increases from 1.16 to 1.2 and 1.5–1.6, respectively, for the same increase in reference environment temperature.

Building information modelling and building sustainability assessment: a review

PurposeThe construction sector is increasingly engaged to explore the potential application of building information modelling (BIM) for the sustainability of the buildings. BIM can be applied conjugated to certification methods to evaluate the sustainability of the buildings, and it is known as building sustainability assessment (BSA). This article aims to explore applications of BIM in the sustainability analysis of buildings, including five types of BSA.Design/methodology/approachA literature review from 2009 to 2020 considering a combination of search terms related to BIM and BSA complemented the analysis. The bibliometric analysis indicates an increase in the number of publications on this topic of study in the last five years. A peak occurred in 2015 and 2020, with 51 and 66 publications, respectively.FindingsThe results showed that BIM contributes to achieving part of the sustainability requirements from BSA, especially quantitative requirements that are related to material and resources. However, a complete analysis between BIM and BSA is still a challenge since part of BSA's have a lack information in their requirements and BIM softwares present interoperability problems that difficult an integrated analysis to extract information directly from the software to attend BSA's requirements.Originality/valueThe results contribute to analysing the evolution of studies about BIM and to understand the limitation in the applicability with sustainability rating systems. Future directions of research indicate the necessity to improve the use of BIM in the sustainability analysis of the buildings, but with a good perspective regarding the application of BIM in material and resources requirements, and waste management in construction sites.