| 1. |
- Kumar, M., et al.
(author)
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Current research trends on micro- and nano-plastics as an emerging threat to global environment : A review
- 2021
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In: Journal of Hazardous Materials. - : Elsevier. - 0304-3894 .- 1873-3336. ; 409
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Micro-and nano-plastics (MNPs) (size < 5 mm/<100 nm) epitomize one of the emergent environmental pollutants with its existence all around the globe. Their high persistence nature and release of chemicals/additives used in synthesis of plastics materials may pose cascading impacts on living organism across the globe. Natural connectivity of all the environmental compartments (terrestrial, aquatic, and atmospheric) leads to migration/dispersion of MNPs from one compartment to others. Nevertheless, the information on dispersion of MNPs across the environmental compartments and its possible impacts on living organisms are still missing. This review first acquaints with dispersion mechanisms of MNPs in the environment, its polymeric/oligomeric and chemical constituents and then emphasized its impacts on living organism. Based on the existing knowledge about the MNPs’ constituent and its potential impacts on the viability, development, lifecycle, movements, and fertility of living organism via several potential mechanisms, such as irritation, oxidative damage, digestion impairment, tissue deposition, change in gut microbial communities’ dynamics, impaired fatty acid metabolism, and molecular damage are emphasized. Finally, at the end, the review provided the challenges associated with remediation of plastics pollutions and desirable strategies, policies required along with substantial gaps in MNPs research were recommended for future studies.
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| 2. |
- Hellwig, Coralie, et al.
(author)
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Household Waste Sorting and Engagement in Everyday Life Occupations After Migration-A Scoping Review
- 2019
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In: Sustainability. - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 11:17
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of this scoping review was to gain an overview of the current state of the literature on the engagement in waste sorting post migration from an occupational perspective, in the light of two aspects sustainability efforts currently face: Increased human migration and environmental degradation. Both the resource recovery and occupational science literature were reviewed and analyzed. However, despite the current lack on studies on how migrants’ transition into waste sorting schemes at the household level, this scoping review was able to provide a broad picture of the engagement in daily activities that support sustainability, such as household waste sorting. Given the current initiatives to develop efficient resource recovery from waste, such knowledge contributes to efforts to engage households with different cultures and experiences in waste sorting. The results highlight the importance of future research to better understand how people who are new to waste management schemes experience these, and study the way that engagement in waste sorting shifts and transforms. This is because providing such knowledge can contribute to raising awareness of the environmental impact of waste sorting, and inform policies aimed at sustainable waste management.
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| 3. |
- Eckert Matzembacher, Daniele, et al.
(author)
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Consumer’s food waste in different restaurants configuration: A comparison between different levels of incentive and interaction
- 2020
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In: Waste Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0956-053X .- 1879-2456. ; 114, s. 263-273
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Reducing food waste is necessary for achieving healthy diets and sustainable food systems due to its negative impacts on resource conservation, food security, and environmental, social and economic costs. This paper aim is to quantify the amount and types of food that is wasted by the consumers in different restaurant configurations. The second aim is to understand the reasons which lead them to waste food and the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the waste. To fulfil the aims, a mixed methodology was used, including primary data collection in restaurants for the quantification of food waste, interviewing consumers and staff, along with calculating the environmental impact from the waste using life cycle assessment. The results show that different incentives and levels of interaction in consumer’s choice of food types exert influence on plate food waste. When incentive and interaction are low, the amount of food waste is larger. It is the case of a la carte restaurants. The best performance in the restaurant categories was when both incentive and level of interaction were higher. Buffet where the consumers pay by weight, therefore, is the configuration that generates less food waste on the consumer's plate. The main wasted products are rice and beans, followed by beef, and then other carbohydrates. The life cycle assessment indicated a carbon footprint varying from 128 to 324 g CO2 eq./plate from the wasted food. The result of the interviews showed that the food waste on the plate is not visible to consumers, since in the majority of cases, they believe that their food waste on the plate in the day of the observation was an exception. There is a large potential to reduce food waste by giving consumers the possibility to influence the serving to get the right portion size. Also, to further emphasize this behaviour by creating incentives for consumers only to serve as much food as they actually eat.
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| 4. |
- Brancoli, Pedro, 1989-, et al.
(author)
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Environmental impacts of waste management and valorisation pathways for surplus bread in Sweden
- 2020
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In: Waste Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0956-053X .- 1879-2456. ; 117, s. 136-145
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Bread waste represents a significant part of food waste in Sweden. At the same time, the return system established between bakeries and retailers enables a flow of bread waste that is not contaminated with other food waste products. This provides an opportunity for alternative valorisation and waste management options, in addition to the most common municipal waste treatment, namely anaerobic digestion and incineration. An attributional life cycle assessment of the management of 1 kg of surplus bread was conducted to assess the relative environmental impacts of alternative and existing waste management options. Eighteen impact categories were assessed using the ReCiPe methodology. The different management options that were investigated for the surplus bread are donation, use as animal feed, beer production, ethanol production, anaerobic digestion, and incineration. These results are also compared to reducing the production of bread by the amount of surplus bread (reduction at the source). The results support a waste hierarchy where reduction at the source has the highest environmental savings, followed by use of surplus bread as animal feed, donation, for beer production and for ethanol production. Anaerobic digestion and incineration offer the lowest environmental savings, particularly in a low-impact energy system. The results suggests that Sweden can make use of the established return system to implement environmentally preferred options for the management of surplus bread.
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| 5. |
- Guldris Leon, Lorena, 1983, et al.
(author)
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Understanding Mineral Liberation during Crushing Using Grade-by-Size Analysis - A Case Study of the Penuota Sn-Ta Mineralization, Spain
- 2020
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In: Minerals. - : MDPI AG. - 2075-163X. ; 10:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Coarse comminution test-work and modeling are powerful tools in the design and optimization of mineral processing plants and provide information on energy consumption. Additional information on mineral liberation characteristics can be used for assessing the potential of pre-concentration stages or screens in the plant design. In ores of high-value metals (e.g., Ta, W), standard techniques-such as the mineralogical quantification of grain mounts by quantitative evaluation of minerals by scanning electron microscopy (QEMSCAN) or chemical analysis by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) can be challenging, due to the low relative abundance of such valuable minerals. The cost of QEMSCAN is also a limiting factor, especially considering the large number of samples required for the optimization of coarse comminution. In this study, we present an extended analytical protocol to a well-established mechanical test of interparticle breakage to improve the assessment of coarse mineral liberation characteristics. The liberation of ore minerals is a function of the rock texture and the difference in size and mechanical properties of the valuable minerals relative to gangue minerals and they may fraction in certain grain sizes if they behave differently during comminution. By analyzing the bulk-chemistry of the different grain size fractions produced after compressional testing, and by generating element by size diagrams, it is possible to understand the liberation characteristics of an ore. We show, based on a case study performed on a tantalum ore deposit, that element distribution can be used to study the influence of mechanical parameters on mineral liberation. This information can direct further mineralogical investigation and test work.
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| 6. |
- Gaur, V K, et al.
(author)
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Sustainable strategies for combating hydrocarbon pollution : Special emphasis on mobil oil bioremediation
- 2022
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In: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 832
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The global rise in industrialization and vehicularization has led to the increasing trend in the use of different crude oil types. Among these mobil oil has major application in automobiles and different machines. The combustion of mobil oil renders a non-usable form that ultimately enters the environment thereby causing problems to environmental health. The aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon fraction of mobil oil has serious human and environmental health hazards. These components upon interaction with soil affect its fertility and microbial diversity. The recent advancement in the omics approach viz. metagenomics, metatranscriptomics and metaproteomics has led to increased efficiency for the use of microbial based remediation strategy. Additionally, the use of biosurfactants further aids in increasing the bioavailability and thus biodegradation of crude oil constituents. The combination of more than one approach could serve as an effective tool for efficient reduction of oil contamination from diverse ecosystems. To the best of our knowledge only a few publications on mobil oil have been published in the last decade. This systematic review could be extremely useful in designing a micro-bioremediation strategy for aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems contaminated with mobil oil or petroleum hydrocarbons that is both efficient and feasible. The state-of-art information and future research
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| 7. |
- Åberg-Bengtsson, Lisbeth, et al.
(author)
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Young primary students making sense of text and illustrations about how refuse can become soil
- 2017
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In: Environmental Education Research. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1350-4622 .- 1469-5871. ; 23:8, s. 1150-1168
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- © 2016 Taylor & Francis. Explanatory pictures and models are frequently used in teaching and learning situations. However, it seems to be simply assumed that they are always beneficial. In this article results from an investigation with 16 Swedish pupils aged 7–9 year are presented based on an analysis that has examined how well this assumption holds up. Concepts from multi-modal theory have been used to investigate how young learners deal with illustrations and text from an early reader booklet about composting domestic refuse. The analysis suggests that expectations that illustrations facilitate the meaning-making of young pupils may be exaggerated. Although the booklet claimed to provide interactive support between image and text most of the examples show pupils ignoring pictures or misinterpreting vital information about composting in both the verbal and non-verbal material. The illustrations did not compensate for the most crucial deficiencies in the written text.
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| 8. |
- Carney Almroth, Bethanie, 1974, et al.
(author)
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Quantifying shedding of synthetic fibers from textiles; a source of microplastics released into the environment
- 2018
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In: Environmental Science and Pollution Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0944-1344 .- 1614-7499. ; 25:2, s. 1191-1199
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Microplastics in the environment are a subject of intense research as they pose a potential threat to marine organisms. Plastic fibers from textiles have been indicated as a major source of this type of contaminant, entering the oceans via wastewater and diverse non-point sources. Their presence is also documented in terrestrial samples. In this study, the amount of microfibers shedding from synthetic textiles was measured for three materials (acrylic, nylon, polyester), knit using different gauges and techniques. All textiles were found to shed, but polyester fleece fabrics shed the greatest amounts, averaging 7360 fibers/m(-2)/L-1 in one wash, compared with polyester fabrics which shed 87 fibers/m(-2)/L-1. We found that loose textile constructions shed more, as did worn fabrics, and high twist yarns are to be preferred for shed reduction. Since fiber from clothing is a potentially important source of microplastics, we suggest that smarter textile construction, prewashing and vacuum exhaustion at production sites, and use of more efficient filters in household washing machines could help mitigate this problem.
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| 9. |
- Guldris Leon, Lorena, 1983, et al.
(author)
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Analysis of the concentration in rare metal ores during compression crushing
- 2018
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In: Minerals Engineering. - : Elsevier BV. - 0892-6875 .- 1872-9444. ; 120, s. 7-18
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Given the increasing global demand for rare metals, there is a need for the development of fundamental predictive models to improve extraction processes. Comminution models commonly predict particle size reduction based on the compressive breakage behaviour; however, few of them include mineral concentration or mineral liberation at a coarse scale. This paper focuses on developing a model to predict the mineral concentration of rare metals as a function of the particle size distribution after a cycle of the compression crushing process. In this study, compressive breakage and geochemical analysis experiments were conducted on four different rare metal ores of tantalum and tungsten. The work is divided into two stages: the methodology of modelling particle size and modelling concentration by selecting a bimodal Weibull distribution for calibration. A novel model for simulating the concentration of rare metals as a function of the compression ratio is presented.
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| 10. |
- Samsioe, Emma, et al.
(author)
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Digitala plattformar och cirkulär klädkonsumtion: Möjligheter, utmaningar och vägar framåt : En rapport från forskningsprojektet Framtidens hållbara kläder
- 2024
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Dagens modebransch står inför ett antal hållbarhetsutmaningar. Dessa utmaningar utgörs exempelvis av omfattande utsläpp, hög användning av primära råvaror, linjära leveranskedjor och en fast fashion-kultur bland företag och konsumenter som bland annat resulterar i låg användningsgrad för kläder. Cirkulär ekonomi är ett sätt att ar-beta med förändring med fokus på dessa utmaningar och syftar till att bryta den linjära ekonomin. För att få till detta ”slutna” kretslopp krävs stöd i cirkulära direktiv och policyer, tekniker som kan etablera och stödja minskning, återanvändning och återvinning av resurser, material och produkter, samt affärsmodeller och distribution av cirkulära produkter och tjänster. Men för att den cirkulära ekonomin ska bli möjlig krävs även att konsumenten involveras. Den här rapporten redovisar resultaten från en konsumentstudie med fokus på konsumenters erfarenheter av digitala tjänster för cirkulär ekonomi och visar på att det finns möjligheter, men också svårigheter, med att vara en cirkulär konsument.Till exempel kräver denna form av konsumtion att det finns en tillgänglig infrastruktur och olika hjälpmedel (såsom digitala plattformar, butiker, utlåningsverksamheter och så vidare), samt att konsumenten både har kunskap och kompetens att använda den typ av tjänster som skapats. Våra resultat visar att cirkulär konsumtion är en tidskrävande aktivitet som ofta kolliderar med vardagens redan inarbetade rutiner. Dessutom kan det vara ekonomiskt krävande att vara en cirkulär modekonsument. Detta betyder att cirkulär konsumtion behöver uppfattas som meningsfull för att konsumenten ska engagera sig i en förändring mot mer cirkulär modekonsumtion.Många tjänster uppfattas också som dyra och därmed blir värdet av tjänsten en fråga. Avslutningsvis visar studien att cirkulära tjänster fyller en funktion för de som vill anpassa sin konsumtion av kläder för att vara cirkulära, men att de tillgängliga digitala plattformarna för cirkulär klädkonsumtion lider av ett antal problem som be-höver åtgärdas för att integrationen av cirkulära tjänster i konsumenters vardag på en större skala ska vara möjlig.
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