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Sustainability
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Cleaner Production and Resource Recovery
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Cleaner Production and Resource Recovery

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Resources and Sustainable Utilization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 June 2024) | Viewed by 8134

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Luiz Kulay

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Chemical Engineering Department, Polytechnic School, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Interests: cleaner production; industrial ecology; circular economy; environmental optimization; energy integration; life cycle assessment; eco-efficiency; design for environment
Prof. Dr. Moises Teles dos Santos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Chemical Engineering Department, Polytechnic School, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Interests: renewable energy; process design; optimization; simulation; cost estimation; biorefinery; biomass; lignocelulosic materials; supply chain

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The depletion of natural resources in the form of fossil derivatives, minerals, and water, as well as the impacts of waste emissions, are challenges to be overcome by modern society so that future generations can live sustainably and with quality. Thus, proposals for cleaner and more circular productive systems, based on the recovery of resources and the reuse of goods whose original functions have been exhausted, are reasonable, strategic, and urgent actions in the search for a dynamic balance between the technosphere and the biosphere.

However, the first step to successfully designing and implementing this approach is that the environmental impacts, economic aspects, and social developments associated with such arrangements must be investigated quantitatively and systemically. For this to occur with the precision required by the management instruments, different methods, such as the Life Cycle Assessment and Economic and Social Assessment tools, must be used with care and rigor. Only in possession of these diagnoses will it then be possible to use process simulation and modeling, multi-criteria decision analysis and optimization methods, logics of circular economy, and even machine learning to balance the dimensions of the triple botton line at all stages to be fulfilled to meet the needs of human beings, and a posteriori of these.

The idea behind this Special Issue is to serve as an academic-scientific forum for exposition and discussion of theses, conceptual constructions, or even, welcomely, the report and description of well-known practical cases and experiences where such approaches have been employed together. Coordinating efforts, sharing experiences, and working together, we understand that it will be possible to provide tangible, concrete, and accurate contributions so that public and private managers can carry out their decision-making processes and prepare comprehensive and complete plans, policies, and projects that value aspects inevitable and inherent to the current context, such as those of an environmental and social nature. With this expectation, we invite you, academic colleagues, researchers, and managers from the most diverse and varied areas and characters to participate with us in this initiative.

This Special Issue wishes to tackle themes related to cleaner production and resource recovery. To do so, we seek key contributions on (but not restricted to) the following topics:

  • Reduction of natural resources extraction and material and energy recovery
  • Cleaner production
  • Environmental performance and life cycle assessment
  • Environmental sustainability
  • Renewable energy generation
  • Green and sustainable manufacturing
  • Process integration and optimization
  • Sustainable evaluation of industrial processes
  • Environmental management
  • Practices and strategies for implementing a circular economy

Dr. Luiz Kulay
Prof. Dr. Moises Teles dos Santos
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • cleaner production
  • industrial ecology
  • circular economy
  • planetary health
  • life cycle assessment
  • eco-efficiency
  • energy integration
  • materials and energy recovery
  • design for environment
  • process opimization

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 3195 KiB  
Article
Alternative Integrated Ethanol, Urea, and Acetic Acid Processing Routes Employing CCU: A Prospective Study through a Life Cycle Perspective
by Denis da Silva Miranda, Luise Prado Martins, Beatriz Arioli de Sá Teles, Isadora L. C. Cunha, Natália de Almeida Menezes, Hugo Sakamoto and Luiz Kulay
Sustainability 2023, 15(22), 15937; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152215937 - 14 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1644
Abstract
Despite the importance of inputs such as urea, ethanol, and acetic acid for the global production of food, energy, and chemical bases, manufacturing these substances depends on non-renewable resources, generating significant environmental impacts. One alternative to reducing these effects is to integrate production [...] Read more.
Despite the importance of inputs such as urea, ethanol, and acetic acid for the global production of food, energy, and chemical bases, manufacturing these substances depends on non-renewable resources, generating significant environmental impacts. One alternative to reducing these effects is to integrate production processes. This study compares the cumulative environmental performance of individual production routes for ethanol, urea, and acetic acid with that of an integrated complex designed based on Industrial Ecology precepts. Life Cycle Assessment was used as a metric for the impact categories of Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Primary Energy Demand (PED). The comparison occurred between the reference scenario, which considers individual processes, and six alternative integrated arrangements that vary in the treatment given to a stream concentrated in fuels generated in the Carbon Capture and Usage system that serves the processing of acetic acid. The study showed that process integration is recommended in terms of PED, whose contributions were reduced by 46–63% compared to stand-alone processes. The impacts of GWP are associated with treating the fuel stream. If it is treated as a co-product and environmental loads are allocated in terms of energy content, gains of up to 44% can be expected. On the other hand, if the stream is a waste, the complex’s GWP becomes more aggressive than the baseline scenario by 66%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cleaner Production and Resource Recovery)
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21 pages, 2610 KiB  
Article
Hidden Costs Associated with Smallholder Family-Based Broiler Production: Accounting for the Intangibles
by Rafael Araujo Nacimento, Mario Duarte Canever, Cecilia Almeida, Feni Agostinho, Augusto Hauber Gameiro and Biagio Fernando Giannetti
Sustainability 2023, 15(22), 15780; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152215780 - 9 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1349
Abstract
The contractual relationship between the processing firm and the broiler smallholder presents incessant conflicts of interest and inequality due to technical and economic discrepancies, leading to an undervaluation of the producers’ remuneration. This study aims to deepen the discussion on searching for a [...] Read more.
The contractual relationship between the processing firm and the broiler smallholder presents incessant conflicts of interest and inequality due to technical and economic discrepancies, leading to an undervaluation of the producers’ remuneration. This study aims to deepen the discussion on searching for a more balanced monetary exchange between processing firms and broiler smallholders based on scientific aspects. For this, the emergy theory and its concepts are used while considering a representative broiler production system at Concórdia, Brazil. The results indicate the importance of including cultural information in the emergy-based model calculation, which achieved the highest emergy contribution (~63%; transformity = 1.73 × 108 sej/J) for the broiler smallholder. On the other hand, the cultural information was not sufficient to increase the sustainability of the broiler production system. The results show an imbalance in the monetary exchange between the processing firm and broiler smallholder from both perspectives (the economic and emergy-based ones), which indicates higher values (USD 0.32/broiler and EmUSD 1.62/broiler) than the practiced payment value of USD 0.24/broiler. Evaluating the “(eco)cost” from an emergy-based accounting perspective recognizes that production depends not only on tangible physical resources but also on knowledge, skills and information (“iceberg of value” thinking). Policy and decision makers must therefore consider the promotion of public policies that subside initiatives, including social and environmental welfare programs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cleaner Production and Resource Recovery)
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11 pages, 1775 KiB  
Article
Adding Value to Sugarcane Bagasse Ash: Potential Integration of Biogas Scrubbing with Vinasse Anaerobic Digestion
by Tsai Garcia-Perez, Juvenal Alejandro Ortiz-Ulloa, Lourdes E. Jara-Cobos and Manuel Raul Pelaez-Samaniego
Sustainability 2023, 15(21), 15218; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115218 - 24 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2234
Abstract
One of the byproducts of sugarcane bagasse combustion in sugarcane mills is sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA), which contains up to ~40 mass% of organic matter. Currently, SCBA is partially used as a soil fertilizer. However, SCBA’s poor content of minerals, which are required [...] Read more.
One of the byproducts of sugarcane bagasse combustion in sugarcane mills is sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA), which contains up to ~40 mass% of organic matter. Currently, SCBA is partially used as a soil fertilizer. However, SCBA’s poor content of minerals, which are required by soils, restricts its use in soils, resulting in the disposal of large amounts of SCBA in landfills. Alternatively, SCBA has shown promise for some environmental applications such as wastewater treatment, but its use in gas cleaning deserves further study. The objective of this work was to assess the use of as-received SCBA to remove hydrogen sulfide (H2S) from biogas, thus, to add value to the ash. The experimental procedure consisted of passing biogas containing H2S through a column with SCBA and monitoring the H2S content inline by employing a gas chromatograph until the concentration of H2S, measured after the column, was ~10% of the original concentration. The breakthrough time of the SCBA adsorption curve was ~75% the breakthrough time observed with activated carbon, showing that SCBA could be a cheap alternative to commercial materials that are currently used for biogas scrubbing. This result could positively impact ethanol sugarcane mills that need to clean biogas produced from vinasses, as part of a strategy to integrate biogas production and cleaning operations using low-value residues (i.e., vinasses and ash). SCBA’s capacity for removing H2S from biogas results from the presence of K-compounds (e.g., K2SiO3 and K2Si2O5) on the ash’s surface and its relatively high porosity. Additionally, S-enriched SCBA (due to H2S retention) can expectedly be more beneficial to soils than directly adding the ash since S is an essential nutrient for the growth of plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cleaner Production and Resource Recovery)
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18 pages, 3052 KiB  
Article
Using the Life Cycle Approach for Multiobjective Optimization in the Context of the Green Supply Chain: A Case Study of Brazilian Coffee
by Hugo Sakamoto, Larissa Thaís Bruschi, Luiz Kulay and Akebo Yamakami
Sustainability 2023, 15(18), 13987; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813987 - 20 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2297
Abstract
This study proposes a multiobjective optimization model (MOO) based on a green supply chain so that coffee produced in Brazil could supply the North American market with lower environmental impacts and costs. Production and distribution arrangements were established considering four coffee-producing regions, three [...] Read more.
This study proposes a multiobjective optimization model (MOO) based on a green supply chain so that coffee produced in Brazil could supply the North American market with lower environmental impacts and costs. Production and distribution arrangements were established considering four coffee-producing regions, three ports of origin in Brazil, four destination ports, seven roasting plants, and fifteen consumption centers, all distributed throughout the American territory. Environmental and economic performances regarding global warming potential (GWP) and costs were determined for a life cycle approach. The results indicate that coffee cultivation has the most significant contributions to the GWP of the arrangements. The transport of the product by road also plays an essential role, especially if extensive distances are covered during the port–roaster–consumer center journey in the United States. The analysis showed differences of 2.0 kg CO2eq and US$8.00 per ton of coffee between the best and worst arrangements, which can be considered significant when projected to the Brazilian annual coffee export scale. In the environmental limit condition, the optimization can lead to non-trivial results compared to the real market. The model conceived for the MOO can be improved to reproduce more realistic conditions by incorporating producer and consumer markets, inserting uncertainties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cleaner Production and Resource Recovery)
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