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1

Yue, Liang. "Biobased Epoxy Composites: Sustainable Alternative for Advanced Materials." Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies / OhioLINK, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1522772226681193.

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Moraes, João Cláudio Bassan de. "Study on sugar cane straw ash (SCSA) in alkali-activated binders /." Ilha Solteira, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/152101.

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Orientador: Jorge Luís Akasaki
Resumo: Aglomerantes ativados alcalinamente (AAA) são obtidos da combinação de um precursor solido (geralmente um aluminosilicato) e uma solução alcalina de alta concentração. As vantagens de utilizar este novo tipo de aglomerante comparado ao cimento Portland, um aglomerante convencional, são as menores emissões de CO2, menor consumo de energia e a possibilidade de utilizar matérias prima renováveis e/ou resíduos. Neste sentido, este trabalho apresenta um novo resíduo da indústria da cada de açúcar: a folha de cana de açúcar. A folha apresenta um poder calorífico interessante; portanto, ela pode ser utilizada como biomassa para produzir energia através um processo de queima. Depois deste procedimento, é gerado um novo resíduo: a cinza de folha de cana de açúcar (CF). Esta cinza não apresenta uma destinação correta, então este trabalho tem como intenção utilizar esta cinza como material prima em AAA. A CF foi avaliada de duas formas: como precursor solido e como matéria prima para produzir a solução alcalina. No primeiro modo, a CF foi utilizada em sistemas combinados com a escória de alto forno (EAF) ativado com ambas soluções de NaOH e NaOH/silicato de sódio. No segundo modo, a CF foi utilizada como fonte de sílica para produzir a solução alcalina com o NaOH em AAA baseados em EAF. Os sistemas foram estudados através da resistência a compressão de argamassas e pelo estudo da microestrutura de pastas. Ensaios realizados para avaliar a microestrutura foram a difração de raios-X (DRX)... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)
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Jain, Deeksha. "Development of Alternative Materials to Replace Precious Metals in Sustainable Catalytic Technologies." The Ohio State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1566176607919202.

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McIntosh, Sean P. "Factors Impeding the Advancement of Straw Bale As a Feasible and Sustainable Construction Building Material in North America." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1305896657.

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5

Qua, Frances Jillian S. (Frances Jillian SyCip). "(Im)Material : a qualitative study on sustainable materials for design through a comparative review of leather and its modern alternatives." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2019. https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/122335.

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Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2019
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This study explores the broader questions and implications involved in selecting sustainable materials for designing everyday products for consumers, through a qualitative review of leather and new modern alternatives. Leather is a resilient material that has been used for thousands of years. However, the processes involved in producing the material on a mass scale create adverse environmental and social impact when not carefully managed and considered. Although the modern leather alternatives may have comparatively smaller environmental footprints, designing a sustainable product may not be as simple as replacing one material for another and involves complex value judgements amongst industry players and consumers. This, therefore, brings up questions about what is material or immaterial when it comes to sustainable design decisions, and emphasizes the need for systemic thinking across the value chain in order to have a truly meaningful attempt towards designing for environmental, social and economic sustainability.
by Frances Jillian S. Qua.
S.M. in Engineering and Management
S.M.inEngineeringandManagement Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program
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6

Melikoglu, Mehmet. "Production of sustainable alternatives to petrochemicals and fuels using waste bread as a raw material." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2008. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.488783.

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7

Natali, Murri Annalisa <1982&gt. "Sustainable inorganic Binders and Their Applications in Building Engineering: A Green Alternative to Ordinary Portland Cement." Doctoral thesis, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, 2012. http://amsdottorato.unibo.it/4373/.

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In the last decades, the building materials and construction industry has been contributing to a great extent to generate a high impact on our environment. As it has been considered one of the key areas in which to operate to significantly reduce our footprint on environment, there has been widespread belief that particular attention now has to be paid and specific measures have to be taken to limit the use of non-renewable resources.The aim of this thesis is therefore to study and evaluate sustainable alternatives to commonly used building materials, mainly based on ordinary Portland Cement, and find a supportable path to reduce CO2 emissions and promote the re-use of waste materials. More specifically, this research explores different solutions for replacing cementitious binders in distinct application fields, particularly where special and more restricting requirements are needed, such as restoration and conservation of architectural heritage. Emphasis was thus placed on aspects and implications more closely related to the concept of non-invasivity and environmental sustainability. A first part of the research was addressed to the study and development of sustainable inorganic matrices, based on lime putty, for the pre-impregnation and on-site binding of continuous carbon fiber fabrics for structural rehabilitation and heritage restoration. Moreover, with the aim to further limit the exploitation of non-renewable resources, the synthesis of chemically activated silico-aluminate materials, as metakaolin, ladle slag or fly ash, was thus successfully achieved. New sustainable binders were hence proposed as novel building materials, suitable to be used as primary component for construction and repair mortars, as bulk materials in high-temperature applications or as matrices for high-toughness fiber reinforced composites.
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Hamilton-MacLaren, Fiona. "Alternative, more sustainable, wall construction techniques than brick and block, for new housing in England and Wales." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2013. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/12375.

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There is a need to reduce the emissions of the country as a whole, to limit the risk of climate change due to Global warming and to meet targets set by the Kyoto agreement and the Climate Change Act. The large number of houses constructed annually in England and Wales have an important role to play in this. By reducing emissions, resulting from both the manufacture of construction materials and the energy used by house occupants, housing can help achieve the necessary emissions reductions. Alternative construction methods can contribute to this, either by having a lower embodied energy or by demonstrating good thermal properties to limit heat loss and hence operational energy. However, it is essential that both the construction industry and the public accept the alternative construction methods for them to be economically viable. In addition, there should be no loss of performance as a result of using alternative construction methods. Six methods of construction were studied in depth, including generating embodied and operational energy requirements and identifying their performance in terms of airtightness, wall thickness, and fire resistance. Public and industry acceptability were examined by use of questionnaires. A comparison of the data collected showed that identifying the best, or optimal, option visually is a challenging task as no single method of construction is best in all areas. A methodology was created to aid the selection of a wall construction method. The methodology is capable of examining multiple variables, in this work it is demonstrated with construction method and front building dimension. To identify the optimal method, optimisation by genetic algorithms is used. Use of the methodology was demonstrated with a case study based on the most frequently constructed housing type for England and Wales. The importance of weighting was demonstrated with the use of weightings based on concerns held by different parties. It was found that minimising the external wall area gives the optimal solution as less material is needed and there is less opportunity for heat loss. For the situation examined in the case study, Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) were identified as having the potential to reduce the environmental impact of housing construction in England and Wales without impacting saleability or performance.
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Pereira, Adriana Maria. "Avaliação do uso da cinza do bagaço de cana-de-açúcar na produção de aglomerantes ativados alcalinamente /." Ilha Solteira, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/181173.

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Orientador: Jorge Luís Akasaki
Resumo: Nos últimos anos, tem havido um crescente interesse em substituir parcialmente ou totalmente o uso do cimento Portland por materiais com baixo impacto ambiental; logo o estudo de aglomerantes ativados alcalinamente obtidos a partir da mistura de um precursor sólido, rico em aluminossilicato, e uma solução alcalina de alta concentração, tem se mostrado uma alternativa viável, uma vez que o consumo de energia e a emissão de CO2 durante a produção dessas matrizes são reduzidas, e ainda, ocorre a possibilidade de inserção de subprodutos agroindustriais, na matriz desses aglomerantes. Assim a presente tese apresenta um estudo de viabilidade do uso da cinza do bagaço de cana-de-açúcar (CBC), subproduto da indústria sucroalcooleira, na produção de aglomerantes ativados alcalinamente. A CBC foi obtida a partir da queima não controlada do bagaço de cana-de-açúcar e apresentou uma composição química predominantemente constituída de dióxido de silício. A cinza foi submetida a ensaios de caracterização física e química, de modo a avaliar a viabilidade do uso da cinza na produção de matrizes ativadas. Os ensaios de caracterização e de reatividade indicaram que a cinza apresenta grande parte da sua sílica no estado cristalino, além de apresentar baixa solubilidade e reatividade pozolânica. Porém, os ensaios térmicos e mecânicos das argamassas e pastas produzidas com a CBC, demostraram que, a CBC apresenta boa reatividade para períodos de cura prolongados, possibilitando o seu uso em matriz... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)
Abstract: In recent years, there has been a growing interest in partially or totally replacing the use of Portland cement with materials with low environmental impact; Therefore, the study of alkaline activated binders obtained from the mixture of an aluminosilicate rich solid precursor and a high concentration alkaline solution, proved to be a viable alternative since energy consumption and CO2 emission during production of these matrices are reduced, and also, there is the possibility of insertion of agroindustrial byproducts in the matrix of these binders. Thus, this thesis presents a viability study of the sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) use, a by-product of the sugar and alcohol industry, in the production of alkaline activated binders. The SCBA was obtained from the uncontrolled calcination of the sugarcane bagasse and presented a chemical composition predominantly constituted of silicon dioxide. The ash was physically and chemically characterized, in order to assess the viability of the ash use in the production of activated matrices. Characterization and reactivity analysis indicated that ash presents a great part of its silica in the crystalline state, low solubility and pozzolanic reactivity. However, the thermal and mechanical analysis of mortars and pastes produced with SCBA showed that ash presented good reactivity for long curing periods, allowing its use in Portland cement matrices and activated matrices. Two types of systems were analyzed in the activated matrices studies:... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)
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10

Alam, Fuad. "An Analysis of Alternative Building Materials in the Coastal Rural Areas of Bangladesh." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för industriell teknik och management (ITM), 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-279690.

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This study will provide background information about the region of Bangladesh, more specifically the coastal rural area of Bangladesh. This region has due to the global warming become a very disaster-prone region where disaster resilience work has become increasingly relevant. Displacement of the rural coastal population due to disasters is an ongoing issue in Bangladesh which inhibits the large urbanization the capital city, Dhaka faces. This has increased the need of housing which has stimulated the brick industry that has increased its contribution to Bangladesh GDP the last years. Though the brick industry has traditionally been dominated by environmentally unfriendly methods that has caused deforestation and severe air pollution contributing to the cause of its demand creating a negative feedback loop. This study will analyse four different building materials including the traditional one by collecting data, creating analyse models and discussing them to find a more financial, environmental and technical suitable alternative to respond to the current situation to try turn the tide focusing on the rural coastal areas of Bangladesh.
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Hossain, Nabil. "An Analysis of Alternative Building Materials in the Coastal Rural Areas of Bangladesh." Thesis, KTH, Fastigheter och byggande, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-277898.

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This study will provide background information about the region of Bangladesh,more specifically the coastal rural area of Bangladesh. This region has due to theglobal warming become a very disaster-prone region where disaster resilience workhas become increasingly relevant. Displacement of the rural coastal population dueto disasters is an ongoing issue in Bangladesh which inhibits the large urbanization the capital city, Dhaka faces. This has increased the need of housing which has stimulated the brick industry that has increased its contribution to BangladeshGDP the last years. Though the brick industry has traditionally been dominated by environmentally unfriendly methods that has caused deforestation and severe air pollution contributing to the cause of its demand creating a negative feedbackloop. This study will analyse four different building materials including the tradition alone by collecting data, creating analyse models and discussing them to find a more financial, environmental and technical suitable alternative to respondto the current situation to try turn the tide focusing on the rural coastal areas of Bangladesh.
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Salado, Gerusa de Cássia. "Painel de vedação vertical de tubos de papelão: estudo, proposta e análise de desempenho." Universidade de São Paulo, 2011. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/18/18141/tde-22052013-084606/.

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A extração cada vez maior de recursos da natureza e o grande volume de lixo descartado nos aterros sanitários alertam para a necessidade de se promover a reciclagem e a reutilização de resíduos para se gerarem novos materiais, inclusive, no setor da construção civil. Com base nisso e a partir de um estudo sobre as obras arquitetônicas em que Shigeru Ban construiu painéis de vedação com tubos de papelão, este trabalho desenvolveu uma proposta de painéis de vedação vertical de tubos de papelão e fez uma avaliação do seu desempenho estrutural visando a sua utilização no Brasil. Foram realizados ensaios técnicos para avaliar o painel de vedação vertical de tubos de papelão proposto, no que se refere à sua resistência mecânica e ao seu comportamento quando submetido às principais ações sofridas por um painel de vedação vertical. Também foi construída uma célula-teste para avaliar o desempenho técnico e estrutural do painel de vedação vertical de tubos de papelão proposto quando submetido a situações reais de exposição. Os dados obtidos em ambas as avaliações foram levados em consideração para verificar o desempenho geral do painel que se propôs, possibilitando concluir se este é apto ao seu emprego na construção civil no Brasil, e sugerir alguns usos e aplicações para o mesmo.
The increasing extraction of nature resources and the large volume of waste discarded in landfills call for the need to promote recycling and reuse of waste to create new materials, inclusive in the construction industry. Considering this aspect and from a study of the architectural masterpieces where Shigeru Ban built sealing cardboard tubes panels, this study developed a proposal for vertical sealing cardboard tubes panels and assessed their structural performance having in mind their use in Brazil. Technical tests were conducted to evaluate the proposed vertical sealing cardboard tubes panel regarding its mechanical resistance and behavior when submitted to the main actions suffered by a vertical sealing panel. A test cell was also built to evaluate the structural and technical performance of the proposed vertical sealing cardboard tubes panel when submitted to real exposure situations. Data obtained in both evaluations were taken into consideration to verify the general performance of the proposed panel, allowing to conclude whether this is suitable for being used in civil construction in Brazil, and to suggest some usage and applications for it.
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Nunes, Antônio Ricardo Sampaio. "Construindo com a natureza bambu : uma alternativa de ecodesenvolvimento." Universidade Federal de Sergipe, 2005. https://ri.ufs.br/handle/riufs/4337.

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This work aims at investigating the application of the bamboo as a construction material in the State of Sergipe, Brazil, through the analysis of the aspects deriving from its use process, them being: economical efficiency, the material´s physical and mechanical properties, local workforce output, acceptance level by the local population, a esthetical results of the bamboo in architectural applications and its possibilities of ecological development. The method employed in this scientific investigation was action-research, which made use of a coordinated collective action plan of technical, social and cultural character, oriented towards the solving of conceptual, technical and operational problems which arose from research matters raised throughout this project. The action selected so as to proceed in an investigation which could lead to solving such questions was the construction of a house in which the bamboo was a priority as a material employed. The designated sight for the construction was the ´´Horto do Diogo´´, located on the Oiterinhos farm, a Petrobras property, in the city of Carmópolis, state of Sergipe, Brazil. Under the perspective of ecological development, it is the project´s objective to investigate the use of the bamboo as an alternative in environmentally sustainable development contextualized in a technological, social, economic and cultural process. The ecological development is a strategy used in order to overcome the barriers imposed by a dominating market economy. For it to be fully successful, the development of proper technologies which can make the most of both bio and human diversity of each ecosystem particularly (whether local or regional) is essential. The bamboo has proven to be a plant and a material of enormous potentialities, presenting physical and mechanical properties (proved herewith) which qualify it as a widely accessible and easily usable material by either rural or peripheral urban populations of small cities, thereby being regarded as an alternative in sustainable community development as well as ecological development.
Este trabalho teve como objetivo investigar as possibilidades de aplicação do bambu como um material de construção em Sergipe, analisando-se os aspectos decorrentes do processo de uso, quais sejam: eficiência econômica, propriedades físicas e mecânicas do material, desempenho da mão de obra local, níveis de aceitação do material pela população usuária, desempenho estético do bambu na arquitetura e suas possibilidades de ecodesenvolvimento. O método empregado para esta investigação foi o da pesquisa-ação que utilizou uma ação coletiva planejada de caráter técnico, social e cultural, orientada em função da resolução de problemas conceituais e técnicos operacionais, levantados nas questões de pesquisa. A ação escolhida para se proceder a investigação que levaria a responder tais questões foi a construção de uma edificação cujo material aplicado seria prioritariamente o bambu. O local escolhido para construção foi o Horto do Diogo, situado na fazenda Oiteirinhos de propriedade da Petrobrás, no município de Carmópolis, estado de Sergipe, Brasil. Foi sob a perspectiva do ecodesenvolvimento que propomos investigar o uso do bambu como uma alternativa para o desenvolvimento com sustentabilidade ambiental contextualizando-o num processo tecnológico, social, econômico e cultural. O ecodesenvolvimento é o fundamento para o entendimento da ecotécnica como uma estratégia para superar as barreiras impostas pela economia de mercado dominante. Para o seu sucesso toma-se fundamental o desenvolvimento de tecnologias apropriadas que absorvam o melhor da diversidade tanto humana como natural de cada ecossistema (local ou regional) de forma particular. O bambu se revela como uma planta e um material de grandes potencialidades, sendo comprovadas nesta pesquisa, as suas propriedades físicas e mecânicas que o qualifica como um material de fácil uso por populações rurais ou periféricas de pequenas cidades, se afirmando como uma alternativa de desenvolvimento comunitário sustentável e ecodesenvolvimento.
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Dvořák, Jakub. "Návrh objektu využívajícího alternativní materiály se zohledněním požadavků na trvale udržitelný rozvoj." Master's thesis, Vysoké učení technické v Brně. Fakulta stavební, 2019. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-396157.

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This diploma thesis deals with the design of a small family house, which construction uses alternative building materials. The first part of the thesis is devoted to the world, European and Czech legislation related to sustainable development. The concept of ecological construction, which focuses on the possibilities of reducing the negative impacts of construction production on the environment at various stages of construction and on energy, material, water and waste management, is also presented. The thesis also describes advantages and disadvantages of particular solutions. In the second part of the thesis, which based on theoretical knowledge, is the design of a family house from alternative materials worked out. The design of the study in the scale of 1:100 consists of measured floor plan drawings of all storeys, characteristic measured section drawings, layout plans with displayed furniture and equipment, elevation drawings of particular facades, roof drawings and situation design. The drawing part is accompanied by a text part. The processed design is compared to the reference building and then evaluated from the point of view of functional, economic, environmental and social requirements.
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Boufleur, Rodrigo Naumann. "A questão da gambiarra: formas alternativas de desenvolver artefatos e suas relações com o design de produtos." Universidade de São Paulo, 2006. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/16/16134/tde-24042007-150223/.

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Este estudo propõe a análise de paradigmas que se contextualizam a partir dos limites dos conceitos tradicionais de design industrial. O objetivo é situar formas alternativas de design, abrindo uma reflexão sobre o seu significado e suas contribuições no que se refere a questões socioeconômicas e ambientais. O termo gambiarra - visto como uma \"técnica\" ou procedimento alternativo - é escolhido aqui para representar essas diversas práticas usadas parar configurar artefatos improvisados, porém relacionando-as à realidade brasileira. Esta idéia, quando vinculada a conceitos e proposições no que concerne ao design, provoca uma série de reflexões e questionamentos em torno da constituição destes artefatos no universo da cultura material brasileira.
This research proposes the overview of the paradigms that comes from the limits of the traditional concepts of industrial design. The objective is to study alternative types of design, introducing reflections about the meaning and their contributions to social and environment subjects. Gambiarra, a Brazilian original term, usually translated to the expression ?make do?, and seen as an alternative procedure, is used to represent those practices that provide improved artifacts, however relating them to the Brazilian reality. This idea, when related to propositions and concepts of design, contributes with a range of reflections about the constitution of these artifacts on the universe of the Brazilian material culture.
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Bloomfield, Jessica. "An Alternative Alternative: The Road to Sustainable Transportation Law." Thesis, University of Oregon, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1794/13238.

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The dominance of motor vehicle use throughout America reflects a massive government intervention on behalf of automobiles. Congress directs billions of dollars into America's highway system annually, assuming that building new roadways is the best option to move people and goods from one place to another. These policies stand in direct contradiction to today's travel patterns. This research examines ways to improve federal law to achieve a more sustainable transportation future. First, it identifies the specific provisions in federal transportation law that inhibit the development of "low-build" transportation projects. Second, it describes challenges to halting roadway construction through litigation in federal court. Understanding the problems of federal transportation law and litigation sheds light on the ways to make positive change in the next federal surface transportation reauthorization. This research culminates in recommendations for how Congress can implement policies that require a comprehensive approach to transportation planning.
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Nitschke, Mattias. "“Nya gröna vågen”- the new back-to-the-landers : Growing new pathways to the future." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för geovetenskaper, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-397898.

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In the face of climate change, political instability, ecological destruction, extinction of species and other global issues humanity is facing, various studies are showing that a radical societal transformation is needed to avoid an ecological collapse. This thesis explores the contemporary social-environmental phenomenon “nya gröna vågen” (new-back-to-the-landers) in Sweden as a response to an urgent need for societal transformation as well as a resistance to the conventional modern society. The aim of the study is to examine the material practices in which people within “nya gröna vågen” are involved, how their ideas relate to those practices, and what could be learned from the practitioners in terms of future pathways. To meet this aim, a variant of practice theory is used, which acknowledges non-human actors as well as ideas. Material practice is conceptualized as a network of associations of human and non-humans in specific time-spaces. The study uses semi-structured interviews with practitioners within “nya gröna vågen” and observations. The results show that practices within “nya gröna vågen” are connected to the physical surrounding where they are performed. The material practices of, for example, food provisioning, are understood as embodied understandings of the world made up by a network of human and non-human actors. Further, the material practices within “nya gröna vågen” are based on the idea of a co-creation of human and non-human actors shaping the world. The results also indicate how the actors’ material world-making practices responds to the current planetary situation. In response to what they perceive to be an ecological crisis, they have become involved in practices like regenerative agriculture, adapting to the evolving landscape and water projects. The results also present how the material practices bounded to a specific place as a platform for life are giving a sense of stability and belonging. A relational way of life where people are shaping new imaginations on how to navigate and make life in the future through practices in human/non-human networks.
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Danatzko, Joseph M. "Sustainable Structural Design." The Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1275406390.

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Cooney, Katie. "Alternative Sustainable Design within an Established Structure." The University of Arizona, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/552521.

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Sustainable Built Environments Senior Capstone
This thesis seeks to develop an alternative sustainable design for the CareLink of Jackson medical facility. Through a thorough analysis of the structure, community, environment, and user interaction within and around the building, a complete understanding of the facility's needs, successes and failures were composed. Based on this analysis, an alternative design was then proposed of which incorporates improvements to the building's green space, solar utilization, and social integration. This final design analysis and recommendation can be used to inform similar redevelopment of established structures in the benefits of sustainable integration within architecture.
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Baza, Jorien Gill. "Nonlinear Modeling of a Sustainable Material." DigitalCommons@CalPoly, 2010. https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/412.

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This study developed a nonlinear constitutive model for a sustainable orthotropic material. Existing methods for constitutive models of wood were improved upon to include the nonlinear stress-strain response not only in the two orthogonal axes but at any orientation to the strong axis of the material. This method also simplifies the nonlinear stress-strain relationships into bilinear stress-strain curves which can be valuable in hand calculations as well as finite-element analyses. The effectiveness of the proposed constitutive model is demonstrated by comparing bilinear stress-strain predictions to experimental data.
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Hald, Saga. "Sustainable Material Selection:Guiding the Multi-Criteria Process to Design for Sustainable Innovation." Thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Institutionen för maskinteknik, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-18869.

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In the past decades, the world has noticed complex changes in its climate. The resources available now as well as in the future could be said to be analogous to the decreasing circumference of a funnel. The wealthy population with the means to elect what goods they wish to consume are becoming aware of their impact both on nature as well as on the less fortunate people of the planet. As a consequence environmental and human-centered factors are of higher priority than ever before in the decisions made by companies, which in turn will decide the future. This thesis aims to investigate what set of criteria can be seen as most relevant for sustainable material selection at a manufacturing company. To be relevant for the future these design criteria are decided with a base in modern research from the past decade in the field of material selection. The company chosen as a case to study and collaborate with was IKEA Components AB. The research was conducted on-site at the company’s facilities in Älmhult, Småland, as well as at the Blekinge Institute of Technology in Karlskrona, Blekinge. The company vision for the future which IKEA is striving towards is focused on lowering carbon dioxide equivalents, from which a lion share of the emissions is a result of the material they are selecting for their products. Experts within various fields of the chosen company were consulted to gain perspective and knowledge while designing and testing prototypes of a tool to facilitate a sustainable material selection. The metal alloys were analyzed for toxicity based on the percentages of all elements they contained and scored based on chosen sustainability criteria. The plastics were judged on recyclability, renewability, and degradability apart from available numbers for emission factors. After this, the materials were placed in the excel tool which was then tested by engineers and evaluated in semi-structured interviews. Updates were made to make the tool as user-friendly as was possible and new tests were conducted. Overall, the tool was appreciated by the users who tested it and more improvements were planned to finalize the prototype. Results are detailed in the latter part of the report, discussing designs the engineers preferred over others, the current scale of sustainability tools used in the company and how the testers scored the tool. In the discussion, criteria are evaluated based on their multi-criteria compliance with sustainability factors. Drawing conclusions about the subject of sustainability criteria was accomplished by conducting literature studies in material criticality, making use of the methods for sustainable product development taught in the master of science, investigating material toxicity, testing solutions for sustainable material selection at a typical furniture component manufacturing company, receiving feedback from constructors and exploring connections for the selected methods to the principles of sustainability.
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22

Nilsson, Michael. "Textbooks and Alternative material : positive and negative aspects." Thesis, Växjö University, School of Humanities, 2006. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:vxu:diva-782.

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This study is about what three teachers and three students in an upper secondary school in southern Sweden consider to be the positive and negative aspects of teaching/learning English with textbooks and alternative material respectively. The focus in the study is to compare the teachers’ perspectives and the students’ perspectives, and the method used is in-depth interviews.

The results showed that the teachers and the students shared many similar opinions about textbooks and alternative material as well as providing some differerent ones. All of the teachers emphasized the fact that teaching with textbooks saves them a lot of time. One of the teachers had her own opinion about textbooks. She claimed that they idealize western cultures and perspectives which is negative because students get a false picture of the world. Moreover, the majority of the teachers found it good to work with alternative material because they can use current topics which do not exist in textbooks. However, they believed that it takes too much time to work exclusively with alternative material because the workload becomes too big for them.

The majority of the students enjoyed working with textbooks due to the fact that they know exactly what to do from time to time and can work in advance when they like to. However, all of the students found it boring that textbooks never contain current topics. All the students liked to work with alternative material because of interesting topics and the possibility of choosing topics themselves. Considering the negative aspects of alternative material one student said that a lot of the material on the Internet is unreliable. Moreover, another student believed that it takes too much time to work with alternative material because he has to ask more questions about the various alternative projects.

There were some connections between my results and previous studies on the topic. Moreover, both the teachers and the students interviewed in this study had positive and negative opinions about textbooks and alternative material which is interesting.

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Kassa, Bewketu Z. "Bamboo: An Alternative Building Material for Urban Ethiopia." DigitalCommons@CalPoly, 2009. https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/66.

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This project explores the potential of bamboo as an alternative building material for low cost housing units suitable for urban Ethiopia. The rational for the application of bamboo comes from its abundance throughout the country, and its proven physical properties that equate it to other building material like timber, steel and concrete. The proposed bamboo based design solution concentrates on simplification of construction methods, prefabrication of structural components and vertical densification of housing units, addressing the lack of skilled labor, cost of construction time and urban land respectively. An understanding of the design solution was established by constructing a full-scale section prototype and performing laboratory tests on key structural components.
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Jay, Phyllida. "The material culture of ethical and sustainable fashion." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.675416.

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Kraus, Katharina Sofie. "An Alternative Future of Spatial Materiality." Thesis, Konstfack, Inredningsarkitektur & Möbeldesign, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:konstfack:diva-5562.

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In our practice the choice of materials is mostly driven by practical reasons, aesthetics and a given budget, and it is often applied rather at the end of the process – rarely is it the driver of any design process. What often gets forgotten is that materials can carry an immaterial layer of connotations. This means that materials are not perceived neutrally but are instead always loaded with certain meanings and values we attribute to them which in return can evoke different emotions in us. In my thesis project I explore the effect of analternative design process that uses materials as the point of departure.Through experimental explorations I have produced my own materials and investigated possibilities to use them in a spatial context. I created different scenarios to speculate about the potential these materials could have. Could they become applicable materials for interior and furniture design as well as for being a carrier of meaning?
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Becerril, Romero Ignacio. "Alternative Substrates for Sustainable and Earth-abundant Thin Film Photovoltaics." Doctoral thesis, Universitat de Barcelona, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/668184.

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The development of sustainable energy sources with a high energy return on energy investment (EROI) that can substitute fossil fuels is a must in order to avoid the collapse of our current civilization. In this context, this work explores the feasibility of fabricating efficient Cu2ZnSn(Sx,Se1-x)4 (kesterite) solar cells on three strategic substrates: polyimide, ceramic and SnO2:F-coated soda-lime glass (SLG/FTO). These substrates present several advantages with respect to the standard SLG/Mo. Polyimide is compatible with roll-to-toll production processes and easily integrable in many applications thanks to its light weight and flexibility, ceramics have a direct application in building-integrated photovoltaics as solar tiles and the transparency of SLG/FTO enables advanced photovoltaic concepts like bifacial and tandem solar cells as well as the fabrication of semi-transparent devices. Their combination with a sustainable thin film photovoltaic technology based on Earth-abundant materials like kesterites has the potential of decreasing the energy fabrication cost and, thus, of increasing the EROI of photovoltaics through: 1) high throughput production, 2) integration and 3) advanced applications and functionality. However, these substrates also present several drawbacks. Alkalis, especially Na, are fundamental to achieve high efficiency devices but polyimide and ceramics are alkali-free materials. Likewise, FTO acts as a barrier for alkalis. In addition, polyimide presents a low thermal robustness that limits process temperatures below 500ᵒC, ceramics are very rough and possess detrimental impurities and the use of FTO as back contact leads to a non-optimum p-kesterite/n-FTO interface. This work focuses on the implementation of specific strategies to adapt the kesterite solar cell fabrication process to the characteristics of the different substrates. A combination of alkaline doping and low-temperature annealings is studied for the fabrication of Cu2ZnSnSe4 solar cells on polyimide. While doping with NaF and KF is found to lead to critical improvements, working at low temperature is linked to the formation of SnSe2. This phase decreases the open-circuit voltage of the devices and is the main factor controlling their performance. Further experimentation leads to a 4.9% efficiency record device by combining NaF and Ge doping and a 480ᵒC annealing. In the case of ceramic, vitreous enamels with controlled amounts of Na2O in their composition are used as surface smoothers, Na sources and impurity barriers, simultaneously. However, large amounts of Na2O in the enamel composition result in high densities of surface defects: undulations, pinholes and cracks. While undulations and pinholes are rather benign, cracks strongly deteriorate the back contact. In addition, the annealing time needs to be controlled to avoid the formation of SnSe2. Besides these issues, enamelled ceramic substrates are observed to behave similarly to SLG yielding a record Cu2ZnSnSe4 device with a 7.5% efficiency. Regarding SLG/FTO, the addition of transition metal oxides (TMOs) and/or Mo:Na nanolayers is studied as an approach to improve the back interface of the devices. Mo:Na is found to alleviate shunting and recombination issues and to protect FTO from degradation during annealing which leads to highly improved devices, especially for Cu2ZnSnS4. On the other hand, TMOs introduce a severe current blockage. However, the combination of the TiO2 and V2O5 with Mo:Na is observed to boost the beneficial effects of the latter in Cu2ZnSnSe4 and Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 devices. Although these multi-layered back interfaces exhibit a complex behaviour, this approach results in record efficiencies of 6.2%, 6.1% and 7.9% for Cu2ZnSnSe4, Cu2ZnSnS4 and Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 devices, respectively. These results represent the highest efficiencies ever reported for kesterite solar cells fabricated on polyimide, ceramic and transparent substrates and give proof of their large potential for sustainable kesterite-based photovoltaics.
Esta tesis estudia el desarrollo de células solares de Cu2ZnSn(Sx,Se1-x)4 (kesterita) sobre sustratos de poliimida, cerámica y vidrio recubierto con SnO2:F (SLG/ITO). Estos sustratos presentan una serie de ventajas frente al estándar SLG/Mo como su compatibilidad con procesos de fabricación rollo a rollo (poliimida), con fotovoltaica integrada en edificios (todos) y/o la posibilidad de aplicaciones y funcionalidades avanzadas (poliimida y SLG/FTO). Sin embargo, también poseen características que dificultan la fabricación de células solares de kesterita como la falta de elementos alcalinos (todos), su baja resistencia térmica (poliimida), su alta rugosidad (cerámica) o su conductividad tipo n (SLG/FTO). Este trabajo se centra en la implementación de estrategias para la fabricación de células solares de kesterita de alta eficiencia atendiendo a las características de cada sustrato. En el caso de la poliimida, se utiliza una combinación de dopaje alcalino y procesos de recocido a baja temperatura la cual permite obtener un dispositivo Cu2ZnSnSe4 record con una eficiencia del 4.9% combinando dopaje con NaF y Ge y una temperatura de 480ᵒC. Los sustratos cerámicos se recubren con un esmalte vítreo que contiene una cantidad controlada de Na2O en su composición y que actúa como reductor de la rugosidad superficial, fuente de Na y barrera para impurezas. A pesar de que altas concentraciones de Na2O provocan defectos superficiales, los sustratos cerámicos esmaltados presentan un comportamiento muy similar al vidrio con un dispositivo Cu2ZnSnSe4 record de 7.5% de eficiencia. En cuanto a los sustratos SLG/FTO, se estudia el depósito de nanocapas de óxidos de metales de transición (TMOs) y de Mo:Na para mejorar la interficie trasera kesterita-p/FTO-n de los dispositivos. Los TMOs inducen una fuerte barrera eléctrica mientras el Mo:Na se muestra fundamental para la fabricación de dispositivos eficientes. Sin embargo, el uso conjunto de Mo:Na y TiO2 o V2O5 amplifica los efectos beneficiosos del Mo:Na lo que permite obtener un dispositivo Cu2ZnSn(Sx,Se1-x)4 record con una eficiencia de 7.9%. Estas son las eficiencias más altas reportadas para células solares de kesterita sobre poliimida, cerámica y SLG/FTO y demuestran el potencial de estos sustratos para el desarrollo de una fotovoltaica sostenible basada en kesterita.
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27

Pruthiarenum, Chanarun. "Natural resources management under the alternative view toward sustainable development /." Bangkok : Faculty of Economics, Thammasat University, 2001. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/49194214.html.

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Thesis (M.A.)--Thammasat University, 2001.
"A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Economics (English Language Program), Faculty of Economics, Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand, April 2001." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-118).
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28

Chen, Feng. "Sustainable Implementation of Electrified Roads : Structural and Material Analyses." Doctoral thesis, KTH, Bro- och stålbyggnad, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-195669.

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Given the promise of the Inductive Power Transfer (IPT) technology for eRoad applications, the potential challenges for a successful integration of dynamic IPT technology into the physical road structure are explored extensively in this research work. The Finite Element Method (FEM) is selected for studying the structural performance of an eRoad under operational conditions. In this, an energy-based finite strain constitutive model for asphalt materials is developed and calibrated, to enable the detailed investigation of the structural response and optimization of the considered eRoad. In the context of enabling both dynamic charging and autonomous driving for future electric vehicles, the influences to the pavement (rutting) performance by the changed vehicle behaviour are investigated as well. Moreover, to study the effect on the IPT system by the integration, the potential power loss caused within eRoad pavement materials is further examined by a combined analytic and experimental analysis. The direct research goal of this Thesis is therefore to enhance the possibility of a sustainable implementation of the eRoad solutions into the real society. At the same time, it aims to demonstrate that the road structure itself is an important part of smart infrastructure systems that can either become a bottleneck or a vessel of opportunities, supporting the successful integration of these complex systems.
Givet de förutsättningar som induktiv energiöverföring (IPT Inductive Power Transfer) har för eRoad applikationerna, utforskas möjligheterna för en framgångsrik integration av dynamisk IPT i den fysiska vägkonstruktionen på en djupgående nivå i detta forskningsarbete. Speciellt har finita elementmetoden använts för att studera det strukturella beteendet hos en e-väg under driftsmässiga förhållanden. Inom detta har en energibaserad konstitutiv model för stora töjningar utvecklats och kalibrerats för att möjliggöra detaljerade undersökningar av strukturell respons och optimering av de föreslagna e-vägarna. I samband med att möjliggöra både dynamisk laddning och autonom körning för framtida elektriska fordon, har beläggningars (spårbildnings)egenskaper studerats utifrån de laddande fordonen beteende. Dessutom för att studera effekten av IPT-systemet har den potentiella energiförlusten inom e-vägars beläggningsmaterial undersökts genom en kombinerad analytisk och experimentell undersökning. Som sådant är det direkta forskningsmålet med denna avhandling att utöka möjligheterna för en hållbar implementering av eRoad systemet inom det verkliga samhället. Samtidigt är målet att visa att vägkonstruktionen i sig själv är en viktig del av det smarta infrastruktursystemet som antingen kan bli en flaskhals eller en bärare av möjligheter, stödjande en framgångsrik implementering av dessa komplexa system.

QC 20161108

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Shrestha, Monisha. "Development of Sustainable Construction Material From Fly Ash C." Thesis, North Dakota State University, 2016. https://hdl.handle.net/10365/27988.

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Environmental issues caused by the production of Portland cement have necessitated its replacement by waste materials like fly ash which has been proven to be quite beneficial environmentally and economically. Therefore, this research project was focused on the development of sustainable construction materials using 100% of high-calcium fly ash with KOH based alkaline solution. Experimental work was conducted to determine concrete properties like compressive strength, flexural strength, setting time, and slump. In the phase I of the research, CNTs were also used to study its effect on geopolymer mortar. The results derived from the experiments show that mortar and concrete made with 100% fly ash C needs alkaline solution to reach properties established by Portland cement concrete. However increased amount of KOH generates heat making the concrete to set faster without forming a proper bond. Furthermore, the addition of CNTs makes the mortar sturdier than the one without CNT.
Dr. Peter Oduor
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30

Hijosa, Carmen. "Piñatex : the design development of a new sustainable material." Thesis, Royal College of Art, 2015. http://researchonline.rca.ac.uk/1677/.

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This is a research project by practice, which firstly develops a new material invention derived from natural fibres extracted from waste pineapple leaves; secondly it articulates the contemporary designer’s role in facilitating sustainable solutions through: Insights from my own material invention, PiñatexTM, which integrates the materiality of design with the immateriality of concepts and values Developing a visual model of mapping I began with these questions: ‘What are the challenges in seeking to make a new and sustainable material from the waste products of pineapple agriculture in the Philippines?’ and ‘How can a design practice link elements of materiality (artifacts) with immaterial elements (value systems) in order to improve sustainable social and economic development?’ Significant influences have been the work of Papanek1 (2003), Hawken2 (1999) and Abouleish3 (2008) and in particular the ethical business model initiated by McDonough and Braungart in Cradle to Cradle®4 (2002). My own research project is inspired by the Cradle to Cradle® model. It proposes the development of a new material, PiñatexTM which is derived from natural fibres extracted from waste pineapple leaves and could be used in a wide variety of products that are currently fabricated in leather or petroleum-based materials. The methods have comprised: Contextual reviews; case studies (SEKEM, Cradle to Cradle® and Gawad Kalinga); practical experiments in the field of natural fibres, chemistry, product development, manufacturing and prototyping, leading to an invention and a theoretical model of mapping. In addition, collaboration has taken place across scientific, technological, social, ecological, academic and business fields. The outcome is a new material based on the synchronicity between the pineapple fibres, polymers, resins and coatings specially formulated. The invention of the new material that I developed as a central part of this research by practice has a patent in the national phase (PCT/GB 2011/000802) and is in the first stages of manufacturing, commercial testing and further design input (Summer 2014). The contribution to knowledge is firstly the material, PiñatexTM, which exhibits certain key qualities, namely environmentally non-toxic, biodegradable, income-generating potential and marketability. This is alongside its intrinsic qualities as a textile product: aesthetic potential, durability and stability, which will make it suitable for the accessories, interiors and furnishing markets. The theoretical mapping system Upstream and Downstream forms a secondary contribution.
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HOLZBAUR, U., and L. J. BARNARD. "Sustainability with biogas as a form of alternative energy." Interim : Interdisciplinary Journal, Vol 13, Issue 2: Central University of Technology Free State Bloemfontein, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/11462/298.

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The vision of CUT as a sustainable university is to become a teaching, research and learning environment which maximizes and mainstreams environmental, economic and social sustainability in all its operations and educational activities. In driving this process, the university established a Sustainable Development Project to facilitate, oversee and report on the roll-out of this project.
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Leischner, Julia A. "Exploring Yoga as a Holistic Lifestyle for Sustainable Human and Environmental Health." ScholarWorks, 2015. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/360.

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Improved health indicators, mental and physical health outcomes, and sustainable lifestyle practices have been found among yoga practitioners. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of mixed styles of yoga practice on the health and behaviors of yoga practitioners. The relationship between yoga and body mass index (BMI), self-reported disease diagnosis, participation in other types of physical activity, adoption of healthy and sustainable lifestyle and dietary behaviors, perceived improvements in medical conditions that yoga was used to treat, quality of life resulting from yoga practice, and the reasons for beginning and continuing yoga were observed and tested in this study. Participants (N = 383) were adult yoga practitioners who were recruited using systematic sampling in Facebook social media. Data were analyzed using multiple linear regression, ANOVA, McNemar Chi square, and Spearman's correlation. Mean BMI for all yoga styles were in the normal range; however, ashtanga yoga was a significant predictor of low BMI. Self-reported disease diagnosis was significantly lower after beginning yoga practice. The majority of participants also engaged in other types of physical activity and adopted many healthy lifestyle practices. However, general/hatha and other styles of yoga were associated with adopting a greater number of other physical activities and general/hatha, ashtanga, and yoga therapy styles were associated with adopting a greater number of healthy and sustainable lifestyle and dietary behaviors. Medical conditions that yoga was used to treat and quality of life were perceived to be improved as a result of yoga practice. Results of this study confirm previous research findings that demonstrate numerous positive health outcomes from yoga practice.
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Chen, B. P. T. "Deposition and material characterisation of alternative high-K gate oxides." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.597522.

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This thesis investigates the relation between the growth process, structure and properties of three potential high dielectric constant (high-K) gate oxides as replacements for silicon dioxide (SiO2) in Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) process. Production of high quality high-K gate oxides requires optimisation of the deposition conditions. Zirconium dioxide (ZrO2), yttria-stabilised ZrO2 (YSZ) and hafnium oxide (HfO2) films have been deposited using reactive radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering in an Oxygen (O2)/ Argon (Ar) mixture at room temperature. The as-deposited film properties are quite comparable to those reported in the literature. ZrO2 exhibits a refractive index (R.I.) of 2.03, a bandgap of 5.8 eV, a dielectric constant of 26.2 and average breakdown field strength of 5.2 MV/cm. YSZ has a R.I. of 2.19, a bandgap of 5.6 eV, a dielectric constant of 27 and average breakdown field strength of 5.4 MV/cm. HfO2 possesses a R.I. of 2.1, a bandgap of 6 eV, a dielectric constant of 25 and average breakdown field strength of 5.4 MV/cm. Although the film qualities of all three oxide systems are similar, the research demonstrated that HfO2 is a better candidate to succeed thermal oxide as alternative gate dielectrics because the leakage current of HfO2 is at least seven orders in magnitude lower than that of using pure silicon oxide with identical equivalent oxide thickness (EOT). Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) studies of ZrO2 and YSZ films showed that defect trapping centres existed in the dielectrics. Initial investigation on potential metal nitride electrodes showed that surface oxidation is a major concern. This may be caused by exposure to air during the transfer to X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) system or problems in the deposition procedure. The Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectroscopy (UPS) analysis of the metal nitride reflects the material dependence of the work function and may be used as a guide in the future development of a suitable metal electrode.
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Liu, Donghao. "TI/TIO2 AS AN ALTERNATIVE SUBSTRATE MATERIAL FOR IMPEDANCE BIOSENSORS." OpenSIUC, 2018. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/theses/2298.

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Ti/TiO2 based electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) biosensor can detect the peanut protein Ara h1, an allergenic food protein using a mouse monoclonal IgG1 antibody immobilized onto the electrode surface. Because of the biocompatibility of Ti, and the self-limiting thickness of TiO2, Ti/TiO2 is an attractive alternative electrode material for impedance biosensors to improve the stability and reproducibility of protein immobilization. Three different pretreatment methods for optimizing Ti/TiO2 substrate properties were studied. The best electrode preparation is first to apply a cathodic potential to remove the Ti native oxide from the sputtered Ti films, and then galvanostatically anodize Ti to grow ~10 nm oxide layer in 1.0 M H2SO4. Nitrogen doping is accomplished by annealing for one hour at 600°C in NH3/N2 in a tube furnace after anodization. The carboxylate functional reagent was attached on the surface through a phosphonate group. This reagent is used to attach mouse monoclonal antibodies to the TiO2 electrode through amide bond formation using EDC/NHSS. Peanut protein Ara h1 can then be detected at the Ti/TiO2 sensor electrodes. The charge-transfer resistance (Rct) as a function of Ara h1 concentration follows the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Cathodic DC potential applied during EIS measurement and plasma nitriding to further improve TiO2 electrocatalytic activity were studied.
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Chigome, Samuel, and Samuel Chigome. "Electrospun nanofibers : an alternative sorbent material for solid phase extraction." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004972.

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The work described in the thesis seeks to lay a foundation for a better understanding of the use of electrospun nanofibers as a sorbent material. Three miniaturised electrospun nanofiber based solid phase extraction devices were fabricated. For the first two, 10 mg of electrospun polystyrene fibers were used as a sorbent bed for a micro column SPE device (8 mm bed height in a 200 μl pipette tip) and a disk (I) SPE device (5 mm 1 mm sorbent bed in a 1000 μl SPE barrel). While for the third, 4.6 mg of electrospun nylon nanofibers were used as a sorbent bed for a disk (II) SPE device, (sorbent bed consisting of 5 5 mm 350 μm stacked disks in a 500 μl SPE barrel). Corticosteroids were employed as model analytes for performance evaluation of the fabricated SPE devices. Quantitative recoveries (45.5-124.29 percent) were achieved for all SPE devices at a loading volume of 100 μl and analyte concentration of 500 ng ml-1. Three mathematical models; the Boltzmann, Weibull five parameter and the Sigmoid three parameter were employed to describe the break through profiles of each of the sorbent beds. The micro column SPE device exhibited a breakthrough volume of 1400 μl, and theoretical plates (7.98-9.1) while disk (I) SPE device exhibited 400-500 μl and 1.39-2.82 respectively. Disk (II) SPE device exhibited a breakthrough volume of 200 μl and theoretical plates 0.38-1.15. It was proposed that the formats of future electrospun nanofiber sorbent based SPE devices will be guided by mechanical strength of the polymer. The study classified electrospun polymer fibers into two as polystyrene type (relatively low mechanical strength) and nylon type (relatively high mechanical strength).
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Sassi, P. "Closed loop material cycle construction : defining and assessing closed loop material cycle construction as a component of a comprehensive approach to sustainable material design in the context of sustainable building." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2009. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/55846/.

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This thesis sets out to identify and define a set of criteria by which building materials and elements can be assessed in terms of forming part of closed loop material cycle, and from which legally binding targets can be developed to support good practice in relation to sustainable material design in the built environment. An initial investigation into the research context of sustainability applied to the built environment and the means of implementing good practice in the building industry is followed by a review of selected sustainable material design philosophies. Based on a synthesis of these philosophies and how they can be applied to building practice, the dissertation proposes a concept for a comprehensive approach to sustainable material design that incorporates a requirement for close loop material cycle construction. The characteristics of closed loop material cycles and their relevance to the building industry are considered, and a set of criteria for closed loop material cycle construction is formulated, drawing on existing research and guidance on natural recovery and design for deconstruction and recycling. The criteria are applied in a pilot assessment of selected materials, building elements and three whole house designs, which suggests that closed loop material cycle construction is technically feasible. The assessment results are used to suggest possible practical good practice targets for closed loop material cycle construction content that are achievable for mainstream housing construction and that can bring significant benefits in terms of improving the sustainability of construction developments. The dissertation concludes with a critical reflection on the conceptual development and practical application of the closed loop material cycle criteria and proposes an agenda for further research in this field.
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Nasir, Naveed, Shoaib Arshad, and Sun Xiaorui. "Factors affecting alternative automotive fuel industry." Thesis, Halmstad University, School of Business and Engineering (SET), 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-5469.

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Environmental protection, shrinking of fossil fuels and problems like energy security has

resulted in emergence of a rapid growing alternate automotive fuel industry. This research is

pursued to identify and describe factors that affect sustainable growth of alternative

automotive fuel industry and advice firms in their strategy development for sustainable

growth.

The theoretical framework includes theories including different internal and external possible

factors that may affect an emerging industry.

The research methodology of this study constitutes of qualitative research approach,

comprising of both primary and secondary data. Primary data for this study is collected by

conducting a total of 9 interviews with officials from three Swedish alternate diesel engine oil

manufacturing companies. An overall industry analysis is conducted through PEST analysis,

data for this PEST analysis is gathered through official government websites, press releases,

newspapers, educational and environmental institute websites and scientific journals.

Interviews conducted with company officials also served the purpose.

The analysis of this study shows that government policies and subsidies have played an

important part to make these companies enter this market. Two of the companies included in

the case study were already active in closely related fields for a number of years and only

entered this market when favorable government regulations were available. The future of

these companies is very much associated with government regulations and companies those

fall beyond these regulations face difficulties to get subsidies and therefore in their growth.

Awareness of people about cleaner fuels is brought through media, education and government

policies that include taxes and tax rebates on different kind of fuels.

The companies bet on new technologies to resolve concerns generated by their fuels i.e. food

versus fuel debate. The authors analyzed technology to be an important factor if companies

want to remain in alternate fuel business for a long period of time.

The authors suggest companies to build their tangible and intangible resources i.e. raw

material, technologies, human resource flexibly to adopt diversified businesses in case if some

radical changes in fuel industry seizes their growth. It has also been seen that standardization

of products can prove helpful for companies to produce a working market.

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38

Bradley, Ryan T. "A Framework for Sustainable Material Selection for Multi-Generational Components." UKnowledge, 2015. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/me_etds/61.

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The early stages of a product’s design are a critical time for decisions that impact the entire life-cycle cost. Product designers have mastered the first generation; however, they currently do not have the ability to know the impact of their decisions on the multi-generational view. This thesis aims at closing the gap between total life-cycle information and the traditional design process in order to harbor sustainable value creation among all stakeholders involved. A framework is presented that uses a combination of a life-cycle costing methodology and an evolutionary algorithm in order to achieve a sustainability assessment for a true multi-generational component. An illustration of the implementation of the framework shows the value to current engineering scenarios. A foundation is also laid for the overall future vision of this work to utilize proper databases and existing design tools to evaluate the overall sustainability and life-cycle cost of multi-generational components.
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39

Zhang, Mo. "Geopolymer, Next Generation Sustainable Cementitious Material − Synthesis, Characterization and Modeling." Digital WPI, 2015. https://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/etd-dissertations/455.

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Geopolymers have received increasing attention as a promising sustainable alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC). However, the relationship among the synthesis, geopolymerization process, microstructures, molecular strucutres and mechanical properties of geopolymers remains poorly understood. To fill this knowledge gap, this dissertation focuses on the correlation of chemical composition-reaction kinetics-microstructure-mechanical properties of geopolymers. This study also sheds light on the durability, environmental impact and engineering applications of geopolymers from practical perspectives. The first part of this dissertation presents a comprehensive study on red mud-class F fly ash based geopolymers (RFFG). Firstly, RFFG with a high 28-day mechanical strength were successfully synthesized under the ambient condition of 23°C and 40 to 50% relative humidity. A nominal Na/Al molar ratio of 0.6 ~ 0.8 with a Si/Al ratio of 2 was found to be a good starting chemical composition for RFFG synthesis. Secondly, the reaction kinetics and its relation to the mechanical properties of RFFG were investigated by monitoring the development of geopolymer gels, reaction rate, porosity and mechanical properties of RFFG samples cured at room temperature, 50°C and 80°C for up to 120 days. The asymmetric stretching FTIR band of Si-O-T (T is Si or Al) centered around 960-1000 cm-1, which is the characteristic band of geopolymer gels, was observed to shift to a lower wavenumber at the early stage of the synthesis and shift to a higher wavenumber later on during the synthesis. The shift of Si-O-T band indicates that the geopolymerization took place in three stages: dissolution to Al-rich gels at Stage I, Al-rich gels to Si-rich gels at Stage II and Si-rich gels to tectosilicate networks at Stage III. The mechanical strength of RFFG barely increased, increased slowly by a limited amount and developed significantly at these three stages, respectively. An elevated curing temperature enhanced the early strength of RFFG, whereas an excessively high curing temperature resulted in a higher pore volume that offset the early-developed strength. Lastly, the remaining mechanical properties of the RFFG samples after soaking in a pH = 3.0 sulfuric acid solution for up to 120 days and the concentration of heavy metals leached from RFFG samples after the soaking were measured. The RFFG samples’ resistance against sulfuric acid was found to be comparable to that of OPC, and leaching concentrations of heavy metals were much lower than the respective EPA limits for soil contaminations. The degradation in mechanical properties of the RFFG samples during soaking in the acid was attributed primarily to the depolymerization and dealumination of geopolymer gels. The second part of this dissertation is devoted to the investigation of nano-scale mechanical properties and molecular structures of geopolymer gels with grid-nanoindentation and molecular modeling. Four phases (e.g., porous phase, partially developed geopolymer gels, geopolymer gels and unreacted metakaolin or crystals) and their nano-mechanical properties were identified in metakaolin based geopolymers (MKG) with grid-nanoindentation technique. It was found that the proportion of geopolymer gels largely determines the mechanical strength of the resulting geopolymers while other factors (e.g., pores and cracks) also play some roles in macro-scale mechanical strength of geopolymers. The final setting time of the geopolymers increased with the increase in Si/Al ratio and the decrease in Na/Al ratio, while the proportion of geopolymer gels and macro-mechanical strength of geopolymers increased with the increase in both Si/Al and Na/Al molar ratios, within the range of 1.2~1.7 and 0.6~1.0, respectively. In the molecular modeling, a combined density function theory (DFT)-molecular dynamic (MD) modeling simulation was developed to “synthesize� geopolymers. DFT simulation was used to optimize reactive aluminate and silicate monomers, which were subsequently used in reactive MD simulations to model the polymerization process and computationally synthesize geopolymer gels. The influence of Si/Al ratio and simulation temperatures on geopolymerization and resulting molecules of geopolymer gels was also examined. The computationally polymerized molecular structures of geopolymer gels were obtained. The distribution of Si4(mAl) and radial distribution fuctions of Si-O, Al-O, O-O and Na-Al for the models were compared and qualitatively agreed well with the experimental results from nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and neutron/X-ray pair distribution function in previous literature. Three polymerization stages: oligomerization, ring formation and condensation, were identified based on the nature of polymerization process, which were found to be affected by the temperature and Si/Al ratio. A higher temperature enhanced the reaction rate while a lower Si/Al ratio resulted in more compact geopolymer networks. The final part of this dissertation presents an experimental feasibility study of using geopolymer in shallow soil stabilization, in which a lean clay was stabilized with MKG at different concentrations. The study confirmed that MKG can be used as a soil stabilizer for clayey soils and the unconfined compressive strength, Young’s modulus and failure strain are comparable to or even better than OPC when the MKG’s concentration is higher than 11%. The binding effect of geopolymer gels on the soil particles was confirmed as the main mechanism for the improvement in mechanical properties of the stabilized soils with the scanning electron microscopy imaging, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analyses and X-ray diffractometry characterization.
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40

De, Ferrari Giacomo. "Development and Characterization of a Sustainable Lignin-based Composite Material." Thesis, KTH, Materialvetenskap, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-236487.

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Lignin is the most abundant aromatic polymer of natural origin on earth. Currently, it is treated as a waste product of the paper production industry and is burnt as fuel to generate energy. Due to its renewable nature, it represents instead an optimum candidate to substitute non-renewable fossil-based feedstock for the production of plastic products. The present Thesis project deals with the development and characterization of a composite material, made of a lignin-based polymer matrix reinforced with glass fibers. The polymer blend used as matrix, composed of 50% by weight of lignin and 50% of DGEBA, once cured, was found to have a high gel content, corresponding to more than 97%. Moreover, it possesses a significant thermal stability: it starts to degrade at around 250 °C, it loses less than 5% of its weight up to 300 °C (of which 2% is water) and has its maximum degradation rate at 411 °C. Composites made of lignin-DGEBA matrix, reinforced with different contents of short glass fibers, from 10% to 60% of the matrix weight, were prepared. The developed composites showed a considerably decreasing porosity with increasing fiber content, up to the 50% glass fiber composite. In addition, from scanning electron microscopy images, a strong adhesion force between matrix and glass fibers was revealed.Furthermore, tensile tests showed that the produced composites have a good stiffness. In fact, the Young’s modulus varies from slightly more than 4 GPa of the 30% glass fiber composite to almost 5 GPa of the 50% composite, decreasing then in the 60% one.
Lignin är den mest vanliga aromatiska polymeren av naturligt ursprung på jorden. För närvarande behandlas den som en avfallsprodukt från pappersindustrin och används som bränsle för att generera energi. På grund av dess återvinnbarhet är den en optimal kandidat till att ersätta icke förnybar fossilbaserad råvara för produktion av plastmaterial. Det här projektet behandlar utveckling och karakterisering av ett kompositmaterial, med en ligninbaserad polymermatris förstärkt med glasfibrer. Polymeren som används som matris, består av 50 % lignin och 50 % DGEBA. Vid härdning uppvisar den en hög gel halt på mer än 97 %. Dessutom har den en betydande termisk stabilitet: Den börjar bryta ned först vid ca 250 °C, förlorar mindre än 5 % av sin vikt upp till 300 °C (varav 2 % är vatten) och har en maximal nedbrytningshastighet först vid 411 °C. Kompositprover med lignin-DGEBA-matris, förstärkt med olika mängd av korta glasfibrer, från 10 % till 60 % av matrisvikten tillverkades. Kompositerna visade en avsevärt minskande porositet med ökande fiberhalt, upp till 50 % glasfiberarmering. Resultat från SEM bilder visar en stark vidhäftning mellan matris och glasfibrer. Vidare visade dragprov av de framställda kompositerna en hög styvhet. E-modulen varierar från något mer än 4 GPa vid 30 % glasfiberkomposit till nästan 5 GPa av 50 % komposit, men minskar sedan något vid i 60 % inblandning.
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41

Claus, Julien. "Investigations on a new high-strength pozzolan foam material." Thesis, Atlanta, Ga. : Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/31804.

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Thesis (M. S.)--Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009.
Committee Chair: Doyoyo Mulalo; Committee Member: Will Kenneth; Committee Member: Yavari Arash. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.
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42

Feng, Ming. "An Exergy Based Engineering and Economic Analysis of Sustainable Building." FIU Digital Commons, 2008. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/63.

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To achieve the goal of sustainable development, the building energy system was evaluated from both the first and second law of thermodynamics point of view. The relationship between exergy destruction and sustainable development were discussed at first, followed by the description of the resource abundance model, the life cycle analysis model and the economic investment effectiveness model. By combining the forgoing models, a new sustainable index was proposed. Several green building case studies in U.S. and China were presented. The influences of building function, geographic location, climate pattern, the regional energy structure, and the technology improvement potential of renewable energy in the future were discussed. The building’s envelope, HVAC system, on-site renewable energy system life cycle analysis from energy, exergy, environmental and economic perspective were compared. It was found that climate pattern had a dramatic influence on the life cycle investment effectiveness of the building envelope. The building HVAC system energy performance was much better than its exergy performance. To further increase the exergy efficiency, renewable energy rather than fossil fuel should be used as the primary energy. A building life cycle cost and exergy consumption regression model was set up. The optimal building insulation level could be affected by either cost minimization or exergy consumption minimization approach. The exergy approach would cause better insulation than cost approach. The influence of energy price on the system selection strategy was discussed. Two photovoltaics (PV) systems – stand alone and grid tied system were compared by the life cycle assessment method. The superiority of the latter one was quite obvious. The analysis also showed that during its life span PV technology was less attractive economically because the electricity price in U.S. and China did not fully reflect the environmental burden associated with it. However if future energy price surges and PV system cost reductions were considered, the technology could be very promising for sustainable buildings in the future.
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43

Nava, Lucrecia. "Caminando, Preguntamos| Rotating Leadership as an Alternative for Sustainable and Effective Administrators." Thesis, California State University, Los Angeles, 2018. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10929304.

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Leadership is a common and often generalized phenomenon. Traditionally, leadership denotes an individual, yet leadership is rarely the work of one. This study looked outside of Western ideologies to further examine leadership. The Zapatistas are a people in charge of autonomous territories in Chiapas, Mexico. This study focused on identifying how rotation in leadership among other Zapatista principles and practices can be implemented into secondary schools for more efficient and sustainable leadership. Through a constructivist grounded theory approach, the researcher interviewed two sets of participants Zapatista delegation and encuentro participants along with administrators to develop a Rotating Leadership Model for American high schools.

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44

Marks, Leonie A. "Evaluating alternative farming systems : a fuzzy MADM approach /." free to MU campus, to others for purchase, 1998. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/mo/fullcit?p9924905.

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45

Lausecker, Roland [Verfasser]. "Natural shellac as a sustainable MEMS material : A low-tech material for high-tech processing / Roland Lausecker." Aachen : Shaker, 2018. http://d-nb.info/1188549545/34.

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46

Lee, Byoung Hun. "Technology development and process integration of alternative gate dielectric material : hafnium oxide /." Full text (PDF) from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International, 2000. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/utexas/fullcit?p3004316.

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47

Azeez, Mohamed Hussain, and Leonel Campos. "OIL SHALE ASH UTILIZATION IN INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES AS AN ALTERNATIVE RAW MATERIAL." Thesis, KTH, Industriell ekologi, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-197678.

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Oil shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock with the potential to yield significant amounts of oil and combustible gas when retorted. Oil shale deposits have been found on almost every continent, but only Estonia, who has the 8th largest oil shale deposit in the world has continuously utilized oil shale in large scale operations. Worldwide, Estonia accounts for 80% of the overall activity involving oil shale, consuming approximately 18 million tons while producing 5–7 million tons of oil shale ash (OSA) annually. Since the amounts are quite significant, Estonia has made the choice to store OSA outdoors as ash heaps, which currently average a height of 45m and overall cover an area of approximately 20 km2. Oil shale is primarily composed of organic matter (15%–55%), low–magnesium calcite (>50%), dolomite (<10%–15%), and siliciclastic minerals (<10–15%). When oil shale is combusted in thermal power plants (TPP), temperatures as high as 1500˚C are reached; calcining CaCO3 into CaO in the process. It is the high CaO content (30%–50%; Free CaO 8%–23%) along with trace elements that makes OSA a threat to the environment; it is mainly the CaO and to a lesser degree the trace elements found in OSA that are exploited in this thesis. Currently, only about 5% of the 5–7 million tons of OSA produced annually is being utilized as an alternative raw material, mostly in the construction industry for the production of Portland cement. Multiple studies have been conducted on OSA in the past by various institutions in an attempt to increase its use in industry and reduce the negative environmental effects of storing large quantities of the highly alkaline material. This thesis primarily focuses on the treatment of acid mine drainage (AMD) and the production of precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) using OSA. In Sweden, CaO is utilized in treating AMD in historical mine sites and in the production of PCC used in the paper industry. Oil shale ash has the potential to become a substitute for lime (CaO) utilized in various industries while Estonia transitions into renewable energy. The mining industry has been abundant in Sweden for hundreds of years, but the poor mining techniques of the past have led to a significant number of mines that require immediate AMD remediation. The Swedish EPA has declared that 600 mines currently need attention, which may cost approximately 2–3 billion SEK (232–350 million USD). 1:200, 1:500, and 1:1000. All ratios yielded a pH greater than 10, most likely inducing the formation and precipitation of secondary minerals such as Schwertmannite and Ferrihydrite. The reduction of metallic cations such as Cu (maximum reduction 99.9%), Pb (99.8%), V (95.5%), Cd (99.9%), As (88.7%), and Ni (99.9%) from AMD waters was observed. The previously mentioned metallic cations most likely adsorbed and co-precipitated to the negatively charged surfaces of Schwertmannite and Ferrihydrite minerals. Metals such as Ba, Cr, and Sb were observed to leach out of OSA, increasing their concentrations in the treated AMD waters, but still within Swedish regulatory limits. Acid mine drainage treatment with OSA significantly reduces heavy metal concentrations; transforming the polluted waters from hazardous to non-hazardous waste (below Swedish leaching limit values). Precipitated calcium carbonate is utilized in many industries, such as in the production of paper, sealants and adhesives, paint, food, and pharmaceuticals. In Sweden, it is common for paper producers to have satellite PCC plants in close proximity so that CO2 (from the paper facility) is used in the carbonation of Ca(OH)2 to form PCC. The CaO in OSA may be mixed with H2O to form the required Ca(OH)2 for PCC production. Potentially replacing raw CaO currently purchased for the production of PCC. The conducted PCC production experiments directly carbonized vacuum filtered OSA leachate with a steady flow of CO2 gas to yield PCC. Precipitate obtained yielded 94%–99% of CaCO3 theoretical values. Throughout the carbonation process; OSA leachate’s pH began >12 and continuously decreased with time, maximum PCC production occurred at pH 9–10, and stabilized at pH 8. Although, the polymorphism and purity of the PCC is not known, the conducted experiments and previous studies on the topic indicate the feasibility of producing high quality PCC from OSA to be used in industry. Additionally, oil shale thermal power plants have the potential to produce PCC and other minerals by injecting flue gases into the highly alkaline (Ca(OH)2) water used to hydraulically transport OSA from the furnaces to ash heaps; reducing or seizing the production of alkaline leachates and emission of gases that currently contaminate the environment. Other applications for OSA were also investigated and reviewed, such as the lucrative extraction and refinement of rare earth elements. Estonian oil shale ash was tested for Ce, Nd, Y and Sc using ICP-MS and compared to Chinese OSA and selected European REE ores. Estonian OSA had the lowest concentrations of REEs in the comparison, nevertheless, previous studies have shown up to 80%-90% REE recovery via an acid leaching process. Rare earth recovery from OSA may be successful in the future if a practical and cost-effective method is developed. Reducing Europe’s dependence on China for REE.
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48

Hudson, Mark. "Border crossings, linking local & global struggles for sustainable livelihood through alternative trade." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp03/MQ27353.pdf.

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49

Cheng, Kwok-hang, and 鄭國鏗. "Is vertical farming a more sustainable alternative to conventional farming in Hong Kong?" Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10722/207616.

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Hong Kong’s agricultural sector has been declining since the 1980s with the reduction in area of arable lands and number of farmers. The trend of over-reliance on imported produce is likely to continue with population growth in the upcoming decades. The climbing imported to locally grown food ratio might aggravate climate change. Vertical farming, which is promoted in recent years as a more sustainable mode of farming than conventional cultivation, is investigated mainly in terms of life cycle Greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions of its produce. Assessment was carried out following the guidelines in two relevant sets of Publicly Available Specification (PAS). Lettuce variety “Heading European”, which is among the most popular leafy vegetables in Hong Kong, is chosen because of its significant share imported from Guangdong Province. Three sets of surveys have been conducted to find out if locally grown produce generates less GHG than imported one. The sustainability of vertical farming is also evaluated. It performs in a cradle-to-gate basis in which life cycle of the lettuce is assessed from the stage of farmland preparation to delivery of them to Vegetable Marketing Organization (VMO). The results of life cycle GHG evaluation show that produce of local farm generates fewer amounts of GHGs than the imported one. For lettuces imported from the conventional farm in Songyuancun, Guangdong Province, it generates approximately 1.57E+00kg of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e). It is about 132% higher than the one grown in local conventional farm at Tai Kong Po Tsuen, which is around 6.77E-01kg of CO2-e It seems the idea of replacing local conventional farming with vertical farming is not sustainable at this stage. Evaluation reveals the latter generates more amount of GHG which is 8.72E+00kg CO2-e/cup of Oak Leaf Lettuce. It is about 13 times higher than the locally grown in the conventional farm. The energy-hungry lighting system and the lack of renewable energy are among the major reasons for high GHG emission in vertical farming. Although the GHG emissions are higher than conventional farming in the designated lifecycle, vertical farming does contribute to sustainable development in terms of food stability and job opportunity. Uncertainties of this study could well be improved by developing a specific set of GHG emission factors for components in preparation stage and on-farm stage. More information could be collected for use and end-of-life stages, which is omitted in the study. Further comparison of wider variety of vegetables cultivated in different forms of farming should also be carried out. Carbon labelling scheme for agricultural products would brush up environmental awareness of both producers and consumers. With the trend of green consumption, it would provide an incentive for producers to adopt this scheme. It is especially important for local vertical farms to impose this scheme to increase its market competiveness. Moreover, government should play a significant role in promoting a more sustainable form of agriculture. Supportive policy like increasing investment in R&D for energy efficient technologies or even erecting a modern building for vertical farms would help achieve this goal. The lowered life cycle GHG emission would enhance sustainability of vertical farming.
published_or_final_version
Environmental Management
Master
Master of Science in Environmental Management
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50

Potter, Stacy M. "Sustainable Leadership in Arts Education Using Alternative Resources in Pennsylvania Title I Schools." ScholarWorks, 2018. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/5932.

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Budgetary constraints have led many educational leaders to limit arts education programming to students across the state of Pennsylvania. The purpose of this qualitative dissertation was to investigate how educational leaders sustain access to arts education programs using alternative budgetary resources for K-12 students in Pennsylvania Title I schools. This multiple case study provided analysis within and across Pennsylvania Title I schools to help fill a gap in the educational leadership literature regarding alternative budgeting strategies to meet programming needs. The conceptual framework integrated transformational leadership, principles of creativity, and budgetary strategies. Key research questions explored sustainability frameworks and the use of creative leadership strategies to guide budget allocations while analyzing how educational leaders employ constructs of transformational leadership theory to produce measures of accountability. The study of 15 school districts across Pennsylvania employed an in-depth interview process and document review. Multiple case study analysis allowed for the exploration of leadership decisions within the current financial landscape of Pennsylvania Title I public schools during the 2017-2018 school year. The study found that alternative budgetary resources were not confined to financial support but included strategic resource management, inclusive stakeholder practices, and synoptic performance. Each of these constructs extended knowledge in leadership practice and organizational outcomes. This study's findings may have practical applications in relation to sustained leadership for arts education programs using alternative resources in Pennsylvania Title I schools.
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