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Economic assessment of nature-based solutions to reduce flood risk and enhance co-benefits

Ruangpan, L. (author), Vojinovic, Zoran (author), Plavšić, Jasna (author), Curran, Alex (author), Rosic, Nikola (author), Pudar, Ranko (author), Savic, Dragan (author), Brdjanovic, Damir (author)

Flooding is expected to increase due to climate change, urbanisation, and land use change. To address this issue, Nature-Based Solutions (NBSs) are often adopted as innovative and sustainable flood risk management methods. Besides the flood risk reduction benefits, NBSs offer co-benefits for the environment and society. However, these co...

journal article 2024

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Downsizing and the use of timber as embodied carbon reduction strategies for new-build housing: A partial life cycle assessment

Souaid, C. (author), ten Caat, P.N. (author), Meijer, A. (author), Visscher, H.J. (author)

The 2050 decarbonization goals coupled with the growing housing shortage in Europe intensify the pressure on new-build dwellings to enhance their energy performance. Beyond a zero operational energy, the focus has shifted towards reducing embodied carbon (EC). Against this backdrop, this study investigates the simultaneous impact of downsizing...

journal article 2024

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Beyond flight operations: Assessing the environmental impact of aircraft maintenance through life cycle assessment

Rahn, A.R. (author), Schuch, Melissa (author), Wicke, Kai (author), Sprecher, Benjamin (author), Dransfeld, C.A. (author), Wende, Gerko (author)

As the aviation industry strives to minimise its environmental footprint, understanding the full life cycle impacts, including maintenance, becomes essential for sustainable development. This paper addresses the critical research gap in the environmental assessment of aircraft maintenance by conducting a comprehensive life cycle assessment...

journal article 2024

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Life cycle assessment of stone buildings in the Taihang mountains of Hebei province: Evolution towards cleaner production and operation

Long, Lingege (author), Li, Qingxiang (author), Gan, Zhenkun (author), Mu, Jun (author), Overend, M. (author), Zhang, Dayu (author)

The building sector has gained significant attention due to its remarkably high energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. In China's rural areas, stone is a popular building material, but there are unprecedented demands to improve the life-cycle performance of stone buildings. It is essential to preserve the original architectural...

journal article 2023

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Environmental impacts in the civil aviation sector: Current state and guidance

Rupcic, Lea (author), Pierrat, Eleonore (author), Saavedra-Rubio, Karen (author), Thonemann, Nils (author), Ogugua, C.J. (author), Laurent, Alexis (author)

The aviation sector contributes to environmental problems like climate change, resource depletion, and air pollution. We perform a systematic literature review of life cycle assessment studies to map the environmental impacts in the sector and provide methodological recommendations. The sector is divided into cross-cutting systems, namely...

journal article 2023

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Revealing the management of municipal textile waste and citizen practices: The case of Catalonia

Morell-Delgado, Gemma (author), Talens Peiró, Laura (author), Toboso Chavero, S.T.C.H. (author)

Although the number of studies assessing the textile sector is increasing, only a few focus on its waste management. This study aims to shed light on current textile waste disposal practices and account for their environmental impact. To do so, a combination of citizen surveying and environmental quantitative tools, such as material flow...

journal article 2023

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Life cycle assessment of material footprint in recycling: A case of concrete recycling

Zhang, Chunbo (author), Hu, Mingming (author), van der Meide, Marc (author), Di Maio, F. (author), Yang, Xining (author), Gao, Xiaofeng (author), Li, Kai (author), Zhao, Hailong (author), Li, Chen (author)

Meeting the current demand for concrete requires not only mining tons of gravel and sand, but also burning large amounts of fossil fuel resources in cement kilning. Consequently, concrete recycling is crucial to achieving a material-efficient society, especially with the application of various categories of concrete and the goal of phasing...

journal article 2023

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Life cycle impacts assessment of two gold extraction systems in Colombia: open-pit and alluvial mining

Cano-Londoño, Natalia A. (author), Capaz, Rafael Silva (author), Hasenstab, Christian (author), Velásquez, Héctor I. (author), McIntyre, Neil (author), Corder, Glen D. (author), Posada Duque, J.A. (author)

Purpose: Gold mining has historically and significantly contributed to the Colombian economy. Gold extraction in Colombia is mainly done through two techniques: open-pit and alluvial mining. In this study, the environmental impacts of both these mining systems were analyzed using the life cycle assessment (LCA) framework, including...

journal article 2023

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Early-stage analysis of a novel insulation material based on MPCM-doped cementitious foam: Modelling of properties, identification of production process hotspots and exploration of performance trade-offs

Zhilyaev, D. (author), Fachinotti, Victor D. (author), Zanoni, Francesca (author), Ortega, Amaya (author), Goracci, Guido (author), Mankel, Christoph (author), Koenders, Eduardus A.B. (author), Jonkers, H.M. (author)

This study presents an early-stage design exploration of NRG-Foam, an innovative insulation material composed of cementitious foam doped with microencapsulated phase change materials (MPCMs). The study comprises the static part that utilizes life cycle assessment and life cycle costing assessment for getting insight into the impacts of the...

journal article 2023

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Tools and indices for WEF nexus analysis

Sušnik, Janez (author), Masia, Sara (author), Jewitt, G.P.W. (author), Simpson, Gareth (author)

The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus is shown to be a highly interconnected, complex system, operating over multiple time scales, and at spatial scales from household to global. The key WEF nexus foci issues and challenges are known to be extremely diverse and change depending on the local situation and setting, the scale at which the nexus is...

book chapter 2022

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Environmental design guidelines for circular building components based on LCA and MFA: Lessons from the circular kitchen and renovation façade

van Stijn, A. (author), Eberhardt, L. C.M. (author), Jansen, B. (author), Meijer, A. (author)

The transition towards a Circular Economy (CE) in the built environment is vital to reduce environmental impacts, resource consumption and waste generation. The built environment can be made circular by replacing building components with more circular ones. There are many circular design options for building components and knowledge about...

journal article 2022

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Assessing the environmental performance of a novel coal mine brine treatment technique: A case in Poland

Tsalidis, G.A. (author), Tourkodimitri, K. Panteleaki (author), Mitko, K. (author), Gzyl, G. (author), Skalny, A. (author), Posada Duque, J.A. (author), Xevgenos, Dimitris (author)

Although the energy transition results in decreased use of coal for power production, hard coal extraction will continue due to its importance in steel production and coal mine wastewater will continue generating after mines closure. The coal mining sector produces wastewater which results in environmental burdens and often contains valuable...

journal article 2022

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The technical or biological loop? Economic and environmental performance of circular building components

Jansen, B. (author), van Stijn, A. (author), Eberhardt, Leonora Charlotte Malabi (author), van Bortel, G.A. (author), Gruis, V.H. (author)

The construction sector can become more sustainable by applying the Circular Economy concept, which distinguishes two main pathways: substituting materials for biological materials, or optimizing the use or reuse of technical materials. Practitioners sometimes choose one pathway over the other, but knowledge of which of these pathways yields...

journal article 2022

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Assessment of the sustainability of various ways of hydrogen production and supply by applying LCA and exergy

Stougie, L. (author), van der Kooi, H.J. (author), Stikkelman, R.M. (author)

The Netherlands is known for its high penetration of natural gas use in households and industry, but the threat of climate change and earthquakes in the province of Groningen, caused by natural gas production, stimulate the search for alternatives, such as hydrogen gas. Various ways of producing and supplying hydrogen have the attention of...

conference paper 2022

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Environmental and economic optimization of a conventional concrete building foundation: Selecting the best of 28 alternatives by applying the pareto front

Pujadas-Gispert, Ester (author), Vogtländer, J.G. (author), Moonen, S.J. (author)

This research optimizes the environmental impact of a conventional building foundation in Northern Europe while considering the economic cost. The foundation is composed of piles and ground beams. Calculations are performed following relevant building Eurocodes and using life cycle assessment methodology. Concrete and steel accounted for the...

journal article 2021

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The carbon footprint of alternative jet fuels produced in Brazil: exploring different approaches

Silva Capaz, R. (author), Posada Duque, J.A. (author), Osseweijer, P. (author), Seabra, Joaquim E.A. (author)

Although the potential of Alternative Jet Fuels (AJF) to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions has been widely reported upon in the literature, there are still discrepancies among the results. These may be due to the different GHG accounting methods, including those used by different Low-Carbon Policies (LCPs). To have a clearer...

journal article 2021

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Quantifying the Net Environmental Impact of Using IoT to Support Circular Strategies—The Case of Heavy-Duty Truck Tires in Sweden

Ingemarsdotter, E.K. (author), Diener, Derek (author), Andersson, Simon (author), Jonasson, Christian (author), Mellquist, Ann Charlotte (author), Nyström, Thomas (author), Jamsin, E. (author), Balkenende, R. (author)

The idea of leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT) to support strategies in line with the circular economy (CE) has been gaining traction in literature. However, previous work has predominantly focused on the opportunities that these technologies can bring, and few studies have critically assessed the environmental viability of the proposed...

journal article 2021

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Life cycle assessment of nutrient recycling from wastewater: A critical review

Lam, K.L. (author), Zlatanovic, L. (author), van der Hoek, J.P. (author)

Recovering resources from wastewater systems is increasingly being emphasised. Many technologies exist or are under development for recycling nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater to agriculture. Planning and design methodologies are needed to identify and deploy the most sustainable solutions in given contexts. For the...

review 2020

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Human health impacts of aviation biofuel production: Exploring the application of different life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods for biofuel supply chains

Wang, Z. (author), Osseweijer, P. (author), Posada Duque, J.A. (author)

The life cycle human health (HH) impacts related to aviation biofuels have been understood in a limited way. Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods for assessing HH are often associated with a high level of uncertainty and a low level of consensus. As a result, it remains challenging to perform a robust assessment of HH impacts with a...

journal article 2020

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A circular economy life cycle costing model (CE-LCC) for building components

Jansen, B. (author), van Stijn, A. (author), Gruis, V.H. (author), van Bortel, G.A. (author)

The building industry is responsible for the highest resource use, amount of waste and emissions of all industries. The principles of the Circular Economy (CE) could offer an approach to create a more sustainable built environment. For a transition towards a circular built environment, a comprehensive assessment method is needed to support...

journal article 2020