Exergy-Based Improvements of Sustainable Aviation Fuels: Comparing Biorefinery Pathways

The aeronautical sector faces challenges in meeting its net-zero ambition by 2050. To achieve this target, much effort has been devoted to exploring sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). Accordingly, we evaluated the technical performance of potential SAF production in an integrated first- and second-generation sugarcane biorefinery focusing on...

Design optimisation for hybrid metal additive manufacturing for sustainable construction

Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) enables the manufacturing of efficient and lightweight structural elements in which material can be utilised wherever needed in an optimised shape, in contrast to standard prismatic profiles used in construction. However, the specific energy consumption (SEC) of WAAM is higher than that of conventional...

Implications of future atmospheric composition in decision-making for sustainable aviation

Aviation emissions lead to degraded air quality and adverse human health impacts, making air quality one of the leading environmental externalities associated with aviation. Aviation emissions have been growing steadily over the past decades, and, despite the current hindrance in air traffic due to the COVID- 19 pandemic, they are forecasted to...

The natural environment in port development: A ‘green handbrake’ or an equal partner?

Rapid urbanization of the coast, growing global trade, stakeholder emancipation and ongoing depletion of natural resources mean that ports can no longer operate and develop without acknowledging and incorporating societal and environmental considerations. Drawing primarily on first-hand experiences in South African ports, supplemented with...

Integrated 1st and 2nd generation sugarcane bio-refinery for jet fuel production in Brazil: Techno-economic and greenhouse gas emissions assessment

This study presents a techno-economic analysis and an environmental assessment, of the whole production chain (biomass production, sugar extraction, biomass pretreatment, sugars fermentation, and products recovery and purification), of a fully autarkic sugarcane-based biorefinery for biojet fuel production. All scenarios considered correspond...

The environmental significance of management practices: Exploring the Eco-efficiency of 6 Cases

The starting point for this paper is the importance of understanding how humans interact with material and energy flows. Technical systems are vital to model for improving eco-efficiency, but they are always managed by humans. Daily maintenance of machinery and the process of planning a new warehouse are examples of these ordinary human actions,...

Introducing an approach to access environmental pressures from integrated remediation and landfill mining

The aim of the paper is to introduce an approach for evaluating integrated remediation and landfill mining scenarios. Since completed projects with similar scope and goals mostly have been pilot studies or projects with little emphasis on resource extraction, there is very little real case data to access. Thus, scenarios for three different...

Roads and Floods: Best Practice Guidelines for the Integrated Planning and Design of Economically Sound and Environmentally Friendly Roads in the Mekong Floodplains of Cambodia and Viet Nam: Synthesis Report

This document presents a set of Best Practice Guidelines for road development and rehabilitation in the Mekong floodplains of Cambodia and Viet Nam. The guidelines are developed under the ‘Roads and Floods’ project1. The guidelines are based on the review of local practice, international experience, and case study results. They are intended for...

The Sustainable Office. An exploration of the potential for factor 20 environmental improvement of office accommodation

Sustainable development is the goal of a balance between economy and the environment, whilst establishing a better spread prosperity across the world. In order to make this possible, the environmental load of our commodities needs to be reduced by a factor of 20. This factor 20 can also be translated to the office market. The PhD research...